Pope’s mass in Timor-Leste draws 600,000 worshippers

A Vatican spokesman earlier said the Church had been aware of the case against Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo in 2019 and had imposed disciplinary measures in 2020, including restrictions on Bishop Belo’s movements and a ban on voluntary contact with minors.

Many had wondered, however, whether the Pope would address the scandal during his time in Timor-Leste.

While not mentioning that or any other case specifically, Pope Francis used his speech on Monday to call on young people to be protected from abuse, telling officials: “Let us not forget the many children and adolescents whose dignity has been violated.”

He then called on people to do “everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people”.

In an open letter, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Oceania said there had “still not been redress for the victims” and called on Pope Francis to use Church money to pay compensation to them. The Pope has not met with any of the victims so far.

The pontiff also used his speech to praise Timor-Leste – formerly known as East Timor – for its new era of “peace and freedom”, more than two decades after it achieved independence from neighbouring Indonesia.

“We give thanks to the Lord, since you never lost hope while going through such a dramatic period of your history, and after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally dawned,” he said.

Pope Francis, who landed in Dili on Monday afternoon, will have spent less than 48 hours in Timor-Leste when he flies to Singapore on Wednesday for the last leg of his 12-day tour.