» 08/16/2011 12:49 INDONESIA Young Indonesians in Madrid to strengthen the Church’s “unity and faith” by Mathias Hariyadi The 284-strong delegation sent by the Bishops’ Conference is called ‘Indonesia United’. It includes priests, nuns and lay people from 37 dioceses. They will be joined by dozens of young people who reached Spain on their own. Two Indonesians will have a front row seat during the Mass celebrated by Benedict XVI.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia’s official delegation for World Youth Day (16-21 August) is called ‘Indonesia United’. It includes 284 people, among them, priests, nuns and lay people from the archipelago’s 37 dioceses, who left Jakarta for Madrid, Spain.
The Youth Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (KWI) worked on selecting the members of the delegation and ironing out all the details for the trip. Dozens of Indonesian Catholics who made it to the Spanish capital on their own will be present at the meetings with Pope Benedict XVI. They too will sport the colours of the KWI delegation to stress the unity that moves Indonesian youth: “one nation, once Church, one faith”.
Fr Johannes Dwi “Santo” Harsanto Pr, executive secretary of the Youth Commission, told AsiaNews about the work that went into preparing the trip, including the participants’ papers. “Our Embassy in Madrid, showed great support for our mission,” said the clergyman from the archdiocese of Semarang. Nineteen priests from various religious orders and five nuns are part of the ‘Indonesia United’ delegation.
Dozens of Indonesian Catholic youth who reached the Spanish capital for World Youth Day on their own they will join the “official delegation” wearing the “same colours as a sign of unity”.
The young people have “a strong interest and commitment,” Fr Santo said. They want “to proclaim loud a clear their Indonesian identity.”
Before leaving for Spain, young people held meetings to reflect and “boost morale and spirituality,” the priest explained. “Their response was “great”. Participants from the World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, also took part to show their support for those travelling to Madrid.
Two front row seats have been reserved for young Indonesians at the Mass Benedict XVI will celebrate.
In order to pick the two, “we ran a competition for the best reflection on a number of matters of faith,” he said. The best were chosen.
“This extraordinary experience will provide them with an opportunity to strengthen their faith and a motivation to work in their parishes and dioceses.”
