“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.”
- Confucius
Last night I was able to catch some few scenes from the show Probe. They featured the late cardinal Sin and how he decided to go against the Church he’s serving and fought against the dictatorship.
A number of points were raised (It really pains me for not being able to watch the entire episode) by Fr. James Reuter but the most significant if not the most heartbreaking, he said “The church is not as united as before.”
It is an eye opener but perhaps It should be viewed in another position altogether. As I see it there is a massive decline in the number of “practicing Catholics” now as compared before. One has to say the times have changed, ergo the way Filipinos think also changes.
As I’ve said before in my previous commentaries it is just plain sinful and unjust to give parallels to EDSA 1, 2, and 3 because they are of different timelines and requires a different kind of analysis mapped out in the context of their struggles as peoples.
To say that we are reliving our past is merely trading an insult to the dead of history. The struggles of Bonifacio, Rizal, Recto, and Ninoy must be understood according to what their time has to offer them.
Renato Constantino Sr. in his books “The Continuing Past” & “A Past Revisited” designed the abstract of outlining history according to the economy also the struggles the masses undertook in their time in creating a more holistic approach to understanding the revolution and development of the Filipino nation.
The more accurate analysis would be Constantino approached each particular period in history as an independent and self-sustaining holistic experience in the paradigms each generation encounters.
The experience of the Catholic Church and the parallels the late Cardinal Sin has to offer to the current dilemma of the clergy is only as good as the experience offered to the Filipino people.
Some points to consider in understanding the “Dis-unity” of the Catholic Church are as follows.
A. The rise in number and influence of other church groups inside their ranks.
B. The rise in number and influence of other religious groups.
C. The lost of credibility of the Catholic Church after a number of un-addressed Priest related scandals rocked the clergy.
D. The massive shift of a number of Catholic Schools towards liberalism.
While it is true that majority of Filipinos are Catholic it is still important that they create ties with other religions that has yet to offer more than their skills and prayers.
Perhaps it is not because the Catholic Church is not united that makes it harder to call for another People Power. Perhaps because the Catholic Church hasn’t invited other churches to deliberate on the issues at hand or if they did they never gave them a chance to share their sacrifices with them.
The Catholic Church is ready for a bitter realization these coming days, that their influence is dwindling given their seemingly fence sitter stand on issues of morality in the government and their failure to pass judgment even when the state holds their opinion dear.
Second that they need to police their ranks, require loyalty and reform their churches. And lastly that their head should give a direct well ironed statement not a diplomatic toned, fence sitting kind of announcement.
Sometimes it takes more than prayers to achieve discernment, and perhaps the revolution is not going to happen with the Filipino People, but with the clergy.
(note: the quote from Confucious is inspired by MLQ3′ article)
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