Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, May 8) — The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called for a three-day “intense prayer” for the 2022 general elections which started on Sunday.
“We can only fight this battle in the best way we can—through prayer and well-discerned action,” CBCP President Bishop Pablo Virgilio David said in a statement.
He recommended that dioceses in the country to keep their parishes open and the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration on May 8 to 10.
He also urges communities of consecrated persons, especially contemplatives, to do the same in their convent chapels.
On Election Day at 6 a.m., or upon the opening of polling precincts, church bells will ring for 10 minutes “to remind our faithful to exercise their civic duty as citizens to vote, and to do so in the spirit of prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten their consciences in their choice of new national and local leaders for our country,” the CBCP President said.
The country’s Catholic bishops also asked for prayers for local and national officials of the Commission on Elections, as well as agencies and organizations tasked to monitor the conduct of the polls to “faithfully and efficiently carry out their duties as mandated by law.”
These include the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, the National Citizens Movement for Free Elections, Philippine National Police, and the media.
