Now, fifty years later, Pope Francis is there.
Nearly 88 years old and usually requiring the assistance of a wheel chair, Francis is undaunted by his limitations and continues to make these arduous pastoral visits to the “peripheries” — to small countries seldom in the global spotlight, poor countries, or countries with very small Catholic populations. This current trip, however, has unique features. In twelve days, the Pope is visiting four Asian and Pacific countries: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore. In many ways, this trip only appears “peripheral” in the eyes of the West. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world (87% of 280 million people), but it upholds religious freedom and its minority populations spanning its vast multiethnic archipelago include Christian population of 10% (with 8.4 million Catholics). Papua New Guinea is apparently more remote, but it stands at the crossroads (for better and/or for worse) of East Asia, Oceania, and Australia. Timor-Leste is an independent nation at the eastern tip of the Indonesian archipelago, comprising half the island of Timor. It is home to more than a million people who speak Portuguese and are nearly all Catholic (I have seen headlines claiming it’s “the most Catholic nation in the world” except for the Vatican City State). Finally, the Pope will visit Singapore, the famous modern City-State on the tip of the Malay peninsula with a large majority of ethic Chinese.
This trip is first and above all intended to be a series of encounters between Francis and the peoples of these nations. At the same time, the Pope is once again highlighting the Church’s solicitude for all her members throughout the world, her commitment to mutual respect and dialogue with peoples of other religions, and her universal (“Catholic”) commitment to the dignity and destiny of every human person on earth, in service to the Gospel of Jesus Christ that God has offered as the definitive outpouring of His love for the healing and fulfillment of every person.
This witness is a blessing to all of us.
It is a particular blessing for this region. Francis has made numerous visits to other parts of East Asia in recent years, including Thailand and Japan, Mongolia, the current nations, and the promise of the next World Youth Day in South Korea in 2027. On all these trips, the presence of the Pope and universal attentiveness of the Catholic Church also falls like a luminous shadow on China. Consider this map of the current journey:
Francis loves the Chinese people, and it is notable that he has given so much attention to the “peripheries” of classical Chinese civilization (places which also matter to the current leadership of China). How does the CCP view all these trips? The Party’s own “logic” probably doesn’t know what to make of it all. It’s possible that they might view all these papal “flyovers” as strategic maneuvers in the long drawn-out Vatican-CCP chess game for “control” over the Catholic Church in China. Catholics, however, might best consider this latest foray into proximity with China to be to be the extension of a prayer from the heart of the Church. For God loves the Chinese people, and China today needs a miracle.
I think this is a time in history when we need to pray for miracles. And we should pray with faith and confidence to Jesus who is the Lord of history.
Many of the events of Pope Francis’s ongoing journey this week are being live-streamed by Vatican Media (on YouTube, if you're awake in those hours - I think it's GMT +11). There are also summary videos and articles too.
Try this link and see if it works: Here is Pope Francis speaking ENGLISH!🙂 https://fb.watch/uv8mXbYzJN/?
