UCA News
Contribute

Indonesia

Catholic Church Approves Of Revised Decree On Worship Places

Updated: March 28, 2006 05:00 PM GMT
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Share this article :

The executive secretary of the bishops´ Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs says the Indonesian Catholic Church agrees with a revised ministerial decree on worship places.

Father Antonius Benny Susetyo told UCA News March 24, "Catholics have no problem with the revised decree, which includes provisions for building worship places."

On March 21, Religious Affairs Minister Maftuh Basyuni and Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Ma´aruf signed a revision of the controversial 1969 joint ministerial decree regulating the establishment of places of worship.

According to the revised decree, a religious community that is not the local majority community needs a congregation of at least 90 people and approval by 60 local people from other religions in order to obtain permission to build a worship place. Local officials must authenticate these lists. Additionally, written recommendations are required from the head of the Religious Affairs Ministry office for the district or municipality and from the district or municipal Communication Forum for Religious Harmony (FKUB, Indonesian acronym).

Article 21 of the revised decree says any dispute concerning establishment of a worship house is to be settled through deliberation among the local people. If consensus is not reached, the district head or mayor, assisted by the head of the local Religious Affairs Ministry office, is to settle the dispute in a fair way. In such a case the opinion or recommendations of the local FKUB is to be given consideration.

In the case that a congregation of at least 90 worshippers cannot gain the needed minimum support from people of other religions for the site it chooses, the local administration "is obliged" to help it find an alternative site.

The 1969 decree had no such provisions for settling disputes or seeking alternatives, and it required at least 100 signatures from local people of other religions for a minority community to establish a place of worship.

According to data from Christian Communication Forum of Jakarta, more than 1,000 Catholic and Protestant churches were destroyed while the old decree was in force.

Father Susetyo said the revised decree is the result of an agreement among religious leaders. "Thus its implementation must be free from discrimination, accommodate all religions and guarantee their freedom," he added. The benefit Catholics enjoy from the decree, he said, is a set of regulations that guarantees their right to have places of worship.

Article 8 of the revised decree directs the government to facilitate the establishment of FKUB by the local society in provinces, districts and municipalities. FKUB members are local religious leaders, and all religions are represented in the forums.

The FKUB have the task of dialoguing with religious and societal leaders, and collecting views from religious NGOs and people to channel as policy recommendations to the governor, district head or mayor. They also are expected to disseminate laws and policies related to interreligious harmony.

According to Father Susetyo, some dioceses have already started to implement the stipulations of the revised decree. "But the government´s campaign to familiarize people with the decree must be clear and ensure that there will be no space for different interpretations," he said. He expressed the hope that the decree would make it easy for followers of all religions to build their worship venues.

Amidhan, chairman of Indonesian Ulema (Islamic scholars) Council, told UCA News March 24, "We really agree with the decree because it is a joint decision of all religious bodies."

Noting that the decree is based on tolerance and mutual respect, Amidhan said he would like to propose that it be made into a law. But the most important thing, he added, is to introduce it well at the grassroots level, "because many do not know about the joint decree."

Reverend Andreas A. Yewangoe, general chairman of Indonesian Communion of Churches, commented on the new decree in the March 23 edition of Suara Pembaruan (voice of renewal). He said his Protestant communion hopes people will not be hindered from using makeshift venues they have been using so far while they try to obtain permits for proper places of worship.

Meanwhile, The Jakarta Post, in its March 24 edition, reported that 42 legislators, most of them Protestants, have introduced a resolution opposing the revised decree, which they say has caused tension among all religions.

Theophilus Bela, a Catholic proponent of interreligious dialogue, told UCA News March 26 that the requirement of collecting a minimum of 90 worshippers´ names and 60 names of people of other faiths is hard for smaller Protestant sects, who now worship in private residences or shops.

On March 26, an angry mob forced Christians of a Pentecostal Church in Bogor, south of Jakarta, to evacuate and close down their church. A Bethel Church community in South Jakarta suffered a similar attack on March 22.

END

Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month will mark the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millenium, that will profile some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.
Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.
Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.
A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
YOUR DAILY
NEWSLETTER
Thank you. You are now signed up to our Daily Full Bulletin newsletter
 
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia