CBCP Monitor - CBCP Media Office

A3 Monitor
CBCP
B1
• A6
Vol.
11 No.
12 the
Pope
Urges
Fr. Bossi, “Gentle Giant” of
the Mission in Mindanao
Practice of
Eucharistic
Adoration
June 11 - 24, 2007
CBCP: Political Killings,
Abductions Mar Freedom
Day Celebration
Music is a Gift
and a Mission
CINEMA
Reviews
[email protected]
www.cbcponline.net/cbcpmonitor
THE Catholic bishops’ leadership said they are
“shamed and saddened” the country continues to record high in corruption and cases of
human rights abuses.
In a message for the celebration of the 109th
anniversary of Philippine Independence,
CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo
stressed the said issues that continue to haunt
the current administration are “negative”
B8
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace
June 11 - 24, 2007
Vol. 11 No. 12
Php 20.00
A1
Fr. Luciano Benedetti:
“Some Ransom was Paid”
THE first Italian missionary Rev. Fr. Luciano
Benedetti from the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) said “it’s a pity the
armed men snatched Fr. Giancarlo Bossi.”
Benedetti, a kidnap victim himself in 1998
in Sibuco town said Fr. Bossi, 57 years old,
was just assigned to Payao last month. “He
was reassigned there for the second time after
18 years,” Benedetti said. He added Payao
residents love him as “there’s a road, the one
going to the church, named after him so I hope
Fr. Luciano / A7
CBCP / A6
CBCP backs extension of
agrarian reform program
By Roy Lagarde
THE Catholic prelates have backed calls by
farmers’ groups to extend government’s
agrarian reform program which is due to
end next year in an effort to address the
still many landless beneficiaries.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) recommended extra
years for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), warning that a premature ending could endanger stability.
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP
president, suggested that if the CARP
would not be completed by next year, it has
to be extended and its “loopholes” be examined.
He supported for the passage into law
the proposed CARP extension with reforms, saying it will streamline the mess of
existing, inconsistent policies.
Lagdameo urged the government to give
poor farmers the same rights to own a land
as the others.
“The campaign for agrarian reform is still
relevant and must be made to succeed,” he
said.
36 years
“The Campaign for Agrarian Reform is still relevant and must be made to succeed.” Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, Vice President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, sits with various
people’s organizations during the National Rural Conference on CARP Extension with Reforms to mark the 19th anniversary of CARP, June 9-10, 2007 at UP Diliman.
CBCP Head Appeals for
Release of Burgos
CATHOLIC Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
head Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo made a direct appeal for the release of a peasant
movement leader abducted a
month ago.
The call, via a video blog
posted at “YouTube”, was made
for Jonas Burgos who was reportedly seized by two unidentified men inside a mall in
Quezon City on April 28.
“We would like to request
that those who are handling
him may have the mercy and
compassion to return him to his
family,” said Lagdameo. “This
is our prayer.”
Jonas, the son of the late
press freedom fighter Jose
Burgos, Jr., spent many years
teaching farmers about natural
CBCP Head / A6
RP Nuncio Appointed Usec
in Vatican
POPE Benedict XVI appointed
Archbishop
Fernando Filoni, the current
Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines as the Vatican’s
Undersecretary of State for
General Affairs or “Sostituto”.
His new position would
place him immediately under
the Secretariat of State and
the principal aide of the Cardinal Secretary of State.
RP Nuncio / A7
ARCHBISHOP Paciano B.
Aniceto expressed alarm over
the spate of killings perceived
to be election-related over the
past few weeks.
In a Pastoral Letter entitled
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
issued during the feast of St.
Ferdinand, King last May 30,
Archbishop Aniceto said
“women have been widowed,
FR. Giancarlo Bossi,
now 57 years old
and parish priest in
Payao, Zamboanga
Sibugay was abducted by still unidentified men at 9:45
A.M. Sunday morning some 500 meters
from his parish
church where he just
officiated Mass on Fr. Giancarlo Bossi
the Solemnity of Corpus Christi.
Fr. Bossi’s immediate superior,
Zamboanga City-based Rev. Fr. Gianni
Sandalo, PIME, said this was the second
abduction of foreign missionaries from
their congregation. First to be abducted
was Rev. Fr. Luciano Benedetti in 1998.
Another Italian missionary, Rev. Fr.
Guiseppe Pierantoni from the Priests of the
Sacred Heart (also known as Sacerdotes
Cordis Jesu) was kidnapped by armed men
in the Zamboanga Peninsula during the
early 2000.
Called “giant priest” by his parishioners, Fr. Bossi stands 190 centimeters and
weighs 120 kilos, said Fr. Sandalo. He
said Fr. Bossi is “a nice and approachable
guy.”
Asked whether he would order the pull
out of four other Italian missionaries from
their congregation in the Prelature of Ipil
(which has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over
Zamboanga Sibugay province), Fr.
Sandalo said “definitely not.” He added
children orphaned and communities gripped by shock and
grief” and “their cry for justice
is our cry for justice.”
San Fernando Auxiliary
Bishop Pablo David read the
statement over Catholic-run
Veritas 846 over the weekend.
He explained the appeal was not
simply for politicians but for all
Pampanga / A6
he already knows what to do and they are
just waiting for additional information.
“We have not received any other information or ransom demand as of 2:00 P.M.
(Sunday),” Fr. Sandalo said in a long distance interview with Catholic-run CBCP
Monitor and Veritas 846.
He has already requested the Prelature
of Ipil’s apostolic administrator to attend
to Bossi’s abduction. “We are in constant
contact,” he added.
Fr. Bossi was sent to the Philippines in
1980 immediately after his ordination. A
native of Milan, Fr. Bossi’s immediate
relatives have already been informed of
the abduction.
“I already informed them of the situation,” Fr. Sandalo said. (Melo M. Acuna)
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S
T
A
T
E
Lumen Gentium Christus!
Pampanga Archbishop
Appeals for Sobriety
CBCP backs / A6
Italian Missionary Kidnapped
Message of the Apostolic Nuncio
Archbishop Fernando Filoni
According to statistics, three-fourth of the
poor in the country form part of the rural
poor. Numbers alone, he said, make the
program of agrarian reform still necessary
and urgent.
Approved through Republic Act No.
6657, the program was extended for the first
time in 1998 to further reduce poverty by
giving access to rural folks through land
ownership.
Considering the 16 years spent in implementing the law since the Marcos regime,
ONE year after my arrival in Manila as Pontifical Representative in
the Philippines, the
Holy Father Pope
Benedict XVI has called
me to serve in the Secretariat of State as Substitute.
This is an act of fatherly benevolence on
the part of the Supreme
Pontiff, to which I respond with a certain
trepidation, but with
the same willingness as
in the past, and with
profound gratitude. I
am comforted by the astonishing words of
Jesus, reported in Saint
Luke’s Gospel, concerning
the attitude towards service
that he asked of his disciples: “So you also, when
you have done all that is
commanded you, say “We
are unworthy servants; we
have only done what was
our duty.’”
I am grateful to His Eminence the Cardinal Secretary of State, who now
numbers me among his
closest co-workers. I hope
to prove worthy of the trust
that has been placed on my
person, for the greater service of the Holy Father and
of the entire Church.
I extend cordial greetMessage / A7
M
E
N
T
S
Why Agrarian Reform? —
Three Moral Principles
AT the beginning of this year,
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued
a pastoral statement on “The
Dignity of the Rural Poor—A
Gospel Concern.” We expressed our concern over the
“inequitable distribution of the
nation’s wealth and the endemic social injustices that underpin that evil.
We further pointed out that
most notable effort of government at alleviating rural poverty has been the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program.
Today, we observe the 19th anniversary of CARP. Once more,
we reiterate the call made in our
pastoral statement:
“We ask that the CARP,
defective as it is, be finally
completed next year as it
has been targeted. And if it
is not sufficiently implemented by then, the program should be further extended and funded more seriously and generously. But
we ask that the law itself
must be reviewed and improved.”
The killings last week of
two of the Mapalad farmer
leaders on the land that had
recently been given to them
as agrarian reform beneficiaries after a protracted
struggle of more than ten
Why / A7
World News
A2
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
Pope Calls G-8
Leaders to Fight
Poverty
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 6,
2007—Benedict XVI issued an
appeal to the leaders participating in the G-8 summit to keep
their promises to fight against
poverty, particularly through
education.
The Pope asked the heads of
state gathered in Germany “not
to retreat from their promises
to make a substantial increase
in development aid in favor of
the most needy populations, especially those of the African
continent.”
The Holy Father recalled his
letter to German Chancellor
Angela Merkel and her response, which assured that the
Group of Eight is committed to
attaining the Millennium Development Goals.
The Pontiff specifically mentioned the second Millennium
Goal: to achieve universal primary education—to ensure that
all boys and girls complete a
full course of primary schooling by 2015.
He said, “This is an integral
part of the attainment of all the
other Millennium Goals: It is a
guarantee of the consolidation
of goals already reached; it is
the starting point for autonomous and sustainable processes
of development.”
Benedict XVI recalled the
Church’s efforts in the war
against poverty and encouraged governments to support
private groups’ commitments.
“It must not be forgotten,” he
said, “that the Catholic Church
has always been at the forefront
in the field of education, reaching places, particularly in the
poorest countries, that state
structures often fail to reach.
Other Christian Churches, religious groups and organizations
of civil society share this educational commitment.
“According to the principle
of subsidiarity, this reality
should be recognized, valued
and supported by governments
and international organizations, among other things by
the allocation of sufficient funding, so that greater efficacy may
be guaranteed in the attainment
of the Millennium Development Goals.” (Zenit)
Appeal of the Pope for Those
Kidnapped Throughout the World,
Including Catholic Priests
VATICAN CITY, June 10,
2007—News of the kidnapping
of Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, PIME,
which took place this morning
in the south of the Philippines,
has been spreading in Italy and
in the world.
Precisely at this moment the
Pope, in his Angelus address,
launched an appeal on behalf of
the numerous “persons, among
whom are also Catholic priests,
who are held hostage for various reasons in different parts of
the world.”
Benedict XVI added: “I carry
all of them in my heart, and I
keep all of them in my prayers,”
referring in particular to some
distressing cases in Columbia.
The Pope went on to say: “I appeal with sorrow to the agents
of these deplorable acts, hoping
that they will become aware of
the evil they have done and be
willing to restore to the embraces of their loved ones those
that they are holding prisoners.
I entrust the victims to the maternal protection of the Blessed
Virgin Mary, Mother of all
men.”
Prior to this appeal the Pope
had talked about Corpus
Christi, today’s feast. “Today’s
solemnity of Corpus Christi,”
Benedict XVI said, “which was
celebrated last Thursday in the
Vatican and in other countries,
invites us to contemplate the
supreme Mystery of our faith:
the Most Holy Eucharist, the
Real Presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ in the Sacrament of the
altar.
Every time that the priest renews the Eucharistic Sacrifice, in
the prayer of consecration he
repeats: ‘This is my body…this is
my blood.’ He lends his voice, his
hands, and his heart to Christ,
who wanted to remain with us
in order to be the beating heart
of the Church.
But even after the Celebration
of the Divine Mysteries the Lord
Jesus remains present in the tabernacle. For this reason praise is
rendered to Him especially
through Eucharistic Adoration, as
I sought to remind everyone in
the recent Apostolic Exhortation
Sacramentum caritatis (see nos.
The Chaldean Church Mourns
Fr. Ragheed Ganni and His Martyrs
MOSUL, Iraq, June 6, 2007—
With “a heart full of bitterness
and mourning”, the Chaldean
Church is today lamenting its
martyrs. This is how, in a joint
statement the Chaldean Patriarch and his bishops remember Fr Ragheed Ganni and his
three subdeacons—Basman
Yousef Daud, Wahid Hanna
Isho, Gassan Isam Bidawed—
murdered in cold blood yesterday, as they left the Parish
Church of the Holy Spirit in
Mosul after Sunday Mass.
This afternoon at 15.00 (local
time) their funerals will be
held in Karamles, Fr.
Ragheed’s home town; celebrated by Msgr. Faraj Rahho,
the bishop of Mosul.
Emmanuel III Delly’s condemnation on behalf of the
nation’s bishops came just
hours after the assassination.
“It is a most heinous crime
that any person of proper conscience would reject. The authors carried out a most horrible act against God, against
humanity, against their own
brothers who were peace loving citizens, as well as men of
religion who always offered
their prayers to God the Almighty for security and stability in Iraq”, the text reads.
Msgr. Rabban al Qas, bishop
of Amadiyah and Erbil, reflected on the figure of Fr.
Ragheed with AsiaNews: “He
had such great courage, united
with a loving calm. He was a
spiritual man, loved by his
people, Catholic and Muslim”.
Meanwhile new information surrounding the nature of
the attack has come to light.
After celebrating Sunday
mass, Fr Ragheed and his
three aides were leaving the
Parish by car, accompanied by
the wife of one of the sub-deacons, Gassan Isam Bidawed.
In recent days the three insisted on accompanying Fr
Ragheed to protect him. “They
were young men alive with
faith, who accompanied their
parish priests, risking their
lives for their belief in Christ”,
their friends tell.
Suddenly, at the corner of
the road, their car is blocked by
unknown armed men militants
who order the woman to distance herself from the others
and then, in cold blood, shoot
the remaining passengers, repeatedly. The aggressor’s then
booby-trapped the car with explosives; with the aim of further carnage should anyone get
near the car to recover the bodies.
In the immediate aftermath
of the attack, the bodies remained, abandoned on the city
street, because no one dared to
approach. It was only towards
10 pm. (Local time) that security forces finally defused the
explosives allowing corpses to
be recovered. They now lie in
repose in the Church of the
Holy Spirit.
The Chaldean bishops who
are currently gathered for
their patriarchal Synod “ask
the Lord to grant mercy to the
souls of these martyrs, and extend their deepest sympathies
to the families of the deceased,
to the bishop of the city Msgr.
Faraj Rahho, to the brother
priests of the victims and the
Chaldean faithful throughout
the world, that they may be
given the necessary strength
to face such an arduous situation”.
The bishops conclude by re-
calling the persecution of Iraqi
Christians, their forced emigration, their being pushed to
renounce their faith asking
“Iraqi leaders and international organizations to intervene to put a concrete end to
these criminal acts”.
Yesterday,
Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state revealed that
the war in Iraq will be on the
agenda for talks with US
President George Bush in his
upcoming visit to Rome on
June 8th.
Fr. Ragheed is the first
Catholic priest to have been
killed in Iraq since 2003. Before him, last year it was the
turn of a Syro-Orthodox priest
Fr. Paul Iskandar.
A dear friend of AsiaNews,
Fr Ragheed Ganni was born in
Mosul in 1972. A graduate in
engineering from the local
university, he studied theology from 1996 to 2003 at the
Pontifical Irish College and
the Pontifical University of
Thomas
Aquinas
the
“Angelicum”, where he received a licence in Ecumenical
Theology. (AsiaNews)
66-69) following the Synod on
this topic.
In fact, there is an intrinsic
connection between celebration
and adoration. The Holy Mass
is in itself already the greatest act
of adoration on the part of the
Church. ‘No one eats this flesh,’
St. Augustine wrote, ‘unless he
has first adored it’ (Com. on
Psalms 98,9; CCL XXXIX, 1385).
“Adoration apart from the
Holy Mass prolongs and intensifies what has taken place in the
liturgical celebration, and makes
it possible to receive Christ in a
real and profound way.” The
Pope underlined the importance
of Eucharistic Adoration, above
all as a witness to the Real Presence of Jesus, but also as a rediscovery and strengthening of
a personal relationship with the
Lord.
The Pope then went on to add:
“I would like to take the opportunity that today’s solemnity
offers me to strongly urge Pastors and all the faithful to practice Eucharistic Adoration. I
would like to express my appreciation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life, as well as the confraternities and associations,
who dedicate themselves to the
Eucharistic Adoration in a special way: they are a reminder for
everyone of the centrality of
Christ in our life as individuals
and as Church.
It gives me joy to recognize
that young people are discovering the beauty of Adoration,
whether personally or as a community. I invite priests to encourage youth groups along
this line, while taking care to
guide them so that the forms of
Adoration by the community
are appropriate and dignified,
with sufficient time for silence
and for listening to the Word of
God.
In today’s world, so often
noisy and distracted, it is more
important than ever to recover
the capacity for interior silence
and recollection: Eucharistic
Adoration permits us to do so
not only in relation to the ‘I’ but
also in company with that ‘You’
full of love who is Jesus Christ,
‘God with us.’” (AsiaNews)
© http://cathcon.blogspot.com
Sandri Named Prefect for Eastern
Churches
Polish, Italian Bishops Join Debate on
Holy Day Observance
POLAND, June 7, 2007—The
president of the Polish bishops’ conference, Archbishop
Jozef Michalik of Przemysl, is
supporting today’s nationwide strike by the retail division of the Solidarity labor
union. Solidarity is asking for
workers to be given time off
for national holidays and
Church holy days—including
today’s feast of Corpus
Christi.
Archbishop Michalik said,
“It is good that they are protesting, that people are de-
manding the opportunity to
celebrate religious holidays.”
Requiring employees to work
on holy days, the archbishop
said, is “an attack on the family.”
Archbishop Michalik went
on to say: “Blessed are the
faithful who do not shop on
Sunday. Let there be a moral
boycott.”
Archbishop
Tadeusz
Goclowski of Danzig supported the aims of the Solidarity movement, but questioned
whether a strike was the best
way to persuade the public.
He said, “We should fight to
close stores on Sundays and
holy days, but there remains
the question: Is a strike the
preferred weapon?”
Speaking on today’s strike
the head of Solidarity’s retail
division, Alfred Bujara, said,
“In civilized countries, trade
stops on Saturday afternoon.
On holidays, retail stores are
closed.”
The French chain Auchan
and Polish chains Biedronka
and Galeria Centrum closed
their stores for the day. The
German supermarket chain
Real remained open, hiring
temporary workers.
In related news, a statement
from the Italian bishops’ conference has opened a public
debate on Sunday shopping in
that country. A survey by the
newspaper Corriere della Sera
found that 80% of Italian respondents favor Sunday shopping.
Presently retail stores are
open only 14 Sundays every
year. (CWNews)
VATICAN CITY, June 10,
2007—Benedict XVI named
Archbishop Leonardo Sandri
as prefect of the Congregation
for Eastern Churches. He has
been undersecretary of state
for general affairs.
The Vatican press office announced today that Archbishop Sandri, 63, will succeed
76-year-old Cardinal Ignace
Moussa I Daoud, who had presented his resignation after
having reached the normal retirement age.
Archbishop Sandri gave the
world the news of the death of
Pope John Paul II on the
evening of April 2, 2005, in St.
Peter’s Square. He normally
read the texts that John Paul II
could not read on account of
his illness.
Leonardo Sandri was born in
Buenos Aires on Nov. 18, 1943,
into a family of Italian origin.
He was ordained a priest in
1967. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See
in 1974 and served in Madagascar, and from 1977 to 1989
with the Vatican secretariat of
state.
From 1989 to 1991 he was an
adviser in the office of the papal nuncio to the United States
and the Organization of
American States.
On Aug. 22, 1991, he was
named prefect of the Pontifical
Household. He was made the
assessor for general affairs for
the secretariat of state in 1992.
On July 22, 1997, he was
named papal nuncio to Venezuela and ordained archbishop that same year.
On March 1, 2000, he was
made papal nuncio to Mexico
and on Sept. 16, 2000, he was
named
“sostituto”
or
undersecretary of state for general affairs.
In a declaration published by
the Vatican press office, Archbishop Sandri affirmed: “I am
aware that I have been entrusted with the great ‘treasure’ of liturgical prayer, the
spiritual tradition, monastic
life, the lives of many saints,
and the teaching of the fathers
and doctors of the Eastern
Church.
“It is a ‘treasure’ that even
today we hope is researched,
revisited, delved into, and
loved so that it can offer to the
contemporary expectations of
the universal Church and of
the world of our time the
wealth of the doctrine and
spirituality of the Eastern tradition.”
Archbishop Sandri greeted
the Christians “who are suffering in the Holy Land, in Iraq,
in Lebanon, and elsewhere
from violence, from fear and
uncertainty about the future; I
think of those who have to
leave their homeland and everything they have.”
Archbishop Sandri will continue his work in the secretariat
of state until July 1. (Zenit)
CBCP Monitor
News Features
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
Archbishop Romulo G. Valles, DD, of Zamboanga presided over the blessing and inauguration of the Emmaus House of Spirituality on May 9, 2007.
Pope Urges the Practice
of Eucharistic Adoration
VATICAN CITY, June 10,
2007—Benedict XVI recommends the practice of Eucharistic adoration, saying
that the capacity for interior
silence and recollection is
ever more important in life
that is often “noisy and scattered.”
The Pope said this today
after praying the Angelus
with crowds gathered in St.
Peter’s Square. His address
centered on the Eucharist,
as many nations celebrate
the feast of Corpus Christi
today.
“Even after the celebration of the divine mysteries,
the Lord Jesus remains living in the tabernacle; because of this he is praised,
especially by Eucharistic
adoration,” the Holy Father
said.
“There is an intrinsic connection between celebration
and adoration. The holy
Mass, in fact, is in itself the
Church’s greatest act of adoration,” he added. “Adoration outside holy Mass prolongs and intensifies what
happened in the liturgical
celebration and renders a
true and profound reception of Christ possible.
“I would like to take the
opportunity that today’s so-
lemnity offers me to
strongly recommend to pastors and all the faithful the
practice of Eucharistic adoration.”
Benedict XVI noted that
youth are showing great interest in adoration.
“I invite priests to encourage youth groups in this,
but also to accompany them
to ensure that the forms of
adoration are appropriate
and dignified, with sufficient times for silence and
listening to the word of
God,” the Pope said.
He continued: “In life today, which is often noisy and
scattered, it is more important than ever to recover the
capacity for interior silence
and recollection: Eucharistic
adoration permits one to do
this not only within one’s ‘I’
but rather in the company of
that ‘You’ full of love who is
Jesus Christ, ‘the God who
is near us.’
“May the Virgin Mary,
Eucharistic Woman, lead us
into the secret of true adoration. Her heart, humble
and silent, was always recollected around the mystery
of Jesus, in whom she worshipped the presence of
God and his redemptive
love.” (Zenit)
Young Pilgrims Meet in
Butuan City
BUTUAN City, June 8,
2007—Nearly 200 youth
leaders from 21 archdioceses,
dioceses
and
prelatures in southern Philippines
attended
Mindanao-Sulu Pastoral
Conference-Youth Congress
at the Order of Augustinian
Discalced Seminar at Villa
Paraiso, Ampayon recently.
Held every three years,
the youth gathering served
as venue for the youth to
share experiences, discern
the signs of the times, identify issues and concerns affecting the ministry, and
formulate its plan of action.
Church leaders considered
the gathering a resounding
success.
Butuan Bishop Juan de
Dios Pueblos and Auxiliary
Bishop Zacharias Jimenez,
Iligan Bishop Elenito Galido
and CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Youth chairman
and Masbate Bishop Joel
Baylon spoke before nearly
200 hundred delegates from
21 archdioceses, dioceses
and prelatures in southern
Philippines during the four-
day event.
Diocese of Surigao Vicar
General Msgr. Terry Iral,
DCS, spoke about “The
Youth and the Mindanao
Church: Its Realities.”
Bishop Zacarias Jimenez
talked about “A Sense of
Youth Mission.”
