CBCP Monitor - CBCP Media Office

•A3
•B1
Filipino Nuncio ordained
bishop at St. Peter's Basilica
KC sends P1.1M
‘emergency’ contribution
to typhoon victims
DEVASTATED
residents of typhoon-ravaged islands nationwide
and
bereaved
families of the victims of the ill-fated
MV Princess of the
KC / A6
•C1
Two Thousandth Year
of St. Paul
UGNAYAN
Couples for Christ Global Mission
Foundation, Inc Supplement
[email protected]
www.cbcpnews.com
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace
July 7 - 20, 2008
Vol. 12 No. 14
Php 20.00
‘Vatican will never
silence bishops critical of
Arroyo’
THE government is in a ‘dismal failure’ if it’s
reason for naming Cristina Ponce-Enrile to the
Vatican ambassadorial post is to convince the
Vatican to act against bishops critical of the Arroyo government.
The Society of Catholic Social Scientists-Philippine chapter said if that is the only perceived
reason, the government is just wasting its efVatican / A6
CBCP president upholds Humanae Vitae
POPE Paul VI’s reassertion of Catholic
doctrine on artificial contraception in his
encyclical Humanae Vitae was in defense
of the “sanctity of marriage and the regulation of birth,” the Catholic bishops’
hierarchy said.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo,
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said that the encyclical
defended the value and sacred character
of human love against a humanizing
modernistic approach to sexuality.
“Although Humanae Vitae is not an
infallible pronouncement, what Pope
Paul VI as Universal Shepherd and
Teacher said is true and what he laid
down is right,” Lagdameo said in his
homily at the Mass celebrating the 40th
anniversary of the encyclical at the Manila Cathedral Wednesday morning.
Lagdameo noted how marriage and
human sexuality today are “devalued”
and treated with “disrespect” and because population growth are linked with
the regulation of birth.
“It is time again to consider the moral
legacy of the servant of God, Pope Paul
VI in Humanae Vitae,” he said.
The CBCP head also recalled the controversy that surrounded the encyclical
as it upheld the tradition and doctrine of
the Church regarding the use of artificial birth control. Despite such contro-
versy, he explained that the letter’s instruction issued four decades ago remains relevant even today.
Lagdameo said the truth expressed in
the “prophetic” encyclical does not change
and, in fact, in the light of modern society
its teaching becomes more relevant.
Humanae Vitae was the most controversial of seven encyclicals issued by
Pope Paul VI in 1968.
The uncompromising position on
birth control in the encyclical led to protests around the Catholic world, who
had expected the Church to give its
blessing to artificial contraception.
But the Holy Father instead issued an
uncompromising condemnation of all
artificial contraception.
It also shocked many of Catholic faithful because the Church was already becoming more liberal since the historic
Vatican II Council of 1965. (Roy Lagarde)
Peasants heard at rural
congress
By Pinky Barrientos, FSP
THE rural poor made their voice heard in the recently held Second National Rural Congress (NRCII) where hundreds of delegates representing peasant farmers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples,
women and youth discussed and dialogued with
the bishops concerning various socio-economic issues affecting their daily lives.
Speaking before hundreds of
delegates of NRC-II, former
CBCP President and Cebu Archbishop Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal
said the assembly puts the Catholic Church in the Philippines “at
the crossroads of history.”
Held at San Carlos Seminary
last July 7 and 8, the Second National Rural Congress drew hundreds of participants among bishops, priests, nuns and rural folks
representing various sectors all
over the country to discuss rural
poverty issues.
Quoting the Gospel of Luke on
the Beatitudes, Vidal said: “Today, in this Rural Congress, we
encounter the same people once
again: in our discussions and deliberations, we must remember
that we are listening to people
who came to Jesus two millennia
ago—with similar conditions,
similar desires, similar hopes and
aspirations.”
Participants express optimism
Participants to the NRC-II exPeasants / A6
The Dignity of the Rural Poor--A Gospel Concern. JARO Archbishop and CBCP President Angel Lagdameo leads the press conference held at the opening of the 2nd
National Rural Congress, held at San Carlos Seminary, Makati City, July 7, 2008; with him are Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, who chairs the National
Rural Congress, and Manila Auxiliary bishop Broderick Pabillo, who heads the CBCP Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace.
Fast track review PPCRV head assumes NAMFREL chairmanship
of E-VAT, Pabillo
urges gov’t
AT a time when the urban poor could no
longer keep up with the rising prices of basic
commodities, social unrest can be easily triggered should government efforts to review
the 12-percent expanded Value-Added Tax (EVAT) prove to be too lax.
This is what Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo said following reports of
government resistance in temporarily suspending the implementation of E-VAT on oil
products, which in effect generates price increase in basic goods and services.
“We urge the government to fast track a review of the E-VAT to consider the situation of
our poor constituents. Malacañang should by
now realize how unfair it is to pass the same EVAT to both the poor and rich consumers,”
Pabillo said during The Forum, a weekly news
press conference sponsored by the CBCPNews
and the Catholic Media Network.
Pabillo, also the chairman of the CBCP
National Secretariat for Social Action
(NASSA), likewise assailed the government
for saying that suspension of E-VAT would
mean reduced funding for the government’s
pro-poor programs.
“The government should not mention the
dole-outs and subsidies it has recently distributed to justify the continued implementation of E-VAT for they are mere short-term
cushion to the problem. It should admit that
it cannot sustain these dole-outs in the future,” he said.
What the government should mention to
justify the E-VAT, Pabillo said, are the concrete ways it has addressed the basic necessities and services it is duty-bound to provide
the public. But since there are none, he said
review of the E-VAT is just too timely.
“I don’t think the government simply cannot do anything. It can do something provided they are driven to do it,” he said. (Kris
Bayos)
THE nationwide Church-backed electoral
watchdog and the Comelec’s accredited citizen arm for Operation quick count now have
something in common aside from ensuring
a clean, orderly and honest election.
Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible
Voting (PPCRV) national chairperson Ambassador Henrietta T. De Villa has been appointed the head of the National Movement
for Free Elections (Namfrel) in a meeting of
the Namfrel National Council at Philamlife
Tower, Makati City, July 3.
“I see no conflict in chairing both PPCRV and
Namfrel. Both organizations have distinct characters of their own,” said De Villa in a statement.
De Villa, herself a former Namfrel volunteer in the 80’s said it is important for both
organizations to work together to realize the
goal of a clean, honest and orderly elections.
The chairmanship of Namfrel gave De Villa
a free hand to re-organize the organization in
view of the implementation of the automated
elections as mandated by RA 9369, also known
as Amended Election Automation Act of 2008.
Sulpicio Lines in a wrong business,
says Cardinal Rosales
THE head of Manila’s Roman Catholic
Church said the Sulpicio Lines may have
ventured into wrong business following
another tragedy involving one of its passenger vessels.
“Maybe they (Sulpicio Lines) should not
be in this kind of business,” Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales told
church reporters on Monday.
Rosales said the MV Princess of the Star
owner, which capsized and was swept into
shallow water near Sibuyan, should face
and address their problem instead of making excuses.
He said the shipping company had been
involved in at least three major tragedies in
the past— reasons enough for the authorities
to take serious action.
The prelate also chided earlier claim of
Sulpicio officials that the recent tragedy was
“an act of God” brought by the raging typhoon.
“Sailing right into the eye of the storm is
not an act of God. It’s an act of a stupid person,” he said.
“There’s something wrong in that institution considering that they are in public service and yet they have been involved in the
deaths of thousands,” Rosales added. (Roy
Lagarde)
Namfrel became famous for its Operation
Quick Count in the previous elections. With
the automation of ARMM elections and De
Villa at the helm, Namfrel is about to take on
a new role--an external manual audit role-as stated in Section 29 of RA 9369.
“Where the AES is used, there shall be a
random manual audit in one precinct per congressional district randomly chosen by the
Commission in each province and city. Any
difference between the automated and
manual count will result in the determination of root cause and initiate a manual count
for those precincts affected by the computer
or procedural error,” the manual explained.
But De Villa said Namfrel can perform this
role in the upcoming ARMM elections in August
11 only if the Comelec will include a provision
on the guidelines on how to conduct the Random
Manual Audit in their General Instructions.
“I hope that the Comelec will include in
their General Instructions for the Aug. 11
ARMM elections a provision on the guidePPCRV / A6
World News
A2
U.S. Catholics top list of
contributors to Peter’s Pence
Bishops’ conferences drop to second place
VATICAN CITY, July 9, 2008—
The Council of Cardinals that
studies the Vatican’s organizational and economic matters announced this Wednesday that the
income generated worldwide by
the collection known as the
Peter’s Pence placed U.S. Catholics way at the top of the list, distantly followed by Italy.
During 2007, the Peter’s Pence
reported an income of
$79,837,843 U.S. dollars; most of
which was used for the Pope’s
charitable initiatives in favor of
the poorest countries or regions
affected by natural disasters.
The most generous Catholic
communities were the U.S. with
$18.7 million dollars, followed by
Italy at $8.6 million, Germany
with $4 million and Spain at $2.7
million.
The Holy See also received an individual contribution from an anonymous donor for $14.3 million dollars.
The most generous bishops’
conference in support of the
Holy See was that of the German Bishops, who contributed
$9.3 million. The German bishops were followed by the
USCCB at $8.3 million and then
the Italian Bishops, who gave
$5.5 million. Surprisingly, the
Bishops of South Korea, where
Catholics represent slightly
more than 10% of the population, ranked 7th with $681,542
dollars. (CNA)
Vatican
announces
deficit for 2007
VATICAN CITY, July 9, 2008—
The Council of Cardinals that
studies the Vatican’s organizational and economic problems
announced that the Holy See
has reported a deficit of 9 million euros—more than 14 million U.S. dollarsfor 2007.
The committee of Cardinals,
who recently gathered with the
Secretary of State, Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, includes Cardinal Roger Mahony from Los Angeles, Camillo Ruini, Vicar emeritus of Rome (Italy), Antonio
Maria Rouco Varela of Madrid
(Spain), Anthony Olubunmi
Okogie, of Lagos (Nigeria), Juan
Luis Cipriani Thorne, of Lima
(Peru), Edward Michael Egan, of
New York, Eusébio Oscar Scheid,
of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil),
Gaudencio B. Rosales, of Manila
(The Philippines) and Nicholas
Cheong of Seoul (Korea).
The Committee evaluated the
balance sheets of the Holy See,
the Government of the Vatican
City State and the contributions
to the Peter’s Pence all separately.
The Holy See’s balance—
which includes the expenses of
the different dicasteries and offices
of
the
Roman
Curiareported incomes for
236,737,207 euros and expenses of 245,805,167 leaving
a deficit of 9,067,960 euros. The
posting of a deficit is a dramatic
down turn from the surpluses
reported 2004, 2005 and 2006,
which netted a combined income of 15,206,587.
The main contributors to the
Vatican’s dip into the red are
Vatican Radio and the newspaper L’Osservatore Romano in
their different languages, including the daily Italian edition.
The two media providers required a combined 14.6 million
euros for their expenses in 2007.
There are 2,748 people working in the Roman Curia, 44
more than in 2006. The labor
force of the Curia consists of
778 priests, 333 religious (male
and female) and 1,637 laypersons, of which 425 are women.
The Government of the
Vatican City State did not post
a deficit in 2007, registering a
surplus of 6.7 million euros. A
significant role in the surplus
was played by the substantial
increase in the number of visitors to the Vatican Museums.
The Government of the
Vatican City has 1,795 employees, 102 more than in 2006. The
city state paid out 62.3 million
euros in salaries and benefits
in 2007. (CNA)
CBCP Monitor
ST. PETER’S BASILICA
Caritas laments G-8’s lack of fresh leadership
Says failure to meet Millennium Goals a scandal
ROME, July 9, 2008—The
Caritas representative at the
Group of Eight meeting in Japan lamented that the results
of the summit were a stalemate
and a repetition of the same
failing promises.
Joseph Donnelly, who is the
head of the Caritas delegation at
the United Nations in New York,
gave a bleak evaluation of the G8 meeting that ended today.
“The outcomes of the 2008 G8 are stalemate on climate
change and a broken record on
aid for Africa,” he said. “The
world was looking for fresh
leadership, but instead got
Groundhog Day.”
The leaders promised to uphold previous pledges made at
the 2005 G-8 summit on increased levels of aid, but did not
define the concrete steps to fulfill the promises, Caritas reported. Three years into the G8’s five-year plan on increasing overseas aid to $50 billion
a year, only a fifth of the money
has been delivered.
“Reheated commitments on
aid that we’re still waiting to see
fulfilled three years later will not
deliver food, education, clean
water, and health to the poorest
people,” Donnelly said. “The
tragedy is that we can show the
massive improvements that
have been made in developing
countries with the little amounts
of aid that have been delivered.
The G-8 countries can afford to
deliver on their aid pledges so it
will be a scandal if the Millennium Development Goals fail to
be reached because of lack of fi-
Focolare elects new
president
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy,
July 8, 2008—The Catholic lay
Focolare movement elected a
new president, the first after the
death of its founder in March.
Maria Voce, 70, was elected
Monday at the movement’s
general assembly. She succeeds
the founder, Chiara Lubich,
with whom she was a close collaborator. Voce has lived
within the Focolare community
for 44 years and she has recently been involved in updating the movement’s statutes.
The Italian brings years of experience in the charism’s work
toward unity, most notably 10
years living in Turkey, where
she worked closely with the
Orthodox patriarch of
Constantinople between 1978
and 1988, as well as with Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew
I, and with leaders of other
Christian communities and
with the Muslim world.
The statutes of Focolare
stipulate that the president of
the movement be a lay woman,
to guarantee the group’s
Marian profile and the
movement’s predominantly lay
nature.
A co-president — a Focolare
priest is also stipulated by the
statues. Father Giancarlo
Faletti was elected to the position today.
“After Chiara Lubich’s demise last March 14, the election
of Maria Voce and Giancarlo
Faletti, marks a new milestone
of the movement’s story, because it heralds in a period of
transition from Chiara and the
first Focolarini, who started the
movement and who have always been at its helm up to
now,” a statement from the
movement’s Web site explained. “The new president’s
first words were first and foremost of thanks to them, for the
trust with which this transition
has been accompanied. She
said that she ‘is sure to find
them as her first collaborators.’”
Focolare informed that the results of the election were immediately communicated to
Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko,
president of the Pontifical
Council for the Laity.
In giving the official confirmation of those elected, he
expressed the wish that Voce
and Father Faletti “may carry
out in a fruitful manner their
tasks in absolute fidelity to
the charism received from
Chiara Lubich […] in following the ideal of unity, which
is the ardent desire expressed
by Jesus, and the primary
goal of the movement.”
(Zenit)
nancing.”
Climate change
Caritas also lamented the results of the summit discussion
on climate change.
“G-8 leaders needed to end
the inertia on carbon emissions, instead they repeated in
2008 what was said 16 years
ago at the 1992 Earth Summit
in Rio,” Donnelly said. “It’s a
plan for inertia in which the
poor are paying the cost now
on behalf of the rich countries
who are responsible, but in
which the whole world will
eventually foot the bill of an
increasingly hostile climate.”
The G-8 includes Britain,
Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, Russia and the United
States. (Zenit)
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
US bishops fail to approve
liturgy translation
WASHINGTON, D.C., July 8,
2008—The translation of the
Proper of Seasons for use in the
United States is stalled, after it
failed to garner the approval of
two-thirds of the nation’s Latin
rite bishops.
The bishops voted on the
translation of that section of the
Missale Romanum in their June
general assembly. There were
not enough bishops there to
fulfill the voting requirements
for approval or rejection of the
translation. Successive voting
by mail did not bring enough
votes for the approval.
At the debate in June, some
bishops took issue with the
translation for using words
such as “gibbet,” which they
consider no longer of common
usage by English speakers.
Other bishops noted the desire
to not only stay faithful to the
original Latin, but also represent the poetic sounds proper
to liturgical prayer.
The Proper of Seasons is the
second of 12 sections of the full
text of the Roman Missal.
This text, a “Gray Book,” is
the second stage in the draft
translation of the Proper or Seasons prepared by the International Commission for English
in the Liturgy. The commission
submitted it to the bishops of
English-speaking countries for
approval. Some of the 11 conferences that belong to the liturgical commission have already approved it.
The U.S. prelates will not
send this Gray Book back to the
International Commission for
English in the Liturgy, intending instead to handle the process with the episcopal
conference’s Committee on Divine Worship.
According to the chairman of that committee,
Bishop Arthur Serratelli, the
Gray Book will be presented
again to the bishops in their
November meeting, incorporating changes approved in
June. It will also allow for
the typical conference process of allowing bishops to
submit modifications for
proposal.
In an attempt to stay on
scheduleapproving the complete Roman Missal by 2010—
the U.S. bishops will consider
in November two more sections
of the translation, as well as the
latest revision of the Proper of
Seasons.
The Vatican Congregation
for Divine Worship and the
Sacraments gives final approval of the translations.
(Zenit)
Pope Benedict appoints Salesian as prefect
of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints
VATICAN CITY, July 9, 2008—Today
Archbishop Angelo Amato was
appointed by the Holy Father as
prefect of the Congregation for the
Causes of Saints. The archbishop
will also be raised to a cardinal
during the next consistory.
He will succeed Cardinal Jose
Saraiva Martins (76) who, according to Canon Law, has reached
the age of retirement.
Born in 1938, Amato
was ordained a priest
in 1967 in the Order of
the Salesians of St.
ARCHBISHOP ANGELO AMATO
John Bosco. He was
appointed by John Paul II to become the bishop of the Italian Diocese of Sila in 2002 and has also held the position of secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since December 2002.
As prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, Archbishop Amato will oversee the process or canonization approving
miracles, martyrdom, and heroic virtueand present the
congregation’s findings to the Pope.
Along with Archbishop Amato, former St. Louis Archbishop
Raymond Burke is also expected to be raised to a cardinal during the
next consistory. (CNA)
Miraculous Medal Marks 100 Years
Vincentians proclaim Jubilee to foster devotion to Mary
ROME, July 8, 2008—The Association of the Miraculous
Medal was given pontifical
approval 100 years ago today,
and a centenary is beginning
to mark the anniversary.
Vincentian Father Gregory
Gay, superior-general of the association, announced the centenary that will run through
Nov. 20, 2009, when the group
will have its third international
meeting.
The association, established after the apparitions of
the Virgin Mary to St.
Catherine Laboure, was recognized formally on July 8,
1909. The miraculous medal
was manifested by the
Blessed Virgin to St. Catherine
in Paris in 1830.
The medal shows Our Lady
standing on a globe with her
arms outstretched and with
the rays of light streaming
from her fingers. Framing the
figure is the inscription: O
Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for us who have recourse
to thee. The back of the medal
has 12 stars encircling a large
“M” from which arises a
cross. Below are two hearts
with flames arising from them.
One heart is encircled in
thorns and the other is pierced
by a sword.
In a letter titled “100 Years
of Pilgrimage With Mary,
United With Jesus in the Poor
Through the Miraculous
Medal,” Father Gay invited
those who follow the spiritu-
ality of St. Vincent de Paul to
mark the centenary.
The letter recalls the progress
of the miraculous medal association in its 100 years of existence. It noted that the principal apostolate has been prayer
to promote a greater devotion
of the Virgin Mary.
“The association has developed this apostolate of prayer
and evangelization by way of
the home visits where, in a
family environment, persons
of faith and good will fall in
love with the Lord Jesus
through an intimate closeness
to his mother Mary,” Father
Gay explained.
“In the more recent history
of the association, a service-
apostolate has been developed
in imitation of Mary who visited her cousin Elizabeth, giving the consolation that only
the God of life can give to anyone in need,” he added.
“Without a doubt, it has been
Mary, through her intercession,
who has blessed this journey,”
Father Gay stated. “We pray that
she continue to accompany us
in the jubilee year. […] We invite
all the members of the Association of the Miraculous Medal
and other members of the
Vincentian Family to develop activities to promote a greater devotion to our mother, Mary, and
a greater love for the poor, doing
all that we do for the greater
honor and glory of God.” (Zenit)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
News Features
A3
We are happy the bishops are with us, says DAR
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay, July
1, 2008—“We are happy the bishops are with us.”
Speaking to the media at the
culmination program of the anniversary of the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform (CARL) Law
here yesterday, Engr. Raymundo
B. Bernardo, officer-in-charge of
the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) provincial office, said
“we are happy the bishops are
with us in calling for the extension of the agrarian reform program in order to complete the
distribution of land to the tillers
and to ensure the delivery of support services to the beneficiaries.”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
has repeatedly called on the government to extend the program
with reforms.
It proposed the following
reformstotal ban on land conversion; bigger fund for CARP;
greater access to loans; genderresponsive CARP; granting protection to beneficiaries; exclusive
jurisdiction on agrarian reform
cases by the DAR; strengthening
the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council; creation of an oversight committee; and imposing
penalties to violators of agrarian
reform.
“It is good that we are not
alone in the call to extend the life
of the program,” said Bernardo.
When asked to comment on the
proposed reforms, Bernardo said
“it is time to look into this matter as part of the extension.”
“But what is important is that
the program must be extended
for us to continue distributing
the land to the farmers,” he said.
Records from the DAR provincial office showed that a total of
81,000 hectares have been covered since 1988 with 27,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries.
“There are at least 17,000 hectares of land under our jurisdiction that are yet to be covered,”
he revealed. The area of jurisdiction of the provincial agrarian
reform
office
includes
Zamboanga City and Isabela
City in Basilan.
“These are the areas that are
above five hectares but below 24
hectares,” Bernardo said.
Nationwide, 1.6 million hectares of land still have to be covered by CARP. Of the 1.6 million
hectares, one million are private
agricultural lands (e.g. sugar estates in the Visayas) and nearly
600,000 are public lands.
The DAR has estimated that
CARP still needs at least P160 billion for a 10-year realization of
CARP beyond 2008.
Filipino Nuncio ordained
bishop at St. Peter’s basilica
ROME, July 4, 2008—Monsignor Bernardito Auza, newly
appointed Apostolic Nuncio to
Haiti was ordained to the Episcopacy yesterday at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. He
was ordained with Monsignor
Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of
People (Propagation of the
Faith).
The Episcopal ordination
was conferred by His Eminence Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone, Secretary of State of
His Holiness, with Ivan Cardinal Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, and JeanLouis Tauran, President of
the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue as coConsecrators.
There were seven cardinals,
thirty-eight bishops and
around one-hundred priests
who concelebrated during the
two-hour liturgy on the feast
of St. Thomas Apostle. Among
the concelebrants were the
Most Rev. Antonieto D.
Cabajog, Bishop of Surigao
and ten Filipino priests.
Her Excellency Leonida
Vera, Philippine Ambassador
to the Holy See, His Excellency
Philippe Lhuillier, Philippine
Ambassador to Italy and their
Embassy staff also came for
the celebration.
Since Monsignor Auza
comes from Bohol, many of his
friends from the “Pundok ni
Beato Pedro Calungsod”, a
community of migrants from
the Visayan Region have been
involved in the preparations.
The solemn Eucharistic cel-
Msgr. Bernardito Auza, newly appointed Apostolic nuncio to Haiti with Msgr. Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, Assistant Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization
of People, during their Episcopal ordination at the Basilica of St. Peter in Rome. Msgr. Auza, a native of Talibon, Bohol is the fourth Filipino to be appointed nuncio.
ebration began at five o’ clock
in the afternoon at the Altar of
the Chair of St. Peter which is
located at the far end of the central nave of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Bertone mentioned
in his homily the previous diplomatic assignments of Monsignor Auza: Madagascar and
the South Indian Ocean (199093), Bulgaria (1993-96), Albania (1997-98), Secretariat of
State (Vatican) at the Section for
Relations with States (“Foreign
Ministry”) of the Holy See
Military diocese to hold 1st Interfaith
Retreat, Enhancement Seminar
MANILA, July 9, 2008—In a bid to “bring peace to our wounded
country, the Military Ordinariate of the Philippines (MOP) will conduct its first Inter-faith Retreat and Enhancement Seminar to be
attended by all Chaplains on July 22 to August 02, 2008, with two
batches, at the Rivier Retreat House, Catalunan Grande, Davao
City.
This bold initiative took its root when Military Bishop Leopoldo
S. Tumulak along with senior chaplains of the AFP and PNP attended the Bishops-Ulama Conference last year in Cagayan de Oro
City and in a follow-up seminar entitled “Fundamentals of Peace
building for Inter-Faith Leaders,” held in Davao City last April.
Given the learning gained in previous seminars on the fundamentals of peace-building, the bishop proposed the conduct of this first
ever activity in the history of the Chaplain Service to be conducted
by the Mindanao Peace Institute.
The said gathering will work on the following objectives: to
facilitate and animate training and education to individuals and their
institutions on various approaches, theories and praxis in the field
of conflict transformation and peace-building; to bring together people
from diverse sectors of society who are involved in the promotion of
just and lasting peace in order to build a community life through
sharing of experiences and learning from and challenging one another and to contribute in building solidarity among Asian networks
among participating individuals and institutions.
The course will also explore the challenges and dilemmas of peace
building in contemporary protracted violent conflicts. It will focus
on the development of a strategic framework for peace-building primarily from the perspective of government and non-governmental
practitioners.
Participants will interact with current approaches and theory with
ample opportunity for developing analytic and peace-building skills
through exercises, simulations, and case studies. They will be expected to work in teams on a collaborative application on the framework of peace-building.
Around 170 participants comprising the chaplains of the AFP
(Airforce, Army, and Navy), PNP, Philippine Coast Guard (PCG),
Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Bureau of Fire
Protection (BFP), V. Luna Medical Center, MOP Civilian Priests
and Staff are expected to attend the event. (Fr. Albert Garcia
Mecaydor)
(1999-2006), Permanent Mission of the Holy See to the UN
(2006-2008).
Noting this vast diplomatic
experience, Cardinal Bertone
assured Monsignor Auza that
he will be effective in his diplomatic mission as Apostolic
Nuncio to Haiti especially in
promoting peace, reconciliation and communion in the
country.
The Mass was followed by a
festive reception at the
Pontificio Collegio Filippino for
the family members and special
guests of Monsignor Auza.
Monsignor Auza is now the
fourth Apostolic Nuncio from
the Philippines and the first
from Bohol. The other three are
Archbishop Osvaldo M.
Padilla, Apostolic Nuncio to
Korea and Mongolia, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana,
Apostolic Nuncio to Pakistan
and Archbishop Francisco M.
Padilla, Apostolic Nuncio to
Papua New Guinea and the
Solomon Islands.
The Apostolic Nuncio is not
only the representative of the
Holy See to countries where it
has diplomatic relations but he
also serves as its liaison with
the local bishops of the Roman
Catholic Church.
The Nuncio carries the rank
of an ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary with
the ecclesiastical rank of titular archbishop. Monsignor
Auza is the titular Archbishop
of Suacia. (Fr. Jose V.C.
Quilongquilong, S.J.)
“It is very important that the
program will be extended in order to finish the distribution of
lands that are not yet covered,”
he stressed.
But with Congress still dominated by landlords and even the
President’s family holding vast
sugar lands in Negros, agrarian
reform advocates admit it will
be tough to push for an extension to complete the distribution of at least a million hectares more. (Antonio M.
Manaytay)
Infanta bishop,
priests lead in
defending
environment
INFANTA, July 9, 2008—The
Bishop and some priests from the
Prelature of Infanta have been
leading the efforts to defend the
environment, mobilizing the
communities to struggle against
logging that has caused a lot of
devastation in the province.
The Task Force Sierra Madre,
headed by Fr. Pete Montellana,
is coordinating the anti-logging
campaign. It has exposed the corruption in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that has allowed
illegal logging to continue.
