Impeachment clamor: Clergy, faith groups launch fasting, prayer vigil
When 12 bishops and 211 priests launched a movement called Clergy for Good Governance (CGG) at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral of Cubao on Nov. 29 last year, they declared their belief that God has called them “to be stewards, prophets, and pastors of the Church—the people of God” and thus have “to stand for what is right, for what is true, and for what promotes the common good.”
Their marching order as ordained ministers of Christ “to gather, discern, and resolve to do effective actions” is now unfolding with the launching of “Faithline: The Online Prayer Gathering for the Nation.”
The seven-day prayer event started on Aug. 15 and will end on Aug. 21 with various speakers scheduled for reflections and prayers held via Zoom and livestreamed on YouTube. Activity starts at 9 p.m., Manila time.
The online event will culminate in a march and vigil on Aug. 22 at the Senate to Supreme Court to Edsa Shrine until 7 a.m. of the next day.
“We’ll wear sack cloth and sprinkle ashes on ourselves as we pray and fast against the evil roaming and reigning in our institutions like the Senate and the Supreme Court,” said Fr. Robert Reyes, the activist also known as the “Running Priest.”
Need for deep change
“We need deep and broad change from the political to the cultural all the way down to the moral and spiritual,” Reyes said.
“Change since Edsa One has been shallow and elusive because it was not sustained and institutionalized. The very evil driven out of the country 39 years ago regrouped and came back with a vengeance … From one dictator to his cronies to an entire political network of dynasties from south to north, east to west.”
In the invitation letter to the Conference of Major Superiors of the Philippines (formerly AMRSP) and other groups, the CGG said: “In these troubled times, when truth is distorted and justice is threatened, we are being called not only to speak, but to pray, to fast, and to offer ourselves for the sake of our beloved country.”
“The recent Supreme Court ruling that casts doubt on the integrity of the impeachment process has wounded our people’s trust in our democratic institutions. While many in the civil society have courageously raised their voices in protest, we in the clergy are called to a deeper response—one rooted in faith, penance, and sacrifice,” it added.
Reflection speakers
Two faith-based groups—the Institute for Studies in Asian Church and Culture (Isacc) and Church Café—hosted the prayer gathering on Saturday night, after Msgr. Jerry Bitoon on the first night, Aug. 15.
Isacc president, Dr. Melba Padilla Maggay who gave a Reflection on the second day. Other reflection speakers lined up are lawyer Rene Sarmiento (Aug. 17), Fr. Raul Enriquez on (Aug. 18), Fr. Efren Borromeo (Aug. 19), professor Francis Aquino Dee (Aug. 20), and Fr. Robert Reyes (Aug 21).
Participants may join the online prayer via Zoom: https://bit.ly/Faithline.
Meeting ID: 87896286982; Passcode: 648582
The 9 p.m. start in Manila corresponds to the following time overseas: Sydney, Australia (11 p.m.), US East Coast (9 a.m.); US West Coast 6 a.m.; London, UK (2 p.m.); and Central Europe (3 p.m.).
(The writer is the president of the Maningning Miclat Art Foundation, author of the two-volume “Soul Searchers and Dreamers,” and coauthor with Mario, Maningning and Banaue Miclat of “Beyond the Great Wall,” the 2007 National Book Award winner for biography/autobiography.)
