The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
“Keep the flame of faith alive in your hearts. Walk away as children of the light,” Francis intoned in his homily.
He ended the Mass with the devotees holding lighted candles in the damp air. The Pontiff, a lighted candle flickering behind a glass case in his right arm, gave his final blessing in English in a symbolic gesture after urging Filipinos to be the outstanding missionaries in Asia.
It capped four days of electrifying devotion that greeted the Pope at every turn since his arrival Thursday when devotees, some holding up candles, lined the streets after waiting for hours under threat of rain to welcome him.
It would take weeks before the pope-frenzy would die down and introspection and soul-searching hopefully take over.
Several of his messages stood out. He stressed the central role of the family in society and for Filipinos to protect their young from sin and vice so they could become missionaries of the faith. He met and spent time with street children.
Francis spoke out against the “culture of waste” that has imperiled the environment, and said, “it is man who has slapped nature in the face.” Last Saturday, even in the face of an incoming storm, he traveled to the eastern city of Tacloban to offer prayers for the survivors of the deadly 2013 Supertyphoon Yolanda (International name: Haiyan), which devastated one of the Philippines’s poorest regions.
And he put at the center of his mission the poor and the marginalized to which he has dedicated his four-day pastoral trip.
In a nation where its 25 million poor live on less than $1 a day and nine elite Filipinos made it to Forbes’ list of the world’s billionaires in 2014, the Pontiff challenged Filipinos “at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption, which diverts resources from the poor.”
Francis also took aim at the Filipino elite that 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.
Known as a bold reformer, he was heard loudest when speaking for tens of millions who endure brutal poverty. He said the “great biblical tradition” bids us to “break the bonds of injustice and oppression, which give rise to glaring and indeed scandalous, social inequalities.”
After the Mass, facing a press briefing, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, said the Pontiff asked about the size of crowd at Rizal Park and told him, “I cannot fathom the faith of the people.”
“If the figure is true,” said Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, “this is the largest event in the history of the Pope.” The figure was provided by the Metro Manila Development Authority, according to ANC News Channel.
It surpassed the record 5 million that St. John Paul II drew for the service at the same park during the 1995 World Youth Day celebration.
Outstanding missionaries of the faith
The Mass, the Vatican spokesman, “was a wonderful celebration,” and pointed out passages in Francis’s homily that seemed drowned out. “The Philippines is the foremost Catholic country in Asia. Filipinos are called to be the outstanding missionaries in the evangelization of Asia. “Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith,” he said.
Francis marked an important Filipino feast day honoring the Infant Jesus by dedicating the final homily of his weeklong Asian trip to children. It was a reflection of the importance that the Vatican places on Asia as the future of the Church since it’s one of the few places where Catholic numbers are growing — and on the Philippines as the largest Catholic nation in the region.
“We need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected,” Francis said in his homily. “And we need to care for our young people, not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to a life on the streets.”
Francis made a triumphal entry into Manila’s Rizal Park riding on a pope mobile based on the design of a jeepney, the modified US Army World War II jeep that is a common means of public transport here. He wore the same cheap, plastic yellow rain poncho handed out to the masses during his visit to the typhoon-hit city of Tacloban a day earlier.
The crowd — a sea of humanity spread out across the 60 hectares (148 acres) of parkland and boulevards surrounding it — erupted in shrieks of joy when he drove by, a reflection of the incredible resonance Francis’s message about caring for society’s youngest and most marginal has had in this country.
Earlier in the day, Francis drew an estimated 200,000 people to Manila’s Catholic university, where he came close to tears hearing two rescued street children speak of their lives growing up poor and abandoned. (See separate story).
A steady rain from the same tropical storm that forced Francis to cut short his visit to Tacloban on Saturday fell on the crowd, but it didn’t seem to dampen spirits of Filipinos who streamed into the capital for Francis’s final day.
“I am not satisfied just seeing him on TV,” said Rosalinda Kho, a devout Catholic who arrived before dawn outside Rizal Park with her daughter, Rosana, to score a place for the Mass. “This is a once in a lifetime chance to see him in the flesh, even from afar.”
By the time the gates opened, the roads leading to the park were mostly closed. Many people camped out on tarpaulins on the ground where they had spent the night, surrounded by bags of food. Some pilgrims carried images of the Infant Jesus to mark the feast day.
In his homily, Francis urged the crowd to protect their children from sin, alcohol and gambling, saying the devil “distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes.”
Bracing for huge crowds, the government put out a public-service announcement warning the elderly, pregnant women and children against coming to the event. They urged the crowd to carry their things in transparent plastic bags since they’d be easier to inspect. An appeal to use raincoats rather than umbrellas went unheeded.
Earlier, officials had suggested Mass-goers consider using adult diapers since access to public toilets would be limited. What happened, however was that traffic cops were given diapers since they couldn’t leave their posts, though authorities backed off an initial order to use them.
Rommel Monton, a 28-year-old call-center agent, said he was struck by Francis’s willingness to practice what he preaches, particularly as it concerns the poor.
“He doesn’t want to be treated as someone special. Look at his vehicles, they are not bullet-proof: He wanted them to be open so that he can feel he is close to the people,” he said. “How will you be able to protect your followers if you are not with them, if you are afraid to show yourself, to stand behind them or stand before them?”
A meeting with Kristel’s father
Francis sought to stand with one Filipino family struck by tragedy during his visit: He spent 20 minutes Sunday meeting with the father of Kristel Padasas, a volunteer with Catholic Relief Services, who died Saturday in Tacloban when a scaffolding fell on her. Witnesses said a sudden gust of wind toppled the structure, which had served as a platform for a large loudspeaker during the Mass.
The father was overwhelmed by the loss but was “consoled thinking that she had helped prepare the meeting of the people with the pope,” said the Rev. Lombardi, the Vatican spokesman.
Seventeen-year-old student J.R. Calacday was out early Sunday, waiting for a friend to arrive before plunging into the crowds at the park. “I just want to see the Pope. He is someone we can believe because he speaks the truth,” he said.
The faithful began arriving at the sprawling park on Saturday night. About a dozen people were injured in a minor stampede when people rushed to get into the park, Johnny Yu of the Manila city disaster office said in a radio interview. He said some people jumped over steel railings and some concrete barriers were breached.
With AP reports