Another farewell

Jamie Cardinal Sin died early morning of June 21 (around 6am), a few months after Pope John Paul II passed away. I'd like to think that they were good friends. For one, during the conclave when JP II was elected, they were room mates. They also have a big thing in common...they have both been instrumental, if not led, entire countries to topple a dictatorship and a communist regime.

Cardinal Sin called for People Power I back in 1986. I can still remember the yellow t-shirts my parents' wore during the rallies that signified their support for a democratic movement and for the election of Cory Aquino. People Power I inspired other countries to take action against their own oppression.

People Power II was the ouster of the actor, Joseph Estrada, on grounds of corruption. And being a Catholic country, Cardinal Sin not only called attention to the millions of pesos that Estrada has amassed and cheated from the country, but also the immoral acts that he committed, and continues to commit, in the face of the people. He has countless of mistresses and children, and these people even have the gall to run for office, be proud of these indiscretions.

Yesterday, they held his funeral. He was buried in Manila Cathedral's crypt, beside other bishops and cardinals who passed away before him. I wish I could have attended the funeral rites, as much as I wished I was in Rome when they bid farewell to Pope John Paul II. Cardinal Sin was given a gun salute and they released 76 white doves, a number corresponding to his age.

Now, at the wake of his passing, there's another scandal in the government. I'm not sure if he's lucky he isn't here to witness this, how bad it is for the country that we lost a good moral adviser