MANILA, February 28, 2008—There are no directives from the Vatican telling Filipino Catholic bishops to keep out of the country’s politics, said a senior bishop.

In fact, the opposite is true, says Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz. Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes says that the church should “pass moral judgments even on matters relating to politics, whenever the fundamental rights of man or the salvation of souls require it.”

The government, public and media often perceive that Vatican has repeatedly directed the influential the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) not to meddle with political issues of the country, Cruz told CBCPNews.

“Such perception is wrong and it must be corrected,” Cruz, former president of CBCP, added.

CBCP has repeatedly clarified that bishops act as pastoral and moral shepherds of the people. They provide moral support and guidance to the public in general and Catholics in particular, and the issues that affect people’s lives at large, the prelate said. (Santosh Digal)