New bishop calls for further E. Timor dialog

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)