Maniolas

While President Benigno Aquino may not agree with how activist Carlos Celdran expressed his stance on the Church’s interference in political matters, he hopes that the country’s religious leaders will forgive Celdran’s actions. “I may sympathize with Mr. Celdran’s position. Perhaps ‘yung methodology—during a Mass—baka we don’t agree with it,” Aquino said on the sidelines of the 40th anniversary celebration of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA). “At the same time, siguro kung tutularan ‘nung ating kaparian, ating mga religious, ‘yung ehemplo mismo ng [Santo] Papa at maraming [Santo] Papa, palagay ko lalabas naman ‘yung Christian generosity and charity at baka naman mapatawad naman nila si Ginoong Celdran para naman, ‘di ba, pwede na tayong umusad mula doon sa panahon na ‘yon,” he said. On January 28, Celdran was found guilty of “offending religious feelings” by the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court. The decision was in reference to a one-man protest Celdran held in September 2010, when he called for an end to the Church’s opposition to the now-passed Reproductive Health bill. Dressed as Jose Rizal, Celdran disrupted an ecumenical service—not a Mass—in the Manila Cathedral attended by ranking bishops and city officials by holding up a placard bearing the name “Damaso,” in reference to the notorious priest in Rizal’s Noli Me Tangere. Celdran has since apologized, but maintained that his protest was within his constitutional right to free speech. For his part, Aquino appealed to reason, saying there is a time and place for everything. “Syempre, may constitutional provision Read More …