At 87, Pope Francis is almost infirm: he moves around most of the time in a wheelchair, or slowly, with the help of a cane. His weakness does not in any way diminish his ambition, The Pope is about to embark on his longest journey, both in distance (over 30,000 kilometres) and duration, since his arrival at the head of the Catholic Church in 2013. On Tuesday 3 September, the Pope arrived in Indonesia, welcomed with a small ceremony at Jakarta airport, and will travel until 13 September to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. Shortly after taking off from Rome, he went to greet one by one the 80 journalists who followed him, as usual, whereas on previous trips he greeted them without moving from his seat.
He intends to continue to spread the word of the Church wherever Catholics live and to bring up the issues that are dear to him, such as interreligious dialogue, the representation of the countries of the South on the international scene, social justice and the preservation of the environment, issues important to these island states. The Pope sees himself as a missionary: for his 45 years, he has been a missionary for over 40 years.my On his journey, he will follow in part in the footsteps of St. Francis Xavier, the founder of the Jesuits, of which Jorge Mario Bergoglio was a member in Argentina before becoming Pope Francis.
“For the Pope there is the idea that the Church must be present in the peripheries, where Christianity is not sufficiently present and where the world’s attention is not sufficiently focused”“This is a very concrete step,” explains François Mabille, a specialist in religious actors at the Institute of International and Strategic Relations. He has done so in a very concrete way by appointing cardinals in recent years in each of the countries he is planning to visit. In these countries marked by great ethnic, linguistic and religious diversity, the Catholic Church must take care of local cultures, one of the sensitive issues in the spread of the faith. “One of the challenges of Catholicism is to be present, to gain market share and, at the same time, to respect or integrate local values”Mr. Mabille continues.
Accompanied by a Vatican delegation, the Pope will begin his trip in Jakarta, the vibrant capital of Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world in terms of population. Pope Francis will be able to highlight dialogue with Islam, one of the key themes of his pontificate, with an interreligious meeting on Thursday 5 September at the great Istiqlal mosque. “The Vatican appreciates the harmony between religious communities in Indonesia and even wants to learn about Islam in Indonesia”Cardinal Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo, Archbishop of Jakarta, told local journalists on August 29. In 1961, the founder of the Republic of Indonesia, Sukarno, decided to build the religious building right in front of the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, as a symbol of the happy coexistence of religions. On this symbol, the current president, Joko Widodo, plans to inaugurate a new building in the presence of the Pope. “tunnel of brotherhood” between the two places of worship, separated by a road.
You have 60.72% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
