He is 87 years old and in recent years has battled health difficulties and begun using a wheelchair. But Pope Francis is embarking on the longest trip of his pontificate.
On Monday, the pontiff starts a marathon 12-day visit of four countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore. It is one of the longest foreign trips any pope has embarked on and marks the furthest geographical distance that Francis has traveled since his 2013 election. The landmark visit will allow this pope to highlight key themes of his pontificate, including inter-religious dialogue and protection of the environment.
” “The pulse of the churches here is quite different from say, those in Europe or US where issues like polarization, secularization and abuse have dominated the headlines,” she added. Spadaro said the “pope wants to give a signal about dialogue with Islam,” and points out that in Timor Leste, the government has adopted a landmark human fraternity document — signed by Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb – as a national text.
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