Pope in Jakarta: ‘Defend unity in diversity, promoting justice’.

In Francis' address to the country's authorities and diplomatic corps, the appeal to the Indonesian Constitution against the extremism and intolerance that today in the world takes the form of bloody conflicts. The call for God's blessing ‘not to count on our own strength alone’. His meeting with President Joko Widodo and his good wishes for his successor Prabowo Subianto.

Jakarta (AsiaNews) - Indonesia is a great example of ‘unity in diversity’. But it is a balance that ‘must be continually defended against any imbalance’. And to which the Church wants to make its contribution through inter-religious dialogue, especially at this time when so many violent conflicts in the world ‘are the result of a lack of mutual respect, of the intolerant desire to let one's own interests, one's own position, or one's own partial historical narrative prevail at all costs, even when this leads to endless suffering for entire communities and results in bloody wars’.

This is the message that Pope Francis from Jakarta - the most populous Muslim country - addressed to Indonesia and the entire world in the first of his speeches of his long apostolic journey to South-East Asia and Oceania.The pontiff's day began with a welcome at the presidential palace by outgoing President Joko Widodo, who had a private conversation with him. ‘Immersed in the beauty of this land, a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions,’ the pontiff wrote while signing the guestbook, ’I wish the Indonesian people to grow in faith, fraternity and compassion. God bless Indonesia!’.

Moving then to the oldest part of the complex, theIstana Negara - where he gave his speech in front of the authorities, representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps -, Francis also addressed a greeting to the current Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, elected in February as Joko Widodo's successor and who will take office as president on 20 October. He wished him - who was present in the front row during the meeting - ‘fruitful work in the service of Indonesia’.

‘Just as the ocean is the natural element that unites all Indonesian islands,’ Pope Francis said in his address, ‘so too mutual respect for the specific cultural, ethnic, linguistic and religious characteristics of all the human groups of which Indonesia is composed is the connective tissue that is indispensable to make the Indonesian people united and proud.

A harmony that is achieved ‘when each particular vision takes into account common needs and when each ethnic group and religious denomination acts in a spirit of fraternity’. But it is an attitude that does not arise on its own, it is a task. ‘It is a craft entrusted to everyone, and in a special way to the action carried out by politics,’ he added, ’when it aims at harmony, equity, respect for the fundamental rights of human beings, sustainable development, solidarity and the pursuit of peace, both within society and with other peoples and nations. And it is above all a work that still calls for joining forces ‘to defeat the imbalances and pockets of misery that still persist in some areas’.

In this sense, the Catholic Church in Indonesia too is at the service of the common good and intends to pursue with ever greater conviction the path of interreligious dialogue ‘to eliminate prejudices and foster a climate of respect and mutual trust, which is indispensable for tackling common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance, which - by distorting religion - attempt to impose themselves by using deception and violence’.

Reiterating his no to all forms of proselytism, Pope Francis praised the fact that in Indonesia, the 1945 Constitution in its Preamble twice in a few lines refers ‘to Almighty God and the need for His blessing to descend on the nascent State’. ‘In other contexts,’ he commented, ’it is believed that one can or should disregard seeking God's blessing, judging it to be superfluous for human beings and civil society, which should promote themselves by their own efforts, but which, in doing so, often encounter frustration and failure. On the contrary, there are cases where faith in God is continually placed in the foreground, but often to be unfortunately manipulated and to serve not to build peace, communion, dialogue, respect, collaboration, fraternity, to build the country, but to foment divisions and hatred'.

With regard to ‘social justice’, which the Preamble of the Indonesian Constitution itself invokes as the foundation of the international order, Pope Francis denounced the many situations in which ‘a considerable part of humanity is left on the margins, without the means for a dignified existence and without the defence to cope with serious and growing social imbalances, which trigger acute conflicts’. But he also condemned the ‘death law’ that thinks it solves the problem by limiting births. ‘Your country has families of three, four, five children,’ he commented, ‘and this can be seen in the age level of the country. Keep it up. It is an example for everyone'.

Overall, Francis therefore urged Indonesia to remain faithful to its ‘inspiring principles’. ‘I hope that everyone, in their daily actions, will be able to draw inspiration from them, because peace is the fruit of justice,' he admonished. ’Harmony in fact is achieved when everyone is committed not only to their own interests and their own vision, but with a view to the good of all, to build bridges, to favour agreements and synergies, to join forces in order to defeat all forms of moral, economic and social misery, and to promote peace and harmony. Continue on your path, which is so beautiful and so right: God bless Indonesia with peace, for a future full of hope’.