By Catholic News SG / November 12th, 2025
CEP Men : Dr Bernard Thio, Edwin Koo, Marcus Ng
Speakers of the senior men’s track of the second Forum of the Richness of Manhood during a panel discussion. The presenters covered a range of topics, including active ageing, content creation, and how to share their heritage with their descendants. Photo: Edwin Koo.
Some 420 people—mostly men—attended a forum on the Richness of Manhood at the Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre on Nov 1.
At the day-long event, more than 20 speakers, mostly Catholics, explored topics related to masculinity including courtship, parenting, and growing in virtue.
Participants then broke into three groups to focus on the different stages in life: young men, husbands and fathers, and seniors.
Rediscovering masculinity
Lead organiser Dr Alvin Wong, 57, said the forum—the second so far—aimed to help men rediscover the richness of masculinity in a society which increasingly disparages it.
“God made us male and female, and there is much richness in each,” said the oncologist who organised the first forum in 2023. “We’re losing that richness, and when we lose our masculinity, we lose part of our faith.”
Tender and nurturing
During a talk on courtship in the young men’s group, Dr Bernard Thio, who founded the archdiocese’s Couple Empowerment Programme with his late wife Ying Ying in 2003, said masculinity is often described as toxic and irrelevant in the modern world.
The movement for the emancipation of women arose because men pushed women to their limit with our chauvinist ways, said the 64-year-old medical doctor who holds a master’s degree in marriage and family from a Catholic college in the United Kingdom. “They rebelled, and rightly so.”
However, this does not mean men should shed their masculinity, he said.
“Our masculinity is innate. Men need not be toxic. We can be sensitive, protective, and tender,” said Dr Thio. “That is positive masculinity.”
Other speakers shared the importance of being actively involved in raising their children.
Mr Bryan Tan, a 49-year-old father of four and a coach with Dads for Life—a national men’s movement promoting active fatherhood in Singapore—said men should not just be protectors and providers, but also nurturers.
“The love of a father needs to be felt by our children,” said Mr Tan, citing research from different countries that fatherly involvement led to increased happiness in children.
“We are priest, prophets, and kings—not to lord over our families, but to serve,” said Mr Tan, a Protestant.
Some dads also brought their wives and children for the conference. In a presentation for the fathers’ and husbands’ track, speaker Mr Alsen Chanamuto from the Centre for Fathering said it was important for dads to be involved in the lives of their children. “You don’t have to be present all the time, but what kids crave is you being there in key moments of their lives.” Photo: Marcus Ng.
Different men, different virtues
According to Mr Alexandre Havard, a former university lecturer, there is no single standard of “being a man”.
“Some are born for action—management, movement, achieving goals; while some are born for contemplation—creative minds which are not action-oriented but idea-oriented,” said Mr Havard.
Born in France, Mr Havard, who has been featured in Catholic media outlets around the world for his views on virtuous leadership, said different people are challenged to grow in different virtues.
An action-oriented person, for example, tends to use people, he said. Such a person must grow in the virtue of humility, to serve and empower people instead of using them.
“All the problems of manliness are a question of virtue,” said Mr Havard. “The problem with men not being real men is that they’re lacking virtues.”
The conference was organised by East Asian Education Limited—a not-for-profit which provides intellectual, physical, cultural, moral, and spiritual formation for men—with the support of Catholic Family Life and other organisations.
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https://catholicnews.sg/2025/11/12/how-to-be-masculine-in-a-positive-way-manhood-forum/