SW News: Adding yet another feather in the cap of the Catholic Church in the tiny Asian nation of Timor Leste and giving a boost to the country’s education sector, the first Catholic university has been opened on the outskirts of its capital Dili. It is dedicated to none other than the late Polish saint and pontiff who fuelled the nation’s thirst for independence from Indonesia.

The Catholic University of St John Paul II was inaugurated on December 8 by Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak and Archbishop Virgilio Do Carmo da Silva of Dili. During the event, the prime minister said the nation has a great bond of love and devotion to Pope John Paul II. The pontiff had visited Timor Leste in 1989 when it was still under Indonesian occupation. The pope had courageously denounced the systematic killing of Timorese without naming the perpetrators. His visit invited the attention of the international community to the bloodshed in Timor Leste carried out by the Indonesian military. This made an impact on the people, who are mostly Catholic, and fuelled their surge for independence.

Funded by the government with a subsidy through the Archdiocese of Dili, the varsity was the long-time dream of Salesian Bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner Monsignor Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo and late Bishop Alberto Ricardo da Silva. Archbishop Carmo da Silva said that the Catholic University will offer “education in all areas of human activity inspired by the Catholic intellectual, moral and spiritual traditions”.

The prime minister added that the university represents the state’s support to the Church in assisting the integral formation of youth and adults to become people of faith and develop to become more tolerant, just, inclusive, democratic and peaceful. According to the demographic and Health survey of 2016, 98.3% of the population of Timor-Leste are Catholics