Several priests have been actively involved in the anti-logging campaign in their parishes,
said Fr. Boyet Valenzuela of
Dinalungan.
Valenzuela has received death
threats after leading a group composed mostly of Basic Ecclesial
Communities (BEC) leaders in
investigating logging activities.
Infanta Bishop Rolando J. Tria
Tirona has already denounced the
ongoing logging in Northern
Quezon in spite of the total log
ban declaration by former DENR
secretary Angelo Reyes.
Livelihood programs
Meanwhile, some priests have
initiated income generating
projects and livelihood programs
in the BECs to address the problem of poverty. They have introduced organic farming.
Some priests have formed their
parishes into networks of BECs.
Some still feel the need to revitalize their BECs.
Over the years, under the leadership of Bishop Tirona, the
priests have been prophetic.
They have tried to live out what
it means to be a Church of the
poor.
They have also helped establish the zones of peace in Infanta
and General Nakar. Recently, Fr.
Osee initiated the setting up of
the peace zone in his Raphael the
Archangel Parish, in Real.
(Santosh Digal)
Mindanao Bishops, Clergy reiterate
opposition to Mining
ILIGAN CITY, July 4, 2008—
The Mindanao-Bishops and
Priests Congress reiterated
their opposition to mining in
the Philippines as they reaffirmed their previous stand for
the repeal of the Mining Act of
1995.
In a phone interview with
CBCPNews, Iligan Chancery
Secretary
Sr.
Marilyn
Montalla, MSOLTC said the
Mindanao Bishops and Clergy
has come up with their statement on the issue of Mining in
the latest 35th Diocesan Clergy
of Mindanao Congress (DCM)
held in Iligan City last February.
More 400 delegates representing various archdioceses,
dioceses and prelatures of
Mindanao signed the statement.
The joint statement disclosed: “We, the Bishops and
Clergy of Mindanao collectively challenge the Philippine
Government’s aggressive promotion of large scale mining as
a flagship program to boost the
country’s economy.”
DCM delegates added in
1998, the CBCP issued a statement of concern on the Mining
Act of 1995. On January 29,
2006, the Catholic Bishop’s
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) issued another statement on Mining Issues and
Concerns. There have been
other statements and position
papers issued by regional
groupings of bishops in between those two major statements of the CBCP.
The Mindanao bishops and
priests insisted that they do
not subscribe to the DENR’s
reference to sustainable mining.
“We believe that mining can
never be sustainable. It is a
highly extractive industry and
remnants of past mining
projects and abandoned mines
which can be found in many
parts of the country can speak
for itself,” the delegates
stressed.
The Mindanao prelates and
clerics added there have been
a number of mine-related tragedies and disasters since the
passage of the Mining Act of
1995. The collapse of the tailings dam of Marcopper Mining Ltd spilling millions of
tons of toxic waste into the
island’s river and sea haunts
residents to this day.
DCM delegates further said
the series of human rights
abuses and displacement of
Indigenous peoples in
Canatuan,
Siocon,
Zamboanga del Norte, the site
of a gold mine operation of TVI
Resource Development and
the mine spills by Lafayette
Philippines, Inc. in RapuRapu, Albay and its two subsidiaries Rapu-Rapu Processing, are just few examples of
how the mining industry destroy God’s creation.
The prelates and priests
clarified that they understand the government’s desire to reduce poverty but
never at the expense of lives
and properties of ordinary
Filipinos. The delegates were
unanimous in saying there
are other sources of livelihood that are less destructive
and far more productive than
mining that the government
can resort to in its effort to
alleviate poverty.
They said the Philippines
is basically agricultural
country and have fertile
lands and seas that are
abundant in marine resources. Yet in spite of all
these, the Philippines remains poor and the people
remain deprived of food and
other basic necessities.
The Mindanao bishops and
priests called on the government to redirect its agenda to
food security and development an agri-aqua based
economy instead of the
highly extractive industry
like mining.
They also encouraged the
church, business and other
sectors to be more conscious of
their respective “social responsibility” and together direct
their activities towards the
common good and the attainment of sustainable development.
The Mindanao prelates and
clerics urged the people to support and to understand in the
struggle against large-scale
mining and the blatant exploitation of indigenous peoples.
“We manifest through this
statement that we in
Mindanao consider it our duty
and responsibility to protect
God’s creation as a sign of our
faith and love for our creator,
the Supreme being, ‘from
whom all good things come
from,’” the Mindanao bishop
and priests concluded.
(Wendell Talibong)
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
A4
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
EDITORIAL
Sovereign guarantee
TIME and again, Mang Andoy hears the enigmatic and now
even seemingly hallowed phrase “Sovereign Guarantee”.
He and the common tao are led to believe that they should
jump for joy when the government is said to have given a
“Sovereign Guarantee” here and there, to this or that bank,
corporation and the like.
But simply put, the jargon as merry as jumping for joy:
One, it is merely getting a loan, borrowing money, or simply
making “utang”. Two, it is the government that gets the
money, spends it as it sees fit, for whatever purpose it likes.
Three, it is however the people who actually pay the loan
made, the money borrowed, the “utang” incurred by whoever rules the government.
In other words, “Sovereign Guarantee” is in reality nothing more than an exploitative government doing the following: First, it is the government that officially seeks and gets
one big loan after another from this or that foreign or local
sources. Second, it is the same government that gives the
solemn promise and assurance that the Filipinos are the
ones who shall make full payments for all the loans made
plus the interests incurred. Third, it is precisely the same
government that thereafter directly gets the money and gleefully spends it according to its design and desire. Fourth is
precisely the same government that imposes and collects
heavy and continuous direct and indirect taxes from the
people, young and old, rich and poor, oligarchs and beggars alike to pay the borrowings made. Fifth is definitely the
same government that again seeks and gets more loans—
and the same cycle goes on and on.
There would be no problem with a government that gets
loans, that gives “Sovereign Guarantee”, that spends the
money if those in government, especially the leading figures, are known for their honestly and integrity, and not
infamous instead for the long litany of gross graft and flagrant corrupt practices.
The payment of taxes by the citizens to the government is
a standard and acceptable practice if the public officials
concerned, particularly the highest authority in the land,
enjoy credibility and has the trust of the people.
But there is a huge, throbbing and disconcerting socioethical problem when a government with its chief executive
is categorically and continuously rated as corrupt, very corrupt, and most corrupt. And this is exactly the case of the
Philippine Government today, under the present national
leadership that is engaged in continuous big borrowings of
money that has made even the unborn Filipinos already in
big debt—with “Sovereign Guarantee”!
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season
THE 40th anniversary of the Encyclical Letter on the Regulation of Birth, “Humanae Vitae” by Pope Paul VI, is an opportune time
for us to recall the salient doctrine of this
authoritative and controversial but prophetic
encyclical.
At its publication on July 25, 1968, this letter of Paul VI had caused much discussion
and aroused much opposition which the Pope
had foreseen (HV 18). Against the prevailing
expectation of liberalization in the sixties and
seventies, that the Catholic Church would
change her traditional teaching on conjugal
morality and allow all forms of birth control. Pope Paul VI in Humane Vitae instead
re-affirmed the Church’s traditional teaching,
regarding birth control and responsible parenthood.
Land and Agrarian Reform
IT is often said that agrarian reform is the centerpiece of the
government’s development plan. Such intent commendably
conforms to the social teachings of the Church on land and
agrarian reform.
While in industrializing countries, the ownership of
knowledge, technology and skill is becoming more important than land, for most of the developing countries land is
still central. Unfortunately, in many cases “those who cultivate it are excluded from ownership and are reduced to a
state of quasi-servitude” (CA, no. 33).
The fundamental principles governing land are the principles of the universal purpose of created goods and the
right to private property, understood especially in its social
dimension. The Church strongly criticizes the two-tiered
system of land distribution that prevails in many developing countries, with a “small number of large landowners
possessing most of the arable land, while vast numbers of
very small owners, tenants and settlers farm the remaining
land, which is often of inferior quality” (Pontifical Council
for Justice and Peace, “Toward a Better Distribution of Land”,
Rome, 1997, no. 4; the same document goes on to analyze
both the dynamics that have crated this situation and its
negative impact on development efforts, nos. 6-21).
In the Philippines, it is most unfortunate that the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) has been watered down from the beginning, e.g., as to retention limits
and exemptions, because government, dominated as it is by
landowners, lacked the political will to pass a law that would
be truly meaningful to tenants long in bondage.
The recent amendments to the Agrarian Reform Program
reflect the slowness to implement even the watered down
version because of landowners’ resistance. The interests and
welfare of the poor continue to take the last seat.
—Pastoral Exhortation on the Philippine Economy, 1998
Enunciation of Conjugal Morality
What does Humanae Vitae tell us? Does it
prohibit “family planning?” It does not prohibit family planning. But family planning
should be done in a right way and not in a
sinful way. Briefly stated, Humanae Vitae
condemns direct and deliberate prevention
of conception. And so, direct abortion must
be rejected as a means of regulating birth or
even therapeutic means. Likewise direct sterilization of male (vasectomy) and of female
(ligation) must be rejected as well as all acts
that attempt to impede procreation—i.e. such
acts before, during and after the couple’s
sexual union: this includes the taking of contraceptive pills, I.U.Ds and condoms. It is never
lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do
evil that good may come out of it (c.f. HV 11).
It is a serious error to think that a whole
married life of normal sexual relations could
justify a contraceptive act of sexual union.
The Church, however, allows the use of
medical treatment of the therapeutic means
for curing of cancerous uterus, the preservation of life is what directly intended (Principle of Double Effect).
Natural family planning methods are morally allowed when they take advantage of
the natural cycle of the reproductive system
of the wife such as the use of the Basal Body
Temperature, the Billings Ovulation Method,
Sympro-Thermal Method and the Lactational
Amenorrhea Method. Lately, some moral
theologians and Episcopal Conferences have
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A Controversial Encyclical
Mainly because of Humanae Vitae’s prohibition of all forms of artificial contraception, the encyclical has been controversial.
The Encyclical’s teachings encountered open
dissent voiced widely and publicly by several bishops, cardinals and theologians. The
Encyclical was criticized by development organizations who claim that it limits the methods available to fight world-wide population
growth and struggle against AIDS. Some
American, Canadian, Dutch and German
bishops instead claimed and stressed that
Catholics’ individual consciences should prevail in such a personal and private issue as
family planning.
Pope Paul VI has however explicitly bypassed the recommendations of the Commission established by Pope John XXIII (cf. HV 5
and 6), because its 72 members had not been
unanimous. He said “therefore, having attentively sifted the documentation laid before us, after mature reflection and assiduous prayers, we now intend, by virtue of the
mandate entrusted to us by Christ, to give
our reply to these grave questions” (HV 6).
A Prophetic Encyclical
Controversial as it was, Humanae Vitae is
today regarded as prophetic. Its predictions
(cf. HV 17) about the effects of contraception
on society are seen today as accurate. First,
according to Pope Paul VI, artificial methods
of birth control opens the way of lowering of
moral standards for the young as well as leads
to marital infidelity. Second, the use of contraception will lead to the lowering of respect for women; husbands will regard their
wives as mere instruments to serve their own
desires. Thirdly, the use of artificial methods
of contraception, Pope Paul VI warned, will
be a dangerous tool in the hands of government or public authorities who care little
about the moral law, and who may force the
use of contraceptives on everyone.
Is this not our observation today? Many of
Ultrasounds save lives
CBCP Monitor
of
started to consider the merits and efficacy of
Standard Days Method as a natural family
planning method provided it is not combined
with contraceptives and it is not seen as part
of the government’s total family program for
population control.
the proposed bills in our Philippine Congress
have been identified by our Episcopal Commission on Family and Life as D.E.A.T.H. Bills
because they ultimately lead to the promotion of Divorce, Euthanasia, Abortion, Total
Reproductive Health, Homosexuality (same
sex marriage). On closer scrutiny of the proposed bills they are anti-life, violative of the
dignity and sanctity of human life and antifamily; they disunite rather than unite
couples, and destroy the family consecrated
by God as the sanctuary of human life. Unfortunately and sadly, some of these bills
which encounter opposition in Congress,
from pro-life and pro-family Representatives,
are enacted by some local government units
inspite of moral objection of the Church. Patriarch Athenagoras I stating his full agreement with Pope Paul VI said: “He could not
have spoken in any other way.”
The controversy produced by Humane Vitae is an expression of the inherent tension
between the paternalistic/legalistic emphasis on moral law and the personalistic emphasis on freedom of conscience. And yet,
neither can be sacrificed for the sake of the
other. No less than Pope John Paul II has reaffirmed much of Humanae Vitae in his Encyclical Veritatis Splendor and his Theology
of the Body clarifying at the same time the
use of individual conscience in arriving at
moral decisions on responsible parenthood.
Our Response to the Encyclical
Although Humanae Vitae is not an infallible pronouncement, what Pope Paul VI as
Universal Shepherd and Teacher said is true
and what he laid down is right. Therefore
what response do we give to it? Vatican II
(Gaudium et Spes) has told us “Religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic teaching of the Pope, even
when he is not speaking infallibly; judgments made
by him must be sincerely adhered to according to
his manifest mind and will.”
When we observe today how marriage and
human sexuality are de-valued and treated
lightly and with disrespect, how population
growth and responsible parenthood are
linked with the regulation of birth and how
we should promote natural family planning
against artificial birth control, it is time again
In and Out / A6
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
ISSN 1908-2940
Protagonist
‘Humanae Vitae’—
controversial but prophetic
ANNA attempted abortion two times on her
baby. The first time, she took abortifacient
pills. When her tummy continued to grow,
she went to an abortion clinic for a D and C.
Still the baby in her womb developed so she
decided to go on with the pregnancy. One of
the turning points in her decision to go on
with her pregnancy was when she went for
check-up after the D and C in order to see if
the baby was still there. Lo and behold, the
technician had her look into the monitor to
take a peek at her three month old baby tumbling and moving around!
A couple of weeks ago, Anna was admitted to the Mother and Baby Unit in a hospital
that Filipino nurse Fanny Forteza was assigned to. Anna humbly admitted her abortion attempts and awed that the pregnancy
reached full term until birth. But with deep
regret and joyful gratitude, she praised God
that her attempts to abort did not succeed.
She proudly embraced and breastfed her
baby.
Fanny, who is director of the Pro-life Coun-
seling Center in Capiz, is in the USA (she has
a US Citizen visa), working as a nurse in order to raise funds to continue the counseling
center she began in Capiz. She says that she
has encountered a lot of women who have
changed their mind regarding abortion once
they saw their unborn baby kicking around
in the womb.
Ultrasounds save life! The youth should be
shown the films on the development of the
baby to educate them on the miracle of life.
AND every pregnant woman deserves to see
the first pictures of her baby, even before he/
she is born!
Pro-life Philippines Crisis Counseling Centers report around 150 calls from pregnant
girls and women every month. Some get to
know of our hotline telephone numbers
through the PLDT Directory, where we have
been given a full page in the white pages year
after year for the past 15 years by DPC, the
publishers of the phone book. Others get to
know of our services through our TV or radio interviews, and many become aware of
Love Life
help available through friends who have attended our pro-life seminars
Many of the women just need someone to
talk to and to encourage them to go on with
their pregnancy, after exploring with them
their own resources. Others need to be referred
to Maternity Homes, while a few need to be
invited to come for face to face counseling since
the situation they are in are quite complicated
– rape, incest, involved with a married man,
or totally rejected by her family.
When a woman seems to insist on abortion even after intensive counseling, we surrender her to the Lord as she walks out of our
center and start the Prayer Brigade. Very often, she calls up a few days after, informing
us that she has decided to go on with her
pregnancy! That usually calls for a celebration as we relate the good news to our other
counselors.
For those who want to volunteer to be pregnancy crisis counselors or who want to set up
their own women’s desks, call our Pro-life
office at 911-2911 or Sr. Pilar at 0920-945-5494.
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
Francisco F. Claver, SJ
Afterthoughts
LET us come together in little groups of reflection and discernment. In these groups we look
seriously at our part in the many evils of our
day—as individuals, as families, as communities—and discern what action we can do together.
On January 27 last, at the end of their first
CBCP meeting for the year, the bishops issued
that invitation to all of us in a pastoral statement they entitled with a quotation from the
Evangelist Mark (1, 15): “Reform yourselves
and believe in the Gospel!” In the earlier part
of their statement, they reviewed briefly some
of the besetting problems, current then, in our
life as a nation: corruption in high places in the
government (the ZTE scandal had just come to
the public’s consciousness), extra-judicial killings, the bad peace and order situation, abuse
of our natural resources, the growing incidence
of political family dynasties, excessive politicking, etc. Summarizing these evils, they said:
“In them all we see the all too patent subordination of the common good to the private
good.” That subordination—they asked us to
look deeply and honestly into by forming probing circles of discernment.
Except for a few gatherings here and there of
students in universities in Manila and efforts
by BEC groups and a sprinkling of lay organizations in some dioceses, the massive discerning that the bishops asked for did not happen—
a disappointing response. As was the reaction
of some Manila newspapers which preferred
to contest the bishops’ listing of the evils of our
country and failure to go along with their current obsession with the ZTE case and the “President-resign” movement. But even more disappointing, to me at least, was the parroting by
some religious of the media discontent with
the bishops’ statement. If the nitpicking was
extraordinary, more extraordinary was the ignoring of the conclusion made by the bishops
Circles of discernment
(the AsIPA)
from their enumeration of evils about “the all
too patent subordination of the common good
to private good.”
Looking back now with the wisdom of hindsight, I wonder if the idea of circles of discernment—that was after all what the bishops were
asking to be formed—was not fully understood
in the context in which they put it: personal
and especially communal conversion, our realizing of the part we play in the general malaise. In the statement, they referred back to what
happened in 1986 in the developments that led
to EDSA I reminding us of how we had come
together “to pray together, reason together,
decide together, act together.” In 1986, those
words did bring about a common response
among our people—they formed “circles of
discernment”, however impermanent, asked
in all seriousness how they should respond to
the stolen election.
Some bishops thought that with our experience in the BECs, it would be easier to replicate, but to a wider extent, the reflection and
prayer groups that formed then in 1986 after
the issuance of their statement on the snap elections. For between 1986 and now, practically a
generation, many dioceses have adopted the
AsIPA (Asian Integral Pastoral Approach) methodology of community reflection and action
in the formation of BECs. But possibly it has
not been as widespread after all as was first
thought, limited in most cases only to dioceses
and parishes that had a strong BEC and social
action program, hence the not too encouraging results. It might be a good idea then to say
something here about what the AsIPA is all
about, with a view to its further use as our
methodology for change in the months and
years ahead. For I think the bishops will keep
returning to the need for communal discernment and action in the Gospel on national prob-
Calling all families!
Fr. Melvin P. Castro
Speaking of Mary
Today in the world where life is born; there’s a struggle that is fought;
to be welcomed, to be cared, to be at home.
ONE of our seminarians was telling me just some
minutes ago how the other day he happened to
pass by a child sleeping by the roadside. He
then decided to give the child the cookies that he
just bought. The child’s reaction was simply
surprising, for the child asked the seminarian,
Ikaw ba si Hesus? (Are you Jesus?)
We’ve grown so used to seeing the poor
around us, it has become a natural thing to simply pass them by. And we’ve been so used to
having so many children around us, some have
considered them now a burden!
Today when all life seems bought and used
There’s a struggle to belong
To be free and to be a gift to everyone
Still remember the news item sometime ago
when a group of Filipinas were arrested in Europe because of prostitution? And the news release further stated that when confronted by the
police why they resorted to prostitution, their
answer was that it was in order for them to send
money back home to the Philippines. In most
certain terms, prostitution will never be morally acceptable. What breaks our heart is that
though noble our intentions may be, the end
lems that so far have eluded efforts at correction. The method is briefly described thus:
The AsIPA presupposes a community (or
group) that meets regularly for worship and
keeps asking itself a basic question: “In the Scripture readings of today [usually those of Sunday] what is the Lord telling us to do as a community of believers?” The first step is to do
some kind of social analysis of the life of the
community—what are its current problems or
opportunities, what is happening to hinder or
help them live a more Christian life? Answering that question, they move on to the next
step: a shared reflection on the message of the
day’s scripture readings applied to their life as
a community. From there they proceed to decisions on what to do with the fruits of their discernment. That done, they go on to make plans,
assessing their capabilities and resources, assigning roles for particular tasks, etc. Action
follows during the week. When they meet
again, they assess what they have done, look
into reasons for success or failure. Whether they
have succeeded or not in their efforts at change,
whatever situation they find themselves in as a
community will call for another round of discernment and action. (That’s why the process is
also called a pastoral spiral or cycle.)
The implications for self- and communityconversion of this method of communal discernment and action cannot be over-exaggerated.
We’ve seen it work, as I showed in that incident
I related last month on how the farming folk of
Bukidnon dealt with those degrading referendums during martial law. I am convinced it is
the only way we can form a strong communal
sense of the common good. Without it we will
most certainly continue to be mired as a people
in the morass of our many intractable social ills
solely because we cannot transcend selfish interests and strive as one for the common good.
can never justify the means.
And that brings us to the myth of overpopulation. That we are poor because we are too
many. Over population has already been debunked. And poverty can never be a reason for
us to justify any resort to immoral means, and
that includes, artificial means of contraception.
Forty years ago, 25 July 1968, the Holy Father,
Paul VI, already prophetically mentioned the ensuing contraceptive mentality that will lead to disintegration of families, failure of marriages, and
break down of moral standards. Forty years later,
we find our world ever worsening in its moral
outlook and our own country threatened by forces
and movements working against family and life.
We simply have to observe what is happening
now, the Consolidated Bill in the House of Representatives on Reproductive Health, Responsible
Parenthood, Population Management; the various ordinances passed by the local government
units such as in Olongapo City, Quezon City, Davao
City, just to name a few.
We call all families
Rise up and raise your hands as one
Come show the world the love that binds
All God’s children into one
Hence, we ask all our families to let your voice
be heard. We cannot accept any legislation of
immorality. Our leaders have to respect our
Faith and moral beliefs. Join us at the RALLY
FOR FAMILY AND LIFE on 25 July 2008, 3 to 6
pm, at the historic site of People Power at the
Shrine of Our Lady of Peace at EDSA.
Like the Holy Family
with Jesus, Joseph, and Mary
Home is where true love begins.
Love rejoices! Love embraces!
In this struggle to defend Family and Life, we
cannot but be rooted in Christ through prayer
and sacrifice. Our gathering at EDSA will not
simply be a show of force, it is show, a manifestation of the power of Love, God’s love for the
Family and Life. God willing as well, after this
activity, we may have stronger Family and Life
Ministries in our arch/dioceses, and the Filipino
families more aware for the need to be vigilant
in the defense of Family and Life values.
May Our Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace, Queen
of the Family, be with us and guide us in this
struggle. Ave Maria! Ad Jesum per Mariam.
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
…and that’s the truth!
“DON’T believe everything you read in the
papers!” seems an odd piece of advice coming
from a media person, but that is exactly what I
say whenever I’m asked to give media education seminars anywhere, anytime.
My audiences include students, professionals, seminarians, workers (from janitors to
managers), cloistered nuns, parishioners, etc.,
but the two segments that I try to handle with
extra care are the students and the cloistered
nuns. The students—because they are young,
idealistic and impressionable; and the nuns—
because they have very limited contact with
the outside world they are called upon to pray
for. I base my observations on the questions
they ask, the comments they make, their reactions to stimulus during our interaction.
Students would by their very youth tend to
be naïve and unconcerned and yet, upon peer
pressure, would “take a stand” on issues,
parroting arguments and wisecracks picked up
in media. “Taking a stand” and sounding
knowledgeable give students the veneer of
sophistication they sincerely think impresses
others.
By their very calling, cloistered nuns are allowed only very little exposure to media, and
yet, a number of them would sincerely take
sides on any current political issue, emboldened
by the information ingested as truth from
people who come to them to ask for prayers.
Innocent and trusting, both young people
and sheltered women of God could be in danger of being misled and used by unscrupulous
entities with hidden agenda. These entities
could take advantage of the students’ idealism,
and use the latter as pawns in their power
games by feeding them with “the truth” and
spurring them into action outside of the school’s
walls. These unscrupulous entities could also
use their friendship with the nuns to lend credibility to their cause and shield their selfish
intentions from public scrutiny—for, indeed,
who would question the petitions of these
guileless, prayerful women?
Truth today
The thing is—the students and the cloistered
nuns are not that aware of the fact that media
agencies are there primarily for business, and
that media’s zeal in exposing the truth could be
powered by vested interests. They are not in a
position to know the inside story, nor are they
trained to read between the lines. More often
than not, they are swayed by what they read in
the papers.
What is more saddening to note is that people
in general seem to have become less and less
conscientious in seeking the truth; we do not
want to bother, to investigate, to dig into the
motives beneath the truth being told—or sold—
by media. We simply lap it up. Advertisers use
appealing visuals and their brand of truth to
lure consumers into buying their stuff. Reporters chasing after scoops could file stories filled
with half-truths—sensational and saleable halftruths. Columnists and radio-TV commentators could pontificate about the truth when in
fact they are merely being truthy—because
truthiness lends them an air of authority and
omniscience.
“Truthy” and “truthiness” are relatively new
words coined by our times, and both appear in
the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) with
“truthiness” being defined as a derivative of
“truthy” which OED first came up with in 1800.
“Truthiness”, popularized by American comedian Stephen Colbert, was even honored “Word
of the Year” in 2006 by Merriam Webster Dictionary which gives it two definitions: “truth
that comes from the guts, not books” and “the
quality of preferring concepts or facts one
wishes to be true, rather than concepts of facts
known to be true.” In the same year, ¯ Canadian Parliamentarian Ken Dryden in a speech
delivered in the House of Commons captured
the meaning of “truthiness” when he defined it
as “something that is spoken as if true that one
wants others to believe is true, that said often
enough with enough voices orchestrated behind it might even sound true, but is not true.”
It is with such truthiness that we are daily
being bombarded by media—celebrities’ amorous or amorphous philosophies; politicians’
peculiar perspectives; half-baked activists’ platitudes; rebellious bloggers’ devil-may-care assertions; literary best-sellers’ pronouncements
and popular entertainers’ endorsements.
Everyone has his or her own brand of “truth”
to peddle, media agents continue to rake in the
profits, while fence sitters—apparently stunned
by overpowering “truths”—are unwittingly
dragged into the descent toward moral incoherence.
That is the sad fact about truth today. It is
being reduced by media to truthism. Worse,
they are elevating truthism to the level of truth.
Nowadays, anyone with media access can
manipulate facts and espouse the concepts he
sees or wishes to be true until he gets others to
believe it as truth. When truth today is simply a
press release from Malacañang, what a pregnant actress utters with conviction about her exlover actor, the viewpoint a Senator or a Congressman states with a clenched fist, or the venom
godless militants sputter about bishops who
would rather keep silent—and no one questions
the loud, the self-righteous and the shameless—
we all suffer. The truth as revealed in, by, and
through Jesus Christ gets buried under an avalanche of half-truths and relativism.
The power of media is almost immeasurable. The power of misused media is devastating. We only have to open our eyes to its influence on our little children and we will see how
far-reaching its harmful effects can be on society. What other institution can stand up to media
and annihilate the insidious evil therein? The
government? The military? The schools? No,
but the Church can—because the Church is in
government, in military, in education, everywhere, and it is the body of Christ. Are we
doing enough—enough—to use media to make
the immutable, absolute and discoverable
Truth overpower the truthism in our midst?
