JAKARTA: Pope Francis highlighted the unifying role of Indonesia’s cultural, religious and ethnic diversity on Wednesday, as he met the country’s leadership during his first trip to the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Indonesia, an archipelago of 17,000 islands, is home to over 1,300 ethnic groups and about 700 languages. It officially recognizes six religions: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Francis met with President Joko Widodo on Wednesday morning after arriving in Indonesia — the first stop on his four-nation tour of Asia — the previous day.
“Just as the ocean is the natural element uniting all Indonesian islands, the mutual respect for the specific cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious characteristics of all the groups present in Indonesia is the indispensable and unifying fabric that makes Indonesians a united and proud people,” the 87-year-old pontiff said in a speech at the presidential palace.
Addressing Indonesian officials and political leaders, he referred to Indonesia’s national motto “Bhinneka Tunggal Ika,” which means “unity in diversity,” and said that it reflected a “wise and delicate balance” that “must be continuously defended,” and particularly “in a special way by those in political life.”
Muslims make up around 87 percent of Indonesia’s 270 million population, while its Catholic community comprises around 3 percent.
Francis, who is also the first pope to have visited the Arabian Peninsula, said the Catholic Church wants to “increase interreligious dialogue” in order to eliminate prejudice and develop a climate of mutual respect and trust.
On Thursday, he will participate in an interfaith meeting at Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, with Indonesian religious leaders.
“This visit carries a strong message on the importance of celebrating differences, where Indonesia, as a diverse country … has always strived to preserve harmony within our diversity,” Widodo said.
“For Indonesia, differences are a gift … Indonesia and the Vatican want to continue to spread the spirit of peace and tolerance amid an increasingly turbulent world.”
Francis is the third pope to visit Indonesia, after Pope Paul VI in 1970 and Pope John Paul II in 1989.
His Asia tour — the longest during his papacy — also includes Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
