HISTORY :: Location : Jakarta, Indonesia

:: Date: September 4, 2024

:: Pope Francis warns against violent extremism

during his visit to Indonesia, a Muslim-majority country

:: Pope Francis

“To foster a peaceful and fruitful harmony that ensures peace and unites efforts to eliminate the imbalances and suffering that still persist in some regions of the country, the Church desires to increase interreligious dialogue. In this way, prejudices can be eliminated and a climate of mutual respect and trust can develop. This is indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of combating extremism and intolerance which, through the distortion of religion, seek to impose their views by resorting to deception and violence.”

In his first speech during an ambitious 12-day trip through Southeast Asia, where Christians make up a small minority of the regional population, the pontiff said the Catholic Church would step up its efforts for interfaith dialogue in the hope of helping to curb extremism.

“In this way, prejudices can be eliminated and a climate of mutual respect and trust can develop,” the 87-year-old pope said in a speech to some 300 politicians and religious leaders at Jakarta’s Merdeka presidential palace.

Indonesia has a population of about 280 million, 87 percent of whom are Muslim. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the country’s constitution, a principle the pope referred to in his speech.

There have, however, been some incidents of extremist violence in the country in recent years, including suicide bombings in 2021 and 2022 carried out by individuals affiliated with the Islamic State-inspired Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD) group.

Pope Francis’ speech comes on his first day of work as part of his trip to Southeast Asia and the Pacific, which will also include stops in Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.