PH students to Pope Francis: Make ‘surprise’ visits to poor

MANILA, Philippines – A Christian student group called on Pope Francis to diverge from his official itinerary and make “surprise visits” to urban poor and marginalized communities during his scheduled visit in Manila and the Visayas from January 15 to 19. 

“The message of Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines – that of mercy and compassion – should not be clouded by bureaucracy and stuffy official itineraries, vagaries which the pontiff himself just recently denounced in his annual message to the Roman Curia,” said Eisntein Recedes, Student Christian Movement-Philippines (SCMP) spokesperson.

The SCMP, an ecumenical organization of Filipino youth and students, expressed its fear that Philippine officials will “build a Potemkin Village” in the Argentinian pontiff’s official itinerary to cover the country’s social realities behind “walls of pleasantries.”

“The Filipino youth is deeply inspired by the words and deeds of Pope Francis. Yet we fear that the government will not let his holiness (sic) truly witness the dire situation of the vast majority of Filipinos living in poverty,” Recedes said.

He added, “We urge Pope Francis to surprise the Filipino people by paying a visit to the darkest corners of Philippine society, where the hope and love he harbors is needed the most.”

The SCMP is a member of the World Student Christian Federation, an international group of ecumenical student movements with members from Protestant, Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican denominations.

‘Visit the esteros’

Pope Francis is known to be a champion of the poor, even when he was serving as archbishop of Buenos Aires. His name is even associated with a 12th-century saint who lived a life of poverty. 

During the 2014 World Youth Day, the pontiff encouraged the youth: “We have to learn to be on the side of the poor, and not just indulge in rhetoric about the poor! Let us go out to meet them, look in their eyes and listen to them.”

“Thus, the Filipino youth urge Pope Francis to take a break from his schedule and make surprise visits to the poor communities here in Manila and Visayas,” Recedes said.

This is not the first time the visiting pontiff was asked to spend more time with the poor. In October, when Francis’ itinerary was being prepared, a priest questioned why the Pope will only spend 6 hours in typhoon-ravaged areas in the Visayas.

“That’s why I’m wondering, because the original intention of the Pope is to visit the disaster survivors. But why will he spend only a day there? He should stay longer. Why is it mostly Manila?” Fr Edu Gariguez of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) asked in October 2014.

In the same way, the SCMP called on the Pope to visit poor communities along “esteros” (waterways) in Vitas, Tondo, and San Roque in Quezon City, and the “tent city” where typhoon survivors live in Tacloban.

If the Pope decides to consider the youth’s request, it would not be the first time for him to digress from his official itinerary. He is known to make detours, based on his past visits in other countries. In 2013, he visited the Varginha favela (slum) in northern Rio de Janeiro, despite security concerns.  – Rappler.com