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Church’s feeding program doing more with less in Davao
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The prophetic role of Religious
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REDEMPTORIST Fr. Amado Picardal, 54 year old; is set to bike about 4,750 kilometers from Davao City to the Presidential palace in Manila to hand over a letter urging President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Filipino / A6
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Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace March 17 - 30, 2008
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The Lord is risen, so must we - CBCP head By Roy Lagarde “IF Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain,” thus says St. Paul in his letter to the Corinthians. (1 Cor 15:14). This makes Easter the most significant feast of the whole Christendom, because it constitutes the confirmation of all Christ’s work and teachings. Christ’s resurrection is the fulfillment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself when he came down to live among men, says the Church’s catechism. Easter brings new life. It brings about justification that reinstates humanity to a life grace in God, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life,” says St. Paul in his letter to the Romans (Rom. 6:4).
But when the new life that Easter brings is seen only in rituals and not in day-to-day life, celebrating the resurrection becomes hypocritical, says CBCP President Angel Lagdameo in his Easter Message. “But where involvement in the suffering of people, where love is lacking, it is difficult to think that Jesus resurrected, almost hypocritical to celebrate the truth of Easter,” says Lagdameo. The living witnesses of the truth of Christ’s resurrection “must be ourselves, shown in the qualities of commitment in our Christian lives,” he adds. The Lord / A6
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales talks to Sumilao farmers as he gives them blessing to do a “Jericho March” around Malacañang. The farmers want the President to make good her promise made during their dialogue last December 17, 2007 to return the 144-hectare land in Sumilao, Bukidnon they have long been claiming.
Corruption, ‘cancer killing the nation’ MANILA Catholic bishops cried foul against alleged corruption in the government. But in a critical pastoral statement, the bishops lead their flocks to what they think a reality that merely ousting Mrs. Arroyo cannot do. Mrs. Arroyo is under growing pressure to step down following allegations of improper conduct over a government project involving other top public officials. In the pastoral statement entitled “Towards a Morally Rebuilt Nation,” the bishops lamented the “social mess and political mess” that is continuously rocking public life. “This however goes beyond the question of truth to the search for probity. Probity is about integrity of all, the accuser and the accused. We are unhappy and we feel betrayed,” it read. Manila prelates have undeniably played a key role in nonviolent revolts that ousted two leaders in the last two decades, and a tough statement against her could have boosted protests against her.
RP mourns death of Focolare founder THE Focolare Movement in the Philippines has deeply mourned the death of its founder, Chiara Lubich (88). Lubich, founder of the Work of Mary, better known as the Focolare, died March 15 in Rocca di Papa, near Rome. She was taken home at her request after a long stay at Gemelli hospital. As soon as the news of her death reached several Focolare centers across the country, Holy Masses were offered, Ruben Banaag from Sta. Mesa Focolare center, told CBCP News. The basic philosophy of Focolare is to live Gospel values or principle of love in ordinary chores of life. It also promotes inter-religious dialogue with other faiths and ecumenical reRP mourns / A6
Cancer of the nation
The bishops’ statement centers on the injustice of corruption, not just in the government but also even among ordinary people. The bishops bewailed that corruption is a “cancer” that is killing the nation.” “‘We cannot add more to the wrath of God for lies, untruth, injustice and evil.” it read. Our people are known to be God-fearing and God-loving; sadly, they fight, deceive and kill for money. “Shamefully we have been known to be a nation whose prime industry has been identified as politics simply because politics is the main route to power, which, in turn, is the main route to wealth.”
Not exempted The statement that was read in churches throughout the ecclesiastical province of Manila during Palm Sunday said that government corruption breaks God’s commandment that says, “Thou shall not steal.”
They said that controversial government deals including that of the scrapped national broadband network project are not off the hook from this particular divine law. The statement was signed by 16 bishops under the Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Province of Manila, which includes the Manila archdiocese, the dioceses of Cubao, Parañaque, Caloocan, Pasig, Antipolo, Novaliches, Malolos, San Pablo and Imus, the Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay and the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines.
Change from within
The prelates also reiterated an earlier appeal of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines for “communal renewal” to defeat the country’s social ills. “We also know that together we have the capacity to correct and purify the nation by starting with ourselves,” according to the statement. Corruption / A6
Bishop downplays ‘divided’ CBCP “WHEN it comes into issue of ousting the President (Arroyo), the bishops may vary in opinion but we are united in terms of faith, in the defense of the Doctrine of the Church, and of the Gospel.” This was the statement of Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, in relation to perceptions of a “divided” Catholic Bishops of the Philippines. Such
perceptions came after the issuance of the pastoral letter of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) which many thought would call for the ouster of President Arroyo, but did not. “On the issue of the President’s ouster, there are seven bishops who outrightly condemn the President for what is going on, and some of us, just
want to remain silent although they knew in themselves that they don’t want Arroyo to remain in (the) presidency. But, despite our differences in opinion, we remain intact,” the prelate told this reporter in Filipino. The Archbishop also told this reporter that he is waiting for the new witness for the NBNZTE’s inquiry in the Senate and Bishop / A6
Bp. Tagle to address Int’l Eucharistic Congress IMUS Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle will be among the speakers of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress to be held from June 15 to 22 in Quebec City, Canada. Tagle will be speaking about the theme “The Eucharist, the Life of Christ in Our Lives” on the fifth day of the eight-day congress. Together with Tagle as
speakers of the international congress include Washington Archbishop Donald William Wuerl, Lyon Archbishop Philippe Cardinal Barbarin, Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge Mario Cardinal Bergoglio, Congregation for Evangelization of the Peoples Prefect Yvan Cardinal Dias, and Doula, Cameroon Archbishop Christian Wiyghan Cardinal Tumi.
Coinciding with the 49th International Eucharistic Congress is Quebec’s 400th founding anniversary as the cradle of the Church in North America. Meanwhile, the CBCP Permanent Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses will spearhead the observation of the 2008 National Bp. Tagle / A6
Church plays role in stopping Ipil mining WITH its unrelenting advocacy to put an end to mining operations in Ipil, the local Catholic Church has once again played a significant role in ensuring that environmental degradation will be prevented. This came after Toronto Ventures Inc., (TVI) Pacific’s Mining Corporation has been denied permission to operate in Canatuan, Municipality of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte following the oppositions of the bishops from the ecclesiastical subregion of Dipolog, Ozamis, Pagadian, Iligan and Marawi (DOPIM). Prelature of Ipil Bishop Julius Tonel said the DOPIM bishops drafted a letter expressing their opposition to any kind of mining operations which have encroached and destroyed the lands owned by indigenous communities. Tonel said that the Social Action Ministry of the prelature is also intensifying their information drive and educational campaigns to the indigenous peoples especially among the Subanons who have struggled a lot to fight for the lands which their ancestors occupied over a hundred years ago. “Kinahanglan man gud nga masabtan sa mga lumad ang dakong panginahanglan nga maprotektahan ang ilang mga katungod ug ang ilang yutang natawhan, (There is a need for the lumads to understand that their rights to ancestral domain should be protected)” Tonel said in vernacular during a video call interview. He added that because of big offers of money, many of the lumads are persuaded to give in to sell their lands to foreign companies. The Subanons are the largest indigenous group in the southern Philippines numbering more than 320,000 people. One hundred years ago their ancestors occupied the whole of Zamboanga peninsula. Tonel said that because of lack of education some of the lands of the lumad are occupied against their wish. Tonel also added that according a report he obtained on the denial of FVI permission to operate, he said, “daghan naman gud ni sila (TVI) gibuhat nga mga violations or irregularities sa ilahang operations.” A data obtained from the United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations showed that since 1994 the Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI) a mining company from Calgary, Canada has already occupied their lands. The newly assigned bishop of Ipil also said that the local Church will continue helping the lumads defend their rights. Their lands are the last that remain from the inheritance of their ancestors and the only gift reserved for their future generations who will continue to practice the Subanons’ ways of life “Repeal the Philippine Mining Code (RA 7942) and uphold and respect the rights of indigenous peoples throughout the Philippines to determine the future of their ancestral lands,” Tonel said. (Mark S. Ventura)
CBCP Monitor
World News
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Pope mourns death of kidnapped Iraqi prelate VATICAN CITY, March 13, 2008—Benedict XVI sent a telegram of condolence to the leader of the Church in Iraq, expressing his condolences at the death of the archbishop of Mosul, who was kidnapped February 29. In the telegram to Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, the Pope expressed his closeness “to the Chaldean Church and to the entire Christian community,” reaffirming his “condemnation for an act of inhuman violence which offends the dignity of human beings and seriously damages the cause of the fraternal coexistence of the beloved Iraqi people.” Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho of Mosul was kidnapped just after he had finished leading the Way of the Cross. The three men who
accompanied the archbishop, including his driver, were killed. The Holy Father’s telegram gave assurances of his prayers for the 65-year-old archbishop and invoked the Lord’s mercy “that this tragic event may serve to build a future of peace in the martyred land of Iraq.” The kidnappers revealed in a phone call Wednesday where the body of the prelate could be found. AsiaNews obtained reports that the archbishop had been dead for a few days when his body was recovered. The cause of death has still not been reported. According to AsiaNews, Archbishop Rahho suffered poor health and needed daily medication, following a heart attack some years ago.
Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said in a statement: “We had all continued to hope and pray for his release, something the Pope had requested on a number of occasions in his appeals. “Unfortunately the most senseless and unjustified violence continues to be inflicted on the Iraqi people, and especially on the small Christian community to which the Pope and all of us are particularly close in prayer and solidarity at this moment of great suffering.” “It is to be hoped,” Father Lombardi concluded, “that this tragic event may once more—and more powerfully—underline the responsibility of everyone, and especially of the international community, for the pacification of so troubled a country.” (Zenit)
Vatican bishop points to modern social sins
Bishop Gianfranco Girotti
VATICAN CITY, March 1, 2008—A Vatican official has listed a set of “social sins” to draw attention to sinful acts that have social ramifi-
cations in an interview with the Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano. The list which includes drug abuse, pollution, and human embryo experimentation spawned sensationalist titles from the secular press such as “Recycle or go to Hell, warns Vatican” or “Seven More Sins, Thanks to Vatican”. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti, the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary at the Vatican, examined today’s social sins in an interview published Sunday. “While sin used to concern mostly the individual, today it has mainly a social resonance, due to the phenomenon of globalization,” said Bishop Girotti. “You offend God not only by stealing, tak-
ing the Lord’s name in vain or coveting your neighbor’s wife, but also by wrecking the environment, carrying out morally debatable experiments that manipulate DNA or harm embryos,” said Bishop Girotti, according to L’Osservatore. The bishop classified as social sins drug abuse, “morally dubious” experiments such as embryonic stem cell research, polluting the environment, excessive wealth, contributing to income inequality, and creating poverty. The seven social sins are: 1. “Bioethical” violations such as birth control; 2. “Morally dubious” experiments such as stem cell research; 3. Drug abuse; 4. Polluting the environment; 5. Contributing to widening divide between rich and poor; 6. Excessive wealth; 7. Creating poverty. (CNA)
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March 17 - 30, 2008
Media is wrong about 7 social sins, says cardinal
Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, March 13, 2008—The Archbishop of Guadalajara, Cardinal Juan Sandoval Iniguez, responded to inaccurate information in the media about the supposed “new sins” outlined by the Vatican this week and said, “The sins are the same, what has changed is the how they are applied.” “The commandment is the same: thou shalt not kill,” the cardinal said, “and now there are many ways to kill if we apply this to the field of bioethics and scientific experiments,” in which human embryos are often destroyed. Cardinal Sandoval stressed that the social sins are not an im-
pediment to reaching heaven, but he noted that “going to heaven is not easy, the road is not downhill. The Lord said narrow is the door and few are those who find it.” He also stated that excessive wealth “goes against social justice; the goods of the earth are for all,” and he explained that the Church’s “social doctrine teaches that wealth should be redistributed between business owners and workers.” The cardinal’s comments came in response to media coverage of an interview given to L’Osservatore Romano by Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti of the Apostolic Penitentiary of the Holy See, in which he explained that today there are social sins such as genetic manipulation, that undermine respect for life, drug use and social inequality. The media incorrectly interpreted this application to the social sphere as an update of the Church’s seven deadly sins. (CNA)
World Youth Day to boost Australian economy by $231 million
Church has no interest in priests being politicians, says Nuncio in Mexico MEXICO CITY, March 12, 2008—The Apostolic Nuncio to Mexico, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, said this week the Church is not interested in having clerics be elected to political office, “as she wants her priests to be priests and her bishops to be bishops. She does not want them to be directly involved in politics,” he said.
“We are not going to fight to have a priest as mayor, because we have a different mission,” the archbishop said. “The role of priests is eminently religious. There is no reason to waste time on this, we are not going to fight for this; we know exactly what role we have to fulfill.” Archbishop Pierre made his statements in
Chiapas after blessing the first stone of the new Seminary of Holy Mary of Guadalupe. On Wednesday he is scheduled to meet with victims of the flooding from the Malpaso Dam. The archbishop will also visit the region where five months ago more than three thousand people were evacuated in order to escape the rising waters. (CNA)
Cardinal Bertone praises religious tolerance in Azerbaijan, opens Nunciature VATICAN CITY, March 11, 2008¯Despite a state of emergency in Armenia shortening his visit, Cardinal Bertone has successfully completed his trip to Armenia and Azerbaijan. The major theme of the visit was a focus on inter-religious harmony. Interestingly, the visit by the cardinal followed in the footsteps of Pope John Paul II, who visited the countries in 2001 and 2002 respectively. In Armenia, Cardinal Bertone met with His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, and gave him a Letter from Benedict XVI in which the Pope expressed his hopes for peace in the country and for continuation along the path of ecumenism. The cardinal
also met with representatives of the Catholic community of Armenia, which is a minority in the country. On March 6, Cardinal Bertone began the second stage of his journey, traveling to Azerbaijan where, in the capital city of Baku, he presided over the opening of the church of the Immaculate Conception, which was shut down by the Soviets 70 years ago. In his remarks at the opening ceremony, Cardinal Bertone said that the presence of the church is a sign “of true religious tolerance” in a land with a Muslim majority. “Civilization rests on a rock that is concrete—the serene coexistence of different religions,” he added. One of the most symbolic mo-
ments of the cardinal’s visit to this former Soviet republic— which is 94.3 percent Muslim—was his visit to the mosque of Baku. Allashukur Pashazade, head of Muslims in the Caucasus, received the cardinal in his residence in the presence of religious leaders of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone the Russian Orthodox Church and the Jewish community. announced that the Vatican Religious tolerance was also a would be opening a Nunciature theme for the Cardinal Secretary in Baku. According to Interfax, he of State’s meeting with the head praised “the current religion traof Azerbaijan’s Foreign Affair ditions in Azerbaijan and the Ministry (FAM), Elmar state policy in religion affairs” Mamedyarov. After meeting with in his announcement about the Mamedyarov, Cardinal Bertone new diplomatic ties. (CNA)
Handicapped call abortion for reasons of birth defects discrimination MADRID, Spain, March 10, 2008— The Spanish Committee of Representatives of Handicapped People has called a statute that allows for abortion of fetuses with birth defects “discriminatory”, and “against human rights”, stressing that “one of the rights of the handicapped is the right to be born.” Roser Romero, member of the committee, said the statute in the law on abortion “goes against the rights of persons.” “If nobody should suffer discrimination, and
the current Government talks about equality a lot, that statute does discriminate,” he said. Romero said abortion is a “delicate issue involving ethical convictions and religious beliefs,” adding that the question is “not about when life begins.” “Many women do not choose abortion freely,” he added, “but rather find themselves in a situation in which they don’t know how to move forward, sometimes out of ignorance,” and “sometimes they are quietly
pushed to abort by family members or doctors.” “One part of the problem is that handicaps are continued to be viewed as negative,” Romero went on. “Nobody wants them,” he noted, but “people don’t understand handicaps and what a person is able to accomplish if society will let them.” “It is amazing that in this age of information, there is still a failure to provide access to such basic information as this,” he said. Roser stated that even after a
prenatal diagnosis that detects an abnormality, “the doctor is not able to determine how much the handicap will affect the baby or how it will evolve after birth.” He stressed that whether or not a handicapped person advances or regresses in development depends on the kind of care he receives and the means that are given to him. “It is not the same to be born into a society that helps people as it is to be in one that leaves the problem only in the hands of the parents,” he said. (CNA)
SYDNEY, Australia, March 12, 2008—An independent study claims that World Youth Day 2008 will bring $231 million into the Australian economy. The Sydney Chamber of Commerce report took into account anticipated tourism earnings, business opportunities, global brand positioning, and cultural exchanges. Pilgrims’ expenditures on food, accommodation, transportation, and retail sectors are expected to top $231 million. “This study reinforces the view of many that WYD08 will not only deliver social benefits to Australia but will also inject substantial immediate benefits into Sydney’s tourism, hospitality and retail businesses,” said World Youth Day 2008 Chief Operating Officer
Danny Casey. Casey said that World Youth Day will draw 125,000 pilgrims to Sydney for the event, which will take place between July 15 and 20. “WYD08 will further project Sydney as a leading global city and further boost the cultural credentials of our great city,” said the Hon. Patricia Forsythe, Executive Director, Sydney Chamber of Commerce. Though the event is held primarily in Sydney, in the week prior to the event tens of thousands of pilgrims will visit parishes in other parts of the country under a program called Days in the Dioceses. The event will mark Pope Benedict XVI’s first papal visit to Australia. (CNA)
Social encyclical won’t be ready for summer VATICAN CITY, March 11, 2008—Benedict XVI’s third encyclical on issues related to Catholic social teaching and globalization probably won’t be ready before summer, according to Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone. The Pope’s secretary of state told the ANSA news service Sunday during his visit to Azerbaijan that he doesn’t think it will be published before the summer holidays as the Holy Father continues to work on it. He is “reflecting and revising,” added the cardinal The Pontiff dedicated his first two encyclicals to the virtues of love and hope. The Holy Father’s first encyclical “Deus Caritas Est” (God is Love) was released
in 2005, and “Spe Salvi” (Save in Hope) was released last November. “It needs to be written well. The Pope is making his reflections and annotations and is checking things rigorously,” said Cardinal Bertone. “I’m not saying the pope is a true perfectionist, but in a certain sense he is.” The cardinal added that the encyclical will also have to be translated into various languages before its release, and that the Vatican is hoping to publish a Chinese version along with the other main languages. “Spe Salvi” was originally published in eight languages. (Zenit)
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News Features
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Pope’s third encyclical to be titled “Love in Truth” VATICAN CITY, March 14, 2008—Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical will discuss Catholic social teaching, touching on issues as varied as poverty, peace, wars, international cooperation, energy sources, and globalization. The encyclical will be titled “Caritas in Veritate,” “Love In Truth,” La Repubblica reports. “Caritas in Veritate” will be Pope Benedict’s third encyclical. His first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est,” examined the virtue
of love while the second, “Spe Salvi,” focused upon the virtue of hope. The four-chapter encyclical will no longer be published on May 1 as previously planned, but will be delayed so that translations, especially the Chinese translation, may be completed. The decision to offer a Chinese version of the encyclical comes at a time when Pope Benedict is seeking to improve relations with the Chinese government. Last June, he sent a letter offering dialogue with Chinese authori-
ties. In September, Chinese priest Father Joseph Li Shan was installed as Bishop of Beijing with the approval of the Pope, an event that has not happened in fifty years. Other Vatican-approved bishops are believed to have been installed in the official state church in China. China has an estimated eight to 12 million Catholics split between an ‘underground’ Church loyal to Rome and a state-run Catholic Patriotic Association cooperative with the government. (CNA)
Church’s feeding program doing more with less in Davao UNMINDFUL of difficulties just to help the children suffering from chronic malnutrition, the Church’s feeding program persisted in doing more despite lesser funds. Hapag-asa, the Church’s feeding program and a flagship project of the Pondo ng Pinoy Community Foundation headed by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales and the Assisi Development Foundation, has already fed more children since last year. In a data furnished by CARITAS–Davao, Hapag-asa marked down the problem of malnutrition in the different parishes of the archdiocese following the completion of the six-month feeding program. Caritas Davao Coordinator Sr. Gemelina T. Gaudicos, TDM admitted that to feed the undernourished children daily for six months is not easy. That is why, she said, “help us feed the hungry.” She added that it really calls for concern, compassion and love for the undernourished children so that after six months, they will already “graduate” from this program and be considered healthy. As of now, the parishes of St. Jude in Malvar, Immaculate Conception in Mintal and the Our Lady of Lourdes in Bangkal completed the feeding program to more than a hundred children. Gaudicos said that before the children were
admitted in the program, they look weak and pale but after six months, they are already very participative and are responding well in their activities. Meanwhile, in a report given by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative Dr. Nicholas K. Alipui, showed that malnutrition results in damages to children which include lower intelligence, reduced physical capacity and reduction in productivity and sluggish economic growth which perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Alipui added that even in the international arena, malnutrition remains to be the main health problem that claims millions of lives. More than 5.5 million children under five die annually. In the Philippines, the malnutrition situation has not substantially improved in the last 15 years. Child malnutrition rate, for one, has remained at the 30 per cent level for over a decade. The Philippines, through the DOH and NNC, has committed to achieve the United Nations MDG that include, among others, the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, and the reduction of under-five mortality
Common action Fr. Vic Candia, parish priest of St. Jude Thaddeus parish this city that already com-
Rural Congress changes paradigm; now farmers do the speaking, discerning
pleted the Hapag-asa feeding program said, addressing the problem of malnutrition is not only the task of the government. “It must be a common action. Helping our children by feeding them well to address malnutrition problem must be the concern of all,” he said. Candia said that by nurturing the physical being of the children, “we can also help them develop become children of faith.” Fr. Voltaire Dimol, parish priest of the Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Bangkal, also added that in helping the children, “we also help shape their future.” “Treat your children as God’s grace and not liabilities,” Dimol told the parents who attended during the culmination program of the Hapag-asa 6-month feeding program in the parish, February 29. Presently, Caritas Davao has been reaching out to the areas of Bucana, Roxas Boulevard , Diversion Road in Maa, St. Francis Xavier Parish in Tibungco and St. James Parish in Bunawan all in the city where there are a number of identified malnourished children. Aside from that, Caritas is also continuing its medical assistance for the poor who visit their office coming from the different parishes of the Archdiocese Davao and neighboring dioceses. (Mark S. Ventura)
MISSIONARY Sisters of St. Columban (SSC) make efforts to empower “Subaneen” indigenous people of Mindanao through missionary work for the last 25 years. Serving Subaneen people, one of the tribes of Midsalip, Zamboanga de Sur, has been one of the priorities of the congregation, Sr. Katherine M. Santiago, SSC, told CBCPNews. Midsalip is a two-hour drive by public transportation from the provincial capital, Pagadian. During the last 25 years the Columban Sisters have launched several programs to empower the Subaneen people, such as health, education, livelihood programs, advocacy for women’s education, agriculture, justice, peace and integrity activities. Santiago said she worked for two years among Subaneen people helping their children
in education. “Our missionary work and presence also helped them to become self-confident in their lives,” the nun said. One of the instances was whenever the Subaneen people went to market, they were very hesitant to speak their own Subaneen dialect among themselves due to fear/shyness or inferiority complex, when there were non-Subaneen people around. But now, Subaneen people have finally overcome that shyness. They now talk in their own dialect even if non-Subaneen speaking people are around, Santiago said. Another instance is that all the pastoral/developmental programs of the sisters, such as the school and health related activities are run and managed by Subaneen people themselves. “It has been possible due to tireless efforts of our Sisters,
http://www.columbansisters.org/
Columban nuns empower indigenous people through missionary work
who have lived with them thick and thin, boosting their morale and giving them sense of hope to change their life for the better through catechesis, education and empowerment,” said the 26 year-old Santiago. Subaneen people are now better conscious of their health issues, education and take pride
in their distinct culture. In the process of working with Subaneen people, the sisters also have learned a lot, Santiago said. The Columban Sisters first arrived in Philippines in1937. Today they have five houses with 15 nuns (12 local and 3 foreign sisters). (Santosh Digal)
NGO launches program to empower migrant workers A NON-GOVERNMENT organization (NGO) has taken up the cudgels of helping overseas Filipino workers (OFW) as exodus of Filipinos looking for the proverbial greener pasture goes on unabated. A program meant to serve migrant workers, either already working abroad or still applying for an overseas job, and their families left behind, was launched on February 27 by Silsilah Dialogue Movement. Dubbed as Filipinos Overseas for Dialogue and Peace (FODP), the program is being implemented through the Silsilah Peace and Development Services (SPDS), an endeavor of Silsilah Dialogue Movement. The FODP seeks to empower
migrant workers through education and dissemination of pertinent information relative to overseas employment, like legal migration processes. FODP is collaborating with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to achieve this goal. Likewise, it aims to develop modules that can be used in the Pre-Employment Seminars (PES) required by POEA for Filipinos intending to work abroad. Other modules being developed for these seminars intend to help prepare Filipinos how to enter into a dialogue with other cultures. Another module provides support for prospective OFWs and their families left behind who need adjustment in the absence
of a family member. The phenomenon of out-migration and its ensuing consequences have rallied various nongovernment organizations (NGOs) including Silsilah Dialogue Movement to take up the cause of OFWs. They go after illegal recruiters, hold seminars to prepare would-be migrants to embrace a new culture, counsel them and their families on the psycho-social impact of separation. The social costs of migration are high; broken marriages; children growing up without a father or mother present; illegal recruitment; and women OFWs being raped and forced into jobs that rob them of dignity and selfrespect.
