Medan: Thousands of Catholics united by ‘faith and brotherhood’ at diocesan youth day
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - A celebration of "faith and brotherhood" brought together thousands of young Indonesian Catholics to pray, meet and share their common experience. This took place in the Diocesan Youth Day 2014 organized by the Archdiocese of Medan, in the province of North Sumatra from July 26 to 29 last. At least two thousand faithful from the Catholic communities in the area took part in the opening ceremony. The parish of St. Michael in Panguruan, which has hosted other major religious functions, was the heart of the event.
Archbishop Mgr. Anicetus B. Sinaga was the main organizer of this first local youth day. Local authorities and leaders also took part including the mayor of Samosir Ir. Mangondar Simbolon and Fr. Johannes Dwi Harsanto, executive secretary of the Youth Commission of the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI).
Reflecting on the theme "Communion between Indonesian Catholics, in a context of faith and cultural pluralism", the festival attracted young people from 49 parishes in the archdiocese. Fr. Salestinus Manalu, chairman of the Youth Committee of the Archdiocese said the goal was to "reinforce" the sense of union and communion between young boys and girls.
During the celebration of the Eucharistic, the archbishop urged young believers to go deeper and find out the reasons for their faith, with the goal of becoming "100% Catholic and 100% Indonesian." An invitation that echoes the famous motto of the former archbishop of Semarang Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata, that it was essential to be both good faithful and honest citizens (Pro Ecclesia and pro patria, ed.)
There were many interventions and initiatives in the three-day program, including seminars on interfaith dialogue, politics and pluralism, along with moments of prayer following the Taizé model. Young people also became involved in environmental protection, such as introducing certain native species of fish in Lake Toba and planting certain types of plants.
The next edition of the Diocesan Youth Day will be held in Medan in 2018 in the province of Aceh, where an extreme version of Islam is applied and which was a theater - even in the recent past - of incidents of violence with a religious background.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, Christians represent 5.7 per cent of the population with Catholics just over 3 per cent. The constitution guarantees freedom of religion, but Christians have suffered from acts of violence and abuse, especially where extremist versions of Islam, like in Aceh, are entrenched. Despite everything, Catholics are an active component in society. Over the years, they have contributed to the nation's development and played a major role in emergency operations, as was the case during the devastating floods of January 2013.
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27/06/2008
