Commentary : Bishops repudiated
By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: January 13, 2009
When Congress voted to extend the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) but remove its teeth, namely, the power to coerce landlords to surrender land, the farmers outside the House of Representatives complex knew they had lost badly. Leonardo Montemayor, a former member of the House and official of the Federation of Free Farmers, said, “The defeat marked the end of all the dreams of all the farmers.”
The Catholic bishops also lost. Never before had they invested so much effort in a cause of the poor, only to see their teaching authority and political influence overwhelmingly repudiated by Congress.
The bishops had done as much as could reasonably be expected in support of the farmers. Some 70 bishops signed a statement backing the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program with reforms. On the eve of the vote Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, Cardinal Ricardo Vidal of Cebu, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo and Bishop Broderick Pabillo wrote again asking Congress to extend the CARP with reforms. Eight bishops joined the farmers’ hunger strike.
I don’t think people who were there will soon forget Cardinal Rosales sitting in a makeshift tent outside the House complex with the defeated farmers and hunger strikers and looking just as sad and weary as they were.
The overwhelming rejection by Congress of land reform, which is central to the Church’s social teachings, must trouble the bishops and they may well wonder what will happen to similar causes they champion, such as, human reproduction, if they are put to a vote.
What will the bishops do? Will they withdraw from such controversial issues as land reform or will they push ahead? If they abandon or lessen their engagement in the human rights struggle, they will leave the poor without a dependable ally in times of trouble. If they push ahead, they may very well fail again. However, it is also possible that they and everyone else involved in the struggle for human rights may learn from the recent sad experience and find more effective ways to achieve their goals.
It is clear that solutions to the major social problems require a political consensus in favor of the poor among the members of Congress. Legislators listen to those who can help them in the next election. The bishops and all human rights advocates can play a vital role in gathering people, helping them to organize to solve their problems, to think clearly at election time, and to do this in a coordinated way throughout the country.
How in the concrete can the bishops help create this new movement among the people?
There are degrees of involvement possible. The first degree, in which the Catholic Church is a main actor and decision maker, can be in the formation of the Basic Christian Communities or Basic Ecclesial Community, as the Brazil Church did in the 1970s and 1980s.
The foundations of Partidos Trabalhadores (PT), Lula da Silva’s party in Brazil, we were informed by some of its founding members, lie in the Basic Christian Community (BCC movement of the 1960s to 1970s. Almost all the mass membership of the PT, whatever their political stripe, were members of the movement. The organizing culture of the PT was, therefore, basically that of BCCs which stressed listening, respect for others and compromise, rather than ideological hard lining. It helped, we were told, that the senior leftist leaders and intellectuals were in prison. There were tens of thousands of BCCs in Brazil in those years. Can the Philippine Church expand the number of its BECs, deepen their appreciation of human rights issues and the need to link with other groups in some form of national action, especially during elections?
The second degree of involvement for the Church is in large secular movements, such as, organizations of the farmers. The Church can support these groups, but it is not in charge of them. The Federation of Free Farmers was such a group. The main education activity for the FFF was a 30-day live-in seminar, which was most often given with the help of the priest chaplains, and centered on the Church’s social teaching. On the eve of martial law, the FFF claimed 300,000 members. The movement had its flaws, but no other group has reached such a membership.
The Church may also help groups not so clearly linked with the Church. Usually such groups are required by the Church to be non-violent and democratic.
The third degree of involvement is in the support of particular candidates and parties. This step may be farthest from the Church’s normal guidelines. Ordinarily the Church is advised to avoid partisan politics. However, desperate times call for desperate solutions. Maybe the Church is called to be more active in a partisan fashion, since that may be one good way to get the country established once again on the road to justice and prosperity.
Nandy Pacheco and Eric Manalang of the political party Ang Kapatiran [The Brotherhood] have just published Passport to a New Philippines, which explains their party’s goals and assumptions. Many bishops quietly support the party. Ang Kapatiran can be one ally of the bishops if they decide to be more politically involved. Ang Kapatiran believes strongly in the importance of the lay people in political matters and in the necessity for a party platform that expresses exactly what the group stands for.
Denis Murphy works with the Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
©Copyright 2001-2009 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
Showing posts with label Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, July 21, 2008
If the bishops wrote to the poor
Commentary : If the bishops wrote to the poor
By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: July 21, 2008
MANILA, Philippines - There has been a long debate in the church over its social teaching, not so much with the content, the “what” of the teaching, but about the most effective way to get it implemented, the “how” of the matter.
