Vatican sanctions Nobel prize-winning bishop over sexual abuses

The Vatican banned a Nobel Peace Prize-winning Catholic bishop from contact with minors after allegations that he sexually abused boys during the 1990s.

According to the New York Times, Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo had raped and abused teenage boys decades ago in East Timor. The Vatican sanctioned him a day after a Dutch magazine, De Groene Amsterdammer, aired the accusations of abuse by two of the priest’s alleged victims.

The magazine quoted two men saying that Belo raped them when they were 14 and 15 and then later gave them money. Both men believed that Belo had sexually abused other boys in East Timor. Some of the alleged abuse took place in the bishop's residence in the capital, Dili, Reuters reported.

ABC News quoted Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni as saying that the Vatican office responsible for sex abuse cases received claims regarding Belo’s behavior in 2019 and within a year had imposed restrictions, including limitations on Belo's movements and prohibiting him from having voluntary contact with minors or contact with East Timor.

“In November 2021 these measures were modified and reinforced,” Mr. Bruni said. “On both occasions the measures were formally accepted by the bishop.”

It is worth mentioning that Belo, 74, was an icon in East Timor, sharing in the 1996 Nobel Peace Prize along with José Ramos-Horta, who went on to become president, as they ended bloody conflict in peace. The Norwegian Nobel Committee specifically cited the bishop’s courage in sneaking two witnesses to a 1991 massacre out of the country so they could testify to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, according to the New York Times.

The Nobel Committee refused to respond to the allegations, except saying it generally doesn’t comment on past laureates. In a recent exception, the committee rebuked its 2019 winner, the Ethiopian prime minister, over the war and humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region, ABC News reported.

The United Nations described the allegations as “truly shocking,” and said they must be “fully investigated,” according to a statement from UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Belo, who was believed to be living in Portugal, didn’t respond when reached by telephone by Radio Renascença, the private broadcaster of the Portuguese church, according to ABC News.

Belo is a member of the Salesian religious order, which traditionally specializes in the education of children, Reuters reported.

Belo is not the only church official in East Timor accused of abuse. An American priest, Richard Daschbach, was found guilty last year by a Dili court of sexually abusing orphaned and disadvantaged young girls under his care and was sentenced to 12 years in prison, the first such case of its kind in the country, according to ABC News.