CBCP Monitor - CBCP Media Office

•B1
Cardinal: It’s
•A3 Time
to reach
out to ex-priests
Pope’s envoy issues warning
on fake solicitations
THE Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines,
Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, warned
local Church leaders and the public against a
racket involving solicitations, using the name
of Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect of the
Congregation for Catholic Education.
In a letter dated August 14, 2009 and addressed to CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop
Angel N. Lagdameo and circulated to the local
ordinaries, Archbishop Adams said the Secretariat of State of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
“learned of still another attempt, through e-mail
Solicitations / A7
•C1
Caritas in Veritate
‘It Is Also Possible to
Do Business by Pursuing
Aims That Serve Society’
cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net
www.cbcpnews.com
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace
August 31 - September 13 , 2009
UGNAYAN
The News Supplement
of Couples for Christ
Vol. 13 No. 18
Php 20.00
Bishops welcome resumption
of GRP-MILF peace talks
AMIDST plans to revive the peace talks with
the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Catholic
bishop asked the government peace panel to
avoid the same mistake it did in the past.
According to Kalookan Bishop Deogracias
Iñiguez, the government must take into consideration last year’s Supreme Court decision on
the Memorandum of Agreement on ancestral
domain (MOA-AD), which it ruled as being
“unconstitutional”.
“They should use that (SC ruling) as guidelines on how to do it this time and make sure
Peace talks / A7
Poll: Many Asian youth
don’t understand Eucharist
Bishops say survey a
reality check for leaders
By Roy Lagarde
In this modern age, still many young Asian Catholics do not fully understand what the Eucharist is
all about, according to a survey.
This situation has served as an “eye opener” for the Catholic hierarchy to make theological and pastoral reflections on the Eucharist
and the young faithful.
The poll, they said, also provided them a more “factual look” at
the youth who are not just the future of the Church “but the hope
of the present.”
Conducted by the Youth Desk of the Federation of Asian Bishops’
Conferences (FABC), the survey showed how young people wrongly
perceived the Eucharist.
In fact, out of the 1,033 youth respondents from 12 Asian countries
including the Philippines, 30 percent believe that it protects them
from harm while 17 percent think that it is a means to obtain luck.
Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona, however, said the result should
not be a cause for alarm because a bulk of those surveyed has a
“tremendous” appreciation of the Mass.
“Majority of them or 65 percent believe that they are receiving the
body of Christ in Holy Communion,” the survey said.
Also, half of the respondents have recognized that the Eucharist
“help them grow in their relationship with God.”
The Youth Desk was organized under the Office of the Laity,
chaired by Bishop Tirona, as the official arm of FABC that responds
to the needs and concerns of Asian youth.
Imus Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle (extreme right) talks about the upcoming 5th Asian Youth Day during a press conference Aug. 29. Hosted by his diocese, Bishop Tagle
said the goal of the event is to “renew youth’s faith in and love for the Word of God and the Eucharist,” and to help them integrate realities into their lives. Also in the
photo are: (L-R) Fr. Conegundo Garganta, executive secretary of CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY), Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona and San Fernando
Auxiliary Bishop Roberto Mallari, ECY’s vice chairman.
Little influence
While majority of them claimed of actively participating and have
Eucharist / A6
Bishops optimistic about Pope’s RP visit
IMUS Bishop Luis "Chito" Tagle said Pope Benedict XVI loves Asia. And the prelate wouldn’t be
surprised if the pontiff would visit the continent
and drop by in Manila.
Tagle said the pope has high regard for the
Philippines, not just because it is the only pre-
dominantly Catholic nation in Asia, but for its
“strong” faith.
“Who knows? He has been to Africa, Australia,
US and Latin America and they said Asia might
be the next,” he said.
Tagle made the statement during a press confer-
ence last August 29 to announce the countdown
to 5th Asian Youth Day (AYD) in the Diocese of
Imus on November 20-27.
According to the church leader, the Holy Father
currently focus his trips on countries “where he
sees so much secularization happening and where
the faith is diminishing.”
“With the limited time and strength that he
has, I think that is where he wants to concentrate
first,” he said.
Tagle confirmed there is indeed an invitation
RP visit / A6
Church leaders frown on Religious leaders in politics worry bishops
call to abolish Namfrel
NAMFREL Chairperson Henrietta T. De Villa
“THE task of getting rid of electoral
fraud cannot be the lone responsibility
of one movement but a joint effort by
both government and civil society,”
thus said NAMFREL Chairperson
Henrietta T. De Villa in response to
Congressman Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s
call to abolish the citizen’s arm.
It will be recalled the young Marcos
was quoted saying the country “was
deeply divided because of allegations
of fraud” during the past two electoral
exercises and its alleged failure to do
anything about electoral fraud.
Fr. Francis Lucas, Executive Secretary
of the CBCP Episcopal Commission
on Social Communications and Mass
Media said NAMFREL was a creation
of the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference years ago.
Speaking at the CBCPNews and Catholic Media Network’s “The Forum,” Fr.
Lucas said the Catholic Church itself is
involved in NAMFREL’s activities.
“The more the watchdogs, the better
and the merrier,” he said.
CBCP President and Jaro Archbishop
Angel N. Lagdameo said concerns
about NAMFREL’s activities should be
addressed to the Bishops-Businessmen’s
Conference.
“I know that the former president and
in fact I would even say the originator
of NAMFREL was Mr. Jose Concepcion and therefore if they have any
concern about NAMFREL, it should
be addressed to the BBC,” the 69-year
old prelate said in an interview with
CBCPNews.
He said NAMFREL’s manpower
have come from the Catholic Church
“just like the Parish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting (PPCRV).”
Lagdameo said it was the BishopsBusinessmen’s Conference who persuaded PPCRV Chair Henrietta De Villa
to head NAMFREL.
The former Philippine Ambassador
to the Holy See added that “in a free
society, people are encouraged to
participate in good governance, even
to form themselves into organized
movements and associations” to stop
corrupt and fraudulent practices aside
from safeguarding and “to sustain the
true meaning of democracy” which she
went on to describe as the “rule of the
people.”
“Public officials who advocate the
curtailment of this freedom and participation of the people are dangerous
to the survival of democracy” as she
pointed out these individuals need to be
reminded that in a democracy, “government is created by elections.’”
She said NAMFREL was a lone civil
society agreement organization that
dared “monitor the conduct of the 1986
Snap Elections” and “against all odds,
Namfrel / A6
AN official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the Church does not want religious
leaders to become involved in partisan politics.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso, outgoing chairman of the
CBCP’s Commission on Canon Law, said something is just
not right about religious in the political arena.
He said the involvement of Church leaders in partisan
politics could distance them from their guiding role and
disrupt relations between the political forces, which could
create an imbalance.
“I think I would be afraid. This would have an effect in
our bureaucracy. The Church teaches us that in the temporal order, the priests should not be first in line in politics,”
said Medroso.
Medroso, who heads the Diocese of Tagbilaran in Bohol,
also said that the temporal orders should be left to the lay
faithful.
“I just hope that our religious leaders would stay out of
politics because they have their own mission in life which
is to give vision of eternity, vision of morality,” he said.
Just last Aug. 21, Jesus Is Lord Christian group leader
Bro. Eddie Villanueva declared his second attempt to run
for president.
Catholic priest-turned Pampanga Governor Fr. Eddie
“Among Ed” Panlilio, meanwhile, is reportedly going
around getting a consensus if the people want him to become president.
