Sunday, April 24, 2011

Speak the truth without fear—CBCP head

The triumphant joy of the Resurrection should challenge every Christian to preach the truths of faith without fear in the face of ongoing attacks on the dignity of life, a high-ranking Catholic prelate said.

CBCP president and Tandag Bishop Nereo Odchimar, in an Easter message, called on the faithful anew to safeguard the dignity of life and counteract “every form of attack against the dignity and welfare of humankind.”

“Let us not be selfish as to deprive others of their right to live,” Odchimar said in his message.

The Catholic Church has been staunchly opposing the reproductive health bill being deliberated in Congress, citing the proposed measure as anti-life and anti-family.

Odchimar urged the people to contribute in building a transformed society, encouraging everyone to “work for peace that lasts and justice that enhances human condition.”

He said the rising of Jesus from the dead makes us the “victorious children of the resurrection,” and it would be “unjust of us not to proclaim the triumphant joy of Easter to those who are seeking for light and life.”

The prelate exhorted the faithful to remain steadfast in preaching the truth of the gospel even amidst opposition of “those whose hearts are hardened by pride and humanly motivated principles.”

He said that there are people who even now remained firm in their unbelief either because they have not heard the gospel or simply trapped in atheistic values.

But Jesus’ resurrection has conquered death, he said, and “once and for all crippled the fortress of darkness.

“This incorruptible remembrance of God putting an end to the definitiveness of death is a strong message of hope—that in all of this, every work of evil shivers before the power of goodness,” he said.

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