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Reform 29 Jan. 2008 |
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The Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines or CBCP, through Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop
Angel N. Lagdameo, issued a pastoral statement over the weekend calling
on the country’s Catholic faithful to: "Reform yourselves and Believe in
the Gospel!" "The basic fault in our communities’ political and social life," the Bishops’ statement said, is "the subordinating of the common good to private good." After enumerating "various specific problems" that beset us in Manila — the perception that corruption is at its worst, destabilization, Charter change, and extrajudicial killings; and plague the provinces — peace and order, degradation of environment, depletion of natural resources; and lack of support for the general welfare of rural folk, the Bishops said: "In them all we see the all too patent subordination of the common good to private good." This, according to the CBCP, "is the basic fault in our country’s political culture," and it is also the reason why "we as a people are still devoid of a real social conscience," the statement added. Reform or real conversion, according to the bishops, needs "for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good." In this day when, in the CBCP’s words, rumors and suspicions are believed to be true, simply because these are reported in newspapers, such candor and sincerity is refreshing and inspiring. Our bishops boldly owned up to our lack of social conscience as "our common sin." We are challenged to similarly face this sin, and to start the country’s political regeneration with reforms in ourselves, our families and our communities. The enemy within, according to the bishops, is "our pride and greed, our lust for power and wealth." We must wage spiritual combat against them, the Bishops exhort us. If corruption has gone on unhindered, the CBCP statement said, it is because all too often, we condone it as a part of the perquisites of power and public office. The CBCP statement this year is a beacon of reason for the Catholic faithful. It is both enlightened and enlightening. We hope that the message will not be lost on us — the government officials and private individuals. Especially, at this time when external factors are a threat to the gains we have made over the years. Today, we need, as one nation, to critically collaborate on common interests and to discern the common good that we could all commit to. We are called upon to rise up to the challenge, and contribute to the common good; to look seriously at our part in the many evils of our day, and discern what action we can do to correct them. Reform and conversion, as the bishops have clearly shown, are individual choices with profound effects on the community and the nation. |
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