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Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Wenceslao: The cardinal and the mayor
By Bong O. Wenceslao
What Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal said in his homily during the feast of the Sto. Niño was clear: no mere human being can play God. If you’re pregnant, you cannot just decide on your own to snuff out the life inside your womb. If you’re a person in authority, you cannot just order the killing of anybody--criminal or not.
When Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña gave his blessings for mere human beings (a.k.a. vigilantes) to kill suspected robbers and, more recently, rapists, he is essentially playing God, or feeling Ginoo. Unfortunately, he is not about to heed the cardinal’s admonition, insisting in so many words that he should play God to solve crime.
There are those who insist that this conflict falls under the principle of separation of the Church and state. The cardinal is raising a spiritual concern while Osmeña is defending his position by using an earthly argument. But actually, there is a middle ground there, if only the mayor was not so narrow in his interpretation of his role as a crime buster.
Vidal’s position, while mainly spiritual, is reflected in our country’s laws, though not totally. Murder, which is one instance of man playing God, is a crime. Meaning, the people that the mayor “inspired” to kill suspected criminals not only violated the teaching of the Church but also our laws. They can end up in jail or in hell, whichever comes first.
So can one be a crime buster and not play God at the same time? Or can one be tough on criminals and yet follow the cardinal’s admonition? Yes, the mayor can, by finding methods other than vigilantism to curb criminality. In fact, civilized societies have found ways to lessen crime without officials inspiring people to resort to murder.
In short, Osmeña can heed the cardinal’s admonition if he wants to. The problem is he just does not want to maybe because he finds the other methods of curbing crime—like, improving police efficiency--too painstaking for an impatient (or is it lazy?) mayor to resort to.
TEXTREAX. This one is from a texter in Pinamungajan, who does not think dividing Cebu into many provinces will work: “Rep. Antonio Yapha should find ways to uplift the living condition of the people in the Third District, especially Pinamungajan, instead of wasting time thinking how to divide Cebu. Naghitak pa gyod ang video carrera diri.”
From another unidentified texter: “I salute Mayor Osmeña’s no-nonsense drive against video carrera and illegal drugs in Barangay Lorega. But I still have to hear from him about the rampant operation of video carrera and illegal drug trafficking in Dulho-Fatima wherein the barangay captain is not doing anything.”
(khanwens(at)yahoo(dot)com; text: 0927-2055064)
(January 19, 2005 issue)
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