THE Catholic Bishop’ Conference of the Philippines issued Tuesday, February 26, 2008 a pastoral letter defining in more concrete terms what they meant in their previous letter by “communal action”. Likewise, the bishops are recommending the abolition of Executive Order 464 as well as urging the President to lead in the efforts to seek reforms and to campaign against corruption in government. Short of asking the President to resign, since a resignation could lead to trouble, the pastoral letter did not capture the thoughts of some bishops, who, if they have their way, would have demanded vehemently a resignation.

        As a whole, the February 26 pastoral letter is moderately anemic. For some priests and bishops it has much to be desired. Its pronouncements do not have the sting that used to characterize the sermons of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin. It has neither bark nor bite.

        Consider these quotes delivered in December 1985 by Cardinal Sin: “During these exciting times, it is so easy to get carried away. It is so easy to see the situation in black and white: meaning that everything the government does is black, and everything that the opposition stands for is pristine white. You know that life is not like that at all. No matter how bad the government may seem to us, it cannot be all bad; there are areas where some good is being achieved. And it is your duty to look for that good.

        “By the same token, everything that the opposition stands for is not necessarily all good. There are areas where the opposition may make mistakes, and again it is up to us to expose those mistakes.

        “If we truly want the truth to set us free, then our presentation of the truth should not be selective. We must keep our perspective and our balance.”

        Further said Cardinal Sin: “In times of crisis, politics can easily regress into a primitive, defensive posture that tramples upon human rights. Therefore, politics needs the moral guidelines that the Church offers. For no earthly society can last unless grounded on moral values which provide it wholeness and vision”.

        In 1986, such pronouncements from Cardinal Sin had given inspiration and encouragement to the people who saw in Cardinal Sin a power source that was not beholden to the reigning Conjugal Dictatorship. This is what is missing in the current CBCP circle.

        Is there an archbishop or a bishop in the current Conference of Catholic Bishops with a tongue as sharp as that of the late Cardinal, who could defy the caution and the recommendation of the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines that he should speak kindly of then President Ferdinand Marcos?

        Not every president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines is gifted with the genes of a Cardinal Sin. Its presidents come in various forms, with their own peculiar frivolities. Obviously, this variance is not a source of firmness but of weakness ---- not of aptitude but of anemia.

        Malacañang has layers over layers of executive orders and politicians and privileges to protect itself. One of these layers is EO 464. Another is a Congress dominated by the President’s allies. Still another is a cabinet whose members have learned the art of cover-ups. Even with the abolition of EO 464, Malacañang may proudly claim compliance with the call of the CBCP, yet still pursue its culture of corruption, and play around with the bishops of CBCP. After all an anemic CBCP is one without consequence.

        It is high time for the bishops to realize that the call for resignation is the option that has sent shivers to President Arroyo. The February 26 pastoral letter has literally removed the Sword of Damocles over Malacañang. God must have listened more intently to the prayer of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo than to that of the De La Salle brothers, of the nuns, and even of the bishops themselves.

        With two pastoral letters, the bishops have been moderately assembling exit shoes for the residents in Malacañang only to find that these shoes do not fit them.