ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH: A SEA OF EMPTY SEATS

Jogging, a morning ritual, to the Gilbert Bridge over the polluted Padsan River, the blogger dropped by the imposing centuries-old Laoag Roman Catholic Church. The 6:00 AM mass was in Iluko or Ilokano and the priest, his voice struggling over a defective microphone,  was talking to a few parishioners and a sea of empty seats. As empty as the great cathedrals in Europe on Sundays.