JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.
BYPope Francis leaves in a car soon after landing at Jakarta's International airport Soekarno Hatta, Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024. Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world's largest Muslim population.
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,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.
Pope Francis on 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.
While Francis will want to highlight Indonesia's tradition of religious tolerance, the country's image as a moderate Muslim nation has been undermined by flare-ups of intolerance. In 2021, a militant Islamic coupleon Indonesia’s Sulawesi island during a Palm Sunday Mass, injuring at least 20 people. 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.
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