CBCP Monitor - CBCP Media Office

•A3
Couples for
Christ opts
to split
Cardinal tells pro-Erap,
‘accept verdict’
A RANKING Church official has urged supporters of deposed President Joseph Estrada to
respect whatever would be the ruling on his
plunder case.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales made the reaction amid reports of street
actions to protest a guilty decision.
Rosales asked Estrada supporters to shun violence and learn instead how to accept and follow the rule of law.
Cardinal / A6
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Rabbi praises Pope
Benedict for his
clear teaching
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Message of the Holy
Father on the occasion
of WYD 2008
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CINEMA
Reviews
El Shaddai leader nixes
‘Hello Garci’ probe
[email protected]
ANOTHER Church leader, this time a layperson, gave the Senate reinvestigation of the
“Hello Garci” scandal a big no.
El Shaddai head Bro. Mike Velarde said he is
not supporting the move to revive the investigation regarding the Hello Garci tape, a conversation between President Gloria MacapagalArroyo and former election commissioner
Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 elections.
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace
September 3 - 16, 2007
Vol. 11 No. 18
Php 20.00
El Shaddai / A6
Bishops, legislators
launch caucus
By Roy Lagarde
RANKING Catholic Church officials
met with top government leaders in
an unprecedented move to form a caucus that will discuss family life and
other issues.
The “Bishops’-Legislators’ Caucus of
the Philippines” was launched September 4 at Queensway building in Makati
City.
The dialogue involved some key
personalities from the Senate, Congress and Church leaders including
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
The CBCP during its 95th plenary assembly agreed to initiate a caucus
among bishops and legislators in an
effort to build understanding between
the two parties primarily on important issues that affect the dignity of life
and the family.
Foremost among the topics immediately tackled is “redefining” the doctrine of the separation of the Church
and State.
“It is precisely that we accept and respect such separation that we see the
need to affirm and confirm that there
is also a need to come together in
friendship and brotherhood,” said
Lagdameo.
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
The population issue
BISHOPS-LEGISLATORS CAUCUS. CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo (center) shares light moments with House Speaker Jose De Venecia, Senate President Manuel Villar, San Fernando, Pampanga
Archbishop Paciano Aniceto and Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. during the caucus held at EL Shaddai headquarters in Makati City last September 4.
Bishop blames
‘greedy’ politicians
on Basilan war
A CATHOLIC bishop said
Mindanao is at war today
because of “greedy” political leaders who are misled
by their own selfish interests.
In a statement, Isabela
Bishop Martin Jumoad
blamed public officials
who have the courage to
sacrifice many lives for
Isabela de Basilan
power and wealth.
Bishop Martin Jumoad
“They lost their sense of
God because they worship power and wealth as
their new gods. They are ready to kill people in
order to stay and perpetuate in power…” he said.
Jumoad appealed to the government to end
the military offensive against Abu Sayyaf, which
he said, caused “ugly and painful” effects to the
people there.
He expressed apprehension that many communities have already been displaced by the
war, with children suffering the most.
“As Bishop of Basilan, I appeal to all of you to
stop the war! Do not destroy life because life is
sacred. Respect every individual because all of
us are children of the Almighty God,” he said.
Saying that “nobody likes war”, the prelate
said the extremists and the government forces
prefer peace “so that they can live with their families and attend to the needs of their children.”
Jumoad also asked the government and the
Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to set
aside “pride” and come back to negotiating table.
He said the delay of peace agreement would
mean more pain and suffering to many civilians.
“You must effect peace agreement now and
not tomorrow,” he said. “Allow us once again
to breathe the air of peace and freedom here in
Basilan.”
The 50-year old bishop stressed that peace can
only be attained when both sides, the government and the Islamic rebels, observe justice.
He also urged the media to be “responsible”
because “our people deserved accurate and correct data.”
“We condemn any misinterpretation, exaggeration and sensationalism of the issues here
in Basilan,” he said.
Jumoad likewise called on the people to
avoid manipulation of situation in Basilan for
their interests adding, “You do not have the
right to gain anything at the expense of the
Basileños.”
“I appeal to all religious leaders of every
faith to unite and collaborate in building
peace and set aside biases,” he added. (CBCP
News)
The more than three hours preliminary discussion focused more on one of
the most favorite topics often being debated by the Church and the legislators:
the population issue.
The contentious population issue has
brought government health agencies always at loggerheads with church people
ever since the Marcos times.
Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Chairman of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus said
that “life and family values are enBishops / A6
Pope appoints new Apostolic Nuncio to RP
POPE Benedict XVI has named the Vatican ambassador to Zimbabwe, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the
Philippines.
He succeeds Archbishop Fernando Filoni, who
was appointed as Substitute for General Affairs
of the Secretariat State, the third most important
position at the Vatican.
Born in Philadelphia, USA on August 24, 1944,
Archbishop Adams was ordained priest in May
1970. He has a Doctorate in Canon Law.
In 1976, Archbishop Adams, 63, entered into
the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See and
served successively in the following countries:
Rwanda, Secretariate of State—Vatican City,
Kenya, Honduras, Ireland, Denmark and Czech
Republic.
The Holy Father in 1996 appointed him as the
Apostolic Nuncio in Bangladesh and elevated to
the dignity of Archbishop with the titular see of
Scala. He has been the Papal nuncio in Zimbabwe since August 22, 2002.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), meanwhile, has immediately
welcomed Archbishop Adam’s appointment.
“As we would welcome the Holy Father anytime so we welcome his ambassador or representative in our midst to unite us with the Holy
Father who is the successor of Peter and the Vicar
of Christ,” CBCP President Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo said in a statement.
Lagdameo said the new apostolic nuncio will
be the 15th in the line of Apostolic Delegates and
Apostolic Nuncios to the Philippines.
An apostolic nuncio or papal legate is considered the representative or ambassador of the Holy
See to the bishops of the Episcopal Conference
and particular churches.
His principal task, according to church law, is
to make firm and effective the bonds of unity
between the Pope and the heads of States and the
bishops. (CBCP News)
Bishops lead civil society in upholding rights of families
BISHOPS, lawmakers, government officials and members of civil society reiterated their common stand in upholding the rights of families to found their
families according to their religious convictions in a recent Human Life International congress held in Cebu City last
August 24-25.
In a statement participants to the congress collectively committed themselves
to resist population control in any form
and oppose the passage of any bills that
promote the “culture of death.”
Bishops participants included Jaro
Archbishop and CBCP President Angel
Lagdameo, Cardinal Ricardo Vidal and
Auxiliary Bishop Julito Cortez of Cebu,
Bishop-emeritus Jesus Varela of
Sorsogon and Bishop Leonardo Medroso
of Tagbilaran.
Criticizing the over-population propaganda being advocated by the government, the participants urged government officials to support programs and
legislation that strengthen the family.
“[We] earnestly urge government officials, local and national, as well as lawmakers, to support programs and legislation that genuinely strengthen the
family and to invest in its total development, instead of espousing programs/
bills that tend to destroy it,” they said.
The participants also committed to
relentlessly pursue the promotion of
Fertility Awareness at all levels of society, especially on the grassroots.
Human sexuality should also be regarded in the context of God’s plan for
humanity and the value of marriage, the
statement said.
The participants also resolved to fight
all efforts of propaganda that promotes
freedom of sexual orientation which undermines the stability of families and to
support the absolute duty of parents over
the education of their children in human
sexuality.
“[We] uphold the exclusive responsibility and the right of parents over the
education of their children in human
sexuality and …help their children
achieve sexual integrity and to espouse
saving sex for marriage,” they said.
Lawmakers included Senator Aquilino
Pimentel, Jr. and some representatives
from Congress who are supportive of profamily bills. Other participants are active
members of pro-life and family organizations from the different dioceses in the
country. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
Follow Pope’s example, RP Church told
AN environment advocacy group asked the Catholic Church Monday to take a cue from Pope Benedict
XVI’s environmental leadership.
The Eco Waste Coalition lauded the Holy Father
for urging the youth to care for our environment at
the first ever “eco-friendly” youth rally in Loreto,
Italy recently.
Event organizers gave the thousands of young
participants with recycled knapsacks containing
biodegradable plates, hand-cranked phone chargers, and bags for sorting and recycling discards as
well as prayer books printed on recycled paper.
“We are delighted to read from news dispatches
that the mammoth youth festival in Loreto was
very eco-friendly. Nearly everything was biodegradable or recyclable,” said Manny Calonzo,
EcoWaste Coalition Secretary.
He said the Catholic Church in the country should
also take extra steps to make traditional religious
practices and celebrations “greener”.
“The local Church should check the ecological
soundness of the way religious festivals, prayer
assemblies and other time-honored activities are
observed by the faithful,” he said.
The environmental group also described as very
timely the Pope’s plea for the youth to shun “disposable love” and “consumerism”, saying more
and more Filipinos fall for single use, throwaway
plastic items that are risky to the environment.
The eco-group recalled that similar efforts were
initiated in the recent past to minimize the environFollow / A6
Taytay bishop
alarmed by
increasing
mining
applications
THERE are no less than 127
applications from mining
companies to do exploration work in the country’s
last frontier, the famed
Province of Palawan.
Taytay Apostolic Vicar
Bishop Edgardo Juanich
said most of these companies have focused their attention to the islandprovince’s southern part.
“There are those who have
already begun operations,” Juanich said over
Veritas 846 Thursday
morning.
Asked whether local
residents would benefit
from the exploration and
full-operations, Juanich
said “there would only be
temporary benefits because after they have extracted the area’s resources, the immediate environment would have
been destroyed as in our
experience with Quicksilver Mines near Puerto
Princesa City.”
“I personally believe it
(mining) wouldn’t do any
long-term development
to Palawan,” he further
Taytay / A6
CBCP Monitor
World News
A2
Holy Father worried
about planet’s future
LORETO, Italy, September 2, 2007—The
world is in urgent need of Catholics working to protect the environment, says Benedict
XVI.
The Pope said this today at the end of his
homily for the closing Mass of his encounter
with young people in Loreto.
Following Christ, the Holy Father affirmed, brings with it “the continual effort to
make one’s own contribution to building a
more just and solid society, where all can
enjoy the goods of the earth.”
“I know that many of you dedicate yourselves with generosity to bear witness to your
own faith in various social ambits, volunteering, working to promote the common
good, peace and justice in every community,”
he said. “One of the areas in which work appears to be urgent is without a doubt that of
protecting creation.
“To the new generations the future of the
planet is entrusted, in which there are evident signs of a development that has not always known how to safeguard the delicate
equilibriums of nature.
“Before it is too
late, it is necessary to
make courageous decisions that reflect;
knowing how to recreate a strong alliance between man
and the earth.
“A decisive ‘yes’ to
the protection of creation is necessary
and a firm commitment to reverse those
tendencies that run
the risk of bringing
about situations of
unstoppable degradation.”
Benedict XVI on papamobile waves to the faithfuls before celebrating mass
Benedict XVI ap- Pope
for the youth in Montorso, Loreto, central Italy. (Photo by Giorgio Benvenuti)
plauded an initiative
from the Church in Italy to promote sensi- tention is focused above all on water, a most
tivity to the issue of protecting creation. Sept. precious good that, if it is not shared in a fair
1 has been established as a national day for and peaceful way, will unfortunately become
promoting awareness of these matters.
a cause for significant tensions and bitter con“This year,” the Holy Father observed, “at- flicts.” (Zenit)
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
New cardinals expected to
be named soon
VATICAN CITY, August 28,
2007—The Italian press published reports that Benedict XVI
plans to name new cardinals in
November, reports the Vatican
has not confirmed.
The Pope would need to elevate 15 new cardinals to bring
the number of electors from its
current number of 105, to its limit
of 120.
Seventy-six of the 181 members of the College of Cardinals
are over 80 and thus ineligible to
vote in a papal conclave.
On Sunday night, Cardinal
Édouard Gagnon passed away,
bringing the college to its current
number.
Since January, six cardinals
have turned 80.
Two more will reach their 80th
birthday before the end of the
year: Cardinal Angelo Sodano,
dean of the college and former
secretary of state, and Cardinal
Edmund Casimir Szoka, former
archbishop of Detroit and retired
president of the Pontifical Commission for Vatican City State.
The last new members of the
College of Cardinals were created in October 2003, when
Benedict XVI elevated 15 new cardinals, 12 of whom were under
the age of 80.
The ceiling of 120 for the number of cardinal-electors was established by Pope Paul VI in 1975.
The Pope has the authority to
exceed that number at his own
discretion. (Zenit)
the statement published by the
Salesian Information Agency.
“The entire track of the wall,
including the section involving
the property of Cremisan, has
been set in complete autonomy
by Israeli authorities,” according
to the statement.
It adds: “The heads of the
Salesian community—who have
always been open to dialogue
with the local Palestinians, to
whom they have often provided
several services of social utility—
wish to renew their deepest solidarity to the [Palestinian] village
of Al-Walajeh and to the whole
Palestinian population still enduring the hardships of occupation.
“At the same time they express
their heartfelt hope that every
wall among peoples may fall, for
a future of peace.” (Zenit)
Cardinal Dziwisz wants control on Polish
Catholic radio
Salesians oppose Israeli
Stanislaw Cardinal Dziwisz
KRAKOW,
Poland, September
4,
2007—Cardinal Stanislaw
Dziwisz of
Krakow has
called
for
close episcopal supervision over Radio Maryja,
saying that
the controversial broadcaster threatens the unity
of Polish Catholicism.
Cardinal Dziwisz, the longtime secretary
to Pope John Paul II, made his suggestion in
an address delivered on August 25 at a meeting of the Polish hierarchy, and published
this week by the Catholic weekly Tygodnik
Powszechny . The cardinal said that Radio
Maryja is part of a worrisome trend in which
the work of the Catholic Church is “gradually slipping out of the bishops’ control.”
Cardinal Dziwisz urged the replacement
of Father Tadeusz Rydzyk, the Redemptorist
priest who founded Radio Maryja, with a new
director whose guidance of the station would
be more in line with the wishes of the Polish
hierarchy. Father Rydzyk has been under
heavy criticism for allegedly making antiSemitic remarks.
The newspaper Zycie Warszawy reports that
at the August 25 meeting of the Polish hierarchy, held at Czestochowa, Cardinal
Dziwisz’s suggestions drew support from the
Polish primate, Cardinal Jozef Glemp, as well
as Archbishops Kazimierz Nycz of Warsaw,
Tadeusz Goclowski of Danzig, Jozef Zycinski
of Lublin, Damian Zimon of Katowice, Edward Ozorowski of Bialystok, and Henryk
Muszynski of Gniezno. However, the hierarchy was not unanimous, the newspaper said:
Archbishop Leszek Slawoj Glodz of WarsawPrague spoke out in favor of the current management of Radio Maryja, as did Bishops
Antoni Dydycz of Drohiczyn, Stanislaw
Napierala of Kalisz, and Wieslaw Mering of
Wlocawek.
At the conclusion of their discussion, the
Polish bishops decided against taking any
public action on the issue. Father Joszef
Kloch, the bishops’ spokesman, observed that
any disciplinary action against Father
Rydzyk should be taken by his superiors in
the Redemptorist order rather than by the
bishops. The Rzeczpospolita newspaper reported, however, that the bishops would ask
Redemptorist leaders to take some action.
(The Polish bishops’ conference did not confirm that report.)
The appearance of Cardinal Dziwisz’s remarks at the bishops’ meeting drew a protest
from Father Robert Necek, the spokesman
for the Krakow archdiocese, who noted that
the cardinal had not given permission for
their publication. But Father Adam Boniecki,
the editor of Tygodnik Powszechny, defended
his decision to print the speech, saying that it
was important to demonstrate that—contrary to some Polish media reports—the bishops are concerned about the editorial direction of Radio Maryja.
In related news, Archbishop Henryk
Muszynki of Gniezno told Poland’s Catholic
Information Agency that he does not desire
the liquidation of Radio Maryja, but does
hope to transform the broadcast outlet into a
medium that will reliably promote the vision of Catholicism advanced by the country’s
bishops. (CWNews)
Australia gives $15 million to Youth Day
SYDNEY, Australia, August 22, 2007—Australian Prime Minister John Howard announced that the government will provide
another 15 million Australian dollars
(US$12.06 million) in support of World Youth
Day 2008.
The new pledge is on top of the 20 million
Australian dollars (US$16 million) previously
made available.
Cardinal George Pell, the archbishop of
Sydney, said: “The prime minister has been a
very strong supporter of World Youth Day
2008, and we remain grateful for his personal
commitment to the event and for the support
of the government at all levels.”
He added that the additional funds “will
help us deliver key services to the more than
200,000 pilgrims who will take part in this
event.”
“This generous support follows the federal
government’s decision to provide all registered pilgrims with a three-month visa, free
of government charges and country quotas,”
the prelate said.
Cardinal Pell said of World Youth Day
2008: “It will deepen and renew the faith of
young people and
make a powerful contribution to ensuring
that the values of a
fair go and respect for
others are promoted
and passed on to the
next generation.
“On behalf of the local organizing committee and the Catholic community, I express
my warmest thanks to the prime minister
and his government for their strong support.” (Zenit)
Spain must increase aid Church attributed with
for families with children, development of Sri
Lankan film industry
says institute
MADRID, Spain, September 3,
2007—After comparing the
amount of aid the different European nations provide to families
with children, the Institute for
Family Policy (IFP) said Spain
lags far behind and should urgently increase its aid in order to
ensure the country’s demographic future.
“The amount of $33 per month
in aid for families with incomes
under $12,000 per year is an insult
to Spanish families, since, in addition to being a small and insufficient amount, the vast majority
of families with children, more
than 90 percent, do not qualify to
receive it,” said Eduardo
Hertfelder, president of the IFP.
The limits on income are so restrictive that out of a population
of 8.3 million children under the
age of 18 in Spain, only 10 percent
can actually receive the assistance.
Hertfelder pointed out those twoincome families that take in the
equivalent of the government-es-
tablished minimum professional
salary cannot qualify for the aid.
“This situation is inconsistent
with the rest of Europe,”
Hertfelder said, that while “the
majority of countries in Europe
stand out for their universal assistance per child. Spain, together
with Italy and Portugal, is the only
European Union country that does
not offer universal aid.”
The Institute also noted that the
amount of family aid per child is
“clearly insufficient and much less
than the European average. This
is provoking unjust discrimination against families of the rest of
the EU countries.” The amount of
aid provided to families in Spain
has not gone up since 2000,
Hertfelder noted.
“There is no reason why there
cannot be universal aid per child
by the year 2008,” he stated. “Only
the lack of political will to help
the family can block this demand
by Spanish families,” Hertfelder
said. (CNA)
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, September 4, 2007—An award-winning
Sri Lankan filmmaker credits the
Catholic Church’s media initiatives with having developed and
improved the country’s film industry.
Prasanna Vithanage, who won
this year’s SIGNIS Sri Lanka Gold
Award for directing, said SIGNIS
and its predecessor, the International Catholic Organization for
Cinema and Audiovisuals
(OCIC), served as the breeding
ground for many current Sri
Lankan filmmakers.
Vithanage told UCA News
that, as a boy, he and his friends
enjoyed watching and reviewing films at a mini-theater OCIC
organized in Colombo. Those
experiences provided the inspiration for many filmmakers in
the industry today, he said.
We do not have a film school
in Sri Lanka even now,” he
pointed out. “We learned everything through watching films.”
Four of Vithanage’s five films
have won SIGNIS golden awards.
The SIGNIS Sri Lanka Awards
for film and television are similar to the Academy Awards in
the United States. They recognize achievements in various categories. The Aug. 18 gala event
drew 400 people this year with
Archbishop Oswald Gomis of
Colombo and veteran film director Sumithra Peiris as the
guests of honor.
Deepthi Fonseka, consulting
editor of the newspaper
Sarasaviya, agreed about the
contribution of the Catholic
Church to the Sri Lankan film
industry.
“SIGNIS (Sri Lanka) is one of
the award ceremonies appreciated by the industry,” she told
UCA News. “The Catholic
Church has made a significant
contribution to audiovisual
communication over the years.
It has helped raise standards in
the industry.” (CNA)
barrier
BETHLEHEM, West Bank, September 3, 2007—The Salesian
community in the Holy Land is
contesting a section of the Israeli
West Bank barrier that will cut
the Cremisan monastery off from
its Palestinian neighbors.
Father Giovanni Laconi, vice
provincial of the Salesian Province of the Middle East, released
a statement Friday that protests
the continuation of the barrier
currently under construction in
Beit Jala, some of which will be
built on Salesian land.
The West Bank barrier is a wall
being constructed by Israel with
the stated aim of keeping terrorists from the area. It is located
mainly within the West Bank.
Beit Jala, located 6 miles to the
south of Jerusalem, is part of
greater Bethlehem.
Father Laconi said in his note
that the “Salesian Community,
victim of a one-sided decision by
Israeli authorities, firmly takes a
stand against the policy of unilateral separation, reaffirms its
complete extraneousness to the
planning of the track of the wall
and, at the same time, appeals to
all competent authorities to engage for the re-establishment of
international law.”
The International Court of Justice said in an advisory opinion
in July 2004 that the wall is “contrary to international law.”
The section of the barrier in
question will be built partially
on Salesian property where it
borders a Palestinian village, AlWalajeh, which will be cut off
from Jerusalem and the neighboring monastery, said
184,800 registered for
World Youth Day
SYDNEY, Australia, September 2,
2007—Surpassing expectations,
184,800 pilgrims have already
registered for World Youth Day.
World Youth Day chief operating officer Danny Casey said he
was thrilled with the response
from prospective pilgrims in
Australia and from around the
world for the event that is still 11
months away.
Casey said, “We appear to have
exceeded our target for international visitors and are confident
that the numbers of Australian pilgrims will grow even further.”
“These numbers show the level
of anticipation that is building in
Australia and around the world
for this historic event,” that will
be “the largest event held in Australia in terms of participants and
will deliver a significant boost to
[New South Wales] and Australian economies,” he said.
“With the support of the federal and state governments, we
are progressing well in our plans
for accommodation, catering and
event planning,” Casey added.
Australian pilgrims top the list
of those registered with 50,710,
while U.S. pilgrims are second
with 36,171.
More than 500,000 people are
expected to take part in at least
one World Youth Day event.
(Zenit)
US bishops renew call for
immigration reform
WASHINGTON, USA, September 3, 2007—In a statement released for the US celebration of
Labor Day, the chairman of the
American bishops’ domesticpolicy committee has called for
“far-reaching and comprehensive
reform” to the country’s immigration laws.
“The immigration status quo
is unacceptable and unsustainable,” writes Bishop Nicholas
DiMarzio of Brooklyn. He chides
political leaders for their failure
to make progress toward genuine reform, saying that this year’s
debate in Washington has “polarized our people, paralyzed the
Congress, and failed our nation.”
While celebrating the gains
made over the decades in the
treatment of working people,
Bishop DiMarzio laments that
many workers “still lack decent
work or fair wages, toil in terrible conditions, and have no real
voice in their economic life.” As
a specific instance of the problem
he cites the fact that “more than
40 million people in our own
nation lack genuine health care
coverage.”
Citing an earlier statement by
the US Conference of Catholic
Bishops, A Catholic Framework for
Economic Life, Bishop DiMarzio
suggests 4 fundamental principles for economic justice:
The economy exists for the person, not the person for the
economy.
A fundamental moral measure
of any economy is how the poor
and vulnerable are faring.
All people have a right to life
and to secure the basic necessities
of life (e.g. food, clothing, shelter,
education, health care, safe environment, economic security).
All people have the right to
economic initiative, to productive work, to just wages and benefit, to decent working conditions, as well as to organize and
join union or other associations.
(CWNews)
CBCP Monitor
News Features
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Don’t be seduced,
Benedict XVI tells youth
LORETO, Italy, September 2, 2007—Benedict
XVI invited half a million young people to
go against the current in a world seduced by
violence, despotism and “success at all costs.”
The Pope’s appeal resounded at the closing Mass today in Loreto, where the Holy
Father arrived Saturday for an encounter with
youth from Italy and around the world.
“There are so many messages, above all
through the media; that are being directed
toward you! Be vigilant! Be critical!” the Pontiff exclaimed.
Most of the young pilgrims had spent the
night under the stars or in large tents. There
were 150 bishops and 2,000 priests who
concelebrated the Eucharist with the Pope.
Benedict XVI spoke to the youth a few kilometers from the Italian national shrine,
where, according to tradition, Mary’s house
was carried stone by stone from Nazareth.
He explained to the young people that the
humility that they heard about in the Gospel
passage read at Mass (“Whoever exalts himself will be humbled and whoever humbles
himself will be exalted,” Luke 14:11) is not
“the way of renunciation but of courage.”
Under a scorching sun, the Bishop of Rome
told the young people: “The message is this:
Do not follow the way of pride but the way
of humility.
“Go against the current: Do not listen to
the interesting and seductive voices that today from many parts propose as models, lives
of arrogance and violence, of despotism and
success at all costs, of appearances and having, of harm to being.”
Media influence
Speaking of the enormous influence that
media desire to have on young people, he
told them: “Do not follow the current produced by this powerful attempt at persuasion.
