President Benigno Aquino III in his message during the visit of Pope Francis to Malacañang yesterday cited the late Bacolod Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich as one of the country’s church leaders who “truly lived their faith and acted as followers of Christ in being their brothers’ keepers.”

Fortich, who passed away on July 2, 2003, had headed the Diocese of Bacolod from Jan. 13, 1967 to Jan. 31, 1989 and was known as the bishop of the poor who fought for their human rights, especially during the height of the martial law years.

Aquino said his understanding of the changes inspired by Vatican II, and of the influence of liberation theology, was the notion that temporal matters affect our spiritual well-being, and, consequently, cannot be ignored.

The Gospel challenges each member of the Church to go beyond almsgiving and mere charity, and to be concerned with injustice in temporal matters, he said.

“We were further taught that if we do not intercede to make each person capable of exercising true freedom of choice, then we are not our brother’s keepers,” he added.

When the Church engaged in temporal matters, it was truly working to bring the Kingdom of God apparent in this world, Aquino said.

Aquino said these teachings have been central to his family’s advocacy, considering what they along with millions of Filipinos, went through under the Marcos dictatorship.

“Then-President Marcos declared Martial Law in 1972, when I was 12 years old, beginning an era in which the most fundamental rights of many Filipinos were flagrantly and routinely violated.It was in this environment that I came of age.

“In a sense, I had a front row seat to that tyranny and persecution. After all, the dictator wasted no time in having my father, one of his most influential and vocal opponents, imprisoned,” Aquino said.

“Martial Law deprived our family not only of a loving husband and father. Many of our friends avoided us,” he added.

But there were few who dared speak up. One of those was Fr. Toti Olaguer, who, right in the heart of the dictator’s most secure prison, had the courage to speak the truth about Marcos’ abuses, even as he was being videotaped, Aquino said.

“Many others in the Church, such as Jaime Cardinal Sin, Bishop Francisco Claver, and Bishop Antonio Fortich, just to name just a few, truly lived their faith and acted as followers of Christ in being their brothers’ keepers,” he added.

The courage and daring displayed by the clergy solidified my belief: Especially during the Martial Law years, the Church of the poor and oppressed shone vividly, he said.

“The clergy was always at the forefront of those wanting to emulate Christ and carry the burdens for all of us. Indeed, they nourished the compassion, faith, and courage of the Filipino people. This allowed millions to come together as a single community of faith and make possible the miracle of the EDSA People Power Revolution,” he added.

But Aquino said there was a true test of faith when many members of the Church, once advocates for the poor, the marginalized, and the helpless, suddenly became silent in the face of the previous administration’s abuses, which we are still trying to rectify to this very day.

In these attempts at correcting the wrongs of the past, one would think that the Church would be our natural ally, he said.

“In contrast to their previous silence, some members of the clergy now seem to think that the way to be true to the faith means finding something to criticize, even to the extent that one prelate admonished me to do something about my hair, as if it were a mortal sin,” the president said.

Is it any wonder then, that they see the glass not as half-full, or half-empty, but almost totally empty. Judgment is rendered without an appreciation of the facts, he added.

This is why Aquino said he was struck by what the Pope recently said to the Curia, when he warned them of the illnesses that not only Christians, but anyone in a position of power, is prone to, including that of thinking one’s self immortal or indispensable, and the danger of becoming sowers of discord through gossip and grumbling.

Aquino said he appreciates and respects the Pope for his role as a unifying and revitalizing voice, not just among Catholics, but also among all peoples of goodwill.

“I believe that you are a kindred spirit, one who sees things as they are, and is unafraid of asking, Why not?” Aquino said.

Aquino also thanked the Lord for other kindred spirits like Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, Father Catalino Arevalo, and Sister Agnes Guillen, who have always been voices of reason, and who are spiritual people who will always be natural allies.

“In the fight to transform society, one cannot help but be heartened by the fact that we are not alone. When we tread this path with people such as yourself, along with the millions you have inspired, we gain the courage to do what needs doing, the optimism to dream about what we can achieve in unity with one another, and the opportunity to turn that dream into a shared reality, with the grace of Almighty God,” Aquino told the Pope.*CPG

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