Minister Of Religion In Front Of The Pentecostal Church Management: Sorry If The People Are Uncomfortable Regarding The Incident In Tulang Bawang

Minister of Religion, Yaqut Cholil Qoumas (Photo via Ministry of Religion)

JAKARTA - The chairman of the Indonesian Pentecostal Churches Association (PGPI) Pastor Jason Balumpapueng met the Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas regarding the alleged persecution during Christmas worship that occurred at the Tulang Bawang Church in Lampung. The PGPI management is grateful for the ministry's quick response to this issue.

"I would like to thank the Minister for moving quickly to overcome this. Thank you to the ranks of the Ministry of Religion who immediately sought a peaceful settlement in the case at the Tulang Bawang Church in Lampung," said Rev. Jason Balumpapueng during an audience with the Minister of Religion at the Ministry of Religion Office, Jakarta, Thursday, January 6th.

"Coincidentally, the Tulang Bawang Church is one of our members. And we received reports that the response from the officers there was also very fast," continued Jason, who was present with the PGPI management.

This event shows the presence of the state in order to provide comfort in worship for religious people.

“We are very grateful. And we also thank the President, who has chosen Gus Men as Minister of Religion," said Jason.

In response to this, Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas said that what had been done was the state's obligation to protect all religious people.

"This shows progress as well as shows there is hope. I am happy because then we can communicate to talk about matters related to religion," said the Minister of Religion.

“Moreover, this is a problem with different religions. Within one religion, there are often clashes. We hope that in the future everything will get better," he added.

The Minister of Religion also said that the Ministry of Religion was committed to continuously transforming and improving services for all religious communities.

"We apologize if all this time the people still feel discomfort, including that a similar incident is still happening in Tulang Bawang. We hope that everything will get better," said the Minister of Religion.