Jakarta, Sep 5 (EFE).- Pope Francis and Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar signed a joint declaration on Thursday in which they called on religious representatives to help resolve conflicts and deal with environmental destruction.
The pope arrived in Jakarta on Tuesday to begin the longest tour of his papacy, which will also take him to Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore over 12 days. On Wednesday he met with President Joko Widodo at the presidential palace.
Thursday’s signing took place during the interfaith meeting held in an outdoor space of the largest mosque in Southeast Asia between leaders of Indonesia’s official religions Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism.
The Istiqlal document, which is inspired by the Document on Human Fraternity signed by the Pope and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi, addresses “the two serious crises” that the world faces: “dehumanization and climate change.”
“The phenomenon of global dehumanization is mainly marked by the expansion of violence and conflict that often bring a worrying number of victims. What is more worrisome is that religion is often violated in this matter, resulting in suffering for many people, especially women, children and elderly people,” the statement read.
Concern was also expressed for “human exploitation of God’s creation. Our home together has contributed to climate change which causes various destructive consequences such as natural disasters, global warming and unpredictable weather patterns.”
Therefore, the signatories affirmed that “the values of religion must be preserved to enhance the culture of respect, loyalty, faith, reconciliation, and solidarity of brotherhood to overcome dehumanization and exploitation.”
A call was also made to religions to cooperate to address these crises and to identify their causes and take appropriate measures.
Inter-religious dialogue must be recognized as an “effective way to end local, regional, and international conflicts, especially the conflicts that arise as a result of religious abuse.”
“In addition, our religious beliefs and rituals have a special capacity to touch the hearts of humans and thus soften the feelings of brotherhood in the face of future conflicts. Fourth, realizing that a healthy life, peaceful and harmonious, is very important to be a servant of Allah and a guardian of his creation.”
Catholics makes up around 3 percent of Indonesia’s 270 million people, but it is still the third-largest Catholic population in Asia after the Philippines and China. Muslims make up around 87 percent of the country. EFE
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