(Manila) Bishop Ramento was stabbed to death in his house in the early morning of October 3, 2006 in Tarlac, Philippines. Prior to his death, Bishop Ramento had been actively involved in various organizations and movements advocating human rights, social justice especially for the working class, civil liberties and genuine peace. He was co-chair of the Eucumenical Bishops Forum, chaired the Promotion of Church People's Response-Central Luzon and human rights group Karapatan-Tarlac, and various church and cause-oriented organizations. He was an ardent supporter of the Hacienda Luisita strikers. As the chairman of the Workers Assistance Center, Inc., he also supported the struggle of the workers in Cavite, Philippines. He was also a vocal and influential critic of the Gloria Arroyo administration. Rev. Fr. Rex RB Reyes, general secretary recalled, “He was a church leader not so much concerned about creating a name. He was more concerned about what the church could do for the people.” The new Archbishop adds, “All his life, he led a simple life, fully devoted to his vocation as a ‘shepherd of the flock’, ministering and serving the needs of the deprived, oppressed and exploited peasants and workers, the street children and the poor of the earth.”
The Eucharist looks forward to a global society in God, a city for all the nations, in which the last are first, the humble lifted high, and the powerful repentant, as grace and peace forgive and unite all humanity. The supper should be celebrated as a provocation and inspiration to make that rebellion real in love and a song of reinvigorating hope that the future can break through into the present. Eucharist is the sign and reality of the hope of a just world for all.
A Eucharistic Vision for a Globalized World
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