Davao bishop offers 3-point agenda to face nat'l crisis

MANILA, Philippines - Discovering and destroying the roots of corruption should highlight a three-point approach to facing the national crisis, a Davao bishop said Friday. According to Davao Auxiliary Bishop George Rimando, there is still hope in the country despite the problems caused by corruption in all levels of government and society. "Let us not have biases. We need to have an open-mind in the search for truth," Rimando said in a statement posted early Friday on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines website. He said this 3-point agenda, if followed, will aid in answering the present problem face by the country. The first point is "to discover and destroy the roots of corruption with an "impartial and unbiased effort to search." A second point is "internal conversion," meaning a "change of heart and mind." He added that this must be expressed in the characters and lifestyles of every individual. "Let us not wash our hands for it is also possible that we have our parts of wickedness," he said. The third point is, "timeline: forever," meaning that the timeline to address the problem of graft and corruption is forever. "If we want to solve the problem of graft and corruption and other moral concerns in our country, there is no timeline because the work is forever. It is not even spontaneous or an overnight work," he said. "We will even bring this crusade to fight against corruption down to our grave," he added. He also said that upholding integrity in the society and uprooting corruption in the government may even require a miracle. "We need Christ. We just don't rely on ourselves and our capacities," Rimando said. Rimando, also the pastoral director of the archdiocese urged pastoral workers to continue forming "circles of discernment" in every pastoral agency to reflect on the national crisis. "We believe that such communal action in our respective pastoral agencies will also perpetuate the grassroots level and will help in the transformation of our society," he said. - GMANews.TV