Pubdate: Sun, 07 Aug 2016 Source: Manila Times (Philippines) Copyright: 2016, The Manila Times Contact: http://www.manilatimes.net/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/921 KILLINGS TOO MUCH TO SWALLOW - BISHOP LINGAYEN-DAGUPAN Archbishop Socrates Villegas said he could no longer stomach the killings of suspected drug users and peddlers. "I do not have to be a bishop to say this. I do not have to be a Catholic to be disturbed by the killings that jar us every time we hear or watch or read the news," the prelate said in a statement entitled, "Let the Humanity in Us Speak." The statement will be read on Sunday in place of the homily during masses in all the churches and oratories in the Archdiocese of Lingayen, Dagupan. "My humanity is in grief. I am in utter disbelief... This is too much to swallow," Villegas said. He noted that it pains him to see a fellow human hurt. "A portion of my humanity dies when a fellow human dies. Who can say the killed is innocent or guilty? Both the guilty and the innocent are humans," the bishop stressed. He lamented the sight of a parent and a child grieving over loved ones killed on the sidewalk "or thrown in grassy areas hogtied or masked with tape." The prelate said he fears that the country will turn into a "killing addiction. Villegas emphasized that the youth need a safe and wholesome environment without the menace of drugs. "We share the dream... It is a great dream for young humanity," he said. However, he noted that the "little voice of humanity in us" that is disturbed by the killings is "drowned out by the louder voice of revenge or silenced by the sweet privileges of political clout." "I pray that humanity be regained so that the killers may listen to the voice of conscience -that conscience that has been dulled by the sight of too much blood everywhere," he said. Villegas believes that reason will prevail and humanity will win in the end. "I believe. I refuse to be forsaken in this belief. I believe in humanity," he said. - -PNA - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom