ARCHBISHOP ROSALES CALLS FOR PRAYERS,
FOR DISCERNMENT IN MIDST OF CRISIS

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Rosales has called on all “true lovers of the Filipino people” to be united in prayer and discernment in the search for solutions to the present crises confronting the country.

In a pastoral statement issued today (July 1) and which will be read in all parishes this Sunday, Archbishop Rosales lamented that rather than being focused on solutions to poverty, national attention and energies have been “taken up by division and altercations.” In the confusion, he added, people may be easily swayed by emotions and led astray by quick-fix solutions.

He appealed for sobriety and discernment, cautioning the people against falling prey “to those self-seeking politicians from all the different political parties, who have held the country’s future hostage to their own ambitions, and have brought us to where we sadly find ourselves today.”

Alluding to issues of the day, particularly the wire-tapped conversation which President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has admitted to, the Archbishop noted that “despite expressions of regret, many remain angry, confused, hurt.”

In the search for solutions to the present crisis, Archbishop Rosales, as shepherd and pastor, reminded the people of four fundamental principles:

• Forgiveness does not eliminate the need for justice, nor should it block the search for truth, and “those who seek forgiveness should be ready to be called to accountability.”

• The pursuit of truth against government leaders should be conducted within the provisions of the Constitution and respect the laws of the land.

• In any proposed solution to the crisis, violence is not an option. “Violence harms the innocent and inflicts wounds so deep that will take generations to heal,” he said.

• Immediate attention should be given to authentic, swift and decisive reform, especially in “political systems that are prone to corruption.”

In conclusion, the Archbishop reminded the people not to give in to despair in these times of uncertainty. He called for more intense prayer and reflection “that the Lord show us the way forward, as He has done in the past, and the He may give us yet another chance to be one.”

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Please refer: Peachy E. Yamsuan/Archdiocesan Office of Communications

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