An open forum dubbed
“Bishops’ Hour” featured
Bishops Baylon and Galido,
the new MSPC-Youth
Bishop-in-Charge, where
they answered questions
and addressed timely concerns raised by the participants.
A Pilgrimage and Flores
De Mayo was also held at
the Our Lady of the Holy
Rosary Parish in Magallanes
village followed with a
Concelebrated Mass with
Surigao Bishop Antonieto
Cabajog as main celebrant.
The activities concluded
with another liturgical celebration led by Bishop
Galido which was also attended by the delegates’ foster families and benefactors.
(May Solano, MSPC Youth
Secretariat)
Appeal for the Release
of All Kidnap Victims
VATICAN CITY, June 10,
2007—After praying the
Angelus today with thousands of people gathered
in St. Peter’s Square, the
Pope made an appeal for
the release of kidnap victims all over the world,
Catholic priests among
them, making particular
reference to the “painful”
example of Colombia.
“Unfortunately,” he
said, “I often receive requests to intervene in favor
of people, among them
Catholic priests, who have
been kidnapped for differ-
ent reasons and in various
parts of the world.
“I carry them all in my
heart, and I remember
them all in my prayers
thinking, among the others, of the painful case of
Colombia. I appeal to the
perpetrators of such deplorable acts to realize the
evil they have done and
immediately to restore
prisoners to their loved
ones.”
“I entrust the victims to
the maternal protection of
Mary Most Holy, mother
of all mankind.” (VIS)
ZAMBOANGA, June 7, 2007—
The Emmaus House of Spirituality was inaugurated on May
9, 2007 in Zamboanga City.
Under the auspices of the
Silsilah Dialogue Movement,
the retreat facility is unique in
the sense that it will be operating “with its multi-cultural and
multi-religious milieu”.
Constructed to mark the 20th
anniversary of the establishment of the Emmaus Dialogue
Community, this facility is
open to Christians, both lay
A3
Retreat Facility for
Interreligious
Dialogue
Inaugurated
and religious, men and
women, who seek a place for
prayer and reflection in a silent, individual retreat. It is
particularly suitable for those
who seek to deepen the spirit
of life-in-dialogue.
The Emmaus House of Spirituality will be run by the
Emmaus Dialogue Community, a lay association of
women who have chosen to
devote their lives to the promotion of life-in-dialogue with
peoples of other faiths and cul-
tures. The members of the
Emmaus Dialogue Community are part of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement. Two members of the community and a
French priest will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the activities of the
House.
The House is really three
buildings: a church and two
buildings in which are found
individual bedrooms, a common dining area and the
kitchen. These buildings stand
on an elevated section of land
abutting the Harmony Village
of the Silsilah Dialogue Movement in Pitogo, Sinunuc,
Zamboanga City. From the verandah of the two buildings one
gets a panorama of the green
hills from one direction and the
sparkling sea to the other.
The setting is ideal for those
seeking to make the journey inward and find God along the
way, as did the two disciples
on the road to Emmaus. (Fr.
Sebastiano D’Ambra)
SVD Meets on New Ways of
Living the Gospel
BAGUIO CITY, June 8, 2007—
Twenty Biblical Apostolate
coordinators from nine countries of the Society of Divine
Word (SVD) Asia Pacific Zone
committed to promote new
and creative ways of reading,
sharing and living the Word of
God in daily life.
This was their resolutions after a-week long international
deliberations on the theme
“Living Prophetic Dialogue:
His Life is Our life” at Divine
Word Retreat Centre, here May
20-26.
Participants came from India,
Indonesia, Japan, The Philippines, Rome, Taiwan, Korea,
Hong Kong (China), and Australia.
Other concerns were to stress
to integrate the Word of God in
all ministries, trying to attune
themselves with the dynamics of
finding a balance between life
and Biblical text; allow themselves to be evangelized by our
dialogue partners as we evangelize them through ongoing biblical-pastoral
formation;
strengthen the continuity of the
Biblical Apostolate Programs
and the integration of directives,
guidelines, policies into the over
all direction of the province.
Speaking to CBCP News Service Fr. Joseph Kollemkunnel,
SVD from India said the gathering had main objectives to
evaluate the implementation of
the Madang 2004 resolutions
and to reflect on the implication
of the XVI General Chapter
The Asia Pacific Zone Biblical Apostolate Coordinators of the Society of Divine Word (SVD) from nine countries at a gathering
held at the Divine Word Retreat Center in Baguio City, May 20-26, 2007
statement and resolution on
Biblical Apostolate in the Zone.
“As we looked into our zonal
situation, we are encouraged to
find confreres who are committed in animating one another in
reading the Bible and living the
Word,” he said.
Participants also reflected the
SVDs’ contribution to both the
local and universal Church
through the Biblical Apostolate
and through their cooperation
in the Catholic Biblical Federation (CBF).
CBF will hold its international meet in 2009 in Tanzania.
The rich religious pluralistic
heritage and environment of
people and their thirst for the
Word of God has given birth to
a considerable number of lay
partners committed in the Bib-
lical Apostolate. Even though
there is a constant effort to
inculturate the Word of God in
liturgies and activities, yet participants felt more have still to
be done.
The Asia Pacific Zonal Coordinator, Fr. William Burl, SVD,
resource person, said, “We find
a meaningful and challenging
dynamics for our Biblical
Apostolate between ‘life and
Biblical Text.’ The movement
from life and text starts when
we encounter the people. They
become our partners with concrete names and faces. Their
present context, their aspirations and questions help us to
read these realities in the light
of God’s Word.”
Another speaker Fr Guido
Tissera, SVD from Indonesia,
said the movement from ‘text to
life’ consists in returning to the
sources. In the light of the XVI
General
Chapter
SVD
missioners are called to be animators among their confreres to
become Word-centered communities.
Fr. Kollemkunnel said, “Journeying with St. Arnold Janssen,
SVD founder and St. Joseph
Freinademetze, a SVD pioneer
missioner in China, the next triennium, we, the Asia Pacific
Zone Biblical Coordinators,
commit ourselves to witnessing
to the Word in the spirit of prophetic dialogue.”
SVD is an international missionary congregation of priests
and brothers serving in more
than fifty countries all over the
world. (Santosh Digal)
Missionaries Converts Relocation
Site to Christian Community
BAGONG SILANG, Caloocan,
June 8, 2007—Missionaries’
presence and pastoral programs
in a parish in Novaliches diocese has paved a way to minimize ‘antisocial activities’ in the
area, says a priest.
Fr Noel Floriano, SS.CC of
Ang Muling Pagkabuhay ng
Ating Panginoon Parish (Resurrection of our Lord Parish), told
CBCP News Service that prior to
the taking up the parish by the
SSCC (Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary)
in 2003, Bagong Silang vicinity
was known to be a “notorious
place.”
According to the priest, the
area used to be a place of killing, violence, tension, and all
other types of antisocial activities, but now over the last four
years, such actions have been
minimized.
Fr. Floriano, assistant priest of
the parish, credits the change of
scenario, attitude and life among
people to the various pastoral
and developmental activities
that the parish has been spearheading to help parishioners
and others.
The parish has been a “relocation area,’ for more than 30
years already. Some 35,000
people belong to the parish in
which a pastoral team of three
SSCC and four SSCC Sisters is
exercising its ministry. The total population of people in the
area is above 65,000.
The objective of the team is to
introduce people to a new vision
of what a Post-Vatican II parish
might look like. And the parishioners have reacted with amazing commitment.
Thirty-four members of the
extended parish council attended 12 hour follow-up sessions in order to become familiar with such a vision.
Together with the pastoral
team, two trained Community
Development Workers have
committed themselves to enable
people to come to a shared understanding of their common
plight and to develop Gospelbased communication solutions
to their problems.
Thus, some noteworthy initiatives and projects have emerged:
scholarship and tutorial for elementary and college students, a
parish pharmacy (administered
by 15 volunteers) a feeding program for malnourished children,
livelihood programs such as card
making, even a savings and loan
program. Bible study, faith sharing and Basic Ecclesiastical Community (BCE) formation programs are some of the pastoral
activities of the parish.
Junior sisters and young
brothers in formation join the
different activities in the parish
on weekends to get invaluable
experience. They witness a sort
of demonstration of what the
Gospel looks like when it is lived
by a group of people who take
it seriously for themselves and
for the world, said Bro. Manoj
Nayak, SSCC.
The main source of living of
the people is tricycle driving,
doormat making and other small
scale household occupations.
Most of them are very poor.
Another reason for the change
in people’s life style, Fr. Floriano
ascribed, is that people themselves have realized they are
“fed up” and “tired of what they
were doing.” So they want to
turn a new leaf in their behaviors and actions. That what has
happened over the years.
The constant interaction of
SSCC priests, sisters and brothers with people has also helped
instilled among parishioners
positive attitude to church and
development, the priest added.
People have shown substantial willingness and cooperation
to support church activities
which are meant for their own
good and progress.
“We are happy that people
have improved and the area has
been considerably peaceful compared to previous years. The
Spirit of God is really guiding the
people. But much more has still
to be done,” Fr. Floriano quipped.
The Bagong Silang is the only
parish the SSCC has in the whole
of the Philippines.
There are more offers from the
Novaliches diocese to open
more parishes, but due to scarcity of members, the SSCC is not
able to accept the offers for the
time being.
The Congregation is a community of Brothers, Sisters and
Laity. There are over 2,000 in 37
different countries. One of the
best known members of SSCC
family is Saint Damien de
Veuster, apostle of leprosy patients on the island of Molokai
in Hawaii.
In some countries the SSCC is
known by the name “Picpus”,
after rue de Picpus, the street
where the Congregation’s central house was established
shortly after the community’s
foundation. .
The mission of SSCC is to contemplate, live and announce
God’s Love which was made
flesh in Jesus, especially through
Eucharistic Adoration and service of the most needy. SSCC celebrated its 200th anniversary in
December 2000. (Santosh Digal)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
EDITORIAL
Heroism in Small Doses?
In the attempt to showcase some great mighty and
popular personalities as icons of the bayani, let us not
lose sight of the innumerable and unnamed bayani of
our country’s history, in particular the many volunteers
of the PPCRV and NAMFREL and the Teachers who
despite odds, difficulties, obstacles, frustrations, and
threats defended the sacredness of the ballots against
those desecrating groups. In the midst of rampant and
wholesale “buy and sale” of votes, there were still
those who refused to be controlled by the dictatorship
of money. Their small stories are worth noting down
on “Kalayaan Day.”
Layout by Denz Dayao
THE celebration of the 109th Anniversary of the
Proclamation of Philippine Independence comes with
the theme “Kalayaan 2007: Bayan, Bayani,
Bayanihan.” Thanks to the Department of Tourism.
We are shamed and saddened by comments that our
country ranks among those with most records of graft
and corruption, unresolved cases of heinous crimes
and mysterious disappearances and unabated extrajudicial killings. There is so much demand for
restitution to helpless and voiceless victims. May we
not consider the uncompensated victims also “bayani
ng bayan”? Specially that their appeals are apparently
falling on deaf ears!
On “Kalayaan Day” we join the clamor for the
restoration or return of the victims of disappearances.
Our prayer is that they will be allowed to return safe
and sound to their grieving and anxious families, to
enjoy basic freedom.
Both agents and victims, especially the victims of
graft and corruption, are negative notes to the
celebration of Kalayaan Day: that while we have been
liberated from the control of foreign invaders, we are
victims of the abuses and exploitation of fellow
Filipinos.
A few days ago, last June 10, two days before
Independence Day, was the 19th anniversary of the
Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). It
was a program to reduce rural poverty by giving
freedom to rural folks through access to land.
According to statistics, three-fourth of the poor in the
country belongs to the rural poor. Numbers alone
make the program of agrarian reform still necessary
and urgent. The land reform has both its encouraging
and discouraging aspects, naturally its pros and cons.
This is where discussion is needed. The campaign for
agrarian reform is still relevant and must be made to
succeed.
Because of the extent of rural poverty and the necessity
of “freedom from bondage to land” through genuine
legal agrarian reform and war against rural
landlessness, the Church likewise joins the aspirations,
hopes and dreams of the rural farmers. According to
the Social Teachings of the Church: “An equitable
distribution of land remains ever critical, especially in
developing countries… In rural areas, the possibility
of acquiring land through opportunities opened by
labor and credit market is a necessary condition for
access to other goods and services” (Compendium
No. 180). It means that the distribution of land,
supported by law, must also be accompanied by other
supports and services to make the reform truly
meaningful and beneficial.
Again, the Social Teachings of the Church has it:
“Agrarian reform (is) a moral obligation more than a
political necessity, since the failure to enact such
reform is hindrance in these countries to the benefits
arising from the opening of markets and, generally,
from the abundant growth opportunities offered by
the current process of globalization” (Compendium,
No. 300).
We need more than prayers and preaching. But these
two, prayer and preaching, will help support the efforts
of people working for agrarian reform. We have
encouraged that on June 10, a Sunday, the Prayer of
the Faithful shall include this aspiration for genuine
agrarian reform and that the homilies will make
mention of the same: that our rural people, the farmers
who are bound to the land they till for life and support,
may receive the true freedom envisioned by the
principle of agrarian reform.
(This guest editorial is lifted from the Press Statement of Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo)
ISSN 1908-2940
CBCP Monitor
Protagonist
of
Tr u t h ,
Promoter
of
Peace
Pedro C. Quitorio
Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Editor-in-Chief
Production Manager
Melo M. Acuña
Rowena T. Dalanon
Managing Editor
Marketing Supervisor
Dennis B. Dayao
Ernani M. Ramos
On-Line Editor
Circulation Manager
Roy Q. Lagarde
Marcelita Dominguez
News Editor
Comptroller
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Communications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and
business offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O.
Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business:
(063)404-1612. Email: [email protected] Website:
www.cbcpworld.net/cbcpmonitor
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season
THE Second Plenary Council of the Philippines has one decree which mandates
the development of a comprehensive
theology of stewardship. It reads: “The
Church, through the initiatives of the
CBCP, should develop a comprehensive
theology of stewardship and, in the light
of this theology, should make ecology a
special concern of the social action
apostolate down to the parochial level,
with the end in view of making everyone a true steward of God’s creation. An
ecology desk must be set up in social
action centers” (PCP-II, Decree 31).
After the forty days of deluge, God
made a covenant with Noah (Gen. 9/12),
in which he challenged mankind to live
in close harmony with every living form
by protecting the ecosystems of the
earth. In the Old Testament there is connection between sin/sinfulness and creation: the sin of irresponsible development can likewise endanger the harmonious relationships of living forms.
The centerpoint of development, as
well as of salvation, is Jesus Christ, “the
first-born of all creation,” who holds all
things together in himself (Col. 1/20).
Our vision of natural and human ecology is “Christic” or “Christological,” in
as much as it prepares us to share in the
fullness which “dwells in the Lord” (Col.
1/18) and which he communicates “to
his body, the Church” (Eph. 1/22-23).
Our commitment to work for the universal purpose and integrity of creation
must also reveal the Christocentrism of
the temporal order: “all things were created through him” and for him (Col. 1/
15-16).
Development has a moral dimension.
It requires a sense of responsibility and
accountability towards fellowmen and
towards creation itself. The deficiencies
of underdevelopment and the inadequate safeguards of super development
not only endanger the living systems in
our beautiful land, but also render them
unfit for human life, which means “less
nutritious food, poor health and an uncertain future” (CBCP-PL).
This requires a conversion from the exploitative approach that often accompanies the consumerist attitude. This phenomenon of consumerism and misdirected progress often leads to so much
“throw-away” and “waste” (Sollicitudo
Rei Socialis 28). This requires a conversion to “a comprehensive picture of man
which respects all the dimensions of his
being and which subordinates his material and instinctive dimensions to his interior and spiritual ones” (Centessimus
Annus A 36). The consumers as well as
the agents of development must, therefore, be adequately informed, formed
and reformed according to the Christian
values.
Justice and peace with the earth means
solidarity with the earth, that is, “a firm
and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is
the good of all and of each individual
because we are responsible for all” (SRS
38). Oftentimes when creation is abused
or misused, it is the poorest of the poor,
the defenseless and the powerless, who
bear the cruel reprisal of nature.
Let there be “sustainable development
of natural resources,” but one which does
Election 2007 and
other Pastoral Concerns
WHAT is Daditama? Well, Daditama refers to the four dioceses comprising the
Ecclesiastical Province of Davao, namely
Davao, Digos, Tagum and Mati. Daditama
covers the four provinces of Davao Oriental, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur and
Compostela Valley, and the chartered City
of Davao in the southern part of
Mindanao.
Four times a year the diocesan
apostolates’ directors and coordinators together with the Bishops and their Vicars
general and Pastoral directors meet for a
spiritual-pastoral gathering. Besides the
pastoral updates, sharing and inputs on
various pastoral concerns, the gathering
also allows for the much needed personal
prayer and silence capped with the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours and
the Eucharist.
The venue rotates around the four
ecclesiastical areas. This has been going
on since the 80’s as an offshoot of the
Mindanao Sulu Pastoral Conference
(MSPC) sub-regionalization structure. Today, Daditama is one of the most active
Ecclesiastical Province under the able
Stewardship of
Creation
not simply cater to the ambition of politicians, the greed of corrupt bureaucrats,
the arrogance of the scientific and technological elite and the vanity of the
wealthy. Let there be instead a sustainable development which will close the
gap between the rich and the poor, which
will better serve the tribal Filipinos, the
sugarland seasonal workers, the landless
tillers, the poor fishermen, the industrial
workers and slum dwellers. Oftentimes
these are victims of the exploitation of
natural resources, such as happen in the
mining and nuclear developments.
Let us support the pro-life movement
to save not only humanity but also this
earth. We are stewards of both humanity
and of both humanity and of this earth.
It is the only one we have and probably
the only one we will ever know.
According to the World Commission
on Environment and Development:
“People depend for their well-being on
the health of the societies in which they
live. This depends in turn on a decent
level of sustained economic development, on a healthy environment and a
proper use of its resources. The achievement of sustained development, the promotion of health, and the rational use of
environmental resources are simply inseparable” (Tao-Kalikasan II-3).
The Lord is telling us again “I offer you
a choice of life or death, blessing or curse.
Choose life and then you and your descendants will live” (Dt. 30/19-20). “If my
people who bear my name shall repent
of their sin and come back to me, I from
my place in heaven will forgive them and
heal their land” (2 Chron. 7/14).
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
leadership of the Archbishop of Davao,
Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla.
In the spirit of collegiality and co-responsibility, the chairmanship of the
Daditama quarterly pastoral meetings is
rotated among the Bishops of the Province.
For 2007, the chairmanship falls on me,
Bishop Guillermo Afable of the Diocese of
Digos, which serves also as the current
Secretariat. The program of the meetings,
are jointly prepared by the Bishops, Vicars general and Pastoral directors during
a pre-daditama meeting.
In the June 6-7 Daditama meeting we
had at the Our Lady of Peace Retreat
House in Digos City, we tackled two main
pastoral concerns. First, was the evaluation of Daditama’s involvement in the May
2007 elections. The second was on the canonical, catechetical and pastoral, liturgical aspects of mixed marriages and disparity of cult marriages.
With regards to the recent conduct of the
elections, money politics was a common
experience, election violence including
deaths, were observed. Still, the Church
was seen as a credible participant and in-
DADIT
AMA
ADITAMA
fluence. Despite delays, enough volunteers
were mobilized for election duties. In conclusion, Daditama has taken the position
to “re-examine our relationship with the
citizens’ arms of the COMELEC namely,
Namfrel, PPCRV, Lente, and to study the
direction we have to take as an ecclesiastical province regarding our involvement in
the future electoral processes.”
Monsignor Paul Cuizon, JCD, Fr. Patrice
Picard, PME, JCL and Monsignor Julius
Tonel, SSL very capably provided the participants with clear and concise indications
in providing pastoral care for couples and
families in mixed marriages, and disparity
of cult marriages. We all concluded that
these types of marriages must be treated
as special marriages needing special attention from pastoral workers. All participants were very much appreciative of the
clarifications and recommendations provided by them.
All in all, the second pastoral gathering
of Daditama was very fruitful. We thank
the Lord for blessing us with safe travel
and another enriching gathering. God is
indeed good! All the time!
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Nicolo F. Bernardo
Vie
ws and P
oints
iews
Points
THERE are many private individuals and
a good number of fortunately non-governmental groups and organizations that rightfully deserve the genuine gratitude of still
good-willed citizens in this country. They
have served much and continue to serve
well in faithfully and closely watching the
conduct of the last elections.
They were neither employed nor paid.
Yet they used their energy and time, talents and resources in faithfully monitoring
the midterm elections all over the land.
They lost rest and sleep. They were threatened. They faced dangers. Yet with but the
pursuit of truth and justice as their distinct
resolve, they watched, they well noted and
loudly denounced the many election
anomalies in many ways and forms—all
under the odious and shameful flagship of
continuous lying, cheating and stealing by
those greedy for power and might.
Lo
Lovve Lif
Lifee
Laik
o Lampstand
Laiko
particular case, in the world of politics.
How can we use this asset,
volunteerism of the laity, to lead to the
country’s social transformation? There
are many more areas that need agents of
change for social transformation.
Volunteerism in advocacy work should
be seriously looked at as a balancing force
to potential abuses against our democratic way of life. We started with the
election process in the road map to good
governance as our end goal. We voted for
leaders who we hoped can manage resources for the social transformation of
this country—to provide a home for every family, education for the children,
health facilities for the sick, care for the
elderly, jobs for the jobless, livelihood
Laiko / A6
Innocent Children,
Victims of Aggression
of that 50 M are children. Over 2 M children have been killed in conflict this past
decade. In 87 countries, there are still 60
million land mines rendering 10,000 people
maimed and disabled every year. Child
soldiers, being taught how to combat and
carry artillery, number over 300,000 youth.
Among them are girls being used in sexual
slavery by the enemy forces or by their own
older soldiers.
The United Nations requested $13.5 billion for emergency relief funds but only $9
billion has been given, a far less amount
being spent in maintaining military forces
and arsenals.
Sale of children for pornography is well
known to us—this is part of sex trafficking
with the Philippines among the countries
where internet or cyberporn is a lucrative
business.
HIV AIDS is one of the greatest threats
to children. It has killed more than 3.8 million children and 13 million have been orphaned in Africa, Thailand, China and
other Asian countries.
A depressing fact is that 10 million children die every year due to preventable diseases and malnutrition. Every year too,
Independence Day ’07
and Deja Vu
AS President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo led
the traditional flag raising rites at the historic Luneta, Vice President Noli de Castro
led other executives in the celebration rites
at Kawit, Cavite, while Chief Justice
Reynato Puno raised the national tri-color
at the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan
City. This is the first time Independence
Day became a working holiday.
Taxi, bus and jeepney drivers were at a
loss last Monday, June 11 when traffic was
too light to believe as usual commuters enjoyed longer sleeping hours. Thanks to
Presidential Proclamation 1211 which
moved the June 12 Independence Day holiday a day earlier. The same proclamation
mandated “that all activities and celebrations in observance of Independence Day
shall remain to be observed on June 12,
2007.” Had it not been for the job fair sponsored by the Department of Labor and Employment and its partners, the Luneta event
might have featured more police and military personnel than civilian participants.
I still have vivid recollections of Independence Day rites then celebrated on the 4th
of July. My mother and aunties would
bring me to Luneta to watch parade participants pass by the Quirino grandstand.
