Cardinal Tagle: the Pope's journey to Asia and Oceania is an "act of humility and obedience to the mission"

by Gianni Valente and Fabio Beretta

Rome (Fides News Agency) - Four nations in two continents, for a total of almost 40 thousand kilometers to cover. The papal plane will take off from Fiumicino airport on September 2nd, and Pope Francis will begin the longest and most demanding apostolic visit, suspended between Asia and Oceania. But the Bishop of Rome isn't leaving his diocese to break records. His – Cardinal Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle suggests – is rather "an act of humility before the Lord who calls us". An "act of obedience to the mission".

As the journey that will take Pope Francis to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore nears, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization – (Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches), in a conversation with Fides News Agency, also suggests why the journey of the Successor of Peter among the Churches of "smaller flocks" is important for the whole Church universally, and can affect all those who care about peace in the world.

At almost 88 years old, Pope Francis is about to make the longest and most tiring journey of his pontificate. What moves you in embracing this "tour de force"?

LUIS ANTONIO TAGLE: "I remember that this trip to Asia and Oceania was actually scheduled as early as 2020. I had just arrived in Rome, at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and I remember that this project already existed. Then the Covid-19 pandemic put a stop to everything. And I was very surprised that the Holy Father once again took up the project. It is a sign of his paternal closeness to what he calls‘ existential peripheries’.
Truthfully: I am younger than the Pope, and I experience these long journeys as heavy. For him, embracing this effort is an act of humility, too. It's not a show to portray what one is still capable of. As a witness, I call it is an act of humility before the Lord who calls us. An act of humility and obedience to the mission.


Some say: This trip is another confirmation that the
Pope prefers the East and neglects the West...

CARDINAL TAGLE: This idea of regarding apostolic visits as a sign that the Holy Father “prefers” one continent or part of the world, or despises other parts is a false interpretation of papal journeys. After this trip, at the end of September, the Pope plans to visit Luxembourg and Belgium. He has also visited many countries in many regions of Europe. It seems to me that, with these trips, he wants to encourage Catholics in all the contexts in which they find themselves. And one should also bear in mind that most of humanity lives in these areas of the world. Asia is home to two-thirds of the world's population. The majority of these people are poor. And there are many baptisms among the poor. Pope Francis knows that there are many poor in those areas, and among the poor there is an attraction to the figure of Jesus and to the Gospel, even in the midst of war, persecution and conflict.


Others point out that Christians, in many countries the Pope visits, are small in number compared to the population.

CARDINAL TAGLE: Before making the trips, the Pope received invitations not only from the local Churches but also from civil authorities and political leaders who formally requested the presence of the Bishop of Rome in their country. They want the presence of the Pope not only for reasons of faith, but also for reasons concerning civil authorities. For them, the Pope remains a powerful symbol of human coexistence in a spirit of fraternity, and for the care of Creation.

As a pastor belonging to the Church of the Philippines
and Cardinal of the missionary Dicastery, what experiences
and meetings have you had with the countries and Churches that the Pope will visit
over the next few days?

CARDINAL TAGLE: In Papua New Guinea I made my apostolic visit to the Seminaries upon request of Cardinal Ivan Dias, then Prefect of the Congregation of Propaganda Fide. In two months I made two journeys, visiting the Seminars of Papa New Guinea and Solomon Islands. I have also visited Indonesia and Singapore, but I have never been to East Timor, although I have met many bishops, priests, non-ordained members and laypeople from that country. For me, Asia is "a world comprising different worlds", and as an Asian I see how trips to Asia open my mind and heart to vast horizons of humanity, and of human experience. Christianity also takes hold in Asia in ways that surprise me. I learn a lot from the wisdom and creativity of the Holy Spirit. I am always surprised by the ways in which the Gospel is expressed and embodied among the different human contexts. My hope is that the Pope, and all of us in the papal entourage as well as journalists, can have this new experience, the experience of the creativity of the Holy Spirit.

What are the gifts and the comfort that communities
visited by the Pope on the next trip will be able to
offer the Church as a whole?

CARDINAL TAGLE: In those Countries, Christian communities are a minority almost everywhere, a "small flock". In places like Europe, the Church still enjoys a certain cultural, social and even civil "status" of respect. But also in many Western Countries we return to this experience of the Church as a small flock. And it can be good to look at Churches in many Eastern countries to see how one should behave when one is in a condition, in a state of lowliness. The experience of the first Apostles, of the disciples of Jesus, is repeated over and over in these countries. A parish priest in Nepal told me that the territory of his parish is as large as a third of Italy: he only has 5 parishioners scattered over such a large territory. It's 2024, but the context and experience appears similar to the Acts of the Apostles. And the small Churches that live in the East can teach us.


