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Vatican congress to mark “Mulieris Dignitatem” at 20
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‘Christ made Himself poor for you’
The Call to Love Couples for Christ Supplement
(2 Cor. 8,9)
No demolitions without relocation
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THE government agreed to the appeals made by the Metro Manila’s urban poor groups, people’s organizations, non-government organizations and Church leaders not to demolish shanties without functional relocation sites. Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando and other agency representatives attended the dialogue. In a recent meeting hosted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the request of Tuguegarao No demolitions / A6
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace February 4 - 17, 2008
Vol. 12 No. 3
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Bishop wants age requirement in marriage raised IN Pampanga, the case was an 18-year-old boy who married his 22-year-old pregnant girlfriend. In Cavite, it was a 20-year-old girl who married her brother’s 23-year old friend and then bore his child. Sadly, however, both couples eventually ended in separation. These stories spurred a Catholic bishop to urge Bishop wants / A6
Put common good above personal interests
Photo by Noli Yamsuan / RCAM
By Pinky Barrientos, FSP
His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales hands over to Rev. Mother Ma. Evelyn C. Aguilar, RVM Superior General, the original copy of the Decretum Super Virtutibus (Decree on Virtues) of Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, signed by Joseph Cardinal Saraiva Martins, prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
Promulgation of Mother Ignacia as venerable formally announced SOME 2,000 bishops, monsignors, priests, nuns, government officials, students, and lay people attended the thanksgiving mass offered for the formal announcement of promulgation rendering Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo the title “venerable,” making her the next Filipina candidate for sainthood. In a concelebrated mass presided by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales at the Shrine of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo, CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo read in public the Decretum Super Virtutibus (Decree on Virtues), signed by no less than the prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Joseph Cardinal Saraiva Martins. “In various occasions, Mother Ignacia proved herself to be a ‘woman of strength.’ This is proven by her prudent and long-suffering spirit in the face of all the problems she encountered from the beginning until the completion of her work. Driven by zeal for poverty, she was an example for her companions in the way she lived and showed diligence in work. Lastly, she was an outstanding example of the observance of humility, obedience and disdain of earthly vanity,” Lagdameo said, quoting the document. Following Lagdameo’s reading, Rosales presented the original copy of the Vatican document to the Superior General of the congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary, Rev. Mother Ma. Evelyn Aguilar, RVM. “The dream of the RVM sisters through the centuries had been to see Mother Foundress venerated at the altars of the Church as a model and mother for women of the times to identify with her ideals, to see what they too could be with the grace of God. It took years before this indigenous congregation found its way through the procedures designed by Rome,” Aguilar said. She added that the celebration must be attributed to the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, who initiated in 1986 the presentation of the cause of Mother Ignacia to the Vatican Congregation for the Causes of Saints. “It took us almost 21 years to endorse Mother Ignacia’s cause for sainthood and today, we rejoice for the recently promulgated decree that rendered our Mother foundress the title ‘Venerable,’ kagalanggalang,” Aguilar said in her acceptance speech. Promulgation / A6
CATHOLIC bishops urged all Filipinos to work for a moralspiritual reform of the nation by subordinating “private interests to the common good.” In a pastoral statement read said. “It is the reason we make before the media at a press conference after its 96th ple- concern for the common good nary assembly, the Catholic a crucial criterion for the Bishops’ Conference of the choice of public officials,” Philippines (CBCP) said put- said the bishops in the stateting one’s personal interests ment However, the persistence of above the public good is “the basic fault of our communi- this deeply entrenched flaw ties’ political and social life.” in the country’s political cul“We see how this flaw in ture, led the bishops to conour national character clude “that we as a people are evinces itself in our commu- still devoid of a real social nity life,” the statement said. conscience.” Citing the lack of social “We need to seek ways and means of correcting it in what- conscience as a common sin, ever way we can—but always the bishops said there is a according to the principles of need for everyone to undergo active non-violence—to- real conversion so that gether, creatively and imagi- changes will happen in the country, emphasizing that natively…” it added. In the statement the bish- conversion must begin “with ops discussed specific prob- ourselves.” “We need first to realize lems that have been hounding the country for years— that we have contributed not graft and corruption, extra a little to the common maljudicial killings, land reform aise—because of decisions we programs, Comelec reforms, have made, decisions that environmental concerns, po- flowed from what we have litical dynasties, among oth- become and because of our unconcern, inaction, apathy, ers. The same old problems often thinking only of our that continue to plague the interests. And so with little nation through the years de- sense of the future of our spite changes in government country, we vote for people only manifest that common we should not vote for,” the good is subordinated to pri- statement said. Put / A6 vate interests, the bishops
Chinese Catholics exempted from abstinence on Ash Wednesday CHINESE Catholics in Manila have been dispensed from fasting and abstinence in observance of Ash Wednesday this year. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales granted the exemption following a request from the Chinese community as Ash Wednesday falls on the new lunar year’s eve on Thursday. In his circular letter dated Jan. 16, Rosales gave the dispensation “in the spirit of pastoral solidarity with our Catholic Chinese and Chinese-Filipino brothers and sisters.” “In solidarity with the whole Church however, I request that those dispensed on Ash Wednesday will observe fasting and abstinence on the first Friday of lent (Feb. 8),” he said.
The request was coursed through Msgr. Bong Lo, who is the vicar for the Chinese and ChineseFilipino Catholic community. In Chinese culture, ashes symbolically represent pain and suffering and many Chinese Catholics do not want to receive such on a day of rejoicing. The Chinese New Year falls on Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting and abstinence that ushers the season of lent. After Vatican II, the Church allowed the Catholic faithful of different countries to observe cultural holidays. Fr. Genaro Diwa, of the Manila archdiocese’s liturgical affairs said that Chinese believers can
Nuncio tells media to report truth, not trash PAPAL nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams has called on the media to use its position in promoting nothing but the truth. The nuncio stressed the need for bravery to report facts and rejecting the dissemination of “pseudo truth.” Adams spoke against the unethical behavior in the media during the Federation of Catholic Broadcasters’ meeting at the National Office on Mass Media in Manila. The prelate acknowledged the media’s power in influencing ethical issues, and called on the industry to ensure that it is working responsibly to promote truth. He said that there’s so much propaganda in the media today as he reminded the Catholic journalists not to let their “precious” role be tainted with the present trend. “Never hide the truth,” Adams said. “We have a perspec-
Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams
tive on truth. We have a precious contribution to make and we don’t want to abuse it by being destructive.” To be a Catholic media man, he said, is simply being a person with “integrity” and whose personal life reflects the Gospel. Nuncio / A6
receive a special dispensation to observe the ritual another day. “That is to respect their cultural celebration so the Church gives in but they have to know that they are still obliged as Chinese Catholics,” said Diwa. Chinese Catholics may not even want to receive ashes that day because the words “Remember man, you are dust and to dust you will return” are antithetical to the New Year practices, where death and mourning are not brought up. Similarly, the solemn clothing appropriate for Mass goes against the New Year sense where the colors for penitents—black or white—are avoided. (Roy Lagarde)
Bishop frowns at priest healer A ROMAN Catholic bishop has rejected a known priest healer to conduct a healing session under his pastoral jurisdiction. In a press conference, Malolos bishop Jose Oliveros lamented Suarez’s defiance of a Church doctrine that deals about “discipline.” “Fr. Suarez does not follow the instruction of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (of the Vatican) on prayers for healing,” said Oliveros. He claimed that Suarez defied a ruling of the Vatican Congregation that an “explicit permission” of the bishop must first be sought before conducting any prayer or healing session. Oliveros also said he will send a formal complaint to Suarez’s religious congregation for not following the norms stated “not by me but by the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith.” The priest is a member of the Companions of the
Cross— which is a small religious congregation based in Canada. It only has 35 priests all over the world. Oliveros said the “faith healer” already conducted healing session twice in Marilao town last year without informing him. He said Suarez is again planning to visit his diocese to conduct a “healing Mass” but the bishop “only came to know about it through the media.” “I’ve been hearing about his schedules on television and newspaper reBishop frowns / A6
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Pope Benedict to reformulate Good Friday prayers for Tridentine Mass LONDON, UK, February 3, 2008—Pope Benedict XVI will modify the Good Friday prayers used in the Tridentine Mass that generated protests from Jewish leaders who found the prayers offensive, the Jerusalem Post reports. In July Pope Benedict widened the use of the 1962 Latin Tridentine missal in a “Motu Proprio” edict. This missal included Latin prayers for Good Friday that asked Catholics to “pray also for the Jews that the Lord our God may take the veil from their hearts and that they also may acknowledge Our Lord Jesus Christ,” asking God not to “refuse your mercy even to the Jews; hear the prayers which we offer for the blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ, and be delivered from their darkness.” After the Pope permitted the wide use of the Tridentine Missal, Abraham H. Foxman, United States director of the Anti-Defamation League, criticized the prayers. In July he said he was “extremely disappointed and deeply
offended” by the use of what he called “insulting anti-Jewish language” that would “now permit Catholics to utter such hurtful and insulting words.” According to the Jerusalem Post, Foxman said the reintroduction of the Latin prayers was a “theological setback in the religious life of Catholics and a body blow to Catholic-Jewish relations.” The Chief Rabbinate of Israel also wrote the Pope expressing concern. In a July interview with the Italian Catholic newspaper Avvenire, Archbishop Angelo Amato denied the Good Friday prayers were anti-Jewish. The archbishop said Catholics pray first for their own conversion. “And then we pray for the conversion of all Christians and of all non-Christians. The Gospel is for all.” On January 18 the Milan newspaper Il Giornale reported that the new text of the prayers would drop all references to the “blindness” of the Jews. The Pope has reportedly drafted a new prayer that will be released in time for Holy Week in March.
Rabbi David Rosen, chairman of the International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations, told the Jerusalem Post that the removal of references to the “darkness” and the “blindness” of the Jews for refusing to recognize Jesus as the messiah was a sign Pope Benedict was “deeply committed to advancing the relationship with the Jewish Community.” Rabbi Rosen said the July Motu Proprio had nothing to do with Jews, saying there was confusion about the concept of conversion. “Used in the sense that Archbishop Amato uses it, it does not mean the acceptance of the Christian Faith by a non-Christian,” he said, according to the Jerusalem Post. Rosen said that his Vatican sources indicated that the new text does not call for Jews to accept the Christian faith. Like a common 1970 prayer used by the Church, he said it “prays for the physical and spiritual well being of the Jews.” The Vatican would not confirm the Il Giornale report. (CNA)
Catholic Church celebrating 15 years in Mongolia
Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, CICM
ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, February 4, 2008—The Catholic Church has celebrated 15 years in Mongolia. “God has done great things for us, and we are glad!” said Bishop Wenceslao Padilla, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, as he took stock of the lessons this period will have for the future. The Filipino prelate from the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) arrived with two confreres in 1992 to open the Mongolian mission. Today, 64 missioners from 18 countries belonging to nine religious congregations and a Korean diocese, together with six lay
missioners from three countries, serve the local Church. Meanwhile the number of Catholics in the country has reached 415 with 70 more Mongolians baptized in 2007. The past year also marked the 15th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Holy See and Mongolia. Bishop Padilla said 2007 held major and valuable lessons. “The first lesson is that with the leaving and recall of some missionaries, I am more and more made aware of the need for local (Mongolian) clergy and Religious,” he said. “We are establishing a local Church, but most of the pastoral agents of the apostolic prefecture are foreigners.” For this reason “it is high time to encourage vocation, animation and recruitment in the parishes among the baptized youth,” he added. Another lesson he says the Church has learned has to do with missioners’ “over-indulgence” in social, developmental, educational, and charitable projects, which “should be balanced by strengthening the involvement in spiritual activities.” “The pastoral plan we formulated for the next three years will hopefully help in (achieving) this temporal and spiritual equilibrium,” Bishop Padilla continued. He explained that the plan provides a framework for the Mongolian Church to discover the Bible, the sacraments and acts of charity as the true nourishment for human life. The Catholic Mission in Mongolia now has four rather than three parishes. They are Sts. Peter and Paul, St. Mary’s, Good Shepherd— with which it began 2007—and Mary Help of
Christians, which was added in January 2007 in Darhan, Mongolia’s second-largest city with 80,000 inhabitants, 200 kilometers north of the capital. In addition, this year the number of mission stations has increased from five—Dair Ekh, Niseh, Shuwuu, Yaarmag, Zuun Mod— to six with the addition of Arvaiheer. Two additional chapels, one in the CICM mission house and the other in Ulaanbaatar’s Bayanhushuu district, are not yet considered mission stations, because they do not hold regular Sunday Masses. The children’s ministry involves about 500 children in all the parishes and mission stations, who come to Mass and take part in Sunday-school classes held by the Missionaries of Charity sisters and Mongolian catechists. The ministry to another 200 children and youth continues at Amgalan Boys’ Village, the Verbist Care Centre for Street Children and the Centre for Girls at Risk in Dairekh. Poor children who are unable to afford regular schools attend the St. Paul schools in Ulaanbaatar and Zuun Mod. Younger children go to the Montessori kindergartens in Bayanhoshuu and Erdenet. For those old enough to learn work skills, the Don Bosco Technical Vocational School offers an alternative to academics, while university and college students can stay in Churchrun dormitories. Two other educational projects—the Rainbow Centre for Children with Special Needs in Sharhad and a St. Mary’s Parish Programme for Infants and Very Young Children with Special Needs—serve about 600 children. (AsiaNews/UCAN)
Moratorium on abortion: ethnic minorities in Nepal at risk of extinction KATHMANDU, Nepal, February 2, 2008—Some Nepalese ethnic minorities at risk of extinction are asking the government for a moratorium on abortion. These are the three ethnic groups known as the Chepang, the Raute, and the Dom, a total of about 100,000 out of an overall population of 26 million. Mostly nomads, the Dom live in the area of Terai in southern Nepal, in the districts of Siraha, Sarlahi, and Mahottari. The other two groups, the Chepang and the Raute, live in remote areas of the country, usually near the forests. Until a few years ago, their main occupation was hunting, and they stayed away from urban areas. The guerrilla warfare unleashed by the Maoists against the monarchy has put their way of life in danger. The traditions of the minorities are also gradually dying out because of globalization. The current hopes for a “new Nepal” [editor’s note: after the fall of the monarchy, a constitutional assembly is expected to be convened] are accompanied by requests from the ethnic groups, which are speaking out and asking the government to preserve their culture and protect their rights. For this, they say, a moratorium on abortion is necessary. The government passed a law on abortion two years ago, permitting the interruption of preg-
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
New Year message from religious leaders: we must combat the challenges to peace HONG KONG, February 4, 2008—For the new year, “it is necessary to face the challenges that are posed to peace: the loss of the sense morality, the wasting of resources, and the erosion of families”. To do this, “it is fundamental to improve the quality of education and reinforce social morality.” The comments come from leaders of the six religions of Hong Kong (Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, and Confucianism) in their traditional message for the lunar new year, which begins next February 7th. The spring breeze, the leaders write, “warms our heart, flowers bloom, heavenly blessings await the people of Hong Kong. We wish you all happiness and prosperity. Traditionally, planning for the year starts in early spring. “This is a good time for us to reflect on the past and strive for the establishment of harmony, prosperity and stability for Hong Kong. Our six religions are saddened by news of family violence, young people abusing the internet, and parents losing harmony with their children. The traditional sense of morality is being threatened by the onslaught of material pleasure, giving rise to an increase in the divorce rate and a decrease in the birthrate, all making for social
instability. The waste of resources will lead to environmental degradation, climate change and eco-imbalance.” Society, therefore, “must take this as a wake-up call. Apart from implementing government policy to address the above issues, the primary need is to improve the quality of the education and strengthen social morality. The objective is a return to virtuous discipline and responsibility.” The six religions of the territory, the signatories conclude, “can unite in our continual striving for peace of mind and spiritual cultivation of calmness. When humanity is at peace with nature, we can, together, create paradise on earth.” (AsiaNews)
Communion in hand should be revised, Vatican official says ROME, February 1, 2008—Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Cult and Discipline of the Sacraments has said that the policy of giving Communion in the hand should be revised. Receiving Holy Communion in the hand “produces a growing weakening of a devout attitude toward the Most Holy Sacrament,” wrote Archbishop Ranjith in the preface of a book from the Auxiliary Bishop of Kazakhstan, Bishop Athanasius Schneider. The book’s title, printed by the Vatican Editing house, is “Dominus Est: Meditations of a Bishop
from Central Asia on the Sacred Eucharist.” Archbishop Ranjith says in the preface that the Eucharist should be received “with reverence and an attitude of devout adoration,” and claims that the practice of receiving Communion in the hand “was introduced in some places in an abusive and hurried manner.” The Archbishop also highlights that the Second Vatican Council never promoted or legitimated such practice. “I believe it is time to evaluate and reconsider such a practice, and if necessary, abandon it all together,” Ranjith concludes. (CNA)
Church’s “Greatest Beggar” remembered
nancy in the case of sexual violence and when conception takes place without the agreement of both partners. The campaign against abortion is being carried out by Raja Ram, of the Raute ethnic group, from the area of Rasuwa, where the population has rejected abortion facilities and procedures. The Raute leader tells AsiaNews, “The government is ignoring us because of our poor population. But we believe that any kind of abortion, including gender selective abortion, is a crime, at least for these minority groups. There-
fore, the government should not legalize abortion law, at least in our community.” Modana, of the Dom ethnic group in Saptari, adds: “Our patrimony is our population. The number of children in a family is the gift of God’s blessing. The greater the family size, the better culture and income we have. This is why we have to fight against abortion.” The mortality rate of women in Nepal is very high because of illegal abortions. Sudha Sarma, the doctor who directs the maternity ward at a Kathmandu hos-
pital, says “We can do nothing on this law. But more are dying because of illegal and selective abortion.” The United Nations has guaranteed the protection of minorities, and the spokesman of the UN human rights office in Nepal, Richard Bennet, confirms this support: “We support the human rights and cultural rights of the minority ethnic groups. So we advise the government to avoid all kinds of illegal abortion and take action against them. We also believe that illegal abortion is a crime.” (AsiaNews)
ROME, February 1, 2008—The founder of Aid to the Church in Need is being memorialized five years after his death with a lecture hall named after him at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. Father Werenfried van Straaten (1913-2003) founded the charity organization under the authority of the Holy See in 1947. A dedication ceremony at the university on Thursday began with a Mass celebrated by the rector, Monsignore Mariano Fazio, who observed that “God and the Church today more than ever need credible witnesses to the love of Christ in the world,” like Father Van Straaten. As president of the directors of the pontifical universities in Rome, Monsignor Fazio thanked Aid to the Church in Need on their behalf for what the charity has done for the students by awarding them scholarships. The international president of Aid to the Church in Need, HansPeter Rothlin, recalled how Father Van Straaten worked for peace and reconciliation during
his lifetime. He said the priest is “one of the spiritual fathers of a united Europe.” Rothlin also stressed the ecumenical commitment of Father Van Straaten. Some 15 years ago, the priest met with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II in Moscow and promised him help in the name of Pope John Paul II. This meeting, Rothlin said, led to “exceptionally friendly relations” between the charity organization and its partners in dialogue within the Russian Orthodox Church. Aid to the Church in Need’s activities in this field were “welcomed and esteemed by the Holy See and the Moscow Patriarchate alike,” the president affirmed. Father Van Straaten, a Dutch Norbertine priest and religious, died on Jan. 31, 2003, just two weeks after his 90th birthday. He was described by his contemporaries as a “giant of charity” and as “the greatest beggar in the Church’s history.” The charity he founded supports pastoral projects in some 140 countries. (Zenit)
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ROME, January 31, 2008—Catholic mass media should not fall into the temptation of being a voice of religious fundamentalism, says the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication. In presenting Benedict XVI’s message for the 42nd World Communications Day, Archbishop Claudio Celli considered the Pope’s proposal of “info-ethics.” Noting the Pope’s reflections in the message, Archbishop Celli cautioned that “Catholic mass media cannot dispense with the ethical problem faced by all the media, because it is undeniable that everything that affects man as man should be a point of reference” also for Catholic media. “Only our media should have, I think, something more, because man is not the only point of reference, but rather in this search for truth, for us, this truth is a person: Jesus Christ.” It is essential to be aware, the prelate added, that “our media is directed not just to Catholics, but to all men. They are not media for Catholics, but rather are the presence of a Catholic reality that is open to man, all men.” He offered the example of Catholic newspapers or radio. “It is undeniable,” Archbishop Celli said, “that they don’t exist only for or are directed only to people who already belong to the
Church, rather they should also give careful attention to what exists in the soul of man, in his heart, where sometimes there can be distance from God, or many times, a deep nostalgia for God.” Our media, he summarized, “should search, and help in the search. Our media should not become, allow me to say it this way, instruments of a religious or cultural fundamentalism.” Archbishop Celli contended that Catholic media should be at the service of the culture. He explained that media should know how to enter “in this search that man embarks upon every day […] as instruments of this ‘diaconia’ of the culture […] instruments that teach what it means to dialogue, to be men who respect others’ positions, who know how to welcome, who know how to understand.” “I emphasize it again,” Archbishop Celli stated, “We are not seeking a religious fundamentalism, because sometimes this is the risk. And the Church itself is not that; it is not a ‘tower of marble’” that proudly stands “in its possession of the truth, but rather a Church that knows how to welcome, understand, dialogue, respect.” “And if this is the Church,” he affirmed, “this should also be the social media that have Catholics as their professional staff.” (Zenit)
The “adventure” of priesthood is necessary for the world VATICAN CITY, February 2, 2008—Yesterday afternoon, the Holy Father visited Rome’s Major Pontifical Seminary for the occasion of the feast of its patroness, Our Lady of Trust. After presiding at Vespers, the Holy Father expressed his joy at having the opportunity, as Bishop of Rome, to visit “his seminary”. “Because the gift of being adoptive children of God has illuminated your lives”, the Pope told the seminarians, “you have felt the desire to share this with others. That is why you are here, to develop your filial vocation and prepare yourselves for your future mission as apostles of Christ. ...Savouring the joy of life with God the Father means that you feel the ever more urgent need to become messengers of the Gospel of His Son, Jesus.” The Pope then addressed the parents of the future priests, saying “you are probably the most surprised of all about what has happened and is happening to your children. You had perhaps imagined for them a mission different from the one for which they are now preparing. ...Let us look to Mary. The Gospel helps us to understand that she too asked herself many question about her Son Jesus, and reflected on Him for a long time. “It is inevitable that the vocation of children in some way also becomes the vocation of the parents,” he added. “You have found
yourselves participating in your sons’ marvellous adventure. Indeed, although it may appear that a priest’s life does not attract the interest of the majority of people, in reality it is the most interesting of adventures and the most necessary for the world: the adventure of demonstrating and realizing the fullness of life to which everyone aspires. It is a very demanding adventure and could not be otherwise because a priest is called to imitate Jesus.” The Holy Father then went on to refer to two aspects that characterize the lives of seminarians. In the first place, that of listening to the voice of the Lord which, he said, “requires an atmosphere of silence. For this reason the seminary offers time and space to daily prayer; it pays great attention to liturgy, to meditation on the Word of God and to Eucharistic adoration. At the same time, it asks you to dedicate long hours to study: by praying and studying, you can create within yourselves the man of God that you must become and that people expect a priest to be.” “Follow your journey at the seminary with your hearts open to truth, to transparency, and to dialogue with those who guide you, and this will enable you to respond simply and humbly to the One Who calls you, freeing yourselves from the risk of pursuing a personal project of your own”. (VIS)
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Catholic media also need “Info-Ethics”
Vatican congress to mark “Mulieris Dignitatem” at 20 ROME, January 31, 2008—A Vatican congress commemorating the 20th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter on the dignity of women aims to promote an authentic promotion of femininity. Rocío Figueroa, director of the section on women for the Pontifical Council of the Laity, affirmed this to ZENIT. The congress, marking the 20th anniversary of “Mulieris Dignitatem,” is titled “Woman and Man, the ‘Humanum’ in Its Entirety” and is scheduled for Feb. 7-9 in Rome. Figueroa said the authentic promotion of the woman will come through “understanding the feminine beginning with an anthropology that recovers the value of the person and highlights the relationality between feminine and masculine.” The congress will consider themes rang-
ing from the history of women in the Church, beginning with Christ’s interactions with women, to gender ideology, to the importance of marriage, family and motherhood. Participants will have an audience with Benedict XVI on Feb. 9. The congress will analyze “the contributions particular women have given the Church and the world,” as well as “the contribution of Christianity in the advancement of woman,” added Figueroa. The theological and anthropological contribution which John Paul II made in “Mulieris Dignitatem” will be developed in two conferences. The first is dedicated to the story of creation and the relationship between person, nature and culture. The second seeks to delve into the relationship between man and woman, titled “Woman
and Man, Created each for the Other.” Janne Haaland Matlary, former minister of foreign relations in Norway and professor at the University of Oslo, will reflect on women in the workplace. Helen Alvare, a professor at the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, will consider the reduction of femininity to an object of consumerism. Figueroa affirmed the congress is just the “beginning of future initiatives which the Pontifical Council for the Laity desires to promote. We are sure that from the workshops and these intense days of reflection, ideas will sprout up, initiatives that respond to the demands of women in different places. And why not think that in the future, a congress with virtual participation.” (Zenit)
Pope urges Doctrinal Congregation to focus on bioethics VATICAN CITY, January 31, 2008—Benedict XVI is encouraging the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to give attention to bioethics. The Pope received in audience today participants in the plenary session of that dicastery, which is being held this week in the Vatican. The Holy Father recalled how last year the congregation published “two important documents presenting […] certain clarifications necessary for the correct functioning of ecumenical dialogue, and of dialogue with the religions and cultures of the world.” The first of these documents, “Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church,” confirms that “the one and only Church of Christ has subsistence, permanence and stability in the Catholic Church and, consequently, that the unity, indivisibility and indestructibility of the Church of Christ is not invalidated by separations and divisions among Christians.” The Pontiff noted how the document calls attention “to the difference that still persists between the different Christians confessions, as concerns their understanding of ‘being Church’ in a strictly theological sense. This, far from impeding true ecumenical commitment, will be a stimulus to ensuring that discussion of doctrinal questions is always carried out with realism, and with complete awareness of the aspects that still divide Christian confessions.” He then referred to the other document published by the congregation, the “Doctri-
nal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization,” issued in December. “Faced with the risk of persistent religious and cultural relativism,” the Pope said, this document “stresses that the Church, in a time of dialogue between religions and cultures, is not dispensed from the need to evangelize and undertake missionary activity among peoples, nor does she ceases asking mankind to accept the salvation that is offered to everyone. The recognition of elements of truth and goodness in other religions of the world, [...] collaboration with them in the defense and promotion of the dignity of the human person and of universal moral values, cannot be understood as a limitation to the Church’s missionary task, which involves her in the constant announcement of Christ as the way, the truth and the life.”
