If the title baffles you, it may be because you are still happily unaware of the questionable moves some radical feminists are making in many places nowadays.
This may still be a good thing to have, but I must hasten to say that we cannot and should not be naive and complacent with this development. Though it affects more the advanced countries, it is actually also affecting us in our own country.
Even in my native Bohol, once a sleepy place but now, thanks be to God, bustling with life due to tourism, these disturbing maneuvers are taking place.
Imagine, in a supposedly Catholic school run by nuns, the little girls are taught not anymore to address God as Father, because according to them God has no sex and gender. Similar efforts to neuter Jesus Christ are reportedly being made too.
The parents, of course, were alarmed. A mother complained why such fuss was raised over this matter, when it is quite clear that in the Bible, God is referred to as Father or Son or Holy Spirit.
This, to me, already sounds like a radical feminist paranoia, that tries to undo well-entrenched historical and cultural elements with an arbitrary and abrupt move. There are other manifestations of the same paranoia.
Another feminist group, now banding themselves as an NGO in Bohol, is busy teaching young girls about the different techniques of safe sex, including a "taste test" of the different flavors condoms now have.
The problem with the radical feminist movement is that while it raises legitimate questions and issues worthy of public attention and concern, it also pursues and promotes an ideology that not only is anti-Christian, but also is clearly anti-human.
Thus, its proponents deftly use nice words and concepts, such as reproductive health, responsible parenthood, and the like, while at the same time rewriting moral law by promoting contraception, sterilization, even abortion.
They can talk about rights of women over their own bodies, taking this to mean that women have the absolute right to do anything with their bodies because these are theirs. In short, the Church should not pontificate on this matter. Let the women be absolutely free with respect to their bodies!
Now, in many international conferences, radical feminists not only make a distinction between sex and gender, between the natural differences between men and women and the cultural and historical attitudes related to these natural differences.
They are separating them, detaching gender completely from sex, and making gender a purely cultural thing with no relation to the sexual nature of the person.
Thus, because of this emphasis on gender, as defined and understood by them, any person can be anything he or she likes--masculine, feminine, homosexual, bisexual, etc., irrespective of one's natural sexual condition. Every so-called sexual orientation chosen by a person would just be all right.
This is the kind of mentality that is being propagated by some feminist groups these days. This is a clear case of what is termed by the present Pope as moral relativism about which he is warning all of us. This is neither progress nor growth in maturity. This is a regression to barbarianism.
While we all have to love one another as we are, this charity does not mean we can totally forget the objective truth of things. We have to learn to blend both, because one without the other nullifies or empties both.
Monday, January 9, 2006
Saturday, January 7, 2006
Whisper and hush no more
OH my, oh my! There you have it. The Vatican recently has come out with a document about homosexuality, the seminary and the priesthood.
It’s a very bold move, I must say. First of all, because the topic itself is very delicate and volatile. Happy and lucky is the man who can discuss it without whipping up a storm of controversy.
My experience has been that every time I write about this issue—and I do it
mainly to echo official Church teachings, not my personal opinions—I get many scorching hate mails coming mostly from the US.
A good number of people appear unable to discuss issues without getting emotional. This sadly is one of the signs of our times, indicating how our education should be revised. My only consolation is that I’m at least read.
I was happy to learn that a Vatican official said that the document was never meant to bash gays. Following Christ, the Church always loves everyone, sinner or saint, gay or straight, even if it has to teach difficult doctrines.
But more importantly, the document represents the Church’s serious effort
to confront a very complicated and screamingly scandalous problem that exploded in many dioceses some years ago.
For sure, the problem is not confined to the Church alone. It’s a seething problem worldwide, affecting all sectors, again showing us the kind of world we are now having.
But it cannot be denied that because of the conditions under which seminary formation is done, this problem is likely to pop up. Yes, there’s a certain tendency or susceptibility, something that should be constantly monitored.
Actually, many of the problems in this area are transitory and not deep-seated. To a certain extent, they’re normal, and easily curable or outgrown. But these problems should not be ignored. Never!
The document indeed is a source of jubilation in the Church. It certainly
marks a step towards maturity in so far as the Church is a human institution. Church authorities should never forget this human aspect of the Church. They should always remind themselves of their duty to strengthen and enrich it, drawing from both human and divine wisdom to govern with competence and to give good example to everyone.
This openness and transparency hopefully will stop the age of whisper and hush, the culture of gossip and diletantism pervading in Church environment. These latter things are terrible. They deserve to be buried for good.
Let’s hope that the document will be studied thoroughly by the bishops and
seminary fathers. It offers a lot of light and provides clear guidelines as to how the problem of homosexuality in seminarians and priests should be tackled.
The document itself, while clear and charitable, does not descend to concrete details. These are left for local Church officials to devise, obviously so as to input considerations peculiar to particular places.
