In the Philippines, Pope Francis will have the mother of all pulpits.
He will surely use it to convey words of comfort for the afflicted. But
will he also have a message that will shake up the comfortable, even a
gentle prick of the conscience that will recognize the deep social
injustices afflicting the only Catholic nation in Asia?
Most of the world already knows better than to expect only soothing
sentiments from this pontiff. Of course, few here expect the Christmas
scolding he gave Vatican officials for "arrogance" and "hypocrisy,"
among other choice weaknesses.
But he must know
that he faces a rare opportunity to make a lasting impact on a country
with structural inequities comparable to the worst in his native Latin
America.
If he saw images from the latest
Nazareno procession, he will be acutely aware that a lack of religious
fervor is not one of our problems. What is glaringly obvious is that our
society does not practice what has been preached by many generations of
priests on our shores.
It's interesting that he
chose to combine Sri Lanka and the Philippines in a single trip: the
former has a Catholic minority and will treat him not much differently
from any popular head of state. Then he flies to the Philippines, where
he will have a sense of what the Second Coming could be like.
The first Jesuit Pope will not be content with bringing inspiration. He
wants to get stuff done. There are indications that climate change and
poverty will be his major themes, especially when he visits Leyte and
survivors of Typhoon Yolanda.
What many papal
observers await is how he will frame his message. He has denounced the
worst effects of capitalism, evident in what is happening to the planet
and the world's poor. But will the Philippines be merely a showcase of
the fate of others if they do not heed his call to address these twin
ills?
Or will he inspire Filipinos to do more than seek his blessings and to solve worldy problems in our backyard?
Nearly everyone I've spoken with about the papal visit has a wish list
for what can be done during this historic event. Some of my favorites;
1. Denounce torture by the state, which the Pope's own country
Argentina has had to struggle to overcome. The Philippine police, the
same force that the Pope will see protecting him in large numbers, is
notorious for its abuse of ordinary citizens, with torture a common
occurrence and occasionally a form of entertainment, as an Amnesty
International report asserted late last year. No police officer has yet
been convicted of torture.
2. Admonish erring
priests, apologize on their behalf and call for their punishment. It
could very well be that our culture of impunity is rooted in the
socially influential, such as men of the cloth, being above the law.
3. "Be more scientific." In addition to trusting in God, the Pope can
urge Filipinos to trust in education and our own drive to deal with our
problems. It's pointless to blame God for disasters; He gave us the will
and mind to adapt and mitigate. As the Pope himself has said, "God is
not a magician with a magic wand." A believer in evolution and the Big
Bang theory, Pope Francis is a model for how to be a man of science and a
man of faith at the same time.
4. "Clean as
you go." As he prepares a major encyclical this year on the environment,
the "green pontiff" can demonstrate his moral power before the
multitudes in Luneta. The papal crowd need not be like the Nazareno
crowd or any other large public gathering in the Philippines. It can
refrain from leaving garbage, now and forever.
source: gmanetwork.com
