A little background… the president have always said even before he was elected into power that he would support the passage of the RH Bill(Reproductive Health Bill) in an effort to curb the population explosion in the country. In essence what it says is, the state will provide and make available all safe and acceptable means of birth control to its citizens(in particular the marginalized and the poor) and that includes condoms, birth control pills and I think even tubal ligation and vasectomy IF they choose to have it. as a result of this stand by Pnoy, he has been targeted by the sharp tongues and redicule of some Catholic Church leaders. They took turns taking potshots at him, some were even calling for his excommunication. meanwhile, a scandal broke out only this week, when PCSO(Philippine Charity and Sweepstakes Office) released a report by COA(Commission on Audit) stating that some Bishops and some diocese of the Catholic Church received millions of pesos in donations from the administration of Gloria Arroyo using PCSO funds *is there no end to the litany of wrongdoings by this shameless woman?* anyway, what scandalized the nation is apparently, some of these donations were directly solicited by some bishops to buy 4X4 SUV vehicles for “the diocese” but in reality, for their personal use. This very same bishops who only a few years ago, when practically the entire nation was calling for the resignation of the very same Gloria Arroyo, refused to heed that call inspite the very serious allegations hurled against her of breaking the laws of God and man. What makes matters worse is that PSCO money is Public Funds and under the law that governs it, it cannot be used or cannot be given to any religious denomination… Cory Aquino has long been a staunch supporter and loyal follower of the church and its teachings and her judgement calls were more often than not supported by the church specially during the leadership of Cardinal Sin. Unfortunately for her, a few years ago, at the height of the “hello Garci” scandal and believing that there are serious legitimacy issues raised against the sitting president, Cory called for the resignation of GMA and many were puzzled why her call was not supported by the CBCP(Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines). As a result, she was vilified by some quarters, calling her stand irresponsible and baseless. Sadly, years after her death, its now clear why the CBCP left her in the lurch at that crucial time in our country’s history.
Recent events have put my beloved church in the spotlight and something tugged at my heartstrings urging me to write about this unwanted attention being focused on the church. No, not to add to the bashing it has already been subjected to BUT to urge the church to do a self-reflection to save the institution. I feel that sweeping the controversial issues under the rug is a great disservice to an institution I so love. That for the church not to address them in the most appropriate manner is putting its moral authority over its flock at risk as it may ultimately make our church useless and immaterial in the future. *heaven forbid I hope it never happens* im constantly reminded by visions of those grand yet empty churches in Europe and I cringe at the thought of that happening here.
They say that the money or the vehicles was for apostolic work and social services, not bribe. a toyota grandia, a mitsubishi montero, an izuzu crosswind to be used for social services??? People, were not a bunch of dummies here and dumb is an adjective that im sure is NOT a description we would associate with our church leaders. We do not need an IQ of a genius to know that there is something wrong here, somewhere. And for one of them to say, “why are we being singled out?” is, is, is… OH My God, and I mean OMG, is that suppose to be their defence??? To translate that in the vernacular, it is even more clear that the act is morally objectionable at the very least : “bakit kami lang???” It is an admission of guilt! They clearly know it is wrong and yet the call of and for worldly pleasures got the better of them. they are insinuating that they are being singled out because of the catholic church’s strong opposition to the administrations call for the passage of the verry controversial RH Bill. For the sake of argument, granting that it is true, does that make what they did right??? my dear bishops of the catholic church, the issue here is not about the RH Bill, as far as that is concerned my position is, let the people decide for themselves if they want to use artificial contraceptives or not, that is between them and their God. the state is not forcing them to use it, they are just making it available for them. the issue here is the acceptance and solicitation of public funds for personal use by some of your members. The very same people who are suppose to be the guardian of our morals... that is the issue!!!
the catholic church has a long history here and abroad for covering up misdeeds of members of the church hierarchy. I say, enough of that!!! I call and demand that those who consider themselves responsible and righteous leaders of our church to once and for all show us your strong leadership anchored on morally strong grounds and foundation. Acknowledge the wrongdoings of some of your members and apologize for it. there's no shame in admitting youre wrong and rectifying your mistakes. I for one do not expect my church leaders to be saints BUT I would most definitely expect them to clearly define what is right from wrong. For them not to say anything, skirt the issue and make irresponsible and preposterous statements is the same as condoning the wrong acts. Who do we expect to teach us on issues about morality but our church, the very institution responsible in guiding our values according to the teachings of Jesus Christ himself.
I have long been holding my horses, trying my very best not to write about my church despite all these controversies it had gotten itself embroiled into. I have a tendency to loose myself when im writing and I was afraid that I might write something disrespectful as I address this issue in writing. As the institution that taught me about God and his teachings, I have always held MY Church in high regard despite knowing its not a perfect institution. To me whatever its imperfection lies to a large extent on a few members of its leadership and not on the church itself. What makes my faith in my church strong is because I look at beyond the personalities involved. The Catholic church cannot be defined by a few bad eggs in the hierarchy. In my heart I know that there are more incorruptible, upright and humble unnamed individuals within the catholic church who do their apostolic work discreetly and yet effectively and we may have not heard of them only because they “do not want to let the right hand know what the left hand is doing”, which is just the way I like good deeds to be done. There’s no way that im just going to sit here in silence while a few that belongs to the tribe of “Padre Damaso” further disgrace themselves and drag down the entire Catholic Church with them.
==> UPDATE
12july2011
halleluja, thank you dear bishops for seeing the light :D i knew that my faith in my church is not misplaced and that discerning and upright members of the CBCP will prevail against the misguided and confused members of your organization. in their pastoral letter entitled "A Time of Pain, A Time of Grace"(very aptly titled if i may say so myself :p), let me share with you some parts of that letter and please excuse those side comments in italic and in parenthesis,those comments are MINE...sorry i couldnt help myself i just have to butt in :p anyway, as i was saying...
...here are some interesting parts of their pastoral letter... our bishops said, “… We are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you,” ... “We assure you that the bishops concerned are ready to accept responsibility for their action and to face the consequences if it would be proven unlawful, anomalous, and unconstitutional". The bishops admitted the issue “deeply wounded” the Church causing confusion among the Catholics “because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching.” (exactly! again, i couldnt agree with that statement enough :p)
...here's an intriguing part of that pastoral letter... “Some members of the Church believe in the innocence of the bishops involved in the issue, while others do not(hurray!!! whoever you are :p). There is no doubt that everywhere in the Church there is great sorrow,” (hmmm, i would have loved to be in that CBCP meeting to observe the proceedings, my imagination is running riot at the thought of how they expressed their thoughts on this issue. were voices raised??? was anybody reprimanded??? who's sincerely apologetic and who remained defiant??? i can only speculate, speculate and speculate , chismosa much! :p)
...and my favorite part of the pastoral letter... “We express again our deep sorrow for the pain that the recent events have brought to you our beloved people. The good Lord knows our love for you.”
well done! although... i suggest to the members of the prelate who may be sympathetic to those who are right smack in the middle of this scandal, to please for crying out loud, refrain from issuing comments that could undermine the goodwill created by this pastoral letter. i could STILL hear some of them making excuses for their embattled colleagues. while i understand that you may not want to leave them in the lurch by publicly denouncing their actions, it doesnt serve them and OUR CHURCH well if you continue your role as their apologists. i have always believed that A SINCERE APOLOGY OFFERS NO EXCUSES!!!
