sign in sign up
<<
Home , Corazon Aquino, EDSA, Jaime Sin, Juan Ponce Enrile, Salvador Laurel

Cardinal Instrumental in the People’s Revolution

Jaime L. Sin (born 1928) was a cardinal of the Roman who served in the . He was instrumental in the defeat of the Marcos regime in 1986 (during the EDSA Revolution, aka Revolution).

Jaime L. Sin, was born in the town of New Washington, , in the Visayan Islands of the Philippines on August 21, 1928. He was the seventh of nine children of Juan Sin and Maxima Lachica.

Cardinal Sin began his missionary career in Jaro, Iloilo, where he attended the Jaro Archdiocesan Seminary of St. Vincent Ferrer. He was ordained a priest on April 3, 1954. He served as priest of the Diocese of from 1954 to 1957 and became rector of St. Pius X Seminary in Roxas City from 1957 to 1967. While serving in the church he obtained a bachelor's degree in education from the Immaculate Concepcion College in 1959. He assumed several positions in archdioceses in the Visayan Islands—and subsequently became metropolitan of , of the Philippines, in 1974. Sin was named cardinal by Pope Paul VI on May 26, 1976.

Cardinal Sin was known for his good sense of humor. He jokingly called his residence "the House of Sin" and smiled at the ironic combination of his name and title.

But in a largely Catholic country plagued by a dictatorship from 1972 to 1986, Cardinal Sin often suppressed his smiles. He increasingly criticized the Marcos regime for its indifference to the plight of the poor. While advocating an independent church, he supported intervention in "the morality of politics." Thus he caught the ire of President Marcos and the many times over his criticisms of the government's human rights violations and over Imelda's extravagant expenditures.

The cardinal became very vocal about the violence and cheating that characterized Philippine elections in the 1970s and . In the 1978 elections for delegates to the National Assembly, he issued an open letter "calling on church members to report any instances of fraud."

His involvement became more active in 1986 when President Marcos called for snap elections for president and vice-president. Marcos needed a new mandate to convince the world of the legitimacy of his regime.

The opposition saw the opportunity to field candidates against the president. One candidate put up was , widow of the senator who was jailed by Marcos, went to self-exile in the , and was murdered upon his return to the Philippines in 1983. Cardinal Sin played an important role in unifying several factions and candidates of the opposition. He convinced ex-Senator to run for vice-president, with Corazon Aquino as president. Aquino agreed, in turn, to run under Laurel's banner, the UNIDO Party. The opposition rallied behind the Aquino-Laurel ticket. However, conflicting counts were reported by the government's Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and the volunteer group National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL). The Marcos-leaning legislature proclaimed the Marcos ticket victory on the basis of COMELEC tallies. The people protested.

In the military some 300 officers rebelled against the president and Chief of Staff . The minister of national defense, , and deputy chief of staff Fidel Ramos led the rebellion, asking Cardinal Sin to protect the army against the president's reprisal by mobilizing civilian support. The cardinal made an appeal by radio, and the people, Catholic and non- Catholic alike, heeded his call. They went by the millions to stand guard against the gates and fences of the military camp where the rebels stayed. When government tanks and weapons were sent to crush the rebellion, the people's prayers, smiles, and prevented the government troops from firing. The president, in desperation, fled the country. The rebel government installed Corazon Aquino as president.

In the 1990s, Cardinal Sin continued to maintain a high profile in the political life of the Philippines. During the 1992 election campaign, Cardinal Sin issued a pastoral letter in which he identified what he considered to be undesirable traits or behaviors in presidential candidates. In 1995, he publicly criticized the Christian Democratic coalition government of Protestant President Fidel Ramos, whom he referred to as a "Marcos clone." He also led massive rallies protesting various governmental policies, including Ramos's one for population control (1995) and for the issuance of national identification (ID) cards (1997). In 1997, when Ramos attempted to amend the Philippine to allow him to serve two six-year terms as president, he was thoroughly denounced by Sin. Ramos' vice president, , was subsequently elected president. But in January 2001, the obviously corrupt Estrada was forced to resign after thousands of , including Sin, took to the streets to demand that he do so. Thus the cardinal who would not intervene played a crucial role in Philippine politics. This was consistent with his reading of the role of the church in a .

He maintained his residence in a suburb of Manila, where he continued to entertain both humble and mighty guests, welcoming all into the "House of Sin" with a modest smile.

