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Vatican envoy praises Timor-Leste for peaceful election

Msgr. Sprizzi hopes the country under Jose Ramos-Horta will maintain and build further ties with the Holy See
Vatican envoy praises Timor-Leste for peaceful election

Monsignor Marco Sprizzi (right), chargé d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature in Timor-Leste, with Council of Ministers chairman Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhaes on April 25 at the nunciature in Dili. (Photo: Facebook)

Published: April 26, 2022 07:47 AM GMT
Updated: April 27, 2022 03:52 AM GMT

The Vatican's envoy to Timor-Leste has congratulated the Catholic-majority country for its staging of a peaceful and democratic presidential election and hoped it would maintain good relations with the Holy See.

Monsignor Marco Sprizzi, chargé d'affaires at the apostolic nunciature, said he was “very happy” with the April 19 election, “which was realized in a very democratic and peaceful way.”

“We hope that in the future and the following months the political life and public institutions in Timor-Leste would continue to function efficiently for the service of the people,” he told reporters in Dili on April 25 after hosting a meeting with Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhaes, chairman of the Council of Ministers.

The second and final round of the elections was won by Nobel laureate Jose Ramos-Horta with 62.1 percent of the vote, beating incumbent President Francisco "Lu-Olo" Guterres, who got 37.9 percent of the vote.

Accompanied by the leaders of his supporting political parties, Guterres issued a statement on April 22 accepting his defeat, which was welcomed by many as a democratic gesture.

Sprizzi said that, as was the attitude of Timor-Leste's bishops, the Holy See never favored a particular candidate in what was the fifth presidential election since Asia's youngest nation gained independence.

“We will continue cultivating these relations in the same spirit, and the Holy See is always there to support the government of Timor-Leste to have better development"

“Both candidates [in the runoff] were Catholics and we express our great appreciation for both of them,” state news agency Tatoli quoted Sprizzi as saying.

He also stressed that Timor-Leste and the Holy See already have strong diplomatic relations and that the Vatican will remain committed to maintaining these ties.

“We will continue cultivating these relations in the same spirit, and the Holy See is always there to support the government of Timor-Leste to have better development,” Sprizzi said "Our only interest is for the common good of the people."

The Vatican has long been considered one of the country's closest diplomatic friends. Their relationship was strengthened by the signing of a concordat in 2015 when the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, visited the country.

The agreement defines specific areas in which the Church can serve the country’s people freely and openly, including providing spiritual assistance in prisons, hospitals, clinics and orphanages, doing charity work and establishing schools at every level.

Ramos-Horta will be sworn in on May 20 to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the country's restoration of independence.

Meanwhile,  Salesian Archbishop Dom Virgilio do Carmo da Silva of Dili hoped "the new president will work hard to get the country out of poverty."

In a post-election statement, he asked the new president to stand above vested interests and act "as a universal leader."

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