Pope’s Grueling Asia Tour Points Toward a Less-Western Church

Over nan past mates of weeks, Pope Francis hoisted himself up connected sore legs dozens of times. As he crisscrossed ample swaths of nan Asia Pacific region, he shuffled from cars to his wheelchair, from nan wheelchair to makeshift papal thrones and connected and disconnected galore planes arsenic hot, tropical winds blew connected nan tarmac.

The travel amounted to nan longest and farthest reaching yet for Francis, and astatine 87, immoderate of his supporters fearfulness it whitethorn beryllium 1 of his last. But that he flew thousands of miles to Asian countries pinch comparatively mini Catholic populations, braving oppressive temperatures and precocious levels of humidity and pollution, underlined Francis’s committedness to building a religion pinch a little Eurocentric future.

“The agelong distance, nan fatigue, nan challenges,” said Cardinal Michael Czerny, a adjacent adjutant to Francis. “They are portion of nan message.”

Francis’ papacy has from nan commencement been 1 of symbols: nan mini humble cars he’s used, kissing nan feet of criminals, nan Casio watch he wears. His destinations are arsenic overmuch a portion of his teachings arsenic his homilies, and this travel to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore was seen arsenic portion of really he has defined his papacy.