CBCP Monitor - CBCP Media Office

•A3
Bishops discuss
role in pastoral
care of women
Peace group condemns
abduction of Drilon, et al
•B1
Explanation and Defense
of the Directives of
Cardinal Rylko
www.cbcpnews.com
THE officers and members of the Mindanao
People Caucus (MPC), a peace group here condemned the latest abduction of their chairman
Prof. Octavio Dinampo, Ces Drilon of ABS-CBN
and her crew even as they appeal for their immediate release without preconditions.
In a communiqué sent to CBCPNews,
evening of June 9, the MPC reported that Prof.
Dinampo and Ms. Drilon were on their way to
Maimbung, a 5th class municipality in Sulu
Peace / A6
•C1
[email protected]
Vol. 12 No. 12
Cardinal appeals
protection of Marikina
watershed
THE head of Manila’s Roman Catholic Church
appealed on the government to secure all watersheds nationwide from devastation.
In a letter to President Gloria Arroyo, Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales
stressed the importance of conserving water
resources by planting trees and protecting the
remaining forests.
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace
June 9 - 22, 2008
DOCETE
A Catechetical Publication of the
Episcopal Commission on Catechesis
and Catholic Education
Php 20.00
Cardinal / A6
Church officials prod
gov’t to lift E-VAT
By Roy Lagarde
Roman Catholic bishops are calling for the scrapping of the expanded value added tax (E-VAT) on oil
products to cushion the impact of spiraling oil
prices in the world market.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the PhilippinesPublic Affairs Committee chair Bishop Deogracias
Iñiguez said such move would somehow help the
public meet their basic needs.
He said because of the E-VAT, the country’s poorest families found themselves even more indebted
from where they usually are.
The tax policy is the centerpiece measure of the
Arroyo administration’s revenue generation package to address government’s fiscal crisis.
Coupled with skyrocketing world oil prices, critics said E-VAT hiked prices of basic goods and services forcing ordinary Filipinos to borrow heavily
just to meet their basic needs.
Iñiguez appealed to the government to consider
the public clamor of repealing the oil deregulation
law to mitigate the effects of escalating global fuel
prices.
“The government should instead regulate oil
prices because it’s getting higher causing the public to suffer more,” Iñiguez said.
Consumer and Oil Watch chairman Raul
Concepcion earlier warned that the global oil prices
are still set to jack up.
Photo by Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
‘Criminal’
CBCP-NASSA and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo discusses with farmers their next move after a Mass at the St. Michael Parish Church near Malacañang to highlight their bid for the extension
of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). Pabillo criticized the government for its failure to fully complete the distribution of the remaining 1.8 hectares of land to about 700,000 farmers.
RP, Vatican ratify pact to protect old churches
Highlighting the rite was the exchange of the
accord’s instruments of ratification between DFA
Secretary Alberto Romulo and Papal nuncio Edward Joseph Adams.
The agreement was both signed by Pope Benedict
XVI and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
With the development, Adams assured their com-
Photo by Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
A LANDMARK treaty between the Philippines and
the Vatican for preservation of heritage Catholic
churches will now come into full force.
The bilateral agreement was finally ratified by
both sovereign entities in a simple ceremony held
at the office of the Department of Foreign Affairs
in Pasay City, May 29.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales looks on as Papal Nuncio Edward Joseph Adams and Department of Foreign Affairs
Secretary Alberto Romulo exchange the Instruments of Ratification of the “Agreement on the Cultural Heritage of the Catholic Church
between the Philippines and Holy See” at the DFA in Pasay City on May 29, 2008.
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Vatican might support
biotechnology—bishop
POPE Benedict XVI might issue a “favorable” stand
on the use of genetically modified food as an answer to world hunger, a Catholic bishop hinted.
Bishop Jose Oliveros, Episcopal Commission on
Bioethics chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said the Vatican is set to
release its report early next month.
The Vatican had been neutral on the issue, but is
said to have been swayed by scientific evidence of
biotechnology’s safety and the unrelenting problem on world hunger.
“Reports said the concern of the Holy Father is
the fact that there are millions of people who sleep
at night hungry. So how do we solve the question
of hunger? Biotechnology gives us an answer,” he
Vatican / A7
mitment to “mutual cooperation” for the proper
care of old churches that the Philippine Catholic
church has generated for the past 400 years.
“It is a fact that what constitutes the cultural patrimony of this nation takes its origin from the Church
and was contributed by her agents,” Adams said.
He said the historical pact is a major move in
ensuring the protection of the country’s old churches
“which the church continues to utilize for its pastoral activities and evangelization.”
Romulo, for his part, said that both states have
made a meaningful step towards maintaining, protecting and preserving the “value of symbols of
spirituality.”
Heritage churches including its properties and
artifacts, said Romulo, are more than just worldly
possessions. “They are concrete expressions and
enduring representations of profound faith,” he
said.
“Such symbols of the Filipinos faith remain vital
in continuously shaping and molding positive character and strengthening an individual and the
people’s beliefs and devotions,” Romulo said.
The said framework agreement on cooperation
was signed last year by Romulo and the then Papal
nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Fernando
Filoni before he was reassigned to the Vatican.
Also part of the accord is the implementation of
measures on the regulation of Church properties
through property inventory, restoration, anti-trafficking, custody and security, archiving and promotion of tourism in the heritage sites.
RP, Vatican / A7
Mindanao Rural Congress, in the
spirit of interreligious dialogue
CAGAYAN Archbishop Antonio Ledesma said that
the Mindanao-wide regional rural congress (RRC)
is an opportune time for the participants to recollect on the highlights of the past when the first
rural congress was convened in 1967.
Ledesma, during his homily in the opening mass
concelebrated by 13 bishops from Mindanao said
there are beautiful lessons in the past that are still
significant today and can be a source of inspiration.
Today, he said, as we gathered for the Mindanaowide rural congress we are now in the spirit of
interreligious dialogue.
He recounted that the year when the first rural
congress convened was also the height of the Muslim-Christian conflict in Mindanao.
The NRC of 1967 was participated mostly by diocesan and parish social action workers. During
the first Rural Congress, participants tackled the
problems and issues of the rural poor until they
came to the crucial conclusion that the Church must
go to the barrios.
Ledesma said that with the Minda-wide rural
congress participants who are mostly representatives of the basic sectors are encouraged to actively
participate and assert their dignity that for such a
long time has been denied to them.
More than 150 participants coming from the
ecclesial sub-regions of Mindanao came to the congress that opened yesterday at St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary of Mindanao (REMASE) in
Minadanao / A7
In his blog (www.ovc.blogspot.com), Dagupan
Archbishop Oscar Cruz says that while paying taxes
is “in consonance with the dictate of reason and in
line with the necessity of societal living,” EVAT
has become oppressive for the hungry and sick Filipinos.
“But considering the dreadful political realities
in the Philippines and attending to the depressing
socio-economic condition all over the land, what is
standard has become obscene, what is customary
has become criminal to many Filipinos, and even
lethal to an increasing number of them now wallowing in poverty and misery,” Cruz said.
Solidarity Philippines convenor Fr. Joe Dizon said
it was unjust for the government to rake in billions
in E-VAT collections at the expense of consumers.
“Life is very hard now. The government should
be the first to sacrifice. And E-VAT is a big burden
for the people,” Dizon said.
Church / A6
Priest bewails lack of
catechism in parishes
THE Episcopal Vicar for the Religious of the
Archdiocese of Davao commented on what
he sees as lukewarm attitude of some priests
towards catechism.
Canadian priest Patrice Picard, PME said it
is sad to notice that some priests are not really into studying catechism.
“Some priests focus only on administrative work while giving less priority to catechism,” he said, adding that, “It is a must to
improve the quality of catechism in the parishes.”
He said, “Priests should not forget that catechism is the first form of evangelization.”
Picard also expressed regrets that while
there is so much need to improve catechism;
some priests would opt to do further study
in Theology and Canon Law because they
see these as more heady compared to
Catechetics.
“I believe so much in catechism,” he added,
saying that this will help priests in their pastoral work.
“The priests cannot do everything that’s
why he needs the help of catechists”.
He also lamented the fact that some parishes cannot afford to hire and pay for professional catechists.
“I don’t think the parish cannot afford to
hire a professional catechist. It just so happens that parish priest has various priorities.”
Picard emphasized that even the presence
of one professional catechist in the parish is
already a big help.
Meanwhile, Redemptorist priest Amado
Picardal also shared the same observation
with Picard as he called on the clergy to take
the matters of catechism seriously.
Priest / A7
World News
A2
CARACAS, Venezuela, June 9, 2008—Various Venezuelan bishops are criticizing a new
law on national intelligence that would force
all Venezuelans to act as informants. Cardinal Jorge Urosa of Caracas has reacted to the
law by warning that the law would endanger the seal of confession.
The law states that citizens who refuse to
take part in intelligence operations could
be charged by the government. Human
rights groups, judges and journalists warn
that the new law would create a society of
spies and contains vague clauses that would
be open to all kinds of abuse by authorities.
Cardinal Urosa said the law may violate
human rights enshrined in the country’s
June 9 - 22, 2008
Our Lady of Lujan — Patroness of Argentina
which they are voicing their complaints. Neither moderation in
one’s demands, nor magnanimity in the exercising of power are
signs of weakness,” they said.
After
encouraging
Argentineans to help the poor
through a “firm and long-lasting
commitment to justice and solidarity,” the bishops encouraged
all to pray for “those who are
most in need.”
The ended their message entrusting their plea to the intercession of Our Lady of Lujan, the
patroness of Argentina. (CNA)
Jerusalem prelate urges
leaders to be courageous
Constitution. “We are going to study it in
detail, because it is essential that constitutionality be respected, especially in the areas that have to do with the human, civil,
and political rights of all Venezuelans.”
The cardinal also criticized the law for
containing many clauses “written in a very
generic fashion.” The seal of confession, he
continued, “has always been respected by
priests. We have an obligation to keep secret what we hear in confession. That cannot be violated by any law. It would seem
this law would affect the seal, and in this
sense we cannot compromise.”
Cardinal Urosa emphasized that the faithful have a right to privacy and to secrecy with
Benedict XVI to repay Bush’s cordiality
VATICAN CITY, June 9, 2008—Benedict XVI
will welcome U.S. President George Bush on
Friday with something of the same unprecedented cordiality the president showed
when he received the Pope in the United
States last April.
The Holy Father is leaving aside the typical protocol that prescribes receiving heads
of state in the pontifical apartments, and will
have his meeting with Bush in the Tower of
St. John within the Vatican Gardens, the prefecture of the pontifical household announced
today in L’Osservatore Romano.
Bush also broke protocol when he welcomed the Pontiff last April 15. Bush, accompanied by his wife and daughter Jenna, went
to Andrews Air Force Base to receive the
Pope—an honor the president has never given
to a visiting head of state. The next day,
Benedict XVI’s 81st birthday, the president
hosted a celebration in the White House.
The Holy Father’s welcome is meant to
repay the president for his cordiality, Jesuit
Father Federico Lombardi, director of the
Vatican press office, said.
Bush will be accompanied by his wife and
by Mary Ann Glendon, the U.S. envoy to the
Holy See.
After their meeting, the Pope and presi-
dent will walk through the Vatican Gardens
where the Sistine Chapel choir will perform
for them.
This will be Bush’s second visit to the
Sabbah celebrated his last Mass
as patriarch for the Jerusalem
Hebrew-speaking Catholic community on June 1.
In his farewell greeting to the
patriarch, the vicar for the Hebrew-speaking Catholics in Israel,
Franciscan
Father
Pierbattista Pizzaballa, recalled
how Archbishop Sabbah was the
first patriarch of Jerusalem to celebrate Mass in Hebrew.
The archbishop told the Hebrew-speaking Catholics: “What
is our place in the Church of
Jerusalem, among the 13 churches
of which she is constituted? It is a
place primarily of prayer. Our
prayer is the prayer of Jesus for
unity. […] We must pray for unity
so that, even before the longed for
unity is reached, by means of our
love for one another, we might
be what we are called to become.
This is indeed our vocation: to be
true witnesses to Jesus Christ.”
(Zenit)
Vatican and it takes place as part of a trip to
Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France and Britain.
The president last visited Benedict XVI in the
Vatican in June 2007. (Zenit)
Bishop of Hong Kong invited to
inaugural ceremony of Olympics
HONG KONG, June 9, 2008—The Chinese government has invited the coadjutor bishop of
Hong Kong, John Tong Hon, to the inaugural
ceremony of the upcoming Olympic Games.
The bishop has accepted the invitation,
which was not extended to Cardinal Joseph
Zen Ze-kiun, while an expert on ChinaVatican relations warns: “The visit appears to
be just a protocol event because it is unlikely
any concrete discussions with officials will be
conducted”.
The invitation was communicated by
Beijing to the Chinese office in the territory:
according to some observers, this is the latest
“diplomatic openness” between the two sides,
following the concert at the Vatican by the
Beijing Philharmonic and the informal meeting between the pope and the Chinese ambas-
sador to the Italian republic.
Others emphasize that China “wants to
build good relations with bishop Tong, who
is less critical in public toward the Beijing government, and will soon become the bishop of
Hong Kong”.
For his part, Bishop Tong says he is “honored by the invitation”, and recalls the hopes
expressed by the pope for a serene unfolding
of the Olympics.
Not long ago, the prelate highlights, “the
Holy Father expressed his blessings towards
China for a successful Olympics. I will follow
his good wishes and attend this joyous national event as a witness”.
The visit—which will take place on August
8 and 9—will be the first made by Bishop Tong
to Beijing as coadjutor bishop. Together with
President for Family
Council named
Archbishop Fouad Twal
regards to what they tell the priest. “We cannot turn confessors into informants,” he said.
Archbishop Baltasar Porras of Merida said
on Union Radio that with the new law, state
security police could act in secret, without
the presence of attorneys and in violation of
professional confidentiality. He also expressed concern about the seal of confession
and about the confidentiality of sources in
journalism. The law would turn family and
community members against one another,
with each person becoming a tool of the
state, similar to “what happened in the 30s
and 40s in some countries such as Hitler’s
Germany, Mussolini’s Italy or Franco’s
Spain.” (CNA)
© Franco Origlia for Vatican Pool/Getty Images Europe/Immaginazione/Corbis
Argentinean bishops
urge dialogue in
agricultural crisis
JERUSALEM, June 9, 2008—Just a
few days before his installation
as the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, Archbishop Fouad Twal is
inviting political leaders of the
area to have “more courage and
less fear.”
Archbishop Twal, 67, is set to
be installed as patriarch June 22.
He will succeed Archbishop
Michel Sabbah, 75, who has retired after more than 20 years of
service in the position.
Archbishop Twal spoke with
L’Osservatore Romano about his
hopes and plans for this new ministry. “We believe in the power
of prayer,” he said, “We entrust
these times to the Lord and we
again place our hopes in the political leaders of this land, but
also in the international leaders,
and we ask them to have more
courage and less fear, and above
all that they place trust in each
other.
“Reciprocal trust is needed to
build solid relationships,” the
archbishop affirmed.
The Jordan-born prelate acknowledged that “there are
groups and people who do not
desire peace”; but he added, “We
hope that good will prevails for
the good, security and peace for
all.”
Archbishop Twal said that no
region will be able to enjoy peace
by itself, since “it is a gift for everyone.” Along this line, he
urged “building up and sustaining the moderates, because as
they get more help, the extremists will have less strength.”
For his part, Archbishop
Vol. 12 No. 12
Bishops question law that
would violate seal of
confession in Venezuela
Cardinal Jorge Urosa
BUENOS AIRES, June 9, 2008—In
a statement issued at the end of
their extraordinary meeting, the
Bishops’ Conference of Argentina called for “transparent and
constructive dialogue” between
the government and other sectors
involved in the country’s current
crisis caused by a stalemate in negotiations.
In their statement, the bishops
explained that they were meeting “in response to the grave
situation caused by the prolonged conflict between the agricultural sector and the national
government,” and they underscored that these kinds of situations “especially jeopardize those
who [are] poorest.”
They said “significant gestures” on the part of both parties
as well as greater vigilance over
the country’s institutions are the
only way to work towards a solution.
“On the other hand, even
though there may be just complaints,” the bishops said, “we
will not solve our problems out
on the street. Therefore, we insistently ask the government to
urgently convene a transparent
and constructive dialogue, and
we ask the sectors in conflict to
take a new look at the manner in
CBCP Monitor
VATICAN CITY, June 8,
2008—Benedict XVI has
named Cardinal Ennio
Antonelli, the archbishop of
Florence, as president of the
Pontifical Council for the
Family.
Cardinal Antonelli, 71, succeeds Colombian Cardinal
Alfonso López Trujillo, who
died in April at age 72.
Ennio Antonelli was born in
Todi, Italy, in 1936, and ordained a priest in 1960.
From 1968 to 1983 he was
professor of dogmatic theology at the Theological Institute of Assisi, and also taught
in various schools of theological formation.
In 1982 he was named
bishop of Gubbio, and in 1988
he was appointed as archbishop of Perugia-Città della
Pieve.
Archbishop
Antonelli
served as the secretary-general of the Italian bishops’
Cardinal Ennio Antonelli
conference from 1995 until he
was named archbishop of Florence in 2001.
He was elevated to cardinal
in 2003.
He is a member of the pontifical councils for the laity
and social communications.
(Zenit)
him, there will be Buddhist and Taoist leaders
from Hong Kong, and the bishop of Macao,
Jose Lai Hung-seng.
The visit has also been approved by Cardinal Zen: both bishops have for some time decided to enter into China “only at the official
invitation of the government”
Anthony Lam Sui-ki, an expert in ChinaVatican relations and a researcher at the Holy
Spirit Study Center in Hong Kong, tells the
South China Morning Post: “The invitation was
a gesture of good will, although Cardinal Zen,
who has long been critical towards Beijing’s
control over religious freedom, was not invited. But the visit appears to be just a protocol event because it is unlikely any concrete
discussions with officials will be conducted”.
(AsiaNews)
Holocaust survivors to thank Pope
NEW YORK, June 9, 2008—A
New York-based organization
will bring a group of Jewish Holocaust survivors to visit
Benedict XVI next week. They
want to personally thank the
Pope for the Church’s intervention in saving their lives during
the war.
The Pave the Way foundation
is bringing the group to visit the
German Pontiff on June 18. It is
just one initiative the foundation
has undertaken to clear up misunderstandings about the
Church and its role during the
Holocaust.
Another initiative is a September symposium on the papacy of
Pope Pius XII.
The Pave the Way foundation
partnered with TV News Agency
Rome Reports to videotape eye
witness testimony. They uncovered secret activities of the Pope
and members of the papal household to save the lives of Jews during the war.
The foundation consulted various experts who will be panelists at the symposium. The audi-
ence will be over 100 mostly Jewish religious, educational and
community leaders from around
the world.
The participants will be presented with historical newspaper accounts, documents and eye
witness testimony from those
who are still alive.
The purpose of the symposium will be to analyze what is
known to date, while Vatican
archivists continue to prepare
thousands of documents to be
opened.
The foundation clarified that
the symposium does not aim to
give a scholarly review of
archived manuscripts.
“This event will be almost like
a jury, where events of the day
and actual witnesses can help the
group reach a reasonable conclusion today, which will be subject to historical confirmation
when the archives have been
opened,” a statement from the
foundation explained.
The symposium participants
will also get a chance to visit
Benedict XVI. (Zenit)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
News Features
A3
Truth is the goal of inter-religious
dialogue, Pope Benedict teaches
VATICAN CITY, June 9, 2008—
The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue met for its
tenth full assembly this past
week to focus on the theme:
“Dialogue in truth and love.
Pastoral orientations.” On Saturday, Pope Benedict spoke to
the group about the importance
of truth being the goal of all dialogue and charity being the motivation behind all dialogue.
Over 60 participants were led
in their discussions throughout
the session by Cardinal JeanLouis Tauran, the president of
the council.
The Pope began his speech to
the council by expressing his
happiness that, “during these
days you have sought to arrive
at a deeper understanding of the
Catholic Church’s approach to
people of other religious traditions. You have considered the
broader purpose of dialogue—
that urges every believer to listen to the other and seek areas
of collaboration,” the Pope reminded the council.
If love is the motivation behind inter-religious dialogue,
Christians are able to propose
“but not impose, faith in Christ
Who is ‘the way, the truth, and
the life’,” the Holy Father said.
“The Christian faith has
shown us that ‘truth, justice and
love are not simply ideals, but
enormously weighty realities.’
For the Church, ‘charity is not a
kind of welfare activity which
could equally well be left to
others, but is a part of her nature, an indispensable expression of her very being’.”
Other practical issues that
arise from dialoguing with
members of other faiths such as:
“the identity of the partners in
dialogue, religious education in
schools,
conversion,
to discover the truth—and the
motivation for it, which is charity, in obedience to the divine
mission entrusted to the Church
by our Lord Jesus Christ.”
This context of searching for
the truth should impact the exchanges that the Church has
with followers of other religions, the Pontiff explained. “In
the words of my venerable predecessor, Pope Paul VI, the
Church’s principal responsibility is service to the Truth—
’truth about God, truth about
man and his hidden destiny,
truth about the world, truth
which we discover in the Word
of God’.”
“It is the love of Christ which
impels the Church to reach out
to every human being without
distinction, beyond the borders
of the visible Church. The
source of the Church’s mission
is Divine Love. ... Thus, it is love
Bishops discuss role in
pastoral care of women
MANILA, June 6, 2008—Ten bishops, 13
women and two priest-theologians representing six Asian countries discussed and reflected on the role of the bishop in pastoral
care of women in a five-day meeting held at
the Redemptorist Centre in Pattaya, Thailand
last May 12-16.
The convention’s theme “The Bishop: Harbinger of Hope (Bishops, Women, Gospel and
Communion)” was adopted in the light of
Pastores Gregis, Pope John Paul’s 2003 apostolic exhortation on the 2001 Synod of Bishops assembly on Episcopal ministry.
Through story-telling, theological inputs
from speakers, workshops and prayer, the
participants experienced a moment of renewal, especially the bishops who heard the
voices of women and reflected on how their
pastoral ministry could effectively address
them.
On hearing the stories of women from different regions of Asia, the extent of violence
and injustice experienced by women was
striking. They appreciated the work done by
the women’s movement and various
women’s groups to help victims of violence.
It was observed that Bishops as heralds of
hope need to develop a concept of compas-
sionate justice for women as victims/survivors of violence.
As one bishop shared, “This conference
helps us bishops to understand issues relating to women. Change is taking place in society and slowly in church as well. Formation is important. There is a need for women
to share their perspectives through different
ways.”
The bishops affirmed that ‘The bishop has
to be a man of hope and trust since trust engenders hope’. They also agreed that bishops
and women have to share mutual trust
through dialogue. Likewise there is a need
to dispel the myths of authority and encourage women to make their voices heard. They
acknowledged the injustice done to women
through gendered roles and stressed the need
for attitudinal change.
It was pointed out that FABC (Federation
of Asian Bishops’ Conferences) documents encourage the Church in Asia to live as a communion of communities, which is participatory and co-responsible in the mission of
Christ. But there is a gap between what is
written in the documents and actual practice
at the grassroots. For the idea of partnership
and co-responsibility to be well understood
Bontoc-Lagawe
launches indigenous
liturgical music
by priests, it is necessary that these documents
be studied in seminaries and formation
houses.
The bishops felt the need to confront cultural practices that discriminate against
women with the egalitarian values of the gospel, as well as to promote and sustain countercultural Christian communities. Confident
that inspired with the compassion of Jesus
and the courage of Mary the Church in Asia
can make a difference in the reality of women,
the delegates departed with the resolve to
continue the process of dialogue and sensitization begun at the meeting.
Bishops from the Philippines who attended
the meeting were Bishop Emilio Marquez,
chairman of CBCP Office on Women
(Lucena), Archbishop Paciano Aniceto (San
Fernando, Pampanga), Archbishop Ernesto
Salgado (Nueva Segovia), Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle (Imus), Bishop Jose Romeo Lazo,
(Kalibo), and Bishop Marlo Peralta,
(Alaminos).
The meeting was organized by the
Women’s Desk of the Office of Laity and Family of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference in cooperation with the FABC Office
of Theological Concerns. (Virginia Saldanha)
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
Laity feels ‘inferior’ in Church
DAVAO CITY, June 8, 2008—Most of the lay
people in the country today feel that they are
inferior in the Church.
“We feel deficient in Christian education,
particularly in the basic doctrines, theology,
and social teachings of the Church. Thus, most
of us feel marginalized or “treated like third
class citizens in the Church,” the more than
367 lay delegates affirmed in their statement
issued during the 6th National Lay Gathering
last month at the Holy Cross Parish in
Calumpang, General Santos City.
“We are sometimes confused by the ambivalent stand of the church hierarchy regarding our involvement in socio-political issues
which is supposedly our arena for evangelization and transformation,” they said.
“There are incidents of being disowned,
not given blessings, or being told to resign
from church ministries once we get involved
in these issues,” read the statement.
Lay Forum of the Philippines (LFP) National Coordinator Edgar Diares said that the
laypeople have also experienced the effects
and influences of globalization with its exploitative and oppressive practices that promote the values of individualism, materialism, consumerism, indifference, vices, drugs
and gangsterism especially among the youth.
Diares who read the statement continued,
“in the economic arena, we are concerned
with the issues in landlessness, insecurity of
land tenure, food/rice crisis, increasing poverty, intensifying intrusion of trans-national
corporations that continue to hound the poor
people.”
“These are compounded with oil price
hikes and exploitation of labor through
contractualization and flexibilization. In the
political aspect, rampant graft and corruption, through dynasties and monopoly of
powers, have resulted to poor delivery of
basic social services,” Diares further cited.
In areas target for development aggression,
he said, military are deployed as advance
party, thereby clearing the area for foreign
investors and strengthening the ruling class’
political grip over the people. “Furthermore,
the continuous destruction of natural re-
sources and environment, by logging and
mining, has aggravated the misery of the lay
people.”
But, in the midst of all the above issues and
concerns, and despite threats and financial
constraints, Diares said the laypeople continue to assert their rights as equal partners
in the ministries of the Church, and carry on
their active participation in the works for social transformation.
“We support and promote the advocacy on
Human Rights issues, Environmental protection, good governance, and peasants and
workers’ issues. In carrying out these duties,
we have made initiatives to develop our skills
and knowledge in leadership, facilitating, organizing, administering, and managing the
Church pastoral programs, through on-going education, trainings, and values formation,” he said.
“We continue to build and strengthen the
Basic Ecclesial Communities (or GKKs, GSKs,
Kriska, MSK, etc.) as new way of being
Church and Church of the Poor. We keep to
our hearts the four (4) roles of the laity as
called for by PCP II, as follows: a.) called to
community of families; b.) called to Christian presence; c.) called to service and evangelization, and d.) called to social transformation,” said Diares.
As a challenge, Diares said, the Lay Forum
Philippines will continue to be instrumental
in establishing and strengthening network
among lay people down to the grassroots
level, and continue the initiatives of implementing programs and services that support
the needs of lay workers, particularly the
Tulong sa Layko ( TulayKo).
Diares also called on all lay people to
strengthen their respective lay organizations
to attain genuine lay empowerment, and to
give support to Lay Forum Philippines as
expression of solidarity and unity.
“We continue to believe that we, lay
people, have a great contribution to the realization and fulfillment of the Reign/Kingdom of God. We deepen our commitment
and involvement in the Mission of the Church
towards her renewal and social transformation,” ended Diares. (Mark S. Ventura)
proselytism, reciprocity, religious freedom, and the role of
religious leaders in society”
were also raised. “These are important issues,” Benedict said,
“to which religious leaders living and working in pluralistic
societies must pay close attention.”
Benedict XVI also underlined
the need for the promoters of
inter-religious dialogue “to be
well formed in their own beliefs
and well informed about those
of others,” highlighting how
“inter-religious collaboration
provides opportunities to express the highest ideals of each
religious tradition.”
In closing, the Holy Father encouraged the council to collaborating with other people of faith
by, “Helping the sick, bringing
relief to the victims of natural
disasters or violence, caring for
the aged and the poor.” (CNA)
BONTOC, Mountain Province, June
8, 2008—The Apostolic Vicariate of
Bontoc-Lagawe recently launched
an album of Indigenous Music in
the Liturgy dubbed Ayyeng.
Ayyeng is an indigenous word
that expresses the effort to direct the
petitions and prayers of an indigenous people to their Christian God
who is the source of everything
through a repertoire of songs for
the Eucharistic celebration.
The new album contains the original music and traditional chants of
Kalinga, Bontoc and Sadanga. It also
contains music written in Ilocano for
the Ilocano faithful.
Gone through a long process of
translation by the Vicariate’s Liturgical Committee, the texts of the liturgical acclamations are made
short but powerful to keep the dialogue aspect of the Mass.
The responses are done with brief
instrumental introductions to
avoid unwanted lull. The new album aims that the faithful “sing the
Mass and not merely sing during
the Mass.”
Bishop Rodolfo F. Beltran, Apostolic Vicar of Bontoc-Lagawe was
delighted that the Apostolic Vicariate has come out with a CD album
on Indigenous Music in the Liturgy.
He expressed his hope that this
noble project initiated by Fr. Marcs
Castañeda, Liturgy Director of the
Apostolic Vicariate, will enhance
the spirit of the people in the Cordillera to love their native songs
and especially sing them in liturgical services.
The bishop likewise pointed out
that indigenous music is a big factor in strengthening the Basic
Ecclesial Communities (BECs). He
also noted that indigenous music
invites the faithful to consider the
harmony of creation.
The bamboo instruments as well
as the gongs, which are common
native instruments of the Igorots,
are used to accompany the liturgical indigenous songs.
However, guitars and drums are
used to appeal to the young listeners. Such music draws them to the
church today. Thus, the album considers too the fusion of the western
medium and indigenous instruments to keep the balance of the
old folk and the young.
Rich culture
Sadanga, one of the remotest
towns in the Mountain Province is
a beautiful village situated in the
Northern part of the Cordillera
well known for its rich culture and
beautiful panorama.
People are hardworking natives
who till the land for rice, legumes
sweet potatoes and sugarcane.
Hence they are known for the best
“basi” (sugarcane wine), “tapey”
(rice wine) and “finayo” (quality
rice) and “fuker” (delicious legumes) in the hinterlands.
The place is also rich in history.
The Isadanga were among the
Igorots who stood solid in fighting
for the common good of the mountain people. In the 1970’s, they opposed the proposed Chico Dam that
could have submerged under water a great part of Bontoc, Sadanga
and Kalinga.
Gift of Music
The Sadanga people are known
for their gift in music. They compose their songs beautifully with
the words and music rooted in their
way of life. They are known for their
traditional chants that occupy a very
special place in their culture.
The chants are reserved for wedding ceremonies and thanksgiving
blessings. Ayyeng is one of the traditional chants that until today are
being sung by the villagers. It is a
chant held in reserve to the elderly
men in the villages of Sadanga.
On special occasions such asSenga
(thanksgiving for the blessings received by the family) rupis (2nd stage
of cultural marriage) and dono (the
culminating stage of the cultural
marriage done in big celebration)
the chant is done spontaneously
while waiting for the meals.
