The head of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics touched down in the capital, Jakarta, for a three-day visit devoted to inter-religious ties, Indonesia onwards, he travels to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.
In Jakarta, Pope visited the city’s famed Istiqlal Mosque, where he and Muslim leaders outlined their vision for a moderate and tolerant society and called for an end to violent extremism.
Speaking at the underground “Tunnel of Fraternity,” which connects the mosque to the Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption across the street, Pope Francis called the tunnel “a place of dialogue and encounter.”
While tunnels are often thought of as dark places, “Here it is different, for everything is illuminated,” he said, telling the interreligious leaders present that “you are the light that illuminates it.”
Religious communities must respond to various global challenges with friendship, he said, saying that “by welcoming others and respecting their identity, fraternity urges them on a common path travelled in friendship and leading towards the light.”
Interfaith Dialogue
So far, dialogue with Islam and the push for tolerance has been a key talking point in Indonesia, which, with a population of around 275 million, is roughly 87 percent Muslim, making it the largest Muslim country in the world.
In a speech on Wednesday, Pope Francis urged the political leaders to fight extremism and foster interreligious tolerance and social development. Likewise, he urged the church’s pastors in a subsequent meeting to be openminded and inclusive.
Francis was welcomed to the mosque by its Grand Imam, Nasaruddin Umar, who called it “a joy.” Umar noted that the mosque, founded in 1961 can host up to 250,000 worshippers, and was designed by a Christian architect named Friedrich Silaban, who won a........