Was Cebu’s praying prelate quoted out of context?
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 22:13:00 05/13/2008
Msgr. Achilles Dakay, spokesperson of the Archdiocese of Cebu, was quoted as saying that the main issue in the “rectal video scandal” was the male patient’s homosexual act and not his mistreatment. He was also quoted to have said that the root cause of the scandalous video was the homosexual act. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 4/25/08)
I don’t personally know Monsignor Dakay. For all I know, he may actually be a kind and loving person, as we want our priests to be. But if he was correctly quoted, then his words certainly portray him as an appallingly insensitive and callous person, hopelessly unable to grasp real issues. I pray that he was just taken out of context.
But then again, because so much in this world is subjective, did Dakay mean that the patient committed a homosexual act, considered a sin by the Catholic Church, and therefore the video indignity may be considered the punishment for committing such sin? I certainly hope that he was not in effect saying: Well, you disobeyed God’s will, serves you right?
The Philippine Daily Inquirer report, fairly or unfairly, gives the impression that Dakay is interested only in the moral aspect of this abominable incident—the “sin and its consequence” part of which moralists love to expound on. This brings to mind images of grim-faced “men of God” who feel sweet vindication when a calamity (referred to as “divine justice”) befalls people whom they perceive to be sinful, according to their perception of what is right and wrong. But “serves him right” is rather tasteless to say in public at this time. People are still furious over what those fools did. (It’s possible they did not mean ill; but making the whole proceeding a circus was simply foolish.) So any news report such as this one about Dakay should be clarified.
Anyway, in cases like this, men of the cloth should be more circumspect in their statements. It might be better if they put more emphasis on the aspects of compassion, understanding and sympathy. Maybe they should set aside the moralizing for another, more appropriate day. More so in this case, because more and more Catholics are questioning the Catholic Church’s position on homosexuality. Many Catholic homosexuals and lesbians are increasingly finding it hard to believe that their God, who made them the way they are (whether through their genes or the environment doesn’t matter), would torture them for eternity for yielding to the yearnings of their God-given bodies.
I am not a homosexual, but I share their outrage over statements such as those attributed to Monsignor Dakay. And let us be clear on the issues: the right of people—no matter how poor, no matter their gender—to privacy in such a situation as rectal surgery, to be treated with respect, to their dignity, is sacrosanct. For the sake of the victim and for the sake of all of us, justice must be rendered.
LADI LLUCH, 052 Milestone St., Bagong Silang, Iligan City
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