Catholics told to take action, not just pray
Catholics told to take action, not just pray
Tiarma Siboro, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Acknowledging that the Catholic church has not done enough to
fight the moral decay gripping the nation, the Bishops Council of
Indonesia (KWI) offered on Thursday a plan to help fight
corruption, environmental degradation and violence.
Summing up its 11-day plenary meeting here, bishops from
across the country called on Catholics to become involved in the
movement to rebuild the country into a better home for the
Indonesian people.
"The church has to make friends with victims of violence, the
oppressed and those people who have been evicted from their
homes. We cannot just pray for them, but must advocate for them
and struggle for justice for them," a statement from the KWI
said.
The bishops also called on Catholics to help people at the
grassroots level become self-reliant, and to work with people of
other faiths to monitor the performance of the executive and
legislative branches of government.
In the education sector, the bishops urged Catholics to push
for alternative educational programs designed to help educate the
nation.
The religious leaders also suggested the church initiate an
economic resilience movement, including introducing credit unions
for the poor.
Thirty-nine archbishops and bishops from across the country
attended the annual meeting. The attendees raised their concerns
about a culture that endorses survival of the fittest, that has
raised money to the level of a new god and that believes the end
always justifies the means.
"We talked about social justice for all Indonesian people and
we hope the new administration will make this come true," KWI
chairman Julius Kardinal Darmaatmadja said during a press
conference.
The bishops concluded that corruption, environmental
destruction and violence remained the major challenges facing the
nation. They said the "Catholic church is eager to help address
these problems" despite its minority status in the predominantly
Muslim country.
Julius said the KWI had been concerned about the country's
apparent moral decline since 1997. Over the ensuing years the
country has seen unchecked corruption, sectarian conflicts and
the destruction of natural resources on a massive level.
"Corruption has become common among bureaucrats and worse,
moral watchdogs have become involved. Transparency International
ranked our country among the top five most corrupt countries in
the world," Julius read the KWI statement.
Julius joined other religious leaders last year in the nation-
wide campaign against corruption.
"Rampant deforestation causes Rp 83 billion in state losses
every day, and violence has become widespread as the security
forces have been turned into political tools that threaten the
people. This militaristic and repressive style has also been
adopted by civilians," Julius said.