UBUNG KAJA, BALI, September 13, 2011 (VIVAnews): From the philosophy expressed in its architecture to its ornamentation and even a purification ceremony,a Catholic church of Ubung Kaja in Denpasur has adopted the appearance of Hinduism.
Father Servasius I Nyoman Subhaga SVD explained that the “Jesus the Good Shepard” church building was designed in accordance with Asta Kosala Kosali (Hindu philosophy) and Tri Mandala (three Balinese concepts on Balinese building layout).
The entire church building, whose construction was initiated in 2003, is perfectly typical of Balinese model. The layout and exterior of the church adopts Balinese culture, and the church is full of Balinese ornaments. In fact, the church keeps a kulkul (wooden alarm), a device usually installed in temples and hamlets in Bali.
In further mimicry of Hinduism, this church held Melaspas, a Balinese Hindu purification ceremony led by Hindu religious leaders before a new building is occupied.
Bali’s governor, Made Mangku Pastika, asserts that the church can inculcate virtue in the people. “This church is a magnificent place to educate people,” he said. Chief of Uma Sari Hamlet in Ubung Kaja, I Ketut Matulisi, said his people have high religious tolerance. “People here are tolerant. Every time the church holds a ceremony, our people are entrusted to be on guard,” he said.
[HPI note: This is part of the Catholic Church’s “Inculturation” program, widely used in India and in other areas where conversion is not easy to come by. It consists of adopting a facade of the local religion and then moving the followers gradually away from it. It sometimes backfires and Catholicism becomes a permanent religious mix for that area. At other times, it succeeds in undermining the local Hindu faith.]