Will the faithful heed the words of John Paul?

Juan Marked, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Asia News Network, Manila

"What did you go out to see? A reed shaken in the wind?" These ancient questions came to mind as I watched people the world over gather in churches, mosques, temples or synagogues to remember John Paul II.

This pope differed from the traditional compassionate but remote pontiffs, The New York Times' Robert McFadden wrote. John Paul was "complex, schooled in confrontation, theologically intransigent but deftly politic, full of wit and expressive love ... His luminous pontificate captivated much of humanity by sheer force of personality" and reshaped his Church "with a heroic vision of a combative, disciplined Catholicism."

Whether addressing dictators, landed elites or the youth, he "spoke the truth to power," as prophets did, the Inquirer editorial noted. With a candor reminiscent of John the Baptist telling off Herod, this John told Ferdinand Marcos to his face: "Government cannot claim to serve the common good when human rights are not safeguarded."

Respect for human dignity that John Paul underscored in his Philippine visits is even more relevant today. In Cebu and Davao, "esquadrones de la muerte" (death squads) summarily murder "criminals," and this is justified by officials as ensuring peace and order. The poor find redress to their grievances, in official channels controlled by elites.

The Abu Sayyaf's Khadaffy Janjalani vows to unleash more terror attacks. Contrast that with John Paul's address to Muslims in Davao City on his first Philippine visit:

"We are brothers in God, who created us and whom we are trying to reach, in our own ways... Your book gives God the very beautiful name of al-Rahman while the bible calls him al-Rahum, the Merciful One.

"Are you not brothers of Christians in this great country, also through the bonds of nationality, history, geography, culture and hope for a better future you are building up together... A (peaceful) society is built on dialog and I earnestly encourage its extension.

"Your Christian brothers need you and need your love... And the whole world needs to see fraternal coexistence between Christians and Muslims in a modern, believing and peaceful Philippines."

Concern for the deprived was a theme that John Paul stressed everywhere, from Baclaran, Tala Leprosarium, Santo Tomas, Quezon Memorial Circle, Cebu, Albay to Araneta Coliseum.

This preferential option for the poor is even more relevant today when, as Asian Development Bank notes, "there were four million poor people (in 15 years)."

"Defending the human dignity of the poor and their hope for a human future is not a luxury for the Church," he declared in Tondo. "It is her duty, because it is God who wishes all human beings to live in accordance with the dignity He bestowed on them...

"The way to your total liberation is not the way of violence, class struggle or hate but love, brotherhood and peaceful solidarity"

Switching into the dialect, as was his practice, the Pope then said, "Jesus na aking kapatid, dulutan mo ang aking mata ... ikaw Poon makikilala sa taong mapagkumbaba ("Jesus, my brother, open my eyes to know you in the humble man that I see)."

He didn't water down that message in Bacolod City. There, the word sacada meant beggared migrant worker, a tattered symbol of oppression. "This is war," a sugar haciendero fumed when the Pope declared: "Land is a gift of God for the benefit of all... It is not admissible that the benefits it produces serve only a limited number of people while the vast majority are excluded from the benefits the land yields... The right of ownership, legitimate in itself, cannot be separated from its wider social dimensions."

Whimpers for redress of social injustice today sound in coastal communities where the moneyed monopolize access to fishing grounds. They're heard where politicians corner logging permits and own the chain saws.

Tourist-clogged Boracay offers the recent -- and obscene -- example of wealth trampling on human rights that John Paul denounced in Baguio's Burnham Park: "The indigenous people of this beautiful (land) represent a rich diversity of cultures.... May your land and your worthy family traditions be protected, preserved and enriched."

That call fell on deaf ears. The Catholic bishops' indigenous peoples commission has protested the continued slicing by land claimants into an Ati settlement with barbed wires. Flaunting of protection offered by the Indigenous People's Act (Republic Act 8371) has been spurred by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's folded arms.

Joseph Estrada flaunted kabit (mistresses) in a culture that vested power with the concubines. The Pope met that head-on when, in Cebu City, he declared:

"The selfish pursuit of pleasure, sexual permissiveness and the fear of a permanent commitment are destructive forces... A family where prayer, loving support and constant formation in the faith are of constant concern will bring untold benefits..."

At the Luneta, John Paul beatified 18 martyrs, including a young Chinese-Filipino from Binondo, Lorenzo Ruiz. Son of a Chinese father and a Filipina mother, Ruiz who was later to be canonized as the first Filipino saint served in the St. Gabriel parish church.

"I, too, have come from the city of the martyrs Peter and Paul to this capital city to speak to you about the meaning of one's existence," the Pope said. Ruiz's life "reminds us that to die for the faith is a gift for some; to live the faith is a call for all."

John Paul responded to that call with the deeds that were his life, as millions of grieving people the world over attest. But have his words slipped out our other ear unheeded?