Discernment in the coming elections
Published Mar 6, 2019 12:49 am
GOVERNANCE MATTERS
By FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JEJOMAR C. BINAY
Jejomar C. Binay
Former Vice President Discernment is defined as the ability to judge well. In the Christian tradition, the practice of discernment is further expanded as “a decision-making process that honors the place of God's will in our lives.” The practice is akin to social investigation, where all available information is analyzed, the positives and negatives taken into consideration, with scriptural guidance indispensable. Christians are encouraged to meditate and hold conversations with God. The discernment process leads to taking action. Bible scholars emphasize that discernment is a responsibility for the faithful, and cites New Testament teachings reminding Christians to “examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” Discernment, therefore, is not only an intellectual act, but a moral and spiritual one. Our Catholic bishops have issued a call for the faithful to be more discerning and to take an active part in the mid-term elections. “Every election period is a promise of better times or a foreboding of what is worse to come. The choice is in our hands,” says our bishops in their pastoral statement “Seek the Common Good” which was read in churches recently. Allow me to quote substantially from the pastoral statement: “The year 2019 is not just an ordinary election year. The midterm election on May 13 is in itself already crucial. In our country today the checks and balances in the government are being undermined. So far the Senate is the institution in the government that is holding out as our country is inching towards total control. It is very crucial therefore that we elect public officials who are principled, courageous, and who have the common good as their main concern and not their own political interests. “We encourage voters to be very discerning in their votes. Let the lay groups engage in discernment circles to help one another know the candidates well and choose the candidates with the common good of the whole country in mind and not according to what the candidates promise, much less according to what voters have received from these candidates.” For our bishops, it is our obligation as Catholics to look beyond the glitter and promises. We must scrutinize the advocacies, background, and track record of each candidate. Our bishops have spoken about the issues that should concern us, among them poverty, human rights violations, Extra-Judicial Killings (EJKs), and the attacks on our democratic institutions. I consider these issues as crucial in choosing which candidates deserve our vote. There are candidates who condone and even openly support EJKs, or were instrumental in implementing a drug war that refuses to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. There are those who have openly declared their intention to use Congress to institutionalize policies that further oppress the poor, undermine democracy and the independence of institutions, and violate Constitutional rights. As Catholic faithful, we need to ask if these candidates deserve our vote. We also have a long list of party-list organizations whose advocacies need to be scrutinized. If they are existing party-lists, it is our Christian duty to review their track record and their votes on key pieces of legislation, especially those that touch on human dignity. It is disconcerting to read media reports of politicians using party-list groups to earn a seat in Congress through a virtual backdoor. We must also ask where these candidates stand on the controversial issues of revising the Constitution and federalism. Our bishops counsel us to pay greater attention to these issues, which remain prominent on the administration’s legislative agenda. “However, more than the elections, another serious, and perhaps more insidious, matter that we should pay attention to is the threat the version of constitutional change and federalism approved by the Lower House and now being dangled to the senators.” If Congress is to amend the Constitution, says our bishops, it must meet a higher and more noble purpose. Quoting its pastoral guidelines on the Charter Change issued in January, 2018, the CBCP emphasized: “If the Constitution is to be revised at all, the process should lead to a greater defense and promotion of the moral values of human dignity and human rights, integrity and truth, participation and solidarity, and the common good.” For our bishops, the mid-term elections is an important event that demands the active involvement of all Catholics. We are counseled to support candidates who promote the common good and whose advocacies uphold human dignity. This is not a time to be apolitical. As stated by His Holiness Pope Francis, who was also quoted by our bishops: "A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern…. I am responsible for their governance, and I have to do the best so that they govern well, and I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability.” [email protected]
Jejomar C. BinayFormer Vice President Discernment is defined as the ability to judge well. In the Christian tradition, the practice of discernment is further expanded as “a decision-making process that honors the place of God's will in our lives.” The practice is akin to social investigation, where all available information is analyzed, the positives and negatives taken into consideration, with scriptural guidance indispensable. Christians are encouraged to meditate and hold conversations with God. The discernment process leads to taking action. Bible scholars emphasize that discernment is a responsibility for the faithful, and cites New Testament teachings reminding Christians to “examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” Discernment, therefore, is not only an intellectual act, but a moral and spiritual one. Our Catholic bishops have issued a call for the faithful to be more discerning and to take an active part in the mid-term elections. “Every election period is a promise of better times or a foreboding of what is worse to come. The choice is in our hands,” says our bishops in their pastoral statement “Seek the Common Good” which was read in churches recently. Allow me to quote substantially from the pastoral statement: “The year 2019 is not just an ordinary election year. The midterm election on May 13 is in itself already crucial. In our country today the checks and balances in the government are being undermined. So far the Senate is the institution in the government that is holding out as our country is inching towards total control. It is very crucial therefore that we elect public officials who are principled, courageous, and who have the common good as their main concern and not their own political interests. “We encourage voters to be very discerning in their votes. Let the lay groups engage in discernment circles to help one another know the candidates well and choose the candidates with the common good of the whole country in mind and not according to what the candidates promise, much less according to what voters have received from these candidates.” For our bishops, it is our obligation as Catholics to look beyond the glitter and promises. We must scrutinize the advocacies, background, and track record of each candidate. Our bishops have spoken about the issues that should concern us, among them poverty, human rights violations, Extra-Judicial Killings (EJKs), and the attacks on our democratic institutions. I consider these issues as crucial in choosing which candidates deserve our vote. There are candidates who condone and even openly support EJKs, or were instrumental in implementing a drug war that refuses to distinguish between the guilty and the innocent. There are those who have openly declared their intention to use Congress to institutionalize policies that further oppress the poor, undermine democracy and the independence of institutions, and violate Constitutional rights. As Catholic faithful, we need to ask if these candidates deserve our vote. We also have a long list of party-list organizations whose advocacies need to be scrutinized. If they are existing party-lists, it is our Christian duty to review their track record and their votes on key pieces of legislation, especially those that touch on human dignity. It is disconcerting to read media reports of politicians using party-list groups to earn a seat in Congress through a virtual backdoor. We must also ask where these candidates stand on the controversial issues of revising the Constitution and federalism. Our bishops counsel us to pay greater attention to these issues, which remain prominent on the administration’s legislative agenda. “However, more than the elections, another serious, and perhaps more insidious, matter that we should pay attention to is the threat the version of constitutional change and federalism approved by the Lower House and now being dangled to the senators.” If Congress is to amend the Constitution, says our bishops, it must meet a higher and more noble purpose. Quoting its pastoral guidelines on the Charter Change issued in January, 2018, the CBCP emphasized: “If the Constitution is to be revised at all, the process should lead to a greater defense and promotion of the moral values of human dignity and human rights, integrity and truth, participation and solidarity, and the common good.” For our bishops, the mid-term elections is an important event that demands the active involvement of all Catholics. We are counseled to support candidates who promote the common good and whose advocacies uphold human dignity. This is not a time to be apolitical. As stated by His Holiness Pope Francis, who was also quoted by our bishops: "A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern…. I am responsible for their governance, and I have to do the best so that they govern well, and I have to do my best by participating in politics according to my ability.” [email protected]