Philippines: Cardinal Advincula Warns of Disinformation, Exclusion and Clericalism

Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jose Advincula warned that disinformation, exclusion and clericalism continue to cast shadows over Philippine society and the Catholic Church, urging the faithful to respond through conversion, communion and a renewed commitment to truth.

Speaking at the Lumina et Umbrae (Light and Shadows) Conference at the University of Santo Tomas on June 9, Cardinal Advincula said Christians are called to confront the realities that obscure the light of Christ in both society and the Church.

"In our Philippine society, many deep and disturbing shadows persist," he said, citing corruption, poverty, violence, ecological neglect and disinformation.

"There is the shadow of disinformation that fractures truth and weakens the community," he said.

Cardinal Advincula said these problems are not merely political or structural concerns but manifestations of deeper moral and spiritual wounds.

Within the Church, he acknowledged that significant challenges also remain.

"There is the shadow of clericalism that distorts ministry into privilege and weakens the baptismal dignity and co-responsibility of the faithful," he said.

The cardinal also pointed to polarization, exclusion and worldliness as obstacles to the Church's mission. He warned against situations in which the voices of "the laity, the young, and those on the margins" are not sufficiently heard in discernment and decision-making.

Cardinal Advincula further cautioned against allowing institutional pressures to overshadow the Church's spiritual mission.

"There is also the shadow of worldliness, when the constant pressure to perform and be productive turns our communities into corporations, our shepherds into managers, and our faithful into mere clientele," he said.

The cardinal's remarks came nearly two years after the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality, as Church leaders, theologians and pastoral workers gathered to reflect on the future of a synodal Church in the Philippines.

Despite the challenges facing society and the Church, Cardinal Advincula emphasized that renewal begins not with programs or structures but with a deeper conversion to Christ.

"In the face of all these, the Synod fittingly reminded us that renewal begins not with strategies but with conversion," he said.

He described synodality not primarily as a methodology but as a spirituality that leads believers "from isolation to communion, from self-centeredness to listening, from fragmentation to shared discernment."

"The future of the Church in the Philippines will not be determined by the sophistication of our research or the intricacy of our proposals, or the abundance of our structures, but by the depth of our conversion to Christ," Cardinal Advincula said.