It is a matter of audiences. Ordinarily the papal encyclicals and the letters of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines address the government and influential private citizens, asking them to protect workers’ rights, implement land reform or extend it, stop illegal forced evictions, ban trawlers from offshore waters and take care of other problems. This approach sees the elite as the agents of change.
Another audience for the letters and encyclicals might be the workers, farmers, urban poor and fishermen of the world and the Philippines. The hierarchy might explain the Church’s teaching as it relates to the poor sectors, explain their human rights and urge them to take organized action to achieve their rights and reform the situation. This approach is far rarer than the first, though some popes, including Pope John Paul II, had encouraged workers to act through their unions. Think of Poland’s Solidarity, for example. This approach sees the poor as the agents of change. In the end it’s a matter of emphasis: both government and the organized poor are needed.
It wouldn’t be surprising if some of our bishops began to wonder if it is useful any longer to keep appealing to Philippine government leaders and the powerful to take up reform. The bishops over the years have given more support to land reform than any other social problem, and yet they can’t even get a very ordinary law extended. The Philippines is the first democracy to drop its land reform program before it is finished.
Maybe, the bishops will soon come to believe it is more useful to talk directly to the poor than to continue engaging with officials who politely nod in agreement with the Church’s suggestions and then continue with business as usual. In the concrete situation existing in the country with the officials and growing problems the people face, it seems the right time to speak to the poor.
If they ever write such a letter it might go like this:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our past letters on social problems don’t seem to have done much good. Many times, for example, we appealed to our leaders for effective land reform, but to no avail. Congress failed to extend it. We’ve talked of workers’ problems, mining and the problems tribal people face, but those letters, too, have had little effect. It’s time to talk directly to you.
Before going further, we wish to ask about something that puzzles us and many other people, namely, why are you so patient? There are food and oil price riots in many countries; in South Korea 50,000 people go into the streets each night to protest the importation of American beef, yet here in the Philippines, which is as poor and as hard hit as any other country by the soaring prices, there seems to be only passive acceptance. This is not our history. Look at the peasant uprisings of the past, look at Edsa I. What has caused this recent passivity?
Have you lost hope in life and the possibility of change? Have you lost faith in government, the elite, the Church? We can imagine your pain with the way things have become worse and worse, but don’t give up for the sake of your children and for the good of the whole country.
What is your perception of the Church? Do you feel it is on your side in the justice struggles that will fashion the Philippines of tomorrow? Do you feel you are in the Church of the Poor that we vowed to become at the Second Plenary Council in 1991? We hope so and we sincerely hope you haven’t lost your willingness to “hunger and thirst for justice.” You well know that no major social change will come about in our country without organized popular pressure from below. Also, no serious thrust to become the Church of the Poor will take place unless you push us in that direction.
What will it take to organize this popular pressure from below? To organize farmers into a large democratic, non-violent movement for a truly valuable land reform, for example. How many farmers must be organized? One million? Why not? The Federation of Free Farmers on the eve of the declaration of martial law had some 300,000 members and was growing rapidly. There are many more farmers now and just as much suffering.
We ask the same question of all downtrodden groups—tribal people, fishermen, workers, urban poor, farmers: What will it take to organize yourselves?
We will give whatever is in our power to give in terms of moral support, funds and training resources. We will recruit idealistic young people and professionals to work alongside you. We will lobby for you as we always have, and we will not hesitate to break with the powerful who resist your efforts to secure your human rights. We will preach the Gospel in the liberating way Jesus did in Luke 4:18-19: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to free the oppressed and to proclaim the Lord’s year of mercy.”
May the Lord bless all of us.
Denis Murphy works with Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
By Denis Murphy
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: July 21, 2008
MANILA, Philippines - There has been a long debate in the church over its social teaching, not so much with the content, the “what” of the teaching, but about the most effective way to get it implemented, the “how” of the matter.
It is a matter of audiences. Ordinarily the papal encyclicals and the letters of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines address the government and influential private citizens, asking them to protect workers’ rights, implement land reform or extend it, stop illegal forced evictions, ban trawlers from offshore waters and take care of other problems. This approach sees the elite as the agents of change.
Another audience for the letters and encyclicals might be the workers, farmers, urban poor and fishermen of the world and the Philippines. The hierarchy might explain the Church’s teaching as it relates to the poor sectors, explain their human rights and urge them to take organized action to achieve their rights and reform the situation. This approach is far rarer than the first, though some popes, including Pope John Paul II, had encouraged workers to act through their unions. Think of Poland’s Solidarity, for example. This approach sees the poor as the agents of change. In the end it’s a matter of emphasis: both government and the organized poor are needed.
