INTRODUCTION

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPENETRABLE and least scrutinized institutions in the Philippines. We put our boundless trust in the holy men who lead the Church. We repose our steely faith in God, in our bishops and priests, they who say mass, baptize us, marry us, give us communion, listen to our confessions, and bless us. We regard them with awe. They are God’s men on earth.

Our past shaped us to be this way. We grew up in towns where at the center stood the imposing Catholic Church, side by side with the school run by priests and nuns. Life seemed to revolve around these enduring institutions. Education and religion fused; going to school seamlessly blended with attending mass, evening novenas, and joining the Sodality of Our Lady and Columbus Squires.

Then, in those placid times, it was not our place to question the order of things. We learned catechism, prayed our rosaries, and looked up to the men in cassocks. Why, they could do no wrong. God and truth were on their side. They were special, a notch above us, ordinary humans.

But the times, they have changed. Critical thinking has shaken dogma. With the modern world has come hard-earned wisdom, built from years of experience and learning.

Like us, the Church lived through turbulent times in the ‘70s and early ‘80s—martial law, detention of opposition leaders and activists, torture and disappearances, a communist insurgency, and the assassination of Benigno Aquino Jr. Some bishops and priests embraced liberation theology and led grassroots communities in their struggle for social justice; thus began the phenomenon of the BCC or basic Christian communities. The Church did not only tend to spiritual needs, it looked after the welfare of the poor and marginalized. We saw our priests up close, no longer detached in their pulpits and confession boxes.

Then, in 1986, the Church played a crucial role in ousting the authoritarian ruler, Ferdinand Marcos, and restoring democracy in the country. Its help was called again in 2001 to depose President Joseph Estrada in the midst of his impeachment trial where he was accused of corruption and betraying public trust. Twice, the Church was victorious.

Elsewhere in the world, democracy movements marched and kicked out dictators. The clamor for openness reverberated, not only in government but in other institutions, including the Church. Civil society blossomed. Soon after, transparency and accountability became bywords in many parts of the globe. The “Arab Spring” is the latest manifestation of this global surge.

Technology has hastened all this. With 24/7 news, the Internet, and mobile phones, information has become accessible. We are no longer isolated islands; we have now become connected to the world. Distances have shrunk. Immediately, we know what is happening in Europe, US, and Australia and certain events there affect and influence us.

I mention Europe, Australia, and the US because, in these parts, the Catholic Church has attempted to be transparent. It has responded to complaints on sexual abuse by its priests, disclosed these to the public, sanctioned erring clergymen, and adopted zero-tolerance policies. In the US, questions on Church finances and how these have been managed have been raised and probed.

These cannot yet be said for the Philippines.

IN THIS BOOK, Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church, Aries Rufo shows a Church that is cloaked in secrecy. It keeps the wrongdoing of its bishops and priests—in sexual misconduct and financial mismanagement—within its confines and lets them get away, unpunished. They’re sent to other assignments overseas or are simply asked to retire or resign.

Part One illustrates this through cases involving bishops (Chapters 2and 3) and priests (Chapter 4). Chapter 1gives us the big picture, showing the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines struggling in dealing with these sins of its men. They have set guidelines but these fall short of cleansing the Church and achieving justice for the victims.

In Part Two, we learn about how the bishops and priests handle finances, mainly donations from the flock, and, in the process, we get to understand the structure of the hierarchical Church. A bishop is like a king and the diocese is his kingdom. A finance council, which is supposed to serve as check and balance, hasn’t worked because bishops, for the most part, don’t run democracies. Many dioceses are holdouts of the feudal ages.