Pope Francis in Singapore: a journey of hope and dialogue to Asia's frontiersPope Francis in East Timor, between spirituality and dialoguePope Francis gathers more than fifty thousand people in SingaporeOn schedule and with partly cloudy skies, the Singapore Airlines A350 flight took off at 18.25 local time, carrying Pope Francis and the delegation of journalists and assistants who accompanied him to Rome. Asia and Oceania.
This concludes the historic 12-day trip that began on September 2 and which saw the Pontiff on pilgrimage through Southeast Asia, where the Holy Father made the Church's closeness felt, confirmed the Catholic faithful in their faith and encouraged them to continue on their journey.
Love for others and harmony among religions
As aspects to highlight, during his stay in Indonesia Francis praised the interreligious coexistence where Catholics are only 3 % of the population. There he signed a declaration together with the main Islamic representative of the country in which he reiterated the no to political manipulation and violence in the name of religion.
In Papua New Guinea, the Holy Father called for equity, peace and care for the earth. In East Timor, a country with a Catholic majority and 65 % of young people, he invited people to take care of the little ones. Finally, in Singapore, he stressed that gigantic buildings and money are of no use if there is no love of God and neighbor behind them.
During his last hours in Singapore, the Pope held a private meeting with Cardinal William Seng Chye Goh, priests and consecrated persons at the "St. Francis Xavier" retreat center.
On this last day, the Holy Father was close to and caressed a group of elderly and sick people at St. Theresa's Home, where the Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore, Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo, three priests and a nun were also present.
Pope bids farewell to young people
Francis then took part in an interreligious meeting with young people at the "The Youth Forum".Catholic Junior College". In this institution, students from affiliated Catholic schools take a two-year pre-university course that prepares them for the "Cambridge GCE Advanced Level" exam.
The joy of these students waving flags, wearing their university uniforms, was felt from the first moment with applause. A group of boys placed a wreath of flowers for the Pope and other young people with disabilities performed a choreography. Along with the Bishop of Rome, the event was attended by several leaders of different religious beliefs.
Cardinal William Goh, present at the meeting, described the Church's work with other religions as "interfaith Christmas". "Singapore strives to be an icon of interfaith harmony in the world," he asserted. Afterwards, a young Hindu, a young Sikh and a young Catholic offered their testimony to those present.
In his address, Pope Francis said he was happy "to spend the last morning of my visit to Singapore with you, among so many young people, gathered together in unity and friendship. This is a precious moment for interreligious dialogue!"
Building a fraternal world
The successor of Peter also wanted to point out "three words that can accompany us all on this journey of unity: courage, sharing and discernment".
"Courage" to "maintain a courageous attitude and promote a space where young people can enter and talk". Then "sharing", because "there are many debates on interreligious dialogue... not always successful". However, what "breaks down walls and shortens distances are not so much words, ideals and theories, but above all the human practice of friendship, of encounter, of looking into each other's eyes".
"And I add one thing," the Pontiff said, "thinking especially of you young people who frequent the digital world a lot: sometimes cultural and religious differences are used in a polarized and ideological way and we feel divided and distant from those who are different, simply because we are influenced by clichés and certain prejudices that also find space on social networks."
Finally, "discernment", a "spiritual art" that is more necessary than ever "in the face of the challenges of artificial intelligence", and which also allows us "to be able to grasp the hidden truth, sometimes masked by many illusions or false news".
"Continue on this path," the Holy Father urged the young people, "continue to dream and build a fraternal world, cultivate unity by drawing on the richness of your religions." And to young Christians he reminded them: "the Gospel focuses on God's love for each one of us, a love that invites us to see in the face of everyone else a brother to love".
The end of the intense meeting concluded with the reading of an appeal for commitment to unity and hope and a moment of silent prayer. Pope Francis greeted the 10 leaders of other religions present at the meeting and left for the airport to catch his plane to Rome, where the Pontiff is expected to arrive around 18:30 (local time).
