Tagle urged faithful to be cautious while inside church to avoid being victimized by pickpockets

Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. Photo from Tagle’s official Facebook page.

MANILA– The head of the Archdiocese of Manila urged the faithful to be cautious while inside the Church attending regular mass, burial mass or wedding ceremony as unscrupulous individuals are also present in these occasions.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the public should be wary on their surroundings as these kind of people are ready to victimize unsuspecting individuals.

“Many people have been victimized by pickpockets during masses, burial and even weddings because pickpockets are usually dressed to blend in. One would think that they are guests or relatives,” he said in his speech at a forum held at the San Vicente de Paul Parish in Quezon City over the weekend.

The Archbishop noted that during weddings, these unfortunate incidents usually happened during the taking of pictures of the bride and groom with their families and friends at the altar.

“These people are also dressed as guests, so no one would suspect that they are there to victimize people. I’ve heard such incidents where bags and other belongings have been lost to pickpockets,” Tagle said.

He added, “When they return to their seats after the picture-taking they would noticed that their belongings are gone. We don’t know what they are wearing maybe some of them wear a sutana, we don’t know.”

The “Good Governance Forum” was organized by the Diocese of Novaliches, which is in line with the Church’s commitment to social justice for “a better Philippines” in preparation for the 2016 elections.