El Shaddai Catholic Charismatic group leader Bro Mike
Velarde is also eyeing the presidency but said he has yet
to consult his followers if they are in favor of his 2010
political plans.
“What is frightening here is that a priest, these religious
leaders, if they would become president, we might confuse
already the spiritual things and the temporal things,” he
added.
He admitted that there is a “moral degradation” prevailing in the country and that these religious leaders who are
aspiring to be presidents and officials in government do
not have ulterior motives.
Politics / A6
Journalists vow to write stories for peace in Mindanao
WHILE there are some who are still
confined to the traditional journalism
practice of reporting, Mindanao journalists who attended the Focus Group
Discussion (FGD) of the Konsult Mindanaw vowed to change the journalism
landscape in Mindanao through peace
reporting.
The commitment came following
the question “what is your personal
commitment to peace in Mindanao?”
posed by the Konsult Mindanaw
organizers.
The participants who are
mostly working for national
media entities but based in
Mindanao said they recognize
the importance of imparting
values and encouraging a
“culture of peace in reporting”
instead of a “culture of violence.”
The journalists also agreed to help
eliminate the practice of “sensationalism” in media reporting especially in
reporting war and violence.
During the FGD, journalists admitted the fact that “yellow journalism”
is a common practice today especially
among media networks who want to
downplay legitimate news in favor of
eye-catching headlines that sell more
newspapers or increase viewers and
listeners in TV and radio.
Recognizing that this is an unprofessional practice by news
media organizations or journalists they made
commitment to
Illustration by Bladimer Usi
support peace-making efforts, to write
stories on peace and to work closely
with non-government organizations
(NGOs) who are genuinely building
peace in Mindanao.
The participants who attended the
FGD were representatives from regional
network group of ABS-CBN
–Central Mindanao, Business
Mirror, CBCPNews, Davao
Catholic Herald, Union of
Catholic Asian News (UCAN),
Philippine News Agency
(PNA), Philippine Information
Agency (PIA), DXMS-Notre
Dame Broadcasting Company
(NDBC) –Cotabato, Associated
Press (AP) and Mindanao Times.
The FGD is also an initiative of
the Bishops-Ulama Conference
(BUC).
The FGD session held at the
Mindanao Training and Resource
Center in Davao Medical School
Compound, Davao City, is part
of Konsult Mindanao’s effort
to gather public perception on
Journalists / A6
World News
A2
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Cardinal says Pope isn’t ‘undoing’
Vatican II
He added, "Nor should we forget the direct contact established
with the heads of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia with whom he
has reinstated periodic audience meetings."
True change
As regards the "reform of the Church," the cardinal affirmed "that
it is above all a question of interiority and holiness."
For this reason, he said, the Pontiff concentrates on recalling "the
source of the Word of God, the evangelical law and the heart of the
life of the Church: Jesus, the known, loved, adored and imitated
Lord."
This is the reason he is currently working on the second volume
of his book "Jesus of Nazareth," the prelate explained.
The cardinal noted that the Holy Father has in his pontificate
made 70 appointments of superiors in the different dicasteries, not
counting bishops and nuncios in the world.
As well, the prelate affirmed, he will soon announce "important appointments," in which "the new
Churches" will be represented. "Africa has already offered and will offer excellent candidates," he said.
Cardinal Bertone warned against the error of attributing to the Pope all the problems the Church is
experiencing in the world and all the statements of his representatives.
He reminded journalists, "Correct information calls for attributing to each one ('unicuique suum')
his own responsibility for deeds and words, especially when the latter openly contradict the teachings
and examples of the Pope." (Zenit)
© www.catholicnewsagency.com
VATICAN CITY, August 28, 2009—Benedict XVI's closest colCardinal Tarcisio Bertone
laborator is denying media rumors that the Pontiff is working to
gradually "undo" the changes implemented after the Second Vatican
Council.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, stated this
in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano published Thursday.
He addressed the debate surrounding false rumors in the Italian
media about supposed documents that would reverse changes in
the Church since Vatican II, especially regarding the liturgy.
The cardinal asserted that in order to understand the Holy Father's
intentions and actions, it is necessary to consider his personal history, one that included involvement "as a genuine protagonist" in
the Conciliar Church.
These other rumors about "presumed documents of reversal are
pure inventions," he stated.
The cardinal highlighted some applications of the Second Vatican
Council that the Pope has "promoted constantly with intelligence
and depth of thought."
In particular, he noted the Pontiff's collaboration in "the most comprehensive relationship" with the Orthodox and Eastern Churches
and the dialogue with Judaism and Islam.
These have taken place with a "reciprocal attraction," Cardinal Bertone noted, and have "inspired
answers and deeper reflections as never before recorded, purifying memory" and building openness.
He also underlined Benedict XVI's "direct and fraternal, as well as paternal, relationship with all
the members of the episcopal college, in the 'ad limina visits' and in the other numerous occasions
of contact."
The prelate recalled the Pope's engagement in the Synods of Bishops, through various interventions
and reflections.
Cardinal Bertone reveals origin of Year for Priests
VATICAN CITY, August 28, 2009—Yesterday Cardinal Tarcisio
Bertone revealed the origin of the Pope's idea for a Year for Priests in
an interview with L'Osservatore Romano. According to the cardinal,
the idea was sparked by a proposal to mark the 150th anniversary
of St. Jean Vianney's death with a year of prayer for priests and the
problems they face.
Cardinal Bertone explained that the proposal, made at the end
of the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word, quickly found its way
to the Pope’s desk and called for a year of prayer reflecting on the
Word of God.
In addition, he added, “the celebration of the 150th anniversary
of the Cure of Ars and the emergence of the problems involving
many priests led Benedict XVI to promulgate the Year for Priests,
thus demonstrating special attention for priests, priestly vocations
and promoting in all the people of God a movement of growing
affection and closeness to ordained ministers.”
Cardinal Bertone also underscored that the Holy Father has always shown great affection for priests, especially in his meetings
with priests where he addresses the concrete aspects of their lives,
giving pointed responses to their questions.
Become Good Samaritans in every
aspect of life, Supreme Knight says
RIMINI, Italy, August 30, 2009—Supreme
Knight of Columbus Carl A. Anderson addressed the Meeting for Friendship Among
the Peoples in Rimini, Italy on Friday
afternoon. There, he exhorted charitable
groups to cooperate in building a “civilization of love” and to follow in the footsteps
of Knights of Columbus founder Michael
J. McGivney. Over 700,000 people were
expected to attend the week-long meeting,
which was organized by the Communion
and Liberation movement.
Saying that greed, the “worst of human
nature,” has been diagnosed as a large part
of the economic crisis, he said:
“Many lost sight of the importance of
unity—of communion—with their neigh-
bors. And we must
look to the best of
humanity—to generosity, solidarity, and
communion—with
our neighbor as the
prescription.”
Citing love of
neighbor as the key
to a sustainable economy, he urged the
audience to replace
the motivation of
Cain, the first fratricide, with the motivation of the Good
Samaritan in “every
aspect of our lives,”
especially business
relationships.
Anderson noted
the example of Knights of Columbus
founder, the Venerable Servant of God Fr.
Michael J. McGivney. He discussed one
case where the priest personally helped a
teenage boy stay with his widowed mother
and his family.
“Only Father McGivney’s help saved
young Alfred from being wrested from his
mother and siblings, and put in a state institution. And let’s not forget that the state that
ran those institutions was quite hostile to the
Catholic Church,” he remarked.
