Fr. Wilfredo T. Dulay, mdj

the people of God and realpolitik

            When the 2^nd Vatican Council defined the Church inclusively, it wasactuallysetting the record straight.  Consequently, the many other ambivalent, incomplete and outdated descriptions attached to the Church such as – “the pope, the bishops, the priests and religious”, “the hierarchy and the clergy”, “Christendom”, “the last functioning monarchy”, “the collectivity of all the   baptized”, “the Roman Catholics”, “the churches recognized by the Vatican”, “the Kingdom of God”, “breathtaking Romanesque and Gothic structures”, etc. – all fell away. 

            The Council’s definition – the people of God –made it clear that the Church is a place where God calls people into communion.  It is a place where to gather, not to scatter; a place that welcomes everyone; a place to find oneself among other children of God.  It is an oasis of living waters where the shepherd tends to his flock (cf Ps 23).  As the title itself of the Vatican Dogmatic Constitution of the Church, Lumen Gentium (“Light to the Nations” in Latin), clearly tells it – the Church is a place of light.

            Similarly, the definitions attributed to politics^[1] are also many and confusing.  But one, realpolitik^[2], is a stand-out.  In contrarian fashion to the definition of the people of God as a place of light, realpolitik or, politics as commonly regarded, is a dark place where to get lost because it is a political system based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations. In other words, realpolitik is a political system with no principles.  It operates on the basis of convenience and gain (profit).

            It is alarming that today a growing number of politicians has transformed politics into a murky domain where honor is bartered and corruption budgeted, a place where false dreams are peddled, a place where the people are betrayed.  But because politics affects their lives directly and unavoidably, people are drawn to it like moths to the fire. That’s where they get lost, their welfare measured least and their sorry plight considered last.

            For so long the Church has been called forth to enter politics.  To this day the political situation remains an open invitation for the Church: that is where the people are.  However, the Church may not go there to engage in partisan politics and play the profit-sharing game with the powerful.  Or, foolishly try to outsmart them.  (Jesus issued the warning that the children of this world are smarter in matters not pertaining to God’s reign.)  She must enter the political world conscious of her designated task. And lest she forgets, the Church must keep in mind that her calling is to share in a non-profitable way the mission of the Lord who was “anointed to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives, and new sight to the blind; to free the    oppressed and to announce the Lord’s year of favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

the silence of the lambs & the silence of shepherds

            The lambs are silent because they are scared.  Most of them are.  But that ought to       surprise no one.  Their fear is well-founded.  How many petty drug peddlers and poor drug     addicts have been killed?  How many laborers, lumad Filipinos, farmers, activists and union    organizers have been “neutralized” by members of government armed forces, hired assassins and  vigilantes? 

            Yet, many activists keep on protesting.  That’s what is surprising.  They are scared but they persist risking limb and life to set aright what is not well!

            What is not easy to understand is the silence of the shepherds.  What’s keeping their mouths shut and their eyes closed?  Are they also scared?  Surely, they, too, must be scared.  But, their silence is more difficult to comprehend.  The reasons more complex, or, at least, made complicated by circumlocution.  In the real world and recognizing realpolitik for what it is, we are aware that some members of the clergy, in particular those of the hierarchy, are known for their use of influence peddling.  It is argued that maintaining cordial relations with those in   power could be useful in helping Church people and the poor whenever they get in trouble with the authorities. 

            In other words, there is the implied adherence to the casuistic idiom that “the end justifies the means.”  A prominent Church figure, an archbishop, whenever criticized for accepting      donations of questionable provenance was often heard rebutting: “I don’t care where the money comes from, as long as I could use it to help the poor.”  A modern saint when asked why she   accepted money from a notorious former First Lady was also quoted that “It doesn’t really matter if the money were from the devil himself, if by it I could feed the hungry.”  And what about the perks that come with coalescing with the elite and powerful – the places of honor at dinners and social gatherings, generous gifts and donations for their charities in behalf of the poor, attention if not recognition, and photo-ops, among many other prerogatives?

            All the same, neither the Cardinal Archbishop famous for his political savvy, nor the  canonized saint known for her asceticism, is the reference point for Christian practice.  They are not the yardstick of Christianity.  Rather, “It is the Lord” (Dominus est).  The way of Jesus is the true measure of Christian living.

