The times of concern for the Pope’s health at the beginning of the year seem far away. At the age of eighty-seven years oldin fact, Francis is undergoing a real tour de force these days: two continents, four countries, several time zones, thirty-two thousand kilometers and forty-four hours of flight. The forty-fifth apostolic journey of his pontificate, the longest and perhaps most demanding, began last Monday and will end next Friday. Francis is currently in Papua New Guinea after leaving theIndonesiathe first stop. East Timor and Singapore are still missing. Asia, Oceania and then Asia again. The images of the tired Pope, forced to give up reading homilies and catechesis or protagonist of comings and goings with the hospital seem to belong to a different year. In the apostolic journey in progress Francis is giving great proof of energy.
Islam and Refugees
As soon as he arrived in Jakarta, Francis chose to interrupt his rest at the nunciature despite having just returned from a flight with a five-hour time difference. He did so to meet a group of refugees welcomed by the Jesuit Refugee Service and the local Community of Sant’Egidio. A gesture capable of underlining, once again, one of the priorities of this pontificate. In Indonesia, where two hundred and twenty million Muslims live, Bergoglio signed a joint declaration with the grand imam Nasaruddin Umar within the Jakarta Mosque. Yet another example of the attention that this Pontiff has reserved for dialogue with the Islamic world. In the document the two express their concern that “religion is often exploited in this way, causing suffering to many, especially women, children and the elderly” and they also point the finger at “the abuse of creation, which is our common home, by man, has contributed to climate change, leading to destructive consequences such as natural disasters, global warming and unpredictable weather conditions” claiming that “the current environmental crisis has become an obstacle to the harmonious coexistence of peoples.” But at the mass in the Gelora Bung Karno stadium in Jakarta, the Pope also spoke about topics that are almost taboo. Bergoglio, in fact, said off the cuff that “mediocrity pleases the devil because it comes in there and ruins us” and then, in a country with an overwhelming Islamic majority, he courageously exhorted the Catholics present: “Everyone was making a fuss about preach the gospel. Please, dear brothers and sisters, make some noise. Make some noise!”.
Oceania and Asia
Changed continent and landed in the most Christian Papua New GuineaFrancis wanted to raise attention on the environmental issue that is very close to his heart and that is strongly felt in the Pacific due to the rising sea levels. In Port Moresby Bergoglio called for a“an initiative necessary to enhance natural and human resources, in such a way as to give rise to sustainable and equitable development, which promotes the well-being of all, without exception.” Environment and Social Justicetherefore: two themes that have often distinguished the documents of his magisterium. His commitment against what he calls the throwaway culture was also seen in the choice of appointments on the agenda in Papua New Guinea, from the meeting with disabled and homeless children. Francis asked the bishops and the rest of the local clergy to be close above all to the poor and marginalized because “the Church wishes to be particularly close to these brothers and sisters because in them Jesus is present in a special way”. Today the Pope will move to the nearby town of Vanimo and in this peripheral area his presence will be a great and unexpected gift for the local population who live in the villages and who are ready to welcome him even with banners hoisted on the road. In the week that is about to begin, Asia will return to the forefront of the papal agenda first in the very Catholic East Timorformerly a Portuguese colony, and subsequently Singapore where the Catholic community is very dynamic.
At eighty-seven years old, the Pope did not hesitate to say yes to a twelve-day trip. Once back in Rome, he will also have little time to rest: from September 26 to 29, in fact, he is expected in Belgium and then in October he will have to open the last session of the Synod on synodality.