The Third Pontiff Invited To Indonesia
Pope Francis kicked off the longest trip of his tenure with a much anticipated trip to the Asia Pacific region – a challenging journey for an 87-year-old man.
Pope Francis had planned to visit Indonesia in 2020, but the trip was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last March, President Joko Widodo invited the Pope to reschedule his visit. Pope Francis is the third pontiff to visit Indonesia, following Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989. The theme of his visit was “Faith, Fraternity, and Compassion.”
The Pope highlighted environmental concerns and the importance of interfaith dialogue. The Pope has criticized nations over deforestation and the loss of biodiversity. Indonesia is not immune to this criticism.
During his trip to Indonesia, he visited Istiqlal Mosque and signed a joint declaration with the Grand Imam. The Pope’s visit to the mosque and the cathedral offered a powerful statement of religious fraternity and mutual respect, reflecting his dedication to promoting peace and unity among diverse communities. The Pope also met with outgoing president Joko Widodo and held a mass for some 70,000 people.
“The visit offered opportunities to discuss the common ground between religious communities,” said Nasaruddin Umar, the grand imam at the Jakarta mosque. “It also emphasized the commonalities between religions, ethnicities, and beliefs. His journey underscores the importance of mutual understanding and peace, especially between Catholics and Muslims.”
Seven people in Indonesia have been detained after a failed plot to attack Pope Francis during his visit to the country. The suspects were arrested in Jakarta, Bogor and Bekasi prior to the Pope’s arrival. Indonesia has suffered Islamist attacks over the past decades, including the 2002 bombing in Bali that killed more than 200 people.
“Indonesia has seen its share of religious conflict and violence for centuries,” said Gary Chandler, author of the Language and Travel Guide To Indonesia. “Most of these conflicts are isolated today, but they are ongoing.”
For Archbishop Augustinus Agus of Pontianak, the important thing is that almost everyone in Indonesia, not just Catholics but especially Muslims, has seen the true character of Pope Francis. The Archbishop explained that the Pope’s visit symbolizes his mission of bringing peace everywhere. He noted the Pope’s choice of a simple car, his preference not to stay in hotels, and the similarity of his cassock with other priests.
In Timor-Leste, once an Indonesian island known as East Timor, the Pope will officiate mass in the capital Dili, where John Paul II spoke in 1989 to comfort local Catholics suffering under Indonesia’s occupation of the territory. Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002.
For the past decade, the Pope has been increasing his engagements with Asia.
Early in his pontificate, he made four long-distance trips to the region: to South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Japan. Only 0.5% of Japan’s population identified as Catholic at the time. He has also visited Bangladesh, Mongolia, Myanmar, and Thailand.
Indonesia is the fourth-largest nation in the world with more than 267 million people. The country has more than 17,500 islands, including Bali, Borneo, Java, Lombok, Sumatra and Sulawesi.
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