Martinho da Costa Lopes
Encyclopedia
Martinho da Costa Lopes East Timor
ese religious and political leader. Msgr da Costa Lopes, who was a Timorese priest of many years experience, was also a member of the National Assembly in Lisbon
. By 1975, when the Indonesia
n troops landed in Timor, he had become the assistant to the Portuguese Bishop of Dili
, Dom José Joaquim Ribeiro. When the latter, distraught by the killings, requested retirement in May 1977, his position was taken by Msgr da Costa Lopes, who at the age of 58 became the Apostolic Administrator of the Dili diocese, answerable directly to the Pope and responsible for the whole of East Timor
.
For some years he privately took up issues of allegations of atrocities and starvation with the Indonesian military leaders, but came to realise that he was being ignored. So in 1981 he changed tactics. He now made his complaints public by writing letters overseas and then giving his permission for them to be published in newspapers and through the media, so that the world community, unaware of what was happening in the closed territory, would come to learn of the killings by the Indonesians. In particular he criticized the forced conscription of 50,000 men and boys to form a human chain to help crush the Fretilin resistance, and later denounced the Indonesian army for war crimes, in particular the massacre of 500 women and children at the Shrine of St Anthony at Lacluta in September 1981.
He was reprimanded by the military and infuriated President Suharto. Never before had an East Timorese so publicly exposed and humiliated the Indonesian Armed Forces. His response was: "I feel the irrepressible need to tell the whole world about the genocide being practised in Timor so that, when we die, at least the world will know we died standing."
Meanwhile he continued to highlight the evidence of massive starvation in the resettlement camps and gave his support to his priests who sought to stand alongside the people. Desperately he wrote to the Pope
requesting a special audience, to which the Vatican
responded that it was neither timely nor necessary. For Msgr da Costa Lopes this was one of his hardest blows. He went on, in a letter to Australia
, to accuse the Indonesian military of mass murder, and anticipated widepead famine unless large food supplies were urgently imported. His predictions were proved correct.
Former Australia
n Prime Minister
Whitlam
, called the bishop "a liar, who was simply stirring up trouble". However his denunciations proved so controversial and supported by outside agencies that Indonesia could no longer tolerate them.
General Benny Moerdani was suspected of persuading the Papal Pro-Nuncio in Jakarta
, whom he was suspected of being close to, to advise the Pope to request the resignation of the Apostolic Administrator. This happened in May 1983, when Msgr da Costa Lopes retired, painfully leaving his native land to live in Lisbon where he died on February 27, 1991. Lopes was succeeded as Apostolic Administrator by Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo.
Martinho da Costa Lopes grew up in an era when the Portuguese church in what was then Portuguese Timor
cooperated closely with the Portuguese colonial government, but was less strongly linked with the people, of whom only 28% were Catholic in 1975. In spite of this grounding and in spite of his being in his 60s, he oriented the church towards support for the Timorese people fighting in the mountains and for those priests (Portuguese and Timorese) who had gone to live in the mountains with them. In 1981 the country's lingua franca the Tetum language, was made an official language of the Catholic liturgy in East Timor, instead of Indonesian
.
The decision by the Vatican to force him to leave was made over the heads of the Timorese clergy, many of whom wrote to the Pope opposing it. Msgr da Costa Lopes paid for his outspoken criticism of Indonesian actions in East Timor with his job.
However his name remains associated with a historic re-orientation of the Timorese church towards the local culture and people. This new and indigenous church achieved, during these six years, a numerical growth which centuries of work by Portuguese missionaries had never managed in East Timor.
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
ese religious and political leader. Msgr da Costa Lopes, who was a Timorese priest of many years experience, was also a member of the National Assembly in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
. By 1975, when the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n troops landed in Timor, he had become the assistant to the Portuguese Bishop of Dili
Dili
Dili, spelled Díli in Portuguese, is the capital, largest city, chief port and commercial centre of East Timor.-Geography and Administration:Dili lies on the northern coast of Timor island, the easternmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands....
