Tagbilaran, Bohol — Bishop Alberto Uy of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, recalling the deaths of three Catholic priests in the country in six months, remarked that “it is costly to follow Jesus.”
Uy mentioned this during the Mass held at the St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral on Friday for the slain priests.
The bishop said priests are not enemies but are gifts God has given to guide people. “Ang mga pari gasa sa Diyos para sa iyang katawhan. Dili sila atong kaaway, sila ang nagmatuto ug nagpalambo sa pagtuo sa Diyos,” he said.
Some 3,000 people, wearing black shirts “to express deep sorrow and indignation,” participated in the Mass.
On June 10, Fr. Richmond Nilo was shot dead inside a chapel while preparing to celebrate the Sunday mass in Zaragosa, Nueva Ecija. He was the third Catholic priest to be killed in the Philippines in the past six months.
Prof. Marianito Luspo who attended the Mass noted that violence and crime happen in many Catholic countries.
“It happened in many so-called Catholic countries because if people do not stand up and say enough then we shall have enabled evil to prevail over us,” said Luspo.
“That’s why I am here because the church calls for my presence here. I can always lend my little voice for the voice of grief, the voice of sadness and above all, the voice of protest that this is happening at all,” added Luspo.
Meanwhile, in a resolution passed during its session last Thursday, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Bohol also condemned the murder of the priests. /vvp