📷Bp. Pablo Virgilio David/Roman Catholic Bishop of Kalookan Facebook Page
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), led by its current president and Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, calls on the faithful to continue to pray for the country as tension continues to heat up in the disputed territory in the West Philippine Sea. The appeal was made by Catholic leaders during CBCP’s three-day plenary assembly held in Cagayan de Oro City.
“We are not political leaders, we are spiritual and moral leaders and we know that our compatriots, people in the country are getting tense,” said David speaking before the media at a press conference in line with the CBCP plenary assembly. “We do not want to add further fuel to the tension. Nobody wants a war. Our parents were people who experienced, they were part of a generation that was traumatized by the Second World War.”
The CBCP is set to release an Oratio Imperata, or an obligatory prayer for peace that will be said during Mass.
“It will be a prayer for peace. An Oratio Imperata for peace in the context of what is happening in our country, in the geopolitical tension that we are experiencing,” he said.
In the past months, China remained hawkish with its stance regarding the disputed territory, claiming that the Philippines continues to instigate conflict in the disputed territory. Last month, the ship of the China Coast Guard (CCG) was reported to have “intentionally” rammed the Philippine ship, which is part of the Philippine resupply mission, seriously injuring one member of the Philippine Navy.
Meanwhile, before the plenary assembly, the bishops had had a three-day retreat at the Transfiguration Abbey in Malaybalay City, where the Vatican’s foreign minister was among the speakers.
On July 2, during a press conference, Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Vatican’s foreign minister called on countries that have been claiming ownership of the disputed territory to settle the disputes through peaceful means. (NOEL SALES BARCELONA)
