Moral decadence sparked riots: Catholic leader
Moral decadence sparked riots: Catholic leader
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesian Catholic leader Mgr. Julius Cardinal
Darmoatmodjo deplored the recent riots which have rocked the
country and said an overwhelming moral decadence was behind the
spate of violence.
Julius, chairman of the Bishops Council of Indonesia, said
Saturday that morality no longer seemed to play a pivotal role in
the life of many people.
He pointed at the increasing tendency among some people in
society to disobey the law and deprive others of their basic
human rights and justice.
"Our chief concern is that religious values and moral
principles are no longer sufficient to prevent violent behavior,"
Julius said.
The mass violence escalated last week.
Just three days after a mob burned the Tanah Abang district
head office in Central Jakarta Monday, sectarian and ethnic riots
swamped the historic district of Rengasdengklok in Karawang, West
Java. The latest unrest hit an industrial estate near Bandung,
the capital of West Java, and Pontianak, West Kalimantan Friday.
Nobody was killed in last week's riots.
The bishops council will disseminate its concerns in messages
to be read in Catholic churches nationwide in observance with
Lent, the Catholic holy period which precedes Easter on March 29.
Julius said the riots had disrupted harmony among different
religious communities in the country and left minority groups
"feeling insecure".
However, he hailed Moslem leaders for their help and
condemnation of last October's riots in Situbondo, East Java, in
which five people were killed.
He urged all religious communities to join forces in
strengthening national unity and in eradicating corruption,
collusion, torture and other forms of abuse.
"That's why we always encourage our people not to struggle for
their own benefit, but to work together with others, no matter
where they are from, for the sake of national interests," he
said.
On recent suggestions to draft a law on religious harmony,
Julius doubted its success saying all Indonesians have shared the
same burdens since they started a new life as a free nation more
than 50 years ago.
"True harmony appeared in villages, where people felt the
same. They only happened to have different religions," he said.
Julius also called for a just, honest and free general
election. "Any effort to manipulate or engineer the election by
any group is a serious violation of people's rights and dignity,
and to some extent will annul democracy," he said.
The Roman Catholic Church would let its followers choose
freely on election day, he said.
"Catholic people do not have to gather in the same group to
voice their political interest," he said.
Almost 125 million people throughout the country will go to
polling booths on May 29. The government only recognizes three
political groups to contest the election: the ruling Golkar, the
United Development Party and the Indonesian Democratic Party.
Julius reiterated his concern on East Timor, saying there had
been few changes in attitude in the 22 years since the former
Portuguese colony was integrated into Indonesia.
"Many still do not like (to join Indonesia). There are also
concerns at the approach used (by Indonesia)," he said.
"If this does not change, I am afraid the young generation in
East Timor who did not experience the civil war (in the 1970s)
would not respect the ideals of integration with Indonesia. They
will only inherit hatred," he said.
"People may say they have been influenced by Fretilin
(separatists). But how could Fretilin have such a wide
influence?" he asked.
Julius advised the government to hold more dialogs with the
East Timorese in order to reach an understanding.
The predominantly Roman Catholic East Timor is still directly
administered by the Vatican and not by the council of bishops in
Jakarta. On East Timor, the Vatican follows the United Nations
which does not recognize integration with Indonesia. (amd)