INDONESIA After 26 years of struggle, the church of Pinang was consecrated

The opposition of radical Islamic groups prevented for a long time the granting of the permit to build the church of the parish that bears the name of Santa Bernadette. But thousands of faithful continued to gather to celebrate Mass for years despite the intimidation. The rite was presided over yesterday by Cardinal Suharyo: “May this temple strengthen our Christian faith and bring many blessings to the people.”

Jakarta () – After endless years of battles, thousands of faithful from the Saint Bernadette parish were able to experience yesterday the joy of the blessing of their temple, presided over by Jakarta Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo. St. Bernadette’s Church is located in Pinang sub-district, Banten province, and clearly reflects the dark side of the Indonesian bureaucracy, which seriously threatens the right to worship.

Since 1992, a weekly Mass has been celebrated in the assembly hall of the Catholic school of Sang Timur, in the neighboring sub-district of Ciledug. But it took more than 26 years for the Tangerang local administration to grant the IMB, that is, permission to build a temple in Pinang. In fact, the request had to face opposition from local radical Muslim groups, which culminated in the definitive closure of the main entrance of the Sang Timur school, through which even today the nuns who run the institute cannot enter.

Even when the Church finally obtained a new headquarters in 2013 where it could build a permanent place of worship in the Pinang sub-district, a massive protest by local radical Muslim groups broke out. The place where mass had begun was padlocked by unknown persons and another group of fundamentalist Muslims filed a lawsuit against the Tangerang administration to revoke the already issued IMB. The success of that legal battle forced the sudden and forced stoppage of any construction project.

Despite strong rejection by local fundamentalists, nearly 12,000 faithful have demonstrated their courage over the years by participating in the weekly celebration under the protection of security agents. Until finally a new IMB was granted. At Christmas last year, had confirmed optimism about the construction project, despite the fact that the temple did not even have benches. The construction was finished in February and finally yesterday the consecration of the temple could be carried out.

Before celebrating the mass, Cardinal Suharyo expressed his intense desire that “the parish church of Saint Bernadette become a grace of God for the entire community.” “May it strengthen our Christian faith and bring many blessings to the people,” the Jakarta archbishop told some 2,000 people. “This long history of struggle reflects our resistance,” he added, thanking the donors who made the construction possible and the religious congregation of the missionaries of Scheut (CICM) “which has always provided its priests to the parish church of Saint Bernadette.”

In his capacity as the person in charge of the construction project of the church, Mr. Sahat Manalu explained that “the long struggle of the Church of the parish of Saint Bernadette has been inspired by three fundamental spirits: trust, respect and integrity”. .