Pope Francis left Papua New Guinea on Monday for Dili, the capital of East Timor, a predominantly Catholic country bordering Indonesia, for a three-day visit that has already generated extraordinary fervour.
The papal plane took off from Port Moresby shortly after 12:10 local time and is expected in Dili at 14:10 local time (09:10 GMT).
In Dili, a city wedged between mountains and the turquoise waters of the Ombai Strait, authorities have cleared roads and relocated homeless people.
The history of Southeast Asia’s youngest country, a fledgling democracy of 1.3 million people, has been marked by centuries of Portuguese colonization, 24 years of Indonesian occupation (1975-1999) and a United Nations-backed referendum.
From Monday to Wednesday, the country — which saw the arrival of Catholicism by missionaries in the 16th century — will experience its first papal visit since its independence in 2002, with the main highlight being an open-air mass where 700,000 faithful are expected.
It is the third leg of the 87-year-old pope’s marathon 12-day tour of Asia-Pacific, the longest and most distant of his pontificate, after Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which will end in Singapore.
– “Message of peace” –
On Monday morning, during a final meeting with some 10,000 young people from Papua New Guinea at the Port Moresby stadium, the Pope invited the crowd to pray for him.
“My job is not easy!” he joked, before adding, by way of encouragement: “In life, everyone can fall (…) but the important thing is not to stay on the ground.”
He then flew to Dili, where he is expected around 2:00 p.m. (09:00 GMT). In the evening, he will speak to the authorities at the presidential palace.
The last papal visit was by John Paul II in 1989, when the country was still under Indonesian occupation.
Since the country’s independence from a bloody occupation that left more than 200,000 dead, the leaders of the “Generation of 75” have been considered heroes of independence, starting with Nobel Prize-winning President José Ramos-Horta.
In this poor country where 98% of the population is Catholic, Francis’ visit has aroused immense enthusiasm.
“I hope that through this visit, Pope Francis will bring a message of peace,” said Francisco Amaral da Silva, a 58-year-old teacher.
Francis will meet, among others, Jesuits, disabled children and Catholic faithful.
Devotees from neighbouring Indonesia will even cross the border for the occasion: a local immigration office in the Lesser Sunda Islands has announced that around 1,000 people will make the trip.
– Sexual violence –
Despite its weight in society, Catholicism is not the state religion and the country has small communities of Protestants and Sunni Muslims.
It is among the world’s poorest countries, heavily dependent on oil and gas revenues, which experts warn could run out within years.
Silverio Tilman, a 58-year-old teacher, set up a street stall in Dili selling merchandise bearing the pope’s image, raising $600 (541 euros) in two days – more than double the average monthly salary.
Francis could address economic issues or social problems facing the country, starting with human rights violations.
Timor Leste also suffers from endemic corruption, severe gender-based violence, domestic violence against people with disabilities, and child labour remains commonplace.
But the leader of the 1.3 billion Catholics will find himself confronted above all with the painful issue of pedocriminality in the Church, he who has promised “zero tolerance” on the issue.
The most emblematic case is that of Bishop Belo, a bishop who won the Nobel Prize in 1996 for his role in independence, accused of sexual violence against young boys for twenty years and secretly sanctioned by the Vatican in 2020.
Human rights groups have been pushing for the pope to speak out on the issue and apologize to the victims.
He could mention it in one of his speeches, but his official programme so far does not include any meetings with victims.
Despite the hectic pace of the trip, François, who has suffered from health problems in recent years, appeared smiling and in good shape, not seeming bothered by the heat or the significant time difference.
bur-jfx-cmk/ebe/tmt
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