BEHIND
THE SCENES
Alfred
P. Dizon
The conservative
Catholic Church of the Philippines has presumably the most outspoken bishops
who comment on anything under the sun from politics, religion to sex and yes –
not to forget world boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao, who hit the limelight anew
for saying Lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders (LGBTs) are “worse than animals.”
The Philippine
Catholic bishops’ latest peeve was their calling Wednesday on the faithful to
boycott pop diva Madonna's sexually charged concerts in the nation's capital,
calling them the devil's work.
***
The 57-year-old
"Like A Virgin" and "Erotica" hit-maker had cavorted on a
giant cross-shaped stage during two concerts on Wednesday and Thursday as part
of her global "Rebel Heart" tour.
"Pinoys
(Filipinos) and all God-loving people should avoid sin and occasions of
sin," Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said in a statement posted on the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines' official website.
Arguelles said the
concerts, Madonna's first in the Philippines, were among "subtle attacks
of the evil one". "Why is the Catholic Philippines the favorite venue
for blasphemy against God and the Holy Mother?" said Arguelles, as quoted
by Agence France Press.
Arguelles had
previously campaigned against provocative pop diva Lady Gaga, saying her 2012
Manila concert was the work of Satan. Conservative bishops are famously
outspoken in the Philippines, where 80 percent of its 100 million people are
Catholic.
***
Ahead of her concerts,
Madonna visited a shelter for abused children and a Catholic orphanage in
Manila on Tuesday. "Chillin' with my homies," Madonna said in a
caption to an Instagram selfie with three children, as they lay on cardboard
mats on the floor of Bahay Tuluyan, home to about 500 abused or abandoned
children.
Wearing head-to-toe
black and oversized shades, Madonna came with an entourage of 20 dancers and
burly bodyguards, Bahay Tuluyan executive director Lily Flordelis told AFP.
"The children
were very happy to see her. She played with them, danced with them and chatted
with them," Flordelis said. Tipping her maroon hat in another Instagram
post, Madonna said: "Hats off to the Bahay Tuluyan Foundation in Manila
for taking so many kids off the street and providing food and shelter."
Madonna also visited
the Hospicio de San Jose, one of Manila's oldest orphanages.
***
She posted a picture
of herself carrying a baby in pink overalls while holding the hand of an
emaciated girl, also in pink, whom she identified as Celeste.
Madonna is touring the
world to support her 13th studio album, Rebel Heart, which combines her
trademark sexually charged lyrics and imagery with an array of musical genres.
Madonna has courted
controversy since bringing her tour to Asia this month.
A Catholic bishop in
Singapore called for a boycott of her concert purportedly for insulting
religion. She also drew Chinese anger for draping herself with the Taiwanese
flag during a concert in Taipei.
***
Now here comes our
friendly, perennially tipsy neighborhood philosopher. He says when it’s
anything related to the Catholic Church, you have to be prim and proper. It’s
the bishops’ right to say anything on any matter, he adds, but when it comes to
artistic expression, maybe that’s more on the realm of artists or musicians
like Madonna. If there is religious tolerance, there also has to be artistic
tolerance, he says.
***
Now comes Pacquiao who
said LGBTS are “worse than animals.” Pacquiao had earned the ire of many people
worldwide for saying this, that he even lost endorsement deals.
The Catholic Church Tuesday,
not surprisingly, defended the Sarangani congressman for his opposition to gay
marriage, saying he was only quoting the Bible.
But Father Jerome
Secillano, executive secretary of the public affairs office of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said Pacquiao should also respect
homosexuals and not judge and condemn them.
Pacquiao, who
converted from Catholicism to an evangelical Protestant faith late in his
boxing career, was pilloried by local gay rights groups and celebrities after
he described homosexuals as “worse than animals.”
“But this is really in the Bible. There is
this quote he uses from the Bible and we cannot change that,” Secillano said
over radio station dzMM.
The CBCP official said
it was “unfair” to condemn Pacquiao for echoing what he reads in the Bible when
he was asked about same-sex marriage. But Secillano also said the boxing hero
should not have used offensive language.
“The church says that
if this is your lifestyle, if this is your orientation, then we respect that.
We cannot condemn them,” the priest explained.
Secillano reiterated
that the Catholic Church still opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage.
***
Church influence has
also kept divorce and abortion from being legalized in the Philippines.
Homosexuality is not criminalized and several LGBT figures have become
celebrities.
Pacquiao, who intends
to retire after his April fight against American Timothy Bradley to pursue a
career in politics, issued an apology on social media on Tuesday but later said
his apology was qualified.
***
Pacquiao’s statement
had generated a lot of comments. Hollywood
actor and former wrestler Batista also lambasted Pacquiao for discriminating
homosexuals.
“My opinion on that is
he’s a [expletive] idiot,’’ said Batista, of Filipino descent who is David
Michael Bautista in real life, in an interview with TMZ Sports.
“My mom happens to be
a lesbian so I don’t (expletive) take that (expletive). I don’t think it’s
funny,” he added. “If anyone called my mother an animal I’d stick my foot in
his a**.”
***
Liberal Party vice
presidential candidate Leni Robredo also reminded Pacquiao that freedom to
choose who to love and live with is a basic right.
“The choice of
who we are going to love and who we are going to live with is a basic human
right. That must be respected by others who have differing beliefs,” Robredo, a
lawyer, told reporters.
“It’s unfortunate that
there appears to be discrimination, judgment, because the essence of democracy
is to give voice to all sectors no matter how small they are; to listen to all;
to respect each others’ preference even if we believe in different religions,”
she added.
***
She explained that
while she does not subscribe to same-sex unions being a devout Catholic, she
believes the government must open the debate on the controversial matter.
Robredo said she has
been fighting discrimination for years, even filing the Anti-Discrimination
Bill “that in essence simply states that whatever our beliefs are, religion,
culture, sex, preferences, age, there should be no discrimination — everyone
should be able to freely express themselves.”
The partymates of the
world boxing icon in the United Nationalist Alliance have appealed to the
public to continue supporting him amid his controversial remarks against
homosexuals.
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