Ben Contreras
ALTHOUGH the doctrine of separation of Church and State is hardly respected and followed, many still see the importance of the role of the Church albeit in their own ways and traditions. To mingle in politics sometimes put the Church to task as its own flock is divided on issues the Church has taken side with. But it never totally breaks their faith in the Almighty.
During the campaign period, the Church criticized our President for his unorthodox way of doing things. Topping among them is the so-called extra-judicial killings, invoking one of the 10 Commandments: “Thou shalt not kill.”
We can all argue about it but we cannot stop the drive and the President’s resolve to pursue it, not even the Church. We cannot condemn our President for that without condemning the Church for its dark secrets. When the Church pontificates and points out how evil certain things are but are silent on others, what’s at stake is its credibility and respect. But even then, I repeat, believers hardly make that an excuse to break away from their Church. Why? Because we all need a God in us whoever He is or by whatever name.
Despite the attacks on his person in this particular issue, the President says it clear: “Let me assure that while I am a stickler for the principle of separation between the Church and State, I believe quite strongly that there should never be a separation between God and State.”
How do we make our gardens grow robustly? We get rid of the weed.
Human rights, “due process”... it is easier to invoke them when we are not the victims. But when we challenge one another to a fistfight over trivial issues, what more when a loved one has been killed brutally. And when you shout “vengeance is mine,” nobody thinks of human rights and “due process.”
Photos of parents or loved ones grieving over their loss have circulated, and I could only shrug when they’re there because of photographic skills and value rather than substance. But even then, the question haunts the many others, “What about photos of the victims of heinous crimes?”
People choose what they want to see and want to believe, to talk and to write about. But that is life and our entitlement. At the end of the day, we simply continue to move on and wait for what tomorrow may offer. Judgment day is not for today to decide.
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When children of erring government officials do not know what their parents are really doing, they defend them by invoking the name of God. But along the way, they either refuse to understand how their lives suddenly improved and enjoy the luxury of the questionable fruits and abundance. Along the way, the children unwittingly divulge themselves the way the Binay children did.
How, well, I am not about to divulge it. Besides, the erring government officials are not stupid not to know and understand. But I would like to see them self-destruct because of their callousness (not because I relish to see lives destroyed). There must be an end to such display of arrogance and corruption.
What if the kids come to learn of the truth?
