BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The Diocese of Bacolod is not backing any candidates in this year’s synchronized national and local elections.
The diocese made this clear amid a growing number of religious groups making announcements as to their favored candidates.
Reverend Father Chris Gonzales, head of the diocese’s Social Action Center, said they remain nonpartisan and even though some Church members and groups are aligning themselves with certain candidates this decision does not represent the stance of the Church itself.
Gonzales said the Diocese of Bacolod is like a “mother” who does not play favorites with her children.
What the diocese is espousing, he said, is for voters to be discerning, for candidates to have integrity and honesty, and for the elections to be clean, peaceful, orderly, and credible.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is poised to issue a statement on the upcoming national and local elections by the end of February, according to a post on the CBCP website.
CBCP president and Caloocan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said they are following a process they called “collective discernment” following the stand of Pope Francis on synodality, which is a process of fraternal collaboration and discernment among bishops.
David said there will be focus group discussions that would include the bishops, members of religious congregations, and lay leaders.
“The Church is not only comprised of the bishops. We have the bigger sector of the Church, which is the laity and other religious partners,” the prelate was quoted as saying.
“The drafting of our pastoral statement is still in progress and our time frame is we will release it before the end of February,” he said.
But the CBCP directed dioceses to form “circles of discernment” — groups engaged in forums or activities that will help parishioners as they decide who to vote for on May 9.
“The circles of discernment … are a gathering of people, a particular activity wherein parishioners are invited to join so that different speakers who are experts in different fields may discuss the issues,” said Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of CBCP’s permanent committee on public affairs.
Priests have been divided on the issue of how involved they should be in advocating for certain candidates.
But the normative rule, Secillano said, was that the pulpit must not be used for political purposes.
This was also the sentiment of Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma who reminded priests not to use the lectern to campaign for the politicians they were backing.
Priests, however, have been given the freedom to support particular candidates in their own personal capacity.
“As a general rule, [Catholic] Church leaders should be nonpartisan. As a bishop, I would tell priests not to use the Church, the pulpit in particular, to endorse a particular candidate,” Palma said in a separate interview./PN
