Indonesia

INDONESIA. - The Indonesian Archipelago, also called the East Indies (or Insulindia), links two continental masses, joining the oldest to the newest of the continents, Asia to Australia, and extends from the 95th degree of longitude E. to the 130th, including the Moluccas; from the 20th degree of latitude N. to about the 10th S.

I. GEOGRAPHY

An immense volcanic garland which, together with the Philippines, Japan, the Kurils, the Aleutians, etc., borders on the sea the platform of eastern Asia and of North America, arranging itself along the alignment of the geosynclines and precisely on the circum-Pacific belt which links up right on this Archipelago with the one that reaches from the Mediterranean to the Sunda Islands.

An immense labyrinth of large and small islands (about 3,100 are counted) all most beautiful and stretching astride the Equator, between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, the South China Sea and the Seas of Sulu, Java, the Sunda and Banda. A characteristic element of the relief and proof of the complexity of the orogenetic movement is the volcanism that remains quite active; the activity of the endogenic forces begun in the Tertiary has continued into the Quaternary and continues in the present. The trend of the bathymetric curves and observations of the sea floor confirm the study of the fauna, whereby in Borneo, Sumatra and Java mammals are found in a previous territorial connection now vanished. Paleontological observations corroborate this assertion, moreover confirmed by the fauna of the Siwalik which has left clear traces everywhere.

The climate is distinctly equatorial oceanic with considerable temperatures and rainfall. In the I. the monsoons have a notable influence, whose course is very complex also because the monsoonal circulation that manifests itself with its center in the Asian continent is matched by that which has Australia as its center, so that the currents drawn in from the southern region carry out actions sometimes in agreement and sometimes in disagreement with the monsoonal ones of Asia. This shifting of the monsoon winds not infrequently creates the typhoons that with extreme violence strike certain regions of the Archipelago.

The prosperity of the I. is due to the cultivation of rubber, sugar cane, coffee, tea, tobacco, and the coconut palm. Its forests are rich in fine woods, while the subsoil produces tin, coal, petroleum, gold and silver. The development of production and the overall wealth that have been increasing in these last fifty years (during which the population grew from about 12 to 80 million) have not changed the essential basis of the I.'s economy, which remains always agriculture, to which the government has devoted and devotes assiduous and intense care. Livestock raising and fishing also contribute to the economic well-being of the natives.

The great majority of the population is Muslim; there are then four and a half million pagans, 600 thousand Protestants and about 300 thousand Catholics. In all, 17 important languages are spoken there, complicated by 200 dialects. More than three centuries of Dutch rule favored the rise of cities by overcoming natural obstacles; the flourishing of commerce and the introduction of innovations of the European type had excluded the Indonesians from any role in their own government. They therefore awaited impatiently the day when the first president, Raden Soekarno, saluted the generation of Indonesian patriots that had fought to win freedom. After the formation of a Dutch-Indonesian Union (July 1948), there came the proclamation of the United States of I. (27 Dec. 1949), which today comprises the Islands of Sumatra, Java, part of Borneo, the Celebes and the Moluccas, part of Timor and of New Guinea and many other minor islands.

The situation naturally remains still very fluid, and the U.N., of which the I. is a member, is not averse to helping the country in the realization of the new plans of social and economic development.

Recently (1950), the first official diplomatic representative of the Republic of the United States of I. was accredited to the Holy See with the rank of minister.

Gastone Imbrighi

II. EVANGELIZATION

After the capture of Malacca by the Portuguese in 1511 and their arrival in the Moluccas, and especially after the occupation of Ternate and Tidore (1522), missionary activity began in various islands of the Moluccas, carried on by ships' captains and by secular priests. Various native chiefs were converted. St. Francis Xavier, in order to explore the possibilities of the missionary field and to confirm in the faith the abandoned neophytes, went (1546-47) to the islands of Ambon, Ternate and Moro (Halmahera), where he baptized and preached, leaving behind other Jesuits, who in the 16th century developed a flourishing mission. Besides this one, of the Jesuits, in the Moluccas, the Dominicans founded another mission in 1562 in the Lesser Sunda Islands, with its center at Solor; by the end of the 16th century it counted 18 stations with 25,000 Christians. In the large islands, on the other hand — Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Celebes — the results were rather ephemeral, except at Macassar and Menado in Celebes. The attempts of the Franciscans and Dominicans in Borneo and Java remained fruitless.

