Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra yesterday said he hopes and prays that the elevation to sainthood of popes John Paul II and John XXIII yesterday will serve to awaken the faithful to the cultures of greed and death, and the need for renewal of faith.

The bishop delivered the homily at a mass in honor of the two new saints at the San Sebastian Cathedral in Bacolod City, where large portraits of the two popes were unveiled and blessed.

Navarra recalled that Saint John Paul II knelt at the altar of the San Sebastian Cathedral during his visit to Bacolod City in February 1981 and prayed for the people of Negros and Bacolod.

It was during that visit that then Pope John Paul II, in his speech at the reclamation area in Bacolod, addressing landowners and workers, said: "The Church will not hesitate to take up the cause of the poor and to become the voice of those who are not listened to when they speak up, not to demand charity, but to ask for justice."

Navarra said Saint John Paul II will hear the pining and heartaches of the poor people, and those who are heavily burdened with problems, and will pray that the hearts of those who have deprived them of their rights and privileges as persons because of greed or indifference will be touched.

The bishop also said John Paul II will pray that our country will be saved from the scourge of the culture of death especially divorce, euthanasia, abortion, total human population control and homosexuality.

Navarra said Saint John XXIII will be remembered as the Pope  who initiated the second Vatican Council and opened the windows and doors of the Church to the world.

The bishop said he owes a great deal to the two news saints, pointing out that it was during the reign of Pope John XXIII that he was appointed bishop with a special dispensation, as he was then short by eight months of the required age of 24.

It was Pope John Paul II who appointed him Bishop of Kabankalan before he became Bishop of Bacolod, he added.

SAN CARLOS BISHOP

Alminaza said both pope-saints complement each other, they are truly saints of renewal and service.

St John XXIII began the movement of the Church opening wide her doors to everyone, through sincere dialog with the world - a move reinforced by Pope Francis when he warns the Church against being "self-referential", Alminaza said.

“St John Paul JPII's pastoral ministry is best summarized by Pope Francis when he exhorts us to go forth and reach out, to those in the peripheries, going out of the sacristy and into the world,” he added.

The sainthood of the two popes tells us that holiness is possible for leaders and those in authority, Alminaza said.

Alminaza said he would like to pay tribute to Saint John Paul II for his work for families as exemplified by the John Paul II National Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Bacolod and elsewhere in the world.

MARAÑON

Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. pointed out that the canonization of the two popes was the most well-attended in history because it was celebrated, not only by Catholics, but the whole Christian community.

The two pope-saints not only greatly contributed to Catholicism and reform in the Church, but also to bringing about world peace, said the governor, who attended mass in Bago City to mark the historic event.

LEONARDIA

Bacolod Rep. Evelio Leonardia said that, for so long, we have been used to pray to saints who lived decades or centuries ago and that seemed to be the standard and reality then.

“The elevation of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII to sainthood gives us the feeling and fulfilment that, indeed, in our generation, we also have our share of relevance and contribution to the Christian world. We can identify with them because they have directly touched our lives,” he said.

Pope John XXIII's Vatican II is what Catholics live today and Pope John Paul II is personal to the Philippines, and even to Bacolod, as he could be the only saint to have ever set foot here, he said.

“I consider it a rare privilege that I had worked with the committees that welcomed him to Bacolod (in 1981),” Leonardia, who was then the Tourism officer of the province, said.

“Let us celebrate together with the whole Catholic world. God bless the new saints,” he said.

PUENTEVELLA

Bacolod Mayor Monico Puentevella said, “With all the problems in the world and in the country, let's hope and pray the Church gets stronger and people get closer to the Church” with the sainthood of the two popes.

“We need to go back to God,” said Puentevella, who joined the mass in honor of the two pope-saints at the San Sebastian Cathedral.*CPG

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