The Philippines proudly recognizes the fact that
they are the only Christian nation in Asia. More than 86 percent of the
population is Roman Catholic, 6 percent belong to other Christian cults, and another
2 percent belong to well over 100 Protestant denominations (Miller). As a
Catholic country, Catholic Social Teaching should be upheld to the fullest
extent. The most crucial parts are the beliefs that human life is sacred and
that the dignity of the human person is the foundation of a moral vision for
society (United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops). So how can the Philippines truly call themselves a
Catholic nation while forcing their children into hazardous jobs that show no
concern for the value of human life? Thus in order to bring about change
that can help eliminate child labor in the Philippines, it must be recognized
that Catholic Social Teaching calls for the dignity of work to be protected, the basic rights
of workers must be respected, and human life should be put first above all
things.
In Filipino society, children’s lives are under direct attack from the severe issue of child labor. The value
of human life is being threatened by dangerous working conditions that are
especially hazardous to the well-being of a child. Some of the works that children in the
Philippines are forced into include selling
newspapers, shining shoes, scavenging for recyclable material, and are involved
in drug pushing and prostitution. These
jobs are very demeaning to a child who should be spending his or her time
trying to get an education, and so go completely against Catholic Social Teaching’s
belief that the dignity of work should be protected. However the most common industry where child labor is practiced in Philippines is
Deep-sea fishing, and there are many fishermen who use young
boys to help them catch the fish, who quite unfortunately die while fishing
due to perilous practices (Deshpande). These jobs harm the
children physically, mentally, and emotionally. They also can seriously hamper
the well being of a child who is supposed to get a sound education and nutrition to develop into a healthy
adult. So not only are the children not receiving
any working rights, but worst of all their lives are not being valued. Thus this problem cannot be resolved until
people in the Philippines acknowledge that the economy must serve people, not
the other way around (United
States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Work is more
than a way to make a living, as it is a form of ongoing participation in God’s
creation. So if the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights
of workers must be respected as well.
These rights should be offered to all children, and they include the
right to productive work, to decent and fair wages, and to economic initiative.
However there should not be any child labor within the Philippines at all, but because there is, the child laborers should at least receive dignified work,
workers rights, and their lives should be protected as well as highly valued.
So in order to help the Philippines resolve the
issue of child labor, other Christian nations should help protect the right to
life in the Philippines by finding increasingly effective ways to help the
country resolve child labor. This can best be done by sending missionaries to
the Philippines to teach the people about Catholic Social Teaching, and how it’s
absolutely crucial for Catholic ethics to take place in the workforce. These missionaries need to explain to Filipinos
that as Christians we believe that every person is precious, and that people
are more important than jobs. So since
child labor in the Philippines puts human lives at risk, missionaries can help
teach the people how to incorporate Catholic beliefs in society and rid of the
issue altogether.
Sources:
Miller,
Jack. “Religion in the Philippines”. Focus
on Asia Studies. 1982. 12 May 2012.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Seven
Themes of Catholic Social Teaching. 12 May 2012.
SOS
Children’s Villages. General Information on the Philippines. 29 Apr. 2012. <http://www.sos-usa.org/About-SOS/Where-we-help/Asia/Philippines/Pages/default.aspx?gclid=CKSloJz42K8CFUSK4AodhReVDw>
Deshpande, Rachana. Child Labor in the
Philippines. 15 Oct. 2008. 29 Apr. 2012.
Nicole makes a valid point that the message of Catholic Social Teaching can be spread through the work of missionaries. This will definitely help the problem of child labor because it brings attention to the fact that the human dignity of the children must be upheld, as well as their rights as workers (Catholic Social Teaching). However, missionaries can only do so much without solid support from the clergy. Although the number of Christians within the native population is high, the number of native priests does not match these numbers (Miller). Therefore, in addition to missionaries spreading the word of the Church, I believe that the Church needs to take interest into putting more of an effort to guiding more laymen into the priesthood. An increase in church authority within the nation will help put into effect the Catholic Social Teaching, and add to the cause of the missionaries.
ReplyDeleteSources:
"Catholic Social Teaching." Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Unites States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2012. Web. 13 May 2012.
Miller, Jack. "Religion in the Philippines." http://www.seasite.niu.edu. AskAsia, 1996. Web. 29 Apr. 2012.
Nicole’s solution of using Catholic Social Teaching to work toward the elimination of child labor is very effective. The only way for the problem to be solved is for the problem to be heard. In sending Catholic missionaries to the Philippines to preach about the morals of Catholic Social Teaching, people will be educated about the evils of child labor and thus be motivated to help stop it. All workers are entitled to a decent and fair pay, a safe workplace, and anything else necessary for their basic health (Windley-Daoust and Kilmartin). However, child laborers are exploited and denied the basic rights that allow them to work efficiently and allow for the preservation of their human dignity. This takes away from the child’s values and leads to loss of dignity and self-confidence (ILO-IPEC). In order to change this, the public must be informed about the exploitation of children so that as a community, they can work together to work toward its elimination. The most effective way to do this is through promoting the values of Catholic Social Teaching and incorporating Catholic law and morals into society, which can be accomplished through the work of missionaries.
ReplyDelete"International Labour Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC)." ILO. Philippine ILO, 1998. Web. 29 Apr. 2012. .
Windley-Daoust, Jerry, and Lorraine Kilmartin. Living Justice and Peace: Catholic Social Teaching in Practice. Winona, MN: Saint Mary's, 2008. Print.
Although Nicole makes valid points about the negative effects of child labor in the Philippines, but sending missionaries to the Philippines to preach about Catholic Social teaching will not solve the problem. In traditional, staunchly Roman Catholic areas, their missionizing efforts and attacks on syncretic forms of Roman Catholicism are often unwelcome (Russell). Since the Philippines have such strong cultural traditions that they are not willing to change, (The Philippine Campaign) it is hard to send missionaries to spread Catholic Social teachings. A more affective way would be to send and create organizations over to help relieve them. Catholic Relief Services has many outlets to help the world and 94% of their annual operating expenses goes to relief programs (Philippines). In particular they have agricultural programs in the Philippines which lift small-scale farmers from poverty by linking them to more profitable markets (Philippines). By doing this they are increasing the economic profits of the country which will allow them to no longer depend on child labor. Organizations like Catholic Relief Services are better than missionaries because they help relieve the problem without changing the culture of the Philippines.
ReplyDeleteRussell, Susan. "CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES." CHRISTIANITY IN THE PHILIPPINES. Web. 14 May 2012. .
The Philippine Campaign. "International Labour Organization-International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (ILO-IPEC)." ILO. 1998. Web. 04 May 2012. .
"Philippines." Catholic Relief Services. Web. 14 May 2012. .
Although I continue to agree with Ally’s position on how to solve the issue of child labor, I see that it would be more effective with the uses of both Catherine and Monique’s ideas. Sending missionaries to preach about the righteousness of Catholic Social Teaching may not be enough, although it is something that definitely should be done. Therefore in order to help end this injustice, it would be very helpful to have more Catholic ministers ordained in the Philippines. These ministers can personally help the Filipino people work together to end child labor, as they would be fully backed by the Church. Also setting up organizations in the Philippines that would collect funding to combat this issue would be extremely useful. Because the child labor problem is so severe in this country, it would take all these methods and even more to finally extinguish this matter for good.
ReplyDelete