Papal envoy's visit to E. Timor pastoral
Papal envoy's visit to E. Timor pastoral
JAKARTA (JP): A special envoy of Pope John Paul II said yesterday that his planned visit to East Timor tomorrow is not political in nature.
"My trip is a pastoral visit, it is not a political visit," said Cardinal Roger Etchegary, who has been head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace for ten years.
Speaking to journalists after paying a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas, Cardinal Etchegary said he would go to the diocese in East Timor.
The Roman Catholic church in East Timor, lead by Bishop Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, is administered directly by the Vatican and not by the Archbishop in Jakarta like other parts of the country.
The Vatican, following the United Nations line, does not recognize the integration of East Timor, a predominantly Catholic territory, into Indonesia.
"I will visit the Catholic church which is there in East Timor," Cardinal Etchegary said. His translator was the Holy See's representative here Monsigneur Pierto Sambi.
His visit highlights the continued concern the Holy See has towards East Timor. Pope John Paul II made a brief stopover in the territory when he visited Indonesia in 1989.
The cardinal arrived on Thursday for a week-long stay that will also include a one-day stop in Yogyakarta. He will leave for Dili tomorrow to open a chapel.
On Monday he will travel to the city of Bakau as well as hold meetings with Bishop Belo, Governor Abilio Soares and the regional military commander on Tuesday.
Tonight, he will attend a concelebration at the Cathedral of Jakarta.
Monsigneur Sambi told The Jakarta Post that the cardinal will return to Jakarta on Wednesday to meet with President Soeharto, Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher and members of the National Human Rights Commission.
Earlier, Cardinal Etchegary told a meeting with Catholic scholars and intellectuals at the Atmajaya University that they should strive to maintain peace and harmony with people from other faiths.
He cited Indonesia as a good example of a country that has managed to forge peace and unity in spite of the diversity of its people's ethnic and religious backgrounds. (mds/16)