FORMER Pangasinan Gov. Oscar Orbos urged Thomasian students to learn selflessness in community building during the Pope Leo XIII lecture series at the Medicine Auditorium last Feb. 1.
The lecture, titled “Beyond Rerum Novarum,” focused on the importance of brotherhood in society.
In his lecture, Orbos said that being children of God, people should not put each other down and instead look out for each other’s welfare.
“If nobody is going to sacrifice for anyone, no one will carry the cross and the burden of the other, then, it will not solve any problem of this country,” Orbos said.
Rerum Novarum was a social encyclical crafted by the Roman Catholic Church, during the papacy of Leo XIII in 1891 to address the worsening disputes between workers and capitalists.
A lawyer by profession, Orbos also said that to solve society’s problems, each member must undergo self-rediscovery.
“Knowing what and who we are and where we are going is exactly the answer. If man is not able to rediscover exactly who he is, we will have a recurring problem,” Orbos said.
Furthermore, Orbos noted the importance of knowing what is good and doing it outright. He said man being inherently good knows what is right but is afraid to do it because of its attachments.
“(Ang nangyayari kasi kapag) hindi natin magawa ang gusto natin, binababaan natin ang standard of goodness, (which should not be) because good is never really compromised.
In addition, better understanding of the Rerum Novarum, according to Orbos, would lead to a better understanding of the plight of the common man.
“Ang sinasabi po ng Rerum Novarum ay kailangan nating tignan ang kapakanan ng working man. Kasi parang binibili lang natin ‘yung tao, na parang walang dignidad,” Orbos said.
