Antonio da Costa, Dili – Rights groups are questioning Timor-Leste, an impoverished Asian nation, for allocating US$12 million for Pope Francis' visit next month, including US$1 million to build an altar for a papal Mass.
Church sources said some 700,000 Catholics, primarily from the nation's 1.3 million-strong Catholic majority, are expected to attend the Sept. 10 Mass.
The expenses for the altar come from the US$12 million that Prime Minister Xanana Gusmao allocated months ago for preparing for the Sept. 9-11 papal visit.
"The altar for the Mass is built by Carya Timor Company, and the total project value is $1 million," Rui Lourenco da Costa, director of the National Development Agency, told television channel, National TV News.
The construction of the altar, reportedly designed by a Vatican engineer, is already 90 percent complete. It will serve as the focal point for the Mass attended by thousands of Catholics from Timor-Leste and various countries of Asia.
The fund allocation for the papal visit has raised some criticism.
The annual budget allocation to increase food production in the country is "really low; it is only about $4.7 million," said Mariano Fereira, a researcher at Lao Hamutuk or the Timor-Leste Institute for Development Monitoring and Analysis, a non-government agency.
Mariano said such funding can "hardly do any good to increase the sustainability of food production and development" of agriculture farming.
Non-government agencies working among the people say the governments have ignored the poor in the country, where some 42 percent live in poverty without sufficient food.
Mariano said his agency, advocating a poor-friendly government, has submitted several papers to the government and parliament asking to cut government expenditures on ceremonies and prioritize issues that affect people.
Timor-Leste faces severe food security challenges, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
High inflation and weather changes have reduced cereal production, pushing some 364,000 people – 27% of the population – to experience acute food insecurity from May to September 2024.
Eviction for Mass
The papal Mass is scheduled to take place in Tasi-Tolu, an open area on the coast some eight kilometers from the capital Dili. The government has allocated 23 hectares of land, and it needs to evict 185 families living there.
Rights groups accuse the government of not offering any alternatives to poor families.
"They are still there waiting for compensation. The date of their eviction keeps on changing. The lives of those families are uncertain at the moment, they don't know where to go," said Pedrito Vieira, coordinator of the Land Network, a coalition of NGOs advocating land rights.
He said the children in these families are "a worried lot. They have to move to a new school but still don't know which school they will go to.
"We would like to tell the government to consider us as citizens of this country. They need to approach us and talk to us. Sudden eviction will only give us uncertainty to plan our life," said Sabino Pereira, the spokesperson of the community in Tasi Tolu.
Despite all this, most Catholics are jubilant about the papal visit.
Leonia da Costa, a disabled resident from Dare in the capital, Dili, said she "is thrilled" about the papal visit but has decided to stay home and watch the Mass on television because of the distance and expected crowd.
"Look, my conditions and the place where Mass will be celebrated are also far away. I may be able to go, but I will still be standing far away. I may not hear the Mass properly, and also, I may not see the pope's face. So, I decided to stay home and follow the Mass on television," she said.
The government has promised food and water to the visitors. However, due to the logistical challenges, certain groups, such as children, the elderly, disabled individuals, and those unable to walk long distances, have been advised not to attend.
The National Organizing Committee, led by Tomas Cabral, Minister of State Administration, told local media that all preparations for the visit are on track. Coordination efforts involve close communication with the papal representative in Dili, the Catholic Church, and municipal organizing committees.
Some US$40,000 has been allocated to the municipal organizing committees to organize facilities for those attending the Mass.
Catholics from various municipalities are expected to arrive in Dili on Sept. 8 and 9, and those in Dili are encouraged to walk to Tasi-Tolu to avoid traffic congestion. The visitors are expected to be inside the venue two hours before the Mass begins at 4 p.m. on Sept. 10.
Portuguese missionaries introduced Catholicism to Timor-Leste in the early 16th century. When the Portuguese left, Indonesia occupied it in 1975 until a 1999 UN-assisted referendum helped it become an independent nation.
The papal visit marks the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Timor Leste, in which the Catholic Church played crucial roles in advocating for human and democratic rights for the people.
Pope Francis is the second pope to visit Timor-Leste after John Paul II, who visited in 1989.
Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/critics-question-us12m-budget-for-popes-timor-leste-visit/10597