There goes Villegas again

It is bad enough that the Catholic Church cannot keep its hands off politics, it is worse when one of its leaders comes out with a message openly campaigning against a particular candidate. Not only does the message reek with hypocrisy, it is also misleading and tends to embroil the entire Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines when clearly it is just the handiwork of one man.

In a message made public recently, CBCP president Socrates Villegas did not just keep to the limits of his spiritual authority by asking Filipinos to seek out divine guidance that they may vote conscientiously and wisely. Not only would that have been acceptable, it would have been very much welcome. But Villegas did not stop at generalizations. He singled out a particular presidential candidate and asked Filipinos not to vote for him.

Now, Villegas may not have exactly called out the candidate by name but the description he gave is exactly the same description the rivals and critics of this candidate have consistently described him. To even think Filipinos do not get who he means by his ill-disguised attack to think very lowly of the capacity of the Filipino to read between the lines.

In fact, that Villegas stopped short of naming the candidate proves he knew the Filipinos would know who he meant. But why would Villegas go on the attack against this one man? Could it be because the preferred candidate of his political benefactors does not appear to have a chance of winning? But why would Villegas not issue a personal statement instead of using the entire CBCP as a prop to couch his bias?

Is Villegas worried that a personal statement would not be believed, considering how low his credibility has sunk on account of his long-standing association with his favorite political family? But in using the CBCP as a prop to couch his political biases, did he have the authority and permission from the organization? Did he even have the decency to ask the entire membership.

It is understood that the president of the CBCP, as with any organization, may be allowed to speak for and on behalf of that organization. But it is doubtful if such authority and permission is automatically given on matters as emotional and divisive as politics, and most especially since the message did not involve general exhortations but comprised a direct attack against an unnamed but clearly discernible and identifiable candidate.

And how could Villegas keep a straight face in dispensing the specific evils he launched against the candidate in question. Calling the candidate "morally represensible," it is a surprise he did not flinch at a description that could very aptly describe so many members of his own calling as well. Is Villegas blind to the reality that many men of the cloth are just as "morally reprehensible" as the candidate he described?

Where was Villegas when a succession of three popes – Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI, and Pope Francis – acknowledged and apologized for the moral transgressions of these priests and bishops? Does Villegas even practice the forgiveness that lies at the very core of the Christian religion, the forgiveness that Jesus Christ is so free and willing to give sinners. Christianity is not about outcasting. It is about good shepherding, of bringing back the lost and the sick.

What Villegas should have done was pray for this man, for this candidate, that if ever he gets chosen by the Filipinos as their next leader, that he could get around to respecting that decision and do what he can to advise him spiritually about genuine reform. That is what he should have done. But apparently, Villegas has become so politicized on account of his close association with his favorite political family that he could no longer separate his politics from his real mission.

Moreover, how could Villegas be so hard on a candidate he considers to be "morally reprehensible" and not realize that, perhaps, his own shortcomings and failings as a good shepherd may have directly contributed to the candidate's fall into moral reprehensiblenes. As head of the CBCP, is Villegas really on top of the moral situation in the Philippines?

The problem with moral and spiritual guardians like Villegas is that they are only very good in words but never so hot in deeds. When was the last time Villegas pulled aside an erring politicians and connected with him in a manner that can only happen with God's good graces, instead of publicly chastising those he did not like just to please those that he did? What has Villegas done, away from media attention, that might help politicians reform and become better citizens?

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