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Drug slays cheapen human life – bishop ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY GLENDA SOLOGASTOA
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ILOILO City – The Archdiocese of Jaro criticized the antidrug war of the Duterte administration even as it recognized “the evils of illegal drugs” and its consequent effects – crimes, narcopolitics, corruption of the youth, and destruction of families.
“Each time a person is killed without due process, a part of us dies also. Our humanity is diminished and our dignity is cheapened,” according to Archbishop Angel Lagdameo in a pastoral statement read in all parishes under his watch.
While the Church shares “the vision of our government…to put an end to this (illegal drugs) problem” and hears “the disturbing cries of the innocent victims of drugs”, he said it cannot ignore “the anguished cries of those who were victims of extrajudicial killings and the families they left behind.”
“These, too, are the anguish and cries of the people that God hears,” said Lagdameo, former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
But even as the archdiocese slammed the spate of killings related to the government’s war against illegal drugs, Lagdameo also acknowledged the Church’s failure “to foresee the magnitude of the drug menace.”
The Church “humbly accepts its share of shortcomings with regard to forming consciousness and behaviors in confronting social maladies that demands more evangelical discernment and faith-driven response,” said the archbishop.
He encouraged his flock to “join voices in echoing change as envisioned by our leaders, but change whose goal is accompanied by the right spirit of God and the morally right means.”
Lagdameo considered it unfortunate that some thought that “opting for mercy might compromise or devalue justice.”
“Justice without mercy is cruelty. Mercy without justice is pure sentimentalism. Indeed, mercy builds on justice. Let it be clear, God demands accountability for our wrong actions. Yet God’s justice is his mercy given to everyone as a grace that flows from the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” he explained.
According to Lagdameo, the illegal drug problem is complex and cannot be solved by one group alone. He thus appealed to Christian leaders, businessmen and professionals “to invest time, resources and energies” to help curb the problem.
“Offering help for the rehabilitation either by donation or by volunteering services such as counseling can go a long way in the path of healing. We must also commit to greater Church and State collaboration to eradicate the problem of illegal drugs,” said Lagdameo.
Through the Jaro Archdiocesan Social Action Center (JASAC), Lagdameo said, everyone can partner with groups and agencies like the Department of Interior and Local Government for the MAMASID (Mamamayang Ayaw sa Anomalya, Mamamayang Ayaw sa Ilegal na Droga) and UBAS (Ugnayanng Barangay at Simbahan) movements to fight criminality, corruption and illegal drugs.
The archbishop appealed “for our justice system to expedite the process of hearing and conviction, and cleanse it from corruption so that justice will be served effectively and swiftly for those who commit crime due to drugs.”
To the police, Lagdameo appealed “that you do your duties guided by the right principles of morality and legitimacy focused on the correction of offenders.”
To the parishes under the Archdiocese of Jaro, he called for “concrete efforts” such as pitching in financial resources to help set up rehabilitation programs/centers.
“Yes, we are sick of disgust with the drug abuse menace. Yes, we affirm that something radical must be done. Yes, we declare support for the vision to stop and fight it. But we appeal that it be done accompanied by the right spirit of God and because of that, the right means should flow from this. Not doing so is bound to create more damages than solve the problem,” said Lagdameo.
His pastoral statement was read in Sunday masses on Oct. 30 throughout the Jaro archdiocese./PN
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