ILOILO CITY — A Catholic prelate has urged the faithful in Iloilo and Guimaras to be open to getting a COVID-19 vaccine, saying this can restore hope amid the pandemic.
“May we be open to vaccination and to restore hope and continue living in the new light of the resurrection,” said Archbishop Jose Romeo Lazo of the Archdiocese of Jaro in his Easter Sunday message.
Lazo had the COVID-19 vaccine last March when it started arriving in Iloilo.
He reiterated the stand of the influential Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) which supports the government’s massive COVID vaccination campaign by helping convince people who are still hesitant.
In an Easter Mass at the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral here, Lazo urged the faithful to give importance to “frontliners giving or risking their lives to be with those affected, those who extend their services to those in need -- expressions of faith that heal, restore life, inspire, give hope, and strength.”
“We are celebrating Easter in the midst of another pandemic year. It is dark until we meet the new fire that will lit and the darkness will slowly disappear and the light will shine once more,” Lazo added.