03/25/2013, 00.00
INDONESIA
Send to a friend

West Jakarta: Islamist threats against Holy Week celebrations

by Mathias Hariyadi
Extremist groups have made threats against the priest and the faithful of a Catholic church in Kepa Duri. Palm Sunday Mass took place as scheduled but fears remain about Easter services. Extremist ire was triggered by the fact that the church is located inside a school.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - This Holy Week will be full of tensions for Catholics in West Jakarta, who put up with repeated threats over the weekend from hundreds of Islamic extremists, who tried to block access to Christ the Peace Catholic Church in Kepa Duri, an administrative area west of the Indonesian capital.

Last Saturday, on the eve of Palm Sunday, Islamist groups (pictured) made serious threats against Catholics in Kepa Duri, telling the priest and the faithful to cancel scheduled weekend celebrations.

Their hatred was triggered by the fact that the place of worship is located inside a school, which, in their opinion, "should not be used" for religious services.

The extremists tried to attack the site when the priest and some members of the congregation started a prayer meeting. As a result, Fr Matthew Widyolestari turned to the Interfaith Forum in Jakarta, which met with the leaders of the extremist protest.

Contacted by AsiaNews, Fr Matthew said that Sunday services would be held "regularly, as scheduled," which is what happened. Yesterday in fact, the faithful were able to attend Mass, also thanks to the massive deployment of security forces sent to protect their life.

Now attention has turned on Holy Week services, with the maximum level of vigilance in force.

 

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Catholic music to promote dialogue in Ambon, the city of sectarian violence
17/10/2018 13:29
Christians in Holy Land call for an 'open Jerusalem' at Easter
12/04/2017 16:14
Nepali Hindu woman who celebrated Palm Sunday to become Catholic soon
21/03/2016 14:15
Indonesian Catholics mark Holy Week with horse parades and traffic jams
10/04/2017 20:44
Anti-terrorism law used to disrupt interfaith events
14/04/2023 19:03


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”