GMA: Pope a source of strength

Pope John Paul II remained a lasting source of strength despite his ailing condition during his last few years, President Arroyo said yesterday as Filipinos trooped to churches and prayed for a miraculous comeback for the pontiff.

Mrs. Arroyo, a devout Catholic, issued a statement saying she joined the rest of the nation in praying for the Pope.

"Pope John Paul II has an enduring place in the hearts of millions of the Filipino faithful for the special care and attention he has shown to us and it saddens us all to hear the news of his grave condition," the statement said.

"His serene courage and indomitable spirit will remain a lasting source of our strength and hope as we face the trials and challenges of a troubled world," it added.

Yesterday, people gathered in churches across the country to offer prayers and attend vigils for John Paul in the hope that he would still recover.

But Church leaders also said they had prepared themselves for the pontiff’s demise.

"Our masses and novenas are being performed in various cathedrals and chapels now and this is offered for his intentions," said Monsignor Hernando Coronel, secretary-general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

"People see the face of the Pope as the face and picture of our Lord Jesus Christ," Coronel told Agence France Presse.

He added that people were particularly grateful to John Paul for his 1981 and 1995 visits to the Philippines, Asia’s bastion of Catholicism.

Coronel said the bishops remain "vigilant" and "hopeful" that the pontiff would be able to recover.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said John Paul would be remembered for the many principles he strongly stood for.

"The value of human life, the significance of human dignity, the truth of human rights, the imperative of human freedom — these are some of the teachings that he affirmed and confirmed," he said.

Fr. James Reuter, media director of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, said that all the faithful had been asked to pray for the pope.

Even before he attracted mammoth crowds during his papal visits, Reuter said the then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla first forged close ties with the Philippines when he made a brief stopover on his way to Australia, some five years before he was elected pontiff in 1978.

While waiting for his connecting flight at Manila airport, Cardinal Wojtyla asked if there was a church where he could say Mass. He was directed to the popular Redemptorist Church in Baclaran, Parañaque City.

"He went there, he just knocked on the door and they accepted him," letting the Polish-born priest say Mass at the main altar, Reuter said.

"They gave him supper and San Miguel beer which he also liked," he said. "He was very touched by the Filipino people because of their warmth and affection."

At Baclaran church, Fr. Rey Culaba called on the faithful to make special prayers in front of the altar for his former guest.

Fr. Culaba said years later, during John Paul’s first papal visit to this country "he insisted on making the Baclaran church his first stop... because of his experiences here."

Culaba, who served in Rome from 1996-2003, recalled that when he met the Pope later he found that the pontiff "was very happy about the Philippines. He always mentions the Philippines as the high points of his visits around the world because of the number of people who showed up."

During the papal audiences at the Vatican, whenever the Pope saw a crowd of Filipinos, he would always single them out, Culaba added.

Reuter said if the Pope dies, the country’s three cardinals who are still below the age of 80 would likely be summoned to the Vatican as part of the process of choosing a new pope.

The three cardinals include former Manila archbishop Cardinal Jaime Sin, who was instrumental in the overthrow of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and is ill with kidney problems.

Cardinal Jose Tomas Sanchez is retired and lives in Rome while Cardinal Ricardo Vidal is still active, based in Cebu.

Roman Catholicism was introduced to the Philippines by Spanish colonialists in the 16th century. Almost 80 percent of the country’s population or around 68.7 million people are Catholics. — With AFP, Eva Visperas, Evelyn Macairan