Into the Deep: Seeking Justice for the people of West Papua

By Peter Arndt and Bishop Vincent Long Van Nguyen

In this paper, Peter Arndt examines the issues faced by the indigenous people of West Papua and discusses their claim for freedom and independence.

Peter has visited West Papua on several occasions, has met and spoken with people working for freedom and justice, and has heard their accounts of oppression and brutality on the part of police

• Language: English
• Publisher: Australian Catholic Bishops Conference
• Release date: Jul 22, 2019
• ISBN: 9780648372721

Book preview

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

The Australian Catholic Social Justice Council (ACSJC) is the national social justice and human rights agency of the Catholic Church in Australia. The Council advises the bishops on social justice issues in Australia and overseas, undertakes research and advocacy on such issues, educates the Catholic community about the Church’s social justice teachings and their application and facilitates the development of social justice works within the Catholic Church in Australia.

Other papers in the Catholic Social Justice Series include:

Published by the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

24-32 O’Riordan St, Alexandria NSW 2015, Australia

© Australian Catholic Bishops Conference 2018

Editor: David Brennan

Production editor: Bruce Pollock

Typesetting and page make-up: David Bruns

Printed in Australia by Imagination Graphics

Cover photo courtesy Pasifika: used with permission.

The opinions expressed in Catholic Social Justice Series papers do not necessarily reflect the policies of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council. These papers are published to provide information and to stimulate public discussion.

ISBN: 978-0-6483727-2-1 (e-book)

Australian Catholic Social Justice Council

PO Box 7246 Alexandria NSW 2015

www.socialjustice.catholic.org.au

[e-mail]

Foreword

It is a privilege to welcome this latest addition to the Catholic Social Justice Series.

We cannot read Peter Arndt’s account of the sufferings of the indigenous people of West Papua without being deeply moved. He honours us by sharing his experiences over a number of years in West Papua and telling the stories of its people. He shows how he has come to understand their indomitable desire for self-determination and to recognise how the Gospel calls him to walk beside his friends on their journey.

That deep reflection on Gospel values and Church teaching is what makes this publication so inspiring. Peter places his friends’ experience in the context of the Scriptures and looks deeply into the Church’s teachings on justice, asking what he must do. He discerns the answer with clarity and