Although there are various grounds why Filipinos may want to go overseas, the primary reason remains economic. Even with the much-touted improved economy and rising value of the peso, most Filipinos still find themselves jobless. Those holding jobs here get a salary that does not measure up with their counterparts doing the same kind of work overseas. An estimated 9 million Filipinos are now working overseas employed in various capacities; holding consultancy jobs in multi-national corporations, doctors or nurses in hospitals, construction workers, caregivers or domestic helpers to wealthy families. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
IF the National Rural Congress (NRC) of 1967 was participated in mostly by diocesan and parish social action workers, now the paradigm has changed. Davao Archdiocesan Social Action Center (ASAC) Coordinator Fr. Rico Enriquez said, today “our farmers must do that speaking, the discerning, the proposing of their own ideas, the planning of how people come together to work for the common good of the country, and of themselves.” During the first Rural Congress, participants mostly diocesan and parish social action workers tackled the problems and issues of the rural poor until they came to the crucial conclusion that the Church must go to the barrios. “We are now reaching to the barrios. We wanted our rural poor to actively participate now, and in doing so, they will be effectively asserting the dignity that for so long has been denied to them,” he said. Enriquez said the task of the Church is to assist the rural poor in their plans and the reason was “the heavy realization that the rural parts of the country were the most neglected by both the government’s development programs and the Church’s pastoral care,” he added. During the July 2007 Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) assembly, the organizational structure and process for the National Rural Congress II were approved already by the plenary. Two parallel secretariats were set up for local consultations at the diocesan and sub-regional levels. There was also a timetable that comprises two phases: Phase I is from January to March 2008 in two parallel tracks. First, Diocesan consultations on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in rural development to be conducted by the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), and the offices for BECs and Indigenous Peoples (ECIP). Second, is the sub-regional consultations on rural poor sectors and rural issues to be conducted by the PhilippineMisereor partnership (PMP), the Association of Major Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) and the Rural poor Solidarity (RPS) coalition of non-government and people’s organizations. PHASE II is the congresses in four clusters (Mindanao Congress in June 18-20), Davao Digos Tagum and Mati cluster in March 12 with the theme “Ang dignidad sa Kabus sa Kabanikan– tubagon sa Ebanghelyo” and the national level congress being planned to take place July of this year. Enriquez added that in the archdiocese alone much interest has been generated in the NRC II from church circles and the general public including government agencies. “We are again reminded of the Social Teaching of the Church to focus our attention on the greatest victim of
our unjust economic order, the rural poor and the diminishment of their dignity as people and as citizens,” Enriquez said in an interview aired over DXGN 89.9, the archdiocesan radio station. Enriquez also outlined the framework of the NRC II which are the social teachings of the church, constitutionality, and non-violent and democratic means. He explained that the phrase “as people and as citizens” connotes the second guideline in the NRC framework—to review the social justice provisions of the Philippine Constitution. “The CBCP Pastoral statement notes that “the big effort of the government at alleviating rural poverty has been its on-going comprehensive agrarian reform program. Despite deficiencies in the drafting of the law by a landlord-dominated Congress, government must see to it that social justice programs like the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) should be reviewed and improved through consultations, and properly implemented towards its completion. This is for the common good of small farmers and landless workers,” Enriquez said. He added that this review also extends to other social justice measures affecting small fishermen, indigenous people communities, rural women and among others. “Environmental issues as consequences of irresponsible mining and logging, as well as of climate change, have also become major concerns today,” said Enriquez. A third guideline, he said, for the NRC process mentioned in the CBCP statement is engagement with government and the various sectors of society through non-violent and genuinely democratic means, “by first listening to the rural poor themselves, by decrying the shameful extra-judicial killings of unarmed crusaders for justice and equality and by calling on government to act.” The responsibility to act, Enriquez said quoting the CBCP statement “is just as much ours as those who have the official responsibility.” “Demands for good governance, transparency and accountability are thus essential factors in this call for social transformation,” Enriquez stressed during the “Radyo Katilingban” program of DXGN station manager Jose Neri Alminaza, aired from 7-8 morning, Monday to Thursday. Enriquez said through the social teaching of the Church, the social justice provisions of the Philippine Constitution and through “our active, non-violent engagement with government, we are confident and hopeful that this second National Rural Congress can indeed provide the renewed steps towards the social transformation of Philippine rural society today,” he added. (Mark S. Ventura)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
EDITORIAL
The desert parallel IN its pastoral statement read Palm Sunday in churches of the ecclesiastical province of Manila, the bishops used the imagery of the desert as a model for change. “The history of salvation teaches us that the long road to freedom inevitably passes through the desert of purification and conversion. Having escaped from Pharaoh, via the miraculous crossing through the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites considered themselves liberated. But they were not yet free, because they wanted to go back to their old ways in Egypt,” so goes the pastoral statement entitled “Towards a Morally Rebuilt Nation,” signed by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales and 15 bishops in the suffragans. This is a perfect parallel or so it seems. The desert is like a university where one learns the ropes of life. It is a linear process so much like the Shakespearean stage where one makes entrances and exits in life and supposedly completes the transit, or “passover” if you may, from a laidback situation to a better one—or a land flowing with milk and honey in the case of the Israelites. “People were disciplined and converted from their greed (Exodus: 17-21); and the desert which the Israelites feared to enter became for them a place of purification, discipline and conversion, before they could enter the promised land of freedom, forty years later. There are yet no proven easy short cuts to conversion and renewal,” continues the pastoral statement. But one thing good with the people of Israel in the desert is they had no robbers or thieves or liars. In fact, they were just too willing to give up their jewelries for a common decision to gild a golden calf—although for idolatry which is equally worse. Giving jewelries for the nation was also an experience of late among Thais during the regional financial crisis.
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
In the Philippines giving one’s resources for the country or for the common good is something that’s “extra terrestrial”. The opposite it true; and that’s were the desert will come in circles ad nauseam.
Views and Points NOW few people are looking for God— searching for His reality, asking for His presence. No, they are not questioning either their faith as a whole nor their belief in God in particular. They only feel somehow dismayed when God does not show His omnipotent power even when people are at their worst, much less does He demonstrate His anger towards capital sinners running around and bringing havoc to society. In the presence of evil men and women, many people simply feel somehow at a loss when God is precisely absent and nowhere to be found. Where is God when some known personalities continuously lie, steal and cheat as a matter of course? Where is the Lord when some characters commit graft and corruption as if there were no tomorrow? Where is God when some hideous individuals provide gambling for the gullible, make addicts by selling drugs, make money by marketing women and children? Where is the Lord when the powerful and the influential have fun killing or abducting people? Where is He?
Filipino spirituality OUR spirituality defines who we are. We are a pilgrim people on our way to our true home. We are pilgrims who made a covenant with God pledging to contribute our talents to the establishment of the Kingdom of God on earth. We are pilgrims bearing a unique spirit which gives direction to our journey—the spirit (kalooban) of Christ. In view of the variety of ways by which Filipinos express their spirituality, can we identify what might be the predominant characteristics of Filipino Catholic Spirituality? We think that a useful description of the essential traits of the Filipino Catholic is found in the Catechism for Filipino Catholics (nos. 34-44) which lists the following five traits, namely: Filipinos are first of all, family-oriented. It is in the bosom of their family that Filipinos find security, stability and a sense of belonging. Secondly, the Filipinos’ sense of hospitality leads them to be meal-oriented (salu-salo, kainan). Our traditional greeting even for strangers is: “Tuloy po kayo at kumain muna tayo.” Thirdly, Filipinos are kundiman-oriented whose lyrics often talk of sufferings endured. Fourthly, Filipinos are bayani-oriented; we are natural hero-followers of the malakas leader. Finally, Filipinos are spirit-oriented as seen in our popular beliefs about spirits dwelling in homes, trees, persons.
Our history sadly tells us that we have failed to create a society we can be proud of. Our political structures and processes have not matured for lack of transparency and accountability. Our economic policies and programs have failed to lessen the gap between the rich and the poor. Our cultural habits prevent us from nourishing values of compassion and common courtesies that are the foundation of a civilization of love and peace. We can conclude that our very spirituality is in need of reform since in its present state it does not have the maturity and the inner strength to transform our society and build up a new Filipino. —(CBCP Pastoral Letter on Filipino Spirituality, 1999)
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Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Where is God when those in tenure of power or in possession of guns degrade human dignity and violate human rights? Where is the Lord when the poor is degraded and the weak trampled upon? Where is God when more and more people have less to eat while big, fat industrial sharks take away even the food from the mouth of the hungry and the sick? Where is the Lord when public officials become more crooked and bigger crooks the higher they climb in the hierarchy of government? Where is He? How come God does not bring to justice even the worst criminals in the country preying on the weak and the helpless? How come the Lord does not bring to damnation these scum of the earth and the moral garbage of society? How come God does not punish those who take advantage of little people while worshipping the wealthy and the mighty, who engage in continuous big smuggling of black gold and top of the line cars, who make fun of the law and merely laugh at lawmen? How come God does not do something—anything?
Celebrating life on cam, take two!
But the condition of the world today and of our nation in particular challenges us with new questions, namely: is this all there is to Filipino spirituality? Have all our devotions and rituals and beliefs merely produced Filipinos who are family-centered, lovers of salu-salos and sentimental kundimans, bayani, and spirit oriented? Are these not also the values to be found in non-Christian societies? And do they suffice to enable Filipinos to create a national community where justice and freedom and peace reign?
THE Philippine film industry is dead, so they say. It is dead due to thriving piracy, dead due to trite themes of copycat directors and commercializing producers, and most of all, dead due to the mediocre values they preach. Thus the rush of indie (independent) films in the hope to resurrect, if not rehash, everything about Philippine cinema. These are flicks gaining international acclaims in their exclusive screenings, and some have been very competitive despite measly support. Last year, the Varsitarian, the official student publication of UST, launched CineVita, a film festival that features life-affirming non-commercial movies, with themes on values and ethics, spirituality, and social concerns. CineVita is no ordinary school film showing. The directors and scriptwriters of the films are being invited to discuss how they produce their original storylines, and screenings of foreign films are run with the permission of local distributors. The aim is to train future scriptwriters to wield the power of the pen in films with pro-life values. And unlike other film festivals, the selections are made by student writers. When we, the organizers, were conceiving CineVita, we agreed that when we toe “pro-life films” we don’t only mean life-and-death issues (abortion, euthanasia, suicide) although these would be elemental in the festival. The festival would include films that simply affirm the lives and narratives of people. That I think is a move away from the propagandistic style of affirming life as a “womband-tomb” politics only, and not really a celebration of the whole dynamics of living. That is, to let people see life’s beauty and magic. Among the themes CineVita stresses are family values. I remember the full-house acclaim for the French documentary La Marche de L’Empereur (in the version of CineFilipino’s Penguin, Penguin, Paano Ka Ginawa?), which shows how the monogamous emperor penguins do their courtship rituals, and how both parents would starve and struggle in the cold—and miles into the
Looking for God The problem is not really with God but with those asking the questions. In fact, they already know the answers long since but they simply forget it. But it is good that they remember the truths told them so many times over. When people look for the God of justice, they forget that He is also the Lord of mercy. When they ask for a God of punishment, they forget that He is also the Lord of forgiveness. When they seek the God of condemnation, they forget He is also the Lord of salvation. In other words, it belongs to God whom to punish or forgive, whom to condemn or save—when and how. This is in the domain of God, not the business of man. With neither malice nor ill-will, there is a tendency for people to create the god they want, to fashion the lord to their own faulty image, to make god fit their wrong wishes and faulty demands. How true is the saying that the ways of man are not exactly the ways of God! How sound is the truth that God knows more than any man. And that’s it as otherwise it can’t be.
Nicolo F. Bernardo
sea—just to feed and warm their young. Human parents would be shamed to see what these little penguins could do for their brood. Another feature was Zig Ziglar’s John Foppe, a story about a young man born without arms but who has been a professional motivator. “Fear, doubt, and resentment are the real disabilities in life,” he tells. Now on its second year, CineVita screened pro-life films on March 5 to 7 at UST’s Thomas Aquinas Research Complex. The keynote speaker was the columnist of the Philippine Daily Inquirer-Entertainment, Nestor Torre, a savvy critic of movies on both aesthetics and ethics. Among others, CineVita showcased Brillante Medoza’s Foster Child ; Mitch Albom’s Five People You Meet in Heaven; the short film Tutos, about a humble widower and tailor who struggles to make a living for his daughter; and a documentary on abortion providers and bioethics, made by UST Nursing students. This student documentary was featured on the front-page of The Sunday Manila Times for its special issue on the state of abortion in the country. The festival’s closing film was Cinemalaya’s Still Life, a story about the suicidal-artist James, who is comforted by Emma, who in turn is troubled by her unwanted pregnancy. The story was inspired by the personal experience of its writer and director, Katski Flores (a Star Cinema scriptwriter), who once had to mull over the meaning of life as she faced the threat of losing her eyesight and her career before her successful eye treatment. “What would you do if you lose that thing, that purpose, that system in you that you need most to continue in your career? Would you stop living and lose passion in life?” she asked her audience in the CineVita open forum. “Or shouldn’t you look for another passion, another purpose in your life? There is the choice to live, and a choice to die. But you cannot really overtake life for you will never know what the future holds; you will never know what really are at stake—the indefinite possibilities and surprises that
Lifeguard your life, or the baby inside a mother, could bring.” The French juror when Still Life was first shown at Cinemalaya was said to have recommended the film to screen in France; which leads me to another pro-life film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, that bagged the best director award in France’s Cannes film festival and the Golden Globe awards for best foreign film and best direction. The movie recounts the real-life story of a French journalist, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who became completely paralyzed at 43 and was only able to communicate by blinking an eyelid. Bauby moved from a complete rejection of life to a realization of his new reality. With the help of a speech therapist, he was able to leave his memoirs published 10 days before his death, under the title ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly’.” The Diving Bell had four Oscar nominations, together with another pro-life film Juno, which clinched the best original screenplay. The main character Juno (actress Ellen Page, who is by the way pro-abortion she could have won best actress for acting otherwise) is a pregnant teenager who initially thought of abortion before giving up the baby for adoption. Before going to the abortion clinic, she meets her classmate who tells her that her unborn baby could already feel pain. There’s a mix of comedy in the film that lessens the heavy mood and partisan politics that its plot could arouse. Michael Medved, a syndicated film critic, observes that there seems to be a “pro-life trend” going on in the choice of films of Hollywood. It is not a conscious selection though but a confirmation, a liberal anticipation of the values of the future that polls are showing, as there are less and less abortions and teenage sex in the US, while more and more youth identify themselves as “pro-life.” If a picture paints a thousand words, a movie can roll a thousand pictures. The best medium to deliver a message for the Gen X has been via images and visuals. Through these, people can see the truth for themselves, and see the value of living one’s story from beginning to end.
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
DADITAMA AS readers well know by now, Church leaders—Bishops and Clergy, Religious and laity in Daditama, meet quarterly each year. Our first meeting of the year last February 56, 2008 held in Davao City was quite historical since it was the first time that the Legislators coming from the ecclesiastical province of Davao had a dialogue with Daditama Church leaders. The dialogue was initiated by the Bishops of Daditama led by the Metropolitan Archbishop of Davao Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla, D.D. No less than the new Speaker of the House, Congressman Prospero Nograles of the 1st district of Davao City led the contingent of eight legislators out of the total 12 legislators of Davao City, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao Del Sur, and Compostela Vallley. The caucus focused on the so called antifamily and anti-life bills pending in the House of Representatives which have been a continuing concern of the Catholic Church. In fact, there have already been similar caucuses held earlier between CBCP with Legislators coming from both houses of Congress. Assuring the Daditama Church leaders, Congressman Nograles asserted that, “I will use my influence so that the Catholic stand will really come out.” As each of the other seven Congressmen expressed their views on the issue, it was clear that they would defend family and life as they promised to reject anti-life and antifamily bills in Congress. This is the first time that the Legislators from Daditama have publicly declared their support for the Catho-
DADITAMA Church leaders and Lawmakers’ caucus
lic stand on family and life issues. They have also recommended that other similar caucuses in the rest of Mindanao would hopefully take place since legislators are sensitive to the pulse of their constituents. Congressman Nograles for his part, further suggested that a lobby group should be formed to monitor the movement of these proposed bills. Congresswoman Almario of Davao Oriental urged the Church leaders to intensify the information drive and education in the grassroots level by creating a Family and life office in every parish of DADITAMA with competent people to provide information and services to counteract the use of contraceptives even among Catholics. The other legislators who participated in the Daditama meeting were Congressman Marc Cagas of Davao Del Sur, Congressman Antonio Lagdameo and Congressman Arrel Olano of Davao Del Norte, Congressman Manuel Zamora and Congressman Rommel Amatong of Compostela Valley, Congressman Isidro Ungab and Congressman Prospero Nograles of Davao City. We hope that there will be future meetings and collaboration—for the sake of the common good. Seeking the truth…Restoring integrity, this is the title of the last CBCP Statement “in the midst of restlessness and confusion.” Such a tall order, indeed. The Bishops further determined that, in the long term, “circles of discernment” would be formed in the grassroots level out of which would come forth the resurgence of the culture of truth
and integrity. Do we believe that such a radical change is possible? Is this the kind of change we can still believe is possible because we have the ability to make it happen? Who are we waiting for? The answer to this question will determine the response of every Catholic family, every Catholic community and every Catholic diocese. It would determine the passion with which the challenge will be taken up, or the same cynicism if not outright apathy, from us who will meet the challenge. And come Elections in 2010, the same “trapos” will run for office and win the elections and forget the common good. Yes, believe this change is possible. The Word made Flesh, Jesus Christ, has died but has risen from the dead. Yes, he is alive in, with and through all those who make His Word, their Word of Life. He has the power to change persons, place and things, and circumstances. Yes, this is what we profess as true and transformative of individuals and communities. This is our FAITH and our HOPE. Stop and look, and listen to all the little sparks aflame with Jesus everywhere. And best of all, YOU and I can make this happen by our own positive contribution to the light that breaks through the darkness. Let our renewal of Baptismal promises on Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday indeed be a more meaningful and relevant profession of FAITH and HOPE. The time is NOW. The place is here, wherever we are. And the person is YOU and ME, and US. HAPPY EASTER TO ALL! Daditama_now@yahoo.com.ph
Jose B. Lugay
Organizing a spiritual retreat HOLY Week brings us Catholics once again to experience our long-held traditions of recalling the passion of Christ and examining our past deeds and esolving not to sin again. The Filipino today still attends the rituals of Holy Week—the processions of familyowned images of the saints, San Pedro and his rooster, Santa Veronica with the face of Christ imprinted on a cloth, Santa Maria Magdalena with a bottle of perfume, Mater Dolorosa, the grieving Mother of Christ following the Santo Entierro, the Holy Sepulcher—handed down from previous generations. His spiritual needs however can no longer be satisfied with this traditional folk spirituality. The power of communication technology that instantly allows every person to see distant places and events as they happen has dulled our appreciation of past religious practices. But the spiritual vacuum created by constant TV exposure of consumer-led programs and commercials invariably create a backlash, a desire to access to more spiritual undertaking like attending spiritually fulfilling convocations or retreats specially during Holy Week. This is the opportune time for lay organizations to offer a spiritual retreat.
With the increasing population and the decreasing number of priests and religious, it is mathematically impossible to attend to the needs of all Catholics, even the 10% practicing Catholics only which is about 8 million by the latest census. Realizing this, some lay organizations, including the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, had answered to the call of conscientisized groups of people with specific needs for spiritual renewal. Recent demands come from graduating nursing students, members of the Bids and Awards Committees of government institutions, corporations with corporate social responsibility objectives and members of lay organizations. LAIKO’s experience in holding a retreat at the request of the SSS Bids and Awards Committee and earlier in holding a corporate retreat for a government hospital is now being offered to leaders of all lay organizations. The retreat may be given not just during Holy Week but any time of the year when a specific need for introspection and spiritual examination is needed. In this particular time when the nation is reeling with corruption scandals affecting the stability of the governance of this country, and in answer to the call for communal action by our bishops,
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD
By the Roadside A STORY is told of a boy who dipped into his bag and, thinking it had the ten-peso coin he received from his father, he was disappointed to find a piece of stone instead. He threw it away into the nearby river. His father asked, “Why did you do that?” The boy answered, “It’s no good. It’s just a piece of stone. I thought it was money.” That is how we often treat the environment. We think trees, rivers, mountains, birds and animals are ‘no good’ until they can be converted into money. Like the boy in this little story we tend to dismiss and take our environment for granted, especially in the Philippine context, until we can get cash out of it. It is then that in our eyes the environment acquires value. I nearly dropped what I was eating when I heard an ex-congressman say in public, “So what do we do with our forests, mountains and minerals in Eastern Samar? Just watch and admire their beauty?” To his mind they are no good unless converted into cash in people’s pockets (we can just guess whose pockets would be bulkier). But this is simply wrong. When God created the world, beginning with the light, the sky, the water, the earth and everything on it, the sun and the stars, the sea and its creatures, then the first man and woman, Genesis tells us, “God saw how good it was” or “God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good” (Gen 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 31). And isn’t God’s evaluation much better and more reliable than ours? He created the whole universe, everything in it, and that is why the whole created world is undeniably good. We can take this truth for granted because we often do not look into our life hard enough. Let’s take an instance. Why are we alive today? Because of the food and drink we take and the air we breathe—all creatures of God. This is evidence of the goodness of creation but it is an evidence you and I rarely bother about.
Laiko Lampstand our lay organizations should be ready to organize and give a spiritual retreat any time. This of course will not be complete without the help of the clergy who provides the most important part of the retreat—Confessions and the Holy Mass. The planning and organizing of a retreat, to be successful, has to be a professional undertaking. Knowledge of organization development and culture, values assessment and design of interventions will be essential. A priest who can deliver social doctrines relevant to the needs of the attendees will be essential. For a corporate retreat, actual experience in management, especially in strategic planning will be of great help. While the selection of the resource persons is important, there is no substitute for a welllaid plan and financial support for payment of supplies, rental of the venue and meals at least for 3 days and 2 nights stay in a relatively distant venue away from the organization’s office or place of work. LAIKO’s team for this is ready to assist any parish and lay organization on this matter. For more information, please contact Joseph Jesalva of Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas at 527-5388, 527-3124 or email laiko_phils@yahoo,com.ph
Why bother at all about the environment question?
The Scriptures and our faith give us a second most important reason why we must see the intrinsic goodness of God’s creation, of our environment. God’s Son became part of it by becoming a human being—an event we call the Incarnation. In the words of the prophet Isaiah to the Davidic king Ahaz who refused to ask for a sign: “Therefore the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel [because ‘God is with us’] (Is 7:14).” This prophecy was fulfilled in Mary’s becoming the mother of “Jesus” by the power of the Holy Spirit. When she uttered, “I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38),” we know that the mystery of the Incarnation had taken effect. What makes this so different, we ask. Isn’t a baby’s birth so ordinary? But, Scriptures and the faith retort, this one was staggering. The reason is, in the words of the angel Gabriel, that Mary’s child is the “Son of the Most High” (Lk 1:35). Imagine, God’s Son—a citizen of the earth too (having eyes, nose, mouth, ears, hands, a body, feet like we do—maybe even with some dandruff and falling hair, we might add)? He has shared our condition as creatures. Still, the more staggering thing is what this tells us: It’s not true that we are no good. It is immoral to value the environment only in terms of money. Why? God is present in it. ‘Immanuel’ or “God is with us” means not only that God is with us human beings; it also means he is with all creation. Thanks to Christmas, every day is now Christmas. The Son of the Most High has become one of us, one with our world. And because of this, as Gerald Manley Hopkins, S.J. puts it, “The world is charged with the grandeur of God.” Recently we have been having plenty of rains in Eastern Samar and in many parts of the country. Some families lost a few of their
members in the sudden onrush of flood waters. I was struck by the story of a father in a barrio whose family he had rescued because he was always ready with a banca. The boat enabled him and his family to get to safety. No matter what some experts say about there being no link between forest depletion and flooding in the country, the fact is that in our experience the less trees there are in our forests and around us the more prone we are to flooding. The father stands for the kind of people we must be: resourceful and vigilant regarding the welfare of our families and our environment. Flooding that results partly from a damaged forest cover or yawning mining pits is the symbol of sin: our neglect and abuse of our eco system because of greed and selfishness. The boat that was instrumental in rescuing the family is a symbol of redemption through our conversion to the care of God’s creation as part and parcel of conversion to God and to his values. Such conversion means bringing our lifestyles, including our ways of making a living, back under the light of God’s plan as made clear in the gospel values of his people. It means uprooting from our relationship with people and particularly with the environment the destructive claws of the selfmade need to dominate and the love of profit, i.e., greed. It means allowing our ways of treating the environment to be guided and permeated by our sense of God’s presence in it as in ourselves. Rather than make anyone overly pious, this will make us revere, love and respect Mother Nature even as we cultivate, only responsibly, her various resources as well as receive nourishment and support from her. I think it’s astounding how much we can learn from Mary especially in her song of praise we call the ‘Magnificat’. It is a song of someone who is fully one with God and is
A5 Fr. Melvin P. Castro
Speaking of Mary The ‘Secret’ of Mary decoded PEOPLE are fond of secrets—to know them and to decipher the mysteries behind them. Paradoxically enough, we have heard and read much about Our Lady. But what if there are more “secrets” behind the usual that we already know? What if there are deeper truths underlying what we already know about Mary? The “Secrets” of the Past: The Great Marian Apparitions Guadalupe (1531) In Guadalupe in the year 1531, Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego to whom she gave the comforting words, “Am I not here who am your Mother?” It was in the same occasion that Our Lady appeared as a Pregnant Mother—manifested by the black ribbon-belt above the level of the stomach indicating her pregnant condition. It was also a signal to the local natives who during the time of the Aztec civilization were known to have sacrificed children in order to end the drought, believing that the tears of the children would bring in the rain. Hence, for Our Lady to appear as a Pregnant Mother signified the sanctity of life borne in the womb of every mother. Rue de Bac (1830) In 1830, a full 24 years before the formal definition of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Our Lady appeared to St. Catherine Laboure asking her to strike and promote the medal known then as the Medal of the Immaculate Conception because of the inscription shown by Our Lady herself: O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee. And because of the many miracles attributed to the devout and pious use of the medal, it has come to be known as the Miraculous Medal. Lourdes (1854) In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December, 1854, Pius IX solemnly defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. And four years later in 1858, as if to affirm the Church wisdom in defining the dogma, Our Lady appeared yet again in France, this time in Lourdes and revealed herself to St. Bernadette Soubirous as the Immaculate Conception. Fatima (1917) At the height of the First World War, Benedict XV implored God for peace and asked Our Lady’s intercession for peace. With his Letter dated 05 May 1917, the Holy Father added a new title of Our Lady in the Litany of the Loreto, he invoked her as Regina Pacis, Queen of Peace. And eight days later, Our Lady appeared at Fatima identifying herself eventually as Our Lady of the Rosary and giving the world the Peace Plan from Heaven. This particular apparition of Our Lady shows how heaven is moved through the Church’s prayer. Just imagine that barely a week and a day after the Holy Father begged God for peace, God sent Our Lady as a sign that indeed God hears our prayers, and even giving us the path we should trod to obtain peace. In January 1925, a Belgian Cardinal, Joseph Mercier by name, who was so devoted to Our Lady under the title Mediatrix of Grace, composed a prayer “to obtain from Heaven the dogmatic definition of the universal Mediation of Mary together with the canonization of her great Apostle, Blessed Louis-Marie Grignion di Montfort.” The Flemish version of the prayer stresses precisely that through the canonization of the Blessed the new dogma might be realized. Cardinal Mercier did not live to see neither the canonization of St. Louis nor the definition of the new dogma. Lipa (1948) Interestingly again, in 1947 St. Louis was canonized and months later, Our Lady appeared in Lipa Carmel revealing herself under the title, Mary, Mediatrix of All-Grace. May we not consider this as the answer to the prayer of Cardinal Mercier? We are told that the reason the dogma Mediatrix of AllGraces was never defined is precisely because of the theological difficulty that there is but one Mediator and hence, all graces are through Christ alone. In Lipa Carmel, Our Lady— as it were—took pains in explaining her title why it is in the singular form, i.e. Mediatrix of All-Grace and not All Graces. She explained, according to Teresing Castillo, that what the title meant is that Our Lady “mediates” better yet, intercedes for us to Christ who is the source of all graces, Christ who is ultimately the One who is All-Grace. In Lipa Carmel, Our Lady explicitly asked the Carmelite Community to be consecrated to Mary as her slaves following the devotional way of St. Louis Grignon di Montfort. And of this, St. Louis Grignon di Montfort has these wonderful words: Jesus, our Savior, true God and true man must be the ultimate end of all our other devotions; otherwise they would be false and misleading…If then we are establishing sound devotion to our Blessed Lady, it is only in order to establish devotion to Our Lord more perfectly, by providing smooth but certain way of reaching Jesus Christ. Probably for us Filipinos, this description of true devotion to Mary by St. Louis is all the more challenging. Our being Pueblo Amante de Maria is unquestionable yet at the same time, such devotion to Mary should lead us closer and into deeper intimacy with Christ, her Son. That is the ultimate goal of authentic Marian devotion: to be with Christ.
fully blessed with God’s actions on her behalf. Mary teaches us that joy is something we find only in God our Savior and that it is especially found when we live the way of the humble or the ‘anawim’ rather than the way of the arrogant and powerful, of “the greedy and deceitful”. Mary is conversion’s star because she always puts God first in her life, constantly listening to and fulfilling his Word. This is the goal we must set for ourselves and our environment. Which is why we must work for the conversion of our people, rich and poor, to the values of God in regard to creation and, like him, acknowledge and nurture creation’s ‘goodness’. A television commercial once featured a remarkable woman. She was among the world’s wealthiest and owns an oil company with global reach. But she is a pretty strong advocate for the responsible use of oil so as not to deplete the earth’s ozone layer. She also goes to threatened environments and helps educate natives to the wisdom of conserving their forests and other natural resources as opposed to merely allowing their unimpeded exploitation for monetary gain. In simple terms we see in her someone converted to God and his ways on the environment question. In the film ‘The Streets of Philadelphia’ the lawyer who triumphs against his law firm that fired him for having AIDS cracks a joke to his lawyer, “What are 300 lawyers at the bottom of the ocean?” He answers his own question smiling, “A good start.” That would be the same thing with you and me converting ourselves to God and becoming instruments in other people’s conversion to responsible stewardship of our earth. What would that be? You guessed right. A really good start.
