Editorial

Pope’s 20,000-mile journey of hope: seeking harmony among faiths and sharing God’s love with all

Since he became our universal shepherd in 2013, Pope Francis has consistently encouraged us in our call as missionary disciples to go to the peripheries to share the Gospel with all our brothers and sisters.

And it is a powerful witness of faith when our Holy Father travels thousands of miles to faraway places to practice what he preaches.

As The Criterion went to press this week, the pope was in the midst of a Sept. 2-13 visit to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore for the longest foreign trip of his papacy. The 87-year-old pontiff was expected to cover more than 20,000 miles during his pilgrimage. And in the process, he hoped to promote unity in diversity among the ethnic groups and faith traditions that are a part of those countries’ landscapes.

Not surprisingly, interreligious dialogue was among the themes Pope Francis was sharing during his visits.

Indonesia has the largest Muslim population in the world, and Catholics account for only about 3% of the population. Almost all the people of Papua New Guinea are Christian, and about 30% of them are Catholic. Timor-Leste is the only nation on the itinerary where Catholics are the majority; the Vatican estimates that 96% of the population belongs to the Church. In Singapore, Buddhists make up the largest religious group—about 31%—followed by 20% of the population claiming no religious belief; Christians account for almost 19% of the population, and Muslims about 15%.

Pope Francis on Sept. 4 told Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the other leaders that the Catholic Church is committed to promoting interreligious dialogue.

“In this way, prejudices can be eliminated, and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow,” the pope said. “This is indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance, which through the distortion of religion attempt to impose their views by using deception and violence.

“The Catholic Church is at the service of the common good and wishes to strengthen cooperation with public institutions and other actors in civil society, but never engaging in proselytism, never,” he continued. “It respects the faith of every person.”

Care for creation was another big theme of the visit, particularly because all four countries are island nations exposed to the dangers of rising sea levels. In fact, Indonesia is building a new capital city to replace Jakarta, which is known as “the fastest-sinking megacity on the planet.”

Missionary discipleship and care for creation were front and center when the Holy Father on Sept. 8 flew to Vanimo, a remote outpost of Papua New Guinea to spend an afternoon with a group of missionaries—many from Argentina—and with their people. Vanimo is the capital of Papua New Guinea’s Sandaun Province, which is one of the poorest in the nation. Situated on the northwestern coast, it is an area prone to earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic activity.

After flying over forests, mountains and the ocean on his trip to Vanimo, Pope Francis told the people, “One cannot help but be amazed by the colors, sounds and scents, as well as the grandiose spectacle of nature bursting forth with life, all evoking the image of Eden!

“The Lord entrusts this richness to you as a sign and an instrument, so that you too may live united in harmony with him and with your brothers and sisters, respecting our common home and looking after one another,” the pope told them.

“An even more beautiful sight,” though, he continued, is “that which grows in us when we love one another.”

Loving one another. Isn’t that what each of us is called to do? We naturally think of family, friends and our parish family, but our call to love goes beyond those people.

At the heart of our call as missionary disciples is to love all who cross our path—strangers, people of other faith traditions, and those on the peripheries as well.

During this current journey, Pope Francis has once again reminded us we need to step outside our comfort zone in our call to be instruments of the Lord.

May we have the courage to follow his example.

—Mike Krokos