ASIA/EAST TIMOR - Faith and culture, faith and history are intrinsically linked in Asia's youngest nation: "In times of trial, the Lord has not abandoned us", says the Vicar General of Dili:

by Paolo Affatato

Dili (Agenzia Fides) - "May your faith become your culture" is the motto of Pope Francis' visit, who will visit East Timor from September 9 to 11, the third stage of his trip to the East which, from September 2 to 13, will include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Singapore. This motto "is an exhortation to live faith in harmony with culture," explains the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Dili, Fr. Graciano Santos Barros. In the youngest nation in Asia (which chose its independence in 1999 and proclaimed it in 2002), with an overwhelming Catholic majority, the local Church is preparing for all the events of the visit: the meeting with priests and religious in the Cathedral of Mary Immaculate in Dili, where restoration work is underway inside; the meeting with young people at the Congress Centre, which will be able to accommodate more than 4,000 young people from various realities, associations and parishes; and the celebration of the Eucharist in the Tasi Tolu complex, on the western outskirts of the capital, where a large stage with the altar is being set up, and where more than 700,000 faithful from all over East Timor, as well as from Indonesia and other countries in the region are expected.

"The preparation is not only material, but also spiritual. The Episcopal Conference has prepared material for a cycle of catechesis - which is taking place in the three Timorese dioceses of Dili, Maliana and Baucau - on the Pope's biography, knowledge of some encyclicals, his mission as Pontiff and successor of Peter, and on the central theme of the visit, 'May your faith become your culture'", reports to Fides Father Bento Pereira, national head of communications and media of the Episcopal Conference of East Timor. To accompany the faithful, a prayer has also been created which is recited daily in churches, religious communities and schools throughout the country.

"The reflection on the relationship between faith and culture," argues Vicar Fr. Santos Barros, "for us is linked to the reflection on the relationship between faith and history. The history of the nation, the history of suffering and liberation of East Timor, is intrinsically marked and accompanied by faith. Today, 25 years after the referendum for independence, we can look at our history with a reconciled heart, recognizing the work of God who has illuminated the minds and hearts of men in many crucial moments," he explains to Fides while showing a local Church complex that includes the "House of the Fathers", a residence for the clergy, including elderly or sick priests in Dili; the Higher Institute of Philosophy and Theology; and the Interdiocesan Major Seminary, in which there are about 250 seminarians.

In 1975, when Indonesia militarily occupied East Timor, turning it into one of its provinces, Barros was a child and remembers "my parents being involved in the resistance movement, the destruction by the Indonesians, the crying and mourning of families." In the early 1980s, the resistance movement began to organize itself under the leader Xanana Gusmao (now Prime Minister of East Timor, ed.) on three different fronts: the clandestine one, with activists living in the mountains, far from the cities; the one that formed a military wing; and the diplomatic-political one to seek alliances abroad, "since the international community was unaware of what was happening on our small island," he says. Like many other families, Fr Graciano's family experienced clandestinity and suffering, and the difficulty of surviving, "always living in trust in God, with the certainty that the Lord would accompany our steps and the path to freedom," a path that, by political choice, did not employ terrorist methods but was always conducted with non-violent forms of struggle. "At that time, the nuns, priests, catechists and religious were our guardian angels. They were always close, they shared our destiny. We prayed a lot, every decision, every event was preceded and accompanied by prayer, that is, it was a spiritual path, they put our actions in the hands of God," he says. "Faith accompanied each of our steps, in suffering and in hope," he says.