“Do not be afraid, dear friends, to prefer
the ‘alternative’ ways indicated by true love:
a sober way of life attentive to others; affectionate relationships that are sincere and
pure; an honest commitment in study and
work; deep interest in the common good.”
The Pope encouraged them not to be afraid
“to appear different and be criticized for that
which might seem foolish or unfashionable.”
“Your fellow young people, but also
adults and especially those who seem the
farthest from the mentality and values of
the Gospel, have a profound need to see
someone who dares to live according to the
fullness of humanity manifested in Jesus
Christ,” he said.
“The way of humility, dear friends, is
therefore not the way of renunciation but of
courage,” Benedict XVI emphasized. “It is
not the result of a defeat but the outcome of
a victory of love over egoism and of grace
over sin.” (Zenit)
Couples for Christ opts to split
MANILA, August 28, 2007—After a whole day
of deliberations with the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines Episcopal
Commission on the Laity chaired by Antipolo
Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes, the two conflicting
groups from Couples for Christ decided to
go separate ways temporarily with the hope
of uniting into one later.
The parties involved are the Couples for
Christ led by Bro. Jose Tale and the Couples
for Christ for Family and Life chaired by Bro.
Frank Padilla.
In an exclusive interview with CBCPNews
early Tuesday evening, Episcopal Commission on the Laity Chairman and Antipolo
Bishop Gabriel V. Reyes said the split will be
temporary but both parties “will remain
open to unification” in the future.
CBCP President and Jaro (Iloilo) Arch-
bishop Angel N. Lagdameo, Bishops Ramon
Villena of Bayombong (Nueva Vizcaya),
Guillermo Afable of Digos (Davao del Sur)
and Honesto Pacana, S.J. of Malaybalay
(Bukidnon), attended the meeting at the Council of the Laity of the Philippines Building at
Cabildo Street, Intramuros, Manila.
“The Couples for Christ for Family and
Life led by Bro. Frank Padilla is now recognized as a diocesan private association of the
faithful in the Diocese of Antipolo,” Bishop
Reyes said. He added the group may go into
other dioceses with the permission of the
bishop of the place.
“It is for the bishop to decide whether to
accept one or both in his area,” Bishop Reyes
explained.
He said Bro. Jose Tale will look into reports that Gawad Kalinga “is veering away from
the vision-mission statements of
the Couples for
Christ and several
teachings of the Catholic
Church.”
Asked of Gawad Kalinga’s tie-up with government and other religions, Bishop Reyes
said “there is nothing wrong with tie-ups with
government agencies and other religions.”
He added “tie-ups with other religions should
be guided by the Catholic Church’s rules on
Ecumenism.”
Bishop Reyes confirmed money matters
had nothing to do with the conflict. He appealed to Couples for Christ members to continuously pray for their organization and
continue to work in their respective communities. (Melo M. Acuna)
Forum highlights media’s activist role in elections
IN a forum held at Pius XII
Catholic Center September 4, attended by delegates and guests
from the media, academe,
Church, government and NGO’s,
PPCRV chair Henrietta de Villa
highlighted the volunteerism of
media in taking an activist role,
and its vigilance in exposing
election fraud for public scrutiny
in the last elections.
“Volunteerism and vigilance,
two key words for bringing to
light two election sons of darkness: anomalies and fraud,” de
Villa said in her opening remarks.
“In the experience of PPCRV,
media walking with us was a
powerful detonator for
volunteerism and vigilance; an
unquantifiable source of courage and hope,” she added.
The Parish Pastoral Council
for Responsible Voting
(PPCRV) organized the forum
in partnership with Communications Foundation for Asia
(CFA) in a bid to capitalize on
the significant role media
played in the recent midterm
elections.
Most Rev. Luis Antonio Tagle
of the Diocese of Imus delivered
a talk on the transformative
power of mass media in Philippine elections.
Tagle stressed that media’s
transformative power can be
utilized for good only if it is
founded in ethical principles.
“Bringing ethics to Philippine social life, including elections is the task of all citizens.
We expect the media to serve us
with integrity too, as they challenge politicians, candidates,
and citizens to be upright,”
Tagle said.
Prof. Luis Teodoro, Deputy
Director of Center for Media
Freedom and Responsibility
(CMFR) gave a presentation on
the monitoring of media’s coverage of the past elections. The
result of the study showed media have been pro-active in its
election coverage in terms of
providing voters with information vital to knowing political
candidates.
“Despite their sense of relative disinterest; the major players in the media community—
the broadsheets and the networks monitored—nevertheless exerted extra effort to provide the public both the information on as well as the context
of the elections,” Teodoro said.
However, despite media’s
positive role and responsible
coverage of the recent elections,
media participants in the forum
also acknowledged the need for
media people to clean its ranks
Pampanga honors Spain, launches two books
IN reverence and recognition
of the Spanish missionaries’
role in Pampanga history and
culture, the Holy Angel University (HAU) of Angeles City
and the Archdiocese of San
Fernando, Pampanga presented the recently approved
Sangguniang Panlalawigan
Resolution No. 945 to the Spanish Embassy to the Philippines
last August 31.
HAU president Dr. Arlyn
Villanueva, Pampanga Tourism Officer Ian Paolo Mejia,
and San Fernando Archbishop
Paciano Aniceto presented to
Hon. Alvaro Trejo, Spanish
Embassy head of Missions and
Chargés d’ Affaires, Fr. William
Araña, OSA, Vicar of the Orient, and Fr. Perdo Galende,
OSA, San Agustin Museum Director, a framed copy of the
resolution in a recognition ceremony at the San Agustin
Church in Intramuros.
Drafted by the HAU’s Center
for Kapampangan Studies and
sponsored by provincial board
members Hon. Catalina
Bagasina and Hon. Karl
Domingo, the resolution made
the first province of the country to officially thank the Spanish missionaries for their role
in history and culture.
“This is an historic event because for the very first time in
Philippine history, the country,
or at least one region in the
country, thanked the Spanish
missionaries for all the good
things they did here. Notwithstanding prevailing anti-friar
sentiment, the friars, especially
the ones assigned to Pampanga,
deserve our gratitude as a
people,” said Robby Tantingco,
director of the Center for
Kapampangan Studies.
The resolution made further
recognition to the Augustinian
missionaries for their “pioneering efforts in the preservation of Kapampangan culture.”
It cited the Augustinians’ works
in Pampanga in organizing
towns and parishes, constructing churches, publishing of
books, and extending assistance
in times of epidemics, calamities and wars.
The resolution likewise,
made special mention of
churches built that have become “monuments of great historical and heritage value and
testaments
to
the
Kapampangans’ ingenuity and
fidelity to the Church.”
Also mentioned are the
Kapampangan dictionaries and
grammar books written and
published by the missionaries
“which have become sources of
Kapampangan linguistic and
anthropological information.”
Two of which were launched
the same day.
The 18th century books of
Augustinian missionary Fray
Diego Bergaño, Vocabolario de
Pampango en Romance (1732) and
Arte de la Lengua Pampanga
(1729), both translated by Fr.
Venancio Samson and Fr.
Edilberto Santos and published by the HAU Juan D.
Nepomuceno Center for
Kapampangan Studies, were
launched after a concelebrated
Mass, led by Archbishop
Paciano
Aniceto,
with
Pampanga bishops, clergy and
Spanish Augustinians. Among
those who witnessed the event
were Kapampangan luminaries, Chairman Ambeth Ocampo
of the National Historical Institute (NHI) and the National
Commission for Culture and
the Arts (NCCA), former governor and solicitor general
Estelito Mendoza, former NHI
chair Serafin Quiason, Prof.
Randy David, Atty. Dante
David, Dom Martin de Jesus,
OSB, PhilAmLife CEO Verne
Quazon, Angeles Electric President Peter Nepomuceno, Prof.
Albina Peczon Fernandez, Dr.
Salve Olalia, Andy Alviz,
Tonette Orejas, Tom Joven,
Epifanio Paras and members of
media and academe.
The two Auxiliary Bishops of
San Fernando, Bishop Roberto
Mallari and Bishop Pablo
David, also came. (Kris Bayos)
of scalawags and unethical practices.
The forum concluded with the
delegates forging a statement to
continue working hand-in-hand
with other election stakeholders
for Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful, Peaceful elections.
The statement called for a
continuing political education
for voters; media education
programs for media practitioners; encouraging media debates among political candidates; and electoral reforms
among other things. (Pinky
Barrientos, FSP)
A3
Fr. Bossi meets
Pope in Loreto
LORETO, Italy, September 3,
2007—”Both deeply moved”
they embraced at length, without undue ceremony, like a
father and son, regained after
a long separation. This is how
Fr. Giancarlo Bossi greeted the
Pope in Loreto, where he was
taking part in the Youth
Agorà, organized by the Italian Bishop’s Conference in
preparation of the 2008 World
Youth Day in Sydney.
The PIME missionary, released last July 19 after 39 days
in captivity in Southern Philippines; spent over 3 minutes
in conversation with Benedict
XVI. “In those minutes,” he
tells, “we thanked each other
and were both deeply moved”.
Fr. Bossi thanked the Pope
for “having carried him in his
father’s heart during the captivity and having urged
prayers” for him. And speaking to over 300 thousand
young people present on the
Montorso Plain:
“with
their
prayers and their
love they gave me
the courage to remain faithful to
Christ, to his
Church, to my
missionary vocation and to the
people to whom I
belong.
And you have
also given courage to the missionaries who
work throughout
the world”. In his
testimony during
the September 1st
vigil, the priest
won over the silent attention of
the entire audience, who—those present describe—listened to his words
and then en masse led a standing ovation in applause. The
Italian bishops were also
touched, inviting Fr. Bossi to
bring his witness to the various dioceses in the peninsula.
The priest has a particular
love for the young, because
“the future and hope lies in
them”. The children and teenagers of his parish in Payao
Mindanao, were his first
thought on his release: “As
soon as possible I want to embrace them again.”
In this interview with
AsiaNews, Fr. Bossi reflects on
the most intimate aspects of
his experience as a captive in
the Philippines, on the meaning of his kidnapping for the
PIME mission, as well as the
local Church, and confides his
future projects for the Asian
nation. (Marta Allevato /
AsiaNews)
Pope Benedict’s prayer
intentions for September
VATICAN, September 3, 2007—The Vatican
has announced the prayer intentions of Pope
Benedict XVI for the month of September
2007.
The Holy Father’s general intention is:
“That the ecumenical assembly of Sibiu in
Romania may contribute to the growth of
unity among all Christians, for whom the
Lord prayed at the Last Supper.”
The Pope’s missionary intention is: “That,
following Christ joyfully, all missionaries
may know how to overcome the difficulties
they meet in everyday life.” (CWNews)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
EDITORIAL
Voice of the voiceless
“YOU must be the voice of the voiceless, of the displaced
indigenous communities because of big-scale mining, the unborn
children and the dying environment,” thus reverberated the homily
of Archbishop Romulo Valles at the San Pedro Cathedral in
Davao City during the Episcopal ordination of Bishop Julius Tonel
last August 20.
This statement may be the best rendition of the role of Shepherds
who endures to leave the 99 in search of the one lost who is often
the weak and the voiceless.
A shepherd can always take shelter in the comfort of liturgical
celebrations and the theological basis that goes with it. But the
staff he carries is best defined only when he goes out in defense
of his sheep; and when he makes a stand for and in behalf of them
even in the face of the onslaught of the social and political.
One too many
ON one hand, there is the national leadership who long since has
been proudly and loudly pronouncing its resolve to clean the
government it leads from the infamous graft and corruption.
Sometime last year or so, Malacanang has committed no less than
2 billion pesos precisely to fund its avowed crusade against graft
and corruption in government. And there is even the public entity
specifically identified as the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission
(PAGC) and categorically established to uproot grafters from the
present administration.
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
On the other hand, PAGC said the following rather revealing facts:
First, it has in fact submitted no less than some 90 graft cases to
the Office of the President for pursuant action. Second, it said that
the same highest office in the land had done nothing on the said
cases except in conjunction with 2 or 3 of them. Third, it pointed
out that some PAGC lawyers are in fact contemplating on leaving
the Commission precisely on account of their perceived waste of
time and effort in working on the cases which after all are but
nonchalantly treated by the Presidential Office.
In and Out of Season
“BLESSED is he who comes in the name of
the Lord. Benedictus est qui venit in nomine
Domini.” The Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines gladly and gratefully welcomes the new Apostolic Nuncio in the person of Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams,
appointed by Pope Benedict XVI effective
August 3 at 6:00 P.M. local time. He succeeds
Archbishop Fernando Filoni who has been
appointed “substitute” to Cardinal Bertone
in the Secretariat of State (Vatican)
The new Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop
Adams, 63 years old, hails from Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, U.S.A.) and was ordained priest in May 16, 1970 for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. A doctor of Canon
Law, he entered the Diplomatic Service of
One thing is certain: even but a single graft case in government
is already one too many, one could just wonder what some 90 graft
cases really mean and actually imply.
It is not hard to think and forward the following fundamental
reason to explain in general the above predicament or impasse
existing between the office of the President and nothing less than
a Presidential Commission: The present administration has been
a habitual recipient of allegations of the odious practice of
“Transactional Politics” whereby it reportedly appoints political
beneficiaries to high ranking offices in the bureaucracy.
That being the case, at least if allegations are founded, corruption
becomes as a matter of course, because anybody “rewarded”
with a high government office has to recover the investment one
has put up.
the Holy See and has served successively
in Rwanda, Secretariat of State (Vatican
City), Kenya-Africa, Honduras, Ireland,
Denmark and Czech Republic. The late
Pope John Paul II appointed Archbishop
Adams as Apostolic Nuncio in Bangladesh
(1996) and in Zimbabwe, Africa (2002).
The new Apostolic Nuncio will be the 15th
in the line of Apostolic Delegates and Apostolic Nuncios to the Philippines. Incidentally, a former bishop of Nueva Segovia and
bishop of Jaro, the late Dennis Cardinal
Dougherty, was born in Philadelphia and
later after serving in the Philippines, was
appointed by Pope Benedict XV as Archbishop (Cardinal) of Philadelphia. But that
was a quarter of a century (1918) before our
Disappointing
AMNESTY International (AI) was one of the
organizations I used to admire. The members
from different countries are quick to send letters of solidarity to victims of human rights.
They have been very vocal in protesting
against capital punishment or the death penalty, no matter what country was implementing it.
I was the recipient of such a letter of support in 1982 when I was falsely accused of
murder, subversion and inciting rebellion—
supposedly one of the officers of the NPA. I
had joined a fact-finding mission organized
by Task Force Detainees of AMRSP during
the Marcos regime. Five of us in the team—
another Good Shepherd nun, two men and
one woman had gone to the mountain area of
Lobo, Batangas to investigate the arbitrary
arrest and killing of farmers who were accused of being members or supporters of the
New People’s Army. We did obtain the names
of the soldiers who had been abusive and violent but we never got to submit those facts to
the central office. On our way back to Manila,
we were arrested and detained, our lay companions severely tortured, and were released
only after the People Power event in 1986.
That seems so long ago. Amnesty International continues to be a beacon of light to
The Basilan appeal
THE appeal of Basilan Prelate Martin Jumoad, which was read
the other Sunday in all his local churches and transmitted to the
national media—in fact, also on youtube—to put an end to the
armed conflict prevailing in his area sounds very distressing.
Not only because the good bishop is waging a lonely crusade, but
because he seems to have discovered a heap of agenda bundled
with the war. He says: “There is violence in Basilan because there
are some political leaders who are greedy for power and wealth.
They lost their sense of God because they worship power and
wealth as their new gods. They are ready to kill people in order
to stay and perpetuate in power…”
The “greed for power and wealth” as the seeming motivating
factor of the war plan should be looked into; as everybody now
should start thinking of how to send relief commodities to the poor
victims of this government-controlled calamity.
Love Life
human rights victims all over the world.
However, it was downright disappointing
when I received information that AI is promoting the decriminalization of abortion in
countries that have not legalized it yet. In answer to our letter of protest in the name of
Pro-life Philippines, AI insisted on the need
to legalize abortion in order to provide services to victims of rape and incest.
We know from counseling many pregnant
girls and women, including survivors of rape
and incest, that abortion is not the answer.
Exerting more effort to stop the abomination
of incest and rape is the more appropriate and
urgent way. Rape and incest have multiplied
in countries that have legalized abortion. Men
have become bolder in raping women while
women have chosen abortion as their first
course of solution instead of seeking the
harder way of continuing a pregnancy and
giving life to an innocent life. The US Supreme
Court in 1973 decriminalized abortion in the
Roe vs. Wade decision. The case was based on
a lie. Jane Roe (real name is Norma
McCorvey) who filed the case claimed she
was raped and had an abortion. She was never
raped, in fact she was living a promiscuous
life and this was her third pregnancy. She
never had an abortion. She gave birth to a
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
ISSN 1908-2940
CBCP Monitor
of
Tr u t h ,
Promoter
of
new Apostolic Nuncio was born (1944).
An apostolic nuncio or papal legate is
considered the representative or ambassador of the Pope or Holy See to the authorities of the State as well as to the bishops of
the Episcopal Conference and particular
churches. His principal task, according to
canon 364, is to make more firm and effective the bonds of unity between the Pope
or Holy See and the rulers of the State and
the bishops.
As we would welcome the Holy Father
anytime so we welcome his Ambassador
or Representative in our midst to unite us
with the Holy Father who is the successor
of Peter and the Vicar of Christ. Benedictus
est qui venit in nomine Domini.
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
Transactional politics then perpetuate corruption. And so is
Philippine politics and those who are at the thick of it.
P r o ta g o n i s t
CBCP Welcomes New
Apostolic Nuncio
baby girl whom she placed for adoption. Two
feminist lawyers approached her while she
was still pregnant and asked that they use her
name for the cause of women—the right to
privacy and women’s choice. Thirty years after Roe vs. Wade, Norma McCorvey has converted to the Catholic Church and she and her
daughter are now very active pro-lifers. Their
main concern now is to work for the reversal
of the legalization of abortion in the US. They
have collected over 6,000 testimonies of
women to be submitted to the US Congress to
show how abortion has hurt women instead
of helping them.
Doubly disappointing is the fact that the
deputy secretary general of AI is a woman—
Kate Gilmore. In answer to the objection of
the U.S. Bishops and the withdrawal of membership of the Irish head of AI, Gilmore stated
that her organization will not reverse the abortion policy decision.
Amnesty International continues to pressure
countries, especially third world countries, to
legalize abortion in the guise of human rights
for women. Please send your letter of protest
and support the stand of the Catholic Church
and pro-life groups. For details on how and
where to send your letter, contact Pro-life office at 911-2911, telefax 421-7147.
From Daditama to
Zambasuli
DADITAMA
Peace
Pedro C. Quitorio
Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Kris P. Bayos
Associate Editor
Feature Editor
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 of fices 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
Layout by Denz Dayao
Editor-in-Chief
DADITAMA is happy and proud that another
one of its own has been nominated to the
Episcopacy last June and just ordained Bishop
last August 20, 2007 by Archbishop Fernando
R. Capalla, Archbishop of Davao, at the San
Pedro Cathedral. Bishop Julius “Joy” Tonel
of Davao is the fifth priest nominated by the
Holy Father to the Episcopacy coming from
the ecclesiastical province. The first was
Bishop Generoso Camina, PME from Tagum
(1978). Followed by Archbishop Romulo
Valles from Tagum (1998), next, came Bishop
Guillermo Afable from Davao (2001). The
fourth was Bishop George Rimando from
Tagum (2006).
Like its other sons before him who were
sent elsewhere, Bishop Julius Tonel has been
appointed to another local church, to the
Prelature of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay Province, Western Mindanao. The prelature is a
suffragan of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga,
under the pastoral care of Archbishop
Romulo Valles, also from Daditama. To show
their joy and welcome to their new Bishop, a
large contingent from Ipil came for his Episcopal ordination. Now, the Prelature of Ipil
awaits the arrival of its new Bishop on September 11, 2007 for his official reception and
canonical installation.
God speed and God bless Bishop Joy! Our
prayers are always with you.
***
Telling the story of Jesus in Mindanao
With the support of the Mindanao Bishops
and the Episcopal Commission on
Catechetics and Catholic Education (ECCCE)
headed by Bishop Soc Villegas, and the host,
Diocese of Butuan, the Regional Catechists Convention of Mindanao was finally held in Butuan
City at the San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila Pastoral Center, last August 23-25, 2007. Bishop
Zacarias Jimenez, D.D., auxiliary Bishop of
Butuan, welcomed the delegates in the opening liturgy. Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, D.D.
presided over the closing Eucharistic celebration. Their presence was indeed a gift and
inspiration to the participating catechists.
One hundred fifty official participants gathered together for this convention, made up
of Diocesan Directors and Coordinators, as
well as, ordinary catechists from twenty out
of twenty-one ecclesiastical jurisdictions in
Mindanao. Being the Bishop-chairman of
catechetical ministry in Mindanao, I was
privileged to have taken part throughout the
entire duration of the convention.
Daditama was ably represented by their respective diocesan catechetical directors and
coordinators: Fr. Autida and Mr. Erwin Joey
DADITAMA / A6
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Views and Points
IT is an open secret that practically all marriages “annulled” by the government forward
the ground of “Psychological incapacity” on
the part of either or both spouses. It is also
quite known that especially so in these “annulment” cases, the best lawyers are not those
who know the law but those acquainted with
the fiscal and judge concerned. All these however notwithstanding, it might serve not only
the truth but also the awareness of the general
public what “Psychological Incapacity” really
means and what actually implies when such
ground is formally attributed and judicially
proven as appended to a husband and/or wife.
For a start, it will be good to expressly and
clearly say that “Psychological Incapacity” is a
very serious accusation against someone with
grave and lasting deleterious consequences in
the latter’s dimension as a person, as an indi-
vidual, and as a man or a woman. Woe to any
husband/father or wife/mother who owns
such an attitudinal and behavioral liability, or
who accepts such a mental and affective disability—although such is not the honest and
real truth. It is not only mean but also demeaning to the good name and reputation of anyone
to be branded and known as someone afflicted
by “Psychological Incapacity”.
Question: What really is “Psychological Incapacity”? The nomenclature itself already says
something pitiful and irremediable, viz. an
incapacitated human psyche. It is in fact a serious adversity of a personality constitution, the
more immediate expressions of which range
from ingrained immaturity and gross irresponsibility to deep emotional instability and
marked lack of remorse—all of which cut deep
into the meaning of being an adult.
The Pope’s Environmental Campaign,
Preparing for World Youth Day
ATTENDING a festival in Loreto, Italy this
Sunday coinciding with the Catholic Church’s
“Save Creation Day”, Pope Benedict through
the Italian Bishops Conference declared that
it was the responsibility of the Church to
teach its young about caring for the planet.
So, in preparation for the World Youth Day
to be held in Sydney, Australia, next year,
the environmental campaign, supported by
lay groups, focused on tree planting and recycling.
Each of the 300,000 young Catholics was
given a knapsack made of recycled nylon—
containing a hand-cranked battery recharger,
three sets of biodegradable plates, and three
bags for recycling trash. The prayer books
for the Pope’s Sunday Mass will be made of
recycled paper. Hydrogen cars will be displayed and tree planting will be done in the
areas in Southern Italy which was devastated
by forest fires.
How does the Pope’s environmental campaign to the youth relate to us? It should really be regarded as the Pope’s call to all the
laity of all the parishes in the Philippines to
By the Roadside
FIRST, the clatter. It all started when Time
magazine, with the usual media eye for what
sells, published an article in its August 23,
2007 issue on Blessed (Mother) Teresa of
Calcutta’s “Crisis of Faith” where some of
her letters are cast as revealing her tormented
soul suffering from the pain of deep and lingering doubt. Naturally the media have since
seized this hitherto-unknown aspect of her
life for its sensational value. Imagine the
world-famous nun that used to be known as
a “living saint” actually owning up to years
of feeling alone in the face of a seemingly
unresponsive God, even at times doubting
his very existence.
Avowed atheists were exultant, understandably behaving like they had suddenly
hit gold and taking this phenomenon as yet
another proof of God’s non-existence. Catholic authors, both conservative and progressive, surprisingly have come out with a unified voice upholding Blessed Teresa of
Calcutta’s experience as mirroring the classic state of desolation, the “dark night of the
soul” or the “cloud of unknowing” that
countless saints go through as a necessary
purification stage on the way to their mystical union with God. What is more, it also
reflects the common human experience of
doubt, the anguish of uncertainty and perplexity that prelude or accompany a
believer’s growth in faith.
But the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in
a September 1, 2007 address at a youth rally
in Loreto, Italy, has named the experience
“the silence of God”. He is quoted in the Philippine Daily Inquirer September 3, 2007 issue as saying: “All believers know about the
silence of God. Even Mother Teresa, with all
her charity and force of faith, suffered from
the silence of God [italics mine].” Apparently
Question: What are the actual consequences
of “Psychological Incapacity”? A subject party
who is psychologically incapable, is precisely
that, viz., he or she is disabled in his or her
psychological constructs from being someone sober, better, sounder. The party concerned neither listens to corrections nor learns
from experience. Such a liability is usually
the product of a downright personality disorder.
