What Pope Francis may say in his homilies

LIPA City, Batangas – Pope Francis is expected to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka by plane late Thursday afternoon for his week-long Apostolic Visit to deliver his message of mercy and compassion.

The event, which will be held in 11 different venues in Leyte and Manila, is expected to draw millions of people from a predominantly Catholic country.

But what does the Pope will tell the people in his homilies?

Religious unity is one, living according to the gospel is another, Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said.

“We should join one another, we console each other and we can rise from our misery. Because God helps those who know how to love and serve their neighbor,” Arguelles said in an exclusive interview, when asked of what he expects to hear from the pope.

“We may call on the same God with different names but what is important is the people’s brotherhood.”

Barely 17 months before the country chooses its next president and other set of leaders, Arguelles also hopes that the pope will tackle the issue of corruption that has befallen a predominantly Catholic country over the years.

“You try to have a clean government. Not a corrupt one. Because corruption will only lead to poverty,” said the Lipa bishop and known Aquino administration critic, adding that Catholics should also be sensitive with the poor’s plight.

In its latest corruption perception index, Transparency International ranked the Philippines 85th among the 177 countries surveyed, nine notches higher than 2013 and the first time it was able to break into the upper half of the list. The higher the country ranks on the list, the less corrupt it’s perceived to be.

Corruption issues however hounded the Aquino administration in the previous years like the P5-billion pork barrel scam, which involves alleged misuse of public funds that were channeled to bogus non-government organizations of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles in alleged connivance with some lawmakers and government officials.

Detained opposition senator Jinggoy Estrada previously accused Aquino of bribing senators P50 million each for projects funded through the assailed Disbursement Acceleration Program in exchange for the conviction of former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012. The president has denied this.

Arguelles said the pope’s message might also challenge millions of Filipino Catholics, whom he thinks are not living according to the religious teachings.

“We can’t be Catholic but we are cheating. We can’t be Catholic but we don’t love especially for the unborn ones. You can’t be Catholic if you are spreading indecency, worldliness and we’re enslaved by our vices,” the Lipa bishop said.