VZCZCXRO9244
OO RUEHDT RUEHPB
DE RUEHJA #2009/01 3411020
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 071020Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4054
INFO RUCNARF/ASEAN REGIONAL FORUM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC

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