Why airports are traumatic for Cardinal Tagle

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is traumatized by airports, but not quite because he has had a personal bad experiences there.

 

Tagle told Catholic News Service this was because he saw in airports how poverty forced couples apart, as one went to work abroad while the other stayed home.

 

"(The airport) has become a traumatic place for me - not because of my travels and the dangers - but to see and hear especially mothers talking to their children in the airport, bidding them goodbye, and you can see how their hearts are broken," Tagle said.

 

"And then you wonder what kind of strength they need and you just pray, 'Lord give them strength,'" he added.

 

Tagle is one of three presidents Pope Francis appointed to guide the ongoing Synod of Bishops from October 5 to October 19.

The other presidents are Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France, and Raymundo Damasceno Assis, the president of the Episcopal President of Brazil.

 

Tagle said he hoped the pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried couples would be debated openly and with goodwill.

 

He also hoped members of the extraordinary Synod of Bishops would consider the impact of poverty and migration on families and to other issues that help or hinder family life.

 

Migration

 

Tagle said poverty was "not just an external context" for family life, but "[affected] relationships."

 

"One dramatic effect of poverty is migration. De facto there is separation of couples and separation of parents from their children, but not because they could not stand each, not because there is a breakdown in communication, not because of conflicts," Tagle said.

"They get separated because they love each other and the best way for some of them to show concern and love and support is to leave and find employment elsewhere," he said.

 

He added working overseas is such a normal part of Filipino life, and the money overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) send home is a significant part of the Philippine economy.

 

CNA said up to 11 percent of the county's population is living and working abroad, with the top five destination countries including United States, Saudi Arabia, Canada, United Arab Emirates and Australia.

 

Tagle said the separation of families "definitely creates a wound and leaves a wound."

 

He said children suffer because of their parent's absence, while the parents suffer from not being present in their children's lives.

 

Also, they face challenges in keeping faithful to spouses who they may not see for years. —Joel Locsin/NB, GMA News