Ex-Catholics rejoining Church due to Pope Francis—priest

QUEZON CITY — Pope Francis has made possible the return of many former Catholics to the Church because he leads by example and practices what he preaches, a priest shares. Attractive faithAccording to Fr. Manuel Francisco, a Jesuit like the Holy Father, a large number of people who for some reason had fallen away from the Church to join other sects, have recently found sufficient reason to re-embrace Rome due to the pontiff’s leadership by example. Even in the Philippines many have turned their backs on the Church and entered other denominations. The general, prevailing attitude then was disappointment with the Catholic Church … But Pope Francis has changed all that,” he said.Francisco, who is also the general facilities supervisor of the Loyola School of Theology (LST) in Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU), believes that the pontiff has regained the confidence of many Catholics by making the Catholic faith cool again. By this example, he has made living and witnessing the Catholic faith attractive,” the priest stressed.Moreover, Francisco pointed out that as a modern man with a modern mindset, the Holy Father is able to reach out to the secular world, as well as to non-Catholic religions in a way that promotes dialogue.Ongoing PreparationsThe Jesuit priest added that the openness of Pope Francis has won him the admiration of both Catholics and non-Catholics without him changing Catholic standards of morality.Meanwhile, preparations are already underway for His Holiness’ upcoming Philippine trip set on Jan. 15 to 19, 2015.Details of the preparations will be revealed either in late November or early December, said Manila Archbishop Luís Antonio Cardinal Tagle in a recent press briefing.Local Church officials believe the apostolic visit will renew the spiritual well-being of Asia’s largest Christian nation, over 80 percent of which identify as Roman Catholics.Pope Francis will be the third of his office to visit the Philippines, following Bl. Pope Paul VI in 1970, and Pope St. John Paul II in 1981 :1995.(Raymond A. Sebastián)