New leadership will further strengthen Caritas’ mission — Filipino bishop

CARITAS Philippines has welcomed the election of Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo as the new president of Caritas Internationalis, a Vatican-based confederation of more than 160 Catholic charities around the world.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of the national Caritas, said Kikuchi’s election “reaffirms our commitment to prioritizing the needs of the marginalized”.

“We believe his leadership will further strengthen our collective efforts to uplift the lives of those in need,” said Bagaforo, who is currently in Rome for the confederation’s 22nd general assembly.

“We look forward to working closely with him to advance social justice and integral human development,” he said.

More than 400 delegates taking part in the assembly elected Kikuchi, who is also the current secretary general of the Federation of

Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC), on May 13 to serve a four-year term.

Replacing Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the former archbishop of Manila who has been leading the Dicastery for Evangelization since 2019, Kikuchi is the second president of Caritas Internationalis from Asia.

The archbishop has been associated with Caritas since 1995, starting as a volunteer in the Refugees’ Camp in Bukavu, Zaire.

The assembly on May 15 also elected Kirsty Robertson as the new vice president of Caritas Internationalis and Mr. Alistair Dutton as the new secretary general for a mandate of four years.

Robertson has been the CEO of Caritas

Australia since 2019. She previously held various positions at Caritas Australia including Pacific Programs Coordinator and Communications Group Leader.

She was also CEO at Mary MacKillop Today and held numerous leadership roles in other faith-based aid and development organisations.

Currently Executive Director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), Mr. Dutton has more than 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field and has led projects in more than 70 countries. With more than 25 years of experience in the humanitarian field and has led projects in more than

VATICAN— Pope Francis on Saturday issued a new constitution of the Vatican City State that further emphasizes the power of the pope over the sovereign state.

The new constitution, called “the Fundamental Law of Vatican City State,” is the third in history and replaces a law promulgated by St. John Paul II in 2000.

The first constitution was issued in 1929 following the signing of the Lateran Pacts, which founded the city state of the Vatican and guaranteed its sovereignty.

The new law will go into effect June 7.

In an interview with Vatican News published Saturday, Vincenzo Buonomo, a jurist and rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, noted that the new law now uses the words “power” and “powers” to refer only to the pope, while other bodies of the state exercise “legislative, executive, and judicial functions.”

Pope Francis said he issued the new fundamental law “to meet the needs of our day.”

The law, he added, which is “the foundation and reference of all other legislation and regulations in the State, confirms the singular peculiarity and autonomy of the Vatican legal system.”

The Governorate of Vatican City State oversees the administration and government of Vatican City. Pope Francis said this body, “with its own organizational structure, contributes to the proper mission of the State and is at the service of the Successor of Peter, to whom it is directly accountable.” Hannah Brockhaus/Catholic News Agency

70 countries, Mr. Dutton first worked with Caritas in 1996.

He is currently the Executive Director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland). From 2009 to 2014, he served as the Humanitarian Director of Caritas Internationalis.

In 2014, Dutton was also the CEO of the Sphere Project, the international humanitarian standards body. From 2005 to 2009 he was head of the Humanitarian Programmes Unit for Africa of Christian Aid. CBCP News

THE head of the Catholic bishops’ leadership has welcomed the acquittal from drug charge of former senator Leila de Lima, who has been detained for the past six years.

The court on May 12 dismissed one of two remaining criminal charges against de Lima, who was arrested months after launching an investigation into the thenDuterte administration’s brutal drug war.

The former president humiliated de Lima in public speeches and accused her of receiving payoffs from convicted drug lords.

The decision marks the second acquittal out of the three cases filed against de Lima, who has been detained since February 2017.

“Praise the Lord for this news,” Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the bishops’ conference, said in a short social media post.

