Last of two parts
As with any struggle steeped in sacrifice and setbacks, the near-irresistible temptation for the Philippine Catholic Church grappling with RH lies in losing faith, hope and love.

Faith in God’s presence and grace. Hope in eventual triumph. Love for what is good and true, just and beautiful which others may not see. Even Christ cried on the cross: “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

But Christianity’s very beginnings and millennia of history undeniably testify that God’s will eventually overcomes impossible obstacles, including death. Moreover, Philippine prelates have sparred with the powerful for centuries, from Manila’s first Archbishop Domingo de Salazar denouncing oppressive landlords in the late 16th century, to Jaime Cardinal Sin launching people power against Ferdinand Marcos.

Today, the Church is gravely concerned over another imperious president with his own compliant legislature, fawning media, protected friends and prosecuted opponents, plus supportive America advancing its Asian agenda. Hence, the hierarchy must employ its own version of Sin’s “critical collaboration,” at least until 2016.

In this charged atmosphere, it is doubly imperative for Filipino Catholics from Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle down, to keep eye and heart on Christianity’s core: Christ Himself. It is providential that Cardinal Tagle’s motto as archbishop is Dominus Est (“It is the Lord”), from the apostle John’s words of recognition for the Risen Jesus (John 21:7). The Lord should indeed by the Church’s focus, its singular anchor and beacon in a raging sea of worldly problems.

Hence, for the broader Catholic agenda in the Philippines, this writer humbly proposes three key thrusts: the Lord and His primary gifts of life and love. God is the love that has given every human being life, and that same divine love sustains and protects His people through the ages. And in His loving sacrifice of redeeming humanity through Calvary, God invites all to oneness with Him as His children in love.

Life, love and the Lord— these are the tenets that this believer urges the Church to enliven amid the rare fervor of countless Filipino Catholics stirred by RH. And we humbly offer our views on the social initiatives to advance life, love and the Lord in public affairs.

On life, besides pro-life advocacy and programs, especially countless more natural family planning seminars and advice, there should be similar assistance to women and girls with unplanned pregnancies, to offer them options other than abortion. Sadly, if the RH law passes, sexual activity would increase, leading to more unplanned pregnancies due to contraceptive failure, and thus, more pressure to abort the unborn.

The Church must also give urgent attention and action to three other deadly scourges: political strife, disasters, and smuggling. Bishops, parish priests and leading laity should work with police to help make arrangements among election rivals to minimize violence. In areas where local insurgents can forge peace agreements, Church leaders should also push for such pacts.

Disaster prevention, preparedness, and risk reduction is another life-saving thrust to focus on, particularly in harnessing diocesan facilities and activities, plus Catholic schools, to disseminate calamity warnings and organize rescue and relief. The priority should be programs aimed specifically at saving lives, including the provision of rescue boats, medicines, and emergency communications. Lastly, bishops should constantly push calamity prevention, especially relocation of families from hazard areas, watershed protection, and flood control and calamity warning systems.

Many will wonder why stopping smuggling saves lives. Trade data shows that contraband has surged about tenfold under President Benigno Aquino 3rd. Never mind if the many thousands of unchecked, untaxed containers coming in contain just dutiable goods. In fact, guns and drugs slip in with the rice, cars and other contraband. Make no mistake: smuggling kills.

On love, the Church has many institutions and programs for the poor and other neglected or oppressed sectors. To these longstanding initiatives Catholics should consider adding activities addressing the biggest obstacle to charity in society in every age: the perennially widening gap between rich and poor in both income and interaction. The well-off generally do not have much to do with the hard-up.

Such bifurcation by income class happens in homes, neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, even parishes and dioceses. That is hardly the kind of caring communities Christ envisioned. State and international agencies try to address this gap by uplifting the poor, but neither bother promoting love between affluents and indigents.

This should be the particular focus of the Church: to forge bonds of love and solidarity in households (between amo and kasambahay), barangays, offices, factories and other places fissured by wealth and privilege, as the fathers of the Church did in bringing together patricians and paupers 2,000 years ago.

As for the Lord in the Church’s agenda, while this writer can offer nil advice in spirituality, liturgy, biblical exegesis, and other ecclesiastical fields, there is one area where a hack can hazard a suggestion: communication. It would greatly enhance public awareness of and closeness to Christ if His words, actions, and other wisdom from or about Him are more explicitly linked to everyday life and issues during Mass and other church activities and in public pronouncements.

What would Jesus say, wish or do? Answer that question in situations that matter to people, and the Lord will loom larger in our land and our hearts. Dominus est!

Ricardo Saludo serves Bahay ng Diyos Foundation for church repair. He heads the Center for Strategy, Enterprise & Intelligence, publisher of The CenSEI Report on national and global issues ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ).