Bishop who declined red hat resigns at 63
Bishop Syukur stepped down citing ‘obedience’ to the Holy See
Editor’s note: This story is developing and has been updated.
An Indonesian churchman who declined the cardinal’s red hat in 2024 resigned 12 years early as a diocesan bishop Monday, citing “obedience” to the Holy See.
The Vatican announced Jan. 19 that Pope Leo XIV had accepted the resignation of Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur, O.F.M., as head of the Diocese of Bogor.
The Vatican did not give a reason for Syukur’s highly unusual resignation at the age of 63, 12 years after he was appointed to lead the Bogor diocese and 12 years before he would be expected to tender his resignation to the pope. There have been no public reports that Syukur is suffering from health issues.
The diocese, located in the province of West Java, said Jan. 19 that the bishop had taken part in a farewell event at which he read a resignation letter.
Syukur quoted the words of St. Paul in 2 Tim 4:7: “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.”
The bishop then made a remark that could be interpreted as saying he had been asked to resign.
“Behind every administrative decision, I believe there is the hand of God weaving His plan,” he said. “I accept this with inner joy, because obedience to the Holy See is a promise that He holds firmly.”
But the Diocese of Bogor framed the resignation as a “spiritual transition.”
It said: “The resignation of Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur is not the end, but a spiritual transition that opens a new chapter in the history of the Diocese of Bogor. A chapter marked by gratitude, respect, and prayers of the faithful for a shepherd who has faithfully sown God’s life and love among them.”
The website of the Bogor Cathedral Parish said Jan. 19 that the pope had ordered an apostolic visitation of the Diocese of Bogor, in response to unspecified “allegations.”
It said that “the results were positive, confirming the negative allegations were untrue.”
The website quoted Syukur as saying in his farewell speech: “Regarding my resignation as bishop, there are indeed pressures and difficult circumstances surrounding it. However, I choose not to see it as a human and worldly defeat. I am not resigning because of guilt, but because I love the unity of the Church.”
Syukur was born on May 17, 1962, in Ranggu, in Indonesia’s East Nusa Tenggara province. He entered the Franciscan order, made his solemn profession in 1989, and was ordained a priest in 1991. He studied for three years at the Antonianum, a Franciscan pontifical university in Rome, obtaining a Licentiate in Spirituality.
He was a novice master in Depok, West Java, from 1996 to 2001, when he was elected provincial minister of the order in Indonesia. He served for two four-year terms before being appointed as the Franciscan definitor general for Asia and Oceania in Rome.
Pope Francis named Syukur as Bishop of Bogor on Nov. 21, 2013, when Syukur was 51. The diocese, established in 1948, serves around 83,000 Catholics.
Syukur was second vice-president of the Indonesian bishops’ conference from 2018 to 2022 and general secretary from 2022 to 2025. He was named a member of the then-Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life in 2019. He met with Pope Francis on Sept. 4, 2024, during the Argentine pope’s visit to Indonesia.
Syukur came to global prominence on Oct. 6, 2024, when Pope Francis announced that he would be among 21 new cardinals created in December that year.
But the Vatican said on Oct. 22, 2024, that Syukur had asked not to be created a cardinal.
“Pope Francis has accepted the request of His Excellency Bishop Paskalis Bruno Syukur of Bogor, Indonesia, not to be created cardinal in the upcoming consistory,” the Holy See press office said.
“His Excellency’s request is motivated by his wish to grow further in priestly life, in the service of the Church and the people of God.”
In the wake of Pope Francis’ decision to accept Syukur’s request, media raised questions about the bishop’s handling of abuse cases in the Bogor diocese.
Local media in Indonesia suggested that Syukur’s resignation as Bishop of Bogor was motivated by humility.
“This resignation seems to be a continuation of Bishop Paskalis’ humble attitude,” wrote the Depok regional edition of the Indonesian news website Tribunnews.com.
“In October 2024, the world was shocked when he asked Pope Francis not to include his name on the list of cardinals to be created. At that time, Bishop Paskalis chose to continue growing in religious life as a Franciscan friar.”
“Now, with his resignation as bishop, he has once again shown that office is not the main priority, but rather obedience to God’s call.”
Oversight of the Diocese of Bogor will pass to Bishop Christophorus Tri Harsono of Purwokerto, who was named apostolic administrator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanctae Sedis (“the see being vacant and at the disposition of the Holy See”).
Well obviously not a lot of info about his decision, but overall I'm glad for that. There's no reason his decision has to be public. As long as he, the pope and God are at peace with it, I applaud him and pray for his religious life going forward.