The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) declared 2014 to be the Year of the Laity. This began on December 1st with the release of a pastoral exhortation by Archbishop Soc Villegas titled "Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be Saints ... Sent Forth as Heroes". The document laments disconnect between the strong Catholic faith in the Philippines and issues of poverty and corruption, calling for renewal. It stresses the role of lay Catholics in transforming society through their participation and influence in various spheres like family, business, politics and media. Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungson are presented as inspirations for lay people.

1. The CBCP declared 2014 to be the Year of the Laity. It
officially began last Dec 1 with the release of the Pastoral
Exhortation titled, “Filipino Catholic Laity: Called to be
Saints … Sent Forth as Heroes” penned by Archbishop Soc
Villegas, the new CBCP President.
As some of you may know, the Philippine Church is
preparing for 2021 – the 500th year of Christianity in the
Philippines. The highlight of the preparations is 9 years of
intensive evangelization with a different theme each year.
Last liturgical year, 2013, we celebrated a Year of Faith.
This liturgical year, 2014, is time for a Year of the Laity.
One small sidenote, it would be good to note the correct
pronunciation for the word ‘laity’. It should be read a leyyi-tee, not ley-te.
In the CBCP Pastoral Exhortation, ‘Filipino Catholic Laity:
Called to be Saints … Sent Forth as Heroes’, Bishop Soc,
underlines the need to empower the laity. He laments that
while the Philippines has been a Catholic nation for almost
500 years and a vast majority of Filipinos are Catholic,
majority of the corrupt people in government and business
are Catholic, majority of politicians who buy votes are
Catholic, and majority of Filipinos who sell their votes are
Catholic. There is an urgent need to renew the social and
political fabric of our country. The bishops further add,
“Individual goodness is not sufficient anymore. The good
individual will only be swallowed up by the evil system.”
Bishop Soc notes the insufficiency of our religious
festivities and educational systems, “It is certainly a
shameful proof of our failure to evangelize our country
that our churches are filled with people, our religious
festivities are fervent, our Catholic schools are many, but
our country is mired in poverty and in corruption.” There
appears to be a disconnect between the faith we profess
and the actions we commit.

2. On the positive side, the CBCP lauded the faith exhibited by
Filipinos, especially when faced with devastating
calamities. They said, what Filipinos have is a paradox of
poverty and abundance. We may be anguished, dazed, and
lost in the face of recent calamities but amid all these, the
abundance of hope, faith, and love surfaces. These are the
jewels of Filipino dignity. “The first and most important
truth about you Filipino Catholic laity is not poverty but
the greatness of your dignity.”
The CBCP went on to stress the role of the laity to
transform the world by penetrating the different straits of
society where we participate. Noting the words of the
Supreme Pontiff, they said, “You must go into the world of
the family, of business, of economics, of politics, of
education, of the mass media and the social media, to every
human endeavor where the future of humanity and the
world are at stake and to make a difference.” We can draw
strength from reading the Word of God and the seeking
recourse to the Sacraments. More importantly, we must
evangelize through our own simple means – by making our
faith bear on our day-to-day decisions and activities.
Finally, the CBCP notes that the only Filipino saints are
both lay. Saints Lorenzo Ruiz and Pedro Calungson can be
our shining inspiration for the Year of the Laity.