Pope in Dili hopes the Gospel will be the way to development after past wars
On the third stage of his apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania, Francis landed today in Timor-Leste, a country fully independent only since 2002. The pontiff praised "the commitment to achieve full reconciliation” with Indonesia, an example to the world. But he also called for “faith to be your culture” to find answers to social ills like poverty, gang violence, and child abuse.
Dili (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis arrived today in Timor-Leste, the third stage of his apostolic journey to Southeast Asia and Oceania.
In his first address, the pontiff said that today the sky over Timor-Leste is "clear of the black clouds of war". Yet, the country faces new challenges like poverty, fair management of resources, safeguarding the dignity of children exposed to abuse, who call on the Catholic faith to “inspire criteria, projects, and choices in accordance with the Gospel ".
After taking his leave from Port Moresby following this morning's meeting with young people in the capital’s main stadium, Francis arrived in the capital of Timor-Leste in the early afternoon, local time.
Thousands welcomed him along the streets in what is the only Asian country with a Catholic majority along with the Philippines.
In his first words in Dili, Francis stressed how Christianity, “born in Asia and arriving at these faraway lands of the continent through Portuguese missionaries" in the 16th century, testifies here, "to its universal vocation and the ability to harmonise with the most diverse cultures, which, by encountering the Gospel, find a new, higher and deeper synthesis.”
The official welcoming ceremony took place at 6 pm, at the presidential palace in Dili, which was built in the cooperation of the People's Republic of China.
After his meeting with President José Ramos-Horta, Francis addressed the authorities, representatives of civil society groups, and the diplomatic corps, in a room that echoes the country’s recent history and long and painful journey to freedom.
Almost 27 years went by from 28 November 1975, when independence was proclaimed at the end of Portuguese colonial rule, and 20 May 2002, when it was finally implemented.
Indonesian occupation and the long conflict cost the lives of more than 100,000 East Timorese, killed by war and famine, a huge loss for a country whose population today numbers just 1.3 million people.
In his speech Pope Francis described them as “years of passion and the greatest trial,” years from which the country "has been able to rise again, finding a path of peace and openness to a new phase, one of development, improving living conditions, enhancement at all levels of the uncontaminated splendour of this territory and its natural and human resources.”
"Let us give thanks to the Lord," he added, "that, in going through such a tragic period of your history, you have not lost hope, and for the fact that, after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally dawned.”
Francis said that a key moment in this journey came in 1989, when Timor-Leste was still under the control of the Indonesian army, and John Paul II spoke at Taci Tolu, the site where Francis will lead the Eucharist tomorrow.
The pope praised the "tireless commitment to achieve full reconciliation with the brothers and sisters of Indonesia", an attitude “that has found its first and purest source in the teachings of the Gospel.”
"Heaven willing," he noted, "that even in other situations of conflict, in different parts of the world, the desire for peace and purification of memory may prevail, to close wounds and replace hatred with reconciliation and opposition with cooperation.”
In Timor-Leste, peace remains a work-in-progress and Pope Francis knows it all too well. New challenges are on the horizon, starting with the "consolidation of institutions", which have remained weak in past 20 years due to old disagreements among the various groups that took part in the liberation struggle. The country’s needs remain huge.
Speaking to the authorities and the diplomatic corps, the pontiff cited the problem of emigration, "which is always an indication of an insufficient or inadequate use of resources, as well as the difficulty of offering everyone a job that produces a fair profit and guarantees families an income corresponding to their basic needs.”
Other problems are poverty, which is "present in many rural areas", the fair management of wealth such as oil and gas, "social ills" like alcohol abuse among young people and violent gangs.
Lest we forget, there are many “many children and adolescents offended in their dignity.” For this reason, “we are all called to act responsibly to prevent any kind of abuse and ensure a peaceful growth for our children.”
Francis also mentioned the motto chosen by the local bishops for this trip, “May your faith be your culture”; in fact, the Catholic identity in which the people of Timor-Leste take pride, ought to “inspire criteria, projects, and choices in accordance with the Gospel.”
This path will allow the people of Timor-Leste to look to the future with hope. Indeed, despite all their problems, the country has one precious resource.
“You are a young people," Francis noted, "not because of your culture or your settlement on this land, which are very ancient, but because about 65 per cent of the population of Timor-Leste is under 30 years of age.
"This figure tells us that the first area in which to invest is education, the family and schools with education putting children and young people at the centre, promoting their dignity.
“Enthusiasm, freshness, projection towards the future, courage, resourcefulness, typical of young people, combined with the experience and wisdom of the elderly form a providential mixture of knowledge and generous impulses towards tomorrow.”
"I entrust Timor-Leste and all its people to the protection of the Immaculate Conception, the heavenly Patroness invoked with the title of Virgem de Aitara,” said the pontiff at the end of his address.
"May she accompany you and always help you in the mission of building a free, democratic and solidarity-based country, where no one feels excluded and everyone can live in peace and dignity.”
.png)
