Church and politics
The bishops of the Philippines denied claims made by presidential front runner Ferdinand Marcos Jr that it is meddling in politics. Fr Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the bishops’ public affairs committee, said “the Church only wishes to speak the truth. Truth is not invented but rather attested to by historical records and documents.”
He added that “in the battle against evil, injustice and lies, the Church has always been brave in expressing her stand: she is against evil, she is not neutral. Being non-partisan means her loyalty is neither with the candidate nor with any political party. It is with the people.”
Opposing evil in winning ways
On the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Francis warned the faithful to be vigilant against temptations: “Jesus opposes the attractions of evil in a winning way which says not to take advantage, not to use God, others and things for oneself, not to take advantage of one’s position to obtain privileges.
“Happiness and freedom do not lie in possessing, but in sharing; not in taking advantage of others, but in loving them; not in the obsession of power, but in the joy of service.
“We must be vigilant, not be frightened: it happens to everyone, and be vigilant because they (temptations) often appear under an apparent form of good. In fact, the devil, who is cunning, always uses deception. The devil knows how to disguise himself with sacred, apparently religious motives.”
Appeal to Kirill
Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich begged the leader of the Russian-Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow: “I implore the patriarch of Moscow to exert his influence on the president so that the war stops and arms are laid down. While we bishops are not politicians, it is our task and our duty to proclaim the Gospel’s message of peace.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)