Bishop Rhee Timbang of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente gives a copy of the IFI’s liturgical book and directory to Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, secretary general of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines during the launching of the two documents at the IFI National Cathedral in Manila on August 3. (Screenshot from IFI video)
Aug 4 2021
The Church leaders vowed to “strive for the healing and purification of memories among our members” and promised to pursue “dialogue”
Leaders of the Philippine Catholic Church and the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI), or Philippine Independent Church, asked for “mutual forgiveness for any injuries inflicted in the past” in documents signed this week.
The Church leaders vowed to “strive for the healing and purification of memories among our members” and promised to pursue “dialogue.”
The IFI, also known as the “Aglipayan Church” after its founder former Catholic priest Gregorio Aglipay, is a national church that declared independence from Rome in 1902.
A joint statement by the Church leaders said the IFI founders were not against the Catholic Church but the domination of Spanish bishops and priests in the country during the Spanish colonial period.
The statement commended the “ecumenical cooperation amidst diversity” of the Churches through the years as it called for “spiritual ecumenism” through joint prayer activities.
The Church leaders said in the statement that the IFI had “strive to reach out for healing and reconciliation with other separated churches founded in the Aglipayan tradition.”
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