The basic principles of the nation reiterated in a Catholic national conference. The "Five pillars" must be protected and defended in critical situations, including intolerance and secularism.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Pancasilia aims to be the nation's political platform. A national Catholic conference, held on 12 August in South Jakarta (pictured), said.
At the meeting on Pancasilia as the philosophical and political base of the nation, three ministers, retired generals and numerous members of Catholic organizations took part. It was an initiative of the Commission for the Laity of the Indonesian Bishops' Conference (Komisi Kerawam KWI) and was hosted by Atma Jaya Catholic University in South Jakarta.
Indonesian Catholics are clearly committed to ensuring the nation's philosophical and political platform, Pancasila, says a written statement issued before the conference. Pancasilia, literally the Five Basic Pillars, is the official ideology of the state founded on modern democratic principles such as freedom of expression and religion and is inserted as a preamble to the Constitution.
It was stated at the conference, which was designed by Catholic personalities of Jakarta as an effort to raise national social consciousness to reflect on their commitment as Indonesian citizens in the framework of citizenship and nationalism.
It is in this atmosphere that the motto of the first Indonesian bishop Msgr. Albertus Soegijapranata SJ, "100% Indonesian, 100% Catholic" still stands in the modern Indonesian society. The Pancasila must be protected and defended in critical situations, including intolerance, secularism, and potential social conflict.
In recent months, the Indonesian authorities have taken a strategic political decision on some key issues such as Pancasila's renewed anniversary on 1 June; The law of Perppu no. 2 / Year 2017 replacing Regulation No. 17 / Year 2003 on mass organizations; The establishment of a Pancasila control authority in the Presidential Internal Circle.
The Indonesian Bishops' Conference (Komisija Kerawam KWI) argued that, thanks to those three important points, it is the right time for all Indonesian citizens - including Catholics to relaunch the true Indonesian national identity, which is basically generated by the spirit of Pancasila.