With all the years and even centuries of experience in seminary formation, Church authorities should possess significant practical wisdom in tackling this delicate problem. It’s time this wisdom is made operational.
Besides, relevant sciences like psychology and medicine have progressed handling this problem. These should be expertly used.
Thus, while the supernatural and spiritual means like prayers, sacrifices, recourse to the sacraments, development of virtues, etc., should always be used, every effort should also be made to make use of scientific advances now available.
Offhand, what I can say is that closer supervision of seminary formation should be made by the bishops and their delegated experts, and a pool of competent and holy spiritual directors should be made available to the seminarians and priests.
It’s a very bold move, I must say. First of all, because the topic itself is very delicate and volatile. Happy and lucky is the man who can discuss it without whipping up a storm of controversy.
My experience has been that every time I write about this issue—and I do it
mainly to echo official Church teachings, not my personal opinions—I get many scorching hate mails coming mostly from the US.
A good number of people appear unable to discuss issues without getting emotional. This sadly is one of the signs of our times, indicating how our education should be revised. My only consolation is that I’m at least read.
I was happy to learn that a Vatican official said that the document was never meant to bash gays. Following Christ, the Church always loves everyone, sinner or saint, gay or straight, even if it has to teach difficult doctrines.
But more importantly, the document represents the Church’s serious effort
to confront a very complicated and screamingly scandalous problem that exploded in many dioceses some years ago.
For sure, the problem is not confined to the Church alone. It’s a seething problem worldwide, affecting all sectors, again showing us the kind of world we are now having.
But it cannot be denied that because of the conditions under which seminary formation is done, this problem is likely to pop up. Yes, there’s a certain tendency or susceptibility, something that should be constantly monitored.
Actually, many of the problems in this area are transitory and not deep-seated. To a certain extent, they’re normal, and easily curable or outgrown. But these problems should not be ignored. Never!
The document indeed is a source of jubilation in the Church. It certainly
marks a step towards maturity in so far as the Church is a human institution. Church authorities should never forget this human aspect of the Church. They should always remind themselves of their duty to strengthen and enrich it, drawing from both human and divine wisdom to govern with competence and to give good example to everyone.
This openness and transparency hopefully will stop the age of whisper and hush, the culture of gossip and diletantism pervading in Church environment. These latter things are terrible. They deserve to be buried for good.
Let’s hope that the document will be studied thoroughly by the bishops and
seminary fathers. It offers a lot of light and provides clear guidelines as to how the problem of homosexuality in seminarians and priests should be tackled.
The document itself, while clear and charitable, does not descend to concrete details. These are left for local Church officials to devise, obviously so as to input considerations peculiar to particular places.
With all the years and even centuries of experience in seminary formation, Church authorities should possess significant practical wisdom in tackling this delicate problem. It’s time this wisdom is made operational.
Besides, relevant sciences like psychology and medicine have progressed handling this problem. These should be expertly used.
Thus, while the supernatural and spiritual means like prayers, sacrifices, recourse to the sacraments, development of virtues, etc., should always be used, every effort should also be made to make use of scientific advances now available.
Offhand, what I can say is that closer supervision of seminary formation should be made by the bishops and their delegated experts, and a pool of competent and holy spiritual directors should be made available to the seminarians and priests.
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Christmas Is In The Heart
IT’S again Christmas! This year though, the mood seems to be a bit subdued, the atmosphere toned-down. The blinking lights and other garish decors appear to be concentrated only in the malls waiting to be bought.
Economists, of course, are quick to explain. People are wary about our current social, economic and political situation, they say. In spite of the heavy cash inflow from our OFWs, our heroes and saviors, people tend to be Scrooges this time.
Just as well. True Christian believers welcome this predicament, since it can help us in savoring the authentic spirit of Christmas. They believe that everything, no matter how considered humanly, will always work for the good.
Sometimes hardships and sacrifices occasion deep spiritual realizations and
sharp insights of faith. They help us in getting liberated from the clutches of a purely materialistic, if not thoroughly sensual world.
They can launch us to the far richer world of the spiritual and supernatural, using the language of faith and piety. That’s why Jesus’s life was one of suffering and privations. He asks us to carry the cross and to enter by the narrow gate.
Pope Benedict recently echoed what we already know quite well. “In present day consumer society,” he said, “this period suffers, unfortunately, a sort of commercial ‘contamination,’ which runs the risk of altering its authentic spirit.”
To Pope Benedict and all the other faithful followers of Christ, this authentic Christmas spirit is characterized by recollection, sobriety, a joy that is not exterior but profound.
These, indeed, are conspicuously missing these days. The challenge we have now is how to welcome Christ into our hearts not only during Christmas, when he comes to us a helpless little child, but also all throughout the year.
