The announcement came from Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Quomas. Last week, Vatican sources confirmed a papal visit to Timor-Leste. For the Bishops’ Conference, “interreligious dialogue is fundamental”.
Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas plans to invite Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb to Indonesia.
He made the announcement during the national conference of the Interfaith Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia (KWI[*]), held in Bali from 6 to 9 March.
The Commission’s president, Archbishop Yohanes Harun Yuwono of Palembang, and its secretary, Father Agustinus Heri Wibowo, were present at the meeting.
Minister Quomas said he hoped that the Holy Father and al-Tayeb would acknowledge the good practices implemented by Indonesia to promote social coexistence despite the country’s many different ethnic groups.
Last week, Mgr Marco Sprizzi, the nunciature's chargé d'affaires in Dili, announced a papal visit to Timor-Leste (East Timor), although the dates of the visit were not disclosed.
All this suggests that the pontiff’s trip to Southeast Asia might include Indonesia, as well as East Timor and Papua New Guinea, which Francis was supposed to visit in 2020 but had to cancel because of the pandemic.
Minister Qoumas explained that he was pleasantly surprised when Pope Francis showed interest in learning more about Indonesia during their meeting at the Vatican in 2009.
The KWI’s Interfaith Commission welcomed the initiative. “Promoting interreligious dialogue is fundamental for us," said Fr Heri Wibowo. "For us Indonesian Catholics, the ‘middle way’ represents our nationhood and cultural identity.”
During the meeting Qoumas expressed his desire to promote "religious moderation” to “reduce tensions between the faithful of different religions.”
For Fr Wibowo, "If only all Indonesians were free to express their religious identity without external intervention (either by the state or radical groups), then I am convinced social coexistence would be wonderful. All Indonesians love the nation’s diversity.”
About 80 participants from the country’s 37 dioceses attended the four-day conference and workshop.
[*] Konferensi Waligereja Indonesia.