What Kind of a Church Must We Be?
Limitations and Prospects of the Roman Catholic
Church for the Democratization of the Filipino Polity
Aloysius Lopez Cartagenas*
Introduction
The Roman Catholic Church, as an organized and institutionalized religion, has
had a significant role and impact in Philippine political life. In recent times it served
as the primary locus against the dictatorship of the Marcos regime and facilitated the
1986 people power revolt that restored democratic structures and processes.' More
recent events however have prompted the church to confront the question of ecclesial
identity and mission in the public arena. 2 The Filipino church, during the Second
Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991, asked: "What kind of a Church must we
be to meet the challenge of our society as we turn into the third millennium?" (PCP
II, 87).3
* Aloysius L. Cartagenas is a professor and formator at S an Carlos Major Seminary and School of
Theology in Cebu City, Philippines.
' See, for instance, the three papers presented in the 1989 symposium on religion and politics
in the Philippines sponsored by the Association of Asian Studies, namely: Gretchen Casper, "The
Changing Politicization of the Philippine Roman Catholic Church, 1972-1988"; Robert Youngblood,
"Aquino and the Churches: A `Constructive Critical Solidarity'?" and Lela Garner Noble, "Religion and
Opposition to the Marcos Regime" in Pilipinas 13 (Fall 1989): 43-55; 57-72 and 73-87, respectively.
'If public opinion polls are a good measure, the 1986, 1991 and 1998 national surveys conducted
by the Social Weather Stations and Ateneo de M anila University suggest that "some who were in favor
of the church's involvement during the crisis of 1985-1986 now felt that it was time for the (church)
to return to the sacristy." See John Carroll, Engaging Society: The Sociologist in a War Zone (Quezon
City: Ateneo de Mannila University Press, 2006), 236, 241-242; and Ricardo Abad, "Religion in the
Philippines," Philippine Studies 49 (Third Quarter 2001): 337-367, especially 352- 354, 356-359.
We are referring to the national gathering of representatives from the clergy and laity, the first
and largest since the Second Vatican Council, held in Manila on 20 January — 17 February 1991.
For documents and proceedings, see Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines
(Manila: Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, 1992); henceforth abbreviated as PCP-II.
• PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August, 2010) pp. 308-330.
WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH MUST WE BE? 1309
From an ecclesiological point of view, the question is important for it
courageously establishes the possibilities and humbly recognizes the limitations of
an institutional church as a "social force" 4 of humanizing transformations. All the
more important because, while the 1986 People Power revolution was clearly a
confluence of the moral vision of Christian experience and the strategic requirements
of mass action, of which the church was largely instrumental, it was, as Lejano puts
it, "essentially a movement without an ideology" or, better yet, without "a coherent
vision for nation-building."' Two decades after, the current institutions and culture
of the nation's polity continue to connive to hinder a democratic envisioning of the
nation's common good.
To sketch a reply to the ecclesiological question is the modest aim of this paper.
To achieve that we shall first examine how the Philippine church, particularly its
current leadership, understands the challenge and evaluate its responses in light of
church social teachings. In part two, we shall propose a radical change in the church's
social location and pastoral strategy if the church wants its theological-ethical
tradition to effectively bear on the democratization of the Filipino polity and the
nation's common good.
The Current Limitations of Philippine Church Polity
Does the Philippine church currently have the resources necessary for it to be
a "social force" for necessary radical transformations in Philippine politics? Or is it
saddled with features in its structures and policies as well as ethos and programs that
put serious hindrances to its mission of integral salvation?
1.1 A church for the poor but not yet of the poor
In the Philippines poverty is not only widespread, it has also become
intergenerational. 6 It is a social evil that deprives majority of Filipinos, including its
indigenous or religious minorities, from a greater sharing in responsibility and in
decision-making about the good the nation should hold and promote in common.
4 The concept of church as `social force" was used by John Paul II in his address to the general
assembly of Italian bishops on 29 May 1980, says John Carroll, "Religion and Social Change: A
Sociologist's Viewpoint," Philippine Priests Forum XIII, no. 4 (1981):5-9; here, at 8.
6 Raul Lejano, "Problematizing the People Power Revolution," Budhi X, no. 1 (2006):71-110,
at 108-109. According to Maria Christina Astorga, "Culture, Religion and Moral Vision: A
Theological Discourse on the Filipino People Power Revolution of 1986," Theological Studies 67, no.
3 (2006):567-601, at 585, "the dynamics of culture and religion were at the base of the moral vision
of the Filipino struggle for justice and freedom at EDSA." For a similar but earlier view, see Douglas
Elwood, ed., Toward a Theology of People Power: Reflections on the Philippine February Phenomenon
(Quezon City: New Day, 1988).
6 See, for instance, Ana Maria L. Tabunda, "Perceptions of the Poor: The Poverty Scorecard," in
Understanding Poverty: The poor talk about what it means to be poor, ed. Paulynn Sicam (Makati City:
Institute for People Power and Development, 2007), 16-39.
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310 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
The common good in the church's understanding does not suggest the utilitarian
formula of "the greatest good for the greatest number." It refers to a "social reality in
which all persons should share through their participation in it," not only in the sense
of benefiting from it but also as contributing in its creation and promotion (cf. MM
65, PT 58, GS 26).' The Philippine church has been cognizant in the aspiration to
equality and participation as a "basic demand of human nature, a concrete exercise
of human freedom and a path to development" (OA 47; also OA 22; PT 26). But
translating that moral agenda into effective nationwide pastoral strategy is another
story, as the case of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) would
show.
The claim of the landless on the conscience of the nation
When the nationwide debate on the long-standing social problem of
landlessness heated up in 1987, the bishops boldly asserted that "the landless, the
exploited, the disadvantaged, the powerless ... have the single most urgent claim on
the conscience of the nation." They argued for a "truly realistic and comprehensive
reform program," one that "will make it possible for all, the 70% who live below
the poverty line especially, to have more in order to be more ." They urged "those in
authority to abide by the principles of social justice and preferential option for the
poor" and pleaded "with all landed people ... to share not simply of their superfluous
goods but out of their very substance."'
Twenty years after, the program, which was supposed to end in 1998, is far
from completion if, in terms of distributive justice, it is not already a failure. Studies
converge to show that if not for the return of the elite and landed politicians into the
legislature in the 1987 elections and if not for President Aquino's decision to let this
newly elected body craft the law, the land redistribution program would have altered
the feudal power structure radically and fast . 9 Four administrations since then and
the centerpiece of social justice has been mangled by a barrage of exemptions and
amendments to favor the landed gent ry and slowed down by their strong resistance
and the government's lack of political will. 10
'David Hollenbach, "Common Good," in Judith Dwyer, ed., The New Dictionary of Catholic Social
Thought (Collegeville, Minnesota: Liturgical Press, 1994), 192-197; here, at 193.
