Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Some 600 Catholic women from every diocese of the country met in congress to renew their commitment to national unity.
Participants to the 20th Congress of the Wanita Katolik Republik Indonesia (WKRI), which was held on 30 October-2 November in Central Jakarta, pledged to "join the nation's efforts to create a healthy society, ennobled by its diversity."
Founded in 1928 as the Poesara Wanita Katholiek, the Catholic Women's Association of Indonesia held its first national conference on 22-25 December of that same year.
Even then, the women's federation had sensed the urgent need of going beyond the ethnic, language and culture differences of its members.
"We must always bear in mind that, even if part of history, these considerations are still current", WKRI president Justina Rostiawati told AsiaNews.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Indonesian President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo expressed his admiration for women’s strength and abilities. A certain number of women occupy key posts in his cabinet.
In addition to the president, the Minister for Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Yohana Yembise was present, as were Religious Affairs Minister Lukman Hakim Saifuddin, and Mgr Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, archbishop of Jakarta and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (KWI).
