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View all search resultsX'mas celebrations go well in Semarang
Holy Mass:: Churchgoers attend a Christmas Holy Mass at the Cathedral of St
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Holy Mass:: Churchgoers attend a Christmas Holy Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary on Jl. Dr. Sutomo in Semarang, Central Java, on Thursday morning. The cathedral received a bomb hoax on Christmas Eve forcing the police to thoroughly search the cathedral and deploy additional policemen. (JP/Suherdjoko) (JP/Suherdjoko)
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span class="caption">Holy Mass:: Churchgoers attend a Christmas Holy Mass at the Cathedral of St. Mary on Jl. Dr. Sutomo in Semarang, Central Java, on Thursday morning. The cathedral received a bomb hoax on Christmas Eve forcing the police to thoroughly search the cathedral and deploy additional policemen. (JP/Suherdjoko)
Christmas celebrations went peacefully in Semarang since Wednesday evening until Thursday afternoon with clear sky despite a false bomb scare at the city's Roman Catholic cathedral.
Holy Mass on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral of St. Mary went well and solemnly with the police deploying a reinforcement of 75 officers following the bomb hoax.
Semarang City Police chief Sr. Comr. Djihartono said the red alert status was immediately imposed and 'we conducted a thorough check'.
The Central Java provincial capital has 291 churches which get police protection from Wednesday until Thursday. Dozens of policemen guarded both the cathedral on Jl. Sutomo and Immanuel Church, more popularly known as the Blenduk Church, in Semarang's old town quarter.
During a Holy Mass on Christmas Eve at the cathedral, Father Luhur Prihadi delivered a Christmas sermon to some 6,000 churchgoers focusing on meeting God in the family.
'The family has become a common community of faith. Feeling God's blessing together. The family can long for togetherness because the experience the joy together,' he told the congregation.
Meanwhile, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo and other provincial administration officials attended Christmas celebrations at various churches, including the Cathedral and Blenduk Church, which belongs to the Western Indonesia Protestant Church (GPIB).
'Tolerance among religious groups is a long-term investment which has to be built to foster Indonesianess. We can visit and respect each other. This is a social capital which has to be continuously built,' he said.
The security was also provided by the military, Pramuka scouts, as well as Nadhlatul Ulama's youth wing Ansor and Ansor's militia Banser NU. (nvn)(+++)
