AS FILIPINO Catholics continue their reflections, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) vice president Bishop Pablo Virgilio David on Thursday, April 18, called on the Filipino faithful to consider renouncing evil not just during the Holy Week but more so in the forthcoming May 13 polls.

In his Facebook post, David said reflections during the Holy Week would be more meaningful if they are brought beyond “ritual pietism”.

“As we soak in the spirit of our Church Liturgies and our popular devotions during this Holy Week, would it be possible for us to go beyond ritual pietism and bridge the anomalous gap between faith and social life? Between spirituality and concrete actions for personal and social transformation? Can we allow our moral convictions to take flesh in our pursuit of social justice and a more equitable social order?” asked David.

“Even more concretely, in the coming election, can we consciously renounce evil and stand courageously for the values upheld by our Christian faith through our votes this coming May?” he furthered.

The Kalookan bishop said this is imperative as being a disciple of Christ means being on the side of the poor, marginalized, excluded, ostracized, or disenfranchised.

“In the context of the present government’s war against illegal drugs, concretely, it is to make a moral stand against the outright condemnation of people with substance use disorder as ‘non-humans’ against the extrajudicial killing of people labeled indiscriminately as ‘drug suspects’ or ‘criminals’ without the benefit of a due process,” said David.

He explained that this is because the church will always push for giving people the opportunity to change.

“Faith in redemption is precisely about holding on to God’s mercy and the possibility of salvation, even for sinners and those we judge as undeserving of God’s grace,” said David.

To note, David is known as a staunch critic of the Duterte administration’s war against illegal drugs.

David has already earned the ire of President Duterte by calling the former a “son of a whore” while accusing him of being involved in illegal drugs. (HDT/ SunStar Philippines)