MANILA, Philippines - The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has appealed to Catholics to join a seven-kilometer penitent walk on Good Friday aimed at praying for the country’s safety from calamities and accidents this year.
CBCP president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas yesterday asked the faithful to join the Via Crucis that would start at 5 a.m. from San Juan de Dios Hospital in Pasay City to the Manila Cathedral.
The traditional Way of the Cross will be observed during the penitential walk.
At the Manila Cathedral, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will give his reflection and final blessing to those who join the Via Crucis.
The CBCP said it is time to offer prayers and sacrifices since last year the country suffered from major calamities like Super Typhoon Yolanda, which left more than 6,000 people dead in Eastern Visayas, and the 7.2-magnitude earthquake, which rocked the provinces of Cebu and Bohol.
The Via Crucis is organized by Radyo Veritas, the Archdiocese of Manila and TV Maria.
The EcoWaste Coalition also appealed to Catholics joining the Alay-Lakad to Antipolo City on Maundy Thursday to make the penitential walk free of trash and cigarette smoke.
“We appeal to the pilgrims, particularly the youth, to treat the streets leading to Antipolo with due respect and shun littering that has literally turned past Alay-Lakad into ‘Alay-Kalat,’ creating mounds of trash along the way,†said Christina Vergara, zero waste campaigner of EcoWaste Coalition.
The environmental group lamented that in the past penitential walks, even the hallowed ground of the Antipolo Cathedral was not spared as newspapers that had been used to sleep on were left scattered by devotees.
Food, disposable plastic bags, bottles, containers and cups; snack wrappers, skewers, soiled papers and cigarette butts were also left in streets and sidewalks.
“Ensuring that this year’s Alay-Lakad will be litter-free and smoke-free will be consistent with the Pope’s plea for environmental responsibility, and we hope that everyone will heed his wise counsel,†Vergara said. – With Rhodina Villanueva