CBCP: Damaged churches in Marawi need to be restored

The social action arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines expressed hope that churches and other places of worship damaged in the Marawi City siege would be restored soon.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez stressed the importance of repairing places of worship which were either damaged or destroyed in the war on terror in Marawi, a predominantly Muslim city.

“Places of worship are important, so the churches should be really restored,” Gariguez said in an interview over church-run Radio Veritas.

“Let us all continue helping those affected by the siege that their lives may return to normal,” he said.

The priest is executive secretary of the National Secretariat for Social Action, the CBCP’s social action arm, which was leading the Catholic Church’s efforts in helping those displaced by the war.

Among the heavily damaged places of worship was the St. Mary’s Cathedral. This was where Fr. Teresito “Chito” Soganub and other church workers were snatched by the terrorists.