Day 31
East Timor
84-year-old American, Richard Daschbach, a longtime resident of East Timor and defrocked Catholic priest charged with child abuse and child pornography, has made a death threat against the victims’ lawyer during the court case against him. We contend with holy faith, for the purifying of the Church in East Timor, a largely Catholic nation. We stand against the strongholds of child abuse that has given the Church such a negative reputation around the world. Instead, we ask you, Lord, to release repentance and forgiveness, cleansing, and healing. We pray that Christian Believers in this nation will speak out against all forms of abuse, and live exemplary lives (The Bible, 1 Peter 2:12).
In stark contrast to the young nation’s turbulent past, East Timor peacefully transferred power to a younger generation of leaders in 2017. However, in the last year the general elections failed to give outright leadership to any one party and the coalition has struggled to succeed. The country, also known as Timor-Leste, had a bloody 24-year resistance against Indonesian occupiers. Half of the country still lives in extreme poverty. High levels of youth unemployment fuel gang violence. With nearly 97% of its population being Roman Catholic.
