The Reach

Huwebes, Disyembre 22, 2011

Dati, si Padre Salvi lang ang nabuhay ulit. Ngayon, kasama nya na si Padre Damaso.

Imagine that we are in the 18th century.

The thirteen English colonies in the New World just gained independence; the French Monarchy is now displaced; James Cook just set foot in the Hawaiian Islands; the New York Stock Exchange is established; Napoleon Bonaparte is now the dictator of France after a bloody coup d’etat. In the Philippines, the Roman Catholic Church is very powerful: there is still no separation of Church and State; the Parish Priest is the ex officio Registrar of Deeds; Filipinos are so afraid to be labeled as ‘pilibustero’ or ‘erehe’ (heretic) because not only his soul will burn in hell, but also his corporal existence will be threatened as well. Also, the Roman Catholic Church in this Spanish colony is trashed by European Catholic priests, amassing large areas of real properties and has a very good influence over the affairs of the Spanish Colonial Government.

Now, imagine that we are in the 19th century.

The world’s first research university, the University of Berlin, is found; Napoleon now meets his Waterloo defeat; the modern city of Singapore has been established by the British East India Company; the Confederates have just been defeated by the Union forces in the American Civil War; the world adopts the First Geneva Convention; then there is the Second Industrial Revolution. In the Philippines, the Roman Catholic Church is still powerful like before, but with threats left and right because of the reformists led by Jose Rizal, the establishment of Masonry in the colony, the entry of modern ideas from Europe, more liberal Governor-Generals, and the growing population of the educated middle class. However, the Friars are still able to maintain power through scheming, blackmail, and deceit.

Now, let’s go back to the 21st century.

The Philippines is now a sovereign State for over fifty years now after being a Spanish colony for three centuries (the Brits occupied us for a brief period of time), after being an American territory for over forty years, and after being occupied by Imperial Japan during the Second World War. Smaller and more high-ended gadgets have been invented. The internet connection has never been this fast. ‘Avatar’ beats ‘Titanic’ as the highest-grossing movie of all time. The Election in the Philippines is now automated, and Noynoy Aquino is elected as the 15th President of the “independent” Philippines. And, of course, one of my favorite shows (Glee) is rocking the airwaves of the United States and of the world. The Roman Catholic Church’s power is now broken down to pieces, especially with the establishment of free religions in the Islands, but still powerful. Politicians fear the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP): the defeat of Claro M. Recto in the 50s (just because he did what the Church wished him not to do) is still fresh in their memories. Other than the CBCP, they also fear (even more) the Archbishops, for they are among the political kingpins in our archipelago (remember the 1986 People Power?). However, the separation of Church and State led to the rise of the dynamic exercise of free will in the country especially in politics, right?

WRONG!!!

That’s just in theory, ladies and gentlemen. Notwithstanding the fact that the Manila Regional Trial Court ruled that “religious leaders cannot endorse political candidates running for office” and that “if the head of a religious organization ‘influences or threatens to punish’ members of that group, he or she could be charged with coercion and with a violation of the members' right to vote freely,” still churches left and right still attempt to override free will and self-examination. In the past, the Church prosecuted Ptolemy because he said the Earth is round; then the Church prosecuted Galileo for making a premise that the center of the Solar System is the sun and not the Earth. The Church even called Queen Elizabeth I many names like ‘whore,’ ‘heretic,’ ‘witch,’ ‘bastard,’ etc. The Church also prosecuted Rizal for his reformist ideas. Now, there is a threat to excommunicate President Aquino for his support for the RH Bill (although the CBCP is now licking back its spit). Also, a certain Carlos Celdran is now in jail for protesting the Catholic Church’s meddling in government affairs.

Why is it just a theory? First, churches left and right still influence their members’ voting behavior during elections. Second, politicians give high regard on the opinion of the churches with regard to sensitive issues in our society like abortion, divorce, and reproductive health. This makes them hypocrites because they do not follow their own convictions: only the dictates of the powerful Church. Well, I am not saying that the opposition of the Church is wrong: in fact I am cool with it because the religious people are just doing their job. What I am not alright with is the fact that politicians let the strong opposition of the Church to hostage the interests of the populace by acting as the “representatives of the religious” and not as the “representatives of the people.” The Reproductive Health Bill was killed in the House of Representatives because only a few supported it. Other Representatives did not support it because the Church was very against it, labeling it as anti-life even though abortion was never included in the Bill. Well, elections were fast approaching and they did not want to blow up every chance they had either for reelection or election for some higher position.

Come on guys!!! We are now in the 21st Century!!! Gone are the days that we are living under the “tutelage” of the Church. I am not saying we should stop being religious. What I am saying is that we should give balance between our religious lives and our secular politics. The Church has been in power for the past centuries and still no positive progress: too much corruption is still there, abortions left and right (despite the prohibition against it), high-profile crimes, separations of spouses (sometimes violent), and many others. The foundation of our family system is theoretically strong, but our morality as individuals and as a nation is already a goner. Now, let’s give chance to the liberals (I am not referring to the LP) and modern-thinking (as well as postmodern-thinking) individuals to take control of the situation room. Excommunication as a threat against a change-making leader is so 18th Century: LET’S MOVE ON!!!

I have to admit that I am not seeing myself having a divorce in the future, but I am in favor of divorce. I am in favor of it because prohibiting it is inutile. We already have de facto divorce: people pay psychiatrists and judges left and right just to get themselves annulled from their spouses, despite the absence of a single ground. That, ladies and gentlemen, is another form of CORRUPTION. Some people, if not most of them, still do not follow the morality of the Church, despite the presence of numerous patriarchal and medieval laws in our jurisdiction. Come to think of it, if one’s marriage and morality are really strong, he/she will not avail of divorce or birth control programs even if there is a law allowing such. The Church should stop making pointless vendetta against liberal-thinking politicians. They should also stop the ceaseless campaign opposing the divorce bill and the RH bill. They should go out from the dark ages and open their minds to the immutability of change.

I like the statement of the Faculty community of the Ateneo de Manila University: “we can still be good Christians even if we have the Reproductive Health Bill.” I would like to add that having a divorce in our jurisdiction does not mean that we are evil, and prohibiting divorce as well as the passage of the RH Bill does not make us good Christians. It is up to us how to become good Christians and good citizens of the world.

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