FR. SOC JUSTIFIES RESPONSE OF CHURCH

THE Catholic Church used the pulpit last June 16 in lending its voice over the serious threat posed by atheist China upon the Philippines and the faith of more than 102 million Filipinos, and launched a rosary campaign to protect the homeland from the foreign aggressor.

In his homily, Archbishop Socrates Villegas read Monsignor Manuel Bravo’s “Lord Save Us! We are Perishing” pastoral letter at the St. John the Evangelist Cathedral.

“The threat is no longer imagined. It is no longer mere conjecture. There is evidence of insidious attempts by a foreign power that governs by an ideology that recognizes no God and keeps all religion and the practice of faith “under the heavy heel of its totalitarian boot to trample the sacred shores”.

It said the network of agents China is capable of deploying, including those in espionage and even subversive activity, will not be denied by anyone who makes it his business “to keep himself abreast of disturbing news reports” that the People’s Republic of China  shows neither fear nor does it exhibit hesitation in “inching menacingly close to the Philippines”.

It cited China’s latest provocative actions against the Philippine Coast Guard vessels at the Escoda Shoal, where “our fishermen are evicted from their fishing grounds, our marine environment relentlessly wrecked to convert these into islands and military platforms.”

It raised a serious concern over the possibility that the government has been infiltrated by persons on Beijing’s payroll or by corrupt Filipinos who received favors and observed that the investigations conducted by Congress made it clear that it is not impossible for foreigners to acquire documentation allowing them not only entry but residence in the Philippines, passing themselves off as natural-born Filipino citizens, qualifying them for public office.

While admitting that all these are political, military and security issues, it added “that moral issues are involved” particularly in securing Filipinos’ future “through the resources that the Creator has made available to them that the laws of humankind recognize to be theirs.”

The deprivation that fisher folk have of the “abundance that once allowed them at least a decent existence, and that has now forced them “to rummage through the leftovers of Chinese poachers” is a moral issue, the pastoral letter said.

The safeguarding of way of life that upholds the right of person to believe and to practice their faith without any interference from the State is another moral issue, according to the Pastoral letter.

Finally, Villegas said it is the obligation of the Church to respond as a Church, which all means “that we will find the confidence to take a stand because of our conviction that if God is with us, no power can ever prevail against us.”

Archbishop Villegas then launched rosary campaign from June 27 to August 15 for the protection of the Philippines from atheist China like what the Church did in 1987 EDSA revolution. (Leonardo Micua)

Share your Comments or Reactions

comments

Powered by Facebook Comments