ASIA/INDONESIA - Waiting for Pope Francis, along with the Muslim brothers. An interview with Ignazio Suharyo, Cardinal of Jakarta (I/II)

by Paolo Affatato

Jakarta (Fides News Agency) – Every year, on the Islamic feast of the Sacrifice, the Catholic community of Jakarta gifts the Muslim community a cow. And the imam of the great mosque advises everyone that it is a gift, and "it comes from our brothers". This is one of the details revealed by Indonesian Cardinal Ignazio Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo to outline what he calls "the soul of Indonesia".
In the second part of the interview he gave to Fides News Agency, the Cardinal Archbishop of Jakarta starts with the daily ordinariness experienced by the Catholic communities preparing to welcome Pope Francis, and dwelled at length on the description of fraternal coexistence between believers of different faiths as a "genetic connotation" of the most populous Muslim-majority country in the world.

How does the ordinary life of the Christian community unfold, within your context?

I can speak with knowledge of the parishes of the archdiocese of Jakarta, a reality in which there is a wide participation of the faithful in pastoral life, liturgies, works of charity. The churches are always crowded, with children and young people as well. The ingrained model, which works well, is that of small communities – per the model of basic ecclesial communities – which in the local language we call lingkungan, a term that means "circle", used for the first time by Alberto Soejapranata in 1934. They are small communities made of Christian families who, in the different neighborhoods, meet in homes to read the Bible together, to pray. It is the model of a "diffuse", non-centralized parish which throbs in the suburbs. Then, in a journey of synodality, the representatives of the lingkungan bring their experiences and needs back to the entire community, "salt of the earth, yeast for the dough, light of the world". It is a model of ecclesial life spread above all on the island of Java and it is the model which, after one hundred years in existence has made our Church what it is today: the goal is to be a community according to Gaudium et Spes, that is, immersed in the world, a community that welcomes the joys, hopes, struggles, sufferings of humanity.


The motto chosen for the Pope's visit also seems to allude to all this: "Faith, fraternity, compassion"

The gift of faith generates fraternity and compassion. And compassion seems to be a hallmark of the Indonesian people. I read an international report of the World Giving Index, published by the Charities Aid Foundation: it said that in the period between 2018 and 2023 the donation index of the Indonesian people was number one in the world, out of 146 nations. It is an index that measures generosity and voluntary donations, in different emergencies or needs at an international level. I remember that, during the pandemic, many of the resources needed for the needy, in all fields, came from private donations and, therefore, from the compassion of each citizen.
We Christians are particularly inspired by God's compassion: we think of the Gospel parables of the merciful Father and the Good Samaritan. Compassion is also a way of mission for us: we glean it from the approximately 4,000 adult baptisms we register each year in Jakarta, which are a great gift from God. They are people who, perhaps, attend a Catholic funeral or come into contact with us in other situations, and are touched by prayer and, above all, by the way in which the family of the deceased is helped, they are affected by the witnessing of communion, by the help and mutual love they see among members of the Christian community. Before such testament, new conversions can flourish.


Does this approach also characterize the Church's relationship with Islam?

Our relations with the Islamic community are really good. And this harmonious relationship also goes back to and has been maintained since the birth of the nation. The symbol of this relationship is, in Jakarta, the very positions of the cathedral and the Istiq 'lal mosque, which face each other to send everyone a message of fruitful dialogue and harmony. The cathedral was built in the early 1900s, and then the mosque was intentionally erected across the street. Sukarno, the father of the Fatherland and the first President, wanted it here for two reasons: on that land stood a Dutch castle, and he thus wanted to replace the memory of colonialism; secondly, the presence of the cathedral and the mosque in our great independence square would become a powerful symbol of our religious harmony. It is a symbol of our friendship which the recent completion of the "tunnel of fraternity" – desired, restored and defined in this way by President Joko Widodo – expresses increasingly clearly. As an archbishop I have a bond of admiration and friendship with the imam of the mosque. But among ordinary people, relations are also good: there is an atmosphere of sharing and friendship that manifests itself during the respective religious holidays. On the Islamic feast of the sacrifice, every year as a Catholic community we gift the Muslim community a cow, and the imam unfailingly tells the faithful that it is a gift from us, "it comes from our brothers", he remarks, pleased. During our Christmas and Easter celebrations, Muslim worshippers come to church, greet people and offer their best wishes: a practice that has become common in many Indonesian churches, not just here. These are gestures that are broadcast by mass media and that portray the soul of Indonesia.