Question: What is the cure of “Psychological Incapacity”? None. This is why is the summit of contradiction that someone proven
psychologically incapable and given an “annulment” of his or her previous marriage,
would still be allowed to enter into another
marriage. This too is open to “annulment”—
and so too with all his or her other subsequent marriages.
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand
rally to the Pope’s initiative to care for Planet
Earth. It is not enough that we declare our
belief in the “Integrity of Creation”. It is time
to “walk the talk”.
Floods inundated Metro Manila during
the heavy rains last August. The MMDA
Chairman attributed the flooding to the clogging of the waterways and rivers by garbage
from plastics, rags, factory wastes, etc. The
squatter families along the riverbanks used
the rivers to dump their daily waste.
While transferring the squatter families to
another site may be a step towards the right
direction, it does not address the basic problem—first is the “throw-away” mentality,
and second, the use of non-biodegradable
plastic wrappers. The first one is a culturebased problem and the second a technologically-induced consumer problem. The obvious solutions to these problems, for the first
case, is an advocacy program—information,
education and communication regarding
waste management and recycling and value
formation together with the catechesis on the
integrity of creation. For the second case, an
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD
Blessed Mother Teresa: “The fruit of silence
is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith
is love, and the fruit of love is silence.”
Psychological
Incapacity
advocacy to use hand woven baskets or reusable containers when shopping or going
to markets or shopping malls and a ban on
non-biodegradable plastics. There is a technology to make plastics out of starch or cellulose that disintegrates when thrown as
garbage, in a short time. In the provinces
the best option is to use banana leaves for
wrapping food products.
Pope Benedict XVI gave us the hint—all
Catholics should get involved in the advocacy for protecting the environment. If the
Pope himself is involved in the environmental campaign, it is a clear message that all
parishes should get involved too. It should
start within our own homes. There are many
environmental groups ready to support in
the information and education part of the
campaign foremost of which are the members of the Eco-waste Coalition—
Greenpeace, Concerned Citizens Against
Pollution, Miriam College and others. The
Parish of Las Piñas is known to be a leader in
this type of advocacy for a clean environment.
The Silence of God and
the Clatter of Man
it is a suffering a believer experiences as a
period of agonizing doubt and even of a form
of unbelief, no doubt exacerbated by the absurdity of evil and suffering one witnesses
in oneself, in others or in the world, such as
incurable diseases, natural calamities, disasters, genocidal wars or mass murders. In fact,
while visiting a Nazi concentration camp in
Auschwitz in 2006, Pope Benedict publicly
gave voice to his own question of why God
was silent in the face of the death of millions
of Jews in the so-called Holocaust.
I’m struck by the Holy Father’s phraseology. It reminds me of the prophet Elijah’s
encounter with God being unmediated by
sensational means, such as the strong and
heavy wind, the earthquake and fire. (I suggest that people from the media, politics,
showbiz as well as Church better take notice.) Instead the Lord makes himself known
by a “tiny whispering sound” (1 Kgs. 19:1113), what we used to call in the seminary
“the sound of silence”. Which brings us to
our first consideration: The silence of God
simply means he is the God of silence.
It is also a testament to God’s utter respect
for us human beings and for all his creatures.
He is doubtless the Lord of creation, in complete control of nature’s being and movements, both inner and outer. But he does not
impose himself or his power on us so as to
push us toward himself, no matter how right
that is. Rather he wants us to choose him
freely even if, at times, we may have to go
through the agony of hearing his deafening
silence.
The silence of God, especially in contrast
to the strident chaos of our human endeavor,
likewise points to his unfathomable ‘otherness’. As Isaiah 55:8-9 makes clear to us: “My
thoughts are not your thoughts; my ways
are not your ways. For as high as the heavens are from the earth, so high are my ways
above your ways, my thoughts above your
thoughts…” So high is my silence above your
din, one might add.
The silence of God further speaks of our
need to listen. He may be silent, but he has
already spoken in his Word, both in the Written Scriptures and in the Person of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the fullness of God’s self-revelation to us. Precisely because the Word is
made flesh we also need to listen to it in the
everyday events of life, in the silent scream
of Mother Nature at human abuse and of the
voiceless victims of violence and death, in
the words and deeds of God’s People, of you
and me.
Finally the silence of God eloquently calls
to mind the truth that the Paschal Mystery is
an on-going reality. Legend has it that a suffering mother asked a saint: “Where was God
when they tortured and killed my son?”
Came the answer: “Right where he is when
they scourged, crucified and put his own Son
to death!” Even God’s only Son suffered from
“the silence of God”. Quoting Psalm 22:2 the
dying Jesus exclaims: “My God, my God, why
have you forsaken me?” (Mt 27:46). No irony
will parallel that scene of God’s only-begotten Son suffering unthinkable physical and
spiritual torments and death while from the
all-mighty God we hear all silence.
St. Paul teaches that our own sufferings, as
did his own, complete the sufferings of Jesus
himself on the cross (1 Col 1:24). Thus, by
our own sufferings, we also have a share in
the redemptive work of the Suffering Savior. In a word, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta’s
suffering from ‘the silence of God’, rather
than denigrates her holiness, could still prove
her intimacy with the Suffering Redeemer.
Her sense of being abandoned by God that
even made her abandon herself to God all
the more echoes Jesus’ own response to God’s
silence: “Father, into your hands I commend
my spirit” (Lk. 23:46). That more than made
up for all the noise in the world.
Melo M. Acuña
Sayang (Part II)
SOME years ago, smuggled luxury vehicles
were put to auction. Of course, there were
instances the smugglers themselves won
possession of these controversial cars
through bidding.
Automobile Association of the Philippines Director Johnny Angeles said there were three
entities represented in the committee that
looked after these cars for auction. The Bureau of Customs which based its recommendations on their blue-book, CAMPI which
more often than not suggested the current
industry price and the Philippine Motor Association which suggested the prevailing
market price.
Mang Johnny said he often saw luxury vehicles with locally-made rims and tires, missing leather bucket seats and high end stereos
as all these were cannibalized. He said having these luxury vehicles on auction would
raise, in a way, government revenues. He
said “provided everything is transparent.”
Well, vehicles are allowed into the country on the premise they are roadworthy. It
is roadworthy if it does not harm or pose
danger to other motorists and pedestrians
alike and neither should these vehicles harm
the environment nor do harm by way of too
much noise. Of course, all these are important for government to generate revenues
Issues and Concerns
for infrastructures. Matters about the Road
Users Tax would require more time and
space.
Car manufacturers invest in manpower
and equipment to develop and test their latest vehicles. Expertise is indeed a requirement. These manufacturers and legitimate
importers are made to comply with Euro 1
emission regulations. All these would come
to fruition as manufacturers establish baseline of all test information and place the vehicle in a temperature-controlled room for
a day so tests can begin on the same temperature and humidity.
I was also told these new vehicles’ emis-
A5
Nicolo F. Bernardo
Lifeguard
T.V. – Terror Vision
FROM the footage of wars in Afghanistan , Iraq , and the South
we get a view, a “feel,” of how war must be. From these we
also flesh out our viewpoints of post 9/11 events. For all we
know, the shoots we get are themselves part of the combat,
that terrorists now shoot those who shoot.
Compare: In the six years of the World War II, only 39 journalists were killed reporting at war. The Vietnam War made 63
casualty journalists. But the Iraqi assaults since 1992 left 300
war correspondents dead, 200 were deliberately targeted specially on the 43-day Dubya invasion. Discovery Channel’s documentary Reporters at War cites this as the “the highest casualty
journalist rate per week of war ever.”
Why are journalists now direct targets? The documentary
says “combatants at all sides are increasingly disregarding the
idea of independent media if ever it existed.” Parties from opposing war camps must be realizing what sociologist-philosopher Jean Baudrillard is saying all along: war correspondence
cannot and does not stand on neutral ground and this is the
problem. While journalism ethics demands news reporters to
be objective and detached from their beats, human as they are,
caught as they are in the middle of combat, they cannot stand
indifferent amid the disturbing event from their own perspectives and the interests of their home country or their paper/
channel.
For one, television exhibits the “oughts”: how to hunt the
terrorists, how to see the countries at war self-destruct, how to
accept the conflict. It is the media that names the “bad guys”—
the terrorists, and the G.I.’s—the goodies. The nature of TV
reporting, for it to sell, rehashes everything: from the background sounds to the overbearing reporter, to the film cuts,
the documentary highlights, the technical add-ins and popups, to the value judgments of the correspondent. (Remember
the 50’s war movies with orchestra aside). What you receive is
“hyperreal” information, but since we see the action rolling,
we think that we are directly in the know. Just recall how the
CNN coverage of the Gulf War back in ‘92 centered on the
glamour of high tech weaponry and modern missiles, shielding the suffering of war behind the “techno” of it. No wonder,
journalists have drawn the ire of the so-called “terrorists.” Chris
Chramer, managing director of CNN International, admits: “The
magic of journalism has evaporated. There are factions and
there are some governments who wish us dead.”
There is a phrase in the Quran and the Talmud that says, “He
who kills a single life kills the world entire.” One who kills a
man, kills somebody else’s brother, father, husband, son, friend.
But TV further multiplies this effect more at a graphic level. At
first, one is shocked of a violent image, much as a first-timer is
scandalized of a rowdy scene, but this is just the initiation part.
Reporters at War aptly puts it that “the West has gotten used to
sights of death,” setting as example the 1994 Hutu-Tutsi genocide that resulted in a massacre of 800,000. It would not have
happened if viewers were sensitive if not desensitized.
The theory is simple. Couch potatoes disturbed or bored by
the images may just choose to zap to another channel or turn
off the TV, while the journalists carry the images forever.
Baudrillard would diagnose the situation as a case of media
being a victim while facilitating the progress of war and terrorism. Without the multimedia, he claims, there would be no
terrorism. The media searches for wars to cover, to the delight
of the terrorists, mainstreaming the violent images to the threatened population. Terrorism, hostages the media, as the media
hostage it.
Studies confirm Baudrillard’s claims credible. If not leading
the viewer to commit violence, violent scenes numb a person
until he becomes used to the images and seeks more gory
flashes. George Gerbner of the University of Pennsylvania
works on a Cultivation Theory saying that heavy television
users develop an exaggerated belief in “a mean, scary world.”
The effects of TV’s violent contents can only be seen after years
of slow buildup. Heavy viewers who have experienced actual
physical violence get a double dose.
We must have become a society hooked on all sorts of “reality TV” that we draw reality from the boob tube. See its power—
you can watch, hear, and see things beyond your contingent
reach. But what one sees is not what things get. The TV presents
not reality as is but simulated reality. News and documentaries
are edited, entertainment and “reality shows” are pre-packaged. But since the TV has the capacity to “enrich” and improvise reality, its programs have become more appealing than
the real thing. Its powerful colors and technical modulations
capture and glue its audience on its screen, substituting the
truth with its referent, the real with the reel, the actual with the
surreal. Since the TV has been expected to mirror reality, it has
become a model of reality—for reality to follow TV. No wonder why reality frustrates us, because the TV spoils us with
comfortable “reality.” No wonder why virtual and cyber sex
increasingly allures, for actual sex entails consequences and
responsibility.
The solution to the increasing casualties of journalists does
not lie in further decrying journalists’ “freedom” of expression, when a journalist’s indifference or subjectivity that catches
parties’ fury is the problem. Rather, journalism should learn to
respect its boundaries and to uphold and refine its code of
ethics. Not everything is beneficial to be seen or told. The
boundaries are set by their very subjects, the people they are
reporting, whose lives, privacy, sensitivity, rights, and autonomy they should foremost respect before running a video.
Perhaps, it’s time for us to switch on “peace journalism” if
there is any hyperreality we need. The underreported side of
war—peace efforts or even heroisms and acts of kindness in
between opposed troops—has always been there, waiting for
coverage and a prime time slot.
sion tests are made on a roller dynamometer as an evaluator or
driver will test the vehicle on a driving pattern which includes acceleration, stopping, average speed and high speed among others. Gasses emitted through the car’s tailpipe are collected in a large bag and
are separated and weighed. A test report containing the volume of
carbon monoxide on a per kilometer distance is submitted to concerned government agencies for evaluation.
Tests are made in other countries as Philippine embassy authorities authenticate the documents. According to law, Department of
Environment and Natural Resources officials take months to act on
these reports. All these cost nearly $14,000 while used cars auctioneers and importers at Subic pay P300.00 for the procedure.
Industry sources say they still have to see an emission certificate
from the country of origin duly authenticated by Philippine embassy officials. The LTO’s Motor Vehicle Inspection Service ought to
observe procedures. There are even reports there are favored vehicle
owners who could have their cars registered without actual inspection. This is the reason we have vehicles that should have been
mothballed long time ago.
If the government is sincere in promoting common good, authorities should be able to subject used vehicles to the same stringent
standards. We have nothing to lose. Sayang talaga!
Local News
A6
Interfaith group to SC: End
abductions, rights violations
AN interfaith group urged the Supreme
Court (SC) to take drastic measures to restore
the rule of law notably to end cases of abductions and other human rights violations.
Catholic priest Fr. Joe Dizon, one of the
convenors of the Ecumenical Voice on Peace
and Human Rights in the Philippines, cited
the case of activist Jonas Burgos who has
been missing for three months now.
Dizon appealed to SC Chief Justice
Reynato Puno to be firmer and take concrete
steps to solve the kidnapping of the son of
the late press freedom fighter, Jose “Joe”
Burgos, Jr.
“We encourage the Chief Justice, the Supreme Court and the rest of the judiciary to
stand up, assert itself and save the whole
nation from these very dangerous things,”
he said. It should make known to everybody
that they should follow the law especially
the military.”
The priest said abductions by armed
groups has been one of the most shocking
human rights violations in the country.
The Ecumenical Voice on Peace and Human Rights in the Philippines is composed
of church leaders, human rights defenders
and civil libertarians.
Despite strong denial by the military,
Dizon believes that some government forces
are responsible for the series of abductions.
“The Supreme Court should uphold the
rights of the people and the law should be
respected. It should castigate the military
through the rule of law,” Dizon added. (Roy
Lagarde)
Good governance, key to Mindanao conflict
MORE than military offensives against
known strongholds of separatists in
Mindanao, good governance appears to be a
viable alternative to bring peace to the hinterlands of Jolo and Basilan provinces.
The Apostolic Vicar of Jolo, Bishop
Angelito Rendon Lampon, OMI said Sulu
Governor Sakur Tan called on his municipal
mayors to remain in their respective areas to
attend to the needs of their constituents.
In an interview with CBCPNews, Lampon
said he supports calls for peace talks from
here and abroad.
This was his reaction to a statement from
Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid
Albar who earlier called for the “swift resumption of peace talks which were suspended last week.”
“Absentee local officials were common during the past years,” Lampon said. He said good
governance will only become a reality on the
assumption the officials who got elected are
sincere and dedicated public servants.
“If people are poor and politicians’ bought
votes, then we will have a problem,” Lampon
said. He explained if people are out of poverty, then they can refuse politicians who offer money in exchange of votes.
He said peace negotiations appear to be a
viable alternative to all-out offensives but
such efforts should be anchored on sincerity.
Lampon said each side should manifest sincerity to attain a peaceful solution to armed
conflict.
Lampon said the peace and order problems
in Mindanao are brought about by a number
of issues, from poverty to lack of employment opportunities.
He said Jolo remained peaceful the past
few days. A check with Philippine Islamic
Council chair Professor Taha Basman said
Moslems are celebrating “nisfu shaaban” or
15 days before Ramadan.
Prelature of Isabela (Basilan) Bishop Martin Jumoad said he has always supported calls
for peace talks.
“Both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front should set aside pride
and sit down at the negotiating table,”
Jumoad said.
Interviewed by CBCPNews, he said classes
in school have remained normal in Isabela
City.
“A seminar on the Human Security Act of
2007 was held today for Political Science and
Criminology students of Basilan State College sponsored by the Commission on Human Rights under Director Manuel
Mamawag,” Bishop Jumoad said. (Melo
Acuna)
Catholic, Muslim youth to hold forum
THE Philippine Dominican priests are working closely with Muslim leaders of the country to bring Muslim and Catholic youth from
Southeast Asian countries into a forum.
The purpose of bringing together Muslim
and Christian young people is to foster a
strong sense of solidarity among the youth
in the region, Fr. Ramonclaro Mendez, OP,
president of Dominican-run Aquinas University told CBCP News.
Fr. Mendez said there are several programs
in the Church that bring Catholic youths together like World Youth Day, Asian Youth
Day, National Youth day in each country or
even regional/diocesan youth gatherings, but
no organized forum to bring young people
from different faiths in Southeast Asian countries.
The planned forum for Muslim and Christian youth would enable them to share their
life experiences, hopes and aspirations. The
program would also concentrate on how
youth can be agents of peace and solidarity.
The details and logistics of proposed youth
gathering are underway. Mechanisms to
bring delegates from the Association of South
East Asian Nations (ASEAN) need lots of ef-
forts and resources and planning, the priest
said. Fundraising from various sectors for the
said programs is in progress.
ASEAN was established on 8 Aug 1967 in
Bangkok by five countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and
Thailand. Brunei Darussalam, Vietnam, Laos
PDR and Cambodia joined in the subsequent
years.
The ASEAN region has a population of
about 500 million. It aims to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural
development in the region and promote regional peace and stability through abiding
respect for justice and the rule of law in the
relationship among countries in the region
and adherence to the principles of the United
Nations Charter.
The ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted by the
ASEAN Leaders agreed on a shared vision of
ASEAN as a concert of Southeast Asian nations, outward looking, living in peace, stability and prosperity, bonded together in
partnership of dynamic development and in
a community of caring societies.
When asked how the concept evolved, he
said, the ASEAN has existed for four decades
in the region. There have been lots of forums
where governments from ASEAN region periodically meet and even ASEAN games and
sports are held among the member countries.
Church and Islamic religious and community leaders from the Philippines who meet
on inter-religious dialogue on different forums, thought why there can’t be some way
to bring Muslim and Christian young people
together and hold programs similar to Catholic Asia youth congress.
Fr. Mendez also said after the gathering
for Muslim and Catholic youth takes place,
they would also invite young people from
other faiths from ASEAN countries to expand
their boundaries.
“I am sure our young people from ASEAN
will collaborate well and benefit by it by offering hospitality, hosting interfaith activities, or volunteering. This would also help
them as an opportunity for the renewal of
every aspect of faith life,” he said.
Fr. Mendez also said Catholic-Muslim initiative would have a positive impact on all
faiths in the ASEAN region. It would also
facilitate to “break down barriers” between
the two faiths. (Santosh Digal)
Bishops / A1
shrined and clearly acknowledged in the Philippine Constitution which is pro-life and propeople and which specifically
respects the right of spouses to
found their families according
to their religious convictions.”
Pro-Life Caucus of the lower
House chairman Congressman
Eduardo Zialcita also assured
that through the forum “our
people will get only the best
laws that enhance the dignity
and well-being of the individual
and the family and the
community’s common sense of
right and justice”.
He said both the moral law
and the Constitution recognize
the role that Church and State,
“can play, and must play, to
bring this about”.
“We are here to see to this
The caucus agreed to meet
once every two months to assess first pending bills in Congress on life and family.
Among those CBCP officials
present were Archbishops
Ramon Arguelles and Paciano
Aniceto and bishops Gabriel
Reyes, Gilbert Garcera,
Deogracias Iñiguez, Jessie
Mercado, Leonardo Medroso,
Emilio Marquez, Jose Oliveros,
and CBCP Secretary General
Msgr. Juanito Figura.
Senators Loren Legarda, Mar
Roxas, Noynoy Aquino,
Aquilino Pimentel, Richard
Gordon and Juan Miguel Zubiri
also joined the event.
Also in attendance were Representatives
Hermilando
Mandanas, Roilo Golez,
Bienvenido Abante, Carmencita
Reyes, Joseph Emilio Abaya,
Raul del Mar, Liwayway Chatto,
Rufus Rodriguez and Buhay
Partylist Representatives Rene
Velarde, Carissa Coscolluela
and William Irwin Tieng.
Pimentel and Zialcita acted
as facilitators during the discussion part of the meeting.
Garci’ scandal? Is it getting to
know the bottom of the truth?
But what now after that?” he
asked.
But Velarde clarified he is not
fully against the reinvestigation
of the alleged wiretapped conversation of President Arroyo with
an election officer to manipulate
the result of the 2004 polls.
What he is up to, Velarde
pointed out, is for the Senate to
just follow the call of the people
to “just move forward”.
“They (Senate) have good intention to get the truth out but
that issue has already been re-
solved in the last election,” he
said.
The El Shaddai leader is referring to the result of the May polls
especially in the Senate race that
had been dominated mostly by
opposition candidates.
Velarde believe the sentiments
of the people that were expressed
in the last mid-term elections will
still be carried over to the 2010
presidential race.
He said whatever is the reason for the revival of the ‘Hello
Garci” controversy, whether it
is in aid of legislation or something else, is still the preroga-
tive of the Senate.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales earlier appealed not to rekindle issues on
the legitimacy of Arroyo, saying it would only create a negative impact on the economy and
the country as a whole.
He said the ideal solution to
issues left hanging against Arroyo is for “all of us to unite”.
“Stop all these things. We
don’t need another hero. We
have too many heroes. You
should be the heroes this time.
Move on,” Rosales appealed.
(Roy Lagarde)
and not by going to the streets
when we don’t want something.
We have laws to be followed,”
said Rosales.
“This is a case of justice. It’s
beyond politics. It’s a case of
morality. It’s a question of right
or wrong,” the prelate added.
Estrada earlier expressed confidence of acquittal over accu-
sations of salting away tens of
millions of dollars of government money during his shortlived presidency.
The anti-graft court, which
has heard testimony from more
than 150 witnesses, is reportedly
set to hand down its verdict
within this month.
Erap is charged with plunder,
perjury and graft in the six-year
trial that lasted more than twice
as long as his two-and-a-half
year presidency.
He is accused of ‘’unjustly enriching’’ himself and his close
allies with more than 4 billion
pesos ($87 million) in tax money
and illegal gambling receipts.
(Roy Lagarde)
through mutual understanding
and cooperation flowing from
friendly and sincere dialogue,”
Zialcita said.
Social issues
Lagdameo is hoping the first
meeting of some bishops and
some legislators will not be the
last of its kind.
He said it’s a positive thing
that bishops and legislators
should come together to exchange views on many issues
“that affects us and the people
we serve”.
The CBCP head stressed the
necessity to include in the caucus the discussion of “most serious” problems in the country,
“and hence to collaborate for the
common good”.
“A caucus like this in friendship and brotherhood is a good
opportunity to build bridges of
unity and solidarity,” said
Lagdameo.
“Instead of building walls
that insulate ourselves from one
another, we instead in our separateness would like to construct
cross-boundary relationships
and dialogue.”
Regular caucus
El Shaddai / A1
The tape allegedly contained
the plan to rig the election results.
“I think with the remaining
three years of the Arroyo administration and the recent elections,
people are now looking forward
through a productive three
years,” he said in an interview
with CBCP News.
He said that with the presidential elections a little over a year
away, it’s better for Senate to focus on its real job for the public’s
welfare instead.
“What are we going to get
with the reopening of the ‘Hello
Cardinal / A1
“Of course (a guilty verdict)
would be painful for others. But
we have to accept whatever
would be the decision,” he said.
He said the country has laws
that punish irregularities committed by civilians and even
public officials that the people
must respect.
“It’s about time we obey laws
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Pinili, Ilocos Norte parish
priest shot dead
ILOCOS Norte police operatives
are looking into the possible motive behind the killing of St. Isidore
parish priest, 46-year old Fr.
Florante Broceros Rigonan, shot to
death by still an unidentified man
said to be armed with an armalite
rifle at about 10:40 P.M. on August
29 at Barangay Puritac, Pinili,
Ilocos Norte.
Laoag Bishop Sergio Utleg, in an
interview over Catholic-run
Veritas 846, said the late parish
priest visited one of his benefactors when shot to death. “We hope
the police will do everything and
bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice,” Bishop Utleg said.
He said Fr. Rigonan was from
Batac town.
“We don’t know the motive (behind the killing),” the Laoag prelate said.
He said the remains of the parish priest will be subjected to autopsy. “Most of his siblings are
abroad so it will take sometime
for them to come for the funeral,”
Utleg added.
The bishop said the late Rigonan
was a medical student before he
entered the seminary and was ordained about ten years ago. He said
Rigonan was well-loved in his
community where he was as-
signed parish priest five years ago.
“His altar boys and his parishioners said nobody has threatened
our priest until this fateful incident,” Utleg said.
CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo calls on
everyone to pray for the eternal
repose of the soul of Rigonan. He
expressed hope police authorities
would be able to solve the crime
at the soonest possible time.
PNP Ilocos Regional Director
Leopoldo Bataoil said he has already instructed Senior Supt. Roman Felix, Ilocos Norte Provincial
Police Director to form a task force
composed of elements from the
Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Pinili PNP station personnel, Crime Laboratory
and Regional Intelligence Office to
investigate the incident.
