Pope Francis to deliver message for Pinoys

MANILA, Philippines - Pope Francis will deliver a message to Filipinos during the closing ceremony of the Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE) to be held at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) on Oct. 18.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle made the announcement in  , the official news service provider of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

But Tagle has yet to confirm this week if the Pontiff would deliver his message through live stream direct from the Vatican or if it would be recorded.

“The Holy Father... will send a message – that’s a sign that they’re really interested,” Tagle said.

The Manila prelate earlier said the “the eyes of the Vatican are on us” as its officials are looking forward to the three-day conference that would run from Oct. 16 to 18 at UST.

“Rome is interested in how a church in Asia like the Philippines would approach this whole concern about the new evangelization,” Tagle said.

“I think they are also interested in what the churches in Asia could contribute to the universal church for these new approaches and new methods in evangelization,” he added.

The PCNE aims to look for new approaches to keep the church’s mission to evangelize in sync with the times.

Tagle said the conference also seeks to win back dissident Catholics to the church and those who think that going to church is “obsolete.” 

“So we took these questions and concerns seriously in crafting the program,” Tagle said. “There will be a lot of storytelling in the workshops. So people will be encouraged to tell their stories and ask their questions.”

He also said that organizers are expecting bishops, priests and laypeople from other Asian countries to attend the PCNE.

“At the moment, there are six bishops from different parts of Asia who signified their attendance... This is not only unity in the Philippines but also unity in Asia,” Tagle said.