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span class="inline inline-left">JP/Ika Krismantari“I am not a Catholic fanatic,” explained Father Charles Patrick Edward Burrows, known by locals as Romo Carolus.

Hearing such words coming from the mouth of a priest who has dedicated his life to the religion for 43 years was really mind blowing.

But that was not the only unusual statement uttered by Romo Carolus during an interview with The Jakarta Post. The priest, who has spent most of his life’s service in Indonesia, continued to stun the Post with his other progressive views and beliefs that may be hard for conservatives to accept.

Elaborating upon his stance against Catholic fanaticism, Romo Carolus said he referred to himself as God’s servant who worked for His disciples and not for religion or its leaders.

“I am a Jesus fanatic not a Catholic fanatic,” the Irish-born priest was quick to add.

Such thinking has allowed Romo Carolus to be more open in his service, helping everyone with no regard for class or religious background, as he has steadfastly refused to be restrained by the church’s bureaucratic rules.

He is also known for his unconventional approach to community service, which is sometimes questioned and criticized by bishops.

It includes his decision not to spread Catholic teachings during his service among society, an attitude regarded as being contrary to most missionary practices.

“Our love should come with no conditions or agendas … I don’t have any right to influence people [to convert] ... religion is a private matter between God and each individual. I don’t have the right to interfere,” he said in fluent Indonesian.

This approach has won support from local people in the Cilacap parish, Central Java, where he has been working for more than 40 years.

Apart from his friendly and down-to-earth personality, Romo Carolus is also popular among local people for his breakthrough programs in the region that have helped to empower the local community.

Romo Carolus has helped to build much-needed road infrastructure in the area and has helped local residents improve their economy.

Through a local foundation, established together with the Cilacap Catholic community, the priest has aided the construction of at least 17 kilometers of roads for local people since 1976 and plans to continue doing so for the next 20 years.

He also initiated an electricity community building to provide power for remote areas in the region.

With funds gathered from foreign sources, he has also founded several schools, including the controversial Yos Soedarso vocational high school in Cilacap; controversial because, despite its status as a Catholic school, it provides subjects on Islam for Muslim students and allows its female pupils to wear hijab. The school’s principle, Yohanes Parsian claims that Yos Soedarso is the first Catholic school to provide special classes for students from different religious backgrounds thanks to Romo Carolus’ idea to promote love and compassion that transcends religious categorizing.

Even though the school has been the target of protests from the National Catholic Education Council, Romo Carolus remains cool, believing his priority is to help impoverished children gain an education regardless of their religion.

In the same spirit, Romo Carolus also offers student loans to assist children from low-income families to attend college.

For his causes and noble actions to society, Romo Carolus is also called by some locals as Romo Kyai, referring to the name of an early Javanese Muslim missionary, as he often gives funding aid to local Muslim communities.

The humanist bishop has even gained respect from local Muslim hard-liners for his good deeds.

“We tremendously appreciate Romo’s support for society. He works purely for social causes,” the representative from the Cilacap branch of the notoriously conservative group the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), Muhammad Suryo Haryanto, exclaimed, adding that his organization gave its full support to Romo Carolus’ social mission.

After more than four decades of dedication to the local community, Romo Carolus was recently named the recipient of this year’s Maarif Award from the Maarif Institute for his pluralistic approach toward humanitarianism. The award was completely unexpected, as Romo Carolus’ friends had nominated him without telling him.

He said his next plan was to make his operations more sustainable and less dependent on foreign donors.

Romo Carolus said he frequently visited the country of his birth, Ireland, to secure additional financial support from international nongovernmental organizations for his mission in Indonesia.

Born in Dublin on April 8, 1943, Romo Carolus came from a struggling family. His father was a salesman but after he fell sick Romo Carolus had to start work at the tender age of 14 to support his family.

But this hardship did not deter Romo Carolus’ ambition to become a priest. He was inspired by Irish missionaries who had traveled as far as Africa to help the destitute. Despite his mother’s opposition, Romo Carolus — or Charlie, as he was fondly called by his family — insisted on joining a seminary. He became a priest at the age of 26 with an affiliation to the Oblate of Mary Immaculate (OMI), one of the Catholic Church’s missionary congregations.

However, his modern and progressive thinking resulted in his being expelled from Ireland’s Catholic dominion.

“I was ‘exported’ to Australia for having different opinions that went against conservative Catholic teaching,” he said.

But it was the deportation to Australia that eventually brought him to Indonesia, his current homeland.

Romo Carolus became an Indonesian citizen in the early 1980s for various reasons, but primarily for the sake of unity with the local community. Surprisingly, he admitted he did not miss Ireland at all.

The white-haired priest shared a joke that no one in Cilacap would say yes should someone ask if
Romo Carolus was kind-hearted and humble.

“They will just go ‘mmm’,” he said with a laugh.

Romo Carolus is definitely one of a kind with his eccentric style and out-of-the-ordinary teachings.

One of them is his call to everyone to become a sinner, a happy sinner, for which people are encouraged to make an honest confession to God.

“People assume that God loves only good people, but no, Allah loves everyone. Allah loves people for who they are,” he said, again indicating his inclusive views.