Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Manila (Agenzia Fides) - “It is a day of mourning for the country, for the Church, for the world of journalism. We are very sad and sorrowful. We knew that Mindanao is an area of conflict and tension, but no one could imagine such a disaster, one that will remain engraved in the history of the country.” This is what Bishop Bernardino Cortez, President of the Commission for Social Communication and Mass Media, from within the Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, said in an interview with Agenzia Fides, commenting on the recent massacre of Maguindanao, where 57 people killed, including 29 journalists.
"We urge the government and army to do everything possible to control the situation and bring the perpetrators to justice. We pray for peace in Mindanao and we know that the whole Church throughout the world is praying with us," he said.
Among the 29 journalists killed there was also a Catholic reporter named Neneng Montano, who worked with a diocesan radio in Marbel (see Fides 25/11/09). The bishop noted that “he died for carrying out his work in the service of truth and reconciliation. The Church and all communication operators have expressed their full solidarity. As President of the Catholic Media Network - network which links 54 Catholic radio stations in the Philippines, including that of Marbel – I express my profound sorrow. But this event strengthens us in our information work at the service of the Gospel."
The National Association of Filipino Journalists says that in the South "a culture of impunity reigns." Reporters sans Frontières said: "Never in the history of journalism, has the profession paid such a heavy price in a single day." According to Amnesty International, "this incident highlights the risks that the civilian population must face in the period preceding the elections of May 2010. In Mindanao, private armies in the pay of powerful politicians are responsible for serious human rights violations that go unpunished. We ask the Filipino government to dismantle private armies and paramilitary groups, and to introduce standards for the protection of human rights."
The Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, and all the Asian Bishops Conference, have condemned the massacre of Maguindanao in the words of Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Bishop of Cotabato and General Secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC): "From the depths of my soul as a religious leader, I condemn in the strongest possible way this barbaric act of massacre as a conscience-less crime that cries out to heaven. As a believer in the God of all, I pray for the souls of the victims and ask the Lord to console, comfort, and give strength to their families.”
“A culture of impunity has, indeed, grown through the years,” he said. “Elections have not and will not change this situation... We need to change from the bottom-up, from individuals to families, from families to communities. We need to learn new values that will transform our cultures from within.” (PA) (Agenzia Fides 27/11/2009)
