The devil is working overtime

          For believers, there are inmistakable signs that the evil one has been working overtime to sow havoc in the country. And break up institutions, both secular and religious. Especially the Church.

          That the perception that I have heard from a lot of Filipino Catholics, including those who had to a certain extent been caught in the maelstrom.

          But these are things that can be perceived only by the eyes of Faith. Otherwise, words becloud the issue and make the wrong right and the right wrong. Words masked the workings of the evil one and what he intends to do – sow discord among God’s people.

          Note, for example. What had started as an expectation of how the CBCP (the country’s Catholic Bishops’) would judge the case of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. After due consideration ostensibly helped by the Holy Spirit. The bishops did not call for GMA’s resignation. Instead,  they glossed over it and called instead for the abolition of Executive Order 464.

          By all the rules of logic, the bishops were correct. They were not to be dragged into the purely political field.

          What followed thereafter was the call for the resignation or ouster of CBCP president Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo. Thus, one commentator asked – ano ba ito, sino ba ang pinaparesign natin --- Si GMA or si Lagdameo?

          In effect, that only highlighted the national discordance. Even bishops themselves have fallen victims to the bedlam. One group batted for Lagdameo’s ouster, the other for his retention. In short, the confrontation has also infringed on the turf of the Church. And a major split has developed.

          Then, there was Speaker Prospero Nograles calling for the abolition of the tax exemption of Church properties. A direct challenge to the long enshrined constitutional protection of the Churches.

          That threat was so timed that it gave the impression that the Church buckled down to it.

          Now, you also see a maverick priest – Fr. Roberto Reyes – charging that some Catholic bishops are beholden to Malacañang because of large donations that they received from the Palace. And they did not offer any evidence of it. Just innuendoes. The same methods used by the whistle blowers who use public sympathy to ask for the resignation of the President.

          Now, I’m not saying that GMA deserves to stay in office and is exempt from accountability. But there is a process by which she is to be judged or condemned.

          The country’s prelates simply wanted to be sure that they just don’t echo the lynch mob. Instead, they got to the bottom of the situation – abolish EO 464, the executive order that seems to have sealed the lips of key officials from testifying on “confidential matters” that demand to be known for the Senate and other agencies to be able to clarify some of the murky and mysterious circumstances behind such deals as ZTE-NBN.

          Most overlooked the fact that the bishops put in the hands of the President a Trojan horse. This was the one that could serve as a litmus test of presidential sincerity in her campaign against graft and corruption.

          But so clouded with hate have been the many anti-GMA forces that they could not see the obvious point of the bishops.

          Instead, defying completely the wisdom of the CBCP, they went head yesterday with their million bodies rally against the President.

          And that is supposed to unite the country against a common cause. Unfortunately that, per se, is the divisive factor that is splitting the country apart.

          I guess, what we should do according to what the Bishops of the country advise is pray for the gift of discernment. It is easy to fall victims to one set of ideas or the other. The more important is to be able to flesh out God’s design amid the flurry of confusing signals from various quarters.

          Now, consider, the following. The clergy of Negros will map out their own position on the issue of GMA’s ouster regardless of what the CBCP had reached.

          In short, that is virtually throwing the gauntlet against the bishops. What is needed now is for them to meticulously review what the prelates had said and, perhaps, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, reach sober conclusions.

          But definitely, there is the outline of how the evil one operates. And has succeeded in sowing division not only in a secular society, but also among the members of the clergy.*

back to top