ABP. OSCAR CRUZ
THE benefit of “Asylum,” supposedly asked from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) by a now well-known woman for the multibillion-peso worth of scams occasioned by the now infamous Priority Development Assistance Fund and Disbursement Acceleration Program, recently came to fore.
And as accordingly reported by tri-media, the said favor was denied by the same ecclesiastical institution as conveyed by its Archbishop-President.
It then comes to order to but simply and briefly address the what, why, and when of “Asylum” as far as the Catholic Church is concerned.
It might be good to first clarify the nature of the “Asylum” herein considered has nothing to do with any kind of sanitarium, a mental institution, or any kind of a given place of housing.
Instead, the “Asylum” herein relevant means a place of refuge or sanctuary basically intended to protect the presumed innocent individual from unjust prosecution, particularly on the part of one or more indicting State agencies concerned.
There was a time when churches, convents, and other perceived safe places usually served as “Asylum” for persecuted innocent persons.
While the quest for formal “Asylum” is no longer that relevant nor as commonly practiced as before, every now and then, however, there are one or more individuals who seek the care and protection of some priests or religious men and/or women usually when they feel desperate in keeping their safety, in protecting their lives.
These days, they are usually known as “whistle-blowers” who feel they are in danger from known and powerful personalities for having publicly revealed the latter’s grave misdeeds.
These days, there are certain basic assumptions that come to fore in the matter of seeking and obtaining “Asylum” from Church entities.
First and foremost is that the one who seeks it should enjoy the presumption of innocence. Otherwise, it could be simply interpreted as harboring a criminal.
Second, and quite important, is that the Church entity concerned should be reasonably able to provide safety to the one concerned. Otherwise, it could even in effect put in danger its supposed innocent “protégée.”
Third, and worth seriously considering, is that there is reasonable assumption that the State agency concerned would still respect the pro-truth and pro-justice stance of the Church entity concerned.
Was the CBCP right in not accepting the “Asylum” request of the woman concerned? Yes, because it is quite difficult to presume her innocence of the many big crimes she is accused of.
There is a saying that someone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. That is what the law says but not necessarily what prudence affirms./PN
