PHILIPPINE Catholic leaders have embarked on a Marian religious sea voyage for peace amid the ongoing territorial dispute between the country and China over the West Philippine Sea.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas, who led the fluvial procession off Barangay Cato in Infanta, Pangasinan in Ilocos on July 16, reiterated the church’s call for brotherhood with Filipinos and the Chinese people, citing its centuries-old relationship and as both members of mankind.
“The war of government, the war of ideologies and the battle of politics can be won by the brotherhood of people. Before there was government, there were only loving, patriotic citizens. We are the peace that we dream for the world,” Villegas said in a statement during the voyage on July 16.
They also carried the Blessed Virgin Mary on the boat, to coincide with the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
“We will pray for both China and the Philippines. We will pray not just for protection from conflict but to make all of us, Chinese and Filipino together, as peacemakers. Beyond human ideologies and political parties, the peoples of China and the Philippines belong to the same humanity,” he added.
As hundreds of Marian devotees and fisherfolk joined the fluvial, Villegas also led the prayer, while urging the Filipino people to “renew our faith and trust in the power of the rosary.”
“Honorable leaders in government, you are in office by God’s design and by the people’s will. Give us the competence of statesmen not a student council government that made vulgar men models and that glorified treason. Bring the groans and pains and anguish of our countrymen to the international institutions of justice and order,” Villegas said.
“Give us a government with a sense of urgency in this time of emergency because we are standing by the precipice of continental conflict. War is not our path,” the church leader said.
Amid the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling, which upholds the rights of the Philippines over the disputed territory, China has continued its belligerent stance toward the Filipino forces and fisherfolk in the area.
In his homily, Villegas maintained that “we are not anti-China.”
According to Villegas, the peace of the Philippines “will not come from the hands of super powers but from the heart of God and the hand of the Immaculate Mother.”
“We pray for our county but we also pray for brother China. It has thousands of years of civilization in the vast continent of Asia. May it use its civilization to preserve peace and harmony among nations according to the ancient teachings of Chinese wise men,” he said.
The archbishop, who was accompanied by Alaminos Bishop Napoleon Sipalay Jr. and other church leaders during the fluvial procession, also acknowledged how other citizens of China are living “in the darkness of religious persecution.”
He prayed that they “receive the light of hope of our Lady’s consoling presence.”
“Amid the trials and pains that the Chinese people endure, day after day, may our Lady who watches over China in Sheshen in Shanghai be their source of hope and love,” Villegas said.
As this developed, Caritas Philippines, the church’s humanitarian arm, issued several resolutions during its 41st National Social Action General Assembly in Jaro, Iloilo on June 24, which also tackled the issues in the disputed territories.
“Whereas, the General Assembly unanimously approved the 41st National Social Action General Assembly Statement on the call to engage government and other stakeholders…in active engagement in making known to all our communities the pressing and urgent issues related to the situation in the West Philippine Sea,” read the Caritas Philippines resolution, a copy of which was obtained by SunStar Philippines on July 18.
The “West Philippine Sea” is a term in reference to the Philippines' 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone, not the whole of the South China Sea.
In a report from Catholic news site UCA News, Caritas Philippines enjoined all communities “to be actively engaged in pursuing efforts…in finding a peaceful resolution to the West Philippine Sea situation.” (Ronald O. Reyes/SunStar Philippines)