East Timor’s Catholics rally behind accused Nobel bishop

By GANTRY MEILANA, NICOLE WINFIELD and BARRY HATTON
Associated Press

DILI, East Timor (AP) — East Timor’s Catholics have reacted with shock but also expressions of support for revered independence icon and Nobel Peace Prize winner Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo following allegations he sexually abused boys decades ago in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation. The Vatican admitted Thursday that its sex abuse office had secretly sanctioned the bishop in 2020, restricting his movements and contacts with minors and forbidding him from having contact with his homeland. The Vatican revealed the restrictions after a Dutch magazine exposed the claims against Belo by two of his alleged victims and reported there were others, too. The Holy See has not responded to questions about when church officials first suspected possible misconduct by Belo.