PRIME Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim heaped praise on Pope Francis for his commitment to interfaith understanding and his strong advocacy for world peace.
And then PMX dropped a surprising footnote: he had even met the late pope in the early years of his papacy.
Years later, one wonders why he didn’t invite the late pope to Malaysia now that he is the PM.
As the most powerful man in the country, he could have easily issued such an invitation but strangely that didn’t happen during Pope Francis’ lifetime.
Pope Francis did come to the Asia-Pacific region last year but Malaysia was not on his itinerary. His tour took him to Indonesia instead, among other countries.
His trip to Indonesia was significant because here is the world’s most populous Muslim country which dared to welcome the leader of the nearly 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide to its shore.
He even signed a joint interfaith document with the Muslim leader Grand Imam Nasaruddin Umar which stresses the “importance of promoting values common to all religious traditions”.
The message that Pope Francis brought to Indonesia is the very message that Malaysia sorely needs to hear at a time when religious extremism is rearing its ugly head.
If Anwar had invited the pope, Malaysians of all faiths would have had the chance to hear his soothing message and perhaps even signed a similar document to promote interfaith understanding.
But unfortunately, it appears that the very thought of inviting the pope here is totally anathema to this Muslim-majority nation.
If Anwar had issued an invitation to the Vatican City, there would probably be an uproar because it goes against the iron-clad belief that the official religion is supreme and no other religions can come near its refulgent centre.
The consequences of seeing a pope addressing the Muslims here could be so adverse that it might endanger the political career of the PM.
In Indonesia, Pope Francis described the diversity of the various ethnic groups and religions as the “unifying fabric” of the nation. He could very well been speaking of Malaysia, too, as both countries share similar characteristics.
Anwar is right. Pope Francis is a “moral voice of compassion, humility and justice in a turbulent world”. Indeed, we are living in turbulent times here where the shrill cries of bigotry are rising ever so frighteningly loud.
Pope Francis is gone but as Anwar said, “may his legacy endure”. Perhaps, Malaysia can build on this legacy by strengthening interfaith relations and pushing back any form of violence against any one religion.
Perhaps, who knows, Malaysia can invite the next pope to come to its shore and build bridges of understanding and peace so that the message of the late Holy Father will live on. – April 23, 2025
Phlip Rodrigues is a retired journalist.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
Main image credit: AFP
