Priests told: Don’t run for elective posts

MANILA, Philippines - With the filing of certificates of candidacy (COC) to start on Monday, Catholic bishops are hoping there would be no more members of the clergy running for elective posts in the 2016 elections.

Former Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales reminded priests who might be thinking of filing their COCs that the rules in the Church prohibit them from entering politics.

“A priest, if he is truly a priest and would want to serve the people, should not look for other ways to serve because politics is another way of helping and serving the community or society,” Rosales said.

He added that a priest should serve his church. “There are ways to serve the people if you are a priest…if you will become a politician, your world will revolve around being a politician. You cannot serve the two (politics and church).”

Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, who once served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), is also against priests becoming politicians.

“Politics is not the vocation of priests. Priests can only (serve as) guide (during) an election and enlighten the people regarding politics,” Lagdameo said.

“There is a clear mandate that they are not to enter politics because the Church is non-partisan in its mission. It is for all,” Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco said.