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Pope Francis arrives in Timor-Leste as abuse scandal hangs over visit

Critics in Timor-Leste have also questioned the decision to spend such large amounts of money on the visit – including US$1m (£762,000) on a brand new altar.

According to the UN, nearly half of the population of Timor Leste currently lives below the national poverty line.

This is the first papal trip to Timor-Leste since Pope John Paul II visited in 1989, when the country was still under Indonesian occupation.

When Indonesia invaded the former Portuguese colony in 1975, only around 20% of East Timorese people were Catholic. That figure now stands at 97%.

The Pope was previously in Papua New Guinea, where around a quarter of its inhabitants describe themselves as Catholic and Indonesia, where that figure is 3%.

Pope Francis will finish his tour in the region in Singapore later this week.


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