This is the challenge of many of the nominal Christians. We have to learn to look for Christ, find him, and love and serve him every minute of our life. And this in a clearly strong and determined way.
We cannot afford to be complacent about this. Some even dare to be cavalier about this, not realizing that they are making a fool of themselves. No, no. We need to be clearly strong and determined in this effort.
Especially now when we are constantly bombarded with impulses—images, sounds, shows, sensations, etc.—that tend to kill the spiritual life while heavily stimulating the bodily if not animal life we also have.
Just looking at many TV shows, reading newspapers and magazines, listening to the radio, this is what we can readily conclude. There’s a systematic effort, almost like a devil’s plot, to stick us to the material and the sensual, the here and now.
There’s no mention of God, or at least any reference or allusion to God. Art and creativity are purely inspired by earthly values, driven by passion and not by faith, pursued mainly with selfish ends rather than by charity that should imbue all our actions.
Such art and creativity generate a spiral of evil, a dynamism of sin, where bickering, hatred, envy, lust, and a long, endless etcetera dominate. There’s no peace, inside nor outside. There’s no real joy, an abiding sense of being in living communion with God and with everybody else.
Yes, there can be blinding lights, breath-taking colors and experiences, absorbing dramas, addictive highs and numbingly comfortable lows, but we are all reduced to the life of the senses alone. The spirit gets lost.
The real challenge of Christmas is when we truly welcome Christ in our hearts such that we become Christians through and through, knowing how to be both human and divine, natural and supernatural, practical and spiritual.
All our actions, our thoughts, our plans, our projects, our shows, our politics, our business, etc., etc., while being truly human and fully engaged with all the requirements of our nature, should never fail to have the Christian savor.
Somehow, while we are still on earth, we already taste the joy of heaven. And this is just natural to us.
Economists, of course, are quick to explain. People are wary about our current social, economic and political situation, they say. In spite of the heavy cash inflow from our OFWs, our heroes and saviors, people tend to be Scrooges this time.
Just as well. True Christian believers welcome this predicament, since it can help us in savoring the authentic spirit of Christmas. They believe that everything, no matter how considered humanly, will always work for the good.
Sometimes hardships and sacrifices occasion deep spiritual realizations and
sharp insights of faith. They help us in getting liberated from the clutches of a purely materialistic, if not thoroughly sensual world.
They can launch us to the far richer world of the spiritual and supernatural, using the language of faith and piety. That’s why Jesus’s life was one of suffering and privations. He asks us to carry the cross and to enter by the narrow gate.
Pope Benedict recently echoed what we already know quite well. “In present day consumer society,” he said, “this period suffers, unfortunately, a sort of commercial ‘contamination,’ which runs the risk of altering its authentic spirit.”
To Pope Benedict and all the other faithful followers of Christ, this authentic Christmas spirit is characterized by recollection, sobriety, a joy that is not exterior but profound.
These, indeed, are conspicuously missing these days. The challenge we have now is how to welcome Christ into our hearts not only during Christmas, when he comes to us a helpless little child, but also all throughout the year.
This is the challenge of many of the nominal Christians. We have to learn to look for Christ, find him, and love and serve him every minute of our life. And this in a clearly strong and determined way.
We cannot afford to be complacent about this. Some even dare to be cavalier about this, not realizing that they are making a fool of themselves. No, no. We need to be clearly strong and determined in this effort.
Especially now when we are constantly bombarded with impulses—images, sounds, shows, sensations, etc.—that tend to kill the spiritual life while heavily stimulating the bodily if not animal life we also have.
Just looking at many TV shows, reading newspapers and magazines, listening to the radio, this is what we can readily conclude. There’s a systematic effort, almost like a devil’s plot, to stick us to the material and the sensual, the here and now.
There’s no mention of God, or at least any reference or allusion to God. Art and creativity are purely inspired by earthly values, driven by passion and not by faith, pursued mainly with selfish ends rather than by charity that should imbue all our actions.
Such art and creativity generate a spiral of evil, a dynamism of sin, where bickering, hatred, envy, lust, and a long, endless etcetera dominate. There’s no peace, inside nor outside. There’s no real joy, an abiding sense of being in living communion with God and with everybody else.
Yes, there can be blinding lights, breath-taking colors and experiences, absorbing dramas, addictive highs and numbingly comfortable lows, but we are all reduced to the life of the senses alone. The spirit gets lost.
The real challenge of Christmas is when we truly welcome Christ in our hearts such that we become Christians through and through, knowing how to be both human and divine, natural and supernatural, practical and spiritual.
All our actions, our thoughts, our plans, our projects, our shows, our politics, our business, etc., etc., while being truly human and fully engaged with all the requirements of our nature, should never fail to have the Christian savor.
Somehow, while we are still on earth, we already taste the joy of heaven. And this is just natural to us.
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