RELIGIOUS FREEDOM -- HIGH-LEVEL VATICAN OFFICIAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 002009 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, EUR/WE, DRL/IRF NSC FOR D. WALTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KIRF ID SUBJECT: RELIGIOUS FREEDOM -- HIGH-LEVEL VATICAN OFFICIAL PRAISES INDONESIA,S RECORD ¶1. (U) This message is Sensitive but Unclassified. Please handle accordingly. ¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Cardinal Tauran, President of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, recently visited Indonesia. The Cardinal highlighted positive Christian-Muslim relations in Indonesia in meetings with Muslim and other faith leaders. GOI officials and civil society figures. In this, the largest Muslim country by population in the world, Indonesian Catholics are a small community, though an influential one. As Mission prepares to host the U.S.-Indonesia interfaith dialogue in January 2010, we will liaise with the Holy See Embassy on their experiences in this area. END SUMMARY. VATICAN OFFICIAL'S VISIT ¶3. (U) Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, visited Indonesia From November 24 to December 1. Indonesia's lone Cardinal, Julius Darmaatmadja, accompanied Tauran to his meetings. In Jakarta, Tauran made a symbolic trip to the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Indonesia (designed by a Christian architect),where the Religious Ministry Director asked him to beat the mosque's drum as a gesture of friendship between the two faiths. The mosque stands right across from the country's main Catholic cathedral (the two sites share parking lots whenever there are overflow crowds). During his wide-ranging visit, Tauran also traveled to Yogjakarta, Central Java; Makassar, South Sulawesi; and Bali, where he met Indonesia's top Hindu leader. POSITIVE MEETINGS ¶4. (SBU) Based on soundings from Holy See diplomats and GOI contacts, the Cardinal's visit was productive. He had amicable meetings with a wide variety of religious and political leaders, including the leaders of Indonesia's two largest Muslim organizations, Nadhlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah. He addressed an inter-faith audience on "Building Trust for Social Justice" at Muhammadiyah headquarters in Jakarta. The November 25th event celebrated the organization's 100th anniversary. ¶5. (SBU) During his meetings and in press briefings, the Cardinal praised Indonesia's national secularist "pancasilist" (pluralist) ideology, saying that it contributes to Indonesia's "harmony and diversity." He thanked his interlocutors for the positive tone of Christian-Muslim relations, stating that "it seems there is no gap now between Muslims and Catholics" and stated that Christians could learn a great deal from Muslim "expressions of faith." He added: "Muslims have a very strong spirituality. They wake up every morning early to pray, for example. Our young priests should follow this example." ¶6. (U) The Cardinal met with President Yudhoyono and other high-level GOI officials. He also met with many leaders of Indonesia's active civil society community, including key figure former president Abdurrahman Wahid. Wahid called for Muslims and Christians to share "cooperation and dialogue." ¶7. (SBU) Cardinal Tauran gave an upbeat readout on his Indonesia trip in a meeting with Dr. William Vendley, Secretary General of Religions for Peace, the NGO partner with whom the USG and GOI will be holding an interfaith dialogue in January next year. Vendley told poloff that the Cardinal felt that his meetings had been productive and he praised Indonesia's commitment to the interfaith dialogue process. CATHOLICS -- A SMALL COMMUNITY BUT INFLUENTIAL ¶8. (SBU) In this overwhelmingly Muslim country, Catholics make up a small percentage of the population. In general, Catholics have positive relations with their Muslim neighbors, though at times there are local tensions over such issues as applications to build new churches. The Indonesian Catholic hierarchy usually assumes a low profile here, in line with the personality of its leader, Cardinal Darmaatmadja, who is firmly Javanese and non-confrontational in style. While they make up under five percent of the population, Catholics are an influential group. Some Catholic priests are important in the human rights and NGO communities, and other Catholics run large media and commercial enterprises. Many Indonesian Chinese, an JAKARTA 00002009 002 OF 002 important group on the economic side, are also Catholic. HUME