Being pro-life amidst the hunger and poverty of the people

I will quote some paragraphs from the column of Jose Ma. Montelibano in Inquirer.net (Glimpses, Last updated 02:04am (Mla time) 10/26/2007), entitled "A second look at the church". He said:

"The primacy of life is not a theory or concept, not even a possibility. Life is most present in the here and now, and being pro-life is first expressed at life that already is than life that might be. If there is a general lack of interest by the Catholic public in the Catholic Church's advocacy called pro-life, it is because there is a general lack of interest by all concerned at how poverty, hunger and violence disrespect the value and sanctity of life. No sector is unduly alarmed by the massive incidence of hunger -- except the hungry, of course. When no one cares that much at abject suffering by the alive, there will be even less concern for injustice at life that is not yet."

I agree with his statement on being pro-life. Being pro-life is not only about the issues on the DEATHS Bills (Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, Total Population Control, Homosexual Union, Sex Education) being proposed by the legislators belonging to the well-funded Philippine Legislators' Committee on Population and Development Foundation, Inc. (PLCPD). Being pro-life is being aware, concerned, and acting upon the issues affecting the LIFE of the faithful and the people. Being pro-life is being aware, concerned and acting upon the widespread poverty of the Filipino people.

During the congressional election last May 2007, the Alliance for the Family Foundation of the Philippines (ALFI) has a list of congressmen it endorsed for being pro-life. On the list is Jose de Venecia. I was aghast seeing his name on the list. For me, JDV is an epitome of an anti-life congressman who has not done much as the Speaker of the House to uplift the LIVES of the Filipino people. He is the picture of the TOTAL POLITICIAN, who is always involve in the wheeling-dealing to serve his personal interest, or the interest of the elite.  

Mr. Montelibano further states:

"it may be Christian tradition in the Philippines that not only tolerates hunger at massive levels but may have helped cause it in the first place.

Hunger is a byproduct of poverty, and poverty is a byproduct of corruption. Corruption is a byproduct of immorality, and immorality is a byproduct of a religion that may be well preached but not well practiced. It is not abortion or contraceptives that are the primary faces of what are anti-life in the Philippines, it is hunger. In the latest SWS estimates, 19 million Filipinos experience involuntary hunger. That is more shocking than ZTE contracts, more immoral than open bribery in the palaces of presidents. Yet, the hunger of millions does not deserve indignation from Christians, not even from the college of bishops."

Poverty is not just a byproduct of corruption. A document of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines states: "Dehumanizing economic structures, reinforced by the political situation is the cause of poverty, political instability and unstable economy."  It is the unequal distribution of wealth, the lack of concern for the poor of the elite, and the impact of globalization which push the poor deeper into the quagmire of poverty.

The church and its pastors have been advocating active involvement of the faithful. Archbishop Angel L. Lagdameo, DD stated in his Pastoral Exhortation for the Year of Social Concerns entitled “Building a Civilization of Love”  said: “Our present Philippine situation calls us to be more actively committed to living out the social teaching of the Church. Political turmoil, moral corruption, and environmental degradation have worsened massive poverty and scandalous social inequality.”

The Vatican has also spoken. The document "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes)" states: "Faced with a world today where so many people are suffering from want, the Council asks individuals and governments to remember the saying of the Fathers: "Feed the man dying of hunger, because if you do not feed him you are killing him," and it urges them according to their ability to share and dispose of their goods to help others, above all by giving them aid which will enable them to help and develop themselves (GS, no. 69).

The message and the call of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines is clear. The Filipino Catholics are being called to evangelize, to proclaim above all of salvation from sin, the liberation from everything oppressive to man; the development of man in all his dimensions, personal and ultimately the renewal of society in all its strata through the interplay of the Gospel Truths and man's concrete TOTAL LIFE. This is our TASK. This is our PRO-LIFE MISSION.

At the end of the celebration of the Eucharist, every Christian is being sent on a mission and have a commiment to work for a transformed society. Truly, as we offer ourselves like bread and wine, the fruits of the earth, we also live the sacrament like the broken bread which is being shared for the life of the world.