Wednesday, November 12, 2008

THE BLAME GAME

According to this report, a Protestant Church bishop said Catholic Church leaders should also be blamed for the Philippines’ reputation as among the most corrupt countries and must offer their resignation if they continue to insist that President Macapagal-Arroyo step down from office.

Bishop Pedro Maglaya of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines said some Catholic Church leaders have called for the resignation of Ms Arroyo but they have themselves to blame for failing to teach humility to their flock, who count her among them….

I suddenly remembered my university student days. I had a very difficult time getting the grades I wanted. It’s not that I had a lofty yearning to be a Dean’s lister, as I was already gratefully contented with just scraping by with three's. When I got quattros or cincos, it was fairly convenient enough to criticize the professors who “didn’t know how to teach”. It didn’t help any that I was a gallivanting, happy-go-lucky student back then. It didn’t help too that I wasn’t paying any attention to the lessons in class, as I was more interested in those ladies, my cute seatmates in class. That, and those all-too-often drinking binges with my fraternity brothers. Ah, those days…

Now Bishop Pedro Maglaya of the United Church of Christ puts to task some Catholic Church leaders, who “have themselves to blame for failing to teach humility to their flock”. Hmm, perhaps…, and I presume Bp Maglaya himself is so eminently successful in teaching humility to his own flock. That being the case, I wonder if Bp Maglaya will consider crossing the Tiber.

“Whose fault was this? Was it God’s fault? Is it the Church who failed?” he asks. It always feels good to do some finger-pointing. Usually when one does this sort of thing, you notice that the thumb part usually points back to the person. He said this means “Church leaders are also accountable”. Sure enough, but then each and every one of us are actually accountable in one way or another. That excludes the good bishop Maglaya, I suppose. I now regret that Maglaya wasn’t my professor in my university student days. Who knows, I could have been a Dean’s lister despite my careless attitude. Either that, or I see him throwing up his hands in despair and resigning as my teacher.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent rejoinder. I sometimes wonder how people can come up with such twisted logic just so they can attack the Church. Or defend GMA. Oh well...

Anonymous said...

if someone bullies me and I let him then I would be teaching him that it's ok to bully and that I'm a pushover. If you show a child respect he learns respect. If I treat him with arrogance he learns that as well. The point is that everytime we interact with others we are teaching. Continually. Every day. With each thing we say and with every deed. We teach each other.

If I were a member of this Bishop's congregation, I would realize that he is teaching me that it is all right to blame. Even without proof. And that, with those words, he is showing me the extent of his vision.

Perhaps the Bishop needs reminding that it is not what one puts in one's mouth that defiles a man but what comes out of it.

- TE

petrufied said...

I heard this news over the radio yesterday and it got the radio announcers raving and blaming the Church too. sigh. glad to have read this one today :D

sunnyday said...

Unity is truly difficult to achieve... that's all I can say.

Anonymous said...

In Acts 1:6 just before the Ascension of Jesus, his apostles asked him at that point in time if he will restore the kingdom of Israel. After all the miracles and teachings they have witnessed and received they were still hoping for a militant Messiah who would redeem Israel from the yoke of Roman oppression and rebuild the kingdom of David that had lain in ruins since the 6th century BC. So was Jesus accountable for the apostles’ failure to completely grasp what was the true kingdom he repeatedly talked about?

The failure of the flock to fully understand and live the teachings of Catholic Church doesn’t put the blame on the Bishops. By putting the blame on the Catholic Church Leaders, Bishop Maglaya also points his finger to Christ.

WillyJ said...

You are right aeisel. The lesson of this episode actually is directed to us followers.