He then listed the accomplishments of the
Knights of Columbus’ charitable endeavors,
their fight against anti-Catholic and anti-black
bigotry, their pro-life work in support of pregnant mothers and protection for the unborn,
and their work in serving both Catholic and
non-Catholic troops in the U.S. military.
Anderson recounted how the Knights began to run sports fields for children in Rome
who did not have other sports facilities.
During the Great Depression, the organization ran job boards to help those who were
out of work.
He also mentioned the Knights’ work with
the Special Olympics, founded by the late
Eunice Kennedy Shriver.
“On a weekly basis, our members cook
meals for the homeless, help provide for the
needs of those with intellectual disabilities,
support women in crisis pregnancies, and
the children they bring into the world.”
Noting the Knights’ recent summit on
volunteerism as a response to the economic
crisis, Anderson urged Catholic groups to
“exponentially multiply the good that we do
by working together with other groups.”
Cooperation with other beneficent organizations, he said, is an excellent model for
Catholic movements as they seek to “transform the world by encouraging people to say
‘yes’ to Jesus Christ.”
“Nowhere is the face of our Church more
attractive than in our open embrace of our
neighbor,” Anderson emphasized. “Each
encounter with those in need is actually an
opportunity to create a civilization of love,
one person, one act at a time.”
The Knights of Columbus, a lay Catholic
fraternal organization, has more than 1.78
million members worldwide. Last year, the
organization and its members contributed
more than $150 million and almost 69 million
volunteer hours to charitable causes. (CNA)
Vietnamese regime uses Pope’s discourses
to divide Church and arrest faithful
HANOI, Vietnam, August 31,
2009—A young Catholic catechumen, author of a blog, was arrested on August 27. Local sources
tell AsiaNews that the police are
preparing a new series of arrests
of people who dare to criticize
the distorted way in which the
regime’s newspapers have presented Benedict XVI’s address to
the Vietnamese bishops during
their recent ad Limina visit
Fr. Peter Nguyen Van Khai, a
Redemptorist priest from Hanoi,
confirmed to AsiaNews, “the arrest of Bui Thanh Hieu, a young
catechumen of the diocese, who
was studying to be baptized.”
On 24 August last, Vietnam Net,
a state media, published an article
entitled “A good Catholic is a good
citizen”. The article quotes several
sentences of the pope, aiming to
show that “Benedict XVI strongly
criticized the bishops to concern
themselves more that priests strive
for holiness, so they may guide
their flocks to live as the Pope
intends, that is as good Catholics
and good citizens.”
The article quoted two sentences
of Benedict XVI: “The priest must
deepen his inner life and strive for
holiness” and “lay Catholics must
show by their life, which is based
on charity, honesty and love for
the common good, that a good
Catholic is also a good citizen”.
From this they have concluded
that in Vietnam priests do not
deepen their spiritual life, nor tend
to holiness and the laity are not
charitable, honest or loving and
are not even good citizens.
According to Father Joseph
Nguyen of Hanoi, the impression one draws from the article
is that “Benedict XVI himself has
insulted the Church in Vietnam
for its spiritual corruption”.
The article also condemns the
Vietnamese bishops. Taking its
cue from another passage in
the Pope’s speech in which he
states that “healthy collaboration between the Church and
the political community is possible”, the article concludes by
claiming it is “crystal clear”
that the bishops have not been
patient and open to dialogues
in their relationship with the
government and moreover they
maintain a hostile attitude to the
communist power.
In fact, as has been amply
shown by the many cases of friction in recent months in Hanoi,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vinh, Hue,
the bishops have always sought
dialogue with the government,
but in response the Vietnamese
police beat, criticized and arrested the faithful, and endangered
the life of some priests.
In his address, Benedict XVI
states that “Her [the Church] intention is certainly not to replace
government leaders”. The interpretation that the article gives is
that the pope has long known
of a plot by Catholic priests to
overthrow the government,
suggesting that the Vietnamese
bishops identify and isolate
those responsible.
One religious sister notes that
the next day, the same article
was published by other newspapers with calls for the immediate
arrest and punishment of the
priests of Thai Ha and Vinh,
which has been seeking the
return of Church property, confiscated some time ago for the
“good of the people” and now
for sale for private purposes.
The manipulation of Pope Benedict XVI’s address has created a
lot of frustration among Catholics
in Vietnam, who, through the
blogs, have begun to voice their
opinions, criticizing the media
under state control and have
published the original text of the
papal address. (AsiaNews)
He went on to note that the Church hopes to re-establish contact
and reach out to priests who have abandoned their ministry for
different reasons.
Many initiatives “are directed at strengthening the awareness
of the identity and mission of the priest,” who is called to teach by
example in the Church and in society.
“The holy priests who have been present throughout the
history of the Church will not cease to protect and sustain
the path of renewal proposed by Benedict XVI,” the cardinal
explained. (CNA)
Archbishop calls for end to
anti-Christian violence in India
ROME, Italy, August 25, 2009—
During celebrations marking
the “Day for
Peace and Harmony” in various
states in India,
Archbishop Raphael Cheenath
of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar insisted, “Acts such
as anti-Christian
violence must never happen again.”
The archbishop’s comments came on the first anniversary of
the attacks carried out against Christians by Hindu extremists
in the state of Orissa, leaving 70 people dead and hundreds of
Christian homes destroyed. According to L’Osservatore Romano, the archbishop said, “The world must know what peace
and harmony mean, and we must combat the tendencies that
cause such extreme crimes. Violence and the shedding of blood
only lead to the destruction of humanity. We must work for love,
which means working for peace.”
“Now that a year has passed,” the archbishop said later, “many
people still live in refugee camps and in the cities of neighboring states. Many others have been able to return home, but our
people still live under threats.”
The archbishop urged Hindu fundamentalists not to obstruct
the rebuilding of churches destroyed during their attacks, and
warned that as long as those responsible for such violence are
not apprehended by police, “the attacks against the defenseless
and innocent people will continue.”
“The extremists will not back down and will continue in their
efforts to erase all signs of Christianity in Orissa. But the mission
continues and the violence will not stop us. The cross of Christ
is our strength and our hope,” he maintained. (CNA)
Three U.S. bishops visiting Africa
to observe humanitarian work
WASHINGTON D.C., August 29, 2009—A delegation of American bishops is visiting Zimbabwe and South Africa on behalf of
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The bishops
intend to observe not only the challenges facing the African
countries, but also the humanitarian work and the “fully alive”
faith of Christians in the region.
Bishop of Pensacola John H. Ricard and Bishop of Salt Lake
City John C. Wester visited Zimbabwe from August 26-28. They
will visit South Africa from August 28 to September 6, where they
were scheduled to be joined by Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a
retired Archbishop of Washington.
Bishop Ricard is chairman of the USCCB Subcommittee on
Africa, while Bishop Wester is a committee member. During
their trip they plan to talk with Church officials and visit projects funded by the Pastoral Solidarity Fund for the Church in
Africa.
Bishop Wester, Chairman of the USCCB Committee on
Migration, is also leading a delegation for the Migration and
Refugee Services office. The fact-finding mission is assessing
the problems of refugees and displaced persons in South Africa
and Zimbabwe.
Children and women victims of human trafficking, an activity
described as a modern-day slave trade, are a particular concern
of his delegation.
All three bishops are associated with Catholic Relief Services
(CRS). According to the USCCB, they are observing the humanitarian work CRS is involved in, especially in combating
HIV-AIDS.
