Pope’s Asian Pacific trip deals with the good and the bad

Last week, Pope Francis embarked on his 45th and most ambitious trip of his papacy, both in terms of distance and duration. It was a 12-day, four-country, two-continent odyssey; with stops in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore. The trip, which enabled Catholics in remote regions to see the Pope in the flesh prompted him to address serious matters that have impacted some of the countries on the itinerary, such as witchcraft and abuse.

This was not his first journey to the region. Early in his pontificate, he made four long-distance trips to South Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Japan. In more recent years he has also visited Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and, last year, Mongolia.

The historic voyage comes amid recent concerns regarding his health. The Pope suffers from mobility issues and has been repeatedly hospitalised with respiratory illnesses.

Indonesia

As he often does, last Monday he boarded the Papal plane in a wheelchair, using a lift. He later used a cane to walk down the aisle to greet reporters, but appeared to be in good spirits. The Pope turns 88 in just three months and this trip marked the first time he left Italy in almost a year.

The Pontiff offered broad smiles when he got off the plane from Rome in Indonesia last Tuesday, and again appeared refreshed and joyful when he met Indonesian president Joko Widodo on Wednesday morning in the first major set piece of his tour.

A marching band and the presidential guard, including some members on horseback, welcomed the Pope to the presidential palace. He arrived in a civilian Toyota car, sitting in the front passenger seat before getting out in a wheelchair to greet spectators.

Hundreds of children wearing traditional costumes screamed, shouting ‘welcome pope’ and waving flags. He was greeted by Widodo and Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, the country’s president-elect who will take office next month.

Inside the palace, the Pope signed a guestbook before heading into his meeting with Jokowi, without making comment. He got out of his wheelchair using a cane for talks with the Indonesian leader.

Interfaith ties were the central theme of this stopover and he hosted a meeting last Thursday with representatives from all six religions at the Istiqlal Mosque”

Here, the Pope said that inter-religious ties must be “strengthened” to fight extremism and intolerance.  Interfaith dialogue is “indispensable to confront common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance”, he said in a speech after meeting the president.

“In order to foster a peaceful and fruitful harmony that ensures peace… the church desires to increase inter-religious dialogue,” he told officials at the presidential palace in Jakarta.

He signed a joint declaration with the mosque’s grand imam focusing on ‘dehumanisation’ through the spread of conflict.

Last Wednesday he energised the local faithful with an address at Jakarta’s cathedral, which sits across the road from the mosque.

The cathedral, linked to the mosque by a ‘tunnel of friendship’, was rebuilt at the end of the 19th century after a fire and in recent days Christians have been taking selfies with a life-sized Pope cutout there.

The Pope ended his day with a meeting with young people who are part of a global network of schools aimed at helping disadvantaged children, which he established in 2013.

Interfaith ties were the central theme of this stopover and he hosted a meeting last Thursday with representatives from all six religions at the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia and a symbol of religious co-existence. The population of Indonesia’s Catholic community is about 3.06% with roughly 8.6 million inhabitants professing the Faith in an overwhelmingly Muslim country.

On Thursday he participated in the main event of his Jakarta stopover – a Mass at the country’s 80,000 national football stadium, which Catholics packed out to the rafters.

Papua New Guinea

The Pope then travelled to the remote jungles of Papua New Guinea last Sunday to celebrate the Catholic Church of the peripheries, taking with him a ton of medicine, musical instruments and a message of love for the people who live there.

The Pope flew in a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 transport plane from the South Pacific nation’s capital, Port Moresby, to Vanimo, on the north-west coast, where he met the local Catholic community and missionaries from his native Argentina who have been ministering to them.

A crowd of an estimated 20,000 people gathered on the field in front of Vanimo Cathedral, singing and dancing when the Pope arrived, and he promptly put on a feathered headdress that was presented to him.

Speaking from a raised stage, he praised the Church workers who go out to try to spread the faith, but he urged the faithful to work closer to home at being good to one another and putting an end to the tribal rivalries and violence that are a regular part of the culture in Papua New Guinea.

He urged them to be like an orchestra, so that all members of the community come together harmoniously to overcome rivalries.

Doing so, he said, will help to end personal, family and tribal divisions “to drive out fear, superstition and magic from people’s hearts, to put an end to destructive behaviours such as violence, infidelity, exploitation, alcohol and drug abuse, evils which imprison and take away the happiness of so many of our brothers and sisters, even in this country”.

They may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional Church, but that God is near to them”

It was a reference to the tribal violence over land and other disputes that have long characterised the country’s culture but have grown more lethal in recent years.

The Pope arrived in Papua New Guinea to urge an end to the violence, including gender-based violence, and for a sense of civic responsibility and co-operation to prevail.

He had started the day with a Mass in front of an estimated 35,000 people at the Sir John Guise Stadium in Port Moresby. Dancers in grass skirts and feathered headdresses performed to traditional drum beats as priests in green vestments processed to the altar.

In his homily, the Pope told the crowd they may well feel themselves distant from both their faith and the institutional Church, but that God is near to them.

