Bishop Oscar Cruz, I presume?
I have just uploaded an essay, ‘The Crucifixion of Cruz, ‘Public Sinners’ as Union of Church & State’ (frankahilario.wordpress.com), where I try to understand Lingayen-Dagupan (Pangasinan) Archbishop Oscar Cruz, former President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and now long-playing priest-critic of my President, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA), where he’s coming from. I can’t.
Has the media report been unkind to him, reporting what did not happen, what he did not say? I don’t think so. Jose Rodel Clapano reports (March 27, philstar.com):
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz vowed yesterday not to give Holy Communion to President Arroyo, members of her family, and other known ‘sinners’ in the country. Cruz told the Newsmakers Forum held every Wednesday at the Crowne Plaza in Mandaluyong City that he will encourage the Catholic Church leadership, specifically the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), not to allow any publicly known sinners like Mrs Arroyo and members of the First Family to receive communion.
I don’t understand why a high priest would condemn the sins along with the sinners. St Paul wrote the Ephesians: ‘Be angry, but do not sin; do not let the sun set on your anger’ (Ephesians 4: 26, New American Bible). I also understand that it is easy to hate the sin and difficult to love the sinner. But if it were easy to love the sinner, what would be the benefit of that?
2008 July 11 at 3:50 am
Don’t stop Fr. Fernando Suarez
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:07:00 04/25/2008
Now John answered Him, saying, “Teacher, we saw someone who does not follow us casting out demons in Your name, and we forbade him because he does not follow us.” (Mark 9:38)
At first glance, it appears a noble thing that Jesus’ disciples kept careful guard over the orthodoxy of Jesus’ ministry. They found someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name who was not a part of their group and not under their control, and they demanded that he stop. Yet, Jesus saw through His disciples’ hypocrisy. The disciples themselves had been given the power to drive out demons as well (Matt. 10:8), yet they had failed miserably (Mark 9:28).
How it must have embarrassed the disciples to have publicly failed to cast out a demon from a young boy. Yet, here was someone successfully exorcising demons who was not even regularly with Jesus as they were. They should have been concerned with their own lack of spiritual power and vitality. They should have felt convicted by their Lord’s stinging rebuke for their lack of faith (Matt. 17:20). Instead, they focused on others. Rather than repenting for their sins and grieving over their spiritual impotence, the disciples attempted to hinder someone who was enjoying spiritual success.
At times, it is easier to diminish others spiritual victories than to honestly confront our own failures. Jesus’ response to His disciples must have surprised them when He said, “Do not forbid him.” (Mark 9:39) He assured them that “he who is not against us is on our side” (v. 40). Have you learned this vital lesson? Are you able to genuinely rejoice in the spiritual victories of others? Do you encourage rejoicing over the spiritual victories of o