Timor-Leste, the predominantly Catholic country in Southeast Asia, goes to the polls on March 19 to elect a new president. The influential Catholic Church wants to ensure a “transparent and free” election.
Salesian Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili, in an exclusive interview, shared issues affecting the Church in the tiny country of 1.3 million people, 98 percent of them Catholics. Protestants and Muslims share the other 2 percent equally.
The Portuguese brought the Catholic faith to the nation that occupies the eastern half of Timor island in the 16th century. Indonesia occupied it in 1975 after the Portuguese Timor-Leste became a free and democratic nation after decades of struggle for independence after an UN-sponsored referendum at the beginning of the current millennium. But two decades after political freedom, the nation continues to face crippling poverty, corruption, and political uncertainty.
Pope Francis is expected to visit the country soon amid political uncertainty that continues to threaten democratic freedoms and values. The 54-year-old archbishop says the Church — which serves Timor-Leste under three dioceses of Díli, Baucau, and Maliana — keeps reminding politicians of the need to have a free and democratic nation.
Archbishop Da Silva said: “Since it is the celebration of all, we have to avoid all attitudes that will contribute to violence and foster a friendship that will nurture freedom and respect each other during the campaigns.”