Pope Francis to join interfaith prayer for peace at Colosseum in Rome

Pope Francis at a general audience in Rome in June 2018. / CNA file photo

Vatican City, Jun 28, 2022 / 05:55 am (CNA).
Pope Francis has asked people to pray after 46 migrants were found dead in a Texas trailer truck on Monday.“I sorrowfully hea… […]

Pope Francis speaks to religious leaders on the grounds of Indonesia’s national mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia, Sept 5, 2024. / Daniel Ibáñez/CNA

Jakarta, Indonesia, Sep 5, 2024 / 00:13 am (CNA).

Pope Francis visited the grounds of Southeast Asia’s largest mosque on Wednesday for an interfaith meeting in Indonesia, where he signed a joint declaration condemning religious-based violence with Muslim leader Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar.

The Istiqlal Joint Declaration 2024 is titled “Fostering Religious Harmony for the Sake of Humanity.” 

Named for Indonesia’s national Istiqlal Mosque, the document calls for religious leaders to work together to promote human dignity, interreligious dialogue, and environmental protection.

“The values shared by our religious traditions should be effectively promoted in order to defeat  the culture of violence,” the declaration says. 

“Our religious beliefs and rituals have a particular capacity to speak to the human heart and thus foster a deeper respect for human dignity.”

Pope Francis became the first pope to visit the grounds of Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque on Sept. 5. The massive mosque is among the largest in the world, accommodating up to 250,000 people at a time. John Paul II, who visited Indonesia in 1989, was the first pope to ever visit a mosque during his visit to Damascus in 2001. 

According to the mosque’s grand imam, Istiqlal is second only in size to Mecca and Medina, and its influence extends to Indonesia’s roughly 242 million Muslims.

The interfaith meeting sought to promote religious tolerance and moderation in Indonesia, which faces challenges with the rise of hardline Islamist groups and instances of violence against Christians.

Speaking to representatives of Indonesia’s six officially recognized religions —  Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Catholicism, and Protestantism — Pope Francis articulated his vision for interreligious dialogue.

“Sometimes we think that a meeting between religions is a matter of seeking common ground between different religious doctrines and beliefs no matter the cost. Such an approach, however, may end up dividing us, because the doctrines and dogmas of each religious experience are different,” the pope said.

“What really brings us closer is creating a connection in the midst of diversity, cultivating bonds of friendship, care and reciprocity.”

Pope Francis added that when religious leaders cultivate bonds, it enables them “to move forward together in pursuit of the same goals: defense of human dignity, the fight against poverty and the promotion of peace.”

Pope Francis arrived at the mosque through the Alfattah Gate, where Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar warmly greeted him. The two leaders then proceeded to the newly constructed “Tunnel of Friendship,” an underground passage connecting the mosque to Jakarta’s Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, built by the Indonesian government to foster dialogue and unity.

Before entering the “Tunnel of Friendship,” Pope Francis expressed his hope that it would become “a place of dialogue and encounter.”

Pope Francis told the grand imam, “I hope that our communities may increasingly be open to interreligious dialogue and be symbols of the peaceful coexistence that characterizes Indonesia.”

´The interfaith event took place in a red and white tent on the mosque grounds. It unfolded with a traditional Muslim welcome dance known as Marawis, followed by a brief chanting of a passage from the Quran by an Indonesian woman and a reading from the Gospel of Luke.

Representatives of the other four recognized religions stood in solidarity as the declaration was read aloud to participants in the tent.

The Istiqlal document identifies dehumanization and climate change as two serious crises facing the world today, emphasizing the shared responsibility of religious communities in tackling global challenges. It also affirms the need for interreligious dialogue to resolve “local, regional and international conflicts, especially those incited by the abuse of religion.”

The joint declaration at the Indonesian mosque was reminiscent of the Abu Dhabi declaration on “Human Fraternity” that Pope Francis signed with Ahmed el-Tayeb, Grand Imam of al-Azhar in the United Arab Emirates, when he became the first pope to visit the Arabian Peninsula in 2019.

On Thursday, the Indonesian grand imam underlined the significance of the meeting, pointing to Istiqlal Mosque’s influence across Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country.

As Indonesia’s only state mosque, the Istiqlal Mosque is “expected to provide guidance to more than one million mosques and prayer rooms scattered throughout the islands of the Republic of Indonesia,” he explained.

“This mosque also seeks to promote religious tolerance and moderation in Indonesia,” the Muslim leader underlined.

In a moving gesture of solidarity and friendship at the closing of the event, the imam kissed Pope Francis on the head, while the pope kissed the grand imam’s hand and then touched it to his cheek.

