Timor-Leste, an island country north of Australia, gained freedom from Indonesia in 2002, after a terrible, decades-long activity.
Pope Francis is the next pope to travel, following John Paul II, who traveled there in a mission that gave the nation’s independence movement a traditional boost in 1989.
The Vatican claims that about 96 % of Timorese are believers in the faith, making it likely the most Christian country in the world.
Around 750, 000 people will be able to attend a Mass with Pope Francis on Tuesday in the Tasitolu, a broad, sandy coastal region where Indian forces were known to bury dead Timorese freedom fighters.
Since democracy, the state has struggled with rebuilding its infrastructure and business.
According to the World Bank, about 42 % of Timorese people are impoverished and about 47 % of children are stunted by malnutrition in 2014.
Although Timorese have remained largely Christian, abuse crises have recently affected the country’s religion.
Following allegations that he sexually exploited lads in Timor in the 1990s, the Vatican confirmed in 2022 that it had sanctioned Timorese priest Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo.
Belo, who shared the 1996 Nobel peace prize with Ramos-Horta for their freedom work, existence in Portugal.
A year prior, a beatified British pastor, Richard Daschbach, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for sexually abusing women under his attention in Timor.
A prominent lobbying group for abuse survivors demanded that Pope Francis address the situations directly during his visit.
” The pope may reject the two people by name”, said Anne Barrett Doyle, of the abuse tracking team BishopAccountability. nonprofit.
His phrases” may have a significant positive impact.”
The priest’s first handle in the nation will be on Monday, when Pope Francis is scheduled to address the social leaders.
Pope Francis will be in Timor-Leste until Wednesday as part of a journey that also included stops in Indonesia.
He then travels to Singapore before making his way back to Rome on September 13.