Pope Francis' Arrival Strengthens Bogor City As A Tolerant City

Former Deputy Mayor of Bogor Dedie A Rachim with President Joko Widodo (@dedierachim)

Bogor Mayor Dedie A assessed that the arrival of the Supreme Leader of the World Catholic Church, Pope Francis, brought a message to the Indonesian people to always uphold the values of tolerance.

"The presence of Pope Francis brings a message of great hope to all Indonesian people, not only for Catholics, but also for all elements of the nation to uphold the values of harmony, peace, and tolerance," said Dedie in a statement Thursday, September 5.

In line with this, Dedie invited all Indonesians to make Pope Francis' arrival a momentum to strengthen harmony and show the world that Indonesia is able to live a peaceful life.

"Let's make it a moment of Pope Francis' arrival to strengthen his commitment to maintaining inter-religious harmony, and show the world that Indonesia is able to live in peace amidst differences," he said.

During the administration of Bima Arya and Dedie A Rachim, Bogor City was categorized as the Best Tolerance Leadership in 2023.

The award was given by Setara because Bogor City has succeeded in finding a solution related to the violation of Belief in Religious Freedom (KBB) against the Yasmin Indonesian Christian Church (GKI).

The issue of the conflict in the construction of the Indonesian Christian Church (GKI) of the West Bogor Postal Court, which was previously known as GKI Yasmin, for 15 years, has emerged, so that it has become a hot topic of conversation among the public, including abroad.

Until finally, the conflict ended with the role of the Bogor City Government under the leadership of Bima Arya and Dedie Abdul Rachim as Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Bogor two years ago, successfully gaining a common ground to realize religious tolerance.

"The real work of Bima-Dedie has proven to be able to increase tolerance. Various city government programs to encourage tolerance through cultural programs, creating common space and special attention to minorities are the key to increasing the Tolerant City Index," said Dedie.

The city of Bogor in the future has a society to be willing to open up, to have the generosity to sit together above differences, to become a "load" from the previous period of government and not finished.