Pope invests second Indonesian cardinal<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Julius Darmaatmadja, the archbishop of Semarang,
\nwas invested by Pope John Paul II on Saturday, becoming
\nIndonesia's second cardinal.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Julius, who is also head of the presidium of the
\nIndonesian Bishops Conference, was one of 30 new prelates from 24
\ncountries who attended the investiture ceremonies held at St.
\nPeter's Basilica in the Vatican over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Born in Muntilan, Central Java, on Dec. 20, 1934, he followed
\nin the footsteps of the late Justinus Darmajuono, who was the
\nfirst Indonesian to become a cardinal. Justinus was also the
\narchbishop of Semarang.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Julius will be eligible to become a member of the
\ncollege to elect the new Pope after the death of the current
\nPontiff. Cardinals are the Pope's closest advisers and those
\nyounger than 80 years old are eligible for the task of electing a
\nnew pope.<\/p>\n
The Pope's selection of the new cardinals shows he wants to
\ninfluence the choice of his successor as leader of the world's
\n960 million Roman Catholics and leave his conservative brand on
\nthe Church, reported Reuters.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Bishops Conference stated early this month that
\nthe appointment of Monsignor Julius as cardinal \"represents a
\nmajor honor and appreciation not only for the Roman Catholic
\ncommunity in Indonesia but also for the state and the nation.<\/p>\n
Roman Catholics represent less than three percent of the
\nIndonesian population of approximately 190 million people.<\/p>\n
\"It reflected the recognition and appreciation of the maturity
\nof the Indonesian Catholic church and the good relations between
\nthe Church, the people and the government of Indonesia,\" the KWI
\nstatement said.<\/p>\n
\"Pope John Paul II felt these good relations when he visited
\nIndonesia on Oct. 9-14, 1989,\" it said.<\/p>\n
The bishops conference also stressed that a cardinal is
\nessentially a close aid of the Pope and therefore he is not the
\nleader or the highest leaders of all bishops in a country,
\nsomething which is often widely misunderstood.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja will not automatically be
\nreelected as chairman of the Indonesian Bishops Conference. \"It
\nis possible that another bishop will be elected.\", it stated.<\/p>\n
A reception for the appointment of Cardinal Julius was held on
\nSaturday by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Vatican, Achjadi,
\nreported the Antara news agency.<\/p>\n
In his speech, Achjadi said the appointment of the cardinal is
\nexpected to further strengthen the relations between Indonesia
\nand The Vatican.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Cardinal is scheduled to be received by the
\nPope for a private audience and will meet with the Vatican's
\nSecretary of State Cardinal Angelo Soldano on Tuesday before
\nreturning to Indonesia the following day.<\/p>\n
Included in the 24 countries at the weekend's investiture
\nceremonies were cardinals from Bosnia, Albania, Vietnam, Belarus,
\nand Cuba. (emb)<\/p>",
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