These are difficult and trying times for Filipinos. “Plunderstorm” is of such magnitude that it could bury us unless some serious repairs are done to the structural foundations of this country. But this cannot happen without Filipino society’s moral structure being laid on more solid foundations, a task the CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) must spearhead on account of 80 percent of Filipinos are Catholics.
For CBCP, however, to be credible, it must lend its voice and political power to the poor of this country who are mostly the victims of both floods and corruption. Unfortunately, in response to “plunderstorm” it could only manage a pastoral letter that contains Sunday-sermon-like exhortations on what the faithful can generally do to avoid becoming “numb to corruption.”
The letter listed seven exhortations for things the faithful could do with the bishops and clergy and two that Church leaders could do with leading officials and businessmen. The letter would have been more impactful if it directly lent the Catholic hierarchy’s voice and political power (they surely know they have this) to the people’s fight for justice in general and against corruption in particular. People need to be encouraged to speak up; what can be a better encouragement than for CBCP, by, for and of itself, “to insist on legal action, including criminal charges against those guilty of” plunder.
Instead of asking people to “join civic and parish initiatives towards good governance, ecological justice and social renewal,” CBCP could have outlined the things bishops would do to promote those values. Likewise, instead of exhorting people to “unite in calling for the creation of an independent committee to investigate corruption in flood control projects” it could have issued the bishops’ own strong demand to government for such a probe.
Instead of exhorting dioceses, parishes and church institutions to “model transparency and accountability,” why not announce a policy that dioceses and parishes, from this day on, will account to the faithful for all monies received. And how about giving the parish council genuine voice and authority instead of being mere puppets of the parish priest? This way the Church models democracy and doesn’t condition people to submit to the authoritarianism of political leaders.
The exhortation to simple living would have been more convincing if the Church directed dioceses to allocate a portion of their cash receipts for projects that help the homeless, the jobless and the sick in their jurisdictions. Without concrete actions, their avowed “preferential option for the poor” becomes a mere platitude.
Thanks, but no thanks to cultural (and religious?) hegemony, this country might take longer to arrive at a Nepal-like fiery and deadly eruption of collective anger. But the Church had better not bet on it never happening. Nothing on earth is forever, not the patience of the oppressed, anyway.
Viewed against that dreaded prospect, the CBCP’s stand on corruption is downright uninspiring. It has no bite and no bigger impact than a regular Sunday sermon.