New bishop calls for further E. Timor dialog

JAKARTA (JP): Mgr. Basilio do Nascimento, the newly-ordained bishop of Baucau, East Timor, said the solution to the East Timor dispute depends on further dialogs between Indonesia and Portugal under the auspices of the United Nations.

Antara quoted the bishop as saying in the Vatican yesterday that everybody was waiting for the ongoing dialogs to bear fruit.

Indonesia and Portugal have met at least three times but no significant results have ensued.

A meeting was scheduled for Dec. 21, 1996, in New York, but was postponed following the transfer of the UN secretary-general post from Boutros Boutros-Ghali to Kofi Annan.

The Vatican late last month created the Diocese of Baucau, to oversee the regencies of Manatuto, Viqueque and Lautem. Baucau has a population of 200,000 Catholics, while Dili, the capital of East Timor, ministered by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, has some 500,000 Catholics.

Pope John Paul II ordained Basilio do Nascimento and eleven other bishops Monday.

Asked about his plans for the diocese, the bishop said to do his job well he needed the cooperation of the local administration and non-government organizations (NGOs).

"I will start from the beginning both in terms of structure and logistics, as well as in the creation of new programs," he said.

He said a program to intensify religious guidance would be initiated along with the publication of various religious books.

The religious life in East Timor was good, he said.

"If there were religious conflicts two or three years ago, they were only minor," he said. "The religious spirit of the East Timorese is quite high."

He praised development in East Timor as "surprising" and "extraordinary." (swe)