Yes? Or No? Indeed, the truth(ism) hurts. And
that’s the truth.
A5
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand
The Filipino family’s
investment in education—is
government wasting it?
A FILIPINO family’s expenses for a child’s education gives the
highest return on investment—a bright future! That is, if he
studies in a school with unblemished record. Of course the
child starts his values education at home, a duty of his parents
clearly pronounced in Familiaris Consortio of Pope John Paul II - 14.
“According to the plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider
community of the family, since the very institution of marriage and
conjugal love are ordained to the procreation and education of children,
in whom they find their crowning.”
The best institutions of formation are parish schools or private schools run by the Religious missionaries where catechism
and Catholic doctrine is taught – the appropriate venue for the
initial formation of a Catholic laity. As the student passes
through primary school and high school, he finally chooses his
vocation or profession and enrolls himself in an accredited
school or university. In all these stages of learning to become a
professional, the family invests well-earned money and even
sells family properties when financially short. In the case of
farm-based families, they may need to sacrifice and sell their
farm animals for the needed financial support of their student
graduate to take the board examination.
Each time the newspapers publish the results of a board examination, I immediately look at the percentage passing; that
is, how many passed the exams and how many failed? Most of
those who took courses in engineering, accounting, and even
nursing had passing percentages ranging between 30 to 40 percent; rarely reaching 50 percent. This means that 60 to 70 percent of the family’s investment in education goes to naught. It
is not only very disappointing to the student himself but to all
members of the family who nurture the hope that the graduate’s
future earnings upon finding a job, will support the younger
siblings, a Filipino tradition practiced even today.
A recently published cost of college education in selected
private schools in Metro Manila amounts to as low as P32,540
and as high as P124,800 per academic year or an average of
P78,670 that a parent spends for his/her student per academic
year. This means that for a 4-year course it is an investment of
P302,680 and for a 5–year course, P393,350.00. This does not
include the cost of food, lodging and transportation per student which amounts to even more for those who come from
the provinces to study in Manila. But the biggest loss in failing
the board exams is the family’s hopes for a better life since the
graduate who failed will have difficulty getting employment.
Who are to blame? Probably the student chose the wrong
course! If it is due to the educational system, what actions can
be taken? Let us take the case of the Nursing Board Examinations as a typical case for our examination of causes attributable to the educational system. The Nursing course has the
highest enrollment among college courses today hence the
parents of these students who fail in the board exams will lose
more in their investment for education. They had long dreamt
to have their graduate student find employment abroad after
passing the board. After all, nursing services is very much in
demand in many parts of the world where Filipino nurses or
caregivers are preferred among other nationals.
The first issue in the regulatory system is the accreditation of
Nursing Schools. This is under the responsibility of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). It was during the tenure
of the present and newly installed U.S.T. Rector, Fr. Rolando V.
dela Rosa when many nursing schools could not pass the accreditation criteria set by him as the new CHED Chairman.
Businessmen who invested in establishing new Nursing Schools
had a stronger influence with Congress and the Palace for approving their accreditation, hence the new Nursing Schools
proliferated. Rather than be part of the corruption, Fr. De la
Rosa resigned.
The second issue in the system is the performance review of
schools/universities where the number of examinees who failed
the board examination are statistically evaluated. A number of
these schools have no graduate who passed the board examination for a number of years (5 to 10 years). I discovered this
personally during my term as a member of the Board of Examiners for Chemical Engineers (1985–1987). One school which
offered the Chemical Engineering course never had a passing
examinee for more than 5 years and the enrollment yearly was
not more than 12. My attempt to act on this was thwarted from
the start. While the Board could recommend the closure of a
collegiate degree for the reasons stated above, this needed the
approval of the Professional Regulation Commission Chairman. His endorsement may also be vetoed by Congress or the
Administration. In simple terms, governance is ruled by political patronage.
The proliferation of review centers somehow shielded the
loss of reputation of the academic schools. Their students take
review classes in another outfit usually run by the school’s
professors. The passing examinees are advertised using the
name of the review center. Some of these review centers eventually became fly-by-night businesses that mushroomed in cities all over the country. Advocacy groups like the National
Union of Students of the Philippines rallied to let CHED act on
the newly imposed Executive Order No. 566 directing review
centers to integrate with existing nursing schools. But CHED
extended the deadline for another 6 months for these nursing
review centers to obtain the accreditation. Meantime, they
earn enormous amounts of money while 60 to 70 percent of the
candidates fail the exams. Note that the Baguio City reviewers
had 1,067 enrollees and they collected P 1.2 million in registration fees.
It is not fair to families if they are not informed about the
failing schools where their students plan to enroll in. If given
the right information, they can send their students to schools
that are properly accredited and have shown a good performance record in board examinations. A concerned Filipino
American who worked in the prestigious U.S. companies like
NASA and Boeing, that is, scientist and educator Ray Vincent,
asked the Professional Regulation Commission for this information – the comparative data on schools’ performance on licensure
examinations and urged the PRC to review its Resolution No. 2003143 which he said puts a cap on research and study activities in connection with comparing the schools’ respective performance in exams.
In short, if you go to ask the PRC what schools have good
performance record in passing the board for a specific college
course, they will tell you—Bawal yan. Only those authorized
can get the information!
Our educational system is already burdened with too many
enrollees but not enough schools. We lack teachers and our
best teachers go abroad to teach American kids. Funds for building schools are available now but only 1,308 out of the planned
1,926 schools were built on time. Could it be due to ineffiLaiko / A6
CBCP Monitor
Local News
A6
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
© www.camilledelarosa.net
Vatican OKs 2 pilgrim sites
in RP for
Catholic Church urges
gov’t to assess E-VAT, Oil
year of St.
Deregulation Law
Paul
MANILA, June 30, 2008—The Vatican said a special indulgence is
available to Catholics who visit two pilgrimage sites in the Archdiocese of Manila this year to mark the Year of Saint Paul.
Catholics can receive a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, by taking a pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of St. Paul the Apostle
inside St. Paul Seminary and the Parish of Sts. Peter and Paul, both in
Makati City between June 30 of this year and the same date in 2009.
The pilgrimage sites were announced in a decree made public during a Mass at the Manila Cathedral today to officially open the
country’s celebration of the Year of St. Paul.
The decree was also signed by Francis Cardinal Stafford, head of
the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Vatican court dealing with indulgences
and matters of conscience.
An indulgence is a remission of the temporal punishment due for
sins committed.
The usual conditions for a plenary indulgence are sacramental Confession and reception of Holy Communion, prayer for the intentions of
the Roman Pontiff, and freedom from attachment to sin. (Roy Lagarde)
MANILA, July 7, 2008--The Catholic Church hierarchy urged the
government to assess Expanded Value Added Tax (E-VAT) law
and Oil Deregulation Law in the backdrop of soaring prices of
basic commodities and oil.
Catholic Church supports for the reviewing of E-VAT and Oil
Deregulation Law “out of sympathy for the poor,” said Jaro
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), addressing a press briefing at San Carlos Seminary today.
“We agree that there should be an economic review of policies and laws that affect the prices of goods. Because in any increases in the prices of commodities, the ones who suffer most
are the poor,” the prelate said.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said government’s
development plans and tax policies are to be examined if they
really benefit the poor.
CBCP also urged the government to come out with creative
strategy to increase tax methods other than E-VAT that has been
felt as a pinch since the increase of oil products and necessary
commodities.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Palace said that it would refer
CBCP’s suggestion to economists. (Santosh Digal)
San Carlos Seminary shelters
1,000 fired-gutted families
MAKATI CITY, July 7, 2008—San
Carlos Major Seminary has been providing shelter to at least 1,000 families who lost their homes in a fire
that hit a squatter’s compound in
Gudadalupe Viejo in Makati City
early morning of Sunday.
After the fire gutted residents’ families, at about 3am people flocked with
their belongings to San Carlos Seminary, said Msgr. Hernando Coronel,
rector of San Carlos Seminary.
“They are our sign of urban poor,
who need attention,” he added.
The priest said that the National
Secretariat for Social Action – Justice
and Peace of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines has
extended its immediate relief to the
concerned families.
Coronel said that the seminary
gymnasium is packed to the capacity and
others have occupied the kiosks in front
the seminary. Some families cook their
own food, while others survive with the
relief goods provided by various NGOs
and government agencies including
Makati Social Welfare Development
(MSWD) and Philippine Red Cross foundation-Makati Rizal Chapter.
MSWD is also providing medical and
dental outreach programs.
About 17 people were injured due to
the fire. The local police had taken in for
questioning at least one person suspected
of allowing one of the houses to be used
as a drug den.
Police are also looking into the information that the fire inside the Laperal
Compound stemmed from a fight
where a gas lantern was hurled.
(Santosh Digal)
Peasants / A1
pressed optimism that something good will come out of the
two-day rural congress.
Bacolod Bishop Vicente
Navarra said he is very positive
about the whole congress because
“everybody was very interested
and cooperative [and] all the suggestions that I have listened to
were very constructive and helpful to the lives of our farmers and
rural folks.”
San Jose City-based Romeo
Guhil said the problems and concerns in the regional consultations held in Baguio City prior
to the national congress were seriously discussed.
“I hope immediately after the
Second National Rural Congress,
we can have a planning session
at the diocesan level so we can
implement our programs to the
fullest,” said Guhil, who is a
farmer devoted to sustainable
agriculture.
He said their group was successful in bringing to the national
assembly their findings based on
earlier consultations and discussions held months ago. The workshops provided enough space for
deliberations.
“We felt our bishops were sincere enough in listening to what
we had to say,” Guhil said.
Sorsogon Social Action Director Fr. Rene Mabute likewise expressed his confidence on a fruitful outcome of the Congress.
But NRC II chairman and
Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma said it is now up
to the regional representatives
who are privy to problems and
grievances of their constituents
to spearhead reforms in their respective communities.
“After the NRC II, the task of
reinforcing what was discussed
in this two-day gathering now
lies on the regional representatives. It is now their duty to echo
to their respective communities
the suggestions made and approved in the congress,” he said.
The prelate also called on his
colleagues to take part in the executions of the NRC II congress
resolutions, saying the Church can
play a vital part in this endeavor.
“The success of the NRC-II lies
primarily on the execution of the
resolutions at the regional levels
so I hope the regional rural congress representatives and our local bishops will spearhead the reforms,” he said.
In Davao, Samahan ng
Munting Mangingisda ng Davao
del Sur representative Nicasio
Padillo said they are thankful to
the Catholic Church for holding
the NRC II.
“It is good that the Catholic
Church decided to have the second NRC in order to discuss various issues confronting the rural
poor,” Padillo told CBCPNews.
Padillo said that fisherfolks
today are being confronted by
various issues like fish killing,
large scale fishing, and illegal
fishing, overflow of chemicals
coming from large plantations
among others.
The Moro sector likewise expressed its gratitude for the NRCII which reviewed various issues
confronting the majority of the
people in the rural areas.
Naida Belecina, a Tausug who
represented the women’s sector
commended the Church for its utmost concern for the plight of the
rural poor especially the women.
Jessica Abenga, a Yakan who
attended the Mindanaowide Rural Congress last June also expressed optimism that NRC-II
will leave a meaningful mark in
the hearts of the rural poor.
A Gospel response
The rural congress was more
than just a manifestation of the
Church’s desire to attend to the
crying needs of the rural areas,
the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams said.
“Your deliberations have been
made with a vision that springs
from the Gospel, that charity inspired vision express itself in
three concepts, the dignity of every individual person, the unity
of the human family and integrity of creation,” he said in his
homily during the NRC-II’s concluding Eucharistic celebration.
He said many have seen how
people living in poverty show
“great ingenuity, simple through
surviving, exercising their abilities and trying to learn how to
place their human talents at the
service of their own future and
that of their own families.”
Faith in action
CBCP Episcopal Commission
on Social Action, Justice and
Peace and Manila Auxiliary
Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the
congress is one way of putting
“our faith into practice.” He
added this is the most opportune
time to listen to the neglected
representatives of various sec-
KC / A1
Social / A1
Stars will have another sigh of relief as the Knights of Columbus
Supreme Council based here donated US $25,000 to aid them.
In a letter sent to CBCP President and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, KC Supreme Knight Carl Anderson revealed that the
council has deposited at least P1.1 million worth of financial assistance to victims of the infamous typhoon “Frank” (international
name, Fengshen) through the CBCP National Secretariat for Social
Action (CBCP-NASSA).
“On behalf of the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council, I wish to
advise you that an emergency contribution of $25,000 USD has been
wired to CBCP-NASSA today to assist recovery efforts following the
devastating typhoon Frank that struck the Philippines last week,”
Anderson told Lagdameo in the letter.
Apart from extending financial aid, Anderson said KC is one with
the world in praying for the recovery of the victims and the entire
country as well.
“Besides this financial support, please be assured of a special place
in our prayers for all those affected by this devastating storm,” he
added.
It may be recalled that the KC also sent $100,000 USD through
NASSA to the typhoon victims of Milenyo in Bicol two years ago.
Aside from KC, the United States Catholic Bishops Conference
through the Catholic Relief Services is among the foreign Catholic
groups that sent immediate donations for the typhoon victims. (Kris
Bayos)
fort.
“It is [a] self defeating reason, reeking with ignorance as to the ways of
the head of the Vatican now,” according to its head, Emma Roxas.
In fact, she said, the Pope himself
strongly urges the Church must address the vices and perils of the times;
she must appeal to the consciences of
the powerful and of the intellectuals,
not to mention of those who want to
live narrow-minded, comfortable
lives while ignoring the needs of the
times”.
She said the Pontiff will not be
called as “Panzer Cardinal” before he
became Pope just for nothing.
Roxas also said the Pope is even supportive of bishops who stand for their
convictions in the resolutions of conflicts and other social issues.
“Vatican will never silence bishops
critical of President Arroyo,” Roxas
added.
The SCSS is composed of Catholic
tors, which is in contrast to the
first National Rural Congress
held in 1967 when the prelates
opted to pursue the “mission of
bringing the Church to the barrios.”
“While the leaders of the
world’s richest economies (G-8)
are meeting in Japan, we at the
Second National Rural Congress
are looking into the plight of our
small communities,” the prelate
said.
Where did CARP money go?
In a press conference held during the National Congress,
NASSA Chair Bishop Broderick
Pabillo asked a Department of
Agrarian Reform (DAR) official
where the Comprehensive
Agrarian Reform Program
(CARP) funds went.
“I want to ask Usec. [Gerundio]
Madueño here, about the statement of Sen. Gringo Honasan
when we went to the Senate to
dialogue about the extension of
CARP with reforms, that your
office did not submit any report
of how the money for the agrarian reform program is used. For
he [Honasan] said that the program (CARP) has been there for
so long but there is no transpar-
ency on how the money was allocated [and] was used,” Pabillo
said.
Madueño, the undersecretary
for policy, planning and external
affairs, categorically denied the
allegations of Honasan that they
had never submitted a report,
explaining how the money for
CARP has been used.
Allegations of misuse or misappropriation of the DAR funds
are being echoed by farmers’
and farmer-support groups like
the
militant
Kilusang
Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP),
Sentro para sa Tunay na
Repormang Agraryo (SENTRA)
and Amihan (National Federation of Peasant Women).
The said groups even call DAR,
as “milking cow” of corrupt government officials, and therefore
must be abolished.
Meanwhile, Imelda Lacandazo,
vice-chairperson of the KMP and
one of the delegates in the NRCII said that CARP extension will
only give corrupt officials, who
are involved in the implementation of the program, more chance
of robbing peoples’ money. (with
reports from Melo Acuña, Noel
Barcelona, Kris Bayos and Mark
Ventura)
PPCRV / A1
scholars, professors, teachers and others in political science and political
philosophy, sociology and other disciplines whose work touches social or
public concerns.
The group’s primary aim is to produce objective knowledge about the
political, social and economic orders
that can assist the Catholic Church in
fulfilling its various apostolic efforts.
The Catholic organization earlier
called on the bishops to write Benedict
XVI a letter expressing disapproval
over Enrile’s appointment.
Several bishops have been expressing disappointment over Enrile’s appointment, saying the government did
not consult them.
“Although it is not necessarily required for them to do that, I think it
will be of much help if the ambassador to the Vatican gets the backing of
the bishops,” Kalookan Bishop
Deogracias Iñiguez earlier said. (Roy
Lagarde)
lines on how to conduct the Random Manual
Audit so that Namfrel volunteers in the
ARMM can take part in the national effort of
making the ARMM election clean, credible
and honest,” De Villa said.
The former ambassador and members of
the National Council paid tribute to Namfrel
founding chairman Jose Concepcion, Jr. for
“forming Namfrel 20 years ago and for continuously lighting the candle instead of cursing the darkness prevalent in political and
electoral realities.”
Former Namfrel Acting chairman Vicente
Jayme will serve as senior adviser of the National Council.
Aside from Ambassador Henrietta T. De
Villa as National Chairperson, the newly-constituted Namfrel Executive Committee include Mr. Jose L. Cuisia, Jr., Vice-Chairman;
Mr. Edward Go, Treasurer; Mr. Eric O. Alvia,
Secretary General; Ms. Evelyn Singson, Finance Committee Coordinator; Mr. Damaso
G. Magbual, Membership Committee Coordinator; and Ms. Corazon H. Ignacio, Projects
Committee Coordinator. (CBCPNews)
CBCP Monitor
Features
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
Prelate calls on the laity
to participate in politics
SAN CARLOS SEMINARY,
Makati City, July 8, 2008—Saying the Filipino nation usually
gets the leaders it deserves the
CBCP has urged the Catholic
faithful to participate in politics primarily to ensure good
governance and accountability
among government officials.
Auxiliary Bishop Pablo
David of San Fernando,
Pampanga made this call during The Forum, a weekly news
press conference sponsored by
the CBCPNews and the Catholic Media Network, held at the
second day of the National
Rural Congress at the San
Carlos Seminary in Makati.
In airing his appeal, David
mentioned how the people’s
lack of confidence in the present
government has led to the distribution of subsidies and doleouts it claim will cushion the
impact of skyrocketing prices of
fuel and other basic commodities among the poor.
“Kung tutuusin, ang mga
dole-outs at subsidies na
pinamimigay
sa
mga
nakaraang linggo ay pawang
pampalimot-hirap
at
pampalimot-gutom lamang.
Dapat na maintindihan ng mga
mamamayan na ang mga ito ay
hindi konkretong aksyon sa
parte ng gobyerno, (The recently
distributed dole-outs and subsidies are mere fancy ways the
government extends to encourage the people to forget their
problems on poverty and hunger. The people should realize
Church focuses on sustainable agri
DIGOS City—Following the NRC-II, which focuses on various issues
affecting the rural folks especially farmers and fishermen, the Diocese of
Digos is now fully implementing the sustainable agriculture program. Fr.
Cornelio Troja, social action director of Digos said the implementation of
the program is channeled by the Social Action Center to the different
parishes in the diocese. (Mark Ventura)
BUTUAN City—A Catholic bishop admitted that he went to Malacañang to
personally appeal the case of the embattled Go family, owner of Sulpicio
Lines Inc. Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios said he went to Malacañang July
1 and asked Palace officials in a meeting to allow several vessels by
Sulpicio Lines to sail again. “I went to Malacañang the other day because
of the request of the owner of the Sulpicio Lines, because it’s the only
livelihood they have,” Pueblos said. (Roy Lagarde)
Bishop to gov’t: Retain focus on seeking Sulpicio accountability
KALOOKAN City—Government must not lose focus on seeking accountability of Sulpicio Lines for the “Princess of the Stars” tragedy. Kalookan
Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez stressed this point even if it posed no objection
to the resumption of cargo operations of the beleaguered firm. “Government should not give the wrong signal that allowing cargo operations
means no one will be held accountable anymore,” he said. (CBCPNews)
Peace advocate is new Kidapawan vicar general
San Fernando, Pampanga Auxiliary Bishop Pablo David speaks before the press on the role of laity in the electoral process
at The Forum, a weekly press conference jointly organized by CBCPNews and CMN held at San Carlos Seminary last July 8.
that these are not concrete actions on the part of the government),” he said.
As such, David said, the laity should get involved in the
electoral process. Only in this
way can the people be sure
that only reliable and responsible candidates get elected in
public office.
David, however, dispelled
notions that his call also
means the local Catholic
Church will be active in endorsing candidates for the
upcoming 2010 polls.
“Umiiwas ang Simbahan sa
pag-eendorso ng mga
kandidato. Ito ay dahil hindi
kayang kilatisin ng mga obispo
ang
lahat
ng
mga
kumakandidato sa buong
bansa. (The Church refrains
from endorsing candidates vying for public office. This is because it is impossible for all the
bishops to evaluate and criticize
every candidate nationwide),”
he said.
Echoing David’s sentiments,
Imus Bishop Antonio Tagle has
also summoned non-government organizations, civil society groups to help the Church
in advocating for informed citizenry.
Organized by the Catholic
Church, WYD brings together
young people from around the
globe to celebrate and learn
about their faith on a more
regular basis.
WYD will be the largest
event Australia has ever
hosted. It will attract over
125,000 international visitors—more than the 2000
Olympics.
WYD will mark the first visit
of Pope Benedict XVI to Australia and that papal Mass will
be held on July 19.
The Manila Archdiocese
youth contingency also includes youth from Aklan,
Palawan and eight Chinese
representatives.
The delegation will leave for
Australia on July 8. The preWYD days will be spent in the
diocese of Melbourne.
A delegate, Jassoca G.
Gapuz from Nuestra Señora
Del Perpetuo Socorro parish,
Calamba (Sampaloc), told
CBCPNews that she is “excited” to join the WYD.
Gapuz, 29, is an employee at
the Department of Budget and
Management.
The delegation of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Youth numbers
about 800, but others are going
on their own.
Philippine delegation includes students, teachers, nonteaching school personnel,
priests, nuns, seminarians,
youth ministers, and bishops.
About 2,000 pilgrims are expected from the Philippines.
Pope John Paul II started
WYD as an annual observance
in 1984, and international celebrations have been held every
two or three years since then.
About 26 percent of
Australia’s 21 million people
described themselves as Catholics in the most recent census,
while 19 percent said they had
no religion. (CBCPNews)
“Napaka-vague ng guidelines sa pagpili ng mga
kandidato ngunit matutugunan
iyan ng mga local communities.
At sa tulong ng Simbahan, na
isang sambayanang Kristiyano,
sama-sama nating kilatisin ang
mga pulitikong gustong
magkaposisyon sa gobyerno.
(The guidelines in choosing political candidates are vague but
local communities can address
that in response to their particular localities. And with the help
of the Church, let us all seriously
assess the politicians vying for
public office),” Tagle said. (Kris
Bayos)
RP Church to hold
nationwide
programs to mark
Year of St. Paul
MANILA, July 7, 2008—The Philippine Catholic Church will have
a series of activities nationwide to
mark the 2000th birth of Saint Paul,
the Apostle.
Jaro
Archbishop
Angel
Lagdameo, president of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP), revealed
this during a press briefing at San
Carlos Seminary yesterday after
the bishops’ plenary assembly
last weekend.
Pope Benedict XVI announced a
special Jubilee Year of Saint Paul
from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009, on
occasion of the bi-millennium of his
birth, which historians have placed
between the years 7 and 10 AD.
“We spent lots of time in discussing plans and activities to be
organized at diocesan, regional
and national levels during our plenary assembly,” said Lagdameo.
Catholics need to know Saint
Paul’s life and his writings by
reading and meditating his
works, imbibing his missionary
spirit and witnessing to the values of Christ and Christian faith,
the prelate said.
During the 97th Plenary Assembly held last July 5 and 6 at the Pope
Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila,
the CBCP issued a pastoral statement on the celebration of Saint
Paul’s bi-millennium birth celebration. (Santosh Digal)
Continue serving as shepherds, Pope tells RP bishops
MANILA, July 5, 2008— Pope
Benedict XVI is praying for and
praised the nation’s bishops as he
urged them to continue serving
as the shepherd of their flocks,
Vatican Secretary of State Tarcio
Bertone said.
Bertone said the Pope urged
the Filipino prelates to continue
acting their role as the chief catechists of their respective pastoral jurisdictions.
This means, he said, that bishops must be willing always and
everywhere to stand up and teach
those in need of instruction “to
have their faith confirmed and
purified.”
“The Holy Father prays that
you will continue to nourish the
mind, spiritual attitudes and
moral behavior of your people
with the truth of the Gospel while
always remembering that the
faithful need the word of their
bishop,” said Bertone.
Diocesan News Briefs
Bishop admits brokering for Sulpicio Lines
Manila Archdiocese holds sendoff Mass for WYD pilgrims
MANILA, July 7, 2008—
Ninety-six delegates from Manila Archdiocese for the World
Youth Day 2008 (WYD), together with their parents and
family members, held a send off
Mass at the Arzobispado de
Manila, Intramuros, at 3 pm,
July 6.
Presiding the Mass, Fr.
Rufino C. Sescon Jr, director of
ministry for youth affairs, said
that delegates might receive the
“touch” of the Holy Spirit during the WYD and strengthen
Catholic faith.
This year’s theme is: “You
will receive power when the
Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you will be my witnesses”
(Acts 1:8).
WYD is the largest youth
event in the world and will be
held in Sydney from Tuesday
15 to Sunday 20 July 2008. The
five-day celebration of Catholic youth has been billed as a
major boost to the economy of
Australia’s largest city.
A7
The Pope’s message was read
this morning by CBCP President
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo at
the opening of two-day Plenary
Assembly, CBCP’s 97th which is
being held at the Pope Pius XII
Catholic Center in Manila .
Cardinal Bertone said the
Pope also assured his “apostolic
blessing” to the CBCP as he
commend their works for the
Catholic Church.
CBCP secretary general
Msgr. Juanito Figura said around
87 bishops—82 active and 5 retired members—were present at
the regular plenary meeting as
of Saturday morning.
The CBCP has 99 active and
32 honorary members.
The event was started with a
Eucharistic celebration led by
Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams, Apostolic Nuncio to the
Philippines.
Aside from the reports which
will be rendered by half of the 33
CBCP commissions, socio-political and economic issues will also
be discussed by the prelates at
their bi-annual meeting.
The Plenary Assembly is
CBCP’s highest decision-making
body. Composed of active and
retired bishops, the Plenary Assembly meets in regular session
twice a year, in January and in
July. (Roy Lagarde)
KIPADAWAN City—Bishop Romulo dela Cruz has appointed Msgr.
Armando Angeles as vicar general of the Diocesan Clergy of Kidapawan.
Dela Cruz announced the appointment of Fr. Angeles before 3,000 parishioners at the Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace Cathedral. Angeles has
been acknowledged “peace advocate” for pursuing reconciliation efforts and inter-religious dialogue. (Rolando Emberga)
Nuncio, bishop call on Bicolanos to be models
LIBMANAN, Camarines Sur—Papal nuncio Edward Joseph Adams called
on the Bicolanos, including bishops, priests to “be a model of Christian
living, an evangelizer and unifier and must radiate Jesus in his day-today life.” Speaking during the recent installation rites for Libmanan Bishop
Jose R. Rojas, the Nuncio also imparted the message of the Holy Father
Benedict XVI. Roxas, on the other hand, exhorted the faithful to make
Christ the center of their faith. (Elmer Abad)
Prelate urges priests to restore moral values
PAGADIAN City—Bishop Emmanuel Cabajar, CSsR called on Mindanao
priests to restore the moral values in the conscience of many people. The
prelate said one can detect a weakening of the faith and obscuring
demands of the Christian moral life in the conscience of many people. He
added material “well-being” becomes the ideal to be attained at any price
even if that means risking family values for the sake of economic advantages abroad. (Wendell Talibong)
Youth rallies vs repro health bill
LIPA City—Young people here rallied together on June 28 at the San
Francis de Sales College Seminary gymnasium and voiced their opposition against “anti-life” bills being proposed in Congress. The youth particularly hit the bill called “An Act Providing for a National Policy on Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development and
for Other Purposes,” a consolidation of at least 3 previous reproductive
health bills. Over 1,500 youth, catechists and religious joined the rally.
