EDITORIAL - A wrong cannot make a right

However strongly the Church may feel about its position on the RH bill, and however right it may think that position may be, to urge the people to do something illegal — which is not paying taxes — is clearly not the way to solve this problem. It is wrong and not the proper position for the Church to take.

Perhaps the Church can win its battle with government on the RH bill in this way, although that is not likely. But even if it does, it will be a Pyrrhic victory because the Church cannot expect to win by illegal means without eventually giving up something along the way, such as losing its credibility.

The Church at this point in time is not exactly the paragon of credibility. An increasing number of its priests and bishops are getting enmeshed in sex and financial controversies. It needs to be enmeshed in another, like exhorting people to do something illegal as not paying taxes, like putting a hole in the head.

How can the Church later on stay convincing in making a stand on any moral and ethical issue when it is weighed down by the heavy baggage of having espoused wrongdoing just so it can win a hollow victory? With espousal of wrongdoing in its resume, it becomes easier to shoot down its credibility.

And for what? If it wins its battle with government in this way, it will still be a hollow victory. After all, even if government abandons the RH bill in fear of a Church-led campaign against paying taxes, the Church still cannot be sure if its flock will adhere to its position on the issue after all.

What happens in the bedrooms of people are still their own private affair. Not even the Church can compel anyone to even so much as open a crack to let the prying eyes of anyone see, lest of all that of a Church that may have lost much of its credibility by then. Thus, if the Church understands the risks involved in its new battle tack, it better think again.

The best way for the Church to win is still by means of conviction and persuasion. It is still through the pulpit that the Church can deliver more effectively the message it wishes to convey. It is still through its own righteousness and credibility that it can flex the muscles it used to have.