INDONESIAN CATHOLICS URGED TO BUILD CO-OPS

This article, dated March 27th, comes from the news website Indian Catholic.

The Catholic archdiocese of Kupang in Indonesia is encouraging it’s priests to learn about micro-financing, so as to help their parishioners to climb out of poverty.

The priests went through a training session in Kupang from March 12-17. As noted in the article, the priests and lay workers were taught about “microcredit and livelihood, problems of microfinance institutions, poverty as a common problem, steps to build organizations for saving and making loans, and financial matters as pastoral service.”

On March 16th, Archbishop Petrus Turang spoke to the participants. He praised the work and training his pastors were receiving, and urged every parish in the archdiocese to have their own cooperative.

This is an excellent application of the Holy Gospels’ command to aid the poor in their distress. This is also putting Distributism in action. As what happened with Frs. Coady and Tompkins in founding the Antigonish Movement, as well as Fr. J. M. Arizmendiarrieta and the Mondragon Movement, the priests of the Faith will educate the poor to help themselves and their neighbors through the co-operative principle.

Congratulations to both Archbishop Turang and the priests and laymen under him for helping the poor, as well as aiding their fellow Indonesians of all backgrounds towards a future Distributist society. God grant it a mighty increase.