Before leaving Singapore, the most religiously diverse country on his trip to Asia and the Pacific, Pope Francis urged young people to approach others with courage and friendship.

The true significance of Singapore’s soaring skyscrapers, robust economy and high-tech achievements must be found in the stories of love and care that are behind them, Pope Francis said.

Arriving in Singapore from Timor-Leste, Pope Francis made the biggest transition of his 12-day trip to Asia and the Pacific, moving from one of the world’s poorest countries to one of its wealthiest and from one of the most youthful to one of the oldest.

hile it is tempting to want more money and more power, God works great things through those who know how to make themselves small, Pope Francis told a massive crowd in one of the world’s poorest countries.

Simple gestures of piety, such as receiving Communion, sow harmony among humanity and can be acts of rebellion against evil, Pope Francis said.

The faith that sustained the hope of the people of Timor-Leste in their struggle for independence should be a resource now as the country tries to cope with social, economic and environmental problems, Pope Francis said.

In Papua New Guinea, the term “wantok” means people who share a language and culture, and that is what Christians should be, Pope Francis said, but only in the sense of sharing the language and culture of love.

Pope Francis flew 600 miles to a remote outpost of Papua New Guinea to spend an afternoon with a group of missionaries — many from Argentina — and with their people.

Not long after Pope Francis left Indonesia, authorities there announced they had arrested seven people for making online “terror threats” against the pope.

With a 21-cannon salute, Pope Francis was welcomed to Papua New Guinea Sept. 6, the second stop on his four-nation visit to Asia and the Pacific.