Monday, January 21, 2008 Cardinal Vidal hints at concern over local issues, as thousands fill Basilica By Nancy R. Cudis Sun.Star Staff Reporter
BEFORE thousands of devotees early yesterday morning, Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal raised several issues in one mass even as he urged the Catholic flock to be like the children, trusting and faithful.
Three hours before the Sinulog grand parade started, the archbishop posed questions for the mass participants to reflect upon.
“What is the truth in car smuggling, in land swapping, in shabu-making, in TV ratings, in sex scandals, in squatter homes demolished without relocation sites, in vendors whose stalls are demolished, in unborn babies found in government restrooms?” he said.
At the mention of land swapping, shabu-making and TV ratings, the crowd reacted with amusement.
The Cebu City and Provincial Governments have aborted a land swap deal that stands to affect over 4,000 families in 11 barangays. Meanwhile, television networks GMA and ABS-CBN are bickering over their ratings. And last Jan. 16, stalls of several Sto. Niño vendors beside the basilica were demolished to ease pedestrian traffic.
But the prelate was serious when he asked, “Is the character and right conduct in our country measured by credit cards and cell phones?” Cardinal Vidal stressed he is “only asking.”
Joke
He celebrated the Pontifical Mass at the Basilica del Sto. Niño Pilgrim Center, where he greeted pilgrims, tourists, balikbayans, devotees, the sick, the hungry and the prisoners.
“Kamo mga prisoners, anha lang usa mo sa prisohan kay lagi prisoners man mo, dili disco dancers,” he joked.
Earlier, the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) requested that its inmates be allowed to join the festivities and perform the dance that made them an Internet phenomenon—an idea that did not sit well with the cardinal.
Outside, the Visayan Electric Co. fixed the power lines that caused a temporary blackout in the vicinity, including the basilica. The mass went on smoothly, and power was restored toward its end.
“This is a celebration of our forefathers. This is an act of faith that is telling and showing. Through the years, you and I prayed to make our faith truthful and trusting. We prayed to God to make us like our own children. It is a prayer until now, as we approach 2009 when we celebrate the 75th year of the Archdiocese of Cebu,” said Vidal.
He then called on the flock to look at Jesus and listen to him like the children who are trusting and faithful so that “we will trust each other and be able to ask (about social issues).”
After the homily, devotees sang “Batubalani sa Gugma” for Sto. Niño as several of them released into the sky red, yellow, and green balloons.
