Surabaya Catholic and Christian communities in prayer and forgiveness!
Surabaya, Jakarta, 14 May 2018 -- The SDB Delegation of Indonesia (ITM) is united with the whole Catholic and Christian community in prayers . This is the best reply to the terrorist attacks on last Sunday (May 13) and on the public place last Monday (May 14).
Fr. Noel Villafuerte (Parish priest of St. Michael and in charge of Surabaya SDB presence with 3 confreres, entrusted with high school, parish and youth center) shared: "Last night we prayed together with our brother-priests and parishioners of the bombed Ngagel church especially for the six victims who died. Romo Kurdo, the Parish Priest, shared that no one of the relatives of the deceased ever expressed hatred or vengeance for the perpetrators! Only forgiveness. My friends, we preach by our lives. We stand up as different from the world, because we are not of it, and we don’t force others to agree with us; we convert by our compassion. We are not overcome by evil, but we overcome evil with good (Rom 12:21)."
Yes, we continue to pray. Please, join us in our prayers: We pray for all Indonesian people. Terroris are not only enemy of the Christians but also enemy of the whole people of Indonesia. And all major religions of Indonesia are inviting with the same motivation of peaceful co-existence.
We are encouraged by the words of KWI (Indonesia Catholic Bishops Confrerence): "It is traumatic to know that it was a whole family of bombers to act, attack: what are we injecting into the minds of children? Are they being educated in extremism?" (KWI Executive Secretary Fr. Siprianus Hormat).
On May 13, three Surabaya Christian churches were hit: one Catholic, one Pentecostal and one Anglican. A new attack hit a police station in Surabaya on Monday, May 14: the total sum of the two days of violence is 25 dead (of which 13 bombers) and over 50 people injured. Among the Catholic victims there is also Aloysius Bayu, "who died for having blocked the two suicide bombers, otherwise the explosion would have caused even more victims," explained the parish priest, Fr. Alexius Kurdo Irianto.
Because of the danger of new attacks, the churches have asked their faithful to be careful during functions, to watch out for people who do not normally attend their parish. Furthermore, several churches intend to equip themselves with security cameras. "Our faithful are afraid, but we pastors constantly invite them to be calm. The terrorists want to scare us, but we must remain serene and pray that God converts their hearts."
The positive result of this situation is the solidarity shown by the local Muslim community and the improvement of inter-religious relations. "Next to the archbishopric of Surabaya all - Christians of different denominations, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists gathered to pray together.
Even Pope Francis on Sunday, after the Regina Coeli prayer, expressed his great sorrow for the incident and his solidarity with the Indonesian people. "I am particularly close to the dear people of Indonesia, and especially to the Christian communities in the city of Surabaya, which have been severely hit by the serious attack on places of worship. I raise my prayer for all the victims and their relatives. Together, let us invoke the God of peace to stop these violent actions, and in the heart of all, may they find not feelings of hatred and violence, but of reconciliation and fraternity."
Please, remember Indonesia in your prayers!
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