‘The war is over, let the Gospel be the path to development’

Francis arrived today in East Timor, a predominantly Catholic country that only gained independence in 2002, on the third leg of his apostolic journey through Asia and Oceania. The pontiff praised “the commitment to achieve reconciliation with the brothers of Indonesia,” pointing to it as an example for the world. But he also invited the Timorese to “make faith into culture,” to respond to social ills such as poverty, gang violence and child abuse.

Dili () – The sky over East Timor is now “clear of the dark clouds of war.” But there are new challenges such as poverty, the management of natural resources and safeguarding the dignity of children exposed to the scourge of abuse, which require that the Catholic identity inspire “criteria, projects and decisions according to the Gospel.” This was the message of Pope Francis to East Timor in the first speech he gave this afternoon in Dili, the third stage of his apostolic journey through South-East Asia and Oceania.

After bidding farewell to Port Moresby following this morning’s meeting with young people – which was again held in the stadium of the capital of Papua New Guinea – Francis arrived in the capital of East Timor in the early afternoon local time. Thousands of people welcomed him in the streets of what is, along with the Philippines, the only country with a Catholic majority in Asia. Already in his first words in Dili – speaking in Spanish in the former Portuguese colony – the pontiff noted that Christianity – “born in Asia, came to these regions of the continent through European missionaries” in the 16th century – “which bears witness to its universal vocation and its ability to harmonize with the most diverse cultures, which, in encountering the Gospel, arrive at a new, higher and deeper synthesis”.

The official welcome ceremony took place at 6:00 p.m. at the presidential palace, built in Dili with the cooperation of the People’s Republic of China. After the meeting with President José Ramos-Horta, Francis addressed the authorities, representatives of civil society and the diplomatic corps, in a room that even visually recalls the long and painful journey of East Timor’s recent history.

Almost 27 years passed – from 28 November 1975 to 20 May 2002 – between East Timor’s declaration of independence, when Portuguese colonial rule ended, and its actual implementation. In between, there were years of Indonesian occupation and the prolonged conflict which, between war and famine, claimed more than 100,000 lives, an enormous toll in blood for a land with only 1.3 million inhabitants.

In his speech, Pope Francis called them “the years of your passion and your greatest trial.” Years in which the country “knew how to rise again, finding a path of peace and openness towards a new phase, which aims to be one of development, of improvement in its living conditions, of strengthening at all levels the unspoiled splendor of this territory and its natural and human resources.” “We thank the Lord,” he added, “because, when you had to go through such a dramatic period in your history, you did not lose hope, and also because, after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally dawned.”

Francis recalled that a fundamental moment in this journey were the words spoken by John Paul II in 1989 – when East Timor was still under the control of the Indonesian army – on the same Taci Tolu esplanade where he will preside over the Eucharist tomorrow. He praised the “diligent commitment to achieve reconciliation with the brothers of Indonesia”, a disposition “which found its first and purest source in the teachings of the Gospel”. “God willing,” he added, “that in other situations of conflict, in various parts of the world, the desire for peace may prevail, because unity is always superior to conflict. And for this, a certain purification of memory is also required, in order to heal wounds, to combat hatred with reconciliation and confrontation with collaboration.”

But in East Timor peace is still a work in progress, and Pope Francis knows this well. There are new challenges to be faced, starting with the “consolidation of institutions” which have been weak in Dili for twenty years, due, among other things, to old disagreements between the different souls of the struggle for liberation. And the needs of the country are enormous. In front of the authorities and the diplomatic corps, the pontiff cited the phenomenon of emigration “which is always an indicator 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 the income that corresponds to their basic needs.” And also the poverty “present in many rural areas,” the fair management of resources such as oil and gas, “social evils” such as the abuse of alcohol consumption among young people and the proliferation of violent gangs. Without forgetting “so many children and adolescents whose dignity has been violated. This phenomenon is emerging all over the world. We are all called to act responsibly to prevent all forms of abuse and to guarantee the peaceful growth of our young people.”

Above all, the Pope said, taking up the motto chosen by the local bishops for this trip, “may your faith be your culture”, may the Catholic identity of which the people of East Timor are so proud “inspire criteria, projects and decisions, according to the Gospel”.

This path will enable us to look to the future with hope despite all the problems. It is accompanied by another very valuable resource: “You are a young people,” Francis observed, “not because of your culture or the time you have settled in this land, which is very ancient, but because about 65% of the population of East Timor is under 30 years old. This figure tells us that the first area in which you must invest is education, education in the family and education in school. An education that puts children and young people at the centre and promotes their dignity. The enthusiasm, freshness, forward-lookingness, courage and ingenuity characteristic of young people, combined with the experience and wisdom of the elderly, form a providential mix of knowledge and generous impulses towards tomorrow.”

“I entrust Timor-Leste and all its inhabitants to the protection of the Immaculate Conception, their heavenly Patroness invoked under the title of Our Lady of Aitara,” the Pontiff concluded. “May she always accompany and help them in the mission of building a free, democratic, supportive and joyful country, where no one feels excluded and everyone can live in peace and dignity.”