Politics corrupting the Church, says activist priest

An activist priest on Wednesday criticized patronage politics as a source of corruption in the Catholic Church, giving credence to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) exposé that some bishops have benefited from government coffers.

In a telephone interview with GMA News Online, activist priest Robert Reyes said politicians usually give donations in courting the support of Catholic bishops who wield some influence over the parishioners in their respective dioceses. “Panahon pa lang ni Cardinal Sin, nag-o-offer na ang mga pulitiko ng donasyon," said Reyes, a vocal critic of the Arroyo administration.

“That practice is not exclusive to the Catholic Church," noted Reyes, saying that other religious groups also benefit from politicians’ donations, some of which come from government agencies such as the PCSO.

The PCSO has named at least six clerics who allegedly received donations such as expensive vehicles from government during the Arroyo administration, said a report on GMA News’ “24 Oras" newscast on Wednesday.

In GMA News TV's “State of the Nation" newscast, the PCSO identified the following bishops and priests:

• Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao
  
  
• Archbishop Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato
  
  
• Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos of Butuan
  
  
• Msgr. Augusto Laban of Sorsogon
  
  
• Fr. Roger Lood of Iligan

Lood confirmed that he wrote former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for donations but never received the aid, reported “State of the Nation." GMA News was still trying to get the statements of Pueblos, Laban, and Capalla when the newscast aired late Wednesday evening.

Quevedo was in a meeting when GMA News tried to reach him, “State of the Nation" reported.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits the use of public funds, directly or indirectly, to support any religious group, the newscast reported.

PCSO director Aleta Tolentino, however, said it will not pose a problem if a religious group uses PCSO funds for charity work such as medical missions, which fall under the agency’s jurisdiction. “Pupunta ka ba sa parishioners mo para sabihin mo ang iyong doktrina? Then, that will be different," Tolentino said on “24 Oras."

According to the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Archdiocese of Davao under Capalla has 918,520 inhabitants, 88 percent of whom are Catholics. The Archdiocese of Cotabato, where Quevedo is the prelate, has 1.5 million people, 52 percent of whom are Catholics. The Diocese of Butuan under Pueblos has 884,709 residents of whom 81 percent are Catholics. The Catholics in all these jurisdictions total 2.3 million.

On Wednesday, the Senate blue ribbon committee also said it will probe into reports that PCSO funds were used to bribe several people, including bishops, in exchange for supporting former President Arroyo.

Lavish lifestyles

Reyes said he had an idea about the PCSO scam even before the exposé, based on the accounts of his fellows priests who supposedly noticed the lavish lifestyles of their bishops. The Palawan-based priest also recalled a bribery attempt exposed by his local bishop, Pedro Arigo, in 2006.

At that time, Arigo came out in the media saying he received an envelope of P20,000 in cash after a meeting with Arroyo and other officials, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report. The Arroyo administration denied the claim.

In the same Inquirer report, Dipolog Bishop Jose Manguiran recalled a similar bribery attempt on the eve of a CBCP meeting to discuss Arroyo’s impeachment. “Garapal," Manguiran reportedly said.

Reyes said the “support" that Arroyo extended to a number of bishops softened their stance on calls for the former president to step down. The CBCP did not directly call for her resignation.

A human institution

Confirming that corruption exists in the Catholic Church, Reyes said the Church is a human institution that “is no different from the government."

“But the Church is not only human. It is also divine," noted Reyes, describing the exposé as a “moment of grace."

“God is giving us this embarrassment, this painful experience, so we can fall on our knees and beg Him for strength," he explained.

Choosing not to name the bishops involved, Reyes then urged them to return the expensive vehicles they allegedly received from the government. He also called on other priests and bishops to reexamine their supposedly “extravagant" lifestyles, which he said makes them want to accept equally lavish gifts.

“Ang nagiging problema ng Simbahan ngayon is our failure to distinguish between what we need and what we want," he said.

Reyes however noted there is no problem with receiving gifts per se. “Ang tanong, paano mo gagamitin," he said.

“‘Pag luxury vehicle na," Reyes noted, “ibang usapan na ‘yan."

The priest also noted the poverty of Jesus Christ, whom Catholics and other Christians worship. “He thrived on a very simple life, but he was able to function," Reyes said.

File charges against those involved

Meanwhile, a CBCP official on Tuesday told government to file charges against people involved in the allegedly anomalous use of PCSO funds during the Arroyo administration.

“Kung sinuman ang mga taong nabanggit diyan sa katiwalian na ‘yan, including bishops ay dapat isama sa lahat ng imbestigasyon para malaman ang buong katotohanan at kasuhan na kung dapat kasuhan," said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chair of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action - Justice and Peace, in an interview on Church-run Radyo Veritas.

Another bishop, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, interpreted the PCSO exposé as a demolition job in relation to a bishop’s criticism against the President as well as the reproductive health (RH) bill, which has pitted the interests of Church and State.

Source