            Christianity is not power-based. Has never been and will never be. That is, if we go by the teachings and deeds of Jesus as we know them by faith in both the Scriptures and Tradition.  Christianity is a manner of being human exemplified by the Incarnation of Jesus Christ.  Is not the Incarnation of the Word of God a radical renunciation of power?  More than just a lifestyle, it is a way of life undergirded by love, humility and service, values unregarded by the power    brokers of this world –

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)

the separation between Church and State

            Every time a conflict between Government and the Church would arise, either party would invoke the principle of the separation of Church and State, depending which side feels  aggrieved.  In many countries, including those in Latin America and the Philippines, when the Church denounces abuses against human rights, dictatorial governments angrily tell the clergy to keep to the sacristy and mind their own business.  And when governments threaten to tax church property, the hierarchy would cry foul and invoke the freedom of religion. This happens         everywhere the Church is perceived by the powers that be as a threat or, as a force to reckon with. They seem not to bother as much where the Church is a tiny minority, or a non-entity, as is the case presently in China.  [a quick digression: Perhaps, the Chinese Communist Party has not yet heard that demographers have been predicting that by 2030 China will be the largest       Christian country in the world, surpassing Brazil and the United States.^[3]]  

            Even though it might only have the value of a footnote in our history books, it’s good to recall that when the members of the Constitutional Convention drafted the Philippine 1987    Constitution and inserted the concept of the separation between the Church and the State into the document, they said they were following the lead of American jurisprudence, and that they were basing themselves on the US Constitution.  Unfortunately, without verifying their claim.  

            In fact, even though “in our own time the judiciary has embraced this figurative phrase (namely, the wall of separation between Church and State)^[4] as a virtual rule of constitutional law and as the organizing theme of Church-State jurisprudence, the metaphor is nowhere to be found in the US Constitution.”^[5] 

Shay Cullen
27 August 2021

Life is precious and sacred. Many people believe in the sanctity of the human person with rights and dignity to be protected and preserved. This is not true for many more who kill and murder and execute their perceived enemies. Those that declare war and invade other nations are also guilty of bringing death and destruction. There is no “good” war. In the end, after millions are dead and wounded, peace is negotiated and made, and life returns to normal. Why then fight the war in the first place and not negotiate a settlement of differences before violence is inflicted? That is because war is very profitable for weapons manufacturers. A prolonged “endless” war is the best thing ever for the industrial military complex.

This industry dominates and greatly influences American politics and the US economy. It is what President Dwight Eisenhower warned the nation about in 1946. He called it a danger to the nation. The permanent armaments industry is today immensely greater and more powerful. It needs, and perhaps, promotes continuous wars to sell more arms to prosper and grow.

The politicians, the arms manufacturers and traders get their political candidates elected who seemingly work continually to support military interventions. This is the great wrong behind all wars: immense greed fuelled by lies, ambition and power. The American people are mostly duped into believing that their national security is always under threat and a super strong military, always at war, with real or imagined enemies, is necessary.

The futility of the Afghan twenty-year unwinnable war has brought incredible suffering and death to millions of civilians and soldiers and generated hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced people. The invasion was launched primarily to deprive Al Qaeda terrorits a haven in Afghanistan, which was then controlled by the Taliban. When that was achieved, the occupation continued and was prolonged mostly for the glory of US career generals and the benefit of the US industrial military complex and a few thousand corrupt Afghan politicians and their cronies. The immorality of it is staggering. We do not live in a just or moral world. The disaster is still unfolding as thousands of people are rushing to the airport to escape the Taliban on US and UK planes.

According to research by Brown University, the number of innocent Afghan civilians caught in the crossfire or killed by suicide bombers is a shocking 47,245 men, women and children. Countless others are wounded, having lost arms and legs and they will suffer for the rest of their lives. Besides, half-trained 66,000 Afghan army and police were killed. The number of Taliban and other opposition fighters that were killed is 51,191. A total of 164,436 Afghan people died in this avoidable war.

In Afghanistan, in the 20-year war, as many as 2,448 American service members were killed up to April 2021. An additional 3,846 U.S. contractors, civilians and mercenaries were killed, and as many as 1,344 service people of the NATO alliance died also. The number of aid workers killed is 444. Seventy-nine journalists were also killed.  A total of 8,161 needless deaths.

How could a mostly unpaid guerrilla band of fighters, armed mostly with AK-47s, RPG rocket launchers, home-made bombs and riding pickups and motorbikes with walkie-talkie radios, defeat the greatest, most powerful sophisticated well-paid army, air force and navy in the world, the best funded and most expensive?

According to Brown University calculation, the US spent $2.26 trillion in Afghanistan, or $300 million a day. The 29,950 US troops with 300,000 Afghan military and police were beaten to a standstill by a much smaller force and the US under Donald Trump gave up and sued for peace.

It seems that the Taliban had a few things going for them more than guns and bombs, religion for one. They were defeated in 2001 and driven out of Afghanistan but they hid in the mountains and regrouped. Their deep radical Islamic faith, some may call it fanatical, kept them going.

Their unshakable belief that Allah was truly on their side and their hope of establishing in their native land a strict even cruel, misogynist Islamic state, under Allah, was their unshakable dream. Besides, death in a Holy War would bring them their instant reward in paradise. That is what they fought for, not a paycheck.

Their medieval harsh religious faith motivated them sharply and they became ferocious fighters, taking risks and were a formidable enemy against a foreign invader on the battlefield with all the odds of weaponry and manpower against them. They had defeated the Russians and were convinced they could defeat the United States.

