STATEMENT OF THE 7TH NATIONAL LAY GATHERING

Nuestra Señora dela Annunciata Parish
Sitio Bosoboso, Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City
September 3-6, 2013

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, sight to the blind, freedom to the captives, and to announce the Year of the Lord…” (Lk 4:16-20)

We greet ourselves a meaningful silver jubilee as Lay Forum Philippines (LFP)! Indeed, it’s been 25 years that LFP has sustained and preserved as a venue for lay gathering in order to share our joys and sorrows in following Christ and serving God’s people in our beloved country, the Philippines. This year, we, the 80 delegates from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, to the 7th National Lay Gathering, held at Nuestra Señora dela Annunciata Parish, Sitio Bosoboso, Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City, on September 3-6, 2013, have come together to share on the theme: “Discerning the Laity’s Participation in Church Renewal and Social Transformation in the Light of Vatican II towards the 5th Centenary of Christian Faith in the Philippines”.

We have listened to the wisdom of our bishops through their statements on their understanding of the laity’s participation in the life of the Church, encouraging us to revisit the various Vatican Council II conciliar and post-conciliar documents, as well as the Church leaders’ statements on various social issues.

During this forum, we have shared among ourselves the situation of the various regions of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, where the poor are continuously suffering from poverty, oppression, and neglect. We agree that “too little had changed…, and nothing significant had happened to the lives of the people” (Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP’s Reflection on the Current Situation of the Philippines Under the Pnoy Regime, June 4, 2013). We are sad over the widening gap between the few elite and the many destitute Filipinos in spite of the 7.8% GDP rating, which indicates the glaring inequality of our system of economy (IBON Foundation, Q1, 2013). We denounce the blatant monopolies in business and in politics that breed graft and corruption. Furthermore, the poor have become easy victims of natural disasters that are due to the massive destruction of our environment such as mining and logging. We are deeply disappointed of the present administration and those in power for their inability and unwillingness to take the road of social justice. All these have been aggravated by increasing materialistic and secularistic culture that results to indifference and apathy.

On the other hand, we are inspired by the brave and challenging statements of our bishops and other church leaders that we have heard during this forum. We feel affirmed by the recognition of our own important personal role in renewing the Church, which definitely starts with our own personal renewal, our families, our small communities, and our ecclesial family. Although, it may not be an easy task, but we are willing to humbly take on the challenge of leading the people of God towards social transformation. We accept this as our special vocation given our character and gifts as lay members of the Church. We will carry out this task empowered by the Holy Spirit and in solidarity with our pastors.

Finally, we commit ourselves to put flesh and blood to the following challenges that confront us in the coming years through:
1. Capability-Building, Education Formation
• Speakers’ Pool training and accompaniment
• Modules development
2. Forum Strengthening
• Sub-regional, regional and national level
• Profiling of members
• Involving and organizing youth groups
3. Linkaging with CBCP through commission on the laity and partnership with POs and NGOs
4. Support activities to affected communities, mobilizations and participation in the peoples’ struggles
5. Make sustainability measures
6. Social Media Networking

Lastly, with all our hearts and inspired by lay martyrs, we take role as co-responsible agents of evangelization towards Church renewal and social transformation.

“Lord, make us instruments of your presence in our nation. Where there is coercion and violence, let us sow seeds of love and peace; where there is bribery, let us sow seeds of integrity; where there is discord, let us sow seeds of unity; where there is fraud, let us sow seeds of honesty; where there is duplicity, let us sow seeds of truth; where there is indifference and passivity, let us sow seeds of care and compassion; where there is despair in nation’s crisis, let us sow seeds of hope. Compassionate God, instill in us a deep sense of communal solidarity with the poor as we journey towards becoming Church of the Poor. For it is in communal action that we receive life-giving blessings. And it is in dying for love, justice and peace that we are born to fullness of life.”