We address you as your brothers in the faith.
When we received the news about our inclusion as respondents in the case of sedition and other crimes filed by the CIDG-PNP before the Department of Justice, our first response was prayer. We held no press conferences together. We begged off from interviews. We attended no rallies. We chose to pray.
Prayer is our best weapon against every evil. Prayer is power. This is a good time to be reminded of this.
We prayed instantly, even until now, for our accusers. May they meet the God of all Truths, be touched by His grace and stay away from the prince of lies. We invite “Bikoy” to turn back to God, whose offer of mercy and forgiveness is without limits.
We have been praying fervently, too, for the team of prosecutors tasked to evaluate the case. May they be guided by nothing but the spirit of justice and truth. There can be no justice without truth. Justice without facts is no justice at all. We cling to the belief that our officials in the DOJ adhere to these values.
Indeed, there is separation of Church and State, but there must be no separation between God and country.
We have been praying, too, for ourselves and for you, our brothers and sisters in the faith, that none of us may be led into confusion, upheaval, error or sin by these charges. Our land needs healing, not turmoil. We cannot and we will not participate, and we will never help, in anything that will bring about social change through illegal means.
We thank our brothers and sisters who have offered prayers, sacrifices and legal assistance to us your bishops and the others accused with us. We thank you all for your kindness in this time of need.
Now that all respondents have filed their respective pleadings, we renew our faith in the power of truth to set us all—accusers, accused and justice officials together—free. And we renew our appeal to those who accuse us. There is joy and peace in living in the truth. We reach out to you in peace.
We are shepherds of God’s people. The Lord did not send us to defend ourselves; He promised to do that for us and we trust in the Lord. But as citizens, we comply with the due processes of law.
We renew our commitment to serve, to teach and to bless without relent, without repay. We will not allow this splinter from the cross of Christ to distract us from our mission, to dampen our zeal or to intimidate us.
This cross we carry now is nothing compared to the agony and passion of the Lord and the pains and aches of the poor. Our defense for human life and the sacredness of marriage remains. Our message of peace based on truth will not be perturbed. Our zeal for souls will not falter. Our mission is yet incomplete. We will not be discouraged.
We are your brothers in our love of God and country. Pray for us. Together with you, we place our trust in the Lord.
TEODORO C. BACANI JR., Bishop Emeritus of Novaliches
HONESTO F. ONGTIOCO, Bishop of Cubao
PABLO VIRGILIO S. DAVID, Bishop of Kalookan
SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS, archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan