ASIA/INDONESIA - Catholic journalists, promoters of harmony and truth

Jakarta (Agenzia Fides) - "The contribution of Catholic journalists to the nation is invaluable", says to Fides the Executive Secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Indonesia, Father Peter Christian Siswantoko, told Agenzia Fides, speaking in recent days at a meeting organized by the Indonesian Catholic Journalists Association (Paguyuban Wartawan Katolik Indonesia, PWKI). 160 Indonesian professionals from the media participated in the meeting, in addition to people connected from Italy and other parts of the world, such as the Indonesian ambassador to the Holy See, Laurentius Amrih Jinangkung. Father Peter Christian Siswantoko praised the important contribution of the Catholic media and its strategic role in strengthening national interests, but above all the unity of the nation, since "our Indonesian society is a pluralistic nation". "All of you, as Catholics, have always maintained your Christian faith and ethics by committing yourselves to producing good news", says Fr. Siswantoko. That of the journalist, he points out, "is a noble professional vocation to the extent that all of you are fundamentally called to bring hope and optimism to society". "Your faith in Christ is realized through good professional and ethical deeds", he remarked.
The PWKI Association was founded in 2004, when Putut Prabantoro and Pieter Gero, both journalists in Jakarta, created this initiative as a social tool to bring together all Catholic media professionals for the good of the nation and the Church: the national unity in a pluralistic society. The PWKI presented an award of recognition to five Indonesian personalities: Carina Joe, a young Indonesian scientist from the University of Oxford; Cinta Laura Kiehl, a young singer who has spread thoughts and opinions about Indonesian national unity; Jonatan Christie, one of the best badminton players at the national level who won the gold medal at the 2018 Asian Games, who is very fond of solidarity initiatives; retired General AM Hendropriyono, former head of the country's National Intelligence Agency, who contributed to a healthy Indonesian nationalism; Pieter Gero, senior journalist from Kompas, founder of PWKI Pieter Gero comments to Fides: "PWKI has generated many good points opinions about the life of the nation, about social unity. This happens when we journalists respect our code of ethics and do our work with a strong sense of responsibility".
Speaking to Fides, Cinta Laura Kiehl points out that "indonesian youth have a strong power in spreading, through the web and social media, a good spirit of social harmony and tolerance, of understanding without prejudice. I really hope that together we can generate more cooperation to strengthen our social unity". (MH/PA) (Agenzia Fides, 1/3/2022)

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