www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Crisis in Indonesia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Crisis in Indonesia � March 19, 2007


The Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia (Ecumenical Patriarchate) wishes to issue the following statement, concerning situations in Indonesia.


The Orthodox Christians in Indonesia have joined the list of those attacked by Muslim extremists. Father Methodios Sri Gunarjo, his family and other Orthodox were terrorized and threatened this past weekend. Although there are no reports of physical harm at this point, the verbal, psychological and other forms of abuse continue. At one point, a knife was put to the throat of Father Methodios, as his attackers demanded that he close the Churches in the Boyolali area of Central Java. It should be noted that there is a thriving ministry in this area.


A large group of Muslim protestors has gathered in the Church area and continues making demands upon Father Methodios and the Church community. The attackers are not from Boyolali, as local Christians and Muslims have joined in showing their support for Father Methodios, who is noted for the love and compassion he has shown all people in the area. Father Methodios and his family have been forced to leave their home, as their lives have now been threatened. The attackers have also promised to purge the area of Christians.


Metropolitan Nikitas has not been able to contact Father Methodios directly, although he is in constant communication with other clergy in Indonesia. He has requested that people pray for peace and an end to the violence and attacks upon the Church community.


Alexandr

Hospodi Pomiluj! Kyrie Eleison! Hospodi Pomiluj!

In this case Just a simple Hospodi Pomiluj will not do. There needs to be a synergia of people working together with our Lord to achieve peace.

Christians all over the world need to stand up to the EVIL that is ISLAM.

Did the EP Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and Southeast Asia ever hear about "Tibo and Friends?"

While Catholic (3% of Indonesia's population of 245 million) and Protestants (5% of population) temporarily were at each other in the 1990s, both Christian groups forged a united front subsequently to protest against the Indonesian government for the mistrial and injustice foisted upon Catholic "Tibo and Friends." Unfortunately, "Tibo and Friends" were executed even after the Holy See intervened and the Pope asked for clemency for them. Amnesty International and other human rights groups also converged in Indonesia to protest the injustice but to no avail.

Catholic missionaries have been in Indonesia since the early 1500s courtesy of the Portuguese and St. Francis Xavier. Protestants, courtesy of the Dutch, arrived in the 17th century and kicked all Catholic missionaries out except for the then Diocese of Batavia (now the Archdiocese of Jakarta) which was spared.

Today, Indonesia is the largest (mostly Sunni) Muslim country in the world with about 90% of her 245 million population, while Christians make up only about 8%.

The Catholic Church currently has 10 Archdioceses and 27 Dioceses, 3,038 priests, 13 permanent deacons, and 11,518 men and women religious, ministering to about 7 million faithful in 1,130 parishes thoughout Indonesia. (Additionally, East Timor, formerly a province of Indonesia, seceded after a bloody civil war for 26 long years and gained independence in May 2002. Of its population of around 800,000, 93% are Catholic!)

Unless one discounts the Catholic Church and the various Protestant denominations in Indonesia today, Christianity has been making inroads in this vast Muslim country since the 1500s by peaceful co-existence and by proclaiming the Gospels tenaciously. And, by force of circumstances, martyrdom!

It is well documented that terrorist organizations are importing extremists to Muslim areas in order to cause civil unrest. They stir the local Muslim population, often times impoverished, into believing if they join with them they will be recognized and helped. Many Muslims are being duped into believing that these extremists care about them and their plight. They have no clue that they are being used as pawns whose lives mean nothing, such as in south Thailand.

I pray the Muslims who have joined together with the Christians to protect Father Methodios continue in their love and charity, ridding them all of these imported extremists in their midst who care for neither man nor God--Christian or Muslim--but only for themselves and their hate-filled agenda.

God protect and save all peace-loving people in Indonesia, and guide Fr. Methodios and his family to safety.

I don't understand what is going on in Indonesia. It seems the place has one natural disaster after another, along with sporadic terrorist and/or military activities. Something is obvioiusly not right there.

