Crowds welcome Pope in mafia country

NAPLES, Italy -- Hundreds of thousands of people waving Vatican flags on Saturday greeted Pope Francis as he headed deep into mafia territory, visiting jailbirds and the poor in Naples amid heightened security.

The pontiff arrived in the poor, crime-ridden Scampia area of the city in a popemobile and immediately plunged into a crowd of children and young people, two of whom managed to pose for a selfie with the pontiff.

"Corruption stinks, corrupt society stinks," he told residents, adding that "we all have the potential to be corrupt and to slip into criminality".

"Convert to love and peace. It is always possible to return to an honest life. There are mothers weeping for it in Naples' churches," Francis told some 100,000 people gathered for mass in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples' historic centre.

Up to 800,000 people were expected to turn out through the day in the southern Italian city to greet the Argentine-born pontiff, who last year declared war on organised crime by excommunicating all mafiosi from the Catholic Church.

Security was tight for the visit: apart from risks posed by gangsters with a grudge, the pope has been threatened by the Islamic State group and trips outside the Vatican are considered prime opportunities for assassination attempts.

After a massacre at a Tunisian museum this week claimed by the IS group, all eyes were on the elderly pontiff's safety, with 3,000 extra policemen deployed along the route he will take, including snipers on the rooftops.

Before his arrival in Scampia, Pope Francis began the day at the ancient Roman city of Pompeii.

- Corruption, drugs, extortion -
The pope, who frequently focuses on the plight of the downtrodden, spent about an hour and a half with some 120 inmates, including transsexuals, at the city's overcrowded Poggioreale prison, where 2,500 prisoners are squeezed into a space for 1,400.

"Even the bars of a prison cannot separate you from God's love," Francis said. "Even if you have erred, the Lord does not grow tired of showing you the way back."

The pope also pleaded for shelter for the African and Asian immigrants who have flooded into the Italian city and have ended up homeless.

"They are citizens, not second class citizens. We are all immigrants, sons of God on the path of life. No one has a fixed abode on Earth," he said.

Francis spoke about the ills weighing upon the region, including a youth unemployment rate that has hit 40 percent. He noted that charity and scholarships were no substitute for working.

"Not having the possibility to bring home wages is like seeing one's dignity stolen," he added.

The visit wound up with a seafront concert of Neapolitan songs performed for the 78-year old pope by youngsters.

Though he never spoke their name, some of the pope's fiercest words were kept for the Camorra, the notorious Naples mafia dissected and exposed in journalist Roberto Saviano's award-winning novel "Gomorrah" and the acclaimed 2008 film of the same name.

"Respond forcefully to the organisations that corrupt and exploit the young, the poor and the disadvantaged with the cynical business of drugs and other forms of trafficking," Francis said.

Last year the pope expelled all unrepentant mafia members from the Church and condemned them to Hell in the afterlife in a move which sparked fears of retaliation from the underworld.

- City of 'many wounds' -
During a visit to territory controlled by the powerful 'Ndrangheta organisation in the southern Italian Calabria region, he described the mafia as "the adoration of evil and contempt for common good."

"This evil must be beaten, expelled," he said, calling for historic ties between organised crime and the Church to be severed.

Numerous priests fight against Italy's big three -- the Cosa Nostra in Sicily, the 'Ndrangheta in Calabria and the Camorra in Naples -- sometimes paying for their bravery with their lives.

But the Italian Church also has a darker side. Mafia dons have historically attended mass, often receiving lavish funerals and presented themselves as Catholic benefactors, aiding local residents where the state has failed.

Priest Luigi Ciotti, who has dedicated his life to the fight against the mafia, said the pope's visit would mean a huge amount to a city he described as "marvellous but bitter, generous, but living with many wounds."

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pope Francis thrills in PH with 'jeepney' popemobile

MANILA - Pope Francis made a triumphant entrance for a mass with millions in the Philippines on Sunday aboard a "popemobile" styled after the nation's iconic, flamboyant and much-loved "jeepney" minibus.

The pontiff, standing in the elevated open body of the uniquely Filipino version of his popemobile, travelled through the streets of the capital Manila for the main event of his five-day visit.

Wearing a think plastic yellow poncho over his vestments, the 78-year-old pontiff smiled and waved to hundreds of thousands who had lined the route to the venue for the mass.

The rectangular vehicle with distinctive giant grille repeatedly stopped so he could reach into the cheering masses and pick up babies to kiss and bless them.

The pope rode the jeepney popemobile to Rizal Park where millions had gathered to hear him celebrate mass, in one of the world's biggest papal gatherings.

The jeepneys are regarded by many Filipinos as a symbol of national ingenuity. Locals created them from surplus US military jeeps after American forces left at the end of World War II.

The bodies of the jeeps were extended, seats were added and a fixed roof put in place. The vehicles were then painted with colourful and Catholic designs.

They proved to be strong vehicles with decades-long lifespans, and can be seen ferrying people through city streets and animals on mountain roads.

However the diesel-powered vehicles are also one the nation's chief air pollution culprits.

Francis's jeepney was an all-white popemobile. It had no doors, after the pope told local organisers he did not want a bulletproof vehicle so he could reach out and touch his followers.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Pope to ride open vehicle in Philippines

Pope Francis has asked to ride an open vehicle when he visits the Philippines next month, making him both "vulnerable" but more accessible to the people, the Filipino Catholic Church said Tuesday.

The government announced last month a custom-built "popemobile" would be built in coordination with Vatican security to protect him from unspecific threats during his January trip to Asia's Catholic bastion.

However, Filipino church officials revealed Tuesday the vehicle will be open and "not bulletproof" to accommodate the demands of the visiting church leader.

"What this means is our Holy Father will be very vulnerable during his visit," said Father David Concepcion, a member of a church committee preparing for the papal visit.

Francis is to arrive in Manila from Sri Lanka on January 15 and spend an entire day on January 17 hearing mass and comforting victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan in Tacloban city and Palo town on the central island of Leyte.

The typhoon, the strongest ever to hit land, killed or left missing 7,350 people and left millions of others homeless in November last year after it triggered tsunami-like giant waves that wiped out entire towns.

Pope Francis, who has shunned the pomp of his predecessors, said earlier this year he prefers to use open-top cars rather than the Vatican's bulletproof "popemobile" used by previous pontiffs, which he called a "sardine can".

"The popemobile will symbolise his desire to express his sympathy to the Filipino people and demonstrate what kind of church he wants to impart to the people," Concepcion told a news conference.

"It will have no aircon, so he will be feeling the tropical heat. If it rains he will get soaked too," he added.

"The Holy Father wishes to be accessible. He wants the option to stop and step down onto the street anywhere."

The government has said it expects a total of six million people to turn up when the Pontiff hears mass in Tacloban and in Manila's main outdoor park the following day.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com