“We will leave no stone
unturned to get to the bottom of
the incident,” Chief Supt. Bataoil
said in a follow-up interview on
the killing. He said he will personally visit the Pinili town to check
on the progress of the investigation.
Bishop Utleg said “aside from
seeking justice, we and his parishioners feel very sad for the loss of
Fr. Rigonan.” (Melo Acuna)
Church leader rejects nuke plan
A SENIOR member of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) says he does not
agree an “ominous” nuclear power
should be located anywhere in the
country.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop
Oscar Cruz was reacting to plans
of the Department of Energy (DoE)
to develop nuclear energy to ease
power shortage.
The DoE said the Philippines
have potential ideal sites for
nuclear facility which could also
bolster the national economy.
The agency’s review into nuclear
energy has suggested that this country should be like the other
nuclear-powered nations that reduced their dependence on costly
imported fuel.
“We are organizing a team to
study nuclear technology including safety nets to ensure that the
plants that would be built pose no
harm to the environment and the
people,” said Energy Secretary
Angelo Reyes.
But Cruz belittled Reyes’ claim,
saying the country “does not even
know what to do with garbage,”
how much more with the potential danger the project possess.
“It (the government) does not
even know what to do with garbage. It cannot even keep the
floods away from no less than
Metro Manila. And now, it wants
to go nuclear!” Cruz lamented.
He also mentioned the problem
of illegal drugs, “jueteng” and
smuggling which the government
“cannot even stop”.
“What will the government do
in the event of terrorist attacks directed at the plant? Where will the
government throw the nuclear
waste?” Cruz asked. (Roy Lagarde)
DADITAMA / A4
Cabillan for Davao; Fr. Ronald
Lunas for Digos; Ms. Socorro
Abad came for Tagum; for Mati,
Fr. Nestor Morata and Sr. Eva
Marie, CSJ. There were other catechists who came from Daditama,
involved in family catechesis,
catechesis with the indigenous
peoples, children’s catechesis and
school based catechesis.
I was tasked to give the keynote address on the theme “Telling the story of Jesus in Mindanao”
during the first day. The second
conference on the Catechist as Prayer, was ably given by Fr. Ronald
Lunas, diocesan catechetical director of the Diocese of Digos and
Theology professor of the Regional Major Seminary of
Mindanao (REMASE).
In. order to put in context the
theme of the convention among
the tri-people of Mindanao, five
sub-regional coordinators presented
their
respective
catechetical situationer. And then,
the
participants
from
Zamboanga, Basilan, Jolo, and Ipil
presented their experience of family catechesis. A participant from
the ecclesiastical province of
Cagayan de Oro shared experiences on youth catechesis.
Children’s catechesis was shared
by participants from Dipolog,
Ozamis, Pagadian, and Iligan.
Challenges and opportunities for
the catechetical ministry were
highlighted.
During the business meeting, we
shared national updates on the
ministry, such as, The New National
Catechetical Directory for the Philippines, and also to present ACCRE.
The Convention participants approved the proposal that the five
sub-regional coordinators together with the ECCCE Mindanao
coordinator, Fr. Johnny Autida of
the Archdiocese of Davao would
constitute the Mindanao Regional
Catechetical Ministry (MRCM) coordinating council. The convention
participants also agreed to meet
every two years. Thus, the next
convention will be in 2009. (For
comments: [email protected])
Taytay / A1
said. He explained even local
residents are in a way “blinded”
by dole-outs from cellular
phones to motorcycles from
these companies.
“People who got temporary
employment learned to gamble
in mining camps and the environment will be subjected to outright degradation as all its wastes
would go to the sea,” the 55-year
old apostolic vicar added.
Asked of better alternatives to
mining, Juanich said, “It would
be best for us to improve our Agriculture and make a niche in
eco-tourism for which we have
already been known.”
He called on the government
not to forget the devastation mining did to the island province of
Marinduque. (Melo Acuna)
Follow / A1
mental impacts of church-initiated
gatherings.
It cited the successful collaborative waste prevention project by
church and civil society groups in
January 2003 that significantly reduced the waste generated at the
4th World Meeting of Families, especially during the massive closing celebration in Rizal Park.
The EcoWaste Coalition has
been releasing eco-advisories on
how to prevent and reduce the environmental and health impacts of
many widely observed customs
and traditions of Filipino families,
including campaigning for a
waste-free Undas and Christmas.
It also came up recently with a
detailed guide on how to green community fiestas to address the waste-
fulness that has characterized our
colorful, faith-inspired festivities.
“We hope that the Pope’s ecogospel message will resonate
throughout the Church and find
concrete expressions in zero waste
celebrations of the Holy Sacraments and other faith-inspired
communions and festivities,”
Calonzo said.
At the Loreto youth gathering,
the Pope said the youth “must
make courageous choices that can
recreate a strong alliance between
mankind and the earth”.
He added, “What is needed is a
decisive ‘yes’ to the protection of
creation and a strong commitment
to reverse the trend that risks leading to situations of irreversible
degradation.” (CBCPNews))
CBCP Monitor
Features
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
One in four homes in Spain
will be single-parent by 2011
MADRID, Spain, August 24, 2007—The Institute for Family
Policy in Spain reported this week that currently one in five
homes in the country are single-parent homes and that if the
trend continues, by 2011, one in four homes will no longer
have a solid family structure.
“The tendencies that show the evolution of homes in Spain
reveal serious deficiencies in our future, as they are provoking a society that is more and more individualistic, where
social fragmentation is isolating the person and makes the
social fabric very fragile,” said Mariano Martinez-Aedo, vice
president of the IFP.
“This evolution is a result not only of cultural, economic
and social changes but also of a profound abandonment in
family and social policy, which is not fulfilling its objectives. A vigorous social and political reaction is necessary
that adopts important and lasting measures that truly support Spanish families to fulfill their role,” Martinez-Aedo
said.
The IFP noted this tendency is also the result of an increase in the number of childless couples and single-parent
families. “A decisive commitment to the family is also necessary in the realms of culture and education,” the organization said. It proposed several steps for reversing this trend
and adequately supporting families in Spain, such as the
implementation of authentic pro-family policies and increased funds for family assistance. (CNA)
******
Texas reaches 400 executions
HUNTSVILLE, TX, August 24, 2007—Yesterday, Texas executed its 400th person since the Supreme Court lifted the
ban of the death penalty in 1982. However, according to
Mario Marazziti, the spokesman for the Sant’Egidio Movement, the tide seems to be turning.
Marazziti told Vatican Radio that “many states are discussing bills about the moratorium.” This is due to the fact
that the public has recognized alternatives for punishments
in the United States and believe that removing the death
penalty will eliminate possible mistakes or errors in sentencing.
In a previous statement on capital punishment, the Catholic Bishops of Texas urged the state to find alternative punishments for criminals.
“While human logic alone seems to support the abolition
of the death penalty, as moral leaders we call for alternatives because of its moral incongruity in today’s world. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “If ... non-lethal
means are sufficient to defend and protect people’s safety
from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means,
as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of
the common good and more in conformity with the dignity
of the human person.”
“In our modern society, we have means of keeping an
offender from harming others. Although in previous times
people of faith have employed capital punishment, today
we have the ability to realize better the principles of mercy,
forgiveness, and unconditional love for all people”. (CNA)
A7
Rabbi praises Pope Benedict
for his clear teaching
NEW YORK, USA, September 4, 2007—A
rabbi from Monsey, New York, has lauded
Pope Benedict XVI for reinstating the Latin
Mass and affirming that only Catholic Church
qualifies as the one, true Church.
In an article titled The Pope’s Got A Point
and published in the July 18 issue of The Jewish Press, Rabbi Yerachmiel Seplowitz says
he is “not at all put off by the fact that the
leader of another religion sees that religion
as primary.”
“I’ve always found it curious that people of
different religions get together in a spirit of harmony to share their common faiths,” he writes.
“By definition, these people should have strong
opposition to the beliefs of their ‘colleagues’ at
the table. The mode of prayer of one group
should be an affront to the other group.
“What the pope is saying—and I agree 100
percent—is that there are irreconcilable differences, and we can’t pretend those differences don’t exist,” he states. “I can respect the
pope for making an unambiguous statement
of what he believes.”
While all people, created in God’s image,
and their beliefs are worthy of respect, “we
don’t need to play games of ‘I’m okay, your
okay’ with beliefs we find unacceptable,” he
writes.
Rabbi Seplowitz notes that the original
form of the Latin Mass included a prayer for
the conversion of the Jews. When the Latin
Mass was reinstated, the International Jewish Committee on Interreligious Consultations wrote to the Vatican, requesting that
the conversion prayer not be reintroduced.
The rabbi says he is not suggesting Jewish
leaders should not talk with Catholic leaders. “The pope needs to know, for example,
that it is good to encourage his millions of
followers to support Israel and that it is bad
to hate Jews,” he writes.
But the dialogue need not be theological,
he suggests. “There needs to be careful dialogue, but it needs to be a secular, common,
needs-based dialogue. We should not be
studying Talmud together and we should not
be discussing prayer.” (CNA)
Malaysian newspaper asked to shut down
after publishing controversial picture
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, August 24, 2007—The Malaysian
newspaper Makkal Osai is facing
calls to shut down after it published an image of Jesus holding
a cigarette and what appears to
be a can of beer on its front page.
Malaysia’s Muslim-led government closed two publications last
year for carrying controversial
cartoons of the Prophet
Muhammad. Now some members of Malaysia’s minority religions say they want the same
treatment over this latest incident, reported the BBC.
Prime Minister Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi criticized the action as hurtful and an insult to
Christians. He called on people not
to play with religion, the national
news agency Bernama reported.
The paper has issued an apology, explaining that a graphics
editor had mistakenly taken the
image from the Internet.
Most of Malaysia’s religious
groups appear to have been ap-
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VATICAN CITY, September 4,
2007—God speaks even when he
doesn’t say anything, Benedict
XVI told 500,000 young people
in reference to the “dark night”
of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
Mother Teresa’s spiritual suffering was one of the topics covered by the Pope on Saturday
night, during his question-andanswer session with 500,000
youth in Loreto, Italy.
The Vatican released the transcript of the questions and answers today.
The session, held in the esplanade of Montorso, was part of a
two-day encounter of Italian
youth with the Holy Father.
A young Italian woman, Sara
Simonetta, explained to the Pon-
tiff that she believed “in the God
that had touched my heart, but I
feel a lot of insecurity, questions,
fear.”
“I feel human solitude, and I
would like to feel God close.
Holiness, in this silence; ‘Where
is God?’” she asked.
Benedict XVI responded that
“we all, even though we believe,
experience this silence of God.”
“A book was just published on
the spiritual experiences of
Mother Teresa, and what we have
known is now more openly presented: With all her charity, her
strength of faith, Mother Teresa
suffered the silence of God,” he
said.
The Pope was referring to the
book “Mother Teresa: Come Be
Name _____________________________________________________
(Family Name)
My Light,”
written by Father
Brian
Kolodiejchuk,
postulator for
the cause of
canonization
of the founder
of the Missionaries of Charity. The book,
published 10
years after the
nun’s death, is
a compilation
of her letters
and writings.
Benedict
XVI continued: “On one
hand, we have
to endure this
silence of God,
partly in order
to understand
our brethren
who don’t know God.”
On the other, he said, “we can
always yell out again to God:
‘Talk, show yourself!’ And without a doubt, if the heart is open,
we can discover the great moments of our life in which the
presence of God is truly perceptible, even to us.”
© Tomasz Gzell
Sex-selective abortions
skyrocket in India
CBCPMonitor
peased, including the Catholics.
Kuala Lumpur Archbishop
Murphy Pakiam, who earlier
criticized the image as a “desecration,” accepted the newspaper’s
apology. In an e-mail to S.M.
Periasamy, the newspaper’s general manager, the archbishop’s
office said the archbishop now
“considers the matter closed.”
However, the Malaysian Indian Congress called on the government to close the paper. The
congress is an ethnic Tamil po-
litical party in the governing coalition with mostly Hindu members. A BBC report notes that
Makkal Osai has been very critical of the Malaysian Indian Congress, which owns a rival Tamillanguage newspaper.
“It’s a very serious issue. For
certain things you can apologize,
but for this kind of sensitive issue, the editor should be sacked
and the paper closed,” senior
party official T. Mohan told The
Associated Press. (CNA)
Mother Teresa endured God’s silence, says pope
******
NEW DELHI, India, August 23, 2007—The increasingly more
widespread use of technology in India to enable mothers to
know the sex of their unborn babies has led to a significant
increase in the number of aborted girls, according to prolife activists and government officials.
In India, scans and amniocentesis that reveal the sex of the
baby are illegal. However, many women obtain the procedures and in many cases, upon learning that the child is
female, elect to abort. According to government figures,
some 10 million unborn baby girls have been killed by abortion in the last 20 years.
“Sex-selection has been the main reason when the ratio of
female births in the country has decreased,” said Pravir
Krishna, a spokesman for the Ministry of Health. “Technology has many benefits, but this is an aspect of technology
that has given us a serious problem,” he added.
A large portion of the Indian population believes that male
children enable families to survive and ensure that their
parents will be taken care of. Female children are considered a burden for whom parents will have to shell out expensive dowries, which leads many to elect to abort them.
On the other hand, a 2001 census revealed that there were
927 girls for every 1000 boys among children younger than
age 7, as opposed to 945 in 1991. Last month, police discovered thirty bags full of aborted and newborn babies in a
well near a clinic in eastern India. (CNA)
Rabbi Yerachmiel Seplowitz
(Given Name)
(Middle Name)
Mailing Address ____________________________________________
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Seeing God
The Pope explained how it is
possible to see God.
Before all, the Pontiff said, “the
beauty of creation is one of the
sources in which we can touch the
beauty of God, we can see that
the Creator exists and is good,
that it is true what sacred Scripture says in the creation account.”
Second, he explained, it is possible to perceive the divine presence “listening to the word of God
in the great liturgical celebrations, in the great music of faith.”
Benedict XVI then told the story
of a woman who converted to
Christianity after having listened
to the music of Bach, Handel and
Mozart.
Third, the Pope told the assembly of youth, one can discover
God through “personal dialogue
with Christ.”
“He doesn’t always respond,
but there are moments in which
he really responds,” the Pontiff
said.
A last way of discovering God,
according to the Holy Father, is
“friendship, companionship in
the faith.”
Benedict XVI continued:
“Now, here, gathered in Loreto,
we see how faith unites, how
friendship creates a companionship of journeying persons.
“And we experience that all of
this does not come from nothing,
but has a source, that the silent
God is also a God who speaks,
who reveals himself, and above
all, that we can be witnesses of
his presence, that our faith truly
brings about light, even for others.”
The Pope added: “On one
hand, we have to accept that in
this world, God is silent, but we
shouldn’t make ourselves deaf
when he speaks, when he manifests his presence on so many occasions, above all in Creation, in
the liturgy, in friendship within
the Church. And, full of his presence, we can also give light to
others.” (Zenit)
Reject corruption, Nigerian
cardinal asks leaders
ONITSHA, Nigeria, September 3,
2007—A leading Vatican official has
called upon government leaders in
his native Nigeria to renounce corruption and favoritism.
Speaking in Onitsha, a city where
he once served as archbishop, Cardinal Francis Arinze, the prefect of the
Congregation for Divine Worship,
said that political authority should
not be regarded as a “weapon to reward friends and punish enemies.”
A public servant, the cardinal said,
should work “for the good of the
community, for its service, to help the
community.” He added that effective
political leadership requires vision
and courage as well as integrity.
Ordained to the priesthood in
Onitsha in 1958, Cardinal Arinze was
named coadjutor archbishop there in
1965, becoming the archbishop in
1967. He held that post until 1985,
when he resigned to take up his new
responsibilities in Rome as president
of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. In 2002 he was promoted to become prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship.
(CWNews)
A8
CBCP Monitor
People, Facts & Places
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Thousands of pilgrims expected
to join Lipa pilgrimage
THOUSANDS of pilgrims from other
ecclesiastical jurisdictions in the Philippines are expected to join the local pilgrims in Lipa archdiocese on September
12, 2007 for the 3rd National Marian Pilgrimage in Carmel, Lipa City.
Fr. Joseph Rodem Ramos, priest-incharge of the preparations, said the National Day of Prayer will be preceded
by a triduum to be held at San Sebastian
Cathedral, Lipa City from September 9
to 11.
The faithful from the seven vicariates
of the Archdiocese are given their share
in holding this spiritual preparation for
the September 12 main event. Capping
the triduum is the healing Mass to be presided over by Fr. Gerry Orbos, SVD,
evening of September 11 up to midnight.
Lipa Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles
will lead the faithful in the exposition
and vigil before the Blessed Sacrament
on the first hour of September 12 at the
SVD opens centennial celebration
THE Society of Divine Word (SVD)
opened the three-year celebration of the
community’s 100 years of presence in the
Philippines with a colorful motorcade
around Bangued, capital of Abra last
August 22.
This was fallowed by solemn and
inculturated high mass, at 9:00 am, presided by Fr. Jerome Adriatico, SVD, provincial Superior of SVD-Northern Philippines. He was assisted by more than
40 SVD’s and diocesan priests led by
Most Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD,
bishop of the diocese.
In the afternoon, the Museum of the
Divine Word College of Bangued was
opened to the public for viewing.
At 7 PM, a cultural presentation of
songs and dances with a cast of more
than 300 performers depicted the mis-
sionary endeavors of the SVD and rich
culture of Abra. Fireworks punctuated
the two-hour show, and it fittingly
ended with the singing of the “Salve
Regina.”
The SVD community is commemorating the momentous event of their 100
years of presence in the Philippines starting this year. “Witness to the Word” has
been adopted as the general theme of
the celebration while “to remember”, “to
rejoice” and “to renew” will serve as the
yearly objectives.
The first two SVD missionaries, Fr.
Ludwig Beckert and Fr. John
Sheiermann, arrived in Manila from
Hongkong on August 15, 1909. From
Manila they journeyed on steamboat to
Vigan, Ilocos Sur. On August 22, the two
SVD missionaries rode for two hours,
on bamboo rafts upstream the Abra
River. Walking or riding on horseback
the rest of the way, they reached
Bangued, and proceeded on horseback
to Cagutongan (now San Isidro).
Cagutongan became the first base of the
SVDs in Abra and in the Philippines.
Because of its historical importance,
SVD Northern Province elected August
22, 2007, as the date for the launching of
its centennial celebration. In the words
of Fr. Cirilo Ortega, SVD, the District
Superior, August 22 is “a stupendous
day” because “ it is a day to remember
the Queen ship of Mary; it is a day to
remember the arrival of the first SVD
missionaries in Abra, and it is the beginning of celebrating the 100 years of
SVD presence in the country.” (Fr. Oscar Alunday, SVD)
CACERES launches TV program “Simbanwaan”
THE Caceres Commission on Communications (CCCOM)
launched its maiden presentation of a 30-minute TV program
“Simbanwaan” on August 18, 2007 at 4:30 – 5:00 pm over PBN
TV5 – Naga.
The TV program, divided into four segments informs the
faithful about the activities of the local Church. The four segment divisions are Wow Simbahan, which features one parish with its programs and special services; Tabang Banwaan,
which features various religious institutions of the Archdiocese that promote social services to the underprivileged members of the community; and Isyu which, discusses the pressing concerns of society and clarifies important issues regarding Church teachings. There is also discussion on the doctrinal teachings of the Catholic Faith based on the queries and
opinions of the men and women of the street.
The parish of St. Bartholomew in Baao, Camarines Sur, was
featured during the maiden presentation of Simbanwaan. Baao
is the hometown of the first Filipino Bishop, Bishop Jorge
Barlin. Twenty-four other priests both diocesan and religious
also hailed from this town. The parish priest, Fr. Joseph Wilfred
Almoneda, and parochial Vicar, Fr. Howard Tud gave testimonies about the faith life of the people of Baao, which explains why so many have chosen to become priests and religious.
The second segment, Tabang Banwaan, featured Altershiem ,
home for the retired Diocesan priests, located at the back of
the Our Lady of Peñafrancia Shrine. The Daughters of Mary
(DM) sisters attend to the needs of the elderly priests.
In the Isyu portion, 6 priests were interviewed to clarify the
notion that priests are alone but not lonely. Fr. Manny Zagada,
Fr. Philip Bersabe, Fr. Peter Beriña and Msgr. Alberto Nero of
the Holy Rosary Minor Seminary, and Parish priests Fr. Jeudiel
Galvo and Fr. Alex Quimpol, shared their insights, unanimously attesting that though they are alone, they are never
lonely. The priests also declared they find meaning in their
life as celibates, and have a healthy way of coping with loneliness whenever it arises.
CCCOM director Fr. Louie Occiano hopes the TV program
will teach people on the important mission of the Church,
using mass media for evangelization.
“If everybody is informed about the programs and activities of the Church as well as the basic doctrine of our faith,
they will be moved to participate actively in realizing our
mission,” he added.
Replays of Simbanwaan are also shown in various cable
companies through their community channels in Rinconada
and Partido districts.
The TV production was made possible through the supervision of Fr. Louie Occiano, with Archbishop Leonardo Z.
Legaspi, O.P., D.D. as Executive producer, Ms. Tess Bañares
Delfin as program hosts, Ms. Myrna Bermudo and Ms. Liezl
Macatangay as Chief Scriptwriters. (Lina Salazar, FSP)
Cathedral before the dawn procession
to Carmel Church, where he will say
Mass at 6:00 am.
A series of talks are in stored for the
day. Fr. Melvin Castro will talk on “Lipa
Apparitions and Messages Revisited”.
Former Ambassador to the Holy See,
Hon. Howard Dee will talk on “What
Consecration to Mary Means”, while Fr.
Yulito Ignacio will expound on the topic
“Mary Leads us to Christ: The Inseparable
Union of Jesus and Mary”. After lunch,
the explanation and launching of Pueblo
Amante de Maria Mariological Society of
the Philippines will be held. Renowned
Jesuit theologian Fr. Catalino Arevalo,
S.J., will explain the society while Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles will preside over the launching.
The day will be capped by a
concelebrated Mass, to be led by His
Eminence, Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal.
CBCP President, Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo of Jaro will be the homilist.
Cardinal Vidal will lead the floral offering to the Image of Our Lady of
Mediatrix of All Grace after the Mass.
Batangas Governor, Hon. Vilma
Santos-Recto will lead the faithful and
pilgrims in reciting the Prayer of Consecration to Jesus through Mary. Lipa
City Mayor, Atty. Oscar Gozos, will place
the rosary at the hand of the Virgin,
while his wife, Mrs. Nilda Gozos, will
lead the faithful in placing flowers at her
feet.
The Lipa pilgrimage is tagged as “A
Day of Prayer, Reparation and Consecration
to Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace for World
Peace and Sanctification of the Clergy.”
For more details regarding the triduum
and the pilgrimage day itself, just log on
to www.marymediatrixofallgrace.com.
Readers may also call up tel. nos. (043)981-1160, or telefax nos. (043)-756-5590.
(Fr. Nonie C. Dolor)
Markings
LAUNCHED. NOTREDAME OF KIDAPAWAN
COLLEGE (NDKC), 50th anniversary of foundation; July 29, 2007. NDKC kicked off its year-long
celebration with a joyous parade and colorful
floats depicting its 50 years of existence: “Dekada
60”, “Dekada 70”, Dekada 80", “Dekada 90”, and
“Dekada 2000”. Most Rev. Romulo dela Cruz, DD,
a former student of NDKC Boys’ Department; presided the thanksgiving mass. As a Catholic institution, anchored in the faith of God, and honored
to bear the name of the Blessed Mother, NDKC
looks forward to a wider horizon. One of the greatest challenges it faces in the next 50
years is the fulfillment of its mission of evangelization in the midst of the fast growing
modernization.
CELEBRATED. CARMEL OF ST. JOSEPH, Lucena City,
50th anniversary of foundation; August 10, 2007. In
1957, Rev. Mother Theresa of Jesus, founder and prioress of Gilmore Carmel, together with 6 Carmelite nuns
refugees from Shanghai opened the monastery in
Lucena upon the invitation of Most Rev. Alfredo Ma.
Obviar, DD. Sustained by God’s ever-abiding presence,
the Carmelite Monastery of St. Joseph, now stands as
an impregnable powerhouse of prayer, an enduring
tribute to the generosity of the people of Lucena who
welcomed with open arms the pioneering nuns.
LAUNCHED. SOCIETY OF DIVINE WORD (SVD) CENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION; August 22, 2007, in Bangued, Abra. The Abra
District of the SVD Philippine Northern Province launched the
centennial celebration to commemorate the arrival of the first
two SVD missionaries Fr. Louis Beckert and Fr. Scheirmann, in
Bangued in 1909. The three-year celebration of SVD’s 100 years
of presence in the Philippines opened with a colorful motorcade
around Bangued. Fr. Jerome Adriatico, SVD, provincial Superior
of SVD-Northern Philippines presided the solemn and inculturated
high mass. He was assisted by more than 40 SVD’s and diocesan priests led by Most
Rev. Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD, bishop of the diocese. The general theme of the celebration is “Witness to the Word”, while “to remember”, “to rejoice” and “to renew” will serve
as the yearly objectives. In the words of Fr. Cirilo Ortega, SVD, the District Superior,
August 22 is “a stupendous day” because “ it is a day to remember the Queenship of
Mary; it is a day to remember the arrival of the first SVD missionaries in Abra, and it is
the beginning of celebrating the 100 years of SVD presence in the country.”
