THE head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church said the flurry of attacks against the spate of drug-related killings has to stop, and not just with mere words.
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said to save more lives and address social problems like drug addiction, condemnation alone is not enough.
He added the Church must be more “proactive” in dealing with the problem by coming up with concrete actions to protect life.
“As we say ‘do not kill’, let us promote life and save lives,” Tagle said. “It’s not enough to just say ‘this is forbidden’ or ‘this is bad’, but instead act together,” he added.
Reacting on the seeming lack of public outcry against summary executions, the cardinal said that many Filipinos still believe that life is sacred and killing is wrong.
He added he interviewed some people on the issue and found out that they seem to accept killings “out of despair”.
“You know, their answer is not about opposing the teachings [that life is sacred]. They really know the teachings. But they seem to be coming from a kind of helplessness,” Tagle said.
“And I pity them because there comes a conflict within. A part of them says life is sacred, it should not really be destroyed. But part of them also feels they’ve been so disadvantaged.”
“The institution, the system, is not moving so for them, [killing] is maybe the solution. So I believe that many people still respect life,” he added.
The Manila archbishop also said the issue on drug-related killings would certainly be discussed during the coming fourth Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE).
The July 28 to 30 event at the University of Santo Tomas would feature various topics, including social-justice, family, youth, environment, new media and interreligious dialogue and education.
“It’s one issue that will surely come out because we have the social-justice track in the PCNE. Maybe what the PCNE can help is how to strengthen the faith and not to lose hope,” he added.
“So there will maybe some new approaches or new ways to save lives,” Tagle said.
‘Unite against extremism’
at the same time, Tagle called on the country’s Christians and Muslims to stand together against extremism.
Sharing his thoughts about the ongoing siege in Marawi City, he said people, whatever religion they practice, must work together against those whose only desire is to destroy.
The cardinal added stories of Muslims and Christians helping each other could be a strong foundation toward recovery for those affected by the conflict.
“Whoever planned to divide the Christians and Muslims is probably pissed off now. They were unsuccessful. Instead, [what] we have witnessed is a communion,” Tagle said.
“This is what gives us real hope. This affirms that we belong to one human family,” he added.
The prelate also called on Filipinos to be “attentive” to the “signs of love, hope and light” amid violence in Mindanao.
The Manila archbishop said decency and humanity must continue to unify all Filipinos.
“Peace can only be achieved by truth, justice and love. Without these foundations, there can be no peace,” he added.
The Catholic Church in Iligan, meanwhile, continues to attend to the needs of the thousands of families displaced by the clash between government troops and the Maute terrorist group.
The Diocese of Iligan’s Social Action Center said that besides relief goods, clothing and medicine, they have distributed a number of water filters. But the diocese said more assistance, particularly hygiene kits, blankets, folding beds and kitchenware, are needed, as the crisis entered its second month.
It said coloring, writing and art materials would also be a big help to children traumatized by war.
The Caritas Manila is sending another P500,000 to the diocese for rice, food and water.
The social-action arm of the Manila archdiocese had earlier sent P500,000 and 100 cavans of rice as initial aid to the residents affected by the crisis in Marawi City.
CBCP plenary assembly
Meanwhile, the nation’s Catholic bishops are gathering in Manila this weekend for their biannual plenary assembly to deliberate on some Church agendas and to elect a new set of officers that will lead them in the next two years.
Members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will elect, among others, their new president to replace Archbishop Socrates Villegas who is stepping down this year.
Villegas is currently in his final term as CBCP head, a vital post he held for four successive years.
CBCP officials have a two-year tenure in office, or a total of four including the second term.
Any bishop can be elected as Villegas’s replacement, except past CBCP presidents who served two terms already and retired bishops.
“Everybody is a candidate. Only those who have been president for two terms are disqualified,” Villegas said. “So all the others are qualified to be president.”
The CBCP is currently composed of 131 members—83 of them are active, five are administrators and 43 are retired from 86 ecclesiastical jurisdictions.
Other elective posts to be filled up are the vice president and eight regional representatives or members of the of the CBCP Permanent Council.
Like Villegas, Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao is also in his second and last term as vice president, which makes him among the potential front-runners in the race to the presidency.
This new set of officers, who will formally assume their posts on December 1, will set the pace and the agenda of the CBCP for at least the next two years.
“We don’t campaign. We are just given a ballot, and we write while the meeting continues. We don’t even wait for it to be counted. We just ask the young bishops to do the counting on the side,” Villegas said.
Image credits: Roy Lagarde/CBCP
2 comments
The Catholic Church under the leadership of Tagle is not sending enough money and rice…The Catholic Church is very rich and don’t let them tell that it is not.