Two days after Thalisa made joking comments about Jesus’ hair on TikTok on October 2, 2024, five Protestant Christian groups filed a complaint to the police accusing her of blasphemy, which is a crime in Indonesia.
After her conviction in mid-March, Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo called for her release, saying that “to live out our religion, we have to have a sense of humor.” The cardinal proposed that even “Jesus would laugh” at the joke Thalisa made.
In an interview with Crux, he continued explaining his comment:
“In my opinion as a follower of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church is actually not at all tarnished and does not feel insulted by the actions and words of Ratu Thalisa through her/his Tiktok ‘asking Jesus to cut ‘her’ hair.’ The Catholic Church upholds the principle of freedom and therefore opens up space for all forms of expression, including Ratu Thalisa’s freedom to express her opinions.
“We among interfaith close friends used to make jokes about our own and other religion. And these kinds of jokes make us closer to each other.
He continued:
“It seems that only people who are unable to celebrate diversity feel disturbed by this, which cannot be generalized as the universal Church. Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, the dynamics of Christian life have been colored by thorns and various insults and even persecution.”
Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo also referenced Jesus’s lesson to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, as well as speaking out against the nation’s blasphemy law:
“The use of all forms of blasphemy law and its derivatives is fundamentally dangerous, because it gives the state the opportunity to exercise theological understanding – doing theology –something that should be avoided, because it is not its domain.”
He said he hoped Thalisa would appeal, and said he urged “the high court to correct the Medan District Court’s Decision and acquit Ratu Thalisa.” He explained:
Theologically, the principle of Christian faith that prioritizes forgiveness may indeed be inconsistent with the socio-juridical principles of civil [law].”
The cardinal also reflected on the church’s history to put this incident into perspective:
“Once again, the Catholic Church has never felt demeaned or insulted even when it had to endure martyrdom. Instead of legally processing cases of blasphemy like this, the state and its apparatus must be more assertive in dealing with intolerant attitudes that hinder and/or prevent people from worshiping and expressing their faith properly and correctly. Punishing people who are considered to have insulted the Lord Jesus Christ is not in line with the law of love taught by the Lord Jesus Himself.”
Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director of New Ways Ministry commented:
“How refreshing to see a church leader who does not take offense at comments that were obviously made in jest, and which produced no harm to the faith or to the church. The LGBTQ+ community has a long history of using humor to defuse pain and oppression. The church was not harmed by Thalisa’s joke. There is no reason that religious groups needed to make a big incident of it.”