Ryan Dagur, Jakarta – Catholic officials have urged candidates for Timor-Leste's forthcoming presidential elections to avoid politicizing the Church and using religious symbols or attributes during the campaign.
"The Catholic Church has not endorsed any particular candidate from among the 16 candidates contesting the March 19 election," said Salesian Archbishop Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili. "They are all Timorese, they are Timorese citizens and Catholics, and that is why the Church does not take sides and support certain candidates."
The Church has always had a clear position that it is forbidden to use Catholic attributes and symbols for political campaigning, he added.
The archbishop said the bishops' conference (CET) in the Catholic-majority country had requested that "no candidacy may [use] religion for campaigning."
"The bishops have said this openly and have sent letters to parishes, Catholics and candidates," Portuguese news agency Lusa quoted him as saying.
The candidates are all involved in an intense campaign that started on March 2 and is expected to go on until March 16.
During the pre-campaign phase, there were several references to religion, the Catholic Church in particular. Isabel Ferreira, the wife of Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak, made several references to God and faith, reported Lusa.
Meanwhile, former priest Martinho Germano da Silva Gusmao even created a poster featuring a photo of Pope Francis, publicly declaring that his candidacy was supported by the country's priests and religious.
The CET published a public communique on March 1 saying that Gusmao had "permanently" lost his clerical status and that the Vatican had never explicitly encouraged him "to enter political life or run for any political office," although he was free to choose the path of political activity like other Christians.
The CET claimed that Gusmao "did not receive any personal letters from the Holy Father" but only those sent by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in October last year.
The letter from Cardinal Tagle, according to the CET, simply asked him "to have an exemplary life as a layman and to render useful and beneficial service to the Christian community through the gifts and talents God has given him."
Meanwhile, Gusmao told UCA News that there was really no reason to question what he was doing. "The Presidential Election Commission has never reprimanded me," he claimed.
He also accused the country's Vatican charge d'affaires of overreacting in forcing bishops to provide special explanations regarding his clerical status.
Source: https://www.ucanews.com/news/timor-leste-poll-candidates-told-not-to-politicize-church/9635