Pope Francis Watch: Castle of Pride, Cathedral of Love, Arena of Family

MANILA: The image is from Facebook and from Brother BoSanchez; I find it a perfect quote for what happened at the castle of power when yesterday, 16 January 2015, Pope Francis, head of the Roman Catholic Church of the big, wide world, was the guest at Malacañang Palace of President Noynoy Aquino, head of the Government of the Philippines, a small country: "You can't govern without loving the people and without humility." Right! Noynoy Aquino said in the presence of his guest, "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" (Andreo Calonzo, 16 January 2015, gmanetwork.com). He said more but it's not worth repeating. Man, that is pride at the expense of courtesy in your own home, which is your castle. "When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but wisdom is with the humble" – Proverbs 11:2 NRSV. Pride before the what?

So, the President of the Philippines made the headlines instead of Pope Francis, his distinguished guest. So, we have a President who keeps complaining about the past! One of Pope Francis' tip to happiness is, "Don't gossip." Can we call that gossiping? Is our leader unhappy?

Before that, Pope spoke. "I thank you, Mr President, for your kind welcome and for your words of greeting in the name of the authorities and people of the Philippines, and the distinguished members of the Diplomatic Corps. I am most grateful for your invitation to visit the Philippines. My visit is above all pastoral." Later listening to the diatribe, Pope Francis must have been thinking, "My visit is above all pastoral. Let's not get political here!"

Yes, Pope Francis spoke first. Considering the whole thing now, what happened was that it was Pope Francis, a non-Filipino, who spoke proudly of the Filipinos. "Together with many people throughout the world, 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."

During those natural disasters, "those (Filipino) virtues, rooted not least in the hope and solidarity instilled by Christian faith," Pope Francis said, "gave rise to an outpouring of goodness and generosity, especially on the part of so many of the young. In that moment of national crisis, countless people came to the aid of their neighbors in need." Our leader should be proud of his people, instead of the man in the mirror.

"As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good," Pope Francis said. Are our leaders honest? Do they have integrity? Are they committed to the common good? Pope Francis said, "The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor." Is our leader listening to the voice of the poor instead of the voice of the man in the mirror?

Does Noynoy Aquino want a renewed society for the Filipinos? "A fundamental role in the renewal of society is played, of course, by the family and especially by young people," Pope Francis said. Is Noynoy Aquino and his proud party committed to the family? Don't they want any more young people? "Families have an indispensable mission in society," Pope Francis said. "It is in the family that children are trained in sound values, high ideals and genuine concern for others." Family planning. With the RH Law, our leaders want to curtail the family, not cultivate it.

Pope Francis gave Noynoy Aquino a challenge. He said, "May the deepest spiritual values of the Filipino people continue to find expression in your efforts to provide your fellow citizens with an integral human development." I certainly know that the Filipinos deeply love the family so much so that they have extended families.

What have our leaders done for the poor as against the rich? Pope Francis said, "It bids us break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and indeed scandalous, social inequalities." If the scandalous rich are always with you, the poor you shall have always with you!

At the Manila cathedral after the Malacañang attempt at embarrassing the guest, Pope Francis was in a better mood. "Do you love me?" he began his homily, and the congregation outside the cathedral replied with a loud, "Yes!" (Katerina Francisco, 16 January 2015, rappler.com). And Pope Francis quickly replied, "Thank you very much!" and laughed with the people. He was quoting from the gospel of John, Jesus speaking to Peter (21:15-17): "Do you love me? ... Tend my sheep."

I have yet to see Noynoy Aquino laughing with the Filipino people ever. What did Pope Francis say again? "You can't govern without loving the people and without humility." I say, if you don't know how to laugh, you don't know how to love! Except yourself of course.

Some 1,000 priests, 100 bishops and religious superiors, and more than 200 religious women had gathered at the Manila Cathedral, also known as the Basilica Minor of the Immaculate Conception, for the mass (cbcpnews.com). Pope Francis told them, "Like Saint Therese, in the variety of our vocations, each of us is called, in some way, to be love in the heart of the Church." He is referring to Therese of the Little Flower, who only asked of herself little acts done with great love. An act of love like a little courtesy to your guest from a faraway land.

It's the attitude. Pope Francis has written the papal exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel. As seen by the Roman Catholic Church, this is the Christian gospel. Even if you are Roman Catholic, you cannot laugh, you cannot love if all you know is the joy of your own gospel!

"We proclaim the joy of the Gospel," Pope Francis said. "For the Gospel is the promise of God’s grace, which alone can bring wholeness and healing to our broken world. It can inspire the building of a truly just and redeemed social order." No one can bring wholeness and healing to himself without love, without humility in his heart.

Not only the President of the country but we all are called, each one of us. "The Gospel calls individual Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity and concern for the common good," Pope Francis said. Is your practice of reproductive health a model for the common good? Is your practice of the budget a model for the common good? Is your practice of blaming past administrations a model for the common good?

Instead of concerns for numbers, our concerns must be for people. "(The Gospel) also calls Christian communities to create 'circles of integrity'," Pope Francis said, "networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness."

Last year yet, President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas spoke to his flock and urged them "to change tack in dealing with corruption and adopt Pope Francis' approach by widening circles of integrity" (Jerrylyn B Damaso, 06 July 2015, manilastandardtoday.com). Villegas said, "Rather than just creating 'fiercer watchdogs' against corruption, the archbishop said that perhaps the Church can also 'widen circles of integrity.' Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that for every prophetic denunciation we utter we must stretch our hands to offer an opportunity for conversion and healing." So don't be surprised that members of the Church suddenly become silent in the face of the present administration's abuses.

And so also yesterday, Pope Francis did extend his hands to the Filipino families at the Mall of Asia Arena by the Manila Bay where he said to the families, "Don't ever lose the illusion of (love) when you were boyfriends and girlfriends" (Ira Pedrasa, 16 January 2015, abs-cbnnews.com). Abortion is not love; reproductive health is not love; neither is it family.

Packed to the full, there were some 20,000 people at the arena, including people with disability and the elderly (Glaiza Jarloc & Ruth Abbey Gita, 17 January 2015, sunstar.com.ph). Pope Francis said the Filipino family is the "country's greatest treasure." After the family sharing, he also said, "I like this idea of dreaming in a family. It is not possible to have a family without such dreams. When you lose this capacity to dream, then you lose the capacity to love and this energy to love is lost."

So Pope Francis is also proselytizing about love and dreaming? Right on! I say. But that depends on the lover and the dreamer. For instance, do we have a lord of the castle by the Pasig River who loves to dream of defeating his enemies instead of defeating poverty?