The age of world leaders could also be hotly debated elsewhere, but in Indonesia this week, Pope Francis, the 87-year-old head of Roman Catholicism, began essentially the most physically demanding trip of his pontificate to date. It was the primary stop on a two-week, four-country tour of Southeast Asia, with a packed schedule of meetings and public speeches braving likely punishing heat and humidity.
Landing in Jakarta on Tuesday after a 13-hour flight, Francis greeted his hosts with non-stop smiles, but over his three days within the vibrantly diverse Indonesian archipelago, the pope didn’t hide his fragility, greeting crowds from a wheelchair and heaving himself from transportation to podium to altar with the assistance of his entourage.
Despite his health challenges, which include an ailing knee and troubling sciatica, the pope used his evident vulnerability as a solution to bridge differences. At an meeting on Thursday with Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar on the famed Istiqlal Mosque, the pope submitted to a kiss on the top from the imam after the 2 leaders, clad in white, signed a joint declaration on “Fostering Religious Harmony for the Sake of Humanity.” Francis returned the favour by pressing the imam’s hand on his cheek.
The meeting was a continuation of a journey that began with the 2019 document “Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together,” co-signed on the pontiff’s visit to Abu Dhabi with the grand imam of Al-Ahzar, Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb.
Home to almost 242 million Muslims, Indonesia is the biggest Muslim-majority country on the planet, with a Catholic population of roughly 8 million. But the country prides itself for being a beacon of tolerance amongst faiths, adhering to the maxim “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika” (Unity in diversity).
A growing variety of violent episodes by Muslim groups, including a thwarted attack by Islamic terrorists in East Java in August, have raised concerns that religious tensions could also be increasing. Speaking to government and diplomatic leaders on Wednesday, the pope offered the church’s assist in countering extremism and intolerance.
The Istiqlal Mosque, itself an emblem of interfaith dialogue, stands in front of the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. The two sites are connected by an underground tunnel, aptly named “Tunnel of Friendship,” which the pope praised as an emblem of fraternal unity overcoming differences in creed and theology.
At the meeting with Umar, which took place under a tent near the mosque, the pope laid out his vision for peaceful coexistence between members of various faiths. “Sometimes we expect that a gathering between religions is a matter of looking for common ground between different religious doctrines and beliefs regardless of the associated fee,” the pope told the gang, which included Hindu, Buddhist and Protestant representatives.
“Such an approach, nonetheless, may find yourself dividing us,” he said, “since the doctrines and dogmas of every religious experience are different. What really brings us closer is making a connection within the midst of diversity, cultivating bonds of friendship, care and reciprocity.”
Rather than specializing in dogma, the pope listed other concerns that bring faithful of all religions together, including “defense of human dignity, the fight against poverty and the promotion of peace.”
The joint declaration, only just a few paragraphs long, outlined two major crises: dehumanization and climate change. The document urged religious traditions to come back together “to defeat the culture of violence and indifference afflicting our world.” It also stated that interreligious dialogue will be “an efficient instrument for resolving local, regional and international conflicts, especially those incited by the abuse of faith.” Finally, it called on all people of goodwill to take actions for the great of the environment and its resources.
After the event, the pope made sure to inform members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia how you can be good neighbors in a pluralistic society. ” … Proclaiming the gospel doesn’t mean imposing our faith, placing it in opposition to that of others, or proselytizing, it means giving and sharing the enjoyment of encountering Christ, at all times with great respect and fraternal affection for everybody,” he said.
Francis ended his visit to Indonesia with a Mass on the feast of St. Teresa of Calcutta on the Gelora Bung Karno stadium, where 100,000 people gathered to cheer for him. The pope in his homily underlined the importance of caring for the poor and reaching out to the marginalized.
“I’d also prefer to say to you, to this nation, to this excellent and varied archipelago, don’t grow weary of setting sail and casting your nets, don’t grow weary of dreaming and constructing again a civilization of peace!” the pope said. “Always dare to dream of fraternity!”
Francis’ next step in his “tour de force” will probably be Papua New Guinea, where he is predicted to reflect on climate change and the care of creation, poverty and the bounty of lessons to be learned from Indigenous communities.
© Religion News Service
