JAKARTA (UCAN): The Indonesian bishops’ Commission for Justice and Peace and the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People Catholic Church in Indonesia introduced a Bahasa translation of the Vatican’s anti-human trafficking document, Pastoral Orientations on Human Trafficking, to help people better understand the Church’s stance on the crime and warn others about the danger it poses.
 

JAYAPURA (UCAN): Church-run hospitals and clinics, such as Dian Harapan Hospital in Jayapura, in Indonesia’s Papua province, have become vital for many who would otherwise slip through gaping holes in the region’s health care net. A shortage of health facilities and professional health workers remains a long-standing problem despite the increasing clamour for better and more affordable services.
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): The Catholic Church on the Indonesian island of Flores, gateway to Komodo National Park and its world famous Komodo dragons, rejected the idea of introducing halal (permissible) tourism, a growing trend among Muslims.
 
Authorities in Labuan Bajo, a fishing town on the western side of Flores in Nusa Tenggara, suggested the idea as a way of boosting tourism but Bishop Silvester San, the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Ruteng, shot it down in a letter dated May 6.
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): The Archdiocese of Samarinda, in Indonesia’s East Kalimantan province inaugurated a new cathedral on April 30.
 
St. Mary of Perpetual Help Cathedral is being hailed as one of the most beautiful buildings in the city, its modern design displays the cultural heritage of ethnic Dayak people, the biggest tribal group in the region.
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): Church and rights advocates slammed Indonesia’s religious court for “abusively” granting permission for thousands of underage children to marry after an annual Supreme Court report, released in early April, indicated that 13,251 marriage dispensations were doled out 2018.
 

BORONG (UCAN): It was 10 long years ago when Aleksius Dugis was shackled and locked in a tiny filthy hut by his family in East Manggarai district on the island of Flores, Indonesia.
 
His legs were tied to a heavy wooden post, which means he could hardly move about. During the rainy season, the hut leaked and he ended up covered in mud mixed with his own faeces. During the dry season, he had to endure extreme heat.
 
People were concerned, but did not venture inside the hut because of the foul smell.
 

Jakarta (UCAN): A Din Syamsuddin, a prominent Indonesian Muslim and co-president of the World Conference on Religions for Peace and president of the Asian Conference on Religions for Peace, has stressed the urgent need for all religions to come up with a so-called shared theology that maintains diversity and promotes tolerance. 
 
Speaking to nearly 150 religious leaders attending a one-day gathering in Moscow, Russia, on March 25, he said this is especially necessary in order to address serious problems facing mankind. 
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): A coalition comprised of the Franciscan commission for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (WALHI) filed a complaint with police against PT Daya Inti Kencana on March 27 in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia.
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): In response to the deadly mosque attacks that took place on March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand, in which 50 people died, Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo of Jakarta, Indonesia, issued a statement on March 18 condemning the “savage acts which are against the values of any religious teachings and of universal humanity.”
 

JAKARTA (UCAN): Clerics from Nahdlatul Ulama, Indonesia’s largest Islamic organisation, have issued a call to Muslims to stop branding non-Muslims kafir—infidels. Their call came at the end of an annual three-day meeting in Banjar, West Java, on March 1.
 
The term infidel, discriminates against people of other religions, and is not in accordance with the Indonesian Constitution that recognises each citizen’s equal status and rights, the meeting was told.