Posted by Executive Secretary for Justice and Peace (KP) of the Indonesian Churches Fellowship ( PGI ) Henrek Lokra responded to the Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil’s plan to make the Office of Religious Affairs ( KUA ) a venue for weddings of all religions.
Henrek asked for the plan to be considered carefully. Because, he said, in Christianity, marriage is a private matter.
The church, he said, is tasked with blessing someone’s marriage.
The reason the Minister of Religion wants to make KUA a place for marriages of all religions
“It’s best to consider it carefully. Because in Christianity, marriage is a private matter, and its place is in the civil registry. The church is tasked with blessing a marriage which is a person’s private territory,” said Henrek via short message to CNNIndonesia.com , Monday (26/2).
He believes that it is right for the state to take care of population administration. On the other hand, the church is in charge of blessing marriages.
“The Church’s duty is to bless marriages that have been registered in the registrar. The state takes care of the registrar properly,” he said.
Minister of Religion Yaqut Cholil Qoumas previously planned that the Office of Religious Affairs (KUA), apart from being a place for registering marriages for Muslims, would also be a place for registering marriages for non-Muslims.
“We have agreed from the start that we will make this KUA a center for religious services for all religions. KUA can be used as a wedding venue for all religions,” said Yaqut.
By developing the function of the KUA as a place to register marriages from religions other than Islam, he hopes that marriage and divorce data can be more well integrated.
“Now, if we look at our non-Muslim brothers and sisters, they register their marriages in the civil registry. In fact, that should be a matter for the Ministry of Religion,” he said.