Crucial for victory was their positive negotiations with local tribal leaders to win the hearts and minds of the local population. This they did by infiltrating their sleepers into villages and municipalities. As their fighters drew near to a village or town or provincial capital and surrounded it, their sleepers had already prepared the way and emerged. They had influenced local tribal leaders to support them without resistance by making deals and paying cash handouts. It worked. They allowed poppy cultivation and heroine production and earned millions of dollars from it to finance their war. They captured border points and collected tax on everything imported or exported.

The Taliban had a clear tactic to negotiate with government troops and police to persuade them not to kill fellow Afghans but save themselves and their families. They left them little choice, desert to us or die with their wives and children. Thousands of unpaid soldiers changed sides and they delivered their US-supplied weapons to the Taliban, too.

Many Afghan army commanders were corrupt and brutal to their troops so the deserter didn’t need much encouragement to switch sides. Eighty-five billion US dollars was spent on training them to fight, according to Brown University.

A pre-negotiated surrender seems to explain how the Taliban took provincial capitals quickly and Kabul without firing a shot. It was pre-arranged and the United States seems to be caught by surprise unless they had agreed to a secret surrender that came all too quickly for most. The human cost is immense as stated above. The financial cost to the United States is gigantic. It is obliged to pay health and disability costs for almost 4 million war veterans of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars costing almost $2 trillion, wars which have already cost the US $2.6 trillion to wage and most of it is borrowed with interests. By 2050, that interest is estimated to cost the American taxpayer $6.5 trillion. The banks and lenders are thrilled, they love lending to finance wars.

Where did most of the $2 trillion in war costs go? You may ask. Where else but to the industrial military complex and companies therein and they are very happy about it. They love wars, too.  What was achieved from these wars? Nothing but human suffering, devastation and misery. Now, the Taliban are back with promises of a less harsh regime than 20 years ago. But, will they keep them? That remains to be seen.

www.preda.org

+Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza
Bishop of San Carlos
Head Convenor, Visayas Clergy Discernment Group

August 31, 2021

“There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

John 15:13

On behalf of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG), a 2008 CBCP initiative to address social concerns, I express our grief over the senseless murder of human rights lawyer Rex Fernandez.  He was killed last August 26, 2021 in Cebu City.

Lawyer Rex Fernandez, a former Redemptorist seminarian, had a heart for the people and had touched so many lives.

Since 2010, Atty. Rex Fernandez had actively supported the bishops and clergy of the VCDG and the Archdiocese of Cebu Discernment Group in people’s issues, such as labor rights, urban poor welfare, environment protection and good governance.

When the clergy, religious, and lay people in the Visayas, especially in the Archdiocese of Cebu needed legal assistance, he readily offered his time and expertise.

He was a key convenor of the Archdiocese of Cebu-initiated Coalition Against the Pork Barrel System (2014) and the National People’s Initiative to Abolish the Pork Barrel (2015). 

We join the call for a speedy investigation of his murder.

We pray that Atty. Rex did not die in vain. In fact, his sacrifice should lead us to a conversion of heart and mind to that of Jesus’.  In effect, we can courageously and consistently pursue efforts to address the roots of sinful social structures and evil practices.

Atty. Rex, you will surely receive the reward promised by God to His servants, who like Him, laid down his life for His people.

+Most Rev. Gerardo A. Alminaza, DD (SGD.)
Bishop of San Carlos

The Insider Mediators (IM), together with the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI), lauds both Houses of Congress for moving forward the bills on the proposed extension of the transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) from 2022 to 2025.  In the Senate, Senate Bill 2214 was passed Second Reading on August 25, 2021.  The next day, in the House of Representatives, the Committee on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity,  Committee on Muslim Affairs, and Committee on Suffrage and Electoral Reforms voted affirmatively on the proposed substitute bill submitted by a Technical Working Group created to work on the consolidation of several bills related to the extension.

The Insider Mediators is a network of Bangsamoro stakeholders who are working towards the attainment of a common agenda among the major stakeholders of the region and the realization of peace, justice and harmony among the different communities of the Bangsamoro. The Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) is a social development and advocacy network of 250 members from faith-based groups, non-government organizations and people’s organizations grouped into 15 regional clusters all over the Philippines.

Both groups look forward to the eventual passage of the bills into law before Congress goes on recess on October 2021. To fast-track the passage and enactment of this bill, IM and PMPI are still hoping that President Rodrigo Roa Duterte would certify the bill as urgent.

The postponement of the elections in the BARMM will allow the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to complete its work in building the bureaucracy before the regular government comes in, enact priority legislation, including a code on indigenous peoples’ rights, on revenue generation, and on regional elections, as provided in the Bangsamoro Organic Act, and implement programs that had been slowed down by the lockdowns from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The extension of the transition period will also provide much needed time for the realization of the many commitments that remain unimplemented under the normalization track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

Watch on Sangguniang Laiko Facebook Page, https://www.facebook.com/511855985685246/videos/548470486393061.