Kupang’s new archbishop, Mgr Pakaenoni, faces the challenges of urbanisation and plural society
The papal nuncio presided over Thursday’s ordination ceremony. The archdiocese is in East Nusa Tenggara, a province where the Catholic and Protestant communities date back to colonial times. According to Archbishop Pakaenoni, the local Catholic Church needs a new approach.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – On Thursday, the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Piero Pioppo, ordained the new Archbishop of Kupang, Mgr Hironimus Pakaenoni, in a ceremony that saw the presence of 41 bishops from Indonesia and Timor-Leste, including the previous archbishop, Mgr Petrus Turang, who led the diocese for 27 years.
Located in East Nusa Tenggara province, on the Indonesian side of the island of Timor, Kupang is one of two local dioceses, the other one being Atambua, which borders with the much more ethnically homogeneous Timor-Leste (East Timor).
Archbishop Hironimus Pakaenoni stressed this fact in an interview with Hidup Magazine before his episcopal ordination.
“In our territory,” said the new archbishop, “as a result of the religious ‘demarcation’ between two powerful colonial powers, Portugal and the Netherlands, who competed with each other since 16th century, establishing good and fraternal relationship among Catholics and Protestants has been a serious challenge. Despite good efforts and best practices, a sense of ‘competition’ remains to this present day.”
As a local diocesan priest, Archbishop Pakaenoni was involved in many activities.
"I have been in the Archdiocese of Kupang for almost 25 years, which has made it easier for me to identify challenges and opportunities in this huge archdiocese," he explained.
In addition to Kupang's “plural society,” migration and urbanisation are issues that will demand the prelate’s attention.
“As the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, the city of Kupang is one of the favourite places for immigrants, who come here in search of a better life," he said.
"The presence of people from different ethnic backgrounds from the island of Timor and the Flores Islands poses an economic challenge: workers from the villages have a low level of education, and have more difficulty in competing with urban citizens and are consequently paid less.”
The Church can address all these issues through a new approach
“I believe that the Church must be much more aware of the urgency of changing traditional pastoral methods, moving from a territorial approach to the modern pastoral care of the diaspora.”
In this regard, Archbishop Hironimus Pakaenoni adopted the pastoral motto "Pasce ofos meas," which means “Feed my sheep”.
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