Fr. Ryan Jimenez said the church, its parishioners and the Mercedarian Sisters in Chalan Kanoa will celebrate Mass at 6 p.m. at Mount Carmel Cathedral.
Jimenez relayed the message of Pope Benedict XVI when he addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations on April 8, 2008.
According to the pope, “the desire for peace, the sense of justice, the respect for the dignity of the person, cooperation and humanitarian assistance” are “expressions of the just aspirations of the human spirit.”
Jimenez emphasized the importance of promoting basic human rights especially in this season of Advent.
The Catholic Church’s social teachings, he added, urge the faithful to be advocates of human dignity because each person “is created in the image and likeness of God.”
Jimenez is encouraging the faithful to bring candles which will be offered during the Mass.
“When we light these candles, we remember those who are in prison, those who have been denied of basic human dignity, the survivors of torture (emotional, spiritual, or physical), and the human rights victims who have gone before us,” he said.
In an interview, the priest noted “challenges in the past” regarding the human rights situation in the CNMI, particularly when there were several garment factories on island.
