21/09/2026
0๐๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฃ๐ง๐๐ข๐ก ๐๐ฆ ๐๐๐จ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ฆ ๐ช๐๐ข ๐๐ข ๐ก๐ข๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ง๐.
We are a Christian nation and majority are Catholics, from voters to the public officials. Much of the corruption destroying our country comes from Catholics who fail to live their faith. Politicians who pray in public but steal in secret. Leaders who wear scapulars but pocket public funds. This is the painful truth.
โThe absence of stability, together with the corruption of public officials and the spread of improper sources of growing rich and of easy profits deriving from illegal or purely speculative activities, constitutes one of the chief obstacles to development and to the economic order.โ Pope St John Paul II, Centisiumus Annus, 48
Corruption is not just numbers or scandals on TV. It is the mother who canโt buy medicine because the hospital budget was stolen. It is the child studying under a broken roof because school funds were pocketed. It is the farmer forced into debt because roads remain impassable. Every peso stolen has a human face.
You shall not pervert the justice due to your poor in his suitโฆAnd you shall take no bribe, for a bribe blinds the officials and subverts the cause of those who are in the right. Exodus 6:8
If you are a Catholic politician, remember: you cannot worship God on Sunday and betray Him the rest of the week. The Seventh Commandment is clearโโHuwag kang magnanakaw.โ To steal from the poor is a grave sin.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church (447) recognizes that political corruption is one of the causes that greatly contributes to underdevelopment and poverty especially in developing countries. This is particularly true of countries that are in debt which are not repayable in part due to corruption, poor administration of public finances or improper utilisation of loans already received (450). In these situations the people who suffer the worst brunt of political corruption are the poor and the powerless.
But it is not only politicians who are responsible. We citizens must also take a hard look at ourselves. Do we shrug off corruption because โlahat naman gumagawa niyanโ? Do we still vote for leaders we know are corrupt, simply because they are popular or generous during elections? Every careless vote keeps the cycle of corruption alive. Voting is not just a political actโit is a moral choice.
Pope St John Paul II in his Message for World Day of Peace 1999 recognised that โAll citizens have the right to participate in the life of their community โฆ But this right means nothing when the democratic process breaks down because of corruption and favouritism, which โฆ prevents people from benefiting equally from community assets and services, to which everyone has a right.โ
And if you are a voter, your choice matters. Every vote is a moral decision. When we keep electing the corrupt, we share in their sin. We must vote not with our wallets or emotions, but with conscienceโalways for the common good.
If we are truly Catholic, then letโs live our faith with courage. Politicians must lead with honesty. Citizens must vote with integrity. Because faith without action is emptyโand silence in the face of corruption is complicity.
โOften, politics itself is responsible for the disrepute in which it is held, on account of corruption and the failure to enact sound public policies.โ Pope Francis, Laudato Siโ, 197
Pope Francis reminds us that politics only regains dignity when leaders and citizens alike embrace integrity and truth. We cannot claim to be a Catholic nation if we close our eyes to corruption. Our faith is not measured by how often we go to Mass but by how we live the Gospel in everyday choicesโespecially in the way we lead and vote.
- ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ
#๐๐๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐๐จ๐๐ข๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ #๐๐จ๐ซ๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง
#๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐จ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ก.
