Pope Francis arrived in East Timor on Monday, marking the penultimate stop on his extensive trip through Asia and the South Pacific. At 87 years old, this visit highlights his continuing commitment to engaging with diverse global communities.
In the capital city of Dili, thousands of Timorese gathered along the streets, cheering and waving flags as the pope’s popemobile made its way through the enthusiastic crowds.
However, this segment of the pope’s journey is shadowed by the issue of clerical sexual abuse. Recent revelations have surfaced regarding mistreatment by prominent clergy in East Timor, an issue that has cast a long shadow over this visit.
East Timor, also known as Timor Leste, is a relatively young nation with deep connections to the Catholic Church, which played a crucial role in its turbulent fight for independence from Indonesia.
With a population of 1.3 million, East Timor is the second-most Catholic country globally, with 97% of its population identifying as Catholic, second only to the Vatican.
The East Timorese government allocated $12 million for Pope Francis’ visit, a sum that has drawn criticism due to the country’s limited economy and its status as one of Asia’s poorest nations.
This visit has also heightened scrutiny regarding the issue of sexual abuse within the Church and whether Pope Francis will address it directly, as he has in previous visits to other countries.
Two years ago, the Vatican admitted to secretly disciplining East Timor bishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Carlos Ximenes Belo following accusations of sexual abuse from decades earlier.
According to the Vatican, Belo had been subjected to travel restrictions and prohibitions on voluntary contact with minors, as well as interviews and interactions with Timor Leste.
Despite the allegations dating back to the 1980s, the Vatican only began addressing the case in 2019. Dutch newspaper De Groene Amsterdammer reported on its investigation into additional alleged victims of Belo’s abuse.
Belo has never been formally charged in East Timor and has not publicly commented on the accusations.
In another notable case, in 2021, a court in East Timor sentenced defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing young girls in his care. Daschbach, a missionary who ran an orphanage, admitted to the abuse in 2018, leading to his expulsion from the church.
The visit of Pope Francis to East Timor is significant as it marks the first papal visit since the country’s independence in 2002, following its separation from Indonesia. This visit comes shortly after East Timor commemorated the 25th anniversary of its vote for independence from Indonesia.
Pope Francis Arrives in East Timor (Photo: Tiziana Fabi)
East Timor, situated between northwestern Australia and Indonesia, occupies half of the island of Timor. It was used by the Portuguese as a sandalwood trading post from the 17th century, and Portuguese colonial rule significantly influenced the spread of Catholicism in the region.
Today, East Timor’s economy is largely dependent on its oil and gas reserves, and the country continues to grapple with high poverty levels stemming from its long history of conflict.
Christina Kheng, a theologian at the East Asian Pastoral Institute, noted that the young nation is still working through post-war unity and nation-building challenges.
East Timor finds itself amid the geopolitical competition between the United States and China for influence in Asia, with Australia, a US ally, playing a leading role in providing support. The country is also on track to become the 11th member of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, potentially as early as next year.
Bishop Belo was a prominent pro-democracy figure during the Indonesian occupation and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 alongside President Jose Ramos-Horta for their efforts in ending the conflict peacefully.
In 2022, the Vatican confirmed that it had imposed sanctions on Belo two years earlier following allegations from two men who claimed he raped them as teenagers and paid them for their silence.
Belo, now reportedly based in Portugal, has been under travel restrictions and prohibitions on contact with minors and Timorese citizens.
The allegations against Belo, first reported in 2019, are part of a broader issue of sexual abuse within the Church, which Pope Francis has addressed in various capacities during his tenure.
Despite some criticism, including his 2018 defense of a Chilean bishop accused of covering up abuse—a decision he later acknowledged as a “grave error”—Pope Francis has taken steps to address these issues and introduce reforms aimed at accountability.
During the Indonesian occupation from 1976 to 1999, East Timor experienced severe conflict, with over 200,000 people killed or suffering from famine due to Indonesia’s attempts to suppress resistance.
The international community condemned the violence, notably the 1991 Santa Cruz cemetery massacre. The fall of Indonesian President Suharto in 1998 and subsequent policy changes led to a UN-sponsored referendum in 1999, which resulted in East Timor’s independence.
In the aftermath, pro-Jakarta militias, supported by the Indonesian military, engaged in a rampage of destruction and violence, which eventually prompted an Australian-led international peacekeeping intervention, leading to East Timor’s official independence in 2002.
