"Peaceful Coexistence"? The Vatican’s Flirtation with Illusion in Indonesia

"Peaceful Coexistence"? The Vatican’s Flirtation with Illusion in Indonesia

“There are many wars crippling the world, but Indonesia seems to be a model of peaceful coexistence.”

These are the almost laughably flattering words uttered by a Vatican News correspondent for Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo in a recent interview, as preparations unfold for Pope Francis’ visit to the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation this September.

To the untrained international eye, this sugary narrative may seem inspiring. But for those who know the ground realities, particularly Christian minorities, the statement rings hollow—if not outright insulting. It's not hard to imagine the heartbreak of those who once looked to the Cardinal as a spiritual shepherd, now watching him morph into a convenient mouthpiece for the regime.

One has to wonder: has Vatican News become a PR agency for authoritarian-friendly storytelling? Since when did institutional Catholic media begin promoting fiction as fact? Anyone with a basic grasp of Indonesia’s legal architecture knows this much: a nation with active blasphemy laws, restrictions on interfaith marriage, and routine state impunity is no haven of “peaceful coexistence.” It is, rather, a society where minorities survive not because of the law—but in spite of it.

And while Jakarta enjoys applause from the Holy See, Papua—Indonesia’s easternmost and most heavily militarized region—remains an inconvenient footnote. Indigenous Christians there have endured decades of military occupation, forced displacement, and cultural erasure. If that doesn't qualify for Vatican attention, what does?

Yet, what do we see from Rome? Pope Francis seems more eager to pose for cameras with Islamic clerics and issue generic calls for "dialogue," than to meet with human rights defenders—many of whom literally risk their lives for justice and dignity in places like Papua, Aceh, or East Nusa Tenggara.

So the question becomes unavoidable: why is the Pope so enthusiastic about investing time, energy, and moral capital in Indonesia if it only serves to polish the illusion of “tolerance,” while sweeping its systemic injustices under the rug?

To parade Indonesia as a beacon of interreligious peace is not just misleading. It is dangerous. It silences the cry of the oppressed. It rewards cosmetic harmony while ignoring the bones buried beneath it. If this is the Church’s idea of diplomacy, it is diplomacy without a soul.