Pope asks Timor Leste bishops to be the conscience of their nation

March 17, 2014 - Be the critical conscience of your nation and announce the Gospel of mercy in a way that is understandable in local languages. This was the pastoral exhortation of Pope Francis to the bishops of Timor Leste (East Timor) on Monday, as they began their first ‘ad limina’ visit to Rome since achieving independence from Indonesia in 2002. “Ad limina’ visits are made by heads of dioceses every five years or so to report on the state of their jurisdictions. Speaking to the bishops of the second-largest Catholic nation in Asia after the Philippines, the Pope observed that the small island bordering Indonesia is not immune to the ‘painful surprises’ that have appeared in the fabric of Timorese society in recent years. Nearly 40% of the people of East Timor live below the international poverty line, and roughly half of all citizens are illiterate. He noted that the process of building a nation that is free, based on solidarity and just for all, following the bloody conflict in the late 90s, has led the local Church to repeatedly remind society about man and his transcendent destiny. This awareness cannot be allowed to diminish, the Pope urged, hoping that the bishops and priests of the country’s 3 dioceses will continue to carry out the role of being the conscience of the nation, maintaining due independence from political power, in a collaboration that aims at the common good of society. “Indeed the Church asks only one thing in society: the freedom to proclaim the Gospel in an integral manner,” in season and out of season,” the Pope added.