Pinoy youth hopeful for Pope Francis

Pinoy youth hopeful for Pope Francis

By Beatrice S. Paez

Pope Francis is set for a series of long and unwieldy missions. He passed his first test of character: a whirlwind of introductions to woo worldwide crowds. His projected humility, call for social justice and common touch have endeared many, boosting hopes that he can restore credibility to the beleaguered Catholic Church.

The gospel according to Pope Francis: Build “a poor church, for the poor,” may yet be the salvation the church needs to clean up its image and retain the disengaged.

A surprise pick, Pope Francis punctured the hopes of young Catholics interested in seeing a younger pope. But his active portfolio in social justice has warmed them to his cause.

Scores of young Catholics took to social media and relied on text messages from their friends to fill in their first impressions of the new pope.

“They were saying he was a humble man, a champion of the poor, he lived on his own,” said Julius Samaniego, 23, a Catholic youth leader at the Our Lady of the Assumption parish. “I’m quite excited to see the face of someone we as everyday Catholics can relate to, can connect with.”

Joey Abrenilla

Though a layperson, Mamaradlo has the task of engaging young Catholics through social media and discussions over controversial doctrinal battles. “The message remains the same, but it’s the packaging [that needs to change],” said Mamaradlo. “That’s why we’re on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram — we want to be where they are.”

The pope’s predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, entered the game late, and has since amassed a following of more than a million on Twitter.

The official papal handle, Pontifex, was wiped clean following Pope Benedict’s resignation and is now back. To date, the pope has not followed anyone.

His presence on twitter is a good step, said Mamaradlo. But building influence through social media will take more than the one-sided conversation of releasing short bursts of inspiration.

“If they really made a push, it’d be something I’d be interested in,” said Samaniego.

Joey Abrenilla was rooting for Cardinal Tagle, “I was hoping for a younger, more dynamic pope.”

The self-effacing styling of the new pope has even won him a following among critical-minded Catholic youth. “He helped the poor and lives a very humble lifestyle, that’s something you don’t see in cardinals,” said Maria, 23, another youth leader at OLA.

As far as first impressions go, his roots as a Jesuit, a disciple of the poor and marginalized, has been a lasting impression, drowning out critiques about his character.

Maria and her other co-leader at OLA, Abrenilla, were less than familiar with the pope’s critics and had heard more praise-worthy testaments about his character.

Conflicting accounts about his conduct during the reign of the Argentinean military junta soon resurfaced after it was revealed he was elected for the plum position.

Accusations floated claiming he was silent, but also complicit during the dictatorship from 1976-1983. His critics charge that he allegedly abandoned his two Jesuit brothers, Orlando Yorio and Francisco Jalics, and left them vulnerable to the junta when he withdrew support for their work in the slums.

Both priests were detained and tortured at the Naval School of Mechanics (ESMA naval base), and released five months later. The Vatican maintains his innocence, railing against what they perceive is an “anti-clerical left-wing” crusade to undermine the church.

Though Samaniego acknowledged his exposure to these allegations were limited, he was quick to echo the refrain of the church. He dismissed the media for its “left-wing” approach in examining the details of the pope’s life and work, arguing it focused too much on his stance against hot topic, doctrinal issues such as homosexuality, abortion and contraception.
More important to Samaniego, a social worker, is the church’s commitment to social justice. “In my case, for someone who values humility and standing up for those who are marginalized, it’s something I personally value,” said Samaniego. “And I hope that it translates well with those inside and outside of the faith.”

MARIA

As a young woman, Maria hopes to one day see a more modernized church, but is not convinced it will happen during Pope Francis’s tenure. His vocal opposition against Argentina’s liberal legislation — allowing gay marriage and adoption and distributing free contraceptives, are the best indicators.

Though a devout Catholic, who respects the church’s teachings, she holds out hope that the dialogue will evolve to better reflect social and economic circumstances. “As a catholic, I would rather stick to what the church says [about contraception],” said Maria. “But at the same time there’s poverty and people have kids and they can’t support them.”

Still, she is happy to see a pope committed to advocating for the impoverished.

While many have been singing praises about the new pope, they have no illusions that the challenges that face him are less than daunting. The mission to remain relevant in people’s everyday life, addressing the sex abuse scandal and fixing deep rifts within the institution itself are but a few crisis points the church is confronted with.

His outsider status – as the first from Latin America and his grass-roots pastoral work – is perceived as a winning quality that can transform the corridors of the Vatican to better reflect changing demographics.

The church’s 1.2 billion followers are largely concentrated in Latin America, comprising about 39 percent of the population, and where growth continues to swell.

“I’m sure he knows about the issues of the Global South, I’m hoping he can finally build a connection,” said Maria, who sees his election as an opportunity to offset the church’s declining influence in North America. “Because he is from [South America], it would strengthen their faith, finally it’s someone they can relate to.”

One of the biggest challenges the church faces, according to Vlad Mamaradlo, a youth minister at Thornhill’s St. Joseph the Worker Parish, is connecting to youth in a language they can relate to.

Juluis Samaniego