In Muslim-majority Indonesia, Pope Francis warns against religious extremism

The Star

Pope Francis on Wednesday (Sept 4) urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim-majority country, to guard against religious extremism, which he said distorted people's religious beliefs through "deception and violence".   Read more at https://tinyurl.com/5sj7tcej  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00Pope Francis has urged political leaders in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim

00:07majority country, to guard against religious extremism, warning that it distorts people's

00:12faith through deception and violence.

00:16In his first address on Wednesday, during a 12-day tour of Southeast Asia, the 87-year-old

00:21pontiff delivered his message to an audience of around 300 politicians and religious leaders

00:27at the Merdeka Presidential Palace in Jakarta.

01:27As Pope Francis arrived at the Presidential Palace, he was warmly welcomed by crowds.

01:42Due to his knee and back pain, he was seated in a wheelchair as he exited his vehicle and

01:47was greeted by Indonesian President Joko Widodo.

01:51An honor guard played the Indonesian and Vatican anthems as the two leaders, known for their

01:55close relationship, proceeded to a private meeting inside the palace.

02:00Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, is set to step down in October after a decade in

02:06office.

02:07The spirit of peace and tolerance is what Indonesia and the Vatican want to spread,

02:14especially in the midst of a growing world.

02:19As we all know, conflicts and wars have occurred in various parts of the world, including

02:26Palestine, which has suffered more than 40,000 casualties.

02:32While Pope Francis did not cite specific incidents of violence in his public remarks, he strongly

02:50condemned extremism, intolerance, and the manipulation of religion.

02:55On the contrary, there are occasions when faith in God is constantly put on the forefront,

03:04but often to be manipulated and to serve not to build peace, communion, dialogue, respect,

03:14collaboration, fraternity, and the country, but to encourage division and hatred.

03:21The Pope's tour will also take him to Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.

03:46Indonesia, home to approximately 280 million people, is about 87 percent Muslim.

03:53The country's constitution guarantees freedom of religion.

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