The Catholic Church “cannot be yellow, red or pink”

The Catholic Church, which is undergoing a process of renewal, “cannot be yellow, red or pink,” Bishop Socrates Villegas declared at the opening of the synodal process on Sunday October 17th.

22 October 2021

Filipino Catholics attend Mass in Manila on Ash Wednesday. (Photo by LiCas News / Basilio Sepe)

By José Torres Jr
The Catholic Church, which is undergoing a process of renewal, “cannot be yellow, red or pink,” Bishop Socrates Villegas declared at the opening of the synodal process on Sunday October 17th.

The prelate of Lingayen-Dagupan, in the northern Philippines, said the different colors, which are used by various candidates in the Philippine election next year, “keep us apart.”

The Archbishop, a vocal critic of the spate of drug-related killings in the country in recent years, called on the faithful to pray that the synod process will lead the Church to renewal.

“Let us pray that the two-year consultation in preparation for the Synod on Synodality will truly bring about a new Church,” Bishop Villegas said in his homily.

He said this means that the Church must always choose Christ over ideology and must emulate the “universal” and “sacrificial” leadership of Christ.

“The Church of Christ chooses no color [because]Christ should be at the center of decision making, ”he said.

Pope Francis officially launched the synod process in the Vatican on October 9 to engage the whole Church in preparing for the next ordinary assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

The Philippine Catholic Bishops’ Conference earlier announced that “little circles” will meet in parishes, schools and church communities “to pray together” and discuss issues affecting the Church during the synod process.

In Manila, Cardinal José Advincula called on the people to participate in the synodal process “whatever your social, political, economic, intellectual or spiritual affiliation”.

In his homily during the Mass for the diocesan phase of the Synod in the Archdiocese, the Cardinal declared that Pope Francis wanted the widest possible participation in the process of consultation and discernment.

“Your perspective as well as your experience of God can be part of the synodal journey of the entire Archdiocese,” said Cardinal Advincula.

“In the family of God, you have a voice, and your voice counts,” he said, adding that the consultations will involve not only “people of the church” or people active in the church, but “As many people as possible”.

He said this includes women, children, the elderly, people in the business sector, government officials, members of the LGBTQ + community and ordinary workers, among others.

The cardinal said the archdiocese would also reach out to people on the peripheries and even to those who belong to other faith communities and to those who have left the Church.

“No matter how far you feel from the Church and even from God, you have something to contribute,” Cardinal Advincula said.

“We want to listen to you. We want to travel with you. We want to discern God’s will with you, ”he added. – LiCAS.news (with reports from CBCP News)