Category: Commentary

THE BEST Valentine’s Day gift I ever got was from a bunch of celibate men with crosses hanging from their necks. It was Feb. 14, 1986. The elections held seven days prior, upon which many had naively fixed hopes for an end to the dictatorship, were being stolen before the…

DAVAO MAYOR and now “presidentiable” Rodrigo Duterte recently declared that he touched a woman because “the woman was really very, very beautiful that if you do not touch her, you will die.” He said he was just saving his life. If more men reasoned this way, women would be in…

Pity poor John the Baptist, patron saint of Quiapo Church, ever upstaged by the cousin whose swarthy image his church has hosted for 249 years. On no other day is he more forgotten than on Jan. 9, when the Black Nazarene draws millions into a rowdy procession, the traslación, that…

For two years now, the Roman Catholic Church has been having an internal but well-publicized conversation about Church teaching and pastoral practice for the family. Formalized in two meetings of the synod of bishops—one in October 2014, the other in October 2015—that conversation has exposed a bitter family feud within…

The constant newsfeed on mass and social media makes us vicarious victims of terror. Swamped by a spate of news-borne violence, I recently reached for a lifeline from a buoyant era of the Catholic Church: a document titled “Joy and Hope.” “Gaudium et Spes” (GS) was issued by the Second…

CALUMPIT, Bulacan, is one of the first places outside Manila that I came to know because it is my father’s hometown. I remember visiting Calumpit at least twice during the year when I was young: June 24 to celebrate the town fiesta and Nov. 1 to visit my grandfather’s grave.…

The Fast Food Theory of Homosexuality is a thesis popular among credulous segments of the Filipino population. Like most urban legends and conspiracy theories, it is built on at least one fact: that livestock and poultry used in fast foods are often fattened by feeding or injection with female hormones.…

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are deciding where to go on vacation. The choice is made; the Holy Spirit gushes: “Rome! I have never been there!” Secure Roman Catholics can enjoy the joke and still trust that the Holy Spirit has been to Rome. But even to those who…

The Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who is accused of a nonbailable crime, on humanitarian considerations, has brought attention to the disagreement between two of the Court’s justices. Disagreement can be a good thing. Far from eroding my respect for the Supreme Court, Justice Marvic…