Church officials on Thursday said preparations are in place and are being followed on schedule so far for Pope Francis' visit in January 2015.

 

In a press briefing, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) secretary-general Fr. Marvin Mejia said it is "difficult" to give the exact percentage of how far the preparations have gone, but assured that the schedule for it is being followed.

 

"We are on time in our preparations," Mejia said. "We have a schedule and it's an ongoing process, but all preparations for the visit are planned and being looked into in partnership with the government."

 

The organizing committee for the papal visit are led by representatives from both the government and the Catholic Church.

 

Church officials heading the committee include Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas, and Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines.

 

On the government's side, the leadership includes Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr., and former Philippine Ambassador to the Holy See Marciano Paynor, who oversaw preparations for the 1995 visit of now-Saint John Paul II. 

 

'Many aspects need funding'

 

Church officials admitted that from their side, there are a lot of aspects of the preparations and the actual visit that "need funding."

 

According to Fr. Anton Pascual, president of Radio Veritas, bishops are shelling out money from their own pockets, as it had been an instruction not to turn the preparations into a fundraising event.

 

Drives to raise donations for this, however, are being undertaken by "friends of the Church," officials said, though they are "not commercial" and coming from the initiative of individuals and organizations "that want to help."

 

‘Mahalaga na hindi magastos’

 

Pascual, however, highlighted that the Pope's wish for the visit was that it should not be costly, with the money instead going to efforts helping calamity survivors, particularly in Leyte and Bohol.

 

"Mahalaga na hindi magastos," he said. "[Ang gusto ni Pope Francis ay] ibigay na lang sa biktima ng kalamidad ang pera, that the donations go to Yolanda survivors and those affected by the earthquake in Bohol."

 

The itinerary of the Pope's visit was revealed in a press conference last November 14, which will include meeting and breaking bread with survivors in Palo, Leyte.

 

Govt to provide ‘resources’

 

The government will be "providing resources" that will come in the form of "services" since the visit will be both an apostolic visit, as part of the Pope's functions as head of the Catholic Church, and a state visit, as the head of state in Vatican City.

 

During the November 14 press conference, Ochoa noted that 95 percent of the government's preparations was concerned with the Pope's security, as well as that of the people who wish to flock to the events that will be made public. —KG, GMA News