CELEBRATED. SR. MARY FELICITAS NISPEROS, RGS, and SR.
MARY JAMES WILSON, RGS, 50th Anniversary of Religious Profession in the Congregation of the Religious of the Good Shepherd, September 8, 2007; at the Good Shepherd Convent, Quezon City. Sr. Mary
Felicitas and Sr. Mary James professed their first vows at the Good
Shepherd Novitiate in Los Angeles on September 8, 1957. Sr Felicitas
is presently a missionary in Hongkong while Sr. James is the adviser
of the Good Shepherd Lay Affiliates in Quezon City.
LAUNCHING. KNIGHT OF COLUMBUS FRATERNALASSOCIATION OF THE PHILIPPINES
(KCFAPI), golden anniversary of foundation;
September 14, 2007. The Knights of Columbus
Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc.
(KCFAPI), a non-stock, non-profit mutual benefit association, founded by Rev. Fr. George J.
Willmann, SJ. KCFAPI was licensed by the Insurance Commission on September 9, 1958 to
operate as an insurance system for the exclusive protection of the members of the Knights of Columbus and their immediate family
members. To commence the year-long celebration, an official launching is scheduled on
September 14, 2007 to coincide with the Family TV Mass to commemorate the 30th death
anniversary of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ. The grand jubilee shall be held at the Manila
Hotel on September 13, 2008. The activities for the 50th anniversary aim to enhance the
image of the Association and strengthen its relationship to its more than 50,000 benefit
certificate holders nationwide.
New assignments for Manila
Archdiocese
ORDINATION AT MANILA CATHEDRAL. His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales handed a staff to newly ordained Antipolo Auxiliary Bishop Francisco De Leon
on September 1.
THE Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila, His Eminence Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales announced the appointments
of 13 pastors to their new assignments
and a new vicar forane for the Vicariate of
Santo Niño.
The new appointments will take effect
on Saturday, September 8. Among those
appointed were Msgr. Josefino S.
Ramirez, Rector and Pastor of the
Archdiocesan Shrine of Divine Mercy,
Maysilo Circle, Mandaluyong City; Msgr.
Jose Clemente F. Ignacio, Rector of the
Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene,
Plaza Miranda, Quiapo, Manila; Fr. Leo
Nilo C. Mangunsad, Acting Rector of
Mary, Queen of Peace Shrine (EDSA
Shrine); Fr. Victor Y. Apacible, Rector and
Pastor of the National Shrine of the Sacred Heart, San Antonio Village, Makati
City; Fr. Elias Manlangit, Jr., OFM, Pastor, Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish,
Sta. Ana, Manila; Fr. Carlo Bittante, FdCC,
Pastor, San Pablo Apostol Parish,
Magsaysay, Tondo, Manila; Fr. Renato Y.
Ruelos, CM, Pastor, San Vicente de Paul,
San Marcelino, Manila; Fr. Jerome
Angulo, OFM, Pastor, Santuario de San
Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati City; Fr.
Noel B. Magtaas, OSJ, Pastor, Santuario
de San Jose, Mandaluyong City; Fr.
Benhamin Deogracias M. Fajota, attached
priest, St. Anthony of Padua, Singalong
and San Andres Sts., Malate, Manila; Fr.
Joseph Matitu, SSS, Pastor, Santa Cruz
Parish, Sta. Cruz, Manila; Fr. Nelson M.
Cabanero, SMM, Pastor, Sta. Teresita Parish, West Rembo, Makati City, Fr.
Norwynn V. Baydo, SMM, Parochial
Vicar, Sta. Teresita Parish, West Rembo,
Makati City.
Archbishop Rosales also appointed Fr.
Enrique Y. Santos, Vicar Forane, Vicariate
of Sto. Niño which includes the Minor
Basilica of San Lorenzo Ruiz and the Parishes of Our Lady of Peace and Good
Voyage, Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (Personal Parish-Chinese), Saint John
Bosco, San Pablo Apostol and Santo Niño
Church. (CBCPNews)
CBCP
Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
B1
Pastoral Concerns
B2 Updates
The canonical form
of marriage
B3 Diocese
Diocese of Bangued
“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8)
B4 Commissions
Pilgrimage to the Shrine of
Our Lady of Mediatrix of All
Grace, Lipa City
B6 Reflections
Loving with a prodigal love
B7 Social Concerns
Sagip Ka 2000 Foundation,
Inc: Saving lives, upholding
dignity
Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis
ECBA, PBS hold
symposium on the
BEC Bible
B5 Statements
MY dear young friends!
1. The XXIII World Youth Day
I always remember with great joy
the various occasions we spent together in Cologne in August 2005.
At the end of that unforgettable
manifestation of faith and enthusiasm that remains engraved on my
spirit and on my heart, I made an
appointment with you for the next
gathering that will be held in
Sydney in 2008. This will be the
XXIII World Youth Day and the
theme will be: “You will receive
power when the Holy Spirit has
come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). The underlying theme of the spiritual
preparation for our meeting in
Sydney is the Holy Spirit and mission. In 2006 we focused our attention on the Holy Spirit as the Spirit
of Truth. Now in 2007 we are seeking a deeper understanding of the
Spirit of Love. We will continue our
journey towards World Youth Day
2008 by reflecting on the Spirit of
Fortitude and Witness that gives us
the courage to live according to the
Gospel and to proclaim it boldly.
Therefore it is very important that
each one of you young people - in
your communities, and together
with those responsible for your education - should be able to reflect on
this Principal Agent of salvation
history, namely the Holy Spirit or
the Spirit of Jesus. In this way you
will be able to achieve the following lofty goals: to recognize the
Spirit’s true identity, principally by
listening to the Word of God in the
Revelation of the Bible; to become
clearly aware of his continuous, active presence in the life of the
Church, especially as you rediscover that the Holy Spirit is the
“soul”, the vital breath of Christian
life itself, through the sacraments
of Christian initiation - Baptism,
Confirmation and the Eucharist; to
grow thereby in an understanding
of Jesus that becomes ever deeper
and more joyful and, at the same
time, to put the Gospel into practice at the dawn of the third millennium. In this message I gladly offer
you an outline for meditation that
you can explore during this year of
preparation. In this way you can test
the quality of your faith in the Holy
Spirit, rediscover it if it is lost,
strengthen it if it has become weak,
savour it as fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ,
brought about by the indispensable
working of the Holy Spirit. Never
forget that the Church, in fact humanity itself, all the people around
you now and those who await you
in the future, expect much from you
young people, because you have
within you the supreme gift of the
Father, the Spirit of Jesus.
2. The promise of the Holy Spirit
in the Bible
Attentive listening to the Word
of God concerning the mystery and
action of the Holy Spirit opens us
up to great and inspiring insights
that I shall summarize in the following points.
Shortly before his Ascension, Jesus
said to his disciples: “And behold, I
send the promise of my Father upon
you” (Lk. 24:49). This took place on
the day of Pentecost when they were
together in prayer in the Upper Room
with the Virgin Mary. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the nascent
Church was the fulfilment of a promise made much earlier by God, announced and prepared throughout
the Old Testament.
In fact, right from its opening
pages, the Bible, presents the spirit
of God as the wind that “was moving over the face of the waters” (cf.
Gen 1:2). It says that God breathed
into man’s nostrils the breath of life
(cf. Gen 2:7), thereby infusing him
with life itself. After original sin,
the life-giving spirit of God is seen
several times in the history of humankind, calling forth prophets to
exhort the chosen people to return
to God and to observe his commandments faithfully. In the wellknown vision of the prophet
Ezekiel, God, with his spirit, restores to life the people of Israel,
represented by the “dry bones” (cf.
37:1-14). Joel prophesied an “outpouring of the spirit” over all the
people, excluding no one. The sacred author wrote: “And it shall
come to pass afterward that I will
pour out my spirit on all flesh ...
Even upon the menservants and
maidservants, in those days, I will
pour out my spirit” (3:1-2).
In “the fullness of time” (cf. Gal
4:4), the angel of the Lord announced to the Virgin of Nazareth
that the Holy Spirit, “the power of
the Most High”, would come upon
her and overshadow her. The child
to be born would be holy and
would be called Son of God (cf. Lk.
1:35). In the words of the prophet
Isaiah, the Messiah would be the
one on whom the Spirit of the Lord
would rest (cf. 11:1-2; 42:1). This is
the prophecy that Jesus took up
again at the start of his public ministry in the synagogue in Nazareth.
To the amazement of those present,
he said: “The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed
me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release
to the captives and recovery of sight
7
QUESTIONS
Most Rev. Rodolfo F.
Beltran, D.D.
How is the social concern agenda of
the Church being concretized in your
Vicariate?
I am thankful to my predecessor bishops from what they had started and
done in terms of our local Church’s concern on the social issues. I intend to continue them. My priests have oriented
me with the agenda as I started to work
with them after my installation as their
Apostolic Vicar. This is what we understood together: Any proposed response
to the challenges the social issues of the
day pose must presuppose genuine concern on our part. The presbyterium of
the Vicariate together with the faithful
are now aware of their social commitment
to problems that beset the economic life
and development of the people. They become involved in responding to the social
issues especially to human needs.
Is the BEC active in the Vicariate?
This is now the thrust of our local
Church. It is not perfect, but it is moving
towards there. The spirit is felt in every
mission station (parish), especially in the
mountainous barangays. Our people are
getting involved in the life and mission of
the Church. There is an increasing collaboration between the ministerial and the
common priesthood.
www.theage.com
Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI to the
young people of the world on the occasion of the
XXIII World Youth Day, 2008
to the blind, to let the oppressed go
free, to proclaim the year of the
Lord’s favour” (Lk. 4:18-19; cf. Is.
61:1-2). Addressing those present,
he referred those prophetic words
to himself by saying: “Today this
Scripture has been fulfilled in your
hearing” (Lk. 4:21). Again, before
his death on the Cross, he would
tell his disciples several times about
the coming of the Holy Spirit, the
“Counselor” whose mission would
be to bear witness to him and to
assist believers by teaching them
and guiding them to the fullness of
Truth (cf. Jn. 14:16-17, 25-26; 15:26;
16:13).
3. Pentecost, the point of departure
for the Church’s mission
On the evening of the day of resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples, “he breathed on them and
said to them, ‘Receive the Holy
APPOINTED prelate by Pope Benedict
XVI on March 18, 2006, Bishop Beltran
was installed Apostolic Vicar of BontocLagawe on May 29, 2006. In this issue of
CBCP Monitor, Bishop Beltran talks on
the social issues the Vicariate is pursuing, the BEC’s and their involvement in
the life of the Church, the role and participation of the laity in the local Church, the
family and life program in the Vicariate,
the vocations entering the diocesan seminary, and his perception of secular media’s
treatment of Church issues in the news.
Does the role of the laity as defined
by PCP II being realized in your Vicariate?
This is the initiative and now the
spirit in my local Church. We are
moving towards Church participation and involvement. Thanks to my
predecessors’ efforts. Since 1993 when
Bontoc-Lagawe was made a separate
local Church from the Vicariate of
the Mountain Provinces, every year
we hold the TONGTONGAN, a general assembly composed of the representatives of the different mission
stations to evaluate the role of Church
7 Questions / B7
Spirit’” (Jn. 20:22). With even greater
power the Holy Spirit descended
on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost. We read in the Acts of the
Apostles: “And suddenly from
heaven there came a sound like the
rush of a violent wind, and it filled
the entire house where they were
sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire,
appeared among them, and a
tongue rested on each of them” (2:23).
The Holy Spirit renewed the
Apostles from within, filling them
with a power that would give them
courage to go out and boldly proclaim that “Christ has died and is
risen!” Freed from all fear, they began to speak openly with self-confidence (cf. Acts 2:29; 4:13; 4:29, 31).
These frightened fishermen had become courageous heralds of the
Gospel. Even their enemies could
not understand how “uneducated
and ordinary men” (cf. Acts 4:13)
could show such courage and endure difficulties, suffering and persecution with joy. Nothing could
stop them. To those who tried to
silence them they replied: “We cannot keep from speaking about what
we have seen and heard” (Acts
4:20). This is how the Church was
born, and from the day of Pentecost she has not ceased to spread
the Good News “to the ends of the
earth” (Acts 1:8).
4. The Holy Spirit, soul of the
Church and principle of communion
If we are to understand the mission of the Church, we must go back
to the Upper Room where the disciples remained together (cf. Lk.
24:49), praying with Mary, the
“Mother”, awaiting the Spirit that
WYD / B4
National pilgrimage in honor of
Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace
By Fr. Melvin Castro
FOR the fourth consecutive year, the
Church in the Philippines will gather together to honor Our Lady under her title,
Mediatrix of All-Grace.
CBCP President, Most Rev. Angel
Lagdameo, DD, and the Archbishop of Lipa,
Most Rev. Ramon Arguelles, DD, have
called on the Catholic faithful once again
to join the National Pilgrimage to
Carmelite Monastery in Lipa City,
Batangas on 12 September 2007, Feast of
the Holy Name of Mary.
The annual pilgrimage has always carried the twin intentions of Prayer for World
Peace and the Sanctification of the Clergy.
This year’s pilgrimage has for its theme
the prayer of consecration of St. Louis
Grignon di Montfort: I AM ALL YOURS
AND ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS, O
JESUS, THROUGH MARY, OUR IMMACULATEMOTHERANDMEDIATRIXOFALLGRACE.
It will be recalled that when Our Lady
appeared in Lipa Carmel in 1948, she specifically requested the total consecration to
her Immaculate Heart following the devotional way enunciated by St. Louis di
Montfort who was canonized in 1947, a year
before the reported apparitions of Our Lady.
During her apparitions in Lipa Carmel in
1948, Our Lady revealed herself under the
title Mary, Mediatrix of All-Grace, explaining even further that it is All-Grace, in the
singular form, because it refers to Christ who
is the source of each and every grace.
It is hoped that through this annual pilgrimage the cause of the official recognition of the 1948 apparitions of Our Lady
will advance and that the Catholic faithful
may rediscover the tremendous value of
an authentic Marian devotion.
For this year, the Pueblo Amante de Maria
Mariological Society of the Philippines
(PAMMSPhil) will also be launched.
The Archdiocese of Lipa spearheads the
annual pilgrimage, assisted by many
Marian movements and organizations,
among them, the Friends of Mary Mediatrix
and the Confraternity of Mary, Mediatrix
of All-Grace.
CBCP Monitor
Updates
B2
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Length of a sermon
Denz Dayao/CBCP Media
By Santosh K. Digal
The canonical form of marriage
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
A friend of mine recently got married at St. Peter’s in Rome. The wedding Mass was superb—presided by a Filipino priest in a side chapel
of the Basilica, complete with organ and small choir facilitated by the Basilica itself. The only hitch came at the moment of signing the papers,
right inside the side chapel and immediately after the Mass. A Vatican official amiably asked for the signatures of the couple, then the priest
presider. But when it came to the sponsors, he approached the persons at the kneelers positioned on either side of the couple, who happened
to be the parents of the bride and the groom. The official got visibly agitated, saying that those positions should have been occupied by the
sponsors, since they should be the ones hearing the exchange of “I do”. He even said that they had opened the marriage to a possible suit of
invalidity due to lack of canonical form. He was only appeased when the sponsors affirmed that they heard everything, even from their place
in the front row of pews, since the chapel was relatively small. What was the fuss all about?
THE issue was the integrity of the so-called
canonical form of Catholic marriage—i.e., the
external formal requisites in the exchange of
marriage consent for it to have juridic validity.
The canonical form of the celebration of
marriage
Three reasons made the establishment of
a juridic substantial form—i.e., a set of external and verifiable circumstances as requirements for the substantial and juridic
validity of matrimonial consent—necessary:
1) to make the coming about of a given
marriage public within the ecclesial community—i.e., since the couple would henceforth live as husband and wife in the midst
of that community;
2) to make the expression of matrimonial consent verifiable with certainty—i.e.,
by providing for witnesses who could attest to the manifestation of such consent by
the contracting parties;
3) to safeguard the specific content of canonical marriage—i.e., by making the presence of the qualified witness depend on his
moral certainty that all other canonical requirements for marriage have been fulfilled.
Thus, the configuration of canonical marriage as a formal juridic act (aside from being
a consensual act) has been a constant principle in Church law since the Council of Trent
established it in 1563. The present Code of
Canon Law summarizes this canonical form
of Marriage in the following terms:
Can. 1108 — §1. Only those marriages
are valid which are contracted in the presence of the local ordinary, or the pastor, or
a priest or deacon delegated by either of
them, and in the presence of two witnesses,
according to the rules expressed in the following canons, with due regard for the exceptions mentioned in cc.144, 1112,§1, and
1127,§§2 and 3.
§2. The one assisting at a marriage is
understood to be only that person who,
present at the ceremony, asks for the
contractants’ manifestation of consent and
receives it in the name of the Church.
In simple terms, what the canonical form
of marriage means is that for marriage to
validly come about, the following formal
requirements must be present in the actual
marriage ceremony.
1st: The Bride and Groom — in Person or
by legitimate Proxy.
Can. 1104 — §1. In order for marriage to
be contracted validly, it is necessary that
the contracting parties be present together,
either in person or by proxy.
§2. Those to be married are to express
their matrimonial consent in words; however, if they cannot speak, they are to express it by equivalent signs.
Although this is not usually discussed
under the heading of the canonical form—
usually forming part of the issue of consent—I find it pedagogically better to deal
with it here. In fact the configuration of the
canonical form as the substantial juridic
form of Catholic marriage is a function of
the need to provide witness to the expression of mutual consent by the contracting
parties. Thus, their physical presence at the
wedding is normally presumed.
What could be a novelty for most Catholics is the provision in Canon Law for either or both of the contracting parties to be
represented by legitimate proxy. Canon
Law regulates this matter in great detail:
Can. 1105 — §1. In order for marriage to be
entered validly by proxy, it is required that:
1° there is a special mandate to contract
marriage with a certain person;
2° the proxy is appointed by the person who
gave the mandate and that the proxy fulfill this
function in person (i.e., the proxy cannot appoint another proxy).
§2. To be valid a mandate must be signed by the
person who gave it, as well as by the Pastor (i.e.,
parish priest) or the Local Ordinary where the
mandate was issued, or by a priest delegated by
either of these, or at least by two witnesses; or it must
be arranged by means of a document which is authentic according to civil law(i.e., duly notarized).
§3. If the person giving the mandate cannot write, this is to be noted in the mandate
itself and another witness is to be added who
must also sign the document; otherwise, the
mandate is invalid.
§4. If the person who gave the mandate
revokes it or becomes insane before the proxy
has contracted marriage in that person’s
name, the marriage is invalid, even though
either the proxy or the other contracting party
was unaware of these developments.
2nd: A Qualified Witness — to ask for the
Consent in the name of the Church.
The Code enumerates who can act as the
qualified witness:
Can. 1109 — …within the confines of their territory, the Local Ordinary and the Pastor (parish
priest) in virtue of their office, validly assist at the
marriages of their subjects as well as of non-subjects provided one of the contractants is of the Latin
rite. Thus, the Bishop of the Diocese (in his
whole diocese) and the Parish Priest (in his
parish) is a qualified witness for marriage.
Can. 1110 — In virtue of their office and within
the limits of their jurisdiction, an Ordinary and a
Personal Pastor validly assist only at marriages
involving at least one of their subjects. Thus,
a Bishop (not the Bishop of the Diocese)
can validly assist if one of the parties
comes from his own diocese; likewise a
Military Chaplain can validly assist if one
of the parties belongs to the Military
Ordinariate.
Can. 1111 — §1. …the Local Ordinary and
the Pastor can delegate to priests and deacons
the faculty, even a general one (i.e., not just
for a specific marriage), to assist at marriages within the limits of their territory. This
is the usual case in a big place like Metro
Manila, where people get married at the
church of their choice (not their own parishes). Every time a couple get married
outside of their parish, the Parish Priest
of the church where the marriage is celebrated either assists at the marriage or
delegates another priest to do so (usually
the priest of choice of the couple).
§2. To be valid the delegation of the faculty
to assist at marriages must be given expressly
to specified persons (e.g., if the couple brings
their own priest, he must be identified
beforehand and his credentials verified.);
if it is a question of a special delegation, it is to
be granted for a specific marriage; however, if
it is a question of a general delegation, it is to
be granted in writing.
3rd: Two Other Witnesses — also called
Common Witnesses.
The Code does not stipulate any requirement. Hence, we can presume the
common doctrinal and jurisprudential
criteria of: (1) use of reason, and (2) the
capacity to perceive the marriage they
are witnessing. In sum, the common witnesses should be able to testify regarding the celebration of marriage, especially regarding the exchange of matrimonial consent.
Thus, more than godparents (a common
term in the Philippines) we are dealing
with simple witnesses, whose only juridic obligation is to be ready to testify
that the marriage took place. They don’t
even have a moral obligation to assist
the new couple to live up to their commitments—which is what the word sponsors (another common term in the Philippines) implies.
Conclusion
As to the romantic (and Roman) wedding in question, the zealous Vatican official was right in being concerned, but
was also right in being appeased once
the official witnesses testified that they
heard and saw everything.
Novenas and devotions during Mass
(The following questions were answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara,
professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum
university; lifted with permission from Zenit)
Q: I have seen novenas prayed together by the
congregation, led by the priest directly after the
Gospel of a weekday Mass. Is this correct?—
C.H.,BatonRouge,Louisiana.
Q: I was wondering if it is appropriate to insert
the Chaplet of Divine Mercy into the liturgy?
Our parish recited this after the homily on Divine Mercy Sunday, led by our pastor. It seemed
as if a beautiful, but optional, devotion was forced
on a captive congregation. — L.S., Hutchinson,
Kansas
A: This topic referred to in these two questions is dealt with in the December 2001
document “Directory on Popular Piety and
the Liturgy,” published by the Congregation for Divine Worship.
No. 13 of this document states: “The objective difference between pious exercises
and devotional practices should always be
clear in expressions of worship. Hence, the
formulae proper to pious exercises should
not be commingled with the liturgical actions. Acts of devotion and piety are external to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, and of the other sacraments.
“On the one hand, a superimposing of
pious and devotional practices on the Liturgy so as to differentiate their language,
rhythm, course, and theological emphasis
from those of the corresponding liturgical
action, must be avoided, while any form of
competition with or opposition to the liturgical actions, where such exists, must
also be resolved. Thus, precedence must
always be given to Sunday, Solemnities,
and to the liturgical seasons and days.
“Since, on the other hand, pious practices must conserve their proper style, simplicity and language, attempts to impose
forms of ‘liturgical celebration’ on them
are always to be avoided.”
Therefore it is incorrect to mingle any
devotional exercise such as a novena or
non-liturgical litanies within the context
of the Mass; this mixing respects neither
the nature of the Eucharistic celebration nor
the essence of the pious exercise. Novenas
or non-liturgical litanies may, however, be
recited immediately before or after Mass.
Some readers ask if devotions may be
carried out during Eucharistic adoration.
The above-mentioned directory suggests
in No. 165: “Gradually, the faithful should
be encouraged not to do other devotional
exercises during exposition of the Blessed
Sacrament.” It adds, however: “Given the
close relationship between Christ and Our
Lady, the rosary can always be of assistance
in giving prayer a Christological orientation, since it contains meditation of the Incarnation and the Redemption.”
Although the rosary is the only devotion specifically mentioned, it is possible
that other devotions that can likewise be
given a Christological orientation. These
include novenas in preparation for Christmas and other feasts, which could be used
as vocal prayers and acclamations immediately before Benediction.
This would not be the case for a novena
or devotion to a particular saint.
THE length of a sermon is a perennial matter of debate among Catholics,
both the clergy and the laity. In a certain parish, some parishioners had a
series of discussions on the subject. Some said that what is more important
is the content rather than length while others stressed the need for sermons
that are short but sweet.
Meanwhile, other people consider brevity and clarity of thought as good
gauge of good homilies. To keep homilies brief, it is recommended that
priests develop one single idea or “pearl” rather than pursue several strands.
There is no sense in saying more if the congregation wants to hear less. The
call is for a single, elaborated point of substantial depth.
Depth is one area Catholics are particularly keen on. There will be no
depth in homilies without depth in the preacher, “spiritual,” “intellectual”,
and “cultural.” People want well-read, reflective, and prayerful preachers.
At the same time, people want preaching that connects with their lives.
The homily is one of the most important parts of the Eucharistic celebration. It must therefore be well prepared by being brief and having a relevant
message. An outstanding preacher could hazard fifteen minutes. An average
speaker should not go beyond ten minutes and those who are known to be
boring should never forget the advice to be brief, be bright, and be gone.
There is a lot of dissatisfaction among the laity about the kind of homilies
they want to hear. But certainly, Catholics want to hear relevant homilies.
Relevance could be strengthened by the celebrant preparing the homily
together with the liturgical team who could provide the grist of their daily
experiences to the mill of the sermon.
