Following Pope Francis, Indonesian priests and religious renew vocational challenge
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - To increasingly become "witnesses" of the mystical body
of Christ and to be prophets in this modern
era, following the example and the
footsteps traced so far by Pope Francis
during his pontificate: these are the aims of the 2014 national Koptari conference, which was held last week in Malino, in
the province of South Sulawesi, under the guidance of the local archbishop
of Makassar Msgr. John Liku Ada. The annual meeting of
the association that gathers Indonesian religious
and clergy saw 105 participants. The meeting hopes to foster collaboration between
the leaders of religious movements
and their leadership
role within their communities.
This initiative was also attended
by Msgr. Aloysius Sudarso, Archbishop of Palembang, as a delegate of the Indonesian
Bishops Conference (KWI), with
the task of maintaining links with the association. The Nuncio to Indonesia Mgr. Antonio
Guido Filipazzi celebrated the solemn Eucharistic function - closing the meeting -
in the cathedral of Makassar.
Fr. Albertus Sujoko,
a theologian of the Major Seminary
of Pineleng in
North Sulawesi, told AsiaNews that the Koptari
association is formed by members of MASI (priests),
MABRI (religious) and IBSI (nuns). For 2014
Malino was chosen as the location of the meeting, for its symbolic importance: it was the scene of the truce that put an end to sectarian
violence in Ambon and the
Moluccas in 2001; and,
before that, in 1946, hosted the
conference which established the
handover between the Dutch
colonial administration and
the local independent.
Sister Carolina CB,
newly elected to the IBSI leadership describes the
conference as a
"great moment" for each of the participants to get to know the "challenges and opportunities".
The spirit, adds the provincial superior of the Sisters of St. Charles Borromeo in Java, is to "unite", to make the most of
the common "mission" which is the "announcement of God's work."
Sister Taviana confirms
the importance of "sharing and exchanging"
experiences and points of view to revive
vocations.
The delegates at the Malino also renewed their commitment to exercise good governance and a leadership "clean"
of the stain of scandals and corruption.
An essential element
in a country where politicians are
often accused of corruption and
even within religious groups, even among Catholics, there is a growing number of
people who set aside the cassock or
abandon consecrated life.
Hence the urgency to recall positive models of priesthood,
including the current Pope who since his days at
the head of the Archdiocese of Buenos
Aires has been an
"example" of "a good priest" for his community. Let us follow the example of Pope Francis,
urged Msgr. Aloysius
Sudarso, Archbishop of Palembang,
the model of "priest, prophet
and a mystic person
in modern times."
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15/11/2018 14:40
