Cardinal makes whirl wind visit

Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales departed the country yesterday following a whirlwind tour of Rarotonga, Atiu and Aitutaki. The Cardinal spent time travelling around both the North and South Islands of New Zealand prior to arriving in the Cook Islands and the purpose of his tour in the region was to visit Filipino missionaries working abroad, mainly for the Mission Society of the Philippines.
The Cardinal himself hails from the largest island of the Philippines, Luzon, and says he met many members of the Filipino Community here on Rarotonga. He expressed that the highlight of his stay in the Cook Islands has been connecting with people and that seeing the natural beauty of the destination was an added bonus. “Botanically we have the same trees and the same fruits that you have. The weather at home, like here, is humid.” Cardinal Rosales noted differences between the Philippines, New Zealand and the Cook Islands in the way people greet each other, saying he was taken by surprise whilst in Northland of New Zealand when he was greeted a number of times with the New Zealand Maori greeting of a ‘hongi’. “But,” he added, “The respect is there. I didn’t realise the meaning – you breathe the same ‘life’. It is very profound and so deep. So culturally [there is] the same respect for elders and friends, but the way of expressing it is quite different.”
Cardinal Rosales commented that he is supposed to be in Rome right now, however the trip to the South Pacific had been planned for some time so he decided it would be best to fulfil his commitment to the trip. He remarked, “For every place, you have a collection of faces revealing to you the vibrant life that [exists] in that area. It is alive in faith. I share in faith – that for me is very important.”
Cardinal Rosales held services for Ash Wednesday, including a service for the Filipino Community, before boarding his homeward-bound flight on Thursday. When asked whether or not he planned to return to the Cook Islands again, he responded, “That – I will leave that to God.”

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