Caceres Laity, Clergy to Step up Promotion of Social Justice

NAGA CITY, Feb 21, 2010-Expect the Archdiocese of Caceres to be more engaged in its prophetic function for social change.

In response to the New Year's Day Pastoral Letter of Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi which called on the local Church to look to Mary as a source of hope in the midst of the country's poverty and in preparation for the coming elections, the Council of the Laity of Caceres (CLAC) immediately organized a convention of the parish pastoral councils and the religious organizations to deepen the faithful's understanding of the pastoral letter.

Last February 7, nearly two hundred pastoral council representatives and heads of religious organizations gathered for an in-depth study of the pastoral letter and a closer look at the country's political landscape.

The pastoral letter entitled "Hope and Wait with Perseverance" issued on January 1 contained Archbishop Legaspi's call for active engagement in people empowerment and social justice. He said that building God's kingdom-the mission of every Christian-is the inspiration and fulfillment of efforts for people empowerment and social justice.

In the said pastoral letter, the Archbishop noted that the national and local elections are an opportunity for the people to express their hope for a better future and it is crucial for Filipino citizens to understand the political situation so they may cast a meaningful vote.

Oligarchy

Msgr. Rodel Cajot, Vicar General and CLAC Spiritual Director, said that the pastoral letter's premise that the country has a mere semblance of democracy is an eye-opener. "The rule of the few-oligarchy-is proof that our people are not really empowered. If people are not empowered, we cannot have a government of, by and for the people. There is really a need for Catholics to be more involved in the public square so we can have true democracy."

In explaining the current political landscape, the Archbishop cites that "only 1% of the total Philippine population belongs to the ruling class that crafts the social, political and economic life of the country. On the other hand, only 9% belong to the middle class while the great majority, 90% of the population, belongs to the lower class. "

According to the Archbishop, there is no genuine democracy when Filipinos are in massive poverty and only handful elite running the country. "There is an urgent need to confront this truth so we can hope for the right kind of change."

"To hope for democracy is to hope for the creation of a middle class. And the middle class can only be created when there is genuine people empowerment." Archbishop Legaspi said on how to bring about democracy in the country.

Wake-up call

Retired Judge Novelita Llaguno, archdiocesan president of the Apostleship of Prayer (AP) said that with the pastoral letter "there is more reason to translate prayer to action."

"During the convention, I asked myself, what else I can do in my little way," Llaguno adds. "AP is a prayer group but we all know that prayer should be vibrant and dynamic. Prayer without deeds is nothing. The pastoral letter is a wakeup call. We have to help each other."

Dr. Fe Nepomuceno of the St. John the Evangelist Parish said she was moved by the reaction of the participants in the convention. "You can really feel the sincerity. Everyone wants to see change in our country."

Cajot said further that after the workshop, many lay leaders are requesting for a trainors' training so they can also spread the Archbishop's call to the barangays. "We hope to create a multiplier effect,"

For his part, CLAC president Atty. Minetta Estanislao said that the council has incorporated the pastoral letter in the voters' education being conducted by PPCRV. "The pastoral letter is inspiring. The participants are very enthusiastic about it. They are eager to echo the message so we included the salient points in the module for voters' education that will be conducted in different barangays."

Cajot added that the pastoral letter reinforced the thrust of voters' education. CLAC convenes annually in July. But when the Archbishop issued the pastoral letter, the council decided to convene in January. "The pastoral letter is very timely because it explains the foundation why the Church should be involved in the election and in the country's political life. We need to strengthen our advocacy so we can be catalysts for empowerment."

Clergy workshop

On February 15, the clergy held a workshop on the pastoral letter. Fr. Rex Alarcon, Director of the Naga Parochial School, said that the workshop highlights "social justice as a concern of the church."

"In the pastoral letter, the Archbishop reminds us that the change of leaders does not mean change of systems. We cannot expect that the election will lead to a change of systems. We have to be prepared for a long term task if we want social change," Alarcon added.

Hope for social justice is one of the "hopes" stated in the pastoral letter. Archbishop Legaspi says that "while people empowerment is an essential requisite for democracy, the virtue required to create and nourish democracy is social justice. The equal dignity of human persons requires the effort to reduce excessive social and economic inequalities. Bridging the gap between the rich and poor, the powerful and the marginalized, the elite and the lower class-this is the essence of social justice."

He also enumerated prevalent attitudes that run counter to the virtue of social justice "when we are concerned only about our family's welfare, when we accumulate material possessions excessively even if through legal means, when our lives are measured by the income and properties we acquire, we create greater inequality between rich and poor. To be socially just, we must break the apathy and indifference, and begin looking at ourselves as members of our community."

Fr. Wilmer Tria, one of the facilitators of the workshop, said "The task of the Church is gargantuan. She has to be bold and to break new grounds as she shepherds her flock towards social transformation. We, priests, need to go back to the basics of evangelization-by breeding moral virtues such as social justice."

During the workshop, the clergy agreed to include the call of the pastoral letter in Lenten Recollections to ensure deeper understanding among the faithful and animate them towards social change.

The Archbishop reminded that "people empowerment and social justice is not a work of one man, or even one administration. It is the work of one people-the people of God-that are in different human institutions and sectors of society."

"All our efforts for people empowerment, all our struggles for social justice find fullness and meaning when they lead us to the kingdom of God," said the Archbishop in the pastoral letter.

"When our sight is not set on seeking the Kingdom of God, all our labors are designed upon our own individual self-centered will. Thus, the marginalized will continue to be disadvantaged, the poor will only become poorer and the oppressed will never find justice."

The Archbishop concludes referring to the Magnificat. He says Mary "echoes God's promise of His Kingdom where the poor are no longer powerless: He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly (Luke 1:52). Her Magnificat moves us to be a constituency of the kingdom of God and not of the kingdom of man."

The reference to the Magnificat invokes the Marian character of the Archdiocese of Caceres, the seat of the devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia. The Archdiocese is celebrating the 300th year of the devotion this year. (Fr. Louie Occiano)