“From the beginning men used God to justify the unjustifiable,”
The quote of Salman Rushdie speaks greatly how Catholicism was brought by the Spaniards to the Philippines. The Spaniards shoved and forced most of the native Filipinos to join and changed their beliefs and if they were not followed a corresponding punishment will be imposed. For hundreds of years the Spaniards successfully influenced the majority of the Filipinos and evident to that Catholicism is the religion of the majority.
The intertwined relationship of Catholicism and the Philippine government is very complex, ever since the clergies have used their powers to influence the government from their significant involvement in people power 1, the denial of some parts of reproductive health law and the censorship of arts. The holy men of Catholicism have continued to influence the rearing of laws in this country and they have successfully rallied to take down affairs which were offensive to their beliefs. The government of the Philippines had been shying away on activities that were unpleasant to the Catholics and other religious group; this flex of their muscles to the government is notable in violation of the constitution which states:
“The Separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”
-Art II. Section 6, 1987 Constitution[1]
It is clear in the constitution that there must be a separation of church and state however the Catholic Church continues to exert influence to every laws and matters of this country. Evident to this assumption is the issue of censorship of the arts In the Philippines. Not long ago, an artist installed an art exhibited of various pictures and images of religious, political and pop culture icons. The scandal started from feature images of Jesus with dildos fixed to their collage surfaces, extending visibly outwards. [2]The Catholic Church found it offensive and after hours of the exhibit it was turned down. The censorship was condemned by many artist in the Philippines expressing fear of creative oppression.
Another notable meddling of the Catholic Church with regard to censorship was the pressure on the previous administration to Ban the movie “live show” which shows the lives of young men and women who perform sex onstage, it was vehemently opposed by the late Manila Archbishop Jaime Cardinal Sin and conservative political and religious leaders. [3] Eventually the movie was banned. This shows that a simple meddling of the Catholic Church over a controversy leads the state to change the way it runs its course just to accommodate and tame down the offended feelings of the clergies.
The Constitution may have provisions over the separation of church and state but it is clear that there is no operation over it. As long as Philippines continues to label itself as a catholic country and even pride itself to be the only catholic country in the Southeast-Asia. The meddling and power play of the Catholic Church over significant social and political issues in the government will continue. It is not to say that the prying of the Catholic Church is not good at all for the country, let us remember it was the catholic church who embraced victims of martial law during the Marcos era but if the government continues to be influenced by any religious group it conveys a message of exclusion and premised on the belief that all persons are not created equal when it asserts that God prefers some. [4]Let the Catholic Church meddle their own internal affairs but not how the government should be run.
[1] Philippine Constitution
[2] http://www.interaksyon.com/article/10524/who-is-mideo-cruz-and-why-are-people-baying-for-his-head
[3] http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/40285/artists-protest-censorship
[4] Lee v Weismann
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