Priests must promote church unity

For tonight’s special presentation on Straight from the Sky, we bring you a frank discussion by the Laity of the dramatic events that happened a couple of weeks ago in the Diocese of Bacolod, when they came up with that tarpaulin declaring Team Patay vs. Team Buhay, which has exploded into the national consciousness going viral in the social and mainstream media.

As we all know, the Comelec reacted instantly by demanding that the tarpaulin violated its rules on the size of posters or tarpaulins. The Diocese of Bacolod merely responded by cutting the tarpaulin in half. But the Comelec still demanded it stricken down… so off they went to the Supreme Court (SC), which responded quite instantly when it issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) preventing the Comelec from tearing the tarpaulin down.

Meanwhile because of the huge publicity that this stunt got from the mainstream media… the Team Patay vs. Team Buhay has become the hottest topic in our nation’s coffeehouses next to the Sabah incident. Like it or not, this issue has gone viral not only in social media circles, but in mainstream media.

To talk about why the Catholic Church is now gearing to fight back by backing the Team Patay vs. Team Buhay campaign, we have with us Dr. Rene Bullecer of Human Life International (HLI), Mrs. Fe Barino of the Council of the Laity, Engr. Douglas Gacasan of Task Force for Life and Families in the Visayas and Fr. John Jonah Orat, the Parish Priest of Sta. Rosa de Lima in Daan Bantayan, who is also a lawyer. So watch this show on SkyCable’s channel 61 at 8:00pm tonight with replays on Wednesday and Saturday and replays over MyTV Channel 30 at M-W-F.

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If you’ve already forgotten, last December I wrote a column wherein I clearly stated that the fight against the Reproductive Health (RH) Law was perhaps one of the best things that ever happened to the Catholic Church in this country because it has truly given us a glimpse of who are obedient to the church founded by our Lord Jesus Christ. There is even a group that calls  themselves “Catholics for RH” wherein its Lay members do not even know that they have committed “Laetae Sententiae” or self-excommunication. 

Then there are a few estranged Jesuits, like Fr. Joel Tabora, who continues to spread his misguided thoughts, through the social network, which is diametrically opposed to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. The latest dissent comes from Fr. Ramon D. Echica who wrote “The Catholic Vote, Anyone?” which he spread over the Internet. I have come to know this priest for some time now and most Charismatic Communities know him as a “free thinker” and one who espouses contraception.

Fr. Echica’s latest article clearly targets conservative Catholics… hmmm like me for obeying the Magisterium of the Church. Come now isn’t it the job of priests to promote unity within the Church rather than division? I can only guess the reason why Fr. Echica wrote his article was due to the tremendous response to the Team Patay vs Team Buhay which is supported by the conservatives in the church. Fr. Echica clearly supported the passage of the RH Bill, which he knows that the Catholic Church is totally against it.

This reminds me of what Pope Paul VI once said, “The smoke of Satan has entered the church.” Was the Pope referring to disobedient priests? I think so! As late Pres. Hugo Chavez said before the UN about US Pres. George Bush, “El Diablo Aqui!” The Devil was right here and I can still smell the sulphur. Frankly speaking, I can smell sulphur in Fr. Echica’s article.

Anyway, to show that we are not alone, my good friend, Engr. Douglas Gacasan wrote his comments about the Echica article, “Which view conforms to official church teachings and pronouncements? This is the core issue and question one must answer honestly and from the heart. No matter how scholarly a treatise or essay may appear to be, if it does not conform to the official church stand, it is of no value to a true Catholic. No ifs and buts about it. One cannot be a pro-choice Catholic and still claim to be a member in good standing. VP Biden and Rep. Pelosi claim to be good Catholics, yet they support abortion. One cannot choose which law to follow and defy others in one’s organization and claim to remain in good standing to that organization he or she has sworn allegiance to.”

Fr. Echica may say conscience is the ultimate norm. The church says one must have a properly formed conscience. If one’s conscience tells him it is right to steal or kill, does that make one justified in his action? The world would be in utter chaos if it were to follow Echica’s reasoning. This is simple logic.” Fr. Echica’s article features an anecdote from “The Legend of the Grand Inquisitor by the Brother’s Karamazov…which is nothing but fiction within this fiction story. Very classic Fr. Echica with his “What if’s?”

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