Finally, Bishop Socrates Villegas who prefers to be called “Fr. Soc” is Canonically installed as the fifth Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan replacing Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, a stern and incessant critic of Mrs. Arroyo and her administration.
Archbishop Cruz is now an “emeritus” and no longer takes care of the Archdiocese but he is still a Filipino citizen whose rights as defined by the Fundamental Law of the land are the same as the rights of every Filipino. As a priest, he has to preach the Good News.
Most of the comments in the internet on the retirement of Cruz are negative if not disrespectful to his person and his clerical state.
What is wrong with the retired Archbishop?
He continues to condemn harshly the president and her government by fearlessly telling the truth which others are scared to say and refuse to hear. A fair-minded with a good grasp on the Philippine situation may agree with Cruz in most issues. The retired prelate is not trained in politics but trained to be a priest; that is, to show the people the path of salvation through evangelization. Whatever Cruz says or writes in his blog can be summed up to the teachings of the Decalogue, the greatest commandment which is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and the second commandment that urges “Love your neighbor as your love yourself.”
Is it fair to blame Cruz when he analyzes social and moral ills confronting the country and present his findings? He is not a civil lawyer but holds Licentiates (MA equivalent) in Philosophy and Theology and a Doctorate in Canon Law (Church Law). He is also a prolific writer and blogger.
Cruz’s critics say that he should concentrate to work for the salvation of his flock and not involve himself in politics.
Cruz is doing exactly that but he exercises his right of suffrage.
We just refuse to listen to him. In expanded and detailed form, he is simply re-echoing:
You shall not have other gods besides me. (Money, power and wealth are the gods of some Filipinos.)
You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth. (Some of the idols of Filipinos are the corrupt, thugs and immoral.)
You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. (Some Filipinos in office who are under oath to serve use that oath for their personal advancement.)
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. (Did I hear someone tell me that on Sundays many go to cockpit arenas? Have drinking sprees? Go to the sauna? Bet in jueteng? A time to do monkey business?)
Honor your father and your mother. (Are the young still respectful to their parents or are they saying that it is now 2009 and that their discipline is already a passé and one must be practical nowadays?)
You shall not kill. (Read the papers, watch the news on TV and listen to the radio.)
You shall not commit adultery. (Observe the neighborhood and read what’s going on in the lives of entertainers and some public officials.)
You shall not steal. (Do I have to say still how much is lost due to massive graft and corruption?)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Read what’s going on in courts.)
You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him. (Graft and corruption aside, there are illegal mining and illegal logging, abuse of the environment and natural resources.)
As a priest, Archbishop Cruz points out what is moral that is necessary for our salvation. He attacks sin but not the sinner. If a sinner believes that s/he is under the sharp pen of the prelate or hears his deafening words of wisdom, s/he is given a chance to undergo conversion. S/he must do some soul-searching! If in the end, s/he is convinced that Cruz's crusade makes sense; why does he deserve vilification?
What if Archbishop Cruz were an ordinary citizen; say a talk show host who says what Cruz is exactly saying? Do we care to unjustly criticize and ostracize him? We might even say that he is absolutely correct for the simple reason that his bases are facts. Too bad, he is a priest and an archbishop, a teacher of morality and it is hard to listen to what he says for they hit the heart and soul without mercy.
In response to whether he did his job or not as the shepherd of his archdiocese during his tenure is for the people of Lingayen-Dagupan to answer ALONE. Not even the people of the adjacent Diocese of Urdaneta can answer that. How much more to the majority of Filipinos? For me personally, he did not only minister to his archdiocese but for the entire nation and the world as well because of his blog.
If Christ were a Filipino citizen and in the country I am sure that He does what Archbishop Cruz does in criticizing the government, the system and its leaders. Christ is the Truth while Cruz presents the truth.
Now that he is retired, he has more time to expose the truth that sets us free from the shackles of this corrupt and incompetent government.
From the infancy of Christianity up to the present, those who searched for the truth, told the truth and worked for the truth died a horrible death. Their persons were killed but not their message.