The homily should be preached only after the Gospel, some priests preach
several homilies at one Mass—one at the introduction, one after the Gospel
and others at various parts of the Mass. This could be extremely annoying
and frustrating to the congregation.
A priest once told me that one of his companion priests used to preach
five to six sermons during his Mass every day: one at the beginning of the
Mass, two before the two readings, one after the Gospel, one before the
Lord’s Prayer and one immediately after Communion. Another priest one
day said to the priest, “Father, we preach a sermon when we celebrate Mass,
but you celebrate Mass when you preach sermons!”
It would be advisable that every parish conduct a survey on the performance of priests at least once a year. It is good to ask for feedback on such an
important aspect of Church life, the homily being one of the main methods of
catechesis. Priests have hundreds of people in this captive audience and this
opportunity should be used to instruct, enlighten and entertain our people in
the best sense of the word. Priests have no right to bore them unnecessarily.
As far as Church directives are concerned, there are no hard and fast rules
on the length of the sermon during Holy Masses. I haven’t found one even
in the Church’s Canon law.
Despite the debate on the length of the sermon it is still true that what is
most important is not the length of the sermon but the matter of it. But one
must not forget the physical and psychological reality of our human bodies
and minds. Most specialists agree that the attention span for a normal Sunday sermon in the Church would be around seven to ten minutes. I am not
speaking about special occasions, when the congregation is prepared for
sermons of longer duration. I am not speaking about Sunday sermons
preached in distant villages where people travel for hours to reach the
church and the Sunday sermons are the only means available to them for
catechesis and where such wonderful people want the sermons to be long,
instructive and useful to strengthen their faith.
According to the results of a study on homilies in India by Prof. Albert
Mehrabian, when a priest preaches a sermon on an ordinary Sunday, 55
percent of the communication is done by a “priest’s life;” 38 percent is done
by “his gestures, voice and diction” and only seven percent is done by the
words the priest utters.
Mehrabian explains: “When John, Judith and their daughter Jamima come
for Sunday Mass and their parish priest, whom they consider as a true reflection of Christ, is celebrating Mass, even before he opens his mouth to begin
his homily, John, Judith and Jamima have got the ‘message.’ They know that
their beloved Parish Priest is himself a living example of the message he is
trying to convey to his people.”
“On the other hand, they come for Sunday Mass, and their Parish Priest,
who is known to be rude, unconcerned, selfish and far from being a reflection of the Jesus of the Gospels, is celebrating the Mass, even before he
opens his mouth to begin his homily, the three are 55 per cent convinced
that what their Parish Priest is talking is just theory that he has learnt and
not what he has actually experienced. To add to this, if such a second type of
Parish Priest is poor in his diction and cannot be distinctly heard, he has lost
a further 38 percent of his ability to communicate. The remaining seven per
cent is not going to make any difference to the Christian lives of John, Judith
and Jemima!”
Pope Benedict XVI states that a priest participates in the same action of the
Spirit that formed the Scriptural text itself when he breaks the Word to the
faithful at the Eucharist in a homily. In doing so a priest communicates
God’s message in the language of his people and interprets the issues of our
times in the light of the God’s Word.
It was an ardent practice of this precept that made St. John Marie Vianney
known internationally. It is reported that people from distant places began
traveling to hear his sermons. The number of pilgrims had reached 20,000 a
year towards the end of his priestly ministry.
Poor homilies have had a serious effect on the church-going habits of
Catholics. In one parish, there were people who complained that they did
not attend Mass in their parishes because of the poor quality of the homilies.
If parishioners now tend to “shop around” different parishes to attend Mass,
the main reason is the preaching and not so much because of other factors.
The good news is that people seem hungry for astute commentary on the
Word. It is true for the Philippines. My experience shows that a priest is
expected to preach homily during every Mass irrespective of time and occasion. This shows Filipino Catholics love to hear homilies.
Of course, one has to note that people are conditioned by a culture that
places great value on efficiency, which means the people dislike preaching
that is laborious and long. St Vianney, for example, spared the listener
wordy introductions, especially ones that are not directly relevant to the
message. Scripture itself should be the launching pad. This makes theological sense, because the homily needs to flow from the Scriptures. People
experience a jarring interruption if the homily is prefaced with an unrelated
story, an irrelevant joke, or an announcement.
Another approach that annoys Catholics is the rehashing of Scripture out
of context. This implies that the congregations have not been listening or
that they are below the average intelligence to understand the readings. An
opening in which the preacher explains how he decided what to say is also
anathema. They are not interested in such difficulties. People too are professionals who have to struggle with the disciplines of their trade.
Clearly stating the main proposition of the homily is an invaluable tip
offered by a renowned homiletic professor for crafting effective sermons.
“The opening line of a literary piece is intended to suggest the work’s theme
strongly and clearly. The same should be true of a homily. And we know
how much trouble writers take to find that perfect opening. Priests must be
wary of the oblique beginning—it frequently confuses the congregation.
Work on the middle of the homily first, and then both the beginning and the
end would come naturally.”
Endings are also a problem. Many people mention statements sounding
like endings as especially distracting, causing them to focus on how the preacher
had “landed the plane” rather than the message. Preachers should always
know the precise concluding lines of the homily and should never ‘grope’ for
the ending struggling with drawn out sentences for the finale. Endings need
not be complex; simple is often the best with a good “punch line.”
Giving a homily is a labor of love, study, prayer, discussion, thought, and
passionate conviction. It would not be far from the truth to state that these
suggestions reflect the profound precept and practice of preaching that St.
Vianney bequeathed to Catholics by his homilies.
(Fr. Santosh Digal is one of the news writers of CBCPNews. He works as chaplain
at the UST Hospital in Manila).
CBCP Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
B3
The Diocese of Bangued
THE Diocese of Bangued encompasses the civil province of Abra, which was a sub-province of Ilocos Sur
until its establishment as a separate province in 1917. With a total land area of 3,975.5 square meter
kilometers, Abra has 27 municipalities and is now part of the Cordillera Administrative Region.
Evangelization of Abra
The evangelization of Abra can be
traced back to 1598 with the work of
the Spanish missionaries, particularly
the Augustinian friars, based in Ilocos
Sur. In 1909, the Society of the Divine
Word (SVD) arrived to take responsibility of the mission work. As of June
2007, the Diocese is served by 26 diocesan clergy and 21 Divine Word Missionaries, among whom are 2 religious
Brothers. Also presently involved in
pastoral work are 8 Missionary Sisters
Servants of the Holy Spirit (S.Sp.S.)
who started work in Abra in 1912 and
4 Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of
Mary (S.I.H.M.). The Diocese also
counts on the help of the Auxiliaries of
the Apostolate. These are lay women
called by the Local Ordinary to help in
the apostolate. They are given up to
God without reserve for the communication of His Love.
Prelature Nullius
The Prelature Nullius of Bangued
was erected on June 12, 1955 by Pope
Pius XII. It was formerly part of the
Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia of
which it remains a suffragan. Pope
John Paul II elevated the Prelature to a
Diocese on November 15, 1982. Its titular patron is St. James the Elder, with
St. Joseph as the patron chosen by the
Divine Word Missionaries for their
Abra Mission. The Diocese now comprises 20 parishes and one quasi-parish, grouped into 4 vicariates forane.
As of December 31, 2006, there are
203,598 Catholics, constituting 84% of
the local population of 242,629. The
Abrenians belong to two major ethnic
groups: the Ilocanos, who comprise the
majority and the Tingguians, who belong to different ethnolinguistic tribal
communities.
The first prelate ordinary of
Bangued was Bishop Odilo Etspueler,
SVD, who was installed on October 17,
1956. He retired on November 24, 1987
and died on September 12, 1995. His
Auxiliary Bishop, the Most Rev. Cesar
Raval, SVD, was subsequently appointed second bishop of Bangued on
November 25, 1988 but resigned on
January 18, 1992 because of ill health.
Very Rev. James Risse, SVD, served as
the Diocesan Administrator from January 22, 1992 until the third bishop of
Bangued, the Most Rev. Artemio L.
Rillera, SVD, was elected on June 28,
1993 and installed as third bishop of
Bangued on August 28, 1993. However,
Pope John Paul II appointed him Bishop
of San Fernando de La Union on April
1, 2005. Very Rev. Nilo S. Peig then
served as the Diocesan Administrator
from June 15, 2006 until the Most Rev.
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishops ……………………………......... 2
Priests:
Diocesan …………………………...... 23
Religious …………………………..... 18
Filipino ……………………………...... 13
Foreign …………………………........... 5
Brothers:
Foreign ……………………………........ 2
Sisters ……………………………......... 12
Diocesan Seminary:
Minor ………………………………......... 1
Seminarians:
Theology ………………………….. ....... 7
Philosophy ………………………...... 40
On Regency ………………………....... 2
High School ……………………….... 66
Diocesan Division:
Vicariates …………………………....... 4
Parishes ……………………………... 21
With Resident Pastors …………… 21
Entrusted to Diocesan Clergy …... 13
Entrusted to Religious Clergy …….. 8
Educational Centers:
College ……………………………....... 1
High Schools:
Diocesan ………………………......16
Congregational …………………...... 3
Elementary Schools:
Diocesan ………………………........ 1
Congregational ………………......... 2
Population ………………….
236,910
Catholics …………………….
199,697
Area ………………….. 3,975.5 sq. kms.
Leopoldo C. Jaucian, SVD,
was appointed on January
5, 2007 by Pope Benedict
XVI, and installed as the
fourth bishop of Bangued
on March 31, 2007.
The Diocese of Bangued
has one Minor Seminary,
the St. Joseph Seminary, established in 1960. As of June
2007, the Diocese has 108
seminarians; 71 in high
school, 25 in college and 12
in the theologate. There are
18 Catholic Schools, 15 of
which belong to the Diocese
while 3 are owned and managed by the SVD or SSpS
congregations. The Diocese
runs two radio stations, an
AM and an FM station. It
publishes a weekly newspaper, the Abra Today and operates a demonstration
farm for organic farming
and sustainable agriculture.
Diocesan Commissions and
Ministries
The Diocese has established in its Diocesan Curia
various commissions, offices, ministries and
apostolates, to address the
different pastoral needs and
concerns of the people, such
as the Commission on Worship and
Liturgy, the Catechetical Apostolate,
the Department for Pastoral Leaders
and Lay Ministers, the Office for Basic
Ecclesial Communities, the Biblical
Apostolate, the Family and Life
Apostolate, the Office for the Missions,
Vocations and Migrants, the Social Development Center, the Justice and
Peace Department, the Indigenous
Peoples Apostolate, the Ecology Department, the Health Care Apostolate,
and the Diocesan Youth Commission.
In the course of its service, the Diocese
has established a hospital (which is
now closed), a pastoral center and a
commercial complex. It has constructed
irrigation projects, established cooperatives, initiated reforestation programs, administered water systems
and published prayer and hymn booklets. It has also supported citizens’ initiatives like the NAMFREL and the
Concerned Citizens of Abra for Good
Government and cooperated with government and non-government agencies in building micro-hydropower
plants in the hinterlands. All these in
pursuit of the Diocesan Vision formulated by the First Diocesan Pastoral
Assembly of Bangued, held on May 2327, 1994:
“In the name of the Lord, WE, the
Christians of the Church in Abra, by
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and
through the intercession of the Virgin
Mary, desire to become a COMMUNITY OF DISCIPLES OF CHRIST, who
are united with His life, formed by His
word, and strengthened through His
sacraments, and who share the Good
News to everyone, especially the poor,
so that the Word of God will permeate
the people’s lives, cultures, relationships and communities, including their
attitudes towards the environment.
In this way, the life-giving reign of
Christ, which is a Kingdom of justice,
peace unity and love will come among
men. Amen.”
Five years later, on July 28-31, 1999,
the Second Diocesan Pastoral Assembly was convoked. The statutes of these
two assemblies guide the practices and
policies of the Diocese and parishes
today.
The Gospel according to Mark has
this to say “The kingdom of God is like the
case of a man who scatters seed on the land
and then sleeps and rises night and day.
The seed sprouts and grows, but he doesn’t
know how. Of its own accord the land yields
fruits, first, the blade, then, the ear, then,
the full grain in the ear. When the grain is
ripe, he wields the sickle, for the harvest
has come” (Mk. 4:26-29).
The kingdom of God grows here on
earth in human history by virtue of
an initial seed, that is, a foundation
which comes from God, and a mysterious work of God himself, which the
T OPMOST: The Cathedral of S t. James the Elder, Bangued Abra. ABOVE: Bishop Leopoldo C.
Jaucian, SVD, DD
Church continues to cultivate through
the centuries. (cf. John Paul II, General Audience)
A year of special grace
The Diocese of Bangued celebrated a
year of special grace on June 12, 1955—
its 50 th year as a particular church since
it was separated from the Metropolitan
Church of the Archdiocese of Nueva
Segovia through the Apostolic Letter
“Cum Misericors” of Pope Pius XII.
Since its erection, the local church of
Bangued has shown how the kingdom
of God grows here on earth.
This year of special grace was truly a
precious occasion for the entire People
of God of the Diocese of Bangued to
strengthen the Christian Faith implanted by the pioneering missionaries. In the words of the Apostolic Letter
Novo Millenio Inuente: it was a time
to “remember the past with gratitude, live
the present with enthusiasm and look forward to the future with confidence”.
Looking into the future with the eyes
of faith
As God’s people of Abra, we see our
history, our present and our future with
the eyes of faith. God has been with us
in the beginning. He was with our forefathers even before the first missionaries brought their Faith. He was with the
Spanish missionaries who bravely embarked on the evangelization of our ancestors. He was with the secular clergy
who stayed put in Abra after the revolution to defend the faith from the onslaught of hostile forces and to nurture
the faith. He arranged for the coming
of the SVD Priests and Brothers and the
SSpS Sisters who developed the local
Church in Abra as it is now. He is the
Lord who blessed Abra with the many
zealous and self-sacrificing bishops,
clergy and religious as well as lay leaders over the years. He is Yahweh who
saves and accompanies us even after we
have celebrated our 50 years as a particular Church and as we continue with
a new phase of Church life in Abra.
As we embark on a new chapter of
the local Church in Abra, we proceed
with a new hope and trust that the Lord
will be with us until the end. He is our
Light and our Strength. As He accompanied our forefathers for the last 400
years since the first seed of Faith was
planted in Abra, so He will accompany
us. Through the help of the Holy Spirit,
we continue to keep the flame of Faith
alive, to follow the tradition of the first
missionaries in their zeal, sacrifice,
simplicity and generosity. We renew
our commitment to build His kingdom
and to love our people as the Lord has
loved us.
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
B4
Butuan holds catechetical convention
By Erwin Joey E. Cabilan
CATECHETICAL Directors, Coordinators and catechists representing their respective pastoral fields (Children, Youth, Adult, School, Family and Life, etc.)
from the different local Churches of Mindanao gathered for a three-day convention last August 23-25 at the San Lorenzo Ruiz Pastoral Center, Butuan City.
The convention had the theme Telling the Story of Jesus in Mindanao (Ang Pagasoy sa Sugilanon ni Jesus sa Mindanao).
A total of 153 participants took part in the said activity organized by the
Mindanao Region Catechetical Ministry (MRCM), the catechetical arm of the
Bishops of Mindanao chaired by Most Rev. Guillermo V. Afable, D.D., Bishop of
Digos.
At the concelebrated opening liturgy held at the Cathedral of St. Joseph,
Butuan’s Auxiliary Bishop, Most Rev. Zacharias Jimenez, D.D., shared some
salient points about the significance of storytelling as a way of sharing our
Christian faith to all strata of humanity in our world today.
The first day ended with a city tour to see Butuan’s significant places such as
the Sto. Niño Shrine, the Immaculate Conception Parish and its newly constructed bridge.
The second day was filled with many insightful activities. To allow participants to discover and rediscover the catechetical context of Mindanao, Miss
Genediosa Sanoy (ZAMBASULI), Sr. Teresa May Salazar, OND (KIDMACO), Sr.
Helen Bongolto, RSM (DOPIM), Erwin Joey E. Cabilan (DADITAMA) and Sr.
Maria Josie Alabado, TMM (CABUSTAM), shared about the picture of catechetical
ministry in their respective sub-regions.
After learning the present milieu where the ministry of catechesis is put into
praxis, Most Rev. Guillermo V. Afable, D.D., gave a talk reflecting the convention’s
theme. Inspired by the Asian Mission Congress held in Chiang Mai, Thailand
held last 2006, Bishop Afable shared the eight fundamental principles about
storytelling and its relevance in doing catechesis according to the Mindanao
context.
In the afternoon, the delegates listened to the stories of three invited speakers
from the dioceses of Pagadian and Butuan, and the Prelature of Ipil who spoke
about their unique ways of doing Children catechesis, Youth catechesis and
Family catechesis respectively. The participants had a workshop after the talk.
The second day concluded with a solidarity night in which all participants by
sub- region presented their talents.
Fr. Ronald Lunas, STL, catechetical director of the Diocese of Digos, gave a
talk on the third day entitled “The Catechist as Pray-er”. Bits of reflection were
shared by some participants after Fr. Lunas’ input. Sr. Vilma Esmael, OND,
Directress of the Notre Dame Center for Catechesis (Cotabato), facilitated a
workshop to get the general output of the three-day convention. The result of
the workshop would serve as the basis for the revision of the vision and mission
of the Mindanao region catechetical ministry. Bp. Afable and Fr. Johnny Autida,
Director of John XXIII Catechetical Center (Davao) and Mindanao Coordinator
for the Episcopal Commission for Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE)
took their turns in facilitating a business meeting.
In a plenary, the participants unanimously decided that the Advisory Council of MRCM shall be composed by the sub-regional catechetical directors/
coordinators and that the Mindanao Catechists Convention shall be convened
after every two years. The convention concluded with a concelebrated Eucharistic celebration with Most Rev. Juan de Dios Pueblos, D.D., bishop of Butuan, as
presider and homilist.
The next convention will take place in the Archdiocese of Davao in 2009. The
details of this convention are yet to be planned by the Mindanao Region
Catechetical Ministry.
THE Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) and Philippine
Bible Society (PBS), jointly held a symposium on BEC Bible at the Home of
the Clergy, Sorsogon last July 27.
The symposium aimed to develop a
module to promote the BEC Bible and
the BEC Youth Bible in a more systematic way.
Participants to the symposium include diocesan bible animators, lay
leaders, catechists, youth leaders, priests
and religious representing different
dioceses.
The one-day symposium opened
with the Bible enthronement using a
pilgrim dance, an element of
Bibliodrama. Connected to each other,
the participants moved with their right
hands on the left shoulder of the person
in front of them, while their left hands
on their heart level, they moved forward in counts of three and swung back
on the fourth count. The movement of
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Most Rev. Arturo Bastes, SVD, DD, (3rd from right) together with some of participants to the Symposium on
BEC Bible, jointly sponsored by ECBA and PBS, held at the Home of the Clergy, Sorsogon last July 27.
ECBA, PBS hold symposium on the BEC Bible
By Elmer Tadeo
one hundred twenty people forming one body
of pilgrims, journeying together with the
Bible, going inside the Chapel reflects
powerfully the prayer of the Bishop:
“that the whole Diocese of Sorsogon will move
forward as one community of faith - living in
love according to the Gospel message …,”
thus giving meaning to the spirit of
ecumenism and life lived in unity and
harmony among Christians.
ECBA Chairman and Sorsogon Bishop
Arturo M. Bastes, SVD, D.D. welcomed
the participants reminding them of the
Vision–Mission Statement of the Diocese of Sorsogon, “a community of FAITH,
living in LOVE, according to the GOSPEL
message, responding in SERVICE to the
signs of the times, striving in HOPE for the
coming of the Kingdom.”
The highlight of the symposium was
the presentation of the BEC Bible and
the BEC Youth Bible. Bishop Bastes observed that there are many local
churches in the Philippines that have
been renewed because of the BECs.
“There are many factors behind this
transformation, but the main spiritual
power in the transformation is none
other than the Word of God,” Bishop
Bastes said. “Without the Bible, no BEC
can be formed. Without the Bible, no
BEC can grow and be sustained,” he
added.
PBS general secretary Nora Lucero explained the long time partnership of PBS
and ECBA-CBCP. She said PBS is committed to make the Bible known and accessible to all at an affordable price. Thus the
BEC Bibles are made available in eight
major languages.
PBS executive consultant Dr. Medarlo
Rivera discussed the Open Word – 108 long
years of service of the Bible Society in the
Philippines (1899-2007). Rivera was instrumental in the close working relationship
of PBS and ECBA through the years.
“Working in the ministry of the Word
involves good relationship,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Anie Del Corro, a translation consultant of the United Bible Societies in Asia and Pacific clearly explained
the intricacies and the challenges in the
ministry of translation. This ministry involves knowledge and even mastery of
the biblical languages of Hebrew and
Greek. She also discussed that translation
revision takes place every ten to twelve
years. True to her topic, she presented the
challenge of translation in such a way that
God’s Word becomes palatable and tasty,
“malinamnam at masarap ang salita ng Diyos”.
It is especially tasty when God’s Word is incarnated and spoken in people’s heart language.
PBS Corporate Secretary Atty.
Robinson Landicho, on the other hand,
briefly discussed the business side on how
to promote the Bible trough the theme
“In my Father’s Business”. It is everybody’s
business to work for the Word of God.
Mrs. Amy Herrera, PBS Board of
Trustee, shared her testimony of faith on
how the Word of God sustained her
through life particularly during the time
of health crisis. The Word of God gave
her life and kept her alive.
Mr. Aries Aguilar of PBS and Fr. Oscar
Alunday of ECBA presented some strategies on how the BEC Bibles can be distributed at P150.00 each. PBS will give a
total discount of 22% divided as follows:
ECBA gets 2% or P3.00 per BEC Bible;
Regional Biblical Center gets 2% or P3.00
per BEC Bible; Diocesan Biblical Center
gets 2% or P3.00 per BEC Bible; the parish
gets 2% or P3.00 per BEC Bible; BEC gets
14% or P21.00 per BEC Bible.
All BEC members were asked to coordinate with their BECs in the parishes
through the Diocesan Bible Apostolate
to achieve a smooth and meaningful distribution of the BEC Bibles. The P21.00
will be accumulated into the BEC Bible
Fund to purchase more Bibles for all BEC
members to buy. The goal is to enable
every BEC member to have his/her own
ECBA / B7
WYD / B1
had been promised. This icon of the
nascent Church should be a constant source of inspiration for every Christian community. Apostolic and missionary fruitfulness is
not principally due to programmes
and pastoral methods that are cleverly drawn up and “efficient”, but
is the result of the community’s
constant prayer (cf. Evangelii
Nuntiandi, 75). Moreover, for the
mission to be effective, communities must be united, that is, they
must be “of one heart and soul” (cf.
Acts 4:32), and they must be ready
to witness to the love and joy that
the Holy Spirit instills in the hearts
of the faithful (cf. Acts 2:42). The
Servant of God John Paul II wrote
that, even prior to action, the
Church’s mission is to witness and
to live in a way that shines out to
others (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 26).
Tertullian tells us that this is what
happened in the early days of
Christianity when pagans were
converted on seeing the love that
reigned among Christians: “See
how they love one another” (cf.
Apology, 39 § 7).
To conclude this brief survey of
the Word of God in the Bible, I invite you to observe how the Holy
Spirit is the highest gift of God to
humankind, and therefore the supreme testimony of his love for us,
a love that is specifically expressed
as the “yes to life” that God wills for
each of his creatures. This “yes to
life” finds its fullness in Jesus of
Nazareth and in his victory over evil
by means of the redemption. In this
regard, let us never forget that the
Gospel of Jesus, precisely because
of the Spirit, cannot be reduced to a
mere statement of fact, for it is intended to be “good news for the
poor, release for captives, sight for
the blind ...”. With what great vitality this was seen on the day of Pentecost, as it became the grace and
the task of the Church towards the
world, her primary mission!
We are the fruits of this mission
of the Church through the working
of the Holy Spirit. We carry within
us the seal of the Father’s love in
Jesus Christ which is the Holy Spirit.
Let us never forget this, because the
Spirit of the Lord always remembers every individual, and wishes,
particularly through you young
people, to stir up the wind and fire
of a new Pentecost in the world.
5. The Holy Spirit as “Teacher of
the interior life”
My dear young friends, the Holy
Spirit continues today to act with
power in the Church, and the fruits
of the Spirit are abundant in the
measure in which we are ready to
open up to this power that makes
all things new. For this reason it is
important that each one of us know
the Spirit, establish a relationship
with Him and allow ourselves to
be guided by Him. However, at this
point a question naturally arises:
who is the Holy Spirit for me? It is a
fact that for many Christians He is
still the “great unknown”. This is
why, as we prepare for the next
World Youth Day, I wanted to invite you to come to know the Holy
Spirit more deeply at a personal
level. In our profession of faith we
proclaim: “I believe in the Holy
Spirit, the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and
the
Son”
(NiceneConstantinopolitan Creed). Yes, the
Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the love of
the Father and of the Son, is the
Source of life that makes us holy,
“because God’s love has been
poured into our hearts through the
Holy Spirit which has been given
to us” (Rom 5:5). Nevertheless, it is
not enough to know the Spirit; we
must welcome Him as the guide of
our souls, as the “Teacher of the interior life” who introduces us to the
Mystery of the Trinity, because He
alone can open us up to faith and
allow us to live it each day to the
full. The Spirit impels us forward
towards others, enkindles in us the
fire of love, makes us missionaries
of God’s charity.
