International
The pope celebrates a mass in the capital of East Timor for 600,000 people, half of the country’s inhabitants
The pope celebrated a mass on Tuesday on the esplanade of Taci Tolu, in Dili, on his second day of visit to East Timor, in which 600,000 faithful participated, half of the 1.3 million inhabitants of the country considered the most Catholic in the world, not counting the Vatican.
The country’s authorities reported that on the esplanade and in the adjacent areas the presence of about 600,000 people was calculated in one of the most massive events of the pontificate of Francis in proportion to the number of inhabitants.
Already from this Monday, the inhabitants of Dili and Timorese arrived from all over the country concentrated in this natural space where St. John Paul II also celebrated a mass in 1989, when East Timor was still a province invaded by Indonesia and that put the world’s demands for independence in the spotlight.
Francis was greeted by a tide of yellow and white umbrellas, the colors of the Vatican, in a totally festive and euphoric atmosphere in this place, where the guerrillas were buried in mass graves and independence was proclaimed after 25 years of war and the 1999 referendum.
To Taci Tolu arrived not only the inhabitants of the capital but from all parts of the country and also some pilgrims from Indonesia, from nearby West Timor and Australia, most of them dressed in commemorative T-shirts of the trip and that could be observed throughout the city, for which it has become one of the great events in the history of the young nation.
Upon arrival, the pope was tealed with traditional dances and greeted some of those present before the mass.
Due to the heat, he walked on the esplanade on a mobile to greet the faithful only after the ceremony.
In the homily, in Spanish and translated into tetum, Francisco spoke of the joy of the birth of a child and said that in East Timor “it is wonderful what happens when a baby is born” and that here in this country “there are many children” and it is “a young country in which in every corner life feels throbbing and bubbling.”
He also pointed out that “making room for the little ones, welcoming them, taking care of them, and also making all of us little before God and before the brothers, are precisely the attitudes that open us to the action of the Lord.”
A call for the protection of minors, which he also referred to yesterday, in a country where a few years ago the scandal of the abuses committed by the Nobel Peace Prize Bishop in 1996, Carlos Ximenez Belo, broke out.
The pope continued his homily asking the faithful of one of the poorest countries in the world: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us not be afraid to make ourselves small before God and against each other; to lose our lives, to give our time (…) to welcome others.”
The pope will end his visit to East Timor this Tuesday with a meeting with young people and then fly to Singapore, the last stage of his tour of Asia and Oceania.
International
U.S. strike in Caracas killed 32 cuban security officers, experts say surprise was crucial
Two days after a U.S. military attack on a military complex in Caracas, Havana confirmed that 32 members of its security forces were killed in the operation, some of whom were likely responsible for protecting Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. The Venezuelan government also reported that 23 of its own military personnel died during the assault.
Of the Cuban dead, 21 belonged to the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees intelligence services, and 11 were from the Revolutionary Armed Forces. No official information has been released regarding potential injuries.
Experts consulted by AFP agreed that the element of surprise was the key to the success of the U.S. military operation, which was meticulously prepared over months and kept entirely secret. “Cuban intelligence … convinced the Maduro regime and its security agencies that the United States would never attack Venezuelan territory,” explained José Gustavo Arocha, a former Venezuelan army officer and expert at the Center for a Secure Free Society, a U.S. defense think tank.
Fulton Armstrong, a former U.S. intelligence officer and Latin America researcher at American University in Washington, also highlighted the failure to anticipate the attack and to detect U.S. helicopters entering Venezuelan airspace, noting that even a five- to ten-minute warning could have made a significant difference for the guards and for Maduro.
U.S. forces additionally benefited from “incredible” real-time intelligence provided by stealth drones to monitor movements of the Venezuelan leader, according to experts. A highly sophisticated combat team was deployed, and analysts believe the order to “fire to kill” was likely given.
Paul Hare, former British ambassador to Cuba and Venezuela, added that Cuban intelligence also underestimated the extent of U.S. access to internal cooperation within Venezuela’s security apparatus, contributing to the operation’s success.
International
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
The Vatican reportedly attempted to negotiate an offer of asylum in Russia for Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro before his capture by U.S. forces last Saturday, according to The Washington Post.
The U.S. newspaper reported that Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch about a supposed Russian proposal to grant Maduro asylum. A source familiar with the offer said that what was proposed “was that he would leave and be able to enjoy his money,” and that part of the plan involved Russian President Vladimir Putin guaranteeing Maduro’s security.
Despite these diplomatic efforts, the United States carried out a military operation that resulted in Maduro’s capture and detention, along with his wife Cilia Flores, who are now being held in New York on narcoterrorism charges.
The Washington Post also noted that U.S. President Donald Trump may have invited Maduro to Washington for in-person discussions about safe conduct, an offer that Maduro reportedly declined.
International
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
“War is becoming fashionable again, and war enthusiasm is spreading.” Pope Leo XIV delivered a somber assessment of international politics on Friday, sharply criticizing the growing reliance on force by nations at a time when his country of birth is increasing military displays.
While offering New Year’s greetings to the diplomatic corps, the U.S.-born pope — who also holds Peruvian nationality — delivered one of his strongest speeches to date, denouncing the “worrying weakening of multilateralism” and the emergence of what he described as “war enthusiasm.”
From the outset of his address to ambassadors accredited to the Holy See, delivered in English, the pontiff lamented the rise of a “diplomacy of force, by individuals or groups of allied states,” at the expense of dialogue, warning that such trends threaten the global order established after World War II.
“Peace is no longer sought as a gift or as a good desirable in itself, or as the pursuit of ‘the establishment of an order willed by God, one that entails greater justice among human beings.’ Instead, it is pursued through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominance,” the head of the Catholic Church said, without directly naming any country.
His remarks come amid ongoing conflicts between Ukraine and Russia and in the Gaza Strip, and against a broader international backdrop marked by European concerns over a potential U.S. takeover of Greenland, the autonomous Danish territory, a scenario that could threaten the cohesion of NATO.
U.S. strike in Caracas killed 32 cuban security officers, experts say surprise was crucial
Report: Vatican mediation included russian asylum offer ahead of Maduro’s capture
Pope Leo XIV warns of rising “war enthusiasm” in global politics
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