mali kayo spaghetti yun!

My good friend and I had an argument regarding the church's intervention on the regular screening of Da Vinci Code in the country. For her it is but proper that the church is trying to convince the people not to watch the movie, to the extent that they deem the movie not to be shown in the country. She argued that not all Filipinos are critical enough to think that the content of the movie and the book to which it was based are fiction. This incapacity of the people presents founded risks that the catholic might be compromised by a work of an author, whom according to her does not even has the balls to tell the people that what he has written is the truth.

Prevention is better tan according to her, and said that it is better to deprive the educated few just to save the majority from the negative effects of the movie.

I do not concur.

If the Catholic Church feels that there are people whose belief in Christ’s divinity will be swayed by the movie, then that would reflect on their capacity to spread the word of God! It is their primary responsibility to spread Catholicism and strengthen it. If they think that people are going to be swayed by the movie then they already acknowledge that they are not doing their job well enough.

My friend argued though that religiosity comes from the house and that Catholic Church cannot be blamed for acts that only the insolent and stubborn people had caused. Well even the president of the Philippines is being blamed for the country unstable political environment that was caused mainly by the opposition group. Again, going back to my argument, it is the Catholic Church’s responsibility to secure to the people their faith in God.

Ok, my friend may read this and argue that by trying to block the screening the movie, the Catholic Church is already securing the faith of the people. That’s another point. Before we graduated in college, we were made to reflect on our lives in an over-night retreat in tagaytay. Came confession, I confessed that somehow I do not want to believe priests mainly because I find some things that are not in conformity with what they teach. And Fr. Fabia told me that the priests do not hold what I would want to believe in. he further told me that I was created with a free will (granting that I believe in such) and that being a rational being, I have the right to think for myself and believe whatever I would want to believe in.

And this is what the Catholic Church has been preaching, free will. If upon reading the book or seeing the movie the people do not want to believe in God anymore then they are already exercising their free will, which the church has been preaching about. Again, the church cannot talk about free will and undermine the people’s rationality. What they should do is to secure the people’s faith. The church is saying that the book and the movie are works of fiction and that the facts that were laid upon were not precisely accurate. Then they should present that to the people. Show their side of the coin. I do not believe that the church should be hindered from doing such due to their limited resources. There are ways to convey the message to the people in such a way that even the uneducated ones will understand. The church should never be hindered by economics and demographics.

The church, according to my knowledge, is the people and the people that what composes the church. It is in this light I presume that even the non-believers are member of the so-called church; same thing goes with the uneducated, the educated, the apathetic and empowered. All same dogs with different collars. Now, by blocking the movie’s screening they are not being equal to those people who are critical enough to think that Da Vinci Code is a product of fiction. Blocking the movie is an insult to these people’s intellect. I do not agree when my friend said that it is better to sacrifice some to save the majority, because there should be no such thing as “majority rules” in the Catholic Church. They are always saying that we are all brothers and sisters in the eyes of God and thus by being so, we are all created equal. Now all acts of man, especially of those who personify God should be for the benefit of all! If they block the movie’s screening, then they are not giving justice to those who are critical thinkers.

Another point, if the church succeeded in blocking the screening of the movie, it will never be an assurance the public will not have an access to it. Pirates are equally intelligent as the church is in one or another the movie will be accessed by the people through pirated vcds and dvds. six or so much months after, local video shops will be selling authentic vcd and dvds of the movie. Therefore, the act of blocking the movie is futile.

It all boils down to what measures should the catholic church do to preserve the faith of the people in light of all these hooplas of dan brown. I am not saying that the movie will not have glaring effect on the people, it does. I am not saying that the church should sit down and watch the people’s religiosity being swayed by the movie. All I am saying is that the church should protect the faith of the people and be more vigorous in doing so. Blocking the screening of the movie is a sign of mediocrity on the side of the catholic church because there are better and more effective ways in preserving the catholic faith. The church only needs to think hard and work hard.

Disclaimer: lemme get some things straight here. I am not an atheist although I more often than not criticize the clergymen. And I believe in God