By Joshua McElwee
DILI (Reuters) -Pope Francis arrived on Monday in East Timor, a predominantly Catholic nation in Southeast Asia, for a three-day go to that can embody an open-air celebration of Mass the Vatican says may draw greater than half the inhabitants of 1.3 million.
The 87-year-old pontiff is on an formidable 12-day Asia-Pacific tour, his longest abroad journey but. His journey to East Timor, considered one of two majority Catholic international locations in Asia, is barely the second such go to by a pope.
Francis arrived from Papua New Guinea, the place on Sunday he delivered medical provides to a small city on the sting of an enormous jungle, in probably the most distant areas of the world.
He landed in East Timor’s capital Dili and was met on the airport by President Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta and two younger girls wearing conventional costume, who supplied him flowers and a tais, a woven ceremonial scarf, which the pontiff briefly wore.
Tens of 1000’s of individuals crammed complete metropolis blocks across the airport as Francis left in a white, open-top car. Many used umbrellas embellished within the white and yellow colors of the Vatican flag to guard themselves from solar within the 31 levels Celsius (88 levels Fahrenheit) warmth.
East Timor, a half-island nation north of Australia, gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, after a brutal, decades-long occupation. Francis is the primary pope to go to in 35 years, following John Paul II, whose journey gave the nation’s independence motion an historic increase.
In a speech to about 400 politicians, diplomats and civic leaders just a few hours after arriving, Francis stated East Timor had endured the “greatest suffering and trial”.
“We give thanks to God, since you never lost hope … and after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally arrived,” he stated.
Ramos-Horta thanked Francis and referred to as the pope’s voice “so necessary in an increasingly disfigured world in which the coldness of hearts has replaced dialogue and peace”.
East Timor, a Portuguese colony up till 1975, is probably going probably the most Catholic nation on the planet, with the Vatican saying some 96% of Timorese are adherents to the religion.
Organisers are making ready for about 750,000 individuals to attend a Mass with Francis on Tuesday on the Tasitolu, a large, dusty coastal space the place Indonesian forces have been identified to have buried slain Timorese independence fighters.
ABUSE SCANDALS
Since independence, the nation has struggled with rebuilding its infrastructure and economic system. The Asian Growth Financial institution final yr stated practically 30% of Timorese in employment earned lower than $2.15 per day and the World Financial institution estimated that 47% of kids are stunted due to malnutrition.
The pope stated there was “need for collective and wide-ranging action” to handle the financial challenges.
Though Timorese have remained overwhelmingly Catholic, the church within the nation has been affected lately by abuse scandals.
In 2022, the Vatican confirmed it had sanctioned Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys in Timor within the Nineties. It stated Belo, who now lives in Portugal and shared the 1996 Nobel peace prize with Ramos-Horta for his or her independence efforts, had formally accepted restrictions to his actions and ministry.
A yr earlier, a defrocked American priest, Richard Daschbach, was sentenced to 12 years in jail for sexually abusing women underneath his care in Timor.
A number one abuse survivor advocacy group referred to as on Francis to talk overtly in regards to the instances throughout his go to.
“The pope must denounce the two men by name,” stated Anne Barrett Doyle, of the abuse monitoring group BishopAccountability.org. “His words could have an enormous positive impact.”
Francis didn’t straight tackle the scandals in his remarks on Monday. However in a piece of the speech about youth violence and the hazard of gangs, he stated “we are all called to do everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people”.
Francis is visiting East Timor till Wednesday as a part of a tour that additionally included a cease in Indonesia. He travels subsequent to Singapore earlier than returning to Rome on Sept. 13.