I know very well that you young
people hold in your hearts great appreciation and love for Jesus, and
that you desire to meet Him and
speak with Him. Indeed, remember that it is precisely the presence
of the Spirit within us that confirms,
constitutes and builds our person
on the very Person of Jesus crucified and risen. So let us become familiar with the Holy Spirit in order
to be familiar with Jesus.
6. The Sacraments of Confirmation
and the Eucharist
You might ask, how can we allow ourselves to be renewed by the
Holy Spirit and to grow in our spiritual lives? The answer, as you know,
is this: we can do so by means of the
Sacraments, because faith is born
and is strengthened within us
through the Sacraments, particularly those of Christian initiation:
Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist, which are complementary
and inseparable (cf. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church, 1285). This truth
concerning the three Sacraments
that initiate our lives as Christians
is perhaps neglected in the faith life
of many Christians. They view
them as events that took place in
the past and have no real significance for today, like roots that lack
life-giving nourishment. It happens
that many young people distance
themselves from their life of faith
after they have received Confirmation. There are also young people
who have not even received this
sacrament. Yet it is through the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation
and then, in an ongoing way, the
Eucharist, that the Holy Spirit makes
us children of the Father, brothers
and sisters of Jesus, members of his
Church, capable of a true witness to
the Gospel, and able to savour the
joy of faith.
I therefore invite you to reflect
on what I am writing to you. Nowadays it is particularly necessary to
rediscover the sacrament of Confirmation and its important place
in our spiritual growth. Those who
have received the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation should remember that they have become
“temples of the Spirit”: God lives
within them. Always be aware of
this and strive to allow the treasure
within you to bring forth fruits of
holiness. Those who are baptized
but have not yet received the sacrament of Confirmation, prepare to
receive it knowing that in this way
you will become “complete” Christians, since Confirmation perfects
baptismal grace (cf. The Catechism of
the Catholic Church, 1302-1304).
Confirmation gives us special
strength to witness to and glorify
God with our whole lives (cf. Rom.
12:1). It makes us intimately aware
of our belonging to the Church, the
“Body of Christ”, of which we are
all living members, in solidarity
with one another (cf. 1 Cor. 12:1225). By allowing themselves to be
guided by the Spirit, each baptized
person can bring his or her own
contribution to the building up of
the Church because of the charisms
given by the Spirit, for “to each is
given the manifestation of the Spirit
for the common good” (1 Cor. 12:7).
When the Spirit acts, he brings his
fruits to the soul, namely “love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and selfcontrol” (Gal. 5:22). To those of you
who have not yet received the sacrament of Confirmation, I extend a
cordial invitation to prepare to receive it, and to seek help from your
priests. It is a special occasion of
grace that the Lord is offering you.
Do not miss this opportunity!
I would like to add a word about
the Eucharist. In order to grow in
our Christian life, we need to be
nourished by the Body and Blood
of Christ. In fact, we are baptized
and confirmed with a view to the
Eucharist (cf. The Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 1322; Sacramentum
Caritatis, 17). “Source and summit”
of the Church’s life, the Eucharist is
a “perpetual Pentecost” since every
time we celebrate Mass we receive
the Holy Spirit who unites us more
deeply with Christ and transforms
us into Him. My dear young
friends, if you take part frequently
in the eucharistic celebration, if you
dedicate some of your time to adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, the
Source of love which is the Eucharist, you will acquire that joyful determination to dedicate your lives
to following the Gospel. At the
same time it will be your experience that whenever our strength is
not enough, it is the Holy Spirit
who transforms us, filling us with
his strength and making us witnesses suffused by the missionary
fervour of the risen Christ.
7. The need and urgency of mission
Many young people view their
lives with apprehension and raise
many questions about their future.
They anxiously ask: How can we
fit into a world marked by so many
grave injustices and so much suffering? How should we react to the
selfishness and violence that sometimes seem to prevail? How can
we give full meaning to life? How
can we help to bring it about that
the fruits of the Spirit mentioned
above, “love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, generosity, faithfulness,
gentleness, and self-control” (no. 6),
can fill this scarred and fragile
world, the world of young people
most of all? On what conditions can
the life-giving Spirit of the first creation and particularly of the second creation or redemption become the new soul of humanity?
Let us not forget that the greater
the gift of God—and the gift of the
Spirit of Jesus is the greatest of all—
so much the greater is the world’s
need to receive it and therefore the
greater and the more exciting is the
Church’s mission to bear credible
witness to it. You young people,
through World Youth Day, are in a
way manifesting your desire to
participate in this mission. In this
regard, my dear young friends, I
want to remind you here of some
key truths on which to meditate.
Once again I repeat that only Christ
can fulfil the most intimate aspirations that are in the heart of each
person. Only Christ can humanize
humanity and lead it to its
“divinization”. Through the power
of his Spirit he instills divine charity within us, and this makes us capable of loving our neighbour and
ready to be of service.
The Holy Spirit enlightens us, revealing Christ crucified and risen,
and shows us how to become more
like Him so that we can be “the image and instrument of the love
which flows from Christ” (Deus
Caritas Est, 33). Those who allow
themselves to be led by the Spirit
understand that placing oneself at
the service of the Gospel is not an
optional extra, because they are
aware of the urgency of transmitting
this Good News to others. Nevertheless, we need to be reminded
again that we can be witnesses of
Christ only if we allow ourselves to
be led by the Holy Spirit who is “the
principal agent of evangelization”
(cf. Evangelii Nuntiandi, 75) and “the
principal agent of mission” (cf.
Redemptoris Missio, 21). My dear
young friends, as my venerable predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II
said on several occasions, to proclaim
the Gospel and bear witness to the
faith is more necessary than ever today (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 1). There
are those who think that to present
the precious treasure of faith to
people who do not share it means
being intolerant towards them, but
this is not the case, because to present
Christ is not to impose Him (cf.
Evangelii Nuntiandi, 80). Moreover,
two thousand years ago twelve
Apostles gave their lives to make
Christ known and loved. Throughout the centuries since then, the Gospel has continued to spread by means
of men and women inspired by that
same missionary fervor.
Today too there is a need for disciples of Christ who give
unstintingly of their time and energy
to serve the Gospel. There is a need
for young people who will allow
God’s love to burn within them and
who will respond generously to his
urgent call, just as many young
blesseds and saints did in the past
and also in more recent times. In particular, I assure you that the Spirit of
Jesus today is inviting you young
people to be bearers of the good
news of Jesus to your contemporaries. The difficulty that adults undoubtedly find in approaching the sphere
of youth in a comprehensible and
convincing way could be a sign with
which the Spirit is urging you young
people to take this task upon yourselves. You know the ideals, the language, and also the wounds, the expectations, and at the same time the
desire for goodness felt by your contemporaries. This opens up the vast
world of young people’s emotions,
work, education, expectations, and
suffering ... Each one of you must
have the courage to promise the
Holy Spirit that you will bring one
young person to Jesus Christ in the
way you consider best, knowing
how to “give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for
your hope, but [to] do it with gentleness and reverence” (cf. 1 Pet 3:15).
In order to achieve this goal, my
dear friends, you must be holy and
you must be missionaries since we
can never separate holiness from
mission (cf. Redemptoris Missio, 90).
Do not be afraid to become holy
missionaries like Saint Francis
Xavier who travelled through the
Far East proclaiming the Good
News until every ounce of his
strength was used up, or like Saint
Thérèse of the Child Jesus who was
a missionary even though she never
left the Carmelite convent. Both of
these are “Patrons of the Missions”.
Be prepared to put your life on the
line in order to enlighten the world
with the truth of Christ; to respond
with love to hatred and disregard
for life; to proclaim the hope of the
risen Christ in every corner of the
earth.
8. Invoking a “new Pentecost” upon
the world
My dear young friends, I hope to
see very many of you in Sydney in
July 2008. It will be a providential
opportunity to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s power.
Come in great numbers in order to
be a sign of hope and to give appreciative support to the Church community in Australia that is preparing to welcome you. For the young
people of the country that will host
you, it will be an exceptional opportunity to proclaim the beauty
and joy of the Gospel to a society
that is secularized in so many ways.
Australia, like all of Oceania, needs
to rediscover its Christian roots. In
the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Oceania, Pope John
Paul II wrote: “Through the power
of the Holy Spirit, the Church in
Oceania is preparing for a new evangelization of peoples who today are
hungering for Christ... A new evangelization is the first priority for the
Church in Oceania” (no. 18).
I invite you to give time to prayer
and to your spiritual formation during this last stage of the journey
leading to the XXIII World Youth
Day, so that in Sydney you will be
able to renew the promises made
at your Baptism and Confirmation.
Together we shall invoke the Holy
Spirit, confidently asking God for
the gift of a new Pentecost for the
Church and for humanity in the
third millennium.
May Mary, united in prayer with
the Apostles in the Upper Room,
accompany you throughout these
months and obtain for all young
Christians a new outpouring of the
Holy Spirit to set their hearts on
fire. Remember: the Church has
confidence in you! We Pastors, especially, pray that you may love
and lead others to love Jesus more
and more and that you may follow
Him faithfully. With these sentiments I bless you all with deep affection.
From Lorenzago, 20 July 2007
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Statements
Pilgrimage to the Shrine
of Our Lady of Mediatrix
of All Grace Lipa City
“When the disciples flee, Mary will remain beneath the Cross (cf. Jn. 19/25-27);
later, at the hour of Pentecost, it will be they who gather around her as they wait for
the Holy Spirit.”
(cf. AA1/14) Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, No. 41)
BETHLEHEM, Cana, Calvary and the Cenacle: these are the disciples’ places
of gathering around Mary, who continues to gather us even today. In solidarity with the Archdiocese of Lipa, we will have again an opportunity to
gather as a nation around and with Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace on September 12, 2007 at Lipa Shrine of the Mediatrix.
Let us again gather around our Blessed Mother to hear her message uttered at Fatima ninety years ago “In the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph.” The “alleged” shower of Roses in Lipa more than half a century ago,
has made the Shrine a popular place for the renewal of Christian life through
Mary and with Mary. In Lipa as at Cana, let us hear once more Mary’s
instruction: “Do whatever He tells you to do.” (John 2:5)
We will have again the chance to confess with one another “Yes, we
will.”
+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro and CBCP President
August 1, 2007
The Roman Catholic Prelate
of Isabela, Basilan
My dear People of God in Basilan:
As I reflected the recent events that took place in Basilan last July 10 and
August 18, 2007, the Prophet Habakkuk has capsulized my idea:
“How long, Oh Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you,
‘violence’ but You do not intervene.” (Habakkuk 1:1-2)
Many victims of violence have cried out to God: “Violence” but received
no response from Him. In the process, many nameless, faceless civilians
like women, children, elderly and non-combatants died not to exclude the
soldiers and rebels. Lives are wasted in total violation of God’s command:
“Thou shall not kill.”
Experience tells us the ugly and painful effects of armed conflict: people
are displaced, children get sick, schools are closed, food become scarce,
people’s mobility is limited, so on and so forth. The above mentioned ugly
and painful realities led me to question God further quoting Psalm 13:1,
“How long Oh Lord… will you hide your face from us?”
In silence, God speaks to me: “There is violence in Basilan because there are
some political leaders who are greedy for power and wealth. They lost their sense of
God because they worship power and wealth as their new gods. They are ready to kill
people in order to stay and perpetuate in power…”
Nobody likes WAR. I believe, the Rebels and the Philippine Soldiers
would prefer to have PEACE so that they can live with their families and
attend to the needs of their children.
As bishop of Basilan, I appeal to all of you to stop the War! Do not destroy
Basilan / B7
B5
Capiz, Kalibo, and Romblon
Clergy Metropolitan Congress
Roxas City, August 21-24, 2007
IMPELLED by the desire to keep alive
the fraternal spirit, WE, the clergy of the
ecclesiastical provinces of Capiz, Kalibo
and Romblon have gathered ourselves
in a Metropolitan Congress at Roxas City
on August 21-24, 2007. Jesus’ words, “I
have called you friends…” (John 15:15),
led us to reflect on the theme, Communio
Sacerdotalis (Priestly Communion), keeping focus on our spirituality and holiness as diocesan clergy, our priestly
lifestyle, our fraternal communion as
bishop and priests and our pastoral life
through responsible stewardship and
proper management of resources.
Through our reflections and sharing, we
have come to grips with our ideals, our
concrete experiences (both our strengths
and weaknesses) and our hopes in the
priestly ministry.
Our Spirituality and Holiness
We remind ourselves of our spirituality and holiness as diocesan clergy according to the Second Plenary Council
of the Philippines. Our spirituality
should be Christ-centered, ministerial,
collegial, lived in the spirit of chastity,
obedience and poverty, diocesan, missionary, Eucharistic, contemplative and
Marian. We should pay special attention
to owning our weaknesses, to listening
from the grassroots and to hoping in
God’s fidelity.
As we pursue this difficult journey, we
have come to realize the saving grace in
our priestly ministry despite our unworthiness. We have the assurance in God’s
Providence and Love; we become aware
of our identity as ordained ministers; we
are committed to our duties, faithful to
our prayer life, mutually affirming,
working with the poor, sincere in celebrating the sacraments and available
to help others.
While being confident in God’s saving grace, we also see areas that need to
be addressed. We are challenged to
deepen our understanding of the priesthood as the ministry of Christ Himself.
We need to develop a consistent prayer
life, sustain our love for the ministry,
care for the self and witness the Gospel
values we preach amidst the challenges
brought about by new technologies and
cultures. We hope to take up such challenges after the very example of Christ,
the model of spirituality and holiness of
the diocesan priests.
Priestly Lifestyle
We remind ourselves how similar yet
different we are in our lifestyles as
priests. But as ‘friends’ of Christ, we
ought to share a common priestly
lifestyle that is configured to Christ our
model. Like Christ, we must live a life
in communion with our Father through
prayer life; we must be compassionate
to the poor beginning at our households;
and we must love one another by showing our solidarity and support with one
another both in joy and in sorrow.
We have tried to live up to such an
ideal through the many good traditions
we live by; traditions integral to our
priestly lifestyle, such as meaningful
gatherings and show of mutual support
and solidarity.
With courage and hope, we take up
the challenge in the face of concrete obstacles brought about by differences in
perspective, circumstance, territory, culture and age. We try to live sacramental
brotherhood from constructive criticism
to fraternal correction, from being indifferent to recognizing the giftedness
of others.
Our Fraternal Communion as Bishops
and Priests
We espouse fraternal communion to
mean our inseparable love of God and
of our brethren. In particular, fraternal
communion leads us priests with the
Bishop to be open to one another to live
and work in communion for Christ’s
work of Redemption. Christ’s work is
our work, in communion with Him and
with one another, thus, building a community of salvation. This ideal of fraternal communion may be achieved by our
spirituality of communion, by our supernatural charity, by dialogue, by selfdenial and by Eucharistic communion.
We have come to realize that the
Bishop is a Father, a Brother and Friend
to his priests; thus, lovingly helping his
priests in difficult situations like loneliness and weariness in the ministry. We
see all the more that priests need to respect the authority of Christ, the Chief
Shepherd, in our Bishop and therefore
we should stand by him in sincere charity and obedience. Such fraternal communion is to be motivated by the love
we h ave for one another – a love that is
mutual and reciprocal, condescending
and forgiving, after the example of
Christ.
Fraternal communion necessitates
mutual love and forgiveness, unity,
friendship with God, fidelity to our
brother priests, shepherding the lost
and mutually shepherding one another.
It is reassuring to know from one
another’s experiences how fraternal
communion has been shown in many
ways: the understanding and support
we extend to an erring priest, mutual
sharing of resources, gestures of reaching out to one another in times of need
and difficulties and openness to dialogue despite our individual differences.
Our Pastoral Life through Responsible
Stewardship and Proper Management of
Resources
Finally, we cannot remain deaf and
blind to the realities that beset our life
as priests. We realize anew that the most
important human resource in the work
of evangelization is the priest himself
who has his own basic needs. We need
to address the pressing issue confronting the health security and welfare of
the priests.
It is our hope and prayer that concrete
solutions and programs may have been
achieved prior to our Second Metropolitan Congress of Priests in the Diocese of
Kalibo two to three years from now.
As we invoke the special intercession
of our Blessed Mother, the Immaculate
Conception, St. John the Baptist and St.
Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church,
we entrust these our ideals, our limitations and our hopes to our loving and
merciful Father, through our Lord Jesus
Christ with the guidance of the Holy
Spirit.
CBCP Monitor
Reflections
B6
The gift of forgiveness
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Ex. 32:7-14; Tm. 1:12-17; Lk. 15:1-32
Sept. 16, 2007
Bishop Renato P. Mayugba, DD
“I CAN never forgive you for what you have done!
After all the good I have given you this is what you
do to me? What you have done is too painful! I can
never forgive you!”
Have we heard these words before? Have we
uttered these words before?
One of the most difficult things to do is to forgive! When we are hurt because our rights have
been violated, our trust has been betrayed, our dignity and honor have been trampled on, we refuse
to forgive. Our righteous anger leads us to utter
harsh words. Sometimes we might even go so far
as to retaliate. When we have been deeply hurt by
the very persons we have loved, we may utter these
words.
Our readings this Sunday instruct us about forgiveness. We are all in need of forgiveness and we
are all called to forgive.
In our first reading, we find Moses interceding
for the chosen people who, after having been liberated from bondage in Egypt by the mighty power
of God, so quickly forgot their covenant. No sooner
is the Decalogue given them than they quickly
break it! Yahweh is repudiated! Through the intercession of Moses, Yahweh forbears from venting
out His rightful wrath. Yahweh shows mercy.
Yahweh forgives.
We are all no different from stiff-necked Israel.
We all too easily forget our fervent resolutions.
We keep on returning to our sins. We all too easily
break our covenant with God and with our promises to our fellowmen. How many promises have
we made and broken? How often have we broken
the hearts of those we love?
We are a people in need of forgiveness. We can
never stand before God and claim innocence. We
have transgressed and broken covenant. We have
hurt God and our fellowmen. Like the prodigal
son, we have squandered God’s bountiful blessings to us. We have abused ourselves and others.
Our list of transgressions is litany! Thus it is right
and proper that with the Psalmist we must cry out:
back than to punish us for our sins. There is no
vindictiveness but magnanimity in the Father. In
the parable, when the father recognizes his son—
who must by then have looked liked any vagabond—he rushes to meet his son with such joy and
then orders a celebration! The elder son, who is
also met by the father outside, spoke the truth when
he said that the prodigal son had lost and squan-
The gift / B7
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Loving with a prodigal love
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lk. 15:1-32
Sept. 16, 2007
Bishop Pedro D. Arigo, D.D.
I REMEMBER my priest professor in the seminary telling us in our philosophy class that man
is a bundle of relationships. He has at the core
of his being the principal relationship with God
as his Creator. He has also a relationship with
his own self which determines his self-image.
Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my
offense,
thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.
We may not dare look down on our “lost brothers” and claim to have never left our Father’s house
because our sins have not been so publicized. We
must not be like the Pharisees who were prone to
see the sins of others but failed to see their own
sins. We all have need to repent. We cannot be selfrighteous! We are all guilty of sin and are therefore in need of forgiveness.
Our loving Father is only too eager to forgive
us! In the Parable we are made to realize that we
have a loving Father who is more eager to take us
He has interpersonal relationships with other
persons. And lately due to the issues of environmental degradation and global warming,
there is much talk of man’s relationship with
Mother Nature. To be able to live in harmony
and peace, all these different levels of relationships must be properly formed and in right order. To develop, however, the right relationships, man must have a good knowledge of himself (self identity) and of the other parties he is
relating with (it takes two to tango). Isn’t it one
of the principal causes why many married
couples don’t live happily ever after? They enter into a supposedly lifetime partnership without really knowing each other and only discover
who they really are and their incompatibility
only much later and too late.
Our Gospel story, the parable of the prodigal
son, a family drama; can be said to be a problem
of relationships, the problem of the father with
his two sons and vice versa and the problem of
the two sons with one another. Let us reflect on
the identity of these three figures of the parable
and their relationship with one another. Let us
try to discover our own selves in them.
The Father is the principal character and obviously refers to God. From the manner he related with both of the sons, the lost and found
and the grumbling elder one, we can clearly see
that his compassion and love are simply amazing. His goodness is truly out of this world. Well,
He is God Who is all good and love Himself. He
easily gave in to the very unusual request of the
younger son to get his share of inheritance when
in effect this bastard was telling his father: “I
can’t wait for you to die. I want my inheritance
NOW!” And again, without any ado, he lovingly
and joyfully embraced this lost son and restored
him completely to all the rights and privileges
of being a son when this son, simply out of hunger, decided to go back home. The story mentions the father running to meet his son.
What this father did is completely unbecoming thing to do for a father especially towards a
bad son. This kind of father must surely be God
Himself. Let us consider how he dealt with his
elder grumbling son, who could not take how
his father treated his wayward brother. He patiently explained why they should celebrate the
safe return of his younger brother. And when
this son sort of rebuked his own father saying
that he was not given even a young goat to feast
on with his friends when he was a faithful and
diligent worker, this father answered with all
tenderness: “My son, all I have is also yours.”
He always considered him a son no matter how
this son related with him. The story ends with
this father lovingly inviting this grumbling son
to join the celebration and accept as brother the
younger son. This father is super prodigal with
love for all his sons no matter how they relate
with him.
Loving / B7
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt van Rijn
Atty. Jo Imbong
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Did someone steal the show?
The prodigal son’s brother
AND there is rancor in the
Lord’s vineyard?
There need not be. Not when
the workers in the field understand that each one is meant for a
special mission. That is why each
one has a special gift which the
other has not. That is why not
everyone can do what the other
is good at, and what you are good
at may not exactly be my kind of
passion. And vice versa.
It is not the worker’s fault that
he cannot deliver on something
which is not within his ken. But
he can top the line at his own
thing. That is simply the way
the world is planned to be, otherwise, how dull and prosaic
things would be. God intended
diversity.
Life is a lively diaspora, a tableau painted in exciting colors.
The colors clash at times, but the
overall impact is smashing. Each
person is a surprise, even unto
himself. Our personalities are
the minute elements of a magnum opus, a mega-plot which
our limited intellects cannot
even imagine.
Sometimes, it does a person
a lot of good to lie on his back,
look up, and survey the sky on
a cloudless night. If every member of the human race did that
all together, they would all be
equal—equal in the one feeling
that each one has an assigned
place in the universe, just as each
tiny speck of light in the sky has
its assigned place in the heavens—and Physics will tell us that
they dare not budge from their
assigned positions if there is to
be order in the Universe. That is
why every starry night is a spectacular show.
A Spanish lawyer, Enrique
Monasterio Hernandez, tells of
a legend about the famous star
of Bethlehem. In the beginning of
time, it was just a speck of cosmic
dust drifting around after the Big
Bang. It was told by God to sit and
wait for an important signal at the
proper moment. Grudgingly, it
waited, sulking out in space for
millions of years. And then, “in the
fullness of time” trumpets blared
and off it rushed to a nondescript
country. And as it traveled at the
speed of... well, light... it noticed itself to be growing bigger and
brighter until, it quietly settled atop
a cave and set a December night
ablaze. It guided three wise men. It
signaled poor shepherds. That was
its own epiphany. That was what it
was destined to do best.
Rational beings could do better.
And they should know better. Every person should know that he
does not possess anything, either
in the realm of nature or of grace
that is not a pure bequest of God.
Of himself he can do nothing, but
in God, who strengthens him, he
can do all things (Phil. 4: 13).
And every person ought to know
that humility is the unembellished
truth about himself. It is a recognition of everything that exists in himself, not just his littleness, but also
his greatness. And this knowledge
of himself acknowledges the sublimity of the God who designed him.
This acknowledgment is an expression of the gratitude and joy at the
gift of his existence and the meaning that flows from it.
Thus, in light of this reality, a
person can perceive that he has a
place to fill and a unique duty to
do. Whether this assignment is
great or small, it must be looked
upon as being of divine origin and
therefore not to be taken lightly or
left undone, under pain of appearing before the Big Boss and having
to explain why.
From this knowledge arises the
right attitude and proper way of
looking at one’s co-workers in the
vineyard. The humble worker is
grateful for the position in which
the Landlord has placed him and
rejoices in the work that is his. He
does not envy the other worker who
has more gifts and more important
tasks. One thing alone consumes him:
using his own gifts with sincerity,
responsibility and fidelity. “He who
is faithful in little things is faithful
also in much; he who is unjust in little
things is unjust also in much.” (Luke
16;10) And knowing whereof he
stands in God’s “organization”, he
can rejoice sincerely in the good done
by others who have greater endowments, so long as the name and honor
of God is magnified.
