Bishop urges talks on death penalty return

CABANATUAN CITY—A Catholic bishop in Nueva Ecija province has asked the faithful to organize community discussion groups on the call to restore the death penalty.

“Like the Holy Virgin, let us absorb the Words of the Lord in our hearts and in our conscience, by forming ‘circles of discernment’ in our communities so we can discuss and pray over this issue,” Bishop Sofronio Bancud of the Diocese of Cabanatuan said in a pastoral statement he read on Sunday.

Bancud said the Church acknowledged the problems of the country, such as poverty and corruption, crime and terrorism, illegal drugs and syndicates that victimized the poor.

He urged the public, the government and the legislature to work together in knowing the cause of these problems and finding long term solutions.

“In the face of worsening criminality and killings in the country, and because of the proposal to restore the death penalty, the Church again implores the public to unite and discuss these developments according to our faith and our moral foundation,” he said.

“A nation and a government which welcome executions have demeaned human dignity and have violated the Word of God,” he said, adding that it is the duty of the state to keep peace, order and justice “but the penalty it metes must also help the wrongdoer redeem himself and correct his mistakes.” —ARMAND GALANG