Military Ordinariate of the Philippines Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio plans to intensify pastoral visits to military camps to assure members of the military of its support, prayers, and assistance.
Bishop Floencio said the pastoral visits also seek to provide moral support to the military in the performance of their duty to protect the country.
“The camp visit is my way of telling them that I am their shepherd and that I am taking care of them and praying for them. I can feel that they are happy with the visits that serve as a morale booster for them. The visits are not about military things like guns and bullets. It is about our people. We need to provide the military with the Word of God,” Bishop Florencio said over Radio Veritas.
The Church leader said he aims to strengthen the faith of the soldiers with each visit.
“I give talks about our faith, about life. I always remind them that the backbone of their work is their faith in God. I always stress that they cannot serve the country and the Filipino people if they do not have God in their hearts and minds. And this goes even for non-Catholics,” the bishop said.
Bishop Florencio said he plans to visit Pag-asa Island soon to provide morale support to the military manning the contested area.
The MOP is in charge of providing spiritual support and assistance to members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), Bureau of Jail Management & Penology (BJMP) and the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC).