Indonesian priests say the recently launched Year for Priests is a time for them to acquire greater knowledge to help them in their pastoral ministries.

“A priest does not only deal with rituals but also with people. And to be able to serve people today, a priest must keep updating his knowledge,” said Jesuit Father Yohanes Nikolaus Haryanto, secretary general of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace.

Father Haryanto, who also heads the pastoral ministry for university students in Jakarta archdiocese, said: “We priests must not be satisfied with the theology and philosophy that we learnt in the seminary. Nowadays, many laypeople also learn theology.”

Noting that parishioners often give gifts to priests on their birthdays, he advised: “Don’t give your priest a shirt but a book, because priests need to increase their knowledge in order to bring innovation to their pastoral ministry.”

Father Bonifasius Rampung, rector of Pius XII Minor Seminary in Kisol in west Flores, agrees. “Reading must become a priest’s habit. And since communication technology is growing fast nowadays, priests must be able to make use of it,” he said.

Capuchin Father Heribertus Samuel from St. Francis of Assisi Church in Tebet, South Jakarta, said the Year for Priests is “a special chance for us to reflect on our ministry.”

He recalled that as a priest serving in the town, he sometimes faces misunderstandings. “When I visit certain Catholic communities too often, members from other communities think I discriminate against them, or worse, that I am having an affair with a member from that community,” he said.

However, he says he is inspired by the example of Saint John Mary Vianney, patron saint of parish priests, to serve laypeople humbly and loyally. Pope Benedict XVI, in promulgating the Year for Priests, wrote a special letter to all priests, quoting extensively from the life of the French saint.

Meanwhile, Jakarta archdiocese launched the Year for Priests with a Mass on June 22 at Assumption Cathedral in Jakarta. About 200 priests and more than 500 laypeople attended the Mass concelebrated by Jesuit Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta and retired Carmelite Bishop Fransiskus Xaverius Hadisumarta.

In his June 12 pastoral letter to Jakarta priests, the cardinal said the archdiocese has set special themes for Masses and special prayers for priests to be recited during the special year.

The Pope launched the Year for Priests on June 19, the feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.