ASIA/INDONESIA - Bishop Regus: "The crisis has many faces: Young people are protesting against corruption and injustice"

Labuan Bajo (Agenzia Fides) - "The crisis Indonesia is currently experiencing has many faces. One could say that it is a combination of different crises: a moral crisis, a crisis regarding respect for the law and the rule of law; there is a crisis of political leadership that is very distant from the interests and aspirations of the people," Bishop Maximilianus Regus, Bishop of the newly founded Diocese of Labuan Bajo in the western part of the island of Flores since June 2024, told Fides about the current situation in the country.
The bishop, philosopher and sociologist, who taught for many years at the Catholic University of Ruteng, recalls that "these problems are not new, but in the last 25 years, after the fall of the Suharto regime, the Indonesian people would have wanted improvements on various levels: economic, political, and social." Instead, he continues, "they only perceive the growth of injustice and inequality, while the government raises taxes, the number of people in poverty increases, and the middle class also becomes impoverished." These problems have been smoldering under the ashes and have now exploded: "In this wave of protests," the bishop notes, "young people and student movements play an important role. In Indonesia, these movements are significant; they have a deep awareness of the challenges they will face in the future, and they are the ones who organize and lead civil society," he notes. "On the other hand," he says, "young people see their parents struggling to make a living or reduced to poverty."
This youth movement, he assures, "will have an influence in pushing the government to put structural and systemic reforms on the agenda." Young people, Bishop Regus says, "are aware that the main problems are corruption and injustice." In this situation, "it is in everyone's interest that a serious dialogue be initiated between the government and the social movements," he notes. Despite the violence and police repression, the bishop sees "no danger of militarization or an authoritarian turn" in this situation, because "democracy is nevertheless deeply rooted, we have an attentive mass media, and a conscious society." He hopes that "the demands of the demonstrators will be taken into account by politicians for the good of the country."
Bishop Regus, along with other bishops and leading representatives of the Indonesian Catholic Church, welcomes the emergence of the forum of religious leaders, intellectuals, cultural figures, and civil society representatives called "Gerakan Nurani Bangsa" (Movement of National Conscience), which also includes Catholic representatives. In an open letter, the forum calls on the government to listen to the ideas and suggestions of scholars and experts who do not pursue personal interests but who care about Indonesia's well-being. The forum calls for respect for the fundamental value of humanity and listening to people, and calls for "ethical and empathetic leadership." It lists police reform, measures for economic stability, the expansion of social services, and the curbing of political privileges as priorities. (PA) (Agenzia Fides, 8/9/2025)

Share:

human rights

---

---

politics

---

---

civil society

---

---

youth

---

---