Pope Francis will conclude the third day of his apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania by celebrating Holy Mass in Gelora Bung Karno Stadium in Jakarta. On Friday he is expected to depart Indonesia for Papua New Guinea.

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Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, the outgoing president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, speaking on Nov. 15, 2022, at the conference’s fall assembly in Baltimore. / Screenshot from USCCB video

Washington D.C., Jan 6, 2023 / 16:45 pm (CNA).

At a Jan. 5 memorial Mass for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, Archbishop José Gomez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles said that while the late pope will be remembered for his great intellect, his real legacy will be the love he had for Jesus and those he led to Jesus.

His homily, delivered at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, follows:

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We thank the loving God today for the life and witness of our beloved Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, as he was laid to rest earlier this morning in Rome.

With the words of Pope Francis from the funeral Mass, we pray for Benedict: “May your joy be complete as you hear his voice, now and forever!”

I’ve had the privilege to know and minister under three popes — St. John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and now the Holy Father Pope Francis.

Each has his own distinctive personality and pastoral style. In my own ministry, I draw inspiration and guidance from all of them, from their words, and even more from their example.

I will always be grateful to Pope Benedict because he chose me to be archbishop here in Los Angeles. It has been the blessing of my life to be your shepherd and pastor.

In my experience, Pope Benedict was a gentle soul, a beautiful man. It is true that he was a great teacher and biblical theologian, and one of the most brilliant minds in the history of the Church and Western civilization.

But I will remember him, most of all, for his kindness to me and his deep humility.

I remember his smile as he was imposing the pallium on me on the altar at the St. Peter Basilica on June 29, 2011. He asked me about my archdiocese. And as I said Archdiocese of Los Angeles, he smiled and said: “It is a big archdiocese!” I responded, “Yes, please pray for me!” He then assured me that he would pray for me and for the archdiocese.

Our pope emeritus put Jesus Christ at the center of his life. And leading men and women to friendship with Jesus was the purpose of his life.

In his first homily as pope, Benedict told us: “Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. … There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him.

We see this beautiful encounter in the Gospel today, the story of the calling of Nathanael.

Our Christian life, the life of faith, always begins with an invitation.

It begins in friendship, in witness. One heart speaking to another heart about the love that they have found in Jesus.

This story that we hear today is from the early days of Jesus’ public ministry. Philip has just met Jesus and begun to follow him. Now he goes to invite his friend, Nathanael.

They both know the Scriptures, the writings of Moses and the prophets, and Philip tells Nathanael that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah they’ve been taught to hope for.

As we heard, Nathanael doesn’t believe him at first. But Philip is not discouraged. He says, simply: “Come and see.”

Philip makes this gentle invitation, and Jesus does the rest.

My brothers and sisters, Pope Benedict XVI is right: There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel! Nothing more beautiful than to meet Jesus!

He understood that the modern world is moving away from God, that faith is fading from the hearts of many people, that our society is growing cold and intolerant toward religion.

But he also knew that God is not finished with his creation, not done building his kingdom on earth. Jesus is still calling, still knocking at the door of every human heart.

Pope Benedict reminded us: the Church’s mission is Christ’s mission — to seek and to save the lost. It’s not just about popes and bishops, priests and religious. All of us share in this mission! Every one of us who has been baptized.

Each of us is called — in our own way and in our own lives — to be like Philip. Speaking to others of our love for Jesus and our friendship with him. Calling others to “Come and see.”

It really is true: when we meet the living God in Jesus Christ and follow him, our life changes.

To be surprised by the Gospel is to discover the truth about where we come from, and what we are living for.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus knows and loves each one of us, just as he knew and loved Nathanael. We heard in the first reading today: “God is greater than our hearts and knows everything.”

And Jesus makes the same promise to you that he made to Nathanael: when you come to him, “you will see greater things.”

When we allow his love to fill our hearts — the gate of heaven stands open before us. We see with certainty that we walk in the light of his presence, in the company of angels and saints. The little things in our everyday lives become like a ladder leading us to heaven.

I am confident that Pope Benedict will be remembered among “the great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind.

But as he looks on the face of God and hears his voice, his legacy will not be one of great words and important books.

His legacy will be the countless souls who found friendship with Jesus through his love, through his gentle invitation to “Come and see.”

Let us honor his memory by renewing our own friendship with Jesus, and dedicating ourselves once more to the beautiful task of bringing others to be surprised by the Gospel!

May Mary Most Holy pray for us, and keep us all under the mantle of her protection.

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