Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu reminded priests in his archdiocese not not to use the pulpit to campaign for any candidate in the coming national elections.
“The pulpit is not the right place to campaign for any candidate,” the prelate was quoted as saying in several media reports.
He said, however, that priests as Filipino citizens have the freedom to support a candidate.
“As a general rule, [Catholic] Church leaders should be nonpartisan,” he said.
“As a bishop, I would tell priests not to use the Church, the pulpit in particular, to endorse a particular candidate,” said the prelate in a report on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“The idea is responsible voting and active involvement, especially among laypeople,” he said.
“We use the word responsible voting discernment [where] we study many aspects of the candidate’s life, his or her capacity, track record and programs, among others,” said the archbishop.
“Laypeople should feel involved. The pope used the words, ‘should meddle in politics.’ They should campaign for those who they believe will deliver something good for the country,” he said.
In Manila, Father Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the committee on public affairs of the bishops’ conference, urged dioceses to form “circles of discernment” to help parishioners in their choices during the elections.
“The circles of discernment … are a gathering of people, a particular activity wherein parishioners are invited to join so that different speakers who are experts in different fields may discuss the issues,” said the priest.
Meanwhile, Bishop Roberto Gaa of Novaliches said Church leaders should provide guidance to voters, adding that “what’s important … is having discernment.”
“We should be the lead in the process of discerning who to choose among the candidates,” said the bishop who attended a gathering of supporters of presidential candidate Leni Robredo on Sunday.
“At this point, we can say that we are asking the Lord to help us in our discernment. Because, it doesn’t end after we vote since that should be the beginning for us to help,” said Bishop Gaa.
