Philippine church to cap papal visit expenses at US$1.5 million

Move follows Vatican request to keep Pope Francis' trip 'simple'.

Manila:  Catholic Church leaders in the Philippines will seek to limit expenses for Pope Francis’ January visit to the country to US$1.5 million.

The move is in response to concerns from the Vatican over the potential cost of the visit in a country where millions of its citizens live below the poverty line.

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has said that Pope Francis himself requested that his visit be "pastoral and simple".

"It's important that we follow the request of the Vatican not to make the visit expensive," said Father Anton Pascual, chairman of the media relations committee for the papal visit.

The pope wants people to donate to victims of recent calamities rather than spend money on his visit, the priest said.

Fr Pascual, however, said the Church "is open to accepting donations from individuals, families, and institutions to help with expenses for the [pope]'s visit".

Father Marvin Mejia, secretary-general of the Catholic bishops' conference, said there are "many aspects of the papal visit that need funding". But, he said, the pope's visit should not be a "fundraising event".

"The bishops are donating [money] from their own pockets, from their own personal account, not from the dioceses. There are no fundraising activities in the dioceses," Mejia said.

Archbishop John Du of Palo said there will also be no "VIP meetings" with Pope Francis when he visits Leyte province, which was devastated by Typhoon Haiyan last year.

The prelate said the pope wants to be with the poor, not VIPs and politicians.

Pope Francis is scheduled to arrive in Manila on January 15 following a visit to Sri Lanka and will depart for Rome on January 19.

Source: ucanews.com