GMANews.tv - As majority of the Catholic bishops kept silent on claims that eight of their colleagues allegedly received contributions from jueteng operators, one archbishop said the church should not accept money from gamblers. [The silence is deafening!]
An article on the website of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCANews) quoted Caceres (Bicol) Archbishop Leonardo Legazpi as saying that the Church should not benefit from gambling.
“It’s not good to hear ... Gambling will not buy off sin," Legazpi was reported to have said in an interview on the Church-run Radio Veritas.
“Gambling per se is not wrong. What makes it wrong are the circumstances connected with it," he dded, noting jueteng has become a source of corruption.
On Tuesday, retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said at least eight bishops could be receiving "donations" from jueteng operators.
Cruz refused to name the dioceses, adding he is no longer an active member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, which he once headed. [I know what's keeping him.]
“That is their command and responsibility…. They know who they are," he said. [And the other bishops do but these jueteng bishops don't give a damn what their fellow Pinoy bishops think. But if the Holy See speaks about this... This is a job for (cue music!) SUPER BENNY!]
Meanwhile, Legazpi lamented some jueteng operators may be thinking they could "buy salvation" by giving the so-called donations to bishops.
“[Jueteng operators] want the goodwill of Church people and want to save their own souls so they are willing to pay for it ... That is buying salvation," he said. [Easy to spot! Look at their photo ops.]
Meanwhile, other Catholic bishops voiced support for Archbishop Cruz’s call for a probe into alleged jueteng payoffs in government.
Former CBCP president and Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop Angel Lagdameo also said earlier campaigns against jueteng failed because there was no serious implementation of the law.
On the other hand, Lipa (Batangas) Archbishop Ramon Arguelles lamented the government-supported small-time lottery (STL) has allegedly been used as a front for jueteng operations. –VVP, GMANews.TV
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Leadership by example still speaks a lot!
Better than long speeches or multi-paged pastoral letters...
The blog of a group of Filipino Catholics and their frank commentary on anything that affects their lives as a citizen of the Philippines and as a Roman Catholics.
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