Indonesia’s Muslims join Catholics in welcoming Pope Francis as 12-day grand tour kicks off

JAKARTA – During Pope Francis’s first full day of events in Jakarta, both Muslim leaders and locals have joined Indonesia’s Catholics in welcoming the Pope and praising his visit, calling it a blessing and an opportunity to boost the country’s profile as a place of tolerance between religions.

Inter-religious harmony has so far been the at the heart of Pope Francis’s messaging in Indonesia, with the Pope telling civil authorities to fight extremism and foster tolerance during meetings held on the morning of 4 September, his first full day of official duties since arriving on 3 September, while also telling Indonesian clergy and religious to be openminded and inclusive.

Muslims, who make up the majority of the country’s population, have been welcoming of Pope Francis, lining up on the streets alongside Catholics outside of Jakarta’s cathedral, which is located in a Muslim district, to wave at the Pope as he arrived at his meeting with clergy and religious.

The Central Board of Muhammadiyah, one of the main Islamic groups in Indonesia, issued a statement calling the Pope’s visit “an honour and respect for the Indonesian people”.

“In the midst of his tight schedule, Pope Francis is pleased to visit Indonesia using commercial aircraft and traveling very long distances and not stay at a five-star hotel,” the board said, calling this an example and an inspiration for leaders “at the national and global levels”.

The board said that in terms of Catholic-Islamic relations, the visit highlights the significance of Indonesia and Pope Francis’ commitment to forging stronger ties with the Islamic world.

They pointed to the 2019 document on Human Fraternity that Pope Francis signed in Abu Dhabi along with the Gran Imam of Egypt’s prestigious al-Azhar mosque, Ahmad el-Thayeb.

The document, the board said, “underlines the same spirit of Islamic teachings and commitment of Catholicism in building human dignity and cooperation among faiths in peace”.

Referring to Pope Francis’s primary forthcoming inter-religious encounter, which will be held on 5 September at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, they said this “shows openness in dialogue and cooperation among faiths as well introducing Indonesia to the world as a pluralistic country with religious and cultural harmony”.

The board added that Indonesians should “welcome and respect” Pope Francis’s visit, and offer him “full hospitality and politeness to reflect noble Indonesian culture and civilisation”.

Turning to what government leaders should make of the visit, the board said that such leadership figures ought to use the Pope’s visit to discuss issues related to peace, and Indonesia’s role in facilitating peace worldwide, with special regard to the “Palestinian issue”.

“It is important for Indonesia to use the visit and meeting with the Pope [for] momentum to initiate and develop its role in world peace more proactively, [especially] in seeking permanent solutions for the future of Palestine by involving various parties at the world level,” they said.

Sister Filomena Suarez, a member of the Society of the Sacred Heart who at one point lived in Rome, and who is a native of East Timor, where Pope Francis will also visit during his 12-day tour of Asia and Oceania, told Crux that her congregation has many Muslim friends, and they are also happy about the pope’s visit.

“They appreciate and are very happy with the visit of our Holy Pope Francis,” she said.

In a nod to the generally harmonious relationship the various religions enjoy with one another, Father Pilifur Junianto, a member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary from Batam, told journalists ahead of the Pope’s meeting with clergy and religious that Catholics in Indonesia practice what is known as silaturahmi.

“It means we encounter others, other religions, other cultures. We visit each other on our feast days,” he said.

Sister Floria Marie, a member of the Sisters of Notre Dame, said there is a lot of excitement over the Pope’s visit, and that “the feeling here for the Pope is really enthusiastic, because in Indonesia we really hope to see the Pope.”

“Sometimes we see him on television, but now we really can see him in reality now. Especially for me, I am really happy to see him, it’s a blessing for me,” she said.

Speaking to Crux, Father Matthew Pawai, a priest from Jakarta who attended Pope Francis’s meeting on 4 September with bishops, clergy and religious in Indonesia, said the Pope’s presence “is meaningful for me” and makes him “very proud to be a Catholic”.

“We were longing for him, waiting for him to be here in Indonesia, and really I’m proud to be a priest, and also Catholic, because many spiritual leaders [of other religions] come to my country from all over the world,” he said, noting that the last papal visit was nearly 40 years ago, when Pope John Paul II visited in 1989.

Pointing to Pope Francis’s praise for Indonesia’s diverse cultural and ethnic composition, and his call for unity in diversity in a speech to civil authorities earlier, Pawai said that even though Muslims are a majority, making up 87 per cent of the population, “Catholics are also part of Indonesia”.

“When the Pope talks about religion and diversity, and our task as a Church [is] to be Catholics [alongside] other religions; to create peace, to create togetherness, it’s something that makes us proud and happy,” he said.

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Photo: Pope Francis poses for a group photo with Indonesian locals of varying religions during one of his numerous visits on his first full day of engagements at the start of his 12-day tour around the region, Jakarta, Indonesia, 4 September 2024. (Photo by TIZIANA FABI/AFP via Getty Images.)

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