El Shaddai’s endorsement

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RO. MIKE Velarde’s endorsement of fourteen senatorial candidates is not new. He and other leaders of sects and religious movements have been doing this time and again. Despite the fact that Velarde (later) denied the possibility of “block voting” among his members, still, the endorsement is something that should be criticized. Unfortunately, the noisy critics of the clergy from the administration are silent like lambs.

Apparently, the defenders of the administration would never say anything against what is obviously favorable to their side. But precisely, people’s tolerance of Velarde’sinfluence is an example of this country’s “Selective Secularity.” What we are saying here is that this country lacks, of all things, consistency in terms of the applications of the Separation of Church and State. Politicians would only invoke such a separation if and when it is favorable to them. So while you have a president badmouthing bishops because they are meddlers in his affairs on the one hand, you have his allies enjoying the endorsement of El Shaddai’s spiritual leader on the other.

I really don’t care if Velarde is a true prophet or not. Obviously, we know the answer to our question: “he is not.” But just the same, no prophet, pastor, or appointed Son of God should dictate people on who to write on the ballot. As I expressed in a previous article, religious leaders should only give guidelines, form consciences, and provide moral guidance. Beyond this, political choices such as during elections should be a matter of individual freedom. If the Catholic bishops, for me, are not even in the position to tell their members who to vote, how much more a pastor or a brother who preaches salvation merely by using his saliva and by wearing a colorful coat with matching corsage?

A few years ago there were studies that tried to explore and understand the nature of El Shaddai’s influence. Deserving of mention is a book by Katharene Wiegele, “Investing in Miracles: El

Shaddai and the Transformation of Popular Catholicism in the Philippines.” In this book, the author analyzes how Velarde uses “prosperity gospel” as an attraction for his followers. The study further distinguishes the charismatic style of Velarde from that of mainstream Catholicism.

I admire the contributions of the studies on El Shaddai such as Wiegele’s. But I can also see their limitations. I am not so much interested in the sociology of El Shaddai. I don’t care if Pentecostalism is an in-thing - or as some would put it we are moving into the age of the Holy Spirit. What’s more important for me is for people like Velarde to teach their followers how to discern carefully and vote reflectively. If religion and religious groups end up becoming instruments or agents of domination and oppression, then they must by all means be dismantled or abandoned. It is such an apparent contradiction for a leader who invokes the Holy Spirit as the “Lord and giver of life” to endorse a candidate like Bato de la Rosa who believes in “death penalty” and whose vocabulary is littered with terms like “EJK and shooting.”

There is no doubt about Verlarde’s influence. However, this does not mean that he cannot be questioned. Perhaps it is high time for the Catholic hierarchy to ask Velarde straight to the point as to what his schemes are. Is Velarde still Catholic or is he hiding under the skirt of Catholicism in order to perpetuate some of his personal agenda? I am sure though that the bishops will not have an easy time handling a leader as charismatic as Velarde. I am more sure in fact that between the bishops and El Shaddai’s big brother, the members of the movement would look up to their Bro. Mike more than their hierarchs.

Velarde knows what the Bible says, or perhaps he is familiar with some of its lines. This of course is part of his marketing strategy. Hopefully though he would pay more attention to the fuller message of God’s revelation: God sent his son that we have life and live it to the fullest. Unfortunately, Brother Mike’s preferred candidates, those who got his “blessing” are more convinced of the importance of depriving people of their lives all because of the conviction that they know better what is good and evil.*