(ZENIT News / New Delhi, 11.08.2024).- Pope Francis’ forthcoming visit to East Timor, has generated as much enthusiasm as controversy for the high cost it implies, in a country where poverty and food insecurity are serious and persistent problems.
The Government of East Timor allocated US$12 million to prepare for the Pontiff’s visit from September 9-11, an expense that includes one million for the construction of an altar for the Papal Mass in Tasi-Tolu. This allocation has been harshly criticized by civil rights groups and civil organizations, which consider the expense disproportionate at a time when the population is facing critical economic challenges.
The construction of the altar, entrusted to the Carya Timor company and designed by a Vatican engineer, is now almost finished. It is hoped that the Mass on September 10 will attract some 700,000 Catholics, the majority from the local population. However, many question the priority given to this project in a country where 42% of the inhabitants live in poverty.
Researcher Mariano Fereira of the Lao Hamatuk Institute, a non-governmental organization dedicated to the monitoring of development, criticized the Government for spending so much money on the papal visit, pointing out that the allocation for the production of food in the country is just US$4.7 million. Fereira argues that these resources could have been used to address urgent problems, such as food security, instead of high cost ceremonies.
The preparation for the Mass in Tasi-Tolu has also had a direct impact on the life of 185 families that reside in the area designated for the event. These families face imminent eviction, and human rights groups have lamented that the Government hasn’t offered adequate alternatives or just compensations.
Pedrito Vieira, Coordinator of the Land Network expressed his concern over the lack of clarity and support to these families that continue waiting for a solution, while the date of their eviction is postponed again and again. “The children are especially affected, as they don’t even know what school they will be able to attend after the eviction,” said Vieira, underscoring the uncertainty that surrounds these communities.
Sabino Pereira, spokesman of the Tasi-Tolu residents, appealed to the Government to consider these families as citizens with rights and give them decent treatment. “ A sudden eviction will only bring uncertainty to our lives,” he said.
Despite the criticisms, the majority of Catholics in East Timor await Pope Francis’ arrival enthusiastically; he is the second Pontiff to visit the country after John Paul II’s visit in 1989. This visit is framed in the 25th anniversary of East Timor’s Independence, in which the Catholic Church played a fundamental role in the fight for human rights.
The Government has taken measures to organize the logistics of the visit, allocating US$40,000 to the municipalities’ organizing committees. It is hoped that thousands of faithful will arrive in Dili in the days prior to the Mass, with the recommendation that they walk to the site of the event to avoid traffic congestions. However, because of logistical difficulties, the elderly, the disabled and other vulnerable groups have been advised to follow the Mass from their homes.
