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Monday, September 05, 2005
Nalzaro: Morality over social responsibility
By Bobby Nalzaro
LIFE, indeed, is very complicated.
Sometimes we are torn between the moral and the immoral. When does an immoral act become a moral one? When does it become legal? Some say that what is moral is not necessarily legal and what is legal is not necessarily moral. Moral, according to the Reader’s Digest Oxford Complete Wordfinder, is “concerned with goodness and badness of human character or behavior, or with the distinct between right and wrong.”
Now, there is this morality issue regarding the Church’s stand of receiving donations from government-run gambling activities. Some quarters have criticized our Church leaders, calling them hypocrites for they are practically opposed to all forms of gambling, whether legal or illegal, and yet they accept donations from illegal gambling lords and from the state-run gambling operated by the Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office (PCSO) and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor).
Church leaders in Luzon, especially in areas where jueteng operations are very rampant, admitted receiving donations from jeuteng operators. Rodolfo ‘Bong’ Pineda, an acknowledged big-time jueteng operator in Pampanga, has been described by Church leaders in that area as a very generous person. He gives cash donations to church activities, especially during fiestas.
Bishops of various archdioceses including our very own His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal admitted having received millions of pesos in cash donations from PCSO and Pagcor. But the prelate, through his spokeman Msgr. Achilles Dakay, said the amount did not go to the Cardinal’s personal account but to various beneficiaries and for the operating expenses of the Archdiocese. The Church was only a conduit for other charitable institutions.
We know for a fact that gambling, whether it is legal, is evil. Proceeds from it must also be evil and therefore immoral? Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla, one of the recipients of Pagcor’s dole-out, said he sees nothing wrong with the Church receiving cash donations, especially if these benefit the poor and the needy. “The principle of morality does not apply in this situation,” he said.
I agree with Bishop Capalla. The Church’s deep concern is not only limited to the spiritual needs of the people. It also has a social responsibility to look into their welfare. We cannot ignore the many people out there who die because they cannot afford to buy medicines for their ailment, or because they don’t have enough food to eat.
Because of government neglect, these people are forced to turn to charitable institutions for help. But these charitable institutions, like Caritas, which is run by the Catholic Church, are dependent on donations. Donations, nowadays, are not enough, especially with the prices of goods and medicines going up. That is why these institutions are forced to solicit support from the government.
If Pagcor donations go to the pockets of Church officials so they can buy expensive cars and material things, then the Church officials’ actions are highly immoral.
Pagcor funds are government funds. I would prefer that these are channeled to the Church so the money can be used for a noble cause like helping the poor and the needy rather than going to government agencies or to some corrupt politicians. It is morality over social responsibility.
(bgnalzaro@gmanetwork.com/09193181404)
(September 5, 2005 issue)
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