Go Where the Wounds Are: Catholic Bishops Urged to Confront Grief, Disaster, and Division with Compassion and Truth

OZAMIS, Philippines — At a time when grief, disaster and division weigh heavily on Filipino communities, Archbishop Martin Jumoad of Ozamiz urged Catholic bishops to “go where the wounds are,” opening their annual retreat Friday with a call for pastoral leadership rooted in compassion and truth.

Speaking at the Ozamiz Cathedral, Jumoad drew on the Gospel account of St. Thomas the Apostle, who sought evidence before professing faith in the risen Christ. That insistence on confronting wounds, he said, must guide the Church’s ministry in an era marked by calamities and public demands for accountability.

“Wherever there is death, wherever there is loss, wherever there is a question of justice — that is where we place our finger,” Jumoad said. “A shepherd does not change the subject when his sheep are bleeding.”

The retreat, which precedes the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ plenary assembly next week, comes amid deadly flooding in Cebu, communities still recovering from a powerful Mindanao earthquake and mounting calls for justice in public life.

Jumoad cautioned against a faith that turns away from suffering, warning that justice without Christ risks becoming bitterness, while Christ without justice risks becoming empty words. “First, we touch the wounds with compassion,” he said. “Then, only after touching, we fall on our knees.”

His appeal underscored the Church’s challenge of balancing prophetic witness with pastoral care. Without naming political figures, Jumoad stressed that bishops must defend life and truth without partisanship. “We are not called to be anti-anyone,” he said. “We are called to be pro-life, pro-truth, pro-justice.”

For many Filipinos, the wounds he described are not abstract: grief, unemployment, debt, broken families and deepening social divisions often remain unseen. Jumoad urged Catholics to transform pain into mercy and reconciliation through concrete acts of compassion. “When disaster strikes, let us not ask only, ‘Who is to blame?’ Let us also ask, ‘How can I help?’”

The retreat also coincides with the 75th anniversary of the Archdiocese of Ozamis, celebrated under the theme, “Celebrating 75 Years of God’s Faithfulness: Rooted in Communion, United in Participation, Growing in Mission.”

As bishops gather through July 6 in Sinacaban, Jumoad’s words carry a reminder that the Church’s credibility rests not in avoiding wounds but in touching them — and in standing beside those who bear them.

About The Author

Bishop Tony Manaytay

Bishop Tony Manaytay is a pastor, journalist, and community leader whose ministry is shaped by a strong Christian Socialist worldview rooted in the teachings of Jesus. Before entering full-time ministry, he served as a community journalist and development worker, experiences that deepened his conviction that faith must confront injustice and walk with the marginalized.

Guided by the belief that capitalism’s culture of greed contradicts the Gospel, he advocates a discipleship that embodies compassion, communal responsibility, and economic justice. Today, he continues to preach, write, and mentor leaders, advancing a vision of Christian faith that transforms not only individuals but also society.

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