EDITORIAL - Room for faith

The annual exodus to the provinces peaks this Holy Weekend. As in previous years, Catholic shepherds are reminding their flock to leave room for faith as they go on picnics and enjoy the country’s tourist sites. The Catholic Church has launched an online version of the Pasyon, a more listener-friendly version of the traditional ululation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ. People might want to check it out, if only to remind themselves that Holy Week is about contemplating faith and not just enjoying the summer vacation.

For all the controversies besetting the Catholic Church, which have seen church attendance falling steadily in many predominantly Christian countries, the basic teachings of Christ continue to inspire much good and promote peace. Faith, hope and charity still bring positive changes in many communities. Teachings about the Seven Deadly Sins – anger, envy, gluttony, greed, lust, pride and sloth – will always be relevant.

As prayers learned by most Filipinos from childhood are recited over and over throughout the week, the faithful can ponder the meaning of the words, generally unchanged in their lifetime and embodying Christianity’s principal beliefs. Those beliefs and teachings, if applied to daily life, could create honest public servants and responsible citizens, promote the rule of law and bring good governance.

Foreign observers have openly wondered why Asia’s only predominantly Catholic nation is also one of its most corrupt, with one of the highest crime rates, and with the people lacking the national discipline and work ethic that have brought prosperity to several non-Christian Asian economies. This week is a good time to ponder whether this, at least in part, is because the country has too much religion, or because religious practice is superficial and the majority of Filipinos have forgotten the teachings of their faith.