Simpler procedures sought for church building permit

JAKARTA (JP): The Indonesian Roman Catholic Conference (KWI) is urging local administrations to simplify application procedures for church building permits so as to maintain a harmonious relationship between different religious believers.

The Central government has delegated its authority to regents and mayors when issuing building permits for houses of worship for all religions.

"But none dare to issue building permits for churches without agreement from local community leaders," PGI chairman Mgr. Julius Darmaatmadja said in a press meeting here yesterday.

Christians in predominantly Moslem areas have complained of difficulties in procuring official permits to build their churches largely because the local government is made up of community leaders, often of a different faith.

Darmaatmadja said the Joint Ministerial Decree issued in 1969 which requires the agreement of local community leaders had been revised. Nowadays, he feels, the leaders should only be "consulted."

The decree stipulates that regents and mayors should take into consideration city planning, local conditions and suggestions from local religious ministry offices, he said.

Recently, the Communion of (Protestant) Churches in Indonesia (PGI) also asked the government to make a clearer regulation on building permits for houses of worship, saying that Christian communities should be given legal certainty on the matter.

Darmaatmadja said the existing decree had been widely misinterpreted by local administrations and the general public alike.

"According to the joint ministerial decree, local community leaders should only be consulted, not be asked for their approval," he said.

Darmaatmadja, recently named Indonesia's cardinal by Pope John Paul II, said all religious leaders in the country reviewed the original decree with the Minister of Home Affairs last year and was rejected by all except for the delegation of the Indonesian (Moslem) Ulemas Council (MUI).

He said KWI and PGI would meet again in the near future to discuss actions that might be taken to press the proposal for the disputed decree to be revised.

Darmaatmadja, also archbishop of the Semarang diocese, announced that Indonesian bishops would convene here today to elect the presidium leadership of KWI for the 1994-97 period and to draft their annual programs.

He said the congress would also elect the new KWI chairman and make a plan on what the organization could contribute to help the government fight the deadly Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) in the country. (rms)