Markus Solo, S.V.D., is the only Indonesian working in the Vatican. He will accompany Pope Francis on his journey to his homeland and to the other three countries—Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore—that the pontiff will visit Sept. 2-13.
Born on the island of Flores, which is often referred to as “the Catholic stronghold” in Indonesia, Father Solo joined the Society of the Divine Word missionaries on Aug. 15, 1988, and was sent to study in Austria before being called to work at the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in 2007. He is today the desk officer for Islam in Asia and the Pacific and vice president of the Nostra Aetate Foundation in that same office, now called the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue.
In an interview with America’s Vatican correspondent on the eve of the papal visit, he spoke about the reasons why Indonesia’s government and its Catholic and Muslim leaders wanted Francis to visit the country, which he described as “young and dynamic” and “enjoying good economic growth, even though there is still much poverty everywhere.”
“The whole country is very grateful and honored to be visited by the pope,” Father Solo said. “Religion has a very central role in this majority Muslim nation of 280 million people and in everyday life. He is being welcomed by many religious leaders. He is well known in the country for his humility, peace efforts and quest for harmony, and for being close to the Palestinians [in Gaza] during the present conflict. They know about the Document on Human Fraternity that he signed in Abu Dhabi with the grand imam of Al Azhar, who visited Indonesia recently.”
“They had always expected that Pope Francis would visit, given that two of his predecessors had done so—Paul VI in 1970 and John Paul II in 1989—and also given the fact that the Holy See and Indonesia have enjoyed diplomatic relations for 74 years,” he said. “Everyone knows that the Vatican was one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Indonesia, and they are very grateful for that.”
Catholic-Muslim dialogue
The country’s leaders “wanted Francis to come also because they had observed his very strong commitment to interreligious dialogue throughout his pontificate and particularly to Catholic-Muslim dialogue,” Father Solo said. “They have followed his engagement in this dialogue in the Arab world and interpreted that as a positive signal that he might also visit Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world” (although Pakistan contests this statistic).
Indeed, he said, some Muslim leaders in Indonesia told Father Solo that “the pope doesn’t belong to you Catholics; he belongs to all of us.”
At the Vatican dicastery where he works, Father Solo said, “We always believed that Pope Francis was interested in getting to know the Islam of Indonesia, as it is different from that of the Middle East and elsewhere.”
Elaborating on what sets Indonesian Islam apart, he said:
Islam here is very different [from] the Arabian brand. Most of Indonesia’s Muslims are deeply inculturated in the frank and tolerant culture of the country, and this makes Islam in Indonesia different from elsewhere. Another fact that should be recognized is that Indonesia is the biggest archipelago in the world with 17,000 islands [about 6,000 to 7,000 are uninhabited], and the way Muslims live their faith is different from one island to another one, as Islam has adapted itself to the local cultures and customs.
He explained that when Islam came to Indonesia in the 13th century, “It adopted the culture and customs of Indonesia [that had been largely shaped by Buddhism and Hinduism that came many centuries earlier]. It is mainly Sunni Islam, and its imams have been mostly trained at Al Azhar [in Egypt], but also in Morocco, Tunisia and some in Saudi Arabia.”
He recalled that while Christians and Muslims have lived for many decades in harmony since Indonesia’s independence in 1945, tensions broke out in some parts of the country in the years following the resignation of President Suharto in 1998, whose authoritarian rule had lasted for 31 years. The tensions erupted for ethnic, social and economic reasons, and sometimes also for religious reasons between Christians and Muslims, but they were largely contained thanks to the dialogue efforts of the religious leaders of the Catholic and Christian churches and of moderate Islamic organizations.
Father Solo explained that the Vatican has been actively involved for decades in encouraging and promoting this harmony and dialogue through numerous encounters both in the Vatican and in Indonesia with the Indonesian interreligious leaders, particularly Muslim leaders. He has accompanied senior officials from his office on visits to Indonesia in 2009, 2014 and 2023.
He knows that many in Indonesia hope that during the pope’s visit to the Istiqlal Mosque on Sept. 5, Francis and the grand imam of Istiqlal, Nasaruddin Umar, will issue a document that will give new orientations and guidelines for interreligious collaboration to address contemporary issues in Indonesia and the world.
Father Solo has closely observed the situation in the country over many years and has seen the rise of radical Islam in the western part of the country, which some sources estimate to count for around four million adherents. “Indonesia is increasingly facing religious intolerance and religiously motivated hatred, particularly during such political events as elections,” he said. “Religion is often used then to incite hatred, intolerance and polarization. Religions are also often instrumentalized and politicized for personal purposes or to gain power and victory.”
Since Palestine is “a burning issue” among the Muslims in Indonesia, Father Solo thinks the Palestinian plight may be mentioned during the papal visit. “Indonesians have been deeply polarized over the Oct. 7 attack on Israel,” he said. “They see it as a logical consequence of what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians. Indonesia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, and many Israelis are not welcome in Indonesia.” Last year, for example, Indonesia was expected to host the international under-20 soccer championship, but because of the presence of Israel among the teams, the government decided to have it hosted by another country.
“Most Muslims in Indonesia expect the pope to say ‘clear words’ about the Israel-Palestine conflict and also about the Ukraine-Russia war during his visit,” Father Solo said. “At the same time, they are happy that Pope Francis has always made clear his position regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict and that he is decisively for peace, not violence.”
Encouraging Indonesian Catholics
Besides the interreligious dimension of the visit, Father Solo said, Francis is especially coming to encourage the country’s small Catholic community, a mere eight million in a population of 280 million. “It will be an immense joy for the Catholic Church in Indonesia to welcome Pope Francis and to experience these days of blessings with him,” Father Solo said. He recalled that from the beginning of his pontificate the Jesuit pope “has given particular attention to the church in the periphery, not just geographically but also psychologically, and this long journey to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste and Singapore is a powerful expression of his attention and concern.”
Father Solo described the Catholic Church in Indonesia as “a tiny community among a Muslim majority [87 percent of the population]. The church has another way of life here, with its own challenges and difficulties, also psychologically being on the periphery. And yet, it produces many vocations, including to religious life, and that number is always increasing. We produce priests and send them abroad through religious societies such as the Society of the Divine World Missionaries.” He said the biggest seminary in Flores, his home island, today has 250 seminarians for the priesthood, and “every year we send a good number of newly ordained priests to the five continents.”
He emphasized the fact that “there is a deep religiosity in the whole country” and said “the people are deeply influenced by this, and that gives Catholics more encouragement to live their faith in a serious way. Churches are always too small, always filled with people. But he noted, it’s too risky to have the Mass in the open air” because of attacks on Christians by Islamic extremists in recent years.
Father Solo reported that “the Catholic Church has 24 institutions of higher education” and that “Catholic schools are well known for their high level of education, and so many Muslims go to Catholic schools because of the quality of education there.”
For all the above reasons, he said, Pope Francis will be warmly welcomed in Indonesia.
