Five things to know about the Pope鈥檚 trip to the Philippines
Pope Francis鈥� five-day trip to the Philippines had the country in an uproar of excitement weeks before he arrived.
So far, he hasn鈥檛 disappointed, staying true to his message of humility and hope as he traveled from the capital of Manila Saturday to the city of Tacloban in Leyte province, where typhoon Haiwan wreaked havoc in 2013, and back.
The pontiff is now preparing for his last major public event before leaving the country 鈥撎齛 mass in front of an estimated 6 million people at an outdoor venue in the capital Sunday.
Before he heads back to Rome, here are five things you need to know about the Pope鈥檚 visit to Asia鈥檚 largest Catholic nation:
He's comfortable in a poncho听
A late-season tropical storm , site of some of the worst damage dished out by typhoon Haiyan in 2013. But that didn鈥檛 stop him from who turned out despite the weather.
While some may say the image of the pope in a cheap poncho is disrespectful, others saw it as another sign of his humility.听
鈥淚鈥檇 like to tell you something close to my heart,鈥� Francis said . 鈥淲hen I saw from Rome the catastrophe, I felt that I had to be here and on those very days I decided to come here.鈥�
鈥淚 am here to be with you. A little bit late, I have to say, but I am here,鈥� he said.
So many of you have lost everything. I don鈥檛 know what to say to you. But the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you have lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silent. And I walk with you all with my silent heart. Many of you have asked the Lord, why Lord?听And to each of you, to your heart, Christ responds from His heart upon the cross.
The pope also took time to visit the nearby town of Palo and listen to the stories of about 30 Haiyan survivors, whose experiences , according to Filipino Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, who accompanied the pontiff.
"I thought he was going to repeat what he said during his homily, but 鈥� he himself was reduced to silence," Mr. Tagle said.
Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda, displaced more than 900,000 families and killed more than 6,000 people nationwide, .
He addressed corruption听
During his speech at the Malaca帽ang presidential palace in Manila, Pope Francis听.听
"Everyone, at all levels of society, must reject every form of corruption as it takes resources from the poor," he said, even as听. "Our great biblical tradition ... bids us to break the bonds of injustice and oppression which give rise to glaring, and scandalous, social inequalities."
The Philippine government has been wracked with corruption scandals over the past few years, and the country is ranked 85th out of 175 nations in Transparency International鈥檚 global corruption perception index.
Expectations have been high that the Pope would address the issue of integrity.听鈥淗opefully, it [the papal visit] boosts the moral standards of Filipinos, that they would start standing up for what is right. Hopefully, the corrupt Catholic officials would be moved by the pope,鈥� Rob Guevarra, a 海角大神 youth pastor and campus missionary,听.
He defended the church鈥檚 stance on contraception
The Pope also made clear where he stands on an issue that鈥檚 especially touchy in the Southeast Asian nation: birth control.
鈥淏e sanctuaries of respect for life, proclaiming the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death,鈥� Francis听told a crowd of 86,000 gathered outside one of Manila's biggest sports arenas. 鈥淲hat a gift this would be to society if every 海角大神 family lived fully its noble vocation.鈥�
The Pope effectively backed up the Filipino Catholic Church in one of its longest and most ardently fought battles with the government: The country鈥檚听, which by law requires government health centers to issue free condoms and birth control pills and mandates sex education be taught in public schools.
Philippine president Benigno Aquino III, who was threatened with excommunication, signed the bill into law in 2012, 13 years after it was first filed in Congress. The Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines听听ever since.
He made unscheduled stops
The Pope鈥檚 itinerary has been available online for days, but that didn鈥檛 mean he wasn't spontaneous: After saying Mass at the Manila Cathedral on Jan. 16, he made , NBC News reports.
"The children were hoping to catch a glimpse of him and were so excited they didn't sleep all night," a French volunteer at the shelter told the network. "Then half an hour before the mass ended Vatican security came to tell us the Pope would come. We told the children, and they looked stunned.鈥�
The Pope spent about half an hour with from the Blessed Charles de Foucauld Home for Girls and other affiliated shelters in the city, according to Northwest Catholic News.
He's got a social media savvy team 听听
The Philippines is home to some of the . Whether or not the Pope was aware of that, Filipinos received the messages written in Tagalog on his official Twitter account with gusto: Each of the three posts were shared tens of thousands of times.
"The com-passion of God, his suffering-with-us, gives meaning and worth to our struggles and our sufferings."
"The family is the greatest treasure of any country. Let us all work to protect and strengthen this, the cornerstone of society."
"The Philippines bears witness to the youthfulness and vitality of the Church."
Nor is he above using a little modern lingo. When Tricia Farnacio, a 16-year-old diagnosed with kidney disorder that keeps her wheelchair-bound, asked the Pope for a photo, 鈥渉e said, 'Selfie!'" Ms. Farnacio told .
