EDITORIAL – Crisis worries Church

The economic crisis gripping the country, brought about by soaring prices of fuel and food, particularly rice, is causing a different kind of concern to Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines president Angel Lagdameo, the archbishop of Jaro in Iloilo.

Archbishop Lagdameo, speaking on Radio Veritas, the Roman Catholic radio station, said that the middle and lower classes of society, which comprise the bulk of churchgoers in the country, are the worst hit by the crisis.

Because of this, their usual contributions to the Church, mainly collections during Masses, are expected to be reduced drastically in accordance with how the crisis affects them. If the crisis leaves them no margin for contributions, they may even stop giving altogether.

While we submit that the crisis may indeed result in diminished collections, we do not agree that the main concern is about the consequent effect of diminished collections on church programs for the poor.

There may indeed be some church programs for the poor, but it is doubtful if this is practiced one hundred percent. Indeed, it would be safe to assume that there are more churches, or parishes, that do not have any such programs at all than those that have.

But even if the practice is done one hundred percent, it remains doubtful if such programs take up more than half of all church collections, meaning the greater bulk of the money should stay with those who receive them.

If this is hard to believe, just take a quick look at the lifestyles of some priests and bishops. Why, many of them have multiple cars in their garages, and some even get driven around in relatively expensive vehicles like Fortuners.

And, in case people may have missed it, there is always a second collection during Mass in case an additional expense requires it. The main collection is never touched for the extra purpose but stays with whoever receives the money.

So maybe, Archbishop Lagdameo should not be overly concerned about the crisis. Priests can always go to a second collection for their programs for the poor, if ever they have one. And they can always jack up the fees without which church rites are never administered.