Better super late than never!
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How fervent are the Catholic bishops against the reproductive health (RH) bill?
Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles on Tuesday said that he appealed to 62 of his fellow bishops and archbishops through text messages for them to converge Wednesday in the House of Representatives as it votes on the controversial measure.
But only two of his brother bishops replied. [No load? hehe]
“Only two…. I want to resign,” a downcast Arguelles said after a Church forum in Intramuros, Manila. “It’s like, as someone said, ‘I deserve my enemies but I do not deserve my friends.’”
He said one of the two bishops who assured him of their presence Wednesday was Kidapawan Bishop Romulo de la Cruz, who would be flying from Mindanao. [And he did!]
The vote in the House is expected to be close and anti-RH lawmakers, led by Zambales Rep. Milagros “Mitos” Magsaysay, had asked the bishops to be present in the gallery to strengthen the resolve of wavering anti-RH congressmen. [Until the Hoodlums of the Liberal Party led by Mar Roxas, who MUST NOT BECOME PRESIDENT IN 2016, and Butch Abad, the dynastic family of Batanes, who hypocritically criticized corrupt officials before but now..., scared the wits out of congressmen who would have voted based on their consciences as the president and his men have been asking. Boy, where is Atty. Bernas to talk about freedom of conscience now, huh? Did he even raised an alarm against the bullying that the Palace did to anti-RH congressmen and for "violating" their consciences? Nah.]
“You see that what you are fighting for is true and about God (but) then you feel isolated,” Arguelles said.
“Somebody answered that ‘Jesus Christ was also isolated.’ but I’m not Jesus Christ. It’s like I’m the one who is wrong… the odd man (out),” added the fervent anti-RH prelate.
Arguelles said he had been texting his fellow members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) “for some time,” including CBCP president Jose Palma and Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. [Where have they gone?]
“If we do not go, we are losing by default. We are failing God. If we don’t support the (anti-RH) congressmen, we will answer to God because of our omission. So, I appealed to them to let their voices be heard and their presence be felt,” he said.
‘Procession’ to Congress
The CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Family and Life is organizing a noontime Mass at St. Peter’s Church on Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City, after which the bishops in attendance would join a “procession” to Congress.
Tagle will be celebrating another noontime Mass against the bill at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Makati City after an overnight vigil. [After he was "caught" by the CBCP to purposely miss the event and celebrate Mass in Malacañang! Guess the mainstream media does not want you to know that, huh?]
Archbishop Palma is reportedly in Vietnam for a meeting of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC). [He was! Along with Cardinal Rosales.]
Peachy Yamsuan, [ugh] the communications chief of the Archdiocese of Manila, said the cardinal was not expected to join the procession to Congress. [NOT EXPECTED MY FOOT, WOMAN!]
“He will be very busy (Wednesday) because it is also the anniversary of his ordination and installation as Archbishop of Manila but he will be celebrating Mass (against the RH bill). He will also be leaving (on Thursday) for the FABC in Vietnam,” Yamsuan said. [The "Communications Chief" did not mention that the cardinal will be spending the whole night in a concert organized by his official handler, Jesuit Communications. So he chose to be there rather than in Congress. While common people would rather spend a milestone in their lives by either going to an orphanage or feeding hungry people, the cardinal instead of going to Congress to be with his flock, decided it is more worthwhile to be singing his heart out in a concert in Makati. Sweeeettt.]
Arguelles said the stance of some bishops was to “leave it to the lay people” to lead the charge against the RH bill.
“They say leave it to the lay people but it is the lay people who are the ones asking…. They want our presence. Many are asking how many (bishops) will come…. Maybe they’ve changed their (cell phone) numbers (but) I’m sure only of one or two,” Arguelles said. [Well, archbishop, your brother bishops did LEAVE us.]
It turned out that at least seven bishops went to the House Tuesday.
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For proof of who attended, here is a photo that was sent to me by a friend.
As the old saying goes, "the proof of the pudding is in the eating." Guess some bishops don't have the episcopal backbone to fight with their flock against this law. I guess some of our clergymen are good when they are in front of the camera or "hosting" their own Sunday program.
Good grief. What has become of our bishops?!
Makes you think of what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane, eh?
Until when will some of our bishops, especially, the DARLING OF THE MEDIA, try to seemingly feed us to the wolves, we'll find out.
As for me, EXILE is the best solution.
Read between the lines.
The sources just chimed me on this one.
Hope it comes....SOON.
Either the other bishops chickened out or never cared at all. We don't really know. We can only surmise. But one thing is for sure. Their absence only raised serious doubts about their conviction and the lack of leadership in their ranks.
ReplyDeleteSo what shall we do? We can't disobey them in faith and morals, but if we see that they are not defending it, we faithful laypeople should reprimand them.
ReplyDelete