“Cory” Aquino said her experience at Mount St. Vincent’s, a Sisters of Charity institution in New York, had taught her always to pray “Almighty Father, thy will be done.” She said it was this reliance on God that sustained her during the years of her husband’s imprisonment and assassination, and then of her presidency.The Catholic News Service writes…According to Pope Benedict XVI expressed his sadness at the death of former Philippine President Corazon Aquino and praised her commitment to freedom and justice for Filipinos.
Aquino, 76, died Aug. 1 after a battle with colon cancer. Tens of thousands of Filipinos lined the streets Aug. 3 as her coffin made its way from San Juan City to Manila’s cathedral for a wake and an Aug. 5 funeral.
The pope, in a telegram to Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales of Manila, the Philippine capital, recalled Aquino as “a woman of deep and unwavering faith” who took on a crucial political role.
Pope Benedict praised Aquino’s “courageous commitment to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection of violence and intolerance, and her contribution to the rebuilding of a just and cohesive political order in her beloved homeland.”
She earned a degree in French from Mount St. Vincent College, a Sisters of Charity institution in New York.
Among the tributes to her…
“Daughters of Charity Sister Remedios Centeno said Aquino personified honesty and humility.
The nun said Aquino “never took anything that belongs to the Filipino people” while defending their freedom with fortitude and courage. She pointed out that even during the most tumultuous period of her governance, she did not declare a state of emergency and did not give up to military adventurists.
The irrepressible nun also noted that Aquino, while steely against those who were threats to democracy, was capable of boundless love. She cited the case of youngest daughter Kris. “Cory continued to loved her,” the nun said, referring to the numerous relationship scandals that involved Mrs. Aquino’s celebrity daughter. ”
NewsBreak
On March 24,1896, only one month after President Aquino was installed into the office of President of the Philippines, I was privileged to see her at the Presidential Palace. I wrote a report which partially states :”…The group mentioned that they did not come to ask a favor but to ask her what she would recommend for them. Without hesitation she said:”I wish you could do something for the poor, especially the rebel returnees who come down from the mountains.” President Cory Aquino gave the impression of a self-abnegating person, working for the good of the people in her own humble way but with Vincentian touch of charity towards the poor.” The Vincentian family in Manila joined in full force to honor the former President who was a model Christian.May she enjoy her reward in the bosom of the Father!
Fr.Rolando S. DelaGoza,CM