Money and Church

Over the years, we have observed a grave deviation in the rules of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC) dictated by the Universal Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church and related to the Community Chapels. Indeed, it has been noted that chapels are not properly supervised and controlled by their respective parishes resulting in very serious mismanagement from the committee in charge with consequences in contradiction with the official rules issued by the Holy See, the Diocese and the Parish.

The absence of control has brought sad results including financial matters unduly applied such as monetary retributions to lay persons, i.e. acolytes and choir. Since when do lay people serving the Church have to be remunerated? Are they Christians for money purposes? Is that a new way of practicing a religion? Did religion and faith become a business activity?

True Christians are to be detached from the possessive power of money. When Jesus told the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16-22) to “go and sell all his possessions and give them to the poor,” He was not advocating and establishing some legalistic procedure of poverty and non-ownership. He was determining whether the rich young ruler was willing to be detached from his possessions, his money and their power, and whether he was willing to “find treasure in heaven by following Jesus,” i.e. by being united spiritually with Jesus Christ, rather than to money.

From what we can now witness, we could ask: Is the Church is an excuse for money matter?

The Bible is a source of important verses about money. Matthew 6:24 is certainly the most meaningful: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.”

There are chapel leaders who are not ashamed to proclaim “It is our chapel. It is our money.”

In August 23, 2003, His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal referring to the Church failure to touch grassroots said: “Some chapel's leaders, they do not know better, they organize for money matters, for profit. Those chapel's leaders are very active only to times of fiesta mainly for the organization of benefits. The need to strengthen organizations at the grassroots, encouraging parishes to strengthen chapel based pastoral councils to prevent cruelties from happening, most especially those done to minors,”

On April 27 2004, at the issue of the Pastoral Conference commemorating the 70 years of the Diocese, the Cardinal also declared: “I wish to see in every parish an active and vibrant Pastoral Council, one that truly in the pastoral good of the people, rather than being a mere construction committee. Let us trust our Lay faithful to dream with us, for they too have so much hope for the Church. We do this by aligning our pastoral councils to the guidelines issued by the Planning Pastoral Board. As always, we should know when to adjust to parish realities vis-à-vis general norms, for the law is made for man, and not man for the law. In this connection, there is also a need to revitalize our chapels. The officials of chapels organizations are to be made into pastoral councils so that they will serve the pastoral needs of the faithful in their areas, To this end, there shall be formulated a set of guidelines for chapels pastoral councils.”

In certain areas, the situation has been out of control for over 10 years without anything done to remedy once and for all. Therefore why not prohibit the celebration of the sacraments in chapels at fault in application of the Circular No. 10/98 from Cardinal Ricardo Vidal to all parish priests issued on July 11, 1998 by the Chancery of Archdiocese of Cebu stating: “To prohibit the celebration of the sacraments in chapels or oratories which have not been submitted to ecclesiastical authority, or which are private properties of individuals or societies not under ecclesiastical authority.”

What has been done in this respect? What is the purpose of the following documents?

1) The Universal Code of Canon Law 511-536 on Pastoral Council and Parish Priests.

2) The Approved Constitution and By-Laws from Pastoral Council of Gethsemane Parish released on January 14 2002.

3) The Constitution and By-Laws of Parish Pastoral Council issued in 2004 by the Pastoral Planning Board of the Archdiocese of Cebu.

4) Guidelines for Community Chapels in a Parish issued in 2006 by the Pastoral Planning Board of the Archdiocese of Cebu, Section VI on 'Duties and responsibilities of the Parish Priest towards the Community Chapels in his Parish."

5) The Fourth Diocesan Synod of Cebu (1985-1986) on Parish Pastoral Council, Sections 218, 219 and 220.

What are we waiting for in implementing what has been written, published and declared?