Headline
Villegas breaks silence in the midst of Duterte’s attacks against the Catholic Church
“Mine is the silence of Jesus before the arrogance of Pilate,” said Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas. (Facebook photo)
MANILA—After being mum in the past few days, one of the highest officials of the Catholic Church broke his silence in the midst of criticisms from President-elect Rodrigo Duterte.
In a statement entitled, “Understanding Silence” released on Sunday, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said:
“There is virtue in silence. There is virtue in speech. Wisdom is knowing when it is time for silence and when is the timing for speech.”
He added, “Mine is the silence of Jesus before the arrogance of Pilate.”
The head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) noted, “There is nobility in silence like the silence of the lambs brought to slaughter in the temple to atone for sins.”
Villegas said, “You can understand my speech if you speak the language of silence. You can understand my silence if you know how to love like Him who was born one silent night.
“Silence indeed is the language of God and only those who speak silence will be able to grasp Him.”
Alphonso
June 6, 2016 at 11:21 AM
What can I say?
MaayongBinhi
June 6, 2016 at 2:13 PM
Well, Jesus was crucified because of the silence of the many…
The Filipinos has a saying, ‘Aanhin pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo’
(what will you do with the hays when the horse is already dead)
Silence is golden but if silence becomes a tool to be used by a Shepherd to shepherd the sheep, his sheep will all go wayward….
Forgive me Archbishop Villegas, but I have to say what I have to say…I pray that we don’t lose a lot of good Catholic public officials to satan because of the silence our Catholic church leaders to chastise those inside the church from their sinful ways…
And I think the big problem here is that our Catholic church leaders, the clergy, and the religious behave and think that they cannot and could not commit sin…
Festus
November 21, 2016 at 9:53 PM
Thank you for your recent comment to me regarding LSN. I would respond directly to your comment there but the site on which you posted to me no longer welcomes my comments. They find me too “Jesuitical” I guess. No matter, I can be found on pastures new if you like my thinking. Keep the faith my friend.
Stephen D.
June 6, 2016 at 6:42 PM
Jesus stood before Pilate in the power of His meekness. He did tell Pilate that He could call down a mighty army of angels, but He chose otherwise. That’s strength.
Meekness produces the wisdom we all need to become heirs of the earth, including the Philippines. I commend the archbishop. This dictator will also fail. Miserably.
In the end, God wins.