MANILA, Jan. 22, 2013— From the pulpit, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle is bringing the Catholic faith to the school campuses to reach out to young people.
The cardinal started his campus visits last Jan.16 where he held a no-holds barred dialogue with the students of the Technological University of the Philippines (TUP).
The event was supposedly the first of a series of visitations by the cardinal to various colleges and universities within the Archdiocese of Manila.
Dubbed as “Faith Explored: Journeying in Faith with the Cardinal”, the campus tour coincides with the Church’s Year of Faith celebration, and aims at helping the youth reflect on their Catholic faith.
As an extension of Tagle’s Sunday TV program, The Word Exposed, the campus tour is being organized by the Jesuit Communications with the help of the Campus Ministry of the Manila archdiocese.
According to the JesCom, the cardinal’s next stop is at the Centro Escolar University (CEU) in Manila on February 26.
Fr. Nono Alfonso, SJ, JesCom executive director, admits that many young people have “biases” against the Church but stressed that they continue to look at the youth as the “hope of the future.”
“What is therefore needed is Openness to one another, and Dialogue,” Alfonso said.
He also revealed that that campus tour is the idea of Tagle himself to reach out to as many sectors as possible especially the youth “whose energy, vitality and creativity can animate the Church.”
During the two to three-hour dialogue at the TUP, he said that the cardinal and the students talked, debated and reflected on the faith.
“And in the process, what ensues is a greater appreciation and understanding of our cherished faith,” he said. (CBCPNews)