Broken barrier Benedict XVI invited the members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to give particular attention to “the difficult and complex problems of bioethics.” In this context, he indicated that the “Church’s magisterium certainly cannot and should not intervene on every scientific innovation. Rather, it has the task of reiterating the great values at stake, and providing the faithful, and all men and women of good will, with ethical-moral principles and guidelines for these new and important questions.” “The two fundamental criteria for moral discernment in this field,” he added, “are un-
conditional respect for the human being as a person, from conception to natural death; and respect for the origin of the transmission of human life through the acts of the spouses.” The Pope highlighted new problems associated with such questions, such as the freezing of human embryos, pre-implantation diagnosis, stem cell research and attempts at human cloning. All these, he said, “clearly show how, with artificial insemination outside the body, the barrier protecting human dignity has been broken. When human beings in the weakest and most defenseless stage of their existence are selected, abandoned, killed or used as pure ‘biological matter,’ how can it be denied that they are no longer being treated as ‘someone’ but as ‘something,’ thus placing the very concept of human dignity in doubt.” The Holy Father highlighted how “the Church appreciates and encourages progress in the biomedical sciences, which opens up previously unimagined therapeutic possibilities.” At the same time, he pointed out that “she feels the need to enlighten everyone’s consciences so that scientific progress may be truly respectful of all human beings, who must be recognized as having individual dignity because they have been created in the image of God.” In this context, he concluded by ensuring participants in the plenary assembly that study of such themes “will certainly contribute to promoting the formation of consciences of many of our brothers and sisters.” (Zenit)
Benedict XVI’s prayer intentions for February released Formation course for migrants’ pastoral workers held VATICAN CITY, February 1, 2008—Today the Press Office of the Holy See released Pope Benedict’s prayer intentions for the month of February. Pope Benedict’s general prayer intention is: “That the mentally handicapped may not be marginalized, but respected and lovingly helped to live in a way worthy of their physical and social condition”. His mission intention is: “That the institutes of consecrated life, which are so flourishing in mission countries, may rediscover the missionary dimension and, faithful to the radical choice of the evangelical counsels, be generous in bearing witness to and announcing Christ to the ends of the earth.” (CNA)
WITH the continuing exodus of Filipinos abroad, either to migrate permanently or work temporarily, caring for their spiritual, psychological and temporal well-being remain an ongoing concern for the Catholic Church. A week-long formation course for pastoral workers aptly named Exodus was recently held at St. Stephen Retreat House in Iloilo City to address the various issues pastoral workers currently face in caring for migrants. Organized by the Scalabrini Migration Center in tandem with the CBCP Episcopal Commission on the Pastoral Care of Migrant and Itinerant People (ECMI), the course was divided into six modules, delving on the topics of migration in Asia today; teaching of the Church on migration; the mission with migrants in Asia;
specific issues in the care of migrants in Asia; the care of all migrants; and networking and planning future programs on the care of migrants. Through the Exodus program pastoral workers are given the opportunity to share among themselves various experiences of their ministries among migrants in different countries. Likewise, it provided them a deeper understanding of being Church in Asia today. Speakers and facilitators of the program were Fr. Jim Kroeger, professor of Missiology from Ateneo de Manila; Dr. Manny de Guzman, a lay theologian and professor at St. Vincent School of Theology and Maryhill School of Theology; Dr. Marla Asis and Dr. Fabio Baggio of the Scalabrini Migration Center; Fr. Savino
Bernardi of the Apostleship of the Sea; and Fr. Edwin Corros of ECMI. Started six years ago, the formation course held on January 18-24 had the largest number of participants with 46 delegates coming from Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines. The opening mass was celebrated by Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, who reminded participants on the role of the Church in promoting the welfare of migrants and their families left behind.
Greater number of migrants A greater number of migrants in other countries come from Asia. It is estimated that around six million people living and
working outside of their country of birth hailed from East and Southeast Asia alone. The Asian Churches responded to migration phenomenon initially in terms of providing religious services to migrants and providing assistance to their various needs. Eventually, a deepened understanding that the pastoral care of migrants is a way of being Church today in our ever-changing world has taken root. In his 2003 message for World Day of Migrants and refugees, the late Pope John Paul II reiterated that the pastoral care of migrants is a “basic expression of evangelical love,” shown by the Church’s “ecclesial heritage of practical service to immigrants and displaced people.” (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
EDITORIAL
“Reform
yourselves…”
ON the occasion of its 96th Plenary Assembly, the Permanent Council of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines together with other Bishops had an honest to goodness dialogue with different representative groups from the “Civil Society” of the country. The encounter was courteous yet courageous, gentle but firm. In addition to what the Episcopal Conference already well knew regarding the so many adverse socio-political realities having plagued the country for years with very disturbing immoral dimensions, the said groups brought to its attention many more sad and saddening socio-ethical liabilities with their causal authorship coming from certain infamous national and local government public officials in the land. The CBCP Statement mentioned the more salient and serious long since oppressing and depressing social factors felt by Filipinos all over the land according to its own sources—plus those distinctly brought to its attention by the Civil Society. And the list of the combined political and economic disasters with their attendant social and moral devastations is both sadly rather long and truly pitiful. The truth is only the blind, the deaf, and dumb would not know and feel such disgusting blatant degradation of human life and dignity, gross violation of human rights and legitimate aspirations. The victims have always been the same, viz., the common people, the helpless and the poor—with the consistent victors occupying the halls of power and influence while wallowing on the wealth of the nation and living lavishly on public funds principally coming from the direct and indirect taxes of the people from birth to death. The three more signal over-all manifestations of all such markedly serious ethical aberrations and downright grave moral reversals in governance specially during the reign of the present administration, are the following: First, the common good and general welfare of the Filipinos are subordinated to the personal interests and dynastic concerns of those in tenure of exalted and enriching public offices. Second, millions of citizens are made to work abroad even under slavery conditions or in constant danger of death, primarily in order to keep the country somehow economically still afloat. Third, the ruling administration is bent at any and all costs in selling the national patrimony to exploitative and destructive foreign capitals under the nauseating guise of promoting development and of assuring the future of the country.
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season (This piece was delivered by Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo at the opening of the 96th Bishops’ Plenary Assembly, January 26, 2007)
IN February this year 2008, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines will be 17 years old (1991). The PCP-II was some 38 years after the First Plenary Council of the Philippines (1953) which was written in flawless Latin. The implementation of the First Plenary Council was soon overtaken by the preparation and celebration of the Second Vatican Council. With the promotion of Vatican II, that First Plenary Council was soon forgotten, until it was seen fit to hold a Second Plenary Council which would put the Philippine Church in line with Vatican II “leitmotif of aggiornamento” and apply the Gospel Message to our Filipino context and culture. PCP-II is one of the Philippine Church heritage. 75 of the bishops living today participated in it. 57 of the bishops were ordained bishops after 1991 and only 9 of them participated in PCP-II, not as bishops but as Vicar General, Episcopal Vicar or Rector. PCP-II was participated in by 94 Bishops, 180 Vicars General and Episcopal Vicars, 51 Rectors and Religious Superiors and 156 Lay Faithful. How the PCP-II has been taken in as part of diocesan planning can be gleaned from the Pastoral Assemblies, Conventions and Synods that were convoked after the PCP-II. By way of exception, but nevertheless good to remember: only the Archdioceses of Manila (1979) and Cebu (1986) and the Diocese of Lucena (1979) had their Synods long before PCP-II, but soon after Vatican II. Shortly after PCP-II, following the lead that it inspired, the following convoked their Pastoral Assemblies: Nueva Caceres (1992), Nueva Segovia (1993), Bacolod (1993), Laoag (1994), Gumaca (1994), San Fernando, Pampanga (1996, 2003), Lingayen-Dagupan (1996), Palo (1996), Catarman (1996) and Marbel (1996) held their respective Diocesan Pastoral Assemblies. Also putting Vatican II and PCP-II in the context of the dioceses, the following held their respective Synods: Dumaguete (1992), Antipolo (1993), Surigao (1993), San Pablo (1994), Kalibo (1996), Borongan (1997), Kabankalan (1997), Naval (1999), Romblon (2000), Legazpi (2000), Boac (2003), Bacolod (2005), Balanga (2006), Jaro (2006). (N.B. If I failed to include in this list other Pastoral Assemblies and Synods, kindly update
The key and incisive question poised by the CBCP is expressed and clear enough: How come we have such a long standing and corrupt and corrupting government? How come such dishonest, detestable and distrusted leading public officials now have and continue to hold high elective public offices? How come the leading character in all this composite national catastrophe plus its loyal cohorts and subservient minions afford to continue acting the grand master of the country—with many people cowering in fear, keeping silent, staying still? Why? Something is fundamentally wrong when a supposedly democratic form of government is patently not of the people, neither from the people, nor for the people—but exactly the other way around. Something must be basically wrong with us—the people—who allow such basically anti-people government to continue and rule. Something must be wherefore done by us too—the people—eventually for the purpose of putting moral order—truth, justice and peace—in our dear Philippine society precisely by big lies, glaring injustice and profound disharmony. That is precisely why the CBCP echoed the challenging call of the Gospel: “Reform yourselves.” It is not right that we just keep blaming the infamous trio of lying, cheating and stealing by those in government. It is neither enough that we merely complain about the poverty, misery and sickness in many parts of the country as primarily caused by huge, continuous and vulgar government graft and corruption done as a matter of fact. Much less is it about giving in to frustration and despair, to just give up and keep off, to curse or leave the country. That is specifically why the CBCP made the disconcerting but awakening conclusion: “We as a people are still devoid of social conscience.” Among other things, this means that we do not really care for our suffering neighbors, our impoverished communities, our divided nation. Reason: We are too preoccupied with our own selves—our private good, our domestic design, our dynastic design. That is concretely why we are reminded by the CBCP not only to reform ourselves, viz., to repent for the evil we have individually done and the good we personally left undone. In other words, we merely have the errant public officials we unworthily elected into office just as we have the government we deserve for practically doing nothing to convert and renew it, to correct and make it upright— or finally to dismiss and do away with it when every effort and all endeavor to cleanse it of its moral garbage and ethical rubbish ultimately prove vain and futile. The CBCP plan of action could be thus spelled in three main stages: 1 st. Reform our own selves. 2 nd Form our social conscience. 3 rd . Act for the common good.
Our Journey with the PCP-II
our secretariat …) Why do I propose to go back to PCP-II which was ignited by Vatican II? The President of PCP-II, Archbishop Legaspi said prophetically: “Only after the proposals of the Council have taken root in the life of far flung communities like Tayum in Abra, Jordan in Guimaras, Banay-banay in Davao will our land be blessed with New Pentecost” (Closing Homily). One year after the PCP-II in July 23, 1992 our Conference issued CBCP Vision-Mission Statement. Its high points are contained in four important and interconnected themes: (1) “We, as Church in the Philippines … envision ourselves as the Community of Disciples, who firmly believe in the Lord Jesus and joyfully live in harmony and solidarity with one another, with creation and with God.” (2) “Following the way of the Lord, we opt to be a Church of the Poor which demands evangelical poverty of us all, and harness the transformative power of the poor among us towards the justice and love of God in this world.” (3) “To achieve this vision, we shall embark on a renewed integral evangelization and witness to Jesus Christ’s gospel of salvation and liberation through our word, deeds and lives.” (4) “As Bishops, Priests, Religious and Laity, we together commit ourselves to implement the spirit and decrees of the PCP-II in order to inculcate gospel values in our milieu.” Armed with our CBCP Vision-Mission Statement, in the following year, 1993, the Bishops with the help of a 15-member Advisory Drafting Committee published the mandated National Pastoral Plan (NPP) (cf. Decree Art. 1 #1 and 5) using the conceptual framework of the Vision-Mission Statement, which was articulated as Community of Disciples of the Lord, Church of the Poor and Renewed Integral Evangelization. This first ever NPP, identified the “lead agents” and “partners” who would lead the implementation of the PCP-II “operational decrees.” Entitled “In the State of Mission” the NPP identified the tasks of the different existing Episcopal Commissions who were given “2 years” to look after the implementation of the “operational decrees.” What happened after 1993 NPP only the individual commissions will be able to tell
their respective stories. Armed with the NPP as a basic tool or plan which articulated Vatican II and PCP-II; each commission, e.g. the one of Clergy, Laity, Catechesis and Catholic Education, Biblical Apostolate, Social Action and Youth, etc… embarked upon their respective contribution for the renewal of our country. The preparation and celebration of the Great Jubilee helped serve to deepen the Vision–Mission Statement and the key elements of the National Pastoral Plan. This CBCP Vision–Mission Statement, became the driving force of the three year preparation for the Great Jubilee which outlined the Three Paths as follows: In 1997 with focus on Jesus Christ, we identified the Path of radical Christian Discipleship. In 1998 with focus on the Holy Spirit, we followed the path of renewed integral evangelization. In 1999 with focus on God the Father who is rich in mercy and compassion, we were challenged to follow the path of the Church of and for the Poor. The reason for recalling these interdependent and interconnected paths is the relevance of the situation then to our present: Can we not still say even today? “Immersed in a society fragmented by divisive conflicts and afflicted by widespread poverty, yet deeply aspiring for fullness of life in God.” Concurrently with the Great Jubilee preparation, our Conference issued four Pastoral Exhortations all meticulously and scholarly prepared for pastoral action. I am referring to our Conference’s Pastoral Exhortation on four essential topics, such as our Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics (1997), Philippine Economy (1998), Culture (1999) and Filipino Spirituality (2000). The basic themes and convictions of PCPII were implanted and carried through these four “classic” Pastoral Exhortations. But these were written after most of the Arch/dioceses have held their Pastoral Assemblies and Synods. Questions that could be asked in evaluating the force of the First NPP maybe: Did the PCP-II Decrees influence the actual operation of the respective Episcopal Commissions? Or, were the decrees implemented as designed? And how? An instrument to answer these questions or probably simply to review the impact that PCP-II has taken after 10 years, in 2001 we held a National PasIn an out / A7
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Organ Sale
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THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) recently issued an important and relevant document on the lamentable increasing sales of human organs in the country—with all the standard features of business, with all the common elements of trade and industry. This shameful phenomenon is not really new in the land. But it has become more common and open, more in frequency and number. But the victims and beneficiaries are the same, viz., the poor Filipinos and the wealthy foreigners as well as influential citizens of this country. And the human organs which are made the objects of buy and sale remain also the same, i.e., kidneys. It is not altogether improbable that the following human parts could eventually also become trade and industry items: hands and legs, eyes and ears— and other pairings in the human body. The thriving business or organ sale in the Philippines comes complete with middlemen,
i.e., go-betweens, the perceived seller and determined buyer, and making much money with the consummation of the deals. The same commercial venture has adopted misleading labels such as “Cosmetic Surgery, “Medical Tourism” and the like. The market of human organs is becoming more intense and extensive as the ruling stability of “economic fundamentals”, and many other rosy market readings and nice sounding industrial projections or glowing economic predictions. Never mind the living reality of poverty and hunger in the ground which precisely serve as a root cause of organ sales by those Filipinos living in slum areas, under the bridges, in shanties that have recently become favorite targets of merciless demolitions—with the inhabitants thereof usually left in the streets, holding on to their miserable belongings. The same goes with small market vendors whose little goods are even forcibly taken away from them. This does not in any way mean that law
Views and Points and order are both already impractical and irrelevant. This is but a reminder that it is the poor that need more societal attention, that, it is the already helpless that should not be made more miserable. There is a whale of moral difference between organ donation and organ sale. The CBCP noted this very well. The former is a demonstration of edifying love of neighbor in irremediable need of organ transplant to somehow prolong lives and be thus continue to become beneficial members of society. The very word and reality of “donation” clearly means the presence of precious generosity and care, and the absence of trade concern and commercial interest. The CBCP wherefore asks—begs even— the public authority concerned to please carefully and rightfully regulate the program in gathering and distributing donated human organs, wherefore raising its admitted feeble voice against organ trafficking.
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
DADITAMA IN response to the burning issues of the day, the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines, once again issued another pastoral statement last January 27, 2008 expressing their own faith reading and teaching—”Reform Yourselves and believe in the Gospel!” (Mark 1:15) In their renewed call to personal and communal conversion, they specifically referred to the traditional Alay Kapwa Lenten Action Program of the Church in the Philippines. But, do our Catholic laity, religious, priests and bishops still find any relevance to this annual Lenten program to produce any impact on the faithful and Philippine society as a whole? I believe the renewed call of the CBCP for personal and social transformation requires that we take another look at how we have undertaken Alay Kapwa over the years.
A little history
Alay Kapwa is the Lenten Evangelization– Action Program of the Philippine Catholic Church which was created by the CBCP in 1975. It is implemented in all the Catholic dioceses and archdioceses, prelatures, and apostolic vicariates. In other words, it is a national program and celebration. It is implemented with and through the National Secretariat of Social Action and Caritas (Nassa-Caritas). It is now 33 years old!
Its nature
Alay Kapwa literally means “offering to the neighbor” of oneself, TIME, TALENT, and TREASURE. It is a 40-day intense period of interior conversion that is eventually translated into concrete works of justice, love and peace. It is a conversion from unbridled selfishness to selfless love.
Its process
It engages individuals and communities. Intense evangelization and catechesis of the faithful takes place inspired from the Lenten lectionary of the Word of God and the medi-
tations of the Stations of the Cross. The transforming power of the Holy Spirit is made manifest in repentance and faith celebrated through the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist especially. Finally, it is characterized by the traditional and concrete activity of prayer, fasting and almsgiving. It is usually launched at the onset of Lent–Ash Wednesday or the first Sunday of Lent. It ends on Alay Kapwa Sunday, Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion.
2008 Lenten Message of Benedict XVI
The 2008 Lenten message of Pope Benedict focuses on almsgiving. He gives us his insights into one of Alay Kapwa’s main feature—sharing of treasure. The Pope reminds us of the two purposes of this practice, namely, on the one hand, it assists those in need, and at the same time, an exercise in self denial to free us from attachments to material goods that lead to greed and avarice. Almsgiving, therefore, helps us overcome the constant temptation to idolize material riches. The Pope adds, “In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion. Special collections that are promoted during Lent in favor of the poor find meaning only in this interior quality of almsgiving. Almsgiving reminds us of the teaching of the Gospel that we are not owners of material goods but rather stewards of God’s benevolence for the good of all, so that all may live a life with fitting human dignity. It forms us, as administrators of God’s goods, to resist the temptation to lie, cheat, and steal for personal or family gain at the expense of the deprivation of the good that rightfully belongs to many others. Another Gospel teaching about almsgiving that is given emphasis in the Pope’s message is: it is hidden. What matters is not human recognition or what return of investment one gets for being just and chari-
Name a “Tree for Life” after a departed loved one! A MOTHER will always remember her child—dead or alive, born or unborn. And many mothers are grieving alone long after a miscarriage or an abortion. As with the healing process for any person who has lost a loved one, part of the healing process of these mothers is encouraging them to name their baby, have a Mass said and offering candles or flowers. The pro-life groups all over the world have been setting up monuments or memorials to unborn babies, usually within the church grounds. Here in our country, the Knights of Columbus have been sponsoring such memorial places in their parishes for the past twenty years. A lovely shrine can be found at Anonas cor. Kamias St. Sikatuna Village, Quezon City. It took me several months but I finally found the sculptor—Dr. Ton Raymundo, who left his profession as an anesthesiologist and is now a fulltime sculptor. During the mayorship of DENR Secretary Lito Atienza, we built a memorial in Plaza Miranda dedicated to the thousands of unborn babies aborted due to the sale of herbal concoctions and tablets around the Quiapo area. He was then president of Pro-life Philippines. (Many question the proliferation of herbal vendors selling such abortifacients
Alay Kapwa: CBCP Lenten Action Program table. Rather, what matters is that God, who is the ultimate giver of all that we are and have, sees what we have done, and is glorified by it. God’s greater glory is the ultimate motive for good works. In this way, almsgiving becomes a “theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor.”
The lack of social conscience in our nation
The same old problems plaguing our nation for years, the recent CBCP statement says, are indications of the all too patent subordination of the common good to private good. They further declare, “The lack of a social conscience is, indeed, our common sin.” Thus, the renewed call for reform and conversion: “We are asking you, our beloved people, to be with us in the moral-spiritual reform of our nation by beginning with ourselves. This is what we need—conversion, real conversion, to put it in terms of our faith, for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good. This conversion is for all of us: laity, religious, priests, bishops.”
Championing Alay Kapwa: From Piety to Charity
It is clear from the foregoing how relevant and fitting the Alay Kapwa Lenten Action Program could be to address the lack of social conscience in our nation today. If given more attention and sufficient organization, it would be a fitting anti-corruption program because it addresses and interiorly transforms the root causes of such a rampant social sin, which is pride, greed and avarice, and lust for power in men’s hearts. With catechesis, prayer, fasting and the true meaning and practice of almsgiving, these causes of corruption will be interiorly redeemed. So let’s champion Alay Kapwa 2008 with greater vigor and resolve for the common cause of building a nation of justice, peace and love under God.
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
Love Life
with so many girls and women, often accompanied by their lovers buying the abortioninducing tablets. In fairness to the parish priests and the Mayor, several raids have been conducted, many vendors have been jailed, but it has been difficult to pursue court cases against them. They are released a few hours after detention and then they are back to their trade, protected by the syndicates around them). Besides the memorials to the unborn babies, we have also set up three tombs for Aborted Babies—the first one in La Loma Catholic Cemetery in 1990, another one in North Cemetery in 1995 and the latest one in South Cemetery in 2000. Fetus or dead babies may be buried there for free. Pro-life office can be contacted for such services. Women who suffer from loss of their unborn babies go through many years of restlessness and guilt. Even those who had a miscarriage harbor questions in their mind as to how responsible were they in the loss of their baby. They dwell on thoughts such as: if only they had been more careful… if only they had not taken this or that medicine for their illness…if only they had fully accepted the pregnancy and not complained. Some women go into depression, some experience sleep problems, some go into ad-
dictions, promiscuity or lesbian relationships. The pro-life healing program for postaborted women helps them reconcile with their baby, with themselves, with all the people who were involved in their abortion, and above all, reconcile with God. It is with this healing program in mind that one of the main events of Pro-life Philippines for February Pro-life Month will be the “Planting of Trees for Life”. This will be held on February 16 from 8:00 to 10:00 am at Parks and Wild Life, Quezon Ave., Quezon City. Since the theme chosen for Pro-life Month this year is “Life for Generations to come”, naming a tree after a loved one departed for eternal life will make it a very special event. Women are especially invited to name the tree after an unborn baby aborted, miscarried or stillborn. Such an act is very healing to these women, after the loss of a baby. Sec. Lito Atienza of DENR will be the guest speaker. He committed to give 100 seedlings for the event. A Registration Fee of P500 will be for the laminated name plates on the trees, certificate of sponsorship and refreshments. Please call Pro-life office for reservation so that we can prepare the name plates for your tree. Tel 911-2911/ 421-7147 / 0919-233-7783 or email life@prolife.org.ph Name a “Tree for Life” after a departed loved one!
