Worthy of St. Thomas More

Four Negrense lawyers were conferred the St. Thomas More Awards by the Diocese of Bacolod on August 29 for their noteworthy contributions to the advancement of the advocacies of the church.

The honorees are the late Judge Henry Arles, the late Deputy Ombudsman Juan Hagad, and the diocese legal counsels Mitchelle Abella and Henrietta Vinco.

The conferment coincided with the feast of the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, during a mass was held at the San Sebastian Shrine.

Among those who attended the ceremony were MTCC Executive Judge Napoleon Diamante, University of St. La Salle president Ray Suplido, University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos president Emeterio Buñao, and dean of the UNO-R College of Law John Paulo Villasor, among others.

The St. Thomas More Award is a Diocesan honor accorded to lawyers in grateful recognition of their services rendered to the Church, especially in the Church's advocacies, like the promotion of social justice, defense of human life and human rights, protection of the environment and the promotion of genuine peace based on justice.

It is named after St. Thomas More, patron saint of lawyers, who, following his conscience died a martyr for the faith rather than succumb to the threats and enticements of the powerful. The project was initiated by Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra in 2005.

Congratulation to all the awardees! Keep up the good work.*

Remember: Sometimes, flowers grow best in the sun, others do well in the shade. Remember that God puts us where we grow best and gives us good people to grow with.*

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