In the continuing word war between Malacañang and the CBCP, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said the Palace is not backing down from its call for the bishops and other clergymen to respect the constitutional principle of the separation of Church and State.
"We respect what CBCP head Angel Lagdameo has to say on matters of public concern but we beg to differ in this case," Bunye said.
"The charges raised in the impeachment are not morality issues but plain and simple political harassment leveled against the highest office of the land," he stressed.
Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez last week filed the third impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo, much to the annoyance of Palace officials who said bishops should stop dabbling too much in politics.
Malacañang earlier called on the CBCP to sanction Iniguez for supposedly violating the constitutional principle of the separation of Church and State. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Iñiquez and other bishops should take their cue from the Vatican, which has expressed support for President Arroyo’s political and economic reform programs.
But Lagdameo said the constitutional principle separating Church and State does not apply when political controversies involve morality.
He said this was the essential message of Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical entitled "Deus Caritas Est (God is Love)" that Malacañang may have misinterpreted in calling for Iñiguez’s sanction.
Ermita, however, appealed to the media yesterday not to pit the Palace and the bishops against each other but maintained that Iñiguez’s position does not reflect the position of the entire CBCP.
Meanwhile, Iñiguez said he does not regret filing an impeachment case against President Arroyo after receiving support from fellow prelates.
He said he feels he is "on the right track after hearing the words of support from the people and my fellow bishops," including Archbishop Lagdameo.
"I feel so proud that I was able to make that act and offer it to the Lord and the country. I hope this will pave the way towards change, truth and prosperity," Iñiguez said in an interview.
Iñiguez clarified that he signed the impeachment complaint on his own conviction and as a representative of his group Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomiya (KME).
"I have no regrets signing the complaint. And I am not afraid of being reprimanded by the CBCP since it was a personal decision," the prelate told reporters.
Iñiguez likewise maintained his belief that only through impeachment can the issue of legitimacy against Mrs. Arroyo be resolved.
"So I hope that you (President) would try to evaluate matters so the truth will come out so that this instability and erosion of confidence can finally be stopped and so the credibility of the government can be restored."
The CBCP leadership on Sunday said it views Iñiguez’s move with respect and admiration.
Catholic bishops are expected to come up with a common stand on the revival of the impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo in their second and last plenary assembly for the year scheduled next week in Manila.
Meanwhile, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said that even if the separation of Church and State is not written in the fundamental law of the land, its reality should be observed and its spirit should be kept.
"And even if the charter only prohibits the adoption of a state religion, this should be understood in its fuller understanding. The church should not directly intervene in the affairs proper of the state just as the state should not directly interfere in the agenda germane to the Church," Cruz stressed.
Meanwhile, administration lawmakers said that while they agreed with the CBCP’s view on the need to speak out on moral issues, they said the partisan acts of some Church leaders were fueling divisiveness, negativism and strife.
Representatives Marcelino Libanan, vice chairman of the House committee on justice, and Eduardo Veloso said it is the Church’s role to provide enlightenment, not to fuel negativism and skepticism and to use the pulpit to explain issues in relation to the gospel, not use their clout to reflect a biased public opinion. — With Edu Punay, Eva Visperas