Disinterested
service of the young in the world's largest Muslim nation
JAKARTA: 24th February 2006 -- Cardinal Darmaatmadja SJ has
been Archbishop of Jakarta for the past ten years. The Salesians have
been in that city of 12 million people for twenty, and were made very
welcome by Cardinal Soeroto SJ at the time. He remained a good and warm
friend of the early Salesians in the city. Recently, in private
audience with the Salesian Extraordinary Visitor and the local superior
of Wisma Don Bosco, Cardinal Darmaatmadja expressed his satisfaction
with the growing Salesian presence in his diocese (now a parish, a
vocational centre and two formation communities), and some hopes for
the future.
Catholics make up 450,000 of the city's population - by no means a
large proportion, but still a large flock to be nurtured. There are
only 27 diocesan clergy but 366 religious priests, 50 brothers, 561
sisters and 56 parishes. Clearly, then, it is no surprise to find
words like 'dialogue', 'openness', 'collaboration', 'communion',
amongst the terms the cardinal uses to describe the needs of his
archdiocese. He is pushing for the strengthening of the Basic
Ecclesial Community structure in parish and deanery settings. Our own
Salesian parish at Sunter, for example, has 8 districts divided into 40
smaller sectors, each considered to be a BEC. In the cardinal's mind,
if that is indeed so, for prayer and for social involvement, and in
communion with other sectors under the guidance of the parish priest,
then this is the ideal parish achievement. The two central targets for
the strategy in practical terms are the family and the young. It has
been difficult for Jakarta's Catholic community to involve the young.
Looking more widely at Salesian involvement in the nation, it is
not difficult, at least from the Cardinal's perspective, to see where
the Salesians fit in. Technical education/vocational training is a
crying need throughout the nation, and young people, especially street
children in the urban areas are the other group amongst the poorest in
every respect. Again the cardinal stresses the importance of many
people working together, in 'disinterested service
of the young, offering the free gift of social service and education in
the multi-ethnic, multi-faith context of Indonesia'.
The future of the Indonesian Church lies in inter-religious
dialogue which, the cardinal points out, can be more difficult than
ecumenical dialogue. On the one hand there are fundamental Muslim
groups and on the other some very aggressive Protestant and equally
fundamental groups. Moderate Catholicsm does not always find easy
existence between the two.
The Secretary of the Episcopal Conference adds his own thoughts:
the most Catholic regions in Indonesia are also the most backward:
Irian Jaya, Flores, Sumba, Kalimantan; 7-8 million Catholics needing
the most in terms of human development. There are very few Catholics
involved in public and political life. While in the past, Catholic
(Jesuit) schools and hospitals were much respected, now Government has
poured large amounts of money into similar institutions. But - the
area of basic human formation and vocational training is a huge need.
Good background for the Visitor as he begins his two month long
visit in a vice province that stretches from Tigaraksa in Western Java
to Fuiloro in East Timor.
GLOSSARY
disinterested: not influenced by selfish
motives. Avoid confusion with 'uninterested' which means lack of
interest!
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