8 Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Thirsting for Justice: A Pastoral Exhortation on
Agrarian Reform (14 July 1987). Landlessness is a global moral problem as analysed by the Pontifical
Council for Justice and Peace in "Towards a Better Distribution of Land: The Challenge of Agrarian
Reform," L'Osservatore Romano 3 (21 January 1998):1-8.
9 See, for instance, James Putzel, A Captive Land: The Politics of Agrarian Reform in the Philippines
(New York: Monthly Review Press, 1992); and M.D. Litonjua, "The State in Development Theory:
The Philippines under Marcos," Philippine Studies 49 (Third Quarter 2001): 368-398.
10 See Walden Bello, The Anti-Development State: The Political Economy of Permanent Crisis in the
Philippines (Quezon City: University of the Philippines, 2004), 33-90; Ronna Mercado, "Is the end
near for CARP?" Intersect 21, no. 4 (October-December 2006):26-29.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? 311
In hindsight, it may be correct to argue that "there was virtually no tradition
of state action independent of the powerful political clans in society upon which
the Aquino government could draw' But, if a survey is a reliable indicator, there
was a majority of Filipino voters "who wanted the president to use her decree
powers to institute land reform right away, without waiting for the legislature to
convene." 2 There was even an experienced input that "prolonged implementation
makes landlord evasion easier and is often associated with loss of political will.""
A preferential option crippled by the fear to take sides with the landless
What was perhaps lacking was a church leadership that would have sided with
the social class that it considers to have the single most urgent claim of the nation's
conscience. Had the church, which at the time was enjoying moral credibility
unprecedented in Philippine history, done that, Mrs. Aquino might have been
persuaded to seize the historical moment of choice as a kairos for social justice. Be
that as it may, what is more certain however is the appalling lack of a concerted church
effort to express solidarity with the peasants if not a mechanism to monitor with
vigilance the integrity of what was left in the already watered down agrarian reform
law in order to shield it from further disfigurement. 14
In July of 2008, the bishops tried to make up for the lack by campaigning to
complete the program. Through a National Rural Congress, only the second since
1967, the church leadership launched a nationwide consultation with representatives
of farmers groups and rural peoples, and advocated to extend the agrarian reform
program and address its loopholes. Although a little too late, and bitterly fought for
some time, the campaign nevertheless succeeded to convince lawmakers to pass
into law certifying a five-year extension. 15 Despite the fact that the resistance to the
" James Putzel, A Captive Land, 249.
12 Memo from Mahar Mangahas of the Social Weather Stations dated April 21, 1987 cited in
David Wurfel, Filipino Politics: Development and Decay (Quezon City: Ateneo de M anila University
Press, 1988), 321.
13 " Obviously to press her to action, the World Bank gave this input in confidential report to Mrs.
Aquino in June 1987." See Ibid., 322.
14 For instance, when lawmakers of Davao (Mindanao) sought to declare a 25-year moratorium
on CARP implementation, the church leaders of the Davao dioceses did not think it important to
speak with one voice in opposition. See Karl Gaspar, "Abante, Atras, Abante: Patterns of Mindanao
Catholic Church's Involvement in Contemporary Social Issues," in Miriam Coronel Ferrer, ed.,
Philippine Democracy Agenda: Civil Society Making Civil Society, Volume 3 (Quezon City: Third World
Studies Center, 1997), 149-170; here, at 161-162.
u See Kristine Alave and Norman Bordadora, "Special Session on CARP urged," Philippine Daily
Inquirer, 6 June 2008, A-1 and A-10. Voting 12-0 with 2 abstentions, the Senate approved on final
reading their version of the extension, whereas the House of Representatives agreed for the extension
by voting 211-13 with 2 abstentions. See the report in http://www.gmanews.tv/story/163740/
Senate-approves-CARP-extension-bill and http://wwwgmanews.ty/story/164001/Houseapproves-CARP-extension# (accessed 1 June 2009).
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
312 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
extension showed yet again the consolidation of elite interest to thwart any program
of social justice, there hardly was any official prophetic critique from a united church
hierarchy.
The Philippine Church wagered "to become the Church of the Poor" (PCP
II 122-136) in 1991. But, except for the occasional yet heroic public witnessing of a
very few bishops to support the landless farmers' cause to extend the program, there
was no serious and collective move on the part of church leadership to re-examine
its historical ties with the urban and rural landed class. Neither was there a collective
willingness on their part to renounce whatever privileges this traditional arrangement
have, even if it has become clear that their use raises doubt about the sincerity of their
witness and demands new social arrangement. 16 With this historical failure to help
concretize that which would have abolished the feudal power structure in Philippine
social economy, one could not help but infer that for the many in the church hierarchy
agrarian reform is just another poverty-alleviation project.
Universal Church teaching is clear: "when a man falls into extreme poverty,
human freedom is crippled" and he "can scarcely arrive at the needed sense of
responsibility" (GS 31). In a country where poverty has become a "pandemic that
threatens the very essence of nationhood"" daily misery inhibits the many poor from
meaningful political processes while short-run survival fosters an understandable
political myopia and leaves them open to manipulation. The bishops' apparent
lack of a united moral conviction that the program is not just about raising income
but rather guaranteeing the existential base of the poor landless majority for their
equality and participation in Philippine society is very telling of the type of pastoral
leadership they prefer.
1.2 A church committed to the procedure, but not the substance, of democracy
In the task of inscribing the aspirations to equality and participation, one has to
contend with political power. It is, according to church social teaching, the element
upon which "the ultimate decision rests" being "the natural and necessary link for
ensuring cohesion of the social body" (OA 46). How political power is structured,
organized and managed is crucial for the envisioning of and commitment for the
common good.
16 We are paraphrasing Gaudium et Spes 76: "(The church) does not lodge her hope in privileges
conferred by civil authority. Indeed, she stands ready to renounce the exercise of certain legitimately
acquired rights if it becomes clear that their use raises doubt about the sincerity of her witness or that
new conditions in life demand some other arrangement:'
17 See, for instance, Howard Dee, "The Need for a Christian Response," in Understanding Poverty:
The poor talk about what it means to be poor, ed. Paulynn Sicam (Makati City: Institute for People Power
and Development, 2007), 98-101; and Edna Co, Ramon Fernan and Filomeno Sta. Ana, Philippine
Democracy Assessment: Economic and Social Rights (Pasig City: Anvil, 2007).
