Belo hails second E. Timor bishop<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Dili Bishop Carlos Ximenes Filipe Belo hailed
\nyesterday the papal appointment of a second bishop to work with
\nhim in the former Portuguese colony.<\/p>\n
"I believe that God has chosen a good shepherd for you ... he
\nis an intelligent and competent bishop," Belo said in a pastoral
\nletter dated Saturday and sent to all parishes in East Timor.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, Pope John Paul II appointed a new bishop, Basilio
\nDo Nascimento, to work alongside Belo and take charge of the
\nBaucau diocese, where 200,000 Catholics live. The new bishop will
\nbe officially installed at the Vatican on January 6.<\/p>\n
Do Nascimento will be in charge of the Manatuto, Baucau,
\nViqueque and Lautem districts, which have nine parishes:
\nManatuto, Soibada, Baucacu, Venilale, Ossu, Viqueque, Watulani,
\nLaga and Lospalos. He will start working on March 10.<\/p>\n
The Dili diocese, the main one on the territory and
\nadministered by Belo, is where 500,000 Catholics live.<\/p>\n
"With all my strength, I have served the community in the new
\ndiocese for 13 years, while at the same time being aware of my
\nhuman and spiritual limitations, " Belo said.<\/p>\n
"I will keep on praying for you from Dili and together with
\nyour (new) bishop, I will strive to defend human rights and
\nuphold peace and prosperity in our region," Belo added.<\/p>\n
Belo was joint winner of the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize, with East
\nTimorese separatist leader activist Jose Ramos Horta.<\/p>\n
The move to bolster the presence of the Roman Catholic Church
\nin the territory comes after Belo met with Pope John Paul II at
\nthe Vatican recently and called for his help in supporting his
\nwork in East Timor.<\/p>\n
East Timor integrated into Indonesia in 1976, but the United
\nNations still considers Lisbon the administering power in the
\nterritory.<\/p>\n
Reuters quoted Florentino Sarmento, a prominent member of the
\nCatholic church's Commission for Justice and Peace in Dili, as
\nsaying that Nascimento was a sociologist who had graduated from
\nthe Sorbonne in Paris.<\/p>\n
Nascimento, who lived in Portugal for 27 years, returned to
\nEast Timor two years ago and had been long regarded as the
\nfavorite to head the new diocese.<\/p>\n
"He is a very modest and reserved man but very much an
\nintellectual," Sarmento said, adding Nascimento's "contextual"
\nsermons were popular in Dili, where he had served as Belo's
\nassistant since his return.<\/p>\n
Fluent in French and Portuguese, Nascimento had recently been
\nstudying Indonesian in the city of Yogyakarta. (swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/belo-hails-second-e-timor-bishop-1447893297",
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