Indonesia: Authorities Allow 2 Years’ Worth of Garbage to Pile Up Beside Church Building

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Authorities in Islamic-ruled Indonesia have allowed two years’ worth of putrid garbage to pile up next to a church building and Catholic university in Yogyakarta city, capital of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Central Java Province, Morning Star News (MSN) reports.

The congregation of St. Antonius Padua Catholic Church and staff and faculty at the nearby Jesuit campus of Sanata Dharma Catholic University in Yogyakarta city are facing health problems due to the extensive build-up of garbage, MSN reports.

“The garbage problem has been around for a long time, since the 1980s, causing disturbing stench during the rainy season, when the garbage mixes with rainwater to become mud,” congregation member Susi Sasmita told MSN. “This situation has worsened in the last few years and is very disturbing to the congregation. Imagine if this case happened at a mosque – the situation could be chaotic.”

“In addition to being disturbed by the pungent smell of garbage, churchgoers also find it difficult to park their vehicles on the 75-80 meter stretch of this road,” Sasmita said.

Rev. Andalas Mutiara, a lecturer at the university staged a peaceful protest on October 24 in which he lay in a cross-like position on a pile of garbage near the campus. “We don’t want to normalize garbage, let alone embrace a garbage culture,” Andalas said in a statement. “The garbage Golgotha ​​is a prophetic call from the Catholic Church that wants us not to crucify God in the garbage, nor all creation in the garbage that we produce.”

The governor of the Special Region of Yogyakarta has reportedly now taken steps to look into the matter, MSN reported on November 26.

While Christianity is legal under Indonesia’s Constitution, the Muslim-majority country ranks 42 on the Open Doors World Watch List 2024 of the top 50 countries where Christians are persecuted.

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