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Canon Law of the Church forbids that clerics actively involve themselves in partisan politics. But there’s an exception to canon 287 §2:
UNLESS, “in the judgment of competent ecclesiastical authority, the protection of the rights of the Church or the promotion of the common good requires it.=================================
CLERGY FOR THE MORAL CHOICE
1. Last week, the Clergy for the Moral Choice released its public statement – signed by more than 1,000 Filipino bishops and priests from all over the archipelago – and pledged their massive support for Leni Robredo.
2. They said that “of all the presidential candidates that could prevent the return of the family who caused us misery and pain, no one can surpass the potential of Vice President Maria Leonor Robredo.”
3. The following paragraph from the same public statement caught my attention:
4. “Our country is in danger of being ruled by those who made her suffer. The son and heir of his father, who ruled us for a long time… Are we gullible enough to believe their fake smiles, words, and promises?”
5. Presidential frontrunner Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is slammed for standing tall on a name that resounds but who, observers say, cannot survive without his father’s shadows and without the aid of their ill-gotten wealth.
6. He is equally disparaged for lying about his Oxford graduate diploma and other credentials, and for using an army of trolls to discredit rivals and revise history.
7. Moreover, Marcos Jr. and Imelda Marcos wilfully refused to pay the estate tax of the Marcos Estate, which legal experts say can be charged criminally by the Department of Justice (DOJ) under Section 255 of the Philippine Tax Code.
8. In fact, Philippine Senate, acting on a filed resolution on April 3, 2022, called for a Senate investigation of the P203-billion estate tax liabilities of the Marcos family.
9. So, when a thousand moral leaders say that “our country is in danger of being ruled by those who made her suffer,” it is not an empty warning.
10. It’s no longer the question of whether or not the clergy can endorse a particular candidate, but the question of why the Catholic Church’s opposition to Marcos Jr is publicly manifested.
11. Until last week, hundreds of clergy from the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Tarlac, Bataan, Batangas, Bukidnon, Bicol and other dioceses have expressed their support for Leni Robredo.
12. Nearly all members of CEAP in the college and university levels led by Ateneo and La Salle did the same as other dioceses and universities are following suit.
13. The Council of the Laity of the Philippines called Laiko, the Couples for Christ international council, and more than 500 members of “Pari Madre Misyonero Para Kay Leni,” among others, have unprecedentedly expressed their preference for a political candidate.
14. Of course, Canon Law of the Church forbids that clerics actively involve themselves in partisan politics. But there’s an exception to canon 287 §2:
15. UNLESS, “in the judgment of competent ecclesiastical authority, the protection of the rights of the Church or the promotion of the common good requires it.”
16. Suddenly, for the “the promotion of the common good,” the Filipino bishops and priests have decided to be silent no more as publicly manifested their desire to perform their civic duty to actively participate in and evangelize politics.
17. Even the 18th Congress of the Senate of the Philippines, a government institution, has released a press statement on April 23, 2022, which says that “for first time in Philippine Catholic Church history, priests openly support candidates...”
18. Teddy Santiago of Laiko told UCA News the principal reason why is this happening. It’s because the forthcoming May 2022 elections are crucial, although “crucial is an understatement,” he said. “It is an emergency situation. It might be now or never,” he added.
19. The Catholic Church now owns what Edmund Burke said: “It’s enough for good men and women to do nothing for EVIL to spread!” and assumes the solemn duty to be the voice of the voiceless.
20. Therefore, the time to be silent when truth is vandalized and the prospect of “the return of the family who caused us misery and pain,” according to the Clergy for the Moral Choice, is over.
21. How strong is the Catholic Church in the Philippines? She has more than 120 active bishops, 10,470 priests, and 11,000 religious nuns and brothers and about 80 million lay Catholics.
22. Is it strength, enlightenment, wisdom, or credibility of the Church leaders of this predominantly Catholic nation, or lack of it that, after everything has been said and done, millions will make Marcos Jr the next President of the Philippines?
