Church urges public to pray for peaceful polls
Prayer could still be the most potent factor to fight fraud and disorder.
This, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of the Archdiocese of Jaro imparted, as it sent out a circular for the holding of a daily vigil for a peaceful May 10, 2010 elections.
The one-hour vigil, which could be done either in the morning of afternoon, will follow after the mass.
Lagdameo said that the vigil is done to pray for peace and for the people’s unity to fight and prevent fraud, intimidation, and unrest this coming election.
“I encourage our parishioners to join our priests in praying for a peaceful national election,” the archbishop said.
Aside from the hourly prayer every day, Lagdameo announced that they would also embark on a 40-hour prayer vigil starting May 9 and on to the election day on May 10.
The vigil is again aimed for an honest, orderly, and peaceful election.
“Voters and non-voters can participate in this whether you belong to any political party or you belong to Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting. We encourage you to pray,” he enthused.
The archbishop believed that the accord of devotees in every parish would yield grace for a peaceful polls.
“We will be accompanied by the grace and blessings of God so that anybody or any group of people contemplating to cheat in this election may be overcome by grace and by repentance,” Lagdameo said.
Earlier, Police Regional Office (PRO) VI also initiated a prayer vigil for honest, orderly, and peaceful elections.
The five-hour prayer vigil, which runs from 6:00 11:00 in the morning, was done at the PRO-6 new multi-purpose hall.
It was not all a Catholic event, explained PNP Regional Director Chief Supt. Isagani Cuevas, since representatives from Protestant and Islam religions also joined the vigil.
It was gathered that the event will be held nationwide for four consecutive Wednesdays.
It kicked off on April 7 at the Heritage Park, PNP National Headquarters and yesterday, April 14, at the chapels of various regional headquarters.
The PRO-6 information office said that on April 21, prayers will be offered simultaneously in chapels or prayer rooms of city or provincial police offices and on April 28 in parishes of various city and municipal police stations.
Meanwhile, Cuevas said that the prayer vigil is concurrent to the mission of the organization in giving importance to the moral and spiritual recovery of all PNP personnel and leading them to affirm the indispensable role of prayer for the attainment of a successful May 10 polls.
