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Alan Robles

Typhoons, landslides and earthquakes; political instability, massive corruption and economic crisis. The tragedies and misfortunes  that crowded the Philippines this year would be enough to shake anyone's faith in God. Anyone other than the Filipinos, that is.

In Asia's only majority Catholic country, adversity and suffering drive believers closer to their church, rather than away from it.

According to Monsignor Josefino Ramirez, the 58-year old vicar-general of the archdiocese of Manila, the more difficult the times, the more Filipinos seek solace in church.

'God is our last resort, everything is in his hands,' he said.  'Many of us believe these trials are not ends in themselves, they are just there to strengthen and unite us.'

This was evident in the aftermath of the recent devastating typhoons, when scores of Filipinos - many working through church organisations - turned out to volunteer their services or donate food and clothing, and raise money to help the disaster victims.

'The Filipino Catholic is aware of life's hardships; it's part of Catholic indoctrination,' said Ed Tirona, 60, a retired businessman who's involved in church work and is a member of the Council of Laity of the Philippines.

He  said that although Catholics accept suffering as part of life, they are far from being apathetic.

'There's a growing belief that faith not acted on is nothing' and as a result, 'more and more Christians, particularly Catholics, have organised themselves for interventions in social issues like homelessness, environmental degradation and justice', he said.

Catholicism arrived in the Philippines more than 400 years ago as an accomplice to colonial conquest. The Spaniards forcibly converted the inhabitants of the islands and in each town made the church the literal and figurative centre of existence. Friars, who for centuries enforced blind adherence to Catholic dogma while abusing their powers, became symbols of oppression and ignorance.

Still, the colonial experience produced a Christianity that runs deep. According to columnist Carmen Guerrero Nakpil, 'we internalised Christianity itself so well, forgetting it was the hated Spanish friars who brought it'.

Mr Tirona  said the reason Filipinos are such ardent Catholics lies in tradition. 'It's the religion we've inherited - and we don't seem to have had any conflict with it,' he said.

At its core, Catholicism in the Philippines seems to have always been both personal and transactional, with the believer making bargains with a God who both blesses and punishes. Mr Tirona said that while a Filipino Catholic 'runs to the church or goes into deep prayer when things seem out of his control, at the core of his actions is a deep faith in an Almighty that is both a provider and one who punishes with great retribution.'

Celso Ramos, 48, a former Manila  vagrant who now works with Monsignor Ramirez as a leader in an outreach programme for homeless people, said he goes to church 'to ask for God's mercy - if you have a problem you pray to him and wait for his solution'.

His attitude is summed up by the common Filipino expression, 'bahala na ang Diyos' - it's in God's hands. Some see this as a sign of apathy, but Mr Tirona doesn't think so. 'It's not apathy - it's limited options, the absence of a better choice,' he said. 'You try your best within the limit of your resources, and in the absence of a better alternative, you leave it to God. This is the Filipino.'

Interestingly enough, while up to 85 per cent of the country's population of 80 million is baptised Catholic, only a fraction of this number might actually be going to church. A 13-year-old study suggested that only 10 per cent of Filipino Catholics actually attended church regularly. Asked about the missing 90 per cent, Mr Tirona said that 'if you're a member of an organisation, perhaps what you value is identification with that organisation. So you just attend the meetings if you feel like it.'

But Monsignor Ramirez  said the figures might have changed since the study was conducted. He says that in the minor basilica of Quiapo, where he officiates as the parish priest, 'we used to have only three masses everyday, now we have 12 to 14'.

He also  pointed to a new trend - the holding of masses inside banks,  offices and schools. The ethical implication, he  said, is that people become aware that their office is a place of sanctification, that they have to be honest there.

Of course, what perplexes Filipinos themselves is why, given this abundance of religiosity, their country continues to rank  among the world's most corrupt. To Mr Tirona, it's a matter of lack of indoctrination: 'we lack a well-formed conscience.' He  said this is   because the Filipino Catholic needs to develop a deeper insight into the teachings of the church.

Monsignor Ramirez  said 'we are not sincerely practising our faith' and in particular singles out the country's leaders, for not setting an example.

As an institution, the Catholic Church has had rocky relations with  successive governments. Entering the 21st century, the Philippines might nominally be a secular state, but it is one where it is impossible to escape the influence of religion. It pervades everyday life, culture and politics: in  this year's presidential elections,  not only were Catholic charismatic groups seen as blocs that would deliver votes, the head of one such group actually ran for the presidency himself.

At this level, very little distinguishes the institutional church from any other vested-interest group dabbling in politics. One of the year's more sordid deals  was President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's appointment of the choir master of one Catholic group to head Manila's light railway system - apparently as a trade-off for votes.

On hot-button issues such as family planning, birth control and sex education, the Catholic hierarchy has hardline, conservative positions - stances which could affect the government's own development policies.

But  at the grass-roots level, the Catholic Church is very active in promoting specific programmes, such as poverty alleviation. Monsignor Ramirez, for example, has organised a programme to help feed Muslim refugees in his parish. 'They asked me if I would use the programme to convert them,' he says. 'I said, 'No, it's for everyone who needs food'.'

Perhaps it's at that level where Filipinos  excel as Catholics - in their compassion and willingness to help, not in trying to apply doctrine to the framework of development and politics.

Christianity has become so engrained in the Philippine character  that it has become almost a badge of identity. This is the only possible explanation for why Filipinos seem to renew their religious devotions once they settle abroad.

Mr Tirona said: 'I think when they go abroad they cling to their faith and feel more secure.' In the process, he  said, some of the Filipinos even become  evangelisers.

There's a story of workers who went to a Gulf country and ended up converting the households they worked for to Catholicism. It would seem that while you can take the Filipino out of Catholicism, you can't take Catholicism out of the Filipino.

Additional interviews by Raissa Robles



Prayers in the storm