Fr. Ed Panlilio the priest who ran as governor of Pampanga disobeyed canon law which is the legal code which governs every area of Roman Catholic Church life worldwide.That is not a very good example for ‘morality’ in public order.
His defenders claim that the law should be suspended for the sake of Fr. Panlilio’s candidacy because Pampanga was different.
But some Catholic bishops are calling it a dangerous precedent that can open a flood of abuse, no different from the rot of graft that Panlilio was supposed to be fighting.
He cannot be exempted until canon law against priests running for public office has been revised. Had his supporters, some of them strategists in Manila, not made ‘morality’ the centerpiece of their campaign it would not have been so bad.
Some of his supporters are seasoned lawyers who need to be reminded that the rule of law is not a matter of whim or convenience but of principle and there should be no exceptions. Otherwise we descend into chaos and disorder.
Archbishop Cruz, who like Panlilio also an anti-jueteng crusader, wrote "it is no less than the universal Canon Law prohibits any cleric - deacon, priest and bishop -from assuming any public office that partakes of the exercise of civil power. There is clearly an infraction of the Universal Church Law."
This is not an issue to be brushed aside as some Panlilio supporters would have it. Some have even gone as far as to accuse the archbishop with sour-graping. But the archbishop is right.
There are questions to be answered.
How does he keep his oath of obedience to his bishop who is however not his political superior?
What about the dangers of precedence?
What happens if being priest and governor at the same time he decides to resign for whatever reason, or to quit politics at the end of his term?
Can his bishop actually accept him back as a priest in full standing before the Church?
What would other priests think and do? How would other bishops decide and act?
Unless these questions are answered the priest-governor enterprise will have contributed to the breakdown of canon law not just in the Philippines but in other countries governed by that law.
Interestingly, Fr. Ed Panlilio’s case was brought out at a recent conference on canon law at the Catholic University in Washington, DC.
The conference was prompted by the Vatican’s desire to protect Church authority. Among the issues that came up was whether the bishops may ask the Vatican to grant them special exemptions from certain canon law provisions.
The answer was since canon law evolved over the centuries, it would mean the revision of canon law.
A participant in that conference said, "Here in the Philippines we have a parish priest, a pastor who ran and won for governor. The local Bishop says he’s suspended and that’s it, so when his term of office is over he can return to the ministry. Isn’t that just like granting yourself a leave of absence from the priesthood? That doesn’t seem right..... I thought once you were ordained or took holy orders, you took a vow of obedience? So isn’t that breaking your vows? Please let me know, this is causing what the Catholic Church calls a scandal.
This was answered by Fr. Robert J. Levis.
"This "governor-priest" is in disobedience to his church. His bishop has suspended him from his sacred duties as long as he persists in his new role as governor. It could well be that the bishop may not return him to his sacred functions at the altar. Yes, this is a grave scandal.
Less offensive but equally disturbing is that the priest-governor’s case does not foster the level playing field that is desired in politics which he wants to rid of guns, goons and gold.
He may not have used these tools of superiority, but he did have his own tool of advantage.
As an exuberant Panlilio supporter said: the priest is king. What could be more superior? That exactly is what is wrong. From the start the priest had the advantage in a country too long under the spell of unquestioning obedience to religious authority. While it is not being said, the fact is the priest in the eyes of his parishioners holds the key to heaven or hell.
He is immediately a formidable opponent especially among ignorant electorate. Those who put him up as a candidate knew that.
They said ‘only a priest’ could have won the governorship against the two other formidable candidates in Pampanga. So the priest factor as a religious and moral authority was very much in play when he ran.
All this is not to say that Fr. Panlilio is not good or that the other candidates, Lilia Pineda and Mark Lapid are not bad. That is not the issue. The issue is whether a man should use his priestly robes as a political candidate at the disadvantage of his secular rivals.
Most bishops are already aware of the danger faced by the Church because of Fr. Panlilio’s disobedience. It will make way for disorder and soon to follow if repeated breaches of the Church’s order are not addressed. Moreover it will erode the Church’s authority.
Indeed disorder has already set in with different bishops and priests taking sides. His bishop, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando archdiocese is said to be very depressed.
Panlilio’s decision caused him personal pain and depression. Fr. Panlilio reportedly told him "I did discern, and have decided I will run."
On the other hand Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez of Caloocan, who chairs the Public Affairs Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, told UCA News that Father Panlilio in examining his conscience has done everything "according to canon law".
Bishop Teodoro Bacani Jr., who is himself under a cloud for a sexual harassment charge some time ago and remains unpunished, defended Panlilio.
Yes, there is a prohibition from Canon Law for priests to run for public office which would involve administrative, legislative and judicial functions, he said.
Nevertheless the disobedient priest-governor is "a ray of light in the bleak political landscape", he adds.
I am afraid this is also being echoed by some very well-meaning if confused Catholics.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce