Can political elites initiate reform?

Note: This is my spontaneous response to the article "Dagdag-bawas" of journalist Conrado de Quiros (PDI, 2 October 2012).

This is one article that I applauded (again) Conrado de Quiros. He writes what he thinks is right. Or at least, that's what he said he is as an opinion writer. Some comments, however, seek to clarify:

The one supraparty, proposed by JV Ejercito, is the most apt description of how our political leaders conduct politics today. The presentation of two contending parties (the LP conglomerate versus the UNA coalition) is a facade meant to trick the people to believe that authentic political and social change is within their reach, and all they need to do is to choose the better group. It's a market politics based on who are faster and more industrious to gain the winning spot, insensitive to the need of the people for real leaders who make things happen. It's a politics of opportunists based on lacking of arms not for a cause but for a strong financial and political machinery that operates nationwide ensuring more seats in Congress. It's a circus--it heightened the need for change as the elite politicians elbowing one another to get the best costume and mask for the people to rally behind their self-centered agenda. Today, they are singing and dancing around carrying the moral slogan "kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap" of the "daang matuwid" claiming that their group is better than the other group in making this vision of a new society a reality. Of course, the opposition verbalized the obvious by accusing the seasoned political butterflies as "political hypocrites" who once supported the former president and conveniently self-invent themselves as new reformers today. This capability of the politicians to transform themselves as "reformers" overnight is truly a disgusting feature of our politics. Conrado de Quiros observed,

Humanae Viate: 25 Years by McCormick

In our effort to understand the stand of the Catholic church hierarchy in the Philippines on reproductive health bill, I am gathering various articles dealings with the Catholic teachings on human sexuality. Studies on Humanae Vitae is vital in this effort. McCormick's article attempts to highlight some important data and studies on the controversial papal encyclical. This article is rich with information. Happy reading--jsalvador

'Humanae Vitae' 25 Years Later

Richard A. McCormick

July 17, 1993

Reactions to the silver anniversary of Humanae Vitae (July 25, 1968) will predictably vary as much as the recent reac­tions of two cardinals. At the 12th Human Life International World Conference held in Houston (spring 1993), Alfonso L6pez Trujillo, the president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, referred to the teach­ing of the encyclical as a "gift of God." In a debate with Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (published in the monthly periodical, Jesus, in May 1992), Franz Konig, the retired Cardinal Archbishop of Vienna, referred to the "irritating distinction between ’artificial’ and ’natural’ contraception." Cardinal Konig stated: "Here [on birth regulation] we have ended up in a bottleneck above all because of the distinction (cast into doubt even by medicine) between ’artificial’ and ’natural,’ as if even from the moral viewpoint what is important is the ’trick’ of cheating nature."

Roman Catholic Sexual Ethics: A Dissenting View

This article was written in 1987 but its ideas are still fresh and though-provoking. This article, originally published Christian Century, can be accessed in Religion Online.—jsalvador

Roman Catholic Sexual Ethics: A Dissenting View

by Charles E. Curran

[Ed’s Note: In 1987 Charles E. Curran was visiting professor of Catholic Studies at Cornell University. This article appeared in the Christian Century, December 16, 1987, pps. 1139-1142. Copyright by the Christian Century Foundation; used by permission. Current articles and subscription information can be found at www.christiancentury.org. This article prepared for Religion Online by Ted & Winnie Brock.]

Issues of sexual morality, always significant ones in the Christian tradition, are among the most vital topics of debate and concern within the Roman Catholic Church today. The content of official Roman Catholic teaching in sexual matters is generally well known. It is equally well known that most Catholic believers disagree with the hierarchy’s absolute condemnation of masturbation, contraception, sterilization and divorce. Many Catholics also question church teachings on homosexuality and premarital sex. This general attitude has been documented in many polls, such as the recent survey conducted for Time magazine which found that only 24 per cent of Catholics consider artificial birth control wrong, despite the church’s condemnation.

Hans Küng: Putinization of the Catholic Church

This interview of Spiegel with Hans Küng was occasioned on the scheduled visit of Pope Benedict XVI in Germany in September 2011. You can access the interview in Spiegel Online International. -- jsalvador

'A Putinization of the Catholic Church'

"The Church is sick, and it's the sickness of the Roman system," says theologian Hans Küng.

Editor’s Note: On Thursday, Pope Benedict XVI arrives in Germany for a long-awaited visit. Prominent Swiss theologian Hans Küng explains to SPIEGEL why the papal visit will do little to help the crisis in the Church and compares Benedict to Vladimir Putin in the way he has centralized power.

***

SPIEGEL: Professor Küng, your former faculty colleague Joseph Ratzinger is coming to Germany this week for a state visit. Do you have an audience scheduled with him?

Küng: I didn't request an audience. I am fundamentally more interested in conversations than audiences.

SPIEGEL: Does Benedict XVI even talk to you anymore?

Küng: After his election to be pope, he invited me to his summer residence, Castel Gandolfo, where we had a four-hour friendly conversation. At the time, I hoped it would mark the beginning of a new era of openness. But that hope has not been fulfilled. We correspond with each other once in a while. The sanctions against me -- the withdrawal of my permission to teach -- still exist. (Ed's note: The Vatican revoked Küng's permission to teach Catholic theology in 1979 after he publicly rejected the dogma of papal infallibility.)

 

SPIEGEL: When was the last time Benedict wrote to you?

Küng: Through his private secretary (Georg) Gänswein, he thanked me for sending him my latest book and sent me his best wishes.

SPIEGEL: In your polemic book "Ist die Kirche noch zu retten?" ("Can the Church Still Be Saved?"), which was published earlier this year, you harshly criticized the pope for his anti-reformist policy. 

Küng: I find it very gratifying that he hasn't ended the personal relationship despite my criticism.

The Grisez's documents

Last year, 2011, Moral Theologian Germain Grisez decided to disclose documents pertaining to the controversial "Majority Report" versus "Minority Report" of the Pontifical Commission on Population, Family, and Birthrate (1963-1966). 

Dr. Grisez worked closely with the eminent Jesuit moral theologian John C. Ford who defended the Catholic traditional teaching on contraceptives. Needless to say, Dr. Grisez was with the minority group supporting the traditional teaching of the Church.

You can access the documents from his web site, including the controversial four leak documents in 1967. Since it includes both the majority and the minority reports, Grisez hopes that readers will have a better understanding on how Pope Paul VI made his decision in writing Humanae Vitae (1968). He said: “It would help the Church now, if people had a more sound notion of what did happen – an understanding of Paul VI's actual mentality, wanting to study the question without intending to hand over his authority.”

I included here the news report of Benjamin Mann (CNA) and the  interview of Dr. Grisez in 2003 concerning Humanae Vitae. I included here his previous interview to point out his consistent view on Humanae Vitae.