I asked friends about the idea of moving
a significant day in our country’s History a
day earlier and they said this was the brainchild of the Departments of Tourism, Finance and Labor and Employment—so as
to encourage domestic tourism and make
people enjoy the benefits of a long weekend.
It is not for nothing that, lately, this country has been loudly proclaimed as a very
dangerous place for media people. Together with flagrant and unresolved hundreds of many classified killings in the
country, a good number of media practitioners were unceremoniously murdered
and done away with for keeps.
When a government begins thinking that
it is the master of the people, that it is the
one and only measure of what is good, true
and just, then the first victims of this odious posture are media people. This is a distinct lesson from human history. There is
no room for free media in any false democracy—such as when those in authority and
power adamantly refuse to end their tenure according to the provisions of law and
the dictates of conscience.
Ladies and gentlemen in media, thank
you very much!
Jose B. Lugay
tally of PPCRV and NAMFREL for reference in the investigation. In guarding the
sanctity of the election process, using not
only their training but also their resolve
to stand pat for what is right, what is moral
and what is legal, the lay volunteers’ contribution in achieving a credible poll count
will go down in history as an achievement
of the Filipino lay volunteers This is a sure
sign of the laity’s desire to achieve good
governance for the future of our country.
As our national hero, Benigno Aquino
said, “The Filipino is worth dying for.” The
volunteers of the last election have expressed Ninoy’s dream into action. In our
church language, the laity is performing
the mission of Christ, the priestly, prophetic and kingly mission by immersing
themselves in the temporal world; in this
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
IN 1983, the United Nations General Assembly declared that June 4 every year would
be the International Day of Innocent Children, Victims of Aggression. This was in
connection with the never-ending decades
of war between Israel, Palestine and Lebanon. Ultimate victims of war are the children who live in fear and insecurity. Bombing destroys school buildings, hospitals,
churches and mosques besides houses and
fields. The children have no safe environment, no opportunity for education, healthy
physical and psychological development.
Although June 4 would be over by the
time you read this, it is important that we
deepen our awareness and concern for this
problem. I searched the web the other day
and was shocked at the data presented regarding the tragedy of child abuse and neglect worldwide.
Whereas the declaration was primarily to
protest the Israeli Military Forces aggression
against the Palestinians, the United Nations
has expanded the awareness to protection
of rights of children all over the world.
To begin with, let me inform you that
there are now 50 Million people uprooted
because of armed conflict—certainly, half
Media: Thank You!
Those generous persons and private associations faithfully served as the eyes and
ears of the general public. They looked.
They saw. They spoke. Millions heard their
reports of many election events, most of
which were far from inspiring the electorate and markedly dissonant with what
democratic elections meant in many ways
and means.
But among those who deserve special
mention are the truthful and faithful constituents of the fourth estate. These are the
media practitioners who placed their lives
and safety on the line. Some of them were
actually killed for telling the truth. It is an
open secret that for the present government, it is a crime to tell the truth. When
individuals precisely tell pro-administration lies, these are the ones amply rewarded
usually with juicy government positions
and/or awarded big public contracts.
Volunteers for Good
Governance
WHILE everyone glued to the TV set was
impatiently waiting for the tabulation of
the election returns, the report of cheating in the canvassing of votes in Southern
Mindanao caused a lot of anxiety. During
the counting of votes at the precinct level
the two volunteer groups PPCRV, for poll
watching and NAMFREL for the quick
count were authorized by COMELEC to
have copies of election results. Their
moral credibility has assuaged the nation
that when cheating happens, the primary
evidence to verify the tampering of election results is there with these two volunteer groups to verify the poll count.
Consequently in the accusations of
dagdag-bawas and tampering of the election
tally in the certificates of canvass,
COMELEC had no option but to use the
A5
At the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit,
Cavite, hundreds of elementary and high
school students danced the morning away
during the 2nd Kawit Festival. The participants from public elementary and high
schools in the province had to be absent
from their classes due to the advanced holiday a day earlier.
Filipinos in Singapore, led by the Consul General Maria Lumen Isleta and PNB
Singapore’s Alex Milan, would have a big
celebration on Independence Day itself.
KPSC Radyo Manila’s Awee Abayari said
the 4th of July celebration considered redletter-day in the American calendar has
never been on the 3rd of July for the Americans to enjoy a long weekend.
Traffic from Sto. Domingo Church along
Quezon Avenue until Quiapo stood still
while Independence Day rites were held at
the Luneta. Students from Fairview had to
relieve themselves at a fastfood chain near
the Mabuhay Rotunda after being caught in
one of the worst traffic jams ever. They left
their place at 6:30 A.M. and reach the Manila-Quezon City boundary past 10:00 A.M.
The Independence Day celebration coincided with the opening of classes in private
schools and universities. So much gasoline
and man-hours wasted due to the early
morning traffic jam.
We ought to learn from the Americans.
How on earth would educators teach nationalism and develop their students’ sense
of History when we ourselves change occasions for one or two reasons? With all due
there are 40 million children not registered
at birth, thus they have no legal name, citizenship or status.
Above all, there are 50 million induced
abortions every year—50 million babies not
given the opportunity to be born and have
a birthday. In the Philippines, there is an
estimated 400,000 abortions every year.
This does not include the babies lost due
to the use of contraceptive pills and
injectables, the IUD and other abortifacient
drugs and devices.
The contraceptive mentality (sex anytime
but no baby, so promote contraceptives, ligation or abortion) has created the unwanted child mentality. Children who
should not have been born because the parents were contracepting or attempted abortion, grow up constantly feeling rejected,
thus exhibiting withdrawn and rebellious
behavior.
There is such a spirit of violence and animosity among peoples in society now that
unless we strive to educate each other in
peace and non-violent efforts, there will be
no place on earth where children will once
again run around and play in security and
laughter.
Melo M. Acuña
Issues and Concerns
respect, I find the decision to advance the
holiday by a day both absurd and ridiculous. It ain’t cute.
In another development, Italian missionary Giancarlo Bossi, 57, was kidnapped by
armed men in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay
last Corpus Christi. This is simply a case of
déjà vu.
Two other Italian missionaries, Rev. Frs.
Luciano Benedetti, PIME and Guiseppe
Pierantoni, SCJ, were kidnapped by armed
men in 1998 and 2001, respectively. The
Libyan Ambassador to the Philippines Dr.
Raj Azzarouq and PNP Chief Roberto
Lastimoso sought who among the Muslim
“groups” had Fr. Benedetti in their custody.
It was in 1998 that I established contacts
with the MILF with Vice Chairman
Gadhzali Jaafar and then Chair Salamat
Hashim.
During the Pierantoni incident, I had the
chance to travel with his immediate superior from Cagayan de Oro to Pagadian via
Ozamis City.
This corner hopes Fr. Bossi, another PIME
missionary would leave his captors safely
within the next few days. The abduction
would definitely have adverse effects on
foreign tourist arrivals, especially those coming from the European Union countries.
From 1998, the government, no thanks to
local executives, failed to disarm lawless
elements within their respective areas of responsibility. Not even the Comelec-enforced gun ban failed to succeed in most
parts of Mindanao.
Lif
d
Lifeeguar
guard
The Choice of the
New Generation
O TEMPORA! O mores! (What times! What morals!) was
Cicero ’s disheartened remark on the troubles of his times.
Perhaps many from the older generation say the same on
the current state of the youth: there are more juvenile crimes,
teen suicides, drug dependencies, casual sex, unwanted
pregnancies, abortions, same-sex trysts, and broken homes
among my age group.
What happened? What made the values of many of the
youth today dismally different from those of their parents
or grannies just 30 years ago?
These questions matter as well in countries that used to
be bastions of Catholicism—Spain, Portugal, and Mexico—
where abortion, divorce, and homosexual unions were
sweepingly liberalized.
The answer I think lies on adult choices too. First is the
anti-institutionalism and anti-clericalism of politicians in
Catholic countries who embrace the Left’s vision of liberation, where the natural family is one of the institutions in
question. On one hand there is the growing consumerist
attitude, hailed as democratic liberalism and individualism, that turn everything—even life—subject to consumer’s
choice. This has even become a party-line in the US, where
to be a Democrat is to be “pro-choice.” It’s the reign of “free
choice” in a free market, and “easy virtue” in a fast-paced
world.
There goes the dilemma of many clerics and parents trying to “sell” family values, which few of the youth, it appears, are “buying.” Worse if the parents are not even
around to “sell” anything. A typical youth’s world revolves
around the cellphone, the Internet, and the tri-media, where
violence and sex are free items. These things impress longer
since they come in multimedia form that engages all the
senses, versus the oral medium of a teacher, a parent, or a
priest preaching. Besides, the ones who run the electronic
and cyber media today are commercial-interest groups not
the moral reformists, not our concerned loved ones.
But it would not help if parents would forbid their children from the new media. First, it’s impractical. Second,
it’s impossible. The solution that works, as one can attest
from families that managed to keep the faith, is for parents
and mentors to enter the world of their children, and learn
the “market” of competing with unwelcome elements. This
may be tasking but it’s worth the sacrifice.
A case in point. In the US, abortions and premarital sex
incidences are reportedly decreasing as many values programs promote pro-family principles as “cool.” The American Life League has been holding youth forums and prolife rock concerts called “Rock for Life,” while Evangelicals
are engaging celebrities who pledged chastity as a model
to the youth. The renegade young join March for Life rallies and listen to pro-life pop and RNB artists. Mel Gibson,
Celine Dion, Patricia Heaton, A.C. Green and beauty queens
are all in for the pro-life groove. It’s different, it’s radical,
it’s extreme, and the youth like it that way.
I think these are the missing approaches in Catholic countries used to traditionalist comfort zones and communication strategies, or church-bound channels that tend to dismiss anything new or secular as irredeemable and forbidden ground. Being pro-life is to have an attitude that welcomes life and, of course, celebrates it not only during critical conception and death moments. Life is a process and so
must the pro-life movement go into a process of testing the
spirit of the times.
If hardly any youngster now reads a Catholic text, much
less an encyclical, still we could come up with new forms
of spreading the same message. In the Varsitarian, the student publication of UST which I used to edit, we resolved
to create a pro-life film festival that appeals to the youth. It
was held last March and was very successful. Imagine if
both young and old could take the initiative to sponsor other
youth programs or ads, in radio, TV, concerts, and magazines, to counter proliferating condom and contraceptive
advertisements. Imagine if what the youth could hear from
rock stars and celebrities are life-affirming values. Imagine
if the youth could confirm that prolife-ism is not mere ideology but a practical philosophy to live life in full.
Given the opportunity, there is Christian Bautista, Barbie
Almalbis, and Kitchie Nadal who could all the more speak
out on saving sex for their lifetime partners. Ditto for
couples such as Mikee Cojuangco and Dudut Jaworski, and
Ronnie and Mariz Rickets who could talk about divorceproof marriage and natural family planning to more people.
If we really believe in universal values of the human nature, then we should hope that we can influence personalities, even showbiz people, to side for life, for tough love,
regardless of the times.
Although the youth today may be more tolerant of premarital sex, same-sex unions, and divorce, deep inside the
youth still long for a procreative family and a long and lasting love. We the youth might be more individualistic, but
it works the other way too: we could have our own moral
identity (sariling bait) and stand (paninindigan). Listen to
our love songs, the theme is still the same: a desire for an
everlasting, one man-one woman love. Divorce, drugs, artificial contraceptives, and sex without marital security may
have been common, but they don’t cease to hurt. They don’t
cease to hurt because the youth could know and feel they
are moral problems. No youth would wish for a broken
family, or to be broken by drugs, or to loose passion for
life, or to suffer abortion and artificial contraception given
the knowledge of their risks on bodies.
If Marshall Mcluhan is right, the coming globalized age
suppose to become more homogenized and “conservative.”
That would happen when everyone—including the more
traditional—could join in to dominate the strange new
media and redirect the market of ideas. As for now, we the
youth are called and challenged, more than ever, to always
choose life and love—the only grounds for all our liberties.
The CBCPWorld Network
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CBCP Monitor
Local News
A6
Fr. Bossi, “Gentle Giant” of the
Mission in Mindanao
ZAMBOANGA, Philippines,
June 10, 2007—Fr. Giancarlo
Bossi “had not received any
threats of any type. He was
loved by the Filipino people
and, as he himself said about a
month ago, he was peacefully
going about his work in
Payao.” This is what Fr. Gianni
Sandalo, superior of the mission of PIME in the Philippines
told Asia News.
Fr. Sandalo is presently in
Zamboanga, in the south archipelago of Mindanao, where the
kidnapping took place. “This
incident is very strange. Now
we can only wait and see what
the kidnappers of Fr. Bossi will
do. At any rate, the area where
he has been working has been
peaceful for a long time, except
the presence of some pirates.”
These latter “usually operate
only on the water, assaulting
the boats of the fishermen,
from whom they rob money
and materials. They do not
operate on land.”
The missionary who was
kidnapped, the superior explained, “was well loved. Here
they call him ‘the gentle giant’
because he is peaceful, quiet,
sticking to the essentials. He
talks little but is a hard worker:
he has always joined manual
work with his spiritual life.
One of his dreams has been to
live in a village as a witness to
the radical newness of the Gospel: he wanted to live as a
farmer.”
He is a man, Fr. Sandalo continued, “who has always expressed a deep solidarity with
the poor. When he was asked,
this past February, to return to
Payao, where he had already
worked for three years during
his early years in the mission
of the Philippines, he gave up
what he had dreamed of doing
in order to resume his work
with the poor.”
This past May, before leaving for the General Assembly
of PIME, Fr. Sandalo went to
visit Fr. Bossi in Payao. “I
stayed with him for two days.
He was very happy with the
work that he was doing with
the people. Fr. Bossi is a person who knows how to make
himself appreciated by people.
For example, when the parish
secretary called me this morning to say that he had been kidnapped, she was very worried
about him, wondering how he
would be treated. Fr. Bossi has
the capacity for establishing
deep ties with people.”
The kidnapping, therefore, is
not the work of personal en-
emies. “There were no threats
against him. He himself told
me a month ago that everything was calm, that he felt safe
and sound. The only worry is
that pirates are also operating
in that area, although the pirates generally do not operate
on land but only on the water.
He had never received any indication of danger.”
Meanwhile, the guerrillas of
the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF), which the army
blamed for the kidnapping,
stated that they had nothing to
do with it. Eid Kabalu, spokesman for the group, denied any
involvement on the part of the
MILF. He emphasized that the
kidnappers “do not belong to
the MILF. We are ready to offer our complete assistance to
the Filipino authorities.”
(AsiaNews)
CBCP Head Wants Alternative to JPEPA
THE head of the Episcopal
Conference said the government should find other alternatives to a free trade deal with
Japan, after environmentalists
expressed fear such accord
may lead to widespread
dumping of toxic wastes in the
country.
The government earlier assured concerned Filipinos that
the Japanese government will
not export toxic waste to the
Philippines under the JapanEconomic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
The guarantee is contained
in an exchange of diplomatic
notes signed recently by Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto
Romulo and Japanese Foreign
Minister Taro Aso.
The Arroyo administration
is optimistic of the benefits that
would derive from the free
trade agreement that could
help boost economic growth.
But Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo, president of the
Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP), remains unconvinced with the assurances as he expressed concern about the possibility of
turning the country into a huge
“dumpsite” of toxic and hazardous wastes from highly industrialized country like Japan.
“We encourage the government to think of other alterna-
Veritas Holds Marian Exhibit
OVER a hundred images of
the Blessed Virgin Mary are
now on exhibit at Shangri-la
Mall, Mandaluyong City.
Now on its second year,
Veritas 846 launched its
Marian Season with the theme
Iba’t Ibang Anyo ng Ating Ina,
Maria.Manila
Auxiliary
Bishop Broderick Pabillo and
former Philippine Ambassador to the Vatican and currently PPCRV Chair Henrietta
“Tita” T. De Villa led the
simple inaugural rites Sunday
(June 3) morning.
Fr. Anton C. T. Pascual,
Veritas 846 President and
Chief Operating Officer said
the exhibit is a fitting tribute
to the Blessed Virgin. “We are
grateful to various groups, including Camareras from various parts of the country, for
the life size Marian images
now on exhibit,” Fr. Pascual
added.
The exhibit hopes to raise
funds for calamity victims
though the widely-acclaimed
Public Service program Caritas
sa Veritas.
Outstanding images at the
Marian exhibit include
Nuestra Senora de Turumba,
Archbishop Gaudencio B.
Rosales’ Our Lady of Caysasay,
Nuestra Senora de Macarena
and Our Lady Mediatrix of All
Grace.
The exhibit will end on Friday, June 15. – Melo Acuna
Pampanga / A1
well-meaning and responsible
citizens as their province witnessed a number of killings after the May 14 midterm polls.
Quoting from a pastoral letter issued by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines more than a decade ago,
Archbishop Aniceto said “But
how is it that in a nation that
prides itself of its rich Christian
heritage life is cheap? This is
our continuing shame and sorrow as a people.”
He appealed to government
law enforcement agencies to
“urgently provide protection
and security” for barangay officials who “seem to be the main
target of these violent acts” and
to “bring to justice the perpetrators of these crimes in the
soonest possible time.”
The soft-spoken Archbishop
Aniceto likewise appealed to
the media “to respect the delicate sensitivities of our people
in forming public opinion” as
he commended media practi-
tioners “who, in spite of the allure of money and the risks involved, fearlessly communicate
the truth about these incidents.”
Aniceto appealed to politicians to denounce criminal acts
“as well as in renouncing violence as a means for redressing
political grievances.”
He concluded by quoting the
1984 CBCP Pastoral Exhortation “Let There Be Life” that
said “Great acts of self-sacrifice
are called for in today’s crisis.
And evil as the times are, they
may well be, in God’s Providence, the moment of grace for
us as a Church and as a nation
precisely because they require
steadfast and heroic consistency in the living of our faith,
in our responding to its pressing demands, at this particular
juncture of our history.”
Bishop David said they hope
the statement would prove to
everyone the Church is taking
an active role to promote peace,
justice and life. (Melo Acuna)
tives in improving the
economy that are not destructive of the common good,” he
said.
Lagdameo said the CBCP’s
concern for the country also includes other countries which
may likewise be the “unfortunate dumpsites” of such garbage.
“The advantage to one country must not be to the disadvantage of another (country),”
said the prelate.
Greenpeace and other environmental groups stressed that
far from allaying fears of toxic
waste dumping in the country,
the deal still involved provisions allowing shipment of
CBCP Head / A1
and self-sustaining farming
techniques.
Witnesses testified that Jonas
was accosted by two unidentified men and was “held by the
hands and feet” and taken to a
waiting car outside the mall.
“We do not know the reason
behind the abduction but we
would like to express our sympathy to his family especially to
his mother with our prayers,”
he said.
Jonas’ mother Editha, meanwhile, thanked Lagdameo “for
taking importance of the disappearance of my son.”
“The bishops’ prayer for the
release of my son is definitely a
big help for us,” she said.
She said she is praying that
those holding Jonas would give
him a chance to defend his self
in court “if there’s anything
wrong that he has done.”
“I know that Jonas is alive.
We are just praying that his not
sick or hurt,” the mother said.
The Burgos family has long
been searching for Jonas but his
whereabouts remains unknown.
Militant groups and various
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human rights organizations accused the military of being behind Jonas’ enforced disappearance.
The military, however, consistently denied the accusation
while police hierarchy has
vowed to locate the missing
peasant leader.
Different international human rights groups were quick
to condemn the incident.
The European Union lamented that human rights
abuses had become a daily occurrence in the country. The
US-based Amnesty International also said Jonas’ disappearance had reinforced the
country’s image as a “land of
lawlessness.”
According to Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of
Peoples’ Rights), there are 199
victims of enforced disappearance from January 2001 to May
2007.
The Bulacan province has
the most number of missing individuals since Mrs Arroyo
took power in 2001 with Jonas
as
the
26th
victim.
(CBCPNews)
CBCP / A1
notes to the celebration of Independence Day.
Ironically, he said, “while we
have been liberated from the
control of foreign invaders, we
are victims of the abuses and
exploitation of fellow Filipinos.”
“On ‘Kalayaan Day’ we join
the clamor for the restoration or
return of the victims of disappearances. Our prayer is that
they will be allowed to return
safe and sound to their grieving and anxious families, to enjoy basic freedom,” said
Lagdameo.
The CBCP head called on the
government to uphold and defend people’s basic human
rights and freedom and ensure
MACE offers all new comprehensive pr
otection pr
ogram
protection
program
exclusively designed for KKCC members and family
Health and accident insurance
waste across borders.
Beau Baconguis, Greenpeace
Southeast Asia Campaigner,
said with the current text of the
JPEPA, the country is “wide
open” to a “shameless list” of
toxic wastes.
He said if both countries are
committed to addressing environmental concerns, they
would opt for removing provisions on the shipment of
toxic materials in the treaty.
Baconguis said the move
would be better rather than issuing diplomatic letters external to the original accord, and
whose weight, in the face of the
bilateral treaty itself, “is highly
questionable.” (CBCPNews)
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justice for all victims of human
rights violations.
“We are ashamed and saddened by comments that our
country ranks among those
with most records of graft and
corruptions, unresolved cases
of heinous crimes and mysterious disappearances and unabated extra-judicial killings,”
he said.
Lagdameo cried foul the
many unresolved killings and
enforced disappearances in the
country that targets especially
activists and journalists.
He said there is so much demand for restitution to helpless
and violence victims, specially
so their appeals fall on “deaf
ears.” (CBCPNews)
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
CBCP Backs / A1
the land reform program
would have consumed 36
years by 2008, but still 3.1
million hectares of lands,
mostly Private Agricultural
Lands (PAL), remain undistributed
For Lagdameo, the program has both its encouraging and discouraging aspects, naturally its pros and
cons. “This is where the discussion is needed.”
The CBCP earlier described the CARP as ‘defective”, which needs to be reviewed and implemented to
the letter.
“Irreversible”
CBCP vice-president
Archbishop
Antonio
Ledesma, meanwhile, said
the many success stories of
agrarian reform in different
areas may be considered
products of political will.
This means, he said, that
if the government is really
serious in implementing and
improving the CARP, it can
really reach out to a wider
group of beneficiaries.
“In general, the glass is
half-full and half-empty. The
CARP should be irreversible
but unfortunately there are
reverses,” said Ledesma
during the National Conference on CARP extension
with Reforms (CARPER)
held at the University of the
Philippines-Diliman last
Sunday, June 10.
Last year, the Department
of Agrarian Reform confirmed the lack of services
to half of CARP’s beneficiaries and the threats of losing land via sales or conversion.
The government already
spent P110.9 billion from
1988 to 2004 for the land acquisition and distribution
along with support services
to 1,614 agrarian reform
communities.
Just to meet the balance of
772,000 hectares, many of
which are more contentious,
the DAR would need P19.3
billion more.
Former Agrarian reform
undersecretary Ricardo
Arlanza said he feared the
gains of CARP might be reversed.
“The main objective is to
sustain and preserve the
gains of asset reform. After
distributing millions of hectares and stop there, and [do]
nothing [after], that’s crazy,”
he said in a news report.
Concrete programs
Lagdameo stressed that
extending the provision of
budgetary support as well
as the implementing period
of CARP would go a long
way in protecting the economic rights of the agrarian
reform recipients.
And so it’s more than just
extending the program.
He said the desired land
reform, supported by law,
must also be accompanied
by other supports and services to make a genuine reform.
“Concrete reform mea-
sures should be put in place
under the bill to improve
land acquisition and distribution, agrarian justice delivery, and support services
delivery,” he said. “At the
same time, it will help ensure that the program will
be implemented to the full
extent of the law,”
Lagdameo added.
