Indonesian delegates set to fly to Vatican<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Jayapura\/Kupang<\/p>\n
Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and Muhammadiyah leaders are joining an
\nIndonesian delegation sent by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono
\nthat will leave for the Vatican on Tuesday to attend the funeral
\nof Pope John Paul II.<\/p>\n
The delegation includes Coordinating Minister for the People's
\nWelfare Alwi Shihab, Minister of Religious Affairs Maftuh
\nBasyuni, Jakarta Archbishop Julius Cardinal Darmaatmadja and
\nAhmad Syafii Maarif, the chairman of Muhammadiyah, the country's
\nsecond-largest Muslim organization.<\/p>\n
NU, the nation's largest Muslim organization, will be
\nrepresented by Nazaruddin Umar, the secretary general of its
\nsyuria (law-making) body.<\/p>\n
\"(NU leader) Pak Hasyim Muzadi cannot join the delegation
\nbecause he is sick and is now resting at his home in Malang (East
\nJava),\" Hasyim's personal secretary Ghozi Al-Fatih told The
\nJakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Freddy Numberi, who
\nis a former ambassador to Italy, would also be among the
\ndelegates.<\/p>\n
Alwi Shihab said here on Monday the delegation would directly
\nconvey the condolences of the Indonesian government and people to
\nthe Italian government and Catholics around the world.<\/p>\n
Susilo announced the delegation before departing to Australia
\nfor a two-day official visit on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Maftuh said the president had personally requested the Muslim
\nleaders' inclusion in the delegation, which Maftuh said was an
\nimportant gesture of solidarity between two important faiths.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the pope's funeral will build momentum for two of his
\ncauses, world peace and religious tolerance,\" Maftuh said after
\nmeeting Vice President Jusuf Kalla and Alwi.<\/p>\n
\"The Vice President has also expressed his deepest condolences
\non the passing of the pope,\" Alwi said.<\/p>\n
Before leaving for the Vatican, Cardinal Darmaatmadja is set
\nto lead a requiem mass at the Cathedral on Tuesday organized by
\nthe Holy See Embassy in Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The embassy, located on Jl. Medan Merdeka Timur, is holding an
\nopen house and providing a book of condolences for Catholics and
\nfollowers of other religions wanting to express their feelings on
\nthe pope's passing.<\/p>\n
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, a predominantly Catholic
\nprovince, some 50,000 people attended a requiem mass for the
\npope, which was presided over by local archbishop Mgr. Petrus
\nTurang.<\/p>\n
Petrus told the mass that the pope had persistently struggled
\nto improve the welfare of the world's poor and other marginalized
\npeople and had constantly pushed for world peace.<\/p>\n
In Jayapura, Papua, the Indonesian flag has been flying at
\nhalf mast outside the Kristus Raja Dok V Cathedral since
\nSaturday.<\/p>\n
\"It is the initiative of the mass and the cathedral leaders,\"
\nFather Januaris Douw told the Post.<\/p>\n
He said the pope had always spread a message of peace and love
\nto all people regardless of race, religion or social status; an
\nexample that should be followed by all Catholics.<\/p>\n
The cathedral would stage another requiem mass on Tuesday,
\nJanuaris said.<\/p>\n
Thousands of spectators at a soccer match in Mandela Stadium
\nin the city, including Papua Governor Jaap Salossa, observed one
\nminute's silence on Monday to mourn the Sunday death of the Pope.<\/p>",
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