Religious freedom denied for Christians of Sumatra
June 01, 2012
Religious freedom is regularly denied to Christian on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Fides news agency reports.
Fides recounts the offenses against religious freedom detailed by Father Markus Manurung, a Capuchin priest serving on Sumatra. In some places Christians are unable to obtain the necessary legal permission to build churches, or repair damaged buildings; in others, they are actually banned from meeting to pray together. Islamic groups have brought pressure on government officials to limit the number of Christian churches, and close down “illegal” prayer groups. Although these Muslim groups often have no legal basis for their demands, intimidated officials hasten to satisfy them.
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