Land for the tillers
Ledesma said the basic
philosophy of agrarian reform is land for tiller.
In a sense, he said, the
CARP should really give
opportunity to those who
are actually tilling the land
for many years
“So we have to make sure
that it goes in the right direction in reaching out to those
who are actually tilling the
soil,” the archbishop said.
Microcosm
Ledesma also made special mention about extra-judicial killings in the countryside perpetrated against
farmers in their continuing
struggle for agrarian reform.
The recent murder of two
farmer-beneficiaries of Hacienda Velez-Malaga is only a
“microcosm” of what has
been taking place in several
other conflict areas of agrarian reform.
In one report by a consortium of non-government organizations, 387 cases of
human rights violations victimizing 18,872 farmers and
rural organizers have been
recorded since 1998.
Human rights abuses take
the form of extra-judicial
killings, frustrated murder,
illegal arrests and detention,
physical assault, destruction
of private property, arson
and violent dispersal.
In a pastoral statement released last January, the
CBCP holds the government accountable for the extra-judicial killings, it being
the supposed “guardian
and protector of peace.”
Rural congress
Relating today’s rural
problems to those addressed by the Church 40
years ago, the CBCP signified a commitment to hold
another National Rural
Congress next year.
Ledesma explained the
rural congress aims for the
Church to bring together
and consult various sectors
of the rural poor to help
broaden the support for the
CARP extension.
Another major purpose is
to gather testimonies on the
main issues and concerns of
the sector, and come up
with an appropriate mechanism to link the church with
the people to help advance
their interests before the
government.
“We are ready to listen to
the various rural sectors and
discern with them and to
plan how we must as a
people come together to
work for the common good
of the country,” he said.
Laiko / A5
programs for our farmers,
fisherfolks and indigenous
people, protection of our forests, preservation of the
biodiversity of our eco-system, ensuring food, water and
energy security for each
household, etc.
At the national level, we
need advocacy groups to protect our peoples’ interests
against the passing of laws
that favor business stakeholders at the sacrifice of the
people’s long term wellbeing.
We need to harness professionals to give more time and
help to the newly elected local government leaders in
properly managing their resources, the better to attain the
hundred and one promises
they proclaimed during the
campaign. It requires more
than the will and passion of
the elected government leader
to achieve their goals. It requires basic management
tools of planning, leading, organizing and controlling. It
requires the understanding of
the values of the people already in place as well as the
people who will occupy new
positions.
All these things outlined
above can be learned but the
time required to master them
is more than the tenure of the
elected leader. Volunteerconsultants from retired managers of corporations can
help lessen the time of learning and implementation. The
most difficult part of the new
incumbent in his/her job is
the eradication of graft and
corrupt practices. The government bureaucracy and the
legal system combined can
make it almost impossible to
make a change overnight. But
it can be done with the help
of like-minded executives in
government—and there are
many
honest
and
hardworking government
people who just need a charismatic leader to harness their
potential for good governance.
To Governor Fr. Ed
Panlilio—now that election is
over, try not to be swallowed
by the government bureaucracy. There are crocodiles in
the river of the political habitat ready to snap at your every move. Just call for help
and volunteers will come
your way—trained volunteers for good governance.
(For comments contact e mail:
[email protected].)
CBCP Monitor
Features
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
A7
Man Who Grabbed Popemobile
Is Held for Treatment
© Romano Gambineri/epa/Corbis
VATICAN CITY, June 6, 2007—
A man leaped over security barricades after the general audience and briefly held on to the
popemobile before security
guards
restrained
him.
Benedict XVI was not harmed.
The Pope, in fact, did not
seem to notice the activity, as
everything happened behind
his back as he greeted the
people.
The Vatican later clarified
that the 27-year-old man, of
German nationality, suffers
from a mental disability and
was not trying to harm the Holy
Father, but just wanted to attract attention.
The episode lasted only a few
seconds, close to the obelisk located in the center of the square.
Jesuit Father Federico
Lombardi, director of the
Vatican press office, said that
the “young man was blocked
by the Vatican police and was
arrested due to conduct necessary investigations.”
An interrogation found that
the young man’s intention was
not to harm the Pope but “to act
in such a way that it would call
attention to himself,” added Fa-
ther Lombardi.
“Due to evidence of mental
disturbances, psychiatrists of
the Vatican Hospital intervened
and decided that the young
man should be hospitalized
and undergo mandatory treatment in a specialized and pro-
tected center,” concluded Father Lombardi. “Therefore, we
consider this case closed.”
(Zenit)
vice versa, were attacked.” He
said the Fr. Bossi’s kidnappers
could be “ordinary pirates.”
He said there were two motives behind his kidnapping in
1998, one was for the kidnappers “to get some money and
strengthen their rebel organization and another was political
for they had some demands
addressed to the Philippine
government.”
He said foreign missionaries
are soft targets. He hastened to
add “I guess it (kidnapping)
happens when the government
tightens the security around
areas of national interest, as
missionaries do not have bodyguards.”
Asked if he ever knew ransom was paid for his release,
Benedetti said he never asked
but added “I think it was a
mixed amount from the PIME,
some sectors of the Catholic
church and the (Philippine)
government for ‘board and
lodging.’”
He said foreign missionaries
tend to be closer to the people.
“The problem is the more you
get closer to the people, the
more you are considered
‘rich.’” Fr. Benedetti said he
was sent back by his congregation to the Philippines and was
showed a proposal to work
with the indigenous people in
the Visayas. He said he loved
the program and that’s why he
went back somewhere in the
boondocks in the Visayas.
His mother and other relatives were quite concerned of
his condition during his abduction. “Now that I’m back, my
mother would call every Sunday to find out how I’m doing,”
Fr. Benedetti concluded. (Melo
Acuña)
Fr. Luciano / A1
the kidnappers know him, too.”
Interviewed by both Catholic-run CBCP Monitor and
Veritas 846, Fr. Benedetti said
Payao used to be a safe place
for everyone, “even for rebels,
they used to go there to rest (so
I have been told when I was
there between 1990 and 1996
before I was transferred to
Sibuco.” “They used to go there
on vacation,” Benedetti observed.
He said piracy is common in
Sibugay Bay “and lots of incidents where boats coming from
Payao to Kabasalan or Naga and
RP Nuncio / A1
Filoni, now 61 years old, will
manage the general affairs section, one of the two important
departments within the papal
secretariat of state under His
Eminence Tarcisio Cardinal
Bertone.
The Italian prelate succeeds
Archbishop Leonardo Sandri,
who has been appointed Prefect
for the Congregation for Eastern
Churches.
Filoni welcomed his latest appointment and described it as
“an act of paternal benevolence
of the Supreme Pontiff, to whom
I answer without trepidation,
but with the same availability as
in the past and with profound
gratitude.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP),
meanwhile, welcomed Filoni’s
appointment, saying it would
give him opportunity to work
more closely with the Pope.
“The CBCP welcomes the new
appointment of Archbishop
Fernando Filoni, Apostolic
Nuncio, as Substitute in the
Secretariate of State of the Holy
See,” said CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo of Jaro,
Iloilo.
“The CBCP shares his joy over
the new appointment because as
Substitute in the Secretariate of
State, he will be working at close
range with the Holy Father,
Pope Benedict XVI,” he said.
Lagdameo also thanked Filoni
for the service he has given to
the Philippine Church no matter how short it may be.
“The CBCP likewise expresses
its gratitude for the services that
the Apostolic Nuncio has given to
the Philippine Hierarchy even in
so short a time of his stay,” he said.
Filoni will be leaving for
Vatican next month to assume
his latest appointment.
He spent ten years working at
the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila from 1992 to 2001. He was
appointed papal nuncio to the
Philippines in February 2006.
Born in Manduria, Italy on
April 15, 1946, Filoni was ordained a priest at the age of 24.
After 30 years, he was or-
dained Bishop and later appointed Apostolic Nuncio to
Iraq and Jordan.
Upon joining the Diplomatic
Services of the Holy See, he
served
the
Apostolic
Nunciatures of Sri Lanka, Iran,
Brazil and the Secretariat of State
of the Vatican. (CBCPNews)
tion of goods. “God destined
the earth and all it contains for
all men and all peoples so that
all created things would be
shared fairly by all mankind
under the guidance of justice
tempered by charity.” (Vatican
I, 1965, Gaudium et Spes, 69)
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
(2004) explicitates this further:
“Christian tradition has never
recognized the right to private
property as absolute and untouchable…. Private property,
in fact, regardless of the concrete forms of the regulations
and juridical norms relative to
it, is in its essence only an instrument for respecting the
principle of the universal destination of gods; in the final
analysis, therefore, it is not an
end but a means. (177)
A second moral guideline is
the principle of the common
good. This is intimately linked
to the dignity of every human
person as being made in the
image of God. The common
god is described by the Second
Vatican Council as “the sum
total of social conditions which
allow people, either as groups
or as individuals, to reach their
fulfillment more fully and
more easily.” (GS, 26)
“The demands of the common good,” states the Compendium, “are dependent on
the social conditions of each
historical period and are
strictly connected to respect for
and the integral promotion of
the person and his fundamental rights.” (CSDC, 166)
The admonition of Pope Pius
XI
in
his
encyclical,
Quadragesimo Anno (1931),
still rings true for the Philippine situation today: “the distribution of created goods,
which… is laboring today under the gravest evils due to the
huge disparity between the
few exceedingly rich and the
unnumbered propertyless,
must be effectively called back
to and brought into conformity
with the norms of the common
good, that is, social justice.”
(197)
A third principle is the preferential option for the poor.
Hence, the Compendium
states: “The principle of the
universal destination of gods
requires that the poor, the
marginalized and in all cases
of those whose living conditions interfere with their
proper growth should be the
focus of particular concern. To
this end, the preferential option for the poor should be reaffirmed in all its force.”
(CSDC, 182)
President
Ramon
Magsaysay, the first Philippine
President to advocate for land
reform (and whose 50th death
anniversary we observe this
year), expressed this insight
more concisely: “Those who
have less in life should have
more in law.”
This year marks the 40th anniversary of a major social encyclical, Populorum Progressio,
or “The Development of
Peoples.” Only two years after
the completion of Vatican II,
Pope Paul VI recalled the traditional view of the Church that
large landed estates that “impede the general prosperity because they are extensive, unused or poorly used, or because
they bring hardships to people
or are detrimental to the interests of the country” can be expropriated by authorities for
the sake of the common good.
(PP, 24)
This year, too, is the 40th anniversary of the National Rural Congress convened by the
Catholic Church in 1967. Reviewing this period, the bishops have decided to convene a
second national rural congress
“to make us meet in true Gospel fidelity our present social
concerns.”
We join hands with all our
farming and rural poor communities, non-government and
people’s organizations, as well
as government agencies and
the business sector. Starting
with the convening of diocesan-level rural congresses, we
are ready to listen to the various rural sectors and discern
with them and to plan “how
we must as a people come together to work for the common
good of the country” and of all
of us “as children of the same
Father in heaven.”
NEW HAVEN, CT, June 8,
2007—The Knights of Columbus announced today
that it set new records for
charitable giving and volunteer service hours in
2006.
The results of the Order’s
Annual Survey of Fraternal
Activity for the year ending
December 31, 2006 show
that total contributions to
charity at all levels reached
$143,816,004 - exceeding the
previous year’s total by
more than $4 million. The
figure includes $35,133,393
donated by the Supreme
Council, and $108,682,611
in charitable donations
from state and local councils, Fourth Degree assemblies, and squire circles.
The survey also shows
that the reported number of
volunteer hours by Knights
for charitable causes grew
to 68,270,432 hours, up
more than 4 million hours
from 2005. There were
393,807 Knights of Colum-
bus blood donors during
the year, and Knights made
more than 6 million visits to
the sick and bereaved.
The volunteer efforts
were spearheaded by the
Knights continued commitment to the Gulf States region affected by hurricanes
Katrina and Rita in 2005.
Shortly after hurricanes, the
Knights donated more than
$10 million to relief efforts,
and donations of money
and
time
continued
throughout 2006.
Cumulative figures show
that during the past decade,
the Knights of Columbus has
donated nearly $1.25 billion
to charity, and provided in
excess of 593 million hours
of volunteer service in support of charitable causes.
The Knights of Columbus
is the world’s largest lay
Catholic organization, with
1.7 million members in the
United States, Canada, the
Philippines, Mexico, Central America, and Poland.
Chaldean priest kidnapped
in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 6,
2007—Another Chaldean priest
was abducted in Baghdad today. Fr Hani Abdel Ahad, in his
early 30s, was taken in a northeastern section of the capital
called Suleikh along with five
boys who were going with him
to visit the city’s minor seminary.
The incident has plunged the
Christian community in a state
of gloom. Some faithful have
reacted to terrible news saying
that they have “the impression
that they are all alone, like Jesus
in the Garden of Gethsemane,
when he felt abandoned by the
Father.”
Unconfirmed rumors have
raised the possibility that Patriarch Emmanuel III Delly might
have already received a ransom
note.
The head of the Chaldean
Church is currently in Al-Qosh,
a town in the northern part of
the country, where he is participating in the last day of the patriarchal synod.
Father Hani’s abduction
comes only three days after the
assassination of a Chaldean
priest, Fr Ragheed Ganni, and
three subdeacons in Mosul.
(AsiaNews)
Cardinal Rejects Pro-Choice
City Label
Why / A1
years highlight the many obstacles to the full implementation of CARP—e.g., the myriad
legal loopholes encountered;
repeated delays in implementation; adamant landlord opposition pitting small farmers
against small farmers: lack of
political will of government
agencies; and inadequacies on
the part of local government
and law enforcement units to
provide security for agrarian
reform beneficiaries.
What is happening in Had.
Velez-Malaga is only a microcosm of what has been taking
place in several other conflict
areas of agrarian reform, such
as the Bondoc peninsula in
Quezon, Negros Oriental and
Occidental, Iloilo, Mindoro Occidental, Batangas, Davao del
Norte, Masbate, and Had.
Luista in Tarlac. In one report
submitted by a consortium of
NGOs, since 1998 when CARP
was extended the first time up
to the present, 387 cases of human rights violations victimizing 18, 872 farmers and rural
organizers have been recorded
(PARRDS, 2007). Human
rights violations take the form
of extra-judicial killings, frustrated murder, illegal arrests
and detention, physical assault, destruction of private
property, arson, violent dispersal, etc.
It is in this that we can ask
ourselves: Why agrarian reform? The social teachings of
the Church point out three
moral principles.
First is the universal destina-
Knights of Columbus Sets
New Records for Charities,
Volunteer Service
For the Central Committee of
the Second National Rural Congress:
+Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., D.D.
Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
Vice-President, CBCP
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, June 8, 2007—Cardinal Justin Rigali issued a statement
against the city council’s new
resolution to adopt the status of
a “pro-choice city.”
Cardinal Rigali, the archbishop of Philadelphia, in
Thursday’s statement called
upon “all people of good will to
join me in rejecting the divisive
and erroneous label that Philadelphia City Council has forced
upon the citizens of Philadelphia
today.”
“I reject the resolution because
so many heroic efforts are made
continually to safeguard unborn
children from the evil of abortion,
to protect vulnerable children and
families and to defend all women
and men in crisis,” he said.
Cardinal Rigali, who is also
the chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee for pro-life activities, continued: “In a city
where so many people vigorously defend life at every stage,
proclaiming Philadelphia ‘prochoice’ is inconsistent with re-
ality. It unfairly saddles those
who support life at all stages
with this shameful label.
“Philadelphia is experiencing
homicide at a record rate; now
is not the time to affirm the false
choice of procured abortion.
Rather, all residents should
rally around the common cause
of eliminating the hopelessness
that generates violence.
“Everyone deserves to be
born and live in a society that
builds conditions conducive to
life, not despair and death.”
The 72-year-old prelate
added: “The dialogue between
individuals and groups working to build a just society is illserved by City Council’s unproductive resolution.
“I commend those members
who opposed this resolution.
Council members who voted for
it should apologize to the thousands of Philadelphians they have
offended today, and turn their energies toward improving the
quality of life and the safeguarding of all residents.” (Zenit)
Message / A1
ings to the personnel of the
Secretariat of State who, with
generosity and daily commitment, attend to all the work.
Though often hidden it is of
great worth as it allows the
Apostolic See to manifest the
solicitude of the Successor of
Peter in the world, in a manner which is both profound
and compassionate.
I should like to express my
appreciation to the Church and
the People of the Philippines,
who have welcomed me everywhere with joy and warmth on
the occasion of my visits to the
various dioceses. I wish to convey my sincere thanks to the
Authorities of this country for
the attention that they have always shown me and for the
kindness with which they have
surrounded me.
For the Church in the Philippines, so rich in spiritual vitality, I have developed a great
affection in a very short time.
I ask now for prayerful support, and I know that I can
count on this, because the numerous prayer centers found
in every diocese, many of
which I have already visited,
have already assured me of it.
+FERNANDO FILONI
Titular Archbishop of Volturno
ANNOUNCEMENTS
• Watch for the launching of the CBCP News Website. It
will contain daily church news written by professional
Catholic journalists.
• The CBCP Media Office now maintains a video blog at
www.youtube.com/cbcpmedia. It contains latest CBCP
statements and catechetical updates.
A8
People, Facts & Places
Flores de Mayo in Rome
THE Marian devotion of Flores
de Mayo clearly manifests the
Filipino’s distinct Christian piety. Miles away from the motherland, such blessed tradition
gives a joyful occasion to celebrate a communal agape and
above all an avenue for spiritual
nourishment.
Last May 6, 2007, Sunday, the
Filipino communities mostly
coming from Rome, Milan,
Naples, Florence, Bologna and
from nearby cities joyfully
flooded the main chapel dedicated to our Lady of Good Voyage at Collegio Filipino. The
smiling faces, gestures of hospitality, indeed an atmosphere of
joy radiated by every Filipino
heart now reunited as the People
of God together with their pastors. The Holy Eucharist celebrated in Tagalog was presided
by His Eminence Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, the Archbishop of
Cebu.
Some important Filipino bishops in their ad limina visit, priest
students and professors to various Pontifical Universities, religious brothers and sisters from
various congregations including
some of their superior general
were also present. Likewise,
Mrs. Leonida L. Vera, Philippine
Ambassador to the Holy See and
Mr. Philippe J. Lhuiller, Ambassador to the Italian government
also attended the Mass. Selected
Filipino seminarians from the
religious congregation of the
Apostles of Jesus Crucified and
from the Collegio Ecclesiastico
Internationale of Sedes Sapientiae
animated the Pontifical servers.
His Eminence, Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales, Archbishop
of Manila, gave the highly applauded homily. The Prelate
enumerated some noble Filipino virtues such as mapagbigay,
His Eminence, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop of Cebu with Filipino Seminarians from CEI-Sedes Sapientiae in Rome; taken
on the occasion of the annual Flores de Mayo celebration at the Collegio Filippino, May 6, 2007.
pagdamay sa kapwa, mapagmahal,
magalang, masipag, matatag, may
takot sa Dios, matapang,
mapagkumbaba,
masayahin,
pakikisama
at
may
pananampalataya.
Cardinal Rosales emphasized
the need to cultivate the virtue
of pagpapatawad among the Filipino hearts especially on the
wounds committed though the
corridors of Philippine history.
Indeed, true justice and peace
is authentically achieved when
there is a sincere conversion
and reconciliation. The overseas Filipino workers here in
Italy are invited to have Mary
Our Lady of Good Voyage to be
their model for Christian discipleship and the sure way to
Jesus—the Savior of the world
(Cf. Heb. 13: 8).
The beautiful Marian song
Stella Maris was rendered as the
final song. After the Pontifical
blessing, the procession and the
recitation of the Holy Rosary
followed. Meanwhile, the
lovely parade of the elegant
flower-coated Reyna Elenas and
Sagalas with their Consortes,
each representing a particular
community, were stationed to
proceed before the beautifully
adorned carro of the wooden
statue of Our Lady of Good Voyage. After the Floral Offering,
the Coronation of the Marian
statue took place. Unexpectedly, a slight hailstone occurred
immediately after the blessing
before meal which was recited
by Cardinal Vidal. The fraternal
agape known as kainan and
saluhan were highlighted with
food and cultural presentations
from various regional festivals,
traditional folk songs rendered,
and finally the awarding of
prizes to major competitions.
Un pueblo amante de Maria—‘a
people deeply in loved with
Mary’ this is the true spirit of
every Flores de Mayo celebration
here in the Eternal City of Rome.
(Sem. Christian Gil B. Golong)
Focolare Holds Congress for Religious Women
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11 - 24, 2007
CDO Holds Workshop
on Media Education
THE Social Communications Ministry of the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro held
a seminar-workshop on Media Literacy education last
May 28-29 at Max Restaurant
in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro
City. The affair, participated
in by various Catholic-religious and civic groups, was
in consonance with the celebration of the 41 st World
Communications Day, with
the theme “Children and the
Media: A Challenge to Education.”
Invited resource speaker
was Sr. Ma. Consolata
Manding,
FSP,
PhD,
Directress of the Paulines
Institute of Communication
in Asia (PICA); who emphasized the importance of Media Literacy Education
among media consumers.
In line with the message
of the Holy Father, she
urged the participants to be
critical about the pervasive
influence of media, at the
same time, active in the use
of media in the formation,
especially of children, in the
light of Gospel truth.
Earlier on May 20, CDO
Archbishop Antonio J.
Ledesma, SJ, DD, presided
the mass for World Communications Day at St.
Agustin Metropolitan Cathedral. In his homily, the
archbishop underscored the
great responsibility parents,
teachers, members of the
Church and media had in
the formation of children.
Archbishop Ledesma
stressed that true communication with one another requires that we dwell on
what is true, good and beautiful. He challenged media
practitioners to multiply
this kind of communication
“not only for the little ones
but for all of us.”
Media owners and practitioners, Religious organizations, members of local
government and the academe, parents and children
participated in the Eucharistic celebration. (Augustus
Caesar Guarin)
Markings
CELEBRATED. REV. FR. JESUS TAMAYO, of the
diocese of Masbate, 25th anniversary of sacerdotal
ordination; June 10, 2007. A graduate of Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City, Fr. Tamayo was
ordained to the priesthood on June 11, 1982 by Most
Rev. Porfirio Iligan, DD, at the Cathedral of St. Anthony in Masbate. His previous pastoral assignments include, as Parochial Vicar of St. Anthony
Cathedral, Acting Parish Priest of Mandaon, Parochial Vicar of St. Joseph Parish in Milagros, Acting Parish Priest of
Uson, Pastor of St. Michael the Archangel in Monreal, Parish Priest of
San Pascual, and Parish Priest of St. Isidore Parish in Cawayan. At
present he is the pastor of the Immaculate Conception Parish in Balud,
Masbate.
CELEBRATED. REV. FR. DANNY FAJARDO, of the diocese of
Sorsogon, 25th anniversary of sacerdotal ordination, May 28, 2007. A
native of Pampanga, Fr. Fajardo studied his Philosophy at Christ the
King Seminary from 1973-1975. He entered the SVD novitiate in
Tagaytay City in 1975 but stayed only until 1978. He pursued his Theology studies at the Holy Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City and
was ordained on May 28, 1982. He finished his post graduate studies
at Bicol University in 1984. His pastoral assignments include: As parish assistant at Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Sorsogon from 198283, and as Formator at Our Lady of Penafrancia Seminary in Naga
City from 1983-84. He retired from his priestly ministry in 1984 due to
disability. He currently resides at the Home for the Clergy in Sorsogon
City.
