In an overwhelmingly Catholic country where more than half the population consider themselves to be living in poverty, the presence of Pope Francis offers great hope. But can the country’s conservative hierarchy change? When the wheels of the Pope’s plane kiss the tarmac at Manila’s Villamor Air Base on Thursday evening, it is a given that every vantage point will be crammed with rapturous Filipinos welcoming Francis to their country.For this south-east Asian nation, ruled by Spain for more than 300 years, and then by the United States before achieving independence in 1945, is overwhelmingly Catholic and ahead of the five-day papal visit the streets of the capital are decked with banners greeting Pope Francis, whose face appears on millions of T-shirts sold to mark the