The first stop of the papal trip is Indonesia, the country
with the largest Muslim population in the world.

CARDINAL TAGLE: Indonesia is a nation- archipelago,
and there's a huge diversity of situations culturally,
linguistically, economically and socially. It is also the country
with the largest number of Muslim inhabitants in the world. And
the great gift of the Holy Spirit to the Indonesian Catholic
community is that of a coexistence that does not deny
diversity. The Pope's visit will hopefully bring new
lifeblood to the brotherhood between believers of different religions.

Have you been able to experience the concrete signs of this fraternal coexistence during your visits?

CARDINAL TAGLE: They told me that the land where the Catholic University is located was gifted by the first President. A strong message, to show that among the Indonesian people everyone is accepted as brothers and sisters. I also remember when I participated in Youth Day in Asia. Given the low number of Christians, many young Muslims were also among the volunteers involved in the organization. The Bishops' Conference gave me two assistants, both Muslims, whom I saw carrying out their duties with great reverence for the Church.


Second stage: Papua New Guinea.

CARDINAL TAGLE: The Church in Papua New Guinea is a newer Church, but it has already given the universal Church a martyr, Peter To Rot, who was also a catechist. Papua New Guinea is also a multicultural Country, with various tribes that occasionally come into conflict with each other. But it is a country where diversity can be a resource. If we suspend our preconceptions, even in tribal cultures we can find human values close to Christian ideals. And in Papua New Guinea there are places where nature is unspoiled. Two years ago I was there for the consecration of a new Cathedral. I asked the Bishop for water, and he told me: "We can drink the river water, it is potable". Thanks to their tribal wisdom they have managed to preserve harmony with nature and can drink directly from the river. Something that we, in so-called developed countries, no longer have.

Third stage: East Timor.

CARDINAL TAGLE: It is significant that the Pope will reach Indonesia and subsequently Timor Leste. Two Countries that have a history of struggle and are now at peace. A fragile peace, but thanks to both countries it seems lasting. The relationship between the local Church and the government is very good there. The local government also supports Church-related educational services. And it seems to me that the Church itself was one of the beacons for the population during the war for independence. The people of Timor Leste declare that their faith in Christ sustained them during the years of struggle for independence.


Stage four, Singapore.

CARDINAL TAGLE: It is one of the richest Countries in the world, and it is wonderful to see a people who have reached such a level of professionalism and technological vanguard in a few years, and with limited resources, also by virtue of the sense of discipline. The government in Singapore guarantees freedoms to all communities of worshippers and protects them from attacks and disrespectful acts. Offenses against religion are severely punished. People live safely, and so do tourists. But a balance is needed. History teaches us to be careful that law enforcement does not end up contradicting the very values that laws are supposed to protect.


Even in those countries - especially Papua New Guinea –
apostolic work is punctuated by tales of missionaries
martyrs. But sometimes we continue to present the work of
missionaries only as an expression of cultural colonialism and
political beliefs.

CARDINAL TAGLE: Now there exists a trend and a
temptation to interpret history, especially the history of
missions, with today's cultural patterns and to impose our
visions on missionaries who lived centuries ago. Instead, one
must interpret history carefully.
Missionaries are a gift to the Church. They obey Christ
who told his people to go to the ends of the Earth
to proclaim the Gospel, promising that he would always be
by their side. Occasionally national leaders of the nations have taken the missionaries to different places during
colonization processes. But those missionaries travelled to
evangelize, not to be manipulated and used by
colonizers. Many priests, missionaries, non-ordained members, have acted contrary to the strategies of their own government, and have been martyred.


What is the mysterious bond that always links martyrdom to mission?

CARDINAL TAGLE: Two years ago a study on religious freedom was published. One fact was obvious: in those countries where intimidation and persecution existed, the number of baptisms was increasing. Where there is a real possibility of martyrdom, faith spreads. And even those who are not believers ask themselves: but where does all this strength - which leads them to offer their lives - come from? It is the Gospel in action. And our purpose, also for the Dicastery for Evangelization, is to help the local Churches, not to impose a mindset or a culture different from theirs. (Fides News Agency 27/8/2024)

Share:

pope francis

---

---

pastoral visit

---

---

local churches

---

---

inculturation

---

---

mission

---

---