Catholic nation? The Filipino Church rethinks its role in politics.
The Filipino Catholic Church threw everything into the 2022 presidential election. Clergy broke from decades of political neutrality to speak out against the campaign of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., son and namesake of the island nation’s infamous dictator. Thousands of priests, bishops, deacons, and nuns endorsed his primary opponent, Vice President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo. The top council of laity vowed to deliver her “the Catholic vote” on May 9 – a hypothetically powerful bloc for a country that’s 86% Catholic.
But it never materialized.
Weeks before the polls opened, many bishops were preparing for disappointment. In a secret meeting in Manila on April 6, prelates mulled over projections showing the Marcos camp’s huge, consistent lead.
