‘Saddened’ pope apologizes for shortened visit

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines – Pope Francis apologized for being forced to cut short his visit to this typhoon-hit region yesterday because of an approaching storm.

In brief, unscripted comments, the pope took the microphone soon after arriving at the Palo cathedral in Leyte and announced that he would have to leave at 1 p.m., four hours ahead of schedule.

“I apologize to all of you,” he said, speaking in Italian through a translator. “I am sad about this, truly saddened.”

Tropical Storm Amang (Mekkhala) was fast approaching, making its presence felt by dumping rain on a papal mass in the morning.

The pope said the pilots of the Philippine Airlines jet told him the weather would worsen after 1 p.m. “We barely have time to get to the airplane,” he said.

Some of the priests, nuns and others in the cathedral groaned.

After a quick exchange of gifts, in which Francis received a wood image of Our Lady of Immaculate Conception made from debris from the typhoon-damaged church, his motorcade sped to the airport.

Officials stressed the changes in the papal schedule in Leyte was made due to the worsening weather.

“The changes were made not because of security threat but as adjustment to the weather,” Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II said.

Roxas said the Vatican has apparently considered the inclement weather in Tacloban in their decision to adjust the schedule of the pope.

With the anticipated landfall of the storm, Roxas said the pope had to leave Manila early so he would have more time with the people of Tacloban City.

The pontiff, along with his entourage, boarded a Philippine Airlines (PAL) Airbus 320 PR 0810 flight that took off at about 7:37 a.m., almost an hour ahead of schedule, from Villamor Air Base in Pasay City.

“The pope left early for Tacloban City so that his plane will be able to land safely at the Daniel Romualdez airport,” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla said.

Padilla said the PAL flight had to be advanced while visibility over the Tacloban airport was still clear. The return flight was also advanced ahead the expected landfall of Amang.

Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said there were some minor changes in the schedule due to the worsening weather in the area.

Safety concerns due to the storm over the area were previously aired by organizers of the Papal Visit 2015, with some suggesting that Pope Francis should cancel his visit to Leyte.

Francis, however, prevailed with his wish to be with the people of Leyte.

Before the pope landed in Tacloban, the Philippine Air Force sent “probing” flights over Leyte for the much-needed landing advisory.

“Aside from continuous weather system monitoring, probing flights were conducted to determine if the pope’s plane can land at the Tacloban City airport,” Padilla said.

As per aviation security, no pilot will fly his aircraft and put at risk its passengers, in this particular case, the leader of the Catholic Church.

“Entry and landing...that’s the most risky part of the pope flight yesterday to Tacloban,” said Padilla, himself is an Air Force pilot.

Pope Francis braved the heavy rains and strong winds to comfort survivors of devastating Typhoon Yolanda that hit the area in 2013.

He admitted that it was hard to find the right words when surrounded by so much pain.

“So many of you have lost everything,” Francis told 150,000 faithful gathered before mass under a steady rain in an open field near the airport in Tacloban, the city hit hardest by Yolanda.

“I don’t know what to say to you, but the Lord does know what to say to you. Some of you lost part of your families. All I can do is keep silent. And I walk with you all with my silent heart,” he said.

Many in the crowd wept as Francis spoke, overcome by the memory of the Nov. 8, 2013 storm that leveled entire villages and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.

The pontiff joined them in solidarity, even donning the same yellow rain poncho over his vestments that mass-goers were given to protect them from the rains.

Ferry services to Leyte were suspended, stranding thousands of travelers, including some who wanted to see the pope.

A police official estimated the crowd at 150,000 before the pope’s arrival and said tens of thousands more were lined up outside the airport.

Wearing plastic raincoats, the festive crowd in the city clapped enthusiastically to blaring music welcoming the pope, cheering when his plane landed after the hour-long flight from Manila.

The pope blew kisses, waved and flashed the thumbs-up sign to the crowd as he rode in a covered popemobile from the airport terminal to the nearby altar.

Francis spoke in his native Spanish, which he reverts to when he wants to speak from the heart. He ditched his prepared homily and instead composed a brief prayer off the cuff that began: “Thank you, Lord, for sharing our pain. Thank you, Lord, for giving us hope...”

As he spoke, the winds whipped the altar cloth and threatened to topple the candlesticks.

Today, Pope Francis is due to celebrate the culminating mass of his visit in Rizal Park, where as many as six million people are expected.

St. John Paul II drew a record five million people to his final mass in Manila in 1995, and organizers say they think Francis may top that record.

Security has been tighter than it has ever been for this pope. It appeared to let up a bit outside of Manila. Cellphones worked in Tacloban and the police presence appeared to be less intrusive, though mass-goers were told not to bring umbrellas. – Jaime Laude, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Lawrence Agcaoili, Rudy Santos, Raymund Catindig, AP