What the Church wants, it gets

Ben Contreras .

WHAT the Church wants, the Church gets. This seems to be the case in our country today because a church normally has a sizable if not, a huge following depending on who talks the best and convincingly. And with a large following, it is being courted by politicians. Offers and gifts like material or cash come its way without considering whether the gifts are from honest money or cash untainted by blood. It is a power the Church gained without really trying, and taken advantage of to the hilt. How lucky can a church get! And there would be times when the Church pushes its luck too far by either making government agencies circumvent the law of the land just to get what it wants, thereby violating the Canon law, too, unwittingly.

A foreigner once commented about our Church; he said it divides instead of uniting people. How is that so? It is because it interferes with politics wantonly disregarding the doctrine of separation of Church and State. And it is being abused because it has been tolerated, thus dividing its own flock of believers who have different political inclinations and following.

Sometimes, when it cannot accept a ruling that’s not in their favor, it will exhaust all possible means to reverse the irreversible.

Take the case of the St. Francis Xavier Parish Church (SFXPC) and its columbarium project. The Golden Glow Village Homeowners’ Association had already expressed objection to the columbarium, sought the intervention of the Housing Land Use Regulatory Board which found the SFXPC guilty, and the Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the GGVHOA.

So, what is the Church up to now? It is campaigning for support from parishioners that don’t even live nearby, thus, unaffected. What is this? The problem is it they’re not near the GGV area. It is seeking and asking the opinion of those who don’t live nearby. Would they even care?

Why can’t it just follow the order and advice of the Court of Appeals instead of sowing division among its parishioners? Or, is it being discreetly ironed out elsewhere, say the HLURB national office?

Please stop that b******t that the columbarium is not business. If money is involved, it’s business. The church changed its position against cremation because there is money in the columbarium. If the money is badly needed to finish the gargantuan church, why build something that huge? Why, is the Church now in competition with the others in terms of grandiose and size?

If I were to believe in Jesus, then I would prefer a church that is simple and follow the simplicity of Jesus and his life. Certainly, churches today are never that simple and the lifestyle of those who preach is never austere.

The developer who donated this piece of land should at least see to the welfare of its clients. Subdivisions are supposed to be characterized by being away far from madding crowd, bereft of disturbing noise and the comfort of exclusivity. Is the developer afraid to antagonize the Church? Is the developer going to leave the homeowners?

There are other ways to finish the church if that is the purpose of that columbarium. The GGVHOA is only too willing to help. But to ram that project down their throat is certainly conduct unbecoming for a church deemed to be champion for moral actions and endeavors.

If indeed it is being ironed out up there as suspected, then we might as well teach the parishioners to lie a little once in a while. It must be tolerable for Jesus.