Catholic Church responds to deadly Indonesia floods as leaders warn of environmental crisis

EWTN News, Dec 24, 2025 / 14:00 pm

After deadly floods and landslides left millions affected across Sumatra, the Catholic Church in Indonesia is mounting an emergency relief effort while Church leaders warn that decades of deforestation have turned the island into an environmental catastrophe.

Following a powerful cyclone in November, disaster struck three provinces in particular — Aceh, North Sumatra, and West Sumatra. Floods and landslides affected communities across the Archdiocese of Medan and its suffragan dioceses.

Amid the widespread destruction, Caritas Indonesia has emerged as a central pillar of the Church’s humanitarian response. According to its executive director, Father Fredy Rante Taruk, the organization is prioritizing lifesaving assistance for communities impacted by flooding and landslides caused by Cyclone Senyar.

Speaking to CNA, he said the immediate focus is on “ensuring access to food, temporary shelter, clean water, sanitation, hygiene services, and essential health care,” especially for displaced families and vulnerable groups in the Diocese of Sibolga, North Sumatra.

As of Dec. 21, official figures indicate that more than 3.3 million people across Sumatra have been affected, with roughly 1 million forced to flee their homes. Authorities report 1,090 deaths, 186 people missing, and approximately 7,000 injured. More than 147,000 houses have been damaged or destroyed, and economic losses are estimated at around $19.8 billion.

Relief efforts have been hampered by severe infrastructure damage. Collapsed bridges and washed‑out roads have made access to many towns and villages difficult, delaying the movement of humanitarian teams and essential supplies. Despite these challenges, Caritas Indonesia has continued to mobilize parish‑based shelters, operate communal kitchens, and deploy mobile health services in affected areas.

The response has been further complicated by the absence of a comprehensive national disaster emergency declaration. This has slowed the mobilization of large‑scale resources and reduced the prioritization of remote diocesan areas within the national response framework. As a result, much of the immediate relief work has relied heavily on local Church structures.

Local parishes, religious communities, and volunteers have taken on a central role. Parishes have opened temporary shelters, managed communal kitchens, and served as coordination and distribution hubs. Volunteers from parish and religious groups are assisting in relief distribution and health outreaches, including in hard‑to‑reach locations.

So far, Caritas Indonesia and its diocesan partners have provided food assistance to 22,251 people, including via five communal kitchens. Hygiene kits have reached 5,722 people, health services have been delivered to 3,751 individuals, and psychosocial support has been provided to 1,588 people. In total, Caritas Indonesia has dispatched 60 tons of humanitarian aid, including food, medicines, and blankets, from its national logistics hub in Jakarta to affected areas across Sumatra.

On the importance of international help, Taruk said “solidarity from Catholics abroad, channeled through Caritas member organizations, dioceses, and parish networks, remains essential,” stressing that such support is key to reaching isolated communities, closing funding gaps, and ensuring continuity from emergency response to early recovery.

Other Catholic organizations have also stepped in. Father Martinus Dam Febrianto, SJ, director of Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Indonesia, told CNA that the group launched an emergency response due to both the scale of the disaster and gaps in the official response. The organization’s work in Indonesia is part of Jesuit Refugee Service.

JRS was able to act quickly because of its long-standing presence on the island through its refugee protection programs. Since early December, the organization has distributed food, drinking water, hygiene kits, and other necessities.

Febrianto noted that damaged roads have forced many residents to walk long distances to access assistance. He said the heart of JRS’ response is pastoral accompaniment, “walking alongside” survivors who risk being left in prolonged and undignified living conditions due to limited access to housing, electricity, clean water, and sanitation.

Although JRS operates largely in predominantly Muslim areas, Febrianto explained that its engagement is humanitarian in nature. At the same time, he said, staff continue to witness resilience and inner strength among affected communities.

Public protests for accountability

Church leaders have also warned that the impact of the floods and landslides has been intensified by decades of deforestation across Sumatra. Large‑scale forest loss driven by illegal logging as well as industrial activity in the pulp, palm oil, and mining sectors has left communities more vulnerable to extreme weather events, they said.

Members of the Capuchin Franciscan order have joined other faith leaders in public protests calling for greater accountability.

CNA spoke with Father Supriyadi Pardosi, OFM Cap, of the Franciscan Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Office in the Archdiocese of Medan, who said Capuchin friars have been leading demonstrations against the pulp company PT Toba Pulp Lestari (TPL).

Large public demonstrations have been held since Nov. 10 and directed at Indonesia’s People’s Representative Council, several government ministries, the National Commission on Human Rights, and the governor of North Sumatra.

“Our demand remains consistent: the closure of the pulp firm PT Toba Pulp Lestari,” Pardosi said. He pointed to a pattern of flooding near TPL’s operations, noting flash floods in Harian–Samosir in November 2023, Simallopuk in December 2023, and Parapat in March 2025, all before Cyclone Senyar struck.

Beyond environmental damage, Pardosi said the company’s presence has fueled deep social divisions. He is advocating for a return of the land to public use.

Drawing on the teaching of the late Pope Francis, Pardosi said that care for creation is inseparable from care for human life. “The degradation of nature is, in essence, the degradation of human life itself.”

The priest called for an urgent paradigm shift in Indonesia’s environmental stewardship, warning that the country, often described as one of the world’s “lungs,” cannot remain passive as forests are cleared for short-term financial gain. Human progress, he concluded, depends on learning from creation rather than exploiting it. Environmental destruction, he said, represents “a low point in our humanity,” with consequences that can burden generations yet to come.

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