Church will survive presidential rants, bishop says

MANILA, Philippines -  Passé in 30 years? It has existed for over 2,000 years.

Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop emeritus Oscar Cruz yesterday said the Catholic Church has faced shameful events in the past but the religious organization with 1.2 billion members worldwide remains steadfast.

Cruz was responding to the latest tirade of President Duterte, who claimed that the Catholic Church would become passé in the next 30 years because of scandals and abuses.  

But Cruz doubts the Catholic Church would soon be obsolete.

“It’s 2,000 years (old). Let us be a little bit more realistic,” Cruz said.

The former president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) admitted that there are prelates and members of the clergy who have committed indiscretions but this did not lead to the Church’s downfall.

“Up to now,” Cruz said, “there are still some bishops and priests who are not really living the way they should and that is not a secret. One thing is very certain, while the churchmen may be sinful, the Church per se, being founded by Christ, is one: holy, catholic, apostolic.

“That is why if the Church per se were not really a true church, was not founded by Christ… it should have been gone a long time ago. That the Church is still up and about up to this time is an argument that the Church is beyond debate,” he said.

Despite the latest attack by Duterte, the Catholic Church would continue to be critical of what is happening in the country today, Cruz said.

“As to the good and even what is happening in the country, the Church will talk. But it will talk only because it is duty bound to preach the gospel, and the gospel is about what is right and wrong, the good or bad. The Church will always say what is right or wrong, good or bad. Whether the people will listen to it or not, that is their call,” he added.

The 82-year-old prelate also said that the book “Altar of Secrets,” written by the late journalist Aries Rufo and published in 2013, was not the first time that scandals in the Church were exposed.

“They can read the Middle Ages and there are a lot of events there which are shameful, but the Church is still standing,” he added.

Cruz said the Catholic Church hierarchy never prohibited anyone from buying or reading Rufo’s book. The CBCP has not commented on the contents of the book.

“The Church has never claimed that the churchmen are all holy. In fact, it started even with Judas. Twelve apostles and one of them was a traitor. These were the first churchmen and Judas himself was a shame as an apostle in the church,” he said.

The archbishop said that he has read Rufo’s book. He commented that while Rufo interviewed several people, he never interviewed the person concerned. 

“I am not saying that what he wrote was false. But neither am I saying that what he wrote are all true, precisely because most of them are hearsay,” he added.