East Timor welcomes Pope Francis on his visit to encourage its recovery from independence fight

DILI, East Timor -- The people of East Timor gave Pope Francis a rousing welcome Monday as he arrived in the Southeast Asian country to encourage its recovery from a bloody and traumatic independence battle and celebrate its development after two decades of freedom from Indonesian rule.

Timorese jammed Francis' motorcade route into town from the airport, waving Vatican and Timorese flags and toting yellow and white umbrellas — the colors of the Holy See — to shade themselves from the scorching midday sun.

“Viva el Papa!” they shouted as he passed by. At one point his open-topped car slowed enough so he could bless a baby who was presented to him in the middle of the crowd.

The occasional Timorese guards along the motorcade route were no match for the throngs of people, many donning T-shirts with Francis' face on them, who slowed the convoy of cars and vans to a crawl. The 87-year-old Francis seemed to relish the greeting, smiling broadly from the car and waving as he passed by billboard after billboard featuring his image and words of welcome.

Francis arrived in Dili from Papua New Guinea to open the third leg of his trip through Southeast Asia and Oceania. President Jose Ramos-Horta and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao, two of East Timor's most revered independence heroes, greeted Francis at the airport and were meeting with him privately.

The pope was to address government officials and diplomats later Monday after an official welcome ceremony.

The overwhelmingly Catholic East Timor, one of the world’s poorest countries and Asia's youngest, eagerly awaited Francis’ arrival, which came on the heels of the 25th anniversary of the U.N.-backed referendum that paved the way for independence from Indonesia.

“Our great hope is that he may come to consolidate the fraternity, the national unity, peace and development for this new country,” said Estevão Tei Fernandes, a university professor.

It was a far different atmosphere than when the last pope visited. St. John Paul II came in 1989, when Timor was still an occupied part of Indonesia and fighting for its freedom. A decade later, after Timorese voted overwhelmingly for independence, Indonesia’s military responded with a scorched-earth campaign that destroyed 80% of the country’s infrastructure and shocked the world. Overall, as many as 200,000 people were killed during the 24 years of Indonesian rule.

John Paul's visit, which culminated with a massive Mass on the seaside near Dili, helped draw international attention to the plight of the Timorese people and shine a spotlight on the oppressiveness of Indonesia's occupation.

“That was a different time,” said Vicente Oliveira Soares, 42, owner of a digital printing business. "Now we are happy because we are free, we as a new nation we are very happy to receive and to meet with Pope Francis.”

Francis will confront Timor's traumatic legacy, and another one closer to home involving Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, the Timorese bishop who, along with Gusmao and Ramos-Horta, is regarded as a hero for his efforts to win independence.

Belo won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 with Ramos-Horta for campaigning for a fair and peaceful solution to the conflict.

But in 2022, the Vatican acknowledged that it had secretly sanctioned Belo two years earlier for sexually abusing young boys. The sanctions included limitations on his movements and exercise of ministry and prohibited him from having voluntary contact with minors or contact with East Timor itself. The sanctions were reinforced in 2021.

Despite the sanctions, which were confirmed at the time by the Vatican spokesman and reaffirmed last week ahead of Francis’ trip, many people in East Timor have stood by Belo, either dismissing, denying or diminishing the victims’ claims. Some even hoped Belo, who lives in Portugal, would be on hand to welcome Francis.

Another priest, American missionary Richard Daschbach, who is also revered for his role in saving lives in the liberation fight, is serving a 12-year sentence in a Timorese prison for molesting disadvantaged girls. He was defrocked by the church.

Ramos-Horta, for his part, told The Associated Press last week that Francis’ visit was not the time to revisit the church’s scandals. While saying it was for the Vatican to manage, having the pope raise the matter of abuse during his visit “would be like trying someone twice,” he told AP.

Only about 20% of East Timor’s people were Catholic when Indonesia invaded in 1975, shortly after Portugal abandoned it as a colony. Today, some 98% of East Timor’s 1.3 million people are Catholic, making it the most Catholic country in the world outside the Vatican.

Francis will celebrate that heritage on Tuesday especially, when he celebrates a Mass on the same seaside esplanade where John Paul celebrated Mass in 1989 and encouraged the Timorese people. Authorities expect some 700,000 people will attend Tuesday's Mass.