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand THE Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council (PCP II) was framed exactly 17 years ago at the San Carlos Lay Formation Center. While the session lasted for 27 days only, from January 20 to February 17, 1991, I had the privilege to be invited as a non-voting participant among 156 lay delegates. There were 96 Bishops, 180 Vicar Generals and Episcopal Vicars, 21 Major Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 12 Rectors/Presidents of Catholic Universities and 24 Rectors of Ecclesiastical Faculties and Major Seminaries and Deans of Theology and Canon Law, a total of 479 participants. In any language, it was a “Power House” of Decision Makers who charted how the Philippine Church should become in 10 years. Presided by Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi and ably assisted by Secretary General Archbishop Oscar Cruz, it was a gigantic task for the different commission to prepare the working papers on a) Christian Life, b) Religious Concerns, c) Social Concerns, c) Church and Society, d) Laity, e) Religious, and f) Clergy. These Commissions were all headed respectively by the following CBCP stalwarts: a) Bishop Cirilo Almario, b) Bishop Teodoro Bacani, c) Jaime Cardinal Sin, d) Bishop Angel Lagdameo, e) Bishop Vicente Manuel, and f) Ricardo Cardinal Vidal. The final Conciliar document consisted of 671 paragraphs and 132 decrees. It was a monumental undertaking readily approved by the Holy Father and transmitted to Archbishop Legaspi by Bernardin Cardinal
PCP II revisited
Gantin, Prefect, Congregation for Bishops of the Vatican on April 20, 1992. For implementation he addressed the Bishops with this simple advice: “With this promulgation, the Council decrees become obligatory in all the dioceses of the Philippines in accordance with Canon 8 # 2 of the Code of Canon Law.” The next step was anticipated by Article 1 #1 of PCP II which states, “After the promulgation by publication of the decrees of the Plenary Council, the Church in the Philippines, through the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines shall put itself in a more active state of mission to inculcate the spirit of the Plenary Council in all the Faithful. This will be done by forging and implementing five-to ten-year National Pastoral Plan. The plan itself will be a process of a new evangelization and conversion according to the image of Christian life and Church model sanctioned by the Council.” Realizing the praxis aspects of the decrees, the Committees framed the National Pastoral Plan (NPP) which was subsequently approved by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on August 15, 1993. In a well studied flowchart of the NPP, they classified the decrees into Orientational Principles and
Operational Principles. This was the key to sift the theology and moral principles from the actionable decrees for instituting change in the 6 areas of major concern of the 6 commissions. In brief, the plan presented the call—to be Church of the poor; the response—Renewed Integral Evangelization; and the vision – Community of Disciples. After all is said and done, who are responsible to change the current situation of a community towards becoming a Community of Disciples? Article 101 gives the answer: “Therefore we need to emphasize today the insights of Vatican II on cor-responsibility, shared responsibility in the mission of the entire Church. The movement must henceforth be towards the actual an active sharing of responsibilities among pope and bishops, clergy and religious, lay men and women. And if heavier emphasis is laid on the laity now, it is not to set them against the hierarchical part of the Church nor to form them into a so-called “Church of the People”, understood as having no place for hierarchical authority and office. It is rather to restore their neglected role of evangelizers, to enable them to exercise that role more fully and efficaciously for the spread of Christ’s Kingdom.” Five years passed and the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila reviewed what had transpired since PCP II. The Second Provincial Council of Manila (PCM II) was convened on August 1 – 15, 1996. This time there was a
A5 Nicolo F. Bernardo
Lifeguard Stoning out the pregnant from our schools JAMES, not his real name, fathered a child with his girlfriend out of wedlock. Both were still college students. Threatened to be kicked out from school and confused on what to do with the unexpected pregnancy, he himself did the unexpected. I just heard the late news during our high school batch reunion that James was in fact long dead. He committed suicide. My initial reaction was disbelief and bewilderment. I heard of pregnant teens committing abortion just to escape the trouble. But fathers committing suicide? I was able to talk with guidance counselors in my Catholic university that such pressures do occur even with Catholic students. Abortion and suicide are two things they consider with the thought that they are doomed to stop school and to face the rage of their parents and mentors for the pregnancy. This reminds me of George W. Bush’s address to the last March for Life rally in Washington, covered by the EWTN. He dreams of America where pregnant girls can continue their education. Thirty-five years ago, abortion was legalized in the US after the Roe vs. Wade case, partly when “Roe’s” lawyer argued that an unmarried pregnant woman cannot complete her education. For this situation to change, reform has to start with Catholic schools. Top Catholic and secular universities like Harvard, Berkeley, Stanford, Georgetown, Marquette, Loyola-Baltimore, and Notre Dame universities, instead of kicking out unmarried pregnant students, would now even provide them multiple abortion-preventing services: from health care, to counseling, to campus ministry, to deans’ support while studying and living life as normal as possible. The result? Abortions among college-based women declined by 30 percent in the US , a decade after this move in Catholic universities started in 1994. This is one thrust of the proposed national Students’ Magna Carta Act and other school-based students’ code. Many of our Catholic schools, instead of caring to already troubled or perhaps suicidal pregnant students and their partners, would pressure them either to get out of school or to marry very soon if they want to stay. These are the same schools that have no prolife centers within their campuses that could give them heavyduty guidance, or have never embarked on any serious prochastity campaign within their premises. Some student-discipline officers argue that unmarried pregnant students must be refused admission, saying that this is a routine unwritten policy lest the violators scandalize and influence others. Or they argue that they are “protecting” the pregnant student from physical strain (when education is largely mental than physical) or from shame (ironically, by joining the shame campaign!). But my question: Would students rush to get pregnant too upon seeing a classmate with a bulging belly? If we were to dismiss into oblivion pregnant teens to prevent scandal, are we not acting like the fundamentalists who stone unmarried pregnant women just “to teach others a lesson?” What do we get from stopping their education, especially Catholic education? As it turns out, the “kick-out” policy is indeed preventive and restrictive of pregnancy, but not preventive of premarital sex. Many sexually-active students simply hook themselves into contraception and abortion to avoid pregnancy and get around the policy. When a Catholic school fails to prevent premarital sex from occurring, there goes another problem. What would it do to prevent abortion? Kicking the partners out? What’s so Christian about that? This is not to say that Catholic schools must in any way embrace premarital sex, or that it must stop warning students that teenage pregnancy is not healthy and right. Not at all. But it is one thing to provide students an environment that discourages premarital sex and its consequences, and another to help a mother and her unborn child by continuing, rather than severing, education that can secure their future as soon as possible. In these days of Church advocacy against abortion, the more Catholic schools should welcome unmarried pregnant students. This is a statement that a woman in her untimely pregnancy should stand for life despite the mistake, and that the school and the Church are willing to reach out even as the parents or the partner may be unwilling to support the pregnancy. Pregnancy is supposed to be good news. It can be distressing until we work for a way for every child to be welcome. If rules can’t be bent for the unwed expectant mother, then do so for the child’s sake. Depriving the expectant parents of Catholic education, guidance and formation will only spell more trouble, more uncertainties, more temptations. Let us think what perhaps Jesus Christ would do in these cases. He is known for welcoming the “sinful” Mary Magdalene, even took her into his circle of friends, to teach and educate her. He did not kick her out of his “school of life,” neither did he refuse his other fallen disciples. In fact, Christ came precisely for these people. Thus, a puritanical Catholic school has failed its mission. The problem with some Catholic schools’ self-professed “right-to-life” puritans is that they are too much on looking “right,” but too less on charity for “life.” What’s surprising is that there are more public schools willing to accommodate these pregnant students, and offer some dignity to their pregnancy. Schools that have no means to provide special education, care, or guidance to unmarried pregnant students are themselves traditional victims of the “culture of death.” They see the event of life from premarital sex simply as a sin, a stigma, a violation. They failed to see the gift of life and the touch of the Creator in every pregnancy, which has to be supported. They shun the sin, the sinners, and their innocent children altogether. No wonder why the students think their pregnancy, and their lives, are simply sin and stigma to get rid off. Such policies failed, and would continue to fail, in saving the lives of the likes of James, their partners, and their unborn brood. specific directive to organize for better implementation of PCP II. Article 86 of PCM II Acts and Decrees states Each Diocese and Apostolic Vicariate in the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila should form a team composed of priests, religious and lay people that will organize and coordinate, monitor and supervise the programs for evangelization that were approved or recommended by their respective synods, PCP II, the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II Tertio Millenio Adveniente and the PCM II. While many positive changes had occurred towards the direction of PCP II, on its 10th Anniversary, the progress was monitored by then CBCP President Archbishop Orlando Quevedo. He called the National Pastoral Council for Church Renewal on January 2001. He was disappointed that not many know the Vision – Mission of PCP II and expressed that “this is one of those ‘well-kept’ secrets in the Church. The conference concluded naming 9 Pastoral Priorities. For implementation, he directed during the strategic planning of the secretaries of the Episcopal Commissions to select 3 of these 9 Pastoral Priorities for Action Planning. These are: Laiko / A6
Local News
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Bishop, supporters rally to stop 2 nickel mines in Palawan PALAWAN Bishop Pedro Arigo led a protest rally of over 1,000 supporters and parishioners on Jan. 31 in the village of Ipilan, Brooke’s Point. The campaign was to oppose two largescale projects currently in the exploration stage of the nickel mining projects presently applying for a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Two mining companies—Ipilan Nickel Mining Corp. and MacroAsia Corp.—are seeking to upgrade their respective MPSA exploration permits to an operation permit and are required by law to seek an endorsement from the local government unit. Ipilan Nickel is a subsidiary of Toledo Mining and Development Corp. and a sister company of Berong Nickel Corp., which is already operating a nickel mine under an MPSA in Berong village, Quezon, southern Palawan. Business and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, who has ventured into mining, owns MacroAsia Company. During the rally, Brooke’s Point Vice-
Mayor Jean Feliciano led the petition signing of local residents to oppose the nickel mining projects. “Brooke’s Point has learned the lesson from the other towns in southern Palawan that had been ravaged by mining and we will never let it happen,” Feliciano said. She added that Brooke’s Point “as it is, is one of the most progressive towns in the south because of our agriculture.” Local people were seeking the revocation of a village endorsement issued by the previous village council in 2007, a month before their term ended, according to Ipilan village chairman Jonathan Lagrada, a local anti-mining activist. “We want the DENR to respect the real sentiment of the people of Ipilan, that we are against this project because of its effects on our agricultural lands. The endorsement given to the mining companies by the previous barangay council is questionable because it was a midnight resolution and did not even go through council deliberation,” Legrada added.
Most Rev. Pedro D. Arigo, D.D.
Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn and Arigo are also supporting the campaign launched by anti-mining advocates and local Catholic Church in Brooke’s Point. (CBCPNews)
OMI assigns new head of Tabawan mission as military pursues Roda Killers THE Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) has assigned another missionary in Tabawan, Tawi-tawi where one of its priests was killed last month. Bongao parish priest Fr. Rito Daquipil took over the Tabawan mission station previously held by Fr. Rey Roda who was murdered by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits last Jan. 15. OMI provincial superior Fr. Ramon Bernabe said the priest would be assisted this time by OMI Brother Mauricio Zuyco, who had already been assigned there from 1995 to 1997.
The 52-year old missionary assumed his new post last Jan. 30. A native on Antique, Daquipil was ordained priest in 1994. He served as parochial vicar of Magpet in 1994 and parish priest/ school director there in June 1995. He was also assigned to the OMI’s Notre Dame Broadcasting Corporation (NDBC) in Kidapawan in June 1997 then parish priest of Kulaman in Sen. Ninoy Aquino town, Sultan Kudarat province in June 1999. The military continues to pursue the kill-
ers of Fr. Roda. Abu Sayyaf sub-commander allegedly involved in the killing of Roda was killed in a clash with the government soldiers in Tawi-tawi on Jan. 31. Troops from the 2nd Marine Battalion Landing Team encountered the group led by Wahab Upao in sitio Lubok-lubok, Buwanbuwan village, Panglima Sugala town. Troops recovered the body of suspected Abu Sayyaf Upao, who carried a P2.5-million reward for his capture, after an hourlong firefight. (CBCPNews)
CRS now into sustainable agri, health programs FROM the food supplementary programs of the 1970s, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) has recently ventured into sustainable agriculture, health and peace-building programs in poverty-stricken areas, mostly in southern Philippines’ Mindanao. CRS Country Representative Michael J. Frank said “there are serious pockets of poverty in the country, there’s this gap between the rich and the poor.” He said they are most concerned of the country’s poorest of the poor found in Mindanao, in the Muslim areas, in Bicol, and in Samar. Asked if the situation improved over the past few years, Frank said “the situation has not changed drastically at all,” adding that improvement in poorer communities “takes long term efforts and many, many years.” He added that one of the most possible effects of long standing poverty in the countryside is to drive “people from the vil-
lages to industrialized and metropolitan areas, seeking better opportunities as in the country’s middle class who leave for abroad, seeking better-paying jobs.” Sustainable agriculture and communitybased health assistance along with peacebuilding efforts are the primary projects implemented by CRS under its Philippine program. Asked how predominantly Muslim areas accept their programs, Frank said “we’ve been in the Philippines for 60 years and we’ve been all over the country in the early years, in almost every diocese and in general, local groups, NGOs and communities and they know we’re not into changing people’s religion or do any proselytization.” He said their goal is to assist the neediest and improve their lives. “We’re teaching farmers how to market their products to increase their income with
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lesser middlemen,” Frank said. He added that large-scale buyers have now begun to look into small farmers’ organizations to source their raw materials. They no longer provide supplemental food commodities in the countryside. “The need (for food commodities) has been reduced and also because of the increase in need in other parts of the world such as Africa where the food situation is much greater than in areas like the Philippines,” Frank added. CRS Microfinance program has already been phased out because other agencies have gone into it such as the Catholic Church. “We’ve had successful programs in the Dioceses of Mati (Davao Oriental) and Legazpi (Albay), some of which were part of the supplemental feeding program,” he explained. (Melo M. Acuña)
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legislators to change the country’s marriage laws to prevent teens from marrying so young. Archbishop Oscar Cruz, head of the CBCP National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal, sought the modification of the law during the 3rd Bishops’-Legislators’ Caucus at a hotel in Pasay City Thursday. Cruz asked the lawmakers from the Senate and the Congress to raise the minimum legal marrying of 18 years to remedy “broken marriages.” The age requirement for marriage needs to be adjusted, he said, because most people aged 18 are still “psychologically unprepared and emotionally unstable.” “Getting married at 18 could be disadvantageous since a person at such an age is still unripe or incapable of raising a family,” said the Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop. Cruz, however, did not mention his preferred minimum age requirement for people to get married. He said that mental capability and preparedness is very important in marriage, “especially since it in-
volves raising your own family.” The prelate also lamented that lawmakers push so much to remedy broken marriages but nothing is proposed to fortify marriages and prevent marriage failures. “Marriage is never a simple relationship that everyone could just go into. It entails many responsibilities that require physical, emotional and spiritual preparedness,” he said. The caucus is an initiative of the CBCP, which started last September that aims to discuss issues of national concern, especially about the population, family and life, and morality. Among those who attended the caucus were around 30 members of the CBCP led by its head Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, Senate President Manuel Villar and Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. and other congressmen. The group agreed to meet once every two months to assess pending bills in Congress that may have impact on the family. (CBCPNews)
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Following Mother Ignacia’s elevation to being “Venerable,” a title accorded to a candidate for sainthood whose heroic virtue has been officially recognized by the Pope, another miracle has to be attributed to her intercession
CBCP Monitor
to make way for her beatification. An elevation to beatification, which gives the title “Blessed,” will lead to the stage of canonization that will finally declare the candidate a “Saint.” (Kris Bayos)
ports,” he said. The prelate said Suarez should be the first to know about the Church guideline because he is a priest. “Father Suarez and his organization are not following that norm,” he said. “So for that reason, I cancelled the scheduled healing Mass,” he said which is set to be conducted at the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, also in Marilao. Suarez is known for allegedly healing people with cancer and terminal ailments not only in the Philippines but also in other countries.
Oliveros, however, refused to comment on the priest’s healing capability. He instead clarified that the Catholic bishops’ leadership do not have a position yet on Suarez especially in the possibility of healing through prayer “that is theologically sound.” “Now whether the person is an instrument of God for the healing of the body and soul that is still to be determined,” he said. “Whether this priest is an instrument of God we cannot say that right now.” (CBCPNews)
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Priest killer mourns, kneels before Fr. Favali’s grave CONVICTED priest killer, Norberto Manero Jr, knelt down at the tomb of the Italian priest, in manifestation of sorrow and remorse at noon on Feb 4. Priests, nuns and people welcomed Manero at candles lit prayer service in the chapel of the Bishop’s House. He walked towards the grave of the Italian priest Tullio Favali, he and his group of paramilitary elements killed on April 11, 1985, knelt to put the candle on the left side of the marble tomb marker, made a sign of the cross then bowed to let his forehead touch the stone. Manero was meted a life term when then president Fidel Ramos commuted his sentence to 24 years. It was Geremiah, not Favali, who was Manero’s target. Manero was released Jan. 25, 2008. Manero renewed a 2005 pact he signed with the diocese of Kidapawan to prove that he would no longer return to the violent life he had led in the 1980s. Fr Armando Angeles, the diocesan Administrator blessed the grave of Favali. “I must be the happiest person now that I have been welcomed and forgiven,” Manero told the media. As soon as Manero entered the conference room of the Bishop’s House for a closed-door meeting, Manero kissed the hand and embraced his intended target for liquidation in 1985—Fr Geremia who, like Favali, belongs to the Italy-based Pontifical Institute of Foreign Missions (PIME). Geremia, whom the Manero group then claimed was a member of an insurgent group NPA (New People’s Army) was spared because he passed by Kilometer 125, Crossing La Esperanza in Tulunan, North Cotabato, late that afternoon. In his stead, parish priest Tullio Favali responded to a distress call from neighbors.
Court records show that Favali arrived at around 5 p.m. on his motorcycle and proceeded to the house of Gomez where tailor Rufino Robles, a prayer group leader, was hiding from the Manero group. It was there that he was mercilessly gunned down by the Manero brothers. Calling himself one of the “lost sheep” who has returned to the flock, Manero wrote to then Kidapawan Bishop Romulo Valles on September 4, 2004, seeking forgiveness. After several consultations with the witnesses, the Diocese of Kidapawan responded favorably and posed no objections to a grant of Presidential pardon to him. “We do not deny grace and conversion. From our assessment, there are indicators of repentance and conversion from Manero so the Church will respond by expressing our appreciation for that,” Bishop Romulo Valles told media men at the 20th death anniversary of Fr. Favali on April 11, 2005. “Forgiveness and reconciliation are the hallmarks of the Church,” the prelate said. At the prayer service after the closed-door conference, Fr. Angeles said it was a privilege to welcome our brother Manero. What is happening, he said, is a “symbol of peace” which he hopes will end the cycle of violence and herald genuine peace and reconciliation in the area. “Forgiveness is not condoning but to free that person of the complex of having been a killing machine,” Fr Geremia said on the 20th death anniversary of Favali on April 11, 2005. “If Manero can have a process of reforms and become also a promoter of peace then if it is possible for him, it is possible for many others,” he said. (Santosh Digal)
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Archbishop Diosdado A. Talamayan and Bayombong Bishop Ramon B. Villena at Malacanang, it was agreed that a 45-day notice will be given to informal settlers whose shanties are up for demolition. CBCP-NASSA Executive Secretary Sr. Rosanne Malillin, SPC said the first priority for demolition are informal settlers along esteros and waterways while squatters in government lands up for development are considered second priority and those occupying private properties are third in the priority list. “There are nearly 400,000 Metro Manila families up for relocation, most of whom prefer to be relocated in Rodriguez (Montalban), Rizal considering its distance from Quezon City where they can
find work,” Sr. Roseanne said in an interview with CBCPNews. Sister Rosanne said the relocation site in Rodriguez could very well accommodate 100,000 families. Other relocation sites will be constructed in Calauan and Cabuyao towns in Laguna province. She added President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo agreed to the proposal that no demolition would take place if the relocation sites would not have the basic services such as light, power and income-generating activities. “The Church will handle the social preparation along with people’s organizations,” Sr. Rosanne added. Caritas Manila’s Executive Director Fr. Anton C. T. Pascual and Fr. Mario Castillo also attended the meeting. (CBCPNews)
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That important facet in reportage, said Adams, means to have the “courage to seek and report” the truth. “People are depending on you that you are going to give it to them right and you don’t want to give them the same old propaganda,” he said. Adams also emphasized to the Church reporters the value of being “sensitive to the moral, religious and spiritual aspects of human life.” “These aspects are misunderstood in our society and sometimes they are deliberately ignored,” he said. He likewise urged the media to report not only misdeeds and
tragedies but also the “positive and uplifting” things that people need to hear. “We need to be inspired and be given good example. It’s like offering examples of hope. We have to bring that positive side out so that our people don’t despair,” he added. Pope Benedict XVI recently also urged the media to establish “info-ethics” as a way of maintaining ethical accountability in the industry. The Pope rebuked the media industry for often using vulgarity and violence, but also praised it for helping to spread democracy and promote dialogue. (Roy Lagarde)
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The bishops dared faith communities, civil society and political leaders, to face the challenge of putting the common good above personal interests and contribute to the transformation of the country. “So we seek a wider response from all the faithful towards a more vigorous work for good governance a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church,” the statement said. The bishops pointed out that rampant corruption in various strata of society went unhindered because “we all too often condone it as part of the perquisites of power and public office.” “We have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people,” the bishops said.
1. Integral faith formation, 2. Empowerment of the laity towards social transformation, 3. Active presence and participation of the poor in the Church’s evangelization, 4. The family as the focal point of evangelization, 5. Building and strengthening of participating communities that make up the parish as a community of communities, 6. Integral renewal of the clergy, 7. Journeying with the youth, 8 Ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue, 9. Animation and formation of “mission ad gentes”. As in all well-laid plans, the final measure of success is implementation according to the standards set. How will PCP II fare after 20 years? From the last CBCP pastoral statements of January 2008, the Philippine Church has a very long struggle to meet PCP II’s goals.
CBCP Monitor
Features
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Mercy seen as core of Christian Message Congress to open on 3rd anniversary of Polish Pope’s death
A7 Bishops say providing moral guidance is not meddling in political campaigns THE spokesman for the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino, responded to Socialists attacks on the Church this week and said a statement issued by the bishops is not a declaration of support for any particular party, but rather a series of orientations that Catholics must bear in mind as they go to the polls on March 9. “The bishops don’t say who to vote for. We have given a series of moral criteria so that those who want to listen have an idea (…) It is some guidance on issues such as abortion or education,” Bishop Camino told the TV network Telecinco. “The bishops respect those who
vote differently,” he continued, but that does not mean they should not speak out about social ethics. “What is more worrisome is that some say that because the Church exercises her pastoral duty and her freedom of expression, she is acting outside of democracy,” Bishop Camino stressed in reference to attacks by Socialists who claim the bishops are supporting the Popular Party. “This statement is based on pastoral ministry. It is not a doctrine invented yesterday,” the bishops pointed out, adding that no political party meets all of the directives given by the bishops, and therefore people have to vote for “the lesser of evils.” (CNA)
US pro-life group names first Filipino member ON the third anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, the 1st World Congress on Mercy will open in Rome. In the Vatican press office today, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria, presented the congress, scheduled for April 2-6. It is a good sign, said Cardinal Schonborn, that the first world congress on mercy should open on April 2, third anniversary of the death of John Paul II, because “that great and unforgettable Pope, from his boyhood on, remained fascinated by the secret of divine mercy. In the year 2002, at the inauguration of a magnificent shrine to divine mercy at Krakow-Lagiewniki, Poland, he said: ‘There is no source of hope for human beings, save the mercy of God.’”
Hence “the congress in Rome must clearly show that mercy is the central core of the Christian message,” the cardinal said. “This message promotes peace in the world, between peoples and religions. It helps people to discover the true face of God, but also the true face of man and of the Church.” “Many believers,” he added, “consider it a special sign that John Paul II died on the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, which he himself had introduced during the Holy Year 2000, [...] and which is closely associated with the figure of Faustina Kowalska, whom John Paul II proclaimed as a saint on April 30 of that same year.” The archbishop of Vienna recalled how during St. Faustina’s life (1905-1938) the message of divine mercy was “a special
support and an inexhaustible source of hope [...] for all the Polish people. This message is more necessary than ever in our own times, as the daily news constantly confirms.” “In 2004 John Paul II appealed to the entire Church to be ‘witness to mercy,’” said the cardinal. “At the Regina Coeli prayer on April 3, 2005, he would have said: ‘Love changes hearts and brings peace. How great is the need for mercy in the world.’ Death prevented that great Pope from pronouncing those words, but the message has lost none of its validity or relevance.” Cardinal Schönborn concluded, “The message of John Paul II and of Faustina Kowalska is not some abstract principle, it has a name and a face: Jesus.” (Zenit)
WASHINGTON-BASED University Faculty for Life, Inc. (UFL) has named a Filipino commissioner of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) its newest member. A Rizalista de Vanguardia and Knight Grand Cross of Rizal, Jose David Lapus is an international lecturer on international affairs and a foreign policy expert. “UFL provides the interdisciplinary forum in which scholars and experts can discuss these many aspects. I am proud and honored to be a member of a multidisciplinary association of scholars speaking out for human
life,” he said. Lapus added that he is most concerned about issues on abortion, infanticide and euthanasia, the basic topics addressed at UFL. Founded in 1989, the UFL is a non-profit educational institution promoting research, dialogue and publication of pro-life issues among academicians from around the globe who respect the values of human life. It publishes a quarterly newsletter called Pro Vita since 1991, and sponsors annual conferences aimed at promoting multidisciplinary dialogue and collaboration among academicians worldwide. (Kris Bayos)
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toral Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR), just after the celebration of the Great Jubilee of Redemption, “to discern where the Holy Spirit is leading us” in the new millennium. In that National Pastoral Consultation, we humbly confessed: “In the Church many prescriptions of PCP-II have not been implemented for many reasons …” With humility we identified the “root cause” as our hardness of heart and resistance to conversion. Through the NPCCR we heard again God’s call for renewal or aggiornamento. The Consultation led us to identify “nine pastoral priorities” which call for radical conversion. To review, the Nine Pastoral Priorities are: a) Integral Faith Formation, b) Empowerment of the Laity toward Social Transformation, c) Active Presence and Participation of the Poor in the Church, d) The family as focal point of evangelization, e) Building and Strengthening of Participatory Communities that make up the Parish as a Community of Communities, f) Integral Renewal of the Clergy, g) Journeying with the Youth, h) Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue and i) Animation and Formation for Mission “ad Gentes.” You are familiar with these priorities. In some way they may have influenced subsequent Pastoral Assemblies, Conventions and Synods. I would like to emphasize here just one of the nine priorities. I am referring to the 5th priority (E) which mentions Participatory Communities as Basic Ecclesial Communities. On BEC we will not miss what our PCP-II had said in Nos. 137140. In this section we said “In many dioceses today, Basic Ecclesial Communities are a pastoral priority …a significant expression of ecclesial renewal.” That was in 1991. What can we say in 2008? PCP-II dedicated 4 decrees on BEC, Articles 109, 110, 111 and 112. What is decreed in 110 needs to be read again: “The CBCP shall issue an official statement on BECs, on their nature and function as recognized by the Church …this official statement of the CBCP shall be, among other things, for the proper orienting of priests and seminarians.” Our Committee on BECs is the youngest of all the Episcopal Commissions and Committees established only in 2004. With
the Composition of this Committee, we can say that indeed BEC will soon indeed be “a pastoral priority … a significant expression of ecclesial renewal.” – Some of us bishops, some of our priests and religious, many of our laity may have been promoting BECs earlier than, long before, PCP-II. In our personal libraries we will find various document, books and folders on BEC. In our respective dioceses, there may already be some/ many initiatives on BEC. With these experiences on the ground level, probably it is time for a National Pastoral Plan specifically for the building and promotion of BECs. I submit this as a proposal. More than what is suggested in the First NPP, the present composition of the Committee is certainly more than very capable to organize a National Pastoral Plan on Basic Ecclesial Communities. The rich experiences in many dioceses or parishes can now be used to prepare a NPP on BECs for those who want to embark on this “pastoral priority.” I submit also that this next NPP on BECs, contain proposals or suggestions on how the enduring themes of the PCP-II and of our Pastoral Letters along with the universal Social Doctrine of the Church can be part of the formation of Basic Ecclesial Communities. This will be a great opportunity for our Commissions and Committees to converge through their participation in a common plan which will highlight again our nine pastoral priorities. In conclusion, as happens on many occasions in our pastoral ministry, we are witnesses of many things unseen. Pope Benedict XVI in his most recent Encyclical Letter “Spe Salvi,” speaks of the interaction and link of Faith and Hope. Thus, he speaks of “faith-based hope” and “hope-filled faith,” when he quotes Hebrew 11/1: “faith is the hypostasis (substance, assurance) of things hoped for, the proof (argument) of things not seen.” It is this “faith-based hope” and “hope-filled faith” that accompany us in our journey in the service of God and the Church. The same also, I believe, accompany us in the work of building Basic Ecclesial Communities, indeed a “new way of being church” which is filled with not only efforts and struggles, but also pleasant unseen surprises.
