Pope Francis draws crowd of 600,000 for mass in Timor-Leste

Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Pope Francis drew a crowd of 600,000 people as he held an outdoor mass in Timor-Leste on Tuesday that reflected on the joy of childbirth.

The birth of a child is a "shining moment of joy and celebration" throughout the world, Francis told the crowd in coastal Tasitolu, adding that it instills "a desire for the good" and "a return to purity and simplicity."

"How wonderful that here in Timor-Leste there are so many children: You are a young country and we can see every corner of your land teeming with life," he said.

Francis further stressed that the birth of a child represents a reminder of the importance in "making space for children, for little ones, welcoming them, taking care of them."

As he arrived in the country on Monday, the pope said that "everything possible" should be done to avoid "every kind of abuse" for children and "guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people."

Francis' visit comes amid accusations that Bishop Ximenes Belo abused young boys in the 1980s and 1990s.

The Vatican has said it was aware of the accusations and had restricted Belo's movements and prohibited voluntary contact with minors in 2020.

The visit also came under scrutiny as authorities had demolished homes and evicted about 90 people in Tasitolu, where the government said many people who recently moved to the area from rural portions of the country built homes in the area as they sought work were squatters.

Despite the tension in the area the massive crowd in Timor-Leste, which has a strong Roman Catholic majority, represented nearly half of the nation's population.

The mass gathering prompted a local telecom company to warn that customers' signal in the area could be impacted.