‘Cults a challenge to Catholic Church’

The more cults there are in the country, the more challenges there are for the Catholic Church.

This was the statement made by a bishop of the Archdiocese of Manila during the weekend when asked about the problems brought about by the spread of cultist organizations in the country.

"I always look at problems as opportunities. So I would look at the data as a challenge even more for the Catholic Church, to go on more aggressively in evangelization," said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Socrates Villegas in an interview at the Arzobispado de Manila in Intramuros.

Villegas, also the spokesman for Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin, was reacting to reports that cults such as the Philippine Benevolent Missionaries Association (PBMA) have been aggressively recruiting members and growing in great numbers nationwide.

Villegas, however, doubted the data released by the PBMA that posted its membership at 300,000, saying he would try not to discuss the acceptability of those details.

"I will not try to discuss the acceptability of those details. I’ll just look at the problem or social problem of cults," he said.

Villegas said that in recent times in the Philippines, Catholics have become more sacramentalized and spiritualized, even after 400 years of Catholic presence in the country.

He said that Catholics are so worried about incense and candles as an expression of their faith. "But when it comes to bringing the Gospel to our hearts and translate the Gospel to our lives, we are still lacking in that dimension," he said.

"Because of this, we are asking that we be more aggressive in evangelization and focusing not only on rituals, not only sacramentals or pious devotions, but more on living out our gospel," said Villegas.

He also said that the Catholic Church could not be "priest-centered." "Because from the very beginning of Christianity, lay people have been in the forefront of evangelization," he said.

So the responsibility to reach out and explain, and root our lives in the Gospel, rests on every person baptized, he said.

Villegas said that all Catholics have a responsibility to spread the Christian faith, and this does not mean holding a microphone and going to the pulpit.

"It means rather people see you, and see that you have Christ in you," he said.

Villegas earlier said that 65 milllion of the 75 million Filipinos are Catholics. — Sandy Araneta