Monitor CBCP
MARCH 4 - 17, 2019, VOL 23, NO. 05
PROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE
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Bishops vow accountability, end to abuse cover-up Bishop prays for Pinay in Saudi death row
By Roy Lagarde
THE country’s’ Catholic leaders have vowed to end cover-up of clergy sex abuses, pledging accountability and concrete actions to calls for reforms.
The crimes won’t be covered up, promised Archbishop Romulo Valles, president of the Philippine bishops’ conference, who just arrived back from the Vatican summit on the protection of minors. “We will do whatever we can to protect minors in the Church. You heard me, no hesitation and coverups!” he said during a Mass at the San Pedro Cathedral in Davao City on Friday, March 1. Valles was among the nearly 200 global church leaders who attended the landmark Vatican meeting amid new claims if clergy abuses and cover-up by ranking officials. Convened by Pope Francis, delegates heard the story of the victims and how church negligence had made the situation worse. The pope has repeatedly apologized to the faithful over the global scourge, but vowed to confront abusers and restore justice. The Davao archbishop admitted their “shame” over the abuses, and asked forgiveness for the pain it caused to the victims, their families, and society. “And with forgiveness the grace to stand up, repair and see to it that such things will not happen again in the Church,” Valles said. ‘Moto proprio’ Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, who served as moderator of the four-day summit, said that the pope will soon publish a new set of laws and guidelines concerning child protection. He said that the measures will be issued “moto proprio,” on the pope’s own accord, and will be Abuse / A6
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on the final day of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2019. Convened by the pope, the summit brought together 190 church leaders -- presidents of bishops’ conferences, the heads of the Eastern Catholic churches, superiors of men’s and women’s religious orders and Roman Curia officials. CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
Bishop David defies death threats Nuncio: See Christ in those who are suffering
Conference of the Philippines. In a turnaround from previous remarks, President Rodrigo Duterte on Feb. 24 warned people against harming bishops and clergymen. At a campaign rally in Cebu City, he quoted part of Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle’s message to him that David and some priests received death threats from “someone claiming to be working for the president’s family”. “Do not touch priests, they had nothing to do with politics,” Duterte said. “Either Muslims or Christians, they had nothing to do with us.
Shrine of the Holy Face of Jesus in Manila’s Quiapo district. Pointing to shroud image of Jesus at the altar, he asked the devotees why they are seeing somebody who has suffered and disfigured by violence, mockery and injustice. “How can it be the face of God? God is beauty, God is justice. Why the face of God shows something different?” he said. According to him, the Way of the Cross shows Christ’s embrace of
Threats / A6
Suffering / A6
Lent / A6
Archbishop Gabriele Caccia delivers the homily as he celebrates Mass at the Shrine of the Holy Face of Jesus in Quiapo Manila, March 5.
THE papal nuncio to the Philippines said on the eve of Lent that the face of Jesus pushes people towards those who suffer. Speaking during Mass for the local feast of the Holy Face of Jesus, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia said that Lent is the commemoration of Christ’s passion and death as an expression of His love for mankind. “So anytime we look at the face of Jesus we should be able to recognize him in all people who are suffering,” Caccia told the mass-goers at the
Reach out to the needy, Cardinal Tagle says in Lent message CARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila called for charitable giving in a Lenten message where he urged people to help the poor. In his message for Lent, he said that charity is central to the Church’s mission. “The Lenten season, which begins today, Ash Wednesday, is a time of mercy,” Tagle said in a pastoral letter. “To practice charity is concrete proof that we are striving to follow Jesus, and that we are making the gift of ourselves to active participation of Christian life,” he said. In Manila, he said that one way to engage in charitable activities is by supporting the Pondo ng Pinoy’s HapagAsa Integrated Nutrition, or FAST2FEED campaign. For several years now, especially during Lent, the church has been promoting the program to help reduce malnutrition prevalent among
Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David listen to a woman lamenting the spate of extrajudicial killings in Navotas City, July 2, 2017. CBCP NEWS
A CATHOLIC bishop insisted he will never let his death threats impede his campaign against killings. Bishop Pablo Virgilio David knows he could pay the ultimate price in his unwavering fight to end human rights abuses. “But no threat or intimidation can stop me from carrying on with my spiritual and pastoral duties as a bishop,” he said. On Feb. 25, David, a vocal critic of the government’s bloody drug war, confirmed receiving death threats from unknown people. “But I don’t know who they are coming from,” said the Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’
A CATHOLIC bishop who heads the Church’s migrants ministry has asked for prayers for the Filipina on death row in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This after the Saudi Court of Appeals affirmed the Filipina’s 2017 death sentence for killing her female employer three years ago. She had claimed self-defense in the murder case. “We turn to God in prayers that He may move the KSA government to be merciful and grant clemency to our Filipina,” said Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it will exhaust all diplomatic and legal remedies to save the Filipina. “She has to be helped and assisted. Let us try everything to save her,” said Santos. The prelate also urged the government to investigate those behind the woman’s employment abroad as she was recruited when she was still a minor. “Placement agencies should be made accountable for whatever will happen to those OFWs they have sent to other countries,” he said. In January, Saudi Arabia executed a 39-year-old Filipina household service worker found guilty of murder. More than 2.3 million Filipino work abroad to provide a better life for their families. Of this number, around half a million work in Saudi Arabia, making it the leading country of destination among OFWs. (CBCPNews)
A2 WORLD NEWS
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
French nuncio accused of sexual misconduct during time in Canada OTTAWA, Canada— Archbishop Luigi Ventura, apostolic nuncio to France, has been accused of sexual misconduct against an adult male while he was nuncio in Canada. The Vatican diplomat is already under investigation for alleged sexual assault in Paris. Christian Vachon emailed the nunciature to France Feb. 22 to file a complaint against Ventura. Vachon says that during a banquet held July 26, 2008 at the Basilica of SainteAnne-de-Beaupré, about 20 miles northest of Quebec, Ventura touched his buttocks at least twice. At the time, Vachon was 32. “I believe that the ‘modus operandi’ of Archbishop Ventura has left a doubt in the conscience of the victim as to whether he was truly a victim of touch,” Vachon’s email to the nunciature read, according to Présence, a French Canadian religious news service. Ventura, 74, was apostolic nuncio to Canada from 2001 to 2009. In 2008, Vachon part of the pastoral team at the basilica, and was discerning religious life. He told Présence he was asked to be a server at the head table: “The people could not see, because it was in the back of the room. We were thus facing the guests. No one could witness it.” He said Ventura touched his buttocks while he was serving him, and he thought at first it might have been inadvertent, but a second time he felt the nuncio’s hands “grazing my buttocks.” Vachon said Ventura tried to speak with him during the meal, but he was too shocked and scandalized to engage with him. He says he told a colleague what had happened, without identifying the nuncio. He has also, in recent years, told his wife. In the wake of the new wave of
Archbishop Luigi Ventura, the Vatican nuncio to France, meets with Pope Francis at the Vatican in this file photo from Oct. 18, 2018. VATICAN MEDIA
clergy sex abuse scandal, he shared his experience, again without identifying Ventura, on an online forum in December 2018. “Has a crime been commited? I am not able to say yes. It is immoral, out of place, undignified for his function,” Vachon told Présence. Vachon informed both the Canadian nunciature and Bishop Serge Poitras of Timmins, a former secretary to Ventura, of his claims about the nuncio. Archbishop Luigi Bonazzi, the present apostolic nuncio to Canada, phoned Vachon the same day to discuss his claims. Vachon said he did not inform the nunciature earlier because “it was the equivalent of complaining directly to [his] aggressor,” and he didn’t inform the police because it is a “he said-he said” situation. Bonazzi told Présence that Vachon’s allegations are the only ones the Canadian nunciature has received against Ventura.
French daily Le Monde reported Feb. 15 that Ventura is being investigated by Parisian authorities after he was accused late last month of having inappropriately touched a young male staffer of Paris City Hall. The alleged assault is said to have taken place in Paris’ City Hall Jan. 17, during a reception for the annual New Year address of Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo. Ventura was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Brescia in 1969. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1978 and was stationed in Brazil, Bolivia, and the UK. From 1984 to 1995 he was appointed to serve at the Secretariat of State in the Section for Relations with States. After his episcopal consecration in 1995, Ventura served as nuncio to Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chile, and Canada. He was appointed apostolic nuncio to France in September 2009. (CNA)
South Korean bishop weighs in on Trump-Kim summit
Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jung of Gwangju. PHOTO FROM UCAN
GWANGJU, South Korea— As U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un meet in Vietnam this week, a South Korean archbishop sees the host country as a model for the development of economic and religious freedoms in the isolated country. Archbishop Hyginus Kim Hee-jung of Gwangju
expressed hope for the Feb. 27-28 meeting between Kim and Trump, which kicked off Wednesday night with a dinner in Hanoi and will continue Thursday to negotatiate the potential denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. “The Vietnam-style reform and open model of ‘doi moi’ in North Korea, which itself has declared economic development to be a top priority, is the optimal way to pursue economic growth,” Archbishop Kim has said. “Doi moi” refers to Vietnam’s process of economic liberalization that began in 1986. When Trump first greeted Kim Feb. 27, he said: “I think your country has tremendous economic potential.” Vietnam and North Korea share a common history in that both fought bloody wars with the United States to defend their communist rule.
Vietnam, however, went on to normalize relations with United States in 1995 after suffering under economic sanctions and a U.S. trade embargo, and in turn experienced tremendous economic growth. “Kim Jong-un will be able to refer to the Vietnamese model not only as a model of reform and opening up, but also in terms of diplomatic relations with the papacy,” Archbishop Kim said. The Holy See appointed a diplomatic envoy to Vietnam in 2011 in the form of a “non-resident representative” after a series of bilateral talks during Benedict XVI’s papacy. Archbishop Kim has been an advocate for increasing the Holy See’s diplomatic involvement in the Korean peninsula, remarking that he thinks a papal trip to Pyongyang would be a tremendous encouragement to North
Korea’s persecuted Christians. North Korea has consistently been ranked t he w orst cou nt ry f or persecution of Christians by Open Doors. Christians within the atheist state have faced arrest, re-education in labor camps, or, in some cases, execution for their faith. “I do not know how many of them are, but there are a lot of believers in North Korea,” Archbishop Kim said. “I think the pope could go to North Korea in order to encourage even a few believers and save the fires of faith, just as Jesus has left 99 lambs to find a lost sheep,” he added. Pope Francis has said that he will travel to Japan in November. “This year is likely to be an important year in Catholicism in East Asia,” Archbishop Kim said. (CNA / Courtney Grogan)
India sees rise in public lynching of Christians BHOPAL, India— Violent attacks including public lynchings against Christians in India are reportedly becoming increasingly common, with international NGOs and the country’s Catholic bishops raising their voices in protest against mob violence. “The common man of the country is feeling insecurity in his own country due to the increasing cases of mob lynching,” Archbishop Leo Cornelio of Bhopal wrote Feb. 27. “In the past, the Supreme Court has taken cognizance of this problem. It is felt that...all the political parties and religious leaders should [be] united by making their opinions and spreading awareness about the ill practice surfacing in our society, in order to create a decent society and to [attain] a peace-loving society.” Cornelio said numerous mob lynchings have occured in which the victims are accused of eating beef or otherwise harming cattle, which are considered sacred in the Hindu religion. An article on the Indian website Scroll has documented incidents in which “cow protection vigilantes”
have assaulted men they accused of either killings cows or transporting cattle to be slaughtered. A large number of Indian states have made slaughtering cattle illegal, the article says. “Moreover, these would then not be treated as ordinary crimes. The vigilantes would often be supported, sometimes explicitly, by political parties and governments,” according to Scroll. Cornelio condemned what he called “mob psychology” as contrary to Indian law and to the rule of law in general. “Any civilized person will never hesitate to say that killing or violence by the mob is unfair and [a criminal act], because the crowd never gives an opportunity to examine, understand or tell the accused their side,” he said. He also mentioned the spread of rumors and fake news as a serious driver of mob violence. The messaging service WhatsApp, which is a main communication channel in India, has reportedly placed limits on the number of chats to which a user can forward messages in an effort to combat rumors and fake
news, Scroll reports. “Crowds allure each other and... do violence in illogical ways. Such acts are a violation of natural justice, without proper process of law. Fake news surfacing in social media adds fuels to such incidents,” Cornelio said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the lynchings this year and asked state governments to take action, according to the Times of India. Violence against Christians in India does not end with lynchings, however. The United Christian Forum and the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) India documented 29 “violent mob attacks” across India in Jan. 2019 alone, the group announced this week. According to ADF, the attacks will often involve a mob arriving at a prayer meeting or Christian gathering and beating up those in attendance, including women and children, while shouting abusive and harassing things. The group says pastors or priests are usually arrested by the police under false allegations of forced conversions. (CNA)
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Vatican Briefing Vatican announces theme for World Day of Migrants and Refugees After moving the Vatican celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees from January to September, Pope Francis wants Catholics to understand how concern for migrants and refugees is part of a much broader Christian concern for people in need. The Vatican celebration of the World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2019 will be celebrated Sept. 29, the Vatican said, and the pope’s choice for a theme is: “It is not just about migrants.” “With this theme, Pope Francis wants to highlight that his frequent appeals for migrants, refugees, displaced and trafficked people should be understood as integral to his deep concern for all the inhabitants of today’s ‘existential peripheries,’” said a note from the Migrants and Refugees Section of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. (CNS) Caring for the ill should include spiritual assistance, pope says Taking care of those who are sick or struggling with illness requires taking care of the whole person -- including their spiritual needs, Pope Francis said. Offering care and healing is focused not just on “the disease of an organ or of cells but of the person in his or her entirety,” he said. “The fact that the spirit transcends the body means that this is included in a greater vitality and dignity, which is not that of biology, but that of the person and the spirit,” the pope said told members of Italy’s national Association Against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary on March 2. Those in the audience included health care professionals, volunteers, researchers, patients and relatives. (Carol Glatz/CNS) Death penalty a ‘grave’ violation of human right to life, pope says The death penalty is a cruel violation of the basic right to life and robs people of the chance to repent and make amends for the crimes they have committed, Pope Francis said. The right to life is “the source of all gifts and of all other rights” that must be protected, the pope said in a video message to participants at the World Congress Against the Death Penalty Feb. 27. “The death penalty is therefore a serious violation of the right to life of every person,” he said. (Junno Arocho Esteves/CNS) Lent is time to let go of ‘destructive’ selfishness, pope says The Lenten season is a reminder for Catholics that overindulgence ruptures communion with God, with others and with creation, Pope Francis said. A failure to live as children of God can give way to sin, which “takes the shape of greed and unbridled pursuit of comfort, lack of concern for the good of others and even of oneself,” the pope said in his message for Lent, which begins March 6 for Latin-rite Catholics. “Unless we tend constantly toward Easter, toward the horizon of the Resurrection, the mentality expressed in the slogans ‘I want it all and I want it now!’ and ‘Too much is never enough,’ gains the upper hand,” he said. (Junno Arocho Esteves/CNS) Pope: Humanity can be dangerously spellbound by hi-tech progress Technology holds the potential to benefit all of humankind, but it also poses risky and unforeseen results, Pope Francis said. The rapid evolution of increased technological capacities, for example with artificial intelligence and robotics, creates a “dangerous enchantment; instead of handing human life the tools that will improve care, there is the risk of handing life over to the logic of instruments,” he said Feb. 25. “This inversion is destined to create ill-fated results -- the machine is not limited to running by itself, but ends up running mankind,” the pope said. The pope made his remarks during an audience with members of the Pontifical Academy for Life and those taking part in its Feb. 25-27 plenary assembly, which included a two-day workshop on “Robo-ethics: Humans, Machines and Health.” (Carol Glatz/CNS) Point out church’s errors with love, pope tells pilgrims Catholics should speak up when things go wrong in the church, but theirs must be constructive criticism delivered with love, Pope Francis said, otherwise the devil is at work. “One must point out the defects in order to correct them, but when one reports the defects, denounces them, one must love the church. Without love, it’s the devil at work,” the pope said Feb. 20 during a meeting in St. Peter’s Basilica with pilgrims from the Archdiocese of Benevento, Italy. Pope Francis visited the archdiocese last year to highlight St. Padre Pio, who was born and ministered in the southern Italy region. The pope told the pilgrims the saintly Capuchin friar was an exemplary model of faith in God, hope in eternal life, dedication to people and fidelity to the church. (Cindy Wooden/CNS) Pope Francis: Evil’s days are numbered Pope Francis said that evil is limited compared to the expanding force of God’s holiness in the world. “Evil’s days are numbered. Evil is not eternal,” Pope Francis said in a departure from his prepared remarks in St. Peter’s Square Feb. 27. “God’s holiness is an expanding force, and we beg that it quickly shatters barriers of our world,” he said, adding that this holiness “spreads in concentric circles, like when throwing a stone into a pond.” (Courtney Grogan/CNA) Rosica apologizes for plagiarism A long-time Vatican spokesman has admitted to passing off the writing of others as his own, and apologized for plagiarizing. “What I’ve done is wrong, and I am sorry about that. I don’t know how else to say it,” Fr. Thomas Rosica, CSB, told the National Post Feb. 22. Rosica, a long-serving English language press aide at the Vatican Press Office, and the CEO of Canada’s Salt+Light Television network, was reported by Life Site News Feb. 15 to have plagiarized sections of text in several lectures and op-eds from a variety of writers, among them priests, theologians, journalists, and at least two cardinals. Subsequent reports found widespread plagiarism in essays, speeches, and op-eds by Rosica, dating back more than a decade. Plagiarized sections in some texts ran beyond even one paragraph. (JD Flynn/CNA)
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NEWS FEATURES A3
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
Vatican to open WWII secret archives of Pope Pius XII VATICAN— Pope Francis announced Monday that the Vatican will open its archives on the pontificate of Pope Pius XII. Confidential files of the pope who led the Church during World War II will be made available next year. “Serious and objective historical research” will be able to evaluate Pius XII’s “hidden but active diplomacy” “in its proper light,” Pope Francis said March 4. The pope said that the full confidential files, called a “secret archive,” will be released March 2, 2020. The pontificate of Pius XII has been often misunderstood. Critics have accused him of indifference to the plight of the Jewish people during the Second World War, despite several already public documents which show the pope’s systematic efforts to assist Jews in Italy. In the late 1990s, debate over whether Pius XII did enough to counter the Nazis reached a high point with the publication of the deeply controversial book, “Hitler’s
Pope,” by British journalist John Cornwell. The book was highly critical of Pius XII, charging that he was culpably silent—if not an accomplice— in the rise of Nazism. A book published in 2015 documented how Pope Pius XII chose to resist Adolf Hitler with covert action in lieu of overt protest. Historian Mark Riebling, author of Church of Spies: The Pope’s Secret War Against Hitler, drew on wartime documents and interviews with American intelligence agents to tell how Pope Pius XII secretly provided support for three attempts to overthrow Hitler. “The Church is not afraid of history, rather, loves it and would like to love it more and better, as God loves it!” Pope Francis said in a meeting with Vatican secret archives personnel in which he made the announcement. The Vatican archives for the entirety of Pius XII’s pontificate March 1939 - Oct. 1958 will open on March 2, 2020. The complete catalog is expected to include approximately 16 million documents.
Pius XII “found himself leading the Barque of Peter at one of the saddest and darkest moments of the twentieth century,” Pope Francis said. He faced “moments of serious difficulties, of tormented decisions, of human and Christian prudence, which some might have seemed reticent,” he explained. For this, some have criticized Pius with “some prejudice or exaggeration,” Francis added. Pope Francis has previously considered Pope Pius XII’ cause for sainthood, according to a source in the Vatican’s Congregation for Causes of Saints. Benedict XVI declared Pius XII Venerable on Dec. 19, 2009, based on the recommendation of the committee investigating his cause. When Pope Paul VI started the beatification and canonization process in 1967, nine years after Pius XII’s death, he formed a committee of historians to conduct an in-depth study of his predecessor’s life and
behavior, giving particular attention to the events of World War II. Their work led to the publication of “Actes et Documents du Saint Siège relatifs à la Seconde Guerre Mondiale” (Acts and Documents of the Holy See related to the Second World War), an 11-volume collection of documents from the Vatican’s Secret Archive about Pius XII’s papacy during that tumultuous time. The remainder of the documents from Pius XII’s papacy have remained unpublished. “Knowing what I do about Pius XII, and having researched him for many years, I believe he wanted to be a saint. He wanted people in Germany to be saints,” Riebling previously told CNA. “When he heard that a priest was arrested for praying for the Jews and sent off to a concentration camp, he said: ‘I wish everyone would do that’ … But he didn’t say it publicly,” the writer acknowledged. (Courtney Grogan/CNA)
Pope Pius XII, who led the Catholic Church from 1939 to 1958, is pictured in this undated photo at the Vatican. Pope Francis announced March 4 that all the documents on Pope Pius in the Vatican Secret Archives will be made available to researchers starting March 2, 2020. VATICAN MEDIA
Pope to issue post-synod document on Vatican-China deal must be implemented, Parolin says young people in March VATICAN— Pope Francis will issue a document on “young people, faith and vocational discernment” five months after the world Synod of Bishops gathered to discuss the topic. The Vatican announced Feb. 24 that the pope will present his postsynodal apostolic exhortation March 25, the feast of the Annunciation, during a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Loreto near Italy’s central Adriatic coast. The synod, which was held in October, brought together more than 300 bishops, religious men and women, lay leaders and young people from around the world. At the end of the meeting, the voting members—mostly bishops— issued a long document summarizing their discussions and urging all Catholics, at all levels of the church’s life, to improve the way they listen to young people, taking their questions seriously, recognizing them as full members of the church, patiently walking with them and offering guidance as they discern the best way to live their faith. The synod itself and the final document looked at how, in many parts of the world, young people are abandoning the church or question its teachings, especially on sexuality.
Pope Francis prepares to address young people who participated in a pilgrimage hike from the Monte Mario nature reserve in Rome to St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Oct. 25. Participants in the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocational discernment, and young people from Rome parishes took part in the hike. PAUL HARING/CNS
The church’s response, the synod said, must be a commitment of time and patience as it helps young people “grasp the relationship between their adherence to faith in Jesus Christ and the way they live their affectivity and interpersonal relationships.” Synod speakers and the document itself emphasized the one “vocation” of all Christians is the call to holiness and how that vocation can and should be lived out in every state of
life: young or old, single or married or in the priesthood or religious life. God calls each person into a relationship with him, respects the person’s freedom and yet has a plan for each person’s life, the document said; discovering that plan requires prayer and self-examination— discernment, in other words—which usually involves the assistance of a wise and trusted guide. (Cindy Wooden/CNS)
Give up gossiping for Lent, pope suggests ROME— Lent is a good time to concentrate on fighting the urge to gossip about others and instead trying to correct one’s own faults and defects, Pope Francis said. Reciting the Angelus prayer at noon March 3 with pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square and visiting the parish of St. Crispin in Labaro, a suburb on the northern edge of Rome, later that afternoon, Pope Francis focused on the line from the day’s Gospel: “Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” “We all know it usually is easier or more comfortable to notice and condemn the defects and sins of others rather than seeing our own with that kind of clarity,” the pope said at the Angelus. The pope returned to the passage during his parish visit, telling parishioners that Jesus “wants to teach us to not go around criticizing others, not go looking for others’ defects, but look first at your own.”
If someone were to say, “but, Father, I don’t have any,” the pope said he would explain that “I assure you if you don’t notice you have any here, you’ll find them in purgatory! It’s better to notice them here.” Unfortunately, he said, people seldom stop at just noticing others’ defects, something “we are experts at.” What almost always happens next, he said, is that “we talk about them,” not telling the person to his or her face in a way that could help the person improve but indulging freely and happily in gossip. “It’s something that because of original sin we all have, and it leads us to condemn others,” the pope said. “We are experts in finding the bad things in others and not seeing our own.” Speaking the Sunday before Lent was to begin, Pope Francis said it would be great if everyone tried during Lent to reflect on Jesus’ words to see the faults only of others and on the temptation of gossip.
