Pope to visit Jakarta's Istiqlal mosque in push for interfaith harmony


The Vatican, August 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ciro De Luca

JAKARTA (Reuters) - When Pope Francis visits Indonesia next week, he will stop by a mosque in Jakarta that has an unusual feature - a tunnel connecting it to the city's Catholic cathedral, as part of a push for interfaith harmony on his 12-day Asia-Pacific tour.

The 28.3-metre "Tunnel of Friendship", connecting the iconic Istiqlal mosque to the Our Lady of the Assumption cathedral, was built by the government in 2020 as a symbol of religious harmony, a theme the global head of the Catholic church has also emphasised on his travels during his 11-year reign.

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