Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak and the President of the Timorese Episcopal Conference (CET), Dom Norberto do Amaral, Bishop of the Diocese of Maliana, signed today, November 13th, an agreement that defines the attribution, by the Government, of a public subsidy corresponding to the total value of US five million dollars, for the 2020 financial year, to carry out activities in the educational, social and ecclesial government areas. The signing ceremony took place in the Auditorium of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, at the Government Palace, in Dili.
This agreement is concluded under the Concordat, signed in August 14th, 2015, between the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste and the Holy See, which establish the legal framework of bilateral relations between the two states, and the Framework Agreement signed in June 16th, 2017, between the Government and CET. These agreements provide for an annual contribution, depending on the Government’s financial availability, for social, educational and ecclesial government activities of the Catholic Church. The amount and the modalities for granting the subsidy are regulated annually by specific agreements between the Government and the Timorese Episcopal Conference.
The agreement now signed provides that 50% of the grant amount will be used for educational purposes, 25% for social purposes, 15% for ecclesial government purposes and the remaining 10% for management of the grant awarded.
Participated in the ceremony the Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Social Communication, Francisco Martins da Costa Pereira Jerónimo, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Albertina Xavier Reis Magno, the Archbishop Metropolitan of the Dili Ecclesiastical Province, Dom Virgílio do Carmo da Silva, the Bishop of the Diocese of Baucau, Dom Basílio do Nascimento and the Apostolic Nuncio to Timor-Leste, Joseph Salvador Marino.