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Brothers produce indie film on peace THE Brothers of the Sacred Heart Philippine Delegation is currently producing an independent film titled “Hunghong sa Yuta” (Earth’s Whisper) that advocates peace in Mindanao. Brothers of the Sacred Heart Superior Delegate Bro. Noelvic Deloria said that while the story is fictional in terms of setting of time and place but its pacing is the reality of a war-torn Mindanao. Deloria said the writer-director wove the film’s narrative through peoples’ stories he gathered in the communities mostly affected by war. He added that the director and the executive producer of the film are bent on pursuing the task to peace advocacy and peace building. The film is written and directed by Arnel Mardoquio, a two-time Palanca awardee, a playwright and theater director, actor and a long time peace activist and is produced by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Philippine Delegation in cooperation with Loradzen Foundation and Sky Phoenix Production. Actors of the film are theatre artists composed of Christian and Tausug-Muslim youth and a lay missionary under the program of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart Youth Ministry. Interesting characters in the film are essayed by veteran stage actors in Davao City and Jolo, Sulu. The premier night is set on April 25, 2008 at SM City–Davao, also in commemoration of the Earth Month celebration.
Earth’s whisper Earth’s Whisper or Hunghong sa Yuta in the Visayan dialect is about the sad plight of deaf and mute children pawned in the war as
child soldiers. Their lives changed for the better when they met a mysterious teacher from far-away who introduced them that education will liberate them from their hopelessness. It became a redeeming act when they started to learn to communicate through sign language and discovered that they were also capable of playing their traditional instruments of gongs and kulintangs. Other protagonists in the story are played by surviving mothers who finally decided to spare their children from joining the war as child soldiers and save them for a hope-filled future. The film is in Filipino but is subtitled in English, French and Spanish.
Muslim and Christian understanding
In its peace advocacy mission in Mindanao, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart have been initiating creative projects that hone potential talents of youth and children in theatre and music. Working with the young Tausugs of Jolo is not new to the brothers, since they have provided a center for two weeks for the Tausug artists last December 2006 in time for their theatre production tour in Davao City. And a semblance of collaboration is being sustained through Hunghong sa Yuta (Earth’s Whisper), a maiden film project. Deloria said that the film is also an avenue to further the spirit of interreligious dialogue as portrayed by the casts. “Though the actors are Tausug Muslims and a Lay missionary who speaks the indigenous language of Tagakaulo tribe of South Mindanao, some film characters who are Muslim Tausugs are being played by Christian settlers,” said Deloria in an interview,
Wednesday at the Brother’s Central House in Manga St., this city. The artistic process, he said, was also at the same time a cultural immersion process wherein one has to accept and learn from each other’s tradition and cultures.
Collaborative energy
Saying that independent film projects entail highly collaborative processes, Deloria believes that it is also akin to a convergence of positive energies in advocating for peace in Mindanao. Deloria said artists (like in this indie film) as peace advocates play a big factor for everybody to immerse themselves in learning the diverse cultures and languages in Mindanao. “If we really mean peace then we must learn first the culture of our people here in Mindanao,” said Deloria. “We have to respect the rights of everybody and allow our children to play instead of them being pawned as soldiers in war,” he added.
Mobile cinema
Deloria said their independent film is also intended to be a mobile cinema. As a mobile cinema, he said, the film will be toured around communities, parishes, colleges and universities in Mindanao, Luzon and Visayas. “Part of the package is a peace forum after the film showing to get signatures calling for peace and to share how to build peace together not only in Mindanao but also throughout the world,” said Deloria. When possible and feasible, he said, the film will also be shown not only in the Philippines but also abroad. (Mark S. Ventura)
Church concern on mining ‘ignored’ WHEN it comes to mining issue, the Catholic bishops’ formidable foes are not the mining firms, but the deaf ears in the government. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines lamented the government’s continuing promotion of mining, despite a growing chorus of those who are against it. Laoag Bishop Sergio Utleg, CBCP Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples chairman, said the government never cared to listen despite strong concerns from the locals and the Church. “It has been a decade since the CBCP first released a statement of concern regarding mining, and yet through these years, the government has been unwavering in implementing ‘development aggression,’” he said. Utleg said mining, in the Philippine experience, not only destroys the environment but has become the vehicle for the violation of human rights, “ethnocide” of IP communities, “and even deaths.” He criticized the government for adhering to business interests over the welfare of the people who suffer much from the ill effects of mining operations. “Here, we see the effects of pressure from
business companies and foreign money over the government that nothing is happening to our request even if we’ve made it known long ago,” he said. The unceasing invitation for foreigners and local governments to enter into or accept mining ventures, he said, is against the law. The law of the land, Utleg noted, explicitly states that the environmental and human rights should be nurtured in communities,
especially in that of Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Thus, the prelate reiterated an earlier appeal of the CBCP for the government to repeal the Mining Act of 1995. “We are calling for the cancellation of all types of mining applications and the revocation of approved mining agreements,” he said. He also called on for the “stoppage of all mining operations” especially those in ancestral lands. (Roy Lagarde)
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Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, for his part, said the resurrection of the Lord is the source and origin of hope. “We are a people of hope because our faith is not in vain. Our earthly struggles are given meaning and direction by our faith in the risen Christ,” he said. “Let our lives therefore be a testimony of this faith. In facing the challenges of each day as well as in addressing the concerns of our own communities, let us act as people of hope,” Vidal added.
Eucharistic Week from May 18 to 25 as part of the committee’s pre-International Eucharistic Congress preparation for the Dioceses of the Philippines. In a report submitted during the CBCP Plenary Assembly this January, committee chair and Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud said the 2008 National Eucharistic Week will serve as a “period of preparation according to the manner that the bishops and the clergy decide to do.” “We would like to propose that the daily thematic guide
for the National Eucharistic Week be based on the Foundation Theological Document of the 49th International Eucharistic Congress that has been approved and sent to us by the Vatican,” Bancud said. The prelate added that during the plenary assembly, the committee has been entertaining application and reservation of slots to the CBCP’s official delegation to the 49th International Eucharistic Congress. But as of press time, the official delegation is yet to be made final. (Kris Bayos)
government officials, church leaders and civil society groups and others for corruption charges. “This time it’s back and forth like a figure eight,” he said, referring to his planned travel chart. In between the journey he would halt and celebrate Mass in different parish with different themes. This is to talk to the people about the importance of peace through sermons in local churches. He has prepared various issues as part of the planned sermons and these included environmental protection, extrajudicial killings, the war in Mindanao and a host of other problems. “I do not want to focus on politics alone because it will defeat the very purpose of my journey, which is to preach about peace
and love,” he said. Picardal said he knew how important peace is, having seen for himself various types violence since childhood. Then he decided he should move on and continue his work as peace advocate and campaigner for environmental protection. Born in Iligan City in 1954 and eldest of eight children, he entered the St. Alphonsus Minor Seminary in 1968. He studied at University of San Carlos, Cebu (1971-75), was imprisoned for seven months during early years of martial law (1973-74). He finished AB philosophy in 1975 and theology at St. Francis Regional Major Seminary, Davao. After professing his vows as a member of the Redemptorist Congregation in 1977, he was ordained priest in 1981.
He has spent eight years of missionary work in Mindanao helping form Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). The priest helped organize BECs in Bukidnon in their struggle against logging (a total log ban was declared in 1989). He earned a Master’s degree at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley, California (1989-91) and a doctorate degree in theology from the Gregorian University in Rome (1991-95). Since 1995, he has been based in Davao as professor and academic dean. He can be described as a theologian, BEC expert, poet, environmentalist, musician, scuba diver, tai-chi practitioner, mountaineer (climbed Mt. Apo seven times), cyclist and peace advocate. He biked for peace across the Philippines in 2000 and around Mindanao in 2006. (Santosh Digal)
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to take measures to stop corruption in government. The priest has already drafted the letter which he hopes to deliver personally to Arroyo in May. The letter will inform the President “that under her regime, the culture of graft and corruption persists.” If the President will not face him, the priest will make sure the letter reaches Malacañang on May 18. It will take him about 56 days to reach Manila from Davao City from March 24. He said his Davao-Manila journey was also understood as part of his peace advocacy. “This would be my first time across the country,” he said. Picardal made record for being the first to bike from Davao to Pagudpud (a distance of about 2,083 km) seven years ago. For last couple of months the President has been criticized by
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Bishop to churches: Reject funds from firms promoting abortion, contraception ACCEPTING donations from those who promote abortion and contraception will compromise the Gospel of the Family and of Life, and will greatly harm efforts to strengthen and defend the family and life. Thus is what Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo, president of the Pontificium Consilium Pro Familia, said when asked if receiving funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives and abortifacient drugs merits any credit. In discouraging receipt of such donation, the cardinal said, in a letter addressed to Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, that the funds offered come from actions that are morally evil—abortion and contraception. “Accepting such funding creates confusion among the faithful, as they give the impression that abortion, and the production, distribution, and use of contraceptives and abortifacients are acceptable practices,” the prelate said. The cardinal likewise said the risk exists for pro-family groups
receiving similar funding to be at least silent about the unacceptability of such products. “It would provide those working against the family grounds for extremely persuasive criticism to attack and discredit Church organizations and the Church herself, especially through charges of incoherence and insincerity,” he said. Trujillo, however, said that God’s providence is never lacking for those who keep His teachings. “If the faithful are seriously formed in Christian values and frequently strive to receive God’s grace, especially through the sacraments of the Eucharist and Confession, they will be extremely generous in supporting truly laudable projects with their prayers and contributions in terms of time, effort and resources. “In this regard, there is no need at all to receive funding from questionable sources, an action that besides will go directly against efforts toward truly Christian formation,” he said. (Kris Bayos)
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see if he will reveal things more “explosive” than what Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada and Joey De Venecia disclosed. “Then we will know, if the first Statement issued by the CBCP will be changed,” said the prelate.
On the other hand, the Archbishop told the people to continuously seek the truth and act. And if they see something wrong with the government, speak; if none, then let there be silence. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
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The Catholic bishops’ hierarchy has proposed it in many ways before, and Manila bishops stressed it again—nothing new, but the resolve maybe. “We suddenly noticed that the widespread corruption we see in others is also the corruption we detect in ourselves,” the letter read. The bishops then called on the faithful to start change in society from within themselves. “True liberation will mean that we enter our desert of repentance and conversion. Change lies only at the heart of every person. Let us begin there,” it read.
Divine intervention
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The truth of the resurrection is plunged into crisis the moment Christians do not follow the footsteps of Christ. “Where Christians follow the footsteps of Jesus in alleviating from whatever pain and suffering they have, in loving as Jesus loves, there will be no crisis of faith,” he said. To celebrate Easter, he said, is for the entire Christendom to become “carriers” of the mystery of Easter, “living and present in us, transforming our world with the life of the Resurrected Christ.”
CBCP Monitor
The moral leaders also said in their statement that “God’s help is always needed” to “start again.” “We need God’s grace, if we are to encourage one another, forgive each other, pay our debts to the justice that we all violated, and start again, not at the banks of
“our Sea of Reeds,” but beyond the streets of EDSA,” it read. “Believers and lovers of God, like true Christians, do not have to hate, destroy each other even if they want to correct the mistakes of the past or the present and of each other,” the statement read, adding that “we can restore truth and justice without resorting to violence and hatred.” “It is for everybody’s good especially the very poor among our brothers and sisters that we now address this call for communal renewal,” it said. The statement also added that the country needs “leaders from the highest to the lowest and their families” not only to lead but also to give “examples of repentance and true humble conversion.” “Given the example and the encouragement, the citizens will be inspired to follow where in the past they hesitated to proceed— to their ‘desert’ transformation,” it read. (CBCPNews)
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lations with other Christian churches. “She is a mother to us. We have learnt a new way of being Christian being in the movement. We also have imbibed how to sanctify ourselves doing ordinary chores of life in the world,” Banaag, who has met her personally several times, said. Lubich visited the Philippines twice—first in 1982 and then in 1997. During her second visit, the Royal and Pontifical Catholic University of Santo Tomas, Manila, awarded her honorary doctorate in theology. In 1966, the Philippines was the first country to start Focolare in Asia. From the Philippines, other centers of Focolare were established like Japan, Hong Kong, Australia, India and others. In the country the movement has about 30,000 members comprising priests, bishops, nuns, lay people all over the country. About 50 Filipino Focolare members are working abroad. Apart from the promotion of spiritual life, the movement runs several social service centers “bukas palad” and has two vocational training centers in the country, besides having health and livelihood projects. Focolare centers are all over the country, such as in: Baguio, Mandaue (Cebu), Davao, Jaro (Iloilo), Sta. Mesa (Manila), Makati City, Pasay City, Quezon City, San Fernando (La Union), and Tagaytay. Lubich was “a protagonist of the Churches rebirth before and after the Second Vatican Council. Her movement is committed to interreligious and ecumenical dialogue on a global scale,” said AsiaNews, a PIME Rome based Catholic news agency. The Focolare movement has two million members in more than 180 countries including from other religions. Born in Trento on January 22, 1920, Chiara was baptized as
Silvia. Marked by poverty at early stage, during World War II, Lubich decided to commit herself to God and instinctively follow a “new path” in the Church, of lay consecration and a community founded on love, which mirrors the “family of Nazareth”. Then Pope Paul VI received Chiara for the first time in 1964. The same pontiff recognized the movement as “A work of God.” Pope John Paul II approved the guidelines of the Council in the Focolare as an expression of the “radicalism of love” in its charisma. Gradually the ideals of Focalare spread throughout the Catholic Church and in other Christian churches, including the Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches. In the subsequent time, the Movement started to accept members from multicultural and multi religious societies. Today more than 350 non-Catholic churches and ecclesial communities have been living the works of mercy all around the world. In 1970s, along with her Movement of the Work of Mary, Chiara established rapport with diverse religions—Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, and Hindu. Chaira shared her Christian ideals with Jewish world and also among the Muslims, the Buddhists, and the Hindus. In 1994 she was nominated honorary president of the World Council of Religions for Peace (WCRP). Michael Downey, editor of The New Dictionary of Catholic Spirituality wrote, “Lubich’s spiritual writings open up the heart and soul of one of the most significant religious figures of our times. In our own day, there may be nothing more important than giving witness to the hope and the possibility of unity between and among people of all faiths—and of those with no faith at all. This is the legacy Chiara leaves to everyone concerned with the unity of all people.” (Santosh Digal)
CBCP Monitor
Features
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Pope: Evangelizing culture a priority VATICAN CITY, March 6, 2008—Give “fresh vigor” to the work of evangelization, and make it a priority, Benedict XVI urged the bishops of Guatemala. Upon receiving the members of the episcopal conference in audience at the conclusion of their five-yearly visit to Rome, The Pope invited the prelates “to continue with renewed energy the Church’s evangelizing mission in the context of modern cultural movements and globalization.” The Holy Father encouraged them to give “fresh vigor to preaching and catechesis, and proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the foundation and ‘raison d’etre’ for all believers.” The Pontiff pointed out the impact on evangelization of the 2nd American Missionary Congress held in Guatemala in 2003, and the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean that took place in Brazil last year. “The evangelization of cultures,” he added, “is a priority task to ensure that the word of God remains accessible to everyone and, ab-
sorbed into the mind and heart, becomes the light that illuminates those cultures and the water that purifies them with the message of the Gospel which brings salvation for all humankind.”
Pastor’s heart Speaking of the grave economic and social situation affecting the nation, Benedict XVI said, “Your pastors’ hearts filled with concern for the increase in violence and poverty that affects large numbers of the population and causes extensive emigration to other countries, with grave repercussions on personal and family life. “This situation is an invitation for you to renew your efforts to show everyone the merciful face of the Lord, of whom the Church is called to be the image, accompanying and serving with generosity and dedication, especially those who suffer and are most in need.” The Holy Father referred to the Guatemalan people’s “profound religious sentiment,
Sacrament of penance in crisis, says bishop VATICAN CITY, March 6, 2008— The sacrament of confession is experiencing a crisis, and the Church needs its pastors to be better trained to overcome some particular difficulties, says the regent of the Apostolic Penitentiary. Bishop Gianfranco Girotti said this in reference to a course taking place this week on the “internal forum” ¯ questions of conscience — organized by the tribunal of the Apostolic Penitentiary. He said the seminar, which ends Saturday, has been promoted to “strengthen the training of priests, who are the ministers of reconciliation.” “As with vocations and the institution of marriage,” the regent told L’Osservatore Romano this week, “so also the sacrament of penance must confront a period of crisis, which though it began a number of decades ago, is becoming much worse.” Bishop Girotti recalled the results from a study conducted by the Milan-based Catholic University of the Sacred Heart to underscore the serious state of the current difficulties in understanding the sacrament of confession, “which is the key to the health and salvation of souls.” According to the 1998 study, 30% of the faithful in Italy do not believe that priests are needed in confessionals. In fact, 10% consider the priest gets in the way of a direct dialogue with the Lord, while 20% say it is difficult for them to speak with another person about their own sins. The prelate told the Vatican
daily that the crisis isn’t just among the lay faithful, but has begun “to cross the door into seminaries, colleges and ecclesiastic institutions.”
Confessor’s mission During Bishop Girotti’s intervention in the course, he paid special attention to “some unique aspects of the confessor’s mission, with regard to certain categories of penitents classified as ‘special.’” The first type are divorced people and couples that are not married, with regard to whom “the doctrine and official Church practice try to follow a path that nevertheless allows us to remain faithful to the mandate to administer God’s forgiveness and mercy.” Because of this, “the confessor has the obligation to propose solutions, from time to time, that would heal the situation or transform it into a relationship of friendship and solidarity, the only conditions necessary to once again receive the Eucharist.” Bishop Girotti said that confessors should always be especially caring in dealing with people who are divorced and remarried, who “should have their own particular place in the caring love shown by the pastor of souls, and not just in this extreme situation, but also in the daily pastoral activities.” “A pastoral practice inspired by the Gospel,” he added, “cannot and should not ever make a person despair.” (Zenit)
Themes announced for youth day catechesis SYDNEY, Australia, March 16, 2008—The Pontifical Council for the Laity determined the themes for World Youth Day’s catechesis sessions, which will focus on the Holy Spirit and missions. Organizers of the July 1520 youth event announced the Vatican’s choices for the three days of catechesis, to be led by bishops from around the world in over 300 locations in Sydney. On Wednesday, July 16, bishops will guide youth in learning about the call to live in the Holy Spirit, drawing from Galatians 5:25. The following day, youth will consider the Holy Spirit as the soul of the Church, as explained in 1 Corinthians 12:13. Friday, July 18, will be focused on the theme of World Youth Day, taken from Acts 1:8. That day’s catechesis will highlight the Holy Spirit as the principal agent of mission. “Catechesis represents the spiritual heart of World Youth Day, when young people from various backgrounds and circumstances unite to listen, re-
rich in forms of popular expression which must mature into solid Christian communities.” And he reminded the bishops that “firmness in the faith and participation in the sacraments strengthens your faithful against the risk posed by sects or by supposedly charismatic groups, which create disorientation and can even endanger ecclesial communion.” “The tradition of your cultures sees in the family the basic nucleus of existence and of transmission of faith and values,” said the Pope. However, given the “serious pastoral and human challenges” which the institution of the family is facing, “the Church remains dedicated [...] to the solid formation of people who are preparing for marriage, constantly infusing faith and hope into homes and praying that, with the necessary help, they may fulfill their responsibilities.” Benedict XVI also reminded bishops that their priests “need constant encouragement to continue along the path of true priestly sanctity, [...] as well as the means necessary to increase their human and theological formation.” (Zenit)
Benedict XVI discusses euthanasia’s spread VATICAN CITY, March 7, 2008— Benedict XVI broached the topic of euthanasia when meeting with Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg, which is set to become the third country in Europe to legalize euthanasia. A communiqué released by the Vatican press office said “specific reference was made to the defense of human life and to the ongoing legislative process aimed at the liberalization of euthanasia” during today’s meeting.
Juncker’s Christian Social Party, aided by the Church in the country, attempted to block the legislation allowing for euthanasia, but the bill passed 30-26 in a vote in Parliament last month. The bill still needs to pass a second reading for it to become law. The measure is expected to pass and could come into force before summer. Luxembourg, a country of some 480,000 people, 87% of whom are Catholic, is the third country of the European Union
to legalize Euthanasia. Holland was the first to do so in 2002, and Belgium followed suit in 2003. Under the law, doctors are allowed to help terminally ill patients to end their lives, but only under the condition that the patient has made repeated requests, and with the consent of two doctors and a panel of experts. During the nearly 30-minute meeting, the Vatican communiqué said “the cordial discussions provided an opportunity to evoke the good relations that exist between” the
Vatican and Luxembourg, “and to examine a number of questions of mutual interest concerning the current situation of the country.” “Attention also turned to the international situation,” the note said, “in particular to the future of Europe, to the Middle East and the presence of Christians, to conflicts in various parts of the world and to interreligious and intercultural dialogue.” The Luxembourg leader met afterward with Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states. (Zenit)
Prior puts Pauline Year to music, composes reflections on the Apostle Paul I heard a prayer or I had a religious thought or really delved into a scripture passage, there was an echo inside of me, and then, at a certain point, I started writing music.” Regarding the hymn and litany, he said both are available on the Web site for the Pauline Year: “This music does not have a commercial purpose. What’s more, all the songs are free; they can be downloaded for free.”
