Reflection of Pope Francis on his trip to Asia and Oceania

As is customary after each apostolic trip, Pope Francis dedicated today’s General Audience to reflecting on his time in Asia and Oceania.

From September 2 to 11, the Holy Father visited Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore, making the longest trip of his pontificate.

Below is the complete reflection of Pope Francis:

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today I will tell you about the apostolic trip I made in Asia and Oceania. It is called Apostolic Journey because it is not a tourist trip, it is a trip to bring the Word of the Lord, to make the Lord known and also to know the soul of the people, and this is very beautiful.

Paul VI was, in 1970, the first Pope to fly to meet the rising sun, visiting the Philippines and Australia for a long time, but also stopping in several Asian countries and Samoa. A memorable trip! The first to leave the Vatican was John XXIII, who went to Assisi by train. Then Paul VI did that.

Here too I tried to follow his example, but, being a few years older than him, I limited myself to four countries: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. I thank the Lord, who allowed me to do as an elderly Pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit! Because I wanted to go as a missionary there.

A first reflection that arises spontaneously after this trip is that, when thinking about the Church, we are still too Eurocentric or, as they say, “Western.” Actually, The Church is much bigger! Much bigger than Rome, than Europe, much bigger. And also, I allow myself to say, much more alive, in those countries.

I experienced it with emotion when I got to know those communities, listening to the testimonies of priests, nuns, lay people, especially catechists. Catechists are those who carry out evangelization. Churches that do not proselytize, but grow by “attraction”, as Benedict XVI wisely said.

In IndonesiaChristians are approximately 10%, and Catholics 3%, the minority. But what I found was a living, dynamic Church, capable of living and transmitting the Gospel in a country that has a very noble culture, inclined to harmonize diversity, and that at the same time has the largest presence of Muslims in the world.

In that context, I had confirmation of how compassion It is the path along which Christians can and must walk to bear witness to Christ the Savior and at the same time encounter the great religious and cultural traditions. Regarding this matter of compassion, let us not forget the three characteristics of the Lord: closeness, mercy and compassion. God is close God is merciful and God has compassion. If a Christian does not have compassion, he knows nothing.

“Faith, brotherhood, compassion” was the motto of the visit to Indonesia: with these words the Gospel enters every day, concretely, into the lives of that people, welcoming them and giving them the grace of the dead and risen Jesus. These words are like a bridge, like the underpass that connects the Jakarta cathedral with the largest mosque in Asia. There I saw that fraternity is the future, it is the answer to anti-civility, to the diabolical plots of hatred and war. Also sectarianism.

I found the beauty of a missionary Church, “on the way out”, in Papua New Guineaan archipelago that extends into the immensity of the Pacific Ocean. There, the different ethnic groups speak more than eight hundred languages, eight hundred languages!: an ideal environment for the Holy Spirit, who loves to make the message of Love resonate in the symphony of languages. It is not uniformity that the Holy Spirit does, it is symphony and harmony. He is the pattern, the head of harmony.

There, in a special way, the protagonists were and continue to be the missionaries and the catechists. It gladdened my heart to be able to spend some time with today’s missionaries and catechists; and I was moved to listen to the songs and music of the young people: in them I saw a new future, without tribal violence, without dependency, without economic or ideological colonialism; a future of brotherhood and care for the wonderful natural environment. Papua New Guinea can be a “laboratory” for this model of integral development, animated by the “ferment” of the Gospel. Because there is no new humanity without new men and women, and only the Lord makes these.

And I also wanted to mention my visit to Vanimo, where the missionaries are between the forest and the sea. And they enter the forest, to go search for the most hidden tribes there. That was a beautiful memory.

The force of human and social promotion of the Christian message stands out particularly in the history of East Timor. There, the Church has shared the independence process with all the people, always directing it towards peace and reconciliation.

It is not an ideologization of faith, no, it is faith that becomes culture and at the same time illuminates it, purifies it and elevates it. That is why I relaunched the fruitful relationship between faith and culture, which Saint John Paul II had already focused on during his visit. Faith is inculturated and cultures are evangelized. Faith and culture.

But above all I was impressed by the beauty of that town: a tried but joyful town, a town wise in suffering. A town that not only generates many children – there were a sea of ​​children, many – but also teaches them to smile. I will never forget the smile of the children, of that country, of that region. The children there always smile, and there are so many of them.

They teach to smile, that faith, and this is a guarantee for the future. In short, in East Timor I saw the youth of the Church: families, children, young people, many seminarians and aspirants to the consecrated life. I would like to say, without exaggeration, that I breathed “spring air.”

The last stage of this trip was Singapore. A very different country from the other three: a very modern city state, the economic and financial hub of Asia and beyond. Christians there are a minority, but they continue to form a living Church, committed to generating harmony and fraternity among different ethnicities, cultures and religions.

Even in rich Singapore there are “little ones” who follow the Gospel and become salt and light, testimonies of a greatest hope of that which economic benefits can guarantee.

I would like to thank these people who have welcomed me with so much warmth, with so much love. Thank your leaders, who have helped so much in this visit, so that it was done in order, without problems. I thank all those who have also collaborated on this.

I thank God for the gift of this trip and renew my gratitude to all of them. May God bless the people I have met and guide them along the path of peace and brotherhood. Greetings to all!