Pope Francis gives strong warning to Filipino families

CEBU, Philippines - Pope Francis was firm in defending “openness to life” and the definition of the family in his homily before thousands of Filipino families on Friday.

Speaking at the Mall of Asia Arena on the second day of his stay in Manila, the Pope warned families against a present-day “ideological colonization,” which he distinguished from political colonization which the country suffered from in the hands of foreign powers in its history.

“Be attentive, be attentive ... There is an ideological colonization we have to be careful of that tries to destroy the family. It’s not born of the dream that we’ve had with God from prayer and from the mission that God gives us. It comes from outside,” he said.

Without mentioning the recently passed contraceptives law in the country and movements pushing for same-sex marriage, Pope Francis slammed measures and ideas related to the “challenge of the growth of population” as well as to attempts to change the traditional family setup.

“The family is also threatened by growing efforts on the part of some to redefine the very institution of marriage like relativism, by the culture of the ephemeral, by a lack of openness to life,” he said.

He also paid heed to Pope Paul VI, author of the encyclical “Humanae Vitae” reaffirming the Catholic teaching on married love, parenthood and the continued rejection of most forms of birth control.

“[Blessed Paul VI] knew the difficulties that families experience ... Paul VI was courageous, he was a good pastor, and he warned his sheep about the wolves that were approaching and from the heavens he blesses us today,” Pope Francis said.

The Holy Father also condemned social inequality in the Philippines, which had forced many parents to seek employment abroad.

“The economic situation has called families to be separated—migration and the search for employment and financial problems strained many households,” Pope Francis said.

“While all too many people live in dire poverty, others are caught up in materialism and lifestyles which are destructive of family life and the most basic tenets of Christian morality,” he added.

The Philippines is the only country in the world — aside from the Vatican — where divorce is forbidden, a testament to the enduring power of Roman Catholicism that has flourished since Spanish colonizers imposed it nearly 500 years ago.

‘BOYFRIEND-GIRLFRIEND’ DREAMS

Pope Francis also encouraged Filipino husbands and wives to always look back to their dreams when they were still dating.

“Don’t ever lose the illusion of when you were boyfriend or girlfriend,” Pope Francis said in Spanish, subsequently translated by Monsignor Mark Gerard Miles.

Commenting on the importance of “dreams,” the Pontiff said that each member of the family should not lose their hopes for their loved ones.

“I recommend that at night when you examine your consciences, ask yourself today, did I dream about my sons and daughters? Did I dream of the love of my husband or my wife?” he said.

“Did I dream of my parents, my family? It is so important to dream and to dream in the family. Please don’t lose this ability to dream in this way,” the Pope continued.

He said that it is impossible to have a family without any hope, as this fuels each member’s love for the other.

At the start of his homily, Pope Francis excused himself to deliver part of it in his native tongue, admitting that his English “is so poor.”

“I ask Father Miles to translate and I speak in Spanish,” he said.

He listened to stories of several families who told him about their stories and how the Catholic faith has inspired them in their lives.

The Pope also spent light moments with the families present at the MOA Arena in his homily, particularly when he related that he has a “sleeping” image of St. Joseph on his desk.

He said he would scribble down his problem on a piece of paper and put it under the image so that the sleeping saint would dream of it.

At least 16,000 greeted Pope Francis inside MOA on the second day of his visit in the Philippines.

After holding a Mass at the Manila Cathedral and visiting former street children from Tulay ng Kabataan Foundation, Pope Francis hopped on the popemobile once more to head to SM MOA Arena for the meeting of families. He was once again greeted by huge crowds in and outside the arena.

The Pope stopped by outside the arena to bless a child from the crowd, before he was greeted by the Sy family, SM owners, at the arena’s entrance.

An ecstatic crowd greeted the Pope, who took time blessing Filipino faithful from all walks of life including children, the sick and the elderly.  People from the crowd took turns kissing the Pope’s hand, while others asked for him to bless their rosaries, religious images and sculptures.

Today, Saturday, the pope will fly to typhoon-ravaged areas in the Visayas to sympathize with disaster victims, hoping to bring with him the message of “mercy and compassion.” — Philstar.com