Searching for Pablo

The gatekeepers

July 5, 2007

Okay, I’ve held on long enough on this.

The powers-that-be in the church laid down a dress code for those who want to hear mass. Under the dress code, women should not wear short skirts, skimpy shorts, sleeveless blouses, tank tops or spaghetti-strap tops and plunging necklines. Men, on the other hand, should avoid shorts and basketball jerseys (good! I could still wear my tank top, woohooo!).

Instead, women should wear long gowns (?), dresses or collared blouses while men should stick to “long-sleeved polo shirts, collared shirts, or t-shirts paired with either slacks or jeans.”

The dress code was initiated because, apparently, some parishioners were “scandalized.”

Uh, okay.

What about a sleeveless blouse that makes it scandalous? If these perverts find something arousing about a bare arm, then they shouldn’t be going to church, they should be committed to a mental institution.

The mini-skirt?  Who gets off from underwear peek-a-boo aside from the priest? The layout of the church, where every parishioner faces the pulpit would make it near impossible to look around for panties under the mini-skirt, except for the priest who’s got the VIP view that is, and I don’t hear him complaining.

Tank tops, spag straps? Please! How could you strip the girl naked in your mind (we do that, you know) while a giant image of Christ nailed to the cross is bearing down on you? Sure, there are men who possess the cojonés to actually do this inside the church but if you could do that while guilt is pounding a sledge hammer the size of a truck on your conscience, I say good luck!

These hypocrites need only to go outside the church’s door to see a mass of poverty — beggars in frayed clothes, vendors in shorts, teens peddling sampaguitas in sando (tank top if you’re rich). So now we’re going to exclude them from the collective?

What about that old woman selling candles with no bra on? Should we now flag her for immorality?

I have a better idea. Instead of chastising those who violated the dress code, I say throw out those hypocrites who were “scandalized” by the way others dress up. See, if they think the blouse of a parishioner plunges dangerously close to George W. Bush’s IQ level, then they’re not paying attention to the Eucharist in the first place.

While we’re at it, throw away those bishops, or pope or whoever issued the circular, for listening to these hypocrites. I know why they give these hypocrites their most favored ear and it’s not because they think alike. It’s because these hypocrites, garbed in their best Sunday dresses to impress other parishioners, are the church’s biggest contributors. See, they try to buy their way into heaven and the church is all too eager to advertise — in neon no less.

These people are so busy looking around for somebody to put down so they could feel good about themselves that they fail to notice a little detail about the thorn-crowned man suspended on the wall, bloodied arms outstretched, and head bowed in eternal curtsy.

That’s right fuckers, Jesus Christ is naked.  

 

Posted by searchingforpablo at 12:36 pm | permalink

Previous Comments

I can’t remember the last time I went to church. It’s that long. Siguro when I go there, I just pass by the prayer area and light a candle but that’s during my birthday. Sa bisaya pa, irehes (tama bah?). Katulgon man gud ko, is always the reason. By this dress code alone, they just made the Sunday habit more unpopular and boring. hahahaha.

(btw, nabasa nako tung article nimo about restorative justice. Judge Avisado had mentioned it during her talk on one of our TAG Forum here. this advocacy should really get the lawmakers’ attention.)

Posted by Jay at July 5, 2007, 4:49 pm

oo nga.. ive heard of this.. hmm…

Posted by antonette at July 8, 2007, 1:31 pm

i couldnt help but have my eyebrows raised over this entry…hmmmm…you speak….what can i do..blog mo ‘to my fren!and still ur my fren!

just one thing….hypocrites?…hmmm..who r we to judge….di ba?Kung gusto lang jud diay mo-show ug sign of respect in the house of the Lord by wearing a decent one?nothing wrong with that i guess.

Posted by ev at July 11, 2007, 12:34 am

nothing could beat the church, i mean, the catholic church, when it comes to illusion, hypocricy, arrogance and all hollier-than-thou crap.

and guess, those who are fattening their already fat asses up there could only care less about what other people have been saying against and about them.

i mean, they are so self-assured that they think god, for whatever that means, is a picky god and that they are the picked ones because they are wearing that white flowing garb that, for crying out loud, i call a lousy immitation of an outdated, out-of-fashion wedding gown.

and to talk about stopping the scandal is way too late for this church that is raising up against the united states’ westboro baptist for speaking nothing but rubbish in the guise of gospellic pervensions.

sure, love…scandal my ass.

Posted by bananachoked at July 13, 2007, 11:27 am

Totally agree. that’s why I don’t believe in religion. the way I see it though, they could at least make a plea, but not necessarily impose it. The outrage comes from the lack of freedom to choose. Pakialam ba nila kung nakaspagetti at miniskirt? Baka galing yan sa magdamagang gimik at dapat magpasalamat sila na pagkatapos maglamierda ay dumirecho sa simbahan.

Kaya nga minsan mas ok pa ang mga Arabong muslim dito sa Qatar kasi lahat sila nakaputi lagi. walang discrimination sa suot kasi naka uniform. that’s another story, i suppose, but in the brighter side of things, at least we still have the freedom to wear what we want to wear. i understand kung makiusap ang simbahan to wear something that shows less skin, one hour lang naman e. but i hope they did not impose it to a point na may bouncer pa sa pintuan. jesus naked is a good point, and did the clergy people consider that there might be some perverts amongst the mass goers na ma-turn on sa imahen? =)

do i make sense? whatever. the point is, i agree. inaanyayahan ko po kaayo na sabayan ako sa isang magandang awitin mula sa grupong Skunk Anansie na pinamagatang Selling Jesus.

PSS!!!!! Incidentally, and i’m not making this up, the secret word i’m required to type in the submit comment box is “skunk”! whoah! creepy!

Posted by Jap at July 19, 2007, 12:01 am

ka damo gid hypocrito diri sa kalibutan. dili lang sa simbahan.. pati sad sa business world.

pero i get your drift. they focus too much on watching and judging other people than how THEY WALK THEIR TALK.

its not the dress.. it’s a person’s mind… and besides if they prohibit it,… mas musamot pa na. what they resist persists.

Posted by tina at July 19, 2007, 9:15 am

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