(Jesusa Bauan)
Prelate appeals for interreligious dialogue
MARAWI City—Following the recent abduction of 41 innocent civilians in
Lanao del Norte, Marawi Bishop Edwin de la Peña appealed to the neighboring diocese of Iligan to pursue the inter-religious dialogue between
Christians and Muslims. “The incident might be a wake-up call for the local
church of Iligan for them to participate in the work and mission of the
church which is the inter-religious dialogue” he said. (Wendell Talibong)
Businessmen to hold Christian Life Program
LEGAZPI City—The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP) – Legazpi City Chapter is set to start its 16th Christian Life
Program (CLP) on July 27, 2008 at the Albay Provincial Capitol People’s
Hall, this City. The BCBP 16th Christian Life Program participants will meet
for 13 Sundays and listen to various topics on Christian business ethics
and practices with Biblical foundations. (Jose M. Locsin)
Tuguegarao launches Pauline Year
TUGUEGARAO City—The Year of St. Paul was officially opened in
the Tuguegarao archdiocese with a Mass led by Archbishop Diosdado
Talamayan at the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral on June 29. The event
was attended by various faithful and some members of the Tuguegarao
Central United Methodist Church led by their pastor, Rev. Bonifer Baquiran
who also shared his thoughts on the life and teachings of St. Paul acknowledging him as the preacher to the Gentiles and to all peoples.
(Felina Lagasca, FSP)
Prelate urges Catholic Educators to acquire solid professional formation
TANGUB City—Ozamis Archbishop Jesus Dosado, CM, called on the
Catholic educators from 14 parochial schools of the ecclesial province to
acquire solid professional formation, which must be maintained and deepened by bringing it up-to-date. “A Catholic educator, in order to adequately
live out his or her vocation, must first acquire a solid professional formation,” he said. (Wendell Talibong)
M’danao religious leaders comes up with a vision
DAVAO City—The A’immah-Pastors-Priests’ Forum (APPF) has finally
came up with a vision-mission in their endeavor for peace in Mindanao.
The common-vision states, “A community of religious leaders in Mindanao,
united in truth of human life and molded by faith in the Almighty God/Allah
for a peaceful Mindanao.” (Mark Ventura)
Diocese to mark silver jubilee
ILIGAN City—The Diocese of Iligan will celebrate its 25th anniversary on
November 15 and one of the biggest events will be the jubilee retreat for
diocesan priests and religious men and women. Iligan Bishop Elenito
Galido said their three-day Jubilee Retreat will begin on Tuesday, August
5, 2008 with Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales as retreat master. (Wendell Talibong)
Augustinian priests educate vendors’ kids
CEBU City—The Augustinian priests of Cebu are financing the education
of 30 poor students, children of street vendors. The education scholarship is undertaken under the aegis of Basilica del Santo Niño Children’s
Welfare Foundation, Inc., Basilica del Santo Niño Cebu City, said Fr. Andrew P. Batayola, OSA, former rector of the Basilica. (Santosh Digal)
Prelate commends officials’ ‘gesture of peace’
DIGOS City—Calling it as a “gesture of peace”, Bishop Guillermo Afable
praised the efforts manifested by political rivals Cong. Franklin Bautista,
Marc Cagas and Gov. Dodo Cagas when they shook their hands in
public. The two opposing political clans in the province shook their hands
in a friendly manner during the opening of the founding anniversary of
Davao del Sur. (Mark Ventura)
A8
CBCP Monitor
People, Facts & Places
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - July 20, 2008
BEC national assembly
to be held in November
THE Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) national assembly
will be held in Cagayan de Oro,
November 10-14.
The theme of the assembly is
“BEC and Rural Development.”
There will be four delegates
from each diocese—the bishop,
diocesan BEC program/commission coordinator, a lay pastoral
worker, and a BEC leader, said
Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR, one of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP)-BEC
national consultants.
On July 4, a meeting was held
at Pius XII Center (United Nations Avenue) with the bishops
who compose the board of the
CBCP-BEC national office that
assists the dioceses in the promotion and formation of BECs in the
Philippines, said Picardal.
The meeting was attended by
Cotabato Archbishop Orlando
Filipino migrants bid farewell
to RP envoy to Vatican
leave Rome before the end of
July.
Delegates from the different
Filipino Catholic organizations
including those from other
places outside Rome filled the
huge basilica. Also, the presence of many Filipina religious
sisters was prominent in the
assembly with their different
distinctive habits. Former Senator Franklin M. Drilon and his
wife, Mila Serrano Genuino
happened to visit Rome and
attended the celebration.
His Eminence Bernard
Francis
Cardinal
Law,
Archpriest Cardinal of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, presided the celebration. Arch-
Baguio Youth celebrates
WYD with those in Sydney
FINANCIAL constraints will
never be reason why the youth
cannot be active participants of
the World Youth Day (WYD).
This was disclosed recently by
Fr. Abner Dalilis and Nathaniel
Felipe, Director and Coordinator, respectively, of the Diocesan
Youth Ministry of Baguio.
Invitations were sent to the
young people in Baguio belonging to any form of organization
from the parish youth ministry
to school-based Student Catholic
Action and charismatic organizations, to encourage them to take
part in the Diocesan Youth Day
to be held on Saturday, July 19,
2008 at the same time the World
Youth Day is being held in
Sydney, Australia.
With the theme “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit
has come upon you and you will
be my witnesses,” the Diocesan
Youth Day aims to gather the
youth in Baguio to celebrate in
spirit with the delegates gathered
for World Youth Day in Sydney.
The Diocesan Youth Day will
kick off with the assembly and
pilgrim prayers at Malcolm
Square. Afterwards, in the spirit
of pilgrims, the young people
will walk in procession towards
Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral at the heart of the city.
Once in the Baguio Cathedral
grounds the youth participants
will celebrate events enjoyed in
every World Youth Day including animation, catechesis, prayer
and, above all, the Holy Mass.
The singing of the World
Youth Day 2008 theme song will
be led by the San Jose Band. Welcome remarks will be given by
Fr. Mark Batolne. Fr. Abner
Dalilis will describe the history
of World Youth Days. Fr. Rosito
Pedro will present the guest
speakers: lay evangelists and
composer-writers Moises Catan
and Kiddo Cosio of the Elim
Community well-known for
their Gospel song “Call Me
Happy.”
The rest of morning will be
filled with cultural presentations
including indigenous dances at
the Cathedral Square. The climax
of the Youth Day will be at noontime with the celebration of the
Holy Eucharist by Bishop Carlito
Cenzon,
CICM
and
concelebrating priests.
The Diocese of Baguio held
activities in the past months as
a way to prepare the youth to
celebrate the World Youth Day
and also as a way to better address the needs of its numerous
young people. (Fr. Mickey
Cardenas)
bishop Bernardito Auza, newly
appointed Apostolic Nuncio to
Haiti, and Bishop Antonieto
Cabajog, Bishop of the Diocese
of Surigao, were the principal
concelebrants with thirty
priests. His Eminence Jose Cardinal Sanchez was also present.
In her message of thanks before the end of the Mass, Ambassador Vera quoted the
French ecclesiastic, Jean
Baptiste Massieu, who said
that “Gratitude is the memory
of the heart”, as she recalled
briefly her significant experiences in Rome.
She continued: “I feel that my
heart is too small to contain the
rich memories of my experi-
ences with you. To say thank
you or maraming salamat is
not enough to express the consolation and joy of being with
you since the time I arrived in
Rome four years ago.”
It was fitting that the celebration ended at this basilica
where the Sentro Pilipino-Filipino Chaplaincy in Rome is
located. Underneath the Basilica of Santa Pudenziana are
the ruins of the house of Senator Pudens who was the host
of St. Peter in Rome. The hospitality experienced by St. Peter
in this place is somehow continued today by our Filipino
migrants. (Fr. Jose V.C.
Quilongquilong, S.J.)
Youth holds peace
symposium in Jolo
THE first league of the youth
symposium on the “Voice of
the Youth for Dialogue and
Peace: An Urgent Concern of
the Times” was held at the
Bishop Ben’s Hall of Notre
Dame of Jolo College, June 29.
The Silsilah Dialogue Movement, Zamboanga City, through
its Peace Youth Program in the
joint effort with the Silsilah Forum-Jolo, organized it.
This was participated by
young Muslim and Christian
active leader’s ages 15 to 25
who belong to different youth
organizations, groups and institutions of the province.
The symposium was intended to help the youth to
voice out their concerns, issues, and experiences and to
share their ideas on dialogue
and peace as experienced in
their respective faith teaching
experiences in dreaming a
peaceful Mindanao with a spe-
cific focus in their own native
land, Jolo, said Fr. Sebastiano
D’Ambra, PIME, Silsilah
founder, Zamboanga City.
“I salute Silsilah for its efforts in fostering to maintain
peace and harmony between
people of different faiths. The
youth has the indefatigable
passion to work for change and
achieve the ideal. We are the
nucleus of what the society is
to become. The ‘becoming’ of
civilization depends on our
present efforts and actions. It
is therefore necessary that we
assume the responsibility of
purpose,” said Baddiri.
At the end of the symposium,
20 young Muslim and Christian
men and women who participated were chosen to attend the
1st Regional Youth Peace Summit
which will be held on August 2224, this year at the Harmony Village, Sinunuc, Zamboanga City.
(Santosh Digal)
Markings
LAUNCHED. Jubilee Year of the bi-millennium
birth of St. Paul the Apostle, with a concelebrated
Mass at the Manila Cathedral; June 30, 2008.
His Eminence, Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales led
the thanksgiving Eucharistic celebration attended by the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, bishops, and clergy of the archdiocese. Religious,
lay organizations and Catholic schools participated in the event. The jubilee will go on until
June 28, 2009. Two particular churches were
designated as places of pilgrimages during the
jubilee year—Sts. Peter and Paul Parish Church
in Makati and Sanctuary of St. Paul at St. Paul
Seminary, San Antonio Village, also in Makati
City.
INSTALLED. Fr. Eligio “Eli” Cruz, SDB, as Provincial Superior of the Salesian Province of North
Philippines for a term of six years, July 5, 2008.
Cruz took the place of Fr. Andrew Lee Wong,
who was elected during the 26th General Chapter as Councilor for the East Asia-Oceania Region. Cruz finished his Theology at the Don
Bosco Center of Studies in 1990 and MS in Educational Administration from the Ateneo de Manila University in 2000. He has been a professor of Theology at Don
Bosco Technical College since 1998 and in 2002 named Rector of the
same college. He has published a book in 2002 titled Handbook of
Christian Ethics, a textbook used for first year college theology of Don
Bosco Technical College. His personal philosophy of leadership is centered on youth—devoting energy for our youth to attain “fullness of
life.”
INSTALLED. Bishop Jose Rojas, as PrelateOrdinary of the Prelature of Libmanan, by His
Excellency, Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams, Apostolic nuncio to the Philippines at
the St. James the Apostle Cathedral, Libmanan,
Camarines Sur, July 2, 2008. Most Rev.
Leonardo Legaspi, archbishop of Caceres led
the Bishops from Bicol region who attended
the celebration together with Bishops Camilo
Gregorio of Batanes, Julito Cortes of Cebu,
some priests from Pampanga, Lipa and other
parts of the country. Bishop Rojas succeeded
Bishop Prospero Arellano as second bishop of the Prelature. He was
formerly the Auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Caceres prior to his
appointment as Bishop of Libmanan.
ORDAINED. Revs. Ronald T. Dona, Erwin E. Echalas,
Jeric C. Jaramillo, Juan Joyful B. Taqueban of Nueva
Segovia, Xavier R. Valbuena of Ilocos Norte and
Leo C. Nedic of San Fernando de La Union, to the
Order of Diaconate by Archbishop Ernesto A.
Salgado, at the Immaculate Conception School of
Theology (ICST) Chapel, June 28, 2008. The ordained
deacons were the first batch to graduate under the
ICST Paradigm Shift at the Northern Theologate, described by Vicar General Msgr. David William V. Antonio as aiming towards the formation of “a new
breed of priests, i.e., servants-leaders with credible lifestyles, ways of
thinking, valuing, relating with the poor, and shepherding.” The group will
undergo a one-year diaconate, the first in the Archdiocese of Nueva Segovia
to do so.
Œ³
FILIPINO migrants in Rome
gathered at a Eucharistic celebration held June 29, 2008 at
the Basilica of Saint Mary Major to bid goodbye to RP envoy
to the Vatican.
It was an overwhelming experience of affection and appreciation for outgoing Philippine
Ambassador to the Holy See,
Her Excellency Leonida Vera.
The Mass on the solemnity
of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles,
not only marked the conclusion of the pastoral year of the
Sentro Pilipino-Filipino Chaplaincy in Rome but also served
as a farewell occasion of the
Filipino migrants for Ambassador Vera who is scheduled to
Quevedo (chairman), Archbishop
Romulo Valles, Bishop Socrates
Villegas, Msgr. Elmer Abacahin
(executive secretary), Dr. Estela
Padilla and Picardal.
Aside from Padilla and
Picardal, other consultants include Msgr. Manny Gabriel and
Msgr. Joemari Delgado.
The executive secretary and the
consultants will meet in Davao
City at the end of this month to
go through the recommendations
of the National Rural Congress,
which was held in Manila, July 78.
“We will also finalize the plans
for the BEC national assembly,”
said Picardal.
The Second Plenary Council of
the Philippines (1991) considers
the BECs as the realization of the
vision of a renewed Church. It is
a new way of being Church.
(Santosh Digal)
INSTALLED. Fr. Gallardo Asor Bombase, OP as Prior and Rector of the
National Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag, Pangasinan, by Most Rev.
Oscar Cruz, archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan; June 5, 2008. Bombase
was parish priest of Santissimo Rosario Parish from 1985 to 1993. He
was later appointed assistant parish priest and parish treasurer of Our
Lady of the Rosary, Manaoag from 1993 to 1997. He became university
chaplain and Director of Aquinas University of Legazpi City High School
from 1997-2002. He was named St. Bartholomew parish priest and
missionary at the Calayan Islands, Babuyanes, Cagayan from 20022005. Prior to his assignment in Manaoag, Bombase was Director of
Religious Affairs, in Angelicum College, Quezon City. He succeeded Fr.
Patricio Apa, OP as rector of the shrine. Priests from Aquinas University
of Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, Letran College of
Intramuros, University of Santo Tomas and other priests from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan concelebrated during the installation Mass.
INSTALLED. Fr. Gallardo Asor Bombase, OP as Prior and Rector of the
National Shrine of Our Lady of Manaoag, Pangasinan, by Most Rev.
Oscar Cruz, archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan; June 5, 2008. Bombase
was parish priest of Santissimo Rosario Parish from 1985 to 1993. He
was later appointed assistant parish priest and parish treasurer of Our
Lady of the Rosary, Manaoag from 1993 to 1997. He became university
chaplain and Director of Aquinas University of Legazpi City High School
from 1997-2002. He was named St. Bartholomew parish priest and
missionary at the Calayan Islands, Babuyanes, Cagayan from 20022005. Prior to his assignment in Manaoag, Bombase was Director of
Religious Affairs, in Angelicum College, Quezon City. He succeeded Fr.
Patricio Apa, OP as rector of the shrine. Priests from Aquinas University
of Legazpi City, Sto. Domingo Church in Quezon City, Letran College of
Intramuros, University of Santo Tomas and other priests from the Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan concelebrated during the installation Mass.
Hundreds of delegates representing peasant farmers, fisherfolks, indigenous peoples, women and youth discussed and dialogued with the bishops on various socioeconomic issues affecting their daily lives during the Second National Rural Congress held at San Carlos Seminary last July 7 and 8.
DIED. Sr. Fermina Casiño, RVM, June 24, 2008.
CBCP Monitor
B1
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
Peter and Paul: Different charisms, same cause
By Gil A. Alinsangan,
SSP
ABOUT A.D. 96, Clement, then
bishop of Rome, wrote to the
church of Corinth, warning the
latter church about the terrible
effects of jealousy and envy. It
would seem that the feuds and
dissensions that had split the
Corinthian church in St. Paul’s day
had, a generation later, sprung
into life again.
Clement mentions the Roman
church’s “series of unexpected
misfortunes and setbacks,” which
clearly alludes to the persecution
of Christians under the emperor
Domitian (assassinated in September 96). Seven examples are
given from the Old Testament
about the evil of jealousy. Leaving the instances from the past,
Clement turns to the noble figures of his own generation:
Let us set before our eyes the
good apostles. Peter, on account
of unrighteous jealousy, underwent not one or two but many
toils and, having borne witness,
he made his way to his allotted
place of glory. Paul, on account
of jealousy and strife, showed the
way to the prize of endurance;
seven times he wore fetters, he
was exiled, he was stoned, he was
a herald both in the east and in
the west, he gained the noble renown of his faith, he taught righteousness throughout the whole
world and, having reached the
limit of the west, he bore testimony before the rulers, and so
departed from the world and was
taken up into the holy place—the
greatest example of endurance. (1
Clement 5:1-7)
Why should the Church of
Rome have taken it upon herself
to intervene in the domestic quarrels of the Corinthian church?
Probably because both churches
Peter / B4
Pastoral Concerns
Two Thousandth Year of St. Paul
WHEN His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
announced that 2008 would be the celebration of the 2,000th Year of the Birth
of Saint Paul he brought to the world’s
attention the life of a man who revealed
himself as a mystery¯a mystery of what
a man could be from what he had been,
and to encourage all believers to become
what long ago they should have been.
In His wisdom and mercy God used this
man, Saul, to teach the world that the life
of sin and violence must come to an end,
and the pursuit of love and peace, at some
point of grace in time, should commence.
The end of sin and violence is what conversion means. But conversion is not just a change in
person’s lifestyle and thinking; it is more radical than
any adjustment; conversion
means death to one’s
former behavior, advocacy
and love. Change wrought
by conversion weighs
greater than the change of
name from Saul to Paul.
The road to Damascus
was, in the mind of Saul, an
ordinary persecution route
where he knew from his
past arrests of the secretive
followers of Jesus from
Nazareth, he would come back with dozens of chained disciples of the Nazarene
preacher. But God had better plans than
Saul; God wanted an end to violence, murder and sin. Where the sinners sometimes
felt he was so alone and unmolested, the
same place could suddenly become the
path where God wanted his conversion.
There must be a time when the offender
should then be the convert.
But is there such a thing as conversion, first of all? The question seemed
to trouble the disciple Ananias who replied, “Lord, I have heard from many
sources about this man, what evil things
he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:13). The pious disciple
Ananias appeared to suggest that humanly speaking this man Saul was a
“good for nothing” charlatan; he was the
very enemy and persecutor of the disciples in Jerusalem. Ananias was not
aware that earlier along the Damascus
road Jesus already identified Himself to
Saul by saying that “I am Jesus, whom
you are persecuting.” (Acts 9:5).
In the plan of God there are things
greater than conversion waiting for this
individual. A chosen role, a call, a voca-
tion waits this exterminator from Tarsus. “Go to the street called Straight…ask
for a man named Saul from Tarsus…this
man is a chosen instrument of mine to
carry my name before Gentiles, kings
and Israelites…and I will show him that
he will have to suffer for my name.”
(Acts 9:11, 15-17).
He preached the Good News and
would become the greatest preacher of
all the apostles. He deepened and expanded the teaching of Jesus. Through
his preaching and visits communities of
believers sprouted along the northern
coasts of the Great Sea. The name of Jesus
to communities of new believers that he
had gained and formed for Jesus Christ.
Lest it appears that the conversion was
easy and without a struggle St. Paul retold
his story of coming to know Christ Jesus
whom he persecuted and harmed in the
lives of the early disciples of the Nazarene
teacher. Before King Agrippa where, accused and to be sentenced with death, Paul
replied while recounting for the third time
the story of conversion. “I heard a voice
saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick
against the goad.” (Acts 26:14-15). Paul was
revealing to others that it was useless to
struggle against the prodding of the Lord. That was
the answer to his initial defensive response to conversion.
And is this not also the
usual response to the whisperings of grace for humans to change. Why is it
so difficult for others to
change, to be converted, ultimately to die to ones own
selfish ideals, to end one’s
greedy pursuit of honor,
power and wealth? Is it not
possible to think that such
excess is self-seeking hurts
no less that Jesus Christ?
God used this man precisely to reveal
that the entire path to Jesus Christ, His Son,
is only by way of Metanoia and Epistrophe:
Change by parting ways from sin and seeking the direction of Jesus. In God’s plan no
preaching of Jesus is possible without first
experiencing conversion which is radical
death to selfish cravings.
In this year commemorating the
2,000th year of this great apostle’s birth
let there be planned and prepared series
of lectures in different centers of learning fitted to the needs and situations of
the life of the listeners / students / professionals using the different themes and
insights culled from the letters of St. Paul.
Let the great Apostle Saint Paul speak
again no longer from the Areopagus but
from the school, classrooms or auditorium lecterns that he may bring us out of
our self-centered desires to the truth that
is the Savior Jesus Christ as crucified.
Let the great Apostle Saint Paul
speak again no longer from the Areopagus but from the school, classrooms or auditorium lecterns that he
may bring us out of our self-centered
desires to the truth that is the Savior
Jesus Christ as crucified.
was on the lips of a believing people.
But part of the apostle’s calling was to
suffer. Jesus said that “he will suffer for
my name.” Imprisonment, beatings,
shipwrecks, sleepless nights, hunger!
Paul could boast only of his weakness in
order the power of Jesus Christ may
dwell with him, Paul claimed. (2
Corinthians, Chapters 11 and 12).
From thereon the calling of Paul was
clear. He would be a preacher, a writer,
an itinerant supervisor, a contemplative
teacher and a martyr. The Apostle Paul
would from hereon preached to groups
he previously threatened. “You have
heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God
beyond measure and tried to destroy it,
and progressed in Judaism beyond many
of my contemporaries among my race,
since I was even more a zealot for my
ancestral traditions…I went to the regions
of Syria and Cilicia…they kept on hearing that the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once
tried to destroy…and they glorified God
because of me.” (Galatians 1:13-24).
Years later, he would pursue his preaching of Jesus with letters he wrote (epistles)
(Homily delivered by Manila Archbishop
Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales during mass
on the occasion of the 2,000th Year of the
Birth of Saint Paul on June 30, 2008 at the
Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila.)
7
QUESTIONS
Most Rev. Emilio Z. Marquez, DD
AFTER faithfully serving the Diocese of Gumaca, Bishop Emilio Marquez became the
Fourth Residential Bishop of the Diocese on November 4, 2003. In this issue of CBCP
Monitor, Bishop Marquez talks about the various programs of Diocesan Social Action
Center aimed at helping the poor, the advocacy of family life apostolate on responsible
parenthood, the threat of materialism and its effects on values, formation of youth, the
current situation of women in the country, and the promising rise in vocations.
How does the diocese implement its social concern programs to alleviate the
situation of the poor as they cope with soaring prices of basic commodities?
The Diocese of Lucena has always been resolute in its efforts to realize
God’s design for the total human development of every person as an individual and as a member of the community. What we envision for everyone is
an integral human development, which requires the local Church to carefully
identify and efficiently address the social concerns of the community.
“Wherever men are to be found who are in want of food and drink, of
clothing, housing…Christian charity should go in search of them…comfort
them with devoted care and give them the help that will relieve their needs”
(Apostolicam Actuositatem, 8). Inspired by these words of the Second Vatican
Council, we have been consistent in implementing our social concern programs with the Lucena Diocese Social Action Center (LuDiSAC) at the helm.
Last year alone, the HAPAG-ASA Integrated Nutrition Program spearheaded
by the LuDiSAC benefited 1,001 children who for six months were fed with
special vitameals. About 312 volunteers, who also took charge of the training
of the parents, were involved in this program.
Other activities being conducted by the LuDiSAC include “Basic Services
Program” which provides communal water resource rehabilitation and installation to rural communities, “Scholarship Grants” in coordination with NGOpartners and the local government, and the “Sustainable Agriculture Program”
for the benefit of farmers. As it is said, the Church’s work to address the deplorable plight of the poor is a sign of the presence of the Kingdom of God.
How does the family and life apostolate in your diocese respond to the threats
that seek to undermine the sanctity of the family?
Family and life apostolate is one of the most important areas of concern in
the life and mission of our local Church. As the first school of evangelization,
7 Questions / B6
CBCP Monitor
Updates
B2
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
Priestly attire and women’s
dealing with priests
Commentator’s role
Q: Can you provide any insight into the role of the commentator? The commentator is quite common here in the
United States, and every church seems to have a different
job description for this person. For example, in our parish
before the start of Mass the commentator greets the people,
asks if anyone is celebrating a birthday or anniversary or is
visiting. Then there is the usual happy birthday or anniversary song. Then the commentator gives a 5- to 6-minute
reflection and words of advice for the coming week. During
the Mass the commentator sits in the sanctuary; directs the
people via hand signals whether to sit, kneel, rise; calls out
the music/song that we will be singing, etc. At the end of
Mass, before the final benediction he/she reads the announcements; gives comments and their take on the homily; and thanks the people, etc. I have suggested this is taking the role of “commentator” a bit too far, but cannot find
anything in the GIRM to help back up my claim. Can you
help? M.P., Keaau, Hawaii
Illustration by
Bladimer Usi
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
I am a career woman in my late twenties. After
attending a spiritual retreat a year ago, I have been
trying to frequent the sacraments—specifically
going to Mass several times during the week and
trying to go to Sacramental Confession more often. With this increased exposure to the Church, I
have become more aware of the priests and my
own reactions to them. Two things stand out in
my experience: First, I seem to be drawn more
towards those priests who dress properly and I get
put off by the sight of jeans and T-shirt under the
loosely fitting garb that the celebrant puts on for
Mass, and instinctively recoil from going to Confession to a priest who I can see is not dressed
properly; Second, I am confused by the different
ways priests dress. Is there a prescribed uniform
for priests? They used to wear cassocks: do these
have a practical purpose or are they merely symbolic? Finally, just how should I deal with priests?
The Proper Attire for Priests
The Code of Canon Law prescribed in c.284:
Clerics are to wear suitable ecclesiastical garb in
accord with the norms issued by the conference of
bishops and in accord with legitimate local custom.
In attention to c.284 of the Universal Law
of the Church, the CBCP subsequently legislated that the proper clerical attires in the
Philippines are as follows:
1) Cassock or religious habit;
2) Clergyman’s suit;
3) Trousers of dark one-tone color or white,
and shirt of one-tone color with a clerical
collar. The shirt may also be either polo-barong
or barong tagalog, with a distinctive cross.
As can be seen, the cassock (or for the members of the institutes of consecrated life, their
proper religious habit) is actually the primary form of priestly or ecclesiastical garb
in the Philippines. The so-called clergyman’s
suit—which is an ordinary black suit worn
with a black or white shirt with a clerical
(also called Roman) collar—is the alternative.
Finally—obviously as an adaptation of the
more Western clergyman’s suit to the local
Philippine situation—two other alternatives
are given for the Philippine clergy:
1 st: Single-toned dark or white pants and
single-toned shirt with clerical collar;
2 nd : The same pants but with a polo-barong
or barong tagalog with either a clerical collar
or a distinctive cross.
