COMMISSION ON DIOCESAN SCHOOLS OF LA UNION

Academic Year: 2021-2022

10
MODULE
11

“The Church and Politics”

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TOPICS:

 Church and Politics

 Events that led to political Church’s Involvement in the Philippines

 Cardinal Sin
 Church Remains Most Trusted PHL Institution, Government the Least – 3 rd PHL Trust
Index

INTRODUCTION:

“The Second Vatican Council teaches us that “Christ gave his Church no proper mission in the
political, economic or social order. The purpose he set before her is a religious one. But out of this
religious mission itself came a function, a light and an energy which can serve to structure and
consolidate the human community according to the divine law.”

- Gaudium et spes 42

LEARNING TARGETS

At the end of the lesson, you are required to do the following…

 Describe the involvement of the Church in politics

 Participate actively in social, political and spiritual activities of the church

towards people’s development.

 Pray for a peaceful resolution of problems in the society

Essential Question

Are you in favour of priest running for political positions? Why or why not?

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EXPLORE

The Church and Politics

The church refers to a community of people professing faith in Jesus Christ.

Politics in the widest sense in the dynamic organization of society for the common good. As
such, it calls for the responsible active participation of all citizens (cf. Congregation for Religious and Secular
Institutes, Religious Life and Human Promotion, 1980, no. 12).

Politics may be described as the art of government and public service. Vatican describes politics as a “difficult
and noble art” (GS, 75). Its aim is to realize the purpose of the state.

Politics is also used for partisan politics, the competition to win or retain positions of governmental power.

In this last sense, clerics and religious are forbidden by church law to be involved in (partisan) politics.

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Cardinal Sin
Cardinal Jaime Sin, who died at the age of 76, was hugely revered.

Cardinal Sin saw an integral role for religion in politics. He initiated peaceful revolts which led to the
toppling of two former presidents, Ferdinand Marcos and Joseph Estrada. Sin, who suffered from kidney
problems and diabetes retired in November 2004 but remained arguably the most influential Christian leader in
Southeast Asia.

Former President Fidel Ramos (who clashed with the Cardinal over the latter’s opposition to birth control),
once called him the “divine commander-in-chief.” Sin, whose Chinese father immigrated to the Philippines, was
the 14th of 16 children, and one of nine who survived beyond infancy. He was ordained in 1945 and, displaying
exceptional skills in administration and fund-raising, progressed through the clerical ranks until he became an
archbishop in 1974, barely 2 years after President Ferdinand Marcos had declared Martial Law and imposed a
one-man-rule. Two years later, he became a cardinal, the youngest in the College of Cardinals.

At first, he adopted what he called a policy of “critical collaboration” with the regime of Philippine dictator
Ferdinand Marcos, calling on the government to be more democratic while demanding restrain from the
opposition.

Man of Humor

He met Marcos once a month, regularly attended social events with him and his wife, Imelda, and, when
requested would officiate Mass at the Presidential Palace. To Criticism of such contacts, Sin would say: “If I
don’t attend to their spiritual needs, who will?”

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Sin Helped Overthrow President Marcos

Sin’s wry sense of humor was often in evidence. He once related that when President Marcos expressed his
administration of the United States ability to produce a speedy election result, he told Marcos that he should
admire the Filipino people – they knew the election results before the election.

But in the 1980s, he became increasingly critical of the regime and, in 1986, played an influential role in a
“People Power” uprising that led to the removal of Marcos. The crisis became to a head is a dispute over the
result of a presidential election between Marcos and his opponent, Corazon Aquino, who had taken the place of
her assassinated husband, Benigno Aquino. When two leading members of the Marcos government switched
their support to Mrs. Aquino and were then, with scores of other rebels, threatened with annihilation by
Marcos’s army, hundreds of thousands of people, including many nuns and priest, responded to an appeal by
Sin to form a protective human barrier.

Soon, President Marcos fled the country. In January 2001, Sin called on people to gather in peaceful rallies
that led to the ousting of President Joseph Estrada, who faced an impeachment trial for alleged corruption.

Although Sin supported civil liberties, he maintained a deeply conservative stance against contraception,
abortion and divorce.

He was always willing to share the humor caused by the incongruity of his name for a man of the cloth.
“Welcome to the House of Sin,” he told visitors.

MY INSIGHT:
1. What led the good Cardinal to call for a revolution against the government?

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2. Should another call for a people power revolution happen, would you support it? Why or why not?

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Church Remains Most Trusted PHL Institution, Government the Least – 3 rd PHL Trust
Index
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 The Church and the Academe are the most trusted institutions among Filipinos, while government
and non-governmental organizations are the least, according to the latest Philippine Trust Index (PTI)
released Monday by EON Stakeholder Relations.
“Aside from the important role of communications, in building trust, the third PTI also showed that
the church is still the most trusted institution among the general public at 75% rating,” EON noted in an
emailed statement.
“This is followed by the Academe (53%), Media (33%), Business (13%), and NGOs (12%). “Last
on the list is the Government, with a trust level of 11% among the general public.”
For the 3rd PTI, EON asked 1626 respondents through a face-to-face interview from the informed
and general public in rural and urban areas in National Capital Region, North Luzon, South Luzon,
Visayas and Mindanao.
According to the survey, only two out of 10 Filipinos believed that the government is not corrupt
and four out of 10 said “not being corrupt” is the most important driver for them to trust the government.
Six out of 10 Filipinos said they only need to hear information once from religious institutions to
believe it.

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MY INSIGHT:
1. What do the PTI ratings indicate?
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2. How much do you trust the church?

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MY REFLECTION
“Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from
God, and those which exist are established by God.”

(Romans 13:11)
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