CBCP to issue Oratio Imperata for rains in areas affected by El Niño

MANILA (PNA) -- The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is set to issue an Oratio Imperata to ask for rains as some areas in the country are experiencing drought due to the effects of El Niño.According to CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas, they are ready to urge priest to ask for rains through the prayer they will issue. Ready na, he said when asked if they will issue an Oratio Imperata.The Lingayen-Dagupan prelate is optimistic that once they start praying, rains will fall.? Uulan (it will rain). Have faith in the power of prayer, he said.For his part, Fr. Jerome Secillano, executive secretary of the Public Affairs Committee (PAC) of the CBCP, said the issuance of Oratio is warranted by impending or continuing calamity, whether it is natural or man-made.? It's usually when there are impending or continuing calamities, whether natural or man-made, that an Oratio Imperata is issued, he explained.?The Catholic priest added, By issuing it, we recognize that man's capacity may not be enough to avert such problems, hence we invoke the One whose power far surpasses that of man. He noted that by the power prayer, God will answer the people. By collectively praying the Oratio Imperata, we believe that God will put an end to something that affects the well-being of man, Secillano added.The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the dry spell may intensify until mid-2016. (PNA)