In all these cases, as is obvious, the clear
pretension of the norm on clerical attire is to
make the cleric look different—such that even
if the suit or the shirts or polo-barong or barong
tagalog may be of the usual cut, they are still
made different by the clerical (or Roman collar) or at the very least the presence of a distinctive cross.
Rationale for a Distinctive Clerical Attire
Why a clerical attire? Firstly, to set the
priest apart, since—as St Paul says in his Letter to the Hebrews—the priest “taken from
among men is appointed for men in the things
pertaining to God” (Heb 5,1). In other words,
the priest, while remaining among men and
indeed serving them, must be clearly identifiable from them since he stands in persona
Christi capitis, that is “in the person of Christ
the head” of the Mystical Body which is the
Church. From a practical viewpoint, it seems
logical and even just that the ordinary faithful be able to identify the priest, not only to
emulate but—above all—so that he may call
on his ministry. On more than one occasion,
I have been approached by a complete
stranger in the most unusual places—once
stepping out of a National Bookstore, another
time in Mega Mall—obviously moved by the
presence of a priest in cassock, to ask me to
hear his confession.
On the other hand, all this talk about making the priest look more like the laymen, in
order for them to be more present in society,
leads nowhere. Rather than a priestly presence, what is achieved by such non-wearing
of an exclusively priestly garb is a priestly
absence. In effect, the priest in ordinary garb
disappears in the mass of the laity in similar
attire. As the Second Vatican Council pointed
out, the external appearance of the cleric
should be a sign that can and ought to attract
all the members of the Church to an effective
and prompt fulfillment of the duties of their
Christian vocation. Of course, when circumstances so require, it is always possible for
priests to wear secular attire—e.g., times of
recreation and sports, or manual and messy
work.
Finally, let me mention yet another function of the priestly garb. The priestly attire,
especially the cassock, is the priest’s first line
of defense for modesty in public—both on his
part and on the part of others towards him. A
virile looking priest—which is the way a priest
should be, in the first place, since he is supposed to be another Christ, and Christ is perfect God and perfect man (and I emphasize
man)—will surely encourage proper decorum
towards him, especially on the part of women,
if he were more visibly a priest, in priestly
garb.
The Question of Priestly Presence
Some people (including priests) say that
wearing a cassock puts some kind of distance
between priests and ordinary people, that
instead of feeling at ease, ordinary people
feel uncomfortable.
I’ve been a priest for almost 25 years now,
and I’ve always—as in 99 percent of the
time—worn a cassock when I’m with people,
and I still have to meet anybody who feels
uncomfortable because of what I’m wearing.
On the contrary, I have been told time and
again-—especially by women and girls—that
they feel uncomfortable, especially going to
confession, with a priest who is dressed like
an ordinary worker.
There has to be a certain distance—one
owed by reverence because of his priestly
character—between the priest and the ordinary faithful. Otherwise, he may be confused
as an ordinary lay faithful, rather than a consecrated minister. Being close to the ordinary
faithful is not a question of the priest becoming like them, but of his knowing how to understand, love and sacrifice himself for them.
What makes the priest close to the faithful is
the genuineness of his life, not the hipness of
his clothes.
It’s the lack of clear identification of roles
that makes people uncomfortable with
priests. A self-respecting woman might feel
uncomfortable baring her soul to somebody
who is not clearly a sacred minister, but who
looks, acts and feels like just another man.
Conclusion
To conclude, how should women deal with
priests? I think the proper way for women to
deal with priests would have three characteristics:
1) Reverence—since he is a sacred minister,
Christ amongst us. This precludes any frivolity or familiarity. He is not just another
man, but a man of God.
2) Filial affection—since he is her spiritual
father. This precludes any thoughtlessness,
aloofness, or insensitivity to his needs. He
needs prayers, understanding, and also material support.
3) Naturalness —not forgetting that he is a
man, with a fallen nature. This precludes silly
situations which a woman of her stature
wouldn’t tolerate with another man.
Celebrating the mass silently
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina
Apostolorum University, answers
the following questions:)
Q: Recently at our local national shrine I was visiting the
Blessed Sacrament when a young
priest whom I had never seen
before began to set up for Mass. I
sat down to wait, really happy to
be there for this surprise Mass; it
was 10 p.m. The priest “said” the
whole Mass silently. At first I was
confused. I’d never seen this before. It actually was quite beautiful nonetheless, and he did speak
once, to invite us to receive Communion. Tell me about this
please. If the canon is a public
prayer, how can this be? Was it
indeed valid?—T.H., Santa Clara,
California
A : From the description I
would suppose that the Mass was
celebrated by a traveling priest
who had not had time to celebrate beforehand. In this, at least,
he showed commendable devotion to his daily Mass, which is
recommended for all priests even
if nobody can be present.
If a priest celebrates alone or
with just an acolyte he may use a
subdued voice in celebrating
Mass. He may not, however,
“say” any part of the Mass internally. Because the Mass is a public prayer of the Church, all of its
parts, including the readings,
must be proclaimed vocally.
This vocal proclamation, even
if audible only to the priest himself, is required for the Mass to
be licit and is essential to the validity of the consecration.
Pope Pius XII affirmed this point
in a 1956 discourse regarding silent concelebration. The issue was
later formalized in a decree of the
then Holy Office on March 8, 1957,
that declared that according to
Christ’s institution, only he who
pronounces the words of consecration validly celebrates.
In the case at hand, given the
late hour, the priest was probably
surprised to see anybody present
at all and might not have known
how to react.
Although perhaps excused by
inexperience, the moment he re-
alized that there were people
present and interested in participating in the Mass (as shown by
his inquiry regarding Communion), he should have celebrated
in such a manner that the people
could hear him and take the parts
proper to the assembly.
In this way the Mass as an action of the whole Church would
have been manifested more
clearly.
All that I have said up to now
presupposes that the priest celebrated according to the ordinary
Roman rite and in the vernacular.
If he was using the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, then
he would have correctly celebrated Mass in a low voice and
in Latin.
A: I think you are correct that this is taking the role of commentator a bit too far.
The liturgical function of the commentator is described,
along with that of sacristans, ushers, and those who take up
the collection, in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, No. 105:
“The commentator […] provides the faithful, when appropriate, with brief explanations and commentaries with
the purpose of introducing them to the celebration and
preparing them to understand it better. The commentator’s
remarks must be meticulously prepared and clear though
brief. In performing this function the commentator stands
in an appropriate place facing the faithful, but not at the
ambo.”
No. 352 of the GIRM later insists on the need for preparation: “Since, indeed, a variety of options is provided for the
different parts of the Mass, it is necessary for the deacon, the
lectors, the psalmist, the cantor, the commentator, and the
choir to be completely sure before the celebration which text
for which each is responsible is to be used and that nothing be
improvised. Harmonious planning and carrying out of the
rites will great assistance in disposing the faithful to participate in the Eucharist.”
This is all that is said about the commentator. By saying
This is all that is said about the
commentator. By saying that the
commentator intervenes “when
appropriate” could be interpreted
that this function is best used
whenever there is something special, such as a confirmation or
ordination that requires some
explanation.
that the commentator intervenes “when appropriate” could
be interpreted that this function is best used whenever there
is something special, such as a confirmation or ordination
that requires some explanation.
The insistence that this office’s functions must be meticulously prepared and are specifically orientated toward helping the people live the celebration would seem to exclude
spontaneous interventions and unprepared remarks based on
the homily.
Likewise it is highly debatable that the assembly’s singing
“Happy Birthday” is the most appropriate spiritual preparation for Mass.
It must also be remembered that GIRM, No. 31, specifically
assigns the presentation of the rite and any concluding summaries to the presiding priest and not to the commentator: “It
is also up to the priest, in the exercise of his office of presiding
over the gathered assembly, to offer certain explanations that
are foreseen in the rite itself…. In addition, he may give the
faithful a very brief introduction to the Mass of the day (after
the initial Greeting and before the Act of Penitence), to the
Liturgy of the Word (before the readings), and to the Eucharistic Prayer (before the Preface), though never during the
Eucharistic Prayer itself; he may also make concluding comments to the entire sacred action before the dismissal.”
GIRM, No. 50, however, foresees the possibility that the
brief introduction to the Mass of the day may also be assigned
to a lay minister.
Although it is not a specific function of the commentator to
call out the songs or make the usual announcements at the
end of Mass, it is practical so as not to multiply the number of
people in the sanctuary. All the same, it would be better to
find another means to designate the songs so as to limit interruptions to the prescribed rite.
The duty of indicating, whenever necessary, the posture to
be adopted by the people has traditionally fallen on the deacon, or on the cantor. It is usually only necessary when some
special rite is celebrated, such as the Litany of Saints during
ordinations.
The duty of indicating, whenever necessary, the posture to
be adopted by the people has traditionally fallen on the deacon or the cantor. But No. 43 of the GIRM also allows this task
to be assigned to another lay minister if necessary: “With a
view to a uniformity in gestures and postures during one and
the same celebration, the faithful should follow the directions
which the deacon, lay minister, or priest gives according to
whatever is indicated in the Missal.”
I believe that such indications are usually only necessary
when some special rite is celebrated, such as the Litany of
Saints during ordinations or in places where there are frequent visitors from different parts of the world who might be
used to other practices.
Otherwise I believe that it is better to leave aside choreographic gestures and indications for regular Sunday Masses.
Some of these might have been necessary at the beginning of
the reform until people got used to the new rite. But after
nearly 40 years of practice I think most Catholics now know
when to kneel, sit and stand.
Something similar can be said about the persistent habit of
cantors raising their hands, or saying “Response” after each
psalm verse or invocation of the prayer of the faithful. It was
all very well when the responsorial psalm and the intercessions were liturgical novelties, but by now it is sometimes a
bit theatrical and distracting.
It is worth noting that such gestures are studiously avoided
in papal Masses celebrated in Rome. The faithful easily interpret the appropriate moment to intervene as indicated by a
pause, the cadence of the melody, or the intervention of the
organ.
CBCP Monitor
Diocese
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
By Most Rev. Marlo Peralta
THE whole province of Pangasinan once
belonged to the Diocese of LingayenDagupan which is composed of 46 municipalities and three cities. In 1985, it
was divided into three dioceses; the Diocese of Alaminos on the west, created in
January 1985; the Diocese of Urdaneta
on the east; and the Archdiocese of
Lingayen-Dagupan on the central part
of the province.
Alaminos diocese is a beautiful country with an area of 249,670 hectares
which is endowed with rich natural resources of mountains, rivers and the sea.
Alaminos in Western Pangasinan is probably the only bishopric in the whole
world with a hundred islands.
There also live about 600,000 people,
majority of whom are poor but are filled
join the diocese.
Apart from their number, the manifestation of unity among our clergy with
the Bishop is considered as essential in
fulfilling their role as ministers. During
the Chrism Mass they not only renew
their vows of obedience to the bishop
but also their vows to hold each other as
brothers and to hold on to their priestly
vows of celibacy and simplicity. They
strive to live a lifestyle that does not
only foster renunciation of their material possessions but also make them
available to generously and wholeheartedly serve the people. During their
monthly meetings and recollection they
do not only pray together but also pray
for one another. Their annual rest and
recreation activities are occasions for
them to enjoy each other’s company,
appreciate each other and even discover
their varied talents.
the aged, and the handicapped who belong to the Association of the Sick and
Aged (ASA), have the special apostolate
of prayer and offering of their pains and
afflictions for the conversion of the
whole diocese.
The vendors, fishermen, farmers,
teachers, drivers, laborers and the like;
they too are doing their share in the task
of evangelization in their homes, in the
market place, the farm, the seas and other
places of work. They do their work honestly and conscientiously and give extra
care to protect and nurture the natural
resources not only for themselves but
for the whole community.
The Overseas Filipino workers with
their families also participate in the task
of evangelization as they provide for the
needs of their families; and as they realize their evangelizing role in their places
of work especially in many non-Chris-
B3
to thank God in commemoration of the
10 th year anniversary of the diocese. The
Assembly gave birth to three pastoral
priorities, namely, a) The importance of
Ecclesial Communion which must exist
among the so-called Agents of Renewal:
the clergy, the religious and the lay
people; b) the establishment of Structures that would allow wider Participation; and, c) the identification of (BEC)—
Basic Ecclesial Communities as the Pastoral Thrust of the Diocese.
The diocese held its Second Diocesan
Pastoral Assembly on November 19 to
23, 2000 focusing on Lay Ministry and
Participation.
The basic concern was how the lay
people could effectively and efficiently
participate in the life and mission of the
Church and how the different lay
apostolates and ministries could be integrated into the Diocesan Pastoral
socio-economic programs like cooperatives, health and nutrition programs,
medical assistance and scholarships to
elementary, high school and college students, housing projects, relief and rehabilitation activities. It has also undertaken special projects to and rehabilitates
the environment like the reforestation
project and organic farming. It has established projects and services that serve
the needs and promote the welfare of
the sick, the aged and disabled, the
youth, children, women, farmers, fishermen, and the indigenous peoples.
The above programs and projects are
effectively implemented through the
different apostolates and ministries such
as the Catechetical Program, Biblical
Apostolate, Youth Ministry, Family and
Life Program, Social Action, Catholic
schools and Media Apostolate.
There are regular Pastoral activities
Diocese of Alaminos
IMPORTANT FACTS:
Bishop …………………………
1
Priests:
Diocesan …………..……… 28
Religious:
Filipino ……………………
8
Foreign ……………...……
2
Sisters:
Filipino …………………........ 62
Foreign ……………...…….
4
Seminarians:
Theology ………….......…… 13
Philosophy ……………....... 10
Pre-College ……..………….
5
High School …………..…… 13
Diocesan Divisions:
Vicariates …………………....
4
Parishes ……….....……….. 19
Educational Centers:
College …………….......……
1
High School ………….......…
7
Elementary ………..……….. 14
Pre-school …………….…... 14
Population ………....…… 575,157
Catholics …………….... 488,725
Area ……….......... 24,492 sq. kms.
with hope in the providence of God.
Majority of them earn by fishing and
farming.
Journey towards growth
The creation of the parishes did not
only happen during the Spanish era with
the coming of the Augustinian
Recoletos but went on to continue until
the present time. The 20th parish, St. Peter the Apostle in Pogoruac, was established last year. The creation of new
parishes is a manifestation of the continuous spiritual growth and development in the area, a fruit of the evangelization initiatives of the spiritual leaders during the Spanish era which is
handed down to the local Church leaders until it reached the time of Bishop
Jesus A. Cabrera, who became the first
bishop of the diocese in 1985. The current bishop, Most Rev. Marlo M. Peralta
took over as 2n d bishop of Alaminos
upon the retirement of Bishop Cabrera
last July 1, 2007.
The diocese turned 22 last year. Its
journey is accompanied by God’s abiding providence. Christ had used “five
loaves of bread and two fishes” as symbols of what helped in feeding the multitude. The Diocese of Alaminos has experienced receiving “loaves of bread and
fishes”. These have come in the form of
the following elements which are considered pillars that supported and nourished the diocese of Alaminos in its
growth and development as a young
Church.
1. Clergy
When the diocese started in 1985 there
were only 16 priests but after persistent
prayers and hard work in promoting
vocations there are now almost 45
priests and still growing as more priests,
both secular and religious continue to
ON BACKGROUNG: St. Joseph the Patriarch Cathedral.
ON FOREGROUND: Bishop Marlo M. Peralta
2. Religious Sisters
The diocese is grateful to the sisters
who continue to grow in number. From
13 in 1985, the number has grown to 64
representing 16 congregations. The sisters have not only provided assistance
to carry out the various pastoral works
in different parts of the diocese but also
helped in its spiritual growth through
their prayers. There are three groups of
contemplatives, considered the powerhouse of prayer in the diocese. They are
the Hermits of the Living Word who do
not only pray to bring life to souls, but
also work to bring life to our bald mountains through Agro-forestry technology;
the Poor Clare Sisters, based in Bolinao;
and the Carmelite Sisters in Burgos.
3. Lay People
The largest group consists of the Lay
people whose growth is not only seen
in the increase of their number but more
so in their active and purposive involvement in the various ministries and
apostolates of the Church.
Some of the Lay people are formally
integrated in the Church by their membership in the different religious organizations and movements such as the
Apostleship of Prayer, Catholic
Women’s League, Charismatic groups,
and others.
The poor members of the diocese
have a place in the local Church not only
as recipients of evangelization work and
services but also as active agents of renewal. Many of them are involved as
volunteers working as catechists, health
workers attending to the needs of their
neighbors, BEC coordinators or as Bible
facilitators. Still others are involved in
spiritual activities attending regularly
the First Friday night vigil and praying
for the diocese while the rest of the Christian community sleeps. Even the sick,
tian parts of the world where they are
employed.
Indeed, the importance of the self-giving and life-sharing actions of the lay
people for the Kingdom of God cannot
be overemphasized. The challenge for
the diocese is to continually form, enable, encourage, inspire and support
them in the fulfillment of their vocation.
Pastoral processes
The Pastoral processes are not mere
activities but they are expressions of
Unity and Communion in the diocese.
These also provide the pastoral direction which guides the diocese in realizing its vision and mission.
The following Pastoral Processes are
consciously followed and adopted in
some of the more advanced BEC’S, in
the parishes and the diocese as a whole:
Vision: To become a community of
Christ’s disciples.
As early as 1986, Bishop Cabrera convened the clergy and some lay people to
define what kind of diocese they would
like to have. Their dream was articulated
in the first document of the Diocesan
Vision: Eternal Salvation in Christ
through Total Human Development.
Later, when the first Diocesan Pastoral
Assembly was called, the first document
was reviewed and thus born the existing vision: To become a Community of
Christ’s Disciples.
The vision of the diocese is an articulation of the aspirations, hopes and
dreams of the people: the Bishop, the
clergy, religious and the lay people, and
has provided the pastoral direction for
the whole diocese.
Diocesan Pastoral Assemblies
The first Diocesan Assembly was celebrated in October 1995 as a fitting way
Thrust of Building BEC’s. The basic programs, structures, skills and values
needed to enable the lay people to participate in the evangelizing task of the
diocese in fulfillment of their vocation
were identified.
The third Pastoral Assembly had
Communion of Communities as its
theme. To realize this goal the assembly focused on the following pastoral
priorities, namely, a) the participation
of all in the life and mission of the
Church; b) how to develop a deeper commitment and greater sense of responsibility among the faithful; c) holistic and
integral evangelization; and, d) how to
make the communities become more
self-reliant and self-sustaining.
The formation and strengthening of
the BECs is another pastoral process that
led to the realization of the Diocesan
Vision. There are at present more than
800 BECs organized and existing in the
different barangays of the 20 parishes in
various levels of development and capabilities.
The diocese finds the translation of its
character as a Church of the Poor in the
basic Ecclesial Communities. It is building the Church from the bottom up, propelled by the people especially the poor
and marginalized. Rich and poor alike
find their identity and unity with one
another and with the whole Church
through the BEC’s.
Pastoral programs and activities
The diocese is not only concerned
with the building of structures but especially with the building of people. The
various pastoral programs are strategies
to realize its vision, focused in forming
and training laypeople through various
seminars and recollections so as to better respond to the needs and aspirations
of the poor. And so it has established
that are institutionalized in various levels of life in the diocese. These activities
strengthen the connectedness of the
people. These have allowed the people
from the farthest BEC or barangays to
experience their being a part of the parish, the diocese and the universal Church
as a whole. The following activities are
held with varied frequencies: a) Meetings of leaders in all levels of the Church:
BEC, Parish, Vicariate, and the Diocese.
This includes the monthly meeting of
the Diocesan Pastoral Council and the
different religious organizations and
movements; b) Monthly Clergy Meeting and Recollection; c) AWRA (Association of Women Religious of
Alaminos) Meetings; d) Inter-BEC exchange; e) Inter-parish visits which are
avenues for new pastoral ideas, technical assistance and exchange of resources,
ideas and technologies; f) Diocesan celebrations such as Christ the King celebration, the Lenten Pilgrimage to Surip,
Annual Misa de Gracia in Manaoag,
Chrism Mass, Anniversary Celebrations,
Joint Clergy and Religious Christmas
Recollection and Program.
The Journey continues
The seed that was sown 22 years ago
has grown, first as a small plant and now
has become a tree bearing fruit to give
life and shade to whosoever wishes to
come into its fold. But the work of God
in this diocese is not over yet, God continues to invite laborers who will continue the task of nurturing and nourishing this local church. God calls everyone to continue giving strength to the
“Community of Christ’s Disciples,” to
keep on building and nourishing the
Body of Christ in this particular place
called the Diocese of Alaminos.
B4
CBCP Monitor
Commissions
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
CBCP Official re-elected moderator in int’l Biblical Assembly
Baguio Youth
to celebrate
WYD in union
with Sydney
EPISCOPAL Commission on
Biblical Apostolate and Sorsogon
Bishop Arturo Bastes, SVD has
been re-elected as Moderator of
the Executive Committee of the
Catholic Biblical Federation
(CBF) during its 7th Plenary Assembly at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Africa, on July 3.
Themed “Word of God –
Source of Reconciliation, Justice
and Peace”, the Biblical Assembly had just concluded its twoweek international meeting
which ran from June 24 until July
3. The theme was complemented
with a biblical passage, “We are
ambassadors for Christ (2 Cor
5:19-20).
Participated in by 230 delegates
from 320 member organizations
worldwide, the CBF meets regularly every six years to discuss
common concerns and ongoing
work of the Federation. The assembly also serves as a venue for
an exchange of significant pastoral themes and concepts and to
establish links and networks
among member organizations.
Delegates from the Philippines
include Bishop Arturo Bastes,
ECBA chairman, LingayenDagupan Auxiliary Bishop
Renato Mayugba, Chairman of
John Paul I Regional Biblical
Center of Northern Luzon and
Cordillera, Fr. Dominador
Ramos, SVD, president of Divine
Word College, Urdaneta and
former Director of John Paul I
Biblical Center, Sr. Miriam
Alejandrino, OSB (exegete), Miss
Mary Almonte (Mother of Life),
Sr. Antonia Anas, SIHM (BA Director SIHM), Miss Estrella del
Mar (Cebu Lay Formation Center) and Fr. Oscar Alunday
(ECBA).
It was the first time in the 40year existence of the Federation
that a meeting was held in Africa. The previous Assemblies
took place in Vienna (1972), Malta
(1978), Bangalore (1984), Bogota
(1990), Hongkong (1996), and
Beirut (2002). (Pinky Barrientos,
FSP)
Power to Unite ... soaring high on its 2nd season!
FINANCIAL constraint is no reason why the youth cannot be
active participants of the World Youth Day.
This was disclosed recently by Fr. Abner Dalilis and
Nathaniel Felipe, Director and Coordinator, respectively, of
the Diocesan Youth Ministry of Baguio.
Invitations were sent to the young people in Baguio belonging to any form of organization: parish youth ministry,
Student Catholic Action, charismatic organizations, to encourage them to take part in the Diocesan Youth Day to be held on
July 19, 2008, at the same time the World Youth Day is celebrated in Sydney.
With the theme “You will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses”, the
Diocesan Youth Day aims to gather the youth in Baguio to
celebrate in union with the youth of the world during World
Youth Day in Sydney, Australia.
The Diocesan Youth Day will kick off with the assembly
and pilgrim prayers at Malcolm Square. Afterwards, in the
spirit of pilgrims, the young people will walk in procession
towards Our Lady of Atonement Cathedral in the center of
Baguio.
Once in the Baguio Cathedral grounds the youth participants will celebrate events being done in every World Youth
Day: animation, catechesis, prayer and, above all, the Holy
Mass.
The singing of the World Youth Day 2008 theme song will
be led by the San Jose Band. Welcome remarks will be given
by Fr. Mark Batolne. Fr. Abner Dalilis will describe the history of World Youth Days. Fr. Rosito Pedro will present the
guest speakers: lay evangelists and composer-writers Moises
Catan and Kiddo Cosio of the Elim Community well-known
for their Gospel song “Call Me Happy”. The rest of the morning will be filled with cultural presentations, such as native
dances, in the Cathedral Square. The climax of the Youth Day
will be at noontime with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist
by Bishop Carlito Cenzon and concelebrating priests.
The Diocese of Baguio held activities in the past months as a
way to prepare the youth to celebrate the World Youth Day
and also as a way to better address the needs of its numerous
young people.
On May 1 to 3, 2008, the Diocesan Youth Ministry Assembly
was held in Saint Francis Xavier Seminary, Baguio City. With
the theme “Youth: One In Vision, Active In Mission”, Catholic
youth leaders from all the parishes of the Diocese of Baguio
gathered for prayers and formation with the objective of validating, aligning and making one’s own the Vision–Mission of
the Diocesan Youth Ministry and to re-affirm the Diocesan
Youth Ministry programs, activities and structure.
On May 26-28, 2008, the first Youth Camp of Our Lady of
Atonement Cathedral Parish was held in Villa Mirador Hill,
Baguio City. With the Theme “The Youth Called to be Gathered in Ministry Towards Unity”, 70 young people from the
different communities of the Cathedral Parish received talks
from clergy and lay facilitators to help them draw insights
about the importance of participating in the life of the parish
and the community as a whole.
A high point of the youth events in Baguio previous to the
World Youth Day was the 9th Breviarian Big Tent Festival
celebrated on May 27 to 31, 2008, at the campus grounds of San
Pablo Major Seminary, Crystal Cave. The youth event adopted
this year’s theme from Acts 18:9 “Do not be afraid; keep on
speaking, do not be silent.” The participants received talks on
topics aimed to help them to be more aware of the Eucharist,
the Church, and the specific role of the youth in society today.
Workshops were also held to deepen the participants’ knowledge on the topics discussed. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)
THE television program Power to Unite began its second season last April bringing to
viewers’ attention issues and concerns related
to education.
Aired on two television networks, NBN-4
and IBC-13, the pilot episode delved on the
issue of education or the lack of it as experienced by the indigenous people. The program
tackled the struggles the indigenous people
face in their daily fight against ignorance.
The first episode featured the Atis in Mount
Bakirohan and Sitio Bulabog in Boracay, exposing the harsh reality of their lives in their
struggle for a better education for their children. It also revealed the successful and progressive Aetas in Sitio Gala, Barangay
Sacatihan in Subic, Zambales.
Their stories clearly emphasized the basic
desire of humans to be educated. It also demonstrated the great power of education to
change and improve the lives of people.
The first episode set the general theme for
the whole season. In stressing the importance
of education, the TV program challenged the
people to value their education, improve its
quality and make it accessible to all.
The succeeding episodes highlighted the es-
sential and complex roles of the
parents, the youth
and schools in
education; featured the various
kinds of educational programs
offered to the public; and underscored the vital
role of the Catholic Church in the
holistic education
of students.
The show’s
guests
came
from educational
institutions. Religious people were also invited in the show to ensure that right values
and attitude towards education were promoted.
The whole 2nd season of Power to Unite
aspires to awaken the people’s consciousness
to value God-given blessings in particular
education.
It also encourages people to be good stew-
ards of education and to ensure that it is shared
to all. By uniting everyone, every Filipino becomes a channel of love and an agent of hope.
Hosted by Ms. Elvira Go and produced by
the National Catholic Family Bible Foundation, Inc., Power to Unite is a half-hour program aired every Sunday 6:00-6:30 pm at
NBN-4, and 10:00-10:30pm at IBC-13. (Fr. Mike
Garcia, SSS)
Peter / B1
owned, as they believed, the
same two apostles as their
founders.
Acts 18:1-11 describes Paul’s activities in Corinth; it was also
from Corinth that he wrote his
letter to the Romans. Peter’s presence or influence in Corinth is
alluded to by the “Kephas party,”
one of the rival groups in the city
(1 Cor 1:12). It was therefore natural for Roman Christians to take
a particular interest in the
troubles of their Corinthian
brethren.
