Is not Fr. Riley still naive? Will he have any assurance that the orphanage he pays for will not teach its children hatred and contempt for the benefactor? Unlikely that he will. He probably doesn’t even know that that is a possibility. “Charity deal to open Aceh orphanage,” from AAP, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
An Australian charity accused of trying to convert Muslim children has admitted it had been naive but said it has agreed with one of Indonesia’s largest Islamic groups to set up an orphanage in tsunami-shattered Aceh.
Youth Off The Streets (YOTS), headed by Sydney Catholic priest Father Chris Riley, signed an agreement with the 30-million member Muhammadiyah to set up a centre for children on the outskirts of Aceh’s provincial capital, Banda Aceh.
Before signing, Riley admitted he had been unaware of religious sensitivities in Aceh, the only Indonesian province with sharia law, when he first arrived with a plan for an orphanage.
The plan drew fire from supporters of the hardline Islamic Defenders Front, who accused Riley of trying to convert Muslim children to Christianity.
“I must admit when I went into Banda Aceh I knew little about it, so I was pretty naive,” Riley told AAP before signing.
But he said he was delighted to work with Muhammadiyah on the project and had been amazed at how quickly arrangements for the centre had come together.
“All we want to do here is help a bit. And, this partnership has ensured that the kids will be kept in their own culture, with their own religions, spirituality, and we’re just going to help basically Muhammadiyah, who are employing the Aceh people up there,” Riley said.