On perfect time and with a partially cloudy sky, the Singapore Airlines flight A350 took off, returning to Rome on a flight that flies over Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Greece, Albania, reaching Italy and covering a quarter of the world.
Thus concludes the historic 12-day journey that began on September 2 and that saw him make a pilgrimage to four countries in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore, encouraging the Catholic faithful to continue their journey and confirm them in the faith, inviting them to dialogue, condemning the political manipulation of religion and violence in its name and inviting them to defend creation.
In Singapore, his last day began with Card. William Seng Chye Goh, priests and consecrated persons in the place where the Pope has stayed these previous few nights, and from which he said goodbye greeting all those present.
Forgetting that afterward, the Pope went to the Santa Teresa Home, where he brought his comfort to a group of elderly and sick people, among them the Archbishop Emeritus of Singapore, Nicholas Chia Yeck Joo, three priests, and a nun.
Meanwhile, the central event of this morning was the interreligious meeting with young people at the Catholic Junior College, which is also a pre-university residence.
All of them with flags made their closeness felt with applause and stadium choruses. There he was received by the Cardinal Archbishop of Singapore, the Minister of Culture, some young people who placed a garland of flowers on him.
Cardinal William Goh recalled the work with other religions, the meetings between young people: “Singapore strives to be an icon of interreligious harmony in the world,” he said. A young Hindu woman, a Sikh woman and a Catholic woman gave their testimony.
“I am happy to spend the last morning of my visit to Singapore with you, among so many young people, gathered in unity and friendship. This is a precious moment for interreligious dialogue!” in this place that “calls for unity in diversity,” the Pope told them.
To the young people he recommended “three words that can accompany us all on this journey of unity: courage, sharing and discernment.”
Courage to “maintain a courageous attitude and promote a space where young people can enter and speak”; to share because “there are many debates on interreligious dialogue… not always successful.” However, what “breaks down walls and shortens distances is not so much words, ideals and theories, but above all the human practice of friendship, of encounter, of looking into each other’s eyes.” And to those who spend a lot of time in the digital world, “sometimes cultural and religious differences are used in a polarized and ideological way, and we feel divided and distant from those who are different, simply because we are influenced by clichés and certain prejudices that also find space in social networks.”
Finally, discernment: a “spiritual art” that is more necessary than ever “in the face of the challenges of artificial intelligence,” and that also allows “to be able to grasp the hidden truth, sometimes masked by many illusions or fake news.”
Continue on this path, continue dreaming and building a fraternal world, cultivate unity by taking advantage of the richness of your religions. And to young Christians he reminded them: “the Gospel focuses on God’s love for each one of us, a love that invites us to see in the face of all others a brother to love” said the Holy Father.
The meeting concluded with the reading of a call to commitment for unity and hope and with a moment of silent prayer.
Pope Francis then greeted the 10 leaders of other religions present at the meeting and headed to Singapore airport to depart for Rome, where he is expected to arrive around 6:30 p.m. local time.