It wouldn’t be surprising if some of our bishops began to wonder if it is useful any longer to keep appealing to Philippine government leaders and the powerful to take up reform. The bishops over the years have given more support to land reform than any other social problem, and yet they can’t even get a very ordinary law extended. The Philippines is the first democracy to drop its land reform program before it is finished.
Maybe, the bishops will soon come to believe it is more useful to talk directly to the poor than to continue engaging with officials who politely nod in agreement with the Church’s suggestions and then continue with business as usual. In the concrete situation existing in the country with the officials and growing problems the people face, it seems the right time to speak to the poor.
If they ever write such a letter it might go like this:
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our past letters on social problems don’t seem to have done much good. Many times, for example, we appealed to our leaders for effective land reform, but to no avail. Congress failed to extend it. We’ve talked of workers’ problems, mining and the problems tribal people face, but those letters, too, have had little effect. It’s time to talk directly to you.
Before going further, we wish to ask about something that puzzles us and many other people, namely, why are you so patient? There are food and oil price riots in many countries; in South Korea 50,000 people go into the streets each night to protest the importation of American beef, yet here in the Philippines, which is as poor and as hard hit as any other country by the soaring prices, there seems to be only passive acceptance. This is not our history. Look at the peasant uprisings of the past, look at Edsa I. What has caused this recent passivity?
Have you lost hope in life and the possibility of change? Have you lost faith in government, the elite, the Church? We can imagine your pain with the way things have become worse and worse, but don’t give up for the sake of your children and for the good of the whole country.
What is your perception of the Church? Do you feel it is on your side in the justice struggles that will fashion the Philippines of tomorrow? Do you feel you are in the Church of the Poor that we vowed to become at the Second Plenary Council in 1991? We hope so and we sincerely hope you haven’t lost your willingness to “hunger and thirst for justice.” You well know that no major social change will come about in our country without organized popular pressure from below. Also, no serious thrust to become the Church of the Poor will take place unless you push us in that direction.
What will it take to organize this popular pressure from below? To organize farmers into a large democratic, non-violent movement for a truly valuable land reform, for example. How many farmers must be organized? One million? Why not? The Federation of Free Farmers on the eve of the declaration of martial law had some 300,000 members and was growing rapidly. There are many more farmers now and just as much suffering.
We ask the same question of all downtrodden groups—tribal people, fishermen, workers, urban poor, farmers: What will it take to organize yourselves?
We will give whatever is in our power to give in terms of moral support, funds and training resources. We will recruit idealistic young people and professionals to work alongside you. We will lobby for you as we always have, and we will not hesitate to break with the powerful who resist your efforts to secure your human rights. We will preach the Gospel in the liberating way Jesus did in Luke 4:18-19: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to free the oppressed and to proclaim the Lord’s year of mercy.”
May the Lord bless all of us.
Denis Murphy works with Urban Poor Associates. His email address is upa@pldtdsl.net.
©Copyright 2001-2008 INQUIRER.net, An Inquirer Company
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
‘Have pity’ poor families appeal to PGMA in face off
** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE *** NEWS RELEASE **
Have pity’ poor families appeal to PGMA in face off
30 January 2008. Backed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), urban poor leaders will have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Heroes Hall in Malacañang where they hope to discuss forced evictions, inadequate relocation and land proclamation issues.
The meeting resulted from a consultation between urban poor groups and the CBCP held last week at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Paco, Manila.
Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan of Tuguegarao and Bishop Ramon Villena of Bayombong offered to arrange a meeting with President Arroyo through the Office of the Religious Affairs in Malacañang.
Urban poor groups want a halt to forced evictions, specifically those done by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the preparation of adequate relocation sites for those who are evicted.
They want the President to condemn the practice of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando for his failure to relocate families he has evicted.
The Urban Poor Associates (UPA) eviction monitor for the first month of 2008 shows some 1,800 families have already been left homeless after being forcibly evicted.
A group called Task Force Anti-Illegal Demolition (TF-AID) warns of massive demonstrations in Metro Manila if their requests will fall on deaf ears. TF-AID was formed by various people’s organizations and NGOs such as Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) Foundation, and UPA.
The group agree with the words of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales in a sermon delivered to urban poor on the Paco Estero during the Feast of the Holy Family. “There should be no violence. No one should use violence. There should be no intimidation, no use of arms. We will obey, but we don’t want to be forced or subjected to violence. If government evicts it must prepare relocation sites. This is what we say, the site is prepared when there are houses, roads, light, water, schools for the children, and travel to work must be easy.”
