The pope's arrival in Indonesia launches an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
The pope's arrival in Indonesia launches an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.By Pope Francis, seated in his wheelchair is welcomed as Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, center left, walks during an official welcoming ceremony at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang on the outskirts of Jakarta, Indonesia, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
Francis planned to rest for the remainder of the day, given the rigors of an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. However, the Vatican said the 87-year-old pope would meet later Tuesday with a group of refugees, migrants and sick people at the Vatican residence in Jakarta.
Their proximity is not coincidental, but strongly willed as a symbol of religious freedom and tolerance that is enshrined in Indonesia’s Constitution. The buildings are also linked by an underground “Tunnel of Friendship” which Francis will visit with the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, before they sign a joint declaration.
Even though Catholics make up only 3% of Indonesia’s population, the sheer number of Indonesians -- 275 million -- makes the archipelago home to the third-largest Christian community in Asia, after the Philippines and China.As a result, thousands are expected to throng to Francis’ events this week, which include a Mass on Thursday afternoon at Jakarta’s main stadium expected to draw some 60,000 people. City authorities have urged residents to work from home that day given roadblocks and crowds.
In Jakarta, he will find a metropolis of 11.3 million people choking under gray clouds of air pollution caused by coal-fired power plants, vehicle exhaust, trash burning and factories. Jakarta’s air pollution regularly registers eight to nine times above World Health Organization limits.“Indonesia has the worst air pollution in Southeast Asia,” said Piotr Jakubowski, an air pollution expert and co-founder of Indonesian air quality monitoring company Nafas.
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