RP’s Catholic clergy meet ends with reminder to serve the poor

A 1.2-kilometer procession and a reminder to serve the poor capped the five-day national congress of priests in southern Metro Manila on Friday afternoon. Some 5,000 priests walked the 1.2 kilometers stretch from the World Trade Center to the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City for a concelebrated Mass that formally ended the second national congress of the Philippine Catholic clergy. “The poor in the Philippines now number more than 65 percent of the population… There is a feeling of urgency to address hunger of the people who live in the slums, the sick and the jobless," Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales told the priests in his homily. He added the situation of a great number of Filipinos living in poverty urges one to action. “What is being done for the poor in our country today?" he said. Excerpts of the homily were posted Friday night on the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines news site. Priests led by their respective bishops marched through Roxas Boulevard toward the Cuneta Astrodome, waving flags bearing names of their respective dioceses. The congress’ participants included representatives from 87 dioceses and archdioceses nationwide. It also drew participation from delegates from the dioceses and archdioceses of Chicago, Los Angeles, Madrid, Mongolia and New York. In his homily, Rosales stressed that a priest is called to share his life to others through service. “Like the man who masters suffering, the priest is the man of the Eucharist, the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ and the Sacrament of Communion," he said. He added the situation poverty in the Philippines urges one to action. “What is being done for the poor in our country today?" he said. Rosales earlier initiated the so-called “Theology of Crumbs" (Pondo ng Pinoy), a fund-raising activity where lay people drop as little as 25 centavos for the poor. Other local churches have adopted this plan to help the needy in their areas. “Rather than be accused of doing the littlest or less, let us in the name of love of God, consistently do our littlest for the poor," Rosales said. The cardinal also recalled the examples of St. John Mary Vianney, whose 150th anniversary is being celebrated by the Catholic Church by proclaiming a Year for Priests. Saint John Vianney was a parish priest in France. He is venerated as a patron saint of all priests. He said the Year for Priests is a “call to renewal in the striving for spiritual perfection, which is the root of the effectiveness of priestly ministry." “This is the compassionate way for Benedict XVI to say that the priests today must renew themselves in holiness," he said. - LBG, GMANews.TV