Pope Francis and The Parousia

CEBU, Philippines - Indeed, Pope Francis is a very popular and likeable person.  He personified the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “Let the little children come to me…” (Mk. 10:14).  His actuations towards “the least, the last, the lost” were very Christian! Most especially, his sincerity and openness to others’ “truths” or “sides of the table” are very appealing to a philosopher’s mind.  Praise the Lord that we Roman Catholics have such a spiritual leader who, above all, is a human as we are.

I would like to add my little piece, for whatever it is worth, to the chorus of applause from local and national media.  I go by what contemporary metaphysicians are after: “Listen to what I am not saying.”

Without claiming to be divine, I could read what was in his mind while being cheered by huge crowds on his way to and from the Apostolic Nunciature to give talks in the Manila Cathedral, the Mall of Asia Arena, University of Sto. Tomas, Tacloban, Palo, and at the Luneta.  Being a Jesuit, he must have repeated often their Order’s motto: “Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!” meaning “for the greater glory of God!”

He did not make explicit statements on the advocacy of some Iloilo priests codenamed OPCEL (Optional Celibacy).  Why should he do so when, for all practical purposes, celibacy has become optional.  There is a jocose saying in Cebuano, “If you cannot aguants, you better descans.”  If you cannot bear being unmarried or celibate all your life, then apply for a dispensation or permission from the Pope to receive the Sacrament of Matrimony. My only request from the Roman Curia is not to make the applicants wait for so long as in my case (almost 11 years!).

Without explicitly condemning the Reproductive Health Law, the Pope “rowed back from his ‘rabbits’ comments” (The Freeman, Jan. 23, p. 36).  Had he openly condemned the artificial methods of birth control, it would be “yesterday once more,” i.e., a repetition of Galileo being condemned by the Church for finding out via his telescope that the sun (helio) and not the earth (geo) is the center of the universe.  Like Galileo’s discovery, the artificial methods (condom, IUD, pills, etc.) are products of science and technology.

Like another Jesuit, Teilhard de Chardin, Pope Francis knows that God and science do not contradict each other because the former is the source of the latter.

Neither did Pope Francis talk explicitly about the end of the world (Parousia), lest he might sound like so many false prophets in the past announcing that the end is near.  However, his pronouncements to the parents in the MOA; to the Hierarchy, the clergy and the religious in the Manila Cathedral; to the youth in UST and to all who were at the Luneta personally or via the media, all point to the Biblical passage in connection with the Parousia as found in the Gospel according to St. Matthew, 25:31-46 which in short says:  “Whatever you did to the least of My brethren you did it to me!”

To conclude, Pope Francis accomplished his mission of “Mercy and Compassion” whether explicitly or implicitly, not only in words but most especially in his actuations.

Viva Il Papa!