There is no doubt about it. A demolition job is going on against the prelates of the Catholic Church particularly the bishops apparently because of the Church’s staunch opposition to the RH bill. I still don’t believe that Malacanang is behind this raging assault against the Church prelates although there are subtle signs pointing to their involvement especially because they seem to be defending and/or favoring those who made the exposes against the bishops. Hopefully, they realize sooner that everything happening now is definitely not good for our country. It will only bring us to a crippling strife and very destructive split.
The Senate has already concluded its inquiry into the PCSO “scandal” involving seven bishops and found that the COA report on the unconstitutionality of the “luxurious” vehicles given to them was without basis in fact and in law. Even then, realizing that there may have been some kind of “impropriety” in asking for the donations, the CBCP came out with a pastoral letter of apology for the “pain” caused on the faithful by such scandal, and decided to return the vehicles given although they are being used for charitable and social purposes of helping the poor in their communities. So people can no longer say that there is something morally wrong with their acts because that perceived wrong has already been recognized and corrected.
It would have been nice if healing followed after such an apology by offering the hand of reconciliation while at the same time saying “ok lang, sorry din po” which is the typical and customary Christian Filipino reaction. But in this case, no such reaction came about. The personal attacks against the bishops continue. Those responsible for dragging the bishops into the “scandal”, that turned out to be a dud, refuse to admit any mistake and insist that the bishops committed something wrong which they said “pains” them as Catholics. One of them even compared the bishops to rust that, she said, would destroy the Church. She even accused the bishops of yielding to “bribery and temptation” during the Arroyo administration. These are serious accusations which are like rubbing salt to the wound inflicted. She should back up her words with the filing of the necessary legal action instead of unduly airing her accusations in media. There is really a demolition job going on.
Now they are even digging up the alleged investments of some bishops in the shares of stocks of private business corporations. This latest revelation is again unfair and very misleading. These stocks are actually investments of the Church itself to take care of its temporal needs and those of its faithful. All other churches have such investments. In the particular case of the Catholic Church, these investments are placed in the name of the bishop who is by law considered as a corporation sole. A “corporation sole is one consisting of one person only and his successor in some particular station who are incorporated by law in order to give them some legal capacities and advantages, particularly that of perpetuity which in their natural persons they could not have had”. In this sense, a Bishop is a corporation sole and so is a parson or vicar (Black’s Law Dictionary).
Obviously the bishops mentioned are holding those shares for the Church in their capacity as corporation sole. They are not holding these stocks as their own personal investments. And there is nothing immoral or illegal about these arrangements. In fact there was one time when the Catholic Church owns the majority shares in Bank of PI and Monte de Piedad and Savings Bank. Yet some of these bishops are now being depicted as the personal investors of those funds apparently to show that they are rich while so many people in their dioceses and parishes are so poor. This is clearly another demolition job.
Actually, these anti-church moves are worldwide. They have reach our shores already especially because of the strong opposition of the Church to the RH bill which is really and originally a foreign crafted and foreign sponsored bill. The government should distance itself from these moves fomenting anti-church feelings for it may ultimately lead to pure secularism without any religion or favoring some religions over others which are in violation of the freedom of religion clause of our constitution.
It is thus so unfortunate that this debate on the RH bill has been reduced to personal attacks and ruining of reputations. It simply confirms that the proponents are running out of valid arguments. There are so many points raised by those opposing the bill that have not been satisfactorily refuted or have been completely ignored. If the bill is really for the good of our country and people, its proponents should stick to the issues raised instead of resorting to personal attacks. One of the main issues here that remains un-rebutted is the promotion and use of contraceptives already proven to take the life of the unborn from the moment of conception which is in clear violation of the Constitution (Article II, Section 12) and of the Revised Penal Code on abortion. A mere statement in the bill that it is against abortion and is not legalizing abortion cannot refute this medically proven fact.
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