(Vatican Radio) The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines have expressed alarm at signs of vigilantism and a sharp rise in police killings, following a general election a month ago. As regional correspondent Alastair Wanklyn reports, the nation's incoming president has threatened to stamp out crime, using all means possible.Listen: In a statement, the bishops expressed alarm at reports that suspected drug pushers have been shot dead because they resisted arrest. They cited reports that bodies have been paraded for the media with labels declaring their supposed crime.The bishops also condemned the offering of financial bonuses to police who kill. They said such bounties are never morally acceptable.The statement is a pastoral message addressed to Philippine law enforcers. It was released on Monday by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.The nation will get a new leader at the end of June, when President-elect Rodrigo Duterte takes office. He has said he will s...
(Vatican Radio) The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines have expressed alarm at signs of vigilantism and a sharp rise in police killings, following a general election a month ago. As regional correspondent Alastair Wanklyn reports, the nation's incoming president has threatened to stamp out crime, using all means possible.
Listen:
In a statement, the bishops expressed alarm at reports that suspected drug pushers have been shot dead because they resisted arrest. They cited reports that bodies have been paraded for the media with labels declaring their supposed crime.
The bishops also condemned the offering of financial bonuses to police who kill. They said such bounties are never morally acceptable.
The statement is a pastoral message addressed to Philippine law enforcers. It was released on Monday by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
The nation will get a new leader at the end of June, when President-elect Rodrigo Duterte takes office. He has said he will support police who kill in driving down crime.
The bishops' statement did not mention Duterte, but it condemned vigilantism, saying every Christian should turn away from such movements.
The statement finished acknowledging the brutality police face in the Philippines, but it said Christians should ask themselves if they have contributed to the spread of crime, by their acts or by their silences.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, the Cardinal of Manila, Luis Antonio Tagle, issued a special prayer for public officials. It quotes St. Paul's Letter to Timothy, urging people to pray for those in office so that they may live "quiet lives, godly and dignified in every way."
The prayer is to be used at Masses up until Duterte takes office.
Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate Cisco, signs the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life, on April 24, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaRome Newsroom, Apr 24, 2024 / 11:06 am (CNA).The CEO of Cisco Systems signed the Vatican's artificial intelligence ethics pledge on Wednesday, becoming the latest technology giant to join the Church's call for ethical and responsible use of AI.Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of the multinational digital communications conglomerate, met privately with Pope Francis on April 24 before signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, a document by the Pontifical Academy for Life. Pope Francis meets with Chuck Robbins, the chief executive of multinational digital communications conglomerate Cisco, on April 24, 2024, at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican MediaThe document, first published by the pontifical academy in February 2020, has previously been signed ...
null / Credit: Brian A Jackson / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 13:35 pm (CNA).Catholics Charities Corporation in Ohio was found partially negligent this week in the 2017 death of a 5-year-old boy who was being supervised by one of the organization's caseworkers at the time he died.A jury in Cuyahoga County ruled in the wrongful death suit that the Catholic charity group was 8% responsible for Jordan Rodriguez's September 2017 death, local media reported. Rodriguez's body was discovered buried in his mother's backyard three months after he died.The boy's mother and her boyfriend earlier pleaded guilty to several charges stemming from his death, including involuntary manslaughter. Jordan was developmentally disabled and incapable of speaking.In the civil wrongful death trial this week, Catholic Charities Corporation was ordered to pay $960,000 into Jordan Rodriguez's estate. Several ...
null / ShutterstockCNA Staff, Apr 24, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).As euthanasia and assisted suicide are legalized in more jurisdictions throughout the U.S. and the rest of the world, one Catholic-focused ministry is promoting end-of-life resources that the group's founder says will help Catholics finish their earthly journeys while remaining faithful.Aging with Dignity, a nonprofit that for years has been promoting end-of-life support in line with Church teaching, announced this month the release of "Finishing Life Faithfully," a booklet that "makes complex end-of-life decisions easier." The materials address "basic questions" on how to approach end-of-life topics such as pain management, feeding tubes, and other matters surrounding death.The document "summarizes the Catholic Church's guidance on end-of-life decision-making and the ethical considerations involved and helps patients and families better understand these teachings and follow them," the group said this month.Jim Towey, ...