Catholic Church's 'best-kept secret'
(This sidebar accompanies the special report "Catholic Church-led 'Occupy' movement targets the 'heartless' market")
The Catholic Church, often criticized for its supposedly conservative stance on issues such as the reproductive health bill, espouses a rich tradition that advances workers’ rights and wealth distribution.
The Catholic Church’s collection of social teachings, often called its “best-kept secret,” aims to teach persons “the demands of justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom,” according to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Some people regard these teachings as "secrets," saying the Catholic Church does not promulgate them well enough.
Workers' rights
One of the most striking social teachings related to the “Occupy” movement, is Blessed Pope John Paul II’s encyclical titled Laborem Exercens where he states the importance of labor and the workers' right to form a union.
“However true it may be that man is destined for work and called to it, in the first place work is ‘for man’ and not man ‘for work,’” John Paul II said in the encyclical.
Another pontiff, Pope Paul VI, published the encyclical titled Populorum Progressio in which he challenged wealthy nations and individuals to share their riches with the poor.
Quoting the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI wrote, “God intended the earth and everything in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Thus, under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should flow fairly to all."
"Best-kept secret"
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo told GMA News Online that the Philippine government also has to address the issue of wealth distribution “so that there will be peace in society and there will be justice.”
The Catholic ideal of wealth distribution is different from Communism which employs coercion, not good will, in achieving so-called "justice for all," according to Pabillo.
In their essay “Justice and Human Rights,” Jesuit priest Pasquale Giordano and Nancy Russell Catan suggest taxation and anti-corruption measures to ensure income distribution.
Pabillo, however, noted that the Catholic Church’s social teachings remain its “best-kept secret” due to poor implementation and sheer unfamiliarity with it.
“Baka may problema rin ang Simbahan – hindi masyadong ipinapahayag,” he said.
Contrary to teachings?
The Catholic Church, often criticized for its supposedly conservative stance on issues such as the reproductive health bill, espouses a rich tradition that advances workers’ rights and wealth distribution.
The Catholic Church’s collection of social teachings, often called its “best-kept secret,” aims to teach persons “the demands of justice and peace in conformity with divine wisdom,” according to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
Some people regard these teachings as "secrets," saying the Catholic Church does not promulgate them well enough.
Workers' rights
One of the most striking social teachings related to the “Occupy” movement, is Blessed Pope John Paul II’s encyclical titled Laborem Exercens where he states the importance of labor and the workers' right to form a union.
“However true it may be that man is destined for work and called to it, in the first place work is ‘for man’ and not man ‘for work,’” John Paul II said in the encyclical.
Another pontiff, Pope Paul VI, published the encyclical titled Populorum Progressio in which he challenged wealthy nations and individuals to share their riches with the poor.
Quoting the Second Vatican Council, Paul VI wrote, “God intended the earth and everything in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Thus, under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should flow fairly to all."
"Best-kept secret"
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo told GMA News Online that the Philippine government also has to address the issue of wealth distribution “so that there will be peace in society and there will be justice.”
The Catholic ideal of wealth distribution is different from Communism which employs coercion, not good will, in achieving so-called "justice for all," according to Pabillo.
In their essay “Justice and Human Rights,” Jesuit priest Pasquale Giordano and Nancy Russell Catan suggest taxation and anti-corruption measures to ensure income distribution.
Pabillo, however, noted that the Catholic Church’s social teachings remain its “best-kept secret” due to poor implementation and sheer unfamiliarity with it.
“Baka may problema rin ang Simbahan – hindi masyadong ipinapahayag,” he said.
Contrary to teachings?
For some Catholics, the actions of some of its leaders seem contrary to the Church’s teachings on wealth and poverty.
A few bishops, for instance, became the center of controversy earlier this year after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said they allegedly received luxury vehicles from the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is currently on hospital arrest on electoral sabotage charges.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) In July this year apologized to the public after some of its members were embroiled in the PCSO controversy.
In a pastoral statement read by its outgoing president Bishop Nereo Odchimar on July 11, the CBCP said the Church “has been deeply wounded by the controversies in the PCSO."
"As shepherds struggling to love you like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you," the group said after its 103rd plenary assembly held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila.
The group also expressed “deep sorrow for the pain the recent events brought to the people."
“We are saddened many of you, especially the youth and the poor—our basic ecclesial communities, have been confused because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching," it added.
The CBCP likewise reassured the public that the bishops who accepted luxury vehicles from the PCSO funds “are ready to accept the responsibility of their actions and to face the consequences." - With a report from Andreo Calonzo, VVP, GMA News
A few bishops, for instance, became the center of controversy earlier this year after the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office said they allegedly received luxury vehicles from the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is currently on hospital arrest on electoral sabotage charges.
The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) In July this year apologized to the public after some of its members were embroiled in the PCSO controversy.
In a pastoral statement read by its outgoing president Bishop Nereo Odchimar on July 11, the CBCP said the Church “has been deeply wounded by the controversies in the PCSO."
"As shepherds struggling to love you like Jesus the Good Shepherd, we are sorry for the pain and sadness that these events have brought upon you," the group said after its 103rd plenary assembly held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila.
The group also expressed “deep sorrow for the pain the recent events brought to the people."
“We are saddened many of you, especially the youth and the poor—our basic ecclesial communities, have been confused because of the apparent inconsistency of our actions with our pastoral preaching," it added.
The CBCP likewise reassured the public that the bishops who accepted luxury vehicles from the PCSO funds “are ready to accept the responsibility of their actions and to face the consequences." - With a report from Andreo Calonzo, VVP, GMA News
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