Thinkpiece no. 3

Q: What should be the proper arrangement between church and state?

We are made to believe that the concerns of the church and the state are distinct from one another. The Church takes care of the morality and faith of its members while the state ensures adequate access of necessities in aim of attaining a good life for its people. However, the boundaries that should have been clear was shuddered by both parties as the pressing issues of society overlap with both of their affairs.

We won’t have to go far to cite an example for such incident, here in the Pearl of the Orient, the Catholic Church and even other religious institution would always have something to say in regards to the political issues that are sensational as of the time being. Unsurprisingly though, our politicians would always clamor for the support of the major religious institutions of our country come election time. As a result, they would always have to respect and give consideration to the stands of the Catholic Church (or any religious institution, atypical however) in performing their legislative functions. For instance, artificial contraception was always opposed by the Catholic Church, thus the government could not successfully advocate it, which of course is among the reasons why the Philippines is overpopulated.

I would want to answer the inquiry of proper arrangement between the Church and state in the Philippine scenario alone, the extent of my knowledge could only reach that far and besides what I ought to think regarding this matter may not be effective in other countries.

Tracing from our history, we could see that the influence of the Church has always been a factor in the governance of our leaders. The Spanish colonization period, where the different religious orders are almost in full control of the affairs in our country, is the most evident conjunction of the Church and the government. Given this situation, it won’t be surprising that the members of the Catholic Church are vocal with their political and social views.

In my opinion, the Church must not meddle with the affairs of the state if they are doing so only for their own interests. However, if they are advocating the true interest of the people and the government is no longer considering the welfare of the majority, then they could serve as means of voicing out the sentiments of the people, especially if moral issues are involved.

Let us consider how politically active members of the Catholic Church are right now. Archbishop Oscar Cruz, (I was surprised to see that he has a blog: http://ovc.blogspot.com/) for instance, swerved from the usual religious affairs of his diocese to stand up against the immediate family of the president in aim of revealing the influential people behind Jueteng. Fr. Robert Reyes, is popular for his hunger strike as a way of beseeching the president to resign, of course among other priests and bishops. On the other hand, the present administration was relieved when the CBCP did not asked for PGMA’s resignation.

If the morality is really the issue, then the Church are held by duty to air out their opinions and provide ample ways to solve the problem. However in doing so, they must be careful so as not to appear as if the are imposing their views to their members, which in some sense, might have a political effect. It would be ideal if they stay true to their mission and duty, which is bringing the people closer to God and His way of life. Other than this, the Church has no business in regards to politics, unless, as I have stated before, the welfare of the people is at stake, and the government is no longer following constitutional processes and serving for the good of the people.

Today we ask ourselves, “As Bishops what can we offer to our people? Can we provide some clarity and guidance in the present confusing situation?” We can only answer these questions from who are. We are not politicians who are to provide a political blueprint to solve political problems. Rather we are Bishops called by the Lord to shepherd the people in the light of faith. With Pope Benedict XVI we do not believe in the “intrusion into politics on the part of the hierarchy.” But we are to interpret human activities such as economics and politics from the moral and religious point of view, from the point of view of the Gospel of Jesus and of the Kingdom of God. We are to provide moral and religious guidance to our people. This is what we offer in the present crisis. Not to do this would be an abdication of our duty.

From Restoring trust: A Plea for moral Values in Phil.Politics