Church meet will not touch E. Timor
Church meet will not touch E. Timor
JAKARTA (JP): The leaders of the Catholic Church will not
discuss the dissociated diocese of East Timor during their six-
day National Assembly.
The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Julius
Darmaatmadja, said in a press conference here yesterday that the
assembly, which starts today, may touch on the issue, but only in
passing.
"If we're going to talk about East Timor, we'll do it
briefly," the cardinal, who is also chairman of the Indonesian
Bishop's Conference, said.
The diocese of East Timor, under the leadership of Bishop
Felipe Ximenes Belo, is not under the Indonesian Bishop's
Conference; instead, it is accountable directly to Rome.
Following religious tension in the province recently, some
parties have demanded that Belo join the conference as a way to
reduce friction.
Belo has said he would not be able to attend the congress
because he had to go to the Vatican. He sent one of his
representatives in his place.
Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja said more than 400 Catholic
leaders and representatives of organizations are participating in
the congress.
The gathering will be followed by the bishops' annual meeting
until Nov. 10.
There are about 5.7 million Catholics in Indonesia; more than
700,000 of them are in East Timor.
"The problem in East Timor is becoming a national concern,
it's not caused by friction among ethnic groups only," the
cardinal said.
Indonesia's youngest province was shaken by a wave of ethnic
and religious violence last month. The predominantly Catholic
East Timorese were pitted against migrant traders and non-
Catholics.
Bishop Martinus D. Situmorang said yesterday that although
Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher will not attend the
gathering, as he is now in the Vatican, several other cabinet
ministers have promised to address the assembly.
Tarmizi departed for the Vatican on Thursday to appeal for
help from Catholics leader in finding resolutions to the
religious tension in East Timor. (31)