The Roman Catholic Church has devoted the nine Simbang Gabi masses to speak out against extra-judicial killings and the death penalty.
Bishop Julito Cortes said the homilies for the Advent season weave together reflections on those themes, including the Year of the Parish, and a homage to Mary.
The homilies reflect on our present social realities finding meaning and hope in God with us, said Bishop Cortes.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has been critical of the government’s war on drugs, which has so far claimed some 6,000 lives.
In a statement signed by its president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, the CBCP said that justice could not be attained by seeking vindication of a crime through the execution of alleged offenders.
In his Bacong parish, Msgr. Julius Heruela delivered a homily during the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 9. He narrated one time he was saying mass for an EJK victim whose loved ones were holding back tears because they were afraid of being identified as relatives. “They could not [even] grieve. In that instance, EJK did not just kill one person — it killed an entire family,” Monsignor Heruela lamented.
But the Monsignor soon found himself on the receiving end of several threats through text messages coming from unidentified cellphone numbers. The text messages were threatening to liquidate him, or were calling him names. “It was an attack against the Church,” he said.
The threats initially came as surprise for Monsignor Heruela as it was the first time he delivered a homily against EJKs. “To think that that mass was held in a mountain barangay of Bacong,” he said.
He said he also received private messages through his Facebook account from “FB friends” who expressed surprise on his stand.
But the threats and criticisms have only given Monsignor Heruela more courage to speak out against EJKs. “I thank those [negative] texters for emboldening me to continue [the crusade against EJKs],” he said.
He called on the faithful not to be fooled. “While everyone’s attention is focused on EJKs, the Supreme Court, on the other hand, acquitted former President Arroyo. The Supreme Court had also allowed the burial of the body of former President Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Many things are happening while we are looking elsewhere!,” Monsignor Heruela cautioned.
He said he hopes that others would be emboldened to take a similar stand against EJKs.
