Indonesian Archbishop Warns Against Greed

Many people today idolize greed which is generated from misuse of power and supported by guns or violence, according to the Archbishop of Jakarta.

“Whether you realize it or not, greed determines a person’s way of life,” Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo told Catholics attending the Pontifical Easter Mass at the Assumption of Mary Cathedral Church in Jakarta yesterday.

Greed, in all dimensions, will make people’s lives inharmonious and also eat away at moral values. “This will lead to more dangerous crisis,” he warned.

To prevent that, he urged the faithful to experience life according to the paradox of the cross.

“We may see the cross as suffering. In fact, however, the cross is the appearance of God’s solidarity. The cross is the manifestation of the loyalty of love,” he continued.

Therefore, he said, Catholics should be able to overcome greed with a spirit of solidarity and become new people who can experience the very basic principles of life.

In the context of Indonesia, he added, “Christians celebrating Easter must always uphold Pancasila (five principles) as the national ideology, which contains the universal basic values of humanity.”

Pancasila, enshrined in the preamble of the 1945 constitution, stipulates belief in one God; a just and civilized society; a united Indonesia; democracy guided by consensus; and social justice for all.

“I want Indonesia to be a big family. In the future, children will no longer hear songs of violence and write words with blood. There will be no more suspicion, hatred and hostility,” the prelate said.