» 08/27/2011 10:36 INDONESIA East Java: Indonesian Catholics celebrate the ordination of seven priests by Mathias Hariyadi The ceremony will be held in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart and will be presided over by Mgr. Vinsentius Sutikno Wisaksono, Bishop of Surabaya. For the faithful vocations are "signs of God's blessing." In western Borneo three deacons soon to be ordained. The bishop "extremely happy" for new vocations.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - The Indonesian Church is celebrating the upcoming ordination of seven new priests, all from East Java province. A sign of vitality for the Catholic community, which while representing only 3% of a total of population of 250 million people, overwhelmingly Muslim, keeps alive the work of the announcing of the Good News. The ceremony will be presided over by Mgr. Vinsentius Sutikno Wisaksono, Bishop of Surabaya, and will be held at the local Sacred Heart Cathedral.
The seven deacons, future priests of the Jesuit order, are: Brother Aloysius Cahyo Kristanto of Magetan, Fr. Canisius Sigit Tridrianto of Cepu, Fr. Daniel Setiawan, of Madiun, Fr. Edward Paulus Suryandoko and Fr. Yohanes Setiawan, Surabaya, Fr. Gregorius Dhani Driantoro and Fr. Johannes Endro Wibowo of Blitar. "The religious vocations and priestly ordinations - Joko Riyanto, a Catholic of Surabaya, told AsiaNews, - are signs of God's blessing."
A belief that is also shared by the diocese of Ketapang in western Borneo, where Fr Akap Pasti notes that three new deacons will soon be ordained. They are Fr. Sodho Flores, Fr. Kukuh Setyo Yulianto, from Java and Fr. Albertinus Cemis of Ketapang. The ceremony is scheduled for next September 4th and will be presided by the local bishop, Mgr. Blasius Pujaraharja Pr. The prelate sees it as a special occasion of celebration, because this year he celebrates 50 years of priesthood and the diocese of Ketapang 100 years since foundation.
The entry of new deacons will be crucial for the diocese of Ketapang, because it will help the 30 priests present to date to follow the 20 parishes into which the diocese is divided. Many of these are located in remote areas and six or seven hours of travel are required to reach them. Mgr. Pujaraharja Pr, the diocesan bishop for 30 years, said he was "extremely happy" for new vocations.
