Thousands bid farewell to Cardinal Sin

Thousands of Filipinos gathered at Manila Cathedral in Intramuros yesterday to bid farewell to the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, the Roman Catholic leader who rallied the nation twice in the last two decades for mass pro-democracy protests that ousted two presidents.

Mourners lined the streets around the cathedral as political and business leaders, nuns, students and thousands of others inside heard the funeral rites for Sin, who died on June 21 at age 76 after suffering from a kidney ailment.

Funeral rites for Sin started at 9 a.m., with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales welcoming the congregation.

"He was the ultimate outspoken cardinal. He is a patriot of the country’s recent history. He never feared, for the Lord said, ‘If you do it to the least of my brethren, you do it to me.’ It was in the poor that he found Christ," Rosales said.

Notably absent were leaders of the political opposition, many of whom are linked to former presidents Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada, both ousted in public rallies called by Sin, among other figures.

Rosales, who took over from Sin as Manila archbishop, lauded the late cardinal for inspiring people to rise up against Marcos, who ruled from 1966 to 1986, much of it under martial law.

"He was more than a pastor. In the context of the country’s... dictatorship, he was the ultimate, outspoken prophet who was completely unafraid of despots and those who were unjust, dishonest and oppressive," he said.

After his welcome remarks, Rosales led 10 former auxiliary bishops of the archdiocese in bringing out Sin’s casket to the patio for the cardinal to be conferred state honors.

Before Sin was laid to rest alongside other bishops in a crypt beneath the altar, his mahogany casket was draped with the Philippine flag and paraded around the cathedral’s plaza on a horse-drawn carriage bedecked with white flowers. Soldiers then fired a 21-gun salute.

Military pallbearers folded the flag, which the honor guard commander handed to President Arroyo. She gave the flag to Dr. Ramon Sin, the cardinal’s younger brother. Also present as Sin was conferred state honors were former President Corazon Aquino, Vice President Noli de Castro, and Sin’s sisters Ceferina and Mary.

White balloons filled the clear sunny day as the coffin prepared to enter the cathedral for burial. A giant white streamer read: "We love Cardinal Sin."

The President, accompanied by De Castro, Aquino and Sin’s siblings, entered the cathedral. They were followed five minutes later by the 10 former Manila auxiliary bishops and by members of the archdiocese’s College of Consultors.

At the cathedral doors, Rosales sprinkled holy water on the casket and circled it, bearing a censer. Fr. Rufino Sescon and Fr. Gener Geronimo covered the casket with a pall, a large piece of white cloth bearing Sin’s coat of arms.

As the casket rested at the foot of the altar, Rosales began the funeral Mass, attended by Senators Joker Arroyo and Aquilino Pimentel, former senator Francisco Tatad, former Central Bank governor Jose Cuisia, Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., and members of the diplomatic corps. Also present were four cardinals said to be Sin’s close friends: Los Angeles Archbishop Roger Mahony; Tokyo, Japan Archbishop Seiichi Shirayanagi; Jakarta, Indonesia Archbishop Julius Darmaatmadja; and Kaohsiung, Taiwan Archbishop Paul Shan Kuo-hsi.

During the Mass, a message from Pope Benedict XVI was read aloud.

Papal Nuncio Archbishop Antonio Franco, Vatican’s representative in the Philippines, read out the Pope’s message.

Offering "heartfelt condolences" to Rosales and the clergy in Manila, the Pope commended Sin’s "unfailing commitment to spread the gospel and promote the dignity" of Filipinos. He also said he is joining the Filipino faithful in praying "that (Sin’s) soul will be welcomed in the kingdom of God."

Franco also read the message sent by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano, who also extended his condolences "at the passing of a true pastor."

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal urged Filipinos to continue Sin’s work.

"A great man does not leave his people orphans. He empowers them to stand on their own and fulfill their own destiny. We as a people can stand on our own to continue his work and try to bring it to fruition. He was a visionary. At a time when all things were not clear, he knew what the Filipino could do," Vidal said.

Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, the incumbent president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, described Sin as a "man of contradiction."

"He was loved and he was disliked. He was a gentle pastor and he was an unyielding prophet. He was a conservative protecting the tradition of the Church and he was also a progressive who preferred to work along the frontiers where brutal poverty broke human lives," Capalla said.

He added that few could match Sin’s "instinctive insights into the essence of problems" and "unerring use of humor" in following the public pulse and garnering great support.

In his homily, Balanga, Bataan Bishop Socrates Villegas — who served as Sin’s assistant for 18 years — recounted Sin’s fondness for using the Spanish word "vamos" (let us go) whenever he would give orders or invite people to eat with him.

"He meant it that way. He did not send us off; he walked with us and held our hands as we walked through the uncertainties of life. He came with us each time," Villegas said.

He added that vamos was the last word Sin uttered before he died.

"Although it looks like he has left us behind... I believe what he meant was ‘Vamos! Let us go together.’ He did not say farewell. He did not say adios. He said vamos, with certainty that we will go to heaven one day," Villegas said.

Only the 50 people closest to Sin were allowed into the crypt to witness the lowering into a tomb lined with brown marble. A stainless steel time capsule was also placed inside.

The time capsule contained a rosary, six miraculous medals of the Blessed Virgin Mary, newspapers containing stories of Sin’s death, coins to mark the year of his death and a "rogito" or biography of the late cardinal and a blueprint of the Cardinal Sin Village, an urban poor settlement in Punta, Sta. Ana sponsored by Sin himself.

Church sources said the rogito was signed by Franco, Rosales, Villegas and Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes.

Sin’s epitaph, engraved on black marble, was in English and listed the dates of his ordination as a priest, appointment as archbishop of Manila, and elevation to cardinal. It also listed the date he died and his age at the time of death.

‘Moral compass’

One of Asia’s most prominent religious leaders, Sin was known for his vocal stances on everything from birth control to poverty, politics and the United States-led war in Iraq. Seen as the moral compass in the overwhelmingly Catholic Philippines, he even once apologized for church neglect of the poor.

In 2003 Sin stepped down as head of the Manila archdiocese, which he served for nearly three decades, after reaching the retirement age of 75. Declining health forced him to curtail his appearances, including at the Vatican conclave that chose a new pope in April.

Sin left a mixed legacy to a nation still struggling with vast political and social division after the uprisings that ousted two presidents.

"He saw the great need for unity among Filipinos but it must have pained him deeply that his charisma remained insufficient to accomplish this elusive goal," Capalla said.

Sin spoke out about the plight of tens of millions of poor Filipinos but also rubbed shoulders with the rich and powerful who resisted moves to break up their vast estates of land.

He was a staunch opponent of artificial birth control and abortion. Butting heads with then President Fidel Ramos, who once called the cardinal "the divine commander-in-chief," Sin mobilized hundreds of thousands of people in 1994 to denounce a policy encouraging condoms and pills to curb rapid population growth.

But the cardinal also had a renowned sense of humor, often joking about his name by welcoming guests to the "House of Sin."

While critics branded him a "politician priest," Sin believed the church had an important role to play in politics.

"Politics without Christ is the greatest scourge of our nation," he said in his retirement speech in 2003.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who once served as Sin’s auxiliary bishop, said the cardinal was "at ease with the powerful and influential but joyful in the company of the poor and helpless. He loved his friends, but at the same time understood those who were not."

Cruz, who now spearheads a crusade against the proliferation of the illegal numbers game jueteng, added that he had learned much from Sin, who shared his "understanding of God and man. He taught me the power of truth, the meaning of life, the dignity of every human person — the unborn included." — With Cesar Ramirez, AP, Reuters, AFP