Priest urges Christians to speak out against killings
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The Rev. Rex Reyes detailed human rights violations in the Philippines
in a 2007 report for members of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations
Human Rights Council.
A UMNS photo by Kathy L. Gilbert.
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Fifth in a series
By Kathy L. Gilbert*
Nov. 21, 2007 | MANILA, Philippines (UMNS)
Christians should be able to look past doctrine and see their common
humanity, said a church leader working ecumenically to stop human rights
violations in the Philippines.
"I keep on telling my members in my church that my intention is not to
make you very good Episcopalians; I would like you to become very good
Christians first," said the Rev. Rex Reyes, an Episcopal priest and
member of the National Council on Churches in the Philippines.
Reyes was on the writing team that documented killings of more than 800
civilians and the "disappearances" of another 200 in a 2007 report to
members of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations Human Rights Council
in Geneva.
"Christianity is not just a social club," he said. "It is a movement
primarily of people who are concerned that everybody should have
abundant life. And clearly in our experience, the reason the National
Council of Churches in the Philippines is howling is that its people are
howling."
Reyes is the council's program secretary for Christian unity and ecumenical relations.
"We ask that the Philippines not be forgotten."
–The Rev. Rex Reyes
In an interview with United Methodist News Service, Reyes thanked the
United States for sending "wave after wave" of supporters to the
Philippines, with The United Methodist Church taking the lead.
A delegation from the California-Nevada Annual (regional) Conference
traveled to three regions of the Philippines last February to hear
reports from church workers and others about the killings and
abductions.
"Nothing can match the experience of really talking to the persons, to
the bereaved, living in their houses and eating with them, having that
communion with people," Reyes said. "Nothing can match that. They really
left entirely different persons than when they came into this country."
Reyes said he doesn't understand why governments and leaders keep
repeating the same mistakes. He cites President Ferdinand Marcos, whose
corrupt and repressive government ran the Philippines from 1966 until
his ouster in 1986. Marcos, he said, underestimated the power of the
people at the grassroots level. "He suddenly woke up to the reality that
you cannot continue punching these people without paying a price."
Reyes said the Scriptural teaching that all people are created in God's
image is "not an empty statement for Christians. Christian people ought
to be bothered when people are getting killed," he said.
He also reminds that there is power in prayers. "We ask that the
Philippines not be forgotten. Pray for not just us but all people who
are suffering," he urged.
*Gilbert is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Video Story
A Call for Justice
Audio
Rev. Rex Reyes: "Christianity is not just a social club."
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Global Connections: The Philippines
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