Pope Francis and the grand imam of Southeast Asia’s largest mosque vowed Thursday to fight religiously inspired violence and protect the environment, issuing a joint call for interfaith friendship and common cause at the heart of Francis’ visit to Indonesia.
In the morning event at Jakarta’s iconic Istiqlal Mosque, Francis presided over an interreligious gathering rich with symbolic meaning and personal touches. Present were representatives of the six religions that are officially recognized in Indonesia: Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Francis and the grand imam, Nasaruddin Umar, stood at the ground-level entrance to the ‘Tunnel of Friendship’, an underpass which connects the mosque compound with the neighboring Roman Catholic cathedral, Our Lady of the Assumption.
The meeting at the mosque showed the personal side of that policy, with Francis and Umar—the 87-year-old pope and the 65-year-old imam—showing a clear affinity for one another.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Leave feedback about this