Manila, Philippines, Jan 18, 2015 / 04:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Harold Ducusin, like many of his peers, traveled several hours to join tens of thousands of other young Filipinos to see Pope Francis at the sports field of Santo Tomas University Jan. 18. Unlike most of his peers at the event, however, Ducusin isn't Catholic. “It's really the first time I've participated in an activity like this, I really admire him as a Pope,” he said. During the event, Pope Francis heard testimonies from three Filipino youth during the meeting on the sports fields, and then answered questions they had posed about their lives as young Christians. Self-described as a “born-again Christian,” Ducusin traveled with a group the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in the province of La Union, where he is the head of the student body. Ducusin said he wouldn't have made such a long trip to see many people, but he came because he admires Pope Francis as a leader, particularly for his concern for the Filipino people and the survivors of Typhoon Haiyan. The storm, known locally as Typhoon Yolanda killed over 6,000 and left hundreds of thousands homeless after it struck the country in Dec. 2013. “I thank him for his concern in my concern…we need it because he motivates us to work together to conquer some problems that we are facing.” Conchi Ferrarin, a Catholic and a teacher of Psychology and Sociology who traveled with Ducusin, said she was also grateful for Pope Francis’ concern for the survivors of Typhoon Yolanda. “I would like to thank the Pope for his strong influence on the Filipino people, for giving them hope to overcome all the difficulties that they have experienced, especially the Yolanda survivors,” she said. “I would also tell the Pope to continuously pray for all mankind.” Ed Christopher Chua, from the island of Cebu, came to the event with the Filipino-Chinese Catholic youth, a group of young people of Chinese descent who are citizens of the Philippines. Members of the group serve in various ministries in Chinese parishes throughout the Philippines. “Most of us are third or fourth generation,” Chua said. “Most of (our ancestors) came to the Philippines in search of more fortune and a better life, so they came perhaps in 1920s, 30s, or 40s.” “The communist government did not allow them to return to china, so they remained here, and they brought us up in the Catholic faith,” he said. It was a bit of a sacrifice to leave Cebu to be with the Pope – the festivities for the feast of the Santo Ninos, or the Holy Infants, were occurring on the same day. “But we think (meeting the Pope) is an opportunity that we cannot miss,” Chua said. “A lot of us can't describe the feeling to be able to see the Holy Father in the flesh, and I think it is such a blessing for us to be here,” he said. “Some of the group got to see him just meters away, just a few feet away.” “For me I was looking from afar, but I could sense his presence, and I could sense his holiness. And we are very blessed that he’s around.” Pope Francis wraps up his visit to the Philippines on Monday, Jan. 19, which will complete his second papal Asian pilgrimage. Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 18, 2015 / 01:11 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In his homily for the Jan. 18 Closing Mass in the Philippines, Pope Francis pointed to our identity as God’s children, calling for the protection of the family against the numerous attacks that threaten it. The Christ Child, explained Pope Francis, “reminds us of the importance of protecting our family, and those larger families which are the Church, God’s family, and the world, our human family.” “Sadly, in our day, the family all too often needs to be protected against insidious attacks and programs contrary to all that we hold true and sacred, all that is most beautiful and noble in our culture.” Just as Jesus welcomes and embraces children in the Gospel, the Pope said, “(w)e too need to protect, guide and encourage our young people, helping them to build a society worthy of their great spiritual and cultural heritage.” “Specifically, we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected,” he continued, adding that we must care for young people, “not allowing them to be robbed of hope and condemned to life on the streets.” Pope Francis spoke to estimated millions of Filipinos gathered at Rizal Park in Manila at the final public event during his Jan. 15-19 trip to the country. Huge crowds have turned out for the Pope's Masses and public events in the Philippines, where 86 percent of the population identifies as Catholic. In recent years, the island country has struggled with the effects of several typhoons, earthquakes and other natural disasters. During his apostolic visit, the Pope deviated from both his official schedule and prepared speeches – meeting with impoverished children from the streets and going off-the-cuff in remarks to families