Bishops attack corruption

Press, 2 October 1979, Page 8

Bishops attack corruption

NZPA-Reuter Manila: Bishops of the influential Philippine Roman Catholic Church have strongly at-1 tacked Government corrup-i tion, military abuses, and! human-rights violations, in a i pastoral letter. But in the same letter the! bishops condemn incitement ;o revolutionary violence as! “criminally irresponsible.” The bishops, who have! jeen increasingly critical' of| nartial law, said the tempta-l lion to violence in the face! of the apparent hopelessnessj of effecting deeper and swif-i ter reforms was not surpris-j png, and they urged the! country’s leaders to prevent! the continued inequalities! and violations of human! rights. They also saiu the question of whether violence was' justified might in exceptional circumstances be aj ! matter of individual con-; science. ! The official text of the, letter, to be read in all {churches next week-end in a country whose population is! 85 per cent nominally!

'Roman Catholic, represents a toning down and shortening of a draft that has been icirculating in Manila for the Hast week. i The text makes it clear {that the bishops — some of I whom have been highly ivocal about military anuses, {including murder and torture — are increasingly worried about potential unrest in the 'Philippines, which last week (entered its eighth year of (martial law under President (Ferdinand Marcos. I “Recent developments | today can make anyone feel {uneasy. The daily newsipapers are filled with; (accounts of military encoun-i ters, of ambushes and kill-! lings, not to mention more{ ordinary crimes, the scan-! (dais of corruption and other; I forms of violence," the letter (said. | It also said that (under(ground) revolutionary 'groups were increasing and (escalating the spirit of violence among many people, including concerned Chrisi.tians, “clerics and the reliigious.”