The Jakarta Post

The Bishop of Palangkaraya Aloysius Maryadi Sutrisnaatmaka confirmed that he received the circular on Sept. 7. “We have decided to reject the BSMC,” Sutrisnaatmaka told the Post

Bautista told the Post that Angelo was still a brother in the BSMC congregation despite the allegations and the legal process he had gone through. Bautista however provided contradictory statements regarding Angelo’s religious life throughout the interview

The Catholic Church heard the boys’ cries but did little to help, allowing the suspect to walk free from police detention.

It was an hour past midnight on Sept. 9, 2019, when Joni, a teenage boy living in an orphanage, was awakened by what he described as a “painful feeling” on his genitals. When he opened his eyes, he beheld a nightmare.

A collaborative team between The Jakarta Post and Tirto.id has uncovered facts that confirm that both the state and the Catholic Church heard the boys’ cries but washed their hands of them, allowing the suspect to walk free from police detention to celebrate Christmas.

“The Church betrays us!” Anna wrote in her message to the team.

A milestone in the history of humankind, in which the Vatican dismantles decades of silence and secrecy, is unfolding. Dear Indonesian Catholic Church, which side of history are you on? That of the victims, or that of the perpetrators?

The hope of justice being delivered to victims of sexual abuse and harassment cases involving clergymen looks remote. One and perhaps the biggest barrier is the apparent denial of the cases, which will only generate suspicion about cover-up attempts by the Church.

In a rare bold admission, however, Chatarina discussed the sufferings of women who got involved in relationships with priests. She has witnessed several cases in which a woman had to raise her children alone while being ostracized from society, while the priest who fathered the children continued on as respected figure in a different place.

Sisca said she would like to report the case under the new rules “even though the perpetrator has become very old”, to make people aware of the danger of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. “I never made an official report about the assault because I didn’t know the procedure,” she said.

Sisca did not believe the cardinal could have possibly been oblivious to the alleged sexual abuse. “Where has he been? We had high hopes for him. He was appointed cardinal by the Pope. It’s a prestigious title. A cardinal is a chosen figure, and [the Pope] would not appoint a random priest,” she told The Jakarta Post in early February.

A recently uncovered case of child sexual abuse at a Catholic church in Depok, West Java, has put a spotlight on sexual abuse in the wider Indonesian Catholic Church, causing adherents throughout the country to call for justice and reform.

Bishops Council of Indonesia (KWI) chairman and Jakarta Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo, who was just appointed cardinal, denied any knowledge of a report of sexual abuse in the Indonesian Catholic Church and questioned its “authenticity”.

A priest’s involvement in a sexual relationship, for example, even though it might be consensual, could be regarded as a form of abuse of power and trust because of the position the priest and the pledge he made at his priestly ordination to live in celibacy.