The elders usually tell stories
through the singing of the chant. It
can contain the petition or prayer
of the family for good fortunes,
good work, good health, bountiful
harvest and more animals.
The Sadanga culture is not seen
as opposed to their own faith. Integrated in the Christian way of worshipping, that is, through liturgical
music, the native chants find more
meaning. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
EDITORIAL
Nuclear power in the offing
DURING the days past and surely for the times yet ahead, the
administration has started and will certainly continue to sound
off the general public about its desire to revisit the Bataan
Nuclear Power Plant, i.,e., to go nuclear in response to the ever
increasing prices of oil and everything else brought about by its
use. The government as usual feels infallible, and wherefore
sounds certain that the time has come to have recourse to nuclear
power.
While it may not be altogether right and prudent to
immediately condemn such an attention, considering the
progressively worsening socio-economic realities in the country,
it is but fair and just to ask the public authorities concerned
certain definitely significant and highly relevant questions. It is
to be expected that the national leadership has ever-ready
answers—considering its claimed superlative economic
competence plus its acclaimed visionary projection. But just the
same, some questions remain in order.
First question: Safety. If the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant was
found to be unsafe before—considering in particular its
construction on a land with fault lines—what makes it safe now?
Taking into account that the said Power Plant has been
“mothballed” for decades, the question appears reasonable.
Second question: Expertise. While the Filipinos are by and
large gifted in the pursuit of various professions, to date the
government is expected to have difficulty in finding really
capable and enough Filipino nuclear experts to update, prepare
and run the Plant. But, of course, we can always get the Japanese
or the Koreans—and the Chinese, like the botched broadband
network deal.
Third question: Money. With the financial destitution of the
country translated in the poverty and misery of the people—in
addition to its already immense unpaid local and foreign debts—
will the government again and again take recourse to borrowing
money from the usual financial oligarchy abroad with its dictatorial
counter-impositions? And never mind if the Filipinos are the
payors—usually forever?
And more important of all: Where on earth will the
administration have the nuclear waste thrown, disposed; buried—
or whatever? It appears that all countries having nuclear waste,
consider their disposal a big and deep dark national secret. In the
Philippines, this is fondly called “presidential privilege”.
Translation: Keep the Filipinos ignorant and happy!
Needless to say, the Filipino People are the real and
continuous stakeholder in the matter of the country going
nuclear. The incumbent national leadership, the ruling
administration, the government in authority came and will
eventually go. But the People of the Philippines remain—with
their gargantuan foreign debts.
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season
(The following is text of the message of Archbishop
Angel Lagdameo at the launching of a Mini-Hydro in
Antique, June 5, 2008)
WE are stewards of this earth, God’s earth,
we are not the absolute owners of this earth.
We are caretakers, custodians and stewards
of this earth—whether it is here in Antique
or there in Panay.
Whatever is your position in society, an
ordinary member of civil society or an official of Government or plain user of the environment, you are challenged to leave behind
a legacy for this earth, a legacy that the earth
has become better or has lessened the earth’s
problem, and not a legacy of destruction.
One of our concerns, we are told, is power
shortage. There is discussion going on as to
the cause of power shortage: is it real shortage
or power crisis? Or is it caused by management crisis? Or even worse, is it caused by
leadership crisis? Study shows that we have
surplus power in Panay until 2010. But there
would be gradual shortage of power in 2011.
You here in Antique with the launching of
Villasiga and Guianon—San Ramon Mini
Hydro Project are leading the way. Congratulations to your Governor who is also the
Chairperson of Regional Development
Council, the Honorable Sally Z. Perez. You
are one step ahead of a future problem. And
Taxation and the E-VAT
THE total human development of our people is at the heart of the
Church’s mission, whose founder, Jesus Christ, came that we
might have life and have it in abundance (Jn. 10:10). Hence we
cannot be unconcerned with the present agitation aroused by
R.A. 7716 or the expanded VAT Law. We, your bishops, are not
economists. Still less are we tax experts. But we are shepherds
committed to promoting the total well-being of our people, and
as shepherds we must have a concern for what leads—or does
not lead—to the total well-being of our people, especially the
poor. It is in the light of this concern that we would like to speak,
not only on R.A. 7716 as such but on a deeper issue: the reform
of our whole system of taxation.
We start with two basic principles: The government has a
right to impose and collect taxes provided these taxes are just;
correspondingly the citizen has a duty to pay taxes faithfully,
honestly (Rom. 13:6-7). The monies collected must be used by
government for the common good, providing such services as
are needed for the public welfare, not for the selfish and capricious
consumption of those in power.
Applying these principles to the Philippines today, we note
these only too obvious facts of our situation: Our tax structure
and the system of tax collection are in some need of reform. Our
taxes are regressive, that is, they are slanted against the poor, the
heavier burden being put on their shoulders, not on those of the
better-off sectors of our population; The pervasiveness of graft
and corruption in government spawns two interconnected evils:
the improper collection of taxes due; the non-provision of badly
needed public services.
Keeping the above principles and facts in mind, we ask
ourselves what can be done to institute necessary reforms. The
following questions come to mind: Is the expanded VAT Law just
one more step on the direction of strengthening our tax structure’s
bias against the poor; or conversely, does it remedy that bias?
Does it effectively safeguard against corrupt and dishonest
practices in the paying (or avoidance of paying) of taxes, improve
in truth their collection?
As Christian citizens we must address these questions in
depth, come up with some answers that will fully satisfy the
principles we started out with and correct the present infirmities
of our tax system.
We urge a thorough review of R.A. 7716 when Congress
convenes precisely with these questions in mind, and we ask that
our people be consulted and informed about its provisions so
that any inequitable aspects may be eliminated, and the consent
of the people obtained. For only when the people are allowed to
participate in the decisions that affect them can we speak of
genuine people empowerment.
you are using renewable energy, hydro or
water, which is environment and people
friendly. It is conceived that by harnessing
hydro-renewable energy in this project you
will have enough electric power to light the
entire province of Antique. Together with the
investors, you are impacting a legacy for the
province.
I agree with the sentiments expressed by
environmentalists, technical groups, scientists, as well as those in the medical profession. We cannot support those who propose
the establishment of coal plants anywhere in
Panay as we would be party to the commission of the SOCIAL SIN of polluting our environment and putting at risk the health of
our communities. We strongly advocate for
sustainable solutions—the harnessing of
God-given energy from water, wind and sun.
We shall support only those who propose
renewable energy projects.
Here in Antique water resources are found
in the rivers of Sibalom, Valderrama, Tibiao,
Culasi and Patnongon. In Panay, God has
gifted us with water to harness for electricity
in San Joaquin, Igbaras, Lambunao, Maasin,
Barotac Viejo, Lemery, Leon, Janiuay and
Miag-ao. The big question and challenge is
why waste money on importing expensive
coals from other countries? Knowing the Fili-
The GK problem and
prudent moral choices
AS expected, my first Afterthoughts column
last month was not received well by some
principals in the controversy over CfC/GK.
It elicited “afterthoughts” of their own—but
most negative of mine. I would be mad to
get involved any further in their quarrel. Still,
I can’t help asking that they do not dismiss
cavalierly as they are doing the logic of the
questions (and the answers) of my Bontoc
“philosopher”. All I’d wish them to do now,
before consigning me to wherever I am to be
consigned, is to answer categorically the same
questions he put to me. Only then, I believe,
can we have a rational discourse on the controversy without the innuendoes, misreading, fallacious reasoning that are being advanced so far by way of response to that
maiden column.
Before sending it in to the CBCP Monitor, I
—Pastoral Statement on Taxation and the Expanded ValueAdded Tax Law (R.A. 7716), 1994
Coal power or
renewable energy?
pino propensity for short-cuts and ningascogon, the cleanest coal will come out polluting Panay.
Antique is leading the way. We would like
the Secretary of DENR, the Honorable Lito
Atienza and the Secretary of DOE, the Honorable Angelo Reyes to please reserve Panay
or Western Visayas for renewable energy of
water, wind and sun for electric power.
The seven bishops of Western Visayas and
Romblon in a Pastoral Letter last January 16,
2005 have already expressed their objection
to the entry of coal-fired power plants.
We are challenging the leadership in Panay
to leave a clean legacy for the province. Clean
Coal is a misnomer, a myth. Coal is a pollutant
of the environment, its effects in the air and
water have been proven to cause asthma, cardiac problems, upper and lower respiratory tract
problems. Pollution from dirty power plants
kills more people every year than drunk drivers and murderers. The elderly, the children
and those with respiratory diseases are more
severely impacted by this pollution. Coal plants
contribute greatly in global warming. Let us
not condemn the future of young Filipinos who
will blame us without end for having cared
less for their future.
Antique is leading the way. Thank you for
showing Panay the way.
Francisco F. Claver, SJ
Afterthoughts
had asked a professional moral theologian
to look at it and see if he had some comments
to make from the viewpoint of his expertise.
Father Eric Marcelo Genilo, S.J. of the Loyola
School of Theology obliged and sent me the
following comments—they are well worth
quoting at length here:
“There are enough references in scripture,
the saints and the Church’s social teachings
that would support the position that meeting the material needs of the poor is just as
urgent and important as meeting spiritual
needs.
“I would argue against those who criticize
GK for taking donations from pharmaceutical companies that are involved in contraceptive production and marketing. First,
these companies produce other products and
it does not necessarily mean that the dona-
tions come directly from profits from contraceptives. Second, it is rash and unjust to
label such companies as evil, as if they do not
do any good for the community. In all human organizations the capacity for doing
good and evil are present and operative. I
can call the Church “devil” too if I just focus
on the sex abuse committed by clerics, the
atrocities of the Inquisition and the Crusades
and the destruction of cultures by overzealous missionaries. But I don’t, because I recognize the Church is both sinful and graced.
I would also apply the same compassionate
consideration to multi-product pharmaceutical companies. Third, single-issue morality, like single-issue politics, ignores the complexity of life and the various factors that
should be considered when making a pruAfterthoughts / A6
ISSN 1908-2940
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
CBCP Monitor
P r o ta g o n i s t
of
Tr u t h ,
Promoter
of
Love Life
Peace
Fathers and families:
responsibilities and challenges
Pedro C. Quitorio
Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Kris P. Bayos
Associate Editor
Feature Editor
Melo M. Acuña
Rosalynn Garcia
Managing Editor
Marketing Supervisor
Dennis B. Dayao
Ernani M. Ramos
On-Line Editor
Circulation Manager
Roy Q. Lagarde
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News Editor
Comptroller
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP
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Editor-in-Chief
IF May is traditionally Mothers’ Month, June
is Fathers’ Month. How do single fathers cope
being a dad and a mom to his children? A
couple of weeks ago, the sharing of a widower, a separated husband, and one whose
wife is an overseas worker, brought to us
the realities that a growing number of men
in our society are experiencing these days.
That was something unheard of in the past,
when it was the mother taking care of the
children and if she is absent, they were passed
on to the grandmother or to some aunt.
It was indeed very inspiring then to listen
to Fernando Mina share his struggles in raising up five children even if his in-laws
wanted to take care of them when his wife
died. But having trained his two older children to take care of the younger ones was
the secret of his ability to cope. No question
of spoiling them – each one taking responsibilities according to their age.
Next sharer was Efren Javier, former seaman. He gave up a good paying job in order
to be with his four children. Why? When he
separated from his wife, he said he wanted
the four kids to be together, not two with
him and two with her. Since his wife had no
financial capacity to take in the four, the decision was for all to be in his care. The children do visit their mom on a regular basis
and the couple sees to it that they do not
instill negative impressions of the other
spouse in the minds of the children.
The last to share was Alexis Bermudes, a
professional singer, whose wife is working
in Saudi. He claims that caring for their only
daughter has truly made him a wholistic
person, discovering so many new talents he
did not know he had – cooking, home decorating, tutoring, and gardening.
All those testimonies were part of this
year’s celebration of International Day of
Families last May 15. It was organized by
the National Committee for the Family and
coordinated by the Department of Social
Welfare and Development (DSWD). Objective was to reaffirm the significant parenting
role of fathers as the day’s activities revolved
around the theme “Fathers and Families:
Responsibilities and Challenges.” The event
was in keeping with the UN General
Assembly’s Resolution 47/237 passed in 1993
mandating the annual celebration of the International Day of Families every May 15 to
emphasize the importance that the international community attaches to families around
Love Life / A6
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Jose B. Lugay
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
DADITAMA
AFTER having concluded their respective diocesan consultations for the NRC II, the
Daditama Bishops decided to focus on the subregional collated reports for their 3rd quarterly
assembly for 2008, held in the Diocese of Digos
Pastoral Center in Digos City, last June 4-5,
2008. The Daditama NRC II delegates were also
invited to attend in order to help them prepare
for the NRC II –Mindanao in Davao City, June
9-12, 2008.
The Diocesan Reports indicated that three
out of the four dioceses did not fully follow the
survey matrix that the national secretariat provided. This was mainly due to the difficulty
and lengthiness of the survey matrix, and the
shortness of time available to meet the deadline. While the reports of the diocese of Digos,
Davao and Mati were relatively short, the one
of Tagum was quite extensive because the survey results of their on going assessment of the
BECs which are mostly rural, was used.
All in all, the Diocesan reports provided a
description of the subregion’s rural poverty
situation and the responses and initiatives thus
far undertaken. Recommendations were proposed that will eventually be brought to the
regional congress in Davao City.
THIS year, many liturgical celebrations have
been celebrated earlier than usual—beginning with the Holy Week, the Easter Triduum
and continuing on with the Solemnity of the
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Memorial
of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
For many that have been used in having
the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart in the
month of June, it became May 30 this year.
And to confound us even further, there is no
Memorial of the Immaculate Heart this year
since it fell on May 31 which is the Feast of the
Visitation.
The Biblical Roots of the “Heart”
In biblical language the heart is the vital center
for life that is specifically human: sense life, the life
of the will and intellectual life. For this reason the
figurative use of the word is vaster in the Bible than
in modern languages. The Bible speaks for instance
of thoughts that arise from the heart, of the perverse
designs that proceed from the heart, to open the
heart of someone in understanding, or to apply the
heart, that is attention and will, to something. God
scrutinizes the heart, that is, He knows the most
intimate movements of a person and his most secret
intentions. (The New World Dictionary Concordance to the New American Bible)
Let me also quote here an article of Rev.
Matthew R. Mauriello:
Devotion to the immaculate Heart of Mary is
primarily based upon the Sacred Scriptures. In the
New Testament, there are two references to the
Heart of Mary in the Gospel according to St. Luke:
...”Mary treasured all these things and reflected on
them in her heart.” (Lk. 2: 19) and “His mother
meanwhile kept all these things in her heart.” (Lk.
2:51) In the Old Testament, the heart is seen as the
symbol of the depths of the human soul, the center
of its choices and commitments. For all mankind, it
is a symbol of love. In the Book of Deuteronomy we
are told, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with
all your heart, and with all your soul and with all
your strength.” (Dt. 6:5) When Our Lord Jesus
Christ was asked by the scribes, which was the first
commandment, he answered them by quoting this
Pre-NRC II — Mindanao
Dr. Serge Opena of the DACS research office
in Davao City, presented their collated report
of the Daditama. Naturally the language
changed to a more scientific and technical one.
In broad strokes Dr. Opena provided the participants of the assembly the signs of hopelessness in rural poverty but at the same time, noting the signs of hope due to initiatives of Government, Church, NGOs, POs in responding
and alleviating the plight of the poor. The research team also noted that the partnership and
collaboration of Government and the Church
institutions have been highly appreciated by
the people.
Dr. Opena also pointed out a few of the distinctive features of each of the dioceses. The
Davao survey results featured the plight of the
Indigenous Peoples as the most disadvantaged
sector among the rural poor. The fisher-folk
are suffering from the deprivation of their usual
access to livelihood due to ecotourism and development aggression.
They noted that the Tagum experience
pointed out the beneficial effect of the close
unity of the Local government officials in the
development of the Province, as well as, the
continuing collaboration of government with
The Hearts of Jesus
and Mary
the Church in addressing the plight of the poor.
The Mati survey results highlighted the continuing threat of Mining in Davao Oriental to
the natural environment, sadly noting the
changed paradigm of the Indigenous peoples
towards mining.
For the Digos reports, the problem of poor
governance has been repeatedly pointed out,
which has aggravated the plight of the rural
poor in the province.
The DACS research team, in collating the
reports, pointed out the value of the description of the situation of rural poverty that came
out from the survey. They can serve only as
data for reflection, discussion, and indications
for further research. They pointed out its weakness, in that much of the data gathered still require validation, in order to come up with accurate generalizations and conclusions.
Recognizing the limitations of the process
and the results of the research made on rural
poverty in Daditama, they are still hopeful, that
somehow, in the Regional Congress the almost
200 delegates will come out with relevant and
meaningful outputs which we can use later in
our continuing struggle with the rural poor.
(email me: [email protected])
Fr. Melvin P. Castro
Speaking of Mary
verse to them. (see Mk. 12:29-31)
It was the Heart of Mary which expressed her
“yes” to God…This was her response to the message sent through the angel at the Annunciation.
By her loving consent, Mary first conceived Christ
in her heart and then in her womb. Our Lord Jesus,
Himself: when reminded by a woman in the crowd
how blessed was the womb which gave birth to
Him, responds, “Blessed rather are those who hear
the word of God and keep it.” (Lk. 11:28) Pope John
Paul II, in his first encyclical, Redemptor Hominis,
wrote “the mystery of Redemption was formed
under the heart of the Virgin of Nazareth when she
pronounced her ‘fiat.’” (R.H. #22)
Historically, devotion to the Heart of Mary can
be traced to the twelfth century with such writers
as St. Anselm (d. 1109) and St. Bernard of Clairvaux
(d. 1153) who is considered as one of the most influential writers in Marian devotion. St. Bernardine
of Siena (1380- 1444) has been called the Doctor of
the Heart of Mary due to his writings on Mary’s
heart. He wrote, “from her heart, as from a furnace
of Divine Love, the Blessed Virgin spoke the words
of the most ardent love.”
St. John Eudes (1601-1680) helped by his writings to begin a renewal in this devotion. Both Pope
Leo XIII and Pope St. Pius X called him, “the father, Doctor, and Apostle of the liturgical cult of the
Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.” Even two decades before the first liturgical celebrations in honor
of the Heart of Jesus, St. John Eudes and his followers observed February 8th as the feast of the Heart
of Mary as early as 1643. Pope Pius VII (d. 1823)
extended its celebration to any diocese or congregation requesting it.
Devotion to Mary’s Heart has a greater flowering following the manifestation of the Miraculous Medal to St. Catherine Laboure in
1830 and the Appearances of’ Our Lady in
Fatima. From May 13 to October 13, 1917, our
Blessed Mother Mary appeared to three children, Jacinta and Francisco Marto and their
cousin Lucia DosSantos in Fatima, Portugal.
On July 13 she told them: “to save poor sinners, God wishes to establish in the world
devotion to my Immaculate Heart.” The entire Fatima message is one of prayer, penance
and making sacrifices and reparation to God
for the many offenses against Him.
In 1942, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Fatima,
Pope Pius XII consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That same year, he assigned the feast day to August 22, the octave of the
Assumption. On May 4, 1944, he extended the
Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to the Universal Church. With the liturgical reforms of the
Second Vatican Council in 1969, the feast was given
a more suitable place on the day following the Feast
of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. That is the Saturday
after the second Sunday after Pentecost.
The Consecration to the Immaculate Heart
Following most specially after the apparitions at Fatima, and the very deep and personal Marian devotion of the Great John Paul
II, our contemporary time is a witness to this
devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
One cannot but think as well of the bronze
image of Our Lady and her Immaculate Heart
at EDSA in Manila. One year before the EDSA
Revolution of 1986, we had our Marian Year
with that profound campaign of individual
and national consecration to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary.
St. Louis Marie Grignon di Montfort can be
considered as the prime proponent of this
Total Consecration to Mary. Although he did
not mention specifically the term, Immaculate Heart of Mary, it was he who devote his
lifetime explaining and expounding on the
theology of Consecration to Mary.
And because Mary is the one who exemplifies the Perfect Consecration to Christ, our
total Consecration to Mary would mean Perfect Consecration to Christ Himself. In effect,
therefore, being Consecrated to Mary means
being Consecrated to Christ.
Totus tuus ego sum Maria et omnia mea tua
sunt. I am totally yours O Mary and all that I have
is yours.
Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Maria
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD
By the Roadside
THE skyrocketing fuel and food prices in the
Philippines (but especially) and throughout the
world are nothing short of alarming. I see not
much disagreement on this. It’s a given and
governments (which include ours) should, at
least, be credited for not sleeping on the job.
But the response from the RP government and
from ordinary Pinoys has been remarkably a
seesaw between creative and cosmetic, between
promising and unfulfilled, between original
and merely tired, official line of ideas. And may
I also add that such response has also been varied but, so far, nothing is yet universally effective or enough. One fruit of the present tree of
uncertainty is ‘restlessness’ that most governments wouldn’t want to erupt into chaos or
actual wars for food, fuel, safe drinking water
and other basic necessities. (Surprise, even we
the people wouldn’t want that, too.)
I live and minister in rural Philippines, in a
town that kind of pretends to be a city (it already is, officially) but we residents know
better. For one, we know better than our local
government officials are prepared to admit
that our ‘city’ woefully lacks basic services
other cities simply take for granted (I have no
intention to badmouth my hometown but,
rather, to tell the truth). My point is that rural
and urban Pinoys often have different, at times
contrasting, circumstances that could help or
impede our common response to this national
and global crisis.
And yet I see common challenges from this
shared human crisis.
First off, the challenge to simplicity. For
instance, the rising fuel prices urge us to cut
down on unnecessary or extra trips or to go
back to healthier alternatives, such as biking
or walking as means of transportation (more
A5
Restlessness response
ideal in rural than in urban Philippines, I admit). The rice scarcity and price crisis also impel us to educate our children more and more
on the virtues of abstaining altogether from
junk food and soft drinks to save money for
rice and/or more nutritious food, with more
emphasis on vegetables and fruits (I pray this
succeeds as more and more Pinoy kids especially in the rural areas suffer from junk-foodrelated diseases, such as U.T.I., obesity etc.).
Alternatives to rice diet, such as the diverse
kinds of Pinoy root crops, may not be as popular but should be encouraged for their fiber
and other nutrients. Simplicity is beauty; it
can also be healthy (to body and spirit).
Second, the challenge to explore solutions
using local resources. I subscribe to the ancient Chinese description of ‘crisis’ as encompassing both danger and opportunity. It’s obvious how through the media we have been
barraged with all sorts of information on the
dangers facing us from the fuel and food crisis. But are we just as sharp on our perception
of the opportunities it brings? Some Pinoys
seem to be, and thankfully so. I’m speaking of
a number of our scientists and plain citizens
using common sense who till now experiment
tirelessly on the infinite possibilities from ecologically clean and renewable sources of energy—the sun, the wind, water, air, the sea,
plants, organisms etc.
Third, the challenge to a greater sense of
community. Every crisis heightens
everybody’s survival instincts but not necessarily our humanity. Hoarding food and fuel
is quite natural as a recourse when these goods
are scarce, as they are now, but also shows
how our natural instinct for survival could
make us turn inward and forget that our neigh-
bors also have the same needs or could help
us respond to ours. Nations who help one another out of compassion as well as individuals who discuss and respond to their crises
together have a greater chance not only to survive but also to become more human and
build a better world. In this sense loving our
neighbors as ourselves is both a definition of
community and a necessity for the survival of
human civilization.
Fourth, the challenge to spirituality. The
current crisis involving food and fuel should
make us humans more acutely aware than we
are now of how food and fuel as well as everything else in this life are gifts. Gifts come from
givers, from donors. Food and fuel, even if
they pass through human hands, ultimately
come from the ultimate Source whom we call
God. To miss God in whatever crisis we face is
to miss the point not only in how best to meet
the crisis but also to miss the point in how
best to understand life and living. If everything is a gift, then we need to recognize the
Giver in whom “we live and move and have
our being” (Acts 17:24-25, 28). The materialism that often characterizes our approach to
life should come to see that the truth of the
human and earthly condition includes the dimension of God and that matter is also suffused with the reality of his Spirit. Do not our
scarcities in material things tell us of how much
we need to depend on their Giver? Is not our
crisis an invitation to faith? I found it intriguing how a rural parishioner explained to me
why there were more people inside the church
last Holy Week. “The crisis,” he paused, “has
started to wake us up.”
No wonder St. Augustine prayed “Lord, our
hearts are restless until they rest in you.”
Laiko Lampstand
Helping the poorest
of the poor during the
world food crisis
TODAY’s clergy and lay organizations in the provinces know
more about the plight of the poorest of the poor especially
those dealing with organized Basic Ecclesial Communities. In
areas where calamities occur and donations are coursed through
these parishes, they are familiar with the organization and
methods of distribution of relief goods and services. With this
exposure and experience, the organized parishes with the support of the lay organizations can form the best team to do
training for the forthcoming disaster—the devastating world
food crisis. The country should be ready to face the increased
cost of manufactured goods when the price of fuel oil reaches
$200 per barrel in two year’s time. We are now experiencing
an increase of gasoline prices of P1.50 per liter per week, an
inflation of 9.6 percent and rice and meat prices soaring to
levels outside the reach of the poorest of the poor. An ADB
study says that for every 10 percent increase in food prices,
about 2.3 million more Filipinos fall into poverty.
Aside from the food riots in Egypt, Haiti, and African nations, the Japanese fishermen who are known to operate one of
the world’s modern fishing fleets have suspended their fishing
operations since they can no longer make a profit due to the
high cost of fuel. The same problem is now being experienced
by our own fishermen who are asking aid from the government. The transport truck drivers of U.K. are also on strike
because of increasing transport cost. At the local scene, there is
a threat of strike every now and then by our transport buses
and jeepneys. The effect of the world food crisis has started in
our midst as evidenced by a reported shortage of pork in
Masbate and the cost of P50 to P60 per kilo of rice in Mindanao.
There are street protests in Cagayan de Oro due to increasing
rice prices. Out of the street children’s earnings of P100 per day,
P50 is spent for 1 kilo of rice. Some children can no longer go
to school.
To the poorest of the poor, economic figures have no meaning. What matters most is availability of food to appease their
hunger. What can groups like the local parish communities
do? While there is still time to organize and prepare for the
coming danger—the unbearable hunger of the poorest of the
poor, action planning by organized groups should already start.
The governments’ subsidy for the poor are many but we are
not sure whether these will actually benefit the poor and not
go into the pockets of corrupt individuals in connivance with
some dishonest local businessmen. The President herself realizes this and that is why she was personally involved in the
investigation of the NFA rice hoarders.
A corporate management approach will do well for adoption by the Diocese. The Diocesan Pastoral Council or the Diocesan Council of the Laity must now form a Task Force or a
Committee on Advocacy for Good Governance to be managed
by professionals who can deal directly with government institutions. This group should be composed of experienced leaders probably retirees who will have the time and dedication to
study all government executive orders regarding subsidies for
the poor and support for food production. The implementing
rules in most cases are not followed for many reasons like
systems failure, bureaucratic red tape and downright corruption. With the Bishop’s help, the parish-organized groups can
access decision makers of the government.
These are some published government support systems
which the Committee should monitor. They have to interpret
and cascade the procedures to selected parishioners who will
compose the training teams for the BECs or Parish Social Action Groups:
On Rice Subsidy: The National Food Authority imports rice
and distribute these to local governments through their local
NFA warehouses. The selling price is P18.50 per kilo. While
normally this is distributed through local government units, it
is possible that through dialogue with local government the
parish may be deputized to be one of the outlets for rice distribution. Some of those who are not supposed to get the NFA
rice find ways to get them—this should be monitored and reported by the Committee to the Authorities for immediate
action.
On Electric Power Reduced Rates: There is a new directive that
those who consume a maximum of 100 watts daily will have a
reduced rate from the Power Company. This should be monitored for its correct implementation
On Subsidy for Fertilizers: An amount of P1,500 subsidy for
fertilizers is given to farmers—P500 in terms of coupons and
P1,000 in cash from the IRA of local government. The farmers
must be advised about this and should be helped that they get
the full amount and not shared with government fixers.
On exemption from income taxes: Senate bill 2293 and House
Bill 3971 propose increased exemption for basic wage earners;
i.e., adjusting personal and additional exemptions which in
effect will increase their take home pay. If passed, the Committee should train them how to save /invest this money for the
food crisis alleviation program.
The Advocacy for Good Governance Committee should plan
on doing communal training and immersion for increased productivity in food production. They should be able to access
training modules from groups like the FIELDS group of the
Department of Agriculture or the Palayamanan project of former
USEC Ernesto Ordonez. The Palayamanan is a program for
sustainable agriculture, planting of organic rice, organic-based
food production; combining planting of rice with production
of other high value products such as vegetables and livestock
and promotes biomass recycling. It espouses efficient use of
available resources and highlights interconnection between
each resource and by-product through modern technologies.
The use of scientific principles is essential in achieving greater
productivity in all these efforts.
The Department of Education has scholarships for poor students and even food support for elementary students in regions rated very poor. Dissemination of all these announcements is necessary. Whatever free time our poor people can
allot to listen to broadcast media or television, they prefer the
drama series and local movie gossip items. They will not have
the time nor interest to interpret government moves to help
them during the food crisis. It behooves all those who can help
in this intellectual undertaking, like the educated laity, to come
and help disseminate these government subsidies coursed
through local governments. Let us translate the Bishops’ pastoral letters on social transformation and on curtailing graft and
corruption into action. This is a call to the Laity to volunteer
their time and talent to the lay apostolate—the Advocacy for
Good Governance. For more information contact Sangguniang
Laiko ng Pilipinas, email: [email protected] or
[email protected]
CBCP Monitor
Local News
A6
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
Lay group calls for
Church renewal
and social
transformation
Bishop calls for more
prayers for CARP extension
CATHOLIC Church leaders across central
Luzon have called for prayer to achieve genuine land reform, after the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) expires
this month.
Senior figures in the Catholic hierarchy
have joined members of various farmers’ organizations in calling for days of reflection.
They have urged other peasants’ groups to
set aside their ideology differences and pray
together for the same cause.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
made the call on Tuesday during a
concelebrated Mass at the St. Michael’s church
inside Malacañang compound to seek divine
help on their advocacy.
In his homily, Pabillo urged the people to
pray particularly for the country’s legislators
that they may finally allow CARP extension
with reforms.
“This is the reason of our celebration
now—thanking God for this program that
somehow helped a lot of people. And secondly, to seek help that our campaign be
heeded and implemented,” he said.
“That’s why we also have to pray for our
lawmakers and our government,” added
Pabillo, who also chairs the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The prelate also said the Mass was held
near the Palace “so that our prayers and the
call of many people who are still not losing
hope could easily reach them (Malacañang
officials).”
Pabillo said the country could still move
forward from its current state, without resorting to violence for force CARP extension.
The bishop also did not let go to criticize
the government’s failure to fully complete
the distribution of the remaining 1.8 hectares of land to about 600,000 to 700,000 farmers.
