When faith does not make sense

Cebu archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, a known friend of ousted president Joseph Estrada who is under house arrest while awaiting trial on plunder charges, has offered " his person and his office " as a sanctuary to the former leader if he is released on bail.

The offenses for which Estrada had been charged are of course non-bailable, plunder being a capital offense punishable by death under existing laws. Talks of bail have flowered only because the sitting president, Gloria Arroyo, is considering reconciliation to save her own skin.

Arroyo is in the hot seat over allegations of poll cheating and bribe-taking and several impeachment complaints have been filed against her. To the discerning, however, much of the attacks that have undermined her hold on power are widely believed to lead to Estrada's doorstep.

On a personal level, it is therefore very admirable for Cardinal Vidal to stick his neck out for a friend. It is very uncomfortable, however, to many people for him to publicly embrace a man like Estrada.

Estrada, it may be argued, has not yet been convicted of the high crimes for which he is accused. But questions hounding his person do not merely involve the alleged crimes he committed while in office. They, in fact, deal much with what he did in his private life.

We do not wish to be the one to rake up the mud of his past. Virtually every Filipino knows who Estrada is, with much of what is known Estrada himself willingly volunteered, which is not surprising in a country where bad habits often are, inexplicably, sources of pride.

Oh yes, before we forget, Cardinal Vidal is a shepherd of a faith that is anchored mainly on the principle of forgiveness of sin and redemption. To be truthful to the vocation, how can the good cardinal then turn his back on Estrada?

We have no problem with that either. The problem comes when Estrada is perceived to be getting more favors than he deserves while most people who seem saint-like compared to him are not getting a fair shake in life.

Let us face it. The Roman Catholic Church, to which more than 80 percent of Filipinos belong, has certain practices that seem to place the poor at a disadvantage, despite repeated public pronouncements of being pro-poor.

To cite one example, a baby cannot be baptized without the parents forking over a certain gratuity. To cite a related example, a baby cannot be baptized without the father being present, a signal that the church frowns on extra-marital affairs that may produce bastard children.

How then will these practices range against the willingness of Cardinal Vidal to embrace a man whose allegedly plundered riches ensure he can pay a million times over the baptismal gratuities denied the penniless, for children that he sired with his mistresses.

If Cardinal Vidal is not uncomfortable with that, we poor Catholics are. Beyond their personal friendship, which they can keep personal and private, no open relationship can be maintained without disappointing a lot of people.

It is difficult to invoke forgiveness of sin or even brotherly love in this case because the situation simply does not apply. There would have been no question about forgiving and loving Estrada if the same forgiveness and love extend to everyone else.

And that is precisely the point. They simply don't. The two previously cited examples concerning baptism are sufficient to prove our point. Some people just seem to get better treatment than others, and that is not healthy for the faith.

It may be counter-argued that we must be of so little faith. Maybe yes and maybe no. What is certain is that we used to have so much faith, but this has been eroded by the lack of examples that we poor sinners have come to expect from our shepherds.

We the small people are the backbone of the church. With less of everything, it is only faith that gives our lives meaning. With nothing to our names, we are more fearful of sin and the wrath of God. Publicly embracing Estrada does not help nurture and make sense of that faith.