Synod 2023: CBCP chief highlights role of OFWs as ‘reluctant missionaries’
CBCP president Pablo Virgilio David, the bishop of Kalookan, said OFWs – whom he described as “reluctant” or “accidental” missionaries – need to be empowered as they were not specifically trained for this role. “Filipinos especially overseas Filipino workers, are finding themselves in new situations all over the world and are forced by circumstances to become what we call ‘accidental missionaries,’” David said in a press briefing on Wednesday at the sidelines of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The “alienation” sometimes felt by OFWs in their host countries is precisely why they “hold on to their faith as their only source of strength and moral courage,” even if they never took it seriously back home, the bishop said.
