Pope Francis and his interest in Asia

(Baonghean) - Pope Francis will visit Asia from January 13-19 with two stops in Sri Lanka and the Philippines. This is the second visit to Asia in less than half a year by the head of Catholicism. It marks not only his personal interest in the region but also the strategic importance of Asia to the church.

Pope Francis is welcomed in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo. Photo Reuters

In Asia today, according to the latest statistics from the Vatican, 3.2% of the population is Catholic, but it is the continent with the largest number of (new) Catholics, along with Africa. AFP said that Pope Francis has a special interest in Asia because of personal feelings. When he was young, he wanted to go to Japan to be a missionary, but after he had part of his lung removed, doctors advised him not to go to Asia because the humid climate was not good for his health. Last August, Pope Francis visited South Korea. His special interest in Asia is even more evident when the head of the Vatican has never been to Africa or Latin America, but he continues to choose Asia for this visit with two destinations: Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

Sri Lanka, a message of religious harmony

In Sri Lanka, the Pope's focus has been on inter-religious harmony, including the fight against religious extremism. This is an appropriate theme in a country divided between Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, and where memories of a bloody 30-year civil war that only ended in 2009 are still fresh in the public consciousness. Sri Lanka's 21 million people are mostly Buddhist, with Catholics making up just 6%. A 2008 Gallup poll found Sri Lanka ranked third in the world for religious diversity, meaning that religious differences are vulnerable to abuse. Although a minority, Catholics are seen as having a mission of reconciliation between other religions, as it is the only faith that is followed by both the Sinhalese and Tamils ​​of Sri Lanka. In a move seen as symbolic of inter-religious harmony, Pope Francis made a last-minute change of schedule to visit an important temple in Colombo. This is only the second time a Pope has visited a Buddhist temple, the first being in 1984 when Pope John Paul II visited a temple in Bangkok, Thailand.

On the political front, the Pope has addressed the thorny issue of “inculturation,” the adaptation of Christian symbols and worship to Sri Lankan culture. The issue has long been a source of intense tension between religious sensibilities and religious relativism. In the 1990s and 2000s, several progressive Catholic theologians, including Sri Lanka’s Tissa Balasuriya, were disciplined by the Vatican for going too far in blending Eastern practices and ideas into Catholicism.

Analysts say that Pope Francis wants a real revolution in Catholicism to prevent the decline of the influence and position of the Catholic Church in the world after many scandals and scandals. In such a context, building the role of Catholicism in the regions is one of the necessary things for the Vatican to do. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka is considered a "land" where Catholicism can demonstrate its role of reconciliation and harmony between religions. This is one of the goals of Pope Francis's visit this time.

Philippines and Missionary Efforts in Asia

After Sri Lanka, the Pope will travel to the Philippines, a predominantly Catholic country. In 1995, Pope John Paul II was welcomed by the largest number of Catholics in Manila when he visited this former Spanish colony. Pope Francis is known for his support of the poor and the forgotten. In the Philippines, he will meet with survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which left 7,300 people dead or missing and millions homeless in 2013. The Pope is expected to hold an outdoor Mass on Sunday (January 18) in front of about 6 million Catholics in the country.

With the largest Catholic population in Asia and considered the capital of the church in the continent, the Philippines has always been considered by the Catholic Church as a region with great growth potential. In addition, the Philippines is also a country with a large Muslim population, and the conflict between Christians and Muslims hundreds of years ago is also an issue that many Catholics are looking forward to. Many people hope that the Pope will mention the peace agreement recently signed between the government and the largest Muslim rebel group in the country.

Not only showing concern for the poor, for Catholics facing many difficulties and the desire to heal and reconcile between religions in the Philippines, the Pope's visit to this country also proves that the Church wants to expand its influence and possibly expand its missionary area in Asia. After nearly 2 years of being ordained, Pope Francis has repeatedly declared reform ideas, including decentralizing power in the Holy See and Europe, globalizing the church, building and promoting the role of the Catholic Church in solving the most urgent and important problems for the majority of people on earth... And the Pope's consecutive trips to Asia also aim to realize those ideas.

Thanh Huyen