She foughtThe Pope again called for “dialogue” on Wednesday at a mass in a Jakarta stadium, closing the first leg of his Asia-Pacific tour after signing a joint declaration with a leading Indonesian imam.

In his homily, before tens of thousands of faithful who had been gathering for hours at the Gelora Bung Karno (GBK) national stadium, the Argentine Pope encouraged Indonesians to “confidently follow the path of dialogue, to continue to show their goodness and kindness” and to be “builders of unity and peace.”

“Long live the Pope!!”, “Long live Papa Francesco!!”, the crowd repeated, in chorus to the music, before the ceremony began in the stadium, which usually hosts the national football team’s matches and has a capacity of 80,000 people.

On fans, hats, t-shirts, caps, rosaries… the image of the supreme pontiff was everywhere.

“I wanted to see the Pope in person, it’s my first time, I’m very excited,” said Caecilia Tutyandari, 51, from Yogyakarta, also on the island of Java.

“Every time I see him [al papa] “On TV, I cry because I feel truly grateful, very happy… My dream was to see him in person! It has come true. And that’s why I have so many tissues!” she added.

Interfaith meeting

Hours earlier, during an interreligious meeting in front of the Istiqlal mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, Pope Francis and Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration expressing concern about the “dehumanization” caused by the “generalization of conflicts” and the “instrumentalization” of religion in such situations of violence.

They also urged “decisive measures to preserve the integrity of the environment and natural resources.”

The meeting took place in the presence of representatives of six officially recognized faiths – Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism – and was one of the main events on Francis’ agenda in Indonesia, from where he will leave on Friday for Papua New Guinea.

Despite the hectic pace of his 12-day tour, the 87-year-old Argentine pontiff has appeared smiling and in good shape since arriving in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The Istiqlal mosque, which can accommodate up to 250,000 worshippers, is located opposite the Santa Maria de la Asunción Cathedral and is connected by a “tunnel of friendship” as a symbol of religious brotherhood.

The Istqlal Declaration is part of the steps taken by Pope Francis to develop interreligious dialogue, an issue that was central to his visit to Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.

Francis has made several visits to Muslim-majority countries, and in 2019 signed a declaration on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar in Abu Dhabi.

Nasaruddin told AFP that the joint statement with the Pope is an expression of “how Muslims and Catholics, and all religions of the world, can talk together about how to save the environment.”

Meeting with the poor

In the morning, the Pope met with poor people who receive support from charitable associations, at the headquarters of the Indonesian Episcopal Conference.

Indonesia, a vast archipelago of 17,500 islands, is home to the world’s largest Muslim population, with 242 million people, 87% of the population, compared to 8 million Catholics, less than 3%.

Some observers point to growing discrimination against religious minorities in Indonesia, particularly Christians in certain regions, and there have been calls for the government to take action.

Francis is the third pontiff to visit Indonesia, after Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989. The capital Jakarta was adorned with images of the pope and Vatican flags to welcome him.

This tour of four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania was initially scheduled for 2020 but was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio is expected to arrive in Papua New Guinea on Friday, from where he will go to East Timor and then to Singapore, where he will complete the 32,000 km journey on September 13.

This is the 45th international trip of his papacy and represents a great physical challenge for the Argentine Jesuit, who sometimes travels in a wheelchair, although he is usually invigorated on his trips by contact with the faithful.