The allegations against the former head of the Catholic Church in East Timor, Bishop Carlos Belo, have been around the world for a long time, but only now have they become known to the general public – and the Vatican has confirmed them.
The Dutch weekly newspaper “De Groene Amsterdammer” had published investigations this Wednesday, according to which the 74-year-old Belo was accused of having abused children and teenagers for more than 20 years from the 1980s onwards.
Hush money for sexual acts
The paper quotes two men, 42 and 45 years old today, who both want to remain anonymous. In the 1990s, when they were 14 to 16-year-old teenagers, they were invited by Belo to his residence in Dili or to a monastery, where sexual acts took place against their will. Then the bishop gave the boys money to buy their silence and so that they would come back.
In East Timor, Carlos Belo is still considered a national hero (2006)
There are numerous reports of similar cases, according to the newspaper, which claims to have spoken to other people affected and to 20 people who were aware of the events: church officials, politicians, employees of non-governmental organizations and experts. The allegations date back to Belo’s time as head of the Salesian formation center in Don Bosco, before he became bishop in 1983.
Light figure with a dark side
One of the men said the bishop was not only the powerful head of East Timor’s Catholic Church at the time, but also a national hero and a beacon of hope for the people. Belo abused his position of power over boys living in extreme poverty. Out of fear and shame, they did not talk about the incidents.
The newspaper’s investigation began in 2002, when a man from East Timor said a friend had been sexually abused by Bishop Belo. In November 2002, Belo then surprisingly resigned; because of “physical and mental exhaustion,” as the then 53-year-old said. Typically, bishops remain in office until they are 75 years old. From then on, rumors of the alleged abuse grew into a public secret, according to the magazine. The Vatican has never published why Pope John Paul II accepted Belos’ resignation.
Bishop Carlos Belo and Pope John Paul II in his summer residence Castelgandolfo (1999)
Vatican has known for years
The Vatican has confirmed disciplinary measures against Bishop Belo. His case was first investigated by the Vatican in 2019, Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said on Thursday after Belo was publicly accused of abusing young people and buying their silence.
“In light of the allegations” received by the Vatican, “certain disciplinary restrictions were imposed on Belo in September 2020,” Bruni explained. “These included restrictions on his freedom of movement and the exercise of his duties, bans on voluntary contact with minors, interviews and contacts” with East Timor, Bruni added. These measures were “modified and tightened” in 2021.
National hero – to this day
Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, as his full name is, was one of the greatest heroes of the struggle for freedom in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony. In 1996 he received the Nobel Peace Prize together with the rebel leader and current President José Ramos-Horta.
Bishop Carlos Belo (right) and José Ramos-Horta present their Nobel Peace Prize Certificates in Oslo in 1996
Both were involved in the fight against the Indonesian occupiers and sought international attention for the genocide in their occupied homeland, which killed hundreds of thousands. Belo, meanwhile ordained a bishop, wrote a letter in February 1989 to the then UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, in which he already suggested a referendum on the future of the country. Ten years later, East Timor was able to free itself from Indonesia and received state sovereignty in 2002.
The Southeast Asian country is one of the youngest countries in the world. However, it is considered bitterly poor and has always been fighting for an economic upswing. The reports of abuse allegations against Belo shook the local Catholic Church. An archdiocese official, who wished to remain anonymous, said they were “shocked” when they received the news.
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