IS TITA CORY A SAINT? by Fr. Abe P. Arganiosa, CRS

Former Pres. Fidel Ramos [left], the late Pres. Cory Aquino and the deposed Pres. Joseph Estrada.

* In our Apologia Forum we received a question from our good friend Bro. Caloy asking our opinion about Tita Cory being a Saint. Here is my reply. I also posted the original post of Bro. Caloy but I removed the e-mails to keep their privacy. It is included because Caloy gave us valuable information about the Catholic politicians who are now candidates for Sainthood.

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From: Carlos Antonio Palad

Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 9:10:31 AM

Subject: [apologia-ph] Tita Cory: A Saint?

What do you think?

Needless to say, any investigation will focus on her personal life, and not on her role as president. It is possible to be a very holy person and still be a mediocre administrator -- Church history is not lacking in such examples! =) (I am not saying that Cory was a mediocre president -- all that I'm saying is that it will not necessarily be an obstacle to her possible beatification if she were later judged to have been one.)

In any case, she wouldn't be the only modern statesman / stateswoman to be proposed for elevation to the altars. Others are the Servant of God Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first President (a devout Catholic, known for his daily Mass attendance and strict personal asceticism) and the Servant of God Robert Schuman, one of the architects of the European Union. Farther back into history would be the German parliamentarian and banker, the Servant of God Jerome Jaegen, who in his spare time wrote books on the mystical life. Several Italian politicians of the old Christian Democrat party were also reputed to have led saintly lives. (For example, the Servant of God Giorgio La Pira, the mayor of Florence who sometimes went around barefoot.)

I don't have the full list now but Pope John Paul II beatified a couple of politicians as well.

Yes, there is hope even for politicians =D

The late Pres. Cory and the late Cardinal Sin. Two prophets of our nation; two pillars of our faith; two great shepherds of the Lord's flock.

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FR. ABE'S ESSAY:

I personally believe that Tita Cory lived a life of holiness in a heroic degree. She is worthy to be elevated to the honor of the altar.

We all know that the process of canonization is long and difficult: The 5 year wait, the official gathering of data, interviews of eyewitnesses, the assessment of her virtues, the theological examinations of her life, the need for miracles, etc. It may take years or even decades or much more... centuries. However, the cult of saints doesn't start five years after their death. It starts during their lifetime and it flows naturally after death continuously. Like in the case of John Paul the Great and Blessed Teresa of Calcutta and of Sis. Lucia of Fatima or of Chiara Lubich. Cory is already loved by the people and by the Catholic Church during her lifetime. When she was still alive, she was already seen as a virtuous lady, serene, a woman of great faith and a woman who champion the cause of peace. And we are talking here of a woman whose husband was imprisoned for 7 years and was assasinated, whose family businesses were confiscated and who was under attacked from military renegades who refuses to submit to the demands of democratic process. Through all these she was genuinely prayerful and have promoted the Rosary, the Holy Mass and the Pro-Life stand of the Church to the point that the 1987 Constitution reflects her heart: A Nuclear Free Philippines and The Protection of Life from the Mother's Womb. She practiced and proclaimed her Catholic Faith during her happy days, during times of pain and sufferings, during her public office, during her retirement and during her struggle against cancer.

When her beloved youngest daughter Kris lived with married men she refused to accept her relations and prayed hard for the conversion of that daughter. She only received her back when she abandoned the married man and returned to her embrace after being beaten by the same lover. When she get married civilly to a basketball player she respected the union being an upholder of the law yet she constantly reminded and prayed for her daughter to be married in the Church but she did it without any force or intimidation yet until her deathbed it was a repeated request to the point that her daughter finally saw it as a sacred vow to be fulfilled [N.B.: Unfortunately the daughter didn't keep the promise to get married in the Church instead she preferred to declare the marriage Null and Void]. Despite the fact that she was stricken with cancer she continued her struggle for truth and justice through the recitations of the Holy Rosaries all over the country. She was like a candle being spent for the nation gradually.

