The Most Rev. Bishop Julito Cortes, bishop of the Diocese of Dumaguete, has called on the faithful to unite and shun evil in its different forms that plague the country, the workplace and even the homes, causing divisiveness and costing lives.
Bishop Cortes, in his homily during a Mass held Tuesday in observance of Pro-Life Month, exhorted people to come together and fight evil, which he says is a stark reality and divides communities, civil servants and families.
The prelate stressed that people must not fail to ask God for deliverance from evil, saying that this “humongous” task will not succeed unless everyone will come together and fight it.
Evil takes on many forms, such as the “harassed face of a drug addict wanting to earn money, the pained face of a mother watching his son behind bars for stealing, the anguished face of a wife of a drug courier shot dead on the street, or the pitiful sight of a fetus rotting,” Bishop Cortes pointed out.
Cortes led thousands of pro-life advocates attending a caravan/prayer rally at the Macias Sports Center in chanting “Yes to Life” amid rising public concern over the spate of killings in Dumaguete City and other parts of the province in the past several months.
About 80 to 90 percent of the killings, mostly by shooting, have been attributed by the police to the illegal drugs trade.
The bishop also underscored the need for collaboration and support with local government leaders and law enforcers in addressing criminality as individually, no one can succeed on their own in addressing crime problems.
“We will not succeed individually, i don’t think the local government units with its powers can succeed on its own, the Church with its prayer warriors cannot succeed on their own, we need everyone in this journey called life, because evil is partly real,” according to him.
Bishop Cortes said evil has the ability to kill not just the body but the spirit as well, the spirit of hope and courage in the face of adversity.
But, he said it is the Lord who has the last say in this world in that He conquered evil by his death and resurrection.
The prelate also called on priests, the religious and the lay faithful to revisit and strengthen the concept of Basic Ecclesial Communities as these would help in the fight against criminality, especially the proliferation of illegal drugs.
“We do not belong to death but rather to life as we are a people of faith,” Bishop Cortes said. (PNA/JFP)
