DILI: 22nd August 2007 -- Accurate reporting is a tricky
business at the best of times, and trickier still when alleged
incidents happen in isolated areas and are widely reported in both the
secular and Catholic press - as has occurred recently in East Timor
where reports on an alleged intrusion into a 'Catholic convent'
identified first a Canossian convent (quickly denied), then a convent
belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia (also quickly denied).
And that is fully accurate, for there is no convent
or dormitory belonging to the Salesian Sisters in Baguia. Their
convent is in Laga, a Salesian parish, and all was well for them there,
relatively speaking. What was accurate was that there was an
incident relating to entry by a youth into the dormitory of an
orphanage in Baguia, a mission outpost of the parish. Subsequent
investigations reveal that the girl at the centre of the incident was
11 years of age. The youth concerned is in police custody. The
dormitory was being looked after by lay people, since there are no
resident members of either the SDBs or FMAs there, and by long
agreement, some villages maintain a degree of ownership and control and
even build the orphanages in some parts of the country, Baguia being
one such case.
The Salesian Sisters have an orphanage in Laga, as
also another orphanage and a professional school in Venilale.
These were unaffected directly by the unrest, though the violent
reactions of dissaffected persons due to political appointments has
been a matter of deep concern to the Religious communities in the area
and to law-abiding citizens. The problem in Baguia, our sources
tell us, was that a mob had been roaming the streets and issuing
threats for about three days. The area is isolated and the power
company turns off the power to the village at midnight. The darkness
and the general disturbance led to one youth, presumed to be part of
the mob, forcibly entering a dormitory with some 8 girls in it. One
sees, then, how reports of 'gangs' and '8 years old' begin to develop.
Beyond the seriousness of the particular intrusion
and attack on a minor, the other victim in these events can be the good
and essential social work of the Church, more especially in outlying
areas.
Beyond this there are few other details
available, but it helps to clarify the situation. _________________ AustraLasia is an
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Rome.
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