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THE political temperature has died down, partly
because Lent comes this week. But, there remains an effort to
influence the members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) to support the move to remove President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo before her term ends in 2010. Expect the
agitation to increase after Holy Week.
The anti-GMA Black and White
Movement and supporters of the political opposition expressed dismay
after the CBCP refused to support the GMA resign movement. A chorus
of statements to demonize the bishops’ stand followed this.
Two recent developments may be
part of the effort to reverse the bishops’ stand. There is that
statement by Mr. Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada—now surrounded by nuns
and priests - that he might leave the Catholic Church because he
could not accept the CBCP position. The second is former President
Corazon Aquino’s exhortation to the faithful to pray for the CBCP
so it could be enlightened.
The problem with President Aquino
is that the bishops must have read her motives. The widow of our
hero is no longer an independent entity, but is seen as an
implementor of the political agenda of some political forces. She is
no longer that credible. That is why when Cory makes statements like
GMA “should make the supreme sacrifice,” (translation: Resign!)
the public seems to be wary.
Despite our secular Constitution,
we cannot underestimate the influence of the bishops in our national
life. That is why any political plan to oust the government has to
have their blessing. We have seen this in the overthrow of Marcos
when the CBCP took a collective stand against tyranny. The goading
of the bishops in the present situation could only be part of the
bigger plot.
Despite the outspokenness of some
bishops like Bishop Cruz of Pangasinan, the CBCP stepped on the
brakes and junked the resign call. They probably know that if they
support the resign call, this can lead to political crisis. And for
heaven’s sake, why should they risk the prestige of their
Apostolic office for the sake of putting one politician in power?
The CBCP must have also realized
that to allow themselves to be the tool of the power grab could be
very divisive. The country is not 100 percent Catholic. There are
Filipinos of other faiths which, by the way, is growing by the day.
Surely, these other sects would not welcome the idea of a government
that was put in power by clerics. That would bring forth memories of
the Spanish colonial times when the friars exercised influence over
political and economic affairs.
Perhaps, it is best for the
political personalities who want power served them on a silver
platter to leave the Catholic bishops alone. They should fend for
themselves in attaining their political goal. It is unfair to the 80
percent of Filipinos who consider themselves Catholics to have their
bishops made the unwitting tool of an attempt at a political
overthrow.
It is perhaps time for national
society to delineate the role of political parties and the clerics.
If there are some political forces who want to oust the present
government, they should use their own resources to carry out this
task. But they must not get a free ride from the bishops whose role
in society is different.
The bishops should also ignore
the threat of Lozada to resign from the Catholic Church on the
ground that the CBCP has refused GMA’s resignation. By his own
admission, Lozada is a nominal non-practicing Catholic who did not
reject corrupt practices when he was in government. He should not be
a big loss to the Church.
jules42na@yahoo.com
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