Archbishop Villegas to voters: Follow the way of St. Matthew
IN his homily on the second day of Simbang Gabi at the St. John the Evangelist Metropolitan Cathedral in Dagupan City on December 16, Archbishop Socrates Villegas urged the faithful to follow the way of St. Matthew, the writer of the Family Tree of Jesus Christ, in choosing the rightful candidates in the coming national and local elections.
St. Matthew, he said, did not revise history despite its imperfections, made no attempt to hide the dark secrets, stuck to the facts, stood by the truth when he wrote the Family Tree of Jesus, pointing out that truth can hurt but on the other hand, only truth can one gain freedom.
With this as introduction to his homily entitled “Kamag-anak at Kaibigan” (Kin and friends) read by Rev. Fr. Marlon Allam, Archbishop Villegas went on to urge the people that in choosing for those to vote and whom to trust in the coming election, they can choose the way of St. Matthew by looking for the truth and checking the facts against other authorities before voting for particular candidates.
“In this age of fake news, diligence is our weapon or we plunge into stupidity. Intelligence must not be surrendered to trolls and liars,” he intoned.
He urged the people to check the background of the candidates, especially those seeking national positions.
“We do not know them (candidates) personally if we do not check family history and friendship history.” he said, adding that people should use reasons rather than just be carried away by a mob, or be blinded by manipulative catchphrases or deluge of posters or “we risk electing crooks, criminals and cowards as our leaders.”
Archbishop Villegas said that the gospel just read is also a good guide to prick one’s political conscience so that they can act together against political dynasties as he maintained that government leadership “must not be a family business or power trip”.
“Totoo bang mabuting pamilya ang pinagmulan o dinoktor na ang historya? VIllegas posed as he called on the voters to find out how many members of the politician’s family are already in the government.
The Archbishop is of the opinion that hiding the truth is lying and the liars and crooks are relatives or belonging to the same family. (Leonardo Micua)
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