New seminary building inaugurated in Dili
New seminary building inaugurated in Dili
JAKARTA (JP): Vatican Ambassador to Indonesia Monsignor Pietro
Sambi and Bishop of East Timor Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo
yesterday inaugurated a new seminary building in the village of
Balide, in Dili, the capital of East Timor.
The inauguration of the Nossa Senhora de Fatima Seminary
building was slightly marred by a group of young East Timorese
who staged an anti-government protest, according to Antara.
The youths shouted abuse and paraded banners to state their
cause, the news agency said, without identifying what it was.
The solemn ceremony, attended by more than 1,000 people,
proceeded without interruption, but the incident upset Bishop
Belo, who, after his guests left, returned to the podium to speak
some harsh words to the youths.
"I deeply regret and totally oppose your action. This is not
the place to do the things you did," said Belo, who is the head
of the majority Roman Catholic community in East Timor.
One of the ceremony's organizers, Father Jacinto Francisco
Xavier, approached the youths and asked them to over the banners.
Some complied.
He said he could not accept that the ceremony should be marred
by the youths' behavior, "especially as we have guests from
overseas."
He also said the incident was disrespectful to Bishop Belo,
who celebrated his 48th birthday yesterday.
The seminary, the largest building of its kind in East Timor,
is on a 4,500 square meter site. The Rp 3.77 billion ($1.6
million) structure comes complete with a laboratory, computer
equipment and many other facilities.
The funding came from donations from the government, private
local and foreign organizations and the East Timorese people.
Bishop Belo and Monsignor Pietro Sambi signed the plaque to
inaugurate the building. The Bishop also led a holy mass that was
attended by Governor Abilio Jose Osorio Soares, Director General
for Catholic Affairs Ignasius Imam Kusenomiharjo and the speaker
of the East Timor legislative council Antonio F. Parada.
Kusenomiharjo, reading a speech by Minister of Religious
Affairs Tarmizi Taher, said the seminary is expected to produce
priests who would not only dedicate their services to Roman
Catholicism in East Timor, but also elsewhere in Indonesia.
The East Timor Diocese is administered directly by the Vatican
and not by the Indonesian Arch Diocese in Jakarta. The Vatican's
policy on East Timor follows that of the United Nations, which
does not recognize Indonesia's rule over the province. (emb)