Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo was born in Wailakama, a village in Vemasse, Baucau, East Timor on 3 February 1948. He was the fifth child of Domingos Vaz Felipe and Ermelinda Baptista Filipe. His father, a school teacher, died two years later. The Belo family had a background of farming. In his childhood the young Belo developed skills in shepherding water buffaloes in Kekeli, the village of his ancestors.

He was sent to missionary schools in Baucau and Ossu, graduating from the Seminary in Dare, outside Dili, in 1973. He then left for Portugal, studying at the Salesian Novitiate in Lisbon. During this time he formally became a member of the Salesian Order.

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo then made a brief return visit to East Timor where he taught for a short time at the Salesian College at Fatumaca, near Baucau. He returned to Portugal for philosophical studies over the next two years, followed by three further years at the Portuguese Catholic University. Next, he was sent to Rome where he furthered his ecclesiastical studies at the Pontifical Salesian University. On returning to Portugal, Carlos Filipe Belo was ordained a priest in 1980.

In March 1981 Father Belo returned to East Timor, and was appointed Director of Fatumaca College. During this time he experienced two formative influences that would stand him in good stead in the future. Firstly, he developed a capacity to relate to youth. His obvious and deeply felt links with the young men and women of his country gave him an authentic bond with those who are now playing an important role in the history of East Timor. Secondly, he directly experienced the severe pressure and intimidating tactics of the military authorities, who persistently pressured the college to conform with the standards they wished to impose. The College's success at providing authentic East Timorese and modern technological education was quickly perceived by the authorities as a deep threat to their own policies.

In 1983 the Vatican appointed Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo as Apostolic Administrator of the Dili Diocese. This made him the virtual leader of the Catholic Church in his homeland. On 19 June 1988 he was ordained Bishop (of Lorium, Italy), while still holding the position of Apostolic Administrator of the Dili Diocese.

Bishop Belos's rapid rise came as a surprise to some, who might have thought of others for such positions. But he brought a kind and youthful personality to the position, a flair for languages, with the mastery of Tetum, Portuguese, English, Italian, bahasa Indonesia, and a working knowledge of several others. He also had experience in ecclesiastical administration, a love of theology and classical music, and a passion for soccer.

Among the many problems that beset the only bishop in East Timor, two were immediate and severe. The first concerned the presence in his country of a strong armed force of occupation, claiming legitimate sovereignty. It had taken over his country through brute force, trying to absorb it lock stock and barrel into its own culture, history and institutional structures. The continuing characteristics of this occupation have been violence and oppression. The second was the massive increase over a few short years of Timorese entry to membership of the Catholic Church. With personnel and resources stretched far beyond the demands of common sense, he sought to bring order and some efficiency to what would otherwise become a scene of utter chaos.

The Bishop has learned to weave his way delicately at times, and forcibly and bluntly at other times, through the sensitive and often cruel situations faced daily by the East Timorese. Over time, he has become the only strongly audible East Timorese voice consistently pleading for peace and freedom. He dares to publicly condemn the cruelty and abuse by the armed forces, the psychological warfare, and the constant abuses of human rights.

In February 1989, at a time the country was sealed off from the outside world, he bravely wrote a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations. He asked for a self- determination referendum under UN auspices, to settle the question of the future of East Timor, and sought the help of the international community to protect the East Timorese "dying as a people and as a nation." He did not receive a reply until five years later, and it gave him little comfort.

As the Apostolic Administrator, Bishop Belo answers directly to the Holy See. This means he is free from full formal membership of the local, i.e. Indonesian Bishops Conference, and therefore free from its deliberations on East Timor matters. At times he has had to face Vatican officials who have disagreed with him, but he has courageously held his ground.

In recent years Bishop Belo has built up a network of contacts with the world's information media, conveying to them the thoughts and feelings of his people. Since the Church is the only remaining organisation in East Timor independent of government control, he has become a focal point for the expression of national aspirations. For his labours, he has earned the wrath and disapproval of the Indonesian authorities, and the condemnation from countries that seek the favour of the Indonesian Government. At times he has been left severely alone even by ecclesiastic officialdom. Carlos Filipe Belo has borne the burden of isolation with resignation, without it dampening his resolve.

There have been several plots to assassinate the Bishop. Behind the scenes efforts have been made to remove him from his position. In more recent years he is at last gaining the admiration, respect and support from all quarters of the globe for his courageous efforts for his people. In 1994 he was among the final candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1995 he was again nominated to this important award by prominent international figures, including South African Archbishop Tutu, Irish human rights activist Maired Maguaire, and many others. Well-known international figures are expressing their support for this candidature.

Bishop Belo's readiness to plead a personal cause with police, military commanders, prison officials and political authorities for anyone under his pastoral care is legend. He gave sanctuary in his rambling decaying colonial villa to over 250 people fleeing the 12 November 1991 massacre at Santa Cruz. He escorted many of them home, to what was thought to be safety. A large number of them has never been seen again since that fateful day. The continuing suffering, torture, imprisonment, harassment, and disappearance of his young contacts throughout the country still give him great cause for personal suffering.

Through his administrative policies, Bishop Carlos Belo has encouraged many efforts to further the East Timorese culture and traditions against the massive, smothering onslaught of Indonesian policies of absorption. He encouraged and continued the use of Tetum and Portuguese in all ceremonies of worship, thus making the former a strong focal point of local cultural expression. Despite strong pressures, these languages continued to be taught in the seminary and parish schools for as long as possible. He has built up a strong chain of secondary schools throughout the country, and has also fostered a system of clinics to provide basic medical care in parishes. The provision of orphanages to cater for a new social phenomenon, parentless children, has become a pressing need. In the past, extended families provided the care. Because of the long years of violent conflict, many such families have been wiped out. The Church has stepped in and filled the gap.

Bishop Belo has applied himself with great energy to the establishment of a new seminary in East Timor, to provide a wide and universal education to future leaders of the nation. A large segment of the secular leadership in East Timor has come from the old seminary, where its members gained the intellectual energy and strong edge of a spirit of nationalism that has helped to keep hope alive in the collective heart of the people.

The bishop has to endure the daily surveillance from the secret police, who watch his every move. His phones are tapped. His fax machine is monitored. His visitors are closely watched. They keep close to him whenever he moves around East Timor. They attempt to restrict any movement he may care to make outside the country. But Bishop Belo persists in his courageous efforts to defend justice, peace and the preservation of the dignity of his people. Recently, he has set up a Church commission to monitor human rights abuses, and has opened up a radio station to disseminate information and news.

Despite all the difficulties placed in his way, Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo perseveres ceaselessly, calling on his compatriots, at home and abroad, to be united, to work for peace and reconciliation, to work for freedom, and ultimately, to have their right to freely determine their own future respected.
 

 

 
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