Background
ROME, March 12, 2008—Knowing a celebration isn’t complete without a theme song, the prior of the Abbey of St. Paul Outside the Walls has composed the official hymn of the Pauline Year. Benedictine Father Johannes Paul Abrahamowicz composed both a hymn— “You Have Been Raised With Christ”—and a litany—”The Oil Flows Over”—for the Year of St. Paul. The Pauline Year, called by Benedict XVI in 2007, will run
from June 28, 2008, to June 29, 2009, and will commemorate the second millennium of the birth of St. Paul. Father Abrahamowicz explained to ZENIT the origin of the hymn and litany: “They are actually musical reflections; I don’t consider them my own work or composition in the strict sense.” The Benedictine prior said he’s not a musician by training, “but ever since I was a child, I’ve been very receptive to music, and when
Father Abrahamowicz said that to understand the hymn of St. Paul, it must be seen in light of the larger composition he wrote in Italian on Paul titled “Il Figlio di Dio. Israel e i Cristiani” (The Son of God: Israel and the Christians). “In that work I include what has struck me the most,” he said, “is the fact that Saul fell to the ground, and is practically holding in his hands the authorization to kill Christians; the Risen Christ appears to him and he realizes that the people around him don’t understand what is happening.” The Benedictine prior continues: “They say, ‘This guy is act-
ing like he’s blind,’ and [Paul] doesn’t even know at that point if he will recover his sight, but he practically says: ‘I’m blind, and I will be blind for the rest of my life; but the last thing I saw will help me see beyond.’” Father Abrahamowicz adds, “Paul realizes that this authorization he has to kill Christians has become his own death sentence, so he has a momentary crises as he wavers between escaping or staying there by himself, but he decides: ‘I will believe in Jesus, who I have seen; I will proclaim Jesus; now others will try to kill me, precisely because I have this authorization that says whoever believes in Jesus will be led to their death.’” “This is a fascinating theme for me,” said the composer. “So throughout the music the passage about Paul is present, where he will rise up and will say: ‘Kill me; the last thing my eyes saw will be the first thing I will proclaim in the new world: Jesus is the Son of God.’ “And then he began to preach about the Son of God, and this teaching is precisely the hymn of St. Paul.” (Zenit)
Qatar Gets 1st Catholic Church
flect, discuss and pray in harmony,” said Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Fisher, coordinator of World Youth Day ’08. “I encourage all pilgrims who are attending WYD08 to begin reflecting on the catechesis themes now,” he said, “so that come July, they are spiritually prepared to witness the Spirit and gain as much as they can from their WYD08 experience.” Benedict XVI is scheduled to participate in World Youth Day; it will be the Pope’s first trip to Oceania. (Zenit)
DOHA, Qatar, MARCH 16, 2008—Faithful in Qatar, led by the prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, welcomed the nation’s first Catholic church, built in the seaside capital city of Doha. Thousands of faithful joined with Cardinal Ivan Dias in the inaugural celebration Friday. Cardinal Dias came as the Pope’s special envoy, bearing a chalice sent by the Pontiff. The tiny peninsular nation in the Persian Gulf, bordering Saudi Arabia, has a population of less than 1 million, with a strong majority of Muslims. The Catholic population is multiethnic, including many of the foreign workers in the booming business of natural gas and oil production. Mass will be celebrated at the Church
of Our Lady of the Rosary in 14 languages. “It is an event of historical importance which, after 14 centuries of prohibitions, sees a place of worship for Catholics established in this country of the Gulf,” Vatican Radio explained. The structure, which bears no crosses or bells, stands on land that was donated to the Church seven years ago by Qatar’s emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa AlThani, who is favorable to interreligious dialogue. Cardinal Dias conveyed the Pope’s greetings to those present, among whom were the apostolic vicar of Arabia, Bishop Paul Hinder; his predecessor, Bishop Bernardo Gremoli; the apostolic nuncio in Kuwait, Archbishop Paul-Mounged El-Hachem; and
the apostolic vicar in Kuwait, Bishop Camillo Ballin. “Finally, the Catholics of Doha have their house where they can meet in freedom and security,” Bishop Hinder observed, explaining that the 150,000 Christians present in Qatar “come above all from the Philippines, India and from about 100 other countries of the world.” A Qatar government official spoke of the Church as the bearer of “a message of peace” for the world. He affirmed the nation’s openness to Christianity; authorities have granted permission for five other Christian churches in Qatar. Vatican Radio, however, cautioned that government openness has not warded off the threat of attacks from Islamic funda-
Cardinal Ivan Dias
mentalists on the local Christian community. The station noted that embassies in Qatar have invited their citizens to exercise prudence. (Zenit)
People, Facts & Places
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
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CBCP Monitor
Markings
DLSU to hold Conference on Interfaith Dialogue next month DE La Salle University, one of the country’s primer Catholic educational centres, will hold the “Conference on Interfaith Dialogue in the Philippines” on April 24-26. The theme is “Theories and Practices of Interfaith Dialogue in the Philippines,” according to a communiqué from the University. The goals of this conference are to bring together local/national practitioners and theoreticians dealing with interfaith dialogue; identify, analyze, and indicate possible links/convergences of emerging field practices of and theoretical/academic approaches to interfaith/religious dialogue; encourage conversational exchanges among
practitioners to document the diversity of practices both in the field and academic settings; and fortify relations among practitioners across regional, linguistic and religious boundaries. The conference is to deliberate topics such as dialogue: its ends and means, world and local traditions: possibilities for mutual-enrichment; authority: dealing with continuity and change; theory and practice of dialogue: their ideal relationships; text and context: harmony and/or dialectics; the power/systems context: possibility of dialogue/praxis in strategized/globalized worlds; The utopic imagination: providing hopes for future con-
versations; diversity, harmony, and solidarity; and the human person: sine qua non of dialogue. Some of the speakers are Bro. Karl Gaspar, CSsR, Dr. Napoleon Mabaquiao, Jr. Delfo Cortina Canceran, Fr. Leonardo N. Mercado, SVD, Dr. Jun Maningas, Mike Hawkins, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, Dr. Ed Domingo, Dr. Dennis Erasga, Dr. Dante G. Simbulan, Jr., Dr. Rito Baring, Delfo Cortina Canceran, Dr. Gansham “Raj” Mansukhani and others. The Conference is organized by the College of Liberal Arts’ Emergent Program on Worldviews and Beliefs. (Santosh Digal)
Int’t Augustinian Youth Festival to be held July in Australia Visayas-Mindanao at Maryshore Retreat House, Talisay City, Negros Occidental, November 30-December 2. About 750 youth across the country attended both events. The event is organized by the Asia Pacific Augustinian Conference (APAC) that includes Thailand, Korea, India, Japan, Australia, Indonesia and Philippines, according to Fr. Rommel Par, OSA, Assistant General for Asia Pacific. APAC is an international body of Augustinian male and female religious congregations from Asia Pacific.
From the Philippines, the Little Sisters of the Assumption, Augustinian Assumptionists, Augustinian Sisters of our Lady of Consolation and others are members of APAC. The APAC Commission on Justice and Peace organizes cross-cultural immersion program in the region. The focus is to give avenue for an integration of theory and practice in formulating a model community development programs which are responsive and relevant for the needs of the wider community in the mission, said Sr. Carmeli Catan, OSA. (CBCPNews)
20 Chinese youth joins Manila for WYD AT least 20 Catholic Chinese youth would join the Manila archdiocesan youth delegation to the forthcoming World Youth Day (WYD) in Sydney, Australia this July. The Papal Nuncio of Hong Kong recently wrote Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales if the Chinese delegation
could join the Manila archdiocesan group to participate at the gathering of Catholic youth from around the globe. Rosales has accepted the offer, Bro. Rey Domingo, SFA, program coordinator of the Ministry for Youth Affairs, told CBCP News today. “It is a rare chance for the youth
of China to participate such occasions like World Youth Day, so Hong Kong Pro-Nuncio asked the help from Rosales,” said Domingo. Rosales likewise offered to assist the Chinese delegates to take part at the youth event, which will be graced by no less than Pope Benedict VXI himself.
Assisting the Chinese delegation is seen as a kind of apostolic friendship between Rosales and the office of Pro-Nuncio in Hong Kong. “Before proceeding to Sydney, the youth delegation will have an orientation program in Manila sometime in April or May,” said Domingo. (CBCPNews)
Prelature of Ipil finishes rural congress consultation THE Prelature of Ipil has just finished a diocesan consultation in preparation for the celebration of the Second National Rural Congress that will be held in Manila sometime this year. This initiative is in response to the call of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to commemorate the first rural congress held in 1967 and “review the continuing issues confronting the majority of our people living in the rural areas.” Ipil Bishop Julius Tonel said the consultation was simplified in the prelature after sectoral representatives convened to tackle various issues concerning them. Tonel, in a phone patched interview, said the consultation was participated by farmers, fisher folks, representatives from the
women sector, the youth and representatives from the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs). The 3-day rural congress consultation delved into the continuing issues confronting the majority of the people living in the rural areas; representatives made a reporting on various issues and concerns affecting their respective sectors. Common issues that were brought up are the mining problem, displacement of the indigenous people, the inexorable problems on illegal fishing and sea pirates, farmer’s problem on the high cost of fertilizers and the unavoidable increase in the prices of basic commodities. Aside from that, Tonel added that the congress also touched concerns and issues affecting the
women and youth sector. While in the first national rural congress the call was “the church must go to the barrios,” this time “our farmers must do the speaking by themselves, the discerning, the proposing of their own ideas, the planning of how we must as a people come together to work for the common good of the country,” according to the CBCP Statement “The Dignity of the Rural Poor— A Gospel Concern” issued in January 2007. In this light, the Philippine bishops are adopting a See-JudgeAct methodology in convening the Second National Rural Congress which has five (5) objectives: 1) To describe the current situation of various sectors of the rural poor; 2) To describe the role of Basic Ecclesial Communities
CELEBRATED. Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, (OSA), 125th year of service to the Church in the Philippines. From its foundation as the Congregacion de las Hermanas Agustinas Terciarias de Filipinas in 1883 following the rule and spirituality of St. Augustine, the Congregation has endured with God’s grace, and has remained faithful to its Charism, upholding always its Augustinian, Marian and Missionary character. The Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation, traces its roots to Mother Rita and Mother Consuelo Barcelo y Pages, OSA and 2 other Spanish Beatas who arrived in the Philippines on April 6, 1883 from the Beaterio de Mantelatas de San Agustin in Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish Beatas broke new ground as they invited, as early as 1885, native Filipino aspirants into a newly emerging community of religious women. Such daring was contrary to the norms and practice of the Church of the 19 th century Philippines where the first qualification for acceptance into religious life was “liempieza de sangre” or purity of blood, referring to being of pure Spanish blood. The outbreak of the Philippine Revolution in 1896 and the SpanishAmerican War in 1898 forced Mother Rita and Mother Consuelo to go back to Spain. But the Filipino Sisters who were accepted in 1890 as “Agustinas Terciarias” refused to disband as a community of religious women. Through the help of Msgr. Bernardino Nozaleda they were able to re-open their orphanage in San Sebastian, Manila. In this place, the Sisters started a school for young girls – the beginnings of now La Consolacion College, Manila. The OSA apostolate today counts 23 schools, owned and administered by the Congregation, located all over the country. Of these schools, one is a University, 20 have Grade School Departments, 22 have High School Departments, and 15 have Tertiary or Collegiate Levels with 2 of these Higher Institutions offering Graduate and Post-Graduate Programs. Four of the schools offer Free Night High School. In the Philippines, the OSA also have 5 SocialPastoral Ministries in Zambales, Cavite, Dumaguete, Cagayan de Oro, Bukidnon and Bulacan. They administer 5 Retreat Houses and 4 Dormitories as special ministries. Integrated in all Ministries are Desks at Tahanan Social Service Center: Desk for Women, Desk for Ecology and Indigenous Peoples, Desk for Justice and Peace. The congregation has also established communities abroad to cater specifically to the needs of Filipino migrants. The process for the Cause of Beatification of Mother Consuelo was formally opened in September 30, 2002. Last December 9, 2005, Rev. Fr. Fernando Rojo, OSA, received the Document from the Congregatio de Causis Sanctorum (Sacred Congregation for Causes of Saints) at the Vatican in Rome Re: AFFIRMATIVE VOTE for the DECREE of VALIDITY at the Diocesan level of the Process for Beatification of Mother Consuelo Barceló y Pagés, OSA.
THE International Augustinian Youth Festival to be held in Australia, July 2008, coincides with the World Youth Day in which Pope Benedict VXI is slated to attend. The theme “Together in faith, Augustinian Youth Serves” is aimed at enkindling the hearts of the youth with the Augustinian spirit of “one mind and one heart on the way to God with a sense of mission to serve.” As a prelude for the World Youth Day and International Augustinian Youth Festival, APAC Youth Commission held two APAC youth festival for Luzon at Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Laguna last November 9-11, and
CELEBRATED. 6oth Foundation anniversary, Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion (CPC), Archdiocese of Capiz, February 19-23, 2008 with the theme “CPC @ 60… Heritage of Faith, Tradition of Catholic Education. The theme reflects the role the college has been pursuing in view of its apostolate of Catholic education. The college’s motto is “Pro Deo et Patria” (For God and Country). The opening mass of the five-day affair was presided over by Most Rev. Onesimo C. Gordoncillo, D.D. Archbishop of Capiz and Chairman, Board of Trustees. It was followed by the Launching of the Diamond Jubilee Project, and the Renovation of the Façade of the Main Building. The College Rector, Rt. Rev. Msgr. Vicente F. Hilata, P.A.,V.G., and members of the Capiz clergy concelebrated the Mass. The first day had the Formal Opening of the 60th Foundation Anniversary activities and a Torch Parade participated in by CPC Alumni. Activities on the second day include Festival of Dances Parade and Street Dancing, Playground Demonstration, Career Fair/Exhibit, “Pasundayag: A Cultural Show of the Grade School”, Food Festival and Student Night. The third day, February 21, had Quiz and Spelling Bee, Research Conference, Square Off Debate, Symposium on AIDS with Dr. Rene Bullecer as Speaker, and Symposium on Media, the New Communicator with Mr. Bernard F. Cañaberal as Speaker; “CPC sa Gaisano”, a mall event featuring photo exhibit; a short program and CPC Alumni Registration; CPC on Stage 2K8, and a showcase of CPC Talents in the Main Quadrangle. February 22 was Employees’ Day, and February 23, Alumni Homecoming, with Engr. Edmund Beluso as CPC Alumni President. Fr. Rey Villanoy, Ph.D., Vice Rector, chaired the Over-all Working Committees; with Fr. Glenn Baes M.Ed., Dean of Student Affairs, and Fr. J.A. Emilio Arbatin as Assistant Chairs.
(BECs) and church-based programs in rural development; 3) To review the impact of key social legislation and to engage government agencies in the implementation of ongoing social reform programs under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA), etc.; 4) To apply the Social Teachings of the Church to the concrete problems of Philippine rural society and to arrive at recommendations and action plans; and 5) To collate and disseminate research findings through media channels, and to promote continuing dialogue among local churches, NGOs and academe in the social transformation of rural—as well as urban poor—communities. (Mark S. Ventura)
CELEBRATED. Msgr. Jose Alba, 60th year of sacerdotal ordination, March 14, 2008. Msgr. Alba was ordained on March 14, 1948 at St. Elizabeth Metropolitan Cathedral in Jaro, Iloilo. He belongs to the Archdiocese of Capiz but currently resides at St. John Marie Vianney Center, a center for sick and elderly priests in the archdiocese of Jaro. CELEBRATED. Rev. Fr. Ramon Masculino, Jr., 25th anniversary of sacerdotal ordination, March 15, 2008. Ordained in March 15, 1983, Fr. Masculino served as Parochial Vicar from 1997-1999 at Sacred Heart Church in Mount Vernon, NY, USA. He was a Pastoral Counselor Intern from 1999-2002 doing counseling ministry in the archdiocese of Washington, USA. Fr. Masculino is currently the Parish Priest of the Parish of Our Lady of Candles, Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral, Jaro, Iloilo City. He is also the Chairman of the Archdiocesan Commission on Clergy and the Executive Secretary of the Third Archdiocesan Synod of Jaro and the Administrator of St. John Marie Vianney Center at St. Vincent Ferrer Seminary Compound. DIED. Rev. Fr. Mario R. Valle, 53, former Vicar General of the Diocese of Tagum, of lingering illness; March 3, 2008. Ordained on April 5, 1978, Fr. Valle finished his theological studies at Regional Seminary of Davao (REMASE), Davao City. He served the diocese in different capacities until appointed Vicar General in 1984, at the same time Parish Priest of the Christ the King Cathedral Parish. In 2001 he served as parochial vicar in St. Joseph/St. Thomas Parish, Staten Island, New York City, USA. Fr. Valle was buried at Christ the King Cathedral, March 10, 2008. DIED. Sr. Nelia M. Pacia, DC, a member of the Marillac community of the Daughters of Charity, February 21, 2008.
Read the daily church news at www.cbcpnews.com Lourdes Grotto in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, a replica of Our Lady of Lourdes in France; where thousands of devotees flock during Lenten season. (PAID AD BY FARMACIA ORO.)
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CBCP Monitor
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Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
B2 Updates
The Easter Eucharistic precept
B3 Diocese
Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo
B4 Commissions
Pastoral Concerns
The first NCR vocation camp
B5 Statements
Holy Week Message 2008
B6 Reflections He is risen
B7 Social Concerns Alay Kapwa
Catholic nuns clench their fists during a prayer rally at a school gymnasium in Manila last Feb. 17. More than 3, 000 protesters gathered during a Mass, led by Roman Catholic groups, to support a “search for truth” into an alleged government corruption scandal battering the current administration.
Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
The prophetic role of Religious (And the Christian) By Bishop Francisco F. Claver, SJ IN the continuing crisis, our thoughts return to EDSA and Martial Law days quite automatically. But how many of you here remember what happened then? I had occasion recently to go over some CBCP statistics on bishops, and this is what I found: only two of us ordained bishops in pre-martial law days were still attending CBCP meetings regularly. The rest of 11 survivors were enjoying retirement. There were 25 bishops ordained during martial law and still active today (18 are retired). All the rest of the CBCP, 65 of them, came after martial law and hence, had no direct experience of the struggle the older bishops went through to get from their relatively uninvolved position in 1972 to their strong oppositionist stance in 1986. Are the same proportions represented in this hall today? I don’t see too many oldsters like me. If I mention those statistics, it is to point to something that people today don’t much advert to—or have forgotten or simply don’t know. It is the history and development of the bishop’s role in the Philippine politics. The story is simply told. In 1972 when martial law was imposed, a very palpable climate of fear took hold of the whole country. Nobody dared to speak the truth of the situation those brave enough to speak out were “stockaged”, as we used to say. Under those circumstances, it was only the Church (meaning the bishops) who could speak out. It took time for them to do so but they gradually became the mouthpiece of people who were too terrorized to speak out. That was how in 1986 they could come out with their statement condemning the snap elections of that year, an act that eventually led to EDSA I. I would like to point out simply by this historical fact that if the bishops entered actively into the political scene during martial law, it was because the laity were not doing their part, prevented as they were by their own fear and by the dictatorial regime that was the government during those hard fourteen years. In our meeting of bishops last week, this fact was brought out: once the laity recovered their voice with EDSA I, there was no reason for the bishops to continue taking the lead as they had done all through martial law. One result of this failure was the laity or at least many of them have not grown up completely and risen to their task, so till today we have people clamoring for the bishops to take the lead for another EDSA. Those people to me sound like spoiled children demanding help from their parents¯parents who themselves, I’m afraid, have not grown up too well either! “Daddy (or Mommy?) lead
us again as you did in 1986 to another EDSA!” That doesn’t strike you as funny? Or as the unvarnished fact? These days we have plenty of examples of that history, I’m afraid. Just the other day, I heard a cleric on radio speaking at a rally. Nothing remarkable about that in view of what I just said. But something made me shudder: his speech and manner of speaking was too much like a political harangue. Sure enough, in the same broadcast, a later commentator remarked that the cleric sounded like a run-of-the-mill politician! Hearing that remark, I was reminded of a long-ago conclusion of mine regarding Church and poli-
The prophetic witness of religious By their vows, religious embrace a vocation of counter-cultural prophetic witnessing. Thus, their vow of poverty: it is basically a witnessing against greed and materialism, against the wrong uses of wealth a witnessing in the economic sphere? The vow of chastity is witnessing against the hedonistic spirit of the world, the easy eschewing of sacrifice and shirking of responsibility simply because it is hard; and the vow of obedience, by the subordination of one’s will to that of another, goes against the false ambitioning for power and its wrong uses, clearly against, in the Filipino context, our spirit of palakasan. All three, to sum them up, are a counter-witness against selfishness for the sake of the kingdom (or “the reign of God”, if you think “kingdom” is sexist language!). Against selfishness, and therefore ultimately a vocation for the advancement of the common good. What I have just pointed out is all very traditional spirituality as far as religious are concerned. But yours is only part, come to think of it, of a wider spirituality common to all who accept Christ’s Gospel. So what we will be speaking of next is not special to you as religious but is part of that wider spirituality that belongs to all Christians. Charity, justice, truth, fidelity, trust, care for the least of our brothers and sisters, etc. all such Gospel values we see are needed very badly in the present morass we as a nation are deeply mired in today.
“The bishops are pastoral men, they cannot give up hope on us sinners! They are always open to conversion, the possibility that with the help of God’s grace, people can turn away from sin! Blame the bishops for that seemingly naïve stance. But it is part of their pastoral duty and vision to be always open to the possibility of conversion.” tics from martial law days: “When the Church involves itself in political questions (in their moral aspects, that is), it should do so in a non-political way.” It was something we learned in the faith-ideology debate in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Simply put, it meant our prophecy must not be selective, condemning for instance the government but not the NPA for violations of human rights, or today, GMA but not those pushing for her downfall solely because it is good for their own accession to power. From hearing that ecclesiastic over the radio the other day, I will have to add: “And not in politician’s haranguing way either!” Just the other day too, I had occasion to tell someone something that has stuck with me all through my years as an active bishop: At Boulder, Colorado, when finishing studies at the university there, I overheard a Benedictine Abbott telling students: “A prophet must always belong to the community to which he is being a prophet. That community is his pulpit.” He had in mind the case of prophetic theologians who leave the Church: Once they leave, they are not listened to as easily as before they lose their pulpit. With that thought we come to your role as prophets.
The witnessing of all Christians in the present situation Right now, in the midst of confusion, the searching for truth is what the bishops were most concerned about in their pastoral statement last February 26. Earlier they had proposed that we form “circles of discernment” at all levels of the Church to help us in the great work of self-and community-reform with regard to what they felt was our besetting sin as a nation: corruption, overwhelming and deeply entrenched corruption. That proposal, by the way, was panned mercilessly as platitudinous by your favorite newspaper! In their plea for forming circles of discernment, the bishops were in effect acknowledging the lack of wisdom in our present situation. And in that lack truth is the first victim. That discerning is what you are doing right now. But as Archbishop Quevedo noted at our last meeting, the problem is that when we invite “experts” to help us in our discernment, there is a danger that the expert speaks from certain biases (as I’m doing now?), so those same biases will perforce have to be grist for the discerning mill as well. So I trust
Religious / B2
Liturgical year and popular piety: The Holy Week Palm Sunday Palms, olive branches and other fronds Holy Week begins with Palm Sunday, or “Passion Sunday”, which unites the royal splendor of Christ with the proclamation of his Passion”. The procession, commemorating Christ’s messianic entry into Jerusalem, is joyous and popular in character. The faithful usually keep palm or olive branches, or other greenery which have been blessed on Palm Sunday in their homes or in their work places. The faithful, however, should be instructed as to the meaning of this celebration so that they might grasp its significance. They should be opportunely reminded that the important thing is participation at the procession and not only the obtaining of palm or olive branches. Palms or olive branches should not be kept as amulets, or for therapeutic or magical reasons to dispel evil spirits or to prevent the damage these cause in the fields or in the homes, all of which can assume a certain superstitious guise. Palms and olive branches are kept in the home as a witness to faith in Jesus Christ, the messianic king, and in his Paschal Victory. The Paschal Triduum Every year, the Church celebrates the great mysteries of the redemption of mankind in the “most sacred triduum of the crucifixion, burial and resurrection”. The Sacred Triduum extends from the Mass of the Lord’s Supper to Vespers on Easter Sunday and is celebrated “in intimate communion with Christ her Spouse”. Holy Thursday Visiting the Altar of Repose Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the place of repose has traditionally been referred to as “a holy sepulcher”. The faithful go there to adore Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours. It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for the viaticum of the infirmed. It is an invitation to silent and prolonged adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day. In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term “sepulcher” should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a closed tabernacle and should not be exposed in a monstrance. After midnight on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude without solemnity, since the day of the Lord’s Passion has already begun. Good Friday Good Friday Procession The Church celebrates the redemptive death of Christ on Good Friday. The Church meditates on the Lord’s Passion in the afternoon liturgical action, in which she prays for the salvation of Holy Week / B7
Updates
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The Easter Eucharistic precept and the law of annual confession
By Fr. Jaime Achacoso, J.C.D.
B.
I HAVE heard conflicting criteria regarding the so-called Easter Precept and the sacrament of Confession. My Lola tells me that the Church commands that I should go to the Sacrament of Reconciliation at least once a year—during Holy Week—and receive the Eucharist. On the other hand, my friends in the university tell me that in this age and time of too many people and too few priests, it’s not practical to bother them unless one has mortal sins, so that the oncea-year precept refers more to going to Communion rather than going to Confession. Can you enlighten me on this? The Easter Eucharistic Precept Due to a widespread neglect of the sacrament of the Eucharist in the Middle Ages, various Church Councils, from the 6th Century onward, enacted laws obliging the faithful to receive the Holy Eucharist, especially on the principal feasts. The IV Lateran Council (1215) established a general law for the Latin Church requiring the reception of Communion at least once a year at Easter by those who had attained the age of discretion. This law, which was confirmed by the Council of Trent, was incorporated in the 1917 Code of Canon Law. The actual Code of 1983 retains the annual precept, with some modifications: Can. 920 — §1. All the faithful, after they have been initiated into the Most Holy Eucharist, are bound by the obligation of receiving Communion at least once a year. —§2. This precept must be fulfilled during the Easter season, unless it is fulfilled for a just cause at some other time during the year. The primary subject of this precept, therefore, are all the faithful who have received First Communion, barring excusing causes such as moral or physical impossibility. This obligation to receive Holy Communion at least once a year should be fulfilled normally during Easter time, understood as the period from Palm (Passion) Sunday to Pentecost Sunday. The satisfaction of the Eucharistic precept outside this period required a just cause such as illness, or residence in a remote area where there is no minister to celebrate Mass or administer Holy Communion but it must be satisfied within the space of one year, counted from the previous Communion (cf. c.203). In the Philippines, this precept applies as legislated in the universal law of the Church, and no special faculty is needed to comply with the Easter duty outside
Easter time: each faithful, in conscience, shall decide whether he has sufficient reason to do it in the prescribed time. Finally, it must be said that since the same Code of Canon Law, in c.914, imposes the responsibility of ensuring that children who have reached the use of reason are nourished by the divine food as early as possible on the parents and those who take their place as well as on the pastor, one can conclude that—in the case of children—the observance of the Eucharistic precept indirectly bears upon the parents or guardians and upon the parish priest too, who thus become the secondary subjects of this ecclesiastical law. This was actually stated in the 1917 Code (c.860), which though removed in the present Code as something not strictly proper in a book of law, nevertheless is quite morally binding.
during the year. But the long queues in the confessionals of many churches during Lent and Easter season are an eloquent manifestation of the common sense of the faithful that even the just man falls seven times each day; furthermore, as John Paul II reminded the faithful: the individual and integral confession of sins with individual absolution constitutes the only ordinary way in which the faithful who are conscious of serious sin are reconciled with God and with the Church (Reconciliatio et paenitentia, 33). Indeed, the faithful are all too aware of that warning of St. Paul to the Corinthians: Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily, will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord…for he who eats and drinks un-
the sacred ministers to enable the faithful to fulfill the duty. Indeed, a series of simple calculations can serve to quantify this duty of the pastor—at least in a general way. In the Philippines, there is an average of 15,000 Catholics for every priest. Now according to the population profile of the Philippines, roughly 68% of the population falls in the 10-60 years old bracket—which, presumably, is the age group to which (roughly) the law of annual confession applies. Assuming that the same percentage holds for the Catholics too, then there should be 10,200 Catholics of 10-60 years of age for every priest in the Philippines. Even if each of these faithful only went to the minimum once-a-year confession, this
The Law of Annual Confession In the Philippines, fortunately, one hardly needs to be reminded of the Eucharistic precept: the Sunday Masses are noteworthy
Illustration by Bladimer Usi
for their long queues of people coming to receive the Holy Eucharist. In this connection, it would be good to be reminded of yet another disposition of the 1983 Code of Canon Law: Can. 989 -After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation to faithfully confess serious sins at least once a year. Definitely, the canon does not lay down this law for any specific time of the year, nor does it lay down for everyone. It binds only those who are aware of having committed a mortal sin and have not yet had it absolved in sacramental Confession, and he may go to Confession any time
worthily, without distinguishing the body, eats and drinks judgment to himself (I Cor 2, 27-28). Herein lies the nexus between the Easter Eucharistic precept and the law on yearly confession of serious sins: To receive Holy Communion worthily at Easter time, it seems logical that the best way to prepare for it is with individual sacramental Confession. Duty of Pastors to Facilitate Confession If the obligation exists for the faithful to go to confession at least once a year in case of serious sins, and the just man falls seven times each day, there seems to be a corresponding duty on the part of
would mean that the pastors, if they are to fulfill their duty, should on the average hear about 30 confessions daily throughout the year. There has been a lot of talk of the need for moral recovery in Philippine society and politics. Such moral recovery cannot happen in a collective way, in a mass action. The moral recovery of a society depends ultimately on the individual personal conversion of its members—a conversion that is not possible without the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Here indeed is a point of self-examination for the pastor of souls, and a possible point of redress for the parishioners.
