PHTimor-Leste is the third stop in the Pope's 12-day Asia-Pacific tour!
Pope Francis has called on young people to be protected from abuse in Timor-Leste, as he made the latest stop on his tour of south-east Asia and Oceania.
The Pontiff landed in the capital Dili on Monday, where he told officials: "Let us not forget the many children and adolescents whose dignity has been violated."
He then called on people to do "everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people".
While the Pope did not mention a specific case, his visit comes after it emerged that a prominent bishop, hailed as an independence hero, has been accused of sexually abusing young boys in the country during the 1980s and 90s.
A Vatican spokesman earlier said the Church had been aware of the case against Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo in 2019 and had imposed disciplinary measures in 2020, including restrictions on Belo’s movements and a ban on voluntary contact with minors.
In an open letter, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Oceania said there had "still not been redress for the victims" and called on Pope Francis to use Church money to pay compensation to them.
According to his official schedule, the Pope will not meet with victims and it is not clear whether Bishop Belo will appear alongside him in Dili.
The pontiff also used his speech to praise the country - formerly known as East Timor - for their new era of "peace and freedom", two decades after it achieved independence from neighbouring Indonesia.
"We give thanks to the Lord, since you never lost hope while going through such a dramatic period of your history, and after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally dawned," he said.
credits: BBC
Pope Francis has called on young people to be protected from abuse in Timor-Leste, as he made the latest stop on his tour of south-east Asia and Oceania.
The Pontiff landed in the capital Dili on Monday, where he told officials: "Let us not forget the many children and adolescents whose dignity has been violated."
He then called on people to do "everything possible to prevent every kind of abuse and guarantee a healthy and peaceful childhood for all young people".
While the Pope did not mention a specific case, his visit comes after it emerged that a prominent bishop, hailed as an independence hero, has been accused of sexually abusing young boys in the country during the 1980s and 90s.
A Vatican spokesman earlier said the Church had been aware of the case against Nobel Peace Prize-winning Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo in 2019 and had imposed disciplinary measures in 2020, including restrictions on Belo’s movements and a ban on voluntary contact with minors.
In an open letter, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests in Oceania said there had "still not been redress for the victims" and called on Pope Francis to use Church money to pay compensation to them.
According to his official schedule, the Pope will not meet with victims and it is not clear whether Bishop Belo will appear alongside him in Dili.
The pontiff also used his speech to praise the country - formerly known as East Timor - for their new era of "peace and freedom", two decades after it achieved independence from neighbouring Indonesia.
"We give thanks to the Lord, since you never lost hope while going through such a dramatic period of your history, and after dark and difficult days, a dawn of peace and freedom has finally dawned," he said.
credits: BBC