Yesterday, we received this letter from Monsignor Villena: "I would like to extend our laud and appreciation to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for her firm decision to stop the slot machine arcade expansion project of the PAGCOR. The incisive statement is a wise and inspired expression of the presence of Christian values that will pervade in our society. Our country welcomes the move at this time when the moral fiber of our society has become so entangled that we easily use the criterion that what is legally right may be morally right, too. In this regard, we know that there were times in the past (and even now) when crimes were subtly committed in the guise of the legality of matters, yet they were blatantly erroneous and destructive because they were morally unsound.
"Gambling in all its forms is immoral because it destroys the basic values of hard work and honesty. In the diocese of Bayombong, we have stopped jueteng and have not ceased fighting and condemning other forms of gambling. We firmly believe that gambling will not bring any future to our youth and our country. Money cannot make a republic strong, but values like integrity, honesty and hard work will.
"Gambling is the fastest way of your getting nothing for something. And a gambler loses much more than money. He also loses his self-respect and time that can be spent in some productive effort. The essence of gambling is the desire to get something at someone else’s expense."
What we should extol is honest work. It is the greatest tribute that any person can give to life. And it is the best solution to all our nation’s ills.
Work is the highest form of prayer. We should all work to help build a nation where every individual will have the equal opportunity to develop their God-given talents. And this has to start with education. The very first freedom should be freedom from ignorance. All other freedoms are meaningless without education. Many illiterate persons may have had the inborn talent of being great writers, painters, musicians, architects, engineers or business persons. But they never had the opportunity to even start going to a school. Sad to say that through no fault of their own, such persons never really lived. They just existed. Their lives can be summed up in four words: From obscurity to oblivion. Others were luckier. They were born in a better heredity and environment situation and they had the opportunity to improve not only themselves, but the future as well. Our goal should be to give to every citizen the opportunity to discover just where his talents lie and the means to develop those talents.