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you will not dismiss as platitudinous my reminding you of the need that, in the discerning the bishops are asking us to do, we put it in the context of prayer and humble listening to the Spirit and to one another. Always. Those circles of discernment are envisioned, as I said earlier, to be the vehicle for self and community conversion in regard to the endemic problem of corruption. In the fight, we start with our part in it since the bishops feel that the biggest problem in regard to corruption is our easy condoning of it as the perquisite of power. There is a methodology of change inherent in the process and it centers on the participation of people being targeted for change: shared prayerful (theological) reflection, decision-making, action. The whole thing is the “communal action” being bruited around much these days it’s not just “manning the barricades”, as it were, of another EDSA if that is the end result of the communal process of the discerning-deciding process. Contrasts: witnessing in martial law times and today It is instructive to look at the way the CBCP has dealt with heads of government. The realization is quite recent for me actually because of the “GMA Resign Movement” that the bishops never asked Marcos to resign all through his dictatorial regime. Was it because of fear? Or lack of sophistication in matters political? There was a growth after all, even for them, in their conscientization process. I believe it’s something more: an almost instinctive sense of the limits of the extent of their involvement in politics. Thus, in their snap election statement which led to EDSA: They judged the election flawed, and its flaws, and its falsified
results had to be corrected. They put the burden on Marcos to do that correcting as he was responsible for the sins committed. Failing that correction by the guilty man, the task of correction, the bishops clearly stated, fell on the sovereign people. That was the birth of people power when the people acted. But note: the form of government then was dictatorial and government meant only Marcos. All other government institutions were under his complete power. Hence the people power of EDSA I took the form it did, a non-violent but nonetheless effective overthrowing of a government. Today, the structures of a (relatively!) working democracy are in place. That’s why immediate recourse to another EDSA does not recommend itself. The structures of redress are at hand, and they must by all means be used to their limits, even tested for their weaknesses or lacks (with a view possibly to Charter Change someday to correct their infirmities?) This was the direction of the last CBCP pastoral statement and that is why the bishops did not favor the immediate recourse to another EDSA the prospect of an infinite series of EDSAs following after EDSA III did not fall within their purview of good morality. Ejecting a corrupt ruler might be good morality but if the means to achieve that end carried with it a greater danger of more and more such disruptive EDSAs, the almost certain eventuality must enter into our moral equation. But were the bishops completely against the resigning of a sitting president? Not at all. Voluntary resignations are within the purview of the Constitution. That possibility cannot be ruled out. But rightly or wrongly, the bishops were equivalently saying in pushing for the truth that only after the due establishment of the truth of current
allegations against the President should more positive action be taken. That seems to be their mind as I see it. As with Marcos back in 1986, the attitude of the bishops seems to be this: the burden of correcting one’s sins falls primarily on the sinner himself. The bishop’s stance was pastoral, not political, and they reverted to type in their latest statement. But as at EDSA, if the sinner does not correct his (“her,” in our present case!) sins, the people must step in. But here the bishops did not immediately ask for an EDSA. They instead said for the people to use all the constitutional means available under our current system to correct those abuses through the means provided by that same system. The bishop’s statement that the President herself and all other branches of government concerned must do everything in their power to get to the truth that part of the statement was met with wide cynicism: She’s not going to do what she should be doing. True, but precisely because the bishops are pastoral men, they cannot give up hope on us sinners! They are always open to conversion the possibility that with the help of God’s grace, people can turn away from sin! Blame the bishops for that seemingly naïve stance. But it is part of their pastoral duty and vision to be always open to the possibility of conversion. Let me end with that thought and ask you religious whether, in your defining of your own task of prophetic witnessing, you do not share in their pastoral outlook. It is that of the Shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to go looking for the one lost sheep. (This is the full text of a talk for the AMRSP General Assembly, held at Santa Isabel College, Manila, on February 29, 2008.)
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Lay preaching on Good Friday And more on Masses in Lent (Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following questions:)
Q: Could a layperson, with the diocesan bishop’s permission, licitly preach after the Gospel at the Good Friday liturgy, since it is not a Mass?—C.F., Oakland, California A: Laypeople may preach on certain occasions. The 2004 instruction “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” in No. 161, states: “As was already noted above, the homily on account of its importance and its nature is reserved to the Priest or Deacon during Mass. As regards other forms of preaching, if necessity demands it in particular circumstances, or if usefulness suggests it in special cases, lay members of Christ’s faithful may be allowed to preach in a church or in an oratory outside Mass in accordance with the norm of law. [The Code of Canon Law, Canon 766] This may be done only on account of a scarcity of sacred ministers in certain places, in order to meet the need, and it may not be transformed from an exceptional measure into an ordinary practice, nor may it be understood as an authentic form of the advancement of the laity. All must remember besides that the faculty for giving such permission belongs to the local Ordinary and this as regards individual instances; this permission is not the competence of anyone else, even if they are Priests or Deacons.” Some canonists argue that “Redemptionis Sacramentum,” along with a 1997 instruction regarding the collaboration of the laity with the priestly ministry, is more restrictive regarding lay preaching than the Code of Canon Law. This indeed appears to be the case and was perhaps intentional. Certainly the documents in question were all duly approved by Pope John Paul II, who also promulgated the Code. The prohibition of laypeople delivering the homily is much more stringent, and the Holy See has even gone so far as to state that that the diocesan bishop does not have the authority to permit a layperson to give the homily. The reasons why the bishop cannot give this dispensation were adduced in the above-mentioned 1997 document: “[T]his is not merely a disciplinary law but one which touches upon the closely connected functions of teaching and sanctifying” (Article 3, No. 1). It could be argued that even though the Good Friday celebration is not a Mass, the brief homily foreseen in the rubrics is for all intents and purposes of the same category as the homily during a Eucharistic celebration insofar as it “touches upon the closely connected functions of teaching and sanctifying” in the same way as during the Mass. In this case it is strictly reserved to an ordained minister. Even if we were not before a homily in the same sense as during a Mass, a layperson would not be allowed to preach, since a priest is always present at the Good Friday celebration. And “Redemptionis Sacramentum” clearly states that lay preaching in a church or oratory is allowed “only on account of scarcity of sacred ministers.” Thus the requisite conditions for permitting lay preaching are never met during the Good Friday celebration. A priest is almost surely present because the possibility of celebrating the Good Friday service of the Passion with holy Communion is tied intimately with the celebration of the Maundy Thursday Mass the preceding evening. The norms for the Easter celebrations (No. 54) stipulate that the rite of transfer to the altar of repose “may not be carried out if the liturgy of the Lord’s Passion will not be celebrated in that same church on the following day.” As far as I know, the Holy See has not approved any official rite for celebrating a version of the Easter triduum in the absence of a priest. Even though it does not have to be the same priest who presides at both celebrations, the union of the two celebrations assures that a priest will be available to preside on Good Friday. On Masses in Lent Q. “I thought I had read, either in canon law or in the General Instruction for the Roman Missal, that Holy Week triduum services can only be celebrated in recognized parishes and not in chapels and/ or oratories where it is not a parish. Can you provide me with the Church guidance on this subject: where can Easter triduum services take place?” A. Our correspondent probably referred to the Circular Letter Concerning the Preparation and Celebration of the Easter Feasts, published by the Holy See in 1988. No. 43 of this document states: “It is fitting that small religious communities, both clerical and lay, and other lay groups should participate in the celebration of the Easter Triduum in neighboring principal churches. “Similarly, where the number of participants and ministers is so small that the celebrations of the Easter Triduum cannot be carried out with the requisite solemnity, such groups of the faithful should assemble in a larger church. “Also, where there are small parishes with only one priest, it is recommended that such parishes should assemble, as far as possible, in a principal church and participate in the celebration there. “On account of the needs of the faithful, where a pastor has the responsibility for two or more parishes in which the faithful assemble in large numbers, and where the celebration can be carried out with the requisite care and solemnity, the celebrations of the Easter Triduum may be repeated in accord with the given norms.” A footnote to the first paragraph clarifies the case of cloistered communities: “In monasteries of nuns, every effort should be made to celebrate the Easter Triduum with the greatest possible ceremony, but within the monastery church.” Therefore it is not so much that the triduum is forbidden outside of parish churches, but rather that it is recommended that, insofar as is possible, it not be celebrated in small groups, but in larger gatherings of the faithful. Larger religious communities may celebrate the triduum in their communities, especially in those communities that traditionally accompany Christ during the whole night between Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Respecting such long-standing custom would be practically impossible without the celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper and the consequent reservation in the altar of repose. This allows for public devotions toward Christ in the tabernacle until midnight and private prayer thereafter.
CBCP Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
By Bishop Angelito Lampon, OMI, DD
R.
THE Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo (AVJ) is located at the southernmost tip of the Philippines bordering Borneo and Sabah. It is composed of the two Provinces of Sulu and Tawi-tawi covering 2, 687 sq. kilometers with approximate population of 1,049,294, of which 97% is Muslim and only 3% Christian; 22,335 of whom are Catholics. History of the Church in Sulu and Tawitawi Islam had already penetrated the islands through the backdoor of Sulu and Tawi-tawi before Magellan landed in Mactan in 1521. Around the last quarter of the 13 th century, the missionary Makdum landed in Simunul, Tawi-tawi, and Rajah Baginda, a Sufi ruler from Sumatra arrived in Buansa, Sulu. He founded the Sultanate of Sulu and Tawitawi, the first in unbroken line of 32 Sultans to rule Sulu, Tawi-tawi, parts of Basilan, Mindanao, Sabah and Borneo. When Christianity took firm hold of Luzon and the Visayas, slave trade was flourishing in Southeast Asia all the way to Europe. The Moros of Sulu periodically raided the coastal towns of Luzon and Visayas, captured Christians and brought to Sulu to be sold as slaves. This was how Christianity entered Sulu and Tawi-tawi. In June 9, 1748 at the behest of Sultan Alimuddin, two Spanish Jesuits from Zamboanga, Fathers Juan Angeles and Patricion del Barrio arrived in Jolo to take care of the Christian slaves. They only stayed for three months fearing for their lives because of the hostile panditas and ulamas. In 1876, after more than three centuries of warfare and battles, Jolo fell into the hands of the Spaniards under Malcampo. The Spaniards not only wanted to stop piracy and protect the trade and commerce of the Spanish crown but they also
wanted the Tausugs subject of Spain and therefore pay taxes or tribute. In Sulu, Christianity versus Islam was the classic case of an irresistible force meeting an immovable object. In 1898, the Treaty of Paris ceded the Philippines from Spain to the United States. A total of 23 Jesuits worked in Jolo from 1877 to 1939. The arrival of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) The seven pioneering OMIs headed by Fr. Gerard Mongeau arrived in the Philippines in September 25, 1939. Bishop del Rosario, SJ, bishop of Zamboanga, welcomed them to work in Cotabato and Sulu which were then under the Diocese of Zamboanga. The Second World War in 1941 scattered the Oblates; then gathered them in concentration camps. Fr. Emile Bolduc was arrested in Jolo on Christmas day but had a stay of execution from a Japanese officer whom he befriended earlier when the man was masquerading as a Japanese merchant and a long time resident of Jolo. In October 28, 1953, by the decree “Quo Melius” of the Consistorial Congregation, Sulu was separated from the Prelature of Cotabato and made a Prefecture. Bishop Francis McSorley, OMI was installed as the Prefect Apostolic of Sulu in December 13, 1954. On July 25, 1958, the Prefecture was raised to a Vicariate. Bishop McSorley became the first bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo (AVJ). Bishop Phillip Smith, OMI who was ordained prelate in September 8, 1972 succeeded Bishop McSorley. Martial Law was declared in September 21, 1972. Bishop George Dion, OMI was appointed bishop of Jolo in 1980. He was succeeded in February 15, 1992 by Bishop Ben de Jesus, OMI. In February 4, 1997, Bishop Ben de Jesus was assassinated in front of his Cathedral. His brutal slaying is one among the myriads of unsolved crimes in Sulu and Tawi-tawi.
Bishop Angelito Lampon, OMI who was ordained by Pope John Paul II in Rome in January 6, 1998 and installed as Vicar Apostolic of Jolo in February 17 of the same year took over from Bishop Ben de Jesus, OMI. Mission “Ad Gentes” The ministry of the AVJ is primarily one of presence among the majority Muslim population. But how can the Church be present in 457 Islands and Islets of Sulu and Tawi-tawi? Early on the only means of transportation were slowmoving boats and “lansa” (wooden, rickety vessels). There are only five parishes and 5 mission stations in AVJ manned by 13 OMIs and one diocesan priest. However, the distances are far and wide. The adjacent parish from the Cathedral Parish in Jolo is four hours away by boat. The third parish is nine hours away and the farthest is Cagayan de Mapun which is 24 hours away in good weather traversing an open sea. In the last 10 years three vessels disappeared on this route. After WW II, OMIs started Notre Dame Schools in Sulu and Tawi-tawi to bring education to the grassroots. There were no public schools at that time in the Islands of Sulu and Tawi-tawi. At the outset the OMI missionaries were stoned but later the Muslim population of the different islands begged that a Notre Dame school be built in their island. To date, there are seven Notre Dame Schools and one Notre Dame College in the AVJ. To bring the Good News to the nook and corners of AVJ, two AM radio stations were established: DXMM in Jolo and DXGD in Bongao, Tawi-tawi. In later years, TV 10 was added in Jolo. Our radio stations air the mass on Sundays and become a venue for our different pastoral ministries to promote their program and activities. Before and after the burning of Jolo in 1974 a massive housing project was put into place. To date there are more than 3,000 housing units built by AVJ which
B3 benefited mostly the majority Muslim population. Pastoral Ministries At present AVJ has the following pastoral ministries: Inter-religious dialogue (IRD), BEC/Basic Human Community (BHC), Community-based Health Program, Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC), Social Action, Catechetical Program, Youth Ministry, Family and Life Apostolate (FLA) and Bible Ministry, Media, Education, Catechetical program and Micro-finance which has a present capitalization of about 8 million pesos and loans out P3,000 – P10,000 to more than 2,000 families for small and family business. There is also a Holy Family Hospital in Bongao, Tawi-tawi and a leprosy center in Guppah, Mapun administered by the Martinian Brothers. Our Christian Children Fund (CCF) in Jolo and Bongao, Tawi-tawi cater to 2,000 enrolled children which also benefit their siblings, thus, ministering to about 9,000 children. Our Badjao Ministry in Jolo, Siasi and Bongao have basic learning centers (BLC) which take care of children and adult education, health and socioeconomic needs of these seafarers. Aside from the two-year pre-school program for the Badjao children and adult education for their parents, we also provide through our Social Action Ministry seaweed and fish driers. Since the care of the environment is paramount in our Justice and Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Ministry we try to rehabilitate the mangroves and take care of solid waste management. In the Islands where people live on stilt houses we promoted the “Balag technology” where in people were taught how to grow vegetables on empty cans, old vintas and other containers in their “backyard” which is their drier for seaweeds. All of these Pastoral Ministries are aimed at building a culture of peace, since
peace is an elusive dream in this wartorn and volatile context of Sulu and Tawi-tawi. To date, the following religious Congregations and Institutes work in AVJ: Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Marist Brothers, Martinian Brothers, OCD Nuns, Dominican Sisters of Siena, Franciscan Missionaries of Mary, Oblates of Notre Dame, Daughters of Charity and the Associates of Notre Dame. Until recently, the Medical Mission Sisters worked at the Holy Family Hospital in Bongao, Tawi-tawi for 38 years. Security Problems While most of our Muslim brothers and sisters are peace-loving people, there are few segments who felt that the presence of the Church in Sulu and Tawitawi is an affront to the Islamic culture and religion. Thus, we cannot ring our Church bells nor hold public processions unless heavily guarded by the Marines. Our BEC and block rosary meetings are often stoned. Since the 1997 brutal killing of Bp. Ben de Jesus, OMI and the killing of Fr. Benjie Inocencio, OMI on Dec. 28, 2000, our Cathedral has a permanent squad of Marine guards. In the last ten years three hand grenades were lobbed into the Cathedral of Jolo. The bishop’s residence has six to ten Marine security 24 hours a day. Two marine escorts guard the bishop and priests who give communion to the sick every 1st Friday of the month. The religious Sisters and Brothers working in Jolo have their own Marine soldiers to secure them. This is very inconvenient and even counter-witnessing but we have no choice. Aside from the brutal killings of Bp. Ben and Fr. Benjie, one priest and two Nuns had been kidnapped and a number of our lay leaders had either been kidnapped for ransom or killed. To be a missionary is to live in the cutting edge; to be present where life is most threatened. If Christ had not been raised from the dead all this is foolishness. Photo courtesy of bobbykm of flickr
The Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo IMPORTANT FACTS Bishop ……………………..…. 1 Priests ……………………… 13 Brothers ……………………... 10 Sisters ………………………. 34 Members of Secular Institute ……….. 5 Diocesan Divisions: Vicariate ………………… .. 1 Parishes ……………….... 5 Missions ……………....….. 4 Educational Centers: College ………………....... 1 High Schools ……………... 7 Elementary Schools ……… 3 Kindergarten …………....... 4
ON BACKGROUND: The Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cathedral. ABOVE: Apostolic Vicar of Jolo Bishop Angelito Lampon, OMI, DD.
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
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Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Jesus Jesus called, called, and and young young people people came: came:
The first NCR Vocation Camp
By Ilsa Reyes YOUNG people aged 16-35, religious men and women, vocation directors, seminarians, and lay vocation promoters trooped to the seminary grounds of Antipolo diocese on February 15 for a three-day vocation camp. Around 350 delegates from the dioceses of Antipolo, Caloocan, Cubao, Manila, Novaliches, Parañaque, Pasig and the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines, and from various religious congregations came for the first Vocation Camp in the National Capital Region. Excitement filled the air as participants started pitching their tents on the campsites. Most Reverend Gabriel V. Reyes, D.D. bishop of Antipolo welcomed the delegates. He mentioned that it was significant the camp was being held in the seminary which had just been built, precisely to encourage more vocations to the priesthood. Afterwards, the participants were oriented regarding the objectives, guidelines and agenda of the vocation camp. “Camp and See” was organized for the purposes of deepening the attendees’ personal knowledge of and relationship with Jesus, the Good Shepherd through joint prayer, reflection and sharing; discovering the truth of God’s call amidst the different choices and concerns in society today; challenging the youth to respond to Jesus’ call to be
witnesses in their communities at present; and preparing them to be vocation animators through several initiatives. It cannot be helped but connect the camp with Valentine’s Day, which had just been celebrated, in the sense that vocation is a continuous call to fall in love with the Lord and to say “yes” to Him daily. The theme for the first day was, “How did you know Me?.... I saw You” (John 1:35-41). The Way of the Cross was done in the evening through a meaningful video presentation from the Diocese of Antipolo. A recollection concert led by George Gabriel and the Fish Music Ministry touched the hearts of the participants and exhorted them to glorify God through songs in a spirit of prayer and reflection. The second day saw many moments of animation, reflection, sharing and workshops for vocation animation. Led by Fr. August Pulido from the Diocese of Parañaque, the participants listened to a talk on the theme of the day, “I am the Good Shepherd…” (John 10:1-8). Fr. Joel Francis Victorino, vocation director of Antipolo, presided the Eucharist while Fr. Jeff Manlapig, vocation director of Parañaque delivered the homily reminding participants to become true “hulog ng langit” (God-sent) to others. Camp workshops on theater for vocation promotion, dance interpretation,
animation and games, t-shirt printing and on the Voice Choice Modules were conducted after lunch. In the evening, the delegates worshipped the Lord and gazed upon Him in the Blessed Sacrament through Taize prayers. An informal forum was held during the program in the evening, giving young people the opportunity to ask questions about the call to priesthood and the religious life. The participants of the animation workshop gave the audience a taste of what they had learned in their afternoon session. On the last day, Fr. Jojo Buenafe, a formator from San Carlos Seminary, expounded on loving Jesus more deeply, overcoming obstacles to one’s relationship with Him, and serving Him, in connection with the theme, “Do you love Me? Feed My sheep…” (John 1:15-19). Once again, group sharing concretized the talk. The camp concluded with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist presided by Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop, Most Reverend Francisco M. de Leon, D.D. During the Mass, the theater and dance interpretation workshop’s participants expressed through creative liturgy what it meant to be called by Jesus. A delegate was later on tasked to share what he had learned from the camp. After the mass, delegates planted small mahogany trees, designated as “vocation trees,” on selected spots in the seminary grounds, as a symbol of their commitment to take care of their
call to serve Jesus. The event was organized by the directors of vocations of the national capital region: Director of Vocations in the Philippines (DVP)-NCR Coordinator Fr. Ronald Macale (Cubao), Fr. Joel Victorino (Antipolo), who had prior experience in handling a vocation camp in his diocese; Fr. Cris Santos (Novaliches), Fr. Jason Laguerta (Manila), Fr. Alex Amandy (Kalookan), Fr. Art Orense (Military Ordinariate), Fr. Hokan Samson (Pasig) and Fr. Jeff Manlapig (Parañaque), with their respective teams. Organizers and participants observed that the three-day affair, with limited number of participants, provided a better opportunity for interaction and addressed questions about priestly and religious life. The prayer is that, just as the seeds that have been physically planted on seminary soil will grow over time, the seeds of vocation to serve Jesus will also be nurtured by all those who responded to His invitation that weekend.
That weekend, as Jesus called, participants came. He walked with them and He left them with these words from St. John of the Cross printed on the souvenir bookmark of the vocation camp: “Then she came to understand that if He were fire, then she must be wood.”
Gawad Anak OFW Finalists of Bayombong diocese and Region 2 with their school advisers.
Bible congresses to be held in preparation for the Synod A SERIES of Bible congresses will be held by the Biblical Apostolate of the archdiocese of Manila in response to the Lineamenta on the word of God in preparation for the upcoming synod on the bible on October 2008. The Bible congresses scheduled from March to October this year are intended to meet the needs of various ministries in the Church. The first congress slated on March 29 has the theme, “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of Basic Ecclesial Communities.” Resource speakers include Bishop Broderick Pabillo on the topic “Word of God: Source of Justice, Reconciliation and Peace”; His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on “A Reflection on Peter’s Response to Jesus in John 6: ‘Lord, To Whom Shall We Go? You Have the Words of Eternal Life’ “; and Archbishop Orlando Quevedo on “BECs and the Magisterium of the Church. The theme of the second congress scheduled on May 10 is “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of Catholic Educators.” A third Congress will follow on August 4 and will dwell on the theme “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of Parish Priests.” Meanwhile, the fourth Congress on September 13 and the fifth and final congress on October 25 will have “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of Lay Liturgical Ministers” and “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of Charismatic Communities”, as topics, respectively. Aside from the scheduled conferences, the congresses will also feature workshops related to the theme of each congress. The Lineamenta (Latin for “outline”) on the Word of God is a synthesis of comments coming from episcopal conferences, eastern rite Catholic Churches, Vatican departments and heads of religious congregations all over the globe on different views, challenges and clarifications regarding the theme of the synod. The 12th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God will be held at the Vatican from October 5-26, 2008 with the theme, “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
ECMI to launch Formation Program for OFW children THE Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI) of the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) will officially launch its Sons and Daughters of OFW (SDO) Formation Program (FP) on April 11, 2008. The launching will coincide with the awarding ceremony of Luzon Wide Ten (10) Outstanding SDO Student Achievers (TOSDOSA) Award or Gawad Anak OFW. ECMI initiated the SDO formation program in 2003. It was piloted in selected schools in Luzon and expanded into a diocesan concern. The dioceses which responded and gave emphasis on the SDOFP are Lipa, San FernandoPampanga, Bayombong, San Fernando-La Union, Alaminos, and Ilagan. The SDOFP has
progressed beyond expectations in almost four years of implementation. The ECMI believes that this SDOFP would contribute to its mission towards strengthening the family structure of the OFW sector. The Gawad Anak OFW is a noble endeavor and humble offering of ECMI in line with its SDOFP. The Gawad Anak OFW intends to inform the public that the children of OFWs, despite negative results of researches made on them, can still be considered productive partners of the family and society if only given the right motivation, sincere accompaniment and formation. The First Gawad Anak OFW search will initially take place in Luzon. It will later move on into a national search. The search is
open to all high school students presently enrolled in either public or private schools in Luzon. The student applicant must be a son or daughter of Filipinos presently working overseas. The Gawad Anak OFW is currently conducting selection process in different sub-regions in Luzon. There are 4 areas clustered for the qualifying round. Twenty finalists will compete for the Final 10 Outstanding SDO Student Achievers Award. The 20 finalists will gather in Manila on April 10 for the final interview. The criteria for judging are Personality, 15%; Leadership Qualities, 35%; Academic Performance, 35%; and Socio-Civic Performance,15%. (Edmund Ruga)
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Holy Week Message 2008 THE message of Holy Week for all the world is not only that Christ suffered and died for us, but that he also rose from the dead for us. We remember the past, what the Lord has done for us; we celebrate it in the present; and we believe. Even on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the mystery of Christ’s Passion and Death is already enveloped by the glorious mystery of Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. It means that as in Christ’s life, neither suffering of any kind nor death has the last word in our life. The message of Holy Week, therefore, is that Christ will rise again, in your life, in my life, in fact Jesus is risen and we will rise to life with him. The message too is a battle-cry. And so we say “I believe I shall rise again … from my mistakes, from my sinfulness, from my failures, from my tomb.” I invite you then to enter into the spirit of Holy Week prayerfully, reflectively, remembering that our life is not all work, and making only a living … but it is made up also of life in the spirit … remembering that whatever we do must be focused on God, the God who reveals himself as suffering and dying in Jesus Christ on the Cross … and also as suffering with the many sufferers of the world. We have a God who suffers for us and with us. I invite you also to participate in the worship and ceremonies that will be held in our Parish Churches: the Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, Midnight Mass on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. This is the most Holy Week of the entire year, because we remember how dearly God has loved us, by dying for us. The way we can show our appreciation for this love is by turning away from our mistakes and sins, by stopping from crucifying other people, and above all by becoming the reason for the resurrection of others to new and better lives.