“Power to Unite” wins gold in NY fest A CHRISTIAN-INSPIRED music video has given the country a major award for the first time at the prestigious New York Festivals, February 1. The “Power to Unite” MTV won a Gold World Medal for the entertainment category which was produced by Elvira Go of the National Bible Quiz Inc. Director Louie Ignacio made the “great execution” of the video. The song performed by Rene Martinez was composed by Go herself while Ms. Charo Unite provided the melody. “It’s the first time for a Filipino to win in the Entertainment category,” Ignacio was quoted in a news report as saying.
The music video was one of the nineteen finalists in the 2008 New York Festivals’ Television Broadcasting Category. Eleven of which is for GMA Network, three for its sister station QTV and four shows for ABS-CBN Broadcasting. Philippines has the 2nd highest number of finalists among the Asian countries this year after Hong Kong and Singapore which both have 21 finalists. The award-giving body has been recognizing for years the world’s best work in the field of news, documentary, infotainment, music videos, station IDs and infomercials. (CBCPNews)
RP Jesuits celebrate Golden Jubilee THE Philippine Jesuits celebrated their 50 years as a province on February 2. Former provincial, Fr. Joaquin Bernas, SJ, shared his recollections of the past 50 years of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus in this homily delivered during the Jubilee Mass. “A jubilee celebration is, among other things, a time for remembering,” he said. “The story of the Philippine Province, like the story of the Society itself, has been a pilgrimage, sometimes through windy days, at other times through calm weather, leading us to where we are today. And in our fifty year pilgrimage, what was the atmosphere which the Province breathed, what were the forces that influenced our journey, and who were the principal people who mapped out the outlines of our itinerary?” Bernas recalled. The past five decades were a tumultuous period in Philippine history. The country had not yet recovered from the devastation of war. Meanwhile the Communist insurgency had reached its peak, the secessionist movement was growing stronger in Mindanao, injustice and inequitable distribution of wealth were fueling labor and agrarian unrest, a martial law proclamation ushered in a period of dictatorship, and eventually People Power restored the structures of democracy. But with democratization also came electoral scandals and corruption in high places. Fifty years! And in the last few years, globalization and communication revolution came, Bernas said. What were the factors which helped the Province meet the challenges of the period? “We must begin with Pope John XXIII who convened Vatican II in 1962 and challenged the Church to face the modern world. Pope Paul VI closed that Synod in 1965,” he said. The Society’s first main response was im-
Fr. Noel Vasquez, SJ, former provincial of the Philippine Province, with the scholastics and brothers of Loyola House of Studies. (Picture taken by Sem. Jayvee Zuniga)
mediate—the 1965 31st General Congregation which had a second session in 1966. What did the Congregation do? Among other things, it elected Father Pedro Arrupe as General on fourth ballot, it emphasized the apostolic importance of mass media, it took a fresh look at the intellectual and spiritual formation of Jesuits and ushered in the birth of Loyola School of Theology and new forms of formation experiments. “Crisis visited us when Father Arrupe suffered a debilitating stroke after his Philippine visit, and a concerned John Paul II placed the Society under receivership. For a short time the Society was under Father Paolo Dezza as temporary Superior appointed by the Holy Father. I could only remember Father Dezza as the author of our textbook Metaphysica Generalis. Things settled down to normal in 1983 after the 33rd General Congregation on first ballot elected Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach as General,” the priest recounted.
A little over ten years later Father Kolvenbach himself summoned the 34th General Congregation. The 34th was both a Congregation of consolidation and of advancement. It reaffirmed the major thrusts of the 32nd and 33rd General Congregations, it emphasized mission and culture and inter-religious dialogue and co-partnership with the laity, it dealt with the situation of women in Jesuits’ works, and it caused a reexamination of Society’s structures of governance. A final decree called Our Way of Proceeding summed up the spirit of it all. “Now we are in the midst of the 35th General Congregation. We still await how the work of this Congregation will impact on our lives and our works,” Fr Bernas said. The Philippine Jesuit ministry include spiritual (9) centers, educational (10), communication (3), social (23), formation (5), and parish/pastoral apostolate (11). (Santosh Digal)
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People, Facts & Places
Bacolod launches diamond jubilee celebration
© Photo by Sherry Bacon / flickr.com
Pro-life youth congress slated on Feb. 23
WORLD-RENOWNED musicians are set to perform in the country’s longest-running classical music event. A multi-awarded French organist; a known figure in the Asian contemporary music scene; and a composer of liturgical music are among the acclaimed roster of artists set to perform in the 33rd International Bamboo Festival on Feb. 21 to 29, in Las Piñas City. This unique festival, which usually showcases highbrow music, will run on Feb. 21 to 29 at St. Joseph’s Church, home of the famous bamboo organ. The said musical instrument is the only organ with bamboo pipes in the world, and it is believed to be the most famous in the world. Each year in February, the festival is held in and around the church featuring selected classical and religious foreign and local musicians performing many different numbers. The opening invitational GALA that kicks off the event on Feb. 21 is traditionally meant for sponsors and subscribing members of the
festival. This time it will also pay tribute to special friends of the Festival who have supported this cultural activity since its inception. On Feb. 24, the traditional outdoor event “Concert under the trees” will take place in the church patio, featuring Robert Seña and his wife Isay Alvarez of Miss Saigon fame in an evening of popular songs. This will be followed by “Organ and Voices” on Feb. 25, which is actually a repeat of the GALA concert except for the organ numbers, which will now be performed by Rea L. Jimenez and Armando Salarza. They will be doing two pieces for duo organs. The festival ends with “Messa di Gloria” to be performed on Feb. 27 and 29. The Las Piñas bamboo organ has a total of 1,031 pipes, of which 902 are bamboo; the rest are metal. The national treasure that is the bamboo organ was constructed from 1816 to 1824 by Fr. Diego Sera, a monk of Augustinian order of the Recollects.
Cultural Center. The relics will stay for four hours at Fernando Air Base, this city. Provincial jail inmates will also welcome the pilgrim relics on Monday, February 11 where Archbishop Arguelles will celebrate Mass. A healing Mass to be presided by Fr. Joey Faller will be held at the Immaculate Conception Parish, Bauan, Batangas. From Bauan, the relics will be brought to the Archdiocesan Shrine of St. Therese in Sta. Teresita where another overnight vigil will be held. The pilgrim relics will also be brought to the Basilica of St. Martin of Tours and to Balayan town. The relics will also be brought to St. Francis Xavier parish in Nasugbu town where the vigil would begin at 7:30 P.M. and end at 8:00 A.M. on Wednesday, February 13. (Fr. Nonie Dolor)
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Las Piñas parish holds 3rd Int’l bamboo organ festival
THE Archdiocese of Lipa, engaged in a three-year preparation for the Centennial Jubilee in 2010, will welcome the pilgrim relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face from February 8-13, 2008. Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles said he expects the second visit to be “more significant as it coincides with the first year preparation for the Centennial Jubilee with the theme ‘Conversion and Evangelization.” He further said the examples of the Millennium Saint will continue to inspire the faithful to become modern missionaries. From Bulacan, the relics will be fetched by helicopter with Archbishop Arguelles in attendance. A welcome Mass on Friday, February 8, has been scheduled at the Santo Tomas Parish Church. The entourage will proceed to the proposed parish of St. Therese at Barangay Talisay, this city. Thousands are expected to join the procession from Talisay to the Cathedral of St. Sebastian, at the heart of the city. The pilgrim relics will also be featured at Migrants Sunday Celebration at the Lipa City Youth and
Markings Markings
Kawpeng, best known as the editor of Kerygma magazine and co-host of Bo Sanchez in their Shepherd’s Voice radio and TV programs. She will be a living example of living the pro-life way as she will obviously be five months pregnant with her much awaited first baby by then. Buhay party list Rep. Ma. Carissa Coscolluela will also deliver the pro-life challenge with her talk about the “Passing on the Torch.” (CBCPNews)
CELEBRATED. Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in the Philippines, golden jubilee as an independent province, February 2, 2008. The first Jesuits who arrived in the country in the 16th century belonged to the province of Mexico, thus the Philippines became a mission of Mexico. It became independent in 1605. On February 27, 1767, by decree of Charles III, the Jesuits were expelled from Spain and all Spanish dominions, including the Philippines. They returned to the country on June 14, 1859 after an absence of 90 years and took charge of a public school, Escuela Municipal, later on renamed Ateneo Municipal, in Intramuros. When the Americans took over from the Spaniards, the name of the school was changed to Ateneo de Manila. The first American Jesuits came in 1921. On February 3, 1958, the Philippines became an independent province and Fr. Horacio de la Costa, SJ was named the first Filipino Provincial. At that time, there were 442 Jesuits in the country, 239 of whom were Filipinos.
© Photo by Cealwyn Tagle, Diego Cera Organbuilders, Inc.
“And that means—No to premarital sex, contraception, abortion, drugs, alcohol, gambling and pornography,” the Pro-life Philippines said in a statement. Among the speakers include Mr. Ed Sorreta who will talk on “Living in a Culture of Death,” to motivate the young faithful to live in a culture of love and life. He will dwell on hard facts on the current issues affecting the moral life of the youth today. Next speaker is Mrs. Rizza Singson-
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
St. Therese’s relics bound for Lipa
THE Diocese of Bacolod began its Diamond Jubilee celebration recently with the opening of the jubilee door at St. Sebastian Cathedral. Bishop Vicente M. Navarra said the diocese heightened information campaign about the jubilee as early as last year to prepare the faithful for a more meaningful celebration. The Diocese of Bacolod is a suffragan of Jaro and comprises the central territory of Negros Occidental from Hinigaran town in the south to Victorias City in the north. There are 70 parishes, chapels and chaplaincies in the diocese with diocesan and religious priests. Bishop Navarra told CBCPNews that parishes and Catholic schools in the entire diocese have been tasked to prepare and participate during the Diamond Jubilee scheduled on October 24. Bishop Navarra is the fifth bishop of the Diocese after the Most Rev. Camilo D. Gregorio and the popular late Bishop Antonio Y. Fortich who led the diocese during the Martial Law period. The Most Rev. Casimiro M. Lladoc was Bacolod’s first bishop from its erection on March 4, 1933 to September 22, 1951. He was succeeded by Bishop Manuel P. Yap from May 29, 1952 to October 16, 1966. Bishop Fortich headed the diocese from February 24, 1967 to January 31, 1989. The Diamond Jubilee’s theme is “Duc in Altum or Moving Forward Together.” (Melo M. Acuña)
SENIOR pro-life advocates will pass on the torch of their experience and commitment to the youth on Feb. 23 at St. Paul College in Pasig. The conference, with the theme “Passing on the Torch” will gather over 200 schools and parish youth leaders. Dynamic speakers will set the ball rolling in the morning before the youth in the afternoon in order to plan how they can best influence their peers “to live the pro-life way.”
CBCP Monitor
The organ, the church and the surrounding buildings have been restored to their 19th century state by Architect Francisco “Bobby” Mañosa and associate Ludwig Alvarez. (CBCPNews)
CELEBRATED. Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, formal announcement of the promulgation of the Decree on Virtues declaring her Venerable, February 1, 2008. His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, DD presided the thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration at the Minor Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz in Binondo, Manila. Venerable Ignacia del Espiritu Santo founded the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM) in 1684. Born in Binondo on March 4, 1663, Mother Ignacia was inspired to dedicate her life to the service of God at a very young age. She lived a life of prayer that attracted other young women to follow and embrace her cause. She died on September 10, 1748 at the age of 85. The RVM is the first Filipino religious congregation for women granted papal recognition by the Vatican. Currently, the congregation has 747 professed sisters who are scattered all over the country and outside the Philippines doing various ministries. AWARDED. Fr. James Reuter, SJ, with Bishop Jorge Barlin Golden Cross Service Award by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, during the 96th CBCP Plenary Assembly held at Pope Pius XII Catholic Center, Manila, January 27, 2008. Fr. Reuter was cited for his outstanding and generous service to the Catholic Church in the Philippines, thereby exemplifying the ideals of the first Filipino bishop. Fr. Reuter first came to the Philippines as a young seminarian in 1938. Since then, he has made the Philippines his home and worked with Filipinos for the past 70 years dedicating most of his time in the media ministry. He received an award in 1981 from Pope John Paul II for his Outstanding Service to the Catholic Church in the field of Mass Media. In 1984, both Houses of Congress voted unanimously making him an Honorary Filipino citizen of the Philippines. He is the second to receive the Jorge Barlin Golden Cross Service Award.
CELEBRATED. Msgr. Nemesio Espinosa, Msgr. Jesus Enojo and Fr. Jose Lebaquin, of the Archdiocese of Iloilo; 40th sacerdotal anniversary; December 23, 2007. Msgr. Espinosa, together with Msgr. Enojo and Fr. Lebaquin finished their philosophy and theology studies at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary and ordained priests by the late Jaime Cardinal Sin at the Jaro Cathedral. Among the various pastoral assignments held by Msgr. Espinosa include being a spiritual director of the Blue Army and Director of the Liturgical Commission and Mass Media and Communication. He was also a member of the Presbyteral Council of the archdiocese. Msgr. Enojo was professor, spiritual director guidance counselor and rector of the seminary at various times of his seminary assignment. He was Chairman of the Commission on Seminary Formation at the 3rd Diocesan Synod of Jaro. He is currently a member of the Archdiocesan Personnel Board. Fr. Lebaquin’s various assignments brought him to different parishes of the archdiocese. He was assigned as parish priest of Mt. Carmel, Janiuay; Buenavista, Carles, Mina, Pototan; Montfort North, Lublub; and Dumangas. CELEBRATED. Sr. Ma. Luisa R. Austria, Sr. Ma. Vidalina L. Cabeltes, Sr. Ma. Ruth J. Linaac, Sr. Ma. Mayumi C. Lopez, Sr. Ma. Aida L. Mariano, Sr. Ma. Myrna B. Querol, and Sr. Ma. Mercedes O. Yañez; silver jubilee of religious profession to the congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (RVM); February 2, 2008. Thanksgiving Mass was held at the Chapel of Our Lady of the Assumption at their Generalate Compound in Quezon City. Most Rev. Honesto Ch. Pacana, SJ presided the Eucharistic Celebration. ORDAINED. Rev. Arnold Biago, SVD, Rev. Ricardo Crisostomo Jr., SVD, Rev. Michael Tangente, SVD, Rev. Ross Heruela, SVD, and Rev. Rico Glenn Deuna, SVD; February 9, 2008 at Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay, by Most Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian , SVD, bishop of Bangued.
Officers and members of the Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters with Papal nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams during their annual conference held at the National Office of Mass Media in Sta. Ana, Manila, Jan. 30.
CELEBRATED. Sr. Mary Martha C. Bruan, PDDM, and Sr. Mary John Paul D. Canlas, PDDM, 25th anniversary of religious profession among the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master; February 10, 2008. Most Rev. Gabriel Reyes, bishop of Antipolo presided the thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration at Divine Master Convent, Antipolo, Rizal.
CBCP Monitor
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Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Pastoral Concerns B2 Updates
B5 Statements
B3 Diocese
B6 Reflections
B4 Commissions
B7 Social Concerns
Communion in the hand and handling Communion
‘Reform yourselves and believe in the Gospel’
Remember our little transfigurations
Diocese of Maasin
Present generation of migrants are young people
‘Christ made Himself poor for you’ (2 Cor. 8, 9) Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for Lent 2008 Dear Brothers and Sisters! 1. Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. The force of attraction to material riches and just how categorical our decision must be not to make of them an idol, Jesus confirms in a resolute way: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk. 16, 13). Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favor of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church. In his Letters, Saint Paul speaks of this in regard to the collection for the Jerusalem community (cf. 2 Cor. 8-9; Rm. 15, 25-27). 2. According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, material goods bear a social value, according to the principle of their universal destination (cf. n. 2404) In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything, suffer hunger, the words of Saint John acquire the tone of a ringing rebuke: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 Jn. 3, 17). In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity.
3. The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving: it must be hidden: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” Jesus asserts, “so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt. 6,3-4). Just a short while before, He said not to boast of one’s own good works so as not to risk being deprived of the heavenly reward (cf. Mt. 6,1-2). The disciple is to be concerned with God’s greater glory. Jesus warns: “In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt. 5, 16). Everything, then, must be done for God’s glory and not our own. This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbor, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the center of attention. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In today’s world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great. Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave His entire self for us. How could we not thank God for the many people who silently, far from the gaze of the media world, fulfill, with this spirit, generous actions in support of one’s neighbor in difficulty? There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one, who knows that God “sees in secret” and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy. 4. In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (cf. Acts 20, 35). When we do things out of love, we express the truth of our being; indeed, we have been created not for ourselves but for God and our brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Cor. 5, 15). Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven re-
wards our almsgiving with His joy. What is more: Saint Peter includes among the spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness of sins: “Charity,” he writes, “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pt. 4, 8). As the Lenten liturgy frequently repeats, God offers to us sinners the possibility of being forgiven. The fact of sharing with the poor what we possess disposes us to receive such a gift. In this moment, my thought turns to those who realize the weight of the evil they have committed and, precisely for this reason, feel far from God, fearful and almost incapable of turning to Him. By drawing close to others through almsgiving, we draw close to God; it can become an instrument for authentic conversion and reconciliation with Him and our brothers. 5. Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love. Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo forthrightly recommends: “Never keep an account of the coins you give, since this is what I always say: if, in giving alms, the left hand is not to know what the right hand is doing, then the right hand, too, should not know what it does itself” (Detti e pensieri, Edilibri, n. 201). In this regard, all the more significant is the Gospel story of the widow who, out of her poverty, cast into the Temple treasury “all she had to live on” (Mk. 12, 44). Her tiny and insignificant coin becomes an eloquent symbol: this widow gives to God not out of her abundance, not so much what she has, but what she is. Her entire self. We find this moving passage inserted in the description of the days that immediately precede Jesus’ passion and death, who, as Saint Paul writes, made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty (cf. 2 Cor. 8, 9); He gave His entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of
our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarized perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus becomes a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person. 6. Dear brothers and sisters, Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually, also through the practice of almsgiving, in order to grow in charity and recognize in the poor Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Apostle Peter said to the cripple who was begging alms at the Temple gate: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk” (Acts 3, 6). In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life. Let this time, then, be marked by a personal and community effort of attachment to Christ in order that we may be witnesses of His love. May Mary, Mother and faithful Servant of the Lord, help believers to enter the “spiritual battle” of Lent, armed with prayer, fasting and the practice of almsgiving, so as to arrive at the celebration of the Easter Feasts, renewed in spirit. With these wishes, I willingly impart to all my Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican , 30 October 2007 BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
7 QUESTIONS
Most Rev. Ernesto A. Salgado, DD Archbishop Ernesto A. Salgado, DD succeeded Most Rev. Edmundo M. Abaya as archbishop of Nueva Segovia in May 31, 2005. In this issue of CBCP Monitor, Archbishop Salgado talks about the upcoming Jubilee of St. Paul, and the preparations the archdiocese is doing in view of the big event; the ongoing BEC programs and formation of Catechists; the issue of environmental degradation that contribute to global warming; the increase of vocations in the seminary and continuing formation program of the clergy; and media as effective means for evangelization. What preparations is the archdiocese doing in view of the upcoming jubilee of St. Paul? The Year of St. Paul is particularly meaningful for us in the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia inasmuch as the Conversion of St. Paul is the feast of our Cathedral. When we celebrated the Conversion of St. Paul on January 25, we informed our people of the jubilee and invited them to come in pilgrimage to the Cathedral. All 40 parishes of the archdiocese will take turns coming to visit this church of St. Paul and gain the available indulgences. They will have one week each to participate in the celebrations. The rest of the year will be devoted to the Christmas season and the Holy Week. Conferences, radio talks on the Letters St. Paul will be held throughout the year of the jubilee. We intend to have a Jubilee Door opened at the left side of the cathedral. I will probably have to seek the go-signal from Rome to do this. This, of course, has a special spiritual significance. Indulgences will be gained by our faithful as they enter the church and pray especially for the conversion in faith of our people in Ilocos Sur. Furthermore, the parish priest of the cathedral is preparing an adoration chapel to lead our pilgrims from the door to the Lord Himself in the Eucharist. Likewise a pilgrimage following the apostolic footsteps of St. Paul is being organized to culminate in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome. We hope we can get the blessing of the Holy Father in the end. It has been more than ten years ago since the Basic Ecclesial Communities in the Archdiocese were established. How are the BEC programs going on? We are grateful to Archbishop Orlando Quevedo for having started the establishment of the BEC (SISA – Simbaan Sangakaarrubaan) in the Archdiocese. Unfortunately, after he left this did not become a priority. Now we are reviving the programs laid down more than ten years ago. The BEC revitalization started with a kick-off celebration participated in by all the parishes. The faithful were enthusiastic. The archdiocese re-launched the Basic Ecclesial Communities as the Archdiocesan Pastoral Thrust of Nueva Segovia on February 20, 2007 at St. Paul Cathedral. The re-launched BEC requires re-directed comprehensive program, training of Parish Animators (PAT) as the main group to implement the BEC program in the parishes. It requires reoriented Archdiocesan Commissions (ARCOM) as the training team, setting up alternative community-based self-reliant projects, promoting life-promoting system and mobilization for issue advocacies. The ARCOM composed of priest-directors and staff of each 7 Questions / B4
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
Walking for justice
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Updates
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Layman’s gestures during Eucharistic prayer and other queries
Communion in the hand and handling communion
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
There is a chaplain in a Quezon City hospital (where I go for daily Mass) who generally refuses to give Holy Communion in the mouth. He mentioned in a homily that he thinks a person prefers to receive Holy Communion in the mouth because he thinks he has dirty hands. He said that we should receive Holy Communion by hand because we should be proud of our hands, a symbol of hard work. Is he right? In a related vein, I also saw in a not-so-recent issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, a coverage of a romantic wedding of a well-known society figure, with the groom holding the chalice to the bride for Communion under both species. Was this okay? How about the faithful getting their own hosts from the ciborium left by the celebrant on the altar (while he sits), which I have also observed in Masses with a small congregation (like in wakes and in Catholic schools)? AFTER tackling the question of holding hands during the Our Father and some of the points raised by the Instruction from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Redemptionis Sacramentum, On certain matters to be observed or to be avoided regarding the Most Holy Eucharist (19.III.2004), we shall conclude our discussion of the rubrics for Holy Mass at the moment with the provisions of the aforementioned Instruction regarding Holy Communion. Let us recall that what follows are direct quotations, with my brief annotations in italics. Chapter IV: HOLY COMMUNION Dispositions for the Reception of Holy Communion [80.] The Penitential Act placed at the beginning of the Mass has the purpose of preparing all to be ready to celebrate the sacred mysteries; even so it lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance, and cannot be regarded as a substitute for the Sacrament of Penance in remission of graver sins. [81.] Anyone who is conscious of grave sin should not celebrate or receive the Body of the Lord without prior sacramental confession, except for grave reason when the possibility of confession is lacking. In this case he will remember that he is bound by the obligation of making an act of perfect contrition, which includes the intention to confess as soon as possible. The Distribution of Holy Communion [88.] It is the Priest celebrant’s responsibility to minister Communion, perhaps assisted by other Priests or Deacons; and he should not resume the Mass until after the Communion of the faithful is concluded. Only when there is a necessity may extraordinary ministers assist the Priest celebrant in accordance with the norm of Law. [90.] The faithful should receive Communion kneeling or standing, as the Conference of Bishops will have determined, with the recognitio of the Apostolic See. However, if they receive Communion standing, it is recommended
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Q: I like to join in with some of the gestures that a priest makes during the Eucharistic Prayer. For example, during Eucharistic Prayer 1, I bow my head at the words “Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven”; and I strike my breast at the words “Though we are sinners”; and I make the sign of the cross at the words “let us be filled with every grace and blessing.” I feel more active in my participation by doing this, but am unsure whether these gestures of mine are appropriate. Are these gestures for the priest or president alone?—P.H., London A: The general principle involved in gestures that accompany prayers is that they are performed only by those who actually say the words. Thus, for example, the whole assembly bows at the name of Jesus during the Gloria and bows, (or genuflects on Christmas Day) while commemorating the mystery of the Incarnation during the creed. At a concelebration the usual procedure is that only the principal celebrant performs certain gestures when he alone recites the prayer. Thus, only he extends his hands for the presidential prayers and for the preface. The other priests join in most gestures during the common prayers such as the ones mentioned by our reader for Eucharistic Prayer 1 (the Roman Canon) as they are normally recited by all the concelebrants. There are some exceptions to this. For example, in the other Eucharistic Prayers all priests recite in unison the text from the invocation of the Holy Spirit to the commemoration after the consecration, but only the principal celebrant makes the sign of the cross over the chalice. Likewise all priests strike their breasts at the words “Though we are sinners” even though only one usually recites the prayer. The reason for this is that the Latin text connects the word “famulis” (servants) to “peccatoribus” (sinners) in a way that is completely lost in the current English translation. In the liturgical tradition of the Roman Canon “famulis” refers primarily to the celebrating clergy and not so much to the faithful (without implying that the only sinners in the congregation are the priests). It was common for medieval clerics to refer to themselves as sinful servants, and they would sometimes prefix their signature with the word “Sinner.” As time went on, the word was replaced with a symbol which had essentially the same meaning. The custom of bishops to prefix a cross before their signature is probably a relic of the old symbol for denoting the person as a sinful servant. Therefore it not liturgically correct for our reader to follow the gestures carried out by the priest during the Eucharistic Prayer, above all because these gestures usually imply the concurrent recitation of the prayer. Q: “Is your response primarily for those saying the prayers at certain times of the Mass, [or is it] true as well just before the Gospel when the priest makes the three signs of the cross on forehead, lips and heart? I’ve always thought that was reserved for the one proclaiming the Gospel, but it seems that the entire congregation does it.” A: My earlier response referred to a general, but not absolute, rule of thumb for presidential prayers. The example cited by our reader is actually not a presidential prayer but a monition made by the deacon or priest reading the Gospel. The rubrics already foresee that the entire congregation makes the gesture of the triple sign of the cross together with the deacon or priest. Q: With regards to several of the changes implemented with and after the promulgation of the Novus Ordo of Paul VI, are the following “optional” for the celebrant? These are all practiced at my very traditional parish, but I’m wondering if they are OK. J.D., Detroit, Michigan A: As our reader gives a list, we shall attempt to answer one by one. By necessity the replies will be somewhat telegraphic without indicating all the sources and leaving aside some pastoral considerations that would nuance the responses. “No face-to-face confession.” This falls within the rights of the priest, who may insist on the use of the confessional even when the penitent requests face-to-face confession. Most priests exercise flexibility on this point, but some have strong reasons for not participating in face-to-face confessions. The penitent should also exercise flexibility in respecting the priest’s conscience. “Communion is distributed by intinction only (therefore, no communion in the hand); kneeling at communion rail to receive Communion (can stand at communion rail to receive if need be).” Normally it is the individual Catholic who decides the manner of receiving holy Communion in those countries where Communion in the hand is permitted. If, however, the priest opts to administer both species by intinction, then the option of receiving in the hand automatically falls by the wayside. If, for a good reason, a particular member of the faithful did not wish to receive under the species of wine, then he or she must be allowed to choose to receive the host either in the hand or on the tongue. The bishops of the United States have determined that the normal means of receiving Communion is standing and approaching the altar in procession. Rather than a law cast in stone, this norm describes what is in fact the most common practice in the country. It is still possible to kneel if this is the custom of the place and the use of the communion rail is not prohibited. “No ‘kiss of peace’ even on Sundays (‘Offer each other a sign of peace’ is passed over).” Surprising as it may seem for many, this is actually an optional gesture even on a Sunday. “No female altar servers. ... No extraordinary ministers of holy Communion.” As indicated by various documents of the Holy See, the bishop may permit, but not oblige, a pastor to use female altar servers. If the pastor does not wish to take this option, then he is within his rights. Likewise, if the pastor considers that the parish has no need of “extraordinary ministers” because there are sufficient priests, then he need not have any. “No female lectors.” If all the readers are lectors formally instituted by the bishop (a ministry reserved to males), then women would be excluded by default. This would be a very unlikely situation in a parish and so the readers are probably all laymen. If this is the case, then it is not correct to exclude women from reading as liturgical law makes no distinction regarding who may exercise the non-instituted ministry of reader. “Recitation of the prayer to St. Michael before the final blessing.” This prayer no longer forms part of the liturgy of the Mass and would now be classed as a devotional exercise. As such, it could be recited as a longstanding custom but preferably after Mass has concluded and not incorporated into the liturgy itself. “Exposition and Benediction immediately following Sunday Mass. (This is done in place of the final blessing by the priest and is very short: Jesus is exposed, Divine Praises recited, blessing given with monstrance, Jesus is returned to the tabernacle).” This is most certainly an error. Liturgical norms expressly forbid exposition just in order to give Benediction. It is always necessary to have a congruous, albeit brief, period of adoration before Benediction. While I do not know of any required legal minimum time of exposition, I would suggest around 20 to 30 minutes as being sufficient. “Mass said with priest facing east at original high altar (free-standing Novus Ordo altar remains in middle of sanctuary but not used).” While the rubrics of Paul VI’s missal foresee the possibility of celebrating Mass facing east, they do ask that there be only one main altar and that insofar as possible the altar should be free-standing so that it can be incensed all around. The priest could still celebrate facing east, but it would be more correct to celebrate the present Roman rite using the new altar and not the old high altar.
© Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum University, answers the following queries:)
that they give due reverence before the reception of the Sacrament, as set forth in the same norms. [91.] Sacred ministers may not deny the sacraments to those who seek them in a reasonable manner, are rightly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving them. Hence, any baptized Catholic who is not prevented by Law must be admitted to Holy Communion. Therefore, it is not licit to deny Holy Communion to any of Christ’s faithful solely on the grounds, for example, that the person wishes to receive the Eucharist kneeling or standing. [92.] Each of the faithful always has the right to receive Holy Communion on the tongue, at his choice. If any communicant should wish to receive the Sacrament in his hand, in areas where the Bishops’ Conference with the recognitio of the Apostolic See has given permission, the sacred host is to be administered to him or her. However, special care should be taken to ensure that the host is consumed by the communicant in the presence of the minister. If there is a risk of profanation, then Holy Communion should not be given in the hand to the faithful. [93.] The Communion-plate for the Communion of the faithful should be retained, so as to avoid the danger of the sacred host or some fragment of it falling. [94.] It is not licit for the faithful to take by themselves and, still less, to hand from one to another the sacred host or the sacred chalice. Moreover, in this regard, the abuse is to be set aside whereby spouses administer Holy Communion to each other at a Nuptial Mass. Conclusion From the foregoing, the following conclusions are clear. 1) It is the right of the individual faithful to receive Holy Communion in the mouth or in the hand. The priest has no right to violate this right of the faithful, and should rather remember that in the matter of the administration of the Sacraments, he should not behave like an owner but rather as an administrator or
better still as a minister—which means servant. The ministerial priesthood (that of the sacred ministers, received by virtue of Holy Orders) is at the service of the royal priesthood (that of all the faithful, received by virtue of Baptism). 2) It is not licit for the spouses to “take by themselves and, still less, to hand from one to another the sacred host or the sacred chalice.” Clearly, that romantic gesture published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer was illicit, although most probably done in ignorance. The same holds for the abuse of communicants taking the host from the ciborium by themselves. Perhaps we can add that such cases of abuses of the liturgy out of ignorance, though understandable on the part of the faithful who may not have access to the published liturgical norms, is quite reprehensible on the part of sacred ministers, who precisely are tasked—and it is a grave responsibility—with taking care of the Body and Blood of Christ. 3) This seeming lack of mastery of the liturgical norms on the part of those who are precisely the ministers and administrators of the sacred treasures of the Church—namely the Sacraments—perhaps need to be addressed more seriously. A critical reader might opine that if professionals have their board exams to make sure of their competence and insure the quality of their service, then sacred ministers should also be tested to insure their competence. In fact such is provided for by Canon Law, and traditionally priests—at least in the early years of their ministry—had to pass periodic exams in order to obtain their socalled ministerial faculties (the license to celebrate Mass and hear Confessions) from their respective Ordinaries. Unfortunately, given the shortage of priests and the hectic pace of modern life, this practice may have been neglected in great part. Perhaps the reported abuses in liturgical practice provide the occasion and the reason for reviving the practice in places or ecclesiastical circumscriptions where it has been set aside.
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CBCP Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
B3 IMPORTANT FACTS Bishop ………………………… …….. 1 Priests: Diocesan ……………………………. 90 Religious …………………………... 1 Sisters: Filipino …………………………… .. 126 Foreign ……………………………. 5 Seminarians: High School ………………………… 34 Pre-College …………………………. 7 College …………………………....... 28 Theology …………………………… 15 Diocesan Divisions: Vicariates …………………………… 7 Parishes ………………………… ... 41 With resident pastors ………… …... 41 Entrusted to Diocesan Clergy ……………………………… 41 Educational Centers: Colleges ………………………… … 3 High Schools ……………………… 8 Elementary …………………………… 4 Kindergarten …………………………. 6 Population ………………… … 686,371 Catholics …………………… . 625,356 Area …… ……………. 2,505.65 sq.m.
Celebrating 40 Years
Diocese of Maasin
By Sr. Judith Routier, fcJ THE Diocese of Maasin was canonically erected forty years ago, on August 14, 1968, with the Most Rev. Vicente T. Ataviado D.D. from Sorsogon as its first bishop. Before becoming a diocese, this area belonged to the Dioceses of Cebu (1595-1910), Calbayog (1910-1937), and Palo. The diocese comprises the entire province of Southern Leyte and the towns of Matalom, Bato, Hilongos, Hindang, Inopacan, and Baybay of the Province of Leyte, with Our Lady of the Assumption Parish in Maasin as the Cathedral of the diocese. Under the leadership and care of Bishop Ataviado, the diocese grew from twenty-eight parishes to forty-one. The parishes were grouped into six vicariates to facilitate the task of administration. The development of the diocese became possible because the Bishop encouraged and supported the people. Consequently, the pilgrimage of the diocese did not end with the bishop’s death in March 1997, since the faith and grace he had sown in their hearts had already taken root, ready to spread out to others. This disposition of openness and faith ensured the warm welcome given by the people of Maasin to Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas SDB, D.D who arrived from Cebu on March 10, 1998 to take possession of the diocese. Growth of the Diocese The Church in Maasin has continued to expand. In 2005, a seventh vicariate was created to ease communication and to coordinate pastoral activities. Looking after these communities are sixty-five parish priests and parochial vicars and three recently ordained deacons. According to the 1999 Diocesan Ecclesiastical Statistics, the Diocese of Maasin had at that time a total population of 633,026 of which 565,438 were Catholics, though these numbers have increased by now. Assisting the clergy in the pastoral care of these more than half a million members of the Church are lay ministers and catechists whose numbers have grown significantly in recent years, thanks to the diocesan programs designed to inspire and encourage participation of the lay faithful in the work of the Church. The Pope Paul VI Minor Seminary, built in 1970, continues to be instrumental in supplying the diocese with muchneeded priests. The Maasin Seminarians Organization (MASO) was founded in 1982 to help in the formation of seminarians and acquaint them in their future ministry. Religious Congregations The Sisters of St. Francis of Perpetual Adoration are the longest serving religious community of women in the diocese. They are now joined by the Daughters of Charity, the Daughters of St. Therese, the Vocationist Sisters, the Missionary Sisters of the Catechism, the Oblates of the Holy Spirit, the Living the Gospel Community, the Faithful Companions of Jesus, and the Sisters of Mary Adorers of the Holy Eucharist, who are all serving the people of the diocese. Bishop Cantillas, himself a Salesian, was happy to welcome the male religious
TOPMOST: Our Lady of the Assumption Cathedral, Maasin City. ABOVE: Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas celebrating mass with Maasin clergy
communities of the Vocationist Fathers and the Marian Monks of the Eucharistic Adoration. Soon they will be joined in March 2008 by a community of Christian Brothers from Australia. Educational Centers The Diocese of Maasin has many educational centers: St. Joseph’s College in Maasin, St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sogod, St. Anthony’s High School in Anahawan, Holy Rosary Academy in Hinunangan, St. Teresa’s School of Hilongos, and Elementary schools in Baybay, Inopacan, and Hindang, and PreElementary in Pintuyan, San Ricardo and San Juan. The OSF sisters run the Franciscan College of the Immaculate Conception in Baybay, the Sto. Niño Academy in Malitbog, and Cristo Rey High School in St. Bernard, while the DST sisters run the St. Teresa’s School in Bato. First Diocesan Assembly When Bishop Cantillas came to the diocese in 1998, he brought the clergy together to look at ways of renewal. This entailed a series of pastoral assemblies in the parish and at vicarial levels to obtain a realistic picture of the diocese. The First Diocesan Pastoral Assembly (DPA) was held in November of the same year. It was attended by the clergy and 250 lay faithful representing the various sectors of society. It led to the establishment of the Diocesan Pastoral Secretariat and the
solidifying of commissions for Worship, Education, Service, Temporalities, Youth, and Organization—WESTYO. The following year DPA II added further recommendations to the newly drafted Diocesan Pastoral Plan. Diocesan Shrine The Diocese of Maasin is proud to claim that the First Mass celebrated in the Philippines took place on the island of Limasawa, so it was with great jubilation that on October 29, 2005 the Shrine of the First Mass was dedicated, which then inspired pilgrimages by each vicariate. A Diocesan Shrine was also erected in Monte Cueva in Brgy. Rizal, Maasin City, in honor of the Precious Blood of Jesus. Environmental Program Since the province is one of the least developed in the country, Social Action forms a large component of diocesan activity. Due to the many natural catastrophes in Southern Leyte, disaster management became a major focus of diocesan and parish service commissions; so the diocese was well able to respond quickly and effectively at the time of the Guinsaugon tragedy in February 2006. This also led the diocese to become more environmentally conscious. We launched an Environmental Program, especially to look into the cases of sand and gravel extraction which goes on in many parts of the diocese.
Diocesan Congresses Between 2000 and 2001 three congresses were held focusing respectively on the Holy Trinity, on Mary, and on the Eucharist. At the end of March 2001, the first Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) Consultation was held, which coincided with the visit of the Papal Nuncio who had been invited to attend the annual commemoration of the First Mass in Limasawa. As the number of BECs grew it became necessary to clarify its relationship with the many active religious organizations in the diocese. Consequently, in 2002 the First Diocesan Congress of Religious Organizations was held leading to the establishment of an Umbrella Committee to coordinate the activities and relationships of these organizations. In the following years, a second BEC Consultation was held, followed by a number of congresses and seminars at Diocesan and Vicarial level on various aspects of BEC, such as, political education. All of this was to help people to grow in their understanding of this new way of being church. Family Life was also the basis for Diocesan gatherings, including Marital Counseling Seminar, Life and Family Congress and a festival for Mothers. Every year on the Feast of the Holy Family, the diocese celebrates a Diocesan Family day at parish level. In 2005, after having lived and worked with the Diocesan Pastoral Plan for five
years we began the lengthy process of evaluating its impact on the life of the diocese. Every parish was asked to submit their Parish Pastoral Plan. The Diocesan Pastoral Secretariat assisted all Parish Pastoral Councils to conduct evaluations of parish life, as well as random personal interviews to know how people perceive the Church. The findings were used as the basis for DPA III held in November 2006, where further recommendations were made for growth and development. First Diocesan Synod On August 14, 2007 Bishop Cantillas convoked the First Diocesan Synod which will be celebrated on August 14-16, 2008. In order to prepare for this important event in the diocese, Chapel consultations are taking place at the grassroots level to find out how the people of the diocese see their Church and what suggestions they have to make that their Christian life will be more meaningful. Each parish will also hold a General Assembly so that there will be a comprehensive document submitted to the Diocesan WESTYO Commissions which will produce the working draft for the Synod. Through all these activities we are hoping there will be much participation and involvement of all people in the diocese, so that we will be more united in our worship and service of God.
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
B4
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
© Mike Alquinto/epa/Corbis
ECBA to hold national biblical workshop
Present generation of migrants are young people By Pinky Barrientos, FSP MANY young people are now migrating to join their parents working and living abroad. According to Fr. Edwin Corros, CS, executive secretary of Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), the exodus of young generation of migrants is a current trend in migration. European countries which host a vast number of overseas Filipino workers have a migration policy of family unification that allows children of migrant workers to come and live with their parents. A policy which the Catholic Church encourages in a bid to keep families united. However, a host of family problems have also arisen out of the situation. Corros said parents tend to be over protective of their children,
an action young people resent. “The parent(s) maybe absent in their children’s lives ten or fifteen years, and all of a sudden [they] impose restrictions. It is actually a culture shock for the children and vice-versa,” Corros said. Aside from the shock of having parents around to check on their activities, the children also had to struggle to adjust to a different culture and learn a different language. “They are exposed to a culture that is not welcoming to them because of the language barrier. [In] school they also suffer discrimination because their classmates look down on them because they can’t speak the language,” said Corros. According to Corros the said phenomenon is a challenge to the Church to respond to the needs of these young migrants. “The challenge to the Church is to look after the young arrivals. That’s why the message of the Holy Father is to accompany them,” said Corros.
In his message on the 2008 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, the Holy Father pointed out the reality of a clash in culture between parents steeped in traditional ways and children who have imbibed the lifestyle of the host country. “It is necessary to aim first of all at support for the family and schools. In families, the traditional roles that existed in the countries of origin have broken down, and a clash is often seen between parents still tied to their culture and children quickly acculturated in the new social contexts,” said the Holy Father. Corros also mentioned the tendency of some parents to send their children back home when the children have already become acculturated to a new lifestyle. “There is also a trend that migrants are sending their children back to the Philippines, because they do not want [them] to absorb the negative values of the host country,” he said. Asked what the Commission
is doing in response to this concern, Corros said some dioceses have implemented a program designed to help children of migrants. Called Sons and Daughters of OFWs the program is centered on value formation and guidance counseling. It has been adapted by some Catholic schools in the dioceses where migrants’ ministry is most active. The National Migrants Sunday celebration on February 10 aims to create public awareness on this phenomenon by adopting the theme “Show Concern to the young generation of migrants,” looking in particular into the situation of young migrants in their host country. ECMI said there is no exact information on the number of young migrants joining their parents abroad but statistics state that the migrating population is young, 20-39 years old. Migration facts and figures estimate 8.09 million Filipinos are currently living and working overseas.
7 Questions / B1
established commission underwent a series of training in six months from August 2006 to January 2007. The ARCOM designed a BEC Pastoral Program that can transform the parishes into communities of disciples following Jesus in the mission of the Kingdom. Based on the pastoral experiences and re-discovery of the Kingdom Mission, the ARCOM evolved a liberating BEC building process with clear pastoral orientation and framework creating a new pastoral system. The training of Parish Animation Teach (PAT) was the next concern of the ARCOM. We tapped emerging couple leaders and pastoral animators to form this as the key group to implement the renewed BEC program. The Parish Priest and the Parochial Vicar serve as the lead partners of the PAT. The ARCOM has been tasked to help and assist the training and formation of the PAT. Basic Pastoral Training and continuing Pastoral Exchanges are the formation programs designed for the PAT. Training on Alternative Communitybased Projects include: integrated organic farming and aquatic culture system, waste management and ecology, health, herbal medicine program, marketing cooperative, alternative recreation, mass media, etc. How does the archdiocese respond to the ongoing demand of formation for Catechists? The archdiocese has an ongoing program for the formation of Catechists. We have two kinds of Catechists: the volunteer catechists who undergo a six-level program of preparation; and the professionally trained Catechists, who either join a vicarial/parochial formation sessions or attend a modular class at St. Paul College in Ilocos Sur. Those who enroll at our modular program have a bachelor degree in education. After finishing all the requirements, they receive a Certificate or a Bachelor’s degree in Religious Education. The parishes shoulder the expenses. Catechesis is held at the public elementary and secondary schools in Ilocos Sur. In every barangay where there is a BEC in its inculturated form SISA (Simbaan Sangakaarrubaan) catechesis is conducted, as a follow-up of the school-based catechesis. What is the archdiocese’s stand on the issues of environmental degradation and global warming? It may interest our readers to know that when I was bishop of the Vicariate of the Mt. Provinces, preservation of the environment has been one of my priority concerns. Being an officer of the Baguio Regreening Movement, we planted trees and looked after the cleanliness of Baguio. When I was transferred to another jurisdiction, I have brought with me that concern for the environment. Now in the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia, we use the radio and our weekly paper to educate our people to care for the environment. During one of the Priests’ monthly assemblies, we invited an environmentalist to give us a conference. The priests are now taking
care of the environment in their own little way. They plant trees in any available spot around the rectory and other church lands. By doing this we also help to prevent global warming. In fact, as part of the education of the faithful in the BEC, one of our Vicariates spent several of their regular meetings to explain the evils of environmental degradation and the importance of caring for the surroundings. Do you get enough vocations in the archdiocese? Thanks to God, we do have enough priests in the Archdiocese as compared to the suffragan dioceses. By the end of the year we will have around seventy (70) members of the clergy more or less enough to care for the forty (40) parishes. Most of these need only one priest as they are small, mountainous ones. Among these are not included the fifteen (15) priests serving in the USA, ten (10) of whom are in the Diocese of Honolulu to minister to the spiritual needs of our many Ilocanos there. The archdiocese has an agreement with the Diocese of Honolulu. The rest are chaplains of the U.S. Army, of hospitals and prisons. This is not to mention our priests working in the chaplaincy here in the country. At the moment we have around eighty nine (89) high school seminarians, 19 collegians and 11 theologians. I cannot figure out the percentages of those persevering until the priesthood. All we can say is that there was never a year since my coming here without any ordination to the priesthood. God willing, the archdiocese will have another four new priests this year. Do you have a continuing formation program for the clergy? The priests of the archdiocese meet once a month for two days. In these meetings we always have the three objectives: “spiritualization, fraternalization and professionalization.” I know that in the suffragan dioceses, the clergy also have this. For spiritualization, we come together early to either make our Holy Hour or have someone talk to us on spiritual matters before the Blessed Sacrament. For “fraternalization” we play together games like basketball either among ourselves or against teams in Ilocos Sur. For example, there are games we play against the employees of the City or Province. Sometimes the priests play among themselves, one vicariate against another. Many do not play but they are there to support the players. We also have parlor games again by vicariate. This is done usually in the afternoons and evenings of the first day of the assembly. For professionalization, we usually invite a speaker to talk to us. Once, a Sister from Baguio gave us a talk on environmental degradation and global warming. Our priests also join the seminarians of the Immaculate Conception School of Theology for seminars on several topics. For example the priests were there for some discussions
on the Social Concerns of the Church. As a rule, those celebrating their Silver Jubilee are sent to the five-week intensive renewal offered by the Episcopal Commission on the Clergy. This year three of our jubilarians are scheduled to attend the renewal. As regards my relationship with the clergy, I try to be the “primus inter pares.” They are involved in the discussion of important concerns of the archdiocese. This is done in the Priestly Assembly held once a month for two days. After the priests have expressed their thoughts on a certain matter, this is once again discussed by the Presbyteral Council to make policies on the matter before it is submitted to the Archbishop for approval and promulgation. I greet all of them on their anniversaries and birthdays, joins them in their birthday or priestly anniversary celebrations. Problems of priests are usually left to the vicarial meetings unless of course these are delicate matters. The vicarial decisions are relayed to the archbishop for his final word. How effective are the diocesan radio station and newspaper as instruments of evangelization? We continue to believe in the effectiveness of the broadcast radio for evangelization. DZNS 963 KHZ is committed to Community Evangelization through airing of the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the Sunday homilies of the archbishop, the Parish News, the Catechism, the Lives of the Saints. It provides public service, information on the different programs and activities of the archdiocese, etc. We are able to reach more people through the radio than we can ever do through our preaching in church. It is difficult to gauge the effectiveness of DZNS but we do receive letters and calls from as far as Pangasinan. We hear from people of the neighboring provinces who missed the rosary aired every night when the radio was under repair and the signals were not able to reach them. Parish bulletins are aired to remind our priests and people of the events and activities in the archdiocese. Timek ti Amianan (Voice of the North) is the only Catholic weekly newspaper in Northern Luzon as far as we know. It was started on September 15, 1983 and has survived the challenges of time, in fact, quite uninterruptedly for the past 25 years now. The paper seeks to be the “voice” of the local Catholic Church on issues concerning justice and peace, solidarity and development, etc. Our Timek ti Amianan acts as a social conscience for our faithful. It seeks to provide not only an alternative Catholic paper for the people of the area but also acts as an instrument in the implementation of the pastoral program of the Archdiocese, especially in providing a reading material for the continuing formation of the faithful in the Basic Ecclesial Communities. We firmly believe in the effectiveness of the weekly newspaper and of the radio as a means of spreading the Word of God.
The Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) is holding a biblical workshop in Cagayan de Oro City from February 11-15 with the theme “The Word of God – Source of Justice, Reconciliation and Peace.” The biblical workshop, now on its 17th year boasts a powerhouse of biblical scholars as resource speakers led by Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary bishop of Manila. Bishop Pabillo, an Old Testament biblical scholar will deliver the keynote speech expounding on the theme of the 5-day workshop. Biblical speakers who will speak on the seminar-workshops are Fr. Albert Alejo, SJ, on “The Transformative Power of God’s Word in the struggle against Corruption”; Sr. Bernardita Dianzon, FSP, on “St. Paul and the Groaning of Creation”; and Bishop Virgilio Pablo David, on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” Elvira Go, National Catholic Family Bible Quiz chairman will share on the topic “Promoting Justice, Reconciliation and Peace in the Filipino Family” while former Ambassador Henrietta de Villa will discuss the challenges that confront PPCRV with her talk: “Challenge 2010…Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.” Participants to the workshop are ECBA bishops-members, diocesan directors of the Biblical Apostolate, regional directors and their staff, and lay coordinators. The delegates are coming from 86 dioceses throughout the country. Most Rev. Antonio Ledesma, SJ, archbishop of Cagayan de Oro will celebrate the opening mass while Bishop Arturo Bastes, SVD will preside the inculturated Eucharistic celebration at the end of the workshop. (CBCPNews)
Fr. Luis Supan
The question box Questions on the Holy Bible (Part 4) 1. Do events narrated in the Holy Bible deserve to be called “historical facts”? When the sacred writers describe events that are inseparably linked to the history of salvation, the historical reliability of those events is of great importance because they provide an objective support to our faith. To name a few of these events: creation of the world and of man by God, the sin of our first parents; the vocation of the Israelites to be the Chosen People; the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; the life of the early Church found in event, but not in the manner of a contemporary news reporter; rather, he looks at that event from the vantage point of his faith—behind that event is the action of God, ever faithful to his covenant with mankind. This attitude of faith does not lessen the historical value of an event, nor does it falsify it; on the contrary, it gives the event its true worth. 2. What explains the various ways of recounting history found in the Holy Bible? In the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu, Pope Pius XII said: “No one who has a correct understanding of biblical inspiration will be surprised to find that the sacred writers, like other ancients, employ certain arts of expression and narrative, certain idioms especially characteristic of the Semitic languages (known as ‘approximations’), and certain hyperbolical and even paradoxical expressions designed for the sake of emphasis”. Differences also arise among the sacred writers due to their writing skills, background, and the literary genre employed. One has to look beyond these human factors, because despite the limitations inherent in them, the voice of God and His loving plans for us are truthfully transmitted just the same. 3. What is the difference between a myth and an historical fact? A myth is “a traditional story of ostensibly historical events that serves to unfold part of the world view of a people or explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon” (Cf. Merriam-Webster). It’s the word “ostensibly” (“to all outward appearances”) that makes a myth different. And so, we have the mythical “histories” of England. One of them traces the roots of the English to Albion, a giant and son of Neptune, contemporary of Hercules; another traces them to a Trojan, Brutus; still a third, to Histion, the son of Japhet, the son of Noah — that Histion had four sons: Francus, Romanus, Alemannus, and Britto, from whom descended the French, Roman, German and British people. (Cf. Bulfinch’s Mythology). Biblical history is not mythical history. 4. Were the sacred writers of the Old Testament influenced by the literary styles prevailing in their times and in other cultures? That is taken for granted, but the content and message of the Old Testament are unique. In Genesis, for instance, the first eleven chapters assume a belief in God who has revealed Himself to man—a datum not traced to the religious beliefs underlying the mythology of the neighboring nations of Israel. (Those nations produced myths on the origins of the world and of man.) Although at certain points one does find traces of the language of those myths in these chapters, divine inspiration has seen to it that the polytheistic and magical elements have been filtered out, such that the whole text is imbued with faith in the one God. The result is this: what is conveyed are basic truths about the world and man which clearly have an historical rather than a mythological meaning—creation of the world and of man by God, human dignity, the reality of evil. (Cf. Pentateuch. The Navarre Bible, Four Courts Press/Scepter Publishers, Dublin-Princeton 1999, p. 32). 5. What is the purpose of biblical exegesis? “The primary task of the exegete is to determine as accurately as possible the meaning of biblical texts in their own proper context, that is, first of all, in their particular literary and historical context and then in the context of the wider canon of Scripture … the work of the exegete is fundamentally historical and descriptive and restricts itself to the interpretation of the Bible” (The Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church, III.D.4, 1993). “The Catholic exegete has no other purpose than the service of the Word of God (…) to shed more light on the biblical texts themselves, helping them to be better appreciated for what they are in themselves and understood with ever more historical accuracy and spiritual depth” (ibid., III.C.4).
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Statements
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‘Reform yourselves and believe in the Gospel’ (Mk 1:15) CBCP Statement on organ donation and organ sale God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him… God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. (Gen. 1:27, 31) HUMAN organ transplantation gives new hope, particularly to patients with end stage diseases, to recover and regain an acceptable and decent lifestyle. It provides a better quality of life compared with alternative expensive and exorbitant medical interventions (e.g., renal dialysis). Human organ transplantation, however, cannot be separated from the human act of donation. John Paul II states that “It is a decision to offer, without reward, a part of one’s own body for the health and well-being of another person. In this sense, the medical action of transplantation makes possible the donor’s act of self-giving, that sincere gift of self which expresses our constitutive calling to love and communion.” (John Paul II, 20 June 1991, no. 3) The same act, however, can also be abused and exploited usually at the expense of the economically poor. The lack of access to renal care and the non-affordability of a life-long dialysis increase the demand for organ donors. In spite of the prohibition for health care professionals and facilities, there is an increasing organ sale, especially of kidneys, a practice that is perhaps apparently permitted by some physicians, Kidney Transplant Teams, and hospital authorities. There are even some currents in the Philippines who are advocating a change in policies and guidelines to open the door to incentives for organ donors and, even perhaps, to compensation. We understand the poor and they should not be blamed. There are other ways to help them but not through organ sale. They are human beings and cannot be treated as commodities. We encourage voluntary organ donation from cadavers and also from living donors. We condemn any form of organ sale and organ trade. Human organ sale or trade, by its very nature is morally unacceptable. It is contrary to the dignity of the human person, his or her authentic autonomy and the essential equality of all persons. The dignity of the human person as the image of God includes not only his or her soul but his or her corporeal being. Hence, our body ought not to be treated as a commodity or object of commerce, which would amount to the dispossession or plundering of the human body. We, therefore, ask the government to continue its program towards holistic program of gathering and distributing donated organs. We raise our voice against those who are involved in organ trafficking. We recommend that a stricter law against those involved in the commercialization or selling of organs be enacted and implemented without discrimination. A just allocation of the scarce organ donor should be safeguarded. Scarce organ donors should be made available first to the local recipients. A strict limit on allocation should be set for foreign recipients. We call for the education of our people especially with regards to organ donation. The physician or medical professional has the sublime duty to supply the possible candidates for organ donation with all the necessary information to help them make an informed consent. Though professional competency is necessary in order to care for those who are sick and in need of medical care, it is nevertheless insufficient. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that: “We are dealing with human beings, and human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heartfelt concern… these charity workers need a ‘formation of heart’; they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others.”(Deus Caritas Est, 31 § 2.) We, the shepherds of the flock, entrust our people and our country to the protection of our Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of life, so that as we begin a New Year of grace, we may enjoy fullness of life. For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines +ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD Archbishop of Jaro President, CBCP 27 January 2008
BELOVED People of God: Our Holy Father in his most recent letter to us reminds us of the gift of faith and hope: that when we believe, we hope; and that when we hope, we live differently (see Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, November 30, 2007, no. 2). These convictions on faith and hope set the tone of our own letter to you in the present pastoral situation. The Darkness of Our Situation— the Common Good Subordinated For we live today as a people almost without hope, it would seem. We look at our landscape and see darkness everywhere. Many of us are more than aware that many problems are simply rumors, fears, suspicions, imagined wrongs. Because these are reported in the newspapers, we begin to believe that they are true. In such a pastoral situation we are being asked again for guidance on various specific problems currently bothering us. The following have been brought to our attention: (a) the perception that corruption in government is at its worst, fraudulent projects going on unchecked despite the bad publicity given them in the media, investigations into the truth of allegations of bribery often stymied or their results unreported; (b) the suspicion that martial law will be imposed as a response to the likelihood that destabilizing coups against the government are still being planned by disgruntled elements of the military allegedly with some civilian support; (c) the constant talk about plans and moves for Charter change being made by politicians which to all intents and purposes appear to be nothing but a ploy for the sole purpose of their staying on in power—not the kind and method of making the right kind of change in the nation’s basic law; (d) the “extra-judicial” killing of suspected leftists and their sympathizers, as well as media men, and the inexplicable lack of action on them despite strong suspicions about their perpetrators in the military establishment; (e) the imminence of a law establishing a national ID system and the fear of some that this is being pushed simply for easier control of socially active elements of the general population. The above are more or less the problems of the nation as seen from the center that is Manila. They are by no means universal as far as the entirety of our people is concerned. What emerge from the periphery—the provinces— are concerns quite different from the above. The following were brought to our attention by many of our people: (a) the appreciation of the peso against the dollar resulting in the depreciation of OFWs’ remittances, contributing not a little to the continuance and exacerbation of the endemic poverty of the countryside; (b) the lack of support for the improvement of the general welfare of rural folk, the slow progress especially of the landreform program which is due to
end this year unsatisfactorily funded and implemented; (c) the bad peace and order situation obtaining in areas where the unabated fighting—or the threat of it—between the military and the NPA and the MILF/ MNLF continues to cause unrest; (d) the long-awaited and fought over reform of COMELEC which up to now has not been enacted; (e) the pushing of mining concerns against the best interests of our people, especially of indigenous groups in disregard of the provisions in their behalf that the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act guarantees; (f) the continuing abuse of our natural resources, of forest and marine life in particular, and the corruption in agencies that are meant to protect these resources; and (g) the growth and proliferation of family political dynasties in many provinces and cities which only serve to institutionalize more intensely the concentration of power and unsavory economic opportunity in the hands of the few. In the two sets of problems that have been listed above, for all their apparent differences, we see nothing new. They are the same old problems, or variations of them, which have been plaguing our nation for years on end, through successive political administrations. Nothing or very little seems to have been done about them. In them all we see the all too patent subordination of the common good to private good. This is the basic fault in our country’s political culture that the Church in its preaching of Christ’s Gospel of social justice and charity has been bringing to our attention all these years and asking us and our communities to respond to as effectively as we can. It is the reason we make concern for the common good a crucial criterion for the choice of public officials. The persistence of that deep-seated fault pushes us to conclude in sorrow that we as a people are still devoid of a real social conscience. Today we often hear that “closure” has to be made to various issues ranging from the elections of 2004 to present charges of corruption in high places. That the political order is accused too often of moral bankruptcy with nary an exception is a sad sign of the general cynicism and frustration of our people. Most unfortunately there does not seem to be any way of achieving closure. For the process and results of standard democratic inquiries, sometimes including those by the Supreme Court, are received with skepticism and cynicism, given political interests, alliances, and allegiances. And we hear the general cry from the periphery: “Enough of the paralyzing divisions in the body politic. Bring issues to the courts and trust them to do their jobs. And help us get on with our lives, with our concern for livelihood.” In the Darkness, Light In such a pastoral situation of frustration, cynicism and appar-
ent hopelessness, we need to be aware of the deep resources of our faith in the Lord for whom all things are possible. We take our faith for granted in daily life. Often we act and behave contrary to faith. We resort to faith as a last resort and not as a daily catalyst. Yet it is only from the perspective of faith and hope that we are able to see light in the darkness, liberation from darkness. So if what we have brought to your attention seems to be only the dark side of our national situation, we should be able in the same faith and hope to see glimmers of light shining through— glimmers that must be of our own creation. But not entirely: for despite the prevailing darkness, we see everything is not thoroughly evil. There is good everywhere, even in those we often criticize, and it is our task to critically collaborate with them even as we critically oppose the not too good. This is integral to the challenge being put to us. Journey to the Light—Start with Ourselves If you agree with what we said above that the lack of a social conscience is, indeed, our common sin, is there anything we can do about it? To journey to the light, we need first to realize that we have contributed not a little to the common malaise—because of decisions we have made, decisions that flowed from what we have become and because of our unconcern, inaction, apathy, often thinking only of our interests. And so with little sense of the future of our country, we vote for people we should not vote for. Therefore, in the much needed regeneration of our politics and social life, this is where we have to start: with ourselves, as individuals, families, communities. We have always put the blame on people we have chosen to govern us. Today we have become more aware that despite efforts, successful or not, to remove the incompetent or corrupt, our problems have remained. We have looked at the enemy as only outside of us. But now we ask: In the face of the many persistent and unresolved crises of today can we together make a determined start, by making a conscious effort at changing our mind-sets towards a greater and more efficacious concern for the good of the nation? Personal and Communal Conversion towards a Social Conscience We are asking you, our beloved people, to be with us in the moral-spiritual reform of our nation by beginning with ourselves. This is what we need— conversion, real conversion, to put it in terms of our faith, for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good. This conversion is for all of us: laity, religious, priests, bishops. But we have to go about it not only as individuals but just as importantly as whole communities. We have to face a common problem and map out deliber-
ately and communally how to go about the work of self-reform. It is nothing less than what St. Paul speaks about: “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God— what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect” (Rom. 12: 2). Renewal of Faith-Communities, Civil Society, Political Leaders We have to come together then as communities of faith, as we your Bishops said back in 1986 after the Snap Elections of that year, to “pray together, reason together, decide together, act together,” form groups of thinking and praying people—in our schools, seminaries, parishes, mandated organizations, lay movements, social action groups, most especially in basic ecclesial communities which the Rural Congress we will be holding this year looks to as a crucial instrument in the forbidding task of rural development. We zero in on what we say is the basic fault in our communities’ political and social life: the subordinating of the common good to private good. We see how this flaw in our national character evinces itself in our community life. We need to seek ways and mean of correcting it in whatever way we can—but always according to the principles of active-non violence—together, creatively and imaginatively, as we bishops exhorted in 1986. We have to form ourselves into real communities of faith-discernment and action. We ask this explicitly of Church groups. But we will ask it too of all citizens who have a concern for the nation’s good, especially those who hold the reins of power, from Malacañang on to Congress, provincial and municipal governments, all the way down to barangay councils. People in government—and as well as all other civic and business groupings—can they too reflect together in all manner of associations and look into themselves to see if, in all their actuations, the demands of the common good are in fact captive to merely personal and selfish interests? And if they are, can they rise up to the challenge and decide themselves to contribute to the general effort? This must sound like a preposterous request, but we make it anyway for we believe that what it seeks is the critical need of the moment. Already it is being responded to here and there by various concerned groups such as those that have been organized and trained to fight corruption. So we seek a wider response from all our faithful towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church. If in your minds, corruption— the worst offender against our common good—is rampant today, sparing no level of social and political life, and most glaringly and reportedly so in the various Reform / B7
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
CBCP Monitor
CBCP Monitor
Reflections
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Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Remember our little transfigurations (Second Sunday of Lent: Feb. 17, 2008 – Mt. 17:1-9) By Rev. Fr. Martin Ando M. Bañoc A STORY was told about a young boy playing inside the shop of a renowned sculptor. Upon seeing the sculptor chiseling the huge stone, the boy asked, “Pop, you’re just wasting your time in that big stone?” Without a word, the sculptor smiled at the boy’s remark. Weeks had passed and the boy returned to the shop. When he saw the beautiful eagle statue, he said, “Pop, how did you know that there is a beautiful eagle inside the big stone?” The Gospel in the Second Sunday of Lent talks about the transfiguration of Jesus in a high mountain. “…his face shone like the sun and his clothes became white as light (Mt 17:2)… from the cloud came a voice that said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him’” (Mt 17:5). Several theologians agree that this event in the life of Jesus is His source of strength in His suffering and death. By the time of the transfiguration, Jesus’ popularity with the masses was waning and the strong opposition of the high priests to His teachings was gaining support. His crucifixion was inevitable. However, it became clear to Jesus what would happen to Him after His death. Like the sculptor, He saw what was inside his body; what was beyond His suffering and death. A missionary in a remote pagan area wrote to his colleagues back in their motherhouse, “Heads roll in my missionary area. Come and add yours.” It is not easy to become a true Christian. Jesus Himself said, “Whoever wishes to come after me must
deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24). When I was a seminarian, a friend of mine told me that only fools become priests. Is it not madness to turn one’s back on the opportunities outside? Is it not madness to help others without expecting in return? Is it not madness to labor for others? He never became a priest. A Filipino rap song goes, “Gusto kong bumait di ko kayang magawa…” Deep in our heart we want to be good. We want to be holy. But it is very difficult. Our political leaders cry for change. Moral revolution. But still, we are ranked high as a corrupt nation in Asia. We succumb to the temptations of the flesh. Paul said, the spirit is willing but the body is weak. We fail to transfigure. We fail to know what is truly inside us. We fail to notice the presence of God in our life. We fail to see beyond our nose. There is something after this mortal life for sure. One retreat that I can never forget is when I was in College. Our retreat companion, Fr. Bob Rice, SJ, told us to trace back our life as early as we could remember. Then we were told to mark the moments when we really felt the presence of God. It was like remembering our little transfigurations. It worked. Every time we are tempted, every time we encounter problems, every time we suffer, we need to look back at the transfiguration of Jesus. We need to look back at our own little transfigurations. God really loves us. His grace is enough for each and every one of us.
Bo Sanchez
God will watch over you night and day HAVE you ever prayed, “The Lord is my Shepherd” from Psalm 23? When ancient Jews prayed that special prayer, they’d feel an inner warmth in their hearts. Some would close their eyes and may even shed a tear or two. Because they knew what it meant to be a shepherd. They felt it. They knew the toil, the sacrifice, the hardship of being a shepherd that loves his sheep. If there was danger, he wouldn’t sleep at night or take coffee breaks or read a pocketbook or even text someone in his cell phone. He’ll just watch and be ready to lay down his life for his sheep. But when modern Filipinos pray the prayer of Psalm 23, the only reason we’d feel an inner warmth in our hearts is if we had just eaten too much Crispy Pata before we prayed and have heartburn. We don’t see shepherds, sheep, or lambs a lot. We’re familiar with wool, yes, but the steel wool variety for cleaning pots and pans. The closest thing to sheep we’ve seen are
goats, and they’re not very docile creatures. They eat anything in sight, make a lot of noise, and smell bad—reminding us of a drunkard uncle. So to help people feel what it means to be a shepherd, I ask people to think about their first pet as a kid. Can you recall yours? Mine was a chicken. Well, it was first a tiny chick, and then a chicken. Finally, it became fried chicken, but that’s going ahead of the story. I cared for that chick with my life. The first thing I did upon arriving from school was to visit my pet, feed it with rice, and rock it in my hand. After a couple of months, my chick grew up and I started playing all sorts of games with her: running, jumping, pecking… I tried teaching her chess, but I kept getting a chickmate. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I promise not to give another pun in my entire life, ever.)
The values of the kingdom of heaven
But during the day, I went to school. And I guess that’s why one day, I came home and discovered my feathered friend in a platter with french fries and catsup. I wasn’t there for her when someone became hungry— someone who to this day has remained anonymous to me. I guess I wasn’t such a great shepherd, because shepherds need to be constantly there, protecting and caring, twenty-four hours a day. But thank goodness, God isn’t like me at all. He’s here for you for life. Permanently. Eternally. You won’t be anyone’s fried chicken. Or shish kebab for that matter. He’ll never leave you for one moment. He’ll never take siestas or coffee breaks or read a pocketbook or text anyone in his cell phone. He will watch over you night and day.
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Conversion WITH Ash Wednesday, we again begin another season of Lent. Let’s hope that the annual cycle of time, be it chronological, fiscal, academic and especially liturgical, carry a lot of meaning to which we should be attentive. Time cannot exist by itself. Never an abstract reality, it has to adhere to a substance, such as we are, and therefore it just cannot be a measure of before and after, but is some space for us to achieve a particular purpose. This is not the place to explain the point, but time converges the objective and subjective dimensions of life’s objective, God’s plan for it and our response. We have to understand and relish the many implications involved in the nature and the meaning of time. This liturgical season of Lent highlights a basic need, that of conversion, from the inmost part of our being, our heart and mind, to the most social and global dimension of our life. This is the be-all and end-all of Lent, supposed to be a permanent feature in our consciousness, not to serve as a wet blanket, but rather
as a stimulus for us to return to the orbit proper to us. It’s like a corrective maintenance for us. We have to be wary of the many factors, especially in our current culture and world environment that tend to weaken our awareness of this need, and even to distort and annul it. We have been warned so many times before by saints and Church leaders that our sense of sin down the ages has been quite skewed and left out of sync with our faith in God’s plan for us. Directly said, we need conversion because we have fallen away from our God, our Creator and Father. Yes, it’s time to remind ourselves that we come from God, not just from dust, and that we are meant to live our life with him and to return to him. Lent is a time to recall how sin entered into the world, how it tampered our nature and our life, how it has been cured, and how we can attain that cure. In a manner of speaking, Lent supplies a crucial missing link in the understanding of our life. It gives us a more complete and realistic picture of our life, since
we tend to disregard some notso-pleasant aspects of it. Thus, it’s not just dark and hard things that it connotes. It actually points to a human triumph, to joy and peace. This is because while Lent tells us to grapple with sin and everything that it involves—temptations, effects and structures of sin from the personal level up to the most social aspect—it also reassures us of victory due to God’s endless mercy. Lent guides us through the way of conversion and transformation, from sin to grace, from moral anemia to radiating vitality, from spiritual death to life. It teaches us that with grace we have to undertake ascetical struggle. “Where sin abounded, grace abounded even more,” St. Paul tells us. (Rom 5, 20) Many other references in the Gospel give us reasons to be hopeful and optimistic about our human condition immersed in sin. There’s just one thing that I would like to highlight regarding Lent. It is for us to develop a deep spirit of penance. This is the constant awareness of our sinful-
ness and what we can do about it. Our sins, failures and weaknesses should not be a deterrent in our relationship with God. With faith in God’s mercy, with humility, we can make them an occasion to get to God even more closely. He always waits for us and is very eager to forgive us. Our attitude should be like that of the woman with hemorrhage who struggled to touch our Lord’s hem, like that of the blind Bartimaeus who shouted to get Christ’s attention, like that of the paralytic who had to be lowered down the roof to get to our Lord. With faith in God’s overpowering love for us, in God who loves us so much that He gave his only Son, “so that whoever believes in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting,” (Jn. 3,16) we can resurrect from our sin. We have to richly embroider this spirit of penance with a lot of details—making acts of atonement and reparation, confessing regularly, doing works of mercy and our work well, being merciful ourselves, etc. All these make our life truly beautiful!
Gospel commentary for 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap THIS Sunday’s Gospel is about the Eight Beatitudes and begins with the celebrated verse: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This statement about “the poor in spirit” is often misunderstood today, or is read with an indulgent smile, as if it were something to be believed only by the ingenuous. And, in fact, Jesus never said simply, “Blessed are the poor in spirit!” He never dreamed of saying something like that. The second part is important: He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” This is something different. Jesus’ thought is completely misunderstood and made banal when only half of his statement is cited. Woe to the separation of the beatitude from its reason. To offer a grammatical example, it would be like someone pronouncing a protasis and not following it with an apodosis. Suppose someone said: “If today you sow,” then said nothing further. What could this mean? Nothing! But if you added: “Tomorrow you will reap,” then everything would be clear. In the same way, if Jesus had merely said: “Blessed are the poor,” the statement would sound absurd. But when he adds: “For theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” everything makes sense. But what is this blessed kingdom of heaven that brought about the “inversion of all values?” It is the wealth that is not lost, that thieves cannot steal, that cannot rust away. It is the wealth that does not have to be left to others at death, but that you take with you. It is the “hidden treasure” and the “precious pearl” for which, in order to possess it, the Gospel says it is worth to give away everything. The coming of this kingdom caused a kind of “political crisis” of global import, a radical re-organization. It opened new horizons; a little like when, in the 1400s, a new world— America—was discovered, and the powers that had a monopoly on trade with the East—Venice for example—suddenly found themselves unprepared and entered into crisis. The old values of the world—money, power, prestige—were changed, relativized, even if they were not repudiated, on account of the coming of the kingdom. What now of the rich man? A man puts aside an enormous sum of money and during the night the value of the currency drops 100%. In the morning he wakes up a proletarian, even if he does not yet know it. The poor, on the other hand, have an advantage with the coming of the kingdom of God, because, not having anything to lose, they are more ready to welcome the new state of affairs and are not afraid of the change. They can invest everything in the new currency. They are more ready to believe. But we think differently. We believe that the changes that count are the visible and social ones, not those that happen in faith. But who is right? In the last century we experienced many revolutions of this type, but we also saw how easily, after a time, they ended up reproducing, with different protagonists, the same situation of injustice that they had said they wanted to eliminate. There are levels and aspects of reality that are not perceived with the naked eye, but only with the help of a special light. Today, with satellites in space, infrared photographs are made of whole regions of the earth and how different they look in the light of these rays! The Gospel, and in particular, our beatitude of the poor, gives us an image of the world bathed in a special light, in a kind of “infrared” light. It helps us to see what is beneath, or beyond, the facade. It allows us to distinguish that which remains from that which is passing.
