Interregnum

oday, the cathedra of St. Peter’s Basilica is sede vacante (vacant seat).

The last time it was without a sitting pope was April 2, 2005, when Pope John Paul II died. It was left vacant until April 19, 2005, the day Josef Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI.

The Roman Catholic Church which has survived more than 2,000 years will overcome this period as the College of Cardinals will convene soon in the Sistine Chapel as Pope Benedict XVI fades into the background as Pope Emeritus.

Here in the Philippines, Asia’s only Catholic majority country, the Church is in the middle of major trials, both as a religious organization and as a player in mundane politics.

The Church figuring in political frays is not new in its more than 500 years of existence in the country.

Today the Church is prominently playing its role in the 2013 election with the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012 (RA 10354) as the centerpiece issue.

Feeling bad that the law which the Church so vehemently lobbied against was finally passed by both the Senate and House of Representatives and signed into law last Dec. 21, 2012 by President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, some sectors in the Catholic Church are engaged in a negative campaign against candidates they hold responsible for the passage of the law.

Last week, the Diocese of Bacolod unfurled its Team Patay, Team Buhay campaign.

It listed names of candidates who supported the passage of the RH law, calling them Team Patay, while those who towed the line of the Church are listed under Team Buhay.

Such morbid campaigning has scandalized many. Jesuit priest Fr. Joel Tabora wrote in his blog that the campaign is unconscionable.

Some of those in Team Patay felt bad, naturally and those in the Team Buhay are feeling happy of course.

The RH debate has been divisive since day one of its filing in both houses of congress.

It continuous to be divisive to this day, and perhaps until after the May 13 election, cutting across political lines, friendships and even families.

If Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile was running for reelection in the May polls, he would have been pitted against his son Jack Enrile in the Team Patay, Team Buhay tiff. We remember how Manong Johnny tried to derail the approval of the RH Bill in the Senate. And yet his son Jack, who represents the 1st district of Cagayan province in the House, voted for its approval.

While the Catholic church believes it is guided by the Holy Spirit in fulfilling its duties as shepherd of the faithful, as an organization of men, their members can get angry and vengeful. That is understandable.

Prolonging the RH debate may not serve the purpose of unifying the faithful and in proselytizing the unfaithful. The negative campaigning may distance many from their Church.

It remains to be seen if indeed there is a Catholic vote among the 63 million Filipinos who profess to the faith.

While the Catholic Church goes in collective reflection during this interregnum, the universal theme of unity becomes all the more relevant. And sobriety a virtue.

While it is certain that in a few days, the chair of St. Peter will have a new occupant, it may help to ask what can be done if many chairs in houses of worship go vacant.