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Indonesian Catholics’ joy and hopes for Pope Francis’ visit
Indonesia has been celebrated for its religious moderation and tolerance, but as in many other countries, minority faith groups here have been experiencing rising intolerance and restrictions on religious freedom.
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A banner welcoming Pope Francis is displayed as a priest performs a wedding ceremony at the Jakarta Cathedral in Jakarta on Aug. 30, 2024. The pontiff's 12-day trip to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore will involve 43 hours of flight time and a distance of 32,000 kilometers. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
F
or months, a great number of the country’s nearly 8.6 million Catholics have been joyfully awaiting the visit of their spiritual leader, Pope Francis. Some, including my family, are hoping to receive the blessing of the pontiff in person, no matter how far-fetched their dreams may be.
For the minority group, the papal visit serves as a moment to demonstrate to their Muslim compatriots the truth of the doctrine “100 percent Catholic, 100 percent Indonesian”, coined by Indonesia’s first native bishop Albertus Soegijapranata.
According to official data from February, Catholics account for 3.1 percent of the country’s 280.7 million people, while Muslims make up 87.2 percent, Protestants 6.9 percent and Hindus 1.7 percent.
The Catholic Church in Indonesia consists of 10 archdioceses and 37 dioceses, which form 10 ecclesiastical provinces. The Church also has a military ordinariate. Its presence is more visible in the eastern provinces, such as in Papua, Sulawesi, Kalimantan and East Nusa Tenggara.
My family, especially my wife, number among the Indonesian Catholics who are hoping the pontiff will pray for us in person. My wife, who has been confined to a wheelchair for the last 23 years after a failed surgery in May 2001, is expecting a miracle during this papal visit, but she does not think it will happen because she has no chance to get close to the Pope.
The pontiff will lead a congregational service at Bung Karno Stadium on Thursday to cap his three-day visit to Jakarta.
Many Catholics dream of visiting St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican and meeting with the pope, as well as performing a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where Jesus lived and was crucified. The journey is like the haj pilgrimage for Muslims.
