ALMOST a year after his visit to the Philippines, Pope Francis still has some nice things to say about the Filipinos.
In a brief and casual meeting with Filipino bishops attending the ongoing Synod on the Family at the Vatican, the Pope again expressed his admiration for the Filipino faith.
“The Holy Father said ‘I have special admiration for the Filipinos’,” Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma quoted the pontiff as saying. “Basically, he is taking us as people of great faith.”
Daet Bishop Gilbert Garcera said the Pope also recalled with “great happiness” the “Lolo Kiko” nickname that Filipinos fondly gave him.
“He was really laughing and was so happy about it,” Garcera said.
According to Palma, it created a good impression on the Pope how elderly are held in high regard in the Philippines.
“It’s a sign that I am appreciated. I am loved in the Philippines,” Pope Francis said, according to the Cebu prelate.
On Saturday, Catholic bishops agreed to a qualified opening toward divorcees who have remarried outside the Church but rejected calls for more welcoming language towards homosexuals.
The outcome of a three-week gathering at the Vatican, known as a synod and presided over by Pope Francis, marked a victory for conservatives on homosexual issues and for progressives on the thorny issue of remarriage.
The final synod document restated Church teachings that gays should not suffer discrimination in society, but also repeated the stand that there was “no foundation whatsoever” for same-sex marriage, which “could not even remotely” be compared to heterosexual unions.
The document indicated that the assembly had decided to avoid overtly controversial language and seek consensus in order to avoid deadlock on the most sensitive topics, leaving it up to the pope to deal with the details.
The synod is an advisory body that does not have the power to alter Church doctrine. The pope, who is the final arbiter on any change and who has called for a more merciful and inclusive Church, can use the material to write his own document, known as an “apostolic exhortation”.