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)