The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Philippines will be releasing a pastoral statement on the coming national elections before the end of February.
Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the bishops’ conference, said the crafting of the pastoral statement is undergoing a process of “collective discernment.”
He said they are taking the process to apply Pope Francis’ emphasis on synodality, which involves focus group discussions “in building consensus among ourselves, the religious, and lay people.”
“The Church is not only comprised of the bishops. We have the bigger sector of the Church, which is the laity and other religious partners,” said Bishop David.
He said they are looking at issuing their statement by the end of February.
“The drafting of our pastoral statement is still in progress and our time frame is we will release it before the end of February,” he said.
Bishop David last week presided over the bishops’ online plenary assembly for the first time as head of the conference.
Among other issues tackled during the meeting was the release of a pastoral statement on ecology, which calls for unity and action to address the climate emergency and planetary crisis.
The bishops also decided to revise the Oratio Imperata for the protection against COVID-19.