Statements TODAY we are experiencing a social and political mess. This, however goes beyond the question of truth to the search for probity. Probity is about the integrity of all, the accuser and the accused. We are unhappy and we feel betrayed. And yet as Pope benedict XVI reminds us “in spite of our great disappointment our great hope can only be God who has loved us and continues to love us to the end, until all is accomplished”, (Spe Salvi, 27). We also know that together we have the capacity to correct and purify the nation by starting with ourselves. The model for change is the desert. The history of salvation teaches us that the long road to freedom inevitably passes through the desert of purification and conversion. Having escaped from Pharaoh, via the miraculous crossing through the Sea of Reeds, the Israelites considered themselves
means through the abuse of one’s position in politics, business, etc., while corruption is the improper enrichment of politicians or civil servants or those close to them by misuse of public power entrusted to them. [BIR, Revenue Memo Circular 12-2005]. As an injustice to the Government and people, graft and corruption are against the Seventh Commandment and have the added element of betraying one’s country. The Universal and All-time Application of the Seventh Commandment. The Seventh Commandment, “Thou shall not steal”, applies to all, as individuals or as groups. Thus, if one holds on to money or its equivalent that is not his or hers (or theirs), justice demands restitution of the stolen or bribe money to the owner. (CCC, 1459). If the owner can no longer be located, then the money should be given to the poor, or to a credible institution that will give the money
B5 parishes, prayed for in the homes, re-taught in schools, discussed in small communities and groups. Support structures will be required for a righteous life and fair dealings. After our personal and communal “desert” conversion, we will, please God, be ushered to the freedom we seek. God’s help is always needed We need God’s grace, if we are to encourage one another, forgive each other, pay our debts to the justice that we all violated, and start again, not at the banks of “our Sea of Reeds”, but beyond the streets of EDSA. Believers and lovers of God, like true Christians do not have to hate, destroy each other even if they want to correct the mistakes of the past or the present and of each other. Many are critical of the present governance particularly in the areas of truth and justice. But we can restore truth and justice without Illustration by Bladimer Usi
+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD Archbishop of Jaro CBCP President
Easter MessageS 2008 GOOD Friday and Easter Sunday are inseparable! The Easter Message reveals the truth of the fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness of the Cross. Hope, fertility and suffering go together. If on Good Friday we let God enter into our suffering, on Easter Sunday, we let God “easter in us.” The resurrection of Jesus cannot be separated from his Public Life and Death; otherwise we will fail to understand both. Today, the living witnesses of the truth of Christ’s resurrection must be ourselves, shown in the qualities of commitment and hope displayed in our Christian lives. Where Christians follow the footsteps of Jesus in alleviating from whatever pain and suffering they have, in loving as Jesus loves, there will be no crisis of resurrection faith. But where involvement in the suffering of people, where love is lacking, it is difficult to think that Jesus resurrected, almost hypocritical to celebrate the truth of Easter. To celebrate Easter is for us to become carriers of the mystery of Easter, living and present in us, transforming our world with the life of the Resurrected Christ. +ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD Archbishop of Jaro CBCP President ---------------------------------------------------------------------------MY DEAR Sisters and Brothers in Christ: The celebration of the Paschal Mystery culminates with the joyful day of Easter. For us Christians, the resurrection of the Lord is the source and origin of our hope. We are a People of Hope because our faith is not in vain. Our earthly struggles are given meaning and direction by our faith in the Risen Christ. Let our lives therefore be a testimony of his faith. In facing the challenges of the each day as well as in addressing the concerns of our own communities, let us act as a People of Hope. While it is true that, as Pope Benedict writes in Jesus of Nazareth, “we live in this world where God is not so manifest as tangible things, but can be sought and found only when the heart sets out on the ‘exodus’ from Egypt.” Thus we shall find our promised land only when “we recognize that we do not live on bread alone, but first and foremost by obedience to God’s word.” Obedience to God’s word means putting into practice what He has taught us in the Scriptures. Obedience to Him means renewing our way of life at both the personal and communal levels, following our conscience always in every act we make. Pope Benedict concludes: “Only when this obedience is put into practice does the attitude develop that is also capable of providing bread for all.” The Risen Christ is sending us to spread the Good News of our salvation. Let us share this message in concrete acts of faith, hope and love, so that the word may know that Jesus is alive. With every best wish, I remain Sincerely in the Risen Christ, +RICARDO J. CARDINAL VIDAL Archbishop of Cebu ---------------------------------------------------------------------------NEW life in Christ Jesus Christ is risen from the dead. Rejoice and be glad! This is key teaching of the Christian Faith. His Resurrection was foretold and it was promised. But the fulfillment of the Resurrection passed through the paces of suffering and death, difficult and painful stages that human fear to tread. For us, the difficult stages mean death to our selfish selves. Death to our old ways that we may rise to new life. “Just as all die in Adam, so in Christ all will be brought to life; but all of them in their proper order. Christ the first fruits, and next, as his coming, those who belong to him.” (I Cor. 15: 22-23). In life, let us all belong to Him that in us Christ will rise again! +GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES Archbishop of Manila
Towards a morally rebuilt nation (Pastoral Statement of the Archbishop, Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila composed of Archdiocese of Manila, the Dioceses of Antipolo, Caloocan, Cubao, Imus, Malolos, Novaliches, Parañaque, Pasig, San Pablo, the Apostolic Vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay, and the Military Ordinariate). liberated. But they were not yet free, because they wanted to go back to their old ways in Egypt. “Should we not do better to go back to Egypt?” (Numbers 14:2-3). The chosen people hesitated at the shores of the Sea and remained enslaved. So Moses led Israel away from the Sea of Reeds, and they entered the desert of Shur. (Exodus 15:22) Believing that Pharaoh was the idolater refusing them the worship of the true God, it was in the wilderness where the people discovered that they too were guilty worshipers of golden idols. (Exodus 32:1-29). People were disciplined and converted from their greed (Exodus: 17-21); and the desert which the Israelites feared to enter became for them a place of purification, discipline and conversion, before they could enter the promised land of freedom, forty years later. There are yet no proven easy short cuts to conversion and renewal. Looking back at EDSA I, euphoric and heroic as it was, it appeared that the event became the Filipinos’ day of crossing to freedom; but that was only the first step that hardly anyone knew. The “desert” awaited the people who would be purified and converted, before they become fully liberated. But people preferred the convenient streets as the easier route to an imagined freedom, and feared that the “desert experience” that awaited conversion and new beginnings. Corruption as the cancer of the nation. We cannot add more to the wrath of God for lies, untruth, injustice and evil. Conscience, as the voice of God within, already tells us what good there is to pursue and what evil to avoid. Our people are known to be God-fearing and God-loving; sadly, they fight, deceive and kill for money. Shamefully, we have been known to be a nation whose prime industry has been identified as politics simply because politics is the main route to power, which in turn, is the main route to wealth (1). In this country people use politics to get money, and more politics to protect more money. “Corruption radically distorts the role of representative institutions, because they become an arena for political bartering between clients’ requests and governmental services. In this way political choices favor the narrow objectives of those who posses the means to influence these choices and are an obstacle to bringing the common good of all citizens.” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 411). The subordination of the public good to individual or group interests is what corruption is all about. In whatever form it takes, the practice of corruption is both immoral and unjust. Corruption is worst than lies, because lies are employed only to cover it. Whenever Government money is stolen or whenever supplier or contractors’ money is offered as bribe to secure projects, to the disadvantage of the Government graft or corruption is committed. Graft is the acquisition of gain by dishonest, unfair and sordid
for the poor or give true services for the poor. Restitution was the constant teaching in relation to the violation of the Seventh Commandment in the Bible. “If anyone steals…he will pay back.” (Exodus 21:37). “Look Lord, I am going to give half my property to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody I will pay him back four times the amount.” With this confession, the Lord Jesus blessed Zacchaeus with salvation. (Luke 19:810). The teaching of the Church on stealing is this: No Restitution, no Absolution. In the words of Jesus: with Restitution, there is Salvation. (Luke 19:9). An authentic conversion demands willingness to restore what has been stolen and the resolve not to steal again. The penitent should not be so complacent about one’s faith as to consider oneself truly absolved before God on account of faith alone, even if one has no contrition…For faith without penance would effect no remission of sins. (Council of Trent). The mandate of the Seventh Commandment is also addressed to traders and ordinary citizens in all practices of business, commerce and trading. Fraud in business, over pricing, bribery in contracts, cheating in scales, cheating in legitimate taxes and the smuggling of taxable goods, including also the smuggling and trafficking of substances for abuse to damn the innocent and the weak members of society, etc.—all these are among the many forms of violating the Seventh Commandment. Our response: Our desert experience The old and the young, from kindergarten through high school on to the tertiary level of education till up to the licensure exams, are all to be formed and guided towards integrity, trained never to cheat in studies and exams. The “discipline of the desert” is to be taught and applied, if anyone is to succeed at any level towards “the fullness of life.” The Seventh Commandment covers not only the present corruption deals that have been recently exposed, but also all deals, at all levels of government service, of all administrations and governance, no matter what came out of the past or will come out of the present or future inquiries. “Thou shalt not steal” covers also all trading of even ordinary citizens. We suddenly noticed that the widespread corruption we see in others is also the corruption we detect in ourselves. Corrupt practices and fraud prevailed in the cities, towns and even in small Barangays. In the last two generations there had been tens of thousands of graft-ridden contracts in Government, the biggest single controversial project ever recorded in the Philippine history was the Westinghouse’s Bataan Nuclear Plant (2). True liberation would mean that we enter our desert of repentance and conversion. Change lies only at the heart of every person. Let us begin there. Values for living justly will be preached in
restoring to violence and hatred. A nation built on contempt is completely unimaginable. As pastors we cannot tell you less, even if some will resent the way we teach. It is for everybody’s good, especially the very poor among our brothers and sisters that we now address this call for communal renewal. We need the leaders from the highest to the lowest and their families not only to lead us, but also to give us examples of repentance and true humble conversion. We also need people with other ideas but with positive emotions in nation building. Given the example and encouragement, the citizens will be inspired to follow where in the past they hesitated to proceed — to their “desert” transformation. Ngayon diretso na tayo sa hindi natin kaagad gustong puntahan ¯ sa Disyerto ng ating mga masamang karanasan at kasalanan na dapat nating baguhin! May Pag-asa po ang ating Bayan at ang ating sarili. Basta’t sa pagbabago kay Kristo Hesus tayo ay magsama sama. In prayer let us beg Mary and Joseph to lead us back to the Christ that we had lost in the past! God bless us all! +GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES Archbishop of Manila BISHOP HONESTO O. ONGTIOCO Bishop of Cubao BISHOP JESSE E. MERCADO Bishop of Parañaque BISHOP DEOGRACIAS S. IÑIGUEZ, JR. Bishop of Caloocan BISHOP FRANCISCO C. SAN DIEGO Bishop of Pasig BISHOP GABRIEL V. REYES Bishop of Antipolo BISHOP ANTONIO R. TOBIAS Bishop of Novaliches BISHOP JOSE F. OLIVEROS Bishop of Malolos BISHOP LEO M. DRONA Bishop of San Pablo BISHOP LUIS ANTONIO G. TAGLE Bishop of Imus BISHOP PEDRO D. ARIGO Vicar Apostolic of Puerto Princesa BISHOP EDGARDO S. JUANICH Vicar Apostolic of Taytay BISHOP LEOPOLDO S. TUMULAK Military Ordinariate BISHOP FRANCISCO M. DE LEON Auxuliary Bishop of Antipolo BISHOP BRODERICK S. PABILLO Auxiliary Bishop of Manila BISHOP BERNARDINO C. CORTEZ Auxiliary Bishop of Manila Palm Sunday March 16, 2008 Notes: 1. Samuel Huntington, Political Order in Changing Societies, p. 67. 2. Ricardo Manapat, Some are Smarter than Others, ($1.9B in 1981 to $2B in 1982), pp.324-328; 341.
Reflections
B6 By Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa THERE are men—we see this in the phenomenon of suicide bombers—who die for a misguided or even evil cause, mistakenly retaining, but in good faith, that the cause is a worthy one. Even Christ’s death does not testify to the truth of his cause, but only the fact that he believed in its truth. Christ’s death is the supreme witness of his charity, but not of his truth. This truth is adequately testified to only by the Resurrection. “The faith of Christians,” says St. Augustine, “is the resurrection of Christ. It is no great thing to believe that Jesus died; even the pagans believe this, everyone believes it. The truly great thing is to believe that he is risen.” Keeping to the purpose that has guided us up to this point, we must leave faith aside for the moment and attend to history. We would like to try to respond to the following question: Can Christ’s resurrection be defined as a historical event, in the common sense of the term, that is, did it “really happen”? There are two facts that offer themselves for the historian’s consideration and permit him to speak of the Resurrection: First, the sudden and inexplicable faith of the disciples, a faith so tenacious as to withstand even the trial of martyrdom; second, the explanation of this faith that has been left by those who had it, that is, the disciples. In the decisive moment, when Jesus was captured and executed, the disciples did not entertain any thoughts about the resurrection. They fled and took Jesus’ case to be closed. In the meantime something had to intervene that in a short time not only provoked a radical change of their state of soul, but that led them to an entirely different activity and to the founding of the Church. This “something” is the historical nucleus of Easter faith. The oldest testimony to the Resurrection is Paul’s: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: That Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again according to the Scriptures; and that he was seen by Cephas, and after that by the eleven. “Then he was seen by more than 500 brethren at once, of whom many are still
CBCP Monitor
with us and some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen by James, then by all the apostles. And last of all, he was seen also by me, as by one born out of due time” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8). These words were written around A.D. 56 or 57. But the core of the text is constituted by an anterior faith that Paul himself says he received from others. Keeping in mind that Paul learned of these things immediately after his conversion, we can date them to about A.D. 35, that is, five or six years after the death of Christ. It is thus a testimony of rare historical value. The accounts of the Evangelists were written some decades later and reflect a later phase in the Church’s reflection. But the core of the testimony remains unchanged: The Lord is risen and was seen alive. To this a new element is added, perhaps determined by an apologetic preoccupation, and so of minor historical value: The insistence on the fact of the empty tomb. Even for the Gospels, the appearances of the Risen Christ are the decisive facts. The appearances, nevertheless, testify to a new dimension of the Risen Christ, his mode of being “according to the Spirit,” which is new and different with respect to his previous mode of existing, “according to the flesh.” For example, he cannot be recognized by whoever sees him, but only by those to whom he gives the ability to know him. His corporeality is different from what it was before. It is free from physical laws: It enters and exits through closed doors; it appears and disappears. According to a different explanation of the Resurrection, one advanced by Rudolf Bultmann and still proposed today, what we have here are psychogenetic visions, that is, subjective phenomena similar to hallucinations. But this, if it were true, would constitute in the end a greater miracle than the one that such explanations wish to deny. It supposes that in fact different people, in different situations and locations, had the same impression, the same hallucination. The disciples could not have deceived themselves: They were specific people— fishermen—not at all given to visions. They did not believe the first ones; Jesus almost has to overpower their resistance: “O foolish men, and slow of heart to
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
He is risen!
Easter Sunday (Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Col 3:1-4; Jn 20:1-9) Illustration by Bladimer Usi
believe!” They could not even want to deceive others. All of their interests opposed this; they would have been the first to feel themselves deceived by Jesus. If he were not risen, to what purpose would it have been to face persecution and death for him? What material benefit would they have drawn from it? If the historical character of the Resurrection—that is, its objective, and not only subjective, character—is denied, the birth of the Church and of the faith become an even more inexplicable mystery than the Resurrection itself. It has been justly observed that “the idea that the imposing edifice of the history of Christianity is like an enormous pyramid balanced upon an insignificant fact is certainly less credible than the assertion that the entire event—and that also means the most significant fact within this—really did occupy a place in his-
tory comparable to the one that the New Testament attributes to it.” Where does the historical research on the Resurrection arrive? We can see it in the words of the disciples of Emmaus: Some disciples went to Jesus’ tomb Easter morning and they found that things were as the women had said who had gone there before them, “but they did not see him.” History too must take itself to Jesus’ tomb and see that things are as the witnesses have said. But it does not see the Risen One. It is not enough to observe matters historically. It is necessary to see the Risen Christ, and this is something history cannot do; only faith can. The angel who appeared to the women Easter morning said to them: “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5). I must confess that at the end of these reflections I feel that this rebuke is also directed at me. It is as
if the angel were to say to me: “Why do you waste time seeking among dead human and historical arguments, the one who is alive and at work in the Church and in the world? Go instead and tell his brothers that he is risen.” If it were up to me, that is the only thing I would do. I quit teaching the history of Christian origins 30 years ago to dedicate myself to proclaiming the Kingdom of God, but now when I am faced with radical and unfounded denials of the truth of the Gospels, I have felt obliged to take up the tools of my trade again. This is why I have decided to use these commentaries on the Sunday Gospels to oppose a tendency often motivated by commercial interests and help those who may read my observations to form an opinion about Jesus that is less influenced by the clamor of the advertising world.
To believe is to see Good Friday: The 2nd Sunday of Easter/ Divine Mercy Sunday (Jn. 20:19-31)
hour has come
By Fr. Joseph Pellegrino Illustration by Bladimer Usi
By Paul J. Marquez, SSP IN the ancient liturgical document known as ‘The Apostolic Constitutions’ the apostle Thomas strongly suggested that “after eight days (from Easter) let there be another feast observed with honor, the eighth day itself, on which Jesus gave me (Thomas) who was hard of belief, full assurance, by showing me the print of the nails, and the wound made in his side by the spear”. On April 30, 2000 Pope John Paul II in effect heeded Thomas’ suggestion despite the centuries that separated the two of them. John Paul II decreed that the Sunday after Easter should be known as ‘Divine Mercy Sunday’. This devotion, propagated by Saint Faustina Kowalska, states that according to our Lord Jesus Christ, all those who participate in the Mass and receive the sacraments of confession and the eucharist are assured of full remission of sins. Most fittingly, it is Thomas’ own experience of divine mercy that the Church proclaims every year in celebrating this feast on the second Sunday of Easter. On the eighth day when the risen Christ appeared to the apostles, Thomas was not in the Upper Room. He was probably outside cooling his heels, or he needed some space or time to be alone and think things over. Much water had passed under the bridge at so short a time. It was simply too much for Thomas to bear and for the other apostles. Judas betrayed them, and Jesus is now dead. The apostles had locked their doors, haunted by the thought that they too, like Jesus, might suffer the most horrible and most humiliating death on the cross. It was through this experience of fear and fragmentation that the risen Christ had come to the apostles. He wanted to assure them that he was indeed alive. “Shalom!” was his first greeting to them. To appease their guilty consciences (since all of them except John scampered away during the crucifixion), Jesus had to repeat this very important greeting: “Peace!” He did not return as an enemy about
to settle old debts. Instead, he came to bring divine mercy to heal their “wounds”, liberate them from their fears and enable them to start life all over again. The story of the apostles also happens to us today. At different times in our life, we grow afraid because of the blunders that we have done in the past. Our feelings of guilt can send us, like the proverbial ostrich, to bury our head in the sand. Our past mistakes can paralyze us into inaction and think of ourselves as a hopeless case. Like Thomas, we can choose to go solo and walk away from the community. Like the other apostles, we can lock ourselves in our feelings of guilt and shame. Jesus transforms the apostles into a new creation as he breathes on them and gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit. In the book of Genesis, God the Father also breathed on creation. Such action on the part of the risen Christ can remind us of our own baptism. When we received the Holy Spirit during baptism, we are accorded the privilege of becoming children of God. The old adage goes, “We are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song!” Jesus’ apostles are an Easter people not because they did not despair. They are an Easter people because after having despaired, they welcomed back the risen Christ to their lives. Only the experience of Jesus’ unconditional love—his divine mercy—could help us pull ourselves together after a devastating storm or a harrowing experience. The risen Christ gave Thomas the privilege to experience Jesus’ divine mercy in a most unique and personal manner. “(Do) not be unbelieving, but believe,” Jesus admonishes Thomas who had earlier suspended any belief in the resurrection. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nailmarks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” Like the other apostles, Thomas had left his occupation and his family to follow Jesus, known to many as an itinerant rabbi. It was not an easy decision, but Thomas took the courage to stake his life on this man. He suffered the brunt of
the anger and jealousy of the Scribes and the Pharisees by his mere association with Jesus. With the death of Jesus, Thomas probably asked himself, was Jesus worth all this? Thomas had great difficulty believing what the other apostles told him regarding the risen Christ. He was afraid to hope again, lest his hopes be dashed into pieces once more. Jesus helps Thomas to grow in faith and to believe in the power of the resurrection. Thomas got his wish of seeing Jesus’ wounds and nailmarks and broken side, and the great privilege overwhelmed Thomas. He completed a most important journey in life— from unbelief to making that great act of faith: “My Lord and my God!” Today’s good news should remind us of the power of resurrection in our lives. Such power bestows on us the corresponding responsibility to share in the mission of reconciliation offered by the risen Jesus to his apostles. “Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.” Having received God’s forgiveness, we are called to bestow forgiveness on people who have offended us, purposely or not. The image of Jesus simultaneously dying on the cross and forgiving offenders is a powerful reminder for us to forgive even those who have not asked pardon for their offenses, and those who do not even acknowledge their wrongdoing. The apostles went on to proclaim the gospel of forgiveness and divine mercy to people. Many listened to this message, while others contradicted them and even put them (except John) to death. Their ministry did not sail smoothly all the time. In fact, most of their experience was rejection and severe trials. But the apostles already learned to treasure in their hearts Jesus’ words: “Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.” They learned to serve the risen Jesus despite persecutions and apparent failures. Are we willing to walk in the steps of the apostles who followed Jesus when all they saw was darkness and the voice that they had hoped to hear was silent?
IT was at Cana, at a wedding feast, that Jesus first used the term. No one was sure exactly what he meant by it. It didn’t appear to have anything to do with the groom’s plight. There was no wine. Could Jesus help? He would, but first he reminded his mother, my hour has not yet come. My hour.....”What is he referring to?” the disciples asked. He met a Samaritan woman at a well. She tried to duck her need for conversion with a neat theological argument. Jesus told her that a new hour was coming when people would worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. The hour would come when the Spirit of God, the Truth of God, will be the foundation of the lives of all good people. Twice they tried to arrest him when he spoke in the Temple. But they couldn’t because his hour had not yet come. Then right after he called Lazarus from the tomb, Jesus rode into Jerusalem while people raised palm branches and sang hosanna. Some gentiles heard about this and came to ask Philip about Him. Philip found Andrew and together they went to Jesus. If the Gentiles knew about Jesus’ presence in Jerusalem, those who were planning to kill him surely knew. “Now the hour has come,” proclaims the Lord, “for the Son of Man to be glorified.” And John wrote: He knew that the hour had come to depart from this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the end. His last prayer at the supper where he gave his Body and Blood was to his Father, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you.” Then he crossed the Kidron Valley, the Valley where apocalyptic literature proclaimed that all the nations of the world would be judged. He crossed the Kidron Valley. The hour would be a time of judgment for the nations. Jesus was not surprised at what happened in the Garden. He knew all that was going to happen to Him. He was in control. His accusers fell on their faces when they tried to arrest him. Jesus taught Pilate. From the pulpit of the cross He saw Mary standing there, not collapsed in hysteria, but standing and accepting the will of the Father. He gave Mary to John and John to Mary and Mary to us and us to Mary. During the hour, his mother became our mother. Finally, He handed his Spirit over to the Father. This is not the hour of those who live in darkness. It is the hour when the Light of Christ illuminates the world. It is the hour of a new world order. It is the hour of sacrificial love. It is the hour of the new age of Jesus Christ. And we venerate the Cross on Good Friday. For through the cross of Christ, we live in the hour of the Lord.
CBCP Monitor
Social Concerns
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
By Melo M. Acuña WITH the theme “Pagkalinga at Pangangalaga sa Kapaligiran, Tungkulin ng Sambayanang Kristiyano,” the CBCP’s continuing evangelization program has already reached its 33rd year. It was the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ decision to put its Lenten program under the Commission on Social Action, Justice and peace then under the leadership of Msgr. Ralph C. Salazar of the Diocese of Legazpi. NASSA’s executive secretary Sister Rosanne Malillin, SPC vividly recalls her days in the Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato
as its launching theme in 1975. Over the five Sundays of lent, the Gospel readings were made springboards for sharing among church-based groups which included neighborhood groups. The thematic points for discussion were translated into local dialects for better impact and acceptance. In 1976, the Alay Kapwa theme was “Kapwa Ko, Pananagutan Ko” literally translated into “My neighbor, my responsibility.” According to Sister Rosanne, the themes slowly developed the Filipinos awareness and compassion for the poor. KrisKas – Community Organizing in Action
In Mindanao, Kristiyanong Katilingban, an organization of Catholic families which doubled as neighborhood associations, became a regular forum for Alay Kapwa’s evangelization program. KrisKas is usually composed of 12 to 15 families in a neighborhood. There were times Moslems became part of the grassroots organizations. The forerunner of the Basic Christian Communities got more popular as people regularly filled churches for the regular monthly meetings to discuss their guides. Sister Rosanne said it was during the Martial Law years that got people together to know what was happening around them.
“These neighborhood groups gave residents some sense of security,” she added. In addition to the Alay Kapwa discussion guides, materials from Fr. James Reuter’s “The Communicator” and the Association of Major Religious Superior of the Philippines’ “Ichtus” were also discussed. Alay Kapwa – Plateau When Sister Rosanne Malillin became NASSA’s executive secretary in 1993, her first order of the day was to consult diocesan representatives to formulate Lenten season themes and encourage active participation in campaigns for the poor. “We saw to it themes were rel-
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evant and instill participation for the Catholic faithful,” Sister Rosanne said. She believes Alay Kapwa should be an all-year program. Acknowledging Alay Kapwa peaks during the Lenten season, Sister Rosanne said the all-year program would heighten the people’s awareness of its importance in everyday life. There were several dioceses which ceased to be involved in Alay Kapwa programs. Sister Rosanne said this is probably due to lack of volunteers and some other program thrusts of the dioceses. The Lenten evangelization nearly came to a halt. “There were only 17 dioceses actively
involved in the program while some others sent their contributions but no longer had an evangelization campaign,” Sister Rosanne said. She added “it would have been better if the dioceses concentrated on the evangelization program rather than fund generation.” Today, almost all dioceses are involved. When asked of contributions from various dioceses, Sister Rosanne said the highest they got was 85% from the country’s 85 dioceses. In 1998, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines decided to include Alay Kapwa Sunday every Palm Sunday in its Ordo. A year after, Alay Kapwa Sunday was first celebrated
Alay Kapwa
A continuing evangelization program
when Alay Kapwa was launched in 1975. “Every diocese was challenged to form a council composed of the religious and respected members of civil society to run the program,” Sr. Rosanne said. The structure was felt from the diocese to the smallest parish and village organization. The idea behind Alay Kapwa was introduced by the German bishops through its funding agency Misereor. It was the German bishops’ first time to launch an evangelization program for the Lenten season outside their country. Misereor decided to make its presence felt in poor countries such as the Philippines in the midseventies. “The German bishops and laity looked at the Lenten season as the most appropriate time for sacrifice,” Sister Rosanne said. The Philippines was chosen because it is a predominantly Catholic country in Asia and the German bishops hoped their assistance in the amount of several million pesos “could be one way for Filipinos to start the formation of social conscience and begin to think of others.” The materials for evangelization were developed in Manila and had “Who is my neighbor?”
across the country. The Archdiocese of Manila has its own Caritas Sunday to raise funds for its own social action programs. Caritas Sunday coincides with the Alay Kapwa Sunday. Caritas Manila’s Director Rev. Fr. Anton C. T. Pascual said 30% of the funds they will generate will be remitted to Caritas Filipinas through the National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace.