“We know that the program is not perfect,
which means the government has its shortcomings… it’s like they are not serious in
implementing the program,” Pabillo said.
But Pabillo remains optimistic that Congress will hold a special session for CARP
extension before its recess on June 13.
“God will make a way. We don’t know
how he will do it but we should keep following him and continue helping other people
who are needy,” he also said. (Roy Lagarde)
Prelate hits plan to submerge brgys for power source
THE bishop of the Prelature of Marawi criticized the proposal of the National Power
Company (NAPOCOR) to submerge seven
barangays here mostly ricelands to give way
to its electric project.
Bishop Edwin Dela Peña said the proposal
is compromising the welfare of the people as
it may result to loss of livelihood and displacement.
He added that on top of development, the
primary concern must be the wellbeing of
the people and not solely the interest of
progress.
Dela Peña said that the Ranaw Pat A’
Pangampong composed of Lanao del Norte,
Lanao del Sur, Iligan City and Marawi City
is against the proposal to swamp under water the 7 barangays of Baloi.
Baloi is a 4th class municipality in the province of Lanao del Norte. It is the home of the
Agus IV Hydroelectric Powerplant located
in Barangay Nangka, which is 18 kilometers
from Iligan City,
The Agus IV is the first underground hydroelectric plant in Mindanao and the third
in the Philippines located 120 meters below
ground face. The plant is said to be sufficient
to power a city more than 12 times the size of
Iligan City or to run 20 cement factories.
Dela Peña told CBCPNews that he is supporting the clamor of the people here to prevent the implementation of the project.
He added that by submerging the 7
barangays it is also tantamount to destroying the seat of power of the Sultanate of Baloi.
“If we allow this project to continue we are
tolerating the massive destructions to our
lands and communities,” said Dela Peña.
(CBCPNews)
Church / A1
Counter-productive
Malacañang meanwhile reiterated its refusal to lift the expanded value added tax on petroleum products.
Presidential Spokesman
Ignacio Bunye said that the lifting of E-VAT would be counterproductive to the gains from the
implementation of economic reforms.
President Arroyo recently
said that revenue from E-VAT
would be returned to the people
through various forms of subsidies.
Subsidies as dole-outs
Meanwhile, Iñiguez called on
the government to address the
real cause of poverty in the country and quit on making the poor
dependent on dole outs.
“I think what should really be
done is to be objective about
what is really happening and to
find solutions that would really
mean development for all of us,”
he said.
Iñiguez, who also chairs the
CBCP-Permanent Committee on
Public Affairs, clarified that giving subsidy to the poor is
needed but should be done in a
way that will not cause indolence.
He said the government must
and shall stop the business of relief to preserve not only the unemployed from destitution but
Peace / A1
Sunday (June 8), but were
flagged down by armed men.
They were not able to return
back to the town of Jolo Sunday
evening. The Dinampo family
believes they could have been
kidnapped, though they are yet
to establish direct contact with
the captors.
“We, from the MPC had always felt we are safest in Sulu
with Prof. Octa around us. At
this time when he has fallen victim of the very violence that he
has been trying to overcome,
we readily lend our moral support and prayers as we continue
to move mountains and hound
the heavens for his safety and
early release,” read the statement signed by Atty. Mary Ann
M. Arnado, the secretary-general of the MPC.
“We appeal to the law enforcers and the military to exhaust
all peaceful and traditional
methods of negotiation in working out the release of the kidnap victims. We also call on
our religious leaders from both
the Christian and Muslim faiths
to extend whatever possible
also to develop self-reliance,
courage and determination.
“If it’s an emergency, I think
subsidy is called for but it cannot be forever. It should just be
a palliative means to meet emergency situations,” he added.
Long-term solutions
Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo said the
government’s P2-billion subsidy program for four million
lifeline consumers to help them
pay their bills must be replaced
with a more helpful way out.
The hefty budget allocation
will be distributed to power consumers belonging to the lowest
electricity consumption bracket
with a P500 cash subsidy per
household.
Pabillo, chairman of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP), said long-term solution
is far better than “band-aid solutions.”
“Why not implement effective
solutions that can really help us
all? …Like looking for measures
to develop our energy resources
especially the sustainable energy,” he said.
Though he admitted his lack
of know-how in the energy industry, the bishop said his only
concern is helping the public get
out from the burden of high-energy cost.
Cardinal / A1
support. Let this crisis see the
strength of our solidarity and
dialogue as brothers and sisters
in Mindanao,” the communication stated.
As a Convenor of the Bantay
Ceasefire, Dinampo has exemplified the ideals of active nonviolence and the values of respect, tolerance and dialogue of
life and faith.
“He has been a gracious and
reliable guide of many visitors
to Sulu and had consistently
protected his visitors even at the
risk of his own life,” the MPC
statement said.
MPC is composed of
Dinampo as chairman, Fr. Robert Layson, OMI as co-chairperson; Timuay Melanio Ulama, cochairperson; Atty. Mary Ann
Arnado, secretary-general;
Ustadz Rahib Kudto, deputy
secretary general. The council
members are Bae Magdalena
Suhat, Bae Lisa Saway, Pastor
Reu Montecillo, Cesar Pabro,
Rexall Kaalim, Bapa Joe Acmad,
Analiza Ugay, Salic Ibrahim and
Lannie Panggol. (Mark S.
Ventura)
He said the warning of the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) of an
imminent water crisis in Metro
Manila alone should be alarming enough for the government
to do something.
“There is an urgent need, therefore, to secure all watersheds nationwide,” Rosales said in his letter dated May 26.
The Church official particularly cited the case of the
Marikina watershed, which according to environmentalists, is
in grave peril.
Rosales, a known environmentalist, noted that the 25,000-hectare watershed had been declared
a protected area since 1904 but
are still being abused by unscrupulous businessmen and landlords.
“With the clergy and faithful
of the Archdiocese of Manila, I
urge you to once again declare
Marikina watershed a protected
area and do not allow anyone to
declare it alienable and disposable,” the prelate’s letter to Mrs.
Arroyo read.
He said ensuring the protec-
tion of such watershed is also a
guarantee that Metro Manila residents will have access to potable
water today and in the future.
“On our part, we pledge our
support for the regeneration program of the said watershed. We
commit to reforest, develop food
production area and protect at
least 50 hectares a year or at least
20,000 trees planted a year in the
said watershed,” he said.
Rosales added the Church will
also help empower the farmers
already working in the area as
“stewards of all trees we
planted.”
Rosales told the President that
ensuring the protection of watersheds will be in accordance of the
Pope Benedict XVI’s message during the World Water Day last
March 22, wherein the pontiff
stressed that “access to water is
an inalienable right that needs to
be protected through change in
lifestyle.
The Archdiocese of Manila’s
Ecology Desk also said that the
appeal of Rosales is backed by
over 5,000 signatures of Metro
Manila residents. (CBCPNews)
THE Lay Forum Philippines (LFP)
called on the laity to respond to
Church renewal and social transformation as continuing challenge
in its journey with the people’s
struggle.
In an interview with CBCPNews
LFP Ozamiz Chapter Coordinator
and Justice and Peace of IntegritySociety of St. Columban Mindanao
Nitz Clamonte said late last month
about 400 LFP delegates from different dioceses of Luzon, Visayas
and Mindanao gathered in General
Santos City to discuss laity’s involvement in the mission of the
church and the continuing challenge involved in church renewal
and social transformation.
Clamonte said the corresponding activities organized by LFP in
the past 20 years have become venues for sharing faith-life experiences among the lay people within
their network.
Such gatherings have become
source of inspiration and harnessed support mechanisms for
each group. Despite being a loose
network of lay people, LFP will
continue to serve the Church in its
mission of becoming truly a
Church for the poor in the third
millennium.
“The main objective of the gathering is to reminisce the past with
gratitude, share the present with
full of challenges and look for the
future with enthusiasm as agents
for church renewal and social
transformation,” said Clamonte.
She further added the 6th National Lay Gathering issued a statement regarding the realities today
and the mission it hopes to fulfill
in the next few months.
In their statement, they said their
group encounters internal problems just like any other organization but vowed to pursue its vision and mission statements.
Some lay people are afraid to
assert their rights as equal partners
in the ministry or apostolate. LFP
feels deficient in Christian education, particularly in the basic doctrines, theology and social teachings of the church.
“We call on the Lay Forum Philippines to be instrumental in establishing and strengthening network among lay people down to
the grassroots level, and services
that support the needs of the lay
workers,” Clamonte concluded.
(Wendell Talibong)
Afterthoughts / A4
dent choice for what is good. To
judge the worthiness of a charitable work on the basis of the
contraceptive issue alone is like
choosing a president based on his
or her position on divorce, ignoring important issues like war,
corruption, poverty, human
rights abuses, and unemployment. Single-issue morality is
morality for those with small
minds and limited vision.
Fourthly, one can point to examples of great men and women
who did not shy away from
working with sinners in order to
do great good for others—Mother
Teresa received donations from
dictators to help the poor and
dying; John Paul II visited Fidel
Castro even if Cuba is embargoed by Western nations.”
Father Genilo’s ideas need no
further commentary. But I would
like to dwell a bit here on what
he says about the danger of ignoring “the complexity of life and
the various factors that should be
considered when making a prudent choice for what is good.” His
words carry me back to something that happened in Bukidnon
during martial law times and that
has been a source of lasting inspiration for me personally all
these years. It is about our
people’s capacity, when given
the opportunity and freedom, for
making precisely those much-tobe-desired prudent choices in
their life as people of faith.
A number of times after the
imposing of martial law, referendums were held to gauge how
the people looked at the new political dispensation that was “the
New Society.” The clergy of
Bukidnon felt keenly the degrading effect of those phony acts of
suffrage, especially in the coercing of people to vote according
to “suggested answers”. They
decided to come out openly on
the occasion of one such referendum in the mid-‘70s with their
collective judgment on it and on
how they felt our people should
act in its regard.
They analyzed and commented
on three possible options open
to us and our people: (1) boycotting the referendum in protest at
its farcical nature even in the face
of the decree forcing us to take
part on pain of imprisonment for
failure to vote; (2) participating
in the process and voting yes or
no freely according to conscience
but making sure that our votes
would be properly counted and
reported as cast; and (3) resorting to blank ballots if we felt participation was too debasing or
useless, but then we would also
have to see to it that those ballots
were correctly registered—not an
easy thing to do under the menacing and ever present guns of
the military.
The three options were openly
discussed in all of our BECs to
the consternation of government
officials who had been bidden by
Malacañang to produce a yesvote. Because of the people’s vigilance, the counting of ballots at
that particular referendum was
done rather fairly. The final results were roughly one third yesvotes, another third no, and the
last third “spoiled”—these were
evidently the blank ballots. Only
200,000 of a total of more than
300,000 registered voters in the
province participated in the voting. That meant some 100,000 had
boycotted it. Add to this the novotes and the “spoiled” ballots,
and the message sent to
Malacañang was unmistakable
and clear as day. We like to think
our people’s action helped put an
end to those debasing travesties.
What amazed us most, however, were not so much the results of the voting (although they
were surprising enough) as the
way our people seriously discerned on how they were to conduct themselves in the referendum. A general pattern of action
was followed by families: Mothers would participate, fathers would
boycott. The rationale was simple:
Should the non-participating fathers end up in jail, the voting
mothers would be left to take
care of the children. That approach had never occurred to the
celibate clergy! But they were
highly gratified when it happened, for it meant their efforts
at helping create communities of
faith-discernment and -action
were having an effect after all.
Ordinary folk evinced then in
a most remarkable way the capacity for prudent choice that
Father Genilo speaks of. One
would wish that that capacity
were more in evidence too in the
resolving of the CfC-GK problem than is being shown to date;
and for that matter, for us, the
general population, in regard to
the burgeoning ills of the nation—a pressing and hard challenge to our capacity as citizens
to make the needed prudent
choices.
Love Life / A4
the world.
Ushering in the celebration
was a parade around the Quezon
City Memorial Circle, honoring
fathers with the slogan
“MAABILIDAD SI DAD.” In a
show of support, Pro-Life staff
members and their invited
friends joined the parade with
about 200 fathers from the DSWD
and other member-agencies and
organizations of the National
Committee on Filipino Family.
A Forum on the role of fathers
was held after the parade
wherein the three shared their
stories. The participants agreed
that the event was very touching
and inspiring and that activities
of this kind should be held more
often and in other places all over
the country. It is about time that
men are recognized for their fathering and not only for their careers.
If you would like to invite
speakers on Fatherhood and Responsible Parenting, call Pro-life
at 911-2911. Counselors are also
available at that number.
CBCP Monitor
Features
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
A7
LEADING Asia’s oldest university in its quadricentennial celebration, Rev. Fr. Rolando V. de
la Rosa, O.P. was installed as the
95th rector of the University of
Santo Tomas last June 10, 2008
in a Eucharistic celebration held
at the Santissimo Rosario
Church.
The Eucharist was presided by
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams, co-celebrated by Prior
Provincial Fr. Quirico Pedregosa,
O.P. and de la Rosa himself.
Adams, who officially opened
the academic year of UST, in his
homily, asked the audience to
pray for faith as a new year opens.
“We need faith,” Adams said.
“It is time to reflect about faith
for we don’t know what we ask
for. It is not unusual for us to be
confused. Faith and the lack of it
alternate in us that is why we
seek the Lord to increase our
faith.”
The mass drew an audience to
a near thousand from the Dominican priests, the UST Board
of Trustees, de la Rosa’s family,
the Academic Senate—the council of the deans—UST Hospital
administrators, de la Rosa’s
guests, administrative officials
of the University, faculty members and students.
The installation proceeded after the Holy Mass. Adams and
Commission on Higher Education Commissioner Nona
Ricafort assisted De la Rosa in
wearing the collar. Fr. Pablo
Tiong, O.P. and Vice-Rector for
Academic Affairs Prof. Clarita
Carillo handed the mace to De la
Rosa.
In his acceptance speech, De la
Rosa sprinkled hilarity as he describe himself “biodegradable,”
referring to his not-so-new position.
“In the very real sense, I am
not new in this position. If I may
say, I am recycled and biodegradable,” De la Rosa said. “Sometimes it’s hard to be a rector because you are praised for graces
you have not done and blamed
for mistakes you have not committed.”
He thanked specifically his
predecessors Fr. Tamerlane Lana,
O.P. and Fr. Ernesto Arceo, O.P.
who was not in the event, the
alumni as “they embody the
struggle for truth and beauty,”
the Varsitarian of whom he was
a staffer during his days, and his
relatives—brothers and sisters
and his foster parents Nanay Oya
and Tatay Bernie.
He asked the Thomasian community for help as he goes along
Photo courtesy of Paul Dimerin, The Varsitarian
De La Rosa installed UST rector
leading UST towards 2011 and for
the support of the Thomasian
community in order for him to
hand down to the next rector a
UST which is more socially-significant and economically-stable.
“Many things may happen
without our intention and consent. Pray for me,” De la Rosa
said.
He also noted how “UST is
truly imbued with unending
grace,” when it survived nearly
400 years of which he said that
the University has not only survived but prevailed. He also said
that UST will never sever its ties
with the Catholic Church “as it
Missionary priest says Church
alive in Muslim communities
EVEN if Catholics here are considered a minority, the parish priest of Our Lady of Peace
in Malabang, Lanao del Sur said that the Catholic Church is still alive and persevering.
Fr. Efren “Peng” Reyes of the Missionaries
of Jesus (MJ), parish priest, said the Catholics
are persistent in their faith especially in
thrashing all odds and struggles brought
about by their being a minority.
“The parishioners are actively participating in the parish activities. We also have
enough numbers during Sunday masses and
we have already maintained a support system from them especially in our projects,”
Reyes told CBCPNews in an interview.
Reyes added that in nearly 60 years since
Catholicism existed in Malabang there are
already changes that can be attributed to the
presence of Catholics in the area. By rough
estimation, Malabang has a total of 6,000
Catholics.
The 2000 census showed that the municipality of Malabang has a population of 33,177
people in 4,883 households.
The birth of Catholicism in this principally
Muslim-dominated community has helped a
lot especially in terms of the flourishing education, business and economics, the struggle
for justice and peace, formation and total human development, said Reyes.
“The Christian communities have developed not only spiritually and morally but
also contributed so much in the progress of
the community,” he added.
Vatican / A1
Mindanao / A1
said.
The Malolos bishop said it
would “not be contrary to the
nature of man” to use biotechnology “because we are created
by God with a mind that can improve nature.”
“That’s a principle that can be
used in allowing the use of biotechnology,” Oliveros said.
But the bishop clarified the
biotechnology advocates cannot yet rejoice until the Pope
issues the official statement in
June.
He said unless the Vatican
says otherwise, the CBCP’s
stand against biotechnology in
the country will stay.
Oliveros said the Church’s
concern on the proper implementation of the regulations on
biotechnology products is always there to ensure their safety
for humans, animals and the environment.
The CBCP official recently declared his willingness for a dialogue with advocates and stakeholders of biotechnology.
He stressed a dialogue will
enlighten all stakeholders and
even anti-biotechnology and
anti-genetically modified organism (GMO) groups must be
invited to such a discussion.
Last week, Oliveros already
met with officials of the Department of Agriculture—Biotechnology Program Office to discuss updates on biotechnology
projects.
The Vatican’s support for biotechnology would be a major
boon for those claiming GMO
technology can help protect
crops and increase yields, boost
the stability and size of the
world’s food supply.
Others in the U.S., Europe and
Asia who were previously neutral or opposed to biotechnology are also reconsidering their
stances in the face of a growing
world population and tight
food supplies. (CBCPNews)
Priest / A1
RP, Vatican / A1
Picardal, Dean of Academics of
the St. Alphonsus Theologate in
Davao City said, the priest should
take the lead to make catechism
in their respective parishes renewed, creative and lively.
He said that there are a number of Catholics who frequently
attend Sunday masses and even
support Church-related activities
and projects but do not know
much about the catechism of the
Church.
He also invited priests to learn
pastoral leadership and management.
Picardal explained that pastoral work includes the liturgical
life, catechesis and evangelization, preaching method and the
social action or social apostolate.
(Mark S. Ventura)
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and
the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will
implement the bilateral agreement.
The treaty does not involve financial support from the Vatican
but the Philippine government
will help with the research and
funding.
Among those who witnessed
the ceremony were Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales, CBCP-Committee for
the Cultural Heritage of the
Church chairman Bp. Julito
Cortes, National Historical Institute Deputy Executive Director
Emelita Almosara and Commissioner Carmen Padilla of
UNESCO’s Culture Committee.
(CBCPNews)
Bishop Jose Oliveros
Reyes said that Catholics here more than
anything else are grateful to the Blessed
Mother who is the patroness of the place.
“They have been through a series of persecutions but they persisted, they survived and
lived up to the ideals of being a Catholic
Church in this Muslim dominated area,” said
Reyes.
The parish will celebrate its 60th parochial
fiesta and anniversary this coming January
24, 2009. They have earlier launched the celebration last January 24 and every month
prior to the fiesta celebration there are scheduled build-up activities.
“We are hoping for more fruitful years for
Catholics in this part of Mindanao,” ended
Reyes. (Mark S. Ventura)
continuously strive for excellence.”
De la Rosa, who served two
consecutive terms as the University rector from 1990 to 1998, will
be leading the University once
again until 2012, a year after UST
marked its 400th celebration. Before he was installed as Rector,
he served as Acting Rector for
nine months after Arceo obediently resigned under the directive of Master of the Order Fr.
Carlos Azpiroz-Costa due to its
struggle concerning the separation of the UST Hospital as one
separate
entity.
(John
Constantine G. Cordon)
Diocesan news briefs
Catholic schools convene to upgrade programs
TUGUEGARAO City—Administrators and teachers from 16 Catholic
schools here convened for a two-day seminar on June 2 to 3 to upgrade and standardize the common programs for diocesan schools.
The event, attended by nearly 50 participants, was aimed to synergize
efforts for a quality youth education. (Felina Lagasca, FSP)
Bishop to ordain 8 new priests
SAN PABLO, Laguna— Bishop Leo Drona will ordain eight new priests
at the St. Paul The First Hermit Cathedral on June 20. The deacons who
will be ushered to priesthood are Richard Buenaventura, Jason Caballes,
Manuel Labing, Clifford Miras, Christian Cletus Nalda, David Reyes,
Rico Villareal and Celso Gaela. (Roy Lagarde)
Bishop heads summit on climate change
NAGA City—Newly-appointed Libmanan bishop Jose Rojas Jr. was
named chairman of the Camarines Sur Summit on Climate Change set to
be held soon, saying he has both knowledge and experience to lead
the summit to appropriate conclusions. “A church leader like Bishop
Rojas will assure everyone of the needed community support,” said
Naga City Councilor Julian Lavadia Jr. (Elmer Abad)
Peace education not new in Lanao
MARAWI City—While some groups are still working for the implementation of peace education in school curriculum, this project has long been
implemented in the province of Lanao del Sur. Bishop Edwin dela Peña
said this has already been implemented in the academe here with great
emphasis on dialogue of life and faith. (Melo Acuña).
New Manaoag shrine rector named
Mindanao bishops during the opening liturgy of the Mindanao-wide Regional
Rural Congress held at REMASE, Catalunan Grande, Davao City.
Catalunan Grande, Davao City.
The congress is one of the five
regional congresses intended by
the bishops at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) Plenary Assembly in
January 2008. The other regional
congresses are for Luzon North,
Luzon South, Western Visayas,
Central and Eastern Visayas.
The Mindanao-wide regional
rural congress constitutes Phase
Two which to all purposes is the
substantive part of the Second
National Rural Congress (NRC2).
The Phase I was from January
to March 2008 in two parallel
tracks. First, Diocesan consultations on Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in rural development conducted by the National
Secretariat for Social Action
(NASSA), and the offices for BECs
and Indigenous People. Second
were the sub-regional consultations on rural poor sectors and
rural issues conducted by the
Philippine-Misereor partnership
(PMP), the Association of Major
Superiors of the Philippines
(AMRSP) and the Rural Poor Solidarity (RPS) coalition of non-government and people’s organizations.
During this 4-day congress, the
consolidated reports of Phase One
will be presented and discussed.
Participating dioceses and delegates from basic rural sectors and
non-government organizations
(NGOs) will also focus on localized issues and action plans.
In a communiqué, it stated that
the task of the Church during the
congress is to assist the rural poor
in their plans. The reason was the
heavy realization that the rural
parts of the country were the
most neglected by both the
government’s development programs and the Church’s pastoral
care.
The Executive Committee
(Execom) of this year’s congress
are composed of Digos Bishop
Guillermo Afable, Cotabato City
Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin
Bagaforo, Fr. Pedro Lamata of
Davao City, Arvie Sandalo and
Digos Vicar General Msgr. John
Macalisang.
Afable, who heads the Execom,
is optimistic that the congress will
help address the issues confronting the basic sectors today.
The Philippine bishops are
adopting a See-Judge-Act methodology in convening the Second
National Rural Congress this July,
which has five objectives: 1) To
describe the current situation of
various sectors of the rural poor;
2) To describe the role of Basic
Ecclesial Communities (BECs)
and church-based programs in
rural development; 3) To review
the impact of key social legislation and to engage government
agencies in the implementation
of ongoing social reform programs under the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), the
Indigenous People’s Rights Act
(IPRA), etc.; 4) To apply the Social
Teachings of the Church to the
concrete problems of Philippine
rural society and to arrive at recommendations and action plans;
and 5) To collate and disseminate
research findings through media
channels, and to promote continuing dialogue among local
churches, NGOs and academe in
the social transformation of rural—as well as urban poor communities. (CBCPNews)
MANAOAG, Pangasinnan—Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz
installed Fr. Gallardo Bombase as the new prior and rector of the
famous National Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag on May 31. He succeeds Fr. Patricio Apa, OP. (Melo Acuña)
Lack of funding stops confab on culture
PAGADIAN City—The planned conferences of the CBCP Episcopal
Commission on Culture in Luzon and Visayas was temporarily put on
hold due to financial limitations. ECC chair and Pagadian Bishop Emmanuel
Cabajar, CSsR said the problem could have been addressed if only
their funding proposal to an international agency will be approved.
(Wendell Talibong)
Diocese forms bodies to check on interfaith problems
PAGADIAN City—The Catholic Church here and an inter-faith forum
has started organizing committees to focus on specific problems faced
by Christians, Muslims and lumads (indigenous peoples). Bishop
Emmanuel Cabajar said the committees will focus on illegal gambling,
human rights violations and mining in the diocese. (Wendell Talibong)
BBC adopts Lipa chapter
LIPA City—The Bishops-Businessmen Conference has adopted a chapter in Lipa City in Batangas province for the BBC’s general assembly
this July. Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said he is “very grateful that our
businessmen responded to my call to join us in serving the poor of our
Metropolitan Province.” The said local BBC chapter was the latest of
Arguelles’ projects. (Fr. Nonie Dolor)
Prelate warns vs. fake solicitation letters
SURIGAO City — A Mindanao-based bishop warned residents in Metro
Manila recently against a racket involving solicitations allegedly by the
Church and Church groups for flood victims of Cagniog village. Surigao
bishop Antonieto Cabajog denied sending such letters of solicit ation to
prominent Catholics in the diocese and other parts of the country.
(Melo Acuña)
New ordained missionary from the South
HIMAMAYLAN City— Kabankalan Bishop Patricio Buzon has ordained
a priest Bembolio De Los Santos of the Society of African Missions at
the Our Lady of Snows Church here last May 14, 2008. The occasion
was attended by various diocesan and religious priests, brothers and
lay people. (Michael Brian Acedas)
Church steps up drive to decongest jails in Negros
BACOLOD City—The Diocese of Bacolod has stepped up its drive to
decongest city and provincial jails in time for the diocese’s jubilee celebration. Bishop Vicente Navarra said they have volunteers visiting jail
facilities in the province and working for the release of prisoners who
“deserve” to be released. (Melo Acuña)
A8
People, Facts & Places
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
ŒŒŒŒŒŒŒŒŒŒŒ³
Siena College to
Markings
celebrate 50 years
of service
SIENA College Quezon City (SCQC), run by
Dominican Sisters of St. Catherine of Siena,
is set to celebrate its 50 years of service next
year.
During the current school year 2008-2009,
the college is going to launch preparatory
year for the grand celebration next year, according to Sr. Estrella T. Gangan, OP, college
president and director for academic services.
On the occasion of golden jubilee, a grand
alumni homecoming of batches 1960 to 2005
graduates will be held on July 26, 2009, said
alumni affairs coordinator, Mrs. Judith Paliza.
The school will choose 50 outstanding
alumni based on the different categories and
services like government-community service, management and entrepreneurship,
education, marketing, arts, economics, church
service, and others. Board topnotchers will
also be presented awards of recognition.
True to its task “to participate in the evangelizing mission of the Church by proclaiming Jesus,” the Congregation has zealously
established schools throughout the country
and abroad.
Siena College has committed itself to the
task of continuing with consistent efforts the
work of development and improvement of
quality Christian education that brings to fruition its vision, mission and goals. (Santosh
Digal)
Baguio youth holds local
prelude to WYD
AS a fitting prelude to the 23rd World Youth
Day in Sydney, Australia next month, youth
organizations here have gathered for a weeklong fellowship of dynamic talks and worship last May 27 to 31.
Themed “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent,” the five-day gathering
was held at the San Pablo Major Seminary in
Crystal Cave, Baguio City. It was highlighted
by the 9th Breviarian Big Tent Festival sponsored by a community of youth leaders who
called themselves “Breviarians,” which traces
from the “Liturgy of the Hours.”
According to the Breviarians, the Big Tent
Festival took its inspiration from the Old Testament times when the Jews wandered in the
desert for 40 years after being released from
Egyptian captivity—during which, their faith
in God were tested time and again until it
was ripe for them to enter the Promised Land.
The tents, as reminders of no-permanency,
are meant to recall the timeless messages of
Sacred Scripture.
It has been a tradition of the Breviarians to
host the yearly youth event as part of its com-
mitment to serve fellow young people by gathering as many youth as possible from different
parishes and Christian communities to train
and bring out the leader in them in the light of
the Catholic Faith. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)
DOPIM holds two-day catechists confab
THE Archdiocese of Ozamiz hosted a twoday DOPIM (Dipolog-Ozamiz-PagadianIligan-Marawi) Catechists Coordinators’
Conference which began June 2 at Our Lady
of Mount Carmel Parish, Baliangao, Misamis
Occidental.
In an interview with CBCPNews, Ozamiz
Archdiocesan catechist coordinator Cora
Malines said that only five catechists’ coordinators attended their archdiocesan meeting
from the archdiocese, three dioceses and one
prelature.
Pagadian Bishop Most Rev. Emmanuel T.
Cabajar, CSsR. who serves as bishop-incharge of DOPIM catechesis presided the
meeting and the evaluation of the previous
DOPIM catechetical summer institute held
last April 1 to 15 and May 1 to 15 at MOVERS
for PEACE, Banadero district in Ozamis City.
“I want the DOPIM to look at this and to
find parents who are willing, able and capable to undergo formation in order to become efficient catechists,” Cabajar said.
The DOPIM Catechists Coordinators rec-
ommended that for the succeeding
catechetical summer institutes they must look
for the best possible and available resource
persons.
“We challenged the dioceses concerned and
the parish priests if they are really interested
in the program, because if they are willing
they must send delegates every summer institute. DOPIM must reflect on how committed we are in forming serious, efficient and
capable catechists,” Cabajar concluded.
(Wendell Talibong)
APPOINTED. Monsignor Bernardito C. Auza
as Apostolic Nuncio to Haiti, elevating him to
the dignity of archbishop, by Pope Benedict
XVI; May 8, 2008. A native of Talibon, Bohol,
Msgr. Auza was born in 1959 and attended
his early seminary training at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Tagbilaran
City. He completed his theological studies at
the Pontifical University of Sto. Tomas Central Seminary, and was ordained priest in
1985. He entered the diplomatic service a
year after his ordination. Prior to his appointment, Msgr. Auza was First Counsellor of
the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy
See to the United Nations in New York. The new nuncio has also been
designated Titular archbishop of Suacia. Msgr. Auza is the fourth Filipino appointed to the post by the Vatican.
APPOINTED. Rev. Father Joseph Amangi,
Nacua, OFMCap (Capuchin), as new Bishop
of Ilagan, Isabela, by Pope Benedict XVI;
June 10, 2008. Bishop-elect Nacua, parish
priest of San Isidro Labrador Parish,
Zamboanga Sibugay of the Prelature of Ipil,
prior to his appointment; takes the place of
Bishop Sergio L. Utleg, who was Bishop of
Ilagan for nine years, and now the head of
the Diocese of Laoag, Ilocos Norte. Born in
Mankayan, Benguet on January 5, 1945,
Bishop-elect Nacua studied Philosophy at
St. Anthony’s School of Philosophy in Kerala,
India. He completed his Licentiate in Sacred Theology in Pamplona,
Spain. He was ordained priest on June 27, 1971 in General Santos
City. His previous assignments include serving as Guardian Rector of
Lipa Seminary and director of Capuchin novices. He also served as
Capuchin’s definitor and provincial minister before he was finally appointed as general definitor.
