TAGLE. photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on Saturday urged Catholics to stamp out corruption in the country as he led Church leaders in consecrating the Philippines to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In his homily at San Fernando de Dilao Parish in Paco, Manila, Tagle said the consecration was also a call for conversion among Catholic Filipinos. “Let us promise to cleanse our hearts and cleanse the heart of the country. Cleanse the heart of the country of corruption,” he said.
“Corruption has no role in a country consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary,” he added.
The Church leader also urged the faithful to turn their backs on discrimination, avarice and exploitation.
“To whom do we belong? To make an act of consecration to God using beautiful words when in reality our minds and hearts belong to false gods is an insult to the true God,” Tagle said.
“And so, in our act of consecration, we are telling God, ‘You have made us Your own and we are totally Yours. We will not allow ourselves to belong to other gods no matter how inviting they may be. You are our God and we belong to You alone,’” he added.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines set June 8 as the day for holding simultaneous rites consecrating the country to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, whose feast day was also marked yesterday.
The consecration was scheduled at 10 a.m. yesterday in various churches across the country.