The Church and Colonialism in West Papua: Silence is Complicity

Justice and Peace, by Ambrosius Mulait.

The Church and Colonialism in West Papua: Silence is Complicity

The Church’s encounter with colonialism is not a historical accident—it is a deeply embedded legacy. From the Americas to Africa and Asia, Christianity has often marched hand in hand with empire. While some churches have repented of this past, others continue to operate as tools of domination cloaked in religious language.

Christian Missions and the Birth of West Papuan Nationalism

In West Papua, the arrival of European missionaries in the mid-19th century coincided with Dutch colonial expansion. Yet, unlike in many colonized regions, missionaries in West Papua prioritized inculturation. They did not merely preach a foreign gospel—they engaged local languages, customs, and identities. As a result, Christianity in West Papua was not initially a force of erasure but one of empowerment.

Missionary-run schools laid the foundation for a Melanesian national awakening. Young Papuans were trained not as colonial subjects, but as future leaders of an independent West Papua. Christianity, at that time, became a vessel of political consciousness, helping to unite diverse tribes into a common identity. This was not just spiritual work—it was nation-building.

The Indonesian Occupation and the Church’s Betrayal

But that era of promise did not last. When Indonesia forcibly annexed West Papua in the 1960s—a move condemned by many as illegal under international law—the Church in West Papua underwent a tragic transformation. Once a symbol of Melanesian dignity, the Church increasingly mirrored the structure and ideology of the Indonesian state.

Education declined. Indigenous leadership was suppressed. Evangelization gave way to assimilation. The Papuan Church, which once empowered its people, was gradually neutralized and absorbed into a broader Indonesian ecclesiastical apparatus that prioritized national unity over justice.

In the name of interfaith harmony and pluralism, the Church chose silence. It began to accommodate the colonial status quo, preaching reconciliation without justice, and peace without truth. Today, as indigenous Papuans are reduced to a demographic minority in their own land—victims of state violence, forced displacement, and economic marginalization—the Church often looks away.

Which Side Is the Church On?

This moral ambiguity has not gone unnoticed. Many indigenous West Papuans, especially in Catholic heartlands such as the highlands and coastal regions, now openly question the Church’s loyalties. In the face of military brutality and rampant land-grabbing, the Church’s silence has become complicity.

One glaring example is the public statement by Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo of Jakarta, who declared: “The official stance of the Catholic Church on the Papuan issue is very clear, which is to support the government's stance, because it is guaranteed by international law.”

This is not neutrality. It is surrender. It is a betrayal of the gospel. And it reveals a profound theological crisis: a Church that blesses injustice has ceased to be the Church of Jesus Christ.

The Last Bastion—or the Last Illusion?

For generations, West Papuans—who are overwhelmingly Christian—believed the Church would stand with them when the world abandoned them. Today, that belief is fading.

A Papuan activist put it bluntly: “It is shameful that the Church has chosen to justify the Indonesian occupation. Given West Papua’s illegitimate integration into Indonesia, it is a moral imperative for the Church to speak up for Papuan independence.”

History offers precedents. In Timor Leste, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo became a global voice for liberation. In Indonesia’s own history, Bishop Soegijapranata stood up to colonial injustice. And in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu reminded the world: “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

The Church in West Papua must decide: Will it be a chaplain to power or a prophet to the oppressed? Will it continue to hide behind vague calls for peace, or will it finally stand with its suffering flock?

Silence is Not an Option

The time for moral ambiguity is over. The blood of innocent Papuans cries out from the soil. The Church cannot preach Christ crucified while ignoring the crosses borne by the people of West Papua. It cannot proclaim the Kingdom of God while blessing a colonial regime built on lies, violence, and exploitation.

True peace cannot be built on silence. Justice must come first. And the Church must decide now—once and for all—on whose side it stands.