The Indonesian police arrested seven people for planning an attack against the Pope Francis during their stay in Indonesia. According to the authorities, the main hypothesis is that the detainees are linked to international terrorist organizations.
The suspects, who were arrested between September 2 and 3were planning to attack the Supreme Pontiff with arrows and drones. After his stay in Indonesia, the Argentine is already in Papua Guineathe second of his destinations on a four-country tour that will see him travel a total of 33,000 kilometers.
The foiled assassination attempt against Pope Francis
According to the anti-terrorist unit Densus-88, the suspects were detained between September 2 and 3 in the cities of Bogor and Bekasinearly Jakartathe capital of Indonesia. The detainees, whose identities were not revealed, are accused of plan an attack against the highest representative of the Catholic Church.
During a raid on one of the suspects’ homes, authorities confiscated bows, arrows, a drone and propaganda material of the Islamic State. This last point reinforces the hypothesis that links them with international terrorist groups.
Densus-88 spokesperson, Aswin Siregarindicated that investigations continue to clarify whether the seven detainees belong to the same action group or whether they acted independently.It has not yet been established whether the suspects knew each other.“, Siregar explained.
Pope Francis was in Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, from September 3 to 6. The tour, which will see him visit four countries, seeks to promote peace and religious unity.
Pope Francis landed in Papua Guinea
The Argentine left Indonesia yesterday to land in Port Moresby, the capital of Papua Guinea. This is his second destination on the 12-day tour of the Asia-Pacific region that will be the longest of his papacy. During his stay, Jorge Bergoglio plans to meet with bishops, homeless children and celebrate a mass before tens of thousands of faithful.
Francis’ visit is the third by a Pope to this country. 12 million inhabitantsmostly Christians. The Argentine will stay in Papua Guinea until September 8, when he will head to East Timor.
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Courtesy of El Litoral
Papua New Guinea is one of the most impoverished and unstable states in the Pacific, the scene of recurring tribal violence. During January of this year, some 1,000 people were killed. anti-government demonstrations against the decline in wages provoked deadly riots.
Thousands of people flocked to the country’s capital to welcome the leader of the Catholic Church. Among them, a group of 43 pilgrims walked more than 200 km from Morobeon the north coast, crossing the jungle and the dangerous central mountain range, to make their presence felt, according to the Episcopal Conference of Papua New Guinea.
For other believers, the journey was less arduous but equally momentous. Such was the case of Sophie Balbal, from the island of New Britain in the north-east of the country, who came to the capital representing a group of mothers: “I am not one of the leaders but they chose me to come,” she told AFP, visibly moved.
“This is the first time in my life that I have taken a plane and come to Port Moresby.”Whatever the message, I will do my best to pass it on to my fellow mothers, to all the mothers in our parish.“, Balbal said about the arrival of Francis to his country.
A great physical effort
It is not the first time that Francis visits Muslim-majority countriesIn the past, the Argentine has been in States such as Iraq, Bahrain, Türkiye or Moroccoand in 2019 he signed in Abu Dhabi A document on human fraternity with the Grand Imam of Al Azhar University.
This tour is about the journey number 45 of the Argentine Pope abroad and will understand his greatest challenge so far. Initially, it was planned for 2020 but the visits had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
The leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics, who will turn 88 in December, He underwent major abdominal surgery in 2023 and also suffered from several respiratory infections. He can only move around in a wheelchair or with the help of a cane, which will require great physical effort to travel the 33,000 kilometers of the 12-day tour.
Despite the physical effort that this journey will entail, 16 speeches planned, seven flights and up to eight hours of time differenceThe Vatican said he would be accompanied by the same medical team as before, consisting of a doctor and two nurses.
Source: Ambito
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