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.

Even members of the most remote, smallest and poorest Christian communities are called to share the Gospel and to do so, first, by the way they live, Pope Francis told the Catholics of Indonesia.

The Christian call to share the Gospel is not about trying to win converts at all costs, but about living in a way that exudes Christian joy and always treats others with respect, Pope Francis told churchworkers in Indonesia.

Politicians have an essential role in preserving the unity of a nation by working for the common good and promoting cooperation, especially when “the exasperation of contrasts” threatens to divide a country, Pope Francis told Indonesia leaders.

Pope Francis landed in Jakarta after a 13-hour flight from Rome and was greeted by the religious affairs minister of Indonesia and two children in traditional dress who offered him flowers.

Traveling on an ITA Airways plane, Pope Francis set off on the longest foreign trip of his papacy.