The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has appealed for dialogue and reconciliation as tensions continue between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte.
In an interview on Tuesday, Archbishop Ricardo Bacay, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs, reiterated the Church’s call for peace.
“The Church as a whole promotes the dialogue towards achieving our goals. Not to destroy each other, not to eliminate each other,” he said.
“There’s always a path of reconciliation. That’s our position as Church,” the official added.
Earlier, CBCP President and Lipa Archbishop Gilbert Garcera led prayer vigils calling for world peace, in line with Pope Leo XIV’s “Urbi et Orbi” message.
“In a world increasingly marked by conflict and the ‘globalization of indifference,’ the Holy Father has invited the entire Church to unite in prayer, urging all to implore the gift of peace and to renew our commitment to dialogue, reconciliation, and nonviolence,” Garcera said in Circular 26-04.
The CBCP emphasized that reconciliation and dialogue remain central to the Church’s mission, urging political leaders to prioritize unity over division.