Patrick Markey, executive director of the USCCB Office of
National Collections, organized the trip.
“As we saw clearly during Pope Benedict’s recent trip to the
Cameroon and Angola, the Church in Africa is not only growing rapidly. It is also fully alive and rich in vocations,” Markey
said in a USCCB press release. “The Church in Africa also faces
many challenges and for that reason Catholics in the U.S. have
so generously responded to a call from the bishops to give them
a hand.” (CNA)
News Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
A3
Cardinal: It’s time to reach
out to ex-priests
VATICAN CITY, August 31, 2009 — The Year for Priests is also for
those men who have left priestly ministry, according to Benedict
XVI’s secretary of state.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone made this observation Friday in
L’Osservatore Romano, in an interview that also explains how the
Year for Priests became a reality.
“I remember that after the synod of bishops on the Word of God,
at the Pope’s table there was talk of a proposal that had already come
up in the past, of convoking a year of prayer, which was very linked
to the reflection on the Word of God,” the cardinal recounted.
Nevertheless, he said, “the 150th anniversary of the death of the
Curé d’Ars and the situation of the problems that have affected so
many priests brought Benedict XVI to declare a Year for Priests.”
With this initiative, Cardinal Bertone affirmed, the Holy Father
wants to show “special attention to priests and to priestly vocations”
and to promote “a movement within the whole people of God, of a
growing affection and closeness to ordained ministers.”
“The Year for Priests is bringing about great enthusiasm in all of the local Churches and an extraordinary movement of prayer, of fraternity with
and among priests, and of vocational ministry,” the cardinal added.
He continued, “Moreover, the sometimes weak fabric of dialogue
between bishops and priests is being strengthened, and special attention is being given to those priests who have been put to the side
in pastoral ministry.”
The year is also a “renewal of contact, fraternal help, and if it is
possible, a reuniting with those priests who for various reasons have
left behind their priestly ministry,” Cardinal Bertone stated.
Finally, he affirmed, “The holy priests who have been part of the
history of the Church will not cease to protect and support this road
to renewal that Benedict XVI has proposed.” (CNA)
© www.legrc.org
Says priest-saints are supporting
Pope’s plans for renewal
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Nations of the world must listen to
the Catholic Church, says Tony Blair
market nor state can do.”
Blair said his conversion to the Catholic faith
was due in part to his wife Cherie. “I began to go
to Mass and we went together. We could have
gone to the Anglican or Catholic Church—guess
who won?” he joked.
“As time went on, I had been going to Mass for
a long time ... it's difficult to find the right words.
I felt this was right for me. There was something,
not just about the doctrine of the Church, but of
the universal nature of the Catholic Church,” Tony
Blair said.
Despite these words, Blair and his wife maintain
positions on contraception and gay unions that are
contrary to the Church’s teachings. (CNA)
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair
© nickbaines.wordpress.com
RIMINI, Italy, Aug. 31, 2009—Former British Prime
Minister Tony Blair, who converted to the Catholic
faith a few years ago, addressed participants at the
Rimini Meeting in Italy, saying, “The voice of the
Church should be heard” and “it should speak
confidently, clearly and openly.”
During his speech the former Prime Minister
underscored, “Faith and reason are in alliance, not
opposition,” and that therefore “the Church can be
the insistent spiritual voice that makes globalization our servant not our master.”
After praising the Church’s untiring social work,
Blair went on to say, “There is not just room, but
a growing space today for organizations of civic
society to step forward and do things that neither
Scrap Laiban Dam project:
Dioceses, NGOs appeal
without their free and prior informed
consent which the IPRA law only provides in “exceptional circumstances.”
“We do not think that the construction of a dam is an exceptional
circumstance, considering that there
are other alternative projects that the
MWSS may undertake to alleviate the
water needs of Metro Manila,” the
letter further said.
Aside from the IPs, indigenous species of varied flora and fauna are also
imperiled by the project.
The Kaliwa watershed which is home
to some endangered species has been
classified as a forest reserve, a part of
which has been proclaimed as national
park under Proclamation No. 1636, thus
Paul II, reiterates that the RIGHT TO
SAFE ENVIRONMENT is one of the
basic human rights that the State must
protect,” they added.
Citing studies done on the project, its
costly effects on lives, economy and environment, the group said an alternative
should be considered for the project.
“There are studies that indicate that
this project would produce water that
would be very costly for Metro Manila
residents. The take-or-pay provision
also needs to be further studied as it
appears that the same will be highly
prejudicial to the government.”
“Alternatives to the project must be
considered, including the alternative
of no action. We call on the EMB to
exempting it from exploitation.
Some of the Globally Endangered
species found in the Laiban Dam project area are the Luzon Bearded Wild
Pigs (Sus Philippensis), the Philippine
Brown Deer (Cervus Marianus), and
the Tarictic Hornbill.
“We reiterate that we are stewards of
God’s creation on earth. We must care
for these beings whose importance we
may never learn until they are permanently extinct,” said the group.
Quoting section 25 of the Wildlife
Protection Act, the group said that
critical habitats shall be protected
“from any form of exploitation or destruction which may be detrimental to
the survival of the threatened species
dependent therein,” adding:
“There is nothing in other provisions of the law that would also allow
exploitation. We challenge the MWSS
to point to us any provision of this law
that would allow their putting up of a
dam in the affected areas.
The group likewise raised the issue of the area’s proximity to major
earthquake faults which could prove
hazardous to people’s lives.
“Are we willing to sacrifice human
lives in favor of a project whose main
purpose is to alleviate the condition of
human lives in the metropolis?” they
asked. “The Holy Father, Pope John
carefully consider alternatives to the
project before it even grants an ECC.
We call on the MWSS to study and
consider rehabilitating Wawa Dam
and its watershed as one of the less
expensive option. The EIS System pro-
© balarila.smugmug.com
MANILA, August 30, 2009—Strong
opposition against the controversial
Laiban dam project continues to
snowball with yet another strong appeal from the local Churches to scrap
the contentious water venture.
Saying that the construction of the
dam is inimical to both people and
environment, the Ecology network of
the arch/dioceses of Manila, Cubao,
Pasig, Kalookan, Novaliches, and
Antipolo, CBCP-NASSA and NGOs
sent an urgent appeal to Metropolitan
Waterworks and Sewerage System
(MWSS) asking it to oppose the construction of Laiban Dam.
In its letter to Attorney Diosdado
Jose Allado, MWSS administrator, the
group urged Allado to junk the project
and think of alternatives to solve the
impending water crisis.
“Laiban dam is the most expensive
project to be undertaken by MWSS, in
terms of economic cost, size and expanse of the infrastructure, numbers
of stakeholders to be affected, environmental effects, human rights, and
the challenges to the existing environmental and indigenous laws, such as
Protected Area, Presidential Decree
No. 1151 [Philippine Environmental
Policy], Environmental Impact Satement System, Presidential Decree no.
1586; Wildlife Protection Act, IPRA,
and NIPAs,” the appeal stated.
The Laiban dam venture in Tanay,
Rizal, touted to solve the impending
water crisis has been a pet project of
the Arroyo administration since 2003,
according to an earlier statement released to the media by independent
think-tank IBON Foundation Inc.
The project will affect around 27,800
hectares of ancestral and agricultural
lands, IBON said.
Church and environmental groups
have been opposing the project because of its environmental risks and
human rights violations against indigenous people living in the area.
