Priests should make themselves available for people in need of someone to talk to.
Father Melvin Castro, Pro-life Philippines spiritual director, said this following the report of the Philippine Statistics Authority that deaths due to intentional self-harm increased last year.
PSA said from the 2,808 registered deaths due to intentional self-harm in 2019, the number spiked to 3,529 in 2020.
"People in difficult situation need someone to talk to. And this 'listening' apostolate applies to all," Castro said in an interview Friday, March 19.
"We need to be available to those who are in need of someone to talk to," he added.
Castro said counselling may be done either face to face, or virtual.
The priest from the Diocese of Tarlac said mental health should never be taken for granted especially during this time.
"Specially in the midst of poverty, unemployment, and sense of hopelessness, care for health must include both physical, mental, and even spiritual," said Castro.
"There is an old Latin adage, mens sana in corpore sano, healthy mind in a healthy body" he added.