ASIA/EAST TIMOR - National Director of the PMS: "Faith and youth walk together in East Timor"

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Dili (Agenzia Fides) - "In the young there is the seed of faith. People have trust in the Church and is attracted by the message of Christ. Today we have, in the two inter-diocesan seminaries, over 120 major seminarians and 250 minor seminarians. The young candidates who apply to be admitted are more than 500 a year. But we cannot accept them all due to lack of facilities. Many join religious congregations, Salesians, Jesuits, Franciscans, Carmelites: all religious orders that are full of seminarians. It is a flowering of vocations which surprises and empowers us. Evangelization in East Timor passes mainly through the testimony in families that treasures the light of faith". This is what Fr. Mouzinho Pereira Lopez, National Director of the Pontifical Missionary Societies (PMS) in East Timor told Fides with regards to the life of the Church in East Timor.
The Director tells Fides: "East Timor is, in proportion, the first Catholic nation in Asia: 96% are Catholics. We have a long tradition that helps us. But after independence, in 2002, we realized that this faith was a bit superficial, it was not deep-rooted.
This was because, when the island belonged to Indonesia, it was mandatory to have and declare one's religion, otherwise one was identified as a communist and therefore enemies of the nation. Today the Church promotes a work of formation and a new awareness, so that everyone can live their faith in life", he says.
It is true that "consumerism, globalization, new technologies have an appeal especially on young people and the cultural models which are imported are Western" explains Fr. Lopez. East Timor is a young country: 75% of the population is under 30 and almost half the population are children. Most families have more than ten children. "There is the problem of unemployment and poverty", says the priest, but "there is a great love for the Church, which has always helped the nation in difficult times. Today the Church has an authoritative voice on politics, economy, in society, in every aspect of life. People are very confident in the Church, which promotes development mainly through education". (PA) (Agenzia Fides 10/06/2015)


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