Tagle prays with HK migrants

CARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila, poses with the St. Joseph’s Church choir after leading last Sunday’s afternoon Mass there.

HONG KONG—Farah Bagunu, who has worked as a domestic worker or kasambahay in this iconic city for 19 years, usually attends the Sunday morning Mass at St. Teresa’s Church in bustling Kowloon. But last weekend, she doubled her graces, queuing up for the 4 p.m. Tagalog Mass at the popular St. Joseph’s Church, along Garden Road on the Hong Kong Island side.

Bagunu didn’t mind giving up her precious once-a-week day off in order to see the boyish, headline-making Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, who, it had been announced, would be filling this time slot.

She said: “Kilala ko na siya dahil nung Pebrero, nung magpapalit nang bagong Papa, isa siya sa hinuhulaan na magiging Pope (I know who he is because last February, when a new Pope was being chosen, he was one of those being mentioned as a possible choice).”

Angela Ugael, just five years into her housekeeping job, was pleasantly surprised by the presence of the celebrity celebrant. “Parang blessing naman na naka-attend kami ng Mass niya.”

Taking advantage of a trip to the former British colony to conduct a four-day retreat for the local clergy, which includes 15 Filipinos, Cardinal Tagle, also the Archbishop of Manila, made time for this encounter.

He described the encounter as “very meaningful,” given his membership in the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples.

PRAYERS There are estimated over 140,000 Filipino migrant workers in Hong Kong.

The prelate was no stranger to Hong Kong, having visited many times in the past “as a young priest to attend meetings here.”

Delivering his homily to a packed-to-the-rafters crowd, Cardinal Tagle reminded his rapt audience of deeper responsibilities than just earning a living in a foreign land.

Spotted in the audience was a Hong Kong visitor, Senate President Franklin Drilon.

The Cardinal observed that while migrant workers went abroad ostensibly to eke out a better future for themselves and their families, their presence overseas also had multiple purposes.

He stressed that OFWs were tasked with the mission “to spread the good news and the faith, teach the children how to pray and bring comfort to the elderly” among others.

Referring to last Sunday’s gospel, which saw Jesus influencing tax collector Zaccheus’s life for the better, Cardinal Tagle said: “You can make a difference for your country and fellow human beings by being the good virus that spreads hope, honesty, integrity, respect, understanding and love.”

Senate President Franklin Drilon was spotted hearing the Mass in Hong Kong ahead of a controversial pork barrel scam hearing.

The Cardinal shared his “genuine astonishment” at the media furor over his being mentioned as one of the papabile (list of pope candidates) during the recent elections for the Vatican See. It began in the Philippines, snowballed and even met him upon his arrival in Rome for the conclave.

Known to get emotional during his speeches, Cardinal Tagle, his voice visibly cracking, declared: “I didn’t need it!”

However, one incident helped him see his new found celebrity from another perspective, when a Filipino OFW in Rome approached him saying: “No matter what happens, whether you make it or not, you have raised the image of the Filipino in Europe. Now my employer calls me from my work whenever she sees your face on TV. She even tells me to stop what I’m doing and sit beside her to watch you.”

“That was when I knew the reason for what had happened to me. And that is the reason for your work here—to be an influence for good and to make a difference.”

His words fell on receptive ground, it seemed. Said marketing communications consultant Therese Necio-Ortega: “I was struck by the simplicity of the Cardinal’s message…how effortlessly he shared his theological teachings but  more importantly how he was touched by the level of humanity that he saw Filipinos  try to achieve and reach.”

Kasambahay Jennylyn Laurian, who did not know much about the Cardinal, said she felt “blessed” to have heard him speak. “Touching. Mafi-feel mo yung sermon niya. Nakakaiyak (His message was moving. It made me want to cry).”

Despite the intense week ahead of him, Cardinal Tagle joined the monthly mass birthday party, hosted by various St. Joseph volunteer groups on the church grounds, thrilling the

PARTY TIME The Cardinal, a member of the Presidential Committee of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, shares food and laughter during a mass birthday party after the Mass.

celebrants by countlessly posing with them and wearing his by now trademark impish grin and smiling eyes.

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Diplomatic tensions are mounting between Hong Kong and the Philippines over the handling of a bus hostage-taking incident at the Luneta Park in Manila that led to the death of eight Hong Kong tourists in 2010. Hong Kong legislatorson have passed a motion asking the territory’s government to impose “strong and forceful” sanctions against Manila, including the withdrawal of visa-free privileges for Filipinos and more stringent work and business permits, unless substantial progress is made within the month to address their demands. The families of the victims want an apology from President Aquino, compensation for the deaths of their loved ones, and penalties for police and city officials who they believe bungled the bus rescue operation, among others. Philippine foreign affairs officials said they “will continue to work quietly to achieve a mutually satisfactory conclusion” to these issues.  It is estimated that there are over 140,000 Filipino workers in Hong Kong, many of them domestics—Ed

Photos by Margie T. Logarta