Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Kupang (Fides Service) - Dialogue and Proclamation: these are the two main points the mission of the 25 new priests ordained at the beginning of June in the province of East Nusa Tenggara, in the center of the Indonesian archipelago will be based on. The province comprises 550 islands, including the three main ones: Flores, Sumba and West Timor (the western part of Timor island, while East Timor is an independent nation). East Nusa Tenggara in Indonesia is- 90% Muslim - a specificity: it is a province with a large Christian majority, which is defined as "the Christian heart of Indonesia". Of the approximately 4 million inhabitants of the province, 91% are Christian (mostly Catholic), 8% Muslim and the remaining 2% is divided between Hindus, Buddhists and animists. The province became in past years a refuge for Christians escaping from the Indonesian conflict areas such as Papua or the Indonesian Moluccas islands.
As reported by the local church to Fides, with great joy the Catholic community of the province in recent days has celebrated the ordination of 25 deacons from three dioceses in the province of East Nusa Tenggara: Weetabula, Atambua and Kupang. The Mass for the ordination, held in the chapel of St. Michael's Seminary in Kupang - West Timor town, which is also the capital of the province - was presided by Archbishop Edmund Woga, Redemptorist Bishop of Weetabula (on the island of Sumba). The ceremony, featuring traditional music and dance, was attended by thousands of Catholic faithful and representatives of civil authorities, such as the mayor of Kupang, Daniel Adoe.
Addressing the new priests, Mgr. Woga invited them to perform their mission with enthusiasm and zeal, proclaiming the Gospel and becoming promoters of dialogue and communion, working for the good of the Church and the entire population. He then asked the commitment of the whole Christian community noting that "the call to priesthood is a call from God but also a call of the Church: therefore the response to the call is to be understood as a responsibility of the whole community and not just the responsibility of the ordained ".
Vocations to priesthood are increasing in the dioceses in the Province of East Nusa Tenggara and many of their priests and religious are sent to other dioceses of the Indonesian archipelago. The province has a long Christian tradition as it was the driving force of Christian missionaries in Indonesia starting from the seventeenth century. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 21/06/2011)