As analysts and historians observe, in 1975, during the Indonesian occupation, approximately 30% of the population of East Timor was Catholic. According to the Statistical Yearbook of the Catholic Church for 1972, there were 680,000 inhabitants in East Timor, of whom 188,000 were baptized, or 29.8% of the population, a significant figure from the historical point of view and "from the history of salvation in this corner of the world," notes the Vicar. Today, the situation has changed significantly: more than 95% of Timorese are baptized Catholics (out of 1.4 million inhabitants, over 1.3 million are Catholics).
This shows how, “in times of oppression, faith was a fundamental pillar for the people. The people of East Timor, with an open heart, understood and perceived within themselves that the Gospel was the only way, the only salvation. They cried out to the Lord, they trusted in Him during the difficulties and the Lord heard their prayers. In the hardest moments, such as in the desert they lived through, the Lord did not abandon them and guided them towards their promised land,” he recalls, rereading in a salvific key the 25 years in which the population fought for freedom and independence.

The Vicar recalls a crucial moment, on 25 November 1991, when the well-known “Santa Cruz massacre” took place, which brought East Timor to the attention of the international community: “The Indonesian military killed a young Timorese, Sebastiao. There was great indignation and shock. On November 12, after attending mass at St. Anthony's Church in the Motael area, young Timorese people organized a peaceful march in the centre of Dili to the Santa Cruz cemetery, a pilgrimage to Sebastiao's tomb. It was a march in which the voices were raised loudly against the oppressor. There, tragedy struck: the Indonesian army opened fire on the unarmed crowd and 200 young people were killed. This event, thanks to the courageous presence of Dutch journalist Max Stahl and his video recordings, reached international headlines and caused consternation. Something changed in the international community and in the United Nations, and the pro-independence front found support at the diplomatic level." After that moment of mourning and sacrifice, the path towards independence advanced with greater conviction and speed.

During that time, the Timorese Church had important figures who still remain in history and in the hearts of the people. One of them was Don Alberto Ricardo da Silva, who in 2004 would be named Bishop of Dili. During the resistance struggle in East Timor, he "tried to protect many young people welcomed in his parish of St. Anthony in Motael. He was the parish priest during the Santa Cruz massacre in November 1991.
As a pastor, he always sought to promote justice and peace, and he dedicated himself to protecting and caring for his community," recalls the Vicar.

There was also Carlos Ximenes Belo, the Salesian Bishop who spoke to young people about freedom, dignity and human rights. He became a reference for the population, insisting on freedom and peace for East Timor. In 1996, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize together with the Timorese political leader José Ramos-Horta (current president of the country). By then, East Timor was already in the final stages of its struggle for independence. Three years later, in 1999, the UN organized a referendum that approved independence with 73% of votes in favour, marking the beginning of a new stage in the country's history.

"In the previous years - he adds - we cannot forget Don Martino Da Costa Lopes, who in 1977 was appointed Apostolic Vicar of Dili, directly dependent on the Holy See." This man openly denounced the atrocities committed by the Indonesian army, even in conversations with the dictator Suharto, then in power in Indonesia. "Don Martino was an important presence in demonstrating, from the beginning, the close proximity of the Church to the population and his role was crucial: In a conversation with the then rising star of the resistance and the guerrilla, the leader Xanana Gusmao, Don Martino prophetically told him that, in order to succeed, the independence movement would have to abandon Marxist ideology. That voice resonated in the mind and heart of Gusmao, who wanted to listen to it." In 1988, Gusmao presented a political document entitled "Structural readjustment of the resistance and peace plan", which created the "National Council of the Timorese Resistance", outlined a future of national unity, through a united and non-partisan resistance movement, and sanctioned the dissolution of the Marxist-Leninist party and the explicit renunciation of Marxist ideology. "This passage was decisive, since, having abandoned the path of ideology, the only ideal reference for the population fighting for freedom was the Catholic faith," recalls Don Graciano.

The Vicar General of Dili concludes: “During these 25 years, the evangelical values that have guided us and served as a guide have been: respect for life, which is sacred, and the inalienable dignity of every person created in the image of God; freedom from oppression, with the hope of self-determination that we have always had, and the desire to build our history, our homeland and our future. On this journey, I have clearly seen the providential hand of God in the history of the Timorese people, as well as in that of the people of Israel. Faith in Christ has been essential in our history and culture, and it still is." (Agenzia Fides, 31/7/2024)

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