Mayors, governors and other local government leaders have asked the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to help rebuild the country through a nationwide spiritual crusade.
The local government executives have also asked the CBCP to lead efforts for peace, unity and reconciliation in the wake of the dismissal of impeachment complaints against President Arroyo earlier this week.
"I believe that the CBCP can campaign for a groundswell of support for the reawakening of the human spirit towards achieving peace, unity and reconciliation," League of Municipalities president and Binalonan, Pangasinan Mayor Ramon Guico Jr. said.
Guico, who leads 1,501 municipal mayors across the Philippine archipelago, said the bishops’ prime responsibility is to focus on spiritual reform. According to him, the Catholic church is ably equipped to prevent further polarization among the people.
"I believe the CBCP has the right and capability to lead spiritual reformation so all sectors may come to agreement and be united," he said as he promised to follow Church leaders in their efforts to unify the country.
Guico also asked Congress to get to work and resume its legislative duties to make up for time lost to the impeachment proceedings.
He has asked the country’s lawmakers to come up with measures to address the looming oil crisis.
His view was shared by Philippine Councilors’ League president and Mandaue City Councilor Carlo Fortuna.
Fortuna said the rule of law triumphed in the junking of the impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo and added that the bishops must help in the country’s moral and spiritual reconstruction.
National Liga ng mga Barangay president James Marty Lim said barangays in the countryside now expect Congress to return to its task of legislating urgent reform measures.
League of Provinces of the Philippines press relations officer and Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone urged the CBCP to set a Christian example by taking the lead in promoting Filipinos’ spiritual reawakening.
"The bishops can help (the people) weather the political storm sweeping the country by teaching Christian values and traits," Evardone said.
However, the bishops themselves remain split on various political issues and the CBCP said it will not take the initiative to issue a united stand on such matters.
"The bishops have spoken their convictions individually and they have mobilized their flocks according to their pastoral discretion," CBCP secretary general Msgr. Hernando Coronel said. "We respect that because, as a conference, we serve the bishops and not the other way around."
Coronel said the bishops are not accountable to the CBCP, adding that the bishops have every right to speak and act for their dioceses.
He also said there is nothing wrong with bishops linking themselves to current political issues, which he believes also "involve moral issues of everyday life."
"The bishops cannot just shy away from their duty," Coronel said. "They cannot remain silent. They have to reflect, discern (and) respond to what is happening either collectively or individually."
Some bishops — particularly Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz — have vehemently aired their stands on issues such as illegal jueteng and even hosted key witnesses relevant to allegations that the President, her husband, eldest son and brother-in-law received gambling payoffs.
On the other hand, Caceres Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, a former CBCP president, said even Pope Benedict XVI believes that bishops should stay out of political issues.
In Legaspi’s opinion, his fellow bishops "should not issue statements or engage in actions that are political and which we justify by dressing them up with quotations from the Bible and Papal Encyclicals."
Legaspi said the Church should be a force of unity in the country as he urged bishops to promote solidarity by initiating dialogues.
His stand was affirmed by outgoing CBCP president and Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla during his speech at the recent National Summit of Religious Leaders Towards a Culture of Peace and Unity in Cebu City.
"We must be peacemakers and persons of dialogue because a culture of peace is what this country needs urgently," Capalla said. "Our people in government, society, economics, politics and culture cannot work effectively together because true friendship has been lost. There is a need to restore this friendship."
While most of the CBCP bishops have expressed frustration over the junking of the impeachment complaint against the President, they have discouraged the public from joining protests and have instead prescribed prayer.
In Davao City, Capalla said the CBCP position of neutrality on the issue of Mrs. Arroyo’s ouster has not changed: "The CBCP stand stays."
Capalla said the CBCP has not scheduled any meetings among its over 80 bishops and archbishops in the country to tackle changes, if any, in the CBCP position.
He also refused to comment on prevailing issues, saying his statements have been twisted by irresponsible members of the press.
"We are not politicians who are to provide a political blueprint to solve political problems," a CBCP statement said. "Rather, we are bishops called by the Lord to shepherd the people in the light of faith. With Pope Benedict XVI, we do not believe in the intrusion into politics on the part of the (Church) hierarchy."
The CBCP also said that their duty lies in providing moral and religious guidance for the people, adding that not to do so would be an abdication of their moral responsibility.
While it has refused to support calls for the President’s ouster, the CBCP has asked Mrs. Arroyo to "discern deeply to what extent she contributed to the erosion of effective governance and whether the erosion is so severe that it is irreversible. In her heart, she should make the necessary decision for the sake of the country." — Cecille Suerte Felipe, Edu Punay and Edith Regalado