East Timor's Catholics reacted with shock but also expressions of support Friday for revered independence icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys decades ago in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation.
The Vatican admitted Thursday that its sex abuse office had secretly sanctioned the bishop in 2020, restricting his movements and contacts with minors and forbidding him from having contact with his homeland. The Vatican revealed the restrictions after the Dutch magazine De Groene Amsterdammer exposed the claims against Belo by two of his alleged victims and reported there were others, too.
The bishop was feted at home and abroad for his bravery in calling out human rights abuses by East Timor's Indonesian rulers despite threats against his life. The East Timorese were cowed by Jakarta's brutal rule, and Belo's audacious defiance was viewed as heroic. Apart from the Nobel prize, he was awarded honorary doctorates by universities around the world, including Yale.
Government officials in East Timor, also called Timor Leste, where the Catholic Church wields enormous influence, didn't respond to multiple requests for comment Friday, after the Vatican revealed the sanctions against the bishop. Few Timorese wanted to speak, but those who did voiced support for him.
"We accept and submit to any decision issued by the Vatican on the allegation against Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo, whether it is right or wrong," Saldanha said. He urged fellow Timorese to not spread "negative news" about Belo and to pray for him and his family, the church and the people of East Timor.
The Portuguese branch of the Salesians said Thursday that it learned "with great sadness and astonishment" of the news and confirmed they had taken him in after he left East Timor. But the Portuguese office distanced itself from him, claiming he was no longer dependent on them.
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