Ma-traffic na sa EDSA!

Pope Francis took the country by storm. Not even a tropical storm that tried to steal the thunder from Pope Francis succeeded.

If the six million estimated crowd at Luneta is accurate, we turned out the equivalent of Singapore’s entire population and some more for Pope Francis.

But wait a minute… we didn’t do it for Pope Francis but for what he stood for…his message for us to adhere to the teachings of the Gospel on social justice.

Many of us took on Pope Francis as we would a rock star. Rather, he was merely the earthly messenger of Christ, delivering the Shepherd’s message grounded on the Rock of Christianity.

Put another way, one of my Facebook friends said, “It is great to admire the Pope. The next step is to emulate him. For what makes this man holy is not his elected position, but his compassion for humanity. And this compassion, this we must emulate.”

The Pope wants us to reform “the social structures which perpetuate poverty and the exclusion of the poor.” He knows it isn’t easy. He warns us this first requires a conversion of mind and heart.

Indeed, Jesus himself observed in Matthew 19:24 “Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” It is another way of saying you will burn in hell unless you do something for the least of God’s people.

We are still feeling the afterglow of the Pope’s visit. He is charismatic and totally inspiring. But sooner rather than later, we will be back to normal…and it’s traffic sa EDSA again… We will cite reality as a good excuse to set aside the many wonderful observations of the Pope that so thrilled us the past five days.

But we can’t afford to do that. I think the Pope’s message during the course of his visit touched our hearts because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit, in the same way that his unexpected election as Pope was. I also see the Pope’s observations as warnings from a prophet that, we and specially the leaders of our society, can choose to ignore only at our peril.

That accident at the Tacloban airport that almost took the lives of some Cabinet members, including the Executive Secretary didn’t happen by chance and could have been worse. It has to be God’s way of saying, Pope Francis is my messenger… you officials who have the power to make change happen must hear him or else.

In his first speech in the Philippines, Pope Francis spoke about the evils of corruption. And the Pope knew he had the right audience of Filipino officials at Malacañang, many of whom are facing scrutiny for corruption. I wonder if any of them squirmed as they listened to the Pope or did they just roll their eyes and drown out his message.

The Pope clearly said: “I hope that this prophetic 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 child in the life of the community.”

The Pope knew our problems: “As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitment to the common good.” That’s a good way of choosing the next president.

Fighting corruption is essential, the Pope said, because we must “marshal the moral resources needed to face the demands of the present, and to pass on to coming generations a society of authentic justice, solidarity and peace.”

The recurring theme of the Pope’s speeches and homilies revolved around the need to deal with inequality in society and fight poverty. It is imperative, the Pope kept on saying, “to ensure social justice and human dignity,” adding such existing oppression “gives rise to scandalous inequalities.”

The Pope particularly called upon the Church in the Philippines “to acknowledge and combat the causes of the deeply rooted inequality and injustice which mar the face of Filipino society, plainly contradicting the teaching of Christ.” He pointed out that Christian communities must create “circles of integrity”, networks of solidarity which can expand to embrace and transform society by their prophetic witness.

He reminded everyone that the poor are at the center of the Gospel, are at the heart of the Gospel. “If we take away the poor from the Gospel, we cannot understand the whole message of Jesus Christ.”

Since this is a business column, I want to cite the observation of my good friend John Mangun in his column in Business Mirror that the Pope was not only talking of government corruption, but private sector as well.

“Too often the populist view is that the government is in control and ultimately will determine the future of a nation and its people. The fact is that it is the business community, from the smallest to the largest, that holds this country in its hands.

“We speak of government corruption and ignore ‘corporate corruption’ from the smallest sari-sari store that has never paid any taxes to the largest that may bribe regulators for favors. We allow laws to be passed to penalize ‘business’ to protect ‘workers’ that in fact keep companies from hiring. It is not government that will end poverty, but a legitimate and functioning partnership between government and business that will reach that goal.

“If the papal visit is going to create a renewal of spirit and commitment to a better future, the business community is going to have to step up and proactively act to change what Pope Francis called ‘A society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarization and scandalous inequality.’”

Another good friend of mine, former Ramos administration official Jose Alejandrino said in a Facebook post that “Pope Francis came, God sent Francis, His shepherd, to deliver several messages to the Filipinos and their leaders. The first is against corruption. The second is for the Filipino clergy to be more active in fighting corruption and poverty.

“The third is for the family ties to be strengthened as a safety valve against adversity. The fourth is to learn how to cry. As I wrote in previous postings, how many cry for the hungry children rummaging the garbage for food? Only when we have learned to cry will we become real Christians, as the Pope said at UST.”

The Pope’s strongest message for this country is to reject every form of corruption that diverts resources from the poor. The Pope recently excommunicated the Mafia. I wonder if he would consider excommunicating our officials who plundered the nation’s coffers through their pork barrel funds if they remain unrepentant.

I wonder if that message touched the heart of Janet Lim Napoles who professes to be religious but public records seem to indicate had been involved in exactly the thing the Pope denounced… diverting resources from the poor through her fake NGOs.

Pope Francis observed, “the Gospel is also a summons to conversion, to an examination of our consciences, as individuals and as a people.”

Those involved in the pork barrel scam know in their hearts that they did wrong. If there is conversion, they will admit their sin, help in prosecuting others entrusted with public trust who connived with them, suffer the consequences and sin no more.

Conversion of people like Ms. Napoles would save us so much time and effort at the Sandiganbayan. She will enable us to move on to the more important tasks of uplifting the poor through a productive use of public funds.

There is no alternative to taking action. The Pope said on another occasion that “a prayer that does not lead you to practical action for your brother... is a sterile and incomplete prayer.”  

In the end, the Pope also said, “the measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need. Today we also have to say “Thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills.”

Let us hear no excuses. Pope Francis wants us to “end scandalous social inequalities… poverty”. After five days of what amounts to a national spiritual retreat conducted by the Pope, it is unacceptable to go back to business as usual.

As life goes back to normal, we cannot say, ma-traffic na sa EDSA… kaya pasensya na lamang. Ganyan talaga ang buhay!

Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco