Pope Francis in East Timor – the second most Catholic country after the Vatican. A visit in the shadow of the pedophilia scandal related to Bishop Belo

Pope Francis arrived early Monday afternoon local time in the capital of East Timor, Dili. He will spend two days there. This is the third leg of his journey, after visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Located in the Malay Archipelago, East Timor is the first country to declare independence in the 21st century. Earlier, in the late 20th century, the country was the scene of a bloody conflict between occupying forces Indonesia and supporters of independence. It is estimated that between 60 and 100 thousand people died in it. It has only enjoyed independence since 2002.

East Timor has a population of about 1.5 million, 98 percent of whom are Catholics. Based on this percentage, East Timor is the second most Catholic country in the world – after Vatican.

The Roman Catholic Church played an important role in East Timor's struggle for independence, but the country's history has also been marked by scandal over clergy abuses.

On Monday, after arriving from the airport, Francis, during a speech at the Presidential Palace to the authorities and representatives of society, said, among other things: – Let us not forget the many children and adolescents whose dignity has been insulted: we are all called to act responsibly to prevent all abuses and ensure the serene development of our girls and boys – he said.

The Holy Father did not mention any names.

Last week, the Timor-Leste NGO Forum — an umbrella organization of 400 nonprofit and civil society organizations — wrote an open letter to Francis asking him to “encourage the leaders and people of Timor-Leste to take more effective measures to prevent sexual exploitation.”

Richard Daschbach, an American missionary who admitted to molesting children for decades, was defrocked by the Vatican and in 2021 prosecuted and sentenced in East Timor to 12 years in prison.

The most infamous figure, however, is the national hero, Nobel Peace Prize winner (for attempting to peacefully resolve the conflict when the country was occupied by Indonesia – the Nobel Committee said he risked his life to protect the people of Timor) Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, who was the head of the Catholic Church in East Timor. He was accused of raping and repeatedly abusing teenage boys when he was a priest.

In 2020, he was secretly punished by the Vatican, which only came to light in 2022. At the time, the Vatican admitted that two years ago it had imposed “disciplinary restrictions” on the hierarch, who was banned from “contact with minors.”

The admission was made a day after Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer published lurid accounts of sexual abuse by Belo.

Currently, the priest who is accused of committing the crimes is staying in a monastery in Portugal.

Francis has repeatedly apologized for the global problem of sexual abuse in the church and has ordered clergy to report such cases. Last year, the Holy Father told the Associated Press that the allegations against Bishop Belo should have been made public, but the church has handled such cases differently in the past.

Asked whether he thought the Pope should speak about Bishop Belo during his visit, East Timorese President Jose Ramos-Horta said the matter “was already raised years ago by the Vatican.”

He added that any compensation had already been settled between the Church and the victims, who he said did not want to take their cases to court.

– Bishop Belo is still highly revered by most people because of his role in the past, his great courage in giving shelter to people, protecting people, Ramos-Horta said.

The New York Times notes that when the reports about the bishop came to light, many Timorese were outraged. But the outrage was directed at the victims. A journalist who tried to look into the allegations against the priest received death threats, according to Josh Trindade, a former government adviser.

“When a child is raped in a devout Catholic country, and the predator is also a bishop and a national hero, victims will feel especially helpless and intimidated enough to remain silent,” said Anne Barrett Doyle, co-director of BishopAccountability.org, which tracks sexual abuse allegations against Catholic clergy around the world, in a statement.

The question, however, remains whether Francis will directly address the issue of sexual abuse of minors in East Timor – as he has done in other places he has visited.

Almost all citizens of this country of about 1.5 million are Catholics (98 percent of them). The church plays a huge role in society and politics. The government budget includes millions of dollars for the three Catholic dioceses in the country. The level of religiosity is also indicated by the fact that domestic disputes are usually resolved first in churches.

The capital, Dili, is dominated by a 27-meter-high statue of Christ the King, donated by the Indonesian government during the occupation. It is approached by 600 steps and 14 Stations of the Cross.

The day before Francis arrived, on Sunday, adults and children lined the streets of the capital, rehearsing a song of welcome for the pope, government workers put the finishing touches on decorative structures created for the occasion, and crowds of people besieged a pickup truck selling Francis memorabilia.

– It's a blessing that the Pope is visiting East Timor – commented 39-year-old Fernanda de Jesus in an interview with The New York Times.

The city was excitedly preparing for the visit of the head of the Catholic Church. Banners with Francis' image were hung, the streets in the city were scrubbed, and the walls were freshly painted.

The most important event of the papal visit will be Tuesday's mass on the seaside at Tasitolu, on the outskirts of the capital. According to the Vatican, some 750,000 people, or half of East Timor's population, are expected to attend.

The first Europeans to reach and settle on the island of Timor were the Portuguese in the first half of the 16th century. They brought Catholicism. In the following century, the western part of the island was occupied by the Dutch. This is how Portuguese Timor and the western part, known as the Dutch, came into being. India Eastern.

The course of the border between them was the subject of a constant dispute between Portugal and Netherlandscompleted in 1914. The border marked then still applies to this day between East Timor and the Indonesian part of the island.

Portugal occupied East Timor until 1975. Then the independence of the Democratic Republic of East Timor was declared for the first time, but it was not recognized by any country, not even Portugal, which was used by the Indonesian authorities, then ruled by President Suharto. Its troops occupied the eastern part of the island. Mass executions took place.

In 1976, Timor was officially incorporated into Indonesia as a province. The following years brought persecution of the local population, brutal rule, and the taking of children from native Timorese. According to data from the local Commission for the Recognition of Guilt, Truth and Reconciliation, the number of victims of famine and violence during the Indonesian occupation exceeded 200,000.

The Church provided protection to many people at that time. During this period, there was an increase in conversions to Catholicism.

He became familiar with this violence and the consequences of repression. John Paul IIwho visited East Timor on 12 October 1989, i.e. during the Indonesian occupation and in a climate of independence aspirations.

His brief visit to Dili is remembered by the local Church as the moment when the world learned about the Timorese struggle for sovereignty. The visit of the Polish Pope is remembered as one of the most important in modern history and an event that was a milestone on the road to independence.

In 1996, the Nobel Peace Prize for their work in promoting a just and peaceful resolution of the conflict in East Timor was awarded to independence activists Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo and Jose Ramos-Horta, who is currently serving his second term as president of the country. He previously served as president from 2007 to 2012.

As a result of the Indonesian-Portuguese agreement, a referendum was held in 1999, in which over 78 percent of the population voted for independence. There were further dramatic events: attacks on supporters of independence, who were supported by the Indonesian military. The violence was ended by a military mission UN.

On May 20, 2002, East Timor became an independent state. In 2008, the country experienced a failed coup during which President Ramos-Horta was wounded.

Half of the country's population lives in extreme poverty, and the food situation is alarming. That is why the country is also dependent on international aid. Lack of electricity in homes is quite common.

Almost all of Timor-Leste's government spending comes from oil and gas revenues, and the International Monetary Fund has named it the world's most oil-dependent country.