Church urges faithful to join ‘heal the nation’ Edsa procession
Seminarians and different religious groups call for an end to drug-related killings during a candlelight vigil at the Christ the King Church in Quezon City, Oct. 6, 2017. ANGIE DE SILVA MANILA— A “heal the nation” campaign will see people take to the historic street of Edsa next month to pray for peace amid the spate of killings in the country. The “Lord Heal Our Land Sunday” on November 5 will start another month-long period of praying for victims of extrajudicial killings as a result of the government’s bloody anti-drug war. To launch the activity, Catholic bishops are inviting Catholics…
Priest on death penalty revival: ‘What message are we sending the youth?’
Jesuit Fr. Silvino Borres, Jr. (center), president of the Coalition Against the Death Penalty, presides over a Mass to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty at the CBCP Chapel in Manila, Oct. 10, 2017. CBCPNews MANILA— The revival of the death penalty would risk sending the wrong message to society, especially the young people, a Catholic priest said. Jesuit Fr. Silvino Borres, Jr., president of the Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CADP), said that to have a civil society, the country must respect life, not demand death. “What kind of message are we telling our young people?” said…
Church exec tells Duterte to ‘shape up’
Various religious groups call for an end to drug-related killings during a candlelight vigil at the Christ the King Church in Quezon City, Oct. 6, 2017. ANGIE DE SILVA President Rodrigo Duterte has been told to “shape up” and improve his administration’s services to the people after his trust and satisfaction ratings suffered the steepest drop since he came to power last year. Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the bishops’ Committee on Public Affairs, said that Duterte’s trust rating could drop further if the latter will not change his leadership style. “It will continue to go down unless he…
Join us Uphold the Sanctity of Life
Dearest Brethren: Greetings of Peace! Prolife Philippines wishes to invite you to celebrate with us the sacrifice of the Holy Mass on the eve of the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law on 20 September 2017 at 5:30pm at the Shrine of Our Lady of EDSA. This fellowship of the Mass seeks to amplify our common mission to uphold the sanctity of life and to defend it whenever there appears to be tendencies to place it in jeopardy through injustice, inhumanity and violence. The dark days of the dictatorship were a testimony to such an experience. We are praying…
Drug war risks more minors getting killed, bishop warns
MANILA— More people, including the youth, could get killed if the government won’t change its hardline approach to stamping out illegal drugs in the country, a Catholic bishop has warned. Reacting to the killing of another teenager, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan said more people could be killed because the government’s violent drug war is “naïve, seriously flawed, and needs serious evaluation and rethinking”. He said the killings of 19-year old Carlo Angelo Arnaiz, including that of 17-year old Kian Loyd delos Santos, are not isolated cases as claimed by police authorities. “If they don’t stop the killing, we’ll…
Bishop urges gov’t: Don’t disregard lives of Maute hostages
Posted by CBCP News | Sep 4, 2017 MANILA— A Catholic bishop appealed to the government to give greater weight the safety of hostages still held by the Maute group as security forces continue their final assault on the bandits. Bishop Edwin Dela Peña of Marawi said the government must carefully consider its military options in order to recover all hostages alive. The prelate said “collateral damage” in war is completely unacceptable in all circumstances. “If they do the final assault, the lives of the hostages could just be sacrificed and be considered as collateral damage… that is not…
Summary killings cannot be justified—Archbishop
Various lay groups stage “Walk for Life” along streets of Navotas City to condemn the extrajudicial killings of suspected drug pushers and users, July 2, 2017. ROY LAGARDE MANILA— Summary killings can never be justified as a drug control measure, a Catholic archbishop said. Jesuit Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan De Oro, in a pastoral letter, said the wave of extrajudicial killings that have claimed even young lives and many others without due process is a cause for alarm. “These summary killings and violations of human rights cannot be justified by invoking the greater common good – which our recent…
Bishop asks Duterte to ‘reconfigure’ drug war
A Catholic bishop is hoping that President Rodrigo Duterte would “reconfigure” his war on the illegal drugs that has already claimed thousands of lives. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan diocese said another key thing for Duterte is to learn by listening to drug experts. “Allow experts in various fields to take part in coming up with an in-depth study of the root causes of the illegal drug problem in the country,” he said. While authorities strengthen its intelligence work against drug lords and scalawags in the police, he said the government must also strongly support community-based drug rehabilitation programs….
Condemning killings is not enough— Cardinal Tagle
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle speaks during a press conference on the upcoming Philippine Conference on New Evangelization in Manila, July 4, 2017. ROY LAGARDE 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 that to save more lives and address social problems like drug addiction, condemnation alone is not enough. He said 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…
Primate of All Ireland: Don’t Be Afraid to Fight “Gay Marriage”
An Irish archbishop is sending a warning to voters who would redefine marriage to include same-sex couples by Ryan Fitzgerald • May 5, 2015 ARMAGH, Northern Irelandd, May 5, 2015 (ChurchMilitant.com) – On May 22, the people of Ireland will vote on the world’s first-ever country-wide referendum over redefining civil marriage to include same-sex couples. With recent polls showing 70 percent of the electorate support “gay marriage,” the head of Ireland’s Catholics, Archbishop Eamon Martin of Armagh, is sending a warning to voters — if you legally redefine marriage to include same-sex couples, you defy both faith and reason as well…
