Manila (AsiaNews) – The Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has called on Filipino youth to get involved in the May 14 polls and help the country move away from issues left unresolved from past elections. Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, head of the CBCP, said young people “should not just vote but ought to practice vigilance and monitor the process to help ensure clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections.”
In his homily, which was delivered during the simultaneous worldwide Holy Rosary prayer at a Catholic university in Manila Saturday night, Lagdameo said that Filipino youth were “a force and manifestations of God’s love.”
“Let us stand up to the challenge of rebuilding our democratic institutions by discovering not only what we can criticize but by discovering and actually doing our positive share in renewing our society,” he said.
Because they are manifestations of God’s love, Lagdameo added, young people should exemplify “unity with the beloved through mutual understanding, mutual forgiveness and mutual self-giving.”
Finally, Mgr Lagdameo urged youth to “show this love in your respective families by making your families schools of love. Show this in your respective classrooms by making your classrooms homes of collaboration and communion;” show God’s love “in your respective workplaces and professions by making them channels of God’s love through you.”