The Catholic Church in Indonesia has stepped up assistance to communities on Flores Island after a powerful earthquake compounded displacement and uncertainty in areas already threatened by volcanic activity.
The magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Flores on Aug. 15 caused casualties and extensive damage in several parts of the island, according to Vatican’s Fides News Agency.
The Caritas Indonesia network and local dioceses launched a coordinated relief effort to assist affected communities.
Bishop Yohanes Hans Monteiro of Larantuka said the earthquake struck people who were already dealing with the effects of an earlier volcanic eruption.
“It is a disaster that came after a volcanic eruption in Larantuka two years ago,” Monteiro told Fides.
Some Catholics had already been forced to leave their homes and remain internally displaced, he said, while “the volcano still poses a threat.”
Damage in Larantuka was relatively limited, but Monteiro said conditions remained precarious for families already displaced by volcanic activity.
“I am concerned about my people who are living in precarious conditions in this region,” he said.
The diocese has been accompanying internally displaced people through Caritas as communities continue to recover from the earthquake.
Monteiro said fear remained widespread in Flores and that people were still shaken by the disaster.
At the same time, he said the earthquake had generated “a great deal of solidarity,” with civil authorities, Caritas and communities across Indonesia responding to those affected.
“I have to say that the entire Indonesian people, through the civil authorities and Caritas, are helping us,” he said.
The bishops of Flores have also remained in contact to coordinate assistance and support one another.
Monteiro said that cooperation had strengthened the Church’s response, adding, “We are very united, and this strengthens us.”
The earthquake also caused serious damage and partial collapses at St. Peter’s Interdiocesan Major Seminary in Maumere.
A young seminarian from the Diocese of Labuan Bajo died at a hospital from injuries sustained in the earthquake.
Monteiro said the dioceses experienced the tragedy together and responded through prayer and shared material resources.
“We are united in prayer and in sharing material resources, so that together we can find solutions,” he said.
The local Church also felt “the closeness and support” of the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference, according to the bishop.
Larantuka, in the eastern part of Flores, has around 250,000 Catholics, 55 parishes and about 150 diocesan and religious priests, according to figures Monteiro provided to Fides.
The bishop said Flores remained a strong source of priestly and religious vocations despite the hardship facing local communities.
Around 1,000 priests and religious women from Flores are serving in missions and communities around the world, including more than 300 from the Diocese of Larantuka, according to Monteiro.
“These vocations are a special gift from God, but they are not ‘only for us’: they are a gift for the universal Church, for all the Churches of the world, wherever there is a need,” he said.
Monteiro said solidarity within the Church and wider society was helping communities face continuing fear and uncertainty after the earthquake.
“We are very united within the ecclesial community, and we are building bridges of cooperation and unity in society,” he said.
