Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong shared his hope that Pope Francis's Singapore visit would inspire Singapore's communities to continue fostering "trust and harmony" in its "multi-religious society", writing on Facebook on Sep. 10.
Pope Francis will be visiting Singapore from Sep. 11 to 13, 2024, the second time a pope visits Singapore.
38 years ago, the late Pope John Paul II visited in November 1986.
Eagerly looking forward to Pope Francis' arrival
Tong said Catholics and many non-Catholics alike are eagerly looking forward to Pope Francis’ arrival.
"I think this is down to the fact that His Holiness’ commitment to the promotion of dialogue, unity, fraternity and social friendship is universal," said Tong.
Values like these "go beyond and transcend any one religion alone," said Tong, adding:
"Indeed, Pope Francis’ third Encyclical, Fratelli Tutti, resonates with Singapore’s own desire to build a better, more just and peaceful world. This is especially salient as Singapore sees our diverse multi-ethnic and multi-religious population as an enduring strength which we must carefully nurture and preserve."
The Encyclical is a pastoral letter written by the Pope on matters of doctrine, morals, or discipline.
Pope Francis's third Encyclical "Fratelli Tutti" was written amid the Covid-19 pandemic and aimed to promote a universal aspiration toward fraternity and social friendship, according to Vatican News.
Tong described Pope Francis as "incredibly sincere, thoughtful and kindly", recalling his impression from a brief conversation in January 2022 at the Vatican City.
He said he could see that Singapore and the Holy See share a deep common interest in finding different ways to promote inter-religious harmony in today’s increasingly diverse and interconnected world.
As part of his visit to Singapore, Pope Francis will have an inter-religious dialogue with Singapore youths on Sep. 13.
The dialogue, which will be held at Catholic Junior College, is expected to involve over 600 participants from more than 50 schools, as well as interfaith and religious organisations.
The dialogue aims to "promote actions for unity and hope among diverse religious youths of Singapore", as previously stated on the CatholicSG website.
"As Pope Francis has emphasised through his work, unity and fraternity can only be achieved through open and honest dialogue across all religions," said Tong.
He added that such dialogue, in turn, helps promote trust and mutual respect.
Tong said:
"We hope that his visit will further inspire our communities, especially our youths, to continue fostering trust and harmony in our multi-religious society."
Pope Francis to be in Singapore from Sep. 11 to 13
Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive at 2:15pm on Sep. 11.
Several official engagements will happen on the morning of Sep. 12 at the Parliament House and at the National University Singapore's University Cultural Centre.
A Papal Mass will be held at the National Stadium later that afternoon on the same day.
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Top image via Edwin Tong/Facebook.