The Catholic Church is “more alive” outside of Europe, Pope Francis said yesterday as he reflected on his recent apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania. Source: CNA.
“A first reflection that comes spontaneously after this trip is that in thinking about the Church we are still too Eurocentric, or, as they say, ‘Western,” the Pope said in St Peter’s Square.
“But in reality, the Church is much bigger, much bigger than Rome and Europe … and may I say much more alive in these countries,” he added.
In his first general audience since returning from the longest international trip of his pontificate, the Pope expressed gratitude to God for his experiences in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Singapore.
“I thank the Lord who allowed me to do as an elderly Pope what I would have liked to do as a young Jesuit,” Francis said.
The Pope, who turns 88 in December, expressed his enthusiasm for the “missionary, outgoing Church” he encountered on his visit to the four island nations in Asia and Oceania.
In Indonesia, where only 3 per cent of the Muslim-majority country’s population is Catholic, Pope Francis said that he encountered “a lively, dynamic Church, capable of living and transmitting the Gospel.”
Pope Francis said the missionaries and catechists were the “protagonists” of his visit to Papua New Guinea, where the Pope was welcomed by the beating drums of some of the country’s Indigenous tribes who have accepted the Catholic faith.
He added that he has “a beautiful memory” from traveling to the remote coastal town of Vanimo, a jungle outpost where he said Argentine missionaries “go into the jungle in search of the most hidden tribes”.
Pope Francis said that he experienced the “air of springtime” in East Timor, a small Catholic country that gained its independence from Indonesia in 2002.
He praised the Catholic country for its many large families and many religious vocations.
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Pope Francis says the Catholic Church is ‘more alive’ outside of Europe (By Courtney Mares, CNA)