If revived, the dam will displace the
Dumagats and Remontados who have
been living in the watershed area since
the time of their ancestors, according
to the group.
“The Kaliwa Watershed has been
their (IPs) home since time immemorial, even before the existence of the
Philippine Government. Indigenous
people have a conjugal bond with their
land. Uprooting them will render them
orphaned from the land that gave birth
to their culture, heritage, and the oneness they share with other beings in the
area causing further alienation.”
The group reminded MWSS that IPs
cannot be displaced from their areas
Vatican economist
says Christians
must put ethics
back into business
vides for a cost-benefits analysis that
must consider all alternatives so that
the least destructive alternative may
be given importance or even chosen in
the end,” the letter pointed out.
The Laiban dam project has been
opposed mostly by the Dinagat and
Remontado tribes since its inception
in the 1960s up to the mid-1980s by
the late dictator, Ferdinand E. Marcos.
The project was shelved because of
the strong opposition of the people in
Southern Tagalog, only to be revived in
2003 by the current administration.
A copy of the appeal letter was also
sent to Department of Energy and
Natural Resources (DENR) secretary
Lito Atienza, EMB office, President
Gloria Arroyo, Senate, Congress and
Office of the Government Corporate
Counsel (OGCC).
Among those who signed the appeal were Fr. Benito Tuazon, Ecology
Minister of Manila archdiocese, Fr.
Bienvenido Miguel, Director of Social
Action of Antipolo diocese, Fr. Joven
Antique, Ecology Minister of Pasig
diocese, Fr. Octavio Bartiana, Ecology
Minister of Kalookan diocese, Fr. Antonio Labiao of Novaliches diocese, Fr.
Arnel Recinto of Cubao diocese, Engr.
Joyce Palacol, CBCP-NASSA Ecology
Desk coordinator; Atty. Galahad Pe
Benito, environmental lawyer and
legal consultant; Alfredo Albor, CARE
Foundation Executive director; and Sr.
Maria Aida Velasquez, OSB, Lingkod
Tao Kalikasan Foundation, Inc. Coordinator. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
VATICAN CITY, August 24, 2009─The current
global economic crisis shows that capitalism
without ethical grounding doesn't work, and
Christians should keep this in mind whether
they are business people, policymakers or simply consumers, a top Vatican economist said.
Thomas Han Hong-soon of the Vatican Prefecture for Economic Affairs said that "the root
of this crisis is a moral deficit" and that when it
comes to business Christians have not always
followed the principles of charity and justice
found in the Gospel.
"Let's start by honestly recognizing that the
spirit of capitalism doesn't agree with that of
the Gospel. The heart of Christianity is love
for others. The nucleus of capitalism, rather,
is competition, which is the opposite of love,"
Han told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore
Romano Aug. 22.
A radical overhaul of the capitalistic system is
not very realistic, he said, considering that alternatives, such as communism, have not worked
out historically. But better rules for governing
the free market are needed, he said.
"It's clear that as Christians we can't only
pursue the notion of the highest profit at the
lowest possible cost," he said.
"What is sometimes lacking is the awareness
of a 'social responsibility' of their business. No
business is an island," he said.
"Those who don't remember that are destined to fail," he said, recalling Pope Benedict
XVI's recent encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate"
("Charity in Truth") that called for justice and
equality in the world economy. This is true not
only for single businesses, but for a whole system that involves shareholders, banks, workers
and consumers, he said.
Catholics can do much to contribute to a
better system simply by the choices they make
in their lifestyles and what they buy. "The
simple act of purchasing something can have
important economic consequences. No choice
is neutral," Han said.
"It's up to us to start, and everyone in their
small part can change the world," he said.
The Catholic Church in its many activities, he
said, should set an example of ethical behavior
in doing business and raising and spending
money for its mission "above all with thoughtfulness and solidarity."
For example, he said, a church-affiliated
entity planning to construct a new building
should make sure that the companies hired do
not exploit their workers.
Han joined the five-member international
panel of lay economists who oversee Vatican
budgets in November 2008. He is a member
of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and
is president of the Lay Apostolic Council of
Korea. (CNS)
Church, Catholic schools play crucial role for anti-child porno
law to succeed—prelate
MANILA, August 27, 2009—
The fight against child pornography in the Philippines
is far from over even if the
House of Representatives has
recently enacted into law the
bill penalizing child pornographers, pedophiles, and operators of cyber-sex dens and
unscrupulous internet cafés.
In fact, the involvement of the
Catholic Church and Catholic
schools can make or break
what key foundation the law
has just instigated.
Saying the efforts of the
religious and education sectors is needed to complement
the implementation of the
recently approved House
Bill 6440, to be known as the
"Anti-Child Pornography Act
of 2009," Kalookan Bishop
Deogracias S. Iñiguez, Jr.
appealed to Catholic schools
nationwide to help the Catholic
Church in molding the conscience and morals of the faithful, especially the youth, against
sexual exploitation of minors.
“While priests can try to
refresh and form the minds of
the people about the concept of
child pornography as a social
and psychological abnormality, Catholic school teachers
can be our counterparts in the
academe by making sure that
the advocacy against child
pornography is instilled in
the minds of the youth,” said
Iñiguez.
The prelate even encouraged administrators of Catholic schools to devote certain
classes or organize forums to
effectively educate students
about the guises of child pornography as a crime.
“The classroom will be a
great venue for us to advance
our advocacy straight into our
target population. If we have
the Catholic schools working
with us, all of our efforts in
the advocacy will pay off,” the
prelate added.
Iñiguez heads the Committee on Public Affairs of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines, the influential body of prelates from
across the country that remained at the forefront of lobbying for the legislation of the
anti-pornography measure.
Even before the Senate finalized its version of the bill
last November, the CBCP
has been consistently pressing lawmakers from both
chambers of Congress to prioritize the enactment of the
law that will protect minors
from sexual exploitation.
The Episcopal Commission on Youth and CBCP
Media Office even forged
partnerships with the Optical Media Board, civil society
groups and NGOs in staunch
support of HB 6440, which,
according to its authors, will
“institutionalize the country’s
sincere effort to safeguard
our children and educate everyone on the threat of child
pornography as this takes
advantage of their innocence
and poverty.” (Kris Bayos)
Opinion
A4
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
EDITORIAL
‘Reform of the reform’
VATICAN media have been expectedly aggressive like a hornet’s
nest stirred by a blog of a known Vatican analyst, Andrea Tornielli,
who has commented that the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of the Sacraments, headed by Cardinal
Antonio Canizares is reforming the reforms of the Second Vatican
Council—“riforma della riforma,” he calls it.
His finger points to the Holy Father as the principle of the ongoing
“reforms” that includes the greater use of Latin in the mass, the
possibility of celebrating the Eucharist “ad orientum” at least
during the consecration, and the greater emphasis on communion
on the tongue.
This whole flak may have had its beginnings in 2007, or perhaps
even earlier, with the motu proprio issuance of the Pope Benedict
XVI’s Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum that reintroduced
and granted more freedom in the celebration of the Tridentine
liturgy in its 1962 form—which came as a surprise even to some
sectors of the church, even to some bishops themselves; although
a purported reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X and some
traditionalist Catholics was an acceptable justification.
But what is more interesting is the quick response by no less
than the Secretariat of State himself, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,
who firmly denied the media rumors that the Pontiff is working
to gradually undo the changes implemented after the Second
Vatican Council.
