Top Vatican official visits RI

Top Vatican official visits RI

JAKARTA (JP): A top official from The Vatican is currently in
Indonesia for a series of meetings at the invitation of the local
Roman Catholic Church and the Indonesian government.

Francis Cardinal Arinze, president of the Pontifical Council
for Inter-religious Dialog, will stay in Indonesia from July 21
to July 29, according to the Inter-religious Commission of the
Indonesian Bishops Conference yesterday.

The Nigerian born Cardinal, whose position is equal to that of
a cabinet minister, is the central figure in The Vatican for
promoting dialog with other faiths.

He is slated to meet with President Soeharto on Wednesday and
he will also be meeting with a number of Indonesian government
officials, Moslem leaders, as well as Roman Catholic Church
leaders. He will also perform holy mass with the Catholic
community in Indonesia.

The Cardinal is scheduled to visit Yogyakarta, where he will
meet with Mukti Ali, the chairman of the newly formed Institute
for the Promotion of Harmonious Relations between Various
Religions. He will also go to Surabaya to ordain Monseigneur J.
Hadiwikarta as the town's bishop. (emb)