Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity
(CBCP Stement)
Beloved People of God:
Greetings in the peace of the Lord!
Today in the midst of restlessness and confusion, we come to you as pastors, for that is our precise role. We do not come as politicians whose vocation it is to order society towards the common good. Our message contributes to the flourishing of a democracy which must not be built only on political formulae.
We face today a crisis of truth and the pervading cancer of corruption. We must seek the truth and we must restore integrity. These are moral values needing spiritual and moral insights.
Therefore, we address this pastoral statement to everyone particularly you our beloved people and in a special way to our political rulers and officials.
We are convinced that the search for truth in the midst of charges and allegations must be determined and relentless, and that the way to truth and integrity must be untrammeled, especially at the present time when questions about the moral ascendancy of the present government are being raised.
For this reason, we strongly:
1. Condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political ladder;
2. Urge the President and all the branches of government to take the lead in combating corruption wherever it is found;
3. Recommend the abolition of EO 464 so that those who might have knowledge of any corruption in branches of government, may be free to testify before the appropriate investigating bodies;
4. Ask the President to allow her subordinates to reveal any corrupt acts, particularly about the ZTE-NBN deal, without being obstructed in their testimony no matter who is involved;
5. Appeal to our senators and the ombudsman to use their distinct and different powers of inquiry into alleged corruption cases not for their own interests but for the common good;
6. Call on media to be a positive resource of seeking the truth and combating corruption by objective reporting without bias and partiality, selective and tendentious reporting of facts;
For the long term we reiterate our call for “circles of discernment” at the grassroots level, in our parishes, Basic Ecclesial Communities, recognized lay organizations and movements, religious institutions, schools, seminaries and universities. It is through internal conversion into the maturity of Christ through communal and prayerful discernment and action that the roots of corruption are discovered and destroyed. We believe that such communal action will perpetuate at the grassroots level the spirit of People Power so brilliantly demonstrated to the world at EDSA I. It is People Power with a difference. From the grassroots will come out a culture of truth and integrity we so deeply seek and build. We instruct our CBCP Commissions to take active role including networking for this purpose.
May the Lord bless us in this sacred undertaking to build a new kind of Philippines and may our Blessed Mother be our companion and guide in this journey to truth and integrity.
For and on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:
+Angel Lagdameo, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
February 26, 2008
3 comments:
You seem to be a very good writer so I'm sure you will have no proplem hearing other perspective.
Here's how I see this, I know you're a catholic so I'm sure you will have strong opninion against what I'm about to say, but please this is not to insult but to offer a different perspective.
Here it is.
Corrupt theology leads to corrupt morality.
case in point, Edsa 1, was attributed to Mary, the Catholic Church, and the priests and nuns, and not to God, and to make sure people know that the Catholics were the once who made the EDSA I revolt possible, they built not the cross, but the image of Mary that towers over the edsa shrine.
But I have to admit that the catholic church seem to have realized their true role in society, and it is not political but moral, it is spiritual and not material, but still, unless the false teachers who are humanists who have hijacked the catholic faith and made the pope and mary as the center figure of the church, I believe unless this is corrected there is no other hope for this country.
(I know you might disagree with this because, the Catholic church mentions something about Jesus and perform rituals about Him just enough to hide its inacurate theology).
If you're wondering what does theology got to do with anything? You've proven my point.
salamat,
Hearing your side will never be a problem to me... as Voltair once said "I don't agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
Here is my take on what you have said...
If you have a theology that is not morally corrupt then do good for the sake of this Nation... share it... write a letter to the Catholic Bishops and explain your theology... maybe they will not answer or listen to what you will say but at least you have done your part...
But until that day comes... I will hold on to my Faith... do what my Faith dictates me... act according to what my conscience tells me... and I will let God judge me...
How beautiful it is to have freedom... we had the chance to speak our minds... thank you for sharing...
just a side note.
It's interesting to me that you quoted a deist who does not believe in the God you believe in and was a strong critic of the religion you belong to.
anyway, based on the title of your blog, you agree with the conclusion that the two people power revolution didn't make any difference, but why? What kind of people power will make a difference? These are the questions we should be asking.
I think a people power that can make a difference is a people power based on truth not on human emotions or opinions but in God's truth.
Isn't it interesting that people rant about the evil in this society but are not willing to deal with the evil within us.
And in the same manner, we are passionate about other truths but would not face the questions about our own truth claims and questions about our faith?
like I said.
If our understanding of the truth about God is irrelevant, well then justice, morality and accountablity is also irrelevant, hence should not be expected.
I am sharing, I am telling every person i know to question the norm, know the truth, don't settle for a barrowed faith.
thanks for the open minded platform of your blog.
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