Archbishop Comensoli: ‘Asia is the future of the Church’

By Linda Bordoni and Deborah Castellano Lubov

Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne, Australia, spoke to Linda Bordoni of Vatican News at the interfaith event in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Pope Francis is making his 45th apostolic trip abroad.

On the third day of his apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania, on Thursday, September 5, the Holy Father participated in the event at the Istiqlal Mosque, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia.

Grand Imam Dr Nasaruddin Umar welcomed him. Together, they also visited the “Friendship Tunnel,” an underground passageway connecting the Istiqlal Mosque to the St. Mary of the Assumption Catholic Cathedral, with a three-lane highway in between.

They also signed the Joint Declaration of Istiqlal 2024, stressing that the values ​​common to all religious traditions must be effectively promoted to “overcome the culture of violence and indifference” and promote reconciliation and peace.

In the interview, Archbishop Comensoli stressed the importance of fraternity between the faithful of different religions.

Q: Bishop Comensoli, you are here following the interreligious meeting at the Istiqlal Mosque. How important is this event for this region and for the world?

Obviously, in our situation, there have been difficulties between faith communities that have led to violence throughout history, but we have worked on that significantly over the last 15 years.

Australia has already experienced this with the attack that took place in Bali in 2012, and that was in some way the result of extreme terrorism.

But, from what I understand, here in Indonesia today, the relationship between Christians and Muslims is quite healthy, and it’s nice to hear about this bridge that now exists between this mosque that we’re in and the cathedral, the Catholic cathedral, across the road.

So there are signs of what the Pope spoke about yesterday in terms of openness and fraternity towards one another.

Q: The Pope signs a joint declaration with the grand imam of this mosque, the largest in Southeast Asia. Do you hope that this message will be transmitted to the whole world? How important is this gesture?

I think it’s very important. A bit like what happened in Abu Dhabi a few years ago. It’s also a gesture, a sign. But signs have to translate into realities. So I hope it’s a way to start building those bridges.

It’s important in other places as well, not just what’s happening here in Asia, but it will also be important for us in Australia, where we now have a large Muslim community and a large Jewish community.

The relationships between all these people are currently tense, very difficult. Finding ways like this could open up new possibilities.

Q: Do you think that the Indonesian model of democracy and tolerance could become a model of peace, harmony and coexistence?

I heard yesterday the great slogan, if you like, of the Catholic Church here: “100% Indonesian, 100% Catholic.” And I thought that was a pretty good thing.

Indonesians are very diverse, you know, each island… there are indigenous people, languages, customs, etc.

It is therefore very important that Indonesia finds ways to unite to become a model for other countries in Southeast Asia.

Q: Finally, are the Australians following this trip because it is very close?

Yes, yes, that’s true. That’s why we are now looking more towards Asia, rather than the old European or North American continents.

Asia is our future. Even in the local Church in Australia, the faces of our congregations in Melbourne, for example, are becoming more and more Asian.

There are a lot of Filipinos, a lot of Indonesians, Vietnamese, Koreans, Indians. That says something about the character of the Church in Australia.

And we are beginning to understand what these cultural expressions of the Catholic faith can bring to our situation.