Asian bishops flying in for pope’s visit to PH

MANILA – More than just a national event, Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines is a cause for celebration for the entire Church in Asia with bishops in the region flying in especially for the Holy Father’s Mass with the clergy and religious at the Manila Cathedral on Jan. 16, 2015. It should also be noted there will also be Asian bishops who will come…We are just waiting for their confirmation. Some have already confirmed,” said Pasig Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Commission on Mass Media, in a media briefing earlier at the General Headquarters of the Media Committee for the Pope’s Visit in Intramuros, Manila. Regional celebration We know this is also, in terms of the globe, [the papal visit to the Philippines] is also a regional celebration. So they will be coming and they will be part of the Manila Cathedral celebration,” he added.Brunei Bishop Cornelius Sim, who is one of the Asian prelates confirmed to come to Manila for the papal visit, expects both to be strengthened and also to be prodded uncomfortably by Pope Francis’ words to the clergy. Peter [the Pope] is in office to strengthen the brethren. We need strengthening, encouragement in facing issues in our Asian context,” he said in an interview with CBCPNews.Sim also said he expects a strong message from the pontiff saying, …I think we have a good sense he’ll continue to point us to enlarge our sometimes myopic, institutional approach to ministry and be more willing to make the human person as our primary concern.”Diocesan representativesTo dispel any impressions of favoritism, Vergara clarified that the Mass at the Manila Cathedral is not just for the clergy of the Archdiocese of Manila. All dioceses will be represented in that Mass…It is upon the decision or process of each particular church (diocese), as we call it, to send their own representatives,” he added, saying that each diocese and prelature was asked to send 10 representative priests and 5 religious.To be completely fair, the Pasig bishop shared that in his own diocese, as in other dioceses, these representatives were chosen by lottery.According to Manila Cathedral Msgr. Nestor Cerbo, 1,500 slots have been allotted to bishops, priests and religious for the Eucharistic celebration with Pope Francis on the second day of his visit the remaining 500 slots will be for lay people needed for the liturgical celebration like the choir the technical support staff for the sound system and the air conditioning members of the Presidential Security Group the first aid team ushers and selected members of the media.Vergara said the Central Committee will try its best to put up facilities like video walls or LCD screens outside the Manila Cathedral to accommodate the faithful who may still want to participate in the Eucharistic celebration.Pope Francis is scheduled to make a pastoral and state visit to the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19, 2015.(CBCPNews)