Catholics should ask themselves, “Am I a hypocrite who smiles and then turns around to criticize and destroy with my tongue?” He said. “If, by the end of Lent, we are able to correct this a bit and not go around always criticizing others behind their backs, I assure you (the celebration of) Jesus’ resurrection will be more beautiful.” The pope began his parish visit by meeting children who had recently received their first Communion or were preparing for first Communion and those who recently received confirmation or were preparing to be confirmed. The young people asked him questions, including about how to be good and resist temptation. Beginning his response, Pope Francis asked the youngsters if they knew who the “boss of wickedness” is. “The devil,” they replied. “But the devil’s a fantasy; he doesn’t exist, does he?” the pope asked. “Yes, he exists. It’s
true,” the pope told them. “And he is our worst enemy. He’s the one who tries to make us slide. He’s the one who puts evil desires and evil thoughts in our hearts and leads us to do so many bad things.” The way to resist the devil, he said, is to pray to Jesus and to his mother and to talk to one’s parents, catechists or priests when temptation is lurking. Prayer and talking to someone good and wise also is important when trying to make a decision, he told them in response to another question. “We can all make mistakes,” Pope Francis said. “Even I can make a mistake?” “Yes,” the children replied. “The pope can make a mistake?” he asked just to make sure he understood them. When they responded in the affirmative, he told them they were right, and that when someone has a decision to make, prayer and seeking advice can help. (Cindy Wooden/ CNS)
VATICAN—Speaking at a conference on Vatican diplomacy, the Holy See’s Secretary of State stressed that it is now important “to make the China deal for the appointment of bishops work in practice.” Cardinal Pietro Parolin’s remarks were given during the opening lecture of a 2-day conference on the Holy See’s diplomatic agreements, held Feb. 28 – March 1 at the Pontifical Gregorian University and the “Ecole Français in Rome.” In his lecture, Parolin provided a general overview of the Holy See’s agreements with states, before discussing a 2018 provisional agreement reached between the Vatican and the People’s Republic of China, concerning especially the appointment of bishops in China. Signed Sept. 22, 2018, the terms of the agreement are confidential. But as an effect of the agreement, the Holy See recognized seven illicitly consecrated Chinese bishops and entrusted them with the leadership of Chinese dioceses. At the moment all of China’s bishops have the twofold recognition of the government and the Holy See. Since the deal, no new bishops have yet been appointed to China. Parolin described the China deal as “a sui generis case, since it was stipulated between two parties that still do not reciprocally recognize each other.” He said that it is now important to “put into effect the agreement.” The cardinal also said that the China deal came “at the end of a long path. In the end, we succeeded, and we hope that the deal will bear fruits for the good of the Church and of the country.” Parolin said that Catholic Church “does not ask states to act as defenders of faith, but rather to ensure the freedom to be able to accomplish the mission.” Vatican diplomatic agreements have two goals: that of safeguarding religious freedom, and that of preserving the Church’s freedom and at the same time helping the Catholic Church to “give her contribution to the spiritual and material development of the country, and foster peace peace.” Religious freedom, Parolin said, is a key principle in agreements with States where Catholic are a minority, or in countries that have not a Christian tradition. The Vatican Secretary of State made the examples of the agreements with Tunisia (1964), Morocco (1983-1984), Israel (1993), Kazakhstan (1998), Palestine Liberation Organization (2000), Azerbaijan (2011), Chad (2013) and Palestine (2015). Parolin also noted that “negotiation for agreements with countries of Orthodox tradition did not go through until now,” and that there are no agreements with Anglo-Saxon countries (like UK and US), mostly “because of a different cultural understanding, rather than because of anti-Church
sentiments.” He added that the Holy See does not have a fixed model for diplomatic agreements, and briefly explained the procedure for reaching them: once the Holy See knows that a state is willing to negotiate an agreement, it authorizes a delegation chaired by the local nuncio and composed of some local bishops and canon law experts. Then, the delegation identifies the main topics of interest for the agreement, and drafts a text, which is overseen and approved by the Secretariat of State. Legal issues are the first to be discussed, as they include the Church’s freedom and the practice of the worship. Once everything is settled, the agreement is signed and ratified. Parolin also noted that bishops’ conferences, with the Holy See’s authorization, can also make agreements with states, though these are mostly private agreements and not official internationally recognized legal agreements. The Vatican Secretary of State added that agreements can also be questioned, and recalled that Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, a longterm diplomat who was Vatican Secretary of State from 1979 to 1990, used to say that agreements are not “a modus vivendi” but rather a “modus non moriendi” (not a way of living, but a way of not dying). Parolin said that diplomatic agreements are part of the Holy See’s efforts to establish better relations with countries and to regulate the life of the Church, trying to avoid that civil society jumped into Church’s issues. The Vatican Secretary of State also made mention of so-called “gentlemen’s agreements,” that is ‘“informal agreements between two parties grounded in honour, good faith and respect for one’s word.” He mentioned the “gentlemen’s agreement” between the Holy See and Vietnam, where “appointment of bishops take place according to a procedure orally agreed with the government.” The details of that oral agreement have never been disclosed. CNA sources say that the Holy See – Vietnam agreement for the appointment of bishops works this way: there is a round of consultation with bishops and clergy, the nuncio then presents a set of three possible candidates to the pope; the pope makes his decision, and after that the decision is communicated to the Vietnamese government, which must give its approval. Sometimes, Vietnam has been described as a possible model for the appointment of bishops with China. However, it seems that this will not be the model, because the Chinese government wants to keep more control over the appointment of bishops than that model allows for. (Andrea Gagliarducci/ CNA)
A4 OPINION
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
CBCP Monitor
EDITORIAL
LENT is known as a Season of Penance but it is also a Season of Grace. Special grace is poured out by Jesus Christ to people to be converted and be closer to the Him. It is 40 days of Penance, Prayer and Almsgiving. This is why we aptly call it Kuwaresma. In the Bible, 40 days or 40 years is a period of preparation. Hence the people journeyed for 40 years in the desert before they entered the Promised Land. Jesus too spent 40 days in the desert before he started his public ministry. 40 days and nights of rain cleansed the world of violence in the time of Noah to bring about a new creation. The prophet Elijah journeyed for 40 days to meet God on Mt Horeb as Moses fasted for 40 days before the Law was given to him on Sinai. Thus every year the Christian people pass through the 40 days of of lent to be renewed in preparation for the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus on Easter. In olden times the period of lent was a time of intense preparation for baptism which was administered on Easter. The catechumens participate in the suffering and death of Jesus in order to participate in his New Life in baptism. We die with Christ so that we may rise with him. This is the Christian life. Now for us who are already baptized, lent has become a season of intense purification so that we may fully share in the new life of the Resurrection. The discipline of lent is spelled out by Penance, Prayer and Almsgiving. Penance means self-denial. We deny ourselves to gain more self-control and to free ourselves from the pull of sin. We heed the call of Jesus: “If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me.” (Mk 8:34) This is done through fasting and abstinence. First, we abstain from sinful words, works and habits. Then we can fast from what we naturally crave, hence from food. Those who are 14 years old and above abstain from all meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of lent. Those who are 21 years old till 59 years old are asked to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, which means, to take only one full meal during those days. We can also include other forms of penance such as no chocolate or no coffee during the 40 days, or no television or no facebook, or even doing physical exercises during this period. The purpose is to say “no” to self so that we can say “yes” to God and to others. We say “yes” to God by praying more and intently during these days. It can mean reading the Bible, visiting the Blessed Sacrament, making the Way of the Cross, or praying the Rosary. We say “yes” to others by various works of charity, like the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. Hence in lent we have Alay Kapwa, Fast to Feed, and more intense participation in Pondo ng Pinoy. Let us listen to what the Bible says: “The kind of fasting I want is this: Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice, and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear, and do not refuse to help your own relatives.” (Isaiah 58:6-7) The reception of the ash on Ash Wednesday means that we are ready to enter this special season of repentance. Hence one formula that is said as the ashes are being imposed is: “Repent and believe in the Good News.” Since Biblical times the ash on the head is a symbol of humility and penance. We are reminded of this by the other formula that is said over us: “Remember that you are dust and to dust you shall return.” Let us then enter into this season of grace with humility and a repentant heart.
Media and information literacy WE need to have due concern for this matter. We are now in a fast-moving-and-evolving digital world and we cannot afford to be ignorant and illiterate in its ways. We have to level up. As described by Wikipedia, the purpose of being information and media literate is to engage in a digital society. Thus, “one needs to be able to understand, inquire, create, communicate and think critically. It is important to effectively access, organize, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms.” Wikipedia continues: “Information and media literacy enables people to interpret and make informed judgments as users of information and media, as well as to become skillful creators and producers of information and media messages in their own right.” From the UNESCO, we have the following description: “Empowerment of people through Media and Information Literacy (MIL) is an important prerequisite for fostering equitable access to information and knowledge and promoting free, independent and pluralistic media and information systems.” It continues: “A particular focus will be on training teachers to sensitize them to the importance of MIL in the education process, enable them to integrate MIL into their teaching and provide them with appropriate pedagogical methods, curricula and resources.” Even Moscow has issued a declaration defining MIL as “a combination of knowledge, attitudes, skills, and practices required to access, analyze, use, produce, and communicate information and knowledge in creative, legal and ethical ways that respect human rights.” This is, of course, an Editorial / A6
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Season of grace
Faith requires being a true neighbor IN his homily concluding the 2018 Synod on the Youth, Pope Francis noted that a key step on the journey of faith is “to be a neighbor.” We observe that when Jesus engages people in the Gospel, he goes to meet them personally. He directly asks them to express their needs: “What do you want me to do for you?” (Mk 10:51). For Pope Francis, in particular situations, “this is how God operates. He gets personally involved with preferential love for every person. By his actions, he already communicates his message. Faith flowers in life. Faith passes through life…. Faith is life: it is living in the love of God who has changed our lives.” Francis believes that engaging the youth of today demands this same pastoral approach. “We are called to carry out God’s work in God’s own way: in closeness, by cleaving to him, in communion with one another, alongside our brothers and sisters [today’s youth]. Closeness: that is the secret to
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
productive from nine to five, to shower with brand-Y soap so that we’re germfree all day, to use brand-Z deodorant in order not to offend the noses of fellow train passengers, to wear this or that style to project power, to drive this or that car, etc. etc. Media reinforce the dream that advertisers sell, lionizing “successful” people and their lifestyles, making the illusion so widespread that people thoughtlessly believe it is true. The world offers us so many choices, but sets only one worldly goal—success— and so it teaches us that to be successful we must be smart. We have to be “cool” in everything we do,
Holiness in our helplessness WE know that holiness is for everyone. That’s what God wants us to be, since we are his image and likeness, children of his. He wants us to be like him. “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” Christ told us very clearly. (Mt 5,48) But we many times think that to be holy and perfect, one should be spotlessly clean of any sin, defect and error. To be sure, to be holy has aspects of these qualities. We have to try our best that we be good all the time, productive and fruitful in our endeavors, active in the service of God, the Church and society. But holiness should not be seen only in that light. Such understanding of holiness would make it an achievable goal only for a few. It becomes a concern only to the elite who happen to have
Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM
communicating the heart of the faith.” Such intimate encounters are necessary to attract youth to the Church today. Go out! Bring Jesus! Pope Francis also emphasized that genuine faith is always a “missionary faith,” a faith that actively goes out to others. “It is not Christian to expect that our brothers and sisters [the youth in particular] who are seekers should have to knock on our doors; we ought to go out to them, bringing, not ourselves, but Jesus.” As Christians, we realize that Jesus “sends us, like his disciples, to encourage others and to raise them up in his name. He sends us forth to say to each person: ‘God is asking you to let yourself be loved by him’.” We need to go out and bring Jesus! We must act as “the community of the saved who dwell in the joy of the Lord”! Faith demands “good neighborology”! Continuing his final homily closing the Synod on the Youth, Pope Francis asserted that “Being a neighbor means bringing the newness of God into the lives of our brothers
And That’s The Truth EVEN for the “most religious” among us, it is not that easy to latch on to God’s every word as we go through the hurly-burly of our daily life. Almost everything in our environment—especially in the metropolis—tells us that earning a living ought to be our most important concern, and that all our waking moments must revolve around it. And to be effective at earning a living, we must be and acceptable to the world, because our face, our appearance, is our calling card. Advertisements reinforce this idea in telling us how to start our day: they nudge us to drink brand-X coffee if we want to be alert and
Living Mission and sisters.” “Let us ask ourselves whether, as Christians, we are capable of becoming neighbors, stepping out of our circles and embracing those who are not ‘one of us,’ those who God ardently seeks.” When we are tempted to remain inward looking, to wash our hands, to avoid involvement, we should follow Jesus’ example; “we want to imitate Jesus and, like him, to dirty our hands.” “Let us realize that the Lord has dirtied his hands for each of one of us…. He became my neighbor…. And when, out of love of him, we too become neighbors, we become bringers of new life…, witnesses of the love that saves.” Conclusion. The Church needs good theology, clear and helpful teaching on the truths of our faith. Concomitantly, our Church also needs good neighborology, serving the needy, lonely, poor, sick, and elderly in our midst. Good neighborology in practice will attract the youth of today to Jesus and the Church.
The one choice we must make in choosing what to wear, say, and do; where to eat; what projects to do; whom to hang around with; which stocks to invest in; etc. In the way of the world, achieving “a happy and successful life” does not necessarily mean choosing to be ethical, moral, or even legal sometimes—we just have to be smart. But is this the way we should go as citizens of the “only Christian nation in Asia”? In reality—come to think of it—there is only one choice we as baptized Christians have to make in order for us to live a happy, productive, and fulfilling life of dignity. There is only one forked road we have to face, and there we ask ourselves: shall I follow
the will of God or only mine? Choosing to follow God’s will over ours means recognizing our Creator, gratefully giving Him Number One position in our life, and embracing the truth that He has sent His Only Son to us in order to show us the way to life eternal. Earning a living may be important, but it is only so if that living points to another life. This world is beautiful, marvelous, and enjoyable, but it is only a stepping stone to the next. Debunk the advertisers’ promises, puncture the illusions media propagate about having a “happy and successful life” as a human being’s worthiest goal. If we call And That’s the Truth / A6
Candidly Speaking
qualities favorable to these aspects. It can only become the domain of the well-endowed, the strong-willed, and even the superheroes, if not the superhumans. Holiness has another side. It can and should be achieved in the middle of our weaknesses, our stupidities and follies, our mistakes and sins, our helplessness, as long as we know how to relate them to God. We cannot deny that in spite of our best efforts, which actually can be a very relative thing since what is best to one is only good to another, we many times find ourselves helpless in the face of our own weaknesses and the strong temptations around. We cannot deny that in this world, no matter how brilliant and gifted we are, we act like little children who really
Fr. Roy Cimagala would not know everything that affects him, much less, how to cope with the many mysteries in life. Let us always remember that cry of St. Paul when he noticed two conflicting laws raging within himself, the law of the mind and the law of the flesh. (cfr. Rom 7,22-24) Many times, we find ourselves in this situation, and we do not know exactly what to do. I would say that on these occasions, we just have to suffer our weaknesses, and everything else that are allied to them—our stupidities and follies, our helplessness, etc.—in the way Christ suffered in his passion and death. On that occasion too, Christ made himself helpless against all the malice of man, so he could teach us how to deal with our own helplessness. Candidly Speaking / A6
CBCP Monitor
By the Roadside
Fr. Eutiquio ‘Euly’ Belizar, Jr. SThD
“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit on the ground; they are silent. They have thrown dust on their heads. They have girded themselves with sackcloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to the ground” (Lamentations 2:10). LENT is upon us. But, pray tell, when has it ever ended in the land of Jose Rizal? Herod is still slaying perceived enemies. Pilate is still washing his hands. People with power are still conspiring against Jesus. The crowds are still shouting, “Crucify him!” Judas is still in hot pursuit of his thirty pieces of silver. Herod still keeps regaling his audiences with tales of harlotry and murders tinted as chivalry; and these are met with laughter and applause. Peter continues to deny Jesus; and, oh, nobody should have missed how the so-called “apostles” literally run for their lives at the mere sight of Herod’s men. Meanwhile, Herod utters without let-up well-calculated words despising God Almighty and his people as revealed by the Scriptures and even presents an alternative to what Zion offers for an encounter and worship of the deity of their dreams or nightmares—himself. And the prophets? They have been mostly silent or, worse, silenced. But why do we need them? One, we need them to, as David did, bring God’s people to mourn the death of countless Abners in our midst. Piqued by sorrow at the killing, David tells the killers, the brothers Joab and Abishai, as well as the people with them, “‘Tear your garments and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and lament before the funeral procession of Abner.’ David himself
We must do something to protect his life; we must keep him safe; we must secure everything for him. We never asked “why Bishop Ambo, of all people.” We know physical injuries might be inflicted on him so as to intimidate him, but to take his life is something beyond our imagination. Bishop Ambo has been fearless and relentless in his advocacy for the rights of the poor and the children. He always points out that every human life is sacred and with dignity; that it should never be abused; that it must be protected while in the womb; that detained persons and prisoners should not be given inhumane treatment, even if they were involved in illegal drugs because they are sick and need care and compassion. He always states that every person must fight every forces of death and violence. He is against violence, he is against the culture of death. Bishop Ambo should never
Faith and Culture Cristina Montes
FOR this year’s season of Lent, I would like to suggest a way to add variety to the observance of this yearly liturgical season devoted to prayer, penance, and almsgiving. Many people substitute their recreational reading with something spiritual during Lent. (Of course, there are also people who are in the practice of doing regular spiritual reading all year round.) Around Lent, I usually read blogs or Facebook posts about people deciding on or announcing their “Lenten reading”. One way to facilitate Lenten recollection is to read poetry suited for the season. Good poetry can have a powerful impact on the soul. It can engage the whole person – intellect, imagination, memory, senses. The works of talented poets who have sought inspiration in spiritual things, especially the Passion and Death of Christ, can inspire their readers to move just a bit closer to Him. A clarification, though: recreational
Sackcloth and ashes, not curses
followed the casket” (2 Sam 3:31). Now, don’t we need to do the same in our islands drenched with the blood of EJK victims and of assassinations of political and all other kinds? Two, we need the prophets to call us to repentance. We need to hear them do a Jonah, that is, declare that our sins as individuals and as a nation only have one destination: self-destruction. “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed” (Jon 3:4). We need our prophets to witness like Jonah the power of God’s (not their) Word on people. “And the people of Nineveh believed in God. They proclaimed a fast, and they put on sackcloth, from the greatest to least. And word reached the king of Nineveh. And he rose from his throne, and he threw off his robe and was clothed in sackcloth, and he sat in ashes” (Jon 3:5-6). But will the present king and population of our Nineveh also put on the sackcloth and ashes of repentance? That is what we must pray for, as we strive for our own. Jesus himself warns us not go the way of unrepentant Chorazin and Bethsaida, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! If the miracles that had been performed in you happened in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes” (Mt 11:21). The ruins of Chorazin and Bethsaida are there to warn us so we could avoid adding upon ours. For are we not ruined enough by the ongoing carnage of our own people by our people in the antidrug war, rebellion and assassinations largely done under the skirt of impunity? Three, we need the prophets to remind us of our mortality and thus of the urgency of humble self-assessment leading to conversion. “Dust and ashes
Let us pray for life and safety WHEN many priests had been gunned down, how would you feel when you suddenly learn that your Bishop also received death threats, one after another? Did you ever think what would happen to your Diocese without him? Did you ask yourself what would happen to your bishop’s many projects for the poor and the children? for those living in the peripheries of society? for the lost, the least and the last? for those who depend on him morally, spiritually and financially? What would you do to prevent and stop the worst that could happen to your Bishop? It recently happened to our very own dear Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David of the Diocese of Kalookan. Our initial reaction was anger. How can a person want to kill a servant of the Lord who has nothing in his heart and mind but to give good life for all and bring them closer to God. Our anger turned into fear for our Bishop’s life.
OPINION A5
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
thou art and to dust and ashes shalt thou return” (Gen 3:19) are God’s words to Adam that the Church, as prophet, repeats to us during Ash Wednesday. Are we listening? Or are those words lost somewhere in our daily cultivated pretensions that we are not led each minute closer to our last breath? Four, we need the prophets to tell us by sackcloth and ashes that only prayer from hearts filled with humble, if often desperate, faith can we move mountains. The book of Esther, particularly chapters 4 and 5, tells of how Esther, her adoptive father Mordecai and all Jews, by praying, fasting and interceding “with sackcloth and ashes” (4:1; 16) engineered the liberation of their people from a wellplanned genocide. Will we not in our own time not learn from them? Finally, we need our prophets to tell us to not reject being ordinary and commonplace like “sackcloth and ashes”. Why? Because, precisely in embracing our littleness, we likewise constantly open ourselves to the “mysterium tremendum” that is God’s presence in ordinary people and ordinary things we deal with daily. As we encounter the hungry, the thirsty, the ragged, the prisoners, the sick, the marginalized only by our intimate spiritual familiarity with our sackcloth and ashes will we realize the truth of the Master’s words: “Whatever you did to the least of my brethren you did to me” (Mt 25:40). Lent is upon us. And it challenges us to take up our sackcloth and ashes of prayer, fasting, penance and true conversion. By the same sackcloth and ashes we will surely, like Thomas, touch the wounds the crucified Lord who will always lead us to Easter.
Duc in Altum
Atty. Aurora A. Santiago
be misunderstood. He is very vocal when he asserts that the Church is not against the government’s war on illegal drugs. The Church fully supports the campaign against illegal drugs because they are menace to society: they destroy the person, they destroy the family, in the end, they destroy the country. The Church objection is the manner how the war is conducted. Every person has the right to due process; when apprehended, he should be given his day in court, not to be summarily executed “kapag nanlaban” (if he fought back). As President of the Council of the Laity of Kalookan (CLK), how should I call on the parishioners of our Dioceses to protect Bishop Ambo? We need to keep him safe and secured. In deep prayers, I asked the Lord to teach me the way. Then, Pope Francis’s message during the World Youth Day in Panama immediately flashed in my mind. The
youth is “not the future but the now of God…”. I do not have the contact number of Kriz Payumo, Chairman of the Youth Ministry of Kalookan; I googled his FB account, sent message and he replied. He said the youth are as concerned as the adults about the life and safety of Bishop Ambo. I told Kriz that the CLK and the Youth Ministry should join forces, work together and plan what should be done. We both agreed to mobilize the Diocese. I suggested Prayer Power; he suggested Prayer Vigil. Together with Mark Joseph Rollon and Marion Sanchez II of the Diocese Social Communications (SOCCOM), Kriz and I planned the Prayer Vigil at San Roque Cathedral in less than 48 hours, on First Friday, and on the eve of the birthday of Bishop Ambo. Mark and Marion will document the event; the Prayer Vigil will not be focused on Bishop Duc in Altum / A7
Human love and divine love in fantasy
reading of spiritual books is not the same as what is strictly speaking spiritual reading or lectio divina, and spiritual reading must be done under the guidance of one’s spiritual director. Certain works may be good in themselves but may not be the best work for the reader at his or her stage of the spiritual life. That having been said, there are many poems that can edify spiritually. T.S. Elliot’s long poem, Ash Wednesday is a challenging one. Nevertheless, one does not need to fully understand Ash Wednesday to appreciate the mood it powerfully evokes and captures: that of recollection, and the tension arising from the interior struggle that conversion involves. It also has references to the Blessed Virgin. Here is an excerpt from the poem: “And pray to God to have mercy upon us And pray that I may forget These matters that with myself I too much discuss
Too much explain Because I do not hope to turn again Let these words answer For what is done, not to be done again May the judgment not be too heavy upon us Because these wings are no longer wings to fly But merely vans to beat the air The air which is now thoroughly small and dry Smaller and dryer than the will Teach us to care and not to care Teach us to sit still. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death Pray for us now and at the hour of our death.” For the next column, I will introduce the reader to poems that have been inspired by the events of Holy Week. There are many of them; I will present only my favorites. (To be continued)
Whisper from the Desert Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, STD
EDSA: An unfinished revolution THIRTY-THREE years ago, a corrupt dictator—Ferdinand Marcos—was deposed in a matter of four days without bloodshed. It was an event that was totally unexpected. It happened three years after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, which consequently heightened the resistance against the dictatorial regime. It happened two weeks after a snap election which was denounced by the CBCP as fraudulent. It was triggered by a bungled coup attempt and the call of Cardinal Sin for the people to come to EDSA to prevent loyalist troops from going after the coup plotters holed up in Camp Crame and Camp Aguinaldo. It came to be known as the People Power revolution which installed Cory Aquino, the widow of Ninoy Aquino, as president. For many, it was indeed a miraculous event. It was our Exodus. It was a manifestation of God’s intervention in our country’s history. God was revealed as liberator, on side of the poor, who “cast the mighty from their thrones and lifted up the lowly.” It was time when we were proud to be Filipinos. EDSA was touted as our gift to the world, proof that it was possible to peacefully end despotic regimes. Thus, it became an inspiration for non-violent resistance all over the world. Several years later, we witnessed the collapse of the Iron Curtain, the emergence of democratic regimes in Eastern Europe, in Latin America, and in South Africa. Yet, over three decades later, we look at our country and ask, was it really a revolution? Did EDSA change and transform our country? The Marcoses are still around. Ferdinand Marcos, Sr. has received a hero’s burial. Imelda Marcos is still scotfree in spite of being convicted by the Sandigan Bayan. It is believed that the Marcos billions financed the vicepresidential candidacy of Bongbong Marcos and the senatorial candidacy of Imee Marcos who is being endorsed by Rodrigo Duterte out of gratitude for the family’s support of his presidential candidacy. We have a president who idolizes the former dictator and has followed his example by exercising hegemony and total control, not just over the executive branch but also the legislative and judiciary branches of government. He has imposed perpetual martial law in Mindanao. He acts as if he is above the law and can say anything he likes. The extrajudicial killings already claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people in less than three years – casualties on the so-called “war on drugs” and the counter-insurgency war. This has surpassed the EJKs that took place in the 14 years of the Marcos dictatorial rule. Peace remains an elusive dream in spite of the peace agreement with the MILF and the BOL. Peace negotiations with the NDF/CPP/NPA which started 32 years ago have not prospered and have once again collapsed, leading to the escalation of armed hostilities. We continue to be led by corrupt and incompetent politicians whose only concern is to enrich themselves and their families and perpetuate themselves in power. The opposition has been intimidated and emasculated. Those who dared stand up to the president—like Leila De Lima and Antonio Trillanes III have been harassed and arrested by false charges. The media is constantly under attack while false news proliferate in the cyberspace. The clergy—including bishops—continue to receive death threats and three priests have already been assassinated. Meanwhile, majority of the people remain poor. The prices of goods continue to rise. The poor are victims of violence, injustice, violation of human rights. They are the most vulnerable to calamities due to the destruction of the environment and climate change. Looking back over the years after EDSA, we realize that there was no genuine revolution. There was a restoration of democracy—but only in form but not in substance. What was restored was elitist democracy—with a self-serving political class motivated by wealth, power, and privilege— perpetuated by an electorate most of whom lack conscience and intelligence, easily fooled by empty promises, that can easily be bought and captivated by candidates who are popular (boxers, entertainers, actors) even if they are incompetent. Fifteen years after EDSA, there was EDSA II which ousted a corrupt and incompetent president. But things remain the same. Why is this? We lack genuine selfless leaders who have integrity, principles, and competence. We lack compassionate and courageous servant-leaders, with vision and wisdom, capable of inspiring everyone to work for the common good and with a program of transforming our political and economic system and structures to bring about genuine justice, peace, and progress. But we cannot blame everything on the kind of leaders we have. We deserve the leaders we have elected. They reflect who we are – the worst version of ourselves. Change and revolution begins in each one of us. What is required is a moral revolution. To be able to recognize good and evil within and outside ourselves, to overcome our selfishness and greed, to undergo a process of conversion, to reject all forms and manifestation of evil, to become more honest and compassionate. We need to undergo a process of purification. I believe that EDSA was our Exodus—it was a moment in our history that we as a people experienced God’s liberating intervention. But as the biblical story reminds us, the people of God had to journey across the desert for forty years before reaching the promised land. Why did it have to take that long? Because liberation from Pharaoh’s oppressive rule was the easy part. The inner liberation—the spiritual-moral liberation takes time. Structural revolution or transformation has to be accompanied by moral, inner revolution and transformation. The present authoritarian regime that came to power with the promise of change— pagbabago—will not last, it will surely come to an end. But unless we undergo inner change as a people, we will have more of the same. There was a time when we were proud to be Filipinos. Now many of us are ashamed to be Filipinos. I hope that someday, we will be proud once again of who we are.
