TO VISIT THE PRISONERS, TO CLOTHE THE NAKED AND FEED THE HUNGRY

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PRELATES - CARDINALS, ARCHBISHOPS AND BISHOPS occupy very important position in the Church. They are symbolic. Hence their actions could mean more. A Bishop Visiting a former president who is accused of plunder can be misinterpreted by many people as giving a thumbs up to corruption. I beg you dear bishops please be more prudent with your actions. If you think your actions will have political or moral repercussions please don't do it. A regular priest can visit GMA and there is no need for you to be there. My dear Bishops you are our leaders and we look up to you, but please be prudent with your actions. Think of what is good for the unity of the church. While it is true that you are pastors and you have the obligation to care for souls, you must realize that your positions as head of local churches will give weight to what you do no matter how well meaning it is on a personal level. Given the politically charged atmosphere, and given the controversies that were attached to the previous relationships of the former president with some bishops, this actions when caught on media will not help advance the interest of the church. This could even cause harm to the image and the standing of the Church. The church should not only be genuinely and internally upright but it should also have the appearance of uprightness in order to have integrity and thus making the message of the gospel more credible. While every one wants change and reform in the social sphere, it is best left in the hands of the committed and faithful laity. Encourage the laity and their leaders to advance the agenda of the church in the social sphere, while the Bishops attend to the spiritual governance of the church. The social sphere should not be misconstrued with the so called integral evangelization. For if ever, the social sphere is part of the so-called integral evangelization, whatever that may mean, it should be in the hands of the laity. Temporal things have its intricacies and we cannot afford that the difficulties of these temporal things will tarnish the image of our church and our spiritual fathers.