Features 24/09/04 Papuans hope pope’s visit will ensure ‘new life’ ahead

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Papuans hope pope’s visit will ensure ‘new life’ ahead

Papuan Catholics will hold a Way of the Cross protest in Jayapura as pope meets Joko Widodo in Jakarta on Sept. 4

Pope Francis waits to board a vehicle at Soekarno–Hatta International Airport in Jakarta on Sept. 3 after arriving in Muslim-majority Indonesia on the first stop of a four-nation tour in the Asia-Pacific. (Photo: AFP)

By UCA News reporter

Published: September 04, 2024 04:05 AM GMT

Updated: September 04, 2024 05:20 AM GMT

Catholics in Papua, Indonesia’s easternmost region plagued by violence for decades, are hoping Pope Francis’ visit will mark the beginning of the end of their plight.

“We hope there will be something ahead, a new life, a good life,” said Father John Bunay, chairman of the Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation Commission of Jayapura diocese, as Francis arrived in Jakarta on Sept. 3.

He expressed hope that the pope’s visit would be “an opportunity, a blessing” for the 9 million Papuan people, 98 percent of whom are Christians. Catholics form some 25 percent of that population.

Papua Christians hope the pope chooses to “speak about our reality.”

“Papuans are dying, as are soldiers and police on the front lines. So, who will help us so that we are all safe,” Bunay, who is also the coordinator of native Papuan priests, told UCA News.

He said the situation needs to change because “if everyone continues to insist that the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia is non-negotiable while rejecting efforts towards peace, then all will die together."

The Papua people want to free their region from Indonesian control, but Indonesia looks to suppress it militarily. The struggle, ongoing since 1962, is estimated to have killed 100,000 to 500,000 people. At least 300 people have died in the last decade.

Bunay said Papuans have no dignity. “It’s like we’re living in a colony…. People seem to think that killing Papuans is okay, taking their land is okay,” he said.

“We are worried. Don’t let genocide, ecocide and ethnocide continue here,” the priest added.

The Way of the Cross protest

Bunay told UCA News that Catholics in Papua will hold a Way of the Cross protest on the streets of Jayapura on Sept. 4 as Pope Francis meets President Joko Widodo and other government officials in Jakarta.

Catholic priests and students will take to the streets of Papua's provincial capital and pray in reflection, contemplation and lamentation. They will be joined by Protestant pastors and students from eight Protestant theological colleges.

"We will all stand as the Body of Christ on this land. Who knows, the Holy Father will gather information that not everything is okay in Papua,” the priest said.

This action plan emerged amid reports of pressure from Church officials in Jakarta not to discuss the Papua issue during a meeting with the pope.

At least three church sources in the know told UCA News that Bishop Yanuarius Teofilus Matopai You of Jayapura was also told not to carry symbols related to Papua at the meeting with Francis.

However, the first native-born Papua bishop planned to present the pope with a book written by Papuans.

The 124-page book, titled "The Prayers and Hopes of Papuans to the Holy Father Pope Francis,"  was originally written by 34 Papuans, including priests, and translated into Italian. UCA News obtained a copy.

The book was to be wrapped in a noken (traditional Papuan bag woven from dried tree bark) but this was not allowed, a source said.

Bishop You, when contacted by UCA News, said it was a “very busy event that required strict procedures” to be followed.

But he hoped that the humanitarian crisis in Papua would attract attention, “including from the pope,” and “could be conveyed directly,” though a bit “slowly.”

The prelate refused to say more.

Meanwhile, the Archbishop of Jakarta, Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardiatmodjo, refused to have any “discussion about it” when asked about the pressure not to raise the Papuan issue in the pope’s presence.

Regarding the ban on carrying traditional symbols from Papua, he expressed hope that “everyone realizes that this is a Holy Mass, not anything else.”

Hardiatmodjo said, “No one will speak except the chairman of the Indonesian bishops' conference” in the meeting with the pope.

“Certainly, no one will speak other than what has been determined,” he added.

Father Yustinus Sulistiadi, a senior priest from Jakarta archdiocese, had made it clear that the pope would not comment on political issues but would only discuss broader global issues of common concern.

'Need to discuss human issues'

Father Bernard Baru, rector of Jayapura Diocese’s Fajar Timur School of Philosophy, stressed that the Papua issue should be discussed in public, including by the pope.

“This is a humanitarian issue that the church should talk about. We must reveal the truth, not cover it up,” the Augustinian priest said.

He said the continuing violence, abuse of indigenous people’s rights, and destruction of forests are church issues, which are also global issues.

Unfortunately, he said, “the church is very close to power, and is afraid to talk about them.”

Baru said he will join his students at the Way of the Cross protest on Sept. 4, hoping “the sufferings of Papuans get the pope’s attention.”

If the Catholic Church in Indonesia insists on covering up, he said: “I say, the Indonesian Church will be recorded on the red list of humanitarian history in Papua.”

James Kossay, a Good Shepherd parish priest in Jayapura, said Papuans have been alone all this time.

“Okay, we’re part of the Church, with institutions that are recognized by the hierarchy from the diocese to the Indonesian Church Conference, but I feel that about the conflict in Papua, we kind of have no place in the Church,” he said.

The priest said if the Indonesian Church does not advocate for Papua, the bishops dare not mention the plight of its people and nature. "How can we then be enthusiastic about the pope’s visit?"

Hamim Mustofa from the Papuan Muslim Council said the problems in Papua need the support of religious and spiritual leaders like the pope.

“Among Muslims, this is constantly being discussed, but we have not seen any progress,” he told UCA News. “Silence is no longer relevant for Papua.”