As Pope Francis begins his brief, two-day visit to East Timor, one of
the key underlying issues he will have to grapple with is the country’s
clerical sexual abuse crisis.
The highly Catholic island nation
continues to reel from allegations against revered members of its
clergy.
Pope Francis landed in East Timor, also called Timor Leste, on 9
September, after making visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea as part
of a broader tour of Asia and Oceania that will also take him to
Singapore.
In a speech to national authorities after his arrival in Dili on the
afternoon of 9 September, Pope Francis made a veiled reference to the
abuse issue, calling on authorities to “to prevent every kind of abuse
and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people”.
However, he did not apologise or link the abuse issue to the Catholic Church or to Church representatives.
“Let us not forget that these children and adolescents have their
dignity violated,” Francis said, adding, in an impromptu remark, that
“the problem is flowering all over the world”.
As a result, he said, “we are all called to do everything possible to
prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful
childhood for all young people” – but he did not press the issue
further.
Ahead of his arrival, the clerical abuse survivor advocacy group
Bishop Accountability published an open letter to American Cardinal Sean
O’Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of
Minors, asking the Pope to vocally address the issue while in East
Timor.
In recent years, East Timor has been grappling with allegations of
paedophilia against prominent bishop and national hero Carlos Ximenes
Belo, a Nobel laureate, who has subsequently been sanctioned by the
Vatican.
Belo, believed to be residing in Portugal, is a former bishop of Dili
who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for his efforts in promoting
human rights and self-determination for East Timorese during its
occupation by Indonesia from 1975-1999, and for promoting a fair and
peaceful solution to the country’s conflict as it fought for its
independence that was achieved in 2002.
The first new nation of the 21st century “suffered some of the worst
atrocities of modern times” during its people’s struggle for
self-determination, notes the BBC.
Belo stepped down in 2002 at the unusually young age of 54, and in
2022 was publicly accused of the sexual abuse of minors, with the
Vatican subsequently saying he had been barred from ministry after
allegations that he raped and abused teenage boys arose in 2019.
Belo’s legacy remains a stain on the Church in East Timor, but his
efforts for national independence also have earned him an enduring
support among many East Timorese, making his case a complex and delicate
one that Pope Francis will have to navigate with precision while in the
country.
Similarly, American ex-priest Richard Daschbach was defrocked in 2018
after being accused of and later admitting to sexually abusing young
girls under his care while serving as a missionary in East Timor.
He faced civil charges and was convicted by a Timorese court in 2021
of sexually abusing orphaned and disadvantaged girls, marking the first
time a member of the clergy had been civilly sanctioned for abuse in the
country. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Daschbach had served in the country’s remote town of Oecusse, and,
like Belo, is celebrated and defended by locals and high-ranking
politicians for his efforts to support the country’s push for
independence.
East Timor’s Prime Minister, Xanana Gusmão, has reportedly visited
Daschbach at least twice in prison on his birthday. Gusmão’s sons later
reportedly wrote letters to victims apologising for their father’s
actions.
Pope Francis is not scheduled to privately meet with Gusmão during
his visit to Dili; however, Gusmão attended the pope’s meeting with
national civil authorities after the pontiff landed in the country.
In its letter to O’Malley, the organisation Bishop Accountability
asked O’Malley to urge Pope Francis “to be the victims’ champion” and to
advise the Pope “to speak fiercely during his visit on their behalf.
Help him understand how alone and frightened they must feel”.
Anne Barret Doyle, co-director of Bishop Accountability, said in a
statement: “An untold number of child sex abuse victims in East Timor
are likely afraid to report their suffering, as they watch powerful
predators bask in public affirmation despite the serious abuse
allegations against them.”
“It is a grim situation for victims, but Pope Francis could change
it. He is revered in East Timor. If he explicitly condemns Belo and
Daschbach, and praises the bravery of their victims, his words could
have an enormous positive impact,” she said.
“To disrupt the people’s attachment to Daschbach and Belo, the Pope
must denounce the two men by name…A generic statement that omits the
perpetrators’ names will be easily ignored or misinterpreted.”
Pope Francis, who was greeted by thousands of locals who lined the
streets to see him after his arrival in Dili, in his first speech to
authorities did not address clerical sexual abuse directly or call out
Belo or Daschbach by name.
Speaking about social challenges that East Timor faces, such as
alcohol abuse and gang violence involving groups of young people trained
in martial arts, the Pope said: “Instead of using this knowledge in the
service of the defenceless, they use it as an opportunity to showcase
the fleeting and harmful power of violence.”
It is expected that Pope Francis might speak on the topic in more
depth while meeting with the country’s bishops, clergy and religious on
10 September.
In the past, the Vatican’s envoy to East Timor, Monsignor Marco
Sprizzi, has urged Catholics supportive of Belo to acknowledge the
sanctions imposed on his ministry for the “serious crimes” he committed,
and despite the favour he still enjoys throughout much of East Timorese
society.
East Timor’s last papal visit took place when Pope John Paul came in
1989, prior to the country’s independence. East Timor declared
independence in 1975, but it was not recognised until 2002.
Pope Francis acknowledged the violence of East Timor’s recent past as
it fought to obtain independence from Indonesian occupation, and he
applauded the role the Catholic faith played in helping them to achieve
that goal.
He also praised the country’s commitment to pursuing full
reconciliation with Indonesia despite the troubles of the recent past,
an attitude he said, “found its first and purest source in the teachings
of the Gospel”.
East Timor is a majority Catholic nation, where roughly 97 per cent
of the local population is Catholic and the Church enjoys broad support
among political leaders, and collaboration with the national government.
The Pope touched on high levels of poverty, especially in rural
areas, urging authorities to harness the country’s natural resources,
such as oil and gas, to promote social development.
He called for proper training for political leaders, saying the
Church’s social doctrine ought to serve as “the foundation”, as it
promotes integral development and seeks to avoid “unacceptable
inequalities” and care for those on society’s margins.
The abuse issue was a background theme during the Pope’s visit to
Papua New Guinea, as the Pacific has long been held to be the Catholic
Church’s dumping ground for clergy accused of sexual abuse and who the
Church wanted to keep out of the public eye.
Illustrative of the challenges the Pope faces in confronting the
abuse scandals in places where sensitivities around the issue differ
from the those found in the West can be seen in the case of Father
Carlos Miguel Buela, an Argentine founder of a religious order known as
the Institute of the Word Incarnate.
Buela died in 2023 amid accusations that he had sexually abused seminarians in his congregation.
Speaking to journalists in Vanimo, a remote corner of Papua New
Guinea visited by Pope Francis on Sunday, a Argentine missionary and
member of Buela’s order was largely dismissive of the allegations.
“Yes, he was accused of abuse and absolved by [Pope] Benedict XVI,”
said Father Miguel de la Calle, a pastor in Vanimo and part of a group
of Argentinian missionaries who met the Pope.
“Francis himself gave him a blessing before he died,” de la Calle
said, and faulted reporters for excessively focusing on the accusations.
Noting that the founder had relocated to Genoa before his death, de la Calle insisted that he was never condemned.
“Pope Francis liked the founder a lot, he appreciates our charisma,” he said.
