Sections Philippine Presidency Filipino Bishop Follows MabuhayRadio Editorial and “Excommunicates” the President
| Filipino Bishop Follows MabuhayRadio Editorial and “Excommunicates” the President |
A ‘public sinner’ must be denied communion, as to give the sacred host to the President would be a mockery of the body and blood of Jesus Christ
-- Archbishop Oscar Cruz
The MabuhayRadio.com Editorial of March 22, 2008, read: “The reality is – for this Easter Sunday and all the other Sundays, year in, year out – the bishops and the priests continue to administer the rites of confession and communion to the said crooks. The Filipino men of the cloth should instead threaten to excommunicate the crooks for continuing on with their corrupt existence.” To read the entire editorial, please go to:
Why Not All Filipino Catholics Are Christians
Four days later,
a Filipino bishop did just what the said editorial asked of the Filipino clergy
to do. Has Bishop Oscar Cruz gone ballistics? Either that or he has
inside-heaven information. Maybe the priest confessor of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA) has been talking to some of the prelates and discussing
her sins. Whatever, the fact remains bishops have the authority to refuse
communion to whom they think is a habitual, thus repentance-less, public
sinner.
A case of BISHOPPING
A shift to an accommodating ally-bishop is recourse for public sinners like PGMA
who has been publicly "uncovered" by a bishop in good standing. The
sinners concerned go "BISHOPPING" (sic), which is my short term for “Bishop
Shopping.”
Editor’s
Note: Ogie Reyes is the Cebu-based moderator of the CebuPolitics e-group (
). He is not
related to Bobby Reyes, this website’s editor.
It is interesting to find out whether the other bishops, supposedly independent
from each other, will honor Bishop Cruz's decision not to give PGMA communion.
Okay, what say you bishops of the presidential palace? Will Bishop Cruz be all
alone in his condemnation of PGMA?
What do you think, Folks? Will the other Bishops rise to the occasion?
Here are excerpts from a report written by
Sherwin C. Olaes. To read the complete report, here is the link:
The
Daily Tribune <<< Without Fear or Favor >>>
|
By Sherwin
C. Olaes. 03/27/2008. President Arroyo has been virtually
excommunicated by an Archbishop, saying she is a “public sinner” who must be
denied ... |
* * *
No Communion for GMA, a Public Sinner’ — Archbishop Cruz
Gloria ‘Excommunicated’
By Sherwin C. Olaes
03/27/2008
President Arroyo has been virtually excommunicated by an Archbishop, saying she
is a “public sinner” who must be denied communion, intimating that it would be making
a mockery of the sacred host which, to Catholics, is the body and blood of
Jesus Christ effected through transubstantiation, for her to be given any
communion.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz yesterday made waves with his announcement
of denying the President communion, which is a form of excommunication, or at the
very least, a humiliating repudiation of a member of the Catholic flock,
excluding her from the grant of the sacrament.
Wikipedia describes excommunication as a religious censure used to deprive or
suspend membership in a religious community. The word literally means putting (someone)
out of communion.
In some churches, such as the Roman Catholic Church, excommunication includes
spiritual condemnation of the member or group. Censures and sanctions sometimes
follow excommunication; these include banishment, shunning and shaming,
depending on the group’s religion or religious community.
In olden Catholic times, for a member to be excommunicated the church denies
the excommunicated Catholic the opportunity to enter heaven.
Predictably, Malacañang yesterday scored Archbishop Cruz for publicly stating
that he would deny the President Holy Communion on account of her sins committed
against the Filipino people, saying for him to give the sacrament to Mrs.
Arroyo would mean that he is not performing the role expected of him by Christ.
This move by Archbishop Cruz is seen to impact very negatively on the President,
even if it is only one bishop who has made public his intention to deny her the
host, as Mrs. Arroyo has been portraying herself to be a very “religious and
pious” President.
In an interview over ANC cable TV, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez
said Archbishop Cruz is already overstepping the boundaries on the separation
of church and state.
“Everybody needs salvation. What’s the reason Jesus Christ came to this world,
if not to grant us
salvation? We are really hurt over the Bishop’s statement,” Mr. Golez said.
He added that “it is so stated in the bible. In fact, the role of the priests
and bishops is to save the
faithful and not to separate them from the Church. And all of us sinners deserve
salvation. It really is hard to believe that we have heard this (denial of the sacrament)
from the good bishop,” he said.