There is no suggestion here of
the authority that has yet to inhere in the Roman Church. On
the other hand, the wide influence which this letter may have
had on the Christian circles
would have prepared the ground
for the future assertions and
claims of the Bishop of Rome, on
the Papacy.
Double martyrs
The New Testament is silent on
the death of the two apostles. The
Acts of the Apostles ends with
Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.
Tradition affirms rather confi-
dently that he was released, was
arrested and imprisoned a second
time, and was sentenced to death
during the general persecution of
Christians in Rome under Nero.
He died by the sword. 2 Tm 4:6-8
has preserved most likely Paul’s
last words:
I am already being poured out like
a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well;
I have finished the race; I have kept
the faith. From now on the crown of
righteousness awaits me, which the
Lord, the just judge, will award to
me on that day, and not only to me,
but to all who have longed for his appearance.
In turn, Peter disappears from
the account in Acts after the
Council of Jerusalem. Hints in
Paul’s letters as well as in the
Petrine correspondence suggest
a wider area of missionary activity in Asia Minor. There are allusions to Peter’s death in Jn 21:1819. But did Peter also preach in
Rome and was martyred there?
1 Pt hints that Peter was in
Rome, assuming that Babylon
symbolizes Rome (1 Pt 5:13).
Clement’s letter, quoted above,
does not directly identify the
place or the manner of the death
of the apostles but adds further
weight to the early tradition
which associates the martyrdom
of Peter and Paul with Rome and
with Nero’s persecution.
The Church historian Eusebius
of Caesaria writes that Peter and
Paul had both taught in Rome and
then died under Nero. Peter was
crucified head down.
The tradition that Peter and
Paul were both martyred in
Rome gave prestige and authority to the Roman church. Christian churches were proud of their
patron saint or martyr. The two
founders—Peter and Paul—made
the Roman church superior to
those who had only one.
Moreover, the possession of
both martyrs’ shrine provided
the Roman church with the presence of the divine and gave the
bishop of Rome control over access to the saints. In the fourth
century, pilgrimages to the
Vatican shrine on the Feast of Sts.
Peter and Paul were celebrated
with magnificence.
The motif of a unified apos-
tolic tradition expressed by the
dual martyrs invoked the need
for concord and solidarity. Solidarity was mediated by Rome. In
the process it hastened the tradition of a Roman primacy based
on the heritage of Peter. Paul
could not be used against Peter
because believers who saw Peter
and Paul united in martyrdom
would not believe that they had
been divided in teaching.
The claim to the concord of the
dual founders would be further
strengthened by the liturgical
celebration which situates their
martyrdom on June 29, the founding of the city of Rome.
In a sermon on the feast, Pope
Leo the Great would make the
point of contrast among the political and religious “founders”
of Rome: “The Apostles have better protected the city than those
who built its walls and soiled it
by fratricide.”
Peter and Paul were held to be
the founders of the Church of
Rome, like Romulus and Remus,
the two mythical brothers who
are said to have founded the city.
Peter / B5
CBCP Monitor
Statements
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
B5
Pastoral Statement on the Jubilee of St. Paul 2008-2009
Choose the Lord!
Reject Evil!
“Grace to you
and peace from
God our Father
and the Lord
Jesus Christ!”
(1 Cor 1:3)
WE, the Bishops of the Philippines, welcome
with eagerness the announcement of the Holy
Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the universal
Church would celebrate a special Jubilee Year
of the Apostle Paul. On June 28, 2007, during
the celebration of the solemnity of the holy
apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of Saint
Paul outside the Walls, the Pope said: “I am
happy to announce officially that we shall
dedicate a special Jubilee Year to the apostle
Paul, from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009, on
the occasion of the bi-millennium of his birth,
which historians have placed between the
years 7 and 10 A.D.”
Together with the rest of our fellow Asian
Catholic Christians, how can we Filipinos not
be moved to greet with enthusiasm the commemoration of the man who made it possible for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to go beyond the confines of Israel and reach the rest
of us, “Gentiles”?
The Apostle to the Gentiles
Saul, who later became Paul—the man we
call “the Apostle to the Gentiles”—was formerly known as a rabid persecutor of Christianity before he became its most avid propagator. He was the arch-enemy of that fledgling sectarian movement of the early first
century that claimed that Jesus of Nazareth,
the man whom Pilate had executed on the
cross, had been raised by God from the dead
and was in fact the Messiah the Jews had long
awaited. This zealous Pharisee saw the nascent Jesus movement known as “The Way”
as a threat to Judaism, and took upon himself
the task of destroying it—until that fateful
day on the road to Damascus. That experience would effect in him a complete turnaround; he became a whole new person, like
one who had been totally possessed by Christ.
Dazzled by the blinding light of Christ, he
received an entirely “new sight” that would
make him see as rubbish what he formerly
held to be of utmost importance, “in view of
the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord.” (Phil 3:8)
Many of our present-day nominal Filipino
Catholics who experience conversion at some
late stage in their life and turn into active
participants in the Church’s work of evangelization, cannot but relate with Paul’s moving story of spiritual transformation. Unfailingly, they often also find themselves drawing from Paul’s writings to sustain their process of renewal as disciples of the Risen Lord,
Pastoral Statement on the Proposal
to Operate the Bataan Nuclear
Power Plant
MANY people remember Bataan because of the Second World
War. In fact, our country commemorates each year on April 9
the Fall of Bataan in the hands of the Japanese forces in 1942. In
the past students in our schools were required to learn to heart
the literary piece Bataan Has Fallen by Salvador P. Lopez, as a
way of fostering civic duty and love of country.
Symbol of Evil
More than twenty years ago, Bataan once again became
known because of the nuclear power plant that was built in the
town of Morong. This nuclear power plant became the most
visible and flagrant symbol of corruption in government, especially as practiced by the Marcos administration. Today it
stands as a mute witness of this abominable greed and corruption and as reminder to all Filipinos that such deeds that only
bring untold suffering should never again be foisted on our
country.
Today our country’s leadership has floated the idea of reviving this monument of greed and incompetence in an effort to
address the global energy crisis. This move follows what is
being seen as the increasing incidence of unbridled and shameless graft and corruption that the country had in the 70’s and
80’s. They are twins born three decades apart.
as is the case with many members of our
Catholic Charismatic communities.
Paul considered the Damascus event as a
revelation and a call from God. His description of it echoes the prophetic call of Jeremiah
and the Servant of God in Isaiah: “God, who
from my mother’s womb called me through
his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to
me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles…” (Gal 2:15-16; cf. Jer 1:4, Is 49:1). From
then on, his life was given fully to Christ and
the Gospel. He traveled the Mediterranean
world, preached the Gospel especially to the
Gentiles, founded churches and wrote letters
that would become Sacred Scriptures. His toil
and hardship for the Gospel would easily
equal, if not surpass, those of any follower of
Christ. And so would his success. It would be
claimed that the conversion of Paul was second only to the Christ-event in importance
to the Christian faith. But Paul would consider himself only as a “servant of Jesus
Christ” (Rom 1:1). What he was, all his toils,
was due to the grace of God which was at
work in him. Paul’s life was then crowned
his with martyrdom; like Simon Peter he shed
his blood in Rome. The two apostles are considered the two pillars of the Church of Rome
which would become the mother of the
churches.
Liturgical, Cultural and Ecumenical Initiatives
Pope Benedict XVI has proposed various
activities for the Pauline Year, some of which
would take place in Rome in the Basilica of
St. Paul. Others can easily be carried out in
various places in the world, and concerning
these we invite the initiative and involvement of the Filipino faithful. The Holy Father notes that initiatives like penitential pilgrimages, study conventions and special publications on the Pauline texts can be implemented in the dioceses, shrines and places of
worship, by the Religious and by the educational institutions and social-assistance centers which are named after St. Paul or inspired
by him and his teaching.
Let us together mobilize the Filipino faithful so that the Pauline Year may turn into a
kairos ¯a graced occasion¯to know and imitate Saint Paul more in his consuming love
for Christ and his zeal to spread the Gospel.
We call upon all dioceses to come up with
their own specific programs for the Pauline
Year. The Bishops can designate churches
dedicated to St. Paul where the faithful can
go on pilgrimage and earn the gift of indulgences after following the requirements of
the Church. We call upon Bible scholars to
help us appreciate the Pauline Letters, the
most precious legacy of the Apostle to the
Church, but which many Christians remain
unfamiliar to. We especially call upon the
“Pauline” religious congregations, institutions and shrines to take special initiatives in
leading the people to a greater awareness,
love, and imitation of St. Paul whose life was
wholly directed to Christ. The apostle would
tell his converts: “Be imitators of me, as I am
of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). May these initiatives
help us make “St. Paul alive today” and propel us in our common apostolic mission as
Filipino Catholics towards the rest of Asia!
In particular, the OFWs (Overseas Filipino
Workers) among our faithful can draw a lot
of inspiration from the Apostle Paul, who
took every opportunity at each time he came
into contact with people of other nations, to
witness to the Good News of our Lord Jesus
Christ, often even at the price of so much
suffering, persecution, and imprisonment.
Lastly, the Holy Father points to one aspect that must be paid attention to during the
celebration—the ecumenical dimension. “The
Apostle to the Gentiles,” the Pope noted,
“who was especially committed to taking the
Good News to all peoples, left no stones
unturned for unity and harmony among all
Christians.” While ecumenical initiatives are
usually carried on the level of Church authorities, the faithful could always appreciate the universal and encompassing spirit of
the apostle Paul which would like all believers to be one mind and one purpose (1 Cor
1:10). He himself became “all things to all…
for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor 10:23). In
the words of the Holy Father, may the apostle
help us “to progress in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all members
of Christ’s Mystical Body.”
May the universal Church and the Filipino
faithful experience God’s abundant blessing
during this year of the Apostle’s Jubilee!
Threat to Human Beings
The Bataan nuclear power plant has long been declared
UNSAFE for two reasons that are impossible to refute:
First, the power plant was built in an area at the foot of the
dormant volcano Mount Natib and any volcanic eruption or
earthquake can pose fatal hazards to the lives of millions in
Central Luzon and Metro Manila. If the Bataan Nuclear Plant
had been operational at the time of the eruption of the Mount
Pinatubo, the devastation would have been tremendously incalculable and unimaginably catastrophic.
Second, the construction of the plant was attended by numerous irregularities among the contractors, especially on the
part of the government, sacrificing safety, quality and rigidness of methods and materials. None of those involved in the
construction of the nuclear power plant could give an assurance that they complied with internationally acceptable standards. In fact, some of our fishermen in Morong were hired as
welders during its construction without any briefing on safety
and the hazards that their carelessness could result in.
For and on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines,
Christian Witnessing
As Christian disciples, we must support and help in the
progress of people. Our support for human development is a
mandate of our Christian witnessing in the world. Progress
and development are not absolute goals that must be attained
at all cost. We are only stewards not owners. We must be responsible stewards not hirelings.
The issue of the Bataan nuclear power plant must be faced
with the heart and eyes of the Gospel. If Jesus were in Bataan, I
am sure the good Lord will oppose it. Let us choose the way of
Jesus. The way of Jesus is the way of responsible stewardship
of creation. Jesus wills the path of development that is truly
human¯protecting humanity, caring for humanity, saving humanity. Let us choose the way of the Lord.
+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
July 6, 2008
Peter / B4
Witnesses to Peter and Paul
Does the picture of the two
apostles in the latter tradition,
especially promoted by Rome,
coincide with the testimony of the
New Testament writings? How
do we compare Peter and Paul?
We know a great deal about
Peter because he appears in the
Gospels more frequently than any
of the other disciples. Let us bear
in mind, however, that the Gospel stories are not blow-by-blow
accounts of what Jesus and his disciples said and did. Rather, they
are stories that have undergone
reflection, selection, and arrangement to serve the purpose of the
evangelists. And so when we read
the episodes about Simon Peter,
we are not simply told of “what
really” happened; the stories were
reconstructed by the evangelists
to make them “real” and “relevant” for their readers. We must
ask not only, “Who really was
Simon Peter?” but also, “Who was
he in the perspective of Mark,
Matthew, Luke, and John?”
Aside from our images of Peter in the Gospels, we also know
of Peter in Acts. This is the Peter
according to the vision of Luke
who also wrote the Third Gospel. We have here the image of
Peter at the time the Gospel was
written. Its historical signifi-
cance, however, needs to be carefully assessed.
Information about Simon Peter in Acts can be matched by
first-hand information from the
letters of Paul. The letters carry
more historical weight; yet what
we have is the picture of Peter as
Paul saw him, sometimes as a
partner, at other times as a rival.
Finally, New Testament information about Peter is completed
by the Petrine tradition contained
in the two letters that bear his
name. Scholars generally believe
that these were written after the
death of the apostle.
When it comes to Paul, we
stand on a more solid ground. We
have our most reliable biographical information from his
personal letters that scholars accept to have been written by him.
These are the proto-Pauline letters: 1 Thessalonians, Galatians,
Philippians, 1& 2 Corinthians,
and Romans. Authenticity of 2
Thessalonians, Colossians, and
Ephesians is questioned by a
good number of scholars who see
them as written by surviving disciples of Paul familiar with his
theological tradition. The socalled Pastoral Letters (1 & 2
Timothy, Titus) are also excluded
as personal letters of Paul.
Most of the familiar informa-
tion about Paul is derived from
the Acts of the Apostles. Caution
is called for in using Acts because
Luke is primarily a theologian,
not a strict historian or biographer. As supportive and corroborative of Paul’s information
about himself, Luke will be helpful, but Paul’s own words about
his life and activities must have
precedence.
Christian Traditions
Christianity in the early years
was not as uniform as sometimes
we imagine it to be. Diversity in
the earliest Christian community
still comes as a surprise to many
people. Very early, we have mention from Paul of rival factions
in Corinth, due to the false understanding of the apostles who
preached to them (1 Cor 1:12).
Without calling them factions, we
can see different “strains” or distinctive patterns of faith—traditions that are associated with the
apostles. These are mainly the
Petrine, Pauline, and Johannine
traditions.
Peter is often depicted as the
spokesperson of orthodox Christian teaching which finds its expression in the Synoptic traditions. On the other hand, the
Pauline churches, only loosely
related to the Petrine authority,
stand on the claim of Paul that he
has the same mission and authority as Peter and others in view of
his commissioning by the risen
Lord (Gal 1:15-17). Lastly,
Johannine Christians acknowledge the legitimacy of the Petrine
traditions in other churches while
preserving the authority of their
own founder. Later, the Petrine
tradition will acknowledge the
letters of Paul (2 Pt 3:15) and use
them as model for the composition of letters in Peter’s name.
The Dispute between Peter and
Paul
A comparison between the two
apostles would not be complete
without mentioning the dispute
between the two apostles in
Antioch, as Paul reported in Gal
2:11-14. This has cast a long
shadow in the interpretation of
the history of early Christianity
and has found a surrogate in the
disputes between Catholic and
Protestant ecclesiology. The
Catholic Church emphasizes the
Petrine supremacy while the
Protestants look more to Paul.
Here, in this case, Peter appears
more in the shadow of Paul.
Let us, however, note that Peter here is viewed through the
lens of Paul, in the context of polemics. Paul’s treatment of Peter
More Tragic than War
If the national government will operate the Bataan nuclear
power plant, the Fall of Bataan in 1942 will pale in comparison.
In a matter of time, the world could be remembered with “Bataan
Has Exploded” in a more sensational way than “Bataan Has
Fallen.” Should the nuclear power plant constructed on the
Bataan peninsula, a peninsula lying on a major earthquake
fault, be made operational, a nuclear accident will be a tragedy
just waiting to happen to plunge the nation into a disaster in
the likes of Chernobyl.
Legacy of Good not Evil
We therefore appeal to the national leadership to look beyond the present energy crisis and see the adverse effects of
nuclear power on the rest of the world. Until now there is no
safe and permanent technology for the disposal of radioactive
waste materials from nuclear power plants in First World countries. Radioactive waste is a perennial threat to our people.
Nuclear garbage is radioactive for thousands of years and can
cause harm to our children for hundreds of years to come. Will
this be the legacy we shall leave behind?
It threatens to destroy the marine life around the Bataan
Peninsula because of the heat that nuclear power plants discharge into the ocean. Hot waste water will destroy our fish
and prevent the normal development of fish eggs. Is this what
we want for our children?
Do we imperil the future of our children—and our land—for
the slight comfort of having low cost electricity now?
From the Cathedral of Saint Joseph, Balanga City, July 7, 2008
+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS, D.D.
Bishop of Balanga
belongs to his overall argument
with the Galatians, that salvation
is through faith in Christ and that
the Gentiles are not to be compelled to “Judaize.” It would
have been interesting to know
Peter’s side of the dispute!
In Luke’s perspective, in the
Council of Jerusalem, the Church
leaders exempted the Gentiles
from circumcision but told them
to avoid certain actions that offended Jewish sensitivities: pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, the meat of strangled animals, and blood (Acts 15:20). In
Paul’s recall, in that Council the
three “pillars” of Jerusalem—Peter, James, and John—gave him
equal status with themselves;
they saw that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the
Gentiles, just as Peter to the Jews.
Only one request was made of
Paul: to remember the poor,
which he was most eager to do
(Gal 2:7-10).
In practice, however, the
“boundaries” was not strictly
kept. Paul would preach to the
Jews as well as to the Gentiles,
while Peter went to Antioch and
fraternized and ate with the Gentiles. But some very conservative
people from James came to town
and exerted pressure on Peter to
cease eating with the Gentiles;
when Paul saw that, he accused
him with inconsistency. We do
not know what prompted James
to advise Peter to desist. Perhaps
increased persecution of Christians in Jerusalem led to concern
over behavior which might appear to encourage apostasy from
Judaism. Peter probably agreed,
more likely for programmatic
reasons than theological ones. In
any case, Paul saw it differently.
But given the rhetorical perspective, Paul placed himself over
Peter to defend the integrity of
the gospel he preached to the
Galatians.
CBCP Monitor
Reflections
B6
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Mountain
retreat
I JUST had the very precious privilege to spend a few days in a mountain
retreat somewhere in the elevated fastness of Bukidnon. It was a very cool
place, windy, often wet and shrouded in mist and fog.
But when the air cleared up, it showed a breath-taking view of green
rolling hills, valleys, trees swaying, clouds forming and chasing, with the
hint of the sea in the horizon. It was as if God himself painted and was
showing his work in all its splendor.
Beautiful flowers abounded. Cows, sheep and horses kept me company,
and colorful birds simply decorated the pines and sky. For sounds, there was
the murmur of the brook, the chorus of the insects, the fluttering of leaves.
This must be paradise, I imagined.
Obviously, my heart was exploding in gratitude to God and to all, even as
I ventured into that very delicate task of recollecting, reflecting, studying
and praying. I strongly believe that we need to have a time for silence.
Silence enables us to go deep into ourselves. We’ll be surprised that in
spite of our age and experience, there still are uncharted waters and unmapped territories to be discovered. Truly, our human condition is soaked
in mysteries.
The hubbub of the city, with all its comings and goings, has a way of
paralyzing our spiritual faculties, of disorienting and even of alienating us
from our own selves, not to mention, from others.
Imperceptibly, we build walls around us, separating us from the others,
and establish our own mechanisms to complete our own make-believe world
where God and the others become mere props, decors and tools.
With silence and the help of untouched nature, we can readily see the
tricks played on us even by our own senses and reasonings. These powers,
supposed to bring us to God and to reality, often hijack us to another world,
if we are not careful.
Reality for us, of course, is a malleable thing. With our intelligence and
will, with our freedom and creativity, even if there’s an objective reality
established by God, we are capable of bending, molding and making it also
according to our own designs.
The reality we live in is never rigid, fixed and inert. It’s constantly flowing
and morphing. We have to understand that our subjective reality is supposed to coincide with God’s objective reality for us.
For this, a very dynamic process is involved. There’s always in our life an
interplay between God’s will and ours, between God’s laws and our intelligence and freedom. We have to train ourselves rigorously to do our part
well in this lifetime dance.
We have to frequently check what and how we are thinking, how we are
using our will and freedom, to see whether we are truly in love and whether
we are loving properly, that is, in the truth.
Silence helps us to see the basic structure of our mind and heart, and the
objects to which they get oriented. This is where we see whether these human powers are in their proper condition and are properly used.
They are supposed to be locked on God always, immersed in him even as
we grapple with our earthly affairs. But if we don’t take pains, they can dare
to detach themselves from God and be and work on their own, an anomaly
gripping many of us.
That’s when we start constructing our own world and reality. True, we are
intelligent and free, and in fact we need to be so as best as we can. We just
have to remember that our proper and constant object is God, and not just
some earthly, sensible or intelligible matter.
We have to develop the proper skills and virtues to spend our whole life
in God’s presence, driven with rectitude of intention, even as we handle
mundane things. Thus, we need to continually renew and enrich our routine
and lifestyle to fit this need.
Silence also facilitates internalizing things, attuning our senses and faculties to their proper object. It also merges us with time, allowing us to run
from the present to the past and then to the future, rectifying and refocusing
things along the way, until we reach the doorsteps of eternity and infinity
itself.
I’d like to thank the owners of Mountain Pines Place in Kalubmanan,
Manolo Fortich town for giving me this privilege.
Bo Sanchez
Stop comparing
and start living
REMEMBER when we were kids?
One little tyke will say, “My grandfather’s house is so large, it has fortytwo rooms!”
“Wala yan sa bahay ng Lolo ko!” his playmate chimes up, “To go from the
kitchen to the living room, you have to ride a tricycle.”
Naturally, the third boy speaks up, not wanting to be beaten. “Hah! Wala
yan sa bahay ng Lolo ko! If you’re in the dining room, and you want to call
the people to eat, you’ll have to phone them in their bedrooms—and you’ll
have to pay long-distance charges!”
Kids do that sort of thing. And we laugh.
But when adults do the same thing—it’s utterly embarrassing!
But then of course, what should we expect? Where did the kids learn it
from, anyway? (I’m gonna bet we learned some of it from our mothers.)
I remember the story of the four mothers who were nursing their babies,
chatting over a cup of tea. One of them said, “My son will be famous when
he grows up. He’ll be a Bishop, and when people see him, they’ll say, “Your
excellency…”
“Peanuts,” groaned the other mom. “That’s nothing. When my son grows
up, he’ll be a Cardinal, and when people see him, they’ll say, “Your eminence…”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. Too bad,” piped in the other woman, “because my son will
be Pope, and when people see him, they’ll say, “Your holiness…”
The fourth mother was silent, patting her little bundle of joy. So the other
women were intrigued and asked her, “And what will your son be when he
grows up, hmm?”
She smiled. “Oh, he’ll just be a priest.”
“Just a priest?” the others asked incredulously.
“Yes. And he’ll only be a short fellow, maybe 5 feet tall. But he’ll weigh
a horrendous 350 pounds. So that when people see him, they’ll say, “Oh my
God….”
I remember I came from our prayer meeting, and my friend Mike Joseph
Jr. preached to us that day. Mike’s a terrific preacher, and so I told my
mother that I really loved his preaching. Mom answered, “Yeah, I liked his
preaching too. But Bo, face it—no one can preach as good as you do.”
Wow. The President and Founder of Bo’s International Fan’s Club, in action!
I guess we’ve got this crazy thing in us that wants to know “who’s better”,
“who’s bigger”, “who’s richer”, “who’s more beautiful”—and even “who’s
holier”!
But I believe this is the source of much discontent in our lives.
Really!
If we can only stop comparing ourselves with others, I believe that we’ll
be happier and more at peace within.
My suggestion? Be yourself.
Live your life.
Do the best you can, and leave the rest to God.
And you’ll be at peace.
(And finally, our Lolo’s can rest in peace as well.)
Illustration by Bladimer Usi
Good seeds
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time
(Wis. 12:13, 16-19; Rom. 8:26-27; Mt. 13:24-43)
July 20, 2008
By Paul Marquez,
SSP
WHY does God allow holduppers, kidnappers, drug
lords and drug pushers and
cold-blooded murderers to
continue on living? Didn’t
we at times wish that the pain
suffered by innocent people
agonizing with cancer and
other physical maladies
should have instead visited
upon criminal elements or
the so-called ‘scourge’ of society? Why doesn’t God in
one full sweep unleash a bolt
of lightning to strike dead all
the thugs and thieves in society, including wolves in
sheep’s clothing and those
whom society extols as ‘honorable’ ?
We turn to the readings of
this Sunday’s celebration
that can hopefully shed light
on these questions. The
Book of Wisdom tells us that
God is all-powerful yet he
is merciful in rendering
judgment. He employs
mercy, not violence; his
means of justice is never
vengeance. He rules the
world with utter patience
and forbearance. Is this the
face of God that we want? Is
this the face of God that we
are prepared to emulate?
The Book of Wisdom
shows us a face of God similar to what Jesus presents to
us in the New Testament. He
does not distance himself
from sinners; instead, he seeks
them out. In Jesus, God
reaches out in solidarity to
sinners and invites them towards repentance. This
friendly stance towards public sinners did not sit well
with the Pharisees, the religious elite of Jesus’ time. In
forgiving sinners, Jesus suffers criticism from the Pharisees but Jesus never nursed
ill feelings towards this
group nor towards anybody.
In fact he teaches everyone to
pray to his heavenly Father:
“Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.”
In the parable of the weeds
among the wheat, the Sower
warns against pulling the
weeds lest damage is done to
the wheat. God is confident
that he has put beautiful and
quality seeds in our hearts
able to render a multiplicity
of fruits. Until our final
breath, the human heart will
be the battleground between
good and evil. St. Paul consoles us saying that in our
desire for the good seed to
prevail, we can rely on the
Spirit that “intercedes with inexpressible groanings” (Rom
8:26).
God’s spirit dwelling in us
enables us to “go against the
grain”. While the world insists
on “eye for an eye”, the genuine follower of Jesus will
learn forgiveness and patience. When critics carp and
claw at us, we always have the
option to quietly work for
peace rather than viciously
strike back. For Jesus, the person who is truly “strong” is
one who has learned how to
restrain oneself and knows
how to manage any kind of
situation that life may bring.
Those who have the tendency
to attack and to bluster betray
a weak personhood and may
actually be marching under a
different drummer.
From the Christian standpoint, Saul was considered
one of the ‘weeds’ before he
came to know Jesus on the
way to Damascus. Saul hated
to his guts people who believed in Jesus. He wanted to
put every Christian behind
bars. Despite the gruesome
background of Saul, God became very patient with him.
After God ‘pulled’ out Saul
from a dark past, he started to
be known as Paul and began
to work as an apostle to the
Gentiles as an energetic and
tireless missionary.
From Saul’s perspective,
however, his zeal in persecuting Christians was his honor
and duty as a Pharisee who
wished to adhere faithfully to
the law expressed in the Torah. He claims that he has been
most fervent in the observance of the law and the most
zealous in fighting the enemies of his ancient faith. Saul
was convinced that, in persecuting the Christians, he was
truly serving God.
The experience of St. Paul
cautions us against the danger of dogmatism, the arrogance of self-righteousness
before God and neighbor
while at the same time belittling others as ‘sinners’. One
can build on a lifetime of pious practices and may even
excel in church work, but
these are never enough.
Based on Paul’s experience,
we see that an honest attempt
in serving God can even turn
us to become God’s enemy
when we pursue our will
apart from Jesus Christ.
In a dream, a lady suddenly
finds herself in heaven. She is
surprised to see a marketplace and decides to check the
products on sale. As she inspects the fruits and vegetables, she is dismayed to
find them either wilted or infested by insects. When she
asked one of the sellers where
to find excellent quality produce, the reply came: “Here in
heaven we only sell good seeds.
