Indonesian bishops urge sustainable economy, creation care
Indonesia's Catholic bishops closed a seven-day assembly in Jakarta on Tuesday, urging the Church to turn concern into concrete action for a sustainable economy
Christian World | Indonesia's Catholic bishops closed a seven-day assembly in Jakarta on Tuesday, urging the Church to turn concern into concrete action for a sustainable economy
ACW | November 11, 2026 — Indonesia's Catholic bishops ended a seven-day plenary assembly in Jakarta on Tuesday with a call to build "a sustainable economy and common home," the Bishops' Conference of Indonesia (KWI) said in a statement.
Thirty-four bishops, four retired bishops and the vicar general of the Diocese of Ruteng met at the conference's headquarters in Jakarta from Nov. 4 to 10, according to the conference's social communications commission.
"In the midst of a nation that is not yet doing well, let us move from concern to care," the conference's president, Bishop Antonius Subianto Bunjamin of Bandung, said in his opening address. He urged the Church to move from dialogue to fellowship and from reflection to concrete action.
The statement cited earthquakes in parts of Nusa Tenggara and forest fires and haze in Kalimantan, Sumatra and Papua, saying the Church must respond with solidarity and practical help.
The bishops also discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on human dignity and education, follow-up to the Synod on Synodality and preparations for World Youth Day 2027, the conference said.
Background: The assembly built on the 2025 national gathering of the Indonesian Catholic Church (SAGKI) and the conference's July 2026 session, the statement said. The apostolic nuncio, an official of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia (PGI) attended as guests.
Why it matters: The bishops met the Community of Sant'Egidio to strengthen dialogue, peace and fraternity "across boundaries," and the Communion of Churches in Indonesia took part in the assembly, the statement said, placing interreligious and ecumenical ties alongside social justice on the Church's agenda.
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Photo: Indonesian bishops' conference leaders at a Jakarta news conference (Mirifica / Komsos KWI)
