Sumatra: environment, faith, mission. First post Covid Youth Day
From June 26-30, thousands of Indonesian youth gathered in Palembang under the motto: "Rise up and become a witness of goodness." An appointment postponed several times in the past because of the pandemic. Moments of meeting and deepening on various topics, from the Bible to the care of creation according to the teachings of Pope Francis.
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Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Participate in building society, become vital elements whose good deeds become more and more "viral." That's the invitation issued by Msgr. Pius Riana Prapdi, head of youth ministry of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference (Kwi) and bishop of Ketapang, West Kalimantan, to the boys and girls participating in the third National Youth Day, which closes today.
Dressed in a variety of traditional ethnic costumes and various outfits and accessories, those gathered at the Jakabaring Sports Centre sang "triumphant" hymns and songs, fueling a general mood of elation and participation.
The event, scheduled for June 26-30 in Palembang, South Sumatra province, under the theme "Arise and Become a Witness of Good," brought together thousands of participants, the vast majority of whom were young people, 14 bishops, dozens of priests and nuns, volunteers and organizers.
This was the third date after the first one in 2012 in Sanggau and the one in 2016 in Manado, while the third date has been canceled several times in the past due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2017, the city of Yogyakarta, in the Archdiocese of Semarang, had instead hosted the weeklong Asian Youth Day, for one of the most important event for young Catholics Indonesia.
Among the issues at the heart of the discussion between organizers and youth participants were environmental and ecological issues, which are highly topical at a time in history when climate change dominates.
The reference is to the words of Pope Francis and his call to protect the "common home" through "green" policies. In this regard, Fr. Ferry Sutrisno Widjaja, from the Diocese of Bandung, urges those present to practice "healthy" policies and gestures in their daily lives: reducing smoking, limiting pollutants and household waste, and planting trees in an effort to combat global warming.
The Indonesian Youth Day (Iyd), the most important "gathering time" of young Catholics in the country, promises to be "a fruitful occasion" in which each participant can learn good things from peers so as to become a "witness of good in society."
This is how Fr. Kristi Adi Pr, executive secretary of the Bishops' Conference Youth Commission, recounts the event, during which several speakers and representatives of civil society shared their experiences.
These included Margaretha Quina, a young lawyer from Palembang who works on environmental and natural resource issues, who explained her 14 years of work advocating for Earth Justice's mission.
Fr. Joseph Susanto, theologian and lecturer at Stf Driyarkara High School in Jakarta, shared his firsthand experience of how reading the Bible and spreading its messages "shaped" his personality.
After experiencing spiritual challenges as a young priest and dealing with the tragic death of his father and older sister due to cancer, a disease that also affected the priest but from which he is fully recovered, he says, "My goal in life is simple and genuine. I want to become a good priest and a philanthropic figure."
Famous in Indonesia for his YouTube videos, from which he also reaped financial benefits, the priest then shared the money collected with the needy for medical care, education, school fees, etc. Fr. Benny Pr, from the Diocese of Surabaya, described the platform dedicated to catechesis online and renamed YouCat Indonesia. Finally, Fr. Eko Wahyu OSC and Anastasia Satriyo spoke about family issues and the challenges of modern life.
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