It may have been a misunderstanding of the Holy Father’s intentions
which, according to Cardinal Bertone should be taken from “his
personal history” or one that included involvement “as a genuine
protagonist” in the Conciliar Church. “It is above all a question of
interiority and holiness,” he says perhaps to the bewilderment of
the benchers as the cardinal explains like a good academician.
The only rub is Tornielli with the media and a growing number
of supporters in tow is in the contest mode saying: “All of this
is an attempt to tell people not to believe what I wrote, saying
there is nothing happening, that the Pope and the Congregation
for Divine Worship are not considering anything, that the ‘reform
of the reform’ and the recovery of a greater sense of the sacred in
the Liturgy is a false story reported by me.”
It may not be farfetched to say that there is a storm brewing right
from the bowels of the Church. But then, here at the cold front,
some would rather train their eyes to the urgent and prevailing—true
to Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Right at the doorstep,
are social imperatives hanging in the balance of life and death
that needs addressing rather seriously by the brethren.
The Root of the Crisis:
Erosion of Moral Values
AS bishops, we believe that at the bottom of our political chaos
is a crisis of moral values, a crisis of truth and justice, of unity
and solidarity for the sake of the common good and genuine
peace. Truth has become a victim of political partisanship as well
as of transactional politics. Moral accountability and justice for
crimes, such as the killings of journalists and labor leaders, are
yet to be realized.
Because of this crisis of values in our public life, the common
good and the plight of the poor are being ignored. We witness the
anguish of poor farmers affected by rising prices of farm inputs and
decreasing prices for their products. Indigenous people, farmers
and fishermen in our dioceses are filled with anxiety about the
negative effects of mining, commercial logging, illegal quarrying
and fishing, and the continual threat of displacement from one’s
ancestral lands. More regrettable is the common knowledge that
many of our politicians are behind such ventures that disregard
the common good.
As Bishops, we realize that the root cause of our debilitating
situation is the erosion of moral values. Its external manifestations
are deceit and dishonesty, corruption, manipulation and a deadening
preoccupation with narrow political interests, perceived in
practically all branches and at all levels of government. Pope
Benedict XVI cites St. Augustine’s observation that “a State
which is not governed according to justice would be just a bunch
of thieves.” (Deus Caritas Est, 28)
But we also recognize that our situation is not one of utter darkness.
We are encouraged and inspired to see so many good and decent
Filipinos, of different faith traditions, working selflessly and
sincerely to build up our nation. We see public servants struggling
for integrity and the authentic reform of the corrupted institutions
they are part of. We acknowledge groups of dedicated laity,
religious and clergy, NGOs and various associations, including
police and military personnel, giving of themselves to improve
the governance, education, health, housing, livelihood and
environmental conditions of our people. These people, united by
a vision of heroic citizenship, are reasons for hope, even in the
midst of the political crisis we find ourselves in.
Renewing our Public Life through Moral Values,
A CBCP Pastoral Statement, 2006
Illustration by Bladimer Usi
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season
THE present time of the Church has been called “the age of the
lay faithful,” and at the same time “The time of the Holy Spirit.”
In acknowledging it, the CBCP’s most recent Pastoral Letter has
emphasized the importance of lay participation and lay empowerment in the mission of the Church as well as in many areas of lay
apostolate and evangelization.
The parable of the Wedding Banquet which we proclaim in the
Gospel, presents the on-going invitation of God in the context of a
wedding at which the guests are invited to participate. Weddings
are events of joy, camaraderie, fellowship and communion. It is
this spirit that Jesus wants to be reflected in those which are working for the propagation and promotion of the kingdom of God in
this time of the Holy Spirit and age of the lay faithful. The way of
spreading the kingdom by way of spreading the Word of God, most
especially by “letting the Word of Christ” dwell in the lives of the
people (Col. 3/16), in order that they may become “doers of the
word” (James 1/22).
In this age of the Holy Spirit, we are witnesses of how lay people
are responding to the invitation of God to participate in the wedding
feast of the Word of God. On this occasion, I would like to gratefully appreciate the impact of the word of God on the followers of
El Shaddai, in particular on El Shaddai’s Founder-Organizer, our
friend Mike Velarde, the leader of this charismatic Catholic renewal
movement.
Religious movements come and go. A few of them continue to
flourish base on the integrity of their leadership and the conviction
of their followers. El Shaddai is one of them. El Shaddai is now in its
25th year of its foundation by Brother Mike, who celebrates his 70th
The age of the laity
birthday, and who 25 years ago was scheduled for the major heart
surgery at the Philippine Heart Center. In some mysterious way an
“angelic nurse” who read the Word of God for Brother Mike, assured
him that his surgery would be cancelled. The miraculous incident
led to the purchase of a radio station, DWXI and the program “To
God be the glory.” Rallies for the Word of God, with the Word of
God, attracted people by the hundreds of thousands. To this date
the members of El Shaddai has reached more than seven million
with chapters being established in parishes and dioceses here in the
Philippines and abroad.
As El Shaddai celebrates the 25th year of its foundation by Brother
Mike Velarde, the only words that catch our hearts at the moment are
the words “To God be the glory.” The gifts and the charism to
spread the Word of God that were given to Brother Mike, are not
for him but for the growth of the Kingdom in this age of the laity
and time of the Holy Spirit: to God be the glory. The effect of the
Word of God on the millions of El Shaddai members are not for the
individual recipients but for their families, for the communities, for
the church: To God be the glory. Let the wedding even of the Word
of God with the people of El Shaddai continue with its work of radical conversion from within, the renewal of Church and society, the
good works that produce joy, camaraderie, friendship, fellowship
and communion continue in this great and difficult times. To God
be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
(This is the text of the homily of Most Rev. Angel N. Lagdameo,
Archbishop of Jaro and CBCP President, on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of El Shaddai; August 20, 2009.)
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
Pregnant? Need help?
THESE words beckon women who are distraught with their pregnancy for one reason
or another. What to do? She tries to think
hard, but the more she thinks, the more
confused she gets. Satan’s lies muddle her
thinking. Then there’s the shame, the pressure, the anger, the guilt, the fear, the anxiety,
and worst of all, the indifference.
To continue with the pregnancy or to terminate it? She toys with the reasoning that
it’s better to kill the baby now than to give
birth to a baby who would have no assurance
of good future. That line of reasoning says
it’s better to kill a two-year old child than
to wait for him to be a teenager who would
have no means to go to college. Would she
do that—kill a two-year old? That would be
murder. Life is not for anyone to take.
Pregnant? Here’s help. For the past 50
years, the Good Shepherd Sisters have been
assisting pregnant girls and women through
counseling and shelter until they give birth,
Love Life
ensuring that both mother and child are doing well before they are discharged from the
“Home”. And for the past 20 years, many
private agencies have also set up maternity
homes and pregnancy crisis centers.
I have just been reassigned by my congregation to Welcome House where I served
for over 15 years – a crisis counseling center
for abused girls and women, unwed mothers in their early months of pregnancy until
they are transferred to the maternity homes,
battered women and confused teens. Here
is a story of one of the women we assisted
a few years ago. It is one of the stories I had
published (not their real names) in my book
“Choose Life (Stories of 12 women and the
choices they made).”
“I WILL NEVER FORGET YOU” – Claire,
Rape Survivor
Somewhere out there, my baby must be
sleeping soundly in the arms of his new
mother. Or maybe he’s giggling with joy as
his father holds him on his knees—a son he
has been waiting for many years.
I placed my baby for adoption. It was the
best thing I could do for love of him. No
one knows I gave birth to him except for
the nuns who gave me shelter when I was
in crisis and the staff of Norfil, a home for
unwed mothers.
