Today I want to share an interesting page-one article from Saturday’s Philippine Daily Inquirer. The writer also obtained some astute comments from Professor Danton Remoto.
I don’t have the wisdom of our esteemed leader Danton, nor the political sagacity of our hero Boy Abunda, nor the talents of our amiable (and charming) Bemz Benedito who gives us such admired leadership, nor the vast anthropological knowledge and insights of our friend Columnist and UP Dean Mike Tan, but I beg to take this opportunity to blog a few theological thoughts elicited by this article.
In Professor Remoto’s observation I discern a real breakthrough. “Remoto said Filipinos may be starting to rebel against Church doctrines that no longer reflect the values of modern-day society.”
This has echoes of an observation made by Jose Rizal more than 125 years ago, “The friars are the root of all the problems of the Filipinos.”
When Google discovers that Filipinos are the most interested people in the world about same-sex relationships, it reveals a wealth of background information.
First of all, I can confirm that the number of inquiries I receive for same-same weddings is astounding, considering that I only brought same-sex weddings to the Philippines in 1991.
The whole issue involved in the comments of Rizal and Remoto is that the prohibition and downright prejudice of the church does not prevent human nature from remaining just what it is: the God-given human nature that we are gifted with. In short, church-given definitions of what’s rightful human nature do not change the actual human nature given by God.
I was taught in every subject throughout my high school and most subjects in college by priests – with a German background. I was taught that the world is bad, the flesh is bad, and the devil is bad, and stay away from them all. And that caused a lot of deep-seated trauma for me and millions of others. And that would require a very long blog to deal with properly.
Having said that, I can still painfully remember my own teenage masturbation trauma, thinking I was the only 15-year old among 300 students in a high school “monastery” who was so bad, so ugly, so guilty, so terrible. I never said (out of loyalty to the definition given me) “I don’t care if it’s a sin.” I said through sweat, guilt and shame and tears and fears, “I know it’s a sin, but I can’t help it.” And that’s what holds true for authentic human nature today. The difference is, as Prof. Remoto says, smart people are questioning the definition. “I know it is a sin” has changed to “I know it’s not a sin.”
Not just the now-laughable issue of masturbation, but the bigger matters of loving the one you love.
Bishop Bacani, who is unrestrained in his bigotry toward same-sex love, was embarrassingly censured for kissing a woman he loved in the office.
In another situation, the hapless bishop of Antipolo was not sinful for loving the woman he loved and fathering children. His problem was his church’s definition that he was not allowed to love and make babies.
The problem has been and is the church’s definition of reproductive health, same-sex love, divorce and re-loving, and the whole gamut of sexual behaviors – that are not harmful or forceful.
Rizal saw the problem through the power of the Spanish friars to enforce prohibitions on the people while the Father Damaso’s were making babies behind the scenes.
Why do these things happen? Because the church makes definitions in contradiction to human nature. Prof. Remoto says lack of sexual education is part of the problem. I express it in terms of mis-education.
The church makes its own definition of human sexual behavior, but written in the hearts of human beings is what God has written there, the program of human nature as God planned, not as the Spanish friars taught it, or the German priests taught it to me, but as it authentically is in human nature.
There is nothing wrong with priests (or anybody) willingly and voluntarily taking a vow of “no sex.”
There is something terribly wrong with the world-wide church teaching that those to whom God has given same-sex love must forever observe the “no-sex” rule.
To make a long painful subject short, the problem is not Spanish or German or American, or Filipino, it is world-wide (emanating from Rome) sex-negative theology. (NO! NO! NO!)
I have given 46 years to explaining and teaching ways to improve, make happier and guilt-free, same-sex love in an effort to teach a sex-positivetheology that will set LGBT people free.
For two weeks, right now, the Catholic bishops of the United States who feel that the government has stepped on their toes (challenging their sexual definitions) are holding a nationwide prayer crusade which prays, along with other things, “for the freedom to love.”
I cringe when I hear that prayer from the lips of those who try to eliminate that freedom for millions of LGBT people and more millions who in their humanity have the desire to remarry (after divorce). They are waging a “prayer war” against Pres. Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage and certain RH issues in Obamacare health insurance.
So why do Filipinos flock to Google for information about same-sex relationships?
It’s because they know what is written in the program of their heart by their Creator, and they have not been taught the truth, and they want more information. They know the truth will set them free.
Google: PH ranks first in ‘same sex’ search
By: PaoloG. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer | Saturday, June 30th, 2012
MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines may be a predominantly Catholic country, but that has not curbed the Filipinos’ curiosity about same-sex marriage, which remains illegal in the country, the most recent “Insights”report by search giant Google showed.
Google’s “Insights for Search” report showed that Filipino netizens rank first worldwide in terms of searching about same-sex marriage and related queries such as “marriage laws,” “gay rights” and “gay marriage states” in June, the international Gay Pride month.
Other countries that recorded large volumes of same sex-related searches were the United States, Nigeria, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, South Africa, Singapore, Ireland and Malaysia.
Failure of parents
“Violence against the LGBT (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders) community exists in many forms but gay pride continues to put color in various fields such as entertainment, arts and sciences,” Google said in a statement released this week.
Google noted that last May, US President Barack Obama, who is running for re-election this November, made his first public statement supporting the legalization of same-sex marriage in America. The company said this might have piqued the interest of Internet users around the world, resulting in a rise in“same sex” searches across the globe.
Danton Remoto, founder of gay rights party-list Ladlad, said the interest of Filipino Internet users in sexuality was a symptom of the failure of parents and the education system to provide adequate knowledge about the issue.
“As you know, most Internet users are the younger people. (The Google search report) showed that Filipinos are open-minded and are hungry for knowledge (about sexuality),” Remoto said in an interview.
Unfiltered
But while the Internet is a source of information, it is also unfiltered, he added.
Despite most Filipinos being Catholics, who are taught to shun same-sex relationships, Remoto said Filipinos may be starting to rebel against Church doctrines that no longer reflect the values of modern-day society.
Recent statements made by local and foreign celebrities have also led to discussions of “same-sex” issues on the Web, Google said.
“The local show biz industry came across with different perspectives. Celebrities such as Lea Salonga and Martin Nievera said that they are in favor of same-sex marriage,” the search giant noted.
Show biz personality and Miss Universe runner-up Miriam Quiambao earned the ire of Internet users following her statements against same-sex marriage. Quiambao has since apologized to the public.
Openly gay celebrities
According to Google, openly gay celebrities popular with Filipino sinclude Hollywood stars Ellen Degeneres and wife Portia de Rossi, and NeilPatrick Harris, whose character as a playboy on the sitcom “How I Met YourMother” showed that gay men could also play straight roles effectively.
Locally, talk show host and talent manager Boy Abunda is also known to be open about his relationship with Bong Quintana, his partner of 20 years.
Last Monday, Google paid tribute to Alan Turing, the father of modern computer science, through one of the company’s “Doodles,” special designs in its home page meant to commemorate certain events.
Turing was a British mathematician whose work with Britain’s Nazi code-breaking center helped winWorld War II for the Allied Countries.
Turing’s achievements, however, were ignored after the war when he was criminally prosecuted for homosexual acts, which were illegal at the time. Rather than take hormone balancers as an alternative to prison, he chose to commit suicide by ingesting cyanide.
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