ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE — On Day One of Pope Francis’ visit to the Asia-Pacific, I called him “Your Holiness”, unsure of how he would react if I misspoke. But on Day 12 — the last day of moving as a unit of about 150 as part of his entourage — “Papa Francesco” and “Santita” are no longer awkward terms for me.
“Papa Francesco,” I said, my words opening a press conference that would round up the arduous 12-day tour with Singapore as its last leg. I was the first reporter to ask a question.
We are not in a room somewhere in the Vatican City, but 10km above ground on a chartered Singapore Airlines flight conveying the pontiff — who has not been away from the Vatican City this long in his 11-year tenure — from Singapore back to Rome, Italy.
A few minutes earlier, the rear section of the plane was abuzz with activity as some among the approximately 80 Vatican-accredited media personnel rolled out wires across the floor of the Airbus A350-900 plane to catch a clean audio feed.
Portable speakers were also brought out and placed on overhead stowage bins to combat the loud droning sounds of a plane in motion.
I watched as Pope Francis left his business class seat and inched towards us, clutching his walking stick in one hand.
“I want to thank all of you for your work, for your company on this trip, which is important,” he said after settling down in his portable seat two arms’ length away from me.
It was 1.12pm, about 45 minutes after we had lifted off from Changi Airport.
My interest, of course, was in Singapore: What did you witness as the realities of Singapore – the culture and the people? What inspired the message on protecting the dignity of migrant workers? What can Singapore learn from the other three countries we visited?
The Pope was all smiles, his responses interpreted live by Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni. “I did not expect to find Singapore the way it is. They call it the ‘New York of the East’,” he said. “It’s a country that is well taken care of, clean, with very polite people, great buildings and also a strong inter-religious culture. The inter-religious meeting I had was a model of fraternity.”
The 87-year-old pontiff has used the concept of fraternity to stress a culture of mutual respect that allows different faiths to live peacefully together, with the topic coming up several times during the trip, including in his speech on Sept 5 before signing a historic declaration at Jakarta’s Istiqlal Mosque, the largest in South-east Asia.
The Pope also said he was surprised where Singapore stands at the crossroads of culture, when he discovered that the country would host the Formula One night race next week.
On why he mentioned migrant workers and how they should be guaranteed a fair wage in his Sept 12 state address, the Pope said he was impressed by the skyscrapers and their clean conditions, which made him realise that workers must have built and cleaned them.
It was not because he had heard of discrimination against these workers, the pontiff said.
On what Singapore can learn from Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Timor-Leste — the three other countries visited on the tour — the Pope started with generalities, before zooming in on how Singapore can learn from Timor-Leste when it comes to having more children.
“Everyone can always learn something. Every country has different riches. That is why fraternity in communication is important,” he said.
“For example, in Timor-Leste, I saw so many children. In Singapore, I didn’t see very many. Maybe that’s something to learn from. Children are the future. Think about that.”
The Pope’s unscripted remarks in Jakarta, where he lauded Indonesia for being a country where families have three, four or five children, came to my mind at this point. “This might make you laugh. Some of those families prefer to have a dog or a cat,” he had said, while stressing that new births are a nation’s greatest wealth.
Before the next journalist took over at the microphone, the Pope threw in another quick compliment. “Thank you, and something else, you residents of Singapore are very nice. Always smiling.”
The turbulence
Topics covered in the rest of the press conference, which lasted 40 minutes, included China, the upcoming US election and the Gaza conflict.
Pope Francis did not shy away from any question, even the prickly issues. When speaking of China, the pontiff said he would like to visit the “great country”, adding that he admires and respects it.
“It is a country with an ancient culture, with a capacity for dialogue to understand each other that goes beyond the different systems of government it has had. China is a promise and a hope for the church,” he added.
The Vatican can certainly collaborate with China in the area of conflict resolution, the Pope said, pointing out that Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who is president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, has been working on this.
