Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Palangkaraya (Fides Service) - Prayer and listening but also creativity and looking to the future: these are the characteristics of the "Youth Day", a gathering of young Catholics of Indonesian Borneo (the region also known as Kalimantan), held in recent days in Palangkaraya. As reported by the local Church to Fides, over 700 young people crowded the stadium of a Catholic high school named after St. Peter Canisius to listen, pray, talk about the World Youth Day, but also to confirm that "they intend to be protagonists of their future, with enthusiasm and desire to contribute to social and moral development of the nation", notes Fr Wayan Joko Sunaryo, head of the youth ministry in the diocese of Palangkaraya.
The young people of Borneo are "ready to go to Madrid next August for World Youth Day", said the priest, and thanks to the contribution of the young people’s solidarity from other nations, a small group of them will be able to go to Europe to meet the Pope and share an unforgettable experience with all the other youth of the world.
On "Youth Day" event in preparation for the WYD, the watchword was "creativity": young people must be creative because the nation's future depends on them. In the history of Indonesia - during the meeting - the young, young people and among them Christians were recalled for having played an important role: since the "Budi Utomo" ("First Philosophy"), the first of the Indonesian nationalist movement in 1908, through the "Oath of youth" in 1928, until the independence movement in 1945 and, recently, to the reformist push in 1998. Even today, Indonesia is a young nation that focuses on young people. This is in line with the views of the Catholic Church, which recognizes the younger generation as "valuable asset to the nation and the Church". For this reason, the Christian community takes care of their emotional, intellectual and spiritual growth: in this way one contributes to the common good of the whole country. The young Indonesians, concludes Father Sunaryo, are becoming aware of this responsibility, as in the Diocese of Palangkaraya, and intend to do their best to build a society and a better nation. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 07/02/2011)
