President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Bishop Pablo Virgilio David of Kalookan, was among the Vatican officials from the ongoing Synod who provided an update to reporters and journalists on the Filipino Diaspora on October 18.
On this occasion, the Filipino prelate talked about the Filipino diaspora's actual situation. Based on the assertions of Bishop David, millions of Filipinos reside throughout the world. In fact, these individuals constitute approximately 10–15% of the total populace of the Philippines.
They are also referred to locally as OFWs, or Overseas Filipino Workers. They were humorously referred to as "smugglers of the faith" by Pope Francis, the prelate revealed.
According to Bishop David, these individuals, who are merely attempting to practice their faith wherever they are as laborers and migrants, have transformed into "reluctant missionaries."
In his statement, Bishop David emphasized that the Synod is particularly concerned with attaining equality in dignity. "It doesn’t matter if you're a cardinal or archbishop or whoever; we’re all, you know, basically a community of disciples equal in baptism,” he explained.
The prelate, in response to a question regarding the challenges facing the Filipino Church, emphasized the significance of offering assistance and counsel to members residing abroad.
These individuals, due to their circumstances, are compelled to assume the role of "accidental missionaries" by exemplifying their faith in the foreign nations where they are employed.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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