Cardinal Suharyo: Pope’s Indonesia visit will help us deepen faith and fraternity

By Fr. Bernardo Suate – Jakarta

Pope Francis wrapped up his Apostolic Journey to Indonesia on Friday morning as he departed for the second stage of his Visit, which takes him to Papua New Guinea.

After the papal plane took off, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, sat down with Vatican News to offer his thoughts on the Pope’s visit in the following interview:
 

Q: Your Eminence, what's your summary of the visit of Pope Francis and how was it received by Indonesians, Catholics and non-Catholics alike?

I think everything is in the theme, which consists of three words. It is faith, fraternity and compassion.

In fact, it was not written on the table, but it is the mirror of the dynamics of the life of the Church in Indonesia. It was given to the Vatican, and Pope Francis agreed upon the theme.

So, during these occasions in these three days in Jakarta, Pope Francis has been deepening the meaning of those three words.

To put it simply, I would say like this: We, not only Catholics but all members of other religious communities, want to develop ourselves in our faith.

And one of the most important indicators of faith is fraternity. If you say that you are a faithful and belong to a religion, but do not grow in fraternity, you could put a big question mark on whether you are really faithful or just having a religion, but are not religious.

The fruit of fraternity is compassion. If you say that you are my brother, you are my sister, and things like that, but you do not show a compassionate attitude, then when you say that you are trying to be a brother, a good brother, a good sister, your actions could put a big question mark on that statement.

If I may say so, that is the beginning and the end of all the presence of Pope Francis. And everything, every word, was developed, sometimes in different contexts.

For example, we met in the Cathedral with priests, bishops, catechists, and religious. He gave a special address to the bishops, priests, and especially to the catechists, who teach in the basic communites or schools, and as far as I can remember, Pope Francis gave a special highlight about what the two catechists said during the meeting.

When we went to the presidential palace, Pope Francis was speaking about the Pancasila and about fraternity and the relations among adherents of different religions. Then the president also gave a short speech, thanking Pope Francis for finally visiting us.

We have a long history of relations between Indonesia and the Vatican, because already in 1947 we started diplomatic relations, and then in 1950 the Vatican already had set up the Nunciature here and Indonesia had its embassy at the Vatican. So, we have good relations among those States. The President was really very happy and that can easily be seen in the way he received Pope Francis.

Cardinal Suharyo speaking to Vatican News

Q: Your Eminence, we had the interreligious event here with the signature of an agreement between Pope Francis and the Grand Imam. How do you think it will help to strengthen harmony among religions and tolerance among the different realities in the country?

The document was signed by all leaders of seven religions, including the local belief, making seven. So, everybody signed it.

If you go to the mosque, I think you have to learn the history about where the mosque now is situated. It was intentionally decided by the first president that the Istiqlal, that is the state mosque, be near to the cathedral; it was intentionally decided, because there was a discussion among the president and the vice president. The vice president proposed another place, but the president said it should be there. So, we are together and near one another, to symbolize our ideal to live in harmony.

Yesterday after the signing of the document, the Grand Imam told me that, after this signing, we have to meet and discuss together what should be done after the signing so that it will not stay as a mere document, but rather become the beginning of different kind of actions taken together by the different religious communities here in Indonesia.

It is not a theory; it is already practiced, and we hope the signing could strengthen our way to move toward the future together.

Q: Your Eminence, as the Cardinal Archbishop of Jakarta, could you offer us a brief message on how this experience with Pope Francis here will help the Church go forward and help the community and society, not only in Indonesia but everywhere?

Let me return to the basic theme of the visit of the Pope in Indonesia. I think that can sum up all of our desire or hope for the future: that we grow in faith, in fraternity, and in compassion.

I think that this is not only for Catholics, but that it will be understood very easily by all Indonesians.

The same theme will be understood very easily in understanding—in practice that is another question—by everyone who really belongs to any faith community.