Analysis and Opinion
By Joe America
The Catholic Church is a great humanitarian institution. It gives the Philippines conscience, and comfort. But it needs to help more, socially, and politically.
The Church is forgiving. Great. But forgiveness undermines accountability if it is exercised as the dominant moral foundation. It is the opposite of accountability, which is what happens when a human owns up to mistakes and corrects them.
Corruption is killing the Philippines and the Catholic Church is not doing enough to root it out. Not doing enough to get rid of the nationwide acceptance of corruption.
Corruption is evil. It is the theft not just of taxes, but of jobs and infrastructure and education. And food.
Unfortunately, Philippine institutions do not fight corruption the way it should be fought. It's like there is no conscience. The Philippines forgives corruption through a justice system that favors the entitled. Citizens accept corruption as the norm. Forgiving it.
The Catholic Church should be the nation's conscience. It should be outraged. Its flock should be outraged. The Church had its voice when President Aquino ran things, threatening to excommunicate him for being pro-contraceptive. Remember the crowds back then? The signs in Church windows? It was, of course, the President's secular job to temper runaway population growth and end the suffering arising from the nation's inability to feed everyone.
The Church does have a say in things. It can speak out if it chooses to. It could oppose pogos, confidential funds, and discretionary funds. And the raid on Phil Health reserves. And other purchase shenanigans like the expensive Chinese jeepney replacements.
But the Church today seems to have lost its public voice. I don't hear outrage about corruption, even though the damage is huge and theft is a material sin.. I don't hear anything.
Where is the accountability?
What is the Church for?
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Photograph from The National Catholic Reporter article "Philippine House passes reproductive health bill over church objections"
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