Why God allows evil

AS I WRECK THIS CHAIR
By William M. Esposo
Thursday, March 20, 2008

When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) was quoted by Time Magazine on its cover for saying: "The Good Lord put me here" — she could not be farther from the truth, at least in that particular instance.

The same way that I now tend to think that GMA was indeed placed by God in Malacanang Palace, I, however, do not believe that she was placed there for the reasons she wants others to believe.

You see, when God gave man free will, it came with making a choice between doing good and doing evil. Man can either create his own hell on earth, or he can create his heaven — the choice is entirely man's own.

As a Roman Catholic, I once wondered how come God allowed such a senseless carnage like World War I to happen. This so-called Great War was the most extensive, most brutal yet at that time and it was fought for the most inane of reasons. It resulted from the folly of the last of the European monarchs.

When a Serbian assassin killed the archduke of Austria, it provided Austria-Hungary with an excuse to act against rebellious Serbia. It did so by using a treaty forged among major European powers and enjoining all signatories to get involved.

Quite a number of Scottish towns have put up monuments to commemorate its sons who perished in World War I, leaving behind many widows and orphans. One town I visited in 1985 lost half of its male population after only an hour of battle. How could God allow them to lose their lives because of an evil deed of one Serbian fanatic?

But on hindsight, we now understand that World War I caused major upheavals to happen, many of them triggering a chain of changes that up to now continue to benefit the world.

One of these major changes was the fall of the monarchies in Germany, Austria and Russia and the end as well of that of the Ottoman Empire. The Great War became the great equalizer that paved the way for democracy in those countries. World War I also spawned an awakening of the masses, leading to the birth of Communism in Russia which later spread to other countries.

Thus, like the Serbian fanatic, GMA may well be the historical catalyst from whose petrified belly issues forth the seeds of our redemption. GMA could be God's instrument in resolving the deep-rooted Philippine problems, including serious problems within the Philippine Roman Catholic Church. GMA could be the instrument of the Lord to lead our nation to wipe the slate clean and turn a new leaf.

Do we really think that God is pleased with what his Roman Catholic Church has been doing here? Would God not think that some Princes and Bishops of the Church here — as best exemplified by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal — may have altogether lost their moorings and have since transformed themselves into the very Pharisees who killed the Son of God?

Many Filipinos associate Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with evil. How come Cardinal Vidal does not? Not only that, but Cardinal Vidal has gone out of his way to support these two Malacanang occupants who many see as no-do-gooders who wear Prada.

Just recently, we heard from reliable Church sources that Cardinal Vidal gathered 300 priests in Cebu to give them the "TRUTH" according to Malacañang about the NBN-ZTE scandal. One-sided and bad enough as that is — in the light of what have already been exposed — Cardinal Vidal allegedly ordered the priests NOT TO SAY MASS WHEN WHISTLE-BLOWER JUN LOZADA VISITS CEBU!

Few believed the denials made by Cardinal Vidal and his Spokesman. I, for one, don't believe their denials.

A Jesuit-educated political analyst commented: "When a Cardinal uses the authority of ecclesiastical power to withhold from a Roman Catholic what should be the most unifying memorial of Christ's life, we are not only on the road to perdition. We are already in it."

The mission of priests is to bring Christ to the people. If Jun Lozada is what Cardinal Vidal thinks he is (which most of us do not agree with, thank God for our discernment) — then all the more Jun Lozada should be allowed to hear Holy Mass.

If GMA is God-sent to facilitate a cleansing process, expect that process to be costly and bloody — following historical trends. She has eroded our institutions, subverted the truth, removed accountability and transparency in government, set Filipinos against their government and exposed the dark side of many people who we once thought were godly and honorable.

Don't the divisions in Philippine society, the AFP and even the Philippine Catholic Church remind you of the divisions that the antichrist will cause (as described in the Book of Revelations) — setting brother against brother and father against son?

Are we building up to a Philippine Armageddon? Like Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane, we must pray that this cup shall have passed from our lips.