A6 LOCAL NEWS
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
PPCRV seeks 300k volunteers for May 13 polls
THE Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) needs at least 300,000 volunteers to be deployed nationwide on Election Day. PPCRV board member Dr. Arwin Serrano said it’s just their ideal minimum number of volunteers who will be assigned in their command center and polling precincts. He said they are actually targeting up to half a million volunteers, but which is still lower compared to the 800,000 volunteers they had in the 2016 elections. Serrano said they required a lower number of volunteers because there are less
precinct centers to provide with poll watchers. “We should have at least 300,000 volunteers nationwide. That’s the ideal minimum but we are targeting 500,000,” he said. To be a PPCRV volunteer, one must be at least 18-years old; a registered voter; not related to any serving Board of Election Inspectors up to the fourth degree of consanguinity; and not related to any candidate in a particular district. In the past few months, the poll watchdog has been conducting voters’ education trainers’ training in different dioceses across the country. (CBCPNews)
CBCP Monitor
Bishop: Influx of illegal Chinese workers ‘unfair’ to Filipinos A CATHOLIC bishop raised concern over the the seeming special treatment given to illegal Chinese workers in the country. Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga said the immigration laws must apply to all, regardless of nationalities or status. “Their entry, stay and work must be legal, and if not, so apply the law. No exception, no special treatment,” Santos said. The bishop was reacting to President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement discouraging the deportation of undocumented Chinese workers in the Philippines. Duterte’s remarks come amid an ongoing Senate investigation on the influx of Chinese into the country. Nearly 2,000 Chinese nationals have been arrested for working without proper visas or permits in the past two years. The biggest arrest was in 2016 when authorities rounded up more than 1,200 Chinese working in illegal online casinos in Pampanga. On Feb. 7, immigration operatives arrested 30 Chinese nationals working illegally in several establishments in Parañaque City. Bishop Santos also rejected
Bishop Ruperto Santos, chairman of the CBCP Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People. NICO BALBEDINA
Malacañang’s claim that the surge of Chinese workers was due to the lack of skilled Filipinos particularly in construction works. “It could be that we are not giving them work and chose to give work to other nationalities. And thus it is unfair treatment to our fellow Filipinos,” he
added. The prelate urged the government to ensure that Filipinos are not robbed of job opportunities in their own country. “Prioritize them, Filipinos first and give them work here so that there will be no need of going abroad,” Santos said. (Roy Lagarde / CBCPNews)
Church opposes Manila Bay reclamation projects
Suffering / A1
everyone who suffers or are unjustly persecuted. “It was a gesture of love and it transforms everything. Even injustice, even evil could be transformed by love,” said Caccia. Catholics across the country are expected to attend Masses and receive ashes on their foreheads on Ash Wednesday, March 6, which marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period of penance for Catholics before the Holy Week and Easter. Cardinal Luis Antonio
Tagle of Manila urged the faithful to “prepare to journey with Jesus to Jerusalem where He will show His love for God the Father and for us until the end”. Like Christ, he said that it is important to “travel light” and without heavy bags and baggages. “Almsgiving, fasting and prayer will help us leave behind unnecessary bags and baggages on our Lenten journey with Jesus,” Tagle said. (CBCPNews)
Threats / A1
Do not do it. Do not try to do it. The religious [leaders] has nothing to do with the vagaries of life. Lay off! Stop threatening them or you will have to face me,” he added. Duterte has repeatedly slammed the Church in response to its criticism against his drug war and David has become the main target of the president’s tirade. Recently, the president
intensified his attacks on the Church, even urging people to kill bishops. Asked if the death threats are tied to his campaign against drug killings, David said, “your guess is as good as mine”. Human rights advocates alleged that the death toll in Duterte’s drug war has surpassed 20,000 since he assumed office in 2016. (CBCP News)
Editorial / A4
overwhelming challenge. The technical aspects involved in this matter alone can already pose a formidable challenge. In this area, things are developing at warp-speed. But it is more in the moral and ethical aspects where the real challenge lies. And sadly, this latter concern is lagging behind miserably. That in this matter everything has to start and end with God is hardly felt by people in general. It would even seem that God is regarded as a persona-nongrata here. But what is worse is when we start talking about the concrete guidelines and limits so that we can indulge in this task with prudence and temperance that would not compromise boldness and creativity! Unfortunately, many people nowadays hardly make any reference to God in their growing ventures into the world of knowledge, sciences, technology. They seem competent to tackle the challenge simply by using their increasingly growing technical knowledge and skills. This is a big challenge to face. They have forgotten what St. Paul said in this regard: “Knowledge puffs up while love builds up. Those who
think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. But whoever loves God is known by God.” (1 Cor 8,1-3) Maybe what should be done is to come out with a network of agencies and other relevant institutions that will continually monitor the developments in this world of the media and information. This network should cover and be represented by all levels, classes, sectors of society. It definitely would involve technical people, but more than them, it should involve our spiritual leaders, parents, teachers, government, etc. There should be representatives from the legal field as well as from that sphere that studies social developments. There should be interdisciplinary approach to all this. From there, we need to have an army of mentors who can personally attend to every individual person, especially the young ones. Of course, everyone should strive to be a mentor too, even if he himself needs also to be continually mentored. We have to remember that all of us are meant to be both sheep and shepherd, mentee and mentor.
The Archdiocese of Manila reiterates its stance to protect Manila Bay from reclamation projects. ROY LAGARDE
THE Archdiocese of Manila has maintained its opposition to the government plan to develop artificial islands in Manila Bay, saying it could harm the environment. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the reclamation projects are wasteful and potentially harmful to the environment. “We, in the Archdiocese of Manila, are against the
Manila Bay reclamation due to ecological grounds. It is against ecology,” Pabillo said. Aside from hurting the ecology, the prelate said the projects would affect the poor that depends on the bay waters for their livelihood. “It is a project for the rich and foreigners while the poor will suffer due to congestions and floodings in Manila,” Pabillo said.
“It is against the poor since it will concentrate projects in Manila rather than spreading it out in the provinces,” he added. A total of 22 reclamation projects are planned along Manila Bay, three of which have already been approved by the government. The Philippine Reclamation Authority (PRA) said that all projects cover about 11
percent of the bay’s 1,994 square-kilometer area. In 2013, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle and 20 other bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila appealed to the government to stop the reclamation projects. They asserted that the projects will only benefit the wealthy and big businesses to the detriment of the poor. (CBCPNews)
Abuse / A1
“presented and published in the near future”. Another initiative that will be available in “a few weeks or a month or two” is a handbook or vademecum for bishops, prepared by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Discipleship But More than enforcing stricter rules against clergy sex abuses, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said the crisis urgently asks clergymen ‘to be true to our calling’. The Manila archbishop said the church will “definitely” respond to the problem but not just to provide some
organism or rules. “They are all important but the root is we are being called to the church of Jesus Christ,” Tagle told Vatican News at the end of the summit on Feb. 24. “I think there is also the call for the church to be faithful to Jesus’ calling for us to be disciples,” he said. Tagle said the clerical abuse has caused “pain and shame” to the church, and assuring that the institution will confront the crisis in line with its call to be authentic witnesses to Jesus. “The pain, the cries of the victims and of the poor, they are the voice telling us ‘be true to your calling,’” he added.
In the summit’s opening keynote speech on Feb. 21, Tagle said the world needs “authentic and credible witnesses” to Christ, stressing the needs for the church to face the crisis without fear. The cardinal choked up as he told the assembly that the wounds they had inflicted on the victims through their indifference mirrored the wounds of Christ on the cross. He demanded that the church hierarchy will address the roots that fueled the abuses and cover up for so long. (With reports from Catholic News Service)
Lent / A1
Filipino children. Mainly because of poverty, the cardinal said that more than three out of ten children are now stunting in physical and mental development due to hunger. “The development of their full potential will not be achieved unless they are cared for and fed with nutritious food,” Tagle said. Since it started in 2005, HapagAsa has helped in feeding more than two million malnourished children throughout the country. To sustain its gains, it has also capacitated the children’s parents through values education, and skills and livelihood training. For the coming months, the program hopes to provide one meal per day to at least 30,000 children for 120 days. “It takes only P1,200 for six months or P10 per day to nourish a hungry and undernourished child,” said Tagle. (CBCPNews)
A man receives ashes on Ash Wednesday at the Baclaran Church, March 6, 2019. ELMARC LIM
CBCP Monitor
‘Church-State collaboration’ discussed at church lawyers’ confab
The 27th Canon Law Society of the Philippines (CLSP) Conference gathered 120 canon lawyers from all over the Philippines to share ideas on the theme: “Collaboration Between the Philippine Church and the State.”
CEBU City— Around 120 canon lawyers gathered on Feb. 19 for the 27th Canon Law Society of the Philippines (CLSP) Conference to share ideas on the theme: “Collaboration Between the Philippine Church and the State.” With the current studies on the final draft of the Proposed Federal Constitution, the CLSP finds that the times call for collective prayer and reflection on what can be done to streamline not only canonical procedures on annulment cases but also with regard to civil laws concerning these same cases, and what the separation of the Church and State means for the Church, for the State and for the faithful. Bishops, priests, religious, and lay lawyers of the Catholic Church prayed and studied together for 4 days at the Quest Hotel & Conference
DIOCESAN NEWS A7
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
Center in this city. Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, JD, Dean of San Beda University’s College of Law and priest of the Archdiocese of Tuguegarao, gave his insights in the talks “Declaration of Marriage nullity vs. Divorce: Streamlining Procedures for Declaration of Marriage Nullity in Civil Courts” and the “Church-State Cooperation in the Philippine Constitution.” Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr., a member of the 1986 Constitutional Commission, also shared his thoughts through the talk “A Critical Analysis on the Final Draft of the Proposed Federal Constitution”. The Archdiocese of Cebu, led by Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma and Cebu Judicial Vicar Fr. Raul Go and his team, organized the said event. (Fr. Philippe A. B. Gallanosa/CBCP News)
Vatican grants indulgence for indigenous church in Ilocos Sur
Negros priest accused of sexual abuse, placed on leave SAN CARLOS City— A Catholic priest has been placed on leave after being accused of sexually abusing a minor in Negros Occidental province. Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of San Carlos said they were “saddened and shocked” by the allegation but vowed cooperation in any investigation. He said the accused, whom the diocese did not identify, was temporarily replaced as parish priest to give way for an impartial probe. “We are committed to search for truth and to make sure that the process will be fair and just to both parties and whoever is responsible will have to face the consequences,” Alminaza said in a statement issued on Feb. 28.
On the other hand, the bishop said the diocese will take its own canonical process which involves providing pastoral care to the alleged victim and her family. “While we acknowledge the right of the accused to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, we are steadfast to assist the victim and cooperate in the process so the truth will come out and justice is served,” Alminaza said. “We are proceeding with our own canonical process as dictated by Church laws by providing pastoral care to the accused while allowing the legal process to take its course,” he added. The charges against the priest
stemmed from a complaint filed by the alleged victim’s mother who works as a secretary of the parish. The alleged victim, a four-year-old girl, was negative of laceration or abnormal discharges, based on her medical results. The case erupted amid increased scrutiny of the Church’s handling of abuse allegations. On Feb. 21 to 24, nearly 200 Catholic leaders from across the world gathered in Vatican for a landmark summit on combatting sexual abuse within the church. Pope Francis told the church leaders that they must find “concrete” solutions to end the crisis. (CBCP News)
Church in Palawan addresses depression
A representative from Ospital ng Palawan discusses basic facts about depression and how to help someone experiencing it, during the launching of the advocacy apostolate of the Catholic Church for PLHIV and people experiencing depression, Feb. 13, 2019. KATYA SANTOS
THE Church is “offering its hands and ears to people experiencing depression.” This was one of the declarations of Bishop Socrates Mesiona following the launching of the local church’s advocacy apostolate program for persons living with the human immunodeficiency virus (PLHIV) and depression on Feb. 13 at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in this city. “I am aware that there are that there are some cases of
suicide in Palawan, and on the part of the Church we want to help on awareness, education and counseling,” he said. Facts about depression Bishop Socrates Mesiona, City Vice Mayor Nancy Socrates, Councilor Roy Gregorio Ventura, City Health Officer Ricardo Panganiban, Regine Villapa (HIV Program Coordinator), Hayalee Vicente (Ospital Ng Palawan) led the signing of commitment to support the program.
Depression is a serious illness, but most people get better with help, said Vicente during an overview about depression. She discussed some facts about depression to help persons experiencing this kind of psychological struggle. How to help “If you know people who are experiencing depression, don’t try to cheer them up. They are looking at things from other perspective; just ask them if they need help, let
them feel your presence…Just your presence is enough,” she explained. The program—in partnership with the local government through the City Health Office (CHO), Ospital ng Palawan (ONP), and with the support of different volunteer-workers from civil society organization— concluded with a candlelighting ceremony from the Cathedral to the Jubilee Cross. (Katya A. Santos / CBCPNews)
Candidly Speaking / A4
St. Anthony of Padua Parish Church in Sugpon, Ilocos Sur. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
LAOAG City— The Vatican has granted an indigenous church in the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia with oneyear plenary indulgence as it celebrates its 25th year as a parish. The year-long indulgence at the St. Anthony of Padua Church in Sugpon, Ilocos Sur started last Feb. 11 and will end on the same date next year. Citing the decree from Apostolic Penitentiary, Nueva Segovia chancellor Fr. Ian Paul Filart said that the normal conditions must be met to attain indulgence. This means, he said, that Catholics are to make pilgrimages to the church in Sugpon, sacramentally confess their sins, receive communion, and pray for the Pope’s intentions. The decree also exhorts the faithful to pray for poor souls in purgatory, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, and for the defense of the institutions of human life, concluding it with the Lord’s Prayer. The Profession of Faith and the invocations of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Anthony of Padua are also to be prayed, Filart added. Hundreds of pilgrims from the entire archdiocese are expected to flock to Sugpon for the Jubilee Year. The fifth class municipality is among the interior towns of Ilocos Sur, situated along
its boundary with La Union. With a population of around 4,500, it is among the towns inhabited by indigenous communities who speak Kankanaey and Ilocano. The town was originally under the care of missionaries from the “Congregatio Immaculatis Cordis Mariae” (CICM) and was handed over to the pastoral care of the diocesan clergy in 1995 following its erection as a parish. Sugpon parish was also among the parishes established during the incumbency of the then Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, now a retired cardinal, who regarded the indigenous peoples as among his pastoral priorities. St. Anthony of Padua parish priest Fr. Rosmel Cairel said the decree manifests the love and special place of the people from the peripheries in the heart of Pope Francis. Cairel added that he is disposed to celebrate the Sacrament of Penance, to prepare the people in the reception of the indulgence. On the jubilee day on June 13, the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, another plenary indulgence is to be granted through the blessing of the Mass which will be imparted by Archbishop Marlo Peralta of Nueva Segovia, by mandate of the faculty extended by the Apostolic Penitentiary to him. (CBCP News)
We know that Christ made himself helpless to obey the will of his Father for our own salvation. He bore all our sins. This should be the mentality to have when we are reduced to our own state of helplessness. We should not just suffer our own weaknesses, etc., alone. We should suffer them with Christ, and in that way we convert them into a real path to sanctity. In fact, we can say that the more we suffer, the more chances we
have of identifying ourselves more intimately with Christ, who achieved our redemption through his own suffering and death. Let us always remember that when we suffer and die with Christ, we will also resurrect with him. (cfr. Rom 6,8) Suffering and death do not have the last word in our life. It is redemption, eternal life of bliss with God and with everybody else, that has the last word. We need to give a full and more
fair picture of how holiness can be achieved both in good and bad times. We should not focus on one without the other, because in that way we would be distorting the true nature of holiness and debasing the power of God. We need to be more open-minded about this issue and avoid stereotyping holiness in some concrete form. Holiness can be achieved in many and even infinite ways. The only thing necessary is to relate everything to God.
And That’s the Truth / A4
ourselves followers of Christ we should let Him cleanse our system of false ideals and worthless models. Jesus came to live with us to show us lonely goal worth pursuing. Believing in the cause that Jesus died for, we are given the grace to live “on every word that comes forth from the mouth
of God”—we are renewed, “reprogrammed” to receive and be moved by the Divine. This season of Lent, we take a break as we turn our back to the monsters that we have created by our inordinate belief in their worth—events, persons, things, news that give us nothing but bad
vibes and tempt us to forget about God’s eternal love for us. These next 40 days, we pray even for a whiff of that strength that sustained our Lord in the desert against the devil’s temptations. It is not true that we are “only human” and therefore too weak to rise above the allurements
of this world. We do have a choice. There is such a thing as transcendence, and because we are God’s children the desire for it is in our DNA, so to speak. This holy season of Christ’s passion, we pray to be able to make that one choice to transcendence. And that’s the truth.
Duc in Altum / A5
Ambo alone, but for peace and security of all bishops, priests, lay faithful and the nation. I met separately with Mico Pacheco of San Roque Cathedral Liturgical Commission; he committed to take care of the Liturgy together with the Cathedral youth, who will handle the audio visuals during the Prayer Vigil. I requested Fr. James Anthony Del Rosario to prepare for us a Special Tagalog Prayer to be recited at the end of the Holy Hour (and now being prayed in all Masses in the Diocese). Kriz said the youth would prepare “lugaw” (congee) and could CLK supply cups and spoons? Meanwhile, Ryan Rezo of SOCCOM flashed in social media a call for prayer for the life and safety of Bishop Ambo; within 24 hours, it reached 300k people and 4.1k shares. He also released in less than 24 hours the invitation to attend the Prayer Vigil: which begun with the 6:00pm Holy Mass presided by Fr. Jay Arvin De Leon; the Holy Hour presided by Fr. Phillippe Angelo Garcia; praying of the four (4) mysteries of the Holy Rosary, each decade ended with a prayer for the family and the country and a Marian Song; the religious congregation
of nuns, youth and lay faithful took turn. Fr. Jeronimo “Jerome” Cruz, Vicar General of the Diocese and Rector of San Roque Cathedral, presided the closing of the Holy Hour and the incensing of the image of Virgen de Nieva to the hymn Salve Regina, the second patroness of the Cathedral. The invitation in social media caught the attention not only of the parishioners of the Diocese but also the lay faithful, religious congregations, seminarians from the other Dioceses. They came over to show their solidarity and support for Bishop Ambo. The print, broadcast and social media also cover the Prayer Vigil. The turn-out of people and media was beyond our expectation. From all of us in the Diocese of Kalookan, we thank all of you who planned, prepared, joined and cover our Prayer Vigil. Let us all wish Bishop Ambo our God’s blessing and protection on his 60th Birthday and onwards! Let us continue praying for him, and for peace and security of our bishops, priests, lay faithful and the nation. We know Bishop Ambo appreciated your solidarity and show of support.
*** On Bishop Ambo’s 60th Birthday, an early morning Thanksgiving Mass at San Roque Cathedral was presided by Fr. Jerome and concelebrated by the Cathedral Clergy. The Diocese’s MASID Center (Mga Anak Sila ng Diyos) and the Association of Religious Men and Women in the Diocese sponsored the feeding program for children under the care of MASID and mission stations of the Diocese. The Curia Office served lugaw and tokwa to those who attended the Thanksgiving Mass. Days before the birthday of Bishop Ambo, the Vicariate of San Jose de Navotas, headed by its Vicar Forane and parish priest of San Ildefonso, Fr. Bong Gino, sponsored the feeding program for abandoned, special and with disability children and children in conflict with the law, who stay in Sandigan Center and Bahay Pag-asa of Malabon City, respectively. Likewise, the Vicariate of San Roque headed by its Vicar Forane and parish priest of Sacred Heart Tugatog, Fr. Jun Bartolome, also had feeding program for children.
A8 PEOPLE, FACTS, AND PLACES
March 4 - 17, 2019, Vol 23, No. 05
CBCP Monitor
Pope appoints new military bishop
This August 14, 2018 file photo shows the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) welcoming Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City. PHOTO FROM PAO/AFP
POPE Francis has named a Cebu prelate as the new military ordinary of the Philippines. Cebu Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Jaime Florencio will be the seventh bishop of the military ordinariate which has been “sede vacante” for nearly two years now. Florencio, 53, will succeed Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak who passed away in June 2017. The appointment was made public in Rome at 12 noon (7pm local time) on Saturday, March 2. The bishop admitted having mixed emotions, following his appointment by the pope. “I am thankful to God for this challenging task. But honestly, it’s also with mixed emotions because I will leave the Archdiocese of Cebu,” Florencio said. “But I am also enthusiastically challenged because the military
ordinariate is another peculiar apostolate,” he said. Born in Capoocan town in Leyte province, Florencio was ordained priest for the Archdiocese of Palo on April 3, 1990. The bishop holds a doctorate in sacred theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome. In 2015, he was named Cebu auxiliary bishop, making him the first priest from the Palo archdiocese to be elevated to the episcopacy in 28 years. In June 2017, the Cebu prelate was appointed as the concurrent apostolic administrator of the military diocese. As military ordinary, Florencio is responsible for the pastoral care of Catholics serving in the country’s military, police, coast guard units and prison service. (CBCP News)
Pope names second Pinoy bishop in the U.S. Church takes focus on stateless persons on Nat’l Migrants Sunday POPE Francis on Tuesday, March 5 has appointed Filipino immigrant priest as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles in United States. Monsignor Alejandro Aclan, a priest of the same archdiocese, becomes the second Filipino-American priest to be named bishop in the U.S. A native of Pasay City, the bishopelect was born on February 9, 1951. Aclan graduated medical technology from the University of Santo Tomas before he left for Southern California to seek a better future in 1982. In 1988, he left his career to pursue the vocation to the priesthood at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo. Five years later, he was ordained a priest for Los Angeles. After ordination, he served as deputy priest of the Saint Finbar parish in Burbank and of the Saint John of God Parish in Norwalk from 1993 to 2001. He also became parish priest of the Saint Madeleine Parish in Pomona from 2001 to 2012 and headed the promotion of vocations of the “San Gabriel Valley” Pastoral Region from 2010 to 2012. US-based Catholic News Service said that Aclan served most recently as vicar for the clergy before taking a sabbatical
Msgr. Alejandro Aclan (center) addresses local media after his appointment as auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, March 5. PHOTO FROM THE LOS ANGELES ARCHDIOCESE
last summer. In 2017, he was named monsignor as “Chaplain of His Holiness”. Aside from English and Tagalog, Aclan also speaks Spanish. The first Filipino priest appointed to the episcopacy in the U.S. was Bishop Oscar Solis in 2003.
Solis served as auxiliary bishop in Los Angeles until 2017 when he was named bishop of Salt Lake City. The Los Angeles area is home to the largest Filipino immigrants in the United States and the biggest Asian American community in California. (CBCP News)
PPCRV is Comelec’s citizens’ arm in May polls THE Commission on Elections granted accreditation to the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting as its citizens’ arm for the May 13 midterm polls. In accrediting the PPCRV, the Comelec en banc cited the group’s reliability in poll watching activities in the past elections. “We have taken into account the petitioner’s track record particularly its participation in the past electoral exercises and in subsequent similar election-related activities both local and national,” the Comelec said. As an accredited poll watchdog, the Catholic
group is tasked to conduct voters’ education program nationwide. Its duties also include providing assistance to voters and reporting campaign violations, among others. “The Commission would accordingly need all the help of all advocates of orderly and honest elections to assist it in the upcoming elections,” the poll body added. The poll watchdog group is currently headed by Myla Villanueva, a PPCRV trustee since 2010. Villanueva is considered a pioneer for women in the local and global technology industry. (CBCP News)
THE Catholic Church’s body for migrants urged help for stateless persons, a “disturbing” global phenomenon affecting thousands of Filipino children. Fr. Restituto Ogsimer, executive secretary of the bishops’ Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People, said that church people must advocate for the rights of stateless people. Just like the way it responds to the asylum seekers and refugees in the Philippines, he said the church is looking and must continue find ways to assist these children. “We are the church, let us act now, seek them out and extend our hands the farthest it can reach to care for them, to embrace them and to make them feel loved and recognize their existence in our midst,” Ogsimer wrote in his message for the National Migrants’ Sunday to be observed on March 10. According to him, statelessness challenges both the church of origin and the receiving churches, stressing the need for vigorous campaign to mainstream the discourse on the issue. He also emphasized the need for policies and laws to recognize and promote “just treatment” and to provide basic material needs for them especially the young. Current statistics cover 3.7 million stateless people in 78 countries, while the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
estimates that at least 10 million people globally could be stateless. In Malaysia’s Sabah state, it is believed that more than 10,000 children are born to Filipino migrant parents who entered and worked in the country without proper documents. Malaysian immigration law does not grant legal status to children of immigrants. “In effect, the children are not registered and became victims of conflict in nationality laws and are in statelessness status; putting them in a more vulnerable situation,” Ogsimer said. “They cannot even be enrolled in formal school for proper education; and have no access to basic health care,” he added. As of 2015, reported statistics showed that some 40 percent of the world’s stateless people—more than 1.4 million—were living in Southeast Asia, including about 7,138 in the Philippines. It was in 1987 when the bishops initiated the celebration of the National Migrants’ Sunday to promote awareness in the church and society on the issues and concerns linked to overseas Filipino migration. The annual event not only paid tribute to millions of overseas Filipino workers and their families left behind but also highlighted the church’s effort to help them cope with the effects of labor migration on their lives. (CBCP News)
CBCP Monitor
PASTORAL CONCERNS B1
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
“For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”(Rm 8: 19)
Message of His Holiness Pope Francis for Lent 2019 Pope Francis arrives in procession to celebrate Mass at the Parish of St. Crispin in a suburb on the outskirts of Rome March 3, 2019. PAUL HARING/CNS
DEAR Brothers and Sisters Each year, through Mother Church, God “gives us this joyful season when we prepare to celebrate the paschal mystery with mind and heart renewed… as we recall the great events that gave us new life in Christ” (Preface of Lent I). We can thus journey from Easter to Easter towards the fulfillment of the salvation we have already received as a result of Christ’s paschal mystery— “for in hope we were saved” (Rom 8:24). This mystery of salvation, already at work in us during our earthly lives, is a dynamic process that also embraces history and all of creation. As Saint Paul says, “the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God” (Rom 8:19). In this perspective, I would like to offer a few reflections to accompany our journey of conversion this coming Lent. 1. The redemption of creation The celebration of the Paschal Triduum of Christ’s passion, death and resurrection, the culmination of the liturgical year, calls us yearly to undertake a journey of preparation, in the knowledge that our being conformed to Christ (cf. Rom 8:29) is a priceless gift of God’s mercy. When we live as children of God, redeemed, led by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 8:14) and capable of acknowledging and obeying God’s law, beginning with the law written on our hearts and in nature, we also benefit creation by cooperating in its redemption. That is why Saint Paul says that creation eagerly longs for the revelation of the children of God; in other words, that all those who enjoy the grace of Jesus’ paschal mystery may experience its fulfillment in the redemption of the human body itself. When the love of Christ transfigures the lives of the saints in spirit, body and soul,
they give praise to God. Through prayer, contemplation and art, they also include other creatures in that praise, as we see admirably expressed in the “Canticle of the Creatures” by Saint Francis of Assisi (cf. Laudato Si’, 87). Yet in this world, the harmony generated by redemption is constantly threatened by the negative power of sin and death. 2. The destructive power of sin Indeed, when we fail to live as children of God, we often behave in a destructive way towards our neighbours and other creatures – and ourselves as well – since we begin to think more or less consciously that we can use them as we will. Intemperance then takes the upper hand: we start to live a life that exceeds those limits imposed by our human condition and nature itself. We yield to those untrammelled desires that the Book of Wisdom sees as typical of the ungodly, those who act without thought for God or hope for the future (cf. 2:1-11). Unless we tend constantly towards Easter, towards the horizon of the Resurrection, the mentality expressed in the slogans “I want it all and I want it now!” and “Too much is never enough”, gains the upper hand. The root of all evil, as we know, is sin, which from its first appearance has disrupted our communion with God, with others and with creation itself, to which we are linked in a particular way by our body. This rupture of communion with God likewise undermines our harmonious relationship with the environment in which we are called to live, so that the garden has become a wilderness (cf. Gen 3:17-18). Sin leads man to consider himself the god of creation, to see himself as its absolute master and to use it, not for the purpose willed by the Creator but for his own interests, to the detriment of other creatures.
