(The Indo Daily) – Pope Francis on Wednesday morning (04/09) sends a powerful message about the importance of embracing diversity, promoting peace and social justice when delivering his speech at the Merdeka State Palace after holding a one-on-one meeting with the Indonesian President Joko Widodo.
Pope Francis, using a medium MPV car with the plate SCV 1, was seen escorted by Paspampres (President Security Forces) and the Vatican security team, upon arrival at the State Palace. The Pope was seen sitting next to the driver and waving and smiling at the children waiting in the State Palace area.
President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo (Jokowi) who was at the entrance to the Merdeka Palace immediately welcomed the arrival of Pope Francis. Jokowi was seen greeting and shaking the Pope’s hand with a smile. The two entered the State Palace to begin the state event.
At the opening of his speech, Pope Francis thanks President Joko Widodo for inviting him to visit Indonesia and also for the warm welcome. Pope Francis also sent warm greetings to the elected-President Prabowo Subianto.
“I extend my warmest greetings to the President-elect for your fruitful term of service to Indonesia, a vast archipelago of thousands and thousands of islands surrounded by the sea that connects Asia to Oceania,” Pope Francis said.
“It can be said that just as the ocean is the natural element that unites the entire archipelago of Indonesia, so too the mutual respect for the unique characteristics of culture, ethnicity, language and religion of all groups in Indonesia is the irreplaceable and unifying framework that makes Indonesia a united and proud nation. Your national motto Bhinneka Tunggal Ika expresses the multifaceted reality of people firmly united in one nation,” he said.
“In order to strengthen peaceful and fruitful harmony that guarantees peace and unites efforts to eliminate the inequalities and suffering that persist in some parts of the country, the Catholic Church wishes to promote interreligious dialogue,” he said.
“In this way, prejudices can be eliminated and an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust can grow. This is essential to face common challenges, including the challenge of countering extremism and intolerance, which, through religious distortions, seek to impose their point of view using deception and violence,” Pope Francis acded.
The Catholic Church, he said, works to serve the common good and wishes to strengthen cooperation with state institutions and other actors in civil society, encouraging the formation of a more balanced social structure and ensuring a more efficient and equitable distribution of social assistance.
“In this connection, I would like to refer to the Preamble to your 1945 Constitution, which offers valuable insights into the path chosen by a democratic and independent Indonesia. Twice in a few lines the Preamble to your Constitution refers to Almighty God and the need for God’s blessing to descend upon the newly born Indonesian nation,” he said.
“In the same way, the Preamble to your Constitution refers twice to social justice: as the foundation of the desired international order and as one of the goals to be achieved in the interests of all Indonesians. Bhinneka Tunggal Ika, social justice, and divine blessing are therefore essential principles meant to inspire and guide the social order,” Pope Francis said.
“These principles can be likened to a supporting structure, a solid foundation on which to build a house. Are we not aware that these principles are very much in keeping with the motto of my visit to Indonesia: faith, brotherhood, compassion? Unfortunately, however, we see in the world today certain tendencies that hinder the development of universal brotherhood,” he said.
In various regions, the world witness the emergence of violent conflicts, which are often the result of a lack of mutual respect, and of an intolerant desire to impose one’s own interests, one’s own position and one-sided historical narrative by any means, even if this leads to endless suffering for entire communities and ends in wars and much bloodshed.
Sometimes, he added, tensions with elements of violence arise within countries because those in power want to standardize everything by imposing their vision even in matters that should be left to the autonomy of individuals or groups concerned. Moreover, despite impressive policies there is also a lack of a true forward-looking commitment to implementing the principles of social justice.
“As a result, large sections of humanity are marginalized without the means to live a dignified life and without protection from serious and growing social inequalities, which fuel severe conflicts. In other contexts, people believe that they can or may ignore the need to seek God’s blessing, judging it as something superficial for human beings and civil society,” he said.
Written by Staff Writer
Edited by Roffie Kurniawan