Pope and Imam sign ‘very important’ declaration at Jakarta mosque

While members of every religion must be free to profess and practise their faith, they should recognise that members of other religions have that right too, and they are all searching for God, Pope Francis said at the Istiqlal Mosque in central Jakarta on Thursday 5 September

On the third day of the Pope’s visit to Indonesia, Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar welcomed the Holy Father to the mosque—the largest in South-East Asia—leading the Holy Father directly to the ‘tunnel of friendship,’ a wide, underground walkway that connects the mosque and the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, on the other side of a busy three-lane highway.

Later the two religious leaders signed the ‘Istiqlal Declaration,’ a short document committing members of both religious communities to defending human dignity, especially when threatened with violence, and to defending the integrity of creation.

‘The values shared by our religious traditions should be effectively promoted in order to defeat the culture of violence and indifference afflicting our world,’ the declaration said. ‘Indeed, religious values should be directed toward promoting a culture of respect, dignity, compassion, reconciliation and fraternal solidarity in order to overcome both dehumanisation and environmental destruction.’

It’s lovely to hear of this bridge that now exists between this mosque that we’re in and the cathedral, the Catholic cathedral, across the road.

Afterwards, speaking to Vatican News, Archbishop Peter A Comensoli, who travelled to Indonesia from Melbourne this week to participate in the Pope’s visit, and who attended the event at the mosque, described the declaration as a ‘very important’ sign. Acknowledging that ‘signs need to be moved into realities,’ he hoped this might be a way to ‘start to build those bridges’.

‘This will be important for us in Australia as well, where we have a large Muslim community now and a large Jewish community. The relationships between all of those at the moment are fraught, very difficult,’ Archbishop Comensoli said, expressing his hope that gestures like this might ‘open up possibilities’.

‘There have been difficulties between the communities of faith that have spread out into violence in history, but that has been worked on significantly over these last 15 or so years,’ he said. ‘As I understand it, here in Indonesia today, the relationships between the Christians and the Muslims are quite healthy, and it’s lovely to hear of this bridge that now exists between this mosque that we’re in and the cathedral, the Catholic cathedral, across the road.’

When we think of a tunnel, we might easily imagine a dark pathway … Yet here it is different, for everything is illuminated.

At the beginning of the Pope’s visit to the mosque, the Imam—who, like the Pope, was dressed in white from head to toe—greeted Pope Francis with a kiss on the cheek. At the end of the meeting, Umar put an arm around the Pope’s shoulder and kissed him on the top of the head. Pope Francis, who was seated in his wheelchair, took the Imam’s hand and kissed it.

Earlier, facing the entrance to the tunnel, Pope Francis had told the Imam and donors who helped build the tunnel, ‘When we think of a tunnel, we might easily imagine a dark pathway … Yet here it is different, for everything is illuminated. I would like to tell you, however, that you are the light that illuminates it, and you do so by your friendship, by the harmony you cultivate, the support you give each other, and by journeying together, which leads you in the end toward the fullness of light.’

Pope Francis’ historic visit to Indonesia, part of a four-nation tour of Asia and Oceania, has emphasised themes of unity in diversity, environmental stewardship and compassion for the marginalised.

Arriving in Jakarta on 3 September, the Pope began the longest foreign trip of his papacy. Despite a 13-hour flight from Rome, the 87-year-old pontiff wasted no time in engaging with the Indonesian people. Shortly after landing, he visited migrants, refugees, orphans and elderly people at the apostolic nunciature where he was staying.

The following day, President Joko Widodo formally welcomed Pope Francis at the Istana Negara palace, where children in traditional dress lined the driveway, waving Indonesian and Vatican flags as he drove past.

Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith or placing it in opposition to that of others, but giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ, always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone.

Addressing government and civic leaders, Pope Francis praised Indonesia’s commitment to unity amid diversity, enshrined in the national philosophy of Pancasila. Pointing out that politicians have a crucial role in preserving this unity, he said, ‘National unity is a work of craftsmanship entrusted to everyone, but in a special way to those in political life, who should strive toward harmony, equity, respect for the fundamental rights of human beings, sustainable development, solidarity and the pursuit of peace.’

The Holy Father also addressed the challenge of extremism, calling for interreligious dialogue to counter intolerance and violence in the name of religion.

Speaking later that day to bishops, priests, religious and catechists at Jakarta’s Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, Pope Francis emphasised that evangelisation should focus on joyfully living the Gospel rather than seeking converts. ‘Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith or placing it in opposition to that of others, but giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ, always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone,’ he said, asking Indonesian Catholics to be ‘prophets of communion in a world where the tendency to divide, impose and provoke each other seems to be constantly increasing’.

Indonesia has some 276 million people and about 87 per cent of them are Muslim, according to government statistics. The Vatican estimates that 3 per cent of the population is Catholic, which equates to about 8.3 million people.

After his visit to the Istiqlal Mosque on 5 September, Pope Francis joined tens of thousands of people at Jakarta’s Gelora Bung Karno Stadium—and thousands more watching on screens from Madya Stadium, a smaller venue nearby—telling them that even members of the most remote, smallest and poorest Christian communities are called to share the Gospel and to do so, first, by the way they live.

The first task of the disciple ... is to know how to listen to the only word that saves, the word of Jesus.

The people arrived at the stadium hours early, singing hymns and lively modern Christian songs and praying the Rosary. Presiding over his only public Mass in Indonesia, before flying to Papua New Guinea the next morning, Pope Francis urged Indonesian Catholics in his homily ‘to sow seeds of love, confidently tread the path of dialogue, continue to show your goodness and kindness with your characteristic smile and be builders of unity and peace.’

Pope Francis asked the crowd not to forget that ‘the first task of the disciple is not to clothe ourselves with an outwardly perfect religiosity, do extraordinary things or engage in grandiose undertakings. The first step, instead, is to know how to listen to the only word that saves, the word of Jesus.’

Pope Francis continues his journey through Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore.

In his interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Comensoli reflected on the significance of the Pope’s visit to South-East Asia and Oceania for Australians, saying, ‘Asia is our future. And even in the local Church in Australia, the faces of our congregations in Melbourne, for instance, are becoming more and more Asian. [There are] a lot of Filipinos, a lot of Indonesians, of Vietnamese, of Koreans, of Indians. That reveals something about the flavour for the Church in Australia.’