Once God’s law, the law of love, is forsaken, then the law of the strong over the weak takes over. The sin that lurks in the human heart (cf. Mk 7:20-23) takes the shape of greed and unbridled pursuit of comfort, lack of concern for the good of others and even of oneself. It leads to the exploitation of creation, both persons and the environment, due to that insatiable covetousness which sees every desire as a right and sooner or later destroys all those in its grip. 3. The healing power of repentance and forgiveness Creation urgently needs the revelation of the children of God, who have been made “a new creation”. For “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor 5:17). Indeed, by virtue of their being revealed, creation itself can celebrate a Pasch, opening itself to a new heaven and a new earth (cf. Rev 21:1). The path to Easter demands that we renew our faces and hearts as Christians through repentance, conversion and forgiveness, so as to live fully the abundant grace of the paschal mystery. This “eager longing”, this expectation of all creation, will be fulfilled in the revelation of the children of God, that is, when Christians and all people enter decisively into the “travail” that conversion entails. All creation is called, with us, to go forth “from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:21). Lent is a sacramental sign of this conversion. It invites Christians to embody the paschal mystery more deeply and concretely in their personal, family and social lives, above all by fasting, prayer and almsgiving. Fasting, that is, learning to change our
attitude towards others and all of creation, turning away from the temptation to “devour” everything to satisfy our voracity and being ready to suffer for love, which can fill the emptiness of our hearts. Prayer, which teaches us to abandon idolatry and the self-sufficiency of our ego, and to acknowledge our need of the Lord and his mercy. Almsgiving, whereby we escape from the insanity of hoarding everything for ourselves in the illusory belief that we can secure a future that does not belong to us. And thus to rediscover the joy of God’s plan for creation and for each of us, which is to love him, our brothers and sisters, and the entire world, and to find in this love our true happiness. Dear brothers and sisters, the “lenten” period of forty days spent by the Son of God in the desert of creation had the goal of making it once more that garden of communion with God that it was before original sin (cf. Mk 1:12-13; Is 51:3). May our Lent this year be a journey along that same path, bringing the hope of Christ also to creation, so that it may be “set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God” (Rom 8:21). Let us not allow this season of grace to pass in vain! Let us ask God to help us set out on a path of true conversion. Let us leave behind our selfishness and self-absorption, and turn to Jesus’ Pasch. Let us stand beside our brothers and sisters in need, sharing our spiritual and material goods with them. In this way, by concretely welcoming Christ’s victory over sin and death into our lives, we will also radiate its transforming power to all of creation. From the Vatican, 4 October 2018 Feast of Saint Francis of Assisi FRANCIS
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March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
CBCP Monitor
Confronting the specter of a Philippine Divorce Law (III) Grave Lack of Discretion of Judgment as a Ground for Marriage Invalidity
not contain a legal formulation of those rights and obligations, leaving it to canonical doctrine and jurisprudence to progressively declare and explain their content and limits. In this regard, a wellknown canonist provides a useful enumeration as follows: the right/ duty to sexual acts; the right/duty to not impede procreation; the right/ duty of establishing, preserving and ordering the intimate conjugal partnership toward its objective ends; the right/duty of fidelity; the right/duty of mutual help in ordering towards the pursuit of the essential ends of marriage those acts and types of behavior that are apt and needed for that purpose; the right/duty to welcome and care for the common children within the married community; and the right/duty of educating the common children.
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D. As most people know, a house bill for divorce had already been passed. What may have escaped most Catholics is that a similar bill has been filed in the Senate. If that bill is passed, we will be just a step short of divorce finally being instituted in our country, the last remaining state (aside from the Vatican) that has no divorce law. Rather than fight that bill—which has a valid pretension (to find a solution for the situation of people trapped in an irreparably broken marriage)— we might instead convince the Senate to introduce reforms in the present Family Code in order to facilitate the declaration of nullity of most of those irreparably broken marriages. In other words, since the urgent problem motivating our legislators—and all the pro-divorce forces—to craft a divorce law seems to be the extreme case of irreparably broken marriages, if a way can be found to declare the invalidity from the start of most of those marriages, perhaps there would be no need to legislate divorce. As a Spanish saying goes: “Muerto el perro, se acabó la rabia” (With the dog dead, that’s the end of its rabies). In this penultimate part of this long article, we shall tackle a cause of marriage nullity in Canon Law that is totally absent in Civil Law, but which in fact is at the core of many failed marriages. It is the grave lack of discretion of judgment concerning the essential matrimonial rights and duties, which are to be mutually given and accepted (according to c.1095,2°). Notion of lack of due discretion Canon 1095 of the Code of Canon Law states: They are incapable of contracting marriage: 1° who lack the sufficient use of reason; 2° who suffer from grave lack of discretion of judgment concerning essential matrimonial rights and duties which are to be mutually given and accepted; 3° who are not capable of assuming the essential obligations of matrimony due to causes of a psychic nature. The three numbers of the canon correspond actually to the three capacities comprising consensual capacity: (a) to make a responsible human act; (b) to sufficiently evaluate the nature of marriage and, consequently, choose it freely; and, finally, (c) to assume its essential obligations. The lack of any of these three capacities results in incapacity for a valid marital consent.
ZITA BALLINGER FLETCHER/CNS
The ability to form an adequate act of the will at the time of marriage must be preceded by sufficient deliberation or critical judgment about the implications of the act of consent for the person at that particular time. The person does not only consent to a wedding but makes a decision about his or her life and the life of the marriage partner. If there was a serious inability to critically evaluate the decision to marry, in light of the consequent obligations and responsibilities, then consent may well be invalid. A person must be able to evaluate his or her motivation for the wedding, personal strengths and weaknesses, as well as those of the other party, and his or her ability to live up to the demands of the marriage. This is the object of c.1095, 2°. This critical faculty depends first on the mature ability to grasp what the marital relationship entails. The person must then be able to relate marriage as an abstract reality, i.e., what it theoretically involves, to his or her concrete situation. This requires insight and the application of one’s actual situation and abilities to the theoretical demands of marriage. Finally, this critical faculty involves existential judgments. It depends on a person’s emotional and psychological state and an appreciation of the lessons learned from life experiences. It also presupposes freedom from mental confusion, undue pressure, or fear in contemplating marriage. Jurisprudence refers to due discretion, which is discretion proportionate to the consequences of the decision to be made. In
the case of marriage, it must be proportionate to the requirements of the interpersonal relationship needed to create and sustain the community of the whole of life. The responsibilities of being a marriage partner and a parent must be evaluated in the context of one’s emotional and psychological state as well as that of the other party. A person may be capable of right judgment in areas of life such as business, personal health, etc., but generally incapable of good judgment in regard to interpersonal relationships and specifically in regard to the special relationship demanded for Christian marriage. Measure of the grave lack of discretion of judgment Can.1095, 2° explicitly mentions “the essential matrimonial rights and obligations to be mutually given and accepted” as the object of the act of consenting to marriage. This constitutes the measure of the gravity of the lack of discretion of judgment: the term “grave” does not refer to the seriousness of a psychic dysfunction or disorder of personality and behavior, but is rather the juridical qualification of the inability to discern with the intellect and to implement with the will the act of setting up or establishing the conjugal bond from which originate, in a second logical moment, the conjugal rights and duties. It is fundamental, then, to define those essential rights and obligations of marriage that, according to c.1095, 2°, must be given and accepted. The CIC does
Incidence of lack of internal freedom on discretion of judgment Poor judgment at the time of consent often results from an impairment or lack of internal freedom. This may be rooted in psychological or emotional problems which do not impede the intellect but have a significant influence on the will, or it may result from existential factors such as grave fear prompted by external pressure which a person cannot withstand. Thus, marriage is chosen in a true state of mental confusion. It is one thing to understand sufficiently what marital consent means in the practical order and quite another to make this consent with sufficient freedom. This is the sense of a Rotal sentence which stated: “One must however take into consideration even of a disturbance of the mind that is of a temporary nature, sometimes deriving from overpowering external circumstances, for example, from an unexpected pregnancy in a girl unprepared for marriage, who is vehemently forced by relatives to remedy the stigma brought on the family’s honor. In such cases, if there are in the one marrying serious indications of some sickly nature, that is, lack of proper evolution of personality, one may sometimes legitimately conclude from the combination of such elements for the defect of due discretion, more correctly for the defect of sufficient internal freedom.” This is also the sense noted in a sentence coram Lopez-Illana: “the circumstances of young age and pregnancy can be said to be a possible sign of defect of discretion of judgement; however taken
separately they absolutely are not signs indicative of the absence of valid consent”; certainly “there can be circumstances such as compulsion on the spouses to contract marriage and the psychological effect of pregnancy, which make it possible to override the presumption of validity of the marriage.” Incidence of psycho-affective immaturity on discretion of judgment The development of the notion of the formal object of marital consent, as the community of the whole of life, has affected the development of the jurisprudence on lack of due discretion. The conjugal relationship is not lived in the abstract, the various sociocultural factors which either weaken or support the Christian concept of marriage must also be considered. In order for a person contracting to be able to understand the nature and import of the conjugal contract, he or she must have the maturity of knowledge and freedom to establish the contract, and the degree of this is indirectly determined by taking into consideration the formal object of matrimonial consent, which—as stated above—consists essentially in the setting up of a community of love and life. “One who contracts must be capable of understanding, estimating, weighing and freely determining self to establish a perpetual and exclusive conjugal partnership ordered toward the procreation and education of offspring, by a will immune or free not only from external pressure but also from internal psychological coercion, that is, with full ability to choose.” An area for civil legislation Here we have an area for improvement of the Philippine Family Code, in order to provide this ground for the declaration of nullity of many failed marriages— i.e., the serious lack of discretion of judgment regarding the essential rights and duties of marriage on the part of either or both of the spouses. In fact, with the present sorry state of value formation in Filipino families due to the prevalence of the OFW phenomenon on the one hand and the faulty models of conjugal love presented by the mass media, many Filipinos—especially among the young—are entering marriage with lack of due discretion, giving rise later on to failed marriages. Having this ground included in the Family Code could effectively provide the right alternative to the serious error of legislating divorce. [To be concluded.]
When a corporal should be used (Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following query: ) Q: Sacred vessels and gifts are to be placed on the corporal[s] prior to consecration and after, as well as for the time and place of purification – the Eucharistic Trinity and Lamb is never simply placed on the altar or anywhere, but always upon the sacred corporal – correct? Also, during “private” public exposition/ adoration when the Lord is in the sacred monstrance and upon the sacred corporal, are there to be lighted either four or six candles – or none at all? — J.A., Jamestown, North Dakota A: Our reader is correct with respect to the use of the corporal whenever the Sacred Species under any form is to be placed on an altar or table. The corporal is a sacred cloth of white linen. It is usually around 20 inches square. When not in use it is usually folded three times in such a way as to form nine equal squares. It may be placed on top of the chalice pall or in a special cloth case or envelope called a burse. The corporal is frequently stiffened so as to be firm. In recent times, due to the advent of concelebrations and the increase in the distribution of Communion under both kinds, larger corporals have been developed so that more sacred vessels may be placed upon them. In the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, the consecrated host (corpus) is placed directly upon the corporal, which is the probable origin of its name from this practice. In the ordinary form, the host is rarely placed upon the corporal, but it
should always be used so as to gather any fragment that might happen to fall and as a sign of veneration and respect toward the Lord. The principal texts from the General Instruction of the Roman Missal are the following: “73. At the beginning of the Liturgy of the Eucharist, the gifts which will become Christ’s Body and Blood are brought to the altar. “First of all, the altar or Lord’s table, which is the center of the whole Liturgy of the Eucharist, is made ready when on it are placed the corporal, purificator, Missal, and chalice (unless this last is prepared at the credence table). “139. When the Universal Prayer is over, all sit, and the Offertory Chant begins (cf. no. 74). An acolyte or other lay minister places the corporal, the purificator, the chalice, the pall, and the Missal on the altar. “141. The Priest accepts the paten with the bread at the altar, holds it slightly raised above the altar with both hands and says quietly, Benedictus es, Domine (Blessed are you, Lord God). Then he places the paten with the bread on the corporal. “142. After this, as the minister presents the cruets, the Priest stands at the side of the altar and pours wine and a little water into the chalice, saying quietly, Per huius aquae (By the mystery of this water). He returns to the middle of the altar and with both hands raises the chalice a little, and says quietly, Benedictus es, Domine (Blessed are you, Lord God).
Then he places the chalice on the corporal and, if appropriate, covers it with a pall. “151. After the Consecration when the Priest has said, The mystery of faith, the people pronounce the acclamation, using one of the prescribed formulas. “At the end of the Eucharistic Prayer, the Priest takes the paten with the host and the chalice and elevates them both while pronouncing alone the doxology, Through him. At the end, the people acclaim, Amen. After this, the Priest places the paten and the chalice on the corporal. “163. When the distribution of Communion is over, the Priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist. Upon returning to the altar, the Priest collects the fragments, should any remain, and he stands at the altar or at the credence table and purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice, and after this purifies the chalice, saying quietly the formula Quod ore sumpsimus, Domine (What has passed our lips), and dries the chalice with a purificator. If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister. Nevertheless, it is also permitted to leave vessels needing to be purified, especially if there are several, on a corporal, suitably covered,
PIXABAY
either on the altar or on the credence table, and to purify them immediately after Mass, after the Dismissal of the people. “248. The Communion of the concelebrants may also be arranged in such a way that each communicates from the Body of the Lord at the altar and, immediately afterward, from the Blood of the Lord. “In this case, the principal celebrant receives Communion under both kinds in the usual way (cf. no. 158), observing, however, the rite chosen in each particular instance for Communion from the chalice; and the other concelebrants should do the same.
After the principal celebrant’s Communion, the chalice is placed at the side of the altar on another corporal. The concelebrants approach the middle of the altar one by one, genuflect, and communicate from the Body of the Lord; then they move to the side of the altar and partake of the Blood of the Lord, following the rite chosen for Communion from the chalice, as has been remarked above …. “249. If the concelebrants’ Communion is by intinction, the principal celebrant partakes of the Body and Blood of the Lord in the usual way, but making sure that Corporal / B7
CBCP Monitor
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March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
To shelter, keep them save and successful in life By Bishop Ruperto Cruz Santos OUR God is a faithful God. When He makes promises, He never forgets. He fulfills. Saint John at the beginning of his Gospel affirms that “the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (1,14). Our God is good, so gracious. He gives that “when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, learn under the law...” (Galatians 4,4). And we know that God sent Archangel Gabriel to that woman and told her “do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a Son, and you are to call him Jesus” (Luke 1,30-31). Thus in fulfillment of God’s promise as foretold by Prophet Isaiah “for unto us a child is born to us, to us a son is given” (9,6). Jesus came to us, become a child like us. He experienced what and how we have lived. Belonging to a migrant family, his father was always commanded “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife...” (Matthew 1,20ff). When the life of the newborn Jesus was threatened, Joseph was prompted “rise, take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt” (Matthew 2,13). And the death of king Herod, Joseph again commanded “rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of lsrael” (Matthew 2,20). Jesus grew like us. We sometimes go on our way, do something on our own. His parents, Joseph and Mary, were anxious and suffered when they found out that Jesus was not “among their relatives and friends. And they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for him” (Luke 2,44-45). It is the very nature, very inherent to parents to look after children, to be extra caring and so solicitous to the needs of their children, especially their whereabouts. Jesus exemplified how we must deal with parents “went down with them, returning to Jerusalem, and continued to be subject to them” (Luke2,51). And growing up Jesus is to “increase in wisdom and age,
and in divine and human favors” (Luke 2,52). Have been a child Jesus cares and so concern with children, urging us too to “let the children come to me and don’t stop them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10,14). Yes, let us bring children to Jesus. But it is not to only to lead them to Jesus. We must still do something more for them, to make them more pleasing and more presentable to Jesus. What we must do? For me it is easy to remember, they begin with letter S. These are: Securely SHELTER them, keep them SAFE, and make them SUCCESSFUL First. Jesus experienced that “there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2,7). He admitted to us “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25,36). Jesus accepts and accommodates all. No one is outside. And no one is set aside or side step. He wants all of us, especially children, to feel wanted, most welcome, and important. So give them shelter. To shelter is to stay, to be protected. To shelter is to attend to their needs. It is to be home and at home. Shelter is home. This is what children need, look and longed for. When a child cried, a mother would pacify her child with her reassuming words “tahan na anak, nan dito si Mommy, uuwi na tayo so bahay.” Hearing uuwi na sa bahay, the child stops crying. Tahan na because they will be in tahanan. At home. Even a sick person confined in a hospital longed for his house and will surely beg his family “let us go home. Bring me home.” Second. Jesus reminds us “if any of you should cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble and fall, it would be better for you to be thrown into the depths of the sea with a great millstone around your neck” (Matthew 18,6). Not only Jesus desires the safety and security of children, but much no one should lead them to scandal, to sin. We should never bring them to disillusionment, to disgrace.
Not only to stand by them and to support them but it behooves us to give them praiseworthy examples which they can imitate from us. Do you still remember that in front of children we are always reminded “o dahan dahan sa inyong pananalita, at kilos may nakikinig na mga bata” and so we are very much careful and courteous with our words lest we offend and scandalize them. With our words and works let us keep children always safe, secured and stable in life. Our CBCP ECMI is the primary and lead among the Philippine Interfaith Movement against Human Trafficking and On Line Child Sexual Abuse. Thus we fulfill and follow the words of our beloved Pope Francis “we need to see each child as a gift to be welcomed, cherished and protected.” Lastly, Jesus assures us that “whoever becomes lowly like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, and whoever receives such a child in my name receives me” (Matthew 18,4). Here, Jesus acknowledges the importance, the value and specialty of children. Though small and fragile there are still much we can learn from them. Even little and very vulnerable there are in them which we can imitate and emulate. And in spite of their needs and being dependent on us that is the more reason we have to support and work harder for them. His Holiness, Pope Francis, urges us that “may we always care for our children, not counting the cost, so that they may never believe themselves to be mistakes, but always know their infinite worth.” My brothers and sisters in Christ, so it is our calling not only to shelter them and not only to keep them safe but much more it is to prepare them for the future. And this is for us to make them successful in life, to make them succeed. So we do our best as to give them the best. We do what is right, what is right and legal for their benefits, for their success
in life. An OFW in Salmiya, Kuwait affirms “ang lahat ng aking paghihirap at pangungulila, ang buo kong pagtitiis at pagpapakasakit ay para lamang sa magandang kinabukasan ng aking mga anak. Handa pa ako sa lahat ng mga pasanin at kaya ko pang magpapawis matiyak ko lamang ang tagumpay ng aking mga anak.” Let us end our pastoral reflection with this known experience. Naalala po ba ninyo na kapag ang isang bata ay nakagawa ng hindi tama, ng hindi maganda mayroon pong tatlong tanong sa kanya , di po ba? Ano po ang mga tanong na ito? Una, “ano ang pangalan mo?” lkalawa, “sino ang mga magulang mo?” At itong ikatlo ay higit na
malalim, “ganyan ba ang itinuro ng iyong mga magulang sa inyong bahay?” Children are God’s gifts. They are entrusted to us. We are accountable to God for them. We are responsible to them and we must response to the crying needs with love and compassion. Children look up to us. We must not fail them. Jesus invites us to bring children to Him. We heed His call. We present to present our children to Jesus and our children are sound and safe, smiling and successful. Jesus “then took the children in his arms and laying his hands on them, bless them” (Mark 10,16).
Stateless Children, a concern for the Church By Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People
FOR many Filipinos, migrating abroad is tantamount to better employment opportunities, professional advancement, and economic development for the family. However, to others, migration is a nightmare that can put them in a variety of complex situations especially those who are pushed due to civil restlessness and war; natural calamities, illegal recruitment or restrictive migration policies. Moreover, migration is not only about overseas employment. It is also about human trafficking of women, men, young girls and boys, asylum seekers and refugees fleeing persecution and war from their own country e.g. the Rohingyas and the Syrians. In addition, one disturbing concern nowadays is the growing number of Stateless persons in different parts of the globe. The 1954 UN Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as someone “who is not considered as a national by any State under operation of its law. The Convention identifies minimum standards of treatment to be observed by contracting states. Many other races are in statelessness status including thousands of Filipino children in some parts of Asia, Middle East, and Europe. In Sabah Malaysia for example, it is believed that more than 10,000 children (no exact number available) are born to Filipino migrant parents who entered and worked in Malaysia without the proper documents; not allowed to marry; and not to have children. Malaysian immigration law does not grant legal status to children of immigrants. In effect, the children
are not registered and became victims of conflict in nationality laws and are in statelessness status; putting them in a more vulnerable situation. Not recognized by the host country and without proper documents, these children are deprived of their fundamental rights. They cannot even be enrolled in formal school for proper education; and have no access to basic health care. There are some cases where young children are into forced labor to augment daily survival of the family. How miserable life is experienced by these people especially the migrant children living in a place as if they are nonexistent? The Catholic Church has an eye and heart to their sufferings and always responsive to their needs. Just like the way it responds and provides pastoral care to the asylum seekers and refugees in the Philippines, the Church is looking for different possibilities and ways to assist these children. The issue on statelessness challenges both the Church of origin and the receiving Churches. The need for a vigorous campaign to mainstream the discourses on the issue; strong advocacies and campaigns for policies and laws to recognize and promote just treatment; and to provide basic material needs for them especially the young. Our faith poses a challenge for each of us to respond to the Scripture verse in Mt. 25:35 “for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” We are the church, let us act now, seek them out and extend our hands the farthest it can reach to care for them, to embrace them and to make them feel loved and recognize their existence in our midst. How the Church can be of service to the migrant Filipino and their Families? ECMI is the service arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to provide pastoral care for migrants and their families left behind. With the known complexities arising from the vicious cycle of Filipinos’ exodus for overseas employment, ECMI-CBCP provides programs and services that respond to their needs on spiritual nourishment, and welfare towards successful family reunification and reintegration. One of its mandate is to assist dioceses establish
programs for the migrants and their families. With the respective Bishop’s approval at the diocese, it is encourage that he appoints either a Priest, a religious nun, or a Lay Person to take charge of the ministry as it develops. One effective strategy is organizing, and forming a small community of migrant families at the parish level of whose Coordinator will form part of the core group at the diocesan level for the eventual well- coordinated action and programming. Once a migrant structure is organized; conducted thorough orientation to the leaders; concrete programs and activities is facilitated through a diocesan planning where inputs on needs for assistance are elicited form the organized migrant families themselves. The promotion and celebration of the National Migrant Sunday (NMS) every first Sunday of Lent as declared by the Philippine Catholic Church is utilized as venue for raising awareness on migrants issues; and highlighting the importance of migrants’ role and sacrifices for the betterment of their families in particular, and for the development of the society in general. It is also a venue to invite every faithful to become part in organizing and developing programs for migrant ministry through their generous donation to the second collection during Masses at the NMS. Moreover, the involvement and participation of migrant families of both those who are in better situations, and those who are experiencing complex situations is highly expected for effective programming and response at the parish level.
(CCAHT). The Memorandum Circular also recommended forming a special committee to combat human trafficking in the diocese involving different ministries and commissions with similar programs and pastoral services. From 2017 up to 2018, with the respective Bishop’s approval, there have been six sub regional consultations conducted namely, NCR, North Luzon, Central Luzon, South Luzon, and Bicol dioceses; and a combined consultation between Central and Eastern Visayas. The subregional consultation aims to scan the situations of human trafficking in each diocese; to train the participants in identifying victims/ cases of human trafficking; familiarize them with the salient provisions of the RA 9208 the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended by RA 10364 or the Expanded Anti –Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012; and to come up with strategic plans or targets towards a collaborative and sustained programs and activities to fight human trafficking within their respective Diocese. There were also several diocesan consultations organized namely , diocese of Antipolo, Imus, San Fernando, Pampanga, and Gumaca Quezon with the aim at forming their own Diocesan Committee Against Human Trafficking for a more direct and concrete response at the community level. For 2019, the CCAHT will continue to organize consultations in Visayan and Mindanao region, and will actively support some dioceses to establish programs and responses where cases of human trafficking are rampant.
