More than 1,300 Catholics in Pontianak at the national jamboree of 'young missionaries' (photos-videos)

by Mathias Hariyadi

Titled ‘Disseminating the joy of the Bible within diversity", the event opened on Tuesday until tomorrow. Music and traditional dances animated the opening ceremony, followed by a solemn Mass. For Archbishop Agustinus Agus, "pluralism and diversity are in the nature of the Indonesian nation and Church".

Pontianak (AsiaNews) – The Pontifical Society of Young Missionaries (Serikat Kepausan Anak Misioner, SEKAMI) organised a youth meeting (3-6 July) in Pontianak (West Kalimantan) that has attracted more than 1,300 Catholics from 35 dioceses in Indonesia, but also neighbouring countries like East Timor (Timor Leste) and Malaysia.

Titled ‘Disseminating the joy of the Bible within diversity’, the jamboree is centred on education, celebration and growth of faith. The young participants were welcomed by Mgr Agustinus Agus, archbishop of Pontianak.

"We are all brothers in the Catholic Church of Indonesia,” the prelate told AsiaNews, “and it is my duty to welcome the participants to the SEKAMI national jamboree and treat them as distinguished guests."

Speaking before the opening ceremony, SEKAMI’s director reiterated the true spirit of the initiative. "Our mission is to keep up the morale of children and teenagers, so that they put into practice the Prayer, Donation, Sacrifice and Testimony (Indonesian: Doa, Derma, Korban and Kesaksian or 2Ds-2Ks). All this is based on the principle of 'Children helping children'," Fr Markus Nurwidi Pranoto said.

Fr Elis Handoko SCJ, a member of the steering committee, noted that this mission is being held in a social context in which all participants live and follow SEKAMI’s commitment to Indonesian pluralism.

The kids who came to Pontianak for the jamboree were divided into three "villages": Nazareth, Galilee and Bethlehem.

The opening ceremony took place Tuesday afternoon, with a marching band and traditional dances in the playground of the the Maria Tak Bernoda School. The dances symbolise the diversity of cultures that make up Indonesian society.

Many local officials attended the event along with Mgr Pius Riana Prapdi (bishop of Ketapang), Mgr Samuel Oton Sidin (bishop of Sintang), and Mgr Simon Peter Poh Hoon Seng (archbishop of Kuching, Malaysia).

A solemn Mass took place in St Joseph Cathedral, officiated by five bishops and dozens of priests. In his homily, Mgr Agus stressed that "pluralism and diversity are in the nature of the Indonesian nation and Church".

"We are called to experience these concrete facts,” he added. “And this national jamboree will become our showcase.

“Through this event, our Catholic children and teenagers will learn and experience new things; they will meet and learn to know each other, even if they come from different regions of the country and with a cultural heritage that is so different in terms of language, culture and values.”