CELEBRATED. REV. FR. ELY ALVAREZ, of the
diocese of Masbate, 25th anniversary of sacerdotal
ordination; June 10, 2007. A native of Masbate, Fr.
Alvarez was born on September 3, 1958. He finished his Philosophy and Theology from the Holy
Rosary Major Seminary in Naga City. He was ordained to the priesthood by Most Rev. Porfirio Iligan,
DD, on June 11, 1982 at St. Anthony Cathedral in
Masbate. Fr. Alvarez is at present the pastor of Holy
Cross Parish. His other involvements include Faith Formation in
Catechesis and Evangelization, Community Development in schools,
villages, family and chapels; Advocacy Program in Peace and Justice, Health and Nutrition and Livelihood; Community Organizing of
BEC’s; Infrastructure, Youth Development, Ecumenism and Inter-Religious Dialogue.
Participants of the Congress for Religious Women organized by the Focolare Movement at the Mariapolis Center in Tagaytay, June 1-3, 2007; they numbered 110 religious
women from 30 different congregations in 8 nationalities.
THE Focolare Movement held
a three-day congress for
women religious at Mariapolis
Peace in Tagaytay, the little city
of the Focolare Movement; on
June 1-3 with the theme, “The
Spirituality of Communion and
Consecrated Life.” Participants
were 110 religious women representing 30 different congregations and 8 nationalities.
Resource persons who spoke
on the theme were Nenita Arce,
a Focolarina representing
founder of Focolare Chiara
Lubich, and Sr. Loretto Maes, a
member of the Sisters of the
Most Precious Blood. Both
came from the International
Secretariat for Religious
Women of the Focolare.
Most Rev. Luis Antonio
Tagle, Bishop of Imus, gave his
insights on the encyclical “Deus
Caritas Est”. Meanwhile, Fr.
Rolando De la Rosa, OP, expressed his joy for celebrating
the Eucharist with such a vivid
presence of the church.
The three-day congress has
been characterized by an atmosphere of family and profound
communion.
Participants underscored that
the charism of unity helped
them to understand better their
own charism and highlighted
many ideas of their own
founder.
Many religious women expressed at the end their gratitude to Chiara Lubich, the
founder of the Focolare Movement, for her charism in the
Church.
The meeting underlined
what the recent Pontifical Instruction on consecrated life
Starting Afresh from Christ says,
“Finally, a new richness can
spring from an encounter and
communion with the charisms
of ecclesial movements. Movements can often offer the example of evangelical and charismatic freshness such as the
generous, creative initiatives in
evangelization. On the other
hand, movements as well as
new forms of evangelical life
can learn a great deal from the
faithful, joyful and charismatic
witness of consecrated life
which bears a very rich spiritual patrimony, the many treasures of experience and wisdom and a great variety of
apostolates and missionary
commitments.” (# 30)
In the process of renewal as
recommended by the Second
Vatican Council, religious orders and Institutes were invited
to rediscover their founder or
foundress, and to live and bring
alive their charisms in the
Church today.
Many members of Institutes
of consecrated life witness the
spiritual effects of the spirituality of unity which is the
charism of the Focolare Movement.
The discovery of the radical
nature of the Gospel life, led
them to deepen their communion within their own communities and to live a profound com-
munion among religious families, whether their charisms
were new or well established.
Members of various institutes
of consecrated life, who share
the spirituality of Focolare, were
recognized by Pope Paul VI as
“adherents of the Focolare
Movement” (general audience
1971).
Later on the Holy See allowed
men and women religious to
participate in the life of the
Movement. This was encouraged by John Paul II on many
occasions. (Mariella Floridia)
INSTALLED. REV. FR. TAMERLANE R. LANA
O.P., as new rector and president of the Colegio
de San Juan de Letran, in a solemn investiture
mass at the college auditorium, June 15, 2007.
Previously the rector of the University of Santo
Tomas from 1998 to 2006, Lana had also been
the president of the Association of Catholic Universities of the Philippines and the Network of Dominican Schools, Colleges and Universities, and vice president for
Asia-Pacific of the International Federation of Catholic Universities
and the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines. He takes
over the post from Rev. Fr. Edwin A. Lao, OP.
PASSED TO ETERNAL REWARD. Rev. Msgr. Cesar Tagal, Diocese
of Tuguegarao, January 5, 2007; Rev. Msgr. Benjamin dela Paz, Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga, January 7, 2007; Rev. Fr.
Carmelo G. Cortez, Diocese of Antipolo, January 23, 2007; Rev. Msgr.
Isabelo Acero, Archdiocese of Lipa, March 16, 2007; and Rev. Msgr.
Gregorio Salvatus, Diocese of Lucena, April 7, 2007.
Philippine Delegates to the International Congress on Fidei Donum (to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the encyclical issued by Pope Pius XII in 1957) held in Rome on May 18-11,
2007; Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (Congress speaker), Bishop Precioso Cantillas (representing the CBCP Commission on Migrants) and Bishop-Elect Gilbert Garcera (PMS
National Director / representing CBCP Commission on Mission), were among the participants of the congress that carried the theme, “All the Churches for the Whole World.”.
B1
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 12 • June 11 - 24 2007
B2 Updates
Pastoral Concerns
Fr. Carlo Magno
Music is a Gift
and a Mission
By Ben Carlo Atim
F
ATHER Carlo Magno Marcelo
loves music. His musical talent
is a treasure he does not hesitate
to share with others.
A member of the clergy of the Archdiocese of Manila, Fr. Carlo Magno
was ordained priest on November 30,
1993. Currently, he is teaching at San
Carlos Major Seminary, while serving
as its music director.
A church musician since high school,
Fr. Carlo’s musical talent deepened
when he entered San Carlos Major
Seminary in 1984, after two years of
preparatory veterinary medicine in
the University of the Philippines in
Diliman.
Fr. John Van de Steen, CICM, a
Belgian missionary who became Director of San Carlos Major Seminary
Choir, was instrumental in training
the young Carlo developed his musical talent.
But long before he was catapulted to
celebrity status because of his awardwinning liturgical songs, Fr. Carlo said
he was just simply an ordinary choir
member and an organist. Never did it
cross his mind that he could compose
songs, much less record one.
Nonetheless, the talent within was
like a seed biding to burst out into the
open. It did when Bishop Socrates Vil-
legas and the late Jaime Cardinal Sin
asked him to write the theme song for
the Jubilee year in 1996. The Jubilee
song eventually hit the airwaves,
and became the toast of recording
companies.
The phenomenal popularity of the
song earned Fr. Carlo the respect of
fellow musicians and from ordinary
churchgoers who appreciated his
tune.
The Fruits of the Gift
With the success came financial
rewards. Fr. Carlo thought of putting
up a foundation that will help promote Catholic music. He established
the Jubilee Music Ministry together
with a friend, the priest-composer Fr.
Jeronimo Perez, in 1998.
The foundation aims to promote
Catholic music and to help institutions who maybe needing fi nancial
assistance especially in producing
quality albums.
The promotion of Catholic music
helps revive the appreciation of people
for liturgical songs. It is a known fact
that the deluge of modern genres of
music has somehow eclipse the value
of liturgical music. Fr. Carlo sees this
as a challenge to the Church.
“We have to come up with composi-
tions that are appealing, yet preserving the rich patrimony of the Church,”
he opined.
The demand of creating good music
is significant not only in terms of commercial value but also in its ability to
penetrate the consciousness of people
and make them participate in liturgical celebrations. The priest emphasized that music must not serve only
as a tool for entertainment but must
help stimulate the consciousness of a
listener to ponder and reflect.
“You just need to be creative in order
to connect or make a bridge between
the rich patrimony of the Church and
the current trend in music,” he said.
The Jubilee Music Ministry
The Jubilee Music Ministry produces
songs that are naturally reflective yet
at the same time can captivate the attention of the young.
Although the foundation just started
only nine years ago, it has already
extended its arms to institutions that
needed support in promoting gospel music. Fr. Carlo believes that in
the coming years, as the foundation
evolves and grows, it will become
a Catholic Music Resource Center,
which will cater to services pertainMusic / B5
Blessings at First Mass
B3 Diocese
Diocese of Gumaca
B6 Reflections
Feet... Pilgrims, Workers,
Saints...
7
Q UESTIONS
Bishop-Emeritus Vicente C.
Manuel, SVD, DD
A NATIVE of Occidental Mindoro, Most Rev. Vicente Manuel, SVD, was installed
as first bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro on July
1, 1983 and served as its Apostolic Vicar until 2000. Bishop-Emeritus Manuel
is currently a resident bishop in the archdiocese of Cebu. In this issue of CBCP
Monitor Bishop Manuel reminisces and shares the wealth of his experiences as first
Apostolic Vicar of San Jose, Mindoro. He talks about his current responsibilities
as resident bishop of Cebu archdiocese, how the archdiocesan programs cascade to
parish level, and shares his insights on poverty alleviation, lay participation in the
local Church and BEC in his district.
How was your Episcopal ministry in the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose
Mindoro?
I was ordained bishop June 29, 1983, so I’m in my 24th year as bishopemeritus. Next year I will be celebrating my silver jubilee as a bishop. Being
the first bishop of San Jose Mindoro had its own advantage in the sense that
there was no tradition to follow. Among the first things we did was to map
out the plan for the vicariate, and to formulate our vision and mission. BEC
was the center of it.
My Episcopal ministry was fruitful, you have that sense of accomplishment.
It was very beautiful. [Here, I’m speaking] not only in terms of the terrain or
the vastness of the place. Well, it is a vicariate, a mission territory; you really
have to start from zero. There were only 13 parishes then. The island of Lubang
was the most isolated. Whenever I would go to visit the parish I always stayed
for three weeks to be able to go to the farthest chapel. There is no place that I
have not gone to, that I have not said mass many times over.
When I left in 2000, we made an evaluation of 17 years of our work. Have we
somehow gotten closer to our vision mission? For one thing, we were able to
form lay leaders, the family apostolate, the BEC in the different socio-economic
areas, the youth in the parish level.
What prompted you to venture into broadcasting?
The population when I started was about a hundred thousand or maybe
even less. But it was scattered in a wide place. There are 7 major rivers in the
vicariate. There were no bridges, and during rainy season some parishes were
cut off from the seat of the vicariate of San Jose. There was a time when I almost
drowned while crossing a swollen river. So, I thought of starting a radio station. We were able to start one in 1991. Cardinal Vidal went there to bless the
radio station. I thought, it was very important, because if you have difficulty
reaching the farthest corner of the place on foot, with a radio station it would
be easy. The radio also helps in raising the consciousness of the people about
the activities of the local Church. Our station ID was my motto “At thy word,
I cast the net,” plus the vision of the vicariate. So everybody came to know
about it. We were only about 300 hundred thousand, but maybe our audience
with the radio station was about two million.
What are your specific responsibilities in the archdiocese of Cebu?
I started working in Cebu in 2000. Cardinal Vidal gave me an official assignment as one of his vicar generals. All his assistant bishops there are vicar
generals. Then he gave me a district. There are seven districts in the whole
archdiocese of Cebu. So I’m in charge of two districts now, it has about 50
parishes. That’s my involvement there—as Vicar general, and as district bishop
of the archdiocese. That’s my direct responsibility and participation in the area
of pastoral work of His Eminence.
How do you make pastoral programs cascade to parish level?
7 Questions / B4
CBCP Monitor
Updates
B2
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
Blessings at First Masses
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university
answers the question on blessings at first mass of newly ordained priest).
© Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis
Q: I have two questions:
1) The Benedictine Ordo
for the American Cassinese Congregation has
the following note concerning “Rescripts from
the Holy See”: “His Holiness, Pope Paul VI, has decreed that a newly ordained
priest may, on the occasion of
his first Mass, celebrated with
some solemnity outside of Rome,
grant once the Papal Blessing, using
the formula given in the Roman Ritual.
The plenary indulgence attached to
this blessing may be gained by the
faithful who devoutly assist at the first
Mass, provided they have received
the sacraments of penance and Holy
Communion, and have prayed for the
intentions of the Holy Father. Given
at Rome by the Sacred Penitentiary on
November 5, 1964.” Do you have any
idea what the present status of this
rescript is? Since the Roman Ritual
has been edited since 1964, which text
should be used? What is the status of
the plenary indulgence? 2) A deacon
asked that I serve as the assistant priest,
vested in a cope, for his first Mass.
From what I understand, the assistant
priest at the first Mass was more a matter of custom than law. Is this allowed
in the current liturgy? -- M.M., Latrobe,
Pennsylvania
A: I would say that the rescript is no
longer in force as its effects have been
absorbed by the general norms of the
Enchiridion of Indulgences.
The document mentions the papal
blessing to which a plenary indulgence
is attached. The present Enchiridion in
concession No. 43 attaches a plenary
indulgence to the priest and faithful
who assist at a newly ordained priest’s
first solemn Mass, but this indulgence
is now dissociated from imparting the
apostolic blessing.
The Enchiridion grants the right to
impart the apostolic blessing only to
the diocesan bishop, who may impart it
three times a year at the end of particularly solemn Masses (norm No. 10.2).
Therefore, as the papal blessing is
no longer granted, the question as to
what ritual should be used in imparting it is moot. The priest may use any
of the blessings proposed in the missal
according to the liturgical time and
season.
With respect to
the second
question,
effectively, the use
of an assistant
priest at a first
Mass is custom and not
prescriptive. This priest is
usually an experienced priest whose
principal task is to guide an understandably nervous new priest through
the intricacies of the celebration.
The role of such a priest is similar
to that of a master of ceremonies, although, unlike this figure, he usually
simply vests the stole over an alb or
surplice. The cope would not ordinarily be worn on this occasion, although
its use may be a legitimate local custom
in some places or within some orders.
The assistant priest does not usually
perform the functions pertaining to the
deacon, although it is not unknown for
him to read the Gospel and preach the
homily at a first Mass.
The Duty of Residence of the Parish Priest
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
The Availability of the Parish
Priest to his Parishioners
After understanding the beautiful notion of the parish priest
as the proper shepherd of the
parish flock, and concretizing
that notion in the series of duties and functions enumerated
in the aforementioned canons,
the question of the physical and
moral availability of the parish
priest in the parish is inescapable. It simply is not possible
for him to fulfill all his obligations to his flock were he not
to be available in the parish 24
hours of the day all throughout
the year, except for the periods
of absence provided by Canon
Law for his own rest and formation. Thus, from olden times, the
duty of residence in the parish
has always been considered as a
direct consequence of the function of the pastoral care of souls
entrusted to the parish priest. As
an eminent 16th Century Italian
canonist affirmed: “the pastoral
ministry implies many things
which necessarily require personal presence”. (Bartholomew
Carranza, Controversia de Necessaria Residentia personali
Episcoporum et aliorum inferiorum pastorum, Venice (1547),
Chap.2, pp.15-16.)
Thus, the Code of Canon Law
binds with the duty of residence
those who hold offices that imply a particular responsibility
as regards the pastoral care of
souls, like the diocesan Bishop
(cf. c.395), the Bishop-coadjutor
and the auxiliary Bishop (cf.
c.410), the diocesan Administrator (cf. c.429), the parish priest
(cf. c.533) and the parochial vicar
(cf. c.550).
In effect, the habitual presence
of the parish priest in the parish
aims to guarantee his constant
and effective availability for
the needs of the faithful, who
in turn should be able to approach their parish priest for
whatever legitimate request. On
the other hand, it is clear that
such pastoral needs of the faithful can present themselves and
should be adequately attended
to at whatever time of day or
night. Hence, the parish priest
is in principle always on duty
and on call.
The Duty of Residence of the
Parish Priest
Canon Law specifies this duty
in c.533 of the Code of Canon
Law as follows:
Can. 533 1. The pastor (parish
priest) is obliged to reside in a
parish house close to the church;
(The parish house or rectory is
locally referred to in the Philippines as the convento, which at
times is translated to English
as convent, an unfortunate
choice of term since the word
convent has a precise meaning
which refers to the house of religious nuns—not even monks
or friars), in particular cases,
however, the local Ordinary can
permit him to live elsewhere,
especially in a house shared
by several presbyters (priests),
provided there is a just cause,
and suitable and due provision
is made for the performance of
parochial functions.
2. Unless there is a serious
reason to the contrary, the pastor may be absent each year
from the parish on vacation,
for at most one continuous or
interrupted month; the days
which the pastor spends once a
year in spiritual retreat are not
counted in his vacation days; if
c.533, §1. Obviously, also, for
reasons of order such prolonged
absences from the usual place of
residence i.e., the parish house
or rectory should be done with
the permission of the bishop.
the parish priest to reside in his
parish, specifically in a parish
house close to the church or
(with due permission of the
bishop) in another place within
the parish territory, provided
he is able to fulfill his parochial
functions. Obviously, if the par-
Before rushing into any judgment against
him, the interested parishioners especially
those more involved in the organization of
the parish would do well to try a respectful
dialogue. For all we know, there might be
legitimate reasons for his absences.
the pastor is to be absent from
the parish beyond a week, he is
bound to inform the local Ordinary of this.
3. The diocesan Bishop is to
issue norms which provide for
the care of a parish by a priest
possessing the needed faculties during the absence of the
pastor.
In effect, Canon Law obliges
ish territory includes far-flung
towns and villages, the absence
of the parish priest from the parish house while attending to his
flock in those remote places of
the parish cannot be considered
as absence from the parish, but
rather as a case of temporary
residence in another house
within the territorial limits of
his parish, as provided for by
© Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis
WE have had our parish priest with
us for two years now. He is something of an eccentric, very inconsistent. It’s okay with us, if that’s the
way he is, but what bothers those of
us who work closely with him in the
parish is that at times he disappears
for days without telling us where
to reach him in case he is needed.
He has a couple of friends, guest
priests, who take over when he is
away, but they are there only for the
sacraments. They can not decide or
guide us in making decisions that
have to be made when our parish
priest happens to be absent. It can be
very frustrating. What does Canon
Law say about the availability of
the parish priest? Do we as parish
workers have the right to demand
it, if not transparency of our priest?
We do not want a blow-by-blow
account of his whereabouts, but at
least the basic information of where
to reach him in case of dire need.
© Philippe Lissac/Godong/Corbis
(A continuation from last issue)
Absences of the Parish Priest
Canon Law expressly provides
several legitimate motives for the
parish priest to be absent from the
parish (i.e., outside the territorial
limits of his parish):
1st a yearly vacation totaling 30
days maximum either continuous
or interrupted as provided for by
c.283, §2: Clerics are entitled to a
due and sufficient period of vacation each year, to be determined
by universal or particular law.
2nd a yearly closed retreat
which normally lasts 1 week as
provided for by c.276, §2, 4°: [In
order for them to pursue this
perfection] priests are also bound
to make a retreat according to the
prescriptions of particular law.
3rd other sporadic absences for
priestly formation, as provided
for by c.279, §2: In accord with
the prescriptions of particular
law, priests are to attend pastoral lectures which are to be
held after priestly ordination; at
times determined by the same
particular law they are also to
attend lectures and theological
meetings or conferences which
afford them opportunities to
acquire a fuller knowledge of the
sacred sciences and of pastoral
methods. (The members of the
Canon Law Society of the Philippines (CLSP), for example, hold
a yearly 3-day National Convention in different regional capitals,
featuring lectures by eminent local and invited foreign canonists,
workshops to produce position
papers on current issues, aside
from the time for rest and recreation, camaraderie and exchange
of pastoral experiences.)
With these dispositions, Canon
Law aims to guarantee for the
parish priest some periods of
rest, which are necessary for him
to recover his physical as well as
spiritual energies. Thus, these
periods of physical and spiritual
rest should not be considered
simply as legitimate rights, but
also as natural necessities that
except for a serious reason should
not be omitted.
Obviously, order demands
that for an absence of greater
than a week, the parish priest
ought to inform the diocesan
bishop so that as the Commission drafting the Code itself
pointed out the latter may give
the due authorization and, even
more importantly, adequately
provide for the pastoral care of
the parish community during
the parish priest’s absence, by
designating a priest to substitute
him. (Cf. Communicationes, 14
(1982), p.225.)
On the other hand, the serious
violation of the law of residence
is considered as a crime in Canon
Law with its corresponding
penalty, as typified by c.1396:
One who seriously violates the
obligation of residence to which
he is bound by reason of an ecclesiastical office is to be punished
with a just penalty, including
even deprivation of office after
a warning.
Conclusion
As to the present case of our
lulubog-lilitaw parish priest:
1) Before rushing into any
judgment against him, the interested parishioners especially
those more involved in the organization of the parish would do
well to try a respectful dialogue.
For all we know, there might
be legitimate reasons for his
absences.
2) In any case and more especially if his absences far exceed
the 37 plus days provided for
by Canon Law for his vacation,
closed retreat and other means of
priestly formation the concerned
parishioners can always bring
the matter to the attention of the
diocesan bishop.
3) Should the parish priest
concerned really be guilty of undue absence from the parish, the
diocesan bishop can admonish
him (Canon Law provides for at
least 2 canonical warnings) after
which should the parish priest
not change his ways he may
proceed with the imposition of a
just canonical sanction (penalty)
which may include the removal
from office of the parish priest.
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
ting and clarifying the vision of the diocese and by defining her mission in light
of that vision. In 1985, they came up with
a vision of the diocese as ‘community of
believers united in Christ in his Sonship
to and His worship of the Father, dedicated to others under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit’.” (Decade of Grace, 15)
The bishop, together with the clergy,
religious and laity, redefined its vision in
the desire to renew, and give vigor and
life to the faith of the people according to
the spirit of the Second Plenary Council
of the Philippines (PCP II). In the first
Diocesan Pastoral Assembly (DPA I) in
1994, they overwhelmingly endorsed its
new Vision: “The Diocese of Gumaca as
a community of disciples united in Christ
THE Diocese of Gumaca, which is in the
province of Quezon, has a total land area
of 3,666.44 sq. kms. It is approximately
196 kilometers south of Manila and situated along the national highway on the
eastern coast of Quezon. It is bounded
northwest by the Diocese of Lucena in
Quezon, Province and southeast by the
Daet diocese in Camarines Norte. Many
parishes in the diocese of Gumaca are in
the mountainous area of Bondoc Peninsula while three parishes are in Alabat
Island and four others are located along
the national highway. The diocese of
Gumaca comprises twenty four parishes
and 3 proposed parishes that are still being prepared for canonical erection in the
next 2-3 years. At present the diocese has
prehensive program of the diocese in its
ministerial and spiritual stewardship
In the recent years, under its current
bishop, the diocese continues to show
signs of constant growth. The different
commissions work side by side in fostering a widespread effort at evangelization
and spiritual renewal. They regularly
hold workshops and seminars for the
ongoing formation of catechists, lectors,
acolytes, MSK leaders and of different religious organizations. The commissions
on youth and catechetical apostolate
also intensify their ongoing programs for
the youth, leaders and catechists of the
diocese. In terms of facilities, the following buildings were added to the existing
offices in the diocesan compound: the
61 diocesan priests in active ministry, 78
professed religious women, 23 lay missionaries, 9 professional catechists and
826 volunteer catechists.
By Rev. Fr. Ramon Uriarte & Rev. Fr. Ricky Araneta
B3
communities of disciples.
