JAKARTA: Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Tuesday (Sep 3) to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that would be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old’s papacy.
The top of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics touched down in Jakarta for a three-day go to dedicated to inter-religious ties, and can then journey to Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore.
The 12-day tour will check the pontiff’s more and more fragile well being, however he’s typically energised by being amongst his flock and in current weeks has appeared in good spirits.
The pope was resulting from have a calming day in Jakarta on Tuesday following the lengthy flight from Rome, then meet President Joko Widodo on Wednesday within the first main set piece of his go to to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Catholics at the moment signify fewer than 3 per cent of the inhabitants of Indonesia – about eight million folks, in contrast with the 87 per cent, or 242 million, who’re Muslim.
However they’re one in every of six formally recognised religions or denominations within the secular nation, together with Protestantism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
On Thursday, Pope Francis will meet representatives of all six at Istiqlal Mosque, the biggest in Southeast Asia and an emblem of spiritual co-existence.
It’s linked by way of a “tunnel of friendship” to the cathedral throughout the highway, the place Christians in current days have been taking selfies with a life-sized cutout of the pope.
He’ll then host a mass and ship a sermon at Indonesia’s 80,000-seater nationwide soccer stadium.
JOINT DECLARATION
Regardless of Indonesia’s official recognition of various faiths, there are issues about rising discrimination, together with towards Christians, with native Catholics hoping the pope will communicate out.
However Michel Chambon, a theologian and anthropologist on the Nationwide College of Singapore, stated the pope would press a wider message he had already delivered in different Muslim-majority nations, from Iraq to Bahrain, Turkey and Morocco.
The go to “shouldn’t be actually aimed toward Catholics in Indonesia” however is meant to spotlight the worldwide significance of Islamic-Christian dialogue, he advised AFP.
That message was already being felt by some in Jakarta.
“When there’s an occasion like this, we get pleasure from it as a result of when it is our non secular occasions, they (Catholics) additionally present tolerance to us,” stated Ranggi Prathita, a 34-year-old Muslim who has been promoting customised Pope t-shirts.
“All of us respect one another.”
