‘Creative continuity’ is needed, archbishop tells social action workers

By CBCP News

The former head of Caritas Philippines told the social action ministry workers on Thursday to confront challenges with creativity in order ‘to bear much fruit’.

Speaking at the closing Mass of the 40th National Social Action General Assembly in General Santos City, Archbishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, of Caceres said that “our creativity will give us freshness in our ministry”.

“We have to constantly develop new ways and creativity,” Tirona said in his homily. “Creative continuity is very important.. this keeps us young in our ministry, in our social action.”

The archbishop also reminded them that their mission is not to compete with others but to help and foster “communion”.

“So we try to exercise complementarity in our ministry and that is the participation as Church,” he added.

More than 200 social action workers from different dioceses came together for the assembly that had been stalled for two years due to the pandemic.

Aside from a discussion on the Church’s social action work, the four-day event also tackled the national Caritas’ advocacy on good governance.

The assembly is also expected to release a statement of solidarity with the Diocese of Marbel in their fight against open-pit mining in South Cotabato province.

Every two years, the social action workers from the 85 dioceses meet for the NASAGA to discuss programs and strategies.

The 41st NASAGA will be held in the Archdiocese of Jaro in 2024. This will be the second time that the archdiocese will host the event after more than 20 years.

Archbishop Rolando Tria Tirona of Caceres, former national director of Caritas Philippines, delivers his homily during the closing Mass of the 40th National Social Action General Assembly (NASAGA) in General Santos City on June 17, 2022. (CBCP NEWS)