Prelate to Palace: Reverse curses plaguing country

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang should pave the way for a better New Year for Filipinos by reversing "seven curses" into "seven blessings," a senior Catholic bishop said. Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop Oscar Cruz said the seven curses enumerated last July by the Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO) have continued to hound Filipinos this year. "A curse is anything but something funny and puny, to be taken lightly and to be said frivolously. This is true not only in the scriptural context but also in the ordinary sense of the word. In simple and clear terms, a curse is nothing less than damnation, condemnation or imprecation," Cruz said in his web log. He warned Malacañang not to take lightly the warning of the FSGO, who he said are officials who had "been there" in government and know what they speak of. As early as July, the FSGO warned President Arroyo of seven curses she must address and reverse to become "seven blessings." These include illegitimate presidency; abuse of power; cancer of corruption; mismanagement of agriculture; worsening poverty; deteriorating social services; and the nation robbed of dignity, unity and hope. "For all intents and purposes, they should know. They were there. And they decidedly left their key public offices due to their disgust and distrust towards the said Palace character. Needless to say, their option to leave the supposedly national leader was met with national admiration. They no longer wanted to be used and abused - considering their professional expertise and personal probity. They had enough. They left and stayed away," Cruz noted. He said it will be difficult to altogether debunk their evaluation of the saddening plight of the nation, to utterly disregard their reading of the "signs of the times." On the other hand, Cruz said the Palace should stop taking these warnings lightly, even as he noted it has the habit of deploying several police and military forces around Mrs. Arroyo. "How would the seven national curses turn to seven blessings for the Nation? What could turn financial misery to economic abundance? Where will help come from, when will salvation appear and who will bring and lead it? What will happen some two years from now? What is in store for the times ahead? What will people decide to do? What happens then?" he said. "Meantime that the above questions remain unanswered, the Seven Curses rule over this otherwise dear and endearing Country," he added. - GMANews.TV