goodmorningpapua.com – The Generation of Native Papuans (OAP) in Southern Papua will progress and develop if it is based on a strong education. An archbishop of Merauke Mgr. Petrus Canisius Mandagi said that only through education as a passport making the native Papuan generation be able to be independent and not easily controlled.
For this reason, Catholic priests or pastors are emphasized to back up education at the Catholic Education and Schooling Foundation (YPPK) schools. One of the efforts that Bishop Mandagi has already started to do is to open the construction of a junior high school seminary in South Papua, namely in Wendu Merauke, Bovend Digoel, Keppi, Kimam and in August another one will be built in Merauke City. The establishment of this small seminary with the consideration that later it will give birth to new priests from four districts in the southern region. Because for him, it has been many years that no native Papuan priest has been ordained.
However, more than that is to produce human resources for the Papuan generation that are of higher quality. If you want to add priests, you need a place of education, namely a small seminary. I believe that within five years, many indigenous Papuan children will be educated.
“It’s okay for them to become priests, but they have received education at the seminary and we have made quality and moral education,” he said at the Merauke Archdiocese Secretariat, Saturday (5/3/2022).
The Archbishop of Merauke also said that most of the criminal cases in Merauke come from uneducated and immoral people. This happens because of weak education starting from elementary, yunior and high school, not self-disciplined and not knowing the foundations of faith and religion properly and correctly starting from the family environment and the role of foundations.
In addition, he said, cooperation with the local government as well as with interfaith is needed to jointly develop the nation’s children in Papua. Moreover, the role of priests in backing up education at the Catholic Schools Education Foundation.