Villegas to voters: Be critical Godly voters
LINGAYEN-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas urges his flock to be critical and Godly voters in the May 13 mid-term elections.
In his pastoral message issued on April 28, Villegas also told the faithful in his archdiocese to “ to bring your faith as you choose”.
Villegas said voters have the duty to assess them diligently and, freed from pressure, check if they meet their standards. “We decide; not the candidates,” he added.
Citing Church teachings, Villegas said Pope Benedict XVI called the proper exercise of democracy as the most effective way of ensuring a future for the welfare of humanity.
Villegas also reminds voters that “the kind of leaders we elect reveals the kind of people we are,” adding that “it can also show our backward moving society,” he said.
He also quoted Saint John Paul II as saying that democracy without values can easily turn into a thinly disguised totalitarianism.
He also said, “When we demand that religion be purely a private matter that it should not touch political choices, society suffers. Democracy is hurt.”
He added that if people continue to keep ethics out of public service, democracy will be killed quietly unnoticed. “And we die deprived of our freedoms,” he said.
Villegas said Pope Benedict XVI has warned that when religion is removed from the political arena, “public life is sapped of its motivation and politics takes on a domineering and aggressive character”.
Villegas wants the voters to consider the 6Ks when voting, namely, kamatayan (death), kabastusan (vulgarity), korapsyon (corruption), kahirapan (poverty), kasarinlan (independence) and kasinungalingan (falsehood).
‘Killing criminals does not solve problems; it has not solved the drug problem,” he said.
He said self-serving moves to amend the Constitution and the prevalence of political dynasties will hurt the poor even more. “If we do not vote well, more of our freedoms will be lost to political dynasties,” he stressed.
“The steady intrusion of China into our territorial waters and the tightening grip of China on us due to Chinese loans put our sovereignty at risk,” he added.
“God will judge us for the way we vote”. Our children will judge us for the way we vote. This election is important for them. Think of them,” Villegas said.
“How would Christ vote? Vote like Christ. Do not leave God at the altar. Bring your Christian faith when you vote,” Villegas said. (PhilStar Wire Service)
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