And what happens in cases where there are problems between Muslims and Christians?

Usually the governor, the mayor, civil authorities, along with the religious leaders, take action together: we have a Forum for communication and interreligious dialogue called to solve problems of coexistence. In general, there is the strong presence of the State – whatever the government in charge – which cares about maintaining social and religious harmony. It should also be noted that radical or violent groups are certainly small in number. The two major Islamic associations, Muhammadiyah and Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which welcome millions of Muslim believers, are at the forefront of promoting and maintaining interreligious coexistence and isolating radicals. We have very close relationships with them. Those two associations guide believers of the Muslim faith. If over recent years there have been attempts - that always come from abroad - to create a transnational type of Islam along the lines of ISIS, Indonesian Islam has been very careful and ready to reject them. I would like to remind you that Islam arrived in Indonesia not by way of weapons, but through trade and presents a specific face that we call "Islam Nusantara", that is, Islam of the archipelago. It is a "very Indonesian" Islam, I would say. Which means deeply tolerant, deeply welcoming, and knows how to build a brotherhood and engage in a "dialogue of life". Thanks to this type of dialogue, we work together for the good of the population, for education, health care, for humanity.
All religious leaders are truly aware of their responsibility to keep social life harmonious. And if there are isolated cases of conflict, it should be noted that they are few and insignificant compared to the immense Indonesian territory of 17 thousand islands and the mass of the population, 275 million people. Finally, I would like to emphasize that conflicts, when they occur, often do not have truly religious reasons, but break out when religion is used for political ends. The instrumental use of religion in politics, for political purposes, can explain cases of conflict.


How are you preparing for Pope Francis's visit?

It will last three days, a short but very significant time. First of all, I would like to recall the historical continuity: the Pope's visit is not unrelated to the history of Indonesia's relationship with the Holy See. In the past Pope Paul VI visited Indonesia in 1970, and Pope John Paul II in 1989. Today Francis's visit is a sign of the growing mutual respect, which started at the time of Indonesia's independence.
Secondly, it is a sign of the Pope's appreciation for the Indonesian people, especially in the sense of freedom of religion and interreligious coexistence and harmony between communities of faith.
The visit is an important sign and it is a gift to all of us, I often say, but for us Christians here, beyond the celebratory moment, it is equally important to deepen and actualize the Pope's teaching, for example by trying every day to practice and live the Abu Dhabi declaration on human brotherhood and the encyclicals "Fratelli Tutti" and "Laudato si '" on the care of the common home.
To those, especially in the West, who ask me, surprisedly or doubtfully, how one can live in harmony or freely in Indonesia, a nation with an Islamic majority, I often say: come and you shall see. The Pope's visit will also be a time when the whole world – through the media and with international resonance – will be able to "come and see".


How do Catholics and all Indonesians experience the wait for the Pope?

There is great expectation, you can already see it in the faithful who attend the parishes that I visit every Sunday. Events with the Pope will be very crowded, people will come to Jakarta from all dioceses, 80,000 people are expected at the National Stadium for Mass. There is a Committee for the organization that unites the Catholic Church and the government. Today there is great enthusiasm and, at this time, spiritual preparation in the different communities builds on the motto "Faith, fraternity and compassion". From that motto, a composer has created a liturgical song which is sung in all parishes.
We feel very close to Pope Francis, to his style, and the words of his magisterium are often quoted in Indonesia, even by government officials and Muslim leaders. Suffice it to say that the first to publicly confirm the Pope's visit to Indonesia – before the government and before the Bishops' Conference – was the imam of the Istiq 'lal mosque, which the Pope will visit: he could not hold back his joy.


What do you see as you look to the future of the Church in Indonesia?

For the future of faith in Indonesia - so that the Gospel may continue to flourish and bear fruit in the different cultures of Indonesia - I believe that this can above all be achieved through our testament in the field of education, health care, by way social service and charity: but certainly not through a strategy, only by our love for the people! Being brothers and sisters is the best we can offer in the education service, in health care, in acts of solidarity. This is faith in Providence: let us do our part, let us put in our five loaves and our two fish, in witnessing to his love for humanity: the Lord will do the rest. (Fides News Agency 23/8/2024)

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