APPOINTED. Rev. Father Gerardo Alimane
Alminaza, 49, as Auxiliary Bishop of the
Archdiocese of Jaro and Titular bishop of
Massimiana of Bizacena; by Pope Benedict
XVI, May 29, 2008. Bishop-elect Alminaza
was Rector of Sacred Heart Seminary of
the Diocese of Bacolod prior to his appointment as Auxiliary bishop of Jaro. Ordained
to the priesthood on April 29, 1996, Fr .
Alminaza finished his Philosophy studies at
the Sacred Heart Seminary in Bacolod and
Licentiate in Sacred Theology at the Central
Seminary of the University of Sto. Tomas.
He took postgraduate studies at New York’s
Fordham University and obtained his doctoral degree in Educational
Management at the University of Negros Occidental, Bacolod City.
Among his previous assignments include serving as Parochial Vicar
of the Parish of St. Francis Xavier in Kabankalan. He also served as
Dean of Studies, then Spiritual Director of the Sacred Heart Seminary
and Chairman of the Commission on Clergy of the Diocese of Bacolod.
APPOINTED. Fr. Jose Cecilio “Jojo” Magadia,
SJ, as the new Provincial of the Philippine
province of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits),
May 9, 2008. Fr. Magadia, former Rector
and Formator of Loyola House of Studies
prior to his appointment, succeeds Fr. Daniel
Patrick Huang, who was appointed General Councilor and Regional Assistant for
East Asia and Oceania. Born in December
19, 1960, Fr. Magadia entered the Jesuits in
1980 and graduated from the Ateneo de
Manila University in 1985 with a degree in Philosophy. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. He holds a doctoral degree in Political
Science (Major in Comparative Politics, Minor in Political Theory) from
Columbia University. Among his previous assignments include teaching English at Xavier University High School; serving as parish priest in
Mabuhay, Zamboanga del Sur; and Associate Dean of Ateneo de Manila University.
ORDAINED. Rev. Nunilon Arnold F. Bancaso,
Jr., Rev. Ricardo T. Bismonte, Rev. Arnold B.
Bolima, Rev. Denver B. Tino, to the Order of
Deacons, June 10, 2008; at the Basilica Minore
of Our Lady of Peñafrancia, Naga City; Rev.
Franklin S. Navera, to the Order of Deacons,
June 11, 2008, at Nuestra Señora De la Soledad
Parish, Tambo, Buhi, Camarines Sur; Rev. Neil
A. Bengosta, to the Order of Deacons, June 12,
2008, at St. Teresa of Avila Parish, San Vicente,
Baao, Camarines Sur; Rev. Joe-Nelo P. Penino,
to the Order of Deacons, June 14, 2008, at St.
Joseph Parish, San Jose, Camarines Sur; by
Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P. D.D., archbishop of Caceres.
CELEBRATED. Jay J. Aguilar, Archieleneus
Carmelius Angelus T. Llano, Manuel D.
Reyes, Jr., and Anthony Joseph C. Viray,
first profession of the religious vows in the
Society of St. Paul, June 1, 2008; at St. Paul
Novitiate Chapel, San Fernando, Pampanga.
ORDAINED. Cleric Rogelio Magbanua, SSP, to the Order of Deacons,
June 14, 2008; at St. Paul Seminary Foundation, Silang, Cavite, with
Most Rev. Francisco M. de Leon, Auxiliary bishop of Antipolo, as ordaining prelate.
CELEBRATING. Fr. Antonio A. Mangahas, Jr. and Fr. Rene A. Mangahas
of the Diocese of Cabanatuan, 25 th anniversary of sacerdotal ordination, June 20, 2008. The two priests are brothers who were ordained
on the same date in 1983. They will celebrate their silver jubilee together with a thanksgiving Mass at the College of the Immaculate
Conception Chapel, Cabanatuan City.
Palo Archdiocese opens
Jubilee songwriting tilt
Ten bishops, (including 5 from the Philippines, standing 4th from right: Bishop Marlo Peralta, Archbishop Ernesto Salgado, Bishop Romeo Lazo, Archbishop Paciano Aniceto, and Bishop
Luis Antonio Tagle, 7th from lef t; seated, 5th from left, Bishop Emilio Marquez), 13 women and two priest-theologians representing six Asian countries discussed and reflected the role
of the bishop in pastoral care to women in a five-day meeting held at the Redemptorist Centre in Pattaya, Thailand last May 12-16.
THE Archdiocese of Palo opened
the most awaited Silver Jubilee
Songwriting Competition to all
musicians, songwriters, and composers in the archdiocese.
Organized as one of the features of the archdiocese’s 25th
year anniversary, the event aims
to encourage the faithful to explore their God-given gifts in
songwriting by creating songs of
praises of God.
Nine local lyricists and composers qualified for the Competition
night that was be held at the Sts.
Peter and Paul Conference Hall
in Ormoc City last June 9.
The 1st prize winner brought
home P25,000; 2nd prize winner
P15,000; and 3rd prize P7,500. Six
consolation prize winners received P2,000 each while the Best
Performer got P3,000.
The winning entry will become the official theme song of
the Silver Jubilee Celebration of
the Archdiocese of Palo, now under the stewardship of Archbishop Jose Palma.
Based on the guidelines and
mechanics set by the Competition Committee chaired by Fr.
Isagani Petilos, who also heads
the Archdiocesan Pastoral Action
Secretariat, all of the song entries
submitted for the competition
have become the property of the
Archdiocese of Palo.
The following were named finalists, along with the respective
composer/lyricist: Pagrayhak
Kita by Dan Margallo/Kim
Margallo of Palo, Leyte; Journey
as One by Junjie Palacio of
Cogon, Ormoc City; For God is
with Us by Uldarico Gacutno/
Mae Cathreen Franz Abeto of
Sagkahan, Tacloban; The Wonder
of Love by Kim Margallo; This is
the Time by Diosdado Lesiguez
of V&G Subdivision, Tacloban
City; Ha Imo La Ginoo by Ronnan
Christian Reposar of Palo, Leyte;
Malaumong Awit by Fatima Bonbon of LIDE Isabel, Leyte; A Great
Jubilee by Archie Lesiguez of
V&G, Tacloban City; and Come,
Let us Celebrate by Rodel
Aguirre of San Joaquin, Palo,
Leyte. (Roy Lagarde)
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
B1
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Pastoral Concerns
Mystery, Communion and Mission
for the Churches in Asia
In the context of tragic massive poverty in Asia and of its rich and varied
cultures and religious traditions, the mystery of Divine Mercy resonates
deeply with Asian peoples. Divine Mercy calls Asian Catholics to communion with God, with other Asian peoples, and with the rest of creation. It
calls all disciples of the Lord to tell the story of Jesus to Asia: Jesus, the
Compassion of God, is our Lord and Savior!
By Archbishop Orlando B.
Quevedo, O.M.I.
THE Mystery of Divine Mercy—Asian
Dimensions
We all know that God’s compassion,
mercy and love embraces everyone with
absolutely no exception.
But from the Scriptures we also know
of a special category of people to whom
God demonstrates an especially benevolent love—namely the poor (see for example Ps. 41: 1-2; 69: 32-34; 72: 12-14; 113:
7-9 ; Is. 25: 4). In the Old Testament, they
were the widows, orphans, strangers (see
for example Ps. 68: 5-6).
How often God demanded of his chosen people to take care of widows, orphans, and strangers in their midst and
meted reward or punishment accordingly (see Ex. 22: 20-24; Jb. 29: 12-13; Is.
10: 1-2; Ez. 22: 6-8; Mal. 3: 5)! These represent all those who were poor and needy,
those seemingly without any rights,
those deprived of economic security and
had less access to the goods of society.
In the New Testament, God sends not
just prophets to call sinners to repentance
and salvation. He sent his own beloved
Son to live among us, to forgive sins and
bring sinners back to God his Father. The
characteristic saving way of Jesus with
those who were considered sinners by
others and deprived of God’s spiritual
blessings is his reaching out to them, his
presence among them, and his forgiving them (see for example Mk. 2: 15-17;
Lk. 5: 29-32 ; 7: 32-35).
Remember the three parables of God’s
mercy in Lk. 15: the lost sheep, the lost
drachma, and the prodigal son. The concluding words of the three parables describe the joy of the compassionate God
over sinners who repent: Rejoice with
me for what was lost is found! As God’s
merciful love is directed in a special way
to the poor, so a relationship of love with
God depends very much on how one
treats the poor, those without adequate
food, clothes, health and shelter (see Mt.
25: 31-36; Jas. 1:27; 2: 5).
In the Asian situation of massive poverty and insecurity the mystery of Di-
vine Mercy resonates greatly with
Asians. We are a continent of the poor.
Two thirds of the world’s poor live in
Asia. They live in tragic deprivation of
basic material goods. Many Asians die
of ordinary illness because they do not
have adequate food and access to medicines and medical treatment. They can
hardly send their children to school.
They spend the savings of a lifetime in
order to be able to send a member of the
family abroad to work for the sake of
the family.
Without material resources and political power, Asia’s teeming millions place
their trust in the Divine Mercy. Whatever the divine name might be for the
many different Asian religious traditions, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims,
Christians, Jews and indigenous peoples
with their own natural religions Asians
invoke divine mercy.
They put their trust in Divine Mercy.
In the midst of life’s tribulations and trials they have no one else to trust in but
the Divine Mercy. They thirst and hunger for God.
Asians flock to various religious
shrines in search of divine healing. There
they take refuge and consolation in the
serenity of God’s presence in the midst
of daily hardship and suffering.
They travel far and wide for advice
and healing from priests, other holy
people, gurus and sages who are reputed
to be healers and instruments of grace.
They tell stories of wonderful marvelous cases of Divine Mercy, and especially
of liberation from sinfulness.
In the light of this tremendous thirst
and hunger for Divine Mercy and in the
context of massive poverty and deprivation as well as of varied cultures and
religious traditions, Divine Mercy has
caught the imagination of Asians.
There is no doubt that in Asia the devotion to the Divine Mercy is the fastest
growing devotion. Diocesan, regional,
national Congresses on Divine Mercy
have been held in various countries.
Divine Mercy Calls to Communion
The thirst and hunger for Divine
Mercy as well as the experience of God’s
compassion for the poor and needy impel us to communion, to be in solidarity
with God, with other Asian peoples particularly the poor, and with all creation.
In the Gospel stories when Jesus heals
people from their physical ailments he
tells them to go and sin no more (see Mt.
9: 1-8; Mk. 2: 1-12; Lk. 5: 7-26; Jn. 5: 1-17),
to be just, and to rejoice in the wonderful work of Divine Mercy that they have
been part of. They are called to reconciliation and solidarity with God and
with their neighbor. They are called to
give thanks and be true believers in
word and deed.
For this reason Asian disciples of Jesus
have to celebrate and live their blessings of mercy and compassion from God.
How are we to do this? By building
bridges of communion and solidarity
with others.
How imperative this is for Asians!
Asia has always been known as a land of
ancient spirituality. Here the major ancient religions were born. Jesus himself
was Asian.
He was born in Asia. He suffered and
died in Asia. He rose from the dead in
Asia. Peoples from other continents flock
to Asia to search for spiritual serenity,
peace and harmony.
But how ironic it is that Asia has become the arena of conflict and war, of
division and contestation due to culture,
ethnicity, and religious radicalism! Economic and political power, minority and
majority relationships apparently play
a great role in such conflicts.
We are also deeply aware of the traditional closeness of Asian peoples, especially of the millions of indigenous and
tribal peoples, to the environment and
to all of God’s creation.
Yet now we also observe the gradual
but long-term destruction of the Asian
environment for short term economic
gains.
Such destruction, disharmony and
unpeace, gravely offend the deep Asian
sense of religiosity and spiritual harmony. The call of Divine Mercy to unity
and solidarity—communion—is particularly poignant, powerful and peMystery / B2
Explanation and Defense of the
Directives of Stanislaw Cardinal
Rylko, the President of the Pontifical
Council for the Laity, to the Gawad
Kalinga of the Couples for Christ
By Most Rev. Gabriel V. Reyes, D.D.
I AM writing this in connection with what Bishop Francisco Claver wrote in
his column “Afterthoughts” in the May 12-25, 2008 issue of the CBCP Monitor. In effect, what he says in that column regarding the Couples for Christ
controversy is against the directives issued by Stanislaw Cardinal Rylko,
the President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, to the CFC under Mr.
Jose Tale with Gawad Kalinga as one of its ministries. The directives are
first, that Gawad Kalinga should go on with its work but it should correct
the “over-emphasis on the social work” at the expense of evangelization
and spiritual formation of the family and second, that Gawad Kalinga should
stop receiving funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives. That column is also against the guidance of the late Alfonso Cardinal Trujillo, the former President of the Pontifical Council for Family and
Life regarding receiving funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives, some of which are abortifacient. The column also goes
against the guidance given by the CBCP Commission for the Laity during
its dialogue with the two conflicting groups of CFC on August 28, 2007. The
guidance was first, that the CFC under Mr. Jose Tale with Gawad Kalinga as
one of its ministries will correct its too much stress on social action at the
expense of spirituality and evangelization, thus veering away from the nature and purpose of CFC, second, that Gawad Kalinga will stop receiving
funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives.
It is good to explain clearly what the directives really mean. When Cardinal
Rylko asked the CFC under Mr. Jose Tale to correct mistakes in the Gawad
Kalinga, he did not say that they should stop the work of Gawad Kalinga.
Gawad Kalinga is good. It should go on. What he only said is that they should
correct some mistakes in it. The same with the guidance of the CBCP Commission for the Laity. The Commission said that Gawad Kalinga is good and
praiseworthy and it should go on but it should correct some mistakes which
make it veer away from the nature and purpose of CFC and from the statutes
of CFC which were approved by the Pontifical Council for the Laity.
The first directive of Cardinal Rylko is that Gawad Kalinga should “not
over-emphasize social work.” What is implied here is that Gawad Kalinga
should not over-emphasize social work at the expense of evangelization and
on-going spiritual formation of the family. The family that is meant here is
first of all the families of the CFC members themselves who are doing social
work in Gawad Kalinga. Gawad Kalinga is a ministry of CFC and most of the
workers in Gawad Kalinga are CFC members. The Statutes of Couples for
Christ, in No. 2 Vision and Mission, says: 2:1 “…CFC is called to bring
families back to the plan of God. It is called to bring the Lord’s strength and
light to those who are struggling to be truly Christian families in the modern
world.” 2:2 “Couples for Christ works for family renewal at various levels—
the individual, the family, the larger community.”
Some CFC Couples have told me that because of their work in Gawad
Kalinga they have no more time for their own prayer meeting where they
Explanation / B7
Updates
B2
By
Fr.
Jaime
Achacoso, J.C.D.
CBCP Monitor
B.
I HAVE always been edified by the
availability of our parish priest and
his assistant parish priest to celebrate
a funeral Mass for the people of our
parish who pass away. Even if at times
the priests are not able to accompany
the burial entourage to the cemetery,
the relatives of the faithful departed
are always consoled by the Funeral
Mass and prayers that our priests
piously celebrate in the Church be-
tions for the celebration of the
funeral rites: (1) the house, (2) the
church and (3) the final burial
place.
Thus, depending on the availability of the priest, any one of
the three stations can constitute a
full funeral rite. In big cities, for
example, with the time required
to go to the memorial park which
are usually in the suburbs, it is
quite alright (and in fact usual)
for the funeral rite to be limited
to the church.
Thus, Canon Law declares an
old decree of the former Sacred
Congregation of the Council
strictly commands that ecclesiastical
burial be accorded all the baptized,
except when they have been expressly deprived of such by the Law.
(S.C. of the Council, Instruction,
12.I.1924, in AAS 16 (1924), p.189.
Cf. CIC 1917, cc.1239 & 1240.).
Furthermore, the general obligation of the Church to provide
the ecclesiastical funeral is specified as one of the special duties
of the parish priest by c.530: The
their baptism.
§3. In the prudent judgment of
the Local Ordinary, ecclesiastical funeral rites can be granted to baptized members of some non-Catholic
church or ecclesial community, unless it is evidently contrary to their
will and provided their own minister
is unavailable.
Can anyone be denied an Ecclesiastical Funeral?
Can.1184 enumerates a series
of subjects to be denied ecclesiastical funeral:
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
ence to the Catholic Church), heretics (those who publicly renounce adhesion to a specific
dogma of the Catholic Church)
and schismatics (those who publicly renounce communion with
the Church through its visible
head who is the Pope).
Such persons are in fact publicly expressing a will contrary
to an ecclesiastical funeral, and
the Church is just respecting such
a will.
The logic of this norm becomes
even clearer when we keep in
condition is not verified, therefore, an ecclesiastical funeral
should not be denied.
Sometimes, however, the verification of these conditions is not
so easy either because the objective (manifest) situation of sin
may not always coincide with the
subjective conscience (guilt) of the
subject, or the danger of scandal
may be attenuated through adequate instruction of the faithful.
Hence, the Code provides that
in case of doubt, the Local Ordinary is to be consulted; and his judg-
The right to a church funeral
fore the actual burial. At times I have
seen our parish priest go through this
even during hectic holy week schedule or during our fiesta, when obviously there are many other activities
requiring his presence. Is he doing
this because of some strict obligation
or is he just naturally kind? On the
other hand, I also remember reading
sometime ago that somewhere in
Luzon a known Mason was denied
ecclesiastical funeral by the Bishop.
What does Canon Law say about
this?
What is a Church Funeral?
By a Church funeral technically
referred to as ecclesiastical funeral
rites or collectively just ecclesiastical funeral is understood the sacred rites celebrated and suffrages
offered by the Church to implore
spiritual help in favor of the faithful on the occasion of their death.
They are considered not only as
private prayers but as liturgical
actions of the Church itself (cf.
c.837, §1).
They correspond to what in the
old Code of Canon Law of 1917
was referred to as an ecclesiastical
burial a term, on the other hand,
which was considered too narrow
by the framers of the new Code,
as it tended to limit its scope to
the actual interment.
The new Code of Canon Law
establishes the juridic nature of
the ecclesiastical funeral aside
from its obviously theological
and pastoral dimensions by regulating it in a series of canons
(cc.1176-1185). In general terms,
the Code establishes its contents
in c.1176, §2:
Through ecclesiastical funeral rites
the Church asks spiritual assistance
for the departed, honors their bodies,
and at the same time brings the solace of hope to the living; such rites
are to be celebrated according to the
norms of liturgical laws.
Thus, they have a threefold aim:
1) to gain spiritual help for the
faithful departed, 2) to honor their
memory and their mortal remains, and 3) to give the solace
of hope to the bereaved living.
On the other hand, the Ritual for
Christian Funeral (Cf. Ordo
Exequiarum, 15.VIII.1969) the main
source of the norms of liturgical laws
alluded to by c.1176, §2 goes into
the specific details of the ecclesiastical funeral, among which we can
mention the following:
1) The principal elements of the
funeral rites: Eucharistic celebration, reading of the Word of God,
prayers, psalms, final commendation and farewell by the community to one of its members.
2) Three possible places or sta-
Illustration by Blasimer Usi
Is There a Right to an Ecclesiastical Funeral?
The Code clearly establishes the
right of the faithful to the ecclesiastical funeral rites, as well as the
corresponding obligation of the
sacred ministers to assure the celebration of the same, in c.1176, §1:
The Christian faithful departed are to
be given ecclesiastical funeral rites according to the norm of law.
This right and obligation are
founded on Christian communion
i.e., in the participation of the faithful in the life and means of salvation of the Christian community.
The Church recognizes the responsibility of delivering these
salvific means and thus has instituted the ecclesial funeral rites to
help the faithful departed, in the
same way that it administers the
sacraments and sacramentals to
help the living.
following functions are especially
entrusted to the pastor… 5°the performing of funerals.
Who have the Right to an Ecclesiastical Funeral?
Can.1176, §1 states the general
norm making all those baptized
in the Catholic Church subjects
of the right to an ecclesiastical
funeral: The Christian faithful departed are to be given ecclesiastical
funeral rites according to the norms
of law.
Can.1183 further expands the
scope of the subjects of this right:
§1. As regards funeral rites, catechumens are to be considered member of the Christian faithful. (They
are considered baptizati in voto).
§2. The Local Ordinary can permit children to be given ecclesiastical
funeral rites if their parents intended
to baptize them but they died before
§1. Unless they have given
some signs of repentance before
their death, the following are to
be deprived of ecclesiastical funeral rites:
1° notorious apostates, heretics
and schismatics;
2° persons who had chosen the
cremation of their own bodies
for reasons opposed to the Christian faith;
3° other manifests sinners for
whom ecclesiastical funeral rites
cannot be granted without public scandal to the faithful.
§2. If some doubt should arise,
the Local Ordinary is to be consulted; and his judgment is to be
followed.
Hence, the following baptized
Christians are to be denied ecclesiastical funeral:
1 st Notorious apostates (those
who publicly renounce adher-
mind that apostasy, heresy and
schism suppose a pertinacious
and notorious will in denying
Church doctrine and communion
(c.751), and are even typified as
canonical crimes (c.1364).
2nd Persons who had chosen the
cremation of their own bodies for reasons opposed to the Christian faith
which would seem to be an altogether rare occurrence nowadays, when people usually choose
cremation for reasons that have
nothing to do with religious beliefs.
3rd Other manifests sinners for
the verification of which the
Code establishes two concomitant conditions for ecclesiastical
funeral to be denied: (1) a manifest or obvious sinful situation,
and (2) a clearly foreseen scandal
to the faithful should ecclesiastical funeral be granted. If either
ment is to be followed.
Conclusion
1) The parish priest is indeed
just fulfilling his strict obligation
to provide ecclesiastical funeral
to his parishioners.
2) In the case of a notorious
mason, since membership in a
Masonic lodge has been repeatedly condemned by the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and in the case of the cited
diocese in Nueva Ecija even expressly proscribed by the Local
Ordinary with the warning precisely of the denial of an ecclesiastical burial then the Local Ordinary indeed had the right to
judge the case, and deemed it to
the interest of the common good
of the Christian faithful to deny
ecclesiastical funeral to the notorious mason.
Mystery / B1
Hearing confessions during Mass
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following query:)
Q: What is the general opinion on
listening to confessions during
Mass?—M.G., Malmoe, Sweden
A: This is a point which often stirs
heated debate among priests. Some
condemn the practice because it easily distracts the faithful from the
Mass itself. Others ardently defend
it as an excellent opportunity to offer the sacrament when the faithful
are present in significant numbers
and likely to be moved to confess by
the mere fact of availability.
Cultural factors also come into play.
Priests and faithful hailing from an Irish,
Anglo-Saxon and North European heritage are, by and large, accustomed to a
separation of the two sacraments. The
priests are generally reluctant to make
confession available during Mass.
The practice is more common, although not universal, in Italian,
Latino and Polish communities, and
many faithful go to confession during Mass even though it is also offered at other times.
From the normative point of view
it is certainly not forbidden. In 2001
the Holy See gave an official answer to
this question in a letter published in the
June-July edition of Notitiae, the official organ of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
In its response the congregation affirmed the preference for celebrating
reconciliation outside of Mass. But in
virtue of the canonical norm that
“Reconciliatio penitentium omni tempore ac die celebrari potest” (Reconciliation may be carried out at any time and
day, “Ordo Paenitentiæ,” 13), it specifically allows the hearing of confessions
during Mass. It even recommends that,
during large concelebrations attended by
numerous faithful, some priests refrain
from concelebrating so as to be available for confession.
In the light of this reply we could say
that it is clearly preferable that confession and Mass be held at different times
so that the faithful can live the Eucharistic celebration to the fullest. This implies
that reconciliation be scheduled at times
when the faithful are able to go.
Confession during Mass should respond to concrete pastoral needs such as
when the habitual number of penitents
exceeds the regularly scheduled confession times; when a priest has to
attend more than one parish; and
other situations that would make it
pastorally advisable.
For the sake of clarity by confession during Mass, I mean that one or
more priests are hearing confessions
while another celebrates Mass.
This might seem obvious, but I have
personally found situations where
priests heard confessions at the
celebrant’s chair during the readings.
While such a practice might appear to
be pastoral zeal, I believe it is misplaced.
The celebrant should never act as
if he were extraneous to the liturgical assembly. He leads the faithful
in prayer not only in virtue of his
ordination but also through his example, in this case listening attentively to God’s word which is also
directed toward him.
It is hard to expect the people to
pay attention to the readings if the
priest does not do so himself.
Likewise, it should be remembered
that reconciliation and Mass may never
be combined to form a single rite.
remptory.
Divine Mercy Calls Asians to Mission
Those blessed in the Gospels who have
been touched by the compassion of God
felt impelled by gratitude and love to
tell others of their marvelous experience
with Jesus.
Their stories are fundamentally about
Jesus in the Gospels. They tell us so eloquently of the Father’s compassion for
us through his Son, Jesus. Jesus had compassion of the “multitude” of the materially and spiritually poor. He lived
among them, walked with them, healed
them of their various afflictions, taught
them the Good News of salvation,
blessed them in the midst of their material and spiritual poverty, ennobled
them, and called them to be his disciples.
He not only had compassion. Jesus, “having emptied himself of his divinity” is
the Compassion of God, the Divine
Mercy in Jesus’ humanity.
We have all been recipients in one way
or another of Divine Mercy in Jesus.
Trace your own life back to the very beginning. How innumerable have been
the ways and occasions of mercy that the
Father, Son and Spirit have blessed each
one of us throughout our lives, in riches
or in poverty, in sickness or in health!
Most of all, Divine Mercy has led us
through our own Easter journey from
sin to grace, from darkness to light, from
death to life.
In our day we are likewise called to
tell the story of Jesus, the compassion of
God, to all our Asian brothers and sisters. His Asian face is the face of one in
solidarity with the poor, at home with
the poor, a refuge of the sick and needy,
healer of bodies and liberator of souls, a
guru, bearer of Good News, the one who
dares to call himself not only one with
God but God himself and the Savior of
the world through his Passion, Death,
and Resurrection.
We are called to be humble in our conviction and belief in Jesus and to be respectful of the beliefs of others. But the
mystery of Divine Mercy in our own lives,
in the lives of so many other Asians, calls
us to be fearless, generous, zealous, and
loving in our proclamation of Divine
Mercy to all the peoples of Asia.
We can do this mission most eloquently through the silent witness of an
authentic disciple-life, a Christian witness that would make our own lives a
pointer to Christ, a letter of Christ to
others.
May you and I be authentic
proclaimers and witnesses of Divine
Mercy! Thank you and God bless!
(This piece was delivered by Cotabato Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, at the
World Apostolic Congress on Divine Mercy
in Rome on April 3, 2008. He is currently
the Secretary General of the Federation of
Asian Bishops’ Conferences.)
CBCP Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
B3
ON BACKGROUND: St. Dominic de Guzman Cathedral BELOW: Bishop Ramon B. Villena, D. D.
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishop ……………………….... 1
Priests:
Diocesan …………………… 24
Guest Priest ……………….... 1
Religious:
Filipino …………..………….. 2
Foreign …………….....…….. 5
Sisters ………………………… 49
Seminarians:
In Theology …………………. 3
In College ………………....… 18
Diocesan Divisions:
Districts …………………....... 2
Vicariates …………………… 3
Parishes …………………..… 17
Chaplaincy …………………... 1
With Resident Pastor ……... 18
Entrusted to
Diocesan Clergy ……….... 16
Entrusted to
Religious Clergy ………..... 2
Educational Centers:
University ……………………. 1
High Schools ………….…… 11
Elementary ……………….… 12
Kindergarten ……………….. 13
Population ……....…….. 601,329
Catholics ……………… 400,038
The Diocese of
Bayombong
By
Rev.
Fr.
Castañeda Felix
Romulo
IN the fullness of his time, God sowed
the seed of salvation to this once impenetrable land of fierce hearts. If not for
his perfect divine plan, the message of
his Son would never have reached beyond all imagining this far.
The early missionaries
It was the Augustinian missionaries
who were more successful in opening
Nueva Vizcaya for evangelization and
conquest compared to the other attempts
of previous missionaries. Their missionary territory in Nueva Ecija was instrumental to strategically set foot to the
impassable terrains and ferocious inhabitants of Nueva Vizcaya. In 1714, Fr.
Alejandro Cacho, OSA, the parish priest
of Pantabangan and Caranglan, organized the Christians of Nueva Ecija to
conquer the nearby settlement called
Buhay where its inhabitants were the
Isinays. The natives at first met this with
great resistance by fighting the Spaniards. But with their meager might compared with the vanquishers, they were
later tamed and converted to Christianity. It was after six years of intense indoctrination and pacification though
that the Isinays truly embraced the foreign yet acceptable faith.
With the success of converting the
Isinays of Buhay, the Augustinians used
these newly converted natives to assist
them in their effort to conquer and move
to other nearby villages. In 1722, they
were able to take hold of the villages
and Isinays of Dupax and Bambang. They
therefore surmounted and evangelized
the Isinay people of these three settlements of the southern Nueva Vizcaya
which are known in old history as the
land of Ituy. With the people of Ituy, they
moved to the northern part of Nueva
Vizcaya which is known as Paniqui, the
land of the Ibalibons or the Gaddangs.
Little was their feat in this land due to
the ferociousness of its inhabitants. As
written in history however, Fr. Pedro
Freire, an Augustinian missionary, said
the first celebration of the Holy Mass in
Bayombong was on April 12, 1739.
Without counting their enormous
conquest, the Augustinians handed the
lands of Ituy and Paniqui to the Dominican Missionaries during their provincial
definitory meeting on September 8, 1739.
On April 14, 1740, the Dominicans began to take full hold of the territory with
the installation of Fr. Juan de Ormaza as
the parish priest of Buhay together with
Fr. Lucas Herrera. They endeavored to
organize the villages of Ituy by gather-
ing all the natives from different mountains and settlements and form them into
communities. With the help of the
Isinays of Ituy, they continued the unfinished work of the Augustinians to
conquer and evangelize Paniqui, the
land of the Gaddangs. But at the outset,
they failed in their endeavor because of
the brutal resistance and sternness of the
Gaddangs. The Dominicans were able to
overpower the Gaddangs only after the
opening of the road that connected the
Cagayan Valley and Nueva Vizcaya.
They then had easy access to these lands
and thus they were able to prevail in the
towns of Bayombong and Bagabag in
June 1743.
The Dominican missionaries diligently
ministered to the peoples of both Ituy
and Paniqui. Aside from meticulously
teaching the Catholic Faith, they also assisted in the social welfare of the people.
They worked in improving the agriculture of the natives. They introduced the
use of carabao and the science of ploughing for rice production. They built houses
of worship that are truly endearing. They
brought in new form of politics and government. They gave surnames to the natives. They taught and wrote the catechism in the local dialect. They initiated
to educate the natives by 1849. They got
through and organized the other villages
of Ibung, Diadi and Lumabang which is
now known as Solano. They tried to build
up a new civilization.