I was raped by a military officer in my
hometown. The alumni homecoming party
extended much later than I thought. Hard
drinks were passed and I drank more than
I could handle. Tall and handsome, he was
the target of the girls’ attention that evening.
It was indeed a surprise when he offered
to take me home. Little did I think that he
meant his home. There was no way I could
run away from him as soon as he drove into
their garage. The gun in his hip scared me
to death. No one else was in his house and
after a few slaps on my face, he managed
Love life / A6
Fr. Melvin P. Castro
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Editor-in-Chief
Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Kris P. Bayos
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ISSN 1908-2940
Speaking of Mary
HAVE we ever felt that in ourselves and in the cosmic order, there
is raging battle? To do good and to avoid evil? But do we not feel
that somehow in the times we are living in right now, the battle is so
great? When the Church and her teachings have come under severe
attacks? When being a faithful follower Christ means being left out
and marked as out of tune, politically incorrect?
But what is we indeed are living the time when the final battle is
to be waged? We take a look at the Marian apparitions of the past
and search for the clues for this final battle that we are part and
parcel of.
I. Guadalupe
Why would the Blessed Virgin Mary appearing to a Native
American of the recently conquered Aztec empire, and speaking to
him in the native Nahuatl language, call herself “of Guadalupe”, a
Spanish name?
Some believe that Our Lady used the Aztec Nahuatl word of coatlaxopeuh which is pronounced “quatlasupe” and sounds remarkably
like the Spanish word Guadalupe. Coa meaning serpent, tla being
the noun ending which can be interpreted as “the”, while xopeuh
means to crush or stamp out. So Our Lady must have called herself
the one “who crushes the serpent.”
We must sadly remember that the Aztec priest class executed
The final battle
annually at least 50,000 inhabitans of the land, men, women and
children, in human sacrifices to their gods. In 1487, just in a single
four-day long ceremony for the dedication of a new temple in
Tenochtitlan, some 80,000 captives were killed in human sacrifice.
The same practices, which in most cases included the cannibalism
of the victims’ limbs, were common also in earlier Mesoamerican
cultures, with widespread Olmec, Toltec and Maya human sacrificing rituals.
An almost universal symbol of that religion was the serpent. The
temples were richly decorated with snakes. Human sacrifices were
heralded by the prolonged beating of huge drums made of the skins
of huge snakes, which could be heard two miles away. Nowhere else
in human history had Satan, the ancient serpent, so formalized his
worship with so many of his own actual symbols.
Certainly, in this case She crushed the serpent, and few years later
millions of the natives converted to Christianity.
II. Fatima: Queen of Peace, Lady of the Rosary
During World War I, when millions were killing each other, on
05 May 1917, the Holy Father, Benedict XV, added the title Regina
Pacis. Over Vatican Radio, he read his message, begged God for
the restoration of peace and implored Our Lady to obtain peace for
Mary / A6
Opinion
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Views and Points
GIVEN the many gross predicaments that
the ruling administration has been repeatedly twisting about due to one fatal lie after
another, it attempts to sell to the general
public with futility, and considering that
the gloriously reigning boss-chief becomes
more and more despised and depreciated
especially on account of more recent profligate foreign spending as if there were no
tomorrow, perhaps—just perhaps—the
same supreme ruler plus the well chosen
coterie should be advised on the “Art of
Lying”.
Frankly, there is no intention here to insult
much less belittle the expertise in drawing
impressive plans, making great programs
and doing grand projects on the part of the
visionary national leadership and submissive subordinates for their own eventual
adulation by the people. In other words,
this short and practical thesis on the “Art of
Lying” is but an honest and admitted small
Art of lying
contribution to hopefully make the lying
syndrome of the present government, less
coarse and thus more refined—and somehow credible if such were at all possible.
It is not a secret that more often than
not, Malacañang in its different titles as
National Presider, Chief-in-Command
and self-appointed Czar of this and that
agenda, has been repeatedly caught with
the latter’s hand proverbially “caught in
the cookie jar”—and frequently so since
that proverbial and dramatic line “I am
sorry.” This is why it can be said with
sincerity and concern that if it is but good
and proper that the same distinct public
official—with its dwindling yet still remaining allies—know or review the three
simple but key principles of the “Art of
Lying”:
First: See to it that every big lie is well
prepared before it is actually told, by making certain that all the rah-rah boys and
girls are first told to sing the same lying
song with the same lying tune. This way,
while a lie is told, this at least is said with
a semblance of rhyme and reason.
Second: Fabricate as soon as possible,
all false but needed documents, receipts,
pictures and similar false proofs to verify
the lie, to make this stand for truth by all
means and at all cost, no matter how devious this be, considering that extremes are
said to respect no rule.
Third: Lie no more.
Hence, specifically in conjunction with
one recent big lie that refuses to die: Please
do not expensively fly high on cloud 9
when many people live miserably in garbage dumps and under bridges. Do not
luxuriously dine and wine when many
men, women and children have practically
nothing to eat. Do not waste the taxes that
citizens dutifully pay from birth to death,
with hard toil and much sweat. Please!
Fr. Carmelo O. Diola, SSL
A transfigured nation
I HAD given up on the thought of being able to be at the wake of
the late President Corazon Aquino when I received a text from
Bishop Chito Tagle: “I have been asked to celebrate noon Mass
tomorrow for Tita Cory by her family and the priests want to
come along.”
The Imus clergy was about to begin its annual retreat at the
Carmelite Spirituality Center in Tagaytay and a Dilaab team was
facilitating. Our topic was: “The Clergy and Faith-Impelled Social
Transformation.” There were about 80 priests.
The unexpected text raised my hopes. At the first session on
the evening of Monday 3 August, we all agreed that the trip to
the Metropolitan Cathedral of Manila would be an intrinsic part
of the retreat. After all, EDSA People Power is all about social
transformation from a decisively faith perspective.
I felt a strong surge of joy and gratitude as I stood before the
Imus clergy. My thoughts returned to 1979 when, as fresh college
graduate of UP Los Baños, I first set foot in Cavite. Subsequent
events found me having room and board at the Imus Cathedral,
an itinerant guest of the parish priest.
I was rediscovering my faith at that juncture in my life. The
journey was not without its difficulties and certain priests from
this local church provided me with some informal formation and
patient ears for the ramblings of a man just out of his teenage
years. Now, standing before my fellow priests, and recognizing
familiar faces among the participants, I felt I was among friends
and just returning the favor.
Our first lay sharer for the retreat was Ms. Heidi Mendoza, former COA senior auditor. Her eloquence, sincerity, and wit moved
many of us to thoughtful silence as she described her moments
of doubt, discouragement, and bold defiance as an honest and
indefatigable public servant investigating graft cases. She is still
at it, despite threats and even if she is not anymore connected with
government. All she asks for is a God whom she can touch.
We reflected on the Transfiguration of the Lord (Mark 9:2-10) as
we prepared for our 8 am journey to the Manila Cathedral. Something in the narrative struck a deep chord in me: Jesus conversing
with Moses and Elijah, and Peter’s offer to build three tents. Peter
was awed by the larger-than-life figures before him and he just
wanted to gaze with marvel at the sight. Instead a bright cloud
overshadowed them and a voice commands obedience to Jesus.
Then they go down the mountain.