Papal Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams is joined by former CBCP-NASSA chair and Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo during the launching of Alay Kapwa.
Looking forward Sister Rosanne still remains optimistic of the Alay Kapwa evangalization program. She said once you generate consciousness through evangelization for the poor through the dioceses and parishes to the small Church-based organizations, more and more people would be generous in sharing their time, talent and treasure. This year the Lenten action program carries the theme, “Protection and preservation of the environment, a Christian responsibility.” An appropriate topic at a time when the environment takes a beating due to the government’s inability to put a halt to abuses being committed against nature and people in the guise of economic returns.
Holy Week / B1
the word, adores the Cross and commemorates her very origin in the sacred wound in Christ’s side (cf. John 19, 34). In addition to the various forms of popular piety on Good Friday such as the Via Crucis, the passion processions are undoubtedly the most important. These correspond, after the fashion of popular piety, to the small procession of friends and disciples who, having taken the body of Jesus down from the Cross, carried it to the place where there “was a tomb hewn in the rock in which no one had yet been buried” (Lk. 23, 53). The procession of the “dead Christ” is usually conducted in austere silence, prayer, and the participation of many of the faithful, who intuit much of the significance of the Lord’s burial. It is necessary, however, to ensure that such manifestations of popular piety, either by time or the manner in which the faithful are convoked, do not become a surrogate for the liturgical celebrations of Good Friday. In the pastoral planning of Good Friday primary attention and maximum importance must be given to the solemn liturgical action and the faithful must be brought to realize that no other exercise can objectively substitute for this liturgical celebration. Finally, the integration of the “dead Christ” procession with the solemn liturgical action of Good Friday should be avoided for such would constitute a distorted celebrative hybrid.
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Passion Plays In many countries, passion plays take place during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday. These are often “sacred representations” which can justly be regarded as pious exercises. Indeed, such sacred representations have their origins in the Sacred Liturgy. Some of these plays, which began in the monks’ choir, so as to speak, have undergone a progressive dramatization that has taken them outside of the church. In some places, responsibility for the representations of the Lord’s passion has been given over to the Confraternities, whose members have assumed particular responsibilities to live the Christian life. In such representations, actors and spectators are involved in a movement of faith and genuine piety. It is singularly important to ensure that representations of the Lord’s Passion do not deviate from this pure line of sincere and gratuitous piety, or take on the characteristics of folk productions, which are not so much manifestations of piety as tourist attractions. In relation to sacred “representations” it is important to instruct the faithful on the difference between a “representation” which is commemorative, and the “liturgical actions” which are anamnesis, or mysterious presence of the redemptive event of the Passion. Penitential practices leading to selfcrucifixion with nails are not to be encouraged.
Our Lady of Dolors Because of its doctrinal and pastoral importance, it is recommended that “the memorial of Our Lady of Dolors” should be recalled. Popular piety, following the Gospel account, emphasizes the association of Mary with the saving Passion of her Son (cf, John 19, 25-27; Lk 2, 34f), and has given rise to many pious exercises, including: The Planctus Mariae, an intense expression of sorrow, often accompanied by literary or musical pieces of a very high quality, in which Our Lady cries not only for the death of her Son, the Innocent, Holy, and Good One, but also for the errors of his people and the sins of mankind; The Ora della Desolata, in which the faithful devoutly keep vigil with the Mother of Our Lord, in her abandonment and profound sorrow following the death of her only Son; they contemplate Our Lady as she receives the dead body of Christ (the Pietà) realizing that the sorrow of the world for the Lord’s death finds expression in Mary; in her they behold the personification of all mothers throughout the ages who have mourned the loss of a son. This pious exercise, which in some parts of Latin America is called El Pésame, should not be limited merely to the expression of emotion before a sorrowing mother. Rather, with faith in the resurrection, it should assist in understanding the greatness of Christ’s redemptive love and his
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Mother’s participation in it. Holy Saturday “On Holy Saturday, the Church pauses at the Lord’s tomb, meditating his Passion and Death, his descent into Hell, and, with prayer and fasting, awaits his resurrection” (Cf. Congregation for Divine Worship, Lettera circolare sulla reparazione e celebrazione delle feste pasquali,72.) Popular piety should not be impervious to the peculiar character of Holy Saturday. The festive customs and practices connected with this day, on which the celebration of the Lord’s resurrection was once anticipated, should be reserved for the vigil and for Easter Sunday. The “Ora della Madre” According to tradition, the entire body of the Church is represented in Mary: she is the “credentium collectio universa”. Thus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, as she waits near the Lord’s tomb, as she is represented in Christian tradition, is an icon of the Virgin Church keeping vigil at the tomb of her Spouse while awaiting the celebration of his resurrection. The pious exercise of the Ora di Maria is inspired by this intuition of the relationship between the Virgin Mary and the Church: while the body of her Son lays in the tomb and his soul has descended to the dead to announce liberation from the shadow of darkness to his ancestors, the Blessed Virgin Mary, foreshadowing and representing the Church, awaits, in faith, the victorious triumph of her Son over death. Easter Sunday Easter Sunday, the greatest solemnity in the liturgical year, is often associated with many displays of popular piety: these are all cultic expressions which proclaim the new and glorious condition of the risen Christ, and the divine power released from his triumph over sin and death. The Risen Christ meets his Mother Popular piety intuits a constancy in the relationship between Christ and his mother: in suffering and death and in the joy of the resurrection. The liturgical affirmation that God replenished the Blessed Virgin Mary with joy in the resurrection of her Son (153), has been translated and represented, so as to speak, in the pious exercise of the meeting of the Risen Christ with His Mother: on Easter morning two processions, one bearing the image of Our Lady of Dolors, the other that of the Risen Christ, meet each other so as to show that Our Lady
was the first, and full participant in the mystery of the Lord’s resurrection. What has already been said in relation to the processions of “the dead Christ” also applies to this pious exercise: the observance of the pious exercise should not acquire greater importance than the liturgical celebration of Easter Sunday nor occasion inappropriate mixing of liturgical expressions with those of popular piety. Blessing of the Family Table The Easter liturgy is permeated by a sense of newness: nature has been renewed, since Easter coincides with Spring in the Northern hemisphere; fire and water have been renewed; Christian hearts have been renewed through the Sacrament of Penance, and, where possible, through administration of the Sacraments of Christian initiation; the Eucharist is renewed, so as to speak: these are signs and sign-realities of the new life begun by Christ in the resurrection. Among the pious exercises connected with Easter Sunday, mention must be made of the traditional blessing of eggs, the symbol of life, and the blessing of the family table; this latter, which is a daily habit in many Christian families that should be encouraged, is particularly important on Easter Sunday: the head of the household or some other member of the household, blesses the festive meal with Easter water which is brought by the faithful from the Easter Vigil. Visit to the Mother of the Risen Christ At the conclusion of the Easter Vigil, or following the Second Vespers of Easter, a short pious exercise is kept in many places: flowers are blessed and distributed to the faithful as a sign of Easter joy. Some are brought to the image of Our Lady of Dolors, which is then crowned, as the Regina Coeli is sung. The faithful, having associated themselves with the sorrows of the Blessed Virgin in the Lord’s Passion and Death, now rejoice with her in His resurrection. While this pious exercise should not be incorporated into the liturgical action, it is completely in harmony with the content of the Paschal Mystery and is a further example of the manner in which popular piety grasps the Blessed Virgin Mary’s association with the saving work of her Son. (Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy: Principles and Guidelines—by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 2002)
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CBCP Monitor
Entertainment
Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Moral Assessment
Technical Assessment
Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome Exemplary
Title: 10,000 B.C. Running Time: 109 min. Cast: Steven Strait, Camillia Belle, Cliff Curtis, Joel Virgil Director: Roland Emmerich Producers: Roland Emmerich, Mark Gordon, Michael Wimer Screenwriters: Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser Music: Harald Kloser, Thomas Wanker Editor: Alexander Berner Genre: Adventure/ Drama Cinematography: Ueli Steiger Distributor: Warner Bros. Picture Location: Namibia Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
AS the movie’s title says, this is story of a mountain hunting tribe long before the dawn of history. A young blue-eyed girl, Evolet, is predicted by the high priestess to have a crucial role in the future of the tribe. Attracted to her is a young boy, D’Leh, whose father is known as a coward, having abandoned the tribe to save himself. Young as they are, the two believe that they are destined to be a pair. Years later, the young man D’Leh (Steven Strait) slays a mam-
MAC en COLET
Title: Sleuth Running Time: 86 minutes. Cast: Michael Caine, Jude Law Director: Kenneth Branagh Producers: Jude Law, Simon Halfon, Simon Moseley, Ben Jackson Screenwriters: Harold Pinter, Anthony Shaffer Music: Patrick Doyle Editor: Neil Farrell Genre: Drama/ Mystery/ Thriller Cinematography: Haris Zambarloukos Distributor: Sony Pictures Location: England Technical Assessment: ½ Moral Assessment: ½ CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers 18 and above
ANDREW Wyke (Michael Caine) is a successful but aging mystery/ thriller novelist whose wife has an affair with Milo Tindle (Jude Law), a part time actor/ hair-
Buhay Parokya Look for the three missing items: Rubber shoes, candle and lizard (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)
moth singlehandedly, prompting the chieftain to bequeath to him the white staff, the symbol of tribal leadership. Soon after a band of warlords on horseback raid the village for slaves, and one of them fancies Evolet. Learning about the abduction, D’Leh decides to rescue her alone, but two other hunters join him. From now on, they say, they would be warriors, not hunters; soon they discover a teenage boy following them, wanting to join them. This unlikely band of four then brave the harsh winter in the wilderness in pursuit of the marauders. In the process they discover a lost civilization. Realistic is the word that keeps popping up as one views the movie. The mammoths—hairy elephants with long curved tusks—are definitely CGI (computer generated images), since they died out more than 10,000 years ago. Unlike other CGIaided movies that bank on wizards, people flying and all sorts of phenomena possible only in the realm of the imagination, 10,000 BC simply pits mere humans against fantabulous animals. First the mammoths that could kill you with a flap of their ear; then the giant birds that look like oversized ostriches but have a taste
Poor Below average Average Above average Excellent
for human flesh. Add to that the saber-toothed tiger four times the size of the zoo variety but which is so intelligent it can honor a debt of gratitude. It is to these CGI creatures that the movie owes it appeal. The nonHollywood actors are relative unknowns although they deliver a fair performance. All other technical aspects like cinematography, music, sound effects, editing, etc. also contribute to the movie’s overall acceptability. Values that may be gleaned from the story are loyalty, self-confidence, self-respect, bravery, perseverance, reverence for the unseen power. Teenagers may benefit from discussion with elders on topics like courage and responsibility: how can one tell when one is being truly courageous or merely impulsive? Ponder, too, how the people’s actions are dictated, and lives are shaped, by oracles and signs from the heavens. The hero here is motivated by gut feel, whether he is promising undying love to a girl he hardly knows, or is negotiating a deal with a tiger ten times his size. The story may satisfy the teen crowd or moviegoers who can enjoy a screen adventure that doesn’t burden its audience with profundity.
Ni Bladimer Usi
dresser. As Milo is interested in marrying his lover, he visits Andrew to ascertain what it would take for Andrew to allow his wife to have a divorce. In the duel of wits, it seems at the start that the much younger Milo with the plebeian background is no match for the high-born, wealthy and snobbish Andrew. The latter reminds Milo that his wife has expensive tastes and to support her, Milo needs a lot of cash. Andrew proposes that Milo stage a robbery of the wife’s jewels with the help of Andrew. Milo can sell the jewels to a “fence”. Andrew knows and have the money. Andrew on the other hand, claims the million dollars insurance. Milo falls for the trap and is greatly humiliated. Smug that Milo cannot get back at him, Andrew is taken by surprise by Milo’s ingenious act of revenge. Like in a game of tennis where
the players each win a set, each protagonist prepares for his opponent’s next move. Who shall win this deadly game? Sleuth (2008) is said to be a “reinvention”, rather than an adaptation of the 1972- Joseph L. Mankiewicz film with the same title. Sleuth (based on a Tony Award Winning stage play by Anthony Shaffer) which starred Lawrence Olivier and Michael Caine. This is attributed to the script written by Nobel Prize winner Harold Pinter, one of the great living playwrights of the English language. Indeed, the dialogue sizzles with wit, sounding so civil and “refined” yet so cutting and menacing. To understand and appreciate the picture, one must carefully listen to the dialogue, to catch the devious insinuations and double meanings. The 86 minute movie is cleverly constructed in three parts, each part neatly delineated from the oth-
ers yet smoothly flowing into each other. The unpredictable story line keeps the audience’s interest. Michael Caine delivers a masterful performance as the vindictive character with the darkly inventive mind and Jude Law is the effective foil. However, the viewer hardly empathizes with either. Though technically commendable, the film is crackling dry and lifeless like Andrew’s almost bare mansion of cold steel and crystal. Steeped in stage craft, Director Kenneth Brannagh tries to relieve the monotony since most of the scenes are in the same setting varying camera work through very good shots at different angles and also presenting outdoor scenes of beauty and serenity. Much of the strength of Sleuth 2008 lies in the dialogue but it is also its weakness. It has wit but it is also suffused with foulness and dirt. Four letter words abound.
Homosexuality becomes gradually more palpable as the movie progresses and shows its unpleasant underside and sad consequences. The characters may be highly intelligent but they are flawed. Vengeance is the motivating force in their lives. As the
movie shows, revenge can never come to any good. One cannot win even if one feeds one’s anger and tries to get even. One can only get hurt. As someone said, anger is a fire that consumes. It affects both the doer and the receiver of revenge.
CBCP Monitor
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Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
The Cross A Supplement Publication for KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus
Awardees of the 31st Annual Family Service Awards with KCFAPI officers led by Chairman Patrocinio Bacay sporting their best in Muslim-inspired attire. The awarding ceremony was held at Waterfront Insular Hotel, Davao City last February 29.
KCFAPI and KC Leaders call on Papal Nuncio THE Officers of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) and Luzon Jurisdiction’s officers paid their respects to the Papal Nuncio, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, DD, at his residence at Taft Avenue on March 3, 2008. KCFAPI Spiritual Director Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III and Chairman Patrocinio R. Bacay led the group. Bro. Antonio B. Borromeo introduced the Order and KCFAPI, underscoring the fact that “Father George J. Willmann, S. J., initialized providing insurance to the Order fifty three (53) years after its establishment in the US in 1905. This role is made possible through KCFAPI.” Bro. Patrocinio R. Bacay added that “KCFAPI’s resources have increased from the P32,000 seed money contributed by the 64 Founder Members to P2.4 Billion at the present date.” Bro. Alonso L. Tan talked about one of the thrusts of the Order which is shaping up the Knights to the discipline of the Church through the Spiritual Formation Seminars they conduct. Archbishop Adams fondly shared with the group some of his personal experiences and knowledge about the Order. He said his family is exposed to the Knights of Columbus because his uncle was a member and heard him discuss with his father matters
about the Order. Msgr. Quitorio mentioned that there are currently 31 seminarians and 6 priests taking up local licentiate degrees who are scholars of the KC Fr. George J. Willmann Charities, Inc. To date this KCFAPI foundation has already graduated 97 priests and 8 local licentiates. As the Pope’s Ambassador to the Philippines, Archbishop Adams asked the group what message we want brought to Pope Benedict XVI. To this the group reiterated the Order’s unequivocal support to the Church. “The Order of the Knights of Columbus and KCFAPI in the Philippines support the work for more priestly vocations and essentially, we were there to renew our support to the priests, bishops and the Holy Father.” Archbishop Adams was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as the 15th Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines on September 3, 2007. [Nuncio is an ecclesiastical diplomatic title derived from the ancient latin Nuntius, meaning envoy.] Born in Philadelphia, USA, on August 24, 1944, the Papal Nuncio was ordained to the priesthood in May 1970. He studied for the diplomatic service at the Vatican in 1976. He has since then served in several countries including Ireland, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Kenya, Honduras and Rwanda. His mission to the Philippines follows a five-year stint as the
KC Foundation conducts scholarship qualifying exams
Scholarship applicants taking the qualifying examination in Santiago City, Isabela.
THE Knights of Columbus Philippines Foundation, Inc. administered scholarship qualifying examinations for SY 2008-2009 to 4th year high school students nationwide last February 23. The exams were conducted simultaneously at the Knights of Columbus Headquarters in Intramuros, Manila and KC Fraternal Service Offices in Cabanatuan, Cebu, Iloilo,
Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Zamboanga City. A Special Testing center was also set-up at Santiago City, Isabela to accommodate applicants from Region I and II. The scholarship is open to graduating high school students with 85% above general weighted average. Examination results will be released last week of March. (Denise C. Solina)
Vatican’s ambassador to Zimbabwe. The Knights of Columbus and KCFAPI were among those who participated in the Thanksgiving Mass held
Supreme Office Director for Philippine Affairs meets Luzon State Officers SUPREME Office Director for Philippine Affairs and Immediate Past Visayas Deputy Bro. Eduardo G. Laczi, met the Luzon State Officers last February 23, 2008, to present and explain the proposed programs that will be implemented next Columbian Year 2008-09. The proposed programs were recommended to the Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson, so that more effective administration of K of C Jurisdictions in the Philippines—Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, will be achieved. The programs address the present general administrative problems encountered by Philippine K of C Jurisdictions. These are: a) Supervision by District
Deputies of Subordinate Councils; b) New Membership Growth; c) Formation of more First-degree Exemplification Teams; d) New Council Development in Parishes without a council yet and by professionals of the same occupation; e) Reactivation of Suspended Councils and Members; f) Youth Program—Columbian Squires. Director Laczi relayed the warmest fraternal greetings of the Supreme Knight, Carl A. Anderson, and the Supreme Council officers to the Luzon Deputy and the State officers. He congratulated the Luzon officers for their good performance, most especially in the area of membership growth.
The meeting afforded the Luzon officers an opportunity to have first hand insight on how the Supreme Office works, particularly with regard to Luzon Jurisdiction matters. The State Secretary, Bro. Arsenio Yap presented status and progress of preparations for the forthcoming 9th Luzon State Convention. Bro. Laczi was impressed with the preparations being made by the State Secretary and promised to grace the occasion. The 9 th Luzon Convention is scheduled on May 24, 2008 at the SMX Convention Center near the Mall of Asia. The meeting presided by Luzon Deputy Alonso L. Tan was
SK Eduardo G. Laczi
held at the KCFAPI Boardroom from 9 AM to 2 PM. (Paul Oblea)
Manila Council 1000 sponsors catechetical and feeding program
Knights of Columbus Mindanao Jurisdiction to hold its 12th State Convention ALL roads lead to Davao for the 12th Mindanao State Convention of the Knights of Columbus Mindanao Jurisdiction slated on April 25 to 27, 2008 at the Davao Convention and Trade Center. This year’s theme is “Celebrating 125 Years of Faith in Action: Witnessing to the “Yes” of Jesus Christ”. KC Fraternal President Antonio B. Borromeo will deliver a report on KC Fraternal and its subsidiaries in the afternoon of April 26. KC Fraternal will also render a talk regarding the Association at the Columbian Squire Convention scheduled on April 24-25 at St. Francis Xavier Seminary, Catalunan Grande, Davao City. For more information on this event, please contact (082) 2218473 and look for Ms. Juliet Pescante.
at the Manila Cathedral on November 13, 2007 to welcome the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines. (Ma. Theresa G. Curia)
Feed the soul. Manila Council 1000 Catechetical and Feeding Program does more than just fill the children’s stomach with snacks as they nourish their souls with basic Catholic teachings. In photo, Grand Knight Jose A. Lakas, Jr. and Council Church Director Bro. Roderick J. Baduria distribute snacks among the children after class.
MANILA Council 1000 sponsors a catechetical and feeding program at San Agustin Church every second Sunday of the month. The activity starts with a Children’s Mass at 9:00 AM, followed by a catechetical class held at San Agustin Garden. Around 90 to 120 children from impoverished families living as squatters in Intramuros participate. After the class, children are served with snacks usually consist of bread, champorado or arroz caldo. The program aims to impart to children and their parents the basic Catholic teachings in the
simplest manner possible. A Theology student from the Order of Saint Augustine is in charge of conducting the catechetical class. He is assisted by Bro. Knight Roderick J. Baduria, volunteer catechist of the Diocese of Manila and Council Church Director. Also present to join the activity every second Sunday are Council Chaplain Rev. Fr. Asis Bajao, OSA, Grand Knight Jose A. Lakas, Jr., Deputy Grand Knight and Program Director Noel S. Lacanilao, Chancellor Florentino B. Rosario and Bro. Bibiano M. Digman, all of Manila Council 1000. (Jose A. Lakas, Jr.)
The Cross
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CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
From the President Antonio B. Borromeo
In token for selfless service IT has been quite some time since September 2007 when we have started providing the readers with news and developments regarding the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI), the insurance provider exclusively for the members of the Order of the Knights of Columbus. We have featured Knights of Columbus gentlemen who serve not only the Order but also KCFAPI as fraternalists. Being a fraternalist means that these gentlemen contribute their time, talents and even treasure to KCFAPI without receiving compensation. For this issue of The Cross we feature one of KCFAPI’s Independent Trustees, Bro. Guillermo N. Hernandez. We are also featuring a Director of KCFAPI’s Subsidiary, Keys Realty & Development Corporation, Bro. Henry Reyes. I also take pride in announcing key officers’ movements in KCFAPI. This issue will also feature Bro. Joseph P. Teodoro, Vice President for Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG), and Bro. Efren C. Caringal, Vice President for Actuarial and BCholders’ Relations Group. These gentlemen took the posts left by Bros. Raymundo C. Soliman and Alfredo B. Guevarra who retired in January 2007. Compliments from participants poured in as we enfold the Fr. George J. Willmann Family Service Awards held in Davao City from February 29 to March 2, 2008. We owe the success of the event to the overwhelming participation of everyone who have shown their enthusiasm especially during the theme night in their Mindanaoan Costume. Once again, we thank our Board of Trustees and Leaders of the Order who were present including the Past Mindanao Deputy, Bro. Ernesto B. San Juan and his Lady Buena, the Supreme Council Director for Philippine Affairs, Bro. Eduardo G. Laczi and his Lady Fatima. We are also grateful to our Spiritual Director, Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III, for concelebrating during the thanksgiving mass and for producing the video on the Gold Series Products. Our thanks also go to Mindanao Deputy, Bro. Sofronio R. Cruz, for his hospitality; and, finally, we thank Most Rev. Fernando R. Capalla, DD, Archbishop of Davao, for presiding the celebration of the Holy Mass in thanksgiving for the participants in the 2007 Fr. George J. Willmann Annual Family Service Awards. THANK YOU TO ALL THE FRATERNAL COUNSELLORS AND AREA MANAGERS FOR BEING TRUE EXAMPLES OF FRATERNALISM.
Second in Command By Paul Oblea
Bro. Arsenio Yap with Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III and LD Alonso Tan.
THERE is always that someone who immediately takes over whenever the man in charge is not able to attend to his function. That man who takes over must have the full trust and confidence of the head of the organization. The qualities of that second in command must be well appreciated by the head. He must display decisiveness in his decisions and must radiate wisdom and intellect. The second in command must be well respected and have good relationship with the members. After all, what he represents is not only his immediate superior but the image of the organization itself. He must be quick and precise when the action so requires. In enforcing the laws he must be knowledgeable but enforce the law with compassion. Also he must be a friend with everyone and gain the respect of everybody. Arsenio Isidro G. Yap is the State Secretary of Luzon Jurisdiction. He finished his Bachelor of Fine Arts, major in painting at the University of Santo Tomas in 1977. He is happily married to Ms. Ana Maria V. Rubio who bore him 4 daughters and a son. As a graduate of the Columbian Squires, his first assignment in the council was as a Chief Counselor of the Squires. Because of his experience in the Squires program, the circle saw a tremendous growth in membership. During his stint as Chief Counselor, Circle no. 1320 won several times the prestigious Corp de Elite award. This award is given to circles with 4 outstanding activities during a Columbian Year. His sterling performance as a Chief Counselor did not escape the notice of the knights. After two years, he was appointed Financial Secretary of Gomburza
Council 5310. During his twoyear term as Financial Secretary, he instituted reforms in the system being followed by the council. The clamor of members of his council for him to run as Deputy Grand Knight was very strong, that in the elections of June 1981, he garnered the highest vote ever recorded by his council. Bro. Arsenio was elected Grand Knight in the Columbian Year 1981-1983. During his term, the council won the Columbian Award. Bro. Arsenio has occupied several positions in the Luzon Jurisdiction. He was appointed as State Family Director, Vocations Chairman, Laiko Representative and, in 2000-2001, as State Auditor. The most challenging role he ever accepted was the Chairmanship of the State Convention of the Luzon Jurisdiction. He went through this with flying colors and was recognized as a very talented organizer. This achievement did not escape the attention of those knights whom he had the opportunity to work with. All are one in praising him for the success of the convention. In July 2007, incoming Luzon Deputy Alonso L. Tan picked him to be the State Secretary. Being the State Secretary, Arsenio Isidro G. Yap, is now second in command.
Awardees of the 31st Annual Family Service Awards.
