Pope sets off for Asia and Oceania, longest trip

(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 2 - Pope Francis sets off later Monday on his longest ever international trip, almost 33,km over 12 days to southeast Asia and Oceania, touching down in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore.
    It is the 45th trip of Francis' pontificate and brings to 65 the countries he will have visited.
    Topics on his agenda include dialogue and peaceful co-existence between various faiths, the search for harmony amid a multiplicity of cultures, caring for Creation threatened by the climate crisis, and closeness and support for young and minority Churches - except in small East Timor, former Portuguese colony and still getting over the war of independence from Indonesia, which has the highest proportion of Catholics in the world, 98%.
    Indonesia, on the other hand, is the country with the most Muslims in the world.
    Francis will pronounce 16 speeches in all, all in Italian except the four in Timor Leste, which will be in Spanish.
    The pope leaves from Fiumicino at 17:15 on a flight to Jakarta, where he will arrived at 11:30 Tuesday local time (06:30 in Italy). (ANSA).