Church meet will not touch E. Timor<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The leaders of the Catholic Church will not
\ndiscuss the dissociated diocese of East Timor during their six-
\nday National Assembly.<\/p>\n
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Julius
\nDarmaatmadja, said in a press conference here yesterday that the
\nassembly, which starts today, may touch on the issue, but only in
\npassing.<\/p>\n
\"If we're going to talk about East Timor, we'll do it
\nbriefly,\" the cardinal, who is also chairman of the Indonesian
\nBishop's Conference, said.<\/p>\n
The diocese of East Timor, under the leadership of Bishop
\nFelipe Ximenes Belo, is not under the Indonesian Bishop's
\nConference; instead, it is accountable directly to Rome.
\nFollowing religious tension in the province recently, some
\nparties have demanded that Belo join the conference as a way to
\nreduce friction.<\/p>\n
Belo has said he would not be able to attend the congress
\nbecause he had to go to the Vatican. He sent one of his
\nrepresentatives in his place.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja said more than 400 Catholic
\nleaders and representatives of organizations are participating in
\nthe congress.<\/p>\n
The gathering will be followed by the bishops' annual meeting
\nuntil Nov. 10.<\/p>\n
There are about 5.7 million Catholics in Indonesia; more than
\n700,000 of them are in East Timor.<\/p>\n
\"The problem in East Timor is becoming a national concern,
\nit's not caused by friction among ethnic groups only,\" the
\ncardinal said.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's youngest province was shaken by a wave of ethnic
\nand religious violence last month. The predominantly Catholic
\nEast Timorese were pitted against migrant traders and non-
\nCatholics.<\/p>\n
Bishop Martinus D. Situmorang said yesterday that although
\nMinister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher will not attend the
\ngathering, as he is now in the Vatican, several other cabinet
\nministers have promised to address the assembly.<\/p>\n
Tarmizi departed for the Vatican on Thursday to appeal for
\nhelp from Catholics leader in finding resolutions to the
\nreligious tension in East Timor. (31)<\/p>",
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