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? 1313
The fixation on the ritual of elections
The church's efforts to help balance and establish boundaries of power in the
Filipino polity revolve around the axis of clean, honest and fair elections. Every
election season is a ritual for the church to harness all its institutional and human
resources in voter's education, poll watching, and monitoring the canvassing of
votes.'s While this may indicate a commitment to democracy as a procedure, much
leaves to be desired in terms of substance and process.
The principles of this pastoral strategy were laid down in the bishops' 1997
pastoral exhortation on Philippine politics. The bishops rightly lamented at how the
electoral process is always systematically subverted with sophisticated methods of
fraud, and expressed grave concern "that elections are losing their credibility as a
reliable means for effecting change." 19 Shortsightedly, however, they did not unmask
the viciousness of a political structure that is promoting a predatory oligarchy,
a patrimonial state, and weakly institutionalized political parties. Despite the
abundance of studies on this regard, 20 church leaders have yet to change the axis
of their discourse. No amount of "political education," "preparation for political
leadership," "conversion to values," "structural change" and "organizing for effective
change" can dislodge the structures of elite democracy so long as the axis of their
prescriptions is the moral integrity of electoral contest.
The bishops also rightly describe how the gridlock in the legislative and
executive powers of governance is settled by either "padding the government budget
with all kinds of pork barrel items" or by making revenue-generating agencies "easily
1e Church instrumentalities include Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPC-RV) of
the Council of the Laity, and Voters' Organization, Trainings and Education towards Clean, Authentic
and Responsible Elections (VOTE-CARE) of the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA).
How the corporate world has been the church's long-time ally in this crusade is explored in Eva-Lotta
Hedman, "Whose Business Is It Anyway? Free and Fair Elections in the Philippines," Public Policy II,
no. 3 (July-September 1998): 145-170.
19 Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine
Politics (Manila: Paulines, 1997), 9. Recent studies show the persistence of the subversion. See
Belinda Aquino, "Filipino Elections and `Illiberal' Democracy," Public Policy II, no. 3 ( July- September
1998): 1-26; Sheila Coronel, Cockfight, horserace, boxing matches (Why elections are covered as sport):
Lessons learned from the 2004 campaign (Quezon City: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism,
2004); and Filomeno Aguilar, "Betting on Democracy: Electoral Ritual in the Philippine Presidential
Campaign," Philippine Studies 53, no. 1 (2005): 91-118.
20 See, for instance, Paul Hutchcroft, "The Politics of Economic Liberalization," Public Policy I,
no.1 (October-December 1997): 121-133; Paul Hutchcroft, Booty Capitalism: The Politics of Banking
in the Philippines (Quezon City: Ateneo de M anila University Press, 1998); John Sidel, "Take the
Money and Run? `Personality' Politics in the Post-Marcos Era," Public Policy II, no. 3 ( July-September
1998): 27-38; and Rupert Hodder, "The Philippine Legislature and Social Relationships," Philippine
Studies 53, no. 4 (2005): 563-598.
PHILIPPINL4NA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
314 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
accessible for political ends." 21 While they are correct in criticizing this as "corruption,
influence-peddling and indiscriminate use of public funds for partisan or personal
purposes," they did not advocate for a structure that coerces "the legislators out of the
business of providing social services and back into lawmaking for the nation." 22 The
necessity of preparing candidates for political leadership is rightly argued but, given
the reality of weakly institutionalized political parties and family political dynasties, 23
itsaerouflchadersnotvcfhbirogenupltca
parties of the poor or parties based on policies that represent them 24
The call to help institutionalize people power
It will therefore be a great service to nation-building if the Philippine church
recognizes that the benefits of democracy do not come from simply having elections.
"They require a whole array of institutions that make popular participation possible
and effective, and act as a barrier against the tyranny either of a few elite or the masses
whipped up by populist rhetoric:' 25 This direction is nonetheless hinted at when the
bishops said that "pastoral action in the political sphere should also take the form of
active advocacy" which it has to do in solidarity with civil society.
The prospects are bright. For instance, at least two laws have managed to be
enacted to institutionalize democracy from below, despite the strong resistance of an
elite dominated legislature. 2ó The 1991 Local Government Code transfers governance
from the national into local government units where citizens at the grassroots can
effectively take part in governance and delivery of basic services. While the 1995
Party List Representation Law guarantees twenty percent of seats in Congress for the
21
CBCP, Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics,8 9.
-
22 John Carroll, "Democracy from Below," Intersect 19, no. 3 (2004):12-18; here at 17. This
means cutting back drastically the funds available to congresspersons, strengthening with additional
funds the Department of Social Welfare and Development, and keeping the fund under social service
professionals rather than politicians. See Sheila Coronel et al., The Rulemakers: How the Wealthy and
Well-Born Dominate Congress (Quezon City: Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, 2004).
23 For instance, see Alfred McCoy, ed., An Anarchy of Families: State and Family in the Philippines
(Madison: University of Wisconsin, Center for Southeast Asian Studies, 1993); and Ladylyn LimMangada, "Grooming the Wards: Dynamics between a Political Party and Community Groups," in
Philippine Democracy Agenda: Civil Society Making Civil Society, Volume 3, ed. Miriam Coronel Ferrer
(Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 259-270.
24
The well respected Philippine sociologist John Carroll has repeatedly argued this case in
"Society: Civil and Uncivil," Intersect 17, no. 8 (September 2002):4-6; "Entomb them Alive," Intersect
18, no. 6 (December 2003):4-8; and "Philippine Democracy: Will it Self-Destruct?" Intersect 19, no.
1 (January-March 2004):20-25.
25
Carroll, "Society: Civil and Uncivil," 5.
26
Agustin Martin Rodriguez, "The Limits of Legislating Democracy: A Sketch for a Study on
the Possibility of Legislating Discourse," Philippine Studies 50 (2002): 93-112. For details of the laws,
see Patricia Ann Paez, "State-Civil Society Relations in Policy-Making: Focus on the Legislative," in
Philippine Democracy Agenda: State-Civil Society Relations in Policy-Making, Volume 2, eds. Marlon Wui
and Ma. Glenda Lopez (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 33-70; here at 38-39.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? 315
organic representatives of marginalized sectors or "those who are often left out of the
direct discourse of national legislation:'
But the church's pastoral advocacy on the implementation ofparticipatory local
governance and direct representation of the marginalized has been very dismal for a
number of reasons, says a study. 27 Getting involved in the mechanisms of the Local
Government Code, particularly monitoring the performance of elected officials or
enactment of local ordinances is generally seen as partisan. Key church leaders do
not have the patience to study issues in depth and, like ordinary citizens, lose interest
once the winning candidates take office. While politics is asserted as an arena of the
laity, very few church leaders collaborate with them or accompany their organizations
and groups towards evolving viable models and strategies. The few non-elite or
non-traditional politicians who succeed in providing alternative leadership did so
with very limited systematic input from the church. Church leadership support in
education-organization of marginalized sectors is very marginal, especially if these
are seen as leaning to or influenced by those in the left of the political spectrum.
