The Philippine STAR headline yesterday showing the photo of Pope Francis comforting a weeping child perfectly captured the Pope’s message of compassion during his visit to the Philippines. The televised visit of Pope Francis to the University of Sto. Tomas, where 12-year-old Glycelle Palomar broke down in tears as she asked why God would allow children to be abandoned by parents, to be involved in drugs and to become victims of prostitution when they are not guilty of anything, hit a very poignant chord with a businessman-friend who does not want to be identified. The businessman was so moved to tears, he immediately instructed his assistant to channel more of his foundation’s resources to helping street children.
Palomar was a former street child who is now being cared for by the church-run Tulay ng Kabataan foundation. Many admitted that like Pope Francis, they too would have been at a loss had the question been directed at them. The Pontiff’s reply resonated and made perfect sense to believers: There are certain things in life that people can only understand if they experience what it is like to be moved by compassion to the point that they learn to weep not for themselves, but for the abused, for the destitute, for the abandoned children. Certain realities of life can only be seen through eyes that have been cleansed by tears, Pope Francis said.
Hopefully, many more of those who have more in life would remember and keep the words of the Pope close to their hearts and show more compassion for others, especially those who have almost nothing in life.
Angels at work
A lot of Filipinos are convinced that guardian angels were at work when none of the VIP passengers of the Bombardier plane that skidded off the runway of the Daniel Z. Romualdez Airport last Saturday was seriously hurt. According to witnesses, they heard a loud explosion and then could only look in horror as the aircraft started to careen off the runway, then suddenly stopped when it reached the grassy embankment.
The chartered plane was carrying Cabinet officials headed by Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa who were on their way back to Manila following the visit of Pope Francis in Tacloban. Among the first to arrive on the scene was Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez who alerted the Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation personnel and asked for ambulances to be dispatched to the scene of the accident.
According to hospital director Dr. Wilfredo Liao, several of the passengers sustained minor injuries secondary to airplane trauma such as swelling of the head, knees and other parts of the body because of the strong impact. Six patients were confined overnight and were discharged on Sunday morning, while one was an outpatient, adding that the Leyte congressman personally asked the doctor to look into the condition of the injured passengers that included the pilot Joseph Manigas; co-pilot Vicente Abaygar; Oliver Veslino, a member of the Presidential Security Group; flight engineer Rafael Caro and assistant Elmer Suba; Julbani Asdani and Ochoa’s senior staff Katherine Andraneda who was an outpatient.
10 million saw the Pope
No one will argue that the visit of Pope Francis to the Philippines was a resounding success with international news networks such as the CNN covering the entire visit. Crowd estimate during the Luneta Mass on Sunday was about six million people and about 10 million caught a glimpse of the Pope during the entire visit, representing 10 percent of the entire population. An estimated 50 million watched the events on television. Credit should be given not only to the organizers, but also to the government for extending its massive resources in securing the Pope. According to sources, as many as 50,000 personnel from the PNP, AFP, PSG, MMDA and other agencies were deployed to ensure that order was maintained and that no surprises would happen that would compromise the security of the leader of the Catholic Church.
It was perhaps one of the most elaborate security operations ever mounted by the government considering the serious concerns aired by the international intelligence community as the visit came on the heels of the Paris shootings (which the terrorist group al-Qaida has admitted responsibility for) and the threats issued by elements of the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (ISIS). Telephone companies also shut down mobile phone signals at specific areas and hours as part of security precautions, sending text messages appealing for the understanding of the subscribers as they were complying with directives from the National Telecommunications Commission.
Like they say, credit should be given where credit is due and so we congratulate the President, the government and of course the Filipino people for showing utmost discipline, making the visit truly historic and memorable.
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