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Tuesday, April 05, 2005
Arroyo to fly to Vatican for pope's funeral
MANILA -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said Monday she will attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II, adding he cared deeply for the Philippines and hoped for an end to decades of conflict with Moro separatists.
Arroyo said she planned to leave Tuesday with a small entourage for the Vatican, where she last had an audience with the pontiff two years ago.
Among those who will accompany Arroyo are Leonida Vera, Philippine ambassador to the Holy See; Gina De Venecia, wife of Speaker Jose De Venecia Jr.; and Social Security System chairman Thelmo Cunanan and his wife Belinda.
The President told reporters in Clark in Pampanga, where she graced the third anniversary celebration of the United Parcel Services (UPS) intra-Asia hub, that the Philippines always had a special in the pope's heart.
"In my visits to the pope, even before I became president, what always impressed me was that he knew what was happening in the Philippines and he was most especially concerned with having peace and progress and brotherhood and unity in Mindanao," she said.
Arroyo declared a period of national mourning from Monday until the pope's burial, ordering all government offices to put flags at half-staff.
The pope visited the Philippines in 1981 and 1995, drawing huge emotional crowds. An estimated 4 million people jammed a seaside Manila park where he celebrated Mass for the world's youth in 1995. He was scheduled to return two years ago for the World Meeting of Families, but the long voyage apparently was considered too taxing for his frail health.
Arroyo paid tribute to the pope, describing him as a "holy champion of the Filipino family" whose death was received with a deep sense of grief and loss by millions of Filipinos.
"The world will miss a great spiritual bridge among all nations that he touched and blessed with his gentle hand. The weak and oppressed will always remember their hero and advocate who sowed peace and love," she said.
The details of Arroyo's Vatican trip are being finalized by the Department of Foreign Affairs, said Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, adding this was likely an overnight visit.
Ermita said he would oversee the day-to-day activities at the Palace in the President's absence.
According to Ermita, the initial plan was to send Vice President Noli De Castro and his wife Arlene, de Venecia and his wife Gina, and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Romulo to the Vatican to represent Arroyo. But reports from the Office of the Vice President said the President changed her mind and would instead go to Rome.
The funeral mass for Pope John Paul II, who died at 3:37 a.m. Sunday (RP time), will be held on Friday morning. He will be buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica, reports said.
Also Monday at the Malacañang Palace, a special prayer and tribute for the pope was led by Fr. James Reuter, S.J., former spokesman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).
Father Reuter talked about the 84-year-old pontiff's "special love for this nation, the Philippines; and all of us Filipinos were filled with a special love for him."
"Lord, your Vicar on Earth, John Paul II has gone home to you. Please receive him with compassion for all the things that he has suffered; with mercy for all the things he may have done wrong; and with love for all of the beautiful work he has done for you through the long years," he added. (JMR)
(April 5, 2005 issue)
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