Pope Francis celebrated Mass before a massive crowd of 600,000 people in East Timor. The turnout represents nearly half the population of the Southeast Asian nation. The remarkable attendance was a testament to the overwhelmingly Catholic Southeast Asian country and the esteem with which its people hold the church. The Mass, held at Tasitolu Park Read more
In East Timor, a country that is 98% Catholic and where priests are referred to as Amu – meaning ‘lord’, Pope Francis delivered a strong message of service, urging bishops and priests not to seek power or social prestige in their roles. Francis sounded warnings against the dangers of arrogance and power in religious leadership. Read more
Police in Timor Lesté have issued warnings about potential attacks by Islamic extremists on churches and even on Dili’s bishop Virgilio do Carma da Silva. Last week there was a heavy police presence around churches, at the bishop’s palace and Sunday Masses. Both uniformed and plain-clothed officers armed with machine guns were in evidence “I got Read more
A debate has been raging over support for the Fretilin-led government in Timor Lesté by the chairman of the Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Basilio do Nascimento. Now, after Saturday’s election, it seems this Fretilin-led government is heading for defeat. With more than 99 percent of votes counted in Saturday’s poll, the Alliance of Change for Progress (AMP) Read more
Asia’s most Catholic nation, Timor-Leste, has a new seminary to tap the growing number of young people who want to study to become priests after finishing junior high school. The St. Joseph Seminary in Maliana Diocese is the country’s second minor seminary after Our Lady of Fatima in Dili, which has been the only place of Read more
About 8,000 Catholics packed an open coastal area on the west side of Dili, Timor Lesté’s capital, to mark 500 years of the Church’s presence in the island nation. The Aug 15 Mass was held at Tasitolu, the site of a 1989 Mass celebrated by Pope John Paul II. Catholics came from all over the Read more
Timor-Leste will sign a concordat with the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Aug. 15 when it celebrates 500 years of evangelization to mark the arrival of the Portuguese in 1615. The treaty has been under negotiation since 2006 but was not finalized until two months ago, Timor-Leste Prime Minister Rui Maria de Araujo Read more
The Timor Lesté parliament has adopted a new media law that does not differentiate between journalists and social media users. It will impose licensing for journalists and a narrow definition of a “journalist” and potentially bars foreign journalists. Journalists are expected to fall into line with the government’s media definitions and foreign reporters could be Read more
Brothers and Sisters of one nation and one country of West Papua, who are now moving between and under trees, in the deep and wide forests of Papua, on the coastal areas, down the valleys and on the swampy areas, who are now fighting for our rights openly or in a clandestine manner, even to Read more
Timor Lesté has a new president. He is former guerrilla and defence chief Taur Matan Ruak. Ruak won 275,441 votes, or 61.23 per cent, while Francisco Guterres, known as “Lu Olo”, took 174,386, or 38.77 per cent, according to a count announced on Tuesday 17 April Throughout his campaign Ruak reinforced his military image. Like Lu Read more