This past February he came back to the Philippines for an extended tour and filmed the following videos, all of which touch on the RH bill one way or another:
Obama and the Philippines
Obama's Gay Ambassador
Even in the Philippines
The Church is Right!
Bishop Chat
The following article from the CBCP for Life website summarizes Voris' exhortations to his Filipino listeners to defend the Catholic faith and its stance on matters of doctrine and morals:
MANILA, Feb. 22, 2012—Catholics should see to it that they translate their faith into concrete everyday actions instead of merely paying lip service and staying on the level of being a “Sunday Catholic,” an international speaker said during his recent visit to the Philippines.
“One can’t say ‘I’m a Catholic, I love Jesus,’ then goes home and pretends that none of the other stuff matters. There are threats against the true, good and beautiful so intense that this demands a certain response from us. Everything we do needs to be dedicated to the advancement of the Faith, whether we’re evangelizing someone we know, carrying out a devotion, fighting abortion in the Philippines, the RH bill… Whatever it is, we simply don’t escape,” Michael Voris of RealCatholicTv.com reminded the crowd at St. Francis of Assisi Parish during a recent talk he gave as part of activities being conducted by Pro-Life Philippines for Respect and Care for Life Month.
Voris, known for his online episodes of The Vortex which delves on various issues pertaining to culture and the Catholic faith, emphasized the call to every Catholic to deepen his understanding of the Faith and urged all to be pro-active in defending the Church especially nowadays.
Not to be timid about Catholicism
“You cannot be… quiet, afraid, timid, shy about Catholicism. The Church is under attack from every possible avenue you can imagine,” he said.
The Catholic Church is being criticized for its unwavering position on contraception and abortion, and Church officials and groups have been leading the opposition to anti-life legislation, such as the Reproductive Health (RH) bill. Lately, however, Filipinos of various persuasions and religious affiliations have become more vocal in rejecting the population control measure.
Voris pointed out the need to understand issues regarding the culture of life and know how to explain their stand on matters like the RH bill, even when talking with self-proclaimed “independent thinkers.”
“Oftentimes Catholics do sound uninformed, uneducated, just like we’re parroting back some party line, some script to read, that we don’t understand. That’s wrong; that has to change, the 50-year-old speaker observed.
“And for some it’s ‘I’m gonna vote against the RH if it comes up’ or ‘I’m gonna oppose it and I’m gonna go out in the streets and protest against it because the bishop told me to.’ You sound like a total moron to somebody who doesn’t understand what the Church teaches. You need to be able to say, ‘I’m protesting this because… blah blah. And I’m happy that the Church and I are in agreement on this because this is the truth, and I live according to the truth.’ That’s how you’re going to have to answer that,” he urged.
Genuine love leads to studying the Faith
Voris, who went on a week-long tour speaking to groups in Manila, Bacolod, Cebu and Davao accompanied by Pro-Life Philippines’ officers, explained that the desire to know more is a natural consequence of a genuine love for Christ and his Bride, the Church. And if there is genuine love, a Catholic would want to understand the Church’s teachings and position regarding life issues.
“In order for Catholics to really, really love the faith, and love all the teachings that come out of it, not just the theological, dogmatic or sacramental teachings but also moral teachings, you’ve got to know the faith. There’s a basic principle of philosophy — you can’t love what you don’t know. And the opposite of that is true also: Why would you not want to know everything that you can possibly know about something that you love, or someone that you love?” the speaker stressed.
Voris is known for his direct and sometimes scathing approach to tackling issues, and here he minced no words in getting his points across to jolt his audiences into a more dynamic practice of the Catholic faith.
“When Catholics are accused of being like mindless sheep and can’t think for themselves, that argument against Catholics has a little bit of truth in it… Why? Because Catholics don’t know their faith enough.”
For a Catholic not to know his faith means he doesn’t love it enough, he said, but enthused that authentic love for God and the Church he established will change that.
“The faith… always comes down to a simple relationship between me and my God. Now do I love this God the way I should? And if I don’t then shame on me,” Voris continued.
“When you love somebody you want to know everything about them that you can possibly know. You wanna know everything about the person. You ask a lot of questions. Why? Because you love them or think about them and you wanna know everything about them. “
Earlier in the day, Voris paid a visit to Adamson University to speak with the students as part of his Manila itinerary. He visibly captivated his young audience, driving home the message about the need for young people to seek friends, and eventually a future spouse, who will bring them closer to God first and foremost. He also underscored the importance of finding someone whom they can be proud to call as the father or mother of their children. He concluded by urging the young students to be true to their calling to live a Catholic way of life and to be true to their identities as Catholics.
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Absolutely convincing. Michael Voris also dismisses the reality of global warming.
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