Ensuring a ‘Church of the Poor' in the Philippines

Herald Malaysia

11-07-2025

It is not easy to become servant leaders of a synodal Church Jul 11, 2025
A file Photo of Father Danny Pilario celebrating a pre-dawn Mass with street children in Quezon City, in response to the call of Pope Francis in his encyclical Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel). (Photo: UCAN files)
By Ruben C. Mendoza
The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recently gathered in Bohol for their 130th plenary assembly. At this gathering of more than 80 bishops, the CBCP elected Archbishop Gilbert Garcera of Lipa and Archbishop Julius Tonel of Zamboanga as their next president and vice president, respectively.
They will assume their positions by November. Just like previous CBCP officials, they will coordinate and collaborate with their fellow bishops on how the local Church in the Philippines can best respond to the signs of the times and grow in fidelity to its mission of integral evangelization.
It has often been said in Church circles that what we need at present are 'servant leaders.' I think, though, that this kind of leadership is misconstrued even by the clergy, similar to the misunderstanding by James and John when they asked Jesus that they be seated at his right and left (Mk 10, 35-45).
I suspect that many members of the clergy, just like the other ten disciples of Jesus, understand Church leadership in ways similar to that of traditional politicians. Sadly, ordained ministers are not immune from being influenced by their political culture so that at times, they act as if they are the 'kingpins' and/or CEO's of their parishes or dioceses, and even engage in their own brand of patronage politics.
This, despite the Church's insistence that the model of leadership is Jesus, who came to serve and not to be served (Mt 20,28; Mk 10,45).
In addition to patronage politics, the Philippine Church has to seriously confront the realities of clericalism and hierarchicalism in the local church, which demands self-reflexivity on the part of the clergy.
Clericalism was often criticized by the late Pope Francis. In one of his addresses, he said: 'It is therefore necessary … to decisively overcome the scourge of clericalism.… Clericalism arises from an elitist and exclusivist vision of vocation that interprets the ministry received as a power to be exercised rather than as a free and generous service to be given. This leads us to believe that we belong to a group that has all the answers and no longer needs to listen or learn anything, or that pretends to listen. Clericalism is a perversion and is the root of many evils in the Church.'
Clericalism, unfortunately, is still pervasive among the Filipino clergy and the laity, both of them thinking and acting as if the clergy are exempt from the norms that are ordinarily applied to lay people.
The theological ethicist, James Keenan, argues that in the Church, we also have to deal with hierarchicalism, 'the exclusive power culture of the episcopacy,' since it is even more problematic than clericalism. It is a culture in which bishops are protected by their fellow bishops from accusations of any kind of abuse, even credible ones.
It is a mindset that prioritizes power over service and ethical accountability. It is this kind of culture that explains the hesitancy and intransigence of certain bishops to make their erring brothers face the music.
If we come to think about it, it is this culture that puts obstacles in truly reforming the Church since it places the members of the episcopacy in a privileged position, which I suspect many of them are not ready to give up. It is those same privileges that make ministers think of their priestly ministry not as a vocation but as a career.
The leadership of ordained ministers in the Philippines will have to confront Philippine political culture and how it has affected people's understanding of leadership (including the clergy), and deal with both clericalism and hierarchicalism.
The formation of those who are called to the ordained ministry would have to focus not only on their formal studies but also on cultivating virtues that form and empower seminary formandi to be truly at the service of the people.
One way that this could be done is for them to be immersed in the life of the people, especially the poor, whom they are to serve. Pope Francis rightly called on the clergy to smell like the sheep, but I think that seminarians ought to already smell like them while in initial formation. It might already be too late when they are already ordained ministers.
Leadership in the Philippine Church will have to be understood in light of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines' (PCP II) vision of the Church of the Poor.
For PCP II, the local Church of the Philippines needs servant leaders who have a special love for the poor, giving their 'preferential attention and time' to them and even sharing with them their own resources.
Such leaders embrace and practice the evangelical spirit of poverty and, as such, live a life of simplicity. They are also leaders who are in solidarity with the poor, collaborate with them, and promote and defend their rights, 'even if this will mean alienation or persecution from the rich and powerful,' who, if I may dare say, at times include the Church's benefactors.
Much remains to be done in order to realize this vision in so many ways and levels. It is challenging to reform the prevailing clerical culture, to say the least.
I myself was in the seminary when PCP II was held and several years after, but I am not aware of any ecclesiastical efforts that provide the necessary structures that lead to the formation of the kind of leaders that PCP II envisions.
The setting of a vision is not enough. It must be accompanied by actions and structures that realize that vision. Our bishops must be more intentional in this regard.
Moreover, in light of the rediscovery of the importance of synodality, pastors of the Church of the Poor need to listen to various voices in the Church and society, especially to the vulnerable ones. Out of those voices which at times are competing and are in conflict with one another, they are to discern where the Spirit is and to where it is leading the Church.
Synodality is a call to pastors to be truly consultative in the ways they exercise their ministry. It also demands that they recognize and harness the charisms of community members for the common good, deepening their bonds of communion with one another and fostering the participation of all in the Church's mission.
It is not easy to become servant leaders of a synodal Church of the Poor. In the face of life's vicissitudes, one thing of which we can be certain is that God will give our pastors the grace of office to be faithful to their vocation. We hope and pray that they will cooperate with God's grace as they grow in their discipleship and do their part in building God's Kingdom.--ucanews.com