NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      VATICAN (CWNews.com) -- The bishops of the Philippines have issued a strong statement charging that the country's government has both committed and allowed multiple violations of human rights.

      The bishops' statement, issued on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, recited "a litany of injustices," and concluded that the country had seen violations of "civil rights, political, economic, social, and cultural rights, including the right to development."

      The violations-- which have continued even after the lifting of the martial-law regime under which the Philippines were ruled for years-- include offenses by government and by other parties. In the latter category, the bishops cite the many kidnappings which have taken place in the Mindanao regime, as Islamic terrorists fight for autonomy there.

      Other offenses mentioned by the bishops include electoral fraud and political corruption, the refusal to allow collective bargaining in industrial disputes, the offenses committed by paramilitary groups with apparent connivance of local authorities, the exploitation of children, and the general poverty of the people.