CBCP: Church failed in RP renewal

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday admitted that religious leaders are partly to blame for failing to renew the Church and bring about social transformation in the country.

CBCP president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo admitted in a report from CBCPNews, the official news service provider of the CBCP, that they have fallen short of their goal to implement change in Church and society.

Lagdameo said renewal of the Church means social transformation – from liturgy, catechesis, vocation or temporalities, social action and politics.

“Humbly, we must admit that the whole Church of the Philippines... have not been renewed enough,” Lagdameo said in his homily during the 2nd Basic Ecclesial Communities National Congress being held in Cagayan de Oro City.

The event, attended by about 400 members from the religious community, formed part of a series of discussions on what the Church could do to lessen, if not eliminate, the “evils” plaguing the country today.

“We have to make confession of acceptance of responsibility for some evils in our society. This acceptance is already the beginning of renewal… there cannot be renewal of the Church unless it starts within each individual,” Lagdameo added. – Evelyn Macairan