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Social Concerns
Walking for justice
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Philippine mining A civil society perspective (Third of a series)
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
By Kawagi Fernan
By Ronna D. Mercado I COULD not help but be moved when Manong Quirico (one of the Sumilao farmers) addressed the audience in Congress to talk about their case. He shared that, as someone who did not even reach high school, he felt deeply insecure and “embarrassed” to face the crowd which included several Congressmen and other government officers. He confessed that he was just mustering all his courage to speak up because as a father, he has an obligation to his children to ensure their future. It is this same obligation to their children, and their children’s children, which made the Sumilao farmers embark on a long journey to walk from Bukidnon to Manila to claim the land that is rightfully theirs. For two months, the farmers walked daily using only slippers, to gain support and awareness for their plight. Every day, the farmers had to contend with blisters, fainting spells, hunger, and threats to their safety, in order to bring with them their plea for justice. The walk was not the farmers’ first attempt to claim the 144 hectares of land which was already granted to them via a Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) in 1995, under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Their struggle dates back more than ten years ago, climaxing in October 1997 when they staged a 28-day hunger strike. Back then, the farmers protested the approval of the application of Norberto Quisumbing Sr. Management and Development Corporation (NQSRMDC) to convert the CLOA-covered property from agricultural to agroindustrial. The hunger strike prompted then President Ramos to propose a “win-win solution,” offering 100 hectares for distribution to qualified farmer beneficiaries and allowing NQSRMDC to retain the remaining 44 hectares. However, even this sub-optimal “solution” proved too good to be true for the farmers as it was eventually nullified. In 1999, the Supreme Court (SC) upheld the conversion of the 144-hectare land. In November 2004, the farmers filed a petition for the cancellation and/or revocation of the conversion order before the DAR. This petition was not an attack against the 1999 SC decision. This petition was filed because the very conditions of the SC-approved conversion order were violated. The approved conversion for the 144hectare land was for the planned “development projects” of NQSRMDC. This
included the establishment of the Development Academy of Mindanao, which would house various institutes; a cultural center and a sports complex among others; the construction of a Bukidnon Agro-Industrial Park; a proposed Forest Development project and the construction of Support Facilities including hotels, restaurants, dormitories and housing projects. However, the planned development work was not completed within five years from the time that the conversion order was upheld. In fact, during that period, no development took place at all, and the land remained idle. San Miguel Foods, Inc. (SMFI), which bought the property in 2002, is not any less culpable. As a successor in interest, it is legally bound to follow the conversion plan authorized under the conversion order. However, its plan is to use the land as a piggery for its sister company, Monterey Livestock Farm. Not surprisingly, quarters trying to divert the issue are saying that the farmers were already given land. While it is true that some of the farmers received the adjacent San Carlos Estate, this property—which is part of the ancestral land of the farmers’ Higaonon forefathers— is just 66 hectares. Only 78 farmers benefited from this land, and they only received an average of 0.7 hectares each, a far cry from the family size farm of 3 hectares prescribed by the law. Such a small parcel of land is certainly not enough to earn a decent income. Moreover, there are still close to 100 Sumilao farmers who are still landless. Some are also saying that the farmers are not really tenants of the property and therefore are not qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries. Assuming that not all the farmers are tenants of the contested property, they are still qualified beneficiaries because tenancy is not a requirement to become an Agrarian Reform Beneficiary (ARB). The law states “the lands covered by the CARP shall be distributed as much as possible to landless residents of the same barangay or in the absence thereof, landless residents of the same municipality.” Besides, the same farmers were already named in the title of the property more than ten years ago, thus, their eligibility is out of the question. The farmers’ walk for justice, spanning 1,700 kms, culminated with their arrival in Manila last December 2007. Armed with the support of the Catholic Church, the farmers were allowed audience at the Malacañang and in the 18th of December 2007, the Office of the President (OP) issued an Order revoking the Conversion Order of the 144-hectare land. The Order reverts the land to agricul-
tural use and subsequently, the property should be placed under agrarian reform. Despite this triumph, the farmers’ quest for justice is far from over. SMFI continues to fast track its construction of the piggery even if the project was rendered illegal by the Conversion Order. In fact, SMFI has announced in a paid advertisement that the piggery will be operational in January 2008. Encouraging this brazen attitude of SMFI is DAR’s failure to issue a notice of coverage for the property and a cease-and-desist order against the food company. It is very lamentable that the government is pussyfooting in taking the necessary steps following the revocation order. To the farmers, it bespeaks the government’s lack of sincerity and political will. That the struggle for justice is more than a decade old makes the situation even more lamentable. As ‘Nong Rico said, “may batas naman para sa mahihirap, kaya lang may mga taong maimpluwensiya na kayang baligtarin ang batas (there are laws for the poor, however, there are influential people who can circumvent laws).” With no decisive action from the government in sight, twelve of the 55 farmers who joined the march came back to Manila last January 17, 2008, a month after the Malacañang meeting. In a written statement, the farmers said “the last time, we walked from our homes to the halls of power in Malacañang to knock at the hearts and conscience of the powerful. It appears they will not use even an ounce of their power to make good of their promise of returning us to our land.” Afraid that what happened 10 years ago, when they were given false hopes by the government, will be repeated, the Sumilao farmers are again embarking on a journey. They said “today, we begin walking the opposite direction. We will walk to the homes of the people beginning with the young in their schools, then to the faithful in their Churches. We will knock at the hearts and conscience of the ordinary people as we continue to knock those of the powerful. We will walk on and on until our steps will lead us back to our homes to till the land that is rightly and justly ours.” Once again, the farmers are leaving their homes and their families even if there is no assurance that any of their calls will be heeded. However, they are armed with the belief that with their walk for land, they are not only bringing with them the struggle of the Sumilao farmers but they are also representing the quest for justice of the rest of the peasantry in the country.
rection of our social ills. These would be evangelization of the most authentic kind. For it means a real acceptance of the Lord’s mandate to us as Christians to be concerned about one another, to go beyond ourselves and reach out to others. This attitude in the pattern of Christ himself is at the heart of Christian identity. Hence other already existing movements and efforts (like the Pondo ng Pinoy) aimed at the transformation of Filipino culture through little acts of kindness for the neighbor and motivated only by the love of God—these too must be intensified as essential to our Lenten program of reform. In our coming together, in our exchanging of ideas and discerning on them, in our praying and acting together, we bring hope to our despairing land— the hope that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, says in his most recent encyclical is the great need of our modern world.
in his loving care of all our brothers and sisters.
Reform / B5
corridors of power, we have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people. But if it goes on unhindered, it is because, as we have had occasion to point out in the past, we all too often condone it as part of the perquisites of power and public office. Lent—the Time to Journey Together toward Transformation Lent will soon be upon us, a time of penance, of sorrow for sin, of self-reform. Soon we shall hear again the clarion call of the Lord Jesus: “Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel!” (Mk 1: 15). This season is the appropriate beginning for profound reform and conversion. It is the time for a spiritual combat against the enemy within, our pride and greed, our lust for power and wealth, etc. And so we exhort you, our beloved people: As a special project for this year’s Lenten observance and in the spirit of penance, let us come together in little groups of reflection and discernment. In these groups we look seriously at our part in the many evils of our day—as individuals, as families, as communities—and discern what action we can do together. Alay Kapwa is our traditional Lenten Program of sharing time, treasure and talent for evangelization. This Lent, without forgetting the treasure part, we zero in, in a very special way, on time and talent, asking what we can offer of these for the common effort towards the cor-
With Mary, Mother of Hope, on the Journey of Renewal We beg Mary to intercede for us with her Son Jesus. In the midst of the disciples who hoped for the renewal of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, she stood as their Mother, our Mother, of hope. Mary, Star of the Sea, guide us on our journey of renewal that we may more faithfully follow your Son Jesus
For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, +ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D. Archbishop of Jaro CBCP President January 27, 2008
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The Price of Philippine Mining Money is what it all comes down to. The Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) that allows for 100% foreign ownership of a mining firm is the biggest draw to mining companies not for legal or logistical purposes—Marcopper is proof enough that a firm can escape all legal sanction by simply exiting the Philippines—but for money reasons. Under the rules of the FTAA, all profits the company makes on its mine are for the company. It will not pay taxes for years. All its profits, all its earnings may leave the country. For these rules, the Mining Act of 1995 has been called the equal of the mining laws of such mining intensive countries as the US, Canada and Australia. Does anyone else see the sizeable difference between the Philippines and those three countries? Global studies on mining have shown that countries (such as several nations in Africa) who give their economy over to mining remain poor unless they echo the progression of the first world mining countries that developed industries around their mineral extraction. Some of these countries, such as Sierra Leone and Congo are known for their “bloody minerals.” Sierra Leone has some of the richest diamond mines in the world, but their products are treated as “conflict diamonds” an industry perpetuated by way of brutal military force and child slavery. The Philippines’ own history of mining has shown that the provinces—such as Agusan and Camarines Norte—which produced the highest amount of minerals were among the nation’s poorest. Poverty alleviation from mining has not held true and that was under conditions where the government was guaranteed a share of the profits, when companies were sixty percent Filipino owned. With FTAAs allowing totally foreign companies to extract, not to mention repatriate all wealth, not to mention enjoy tax holidays, where then will the Philippines profit from its own mineral wealth? If tons of gold are being shipped out of the country and the companies are doing this with the blessing of the government, where will the promised riches come from? To explain at length is to enter a discussion of income transfers, excise taxes and the global economy. To make that long story short, the government hopes to profit off a company’s crumbs. Since the profits of a mining company under such laws will be so large, the relatively tiny amount that the government will make will still be substantial. This is among those ideas that look excellent on paper but fail to make the translation into reality. Hence, the disconnect among government officials. They base their ideas on a flawed system and introduce more flawed ideas to prop it up. When the National Minerals Policy (NMP) was developed, it was intended to give focus to the country to welcome mining as well as provide a starting off point for LGUs to welcome companies to their provinces. It echoed a great many of the statements of the Mining Act, in some
cases going into more specific details. By these, it was undone, revealed to be yet another part of the disconnect. perceived stance of a tough but welcome approach to mining is flawed. The Mining Act is not tough on polluters. One of its Implementing Rules and Regulations involves charging companies 50 pesos per ton of spilled tailings, no matter how much environmental damage costs. Put in simpler terms, this means that Marcopper would be charged some eighty million pesos for the estimated 1.6 million tons of tailings that spilled from its dam. After the spill, international agencies estimated that rehabilitation of the Boac River would exceed a hundred million dollars. This fine is not only ridiculous, but openly insulting to the people of Marinduque. Another example of this is the issue of submarine tailings disposal as presented in the NMP. Tailings, the waste material generated through ore extraction, is one of the great problems of mines. It must be contained or disposed of. Since it can occasionally be toxic, separate facilities must be created for its management. On an island area, this may prove to be troublesome, but the government—perhaps aided by input from the mining industry—proposed the practice of Submarine Tailings Disposal, or STD, a practice where tailings are pumped into deep waters off the coast where they vanish into the depths of the ocean. Out of sight, out of mind. Nowhere in the NMP did it state that STD is outlawed across the globe, especially in the USA, Canada and Australia. But the government’s insistence that companies can expect that the rules which so hindered their practices in their home countries be absent here is the primary draw for investment. STD is cheap. There are no tailings ponds to maintain, manage and clean up in the event the mine closes. Experiences in Baguio show that mine companies cannot even accomplish this much, choosing instead to cut and run, leaving behind their waste products. While the government may wish to exhibit toughness, it has shown constantly that it will bend over backwards for mining. Yet another provision that has been brought up regarding the Act is the provision that says a mining company need only receive permission from two levels of the LGU rather than all levels to begin mining. While the reality is that local government is indeed fractious and filled with factional power struggles, this type of decision making renders communities moot. For it is communities, those directly affected by mining that will protest it, while local and provincial authorities will find less to object to¯especially the money. This forced marginalization of opposition ensures that when it comes to mining everyone who isn’t coming with back hoes and millions in foreign currency, receives little or no attention—unless it is attention to bring them into conformity with mining. Such was the example of indigenous peoples and the Indigenous Peoples Right’s Act. (To be continued)
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B8 Title: P. S. I Love You Running Time: 120 min. Cast: Hilary Swank, Gerard Butler, Lisa Kudrow, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Harry Connick Jr., Gina Gerhon, James Marster, Kathy Bates Director: Richard LaGravenese Producer: Sueann Han Screenwriters: Richard Lagravenese, Steven Rogers Music: John Powell Editors: Tony Ciccone Genre: Romance/ Drama Cinematography: Terry Stacey Distributor: Universal Pictures Location: USA Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: ½ CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
ALTHOUGH Holly Kennedy (Hilary Swank) and her husband Gerry (Gerard Butler) could vehemently disagree about things, like their lifestyle or family matters, to the extent of conducting shouting matches, they truly love each other. Their life together is soon disrupted by Gerry’s death due to brain tumor. Holly is very devastated. But her sorrow is somehow cushioned by a cellphone message on her birthday, and letters coming regularly from Gerry. When he knew he did not have long time to live, he solicited his mother-in-lay Elizabeth’s help to send his messages regularly to Holly for the first year of her widowhood. She felt that “hearing” from Gerry regularly would give Holly the impression that he is still around. Despite her feelings, she religiously carried out the arrangement. Holly comes to feel that
Entertainment her husband has not left her, he is still by her side in spirit. P.S. I Love You is based on a novel written by Cecilia Ahern. It is the story of how Holly reacts to losing her husband, how her life is affected by it and in what way she could go on with living. There is an interesting story to tell. However the telling or showing of it is affected by lack of connection between certain events and episodes. One of these is the abrupt cut between the introductory quarrelling scene of husband and wife, jumping to the vigil sequence for Gerry who has passed on. Kathy Bates and Gerard Butler made convincing characters of Elizabeth the mother, and Gerry. Hilary Swank was somewhat lackluster as Holly, perhaps because this is a role she is not familiar with. Somehow, the movie is not as moving as it could have been. P. S. I Love You does show the extent of love and caring Holly and Gerry had for each other: she mourned for him; without him she practically did not want to do anything for herself. Even “beyond this life” Gerry kept in touch: to make her celebrate her birthday, with him on the cellphone; arranged a trip to Ireland, via letter, to meet his parents who had not met her yet. At the same time, family and her friends saw to it that she was never alone and moping. Besides these things going on, she used flash back to be in touch with her Gerry, found herself talking to him “in person” and feeling his presence all the time, until convincing friends helped her to move on and found something positive to do with her life.
Mor al A s s es s m en t Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome Exemplary
Title: American Gangster Running Time: 157 min. Cast: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin, Lymari Madal Director: Ridley Scott Producers: Brian Grazer, Ridley Scott Screenwriters: Steven Zaillian, Mark Jacobson Music: Marc Streitenfeld Editor: Pietro Scalia Genre: Crime/ Drama Cinematography: Harris Savides Distributor: Universal Pictures Location: New York, USA Technical Assessment: ½ Moral Assessment: CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above
IT is New York-New Jersey area, in the time of the dragging Vietnam War. A black man with an Italian-sounding name, Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington) inherits a heroin-dealing syndicate from the man whose driver he is. He does the Mafia one better in the Harlem drug trade by going straight to the source, an army general in Southeast Asia, eliminating middlemen and selling higher purity stuff at half the street price. Detective Richie Roberts is an honest cop whose popularity among his peers zooms to an all time low when he finds one million unmarked dollars in drug money but turns it in instead of sharing it with the
Buhay Parokya Seek and Find 1. There are four crosses in this cartoon. Can you find them all? 2. Find the 3 hearts in the cartoon. 3. Look for the pictures of Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop Lagdameo and Archbishop Cruz.
boys as is the accepted practice. Roberts stubbornly follows his nose, identifies Lucas as a primary target, goes after him, and finds out that the biggest block to his chase is right within the police force. He soon discovers that Lucas and cohorts smuggle their contraband in military planes carrying the coffins of dead soldiers from Vietnam back to the United States. Your interest in this 157-minute gangster thriller drama is sustained principally by the performances of two Oscar winners (Crowe and Washington). They do not come face to face until way towards the end of the film where honest cop confronts crime lord, but their individual stories are developed in a parallel that highlights a stark contrast. The impeccably dressed crime lord (Washington) is cool and smooth, finds himself a sweet yielding wife, gives away turkey on Thanksgiving Day, and takes his mother to church on Sundays—but he can also shoot a cop in cold blood at daytime in full view of everyone, and burn an enemy alive and shoot him to shorten his agony. The honest cop (Crowe) adores his young son but puts work ethics before family despite his wife’s repeated pleas. Unbendable in his pursuit of the truth while burdened with his domestic problem and his peers’ lack of esteem, the Crowe character is understandably scruffy-looking,
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Technical Assessment Poor Below average Average Above average Excellent
and physically not in tip-top gladiator shape. Although the Washington character seems more interesting, without the Crowe character there wouldn’t be a story. Director Riddley Scott deftly pulls together this based-on-a-true-story film—so true-to-life that two hours and forty minutes of viewing can already give the viewer a good insight into the murky world of drug dealing. Far from being another cops-and-robbers story, American Gangster is a morality tale in disguise, although it’s not one where the good guy is good and the bad guy is evil. Thus no one can be called a “hero” or a “villain” for that matter—and that makes for the film’s realism. A good guy who’s all good would be boring, and a bad guy who’s all bad would be too bad to be true, so both would just be caricatures, not real people. It is the curious mix of vice and virtue that adds a piquant touch of reality to the human being, and this mix is emphasized in this movie’s protagonists. Watch yourself when you watch this movie: in the scenes that are hardest to take, that make you flinch, in the sights that rake your guts and create a virtual thunderstorm in your breast—these are the ones that could lead you to moral depths. For its gore, brutality and violence—albeit within the context of the movie—viewing of this film should be limited to adults.
CBCP Monitor
C1
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
Ugnayan The News News Supplement Supplement of of Couples Couples for for The Christ Global Global Mission Mission Foundation, Foundation, Inc. Inc. Christ
THE Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation, Inc. (CFC) gathered its leaders from around the world last January 12 at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City for its annual leaders’ conference.
The Call to Love By Zeny Gimenes THE call was awesome – to follow the Lord’s way and to love as He loves. The response was tremendous. Almost 18,000 leaders of the Couples for Christ that filled the Araneta Coliseum last Saturday, January 12, 2007 for the community’s leaders conference, shouted “Yes!” to the call to love. The conference, which is held annually, outlines the community’s directions for the year and issues guidelines on how the leaders will go about fulfilling targets for the year. This year, the basic guideline is the theme for 2008, “Love One Another.” This is taken from John 13:34-35: “Love one another as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.” According to Joe Tale, CFC Executive Director, this is the only guideline needed to do the work that the Lord has in store for the community this year. The mood at the conference was joyous, punctuated by rallying shouts to “Love one another!” When the community’s global targets and goals were announced, the coliseum reverberated with applause, shouts of “Yes!” and the sound of thousands of CFC flaglets being waved as a symbol of solidarity and oneness with the stated goals. At the conference, the seven members of the CFC International Council expounded on CFC’s global vision and mission, as refined by the recent Pastoral Congresses held not just in the Philippines but abroad. The vision of Couples for Christ remains the same: “Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth.” But the recent congresses and the workshop held to evaluate the results of the congresses refined this vision into a seven-point statement, namely: Moved by the Holy Spirit, One with the Catholic Church, Blessed to witness to Christ’s love and service, Couples for Christ is a united global community Of family evangelizers That sets the world on fire With the fullness of God’s transforming love. Director Joe Tale also announced that CFC’s mission, which used to be stated as “Bringing glad tidings to the poor,” has been expanded to: “Building
Bishop Honesto Ongtioco of the Archdiocese of Cubao celebrated the Eucharist during the CFC Leaders Conference. He congratulated CFC for its dedication and commitment to bring the message to all peoples.
the Church of the Home and Building the Church of the Poor.” This mission encompasses CFC’s work of renewing families through its Family Ministries and of renewing society through its Social Ministries and especially through Gawad Kalinga. For 2008 and the next 25 years of its existence, CFC has set for itself global goals, namely: evangelization and formation; family renewal; total Christian liberation and effective/efficient governance. This year’s conference was unique in that the entire proceedings were viewed live via internet TV internationally. Some CFC households in foreign countries scheduled prayer meetings to coincide with the Araneta event. Another technological innovation was the SMS facility that allowed viewers from all over the world to send in their text messages and to express unity with the events unfolding at the Araneta.
CFC MM Leaders go on Weekend Retreat
THE cold weather did not dampen the fire in the hearts of the leaders of Couples for Christ in Metro Manila who motored to Baguio for the annual weekend conference/retreat last January 25 to 27. The retreat is traditionally the occasion for the launching of the year’s theme and for the setting of goals and targets. The theme serves as the basis, the guidepost, that the members follow in trying to achieve their targets for the year. This year, the community’s theme is “Love One Another As I Have Loved You,” taken from John 13:34-35: “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples.” The emphasis this year is on love and on how that love will permeate every deed, every thought, every service. More than 2,000 leaders filled the Baguio Convention Center. On Sunday morning, the last day, the theme of love came to life as all the participants hugged each other in what was billed as probably the biggest group hug the community has experienced. It was indeed a Spirit-led and Spirit-filled weekend. Everyone came home fulfilled, sated with God’s messages and eager for the next gathering. (Ugnayan Multimedia Center)
The Church and GK
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo puts the finishing touches of paint on a GK house in Jaro, Iloilo.
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles blesses GK homes in Lipa, Batangas.
GAWAD Kalinga has many corporate partners, among them the biggest names in Philippine business. What is not common knowledge is that the Catholic Church is also a partner. The arrangement that is being followed in three Church-sponsored villages is the free use of diocesan lands where the GK houses are built. In two of the three villages now established, the Church granted free use of the land and GK partners from the corporate world put up the houses. Caretaker teams from Couples for Christ, as in every GK village, provide not just construction labor but also the conduct of Christian values formation and the implementation of education, health and livelihood programs. The Jaime Cardinal Sin GK Village in Punta, Sta. Ana in Manila has been operating for the past three years. The village is composed of three buildings with 84 families housed in each building. What makes this unique is that the Archdiocese of Manila funded the construction of all the buildings. The parish priest, Fr. Mark Munda, is actively involved in the day-to-day activities of the area. Before his death, His Eminence Jaime Cardinal Sin avidly followed the developments in the site and was present during the formal turnover of the units to the beneficiaries. In Marauoy, Lipa City are five GK villages situated in 30,000 square meters of land donated by the Archdiocese of Lipa to GK. Under the MOA between the archdiocese and GK, the beneficiaries have use of the lot assigned to them for a period of 50 years from the time of the formal award of the housing units. The 5 villages have a total of 160 completed houses with 23 still under construction. The houses were built with the help of GK partners from North and South California and Texas, USA. The two GK villages in Barangay Buntatala, Jaro, Iloilo stand on land donated by the archdiocese of Jaro. The archdiocese has two major partners in the GK sites – Asian Institute of Management (AIM) and the Eugenio Lopez Sr. Foundation. More than 70 houses have been completed on the two sites. The drainage system is being constructed from funds solicited by the Archbishop himself. (Ugnayan Multimedia Center)
A GK village has been named after the late Jaime Cardinal Sin.
CBCP Monitor
Ugnayan
C2
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
by Joe Tale, CFC Director
CFC’S VISION:
Responding to JESUS’ Call IT is said that in every storm, there is a silver lining. We take this to mean the certainty of God’s presence and providence in our lives, no matter what the situation is. In everything, we can truly hope in the Lord. The conflict that Couples for Christ experienced in 2007 is a perfect example of this. When we were in the midst of the crisis, when we couldn’t understand why God was allowing division, dissension and anger to happen, we had no idea that God was setting the stage for our silver lining. But He would soon show us. The CFC leadership saw in the conflict the God-given opportunity to take a deeper look at CFC’s structure, organization, programs and principles. Thus, on August 25, 2007, we launched the Pastoral Congress. The Pastoral Congress launching was followed by a Pastoral Congress with the Clergy and then by pastoral congresses all across the Metro Manila sectors, the Philippine provinces and in several countries abroad. The concept was simple: to elicit suggestions for improvement and for strengthening of the organization from the ground. This was consultative management. But more than that, it was being led and guided by the Holy Spirit toward the direction that the Lord wants our community to take. Obedient to His will, and mindful of His messages, the community pushed the conflict aside, resolved to move on in doing God’s mission and listened to one another on how the work can be done more effectively. One message stood out strong and clear, right from the very start – CFC had to revisit its global vision and mission. The vision, since 1989, has been “Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth.” And our corresponding mission was “Rapid, Massive, Global Evangelization.” As we started a new century in the year 2000, the mission became: “Bringing Glad Tidings to the Poor.” This was in response to the call for total human liberation, in recognition of the reality that one cannot love God without loving neighbor. The Pastoral Congress assessed the vision and mission in terms of where the community stands at present and where the community would like to go in the next 25 years. The sessions, whether they were in small groups in the sectors or provinces or in the large plenaries, were spirited and animated but reflected one single thread: the miracle of the Spirit moving in the venues and among the participants.
In the end, the Congress was led to affirm that the vision remains the same: Couples for Christ would still be “Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth.” However, in order to allow better understanding of the various elements and aspects of this vision, an expanded vision statement evolved, as follows: Moved by the Holy Spirit, One with the Catholic Church, Blessed to witness to Christ’s love and service, Couples for Christ is a united global community Of family evangelizers That sets the world on fire With the fullness of God’s transforming love.
Moved by the Holy Spirit CFC does not claim that it will renew the face of the earth. The community is too weak and too finite to accomplish such a gigantic task. It is the Holy Spirit, using the members as instruments, who will do this. Being moved by the Holy Spirit implies that we respond to His prodding. Responding implies acceptance of the gift, the grace of God that caused the receiver of the gift to recognize the call. When we say that we are moved, then we also accept that we have been empowered. We cannot renew others if we are not ourselves renewed. CFC must always be sensitive to and follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit. We can only be sensitive to Him if we know Him better, if we are open and actively seek to use the various gifts that He so generously showers upon us.
heart, with all our mind, with all our strength and with all our soul, and to love others as we love ourselves.
Blessed to witness to Christ’s love and service CFC is a community of disciples. It is called to evangelize and to share Christ’s Good News to all. As such, CFC members are called to be shepherds, to be servant leaders and to be stewards. As shepherds, we are to take care of the flock entrusted to us – our household members, our units, chapters, clusters, sectors, provinces and countries. As servant leaders, we learn to be living witnesses to the faith, walking our talk, modeling our lives and service in the very example of Jesus. As stewards, we have an obligation to
tries all over the world. The Lord raised up CFC in the Philippines and is using us to bring His Word to all the corners of the earth. CFC is a united global community because everywhere it is present, even in the tiniest of countries such as the Seychelles Island, we follow one culture, we observe the same practices, we have the same organizational structure, we sing the same songs, we obey one leadership – that of the International Council based in the Philippines. We abide by one set of Statutes which was approved by the Vatican. Our global goals and priorities are the same everywhere. For 2008 and the next 25 years, our marching orders are: 1. Evangelization and Formation: to strategically locate CFC in the world, to evangelize peoples, to inculcate a way of life based on Gospel values, to mobilize and deploy for the glory of God in union with the Church. 2. Family Renewal: to strengthen and defend the family as the basic unit of society and of the Church in accordance with God’s plan 3. Total Christian Liberation: to work for justice, for life and for the poor and to be strong witnesses to how life should be lived according to the precepts taught by Jesus.
“The happy result of allowing our hearts to be receptive to God’s prodding through all these years is the gift of transformation - personal transformation, the transformation of family members, friends, the community, and now, with Gawad Kalinga, the transformation of society and of the world.”
One with the Catholic Church Couples for Christ is a Catholic community. Our faith in God as Catholics is what brought us together as one community. Couples for Christ is a venue for us to enhance our faith in God and to grow in our relationship with Him. The Catholic Church is our guide in our task of bringing God’s people back to Him. Our priests and bishops are our pastors and shepherds. Being one with the Catholic Church, we share Jesus’ most important teaching which is: to love God with our whole
make full use of our time, talent and resources – our own and those of the people assigned to our care. We are to be responsible, accountable and transparent in our dealings and in our actions. The Lord is calling us, by the example of our lives, to go out into the deep and cast a wider net. He is asking us to shout and boldly proclaim our resolve to make Jesus Lord and King of all!
