ANGELES CITY- The congressional candidacy of Pres. Arroyo has apparently widened the crack in the Kapampangan clergy as one of the priests who officiated the Mass before she filed her candidacy last Tuesday accused a bishop of wrongly using the pulpit for “political statements” against the President.
Fr. Jun Mercado, parish priest of Barangay Lourdes Sur in this city, said some parishioners expressed to him their disappointment over alleged statements issued by Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David during Masses at the Holy Rosary church downtown against the candidacy of the President.
“Let us be fair to the people and to the teachings of the liturgy,” said Mercado who, after the Mass attended by the President in Lubao before she filed her candidacy, went on stage before a rally at the church patio to appeal to Kapampangans in the second district to “support” the President.
This, even as David issued yet another statement saying “I have come to the conclusion that PGMA (Pres. Arroyo) is a big lawbreaker.”
“She breaks the spirit of the law but she has enough paid lawyers to justify her conduct as in keeping with the letter of the law. This is precisely what ails our country,” he said.
David also said the President “is now giving a very bad example to ordinary citizens on how to treat the law. Hanapan mo ng butas ang batas para makalusot (Seek a loophole in the law to get by it.”
“This behavior is sinful. We are all capable of it, humans as we are, but Jesus has given us an example on how to rise above it,” he added.
Even before Mrs. Arroyo announced her political plans, David already issued a statement asking her not to run “in the name of decency and for the sake of propriety.”
Mercado said that while he respected the views of David, whom he acknowledged as his superior “in the same vicariate”, it would be wrong for the bishop to make political statements during Mass.
Noting his experience for 12 years up to 2002 as director for the Commission on the Liturgy of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Mercado noted that the Mass is “a liturgy of unity and love, and not one of protest and dissension.”
Mercado noted that in Lubao last Tuesday, he endorsed support for the President after the concelebrated Mass. He also said that the homily of Fr. Roland Moraleja comparing the President’s decision to run for a lower post with Jesus Christ’s assuming human form was devoid of political undertones.
“Even Fr. Moraleja’s statement that Kapampangans would lift up the President when other people try to bring her down was in the context of the gospel,” he said.
Mercado asked, “If some Filipinos can express opposition to the President, don’t we have the right to also express support for the President?”
Asked whether he had tried to resolve his differences with David over the issue, Mercado said he had tried, but that David had been absent in vicariate meetings of the local parish to attend to commitments elsewhere.
Replying to Mercado, David said “I don’t make political statements in church. I am a pastor, not a politician. I only preach on God’s word and relate it to current spiritual and moral issues.”
He also noted that the comment of Fr. Moraleja on the similarity of the moves of the President and Jesus Christ during the Mass in Lubao “was heard on national television and must be rectified accordingly.”
David also urged Mercado to air his grievances to higher Church authorities rather than the media.
The rift among 120 active Kapampangan priests in this province first showed up in 2007 when Gov. Eddie Panlilio, former parish priest of Betis in Guagua town, decided to run for governor. Some priests, including those identified with his rival former provincial board member Lilia Pineda, objected to his entry into politics, while others supported him.
Mercado has been perceived as the leader of at least 12 of the priests who, at the height of various scandals around the Arroyo administration, decided to go to Malacañang to show support for her leadership and pray for her.
“Since then, we were labeled Malacañang boys,” Mercado recalled. The same priests also concelebrated the Mass in Lubao last Tuesday.
David is then younger brother of University of the Philippines professor Randy David who earlier said he would oppose Ms. Arroyo in the 2nd district but backed out.
Fr. Jun Mercado, parish priest of Barangay Lourdes Sur in this city, said some parishioners expressed to him their disappointment over alleged statements issued by Auxiliary Bishop Pablo Virgilio David during Masses at the Holy Rosary church downtown against the candidacy of the President.
“Let us be fair to the people and to the teachings of the liturgy,” said Mercado who, after the Mass attended by the President in Lubao before she filed her candidacy, went on stage before a rally at the church patio to appeal to Kapampangans in the second district to “support” the President.
This, even as David issued yet another statement saying “I have come to the conclusion that PGMA (Pres. Arroyo) is a big lawbreaker.”
“She breaks the spirit of the law but she has enough paid lawyers to justify her conduct as in keeping with the letter of the law. This is precisely what ails our country,” he said.
David also said the President “is now giving a very bad example to ordinary citizens on how to treat the law. Hanapan mo ng butas ang batas para makalusot (Seek a loophole in the law to get by it.”
“This behavior is sinful. We are all capable of it, humans as we are, but Jesus has given us an example on how to rise above it,” he added.
Even before Mrs. Arroyo announced her political plans, David already issued a statement asking her not to run “in the name of decency and for the sake of propriety.”
Mercado said that while he respected the views of David, whom he acknowledged as his superior “in the same vicariate”, it would be wrong for the bishop to make political statements during Mass.
Noting his experience for 12 years up to 2002 as director for the Commission on the Liturgy of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Mercado noted that the Mass is “a liturgy of unity and love, and not one of protest and dissension.”
Mercado noted that in Lubao last Tuesday, he endorsed support for the President after the concelebrated Mass. He also said that the homily of Fr. Roland Moraleja comparing the President’s decision to run for a lower post with Jesus Christ’s assuming human form was devoid of political undertones.
“Even Fr. Moraleja’s statement that Kapampangans would lift up the President when other people try to bring her down was in the context of the gospel,” he said.
Mercado asked, “If some Filipinos can express opposition to the President, don’t we have the right to also express support for the President?”
Asked whether he had tried to resolve his differences with David over the issue, Mercado said he had tried, but that David had been absent in vicariate meetings of the local parish to attend to commitments elsewhere.
Replying to Mercado, David said “I don’t make political statements in church. I am a pastor, not a politician. I only preach on God’s word and relate it to current spiritual and moral issues.”
He also noted that the comment of Fr. Moraleja on the similarity of the moves of the President and Jesus Christ during the Mass in Lubao “was heard on national television and must be rectified accordingly.”
David also urged Mercado to air his grievances to higher Church authorities rather than the media.
The rift among 120 active Kapampangan priests in this province first showed up in 2007 when Gov. Eddie Panlilio, former parish priest of Betis in Guagua town, decided to run for governor. Some priests, including those identified with his rival former provincial board member Lilia Pineda, objected to his entry into politics, while others supported him.
Mercado has been perceived as the leader of at least 12 of the priests who, at the height of various scandals around the Arroyo administration, decided to go to Malacañang to show support for her leadership and pray for her.
“Since then, we were labeled Malacañang boys,” Mercado recalled. The same priests also concelebrated the Mass in Lubao last Tuesday.
David is then younger brother of University of the Philippines professor Randy David who earlier said he would oppose Ms. Arroyo in the 2nd district but backed out.
