Pope Francis receives East Timor bishops

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the bishops of East Timor on Monday, as part of their ad limina visits. Colonized by Portugal in the 16^th century, East Timor is one of only two countries in Asia with a Catholic-majority population. The nation declared its independence in 1975, but was almost immediately occupied by Indonesia. After a quarter-century of struggle for independence in which 100 thousand people lost their lives and much of the country’s infrastructure was destroyed or perish by neglect, East Timor gained its sovereignty in 2002, with the sponsorship and assistance of the United Nations. Listen:

The effects of the decades-long conflict continue to make themselves felt. Nearly 40% of the people of East Timor live below the international poverty line, and roughly half of all citizens are illiterate. In his prepared remarks to the bishops of the country, delivered on Monday morning in the Vatican, Pope Francis spoke of the fraternal spirit that animates the Timorese people and their leaders in building a free, just and caring nation for all, and encouraged the bishops and priests to continue to be leaders in the public square. “I am sure,” he said, “that [the clergy of East Timor] will continue to play the critical role of the conscience of the nation,” and continue in their discharge of their responsibility to care for and promote the common good.

“Indeed,” said Pope Francis, “the Church asks only one thing in society: the freedom to proclaim the Gospel in an integral manner,” in season and out of season.