The Calvinist Dutch seized in the 17th century a very large part of these islands; the activity of Catholic missionaries was forbidden and the missions destroyed. Exceptions were Ternate and Menado in the north of Celebes and a few nearby islets, occupied until 1663 and in part until 1677 by the Spaniards coming from the Philippines, who on departing destroyed everything that the Spanish Jesuits, Augustinians and Franciscans had built. The Dominican missions of the Lesser Sunda Islands were also able to continue, but in the end they too were reduced to the stations of Portuguese Timor. New attempts in the 17th and 18th centuries, such as those made by the Theatines in Borneo, Sumatra and Java, did not last. Two Carmelites who in 1638 accompanied an embassy of the viceroy of Goa were martyred by the sultan of Atchin (Atjeh) in Sumatra. For this reason, at the beginning of the 19th century the Catholic missions, with the exception of those of Portuguese Timor, no longer existed in the I. A rebuilding from the foundations was possible only after the decree of religious freedom issued by Louis Bonaparte in 1807. The activity of the secular priests of the apostolic prefecture of Batavia, created in 1808 and extended in 1826 to all the Dutch East Indies, nevertheless remained restricted to ministry among Catholic Europeans. Even the erection of the apostolic vicariate of Batavia (1847) and the arrival of the Jesuits (1859), who subsequently formed the majority of the missionaries and in 1893 had one of their own as apostolic vicar, did not change much in the precarious state of the missions. Toward the end of the 19th century an improvement also took shape in the missions among the natives. From 1902 the apostolic vicariate of Batavia was divided and other missionary institutes came gradually to the aid of the Jesuits.

In Java the mission among the Javanese, who make up 65% of the 40 million inhabitants, began from the end of the 19th century to make progress, chiefly because of the schools. Among the Sundanese and Madurese, on the other hand, fanatical Mohammedans, no fruit was obtained. In 1923 the Discalced Carmelites arrived in Java, entrusted with Malang, an apostolic prefecture in 1927; the Lazarists, who also arrived in 1923, had Soerabaja as their field, an apostolic prefecture in 1928; the Crocigeri have worked since 1926 in Bandoeng, an apostolic prefecture in 1932; the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, assigned in 1926 but arriving in 1927 at Poerwokerto, an apostolic prefecture in 1932. In 1940 the apostolic vicariate of Semarang was entrusted to a native Jesuit.

In Sumatra the Jesuits began the mission in 1888 among the Javanese who had immigrated into the southern part; the native Malays are fanatical Mohammedans. The Capuchins, assigned from 1911 to the mission of Sumatra (apostolic prefecture in 1911, named Padang in 1923), had some successes among the Chinese of the north, and from 1928 among the Bataks, who, however, are for the most part under the influence of the Rhenish Protestant mission. In the south of the island (apostolic prefecture of Benkoelen in 1923), since 1924 the priests of the Sacred Heart have worked among Chinese and Javanese. In the islands of Banka and Billiton (apostolic prefecture in 1923) the Society of the Sacred Hearts (Picpus), which arrived in 1924, concerns itself especially with the Chinese. A Chinese, around the middle of the 19th century, had given rise to a first nucleus of Catholics and had asked for missionaries from Batavia.

More abundant fruits were obtained in the Lesser Sunda Islands. From 1862 the Jesuits concerned themselves first with the old Christians and then, from 1897, also with the pagans. The apostolic prefecture, erected in 1913, was in 1914 entrusted to the Fathers of the Divine Word, who created in Flores and in Dutch Timor the most prosperous missions of the Dutch Indies. In the other islands of the Lesser Sunda, on the other hand, the mission has barely begun.

In Dutch Borneo a secular priest had already worked as early as 1851-52. In 1885 a permanent station was established among the Chinese of the western coast. In 1905 the Capuchins were entrusted with the mission (apostolic prefecture in 1905, apostolic vicariate in 1918) and worked with some fruit among the Dayaks. The Missionaries of the Holy Family arrived in 1926 in the southern and eastern part (in 1938 the apostolic prefecture of Bandjermasin). In 1948 the Montfortians took over a part of the Capuchins' mission.

In British Borneo the apostolic prefecture of Labuan and Borneo was created in 1855; the prefect, the former captain Charles Cuarteron (1855-79), worked there for a long time alone. In 1881 it was entrusted to the Mill Hill Society. The missionaries obtained excellent results among the Dayaks, mainly through educational institutions and by founding special colonies for Christian families.

In Celebes, from the middle of the 19th century, missionaries who came sporadically from Batavia worked there. Toward the end of the century it became possible to found stations. In 1919 the apostolic prefecture of Celebes was entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart: their work was fairly fruitful among the Minahassa of the north of the island, although the majority of them had already gone over to Protestantism. In the south, on the other hand, the Missionaries of Scheut, since 1937, have obtained only mediocre results.

From 1888 the Jesuits had worked in the Kei Islands: the center of the mission was Langgoer. In 1902, once the apostolic prefecture was founded, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart were called, and they extended their activity to other nearby islands as far as was possible because of the Dutch missionary policy. In Dutch New Guinea too, from 1915, a few stations were successfully erected on the coast: the interior remained unexplored. In the Moluccas the revival of the mission, already so prosperous in the 16th century, was possible only in recent years. The Franciscans work in Ternate and in the north of New Guinea.

