By CBCP News
PHILIPPINES – A Catholic bishop emphasized that poverty must never prevent the faithful from receiving the sacraments, urging the Church to place compassion above cost.
Speaking during a Mass with fellow bishops at Holy Infant Parish, Bishop Patrick Daniel Parcon of the Diocese of Talibon said the Church must dismantle financial barriers to grace.
His inspiration, he said, came from a lesson imparted to him early in his ministry.
“The poor cannot wait,” Parcon said in his homily at the Holy Infant Parish in Anda, Bohol on Sunday. “Placing price tags on sacraments should not be the reason to deprive any single soul of the sacrament.”
In a move to make the Church’s sacraments more accessible, especially to the poor, the diocese abolished all fees associated with baptisms, funerals, weddings and Mass intentions in 2021— breaking from the long-standing practice known as arancel.
Parcon said the reform is part of a broader effort to shift the Church’s focus from institutional maintenance to pastoral mission.
The decision to eliminate sacramental fees followed months of consultation, research and dialogue with clergy and lay leaders across the diocese.
It also included efforts to standardize priestly allowances—an internal measure, the bishop said, to ensure that mission and mercy, not money, guide the Church’s pastoral life.
“It is only through this that the poor can be served better, that the poor can be given their share in the Church,” he added.
‘A Church without mission is a dead Church’
The diocese’s decision followed months of consultation with clergy and lay leaders, and included efforts to standardize priestly allowances — an internal measure, Parcon said, to ensure the Church’s pastoral life is driven by mission, not money.
The bishop delivered the homily during the second day of the three-day plenary assembly of bishops hosted by the Talibon diocese in Anda.
“A Church without mission is a dead Church,” Parcon said. “There is no excuse. We have to do it.”
A personal wake-up call
Parcon also recalled a moment that shaped his conviction: witnessing a coffin being blessed without a funeral Mass.
When he asked why, the widow responded, “We don’t have money to pay for the Mass.”
“It was very sad,” Parcon said. “Everybody deserves a decent burial. Something has to be done. So I said something has to be done.”
From comfort to compassion
Beyond eliminating fees, the bishop called on clergy to step outside their comfort zones and deepen their presence among parishioners.
He praised fellow bishops for connecting personally with communities — even through small gestures like taking selfies with parishioners.
“This might seem ordinary, but this is mission in action. This is synodality in reality,” he said. “It’s about walking with our people.”
Parcon also expressed hope that the renewed spirit of mission will inspire more young people to consider vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
“Your presence will certainly increase vocations in the diocese,” he said. – CBCP News
