Villegas: Walk for Life prayer rally not a protest
FOR SANCTITY OF LIFE
THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas denied media reports that the Walk for Life prayer rally against death penalty and extrajudicial killings held on Feb. 17 at the Quirino Grandstand and in de Venecia Highway here was a protest rally but a stand for the sanctity of human life that comes from God.
“The Walk for Life is Walk for God,” Villegas said in his message written in Filipino.
He said the Walk for Life is not to defend the drug addict or murderer. He said a criminal must be arrested, charged, sentenced and imprisoned to correct a wrongdoing.
“A wrong act must be tried in the court of law not by a gun,” he added.
Villegas explained why the prayer rally was to be held early morning, saying, “Because it is during this time we discover a cadaver in side street or near garbage site.”
He said death penalty is against the sanctity of human life. Instead of death penalty, he said the police ranks must be cleansed, justice system must be put to order and administration of detention must be strengthened.
He appealed to Congress to let congressmen vote according to their conscience.
Villegas said there are other sins against life that must be fought. He said these include abortion, blasphemy, corruption, drugs, execution.
He added that whether it is death sentence, salvaging, summary execution, extrajudicial killing, whether done by a criminal or imposed by the government as death penalty is still killing.
“We cannot teach that killing is wrong by killing those who kill. It also increases the number of killers,” he added.
Villegas thanked the Council of the Laity of the Philippines that initiated the Walk for Life. He said priests and bishops are supporting them and are beside them in every step they take. (Tita Roces)
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