Santiago: There is no hell

This was how Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago countered on Monday a statement by a priest that she should be consigned to the fires of hell supposedly for calling as “fool” the prosecution team in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

“Under Vatican 2, there is no hell; but even if there is, there is nobody there,” Santiago said in a statement.

“In theology, hell is not a geographical place, but is a metaphor for distance from God,” she said, reacting to Fr. Catalino Arevalo, who took a swipe at her during the weekend.

Santiago then went on attacking the priest, who she said sounded like a “publicity hound.”

“The priest is saying that he is close to God, and I’m not. I say to the priest, judge not, that you shall not be judged,” she said.

Santiago said she was told that Arevalo had approached certain journalists to make sure that his homily would be reported in the print media.

“It is like St. Paul writing letters to the Corinthians, and begging them to publicize his letters.  This priest sounds very much like a publicity hound.  And I thought humility in spiritual matters is a virtue.”

Under Vatican 2, Santiago said, the Catholic Church no longer clings to the monopoly on truth.

“Under Vatican 2, priests and nuns should be treated like everyone else.  They are not special people just because they have joined a religious community.  It does not make them any more smarter or holier than you and me.”

Instead of meddling in politics, Santiago said the priest should spend his energy fighting pedophilia within the Catholic Church.

“That priest should spend his energy fighting pedophilia within the Catholic Church, instead of meddling in politics and serving to divide church practitioners,” she said.

The senator also criticized Arevalo for making a literal interpretation of the Bible.

“Under Vatican 2, the story of Genesis is no longer a historical fact but a myth.  The Bible should not be read literally, but should be read in its Aramaic context.  Unfortunately, some of the religious refuse to accept the changes started by Vatican 2,” she said.

“I can engage in a public debate with the priest, and we can exchange quotation for quotation from the Bible.  But that would be foolish, because the Bible can be interpreted in as many ways as there are Christian churches,” Santiago added.

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Santiago blasts priest over ‘hell’ warning

She isn’t the type who would back down when challenged by a fellow politician or by a fellow lawyer. Neither would she when confronted by a man of the cloth.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Sunday came out firing against a Catholic priest who criticized her for repeatedly scolding prosecutors over their supposed incompetence in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Santiago took exception to a remark by Fr. Catalino Arevalo in his homily suggesting she could be “worthy of the fires of hell,” particularly for referring to the prosecution team as gago (fool) during a trial session last week.

“The Constitution provides for a wall of separation between Church and State. A priest cannot violate the law in the guise of criticizing a senator-judge with the ulterior motive of promoting his own political agenda,” Santiago said in a statement.

Arevalo, a Jesuit in his 80s who is close to the family of President Benigno Aquino III, quoted Matthew 5:20 in taking a swipe at the mercurial senator: “But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement. And if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council. And if you say, ‘You fool,’ you will be liable to the fires of hell.”

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