The head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines on Monday warned the public against buying so-called "papal visit" shirts bearing what it called "misleading" and "erroneous" messages.

 

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said such shirts tried to convey the Pope's openness with the phrases "No race, no religion."

ABS-CBN apologized for the shirts that carried the message and pulled out the items from its online shop and retail partners.

 

"Beware! The CBCP has been apprised of shirts now vended apparently in preparation for the Pope’s visit. While the words in the shirt attempt to convey the openness of the Holy Father, the phrases 'No race no religion' are definitely misleading and quite frankly erroneous," Villegas  said on his Facebook account.

 

"We urge our Catholic faithful not to patronize items with misleading posts and statements," he added.

Race, religion matter

 

Villegas said the Pope was aware of the fact that he headed "an organized religion with a vast membership throughout the world."

 

He added the Pope was also aware that race formed part of the identity of individuals and of peoples.

 

"(Pope Francis) has never said and taught that religion and race do not matter, because they most certainly do. It is what selfish, uncharitable and judgemental people do with religion and race that is a problem," Villegas said.

Pope Francis is scheduled to visit the Philippines from Jan. 15 to 19.

Apology, pullout