Journeying Towards the Vision
The diocese will celebrate its 25th
anniversary foundation in 2010. The
diocese is considering three essential
actions for a meaningful and grace-filled
commemoration. First, KNOW the vision. The key to this undertaking is to
make the people become aware of the
existing vision. This is facilitated by constant recitation of the vision especially
before every gathering such as business
meetings and celebration of the Sunday.
The next task after having memorized
the vision is to EXPLAIN it. In
this activity, the people are led
through catechesis, seminars,
The Diocese of Gumaca
Creation of the Diocese
The diocese was created by Pope
Paul II on the 9th of April 1984 through
the Apostolic Letter “Lure Meritoque”.
However, it was canonically erected
only on January 29, 1985 when the Most
Rev. Emilio Z. Marquez was ordained
bishop and installed Ordinary of the
Diocese. Having been made a diocese, it
has become a suffragan of the ecclesiastical province of Lipa which comprises the
Apostolic Vicariates of Calapan and San
Jose (Occidental Mindoro), Prelature of
Infanta, the dioceses of Boac and Lucena
and the Archdiocese of Lipa.
In May 2002, Most. Rev. Emilio Z.
Marquez was appointed as
coadjutor bishop of Lucena,
ABOVE: The clergy of the diocese.
1
at the same time apostolic Ad- Bishop
RIGHT: Bishop Buenaventura M.
ministrator of Gumaca. He Priests:
Famadico,
DD. BELOW: The Cathedral
65
continued to serve as aposDiocesan
of
San
Diego de Alcala Gumaca
78
Sisters
tolic administrator until Most
Quezon.
Rev. Antonio R. Rañola was Seminarians:
10
nominated as the new Apostolic
Theology
27
Administrator on June 25, 2002.
Philosophy
5 in his sonship and worship of
recollections, retreats etc., to reflect and
In regency
He was succeeded by Most.
9 the Father, dedicated to serve
Minor:
in
high
school
understand the goals of the diocese. EvRev. Buenaventura Famadico
3 others as the Church of the
In pre-college
ery year, the diocese sets a theme that is
as the 2nd ordinary bishop of
poor under the guidance of
taken from the diocesan vision. Through
the Diocese of Gumaca on July Diocesan Divisions:
2 the Holy Spirit together with
Districts
monthly activities and lectures designed
11, 2003.
6
Vicariates
Mary, our model.” Incorpoby the different commissions the par25
Parishes
rated here, one may observe,
ticular topic is clarified, explained and
The Road to Growth
Educational
Centers:
are
PCP
II’s
Ecclesiology
and
deepened. The Focus of 2005 was Mary,
The first several years of exis1
Tertiary: Diocesan
Mariology.
Mother and Model of the Diocese of Gutence of the diocese of Gumaca
9
High Schools: Diocesan/
In preparation for the
maca. In 2006, the theme was Renewal
9
were marked by stages of rapid
parochial
celebration
of
its
silver
anof the Family leads toward Renewal of
growth and development. DifElementary Schools:
niversary foundation, the
the Community. 2007 is devoted to the
Diocesan/Parochial
ferent diocesan facilities were
diocese resolved to carry out
Holy Spirit, Guide to become a Combuilt such as the Gumaca Dioc- Teaching Personnel:
7 this mission by giving parmunity of Disciples. United in Christ in
Priests (part-time)
esan Pastoral Formation Center
23 ticular emphasis on renewed
Sisters (full-time)
his Sonship and Worship of the Father
where the chancery, curia, and
151 Evangelization that seeks to
Lay (full-time)
will be explained in 2008. And Love of
other diocesan offices are now
844,994 develop an integrated spiriGod the Father, Service to Others will
located. The Gumaca Diocesan Population
744,888 tuality among the people,
be highlighted in 2009. In the silver anPress was also built as its pub- Catholics
niversary, the diocese will ponder on
3,666.44 sq. kms. build up the local church and
lishing arm. It publishes the Area
transform the whole fabric of
her being Church of the Poor. The diomonthly issues of Tipan, the disociety according to the values of Christ
cese hopes that
through this evanPastoral office and Youth Center, and
ocesan monthly liturgical guide, Sagisag
(PCP II, 187-192). With new fervor, methgelization
effort the people
the Priest’s retirement house and the
(discontinued), the diocesan newsletter
ods and expressions, the diocese clarifies
will better
appreciate the
diocesan catechetical Center. The last
and other diocesan papers. The diocese
its
VISION
of
a
renewed
community
vision
and
eventually
LIVE
two are still unfinished at present.
likewise founded Mount St. Aloysius
through the distinct areas of apostolate
it. However,
this last action
College Seminary, to accommodate the
of the different commissions on worship,
will only be
realized when
Community of Believers
increasing number of vocations to the
Catholic education and catechesis, social
people
start owning
The diocese of Gumaca “may be likpriesthood from the dioceses of Guservices, youth, family life, vocation and
i t s
vision.
ened to a ship sailing on the high seas
maca and Boac. At present, a significant
temporalities. Ongoing formation of the
and its bishop and priests, to the captain
number of alumni of Mt. St. Aloysius
clergy as servant–leader in a participaand his crew. It does not sail for no purSeminary are already ordained priests
tory church is set up while taking into
pose. It has a definite destiny to reach, a
and are now serving in their respective
account the particular needs of
mission to accomplish. Neither does it
dioceses. The bishop’s residence was
priests at the different stages of
sail aimlessly but is guided toward its
also built in 2001-2002.
priestly life and ministry. Great
mission by a vision, as by a light, lest it
In its tenth year anniversary, the dioefforts are exerted to empower
veer off its course or run into the
cese of Gumaca convened the first diocthe laity to become responsible
reefs.” (Decade of Grace, 15)
esan pastoral assembly which evaluated
agents of a vibrant community.
Soon after the diocese has
and reexamined the pastoral programs
Basic Ecclesial Communities are
commenced its own exisof the diocese. New plans and strategies
likewise strengthened, making
tence, the first act of the
were formulated to further ensure the
them effective evangelizing
bishop was to chart its
spiritual growth of the people and to
communities in renewing
course with the help
encourage greater participation from
Christian life and
of his priests. This
the laity. A book containing the acts and
forming
they did by setdecrees of this first Diocesan Pastoral
Assembly of the Diocese of Gumaca
was published to serve as guide for the
clergy and laity of the diocese. A Diocesan Assembly for Diocesan Pastoral
Evaluation and Planning (DPEP)
was convened in 2003. This resulted
in the reorganization and creation
of new ministries for a more com-
Ongoing Formation of the Clergy
As part of the continuing formation
of the clergy of Gumaca, they regularly
hold monthly recollections for spiritual
nourishment every second MondayTuesday of the month at the Gumaca
Pastoral Formation Center. In this gathering, they assign one among themselves
to give spiritual/pastoral inputs in one
of the sessions and they invite speakers
as well for an updating in economic,
political, and other areas of concern.
Hence, their monthly recollection/gathering
is not limited to
spiritual activities such
as confes-
IMPORTANT FACTS
.
sions, holy hour and mass but also
include conference with the bishop,
business meeting, and even basketball
and volleyball games.
In addition to their monthly recollection, the clergy of Gumaca also holds 5
day-retreat every year. They do it out
of town to give them an opportunity to
withdraw from the daily routine of their
works in the parish and thus be able to
devote the time entirely for spiritual
renewal. The diocese also sends two
priests to the Renewal Program of the
Episcopal Commission on Clergy every
year for renewal and ongoing formation.
This is usually held at the Bahay Pari in
San Carlos Compound in Guadalupe
Makati. In the last couple of years, the
clergy of Gumaca also has undergone a
week of Pastoral Retooling which consists of workshops and inputs for a more
effective ministry in the parish.
Empowering the Laity
Vatican II, states that the laity “by
baptism are incorporated into Christ,
and are placed in the people of God,
and in their own way share the priestly,
prophetic and kingly office of Christ, and
to the best of their ability carry on the
mission of the whole Christian people
in the Church and in the world”
(LG, 31). For lay people to exercise
their rights and duties as apostles
(aa3), the diocese, understands the
need to allow them to participate in
the exercise of powers of order and
governance and empower them to
assume responsibilities in various
ministries and functions and in
various offices of the diocese
or parishes.
Consistent with this
conviction, the dioGumaca / B7
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
B4
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
ECIP Holds 2nd National Convention on Indigenous Peoples’ Education
By Lourie Victor
BRAVING post-election fatigue, participants from 16 tribes and 27 dioceses
attended the Episcopal Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (ECIP) and Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA) 2nd
National Convention on Indigenous
Peoples Education in San Carlos City,
Negros Oriental on May 21-24.
The seminar aimed to come up with
consolidated principles that can serve
as reference and guide to Indigenous
Peoples’ Apostolates nationwide in
implementing education interventions
in partnership with IP communities.
ECIP through its South Central
Luzon IPAs, has been undertaking
consultations, trainings, research and
advocacy work for the past three years,
in an effort to consolidate the experiences of IPAs nationwide. The goal is
to set up education programs that are
responsive to the particular needs and
circumstances of IP communities and
learners.
Last year’s convention held in
Kidapawan highlighted the shared
observation of IPAs that mainstream
education has not been responsive
to the needs and particularities of
indigenous peoples (IPs). The situation was largely taken as the primary
reason behind continuous drop-outs,
the breakdown of community cohesion, continued neglect of indigenous
knowledge systems and practices, and
the erosion of culture and identity of IP
communities.
Participants came out with concrete
proposals to address the problems.
First, is to define more concretely what
kind of education is appropriate for IP
communities, and next, lay down key
principles that could guide the implementation of education programs or
interventions.
Nonetheless, for this to be done, participants had to tackle first how mainstream education came about and how
its inherent perspective about IPs tends
to marginalize them as a people. The IP
communities have their own system of
education which had sustained them
since time immemorial but is not given
importance in mainstream education.
The emerging interest in culture as a
factor in learning was also discussed,
bringing to light studies that reveal IP
communities do have learning styles
and patterns different from what is
promoted or used in the mainstream
education system. IPAs discussed what
they observed to be the unique learning
needs, characteristics and patterns of IP
learners based on their experiences in
implementing education activities and
interventions. It was from these that the
principles were generated.
ECIP chairman Bishop Sergio
Utleg remarked that this undertaking
to promote a system of education appropriate for IP communities has still
a long way to go. This second convention, he said, is one of those necessary
milestones that have to be undertaken if
IPs are to experience an education that
recognizes and respects their identity
and celebrates the richness of their culture.
IPA regional representatives and ECIP
executive secretary, Fr Rod Salazar Jr,
Youth Ministry Programs for Young People
By National Secretariat for Youth Apostolate
THE Episcopal Commission
on Youth (ECY) is actively
involved in spearheading the
following activities as part of
its regular service in the youth
ministry programs.
1. National Youth Day (NYD)
This is celebrated every 16th
of December, the start of the
Misa De Gallo or SimbangGabi. Every two or three years,
a national gathering is organized by the ECY in partnership
with a host-diocese, usually
on a schedule proximate to 16
December. This allows for the
celebration of the NYD in the
dioceses, organizations, and
parishes, to echo the program of
the national gathering. Usually,
the NYD program echoes the
World Youth day (WYD) theme
for that year.
Last 8-12 November 2006, the
National Youth Day 2006 was
held in Davao City. The Archdiocese of Davao through its
youth ministry office, the Davao
Archdiocesan Youth Coordinating Apostolate (DAYCA) hosted
and co-organized with ECY the
event. Participants reflected
on the theme, “Your Word is a
lamp unto my feet and a light
unto my path” (Ps 119:105),
which is also the theme of the
WYD 2006.
.2. Youth Ministry Awareness
Week
The week prior to the NYD
(9-15 December 2006) is devoted
to promote youth ministry in
the Church, so that everyone becomes aware of the importance
of ministering to the youth,
and raise involvement in it. The
Regional Youth Coordinating
Councils (RYCCs) are tasked
with preparing an effective
program of activities for the
region and its member-youth
ministries, a program that is
suited to the unique context of
each respective region.
3. National Conference for
Youth Ministers (NCYM)
Youth ministers find a venue
for formation and fellowship in
this bi-annual event, organized
by the ECY in partnership with
a diocesan youth ministry, and
often, with the regional coordination where the host-dioceses
is a member in collaboration.
The most recent conference
was held in Pampanga last 1317 November 2005, with the
collaboration of the Archdiocese of San Fernando through
its youth ministry office, the
Archdiocesan Commission on
Youth Ministry (ACYM). A total
of two hundred sixty five youth
ministers (clergy, religious, and
lay) representing sixty-seven
Creation of Inter-agency Council
to Address Migrant Concerns
By Edmund Ruga
THE Luzon Regional Migration
Desk (LRMD) of Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People
(ECMI) is spearheading the creation of an Inter-Agency Coordinating Council for Migrants’
Concern (IAMCO) in different
provinces in Luzon to enhance
the services being delivered by
the diocesan migration desk to
families of migrants.
IAMCO had its initial formation program held in the province of Batangas last May 26 at
the De La Salle-Lipa in partnership with the Lipa Archdiocesan
Commission on Migrants and
Mission (LACMMI), represented by Ms. June Inabayan,
LACMMI’s lay coordinator.
The agency was formally
organized into a local based
group called BIAMCO or Batangas Inter-Agency Council for
Migrants’ Concerns. Representatives from local agencies
such as the Department of
Education-Division of Lipa and
Batangas, OWWA Region 4A,
NBI-Batangas, PSWD-Batangas, Visayan Forum-Batangas,
GMA Bank and Pinoy Pamilya
Club attended the formation
program.
BIAMCO will also serve as a
coordinating body and venue
among agencies to exchange
views and information on programs and services to migrant
sector. It will attempt to share
and learn from the members’ experiences in the formation and
implementation of programs for
migrants.
The migrants’ desks
are now being prepared to follow similar
approach to address
existing gaps between
national programs
declared by the government and its local
implementation in the
various dioceses.
Likewise, the local IAMCO
will serve as a recommendatory body and lobby group for
policy change and/or direction
on what is lacking among the
programs and services for the
migrant sector.
ECMI will duplicate the for-
mation of IAMCO in the dioceses of Antipolo, Kalookan,
San Fernando, Pampanga and
Bayombong.
IAMCO is set to monitor the
programs and services provided
to OFWs and their families
which the national government
promised to grant but normally
failed to reach the local level.
The agency’s creation attempts to systematize and consolidate common actions to
address the issues and concerns
that transpire before, during,
and post employment stages of
overseas labor.
ECMI observes that NGO’s
and local government units
operate independently from
each other although they are
dealing with the same clientele,
the migrant sector.
The migrants’ desks in different dioceses are now being
prepared to follow similar approach to address existing gaps
between national programs
declared by the government and
its local implementation in the
various dioceses.
ECMI is helping dioceses establish its diocesan ministry for
migrants as part of its program
for structure building.
dioceses and ten member-organizations of the Federation
of National Youth Organizations (FNYO) participated.
They gathered to reflect on the
theme, “Youth Ministers: Living
Witnesses to Communion and
Mission” (‘although there are
many of us…we all share in the
one loaf’ - 1 Corinthians 10:17).
It was during this event that the
turnover of the ECY chairmanship was made: from Most Rev.
Rolando J. Tria-Tirona, OCD,
DD of Infanta, to Most Rev. Joel
Z. Baylon, DD of Masbate.
4. Unang Hakbang
Unang Hakbang is a formation program for youth ministers (clergy, religious, and lay),
which serves as a deepening
experience of the Church document Ka-Lakbay. It desires to
synergize efforts and initiatives in youth ministry. After
undergoing it, its participants
are expected to imbibe the contents and spirit of Ka-Lakbay,
to become fully aware of one’s
paradigms and those paradigms important for a renewed
ministry and grow into understanding and ownership of this
document, and together with
one’s fellow youth ministers, to
have a common language and
orientation among everyone
involved with the young.
The ECY has successfully
administered Unang Hakbang
in all the youth ministry regions
via the Regional Runs, which it
has also subsidized. With the
very positive feedback from
these initial runs, the commission is now preparing to train
regional teams of facilitators
who will assist it in the regular
run of the program.
5. Youth Encounter (YE)
YE is a formation program
for youth in the Philippines,
adopted by the CBCP in 1979 as
“the basic Christian formation
module” for Filipino youth. The
ECY oversees its running; it also
takes care of its guidebook and
materials.
6. Basic Course in Youth Ministry (BCYM)
This program for youth ministers aims to acquaint its recipients with the world of the youth
and the theories and dynamics
of accompanying them through
youth ministry.
7. Other programs
The ECY, with the valuable
assistance of the NSYA and
other youth ministry offices, has
also created other programs for
young people. Some of these
are: “Parable of the Pencil”
(a formation module, usually
used for youth recollections),
“Kabataang Bayani: Youth for
HOPE” (an election education
program), and the formation
programs of past national celebrations of the NYD.
7 Questions / B1
In 2003, His Eminence came out with a constitution and by-laws of the parishes. The beautiful thing
about it was we wanted to spot some changes in
terms of administration in the parish, meaning the
lay should be given responsibilities. PCP II talks
about lay participation and empowerment of the
laity. We had a meeting with all parish leaders. We
gave them inputs about Vatican II, PCP II, about
the archdiocesan shrine… how election of officers
should be done. Then finally, we had our vision and
mission. It was a long process. When everything was
set in order, we started changing.
Cardinal Vidal also came out with guidelines for
chapels. In our parish we have 48 officially recognized chapels. If the chapel is alive, so is the parish.
The guidelines have four points. First, the land must
be owned by the chapel, donated to the archdiocese.
Second, there must be a structure for the chapel.
Third, is the organizational structure for the chapel,
there must be leaders. So we adapted the parish
structure to the chapel. If there is a PPC or WESTY
in the parish, the chapels should also have to make
them participate. In the Church where I am, it’s the
poor who are really supporting the parish. The poor
are the nicest people to work with. They are not
saints, but you work with them and they give their
all. If they see you are sincere, they respond. There
is so much to be done in the chapels in terms of
continuing formation. In our parish we have regular
meetings every first Sunday of the month, meeting
of all presidents of the chapels, and normally its
about 95 to 100% attendance. Second Sunday is the
meeting of all the members of WESTY. The third
week is the meeting of the PPC. The fourth Sunday
is meeting [of members] in the chapels.
How do you address the social concerns of the
Church on poverty alleviation?
The archdiocese has already its own programs
as a result of the archdiocesan synod even before
I came to Cebu. They have an archdiocesan com-
mission to take care of this. One of these is lending
similar to Grameen, and it’s very successful. His
Eminence wants this to really spread. This has been
going on for ten years. But that is on the archdiocesan level. In the parish, we want to do the same.
So we listened to our leaders. Lay participation is
necessary, but they have to be formed, so they can
stand on their own later on.
Up to what degree do you think lay participation
should be, especially in terms of decision making
in the local Church?
I think the laity should be given more freedom.
But there should be openness in terms of relationship, of reporting, of clarity of programs, clarity of
rules and guidelines as to where and how much.
There should be a constant report. If the laity takes
over the parish it is the fault of the priest. There
should be parameters as regards to until where lay
participation should be. But at the same time the
laity should be given the chance to move forward.
What I see here, lay participation should be in
terms of decision making in the local Church. We
have the problem of poverty in the whole country.
If there are lay people in the parish who will work
to do something by way of changing the social structure, why not? Or those involved in politics, they
should do something to achieve change. All they
have to do is ask the priest if what they are doing
is in accordance to the guidelines and spirit of the
Christian faith. That’s what Vatican II says, these are
areas where the lay should take the lead.
How are the BECs in your district?
According to the experience of the BEC archdiocesan office it is difficult to form BEC in the city
than in the province. Another experience is when
the priest who started it is transferred to another
parish, the BEC dies. The BEC should not be priest
dependent. It is a way of life, like the first Christian
community.
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
Statements
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
Gen 4:9b
(A Pastoral Appeal to Stop Political Killings in Pampanga)
DEAR Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Our May 14 elections in the Province have been perceived as generally
peaceful, orderly and credible. Our people have chosen the way of peace,
a characteristic trait we always cherish.
This peace, however, has been shattered by the recent spate of violence
and political killings of some barangay officials in several municipalities in
our province. The women who have been widowed, the children who have
been orphaned, and the communities that have been gripped by shock and
grief are our own brothers and sisters in faith. Their grief is our grief; their
loss is our loss; their cry for justice is our cry for justice.
The perpetrators of these crimes are our brothers too. Our Father in
heaven who confronted Cain over the murder of his brother Abel will
surely hold them accountable for their crime. “The voice of your brother’s
blood is crying to me from the ground.” (Gen 4:10)
In the light of these events, we are reminded of a pastoral letter written by
the CBCP in 1984 that said, “God made us… in His image--to be like Him.
But how is it that in a nation that prides itself of its rich Christian heritage
life is cheap? This is our continuing shame and sorrow as a people. We
bewail the fact. We occasionally beat our breasts about it. And we quickly
forget about it—until the next orgy of killing shakes our national conscience
once again…. We know we can not eliminate altogether the violent taking of life. But we must… search for ways and means of diminishing the
problem that will be in full accord with our faith in Him.”
Therefore, we strongly exhort all to respect, value, and protect God’s
Gift of Life.
We appeal to the law enforcement agencies of government to urgently
provide protection and security especially for the barangay officials who
seem to be the main target of these violent acts. We likewise urge them
to bring to justice the perpetrators of these crimes in the soonest possible
time.
We appeal to the mass media to respect the delicate sensitivities of our
people in forming public opinion. We commend those among them who, in
spite of the allure of money and the risks involved, fearlessly communicate
the truth about these incidents.
We appeal to politicians to join us in denouncing these acts, as well as
in renouncing violence as a means for redressing political grievances. We
urge them rather to seek all legal means to resolve conflicts at all times,
to use their authority to put a stop to these killings, and to foster peace
through dialogue.
We appeal to the perpetrators of these crimes to come to their senses
and convert to the Lord. We remind them to put a stop to this desecration
of life. We remind them of the words of our Lord to his disciples, “Put
the sword back in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the
sword.” (Matthew 26: 52)
We appeal to the faithful to continue praying for peace and reconciliation;
for the Prince of Peace assures us always of his healing presence and love:
“Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of
them.” (Matt. 18:20) We encourage them to witness to Christ by actively
collaborating with the proper authorities.
To conclude, allow us to quote from the 1984 CBCP Pastoral Exhortation
“Let There Be Life” that said, “Great acts of self-sacrifice are called for in
today’s crisis. And evil as the times are, they may well be, in God’s Providence, the moment of grace for us as a Church and as a nation, precisely
because they require steadfast and heroic consistency in the living of our
faith, in our responding to its pressing demands, at this particular juncture
of our history.”
We invoke the intercession of San Fernando, defender of the faith and
lover of the poor to bless and accompany us in our ecclesial efforts to promote a culture of life and a civilization of love.
+PACIANO B. ANICETO, DD
Archdiocese of San Fernando
Feast of San Fernando, Pampanga
30 May 2007
NS Priests’ Statement On the
Conduct of the 2007 Ilocos
Sur Election
“YOUR Questions: Our Concern” is a Sunday afternoon radio program of
DZNS, initiated by Archbishop Ernesto Salgado and anchored by Nueva
Segovia priests.
Two questions have surfaced out after the 2007 election in Ilocos Sur:
1. What are the observations underlying the seemingly peaceful election
in Ilocos Sur?
2. What is the concrete action of the priests of Ilocos Sur vis-à-vis the
conduct of the election?
Your questions are our concern as your spiritual leaders.
Question 1: What are the observations underlying the seemingly peaceful election in Ilocos Sur?
