| Subject: 'New York Will Pray' Cardinal
phones nuns in East Timor making pledge of support in crisis
September 23, 1999
Catholic New York
By STEPHEN STEELE
Cardinal O'Connor placed a call to a Salesian nun trapped inside a
convent in Dili, East Timor, and pledged that he would do everything he
could to ensure the safety of the 105 nuns and refugees residing in the
convent since early September.
''I told her that I would do everything in
my power to ensure her safety, and that I and the entire Church in New
York would be praying for them,'' the cardinal told CNY Sept. 17.
He spoke
Sept. 16 with Salesian Sister Marlene Bautista, of Long Beach, Calif., the
only American religious remaining in East Timor. During their half-hour
conversation, the cardinal expressed his concern about the attacks against
the Church and said he would begin lobbying his contacts on the nuns'
behalf for an immediate solution to the humanitarian crisis in East Timor.
The cardinal learned of the sisters' plight through a reporter who was in
East Timor in March and April and remained in contact with Sister Marlene.
In the days following an Aug. 30 U.N.-sponsored referendum on
independence, East Timor descended into a fiery nightmare, with
pro-Indonesia militia groups shooting, burning and looting throughout the
country. At least 700 people are reported dead in the two-week killing
spree. Among the dead were four priests.
Reached by telephone Sept. 21, Sister Marlene told CNY the cardinal's
call lifted the spirits of the nuns and refugees. ''We're pretty isolated
here. But to receive a phone call from Cardinal O'Connor shows that the
world has not forgotten us,'' she said.
She said the cardinal told her that ''if there was anything else he
could do for us, that we were to contact him immediately, any hour of the
day or night.''
Sister Marlene learned only after his call that the cardinal has been
undergoing radiation treatment after surgery for a brain tumor.
''Please let him know that the children are praying in a special way
for him, that he recovers quickly and that God protects him,'' she told
CNY.
She said that the children made a card for the cardinal with the
inscription, ''Thank you for helping to save our lives.''
The cardinal asked for prayers for the nuns and refugees at Sunday Mass
in St. Patrick's Cathedral Sept. 19 and at a Mass Sept. 17 at St. Joseph's
Seminary in Dunwoodie marking the start of the academic year.
The arrival of peacekeeping troops in East Timor Sept. 20 may mean an
end to the death and mayhem of recent weeks. The first ship carrying
troops arrived at 4:15 a.m. The noise woke the 105 nuns and refugees
residing at the Salesian convent.
''It's earlier than we normally get up, but everybody in the house woke
up smiling. Our lives have been saved,'' Sister Marlene said.
''I feel safe and I feel confident. Now there are people here who can
protect us, and we feel confident that they will protect us,'' she said.
The first batch of heavily armed international troops landed at dawn
Sept 20. By Monday afternoon, 2,500 soldiers, helicopters and armored
personnel were on the ground in Dili, East Timor's capital, charged with
restoring order to the troubled territory.
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