Tag Archives: Catholic Bishops

Politics, Religion

PHILIPPINE BISHOPS TO PRESIDENT AQUINO: RESIGN AND LET US TAKE OVER

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imageCebu City, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Nowhere else in the world is the principle of separation of church and state more evident than in the Philippines, a nation where more than three-quarters of its 100 Million population are Catholic. Or, maybe not.

Church leaders in Cebu are calling for the resignation of President Aquino. The group called the National Transformation Council said “the President had lost the moral ascendancy to lead the nation.” The group is led by Cebu Archbishop Emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal who alleged the President had violated the Constitution by corrupting Congress, intimidating the judiciary, taking over the Treasury, and perverting the impeachment process.

The group said once the President resigns, an alternative government consisting of men and women of integrity must be organized to avoid a political vacuum.

Asked by The Adobo Chronicles how the Catholic Church plans to help fill the void after Aquino steps down, Vidal says that until new elections are held, Manila’s Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle will act as interim president. In addition, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines  (CBCP) should be designated as the interim Congress and that provincial governors and city mayors should be immediately replaced by Catholic parish priests and pastors.

To sustain the interim government, CBCP has proposed that Filipino taxpapers suspend all tax payments  to th Bureau of Internal Revenue and instead contribute 10 to 15 percent of their income directly to the church through Sunday collection baskets.

We’re calling this a “moral descendancy from heaven, ” Vidal said.

Human Interest, International, Law Enforcement, Politics, Religion

AQUINO PROPOSES CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION TO LIFT TERM LIMIT, CREATE FOURTH BRANCH OF GOVERNMENT

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CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas
CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas

Manila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) –  Contrary to  widespread public perception, Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino has a Ferdinand E. Marcos-like brilliant mind, capable of authoring a grand design that could lead to his becoming a lifetime head of state.

Under the constitution, Aquino is limited to a six-year term as president, ending in 2016.  But he has come to  enjoy his presidency so much and the power that comes with the office.

So, he has urged his allies in the Philippine Congress to immediately convene a constitutional convention, the only legitimate process to amend the law of the land.

Aquino is proposing two major amendments to the Philippine Constitution:

  • Lift the term limit for the president, suggesting that an elected president can run for as many reelections, six-year terms at a time.
  • Create a fourth branch of government in addition to the Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The fourth branch would be the Catholic Church, to be headed by the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

Aquino said that creating a fourth branch would prevent potential clashes among the existing three branches. “The fourth branch will act as mediator, and who is in a better position to do that than the CBCP,” he added.

Back to Aquino’s brilliant mind, the head of the CBCP, Archbishop Socrates Villegas, is known to be a very close ally and adviser to the president. In other words, Aquino can be assured that CBCP will always align with him in all conflict. His continued reelection will also be assured, considering the great influence of the Church among voters in this predominantly Catholic country.

 

International, Law Enforcement, LGBT, Politics, Religion, Same-sex Marriage

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL PASSES IN PHILIPPINE CONGRESS

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imageManila, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – Amid pressure from the powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has passed in the legislature of this predominantly Catholic country.

This stunning development came just days after countries the world over celebrated LGBT Pride with parades and festivals. June is considered Pride Month, commemorating the Stonewall riots in New York City, an event that many consider to be the birth of the modern-day LGBT freedom movement.

It was a unanimous vote in both houses of Philippine Congress. Representatives and Senators voted to declare the bill DOA, or “dead on arrival.”  The proposal ‘passed away’ without even making it out of committee.

As expected, the CBCP praised this monumental Congressional development and commented on the dead bill, saying “R.I.P.”