2011-10-05 13:32:40

Indonesian bishops on the market place of true dialogue



“The Indonesian Churches’ contribution to the universal Church is that we live locally and are faithful to the teachings of the Church”, Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Padang diocese, Sumatra, tells Emer McCarthy.

Not an easy task for the tiny minority of Indonesia’s 7 million Catholics who live in a Muslim majority nation of over 200 million. But according to the President of the Indonesian Bishops Conference, it is not an impossible one.

The Indonesian Church he continues, bishops and laity, “work hard with the leaders of other religions, our brother Muslims and fellow Christians and in close contact with the government to ensure that solidarity and tolerance permeates all levels of society, particularly the ordinary people, the ‘market place of true dialogue’ to help eradicate fundamentalism”.

Bishop Situmorang is in Rome with his 37 fellow bishops on their first Ad Limina pilgrimage in 8 years. Their last visit dates back to 2003 and the previous pontificate, for many this is their first opportunity to meet and speak with curial officials and Pope Benedict XVI.

The Vatican he continues “realises that the Church is found not in the Curia but in the dioceses”, adding “my meeting with the Pope was very encouraging. He asked many questions and showed that he knew about our Church and the challenges it faces”.

One of these challenges is the encroaching radicalism of certain Islamic fringes which, according to Bishop Situmorang, not only target the Christian minorities in the country but also the moderate Muslim majority, in an attempt to undermine harmony between religions and freedom of religion enshrined in the nation’s constitution.

Another challenge is dialogue with other Christian churches in Indonesia. The bishop speaks of the need to pursue ecumenism, not only with the traditional Protestant churches but also with the Pentecostal and evangelical churches present in the Archipelago and the urgency of respecting “local sensibilities” regarding the building of new places of worship. There is religious freedom and freedom of worship, he says “but it must be contextualised”. Listen to the full interview: RealAudioMP3








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