Some manifestations of observations:
1. ERs (Election Returns) without seal (per NASSA-NAMFREL)
2. Substitution of page 3 of ER from precinct 5, Brgy. Ballaigi, Sinait
3. Number of valid ballots greater than number of registered voters
4. Reports of PPCRV poll watchers not given the Citizens’ Accredited
Arm copy at the precinct but instead were required to secure these from
the municipality
5. Blank/incomplete data on voters and ballots in a number of ERs
6. Delay in canvassing in Candon City and Provincial Canvass
7. Reports of suspension of canvassing in several towns
8. Candon COC had major erasures in gubernatorial post that is not
countersigned
9. Narvacan COC total votes were not written in words
Question 2: What is the concrete action of the priests of Ilocos Sur vis-àvis the conduct of the election?
Today, Monday, May 21, 2007, the first day of the Priests’ Assembly held
at the Aula de Nuestra Señora de Caridad, at the Archbishop’s Residence
in Vigan City, after having deliberated on and scrutinized the conduct
of the election, through the help of LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful
Elections), we, the priests of Nueva Segovia, under the leadership of our
Archbishop Ernesto A. Salgado, declare the following:
1. We CONDEMN the dirty conduct of the 2007 election in Ilocos Sur,
in terms of alleged massive vote-buying and vote-selling as well as opponent-buying for unopposed candidacy. We PROTEST against the injustice
done to our people by the desecration of their right to choose and elect
their leaders. We likewise condemn political dynasties.
2. We SUPPORT all moves to demand the re-counting/re-canvassing of
votes at the COMELEC Manila at the fastest possible time to ensure truth
and justice as well as confidence in our election processes.
3. We COMMIT ourselves to the on-going political education and
mobilization of the people under our care, geared towards political transformation.
We affix our signatures this 21st day of May at the Aula de Nuestra
Señora de Caridad, at the Archbishop’s Residence in Vigan City.
For the Clergy Assembly:
MSGR. COSMENIO ROSIMO
Priests’ Assembly President
Attested by:
MOST REV. ERNESTO A. SALGADO
Archbishop of Nueva Segovia
B5
Friends of Jesus and
Witnesses of His Holiness
(Homily delivered by Benedict XVI during the canonization Mass of Father George Preca, Father Szymon of Lipnica, Father Charles
of St. Andrew and Mother Marie-Eugénie of Jesus.)
DEAR brothers and sisters,
Today we celebrate the solemnity of
the Most Holy Trinity.
After Eastertide, after having relived
the event of Pentecost, which renews
the Church’s baptism in the Holy
Spirit, we turn our gaze, so to speak,
to the “opened heavens” to enter with
the eyes of faith into the depths of the
mystery of God, one in substance and
three in persons: Father and Son and
Holy Spirit.
As we allow ourselves to be caught
up in this great mystery, we admire
the glory of God which is reflected in
the life of the saints; we contemplate it
above all in those whom I have a short
while ago proposed for the veneration
of the universal Church: George Preca,
Szymon of Lipnica, Father Charles of
St. Andrew and Mother Marie Eugénie
of Jesus.
To all the pilgrims who have come
to pay homage to these exemplary
witnesses of the Gospel, I extend my
cordial greetings.
I greet, in particular, the cardinals, the
presidents of the Philippines, of Ireland,
of Malta and of Poland, my venerable
brothers in the episcopate, the government delegations, and the other civil
authorities who are
taking part in this
celebration.
In the first reading,
taken from the Book
of Proverbs, wisdom
comes on the scene,
standing at God’s
side as assistant, as
“architect” (Proverbs
8:30).
The panorama of
the cosmos seen with
wisdom’s eyes is stupendous. Wisdom
confesses: “I played
upon the surface of
his earth; and I found
delight in the human
race” (8:30). Wisdom
loves to dwell among
men because in them
she recognizes the
image and likeness
of the Creator.
This preferential relationship of
wisdom with men makes us think of a
celebrated passage in another sapiential
book, the Book of Wisdom: “Wisdom,”
we read there, “is an aura of the might
of God and a pure effusion of the glory
of the Almighty; therefore nothing that
is sullied enters into her. For she is the
refulgence of eternal light, the spotless mirror of the power of God, the
image of his goodness. And she, who
is one, can do all things, and renews
everything while herself perduring;
and passing into holy souls from age
to age, she produces friends of God and
prophets” (Wisdom 7:25-27).
This last suggestive expression invites us to consider the manifold and
inexhaustible manifestation of sanctity
in the people of God through the centuries. God’s wisdom is manifest in
the cosmos, in variety and beauty in
its elements, but its masterpieces are
the saints.
In the passage from the letter of the
Apostle Paul to the Romans we find
a similar image: that of God’s love
“poured out into the hearts” of the
saints, that is the baptized, “through
the Holy Spirit” who has been given
to them (cf. Romans 5:5). It is through
Christ that the gift of the Spirit passes,
“Person-Love, Person-Gift,” as the Servant of God John Paul II defined him
(“Dominum Vivificantem,” No. 10).
Through Christ, the Spirit of God
comes to us as principle of new, “holy,”
life. The Spirit puts the love of God in the
heart of believers in the concrete form it
had in the man Jesus of Nazareth. In this
way what St. Paul says about “Christ in
you, hope of glory” (Corinthians 1:27)
is realized. The “tribulations” are not in
contrast to this hope, indeed, they help
to realize it through “patience” and
“proven virtue” (Romans 5:3-4): It is the
way of Jesus, the way of the cross.
In the same perspective, of God’s
wisdom incarnate in Christ and communicated by the Holy Spirit, the
Gospel suggested to us that God the
Father continues to manifest his plan
of love through the saints. Even here
there occurs what we have already
noted about wisdom: The Spirit of truth
reveals God’s plan in the multiplicity of
the elements of the cosmos and he does
it above all through human persons, in
a special way through saints.
In effect, “the image of the invisible
God” (Colossians 1:15) is properly only
Jesus Christ, “the holy and just one”
(Acts 3:14). He is wisdom incarnate,
creator Logos who finds his joy in
dwelling among men, in whose midst
he has pitched his tent (cf. John 16:15).
It pleased God to pour “every fullness”
(cf. Colossians 1:19); or as he himself
says in today’s Gospel passage: “All
that the Father has is mine”
(John 16:15).
Each individual saint participates in the riches of Christ
taken from the
Each individual saint
participates in the
riches of Christ taken
from the Father and
communicated at the
right time. It is always
Jesus’ own holiness,
it is always him, the
“holy one,” whom the
Spirit forms in “holy
souls,” making them
into friends of Jesus
and witnesses of his
holiness.
© Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis
Father and communicated at the right
time. It is always Jesus’ own holiness,
it is always him, the “holy one,” whom
the Spirit forms in “holy souls,” making
them into friends of Jesus and witnesses
of his holiness.
George Preca was a friend of Jesus
and a witness of the holiness that comes
from him. George was born in La Valletta on the island of Malta. He was a
priest wholly dedicated to evangelization: through preaching, through writing, through spiritual direction and the
administering of the sacraments, and
above all by the example of his life.
The phrase from John’s Gospel
“Verbum caro factum est” always gave
direction to his soul and to his deeds,
and thus the Lord was able to use him
to give life to a meritorious work, “The
Society of Christian Doctrine,” which
aimed at providing parishes with the
service of qualified, well-formed and
generous catechists.
A profoundly priestly and mystical
soul, he overflowed with love for God,
Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and the saints.
He loved to repeat: “Lord God, how
much I owe you! Thank you, Lord God,
and forgive me, Lord God!”
Saint George Preca, help the Church
to always be, in Malta and in the world,
the faithful echo of Christ, the incarnate
Word.
The new saint, Szymon of Lipnica,
great son of land of Poland, witness to
Christ and follower of the spirituality
of St. Francis of Assisi, lived long ago,
but is proposed to the Church today
as a relevant model of a Christian
who—animated by the spirit of the
Gospel—is ready to give his life for his
brothers and sisters.
Thus, filled with mercy that he drew
from the Eucharist, did not hesitate to
bring aid to those struck by the plague,
contracting the sickness that also
brought about his own death. Today
in a special way we entrust to his protection those who suffer from poverty,
sickness, loneliness and social injustice.
Through his intercession we ask for
ourselves the grace of persevering and
active love for Christ and our brother
and sisters.
“The love of God has been poured
into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which
has been given us.” Truly, in the case
of the Passionist priest, Father Charles
Houben of St. Andrew, we see how
that love overflowed in a life totally
dedicated to the care of souls. During
his many years of priestly ministry in
England and Ireland, the people flocked
to him to seek out his wise counsel, his
compassionate care and his healing
touch.
In the sick and the suffering he recognized the face of the crucified Christ,
to whom he had a lifelong devotion. He
drank deeply from the rivers of
living water that poured forth
from the side of the Pierced
One, and in the power of the
Spirit he bore witness before the
world to the Father’s love. At
the funeral of this much-loved
priest, affectionately known as
Father Charles of Mount Argus,
his superior was moved to
observe: “The people have
already declared him a
saint.”
Marie-Eugénie of
Jesus calls us above
all to the importance
of the Eucharist in
Christian life and in
spiritual growth. In
fact, as she herself
underlined, her first
Communion had
been the defining
moment of her life,
although she didn’t
realize it completely
then. Christ, present
in the depths of her
heart, was working in
her, he allowed time to pass according
to its own rhythm, so that she could
carry out her interior quest that led her
to give herself completely to the Lord in
religious life, in response to the needs
of her times.
She perceived in particular the importance of transmitting to the young
generations, and in particular to young
girls, an intellectual, moral and spiritual
education that would make them into
adults capable of taking charge of a
family, knowing that in this way they
were offering their contribution to the
Church and society.
Her entire life she found the strength
to carry out her mission in a life of
prayer, always associating contemplation with action. May the example of
St. Marie-Eugénie invite the men and
women of today to transmit the values
that will help the youth to become
strong adults and joyous witnesses of
the Resurrection.
May young people not be afraid to
accept these moral and spiritual values,
and to live them with patience and
fidelity. In this way they will construct
their personalities and prepare themselves for their future.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us give
thanks to God for the marvels that he
has accomplished in the saints in whom
his glory shines forth. Let us be drawn
by their examples, guided by their
teachings, so that our entire existence
becomes, like theirs, a song of praise to
the glory of the Most Holy Trinity.
May Mary, the Queen of Saints,
and the intercession of these four new
“older brothers and sister,” whom we
venerate with joy today, obtain this
grace for us. Amen.
Music / B1
ing to music.
Aside from promoting gospel music with a ‘catholic color’,
the foundation also helps various committees and offices
in the Church in producing their albums. Other programs
include sending scholars to school, forming choir in the
parishes, and holding seminars in liturgical music.
“My specific responsibility is really to look for resources
that can help the choir in the parishes. [I] also organize
seminars, so they would know and grow in the liturgical
sense of what is the right music in the place of worship,”
Fr. Carlo said.
The Jubilee Ministry staged its first acoustic gospel concert with Fr. Carlo and Fr. Mimo in the lead early this year.
The Lenten concert which was reflective in style got positive
reviews from the audience.
“Our style is not for entertainment but for recollection,”
said Fr. Carlo, explaining that each hymn sung in the concert was introduced in a form of a narrative, elucidating the
theme and background of each song.
Another concert, which will be Marian in character, is
being planned for October this year.
“A Gift and a Mission”
Fr. Carlo’s compositions are rich in theology and spirituality. He claims he only writes when an idea hits him, so he
always keeps his cell phone or mp3 recorder handy in case
inspiration comes knocking anytime.
He believes his musical talent is intertwined with his
pastoral mission. He concedes that fidelity to his priestly
ministry is essential for his gift to flourish and bear fruit.
When asked how he came up with songs that are well appreciated and loved by the people, he simply said, “It is a
gift and a mission.”
He reveals the need to ‘live well’ in order to reap good
fruits. One’s life should be lived according to the teachings of Jesus Christ and the mission he entrusted to us. As
a shepherd, whose responsibility is to see his flock grow
in the love of Christ; he strives to manifest the person of
Jesus in his life.
Fr. Carlo reminds that music is not the end-all and be-all
of everything. Reflectively, he observes that for some people,
music becomes an end rather than a path towards God.
“Don’t replace God with music. God should be first, then,
music will follow,” he advised.
Despite accolades received from various award-giving
bodies, his feet remain firmly rooted on the ground. Fr.
Carlo stays humble and meek, leading more people to Christ
through his music.
“I have this sense of detachment. I do not claim full ownership [of my talents.] It belongs to God,” he said simply.
His gift begins from his love for God and ends giving
praise to God through music.
CBCP Monitor
Reflections
B6
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
Feet… Pilgrims,
Workers, Saints…
FEET, small, big, smooth, silky,
callous, leathery, white as porcelain, brown as earth…Feet,
female feet, special feet of
women who
have journeyed
far away to find
work. Pilgrim
feet, working
feet, loving feet.
These were the
feet that I contemplated on
as I celebrated
the liturgy of
the washing
of the feet last
Holy Thursday,
April 5, 2007
at St. Joseph’s
Church, in Choi Hung.
It was my first Holy Week
in Hong Kong. It was differ-
ent from my Holy Week in
China last year. Holy week like
Christmas week was a typical working week in China. I
guilt gripped me as I behaved
casually on days considered
special days of intense prayer
and fasting. I would try to make
up for the lack of
external religiosity by taking off
and hitting the
road. My running feet would
engage the earth
in a rhythmic
dialogue of energies.
As I ran, gradually and progressively approaching my
destination, I
hear the strides
of my feet mix with the sounds
of a river just a few feet away,
the variety of activities enliv-
As I washed the workers’ feet, I began
a silent dialogue with them. I listened
to them and spoke to them as well.
Then I realized how these feet like mine
have journeyed far and labored hard.
I begin to see not only their feet but
mine and those of millions walking
and running in search of peace, truth,
justice and freedom.
taught and behaved as if those
days were no different from
other days. A strange inner
Atty. Jo Imbong
Futile?
“IT”s no use,” Cristina said, visibly downcast. She was seated across me
perusing the day’s a la carte offering. “I can’t seem to bring myself to really
pray earnestly, I mean, really talking to God from the heart, and all that,”
she mumbled ruefully.
“Why, just how do you pray anyway?” I asked, wondering at myself for
the question. How silly of me to ask, I thought, as I dangled a crustacean
between my thumb and forefinger. We were having Mediteranean Paella.
But I could ask Cristina anything. My humble lunch table is always open
to her, much as she is candid to me about her musings on everything in the
entire alphabet.
Today, however, her first words did not augur well for our usual spirited discourses. “My prayer isn’t getting me anywhere,” she blurted as she
dropped a half-open clam with a whisk of dismissal. “It’s a shame. God
must be grimacing badly at the way I pray to him. Job must have been a
really exceptional old chap. My fervor diminishes fast in proportion to the
time that passes from the moment I say, ‘Lord . . .’”
“Well,” I managed to speak seemingly unaffected, “old Job wasn’t any
different from you either.” “Huh, really?” she snapped back, her eyelids
a-flutter, anticipating an encouraging word.
“Why yes! If you look back at Holy Scripture’s description of Job’s predicament,” I said, “you will have a glimpse of three things: the ways of God,
the ways of the devil, and the ways of lowly man—that’s us. Remember,” I
continued, struggling not to sound preachy, “the devil asked God’s permission to bedevil (yes, that’s the apt word) Job. He then goes about with his
mayhem and afterwards, submits a performance report to God concerning
the object of his mischief—Job. Guess who won?” I said, not expecting an
answer at this point...
“And you know what,” I rushed in, foreclosing any attempt at interruption, “the devil is still at it—the devil tempting you and me, God permitting
him, and us putting up a good fight as best we could. And that what makes
your prayer—or your attempts at prayer—still pleasing to God,” I declared,
smiling, “provided, that,” (Pardon this proviso. Force of habit in any A-atLaw’s vocabulary.) “in the innermost sinew of your will, you refuse to be
herded into evil.”
Cristina was now in full-attention mode, open-mouthed, she propped
her jaw against
her right palm
from whose fingers dangled
a fork. Seizing
the moment,
I continued, “Put
simply, your
prayer might
seem dispirited to you, dilapidated,
boring even, enlivened only
by the intrusion
of memorable
diversions. But
God will never
think that you are
wasting his
time—or yours.”
And I meant
that. Not even
when the devil’s
buzz to God
mentions that
you yawned
five times during prayer;
that these were
followed by
corner-of-the-eye
glances at your
flashing mobile
phone nearby;
then ten minutes
of justifying an
attitude against
your worst
detractor; and finally reveling at memories and glorious fantasies whispered
by the devil into your jello-like imagination. Why, that gives Satan a score of
9 to 1. You lose. And Satan adds, for good measure, your belabored attempt
at gathering your wits and returning to God’s presence.
That was visibly half-hearted, the devil boasts to God.
“But,” I interposed, as Cristina started to gesture, “that is not the case.”
“And why might that be?” she said, sensing a happy ending. The paella
was super! after all.
“Because,” I answered, “first of all there is nothing to show that our prayer
is boring to God as it seems to us. Remember, God’s scale of values, His
terms, even, are quite different from ours,” I said with flourish as I attacked
a shrimp. “What is light to Him is too luminous for our mortal eyes that are
so used to relishing material things, so that God’s light blinds us and we can
only see darkness.” (I owe that last one to St. John of the Cross and, before
him Dionysius the Areopagite.)
“That is why,” I continued, looking at a wide-eyed Cristina, “it would
simply be reasonable to think of God telling Satan to his face, ‘But, for whom
was she doing it all?’”
“And that’s the point Cris!” I exclaimed, dropping my fork. “It would
simply be reasonable to expect God crumpling Satan’s silly rating sheet
and telling him pointblank, ‘At least she has not gone back to the couch or
reached for the TV’s remote. She did go on praying. And she will probably
do the same tomorrow but her objective all along is still one thing—and still
is—to please Me. And though she imagines that she isn’t doing this, for sure
she has no intention of pleasing, not the least, you.’ ”
“Call it,” I told Cristina, “the prayer of futility. It is the posture that enables
you and me to say without guile, ‘I am nothing. I can do nothing. I deserve
nothing. But nothing in the world will induce me to give it up.’ ”
A holy man put it so well when he said, “ ...inevitably, God is the reward
for such a striving... but God expressing Himself more in His Absence than
in His Presence. “
‘You wouldn’t be looking for Me,’ as God told Pascal, ‘if you hadn’t already
found Me.”
“And you know what,”
I rushed in, foreclosing
any attempt at interruption, “the devil is still at
it—the devil tempting
you and me, God permitting him, and us putting
up a good fight as best
we could. And that what
makes your prayer—or
your attempts at prayer—
still pleasing to God.”
(The author may be reached at [email protected])
© Mike Alquinto/epa/Corbis
By Fr. Roberto P. Reyes
ening its banks from farmers
washing freshly harvested
vegetables, fishing hobbyists
exchanging banter, the hypnotic sounds of various engines
powering vehicles speeding
by on a nearby highway. I try
to concentrate on my feet and
listen to their prayerful gait.
At the end of a run that lasted
between one and a half or two
hours, I would head home and
thank the feet which to this
moment have given me the
life of pilgrimage, service and
mystery. In China I have gotten used to the inner dialogue
between my feet and the rest
of me…between feet and mind,
heart and soul.
Feet / B7
Bo Sanchez
Wipe While Wet
“LET’S have our apartment repainted!”
my happy wife announced one day.
“Great idea!” I nodded with glee, “and
you know what? I’ll do it myself!”
Suddenly, her demeanor changed.
Even her skin color grew pale. She was
speechless, her jaw agape. (The last
time I saw that “God-help-me” look on
her face was when I first proposed to
her.) “Umm, on second thought,” she
muttered weakly, “I think our home
looks just fine. The old paint in fact adds
character and charm…”
But it was useless. I already was off to
the hardware. And I knew what my wife
was thinking: That I have never painted
a house before. But didn’t she know that
I painted a lot of other stuff? So when I
arrived with twenty-five gallons of paint
in my car trunk, I tried to cheer her up.
“Honey, don’t worry. I ‘water colored’
in kindergarten. In fact, my teacher
displayed two of my art works on her
bulletin board!”
Well today, our tiny abode is newly
painted. But so is everything else in it,
under it, above it, around it—including
the mailman that came at the wrong
time when I was putting a twenty-sixth
coat on the front door. Even my teeth
had paint on them. The only part of my
body that didn’t have paint on was my
intestines.
In other words, being totally ignorant about painting, I dripped, spilled,
smudged, smeared, splashed paint on
every dead or living object found on a
two-mile radius around our apartment.
(I literally painted the town red. And
white, blue, brown…)
But you know what? My clumsiness
was saved by one of the greatest contraptions ever invented by humankind:
A wet rag. No kidding.
Whenever my brush dripped, slipped,
or painted something that shouldn’t
have been painted, all I had to do was
With one stroke, we can
remove them easy—as
long as they’re still wet.
Trust me, they don’t
stand a chance. As long
we don’t take too long, we
can get rid of evil from
our minds—and lives.
wipe it off with a moist cloth—and eureka, it was gone.
But here’s the rule: Wipe while wet. I
mean, don’t let a minute pass by. Never,
ever let it dry. Because if it does, God
have mercy on you. Like it took me
two weeks to scrape, rub, and peel the
dried-up paint around the house. I used
thinner, detergent, cleanser, muriatic
acid, sulphuric acid, even ascorbic acid.
I even sprinkled holy water.
Can I have your full attention
please?
This isn’t a lecture on painting houses.
This is a reflection on the life of a soul.
You see, we make mistakes quite
often. We spill, smear, splash our
souls dirty. All of us do. We think foul
thoughts. Dirty thoughts. Vengeful
thoughts. Evil thoughts.
But here’s the catch. With one stroke,
we can remove them easy—as long as
they’re still wet. Trust me, they don’t
stand a chance. As long we don’t take
too long, we can get rid of evil from our
minds—and lives.
Oh yes, they do return. Again, and
again, and again. They’re pretty stubborn, these fellows. But with one stroke,
we can wipe them off. Again, and again,
and again.
The point: Be as stubborn as they
are. If we don’t, we’re going to scrubbing dried-up sin in our souls for days,
perhaps months, possibly years—even
a lifetime. Because our thoughts become our deeds, our deeds become our
character, our character become our
destiny.
Because of this, I now know what
hell may look like: It’s a place where the
soul is violently, fiercely scrubbing off
evil from every square inch of its skin-till it’s one grotesque body of festering
wounds—but he’ll just keep on scratching and rubbing and scraping for all his
painful eternity.
My friend, carve this on stone: Wipe
while wet.
It might just save you an eternity.
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Priests and Politics
STANDARD disclaimers by Church
leaders were made when some clerics
decided to run for various government
posts in the last elections.
Everyone was warned that these
priests were running on their own,
without
sanction and permission from the
Church or their bishops, and were
actually suspended from their priestly
duties.
All these disclaimers spring from,
among others, the Church’s Canon Law
which specifically prohibits priests from
getting involved in politics. Its Canon
285,3 states:
“Clerics are forbidden to assume public office whenever it means sharing in
the exercise of civil power.”
This provision is preceded by the
admonition that says that clerics should
shun anything unbecoming to their
state, and also should avoid whatever
is foreign to their state, even when it is
not unseemly.
For a priest to get involved in politics
is clearly considered in the canon as
something unbecoming and foreign to
his state. In short, he makes himself a
fish out of water, a square peg in a round
hole, a misfit, no matter how popular or
well-loved he may be by the people.
