Indonesia’s religious leaders condemn church attack

(September 26, 2011) Religious leaders in Indonesia have condemned a suicide bombing on a Protestant church in Solo, Central Java Sunday morning which killed one person and injured more than 20 others. The bomber struck as the congregation was leaving the Tenth Bethel Gospel Church in Kepunton, Solo, after Sunday worship. The bomber died, while the injured were taken to two nearby hospitals. “We condemn the bombing. It’s a savage and immoral action,” Nurson Wahid, chairman of GP Ansor, the youth wing of the country’s largest Islamic group Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), said at a press conference at the group’s headquarters in Jakarta. He called on the leaders of Nahdlatul Ulama, the Communion of Churches in Indonesia, and the Indonesian Catholic Bishops’ Conference to instruct all faithful to remain alert. Representatives of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) and the Indonesian Catholic Bishops’ Conference were also present at the conference. Father Antonius Benny Susetyo, Executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious also deplored the attack on churchgoers. “It is an insult to God,” he said and called on people to “unite in the fight against terrorism.” Reverend Jeiri Sumampaw of the PGI said the attack was surprising because relations between Christians and Muslim in the area were good.