The priest liked most the pope's off-the-cuff remarks to families at the Mall of Asia on Jan. However, Francis focused on the poor in most of his speeches and drew many people from poor communities to his various activities. Remove the poor from the message of Jesus, and there's nothing there anymore," he said. "The poor are the very heart of evangelization. Mercado said he thought the church had lost touch with the poor and was trying to re-engage them. "It's very touching, especially for priests like me," he said. Mercado noted how the pope would drop his prepared speeches to stress points, teach or to express his own personal feelings. 18 meeting with the youth and final Mass at Luneta Park. He joined Francis' encounter with families Jan. The visit with survivors of the 2013 typhoon - where more than 6,000 people were killed and more than 4 million people lost their homes - was the main purpose of his visit to the country, Francis announced in his meeting with President Benigno Aquino III.ĭuring his visit, Francis "communicated very effectively" the theme of mercy and compassion and did not dwell on rituals, structures and "the many things we have accumulated over centuries about the Catholic church," said Oblate Fr. While it is unclear what Francis' words and actions will move politicians to do for survivors, Naputo said, "I want to help beggars and people living off the streets that we see but have been ignoring." Naputo said survivors feel "caught in the middle" of the political tension between national and local officials. "In all these months, nobody had told us that," Naputo told NCR.ĭays after Francis' visit, Naputo and friends were still asking, "Why did we not feel that until the pope came?" They wondered why authorities didn't give them the same message of consolation or say that even though they did not know what to do, they were with the people. I can only be silent I accompany you silently, with my heart," Francis said during his homily. But surely he knows what to tell you! So many of you have lost members of your family. Naputo, his wife and his young daughters heard the pope's words loud and clear: "So many of you have lost everything. I finally had closure," said Naputo, an elementary school teacher. 17, "but it was good that the pope came." Haiyan survivor Harold Naputo said people would have understood if Francis hadn't come to Tacloban as planned on Jan. 15-19 pastoral visit to the Philippines.Įven though a typhoon threatened to cut his visit short, Francis arrived in Tacloban, donning a yellow plastic raincoat throughout the entire Mass with survivors and pushing through with his motorcade to the town of Palo and then back to Tacloban airport. On an in-flight interview on his return to Rome from Manila, the pope said his visit to Tacloban - Typhoon Haiyan's ground zero - was the most moving experience of his Jan.
Pope Francis deeply touched the many Filipinos who came in droves to see the pope who loves children and poor people, embraces the sick and suffering, and speaks to them heart-to-heart.Īccording to Francis, he was also moved by the people he met.
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