The CICM missionaries
The Philippine revolution of 1898
ended the glorious missionary works of
the Dominicans in Nueva Vizcaya. Accordingly, Aglipayanism, which rode
along with the revolution, swiftly
reached almost all the mission areas of
the province. As a matter of fact, they
seized the properties of the Church and
made some baptisms in these areas. They
only returned these properties after the
court ruled in favor of the Catholic
Church. To ensure its implementation,
the bishop of Vigan, Most Rev.
Dougherty visited Nueva Vizcaya together with the Superior of the CICM,
Fr. Dierickx, in February 1908. On this
occasion, the bishop requested the CICM
to take over the vacant mission areas as
soon as possible. Thus, towards the end
of April 1908, Fr. Dierickx assigned Frs.
Octaaf Vandewalle and Joseph Tajon together with Bro. Edward Cools to the
abandoned mission territory. These pioneer CICM missionaries stayed in
Dupax. And from there, they administered to the other towns of Aritao and
Bambang.
The CICM missionaries labored to
pick up the scattered and the wavering
faithful of the province. Like the former
missionaries, they continued to sow once
again the seed of faith. They wrestled
with Aglipayanism which was so strong
in the towns of Bambang and Solano. In
fact, in the early 1910, Gregorio Aglipay
came to Nueva Vizcaya and incited into
action his followers in these towns
against the Catholic Church.
Thus, the Mandac Revolt erupted on
August 31, 1910 when the followers of
Aglipay in Bayombong and Solano detained Fathers Rene De Pauw, Omer
Cosyn and Jozef De Samber. Some missionaries were tied, humiliated and
dragged towards Bascaran and probably
executed. These persecutions against the
Church proved terminal to Aglipayanism
for they were eventually brought to court
where their leaders were condemned and
lost the respect of the people.
To help toil in this growing church,
Most Rev. Constant Jurgens, DD, Bishop
of Tuguegarao who was also responsible
for the missions to Nueva Vizcaya, invited the missionary sisters of the Congregation of the Franciscans of the Immaculate Conception of Veghel, the Netherlands. On April 3, 1929, the congregation sent five pioneering missionary sisters who worked in the different parishes
and apostolate of this mission territory.
The eruption of the Second World War
(1939–1945) caused great distress and
sufferings to the missionaries and the
faithful at large. They were detained,
tortured, and others were murdered by
the oppressive Japanese invaders.
Churches, rectories, schools and municipal buildings were damaged if not totally destroyed. The war left nothing but
rubbles and devastations which the missionaries tried to rebuild and restore.
Erection of the Prelature
On November 21, 1966, the Prelature
of Bayombong was erected as an independent ecclesiastical territory which
covers the missionary areas of Nueva
Vizcaya and some parts of the province
of Isabela. Rev. Fr. Alberto van
Overbeke, CICM was appointed as the
first prelate of the Prelature of
Bayombong and was installed on November 18, 1966. Three years after, on
December 1, 1969, he was consecrated as
the first bishop of the prelature.
The province of Quirino, which consists of territories taken from Isabela and
Nueva Vizcaya, was created as a separate
civil province in January 1972. This made
slight changes though in the composition
of the ecclesiastical territory of the
prelature. From these aforesaid provinces,
the Prelature of Bayombong gave birth
to the different parishes of Villaverde,
Diffun, Maddela, Kayapa, Aglipay,
Cabarroguis, Malasin, Diadi, Belance,
Kasibu and much later, Santa Fe.
Elevation into a Diocese
On November 15, 1982, The Prelature
of Bayombong was elevated as a Diocese with Most Rev. Alberto van
Overbeke, CICM, DD as its first bishop.
On August 22, 1985, Pope John Paul II
appointed Most Rev. Ramon B. Villena,
DD, then auxiliary bishop of Tagum, as
co-adjutor bishop of Bayombong with
the right of succession.
Before he tendered his resignation,
Most Rev. Alberto van Overbeke ordained Fr. Vicente Emilio B. Tugadi on
March 15, 1986 as the first diocesan priest
for the Diocese of Bayombong. Considering the age and ailing health of Bishop
Overbeke, the Holy See accepted his resignation and automatically made Most
Rev. Ramon B. Villena, DD the second
bishop of the Diocese of Bayombong on
September 15, 1986. Served for almost
20 years as prelate of Bayombong,
Bishop Overbeke died on June 16, 1987
in Quezon City and his body was laid to
rest at the Bayombong Cathedral.
The Most Rev. Ramon B. Villena, DD,
young and energetic as he is, enthusiastically directed the diocese. He primarily campaigned ardently for local vocation to the priesthood together with
the CICM missionaries. As a result, more
young men entered the seminary and
gradually got ordained to the priesthood. He established the pastoral centers and ministries of the diocese. He
spearheaded the building of the Cathedral which was tragically burned on
April 7, 1987 and was finished in 1989.
Diocesan Synods
On October 23 to 29, 1994, a new era
dawned for the Diocese of Bayombong
when the Most Rev. Ramon B. Villena,
DD convened the first Diocesan Synod
which made 95 resolutions to direct and
renew the local church. Among these
decrees, formation was the foremost
concern which is believed to bring about
renewal. BEC was approved as a matter
of pastoral orientation, liturgical renewal and formation was acknowledged
as needed, and tithing and self-subsistence was envisioned. On March 4, 1995,
during the occasion of the blessing and
inauguration of DWRV, the Radio
Veritas of the Diocese of Bayombong,
these resolutions were promulgated and
took effect. However, after six years of
rapid growth and progress, the diocese
once again gathered on February 23-26,
2000 for the second Diocesan Synod. It
was a moment to revisit and evaluate
the past synod and to adapt it to contemporary issues and concerns.
On July 14, 2001, the diocese was blessed
with the inauguration and opening of the
Saint Dominic Seminary, a college seminary for the Diocese of Bayombong and
for the Vicariates of Bontoc-Lagawe and
Tabuk. This was established in the hope of
nurturing and promoting vocation to the
priesthood both in the diocese and neighboring mission territories.
Diocesan priests take over parishes
Before the opening of the new millennium, the administration of the parishes
of the diocese was entrusted by the CICM
missionaries to the Diocesan Priests.
There are now 25 diocesan priests who
are presently ministering to the 17 parishes of this diocese. These local priests
venture to continue the remarkable work
of the forefathers in the mission of keeping the faith alive and contextualized.
As a flourishing and growing community of Catholic faithful, the diocese
looks forward with greater hopes. With
these trying and glorious past, the collaboration of the entire faithful and the
eternal grace of the Almighty, the mission of bringing the kingdom of Christ
here in the Diocese of Bayombong will
never be far from being.
Sources:
Rev. Fr. Pedro V. Salgado, OP. Cagayan Valley
and Eastern Cordillera 1581-1898
Rev. Fr. Wilfried Vermuelen, CICM. The CICM
Ninety Years in Nueva Vizcaya (1908-1998)
Most Rev. Ramon B. Villena. Quinquenium Report to the Holy See 1985-1989
Souvenir Book of the Promulgation of the Decrees of the 1st Diocesan Synod. March 4, 1995
Villena
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
B4
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Youth Ministers urged to draw life,
share, and witness to God’s Word
P hoto courtesy of ECY
By Stephen Borja
AT least 300 youth ministers representing 65 ecclesiastical territories and 7
member-organizations of the Federation of National Youth Organizations in
the Philippines gathered in Jaro, Iloilo
City from May 6-9 for this year’s edition
of the National Conference for Youth
Ministers (NCYM). The theme of the conference was “Youth ministers: drawing
and sharing life in God’s Word, witnessing to the world.”
The conference formally started with
an opening mass at the Jaro Cathedral at
4:00 p.m. Most Rev. Joel Baylon, DD,
Chairman of the Episcopal Commission
on Youth (ECY) was the main presider
of the mass. Msgr. Higinio Velarde,
Vicar General, welcomed the delegates
in behalf of the Archdiocese of Jaro, the
host-archdiocese of the conference.
In his homily, Bishop Baylon urged
all youth ministers to emulate what the
first community of disciples did while
waiting for the coming of the Kingdom,
i.e., praying, preaching and witnessing
to the Word, and holding on to the future full of hope. Using the story of the
servant who became king because of his
honesty and perseverance, he reminded
them that amidst the frustrations they
experience in the ministry, they must
always remember, “God has planted
good seeds in our hearts. He will make
them grow and bear fruit in His own
good will, according to his own good
time.”
Right after the mass, the delegates
were treated to a Dinagyang Festivalstyle foot parade to St. Vincent Ferrer
Seminary (SVFS), the venue of the Opening Program and Welcome Dinner.
Their faces were painted black as they
filed out of the Cathedral and followed
the dancers on the way to the seminary.
The delegates proceeded to the SVFS
football field where more dancing followed. At 6 p.m., the delegates were led
to the SVFS Auditorium where they were
treated to an hour-long program which
featured an interpretative dance, video
presentation about the Archdiocese of
Jaro, and a performance by the Dagyaw
Theatre and Dance Company, an internationally-renowned dance troupe
based in Iloilo. The conference’s theme
song, “We are the Living Word of God”,
was also sung for the first time later in
the program.
Fr. Richard Daulo, Youth Director of
the Archdiocese of Jaro, welcomed the
participants. Fr. Conegundo Garganta,
ECY Executive Secretary delivered an
orientation about the conference. The festivities continued up to dinnertime,
where a Rondalla Group serenaded the
delegates with folk and OPM songs
while eating. The first day was capped
by evening prayer animated by Brothers Andre and Andreas of the Taizé
Community.
nary for a short orientation and invitation for the Pilgrimage of Trust in the
Philippines in 2010. To further deepen
the youth ministers’ understanding of
the conference theme, the participants
underwent a Community Structured
Learning Experience (CSLE) in clusters
in the afternoon of Day 2. Each of the
three clusters was facilitated by Fr. Neil
Antenor-Cruz, Ms. Mayette Bugaoan and
Mr. Jojit Guevarra. In the CSLE, the
youth ministers were led to journey into
the world of the young they are ministering to, to find home in God’s Word,
and to face the challenge to become truly
rooted in the Word in their continuing
ministry to the young.
A Eucharistic celebration presided by
the Most Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD,
DD, capped the day’s proceedings. The
“youth homes,” which the participants
built in the CSLE, were offered at the
altar at the start of the mass. In his homily, Bishop Jaucian told the youth ministers that in their ministry it is important
to draw strength from the Word, relate
to it, and become a friend of Jesus for
these would be the greatest joy they
could share to the young ones they meet.
Drawing life from God’s Word
The second day of the conference
opened with a Keynote Address given
by Most Rev. Luis Antonio Tagle, DD, at
the Colegio de San Jose, the main conference venue. His message centered on
how youth ministers can become credible ministers of the Word. According
to him, there is a deep relationship between youth ministry and the Word of
God. A moment for reflection and small
group sharing followed right after. Before the assembly broke for lunch, the
two Taizé brothers present met the ple-
Up close and personal: Sharing in the
Word
The third day of the conference was a
treat. Not only did the participants learn
from the Panel and Sectoral Sharings and
the Workshops, they also got to enjoy in
the evening socials. Four youth ministers, Ms. Analaida Carmona, Fr. Gongon
Carro, Mr. Danilo Clarito and Ms.
Shirleny Gabotero, were the guests in
the Panel Sharing in the first part of the
morning. They shared about their various involvements and experiences in the
youth ministry and about their personal
Philippines alone.
As such, Smith has reminded
Filipino pilgrims planning to
join the week-long gathering to
immediately lodge their visa applications.
“A large number of visa applications is still expected and we
can not guarantee that applications will be finalized in time for
WYD unless they are lodged well
before the date of travel,” said
Smith.
Getting ready to witness
The last day of the conference began
with a session on the Filipino Catholic
youth ministry. The participants were
given an input-reviewer of Ka-Lakbay,
the Directory for Catholic Youth Ministry in the Philippines. Afterwards, the
participants went to their respective
youth ministry teams to share and plan
about post-NCYM activities, guided by
insights and inspirations gained in the
conference.
Sr. Estrella Castalone, FMA shared her
observations and recommendations as
the process-observer of the NCYM.
More sharing and planning happened in
the Regional Assemblies for the rest of
the afternoon.
The conference concluded with a Misa
ng Sambayanang Pilipino (in Ilonggo)
presided by the ECY Vice-Chairman,
Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB, DD. In
the mass, each delegation gave their tokens of gratitude to the host-archdiocese.
Everyone also participated in a Sendingoff Ritual, meaningfully using the candle
which is a symbol of Nuestra Señora dela
Candelaria, enthroned in the Archdiocese of Jaro and Patroness of Western
Visayas.
NYCC meeting
After the NCYM, the ECY convened
the National Youth Coordinating Council (NYCC) for an overnight meeting.
The NYCC, composed of the Regional
Youth Directors, Coordinators, and
Leaders (and their equivalent in the
FNYO), serves as the advisory body of
the ECY. In this year’s meeting, they discussed relevant concerns and upcoming
events in youth ministry, such as the
Asian Youth Day 2009 and the Pilgrimage of Trust in 2010. This meeting was
held in St. Clement’s Retreat House in
Lapaz, Iloilo City.
The NCYM is a biennial gathering of
youth ministers from the youth ministries of the dioceses and member-organizations of the Federation of National
Youth Organizations (FNYO) organized
by the Episcopal Commission on Youth
of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines. For the NCYM and
NYCC meeting 2008, the commission
worked hand in hand with the Archdiocese of Jaro, through the generosity of
His Excellency, Most Rev. Angel
Lagdameo, DD, through its Commission
on Jaro Archdiocesan Youth Apostolate
headed by Fr. Richard Daulo.
(Stephen Borja is a staff of the Episcopal
Commission on Youth of the CBCP)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Envoy reminds
WYD pilgrims to
lodge visa
applications
immediately
WITH only a month before
the anticipated 23rd World
Youth Day gathering in
Sydney, the Australian Embassy has reportedly granted
at least 30,000 visa applications from around the globe—
less than a thousand of which
comprises that from the Filipino delegation.
As of May 20, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship
(DIAC) reportedly issued
some 30,000 visas to WYD
pilgrims from around the
world. In the Philippines
though, only at least 600 visa
applications were granted
nationwide.
The figure attributed to the
Filipino pilgrims, according
to Australian Ambassador to
the Philippines, Rod Smith,
has so far been lower than
expected, adding that the embassy is expecting at least
5,000 applications from the
insights on the conference theme. Hosts
Mr. Steve Abordaje and Ms. Cecille
Adrias amused the crowd and were able
to elicit good and valuable responses
from the guests. A Sectoral Sharing followed after the program, with priests
grouped together, the consecrated
women, and the lay youth ministers.
The Workshops in the afternoon was
another highlight of the day. Sixteen
workshops related to the conference
theme and the youth ministry, were
given simultaneously in different venues to equip the youth ministers with
know-how and relevant information on
pressing issues and concerns of today’s
youth. Each workshop culminated with
the celebration of the mass. The evening
was a flurry of dancing, fun games and
songs as the participants were treated to
a variety show format-Bible Quiz, the
main fellowship activity of the conference.
The Palawan Experience
By Norma R. Valencia
Visa processing will continue
up until the start of WYD but
Smith said early lodgments of
applications will help avoid delays in processing.
“While the Embassy will do its
best to finalize late applications
in time, it would be disappointing for pilgrims to miss out on
this once in a lifetime opportunity because they left their visa
application too late,” he added.
(Kris Bayos)
THE celebration of the Week of
Prayer for Christian Unity from
February 4–9, 2008 was an experience of extraordinary grace for
the six participating churches in
Puerto Princesa City, namely:
The United Methodist Church,
The Convention of Philippine
Baptist Churches, The Episcopal
Church in the Philippines, The
United Church of Christ in the
Philippines, The Iglesia Filipina
Independiente and the Roman
Catholic Church.
The first meeting held in
preparation for this event was
hosted by no less than the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Princesa, His
Excellency Bishop Pedro D.
Arigo, D.D., where all the heads
of the other churches were
present. The Bishop likewise took
up with them some social concerns and issues obtained in the
locality to which the heads of different churches expressed supportive reactions.
In the last and final meeting,
the unity among churches became even more profound as
they saw together the following
details needed for the one week
celebration: 1) That the same copies of the liturgy will be used for
the whole week, and to be
turned-over by the host church
to the next host, together with the
candles; 2) That the same set of
songs will be used for the six
nights which is a combination of
songs from the Protestant and
Catholic churches; 3) That a
streamer be displayed by each
church before the celebration to
create awareness among the
members and the public; 4) That
on the last day, there will be
color-coded balloons for the motorcade to represent each participating church.
Fired by the unity among them,
the preparatory meetings were
an experience of supernatural joy
as each pastor/priest volunteered
to do a particular task.
One pastor happily accepted to
take charge of the streamers for
all the churches while another
one took charge of ordering the
balloons as well as preparing the
liturgy. One priest volunteered
to do the radio plugging for the
activity. Bishop Arigo’s idea of
serving light snacks at the end of
each service was greatly appreciated, as it did not take much
preparation for each host church.
Everyone performed his/her part
with joy and gladness and the atmosphere of family unity was
strongly manifested.
For six consecutive nights, the
prayer service for unity was attended by 14 pastors/priests
while the total attendance for the
whole period was about a thousand lay people coming from the
different churches. It was a beautiful and joyful celebration of
unity for all the participants.
The reality of the Gospel,
“Where two or three are gathered
in my name, I am there in their
midst” was a common experience
because each night, the rapport
among the church leaders and
lay, deepened as each looked forward to another evening of
prayer and solidarity.
The brotherhood among the
churches was very evident especially when the Aglipayan
Church needed additional chairs
for the service. Immediately, the
Episcopal and the UCCP easily
lent chairs to fill the need. At
some point, even the sound system became a common facility.
In fact, a few days after the celebration, the Pastor of the Convention of Philippine Baptist
Churches was requested to be the
Speaker in a Sunday worship service of the UCCP because their
Pastor had to give a seminar in a
UCCP church located in another
place.
With all these beautiful experiences, we hope that, the
Palawan Ecumenical Fellowship
(PEF) was able to make a step to
correspond to that prayer of Jesus,
“Father, that all men be one.”
(Norma R. Valencia is the Coordinator of the Palawan Ecumenical Fellowship)
CBCP Monitor
Statements
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Keynote address at the opening of the
Cebu Regional Rural Congress
Talavera House of Spirituality; May 21, 2008
By Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal
POPE Benedict XVI, in his book, Jesus of
Nazareth, noted the fact that in the Gospel of Luke, the Beatitudes began with
the words “Then fixing his eyes on his
disciples, he said: ‘How blessed are you
who are poor; the Kingdom of God is
yours.’” (Lk. 6: 20) Pope Benedict sees in
this passage an indication that the Lord,
in pronouncing the beatitudes, was in
fact describing the people who were listening to him.
The people who followed the Lord, as
the Gospel of Luke itself narrates, came
from all parts of Judea and Jerusalem,
and the coastal regions of Tyre and
Sidon. (Cf. Luke 6:17) Now, these places
were towns and Jerusalem was a big city
by the standards of Jesus’ time, but we
could hardly call those who come from
them as “city-dwellers” in the way we
think of the term today. Judea was in the
outskirts of the Empire and the people
of Palestine were much like the rural
poor today: marginalized, oppressed,
poor, and disenfranchised.
Thus, the Lord was in fact describing
the condition of the people in front of him
when he said, “How blessed are you, who
are poor… blessed are you who are hungry now… blessed are you who are weeping now…” all these were existential conditions of the people who came to listen
to him and to be cured of their diseases.
Today, in this Rural Congress, we encounter the same people once again: in
our discussions and deliberations, we
must remember that we are listening to
people who came to Jesus two millennia
ago—with similar conditions, similar
desires, similar hopes and aspirations.
Let us not forget, however, that the
Beatitudes of Luke did not end with the
blessings. After pronouncing the conditions that make for blessedness, the Lord
then shifts into a denunciation of the rich,
those who have plenty to eat, those who
are laughing. If the Lord was describing
his audience in terms of being poor, hungry and weeping, who then are the rich?
Who then are those who have plenty,
those who are laughing? Were they also
present in the crowd? Certainly, for
among those who came to Jesus were
also people who were merely curious,
who were skeptical, who were even
watching for mistakes he would commit. Surely, there were rich people who
also had to grapple with demons and
disease, with absence of meaning, with
emotional emptiness. In a word, it was a
mix crowd, and there was not a single
way to describe the people who were
listening to the Lord.
Yet, no matter how heterogeneous the
crowd, the Lord spoke to the heart of
each and everyone, for he has a word for
every condition. He offers hope to the
poor, the hungry and the sorrowful and
he calls the rich, the sated and the merry
to responsibility. In contrasting the two
basic conditions, the Lord reminds his
audience that both conditions are not
permanent, and that in the flux of fortune, the places could easily change, and
therefore, one ought not to despair nor
be complacent, for life is larger than
one’s existing condition.
The Lord therefore was trying to widen
the perspective of his audience. Their life
was not defined by their actual condition.
For even as they stood together accidentally, brought together by a common desire to see and listen to Jesus, they actually form a tapestry of possibilities which
could only be realized if they would only
look beyond their needs.
Each and every person forms the fabric of these possibilities. The poor can find
hope in the rich, the rich are called to responsibility by the poor. The hungry can
look to the satisfied, the satisfied must
learn to share with the hungry. The sorrowful must listen to the laughter of the
merry, the merry must also listen to the
weeping of the sorrowful.
In due time, the Lord will repeat the
same warnings to a specific group of
people, the Pharisees, “who pay their
tithe on mint and rue and all sorts of
garden herbs but neglect justice and the
love of God.” (Lk. 11: 42) He made a
similar accusation against the lawyers,
“because they put burdens on people’s
shoulders with loads that are unendurable, but would not lift a finger to help
them.” (Lk. 11: 46)
In accusing the Pharisees and lawyers
this way, Jesus signed his own death warrant for it would only be a matter of time
till the patience of his enemies will run
out. Salvation history hinges on this titanic collision between righteousness
and obstinacy.
We too are at the cross-roads of history. Our nation’s fate hangs in the balance while we debate on what to do with
all our socio-economic and political
problems. The Church in the Philippines
is being pulled here and there by all kinds
of interests. Our people sees this and
some of them have already remarked in
the consultations here in Cebu that pastors sometimes make compromises with
political powers, or that their priests live
lives that are contrary to what they
preach.
Too often, we are infected with fear—
fear of venturing beyond our comfort
zones, fear of losing our material and
psychological crutches, fear of losing
face or the favor of patrons. Especially
the favor of patrons. For in the Church,
we need patrons to finance our new structures, never mind if old ones lie decrepit
and unused. We would rather build than
improve. We would rather put up something new than maintain an existing one.
After all, there will always be patrons to
fund our constructions. Meanwhile, the
needs of the poor, the needs of the
apostolate, the needs of even our lowly
parish workers, take a backseat. For
them, it is difficult to find patrons.
Woe to us, pastors of the Church!
But then again, the woes the Lord pronounces are not final and definitive condemnations. Rather, they are warnings and
reminders. They call us to responsibility
and accountability. They are eye-openers
to put our priorities in proper order.
To be sure, some of the needs of our
rural poor pertain primarily to the State.
But in these trying times, we can no
longer resort to finger-pointing, while
our people suffer in silence. We must
do what we can. And that which we can
do is to respond to the 4 th Beatitude of
Luke: “Blessed are you when people hate
you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce
your name as criminal on account of the
Son of Man.” (Lk. 6: 22)
It all boils down to how much we can
let go to serve the needs of Jesus who
lives in the poor, who is himself poor,
hungry and sorrowing. In identifying
himself with his disciples, he invites his
disciple to become one with him. Jesus
is the truly blessed. We become blessed
with him if we respond in all honesty
and openness to his call for responsibility and accountability.
Statement of the 6
National Lay Gathering
th
Holy Cross Parish, General Santos City, May 19-24, 2008
“ The laity share in the priestly,
prophetic and royal office of
Christ and therefore have their
own role to play in the mission of
the whole people of God in the
church and in the world.” (#2
On the Decree on the Apostolate
of the Laity)
We, the delegates of the 6 th
National Lay Gathering,
coming from all over the
country, numbering 367,
come together once again to
share our aspirations,
dreams, successes, joys, frustrations, and sorrows and our
being lay participating in
building the Kingdom of
God, with the theme, “The
Laity’s involvement in the Mission of the Church: A continuing challenge in journeying with
the people’s struggle towards
Church Renewal and Social
Transformation.”
For this year, the main objective of the gathering is to reminisce the past with gratitude,
share the present with full of
challenges and look for the future with enthusiasm as agents
for church renewal and social
transformation endeavors.
As we gather, we asked
ourselves “how are we in our
present conditions.” Most of
us have grown mature and are
still very much alive in church
and development works. We
also discussed many issues
affecting the lay, which can be
categorized as ad intra (internal to the laity) and ad extra
(external situation). We encountered problems of attitudes and behavior of some
lay leaders who have become
“counter-witness” to the evangelization effort of the church,
such as drunkenness, gambling, back-biting, and apathy to socio-political issues.
Committed lay leaders are
getting scarce and it requires
more initiative and creativity to reach out more
laypeople especially the
young ones. We are usually
multi-tasked and we take for
granted motivating second
liners. Some of us are afraid
to assert our rights as equal
partners in the ministry or
apostolate. We feel deficient
in Christian education, particularly in the basic doctrines, theology, and social
teachings of the Church.
Thus, most of us feel
marginalized or “treated like
third class citizens in the
Church.” In addition, we are
sometimes confused by the
ambivalent stand of the
church hierarchy regarding
our involvement in sociopolitical issues which is supposedly our arena for evangelization and transformation. There are incidents of
being disowned, not given
blessings, or being told to resign from church ministries
once we get involved in these
issues.
Meanwhile, we have experienced the effects and influences of globalization with
its exploitative and oppressive practices that promote
the values of individualism,
materialism, consumerism,
indifference, vices, drugs, and
gangsterism especially
among the youth. In the economic arena, we are concerned with the issues of landlessness, insecurity of land
tenure, food/rice crisis, increasing poverty, intensifying intrusion of trans-national corporations that continue to hound the poor
people. These are compounded with oil price hikes
and exploitation of labor
through contractualization
and flexibilization. Moreover, in the political aspect,
rampant graft and corruption,
through dynasties and monopoly of powers, have resulted to poor delivery of basic social services. In areas target for development aggression, military are deployed as
advance party, thereby clearing the area for foreign investors and strengthening the ruling class’ political grip over
the people. Furthermore, the
continuous destruction of
natural resources and environment, by logging and mining,
has aggravated the misery of
the lay people.
In the midst of all the above
issues and concerns, and despite threats and financial
constraints, we, the laypeople
continue to assert our rights
as equal partners in the ministries of the Church, and
carry on our active participation in the works for social
transformation. We support
and promote the advocacy on
Human Rights issues, Environmental protection, good
governance, and peasants and
workers’ issues. In carrying
out these duties, we have
made initiatives to develop
our skills and knowledge in
leadership, facilitating, organizing, administering, and
managing the Church pastoral programs, through ongoing education, trainings,
and values formation. We
continue to build and
strengthen the Basic Ecclesial
Communities (or GKKs,
GSKs, Kriska, MSK, etc.) as
new way of being Church
and Church of the Poor. We
keep to our hearts the four
roles of the laity as called for
by PCP II, as follows: a.) called
to community of families; b.)
called to Christian presence;
c.) called to service and evangelization, and d.) called to
social transformation.
We are genuinely joyful
and elated by the success of
this gathering, and we would
like to sustain the unity and
empowerment that this encounter has brought us. As a
challenge, we call on the Lay
Forum Philippines to be instrumental in establishing and
strengthening
network
among lay people down to
the grassroots level, and continue the initiatives of implementing programs and services that support the needs
of lay workers, particularly
the TulayKo. On the other
hand, we call on all lay people
to strengthen their respective
lay organizations to attain
genuine lay empowerment,
and to give support to Lay
Forum Philippines as expression of solidarity and unity.
We continue to believe that
we, lay people, have a great
contribution to the realization
and fulfillment of the Reign/
Kingdom of God. We deepen
our commitment and involvement in the Mission of the
Church towards her renewal
and social transformation.
We pray to the Almighty,
who is the source of all being, inner strength and courage; to His Son, Jesus, our
companion in this journey;
and to the Holy Spirit, who
keep us “fired from within,”
to sustain and nourish us in
this great effort of bringing
about “new heaven and new
earth,” where justice, peace,
love, and solidarity prevail.
Signed: 367 Delegates
B5
Mining-free Sibuyan Island
Upholding the
integrity of creation
SIBUYAN shall be a mining-free island:
Adhering to the Roman Catholic Compendium of the Social Doctrine No.
470 which states that the programs of economic development must carefully
consider ‘the need to respect the integrity and cycles of nature because natural
resources are limited and some are not renewable.’ No. 467 further says that ‘responsibility for the environment, the common heritage of mankind, extends not only to
present needs but also to those of the future.’
Taking action on the United Nations’ (UN) Millennium Development Goal (MDG)
to ensure environmental sustainability integrating the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes and reversing loss
of environmental resources; reducing biodiversity loss, achieving by 2010, a
significant reduction in the rate of loss; and reducing by half the proportion
of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.
Advocating the Philippine Agenda 21 which envisions a better quality of life for
all through the development of a just, moral, creative, spiritual, economically vibrant,
caring, diverse yet cohesive society characterized by appropriate productivity, participatory and democratic processes, and living in harmony within the limits of the carrying capacity of nature and the integrity of creation.
Considering the scientific facts that Sibuyan, nicknamed the Galapagos of Asia,
that features flora and fauna found nowhere else on the planet. It is where the
world’s densest forest flourishes in which the National Museum identified, in a
single hectare, 1,551 trees comprising 123 species, of which 54 were endemic.
Orchids abound as do other vascular plant species; Nepenthes sibuyanensis, a
pitcher plant species, is endemic as its scientific name suggests. There are 131
species of birds that share the skies with ten species of fruit bat; the plethora
(nobody knows quite how many) of land-dwelling mammals, reptiles, and
rodents include at least five species of mammals that are endemic.
Recognizing the assessments of The Field Museum in Chicago, Illinois,
that Sibuyan is a center of endemism; the Philippine National Herbarium (PNH),
as a critical plant site; all accepted by the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources (DENR) as scientific facts, hence, the island is considered
as biodiversity hotspot. Further, a paper of a University of the Philippines–Los
Baños researcher proves that there are 35 endangered and endemic species in
almost all barangays outside the protected area.
The struggle against the pillage of Sibuyan Island
continues, despite the aggressive promotion of mining by the Arroyo administration. As long as the
residents and other environmental advocates stay
firm on their vision of a Sibuyan free from clutches of
large-scale mining companies, so will the Sibuyanons
continue to have an island they call home.
Rejecting the Special Permit to cut 69,709 trees issued by then DENR Sec. Angelo T.
Reyes within 406 hectares of land, equal to 9,455.183 m³ or 4,000, 8998 board feet.
Implementing Presidential Proclamation No. 746 declaring Mt. Guitingguiting as Natural Park; and the whole island as an initial component for the
National Integrated Areas Program (NIPAP) as a mangrove forest swamp reserve per Presidential Proclamation No. 2152.
