Newly returned bishop meet ABRI leaders<\/p>\n
DILI (JP): Mgr. Basilio do Nascimento, the newly ordained
\nbishop of Baucau, East Timor, spent his first full day home after
\nhis January ordination in Rome meeting with local military
\nofficers.<\/p>\n
The 46-year-old do Nascimento was accompanied by Nobel Peace
\nPrize laureate Dili Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo on his
\nvisit to the commander of the Wira Dharma military district, Col.
\nMahidin Simbolon, and East Timor Police Chief Col. Yusuf
\nMucharam.<\/p>\n
"We are here to introduce Bishop do Nascimento, who is now the
\nleader of the Baucau diocese, to you. You and he knew each other
\nbefore, but he was then a priest while he is now a bishop," Belo
\ntold Simbolon.<\/p>\n
"We need to respect and support one another ... and understand
\nour respective duties," do Nascimento said.<\/p>\n
The Vatican created the Diocese of Baucau in December, to
\noversee the regencies of Manatuto, Viqueque and Lautem. In Baucau
\ndiocese there are about 200,000 Catholics, while in Dili, the
\ncapital of East Timor there are more than 500,000 Catholics.<\/p>\n
Pope John Paul II ordained do Nascimento, formerly an
\nassistant to Belo, and eleven other bishops in early January.<\/p>\n
The new bishop arrived home quietly on Monday morning. He
\nimmediately went to see Belo and, later in the day, led a mass in
\nDili. Local Catholic youths had reportedly planned to greet his
\nreturn, planned for March 18, with a great fanfare.<\/p>\n
"I came home early so I could prepare better for my new
\nduties. I still have to take care of some unfinished tasks and
\nsee that they are transferred to my successor," he told The
\nJakarta Post.<\/p>\n
During the meeting yesterday, Simbolon recounted how Belo had
\nbeen so overwhelmed by ministering to the East Timorese Catholics
\nthat he had not had the chance to convey to them "the warmth of
\nthe teaching to the congregation."<\/p>\n
"The new bishop will not only ease Bishop Belo's burden but
\nalso benefit the Catholics because they now have greater
\nopportunity to feel the warmth of the teaching," Simbolon said.<\/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 last year and called for his help in supporting his
\nwork in East Timor.<\/p>\n
Do Nascimento is a sociologist who graduated from the Sorbonne
\nin Paris. After living in Portugal for 27 years, he returned to
\nEast Timor two years ago.<\/p>\n
Fluent in French and Portuguese, do Nascimento has been
\nstudying Indonesian in Yogyakarta. He is known as a modest and
\nreserved intellectual. (33\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/newly-returned-bishop-meet-abri-leaders-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}