08/08/2022, 18.30
INDONESIA
Send to a friend

Mgr Mandagi takes office as the new archbishop of Merauke

by Mathias Hariyadi

The ceremony of instalments took place yesterday after a two-year delay due to the pandemic. In the past, the prelate played a key role in the Malino II peace accord. The promotion of indigenous rights will be at the heart of his pastoral mission.

Merauke (AsiaNews) – Mgr Petrus Canisius Mandagi is the new archbishop of Merauke, an archdiocese located in the southern part of Papua.

The ceremony of possession canonica, which had been postponed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was held yesterday in the presence of Card Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, 17 Indonesian bishops, thousands of faithful as well as local authorities.

The papal nuncio to Indonesia, Archbishop Piero Pioppo, handed over the archepiscopal pallium to Mgr Mandagi, former bishop of the diocese of Amboina for 25 years.

“Pope Francis officially assigned me the new pastoral mission in the Archdiocese of Merauke, Papua, in November 2020 but only today I am installed as the new archbishop,” said Mgr Mandagi during the ceremony.

The Vatican chose him for his exceptional service in Maluku Province between 1999 and 2002 when he was directly involved in negotiating the Malino II accord that ended sectarian violence between Muslim radicals and Protestants.

As archbishop of Merauke, Mandagi will also devote himself to promoting peace in Papua.

In July 2021, speaking in the wake of violence and humiliation by military officers against indigenous people, he said that, “our local indigenous people of Papua should be treated with dignity and their civil rights should be respected and guaranteed.”

The archdiocese is home to the largest Catholic community on the island of Papua, divided in four dioceses: Agats, Jayapura, Manokwari-Sorong, and Timika.

TAGs
Send to a friend
Printable version
CLOSE X
See also
Catholic music to promote dialogue in Ambon, the city of sectarian violence
17/10/2018 13:29
Papua: Merauke archbishop escapes two Islamist attacks
03/06/2021 13:39
Ordination ceremony in Ambon cancelled because bishop has COVID-19
29/01/2021 12:33
Indonesia’s first Catholic publishing house marks its first hundred years
24/01/2022 16:18
Let those who preach bear witness to Jesus and lead a morally coherent life, Pope says
09/02/2011


Newsletter

Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences

Subscribe now
“L’Asia: ecco il nostro comune compito per il terzo millennio!” - Giovanni Paolo II, da “Alzatevi, andiamo”