In the wake of a rather odd pre-Christmas incident of "accidental" religious intolerance, the Sultan of Yogyakarta has apologized to the family of a deceased Catholic man after they were prohibited by their neighbors from holding a service for the deceased and placing a wooden cross on his grave. The Sultan apologized as well to Catholic church authorities in Yogyakarta. "This incident is a lesson to all of us," he said. "Yogyakarta people and leaders must uphold tolerance to maintain peace and harmony. We understand the Constitution and the law," he added, "but there is no guarantee that the people understand it." (In other words, the government understands the peace and harmony taught by religions while the religious people themselves may not).
Though the deceased had lived harmoniously with members of the community during his lifetime, it was felt that speaking well of him in a Muslim setting and placing a wooden cross in a Muslim graveyard would be inappropriate. The cemetery was exclusively for Muslims, they explained. Who knew what havoc a dead Catholic might cause? And anyway, anyone at all familiar with the Great Pumpkin knows that he visits only the most sincere of pumpkin patches.
After the deceased man's wife placed a wooden cross on the grave despite warnings, community members visited the site in order to saw off the top of the cross, thus rendering it a cross no longer. In their own way, they were trying to help, the Sultan explained. They were looking for practical solutions. Nonetheless, a Constitutional reference on religious symbols had been ignored (or, rather, the people were ignorant of the Constitution).
The old wooden cross has been restored therefore, as has harmony in the community. Superstition is also safe.
The deceased Catholic, of course, could not be reached for comment; nor could any of the deceased Muslims in that place.
The body is sewn in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. (1Cor. 15:42)
Though the deceased had lived harmoniously with members of the community during his lifetime, it was felt that speaking well of him in a Muslim setting and placing a wooden cross in a Muslim graveyard would be inappropriate. The cemetery was exclusively for Muslims, they explained. Who knew what havoc a dead Catholic might cause? And anyway, anyone at all familiar with the Great Pumpkin knows that he visits only the most sincere of pumpkin patches.
After the deceased man's wife placed a wooden cross on the grave despite warnings, community members visited the site in order to saw off the top of the cross, thus rendering it a cross no longer. In their own way, they were trying to help, the Sultan explained. They were looking for practical solutions. Nonetheless, a Constitutional reference on religious symbols had been ignored (or, rather, the people were ignorant of the Constitution).
The old wooden cross has been restored therefore, as has harmony in the community. Superstition is also safe.
The deceased Catholic, of course, could not be reached for comment; nor could any of the deceased Muslims in that place.
The body is sewn in corruption; it is raised in incorruption. (1Cor. 15:42)
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