EAST TIMOR-VATICAN Archbishop Peña Parra inaugurated the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in Dili

The ceremony was presided over by the Substitute for General Affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State, who also met with President Ramos-Horta and praised the country’s decision to incorporate in the country’s school programs the Declaration on Human Fraternity signed by Pope Francis and Imam Al Tayyeb.

Dili () – The visit of the Substitute for General Affairs of the Vatican Secretariat of State, Msgr. Edgar Peña Parra, to East Timor on the occasion of the inauguration of the headquarters of the apostolic nunciature in the youngest country in Timor, concludes today. Asia, which this year celebrated twenty years of its independence. The building, located next to the historic church of Motael, wants to be a visible sign of the proximity of Pope Francis to this nation, where the vast majority of the population is Catholic.

Present at the inauguration, which took place on September 20, were President José Ramos-Horta – Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1996 – and the Archbishop of Dili, the new Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva, as well as representatives of the local church and of other religious denominations. But the visit was also an opportunity to learn about the pastoral and charitable works of the local Catholic Church, such as the Catholic University of Dili which, adhering to this occasion, organized a symposium dedicated to the Declaration on Human Fraternity that they signed in 2019 in Abu Dhabi Pope Francis and Al-Tayyib, great Imam of Al Azhar.

Bishop Peña Parra expressly praised East Timor in his speech for the Parliament’s decision to adopt this document as a national norm. In a country that has lived through the drama of a bloody war of independence, its content will be studied at school, to guide “young people in their desire to be good citizens, not only of this country but of the whole world.” Because only “by recognizing the intrinsic dignity of all people can we achieve true reconciliation and peace for the wounds of the past, and create a just and prosperous society for future generations.”

The visit of the Substitute for the Secretary of State took place a few days after the celebrations in Dili for the new Cardinal Virgilio do Carmo da Silva -the first in the history of the Church of East Timor- created by Pope Francis in the Consistory of the August 27th. At the thanksgiving mass that he celebrated in his archdiocese on September 6, the cardinal referred to the trip that Pope Francis should have made to that country in 2020 but was canceled due to the pandemic. “I reminded him that the Timorese people are looking forward to his visit,” Virgilio do Carmo da Silva said. “And although it was difficult for him to get out of his wheelchair, he answered out loud: I will go to East Timor.”