Alert up on misleading text on Pope souvenirs

THE HEAD of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has warned against fake Pope Francis statements proliferating on the Internet, as well as T-shirts and other papal souvenirs with misleading and erroneous mes- sages, according to CBCP News.

The organization’s official news service yesterday quoted CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegas as urging the Catholic faithful not to patronize “items with misleading posts and statements.”

Shirts bearing the official logo of the papal visit and bearing texts like “No Race, No Religion. Embrace Diversity” and “Ganito Ako, Ganyan Ka (This is how I am, that is how you are). Who am I to judge?” have reportedly gone on sale.

Villegas, also Lingayen-Dagu-

pan archbishop and a member of the central committee for the 2015 Papal Visit, pointed out that while the texts on the shirts try to express the “openness of the Holy Father,” the phrase “No Race, No Religion” leads the public to a different conclusion.

“It is definitely misleading and, quite frankly, erroneous,” he said in a statement.

According to the prelate, the Pope “has never said and taught that religion and race do not matter because they most certainly do.”

“It is what selfish, uncharitable and judgmental people do with religion and race that is a problem,” he said.

Challenge to Filipinos

Villegas said the Pope was “aware of the fact that he heads an organized religion with a vast membership throughout the world” and that “race forms part of the identity of individuals and of peoples.”

Daet Bishop Gilbert Garcera said the papal visit would not only bring blessings to the Philippines but pose great chal- lenges to the Filipino people “in the light of the Year of the Poor.”

In a recent pastoral letter, Garcera said “all Christians are called to be instruments of God for the liberation and promotion of the poor, enabling them to be fully part of the society.”

“This demands that we be … attentive to the cry of the poor and to come to their aid,” he said.

According to Garcera, the Pope “brings us the same messages of Jesus—love, mercy and compassion—for the least, the lost and the downtrodden. Indeed, our Lord Jesus in His earthly life had shown a certain predilection for the poor, the sinners and the marginalized.”

Francis’ call “takes on a more significant meaning in the Year of the Poor,” he added.

Villegas appealed to rich Filipinos to “heed God’s message, which is to help provide for the brothers and sisters in need by sharing what they have.”

The poor, on the other hand, “should continue to work hard for (themselves), avoiding the temptation to just rely on another’s help and be lethargic,” he said.