At their first meeting this year, Buddhist, Catholic, Muslim and Protestant leaders in North Jakarta decided on a series of actions to promote “true brotherhood.” “Let us, Catholics, be pioneers in promoting a true brotherhood between us through concrete actions,” Father Antonius Suyadi, head of Jakarta archdiocese’s Commission for Youth, told 100 people from different religious communities who attended the Jan. 9 meeting in Kelapa Gading. The meeting on the theme “Let us promote the spirit of unity and peace” was jointly organized by the Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and the Youth Desk of St. Jacob’s Church in Kelapa Gading. According to Father Suyadi, the meeting aimed to create peaceful relations between people from different religious backgrounds. “We want to build harmonious relations and to strengthen them through social services including helping the poor,” he said. Reverend Sammy Paat, a Protestant, endorsed the aims. “This is a concrete action and also our contribution to the nation,” he remarked. Buddhist participant Suwarno emphasized the need for mutual understanding. “We should jointly establish a forum for interreligious dialogue and promote mutual understanding,” he suggested. In his speech, Jupan Royter Tampubolon, who heads Kelapa Gading subdistrict, thanked the religious leaders. “Brotherhood has indeed been built. We are promoting it now both in person and in groups through good communication. We should not wait for a problem to happen,” he concluded. Related reports Papuans build interreligious harmonyIndonesian Catholics share Ramadan meal IJ12771.1636