Today, the democratic potential of the said laws are as yet under-utilized. In
fact, with the non-involvement of the most credible institution of the nation, the
implementation of said laws is easy target of local and national predators. 28
1.3 A church seduced by the simplistic discourse of graft and corruption
In the Philippines today, the fight against a dysfunctional and corrupt
bureaucrary29 has evolved, particularly within church circles, into a dominant
discourse in the analysis of the country's social ills. Corruption is the cause of
massive poverty therefore it "is the cancer of the nation:' Drawing from principles of
the church's social teaching, church leaders always remind the state that the common
good is its "full justification and meaning" as well as "source of its specific right to
exist" and demand restitution as a requirement of authentic conversion. 3°
2' Gaspar, "Abante, Atras, Abante," 155-158.
28 For instance, some local executives set up dummy non-governmental organizations to fill
the seats of local consultative bodies even as some national lawmakers put up dummy party-lists for
elections accreditation. On this see Agustin Martin Rodriguez, "Limits of Legislating Democracy,"
106, 102; and Jeremiah Opiniano, "Party List Groups: Struggling to represent the marginalized,"
Intersect 18, no. 6 (December 2003):20-24.
29 Confer Emmanuel de Dios, "Corruption: A Framework," Public Policy III, no. 3 ( July-September
1999: 35-54; Cristina Lim and Ronald Amorado, "Corruption in the Philippines," Intersect 17, no. 9
(October 2002): 12-27; and Doris Dumlao, "World Bank lists sources of corruption in RP," Philippine
Daily Inquirer, 1 April 2008, B1.
30 See, for instance, "Towards a Morally Rebuilt Nation," a Pastoral Statement of the Archbishop
and Bishops of Manila on 16 March 2008 in CBCP Monitor 12, no. 6, (17-30 March 2008): B5; also
see RN 26, QA 25, MM 20, PT 54, GS 74, and OA 46.
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316 ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
A double-standard in the crusade against corruption
But the Philippine hierarchy is not as homogeneous as it is touted to be. Cracks
within it became most pronounced when in late 2007 views clashed as to whether
or not Estrada, the first president of the Republic ever to be convicted of plunder,
deserved to be granted presidential pardon. Citing church teaching on mercy and
justice, some preferred to gloss over the fact that the said executive did not even
acknowledge his sin, much less seek forgiveness. The others, trying to be consistent
with the crusade against corruption, cried: "where is the justice capable of restoring
harmony in social relations disrupted by the criminal act committed?" 3 '
This striking clash of moral views betraying either political expediency or
moral bankruptcy was not however the first. Earlier in July 2006, at the height of
the second impeachment case against the Arroyo administration, sealed envelopes
containing money from the same administration were given purportedly without
"strings attached" to bishops during their annual meeting. Many returned to their poor
dioceses with it; but the absence of institutional stance condemning such implicit
bribery by the highest public office of the nation is appalling. 32 Most unfortunate was
the fact that those who refused the bribe did not even bother to "rock the boat" and
chose to be mum about the whole affair.
Besides the inconsistency of church witnessing, also at the roots of the nation's
moral confusion is the seduction of church leaders into accepting the discourse—powerful
and resilient yet lacking of empirical basis — "that the Philippines is so poor because its
leaders are corrupt:' 33 There are many corrupt countries that are poor as there are many
corrupt countries that are rich. Comparative studies show that the more convincing
explanation for the country's poverty and underdevelopment lies more with how the
elite factions compete for control over people, production, markets and resources and
the success with which the winning faction, acting as patrons to government bureaucrats
and politicians, uses the apparatus of the state to pass or enforce laws and policies which
preserve or promote their class interests. While elites in other Asian countries "were in
a constant state of equilibrium" and "were also constantly disciplined by the state," their
counterparts in the Philippines "were locked in a permanent state of rivalry and whoever
was winning at a certain moment also got to con trol the state," 34observes Bello.
31
Confer the views of CBCP president, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, cited in Editorial, Philippine
Daily Inquirer, 28 November 2007.
32 This incident is analyzed in Fermin Adriano, "Undermining Democratic Institutions," Intersect
21, no. 4 (October-December 2006):10-13; here, at 12.
33 Bello, The Anti-Development State, 244.
34
Ibid., 284. Bello cites the studies of David Kang, Crony Capitalism: Corruption and development
in South Korea and the Philippines (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2002), Mushtaq
Kh an and Jomo Kwame Sundaram, eds., Rents, Rent-Seeking and Economic Development: Theory and
Evidence in Asia (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), and Jens Chr. Andvig and OddHelge Fjelstad, Corruption: A Review of Contemporary Research (Bergen, Norway: Chr. Michelsen
Institute, 2001).
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? I 317
The challenge to shield the state bureaucracy from predators
Seduced by a simplistic discourse, the church and some advocacy groups have
designed countermeasures on the premise that all is well if only the voters remove
those who are corrupt and replace them with better alternatives. In packaging
elections and vigilance as the way to end corruption, the bishops are naively opening
up the door either for the elites who are "in" to project accountability or those who
are "out" to position themselves as the alternative to solve it. In the meantime, the
system that allows ruling elites to rotate power like a merry-go-round, as Bello aptly
describes it, never comes into question.
Church social teaching contends that institutions of governance, "on which
public authority depends and through which it functions and pursues its end, should
be provided with such structure and efficacy that they can lead to the common good
by ways and methods which are suitably adapted to various contingencies" (PT 136).
If our observations are correct, the greatest service the Philippine church can render
is not simply to help convict corrupt and jail corrupt officials or remove one elite
faction and replace it with another. It is rather to help create countervailing social
institutions or structures that effectively shields the nation-state and its bureaucracy
from the vicious inter-elite struggle.
1.4 A church lacking in democratic ethos
Church social teaching has consistently taught that, while the ultimate
responsibility to care for the common good through laws and policies belong to
the state, the cultivation of convictions, habits and institutions necessary for its
advancement belongs to civil society. 35 Nurturing a democratic culture is a form of
political activity that disposes the energies of the whole citizenry "to ensure that
the various institutions — whether economic, social, cultural, or political purpose —
should be such as not to creates obstacles, but rather facilitate" the attainment of the
common good (PT 146).
