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THE CATHOLIC faithful should not only keep themselves abreast of developments in the political arena, but should also use this knowledge to identify candidates worthy of their votes, the leader of a church group said.
?The people should be involved in political movements, to which politicians are aligning themselves, even if, at this, time it is confusing,? said lawyer Pat Acabodillo, president of the Council of the Laity-Cebu.
?We would like to make people aware on the take of the Church and the State on politics,? he added.
Acabodillo said the group is one of the organizers of the forum entitled ?Conference on Church and State Politics: People?s Involvement,? which was held at the Blessed John XXIII seminary last Saturday.
The other organizers are the Commission on Clergy, on-going formation of priests led by Msgr. Rommel Kintanar and church-based anti-graft and corruption group, Dilaab Foundation Inc.
?People should look at the qualities of the candidates, their integrity, their competence. The people should choose people who know how to do his job. They should not choose candidates because he or she is the one they see often in advertisements,? he added.
Acabodillo said people should look beyond the popularity of candidates and not selling their votes to the highest bidder.
?Each Filipino should think deeply. The leaders we end up with would be the result of our own decision,? he said.
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, the main speaker at the gathering, said the participation of Catholics in political life should focus on the pursuit for the common good of the people, promotion of justice, spirit of service, preferential love for the poor and empowering the people.
He noted that political dynasties continue to proliferate and that politics has, for many, become an enterprise.
?Most of our politics is transactional politics, which is really patronage politics. This is the form of politics we are trying to move away from,? said Ledesma. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT MA. BERNADETTE A. PARCO
