The tour will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old’s papacy.
JAKARTA - Pope Francis arrived in Muslim-majority Indonesia on Sept 3 to kick off a four-nation tour of the Asia-Pacific that will be the longest and farthest of the 87-year-old’s papacy.
The Pope was due to have a relaxing day in Jakarta on Sept 3 following the long flight from Rome, then meet President Joko Widodo the following day in the first major set piece of his visit to the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country. On Sept 5, Pope Francis will meet representatives of all six at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia and a symbol of religious co-existence.
But Dr Michel Chambon, a theologian and anthropologist at the National University of Singapore, said the Pope would press a wider message he had already delivered in other Muslim-majority countries, from Iraq to Bahrain, Turkey and Morocco. At the Istiqlal Mosque, Pope Francis will sign a joint declaration with its grand imam that will focus on “dehumanisation”, notably the spread of violence and conflict, as well as environmental degradation, according to the Indonesian bishops’ conference.
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