Archbishop Cruz said he believes he is doing the right thing in denying Mrs.
Arroyo the sacrament of communion and God help him if he is wrong in doing so,
which he does not think so, because it is known that she is a public sinner.
Bishops are autonomous in the area and do not answer to any other bishop or cardinal,
including the body of bishops, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) for their actions, as they are accountable only to the Pope.
Pope Benedict is not expected to reprimand Archbishop Cruz since this denial of
communion to a member of the Catholic faithful on the reason given by him is
said to be part of a bishop’s duty.
But Mr. Golez said everybody is a sinner and predicted that the statement of
Bishop Cruz would have a negative effect on the Church’s faithful but not on Mrs.
Arroyo.
“This is a free country, but we want to state the observation of a lot of the
Catholic faithful who are
already turned off when they see a priest leader or church leaders meddling in
political issues,” Mr. Golez claimed.
The deputy spokesman stressed that even the statements of former senior government
officials (FSGO) who had made calls before the international community for its members
to be careful in giving donations to the Arroyo government because of its
susceptibility to graft and corruption, are uncalled for because the President
has been exhausting efforts to address corruption.
Editor’s
Note: To read the complete statement of the FSGO, please go to Government Should
Serve the Truth (The FSGO’s Manifesto)
“From the very start, our President had been very, very empathic and very
forceful on this (graft and corruption) issue. She is for good governance. She
has put in so much money in the bureaucracy particularly in the courts, so that
those who plan to commit graft and corruption will be stopped and this would
ensure that the bureaucracy will be rid of red tape. She has run after tax
evaders. The President has been at the forefront of this campaign from the very
beginning,” he said.
It is however on record that tax probes on both her children, Rep. Mikey Arroyo
and her brother-in-law, Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, along with the probe on Agriculture
Secretary Yap, on tax evasion were stopped, even when the Finance Department
then introduced a run after tax-evaders program.
Mrs. Arroyo is
also largely seen by the general public as protecting herself, her family
members and her allies from investigations into corruption and charges of
kickbacks and commissions.
For her part, the President, in a speech at the Clark Freeport Zone, Pampanga
vowed to work hard to further improve the banking and finance system,
strengthen tax collection and broaden its tax base, and reduce, if not
eliminate, corruption and red tape.
The President made this pronouncement during the 2008 Philippine Development
Forum this afternoon at the Fontana Convention Center here.
(Snipped)
But the former senior government officials, numbering 90, issued an open letter
to the donor community, focusing on how corruption “sucks scarce resources crucial
to development that benefits the poor.”
(Snipped)
The Political Economic Risk Consultancy, in a survey where expatriates were the
respondents, showed the Philippines to have the “most corrupt economy in Asia.”
A Philippine survey also showed that a vast majority of Filipinos believe Mrs.
Arroyo to be the “most corrupt president the country has ever had.”
The CBCP also stated in a pastoral letter that the Arroyo government is
“morally bankrupt.”
The President, however, has most of the conservative bishops on her side.
This will, however, not bar Archbishop Cruz from denying her the sacrament of
communion. # # #
Mr. Joseph Estrada, when he was the sitting president, was also declared unfit for communion, but he was “restored” because, being a public sinner, he
1. admitted his sins
2. sought forgiveness from his wife and
3. confessed his sins to a priest.
The priest, by the ministry of the Church, and in the name of God, granted Mr. Estrada remission of his sins, and therefore he was able to receive communion again. The way to restoration is not to file a complaint against CBCP or the Vatican but to seek divine mercy, and for Catholics this is as simple as the three steps taken by Mr. Estrada. I suppose a doctorate in economics can do better than a college dropout. I mean, you don’t need to hire Lupita Concio and spend government funds just to say I… AM… SORRY…
You don’t even have to pay the priest a single centavo for that. tye use of government and private funds for all these reactions to Archbishop Cruz’s declarations from the camp of this Genetically Modified Arrogante are simply irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable (IUEEU) expenses.
