By Christina Hermoso Amid reports of clergy sex abuses, a Catholic Church leader has called on his fellow members of the clergy “to be true to our calling.” Archbishop Cardinal Luisito Tagle
(CAMILLE ANTE / MANILA BULLETIN) In a Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) News post, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle stressed that aside from the enforcement of stricter rules and accountability, he said that Churchmen are being called to the Church of Christ. “They are all important but the root is we are being called to the Church of Jesus Christ. I think there is also the call for the Church to be faithful to Jesus’ calling for us to be disciples,” His Eminence told Vatican News. Tagle was speaking at the end of the bishops’ summit in Rome, Italy where clerical abuses and reported cover ups were tackled. The cardinal said, the clerical abuse has caused pain and shame to the Church. “The pain, the cries of the victims and of the poor, they are the voice telling us ‘be true to your calling,’” he stressed. Tagle, has, earlier, stressed the need for the Church “to face the crisis without fear.” “The world needs authentic and credible witnesses to Christ who are constantly in touch with the wounds of humanity. We need to put aside any hesitation to draw close to the wounds of our people out of fear of being wounded ourselves,” Tagle said.