Ex-SC chief Puno: Pope Francis can goad Filipinos to goodness

MANILA, Philippines – How can we make Pope Francis’ happier in his visit to the Philippines?

Retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno, in a statement, said it is not about preparing for his physical comfort “but more by preparing our hearts and cultivating minds to assure that God’s Words will not keep falling on barren grounds.”

Puno who has been pro-active in using the Constitution in fighting inequality represents the Philippine Bible Society and is one of the10 religious leaders and resource persons who will meet with Pope Francis at the University of Santo Tomas on Jan. 18.

The retired high court chief who described Pope Francis as the sower of God’s words said he is the leader who can really contribute to the mitigation of the worldwide problems.

Puno said the pontiff , the leader of more than 1 billion Catholic faithful, “has a good grip on the etiology of [the] worldwide problems of non-stop violation of human rights, stubborn poverty, scandalous corruption, ruling elites that overreach with greed, indifference to people down in the dumps, increasing terrorism, climate change etc.”

“And more importantly, he is a Pope who can goad us to goodness for he lives Christ’s teachings and follows His call, especially the call to look for the overlooked,” he said.

Aside from Puno, other religious leaders who will meet Pope Francis are His Eminence, Nektarios Tsilis (Orthodox Church), Ven. Master Hsing Yun (Buddhists), Rabbi Eliyahu Rajesh Sharma (Hinduism), HE, Ephraim S. Fajutagana (National Council of Churches in the Philippines), Bp. Cesar Vicente Punzalan III (Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches), Dean Julkipli M. Wadi (Islam), Imam Ebra Moxsir (Islam) and Dean Lilian Sison (Catholic).