Pope appeals for religious unity at stadium mass in Indonesia

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00:00Outside the Istiklal Mosque in Jakarta, Pope Francis was the guest of the Grand Imam Nasruddin

00:06Umar, the two men seeking to set an example of brotherhood, unity and peace in front of

00:11leaders from the country's six official religions.

00:17In the face of today's many challenges, we respond with the sign of fraternity. Indeed,

00:24by welcoming others and respecting their identity, fraternity urges them on a common

00:29path based on friendship and leading towards the light.

00:34A message echoed by the Grand Imam. Indonesia is 97% Muslim and protects religious freedom

00:40in its constitution, but Amnesty International has nevertheless sounded the alert about religiously

00:46motivated attacks and destruction of places of worship in recent years.

00:50The other resounding message from the two men was one of shared purpose in the face

00:55of humanity's greatest challenge.

00:57A joint declaration, how Muslim people and also Catholic people and also for all of the

01:03religions in the world can speak together how to save our environment. You know, because

01:09the environment is also very important to upgrade our society and our humanity also.

01:17The so-called Istiklal Declaration states that the human exploitation of creation has

01:22contributed to climate change and that the climate crisis has become an obstacle to the

01:28harmonious coexistence of peoples. A message particularly pertinent in Indonesia, a country

01:34classed as climate vulnerable, including to floods, droughts and heatwaves.

01:38The Pope's final engagement in Jakarta before leaving for Papua New Guinea was an open-air

01:43mass where he made a lap of the stadium greeting the faithful.

01:50Out of dozens of people, we were among the lucky ones to be able to participate in today's

01:55mass. For me personally, I hope that it will increase my faith.

02:03The mass was also attended by Joko Widodo, the Indonesian president.

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