on the dangers of contraception and redefining marriage. Noting his joy in celebrating Mass on Hoy Child Sunday, the Pope spoke in his final homily on “the link between God’s Kingdom and the mystery of spiritual childhood.” Our deepest identity, the Pope explained, is found in our adoption as “God’s children, members of God’s family.” “We saw a beautiful expression of this when Filipinos rallied around our brothers and sisters affected by the typhoon,” he observed. This identity as God’s children must be protected, Pope Francis continued. He explained that Christ himself needed the earthly protection of his family – particularly St. Joseph – when he came to earth as a child and immediately found his life threatened by King Herod. Similarly, we must protect the family and spread the faith. The Philippines’ status as the foremost Catholic country in Asia is both a special gift and blessing from God, and also a vocation, the Pope said. “Filipinos are called to be outstanding missionaries of the faith in Asia,” he stated, stressing the calling to be witnesses amid a world of sin that has disfigured the beauty of the natural world. Through sin, the Holy Father continued, “man has also destroyed the unity and beauty of our human family, creating social structures which perpetuate poverty, ignorance, and corruption.” Surrounded by troubles and difficulties, we may be tempted give up, the Pope acknowledged. “It seems that the promises of the Gospel do not apply; they are unreal.” However, the real threat is the lie of Satan, who often “hides his snares behind the appearance of sophistication, the allure of being ‘modern,’ ‘like everyone else’,” Pope Francis explained. “(Satan) distracts us with the promise of ephemeral pleasures, superficial pastimes. And, so we squander our God-give gifts by tinkering with gadgets; we squander our money on gambling and drink; we turn in on ourselves. We forget to remain focus on the things that really matter. We forget to remain, at heart, children of God.” Learning from the Child Jesus, we remember our identity as children of God, and we are willing to fight against attacks on the family structure and God’s family, the Pope reminded. “It was a frail child, in need of protection, who brought God’s goodness, mercy and justice into the world,” Pope Francis said. “He resisted the dishonesty and corruption which are the legacy of sin, and he triumphed over them by the power of his cross.” “Now, at the end of my visit to the Philippines, I commend you to him, to Jesus who came among us as a child. May he enable all the beloved people of this country to work together, protecting one another, beginning with your families and communities, in building a world of justice, integrity and peace.”   Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 11:04 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Tens of thousands of Filipino youth gathered in Manila with Pope Francis on Sunday and heard his recommendation that a society inundated in information should embrace God’s loving sur... Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 10:16 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis led a youth rally in prayer for Kristel Padasas, a young woman who died in a freak accident at Saturday’s papal Mass in the Philippines. “Sad news today,” the Pope said Jan. 18. “Yesterday as Mass was about to start, a piece of the scaffolding fell and upon falling, it hit a young woman who was working in the area, and she died. Her name is Kristel.” “She worked for the organization and preparation for that very Mass,” the Pope continued. “She was 27 years old, young like yourselves. She worked for Catholic Relief Services. She was a volunteer.” “I would like all of you, young like her, to pray for a moment in silence with me and then we pray to our Mama, Mother Mary in Heaven,” the Pope said. The Pope then led tens of thousands of people in praying a Hail Mary on the Manila campus of the Santo Thomas University. Pope Francis also met with Padasas’ father on Sunday, Vatican Radio reported, saying that the meeting lasted more than 20 minutes at the apostolic nunciature in Manila with Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle as an interpreter.   Fr. Federico Lombardi, head of the Vatican press office, said that two childhood photos were on a table during the meeting, according to Vatican Radio. He also said her father was shocked by the death, but consoled by the knowledge that she helped prepare for the Pope’s arrival. Padasas’ mother was out of the country at the time of the accident. Catholic Relief Services on Jan. 17 confirmed Padasas’ death. She had been based in Samar and was working on a recovery project for Typhoon Haiyan. “Her dedication to the people affected by the typhoon extended beyond her official work with CRS,” said Jim Stipe, communications officer with the U.S.