Category Archives: Religion

POPE FRANCIS CHOOSES CHARICE TO SING DURING HIS PUBLIC APPEARANCES IN THE PHILIPPINES

November 15, 2014 Pol Pinoy 1 Comment

The Vatican, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – Unknown to many, Pope Francis has a very peculiar taste when it comes to music, and he has no problem making his preferences known even if it is frowned upon by The Vatican’s conservative Curia.

Just this week, Pope Francis selected punk singer Patti Smith to play at this year’s Vatican Christmas Concert in Rome next month. Smith’s booking has evoked a mixed response from Christian groups, with the Catholic organisation Portosalvo apparently describing the decision as “blasphemous”, following the singer’s 1975 song ‘Gloria’, which famously featured the lines: “Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.”

Today, the Pope announced that he has chosen Filipino singer Charice to sing ‘The Prayer’ at all his scheduled public appearances in Manila and Tacloban. The pontiff is scheduled to visit the Philippines January 15-19 next year.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is not happy about the Pope’s choice. Charice has come out recently as a lesbian and the Filipino bishops would rather have someone else sing for the Pope – heterosexual singers like Lea Salonga or born-again Christian Kuh Ledesma.

The Vatican, however, said that the Pope is just being consistent with his earlier pronouncement that gay men and women are also God’s children and that he is not in a position to judge them. “The Pope’s selection of Charice reflects that pronouncement, ” The Vatican said.

International, Language, Religion, Travel

POPE FRANCIS WILL ADDRESS FILIPINOS IN TAGALOG DURING VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

November 15, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

The Vatican, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – Filipino Church leaders preparing for Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines in January have announced that the head of the Roman Catholic Church will speak in English during his speeches and meetings with the Filipino people. This, despite the fact that the Argentinian pontiff is not as comfortable with English as he is in Latin and Spanish.

Today, however, The Vatican once again surprised many who are closely watching the Pope’s pronouncements and activities. It was revealed that Francis has instead chosen to speak in Tagalog while visiting the Philippines. He is currently taking Tagalog lessons from a private coach in Rome.

Tagalog (Pilipino) is the national language of the Philippines. It draws on many Spanish words (The Philippines was under Spanish rule for many centuries before the U.S. brought Hollywood into the country).

Pope Francis said that so far, learning Tagalog has been a breeze, saying that in fact, he didn’t have to re-learn many words and phrases which have the same meaning in both Tagalog and Spanish, like ‘Padre’ (father), ‘relihiyon’ (religion), ‘krus’ (cross), and ‘Espirito Santo’ (Holy Spirit).

Perhaps the only phrase the Pope will not get quite right is ‘noche buena’ which douesn’t mean ‘a good night’ in Tagalog. Rather it means ‘midnight feast.’ As in food.

International, Politics, Religion, Travel

POPE FRANCIS TO SKIP MEETING WITH AQUINO DURING VISIT TO THE PHILIPPINES

November 14, 2014 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

The Vatican, Italy (The Adobo Chronicles) – Church officials in the Philippines have just publicly released the itinerary of Pope Francis when he visits the country January 15-19, 2015.

It will be a busy schedule for the charismatic leader of the Roman Catholic Church. It includes a meeting with President NoyNoy Aquino and other government officials, a visit with the victims of last year’s Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) in Tacloban, a youth rally at the the oldest Catholic University in Asia (University of Santo Tomas), and a shopping spree at the SM Mall of Asia.

Upon receiving details of his Philippine schedule, Pope Francis said that he will skip the meeting with Aquino at Malacañang, the presidential palace. Instead, the Pope said he would like to spend an extra day in Tacloban, the city hardest hit by the devastating typhoon.

In explaining his decision, Pope Francis said that it has come to his attention that Aquino had skipped a trip to Tacloban during activities commemorating the one-year anniversay of Yolanda. Many believe that Aquino’s decision was politcally motivated, Tacloban being the turf of his political nemesis, the Romualdezes (including former First Lady Imelda Romualdez Marcos).

“I will atone for this sinful act of Aquino by spending more time with the people of Tacloban,” the pontiff said. “If Aquino wants to meet with me, he can meet me in Tacloban,” he added.