Sularso Sopater re-elected PGI chief

Sularso Sopater re-elected PGI chief

JAKARTA (JP): Chairman of the Communion of Churches in
Indonesia (PGI) Rev. Sularso Sopater was re-elected for another
five year term in a grand assembly that ended in Jayapura, Irian
Jaya, Sunday night.

The electoral board led by Rev. I.W. Mastra, also re-elected
Pattiasina as Secretary General, Rev. Weinata Sairin as vice
secretary general and Endang Wilandari Supardan as vice
treasurer, while Ichsan K. Gunawan was chosen as the new
treasurer.

The new Advisory Board consists of Radius Prawiro as chairman,
Rev. Eka Dharmaputera as vice chairman, Y. Patadungan as
secretary and Barnabas Suebu and J.E. Sahetapy as members.

The electoral board also elected new members of the working
committee, which currently consists of representatives from 65
out of PGI's 67 member churches.

According to the Suara Pembaruan daily, two churches were
considered ineligible because one church was absent and the other
was still ridden with internal problems.

The assembly, which opened on Oct. 21 also approved the
membership of the Indonesian Protestant Church (GPI) within PGI,
making it the second officially-recognized church in Irian Jaya
aside from the already existing Evangelistic Christian Church
(GKI).

Not responsive

Addressing the assembly, Arif Gosita -- a member of PGI's
working group on legal affairs -- said that many churches in
Indonesia were still not responsive to the sufferings of victims
of physical and criminal abuses.

He pointed out that currently churches were putting more
emphasis on serving criminals and convicts in prisons but they
often forgot the victims of the crimes, Antara reported.

Victims of rape, for example, should be given more attention
because their experience often became traumatic.

"There is little, if any, attention from churches to these
victims, because churches tend to see the problem from one side,
which from the point of trying to rehabilitate the morals of the
criminals through religious actions," he said.

Victims, he added, had all the right to receive services such
as these from the church.

Gosita said that churches needed to open an agency in charge
of assisting victims of criminal and physical abuse. The idea for
such an agency -- and even a 24-hour hot-line service -- has
already been previously proposed during the assembly.

"Its about time PGI and its member churches opened such
services," he said. (pwn)