Catholic bishops: Pray for INC too

CATHOLICS should also pray for the Iglesia ni Cristo amid the controversy that the influential religious group is undergoing, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Archbishop Socrates Villegas said on Saturday.

“Ka Angel called for prayers. We should pray for whoever is asking for it regardless of condition, regardless of nationality, regardless of belief,” Villegas said.

“We would ask God that we hope that they would be able to overcome their current situation and resolve it without causing much negative effect on anyone’s lives,” the prelated added.

Villegas made the remarks as Malacañang said the government cannot interfere in the INC’s internal dispute and can only limit itself to action if any crime is committed.

In a weekly radio interview, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte on said the only thing the State can do is to determine whether there was a crime committed by parties involved.

“Remember, the State is only concerned with any possibility that a crime may have been committed, but the State cannot involve itself with regards to other issues,” Valte said in a radio interview over a State-owned Radyo ng Bayan.

She said Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has already ordered a team from the National Bureau of Investigation to verify allegations of crimes.

On Wednesday night, Felix Nathaniel “Ka Angel” Manalo uploaded a 1:54-minute video on YouTube claiming threats to his life and that of his mother and siblings.

The voice of a woman who introduced herself as Cristina also appealed to INC members for help because their lives were supposedly in danger, and urged them to rescue her children Angel and daughter Lottie as well as their companions.

Both Angel and his mother were expelled from the church shortly after the video was released, as were Marco Erano Villanueva Manalo and Lolita “Lottie” Manalo Hernandez, Angel’s brother and sister.