Filipinos in Rome show strong support for Pope Francis
By Lito B. Zulueta
It was the first time Pope Francis’ name was used in a Sunday Mass.
It was the first time Pope Francis’ name was used in a Sunday Mass.
Vice President Jejomar Binay will represent the Philippines in the installation of Pope Francis in the Vatican on Tuesday.
He may not have been elected Pope, but the people close to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle have always felt he was destined for a greater mission.
Two retired Filipino cardinals have invited Pope Francis to visit the Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Roman Catholicism that the Pontiff has called “Islands of Saints.”
Malacañang on Thursday morning hailed the election of Argentine Jorge Cardinal Bergoglio as the new Pope, saying this brings the “promise of renewal’’ in the Catholic Church.
If by the time you read this, the Sistine Chapel spews out white smoke, then we’ll either be in a new era of the Catholic Church or stuck in the translucence of tradition, where the light doesn’t always shine through.
On the eve of the papal conclave, Catholics rooting for Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle got an unexpected boost with the release of the Italian translation of his 8-year-old book intended to re-ignite the “value of community in a divided world.”
Cardinals moved into the Vatican on Tuesday as the suspense mounted ahead of a secret papal election with no clear frontrunner to steer the Catholic world through troubled waters after Benedict XVI’s historic resignation.
“Be open to surprises from the Holy Spirit.” The head of the country’s bishops gave this advice on Saturday to Filipinos after the Vatican announced that the conclave that will elect the next Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church will begin on Tuesday.
A pastor in Ontario wondered about behind-the-scenes politicking ahead of the conclave to elect the next pope. He could have read news reports or listened to briefings by the Vatican spokesman. Instead, he asked a cardinal. Less than an hour later, the response arrived.
The Vatican on Saturday installed a special chimney on the Sistine Chapel from which white smoke will signal the election of a new pope as cardinals prepare for the historic vote next week after Benedict XVI’s resignation.
Out of the 115-member conclave that will elect the next Pope, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is one of only two cardinals who show “promising” signs of dealing adequately with the sex abuse scandal rocking the Roman Catholic Church, according to a US-based group of clergy sex abuse victims.
