Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas has expressed his intention to invite the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Pope Francis, to visit Indonesia to witness its beauty and diversity.
“I am intending to invite Pope Francis to Indonesia to witness the beauty of diversity in Indonesia and personally meet Catholics in Indonesia,” the minister said in an official statement received in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Qoumas announced his intention to invite Pope Francis during the national meeting of the Commission for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs at the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia in Nusa Dua, Badung District, Bali, on Monday (March 7, 2022).
The minister asked officials from the ministry’s Directorate General of Catholics Community Guidance to visit Vatican City to extend an invitation to the Pope.
“We hope the Pope could visit Indonesia once the situation returns to normal,” he remarked.
Qoumas then recalled that he had discussed tolerance and openness to differences in the society with the Pope during a visit to the Vatican in 2019.
“I told Pope Francis about the beauty of tolerance in Indonesia, and he responded that he is very fond of Indonesia,” the minister said.
The meetings of the Bishops’ Conference of Indonesia’s have been themed ‘Strengthening religious moderation to enhance peaceful and inclusive society for a sustainable development,’ he noted.
The minister lauded the theme of religious moderation within the perspective of Catholicism.
“I hope that this event could present contributions to enhance religious moderation to achieve a harmonious, peaceful, and inclusive society for an advanced and prosperous Indonesia,” Qoumas remarked.
Source: Antara News