Adapted from “Jaime L. Sin Biography”, Book Rags, Retrieved on September 4, 2011 from: http://www.bookrags.com/biography/jaime-l-sin/ Evening prayer By Raymund Fernandez Daily News 10:47 am | Wednesday, August 24th, 2011

Cardinal Sin began his night journey as he always did, with a cup of coffee and a prayer. He composed his prayer all by himself addressing his God as if He were in the room with him. His prayer was always a confession, a plea for forgiveness not just for sins he was aware of but also for those he might commit without knowing.

This thought reassured him. For there had been times in the past when he came close to convincing his flock to take up arms against their enemies. This night he thanked his God he never went over that edge. Not the least because, he imagined, they would have lost anyway. He had this power at least. And he will always use it to help. And the poor had nothing, not even authentic goodwill from those who were better off than they. All that they ever got was charity. Even the priest was guilty of this sin once. He grew up in a gated subdivision, had gone to the best Catholic schools, got the best education from the best seminary only to find out eventually how insufficient his education had been. He had little preparation for what was out here. All that theology and science and liberal arts did not describe to him the contradictions he would encounter. He would have to learn them all by himself and few were reconcilable. They were contradictions enough to fully test his faith. In the face of so much poverty and oppression, what was the Mother Church’s answer? Charity.

He knew exactly how insufficient that was. He prayed for the Mother Church to ask itself, When was its best time in Philippine history? When was the time it was closest to the hearts of its people, not just Catholics but everyone of all persuasions? He prayed they would have the same answer as him. He prayed they would answer: The days of the EDSA revolution when Jaime Cardinal Sin called on the faithful to free themselves from tyranny and bondage. Those were the golden days of the Mother Church. Whenever he wondered about his church, whenever he seemed almost to lose faith, he always contemplated those days and his love for his church would be strengthened. He could feel hope. When he remembered those days he always wondered why he felt that way about them. He recalled those days in his head over and over again hoping to derive one more lesson, one more clue about the paradox of being a child both of Jesus Christ and Dr. Jose . (Note: Dr. Rizal criticized the wealthy Church and state under Spanish control for their oppression of the Filipino people)

Yet a few years after the event at EDSA, the Mother Church seemed to him as if she had forgotten entirely. Or perhaps, She never realized that lesson of history narrated in very clear terms by Rizal: The church was an instrument of oppression in colonial times. It should be asked: When did the Mother Church cease to be that instrument? If we cannot clearly identify that time of transformation, then we would have to logically wonder if it still is that instrument of oppression. Yet how should the Mother Church know that is has stopped being that? For the priest the answer was simple. She can never tell unless she were perpetually engaged in actively freeing the poor and the oppressed in the country. It is Her atonement, Her forgiveness. It is how She may be reconciled with the children of Dr. Jose Rizal and Jesus Christ. Without this reconciliation, She can only continue her old colonial role.

As a Catholic he had been trained all his life to see the paramount importance of the act of reconciliation. This reconciliation was only possible if we came to atone for and to forgive our historical sins. Rizal explained what those sins were. In his heart, the priest knew exactly what he needed to do for himself. Only by freeing others can he free himself. In this he felt at one with his people. With that prayer he crossed himself and disappeared into the night.

Adapted from “Evening Prayer”, Fernandez, Raymund, Cebu Daily News, 2011 Aug 24, Retrieved on September 2, 2011 from http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/46995/evening-prayer

Reflection Questions

1. Give specific examples of how Cardinal Sin engaged in political activity before the People Power (EDSA) revolution.

2. What key role did Cardinal Sin play during the EDSA revolution?

3. After the Marcos regime fell, in what ways was Cardinal Sin still involved in politics?

4. After reading “Evening Prayer” by Raymund Fernandez, answer the following:

a) In this reflection, Cardinal Sin was glad he did not call the Filipino to take up weapons against Marcos’ army, even though he was tempted to do so. In the , two million people protested peacefully against military forces, kneeling in front of tanks with , in prayer. If these people had weapons instead of rosaries, do you think their revolution would have been successful? Explain.

b) According to the reflection, what is the juxtaposition between the Church and oppression? (how are the two related, but opposite?)

c) Do you believe Church should be separated from the state (government)? Support your answer using specific examples. (Think about the role the Church might play in politics – the importance of this role, but also the concerns and dangers associated with it)