"Altar of Secrets" Book Shows "Tough Love" for Church

By Gian C. Geronimo, Rouchelle R. Dinglasan
GMA News
June 8, 2013

http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/311987/lifestyle/literature/altar-of-secrets-book-shows-tough-love-for-church

A new book — "Altar of Secrets" — portrays the Catholic Church in the Philippines as an institution filled with secrets and lacking in accountability.

Journalist Aries Rufo's book "Altar of Secrets: Sex, Politics, and Money in the Philippine Catholic Church" shows "tough love" for the Church, with the goal of reforming its ills.

At the launching at Fully Booked bookstore in Taguig City on Friday, Rufo asked, “Are we out to destroy the Church? Of course the answer is no. How can one book destroy a Church that has been in existence for more than two thousand years?"

Rufo dedicated his book to "those who remain steadfast in their faith yet ache for reforms within the Holy Mother Church."

Rufo hopes the book will engage the Church, ask tough questions, demand accountability, and push for transparency.

Even though he has not yet read the book, retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, who has frequently been critical of his clerical colleagues, called the book a "wake-up call."

“Hindi naman sikreto na ang Simbahan ay may pagkakamali. Ang pari, obispo o arsobispo, kami naman ay hindi santo,” Cruz told GMA News Online.

Baby steps

The book tackles at length the alleged wrongdoings committed by some of the Church’s bishops and priests, such as sexual misconduct, financial mismanagement, and lack of accountability and punishment for those who did wrong.

“We try to portray a Church that is divine and human as well, a local Church trying its best to institute reforms, taking baby steps to respond to the changing times without compromising its principles,” Rufo said.

Even if Rufo’s book contains stories about human frailties involving Church leaders and the Church itself, he believes that all hope is not lost.

“We take consolation in the fact that there are Church leaders imposing the standards it has set for its members as a sign of accountability. We take comfort that there are Church leaders who have remained true to their calling, avoiding the trappings of power... working silently behind the scenes for a better society,” Rufo said.

Fellow journalist Miriam Grace Go, an editor for online news site Rappler where Rufo is a colleague, said it was written with the hope of "cleansing" the ills plaguing the Church.

"Let us assure you that Aries is somebody who loves his church--the Catholic Church--but it's a tough love," Go said.

"How else can you fix it and make it stronger and more effective in serving and ministering to the flock, but by cleansing it. So that is exactly what Aries is trying to do," she continued.

Rufo has been a beat reporter for the Manila Times and the Manila Standard, a senior writer for Newsbreak, and now an editorial consultant for online news site Rappler.

He has covered the politics, judiciary, and Church beat during his time as a reporter.

Some of Rufo's accolades are being a recipient of the Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Excellence in Journalism and being the first Southeast Asian to win first prize in the Asia Pacific category of the Lorenzo Natali Journalism Prize.

"Altar of Secrets" is the first book published by the Journalism for Nation Building Foundation, an indepedent organization founded in August 2011 that produces public interest works in various platforms.

The foundation, which was described in the launch as an offshoot of now-defunct Newsbreak magazine, also seeks to promote in-depth journalism.

A wake-up call

Retired Archbishop Cruz told GMA News Online in a phone interview on Saturday that the book could be a “wake-up call” to the Catholic Church.

“Alam ng Simbahan [na hindi kami perpekto] kaya may mga libro ng batas dahil hanggang ngayon ay may mga employee pa rin ni Hudas,” he noted.

“Minsan masikreto nga ang pamamahala ng mga pari parang sa kumpisal,” Archbishop Cruz added. “[The book] is a wake-up call for us [in the clergy] lalo na sa CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines).”