THE P
RTAL
Aid to the Church in Need
September 2018 Page 20
“ The Church will always stand up for peace and mercy ”
Murcadha O Flaherty reports on events in the Philippines
Facing a rise in attacks in the Philippines , including the killing of priests , senior Church figures have condemned the murder of Father Richmond Nilo , 43 , the third Catholic priest to have been murdered since December 2017 . The Catholic Bishops ’ Conference of the Philippines ’ ( CBCP ) president , Archbishop Socrates Buenaventura Villegas , spoke to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need about the priest ’ s killing in June , as well as the need for the Church to speak up for tolerance .
The CBCP referred to the young cleric ’ s death as a “ brutal murder ”. Lamenting the priest ’ s execution by unknown assailants , the archbishop said : “ He came from celebrating Mass in another village chapel . He was preparing to put on his alb to celebrate another Mass when he was shot four times near the altar in front of the Virgin Mary , Our Lady of the Snows .” Archbishop Villegas added : “ He is the fourth priest shot by assailants . He is the third to die from the shooting . Father Richmond was an advocate of Kaya Natin [ We Can ] a movement for ethical political engagement . He was also an active Catholic faith defender .” Calling for calm in the face of growing rumours about his suspected attackers , Archbishop Villegas said : “ The matter is under investigation . Whatever the investigators may find , there is no reason to kill anyone . We debate , we discuss but we should never resort to murder to settle differences .”
The archbishop remains an outspoken critic of the violence targeting the Catholic Church in the Philippines , He said : “ In a mission like this , centred on faith and morality , people will hate or disagree . The servant cannot be above the Lord . But this opposition is no reason to keep silent .”
According to human rights watchdogs , journalists and civil rights advocates are under attack from the authorities for highlighting issues such as extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and efforts to restrict freedom of expression .
Despite being targeted , the archbishop said : “ The Church will always stand up for peace and mercy . Revenge is disconsonant with our message .” Outlining the three steps taken by the Church towards peace
in Philippines , Archbishop Villegas said : “ Our first tool for social change is prayer . Only God can soften hardened hearts . Our second tool is to keep preaching Christ . We teach and never get tired to repeat the same message . The third response is dialogue . We dialogue with those who hate us or with all those who do not share our belief . We seek the common ground .”
Describing Church ’ s resolve to stand up against threats to freedom , including State authorities or Islamist extremist groups in the south of the country , he said : “ We believe in the power of God . We are not afraid to be killed . We should rather be afraid to kill .” The archbishop added : “ Living in dangerous times has been part of our mission in the world . The Lord said ‘ Fear not . I have overcome the world ’ [ John 16:33 ] The Church can survive and thrive in any situation .”
Aid to the Church in Need - www . acnuk . org contact : acn @ acnuk . org or call 020 8642 8668