Quezon bishop leads show of force of Lucena Catholics

Bishop Emilio Marquez. FILE PHOTO

LUCENA CITY, Philippines—Bishop Emilio Marquez of Lucena led a gathering of Catholics here on Friday to question the finding of a Social Weather Stations (SWS) poll that many Catholics are considering leaving the Church.

The gathering by  unting Sambayanang Kristiyano (Little Christian Nation) was intended to show that the Catholic Church remains dominant and strong, but only about 8,000 came.

According to the National Statistical Coordination Board, Lucena has a population of 246,392 as of May 1, 2010.

But the overflow crowd at Quezon Convention Center emboldened Marquez, who said in his homily during the Mass: “I did not join my fellow bishops in refuting the survey through statements. Now it’s our turn to question the veracity of the survey but not in mere words but through concrete action.”

The SWS poll, taken from Feb. 15 to 17, found that one in every 11 Filipino Catholics, or 9.2 percent of the 1,200 respondents, is considering leaving the Church.

The poll also found that compared with followers of other Christian denominations, Filipino Catholics are less devout and active in church activities.

Several bishops strongly reacted to the SWS findings, pointing out that churches remain full on Sundays and that new parishes continue to be created.

‘Show of force’

Marquez called on all other Catholic Church organizations in the country to hold assemblies similar to the Lucena group’s “show of force.”

The Quezon Convention Center has a seating capacity of 7,000. But for the Munting Sambayanang Kristiyano convention, 1,000 more monobloc seats had to be added to accommodate all the participants.

Marquez noted that the group’s members are concentrated in the rural villages of the parishes.

“If there are lots of Catholics in the barrios, [there are many] more in the [town centers]. Catholics are all alive and growing strong,” he said.

He meant to say Catholicism in the Philippines remains vibrant and strong.

No official study

There is no official study of the growth of the Catholic population of the Philippines.

The most recent figures the Inquirer can find are for 2010, which show that 81.4 percent of the country’s population of 76 million at the time were Catholics.

But so-called Christian churches, established by preachers who call themselves “pastors,” have sprouted in many urban centers in the Philippines in recent years and their followers are Catholics who left the Church for different reasons.

One of the prominent Filipinos who left the Catholic Church and joined a “Christian” church is world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

Unknown losses

Exactly what percentage of its following the Catholic Church has lost to other churches since 2010 and for what reasons remain unknown.

The rise of evangelical Christianity reportedly has so depleted the Catholic Church in Latin America that in March the world’s cardinals elected an Argentinian as Pope as a countermeasure.

Counting people in the pews appears to be the Catholic bishops’ way of proving the resiliency of Catholicism in the Philippines instead of counting new followers and those who have dropped out.

Politicians were kept out of Friday’s gathering here.

But Gov. David Suarez, who allowed use of the convention center on short notice, was allowed to speak about his “prolife belief.”

For or against RH

Last month, Marquez urged Catholics here to reject candidates in May’s midterm elections who favored the so-called reproductive health (RH) law.

Following the lead of the Archdiocese of Bacolod in Negros Occidental province, the diocese here put up signs at churches that showed its support for or rejection of candidates who favored or voted against the RH law.

The Diocese of Lucena has supervision over St. Ferdinand Cathedral in Lucena City and 36 other churches in the central parts of Quezon province.