Archbishop Cruz is wrong on this issue, He was a failure in curbing jueteng activities, where it is just a simple problem, while Presidents Arroyos anomalies has not yet proven and will take years, for the culprit has already resigned which was Chairman Abalos, the chairman that cannot automate the election process, where in reality the election results would take months to determine the winner, while in India, there are about 300 million voters, they can determine their votes within 3 days and can proclaim the winner, while in the Philippines (with) its only about 70 million voters maybe less it would take months before someone can select a winner. You cannot call a person a sinner unless you yourself is perfect like our Lord Jesus Christ, Even during his time He has advocated that let the first person who has not sinned to condemn the woman that was about to be stoned. While this archbishop Cruz had easily prejudged President GMA, this is a bad move that will have a boomerang effect in the Catholicism archdioceses.
For the sake of Peace and Prosperity, stop doing this nonsense, and move towards the direction of the three Es, Economy,Environment, and Education of finding the real due process of proving first beyond reasonable doubt. Observe the KISS principle.
DAGUPAN CITY, APRIL 1, 2008 (STAR) By Eva Visperas – Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz has challenged 28 pro-administration Southern Luzon congressmen to have him sanctioned by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) or the Vatican for allegedly saying that he would refuse holy communion to President Arroyo, who he said is a known public sinner.
Cruz, a vocal critic of the President, hurled the challenge here yesterday, although the CBCP had already issued a statement that it cannot impose sanction on the archbishop for such alleged statement.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran, Bohol, chairman of the Bishops’ Commission on Canon Law, said only the Vatican can act on complaints against a bishop and impose penalty, not the CBCP.
“Even if they (CBCP) can do something about it, I have no problem with that, let them do it,” Cruz said in Filipino.
He said those who want him sanctioned have the right to do so. “I will be the last to contest it.”
He has repeatedly denied having said that he would refuse to give holy communion to the President, much more the First Family, for being known public sinners.
“I did not say that but if they want me to say it, I will say it,” he said.
“And if there is a problem with that, that’s my problem,” he added. “I’m too old to be afraid. I have been afraid long enough,” he said.
If penalized and stripped of his faculties, Cruz said he will just “plant Kamote.”
He, however, clarified that it was not hatred for the President or the First Family that made him say those things, but disgust over “the litany of graft and corrupt practices hounding them.”
“I talk with a straight tongue. I do not mince my words and I say what I say, I don’t say what I don’t say. End of story,” Cruz said.
He said this started with the infamous “Hello, Garci” tapes scandal, followed by the fertilizer scam, Comelec automation, Macapagal boulevard, Jose Pidal account, PIATCO, the North and South rail deals, the NBN-ZTE and recently, the Spratlys.
“More than once, I tried to think positive. But what can I say (that is) positive about this administration, honest?” he said.
He said he understands that the media connected the topics about the brazen graft and corrupt practices to the administration. “Then, there was a mention that I would not give communion to a perceived public sinner.”
He said he expects black propaganda to be hurled against him, as already evidenced by text messages circulating around questioning his integrity.
Mass for truth
The feisty archbishop also said President Arroyo cannot claim that Pangasinan, which will hold a church-led rally for truth, justice and peace at the People’s Dome on April 4, is solid behind her.
Cruz also clarified that the Friday Mass for truth, justice and peace would be followed by a forum with Rodolfo Lozada Jr., NBN-ZTE whistleblower, as guest.
“It’s a Mass for truth because knowing the truth should produce justice, and when justice is realized that will bring peace,” Cruz said.
Two or three other guests were invited to talk during the forum, including Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Feliciano Bautista who hails from Pangasinan, a representative from the Black and White Movement and a nun.
Cruz said Pangasinan cannot be considered GMA country, contrary to what some officials claim.
But despite the dominance of Arroyo allies in the province, he said he didn’t encounter difficulty in getting a permit for their rally.
The Friday rally is a sequel to the earlier rally held under Cruz’s archdiocese last Feb. 24 at the city plaza here. He added later that the four vicariates under his archdiocese would hold similar rallies plus a bigger one in the archdiocese itself in the coming months.
“If we leave a more honest and more prosperous Philippines, they (the young) will be the ones to enjoy it. But if we leave a rotten and corrupt country, then they will also inherit that,” he said.
He clarified he is not competing with the recent visit of Mrs. Arroyo to Malasiqui town where thousands attended. He, however, assured that there will be no “hakot” in their rally.
‘We’ll go to Vatican’
But Southern Luzon Alliance head Rep. Danilo Suarez of Quezon said they will elevate the case to the Vatican if the CBCP would not sanction the bishop.
The senior administration congressman said he and his group, and possibly other members of the 238-man lower chamber, would discuss the matter and issue a “position paper” on Cruz’s conduct. He said he will do this as soon as he returns home from Hong Kong.
