Indonesian ambassador on the importance of Asian Youth
Day
(Vatican Radio) The Catholic Church’s 7th
Asian Youth Day (AYD) kicks off in Indonesia on
Sunday with the preliminary event “Days in Dioceses”, where over 2000 Catholic
youth from 21 Asian countries will be hosted in 11 Indonesian dioceses
from July 30 to Aug 2. They will then converge in Yogyakarta city,
in Semarang Archdiocese, for the main AYD event, August 2-6.
Each of the AYDs held since 1999 in intervals of 2, 3 or 5
years, in various cities of Asia, had a specific theme. The theme
this time - “Joyful Asian Youth: Living the Gospel in Multicultural
Asia!” - intends to underscore the need for Asian youth to follow Christs
amidst the immense variety of Asia’s cultural and natural diversity of which
Indonesia is a prime model.
Model of unity amidst diversity
With some 17,000 islands dotting its vast expanse of some
1,9 million sq.kms., Indonesia is the largest archipelagic nation in the
world. It is home to over 300 ethnic groups and more than 700
languages. With more than 85% of its of 250 million population
professing Islam, it is home to the world’s largest Muslim population, and
is the 4th populous country. Yet officially it is a secular state with
the Indonesian Constitution guaranteeing freedom of religion,
although the state officially recognizes only six religions (Islam,
Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism).
Biodiversity
With roughly 12% of the world’s mammals, 16% of the
world’s reptiles and amphibians, 17% of the world’s birds and 25% of global
fish populations, Indonesia is also the world’s top biodiversity rich region
after the Amazon.
Pancasila
As vast and diverse that Indonesia is, the nation has long
been an example of peaceful harmony, tolerance and unity among its people,
thanks to the Pancasila or the 5 principles on which state is based. The
vast majority of Indonesian Muslims are moderates, but recent incidents
indicate that the growing phenomenon of Islamic radicalism is threatening this
unity amidst its diversity.
In an interview to Vatican Radio, Indonesia’s
ambassador to the Holy See, Antonius Agus Sriyono, noted that by hosting
the 7th AYD, his country wanted to emphasize the need for young people of Asia
and Indonesia to promote and respect unity amidst diversity. Vatican
Radio Stefano Lesczynski who interviewed Sriyono, first asked him about the
expectations of the Catholic and Christian communities from the AYD in
Indonesia.
Ambassador Sriyono said that young people are
very important for Indonesia in the coming decade. It is important
for young Indonesian Catholics to promote and respect the ideal of
Indonesia’s unity. In all of Asian countries too, he said,
there is the need to maintain unity amidst their diversity and variety.
“Let us together respect diversity,” he exhorted.
In this regard, he spoke about the Pancasila,
especially its 2nd principle – humanity. He said it was very
important for Indonesian youth to “respect differences based on
humanity”. By hosting the 7th AYD, Indonesia wanted to emphasize the
first principle of the Pancasila, which is respect for other faiths; and the
second principle – respect for differences based on humanity.
The Indonesian ambassador to the Holy See also spoke
about the need for inter-faith dialogue in order to curb the
growth of radicalism in his country. He said inter-religious dialogue
creates understanding amidst differences. “Dialogue is important
to bridging differences”, he stressed.
In this regard he spoke about the importance of the visit
of Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran of the Vatican’s Pontifcal
Council for Inter-religious Dialogue to Indonesia early this year.
This visit, he said, provided the opportunity for his country to show the
importance it gives to maintain diversity.
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