, Dom José Joaquim Ribeiro. When the latter, distraught by the killings, requested retirement in May 1977, his position was taken by Msgr da Costa Lopes, who at the age of 58 became the Apostolic Administrator of the Dili diocese, answerable directly to the Pope and responsible for the whole of East Timor
East Timor
The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, commonly known as East Timor , is a state in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecusse, an exclave on the northwestern side of the island, within Indonesian West Timor...
.
For some years he privately took up issues of allegations of atrocities and starvation with the Indonesian military leaders, but came to realise that he was being ignored. So in 1981 he changed tactics. He now made his complaints public by writing letters overseas and then giving his permission for them to be published in newspapers and through the media, so that the world community, unaware of what was happening in the closed territory, would come to learn of the killings by the Indonesians. In particular he criticized the forced conscription of 50,000 men and boys to form a human chain to help crush the Fretilin resistance, and later denounced the Indonesian army for war crimes, in particular the massacre of 500 women and children at the Shrine of St Anthony at Lacluta in September 1981.
He was reprimanded by the military and infuriated President Suharto. Never before had an East Timorese so publicly exposed and humiliated the Indonesian Armed Forces. His response was: "I feel the irrepressible need to tell the whole world about the genocide being practised in Timor so that, when we die, at least the world will know we died standing."
Meanwhile he continued to highlight the evidence of massive starvation in the resettlement camps and gave his support to his priests who sought to stand alongside the people. Desperately he wrote to the Pope
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
requesting a special audience, to which the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
responded that it was neither timely nor necessary. For Msgr da Costa Lopes this was one of his hardest blows. He went on, in a letter to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, to accuse the Indonesian military of mass murder, and anticipated widepead famine unless large food supplies were urgently imported. His predictions were proved correct.
Former Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Whitlam
Gough Whitlam
Edward Gough Whitlam, AC, QC , known as Gough Whitlam , served as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia. Whitlam led the Australian Labor Party to power at the 1972 election and retained government at the 1974 election, before being dismissed by Governor-General Sir John Kerr at the climax of the...
, called the bishop "a liar, who was simply stirring up trouble". However his denunciations proved so controversial and supported by outside agencies that Indonesia could no longer tolerate them.
General Benny Moerdani was suspected of persuading the Papal Pro-Nuncio in Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, whom he was suspected of being close to, to advise the Pope to request the resignation of the Apostolic Administrator. This happened in May 1983, when Msgr da Costa Lopes retired, painfully leaving his native land to live in Lisbon where he died on February 27, 1991. Lopes was succeeded as Apostolic Administrator by Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo.
Martinho da Costa Lopes grew up in an era when the Portuguese church in what was then Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor
Portuguese Timor was the name of East Timor when it was under Portuguese control. During this period, Portugal shared the island of Timor with the Netherlands East Indies, and later with Indonesia....
cooperated closely with the Portuguese colonial government, but was less strongly linked with the people, of whom only 28% were Catholic in 1975. In spite of this grounding and in spite of his being in his 60s, he oriented the church towards support for the Timorese people fighting in the mountains and for those priests (Portuguese and Timorese) who had gone to live in the mountains with them. In 1981 the country's lingua franca the Tetum language, was made an official language of the Catholic liturgy in East Timor, instead of Indonesian
Indonesian language
Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....
.
The decision by the Vatican to force him to leave was made over the heads of the Timorese clergy, many of whom wrote to the Pope opposing it. Msgr da Costa Lopes paid for his outspoken criticism of Indonesian actions in East Timor with his job.
However his name remains associated with a historic re-orientation of the Timorese church towards the local culture and people. This new and indigenous church achieved, during these six years, a numerical growth which centuries of work by Portuguese missionaries had never managed in East Timor.
Sources
- New York Times: Death of da Costa Lopes
- Cathnews: Whitlam role in ousting East Timor Catholic leader
Literature
- Rowena Lennox, Fighting Spirit of East Timor: The Life of Martinho da Costa Lopes, ISBN 1-85649-833-6