Indonesian Catholic minority’s high expectations

“I was filled with immense joy as soon as I learned that Pope Francis would come to visit us,” breathes Mathilda, a 60-year-old Catholic, as she leaves the 7 a.m. mass at Santa Teresa Parish in the heart of Jakarta. Wearing a long skirt and colorful blouse, this third-generation Catholic – “My grandfather converted at the beginning of the last century” – does not hide his enthusiasm.

She still remembers well John Paul II’s trip in 1989, having attended the mass he celebrated in Jakarta. ” But Pope Francis has a very different aura. We feel close to him because he is humble and his messages resonate in our hearts. We Catholics are just a small drop in a Muslim ocean in Indonesia, and Pope Francis will make us visible and give us strength!”

“We have been preparing for months”

In several of the 70 parishes of the Indonesian capital, where half a million Catholics live (out of 12 million inhabitants), the same excitement surrounds the arrival of this pope who enjoys immense popularity among Indonesian Catholics. At the parish of Ignatius of Loyola, many photos illustrate the devotion that the faithful have for him. “We have been preparing for months, assures Viktor, 45, in charge of catechism. The parish choir meets almost every day to welcome him to the city’s grand stadium on September 5th.

“General excitement throughout the Archdiocese of Jakarta”

A privilege, because the stadium can only accommodate 65,000 people. “Hundreds of thousands of Catholics would have liked to go there, assures Father Thomas Ulun, vice-secretary of the diocese. There are many frustrations, even though a big screen will be installed in a nearby stadium.”

Between two preparatory meetings, Father Ulun welcomes with a smile, aware of the importance of this papal visit. “We prepared as best we could, he explains. We want to welcome the Pope with all our heart so that he feels good in Indonesia. There is a general excitement throughout the diocese and the country.”

Shy or modest, Indonesian Catholics express strong gratitude towards this “old and suffering pope” who makes the effort to go and meet them. “We would have liked him to stay a little longer and go to the island of Flores, which is predominantly Catholic,” regrets with a smile Dagur, in his early forties, a Catholic journalist born in Flores and who now lives in the suburbs of Jakarta. “But we forgive him of course, immediately adds this former seminarian. He is jovial, inclusive, and his messages of tolerance and openness touch Catholics who are generally conservative on family and sexuality.”

A perception shared by many Catholic priests here. “We are very sensitive to his calls for respect for the planet, for welcoming the poor and migrants, because we have a specialized service that helps refugees, the Jesuit Refugee Service,” Jesuit Setyo Wibono points out. He also recalls the close links that exist between Indonesia and the Vatican, “which was the first state to recognize the country’s independence in 1945 and to send an apostolic nuncio there.”

It’s not always easy to be Catholic

President Joko Widodo, 63, who will end his second term on October 20 to be replaced by his defense minister, General Prabowo Subianto, who has been guilty of numerous abuses in Timor in the past, is due to meet the Pope on Wednesday, September 4. “This will perhaps be an opportunity to send some diplomatic messages about the situation of Catholics, a minority, which is not always easy to live with,” says a Church official. “The government wants to show an image of harmony and respect for religions, a tolerant and open Islam, analyses the journalist Dagur, but the reality on the ground is not always so glorious.”

In very Catholic provinces like the Moluccas, Papua or the island of Flores, Catholics must be on their guard. ” HAS Labuan Bajo, the capital of Flores, Catholics are not persecuted or repressed, recognizes Venan, a Catholic academic from the nearby Catholic island of East Timor (where the Pope will be visiting from September 9 to 11). But we were still in the majority fifteen years ago. Today, Muslims represent 60% of the city’s population!” A highly organized settlement strategy.

Mosques have sprung up everywhere in the centre and in the suburbs. “Indonesian Islam is undoubtedly tolerant and open, he adds, but a very conservative nebula can locally play the party pooper and obtain religious concessions from local politicians”. This is also the case with polygamy, which is not officially “encouraged” (some Muslim leaders even assure that it is very rare), but the reality is quite different. “I have a not very rich employee who has three wives, assures a small Catholic business leader, They all work for him.”

“In other provinces, Muslims systematically build a mosque next to churches, says Father Setyo, but it’s a real headache when you want to build a new church somewhere.” It is not officially forbidden, but you need the agreement of 90% of the neighborhood… A near impossible mission.

“Catholics must navigate skillfully between national laws, Koranic law and local laws which often vary,” confirms Dagur, whose wife works in a Catholic hospital where it is mandatory to have a prayer room for Muslims. While the reverse is not true.

“Moral support”

Similarly, it is technically possible for a Muslim to convert to Catholicism, but registering it in civil registers and on his identity card is a source of endless administrative problems. “A subtle form of everyday discrimination,” reacts Ayu, a second-generation Catholic activist.

“In this sense, I am not sure that the Pope’s visit will change anything in this difficult situation, she explains in a café where intellectuals and political activists from all sides have been meeting for years. But it will bring us comforting warmth and much-needed moral support at a time when Indonesian democracy has weakened.”

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A Catholic minority

In Indonesia, Catholics represent only 3% (8 million) of the 280 million inhabitants.The majority live on the island of Flores, the Moluccas, West Papua and Borneo. And there are 500,000 Catholics in Jakarta.

The local Church has more than a thousand priests and 7,000 nuns.There are several dozen Catholic primary schools, high schools and universities in the country.

The population is also 88% Muslim (Sunni).7% Protestants, 1.6% Hindus, 0.4% Buddhists, Confucians and other religions.