Bishops call for healing

MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday called for “healing of the country” on Christmas Day in the wake of the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao last Nov. 23.

In his Christmas message, Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, CBCP president, said Filipinos should ask “Christ, the Prince of Peace, to heal our troubled land, wounded by fraternal strife, and to touch our hearts to be open to love, justice and Christian faith.”

“Recently, we have been exposed to the grim spectacle of mass murder in Mindanao, perhaps one of the most gruesome events in the history of violence in our country. Some children became orphans; a number of husbands turned into widowers while some wives became widows; and grieving parents were deprived of their children.”

He said on the birth of Jesus Christ, Filipinos should “pray to Him to grant the country peace.”

He said peace is not only defined as “the absence of war or physical violence.”

“There is no peace when there is greed for wealth and material possession that would drive people to engage in shady transactions; when there is degradation of our forests and environment; and even when public funds are used for personal reasons.”

“There is also no peace when the lust for power would be used during election time to curtail the rights of the voters to freely select their candidates. Allowing this to happen would be a breeding ground for poor governance.”

“These are but some of the shadows and wrinkles in our social structures. But our faith gives us a glimmer of hope, as the Bible in a number of places has assured and exhorted us, and which the present Holy Father articulated in his encyclical letter ‘Spe Salvi Facti Sumus’ (In hope we were saved). Social transformation starts within ourselves. We can be at peace with ourselves, with others and with God,” the new CBCP president said.

In a separate Christmas message, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales said next year’s election is an opportunity for Filipinos to elect new leaders.

“The coming year 2010 is the nation’s year of choice of honest, selfless and God-fearing leaders who will serve with honesty, simplicity and humility. Arrogant leaders who, in the past, thought that the nation could not go forward without them, had always been failures, and they had, unfortunately, brought the country down with them,” said Rosales.

The Cardinal said automated counting machines are not the ultimate solution to election woes but making the right choices.

He urged the public to consider what is good for the people and not favor the interest of the few. 

Meanwhile, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas urged the faithful to realize that the solution to one’s poverty lies in the lessons taught by Jesus, not in the promises of candidates in the 2010 elections.

In his Christmas message to be read on today entitled “Ang Hiwaga ng Pasko (The Mystery of Christmas),” Villegas said poor people should not pin their hopes on politicians who promise to alleviate their poverty since this has been the aspirants’ routine during election time. 

He said people should learn to understand more and deal with their poverty by remembering Christ’s teachings, attend Mass and take part in communion.     

He advised people that they could only lessen human pain by choosing to live in simplicity, in solidarity with the poor. - With Eva Visperas