Updates on Church Response to Human Trafficking To further intensify the Philippine Catholic Church continued involvement in the advocacy and campaign against human trafficking, the CBCP issued a Memorandum (Circular No. 16-08) on “Our Pastoral Commitment to Combat Human Trafficking” in November 2016. The ECMI under the leadership of Bishop Ruperto Santos is tasked to be the lead convener to coordinate with the CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace, the Episcopal Commission on Youth, and the Office on Women on the issue of human trafficking. Representatives of each commission met regularly since the beginning of 2017, and later named the collaboration as the “CBCP Cluster against Human Trafficking”
Some pastoral ways to help celebrate NMS? Either in parish or school, there are several possible activities that you and your community could celebrate National Migrants’ Sunday. The following are just some of the general suggestions: Phase 1: Raise the consciousness of your parish, community or school on the significance of the NMS. • Announce at Masses the celebration of the NMS and encourage the OFWs their families to participate in the celebration. • Prepare and disseminate information materials such as flyers, posters and photo exhibits depicting issues and Stateless / B7
B4 STATEMENTS
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
CBCP Monitor
The smell of the sheep: Knowing their pain and healing their wounds is at the core of the shepherd’s task. Meeting of the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences on Safeguarding of Minors February 21, 2019 By Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle The abuse of minors by ordained ministers has inflicted wounds not only on the victims but also on their families, the clergy, the Church, the wider society, the perpetrators themselves and the Bishops. But, it is also true, we humbly and sorrowfully admit, that wounds have been inflicted by us bishops on the victims and in fact the entire body of Christ. Our lack of response to the suffering of victims, even to the point of rejecting them and covering up the scandal to protect perpetrators and the institution has injured our people, leaving a deep wound in our relationship with those we are sent to serve. People are rightly asking: “Have you, who are called to have the smell of the sheep upon you, not instead run away when you found the stench of the filth inflicted on children and vulnerable people you were supposed to protect, too strong to endure?” Wounds call for healing. But what does healing consist in? How do we as Bishops, who have been part of the wounding, now promote healing in this specific context? The theme of healing of wounds has been the subject of many inter-disciplinary studies. And I cannot pretend to know all the findings of the human and social sciences on the subject, but I believe we need to recover and maintain a faith and ecclesial perspective to guide us. I repeat: a faith and ecclesial perspective to guide us, as stressed many times by Pope Francis. For my presentation, especially the first part, I invite everyone to look to the Risen Lord and learn from Him, His disciples, and their encounter. I want to acknowledge at this point the studies published by Roberto Goizueta, Richard Horsley, Barbara Reid, Tomas Halik, Robert Enright, and Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, to name a few authors, who have helped me in my reflection. So, the first part: The Apparition of the Risen Lord to the Disciples and to Thomas (John 20:19-28) St. John´s Gospel narrates an apparition of the Risen Lord to the disciples on the evening of the first day of the week. The doors were locked as the disciples cowered in fear, wondering if they would be the next to be arrested and crucified. It is in this moment of utter helplessness that the risen and yet still wounded Jesus stands in their midst. After greeting them with the message of the resurrection, “Peace be with you,” He showed them His hands and His side, marked by gaping wounds. Only by drawing close to His wounds could they be sent on a mission of reconciliation and forgiveness by the power of the Holy Spirit. Thomas was not with them at that time. Let us now hear the account of the encounter between the Risen Lord and Thomas. “Thomas, called Didymus, one of the Twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So, the other disciples said to him, ´We have seen the Lord´.
But he said to them, ´Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the nail marks and put my hand into his side, I will not believe´. Now a week later his disciples were again inside the room and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, ´Peace be with you.´ Then he said to Thomas, ´Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.´ Thomas answered and said to him, ´My Lord and my God!´” Those Sent Must Be In Touch With Wounded Humanity Notice how Jesus invites them again to look at his wounds. He even insists that Thomas put his finger into the wounds of his hands and to bring his hand into the wound of his side. Try to imagine how Thomas must have felt. But from seeing the wounds of the Risen Lord, he makes the supreme profession of faith in Jesus as Lord and God. Seeing and touching the wounds of Jesus are fundamental to the act and confession of faith. What can we learn from this intimate encounter? By repeating this action twice, the evangelist makes clear that those who are sent to proclaim the core of our Christian faith, the dying and rising of Christ, can only do so with authenticity if they are constantly in touch with the wounds of humanity. That is one of the marks of our ministry. This is true of Thomas, and it is true of the Church of all time, especially in our time. Msgr. Tomas Halik writes, “Christ comes to him, to Thomas, and shows him His wounds. This means that the resurrection is not the ´effacement´ or devaluation of the cross. Wounds remain wounds.” The wounds of Christ remain in the wounds of our world. And Msgr. Halik adds, “Our world is full of wounds. It is my conviction that those who close their eyes to the wounds in our world have no right to say, ´My Lord and my God´.” For him, seeing and touching the wounds of Christ in the wounds of humanity is a condition for authentic faith. He further says, “I cannot believe until I touch the wounds, the suffering of the world – for all the painful wounds, all the misery of the world and of humankind are Christ´s wounds! I do not have the right to confess God unless I take seriously my neighbor´s pain. Faith that would like to close its eyes to people´s suffering is just an illusion.” Faith is born and reborn only from the wounds of the Crucified and Risen Christ seen and touched in the wounds of humankind. Only a wounded faith is credible (Halik). How can we profess faith in Christ when we close our eyes to all the wounds inflicted by abuse? What Is At Stake Brothers and sisters, this is what is at stake at this moment of crisis brought about by the abuse of
Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila and Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago attend the opening session of the meeting on the protection of minors in the church, at the Vatican Feb. 21, 2019. CNS/VATICAN MEDIA
children and our poor handling of these crimes. Our people need us to draw close to their wounds and acknowledge our faults if we are to give authentic and credible witness to our faith in the Resurrection. This means that each of us and our brothers and sisters at home must take personal responsibility for bringing healing to this wound in the Body of Christ and make the commitment to do everything in our power and capacity to see that children are safe, are cared for in our communities. The presence of the wounds of the crucifixion on the Risen Lord, for me, defies human logic. If the world were in-charge of choreographing the resurrection, Jesus would have shown up at Herod’s house or Pilate’s porch and made it the biggest “I told you so,” in history. Jesus would have manifested his final triumph by eliminating all signs of pain, injustice, and defeat. Let all of them be buried in the dark past and never be resurrected. But that is not the way of Jesus Christ. The resurrection is not an illusionary victory. By showing his wounds to the disciples, Jesus restores their memory. Roberto Goizueta justly comments that “the wounds on Christ´s glorified body are the incarnated memory of the relationships that defined his life and death.” The wounds of Jesus are the consequence of his loving and compassionate relationship with the poor, the sick, tax collectors, women of ill repute, persons afflicted with leprosy, noisy children, outsiders, and foreigners. The wounds of Jesus are the consequence of his allowing himself to be wounded as he touched the wounds of others. He was crucified because he loved these concrete persons who were themselves wounded by society and religion. By sharing in their weakness and wounds, he became a compassionate brother rather than a harsh judge. So the letter to the Hebrews 5:8-9 affirms, “Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered, and when he was made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey
him.” So the wounds of the Risen Lord remind the disciples of the love that is ready to be wounded out of compassion for humankind. His wounds are the wounds of others that he freely bore. He did not inflict wounds on others, but he was ready to be wounded by his love for and communion with them. As Frederick Gaiser said, “The healing shepherd is never far from dangers, never impervious to the evils and infirmities from which he seeks to protect the flock.” Only the wounds of love and compassion can heal. Do Not Be Afraid My dear brothers and sisters, we need to put aside any hesitation to draw close to the wounds of our people out of fear of being wounded ourselves. Yes, much of the wounds we will suffer are part of the restoration of memory we must undergo, as did those disciples of Jesus. The wounds of the Risen Lord reminded the disciples of betrayal, their own betrayal and abandonment of Jesus when they saved their own lives out of fear. They fled at the first moment of danger, afraid of the cost of discipleship, and in Peter’s case, even denying that he even knew the Lord. Jesus’ wounds also remind them and us that wounds are often inflicted by blindness of ambition and legalism and misuse of power that condemned an innocent person to die as a criminal. The wounds of the Risen Christ carry the memory of innocent suffering, but they also carry the memory of our weakness and sinfulness. If we want to be agents of healing let us reject any tendency that is part of worldly thinking that refuses to see and touch the wounds of others, which are Christ´s wounds in the wounded people. Those wounded by abuse and the scandal need us to be strong in faith in this moment. The world needs authentic witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus, who draw close to His wounds as the first act of faith. I will be stressing: this is an act of faith. Roberto Goizueta claims that the denial of wounds and death leads to the death of others and to our own
death. There is great fear today in the hearts of people and indeed in our own hearts, that cause humanity in our time to shun touching the wounds in our world simply because we are afraid of facing our own wounds, our own mortality, weakness, sinfulness, and vulnerability. Ernest Becker observes that we avoid pain and suffering as unwanted reminders that we are vulnerable. We are fooled into believing that having much money, the right insurance policy, the strictest security, Cctv cameras, the latest model of cars and gadgets and membership in rejuvenating health clubs could make us immortal. Sadly we do also eliminate the wounded in our midst by getting them out of the streets when dignitaries visit or by covering their shanties with painted walls. Goizueta poignantly says, “If we deny death, we inflict it. If we deny death, we will inflict death. But we also inflict it on ourselves. The fear of pain and vulnerability that causes us to shun real human relationships, to shun that true love that always involves surrender and vulnerability in the face of another, ultimately kills our – our! – Interior life, our ability to feel anything – neither pain nor joy nor love.” Our capacity to love might die. The fear of wounds isolates us and makes us indifferent to the needs of others. Fear drives people to violent and irrational behavior. Fear motivates people to defend themselves even when no threats exist. Those who sow fear in others and society are actually afraid of themselves. In the Risen Jesus, we know that by seeing and touching the wounds of those who suffer, we touch our own wounds and we touch Jesus. We become brothers and sisters to one another. We acknowledge our common guilt in inflicting wounds on humankind and creation. We hear the call to reconciliation. We see the patient presence of the Risen Lord in our broken world. Continual Accompaniment In Solidarity About the second and last part of my sharing: a psychologist proposal Sheep / B7
Statement of the Diocese of San Carlos
WE are greatly saddened and shocked that a young child is alleged to have been molested by one of our clergy. This painful incident creates a deep wound and hurt not only to the victim and the victim’s family but also to the communities and to the
entire clergy of the Diocese of San Carlos. While we acknowledge the right of the accused to be presumed innocent until proven otherwise, we are steadfast to assist the victim and cooperate in the process so the truth will come out and justice is served.
Following the recent guidelines of our Holy Father to focus on protecting children rather than “protecting the institution”, and to provide the accompaniment of those who have been abused with an emphasis on listening—we have
reached out to the family of the minor. We assure the family that we are concerned that their child is given proper care and intervention and we have asked our parish leaders to reach out to them on our behalf. We have offered help and support as well both to the accused and his family of origin and his pastoral council and eventually to our presbyterium and the affected parish community. We are making it clear that we are not hiding the accused to protect him from the charges. We are proceeding with our own canonical process as dictated by church law by providing pastoral care to the accused while allowing the legal process to take its course. I have assigned a priest to take over temporarily the shepherding of the parish concerned in order to give the accused time to spiritually prepare himself to face the allegations and to give way for an impartial investigation. We are committed to search for truth and to make sure the process will be fair and just to both parties
and whoever is responsible will have to face the consequences. While our Holy Father is calling for an “all-out battle” against the sexual abuse of minors, and to turn this evil into an “opportunity for purification”, we in the Diocese of San Carlos is challenged to “walk the talk”. I ask our faithful to pray for everyone involved in this case, journeying together as people of God, sharing the pain of the alleged victim and her family, the accused and his family and the faith community that’s directly affected by it, including our priestly fraternity, guided by this Word of Life: “Do to others as you would have them do to you.” We draw consolation from Pope Francis that “if our hearts are open to mercy … we proclaim before the world that it is possible to overcome evil with good.” +MOST REV. GERARDO A. ALMINAZA, D.D. Bishop of San Carlos February 28, 2019
CBCP Monitor
STATEMENTS B5
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
Concluding address of His Holiness Pope Francis at the meeting on “The Protection of Minors in the Church” Vatican City, 21-24 February, 2019 DEAR Brothers and Sisters, As I thank the Lord who has accompanied us during these days, I would like to thank all of you for the ecclesial spirit and concrete commitment that you have so generously demonstrated. Our work has made us realize once again that the gravity of the scourge of the sexual abuse of minors is, and historically has been, a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies. Only in relatively recent times has it become the subject of systematic research, thanks to changes in public opinion regarding a problem that was previously considered taboo; everyone knew of its presence yet no one spoke of it. I am reminded too of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human beings—frequently children—in pagan rites. Yet even today, the statistics available on the sexual abuse of minors drawn up by various national and international organizations and agencies (the WHO, UNICEF, INTERPOL, EUROPOL and others) do not represent the real extent of the phenomenon, which is often underestimated, mainly because many cases of the sexual abuse of minors go unreported, particularly the great number committed within families. Rarely, in fact, do victims speak out and seek help. Behind this reluctance there can be shame, confusion, fear of reprisal, various forms of guilt, distrust of institutions, forms of cultural and social conditioning, but also lack of information about services and facilities that can help. Anguish tragically leads to bitterness, even suicide, or at times to seek revenge by doing the same thing. The one thing certain is that millions of children in the world are victims of exploitation and of sexual abuse. It would be important here to cite the overall data—in my opinion still partial—on the global level,3 then from Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Oceania, in order to give an idea of the gravity and the extent of this plague in our societies. To avoid needless quibbling, I would point out from the start that the mention of specific countries is purely for the sake of citing the statistical data provided by the aforementioned reports. The first truth that emerges from the data at hand is that those who perpetrate abuse, that is acts of physical, sexual or emotional violence, are primarily parents, relatives, husbands of child brides, coaches and teachers. Furthermore, according to the UNICEF data of 2017 regarding 28 countries throughout the world, 9 out of every 10 girls who have had forced sexual relations reveal that they were victims of someone they knew or who was close to their family. According to official data of the American government, in the United States over 700,000 children each year are victims of acts of violence and mistreatment. According to the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC), 1 out of every 10 children experiences sexual abuse. In Europe, 18 million children are victims of sexual abuse. If we take Italy as an example, the 2016 Telefono Azzurro Report states that 68.9% of abuses take place within the home of the minor. Acts of violence take place not only in the home, but also in neighbourhoods, schools, athletic facilities and, sadly, also in church settings. Research conducted in recent years on the phenomenon of the sexual abuse of minors also shows that the development of the web and of the communications media have contributed to a significant increase in cases of abuse and acts of violence perpetrated online. Pornography is rapidly spreading worldwide through the net. The scourge of pornography has expanded to an alarming degree, causing psychological harm and damaging relations between men and women, and between adults and children. It is a phenomenon in constant growth. Tragically, a considerable part of pornographic production has to do with minors, who are thus gravely violated in their dignity. The studies in this field—it is sad—document that it is happening in ever more horrible and violent ways, even to the point of acts of abuse against minors being commissioned and viewed live over the net. Here I would mention the World Congress held in Rome on the theme of child dignity in the digital era, as well as the first Forum of the Interfaith
Alliance for Safer Communities held on the same theme in Abu Dhabi last November. Another scourge is sexual tourism. According to 2017 data provided by the World Tourism Organization, each year 3 million people throughout the world travel in order to have sexual relations with a minor. Significantly, the perpetrators of these crimes in most cases do not even realize that they are committing a criminal offence. We are thus facing a universal problem, tragically present almost everywhere and affecting everyone. Yet we need to be clear, that while gravely affecting our societies as a whole,10 this evil is in no way less monstrous when it takes place within the Church. The brutality of this worldwide phenomenon becomes all the more grave and scandalous in the Church, for it is utterly incompatible with her moral authority and ethical credibility. Consecrated persons, chosen by God to guide souls to salvation, let themselves be dominated by their human frailty or sickness and thus become tools of Satan. In abuse, we see the hand of the evil that does not spare even the innocence of children. No explanations suffice for these abuses involving children. We need to recognize with humility and courage that we stand face to face with the mystery of evil, which strikes most violently against the most vulnerable, for they are an image of Jesus. For this reason, the Church has now become increasingly aware of the need not only to curb the gravest cases of abuse by disciplinary measures and civil and canonical processes, but also to decisively confront the phenomenon both inside and outside the Church. She feels called to combat this evil that strikes at the very heart of her mission, which is to preach the Gospel to the little ones and to protect them from ravenous wolves. Here again I would state clearly: if in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse – which already in itself represents an atrocity – that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness. Brothers and Sisters: in people’s justified anger, the Church sees the reflection of the wrath of God, betrayed and insulted by these deceitful consecrated persons. The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power. It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry. It is difficult to grasp the phenomenon of the sexual abuse of minors without considering power, since it is always the result of an abuse of power, an exploitation of the inferiority and vulnerability of the abused, which makes possible the manipulation of their conscience and of their psychological and physical weakness. The abuse of power is likewise present in the other forms of abuse affecting almost 85,000,000 children, forgotten by everyone: child soldiers, child prostitutes, starving children, children kidnapped and often victimized by the horrid commerce of human organs or enslaved, child victims of war, refugee children, aborted children and so many others. Before all this cruelty, all this idolatrous sacrifice of children to the god of power, money, pride and arrogance, empirical explanations alone are not sufficient. They fail to make us grasp the breadth and depth of this tragedy. Here once again we see the limitations of a purely positivistic approach. It can provide us with a true explanation helpful for taking necessary measures, but it is incapable of giving us a meaning. Today we need both explanation and meaning. Explanation will help us greatly in the operative sphere, but will take us only halfway. So what would be the existential “meaning” of this criminal phenomenon? In the light of its human breadth and depth, it is none other than the present-day manifestation of the spirit of evil. If we fail to take account of this dimension, we will remain far from the truth and lack real solutions. Brothers and sisters, today we find ourselves before a manifestation of brazen, aggressive and destructive evil. Behind and within, there is the spirit of evil, which in its pride and in its arrogance considers itself the Lord of the world and thinks that it has triumphed. I would like to say this to you with the authority of a brother and a father, certainly a small one and a sinner, but who is the pastor of
Pope Francis speaks at the conclusion of a Mass on the final day of a meeting on the protection of minors in the church at the Vatican Feb. 24, 2019. CNS/ VATICAN MEDIA
the Church that presides in charity: in these painful cases, I see the hand of evil that does not spare even the innocence of the little ones. And this leads me to think of the example of Herod who, driven by fear of losing his power, ordered the slaughter of all the children of Bethlehem. Behind this there is satan. Just as we must take every practical measure that common sense, the sciences and society offer us, neither must we lose sight of this reality; we need to take up the spiritual means that the Lord himself teaches us: humiliation, self-accusation, prayer and penance. This is the only way to overcome the spirit of evil. It is how Jesus himself overcame it. The Church’s aim will thus be to hear, watch over, protect and care for abused, exploited and forgotten children, wherever they are. To achieve that goal, the Church must rise above the ideological disputes and journalistic practices that often exploit, for various interests, the very tragedy experienced by the little ones. The time has come, then, to work together to eradicate this evil from the body of our humanity by adopting every necessary measure already in force on the international level and ecclesial levels. The time has come to find a correct equilibrium of all values in play and to provide uniform directives for the Church, avoiding the two extremes of a “justicialism” provoked by guilt for past errors and media pressure, and a defensiveness that fails to confront the causes and effects of these grave crimes. In this context, I would mention the “best practices” formulated under the guidance of the World Health Organization by a group of ten international bodies that developed and approved a packet of measures called INSPIRE: Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children. With the help of these guidelines, the work carried out in recent years by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the contributions made by this Meeting, the Church, in developing her legislation, will concentrate on the following aspects: 1. The protection of children. The primary goal of every measure must be to protect the little ones and prevent them from falling victim to any form of psychological and physical abuse. Consequently, a change of mentality is needed to combat a defensive and reactive approach to protecting the institution and to pursue, wholeheartedly and decisively, the good of the community by giving priority to the victims of abuse in every sense. We must keep ever before us the innocent faces of the little ones, remembering the words of the Master: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Woe to the world because of scandals! For it is necessary that scandals come, but woe to the man by whom the scandal comes! (Mt 18:6-7). 2. Impeccable seriousness. Here I would reaffirm that “the Church will spare no effort to do all that is necessary to bring to justice whosoever has committed such crimes. The Church will never seek to hush up or not take seriously any case” (Address to the Roman Curia, 21 December 2018). She is convinced that “the sins and
crimes of consecrated persons are further tainted by infidelity and shame; they disfigure the countenance of the Church and undermine her credibility. The Church herself, with her faithful children, is also a victim of these acts of infidelity and these real sins of “peculation” (ibid.). 3. Genuine purification. Notwithstanding the measures already taken and the progress made in the area of preventing abuse, there is need for a constantly renewed commitment to the holiness of pastors, whose conformity to Christ the Good Shepherd is a right of the People of God. The Church thus restates “her firm resolve to pursue unstintingly a path of purification, questioning how best to protect children, to avoid these tragedies, to bring healing and restoration to the victims, and to improve the training imparted in seminaries… An effort will be made to make past mistakes opportunities for eliminating this scourge, not only from the body of the Church but also from that of society” (ibid.). The holy fear of God leads us to accuse ourselves – as individuals and as an institution – and to make up for our failures. Self-accusation is the beginning of wisdom and bound to the holy fear of God: learning how to accuse ourselves, as individuals, as institutions, as a society. For we must not fall into the trap of blaming others, which is a step towards the “alibi” that separates us from reality. 4. Formation. In other words, requiring criteria for the selection and training of candidates to the priesthood that are not simply negative, concerned above all with excluding problematic personalities, but also positive, providing a balanced process of formation for suitable candidates, fostering holiness and the virtue of chastity. Saint Paul VI, in his encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus, wrote that “the life of the celibate priest, which engages the whole man so totally and so sensitively, excludes those of insufficient physical, psychic and moral qualifications. Nor should anyone pretend that grace supplies for the defects of nature in such a man” (No. 64). 5. Strengthening and reviewing guidelines by Episcopal Conferences. In other words, reaffirming the need for bishops to be united in the application of parameters that serve as rules and not simply indications. Rules, not simply indications. No abuse should ever be covered up (as was often the case in the past) or not taken sufficiently seriously, since the covering up of abuses favors the spread of evil and adds a further level of scandal. Also and in particular, developing new and effective approaches for prevention in all institutions and in every sphere of ecclesial activity. 6. Accompaniment of those who have been abused. The evil that they have experienced leaves them with indelible wounds that also manifest themselves in resentment and a tendency to self-destruction. The Church thus has the duty to provide them with all the support they need, by availing herself of experts in this field. Listening, let me even put it this way: “wasting time” in listening. Listening heals the hurting person, and likewise heals us of our egoism, aloofness and lack of concern, of the attitude shown by the priest and the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan. 7. The digital world. The protection of minors must take into account the
new forms of sexual abuse and abuse of all kinds that threaten minors in the settings in which they live and through the new devices that they use. Seminarians, priests, men and women religious, pastoral agents, indeed everyone, must be aware that the digital world and the use of its devices often has a deeper effect than we may think. Here there is a need to encourage countries and authorities to apply every measure needed to contain those websites that threaten human dignity, the dignity of women and particularly that of children. Brothers and Sisters: crime does not enjoy the right to freedom. There is an absolute need to combat these abominations with utter determination, to be vigilant and to make every effort to keep the development of young people from being troubled or disrupted by an uncontrolled access to pornography, which will leave deep scars on their minds and hearts. We must ensure that young men and women, particularly seminarians and clergy, are not enslaved to addictions based on the exploitation and criminal abuse of the innocent and their pictures, and contempt for the dignity of women and of the human person. Here mention should be made of the new norms on graviora delicta approved by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010, which included as a new species of crime “the acquisition, possession or distribution by a cleric of pornographic images of minors… by whatever means or using whatever technology”. The text speaks of minors “under the age of fourteen”. We now consider that this age limit should be raised in order to expand the protection of minors and to bring out the gravity of these deeds. 8. Sexual tourism. The conduct, the way of looking at others, the very heart of Jesus’ disciples and servants must always acknowledge the image of God in each human creature, beginning with the most innocent. It is only by drawing from this radical respect for the dignity of others that we will be able to defend them from the pervasive power of violence, exploitation, abuse and corruption, and serve them in a credible way in their integral human and spiritual growth, in the encounter with others and with God. Combating sexual tourism demands that it be outlawed, but also that the victims of this criminal phenomenon be given support and helped to be reinserted in society. The ecclesial communities are called to strengthen their pastoral care of persons exploited by sexual tourism. Among these, those who are most vulnerable and in need of particular help are certainly women, minors and children; these last however need special forms of protection and attention. Government authorities should make this a priority and act with urgency to combat the trafficking and economic exploitation of children. To this end it is important to coordinate the efforts being made at every level of society and to cooperate closely with international organizations so as to achieve a juridical framework capable of protecting children from sexual exploitation in tourism and of ensuring the legal prosecution of offenders.16 Allow me now to offer a heartfelt word of thanks to all those priests and consecrated persons who serve the Lord faithfully and totally, and who feel themselves dishonoured and discredited by the shameful conduct Address / B6
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March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
Fighting the greatest ‘Liberation War’ 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C, (Luke 4:1-13) Migrants’ Sunday, March 10, 2019
the slippery slope of ever-greater concessions and humiliating defeats. By that time, they also realize that the devil has already gained a steady foothold in their lives, and their aspirations. The final result is an ever-greater “un-freedom” and weakness. As a consequence, they habitually get carried away by their worst passions. The devil easily turns self-esteem into pride; appreciation for material things into greed; admiration for a person of the other sex into lust; hurt for an injury suffered into hatred and vengefulness . . . . He makes people believe that they should follow such inclinations to assert their freedom. Soon they realize, however, that they have become the devil’s slaves and that their freedom has been reduced to ashes . . . . But no situation is without a remedy, for as long as there is life, there can be hope, there can be victory. The Lenten season is an opportunity and challenge to take up arms and fight the most urgent and fundamental
form of WAR OF LIBERATION: the liberation from the rule of Satan. In our “uprising” we should remember that: a) the devil is not invincible, and that; b) in this struggle we are not alone. The extraordinary power of God’s word and grace is available to us to enlighten, strengthen and comfort us. Christ, the most powerful of all allies and the conqueror of Satan, is with us. Though tempted in many ways like us, Jesus never gave in for a single second. Now, he is just all too eager to make us share in his victory. For those of us who really wish to free themselves from any subjection to the devil, Christ—the man supremely free—is our great hope. All that we have to do is ask his help and follow his example. Rooted in the power of God’s word and trusting in His grace, we will fight bravely side by side with Jesus, ready to pay any price, in order to gain the wonderful prize of a real, life-giving freedom.