Recognizing the 2005 proclamation of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo
and then DENR Sec. Angelo T. Reyes of Cantingas River as the cleanest and
greenest inland body of water in the Philippines. In addition, when the president
visited Sibuyan Island, she said, “Sibuyan Island, has a high economic growth potential, notably as a tourist destination.” And in her 2006 State of the Nation Address
(SONA), she clearly indicated that “Romblon… With tourism... can become rich.”
Analyzing the effects of mining in the island, based on gathered data for 21 smalland large-scale tenements, active and exploration mining leases from the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB), it is projected technically that such encompass 16,600
hectares (has) or more than 36 percent of Sibuyan Island’s total land area. All but 2 or
90 percent of mining leases overlap 6,400 has or 25 percent of the management area of
the Mt. Guiting-guiting Natural Park. More than 1,600 has or 25 percent of the
overlap area is located in the Protected Area. Ninety or 90 percent of mining leases
cover 6,500 has or 36 percent of mangrove, montane, primary lowland and secondary
lowland forests. There are 12 leases which cover approximately 870 has or 40 percent
of rice lands and 13 leases which overlap approximately 5,200 has or 51 percent of
coconut lands. Four mining leases overlap 2,000 has or 26 percent of the Sibuyan
Mangyan Tagabukid (SMT) Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) and 20 has
or 30 percent of the SMT Ancestral Domain Claim; that this analysis may vary because
there still areas being applied for.
Respecting the rights and acceptability of the people that there have been a
series of protest actions since 2006 numbering to thousands of people participating and petitions signed by almost 90 percent of Sibuyan populace.
Condemning the deceit, lies, bribery, and manipulations of mining companies
in connivance with some local government officials to the communities.
Saddened by the brutal killing of Hon. Armin Rios-Marin, a Kabang Kalikasan ng
Pilipinas/World Wildlife Fund (KKP/WWF) environmentalist, barangay human rights
officer, president of the Parish Pastoral Council (PPC), Parents, Teachers and Community Association (PTCA) and trustee of the Sibuyan Island Sentinels League for
Environment, Inc. (Sibuyan ISLE). Alarmed by the strategic lawsuits against public participation to more than 85 advocates including teachers, farmers, housewives
and concerned citizens , by mining companies through their employees.
Disappointed with the promises of elected local government officials who
have promised to preserve and protect Sibuyan Island against mining and
ecological destruction.
Concerned with the rapid social division among communities and families.
Afraid of the possible massive displacement of Sibuyanons for what will
remain from their lands would only barely 9,012 hectares unable to sustain the
whole populace of the island out of the total 35,847.76 hectares of mining claims and
protected area from Sibuyan’s total land area of 44,860.00. That is barely .16 hectare or
.0016 sq. km. for every Sibuyanon (excluding the land to be tilled for food, e.g. rice,
corn, cassava, among others) considering the 2007 Sibuyan population of 56,541.
Majority of our people are poor, but we will not permit that these mining activities
will make our people poorer. We live though the abundance of the island, and we will
never allow our source of living will be affected by such activity. We do not believe that
mining is the sole solution to alleviating poverty. There are alternatives such as ecotourism, sustainable agriculture, and fishery, among others. Mining per se is a se arch
and destroy mission and it will leave our lands barren after exploitation. Responsible
mining is not feasible in Sibuyan¯we adhere to responsible stewardship as guardians
of the environment instead.
Hence, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines in its 2006 statement, firmly says: “The right to life of people is inseparable from their right to
sources of food and livelihood. Allowing the interests of big mining corporations to prevail over peoples’ right to these sources amounts to violating their
right to life. Furthermore, mining threatens people’s health and environmental
safety through the wanton dumping of waste and tailings in rivers and seas.”
“Our experiences of environmental tragedies and incidents with the mining transnational corporations belie all assurances of sustainable and responsible mining... Increasing number of mining affected communities, Christians and non-Christians alike, are subjected to human rights violations and
economic deprivations. We see no relief in sight.”
The struggle against the pillage of Sibuyan Island continues, despite the
aggressive promotion of mining by the Arroyo administration. As long as
the residents and other environmental advocates stay firm on their vision of
a Sibuyan free from clutches of large-scale mining companies, so will the
Sibuyanons continue to have an island they call home.
Every mineral is already tainted with the blood of our martyr; every tree to be cut
shall shed blood of every child and the unborn; and every dig on our lands shall create
an incurable cancer of our lives.
Justice for Armin is justice for Sibuyanons. Justice for Armin is the pull-out of all
mining operations and applications in the island of Sibuyan. No more, no less.
THE SIBUYANONS
CBCP Monitor
Reflections
B6
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
The Trinity and
our social life
UP there in the Vatican structure, there’s an office that helps in deepening
and developing the Church’s social doctrine and applying it in such fields as
law, economics, politics and other social sciences.
This is the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, which do research, dialogue and teaching so that Christ’s gospel can shed light on our increasingly
complex world.
Yes, we should never forget that in the end and always, Christ’s gospel
should inspire our thoughts and actions, our personal and social life, our
business and politics.
Recently, it held a plenary session, to which the Pope was invited. And the theme
was: “Pursuing the Common Good: How Solidarity and Subsidiarity Can Work Together.”
First of all, I would like to say that activities like this should be given due
space and attention in our media, so that everyone can have a chance to
know the important and crucial role they play in our lives.
We have to overcome the bias that pits what is supposed to be theoretical
against what is to be practical. That kind of thinking is wrong, because there
is an objectively organic link between the theoretical and the practical, and
we just have to discover that link.
It’s also a painfully outdated attitude, since with our rapidly changing
world, we should feel more intensely the need for guidance, and that means
relating theories with practice and vice-versa. As much as possible, we should
avoid the random and trial-and-error approaches.
Besides, when media systematically ignore events like this, they can’t
help but plunge into cheap gossiping, chaotic wrangling, and the like. Even
if one may not completely agree or understand these matters, it cannot be
doubted that these studies offer some light. They deserve media space.
In this particular session of the Academy, the Pope, ever so brilliant and
rooted in the gospel, gave some interesting and intriguing remarks that I
thought are worth echoing.
What he said are not exactly new, since they are part of Christian doctrine.
They just sound new since many of us are not familiar with them yet, in spite
of the centuries of Christianity that we have had so far. This is a predicament
we have to correct.
Yes, there are still a lot of inconsistencies and gaps in our knowledge of
Christian doctrine, let alone the lacunae between our knowledge and our
behavior. Thus, the help of the media to fill up these loopholes can be great.
So, instead of dwelling much in shallow, insubstantial and inane matters,
the press can do a great service by tackling this serious responsibility of
tracing the tenuous relationship between Christian theory and practice, especially in our social life.
In his address, the Pope in effect said that God’s most intimate intertrinitarian life is reflected in our efforts to live solidarity and subsidiarity in
pursuit of our common good. These efforts also have the potentials to lead
us to the sharing of that life, to which we are actually called.
“In choosing the theme,” he told the Academy, “you have decided to
examine the interrelationships between four fundamental principles of
Catholic social teaching: the dignity of the human person, the common good,
subsidiarity and solidarity.”
“These key realities,” he said, “which emerge from the living contact between
the Gospel and concrete social circumstances, offer a framework for viewing and
addressing the imperatives facing mankind at the dawn of the 21st century.”
He mentioned some challenges, like reducing inequalities in the distribution of goods, expanding opportunities for education, fostering sustainable
growth and development, and protecting the environment.
I think that all of us should try to familiarize ourselves with these concepts
that are already defined in our Catechism. And then try to apply them to our
concrete situations, personal and social.
This, of course, should be done with a lot of prudence by collecting data,
studying things thoroughly, engaging in dialogue with the different parties
involved, developing programs and strategies, implementing them and
monitoring them.
What should not be forgotten is that our social life should reflect as well as
lead us to God’s Trinitarian life. Let’s never forget that our life always has a
religious dimension.
Bo Sanchez
You never
graduate from
love’s academy
CAROL was peeking through the window again.
Daily, she’d watch the sweet couple next-door, doing their morning ritual:
Before the husband went off to work, he’d kiss his wife, give her a hug, and
declare to her, “I love you!” for all the world to hear. Each morning, Carol
saw this sight, and every time, her heart was filled with envy.
Finally, one day, she couldn’t take it anymore.
So Carol confronted her husband Pete. “Why can’t you be like our nextdoor neighbor?” She pulled the curtain for him to take a look. “See? This
man kisses his wife, embraces her, and says, ‘I love you!’ every morning.
Every morning! Why can’t you do that?”
Pete’s face was pale. “Honey, I can’t do that!”
“Why?” Carol asked angrily.
“Why, Honey, I… I don’t even know that woman!”
“Sheeeeeesh. Pete, I’m not asking you to do it with that woman. I’m asking
you to do it with me!”
“Oh…” he muttered blankly.
“Tell me that you love me again. I haven’t heard it in a long time now!”
Pete shrugged his shoulders. “Gee, Carol, I don’t know. I mean, I said, ‘I
love you’ thirty years ago during our honeymoon. And I told you that if I
changed my mind, I’d tell you. Well, I haven’t.”
By now, I think many wives reading this would like to throw a few cooking pans in the direction of Pete’s head.
Let me ask you a question. Why is it necessary for spouses to tell each
other, “I love you” each day? I mean, can’t one ‘I love you’ be sufficient for
the next thirty years?
This is the same principle that works for reading the Bible. Or from learning about God. (Huh?)
That’s right. As mushy as this may sound, the Bible is God’s love letter to
you.
And so, in your daily “Scripture” time, you can’t say, “This is boring. I’ve
read this story before”; or, “Oh no, today’s reading is the Prodigal Son again.
Gosh, I’ve read this a million times; or, “The beatitudes? Again? I can recite
that in my sleep!”
So what? You see, you’re forgetting one thing: Christianity isn’t just a
religion. It’s primarily a relationship.
It’s a personal relationship where “I love you” is repeated for a million
times.
The temptation among Christians is to look for the new, the esoteric, the
higher learning, the advanced subjects with big words—thinking that they
can graduate from the basics. Stuff like trust. Obedience. Humility. Faith.
Surrender.
And God whispering, “I love you” in our hearts again and again and
again.
If you feel like you can graduate from the basic stuff, I think you’re in the
wrong religion. Because this one has no graduates.
We remain students of love, forever.
Illustration by Blasimer Usi
A glimpse of heaven
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mt. 9: 36-10:8; June 15, 2008
By
Fr.
Paul
Marquez, SSP
J.
ONE very remarkable trait of
Jesus as a pastor was his proximity to people from all walks
of life. He did not choose to
be an armchair philosopher
nor an ivory tower preacher.
He “connected” to the concrete life situation of the
people in the Galilean countryside and did not rely on
second-hand information fed
to him by his disciples. He
had an accurate idea of the
plight of the people as he met
them on the road, along the
sea shore, at their synagogues, in their homes and
elsewhere.
He observed how the Jews
suffered in the hands of the
Roman colonizers not only
for lack of freedom but also
from heavy taxes imposed by
government.
Likewise,
people suffered greatly from
religious leaders who complicated their practice of faith
and turned it into a terrible
burden by imposing numerous rules. They were, in Jesus’
words, “like sheep without a
shepherd” (Mt 9:36).
Not very many people like
to be compared to a meek
lamb or sheep, especially
those who take pride in themselves as enlightened or in-
dependent-minded. These
people think of religion as a
relic from the past espousing
obsolete ideas. They only accept everything that can be
materially verified or scientifically proven. Our generation is a witness to a burgeoning growth in terms of science
and technology but contrary
to all indications, such
‘progress’ has not really
brought us very far. Like the
people in Jesus’ time, our
generation continues to suffer, not only from material
want, but also from diminishment, fragmentation and loss
of meaning in life.
“The kingdom of heaven is at
hand” (Mt 10:7). This one-liner
from Jesus is his answer to
men and women groping in
darkness. Jesus in effect tells
us that the kingdom is already prepared and is about
to happen in our midst. Pray,
tell me, what can be more odd
than heaven coming to earth?
We always think of heaven
in terms of the after-life,
something that we only experience after we die. But in
today’s good news Jesus tells
us that while on this vale of
tears, man can have a glimpse
of heaven. Jesus’ revelation,
though seems initially odd,
is undeniably good news!
People in Jesus’ time had a
glimpse of heaven through
many miracles during his
Galilean mission. He cures
every disease and illness, and
he also drives away demons.
Now, Jesus involves twelve
apostles to continue such proclamation of God’s kingdom in
words and deeds. Jesus summons them in pair, to remind
the apostles that their work is
a collaborative effort and ultimately belongs to God. Jesus
summons twelve of them, an
indication that Jesus is creating a new people patterned
after the twelve tribes of
Jacob in the Old Testament.
Going through the list of
apostles, we see names of real
people we find in the Bible.
Some of them have been constant companions of Jesus like
Peter, James and John. Others
are barely mentioned like
Philip and Bartholomew. Judas Iscariot ends up a tragic
figure. Jesus is able to bring
together these different men
from different walks of life,
family background and political inclinations. Jesus who is
truly the good shepherd
knows each of them by name.
The gospels honestly portray
the apostles as men with feet
of clay. They can be overly
ambitious and cunning. They
can be violent men. And yes,
they can be traitors.
This page from the Bible is
read to us today to remind
ourselves that Jesus continues
to call us to his mission. We
are called to be with Jesus,
firstly in prayer and secondly,
in action. He assures us of a
great harvest yet he reminds
us to pray. “…(A)sk the master
of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Mt 9:38). It
is not a prayer for religious
vocations alone; it is rather a
prayer for our common vocation of holiness. Today
Jesus calls us to bring him on
the road, along the seashore,
in our churches, in our homes
and everywhere.
We are called to offer
prayers to the Master of the
Harvest so that everybody
will realize that we are called
to be his present-day disciples. Preachers cannot pontificate while remaining detached from the realities of
life. We pray so that God will
give us the courage and
strength to generously give
of ourselves and overcome
our inclination towards selfishness. We pray so that despite our numerous differences, we will accept one another and learn to work with
one another. Finally, we pray
so that despite our limitations, we can believe that God
can make us instruments of
his miracles so that we can
offer this groaning world a
glimpse of heaven.
Faith in God casts away all fears
12th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mt. 10:26-3, June 22, 2008
By Fr. Andy Lumasac
FEARS… All of us experience fears and
in varying degrees. Some are afraid of
the dark. Some are afraid of losing a
loved one or losing money. Others are
afraid of getting old and others still, are
afraid of their own wives.
It is significant to note that the words,
“Be not afraid” occur, more than 365
times in the Bible. A very good reminder
not to fear every single day of the year,
and more.
In today’s gospel (Mt. 10:26-33), Jesus
repeats the words “Be not afraid” three
times. On all counts, Jesus seems to be
telling his disciples, “Be not afraid to be
identified as my followers, for I am with
you always.”
The early Christians had many reasons enough to be afraid for they were
imprisoned, persecuted and even killed
because of their faith in Jesus. Amidst
these threats, Jesus’ reassuring words
served as an encouragement for them to
persevere in their faith.
The fears of early Christians may not
be the fears of modern-day Christians,
at least, for many of us. Today we are no
longer afraid of being called Christians.
We can openly participate in Church’s
activities without the threats of expulsion, imprisonment, persecution or
death. What we are afraid of nowadays,
are the demands that our Christian affiliation imply. What we are afraid of
are the responsibilities attached to being followers of Christ.
Most probable than not, we are hesitant to speak out publicly in the name of
Christ because we are afraid to be labeled as “out of this world.” We find it
hard to resist worldly allurements because it would entail a lot of discomfort
on our part. We are not expressive of
our affiliation to Christ because we run
the risk of being killjoy and unpopular.
We prefer to keep silent on modern day
issues such as illegal logging and mining for fear or reprisal from our government officials. We cannot defend the
sanctity of marriage and inviolability of
human life against their detractors for
we are afraid to be called old fashioned
and obstruction to development.
Each day, we are confronted with issues and situations that put our faithfulness to Christ and his teaching to the
test. Fear paralyzes us into inaction and
prevents us from being mature witnesses to our faith.
To all these Christ is telling us: “Be
not afraid to be identified as my followers, for I am with you always.” It is His
loving presence that casts away all our
fears. All we have to do is to learn to
trust Him more and fear less. As the
Psalmist would succinctly put it, “Even
if I go through the deepest darkness, I
will not be afraid, Lord, for you are with
me.” (Ps. 23.4)
CBCP Monitor
Social Concerns
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
By Gerald M. Nicolas
ADEQUATE and humane dwelling is a basic human right (Compendium #166). The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines’
(CBCP) Statement on the Nation’s
Housing Problems in 2007 pointed
to the lack of decent housing, par-
A research called the Philippine
Asset Reform Report Card Project
conducted by the John J. Carroll
Institute on Church and Social Issues (JJCICSI) with the Philippine
Partnership for the Development
of Human Resources in Rural Areas (PhilDHRRA) assessed the
government’s response to the
growing problem of insecure resi-
railroad tracks, dumpsites, under
bridges). To avoid reinforcing a
dole-out mentality among the poor
beneficiaries, these programs incorporate requirements such as lowcost monthly amortizations and
community organization.
A “pasang-awa” performance
But the results of the survey,
tion of the respondents can still
be considered “potentially
displaceable settlers.”
While the study showed that
the problem of security of tenure
has been addressed to some degree, a major source of dissatisfaction expressed by the beneficiaries is the inadequacy or poor
quality of basic services extended
B7
projects appears to be better compared to CMP sites (at least as perceived by beneficiaries) still did
not result in higher levels of wellbeing for relocated families. Economic needs, like access to employment, are prominently cited
as a problem experienced by resettled families.
The access to essential services—
basic services to the urban poor.
Despite these problems in basic
services, a notable finding of the
study is the high positive net satisfaction rating given by the beneficiaries of the three programs to the
land acquisition process. This high
net satisfaction rating should signal to the government that it must
continue and more vigorously
Housing the urban poor
Asset reform in socialized housing
ticularly among the urban poor,
as central to the proliferation of
other “problems such as immoralities in the home, the abuse of
children, the lack of education, unhygienic conditions, joblessness
among the people, malnutrition
of children and criminality.” And
as far as these problems manifest
themselves in our society, “we cannot say our urban poor people enjoy [this right] today.” Improving
the lives of slum dwellers, however, requires more than building
and providing them sturdy and
beautiful houses, which covers
only the physical aspect of the solution. When we speak of asset reform in urban poor housing, the
“asset” being referred to is security of housing tenure. This entitles
urban poor families to a claim on
the land they have been occupying for years, thus providing a
more solid and lasting basis for
one’s housing rights. In the Philippines an estimated 15 million
people or three million families
do not have this asset. Living as
informal settlers, sometimes
called squatters, they make up
from a third to almost half of the
population of many cities in the
country. Lacking security of tenure, they are vulnerable to displacement and forced eviction,
events which shove them to further impoverishment.
Asset
in
No band-aid solutions
The government is, first and
foremost, responsible in ensuring
that its underprivileged citizens
are given secure housing tenure.
implement these programs catering to poor informal settlers.
There is no doubt that these programs do provide tenure security
which is an asset much valued by
the urban poor. At the same time,
vast improvements can still be
made in fast tracking the granting
of formal ownership and upgrading the quality of basic services in
these communities.
But since the government cannot solve the housing problem of
the country alone given its limited and mismanaged resources
and lack of political will, involving other stakeholders and the urban poor themselves will definitely help make a dent on this
persisting urban malady.
In the final analysis, the urban
poor need more than just housing. The measure of genuine asset
reform in urban housing is reflected not by the number of
houses constructed and lots
awarded by the government but
by the quality of life the beneficiaries face after the ceremony.
reform
Photo
Photo courtesy
courtesy of
of RCAM
RCAM
dential status in the country. The
three socialized housing programs covered by the study are
the Community Mortgage Program or CMP, presidential proclamations and resettlement.
To the credit of the government,
these housing programs are no
band-aid solutions. CMP allows
low-income families in informal
settlements to collectively purchase
and formalize ownership of the land
they are occupying for years through
a community mortgage. Through
Presidential Proclamations, parcels
of government-owned lands are declared open for distribution to qualified beneficiaries. Resettlement programs, on the other hand, benefit
urban poor families whose homes
are demolished as a result of a court
order (usually on a privately-owned
property), a government infrastructure project or clearing of danger
zones (e.g. riverbanks, waterways,
gathered from interviews with
468 socialized housing beneficiaries, generally suggest that the
government’s performance is far
from impressive. As far as the
three urban housing programs are
concerned, the study shows that
these programs have been relatively successful in providing
some degree of tenure security to
urban informal settlers. The granting of formal land ownership,
however, has been slow in most
cases, particularly for presidential
proclamations and resettlement
projects. Majority or 94 percent of
the respondents from proclaimed
sites do not have their own land
titles yet, while only 54 percent
of the original relocates interviewed have been given their
notices of lot awards. At the rate
the government is going in processing these necessary tenurial
documents, a significant propor-
to them. CMP beneficiaries appear to be the least satisfied when
it comes to the provision of services. Those residing in proclaimed areas are the most satisfied, possibly owing to the fact
that these are relatively old and
long-established communities.
Across all housing types, the poor
state of basic services ranks as the
most pressing problem experienced by the beneficiaries.
In terms of perceived changes
in welfare, families subjected to
resettlement appear to feel least
well-off. This finding, which is
true especially for more recently
relocated households, confirms
the assertion of experts that offsite and off-city housing solutions
are less likely to result in improvements in welfare compared
to on-site and in-city relocation.
The fact that the state of basic services and housing in resettlement
water, health, employment, electricity, sanitation—basically
draws people towards cities and
urban areas. This also often justifies, but not necessarily legitimizes, the presence of informal
settlers in our cities. And while it
has always been believed that improvement in the other dimensions of human settlements will
soon follow once land tenure is
secured—which CMP, proclamations and resettlement programs
primarily address—the inadequate provision of these basic services in socialized housing
projects, as reflected in the study,
underscores the govern-ment’s
lack of attention to these other factors. The failure of key shelter agencies and local governments to effectively coordinate with and obtain the cooperation of other line
agencies has hampered the timely
and adequate delivery of needed
socialized housing
(With excerpts from the Philippine
Asset Reform Report Card: Socialized
Housing Sector written by the
JJCICSI team led by Dr. Anna Marie
A. Karaos, Executive Director. The
Philippine Asset Reform Report Card
Project also looked at asset reform programs in other sectors namely indigenous peoples, fisheries, and agrarian
reform in partnership with other
NGOs. For more information about
the research, please contact Faith
Ramirez of PhilDHRRA at 426-6740/
436-1779/ 436-0702 local 110.)
Explanation / B1
undergo their own evangelization, on-going formation, and spiritual nourishment.
This neglect of their on-going evangelization and spiritual formation is against the
CFC statutes and bad for their own Christian life and growth in it.
We can compare this guidance to Gawad
Kalinga of not over-emphasizing social
work to the guidance to our priests during
the late sixties, the seventies, and during
the years of martial law when social activism was very much emphasized in the
Church in the Philippines. The priests were
reminded that they should work for the
poor and the oppressed but they should
not neglect their life of prayer and on-going spiritual formation. They were warned
that if they neglect their spiritual life because of too much activism, they will unknowingly imbibe values which run
counter to their Christian and priestly life.
Many of those who were much involved in
social activism did not listen to this advice.
The result was that some priests were not
celebrating Mass every day or were not
hearing confessions anymore. Instead, they
were busy teaching farmers how to plant
high-yielding variety of rice or teaching
vermiculture to their parishioners or organizing rallies for justice. These projects are
good but they should not be done at the
expense of the priest’s spiritual life. Many
of these priests left the priesthood. Some of
them became Marxists, a few became commanders of the NPA.
What happened to a number of activist
priests described above can also happen to
the CFC members who are working in
Gawad Kalinga, if they over-emphasize
social work to the neglect of their own ongoing evangelization and spiritual formation. Without their knowing it, they imbibe values which run counter to Christian
values and which go against the CFC na-
ture, purpose and vision/mission. And this
has happened. I will cite cases of veering
away that happened among the leaders of
Gawad Kalinga. Before relating these cases,
I would like to stress that the majority of
the CFC members who are working in
Gawad Kalinga are not deviating from the
purpose and nature of CFC. Although these
cases of veering away are few, they are
important because they involve the leaders of Gawad Kalinga and their wrong
mind-set can easily spread among the
members.
The cases are the following: First, Malyn
Alonso, who has been working for four
years as project director in the Gawad
Kalinga in Brookside, Payatas, Quezon City,
reported the following during the dialogue:
She was one of the groups of Gawad
Kalinga leaders who went to a prospective
donor organization. She was at the time
wearing her CFC ID. When they were
about to enter the said organization’s office, she was told to remove her ID. The
reason given was that the prospective donor might not like to give to a project that
is identified with a religious organization.
Mimi David, head of the Education Ministry of CFC, paraphrased orally during the
dialogue the following written report she
made: When we were asked by the
Children’s Rosary Crusade to have our children (Sibol, Sagip) participate in their
Children’s Rosary Rally in the Shrine of
Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life in
Manila, I informed a top leader for help in
mobilization and support. His reply: “Let
us pray about it. We don’t like our partners
to see us as sectarian and identified with
the Church.” I was surprised and pained at
this response and had to call Frank Padilla
immediately as the GK Board Chairman,
to which he said, “I will talk to him. You
continue with the engagement.”
Gawad Kalinga was established by the
Couples for Christ because they love Christ
and want to love Christ in the poor and in
order to give witness to Christ through
social work. Through Gawad Kalinga, the
CFC aims to proclaim to people that Christ
must be good because He made the CFC
do the good work in Gawad Kalinga. In
this way the CFC will attract people to
Him. How can Gawad Kalinga be a witness to Christ if the leaders hide its identity
as a ministry of the Couples for Christ because they want to get donations from companies or organizations that will not give
to religious organizations?
In the news item of the Philippine
Daily Inquirer of August 28, 2007, entitled “Bishops to Discuss Couples for
Christ Split,” Tony Meloto was asked
why Gawad Kalinga “was accepting donations even from corporations manufacturing contraceptives, contradicting
the CFC’s pro-life stance.” He answered:
“GK is non-partisan. We do not take any
side in building a nation in the same
manner that we do not pass judgment
on any corporation we engage. We do
not even ask them what their (corporations) products are as long as they want
to help.”
In the news item of the ABS-CBN News
Online, April 16, 2008, entitled “Vatican
admonishes Couples for Christ over
Gawad Kalinga,” Tony Meloto was told
that “the Vatican disapproved of CFC’s
‘over-emphasis on social work’ and Gawad
Kalinga’s openness to donations from
groups that promote artificial family planning.” His answer was “Gawad Kalinga’s
mission is to build a nation… We will just
continue to work.” Tony Meloto’s answer
implied that he does not agree that GK is
over-emphasizing social work at the ex-
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pense of evangelization and spirituality
and that for him it is okay to accept donations from pharmaceutical companies that
produce contraceptives. One of the main
reasons he gives is that the mission of
Gawad Kalinga is to build a nation. As such,
it is “non-partisan. We do not take any side
in building a nation in the same manner
we do not pass judgment on any corporation that we engage. We do not even ask
them (the corporations) what their products are as long as they want to help.”
Gawad Kalinga is a ministry of the
Couples for Christ. Like Couples for Christ,
its mission is not just to build a nation but
to build the Kingdom of God. Its mission
is to evangelize, to bring people to Christ,
the Savior. Gawad Kalinga, as a ministry
of CFC, is not a civic or secular agency. It is
a ministry of a religious organization that
believes in and promotes the values of
Christ. It is good to build a nation but
Gawad Kalinga, as a Christian organization, should build a nation according to the
our efforts to strengthen and defend the
family and life; hence, it should not be
done.” “First, in this concrete case, the funds
offered also come from actions that are
morally evil, abortion and contraception.
Accepting such funding creates confusion
among the faithful, as they give the impression that abortion and the production,
distribution, and use of contraceptives and
abortifacients are acceptable practices. Besides, in their advancements and promotional materials, these companies could say
that they help the Catholic Church, and thus
give the false idea that their contraceptive
and abortion causing products and services
are acceptable.” “Second, the risk exists for
the pro-family groups receiving similar
funding to be at least silent about the
unacceptability of such products.” “Third,
it would provide those working against
the family grounds for extremely persuasive criticism to attack and discredit Church
organizations and the Church herself—especially through charges of incoherence
and insincerity.”
The “village philosopher” in the column
of Bishop Claver reasons in this way: If a
starving man may steal when stealing is
the only way for him to get food and escape imminent death, then Gawad Kalinga
may also receive funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives
in order to provide housing to people in
need of decent housing.
I think the “village philosopher,” with
whom Bishop Claver agrees, is wrong because the two situations he cites are not the
same. First, the funds of the pharmaceutical company that produces contraceptives
are not the only means to provide housing
to the beneficiaries of Gawad Kalinga.
There are many partner corporations and
groups giving Gawad Kalinga funds for its
housing project. I am sure more groups will
be willing to help, if asked. Gawad
Kalinga’s work will not be significantly
affected if they stop receiving funds from
companies that produce contraceptives.
Second, the beneficiaries of GK, who lack
decent housing, are not in imminent danger of death. They have been living in these
houses for years. Their situation is not as
desperate as the man who is allowed to
steal because he is in imminent danger of
death and the only solution to avoid death
is to steal. So, there is no justifying reason
for Gawad Kalinga to do something
wrong, that is, receive funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives in order to provide housing for them,
especially when there are so many good
means available in order to get funds for
the housing.
This directive to the Gawad Kalinga to
stop receiving “objectionable” funds is similar to the “collective policy of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines regarding gambling”. In its “CBCP Statement on Gambling,” dated January 23, 2005,
it says:
“3. Therefore, the CBCP has made it a
collective policy: a] ….. b] ….. c] To refrain
from soliciting or receiving funds from illegal or legal gambling so as not to promote a culture of gambling; and d] To encourage Church personnel and Church institutions to refrain from doing the same,
even when the objective may be that of
helping the poor.”
As I said in the beginning of this article,
Bishop Claver does not agree with Cardinal Rylko’s directives, namely, to correct
the over-emphasis on social work and to
stop receiving funds from pharmaceutical
companies that produce contraceptives.
One of the reasons he gives is the Latin
saying: “Prinum est vivere, deinde
philosophare” – “to stay alive comes first before philosophizing.” But, contraceptives
are not just a matter of philosophizing. It is
also a matter of “staying alive.” Some contraceptives are abortifacient; they kill
people.
Before I end, I would like to point out
that Mr. Tony Meloto and some columnists,
knowingly or unknowingly, distort the
directives of Cardinal Rylko. By the way
they comment on the directives, they make
people think that the directives are against
the work of Gawad Kalinga for the poor.
The directives are not against Gawad
Kalinga. Gawad Kalinga should continue
its very good work. The directives are just
making some corrections in Gawad
Kalinga, namely, that Gawad Kalinga
should not over-emphasize social work at
the expense of the evangelization and spiritual formation of the family and that GK
should stop receiving funds from pharmaceutical companies that produce contraceptives.
