Fr Emmanuel Alfonso, SJ

Bishop Jorge Barlin
Promotion of Faith & Culture

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Imagine the world of Bishop Jorge Alfonso Imperial Barlin in the late 18th century. The country was in turmoil. With the rise of the Katipunan, we were at war. The Spaniards were on the retreat, including the Catholic Church whose friars were not spared by the ire of a people oppressed for more than 300 years. It was in the midst of this chaos, this difficult and painful transition that a young parish priest in Sorsogon rose and proved his mettle and his worth. Sa oras nin karibukan, nagpahiling nin orag an sarong padi hale sa Baao.

In Sorsogon, for instance, a first in our history, when the Spanish governor fled for his life, Fr Barlin was appointed governor. From this post, he would negotiate with the revolutionaries, mediating for peace in the region rather than violence, especially towards the Spanish friars. It was in this peace-building work that he most distinguished himself even to the revolutionaries. Impressed by his courage, the Philippine Independent Church made up of disgruntled Filipino priests offered to make him their Supremo.

But Father Barlin was a loyal son of the Catholic church and a staunch defender of the Catholic faith. He excoriated them and later on fought them in the courts for rights over Church properties now claimed by the schismatic group. Yes, in what would be another first for the Church, a Bishop embroiled in a legal case which he would later win and thus his name, Barlin, would forever form part of the country’s legal jurisprudence.

As documented by our movie Gomburza, Spain hesitated to give the reins of the Church to Filipinos, much less appoint native Bishops. But they could not refuse it to Jorge Barlin. He had proved not only his intelligence, his virtue, and his faithfulness to the Church but also his invincible courage under fire. He was in their eyes a cut above the rest, a primus inter pares. And so in 1902, Barlin, a Bikolano and a Filipino, made history and became the first ever Bikolano and Filipino bishop, placing our region in the global map, elevating our race before the Church and the Civilized world. Maorag. Maoragun na marhay. Thank you Bishop Barlin for making us Bikolanos and Filipinos proud.

E sisay man ako? Inda man daw. I will not even pretend to be able to hold a candle to this great man we honor today. But humbly, I accept this award so that his memory would live on. There are many things to admire and to say about Bishop Barlin, but I chose to remember today his courage in the face of great crisis. For we are, as it were, living through a chaotic time once again, we are at the brink of war, if not global catastrophe, and we must muster Bishop Barlin’s indomitable courage.

Our idol incoming Congresswoman Leila de Lima will tell us more about the grim scenario we face today, but let me just point you to one alarming fact: democracies now are in retreat. In the 90s as with EDSA people power revolution, 80 percent of countries turned democratic. Today, we are told 80 percent are now tragically authoritarian or autocratic. Admittedly, we are at the precipice of a great cataclysm, and we are not even talking about our failed fight against global warming. As we speak, the US empire, the long bastion of democracy is crumbling and Iran and Israel are at war with each other.

At JesCom, we have been doing our part to turn the tide. Unlike Barlin though, we have been blessed to be able work during peacetime. And so as my mother would remind me: we have been making hay while the sun shines. Indeed, what is the promotion of faith and culture but the planting of seeds for a peaceful and just society? The faith, culture, or the arts have always been a force for goodness in the world. When we teach about God, morality, virtues, we are but providing for the roots or foundation of, in the words of St. Pope John Paul II, a civilization of love. And averting a future we do not desire to see. That is the work of the Church. That’s the work of every University like the Ateneo. We lay the foundations of the future while there’s light. Jesus himself reminds us, “we must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming when no one can work (Jn 9:4).”

Let me be clear, dear friends, dear graduates. I am not a warmonger or a doomsday sayer. This rather morbid perspective is part of our faith, a faith that looks at reality and faces it head on, a faith that is not sterile but alive, a faith that is not passive but active, a faith that is a gift but also a task. Indeed there was a time we were known as the Church militant. Every time we teach values, or elucidate the truth, or show kindness, we are keeping the evil in this world at bay. For his part, Ignatius, who was a soldier, would tell us: every moment, every second, every day, we are engaged in a spiritual warfare. The forces of good and evil are trying to win us over their side. It is on this spiritual warfare that the future of the world rests. Which side would you choose? Which pill would you take—the blue pill that leads to a life of illusion or the red pill that embraces the hard reality of life?

The good news, fellow Ateneans, we have been trained and formed for this work, intellectually, emotionally, and spiritually. And we, Bicolanos, are cut out for this fight as well. Bishop Barlin had blazed the trail for us.

Maorag kita. Pinaorag kan saket kan buhay ta, Pinaorag kan pagkamoot ta ki Ina, pinaorag kan mga bagyong pirming nagaagi satuya asen an paulit ulit na pagalburuto ni Mayon. Ipadagos ta an napunan kan tugang tang si Bishop Barlin.

Once again, thank you to the Board of Trustees of the Ateneo de Naga for this award.