A voice from the hermitage

First, a thought from me: I feel that many of us are being gaslighted ever so subtly, making us doubt ourselves and what we believe to be true so that what is untrue may prevail, so that we may simply accept the bewildering order of things.

From a priest turned hermit who continues to be a priest in the heart of the world, praying and offering sacrifices, comes a bold statement about the Church he loves—and its silence. Who is he?

With the blessings of his religious congregation, Fr. Amado “Picx” Picardal, a Redemptorist, now lives the simple life of a hermit, not far from his confrères, somewhere on this planet, one that contrasts his previous priestly ministry that could have cost him his life. One sacrificed life in his family, that of his mother who was shot dead by assailants during the dark years of Marcos martial rule, was one too many.

Despite the tragedy, Father Picx did not abandon his priestly calling and served in various ministries and human rights and peace advocacy. He had served as executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Committee on Basic Ecclesial Communities and as co-executive secretary of the Commission on Justice, Peace, and Integrity of Creation of the Union of Superiors General in Rome. He has written several books.

“Issues and concerns the Philippine Church faces under the Marcos Jr. regime” is the title of Father Picx’s statement he recently sent out from his hermitage. His is not simply “conjectures of a guilty bystander” to borrow the title of one of the books by Trappist monk and author Thomas Merton. Father Picx was not a mere bystander. He was fleeing for his life. He believed he was one of several priests targeted to be killed during the Duterte presidency, as indeed happened. He knew one too many.

Now from his “wilderness” he cries out: “Over a year after Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s presidential inauguration, some people are wondering why the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has been silent regarding critical issues under this administration. This is quite perplexing since before the election the CBCP came out with a pastoral letter critical of the historical revisionism and disinformation carried out by the Marcos campaign and implicitly warning about the dire consequences of the return of the dictator’s son.

“The clergy and religious who openly supported former Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo have also become silent.”

Given the order of things, the hermit asks: “Will the Church be able to break its silence and inspire civil society to act? The leadership of the Church (CBCP, clergy, and religious) has still to define the Church’s role under the Marcos II regime. This requires an accurate assessment of the situation and the problems the country is facing.”

He lists the key issues that the Church leadership faces: “(1) the alleged anomalies in the presidential elections; (2) the impending economic and food crisis; (3) the crisis in education; (4) the continuing armed conflict; (5) human rights violation and accountability; and (6) climate change emergency.”

He points to the “serious allegations of the rigging of presidential elections by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headed by a former Marcos Jr. lawyer and composed mostly of President Rodrigo Duterte appointees from Davao … Among the latest proofs of the anomalies are the over 20,300 election returns from VCM (vote-counting) machines transmitted by only one private IP (internet protocol) address within the first hours of the counting.

“The only way to settle if the elections were indeed fair is for the Comelec to release the transmission logs. Civil society expects the Church to support the call for truth and transparency. The legitimacy of the Marcos II administration as well as the credibility of future elections is at stake. Unless addressed, this could develop into a political crisis.”

He laments: “This administration is failing to address adequately the economic and food crisis that is worsening due to the debt burden, climate change, Ukraine War, deglobalization, and corruption. Billions are being wasted on useless presidential travel, bloated confidential/intelligence fund, and the Maharlika Investment Fund which are opportunities for graft and corruption.

“In season or out of season, the leadership, as well as the members of the Church—whether bishops, clergy, religious, and laity—cannot abandon its mission as prophetic conscience and servants of the people and society in general. Despite perceived powerlessness and declining influence, the Church has an important role in bringing about social transformation as the nation finds itself in a long dark night.”

Read the complete statement on the website of LiCAS.news which features mostly church-related issues in Asia.

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