On September 3, Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia, the first country on his 45th apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania. Beside Indonesia, he will visit Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Singapore. He was greeted with a warm welcome upon his arrival in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

The Pope met with the Indonesian president, Joko Widodo, and other high-ranking government officials on Wednesday. He emphasized the importance of religious and ethnic diversity in the country, as its motto, Bhinneka tunggal ika (United in Diversity, literally Many but One), says as well.

“This wise and delicate balance, between the multiplicity of cultures and different ideological visions, and the ideals that cement unity, must be continuously defended against imbalances,”

said Pope Francis while calling for every Indonesian, regardless of ethnicity and religion, to work together for peace and not let extremist views spread imbalance and threaten harmony. He also promised that the Catholic Church will work for the common good of all the people in Indonesia and promote interreligious dialogue.

“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, encourage the formation of a more balanced social fabric and ensure a more efficient and equitable distribution of social assistance.”

The Pope also lamented the manner of governing principles of Indonesia. He called the philosophy of unity in multiplicity a wise idea that has to be followed for good governance and for the good of all citizens. He recalled the visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to Indonesia and also called for the respect of all citizens and encouraged the authorities to continue their work in the same spirit of unity in diversity. Concluding the meeting, Pope Francis said:

“Harmony is achieved when we are committed not only to our own interests and vision, but to the good of all, to building bridges, fostering agreements and synergies, joining forces in order to defeat all forms of moral, economic and social distress, and promoting peace and concord.”

Source: Vatican News