SHOW God’s mercy by showing care for the neglected, including suspected drug personalities who wish to return to the fold, Cebu’s most prominent religious leader said.
Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma gave the message as he closed the holy door of the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral yesterday, a week before the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Palma delivered the message more than a week after Albuera, Leyte Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr. was shot and killed by police operatives in what they claimed was a legal operation against him inside his cell in the Baybay Provincial Jail.
In his homily, Archbishop Palma said that showing compassion and mercy for others has been a challenging task for the Archdiocese and its faithful, with the number of drug surrenderers increasing every day.
As of October this year, around 74,000 suspected drug addicts and pushers have surrendered to the authorities in this region alone.
Palma said that due to the daunting task, all sectors, including the Church, must work together in solving the plight of drug surrenderers.
“Sa atong pag-experience sa kalooy sa Diyos, dal-on nato kining kalooy sa atong mga kaigsuonan (As we experience God’s mercy, let us bring this same mercy to our brothers and sisters),” he said.
Respect
In an interview, the archbishop also urged the authorities to respect the rights of suspected drug personalities, especially those that were already detained and awaiting trial.
Initial findings in the Senate investigation on Espinosa’s death have led some senators, including former national police chief Panfilo Lacson, to suspect that the fatal shooting was premeditated.
Archbishop Palma told reporters that he supports the investigations on the mayor’s death, as there are lingering questions on the circumstances that led to it. He said he hopes the Senate will ferret out the truth.
Operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) 8 have been criticized for how they conducted the operation that killed Espinosa and another detainee, Raul Yap.
“Bisan ang mga tawo nga niako sa ilang sayop, may right gihapon sila na respetohon ang ilang kinabuhi kon mao man gyud ang nahitabo kay Mayor Espinosa (Even people who have admitted to wrongdoings have the right to have their lives respected, if that is indeed what happened to Mayor Espinosa),” Archbishop Palma added.
As another example of mercy, he allowed churchgoers to pass through the door in the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral before he formally closed it.
Brick
Once the door was shut, the archbishop placed a brick from the original Holy Door from St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome on one side of it.
The brick had arrived as a gift from Rome to signify Cebu’s role as one of the archdioceses whose holy doors were opened during the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy that was declared by Pope Francis last Dec. 8, 2015.
Aside from the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, jubilee churches in other parts of Cebu such as the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Carcar City, Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Vicente Ferrer in Bogo City, Saints Peter and Paul Parish in Bantayan Island and St. Joseph Parish in San Francisco towns in Camotes also closed their doors in ceremonies.
The closing of the holy doors worldwide precedes the end of the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy.
In Cebu, Palma is set to open the Year of the Parishes and the Communion of Communities during the Solemnity of Christ the King on Nov. 20.