Church-Duterte dialogue a must
Last week, President Rodrigo Duterte once more lambasted the Catholic Church and priests for their hypocrisy and pretensions. This happened just as Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secrestary Jess Dureza had an audience with Pope Francis in Rome when the peace talks with the communists went underway. Clearly, certain people who whisper behind the president’s ear are staunchly anti-Catholic, which is why even without any provocation on the part of the Catholic Church, President Duterte lambasts our bishops and priests.
Now whether President Duterte likes it or not, the clergy has its role in society to remind our people of what is moral and what is immoral. While he is being trusted by a great majority of the Filipino people, 80 percent of whom are Catholics, he should never unnecessarily alienate the Catholic faithful who still put their trust in him, despite what our Church leaders say against the extrajudicial killings. To generalize that many priests have illicit affairs or having two or three wives is wrong, coming from the president of this Catholic country.
Perhaps President Duterte wasn’t told that like here in Cebu, the Cebu Archdiocese has embarked on a parish-based rehabilitation effort sans any funding from the Duterte administration. It’s a small contribution on the part of the Catholic Church that the Duterte administration should recognize and not ignore. Just take a good look at the efforts of my good friend Fr. Carmelo O. Diola, and perhaps President Duterte would soon wake up to the reality that the Catholic Church is doing its share in the war against drugs.
Now I’m not a great fan of Vice President Leni Robredo because I still strongly believe that she is someone’s puppet. But I find myself agreeing with her for the first time when she pointed out in the press that President Duterte’s latest tirade against the Catholic clergy was unnecessary and only creates animosity between the government and the Catholic Church. If President Duterte cannot understand why the clergy keeps on lambasting him on the EJK issue, then the solution is to hold a meeting with the clergy. After all, I still believe in that dictum, “Listening is the beginning of understanding.”
Well, at least we can see a light at the end of this tunnel when Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella suggested that Malacañang is now seeking a dialogue with the leaders of the Catholic Church. Secretary Abella said, “Let’s try to reach out to one another and have a real dialogue and real conversation. Let’s try to go beyond this. The Church comes from the aspect of humility and knows how to deal with secular, and knows how to deal with the powers that be. I would encourage the bishops to have a dialogue. Let’s talk.”
At this point, I urge the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to come up with a committee of bishops, priests and the laity to meet with President Duterte at his convenience. I include the laity because the Catholic Church is not only composed of bishops and priests but also the laity. After all, we have been called “the body of Christ.” Perhaps when this meeting with the Catholic Church materializes, it may result in the president’s better understanding of the role of the Catholic Church and what it can do to help him in his fight not just against illegal drugs, but corruption and poverty. So let’s get on with this dialogue as soon as possible.
***
There they go again, blaming the media for their troubles. I take exception to the statement of Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa for blaming the media in making the PNP look bad in the eyes of the public. Whether he likes it or not, it is not the media that is making the PNP look bad, but the rogues in their ranks at the PNP who make their whole organization look bad!
The fact that Korean businessman Jee Ick-Joo was murdered inside Camp Crame raises a lot of eyebrows. No, I’m not asking the PNP chief to resign his post, but to act swiftly against those who committed this crime because it involves a foreigner and brings shame not only to the PNP as an institution, but to the entire Philippines as well.
- Latest
