Church official calls for rosary campaign vs. China’s aggression

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas urged Catholics to pray the rosary amid reports of China's aggression in the West Philippine Sea, according to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website.

The 'Rosary Campaign' will start on June 27 and last until August 15, the feast of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Archbishop Villegas also encouraged the people, during the campaign, to perform acts of penance and acts of charity "with particular intensity.”

“May the power of the rosary preserve our nation’s faith and freedom. May the power of the rosary crush the serpent’s head! May the power of the rosary drive away Satan’s power from our shores,” the prelate said.

“May God be honored by all that we do for our country, our people and their future; for our faith and our Church, for the freedom to believe and the freedom to worship as we believe,” he added.

Villegas, the CBCP report posted, voiced concern of the action of China in the West Philippine in the last few days.

He said that China is “inching menacingly close to the Philippines” and this has raised issues related to maritime zones, livelihood of fishermen, and environmental concerns.

"There is evidence of insidious attempts by a foreign power that governs by an ideology that recognizes no God and keeps all religion and the practice of faith under the heavy heel of its totalitarian boot to ‘trample our sacred shores," he said.

“It is not impossible for foreigners with malicious intent to acquire documentation allowing them not only entry but residence in the Philippines, perhaps even to pass themselves off as natural-born Filipino citizens and, thus, qualify for public office,” he also said.

Archbishop Villegas called on the people to defend the country, for unformed personnel to patrol Philippine waters, protect fishermen, and uphold national sovereignty.

He also urged lawmakers to conduct investigations, prosecutors and judges to "uphold justice" and prosecute individuales who "undermined legal and administrative processes, risking national security and interests." — BAP, GMA Integrated News