Pope invests second Indonesian cardinal

JAKARTA (JP): Julius Darmaatmadja, the archbishop of Semarang, was invested by Pope John Paul II on Saturday, becoming Indonesia's second cardinal.

Cardinal Julius, who is also head of the presidium of the Indonesian Bishops Conference, was one of 30 new prelates from 24 countries who attended the investiture ceremonies held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican over the weekend.

Born in Muntilan, Central Java, on Dec. 20, 1934, he followed in the footsteps of the late Justinus Darmajuono, who was the first Indonesian to become a cardinal. Justinus was also the archbishop of Semarang.

Cardinal Julius will be eligible to become a member of the college to elect the new Pope after the death of the current Pontiff. Cardinals are the Pope's closest advisers and those younger than 80 years old are eligible for the task of electing a new pope.

The Pope's selection of the new cardinals shows he wants to influence the choice of his successor as leader of the world's 960 million Roman Catholics and leave his conservative brand on the Church, reported Reuters.

The Indonesian Bishops Conference stated early this month that the appointment of Monsignor Julius as cardinal "represents a major honor and appreciation not only for the Roman Catholic community in Indonesia but also for the state and the nation.

Roman Catholics represent less than three percent of the Indonesian population of approximately 190 million people.

"It reflected the recognition and appreciation of the maturity of the Indonesian Catholic church and the good relations between the Church, the people and the government of Indonesia," the KWI statement said.

"Pope John Paul II felt these good relations when he visited Indonesia on Oct. 9-14, 1989," it said.

The bishops conference also stressed that a cardinal is essentially a close aid of the Pope and therefore he is not the leader or the highest leaders of all bishops in a country, something which is often widely misunderstood.

Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja will not automatically be reelected as chairman of the Indonesian Bishops Conference. "It is possible that another bishop will be elected.", it stated.

A reception for the appointment of Cardinal Julius was held on Saturday by the Indonesian Ambassador to the Vatican, Achjadi, reported the Antara news agency.

In his speech, Achjadi said the appointment of the cardinal is expected to further strengthen the relations between Indonesia and The Vatican.

The Indonesian Cardinal is scheduled to be received by the Pope for a private audience and will meet with the Vatican's Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Soldano on Tuesday before returning to Indonesia the following day.

Included in the 24 countries at the weekend's investiture ceremonies were cardinals from Bosnia, Albania, Vietnam, Belarus, and Cuba. (emb)