THE PHILIPPINES: Catholicism, poverty and corruption
"To which I replied: 'Then what? Watch other Asian neighbors prosper? Be
proud that the richest men in Asia are from the Philippines, one of the
poorest countries in Asia?' Then we closed the discussion. I regret having
touched on the topic. An anticlerical position could easily be
misunderstood to mean radical and violent. I do not believe in violence or
any form of extremism or totalitarianism. By saying that no pre-dominantly
Catholic country ever got out of poverty, I mean that for such a country to
move forward, it will have to follow progressively oriented countries."
Ronald Hilton - 11/05/00
Bienvenido Macario is a Philippine anti-clerical. Yesterday a Philippine
technician came to fix my telephone. I asked him what he thought of events
in his home country. He expressed support for the anti-corruption drive of
Cardinal Sin. Bienvenido reports on an argument with a fellow countryman,
who accused him of arrogance:
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