Bishop expresses support for protesters on feast day of ‘Ina’

“As we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Peñafrancia today, we stand with those going out to the streets to protest against corruption.”

These were the words of Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo of Sorsogon as he addressed devotees at the Basilica Minore de Peñafrancia last Sunday, Sept 21, Solemnity of Our Lady of Peñafrancia. 

Coinciding with the Trillion Peso March, Dialogo said that the Philippine Church does not remain silent as the country continues to battle its many social ills.

“Its Bishops and priests are one in heeding the call of the nation today.”

He also enumerated concrete pastoral steps that the Church does as it guides the faithful in truth and moral integrity; which includes conscience formation.

In addition, Dialogo underscored the role of the Catholic Church in social transformation. “The Church calls everyone to conversion and must open doors for repentance,“ he said.

“Mercy does not mean silence; rather, being merciful means teaching what is right and true.” 

Themed “Our Lady of Peñafrancia: Mother to all”, the Sorsogon Bishop also contemplated on the motherhood of Mary, who, he says, is a Mother of Hope in the midst of social injustices that seem to reflect the fall of man in the story found in the book of Genesis. 

Despite sin, Dialogo said, God’s promise of redemption unfolds through Mary, whose example calls us to renewal, justice and mercy. 

“Like the disciple who took Mary into his home, we are invited to let Mary dwell in our hearts, in our families and in our homes.”

The Bishop also said that the Peñafrancia devotion is not merely tradition. “It is faith in action, a collective pilgrimage as children of Mary, [a way] to rekindle the fire of their devotion to the Mother of God.”

In closing, Dialogo called on everyone to follow Christ just as Mary did. “May every Viva la Virgen be a promise to live as true children of Mary,” he exhorted.