Sermon At Thanksgiving Mass For 25 Years Of Priesthood, Archbishop Of Kupang Gives Message To People: Must Be Seeds Of Goodness For The World

The Archbishop of Kupang Mgr Petrus Turang (center) presided over the 25 Years Priesthood Thanksgiving Mass at the Santa Maria Assumpta Church Kupang/Via ANTARA

KUPANG - The Archbishop of Kupang, Monsignor Petrus Turang, said Christians in their behavior in society must show respect for one another.

"In NTT, there are so many mixtures of various ethnicities and religions, so that useful things related to behavior and actions must be shown in religious life," he said at the Santa Maria Assumpta Church in Kupang in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, Antara, Wednesday, July 27.

This was conveyed by him when giving a sermon on the 25 Years of Priesthood Thanksgiving Mass at the Church of Santa Maria Assumpta Kupang which was attended by 20 bishops throughout Indonesia and the Vatican's Ambassador to Indonesia, Monsignor Piero Pioppo.

Present at the thanksgiving mass were NTT Governor Viktor B. Laiskodat, NTT Deputy Governor Josef Nae Soi, a number of religious figures, the Kupang mayor and his deputy, the NTT DPRD chairman and the Kupang City DPRD chairman as well as a number of elements of the NTT Forkompimda.

He said all Catholics in Kupang Archdiocese must sow the seeds of kindness to their fellow human beings.

"We must all be seeds to sow goodness for our world, for everyone in all the places we are so that everyone feels comfortable," he said.

He also said that currently the world is in a pandemic period, but there are also natural disasters that lead to economic hardship.

Therefore, he said, religious harmony, mutual assistance, and love must be spread by all Christians to others.

Bishop Petrus Turang has entered a period of 25 years of priesthood. At the same time, this Wednesday, July 27--according to canon law--the age of 75 is the retirement age of a bishop. On that occasion, he also admitted that being a bishop "shepherding" Catholics throughout the Kupang area is not easy because of many challenges.

"But being a bishop who moves together with all the people is easiest because the people who make me a bishop are not the ones who make me a bishop," he said.

Therefore, he expressed his gratitude to Catholics and a number of other religious people who have prayed for him to continue on the path of the priesthood for up to 25 years.