Bacolod City Catholics hold a prayer rally on the reimposition of the death penalty, on Dec. 12, 2016 (PHOTO BY CARLA P. GOMEZ/ INQUIRER VISAYAS)
BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental — At least 1,500 parishioners and students joined a prayer rally on Monday afternoon to protest the plan to reimpose the death penalty.
The group converged at the Bacolod Public Plaza about 5 p.m. and walked in a procession to the San Sebastian Cathedral.
Fr. Felix Pasquin, rector of the San Sebastian Cathedral, the seat of the Bacolod diocese, said the prayer rally kicked off the diocesan-wide education campaign against the reimposition of the death penalty.
Last week, the House committee on justice approved for plenary deliberation a bill that sought to impose death penalty for more than 20 heinous offenses, including drug offenses, rape with homicide, kidnapping for ransom, and arson with death.
Bacolod Bishop Patricio Buzon called for prayers against the passage of the death penalty and for lawmakers to vote against the measure.
“We, in the Diocese of the Bacolod, are joining the urgent initiative of many dioceses in the country to oppose the railroading of the passage of the death penalty bill,” he said
Buzon officiated a concelebrated Mass after the procession to commemorate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Monday.
The San Sebastian Cathedral has for the past years served as a symbol for the diocese’s continued effort to educate the faithful regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church on various issues.
The Our Lady of Guadalupe is the patroness of the pro-life movements, according to Pasquin. SFM
Bacolod City Catholics against the reimposition of the death penalty parade the tarpaulin bearing the words of Pope Francis against capital punishment, on Dec. 12, 2016. (PHOTO BY CARLA P. GOMEZ/ INQUIRER VISAYAS)
Catholic parishioners in Bacolod City join a procession against the reimposition of the death penalty on Dec. 12, 2016. (PHOTO BY CARLA P. GOMEZ/ INQUIRER VISAYAS)