Bishop urges faithful to speak out against killings

A Catholic Church leader called on the faithful “to speak out and not remain silent against the growing number of drug-related killings in the country.”

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines – Episcopal Commission on the Laity, said the public should be alarmed and not remain indifferent over the more than 6,000 victims of extra judicial killings (EJKs) for the past six months.

Speaking at the 4th World Apostolic Congress on Mercy, Pabillo cited the growing number of drug-related deaths over the past six months. “Six thousand people have been killed. That means more than 30,000 people directly affected, orphaned of their father, their brother, their sons and daughters, their husbands. These thousands are deeply traumatized and now have become poorer.”

The Church leader urged the thousands of congress participants “to speak out for the poor, to listen to them, and to be available for them.”

“If we are true to our call to be a Church of the Poor, we cannot as a Church keep silent on these issues. People tag me as activist bishop for speaking out often, but I am not speaking out for myself but for the poor and the voiceless,” Pabillo said.

He added that to be a true follower of Christ, one must not be afraid to be identified with the poor and the oppressed. “It is not an insult to be tagged and identified with the poor and the oppressed. It is what I am supposed to be, to be a follower of Christ,” Pabillo stressed.

Pabillo invited the Faithful to join the Walk for Life in Manila on Feb. 18 to denounce the extra judicial killings in the country.