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Friday, March 29, 2024

Lessons learned from the pope

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THE people’s Pope Francis, a simple man who inherited “the shoes of the fisherman,” came to the Philippines in a journey of mercy and compassion, principally directed to the survivors of super-typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban City.

Pope Francis came as the face of Jesus Christ with this simple message to all—to love our fellowmen as ourselves.

The outpouring of love for the Pope was phenomenal with  millions gathering as early as daybreak along the routes of the papal visit. More so when over 6 to 7 million gathered at the Luneta last Sunday to see and hear the pope in person and listen to his message.

There were many messages that Pope Francis left us, and I wish we should relish and have them etched in our hearts for the rest of our lives, I can only recap some of them since you, dear reader, may have more.

First and foremost, we must love one another and remain children of God at heart. Thus, we should not be surprised at God’s blessings.

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We should not be afraid to cry, because weeping is a gift from God — this was the message directed to the poor, the downtrodden, the needy and the victims of man-made and natural disasters and calamities.

Each child is a gift from God to be welcomed, and the family must be protected from insidious threats.

Corruption diverts resources from the poor and the faithful must reject them in all its forms.

Social structures perpetuate poverty, ignorance and corruption. There is need for inclusive policies that promote justice and integrity.

People tend to focus on the ephemeral, superficial pleasures, hiding such pursuits behind the appearance of sophistication.

VIPs and dignitaries, like the President, should learn from the Pope to carry their own bags and briefcases.

With the Holy Father back in Rome, how will we, especially those in government, relish his messages? This, given the fact that we Filipinos have short memories of the times when were oppressed deprived of our freedoms and civil and human rights.

Soon enough, we will be back to our old ways with people who should be the first ones to relish messages left to us by the Supreme Pontiff.

This is the tragedy of our times since people in power tend to struggle for more wealth, more power.

There are many things we can all learn from Pope Francis—his simplicity, his choice of words whenever he spoke extemporaneously from the heart and almost always his concern for the poor. He sounded as if he was asking all of us, especially from government. What have you done for the poor, who constitute the bulk of the Filipino nation?

That’s  why I ask: How much of Pope Francis’ messages and how many of the lessons we have learned from his visit will really sink in?

The only sour note was when President Aquino welcomed Pope Francis in Malacañang citing the colonial past when Spanish friars abused the Indios, and his personal experiences under the Marcos martial law regime when he lost his father, the late Senator Ninoy Aquino, who was assassinated.

He made it all worse when he said the clergy kept silent about the abuses of the past administration while criticizing him to the point of trivializing his criticism against the clergy when a bishop reportedly criticized his balding hair.

It was the most regrettable note of the Pope’s visit. The President showed his lack of maturity, his irresponsibility and his lack of humility. I say lack of humility since when one has humility, he empties himself to enable good attributes like mercy and compassion, which was the essence of the Pope’s journey to the country. The President reminds me of a little boy complaining to the father of other boys who bully him. When the father of the other boys comes to your house, you don’t take the opportunity to complain against the boys.

In any case, I found the Holy Father’s visit a personal blessing. Whenever he spoke to crowds, I could not help but to tear up. Personally, the Holy father’s messages resonated in my well-being, and I shall relish them until I die.

I hope and pray that at least as a nation our faith was strengthened with Pope Francis’ visit as the face of Jesus Christ. It was enough to remind us what we should do for our fellowmen since we are all God’s children.

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The brouhaha over the decision of the Court of Appeals finding activist tour guide Carlos Celdran guilty of offending people’s feelings must be placed in its proper perspective.

First, there is a provision in the Penal Code criminalizing Celdran’s  act, which was brought to court by the parish priest. Celdran may have apologized for his act, but what he did was still a crime and punishable by law.

Thus, when Manila Archbishops Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said that Celdran was already forgiven by the bishops, he was not telling a lie. But, if only to emphasize the forgiveness of the Church on Celdran, the Cardinal should tell the Manila Cathedral parish priest to withdraw the complain. However, that depends on the court’s discretion.

There’s no issue of freedom of expression involved since like all freedoms, there a limitation. Celdran committed a crime, period. But, if the complaint is withdrawn by the complainant, it’s now all up the court to suspend the conviction or not.

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