The missions of the I. suffered greatly because of the Second World War. The Japanese occupation, the confinement and killing of missionaries (according to the official statistics 124 lost their lives), the closing and destruction of churches and schools, and then the Dutch-Indonesian war made any missionary activity in Java and Sumatra practically impossible.

III. ECCLESIASTICAL CIRCUMSCRIPTIONS

According to the 1951 Pontifical Yearbook, the I. has 23 ecclesiastical circumscriptions, both apostolic vicariates and apostolic prefectures, which are listed here in alphabetical order: AMBOINA, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Nederlandsch Nieuw Guinea (Dutch New Guinea) in 1902, apostolic vicariate in 1920, since 1949 under its present name, entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; AYAMBOEA, erected as an apostolic vicariate of Nederlandsch Timor (Dutch Timor) in 1936, since 1948 under its present name, entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word; BANDJARMASIN, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1936, apostolic vicariate in 1949, entrusted to the Missionaries of the Holy Family; BANDOENG, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1932, apostolic vicariate in 1941, entrusted to the Order of the Holy Cross (Crosiers); BANKA and BILLITON, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1923, entrusted to the Society of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary (Picpus); DEN PASAR, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1950, entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word; DJAKARTA, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Batavia in 1807, apostolic vicariate in 1841, since 1950 under its present name; HOLLANDIA, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1949, entrusted to the Franciscans; KLAINE SOENDA ELLANDEN (Lesser Sunda Islands), erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1913, apostolic vicariate in 1922, entrusted to the Society of the Divine Word; MAKASSAR, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1937, apostolic vicariate in 1948, entrusted to the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut); MALANG, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1927, apostolic vicariate in 1939, entrusted to the Carmelites of the Ancient Observance; MANADO, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Celebes in 1919, apostolic vicariate in 1934, since 1937 under its present name, entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; MEDAN, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Sumatra in 1911, named Padang in 1923, apostolic vicariate in 1932, since 1941 under its present name, entrusted to the Capuchins; MEBAUKE, erected as an apostolic vicariate in 1950, entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; NORTH BORNEO (Northern Borneo), erected as an apostolic prefecture of Labuan and Borneo in 1855, since 1927 under its present name, entrusted to the Society of St. Joseph of Mill Hill; PALEMBANG, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Benboelen in 1923, apostolic vicariate in 1939 under the name of Palembang, entrusted to the priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; POERWOKERTO, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1932, apostolic vicariate in 1941, entrusted to the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus; PONTIANAK, erected as an apostolic prefecture of Nederlandsch Borneo (Dutch Borneo) in 1905, apostolic vicariate in 1918, since 1938 under its present name, entrusted to the Capuchins; SARAWAK, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1927, entrusted to the Society of St. Joseph of Mill Hill; SEMARANG, erected as an apostolic vicariate in 1940, entrusted to the Jesuits; SINTANG, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1948, entrusted to the Missionary Priests of the Company of Mary (Montfortians); SOEKABOEMI, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1948, entrusted to the Franciscans; SOEBARAJA, erected as an apostolic prefecture in 1928, apostolic vicariate in 1941, entrusted to the Lazarists.

Giovanni Rommerskirchen

IV. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH

The principal obstacles that in the past placed a brake on the spread and the organization of Catholicism in I[ndonesia], a mosaic of human races, nationalities, tribes, clans, languages, customs, cultures, religions, flora and fauna, have been:

1) The Dutch legislation, namely art. 177 I. S. (Indische Staatsregeling; government regulation for the Indies), whose tenor is the following: "The teachers of the Christian faith, the priests, the preachers must be furnished with a special permit, to be issued by the governor-general himself or in his name, so that they may carry out their activity in a determined place of the Dutch Indies. Such permit, where it is seen that it may be harmful, or where the relative conditions are not observed, may be revoked by the governor-general." Now this permit was practically refused until recent times, for example, for Bantam (apostolic prefecture of Sukabumi) and for the western part of New Guinea.

2) Islām, which is irregularly spread throughout the Indonesian archipelago. A distinction must be made between administrative Islam and religious Islam. The first brings it about that births, marriages, deaths are surrounded by the Mohammedan rite, that the civil calendar is Islamic, that agrarian, commercial, penal law, etc. follows the Koran.

Religious Islam is always distinguished by its character of fanaticism, by its decided hostility toward Christianity, even when this is embodied only in a more or less numerous group.

