Vatican City - The Holy Father has “today accepted the resignation from the pastoral governance of the Diocese of Bogor (Indonesia), submitted by His Excellency the Most Reverend Paskalis Bruno Syukur, O.F.M., and has appointed as Apostolic Administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis of the same diocese His Excellency the Most Reverend Christophorus Tri Harsono, Bishop of Purwokerto.”
The decision places the local Church in a period of sede vacante, temporarily entrusting its leadership to an Apostolic Administrator: a figure called to ensure pastoral and administrative continuity, pending further dispositions by the Holy See.
The circumstances surrounding Msgr Syukur’s departure unfold within a trajectory already marked by critical issues. On 6 October 2024, in fact, Pope Francis - at the conclusion of the Angelus - had included him among the prelates to be created cardinals at the consistory scheduled for December. A few days later, on 22 October 2024, the Press Office announced the acceptance of his request not to be created cardinal, motivated by the desire to “continue to grow in the priestly life, in service to the Church and to the People of God.”
A request originating from the Holy See
This morning, the bishop announced the “acceptance of the resignation” and the appointment of the Apostolic Administrator at 12:00 (Rome time). In reading the letter of resignation, he recalled the words of Saint Paul in the Second Letter to Timothy: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” He interpreted this passage as part of a providential design that unfolds also through administrative decisions, speaking of an “inner joy” and of faithfulness to a promise of obedience to the Holy See preserved “with firmness.” It is a request that came from the Holy See to the Franciscan religious, who was asked to take a step back and to allow for the appointment of a successor at the helm of the Indonesian diocese. The prelate, in fact, has not yet reached 75 years of age, but is only 63.
Syukur thus becomes yet another bishop - among the early episcopal appointments of Pope Francis - to leave the governance of his diocese before the due time, in an entirely particular and critical situation, further aggravated by the scandal of the renunciation of the cardinalate. That public renunciation, moreover, was itself the result of a criterion used by Bergoglio considered entirely questionable: the appointment of cardinals without first listening to them or carrying out certain pastoral assessments.
His history
Msgr Paskalis Bruno Syukur, a Franciscan Minor, was appointed Bishop of Bogor on 21 November 2013 and has led the diocese until today; within the Indonesian episcopal sphere he has also held positions of significance within the Bishops’ Conference. With the appointment of Msgr Christophorus Tri Harsono as Apostolic Administrator, the Holy See seeks to ensure continuity of governance of the diocese at a time that calls for balance, discernment, and stability, as the Church of Bogor prepares for its next institutional step.
fr.M.C.
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