Prudence of CBCP?

Amidst the “loud and repeated lamentations from many sectors of Philippine society” and a “deep dissatisfaction and frustration among a good number of people of goodwill, about the recent CBCP Pastoral Letter entiled ‘Spherding and Prophesying in Hope’, dated 9 July 2006: a bishop blogged that the over-all guiding principle that ruled it was prudence.

I really pray it is not false prudence. What is false prudence? I quote from Chiara Lubich a lay catholic considered also to be a theologian:

“What ruins some souls is a false ‘prudence.’ They call it prudence, but it’s a human prudence, and it springs up every time the divine surfaces. It has the appearance of virtue but is more aggravating than vice. It does not want to shake anyone up. It lets the rich go to hell (“you already have your reward,” cf. Lk 6:24) by not enlightening them. Who knows what might hap­pen? It lets the neighbors beat each other up, and even kill, because someone might accuse you of meddling in other people’s affairs. You could even end up as a witness in a trial. Why bother to get involved? It advises moderation to the saints, lest something happen to them.

It isolates us. This prudence cuts us off, clamp­ing us in like a vice, because it’s born of fear.

It’s especially scared of God. If he were to become too active in the world, through his faithful children, God could incite revolution; and those children’s lives could be ruined, like Christ’s; they could end up hated by the world, as he was.

It’s a counterfeit virtue. I think it’s planted or fertilized by the devil. He can do a lot of business in that climate. There once lived a man who had none of it. That was Christ Jesus. When he went out to preach, at the first lesson they wanted to kill him, there and then. “But he went straight through their midst and walked away” (Lk 4:30).

Look at his life with the eyes of this sort of prudent person and you would call the whole thing an imprudence. Not just that: If these prudent persons were logical in their reasoning, they would draw the conclusion that his death, his crucifixion ,.. he asked for it … with his imprudence.

I don’t believe there’s a word spoken by Jesus that does not jar against these people. That is because God and the world are a complete an­tithesis. Only those who are able to emerge from the world to follow in the footsteps of Christ can make humanity hope for anything.”

Chiara Lubich

Is there still hope in our country?

Amid the noises of off beat media which rather would satisfying the palate of sensational intellectual curiosity, the CBCP again made a statement with clarity and decisiveness. Rather than concentrate more on rather politically explosive statements, they concentrate more on their shepherding and prophesying in hope, to guide Filipinos towards right moral principles of politics and its morality.

What my friend wrote me, seems to be shared by many. He said: “Somehow, I find our situation hopeless. This nation has become a nation of idiots! Look at the majority of Filipinos. Ill-educated, malnourished and stupid. Many don’t even exercise their common sense. It’s pathetic. Law and order has broken down. There is a breakdown of trust in society. Our culture has become a culture of entertainment. Even those in the left do not even know what they are fighting for. They have become kidnappers and bandits. Look at the public discourse in our society. No depth! Ang babaw! Next year election na naman. And the . . . poor will vote the movie stars na naman.”

“Shepherding and Prophesying in Hope” is the title of the latest pastoral letter of Pastoral concerns. Is true shepherding, real catechesis and formation the solution? My friend is right in writing the individual bishops should “implement real, sustained, focused catechetical programs aimed at a real moral recovery in society,”

In fact the statement dedicated more space on catechism regarding the social doctrines of the church and its mission to evangelize and to prophesy which should be done with hope!

There was no CBCP split over second impeachment case vs Arroyo. Theirs was a clear assessment and statement. Although they are “undoubtedly for the search for truth.” and “in all sincerity [we] respect the position of individuals or groups that wish to continue using the impeachment process to arrive at the truth,” they ”are not inclined at the present moment to favor the impeachment process as the means for establishing the truth. For unless the process and its rules as well as the mindsets of all participating parties, pro and con, are guided by no other motive than genuine concern for the common good, impeachment will once again serve as an unproductive political exercise, dismaying every citizen, and deepening the citizen’s negative perception of politicians, left, right and center.” This means what is important is first to purify intentions, i.e., “a genuine concern for the common good.” When this is reasonably assured then the “present moment” is ready. It could be a true and authentic political act, for the common good of the “polis” (or city from which politics takes its root). Personally, impeachment is still ruled by numbers game according to party affiliations rather than a “genuine concern for the common good.” When? frankly, I don’t know.

Among the concerns, impeachment was only the third concern. Priority was given to family life, the living cell of any society: “We are deeply troubled by attempts to legislate or make as state policy ideas that tend to weaken or even destroy cherished religious values regarding the nature of life, the nature of marriage as union of man and woman, child bearing, the values formation of children, etc.”. The others were known: charter change, and extra-judicial killings both from the extreme left and from the extreme right.

But are we really without hope as a people? Filipinos will always have hope but we also need more formation, more catechesis, more change of minds, hearts and perhaps more love and prayer

We could also ask ourselves the same questions our bishops asked at the start: “Do we ever encounter Jesus who is the very reason for our being Christian? How do we encounter him? Does this personal encounter change our life, our life in the family, our life in the community, our life in society? If we believe in Jesus and love Him, have we become better persons, better Christians, better citizens? Have we become better followers or disciples of Jesus? Has the fact of being Christians made our society become more peaceful, more fraternal, more just?” All of us, in one way or another could give our own answer.

Perhaps the most encouraging statement is that our bishops “see what many of our people, priests and religious, but lay men and women especially away from the limelight and the glare of publicity are doing quietly to put into practice what they understand Christian social concern means.” Are we one of them?

 

Let’s celebrate life, rather than curse death!

Again, thank you CBCP for your statement affirming the abolition of death penalty and in so doing encouraging our justice system to take the path towards the culture of life, a term used by John Paul II against the background of the culture of death.

As any human positive laws that could change, this one is more attuned to the divine law. “We hope that the abolition of death penalty in the Philippines will now be a permanent one,” says the statement.

We could not but now turn our gaze to our prisoners who have seen through the eyes of hope especially those who are staying in the death row. As we turn our prayers for them and their families, we could increase their hope by doing our part in visiting them. (On June 24, we will be there in Bilibid for a for one-day Mariapolis in the maximum security department, where those convicted of death sentence are) I could imagine how they and their families received this news!

Their families too need encouragement. Perhaps to let them know about this is as important and make initiatives so that they may be in contact with one another!

We breath a fresh air on what the CBCP suggested: “A program of rehabilitation through values formation and income generating projects must be pursued for the prisoners in order to generate the sense of humanity and usefulness among them.”

Let’s celebrate life, rather than curse death!