No perfect fruits or vegetables.”
May we appreciate the
good seeds God has sown in
our heart and that of others.
Let us thank God for dealing
patiently and lovingly with
our sinfulness, not condemning us to dark despair, but always trusting us, believing in
us, so that in his own season,
he can reap a bountiful harvest from the good seeds that
he has given us.
7 Question / B1
we believe that the family should be a
place where the Gospel is first learned
and shared as its members mature in
their faith-life. Toward this end, our Diocesan Commission on Family and Life,
with its counterparts at the parochial
level, has been at the fore in the formation of authentic Christian families.
Among the most prominent programs
initiated by the Commission in recent
months include the “family caravan”
started last summer and is aimed at conducting seminars/fora on a wide range
of family issues like responsible parenthood and reproductive health programs;
intensive formation of family ministers
who are trained to educate and assist
couples in their journey to the marriage
and family life; and advocacy programs
which are aimed at helping the family
clearly discern its dignity and establishing an efficient defense against threats
to its sanctity.
What is your take on the threat of materialism creeping into our lifestyle
brought about by such phenomenon as
globalization?
The positive contributions of globalization to economic and societal life notwithstanding, it has lamentably also
opened the doors to a number of problems. One of which is the inclination to
see man merely in economic terms,
thereby missing a grasp of his entirety.
And as people are drawn to view themselves merely in the context of their
material wants and economic needs, they
gradually push God to the sidelines. Or
worse, they remove God totally out of
the picture.
And so who (or what) runs things
now? That’s quite obvious: money,
money, money!
A perspective at life dominated by
materialism has its disastrous consequences. A materialistic attitude hinders
a person from having truly meaningful
inter-personal relationships with others,
even with family members. Moreover,
it gradually leads him to reject anything
that speaks of the Gospel values of simplicity, sacrifice and selfless service to
others. Christians as we are, we ought
to be Christ-like in our way of thinking,
acting and doing. We ought to imitate
Christ who was born, who lived and died
as a poor man. There is a greater value
in living a simple life where only God is
contemplated as the supreme good.
Would you say consumerism has affected
our sense of values, especially the young?
Consumeristic attitude often settles in
when we are no longer able to distinguish between “what we want” and
“what we need.” And you’ll be surprised.
The list of things we would like to buy
and want to acquire would simply never
come to an end. We are always lured by
what is newer or, in keeping with the
trend, more fashionable. But as Christians, we should be guided by the principle that we are to be judged not by
“what we have,” but by “who we are.”
Besides, even if we do not have everything we want, what is important is that
God never tires to provide us with everything we need – yes, everything we
truly need!
The effect of a culture marked by consumerism is prevalent especially among
our youth. Most anxieties stem from the
frustration and sense of dissatisfaction
brought about by the feeling of always
wanting for more. Young people nowadays seem to not run out of phrases prefixed by “Gusto ko…” This is why greater
attention should be given to the work of
catechesis so as to ensure that Christian
values, such as simplicity and compassion for the needy, are able to permeate
the heart of every Christian family.
What programs does the diocese have
for young people to make them more
committed in living their Christian life
and serving the Church?
In the words of PCP II, Catholic young
people are the best evangelizers of other
young people. It’s simply because the
youth follow their peers. The Diocese of
Lucena has an active youth commission,
whose ministry is carried out in all of
our parishes and Catholic schools.
Fact is, our Diocesan Youth Commission is celebrating its 30th anniversary this
year. The regular activities of the ministry include monthly formation seminar
which is aimed at helping the youth become aware of the ecclesial environment.
We believe that active participation follows from an informed awareness of the
life and mission of the Church.
With regard to youth formation in the
diocese, the program focuses on four aspects: educational, cultural, spiritual and
team-building. This is so designed in
order to fit their specific needs and interests while at the same time leading
them to become committed and active
members of the Church.
As Chairman of the CBCP Office on
Women, what is your take on the situa7 Questions / B7
CBCP Monitor
Social Concerns
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
A terrible man-made tragedy
B7
The Priest in the School (Parochial) Ministry
© Dennis M. Sabangan/epa/Corbis
By Fr. Edgardo S. Sigua
By Fr. Shay Cullen
THE storm clouds were dark and threatening, weather stations had raised and
broadcast danger signals, the radio was
announcing the approaching onslaught
of “Frank”, or by its official international
name “God of the Winds” a massive typhoon packing 150 kilometer an hour
wind and yet the ill-fated ferry MV Princess of the Stars put to sea with 862 passengers and crew amid treacherous waters from Manila to Cebu City last 21 June.
The ferry boat of the Sulpicio Lines
owned by the powerful Go family, was
given the go ahead signal and sailed into
the fury of the typhoon. It was battered
by mountainous waves off Sibuyan Island in Romblon. It listed badly but the
order to abandon ship came too late. The
ship turned turtle and as many as 800
hundred were trapped inside. Only 48
survived.
Weeks later, divers are still trying to
retrieve the bodies of the victims inside
the upturned hull that is protruding
above the surface of the bay. It has now
been discovered that the divers, too,
maybe in grave danger. The ship was
carrying 10 tons of super-toxic hazardous pesticide ‘Endosulfan’ that was not
listed, authorized or cleared by the
Coast Guard and in fact was an illegal
and criminal act. The entire area around
the upturned hull is a deadly pond of
toxic poison. The recovery of the dead
cannot be continued. The coast line and
fish stocks are contaminated.
The shipping lines owned by the
vastly wealthy and politically influential Go family have had huge disasters
in the past two of them because their
ships were allowed to sail despite typhoon warnings. The world’s worst
peace time sea disaster was also with a
Sulpicio Lines ferry, the Doña Paz. On
December 20, 1987, it collided with an
oil tanker, MT Vector, a Caltex contract,
in the Tablas Strait, near Mindoro. Human negligence, or the lack of it, was
the cause of 4000 people drowning in
that horrific tragedy. Sulpicio Lines and
the Go family were not held liable.
During typhoon “Unsang” on 24 October 1988, Doña Marilyn was ordered
to sea by the owners and authorities did
not object. The ship was overwhelmed
by waves and sank, 250 people lost their
lives and no one was held liable. During
the Typhoon “Gading” in September 18,
1998, the Sulpicio Lines ship MV Princess of the Orient put to sea from Manila
to Cebu City. It sank with the loss of 150
passengers.
Edgar Go, the Vice-President of
Sulpicio lines said they had no responsibility for the latest sinking. It was an
“Act of God”, the authorities seem to
agree. They too have been cleared of all
liability for allowing the ship to put to
sea into the teeth of a typhoon. Blaming
God is a total and shameful avoidance
of responsibility. The “Act of God” argument is archaic and useless. Besides it
is theologically abhorrent these days,
where most Christians believe in a loving, caring personal God that wishes salvation, justice, and happiness for all
people. At least they could have claimed
it was “an Act of Nature”. However allowing a ferry boat to sail into a developing typhoon is a criminal act of man.
Covering up and blaming God is mor-
ally repugnant and sinful.
As a consequence, tragedies continue
one after another. The money making
greed of mercantile moguls can be found
lurking behind the decision to take a
chance with the lives of hundreds of
people. To cancel the trip would have
been a huge loss of profit for shipping
lines. Losing the rusting hulk of an aging ferry, a sunken coffin, is no loss, but
probably a benefit. The insurance will
be paid. The poor, who travel by the
ferry boat, suffer once again. The
wealthy elite sail on past the bloated
bodies to their worldly paradise on a
luxury yacht enjoying impunity from
prosecution, freedom from liability,
blame and moral responsibility.
We can see the ugly bloated face of
corrupt government officials many who
owe their position to the money of the
powerful elite. Let’s stop blaming God
and let criminal liability fall where it
should ¯on the heads of those who own
and protect the death ships of the Philippines.
A priest offers a mass in front of the
MV Princess of the Stars which
sank off the coast of Sibuyan Island
of Romblon province. At least 70
people were confirmed killed in the
maritime tragedy, while 48 survived,
according to the Coast Guard. The
almost 24,000-ton ferry was
carrying 864 passengers and crew
when it sank off Sibuyan Island,
300 kilometres south of Manila, at
the height of typhoon “Frank.”
© Alanah M. Torralba / Corbis
7 Question / B6
tion of women in the country
today?
I believe that to a degree
noteworthy, we have been
successful, both in the Church
and in the civil community,
in our collective efforts to underlie the significant role of
women in the common pursuit to create a just and humane social order. But while
much has already been
achieved, our situation today
is regrettably still far from
what we envision.
We acknowledge government efforts in adopting measures and enacting laws for
the protection of women and
children against abuses and
other domestic violence. But
if we are to truly protect the
women and ensure their welfare, we have to address the
basic issues, some of which
are as follow: poverty draws
many women to a wretched
condition; lack of proper education deprives many women
of the opportunities to find
decent means of livelihood;
and unemployment places
many women in a deplorable
situation.
How is the status of vocations
in the diocese?
By God’s grace, priestly vo-
cation in the diocese is able to
flourish. As we commend our
priests for helping our young
men clearly discern God’s vocational call, we likewise acknowledge the support of the
faithful in promoting vocation
to the priesthood.
This academic year, the diocese has a total of 180 seminarians undergoing priestly formation in the following seminaries: 93 at the Our Lady of
Mt. Carmel Seminary (high
school) in Sariaya, Quezon; 20
at the St. Joseph Formation Institute (pre-college) in
Pagbilao, Quezon; 49 at the Our
Lady of the Most Holy Rosary
Seminary in Lucban, Quezon
(college); and 17 at the St.
Alphonsus Regional Seminary
(theologate) in Lucena City.
Along this line, we have an
active Diocesan Commission
on Vocation whose primary
task is to promote priestly
vocation and extend support
to seminarians undergoing
seminary formation. Recently, the office of the Vocation Promoter was created in
the diocese to which a priest
has been assigned to work
full-time in order to beef up
our efforts for the promotion
of priestly vocation among
the youth.
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EDUCATION is of paramount importance in the lives of people. Since time
immemorial, men and women in informal and practical ways underwent
different modes in the learning process. People improved their ways of
living mainly due to such informal learning/education gained through
interacting with the environment, various agents and and later institutions
around them.
Among the various agents of education, the school plays a prominent
role in the formation, nourishment and nurturance of the entire faculties of
the individual. It is regarded as the center of activity which provides venues
not only for the growth of students but as well as teachers, associations and
stakeholders promoting and enhancing the cultural, social, political, civic,
religious and other various aspects of living.
The Church is one of the institutions that played a vital role in the educative
lives of the people more than two centuries ago. Since then, its presence and
influence was continually felt and even now, manifesting concretely and
formally in our contemporary learning society. It is for such reason that it is
within “Church’s duty not just to be recognized as a human society of imparting education, but especially it has the duty of proclaiming the way of salvation to all men, of revealing the life of Christ to those who believe, and of
assisting them with unremitting care so that they may be able to attain to the
fullness of that life.” (Vatican II, Gravissimum Educationis, 1987)
In line with this role of the church, that apostolate of catholic education
was programmed for the faithful. Catholic schools were established in order to cater for the growing, learning populace so that the task of forming
individuals might be carried out. This is a vital part of the Church mission
towards evangelization. Catholic schools facilitate in attaining dual aim
that is, “of its nature it guides men and women to human and Christian
perfection and, at the same time, helps them to become mature in their faith
(Sacred Congregation for Catholic Education, 1998).
The task of educating the young began as early as the era of the first wave
of foreign Catholic missionaries. The pedagogy started in informal and
practical method and a century later turned formal through Catholic educational institutions. Schools attached in parishes were established which signaled the advent of formal learning institutions which can be described as
parish-based schools or popularly known as parochial schools.
In the Philippines, the historical forerunners of the modern parochial
schools were the so-called convent schools. In the early years of Christianity in the Philippines, it was a common practice to gather children and the
adolescents of the towns at the parish convent after the celebration of the
mass for the catechism class. It was from these convent schools that the
parochial schools evolved. (De Jesus, 1999)
As such, parochial schools today mostly attached within church compounds
are proofs to it. These schools offer elementary and secondary education and
even the early pre-elementary schooling. Many decades after, some priests
led different types of higher learning institutions like Catholic colleges and
universities. Meanwhile, in many local churches called dioceses, they operate
schools, known as diocesan schools or equivalent to parochial schools. In
diocesan schools, formal responsibility resides on the diocesan administration into which the bishop serves as the religious and executive leader of the
diocese and sits as the board chairman of the diocesan schools.
With the great task of the Church in the arena of Catholic education, it
calls for people with noble intention to serve in administering these schools.
As the late Pope John Paul II said, “Administrators would be men and women
who know how to bring people together in a spirit of solidarity by assisting
them to become participating members of the school community as well as
formers of the school’s vision leading to solidarity. This ability will only be
in place if the administrator truly values the personhood of others and
know how to listen to them…..the school exists for the person, and not the
person for the school.” (as cited in Byrnes, 2002).
The bishop acts as the chief executive officer who appoints personnel to
key positions in administering the parochial schools within the diocese’s
jurisdiction. Usually, those people appointed are priests preferably with
background and passion for school administration. Apparently, those priests
appointed in school administration take dual roles. Their foremost task is
the performance of their priestly functions which can be described namely
as, preaching, sanctifying and prophetic roles.
The priest is tasked as” Ministers of God’s Word”, the first task as coworkers of the bishops to preach the Gospel to all men (preaching role); as
“Ministers of the Sacraments and the Eucharist”, the task of carrying out
sacred functions (sanctifying role); and as “Rulers of God’s People”, the task
of being a Pastor and Head of Christian community (prophetic role). (Vatican
II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 1987)
Aside from their church management duties, the other task of appointed
priest-administrator is to cater to the demands of educational leadership in
the learning institution where they act as principal, director or superintendent. The priest-administrator’s task then, becomes a fusion of dual roles –
church management roles and school managerial roles. The job of a priest
already demands full time. To manage parochial schools will certainly mean
an additional time and duty put on their shoulder. Adding the role of a school
administrator, which is a huge task, one may wonder how well the priest in
school ministry can effectively discharge his duties as a school manager.
Perhaps, using the educational management parlance, we may ask, does a
priest administration of parochial schools have a significant value? What
management practices does a priest employ in the administration of parochial schools? Are there management models or styles that priests follow in
carrying out their task of being parochial school administrators? How can
their management practices be assessed? These are series of questions that a
priest in school apostolate hurdles regularly.
Indeed, the apostolate in the school is considered to be a special ministry.
It is governed by principles which steers the school head’s administration.
Here are three principles helpful in guiding me in my school ministry.
1. Management by Presence/Availability – It is often said in any organization that, “what’s get measured, gets done”. I believe that administrator
must send a clear message of what he primarily value – the school. Spending time to visit work areas in the school where significant things are happening. There are things happening in school/classroom, worth emulating
and inspiring for other students as well. These could be directions or initiatives for a better school proposed by school members and not solely by the
administration. This principle is like management by walking around or
administration through close supervision. In brief, it is an administration to
be regarded as management by availability.
2. Management by Values – Since we are a Catholic/parochial school, our
mission and vision are rooted in Christian values and in the educational
mission of the Church. Our institutional goals are fundamentally based in
the three core values found in the gospel: didache, koinonia and diakonia;
proclamation of the message; communion or fellowship, service to all. Institutional values cannot be realized only through academic method of classroom discussion. We are all challenged to be role models of character and
value-based teachers. This type of administration will ensure that the school
becomes a potent agent and agency of fully incarnating its institutional and
Christian Catholic values.
3. People-Oriented Management – Some institutions nowadays uphold
the value of people-orientedness not for noble reason of service to people.
Mahalaga ang tao dahil may makukuha sa kanila. Sila ang pinagkakakitaan. Catholic
and parochial schools do not exist in such reason. We don’t call students as
customer, client or market just like in business parlance. In school, we don’t
regard teachers as mere swelduhan. Students don’t dare to tell our teachers,
“Oy, turuan mo kami, sayang na lang binabayad namin sa’yo! We relate to our
teachers as our mothers, advisers, counselors at di upahan. In a school to be
people oriented is to see the goodness of the person not just of what is
gained from the person.
I believe in the simple belief that our task is always about the person and
how we can be agents and catalysts in order to bring out the goodness in
each of the people in this institution. This will be possible by fostering
healthy relationships and ideal school climate among all our school stakeholders. Values like trust, cooperation, resourcefulness, dependability, initiative and the likes are needed to make these principles work.
School administration is a continuing and growing special ministry of the
Church and as such needing more focus for priests engaged in the school apostolate.
B8
CBCP Monitor
Entertainment
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Title: Serbis
Cast: Gina Pareno, Jacklyn Jose, Coco
Martin, Kristofer King, Julio Diaz,
Dan Alvaro
Genre: Drama
Director: Brillante Mendoza
Screenplay: Armando Lao
Producer: Ferdinand Lapuz
Location: Manila
Running Time: 90mins
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
Rating: For viewers 18 and above
PATULOY na itinataguyod ni Nanay
Flor (Gina Pareno) ang kanilang
negosyong lumang sinehan na
nagpapalabas ng mga lumang “bold” na
pelikula sa kabila ng samu’t saring
problema nito. Kasama niyang
namamahala ang anak na si Nayda
(Jacklyn Jose) at manugang na si Lando
(Julio Diaz). Sa sinehan na sila nakatira
kasama ang iba pang kaanak: sina Allan
(Coco Martin) at Ronald (Kristofer King)
na projectionist. Labis na dinaramdam
ni Nanay Flor ang panloloko sa kanya
ng kanyang asawa, kasabay ng pagpasan
niya sa problema ng lahat ng kanyang
kaanak na tauhan na rin sa sinehan. Si
Allan
ay
makakabuntis
na
makakadagdag sa pasakit ni Flor. Lingid
din sa kanyang kaalaman ang
nangyayaring pagse-”serbis” ng mga
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
Technical
Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
kalalakihan sa mga parokyanong bakla
ng sinehan. At dahil sa sinehan na
nakatira ang buong pamilya at kaanak
na nagpapatakbo ng sinehan,
namumulat ang mga batang apo ni
Nanay Flor sa mga bisyo at kalaswaan.
Isang “cinema verite” ang Serbis na
makatotohanang naglalarawan ng tila
pinaglipasan na ng panahon na kultura:
ang mga sinehan at teatro. Naging lugar
na lamang ito ng madidilim na sikreto
ng nakaraan at kasalukuyan.
Pinamahayan na rin ang sinehan ng mga
baho, problema at bisyo ng isang
pamilyang nasadlak sa kadiliman.
Mahusay ang pagkakagawa ng mga
eksena na parang nanonood ka lamang
ng tunay na buhay. Kung kaya’t
naparangalan ng rin ang Serbis sa ibang
bansa. Matapang nitong tinalakay ang
maraming sakit ng lipunan na
naglalarawan sa kalagayan ng mga
bansang nasa “Third World” katulad ng
Pilipinas. Walang itulak kabigin at hindi
matatawaran ang galing ng lahat ng
nagsiganap. Maraming biswal na
simbolismo na epektibong naisalarawan
ang dilim, kasalanan at kasamaan na
naikulong sa isang lugar.
Malinaw ang layunin ng Serbis: ang
isalarawan ang nakaririmarim na
kalagayan ng isang naiibang uri ng
pamilyang nasadlak sa kahirapan.
Ipinasilip ng Serbis ang isang mundong
MAC en COLET
Buhay Parokya
Title: Get Smart
Cast: Steve Carell, Anne
Hathaway, Dwayne
Johnson, Alan Arkin,
Terence Stamp
Director: Peter Segal
Producers: Michael Ewing,
Alex Gartner, Andrew
Lazar, Charles Roven
Screenwriters: Tom A.
Astle, Matt Ember
Music: Trevor Rabin
Editor: Roger Mussenden
Genre: Action/ Comedy
Cinematography: Dean
Semler
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Pictures
Location: Canada
Running Time: 110 min
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
CINEMA Rating: For viewers
14 and above
MAXWELL Smart (Steve
Carell) is the top analyst in
CONTROL, a secret intelligence agency presided over
by The Chief (Alan Arkin)
and set up to annihilate an unscrupulous rival agency,
KAOS. CONTROL loses many
of its agents when KAOS attacks the former’s headquarters. Just then, Max is promoted from analyst to field
operative, and is hence to be
known as “Agent 86”. He gets
a spy buddy in the person of
Agent 99 (Anne Hathaway);
the two are assigned to hunt
down KAOS’ operative
Sigfried (Terrence Stamp).
Giving them home base assistance is Agent 23 (Dwayne
“The Rock” Johnson) as they
venture out as an odd pair
flushing out KAOS’ nuclear
weapons from their lair. The
Agent 86-Agent 99 partnership is spiced up when the
bright but bumbling 86 gets
the hots for the bright and
composed 99, and she eventually responds—but warns
him not to trust anyone including herself for she could
be a double agent.
Get Smart is the big-screen
version of the late-60s TV series designed to spoof James
Bond. While younger viewers may not be familiar with
the tv version, and it may be
too old to be remembered by
older moviegoers, Get Smart
nonetheless offers a funny
and delightfully silly take-off
of its boob-tube predecessor.
In fact, as a movie, it can stand
on its own, even though
today’s moviegoers couldn’t
care less where it’s coming
from. Carell’s comedic timing is perfect as a spoofy and
extremely lucky agent, with
looks to match; he’s actually
an urbane and much betterlooking
Ben
Stiller.
Hathaway’s character, on the
other hand, is tailor-made for
her—the tough nut beneath
the fragile-looking, appealing female—we can’t imagine Angelina Jolie as Agent
99 and getting away with it.
The plot is quite simple to follow, thus the action and the
funnies, if sometimes a bit
physical, are not shoved under a tiresome, convoluted
web of a story.
What harm can be done by
a spy movie that seeks to
make you laugh more than it
wants to make you think?
Likewise, is there much good
it can do even though it pits
the bad guys against the good
guys? Get Smart is entertainment, an enjoyable comedy
with action and dialogue that
might even elicit a belly laugh
or two from the audience. The
emphasis is on comedy, so
that even the romantic element (between Agents 86 and
99) is played down and
hardly felt, in fact. If the
whole family can watch only
one movie this week, let it be
… maybe Kung Fu Panda;
otherwise, Get Smart is okay
for viewers aged 14 and
above.
CINEMA Rating Guide
VA - For viewers of all ages
V13 - For viewers age 13 and below
with parental guidance
V14 - For viewers 14 and above
V18 - For mature viewers 18 and above
NP - Not for public viewing
hindi madalas na makita ng Pilipinong
manonood. Isang lugar na alam nating
nariyan ngunit hindi binibigyang
pansin. Sa kabila ng mga bisyo,
kalaswaan at kasamaan, isang bagay ang
labis na pinahahalagahan ng mga
karakter sa pelikula: ang pamilya.
Bagama’t hindi perpekto at puno ng
depekto, dalisay pa rin ang
pagmamalasakit at pagmamahalan sa
isang pamilya. Tahimik din nitong
ipinakita ang kakayahan ng isang taong
kumawala sa isang masalimuot na
sitwasyon kung kanyang nais.
Nakababahala nga lamang dahil hindi
malinaw kung para saan ba ang
pagtakas. Sa pagbabagong tungo sa
kabutihan o sa higit pang kasamaan?
Sadyang nakababahala ang biswal at
grapikong pagpapakita ng mga
eksenang
hubaran,
seks
at
homosekswalidad. Bagama’t hindi
sinasabi ng pelikula na ito ay mabuti,
maari pa rin itong makaapekto sa
sensibilidad ng mga manonood. Ang
pagkakaron ng batang karakter bilang
saksi sa lahat nang bisyo at kasalanan sa
lugar ay isang epektibong device na
nagsasabing malayo pa ang ating
lalakbayin sa pagbabago sapagkat
iminumulat na natin ang ating mga
kabataan sa isang mundong nagdidilim
na ang pamantayang moral at
bumababaw ang pananalig sa Diyos.
ni Bladimer Usi
By Bladimer Usi
There are three missing articles in this
cartoon. Find a veil, bell and a Holy
Rosary.
CBCP
CBCP Monitor
Monitor
C1
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 77 -- 20,
20, 2008
2008
July
Ugnayan
The News Supplement of
Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation, Inc.
A time to celebrate
By Marivie Dalman
IN a break with tradition, Couples for Christ celebrated its 27th anniversary on a Saturday instead of the usual Sunday. Dubbed as
the “Grand Homecoming,” the celebration also broke tradition by
holding a Lord’s Day ceremony during the anniversary festivities.
There was no way to gauge how the plans would turn out. There
was also no way to determine how many people would come. After all, CFC was coming out of a crisis; the rising price of gas and its
accompanying effects on the economy threatened to also be a factor in the members’ attendance.
But the invitations went out anyway. The venue of choice was
the Luneta Grandstand, because this was anticipated to be the largest gathering of members ever, if the invitations were to be the
yardstick. The estimates were 35,000 members and guests.
All CFC members, its Family and Social Ministries; Handmaids
of the Lord, Servants of the Lord, Singles for Christ, Youth for Christ,
Kids for Christ, and Gawad Kalinga were enjoined to be there and
to be counted as part of history. After all, this was going to be a
momentous event. And indeed it was, in more ways than one.
the rain and the silence, God’s majesty arose.
Nina Ponte lifted up her Rosary beads for everyone to see. It
signaled a call to prayer. It was resonated to the people in the grandstand and those who were watching from across the field. Joey
Arguelles and the council wives led the praying of the rosary. By
the end of the recitation, the sound system was working; we had
everything needed to continue with the program. The miracle of
prayer!
The Lord’s Day
The ‘Lord’s Day Celebration’ is borrowed from Jewish tradition
and was approved as part of CFC by then CFC Spiritual Director
Bishop Teodoro Bacani. It is celebrated at sundown, tracing its roots
from Mosaic times. This was probably the largest ever Lord’s Day
Celebration in the country, if not in the world. The main celebration was done on the gigantic stage, led by the 7 International Council members, but simultaneous celebrations were done on the
ground by smaller households, most of them huddled under umbrellas. Dinner followed with each household sharing the same
meal (rice, adobo, pinakbet and bananas) agape style.
God’s Alternate Plan
The CFC Arch of the Mission
The weeks of meetings and preparations took into account the
traditionally stormy June weather. But no one was prepared for
the worst – a typhoon that was predicted to be “super” in strength
and which would make a direct hit over Metro Manila.
Despite the weather forecasts, people came and they came in
numbers no one predicted! Almost 50,000 made their way to the
Park. Expecting the worst weather, they came prepared with their
umbrellas and jackets, chairs and tables, baskets of food, tents and
other paraphernalia.
The Harvest Parade
The ‘Grand Parade of Harvests’ officially kicked off the festivities at exactly 4 pm of Saturday, June 21. Carefully crafted floats
filled with bountiful harvests from the Philippines’ natural riches,
representing the big sectors and their counterpart regions and bearing their Harvest Kings and Queens delighted the huge throng.
The parade was so long it took more than two hours to complete.
No one broke ranks from among the parade participants, even when
the rains fell. The onlookers brought out their umbrellas but the
participants, particularly those who performed dances, danced joyfully in the rain! The marshals had to cut the parade short to make
way for the Lord’s Day rite.
As the parade ended, torrential rains fell. People were drenched;
water rose all around the field. The sound equipment was grounded
and the power was out. Only the stage lights and the VD wall were
on. With a conked out sound system, there was silence. But amidst
Just before the main highlight, the Holy Mass, Joe Tale, CFC Executive Director, unveiled the CFC Arch of the Mission, a graphic
presentation of CFC’s refined vision, its two-fold mission of Building the Church of the Home and Building the Church of the Poor,
its four core values (Pro-God, Pro-Family, Pro-Poor and Pro-Life)
and the ministries and movements tasked to implement all these.
