Church told: Stop remitting believers’ money to Vatican

MANILA, Philippines – A Philippine lawmaker on Tuesday asked the Catholic Church to use the money from mass collection to help poor Filipinos instead of remitting the donations to the Vatican. Administration ally Isabela Rep. Rodolfo “Rodito" Albano III said Vatican is already rich and it doesn’t need the funds coming from a poor country like the Philippines. “Mayaman na sila (Vatican) kaya hindi na dapat mag-remit pa ang Catholic Church ng Pilipinas sa kanila," said Albano, adding that the every sector should help the poor specially next year as the country is expected to face economic crisis amid the global meltdown. “The collections could contribute to alleviate the flight of the poor by spending the money to pro-poor programs," he said. He also hinted at the need for transparency in the Church in its accounting not only of the money from mass collections, but also from fees for prayer offering for the dead and other church rituals such as weddings and christening. The lawmaker said the Catholic Church should exempt the poor from fees for the various Church “sacraments." “The Church should not charge poor people who want to avail of their services for christening, weddings and mass for the souls of dead people. Basta mahirap na hindi kayang magbayad, huwag nang singilin," Albano suggested. Albano earlier issued a statement hitting Manila Archbishop Guadencio Cardinal Rosales’ statement, which allegedly likened members of the House of Representatives to "rapists." Rosales told reporters that allowing the president’s allies to amend the constitution through Constituent Assembly would be like "entrusting your daughter in the care of a rapist." But aside from Albano, Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin Garin earlier asked the Catholic Church to cut what she considered as exorbitant fees of church rites for wedding, christening and funeral services. The lady lawmaker, who is advocating for the passage of controversial Reproductive Health Bill, also proposed that Church should limit the monetary “offering" during mass to only one amid the hardship in the country. But she clarified that she is just making a practical suggestions and should be taken against the church. - Fidel Jimenez, GMANews.TV