Throng ignores storm to greet pope
TACLOBAN, Philippines — Pope Francis arrived in the typhoon-hit city of Tacloban today, where he was met by a huge crowd drenched from waiting for hours in the rain.
The pope was celebrating a Mass in an open field near the airport, and will have lunch with survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, the November 2013 storm that leveled entire villages and left more than 7,300 people dead or missing.
A police official estimated the crowd at 150,000 and said tens of thousands more were lined up outside. The festive crowd clapped in unison to blaring music welcoming the pope.
Villagers hung banners welcoming the pope from the bow of a steel-hulled cargo ship that smashed houses when it was swept in by Haiyan and remains on shore.
“Pope Francis cannot give us houses and jobs, but he can send our prayers to God,” said Ernesto Hengzon, 62. “I’m praying for good health and for my children, too. I am old and sickly. I’m praying that God will stop these big storms. We cannot take any more of it. We have barely recovered. Many people are still down there.”
Today’s rains were brought by approaching Tropical Storm Mekkhala, which has prompted authorities to suspend ferry services to Leyte province, where Tacloban is located, stranding thousands of travelers including some who wanted to see the pope.
An announcer told the crowd that the Mass, which was moved up 45 minutes earlier than the scheduled start, would be shortened because of the weather.
Francis is visiting the Philippines after stopping in Sri Lanka earlier in the week.
He issued his strongest defense yet of church teaching opposing artificial contraception yesterday in Manila, using a rally in Asia’s largest Catholic nation to urge families to be “sanctuaries of respect for life.”
Francis also denounced the corruption that has plagued the Philippines for decades and urged officials to work instead to end its “scandalous” poverty and social inequalities during his first full day in Manila, where he received a rock star’s welcome at every turn.
The government has declared national holidays during the pope’s visit, which culminates on Sunday with a Mass in Manila’s huge Rizal Park. Authorities estimated that between 700,000 and 1 million people lined his motorcade route in from the airport on Thursday night.