Cardinal Tagle to lay faithful: ‘Transform PH affairs according to Divine plan’

MANILA, Jan. 18, 2014—In line with the Philippine Church’s celebration of 2014 as the Year of the Laity, the top churchman of the Manila Archdiocese on Saturday emphasized the role played by the lay faithful in the transformation of the secular affairs of the state.

Kicking off the Katolikong Pinoy Series with the theme “The Light of Faith in the Heart of the Laity,” Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle challenged Filipinos to continuously engage “within the (state’s) temporal affairs, so we can reorder or realign these affairs according to the plan of God.”

“This is the big responsibility of the lay people,” Tagle said in Filipino during his talk held at the Layforce Chapel of the San Carlos Seminary. “The gift, charism, and ministry of the lay people, according to Vatican II, is to seek and proclaim the kingdom of the Lord through engaging themselves in the affairs of the state.”

Referencing his talk to the Vatican document Lumen Gentium, the dogmatic constitution on the church promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1964, Tagle noted the need for lay individuals or the non-ordained members of the church  to penetrate and usher transformation to the different straits of society.

“(The responsibility is not to simply) engage in temporal affairs. It is engaging in these affairs within so we can reorder or realign them according to the plan of God,” he said.

Tagle said that the capability of the laity to initiate change in the different straits of society differentiates them from the ordained priests and ministers of the church.

“We, priests, can talk about politics and certain ethical economic practices, but we admit that we are outsiders in these fields. We are not politicians or economists. So who has the deeper responsibility to transform the world in accordance to God’s plan? That is where the laity enters,” he said.

Engaging in temporal affairs

Tagle also stressed the need for the lay faithful to engage in “those institutions and conditions of the world customarily induced to sin” not to participate in the commission of immorality but to give remedy to it.

“The mission of the laity is so beautiful, but we have to admit that it is a heavy responsibility to fulfill. The usual tendency is for the people to distance themselves from certain temporal affairs which could lead them to temptation, and eventually, to self-destruction,” he said.

“Sometimes, I see young individuals who can be potential leaders of the country. I tell them that they might be capable of becoming good public officials who can transform the country’s political landscape. But they refrain from doing so due to fears that they might be negatively influenced by the system,” he said.

“But can’t we do the opposite? Instead of being influenced, why can’t we be the ones to influence those who are corrupt? Why is it that the good is always trampled by the corrupt? I hope that this time around, the corrupt will be the ones to be influenced by goodness. That is how a laity should be,” Tagle added.

The senior prelate also noted that the lay involvement of church workers in liturgical celebrations is not enough because what matters is the profession of their faith “at the level of temporal order.”

“Participation in the liturgy is good but the service of the laity must not end there. Liturgical participation is important and good, but it could not be considered on its own as true lay involvement,” he said.

“It is easy to proclaim the word of the Lord in the Eucharist…But if you are to proclaim His words at the level of temporal order, will others listen to you? That is where your true duty is,” he added.