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Islamic Tolerance Alert: "The authorities in West Jakarta stop a parish priest from celebrating mass," by Mathias Hariyadi for Asia News (thanks to Insubria):
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesian authorities have prevented the parish priest of Christ’s Peace Church in South Duri (West Jakarta) from celebrating mass. The Catholic parish church in which the function was supposed to take place is at the centre of controversy ever since a group of Muslims have challenged its legal status. As a result of strong pressures from Muslim extremists Tambura Sub-district officials banned all activities in the church to avoid “social tensions.”The parish priest, Fr Matthew Widyalestari MSC, signed an agreement forcing him to cease all activities in the church but expressed a desire to celebrate a Sunday mass for his 4,000 parishioners who now find themselves unable to practice their faith.
On Friday after a meeting between local Catholic leaders and officials from the West Jakarta District and the Tambura Sub-district, local political authorities insisted on cancelling the Eucharistic function as well. The same reason or excuse was given, “public order,” and the fear of sectarian clashes as Father Widyalestari told AsiaNews.
“The faithful want their spiritual needs fulfilled; they feel like they are on a most wanted list, forced underground to find another place to practice their religion,” the priest said.
Posted by Robert at December 10, 2007 11:46 AM
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stating the obvious: “The faithful want their spiritual needs fulfilled; they feel like they are on a most wanted list, forced underground to find another place to practice their religion,” the priest said.
It feels that way because that's what is happening to them.
Posted by: eve_anne_gelical![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 10, 2007 12:19 PM
When I was skimming through the headlines, I temporarily misread this as "Authorities in West Yorkshire stop a parish priest from celebrating Mass".
Still, given the demographics, it's only a matter of time.
Posted by: Celsius at December 10, 2007 2:22 PM
"Sub-district officials banned all activities in the church to avoid “social tensions.”
Translated: "anti-social tensions"
at December 10, 2007 3:15 PM
Of course, one interesting thing about this is the numbers.
Just this one Catholic church in South Duri [suburb? district?] West Jakarta has FOUR THOUSAND parishioners. How many Catholic Churches in Australia, the UK or the USA have four thousand parishioners? Makes one wonder how many OTHER churches there are in Jakarta - not just Catholics but Protestants - and how big they are.
I wonder if the church was recently built (or extended) to accommodate new converts and a growing congregation, which would suggest that the local Muslim jihad mobsters are trying to impose the Pact of Omar which forbids existing Christian communities either to build new churches or to repair old ones?
Don't you love the Orwellian doublespeak? - 'public order' (= the necessity to suppress, on pain of immediate Muslim mob violence, all visible evidence of any non-Muslim religious activity), 'sectarian clashes' (= 'Muslim mobs attacking Christians') and 'social tensions' (= 'Muslim mobs attacking Christians').
Frankly: Islam as a belief-system CAN'T compete on a level playing field. So it cheats, by resorting to brute force and dirty tricks. Don't the 'Indonesian authorities' know how disgusting their behaviour looks, not just to Christians but to every other decent and sane non-Muslim human on the planet? That it is viewed not as perfect, or just, but as the most horrible and arrogant INJUSTICE?
In light of this sort of thing - and many, many other instances of outright persecution of Christians in Indonesia - I do not see why ANY Christian-majority country should be offering any official military or economic 'aid' to Indonesia, at all. Indeed, too, given the atrocious treatment of other non-Muslims (Hindus, Buddhists, Confucian-Taoist Chinese, and indigenous animists), no Infidel government should be assisting the Jakarta regime. Infidel companies should be ceasing to do business there.
I hope that Catholic cardinals, archbishops, bishops and their parishioners outside Indonesia will be putting appropriate pressure on their governments, on behalf of Fr Matthew and all Indonesia's persecuted Catholics, and also urging His Holiness Benedict XVI to speak truth to power.
A worldwide and well-publicised Catholic boycott of Indonesian products (e.g. timber furniture, paper, spices ) might also have some effect?
May the true and living God (who is not 'allah'!) bless Fr Matthew and all his parishioners and work miracles of deliverance on their behalf - and, indeed, for all Christians and all despised and persecuted non-Muslims everywhere in Indonesia.
If the church is forced underground, then I will pray that in time there may come a massive tectonic shift, a spiritual eruption of Krakatoa magnitude that will remove from Indonesia, forever, the abomination of desolation which is Islam.
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at December 10, 2007 4:58 PM
DA--Amen.
Posted by: John C at December 10, 2007 6:59 PM
I imagine the imans are worried the Catholics are gaining on them.
Posted by: tanstaafl at December 10, 2007 8:51 PM
Vulcan
What a good question!
The Catholics in Jakarta (can you believe there are any?) want their spiritual needs fulfilled, and instead they are dead men walking.
Meanwhile the Holy Father invites a group of muslim clerics to the Vatican. Maybe they want to see that fresco of Mohammed burning in hell with his pal Satan, uh, I mean, Al'lah.
The local Catholic paper said the muslims refuse to discuss "reciprocity" and Mohammed's evangelizing means with Benedict XVI. Natch.
Posted by: CapitalistGig at December 10, 2007 9:39 PM
Christophobia is rampant in Muslim lands because Islam is a racist religion.
Posted by: James Martel at December 10, 2007 10:51 PM
...The faithful want their spiritual needs fulfilled; they feel like they are on a most wanted list, forced underground to find another place to practice their religion,” the priest said."
...then they have better start having prayer services with weapons by the side...
..Ban Muslim Immigration..
at December 11, 2007 8:23 AM
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