Decolonizing West Papua, Starting with its Church

On March 8, 2025, Pope Francis appointed a native West Papuan Augustinian priest, Bernard Baru, as Bishop of Timika.

This is a diocese in West Papua that had been vacant for 5 years and 7 months, following the sudden death of its late bishop, Msgr John Philip Saklil.

A clear signal from the Holy See to nationalize the West Papuan Catholic Church, which has been dominated by Indonesians since the territory was annexed in the 1960s.

Catholics in Timika welcomed the announcement with enthousiasm. Thanks to his commitment to social justice, cultural preservation, and environmental conservation, Father Baru is well-loved by the local population.

"We congratulate the Holy Father on this courageous decision and hope he will speed up the nomination process for the other two West Papuan dioceses whose Indonesian bishops will soon retire," said Wim Anemeke, a West Papuan Catholic layman.

Meanwhile, for Markus Haluk, secretary of the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP), the appointment of the new bishop of Timika is a step forward in relations between West Papua and the Vatican.

As a note:

In 2017, the ULMWP had established informal relations with the Holy See through the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. On November 12 of that year, Vanuatu Prime Minister Charlot Salwai met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and used the opportunity to speak out about the plight of the West Papuan people.