Church bells will be rung across the archdiocese of Manila every evening to remember another priest shot dead in the Philippines.
Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the killing of Father Mark Ventura, alongside numerous other murders, meant 'the poor, needy, helpless, and vulnerable are the usual casualties'.
Ventura, 37, was shot by drive-by gunmen on Sunday and is the second priest to be murdered in the Philippines in less than 4 months.
In a letter to priests in the Manila archdiocese today Tagle said: 'Last September 8, 2017, I issued an appeal for the tolling of our church bells in the Archdiocese of Manila every evening at 8 pm in remembrance of the dead. I am asking you to continue the practice and to invite our communities to pause, remember, and pray.'
He added: 'The bells beckon us to remember the dead, never to forget them, and to ask God to remember them. The bells haunt the perpetrators of violence and killing to remember their victims, never to forget them.
'The bells urge us to commit to actions of truth, justice, love, and respect for God's gift of human life and dignity. The bells beg us to transform the mourning of our people into hope and peace.'
