To the millions of Filipino people who were not able to see Pope Francis in person, the papal visit rekindled the trust of the people in the media and the police force. Without the police and the media, the papal visit would have been just another ordinary story.
Until the papal visit, I saw the media as a self-serving institution. But with the media all over, there was no escaping the photos, video footage and the messages of
Pope Francis. The men and
women of the media became the eyes of faith.
As for the police, how many times in the past have we seen men in uniform and street protesters in a hostile face-off, and eventually clashing in
violence? But not this time. The
police stood guard along the papal routes to secure the people and their Pope. The people followed the rules so the cops could do their job properly.
I think we owe media and our police our gratitude for a successful papal visit. They deserve as well our admiration for the
wonderful job they did.
—CARLOS ERWIN I. FAJARDO,
fajardocarloserwin@yahoo.com