Monday, March 24, 2008 Nalzaro: Making Vidal the whipping boy By Bobby Nalzaro Saksi
IT’S back to work after the observance of the Holy Week. I think everybody was able to re-energize after the long vacation. Aside from the religious tradition that we normally practice, observing the Lenten season is also an occasion for a vacation as there is no work for both public and private sectors and there are no classes for students. For media people, it’s really a vacation galore because there is no radio broadcast and no production of newspaper, especially on Good Friday and Black Saturday.
Indeed, the observance of this year’s Holy Week was another memorable and unforgettable escapade for some of us. Happy Easter to one and all.
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The handlers of Senate witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. criticized the church hierarchy and those personalities who demanded that Lozada apologize to his Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal for calling the Archdiocese of Cebu as the Archdiocese of Malacañang.
These handlers, most of whom are personalities from militant organizations, called Vidal a puppet of the Arroyo government and challenged him to stand for what is right. They questioned the church for not supporting their cause in seeking the truth on the NBN-ZTE scandal. They accused the church of being bias by listening only to the side of Malacañang and not listening to the side of Lozada, apparently referring to the gathering of priests under the Cebu Archdiocese where Presidential Management Staff Director General Cerge Remonde was the guest speaker. Remonde reportedly talked about Malacañang’s version of the scandal.
They also demanded that Vidal reveal what he and the President discussed during his meeting with her and her husband Mike a few weeks ago in Manila. They also questioned the financial assistance extended by the government, through Pagcor, to the church, and demanded full accounting of the donations. They said Vidal and other bishops are not infallible and he also commits sins like ordinary human beings.
I think these people are talking too much and they are barking up the wrong tree. It seems they are deviating from the real issue. I know they attacked and criticized the cardinal and the church in Cebu, in general, because the church’s stand on the current political crisis hounding the Arroyo administration is not consistent with their stand. Oh, come on my friends, you are just making a mountain out of a molehill. And you are making the cardinal a whipping boy.
The cardinal has already explained his side on the non-availability of priest to hold a mass for Lozada. He did not prohibit his priests from holding a mass for Lozada. Period. If you don’t believe the cardinal then it’s your right. But why make a big fuss about it? These organizations invited Lozada here because they want to seek the truth even though there was nothing new in his statements. But they did not seek the truth on why no priest wanted to hold mass for Lozada. They just jumped to the conclusion that Vidal told them not to. That is unfair to the cardinal.
I think these people are just trying to divert the issue as a face-saving measure because they failed to gather enough people to impress Lozada during his visit here. Because of that failure they want to pass the blame to the church leadership. Now they are questioning the financial assistance extended by the government to the church and demand full accounting.
It’s none of their business. The church is only a conduit for that financial help and it eventually goes directly to the underprivileged. I think these groups are also receiving funds from the government, through their party-list representatives in Congress. And yet they are using that money to fund anti-government actions or to kill our soldiers by supporting the cause of insurgents?
