Pope thrives, hits main themes of his pontificate during Asia-Pacific trip

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM SINGAPORE (CNS) -- The 87-year-old Pope Francis not only survived the longest trip of his pontificate, but he drew energy from the crowds who came to see him, and he seemed to enjoy his 12-day visit to Asia and the Pacific.

Unity, respect for one's culture, interreligious dialogue, care for the poor and for the environment were the main themes of his talks in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore Sept. 2-13.

Except for in Jakarta, Indonesia, his last event in each country was a meeting with young people. And despite his age, all the meetings he already had sat through, and changing time zones with each country, Pope Francis seemed to draw the most energy from the young.

He did not follow a single prepared text for his gatherings with teens and young adults, and none of the meetings finished on time. Instead, picking up on a phrase or two of what he heard from his young hosts, he'd launch a dialogue, revving up the crowd with "I can't hear you" when they didn't respond loudly enough.

The 45th trip of his pontificate took him from predominantly Muslim Indonesia to predominantly Christian Papua New Guinea and from poverty-stricken Timor-Leste to super-affluent Singapore.

While poverty, development and the consolidation of democratic institutions are still challenges for the country, which won its independence in 2002, Pope Francis said he was impressed by how young the population was, by the people's enthusiasm and by their faith.

In fact, an estimated 600,000 people showed up for Mass with the pope Sept. 10 in a park in Tasitolu; the country itself has a population of only 1.3 million people -- 96% of whom are Catholic. Excluding Vatican City State, it was the largest percentage of a local population ever gathered for a single Mass, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, the Vatican foreign minister, told reporters.

With government leaders Pope Francis addressed some of the key challenges each country faces, and with churchworkers he pleaded for ministry that was close to the people, willing to share their struggles and always conveying the joy of knowing one is loved and forgiven by God.

He did not shy away from talking about the serious divide between rich and poor in Indonesia.

"Some people want to deal with this" by resorting to "a law of death, that is, limiting births, limiting the greatest wealth a nation has -- new births," he said, referring to a long-running government program promoting the use of contraceptives.

The pope elicited smiles and laughter when he told government and civic leaders Sept. 4 that in some countries, "families prefer to have a dog or a cat."

Pope Francis visited Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque -- the largest mosque in southeast Asia -- Sept. 5, and he and Nasaruddin Umar, the grand imam, signed a short document committing members of their religious communities to defending human dignity, especially when threatened with violence, and to defending the integrity of creation.

But recognizing the sensitive situation of Indonesia's Catholic community, Pope Francis told churchworkers that the Christian call to share the Gospel is not about trying to win converts at all costs, but about living in a way that exudes Christian joy and always treats others with respect.

"Proclaiming the Gospel does not mean imposing our faith or placing it in opposition to that of others, but giving and sharing the joy of encountering Christ, always with great respect and fraternal affection for everyone," the pope told bishops, priests, religious and catechists at a meeting Sept. 4.

He made the same point, in a slightly different and less precise way Sept. 13, when he spoke extemporaneously to young adults engaged in interreligious dialogue in Singapore -- a country where many religions coexist but where a significant portion of the population follows no religion at all.

"If we always say, 'My religion is more important than yours' or 'My religion is true and yours is not,' where will that lead us?" he asked the young people.

"Every religion is a path toward God," who is the creator and father of all, the pope said. And if there is only one God and father, then all people are brothers and sisters.

In Papua New Guinea, where some 98% of the population is Christian, Pope Francis asked for a greater focus on "the peripheries of this country" with "people belonging to the most deprived segments of urban populations, as well as those who live in the most remote and abandoned areas, where sometimes basic necessities are lacking."

"I think too of the marginalized and wounded, both morally and physically, by prejudice and superstition, sometimes to the point of having to risk their lives," the pope said. "The church desires especially to be close to these brothers and sisters, because in them Jesus is present in a special way."

A group of missionaries -- priests and sisters -- from Argentina were ministering in the jungle, and Pope Francis decided to pay them a visit.

The Australian Royal Air Force flew him 600 miles to Vanimo near Papua New Guinea's border with Indonesia Sept. 8 for a meeting in a field with about 20,000 people and then a short drive to the missionaries' church and school in Baro.

Father Tomás Ravaioli, one of the Argentine Incarnate Word missionaries working in Baro, told reporters, "at his age, in his condition, this is an enormous sacrifice. But it shows that what he says, what he writes, he also demonstrates" in his closeness and service to people.