Hierarchized patterns of relations
In the Philippines, hierarchical patterns of relations are a serious constraint to
developing a culture of equality and participation. For instance, "those in roles of
low status are expected to defer to the opinions of those above them" 36 even as "it
is not customary for decisions to be deliberated upon in a collective manner where
See RN 38-39; QA 37-38; MM 53; GS 7S; OA 25; LE 14: SRS 39; CA 49.
Fernando Zialcita, "Barriers and Bridges to a Democratic Culture" in Philippine Democracy
Agenda: Democracy and Citizenship in Filipino Political Culture, Volume 1, ed. Maria Serena Diokno
(Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 39-68; here at 61.
3S
36
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
318 ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
family members who are not directly involved in a problem also participate." 37 While
Filipino culture contains some democratic impulses, the dominant "indigenous
tendencies toward authoritarianism" 38 promote subservience to those vested with
power and authority They are also often wielded as an excuse for stifling dissent, and
publicly stigmatize questioning by a social inferior.
The dominance of and dependence on patrons
The general preference for patron-client relations has hindered structural
changes that can truly empower the poor. Filipinos, for example, do not see welfare
policies as obligations performed by the state "but as a set of rights and duties expected
between patron and client." 39 Even populism, which has become quite efficient in
mobilizing poor sectors for change, are "unguided by ideological commitments" and
"critical frame of analysis on which to anchor their actions," thus cultivating instead
"the dependence of subaltern groups on politicians who represent the poor 's only
access to the political system." 40
The hegemony of family and kin
Extreme familism seriously narrows the Filipino's capacity for solidarity and the
public good4' Socialized in families that still provide "stable basis for socials cohesion"
and "social welfare," Fi lipinos tend to frame their relations with public civil servants
as "extensions of their family with whom they have personal ties, rather than as public
officials performing their official roles." 42 Filipino families are prone to exact "compliance
and loyalty over and above common welfare" an d, consequently, "a concern for the
broader community's interests is notably weak" even as concepts such as "nation" or
"Filipino people" as owners of the res publica "are too abstract for many." 43
37 Anna Marie Karaos, "Perceptions and Practices of Democracy and Citizenship among Urban
Middle Class Families," in Philippine Democracy Agenda: Democracy and Citizenship in Filipino Political
Culture, Volume 1, ed. Maria Serena Diokno (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997),
113-132; here at 123.
38 See David Wurfel, Filipino Politics: Development and Decay (Quezon City: Ateneo de M anila
University Press, 1988), 44-46.
39 Ricardo Abad, "Attitudes towards Welfare and Inequality," Philippine Studies 45 (Fourth Quarter
1997): 447-476; especially 469-473.
40 See Aya Fabros, Joel Rocamora and Djorina Velasco, eds., Social Movements in the Philippines
(Quezon City: Institute for Popular Democracy, 2006), 31-35.
41 See Maria Luisa Doronila, 'An Overview of Filipino Perspectives on Democracy and
Citizenship," in Philippine Democracy Agenda: Democracy and Citizenship in Filipino Political Culture,
Volume 1, ed. Maria Serena Diokno (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 69-111; and
Niels Mulder, Filipino Images: Culture of the Public World (Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 2000),
187-189, 192-193.
42
Karaos, "Perceptions and Practices," 114.
43 Zialcita, "Barriers and Bridges," 47.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? I 319
Uncivil habits
The lack of habits of good citizenship erodes the credible and effective
functioning of institutions. 44 Filipinos, in general, conceive of citizenship almost
solely in terms of electoral exercise and are prone to express their views through
the "parliament of the streets," consequently, the mechanisms of legislation and
policy making remain the most under-utilized areas of civil society intervention
for meaningful change. 45 There is also a general lack of understanding of legislative
processes and dynamics even as there is the unwillingness "to accept that legislation
(and policy-making) is the politics of consensus." 46 In fact, there is the prevalent
"defeatist attitude" or cynicism, given the long history of betrayal by elite-dominated
political institutions.
A culture of impunity
What makes matter worse is the culture of impunity over crimes against the
nation and reform advocates 4 7 The newborn Republic of 1946, for instance, failed
to prosecute the primary collaborators of the Japanese occupying forces during the
Second World War. After the 1986 People Power revolution, only a few Filipinos
wanted Marcos to be prosecuted for his crimes, and, worse, the question of "hidden
wealth" took precedence over his regime's violations of human rights 4 8 Not too long
after, many of his cronies and accomplices were elected into public office or able to
get back to their business interests. To date, the culture of impunity has reared an
uglier head in the government's inability or unwillingness to solve the extrajudicial
killings of land reform and human rights advocates, judges, journalists, labor union
and civil society leaders as well as church persons 49
44 See Maria Serena Diokno, "Becoming a Fi lipino Citizen: Perspectives on Democracy and
Citizenship," in Philippine Democracy Agenda: Democracy and Citizenship in Filipino Political Culture,
Volume 1, ed. Maria Serena Diokno (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 17-38,
especially 19-22.
45 See, for instance, Alex Brillantes, Jr., "State-Civil Society Relations in Policy-Making: Focus on
the Executive," and Pat ri cia Ann Paez, "State-Civil Society Relations in Policy-Making: Focus on the
Legislative," in Philippine Democracy Agenda: State-Civil Society Relations in Policy-Making, Volume 2,
eds. Marlon Wui and Glenda Lopez (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 21-32 and
33-80 respectively.
Paez, "State-Civil Society Relations: Legislative," 55.
4' See John Carroll's "The Philippines: Forgiving or Forgetting?," Public Policy III, no. 2 (AprilJune 1999): 83-92 and "Entomb Them Alive," Intersect 18, no. 6 (December 2003):4-8; and Frank
Golay, Face of Empire: The United States-Philippine Relations, 1898-1946 (Quezon City: Ateneo de
Manila University Press, 1997).
48 See the studies in Aurora Javate De Dios, Petronilo Daroy and Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, eds.,
Dictatorship and Revolution: Roots of People Power (Manila: Conspectus, 1988) and Mark Thomson,
The Anti-Marcos Struggle: Personalistic Rule and Democratic Transition in the Philippines (Quezon City:
New Day, 1996).
