Pope appeals for religious unity at stadium mass in Indonesia
Pope Francis appealed for religious unity Thursday as he
addressed tens of thousands of people at a football stadium after meeting faith
leaders at Southeast Asia's biggest mosque.
"I encourage you to sow seeds of love, confidently
tread the path of dialogue, continue to show your goodness and kindness... and
be builders of unity and peace," he told more than 80,000 devotees packed
into the stadium in the Indonesian capital.
The 87-year-old pontiff earlier met Grand Imam Nasaruddin
Umar at Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque, where they signed a declaration warning
against using religion to stoke conflict and appealed for action against
climate change.
Francis's packed schedule on Thursday capped the first stop
of a gruelling Asia-Pacific tour, the longest of his papacy, that will take him
to Papua New Guinea on Friday and then to East Timor and Singapore.
He appeared to be in good spirits despite fears over his
health as he addressed excited Catholics, who make up about three per cent of
the population of Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country.
Anastasia Ida Ediati, a 59-year-old notary who went to the
stadium with 200 other members of her parish, said she was filled with joy that
she was lucky enough to be invited.
"We Catholics have such a charismatic and humble
leader. His visit is especially meaningful for us, as many of us who are older
may not have this opportunity again," she told AFP.
With President Joko Widodo in attendance, the pope entered
Indonesia's national football stadium in a tactical vehicle built by an
Indonesian state-run defence company.
The crowd had arrived on packed buses hours before, many of
them wearing t-shirts showing the pope and taking group photos with the huge
stadium in the background.
Pope Francis stood up to speak and start the mass despite
humid conditions.
He had not travelled abroad since visiting Marseille in
France in September last year and, as standard procedure, has been accompanied
by his personal doctor and two nurses.
Unity between faiths has been the central theme of his trip
and the declaration signed at the Istiqlal Mosque, Southeast Asia's largest,
called for "religious harmony for the sake of humanity".
"The global phenomenon of dehumanisation is marked
especially by widespread violence and conflict. It is particularly worrying
that religion is often instrumentalised in this regard," it read.
"The role of religion should include promoting and
safeguarding the dignity of every human life."
Francis underlined his message of unity in a speech before
leaders of Indonesia's six recognised religions -- Islam, Protestantism,
Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism.
"We are all brothers, all pilgrims, all on our way to
God, beyond what differentiates us," he said.
The pope was welcomed to the mosque by a percussion band
often used in Islamic ceremonies.
Once seated, he and Nasaruddin listened to a passage from
the Koran recited by a young blind girl and a passage from the Bible.
Francis also visited a "tunnel of friendship" that
links the mosque to Jakarta's cathedral across the street, signing a section of
the tunnel.
The declaration signed with Nasaruddin also pinpointed the
environmental crisis as a threat to human civilisation and called for
"decisive action" to counter global warming.
"The human exploitation of creation, our common home,
has contributed to climate change," it read.
It said climate change had led "to various destructive
consequences such as natural disasters, global warming and unpredictable
weather patterns".
Francis has made several visits to Muslim-majority
countries. He signed a document on human brotherhood with the Grand Imam of
Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam's prestigious seat of learning, on a 2019 visit to the
United Arab Emirates.
The trip to Indonesia is the third by a pope and the first
since John Paul II in 1989.
Catholics number about eight million people in Indonesia,
compared with the 87 percent, or 242 million, who are Muslim.
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