Faithful for lack of opportunity to be unfaithful? 1st Sunday of Lent, Year C, (Luke 4:1-13) March 10, 2019 By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD IN Christian teaching, we become children of God through faith and baptism (John 1:12; 3:5). Because we are God’s children, we have to behave as such. In biblical studies, we call this indicative-imperative contrast. Thus, because Christians have been made holy, they must therefore act like holy people: “Since we have these promises, beloved, let us purify ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, and in the fear of God, strive to fulfill our consecration perfectly” (2 Cor 7:1). But what should be the basic attitude of a Christian, how should he act, in a social context in which there is so much wealth, power, privileges and honor, and opportunity to abuse them? As God’s children, our guide is none other than Jesus himself. And in the first chapters of his Gospel, Luke shows us that Jesus is God’s Son (Luke 1:35; 2:11). As such, he is the representative of all the sons/daughters or children of God—the people of God in the New Covenant. In today’s Gospel, Luke gives as a summary of his whole life. That life relives the life of the people of God in the Old Covenant. In the Old Testament, Israel is called God’s son (Exod 4:22; Hosea 11:1). But to know the heart of the people of Israel , his first-born son, God tested them (Deut 8:2). So, they wandered in the desert for forty years, afflicting them with hunger (Deut 8:3). Despite the seeming failure of natural means, he showed his care for them because he loved them. “It was he who led them forth, all the while performing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, in the Red Sea, and for forty years in the desert” (Acts 7:36). Despite his paternal care for them, however, the people became ungrateful. Instead of worshipping the true God, they even made for themselves a molten calf and offered sacrifices to it (Exod 32:1-9). They complained in the hearing of the Lord (Num 11:1-3); grumbling against Moses
and Aaron, they wanted to return to their slavery in Egypt (Num 14:13). Some of them even staged a rebellion (Num 16). Because of their rebellion and disobedience, God did not allow them to enter into the Promised Land. Israel was a people of erring heart; they did not know the ways of God (Ps 95:10-11). In today’s narrative on the testing of the Son of God, Luke presents Jesus—being God’s Son and representative of God’s renewed people—as reliving the life of Israel in the New Covenant. Just as the people of Israel , in their exodus from Egypt , sojourned in the desert for forty years and were tested (Deut 8:2), so Jesus, in the new exodus, was in the desert for forty days and underwent temptations (Luke 4:1-2). The order of the three temptations in Luke is different from that in Matthew. In Luke, the temptations conclude on the parapet of the temple in Jerusalem, where Jesus will ultimately face his destiny (Luke 13:33). Nonetheless, the content is the same: the temptation to turn the stones into loaves of bread (Luke 4:3), the temptation to worship Satan in exchange of domination over the kingdoms of the world (v 7), and the temptation to throw himself from the parapet of the temple (9). In the first temptation, Satan wanted Jesus to use his powers for his own purposes, rather than fulfill his messianic role as planned by the Father. In the second, he attempted to persuaded Jesus to give him allegiance, rather than God. And in the third, he asked the Lord to test the word of the Father, rather than fulfill his mission on the basis of faith in that word. In all these, Satan tried to make Jesus, the Son of God, break his filial obedience to the Father. He even misused the Scriptures (v 6), but Jesus used the same Scriptures to show his fidelity (vv 4,7,10). Thus, unlike people of Israel of Old who manifested their disobedience,
The Passage Jesus had to fulfill 2nd Sunday of Lent, Year C, (Lk 9:28-36) March 17, 2019 By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
ONE of the first objectives of the devil is to convince us that he does not exist. If he does not succeed in that, he tries to make us believe that, after all, he is not so dangerous or ugly . . . He may even reach the point of disguising himself as “an angel of light” . . . . And those who fall into that trap, very soon find themselves suffering the consequences of the worst form of slavery. It is the old story of the Trojan horse, coming true in our existence. It’s the sad tale of so many who underestimate the devil’s ruses and overestimate their ability to “neutralize” him at any moment. The truth of the matter is that the devil does exist and is terrible. He knows how to plan his attack and when to strike. His “point of entry” is usually a deceivingly “harmless suggestion,” such as the one we read about in the first temptation endured by Jesus. (See Lk 4:3.) Eventually, looking back, his victims realize that their yielding to such an “innocent” proposal was just the first step in
CBCP Monitor
Jesus, far from succumbing to the three temptations, remained faithful to God (Deut 6:8) and emerged victorious over them. That way, he, the true Israel and the true Son of God, showed himself faithful to God the Father. The temptation story, then, poses this question to us: have we been faithful to the vows we made at baptism, when through the faith of the Church, we became adopted sons of God? Of course, many of us are faithful sons for lack of opportunity to be otherwise. Some officials have been honest, because there had been no occasion to be corrupt, but when a chance is given, we find them doing what their predecessors have done, which they were not to vilify. Would we be surprised if an oppositionist who used to denounce political dynasties winds up making his own, or if a politician who before the elections frequently lambasted others for receiving the 10% SOP ends up asking contractors 40% or even more of the budget for a project? They fight temptation by easily giving in to it. Yet, even those who do not have the opportunity to be otherwise may forget their promises at baptism if only because being faithful does not offer much rewards in this life. That a teenager could auction off her virginity in order to go to college says much of our values today. How many could resist the temptation to receive the filthy lucre in exchange for voting a candidate who by any standard does not even qualify for the position he is running for? Ultimately, of course, being faithful to sonship in God is a question of values, and commitment to them. For a person who regards God’s concerns as the ultimate values, and who is committed to them, temporary enjoyment and gratifications are not difficult to set aside. Despite poverty, suffering and deprivation, he remains faithful in the face opportunities to privileges, power and wealth. Just as Christ did.
TODAY’S Gospel focuses on Luke’s narrative on the transfiguration of Jesus. Readers of the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) will easily recall that the transfiguration story tells of an event that took place near the end of Jesus’ public ministry in which his external appearance changed. In the presence of Peter, James and John atop a mountain, Jesus’ clothing became dazzlingly white, and with him appeared Moses and Elijah who spoke with him. Peter was so overwhelmed by what took place that he suggested that three tents be made: one for Jesus, one for Moses and another for Elijah. Then after a cloud overshadowed them, a voice was heard identifying Jesus as his Son, who must be listened to. Then Jesus and his three disciples went down the mountain to be with the people. Noting that the event offered the disciples an experience of the true identity of Jesus, many preachers follow a line of interpretation that stresses the need to follow up our “experience of the divine” with the practical aspect of spirituality, which is service to the people we meet every day. They say that we cannot just contemplate on the divine; for that would be empty if divorced from action on behalf of the poor. While such line of preaching has something to commend it, yet it fails to take into account that each evangelist has a different way of understanding the event. If we look at the version of Luke, we find that he has some theological insights that are not shared by other evangelists, and one of them relates to the content of the conversation between Jesus, Moses and Elijah: “They appeared in glory, and spoke of his passage which he was about to fulfill in Jerusalem” (Luke 9:21). To understand what Luke means by this, it may be recalled that earlier on, Jesus asked his disciples who did crowds say he was. It appears that they had come to uncover the reality of what he was through the public confession of Peter who addressed him as the “Messiah of God.” But when Peter used this title to describe him, there is scarcely any doubt that he understood this title in the Jewish sense of an expected Messiah, the anointed one, sent by God in the Davidic, kingly or political tradition. He would be a political figure identified with the “Messiah of Israel” (1QS 9:11) in the Qumran community. In effect, having seen how Jesus healed and performed miracles, Peter thought that Jesus was really God’s anointed to restore the kingdom of Israel to its former glory. It is for this reason that Jesus tried to explain to them the meaning of his messiahship by means of the prediction of his passion: “The Son of Man,” he said, “must first endure many sufferings, be rejected by the elders, the high priests and the scribes, and be put to death, and then be raised up on the third day” (Luke 9:22). And to make sure that his disciples, who frequently misunderstood him and his teaching, fully realized the implication of his words for those who wished to follow him, he continued his instruction on discipleship: “Whoever wishes to be my follower must deny his very self, take up his cross each day and
follow in my steps” (Luke 9:24). We do not know how, according to Luke, the disciples reacted to Jesus’ teaching, for Luke records none of it, unlike in Mark where we find Peter remonstrating with the Lord (Mark 8:33). But one could make the educated guess that his declaration would have proved a disappointment to them, assuming they understood it. After all, even after Jesus’ death, the disciples, according to Luke, thought that Jesus would free Israel from the Romans and restore its political and economic glory (Luke 24:21). The story of transfiguration, therefore, functions as a corrective of Peter’s faith in Jesus’ messiahship and confirms what Jesus said in the prediction of his passion. The presence of Moses and Elijah, who would have fulfilled the requirement for witnessing in Luke’s theology (cf Simeon and Anna in the Infancy Narrative of Luke), serves to indicate that the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) testify to the identity of Jesus as the suffering Messiah. Understandably enough, Luke—and no other synoptic evangelist—says that the two heavenly figures “spoke of his passage, which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem ” (Luke 9:31 ). In the Greek Bible, the term translated in English as “passage” is exodos, which could also mean departure, the Exodus. Since the use of the word no doubt echoes the Exodus of Israel from Egypt to the land of milk and honey, what Jesus would accomplish in Jerusalem (Luke 9:31) was a new redeeming action for his people. That is to say, just as the Exodus of old freed the people from slavery to Egypt , the new Exodus in Jerusalem would free the people from slavery to sin. The Exodus then refers not only to Jesus’ passion and death, as some writers tend to think, but also to his resurrection and ascension, as all these events took place in Jerusalem . Since the passage that Moses and Elijah spoke of includes the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the transfiguration serves also to correct the impression that Jesus was only a suffering Messiah. For Luke, he is also the Messiah of glory. Which is why unlike other synoptic writers, Luke says that the disciples had a glimpse of the glory of Jesus (Luke 9:32 ). Of course, the term “glory” in Luke is to be connected to the risen status of Jesus, his being the Son of God. His identity as Son of God that the disciples had a glimpse of was made explicit by the voice from the clouds, declaring him as God’s Son, his Chosen One (Luke 9:35). Luke’s understanding of the transfiguration should be obvious. If the disciples saw Jesus in his glory as God’s Son, it is to affirm that Jesus, far from being a Messiah in the political tradition of his day, is one who enters into glory through suffering, death and resurrection in the holy city (see Luke 24:26). (In that sense, Luke shares John’s view that death and glorification is a single event, though, as Schweizer notes, Luke stresses the death aspect of the event, while John emphasizes the glorification.) The disciples of Jesus, who must listen to him and him alone, are to share and follow the same passage—death and glorification.
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of some of their confreres. All of us – the Church, consecrated persons, the People of God, and even God himself – bear the effects of their infidelity. In the name of the whole Church, I thank the vast majority of priests who are not only faithful to their celibacy, but spend themselves in a ministry today made even more difficult by the scandals of few (but always too many) of their confreres. I also thank the faithful who are well aware of the goodness of their pastors and who continue to pray for them and to support them. Finally, I would like to stress the important need to turn this evil into an opportunity for purification. Let us look to the example of Edith Stein—Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross—with the certainty that “in the darkest night, the greatest prophets and saints rise up. Still, the life-giving stream of the mystical life remains invisible. Surely, the decisive events of history of the world have been essentially influenced by souls about whom the history books remain silent. And those souls that we must thank for the decisive events in our personal lives is something that we will know only on that day when all that which is hidden will be brought to light”. The holy, faithful People of God, in
its daily silence, in many forms and ways continues to demonstrate and attest with “stubborn” hope that the Lord never abandons but sustains the constant and, in so many cases, painful devotion of his children. The holy and patient, faithful People of God, borne up and enlivened by the Holy Spirit, is the best face of the prophetic Church which puts her Lord at the centre in daily giving of herself. It will be precisely this holy People of God to liberate us from the plague of clericalism, which is the fertile ground for all these disgraces. The best results and the most effective resolution that we can offer to the victims, to the People of Holy Mother Church and to the entire world, are the commitment to personal and collective conversion, the humility of learning, listening, assisting and protecting the most vulnerable. I make a heartfelt appeal for an all-out battle against the abuse of minors both sexually and in other areas, on the part of all authorities and individuals, for we are dealing with abominable crimes that must be erased from the face of the earth: this is demanded by all the many victims hidden in families and in the various settings of our societies.”
CBCP Monitor
SOCIAL CONCERNS B7
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
Therapy and justice for victims of clerical abuse By Fr. Shay Cullen THIS week, Pope Francis has taken a stand on the sexual abuse of minors by priests and bishops. He has called a historical first global meeting in Rome where more than 190 bishops and clerics will discuss a clear plan of action on how to protect and help the victims of clerical sexual abuse and bring priests to justice and hold bishops accountable. They will hopefully learn what direct action must be taken to end denial, cover-up and bring justice for victims by holding priests and bishops accountable for criminal acts against minors. Pope Francis is facing this extremely important and sensitive issue. The meeting is acknowledgement that the problem is a culture of criminality within the church where thousands of priests around the world have abused and are abusing children. They are getting away with it to the anger and fury of the public at large and especially among Catholics. The normally arrogant higher prelates who consider themselves important enough to be above the law have to be challenged and confronted with these real crimes, which they have ignored and covered up for decades. They must answer for them before the civil law, which is there to protect children and bring culprits to justice. No one is above the law. The evil practice of clerical child abuse has been exposed in many Western countries by government tribunals and commissions in the United States, Australia, Ireland, Chile, France and Germany. For
sure, the same is going on in other countries but has not yet come to the surface. While much has changed to prevent child abuse by clergy, much remains to be done. All must realize that clerical abuse of minors is not just a church scandal or priests committing “sins” and when discovered are transferred to another parish or diocese to stop the complaints from continuing. That is how it was dealt with for decades. Families are persuaded to agree to out-of-court settlements and forced to sign non-disclosure agreements. Some have been threatened with church sanctions if they pursued a criminal case. In the Philippines, Archbishop Cardinal Tagle admitted in a television interview that the Philippine hierarchy dealt with the issues of child sex abuse by priests internally. As if that is the solution. He said at the opening of the Vatican meeting that it is an abuse of power echoing the position of Pope Francis, who has said it is a culture of “clericalism” in the church. However stating the problem is not solving it. The abuse of power has been the practice of the bishop and senior clergy to deny ignore and cover up such crimes and to protect the institutional church. They tried to prevent the priest being arrested and put on trial for crimes that can carry a life sentence. The fear of public disgrace, failure in office, loss of prestige and authority, criticism of the institutional church by the Catholic communities and the media and the huge loss of donations are
likely to be behind the practice of cover up. Concern, compassion, and just anger that little children are abused by their fellow priests seems to be far from their hearts and minds. It’s a spiritual and theological crisis also. The gospel words of Jesus of Nazareth are forgotten. He said that the most important in the Kingdom of God is the child, not the learned and people in authority. They who accept and protects a child accepts Him. Abusers have to be dealt with strictly and “better a millstone be tied around their neck and they be thrown into the deepest ocean.” (Matthew18:1-8) The deep suffering, hurt and anguish that abused children feel is ignored and unacknowledged. Some even say they like it. A video of children releasing their pent up anger, hurt and pain can be viewed on www.preda.org. Seeing and hearing this release of pent up pain that is in many victims in Emotional Release Therapy gives us a determination to see that the children are healed and justice is done by and for the little kids. Many clerics have been found guilty and are serving jail sentences. This cover up by church leaders is a systematic obstruction of justice and is a crime in itself. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon, France is on trial with other clerics for such an alleged crime. A court decision may be released in March. Cardinal George Pell, who held a senior Vatican position, is on trial for “historic child sexual offenses.” The Cardinal allegedly protected
a notorious pedophile priest who abused children. Catholics who for centuries were imbued with guilt by clergy and were threatened with the “fires of hell” are still told to repent and confess their “sins,” and do penance, no matter how little and petty as their so-called “sins” may have been. They are awakening to the truth that they have been duped and misled by an archaic and false theology that has little or no compassion, understanding, forgiveness and Gospel love. Many of these pedophile priests, criminals themselves, judge and condemn the innocent. The genuine care, healing and support for every victim of child sexual abuse especially by clergy
is the first and most important action that needs to be taken by the Pope’s meeting. Every diocese must have an independent trained professional child support therapy team, a therapeutic home with a para-legal to pursue justice and to help, support and protect every child victim. The team should provide therapy to empower the victims to give testimony against their abusers. The abusers, including clergy, must be brought to trial before a civil court of law and held accountable for child abuse. The accused, if guilty, ought to confess, repent and accept penance in jail behind bars. Nothing less is acceptable.
necessary, and, finally, the corporal, the purificator, the pall, and the Missal.” Thus, several corporals may be used at Mass. At least one is placed at the center of the altar at the presentation of gifts. Others may be placed at other areas of the altar if numerous sacred vessels are required. There should also be at least one corporal on the credence table for the purification. The Rite of Holy Communion and Eucharistic Worship Outside of Mass also has important indications regarding the corporal: “19. When communion is given in a church or oratory, a corporal is to be placed on the altar, which is already covered with a cloth. A communion plate is to be used. When communion is given in other places, a suitable table is to be prepared and covered with a cloth; candles are also to be provided.”
The “other places” mentioned would generally refer to communion of the sick. In this case, the person or his family prepare the candles and a table covered with a cloth. It would be the priest, deacon or extraordinary minister of Holy Communion who would bring the corporal. In some cases, such as in a hospital when several sufferers are given Communion, the rite foresees the possibility of initiating the rite in the first room and concluding at the last. In such a situation the corporal would be required only at the beginning. For exposition the ritual says: “No. 93. If the Holy Eucharist is not reserved at the altar where the exposition is to take place, the minister puts on a humeral veil and brings the sacrament from the place of reservation; he is accompanied by servers or by the faithful with lighted candles.
“The ciborium or monstrance should be placed upon the table of the altar which is covered with a cloth. If exposition with the monstrance is to extend over a long period, a throne in an elevated position may be used, but this should not be too lofty or distant. After exposition, if the monstrance is used, the minister incenses the sacrament. If the adoration is to be lengthy, he may then withdraw. “In the case of more solemn and lengthy exposition, the host should be consecrated in the Mass which immediately precedes the exposition and after communion should be placed in the monstrance upon the altar. The Mass ends with the prayer after communion, and the concluding rites are omitted. Before the priest leaves, he may place the Blessed Sacrament on the throne and incense it.” While this expression “cloth” is somewhat vague, No. 1104 of the Cer-
emonial of Bishops says that there should be a corporal upon the altar “as circumstances require.” This conditional expression takes into account particular situations such as exposition at the end of Mass and, perhaps, expositions that are not upon an altar. For example, some forms of exposition may retain historical practices such as a tabernacle with a turntable. In that case, the corporal is already below the monstrance in the rotary tabernacle. The principle of the use of a corporal below the monstrance or pyx remains in place. Finally, with respect to candles for exposition the ritual says: “54. For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the monstrance, four to six candles are lighted, as at Mass, and incense is used. For exposition of the blessed sacrament in the ciborium, at least two candles should be lighted, and incense may be used.”
resource speakers Conduct creative activities such as contest, concerts or cultural events Popularize and advocate issues and concerns of migrants involving tri-media (Radio, television and newspapers) and other venues like schools, religious congregations, private institutions and within the barangay and local government units.
Phase 2: Actual NMS celebration • Set specific time for a special mass for overseas Filipinos and their families in your diocese or parish. • Prepare special liturgy and involve the participation of overseas Filipinos and their families • Invite the OFWs and their families for a fellowship activity after the Eucharistic celebration
images, and interpersonal conflicts that arise from the inner brokenness. Yet, before we even raise the issue of asking the victims to forgive as part of their healing, we must clarify that we are not suggesting that they should just let it all go, excuse the abuse, just move on. No. Far from it. Without question, we know that when victims come to a moment of forgiving others who have harmed them, a deeper healing takes place and the understandable resentments that build up in their hearts are reconciled. We know that forgiveness is one powerful and even scientifically supported pathway for eliminating pain, resentment and the human heart. We as the Church should continue to walk with those profoundly wounded by abuse building trust, providing unconditional love, and repeatedly asking for forgiveness in the full recognition that we do not deserve that forgiveness in the order of justice but can only receive it when it is bestowed as gift and grace in the process of healing. Finally, we are concerned that in
some cases bishops and religious superiors are tempted—perhaps even at times pressured—-to choose between victim and perpetrator. Who should we be helping? Who should be helped? Now, a focus on justice and forgiveness show us the answer: We focus on both. Regarding victims, we need to help them to express their deep hurts and to heal from them. Regarding the perpetrators, we need to serve justice, help them to face the truth without rationalization, and at the same time not neglect their inner world, their own wounds. At times, we are tempted to think in “either/or” terms: We strive either for justice or we try to offer forgiveness. We need a shift to a “both/and” stance as we deliberately ask these questions: How can we serve justice and foster forgiveness in the face of this wound of sexual abuse? How can we prevent distorting forgiveness so that we do not equate it with just letting the injustice slide away or move on and dismiss the wrong? How can we keep an accurate view of forgiveness as offering startling mercy of unconditional love to those
A girl receives ashes on Ash Wednesday at the Baclaran Church, March 6, 2019. ELMARC LIM
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enough of the precious Blood remains in the chalice for the Communion of the concelebrants. Then the Deacon, or one of the concelebrants, arranges the chalice together with the paten containing particles of the host, if appropriate, either in the center of the altar or at the side on another corporal. “297. The celebration of the Eucharist in a sacred place is to take place on an altar; however, outside a sacred place, it may take place on a suitable table, always with the use of a cloth, a corporal, a cross, and candles. “306. For only what is required for the celebration of the Mass may be placed on the altar table: namely, from the beginning of the celebration until the proclamation of the Gospel, the Book of the Gospels; then from the Presentation of the Gifts until the purification of the vessels, the chalice with the paten, a ciborium, if Stateless / B3
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concerns of the migrants Hold discussion forums and dialogues or similar meeting. Issues on migration can be best integrated during the meeting of BEC, parish mandated organizations or parish pastoral council. In bigger meetings, representatives from various government agencies with programs and services to OFWs may also be invited as
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During the fellowship, cultural presentations may be provided and sharing of food or salu-salo.
Phase 3: Evaluation ECMI’s programs address the preservation of families • After NMS, the migrant diocesan ministers and leaders may set and agree on the date to hold an assessment or evaluation of the NMS celebration. This will serve as
a barometer on the efficiency of your preparation and celebration of NMS. Moreover, this will be the basis on how far your diocese-parish or school will undertake pastoral programs for migrants. ECMI programs address the preservation of families as this is in fact the main reason why most Filipinos decide to leave the country and work overseas.
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in the light of faith; in the light of faith, and a psychologist proposal. For this portion, I will rely heavily on dr. Robert Enright, professor at the University of WisconsinMadison in the United States, and the pioneer in the social scientific study of forgiveness. We are collaborating with him on the programme of forgiveness in the Philippines. In fact, in this very moment, there is a session among Catholic School Educators in Manila on “Pain, wound, and forgiveness”. According to him, one concern that we must address is: Once justice is served, how do we help the victims to heal from the effects of the abuse? Justice is necessary but by itself does not heal the broken human heart. If we are to serve the victims and all those wounded by the crisis, we need to take seriously their wound of resentment and pain and the need for healing. Resentment can be like a disease, that slowly and steadily infects people, until their enthusiasm and energy are gone. With increasing stress, they are prone to heightened anxiety and depression, lowered-self-
who have done wrong, while at the same time, we strive for justice? How can we renew the Church by a firm correction of a definite wrong and walk with the abused, patiently and repeatedly begging forgiveness, knowing that giving such a gift can heal them even more? Conclusion. Before reading my concluding paragraph, I would like to read a portion from the “Lettera al popolo di Dio pellegrino in Cile”, 31 maggio 2018, di Papa Francesco, n. 2: “Senza questa visione di fede, qualsiasi cosa potremmo dire o fare andrebbe a vuoto. Questa certezza è imprescindibile per guardare al presente senza evasività ma con audacia, con coraggio ma saggiamente, con tenacia ma senza violenza, con passione ma senza fanatismo, con costanza ma senza ansietà, e così cambiare tutto quello che oggi può mettere a rischio l’integrità e la dignità di ogni persona. Infatti, le soluzioni di cui c’è bisogno richiedono che si affrontino i problemi senza farsene irretire o,
peggio ancora, ripetere quegli stessi meccanismi che vogliono eliminare”. Learning from the Risen Lord and his disciples, we look at and touch the wounds of victims, families, guilty and innocent clergy, the Church and society. Beholding Jesus wounded by betrayal and abuse of power, we see the wounds of those hurt by those who should have protected them. In Jesus, we experience the mercy that preserves justice and celebrates the gift of forgiveness. The Church hopefully would be a community of justice coming from communion and compassion, a Church eager to go forth on a mission of reconciliation to the wounded world in the Holy Spirit. Once again, the Crucified and Risen Lord stands in our midst at this moment, shows us his wounds and proclaims: “Peace be with you!” May we ever grow in our faith in this great mystery. Thank you. ______________ 1Studies published by Roberto Goizueta, Richard Horsley, Barbara Reid, Tomas Halik, Robert Enright, and Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, to name a few authors, have helped me in my own reflection.
