http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071127.A06&irec=5
Church closed in local dispute The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Thousands of Catholics in Tambora district, West Jakarta have been forced to rent space in which to worship after locals and officials prevented them from holding services in their 40-year-old church. "We are estranged from our roots. We've been here since 1968. We have now 3,500 people listed in our congregation. Half of them are from West Jakarta and the other half from Central Jakarta," parish head Father Matheus Widyolestari MSC told The Jakarta Post on Monday. Father Widyo said that the conflict began last week when subdistrict officials asked whether there were plans to enlarge the small church. The conflict continued to heat up until locals calling themselves the Cooperation Forum for Mosque, Prayer Rooms (Musholla) and Koranic Recital Group (Majlis Taklim) of Duri Selatan subdistrict demanded the parish stop holding services last Friday. Father Widyo acknowledged that the area was a designated residential area. The chapel started out in 1968 as a multi-function room of a Catholic school run by the Mother of Sacred Heart Foundation. As the Catholic congregation in the area grew, the space turned into a small church. The religious activities were endowed only with the permission of local neighborhood leaders. In 1998, according to the chronology provided by the church, "Former Governor Sutiyoso agreed to change the usage allocation (of the space) from residential to social function." "Afterwards, we filed an application to acquire a building permit for the church. But the city rejected us; there has never been any explanation for that," he said. Father Widyo said that he had submitted all the requirements needed to apply for a church building permit. A joint regulation issued by Religious Affairs Ministry and the Home Affairs Minister last year stipulates that a community of 80 people living in one neighborhood can file an application to build a church. Father Widyo said that in Duri Selatan alone there are at least 195 Catholics. The same regulation also says a church needs at least 60 non-Catholic local residents to approve the plan to build the church. For this requirement, Father Widyo said that more than 115 people had signed his petition. He said that the chapel had been very open to the community. He said that during the February floods, the chapel gave help to affected residents. "We will accept any decision, even if our church has to be closed down. However, we would like the district head to provide a place for us to pray," Father Widyo said. (tif) printer friendly Post Your Comments Comments could also be sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
