Overcoming violence and death in East Timor: The foundations for a new nation

The paper explores the nature of the 2006 crisis in East Timor, a predominantly Roman Catholic nation located in South-East Asia, and how Christianity provides concrete ways for (re-)constructing social unity and communion. Specifically, the paper argues that Christian faith provides a basis for the promotion of the common good, as Benedict XVI discussed in his latest encyclical letter, by actualising fully personal relationships of solidarity and the mimetic, transcendent capacity of human beings in forgiveness, hope and love. This is done through the lens of a story during the 2006 crisis in which the father of a deceased policeman took a stand for forgiveness and non-violence. The paper draws on the anthropological insights of French theorist, Rene Girard, as they provide ways for understanding the nature of violence and faith.