AP Interview: East Timor President Says Pope’s Visit Is Not Time to Dwell on Past Sins

DILI, East Timor (AP) — East Timor’s president says the upcoming visit by Pope Francis is a golden opportunity to promote Asia’s youngest nation on the world stage, not a time to confront a legacy of abuses perpetrated by powerful clergy in the deeply Catholic country.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, President José Ramos-Horta also predicted imminent progress on a major energy project with Australia and called on China and the United States to act as “benevolent superpowers” ​​in the competition for influence in the Southeast Asian country.

The 74-year-old former independence fighter and Nobel laureate returned to the presidency in 2022 on campaign promises that include fighting poverty, creating jobs and improving political stability.

Francis is due to arrive Monday in the impoverished and young nation of 1.3 million, also known as East Timor, after visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Walls are still covered in fresh paint, and banners and billboards appear to have been raised everywhere to welcome the pope.

An estimated 700,000 people are expected to attend the papal mass the next day in the coastal capital Dili, with many more likely to line the streets to try to catch a glimpse of the pope.

The visit is a “reward” for the depth of faith shown by Timorese, some 98% of whom identify as Catholics, and a recognition of the progress the country has made towards peace in recent years, Ramos-Horta said.

There is another benefit for this little-known country, a former Portuguese colony squeezed between Indonesia and Australia: “The pope’s visit is the biggest, best marketing move anyone can make to promote the country, to put it on the tourist map,” he said.

The visit comes just days after the president and Prime Minister Xanana Gusmão, a former resistance leader, hosted UN Secretary-General António Guterres to mark the 25th anniversary of the UN-backed referendum that led to East Timor’s independence from neighbouring Indonesia in 2002.

It will be Pope Francis’ first meeting with the faithful from Timor since the Vatican admitted in 2022 that Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, another hero of the country’s struggle for independence, had sexually abused young boys.

Meanwhile, a popular American missionary priest revered for his role in saving lives during the liberation struggle, Richard Daschbach, is serving a 12-year sentence in a Timorese prison for molesting vulnerable girls.

The Pope has met with victims of abuse in other countries, but it is unclear whether he will choose to do so or whether he will address the matter publicly in East Timor.

Belo and Ramos-Horta were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1996 for their efforts to bring about a “just and peaceful resolution to the conflict in East Timor,” which was deeply marked by the brutal Indonesian occupation and the bloody liberation struggle that followed the country’s secession from Portugal in 1975.

Both men continue to command respect, as do other independence heroes, given their and the church’s resistance to an occupation in which as many as 200,000 people died. Many Timorese are skeptical or inclined to look beyond the serious allegations against Belo, who was secretly punished by the church and is banned from having consensual contact with minors.

“We leave it to the pope and the people around him to decide how to deal with it,” Ramos-Horta said when asked if Francis should address the history of sexual abuse during his visit, adding that he knows “the Vatican takes it seriously.”

“The concept of justice is fairness. People, yes, still deeply respect Bishop Belo for his courage, his contribution to their struggle. He gave shelter to people, he saved people, and people simply do not forget about it … nor do they reprimand him, nor do they exclude him,” the president said.

There is no need for further condemnation because the Vatican has already taken action, Ramos-Horta said. Having the pope raise the issue during his visit “would be like trying someone twice.”

Timor-Leste struggles with high levels of unemployment and malnutrition, with 42% of the population living below the national poverty line. Almost two-thirds of the country’s citizens are under 30, making job creation for youth a priority.

The oil and gas industry is the backbone of the economy and a major source of government revenue. However, the main offshore deposit is depleted and the country needs new reserves to fill the gap.

Ramos-Horta said he hoped a breakthrough would come “very soon,” probably within the next three months, on plans to explore a natural gas field that is crucial to East Timor’s financial future.

Development of the promising offshore Greater Sunrise gas field, shared between Australia and East Timor, has been on hold for more than two decades — largely over the question of which country the fuel should be piped to.

Australian company Woodside Energy, which has the largest stake in the project after East Timor’s state oil company, said in response to questions on Wednesday that companies and governments were “still making progress” on various aspects of the negotiations.

He added that he remains committed to developing the deposit if “there is the fiscal and regulatory certainty necessary to conduct a commercially viable development.”

The Timorese believe that bringing gas to their country would bring more benefits to their people, despite the additional logistical challenges. That remains the goal, Ramos-Horta said, adding that any alternative would have to be a “very convincing proposition.”

The presidential palace where the interview took place and several other important government buildings were built with the support of China, which wants to increase its influence among the Pacific island nations.

China is one of Timor-Leste’s main trading partners. In 2023, the two countries strengthened their ties, achieving a “comprehensive strategic partnership.”

“I understand the United States’ suspicions, their concerns about China,” he said. “But I don’t see China as a threat to anyone,” he added later.

Ramos-Horta said he welcomed Beijing’s help in areas such as improving agriculture, water management and food security, but saw no “need” to strengthen security ties with China.

But he stressed the positive role played by the U.S. Peace Corps in East Timor and said he would welcome additional help from U.S. military engineers on the ground. U.S. Navy Seabee construction personnel are permanently stationed in East Timor, building and renovating schools and clinics.

“The United States may be afraid of China. We are not afraid of China and we are not afraid of the United States. I see these two superpowers as benevolent superpowers. Or they should be benevolent superpowers,” he said.

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