Pope opens Asia odyssey with stop in Indonesia to rally Catholics, hail religious freedom tradition

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Pope Francis arrived in Indonesia on Tuesday at the start of the longest trip of his pontificate, hoping to encourage its Catholic community and celebrate the tradition of interfaith harmony in a country with the world’s largest Muslim population.

After an overnight flight from Rome, Francis was wheeled off the plane in his wheelchair and onto the tarmac for a welcoming ceremony under Jakarta’s perennial hazy, humid and polluted skies.

Two children wearing traditional clothes handed him a bouquet of vegetables, fruits, spices and flowers.

Francis planned to rest for the remainder of the day, given the rigors of an 11-day voyage zigzagging across time zones that

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