MANILA - It what appears to be a challenge to the assertions of conservative groups and the government that the Church should not be involved in politics and the "affairs of the state," priests from all over the country - in a historic first - gathered to discern and discuss their role amid these turbulent times.
A growing number of Catholic priests in the Philippines are committing to be more active in the "political realm," to be more vocal and to act more decisively against corruption, human-rights violations, electoral fraud, patronage politics and political dynasties. They have also committed to act on people's issues such as land reform, mining, logging and other activities that degrade the environment and ultimately victimize the people.
In fact, as the priests happily found out during their unprecedented gathering in Makati City late last week, many members of the clergy have been actively grappling with these concerns in the course of doing their "prophetic mission."
"Gone are the days when partisan politics is a taboo topic in the Church," said the Reverend Carmelo Diola, a priest of the archdiocese of Cebu.
In a historic three-day gathering of 250 priests, including 19 bishops, from all over the country, they shared how they have been striving to breathe life to the "prophetic character of priesthood participation in social transformation and politics," as Monsignor Manuel Gabriel, a priest of the diocese of Parañaque and rector of Saint Andrew's Cathedral, put it. Toward the end of their gathering, Monsignor Gabriel was formally chosen by the assembly as national convenor of their "discernment network."
"Discernment" is how Catholic priests call the process where they face "social challenges," reflect on their experiences "in the light of their prophetic mission and stewardship role" and deliberate on "appropriate areas of action and collaboration."
Since February last year, in response to a pastoral letter of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) urging for the establishment of "circles of discernment" in various ecclesiastical levels, numerous activities of this type have been held across the country, paving the way to the their very first national assembly held from October 13 to 15 at the San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati City.
"The mere fact that it happened is already historical," said the Reverend Jose Dizon, a priest from the diocese of Imus, Cavite, one of the convenors and later formally chosen by the assembly of priests and bishops as the executive director of their national discernment network. Father Dizon noted the "significant number" and high level of enthusiasm of the participants.
Although the national assembly for discernment of priests was held with the full knowledge and encouragement of the CBCP, the assembly is "self-reliant and self-propelled." The priests who attended paid for their own transport; they and the convenors solicited for the assembly's needs; they made do with what were available as food and accommodation.
"It is heartening to see the participants' discipline and drive for the success of the first national discernment activity," Father Dizon told Bulatlat. Despite the participants' tiredness - many came from places that had recently been flooded - they still attended and contributed much to the assembly's "meaty discussion," he said.
True Stewardship
Often self-deprecating, the gathered priests found occasion to criticize and laugh at themselves and what they do. They congratulated themselves whenever they managed to speak briefly rather than lengthily, they praised the younger priests for reporting their part most pithily and with fire, and they noted that, thanks to their national assembly, they realized that you could actually make a priest go hungry without him complaining, or that you could make priests listen attentively to one another even during supposed siesta hours, or bear eviction from one place of accommodation to another in good humor.
The priests also poked fun at some of their own pastoral letters which, in having tried to be all-inclusive, had become unclear or "not really saying what they should be saying." They mentioned the difficulty of condemning corruption and politics of patronage if in their own ranks they also have their own cases of corruption and patronage. They requested to do discernment activities and for the bishops to also conduct their own.
They praised their fellow priests for giving the assembly examples of discernment activities, such as Father Diola's from the archdiocese of Cebu, who discussed the successful turnout of their circles for discernment for elections, and the Reverend Albert Rabe's, a priest of the archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, who discussed how their circles of discernment helped them shepherd the people in their parish toward understanding poverty as a result of an oppressive political system, and in the process helping to implant a "new consciousness to make people act for transformation."
And, of course, there is the example of Father Lucero's recent martyrdom in Samar as a result of his efforts in helping his parish defend their human rights and bring the Church closer to people in their responses against militarization.
True Shepherds
In integrating the ideas and experiences shared in the three-day national discernment, Bishop Chito Tagle structured it into the priests' understanding of discernment and their roles as prophets, priests and stewards or pastors, and their efforts to become "discerning presences" in their communities.
In short, whom do priests really serve and in what ways could they bring the true God to the people? As far as the first national discernment is concerned, here lies the crux of their priesthood. And maybe the continued relevance of the Catholic Church in these "trying but challenging times."
According to Bishop Tagle, based on Hebrew Scriptures, the need for discernment arose because there were false gods. The goal of their discernment activities is to help priests continuously get to know God, because God has many faces and Catholic priests today do not want to repeat the mistakes of priests in Jesus's time when they failed to recognize the God in Jesus.
In serving the true God, the gathered Catholic priests agreed that they want "a new brand of leadership" and that they don't need trapos (traditional politics). To become true shepherds, Bishop Tagle pointed to the priests' desire to also become the "counterculture for the political and economic culture that impoverishes the people." The priests believe their ecclesiastical levels should not reflect the same cruel economic and political culture that prevails.
All these are necessary, said Bishop Tagle, so the priests could perform their prophetic role of being true shepherds or pastors.
False shepherds are still around, contributing or causing impoverishment and strain of the flock, said Bishop Tagle. "They fed themselves rather than feed the sheep; they eat the fat, clothe themselves in wool and slaughter the weak in the process."
In the priests' functioning as "discerning presences," Bishop Tagle said all aspects of their ministry should be prophetic, their lifestyle should be in harmony with the word of God. "We can imagine ways of becoming a church. We should also denounce and expose what enslaves society and church."
Because achieving all these is a tall order, the priests promised to continue repeating similar discernment activities in various levels all over the country. (Bulatlat.com)