Catholic religious superiors assail red-tagging among their ranks

LOUD AND CLEAR Members of religious groups say their piece on the anti-terror law with placards as they march to the Supreme Court. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

MANILA, Philippines — The country’s Catholic major superiors and consecrated people on Monday assailed supposed red-tagging among their ranks with a vow that they will not be daunted in pursuing their mission to uphold justice and peace.

In a statement published on the website of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Conference of Major Superiors in the Philippines (CMSP) asserted that red-tagging and name-calling “will not cow them.”

CMSP, previously known as the Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines (AMRSP), did not cite any particular case of red-tagging.

“Some among our ranks were red-tagged; irresponsible labels and name-calling will not cow us. To serve the people of God is never wrong,” said the CMSP.

“To be in solidarity with the struggles, dreams, and hopes of our people is demanded by our life of consecration to God and his people,” it added.

The organization then urged its members to keep working with justice, peace advocates, and environmental and human rights defenders.

“Let us go to the margins and peripheries, the new frontiers and spheres of our missionary presence – socio- economic, political, religious and cultural, technological and minister to the vulnerable and the deprived,” it said.

“We commit ourselves [to] working to dismantle unjust structures in society, and in their place, help build new ones in a spirit of reconciliation, justice and peace, as our Christian faith demands,” the group further said.

Apart from vowing to continue in its mission, the major superiors also vowed to “stand for the truth” amid “systematic disinformation, misinformation, (and) historical distortions” in the country.

“As Church, we are challenged by our present time and context to stand for truth,” according to them. “The Church will not and cannot be neutral on moral and ethical issues and concerns.”

They also vowed to continue working for “ecological integrity, human rights and human dignity, citizen engagement and good governance, interfaith dialogue, and safeguarding the minors and vulnerable in our various pastoral ministries.”

The statement was released after it held an online convention from July 11 to 14, attended by more than 150 delegates.

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