IT'S TIME!

(This article was written by the late Sonny delos Reyes prior to the

national elections in 1995 at a time when he was president of

the Council of the Laity of the Philippines. I am reposting this

because I believe that what Sonny wrote remains true to this day.)

     The reality is that there is a surprisingly large number of Catholics — both clergy, religious and laity –who exclaim: “IT’S TIME.” It’s time that the spiritual, moral and social interests of the faith (and to be sure, of other faiths) be made a legitimate and operative issue in the selection of candidates and in the conduct of governance. It’s time that Catholics stand up for the principles they preach and labor to live out, in the face of blatant secularism and commercialism — principles upholding not merely the doctrines of Catholicism, but the common tenets of Christianity.
      It’s time we try to galvanize (at least Catholics and other persuasions as well), into acting politically in one mind and heart and one spirit, to proclaim the gospel of Christ and move for a social order compatible with the social teachings of the Church. It’s time we put political pressure on or government respect our non-negotiable pro-life principles instead of selling them down the river, to gain from geo-political and international trade advantages which benefit only the rich. It’s time we put our efforts and resources into integrating faith and life in the ONLY country where fidelity to the Magisterium is still a unifying element among the active Catholic lay leadership.
      The Catholic vote is an expressed standard of political belief and advocacy: when a citizen votes or stands for a principle or tenet (or supports a candidate who personifies such stand), upbuilding a clearly Catholic position, as defined by either the Magisterium or the Catholic Bishop’s Conference. The voter or advocate defends or pursues this position politically removed from interests or group he or she belongs to — be it family, neighborhood, business, patronage groups, sector, member of a political dynasty or party, a loyal follower of a popular personality, or a beneficiary of money. Thus he/she takes a position largely because of his or her Catholic principles.
      The emergence of this Catholic vote seems inexorable, if any fidelity at all is to be given to the acts or decrees of the Second Plenary Council; “…politics has been an obstacle to integral development…”(1991 PCPII, #348)
      “…the urgent necessity is for the lay faithful to participate more actively, with singular competence and integrity, in political affairs. It is through the laity that the Church is directly involved.” (1991, PCPII, #348)
      “Our plenary Council Stands on record to urge the lay faithful to participate actively and lead in the renewing of politics in accordance with values of the Good News of Jesus.” (1991, PCPII, #350)
      If we are to envision the Church of the Future, perhaps we must see the need to raise a new brand of disciples – those whose missions will be, beyond teaching the gospel for others to hear and know, to infuse the word of God into our public policies, and to enshrine the gospel in our national lifestyle.
      Perhaps, a new breed of martyrs, radical witnesses to the Lord, should be raised up to challenge the prevailing doctrines of this secular humanism in our nation which as Ralph Martin expresses in “A Crisis of Truth”, undermines the authentic word of God – not so much by rabid denial, but by the more devious and harmful tactics of fraudulence and nominalism.
      It is imperative for our Philippine Church to have an enlightened, vocal, and uncompromising leadership. And the core element of this is the very quality which enabled the first Christians to survive and even proliferate, in spite of widespread rejection and open persecution: a unity of heart and mind.
      “The community of believers were of one heart and mind.” Acts 4:32
      In faith, God’s people in this nation shall, in due time, be of one will in electing true disciples of Christ into the political offices of the nation. If the Holy Spirit is to empower the faithful in our vision of the Church of the Poor and of the Future, we cannot help but confront political issues, structures and systems which clash with the vision of the Church. Crime, corruption, consumerism, patronage politics, are but a few of the issues in which the Catholic faithful must confront in the political sphere.
      And to tread into this arena of contemporary life with no system, no force, is to ignore the very counsel of the Lord Jesus Christ: “I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Be clever as serpents and gentle as doves.”