Pope Francis praised Indonesia’s founding principles of unity in diversity in his first public address to the country on Wednesday but also stressed vigilance against intolerance and extremism.
Francis met with President Joko Widodo in the capital Jakarta on Wednesday morning, a day after landing in the country after a 13-hour long flight from Rome. The pope, in his traditional white robes, and Mr. Joko, who wore a traditional Islamic hat, were paraded on the steps of the country’s Dutch colonial-era presidential palace by Indonesian honor guards and marching bands played hymns.
Indonesia is the first stop on Francis’ 11-day tour of the Asia-Pacific, a grueling physical test for the 87-year-old pope who has made reaching out to Asia a priority of his pontificate.
Pope Francis, the first to visit the Arabian Peninsula, has also promoted interfaith harmony as one of his main missions. He plans to do so again in Indonesia, which has the world’s largest Muslim population.
In a speech at the presidential palace, Francis compared Indonesia’s religious, ethnic and cultural mix to its biodiversity. Tolerance and mutual respect help bring the country together, he said, “just as the ocean is the natural element that unites all Indonesian islands.”
He added that unity is a “prudent and delicate balance” that “must be constantly defended” and that “imbalances and sufferings that still persist in some areas” are “especially by those in political life.”
While Indonesia is overwhelmingly Muslim, it is home to millions of people who practice other religions, including Catholicism. It is a living example of inter-religious harmony, but has faced discrimination in recent years amid the rise of a conservative strain of Islam among religious minorities.
“For Indonesia, differences are a gift,” Mr. Joko, who is set to step down in October after a decade in office, said in his speech. “And tolerance is the fertilizer for the peace and unity of the nation.”
But some Indonesian Catholics said they were being persecuted for their faith. This, they added, was motivated by the belief of others that they wanted to convert Muslims.
“I hope the pope shows that Catholics are not fanatics,” Desiree Johanna, 24, said as she left. Sunday Mass at Santa Clara Catholic Church on the outskirts of Jakarta.
On Wednesday, Francis addressed those fears, saying the Catholic Church wants to “increase inter-religious dialogue” and collaborate with other religions but “never proselytize.”
Mr. Joko, who has urged the United States to “do more” to stop the war in Gaza, referred to the conflict in the Middle East, adding that his country “greatly appreciated the Vatican’s stance to continue to give voice to peace. In Palestine.”
Francis did not mention the conflict specifically, but he said that intolerance, contrary to Indonesia’s founding principle of unity, has fueled violence around the world.
Francis had a lively attitude throughout the day, frequently speaking off the cuff and drawing laughter from the crowd.
He praised Indonesia’s young families, while criticizing countries where “some prefer to have a cat or a dog instead of a child.”
In the afternoon, Francis met with bishops, seminarians and other religious figures at the city’s Catholic cathedral, the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption.
“Listen carefully,” he warned his translator whenever he went off script as he addressed the enthusiastic crowd gathered under the church’s Gothic vaults, warning of the devil who, he said, “may come into your pocket.”
As he wrapped, he asked the crowd to pray for him, as he often does, adding jokingly: “Please, pray for me, not against me.”
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