Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Backed by strong support in its community, the Parish of St Gabriel Catholic Church in Pulo Gebang, in East Jakarta, decided to try a new way of living a spiritual retreat, one based mainly on recounting personal experiences of life and faith, centred not on priests, but also on others, including former priests, seminarians and ordinary people.
This is part of decade-long trend among Indonesian Catholics who have been increasingly attracted to the practice of spiritual retreat in isolated places, suitable for meditation and reflection. An ever-greater number of them also appear drawn to the new approach, based on sharing and active participation.
Thus, on 20 October, more than a hundred people gathered at the St Gabriel Catholic Church. For the meeting's organisers, this was "a great job". Agustinus Kunarwoko, a former diocesan priest, agrees.
The faithful's response was greater than expected. They were full of "enthusiasm", so much so that, given the large number of requests, "we had to set a limit," Kunarwoko said, since the site "could not accommodate more people." In fact, the number of people who showed interest in taking part in the daylong retreat was "well in excess of 400".
Kunarwoko also told AsiaNews that he hoped to see such moments of encounter turn into real forums, open to as many believers as possible, venues where everyone could recount their own experiences and talk about the ways they cope with challenges and opportunities.
Going beyond priest-led spiritual retreats, the St Gabriel meeting included reflections and testimonials by priests, religious and lay people. Some of them were former priests, former seminarians, former political prisoners, intellectuals and professionals persecuted under repressive and discriminatory laws, people like Arswendo Atmowiloto, a famous journalist who spent a few years in prison for blasphemy, and two Jesuit philosophy professors who spoke about how they live a deep and true faith. Like the other participants, two scholars went beyond formal philosophy, ethics, and theology and talked about their "personal experience of faith."
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. Catholics are a small minority of about seven million, or 3 per cent of the population. In the Archdiocese of Jakarta, the faithful represent 3.6 per cent of the population.
Although the country's 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 of 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 flood.