The Philippines is the only Catholic-dominated nation in Asia. The Church maintains a considerable influence in the lives of Filipinos. Aside from delivering sermons from the pulpit or issuing pastoral letters, the clergy reaches out to its faithful through the cyberspace. Allow me to introduce the Bishop bloggers of the Philippines.

Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Northern Philippines, through his blog, Viewpoints, is a crusader against gambling and corruption in society. As a consistent critic of the present regime, he has become a credible voice of the Opposition. In his latest blog entry, he denounced the bogus anti-poverty campaign of the government.

“Promise them much but keep them poor. Picture to them their abundant future but keep them hungry. Meantime, assiduously observe the noodle economy—plus some rice and medicine grants. Every now and then. And they sing the praises of their leader. The only disturbing question is how long and how far could such a cruel gimmick work?”

Reflections is the blog of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, the head of the very powerful Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines. In his recent blog article, he defended the decision of some priests who gave assistance to rebel soldiers.

Archbishop Fernando Capalla of southern Philippines blogs through Dialogues. Bishop Antonio Ledesma’s blog is Pastoral Companion. Archbishop Orlando Quevedo is also a blogger through Perspectives.

The Meaning is owned by Bishop Jose Manguiran. According to the Bishop-blogger, “life is meaningful only when it begins and ends with Christ.”

Tidbits is the blog of Bishop Leonardo Medroso. He praised the laity in one blog article and narrated how the Church extends its power in society:

“They are unrecognizable, faceless people in the crowd, inconspicuous in society. But they are carrying within themselves the Christian faith to which they are deeply committed. These are the lay men and women of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Because of this faith, they are there in the halls of Congress listening attentively to the discussions and deliberations regarding reproductive health, marriage, population control. They can be seen in the corridors of congress, entering the offices of senators and congressmen, talking with them, explaining, elucidating, clarifying, arguing for the pro-life stance of the Church on the issues of marriage and family life.”

Meanwhile, Bishop Teodoro Bacani writes a column for a national daily.