Caritas Philippines, meanwhile,

ThisSunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Ascension. Simply speaking, Jesus went up to heaven. The Lord ascended to the Father forty days after the resurrection in the sight of the disciples (Acts 1:10-11). He went up to His glory but as the disciples were reminded by the angels, He will come again. Just as He ascended, He will descend for the final judgment. Jesus first descended during the Incarnation when God came among us. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1:14). This is the vertical dimension of the life of Christ. He came from the heavens to the earth and from the earth back to the heavens and again back to earth on the second coming. St. Paul in this beautiful passage from the Philippians wrote, “Though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:5-8).

Rev. Fr. Antonio P. Pueyo, DCC tonypoy_dcc0@yahoo.com

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phi. 2:9-11).

The vertical and horizontal dimensions form the Cross. These directions also point to the pattern of Christian discipleship. We lift up our eyes to the heavens to worship God, and we also look around us in a life of love and service for the well being of our fellowmen and this planet earth. Although His hands were nailed on the Cross, Jesus embraced the whole humanity to lift us up to His Father.

urged the local court to issue a speedy resolution on the last drug charge against de Lima.

Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of the national Caritas, said the court ruling “brings us closer to the realization of justice and emphasizes the importance of upholding the rule of law”.

“Her acquittal, in this case, reaffirms our belief in the merits of her defense, and serves as a testament to the flaws and inconsistencies in the charges fabricated against her,” Bagaforo said.

“We call on the Muntinlupa City RTC Branch 256 to expedite its decision and grant Senator de Lima the opportunity to regain her freedom,” he said.

The bishop added that de Lima’s release from detention “is not only a significant step towards justice, but also a symbol of our collective commitment to safeguarding human rights and ensuring the rule of law”. CBCP News

Acts 1.1-11; Ephesians 1.17-23

Gospel: Matthew 28.16-20

Readings: no. 297, p. 584

1st Reading: Acts 19.1-8

To complete the cross, the vertical dimension is not enough. There is the horizontal dimension. There is the earthly life of Jesus who walked among the common folks and leaders of His time. He preached, mostly by parables about the Kingdom of His Father. He showed signs of this Kingdom as fullness of life by performing miracles, feeding the hungry, driving out demons, forming a community of disciples, and even arguing about what is really necessary to join God’s kingdom. He was not always a popular figure. Some listened to His message and others were offended. He finally suffered and died on the cross. The story of Jesus did not end there on the cross.

Jesus rose again and as St. Paul continues,

It is said about St. Edith Stein or St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross who died during the Holocaust that even before her conversion, she would go to the chapel and look at the cross. She did not grow up as a believer. She was a well-known philosopher in Germany who eventually converted to the Catholic faith and became a Carmelite nun. Being known as Jewish she was finally arrested and died in the gas chambers of Hitler.

What went on in the mind of St. Edith Stein as she was looking at the cross? All her philosophical trainings and education were trumped by the cross. Yes, heaven and earth came together on the cross so that the cross becomes a sign of glory. Through the cross, Jesus was glorified. As we live our earthly life, we undergo the ordinary pains of human living, as well as the pains of the consequences of our belief in Jesus. The feast of the Ascension assures us that we too will go up to the glory of God. Jesus went ahead of us and assures us that He will take us with Him, so that where He is we also will be (Jn 14:3). We are being challenged, look up and look around. Worship and serve.

Gospel: John 16.29-33

Readings: no. 298, p. 586

1st Reading: Acts 20.17-27

Gospel: John 17.1-11a

Readings: no. 299, p. 588

1st Reading: Acts 20.28-38

Gospel: John 17.11b-19

Readings: no. 300, p. 591

1st Reading: Acts 22.30; 23.6-11

Gospel: John 17.20-26

Readings: no. 301, p. 594 or no. 570, p. 684

1st Reading: Acts 24.27; 25.13b-21++

Gospel: John 21.15-19

Readings: no. 302, p. 596

1st Reading: Acts 28.16-20, 30-31

Gospel: John 21.20-25