Thursday, December 20, 2007
Erase killing-field impression: Vidal
WORRIED over the cases of vigilante killings and fraternity-related crimes, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal appealed to Cebuanos to help him maintain Cebu as a Christian city and cradle of Christianity in the country.
“We are also Marian devotees. I hope we will remain that way, especially when we are creating the impression that we are a ‘killing field,’ thanks to the news on vigilante killings, fraternities, and abortionists, who just easily throw away fetuses,” said the prelate in Cebuano.
He spoke before churchgoers yesterday in his fourth dawn mass at the Alliance of Two Hearts Parish in Banawa, Cebu City.
Since December 2004, at least 181 people, most of them with criminal records, were summarily executed in Cebu City.
Abortionists
One of Cebu’s most wanted persons, Aristotle Aves, suspected for a series of fraternity-related crimes, was captured early this month.
On the issue of abortion, an Allan Guttmacher Institute survey released last July showed that 17 out of every 1,000 women in the Visayas resort to abortion.
In 2000, figures showed Central Visayas as having the highest rate of abortions with 24 out of every 1,000 women.
In an earlier interview, Vidal told reporters that if “politicos” will see the faces of people who have undergone abortion, they will be able to ask themselves, “What are we doing?”
Occurences
“I have seen people who have come to the office because they have committed abortion. You cannot figure (out) their faces. One thing is telling me, ‘How can I erase the face of my child?’ A voice in me wants to ask them, ‘Why did you do that man?’ he said.
In yesterday’s mass, Vidal also expressed worry that Cebu is fast becoming a gambling and prostitution den because of “legal and illegal gambling and the mushrooming of motels, Internet cafes, and the like.”
“We have not even included yet the issue of overpricing caused by those with greed and want of fame in the political and economic aspect,” he added.
The prelate then challenged the flock present during his dawn mass to be the front liners in demonstrating evidence of goodness and purity everyday.
One way to start, Vidal said, would be contemplating on the alliance of the hearts of Mary and Jesus according to the Bible, not according to the “newspapers, radio, or television.”
“So that we can show that our devotion to the alliance of the two hearts is sincere, we need to be grounded with sound doctrine and guided with strict discipline. This way, we can properly contemplate on the face of Jesus for this Christmas season, for the new year, and for the following new year, 2009, when we will celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Cebu,” he said.
Today, Vidal is scheduled to hold dawn mass in Christ the King Parish in Barangay Alang-Alang, Mandaue City. (NRC)
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (December 20, 2007 issue)
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