Catholic forum inaugurated

ENDE, East Nusa Tenggara: Ende Archbishop Mgr. Abdon Longinus da Cunha officially inaugurated the Indonesian Catholic Community Forum (Forumki) at Ende diocese.

The ceremony took place at Santo Josef Hall and those in attendance included Ende Regent Dominikus Domi and the regency legislators.

In his address, Da Cunha called on the Catholic community to respect human dignity, democracy and law in the country's pluralistic society.

"Justice and peace based on Pancasila is the vision of the forum, while developing spiritualism and Christian social ethics toward better political, economic, social and cultural lives is the mission of the forum," he said.

According to the archbishop, the decision to establish the forum reflected the awareness of Catholics of their involvement in the country's sociopolitical life.

"People have been undergoing various types of injustices and poverty. As members of the Kingdom of God, the forum must be able to play a significant role in helping people deal with these problems," he said. (yac/sur)