Stage set for Indonesian Youth Day
(Vatican Radio) The Diocese of Manado is putting the final touches to preparations for the Second Indonesian Youth Day of the Catholic Church, that kicks off on Saturday here in Manado, the capital of the country’s northernmost province of North Sulawesi. The theme of the Oct. 1-6 event is, “The Joy of Gospel Amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”. This follows from the 1st Indonesian Youth Day that took place in October 2012 in Sanggau, West Kalimantan, on the theme “Rooted and Built Up in Jesus Christ, Strengthened in the Faith.”
Robin Gomes reports:
The Second Indonesian Youth Day, taking place during the worldwide Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year of Mercy, is the first of two important youth celebrations in 2016 and 2017. This is also in preparation for the 6th Asian Youth Day to be hosted in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, July 30 – August 6, in 2017. ?
With nearly 90% of the nation’s over 250 million people professing Islam, Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world. Christians make up almost 10% of the population, or over 25 million people, with Catholics forming some 2.7%. A vast majority of Indonesian Muslims are moderates, but recent incidents indicate that the nation is no exception to the growing threat of Islamic radicalism among its people, and the nation’s authorities are aware of it and taking action. In this context, the Indonesian Youth Day in Manado, focussing on diversity as a unifying factor, is of great relevance to the country, and the government has also shown great interest in this.
Bishop Joseph Suwatan of Manado who is hosting the youth event, told Vatican Radio’s Robin Gomes in Manado, that his diocese which comprises the northern provinces of North Sulawesi, Gorontalo and Central Sulawesi, is a model of peaceful co-existence and brotherhood among religions and peoples.
Interview with Bishop Suwatan:
From Oct. 1 to 6, Catholic youth from all the dioceses will pray, meditate, discuss and share their experiences on how important it is to engage in healthy dialogue, mutual understanding and cooperation, and work together in solidarity with followers other faiths, especially Islam, to create a healthy society for the common good. Commenting on the theme of the 2nd Indonesian Youth Day, “The Joy of Gospel Amidst a Plural Society in Indonesia”, Bishop Suwatan explained that he envisages the youth event in his diocese like the marriage feast of Cana in the Gospel, where Jesus transformed water into wine.
Bishop Suwatan:
According to the Indonesian Youth Day coordinating team at the Bishop’s House in Manado, some 2600 young people from the country’s 37 dioceses will be arriving soon at Manado. The team is coordinating with the various dioceses and assigning participants to Manado’s 37 parishes who will take care of their accommodation and other expenses and also see to the event’s programme at the local level. Fr. Rheinner Saneba, the organizer of the media centre said that the first three days of the Indonesian Youth Day will be at the parish level, with participants taking part in live-in programmes in the homes of local families, both Catholics and non-Catholics. On the fourth day, Oct. 4, the Indonesian Youth Day will be officially inaugurated, with local Catholics as well as others joining the youth representatives from the dioceses for an afternoon of open-air celebration at Manado’s Klabat Stadium. The remaining days will be dedicated to a variety of programmes such as seminars, catechesis, adoration, procession, sharing of testimonies as well as shows by dioceses depicting the rich cultural variety of the far-flung archipelago of Indonesia.
(Robin Gomes, of Vatican Radio)