In the name of brotherhood

innocent prospects.

journey. He spoke of the hope and joy that arise from the resurrection of Christ and urged those who were suffering to hold fast to this hope, knowing that their pain and struggles would ultimately be transformed into glory.

In his message during the First Annual World Day of the Sick which he instituted during his pontificate in October 1992, Pope John Paul II,now Saint Pope John Paul II, said we always see the sick and suffering, very sad images of individuals and whole peoples who, lacerated by war and conflicts, succumb under the weight of easily avoidable calamities.

It is difficult to turn our gaze from the imploring faces of so many human beings, especially children, reduced to a shell of their former selves by hardships of every kind in which they are caught up against their will because of selfishness and violence.

We cannot forget either all those who at health-care facilities — hospitals, clinics, leprosariums, centers for the disabled, nursing homes — or in their own dwellings undergo the calvary of sufferings which are often neglected, not always suitably relieved, and sometimes even aggravated by a lack of adequate support, the Holy Father added.

WHAT do fraternities exist for?

Promising assistance and support when needed, belongingness, and brotherly love, fraternities continue to thrive and multiply through the years.

But what happens when that promise of affection instead brings death to someone in what the members call family?

Hazing, an often-deadly initiation ritual conducted by fraternities, led to numerous deaths of innocent students seeking camaraderie into the fold of these violence-marred organizations luring members in the name of brotherhood.

There’s this so-called anti-hazing law but it has not been proactively implemented.

Young people are still dying. A senator, himself a member of a popular fraternity, has called on his fellow lawmakers to re-visit the law.

The anti-hazing law is rendered inutile because it does not nip the bud of the problem.

Some fraternity groups are notorious

By Mathias Cena

The law should be harsh to deter violence in schools which are supposed to be a house of education and not a center of recruitment for sadistic gangs masquerading as brotherhood organizations for provoking clashes against frat rivals. In some instances, they prey on hapless students who don’t have any frat connections. While some schools have declared a ban on fraternities inside their campuses, there is a lax implementation that frat members can still freely recruit

What’s worse is that there are teachers who are senior frat members themselves and are responsible for recruiting their students.

The death due to the hazing of a student from Adamson University and another from the University of Cebu have put the anti-hazing to the test once again. Is it really working to make our sons and daughters safe in school?

The law should start with identifying gangster-type fraternities from the real civic-centered organizations and those which have a history of violence should be banned, as in totally banned.

A mere mention of the frat’s name or mere possession of its insignia should cause an investigation by the school and subsequent expulsion.

And no teacher or school official should be a member of any banned fraternity group.

The law should be harsh to deter violence in schools which are supposed to be a house of education and not a center of recruitment for sadistic gangs masquerading as brotherhood organizations.

Japan’s rare intimacy coordinators in demand after abuse scandals

‘Lack of solidarity’

Christ’s resurrection engenders hope and pledges that one day all suffering and pain will be vanquished.

During his pontificate, Pope John Paul II addressed illness on numerous occasions, providing solace and guidance to those who were struggling with physical and emotional distress.

In a particularly poignant homily delivered during a Mass for the sick in 2004, the Pope reminded those present that illness can serve as a powerful reminder of our dependence on God and our interconnectedness as human beings.

He acknowledged while illness can elicit feelings of isolation and hopelessness, it can also offer opportunities for spiritual growth and a deeper understanding of God’s love.

The Pope stressed the significance of caring for the sick and vulnerable, not only as a way of serving Christ, but also as a means of strengthening the human community.

He implored all those in attendance to extend love, compassion, and practical support to those who were suffering.

Throughout his homily, Pope John Paul II emphasized the inherent dignity of every person, even in the midst of illness and adversity.

He encouraged those present to view themselves as members of a unified body, connected through Christ and bound together by love.

Finally, the Pope conveyed that illness does not represent the end of the

According to the Holy Father, illness, which in everyday experience is perceived as a frustration of the natural life force, for believers becomes an appeal to “read” the new, difficult situation in the perspective which is proper to faith.

He then asked difficult questions, like, how can we discover in the moment of trial the constructive contribution of pain?

How can we give meaning and value to the anguish, unease, and physical and psychic ills accompanying our mortal condition?

What justification can we find for the decline of old age and the final goal of death, which, in spite of all scientific and technological progress, inexorably remains?

For the Holy Father, satisfactory answers can only be found in Christ, the incarnate Word, Redeemer of mankind, and victor over death.

In his Apostolic Letter Salvifici doloris, in the light of Christ’s death and resurrection, illness no longer appears as an exclusively negative event; rather, it is seen as a “visit by God,” an opportunity “to release love, in order to neighbor to works of love towards neighbor, in order to transform the whole of human civilization into a civilization of love.”

Those of us who are sick and/ or suffering, through faith, can be transfigured as the apostles were in the gospel tomorrow, the Second Sunday of Lent.

Let our hearts be grateful for that grace.

ON A set outside Tokyo, Momoko Nishiyama sits with the drama’s director and watches as a man undresses a woman, guiding the love scene as one of just two “intimacy coordinators” in Japan.

The country’s film and television industry has been hit by a string of recent sexual abuse allegations that have led to apologies and movies being pulled.

But while Hollywood has embraced intimacy coordinators in the wake of the #MeToo movement, they are still relatively new in Japan, where public reaction to the latest scandals has been muted.

“In the United States, everyone knows what an intimacy coordinator is, but in Japan, I have to start by explaining what it is that I do, and that I’m not the director’s enemy,” Nishiyama told AFP.

The 43-year-old’s recent projects include a TV series with multiple intimate scenes.

On set, she confers with the director and observes actors, advising them how to move and adjusting their outfits.

But her work starts well before anyone shouts “action”, beginning with a close read of the script.

“I say to the director: ‘Here it says A embraces B, will it go further than that?’ or ‘What clothes will the actors be wearing?

How undressed will they get?’” Nishiyama explained.

She then meets privately with each actor to determine their boundaries.

“This is a scene without a bra. If we don’t show your chest, are you okay with it?” is one question she might ask.

For 23-year-old actor Asuka Kawazu, Nishiyama offers reassurance.

“Her presence made discussions easier,” she told AFP.

Without an intimacy coordinator, “a case could arise where we agree on something, but then when shooting we realise we’re going much further than we had planned,” she said.

Despite several high-profile allegations, the #MeToo movement was less pervasive in Japan than in some other developed countries.

But Nishiyama has seen demand for her services increase after multiple accusations of sexual harassment and abuse in her industry.

Some of the allegations prompted a group of directors including celebrated auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda to call for change, but the reaction from other professionals in the field was more subdued.

Miwa Nishikawa, who is part of the group, preparing gathers props keep while protecting actors told AFP the directors “were shocked” both by the accusations and the industry’s inaction.

“Unlike in the West or South Korea where the #MeToo movement took hold, the Japanese industry wasn’t able to change.”

“I think it shows a lack of solidarity between workers in the industry, where there is no organization to unite and protect them,” she said.

The group hoped its statement “would make it easier for people to speak out”, said Nishikawa.

The directors back the use of intimacy coordinators, though Nishikawa cautions that won’t be enough to end abuse off-set.

Still, their presence shows that “the safety