“You who live on this large island in the Pacific Ocean may sometimes have thought of yourselves as a far away and distant land, situated at the edge of the world,” he said. “Yet today the Lord wants to draw near to you, to break down distances, to let you know that you are at the centre of his heart and that each one of you is important to him.”

There are about 2.5 million Catholics in Papua New Guinea, according to Vatican statistics, out of a population in the Commonwealth nation believed to be around 10 million. The Catholics practise the faith along with traditional indigenous beliefs, including animism and sorcery.

The Pope heard first-hand about how women are often falsely accused of witchcraft, then shunned by their families.

In remarks to priests, bishops and nuns, he urged Church leaders in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to these people on the margins who have been wounded by “prejudice and superstition”.

“I think too of the marginalised and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives,” he said.

He urged the Church to be particularly close to such people on the peripheries, with “closeness, compassion and tenderness”.

East Timor

As the Pope began his brief, two-day visit to East Timor, one of the key underlying issues marring the journey was the clerical sexual abuse crisis, with the nation reeling from allegations against highly revered members of the clergy.

He was greeted by thousands of locals who lined the streets to see him after his arrival in Dili. Speaking about social challenges that East Timor faces, such as alcohol abuse and gang violence by groups of young people trained in martial arts, the Pope said, “Instead of using this knowledge in the service of the defenceless, they use it as an opportunity to showcase the fleeting and harmful power of violence.”

The Pope spoke on the topic in more depth while meeting with the country’s bishops, clergy and religious on Tuesday.

In a speech to national authorities after his arrival in Dili Monday afternoon, Pope Francis made a veiled reference to the abuse issue, calling on authorities to “to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people.”

However, he did not apologise or link the abuse issue to the Catholic Church or to Church representatives.

“Let us not forget that these children and adolescents have their dignity violated,” Francis said, adding in an impromptu remark that “the problem is flowering all over the world.”

In response to this, he said “we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people”, but did not press the issue further.

Ahead of his arrival, the clerical abuse survivor advocacy group Bishop Accountability published an open letter to American Cardinal Sean O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, asking the Pope to vocally address the issue while in East Timor.

In recent years, East Timor has been grappling with allegations of paedophilia against prominent bishop and national hero Carlos Ximenes Belo, a Nobel laureate who has been sanctioned by the Vatican.

If he explicitly condemns Belo and praises the bravery of their victims, his words could have an enormous positive impact”

Bishop Belo, believed to be residing in Portugal, is a former bishop of Dili who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his efforts in promoting human rights and self-determination for East Timorese during Indonesia’s occupation from 1975-1999, and for promoting a fair and peaceful solution to the country’s conflict as it fought for its independence.

He stepped down in 2002 at the unusually young age of 54, and in 2022 was publicly accused of the sexual abuse of minors, with the Vatican subsequently saying he had been barred from ministry when allegations that he raped and abused teenage boys arose in 2019.

In its letter to Cardinal O’Malley, Bishop Accountability asked Cardinal O’Malley to urge Pope Francis “to be the victims’ champion” and to advise the Pope “to speak fiercely during his visit on their behalf. Help him understand how alone and frightened they must feel.”

Anne Barret Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability, said in a statement that, “An untold number of child sex abuse victims in East Timor are likely afraid to report their suffering, as they watch powerful predators bask in public affirmation despite the serious abuse allegations against them”.

“It is a grim situation for victims, but Pope Francis could change it. He is revered in East Timor. If he explicitly condemns Belo and praises the bravery of their victims, his words could have an enormous positive impact,” she said.

East Timor’s last papal visit took place when Pope John Paul came in 1989, prior to the country’s independence. The country declared independence in 1975, but it was not recognised until 2002.

The Pope acknowledged the violence of East Timor’s recent past as it fought to obtain independence from Indonesian occupation, and he applauded the role the Catholic faith played in helping them to achieve that goal.

He also praised the country’s commitment to pursuing full reconciliation with Indonesia despite the troubles of the recent past, an attitude he said, “found its first and purest source in the teachings of the Gospel”.

East Timor is a majority Catholic nation, where roughly 97% of the local population is Catholic and the Church enjoys broad support among political leaders, and collaboration with the national government.

The Pope touched on high levels of poverty, especially in rural areas, urging authorities to harness the country’s natural resources, such as oil and gas, to promote social development.  He called for proper training for political leaders, saying the Church’s social doctrine ought to serve as “the foundation”, as it promotes integral development and seeks to avoid “unacceptable inequalities” and care for those on society’s margins.

Singapore

Concluding the tour, the Pope will make his first papal visit to Singapore, home to about 395,000 Catholics, from September 11 to September 13.

In Singapore, he will preside at Mass at the National Stadium for close to 50,000 Catholics, give a state address and have an inter-religious dialogue with young people from different religions, among other engagements such as meeting Singapore’s leaders.

It marks the end of a hectic tour that has focussed on a disparate number of issues, including the joyful, life-affirming, inspirational and gravely serious.