The top court in Indonesia has come out with a circular requesting courts not to grant a nod to interfaith marriages contradictory to its 1986 ruling, which makes interfaith marriages legal in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian nation. In the July 17 circular, Muhammad Syarifuddin, chairman of the Supreme Court, emphasised the need to establish guidelines Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Indonesia’
Indonesian seminarians become journalists
Monday, June 13th, 2022
Indonesian seminarians are being provided with an additional set of skills – and not ones you’d necessarily expect. A Catholic group in Indonesia’s conflict-torn Papua province is teaching the seminarians to report on events in remote areas where there is limited access for journalists. Rights activists often criticise Indonesia’s mainstream media for reporting news based Read more
Catholic catechist shot dead in Papua
Monday, November 2nd, 2020A Catholic official in Papua has condemned the killing of Rufinus Tigau, a catechist whom Indonesian security forces accused of being a separatist. “We are very concerned with this incident which targeted church servants,” Father Marthen Kuayo, apostolic administrator of Timika Diocese, told UCA News on Oct. 28. Tigau, 28, was reportedly killed on Oct. Read more
Indonesian archbishop joins mosque groundbreaking ceremony
Thursday, August 27th, 2020A Catholic archbishop has taken part in a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a Muslim mosque in Indonesia’s West Kalimantan province, calling it “a ‘groundbreaking’ symbol of interreligious harmony.” Archbishop Agustinus Agus of Pontianak was among five local officials and religious leaders to attend the event on Aug. 21 in Landak district. West Kalimantan Read more
Indonesia to deploy 160,000 people to protect churches for Christmas
Monday, December 9th, 2019Nearly 160,000 security personnel will be deployed to try to make Christmas and New Year celebrations in Indonesia safe, reported ucanews.org. This is an increase from last year, when nearly 90,000 security personnel guarded about 50,000 churches across the country. An official of the National Police Traffic Corps told journalists that police, military personnel and Read more
Indonesia rethinks ban on sex outside marriage
Monday, September 23rd, 2019Indonesia’s president has delayed a vote on controversial new laws that would have outlawed sex outside marriage. They’d gained a lot of attention online, with the Australian government updating its advice for tourists heading to Bali. Now President Joko Widodo says the new laws need more consideration and has delayed next week’s vote. Bali’s a Read more
New Zealand concerned about unrest in near neighbour
Monday, September 9th, 2019
In the last four years, New Zealand has become one of the top destinations for West Papuan students to obtain higher education. Last year, there were 160 West Papuans studying in New Zealand. In August a long-simmering discontent exploded into a mass uprising. The number involved has reportedly reached tens of thousands. At least 10 Read more
Woman jailed for complaining adzan call to prayer is too loud
Monday, August 27th, 2018A Buddhist woman in Sumatra has been jailed after she complained the adzan, or call to prayer, from her local mosque is too loud. Indonesia’s largest Islamic bodies have denounced the jailing, with senior figures from Indonesia’s two largest Islamic bodies backing them. “I do not see how saying ‘adzan is too loud’ is an Read more
Indonesian government gets Catholic universities to help improve quality of higher education
Thursday, April 19th, 2018
Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta and the Catholic University of Soegijapranata in Semarang, Central Java, are among 29 leading Indonesian educational institutions picked to help improve the quality of higher education. The government wants the 29 universities to transfer knowledge between them and the institutions they have been assigned to, not only on the academic Read more
Indonesian bishop Leteng resigns in finance, mistress scandal
Thursday, October 12th, 2017The bishop of Ruteng in Indonesia has resigned amid mounting concerns surrounding an alleged mistress and reportedly stolen funds. Bishop Hubertus Leteng, 58, was accused of borrowing $94,000 from the Indonesian bishops’ conference, as well as $30,000 from the Diocese of Ruteng. Continue reading