Sept 5 (BBC/GNA) – Pope Francis has warned against using religion to fuel conflict on his last day of his visit to Indonesia, the first stop in his tour around the Asia Pacific region.
At the Istiqlal mosque in the capital Jakarta, the Pope signed a declaration on religious harmony and environmental protection with the mosque’s grand imam and met with local leaders of six religions.
The 87-year-old had earlier on Tuesday kicked off a 11-day visit to the region, the longest foreign trip of his papacy.
After celebrating mass before an anticipated crowd of 80,000 in Indonesia’s main football stadium later in the day, he will move to Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore.
Speaking at the mosque – the largest in South East Asia – the Pope on Thursday said people from different religions had to know “we are all brothers, all pilgrims, all on our way to God, beyond what differentiates us”.
Humanity is facing a “serious crisis” brought about by war, conflict and the destruction of the environment, he added.
The Pope also visited a 28m (91ft) tunnel that connects Istiqlal mosque to a Catholic cathedral across the street.
He and grand imam Nasaruddin Umar stood at the entrace to the “tunnel of friendship”, which he said was an “eloquent sign” of how people of different beliefs could share roots.
Indonesia is the world’s largest Muslim majority country and only 3% of its 275 million are Catholics.
Indonesia has six officially recognised religions — Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism.
GNA/Credit: BBC