Pope Francis, the People’s Prophet
by Levy Abad
During one of my morning visits to La Merage Restaurant, seniors were discussing the message of Pope Francis in Malacaňang. The Inquirer headline states, “Pope Francis’ plea for government to help poor, stop corruption, a timely wake- up call.” When I saw the headline, it sent shivers down my spine. I was reminded of Archbishop Romero of El Salvador who played his prophetic role during his time and paid the ultimate price of being gunned down while celebrating the mass. His only fault was that he took the side of the poor and denounced injustice in society.
The faces of all the activists who were martyred for taking the side of the poor suddenly streamed back in my memory. Priests, pastors, nuns and lay persons have been inspired through the years by the scripture, especially the biblical passage written in Luke 4:18 to 19, where Jesus read His great social commission in the synagogue of Capernaum, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me for He has anointed me to proclaim the good news to the poor, set free the oppressed, liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” Praise God for this event in Philippine history. It is indeed good news to the poor when Pope Francis delivered this strong message before government officials in Malacaňang: STOP CORRUPTION and HELP the POOR! The following was a part of his speech…“Essential to the attainment of these national goals is the imperative of ensuring social justice and respect for human dignity. The great biblical tradition enjoins on all peoples the duty to hear the voice of the poor. It bids us to break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring and indeed scandalous social inequalities. Reforming the social structures which perpetuates poverty and the exclusion of the poor first requires a conversion of mind and heart. I hope this prophetic message summons will challenge everyone, at all levels of society, to reject every form of corruption which diverts resources from the poor, and to make concerted efforts to ensure the inclusion of every man and woman and children in the life of the community.” This is not only a pronouncement but a denunciation of the present social condition in the Philippines, the economic inequality between the rich and the poor. In Matthew 23:4, Jesus rebukes the attitude of some leaders, “For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.” Pope Francis’ message hits the nail and is consistent with the passage I just quoted. His words subvert the status quo. Bad news for the rich and powerful! Many people consider Pope Francis as the people’s prophet for uttering these words. By vehemently promoting and defending the rights of the poor, I cannot help but imagine how he will be placed under surveillance by the people whom he criticized, hatch a plan to silence him or worst, order the security forces to shoot him like what they do to ordinary activists who serve the people? If you are just a simple church activist who seriously takes Jesus’ political/prophetic stand in the book of Matthew against the corruption of the leaders during his time, you will end up being marked as a communist agitator, placed under surveillance, demonized as a terrorist and eventually martyred. Noli Capulong, a United Church activist, was shot for being steadfast in his stand against oppression; Fr. Fausto “Pops” Tentorio, a missionary martyr for the poor and the landless; Bishop Alberto Ramento of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente who was martyred in connection with the Hacienda Luisita issue. They are just among the thousands who became victims of impunity.
Their tragic death brings to mind the lives of the prophets in the Hebrew scripture: Isaiah, Amos; and also later prophetic developments like Vatican 2 and theologians of liberation such as Gustavo Gutierrez, Leonardo Boff, Dom Heldom Camara, Ernesto Cardinal and many more who were persecuted or sanctioned by the church for taking the preferential option for the poor. I remember those who stood up and raised radical questions conditioned by the situation of oppression that call for a bold stand on the side of the poor in history. All of them dared to venture beyond dogma so they can express the cry of the oppressed of the third world and as a result, were crucified by the establishment. The words and actions of Pope Francis in the Philippines in siding with the oppressed validate the sufferings undergone by all who took the prophetic calls of the scripture. These are not enough, more work needs to be done that will lead to the completion of the struggle of the people for social justice and human dignity.
The effort of Pope Francis to avoid the attempts of the powers that be to put him in a box by giving him gifts, providing luxurious cars and offering pompous residences endeared him to people. Pope Francis preferred to go to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban to spend time with them. This is a prime example of being in solidarity with the victims of calamities and corruption. He chided the bishops and priests to stay faithful to their vocation of being servants of God and the people of God by leading simple lives, reminding them of their vows of discipleship. The most powerful gesture of Pope Francis is his affection for children especially orphans, which reminds me of Matthew 19:14, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
In his speech, he mentioned the concept of “integral human development,” a classic Vatican II concept, meaning, governments and members of the church should strive for the holistic liberation of the people (economic, political, social and cultural) from oppressive and evil social structures imposed by greed or to be blunt, neo-liberalism. The regime back home cannot escape from the biting statement of Pope Francis and they are well aware of it. On the other hand, the speech is a clear testimony of the persecution of all political activists who were jailed, tortured, disappeared and killed throughout our people’s liberation praxis. If the government is really serious with the message of Pope Francis, it should right away release all political prisoners and stop the impunity of political killings. The government should address the root causes of the people’s dissent and insurgency, thus laying down the requisites for a genuine and lasting peace.
In his speech, he mentioned the concept of “integral human development,” a classic Vatican II concept, meaning, governments and members of the church should strive for the holistic liberation of the people (economic, political, social and cultural) from oppressive and evil social structures imposed by greed or to be blunt, neo-liberalism. The regime back home cannot escape from the biting statement of Pope Francis and they are well aware of it. On the other hand, the speech is a clear testimony of the persecution of all political activists who were jailed, tortured, disappeared and killed throughout our people’s liberation praxis. If the government is really serious with the message of Pope Francis, it should right away release all political prisoners and stop the impunity of political killings. The government should address the root causes of the people’s dissent and insurgency, thus laying down the requisites for a genuine and lasting peace.
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