ASIA/INDONESIA - The priests of Jakarta: a pastoral movement to defend unity in diversity

Friday, 9 June 2017 religious minorities ethnic minorities religious freedom peace justice islam political islam civil society social communications mass media

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Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) – To create a pastoral movement inspired by the Gospel to defend "unity in diversity", fundamental principle of Indonesia: as Fides learns, this is the goal expressed by the priests of the Archdiocese of Jakarta, gathered in past days in a pastoral meeting in Bogor, in the south of Jakarta. As Fides learns the priests faced the delicate issues that upset Jakarta and Indonesia in recent months, marked by the affair of former Christian Governor Ahok, condemned for blasphemy. The issue has seen the re-emergence of radical Islamic formations.
The pastoral meeting of all priests in the Archdiocese of Jakarta and with the Archbishop is an event that is celebrated every year. The pastoral meeting of 2017, as the Archdiocese of Jakarta communicated, focused on analyzing the situation of the country, especially bearing in mind the third principle of the "Pancasila" state ideology, the five principles at the basis of the Constitution. The third principle is "the Unity of Indonesia".
During the meetings, the priests spoke of the challenges and problems associated with the theme of "unity in diversity" and listened to speakers Aliss Wahid of the "Wahid Foundation" and Yunarto Wijaya, executive director of the "Charta Politica" forum.
The Jesuit Baskara Wardaya spoke of the philosophical inspiration of Pancasila's third principle, while Mohammad Imam Aziz, deputy general secretary of the Central Council of “Nahdlatul Ulama” (Great Islamic Organization of Indonesia) outlined hopes and opportunities to strengthen unity in diversity .
At the conclusion of the meeting, based on data and experiences gathered in their parishes or pastoral areas, the priests of Jakarta considered it appropriate to plan and start a genuine pastoral movement of evangelical character to defend and promote unity in diversity. (PP-PA) (Agenzia Fides, 9/6/2017)