A MEMBER of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said the Catholic Church was open to have a dialogue with President Rodrigo Duterte even after the President branded the Church as the “most hypocritical institution.”
“We will not stop spreading the Gospel of life in defense of human dignity. We are open to dialogues. This is always the better solution to anything.. we have to sit and talk,” Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos said in a statement.
The Bishop said the Church is open towards dialogue on issues affecting the country and stressed the need to preserve the Church’s uncompromising pro-life stand.
During the closing of the 4th World Apostolic Congress in Mercy in Bagac, Bataan, Santos said that “You listen to them, present everything, and let’s observe what are the things that we can work together [on] and things that we are going to avoid.”
The prelate said the Church could not be silent on the increasing number of extrajudicial killings in the country and the government’s push for the revival of the death penalty.
“It is to sustain life, not to make it suffer. It is to prolong life, not to suppress it. It is to maintain life, not to murder it,” Santos said.
The bishop added if someone had a shameful or scandalous past, “remember that person can still be redeemed and renew his life.”
“Even if he is the worst sinner he can still be sorry and correct his life. There is hope,” he said. “There is still help. And there is still healing. It is because our God is God of mercy.”
A Malacañang official has sought a dialogue with the bishops, days after President Rodrigo Duterte’s tirade against the Church for criticizing his war on drugs.
Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said it would be best for both parties to embrace dialogue in efforts to address the country’s problems.