Church and Elections

Now that we are in the Year of Social Concerns, and also that we will be having elections this year, it seems but proper that we make some proactive, not reactive, effort to both humanize and Christianize this political exercise.

Sad to say, our elections have gone to the dogs, consistently being accompanied by ugly cohorts like cheating, bribing, killing, violence, etc., leading us to a black hole of hideous social ills.

We still fail to break the vicious cycle of poverty, injustice, violence, etc. on the one hand, and all sorts of political shenanigans, on the other. Is this task impossible? Difficult, definitely. But impossible?

This is, of course, an enormous challenge, requiring heroic efforts and sacrifices and gargantuan resources, but we can always start now and build on what we have accomplished so far as we move along in our national life.

We should try to avoid hasty, shallow and dangerous improvisations, amateurism, and ad hocism that should not sit well with us after so many years of nightmarish experiences regarding elections.

The Church hierarchy and clergy should not just confine themselves to ceremonial acts and post-mortem complaining and lamenting. In terms of the pertinent catechesis alone, a lot need to be done. And there are many other things that can and ought to be done, before, during and after the elections.

For example, what to tell or remind our politicians and candidates about with respect to the conduct of the campaign and election; what to tell the electorate, the public officials involved in the exercise, etc., etc., should be very interesting and necessary.

What issues to address, what platforms and programs of government would be appropriate, can be discussed, ventilated and debated upon by the different sectors with some guidelines given by Church authorities.

Our Church leaders should think of a comprehensive plan to tackle this important social concern, and spark to life the appropriate machinery and network to carry out this indispensable ministry. This should be an ongoing affair.

This is, of course, not a show of power on the part of the Church, nor to compromise the true nature and purpose of the Church, which is religious, and as such is predominantly spiritual and supernatural in character. This is not to come out with supposedly exclusive Catholic positions in political issues.

This is rather to make sure that our earthly and temporal affairs conform to our proper religious end, inspiring them with true Christian spirit and doing so by carefully respecting the legitimate autonomy which these human affairs by their nature possess, and the plurality of moral positions they can spawn.

Thus, it can be immediately seen that the main protagonists of this exercise would be the lay faithful insofar as they are also responsible citizens of the country. The clergy take more on the guiding and inspiring role, which is no trivial matter.

Care should be taken to avoid falling into clericalism, a monstrous mongrel, bastard and hybrid between religion and politics, the Church and state. Thus, everyone-clergy, religious and lay-should be taught about what he or she can do and not do with respect to the election and to anything political.

In this regard, not only the diocesan and parochial offices can be used, but also the mass media. These offer greater reach and scope. Pope John Paul II called them the modern Areopagus, precisely for this reason.

Over the years, many initiatives in this direction have already been made. On the whole, they are good and useful. But some clarifications, corrections and polishing need to be done. And, certainly, further development.

It cannot be denied that there had been irregularities, outright mistakes and frontal violations to the authentic nature and purpose of the Church. Meddling by Church officials in political affairs had unfortunately happened.

The elections can be a wonderful occasion for all of us to go deep and deeper into the social doctrine of the Church, which is becoming more relevant as we grow as nation. In fact, it's a crying need today!

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