4v To cite a data, extra-judicial killings include 60 journalists since 1986 People Power and 13
judges since 1999, says Reynato Puno, "Extrajudicial killings: View from the mountaintop," Philippine
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
320 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
All these cultural constraints create distortions in the trajectory of
democratization of the Filipino polity. But while the Church's potential as a social
force to arrest these distortions has always been recognized, it "has had only limited
success as an agent of social change." 50 What could account for this limitation may
not be the lack of institutional resources and moral credibility because the Philippine
church has both in abundance. The reason perhaps is its inability if not unwillingness
to witness in its own institutional life and structures the very moral values and
standards it demands from political life and processes. At least for now, it seems, if we
take the status of Base Ecclesial Communities as case study.
The hope of democratization through Base Ecclesial Communities
Studies conducted during the transition years from Marcos' authoritarianism
to Aquino's restoration of democracy reveal a strong desire of both hierarchy and laity
to embrace Basic Christian Communities (BCC) as ecclesial vision and structure
alternative to a church whose life and service was too dependent on bishops and
priests and their mandated religious organizations. 51 From the faith-experiences
of these communities, particularly in Mindanao where they were initially born in
the 1970s,52 came radical changes that, had they been sustained, would have held
tremendous impact for renewal of church and the democratization of society.
In these communities, sacred liturgy became more meaningful and spirituality
more nourished by the Word of God and rooted in the daily struggles of the members.
Power-structure was revolutionized because decision-making shifted from the center
(priest) to the periphery (laity) as priests cultivated the habits of delegation and
sharing of authority as well as consultation and participation in decision-making,
Daily Inquirer, 22 July 2007, A16. Of the twenty-five (25) church people, ten (10) were clergy, says
the March 2007 report "Let the Stones Cry out: An Ecumenical Report on Human Rights in the
Philippines and a Call to Action" by the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP).
See "Taking God's Gift of Life," Philippine Daily Inquirer, 25 March 2007, A16.
so Patricia Licuanan, "Basic Christian Communities as a Force for Social Change," in Church of
the People: The Basic Christian Community Experience in the Philippines, eds. Gabino Mendoza, J.M.
Luz and J. Deles, Jr. (Manila: Bishops-Businessmen's Conference for Human Development, 1988),
28-34, at 28.
S1 See John Carroll and Fr ancisco Claver, "The Pastoral Priorities of the Philippine Bishops: A
Report on a Survey," Philippine Studies 34 (1986): 21-40; and Gabino Mendoza, "Basic Christian
Communities in the Philippines: Synthesis of Experience from 18 Case Studies," in Church of the
People, eds. Gabino Mendoza, J.M. Luz and J. Deles, Jr., 1-17.
52 It is acknowledged that the first Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral Conference (MSPC-I) provided
the overall framework and impetus for the birth of these communities in the country. See Francisco
Claver, "The History of BCCs: The Philippines," in Church of the People, eds. Gabino Mendoza, J.M.
Luz and J. Deles, Jr., 18-27; Antonio Ledesma, "Basic Ecclesial Communities: A Socio-Pastoral View,"
in Building Basic Ecclesial Communities: Case Studies from the Philippine Experience, eds. Antonio
Ledesma and Amado Picardal (Manila: NASSA-Caritas Philippines, 2000), 13-16; and Karl Gaspar,
To be Poor and Obscure: The Spiritual Sojourn of a Mindanawon (Quezon City: Center for Spirituality,
2004), 152-163.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OFA CHURCH MUST WE BE? I 321
planning and implementation. With that, the sense of community beyond family and
clan expanded and reliance on communal resources increased and dependence on
outside support became less necessary. With a heightened self-confidence and sense
of personal efficacy they also become more demanding as they hold accountable the
integrity and competence of their leaders. In all they had the hallmarks of a church
with a democratic ethos, if by that is meant, "communion, participation and mission"
(cf. PCP II 137-140).
But as the BCC program was adopted as official pastoral strategy during the
Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991, "each diocese re-appropriated
(the program) in whatever way they wished, often moving drastically away from
its holistic and prophetic framework."" "Moves to minimize the ideological
characteristics and political engagements" of BCCs, according to Gaspar, became
more intense than before due to the perception that some pastoral workers had
strategic links with the underground and also because of the church policy to
collaborate with the Aquino presidency. In due time, base Christian communities
became Base Ecclesial Communities (BEC) to emphasize ecclesiastical control. To
date, many of these communities are mainly concerned with cultic or worshipping
activities; others function as the longa manus (long arm) of the hierarchy's agenda in
the public sphere or a herd ready to be summoned to generate a display of force in
sheer numbers in religious processions or devotional ceremonies.
The BEC's conscious attempt to integrate faith and life as well as prayerful
reflection and discernment that accompanies every decision and action could have
been a most convincing expression of the credibility of the Christian message in the
public square. 'The ethics of participation that tilted the balance of power within the
institutional church to favor the laity could have mitigated a too hierarchized pattern
of relations of Filipino society. Sharing power with the anawim of society in ecclesial
processes could have gradually altered the penchant to depend on patrons. Reliance
on group resource and its highly communal orientation could have punctured the
narrow confines of extreme familism. The BEC's democratic ideals and dynamics
could have been an antidote to the Filipino's impatience with processes, difficulties
with pluralism and dialogue, and unwillingness to arrive at consensus. In a word,
had the BEC's evolved in its holistic and prophetic character, the Philippine church
would have, as "a society leavening Church," 54 optimized its unique potentials for the
common good of the Filipino nation.
ss Gaspar, To be Poor and Obscure, 158. In 162-163 Gaspar asks, "What percentage of the BECs
throughout the Philippines could claim to have such comprehensive engagements?" "Not too m any,"
he opines; in fact, as thousands of BECs would see the light of day, "these may not be the BECs
envisioned by PCP II"
54 Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Culture
(Manila: Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, 2000), especially 28.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
322
l ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
Becoming a Church-in-Civ il Society
at the Nexus of Democratization for the Common Good
Despite the limitations we have sketched in the preceding, the Filipino church's
potential to be at the service of common good-democracy nexus should not be
underestimated. In 1991, it envisioned a "church of communion and participation"
and a "church of the poor" proclaiming integral salvation through "new methods,
fervor and expressions."" So that this dream is translated into courageous and
concerted shifts in pastoral plan, and the church will become a stronger link in
the transformation of Philippine political life and culture, the paper proposes the
following action agenda:
2.1 Shifting socio-pastoral location from "Church-State Relations" to "Church-inCivil Society" paradigm
A church's chosen social location is c rucial in the effectiveness of its pastoral
mission, particularly in the political sphere. From all indications presented in the
preceding, Church leadership in the Philippines still prefer to work within the old
framework of "Church-State" relations with the regularity of elections as main axis in
public interventions. In such a framework, bishops and priests mirror themselves as
the religious counterparts of elected public officials in society, with the former for the
administration of spiritual goods, the latter for the delivery of public material services.
