Bienvenido F. Nebres, S.J.
https://doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.2004.4695
Abstract
The paper deals primarily with the role of the Catholic Church and of Christian tradition in national culture, the Church and Christian tradition as interpreter of national experience and bearer of national culture. It cites as an explicit example of this role in EDSA I and in the Revolution of 1896. It further deals with this role of the Church in community and national culture. The author takes note that as the Philippines moves towards modernization, science and technology are essential, democratic ideals are essential, whether we like it or not, global influences through business, technology, our overseas workers dominate our consciousness more and more. The challenge is how we are to remain who we are (identity), how we are to remain as a community, how we are to find meaning in the world that seems to threaten our fundamental self and values. What is emerging in the Church in the Philippines are powerful movements that bring people together towards community and identity, in particular, various charismatic-based movements. Some remain inward turned and risk becoming closed-in fundamentalist groups; others respond to the call of the Gospels to be their brother’s keeper and the revolution needed for modernization. The paper highlights progress made and challenges faced by movements seeking to build meaning-structures founded on the Christian Gospels and at the same time responsive to the need to reach out to the poor and build community among all Filipinos. In many ways, this is a search for Christian meaning-structures that will bridge the cultural divide between the modernized Christianity of many middle-class Filipinos and the traditional Christianity of the masses. In building that bridge, the Church can then play a critical role in both moving the Philippines forward towards modernization and at the same time keep our sense of identity, community, and meaning whole.