B8 ENTERTAINMENT
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
Cold Pursuit
Buhay San Miguel
Brothers Matias
TERIBOL OG
Bladimer Usi
Buhay Parokya DIRECTOR: Hans Petter Moland LEAD CAST: Liam Neeson, Tom Bateman, Tom Jackson, Emmy Rossum, Julia Jones PRODUCER: Finn Gjerdrum, Stein B. Kvae, Michael Shamberg SCREENWRITER: Frank Baldwin BASED ON: “In Order of Disappearance” by Kim Fupz Aakeson MUSIC: George Fenton GENRE: Dark Comedy-Action DISTRIBUTOR: Summit Entertainment COUNTRY: United States LANGUAGE: English RUNNING TIME: 118 minutes Technical assessment: 3.0 Moral assessment: 2.0 CINEMA rating: V16 MTRCB rating: R16
Nels Coxman (Neeson) is a gentle family man who receives the Citizen of the Year award. But when he learns that Viking Calcote’s (Bateman) drug cartel murdered his son, he becomes an ice-cold vigilante wanting to exact revenge on them. He kills three of Viking’s men and dumps their bodies in the river. Viking, believing the deaths are caused by White Bull (Jackson), a Native American drug lord, abducts and kills the latter’s son. This begins the endless violence and killings from the opposing gangs while Nels plots to dismantle the cartel. Cold Pursuit is the remake of Moland’s own Norwegian film In Order of Disappearance. While you can praise its ambition deliver high powered action and dark humor. The exchanges are amusing –although not always clever — and
CBCP Monitor
FIND 3 MISSING THINGS: 1. HOLY ROSARY 2. ST. LORENZO RUIZ 3. SAINT TERESA
entertaining breather to the body count and blood coated snow. There is a subtle wit in the cinematography and design which emphasize the stark yet imposing landscape. Cold Pursuit offers humor, a quality never seen in Neeson’s Taken franchise. This immediately endears the audience and makes them overlook shortcomings. The plot is still the same fatherseeking-justice, Neeson does the same angry tough calculating dad routine, some characters are underwritten and serve no purpose to the film. But the biggest issue we have with the movie is that it is several minutes longer than it needs to be. Justice taken into one’s own hands creates an endless cycle of violence. While we understand that criminals need to face the consequences of their actions, we emphasize that these should be done within the boundaries of the law. When revenge, brutal death, and violence are funny and audiences laugh at these scenes, danger signs should be flashing. The movie has all the ingredients for it not to be suitable for young viewers — drugs, revenge, language, gore, and violence. But these are not what makes the film strictly for mature audiences. It is the comedic tone used in presenting them. Cold Pursuit plays with the audiences’ reaction to death and violence. This treatment is appropriate for older and mature viewers.
Second Act DIRECTOR: Peter Segal LEAD CAST: Jennifer Lopez, Leah Remini, Vanessa Hudgens, Treat Williams, Milo Ventimiglia PRODUCER: Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Justin Zackham, Benny Medina SCREENWRITER: Justin Zackham, Elaine GoldsmithThomas MUSIC: Michael Andrews CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ueli Steiger EDITOR: Jason Gourson PRODUCTION COMPANY: STX Films, H. Brothers DISTRIBUTOR: STX Films COUNTRY: United States LANGUAGE: English RUNNING TIME: 104 minutes Technical assessment: 3.0 Moral assessment: 3.0 CINEMA rating: V13 MTRCB rating: PG13
Maya (Jennifer Lopez) just turns 40-year-old and struggles with frustrations for not having achieved more
in life. As an experienced, quick-witted, perceptive employee of a megastore, she is passed over for a promotion for not having a college degree. Maya is devastated. Overhearing this, her godson secretly creates and revamps
her online identity landing her a job as consultant at a high-end consumer products company. Being street-smart, she quickly earned respect and confidence of the CEO and he pits her against his daughter Zoe (Vanessa Hudgens) to see who can better design an organic skin care line. But Zoe turns out to be more than just a corporate rival. How long can Maya keep up with her made-up identity? Second Act is neither a romcom nor a drama — it is a comedy with a heart. Lopez brings out her romcom background best in this movie with a lot of maturity. Her commanding screen presence perfectly fits
the Cinderella plot device. Lopez and Hudgens look good together and the twist in their connection in the film is both surprising and sweet — making the film veer away from usual predictable endings. The supporting actors give enough comedic flavor as well. The female bonding is smoothly executed in the film and the female second leads deliver the film’s sentiments. The film in its entirety is a delight to watch and the audience are sure to have good laughs in between plenty of sobs and inspiration. Second Act serves as inspiration to the aging sector in general and to women in particular. Most especially
the film talks to those who have unfulfilled dreams or those who are thinking that they were not given equal opportunities in life for some reason — l ack of education, poverty, unexpected pregnancy, etc. Second Act simply says it is never too late to chase after what one really wants, or to work for a dream. Living in society that puts so much prime on the young — the film is a mild eye-opener. Maya’s character may be flawed with wrong choices or wrong decisions but she is not imprisoned by regret. Instead, she stands up and dusts-off her mistakes and corrects them in the process. The truth has set
her free. More often than not, people would choose comfort over truth but Maya chooses otherwise. She is an example of woman’s strength of character that looks beyond selfish desires — w illing to risk everything for the sake of truth. However, there is clear indication of co-habitation in the film and sexual relations outside marriage — s o the young audience must be guided on this. The deception is taken lightly as well although taken into context, it is said in the film that there is no substitute for truth-telling. CINEMA deems the film as appropriate only for audiences ages 13 years old and above with parental guidance.
Ugnayan
THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST CBCP Monitor Vol. 23 No. 5
By Bernie Cuevas
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PASTORAL CARE FOR FAMILIES
CENTRAL to the life of Couples for Christ is its vision of being Families in the Holy Spirit Renewing the Face of the Earth. But how does CFC do that in a world beset by many threats and challenges to families?
The “Pastoral Care for Families Conference,” a special gathering of the Mission Core of Metro Manila held at the SMX MOA last March 3, aimed to answer this question through a deeper understanding of the call of Amoris Laetitia (The Joy of Love), the post synodal apostolic exhortation written by Pope Francis in 2016 to address the need of families for pastoral care. Bishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David, the main speaker of the conference, spoke on the "Pastoral Approach of Amoris Laetitia" (AL) . He explained that AL provides a guide for a pastoral approach rather than a doctrinal approach to problems besetting marriage and family, especially that of irregular unions. He shared the story of the wedding of Kris, his niece, as an introduction to the importance of understanding what a couple gets into when they get married in the Catholic Church. He stressed that what makes marriage an indissoluble sacrament is its being much more than just a contract (a legal memorandum of agreement) between a husband and wide. Rather, when the couple exchanges rings in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they create a kind of a “love triangle.” Marriage then, is not just about a couple loving one another with human love, but loving one another with the love of Christ in them. This is why the Bible states that what God has joined together can never be separated by any human being. He explained that this is the basis for our belief in the indissolubility of a sacramental marriage. To further explain, he said every marriage founded on human laws is dissoluble by those laws. He proposed that the indissolubility of marriage is only for
marriages that reflect the sacrament of the love of Christ, meaning, only for those who have been joined together by God. The prayer for every marriage should be that the couple be truly joined together by God because marriage becomes a sacrament only when it is between the couple and God – meaning that they make an act of faith that it is God who brings them together. He proceeded to say that based on this, it is also equally true to say that what God has not joined together, we must not force to be together. He referred to Chapter 8 of AL, the focus of his talk: “Accompanying, Discerning and Integrating Weakness”. This chapter is a response to the question “What is the proper pastoral care for marriages and families that are humanly weak and fragile?” He posed the question: If CFC is only for married couples, specifically for those married in church, isn’t that discriminatory? Does the CFC have a ministry for couples in irregular unions? He mentioned Jacob’s Well, the ministry for irregular unions that CFC established in the late 1990’s that somehow got sidetracked. He encouraged CFC to discern whether it should move in that direction again. The bishop explained the difference between Salvation and Redemption. Both imply that someone is saved but with redemption, there is the notion that a price was paid so that that someone may be saved. He said the cross of Jesus is not about suffering and death. Rather, it is about unconditional love, a love that is unwilling to give up, even at the price of one’s own blood. It means never to agree that anyone at all is beyond redemption. Bishop David referred to the writings of St. John Paul II who proposed the so-called “law of gradualness” in the knowledge that the human being “knows, loves and accomplishes moral good by different stages of growth”. (AL 295). AL 310 cites that “...mercy is not only the working of the Father; it becomes a criterion for knowing who his true children are.” He also cited John 14: “ “In my Father’s house there are many PASTORAL CARE, C2
Bishop Pabillo Holds Lecture on Catholic Social Teachings for STMA ST. THOMAS More and Associates (STMA) invited Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and CFC spiritual adviser, to give the members of the group a lecture on the Social Teachings of the Catholic Church. The four-part lecture series was held on January 16 and 30; and February 20 and 27 at the LAIKO Conference Room in Intramuros, Manila. The basis for these particular teachings, which the prelate describes as the Church’s best-kept secrets that should be brought out into the open, was what Jesus proclaimed in the Gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19) This is the same verse CFC speakers quote at the beginning of the Christian Life Program. In biblical times, Jesus taught that there are two greatest commandments—“Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” He illustrated this with the story of the good Samaritan. “Today, society and environment influence the person,” Bishop Pabillo said. He added, “Persons have social responsibilities. All actions have social consequences. There is an
interdependent web of life. The Church provides a vision toward an integral human and societal development of the world which is the prophetic Catholic Social Teachings (CST).” What is CST? CST is a clearly discernible body of official Catholic social teachings on the world order, in its economic, cultural and political dimensions. The sources of these teachings are Scripture; the Magisterium of the Church, papal encyclicals and pronouncements, teachings of authorized Church bodies, Vatican Council II, experiences of the Church; the lives and teachings of the saints, engagements of the Church in present issues, and dialogue with other branches of knowledge. According to Bishop Pabillo, the CST is not a “by the way” or an add on, but a constitutive part of Jesus’ message of love—to love God and to love one’s neighbor. “One cannot stand without the other,” the prelate emphasized. Bishop Pabillo described “neighbor” in three contexts. The first was during the Old Testament times when one’s neighbor meant his fellow Jews. The second was during most of the Christian era when PABILLO, C3
WALK FOR LIFE 2019:
CREATING “WOMBS” THAT GIVE LIFE
TO SHOW the solidarity of the Catholic Church in upholding human life and human dignity, the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on the Laity and different Catholic organizations including Couples for Christ, held the 3rd Walk for Life last February 16, 2019 at the Quezon City Memorial Circle.
This year, the walk highlighted the different “threats to life” in the present times, such as extrajudicial killings and the lowering of the age of criminal liability. To counter these, the walk emphasized the importance of different ways of upholding life, such as purity and chastity, family, environment and responsible citizenship. A number of people from different Catholic organizations
shared their testimonies, and showed video presentations of these aspects. Holy Mass was celebrated by His Eminence Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila. He was assisted by Archbishop Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David of the Diocese of Kalookan and Most Rev. Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila. In his homily, Cardinal Tagle enjoined everyone to be a “womb of life” that creates a space for Christ’s tenderness and compassion. He said, “Sa sinapupunan ng ina nagsisimula ang pagmamahal at kalinga sa buhay,” (It is in the mother’s womb that the love and care of life starts). He emphasized that the “womb” does not just refer to the mother’s womb, but also refers to our families, neighbors, school, parishes and communities because all these can be wombs that bring life to people. With the threats to life that
degrade human dignity, the Cardinal encouraged everyone to also make our society a “womb that gives life.” He expressed his hope of having a society with a heart that beats with empathy. “Start walking that our society will start to be a womb of tenderness, love and care,” Cardinal Tagle encouraged the thousands of people who showed up for the Walk. Bishop Pabillo also thanked the attendees of the walk, particularly for showing that everyone can be united for the cause of upholding human life. He reminded them to participate in the upcoming election, as it is an essential part of evangelization. Simultaneous Walks for Life were held in different parts of the country such as Dagupan, Tarlac, Ormoc, Cagayan de Oro and Leyte. (PMB, CFC ANCOP Communications)
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March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
CBCP Monitor
FROM A PASTORAL PERSPECTIVE Rouquel Ponte
TOWARDS REAL PASTORAL CONVERSION
POPE FRANCIS warns against the “culture of indifference” that is so pervasive in today’s modern world. For most people of today, this heavily secular culture blocks the pathway towards a real conversion of the heart. This also turns our hearts cold to the needs of others, especially the poor. Thus we are not able to practice charity at its very core. This culture has also desensitized people to the point that they are just focused on themselves. Their ego becomes dominant and their focus is directed more to self than being concerned with the needs of others. This sense of indifference allows the spirit of arrogance and vanity to ruin the fundamental virtue of humility. The pastoral conversion we desire needs to flow from God’s example of love. It is a love that does not turn away from the tending to people’s needs, especially those of the poor.
The exhortation to love is best described in 1 John 4:7-11. This epistle by Jesus’ beloved Apostle says in part, “let us love one another; for love is of God”. The mystery of this love was fully initiated by God and gives us the example that we may love as God loves us. But even as God has shown us the way to love, our heart continues to be dominated by an attitude of indifference. Pope Francis, in his homily at Santa Marta on January 17, 2019, warned against slipping toward an “evil heart”, and advised us to seek “to grow” through God’s Word and openness to the action of the Holy Spirit. He cited the passage from Hebrews 3:12: “Take care, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil and unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God”. It is good for us to take note of what the Holy Father is saying since we all run the
risk of “slowly slipping toward an evil heart.” Three things will help us better understand the deeper meaning of “hardness of heart” so we can examine if indeed we are slipping toward an evil heart: 1. Jesus, when he encountered some people who were closed to his message, said that he was “saddened by their hardened or closed hearts”. This can happen to us when we are faced with great suffering and are not able to let the flow of God’s grace into our life. 2. Spiritual stubbornness can also occur when we are closed within our own ideology to the point to being very defensive. We become so obstinate that we are not open to the Holy Spirit. 3. Our daily battle against the
temptations of the devil. It is the evil heart that allows us to be seduced by the enemy leading to stubbornness and closure. With this in mind, Pope Francis counsels us to be faithful to grow through God’s Word and an openness to the “action of the Holy Spirit.” It is good to be reminded that praying and reading the Scriptures regularly and receiving both the Sacrament of the Eucharist and Confession regularly will enable us to remain in God’s grace. This will certainly guard our hearts from slipping toward an evil heart. With this knowledge and with the grace from God, we are on the way to winning our battle against the culture of indifference. From here, we will be able to orient our thoughts, words and actions toward real pastoral conversion by sowing love and compassion in our day-to-
day life as Christians. Finally, the Holy Father issues a call – “No to the culture of indifference.” Using the parable of the multiplication of the fish and the loaves as an example, we see that Jesus did not accept the indifference of the apostles toward the hungry multitude and rejected their suggestion to send the hungry crowd away to find their own food. The apostles were not mean but rather, they were indifferent. They had not learned what real love is, or knew as yet what compassion was. Pope Francis ended his homily with an invitation to meditate on this compassionate God “who takes the first step” despite our attitude of indifference. For our reflection: At the end of the day, we all need to set aside two, three or five minutes of quiet time and ponder the question: “What happened in my heart today?”
AQUILA AND PRISCILLA
DAWNINGS Arnel Santos
OUR COUPLE JOURNEY RECENTLY, while prayer-walking on the seashores of Roxas, Mindoro Oriental, I turned my gaze to the sky. Minute by minute, there were gradual shifts and changes in the lighting, colors, and hues in the sky. First was an almost pitch black horizon. Moments later, gray. A few minutes later, the east started to show colors -- yellow, gold, orange and white. Then the sun peeped through and showed itself, gleaming and beaming its light, resulting in what photography enthusiasts refer to as the “golden hour”. Thereafter, luster and brightness and brilliance! We refer to this moment of the day as “daybreak” or “sunrise”. It is a very brief moment. But though it happens quickly, one can actually notice that there are various stages of “morning”. Not only can one mark the differences between dawn, daybreak and sunrise, one can even distinguish the various phases of “dawn”. The best way to explain this is by using Filipino words. Dawn is “liwayway” which is preceded by that “break of dawn,” termed as “bukangliwayway”. After liwayway comes sunrise, or “pagsikat ng araw”. All these occur in that particular part of the “morning” (umaga)-- the hours between 12:01 AM till sunrise --- which is more aptly called as “madaling-araw.” The climax is marked by that fleeting instant when the eyes can still comfortably look directly at the round orange sun, before it breaks and shines and brightens everything with its brilliance. In that instant, it dawned on me: “enlightenment” is a process. Historical and progressive. It may appear to come in an instant, but in reality, it is a result of a series of building up and only after undergoing one step, one phase after another. Like renewal, rekindling and rejuvenation. It is experienced, but it should continue and should progress. Like “grace” – “Grace acts in history; ordinarily it takes hold of us and transforms us progressively. If we reject this historical and progressive reality, we can actually refuse and block grace, even as we extol it by our words.” (Gaudete et Exultate, 50) --000-Take for example this little journey of mine in translating into Filipino the name “Couples for Christ.” What is the Filipino translation for “Couples for Christ”? I asked myself this more than a decade ago. And at that time, what immediately came to mind was-- “Mga Mag-asawa para kay Kristo”. “Mag-asawa” means spouses. It thus sets itself apart from any other form of romantic or sexual association or partnership. While the dictionary says that a “couple” refers to any “two people who are married, engaged, or otherwise closely associated romantically
or sexually,” the term “couples” as used in the name “Couples for Christ” actually refers to “married” couples. To be more precise (and as per the CFC Statutes), “couples” in Couples for Christ refer to “any validly married Catholic couple”. Mag-asawa para kay Kristo therefore is a fairly good translation of Couples for Christ. The other translation I had considered was “Mga Magkabiyak para Kay Kristo”. Magkabiyak captures the notion of “couple” as marital partners. From the root word, “biyak” (literally, “half” or “split”), “magkabiyak” means a “couple”, where one is the “better half” of the other. The halves are joined together to create one whole where one will be incomplete without the other. With these, it seems that “asawa” is the proper and more formal way to refer to spouse but “kabiyak” is more endearing; it is used to refer to one’s spouse with much fondness and tenderness. I had already settled on “Magkabiyak para kay Kristo”, until February 10, 2019, when I gave a talk in Lipa, Batangas. I was discussing “marriage” and its Filipino translation. I was moved to say that while the usual and popular translation for marriage is “kasal”, there is actually a better Filipino word for it --- “pag-iisang dibdib”. This latter term is more suitable because “kasal” refers to an event – like the wedding celebration--- or even a status (“kasal na”). “Pag-iisang-dibdib” is very different. This Filipino word indicates not just a onetime event, but puts emphasis on the beautiful process of “pag-iisa” -- of being one: the uniting, the combining of the “dibdib” -- the very core of each other as symbolized by the hearts. While discussing all these, it dawned on me right there and then. There is still another translation for Couples for Christ : “Mga Pinag-isang dibdib para kay Kristo.” -000Marriage is a journey. To be a couple is a journey. So too, to be “Couples for Christ” is a journey. One time, I was inviting a non-CFC member to deliver a talk at the Family is a Gift conference in 2017. Upon seeing me she said: “Oh Bro. Arnel, you know my husband and I are not yet couples for Christ. Our marriage is okay. All is in order. But we are not yet couples for Christ.” At that instant it dawned on me: she was not referring to Couples for Christ as an association. She was referring to their journey to Christ. A historical and progressive journey or pilgrimage to Christ. Indeed, one does not become “Couples for Christ” by sheer membership in this lay association that is called “Couples for Christ”. The couple must truly be “for Christ” and such must be expressed and witnessed, by grace, in their everyday life.
PASTORAL CARE, C1
rooms.” He said there is room for all, even those who are sinners, so they can experience redemption and salvation. The CFC leaders present appreciated the bishop’s talk, pointing to the simplicity of his explanation that allowed them to understand the pastoral approach of Amoris Laetitia more clearly and provided the direction for CFC to move forward with certainty for the pastoral care of families. Michael Ariola, CFC President, gave the second session entitled “To live the truth in love”. He gave engaging concrete stories on how CFC members have responded to the call of Amoris Laetitia for accompaniment, discernment and integration. Ariola enumerated the following groups of people needing accompaniment and how CFC, its Family Ministries and various
social development programs are addressing them. 1. Couples in Regular Union – Couples in general who need guidance and strengthening in growing in faith, hope and love in marriage and family life (to be addressed by CFC) 2. Young people – in their search for identity and sexuality (YFC) 3. Engaged couples – in preparing them for marriage (SFC, Young CFC) 4. Those who are in frailty or in need of Christ’s presence in suffering - immigrants (SocDev Migrants) those in mixed marriage (CFC), disparity of cult (CFC) and those who are grieving 5. Those in special cases: broken marriages (CFC), single-parent families (HOLD, SOLD), separated persons (HOLD, SOLD), victims of abortion, most espe-
cially mothers 6. Those who are in irregular cases (CFC) The third session “Companions in the Journey”, was moderated by Rouquel Ponte, head of the Formation Directorate, responsible for the development of the CFC Accompaniment Center. He presented the how to’s of the accompaniment process. The CFC Accompaniment Center, whose objective is to provide accompaniment/to journey with those who are experiencing personal, marital and family difficulties, was launched. The need for volunteer “Companions in the Journey”, those who will be trained and equipped with pastoral and spiritual accompaniment skills was stressed. To make the process of accompaniment PASTORAL CARE, C4
Awake, O sleeper Eph 5:14 DURING his entire ministry, Paul was constantly exhorting the churches to “wake up!” In his letter to the Romans, he said: It is the hour now for you to awake from sleep. For our salvation is nearer now than when you first believed (Rom 15:11). Then he urged the Thessalonians: Let us not sleep as the rest do, but let us stay alert and sober (1 Thes 5:6). He sent the Church in Ephesus a similar message. In the final verse of our community’s theme this year, we find Paul reminding the Ephesians: Therefore, it says: “Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14). Here Paul seems to be quoting a passage from Scripture. But from what passage in the Hebrew Bible is Paul quoting? What is the “it” in the phrase “therefore, it says”? A search of the Old Testament shows no verse written exactly as quoted by Paul. Perhaps Paul may have paraphrased and compressed into a single verse Isaiah 60:1-2: Rise up in splendor! Your light has come, the glory of the Lord shines upon you. See, darkness covers the earth, and thick clouds cover the peoples; but upon you the Lord shines, and over you appears his glory (Is 60:1-2). The passage in Isaiah refers to believers who still live in righteousness but living a lifestyle that is no different than unbelievers. Their faith in God and their righteousness are not visibly evident. They are not spiritually “dead” but only spiritually “asleep.” In a similar manner, in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul refers to “sleeping” Christians who are still actually alive to God and adhering to Christian rituals but whose lives do not reflect the light of Christ. They appear lethargic and do not radiate the fire of the Spirit in their daily lives. They are content at merely belonging to a Christian community that has grown and is growing rapidly but do not vigorously participate in proclaiming the Good News to others or actively put into practice the Beatitudes. Jonah is an example of a believer who refused to proclaim God because of personal preference and intolerant mentality. He refused to call upon God until he experienced fear, difficulty and suffering. Called by God to preach in Nineveh, he instead chose to flee and boarded a ship for Tarshish. When the ship encountered a violent storm, everyone prayed, except Jonah. Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship and lay there fast asleep. The captain came to him and said, “What are you doing asleep? Rise up, call upon your God! Perhaps God will be mindful of us so that we may not perish” (Jon 1:5-6). Still Jonah refused to pray. He was thrown out of the ship and was swallowed by a big fish. Only when he started to fear for his life and suffer inside the fish’s belly did Jonah say his prayer: Out of my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me; from the midst of the nether world I cried out for help, and you heard my voice (Jon 2:3). We should ask ourselves if we are like Jonah. Do we choose our service and go on mission only to places that we like? Do we prefer to serve or go on mission, even repeatedly, to developed countries where host communities are generous and accommodations are comfortable? Do we conveniently avoid missions to poor countries where we may have to partially or fully use our
own resources and make do with spartan accommodations? Do we ignore prayer until we start experiencing fear or encountering difficulties or problems too big for us to handle? If so, then we may be guilty of “sleeping” like Jonah, selfassured in our preferences and confident in our own righteousness. Samson is another Biblical example of a man of God who “sleeps”, overly confident in his God-given strength. Samson was chosen and anointed by God to deliver the Israelites from the Philistines by giving him great physical strength. But he fell for Delilah who was paid by the Philistines to find out the source of his strength. After several failed attempts, Delilah finally succeeded and so: She had him sleep on her lap, and called for a man who shaved off his seven locks of hair. Then she began to mistreat him, for his strength has left him (Jdg 16:19). There are not a few members of the community who, during their younger days, were on fire to serve and evangelize. No assignment was too difficult, no teaching too boring, no mission too far or dangerous, and no day or week or month too crowded not to make time for service. They thus progressed rapidly from being a member to becoming a household head, then unit head, chapter head, cluster head, then sector head or provincial area head or country coordinator. But soon they were replaced by younger leaders and found themselves without any assigned service. And slowly they drifted away, the fire gradually diminishing into a small flickering flame, the light slowly dimming. Their hearts are still in the right place, they are not “dead” but are in spiritual slumber. They were once great leaders but now are lying asleep. Then there are those who are still young in years but have started to drift away or fall into slumber because of unresolved problems of relationships with other members of the community. And there are those who fall asleep because they feel they have been unfairly denied certain positions of leadership in the community. Like Samson, we too could be lulled into sleep, overly confident that we, as a community, have grown with enough strength in numbers that we can now relax, feel comfortable and lie asleep on Delilah’s lap. But here is peril of the deadliest kind. Delilah is cunning, always looking for the means to sap the community’s strength by leading us to the comfort of her lap and then gradually extinguishing the fire of the Spirit and our zeal to evangelize. But this does not mean that our community has two types of members, a sleeping member and an awakened member, but rather there are times when we can fall asleep and that sleep lasts far too long. What are these times? We are likely to sleep when the outward circumstance of the community is most pleasant. Like Jonah, we do not call on the Lord until we encounter difficulties. We are likely to sleep when all goes well in spiritual matters. There is no defeat so great as imagining that we are living lives of constant victory. Like Samson, we become overconfident of our own strength. And finally, we are likely to sleep when we think we are getting near the end of our earthly journey. To us are addressed the words of Paul, “Awake, O sleeper, Christ will give you light.” The members of the International Council and the Board of Elders, together with their spouses, had their quarterly recollection on March 2, 2019 at the chapel of the Global Mission Center. The recollection was given by Msgr. Allen Aganon who, until recently, was the spiritual adviser of CFC and the IC. As a gesture of thanksgiving for the almost ten years that Msgr. Aganon journeyed with CFC, the IC and the BOE took turns honoring him, following the traditional CFC way of paying tribute. The group prayed over the monsignor, wishing him well in his new assignments.