Holy Mass
The main highlight of the festival was the celebration of the Holy
Mass. Five bishops concelebrated with the main celebrant, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines – Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the
diocese of Lipa, Batangas, Bishop Patricio Alo of the diocese of Mati,
Davao; Bishop Florentino Cinense of the diocese of Tarlac, and
Bishop Denis Wiehe of Seychelles. Thirty-one priests celebrated
with them, providing a dramatic picture of clergymen in their robes
standing underneath the Arch of the Mission.
The Miracle of Rain and Sunlight
We prayed for good weather, but God sent a storm. He sent an
adequate amount of sunlight, just enough for His children to enjoy
the afternoon. He was in the dark clouds to give respite and shade.
He was in the rain to enthuse everyone’s spirit.
The miracle was not in the weather. It was not in the sunlight or
Top photo: Archbishop Angel Lagdameo (center) was the main
celebrant at the Mass concelebrated by (from left)Bishop Patricio
Alo, Bishop Denis Wiehe of Seychelles, Archbishop Ramon
Arguelles and Bishop Florentino Cinense.
Lower photo: The 7-man CFC International Council leads the
worship and praise.
in the rain that fell. The miracle was the grace that God sent, the grace
to see that an undaunted spirit dwells in each CFC member. The
same Spirit that will help us prevail over the storm that besets our
community today, the same Spirit that will propel us to do His mission, our vision- as families in the Holy Spirit renewing the face of
the earth.
One with the Catholic Church
By Clarke Nebrao
COUPLES for Christ (CFC) affirmed its oneness
with the entire Catholic Church through the CFC
Bishops, Clergy and Lay Relations Congress held
on June 20, 2008 at the Valle Verde Country Club,
Pasig City, Philippines. The affair was attended
by more than 500 participants consisting of Bishops, clergy, religious and CFC lay delegates from
Kenya, South Africa, Seychelles, Nigeria, Ghana,
Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia, Trinidad and Tobago, USA, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, France, Holland,
Australia, Uganda, China, Japan, East Timor and
from the different provinces of the Philippines and
towns of Metro Manila.
The day started off with a very moving talk by
His Excellency Bishop Denis Weihe of the Diocese of Victoria in Seychelles, Africa. He spoke
about “Clergy and Lay Unity as the Key to New
Evangelization.”
The conference sessions were opportunities for
both the lay and the clergy to express concerns and
issues on how to work hand in hand and enhance
each other’s ministry. Mon Santiago, a CFC missionary, spoke about his experiences in dealing with
the Clergy in his mission area in Timor Leste as
well as the misconceptions of the Church towards
Couples For Christ. On the Clergy side, Rev. Msgr.
Rommel Kintanar H.P., who is currently the Chairman of the On-going Formation of Cebu Clergy
and the Spiritual Adviser of CFC in the Archdiocese of Cebu, presented his ideas on how CFC can
work hand in hand with the Catholic Church and
presented case studies of the differences in expectations and roles of the Clergy and the Couples for
Christ.
Rev. Msgr. Fred Kriekenbeeck, former chairman
of the National Service Commission of the Charismatic Communities of the Philippines and cur-
rently the Episcopal Vicar to His Eminence Ricardo
Cardinal Vidal, in-charge of the Charismatic Communities of the Archdiocese of Cebu, summarized
the session with a quote from the encyclical
Redemptoris Mission that goes, “Without the mission ad gentes, the Church’s very missionary dimension would be deprived of its essential meaning and of the very activity that exemplifies it. Also
to be noted is the real and growing interdependence which exists between these various saving
activities of the Church. Each of them influences,
stimulates and assists the others.”
The afternoon sessions took a different turn
when all the participants of the assembly were
grouped together to thoroughly discuss their ideas
on how the Clergy and CFC can have a harmonious partnership in the parishes. The participants
had a wonderful time during the workshops for
the discussions were indeed very lively and encouraging. CFC council member and Pastoral Formation Director, Ernie Maipid facilitated the workshop together with CFC leader Mannix Ocampo.
CFC Executive Director Joe Tale provided the
appropriate ending for the sessions as he exhorted
everyone to work hard and be united with the
goals and aspirations of the Catholic Church. He
expressed CFC’s support for the Clergy and for
the Church by fully engaging and strengthening
our existence by embracing the pastoral priorities
of the major ecclesia groupings. This was followed
by a moving session of the bishops, clergy, consecrated men and women and the lay praying over
each other, showing support towards one another
in one common work of the Church.
The day was indeed blessed and made more
meaningful and momentous with a Eucharistic
Celebration, led by Archbishop Ramon C.
Arguelles, DD of the Archdiocese of Lipa,
Batangas and concelebrated by Bishop Denis
Weihe of the Diocese of Victoria, Seychelles,
Bishop Antonio Tobias of the Diocese of
Novaliches, Bishop Jose Advincula of the Diocese
of San Carlos, Negros Occidental and Bishop
Patricio Alo of the Diocese of Mati together with
106 other monsignors and priests from around the
globe—truly a wonderful sight to behold!
“Since it was my first time to join a CFC gathering, and it was a nation-wide one, I really enjoyed everything
there not only the food, entertainment, and accommodation, but more so with the part when the relationship of
the priests and lay ministers in the church was tackled in a mini-open forum. The emphasis on oneness or
symbiotic relationship between us, priests, and the CFCs in the evangelization were strongly stressed out.
Open communication or dialogue among the concerned is what I believe is needed to be stressed and that we all
belong to one Catholic Church. I hope that CFC will continue their service. I hope that the leaders will really live
with them their principles and responsibilities so that the members will also have a better communication with
the priests and church.”
Fr. Noel (Nonoy) Suarez
San Agustin Parish, Valencia City, Bukidnon
“ The church is truly alive; the spirit of God is truly working amongst His people. If it’s God’s will, He will
really take care of everything just as what happened in the whole anniversary celebration. Its impact to me as the
spiritual director of CFC in the diocese, I’m encouraged to work closely with the CFC, and also promote the CFC
to the diocese as one of the partners in the ministry and evangelization. And being a priest, I’m challenged to be
dedicated with my spirituality and ministry just like the Couples for Christ. In the coming years, I hope that the
CFC community will strengthen the relationship they have with the clergies and work closely with the church,
as we all belong to one church, to one diocese.”
Fr. Darwin Alcontin
San Jose Parish, Sinayawan, Valencia City, Bukidnon
The bishops and priests after the concelebrated Mass that ended the Congress.
Ugnayan
C2
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
By Joe Tale, CFC Executive Director
We are never alone
YOUR Excellencies, our beloved Bishops, and Reverend Fathers, you honor and inspire us all with
your presence, and for concelebrating our beautiful anniversary Mass. We look forward to your
continuing guidance to our community. As stated
in our expanded vision statement, CFC is “one with
the Catholic Church.”
To our brethren from the different countries
around the world, you also honor and inspire us.
You have traveled from far away lands, to be one
with us all in this celebration of God’s faithfulness.
We look forward to our continuing fellowship and
interaction as we pursue our vision and mission
together as one global united community.
Brothers and sisters in CFC, Happy 27th Anniversary!
Today’s celebration caps our week long anniversary week. We opened with our sports events, including the golf tournament last Monday, June 16.
Then we had our International Prayer Assembly
the following day, Tuesday. We conducted our Global Leaders Assembly on Wednesday and Thursday, and our Family Ministries Congress in the
afternoon of Thursday, in celebration of the Family Ministries’ 15 th anniversary this year. And Friday, June 20, we had a most
wonderful Bishop-ClergyLay Congress, participated
in by 5 bishops and 101
priests, a good number of
whom are with us in this
Mass. We emerged from
the Congress with a better
understanding of our different but complementary
roles, and have strengthened our commitment to a
common vision of bringing Christ’s love to all.
All these events the past
week were truly blessed
by the Lord! Today’s anniversary celebration has
been equally blessed by
the Lord, but in in an even
more dramatic way.
We had a great parade,
showcasing God’s goodness in all aspects of our
lives, and in thanksgiving
to the Lord for the earth’s
abundance and a rich harvest. With everyone’s massive participation, including the delegations from
the provinces all over the Philippines, and the international delegates as well, the parade took all of
two hours, one of the longest parades I can remember. Not even the rains could stop the energy and
vibrancy of all of you.
We had of course the anniversary program, focusing on our twofold mission of Building the
Church of the Home and Building the Church of
the Poor, as creatively projected in our “Arch of
the Mission.” This was followed by the biggest
Lord’s Day celebration ever, and the heartwarming experience of everyone’s spirit of generosity
as we shared our community meal together.
But the most significant aspect of our gathering today is that all of you came to join the celebration here in Luneta despite the typhoon, and
that you stayed on notwithstanding the rains that
fell! By this, we have shown CFC’s faith and commitment. The Lord can truly count on all of us.
We also honor and thank in a special way our
Blessed Mother. It was after we prayed the Rosary in her honor that the rains started to weaken
and eventually stopped. And of course, as you
noticed, the rains completely stopped as we celebrated Mass.
I would like to also thank the many brethren
who worked behind the scenes, largely unnoticed
and unrecognized, but who kept the whole event
going. There were challenging moments when the
rains came and our sound system could not function. But by the guided quick thinking of our production team, we overcame the obstacles
Brothers and sisters, our collective experience today is, in many ways, the same story, or a representation of our community’s experience this past year.
We all went through a storm, a storm that shook our
community to its foundations. And just like today,
notwithstanding the storm, you all stood firm and
stayed on with our beloved CFC! Despite the storm
that hit our community, 90 – 95 % of our members
kept the faith and stayed on!
And this is not just about numbers. It is about a
new spirit, a new springtime in our community’s
life and mission.
It is even a new beginning in so far as our financial stewardship is concerned. As we had announced, by God’s grace and your generosity, we
have paid up all our bank loans! We are now bank
debt free!
As my wife Babylou and I were preparing to come
to our celebration today, we had our share of apprehensions, as many of you had. We knew since
last night that we were under typhoon signal no.2.
We were happy that we woke up with the sun out,
bright and clear in the sky. But later in the morning
the storm clouds began to form again, and in fact
some rain fell in our part of town. Without talking
about it, Babylou and I almost simultaneously sang
a song taught to us during our elementary school
years. It is a song so appropriate to our common
experience the past year and today too. I would
now like to share with you the beautiful and meaningful lyrics of that song.
When you walk through a storm
Hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind, walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on, with hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone.
Brothers and sisters, in the midst of a storm, we
are never alone. Jesus will always be with us. Let
us therefore focus on Jesus and move on in our
mission.
Tuloy ang evangelization! Tuloy ang family renewal! Tuloy ang pagmahal at pagtulong sa
mahihirap!
Happy anniversary to all!
Joe Tale with Bishop Denis Wiehe of Seychelles
By Joe Yamamoto, Philippine Missions Director, International Council Member
Blessed to witness to
Christ’s love and service
THE life and mission of
Couples for Christ revolves
around its role of evangelization- proclaiming Christ to the
world. The mission will be accomplished if everyone will
help in ‘BUILDING THE
CHURCH OF THE HOME’ and
the ‘CHURCH OF THE POOR’.
Deep within each CFC member
exists the core values that keep
us all very firmly connected to
one another and rooted to the
mission in the world- our being Pro-God, Pro-Family, ProLife and Pro-Poor.
Since each of us is expected to
live our calling faithfully and
consequentially, measured by
our participation in the work of
evangelization, it behooves each
one of us to understand, accept
and embrace the particular vocation to be a “light into the
world and the salt of the earth.”
To the average CFC member,
this may sound way above his
or her understanding and therefore, there is a real possibility of
its being taking for granted simply because no one took the time
to explain it in simple terms.
Sadly, this may be a matter of
concern for the average member.
Some years ago, when I was a
Sector Head, one of the then
chapter heads asked me to give
an evangelization pep talk to his
chapter. I asked the chapter
head if he wanted a three-hour,
two-hour, a one-hour or a fiveminute evangelization talk.
Puzzled, he asked if there would
be any difference in the value or
outcome depending on the
length of the talk. I supposed
that he entertained serious
doubts that a five-minute session could accomplish the desired outcome or even produce
anything that remotely sounds
like a pep talk.
In that evangelization talk, I
stated that evangelization
means proclaiming and sharing
the experience of having Christ
in our lives and the consequentially transformed life of meet-
ing Him and committing ourselves to Him. I added that evangelization necessarily must be
enhanced by witnessing to that
continuing experience and sharing the fullness of that encounter. We cannot share what we
do not have, in this case we cannot share Christ if He is not in
us or with us.
In the process of sharing
Christ, one becomes a witness to
that reality of Emmanuel, God
with us. More than the preaching, evangelization is witnessing
to the transformation that is
brought about by having Christ
in our lives. And as you witness
to the personal transformation,
it has its way of finding presence
in the family, community and
the relationships that are formed
and strengthened during our
life’s journey.
In a nutshell, this truth about
evangelization can be defined in
five minutes or less. How to
make that transformation stick
to us and how we can maintain
and allow it to grow is something else.
After living and breathing
CFC life over the years, attendant layers of structures, teachings, conferences and countless
activities have been added to
give color and variety to community existence. Through all
that, the basic element of evangelization remains unchangedthe singular truth of encountering and cherishing Christ in our
lives.
Over the years, my life in the
community has been tremendously and regularly strengthened by personal experiences,
sharings heard or relating to the
narration of the experiences of
others. I am sure that this is true
for all of us. We have enjoyed
amazing stories of transformation, and conversions that
strengthen our faith and hope in
God. Even our service abounds
with anecdotes and stories.
I find my work in CFC as
genuinely rewarding and enriching. I have been a leader for
at least two decades and yet I continue to cherish the many occasions that I serve with people on
the ground and being part of
those simple day to day and yet
touching encounters.
In much the same way, the
practice of the medical profession has been very rewarding
and inspiring- for me and for my
family. I find my being a physician creates many unique opportunities to connect to the lives of
so many people and make a difference in their lives, even if on
occasions the service I render
was ordinary or perhaps routine.
My own journey to seeing a
spiritual dimension to the practice of medicine and surgery
goes back a long way. By touching lives, operating on people
and helping them recover and
go back to normalcy and leading meaningful lives, I find that
I help make the meaning of service and transformation up close
and personal. Perhaps, it is a
very special way of appreciating
the rare privilege of becoming
an extension of the healing ministry of Jesus. It enhances one’s
capacity to serve, to love and to
care.
In February of this year, the
CFC surgical and medical team
went to Cordon, Isabela accompanied by friends, partners and
benefactors to do Gawad
Kalusugan mission work and
simultaneously help in setting
up a GK village. There were
many patients, young and old,
all of them poor. Of those patients I encountered, I was
moved by the problem of Nene
(not her real name), a 40-plus
year old mother of five children
who had an infected cancerous
tumor on her right breast. Hers
was a perfect example of hopelessness and neglect. She led a
life of sadness and misery because not only was her family
poor but since last year, when
her breast malignancy became
big, and started to break into
infection, her husband left her
and their children!
In the meantime, she had to
fend off hunger and destitution
by working in the cornfields
from sunup to sundown, every
single day - to feed a family of
five children.
There was no need to coax the
team to action. The doctors and
nurses who saw her were
moved by her pressing problem.
We did a mastectomy, removal
of her infected right breast. The
surgery was not extraordinary.
It was something straight out of
the textbooks. But for her it was
truly special. It must have been
answered prayer; her only ray
of hope fulfilled and it happened
because a group of out of town
Samaritans came to do some
charitable work. But everyone
knows that in God’s plan, nothing is accidental. There is always
a rhyme and a reason that may
not be outright evident.
We may not have cured her,
but the joy and satisfaction of
having made a difference and
touched a person’s life physically and spiritually make the
work of the team so fulfilling.
The story of the good deed does
not end there. On top of that, we
were able to arrange for a GK
home for her and her family,
courtesy of our kind and generous benefactor and partner, the
Andres family of Cordon.
About six years ago, after I
had come back from one of the
Mindanao surgical missions and
despite a tiring schedule, I went
to the hospital for my Sunday
afternoon rounds. I had not seen
my patients for the few days that
I was out. I chanced upon one
CFC brother who happened to
have a priest with him. We exchanged pleasantries, and I
made a passing mention that I
had just come from a very hectic and tiring provincial mission
to perform free surgery among
poor patients and I had not gone
home yet. The priest took my
hands and looking at me intently, he said, “when you minister to the poorest of the poor,
your hands become extensions of
God’s love and healing. You do
not have to announce you are
Couples for Christ because they
will know that you do it for
Christ, the One whom you
shared with them.” I went home
humbled and at the same time
affirmed by the realization that
I had indeed used the ministry
of my profession to proclaim
Christ to the world, without consciously intending to.
Our world in CFC is full of
those life-giving experiences,
and many books are needed to
chronicle them. There are simple
take-to-heart lessons that make
the statement “blessed to witness to Christ’s love and service” very meaningful to us.
First, evangelization is the
proclamation of Christ to everyone, through sharing and witnessing to the transformative
love of Christ. However, It
comes with a precondition that
you cannot share something or
someone you do not have. We
can and should use the daily circumstances of our lives to bear
witness to the love of Christ. If
we are teachers, teach with the
intent of opening the minds of
people to the love and knowledge of God. If we are lawyers,
work for justice to prevail in our
temporal world. If we are regular workers and laborers, share
the attitude of honest service
according to the examples of
Jesus. The list can go on and on.
In simple terms, let us advance
the cause of Christ in our daily
lives.
Second, allow me to share also
another simple lesson I learned
as a young leader in CFC. It is
summed up by the advice to:
“Go and evangelize; and evangelize as you go.” The first part
encourages us to assume the
heart of a missionary, to plan
and embark on the work of conscious evangelization, perhaps
taking time away from our comfort zones. The second part is
what I encourage everyone to
do: that as they go about their
busy everyday work, allow
Christ to exude from their persons, to share Him as they go in
the usual turn of their lives. In
this way we are able to show
how we are blessed to witness
to Christ’s love and service.
A rare photo op after the workshop during the first CFC BishopsClergy-Lay Congress. (L-R) Fr, George Kume of Kenya, Ernie
Maipid, Bp. Jose Advincula, Joe Yamamoto, Bp. Pat Alo, Bp.
Antonio Tobias, Bp. Denis Wiehe, Msgr. Fred Krickenbeeck, Msgr.
Rommel Kintanar, Rouquel Ponte (partly hidden), Archbishop
Ramon Arguelles, Joey Arguelles, Joe Tale and Melo Villaroman.
CBCP
CBCPMonitor
Monitor
Ugnayan
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
1 CFC Global
Leaders Assembly
st
THE world indeed got smaller last June 1819, 2008 for more than 300 delegates from all
continents of the world gathered for the first
CFC Global Leaders Assembly at the Valle
Verde Country Club in Pasig City, Philippines.
CFC leaders and spiritual directors from
all over the world gathered for two days of
inspiration, fellowship and discussions on
how CFC can move forward in its mission
for the years to come.
The event was also a venue for the presentation of the outcome of the Pastoral congresses conducted last year in different places
around the world. The Pastoral Congress
Team led by CFC International Council member Ernie Maipid spoke about “Pastoral Perspective for A New Season” in CFC. Ernie
spoke further about the expanded vision and
the consolidated mission of CFC together
with our strengthened core values. The result of the pastoral congresses aims to further our work with the mission development
of CFC enhanced with our religious and cultural grounding and empowering of our local CFC leaders in each country working for
a cohesive, global missionary community
witnessing the love of Christ in our lives and
being good stewards of this great community.
The first workshop exhorted the participants to discuss CFC culture and the different continental challenges that we face as we
pursue our work in CFC for evangelization
and mission, family renewal and total Christian liberation in relation to the different pastoral ecclesia targets that the Church has outlined. The discussions were based on the different ecclesias written by Pope John Paul II
to the five different continents of the world.
The second workshop was more focused
on CFC’s New Global Order and on how we
can look ahead into the future of CFC. The
participants were grouped by continent and
were asked to discuss how each group can
come up with a more efficient and effective
global structure for the mission of CFC.
CFC International Council member
Rouquel Ponte who also heads the International Missions gave the final talk on Mission Spirituality. He defined the identity of
CFC as a missionary community and stressed
the relevance of putting our global work in
perspective and in line with the continental
ecclesias. He stressed that “Mission and calling is both God’s intention for us to serve
others and also God’s intention for us to
achieve wholeness and perfection. It is wholeness integral to our temporal and spiritual
selves, a wholeness that heals, a wholeness
that unites us to others and to God in the
Christian community.”
Bishop Denis Wiehe of the Diocese of
Victoria, Seychelles, Africa gave the Apostolic Blessing and exhorted everyone to go
out and be missionaries of the Lord in every
C3
The wrath of
typhoon Frank
THE island of Panay, particularly the province of Iloilo,
bore the brunt of typhoon Frank last June 21. Dubbed as
the worst disaster to hit the area, the typhoon affected almost 70-80% of Iloilo, with floods caused by raging currents from overflowed rivers. Hardest hit were the districts and towns of Jaro, Mandurriao, Oton, Miagao, Pavia,
Leganes, Zarraga, Leon, Pototan, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo,
Mina, Ajuy, Carles, and Janiuay.
In some areas, the water reached as high as 3 meters,
submerging sturdier homes and sweeping away flimsy
ones. The hospital in the town of Janiuay was also submerged such that patients had to be transported to another
hospital Churches, schools, and municipal halls were used
as evacuation centers. Communication and electricity lines
were downed. Almost a hundred people lost their lives in
this town alone.
Layers of mud covered houses, wrecked cars, damaged
crops and stranded animals. The water system was greatly
damaged.
But Christian brotherhood and solidarity was at work
almost immediately. Families who were not affected
reached out to others as they gave their used clothes and
belongings. Others opened their homes for the ones who
lost theirs. Masses and prayers were offered for those who
lost their lives. Church leaders, politicians and diplomats
convened to extend every help that they could give.
The Couples for Christ community in Iloilo, which reported that almost 70% of their members were affected,
immediately gathered goods, food, medicine and other basic
materials to give to the victims.
As of today, the island of Panay still needs help. Aside
from our prayers, it is hoped that many of us will be stirred
to give help so that our brethren in these areas will regain
not just their belongings but lives that now have to live
with the trauma of loss and deprivation.
A great experience
young graduate of medicine who, for
love of the poor, dropped his stethoscope
and picked up shovels in order to build
houses for the poor. The GK sites confirmed for me the resolve of CFC to live
up to its mission of “Bringing glad tidings to the poor” and also of its expanded
mission of “Building the Church of the
Home and the Church of the Poor.”
Nevertheless, the CFC is not all about
building houses for the poor. The many
congresses that punctuated the 27th Anniversary gave me the opportunity to
share in the spiritual experiences of some
members of CFC.
These experiences are so enriching that
I am so overwhelmingly compelled by
the fire it has lit in me to mention a few.
Mannix Ocampo challenged the congress
members to be people of interiority.
This challenge was the product of his
prayerful meditation on the two hearts
of love: Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Again, Bro.
Rouquel Ponte’s presentation on Mission
Spirituality bears the imprint of a man
of spiritual density.
The exhortations of the Executive Director of CFC, Joe Tale, are evidence of a
dedicated servant leader. I cannot of
course forget the evangelical life of my
brother priest, Fr. Paul Uwemedino, who
forsook his patrimony to become a priest
and further abandoned the beautiful rectories in the Philippines and opted to
live with the poor in the slum area of
Payatas.
There, he has neither cook nor steward. The jeepney and his legs are his best
means of transportation, yet he remains
happy and fulfilled.
I was also privileged to attend a house-
hold meeting in the company of my
wonderful hosts, Noli and Beth Arzadon,
whose humility and hospitality boggle
my imagination. I saw for myself how
the household meeting provides a fertile ground for sharing the word of God,
life experiences and fellowship. This enables members to bond even more than
their blood relations.
I will finally say that what remains
for me as a recurring decimal in the lives
of CFC members is the fire of God’s love
aglow in them and their readiness to sacrifice everything in order to serve God
in the poor and the needy.
These experiences, and many more I
did not mention, re-affirmed my conviction that in the midst of capitalism,
modernism and scientific revolution,
there can still be found authentic Christians. Indeed, it was a great experience.
Fr. Donald Uzoh
By Fr. Donald Uzoh, Nigeria
ON January 15, 2008, I assumed duty as a
diocesan chaplain of Couples for Christ
in Onitsha Archdiocese in Nigeria. The
appointment seemed to me like a leap
into the dark because I did not know
very much about CFC except for the fact
that the group exists in the Archdiocese.
However, I was encouraged by the
belief that it is the Lord’s design for me.
Hence, I set out an action plan on how to
work with the CFC. This basically involved the establishment of CFC in St.
Edmund’s Parish, Nkpor, where I serve
as the parish priest.
But it seemed this was not enough.
Then an invitation came to attend the
CFC 27th Anniversary in the Philippines.
I saw it as an invitation from the Lord
and so I gave my fiat.
My encounter with CFC in the Philippines was kicked off by my attendance
at the 18th Anniversary of CFC Tarlac on
Sunday 15th of June. The community in
Tarlac was very friendly and welcoming. The exhibitions by different groups,
ministries and the Gawad Kalinga portrayed a family knit together in love.
I was also blessed with visits to two
out of the many Gawad Kalinga (GK)
sites. There, I saw that Christianity and
faith are made concrete. The residents of
the slum areas were moved from grass
to grace, from nobody to a people, from
anonymity to identity, from delinquents
to nobility, and more than that, from laxity to moral rectitude.
I will always remember the inspirational statement of Dr. Eric Cayabyab:
“What we lack, we give.” Dr. Eric is a
Rouquel Ponte and Joey Arguelles accompany Bishop Denis Wiehe of the diocese of Victoria, Seychelles in his visit to a
Gawad Kalinga site.
C4
Ugnayan
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 14
July 7 - 20, 2008
A grand homecoming
The pictures say it all. It was indeed a Grand Homecoming. And
like all homecomings, it was fun, food, joy, reminiscences, bonding
opportunities, and love shared all around.
Why Homecoming for this year’s anniversary theme? Like many
of CFC’s gatherings, God’s Hand was evident even in the plans,
and even down to the last detail. The organizing committee, when
it came down to preparing the final concept for the anniversary,
just suddenly hit upon the great idea of gathering everyone, and to
dream of the day when everyone will indeed come home -- not just
from far off places but from the far reaches of the heart.
And the shofar (the ancient Jewish horn) was blown to signal the
homecoming, to welcome the brethren and to announce the start
of the feast. It was a signal for all to indeed come home.
And indeed, they came -- from as near as Metro Manila to places as
far south as Australia and as far north as Europe. They came from
multiracial backgrounds -- from Japan, Thailand, Seychelles, Kenya,
Nigeria, Canada, the United States. They all paraded, some in colorful native costumes. And they celebrated.
The parade was one long celebration of the spirit -- a spirit that
refuses to be daunted by difficulties, even the difficulties of a driving rain while attempting to dance in sodden malongs and soaked
paper fans, or of trying to read the Lord’s Day booklet in the dark
and amid falling rain, or of standing in ankle-deep water while
worshipping in full abandon the Lord of all. There were children
huddled under umbrellas held by parents who stood in the rain
because the umbrellas were not big enough. And groups who successfully juggled plates of food in the midst of the rain that fell all
around them.
It is this indomitable spirit that has carried CFC through for 27
years and that will carry it through for 27 more years and beyond.