Value of things that really matter

(EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is the homily delivered by His Eminence, Jaime L. Cardinal Sin, during the Requiem Mass and Memorial Service for the late Willy Vicoy, held at the St. Rita’s Church, Baclaran, on April 29, 1986 at 6 p.m.)

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ:

We live in a world where people tend to know the price of everything and yet are ignorant of the value of the things that really matter. Thus, we know that Willy Vicoy and Pete Mabazza paid a high price — much too high a price, their grieving families and their friends will no doubt say — in their quest for the truth.

And yet, I wonder: how many of us truly appreciate the value of the sacrifice that they made?

Because only Willy Vicoy’s mortal remains are here in this church, I shall speak only of him. Let it be understood, however, that whatever sentiments I express about Willy also hold true for our other fallen colleague.

Why did Willy die and why are we all gathered here extolling his memory? The answer is simple: because he was engaged in a profession whose reason for being was the quest for and the dissemination of the truth. Because he worked in a profession which recognized that the people had an inalienable right to be told the truth.

In his pursuit of the truth, therefore, and because he was a true professional, Willy was willing to go anywhere — and take any risk — so that, by exercising his creativity and his craftsmanship, he would be faithful to his calling.

He recognized, as did Saint John the Evangelist, that the truth — and only the truth — could set us free. Thus, when he joined the soldiers on their ill-fated mission, he had a mission that was even more urgent and compelling: he wanted to set us all free. Free of the darkness and the ignorance that had kept us in bondage for so long.

In a very real sense, therefore, Willy died for every single one of us. I refer now, not just to the journalists in this gathering, but to all the others here present: men, women and children, those who were physically present on EDSA during those four fateful days in February, and those who were there only in spirit.

Why do I bring back memories of the barricades here? Because I want to point to a parallel. All of us who were at EDSA stopping the tanks knew the great risk we were taking. Willy also knew what perils lurked ahead when he traversed that lonely stretch of road in
Cagayan.

We who were on EDSA gambled, and we won, thanks to the grace of God. Willy also gambled and he lost, thanks to the grace of God. I like to think that, between the time that the piece of shrapnel pierced his vitals and the time that Willy lapsed into merciful oblivion, he probably saw, with crystal clarity, that if God willed that he should die, then He had a good reason for it.

Our minds are too finite, and our intelligence too limited, to be able to discern God’s pattern in everything that happens. But there is — there has got to be — a pattern. Otherwise, Willy’s death would be so pointless, so absolutely meaningless.

What would that pattern be? Maybe it is this: if Willy’s entire life was dedicated to the search for truth, his death is the instrument to make us, all of us, the clergy and the laity, the private and the public sectors, the military and the rebels, discern a greater truth: that our country will not prosper if it is torn by internal strife, that if we hope to achieve peace, we must forget all past animosities and extend our hand in friendship and amity to those who do not think as we do.

We cannot grow as a nation unless we stop killing one another.

It is true that a lot of people have died in a hundred obscure battlefields all over the country. But, in the face of the pressures of making a living, we have tended to forget these deaths.

But Willy’s case is different. He was a member of media, a highly respected member with a lot of friends. These friends will not forget, and they will not allow the public to forget.

Already, some good has been accomplished. The newspapers this morning said that Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile has declared that the Armed Forces are willing to take a defensive, not an aggressive, posture. I presume that he means that the Armed Forces are willing to observe a ceasefire the moment the President calls for one.

I urge our brothers in the hills to seek the ways of peace. Give the Aquino government the chance to prove its sincerity. Please realize that we are all brothers under the fatherhood of God, that, if there is goodwill in our heart, we can find a solution to our differences. If there is goodwill, and if we are willing to sacrifice, then reconciliation can become a real possibility.

I repeat, Willy was willing to die for the truth. We should be willing to do something more: we should be ready to live for it. He paid a heavy price for it. We can make it up to him only if we appreciate the real worth of his sacrifice.

Thank you, and may the good Lord bless us all!