Concerning the People Power. Revolutions depend on the character of their leaders. If the leaders are violent the revolution will be violent. If the leader thirsts for blood the revolution will be bloody. Ours was a peaceful revolution because Ninoy fought democratically, because Cory continued the fight peacefully and Cardinal Sin guided his flock accordingly. If Cory wanted blood the Marcoses would not have escaped peacefully; their blood would have been spilled on the ground of Malacanang Palace. Cory is a woman of Peace inside and outside. She was always a voice of reason, a living manifestation of Catholic Ethics and Morality. The two People Power led by Cory and Cardinal Sin were peaceful and joyful and prayerful while the one organized by a group of politicians loyal to an imprisoned former president became a mob riot that led to defeat and destruction of many properties.

It is true that some people think that she was a mediocre president. I myself was tempted to think that during the last days of her term. But now looking back I've realized even before her death that she was a very strong woman whose strength is in Spirit. Only a strong leader could stand the challenges that confronted her. Mikhail Gorbachev of the Soviet Union was deposed after only 1 coup de etat. It took the People Power led by Boris Yeltzin to restore him to office but became a lameduck since then. Also, Lech Walesa of Poland was defeated by the former Communists in the most Catholic country of Eastern Europe. Cory stood her ground and planted democracy firmly on Philippine soil. If a Macho leader was our president after 1986 that leader would not have led us to peace; instead, he would have brought us to a situation of violence and greater divisions. The accusation of weakness on her part deals mostly with the way she handled the coup plotters. People wanted to kill and destroy the military traitors. It sounds beautiful then but now if Cory did that she would have lowered herself on the same level with the iron fisted Gloria. Cory wanted to teach us the way of peace and she practiced it and lived it. Saints are weak and stupid and useless according to the mindset of this world because they are not Machiavellian, they follow Christ instead of Su Tzu. Cory applied the principles of the Cross and the Cross is foolishness for others. [cf. 1 Corinthians 1:17-18]

Thus, during her illness and during her death and funeral she moved the nation to prayer, to gather in countless celebrations of the Holy Mass... she led the nation closer to God. Only a saint can do that. No other power can impel people to pray and to gather in thousands of Holy Sacrifices and to abandon animosities even for a day. In our school, nobody seems eager to remove the yellow ribbons and raised the half-mast flag. Every priest that I hear still mentions her name in the commemoration of the dead as if we don't want to let go of her. As the ancient saying declares: "Those who teach people in righteousness shall shine like the stars in the sky for all eternity." [cf. Daniel 12:3 and Matthew 13:43] Tita Cory is shining with those stars right now. The humble and prayerful maiden has deposed the power-greedy Conjugal Dictators, defeated the power hungry Military adventurists, removed from his throne the corrupt leader who became the lord of all jueteng lords and is a thorn in the flesh of the present leader like St. John the Baptist was to Herod [cf. Matthew 14:1-12]. Tita Cory fulfilled in our country the Magnificat prophecy of Mama Mary: He brought down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly [cf. Luke 1:52]. Only a saint can overthrow the mighty from their thrones out of his or her nothingness and mediocrity.

Tita Cory's faith and virtues were tested through fire and she has been found a genuine diamond.

When I get the chance to go to Metro Manila I will visit her tomb to honor a National Hero and to venerate the relic of a very holy woman. I will tell her these words - a paraphrased version of what the high priest Joakim told Judith:

"You are the glory of Manila, the surpassing joy of the Philippines; You are the splendid boast of our nation. With your own hand you have done all this; You have done good to the people, and God is pleased with what you have wrought. May you be blessed by the Lord Almighty forever and ever!" [cf. Judith 15:8-10]

What did Judith do? He murdered King Holofernes! That's a great honorific word for a murderer isn't it? Of course, Judith is a prefiguration of the Blessed Virgin Mary who crushed the head of Satan [cf. Genesis 3:15 and Revelation 12:1]. These words are actually for the Blessed Virgin who crushed Satan by her humility and faith [cf. Luke 1:38 The Fiat]. As I reflect on it, I am convinced that Judith 15:8-10 also fits Tita Cory who never murdered the enemies who have done her wrong but instead submitted her case to the Justice of God. Tita Cory did better than Judith because she followed the example of Mary of Nazareth. She served until the end... she remained faithful even at the foot of Calvary and thus we can say: "The Lord Almighty thwarted them, by a WOMAN'S HAND He confounded them..." [Judith 16:5]. It is no wonder that Cory's People Power is being called a MARIAN REVOLUTION... A Miracle at EDSA.