Synod: Young Indonesian
auditor brings unique perspective
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| Anastasia Indrawan, a young auditor at the Synod of Bishops from Indonesia. |
Anastasia Indrawan, a member of the Youth Commission of the
Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, is one of the young auditors at the Synod of
Bishops who brings the perspective of the Church living on the margins of
society.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
30-year-old Anastasia Indrawan comes from Indonesia and is a
member of the Youth Commission of Indonesian Bishops’ Conference. She brings a
unique perspective to the Synod of Bishops because she is among the Catholic
minority in her country. Anastasia spoke with Devin Watkins about this
experience.
No need to be afraid of young people
Anastasia is excited to participate in the Synod of Bishops
because she wants to know “what the real attitude of the Church is toward young
people”. She says it is positive to hear that the Church wants to listen to
young people. But she has observed that some of the Bishops
“have difficulties in listening and that actually to me
is interesting. Because…we don’t bite. There’s no need to fear us.”
View of Church is positive
The fear of not understanding young people is present in the
Indonesian Church, Anastasia continued. She acknowledges there are differences
between the older and young generation. Still, she says, “that doesn’t mean
that the conversation cannot happen”. Overall, young people still view the
Church positively, Anastasia said.
“We still find the Church interesting and we want to take
part in it and we are so energetic and hopeful and spirited to be part of the
Church. But if our territorial priests are afraid of us, then that will be a
problem.”
Young Catholics are marginalized
According to Anastasia, young Catholics in Indonesia are
seeking practical guidance from the Church in navigating a society in which
they are a minority. She also hopes the Church can help young people in a
culture in which respect for elders still exists. This contributes to the
marginalization of Catholic young people within the Church itself because the
clergy is influenced by the culture at large. Anastasia sees future
consequences if this is not addressed:
“God knows what the future for our Church will be because
one day we will be the ones going to Church and we will be the ones helping the
Church, but if we are not embraced now then we will leave because at this very
stage, we have so much energy to give and we will just find a place where we
can give. The first choice right now for Young Catholics will be the Church,
but we need the space.”
Persecution can lead to witness
Since Catholics are a minority in Indonesia, Anastasia says
it takes a lot of tolerance to interact when open persecution is real. It also
provides opportunities to witness to their own beliefs.
“People say we are godless people because we are not
Muslims, for example. And we have to be wise enough to just be calm and say,
‘That’s okay if that’s your opinion. But I know that we have a loving God and
we stick by our faith and that we still pray for you.’ Those are the Catholic
values that we also want to show to the world.”
Dialogue with other religions
Anastasia, along with the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia,
is engaged in dialogue with young people of other religions through a “youth
meeting on nationalism”. Each year, a number of young people plan and hold
events around the theme “unity and diversity”, their nation’s motto. Their
message is:
“That being different doesn’t mean we cannot live
together side by side. It actually becomes something beautiful and it actually
adds to our richness.”
Pray for the people of Sulawesi
Anastasia’s final words are for her brothers and sisters in
Sulawesi.
“Please do pray…because it is quite a devastating event
and we really need the hope and prayers and help from everybody”.
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