Indonesians "discover" a different Pope from the one seen on TV
Jakarta (AsiaNews) The Pope continues to surprise Indonesia's Muslims and raise hopes among local Christians.
"After his first public statements last week, it is clear for us that Benedict XVI is committed to inter-faith dialogue and Christian unity," said Budi Handoyo, an Indonesian Catholic, who described how he gradually discovered that the new Pontiff was not the panzer-Pope portrayed in most national and international media.
Addib Rofiudin Izza, a Muslim religious leader in Cirebon (West Java) and a member of Nadhlatul Ulama, shares the same opinion. "We welcome the Pope as a friend," he said. "By now, unity and a sincerely open mind to other religions are clearly the central themes of this pontificate," he added.
Benedict XVI's closeness to his predecessor in terms of shared purpose informs the hopes and optimism of Indonesian Catholics.
"I am firmly convinced that the Pontiff will follow the path laid by John Paul II", said Mgr Peter Turang Pr, Archbishop of Kupang, a town in predominantly-Catholic province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (West Timor).
"I met him a couple of times in Rome and remember a man of great intellectual opening and firmly committed to peace," said the Archbishop.
Yvonne Santoso, a Jakarta Catholic manager, is convinced that former Cardinal card. Ratzinger is not like the person presented by the media until a few days ago, but is a humble man capable of simple but kind acts, a promoter of peace as he has shown these days," she said.
Hindus also express optimism and have confidence in the new Pope. For Rumainah, a dressmaker in Tangerang, Banten (West Java), "peace is the universal language that Benedict XVI himself will use to build a better world".
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