By LiCAS.news
INDONESIA – The national director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Indonesia has emphasized the importance of social justice in the country, saying Pope Leo XIV’s vision offers timely guidance for both society and the Church’s mission.
“Social justice is one of the central themes today for a great nation like Indonesia, an emerging nation on the international scene. It is also a crucial issue for the Church’s mission in Indonesia,” said Father Alfonsus Widhiwiryawan, a Xaverian missionary from Java, in an interview with Fides News Agency.
Fr Alfonsus highlighted the pope’s recent address to the Diplomatic Corps, where Pope Leo XIV declared that “the pursuit of peace requires the practice of justice.”
Citing his predecessor Leo XIII, author of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the pope said, “in the era of change we are experiencing, the Holy See cannot fail to make its voice heard in the face of the numerous imbalances and injustices that cause, among other things, undignified working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies.”
“It is also necessary to correct global inequalities, where opulence and poverty leave deep gaps between continents, countries, and even within individual societies,” the pope added.
Fr Alfonsus said these challenges are evident in Indonesia, which is characterized by wide regional, cultural, religious, and economic diversity.
Continue reading in LiCAS.news.