However, Medroso said, “The CBCP has no power on this matter. It has no executive or disciplinary competence over individual bishops because individual bishops are autonomous from the body.” – With Delon Porcalla
If Archbishop Cruz 'excommunicate' Gloria why not include her husband, kids, and all the minions in her administration who have sinned too? Why singled out Gloria?
What's the end result of having her 'excommunicated? so she can not enter to heaven? I think Gloria's definition of heaven means having the power and money to do what she wants, and this is what the archbishop should remember. I think what he is saying below is nothing but empty words of anger. I would like to see him retool his action into something concrete such asking people in his church to sign a petition asking Gloria to step down from office, or ask his parish members not to pay taxes, or call for a snap presidential election to replace Gloria the unpopular leader.
Regards,
Vic Canoy
** As posted in the Cebu Politics ( )
Not if you have a multi-faith society like the USA.
How about in the Philippines where 81% are Catholics?
It is obvious from what we see around us that the
politicians should be careful not to cross the
Bishops. This means the politicians need to act in
exactly the same manner that GMA has modeled before us - pampered the Catholics with attention and dole outs.
Lourdes wrote: "As to denying communion, that holds
only for Catholics--but what about the bigger
population of non-Catholics?"
Yes, there is this Catholic Canon 915 that gives the
Catholic Bishops the option to do as they wish of the
Eucharist with "open" sinners. In 2004 Pope Benedict
XVI while still the Magisterium chair wrote the
Cardinals to be more prudent in dispensing with the
sacrament of the Eucharist, giving them the privilege
to deny or not this sacrament to politicians known to
be openly sinning.
But what about the greater population in the USA that
is non-Catholic? They are free to make pro-life
choices and to support what they believe are authentic "human" rights [which may in reality be opposed or contrary to "religious" rights or prohibitions].
I think what should concern us more is not individual
faith rights but the rights of the society as a whole, based on the fundamental principle that although we have differences we can always find COMMON ways to live peacefully with each other in the pursuit of our COMMON WELFARE. The common ways that we need to find work deep on the principle of COMPROMISE; that is, no one group can have it all in accordance to its own beliefs or ways; each has to yield to a certain degree what it holds dear for the sake of the survival of all groups that make up society.
Lourdes further wrote, "The important thing is to
teach the value of life and the reasons why abortion
must be avoided. The Church must be careful about
using exact meanings, since this is a realistic world
where intelligent people weigh religions as to their
truth." Well said, I concur.
Ogie Reyes
Cebu City
As posted in the
07/14/2008 | 01:22 PM
MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang on Monday fended off calls for the Catholic Church to include President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in the proposal of some bishops to stop giving communion to politicians supporting a pro-abortion measure in Congress.
Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said such statements are expected from critics of the administration. Golez also noted that the intentions of those behind such calls are also questionable.
"We don't expect anything good to come out from any of their statements about this administration because of a big question on their intentions," Golez said.
Golez maintained that the administration's policy is based on responsible parenthood which does not run against the Church's position on the issue.
"President Arroyo's population policy is based from the four pillars of responsible parenthood namely, respect for life, informed consent, responsible parenting, and birth spacing," Golez said in a statement.
"The statements of some critics of this administration are baseless considering their claims are not even found in any of the government's population policies," he added.
Earlier in the day, civil society group Black and White Movement urged the Catholic Church not to extend communion to President Arroyo, saying the the Church should not limit its refusal to grant communion to pro-abortion politicians, but to others whom they consider to have committed mortal sins against the Church as well.
“We respect the Church’s right to do what they wish to the parishioners, but at the same time when you look at people supposedly doing mortal sins against the Church, what about those other politicians? What about Gloria (Arroyo)?" said Navarro.
“Do we have to be very myopic in the way we see things? Why can’t we just impose that same ban on anyone that we perceive to be doing the wrong thing? I believe that the issue of bad governance, lack of transparency and accountability are just as damning. Because of these, people aren’t doing the right thing, because of bad example," she added.
The group's calls came after Ozamiz City Archbishop Jesus Dosado said in a pastoral letter on Sunday that he wants pro-abortion politicians to be denied communion.
Dosado said that his stand is not a sanction or a penalty but a reaction to a person's "public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objection situation of sin." - GMANews.TV
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