(Most Rev. Gabriel V. Reyes is the bishop of
the Diocese of Antipolo and the Chairman of the
Episcopal Commission on the Laity of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines)
Entertainment
B8
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Title: Indiana Jones and the
Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate
Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia
LeBeouf, Ray Winstone,
John Hurt, Jim Broadbent.
Genre: Action-adventure.
Director: Steven Spielberg.
Writers: David Koepp, George
Lucas.
Distributor: Paramount Pictures.
Location: Peru.
Running time: 124 minutes.
Technical:
½
Moral:
CINEMA rating: PG 13
YEARS ago, Indiana Jones
(Harrison Ford) is supposed to
have seen in a humongous warehouse a crate that contains hypermagnetic material. Now the Soviet femme fatale Irina Spalko
(Cate Blanchett) who is as beautiful as she is heartless, takes Indy
and his sidekick Mac McHale
(Ray Winstone) to this warehouse
to find this crate. The mysterious
crate leads the trio and Irina’s
coterie of equally vicious Russians to the Amazonian wilderness, picking up along the way
Indy’s “support group” Marion
Ravenwood (Karen Allen), motorcycle buff Mutt Williams (Shia
LeBeouf), and aging Professor
Oxley (John Hurt) who is most
useful in deciphering cave drawings, explaining things nobody
knows about, and carrying the
crystal skull they have found in
a crypt. The crystal skull is supposed to be one of the 13—the
other 12 are concealed in an ancient subterranean city of gold
beneath a pyramid in Peru—and
supposedly represents one-thirteenth of all knowledge that is
knowable by man. Like all other
power-charged antiquities, the
crystal skull must be returned to
its original home, otherwise…
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom
of the Crystal Skull is the fourth IJ
adventure…, and while it may not
surpass or even equal Raiders of the
Lost Ark (the first of the Indiana
Jones series, 1981), it’s hard to say if
Crystal Skull couldn’t be the best
had it been the first Indiana Jones
movie. That usually happens with
cinematic greats that have Numbers
2, 3, 4 or more following them, like
Rambo, Lord of the Rings, Harry
Potter, etc.—the public normally
judges the first as the best, then the
interest wanes. When the novelty
fades, Number 2, 3, etc. have to try
twice as hard to keep viewers high.
Viewers want more of the same, the
excitement of the first. But what human reaction to pleasure doesn’t
reflect the same addictive pattern?
The first almost always sets the standards for sequels, but producers
can’t seem to sustain the level of creativity because their chief motivation now is to cash in on the financial success of the original.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is no
exception, but it has its share of
action and inaction, so to speak.
First, the lack of action: Indiana
Jones is synonymous with actionadventure, thus, expect viewers
to be impatient—if they don’t
doze off, that is—with the dialogue earlier on in the movie.
We suspect, however, that the
footage devoted to talking heads
is their way of shortening running time—instead of acting out
the background, they make the
characters tell the story.
Now the action: wow, it can
only happen in the movies! The
vine-swinging would shame
Tarzan. The race on the edge of
the cliff will keep you on the
edge of your seat. It’s assuring to
know senior citizens (Ford and
Hurt) can see that much
fantabulous action without as
much as dislocating a kneecap.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Technical
Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
It’s amazing to see a fragile-looking Russian lady can fence,
shoot, fight, leap, kick and drive
like an ex-Le Mans racer and still
keep her bangs impeccably intact. It’s comforting to believe
your puny boat can plunge down
three gigantic waterfalls in three
minutes and still run with all passengers cool and collected in
their seats—are they wearing
seatbelts? But of course, actionadventure flicks especially in the
era of CGI must defy logic and
break the laws of physics—otherwise they wouldn’t be credible
as such. So, enjoy the engineering marvel that is the underground kingdom—and the cliffs
and the waterfalls, creations that
fill you with awe.
On its first screening day, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the
Crystal Skull was the only movie
showing at all Power Plant cinemas;
still it was full house, with a number of shrieking kids among the
audience. We wonder if this was
true of all theaters showing it; if so,
Indiana Jones can give Spiderman
a run for his money. (Spiderman is
Number One among Filipino audiences’ all-time favorites). MTRCB
has given a “GP” (General Patronage) rating to the movie, and CINEMA agrees it’s entertaining and
wholesome enough; however, due
to certain images and incidents that
could frighten young children,
CINEMA rates it as PG 13, meaning even children below 13 may
watch but with parental guidance.
The movie requires a certain degree of sophistication to be fully
appreciated, so it’s up to the parents or accompanying elders to simplify the background and the details for the children, and to explain
culture-related issues so as not to
engender biases and prejudice in
young minds. (Example: The Russians are bad guys.)
MAC en COLET
ni Bladimer Usi
Buhay Parokya
Look for the three missing items: Stole, Holy Water container and
Picture of Blessed Mother. (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)
Title: Caregiver
Cast: Sharon Cuneta, John
Estrada, John Manalo,
Makisig Morales, Boots
Anson-Roa, Jhong Hilario,
Rica Peralejo, Mickey
Ferriols, Lotlot de Leon,
Monique Wilson, Anita
Linda
Director: Chito Roño
Producer: Star Cinema
Screenwriter: Chris Martinez
Genre: Drama
Distributor: Star Cinema
Location: London, England
Running Time: 110 min.
Technical:
½
Moral:
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age
13 and below with parental
guidance
TINALIKURAN ni Sarah (Sharon
Cuneta) ang pagiging guro
upang makasunod sa asawang si
Teddy (John Estrada) sa London
at maging caregiver doon.
Iniwan ni Sarah sa Pilipinas ang
anak na si Paulo (John Manalo)
nang mabigat ang loob.
Pagdating sa London ay pagsusumikapan nilang mag-asawa na
maka-ipon upang agad makuha
si Paulo at mamumuhay sila
bilang isang pamilya sa London.
Ngunit hindi ito agad mangyayari dahil sa sanga-sangang
problemang haharapin ni Sarah
kapiling si Teddy. Unti-unti ring
mamumulat si Sarah sa napakaraming realidad ng buhay sa
London. Ang hirap ng trabaho
bilang caregiver at ang asawang
nakalugmok sa mga bigong
pangako at wasak na pangarap.
Bagama’t hindi maikakailang
formula at de-kahon ang Caregiver, nakapagbigay pa rin ito ng
bagong pananaw ukol sa kalagayan ng mga kababayan nating
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW)
sa London. Bago ang konseptong
caregiving at hindi pa ito
masyadong natatalakay sa
pelikula man o telebisyon. Naging matapang ang pelikula sa
hamong ipakita ang isang aspeto
ng pagiging OFW na hindi pa
masyadong talamak sa pag-iisip
ng mga manonood. Mahusay ang
pagkakaganap ng mga tauhan
mula sa mga bidang sina Sharon
Cuneta, John Estrada, John
Manalo hanggang sa mga
artistang may maliit lamang na
papel tulad ni Anita Linda. Natural ang mga linya at tamang-tama
ang timpla ng mga eksena. Hindi
man ganoon kabigat ang dating
sa mga manonood, hindi pa rin
maitatangging nadala ng
Caregiver ang mga manonood sa
isang lugar at buhay na malayo
sa ating ulirat.
Ipinakikita ng Caregiver ang
napakaraming sakripisyong
pinagdaraanan ang mga
nakikipag-sapalaran sa ibang
bansa kapalit ng pangakong higit
na magandang buhay. Hindi nga
lahat ng umaalis at nangingibang-bayan ay nagi-ging
matagumpay. Hindi lahat ng
pangarap ay natutupad at
nasasagot ng paga-abroad. Sa
katunayan, karamihan sa mga
tunay na problema ay hindi naguugat sa pera kundi sa kaibuturan
ng pagkatao na nananatili saan
mang lugar mapunta, kumita
man ng malaking halaga.
Kapuri-puri ang katauhan ni Sarah na naging matapang sa gitna
ng maraming pagsubok. Naging
masunurin sa asawa si Sarah
hanggang sa mamulat sa katotohanang may sarili siyang pagiisip na dapat ding igalang. Isa
rin siyang mapagmahal na ina na
pinagsu-sumikapang ipaliwanag
at ipadama sa anak ang kahalagahan ng pagtitiis at pagtupad
sa pangako. Hindi rin matatawaran ang pagbibigay ng pelikula ng digni-dad sa isang
trabahong madalas ay minamaliit at pinandidirihan: ang
pagiging caregiver. Gaano man
kaliit o kababa ang isang hanapbuhay, nagiging mataas ito at
kapuri-puri kapag binigyang
dignidad at halaga mismo ng
mga taong nasa trabahong ito.
Ang taong nagma-malasakit sa
trabaho ay nagmama-lasakit sa
kapwa. Nakakabahala lamang
ang mensahe ng pelikulang
walang asenso sa Pilipinas kung
kaya’t mas pinipili ng mga Pilipinong magpakababa sa ibang
bayan upang guminhawa
lamang sa buhay. Bagama’t may
bahid ito ng katotohanan, hindi
ito ang ganap na katotohanan, at
dapat pa ring malaman, unawain
at maram-daman ng mga
kabataan na ang sariling bayan
ang siyang dapat unang paglingkuran.
CBCP Monitor
C1
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
DOCETE
Vol. XXVI No. 121
A Catechetical Publication of the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education
ECCCE conducts summer
assembly for priests
THE Episcopal Commission on
Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE) conducted a “Summer Catechetical Institute for
Priests” last April 14-18 at the Sta.
Catalina Spirituality Center in
Baguio City. The participants, 68
in all, were Catechetical Directors
coming from the different archdioceses, dioceses, prelatures and
apostolic vicariates nationwide.
The event, which had the theme
“That Christ be formed in us”,
had the following objectives: to
gather in the spirit of communion in mission the diocesan
catechetical directors; to undertake the basic formation for
catechetical directors in the
framework of the GDC and
NCDP ’07; and finally, to identify a plan of action for
catechetical directors.
ECCCE Chairman and Balanga
Bishop, Most Rev. Socrates B.
Villegas, DD commenced the
five-day course with an inspiring
Overview of the whole Training
Program, during their orientation on the first day, April 14.
Participants were fed with
ample information coming from
well regarded speakers on their
second day, starting off with Rev.
Msgr. Hernando Guanzon (from
the Diocese of Balanga) who gave
his Theological Reflections Regarding the Ministry. He stressed
on 7 major points: 1) that the
priesthood of Jesus should always
be viewed not only from the context of the last supper (institution
of the Holy Eucharist) but within
the context of his entire public
life; 2) that the various and different ministries in the church
were instituted in accordance to
the call of the times. The church
in making herself progressively
relevant would always find herself establishing and creating new
forms of ministries; 3) that the
sacrament of baptism, and not
the sacrament of Holy Orders,
should be the starting point in the
study of the theology of ministry; 4) that Vatican II (e.g. LG 2528, PO 2 and 4, CD 30), Karl
Rahner, Hans Ur von Balthasar,
Pope Benedict XVI, Paul VI and
John Paul II consider the ministry of the Word as essential; 5)
that Evangelization (KERYGMA)
is the first form of ministry in the
early Church; 6) that the Ministry in the Church is charismatic;
and 7) that the Ongoing formation is a juridical obligation for
all ministers in the Church.
CBCP Assistant Secretary General Msgr. Joselito Asis followed
afterwards with his conference on
the Canonical Provisions on
Catechetical Instruction in the
1983 Code of Canon Law. For his
introduction, Msgr. Asis briefly
emphasized the importance of the
Canon Law in the realm of
Catechesis. He then proceeded to
his talk-proper which was divided into seven major parts: 1)
the Fundamental Juridical Elements of Catechesis; 2) the Official Catechesis and Private
Catechesis; 3) the Competence of
the Ecclesiastical Authority over
Catechesis; 4) the Catechetical Responsibility of the Various Members of the Parish Community;
5) the Various Pastoral Situations
Where Catechetical Instruction is
Needed in the Parish Community; 6) the Catechetical Instruments; and finally, 7) the Conclusions and Recommendations
where in he emphasized the basic tasks of the Canon Law,
namely: a) assigning responsibilities in the Church, and b)
proper ordering of Church’s task
in the exercise of the Ministry of
the Word, e.g. catechetical instruction.
ECCCE’s Executive Secretary,
Rev. Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos followed shortly by presenting the
Principles of Pastoral Management which covered the 4th and
5 th Conferences. For his
Situationer, Msgr. Santos presented relevant statistics vis-à-vis
the New National Catechetical
Directory for the Philippines’
(NNCDP’s) Preface which enve-
lopes the late Pope John Paul II’s
challenge to the Philippine
Church. He then proceeded by
briefly presenting Chapter VI of
the NNCDP which focused on
Organization, Personnel and Resources. Afterwards, he continued his conference with Part 5,
Chapter 4 of the General Directory for Catechesis Congregation
for the Clergy (1997) which centered on the Organization of
Catechetical Pastoral Care in the
Particular Churches and with
stress on Services of Inter-Diocesan Co-Operation, the Service of
the Episcopal Conference, and
the Importance of an Effective CoOrdination of Catechesis. The
three Challenges in the Pastoral
Planning of Catechesis in the
Philippines were also presented
to the participants, namely: The
Power of Vision (with the Vision
of Church in the Philippines, the
nine Pastoral Priorities of the
Church in the Philippines, and
the Vision of Catechesis in
NCDP), The Need for Paradigm
Shifts (such as Key advantage in
Religious Education as movements and Three Major Shifts in
Religious Education), and finally,
The Framework Systems Thinking highlighted by The Fifth Discipline (from The Arts and Practice of the Learning Organization
Summer / C2
One month formation for
catechists held in Bangued
THE Catechetical department of the Diocese
of Bangued concluded a one month formation for new catechists on May 4. Twenty five
catechists from 12 parishes, seven of whom
are in their second summer year, attended
the formation given mostly by priests in the
Diocese in the Catechetical Formation Center of Tayum, Abra. On the fourth week, they
were joined by 46 older catechists for a oneweek updating.
The training of catechists in the diocese is
programmed for four summers of one month
each. After completing the courses in doctrine, morals, and prayer, they are awarded a
canonical mission, certifying them as qualified catechists.
The older catechists completed the program which started in 2000. They are however obliged to attend a one week updating
which is coincided with the last week of the
one month summer class for the new catechists. In this way, all the catechists of the
Diocese have the occasion to socialize and
share experiences.
This program professionalizes the catechists equipping them with sufficient understanding of the faith. It also gives them
confidence in teaching in the public elementary and high schools of the diocese. They
service 95 percent of all schools in Abra.
The Director of the Diocesan Catechetical
Department is Fr. Floro Bautista, also the
Parish Priest of St. Catherine of Alexandria
Parish in Tayum, Abra. The Sister coordinator is Sr. Margie Angupa, SIHM. The program
is subsidized by the Diocese under Bishop
Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD, DD. It also received
a financial support from ECCCE office
through Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos and Bishop
Socrates Villegas, DD for this summer. (Fr.
Floro Bautista)
Evangelization and
Catholic Education
(First of Two Parts)
By Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP, DD
Introduction
Let the first words be words of gratitude for the privilege of
sharing in the collective effort to deepen the understanding of
that which is in the words of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II,
“the pre-eminent task of the Church”, that is, catechesis.
Over the past fifteen years there has been a significant growth
in the Philippine catechetical scene. One can point to a manifest
increase in, and awareness of, the fundamental importance of
catechesis, an acceptance of the need for proper catechesis in
fostering practically every known ministry or movement in
the church: for family life, for social apostolate, for an authentic
base level ecclesial community, for Bible prayer, etc. But when
the attention shifts from the clear advances to the messenger
the initial enthusiasm gradually gives way to a feeling of discouragement.
What brought about this disparity? Various obstacles come
to mind: financial problems, lack of adequately trained catechists, proper materials, and most especially a constantly growing population. But there is another element, —one which is
more serious because it is less perceptible to the untrained eyes,
—it is the divergence in theory and practice over the nature,
method and goal of catechesis. The blurring of the traditional
lines between evangelization and catechesis, between catechesis
and theology, results into divergence in practice and confusion—even scandalous competition between methods and supporters of those methods.
The choice of the topic then lecture is both important and
relevant. One intends to develop the topic by touching on the
following points:
1. The relation of catechesis to evangelization and theology;
2. The nature and goals of catechesis itself;
3. The case for catechesis.
Several things come into consideration as one goes over these
points: first, making use of the documents of the church particularly the General Catechetical Directory, John Paul II’s Catechesis in
our Time and particularly the National Catechetical Directory of the
Philippines, the draft document of the CBCP which carries the
title Maturing in Christian Faith; in fact almost the entire paper is
drawn from this document and may very well be considered a
presentation of its content on catechesis; second, in developing
an understanding of catechesis one is always expected to apply
the theoretical understanding to the Philippines setting.
Evangelization and Catechesis
What is the relationship between evangelization and
catechesis?
The answer will depend on what meaning you are giving to
the term evangelization.
Evangelii Nuntiandi considers evangelization as the “total
process of bringing about the Good News to the whole of humanity” (EN 14). The core message of this activity is proclamation that salvation is offered by God to all as a gift of God’s
grace and mercy; and this salvation is found in Jesus Christ, the
Son of God made man, who died and rose from the dead (EN
27). Essentially then, its purpose is to hold all into that faith
wherein believers allow God to enter into their lives, accepting
His ideas, adopting His values, living His ways which are fully
revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ.
In this context, catechesis represents one of the “moments,” a
very remarkable one (CT 18). It is that moment when one’s faith
becomes living, conscious and active through the light of inEvangelization / C4
DOCETE
C2
By Dr. Ma.
Natividad
CBCP Monitor
Lucia
C.
Interpretation of Scripture
Literal Interpretation
The literal sense, which is expressed
directly by the inspired authors of Scripture, is discovered by exegesis that follows the rules of proper interpretation.
The primary aim of the historical critical method is to discover with the greatest possible accuracy the literal sense of
the biblical text by using a wide variety
of methods such as historical studies of
the background and influence on a given
writer, and examination of literary
because of this God exalted him (Phil.
2:6-11).
Viewing Scripture in terms of the apostolic heritage living on in the church
through the Holy Spirit who helps the
people of God to live a holy life and
growth in faith brings out the spiritual
sense. Through the vast and varied cloud
of witnesses in the eras of the Church
consisting of the ecumenical councils,
church fathers, teachings of bishops,
work of theologians, liturgy and prayers
of the church, sense of the faithful and
lives of saints, the Church makes
progress in understanding the hidden
meaning of Scripture and shows the dynamic transmission of faith and the richness and diversity of being “in commun-
pneumatic exegesis, thus brings about a
Christian thinking about faith, with faith
and for faith.
Christian Imagination
The nature of the sacred text as an inspiring, living, sacramental and work of
art calls for an approach that involves
the imagination that leads to encounter
the presence of the divine mystery.
Imagination should not be identified
with “fantasy,” or some capricious image called up to fulfill a felt need. Far
from being opposed to reason, imaginative activity involves the workings of
the intellect and emotions.
Christian imagination seeks
Scripture with a poet’s sensi-
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
forgiveness of sinners. These patterns
bring a sense of renewed hope that becomes an image or symbol for human
thinking, acting and hoping and are
shared to others through story, way of
living and celebration in the Church’s
liturgy and sacraments particularly the
Eucharist.
The work of imagination connects the
sacred text to God’s presence in the life
of the people today. The world perceived
in Scripture is
made present
ment. However, when the verse is read
in view of the whole psalm and Jesus’
life and ministry, it actually expresses
with incredible poignancy Jesus’ profound intimacy and complete dependence on the Father. This prayer expresses what it means to Jesus and to us
to be the child of the Father by our filial
love, obedience and complete dedication
to his Father’s will.
Performance Hermeneutics
An approach, which aims to bring out
Scripture’s true nature as
the living and
powerful
Sacr ed Scripture
Soul of Theology
(Last of Three Parts)
genres and styles of a given document,
and study of related literature of antiquity (Donahue 1991, 20).
The Pontifical Biblical Commission
recognizing that Scripture can have more
than one level of meaning points out that
when a written text has the capacity to
be placed in new circumstances which
will illuminate it in different ways, adding new meanings to the original sense
(1995, 122-23). Scripture is read in the
light of what the Catholic Church has
believed, practiced, and taught in its twothousand-year history continuing to the
present. This reading in a new context
does not mean that any meaning drawn
from a wholly subjective interpretation
can be attributed to a biblical text.
Spiritual or Pneumatic Exegesis
The spiritual senses of Scripture are
brought to light when Scripture is read
and interpreted with its divine authorship in mind. Attention must be given
to the “content and unity of the whole of
Scripture the Tradition of the entire
Church and the analogy of faith (DV 12).
The “spiritual senses” of Scripture are
the deeper meanings expressed in the
symbolic language and images that lie
beneath the surface of the literal or historical sense. The spiritual sense is the
meaning expressed by the biblical text
when read and interpreted under the
influence of the Holy Spirit and in the
light of Jesus’ paschal mystery and the
new life he gives. This sense is and
meant to be written in the whole life of
every believer and of the Church.
The profound and deeper meaning of
the creation story is elicited when it is
read in the light of John’s Prologue. In
Gen. 1:27 “God created man and woman
in his image and likeness.” The Prologue
of John speaks of the “Word of God
through whom everything came to be
and what came to be was life, the light
of the human race.
The Word of God became flesh and
dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:1-4, 14). The mystery of the Incarnate Word sheds light
on the mystery of the human person (GS
22). The meaning of the human person
as an image of God is illumined in the
person and mission of Jesus Christ, the
Word Incarnate, who was in the form of
God emptied himself and took the form
of a slave. He humbled himself obediently accepting death on the cross and
Courtesy of Sr. Ann Marie Nemenzo, FSP
ion in loving the same God and their
neighbor, being disciples of the same
Lord, and animated by the same Spirit”
(CFC 1429).
Spiritual or “pneumatic” exegesis accentuates and motivates a personal response to Jesus Christ as he is encountered in the Gospels. This means simple
things like learning to call Jesus my
“Lord and Savior,” and praying to God
as “Abba Father,” as Jesus taught, and
empowered by the Spirit of adoption
(Rom 8:15). Through the interior action
of the same Spirit, people are able to
share in the mysteries of Christ’s life and
Paschal Mystery, thereby being gradually transformed into Christ-likeness.
Such is the purpose of meditating on the
Gospel narratives in St. Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises—”to know Christ more
clearly, love him more dearly and follow him more nearly,” as expressed in a
popular song. “I have been crucified
with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but
Christ lives in me,” exclaims Paul (Gal.
2:19-20). Scripture, interpreted through
bilities and yearning for a meaning, an
encounter with the infinite truth. It calls
for an arduous work of paying attention
to Scripture’s language, images, symbols, and metaphors with both critical
precision and with a believer’s engagement in order to grasp the truth contained in the text (Burrows 2002, 173).
This is the way to pursue what lies hidden beneath the words, the veiled infinite mystery. The divine mystery is not
a problem to be solved but there is always more to understand and love in
Him. He is everything that human being desires. “In Him we live, move and
have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Imagination enables the readers to
imagine the world Scripture imagines.
This means seeing the world as one created and sustained by God, redeemed
by God’s Incarnate Word, and indwelt
by God’s Spirit. Scripture describes certain patterns characteristic of God’s dealings with humanity as seen in Jesus’
compassion for the little ones, his universal call to repentance and merciful
when people participate and share in the
life of God through the ordinary graced
events of their human lives. When this
takes place then God is not only active
in the world in Scripture but most profoundly in today’s world. The imaginative activity enables the grace of the
Spirit to work within the human hearts
to generate a genuine conversion and a
graced empowered Christian practices
that actualize the Gospel way of life today.
For example, a technical interpretation
of Psalm 22 describes the afflictions suffered by David during the revolt or a
prayer composed for use in the Temple
liturgy. Psalm 22 begins as a prayer of
lament and petition, and offered by persons who were severely sick and threatened by death (Vall 2002, 178).
But a more holistic imaginative interpretation of the text calls to mind Jesus
crucified on the cross praying this psalm,
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Ps. 22:2). This verse is often
misread as Jesus’ feeling of abandon-
Word of God, likens the interpreting of
Scripture to the performance of a classic
symphony or stage drama. “Performance” in interpreting Sacred Scripture
is not simply “play-acting” or role-playing. Rather it refers to the total act of
communicating the ‘Good News,’ involving the communicator, the Scriptural text itself, and the receivers of the
message—all in the concrete context of
the action. This happens when the reader
and hearer receive in faith and love
God’s living Word through a gradual
penetration of the Word into one’s mind
and heart. The reader and hearer are not
simply passive receivers of God’s word
but take an active role in the process of
receiving God’s Word by embodying
and “performing” the meaning of the
sacred text. This means that they participate in, relate to, and are involved in,
the divine revelation being communicated in Scripture through the conversion of the heart.
This recognition of Scripture’s direct
relevance to the daily life is usually
achieved when Scripture texts begin to
be exemplified and actualized in the life
of the people from lack of faith to faith,
from closed eyes to open eyes, and from
bereft of comprehension to understanding. Through an ever-deepening knowledge and love of our Lord Jesus Christ,
to a loving relationship with others, and
a deep sense of prayer and worship of
the triune God, they become sharers in
the divine life. The Christian message,
actualized and appropriated in their
daily life, affects real convictions, moral
values of love and compassion, and
genuine worship that reach out to God.
This is the good life, a whole and integrated life that God wants all people to
have.
“Performance hermeneutics” as an approach to Scripture is not a detached academic endeavor involving a historical
or archaeological pursuit of an ancient
text. Rather it is a practical, personal, and
communal endeavor (Lash 1982, 467-74).
For example, the Acts of the Apostles
and the letters of Paul give a glimpse of
the early Christian communities breaking bread together in memory of Jesus,
sharing their possessions with those in
need, singing, healing, witnessing together and teaching the people and proclaiming that Good News in Jesus (Acts
Sacred / C4
Summer / C1
by Peter M. Senge).
Heavy but inspiring sessions
also filled the third day, starting
off with ECCCE’s Chairman
Emeritus and highly respected
Archbishop of Caceres, Most Rev.
Leonardo Legaspi, OP, DD, who
covered the 6th and 7th Conferences with his lecture “Toward a
Practical Sketch of ECCCE’s Vision of Catechesis”.
After his introduction, the
archbishop gave an overview of
the three local catechetical documents he discussed, namely: the
National Catechetical Directory
of the Philippines (NCDP), the
Catechism of Filipino Catholics
(CFC) and the New NCDP, and
noting their basic consistency.
The discussion proceeded with
the first document—The NCDP
1985. He limited his evaluation
of the document to two themes:
General Catechetical Aims and
Objectives, and the Constitutive
Elements of Catechesis. The CFC,
on the other hand, was presented
through the following variety of
aspects: the Theological Concept
of the CFC, the CFC as a Vision
of Unity, CFC as Faith’s Contribution to Human Experience and
Culture, and CFC’s Unique Effort
in Narrating the Saving Plan of
God. He proceeded to discuss the
New National Catechetical Directory of the Philippines
(NNCDP), first by stating the
three major revisions of the
NCDP 1985 that have made a
major contribution to our present
catechetical efforts: first is the
updating of the Philippine
Catechetical Context and the exposition of Catechesis and its
Foundation (chapters 1-3); second
is the revision of the chapters on
Doctrine, Morals and Worship by
relating directly to the CFC (chapter 4); and the third is the development of the chapter on Methodology that integrates various
levels and types of methodology
(chapter 5).
The last topic was focused on
Integrated Catechesis, stressing
that in the NNCDP, “integration,
as the first principle of
catechetical methodology,” refers to the holistic, unified character of all authentic catechesis.
Finally, in his conclusion, Archbishop Legaspi pointed out that
“the definitive aim of catechesis
is to put people not only in touch
but in communion, in intimacy,
with Jesus Christ: only he can lead
to the love of the Father in the
Spirit, and make us share in the
life of the Holy Trinity. (CT 5)”
Two exceedingly experienced
catechetical coordinators—Ms.
Ophine Javier (from the diocese
of Novaliches) and Ms. Annette
Angeles (from the diocese of
Kalookan)—handled the 8th conference which was about the
Catechetical Methodology based
on the New NCDP. First, they
gave the participants a brief but
clear view of the Philippine
Catechetical Scene (a short history, then the methodology
used). Catechetical Methods were
then presented into two parts:
first, the Nature of Catechetical
Methods, followed by the Gen-
eral Directives for Catechetical
Methods. The Types of
Catechetical Methodology and
Pedagogy of Faith for Filipinos
Today were discussed next. The
final and equally important topic
of the conference was about Communication Media and its vital
role in evangelization and
catechesis. (GDC 161) We are reminded that “the use of these instruments by professionals in
communication and their reception by the public, demand both
a work of education in a critical
sense, animated by a passion for
truth, and a work of defense of
liberty, respect for the dignity of
individuals, and the elevation of
the authentic culture of peoples.”
Most Rev. Gilbert Garcera, DD
(Bishop of Daet, ECCCE’s Vice
Chairman and the National Director of the Pontifical Mission
Societies of the Philippines) presented on the 4th day, the 9th conference of the course—Organization, Personnel and Resources of
Catechesis which comprise Chapter VI of the New NCDP. The Personnel, which answers the question, “Who are to be catechized?”
pertains to the children, youth,
adult and disabled. The Organization, on the other hand, relates
to the question, “Why is there a
need for organization and planning?” and involves the collaboration of a lot of personalities in
the Church. They are the basic
ecclesial communities, the parents, the parish / parish priest,
the catechists, the diocese /
bishop, the religious, the national
office, the seminaries, the
catechetical centers and the different schools. The last item—
Resources, on the other hand, revolves around the questions:
“How, what, who, where, and
when?” with reference to the principles, guidelines and criteria for
communicating the “Good
News” to the Filipinos in the context of the 3rd millennium.
Bishop Garcera ended his conference by quoting Pope Benedict
XVI’s challenge to the priests:
Priests Should Be Experts in
Spiritual Life. “The lay faithful
expect only one thing from
priests: that they be specialists in
promoting the encounter between man and God…The priest
is not asked to be an expert in
economics, construction or politics.
He is expected to be an expert
in the spiritual life… In the face
of the temptations of relativism
or the permissive society, there
is absolutely no need for the
priest to know all the latest,
changing currents of thought;
what the faithful expect from him
is that he be a witness to the eternal wisdom contained in the revealed word.” (Warsaw cathedral,
Poland, May 25, 2006)
The 10th and last conference was
rather distinctive from the previous conferences since it is a
sharing of Catechetical Experiences coming from the three major regions of the country—
Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Representing Northern Luzon
was Abbot Santos Rabang who
gave a clear picture of the
Catechetical Praxis in Nueva
Segovia. He first presented the
Archdiocesan Catechetical Programs which are categorized as:
School based, Barangay based,
Archdiocesan Catholic Schools
based, and Family Based. He reported that their commission’s
top priority is the On-going Formation of the Catechists, whether
they are volunteer catechists or
formally-trained catechists.
Other concerns of their commission were also reported, in particular, the association with Specialized Catechesis and other developments in their catechetical
praxis.
