THIS article follows the same line of reasoning as “Weaponizing education” (The Manila Times, June 9, 2022), which examined how institutions meant to shape minds and values can be misused as political tools. The same danger exists when religion — meant to guide conscience — is turned into an instrument of political influence.
This is written from the perspective of a Catholic parent who has taught children to respect priests, to listen in church and to trust that the pulpit is a place for truth. That trust is weakened when certain priests use religious authority to advance personal political opinions.
This is not an attack on the Catholic Church. It is a criticism of individual priests who act on their own but speak as if they represent the Church, God and all Catholics. Personal political views are delivered as religious teaching, and that is wrong.
When a priest speaks while wearing vestments and standing at the pulpit, people listen differently. Children listen. Parents listen. The poor listen. Words spoken in church carry more weight than ordinary speech. That authority should be handled with care. Instead, it is sometimes abused.
The most serious problem is that many of these priests do not understand how the government actually works. They have never run a public office. They have never prepared a national budget. They have never examined an audit report. They have never managed public funds or explained how taxpayer money was spent. They have never faced oversight, accountability, or the limits imposed by law and resources.
Yet strong political judgments are made as if moral certainty alone is enough.
Running a country is not the same as preaching a sermon. Government decisions involve limited budgets, competing needs, rules, controls and difficult tradeoffs. There are no simple answers. Many priests have never studied governance, public finance, budgeting or audits. Still, opinions are delivered with full confidence and often framed as if guided by God.
God does not approve budgets. God does not audit government spending.
Using faith to cover a lack of knowledge is not spiritual leadership. It is a misuse of authority.
The hypocrisy becomes clear when priests publicly pray over politicians whose corruption is already known. Politicians linked to theft, abuse or repeated failure are brought before the altar, prayed over and presented as if prayer alone can erase wrongdoing. This sends a dangerous message: that responsibility is optional, that repentance requires no correction and that power can be blessed without accountability.
When these politicians later lose elections, silence follows. There is no public reflection, no admission of error and no acknowledgment that the pulpit was misused. The political moment passes, but the damage to trust remains.
Parents teach children that authority must come with responsibility. They teach that opinions must be informed. They teach that speaking loudly does not make something true. Yet some priests model the opposite — speaking on matters they do not understand, then hiding behind religious office when questioned.
If a priest wants to speak on politics, that can be done honestly as a private citizen. Personal views should be clearly identified as personal views. The pulpit should not be used. Vestments should not be used. God should not be used to strengthen arguments that cannot stand on knowledge and facts.
The Church does not belong to individual priests. It belongs to the faithful. No priest has the right to present personal political opinions as Church teaching. When this happens, believers are confused, parishes are divided and young people grow cynical — not only about politics, but about faith.
This behavior also harms the Church itself. The altar becomes a political stage. The homily becomes commentary. Worship becomes performance.
The role of the Church is to form conscience, not command votes. It is to teach values, not endorse candidates. It must speak with humility, especially on matters that require real competence.
Faith should guide people toward truth and responsibility. It should never be used to hide ignorance or protect corruption.
That is not faith. That is hypocrisy.
This article reflects a personal and parental Catholic perspective. It critiques the actions of individual clergy members and not the Catholic Church as an institution. Examples cited are based on publicly observable behavior.
Paul Chua, PhD, holds doctoral degrees in fiscal management and peace and security, and a masteral degree in national security administration. He completed an executive education program on “Strategic Management of Regulatory and Enforcement Agencies” at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. Facebook: Doc Paul.