Bishop urges Filipinos to protect environment from greed

Bishop Valentin Dimoc of the Apostolic Vicariate of Bontoc-Lagawe in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) has urged Filipinos not to allow greed to harm the environment.

“We need to convert ourselves so that we may truly have a sustainable relationship with the environment and be able to establish peaceful relationships among people and communities,” he said in a video message shared by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for Indigenous Peoples’ Month.

“Let us not allow greed to change our life,” the prelate said.

Dimoc reminded Filipinos that “the environment sustains and protects the life of people.”

“And we have to respect this,” he added.

The bishop said the country’s indigenous communities understand the importance of environmental protection and should serve as an example for other Filipinos.

“The life of the indigenous people is in harmony with the environment,” he said.

“We appreciate the life of indigenous peoples, their culture and their rituals. The rituals lead us to the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus,” he added.