The Hypothetical Case of Corona
Imagine that by some miracle, the prosecution managed to provide overwhelming evidence that could convict Corona. But for some reason, the senator-judges arrive at a surprising verdict: not guilty.
When Senator-Judge Enrile (still our hypothetical presiding officer) is asked about it, he explains that like the other Senators, he, too, was convinced that Corona should be convicted. However, Enrile explains, conviction was impossible.
Why? Because if Corona is guilty, it would mean that Ex-President Arroyo made a mistake in appointing him Chief Justice. And if Arroyo made a mistake, it means that presidents aren’t perfect. And if presidents aren’t perfect, then democracy is doomed. Therefore, Corona is not guilty.
Unless you are a Corona cultist, you’d think that such a verdict is insane. Corona himself would admit guilt instead of letting such a mockery of the legal system stand. (OK, maybe not.) In any case, you’ll surely admit that no one would find such insanity reasonable.
Yet many find insanity reasonable when done in the name of religion. This is what happened when Pope Paul VI confirmed that contraceptives were evil.
The Actual Case of Contraception
In the early 60s, many Catholics started suspecting the innocence of an old teaching: the evil of contraception. They expressed dissent so strongly that Pope John XXIII (and later Pope Paul VI) formed a commission to investigate the original teaching’s innocence, so to speak.
After 6 years on trial, the commission reached their verdict:
- 9 of 12 bishops found the original teaching wrong
- 15 of 19 theologians found the original teaching wrong
- 30 of 35 lay members found the original teaching wrong
The commission had found evidence — from Scripture and Tradition to Science and Experience — to conclude that the original teaching on contraception was wrong; contraception was not always evil.
The commission submitted their official report, and Pope Paul VI agreed with it — contraceptives were not inherently evil. I emphasize “official report” because a small group of conservatives unofficially submitted what is now called (mistakenly) the minority report. Regardless of its official standing, the other report contained the argument that changed the Pope’s mind.
Infallible Defense
While the official report was comprehensive and complex — arguing from different perspectives, providing both traditional and modern evidence — the other report was simple and single-minded. It relied primarily on an old (yet relatively recent) Catholic teaching: that Popes can’t be wrong when it comes to faith and morals because Jesus magically protects them from the mere possibility.
All the rational and scientific arguments of the official report were trumped by the other one’s appeal to the miraculous. And the writers of the unofficial report were unashamed of resorting to this defense:
If we could bring forward arguments which are clear and cogent based on reason alone, it would not be necessary for our Commission to exist, nor would the present state of affairs exist in the Church… The Church could not have erred through so many centuries, even through one century, by imposing under serious obligation very grave burdens in the name of Jesus Christ, if Jesus Christ did not actually impose these burdens.
As one minority member put it, if the original teaching is wrong, what will happen to all those Catholic souls the Church previously sent to Hell ? To this a member of the majority had the perfect response: “Father Zalba, do you really believe that God has carried out all your orders?”
Pope John Paul II, then a Cardinal who was also part of the conservative minority, argued as follows:
If it should be declared that contraception is not evil in itself, then we should have to concede frankly that the Holy Spirit had been on the side of the Protestant churches in 1930 (when the encyclical Casti Connubii was promulgated), in 1951 (Pius XII’s address to the midwives), and in 1958 (the address delivered before the Society of Hematologists in the year the pope died). It should likewise have to be admitted that for a half century the Spirit failed to protect Pius XI, Pius XII, and a large part of the Catholic hierarchy from a very serious error.
This would mean that the leaders of the Church, acting with extreme imprudence, had condemned thousands of innocent human acts, forbidding, under pain of eternal damnation, a practice which would now be sanctioned. The fact can neither be denied nor ignored that these same acts would now be declared licit on the grounds of principles cited by the Protestants, which popes and bishops have either condemned or at least not approved.
When he became pope, he explained why infallibility was crucial to Catholicism:
I am convinced that the doctrine of infallibility is in a certain sense the key to the certainty with which the faith is confessed and proclaimed, as well as to the life and conduct of the faithful. For once this essential foundation is shaken or destroyed, the most basic truths of our faith likewise begin to break down.
In short, the conservatives used logic similar to that of our hypothetical Corona case:
- If the original teaching on contraception is wrong, then 2 previous popes were wrong.
- If 2 previous popes were wrong, then there’s no such thing as infallibility.
- If there’s no such thing as infallibility, then the Catholic Church is doomed.
- Therefore, the original teaching is correct.
