MANILA, Nov. 7, 2015— Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle wants to take the Church’s service to the poor to a higher level through 10 doable objectives under a reform-oriented agenda of the Manila archdiocese.
After a Mass culminating the observance of the “Year of the Poor” on Saturday, the archdiocese sounded its 10-point reform agenda to the clergy, the religious, and more than a thousand churchgoers.
The agenda contains certain calls and petitions of the poor sectors of society such as workers, farmers, urban poor, fisher folks, and women.
The agenda also carried out calls from persons with disabilities, youth, elderly, prisoners as well as petitions for better social services for the poor.
The liturgical celebration, presided over by Tagle, was held at the Corcodia College in Manila’s Paco district.
On the frontline of the push for the reform and development agenda is the Archdiocese of Manila-Commission on Social Services and Development chaired by Fr. Enrico Martin Adoviso.
“We are gathered here not because our task is finished in managing the Year of the Poor. We are gathered here because we want to finish poverty which kills human life.And it starts here in our 10 point-reform agenda,” Adoviso said.
“We hope that the government will listen to the voice of the people, and we hope that the people will support us as we lobby these reform agenda,” he said.
For his part, Fr. Luke Moortgat, who heads of the archdiocese’s Committee of the Year of the Poor, said the agenda is in response to Pope Francis’ call to bring “love and mercy” to all the people with a special attention for those who suffer from injustice, disabilities, mental illness, other long-term diseases, and rejection.
“We teach the poor the message of Christ so that they will be filled with hope and on their turn will evangelize others,” he said. - CBCP
