Pope Francis.
Vatican City: Pope Francis is going on a 12-day foreign tour from September 2 to 13. During this time he will visit 4 countries. These include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. His visit to four countries was planned 4 years ago. This visit was originally scheduled for 2020, but it was postponed due to COVID-19. In Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-populated country, Francis is likely to emphasize on improving Christian-Muslim relations.
In Papua New Guinea, Francis will point to environmental threats as well as the diversity of its estimated 10 million people, who speak some 800 languages but are marred by tribal conflicts. Francis’ visit to Singapore will provide him another opportunity to reach out to China, as the Vatican seeks better ties with China’s estimated 12 million Catholics. Three-quarters of Singapore’s population is of Chinese descent.
East Timor emerged as an independent country in 2002 but still bears the trauma and scars of an occupation that left more than 200,000 people dead. When then-Pope John Paul visited East Timor in 1989, he sought to comfort the predominantly Catholic population, which had already suffered under 15 years of Indonesian occupation. (AP)
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