Cardinal Tagle: Stop hatred, discrimination

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle has called for an end to bickering and discrimination against people of different cultures and beliefs as he celebrated the first of nine predawn Masses that usher in Christmas.

In his homily at the Manila Cathedral, the cardinal focused on overcoming division and pointedly talked about the anti-Muslim sentiments fuelled by the recent Marawi crisis.

He said Filipinos must tear down barriers to peace, stressing that Christians should look with hope to unity, not bickering and division.

“Let’s build relationships to destroy the wall that divides and often leads to violence and indifference,” said Cardinal Tagle, who also heads the Rome-based Caritas Internationalis.

“Let’s correct out tendency to discriminate against others who are different from us. I hope that the relationship of Christians and our Muslims brothers and sisters will improve for the better,” he said.

Catholics flocked to churches around the country on Saturday to attend the traditional Misa de Gallo, locally known as “Simbang Gabi”.

In Manila, thousands of Catholics filled the cathedral to attend the Mass introduced by Spanish friars in the 17th century.

Cardinal Tagle further told the churchgoers that what the country needs today is “witnessing to Jesus.”

This means that Christians, according to him, are called to imitate Jesus in their daily lives and lead others, especially the poor and neglected, directly to Him.

“It’s time for more people who would bear witness the love of God that embraces all humanity,” the Manila archbishop added.

“And one way of witnessing to Jesus is through reconciliation and unity by addressing misunderstanding and individualism that sometimes result to violence,” he said. CBCPNews