Francis should tell local clergy to forgive

I know this piece will not be read by Pope Francis, but perhaps one of the members of his entourage from the Vatican will and tell him about it.

The Catholic Church in the Philippines does not practice what it preaches about forgiveness.

It has not forgiven tour guide Carlos Celdran for marching down the aisle of the Manila Cathedral during a Mass several years ago carrying a sign that read “Damaso.”

“Damaso” is a reference to Friar Damaso, a character in Jose Rizal’s novel “Noli Me Tangere” which portrayed the abuses of the Church during the Spanish era.

The novel infuriated the Church at the time, leading to Rizal’s arrest and execution.

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle claims the Church has forgiven Celdran and had asked that charges for “offending religious feelings” be dropped against him.

But if the Church really did and if Tagle had asked that the case be dropped, why was Celdran convicted by the courts?

His penalty: A maximum of one year in prison.

The good Cardinal says it was the “People of the Philippines” who pursued the criminal case against Celdran.

Pardon me for saying so, Your Eminence, but that’s a lot of bull!

Criminal cases that don’t have complainants or witnesses do not prosper in the courts in this country.

Pope Francis should teach forgiveness to the local clergy.

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Offending religious feelings is a crime in this mostly Catholic country.

It’s an antiquated law. Moreover, it goes against the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of expression.

Celdran was just expressing what the majority of his countrymen felt was supposedly the Church’s interference in government affairs.

He was referring to the Church’s strong protest against the passage of the reproductive health bill that sought to give married couples the right to choose their method of birth control.

The reproductive health bill was eventually passed into a law despite the powerful Catholic Church lobby.

Perhaps the Church vented its ire on Celdran after being ignored by Congress.

After his conviction by the lower courts, Celdran went to the Court of Appeals. The appellate court, whose members are mostly nitwits, affirmed his conviction.

***

I sound like a killjoy bringing up Celdran’s conviction when everybody is giving the Pope a rousing welcome.

But I want the Vatican to know about the misbehavior of its clergy in the Philippines.

Its members are not only unforgiving, but also dishonest.

***

I sympathize with Cyril Belvis who wrote a commentary piece in the Inquirer’s opinion page on Thursday.

Belvis, who teaches literature at De La Salle Araneta University and takes postgraduate studies at the University of the Philippines, wanted to become a priest.

But he was not accepted because he was honest enough to admit that he is a homosexual.

In other words, those who were dishonest about their sexuality made it to the priesthood.

There are many of them among the local clergy. One even holds a top position in the church hierarchy.

There are also priests who are womanizers. Some even have children with their parishioners.