WoW DaVaO! By Joseph P. Teodoro THE jet plane of Cebu Pacific roared before sunrise at 5:10 in the morning of February 29, 2008. It carried three KCFAPI Area Managers (Bros. Armando Gonzales of Northeastern Luzon, Manuel Naldoza of Central Luzon Conquerors and Victor Pulangco of Central Luzon Diamonds) and twelve fraternal counsellors with their spouses. They were all heading to one destination—the beautiful city of Davao, the promised venue of the 31st Annual Family Service Awards. Davao City which is geographically located in the lower southeastern portion of Mindanao is a highly urbanized city with an area of 2,443 square kilometers. It is reportedly the largest city in the world in terms of land area and voted as one of the cleanest and most livable city in the country. The first batch of awardees arrived at the Waterfront Insular Hotel and were served a sumptuous breakfast prepared specially for them. After partaking their meals, some participants took a stroll at the beach where they captured the breathtaking and healthful morning sunshine. One group of participants took advantage of relaxation period to shop at the nearby specialty stores in Aldevinco mall. Others preferred to loll around and took some nap at the cozy and comfortable sofas to consume time. An hour and 40 minutes later the big bird of modern invention from Manila landed in Davao international airport. Minutes later they were greeted with the warm smile and a hand shake by the welcoming party led by Bro. Fidel Blantucas, Eastern Mindanao Eagles Area Manager and Adrian Boston, Davao Service Office Administrator. The rest of the participants coming from Cebu, Iloilo and Cagayan de Oro came in as expected in time for hearty lunch. By 2:00 pm everyone have checked-in and glanced at the enchanting view of the beach and the flowery gardens from their rooms’ verandas. The three-hour period was an opportunity to hop from one mall to the other for more active ones to stroll and buy hundred of choices of “pasalubong” for the loved ones who stayed at home. Ushered by Sis. Annie Nicolas and Sis. Allen Bohol the grand entry of the honorees started promptly at 6:00 p.m. The 139 awardees and 7 Area Managers were seated in 15 participants’ tables of the Aguila main ballroom with at least one member of the Board of Trustees or officer of the Association. The momentous awarding ceremony was solemn but awesome with the awardees on their best jusis and piñas while the ladies were very elegant. Bros. Alonso Tan, Luzon Deputy; Dionisio Esteban Jr., Visayas Deputy and Sofronio Cruz, Mindanao Deputy; Bro. Patrocinio Bacay, Chairman of KCFAPI and Bro. Antonio Borromeo, President of KCFAPI took their turns in presenting the Plaques of
Recognition as distinguished members of the 2007 Chairman’s Circle Awards, Fr. Willmann Round Table Awards, Runner-up FC of the Year Awards, Area Manager of the Year Runner-up Award, Area Manager of the Year Award and FC of the Year Award. “Keep it up!” says Bro. Patrocinio Bacay, the Chairman, as he led the traditional toast. Earlier, the President, Bro. Borromeo provided the group with an inspiring message. The Birds Eye View band composed of young professionals provided the intermissions and entertaining songs. The almost one hour drive to Malagos Garden Resort the following morning was compensated by the once-in-a-lifetime experience bird show which regaled the participants young and old alike. If day one made the participants smiling in bed, the fellowship sent them laughing all night as they left the tent garden of Waterfront just before midnight. Emcees Bros. Efren Caringal, Jr., Vice President of Actuarial and Customer Relations and Gari San Sebastian, Manager of Fraternal Benefits Services came better and livelier than day one as they hosted the Muslim Mindanao theme night. Both wore Middle-Eastern inspired Arabian costume. The support of the participants to motif of the affair was very tremendous. Indeed the colorful evening looked like a real Mindanaoan Festivity. While everyone gave their best, real love team, Bro. Rex and Sis. Moriel Blanco of Central Luzon Conquerors Area and Bro. Efren Casupanan’s daughter, Elyn, in the end were adjudged the best dressed participants. The best group presentation went to Central Luzon Believers Area as they danced to
the medley of novelty songs in a traditional Muslim choreography. The participants woke up early for Sunday mass which was held in the nearby St. Joseph the Worker Parish Church in Sasa, Davao City. The solemn thanksgiving mass was concelebrated by Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao and Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, Spiritual Director of KCFAPI. Msgr. Quitorio invited all male parishioners to become members of the Knights of Columbus to serve the Church, the scholar-priests and the community. He proudly announced that he could not have been a priest today if not through the goodness and generosity of the Knights of Columbus being the first KC priest scholar. To date, he added, we have a total of three priests licentiate scholars in Rome; six priests local licentiate scholars nationwide and over a hundred priests scholars with three bishops. Msgr. Quitorio ended with a challenge to all male Catholics, “There are so many ways to be good and perhaps one of them is to become a member of the Knights of Columbus.” Archbishop Capalla then requested all KC members present to stand proud to be recognized by all mass goers. By 10:00 a.m. in the morning of March 2, 2008, the participants checked-out with much reluctance. Most of them vowed to be awardees again next year and enjoy the camaraderie of new found friends in the persons of fellow awardees from different parts of the country. The entire occasion was captured in photo and video by Dennis Dayao and Roy Lagarde of the CBCP Media Office and under the close coaching of Bro. Joselito Mañalac, Senior Manager of Corporate Services and Research Department.
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MR. REYNANTE “BONG” BRAGAT Branch Service Administrator KC Fraternal Knights of Columbus Building Captain V. Roa Extension, Cagayan De Oro City Tel. #: (0882)-854-3274 Fax #: (0882)-272-1005
CBCP Monitor Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
The time of fulfillment is here and now By Most Rev. Honesto F. Ongtioco TIME is always interpreted as the sequence of moment to moment. In the Greek language, there are two words for time: kronos and kairos. Chronology has its etymology from kronos which means the sequence of time and events. In the New Testament, whenever time is mentioned the word Kairos is used instead of kronos. Kairos means the fulfillment of something that has been longed for. The fulfillment of God’s promise or His word is happening here and now. A Christian has this particular perspective. He lives with a sense of mission and has a vision that keeps him going. Jesus is the fulfillment of all the promises made in the Old Testament. All the prophets articulated God’s message to His people. It was always one of hope, a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth. Hope. Hope is God as Pope Benedict XVI says in his second encyclical letter Spe Salvi (In hope we are saved). Our hope is based on our faith in a God who is faithful to His promises, a God who is true to His word. We can rely on the Word of God because in God what He says connotes action and everything will come to be fulfilled. In the case of men, sometimes our hope is frustrated or unfulfilled. Other men turn their back from their word. Only in God can we really hope. A new creation. In the account of creation in the Scriptures, it is said that after God created things, He saw everything was good. Each day, He would create something and after His creation, God looked at everything he made and he found them good (Gen. 1:31). God made man the manager of His creation. As we look at the present creation, we see that if God would behold what he created, He would not be happy. We have destroyed His creation. As the bishops of the Philippines have said (in their pastoral letter, “What is happening to our beautiful land”) “…our country is in peril. All the living systems on land and in the seas around us are being ruthlessly exploited. The damage to date is extensive and, sad to say, is often irreversible.” Creation is a beautiful gift from God that we have to care for. We are responsible for keeping it beautiful and in order. A new heaven. Man’s obedience to God affected everything. His relationship with God was not anymore “familiar” as it used to be. After sinning, man had to hide from God’s presence. As a consequence of sin, pain, suffering and death entered into his life. Through His wisdom and love, however, God promised a new heaven. There will be restoration. God will once again show His love, His power, and ways. There will be a new order. Heaven and earth will once again be united. Joy, happiness and peace will prevail. A new earth. At the beginning of the world, God’s creation was marked by unity, harmony and beauty. After the fall of man, chaos, disorder in relationship, difficulties, pain, struggle and feeling of loss have marked his life. God, however, promised a new earth. The prophet Isaiah speaks about unity and harmony, peace and reconciliation. The child will be able to play at the cobra’s den. The sheep and the lion will eat together. Men will melt their swords and weapons for war and they will turn them into tools of livelihood. This change, transformation and movement in God’s creation will continue until the fulfillment of God’s promises. As members of the Knights of Columbus, we are tasked to continue God’s work of a new creation, a new heaven and a new earth. All of us have received different kinds of blessings in terms of time, talent and treasure. We are asked to use what we have received to glorify God by being at the service of others. As Knights, we are asked to attend to this new creation, this new earth by promoting family values, family life and defending the unborn. Through the help of Mary our Mother, may you face and accept this challenge of restoring the beauty of man and creation, the beauty of life and the family especially in hearts and homes where it is weak and absent. God bless you all!
Mace Insurance Agency, Inc. Gen. Luna cor. Sta. Potenciana Streets, Intramuros, Manila Tel. No. 527-22-56 Telefax 527-22-22
The Cross
A time for courageous Christian witnesses by Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson THE month of February concludes the Order’s 125th anniversary celebration. The vision of our founder, the Servant of God Father Michael J. McGivney, has provided a uniquely prophetic inspiration for generations of Catholic laymen. I use the word “prophetic” deliberately. Father McGivney’s legacy has been truly relevant to each new generation of Catholic men, but continues to be essentially forward looking. Father McGivney was able to anticipate by more than 75 years the call of the Second Vatican Council for the laity to assume their proper role within the mission of the Church for the renewal of society. We might regard Father McGivney as prophetic in another sense as well: He founded a brotherhood of Catholic men willing to provide a strengthened voice for Catholics and willing to accept the challenges presented by an increasingly diverse and democratic society. These men were not afraid to stand up against anti-Catholic bigotry in a variety of forms, nor afraid to witness to Gospel values
at home, in the workplace and in society. Today, however, we face even greater challenges from a pervasive secularism that sees no room for the Christian message. It also rejects the Christian traditions of marriage and family and Christian values in education and health care. Once again the times call for men with the courage of Christian witness who can look to the future with confidence and hope. As Knights of Columbus we continue to be committed to the renewal of our Church and our society. This is a theme of my new book, A Civilization of Love: What Every Catholic Can Do to Transform the World (HarperOne). The book’s guiding idea is simple: God is love—as Pope Benedict XVI reminded us in his encyclical Deus Caritas Est. The implications of this reality are far reaching and should guide us even in the practical details of our daily lives. Throughout his long pontificate, Pope John Paul II spoke repeatedly of the need to build a civilization of love. Some might have been surprised that he did not urge the building of a new “Catholic” civilization, culture or society. Yet, John Paul understood that Catholics would be called upon to encounter societies and cultures that would be indifferent
or even hostile toward Christianity. He also knew that every person around the world ultimately seeks the same thing: a love that is true and authentic. Each person has been created out of love and for love, and is called to a vocation to love others. We first learn this in the family, which John Paul called the “school of love.” Because the vocation to love is universal, it can transcend all borders and ethnic, racial and religious differences. At the same time, John Paul knew that the greatest expression of the vocation to love exists in Jesus Christ. The pope’s call to build a civilization of love remains a universal call to the deepest yearning of every person, regardless of creed. At the same time, this call is an expression of the living witness of Jesus Christ. A Civilization of Love is a book that explores how Catholics can join in this effort and provide in every aspect of their daily lives a living witness to the presence of Jesus Christ. It is a book that is inspired by the work and example of thousands of Knights around the world, and can serve to show others how our principles of charity, unity and fraternity can provide the basis for a true transformation of society. Vivat Jesus!
Vatican Approves Decree of ‘Heroic Virtue’ NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, March 16, 2008—POPE Benedict XVI Saturday approved a decree recognizing the heroic virtue of Father Michael J. McGivney, founder of the Knights of Columbus. The pope’s declaration significantly advances the priest’s process toward sainthood and gives the parish priest the distinction of “Venerable Servant of God.” If canonized, Father McGivney would be the first American born priest to be so honored. “All of us who are members of the Knights of Columbus are profoundly grateful for this recognition of the holiness of our founder,” said Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. “The strength of the Knights of Columbus today is a testament to his timeless vision, his holiness and his ideals.” Worried about the religious faith and financial stability of immigrant families, Father
McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus with the help of several men of St. Mary’s Parish in New Haven in 1882 to help strengthen the faith of the men of his parish and to provide financial assistance in the event of their death to the widows and orphans they left behind. He was also known for his tireless work among his parishioners. Born in Waterbury, Conn., Aug. 12, 1852, Michael Joseph McGivney, was the first of Patrick and Mary (Lynch) McGivney’s 13 children, six of whom died in infancy or early childhood. His parents, natives of Ireland, had immigrated to the United States during the 19th century. Patrick was a molder in a Waterbury brass mill, where Michael himself worked for a brief time as a child to help support the family. From an early age, however, he realized a calling to the Catholic priesthood. After studying in
several seminaries, he was ordained in that Baltimore’s historic Cathedral by Cardinal James Gibbons Dec. 22, 1877. He took up his first assignment, as curate at St. Mary’s Church, New Haven, Conn., Jan. 2, 1878. Father McGivney was named pastor of St. Thomas Church in Thomaston, Conn. in 1884. He became seriously ill with pneumonia in January 1890, and died Aug. 14, 1890 at age 38. The cause, or process, for Father McGivney’s sainthood, was opened by Hartford Archbishop Daniel A. Cronin, in December 1997. The cause was presented to the Vatican in 2000, where it has been under review by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. With the pope’s recent decree, and the authentication of a miracle at Father McGivney’s intercession, the priest could be beatified. A second miracle would be required for canonization.
Still maintaining its headquarters in New Haven, the Knights of Columbus is the world’s largest Catholic Fraternal Organization with more than 1.7 million members in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean islands, the Philippines, Guam and, most recently, Poland. (KC News)
Reactions of Knights of Columbus Officers on the Declaration of Fr. Michael J. McGivney as Venerable What a very nice gift from God and Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ, the Father of KCFAPI, that in the Golden Jubilee Celebration of the Association, the Founder of the Knights of Columbus was bestowed the recognition as VENERABLE Servant of God.
MA. THERESAG. CURIA Exec. Vice President, KCFAPI
Mace Insurance Agency, Incorporated was established on May 10, 1980 by the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Incorporated better known as KC Fraternal. The primary objective of the agency is to provide service to the members of the Knights of Columbus, their families and their private enterprises. It aims to assist members in securing their general nonlife insurance needs such as fire insurance, motor car insurance, medical insurance, personal accident and other unforeseen eventualities which may result in financial losses and bring about grief to the family. Mace, by special arrangements with the commercial non-life insurance companies, can provide the most beneficial and inexpensive insurance coverage. In the fulfillment of our commitment, the management takes pride in being able to assist clients in the settlement of just and valid claims in speedy fashion. It gives the highest priority to the interest of the members of the Knights of Columbus, their families as well as the insuring public.
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The news on Vatican recognizing and approving the heroic virtues of Fr. McGivney in such a historic short time of 10 years, gives the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines and the rest of the Knights worldwide a sense of pride and belonging to the Order. VIVAT JESUS!
ANTONIO B. BORROMEO President, KCFAPI This development that Fr. Michael J. McGivney was recognized as ‘Venerable Servant of God’ creates more awareness about the Order of the Knights of Columbus and consequently, about KCFAPI, the insurance provider of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines.
ANTONIO T. YULO Treasurer, KCFAPI & Past Luzon Deputy The generosity of our good Lord is once again manifested by His recognizing the good works of our Founder, Fr. Michael J. McGivney, by awarding him the title of Venerable, which brings our Cause nearer to the altar of sainthood. We profoundly give Him thanks and praise for the tremendous effect
it will bring to our brother knights and their families, and ultimately to the growth and development of our Order. May our Lord be always worship, adored, and glorified now and forever.
SOFRONIO R. CRUZ Mindanao Deputy Fr. Michael J. McGivney deserves to be raised to the honors of the altar. May this declaration of being a “Venerable Servant of God” be the moving spirit for every member of the Order to be the model of a truly Catholic gentleman.
ognition as a Venerable Servant of God is a triumphant march to sainthood.
ARSENIO ISIDRO G. YAP Luzon State Secretary It makes me very proud to be part of the KCFAPI family where the Holy Father has recognized the founder of the Knights of Columbus, Fr. Michael J. McGivney. We have no other person to thank but God Almighty who has paved the way for the veneration of Fr. McGivney.
MAGDALENE G. FLORES BC Holder
DIONISIO R. ESTEBAN, JR. Visayas Deputy The recognition made by the Pope on the “heroic virtues” of Fr. Michael J. McGivney brings increased inspiration to the Members of the Order: A drive that will propel each one to work harder in the spirit of Columbianism.
PATROCINIO R. BACAY Chairman, KCFAPI Past Visayas Deputy Former Supreme Director The decree recognizing Fr. Michel J. McGivney as a “Venerable Servant of God” on Palm Sunday is a sign that our very own founder is already at the threshold of sainthood. He will still have to prove himself by performing miracles but there is no stopping now in his claim as a Holy Man of God. Like Christ when He entered Jerusalem triumphantly on Palm Sunday, Fr. McGivney’s rec-
Upon hearing Pope Benedict XVI’s decree recognizing the heroic virtues of Fr. Michael J. McGivney, I find it very inspiring to work harder for the realization of his dream that “no widow or children of a departed brother would find themselves in dire financial straits”.
JOSEPH P. TEODORO Vice President-FBG, KCFAPI
The entire membership of the Knights of Columbus will be delighted to hear this new development and we are very grateful to His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for giving this honored decree of “Venerable Servant of God” to our Beloved Founder Fr. Michael J. McGivney.
ALONSO L. TAN Luzon Deputy
CBCP Monitor
The Cross
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Vol. 12 No. 6
March 17 - 30, 2008
Attorney Henry A. Reyes:
Community Leader, Business Guru and Public Servant
GK Guillermo N. Hernandez and family.
GK Guillermo N. Hernandez and St. Raphael Council 6114 IN 1983, the St. Raphael Council 6114 spearheaded the holding of the first annual Special Olympics for the students of the then School for the Deaf and Blind. As sponsor, the Council provides uniforms, food and drinks, sports equipment, medals, trophies, and special awards for the players and participants. Now on its 25th year, the event has become the most eagerly awaited affair by the students before they go for their summer vacation. The school has since been split into the Philippine School for the Deaf (PSD) and the Philippine National School for the Blind (PNSB). This year there were some 1,000 students of PNSB and PSD who participated either as players, cheerers or supporters in the sportsfest. They had the limelight of the programs for various competitive events, in their own innovative and amazing ways. One only has to see the happy faces of the participants to know that the endeavor was well worth all the Council’s efforts. The immensely successful 25th Special Olympics of the PSD and
PNSB, held last February 29 and March 7, 2008, are but the latest in a series of unprecedented achievements of Council 6114 under the leadership of incumbent Grand Knight Guillermo “Boy” N. Hernandez. This laudable project garnered an international award in 1998 given by no less than the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council in New Haven, Connecticut, USA. The knights of Council 6114 recognized early the leadership qualities of GK Boy Hernandez and saw in him a sincere desire to help the less fortunate, a desire which is consistent with the goals of the Council. GK Boy has been very active in service oriented activities, particularly those for children with special needs like the students of PSD and PNSB, even before he became a Knight. His wife, the former Maria Theresa Guevarra, more popularly known as “Tess”, is similarly involved in activities in aid of the disabled. She was an incorporator and is the current Treasurer of Barangay San Lorenzo (Makati) Persons with Disability and Company (PERDISCO), and
was a past president of the Makati Chapter of the Philippine League Against Epilepsy (PLAE). She is an active member of Faith and Light, an international support group working hand in hand with the Catholic Church for disabled people and their families. The disabled are particularly close to their hearts, as they are blessed with a 26-year old son who is autistic, and burdened with hyperactivity and epilepsy. They are also blessed with two other sons and a daughter who are all professionals. Thus, GK Boy Hernandez breezed through the Fourth Degree of membership, was elected Grand Knight for the Columbian Year 2006-2007, and reelected for CY 2007-2008. He also sits as a member of the Board of Trustees of Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. GK Boy Hernandez, a graduate of San Beda College and the Asian Institute of Management, is currently Chief Privatization Officer of the Privatization and Management Office (PMO) with the rank of Undersecretary. He brings with him vast experience and expertise
gained from many years in commercial banking and the corporate world, qualities that now benefit the PMO, where he is well loved by the employees for his proven, genuine concern for their well being. Despite his 6 foot 2 inch and 200 pound frame, GK Boy’s positive disposition makes him easy to approach and makes for enjoyable company – he can disarm anybody he relates with. Beneath this demeanor, however, is a man of focus and dynamism, an efficient worker who knows his goals and makes things happen to achieve them. As much as he can give assistance to those who seek his help, he can inspire and bring out the best in the people whom he leads and make them surpass themselves. In 2007, the centennial year of the PSD and PNSB, the Council led by Grand Knight Boy Hernandez spared no expense in helping improve the lives of the students of both schools. It undertook the asphalting of the road within the PNSB compound and the improvement of its water system. It financed the rehabilitation of the then severely damaged PNSB Music
ATTY. Henry A. Reyes was formerly the City Administrator of the City Government of Muntinlupa. His assumption to the post caps 30 years of distinguished service as a community leader, business guru and public servant. His vast experience in both public and private corporations forms the foundation of his business and community outreach initiatives. He has served as chairman, vice chairman and director of local and international working committees, academic institutions, socio-civic organizations and volunteer groups. During his tenure, the City of Muntinlupa gained prestigious awards such as the Most Business-Friendly City for years 2001 and 2002. The City’s various best practices were made known through the Galing Pook Award given by the Local Government Academy and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG). The City also holds part with honorable mentions by the University of the Philippines Center for Local and Regional Governance which sigRoom, the room in which the creative, auditory experiences are of utmost significance for the visually challenged. The Council also sponsored in December 2007 a special sportsfest among disabled students from both private and public schools all over Metro Manila, held at the Cuneta Astrodome. The event showcased not only the students’ athletic prowess, but their talents in music and the arts as well. GK Boy was likewise a member of the Centennial Organizing Committee that oversaw the year long festivities, which garnered him and Council 6114 awards and recognition at the close of the centennial celebrations. More major undertakings are being pursued by the Council in 2008, including the titling of the PSD/PNSB property, and the refurbishing of the PNSB playground, among others. Within the Council, GK Boy Hernandez has revived the Mass for
nified that the methodologies devised by Muntinlupa are worth replicating by other government units. Atty. Reyes earned his Bachelor of Laws degree in 1970 and his Cum Laude AB Philosophy course in 1966 from San Beda College. He is presently connected with international organizations such as CITYNET, European Commission as Senior Consultant, LIONS Club where he served as President and Region Chairman, and the Order of the Knights of Columbus. Atty. Reyes joined the Knights of Columbus Muntinlupa Council 8447 on July 1, 1983 and later on became Grand Knight in 1985 and District Deputy of District M-71 in 1987-1989. Since his election in 2003, Atty. Reyes still sits as member of the Board of Directors of Keys Realty and Development Corp., a subsidiary of KCFAPI, which operates Holy Trinity Memorial Chapels located at Dr. A. Santos Ave., Parañaque City. He was the former Vice-chairman of the same company from 2003-2006. (Annie M. Nicolas) departed brothers. More importantly, he has embarked on a recruitment campaign for quality members who are professionals and recognized in their respective fields of endeavor. He made sure to infuse vigorous young blood into the organization, to complement the experience of the elder members. In 1975, Council 6114 obtained permission from the then Ministry of Education and Culture for the use of the canteen of the School for the Deaf and Blind as the venue of its meetings and activities. And so began the long standing, mutually fulfilling relationship between St. Raphael Council 6114, and the school which eventually became the PSD and PNSB. As the major benefactor of the 2 schools, the Knights were given their greatest opportunity to be of continuing service to less privileged fellowmen, and they were also given a home. (Matthew De Guzman)
Meet KCFAPI’s Executives Sis. Ma. Theresa G. Curia, FICD, CPA, FLMI, ACS Executive Vice President
Sis. Ma. Theresa G. Curia (MGC) was appointed in February 2006 as EVP replacing Bro. Manuel G. Lopez who retired in the same month. With the proper counsel and direction from the Board of Trustees and the President, she is responsible for formulating the strategic thrusts of the Association and in ensuring attainment of corporate objectives. MGC, a Certified Public Accountant joined KCFAPI after her 6 years stint at the country’s pre-
mier auditing firm, SyCip, Gorres, Velayo & Co. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines. She joined KCFAPI as Internal Audit Manager in 1988, and later promoted as Senior Vice President – Finance and Controller, heading financial management, information technology, and investments. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Corporate Directors, a Fellow of the Life Management Institute, and a holder of
the Certification Program on Strategic Business Economics of the University of Asia and the Pacific MGC is married to Sir Knight Harry R. Curia, a bank executive and a 4th Degree member of Council 10104, Makinabang, Baliuag, Bulacan. They are blessed with 3 children: Dominic, Monique and Sophia. She also takes active involvement as Vice Regent of Daughters of Mary Immaculate, Rosarian Circle, Makinabang Baliuag, Bulacan.
Manila Council Grand Knight Jose A. Lakas, Jr. and Council Church Director Bro. Roderick J. Baduria look on as the children sing songs of praise during catechetical class.
Sir Knight Joseph P. Teodoro Vice President – Fraternal Benefits Group JPT, as he is fondly called, takes the lead in providing fraternal service to brother knights and their families as Vice President – Fraternal Benefits Group. He succeeded Bro. Raymundo C. Soliman, Jr. who retired in January 2008. His main responsibility is to provide direction and management of all marketing and
sales activities of the Association including the administration of six (6) service offices all over the country. JPT’s career in fraternal benefits started in 1982 when he was appointed Area Manager of the Association until 1988. A brother knight since 1976, JPT has handled various key positions in the Order; as past grand
knight, past faithful navigator and a former district deputy. In Luzon Jurisdiction, he served as state program director, state treasurer and currently the membership director. JPT and his wife Luningning whom he fervently calls “Sparkle” are blessed with two children, Julius and Loraine, and a granddaughter, Sherine.
Sir Knight Efren C. Caringal, Jr., FLHC, FLMI, PCS, ARA, AFSI Vice President – Actuarial and Customer Relations Group The youngest executive at KCFAPI, Bro. Efren or ECC assumes the role of Vice President – Actuarial and Customer Relations Group at age 28, after Bro. Alfredo B. Guevarra retired in January 2008. As group head, he oversees the following departments which cater to internal and external customers: Actuarial Department, BC Relations Office, Human Re-
sources and Administrative Services Department, Underwriting Services, and Medical Services. His main goal is to ensure that quality relationships are established with stakeholders and that their needs are adequately met. ECC is a bachelor’s degree graduate in BS – Actuarial Science from the University of the Philippines, Diliman. He is an affiliate
Sis. Mary Magdalene G. Flores, FLMI, PCS Vice President – Finance Group Sis. Mary Magdalene G. Flores completed her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from St. Louis University through the scholarship grant of the Knight of Columbus Philippines Foundation. After graduation, she joined the Association in 1987 assuming various roles in investment, ben-
efit certificate services, corporate planning and treasury. She was promoted in 2006 to oversee the Finance Group as Vice President covering Financial Management and Accounting Services, Treasury Services and the financial functions of the service offices. MGF is a member of the KC
Scholars Association of the Philippines and the Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP). She is married to Bro. Roel who is also a KC member and they are blessed with two children: Roma Blaise and John Robert, aged 10 and 5, respectively. (Loren T. Mercado)
member of the Actuarial Society of the Philippines (ASP) and a member of the Association of Service Professionals in the Life Insurance (ASPLI) and the Life Insurance Claims Association of the Philippines (LICAP). He is an officer at KC Council 1000 and is the Chairman for the Sub-Committee on Youth Leadership Program of KC Luzon Jurisdiction.
KC Bloodletting. Officers and members of St. Joseph Council No. 11056 and San Isidro Labrador de Talakag Bukidnon Council No. 14005 jointly participated in the “Blood Letting Program” at Talakag, Bukidnon with the objective “Save Lives by Providing Safe Blood”. Some 30 officers, members and relatives of the two councils donated blood to the Philippine Red Cross, Region X. (5th from right) DD Robin A. Daraga, Sr., District M-20; (beside him on his right) Reynold O. Liboro, Grand Knight of Council 14005, (lying on bed, right) Raul N. Lladas, Grand Knight of Council 11056.
We want you to know!!! We would like to invite all councils to post announcements or write-ups regarding their council activities by sending your materials to KCFAPI through kcfraternalservices@kofc.org.ph or brod_lito@yahoo.com. Printing of materials submitted is subject for scheduling of KCFAPI.