Couples for Christ is a united global community In 1985, when we, still a fledgling community, courageously announced that, through the Holy Spirit, we will conquer the world for Christ, we did so in faith. We had no idea how and when it would happen. But it did happen. CFC was established in country after country, sometimes through serendipity, often through the zealous efforts of migrant families, and more often still, through the missionary zeal of men and women who used their time and resources to evangelize while on tour or business trips. Today, CFC is in 159 other coun-
Of family evangelizers CFC is called to evangelize not just as individuals but as entire families, to make a difference in the world, to evangelize the families of the world! And so CFC, following this call to move as family, has established what has often been called as a “womb to tomb” ministry. As early as four years old, children of CFC members are members of Kids for Christ, not just to have fun and play but also to learn to be mindful of the needs of other children, especially the children of the poor. When they reach their pre-teens, at age 12, they move on to Youth for Christ, and here they imbibe the zeal to reach out to their classmates and friends through campusbased gatherings. As professionals, ready to face the challenges of the world, they become Singles for Christ, preparing for adulthood and for life-long vocations of marriage, single blessedness
CFC Family Ministries:
Blessed for God’s Purpose! THE history of God’s love for us reveals the importance of Family in the purposeful design of our Creator. He desires that His plan for our “future full of hope” happen by way of the family. In Genesis, God designed family, by creating man and woman to love each other, multiply, and fill the earth. In the Incarnation, He became a God with us by being born of a woman, and being raised within the Holy Family. Yes, before Jesus started His short but world-changing three-year ministry, He spent 30 years as a carpenter’s son, raised and formed for mission by way of His family time with Papa Joseph and Mama Mary! And so it is not by accident, but by His masterful strokes, that Family today is the basic unit of society. It is home to Values, a domestic Church, seedbed of society’s servants and leaders, foundation for the future! Given
or the religious life. Those who move to states of life other than marriage (and membership in CFC), by virtue of remaining single, of being widowed, separated or abandoned have their own niche in community. The mature women move to Handmaids of the Lord and the men to Servants of the Lord, still active in the service of the Church and the Lord, still keeping the faith.
That sets the world on fire The Holy Spirit comes with fire. When the Lord called each and every one of us to serve Him, it was the fire of the Spirit that moved us, that gave us the zeal for service, that continues to sustain us, in spite of trials and difficulties. Without that fire, we would have stayed content with deepening our personal relationship with God, happy with occasional parish service, unmindful that many people in the world do not have that same kind of relationship with the Savior, uncaring that injustice, oppression, and poverty are the lot of many people. The fire of the Spirit has enabled us in CFC to look beyond ourselves. The Social Ministries that have been established over the years have given us much more work, true, but have also made us attuned to the needs of others.
With the fullness of God’s transforming love The journey of personal renewal of each CFC member started when he said “Yes” to God’s call and accepted the invitation to join community. From there, he experienced couple-renewal and, as a natural consequence, family renewal. With the love that became both the bond and the mark of family members, there was no choice but to extend the reach of that love to our neighbor. CFC’s work with the poor is the last frontier of that vast arena for loving. God challenges us to truly show our love for Him, as a response to His faithfulness and goodness to us by loving the unlovable, the lost, the least, the last. The happy result of allowing our hearts to be receptive to God’s prodding through all these years is the gift of transformation - personal transformation, the transformation of family members, friends, the community, and now, with Gawad Kalinga, the transformation of society and of the world. This is indeed the work of our wonderful God. We are the mustard seed that He has planted. By His grace, we shall grow and bear much fruit.
by Melo Villaroman, CFC International Council and Family Ministries Director
its crucial role in God’s plan, it is also not surprising but alarming, that family is under heavy attack from forces seeking to destroy or undermine God’s future full of hope, where families live the fullness of life under Christ’s headship. The attack is relentless and real, happening in our own families and trying to cripple many families around the world. Many husbands and wives are giving up, rather than claiming God’s power to heal their marriage. Many spouses are deciding too hastily that there is no longer love in their relationship, forgetting that God who has blessed and sealed their marriage gives them the power and the choice to love like Christ. Many of our children, raised short in love and guidance, are easily confused and distracted, trading heaven’s treasures for the world’s pleasures. Many young professionals,
though not necessarily slaves to sin, become slaves to work, choosing to worship the altar of prosperity before worshipping the altar of God. But the plan of God always overcomes evil and darkness, for it is a plan borne out of God’s great love for us, the kind of love that NEVER fails! There is nothing bigger, more exciting, and more daunting than a God-ordained Vision. God’s vision for CFC and its Family Ministries is such — exciting, overwhelming, and impossible to do by our own strength, for we are sinners, but possible only by our great, mighty and loving God! He desires for us to be “Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth.” Yes… not just to be “families working day-in and day-out to pay the bills and eat out on weekends,” but FAMILIES EMPOWBlessed / C4
CBCP Monitor
Ugnayan
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
C3
Timor Leste ba Kristu (Timor Leste for Christ)
The work of Couples for Christ in Timor Leste COUPLES for Christ (CFC) first began its missionary work in Timor Leste in 2001, when a small group of volunteer missionaries from Brunei and the Philippines started a Christian Life Program (CLP) in the mountains of Fuiloro, in the eastern part of the country. They had been invited by Fr. Jojo San Juan, a Filipino Salesian Missionary, whose brother was an active leader of CFC Brunei (currently he is now the Country Director of CFC Brunei). At that time, because Timor Leste was under the CFC Borneo-East Timor Mission Center, which was based in Brunei, Mon and Tita Santiago, CFC Brunei leaders, were assigned to oversee the mission work in Timor Leste. From 2001 to 2004, Mon and Tita would periodically take leave from work and go to Timor Leste for pastoral visits. In 2002, CFC Youth for Christ was started in Los Palos, a town near Fuiloro, by two single missionaries who were at that time based in Borneo — Jun-G Bargayo (who is now a Jesuit novice) and Tina Santiago (Mon and Tita’s daughter). Many Timorese families came to know Christ through these missionary efforts, but it was
clear to those responsible for CFC Timor Leste that there was a great need to establish a mission center in the country. The CFC International Council also saw this need, and so on October 19 2004, Mon and Tita Santiago arrived in Dili, the capital of Timor Leste, to establish the CFC Mission Office, and stay in Timor Leste as a missionary couple. The couple was able to meet many people from the religious, government and NGO sectors, who would help further the missions in Timor Leste. The initial work proved difficult. Although East Timor is the other Catholic country in Asia (together with the Philippines) many people, again like in the Philippines, were only Catholic in name. Besides, the East Timorese thought the missionaries were Protestants. They couldn’t believe that Catholics would send missionaries to them. Mon and Tita never lost hope. Sometimes the couples came when they were invited to attend the Christian Life Program; sometimes they didn’t. Many would finish the CLP, but then fail to be active members. There were times when it seemed as if all efforts were going to waste.
Yet their years in CFC service had taught Mon and Tita to hope and trust in the Lord. And so they persevered in faith. In early 2005, Mon and Tita were joined by their daughter Tina, and future son-in-law, Anthony Rodriguez, who had been tasked to form and strengthen the CFC Family Ministries (youth and kids). It was a great challenge to get the ministries started, but soon many young people and kids began to know, love and serve the Lord through CFC Youth and Kids for Christ respectively. The addition of Boy de Loyola, from CFC Leyte, to the mission team in mid-2005 added to the strength of the ministry to the couples. The work among the youth and kids was rapidly growing so another missionary, Nirva dela Cruz, joined the team in early 2006. Then came the crisis of 2006. Timor Leste was seemingly split in two – people from the East (Loro’monu) and the West (Loro’sae) were fighting against one another. The Timorese, still recovering from the violence of 1999 when pro-Indonesian militia wreaked havoc on the country’s people and infrastructure, once again had to deal with
violence, death and destruction. Thousands fled their homes and sought refuge in parishes, schools and religious seminaries and convents. Yet through all these hardships, God showed His mercy and grace to His Timorese people, through the Catholic Church, international aid, the UN and other groups. Amidst all these trials and tribulations, God’s love has prevailed. Post-crisis Timorese have realized their great need for God and have started to seek Him. Many have come to find Him through the CLPs, Youth Camps and other activities of CFC and the Family Ministries. That’s why in July 2006, additional missionaries in the persons of Inday and Boyin de Loyola (Boy’s wife and son respectively), PJ San Felipe and Karen dela Cerna, were sent to Timor Leste, to bear God’s light and love and spread the Good News. God has truly blessed, and continues to bless, the CFC Timor Leste Mission. Even though at present, the mission team has been reduced to seven, with the De Loyola couple and PJ returning home to the Philippines, the work continues. CLPs, Youth Camps, pastoral formation programs, household meetings (similar to cell groups small faith-sharing groups), Charismatic and healing masses continue to bring God’s grace and
hope to the Timorese. The strong support given by the local Bishops, clergy and religious plays a major role in the evangelization of families. Many times, CFC has worked together with the Diocese of Dili to help conduct faith programs for Timorese families. including Marriage Preparation Programs and Natural Family Planning. As of December 2007, 100% of the CFC and Family Ministries membership in Timor Leste, close to 900 individuals, are locals. With plans to conduct CLPs in the prisons, in Parliament and in other key agencies, God’s plan for social renewal among the Timorese is starting to unfold. The ministry among the youth (YFC) and singles (SFC) has yielded young mission volunteers and leaders who are zealous to share God’s love to others. Many of these youth were gang members involved in the 2006 crisis, but now have been changed by the Holy Spirit. Local couple leaders in Dili are also on fire to go on mission to the districts. Even the kids in KFC are evangelizing through a radio program on the local Catholic radio station. Many community teachings and songs have been translated to Tetun, in order to speed up the mission work. Indeed, much has been done since CFC established its mission center in 2001, and it is only God
who has allowed all these to happen. However, God’s work through CFC in Timor Leste is far from over. The missionaries there continue to face many challenges. All had to learn to speak and write Tetun in order to communicate God’s message more clearly. Many times, they are mistaken for Protestant missionaries, as the Catholic brethren there have rarely heard of Catholic lay missionaries, especially missionary families. Just like any person who is far from the comfort and familiarity of home and family, our missionaries struggle with loneliness and homesickness. Personal differences and varying personalities challenge them to work together in unity and love. The country’s security and political situation, though slowly starting to stabilize, continues to be a reason for gang-related violence. There are times when people don’t attend activities because there is stone-throwing in the streets. Night activities are kept to a minimum for safety reasons, and also because there is no public transportation at night. Yet, despite all these and many more difficulties, CFC’s missionaries to Timor Leste remain steadfast to their calling, and truly claim that MAROMAK DIAK NAFATIN! God is good all the time! (Ma. Kristina S. Rodriguez, FC Timor Leste Missionary)
COUPLES FOR CHRIST (CFC) By Boogie Boydon How it began CFC began in 1981 in Manila when a local Catholic community tried out a new approach in evangelizing married couples. The method used consisted of bringing together a small group of couples in a private home. There they were brought to a living relationship with Jesus Christ and to a renewal of the power of the Holy Spirit through a series of weekly informal discussions of the Gospel in a social setting. Soon, CFC became a Christian family life renewal program made available to parishes and groups of married couples who wished to live out their Christian life in an active, supportive relationship with one another. Many parishes, coming to realize the value of having strong committed, Catholic families in their areas, began requesting and approving the conduct of Christian Life Programs among their coupleparishioners. In this manner, CFC spread within Metro Manila and soon after, to places as far away as Mindanao and extreme northern Luzon. As of today, CFC is present in all 81 provinces of the Philippines. The surge of migration of Filipino families to many countries became the engine of CFC growth abroad. Starting with India, its first country, CFC is now present in 159 countries other than the Philippines. It wasn’t long before families that had been renewed and enjoying a closer relationship with each other and with the Lord began to feel a desire to renew their surroundings as well. The community’s battle cry then became Jesus’ words when He began his ministry – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and announce that the time has come when the Lord will save his people.” (Luke 4:18-19). By the late 1990’s CFC had established its Social Ministries precisely to address the needs of those Jesus mentioned – the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the oppressed. Even the need to protect the environment, imperiled by man’s greed and unconcern, was addressed with the creation of a
socio-environmental ministry. In 2001, the work with the poor took on greater urgency and spurred the creation of Gawad Kalinga, a more comprehensive and concerted effort to alleviate poverty in the Philippines. It gained even greater momentum in 2003 with GK 777, a multisectoral effort to build 700,000 homes in 7,000 communities in 7 years. Gawad Kalinga has spawned counterpart efforts in many countries, through massive fundraising in developed countries and the creation of GK villages in other countries such as Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and soon, in Africa. Through the years, CFC has blossomed into a worldwide ministry, becoming a major force for the renewal of Christian family life and also of the church.
Couples for Christ’s work CFC carries out its work by focusing on four specific objectives: 1. Individual renewal. Before one can even consider the whole family, the husband and wife first need to renew their commitment to God. CFC takes the basic message of Christianity and proclaims it anew so that those who hear it can make a renewal commitment to God in a way which will allow them to receive a fuller experience of the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. 2. Family renewal. As couples renew their commitment to God, they also renew their commitment to one another and to their Christian family life. Gradually, the new life that they find in the Lord filters down to all their family relationships. 3. Church renewal. As individual families are renewed, they form a network of equally committed Christian families which not only support one another but also strengthen the Church of which they are members. 4. Societal renewal. The family is the building block of society. Strong families can make for a strong society. The renewed lives of families are being used to fuel renewal of society through programs that care for the least, the lost and the last.
of other denominations. Couples need not have any specific religious or spiritual background. CFC draws its membership from all sectors of society – young and old, rich and poor. CFC transcends all cultural, economic, educational, social and other distinctions. CFC is equally adaptable to a Philippine or foreign setting. Those who want to join CFC go through a seminar which is called a Christian Life Program (CLP). The CLP starts with an orientation session, then goes through 12 weekly meetings, thus involving a total time period of 3 months. The weekly meetings are usually held in the evenings and last about 2 ½ hours per session. There are no fees or any monetary expenses required of participants. The only investment required is their time and openness. After the CLP, those who finish are invited to join CFC. When they do, they are made part of a small cell group called a household. The household is composed of about 5 or 6 couples who meet weekly for mutual support and encouragement in the Christian life, under the direction of a household leader-couple.
CFC as a parish-based organization CFC is recognized by the Catholic Church and is a servant and lay arm of the Church in the work of
renewal, and has a number of bishops as its Spiritual Directors. CFC is present and operates in many different parishes and dioceses, fully recognized by and operating under the authority of the parish priests and bishops. In its parish-based role, CFC helps the parish in the following manner: 1. Couples are renewed and strengthened in their Christian lives. Strong couples make for strong families, which make for a strong parish. 2. A basic CFC objective is to be relevant to the life of the Church, specifically in the parish. CFC members are expected to support their parish priest and be available for parish services. 3. CFC has been a rich source of dedicated parish servants, driven not by any personal agenda but by a commitment to, and focus on, the Lord rather than on their service. 4. One of CFC’s major services in the parish is pre-marriage counseling for couples about to be married. CFC uses a personalized and thus effective couple-to-couple method. 5. CFC has renewal programs for the youth and single persons. 6. CFC can be a conduit for social action in the parish, one of our objectives being the economic and spiritual upliftment of the poor.
Membership in CFC Any validly married Christian couple can become members of CFC. CFC is a Catholic organization, but it is open to membership by Christians
A Household leader prays over some of his household members
CBCP Monitor
Ugnayan
C4
Vol. 12 No. 3
February 4 - 17, 2008
“ONE AFRICA” Pastoral Congress COUPLES for Christ in 11 countries representing North, East and Central, West and South Africa came together last November 3 and 4 in Nairobi, Kenya for the First Pastoral Congress of Couples for Christ in the region. The Congress theme of One Heart. One Mission. One God. ONE AFRICA, captured the very essence and direction of the 12year African Mission of Couples for Christ in the continent. In 1995, Couples for Christ in Africa began in Tanzania, went on to neighboring Kenya, until it spread to the 28 countries it now has its presence in. The weekend Congress was opened by His Eminence John Cardinal Njue, Cardinal-Elect of Kenya, followed by a video message from His Eminence Polycarp Cardinal Pengo of Tanzania, SECAM President. It was further blessed with the presence of His Eminence Wilfred Cardinal Napier of Southern Africa, His Lordship Auxiliary Bishop Kamau of Kenya and the representatives of the Archdiocese of Accra, Kampala, Mombasa, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam and Durban. His Lordship Makarios Tawfiq of Cairo, Egypt and His Lordship Denis Wiehe of Victoria, Seychelles both united themselves with the Congress through video messages. CFC International Director Joe Tale, CFC International Council Members Ernie Maipid and Rouquel Ponte, Board of Elders Member Ricky Cuenca and Congress workshop director Rene Garrucho flew all the way from the Philippines to join their African brothers and sisters. That the Spirit swept over the venue, working through the participants, was made evident by the vibrant worship, the participative responses to the four discourses and three workshops, and the joy that charged the entire assembly, especially when roles and strategies were defined. Highlights of the weekend: Collaborations fortified. Clergy roles as agents of pastoral change
in the parishes were emphasized. CFC was in turn duly recognized by the Church representatives to be an equally formidable agent of change in their parishes. Working alongside in a closer, more coordinated manner, families all over Africa would soon be able to enjoy the fruit of such a collaborative effort for the complete restoration of the family. Cultures embraced. For true renewal to be effective in the lives of such a people who even among themselves are so diverse in practices, traditions and beliefs, it was deemed integral to decide to worship, serve and effect renewal by marrying the charisms of CFC and the richness of the God-given culture our Lord has bestowed on Africa. One is not imposed on the other, neither is one favored over the other. Rather they fuse until they become one. Callings renewed. Service in Africa for 12 years has been a continuous call for CFC. After 12 years, the call has not changed in any way. It has in fact, been affirmed. It has in fact been clearly defined, as the universal call to love. This call was accepted by the Clergy and CFC. The highlight of the Congress was the revelation of a shared vision by both CFC and the clergy for ONE AFRICA : “Through the love of Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the intercession of Mary, working with the Church as a Family of God, CFC AFRICA has evangelized families and transformed them into prayerful, peaceful, fruitful, united and empowered communities – for Africa and for the world.” It was a weekend of revelation – not just of man’s designs for Africa, but of God’s. It was a weekend of renewal – not just in mind but in heart, in purpose and in Spirit. It was a weekend of oneness. Of being One in Heart. Mission. God. Of being ONE AFRICA. (Clarke Nebrao)
CFC leaders from Manila pose with African Bishops during a break in the Congress. From left : Rouquel Ponte, Cardinal Napier, Cardinal Njue, Clarke Nebrao, CFC Director Joe Tale, Col. Vincent Anami of Kenya and Bong Garruncho
CFC New Jersey -An Active Christian Community NEW JERSEY - Despite the challenges brought about by the split in CFC during the second half of 2007, New Jersey continues to be an active and strong member of CFC’s global community. During its first post-split family assembly held in August, members of New Jersey CFC’s reconstituted Area Council (AC) were introduced to the members. They were: Oscar Banting (wife-Baby), AC Director, Romy Dacayanan (wife-Emer), Dante Nagayo (wife-Feli), Roger Santos (wife-Josie) and Jun Sucaldito (wife-Grace), AC members. Sonny Aguiling (wifeBrenda) is the current Head of the Northeast Region, while Rollie Balanza (wife-Evelyn) remains as ANCOP Regional Director in the Northeast. Around Thanksgiving in November, the reinvigorated and inspired members gathered in a sprawling Catholic monastery here to worship and say thanks to the Lord for having prevailed over months of dizzying “split” experiences. On December 15, the NJ leaders sat down the whole day inside the rectory of St. Anne’s Roman Catholic Church in Fairlawn, NJ and mapped out each ministry’s plan for 2008 guided by the mission and vision of the CFC community. The last group activity during the past year was the wellattended Christmas Party held in the auditorium of a Catholic school, also in Bergenfield on Dec. 23. A young Spanish Catholic priest opened the gathering with an invocation and a Tagalog Christmas greeting to the delight of the audience. Over 200 CFC, KFC, YFC, SOLD and HOLD members and families were in attendance. Santa Claus also came and distributed gifts to children. (Manny Caballero, CFC SOLD NJ)
Blessed / C2
Bishop of Kenya visits CFC
Bishop Kamau visits Cardinal Rosales with missionaries to Africa Clarke and Cynch Nebrao.
HIS Lordship Bishop David Kamau Ng’ang’a, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, Kenya, and spiritual adviser of CFC in Kenya, was in the Philippines from January 12 to 29 to observe the work of CFC here in Manila, Philippines where it began in 1981. He attended the different CFC activities encouraging CFC as a community to take on a Christo-centric life with and through the prayers and love of our Mother Mary. The Bishop was also able to visit a Gawad Kalinga (GK) site which is CFC’s work with the poor program. Impressed with his encounters at GK Payatas and GK Soledad in La Union, he expressed the desire to bring GK to Kenya. His visit was made more memorable with the chance to welcome the relics of St. Therese and be in communion with our Clergy with whom he shared his passion towards the mis-
sion of Couples for Christ. He also visited Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop Arguelles, Bishop Tobias and Bishop Tumulak. At the send off dinner for him by CFC brethren, he said, “I thank Couples for Christ for I was welcomed by my brothers and sisters in the Philippines. Truly, you are a community full of love and concern for one another. I bring with me my experience in Manila with CFC that you are not just a community for yourself, but a community for others. We will bring the work for the poor in Kenya and make a GK village according to the African setting. I thank my clergy counterparts in the Philippines, for you have given birth to a movement that evangelizes and takes care of the families. Couples For Christ is the gift of the Philippine Church to Africa and the world.” (Clarke Nebrao)
ERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT TO DEFEND HIS PLAN AND CHANGE THE WORLD! God’s call for is not comfortable but purposeful. Following God’s call, CFC is a global, united community of FAMILY EVANGELIZERS who will set the world on fire with God’s transforming love! What does it mean to be commissioned as FAMILY EVANGELIZERS? God challenges us and blesses us to make a difference for Him by forming our own family, evangelizing as families, and reaching out to other families of the world! We remember and celebrate that this calling for CFC to be part of God’s army of Family Evangelizers started as a seed as early as 15 years ago, when the Spirit inspired the start-up of our CFC Family Ministries. In 1993, CFC Kids for Christ (KFC) was born, aiming to provide a Christian support environment for our kids from ages 4 to 12, with programs characterized by the 4 Fs – Fun, Friendship, Faith, and Freedom - that excited young children to know God more! Seeing our children grow deeply in love with Jesus and serving at such young ages convicted us parents even the more to commit to God’s mission. Through the pure and heroic faces and lives of KFC children and KFC-GK Batang Bayanis, God has been concretely showing us future generations full of hope! At that same time, the Spirit seeded CFC Youth for Christ (YFC) for young teens between 13 to 21. Since then, YFC has been helping address the needs of our young people to belong, to be motivated, to be fruitful, and to be good examples as young Christian witnesses. We parents saw the youth’s gift of energy channeled to passionate worship and music for God, to vibrant evangelization (Youth Camps), to striving for 100%-pure lifestyle and the Spirit’s fortitude, and heartfelt work with the poor. YFC is now established all over the Philippines, in the community parishes as well as in various high schools and universities, and around the world. The Spirit also inspired the conception of CFC Singles for Christ (SFC), for single men and women who are at the crossroads of their life, discerning the vocation of marriage, religious calling, or single blessedness. We parents saw SFC develop among themselves Spirit-led and Values and Purposedriven young leaders and friends. We were delighted to be ninongs and ninangs in the marriage of young couples who have met in SFC and who believe in the same Christian goals and values. And how our God truly loves us, for He would not leave us alone even as our state of life changes. CFC Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD) was also born as a gift, manifesting our living God’s strong presence and embrace of love to single mature women, widows, separated, single parents, wives of overseas workers, and those whose husbands are inca-
pacitated or in prison. CFC Servants of the Lord (SOLD) was also formed into very active mission – the counterpart ministry and community for men! Fifteen years after the birth of the CFC Family Ministries, we stand amazed and thankful before our God who has grown the seeds of “Family Evangelizers” to bear fruits that will last for generations! Many small kids who were brought by their CFC parents to be part of our KFC start-up in 1993 have grown up in Community and are now young, Spirit-empowered couples changing the world: • Nic Escalona KFC ’93 is now serving with his wife Chelo and their baby Kazuri as CFC Missionaries in Kenya, Africa. • Layle, another KFC ’93 alumnus, is now supporting her husband Rommel as our International Couple Coordinators for YFC. • A little kid we fondly called Jayboy, who was ring bearer at my and Nini’s wedding in 1989, is now called Jay Meloto — bearer of glad tidings to our poor in Bicol, as GK Regional Coordinator, married to Eena whom he met in SFC/GK mission. I personally take this opportunity to thank my parents, Melo Sr. and Luz, for their wedding gift to Nini and me on our wedding day – an invitation to join Couples for Christ. They gave the same gift to my five brothers and sisters, all presently serving in CFC US. Their gift will carry on, for my sons Dave and Sam, and all their cousins in the US, are active in YFC and KFC! Today, young married couples raised from the work of Singles, Youth and Kids are tending their own young. Their babies and kids may today still be small and frail, but one day, these tiny ones will grow in heart and muscle, and they will build the homes of the poor! Our kids at home today may be shy and soft-spoken, but one day, the Lord will touch their tongue, and when they speak, nations will bow down before Christ! Your young son or daughter may appear restless, but one day when you are old and weak, you will feel your son or daughter’s hand rest softly upon your head. They will pray over you in your old age and renew your strength to serve. The Lord’s plan is happening. He is raising Families in the Holy Spirit who will renew the face of the earth. We are witnesses. Kid heroes building homes out of love for fellow GK kids, Youth alive in passionate worship, Single men and women bringing God’s business as their priority in their marketplace. Handmaids and SOLD witnessing God’s complete joy and love in their lives! God has called CFC, and is blessing CFC, to be a community of Family Evangelizers! God has promised, and its fulfillment is as sure as tomorrow! We are excited! We stand hopeful! WE WILL KEEP FAITHFUL!