In this social location the church is feared less as an institution with a moral ascendancy
but more as a "power-broker" — one that c an depose and install even presidents or
an institution that can influence in the election/appointment and defeat/removal
of public officials. If it wants something done or enacted, the preferred strategy is
less to engage in the tedious process of deliberation and consultation on equal terms
with other stakeholders but more to fast-track the process by using its influence upon
the decision-makers and taking advantage over the others, not to mention the ease
with which veiled threats are employed if matters will run out of hand. In a country
where Roman Catholicism is dominant, church leaders are always tempted to wear
a political garb even as government officials are enticed to constantly seek for their
blessings.
In "Church-State" relations paradigm, church leaders also cultivate alliances
with the oligarchs and business community that are "in," not "out," with the state and
its apparatus. This the church does for and in behalf of the poor, but not so much
from the logic of empowering poor people but more from the instinct of preserving
church interests and favorable business climate. But, as church social teaching says,
"a greater sharing in responsibility and in decision-making is a basic demand of
human nature, a concrete exercise of human freedom and a path to development."
ss Cf. PCP II, 89-101; 2-136; 93-201.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH MUST WE BE? 1323
So although choices can be complex, considerations numerous, and consequences
full of risks relative to the common good, "these obstacles must not slow down the
giving of wider participation in working out decisions, making choices and putting
them into practice" (OA 47; also OA 22). In "Church-State" relations, at least in
the Philippine experience, the poor easily becomes excluded, their exclusion easily
justified by utilitarian considerations.
It is our contention that so long as the Philippine church is fixated in this
paradigm, its prospects as credible and effective social force for the common good
will run out, inasmuch as patronage is cultivated as church leaders functions as the
patron of the people in the field of religion, the politicians in the realm of politics, the
business community in the sphere of the economy. As pointed out earlier, instead
of filling the gaps created by the weakness of democratic institutions and Filipino
political culture, many aspects in current Philippine church life and practice appear
to be enlarging them.
2.2 Interfacing with other civil society participants as new partners in the renewal of
the Filipino polity
To move out of the "church-state" fixation, the church has to seek a new social
location and, by implication, link with new partners in its socio-pastoral ministry,
particularly in the nation's polity. Such location we contend is civil society Like the
proverbial "leaven in the dough," the church is at a historic moment to insert itself
in the bosom of, and interface with, civil society The church's social tradition has
consistentlyvalued the social agency of the various intermediarybodies and numerous
social undertakings of citizens and their organizations that are working to ensure that
the various institutions — whether economic, social, cultural or political in purpose
— should be such as not to create obstacles but rather facilitate the attainment of the
common good (cf. PT 146; MM 65: GS 25: CA 13, 49). 56
Historic because never has the Fi lipino polity seen the proliferation of such
undertakings that "intersect with the domain of the state but are not part of the
state apparatus" operating "within existing cultural and economic structures."s 7
Theyardivsnog cmpitandsefgol.Smared
to as "people's organizations," many are called "non-government organizations,"
56 The scope of the term `civil society' varies, and the church's description leans towards the more
"exclusive view" if we use the distinctions in Miriam Coronel Ferrer, "Civil Society: An Operational
Definition," in Philippine Democracy Agenda: Democracy and Citizenship, Volume 1, ed. Maria Serena
Diokno (Quezon City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 5-15.
S7 Karina Constantino David, "Intra - Civil Society Relations: An Overview," in Philippine
Democracy Agenda: Civil Society Making Civil Society, Volume 3, ed. Miriam Coronel Ferrer (Quezon
City: Third World Studies Center, 1997), 21-50; here at 2.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
324 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
still others are known as "social movements." 58 While this diversity has engendered
a corresponding wealth or plurality of approaches and strategies, their common
basic thrust is "to contest state power, individually or in concert, by attempting to
transform unequal power relations," on the one hand, and "actively bring to the fore
issues for public debate with both alternative visions as well as concrete experiences
and experimentations that challenge the standard ways of doing things," 59 on the
other.
Also historic because, according to Silliman and Noble, civil society in the
Philippines at present is characterized by a "vibrant public discourse" where diversity
of views is addressed by dialogue geared towards consensus and plurality of options is
strengthened by forging coalitions, alliances and networks. It is redefining the content
of politics by bringing to the public agenda a host of issues and concerns particularly
those of the marginalized. 60 Aside from promoting democratic habits, Philippine civil
society engages with government to directly influence policies or to institutionalize
certain program initiatives thereby strengthening democratic institutions. And, while
civil society groups demand good governance, transparency and accountability from
the government, they too apply the same ethical standards on themselves.ó 1
Given this new development, the Philippine church ought not to miss the
opportunity, for although institutions of diverse origins as well as identity and mission,
civil society and church, by the very nature of their commitment to democracy and
common good, do converge. A church interacting with civil society can resist the
simplistic discourse of corruption or the reliability of electoral contests as main
axis of its moral interventions in the political sphere. Instead, it can, for instance,
advocate for the full implementation of participatory local governance and direct
representation of the marginalized perhaps through the birth of genuine political
parties of the poor sectors or parties based on a program of governance that truly
represent their agenda.
58 The terms are contested but, for our purpose, by "people's organizations" (POs) we mean the
formation of sectoral groups that refer either to class (e.g., labor, peasants), non-class (e.g., women,
indigenous peoples, youth) or issues (e.g., human rights, environment). By "social movements" (SMs)
we mean organized political action or social mobilization of poorer and disenfranchised sectors of
society, while "non-government organizations" NGOs) refer to organized non-state groups that
provide support to the POs and SMs. For these distinctions, see Aya Fabros, Joel Rocamora and
Djorina Velasco, eds., Social Movements in the Philippines, 15.
59 David, "Intra-Civil Society Relations," 23. For a concise account of the history of Philippine
NGOs, see Karina Constantino David, "From the Present Looking back: A History of Philippine
NGOs," in NGOs, Civil Society and the Philippine State: Organizing for Democracy, eds. G. Sidney
Silliman and Lela Garner Noble (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1998), 26-48.
6° G. Sidney Silliman and Lela Garner Noble, "Introduction," in Ibid., 18-21.