Fritz Tillman once wrote that the
humble man “lives by the spirit of
his Master, he will even rejoice when
others are preferred to him. He does
not seek honor and recognition in
the eyes of men, but only before the
Father, who sees into the heart of
man and scrutinizes man’s innermost thoughts. He is grateful that
he can serve others and rejoices in
every opportunity [to serve]. Yet, despite this, he remains ever conscious
of his own weakness and limitations,
of his own defects and faults, and
leaves the judgment of others to God.
He does not boast of his deeds and
accomplishments, of his knowledge
and ability, and speaks of himself
rarely and with great reserve. For
he has the strong persuasion that the
best a man does loses its value and
its beauty when the blight of pride
and vanity infects it.”
The Bethlehem star did not wallow in despair when it waited for
millions of years before it could be
noticed. Neither did it swell condescendingly on the other stars when
it was summoned to illuminate
Christmas night. For only one Star
must shine: God.
THIS came to mind when I
recently attended a priestly
gathering. A training officer of the Philippine National Police (PNP) gave us
a presentation of what they
were doing to form and reform their men. Always an
intriguing topic.
The affair was meant to
highlight the possibility of
a kind of partnership
among the clergy, police
and a certain group to effect a greater participation
of the people in the governance of our provinces, cities, towns, etc. So far, so
good.
While the programs presented were based on accountability to God, family,
colleagues and people in
general, the discussion
turned a bit too sentimental and lachrymose, sending many of us to feel some
discomfort.
The training officer, a
general who told us of his
dramatic, edifying past,
mentioned that their program for their scalawags
and other morally unprincipled elements is producing good results. Conversions, changes for the better were noted.
He rattled off some data.
These bad elements confessed publicly that 85% of
them left their wives and
family for at least 3 years
before going back to them.
Some admitted mulcting,
getting involved in drug
deals, even rapes, and a long
etcetera.
But everyone changed.
That’s the good news,
enough to forget what hap-
pened in the past. With the requirements of justice met,
mercy was given and reintegration attempted.
It was good that they
stressed on the power of
prayer. Conversion, more than
anything else, is a matter of
grace which is usually received in prayer. Not much
psychologizing was made,
much less physical coercion.
Mainly prayer!
Of course, prayer has to be
sustained, because conversion
is only a matter of a moment,
and what we should achieve is
sanctity, which is a matter of a
lifetime.
Then the personal testimonies of two policemen were
made. This was the teary part
as we heard how the painful
passage from darkness to light,
from evil to goodness, from the
pits to the surface, took place.
It was at that point that I remembered the story of the
prodigal son. These erring
cops are like the prodigal son
who, abusing their power and
authority, got their just desserts. But they repented.
But what about those in high
positions, much smarter and
more clever than these cops?
They remind me of the prodigal son’s brother, who appeared good and faithful to his
father, but actually was not attuned to his father’s heart.
These, more than the cops,
need to repent and change. I
wonder if some reformatory
programs can also be designed
for them. These are a much
harder nut to crack. They are
good in rationalizing, and in
being a step or two ahead of
the law.
In fact, between the prodigal
son and his brother, the
former is easier to handle,
because he is simpler and
his sins are obvious. The
latter is a more complicated
fellow, and can camouflage
his faults well.
This is the bigger challenge. The erring cops, for
all their malice and
vileness, cannot compare
with what the more intelligent, cleverer and better endowed, can commit. In fact,
we have better prospects to
reform drug addicts than
these highly-placed scalawags.
And yet we need to care
for them also. Like the father of the prodigal son who
talked to his other offspring, we need to appeal
to those in higher positions
to change their ways, or
simply to be better. They
cannot be contented with
what they may be now.
They have to improve.
We can do this mainly
through prayer and sacrifices. And to encourage all,
hero or heel, to go to confession and spiritual direction. A more personal approach is needed. Different
people need different ways
of handling.
The brother of the prodigal son can also be an image of all of us when we just
look good outside but are
not truly so inside. Hypocrisy, which marked the behavior of the prodigal son’s
brother, can also mark ours.
We need to shed this spiritual and moral pathology
off. And this can be done if
we go through a continuing
conversion all our life.
CBCP Monitor
Social Concern
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
IF YOU think merely being a
proud and responsible Filipino
cannot earn for you a smorgasbord of health assistance programs, think again. Think of the
Sagip Ka 2000 Foundation.
Apart from a Savelink medical
card and membership, a Sagip Ka
volunteer is entitled to a number
of medical benefits through the
Dugtong-Buhay Health Assistance
of the foundation. Through this
program, medical privileges offered to the volunteers include a
medical reimbursement due to
accident with a maximum assistance worth P10,000, a daily hospitalization maximum allowance
of P1,300 for a 30-day confine-
holder and member-volunteer of
the foundation. At the same time,
they will be able to avail of our
programs which can significantly
help them in times of need. All
they have to be is a proud Filipino who follows the 15 Basic
Tenets of the foundation,” said
Bro. Manuel de Leon, FMS, the
founding president of Sagip Ka
2000.
According to de Leon, head of
the Marist Brothers of the Philippines and a former president of
the Marist School of Marikina
City, the foundation expects its
volunteers to no less than uphold
and respect human dignity, observe cleanliness and sense of
B7
the Sagip Ka 2000 Foundation has
also spearheaded a number of
programs that are in sync with
its mission of “inviting men and
women of goodwill to commit
themselves to the preservation of
the integrity of creation and the
dignity of human person.”
Aside from the Dugtong-Buhay
Health Assistance, the foundation
has likewise been extending assistance to the street children of
the Marcellin Foundation in General Santos City and Kuya Center
in Quezon City since year 2000.
Following the foundation’s bid
to promote the preservation of
the environment, it has also
joined the Department of Envi-
Sagip Ka 2000 Foundation, Inc.
Saving lives,
upholding dignity
ment per year, a supplementary
medical maximum assistance for
critical illness and dreaded diseases worth P100,000 inclusive of
daily hospitalization allowance,
a burial maximum assistance
worth P25,000, a death benefit
maximum assistance due to accidental cases worth P50,000, plus
a 10 percent cumulative discount
on from the foundation-accredited hospitals.
But despite the number of benefits offered, a Sagip Ka volunteer
is only expected to contribute a
minimal membership fee of P200
annually—apart from being a
proud and responsible Filipino.
“Being familiar with the saying that ‘Ang taong nagigipit, maski
sa patalim kumakapit,’ it is our desire then to prevent our people
from experiencing such predicament by offering them something that they can easily afford.
For less than a peso daily savings, they can be a Savelink card
order, plant and grow a tree, pay
taxes and be vigilant in guarding
its use, deplore violence, exploitation and corruption, promote
honest labor, simplicity of life
and cooperation, share one’s
blessings, side with the truth and
what is fair, protect our hard
earned freedom, extend a helping hand, respect the peso and develop the habit of saving, build a
home, promote anything beautiful, preserve the sanctity of the
ballot, and, above all, make God
one’s best friend. Thus completes
the foundation’s 15 Basic Tenets.
“Membership is purely on voluntary basis. Anyone aged five
to 75 can be an affiliate member
regardless of religious beliefs,
political affiliation or gender for
as long as she believes and promotes the vision of Sagip Ka 2000
Foundation,” de Leon said.
But there’s more
In its seven years of existence,
ronment and Natural Resources,
together with other local government units and non-government
organizations, to partake in
moves to conserve the country’s
waterways and initiatives to conduct tree-planting activities.
“Sagip Ka volunteers are encouraged to plant trees in order
to save the forests and watersheds. Mangroves are planted
along the shores to serve as fish
sanctuaries,” de Leon said.
Moreover, de Leon said the
foundation actively promotes the
cliché Tapat Ko, Linis Ko environmentalist principle and Alkansya
Saving.
“We encourage our members
to save for the future. They can
either save through the cooperatives, banks, mutual funds or
simply keeping an alkansya—the
one we promote most,” said de
Leon.
But from all its commended
projects, what the foundation
boasts most is the kind of volunteers it had.
The foundation’s volunteers
proved to be genuine to their
credo. To name a few of them
who had been renowned for their
praise worthy deeds are KBP
Golden Dove Awardee Angelo
Palmones of DZMM and Gawad
Genny Lopez Foundation
Bayaning Filipino Awardee
Herminia Cariño.
While Palmones initiated
projects such as Takbo para sa
Kalikasan, Emergency Expo, Invent School, Science Summer
Camp for Teachers and Students,
and numerous job fairs in his radio program Bago Yan Ah!, Cariño
was commended for teaching the
Dumagat children atop the Sierra
Madre mountains.
“Palmones and Cariño only
showed how Sagip Ka volunteers
imbibe the foundation’s tenets
and put them into practice,” de
Leon said.
ECBA / B4
Bible.
Bishop Rene Mayugba, DD, LingayenDagupan Auxiliary Bishop and Chairperson of John Paul I Biblical Center (JPIBC)
for Northern Luzon and the Cordillera
shared the vibrant services of the Biblical Apostolate in his region. He was already involved in the Biblical Apostolate
even as seminarian. As seminary Rector,
he helped found the Word Alive Biblical
Institute (WABI), an annual stay-in three
week biblical-pastoral formation for lay
ministers of the Word. Inspired by the
zeal of the laity to serve the Church and
to respond to the hunger of the laity for
the Word of God, he himself founded
John Paul II Biblical Center in the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan. The Word
of God is living and active in Northern
Luzon and in the Cordillera through the
dedicated contribution and services of the
first regional biblical center in the country, John Paul I Biblical Center of Vigan
City.
As a tribute to all the lay leaders and
7 Questions / B1
Diocesan pastoral workers, a DVD documentation of the two past events of the
Catholic Family Bible Quiz was shown
to the participants. They saw themselves
and their families participating in a family contest of knowing what the Bible is
all about from the Book of Genesis to the
Book of Revelation.
Family members gathered around the
Word of God will hasten the building up
of Basic Ecclesial Communities. BECs living the Word of God will bring about a
transformed nation—a new Philippines.
The sevenfold objectives have been
achieved at the end of the symposium: 1)
to become more aware that the biblical
apostolate or the Ministry of the Word of
God is a central ministry of the Church
that affects all pastoral activities of the
Christian community, especially the BEC;
2) to be updated of what the Universal
church has been doing since DEI VERBUM, especially the cooperation of all
Christians to make the sacred Scriptures
easily accessible to all even to non-Chris-
tians. This is why the PBS becomes an
important partner of ECBA- CBCP; 3) to
spread the good news that the 12 th Ordinary Synod of Bishops to be celebrated in
Rome next year is precisely on the Word
of God, a logical consequence of the preceding 11th Ordinary Synod on the Holy
Eucharist; 4) to make the people of
Sorsogon aware that there are bible available at affordable price, especially edited
for the BEC and for the Youth Bible in
our schools; 5) to plan a systematic way
of distributing the bibles in all the parishes and kapilyas especially in the barrios that have already established or
about to establish the BEC; 6) the Diocesan Biblical Center should learn from
the experience of other existing Diocesan
Biblical Centers, whose task is to make
people understand the significance and
meaning of the Bible, whose copies they
already possess; 7) hoping this symposium will bear good results, ECBA and
PBS will duplicate this in several dioceses
or regions.
Loving / B6
The prodigal son. This guy is obviously the bad son and the
villain of the story. Let us try to get a close look at this son.
Apparently he was bored and unhappy at home and was problematic with his relationship with his father and elder brother.
He wanted to escape somewhere and have fun, enjoyment
and gimmick. Actually, he didn’t know himself and what exactly he wanted in his life. He felt empty and thought a new
environment, entertainments and “good times” would fill in
what was lacking in his life and make him happy. Illusory
and short lived as they are, he soon found himself more empty
and miserable than before. Broke and hungry, he came to his
senses and decided to go back home to his father even only as
a worker and no longer a son. Lucky for him, his relationship
with a loving father was given back to him completely.
The older son. This guy is seemingly the good son who
never left his father and was a good diligent worker. This son
was also truly problematic in his relationship with his father
and brother, and surely, with his owns self. Outwardly, he was
a good son, but he was simply a worker of the father, just doing
his job to get the compensation due to him. His work was only
a “loveless duty.” He never left his father but he was actually
far, distant from him. He, too, was a “lost son.” Being self righteous, he condemned and disowned his younger brother.
After looking at these three characters of this family drama
where I focus on relationships, let’s discern our own, with
God as our Father, with our own selves and with our brothers
and sisters. The great news of this parable is¯whatever kind
of sons we are, God remains a loving Father in spite of, and
despite our sinfulness. He continues to tell us, “My son, all I
have is yours.”
May we always relate with Him in filial love and image
His compassion and love to one another. Amen.
The gift / B6
dered all his inheritance and did not,
therefore deserve such lavish celebration.
The father does not argue about the worthiness of the prodigal son. For the father it was enough that the lost son had
returned. And because of the father’s unbounded love, the prodigal son is not only
fully forgiven but even restored to full
sonship again. It is as though the prodigal son had never done anything! Such is
the Father’s love for us! His infinite love
is greater than the magnitude of our sins!
FORGIVENESS IS THE GIFT OF THE
FATHER TO HIS SON!
FORGIVENESS IS A GIFT! It is given
not because it is deserved, but because
the aggrieved is gracious! The Father is
full of grace and mercy! It is from the
plenitude of His mercy that we are forgiven. Thus, whenever we turn to God
Daryl John I. Bacalando, 10 years old, grade 4 pupil of Notre Dame of Dadiangas
University – Integrated Basic Education Department shows his savings for a period of Sixteen (16) months. Daryl is a child-volunteer of SAGIP KA 2000 Foundation promoting BACK to BASIC values such as the habit of Saving through the
“ALKANSYA”.
seeking his forgiveness in holy confession we receive absolution for he is a God
“dives in misericordia” (rich in mercy)! We
receive THE GRACE OF FORGIVENESS.
Having been forgiven, we must in turn
forgive! This is what we pray for every
time we pray the Lord’s prayer—”forgive
us our sins as we forgive those who sin
against us!” As we have been forgiven,
so we in turn must forgive. In another
parable, Jesus explained to his disciples
the need to forgive even seventy times
seven times! No easy thing to do! But only
possible if we keep reminding ourselves
that God’s own mercy and forgiveness
for us knows no bounds!
Forgiving others who have wronged
us would truly be much easier if we never
forget that we have been forgiven and
are always in need of forgiveness. In our
second reading, from the letter of St. Paul
to Timothy, we hear St. Paul testify that
he, the worst sinner of all, received the
mercy of God. St. Paul never forgot he
had been a persecutor of Christ. He always remembered the mercy of God and
understood that he was made an ambassador of God’s mercy!
The gift of forgiveness we have received from God impels us to also give
forgiveness as a gift. Indeed, there is no
greater gift that we can give than the
gift of forgiveness! Friends, couples,
families and communities that know the
gift of forgiveness know the joy of the
loving Father!
Next time, then, say not, “I cannot forgive you!” Rather, say “Because I have
been forgiven much myself, I cannot but
also forgive you!”
participation, defining those that need improvement. TONGTONGAN is composed
of the Bishop, priests, religious men and
women, and the laity.
What is the participation of the laity in
terms of decision making in the local
Church?
The laity’s participation in Church’s activities is essential. This includes the local Church’s decision making. We are
aware of what the Church is in the present
age… that we are all Church for the
Church. This is felt in the Vicariate of
Bontoc- Lagawe.
How is the family and life program in
your Vicariate?
We have a separate office for the Family and Life Program. A priest heads it,
assisted by a religious Sister and a staff.
They have a program of activities to follow. The Sister and her staff move from
one mission station to the other conducting seminars. Since my assumption of office, we had one Vicariate Seminar held
at the Socio-Pastoral Center in Bontoc
with speakers from the National Commission and 163 participants from Ifugao
and Mountain Provinces.
How is the quantity and quality of vocations entering the diocesan seminary?
We do not run short of young men entering the seminary from our Vicariate.
We have the difficulty of shouldering their
financial obligations in the seminary.
Most of them depend on the Vicariate’s
help. The “Propaganda Fide” in Rome
gives us only so much. At the end, only
one or two make it to the priesthood.
However, those ordained demonstrate
zealousness to their calling so far.
What is your take on the secular media’s
treatment of Church’s issues in the news?
Some of our secular media in the Philippines appear to be unruly on their freedom. Church issues are easily sensationalized in front pages or in prime time
news. Should one brings out an information in the open that is based on hearsay
or uncorroborated suppositions? This is
the case of those in public office or members of the Church hierarchy. The higher
positioned the person against the issue is
directed, the more prominent the reporting becomes, notwithstanding the lack of
support for the claim. I am glad to note
here that the CBCP Monitor is a good
model for responsible journalism
Basilan / B5
life because life is Sacred. Respect every
individual because all of us are children
of the Almighty God! Thus,
1. I appeal to the Government and MILF
to set aside your Pride and come back to
the negotiating table. You must effect
peace agreement now and not tomorrow.
The delay of peace agreement means
more pain and suffering to the many
nameless, faceless civilians, like women,
children, elderly and non-combatants.
Allow us once again to breathe the air of
peace and freedom here in Basilan. Peace
agreement can be attained only when
both sides, Government and MILF, observe justice. Both would uphold and recognize the basic rights of every citizenry
to own property and decent homes, able
to worship God they adore freely, without fear and intimidation.
2. I appeal to the media to be responsible to the information you are forecasting and printing, our people deserved accurate and correct data. We condemn any misinterpretation, exaggeration and sensationalism of the issues here
in Basilan.
3. I appeal to the people who are manipulating the situation here in Basilan
for their advantage. You do not have the
right to gain anything at the expense of
the Basileños.
4. I appeal to all religious leaders of
every faith to unite and collaborate in
building peace and set aside biases.
And to you my dear people of God in
our faith:
a. I urge you to be vigilant and sober,
to be objective and critical on the news
you are receiving from media.
b. I urge every basic Christian community to come together in prayer for
peace in order to end violence here in
Basilan. Be united and learn to cultivate
culture of Peace and Dialogue.
c. I urge every family to come together
to pray for peace here in Basilan. Pray
the Rosary for this intention.
Lastly, all of us must regain our faith.
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine
of the Church number 516 says “…It is
faith that transforms and renews life…”
This faith leads us to repentance allowing us to start a new life. With faith, peace
is never far behind. Peace appears when
God is near. When men and women are
filled with faith, they work for peace.
“Happy are the peacemaker. They become children of God” (Mt 5:9)
Enough is enough with bloody war!
Give PEACE a chance!
Let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed
Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, Queen
of Peace that she may guide us to her
Son, Jesus Christ, the prince of Peace!
MOST REV. MARTIN S. JUMOAD, D.D.
Bishop Prelate
CBCP Monitor
Entertainment
B8
Vol. 11 No. 18
September 3 - 16, 2007
Moral Assessment





Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Title: Hairspray
Running Time: 117 mins.
Cast: Nikki Blonsky, John Travolta,
Amanda Bynes, Christopher
Walken, Queen Latifa, Michelle
Pfeiffer, James Marsden, Zac
Efron, Elijah Kelley
Director: Adam Shankman
Producers: Neil Meron, Craig Zadan
Screenwriters: Leslie Dixon, John
Waters
Music: Marc Shaiman
Editor: Michael Tronic
Genre: Comedy/ Drama/ Musical
Cinematography: Bojan Bazelli
Distributor: New Line Cinema
Location: Canada
Technical Assessment: zzz½
Moral Assessment: 
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and
above
OVERWEIGHT teenager Tracy
Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky) and her best
friend Penny (Amanda Bynes) top their
school day swooning over the songand-dance TV show of Corny Collins
(James Marsden). Tracy dreams of one
day appearing on TV with her idol
Corny, but her grotesquely fat mother
Edna (John Travolta) would rather see
her happily running the family’s laundry shop. However, her father Wilbur
(Christopher Walken) welcomes her
fantasy, telling her to follow her heart.
An opportunity comes for Tracy when
the show announces auditions. In complete school uniform, Tracy signs up
but show producer Velma Von Tussle
(Michelle Pfeiffer) scoffs at the pudgy
girl who sticks out like the proverbial
sore thumb in a line of svelte chorus
girl types. Corny likes Tracy’s bubbly
and natural ways and gives her a break,
irritating the control-freak Velma.
Serving as a surprise and somewhat
spoofy addition to the show, Tracy
becomes an instant hit.
Hairspray owes much of its entertaining quality to the songs and dances
which spin almost nonstop, matching
the light but well-woven plot. The
tunes are catchy and the dances jaunty.
SADDIE Blake (Lucy Liu) a Los
Angeles reporter is investigating a secret organization that
is luring those in search of
something exciting to do something sophisticated and different. She ventures too far and
too deep into the forbidden territory and is killed. She “wakes
up” with the help of a concerned person and finds out
that she had been raped and
slain, but is now returned “to a
life as an undead”. When she
learns that she is a victim of the
secret league she has been after, which turns out to be a sinister band of vampires, she is
dead set on hunting them now.
She is encouraged by the kind
person, to also get rid of these
vampires, to which she acquiesces. He equips her with a set
of cross bow and silver arrowdarts. As she moves around
hunting down her quarries, she
becomes aware of someone tailing her. It is Detective Clyde
Rawlins (Michael Chiklis).
It is a gloomy and eerie story
of a person going after a cultic
group of blood suckers. For the
appropriate atmosphere perhaps, most of the action takes
place in half light and old darkish places, given that vampires
dread the light. The story is not
a smooth narrative; a viewer
could catch unconnected scenes
and unconnected ideas. The acting however is lively action in
the one and a half hour feature.
Lucy Liu as Saddie is on camera throughout, as in her action
films (Charlie’s Angels). The
others fill their roles well
enough, like Michael Chiklis as
Detective Rawlins tailing
Saddie.
On screen almost throughout
are scenes of blood, gore and
mangled bodies after the vampires have finished their “feeding parties”. The devastation
and the violence committed are
splashed on screen for the viewers. Saddie Blake as an undead
is portrayed as a character who
tries to fight against what she
has become- she needs blood as
food for her new being- but
fails as she is shown biting into
a human and sucking him/her
aside from killing for revenge.
Detective Rawlins lost a daughter to the vampires. He and
Saddie agreed that she would
kill the cult leader Bishop as his
vengeance if he promised to
kill her after that. Though reluctant, the detective does it. It
is questionable if she could really die; following the stories
of vampires. About ten killings
take place in the whole film.
There are also some nudity and
flashes of similar matter. Rise:
Blood Hunter is rated for mature viewers 18 and above because of the above contents, and
the emotional stress that could
result from viewing it.
ANSWER TO THE LAST ISSUE:
IGNORANCE ITSELF IS WITHOUT A DOUBT A SIN FOR THOSE WHO DO
NOT WISH TO UNDERSTAND; FOR THOSE WHO, HOWEVER, CANNOT
UNDERSTAND, IT IS THE PUNISHMENT OF SIN. ST. AUGUSTINE
Title: RISE: Blood Hunter
Running Time: 94 min.
Cast: Lucy Liu, Michael Chiklis,
James D’Arcy, Carla
Gugino
Director: Sebastian Gutierrez
Producers: Greg Shapiro
Screenwriter: Sebastian
Gutierrez
Music: Nathan Barr
Editors: Lisa Bromwell, Robb
Sullivan
Genre: Horror/ Supernatural
Suspense Thriller
Cinematography: John Toll
Distributor: Viva Films
Location: Los Angeles, USA
Technical Assessment: zz½
Moral Assessment: 
CINEMA Rating: For mature
viewers 18 and above
QUOTES IN QUIZ Booklets
available at BOOKSALE stores in
SM, Robinsons and selected malls
in Manila. For mail order text
09192803036.
Technical Assessment
z
zz
zzz
zzzz
zzzzz
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
Set in Baltimore USA 1962, the movie
features many songs that lampoon racial discrimination. Its attractiveness
lies in its lack of pretension—it does
not come on like it’s reaching for the
Oscars, but as a natural-born musical
spiced up by a dash of comedy it certainly makes you feel it’s worth the
price of admission. The main strength
of the movie, however, is the cast—
each actor seems born for the role as
they each perform to advance the
movie’s message. The screen crackles
when newcomer Blonsky as Tracy
comes on—at home with her flab and
tantalizing with her smile. Pfeiffer
with her blonde curls, frosted blue eyeshadow and top-rate acting is every
inch a lovely witch. Travolta as the
obese mother, however, seems gimmicky. This is what happens when the
star is bigger than the role. In a fat suit
that jiggles as he moves, Travolta
comes across as Travolta in drag pretending to be Edna; this sort of distracts
from the guile-free appeal of the
movie. However, when at last it is
time for Travolta to dance, and you
half-expect him to segue into pelvisgrinding “Saturday Night Fever”,
Travolta succeeds in funnily spoofing
himself.
The likable characters played by the
relatively less known actors enhance
the real-life credibility of the story. In
its own gentle way Hairspray aspires
to rid viewers of prejudice. First it
seems to say that racism is evil, as dramatized in a pro-integration march and
as finally reflected towards the end
when the whites and the blacks celebrate racial harmony in song and
dance. Next it sets the self-conceit of
the “beautiful” against the healthy
self-confidence of the “ugly”—between
the lines you hear that “beautiful outside does not necessarily mean beautiful inside or even beautiful at all” and
that “with faith in your dreams you
can also overcome your overweight
without shedding a pound.”