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Sunday, May 02, 2004
Brother Eddie ‘is not anti-Catholic’
CEBU -- "This is clear black propaganda. I have nothing to do with such rumors.”
Presidential aspirant Bro. Eddie Villanueva said so Saturday in reaction to text messages being spread that Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal has endorsed his candidacy.
“I have not approached any religious leader to seek support because I do not want my presidency to be tainted by patronage politics,” Villanueva said in a press statement faxed to Sun.Star.
Cardinal Vidal said Friday that the Cebu Archdiocese might issue an official disclaimer that he is supporting the leader of Jesus is Lord Movement, a group of born-again Christians.
Bangon Pilipinas, Villanueva’s political party, also denied any links to the text messages that the cardinal is supporting Villanueva.
“As a party advocating new politics and national renewal demanded by all faiths and sectors, spreading false information has never been on our campaign strategies and tactics,” Luis Sison, the party’s spokesperson, said in a separate press statement.
Sison, a leading member of the Catholic group Couples for Christ, said that Bangon Pilipinas assures the cardinal that “we never entertained such idea nor took part in sending out those messages.”
“We likewise assure Cardinal Vidal and all our brothers and sisters in the Catholic faith that Bro. Eddie is not anti-Catholic. In fact, hundreds of thousands of Catholics have joined Bangon Pilipinas,” Sison said.
The cardinal was quoted as saying that “the born-again (group) is against the Catholic Church,” as he warned Catholics supportive of Villanueva to “think about their faith.”
“We should not create more divisiveness. Cardinal Vidal’s statement is uncalled for, biased and a knee-jerk reaction. He should have verified the messages first before making divisive statements,” Sison told Sun.Star in a phone interview Saturday night.
“Bangon Pilipinas is not a religious movement. It is a national renewal movement and political party that has attracted the support of Christians, Muslims and people from various faiths, businessmen and labor, landlords and peasants, OFWs and others,” he said.
Although Cardinal Vidal has urged members of the clergy to support “wise, knowledgeable and morally upright” candidates in this year’s elections, he did not endorse and a specific person or party.
Cardinal Vidal and two other senior archbishops, through the newly formed Coalition for Honest and Peaceful Elections, have also raised the need to help the Commission on Elections safeguard the sanctity of the ballot. Ma. Carmel P. Geverola
(May 2, 2004 issue)
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