By Dr. Sigit Triyono

Around 900 young Catholics from three Timor Leste Dioceses (Dili, Baucau, Meliana) gathered at Laelia Parish, Mantutu (about two hours drive from Dili City to the east). They attended the Catholic Youth Gathering held on November 4-8, 2024. This event is an annual event held in rotation from one Diocese to another. After being held in the Diocese of Dili in 2023, this year it was held in the Diocese of Baucau.

The five-day schedule of the event always begins with mass, then continues with various discussion sessions, art performances, and Bible study for young people. LAI was given the opportunity to present the book Identity: Identified which is the Bible of the Covenant plus various articles that answer the struggles of young people. Rev. Dr. and I. Anwar Tjen was present representing LAI with Rev. Arun Shok Nhap representing UBS Asia Pacific region. On the second day of the Catholic Youth Gathering, on the morning of November 5, 2024, we accompanied Mr. Dom Virgílio Cardeal da Silva do Carmo, SDB, Arcebispo de Dili, (Cardinal of Dili) and his entourage to a very lively welcoming event.

The nine hundred participants of the Youth Gathering plus local people and various invitees from government circles were involved in the welcoming event with dancing and shawl garlands. This was followed by a very solemn Mass even though the sun was starting to sting. After the mass in the open field led directly by the Cardinal, the event moved to an open but roofed meeting place so that 900 young Catholics were protected from the sun.

At that location, the Bishop of Baucau gave a lecture on how the church can help the struggles of young Catholics. Several participants were very enthusiastic about asking various real problems that were faced and needed answers from the Bishop. After the session above, it was time for LAI and UBS to present the Identity: Identified book in Indonesian and English. Before the presentation began, I handed over forty copies of the Indonesian version of the book directly as the Secretary General of LAI to representatives of the youth of the Diocese of Dili, the Diocese of Baucau and the Diocese of Meliana, as well as the youth of CET (East Timor Bishops' Conference). Two books in English were handed over to the Chairperson of the CET Youth Commission and the Director General of Youth, Sports and Culture of the East Timor Government. The explanation began by introducing what LAI is and how its ministry has been going for 70 years. Next, Rev. Arun Shok Nhap briefly explained the journey of publishing the Identity: Identified book which is a follow-up to the appeal of Pope Francis in 2018. Referring to the book Christus Vivit and delving into the various struggles of young people's lives, the New Testament Bible book was born with 24 articles on the topic of various struggles of young people. This book, the English version of which was published in 2022, has been delivered to the Vatican by the UBS leadership, and was received directly by the Pope in early 2023. The Indonesian version of this book was published at the end of 2023 with additional articles to 25 according to the needs of the youth context in Indonesia. On behalf of LAI, I dedicate and present this book specifically to Pope Francis, when he visited Jakarta, on September 6, 2024 at the Embassy of the Holy See, Vatican, Jakarta. Furthermore, Rev. Dr. Anwar Tjen presented in more detail the contents of the Indonesian version of the book Indenty: Identified. On average, 900 young Catholics in Timor Leste understand and comprehend Indonesian (because Indonesian TV channels are a favorite show in Timor Leste). Rev. Anwar's delivery in a joke was also greeted with cheerful laughter. It was informed that the specialty of this book is the special color of the verses related to the discussion of the article title. This book is also equipped with links that can open videos related to certain topics. Also equipped with a website and Apps that can be installed from the Google Play store.

Because it was too late for lunch, the committee decided to hold an informal Q&A session during lunch. The response from the participants to the presentation was very positive. Everyone welcomed it with joy when it was announced that there would be a Tetun version, the official language in Timor Leste.

In the middle of lunch, the Cardinal stated that he would bring the plan to translate the Identity: Identified Book into Tetun to a meeting with all Bishops and CET.

After February 2025, the Cardinal hopes to be able to bring together the LAI and UBS Teams with the CET Team to create concrete stages for translating Identity: Identified into Tetun. All for the sake of facilitating the understanding of the youth of Timor Leste regarding the Bible-based daily life guide. (ST.8.11.2024)