Filipinos urged to uphold value of life ahead of annual rally

Feb 18, 2025

MANILA: A cardinal in the Philippines has urged Catholics to uphold the value of life amidst “numerous threats to the family and life,” because of social policies which include a divorce bill pending in Congress.

Cardinal Jose Advincula, the archbishop of Manila, said the ongoing Jubilee Year presents an opportunity for believers to reaffirm their commitment to protecting life, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) news service reported on Feb. 14.

“This Jubilee Year is an opportune time to confirm our commitment as pilgrims of hope advocating the sanctity and importance of life from conception to natural death,” Advincula said in a message broadcast on Radio Veritas.

Advincula urged all parishes and communities, especially ministries and organizations on family and life, to organize representation for the annual Walk for Life on Feb. 23.

The event is organized by the CBCP’s Laity Commission (ECL), the Family and Life Commission (ECFL), and Manila archdiocese’s Office for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

The rally will start in Rizal Park and proceed to the Manila Catholic Cathedral, where a short program will be held.

Advincula will preside over a Mass at the cathedral, joined by other prelates, including Bishop Severo Caermare of Dipolog, the chair of the ECL, and Bishop Jesse Mercado of Parañaque, the chair of the ECFL.

In June last year, the ECL renewed its opposition to legalizing divorce, saying that it could lead to a surge in broken families and a decline in moral values.

The House of Representatives on May 22 approved a bill to legalize divorce. However, the proposed measure is still pending in the Senate but will become law if the Upper House also approves it.

The Philippines is the only country, other than the Vatican, where a married couple cannot legally end their marriage.

Advincula emphasized that through the rally, which is a part of the Jubilee Year celebrations, the Philippine Catholic Church will find “a deeper sense and conviction,” on its “journey of hope together as pilgrim people.”

Pope Francis officially inaugurated the Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 when he opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica on Dec. 24, 2024.

The theme for Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope,” and it will be a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis.

The ongoing Ordinary Jubilee, which takes place every 25 years in the Catholic Church will conclude with the closing of the same Holy Door on Jan. 6, 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

The origin of the custom goes back to Pope Martin V who, for the Extraordinary Jubilee of 1423, opened a Holy Door to enter the Lateran Basilica. In St. Peter's, it was first used for the Jubilee of 1450.--ucanews.com