Catholic bishops should be more visibly politically active

Stirred by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) pastoral letter titled “Beyond Survival: Rising Above the Floods of Corruption” dated Sept. 8, parish-based and civil society Catholic groups organized an anti-corruption march along EDSA between the EDSA Shrine and the People Power Monument on Nov. 30, Andres Bonifacio Day, a holiday.

- OSCAR P. LAGMAN, JR.

Because of that and the CBCP encouraging the public to join the march, expectations of a huge turnout were high.

While the organizers claim that the assembly on EDSA on Nov. 30 was of significant size, the general assessment was that it fell way short of the high expectations. The Philippine National Police estimated the gathering to be around 5,000 participants.

In contrast, when Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin called on the Filipino people in the late evening of Friday, Feb. 22, 1986 to protect Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Armed Forces Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Ramos, who had bunkered down in Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame, respectively, after declaring their withdrawal of support for the Marcos dictatorship, hundreds heeded the cardinal’s call initially.

Cardinal Sin at that time was the most influential and visible voice of the opposition within the Catholic hierarchy. He was the symbol of courageous leadership in the fight for democracy and justice in the Philippines.

The crowd swelled into a massive throng of 2 million over the weekend, forcing the late President Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. and his family to flee the country on the evening of Monday, Feb. 25, 1986. That event is the very reason that the EDSA Shrine and the People Power Monument are on EDSA.

Maybe pastoral letters urging the flock to join movements for good governance or initiatives that demand justice, accountability and retribution have lost their “bite” or influence. As the CBCP pastoral letter of Sept. 8 said, “We too have often failed, whether by silence, by tolerating corruption in our own ranks, or by not setting a consistent example of integrity.”