Sept 8 (Askume) – When Pope Francis arrives in Dili, the capital of East Timor, this week, he will arrive in a very different country from that visited by his predecessors.
The last papal visit to Dili was in 1989, when Pope John Paul II arrived in the Indonesian-occupied territory, giving a historic boost to East Timor’s independence movement and garnering rare attention on the global stage.
“It was our opportunity to express our right to fight for liberation,” recalled Father Francesco Barreto, who was among the crowd when protesters first waved banners demanding independence in front of world television cameras.
Now, as one of the world’s newest, predominantly Catholic countries prepares for a second visit by the pope, the 72-year-old priest says East Timor’s fight is to rebuild the impoverished peninsular nation.
“This journey has been a blessing from God,” Barreto said by phone from Dili, where he serves as a hospital and prison chaplain.
“This will bring new life, new energy to our fight to progress this country… Politics and the economy are not healthy.”
After decades of brutal occupation by Indonesia, East Timor, or Timor-Leste, gained independence in 2002 following a UN-supervised referendum.
But the country of 1.3 million is struggling to diversify its oil- and gas-dependent economy, foster political revitalization and curb corruption.
Pope Francis’ visit, part of a tour of Jakarta and Singapore, will also resonate in Dili despite multiple abuse scandals in the church.
In 2022, the Vatican confirmed it had imposed sanctions on East Timorese bishop and Nobel laureate Carlos Felipe Jiménez Bello for allegedly sexually abusing Timorese boys in the 1990s.
A year earlier, an American pastor was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing girls under his care in Timor.
These incidents divided opinion.
“Some East Timorese are very resistant to thinking about these terrible matters because of the historical importance of the church in successfully achieving self-determination,” said Michael Leach of Swinburne University in Australia.
It is unclear whether Pope Francis will resolve the differences, but thousands are expected to flock to the seaside capital.
“The turnout will be wonderful and Catholicism is one of the things that unites East Timorese,” Leitch said.
“Pillars of Resistance”
The Catholic Church was so involved in East Timor’s struggle for independence that independence hero and current Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão described it as a “pillar of resistance”.
Before the Indonesian invasion in 1975, the Timorese people mainly believed in animism and spoke the local language. Under Indonesian law, they are forced to convert to one of the six official religions, and animism is not an option.
Conversion to Catholicism became a way to reject integration with Muslim-majority Indonesia, leading to the number of Catholics rising to over 95% at independence, compared to less than 30% before 1975.
Leach said, “The act of nationhood was the conversion to Catholicism. The whole idea of the Timorese nation really came from that period.”
Diplomats and journalists have also come to rely on credible churchmen who are well-informed, courageous enough to talk about realities on the ground and who can often verify claims, said Donald Greenlees, a senior adviser to Asialink at the University of Melbourne.
“The church served as a source of information, provided refuge and, I think, importantly, spiritual support and comfort,” said Greenlees, a former foreign correspondent working in Timor at the time.
“It also gives independence a moral legitimacy that helps keep the issue at the United Nations and elsewhere as an international issue.”
Bishop Bello continues to lobby, particularly before the Vatican and the United Nations.
East Timor’s devout Catholics have not forgotten Pope John Paul II, the only world leader to visit East Timor during its decades of occupation, nor his impassioned sermons denouncing the bloodshed.
After his death in 2005, the country observed three days of mourning.
Preparations are once again in full swing in Dili, with the government allocating $12 million for the pope’s visit, which is part of a marathon trip to four countries including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Singapore.
“It will be a big celebration, but people are worried about the cost,” said former government official Jose Trindade.
“We expect to get $4 million a day. For a poor country like Timor-Leste, that’s a huge amount of money.”
