A Rome-based Filipino priest called on the faithful to exercise their prophetic mission by ‘not turning a blind eye’ to the spate of killings and corruption in the country.

As the Church is called to be a “prophetic community”, Redemptorist Fr. Amado Picardal said that Catholics are also called to live their mission of spreading the Good News and “resisting and denouncing evil in our midst”.

“There are many ways of doing this. But the first thing we need to do is to open our eyes – not to be blind to the evil around us,” said Picardal, who is a former executive secretary of the Philippine bishops’ Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities.

He said this means “not supporting incompetent and immoral leaders who are responsible for murder, corruption, and the destruction of the environment and who mock leaders”.

The priest, who helped document the killings in Davao City when President Rodrigo Duterte was still mayor, made the call in his homily during Mass with the Filipino community of Sant’Alfonso on Thursday.

Reflecting on the day’s Gospel readings, Picardal said that Jesus exercised a prophetic mission of denouncing sin despite threats by those who commit and perpetuate evil acts.

This is also the reason, Picardal added, why church leaders continue to resist evil even when they face the risk of becoming targets of repression and violence.

“We have to resist these modern-day Herods and make sure that they are replaced by competent and compassionate leaders who bring about justice, peace and promote the common good rather than enrich themselves and their families,” he said.