Cardinal Jose Advincula of Manila urged the faithful to fight for truth amid lies as he led the thanksgiving Mass on Saturday, May 28, of the canonization of Saint Titus Brandsma.
The prelate said that if there are forces in society that use social media to deceive and spread lies, “let us combat them by flooding it with the truth of God’s word.”
“Saint Titus teaches us that when the truth is at stake, remaining apathetic and silent is a sin,” he added.
A Carmelite priest, journalist, and martyr, Saint Titus Brandsma was canonized by Pope Francis at the Vatican on May 15, along with nine other holy men and women.
“St. Titus held that the media should be used only to promote the truth who is Jesus,” said the prelate in his homily at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao, Quezon City.
“The press is the power of the word against the violence of arms,” he said. “It is the power of our fight for the truth,” added the cardinal.
The Carmelite congregation in the Philippines it takes pride in the saint’s “distinct reputation of being a ‘defender of truth’ and a ‘martyr of press freedom,’” said Father Rico Ponce, O.Carm., prior provincial of the congregation.
Saint Titus Brandsma served as spiritual adviser of the Catholic press in The Netherlands during World War I.
He refused to follow orders from the National Socialist Party and fought actively against the lies and propaganda of the Nazis.
Because of his resistance, he was arrested, tortured, and eventually killed by lethal injection at the Dachau concentration camp on July 26, 1942.
He was beatified by St. Pope John Paul Il on November 3, 1985.
“In this time of disinformation, fake news, deception, and repression, Titus Brandsma emerges as a beacon of light and the powerhouse of our strength as we continue to strive for justice and truth,” said Father Ponce.
