Caritas vows to work to eradicate poverty, uphold rights in 2018

As the country marked the beginning of 2018 on Monday, the Catholic Church’s social action arm vowed to work to eradicate poverty and uphold life and human rights.

“We pray and work for a Philippines prosperous in human and spiritual values, committed to eradicate poverty and corruption, dedicated in upholding human rights and the sacredness of life, unflinching in its fights against illegal drugs and human trafficking, enlightened to choose worthy leaders, and a Philippines proud of its heritage, yet open to the family of nations,” Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona said.

Tirona is the national director of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-Nassa), also known as Caritas Philippines. It is the humanitarian, development and advocacy arm of the CBCP.

In his New Year’s message, Tirona said 2017 brought many challenges that almost divided the nation, and yet it also brought many other things to be thankful for – such as showing the Filipinos’ “resilient spirit made us rise above the numerous typhoons.”

“Despite the many environmental struggles we have faced, our efforts to protect the environment especially against mining have been sustained and produced positive results. The anti-drug campaign has endeavored us to stand up for life and uphold human rights,” he added.

The archbishop said that there were still many reasons to be hopeful for as social media, for example, springs with viral posts of Filipinos doing good deeds.

“Instead of negative news and hate, let us make it a habit to share the good news, and do good things no matter how small. From hope, we can make love, compassion and Caritas viral in our homes,” he said. /atm