Discord as Pains of Birthing

Discordant voices fill our surroundings. And it is not only in the political arena --where discord is the prevalent norm--that wrangling pervades the air. It is not simple disagreement but wrackful disputes that are dividing our people.

During the burial of Mariannet, secular priests and religious were thrown into a squabble over the right of the "martyr of poverty" to be entitled to a funeral mass inside the Roman Catholic church. During the anticipated Mass yesterday, Nov. 10, 2007, at the Church of the Risen Christ at UP, Fr. JBoy gave a catechetical instruction on how the strict rule of the RC Church against those who commit suicide has been laxed especially in this instance when a child is involved. This morning, the Mass celebrant in our village was adamant against forgiving the child and condemned her to damnation.I did not have the chance to share with our Priest celebrant the essence of Philippine laws on children below 18 years of age. Under our civil law, a person below 18 is considered a child and thus not capable of giving consent; under the criminal law, he/she is exempted from criminal liability due to minority. How can our Priest convict Mariannet for sinfulness. If her age exempts her from civil and criminal liability, she can't be judged a sinner.

In another display of disunity among the Church heirarchy, 3 progressive Catholic Bishops are repeatedly calling for Pres. GMA to step down. 18 Bishops from Mindanao opposed their brothers' call and the latter were joined by some more from Luzon.Ironically, it is my elders in the Church from whom I used to hear that one of the last will of Jesus for us Christians is unity among His disciples and followers.

Just a few months ago, our cmmunity the Couples for Christ (CFC), in scandalous and dramatic media pronouncements called for a division of the house over apparent disagreements on how Gawad Kalinga--its most socially uplifting pro-poor ministry-- is being managed. A Council Statement dated August 20, 2007 formalized this division from top to bottom. It gave birth to another community also serving Christ's mission of bringing "God to the ends of the earth.

"A Community is Reborn"-- heralds the CFC newletter "Ugnayan"( July-August 2007. The birth brings about "new winds of change sweeping across our community", as stated in the article. It continues to lament,"We mourn the loss of friends and comrades-in-arms but most of all, we morn the loss of our unity."

The same article also gives us a consoling thought in the midst of these altercation and states:


It is said that whom the Lord calls, He first purifies and refines through the fires of trials and challenges. Our community has passed through such a fire of purification. With His grace, we have emerged, not perfect for that can never be, but refreshed and ready for whatever our Master would require us to do.


Even the discord among Church leaders can bring about a reinvigorated study of the rules and a re-internalization of one's roles and missions in our community, society and country. Looking at this discords as pains of birthing can inspire us to look at the future with hope rather than despair.

The discord and disharmony in our midst might as well bring about a divison of the house. Hopefully this labor pains can bring about the birth of a new era-- better than the one we live in now.