Jose Morales, one of the urban poor leaders who will meet the President, said it is time to stop the social injustice being experienced by urban poor. “Panahon na para wakasan na ang pagiging berdugo ng maralita ni Bayani Fernando. Panahon na para igalang ang batas tulad ng Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA).” Morales represents the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) and the Ugnayang Lakas ng mga Apektadong Pamilya sa Baybaying Ilog Pasig (ULAP).
Prescilda Juanich, a representative of Samahang Pinagbuklod ng Pagkakaisa, said she is excited because it is her first time to set foot in Malacañang. “Idol ko si Gloria, senador pa lang siya hanggang sa naging vice president. Pero ngayon nagdadalawang isip ako dahil pakiramdam ko pinapabayaan ang hanay ng maralita. Patuloy ang proyekto pero walang nilalaan na relokasyon sa mga taong apektado tulad ng road widening project sa R-10 Navotas ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).”
“Labag sa batas at labag din sa inuutos ng Pangulo sa kanyang Executive Order 152 ang ginagawa ng MMDA. Utos mismo ng Pangulo, di sinusunod ni Bayani,” said Soti Sabarre, spokesperson of TF-AID. “Kung binabalak na maging presidente ni BF dapat ay tigilan niya ang mararahas at iligal na demolisyon. Kung hindi ay titiyakin ng mga maralitang tagalungsod na sa kangkungan siya pupulutin pagdating ng eleksyon.” Fernando has said he plans to run for the presidency.
The President proclaimed urban land for about 200,000 families 2001-2003, but almost none since.
-30-
Have pity’ poor families appeal to PGMA in face off
30 January 2008. Backed by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), urban poor leaders will have a meeting tomorrow afternoon with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Heroes Hall in Malacañang where they hope to discuss forced evictions, inadequate relocation and land proclamation issues.
The meeting resulted from a consultation between urban poor groups and the CBCP held last week at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Paco, Manila.
Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan of Tuguegarao and Bishop Ramon Villena of Bayombong offered to arrange a meeting with President Arroyo through the Office of the Religious Affairs in Malacañang.
Urban poor groups want a halt to forced evictions, specifically those done by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the preparation of adequate relocation sites for those who are evicted.
They want the President to condemn the practice of MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando for his failure to relocate families he has evicted.
The Urban Poor Associates (UPA) eviction monitor for the first month of 2008 shows some 1,800 families have already been left homeless after being forcibly evicted.
A group called Task Force Anti-Illegal Demolition (TF-AID) warns of massive demonstrations in Metro Manila if their requests will fall on deaf ears. TF-AID was formed by various people’s organizations and NGOs such as Community Organizers Multiversity (COM), Community Organization of the Philippine Enterprise (COPE) Foundation, and UPA.
The group agree with the words of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales in a sermon delivered to urban poor on the Paco Estero during the Feast of the Holy Family. “There should be no violence. No one should use violence. There should be no intimidation, no use of arms. We will obey, but we don’t want to be forced or subjected to violence. If government evicts it must prepare relocation sites. This is what we say, the site is prepared when there are houses, roads, light, water, schools for the children, and travel to work must be easy.”
Jose Morales, one of the urban poor leaders who will meet the President, said it is time to stop the social injustice being experienced by urban poor. “Panahon na para wakasan na ang pagiging berdugo ng maralita ni Bayani Fernando. Panahon na para igalang ang batas tulad ng Urban Development and Housing Act (UDHA).” Morales represents the Urban Poor Alliance (UP-ALL) and the Ugnayang Lakas ng mga Apektadong Pamilya sa Baybaying Ilog Pasig (ULAP).
Prescilda Juanich, a representative of Samahang Pinagbuklod ng Pagkakaisa, said she is excited because it is her first time to set foot in Malacañang. “Idol ko si Gloria, senador pa lang siya hanggang sa naging vice president. Pero ngayon nagdadalawang isip ako dahil pakiramdam ko pinapabayaan ang hanay ng maralita. Patuloy ang proyekto pero walang nilalaan na relokasyon sa mga taong apektado tulad ng road widening project sa R-10 Navotas ng Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).”
“Labag sa batas at labag din sa inuutos ng Pangulo sa kanyang Executive Order 152 ang ginagawa ng MMDA. Utos mismo ng Pangulo, di sinusunod ni Bayani,” said Soti Sabarre, spokesperson of TF-AID. “Kung binabalak na maging presidente ni BF dapat ay tigilan niya ang mararahas at iligal na demolisyon. Kung hindi ay titiyakin ng mga maralitang tagalungsod na sa kangkungan siya pupulutin pagdating ng eleksyon.” Fernando has said he plans to run for the presidency.
The President proclaimed urban land for about 200,000 families 2001-2003, but almost none since.
-30-
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