3) Protestantism: it penetrated into the archipelago at the beginning of the 17th century with the coming of the Dutch, who replaced the Portuguese and Spaniards. The reformed religion (Calvinists) was able to spread, between 1602 and 1622, shaking the Catholic organization, to the point of forcing the Catholic missionaries to abandon the field. It was the East India Company that supported the Calvinist pastors in their work of penetration. In conformity with the principles of Calvin, according to which the civil authority must also concern itself with religious interests, the public administration issued ordinances on religious matters. Subsidies were then paid for the operation of schools, hospitals and for the support of the ministers of the Protestant cult. Even the Catholic missionaries, schools and hospitals subsequently succeeded in benefiting from such subsidies.

4) The "colonial" spirit of the majority of Dutch merchants, planters and officials. It is the auri sacra fames that seeks nothing but the products of these rich zones and considers the inhabitants as inexpensive "labor."

A change is to be hoped for now after the freeing from the colonial regime, the transfer of sovereignty, which took place at Amsterdam on 27 Dec. 1949, and the constitution of the federal State, under which various small states came to find themselves, later grouped into three great federated republics: Djoeja, Makassar and Medan and finally (17 Aug. 1950) into the Unitary State of I[ndonesia] with the name of Republic of I[ndonesia]. Before the opening of the Round Table conference at The Hague, where the statutes of the new sovereign country were drafted, the Catholic Missions had presented a minimum program, which can be summarized in two points: a) freedom of worship, of teaching and of social and charitable activities; b) equality of rights, by virtue of which the Catholic religion and missionary activities would obtain the same official recognition and would enjoy the same treatment as the other religions, such as, for example, Islām. The Catholic Missions would thus receive, for schools, hospitals and charitable works of general interest, the same financial support as the other religions. A project for the new definitive constitution is now under study by the Indonesian Parliament. The legal status of the Church will rest on principles that place the idea of the One God as the fundamental basis of said constitution and recognize for each religious confession full freedom to organize and to live.

The principal points of the projected constitution are reported here.

Art. 18 - All have the right of freedom of religion, of conscience and of thought.

Art. 30 - One is free to impart teaching, subject to the supervision of the public authority.

Art. 31 - The freedom is recognized to establish social and charitable works, to found, for this purpose and also in favor of private instruction, organizations, and to seek and to have, for this purpose, possessions, subject to the supervision of the public authority.

Art. 41, 3 - The public authority provides for the need of public instruction, which is given with the intent of deepening national consciousness, of consolidating Indonesian unity, of stimulating and deepening the sentiment of humanity, of tolerance and of respect toward the religious conviction of each one, giving the possibility, within the framework of school hours, of religious instruction according to the wishes of the pupils' parents.

5 - The pupils of a private school, which responds to the requirements of solidity set by the law for the in-

public instruction, they shall have the same rights as pupils of the public school.

Art. 43, 1 - The State is based on belief in the one God.

2 - The State guarantees the freedom of each inhabitant to embrace the faith he desires and to profess worship according to his faith and his belief.

3 - The public authority protects all corporations and organizations that have been recognized. Assistance given, in any form, to ministers of worship and to religious corporations and organizations is regulated on the basis of equality of right.

Edoardo Pecoraro

V. ART

The most important expressions of the art that developed in the Island of Sunda, in the Moluccas and in the Philippines are certainly the Javanese ones. Of Indian derivation, since the island was subject to the Hindus until the 6th century B.C., it knew how to preserve its characteristics down to about the 16th century, when it fell under Muslim rule. An original reworking of southern Indian art is the one that developed from the 6th to the 8th century on the Diëng plateau, in the center of the island, and which ended up influencing to a greater or lesser degree the art of all the smaller islands. One of the principal characteristics of this art is a marked linearism that is accentuated under Islamic influence, as in the creations for the theatrical performances of Wajang.

Christian art. - Even for Indonesia the problem of Christian art arose in rather recent times. In sculpture, the works that came out of the workshop of the sculptor Iko, assisted by his son-in-law Adi and by the Chinese Yong-Shoi-Lin, have acquired a well-deserved reputation; a beautiful altar with the statue of the Sacred Heart and two adoring angels is preserved in the Lateran Museum in Rome. In architecture, for the small votive temples the models of the small ancient temples were followed (characteristic is the votive temple to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Batavia, partly inspired by the temple of Siva at Prambanan); for the churches, on the other hand, it was naturally not possible to use the indigenous temple, which provided only a cella sufficient for the statues of the divinities and for a few officiants. Nevertheless, this time too an effort was made not to depart from the basic elements of Hindu sacred buildings, from the characteristic pyramid-shaped crowning on terraces, and mention is made, among others, of the church of Padang, that of Pematang-Siantar (Sumatra), of Nanggoelan, of Sadan-Toradja (Celebes). In the industrial arts, notable are the products of the art of batik and of the other marvelous techniques of indigenous decorative art.

Gilberto Renci