Pope Francis gives his speech during a meeting with families at the Mall of Asia arena in Manila, Philippines, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. AP
MANILA, Philippines—Starting his apostolic visit to the Philippines yesterday, Pope Francis demanded the country’s leaders end “scandalous social inequalities,” hitting out at corruption in a nation where tens of millions of Catholics endure brutal poverty.
The Pontiff made the comments in his first speech of a five-day visit to the country, after an electrifying welcome on Thursday enhanced the Philippines’ reputation as the Catholic Church’s vibrant Asian bastion.
Speaking at Malacañang during a courtesy call on President Aquino, with more than 400 government officials, foreign diplomats and other VIPs in the audience, Francis, a revered figure for most Filipinos, took immediate aim at the nation’s elite who have for decades enjoyed the spoils of power while the vast majority lived in poverty.
“It is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good,” Francis said.
“The moral imperative of ensuring social justice and respect for human dignity” is essential to nation building, he said.
Saying he joined Catholic bishops of the Philippines who declared 2015 the Year of the Poor, Francis challenged “everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor.”
The 78-year-old Pontiff, seen by many around the world as a bold reformer compared with his predecessor, said the “great biblical tradition obligated everyone to hear the voice of the poor.”
“It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression, which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities,” he said.
Francis’ message will likely resonate in a fast-rising economy but where a quarter of the 100-million population remain poor, despite the government’s promise to provide equitable distribution of wealth through “inclusive growth.”
Strength of spirit
The Pope paid homage to the Filipino strength of spirit and charitable giving amid adversities like Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) and the Filipino diaspora, shining virtues that he said drew from their five-centuries-old Christian faith.
“Together with many people throughout the world,” he said. “I have admired the heroic strength, faith and resilience demonstrated by so many Filipinos in the face of this natural disaster and so many others.”
Francis also sounded the alarm on threats to Christian values, saying democracies now find it “difficult” to “preserve and defend such basic human values.”
He identified these values “as respect for the inviolable dignity of each human person, respect for the rights of conscience and religious freedom, and respect for the inalienable right to life, beginning with that of the unborn and extending to that of the elderly and infirm.”
Francis called for a “conversion of mind and heart” in “reforming the social structures, which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor.”
Family values
Hours before sitting down for a meeting with select families in the afternoon, Francis highlighted the importance of the family in transmitting “to our young the values and the vision [that] can help bring about a culture of integrity—a culture [that] honors goodness, truthfulness, fidelity, and solidarity as the firm foundation and the moral glue which holds society together.”
“Like all God’s gifts, the family can also be disfigured and destroyed. It needs our support,” he said.
“Today the Philippines, together with many other countries in Asia, faces the challenge of building on solid foundations a modern society—a society respectful of authentic human values, protective of our God-given human dignity and rights, and ready to confront new and complex political and ethical questions,” he said.
The Pope made special mention of the peace efforts in Mindanao, saying: “I express my trust that the progress made in bringing peace to the south of the country will result in just solutions in accord with the nation’s founding principles and respectful of the inalienable rights of all, including the indigenous peoples and religious minorities.”
Liberal Pope
A big part of Francis’ immense popularity is rooted on the impression that he is a “liberal” Pope, especially in contrast to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI.
But while Francis is indeed more pastoral, owing to his experience preaching in the slums of Buenos Aires, the Pontiff known as the “Pope of the Poor” is in fact a staunch guardian of Catholic orthodoxy.
Among his select audience in the Palace were some of the most rabid promoters of the reproductive health (RH) law—Health Secretary Janette Garin and former Rep. Risa Hontiveros.
Backed by Mr. Aquino, the RH law was finally passed in 2012, in a crushing blow that suggested the waning influence of the Catholic hierarchy over its increasingly secular flock in the Philippines.
Aquino on local priests
In his message, Mr. Aquino heaped praises on the visiting Pontiff but took a swipe at members of the local clergy, with whom he was at odds over the RH law.
“There was a true test of faith when many members of the Church, once advocates for the poor, the marginalized, and the helpless, suddenly became silent in the face of the previous administration’s abuses, which we are still trying to rectify to this very day,” the President said.
“In contrast to their previous silence, some members of the clergy now seem to think that the way to be true to the faith means finding something to criticize, even to the extent that one prelate admonished me to do something about my hair, as if it were a mortal sin,” he added.
Fresh paths in Asia
At the Manila Cathedral, where he celebrated a Mass for the Philippine clergy and the religious after his visit to Malacañang, the Pope urged local church leaders to lead the evangelization of Asia.
“You are called to build bridges … prepare fresh paths for the Gospel in Asia at the dawn of a new age,” he told the church leaders led by Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The Pope visibly lightened up in the presence of clergy.
Opening his homily with a quotation from the Gospel of John in which Jesus Christ asked Peter, “Do you love me?” the Pope made the first departure from the English text prepared for him by seemingly posing the question to the audience.
Indicating he had indeed been showered with love, he joked, “Thank you very much,” drawing laughter from the audience.
Francis said he was greeting them “with great affection.”
In his homily, he said the Philippine church was called “to acknowledge and combat deeply rooted inequality and injustice [in] society, contradicting the teaching of Christ.”
He said the Philippine church itself must do examination of conscience and “embrace the path of constant conversion.”
Danger of materialism
Francis noted that there’s “great danger” for the Church of a “certain materialism [that] can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer.”
He called for a Church that will work for the poor by becoming poor itself.
“Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify ourselves with the poor,” he said.
Francis urged young seminarians, priests and religious to proclaim the “joy of the Gospel” to “confused and despondent” young people.
He said young people joining the religious life must likewise witness to the “beauty and truth of the Christian message to society tempted by confusing representations of sexuality, marriage and family.”
During the Mass, the Pope showed his support to old people when he went down the altar to make the traditional sign of peace with the elderly religious sisters and priests in the front rows, most of whom were in wheelchairs. With reports from AP and AFP
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