An Open Letter to His Holiness, Pope Francis We humbly come to you, Holy Father, in utter desperation over a most disturbing issue involving the historic Basilica of St. Martin of Tours in Taal, Batangas, Philippines- the biggest Catholic Church in all Asia founded in 1571. Sadly, it involves blatant profanity. We call your attention to what the parish priest Msgr. Alfredo Madlangbayan calls his racket - the construction of a 2-story multi-purpose venue for events like social gatherings, meeting, weddings, etc. While we acknowledge the need and utility of Jubilee Hall or Casa San Martin- the proposed name of the structure- we are appalled and scandalized by the actions of someone who is supposed to be in persona Christi whimsically imposing his own will by establishing a fact on the ground with total disregard of compliance with proper protocol, the law of land and aesthetic sensibilities. This building will now serve as a memorial to irreverence, lawlessness not to mention the defacement of sacred ground and history rather than community. The Monsignors attribution to this project using the language of organized crime is an absolute neglect of the ramifications of his words and actions on the pastoral care not only of his parishioners, but the entire Philippine Catholic community. That Msgr. Madlangbayan calls his project a racket - in a country where the depth and breadth of graft and corruption have recently been exposed - stirs suspicion that corruption has contaminated the Church, and instills distrust for the man of the cloth. This is bolstered by the monsignors wilful infractions that include: 1. a failure to seek approval for construction from the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) required by Presidential Decree 1505. Furthermore, in response to being informed by a parishioner about the unapproved construction, the NHCP wrote Msgr. Madlangbayan last Oct. 16, 2013 to suspend all construction and development work; however, this sanction was ignored and construction continued as of Oct. 23 per report from the Philippine Daily Inquirer on October 27. 2. a violation of Republic Act 10066 or the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 which asserts that all intervention works and measures on conservation shall be undertaken through the appropriate cultural agency which shall supervise the same. Moreover, the Msgr. also failed to respect the ruling from this same Act regarding a 5-meter buffer zone surrounding historical spaces. Jubilee Hall is being built at only a 1.5 meter distance. Holy Father, if the Monsignor pleads ignorance of laws governing historic sites, then he is unfit to fulfil the role of administrator of this parish. With the encroachment of the profanity of consumerism into Taal Basilicas sacred space, we feel that this fact on the ground of faith and fidelity is now being turned into a den of racketeers. We feel it is only you, Holy Father, who can put a halt to this atrocity. This illegal building is a metaphor if not a prophecy of the doom looming over the spiritual and religious cultural heritage of a country whose churches- symbols of their abiding faith and love of God- have stood for centuries. Why should the shepherd, Monsignor Madlangbayan, abuse the respect of his flock and be the catalyst for parishioners disillusionment and eventual falling away? We believe prayers help, so we pray for Papal intervention.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Nov 2013 16:20:12 +0000
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