In a country where priests are lords, Pope warns clergy never to ‘crush others’

DILI – East Timor, which became the first sovereign state of the 21st century in 2002, is a country where Catholic priests matter. Officially speaking, 98 percent of the population of 1.3 million is Catholic, and clergy here are revered, in part for their roles as leaders and heroes of the independence movement.

In one sign of that deference, priests are referred to locally as Amu, a term which means “lord.” Such esteem, however, can have a shadow side, with one example being that the few Timorese who come forward with charges of abuse or misconduct against clergy often struggle to find a hearing.

In that context, Pope Francis used a speech to bishops and clergy on the second day of his Sept. 9-11 visit to the country to issue a stern warning against clericalism and feelings of superiority, telling local pastors to be humble, and to focus instead on service to those most in need.

Their honorable status in the country, Francis told clergy, “should not make you feel superior to the people or lead you into the temptation of being prideful or feeling powerful. It should not make you think of your ministry as bestowing social prestige, acting as leaders who crush others.”

Pope Francis told leaders of the local church to continue efforts at evangelization and social harmony.

Clergy in East Timor must be “passionate, prepared and creative” in evangelization, the pope said, and cautioned priests against thinking they are superior to others or growing attached to power.

“Let us remember that with perfume we anoint the feet of Christ, which are the feet of our brothers and sisters in the faith, starting with the poorest,” he said, saying a priest is always “an instrument of blessing.”

“Never take advantage of this role. You should always bless and console; always be a minister of compassion and a sign of God’s mercy,” he said, and closed his address telling pastors and religious not to be discouraged, and asking for prayers, assuring them of his own.

Pope Francis landed in Dili, the capital of East Timor, Monday afternoon, where he was greeted by hundreds of thousands of locals lining the streets to wave and ask for blessings as he passed by.

After participating in an official welcome ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Dili, the pope had a private visit with East Timorese President José Ramos-Horta before giving a speech to national civil authorities, urging them to tackle various social challenges and advocating for the protection of the dignity of youth amid recent clerical abuse scandals.

Bishop Norberto do Amaral of Maliana, President of the Episcopal Conference of East Timor, greeted Pope Francis upon his arrival to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Dili, calling his visit to the country a “joy and honor.”

He pointed to the high number of Catholics in the country, with around 98 percent of the population of 1,340,000 people adhering to the Catholic faith.

“Here is a nation that is on the periphery of the world and, one might say, at the ends of the earth. Here it is called to be salt and light,” he said, voicing hope that the papal visit would be “a moment of prayer, listening and blessing that Your Holiness wishes to convey to us.”

Pope Francis also heard three testimonies during his meeting with bishops, clergy and religious, including that of Sister Rosa Saramento, who spoke of her involvement in the formation of women and young people.

She called East Timor “an oasis of priestly and religious vocations,” noting that most of the population is young, and asked the pope to give a special blessing to the nation’s children, as well as the elderly, sick and disabled.

In a sign of how intertwined church and state can often be in East Timor, where the church was a primary supporter of the country’s push for independence, Father Sancho Amaral, 68, shared his experience helping then-Commander in Chief and current Prime Minister Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão arrive from Dili to the eastern town of Ossu in 1991, while the country was still under Indonesian occupation.

Amaral explained that the trip was complicated, and that when they were stopped and questioned by Indonesian military, they let him pass unimpeded because of his priestly collar, allowing Gusmão to meet with his commanders. He called this an example of God’s protection for those he sends on mission.

Florentino de Jesus Martins, 89, spoke of his decades of service as a catechist, in mission areas and beyond, at times walking 6-10 kilometers to offer instruction on baptism and First Communion, at times enduring heavy rain and strong wind. Martins said he retired at 82 in 2017, but still helps other catechists who come to him for perspective and advice.

In his speech, Pope Francis said East Timor is “at the edge of the world. And – I would say – precisely because it is at the edge, it is at the center of the Gospel! For we know that in the heart of Christ the ‘existential peripheries’ are the center.”

The Church, the pope said, must be “a Church on the move, a Church that does not stand still, does not revolve around itself, but burns with passion to bring the joy of the Gospel to all.”

He recalled the Gospel passage in which, when Jesus was at the house of Lazarus, Martha, and Mary, at one point Mary poured expensive perfume over Jesus’s feet.

Invoking this image, Francis said the fragrance of the Gospel must be preserved and spread, like the perfume, and pointed to the prominence of sandalwood in East Timor, which has a strong fragrance that is sought after internationally.

“You are the fragrance of the Gospel in this country… you are missionary disciples who bear the fragrance of the Holy Spirit in order to ‘intoxicate’ the lives of your people,” he said.

Pope Francis said this fragrance must be “carefully preserved,” something he said involves an awareness that the fragrance is not only for oneself, but must be poured out on Christ in the poor.

“It means being vigilant about ourselves because a lukewarm spiritual mediocrity is always lurking,” he said.

Francis spoke of the need to proclaim the Gospel in their culture while also purifying it “in the face of archaic and sometimes superstitious practices and traditions, such as belief in the presence of the souls of the dead).

He was referring to living with the Klamar, meaning the souls of the dead who did not go to heaven or were unable to leave earth for some reason. Beliefs such as this, the pope said, “must always be purified in the light of the Gospel and the doctrine of the Church.”

Pope Francis also spoke of the need to continue evangelizing despite the high number of Catholics in the country, saying this is what the Church exists for.

Evangelization, he said, occurs “when we have the courage to ‘break’ the jar containing the fragrance, breaking the ‘shell’ that often closes us in on ourselves, of leaving behind a lazy and comfortable religiosity that only serves our personal needs.”

Francis said that East Timor, despite its lengthy Christian history, needs “a renewed impetus toward evangelization,” so that the Gospel reaches everyone, with a special emphasis on reconciliation and peace after years of suffering and war.

The Gospel also means showing compassion, “which will help the poor get back on their feet and inspire a renewed commitment to revive the economic and social wellbeing of the country,” he said, and called for the pursuit of “justice against corruption.”

“The fragrance of the Gospel must be spread in order to counter anything that humiliates, disfigures or even destroys human life,” he said, and pointed to societal problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, violence and the disrespect of women.

Jesus’s Gospel, he said, “has the power to transform these dark realities and generate a new society.”

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