Coddling the communists (by Emil Jurado)

Coddling the communists

Wednesday, 21 March, 2012 Written by Emil Jurado

Faces of jubilant Muslims in the Middle East in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedy in New York is still fresh in my memory. I could not comprehend the values these people hold.

Thousands of people have died and there’s just no justification or this action in a civilized world, and yet the celebration.

While scanning the Web a few days ago, I stumbled into a news item from Cathnews Philippines, a Catholic online news service. What struck me immediately was its news banner last March 12 about the assassination of the purported killer of Italian priest Fausto Tenerio by the New People’s Army.

In the news, the communist rebels claimed responsibility for the killing of a Swiss-Filipino businessman Patrick Wineger, 48, who it said was involved in the murder of the priest in Mindanao last year.

The New People’s Army said they “punished” Wineger for his alleged close links with “fanatical and anti-NPA groups.”

Cathnews also quoted NPA’s Rigoberto Sanchez as saying that several text messages found in Wineger’s mobile phone revealed he was in close contact with paramilitaries linked to Fr. Tentorio’s murder. “The swift and timely punishment of one of the principals behind Father Tentorio’s killing stands as a fitting and just retribution amid false justice dispensed by the US-Aquino regime,” Sanchez said.

While I understand that Tentorio is one of them as a man of the cloth, I find it strange that those who have to do with Cathnews did not condemn the vigilante-type of justice that the NPA rendered on Wineger, who was not afforded equal justice under our laws which the Philippine Catholic Church is bound to uphold at any time.

I suddenly remembered the jubilation of Muslims after the 9/11. I felt chills down my spine and couldn’t believe that a Catholic institution like Cathnews could be so coy about the whole thing. For all we know, Wineger could have been as guilty as hell. But wasn’t he entitled to the equal dispensation of justice? The tragedy also reminded me that the Church was likewise silent when Taganito Mining Corp. in Surigao del Norte was attacked and torched to the ground by the NPAs. Taganito is one of the country’s nickel mines which employs thousands who, I presume, are mostly Roman Catholics. The NPA attack rendered the nickel mine operable, rendering thousands jobless.

What is appalling is, in that Cathnews item, a photo of NPA guerillas with the rebels red flag was prominently displayed, almost eating up one fourth of the page. Not only that. It would seem that Cathnews has become a bulletin board of sorts for the NPAs’ various activities. Here are some of the things that I read in Cathnews, which I find disturbing:

Communist rebels seek young recruits. The Communist Party of the Philippines is looking for young blood to bolster its armed struggle against the government.

Communist downplay peace chances. The Communist Party of the Philippines dampened peace hopes yesterday, saying the chances of forging an agreement with an Aquino-led government are “dim.”

Religious seek release of NDF consultants. Religious and faith-based groups on Wednesday urged the government to release consultants of the communist-led National Democratic Front to pave the way for the resumption of peace talks.

Santa Banana, is the Philippine Catholic Church now the mouthpiece of the communist insurgents? Or, is the Church now so heavily infiltrated by the home-grown communist insurgents that it’s now espousing the goals of the rebels?

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines should take heed!

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(Published in the Manila Standard Today newspaper on /2012/March/22)