EDITORIAL - Pastoral letter places Church in precarious position

The Catholic Church may have been inadvertently placed in a difficult situation by a pastoral letter issued in the name of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines by its president, Socrates Villegas. The letter specifically asked Filipinos not to vote for a presidential candidate it considers to be, among other things, "morally reprehensible."

The pastoral letter did not mention the candidate by name. But it was very clear to everybody who the pastoral letter referred to. It would have been safer if the CBCP pastoral letter spoke in general terms. Not only can it skirt accusations of politicking, there would also be no position to be measured against the outcome of the election.

But by taking a specific position against a particular candidate, the CBCP may not only be accused of open politicking, its position can now also be held against the May 9 election result, specifically with how the alluded to candidate fares. The Catholic Church has therefore been placed in double peril by the pastoral letter. Aside from having openly campaigned against a specific candidate, the CBCP stands the real risk of being repudiated at the polls.

For what if the candidate it has openly asked Roman Catholics to dump in the elections manages to win despite the CBCP publicly vilifying him as a "morally reprehensible" man? Roman Catholics make up the bulk of all Christians in the country, who in turn make up about 80 percent of the population. To be sure, unlike other Christian denominations, there is no such thing as a Catholic vote. But the CBCP has always thought it has a good grip on its Catholic flock.

Such thinking, however, is rather illusory. On many occasions in the past, the Catholic Church took firm positions on matters of public interest and has more often than not been repudiated. The reproductive health law, for instance, passed despite intense opposition by the Church, at one time even taking to politics in an effort to prevent voters from voting into office those it felt were supporters of the then RH bill. That effort fell flat on its face.

This intense involvement of the Church in politics can potentially drive away believers instead of strengthening its numbers. Catholics are not as passionate as members of other denominations and could likely sit silently in church as some politicized priests harangue them about their political choices. But once out of church and into their own private lives, they are more likely to pursue their own choices than by swayed by those they feel have no business being political.

One incident might be recalled in the early 2000s in one of the Catholic churches in Cebu City, wherein a matron in good standing in society stood up in the middle of a Sunday Mass to stop the priest from his politicking. The matron then walked out and was followed by many churchgoers. Let the Church, therefore, stick to its spiritual ministering and leave politics out of the menu. And if it must delve into politics, let it be in general terms. No active campaigning.