Parishes to lead Phl healing – CBCP

MANILA, Philippines - As the nation grapples with divisive issues, parishes across the country should take the lead in restoring unity and in initiating the process of healing, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said yesterday.

“If the nation needs healing, the healing will start in our parishes. If the nation needs to crush the forces of evil, it will start in our parishes. If the nation needs to strengthen the presence of God in society, the strengthening of the parishes is the only way,” Villegas said at the launching of the Year of the Basic Ecclesiastical Communities (BEC) or the Year of the Parish.

He added the BEC should help not only in the healing of wounds but also in fighting evil that threatens to destroy the country.

Villegas did not mention the issues that divide the country, but he could be referring to the Duterte administration’s bloody war on drugs and the controversy sparked by the sneaky burial of ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

“Parishes and communities will be renewed only through personal and community prayer. Our first mission in the world is to be a leaven to teach our society how to pray. Our first duty in communion is prayer,” he said.