Since February, the activists have held rallies in churches in Jayapura every Sunday, airing their demand for the Vatican to appoint native Papuan priests as bishops in their region.

The issue has come to a head with the imminent retirement of Franciscan Bishop Leo Laba Ladjar of Jayapura, Indonesia.

Bishop Ladjar applied for retirement before reaching 75 years, the usual age for bishops to retire.

"Until now, I waited for [the pope's] answer with great longing. Turns out there has been no response. Why so? Ask the pope," the now 78-year-old bishop was quoted as saying by news portal Tabloid Jubi.

Bishop Ladjar has been criticised for his lack of attention to humanitarian issues. In particular, they cite the problems in the easternmost region where conflict continues between rebels and the Indonesian military and police.

The activists want Bishop Ladjar, who is from a different region of Indonesia, to be succeeded by a native Papuan.

Soleman Itlay, one of the activists present at the Sunday rallies, said he hoped the Vatican would hear their aspirations.

"If the appointed bishop is a non-Papuan, especially one who does not know the local dynamics and the will of the people, we will continue our actions," he told UCA News.

He said they did not have personal hate for Bishop Ladjar and other non-Papuan bishops.

Their dissatisfaction, Itlay said, was triggered by the Church's silence on issues of violence and the marginalisation of indigenous Papuans.

"The Catholic Church in Papua is not doing well. Even now, there are groups who choose to remain Catholic and recognise the pope but no longer want to recognise the hierarchy of the Church in Papua and Indonesia," he said.

Many Indonesian missionaries from other islands of the nation are sent from different dioceses to Papuan dioceses in a "twinning" and exchange of priests between Indonesian dioceses.

Sources

• UCA News

He said that Papuan people should sit together and discuss how to promote development in Papua.

In response to the desire of the KNPB - National Committee of West Papua — for all its members to surrender to the police and to call on the Bishop to mediate, he said that this was quite acceptable as long as the organisation's intentions were genuine and it was not simply seeking to meet the Bishop which might cause people to suspect their intentions.

He described the KNPB as an organisation that has rejected all the programmes of the government such as Special Autonomy, the Special Unit of Development Acceleration in Papua and West Papua (UP4B) and other things.

‘I have the impression that the KNPB refuses to listen to anyone. I would not want to listen to things that they are doing at a time when they are becoming ever more determined and radical. I don't know how long the KNPB will continue to reject any improvements. Perhaps they are seeking to get something that they have not been able to get so far.'

On the website, Papua Land of peace Bishop Ladjar is quoted as saying:

"We, the religious leaders, feel like spectators at a football match. We sit on the stand and watch how the players play on that field … Some run with the ball individually, not minding their fellow players. Some just walk around casually, some even far off the field. There are some who kick the referee. Others stamp the trainer and force him to hand over all the money, so that they can quickly use it in the corners of the field. We just watch from the stand. We shout, reminding them to improve whatever goes wrong and to stick to the rules. Sometimes we loose patience and want to jump onto the field to join the game. But we can't. It is not our business. It is our business to shout, either to support or to reprimand or even to swear. But we feel that our voices are like the voice of the one crying in the desert.'

'The website Papua, Land of Peace has been established by leaders of the Catholic, Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist Communities in Papua. In promoting Papua as a land of peace, religious leaders cooperate with human rights organisations, NGOs, journalists and academics.