Pope Francis on Wednesday called for greater interfaith dialogue during his visit to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.
The 87-year-old leader of the Catholic Church stressed the need to promote “peaceful and fruitful harmony” and intensify interfaith dialogue to address “imbalances and suffering”, during a meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta.
“In this way, prejudices can be dispelled and a climate of mutual respect and trust can grow,” Pope Francis said.
He said both Christianity and Islam must unite in the fight against “extremism and intolerance, which through distortion of religion seek to impose their views through deceit and violence.”
Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday, beginning the longest foreign trip of his term, visiting four countries in Southeast Asia and Oceania over the next 12 days.
With over 240 million Muslims, Indonesia is the country with the largest Muslim population in the world.
On Thursday, he will visit the nearby Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia, and on Friday he will continue his journey to Papua New Guinea.
Further stops include East Timor and Singapore.
