Alalahanin ang mga nakipaglaban upang makamit ang kalayaan ng bansa.
Ito ang naging paalala ni Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Public Affairs Committee Executive Secretary Jerome Secillano, sa paggunita ng bansa ng ika-121 anibersaryo ng Kalayaan ng Pilipinas.
"The greatness of our heroes who fought for our independence should always be hailed and commemorated," ani Secillano sa isang panayam.
"Without revising history, churchmen, in the person of Frs. Gomez, Burgos and Zamora (GOMBURZA), should remind us that the Philippine Church was also in the thick of the fight for our country's independence," dagdag pa ni Secillano.
Sina Padre Mariano Gomez, Jose Burgos, at Jacinto Zamora ay mga Katolikong pari, na binitay noong Pebrero 17, 1872 sa Bagumbayan ng mga Espanyol.
Gayunman, sinabi ng opisyal ng CBCP na nakalulungkot isipin na madalas masisi ang simbahan at ang Kristiyanong relihiyon sa mga problema at dinanas ng bansa.
"It is, therefore, lamentable that the church and the Christian religion should be be blamed for the ills besetting our country today," ani Secillano.
"It is misleading and a misreading of our fate as a nation," giit pa ng opisyal.
Sa halip na magturuan, sinabi ni Secillano na dapat magtulungan ang mga lider ng bansa at maging higit na responsible sa tungkulin nila sa bansa.
"Our country's leaders should better ask themselves how they can better utilize the power and financial resources entrusted to them by the Filipino people," paliwanag ni Secillano.
-Leslie Ann G. Aquino