CEBU CITY — In response to Pope Benedict XVI’s clarion call to evangelize politics, the Roman Catholic Church in the country, through the Circles for Discernment for Elections (CiDE) initiative has finally launched the Vote God campaign here to raise awareness among those who need discernment in choosing the country’s next leaders in the May elections.

The groundwork of the campaign challenges every Filipino Christian to use their conscience in casting their votes while, at the same time, urging candidates not to practice of vote buying.

It can be recalled that Fr. Carmelo Diola, overall Coordinating Steward of the Dilaab Movement during the CiDe launching at the Betania Retreat House in this city bared that the movement will not only help voters but the candidates as well as they will be given “LASER (for Lifestyle, Action, Supporters, Election Conduct and Reputation) questions” where they can answer public concerns, among other queries.

Diola shared that the movement took shape in session after CiDE retreats with close to 30 Church-based groups, involving about 3,000 participants from as far north as Bontoc in Luzon and Mati in Mindanao, including one overseas session to be held with an overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) group in Hong Kong beginning in April.

He also said the sessions combine a brainstorming technique with a spiritual module in coming up with a list of desired traits for leaders aspiring for public office.

Further, the results of the sessions will be the basis for the LASER test, which, in turn, will also be used to determine how to choose God-fearing candidates.

Meanwhile, on the same occasion, the Archdiocese of Cebu through His Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal expressed support for the campaign saying the movement will further help in sustaining political awareness among the electorate.

“Vote God initiative complements what we have been undertaking on a sustained basis through our C-CIMPEL (Cebu Citizens Involvement and Maturation in People Empowerment and Liberation),” he said.

The Cardinal even thanked and blessed the initiators for their contribution to the continuing education of our people.

Also, in his homily prior to the official launching of the Vote God initiative the Cardinal has reminded everyone to properly exercise their voting responsibility for the destiny of our nation.

Vidal cited that God features prominently in our elections. Candidates perfunctorily invoke God in their decisions whether to run or not to run.

“If we are going to consider all the declarations we have heard so far from candidates about God’s will for them, we get the impression that God is as confused as our electorate on whom to side with this coming elections,” he said.

However, Vidal underlined that “God is not God if He confuses us for He is the God who gave us our reason so that we may think with clarity. He is the God who gave us our conscience so that we may act righteously.”