Cardinal Tagle: Gov’t leaders are stewards, not owners of nation’s wealth

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle reminded public officials that they are not owners of the nation’s wealth but stewards who must exercise honesty and accountability in using public resources.

In a Sunday homily at Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Manila’s Malate district, Tagle urged Filipinos to pray for leaders and for all citizens to live as trustworthy stewards of God’s blessings.

“To our leaders: You are not the owners of the nation’s wealth. You are stewards,” Tagle said. “And God, who is the true owner, will ask you one day: How did you use what was entrusted to you?”

The former Manila archbishop stressed that the mark of a steward is being “trustworthy,” not acting like a “thief.”

He also echoed the bishops’ call for an “examination of conscience” not only for those in authority but for all citizens, noting that the culture itself is in need of transformation.

“The invitation is for everyone to reflect — of course, especially our leaders, but not only them. All of us,” said Tagle, who is also the pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization.

The cardinal underscored that prayers should lead people to seek “treasures that will not be destroyed or lost,” urging both leaders and ordinary citizens to dedicate their talents and wisdom to the common good.

“We pray for our leaders, we pray for our people, so that our lives may be peaceful,” he said. “Let us turn to God, the true owner of our lives.”

In Cebu, papal nuncio Archbishop Charles Brown urged the faithful to confront corruption and make caring for the poor a priority.

Speaking during Mass on the eve of the Danao City fiesta, he described corruption as a “plague” and expressed hope that nationwide protests would mark the beginning of a cultural shift toward transparency and fairness.

“We hope that today will be a moment in which [the] nation begins to change, in which we set a new course away from corruption, towards more transparency and more fairness,” Brown said in his homily at Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Parish Church.

The Vatican envoy also reminded the faithful that caring for the poor is a Christian obligation with eternal consequences. He used a striking image of heaven’s gates, where those who helped the poor during their lifetime will be welcomed.

“When we come to the end of our lives, the poor people that we have helped will help us… they will help us enter into the Kingdom of heaven,” he said. (Roy Lagarde/CBCP News)

A version of this article was first published by CBCP News.