I am saddened that Fr. Robert Reyes, a colleague not only in the priesthood but also on social issues, criticized the bishops by saying over national tv that the CBCP toned down its statement on the ZTE scam because the bishops fear that donations will stop coming. In doing so, the touted running priest has unwittingly played into the liking of Malacañang. A Church divided will surely be a cause for rejoicing for them. I moderate my words, lest I might aggravate the effect which Malacanang would be so pleased to see, as a fellow priest reminded me that criticizing Fr. Robert will only make them all the more happy.
Hence, this is just a wake up call from a lowly “probinsyanong pari” to a flamboyant priest: Fr. Robert, please do not play into Malacañang’s hands by sowing intrigue and division. The enemy is not the CBCP. While you are free to say what you want to say, you cannot drag people into saying what you want them to say.
As an individual, I join my voice to the clamour for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s resignation but I do not impose it upon others. I respect the CBCP exhortation to “pray together, reason together, decide together, act together," which was also criticized and belittled by the Philippine Daily Inquirer on its Feb. 15, 2008 editorial which seems to have been written by a priest. The way I understood it, the CBCP cannot as of yet call for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s resignation because it still has to discern the truth as it unfolds based from credible witnesses and evidences. As a canon lawyer, I must stress that the CBCP is a collegial body which does not issue pastoral statements based on the whims and caprices neither of a priest, a bishop nor a group of bishops.
5 comments:
i agree with you grev. this robert reyes has gone nuts.
KSP yan si robert reyes. You cannot get him to act and speak without media.
I remember it. Di ba, whenever we had meeting with him noon, he makes us wait till the media comes.
If Robert Reyes wants bishops to follow whatever he wants, he'd better bolt out the Catholic Church and join the Aglipayans wherein he can work out to be their Pope or supreme priest, whatever!
There is a counter argument by Randy David on the Inquirer editorial. Here is an excerpt: "To ask the bishops to instruct us to do more, on account of the moral influence they wield, is to follow a shortcut. It is analogous to begging the military to launch a coup to topple a government, using the armed power that the Constitution has placed in their hands. These are shortcuts because they bypass the longer and circuitous route of political conscientization and organization. Consequently, the regime change that is the fruit of the journey cannot be the achievement of the people themselves. They are brought to where they are without knowing where they are. The journey does not teach them anything about themselves or about politics. A new government is formed in their name, but they cannot see themselves as its authors or its stewards."
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