Bishop lectures Palace exec on Bible use

MANILA, Philippines - A Malacañang executive got a lecture from a senior Catholic bishop for his claim last weekend that bishops calling for radical changes in government are "violating" the Bible. Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez Jr. assured deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez Jr. he had already gone over the Scriptures and lives according to its teachings. "What we're doing is based on how we read and understand the sacred scriptures so we assure Dr. Golez we are not going out of the ambit of the Word of God," Iñiguez, head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines public affairs unit, said in a weekly Church-run forum in Manila. Excerpts of the forum's proceedings were posted on the CBCP website Tuesday night. Last Saturday, Golez likened Iñiguez and Novaliches bishop Antonio Tobias to "pied pipers" encouraging people to resort to extra-judicial means to oust President Arroyo. Golez even quoted from the Bible, citing the Book of Romans Chapter 13, to "fear and honor duly constituted authority." "One thing Dr. Golez should also realize is that the Church, the teaching authority in the church, is the authorized guide for the interpretation of the sacred scriptures," Iñiguez said. Also, Iñiguez said he looks forward to a successful multi-sectoral rally against Charter change on December 12. In Malacañang, meanwhile, Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde dismissed as another political gambit a proposal that Arroyo put in writing that she is not seeking an extension of her term of office which ends in June 2010. Remonde said there was no need for the President to formally state that she does not intend to stay in office beyond her constitutional mandate. A Palace statement said Remonde pointed out that Arroyo stated before various forums and on different occasions that she will step down when her term of office ends in June 2010. - GMANews.TV