PHILIPPINE BISHOPS SET 3 DAYS FASTING PRAYERS AFTER PRESIDENT DUARTE CALLS GOD STUPID
By Kamugisha Leonard Akida
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iolence and Anti-Christian sentiments have engulfed Philippines in the recent months which have influenced Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) call for an end to this violence in the land.
In a letter dated July 9,2018, signed by Archbishop Romulo Valles of Davao, the president of the CBCP at Manila Phillipines, Bishops condemned the sufferings of the poor in the country due to lack of care and blasphemy against God.
“Our sufferings as Church leaders are nothing compared to the sufferings of the poor in our country,” the bishops’ letter says.
“Do we not hear the cry of poor slum-dwellers being jailed for ‘loitering’? Have they forgotten that for the homeless urban poor — the little alleys between their flimsy homes also serve as kitchens, bathrooms, recreation spaces, and playgrounds for their children?” the letter added
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| Archbishop Romulo Valles (center), CBBC president , gestures as he speaks to Monday, July 9, 2018, in Manila, Philippine |
Using the literature illusions of St. Francis of Assisi, the Bishops called for brotherhood, love and grace towards the suffering and poor people as one of the ways to end violence.
“And that means to always strive to bring love where there is hatred, pardon where there is injury, faith where there is doubt, hope where there’s despair, light where there is darkness, and joy where there is sadness,” says the prayer for peace attributed to St. Francis of Assisi.
This follows the Christian resentments in Philippine with a section of People staged persecutions against God and the church. These includes; President Rodrigo Duarte bitter statements referring to God as “stupid” and his offer to resign if anyone could prove God exists.
Philippines have seen the assassinations of over 3 catholic priests which cau
ses violence against the Christians in the country.
Bishops have set a 3 days prayer and penance for those causing violence and persecutions against Christianity.
‘’On July 16, 2018 on the feast of the Blessed Mother of Mt. Carmel, the mountain associated with the bold challenge of the prophet Elijah in defense of God (2 Kings 18), let us spend a day of prayer and penance, invoking God’s mercy and justice on those who have blasphemed God’s Holy Name, those who slander and bear false witness, and those who commit murder or justify murder as a means for fighting criminality in our country. We invite you to join us, your bishops, in three days of fasting, prayer and almsgiving from July 17 to 19, 2018.” Reads part of the letter.
