Pope Francis may visit Phl in 2016

MANILA, Philippines -  Retired Archbishop of Manila Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on Thursday said he believes that newly-installed Pope Francis will visit the Philippines in 2016.

Rosales was one of the three Filipino cardinals who flew to Vatican for the papal conclave following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, the first pope to resign in 600 years, in February.

Rosales said he talked to Pope Francis to invite the latter to attend the 51st International Eucharistic Congress in 2016 to be held in Cebu City. The 2012 International Eucharistic Congress was held in Dublin, Ireland.

Vice President Jejomar Binay, who represented President Benigno Aquino III in the inaugural mass of Pope Francis, was reported to have  also invited the new leader of the Catholic Church  to visit the Philippines for the eucharistic congress.

Pope John Paul II had visited the Philippines twice. His first visit was in 1981 for the beatification of Lorenzo Ruiz. His visit purportedly convinced then President Marcos to lift martial law. In 1995, Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines for the World Youth Day Catholic festival. His mass in Rizal Park was attended by an estimated crowd of between five million and 7 million, said to be the largest single gathering in Christian history.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis has promised to continue the Catholic Church's "fraternal" dialogue with Jews and work with Muslims for the common good.

Francis met Wednesday with religious representatives from a dozen faiths and traditions who attended his installation Mass a day earlier.

The bulk of his comments were directed at Christian groups, particularly the Orthodox who were represented among others by Bartholomew I, the first ecumenical patriarch to attend the installation since the Catholic and Orthodox church split nearly 1,000 years ago.

Directing himself to the half-dozen rabbis attending, Francis promised to continue the "useful brotherly dialogue" that has been under way since the Second Vatican Council. He singled out Muslims in his comments, saying he wanted to "grow in esteemed respect" and work for the common good. - With AP