Weren't three young Catholic girls recently beheaded on their way to school one afternoon by Islamic extremists in Indonesia?

It's absolutely disgusting. The thought of it literally makes me want to vomit.

Logos - Alexis

The extreme Moslems are trying to gain hold, indeed it is something that is heard more and more these days in Indonesia. But you cannot put your frame of thinking about more radical Islam country to Indonesia. Majority of moslems and christians in Indonesia coexist peacefully.

In Jakarta, lots of children from moslem family pursue their education in catholic education institutions. For instance, my high school is catholic high school. I had wonderful teachers (some are moslems) and they are loved by all of us. Some of my best friends are moslems. They remind us to go to church in our busiest days and I remind them of their daily prayers time.

When christmast and easter came, the cathedral in Jakarta has very little parking space. In front of the cathedral there is a national mosque, biggest in Indonesia. We park our cars there, cross the street for Mass.

Indeed, what happened to Father Methodios was happened also to us Catholics or other Christians. But something indeed is not right since the perpetrators are people not from the areas.. There is something not right happening lately, but I only wish one thing, things will go better.

It is incorrect to describe East Timor as a former province of Indonesia. Timor was a portuguese colony until 1975. When the portuguese left, the indonesians invaded. The UN never recognized the invasion, and after 26 years of bitter struggle, and much suffering, Timor won it's independence.
The official language of East Timor is Portuguese, and it's catholic identity is strongly influenced by it's portuguese links.
The only thing linking East Timor to Indonesia is a border.
God Bless,
Filipe

Thank you for your correction!

I used the term "former province" in a loose way from the point of view of Indonesia when it annexed East Timor in 1976 and ruled the former Portuguese colony as a "provincial" outpost.

The U.N. did recognize the fact that Indonosia invaded East Timor but never recognized the validity and legality of the latter's "annexation" as a "province" of the former. Thus, the 26-year struggle for freedom and independence by the East Timorese.

No intentions whatsoever to denigrate East Timor as a Portuguese colony for almost 500 years before Indonesia's invasion.

At any rate, my post attempted just to show the "presence" of Christianity in Indonesia since the early 1500s, courtesy of the Portuguese explorers and the Catholic missionaries who came along, which the original post seemed to elide: that Christianity in Indonesia is present only now (or only recently) when an Orthodox priest and his family are receiving threats from Muslim Indonesians. It erases almost 500 years of Christianity's historical presence in Indonesia.

Zenovia,

That is a good idea. I'll try to employ it the next time I go to church.

Logos - Alexis

Prayers for the Church of Indonesia!
Through the prayers of the Immacualte, All Holy Theotokos, Our Lady of Fatima may all the Muslims of Indonesia find the true faith, and confess Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Stephanos I

It never occured to me that anybody was denigrating anything. No worries. I was just helping to explain that the Timorese are not indonesians who happen to be catholic, they have historical and cultural background that sets them way apart.
Filipe

I think you are incorrect in this regard!

The Timorese (East and West) were/are as Indonesians as the Sumatrans, the Javanese, the Guineans (Western portion), Sulawesians, Ambonese, and Borneans (Eastern portion) are.

Yes, these provinces vary in their historical and cultural backgounds as other Asian composite nations do but these "provincial" regions make up the whole of the Indonesian archipelago as an integral "country" or a united "nation" under one flag, one State, one government!

West Timor was ceded by Portugal to the Dutch in the 19th century after skirmishes and became a province of Indonesia but Portugal held onto East Timor. Indonesia invaded East Timor in 1976 after the latter gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and annexed it as a "province."

Of course, the East Timorese have a different ethos but they share it with their West Timorese brethren, who remain part of the larger "nation" of Indonesia.

We should see the East Timorese in this context as a part and parcel of the entire island of Timor as does the Western Timorese, which island, at least the Western portion thereof, forms part of the Indonesian archipelago as one nation!