Former finance minister Franciscus Xaverius Seda being laid to rest in West Java
Frans Seda, as he was popularly known, was a "bridge between the Catholic Church and the national government," Bishop Martinus Dogma Situmorang of Padang, chairman of the bishops' conference, told UCA News.
As finance minister 1966-1968, Seda helped get needed foreign aid into the country. He was also one of the founders of Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta.
"Through this university, he indirectly prepared young Catholics to take part in social activities," said Theophilus Bela, a fellow lay leader and general secretary of the Indonesian Committee on Religions for Peace.
"His contributions to the Church were very great, particularly in the 1960s."
Bela said Seda had also lobbied hard for the national government to pay more attention to the eastern part of the country when it was most in need of development. "This region is now developing," Bela noted.
Seda took an active part in Church activities and was a member of the team that organized Pope John Paul II's visit to Indonesia in 1989.
Prior to holding the finance post, he was plantations minister from 1964 to 1966, while chairing the Indonesian Catholic Party 1961-1968. He then served as communications and tourism minister from 1968 to 1973.
Following a state funeral on Jan. 2, Seda was buried at San Diego Hills Cemetery in Karawang, West Java. He had died at his home in Pondok Indah, South Jakarta.
A viewing and memorial service were held at Atma Jaya before Jesuit Cardinal Julius Darmaatmadja of Jakarta celebrated a requiem Mass at Assumption Cathedral.
Bishop Situmorang, in his homily during the Mass, told around 1,000 mourners that Seda had "a sense of mission" within the Catholic Church as well as in society. "Let us implement the values he fought for," he said.
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