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)