Church bells ring for 10 seconds on Human Rights Day

Church bells across the country were simultaneously rung for 10 seconds on Tuesday to mark the Human Rights Day.

Archbishop Rolando Tirona of the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) said that the bell-ringing initiative is the Church’s affirmation of commitment to solidarity for the common good.

“But more importantly, it is our simplest way to show empathy with the victims of human rights violations, of injustices, and inequalities happening in our country,” Tirona said.

“It is a way of proclaiming that the Church does not allow human dignity to be dehumanized, manipulated, exploited, marginalized, and set aside, excluded, or demonized,” he said.

Masses were also held on various parishes across the country for the celebration.

By doing such a manifestation of solidarity, Nassa believes that “we proclaim our concern for human rights in the context of Christian discipleship, witness, and solidarity.”

The Caceres archbishop said active efforts to promote human rights is needed as many people are oppressed, manipulated and exploited.

He lamented that many even fell victims of unjust structures of the society, “thereby making them vulnerable to abuses of power by the government and the “powers that be”.

“It is imperative that human persons must serve fellow human persons in order to preserve humanity, protect all human persons, and guarantee them with benefit equally from the abundance of God’s creations,” Tirona said.