Jakarta (AsiaNews) - An Indonesia delegation, led by the head of the Pastoral Commission for Youth of the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI), will travel to the World Youth Days, set to take place on 23-28 July in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. About a hundred people, including teenagers and clergymen from various Catholic groups, as well as a smaller group of 12 people, will be part of the official mission to the South American country.
Mgr John Sakil Pr, bishop of Timika and head of the delegation, said that "60 per cent of young participants comes from Java," including the Dioceses of Jakarta, Semarang, Bandung and Bogor. The remaining 40 per cent "are native to the diocese of Makassar, Pangkal Pinang and some other cities, like Yogyakarta, Semarang, Surabaya, the Diocese of Manokwari-Sorong, Timika and the province of East Nusa Tenggara." Altogether, some 93 boys and girls will be part of the group.
Diocesan Executive Secretary Fr Yohanes Dwi Harsanto will accompany the prelate, as will four other priests, who will supervise the group.
Final preparations for Brazil are currently underway with meetings, moments of reflection and prayer. "We are also setting up a website dedicated to the Brazil days," Fr Harsanto noted.
Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. Catholics are a small minority of about seven million people, or 3 per cent of the population. In the Archdiocese of Jakarta, the faithful reach 3.6 per cent of the population.
Although the constitution recognises religious freedom, Catholics have been the victims of violence and abuse, especially in areas where extremist visions of Islam are entrenched, like Aceh.
Still, Catholics are an active component in society and contribute to the nation's development as well as to emergency operations when they arise, as was the case in last January's devastating floods.