My Filipino Friend on the Greatness of Dr. Jose Rizal

I give space here for my great Filipino friend - Gil C. Fernandez - on his views about our Jose Rizal. I said it before, I say it again: If only our schools, colleges, and universities taught less about Jesus Christ by teaching more about our Jose Rizal - the Filipinos today would be one of the healthiest people and the Philippines one of the wealthiest of countries in all of Asia today. Poch Suzara The Catholic Church is the greatest beneficiary of Spain colonization of the Philippines. It has gained unimaginable wealth and power, amidst poverty, overpopulation, suffering and misery of the Filipino people. It has introduced the concept of heaven, hell and purgatory to obtain obedience from the people. Confession, to control the community, a classic example was the discovery of the Katipunan, which was leaked out through the confessional. It has spread alleged miracles to fool the people. It exploited the people as proved by the possession of the best lands in many parts of the country; the biggest tract of lands in central Luzon belongs to the Dominicans. The most expensive schools and hospitals belong to this church, and the biggest depositor in the Bank of the Philippine Island is the Archbishop of Manila. And this church, the richest church in the world, has not been paying taxes to a country which is considered one of the poorest countries in the world,-- which is the Philippines. Even after more than a century after the catholic religion was declared not the official religion of the country and the introduction separation of Church and State in the Philippine, the Filipino people still suffer from religious fanaticism. There is still a very important need for the Filipino people to learn even more the life, works and writings of Jose Rizal. As I said before, let the words of Rizal serve as a boost in our morale, not to allow the continuation of this ruthless tyranny, hypocrisy, and the taking advantage of our poor people by this powerful Catholic Church. Let Rizal be the inspiration of our youth, a role model in the struggle for a good life, and to emulate the virtues of this great man, -Dr. Jose Rizal. Written by Gil C. Fernandez, August 2008 Springfield, Illinois Facebook# Twitter# Google#