Pope Francis in East Timor for Mass that could draw half its population

By Joshua McElwee

DILI (Reuters) -Pope Francis arrived on Monday in East Timor, a predominantly Catholic nation in Southeast Asia, for a three-day visit that will include an open-air celebration of Mass the Vatican says could draw more than half the population of 1.3 million.

The 87-year-old pontiff is on an ambitious 12-day Asia-Pacific tour, his longest overseas journey yet. His trip to East Timor, one of two majority Catholic countries in Asia, is only the second such visit by a pope.

Francis arrived from Papua New Guinea, where on Sunday he delivered medical supplies to a small town on the edge of a vast jungle, in one of the most remote areas of the world.

He landed in East Timor's capital Dili and was met at the airport by President Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta and two young women dressed in traditional costume, who offered him flowers and a tais, a woven ceremonial scarf, which the pontiff briefly wore.

Tens of thousands of people filled entire city blocks around the airport as Francis left in a white, open-top vehicle. Many used umbrellas decorated in the white and yellow colours of the Vatican flag to protect themselves from sun in the 31 degrees Celsius (88 degrees Fahrenheit) heat.

East Timor, a half-island nation north of Australia, gained independence from Indonesia in 2002, after a brutal, decades-long occupation. Francis is the first pope to visit in 35 years, following John Paul II, whose trip gave the country's independence movement an historic boost.

In a speech to about 400 politicians, diplomats and civic leaders a few hours after arriving, Francis said East Timor had endured the "greatest suffering and trial".

"We give thanks to God, since you never lost hope ... and after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally arrived," he said.

Ramos-Horta thanked Francis and called the pope's voice "so necessary in an increasingly disfigured world in which the coldness of hearts has replaced dialogue and peace".

East Timor, a Portuguese colony up until 1975, is likely the most Catholic country in the world, with the Vatican saying some 96% of Timorese are adherents to the faith.

Organisers are preparing for about 750,000 people to attend a Mass with Francis on Tuesday at the Tasitolu, a wide, dusty coastal area where Indonesian forces were known to have buried slain Timorese independence fighters.

ABUSE SCANDALS

Since independence, the country has struggled with rebuilding its infrastructure and economy. The Asian Development Bank last year said nearly 30% of Timorese in employment earned less than $2.15 per day and the World Bank estimated that 47% of children are stunted because of malnutrition.

The pope said there was "need for collective and wide-ranging action" to address the economic challenges.

Although Timorese have remained overwhelmingly Catholic, the church in the country has been affected recently by abuse scandals.

In 2022, the Vatican confirmed it had sanctioned Timorese Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys in Timor in the 1990s. It said Belo, who now lives in Portugal and shared the 1996 Nobel peace prize with Ramos-Horta for their independence efforts, had formally accepted restrictions to his movements and ministry.

A year earlier, a defrocked American priest, Richard Daschbach, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing girls under his care in Timor.

A leading abuse survivor advocacy group called on Francis to speak openly about the cases during his visit.

"The pope must denounce the two men by name," said Anne Barrett Doyle, of the abuse tracking group BishopAccountability.org. "His words could have an enormous positive impact."

Francis did not directly address the scandals in his remarks on Monday. But in a section of the speech about youth violence and the danger of gangs, 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".

Francis is visiting East Timor until Wednesday as part of a tour that also included a stop in Indonesia. He travels next to Singapore before returning to Rome on Sept. 13.

(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Lincoln Feast, John Mair and Ros Russell)