Finally, he shared their particular predicament – they suggest
that ECCCE take the initiative to
recommend to the Commission
on Seminaries to have courses in
Catechetics increased in the theological curriculum for priests to
grow in the cognitive, effective,
and behavioral levels of
catechetics.
The Mindanao group on the
other hand was represented by
Fr. Bobby Cena and Fr. Noel
Pedregosa who presented their
Journey Series. It is a project of
the diocese of Malaybalay, and
has been in the making for more
than five years now. It is born
out of the need for the long overdue and more contextualized instructional materials for religion
teachers and also for students.
They first explained the uniqueness of their material, followed
by the catechetical program of the
“Our Journey” (OJ) series. Afterwards, they presented the 12 Elements of Every Lesson: 1) The 5Logo Pattern; 2) Scripture Text;
3) Objectives and Context; 4)
Opening Song or Opening
Prayer; 5) Opening; 6) Activity;
7) Exposition; 8) Integration; 9)
For Reflection and Discussion; 10)
Challenge to Action; 11) Closing
Prayer or Closing Song; and 12)
Enrichment Literature
The last sharing came from the
Visayas region represented by
Msgr. John Luza, who gave an illustration of the Catechesis in the
Archdiocese of Capiz. He first introduced their Commission—the
Commission on Christian Formation (CCF) which is subservient to ECCCE.
The commission, whose vehicle is catechesis, has the motto:
“ITE MUNDUM UNIVERSUM ET
DOCETE OMENES GENTES”.
Next, he shared past activities and
projects of the commission since
its establishment.
He also made mention of the
following significant projects—
the Educational Catechetical Institutions, the Catechists’ Sustaining Activities, their Financial
Resources, and their Catechetical
Instructional Materials
The five-day summer course
officially culminated on the 18th
of April, 2008 as the participants
were given ample time to appreciate the magnificent milieu of
the Summer Capital of the Philippines before heading back to
their respective regions. (ECCCE
Research desk)
CBCP Monitor
C3
Vol. 12 No. 12
June 9 - 22, 2008
Canonical Provisions on Catechetical
Instruction in the 1983 Code of Canon Law
By Msgr. Joselito C.
Asis, JCD
Why Canon Law in the realm of
Catechesis?
Church is a social and visible
unit. She needs rules in order that
(1) her hierarchical and organic
structure may be visible, and (2)
the exercise of the functions divinely instituted and entrusted to
her is properly ordered.
Laws in the Church are indispensable so as to regulate mutual
relationships among Christ’s
faithful and to see to it that their
rights are safeguarded and their
obligations are well defined.
Canonical norms are needed
so that the common initiatives for
the continued growth of the
Church’s life and mission are supported, strengthened, and promoted (Sacrae disciplinae leges, vii ).
Analyzing therefore the fundamental juridical elements of
catechesis enshrined in the New
Code of Canon Law, we, the
Christ’s faithful, will be more
aware of our rights as well as our
obligations to make the divine
message of salvation reach all
people for all times and places
(cfr. Can. 211).
The subject of catechesis or
catechetical instruction is found
in Title I of Book III: De divini verbi
ministerio of the 1983 Code of
Canon Law, under two headings:
a). The preaching of the Word
of God – canons 762 – 772
b). Catechetical instruction –
canons 773 – 780.
I. Fundamental Juridical Elements of Catechesis
1. Goal of Catechesis (Canon 773).
2. Active Subjects or Agents of
Catechesis (Canons 774, § 1 & 2,
775, 776, 778).
3. Passive Subjects or Recipients
of Catechesis (Canon 773)
4. Instruments for Catechesis
(Canons 775, 779, 780).
5. Content of Catechesis (Canons
773, 780).
II. Official Catechesis and Private Catechesis
Canon 774 reads:
§ 1. The care for catechesis, under the direction of lawful ecclesiastical authority, extends to all
members of the Church, to each
according to his or her role.
§ 2. Before all others, parents are
bound to form their children, by
word and example, in faith and in
Christian living. The same obligation binds sponsors and those
who take the place of parents.
Par. 1- catechesis that depends
on the responsibility of the ecclesiastical authority and receive
public recognition from the authorities who direct it is called
official catechesis. It belongs to
the parish catechesis and missionary catechesis.
Par. 2 - catechesis that depends
on the initiative of the faithful,
in particular, the catechesis that
parents, godparents, and those in
loco parentum should impart to
their children is called private
catechesis or unofficial catechesis.
To this type of instruction belongs the family catechesis.
III. Competence of the Ecclesiastical Authority over Catechesis
Canon 775 distinguishes diverse competence of the ecclesi-
The 1983 Code of Canon Law
Book III – The Teaching Office of the Church
Title I: The Ministry of the Divine Word
Chapter II: Catechetical Instruction
Can. 773. It is pastors of souls especially who have the
serious duty of attending to the catechesis of the Christian
people, so that, through doctrinal formation and the experience of the Christian life, the living faith of the people may
be manifest and active.
Can. 774 § 1. The care for catechesis, under the direction of
lawful ecclesiastical authority, extends to all members of the
Church, to each according to his or her role.
§ 2. Before all others, parents are bound to form their children, by word and example, in faith and in Christian living.
The same obligation binds godparents and those who take
the place of parents.
Can. 775 § 1. While observing provisions made by the Apostolic See, it is the responsibility of diocesan Bishops to
issue norms concerning catechetical matters; to ensure that
appropriate means of catechesis are available, even by preparing a catechism, if this seems opportune; to foster and to
coordinate catechetical initiatives.
§ 2. If it is thought to be useful, the Episcopal Conference
may, with the prior approval of the Apostolic See, publish
catechisms for its territory.
§ 3. The Episcopal Conference may establish a catechetical
office, whose principal purpose is to assist individual dioceses in catechetical matters.
Can. 776. By virtue of his office, the parish priest is bound
to ensure the catechetical instruction of adults, young people
and children. To this end, he is to avail himself of the help of
clerics attached to the parish, as well as the members of institutes of consecrated life and of societies of apostolic life, being mindful of the character of each institute; and the assistance of lay members of Christ’s faithful, especially catechists.
All of these, unless they are lawfully impeded, are not to
refuse to give their labors willingly. The parish priest is also
to promote and to foster the role of parents in the family
catechesis mentioned in can. 774, § 2.
Can 777. In a special way, the parish priest is to ensure, in
accordance with the norms laid down by the diocesan Bishop,
that:
1º an adequate catechesis is given for the celebration of the
sacraments;
2º children are properly prepared for first confession and
first holy communion, and for the sacrament of confirmation, by means of catechetical instruction over an appropriate period of time;
3º children, after they have made their first holy communion, are given a richer and deeper catechetical instruction;
4º as far as their condition allows, catechetical instruction
is given to the mentally and physically handicapped;
5º the faith of young people and of adults is strengthened,
enlightened and developed by various catechetical methods
and initiatives.
Can 778. Religious Superiors and Superiors of societies of
apostolic life are to ensure that catechetical instruction is diligently given in their churches and schools, and in other works
in any way entrusted to their care.
Can 779. Catechetical instruction is to be given by employing all those aids, educational resources and means of communication which seem the more effective in securing that
the faithful, according to their character, capability, age and
circumstances of life, may be more fully steeped in catholic
teaching and prepared to put it into practice.
Can 780. Local Ordinaries are to ensure that catechists are
duly trained to carry out their office properly, namely, that
continuing formation is available to them, that they have an
appropriate knowledge of the teaching of the Church, and
that they learn both the theory and the practice of the principles of pedagogy.
astical authorities regarding
catechetical instruction:
1. The Apostolic See
2. The Diocesan Bishop
3. The Episcopal Conference
4. The Local Ordinaries
IV. Catechetical Responsibility
of the Various Members of the
Parish Community
IV. A. Pastors of Souls
Canon 773 assigns to pastors
of souls especially the proper and
serious duty to provide
catechetical instruction of the
Christian people. By pastors of
souls, we mean those who are in
charge of shepherding the people
of God entrusted under their care.
A.1. Who are the Pastors of Souls?
Pastors of souls mentioned in
canon 773 is to be understood as
it is used in canon 771: animarum
pastores praesertim Episcopi et
parochi. We identify pastors of
souls as Bishops in general and
parish priests and its equivalents.
1. a. The Bishops
1. b. The Parish Priests
1. c. Parish Priests “Ad Normam
Iuris ”
Parish priests ad norman iuris
are as follows:
(1). Pastor of a Quasi-Parish.
(2). Parish Administrator.
(3). Priests assigned in solidum.
(4). Chaplains of Migrants, Exiles,
Refugees, Nomads, Sea-Farers, etc.
A. 2. Nature of the Obligation
of the Pastors of Souls
2. a. “Proprium et grave officium”
Canon 773 states that there is a
proper and serious duty, especially on the part of pastors of
souls, to provide for catechesis
of the Christian people.
There is a slight change in the
expression of the canon from the
“gravissimun officium” of the Old
Code to the “grave officium ” of the
new Code. The gravity of the obligation of the pastors of souls for
catechesis did not lessen by the
new wording of the canon. This is
so because the source of that duty
does not change. “The duty to catechize—John Paul II explains—
springs from the command given
by the Lord and resting above all
on those who in the New Covenant receive the call to the ministry of being pastors”(CT 14).
Hence, the grave obligation of
pastors of souls to provide
catechetical instruction still implies urgency in its compliance as
attached by the law. This obligation is of great importance and
indispensable, binding not only
in justice but also in conscience.
Further, the obligation to provide catechesis is “proprium” to
every pastor of souls. This means
the catechetical task is part and
parcel of the pastoral charge of
those who have the care of souls.
This is so by virtue of the office
that the pastor of souls is holding. Any obligation or right inherent in an office is proper to
the officeholder. Proprium officium
is not vicarious, meaning to say,
the duty is exercised in the proper
name of the officeholder and not
coming from the other office.
Also, “proprium” means that the
obligation is not emanating from
the exigency of the community,
but from the office itself. The
catechetical task proper to the
pastors of souls is fundamentally
linked with the sacrament of
Holy Orders which they have received. By virtue of their ontological configuration to Christ,
pastors of souls (priests, as well
as bishops) assumed the ministry that is ordained to form and
serve the Christian community.
In the field of catechesis, for example, they become “instructors
of the people in the faith” (PO 6).
“ Proprium et grave officium” of
pastors of souls means to impart
catechetical instruction to the
people entrusted to their care is a
duty with a juridical nature inherent to the office they held, and
which should be exercise according to the provisions established
by the law. In short, pastors of souls
are bound by justice to do so.
2.b. Ground for the Removal of
the Parish Priest from the Office
Can a bishop give canonical
penalty to those pastors who
would not comply their duty to
catechize? The 1917 Code listed
under the title De delictis contra
obligationes proprias status clericalis
vel religiosi (CIC 1917, cans. 23762389) that if a pastor gravely neglects the administration of the
sacraments, care of the sick, instruction of the children and the
people , preaching on Sundays
and other holydays of obliga-
tion, etc., the Ordinary shall proceed against him in the manner
specified by law (CIC 1917, can
2382).
If the pastor is found guilty of
being habitually negligent of
this specific duty, the bishop has
all the reason to impose ecclesiastical penalty not excluding removal from his office. Thus,
grave neglect of catechetical instruction on the part of the pastors constituted an offense in the
Old Code.
The New Code does not include
in the list of offences
against special obligations (cans.
1392-1396)
the grave
neglect
or non-fulfillment of the
pastoral charges
of parish priest.
Does it mean the
diocesan Bishop cannot
inflict punishment to any
parish priest who neglects his
pastoral duties? Actually the
provision of the New Code to this
is found in canon 1741, 4º under
the title De Procedura in Parochis
Amovendis vel Transferendis (cans.
1740-1752). Canon 1741, 4º states:
“The reasons for which a parish
priest can be removed from his
parish are principally (…) grave
neglect or violation of parochial
duties, which persists after a warning; (…)” The basic parochial duties of the parish priests are given
in canons 528-530 and 535.
Catechetical instruction falls
among these pastoral duties of
parish priests. The diocesan
Bishop however must warn first
his priest of the strict obligation
binding in conscience to fulfill his
duties faithfully. If the warning
proves fruitless, it is the only time
to invoke the canonical processes.
It is interesting to note that although the New Code puts grave
neglect of parochial duties as one
ground for the removal of parish
priest in his parish, it should not
be seen as a punishment rather
an action to ensure the spiritual
welfare of the people. The fact
that this canon is put under the
administrative process and not in
the penal process gives us the impression that it is not punitive in
nature. This means that the removal or transfer of the parish
priest due to non-fulfillment of
his pastoral duties is principally
concerned with the spiritual welfare of the parish community.
IV. B. Other Priests and Deacons Attached to the Parish
B.1. Parochial Vicars
B. 2. Deacons
B. 3. Aspirants to the Priesthood
IV.C. Members of Institutes of
Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life
IV.D. Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful
D. 1. Lay Men and Women in
General
D. 2. Lay Catechists
D. 3. Lay Members of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine
and Similar Organizations
IV.E. Parents and Those Who
Takes Its Place and Godparents as
Regards Family Catechesis
E. 1. Parents
E. 2. Godparents and Those
Who Take the Place of Parents
V. Various Pastoral Situations
Where Catechetical Instruction Is
Needed in the Parish Community
V.A. Sacramental Catechesis
A. 1. Catechesis for the Celebration of Each Sacrament
1. a. Catechesis for the Sacraments of Christian Initiation
a.1. The Catechumenate
a. 2. Catechesis for Parents and
Godparents in Infant Baptism
a.3. Catechesis for Confirmation
a.4. Catechesis for the Holy Eucharist
1. b. Catechesis for the Sacraments
of Healing and Reconciliation
b.1. Catechesis for Reconciliation
b.2. Catechesis for the Anointing of the Sick
1. c. Catechesis for the Sacraments of Vocation and Commitment
Courtesy of Sr. Ann Marie Nemenzo, FSP
c.1. Catechesis for Matrimony
c. 2. Catechesis for Holy Orders
A. 2. Catechesis for Children
Preparing for First Confession
and First Communion
2. a. Adequate Catechetical and
Spiritual Preparation
2. b. Persons Responsible for the
Preparation
2. c. Special Circumstances
Where Children Can Receive
Communion
V. B. Catechesis for Children, Young
People and Adults
B. 1. Continuing Catechesis for
Children after First Communion
B. 2. Catechesis for Young
People
2. a. Catechesis for Adolescents
2. b. Catechesis for Young
Adults
B. 3. Catechesis for Adults
3. a. Catechesis for Adults in
General
3. b. Catechesis for the Aged
B. 4. Catechesis for Persons
with Handicapping Conditions
VI. Catechetical Instruments
Canon 779: “Catechetical formation is to be given by employing those aids, educational resources, and means of social communication which seem the more
effective in securing that the faithful, according to their character,
capability, age and circumstances
of life, may be able more fully to
learn Catholic teaching and more
effectively to put it into practice”.
VI. A. Catechetical Aids
A. 1. Instruments of Social
Communications
A. 2. Catechisms and Other
Catechetical Literatures
VI. B. Types of Catechetical Methodology
B. 1. Processes of Reasoning: Deductive Method, Inductive Method
(HEAP) and Memorization
B. 2. Processes of Doing
Catechesis: “See, Judge, Act”,
“See, Judge, Act, Celebrate,
Evaluate”, or “Listen, Transmit,
Dialogue” Methods
B. 3. Methods based on the
“Good News”: Integration,
Inculturation and CommunityForming
VII. Conclusions/Recommendations
We have emphasized the basic
task of Canon Law: a) assigning
responsibilities in the Church,
and b) proper ordering of
Church’s tasks in the exercise of
the Ministry of the Word, e.g.,
catechetical instruction. Having
discussed the different juridical
elements of catechesis, the real
challenge now is how to make
them effectively work in a certain parish community. The following practical recommendations are thus offered:
1. The Code assigns the task for
catechesis to all the members of
the Church according to each
one’s role. The greatest responsibility is laid upon pastors of souls
as primary responsible for
catechesis. It is important therefore that priests, as well as aspirants to priesthood, should develop special solicitude and devotion towards catechesis. Priest,
especially parish priest should
always put in his mind that as collaborator with the Bishop, he has
received the mandate and responsibility of encouraging, coordinating and directing the
catechetical activity of the community with which he has been
entrusted. He must know how to
inspire precise and opportune responsibility towards catechesis
among the various members of
his parish community (cfr. Directory for the Ministry and Life of
Priests, n. 47).
2. Corollary to the principle
that catechesis concerns the whole
Church is the call for a necessary
coordination in all catechetical
initiatives. It is important that
catecheses, both in its official and
non-official character, are always
subject to the general supervision
of legitimate ecclesiastical authority (can. 774). Parish priest
has an added task of seeing to it
that this solicitude and vigilance
for catechetical efforts are being
observed.
3. Parish catechesis has a key
role in coordinating all other
catechetical initiatives, like those
carried out by parents as regards
family catechesis, consecrated persons as regards school catechesis
and other lay faithful, either individually or as an association, as
regards their apostolate.
4. A well-coordinated catechesis existing in any parish community can only be attributed to
a viable and well-organized parish catechetical program. It is
highly recommended that every
parish should draw a catechetical
program, and situate it within the
entire parish pastoral program.
5. Last but not least, we have to
take into consideration the significant role of the diocesan
Bishop and other diocesan structures that concern catechesis.
There are many times that a fruitful and successful parish
catechesis depends on a well-organized diocesan catechetical
program and uniform diocesan
policies on catechetical matters.
We strongly recommend
therefore to every diocesan
catechetical program and uniform diocesan policies on
catechetical matters. We strongly
recommend therefore to every
diocesan Bishop to establish a
Diocesan Catechetical Ministry
and to appoint a full-time director, with special competence,
who shall promote and coordinate catechetical activities in the
whole diocese.
DOCETE
C4
PhilCARE PLEDGE FORM
I WANT TO HELP:
DONATION GUIDE
(please check appropriate box)
Monthly financial assistance (to cover living and transportation allowance) for a full-time catechist: from P4,000.00 to P6,000.00
‰
‰
‰
‰
‰
One (1) set of posters/visual aids for religion classes P1,000.00
One (1) Catechist handbook/manual P100.00
One (1) Bible P250.00
One (1) Basic Catechism for students P40.00
One (1) Religion textbook/Activity book for students P50.00
Personal Information
Name:_________________________________________________________
Address:
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Enclosed is my check/postal money order.
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SIGNATURE OVER PRINTED NAME
Evangelization / C1
struction (CT 14). It studies the
mystery of Christ in all its dimensions so that people are “not only
in touch but in communion, in
intimacy with Jesus Christ: only
he can lead us to the love of the
Father and make us share in the
life of the Holy Trinity (CT 5).”
Catechesi Tradendae provides
a second slightly different and
more limited meaning to evangelization, that is, “as the initial
conversion bringing proclamation of the Gospel.” in this sense,
evangelization is a moment, the
first moment in the pastoral and
missionary activity of the
Church. Its first use is that of leading unbelievers to make their
first act of faith. The evangelist’s
purpose is to touch the heart of
his hearers and turn them to God.
So he is not primarily concerned
with instruction or teaching, although his message may well
include it.
In this second meaning,
catechesis is seen as a subsequent
activity with a very distinct purpose. This objective is twofold:
“that of maturing the initial faith
and of educating the true disciple
of Christ” (CT 19). Here there is a
dialogue between believers.
Those who receive catechesis
have at least a spark of faith in
them; its purpose is to help them
towards a greater maturity of
faith, especially in the way of
understanding.
In catechesis then faith is assumed to be both in the giver and
the receiver of catechesis. One
does not catechize a non-believer;
you may explain your faith to
him or defend it to him. You can
preach the gospel to him. But
catechesis goes inside the community of believers, the community of faith.
The activity of our Lord is very
illustrative of this distinction between evangelization and
catechesis. Christ preached the
gospel to the poor in the simple
way. He used parables from nature, examples from everyday
life. He did this in order to give
them some ideas of God’s saving
grace and to awaken in them living faith and hope, and to turn
their hearts to God. But to his disciples he spoke differently. They
were already his followers. They
already had faith in him, however fragile. So he led them to a
deeper understanding of the
mysteries of his life and work.
One can see here in Christ’s
preaching and teaching the two
processes of evangelization and
catechesis.
Practical Implications. What
practical implications would the
preceding have for the Philippines? The draft of the National
Catechetical Directory gives two
practical implications of the distinction. One: “The basic problem
of the Church in the Philippines,”
it says, “is a problem of
catechesis, not of initial proclamation.” The other is not to “relegate catechesis to one of the less
important parish and diocesan
ministries” (NCDP Draft 61, 62).
Therefore the catechists should
not be downgraded either. They
perform, in the Church, an essential task.
Theology and Catechesis
Another form of the ministry
of the word to which catechesis
is closely related that it becomes
easily confused with it is theology. Certainly, both are at the
service of the Church. But they
differ from one another in terms
of goals, methods, and criteria.
The goal of theology is to seek
an ever fuller understanding of
the gospel message through reflection on the life of Christians
and formal teachings of the
Church. Theology presupposes
an effective catechesis which, in
cooperation with the Holy Spirit,
leads individual Christians and
the community to maturity of
faith.
The more living, conscious and
active the faith of the community
the richer it is as a source for theology. Theology is faith seeking
a fuller understanding of the gospel message, while catechesis
seeks to nurture a richer living
of that same message.
Theology’s method is scientific
in that it approaches the sacred
and human sciences critically in
an analytic and systematic fashion. Catechesis, on the other
hand, uses these sciences more as
resources to better proclaim the
faith.
The criteria used to evaluate
theology and catechesis also differ. Theology has to respond to
the test of rigorous academic integrity while catechesis draws its
criteria mainly from its fidelity
to God’s word, to the Church, and
to the concrete People of God.
Practical Implication
The main corollary is that a
catechist is not expected to be a
professional theologian; he has
other qualities demanded by
catechesis. In the words of NCDP:
“catechesis in the Philippines…
must concentrate on communicating the essentials of the faith,” not
theological hypotheses. There
has been a tendency to adopt
without enough critical examination many untried hypotheses
and theories imported from
other lands. This has at times led
to rather naïve hopes for relatively instantaneous Christian
renewals and conversations, consequent discouragement when
such hopes prove illusory.
Catechesis is not theology.
Similarly catechesis is not the
same as instruction. Instruction,
that is, teaching or explaining the
doctrines and practices of the
faith, is part of it. But catechesis
attempts more than instruction
does. It is not content with aiming at an increase of knowledge.
It tires to improve the quality of
faith itself; making it more informed and better understood
and so able to get stronger hold
on a Christian’s life. (To be continued next issue)
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
Vol.
Vol.1212No.
No.1212
June
June9 9- 22,
- 22,2008
2008
Philippine Catechetical Apostolate
and Religious Education
(PhilCARE) Foundation, Inc.
A backgrounder
We worry about the present economic situation that condemns many Filipinos to live
way below the poverty line, forcing a good
number of them to eke out a living abroad or
simply take the road of child labor and prostitution.
What should concern us more, however, is
the moral degradation that is affecting our
people, especially our youth.
This loss of moral values and principles
threatens the very future of our nation and of
our Christian community with a Mission to
Asia.
The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, (1991) has listed Catechesis and the
Catholic Schools as the most important
“Agents of Renewal” in the fight for moral
recovery. A program such as this can be
achieved only through the promotion of values and character building.
The National Pastoral Consultation on
Church Renewal (2001) has proclaimed “integral faith formation” as the number one
priority of the Catholic Church in the new
millennium. But this “faith formation” can
take place only if we have adequately trained
catechists equipped with proper pedagogical tools to teach the Catholic faith to children and youth.
Our Constitution guarantees the right of
parents to request that their children receive
religious education in the elementary and
high school levels in the public school system, but “without additional cost to the government.” (Art. XIV, Sec. 3, par. 3)
Simply put, the government only provides
school facilities and regular class time, but
does not shoulder the salaries of Catechists
nor does it supply the materials to be used in
these Religion classes.
The burden of compensating Catechists and
supplying instructional materials is now left
to the parents and the parishes, which, because of financial difficulties are constrained
to rely on “Volunteer Catechists.” They receive no financial compensation for the work
they do in giving a Christian formation to
our children and youth in the public schools
and parishes.
There are about 70,000 Volunteer Catechists nationwide. While a few may receive
from their parishes a uniform and a meager
transportation allowance, most of them lack
the indispensable instructional tools such as
teacher’s guides and audio-visual materials
to make their teaching of the Catholic faith
more effective.
In addition to this, the catechists often feel
helpless because their students do not have
any learning materials, such as Religion textbooks and activity books which they could
use in class and even bring home to the benefit of the whole family.
Establishment of PhilCARE Foundation, Inc.
PhilCARE Foundation, Inc. was established
by the Episcopal Commission on Catechesis
and Catholic Education (ECCCE) and the
Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) during the Joint Jubilee Congress of October 2000. It has received its SEC
Registration approval on November 18, 2001
and on January 20, 2004 PhilCARE Foundation, Inc. was duly accredited as a donee institution in accordance with the provisions
of Revenue Regulations No. 13-98 dated January 1, 1999.
Objectives of the foundation:
1. To assist dioceses, parishes and schools
in carrying out catechetical and religious instruction among public and private school
students.
2. To promote the development and welfare of catechist and religion teachers.
3. To make recommendations regarding
programs for the training and formation of
catechists and religion teachers, and instructional materials in catechesis and religious
education.
4. To provide feasible welfare assistance
programs for catechists and religion teachers.
5. To establish network and linkages with
different agencies engaged in catechesis and
religious education.
6. To generate funds from grants, donations, income generating projects and other
sources necessary to carry out the purposes
of the Foundation.
7. To provide possible financial and other
assistance to ECCCE for its operations and
programs
Board of Incorporators of the Association
Abp. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP, DD - ECCCE
(Chairman)
Bp. Manuel C. Sobreviñas, DD - ECCCE
Bp. Antonio R. Ranola, DD - ECCCE
Fr. Salvatore Putzu, SDB - ECCCE (Executive Directory)
Sr. Ma. Jesusa G. Enginco, OP - ECCCE
(Corporate Secretary)
Fr. Roderick Salazar, Jr., SVD - CEAP
Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos - CEAP ( T r e a surer)
Bro. Rolando R. Dizon, FSC - CEAP (President & Vice-Chairman)
Fr. Redentor S. Corpuz - CEAP
Mariano U. Piamonte - CEAP
Present Officers & Trustees of PhilCARE
Bp. Socrates B. Villegas, D.D. – ECCCE
(Chairman)
Bro. Armin A. Luistro, F.S.C. – CEAP (President & Vice-Chairman)
Msgr. Gerardo O. Santos – ECCCE
Sr. Ma. Jesusa G. Enginco, O.P. – ECCCE
(Corporate Secretary)
Abp. Leonardo Z. Legaspi, O.P., D.D. –
ECCCE
Bp. Gilbert Garcera, DD – ECCCE
Fr. Roderick C. Salazar, Jr., S.V.D – CEAP
Fr. Redentor S. Corpuz – CEAP
Sr. Aurelia C. Navarro, O.P. – CEAP (Executive Director)
Fr. Jimmy A. Belita, C.M. – (Treasurer)
Sr. Teresita Bayona, S.P.C.
An Invitation
PhilCARE Foundation, Inc. invites individuals or institutions to be a partner in the
“Moral Recovery” program of our country
by helping one of its most important agents:
The CATECHISTS. If we truly care for them,
then we should contribute to their support
by providing them compensation, as well as
equipping them with the instructional tools
they need to carry out their mission effectively. If we truly care about the Christian
formation of children and youth; we should
supply them with the minimum learning
tools which parents cannot afford to buy for
them. Let us be a “Friend of PhilCARE” by
becoming a SPONSOR, BENEFACTOR, or
DONOR, either as an individual or as an institution. We can offer a “once-only” donation, or better yet, pledge a regular contribution to the PhilCARE Foundation, Inc.
Our endowment will go to either giving
financial assistance to full-time catechists in
public schools, or to supplying a catechist
with teaching aids to be used in Religion
classes, or to pay for the printing of Religion
textbooks/activity books to be used by the
students.
Sacred / C 2
4:2).
Scripture is actualized in Christian practices which are actions that believers do together over time. This way of life is characterized by Christian affections such as reaching out to the poor, the singing of Psalms in
prayers of gratitude and thanksgiving, holy
fear and repentance, joy and suffering, and
enacting scenes from the life of Christ such
as the breaking of the bread and the washing
of the feet. These are but a few examples on
how the Scriptures have been performed
(Craigo-Snell 2000, 480).
Such interpretation of Scripture has much
to do with the present lives of people that are
“changing and being changed according to
the image of the triune God whose story the
Bible proclaims” (Barton 1999, 184). These
practices or patterns of shared life in the community address fundamental human needs
in the light of, and “in response to God’s active presence for the life of the world in Jesus
Christ” through the Spirit (Dykstra and Bass
2002, 13-32).
One extraordinary example of performance
in Scripture is the catechetical pedagogy presented in the account of the two disciples on
the way to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35). This narrative may well be used as a general paradigm for the proposed holistic approach to
Scripture.
Jesus first joins and walks with his disciples,
accompanying them, and talking with them.
He listens to them as a friend and to their
narration of what they believed was a hopeless situation. Jesus then interpreted their situation in the light of the Scriptures.
“He interpreted for them every passage of
Scripture which referred to him” (Lk. 24:27).
By citing the Scriptures, Jesus helped the disciples realize that they were not lost, but could,
by using Scripture, discover God’s presence
in the very events that discouraged them.
Beginning with Moses and all the prophets [Jesus] interpreted to them what referred
to him in all the scriptures. Then later at the
breaking of the bread they recognized him.
They said to each other: “Were not our hearts
burning inside us as he talked to us on the
road and explained the Scriptures to us” (Lk.
24:32). This encounter with the Lord led them
immediately to return to Jerusalem to proclaim to the other disciples “the Lord has been
raised!” (Lk. 24:34).
Conclusion
Scripture is the Spirit-inspired narrative of
God’s Self-revelation through words and
deeds in human history. From its nature as
an inspiring, living, sacramental, book of the
Church and work of art, the Word of God
ringing out in the world today through the
Holy Spirit, Scripture must be read and interpreted not only in its original historical
and literary context but precisely to rouse,
inspire and nourish faith down through the
ages. The essential part of the interpretation
of Scripture is how the Christian message is
performed, appropriated and lived out in
one’s daily life. The message touches and affects a person’s real Christian convictions
(believing), moral values of love and service
to others (doing), and genuine sacramental
worship that reaches out to God (praying).
Scripture, the soul of theology, is the animating source of theological discipline that
does not simply intend to relay historical
information or simply supplies a body of
prepositional knowledge. It is a source of
continuing transformation seen in real
growth in faith as well as a profound sharing
and participation in God’s life in Jesus Christ’s
paschal mystery through the power of the
Spirit. The spiritual senses of Scripture that
teach, reprove, correct and train in holiness
instruct people in the theological discipline
in order for them to understand more fully
the truth about the Christian faith, how this
faith is lived out and performed in their loving service for others and in the meaningful
celebration of the Church’s liturgy and sacramental worship of God through Jesus
Christ in the Holy Spirit.