In his homily at the mass celebrated with bishops, priests and seminarians in Manila’s Cathedral, Francis said: “They are the heart of the Gospel”. Family and marriage “are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation”. After mass the Pope embraced street children.
“The poor are at the centre of the Gospel, they are the heart of the Gospel. If we remove them from the Gospel we cannot understand Jesus Christ’s message…” Francis diverged from his prepared text and improvised, saying just a few words in English to remind people of what he has said so many times before, in his two years as Pope: attention to the poor is not a sociological category, it is part of the essence of the evangelical message.
Manila cathedral, which is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, is considered “the mother of all churches in the Philippines”. It is the eighth and current version of the church built with bamboo and palm leaves in 158. Throughout its existence it has suffered the effects of typhoons, fires, earthquakes and bombings. The current structure which was constructed during the 1950s, was closed for restoration work in 2012 after damage caused by an earthquake and re-opened this year. Upon his arrival at the cathedral, the Pope was welcomed by a group of children dressed as Swiss Guards.
In his homily, Francis reflected on today’s Gospel reading which contains the questions Jesus asked Peter: “Do you love me?” The Pope began by asking this question: “Do you love me?” To which the congregation replied: “Yes!” in a loud voice. “Thank you very much…” Francis responded, smiling.
The Pope’s thoughts immediately went to pastors of past generations who “laboured not only to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in this country, but also to forge a society inspired by the Gospel message of charity, forgiveness and solidarity in the service of the common good.” “Ours is a ministry of reconciliation,” Francis explained. “We proclaim the Good News of God’s infinite love, mercy and compassion.”
“The Church in the Philippines,” Francis said, “is called to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ. The Gospel calls individual Christians to live lives of honesty, integrity and concern for the common good. But it also calls Christian communities to create “circles of integrity”, networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness.”
Speaking off the cuff, the Pope then added what the Gospel says about the poor and continued with a call to bishops and priests to be authentic witnesses: “How can we proclaim the newness and liberating power of the Cross to others, if we ourselves refuse to allow the word of God to shake our complacency, our fear of change, our petty compromises with the ways of this world, our “spiritual worldliness”?”
Francis invited pastors to live “lives that reflect the poverty of Christ, whose entire life was focused on doing the will of the Father and serving others. The great danger to this, of course, is a certain materialism which can creep into our lives and compromise the witness we offer. Only by becoming poor ourselves, by stripping away our complacency, will we be able to identify with the least of our brothers and sisters.”
Finally, the Pope urged young priests and seminarians in particular “to be present to young people who may be confused and despondent,” “be present to those who, living in the midst of a society burdened by poverty and corruption, are broken in spirit, tempted to give up, to leave school and to live on the streets.” And he asked them to “proclaim the beauty and truth of the Christian message to a society which is tempted by confusing presentations of sexuality, marriage and the family. As you know, these realities are increasingly under attack from powerful forces which threaten to disfigure God’s plan for creation and betray the very values which have inspired and shaped all that is best in your culture.”
The Pope left the cathedral in a simple small black car. Outside the cathedral, shortly before departing, he met a group of 300 poor children who have been taken off the streets by the Anak-Tnk foundation (www.anak-tnk.org) and saved from prostitution. The Anak-Tnk foundation is an NGO that is linked to the Church. It was founded by a French Jesuit and has branches in various countries throughout the world. Last September, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle sent the Pope a thousand letters written by street children, along with a video, asking him to visit them. Francis accepted, even though the visit was not included in the official schedule. During the meeting, which took place in the courtyard, many of those present embraced Francis and presented him with small gifts.