-based relief organization. “She traveled a great distance to volunteer at today’s papal Mass and to remember the victims of Typhoon Haiyan,” he continued. The scaffolding of a speaker near the altar fell on Posadas amid heavy winds from a nearby storm that ended up altering the Pope's schedule by almost four hours. The Mass was held near the Tacloban airport, located in a region that was heavily affected by the enormous Typhoon Haiyan. The storm made landfall there in December 2013, causing many deaths and massive destruction. According to Stipe, Padasas' colleagues said she was “someone who loved to laugh and who was always ready to assist outside her normal duties.” “She found great joy in being able to contribute to the recovery effort by working directly with communities and families,” Stipe said. “Our deepest prayers are with Kristel’s family and loved ones.” Padasas was among the 200,000-300,000 people who braved harsh weather conditions to attend the open air Mass on Saturday morning with the Pope. Weather concerns forced Pope Francis to cut short his visit by four hours to Leyte island, where Tacloban is the largest city. Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 09:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis praised Filipino former homeless girl Glyzelle Palomar for asking why God allows children to suffer, saying her tearful question shows that Christians must “learn how to ... Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 07:15 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a press briefing with journalists in the Philippines, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi ventured to explain the reason why Pope Francis so frequently deviates from his prepared speeches. “Every time that we are in a particularly intense situation, the Pope desires to speak from the heart,” the spokesman told journalists during the Jan. 17 briefing. “Sometimes maybe he is tired or he feels (he is) not able to find the right word and then he reads the speech, but if he feels that the emotion and the strength is there to express his heart more spontaneously, then he does this.” The press briefing took place after Pope Francis’ half-day trip to the Philippine island of Leyte, which was scheduled to last all day but was cut short due to adverse weather caused by an inbound typhoon. Fr. Lombardi said that so far this papal trip has been “a paradigmatic situation” because the pontiff made a great effort beforehand to prepare with English texts so that people would understand him, yet has still gone off script. “Sometimes he feels that he can express still better what he has in the heart through spontaneous expression in Spanish, sometimes in Italian,” the spokesman explained, noting that today’s morning Mass in Tacloban was “wonderful” because there was a translator available. “I think this mix is really very good…this morning it was not possible to have a longer time, (but) then the Pope did a synthesis from his heart and that was sufficient for the people present,” he said. One journalist also brought into question what makes so many people begin to cry when they see the Pope, saying that he saw many burst into tears that didn’t seem like the “usual tears of joy.” Fr. Lombardi responded by saying that there are times when “we are very profoundly moved, until the roots of our hearts, of our being, and it happens that we are a little confused and it's not easy to explain what we are experiencing.” When we feel something moving us that deeply it’s normal to express it in tears, he said, noting that in our faith, we are called to announce consolation to those who are experiencing intense suffering or conversion. “In this sense the Christian faith has to announce that ‘Christ is with you,’ and this is the message that the Pope has given: even if you are profoundly moved and suffering, you are not alone.” Manila archbishop Cardinal Antonio Luis Tagle was also present at the press briefing, and also responded to the question by explaining that in the Christian tradition there is something called “the gift of tears.” “It’s a gift because it comes when there is a profound experience, especially a deep human experience that also reveals to you something of the divine – and it is so profound and you know you are before it and your body responds to it in a very physical way, and one of those ways is tears,” he said. Although some who cry in front of the Pope don’t seem to be crying out of happiness, the cardinal assured that if they were to be asked, they would say that they are, in fact, crying tears of joy. They are, he said, “tears of joy and at the same time tears of consolation or just being considered important, or just tears of realizing I matter, I was approached, I was seen, etc. You could see that.” Once Pope Francis returned to Manila after his visit to Tacloban ended earlier than expected, he spent the day resting, rather than making any other visits. Cardinal Tagle and Fr. Lombardi also spoke about the Pope’s energy on the trip, noting that although standing for long periods of time and meeting so many people do wear him out, he recovers quickly. “Our experience is that he has an incredible energy and a good capacity to recuperate his energy with 2 hours of rest,” Fr. Lombardi observed, noting that once in a while the Pope cancels something in Rome when he feels too tired to “do a good service to the Church.” However, after canceling, the pontiff rests for a while and then starts again, the spokesman explained. Pope Francis “can be well again so soon – we are always surprised that a man of his age can do what he is doing, at home and abroad,” he said, noting how the Pope himself refers to this unusual energy as “the grace of office,” in which God gives whatever is needed for the mission he assigns. Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 06:10 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On his return flight from the Philippine city of Tacloban to Manila, where he met with and shared in the suffering of typhoon survivors, Pope Francis was moved, and said the trip was really intended for him. “When we had already boarded the plane I asked him ‘How is it Your Holiness? Are you tired? Are you afraid because this is your first typhoon?’ But he said, 'This visit is really for me. This is for me. I'm learning. This visit is for me,’” Cardinal Antonio Luis Tagle, archbishop of Manial, told journalists on Jan 17. “That’s how to be a pastor…It was an intense day and I feel tired, but my eyes were really fixed on him,” the cardinal noted, saying that “What I am really curious about is how he will be affected by our people and the suffering that they conveyed to him.” Pope Francis traveled to the city of Tacloban, which has been ravaged by two typhoons in the past year, as part of his Jan. 15-19 visit to the Philippines. Scheduled to spend a full day in the city, the pontiff had to cut his visit short due to a new, inbound typhoon. All of the Pope’s scheduled events took place, but had been shortened due to the time constraints. The cardinal, who spoke to journalists during a press briefing after the day’s events, explained that the pontiff was particularly moved by the day’s lunch with 30 typhoon survivors. Although shortened to 30 minutes, the lunch was “an intimate encounter,” the cardinal observed, noting how the survivors present had all lost loved ones, relatives, property and even parts of their bodies. When the Pope entered, he went around and greeted each one personally, and afterward had the opportunity to hear a few brief words from each of them about their losses in the typhoons. “I'll never forget the face of the Holy Father listening to each one,” Cardinal Tagle said, visibly moved, when the people told the Pope that “’I lost my parents and a brother, I lost everything,’ and one woman who said ‘I lost my husband, I lost my son and I lost five daughters.” “You could see the Holy Father just shaking his head” and making audible groans as the people were speaking because “he was suffering,” the cardinal noted. He said that when he asked the Pope if he wanted to make some remarks to those gathered before they left, Pope Francis responded by saying “what can we say?” and remained silent. “I thought he would repeat the central message of his homily, but before these 30 people he himself was reduced to silence,” the cardinal observed, saying that this was the silence of someone present in front of the mystery of suffering. When one of the survivors asked the Pope to pray for all of their departed loved ones, the pontiff responded by saying that he had offered Mass for all of those affected by the typhoon when he first heard about it two years ago. Pope Francis then told them that tomorrow afternoon’s Mass in Manila’s Rizal Park will be offered for all of their deceased, and asked for their prayers. The cardinal also recounted how the pontiff had shown his pastoral heart from the beginning of the trip by tossing aside his prepared homily during Mass, and speaking “from the heart.” He also shared his solidarity with the pilgrims gathered in the rain and intense wind for his morning Mass by choosing not to leave in a closed car, despite the increasingly bad weather, Cardinal Tagle recalled. Donning a raincoat himself, the Pope said “I'm here to show solidarity, so if the people have waited in sun, and now the rain and wind, why not the pastor?” Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 04:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A local woman was killed at an airport near Tacloban, Philippines where Pope Francis had just celebrated Mass for thousands of people amid strong winds and rain brought on by Tropical Storm... Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 17, 2015 / 04:55 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A local woman was killed at an airport near Tacloban, Philippines where Pope Francis had just celebrated Mass for thousands of people amid strong winds and rain brought on by Tropical Storm... Read more