MANILA, November 3, 2012— Fresh from the Vatican, new Cardinal-designate Luis Antonio Tagle lamented ‘practical atheism’ as one of the major obstacles to evangelization.
The leader of the Manila’s Catholic Church stressed in his homily before a throng of churchgoers at a parish church in Paco that some Filipinos’ faith are better said than done.
Cardinal-designate Luis Antonio Tagle presides the launching of the Year of Faith at the San Fernando de Dilao Parish, 3 November 2012.
He said that some Catholics are calm in conscience convincing their selves that they believe in God, but then their actions have nothing to do with that belief.
“There is atheism which they openly said that they don’t believe in God and there are also those who claim that they are faithful but live as if God doesn’t exist,” Tagle said.
“During Sundays, we profess our faith to God. But starting Monday, cheating happens because of money… we take advantage of other people for our own interests,” he said.
The archbishop’s sermon set the tone as the Manila Archdiocese embarked on the Year of Faith on Saturday.
Thousands of priests, nuns and churchgoers attended the event at the San Fernando de Dilao Parish Church in Paco, Manila.
With the occasion, the archdiocese joined the universal Church in the observing the Year of Faith as declared by Pope Benedict XVI.
Tagle, who just arrived in Manila on Thursday after almost a month in Rome for the Synod of Bishops, said that the occasion seeks to bring the faithful back to the fundamental tenet of the Christian faith.
“The Year of Faith is for all of us. Like what a theologian said, there is an unbeliever in every believer,” the archbishop said.
“We are all invited to renew our faith. We shouldn’t be ashamed of knowing God. Let’s show it because we are called to share his message with everyone,” he added.
In his pastoral letter, Tagle said that the Year of Faith is an invitation for Catholics to “study again the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church that is its fruit in order to rediscover the vitality of the faith we have inherited.”
“Aside from celebrating Vatican II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Year of Faith invites us to look closely at the contemporary world, its beauty and wounds,” he added.
“The continuity of the Church through ages allows various forms of renewal. The Church receives, celebrates and lives the faith in different historical settings with their unique demands and challenges,” Tagle also said.
Benedict XVI has recently named Tagle along with five others from Lebanon, Nigeria, Colombia, India and the United States as new cardinals.
The prelates are scheduled to be elevated to the College of Cardinals during a consistory on Nov. 24, at the Vatican. Aged 55, Tagle is presently the world’s second youngest cardinal. (RL/CBCPNews)
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