I can’t see any rhyme or reason why the Episcopal Vicar of the Archdiocese of Cebu, Monsignor Esteban Binghay, can so proudly proclaim that the Church is happy that Michael Rama and Edgardo Labella won over their rivals in the May 2013 elections. I feel that this statement is totally unchristian and totally undiplomatic on the part of the good monsignor and is likely to hurt the other party’s feelings as it obviously and already did.
He gives the lame reason that Mike and Edgar are much closer to the Church than Tommy and Joy, and therefore it would be easier for him to deal with the Cebu City Government especially in the hosting of the forthcoming International Eucharistic Congress (IEC) on January 2016. How does Msgr. Binghay measure closeness?
He cites Rama’s presence in the canonization rites of Pedro Calungsod in Rome and Mike’s “very supportive†stance during the national thanksgiving mass at the SRP as living proof that Rama is indeed closer to the church than Tommy. Is Msgr. Binghay totally sure that Mike was there to be part of the solemn rites as the other pilgrims wanted or was he there so that everyone would notice that he was there? In the same token, as a supposedly devout Catholic and as Cebu City Mayor, Mike had no choice but to be supportive during the thanksgiving mass.
Does the good monsignor think that the Church will have a hard time soliciting Tommy’s support and cooperation had he won? I think no city chief executive in his right mind would do that! On the contrary, I am sure that Tommy would leave no stone unturned to make the IEC as successful and as memorable as it possibly can. Tommy is quick to ask the good monsignor if the bias he has against him was borne out of the similar support that Tommy extends to religious activities of those from different denominations. Is ecumenism, as Vatican II would want it, no longer in vogue today?
Mike is, of course, noted for his ostentatious display of religiosity while Tommy is a low profile Catholic devotee. What difference does that make in the eyes of God?
In his closing statement, Msgr. Binghay later acknowledged that Tommy and wife Margot are good Catholics too. But the damage has been done.
Couldn’t you have greeted Mike and Edgar a simple “Congratulations!†instead, Msgr. Binghay?