Vatican praises religious life in Indonesia

Vatican praises religious life in Indonesia

JAKARTA (JP): Cardinal Francis Arinze, a high-ranking Vatican
official, yesterday praised the Indonesian government's success
in nurturing religious harmony in the country.

"Indonesia is a country that has given us a sample of how the
government can support harmonious existence between religions,"
Cardinal Arinze said at a meeting at the Indonesian Bishops
Conference (KWI) headquarters.

Speaking before local Roman Catholic leaders and
representatives of other religions, the Cardinal urged them to
promote understanding between followers of all religions.

"In our offices at the Vatican, we also promote such
relations ... And therefore I thank you for what you have done
here already -- especially those of other religions for their
cooperation, and the government, in this case the ministry of
religious affairs, for their will to promote good inter-faith
relations."

The meeting never moved onto the subject of East Timor, a
predominantly Roman Catholic territory, whose international
status is still in dispute. The Vatican, in keeping with the
United Nations, has not yet recognized Indonesia's sovereignty of
East Timor and directly administers the East Timor Roman Catholic
church.

Cardinal Arinze, the president of the Pontifical Council for
Inter-Religious Dialog, is here at the invitation of the local
Roman Catholic Church and the Indonesian government. Today, he is
slated to meet leaders of the largest Moslem organization, the
Nahdhatul Ulama, and of the Indonesian Ulemas Council.

Meetings

Tomorrow, he will 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 is scheduled to meet with President Soeharto on Wednesday
after ordaining Monseigneur J. Hadiwikarta as the bishop of
Surabaya.

The Cardinal said at the meeting yesterday that harmonious
relations between various religions could only be achieved if
everyone accepts the fact that there is plurality of religions in
the world, and thereby respect followers of other religions.
"Plurality is there as everyone does not have the same religion.
And we cannot convert them all to one type of religion by force.
It is not recommended and it is not appropriate either."

He said that the key concepts for nurturing religious harmony
was knowing and understanding one another. He added that the
first thing that had to be done in the context of mutual
understanding was to instill a willingness to "read" others and
the willingness to listen.

"It's true that some are not ready to read and listen. But we
should not be sad about this ... Actually what makes it difficult
is not the religions, but their followers, as every religion in
itself is not the cause of tensions.

"In our office in Vatican, we look into Holy Books and the
practices of all religions in the world. And all of them teach
Golden Rules. Buddhism, Hinduism, Hebrew, Christianity, Islam and
all African religions, they all teach Golden Rules," said the
Nigerian-born Cardinal Arinze.

He stated that if followers of all religions observed the
Golden Rules, they would share a "small paradise in this world."

He felt that religious violence had many causes, such as
historic memories, ethnic competitions or even economic reasons,
but none of them are purely religious concerns. "Mostly, they
were simply due to economic jealousy, but they drive religions to
reach what they want. It's extremely dangerous, because whenever
a religious war has been declared people are not afraid of
dying."

To prevent such religious abuses, Cardinal Arinze said the
world needs more religious leaders who create a conducive
environment for inter-religious dialog.

He said that, in achieving a good dialog, every one should be
sincerely faithful to their own religions. "We will not achieve
harmony by promoting religious homogeneity. Instead, each of us
must be authentic and integral in our religions."

As a number of Moslem participants were leaving the meeting to
observe Friday worship at the nearby Cut Mutia mosque, Cardinal
remarked, "It's an example of religious authenticity." (11)