Catholic nation? The Filipino Church rethinks its role in politics.
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Mark Saludes Contributor
| Manila, Philippines
The Filipino Catholic Church threw everything into the 2022 presidential election. Clergy broke from decades of political neutrality to speak out against the campaign of Ferdinand 鈥淏ongbong鈥� Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the island nation鈥檚 infamous dictator. Thousands of priests, bishops, deacons, and nuns endorsed his primary opponent, Vice President Maria Leonor 鈥淟eni鈥� Robredo. The top council of laity vowed to deliver her 鈥渢he Catholic vote鈥� on May 9 鈥撀燼 hypothetically powerful bloc for a country that鈥檚 86% Catholic.聽
But it never materialized.聽
Weeks before the polls opened, many bishops were preparing for disappointment. In a secret meeting in Manila on April 6, prelates mulled over projections showing the Marcos camp鈥檚 huge, consistent lead. The question they faced then is the same they face today, as the son of the late dictator prepares to take office Thursday: What will the church鈥檚 role be in a new Marcos era?
Why We Wrote This
A story focused onShould a church guide its flock politically as well as spiritually? In the Philippines, a new Marcos government has Catholic leaders rethinking decades of inaction and taking on more responsibility in the political sphere.
Over the past month, bishops, priests, and lay leaders have been grappling with the loss of the election, and reflecting on their responsibility to congregations moving forward. While some view the election results as a signal that the church is no longer relevant in the political sphere, religious leaders are aiming to correct course through a slew of new programs designed to monitor and promote good governance 鈥� something many in the higher echelons of the church hierarchy agree has been missing from their 21st-century ministry.
Jayeel Serrano Cornelio, a sociologist of religion at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University, says the Catholic Church 鈥渕isread the real sentiment of the community鈥� and 鈥渙verestimated its authority鈥� during the recent election. He believes that the church鈥檚 political influence can be restored by organizing and mobilizing the community on the local level.
鈥淭he Catholic Church has the widest reach and network in the country,鈥� says Dr. Cornelio. 鈥淚t has the ability to rally the masses and has a consistent stance on social justice, peace, and good governance. That鈥檚 an advantage.鈥澛�
From revolutionaries to 鈥減laying safe鈥�
The best example of the church鈥檚 mass-rallying power was in February 1986, when Cardinal Jaime Sin played a vital role in ousting Ferdinand Marcos Sr. by calling on the public to protect two high-ranking military defectors. Millions of people flooded the streets in a dayslong demonstration known as the People Power Revolution. The nonviolent uprising ended the dictator鈥檚 21-year rule, and remains a proud moment for a church that鈥檚 been labeled 鈥渦ltra-conservative.鈥�
But veteran journalist Jose Torres Jr., who鈥檚 covered the church since the late 1980s, says Catholic leadership 鈥減layed politics and played safe鈥� after the 1986 uprising. 鈥淚n reality, it was not political neutrality,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was silence and inaction.鈥�
The Marcos campaign pushed many church leaders and faith organizations to break that silence, collectively endorsing a presidential candidate for the first time since the 1986 snap elections.
The Rev. Angelito Cortez says the bold move was 鈥済uided by the prophetic role鈥� of the church to 鈥渦phold moral and democratic values.鈥澛�
鈥淭he church and its leaders became tools of oppression because we were protecting our own interest 鈥� our convenience. We failed to balance our duty as the moral compass of the society, and the inclusive and all-embracing church,鈥� says the Franciscan priest. 鈥淲e needed to come out and guide our community on choosing the right leaders for the country.鈥�
In the junior Mr. Marcos, many saw a candidate who lacked integrity and compassion.
The Rev. Edwin Gariguez says church leaders supported Ms. Robredo 鈥渘ot because Marcos Jr. is the son of the dictator, but because he keeps on denying the atrocities of his father鈥檚 regime and refuses to apologize for the abuses,鈥� including torturing tens of thousands of activists, journalists, and others who opposed the regime.
鈥淚t is our responsibility and moral obligation to speak truth to power,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 how the church should use its influence and faculty.鈥�
Wake-up call
Despite the church鈥檚 effort to create a 鈥淐atholic vote,鈥� Mr. Marcos completed his family鈥檚 journey back to the pinnacle of political power. Ms. Robredo won in only 18 of the 86 dioceses across the country.
The loss 鈥渟hows that the Catholic Church is no longer the moral conscience, unlike in the 1970s and the 1980s,鈥� said Dr. Cornelio, adding that today, the public isn鈥檛 accustomed to a church that 鈥渕eddles with politics.鈥澛�
For Bishop Marcelino Antonio Maralit, the head of the Commission on Social Communications of the Catholic Bishops鈥� Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), it poses troubling questions about the credibility of the church hierarchy.聽
鈥淚f what we are truly fighting for is the truth and the moral choice,鈥� he wonders, 鈥渨hat happened? Why were we not able to reach and affect the majority of our countrymen?鈥�
He considers the election a wake-up call.
鈥淢aybe we are already disconnected from our people. ... We are not speaking the same language anymore,鈥� he says, adding that the challenge for church leadership now 鈥渋s not bringing out the message, but bringing in the message. From the people to the hierarchy, not the other way around.鈥澛�
But that doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檙e backing off the political pulpit. In a pastoral letter following the Marcos win, the CBCP said the role of the religious sector in nation-building does 鈥渘ot end with the election.鈥�
鈥淟et us gradually transform our political culture,鈥� wrote the prelates. 鈥淚f we maintain a negative view of politics and belittle our efforts, then we shall not reap positive results.鈥�
The way forward
To kick-start that transformation, Caritas Philippines, the social action arm of the CBCP, is launching a 鈥済ood governance鈥� program. The organization will present the details and design of the program before the CBCP plenary in July, but some efforts are already taking shape.聽
At the National Social Action General Assembly on June 14, more than 240 social action workers from 71 dioceses resolved to create a 鈥済ood governance ministry鈥� at the parish and diocesan level. The Rev. Antonio Labiao, executive secretary of Caritas Philippines, says the ministry will serve as the backbone of the nationwide movement to encourage church leaders, including lay leaders, to participate in local government.
The sweeping good governance initiative will also include campaigns against misinformation and historical revisionism, officials say, as well as post-election accountability programs that monitor whether elected officials deliver on promises.聽
鈥淎nother goal ... is to influence politicians and produce good governance champions,鈥� says Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines, who acknowledges the program 鈥渋s a huge undertaking.鈥�
If leaders and the lay faithful can stick with the ambitious programs set forth by Caritas Philippines, political strategist Christopher Dy-Liacco Flores says the church will succeed in creating not only聽the elusive 鈥淐atholic vote,鈥� but also 鈥淐atholic candidates.鈥�
As for the incoming Marcos administration, church leaders are approaching the next six years with a spirit of cautious cooperation.
鈥淲e can鈥檛 stand on extreme sides,鈥� says Bishop Bagaforo. 鈥淐ooperating with the government does not mean conniving with them. ... It is how we should manage our responsibility as church leaders to our people, and our obligations as Filipinos to our nation.鈥澛�
