“It is the citizen’s task to give the country an honest, moral, and humble leader, a God-fearing person who is moral and not given to vices, a person who revere life and consistently a friend of the poor.”

Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales gave this reminder in his homily entitled “Stewardship as Caring for One’s Vote: A Task of Citizenship” delivered during the celebration of the third Manila Archdiocesan General Pastoral Assembly (MAGPAS) at the Fleur-de-lis Auditorium, St. Paul University, Malate, Manila, as he urged the faithful “to consider stewardship for one’s vote as a serious obligation of every Filipino, just as it is a serious obligation to care for nature’s resources.”

“Stewardship for one’s vote is part of a person’s devotion to the country,” he said as he cited a teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas that said, “Love for one’s fatherland is a special form of charity called piety. Through piety, every person has the obligation to love God in the highest level and to love one’s parents and one’s fatherland in the second level.”

Cardinal Rosales said “it is the sacred duty of the citizens to provide the country with leaders who are morally upright and honest individuals” and not be swayed by other considerations “like money, popularity, force, propaganda, and deceit that have played destruction in elections of the past and has prolonged the misery of the country until the present.”

The gathering, which was attended by priests and representative from the religious, lay, and youth sectors, focused on the theme ”Mabuting Pamamahala” (Responsible Stewardship). Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the main conference speaker, talked about “MAGPAS III: Bagong Pagpapahalaga! Bagong Pamamahala, Mabuting Pamamahala!”