«Human fraternity for a peaceful Indonesia» is the theme of the Assembly of Indonesian Bishops, underway in Bandung (November 4-11), with the aim of «understanding the Abu Dhabi Document on human fraternity for world peace and living together, signed jointly by Pope Francis and the Great Imam Ahmed el-Tayeb in Abu Dhabi in February, actualizing the document in the Indonesian context, in order to strengthen the dialogue of the Indonesian Church with Islam in the archipelago», reads a note sent to Fides News Agency.
As Fides learns, the Indonesian Bishops strongly wanted to dedicate their Assembly to the reflection on that Document, to find ways of application in the very different and plural reality of the Indonesian archipelago. The speakers, guests during the study days, were the Imam of the Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta, Nasaruddin Umar; the Secretary of the International Institute for Relations of the Islamic Organization «Muhammadiyah», Wachid Ridwan; the national coordinator of the «Gusdurian Network» movement, Alissa Wahid; Father Damiano Fadjar Tejo Soekarno, priest of the diocese of Malang, activist in an interreligious community on the island of Madura.
According to Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo, President of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, «the theme chosen by the Bishops was in conformity with the request of Pope Francis, who asked the episcopate from all over the world to find ways to actualize the ideas contained in the Abu Dhabi document».
Archbishop Piero Pioppo, Apostolic Nuncio in Indonesia, in his speech to the Indonesian Bishops said that «that Document is very important especially for the national situation in Indonesia, where the search for peace, harmony, and coexistence is a challenge we must face together».
«We must guide our community, humbly, in a fraternal dialogue with all people, to always proclaim the values of the Gospel and unity in Indonesia («Ut unum sint»), which are our special contribution to the future of the nation», stated the Apostolic Nuncio.
According to the Executive Secretary of the Bishops’ Commission for Communication, Father Steven Lalu, «the discussions during the days of study of the Bishops led to understanding that all the parties involved must commit themselves to spreading the good values of the Document and making it concrete in activities that build peace and coexistence. In addition to this, tolerance is necessary not to find similarities but rather to get used to living the differences» is what was said during the works.