61 See Fern an do Aldaba, "Doing Good and Being Good: Aspects of Development NGO
Governance in the Philippines," Public Policy VI, no. 2 (July-December 2002):1-26; and Filomeno
Sta. Ana III, "Afterword: NGOs Face Bigger Challenges," Public Policy VI, no. 2 ( July-December
2002):91-107.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH MUST WE BE? I 325
As the church helps widen "the avenue of participation and provides a climate
favorable to the democratization of state and society," 62 as Moreno rightly envisions,
it also assimilates the ethical standards set by civil society groups on their collective
or institutional structures and behavior. These standards — such as good governance,
transparency, accountability, participation, equality, respect of human rights and
others — are not at all foreign to the church's social moral tradition. In fact the
church has consistently demanded such standards on states and governments. But
they are as yet to be thoroughly applied to the church's internal structure, ethos and
government.
2.3 Nurturing democracy from below through the re-orientation of base ecclesial
communities
The last ecclesiological challenge is political socialization: "how to develop
a sense of community and public good" and "how to empower the people." 63 A
coherent vision of the common good "is not simply the sum total of particular
interests; rather it involves an assessment and integration of those interests on the
basis of a balanced hierarchy of values" (CA 47). A truly democratic polity, upon
which the common good depends, cannot be sustained only by political structures,
laws and institutions or by a merely individualistic or oligarchic ethic but rather by
that which nurtures the moral and social virtues of citizenship and promotes them
in society (cf. GS 30).
The evidence we have put forward suggests a preferential option for every base
ecclesial community, instead of families and schools, as the locus for the socialization
of church leaders and members into the habits of equality and participation,
empowerment of the poor, solidarity with the weakest, vigilance in democratic
processes, legitimate plurality and dialogue. BECs that are holistic and prophetic, not
unlike the earliest New Testament communities, can renew the church's own polity
according to communion, participation and mission. If the cultic fixation is overcome,
base ecclesial communities can become milieus where members are socialized in the
habits and virtues, lifestyles and values that promote the common good. BECs can also
become a public space or forum of sustained and collective grassroots deliberation
about the public good where the voices of those who have been systematically
excluded from the democratic processes are valued and consolidated. Through BECs
the church can help expedite the creation of a countervailing social force that can
provide a strong and effective challenge to both the patrimonial features of Filipino
polity and the long standing dominance of the oligarchy.
62
Antonio Moreno, Church, State, and Civil Society in Postauthoritarian Philippines: Narratives of
Engaged Citizenship (Quezon City: Ateneo de Manila University Press, 2006), xi.
6
; Diokno, "Becoming a Filipino Citizen," 34.
PHILIPPINL4NA SACRA,
Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
326 I ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
Church teaching has irreversibly declared that, in keeping with human dignity,
it "values the democratic system" because in it "each power (is) balanced by the
other powers and by other spheres of responsibility which keep it within proper
bounds" (CA 44). This suggests that the church's role as a social actor in the growth
and nurturance of democracy increases its efficacy only to the extent that the church
willingly witnesses in its own polity the democratic ethos that it passionately values
and advocates. Signs of hope already abound. BECs that have re-oriented themselves
according to the o ri ginal — holistic and prophetic - vision of PCP-II are producing
modest gains for the local common good through democracy from below." These
early signs also show that a church with new set of collaborators and in a new social
location has very rich and promising prophetic prospects 6s
Concluding Remarks
To meet the challenges of Filipino society into the third millennium, the Roman
Catholic Church in the Philippines must widen the scope and breadth of practicing
what it seriously preaches. It can be a better social force for the democratization of
the Filipino polity to the extent that it applies the principles, criteria and norms of
its social teachings into its internal structures, governance, and ethos . 6 As decisive
as the church's doctrinal self-understanding is the moral quality of its ecclesial polity
in that it "affects not only how churches govern their own affairs and how they relate
to each other as ecclesial institutions, but the stances they take in relationship to the
world and its institutions." 67
In this vein, "even ifthe church is not, formally, a democracy," following Coleman,
"its theological self-understanding, especially since Vatican II, encourages a deep64 Examples include how a church-owned radio station in the Diocese of Infanta (Quezon
Province) has been a catalyst in community building, how the Diocese of Bacolod (Negros Occidental)
has strengthened democratization through peacebuilding and engaged citizenship, and how the local
church in Isabela Province has helped end a family's political dynasty through grassroots discussion
and organizing. Confer Doronila, "An Overview of Fi lipino Perspectives," 86-88; Antonio Moreno,
"Peacebuilding and Engaged Citizenship: The Role of the Diocese of Bacolod," Philippine Studies 52,
no. 2 (2004):225-255; and John Carroll, "Democracy from Below?" 18.
65
See, for instance, Activist Church: How SAC-Legazpi's PPLG Helped Reshape the Local Governance
Landscape of Albay published by the Social Action Center-Diocese of Legazpi (2006) and Counting
the People In: Sharing the Bicol Agenda published by the Bicol Consortium for Development Initiatives
(BCDI), 2008.
See, for instance, Richard McBrien, `An Ecclesiological Analysis of Catholic Social Teachings,"
in Oliver Williams and John Houck, eds., Catholic Social Thought and the New World Order (Notre
Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1993), 147-177, here at 176-177; and Charles Curran,
"What Catholic Ecclesiology Can Learn from Official Catholic Social Teaching," in Eugene Bianchi
and Rosemary Radford Ruether, eds., A Democratic Catholic Church: The Reconstruction of Catholicism
(New York: Crossroad, 1992), 94-112.
ó7 Edward LeRoy Long, Jr., Patterns of Polity: Varieties of Church Governance (Cleveland: Pilgrim
Press, 2001), 156.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH MUST WE BE? 1 327
going application of the democratic ethos to its structures and behavior." 68 Although
the church is not a "government by the people" but by the Word of God, it should
be passionate about becoming a community of participatory decision-making and
democratic leadership, otherwise the church cannot practice a discipleship of equals
gathered and sustained by God's Word. Indeed the church cannot be a "government
of the people" but a "government of God's grace." But if it grows secure in its alliance
with an elite few and in the privileges offered by dominant power structures, it would
lose its credibility as sign and sacrament of God's special predilection for the poor.
Finally, the church is not merely a "government for the people" but a "community
for God's kingdom." But a church that hesitates to be prophetic against the power
structures that prevail in the world cannot be God's sacrament for the "fullness of
life" ( John 10:10) Jesus has come to inaugurate.
ea John Coleman, "Not Democrac .° t Democratization," in A Democratic Catholic Church, eds.
Eur ene Bianchi and Rosemary Radford Ruether, 226-247; here at 229-230.
PHILIPPINIANA SACRA, Vol. XLV, No. 134 (May-August 2010)
328 ALOYSIUS LOPEZ CARTAGENAS
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