At one point, the Pope was asked by German broadcast network ARD why he did not broach the topic of Singapore’s death penalty, despite having spoken directly against violence elsewhere during the trip.
Pope Francis responded that it did not come to mind, adding that the death penalty “does not work” and should be phased out. “Slowly, we must try to eliminate it. Slowly. There are many countries that have it. In the United States, it’s the same argument. Also in other states. The death penalty must end.”
On US presidential election candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris, he said: “Both are against life, be it the one that throws out migrants, or the one that kills children.”
But he also spoke of the civic duty to vote, saying: “One must vote. And one must choose the lesser evil. Which is the lesser evil? That lady or that gentleman? I don’t know; each person must think and decide according to their own conscience.”
In relation to the Gaza conflict, he expressed doubts that either Israel or Hamas is seeking to end the conflict. “It’s sometimes said that this is a defensive war, but sometimes I believe that it’s a war… too much, too much. I apologise for saying this, but I don’t see steps being taken towards peace,” he said.
Towards the end of the press conference, a journalist asked about the late Abbe Pierre, a French personality who founded the charity Emmaus and, like Timor-Leste’s national hero and former Dili bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, became mired in sexual abuse allegations despite the good he had done.
Pointing out that this touches “a very painful and very delicate point”, Pope Francis said it is part of the human condition that a person who does much good may be eventually discovered to be a serious sinner. However, he is glad when these cases come to light.
“We must not say: ‘Cover up, cover up, so this is not seen’,” he stressed. “Public sins are public, and are to be condemned… We must speak clearly about these things and not hide them.”
Pointing out that there is also social abuse and educative abuse, referring to those who try to manipulate and take away others’ freedom, the Pope said every type of abuse “destroys the dignity of a person” and is something demonic, in his view.
The plane started rattling when the Pope followed this by citing a United Nations statistic that 42 per cent to 46 per cent of abuses take place in the home or the neighbourhood, prompting him to exclaim: “Your question caused turbulence!”
As the pilot had alerted that everyone should be strapped in as the turbulence could last about 10 minutes, the Pope wasted no time in concluding, saying: “The sexual abuse of children, of minors, is a crime. It is a shame.”
He comes bearing gifts
After the press conference, the usually stern members of the Vatican crew, who nannied us journalists throughout the trip as we scattered in all directions in pursuit of our stories, brought out boxes of gifts from the Pope.
They included four stamped postcards, one for each country visited; two photo cards of the Pope himself; and a black bead rosary in a forest-green leathery pouch with a white imprint of Pope Francis’ coat of arms.
Also among the gifts was a red box with a commemorative medal on which was engraved symbols of the four countries we visited together — Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and Singapore — surrounding the benevolent, crowned figure of a standing Virgin Mary holding in her arms Jesus with a globe in his left hand.
I gathered my emotions and gifts to store away, spotting as I did so copies of The Straits Times I wanted to give to the Pope and my new Vatican friends. I also had with me the family rosaries of two colleagues, which I was hoping to get blessed by the Pope.
Newspaper in hand, I told Bruni, who was standing nearby, I would like the Pope to have the copy as I had written about him. I quickly tagged on my colleagues’ requests, but told him not to worry about it if the Pope was tired or resting. Bruni said he would try.
Little did I expect that he would bring something extra on his return — a small package that the Pope blessed for me. I opened the box, imprinted with Pope Francis’ insignia in gold foil, and found a beautiful ivory-coloured rosary in it.
In a world where people are first suspicious of one another before opening up, I found myself suddenly drawn to the Pope’s receptiveness and love towards people, even though I am not a Roman Catholic.
After collectively meeting millions who had wished to get a piece of him over the past 12 days in the Asia-Pacific, the Pope could have called it a day. But he continued to be a pontiff even in his private moments, showing that I was not inconveniencing him with my little request for his attention, and instead deciding to leave me with my cup running over.
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This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.
