A FAILED INITIATIVE By Philip Jr Lustre A group of former officials of the Arroyo administration went to Rome late last year to urge Pope Francis to visit former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at her detention room at the Veterans Hospital in Quezon City. Judging from the outcome of the recent papal visit, the pro-GMA lobby in Vatican did not succeed. The Pope did not visit GMA; neither did he give any hint or indicate in any way any desire to visit the former president, who now faces criminal charges. The Pontiff did not even make any reference to GMA and her situation in the speeches he delivered before the Filipino audience. According to an informed source, former undersecretary Monina Baby Plan, former deputy chief of the now defunct Office of the Presidential Adviser for Ecclesiastical Affairs, led the pro-GMA lobby group composed of several former GMA officials. The lobbyists talked with several officials of the Curia, which represented the Vatican bureaucracy, only to see these Curia members replaced with a new set of officials, when the Pope made sweeping changes late last year. Even the Pope had criticized the Curia as he enumerated its 15 sins in his Christmas message to the worldwide Catholic faithful. The Curia was heavily criticized for alleged inefficiency and dictatorial tendencies, earning the enmity of many cardinals particularly from those outside of Europe. Why the Pope did not visit GMA was not immediately known. It was speculated that the Pope did not want to offend the Aquino administration.
Posted on: Sat, 24 Jan 2015 13:22:38 +0000
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