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“Thank you very much.”
Touched by the warm welcome given by tens of thousands of Filipinos from all walks of life who lined the streets to catch a glimpse of him and greet him, Pope Francis used a verse from the Gospel of John in order to show his gratitude.
Opening his homily with a quotation from the day’s Gospel reading from John’s account, in which Jesus Christ asked St. Peter, the first pope, “Do you love me?”, he seemingly posed the question to the audience.
Indicating he had indeed been showered with love, he joked, “Thank you very much!” It made the audience laugh.
It was only the first departure so far from his prepared English text as the Italian-Argentian pope is more at home with Italian and Spanish.
He told the clergy, religious and lay leaders he was greeting them “with great affection.”
In his homily, he said the Philippine Church should lead in the evangelization of Asia.” The Philippine Church is called “to acknowledge and combat deeply rooted inequality and injustice (in) society, contradicting teaching of Christ.”
In Malacañang, the Pope called for political leaders who have “integrity and commitment to welfare of the poor.”
The Pope is on the second-day of his pastoral visit of the Philippines. He will enplane to Tacloban City in Leyte province in the central Philippines Saturday to commiserate with victims of the 2013 super-typhoon “Haiyan,” known locally as “Yolanda.”
On Sunday, he will meet with the leaders of other religions and make an address before a youth rally at the Pontifical University of Santo Tomas.
On Sunday afternoon, he celebrates Sunday Mass at the Rizal Park which is expected to draw millions.
He goes back to Rome Monday.
Photo: Noynoy Aquino/Facebook
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