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Monday, April 04, 2005
Arroyo sets period of national mourning
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has declared a period of national mourning beginning Monday until the burial of Pope John Paul II and flags in government offices nationwide would be flown at half-mast during this time.
The pope, born Karol Wojtyla, died at around 9:37 p.m. Saturday (3:37 a.m. Sunday in Manila) in his private apartment in Vatican City, Italy. He succumbed to heart failure and infection of the kidney.
Arroyo said the pope's death brings a "deep sense of grief and loss" to everyone. She added that the 84-year-old pontiff would be missed as he had touched millions of lives regardless of race and gender.
"He (pope) was a holy champion of the Filipino family and of the profound Christian values that make everyone of us contemplate everyday what is just, moral and sacred in life. The world will miss a great spiritual bridge among all nations that he touched and blessed with his gentle hands," she said.
"The weak and the oppressed will always remember their hero and advocate who sold peace and love by his awesome charisma and noble deeds. We join the whole of humanity in prayer on this day of universal bereavement," the President added.
Arroyo, a devout Catholic, will lead and open the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) with a prayer for the Holy See.
The Senate has joined Catholics and the whole world in mourning for the pope.
Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the pope has touched the lives of many Filipinos when he visited the Philippines twice in 1981 and in 1995 during the World Youth Day.
"We will remember Pope John Paul II for his fight for human dignity as well as his steadfast work in bringing peace to all nations," Drilon said.
Drilon urged the Filipino people to join the whole world in praying for the pope.
Pimentel, on the other hand, said Filipinos would best remember the pope when he expressed objection to martial law and when he proposed that the unconscionable debts of the country be forgiven.
House Speaker Jose de Venecia said: "We are deeply saddened by the passing of probably the greatest--and most popular pope in history since St. Peter. I have no doubt that because of his life's work--and his tireless effort to strengthen the faith and spread the gospel of peace--he would achieve sainthood."
De Venecia said because of his ecumenism, the pope served as his greatest inspiration when he initiated the Christian-Muslim and Inter-faith dialogues, which have been approved by the United Nations.
"Pope John Paul II accomplished much during his 26-year papacy and history will remember him fondly. He was partly responsible for the fall of the Berlin Wall, the liberation of Eastern Europe, and the re-conversion of Russia," he said.
Three senior officials of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the pope's death will further strengthen the Filipinos' faith in the Lord.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Dagupan-Lingayen Archbishop Oscar Cruz maintained it is only the human body of the Holy Father that left the world because his soul will remain guiding the Catholic Church.
"His (pope) death should not cause us any reason to be afraid, for us, he has championed the cause of the church while still on earth. So that he even more became advocate in the after life," said Vidal.
Vidal said the pope's death teaches not only the hierarchy of the Catholic bishops, the importance of the dignity of human life, the splendor of truth, the power of faith and the sacrifices, but also leaves the Catholic faithful a legacy that one can never compare and forget.
"We thank the Lord for having given us a shepherd who is truly, as per, his own heart, Pope john Paul II has loyally and courageously brought the church into the threshold of the new millennium and he has set us firmly on a course towards meeting the challenges of the modern world with faith and trust in the Lord who is our true shepherd," he lamented.
Rosales said they were also happy because the pope will now be joining his creator.
"We will definitely miss him," he said during a special mass held at the Divine Mercy Shrine in Mandaluyong City for the celebration of the Feast of the Divine Mercy.
In his homily, Rosales also noted how the pope offered his life to the Lord as he noted his legacy would live on forever.
Cruz admitted the church would really have difficulty finding the same pope as with Karol Wojtyla who did tremendous jobs in really bridging the gaps between Christianity and communism.
"Humanly speaking, it would be hard for us to find a replacement but the Lord always guides the church in times like this," said Cruz in an interview.
Moreover, Cruz said: "He (pope) is gone but lives on in the minds and hearts of people. He left but continues to be present in the church and in the world with his teachings and examples."
The pope played a big role in the fall of communism in Eastern Europe. He, as the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics, also successfully defended the traditional Vatican doctrines against the religion's critics.
The pope's death was first announced by Undersecretary of State Archbishop Leonardo Sandri to the crowd of 70,000 that gathered in St. Peter's Square below the pope's still-lighted apartment windows.
Bells pealed in mourning after the Vatican said the pope died. The assembled flock fell into a stunned silence before some people broke out in applause--an Italian tradition in which mourners often clap for important figures.
The Vatican said the pope's body was to be taken to St. Peter's Basilica not earlier than Monday afternoon. His funeral will be held within four to six days.
The pope is likely to be buried in the crypts below St. Peter's Basilica.
With the pope's death, some 120 members of the College of Cardinals from around the world would meet Monday morning in the Vatican's Sistine Chapel to discuss about the pope's successor.
Among possible successors are German Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger--one of the pope's closest aides and the Vatican's doctrinal watchdog. Others mentioned include Brazilian Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga of Honduras, Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Austria and Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi of Italy. (JFF/JMR/JPM/Marie Neri)
(April 4, 2005 issue)
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