Ceres Doyo’s observation of the faint presence of the Catholic Church in the sinking of MV Princess of the Stars, which killed close to a thousand people, is sad but true. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 7/3/08) We have had the same experience in the case of urban poor families who were illegally evicted and left without homes in the rain and scorching sun with their young ones. The helping hand and sympathy of the Catholic Church were almost absent in these evictions.

Recently we wrote 12 congregations of nuns to listen to the stories of families in the Baseco Compound in Tondo, Manila, who feel they are threatened with eviction because of a government plan to develop their area for commercial purposes. The families feel they need somebody to listen to them and they think the religious would be the best people to turn to for support and understanding. All but one congregation, the Holy Spirit Sisters, declined to meet with them.

ALICIA GENTOLIA-MURPHY, Urban Poor Associates, 25A Mabuhay St., Barangay Central, Quezon City