A priest in politics is a clear case of
clericalism, a disease quite common
in the dark parts of the Church’s long
history when there was no clear distinction made between Church and civil
powers.
It was a bitter and bloody lesson
learned. Hopefully, we don’t have to
go through it again.
“Sharing in the exercise of civil
power” can include executive, legislative and judicial power like being a
governor or mayor, congressman or
senator, judge, etc.
This prohibition is based on the very
nature of the ministerial priesthood
and on the sacred object of its mission.
A priest is a witness and dispenser of
supernatural values on behalf of Christ
and with Christ’s power.
In the first place, a priest with his holy
orders is conformed to Christ as head
of the Church, and not just to Christ as
member of the Church just like what
happens with everybody else with his
Christian baptism.
For a priest to get involved in politics is clearly considered in the canon
as something unbecoming
and foreign to his state.
In short, he makes himself a fish out of water,
a square peg in a round
hole, a misfit, no matter
how popular or well-loved
he may be by the people.
As such, his main concern is the salvation of souls which has an eminently
spiritual and supernatural character.
This spiritual and supernatural character transcends the unavoidable variety
and conflicts of positions allowed by
the autonomous nature of our temporal
affairs, such as our politics.
Though he can have his own personal
views in political issues, the priest as
priest should try to be above all these to
unite the people for what is absolutely
necessary for us, without getting en-
tangled in divisive matters, no matter
how important they are.
When we hear that priests should
speak only about God, it means that
even if they have to touch on political
issues, it has to be clear that the purpose
is to conform things to God, and not
to take sides or to get involved in the
technical aspects.
Besides, they have to do it such that
there is always charity and mercy.
Speaking with the forcefulness of God
always respects freedom. There is no
bitter zeal involved.
Relevant to this point, the Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests
says:
“The priest cannot take an active role
in political parties… In fact, even if these
are good things in themselves, they are
nevertheless foreign to the clerical state
since they can constitute a grave danger
of division in the ecclesial community.
“The priest ought to refrain from
actively engaging himself in politics in
order to be a central point of spiritual
fraternity.
“To intervene directly in political activities and in social organization forms part
of the lay faithful’s vocation, in which
they work by their own initiative together
with their fellow citizens.” (33)
I think part of the problem we have
now is the perception that we lack credible laymen with authentic Christian
spirit and zeal to intervene directly in
politics. But is this really so? I have my
doubts.
Related to that problem is the wellknown clerical mentality quite widespread among us, a result of our history
and culture, which leads the lay faithful
often to run to the clergy to settle concerns that belong more to them than to
the priests.
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
Social Concern
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
B7
PVC: Toxic to Health and Environment
By Lou V. Arsenio
THE Archdiocese of Manila
Ecology Desk is in partnership with the Center for
Health Environment and
Justice in our advocacies for
a healthy environment and
environmentally safe school.
Included in the campaign is
the reduction if not the total
elimination of toxic materials and chemicals in our
markets, households, schools
and other institutions.
Several studies were made
to prove that plastic especially Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC)
made or content plastics are
very dangerous to the environment and human health.
Studies show that “some
toxic phthalates, which are
used to make PVC more flexible, are banned from use in
toys not only in the EU but in
Korea as well. Nursery bottles made of polycarbonate
have also undergone tests to
prove their safety. The tests
showed negligible amounts
of Bisphenol A are released
when they are boiled. There
can be problems if they are
boiled for too long, but boiling
them for sterilization purposes
for a moment poses no serious
threat.” The Korean government
has banned the manufacture of
cling film using phthalates.
In addition to concerns about
PVC, many plastics also contain
additives that can be problematic when heated. Plastics of the
same number even contain many
different additives, added by
manufacturers to achieve specific qualities for their products.
Plastics are a huge combination
of chemicals, and separating out
oil alone without releasing toxic
additives seems very unlikely,
especially when the plastics are
mixed.
PVC plastic is used in shower
curtains, packaging, children’s
toys, and other products sold
at Target, a department store in
United States. The production
of these products poses serious
environmental health threats, requiring the use of dangerous carcinogens such as vinyl chloride.
U.S. communities surrounding
PVC chemical facilities, half
of which are in Louisiana, suf-
fer from groundwater and air
pollution. When produced or
burned, PVC plastic releases
dioxins, a group of extremely
toxic chemicals, which can cause
cancer and harm the immune
and reproductive system. PVC
is useless without the addition
of a plethora of toxic additives,
which are released during use
and disposal, resulting in elevated human exposures to dangerous chemicals. For instance
the familiar new vinyl shower
curtain smell is the smell of toxic
chemicals offgassing. PVC is
very difficult to recycle and can
contaminate the recycling batch
of other plastics.
“PVC produces Dioxin when
burned. Dioxins and furans are
some of the most toxic chemicals known to science. A draft
report released for public comment in September 1994 by the
US Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) clearly describes
dioxin as a serious public health
threat. The public health impact
of dioxin may rival the impact
that DDT had on public health
in the 1960’s. According to the
BEC, A Way of Being Church
The Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs),
also called in the local parlance as the
Munting Sambayanang Kristiyano or
MSKs started in the diocese in 1980, five
years before its foundation. In their inception, MSKs emerged as grassroots communities of poor farmers and fisher folks,
which strive to integrate faith and their
daily life. The reason being that these small
communities of Christians (MSKs) were
first organized in the far flung villages
where our poor people could hardly go
to the parish church due to economic, geographical and transportation constrains.
With the ardent desire to rebuild and
strengthen the MSKs, the diocese, with
the help of the Bukal ng Tipan, a group
engaged in promoting and strengthening
BEC programs, revisited its MSK program
in 2004. Taking into account the completed
fants exposed during prenatal
shows decreased levels of
thyroid hormone. It has also
developmental neurotoxic effects. Thus, dioxin can cause
decreased psychomotor ability, hearing deficits, cognitive defects and behavioral
alterations in infants. It was
also noted that cancer among
children are on the rise such
as leukemia, cancer of the
bones, brain and the like.
To prevent the production
of dioxin, we should look for
available alternatives to PVC
and plastic. As Filipinos we
ought to use our indigenous
materials. The alternatives
will be discussed in the next
issue.
(Training for the Environmentally Safe School and how
to develop a Green Flag School
Program will be held on June 7-8,
2007 at the Caritas Manila Multipurpose Bldg, Caritas Manila
Compound, Pandacan, Manila.
Interested schools may contact
our office at (02) 562-34 70,
Tel/Fax (02) 561-9975 or email:
ecology_rcam @yahoo.com.)
Feet / B6
Gumaca / B3
cese formulates lay leadership training
program that aims to educate, form and
empower the lay leaders to become catalysts and active builders of a transformed
Christian community. Through seminars
regularly conducted for the members of
the Diocesan Council of the Laity (DCL)
and the Parish Pastoral Councils it hopes
to energize and strengthen the lay leaders
to become responsible agents of a vibrant
faith community. The BEC leaders and
lay missionaries are likewise trained in
their catechism to articulate and affirm the
role of faith especially in their continuing
struggle for human dignity and justice
amidst the growing poverty, oppression
and ecological problems. Recollections
and retreats help religious organizations
especially the catechists to harness their
spiritual and moral force as well as their
prophetic role towards a higher level of
pastoral engagements according to the
gospel of life. Lay leaders’ convention
or sectoral assemblies are other venues
whereby orientation on important religiosocio-cultural-political concerns and issues
are tackled based on Catholic Christian
perspective and teachings. All these training and formation programs are intend
to reinvigorate, direct and empower our
lay leaders towards the building of the
community of disciples and the Church
of the poor.
compounds with hydrocarbons.
The major source of dioxin in the
environment comes from wasteburning incinerators of various
sorts and also from backyard
burn-barrels. Dioxin pollution
is also affiliated with paper mills
which use chlorine bleaching
in their process and with the
production of PVC plastics and
with the production of certain
chlorinated chemicals (like many
pesticides).” (source: Dioxin researches from US NTP)
Cancer caused by dioxin according to the International
Agency for Research on Cancer
are lung, stomach, liver and
connective tissue. It can also
cause neonatal abnormalities,
change in sex ratio (as tested in
animals-decreased sperm count,
congenital malformations-cleft
palate, kidney disorders), decreased testes size, premature
onset of puberty, feminization of
behavior and endometriosis.
In humans, it has shown to
cause altered level of sex ratio.
It has hormone effects which
causes decrease in testosterone
at relatively high dosage. In-
EPA report, not only does there
appear to be no “safe” level of
exposure to dioxin, but levels of
dioxin and dioxin-like chemicals
have been found in the general
US population that are “at or
near levels associated with adverse health effects. .
“Dioxin is a general term that
describes a group of hundreds
of chemicals that are highly persistent in the environment. The
most toxic compound is 2,3,7,8tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin
or TCDD. The toxicity of other
dioxins and chemicals like PCBs
that act like dioxin are measured
in relation to TCDD. Dioxin is
formed as an unintentional byproduct of many industrial processes involving chlorine such
as waste incineration, chemical
and pesticide manufacturing
and pulp and paper bleaching.
Dioxin was the primary toxic
component of Agent Orange,
was found at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, NY and was the basis
for evacuations at Times Beach,
MO and Seveso, Italy.
“Dioxin is formed by burning chlorine-based chemical
survey and evaluation, new proposals
were made, making MSK, a way of being
Church.
Following the new scheme, every MSKs
should be characterized by: Kapitbahayan
(neighborhood based, not barangay/sitio
communities); Nakaugat sa Salita ng Diyos
(centered on the word of God); Aksyon
(towards concrete action); Nakaugnay
sa Kalakhang Simbahan (linked with
the parish church). Vital to sustain these
communities, MSKs should consider the
following: Vision, Structure, Witnessing,
Skills, Culture.
The new designed MSK would be vigorously promoted for the full living of the
Christian vocation in the kapitbahayan
both in the barrio/barangay areas and
parish centers. It would not simply be
considered another organization for the
poor farmers and fisher folks, but a way of
life centered around the word of God and
the Eucharist. As a participatory church
it should likewise have a strong sense of
belongingness and responsibility for others especially the poor and the deprived
(PCP II).
Moreover, MSKs would still be united to
their pastors, though led by the elected lay
leaders in building their communities and
ministered every Sunday by the appointed
prayer leaders. Once a month, the priests
would continue to visit them to celebrate
the sacraments particularly the Eucharist.
They would likewise guide and encourage
the people by regular catechesis towards
social transformation. On the part of the
people, on the one hand, all the officers
of each MSKs, including the catechists,
would still gather together in a designated
time and place for their regular catechesis
and to discuss important concerns that will
be beneficial for the greater majority of the
people. The prayer leaders on the other
hand, under the guidance of their priests
would study the word of God which they
will dispense during their Sunday liturgical celebration.
Being the thrust of the diocese, all the
parish are enjoined to organize and reorganized their MSKs according to this
new BEC model. It is in this new way of
being church, the diocese believes, that
communion, participation and mission as
envisioned by PCP II would take place.
Tonight, I encountered rather different feet, OFWs’ feet that seemed to
speak and cry out their stories. As I
held those feet, poured water, applied
soap and washed them, I heard sobs
and then saw tears. I did not exactly
understand those tears, but as I listened and watched, certain tenderness
began to spread within me. I realize
that I was washing the feet of those
whose hands, minds, hearts and even
souls have been enduring wounds
inflicted by both persons and situations as well. These were the feet of my
“kababayan,” fellow countrywomen
who have become overseas workers
and a good number of modern-day
slaves in another country.
I saw feet not comely but glowing
with existential eloquence, feet that
spoke, cried, denounced, protested,
groaned, and throbbed with untold
burden and anguish. As I washed the
workers’ feet, I began a silent dialogue
with them. I listened to them and spoke
to them as well. Then I realized how
these feet like mine have journeyed
far and labored hard. I begin to see
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not only their feet but mine and those
of millions walking and running in
search of peace, truth, justice and freedom. Now these feet, theirs and mine
are together here in Hong Kong. Why?
The feet need not speak. The calluses,
scars, varicose veins, stains of every
kind tell quite a story, the story of the
Overseas Filipino Workers in Hong
Kong and the rest of the world.
Before I concluded the Eucharist, I
requested some of those whose feet I
washed and were washed by fellow
migrants to share. All without exception expressed the same sentiment,
“habang hinuhugasan ang aking
paa, naramdaman ko si Kristo…at
gumaan nang husto ang aking loob,
mapayapa…” “While my feet were being washed I felt Christ and I felt light,
I felt peace….” One even emphasized
how she felt a melting feeling, spreading tenderness and peace from her feet
to her heart.
The Filipina workers’ testimonies
were but the surface of an explosive
narrative of migrancy with its complex economic, social, psychological,
moral dimensions and consequences
often manifested as wounds. It was a
narrative of pilgrim workers in search
of depth, meaning, healing, indeed, in
search of God.
The story of Filipina workers’ feet
this Maundy Thursday has left a silent
but deep impact on me. This story
makes me ask and contemplate even
more… if feet are not just feet and
workers are not only workers, then
what more?
Deep beneath, behind and within
the surface of those neglected, ignored
and quite often abused are souls
athirst for healing and fullness of life,
a state, a condition which workers almost always equate with God. Those
feet were eloquent because they said
much without even uttering a word,
except one word that struck deep
chords within… holy (both the state
and more importantly the process
leading to it).
There is much more crying out to be
done but we can begin here, looking
at and washing the feet of pilgrims…
workers… saints.
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Entertainment
B8
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Technical Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
CINEMA Rating Guide
VA - For viewers of all ages
V13 - For viewers age 13
and below with parental
guidance
V14 - For viewers 14 and
above
V18 - For mature viewers 18
and above
NP - Not for public viewing
Title: PIRATES OF THE CARRIBEAN:
AT WORLD’S END
Running Time: 167 minutes
Lead Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando
Bloom, Kiera Knightly, Chow Yun
Fat, Geoffrey Rush
Director: Gore Verbinski
Screenplay: Ted Elliot, Terry Rossio
Cinematography: Dariusz Wolski
Editing: Craig Wood, Stephen Rivkin
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer
Music: Hans Zimmer
Location: Carribean Seas
Genre: Action /Adventure
Distributor: Columbia Pictures / Buena
Vista Pictures
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
Cinema Rating : V13
PICKING off from Dead Man’s Chest,
Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly) face off
with the fiery Chinese pirate Sao Feng
(Chow Yun-Fat) in their effort to find
the map to the world’s end to rescue
Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp)
from Davy Jones’ locker. Together with
Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush), the
old gang try to reunite the nine Pirate
Lords to fight against Lord Cutler
Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the East
India Trading Company who manages
to make/force an alliance with Davy
Jones (Bill Nighy). With each character having his individual agenda, will
they be able to work together to defeat
Lord Beckett and the Flying Dutchman
before freedom is totally lost?
Once again, the movie is a visual
feast of the flowing combination of
constantly stunning designs and technical genius. Depp scores high as he
reprised the swaggering and slurring
Captain Sparrow. The film can be most
appreciated for its extraordinary attention to detail with exquisitely delivered
performances by Depp, Rush and even
(1) AN EXCUSE IS WORSE AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN A LIE FOR
EXCUSE IS A LIE GUARDED. POPE JOHN PAUL II
(2) TO SEEK THE HIGHEST GOOD IS TO LIVE WELL. ST. AUGUSTINE
QUOTES IN QUIZ
B O O K L E T S A V A I L A B L E AT
BOOKSALE STORES IN SM,
ROBINSONS AND SELECTED MALLS
IN MANILA. FOR MAIL ORDER
TEXT 0919 2803036.
Vol. 11 No. 12
June 11-24, 2007
Nighy under all his tentacles, as well as
the finely crafted costumes, production
design and special effects. However,
a movie is foremost storytelling and
hence necessitates a clear and coherent
storyline. For the third time, Verbinski
overburdens the film with many plotlines that disturb the audience amidst
the confusion and the bombardment
of special effects. As this is already the
third installment, the filmmakers could
have shaven off half of its subplots and
focused on the three major characters
to give them texture and depth. While
there was more and more thrown up
on the screen, there was less and less
to touch our hearts and minds.
Bootstrap Turner remarks “It’s not
about living forever; the trick is living
with yourself”, and truly each character
is tested accordingly. They begin to
pretend working together while each
had a personal agenda at the back of
his mind with the full realization that
no one is about to keep his word. After awhile the film turns into one big,
knotted mess of crosses, double crosses,
triple crosses, quadruple crosses and
double quadruple crosses. But at the
end, the characters realize that they
need to make choices, either to follow a self-serving road or to let go of
individual objectives to work for the
common good. This is a good way to
re-awaken the growing indifference of
a self-absorbed society starting to care
less and less for the group. Although
the characters are pirates, the movie
emphasizes that success comes sweeter
with teamwork and unity regardless
of individual strengths and ability.
Hence, life – no matter how short or
seemingly insignificant – matters when
at the very core of yourself, you have
discovered values that make you let go
of yourself, making you a better person
for others.
Title: PAANO KITA IIBIGIN
Running Time: 120 mins.
Starring: Regine Velasquez, Piolo
Pascual, Eugene Domingo, Quintin Alianza, Iya Villana
Director: Bb. Joyce Bernal
Producer: Star Cinema and Viva Films
Screenplay: Mel-Mendoza Del Rosario, John Paul Abellera, Vanessa
Valdez
Cinematography: Charlie Peralta
Editor: Marya Ignacio
Genre: Drama, Romance
Distributor: Star CINEMA
Technical Assessment:
1/2
Moral Assessment:
1/2
Rating: For viewers 14 and above
ANSWER TO THE LAST ISSUE:
CBCP Monitor
SI MARTEE (Regine Velasquez) ay
binagyo ng mga problema. Matapos
matanggal sa trabaho, napalayas naman siya sa kanyang inuupahang
apartment. Kasabay nito, kinailangan
nyang ilipat ng lugar ang kanyang
anak sa pagkadalaga na si Liam (Quintin Alianza) kung saan mas maaliwalas at walang polusyon gawa ng ang
batang ito ay may hika. Bilang regalo
ng kapatid ni Martee, napadpad sila
sa isang luma at napabayaang resort
sa Zambales at dito ay mapipilitan
siyang mamasukan at manirahan dala
ng matinding pangangailangan. Ang
resort ay pagmamay-ari ni Lance (Piolo
Pascual) na sa bawat araw ay nilulunod ang sarili sa alak upang makawala
sa mapait na alaala ng nakaraan- ang
pagkamatay ng kanyang nobya (Iya
Villana) sa isang aksidente. Sa una’y
hindi magkasundo sina Martee at
Lance. Paano magtatagpo ang damdamin ng isang babaeng galit sa mga
lalaki dahil sa pag-iwan sa kanila ng
ama ng kanyang anak at isang lalaking nakatali sa malalim na sugat ng
nakaraan?
Isang nakaaaliw na pelikula ang
Paano Kita Iibigin. Kumbaga sa isang
putahe, tama ang sangkap at mahusay ang pagkakahalo ng iba’t-ibang
elemento. Bagama’t lumang pormula
at komersyal, naging natural ang daloy
ng kuwento at hindi pilit. Bukod sa mahusay na pagganap ng mga pangunahing tauhan, ang tunay na naging yaman ng pelikula ay si Eugene Domingo
bilang Liwayway na binubuhay ang
bawat eksena sa kanyang matalinong
paraan ng komedya. Buo ang kuwento
at hindi nag-iwan ng anumang tanong
maliban sa kung anong pamilya ang
pinanggalingan ni Martee na siya
dapat magbibigay paliwanag sa uri
ng kanyang karakter na madalas komplikado at hindi consistent.
Paano nga ba mag-iibigan ang
dalawang pusong may kani-kaniyang
lamat? Tama ang pelikula sa pagsasabing kinakailangan munang paghilumin ang anumang sugat ng nakaraan
Title: OCEAN’S THIRTEEN
Running Time: 100 min.
Cast: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt
Damon, Elliot Gould, Al Pacino
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Producer: Jerry Weintraub
Screenwriters: Brian Koppelman,
David Levein
Music: David Holmes
Editor: Stephen Mirrione
Cinematography: Steven Soderbergh
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Location: U.S.A
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
CINEMA Rating: For mature viewers
18 and above
CASINO operator Willie Bank (Al
Pacino) double-crosses Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) which lands Tishkoff in a hospital’s ICU with a grave
heart condition. Tishkoff is the friend
and mentor of Danny Ocean (George
Clooney) who in turn gives Willie a
chance to redeem himself by letting
Tishkoff get his fair share of the newest
casino in Las Vegas, called “Bank”. But
Willie simply snickers off the offer, so
Ocean reassembles his gang—this time
they’re 13—and together they scheme
to rig every game on Bank’s opening
night so that every gambler around
can break the casino. The manufacturers of Bank’s machines are paid off so
that all tools of the trade—dice, cards,
slot machines etc.—may be “fixed”
and cleverly installed without Willie
getting any wiser. On top of this they
plan to run off with Willie’s cherished
diamonds worth $250 million kept in
an impenetrable room on the casino’s
top floor.
In recruiting actors for Ocean’s 13,
director Steven Soderbergh made one
unbreakable rule: No jerks. Which
means no one actor would demand special treatment over the others. The rule
implied that the camaraderie among the
fictitious Ocean and his 13 collaborators
must be lived in real life among the
actors playing the roles. This resulted
in a wonderful comradeship on the
screen. Soderbergh’s instincts paid off,
for it is no mean thing to pull off—this
chemistry among big stars (Clooney,
Pacino, Pitt, Damon, Garcia, Cheadle,
Affleck) worked for the success of the
movie. Ellen Barkin also provided the
comic break with her playing of the sex
starved woman “of a certain age” falling for a younger man (Damon’s second
role in the movie).
Director and director of photography
Soderbergh wants to show in Ocean’s
13 that even among thieves, there is also
something that approximates honor.
Pacino’s character, Willi Banks, broke
the code and so he became the target
of revenge. There are many deeper
issues Ocean’s 13 could lead a reflective viewer to, but one has to keep up
with the story’s fast pace and muddle
through those sets (the casino design is
colorful to the point of garishness—see
what money without taste can do) in
order to ponder these issues. Thievery
can be clever, and thieves brilliant, but
thieves are thieves, in any language.
And that is baaaaad!
upang mabuong muli ang puso para
magmahal. Ang pagkatao ay hindi
maaring mabago ng ibang tao. Sa halip,
tanging ang sarili at Diyos lamang ang
maaring gumawa ng paraan tungo sa
tuluyang pagbabago. Bagama’t nakababahalang imahe ang malabis na
paglalasing ni Lance, ito ay dahil sa
matinding pait ng nakaraan at halos
hindi niya alam ang kanyang ginagawa
bunga ng malabis na depresyon. Isang
aral din ang matututunan sa pelikula
ukol sa responsableng pagmamaneho.
Si Martee, bagama’t minsan ay niloko
na ng lalaki ay kataka-takang pawang
wala pa ring natutunan sa karanasang
ito. Siguro nga’y dala ito ng karupukan
at mababaw na pananampalataya sa
Diyos. Ngunit dahil na rin sa paulit-ulit
na pagpapa-alala sa kanya na God is
good ay natuto na rin siya. Ang mga
desisyon nia sa bandang huli ay kakikitaan ng pagkamatatag at pagkatuto
sa mga maling desisyon. Dapat ding
gabayan ang mga batang manonood
sa konteksto ng manaka-nakang pagmumura at eksena ng pagtatalik ng
dalawang taong hindi pa kasal.