San Francisco Frontiers - East Timor PM says Francis left legacy of reconciliation, tackled abuse

The Argentine, who died on Monday, visited the impoverished Catholic-majority country in September, the first pontiff to go to East Timor since it won independence from Indonesia in 2002 after decades of conflict.

Francis told leaders to do more on "every kind of abuse" and remember "the many children... whose dignity has been violated", confronting them about the issue after clergy members were implicated in several recent child abuse scandals.

"I agree very much, I agree. His appeal was well-accepted," said Gusmao, a liberation hero who was East Timor's first president after independence.

"Sometimes a country continues to be fragile because of abuse, abuse of power, and abuse in every aspect of life. This appeal is strongly accepted by us," he told AFP in an interview in the capital Dili.

Recent abuse cases in East Timor include Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, who was accused of sexually assaulting young boys and was secretly sanctioned by the Vatican in 2020 and now lives in Portugal.

Defrocked American priest Richard Daschbach was also found guilty in 2021 of abusing orphaned, disadvantaged girls and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Daschbach was once revered for saving children during the independence war but was defrocked by Francis in 2018. Gusmao courted controversy by visiting the disgraced priest for his birthday in 2021 while he was under house arrest.

He had also defended Daschbach and said he should not be in prison.

The Catholic church is one of East Timor's most powerful institutions, although Francis did not mention a specific case or acknowledge any Vatican responsibility in the abuse scandals during his visit.

Child abuse survivors have said Francis made important steps within the Catholic church but that much more needed to be done.

"For us the legacy is what (Francis) put in his message, in his appeal," Gusmao said, referring to Francis's call for "unity, harmony, to respect each other".

"This is the legacy that we will preserve."

- 'Defender' -

Gusmao, who was jailed by occupying Indonesian forces, said Francis was a "defender of peace", referring to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine.

"The reconciliation amongst ourselves, this is more difficult than the process of reconciling with Indonesia," he said.

"The impact (of Francis's message) is harmony, unity, dialogue. It is very important to the young people that sometimes get divided. The impact is extraordinary. Because what he said was religion, our tradition, and our heroes, never to forget them."

He said what made Francis different to other pontiffs was "changing the way the church was behaving", handling the position with "more humility".

Gusmao will not travel to the Vatican for Francis's funeral on Saturday, with East Timor to be represented by President Jose Ramos-Horta.

Francis addressed what authorities said was nearly half of the country's 1.3 million people at a Mass on the outskirts of Dili during his visit.

The pontiff -- only the second to visit East Timor after John Paul II in 1989 -- also emphasised the government's duty to look after the entire population, including the poorest.

"He said, 'your wealth is your people'. Just to remind us that being in the government... not to serve ourselves, but to serve the people. To look after people," Gusmao said.

"And that is why his visit was so wonderful."

He hoped the next pope would "be the same, with the same character, with the same humility".

"Rest in peace, Pope Francis."

B.Ramirez--SFF