Of course, other arguments were used in the so-called minority report. But those were the same arguments that had already been refuted by the commission. In the end, infallibility was the only argument left unanswered.
Unimpeachable Dogma
To this day, the Catholic Church still stands by its anti-contraceptive stance, and on the doctrine of infallibility that defended it. If the same kind of insane defense were to clear Corona’s name, an EDSA III would not be unlikely. Although surveys show that many Filipinos have already lost interest, I’m sure such an attack on common sense would motivate even the most apathetic to action.
Regardless of how the actual impeachment trial turns out, Filipinos should already be thankful for one thing: our public officials — unlike Catholic doctrines — are impeachable.
rondevera 
Aisha Ronquillo 
Basti2682 
Twin_Skies 
okeechobeeman 
ajca82 
dboncan 
Garrick Bercero 
UltimaSora 
Garrick Bercero 
the article makes some sense, but is not entirely fair. the late Pope John Paul II, on behalf of the Church, issued a belated apology on how it treated Galileo and reversed its decision on accusing him as a heretic. that took a lot of bravery and at least a sympathetic comment. but i guess freethinkers can err on occasion – after all, they’re human too.
//the late Pope John Paul II, on behalf of the Church, issued a belated apology on how it treated Galileo and reversed its decision on accusing him as a heretic. that took a lot of bravery and at least a sympathetic comment. but i guess freethinkers can err on occasion – after all, they're human too.//
It also took the church THREE HUNDRED YEARS to apologize.
//This is another example, who would bother to be so petty as to even look for these kinds of articles… so yes, pettiness also.//
Says the man who cites the Family Research Council as a "credible" source.
Sent from my Commodore 64
//So your answer is NO thank you for submitting to that. If you label the FRC as anti homosexual then you are right but that's not what you said, you said HATE group. There is a difference. I asked you to show me a single legal complaint, decision or statement by the US Government that classifies the FRC as a hate group//
If the organization in question has been caught on several occasions to be peddling blatantly false – if not grossly misinterpreted – data to bash the gay community, you don't need an official statement from a Gov't agency to realize they're a hate group. All you need is common sense.
Oh, I forgot – you didn't get that when God was handing it around, did you?
//You could not. Your analogy is really so bad so what if they have ruws with the church, Amnesty International where Ron works was founded by Catholics and had ties with the church too, does that mean its a lackey if the church?//
And did you know that the RCC has often derided AI for being contrary to its bronze-age teachings? http://www.usatoday.com/news/topstories/2007-07-2…
It's pathetic that you'd even attempt to compare your pet fringe group to AI, Dickie. FRC has and will always be an advocate of bigotry.
Regarding the issue of homosexuality:
Homosexuality is here whether we Filipinos like it or not. It was here in the past and it will be here in the future, as well as in all over the world. Did you know that Filipinos were not called "Filipinos" in the recent past? Our ancestors were called "indios", half-humans, savages, by the Spaniards and by the Vatican. We were a dumb race which god neglected to grace with intellect. (A "Filipino" was originally a Spaniard who was born in the Islas Filipinas, much like a Creolle was a French person born outside France). This was how the Vatican looked at and treated our ancestors, much like the way they treat homosexuals today. Mentally ill or not, homosexuals in our country are Filipinos just like us. They have the same dreams and aspirations. They love their families just like we do ours (perhaps even more). They care about the future of our country just like we do. They are Filipinos and we should accept them as our own brothers and sisters.
“”"Our ancestors were called “indios”, half-humans, savages, by the Spaniards and by the Vatican. We were a dumb race which god neglected to grace with intellect. (A “Filipino” was originally a Spaniard who was born in the Islas Filipinas, much like a Creolle was a French person born outside France). This was how the Vatican looked at and treated our ancestors, “”"
This all BULLSH!T stemming from your ignorance.
It is indeed !d!otic to never know how to use GOOGLE at this modern age.
TO ENLIGHTEN YOUR SAVAGE INDIO MIND, you read:
Sublimus Dei published by the Pope in June 2, 1537.
I believe that similar doctrines of infallibility were adopted by Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, the Emperor Hirohito, Mao Ze Dung, and others of the type.
[At what point in my entire discussion with anyone in this site did I ever bring up religious reasons for saying that homosexuality is unnatural or disordered... ]
And once again, we catch you lying through your teeth, you bastard.
http://filipinofreethinkers.org/2011/12/09/to-the…
[I will end it on this note. You might be interested to see this link"