A Catholic bishop turned emotional during Mass on Sunday as he condemned the toll of corruption on ordinary Filipinos, saying the poor “always suffer the most.”
In his homily at the National Shrine of Nuestra Señora de Regla Parish in Lapu-Lapu City, Bishop Raul Dael of Tandag cited the deadly flooding in Cebu province, where many victims were poor families.
The Mass marked the fifth novena Mass of the parish in celebration of its Nov. 21 fiesta and coincided with the ninth World Day of the Poor.
He said disasters repeatedly expose the same failures: negligence, environmental abuse and corruption that diverts resources away from communities.
“That’s greed,” Dael said, his voice cracking. “I hope those people who victimized the poor can listen to their cries and to the cries of the environment.”
He urged officials and citizens alike to confront what he called a ‘destroyed heart’ at the root of corruption.
“A corrupt heart is a heart that is destroyed,” Dael said. “When greed takes over, the cries of the poor and the cries of creation are ignored.”
“And when the heart is destroyed, it cannot love anymore. The poor, the needy — they become invisible to it,” he added.
Amid mounting protests triggered by the flood-control scandal involving billions in public funds, he said the goal must not simply be to jail the corrupt but to transform systems.
The bishop also described corruption as gaining wealth without honest work.
“A good conscience is the best pillow,” he said, urging people to work honestly and uphold dignity even without riches.
