Child Abuse Scandal Shadows Pope's Visit to Timor Leste

As Pope Francis becomes the first pontiff to visit East Timor, he will confront a child abuse scandal involving a priest, an issue that has long been ignored by the Catholic nation's independence fighters. The abuse cases involve Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, a Nobel laureate who helped liberate East Timor from Indonesian occupation. But the Vatican has secretly convicted Bishop Belo of decades of child sexual abuse. There have been calls for the 87-year-old pope to address the issue of child abuse when he arrives in the former Portuguese colony on Monday (September 9), as part of his Asia-Pacific tour. “We ask His Holiness to encourage the leaders and people of Timor-Leste to take more effective action to prevent sexual abuse,” the Timor-Leste NGO Forum, a civil society coalition, wrote in a letter to Francis on Wednesday (4/9). Pope Francis poses with children from Street Ministry and Callan Services at Caritas Technical Secondary School, in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, September 7, 2024. (Photo: via Reuters) BishopAccountability.org, the Catholic Church's abuse documentation center, also asked the head of the Vatican's sexual abuse commission, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, to “urge” Pope Francis to “be an advocate for victims” during his visit. Timor …

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Child Abuse Scandal Shadows Pope's Visit to Timor Leste

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