Two senior Catholic prelates have urged fellow clergymen and the public to shun political neutrality when oppression exists.
People cannot remain neutral in the battle between good and evil, Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen Dagupan and retired Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said on Dec. 12.
They were responding to critics who say the separation of church and state means that no clergyman can endorse political candidates.
“When we are neutral and there is oppression, we end up empowering the oppressors,” Archbishop Villegas said during a Mass on Gaudete Sunday.
In an apparent dig at public support for the present government, he said that when someone becomes neutral by not denouncing death and corruption, they become an ally of sin or the murderer.
The Church has been a vocal critic of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and his war on drugs, which has seen thousands of drug suspects killed, as well as the deaths of activists after being branded rebel sympathizers.
You cannot be neutral in that case. If you are, you are siding with the thief because the moral choice is to defend the victim
“If the murderer is here present as well as the one being killed, if you are neutral, you are aiding the murderer because neutrality in the face of murder favors the murderer,” Archbishop Villegas said.
“For example, if there is a thief and the victim is also present. You cannot be neutral in that case. If you are, you are siding with the thief because the moral choice is to defend the victim.”
He also took aim at politicians who use professional online trolls to falsely discredit others and spread lies to make themselves popular among voters.
Bishop Bastes backed Archbishop Villegas’ comments, saying clergymen like bishops could not remain neutral when a moral choice needed to be made.
Thank you. You are now signed up to Daily newsletter
“We must choose the right person,” Bishop Bastes told UCA News, adding that he personally would back current Vice President Leni Robredo in next year’s presidential polls.
Support UCA News…
….as we enter the last months of 2021, we are asking readers like you to help us keep UCA News free.
For the last 40 years, UCA News has remained the most trusted and independent Catholic news and information service from Asia. Every week, we publish nearly 100 news reports, feature stories, commentaries, podcasts and video broadcasts that are exclusive and in-depth, and developed from a view of the world and the Church through informed Catholic eyes.
Our journalistic standards are as high as any in the quality press; our focus is particularly on a fast-growing part of the world – Asia – where, in some countries the Church is growing faster than pastoral resources can respond to – South Korea, Vietnam and India to name just three.
And UCA News has the advantage of having in its ranks local reporters who cover 23 countries in south, southeast, and east Asia. We report the stories of local people and their experiences in a way that Western news outlets simply don’t have the resources to reach. And we report on the emerging life of new Churches in old lands where being a Catholic can at times be very dangerous.
With dwindling support from funding partners in Europe and the USA, we need to call on the support of those who benefit from our work.
Click here to find out the ways you can support UCA News. You can make a difference for as little as US$5…
Credit: Source link