Veritas nos liberabit. Truth sets us free.-30-
Archbishop Cruz is now an “emeritus” and no longer takes care of the Archdiocese but he is still a Filipino citizen whose rights as defined by the Fundamental Law of the land are the same as the rights of every Filipino. As a priest, he has to preach the Good News.
Most of the comments in the internet on the retirement of Cruz are negative if not disrespectful to his person and his clerical state.
What is wrong with the retired Archbishop?
He continues to condemn harshly the president and her government by fearlessly telling the truth which others are scared to say and refuse to hear. A fair-minded with a good grasp on the Philippine situation may agree with Cruz in most issues. The retired prelate is not trained in politics but trained to be a priest; that is, to show the people the path of salvation through evangelization. Whatever Cruz says or writes in his blog can be summed up to the teachings of the Decalogue, the greatest commandment which is “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” and the second commandment that urges “Love your neighbor as your love yourself.”
Is it fair to blame Cruz when he analyzes social and moral ills confronting the country and present his findings? He is not a civil lawyer but holds Licentiates (MA equivalent) in Philosophy and Theology and a Doctorate in Canon Law (Church Law). He is also a prolific writer and blogger.
Cruz’s critics say that he should concentrate to work for the salvation of his flock and not involve himself in politics.
Cruz is doing exactly that but he exercises his right of suffrage.
We just refuse to listen to him. In expanded and detailed form, he is simply re-echoing:
You shall not have other gods besides me. (Money, power and wealth are the gods of some Filipinos.)
You shall not carve idols for yourselves in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth. (Some of the idols of Filipinos are the corrupt, thugs and immoral.)
You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain. (Some Filipinos in office who are under oath to serve use that oath for their personal advancement.)
Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. (Did I hear someone tell me that on Sundays many go to cockpit arenas? Have drinking sprees? Go to the sauna? Bet in jueteng? A time to do monkey business?)
Honor your father and your mother. (Are the young still respectful to their parents or are they saying that it is now 2009 and that their discipline is already a passé and one must be practical nowadays?)
You shall not kill. (Read the papers, watch the news on TV and listen to the radio.)
You shall not commit adultery. (Observe the neighborhood and read what’s going on in the lives of entertainers and some public officials.)
You shall not steal. (Do I have to say still how much is lost due to massive graft and corruption?)
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. (Read what’s going on in courts.)
You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass, nor anything else that belongs to him. (Graft and corruption aside, there are illegal mining and illegal logging, abuse of the environment and natural resources.)
As a priest, Archbishop Cruz points out what is moral that is necessary for our salvation. He attacks sin but not the sinner. If a sinner believes that s/he is under the sharp pen of the prelate or hears his deafening words of wisdom, s/he is given a chance to undergo conversion. S/he must do some soul-searching! If in the end, s/he is convinced that Cruz's crusade makes sense; why does he deserve vilification?
What if Archbishop Cruz were an ordinary citizen; say a talk show host who says what Cruz is exactly saying? Do we care to unjustly criticize and ostracize him? We might even say that he is absolutely correct for the simple reason that his bases are facts. Too bad, he is a priest and an archbishop, a teacher of morality and it is hard to listen to what he says for they hit the heart and soul without mercy.
In response to whether he did his job or not as the shepherd of his archdiocese during his tenure is for the people of Lingayen-Dagupan to answer ALONE. Not even the people of the adjacent Diocese of Urdaneta can answer that. How much more to the majority of Filipinos? For me personally, he did not only minister to his archdiocese but for the entire nation and the world as well because of his blog.
If Christ were a Filipino citizen and in the country I am sure that He does what Archbishop Cruz does in criticizing the government, the system and its leaders. Christ is the Truth while Cruz presents the truth.
Now that he is retired, he has more time to expose the truth that sets us free from the shackles of this corrupt and incompetent government.
From the infancy of Christianity up to the present, those who searched for the truth, told the truth and worked for the truth died a horrible death. Their persons were killed but not their message.
Veritas nos liberabit. Truth sets us free.-30-