CBCP Monitor
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March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
Philippine Army personnel undergo CEM 2
THE PRESIDENT'S CHAIR Michael “Shok” Ariola
Macabuhay
I ONCE had a teacher whose last name was Macabuhay. He was much loved by us boisterous boys. Our term of endearment for this soft-spoken teacher was McLife. Sometimes, to call his attention, we should stand in the hallway and shout "Macabuhay for Life!" Because of his nurturing ways, every time the student council election came around, every party wanted Mr. Macabuhay for their adviser. One party even named their group "Alyansang Macabuhay". By his actions and counsel, we were always led to vote for the right student council leaders. I remember him now, as we approach the May elections, because we are called to vote into office those who will be tasked to lead us. I remember his wise counsel – “Do not just vote wisely. Vote right!” Tama nga. Voting wisely means relying on our human wisdom. Voting right means voting according to what is right in the eyes of God. God has formed us in CFC with the following values- Pro God, Pro Life, Pro Family and Pro Poor. This is what's written in our DNA. This is what defines us as CFC - that as formed individuals, we have consciences that lean always towards the greater good, towards what is pleasing to God.
Proverbs 29: 2 tells us that, "when the godly are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked are in power, they groan". It is certainly our responsibility as members of CFC to seek the guidance of the Lord, and to choose only those who are godly. This is what the Lord wishes us to do. By now, you may have heard much from all those who desire to serve the Filipino people. Typical of politicians, they all point to the nation’s problems and claim they have the solution. When Moses needed leaders for Israel, his father-in-law Jethro gave him a foolproof solution that still applies to all of us today - "Select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain.." Foolproof? Of course! Because by selecting only those who fear God, who are truthful, who disdain dishonest ways, we fulfill our sacred obligation to use the ballot for the good of all, and not for the interests of the few. Using this foolproof solution means going into a serious period of reflection, of following our values rather than our personal affiliations and experiences, of looking at each candidate with a more discerning eye. It also means:
We stand for our core values and principles and use those values and principles as a yardstick by which each candidate is measured. We refuse to be impressed by a candidate’s rhetoric, speech, pedigree, ability to entertain, good looks. We study each candidate’s track record, advocacies, stand on moral issues. We listen to God’s voice and not to the noise of the throngs. Whatever color or banner or party you are rooting for and supporting, the banner and color of God must fly above all these. Our CFC core values form our moral compass. This compass will always lead us to the straight and narrow road and will always ensure that we do, not always the wise thing, but definitely always the right thing. This is a tall order. You may well ask, If I do all these, baka hindi naman manalo ang napili ko? Baka wala naman akong mapili? The important thing is, after consulting your conscience, values and principles- SINONG IBOBOTO MO?
VP Leni Hosts ‘Thank You’ Lunch for ANCOP USA
ON February 12, 2019, the Office of the Vice President hosted an informal luncheon for the leaders and volunteers of ANCOP USA, as thanks-
giving for the various initiatives of ANCOP USA to support Angat Buhay. Vice President Leni Robredo came to the luncheon to personally thank ANCOP USA for the donation of hospital equipment, nebulizers for children with cerebral palsy, and medicines for the Angat Buhay communities in Bicol, Cebu and Metro Manila. “I am really quite amazed at what you are doing. The only request that I make to our partners is for them to visit our communities,” the Vice President said. She added, “Please know that your help is going a long, long way as you are helping make the lives of other people better. What we can offer is our prayers that the Lord would continue to bless you so you can help more people.” Before VP Robredo left for another engagement, Tony Ventura, past President for ANCOP USA, led the prayers of blessing for Mrs. Robredo. (A. Alvarez)
Tuloy ang Hanapbuhay with ANCOP USA and Angat Buhay THE women of Saguiaran, Marawi City could not contain their joy when they received four high-speed sewing machines from ANCOP USA. Why? The machines represented the assurance of a steady livelihood for them. ANCOP USA, through a partnership with Angat Buhay Foundation, donated the sewing machines for the women of Marawi. Displaced because of the siege, the women were organized by Angat Buhay who gave them sewing machines so they
can continue making traditional Muslim garbs for a living. Akaba, a social enterprise, hearing of the group’s efforts, sub-contracted the sewing of travel pouches. However, the demands of production could not be met because of the inadequacy of the women’s ordinary sewing machines. One of the women said, “Mahirap pong gamitin yung ordinary na makina, kasi makapal ang tela ng pouch. Kailangan namin tahiin ng kamay, lalo na yung sa may zipper. (It became
difficult to use the ordinary sewing machines for the production of the pouches. The fabric was too thick, especially around the zipper area.)” ANCOP USA President Roger Santos, together with his wife Josie, Rollie Balanza, and Jill Ocampo-Javiniar, Head of Angat Buhay, assured the group of their continued support. The women were truly grateful for the donations, as they are now assured that the products they will make will be of better quality. (A. Alvarez)
14th CCFed Annual General Assembly 2019 THE CFC Cooperatives Federation (CCFed) gathered for their 14th CCFed Annual General Assembly last March 3, 2019. The assembly was held at the second Floor of the CFC Provincial Mission Center, Misamis Oriental. Prior to the actual General Assembly, on March 2, the delegations went on the Lakbay Aral 2019. The delegations visited the three outstanding cooperatives in Cagayan de Oro -- MASS SPECC Cooperative Development Center, Northern Mindanao Federation of Dairy Cooperatives and Del Monte Phil. Inc. Employees and Community Credit Cooperative. A fellowship dinner capped the Lakbay Aral 2019. The General Assembly (GA) proper started with Holy Mass celebrated by Rev. Fr. Rico Lapinig, from the Sacred Heart of Jesus. After the GA proper, three service providers presented their products and services: Cooperative Health Management Federation (HMO provider), Fortune General Insurance (provider of the online registration of Compulsory Third Party Liability Insurance - CTPL) and Infoserve, Inc. (provider
of payment gateway facility using Nationlink Network Facilities). The three service providers have already signed memorandums of agreement (MOA) with CCFed. CCFed has 44 member-primaries that are strategically located nationwide. The assembly was also the occasion for the election of new members of the CCFed Board of Directors, mandated committees and CCFed management. They are as follows: Chairperson Bing Hizon (Coops Manila), Vice Chairperson Edwin Chavez (Tekton Entire Multipurpose Cooperative), and the following directors: Pito de Castro (Coops Cebu), Art San Luis (EntreWorkers Cooperative Builders), Zos Tayaban (Coops Laguna), Joseph Manlapaz (Coops Masbate), Flor Victoriano (Coops Misamis), Bong Bautista (Coops Agusan del Sur), Jorge Asensi (Coops Leyte), Lydia Bilangbilin (Coops Antique - Election Committee), Rene Asuga (Coops Iloilo - Audit Committee) CEO/BOD Secretary Jaycee de la Cruz (Coops Manila).
Ugnayan THE NEWS SUPPLEMENT OF COUPLES FOR CHRIST
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The Ugnayan News Supplement is published by the Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation, Inc., with editorial offices at 156 20th Avenue, 1109 Cubao, Quezon City. Editorial trunk line: (+63 2) 709-4868 local 31 Direct line : (+63 2) 709-4856 www.couplesforchristglobal.org cfcglobalcommunications@gmail.com
AS PART of CFC OSM’s (Order of St. Michael) working partnership with the Office of Army Chief Chaplains Service (OACCS), Fr./ LTC Rex Armenia requested OSM to conduct CEM2 for the 51st Engineering Brigade at Camp Atienza, Libis Quezon City on Jan 24, 2019 and at Camp Tito B Abbat in Manaoag, Pangasinan on Feb 6, 2019. Because OSM had trained quite a number of speakers/ sharers in 2018, there was no problem saying Yes to the request. But like any other activity, there were still some challenges. CEM in Manaoag What made the Feb 6, 2019 CEM2 in Manaoag challenging was the fact that OSM had already scheduled their annual planning session for 2019 on the weekend of Feb 2-3, 2019. This meant that the team had to prepare for the talks of the CEM as well as prepare their presentations on their plans for 2019. Another challenge was the request of the Philippine Air Force to move their scheduled CEM 1 in Lipa, Batangas to February 6 instead of on February 21. So there were two scheduled CEMS on the same weekend! But God is good, for we managed all the three major activities. The Manaoag team started the CEM at 8:00 AM with Holy Mass presided by Fr. Rex. The day was full with talks by powerful and energized speakers and sharers as well as the lively and active participation of the army personnel during the afternoon workshop. The participants expressed their appreciation to the team for helping them understand the central message of the talks and sharing. They were all challenged to come up with ideas for their presentation and to share
their testimonies during the plenary sharing. The Manaoag activity had 44 Army Engineer participants broken down into 34 men and 10 women. Of the 44 , two are officers and two civilian wives; 41 are Catholics and 3 are non-Catholics. The testimonies during the plenary were touching and inspiring. SM Maramba said that “maganda ang programa na ito sa gaya ko na sundalo, mas lalo kami magkaroon ng kaalaman on how to love our family, my work as a soldier, how to manage our finances and to become a successful person”. Mrs Shirley Saranillo, a civilian wife, enthused that “marami ako natutunan sa program na ito gaya naming naguumpisa pa lamang sa buhay mag asawa. Malaking tulong at gabay ito sa aming buhay. SSG Michael Suratos said “thank you for reminding us about God since most of us have no time to go to church because of our work.” According to CPT Cecilio Lucas Jr, Phil Army Action Transformation Officer, “my tasks have become easier because of what you have started in this CEM and the challenge na isabuhay ang aming natutunan in spending quality time with our family especially our children.” LTC Michael Lemi, Engineering Support Batallion Commander, delivered the closing message, stating that “we learned a lot from the talks and sharing relative to our family, work and love of God.” CEM in Quezon City The CEM 2 for the 51st Engineering Brigade of Camp Atienza, Libis, Quezon City was conducted for 40 army engineer participants, 37 of them men, two women and one civilian wife. Of these 33
are Catholics and seven nonCatholics. All the participants agreed that the CEM was a big help for them because of the many insights they learned from the talks, the testimonies and their own sharings. According to SSG George Podadera, “I realized that this seminar is so precious because it teaches us the importance of family, love of God and service. I am so thankful to be one of the participants because family is very important to us soldiers.” PFC Mark Edison Polintan shared that “this seminar gives us a chance to become closer to God, to become better soldiers, to be a good person and challenges us to know God more.” PFC Rylvette Prado also thanked OSM because “I learned from this seminar how to be God-fearing, to put God first, and that we can do nothing if God is not with us. I also learned about the importance of family.” LTC Eduardo Domingo CE (GSC) PA, acting Chief of Staff congratulated the participants for joining this important activity which reinforces “our commitment of building up the inner strength of the individual soldier." He continued, "With the value of temperance as the central theme of this CEM, the soldier is able to have self control and discipline needed to win the battle from within, his character will be strong, true success and freedom will be achieved both for the individual and for the organization. He will have the strength to succeed in all his endeavors in his life and in the military service.” He expressed his gratitude to the organizers and resource speakers of this seminar headed by the Post Acting Chaplain LTC/Fr Rex and the CFC-OSM headed by Col Arturo C Alabanza of PMA Cl’72.
PABILLO, C1
“neighbor” meant anyone who was in need. The third is in our modern times, when it is society and the environment that influence the person. The CST paradigm consists of three main activities: see, judge, act. In this model, man uses his senses, assesses according to what is the Gospel value and the signs of the times, and then takes the appropriate action. A more specific application is the Pastoral Spiral of Discernment - Action developed in the 1980s by two FABC Offices—Human Development and Laity. “In any given situation, there must be a corresponding theological reflection, followed by decision planning, action, and evaluation,” the bishop explained. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church intends to present in a complete and systematic manner, even if by means of an overview, the Church’s social teachings which is the fruit of careful Magisterial reflection and an expression of the Church’s constant commitment in fidelity to the grace of salvation wrought in Christ and in loving concern for humanity’s destiny. (#8) There are seven paradigm shifts that CST wishes to happen: 1. An assault on political apathy - Politics is a vocation aimed at the transformation of society. Bishop Pabillo said, “We cannot be good citizens without being good Christians. A good citizen now is one who is involved, who participates because our form of government is participative—democratic.” He added, “When injustice and untruth are involved, not to be involved is to participate in the injustice and lies. This is the sin of omission. It should not be a question of whether ‘to be involved or not,’ but ‘how to be involved’.” According to Pope Francis, on the statement that ‘A good Catholic doesn’t meddle in politics.’ – “That’s not
true. That is not a good path. A good Catholic meddles in politics, offering the best of himself, so that those who govern can govern.” 2. A commitment to justice - The Synod of Bishops of 1971 said, “Action in behalf of justice and the social transformation of society is a “constitutive” dimension of the preaching of the Good News of Salvation in Jesus Christ.” 3. Imaging the Church as the 'People of God' - From a passive role, the faithful must take an active role in defining and shaping their history in the contemporary world, according to Vatican II. 4. Reading the 'signs of the times.' - God speaks in and through human history. Signs both reveal God’s presence in the world and manifest God’s designs for the world. 5. A greater reliance on the Word of God - The living word of God, personal experience and general societal history must be the new basis of revelation. 6. The primacy of love - Love is at the heart of the virtue of justice and brings the actions of justice to their fullest potential, meaning, and life. Love is the motivation to act on behalf of justice. 7. An orientation to pastoral planning and action - Praxis, or the action that comes out of reflection, leads back to reflection. Correct action (“orthopraxis”) completes correct doctrine (“orthodoxy”). Major themes of CST The Catholic Social Teachings, as a challenge for living responsibly and building a just society, holds 10 major themes. They are: 1. Life and Dignity of the Human Person - All people are sacred, made in the image and likeness of God. People do not lose dignity because of disability, poverty, age, lack of success, or race. 2. Common Good - The PABILLO, C4
C4
March 4 - 17, 2019 Vol. 23 No. 5
CBCP Monitor
“Witness the light”
THE 2ND CFC Seniors Program Coordinators Summit held last Feb. 20-21 in Cebu gathered 342 registered participants from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and Oceania. The Seniors Program, while relatively new, has filled a gap in the community. The community is now almost 38 years old and many of the leaders have grown in maturity and age over these years. The Seniors Program seeks to harness the wealth of wisdom of these leaders and to ensure that their insights, gained through experience and struggles can be shared with the new generation of CFC members and leaders and with
all the other community programs. As seasoned missionaries, seniors are very much needed to make the CFC Vision Families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of the earth a reality. The participants were treated to talks from senior leaders Rene Punsalan who spoke about being “Forged by Fire” and IC member Lito Tayag who spoke of “Passing the Torch.” Punsalan, in explaining what forged by fire means, spoke of the difficulties, misfortunes and struggles that many experienced but which, rather than defeating them, have made them strong, enduring and fortified because all of them accepted the challenges as
necessary to achieve God’s purpose in their lives. Tony and Mila Loria of CFC Albay shared how tragedy struck their family and how, through prayers and faith in God, they learned to forgive, grow deeper in faith and closer as a family. With this faith-life experience, they have committed to inspire other CFC brethren with their experience - that anyone who has faith can rise above the storm, and that for every cloud, there is always a silver lining that will serve as our hope. Ed and Inday Yorong from CFC Zamboanga del Sur shared how they overcame illness and physical challenges through the prayers and sup-
PABILLO, C3
human person is both sacred and social. We realize our dignity and rights in relationship with others, in community. “We are one body; when one suffers, we all suffer.” We are called to respect all of God’s gifts of creation, to be good stewards of the earth and each other. 3. Rights and Responsibilities - People have a fundamental right to life, food, shelter, health care, education and employment. All people have a right to participate in decisions that affect their lives. Corresponding to these rights are duties and responsibilities to respect the rights of others in the wider society. 4. Option for the Poor and Vulnerable - The moral test of a society is how it treats its most vulnerable members. The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. We are called to look at public policy decisions, processes and social systems in terms of how they affect the least, the last and the lost. 5. Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers People have a right to decent and productive work, fair wages, private property and economic initiative. The economy exists to serve people, not the other way around. There must be a primacy of labor over capital. 6. Solidarity - This means we are one human family. Our responsibilities to each other cross national, racial, economic and ideological differences. We are called to work globally for justice and peace. 7. Care for God’s creation - The goods of the earth are gifts from God. We have a responsibility to care for these goods as stewards and trustees, not as mere consumers and users. (Principle of Stewardship) 8. Principle of Subsidiarity - “The principle of subsidiarity protects the people from abuses by higher level social authorities and calls on these same authorities to help individuals and intermediate groups to fulfill their duties. This principle is imperative because every person, family and intermediate group has something original to offer to the community…the principle of subsidiarity is opposed to certain forms of centralization and welfare assistance and to the unjustified and excessive presence of the State in public mechanism.”(#187) 9. Call to Family, Community and Participation - The family is the central social institution that must be supported and strengthened, not undermined. While our society often exalts individualism, the Catholic tradition teaches that human beings grow and achieve fulfillment in community. 10. Universal Destination of the Earth’s Goods - The misuse of the world’s resources or appropriation of them by a minority of the world’s population betrays the gift of creation since ‘what belongs to God belongs to all.’ Truth, freedom, justice and love Bishop Pabillo said, “There are four fundamental virtues in human societies—truth, freedom,
justice and love. All of these are to be done in love. Love gives fullness to each value.” Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope), an encyclical written by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI says, “Love of God leads to participation in the justice and generosity of God towards others. Loving God requires an interior freedom from all possessions and all material goods: the love of God is revealed in responsibility for others.” (#28) In Caritas in veritate, his last encyclical, Pope Benedict says, “Evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man’s concrete life, both personal and social… Testimony to Christ’s charity, through works of justice, peace and development, is part and parcel of evangelization, because Jesus Christ, who loves us, is concerned with the whole person.” (#15) These emphasize how the faithful must respond to the call for all baptized. They are not just lofty ideals, but are practical guides. Bishop Pabillo laid down six ways towards man’s greater social involvement. Way 1: Regularly join in social action activities. Way 2: Exposure to advocates, victims, situation is crucial. Way 3: Join in social concerns that are within one’s capabilities. Way 4: Integrate one’s faith with his or her experience and with one’s analysis of social situations. Way 5: Social action involvement means “doing with” rather than “doing for”. Way 6: Social action involves works of mercy, works of development and works of justice. Bishop Pabillo emphasized, “It is to all Christians that we address a fresh and insistent call to action. Every person must be self-reflective and honestly examine oneself, to see what he or she has done up to now, and what he or she ought to do.” Quoting scripture, Bishop Pabillo reminded, ““Whatever you do to the least of your brothers, you do unto me.” (Matthew 25:45) He also underlined the relation between the Eucharist and the faithful’s concern for others. Quoting St. Pope John Paul II’s Letter on the Year of the Eucharist in 2003, he said, “Let us not delude ourselves. We will be recognized as true followers of Christ by our mutual love and our concern for those in need. This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.” During the last day of the lecture, STMA head Nolet Ladrido suggested another run of the series for those who were not able to attend, as well as for CFC serving in the Social Development Programs. He also expressed a desire to propose to the International Council for the lecture series be given to all CFC leaders. (Alma M. Alvarez)
CFC 2019 Schedule of Events MAR 29-31 APR 5-7
CFC Servants of the Lord (SOLD) CFC International Catholic Men`s Conference 2019
Kids for Christ Family MAY 17-19 CFC Conference (Southern Luzon) Kids for Christ Family 17-19 CFC Conference (Northern Luzon)
Youth for Christ 26th YFC International Conference (ICON)
Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD) 26-28 CFC International Conference Kids for Christ 26-28 CFC Family Conference (Visayas) Kids for Christ 26-28 CFC Family Conference (Mindanao)
JUN
22
CFC 38th Anniversary Celebration
port of community. Ed suffered a stroke which affected his speech and mobility. However, this and other health concerns did not hinder the couple from attending household meetings, assemblies and other CFC activities. Despite being senior citizens with Ed as a PWD, they continue to serve as Sector Head in the province. Lito Tayag, in his talk, explained that “passing the torch” is about passing on the culture of CFC, identify and mission to the “Timothys” or the younger members of the community. He presented to the participants the opportunities for growth and service for senior members, even after they have passed on the torch of service to other leaders. In a “Passing the Torch’ ceremony, the senior leaders passed on the torch of service to the new generation of leaders who will carry this passion to light up the world with the light of Christ. The seniors did this willingly, confident that the community’s mission of evangelization is in good hands. Arnel Sacris, Visayas Mission Head, representing the “Timothys,“ accepted the symbolic torch from Lito Tayag. He responded with these words “We, the next generation of CFC, are deeply honored to be called by the Lord to continue the tasks that have been entrusted to you, the tasks of evangelization, renewing and transformation of lives. And so with all humility in our hearts and with much passion and zeal
with our feet firmly grounded, we say a resounding Yes to the Lord to take up the challenge. We will continue to be sensitive to your needs, Titos and Titas, your spiritual needs. We will continue to honor you all the days of our lives because you have been our mentors. You have nurtured and guided us on how to serve with love. This beautiful and vibrant community, Couples for Christ, is your legacy to us and to our future leaders. And so we humbly ask you to continue to journey with us, to continue to share your wisdom, knowledge and experiences.” Bishop Dennis Villarojo, Auxiliary Bishop of Cebu, was the main Mass presider on Feb. 20. He told the attendees: “As Seniors you are just not receivers. You continue to be givers. “ The venue was filled with hearts and balloons as the Seniors celebrated a “Post Valentine’s Fellowship” in the evening of Feb. 20. Five couples from different areas were adjudged as “Sweetest Couple” Msgr. Rommel Kintanar, CFC Cebu Spiritual Director, celebrated the Mass on Feb. 21. He asked the attendees “To take to heart, not just take to mind, whatever you hear and see. It is time to give back.” The summit ended with the announcement that Misamis Oriental will be the venue for the 2020 Seniors Couples Coordinators Summit. The CFC leaders from Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental gladly accepted the role as host for the 2020 Summit.
Plenty of Love to Go Around on V-Day HOW do doctors and nurses spend Valentine’s Day? Normally they don’t have the time. As a general rule, medical personnel spend the day of love on duty, with patients who need medical attention. It was no different for 42 doctors, nurses and volunteers, who spent Valentine’s Day giving love to around 1,500 patients in Marawi City. The medical and dental mission was a joint effort of ANCOP USA, the local government unit, Angat Buhay Program of the Office of the Vice President (OVP), and the Department of Health - ARMM. The volunteers from ANCOP USA spent February 14 and 15 treating patients at the covered court in Sagonsongan, a barangay just outside the arch going into the Islamic City of Marawi. Sagonsongan is also the site where around 200 families live in transitory shelters. The mission, which took about a year to prepare, was organized by ANCOP USA. During the year of preparation, the group was able to gather medical volunteers and procure $250,000 worth of medicines, medical equipment, and relief goods. As early as 8:00 AM on February 14, the ANCOP and DOH
nurses and doctors were ready to receive patients. Most of them complained of respiratory illnesses (cough and colds, especially in children), and high blood sugar among the adults. The team also administered treatment for skin diseases. Dental services were also available. The Department of Health also took the opportunity to administer vaccines to infants, children and senior citizens. At the end of the day, the volunteers were given the opportunity to enter the war-damaged area of Marawi. It was a moving experience for the volunteers as it gave them a glimpse of the sufferings of those who had to flee their homes during the conflict. Day 2 began with an early morning blessing from the Prelate of Marawi, Bishop Edwin de la Peña. The bishop thanked ANCOP USA for the initiative of doing this act of love to fellow Filipinos. It was another day of giving. ANCOP USA gave relief goods to families in evacuation sites. Roger Santos, ANCOP USA President, and Jill OcampoJaviniar, Head of Angat Buhay, turned over sacks of rice and hygiene kits to Angat Buhay partner Xavier University in
Sagonsongan. ANCOP USA also visited a women’s group in Saguiaran, Marawi City and donated four high-speed sewing machines which they will use to sew women’s traditional Muslim garments. The machines were warmly welcomed because the group had been sub-contracted to sew travel pouches for Akaba, a social enterprise which supports local craftsmanship. In the afternoon, the missionaries also went to two evacuation camps—Sarimanok 1 & 2, and Bahay Pag-asa—to turn over sacks of rice, clothes for children, and vitamins and medicines to the families. For five months, from May to October of 2017, Marawi City was under siege, displacing 77,000 families, as terrorists blockaded the city, burned and destroyed places of worship, and wrecked business and residential districts. Almost two years later, most of the displaced families still live in tent cities and transitory shelters. The future may look bleak for these families but groups like ANCOP USA somehow send the message that there is plenty of love to go around. (Alma M. Alvarez)
PASTORAL CARE, C2
real, two demonstrations were presented to the body. The first demonstration was on Pastoral Accompaniment using counseling principles. The session was handled by Lydia Villacrusis, counselor of the CFC Accompaniment Center, and Ed Caligner, another counselor who will also be joining the center. The first part was the individual accompaniment, while the second part of the demonstration was the accompaniment of a married couple. They showed the right way to facilitate the session with the individual and the couple. The demonstration was very well received by the audience who seemed to relate very
well judging by their reactions to the situations presented in the demonstration. The second demonstration was a spiritual direction handled by Fr. Firmo “JunG” Bergayo, SJ, a former YFC full time pastoral worker. He directed Rene Punsalan, who shared the difficulty he faced after losing his wife, yet retained his faith despite the many difficulties and disappointments. Fr JunG explained the difference between spiritual direction and counseling after the session. He stressed that spiritual direction mirrors the directee’s state of relationship with God and is very important in spiritual discernment. The need for training was very clearly stated.
To address this need, the CFC Institute will be offering the courses to companions in the journey as well as to CFC area leaders who may be interested to join the trainings. The day ended with Holy Mass presided by Bp Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary Bishop of Manila and spiritual director of CFC. His homily centered on the importance of the WORD. He reminded everyone to beware of how words are being used now and how people are losing trust in the word because of fake news, political campaigns that have no meaning, and use of words that are intended to hurt. He reminded CFC that God is not silent,
that He is a revealing God and that His word is not just informative but transformative. God’s Word is powerful and things came to be because God spoke. We are tasked to read the bible, meditate on the word of God, talk to the Lord and take His word seriously. His parting words connected very well to the challenge of Amoris Laetitia. He said that by means of our ears and lips, our mind and our mouths, words take on flesh. We give concreteness to the Word of God. The day ended with the call to take action, to respond,not just in word but in deed, to the call to love, the call to Accompany, Discern and Integrate.