The head of the Catholic bishops leadership urged social action ministers to focus on social change along with humanitarian and community development.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said this includes politics, economics, and culture.
“We should reorient our social action priorities towards social change, towards the transformation of societal structures… in the light of the Gospel and social doctrine of the Church,” David said.
He made this call in a video message shown Tuesday to the participants of the ongoing National Social Action General Assembly (Nasaga) at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Iloilo City.
The CBCP head emphasized that the Church’s ministry for human development is motivated by “the love of Christ” and not by any ideology or political belief.
“Faith compels us in love to see in every neighbor a brother or sister, especially among the last, least, and lost… Impelled by faith and love, we inevitably get involved in concrete actions for justice,” David said.
He also urged taking the Church’s social teachings seriously in social action work.
“Please soak yourselves in the social teachings of the Church, which alone can orient you to the foundation of social action—our stubborn insistence on the dignity, the innate dignity of all human beings as creatures in the image and likeness of God,” he added.
More than 250 delegates from 67 dioceses are attending the meeting themed “Social Action Network: Journeying to Empower Communities in Faith, Love, and Justice”, which ends on June 21.
Now on its 41st assembly, the biennial gathering includes Caritas Philippines’ board members who are bishops, social action directors, and lay workers.
Nasaga is also where they share experiences and strategize solutions to address critical social issues.
Topics include national issues affecting Filipino communities like the situation in the West Philippine Sea, the role of the Church in politics, and the current energy situation.
