Church leaders, workers gather in Cebu for confab
Church leaders and workers nationwide will gather in Cebu City for a national conference from Sept. 12 to 15. It will be held in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Blessed John Paul II’s encyclical Laborem Exercens (On Human Work) published on Sept. 14, 1981.
The national conference will be hosted by the Archdiocese of Cebu to deepen the church people’s understanding of the workers’ plight, to forge wider and stronger unity, and make resolutions for concrete action in advancing workers’ rights.
Leaders of the church and labor groups, joining hands to advance the needs and welfare of “our brothers and sisters, the workers,” organized the event dubbed Church People-Workers’ Solidarity (CWS) and themed, “Church People and Workers in Solidarity, reclaim the dignity of human work.”
This is in honor of Blessed JP II’s Laborem Exercens, which declared that the church is committed to be in solidarity with the workers, to become truly a church of the poor.
CWS convenors include labor leaders, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action director Bishop Broderick Pabillo, and ecumenical church leaders such as Iglesia Filipina Independiente Supreme Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana.
The opening ceremony of the conference on Sept. 13 at 8 a.m. at the Mariners’ Court, Pier 1, Cebu City, is open to the public.
It will highlight the message of Archbishop Palma, keynote address of former CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, presentations of Ibon Foundation on the plight of workers and Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza on the church’s social teachings, and testimonies of workers from all over the country.
The public is invited to participate in the culminating activities during the last of the conference on Sept. 15. Activities include a solidarity walk for the human dignity of work at 9 a.m. from Plaza Independencia to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, where the Pontifical Mass will be officiated by Palma at 10 a.m.
CWS aims to propagate the social teachings of the Church on labor, business and the economy and contribute in the quest for the improvement of workers’ conditions.
CWS convenor Bishop Alminaza said, “God’s supreme commandment is to love God and our neighbor. Thus, we must unite with our marginalized brothers and sisters.”
For confirmation of attendance on Sept. 13, contact Ayen at 416-8135 or 254-6326.
