Ban 1D? What for?

If I was absolutely certain that Fr. Conegundo Garganta meant it as a joke, I probably would have suggested to the people behind the One Direction concert in Manila in March next year, also as a joke, to just give the priest a VIP ticket or, better yet, its P17,950 price tag.

But Garganta did not appear to be joking because he said quite a mouthful about the extremely popular British boy band. So seemingly sure was Garganta about the boy band that I initially thought he was their next door neighbor. But of course Garganta was just shooting from the hip.

Ok, let me clear this first -- my youngest daughter, 14, is a One Directioner, or what fans of the band call themselves. She is such an avid fan that when the 7.2 magnitude quake rocked Cebu in October last year, the only things she cradled in her arms to save were her 1D CDs.

My daughter is not watching the 1D concert, however, so Fr. Garganta can heave a huge sigh of relief. But it is not for the same reasons that prompted Fr. Garganta to issue a public statement in the name of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which I doubt he had the authority to issue one on its behalf.

My daughter is not watching because the price tag is simply too prohibitive. Besides, I may have to spend a fortune just to have her and whoever has to accompany her fly to Manila and stay in a hotel for maybe a day or two. Unlike Fr. Garganta, though, she hasn't lost hope and prays I stumble upon the end of a rainbow.

Which brings me to the issue Garganta has raised -- would I allow my daughter to watch the 1D concert if  I can. Of course I would. In fact, if I had the means, the whole family would be going. Does this mean I am correct and that Fr. Garganta is wrong. I don't know. You be the judge.

Last Wednesday, Fr. Garganta, the executive secretary of the CBCP, issued a statement to media, in effect calling on parents not to allow their children to watch the concert. The priest even went further by urging the government to ban the concert altogether.

So why is Fr. Garganta, whose public statement did not say if he was speaking for himself or had clearance to speak for the entire CBCP, so anxious about the One Direction concert? Well, it seems that the priest has come across some video showing two members of the group smoking what appeared to be marijuana.

So? Even if the two boys did, that doesn't mean they will be doing so during the concert, or at least not before their audience. A concert is not a pot session. It is a physical display of  artistic skills, in this case playing music together as a band, for which they have become proficient enough to command a following.

I can understand Fr. Garganta's point about One Direction being role models. But why single out the band? Every person is a role model in his own right. In fact, priests are far more influential and persuasive role models than band members. But has Fr. Garganta raised a peep against priests who are even worse offenders?

A priest who spends years studying what is good has a far higher level of moral and ethical measurement than a band member who, in this case, is just out of boyhood. A boy who errs does not deserve being ostracized like an adult but should be spoken to, counseled, and given a shot at reform, perhaps by a priest.

I really cannot understand what got into Fr. Garganta. All of us have been young once. We all have had our youthful sins -- in my case the neighborhood kids I grew up with used to filch guavas and stole looks up young girls' skirts. But none of us ever became robbers or perverts. We outgrew our childhood and became men.

I don't know Fr. Garganta from Adam, so I cannot say if he ever grew up. But for a priest who holds a responsible position in a respectable institution such as the CBCP, he certainly acted like a child. How lowly does he regard our young that he would fear they would become degenerates just by seeing one concert.

Fr. Garganta should not be a bigot, especially toward the young. He should have faith in them and trust that their Catholic upbringing will still allow them to emerge from their enjoyment of the music of their youth unscathed by whatever negatives may have spooked him. No kidding now, but someone please give Father a ticket.