CABRAL, Alyanna Angelina M.

L-160525
Progressive Catholicism:
Interpreting the Bible in the Modern Era
The Church is a powerful institution. It is able to mobilize its followers. Every Sunday, people wake up
in the morning and go to church to attend mass. Every 25th of December, people set up feasts and gather with
their families to celebrate the birth of Christ. Every 9th of January, people huddle together, throw their
handkerchief towards the Black Nazarene, trying their best to have a touch of the statue. In their everyday lives,
people’s actions are guided by the teachings of the Church. Through these manifestations of the Church’s
power, it can be said that the interpretation of the Bible should be given great attention.
“You cannot use the Bible to justify racial segregation, anti-Semitism or sexism whether on the part of
men or of women” (cite). This statement denotes repudiation of the use of religion to justify discrimination
towards other people. The Bible should not be construed in a way that would oppress a certain group of people
because every person is God’s child and is equally deserving of God’s salvation.
An example of interpretation which promotes discrimination is Manny Pacquiao’s interpretation.
Pacquiao had been expressing his stand against same-sex marriage for the reason that it goes against the
Catholic teaching that marriage should only between a man and a woman. He discriminated against the LGBT
community when he once described couples in same-sex marriage as worse than animals. Indeed, this could in
no way be a teaching of the Church for God loves all his children and he did not intend to condemn any person
because of his or her gender identity.
This is where the importance of Actualization enters. In the process of actualization, interpreting the
Bible attends to the values of which the modern world is more and more conscious, such as the rights of the
human person, the protection of human life, the preservation of nature, and the longing for world peace (cite).
Interpretation of the Bible should adapt with the modern times, being more consistent with the promotion of
human rights, without altering the fundamental teachings of the Church.
Moreover, people nowadays could be able to relate more easily with Church’s teachings by relating
these with current issues such as those confronted by marginalized sectors such as farmers, workers, IPs, among
others. Such issues are concrete and are manifested by hunger and poverty. Thus, it would be easier for people
to truly imbibe Church’s teachings because people encounter these issues in their everyday lives.
Because of the traditional interpretation of the Bible, we tend to view Catholicism as conservative.
However, Catholicism can be progressive if its teachings would center on valuing humanity. If the Bible would
be interpreted centering on humanity, then Catholicism could be an effective driving force for a revolution. In
promoting human rights, revolutions need to be resorted to since the current economic and political system
clearly violates human rights, especially those of the marginalized sectors who are systematically exploited by
such system. These revolutions may fight for farmers’ right to agricultural land, IP’s right to ancestral land,
workers’ right to fair working conditions, among others. Going back to the teaching that every person is God’s
child, we should fight for the marginalized sectors for they are equally deserving of the human rights that most
people enjoy in the modern era. Moreover, fighting for these rights would not only preserve the lives of the
sectors mentioned, but also of the whole humanity because these marginalized sectors are at the same time, key
sectors in establishing world without hunger and poverty.
Indeed, Church is an influential institution and it greatly contributes to the shaping of an individual. By
interpreting the bible in consonance with humanity, we can expect the future generations to be less self-centered
and be more involved in uplifting the state of our nation. Because of being less self-centered and giving more
importance to humanity, future generations may be more open-minded and more accepting of other religions or
cultures, thus giving way to a harmonious coexistence among religions and long-lasting world peace.