November 7, 2015, 11:09a.m. – THE HEAD of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wants to prohibit clerics from blessing new images made of ivory or similar body parts of endangered species.
“No matter the beauty of a work of art, it cannot justify the slaughter of wildlife, the use of endangered organic forms and lending a seal of approval to the threat posed to biodiversity by poachers and traffickers,” CBCP President and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in a pastoral letter dated Nov. 4.
Villegas said new ivory statues and images should not be accepted and used for veneration in churches, and that only ivory images of historical value may be used for worship.
One such historical ivory image is the largest ivory crucifix in the Philippines, found in UST Museum and featured in the National Geographic Magazine. The University argued against its removal and pointed out that the ivory cross was “ancient” and was made before the United Nations imposed an ivory ban in 1989.
Elephant poaching is said to have peaked in 2012, supposedly to meet demand for religious images made of ivory.
Caring steward
Villegas highlighted the Church’s concern over the lack of protection for indigenous species in the country.
“In the Philippines alone endemic species are hardly cared for. Poaching is rampant. Our seas and waters are overfished. Wildlife is surreptitiously traded — because there are both buyers and sellers,” Villegas said.
Reflecting on Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato Si, the prelate encouraged the laity to treasure every creature made by God.
“Every instance of beauty is a reflection of the infinite beauty of the creator. We cannot, without offending the Creator, deface His creation,” he said.
Animal rights groups have decried the killing of Pamana, a Philippine Eagle shot dead after being released into the wild last August, and the death of Lolong, once the largest crocodile in captivity, last February. K. N. A. Sevilla
