‘We expect strength and confidence from the Pope, so as not to close ourselves off’

The Jesuit, a well-known face of the Indonesian Church, has expectations for the speeches that Francis will give tomorrow in Jakarta before the authorities and the local Catholic community. “Friendship between religions and attention to the environment are the most important issues at the moment.” The differences with John Paul II’s trip in 1989, when Suharto was still in power: “The problem today is the oligarchies. But I have confidence in the future.”

Jakarta () – “We expect from Pope Francis an injection of strength and confidence. I believe that in his speeches he will place particular emphasis on two dimensions: the theme of friendship between religions and care for the environment, which is fundamental here.”

The Jesuit priest Franz Magnis-Suseno, 88, is one of the most authoritative voices of the Church and of civil society in Jakarta. Originally from Bavaria and an Indonesian citizen since 1977, he has been the soul of the Driyarkara School of Philosophy for decades, with his reflections on public ethics and commitment to dialogue between Christians and Muslims. He spoke with on the atmosphere prevailing in Jakarta in these hours of waiting for the first official speech that Francis will give tomorrow at the presidential palace – before the country’s authorities, the diplomatic corps and representatives of civil society – and in the cathedral, during the meeting in the afternoon with bishops, priests, religious and pastoral workers.

“For Catholics,” he says, “this visit is certainly a great help: it makes us aware that we are in the heart of the Pope. But in recent days I have had the opportunity to see how many Muslim groups are also waiting for him. The Nadhlatul Ulama and the young people of the Muhammadiyah are excited about his arrival.”

There is much talk these days about the thirty-metre-long “tunnel of friendship” that links the cathedral and the Great Istiqlal Mosque and which the Pope will walk through on the morning of 5 September. It is a symbol of today that Father Magnis-Suseno invites us to understand in the context of the history of relations between Christians and Muslims in this country. Starting from the “common faith in the one God” and the concrete commitment to unity in diversity that characterise the national doctrine of the Pancasila (“the five principles”) that Sukarno, the founding father of independent Indonesia, wanted to be the basis for coexistence.

“Thanks to the doctrine of the Pancasilafrom the beginning the vast majority of Muslims did not insist on making Indonesia an Islamic state – recalls the old Jesuit -. This also allowed for a constant improvement in relations between Christians – who together with Catholics and Evangelicals are about 9 percent of the total population – and Muslims. However, some clarifications must be made: Islamic radicalism also exists in Indonesia, and in different forms and degrees it includes about 20% of the Muslim community. But the mainstreamThe majority group has a positive attitude, it has confidence in relationships. And the extremists themselves, more than us non-Muslims, consider their real enemies to be organisations like Nadhlatul Ulama or Muhammadiyah, which they must “convert”.

Tomorrow morning Pope Francis will address the authorities of a country undergoing a delicate political transition. When John Paul II visited in 1989, the authoritarian Suharto regime was still in power. Tomorrow Francis will be received by an Indonesia where the outgoing president Joko Widodo himself – who led the country for two terms – has been severely questioned for his deal with his former rival (Defence Minister Prabowo Subianto, who will succeed him in a few weeks) and for having appointed his son Gibran as vice-president, in violation of the Constitution.

“Today the political situation is completely different from that of 1989,” observes Father Magnis-Suseno. “What we call here the Reformasi “In 1998, the Suharto era was brought to a close. Today, human rights and the democratic method are enshrined in the Constitution. Yes, we are once again experiencing a problematic situation, Indonesian institutions are showing signs of weakness. But these are completely different problems: the current danger is called oligarchy. Political parties do not represent the people, the rulers risk being at the service of only financial interests.”

“But these are not problems related to religion,” explains Father Magnis-Suseno. “I remain optimistic about the future of coexistence in this country. When Suharto came to power, some Christians, especially Catholics, understood that it was good to bet on Muslims, that it was necessary to increase trust in relations. And many personalities and friends of the Islamic community did the same, such as Abdurrahman Wahid, who later became the fourth president of the country. Together we have managed to build peace and progress, to open ourselves to democracy. The important thing at this time, also for Christians, is to continue to open ourselves: not to close ourselves off in our own circles.”