Francis Names 6 FILIPINO Priests to Mercy Mission
Six new Filipino Catholic priests have been named by Pope Francis as “missionaries of mercy.” Two priests from the Diocese of Malolos were recently appointed by the pope after he earlier named four priests from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-dagupan as missionaries of mercy.
The pope called Fr. Prospero Tenorio and Fr. Nap Baltazar, both from the Malolos diocese, to be the signs of God’s mercy to people.
The special mandate also calls the priests to make themselves available in bringing about the reconciliation of God through the Ministry of Confession.
The appointments were made in the vatican on March 30 but the priests received it only last week.
Tenorio is currently the rector of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy in Bulacan’s Marilao town, and the national spiritual director of Divine Mercy-philippines.
“All the more in order for us to transcend the mercy of God to the faithful, we really need to always think of mercy, speak of mercy and always do acts of mercy,” he said.
Baltazar, meanwhile, is the parish priest of Nuestra Seniora de Lourdes in Doña Remedios Trinidad, Bulacan.
He said that they will continue the formation and training of the Divine Mercy devotees as part of the New Evangelization.
“To be merciful is to be joyful. The mercy of God gives joy,” Father Baltazar said.
Tenorio and Baltazar are also the Secretarygeneral and Assistant Secretary-general of the World Apostolic Congress on Mercy in Asia.
Four priests from Lingayen dagupan
THE Archdiocese of Lingayen-dagupan on June 24 announced that four of its priests received the same papal mandate as missionaries of mercy.
Named to the new mission to spread the works of mercy were priests Allan Morris Abuan, Danille Chad Pecson, Matt Jason Molina and Roy Joel Rosal.
Missionaries of mercy are authorized by the Vatican to give presentations, retreats, workshops and hear Confessions with an emphasis on the scriptural, theological and pastoral dimensions of the mercy of Christ.
The new appointments bring the total number of missionaries of mercy in the Philippines to 13, including six other Filipinos and a foreign missionary, who received the same papal mandate in February 2016.
The other missionaries of mercy in the country are Franciscan priests Jerome Ponce, Andrew Rañoa, Joe Litigio, Robert Manansala, Andres Rañoa, and Father Jose Lito Escote of the Antique diocese, and Father Darek Drzewiecki of the Congregation of the Marian Fathers in Davao.
Around a thousand priests have been tapped by the pope to become missionaries of mercy from all over the world during the Jubilee of Mercy from December 2015 to November 2016.
For the past few years, the Filipino missionaries have been working to offer an avenue for mercy through their daily ministries, including talks and retreats in and outside the country.
An emphasis on confession is also central to their work.
Each priest was granted special authority to pardon sins that carry penalties that only the Vatican can lift, such as an attempt against the life of the pope or a priest who violates the seal of confession.
The pope also gave the missionaries the power to forgive abortion, a right previously reserved for bishops or special confessors.
“The Church wants to bring the grace of forgiveness to everyone,” said Fr. Jerome Ponce, a missionary of mercy. “Usually we offer the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the parishes.”
The new appointments came nearly four years after the pope prolonged their ministry even after the holy year ended as part of the New Evangelization.
The missionaries’ role is seen as a way to help people who have, for whatever reason, fallen away from the Church or find its teachings irrelevant.
“During the conclusion of the Jubilee of Mercy, in an apostolic letter, Pope Francis praised the many fruits of the efforts of the missionaries of mercy around the world and extended the mandate indefinitely so as to continue the‘concrete sign that the grace of the Jubilee remains alive and effective the world over,’” Ponce said.