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