The only time I had met Cory in person was during supper after
a huge Cebu rally in 2003 against the impeachment of then Chief
Justice Hilario Davide Jr when she was guest speaker. She was a
larger-than-life figure in her prayerful simplicity.
Here I was again, together with the Imus clergy, before the casket
of a larger-than-life figure. The phenomenon of the huge turnout
of people, patiently waiting in line for hours just to view her one
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand
RECENT events in the political arena have
been intensifying—high decibel media
reports indicating that election fever has
begun. The political season has not officially
started, yet there is a deluge of commercials
now termed infomercials, of cabinet members and presidentiables—an early start for
the election campaign. While COMELEC
gave the opinion that they can only run
after the illegal infomercials if a candidates
has officially filed his candidacy, Senator
Miriam Santiago did not hesitate to call
those involved in infomercials for Senate
investigation. As expected. in her distinctive
Ilongga twang, she used bad words to describe the cabinet members’ use of people’s
money for their infomercials. Some of them,
believing that it is the best way out of this
compromising situation declared they will
not run for any elective position this coming
election. One of them spent P26.25 million
for 350,000 T-shirts with GMA’s picture
printed on it! Who says that these T-shirts is
not intended for an election campaign?
The start of political brickbats was in the
July 2009 SONA. This was when President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo gave her presidentiable critics snide remarks to counter
the insults given her during the Opposition
rallies against the Con-Ass. They claimed
that this was a move for President Arroyo’s
extension of her tenure in office. The public
expected that the after-SONA attacks on
President GMA by the Opposition as true
to form. What hit the political season like a
bombshell was the death of Cory Aquino –
the wake, the procession from Greemhills to
the Manila Cathedral and the final funeral
cortege to Manila Memorial. The sea of yellow shirts worn and the laban sign shown
by the younger generation who were too
young then to know the reasons why Ninoy
Aquino was shot to death, why there was
a Peoples’ Power Revolution in EDSA, and
how Cory was elected President. The love
Spaces of Hope
last time, could be interpreted as an expression of gratitude for
what this plain housewife had done: to make a very brave stand
in response to the needs of the times. It also expresses a hunger for
a brand of leadership that has the moral fiber to let go of power
when it is time to do so; to do a Gideon and a Cincinnatus, so to
speak.
Back in Tagaytay in the evening of Tuesday, our second sharer
was Attorney Alexander Lacson with his famed little book of 12
little things. Speaking softly, even in hushed tones, Alex’s evident
patriotism and his call to do little acts of good citizenship from
a faith perspective touched many hearts. He made patriotism
doable.
The next day, Wednesday, a pair from the PNP came to share
their stories. (Ret.) Gen. Samson Tucay is a familiar face to many
bishops having shared during one of the plenary gatherings in
the CBCP. He talked about the power of love expressed through
leadership by example behind the Values and Leadership School
(VLS) that he had led in 2004 until its end in 2007.
PSSupt (Col.) Cesar Binag, the humble workhorse of the PNP
Program Management Office (PMO) talked about the PNP Integrated Transformation Program. Cesar’s personal sharing as a
committed Protestant revealed an on-going eloquent testimony of
the Spirit’s power to connect personal conversion, family renewal,
and social transformation.
We ended the retreat by looking at the prospects for faith-impelled social transformation by evangelizing politics. An opportunity beckons in the pastoral strategy of “pastoral accompaniment,”
a term used by Benedict XVI in his talk before the Pontifical Council
for the Laity last 15 November 2008. Spaces of hope are being
ignited by the Circles of Discernment for Elections (CiDE).
Our team and our message seem to have found a home among
the Imus clergy. As one priest puts it in his evaluation: “I realized that I cannot find any more excuses not to be a good Filipino.” Another one said: “The experience of 3-day retreat was a
very divine inspired event for us…(we realized that) for social
transformation to occur there must always be a religious-spirited
transfiguration.”
Our dear Cory has been buried. Yet other larger-than-life figures are emerging. They are the witnesses to the Transfiguration
and who have gone down the mountain to the valleys of heroic
Christian citizenship and leadership. They are inspired by the
same Spirit that inspired Cory.
In this light, it is best to keep the present name of the thoroughfare known as EDSA – the manifestation of the saints. It is there
were Our Lady gathered her children, the saints of EDSA, inspired
by what one heroic, saintly woman had done to show to the world
what a transfigured nation can be and can do. (For comments,
kindly email: frmelodiola@dilaab.net)
The desire for political
reform
for Cory was continuously displayed by
the people, including the masa, to the
extent that they wanted Cory, like Joan of
Arc, to be declared a saint!
Days after the funeral, the Aquino name
kept being alive in media 24 hours a day
until August 21 which was declared a holiday to celebrate Ninoy’s martyrdom. The
showbiz daughter, Kris Aquino who delivered a heart-tugging farewell during the
funeral mass, and her siblings including
Noynoy were given continuous exposure
by ABS-CBN. This media blitz unexpectedly gave a new twist – the public fed up
with the corruption and bad governance
of the present administration spontaneously equated the need for change with the
Cory magic – her moral ascendancy and
care for the less privileged. We started to
hear Noynoy’s name as the person to lead
the much needed government reform. The
call for Noynoy for President was discouraged by Noynoy himself – he avowed that
he and his siblings are in mourning and
would not even think of politics, much
less run as President. The Liberal Party,
his party, already had Mar Roxas who
openly announced his candidacy and in
fact already spent a hundred million or
so for his infomercial.
Advocacy groups in civil society like
Kaya Natin of the Ateneo School of Governance have been organizing and selecting
individuals whose track record speaks of
good governance. Among them are Grace
Padaca, Jesse Robredo, Sonia Lorenzo
and Among Ed Panlilio. Going from one
university to another, they spoke about
their experiences specifically how they
managed to make a change – the reform
towards good govenance and the prevention of corrupt practices.
For several months as they toured the
universities and their audience, an ITsavvy generation easily transmitted their
impression of the Kaya Natin guests to
their contacts. With the element of reform
in mind, their hunt for the presidential
candidate loomed larger and larger towards Noynoy Aquino. Noynoy has also
a good chance to win as President in the
coming 2010 elections. Among Ed would
give up his presidential ambition in favor
of Noynoy. With his victory we are assured
of less influence from traditional politics.
After decades of going through each presidential tenure going through one crisis after
another, the people now hanker for real
change. This could explain the high level of
public interest in Noynoy’s final decision.
Meantime, GMA 7 television, not to be
outdone, held on Sunday, August 30, a
fun run cum presidentiables’ assembly.
Each presidentiable (Noynoy not included)
wrote his/her pledge in full view of the
crowd and each one took the oath administered by Justice Melo of COMELEC. The
oath was an assurance that, what they
promised on that occasion will be implemented if elected President.
While people for the movement for
change is growing by the minute, how
do we mobilize the election of the right
persons who are non-trapos? What are
the principal reform areas and which
presidentiable has the right managenent
skills to communicate and implement these
reforms? What parties and or candidates
stand for these reform platforms? Will
Noynoy be up to this challenge? If not, then
who of the present crop of presidentiables
is capable? Will any of the three religious
leaders (presidentiables) meet the criteria
for implementing reforms? The political
scenario is fast changing. We do hope
that the evangelization of politics and the
circles of discernment that is now being
implemented in the different dioceses will
lend itself to the political reform needed
by this country.
A5
Commentary
Ted Kennedy’s
ambiguous legacy
For America’s most famous Catholic,
morality and politics had little to do
with each other.
By Michael Cook
TODAY Massachusetts mourns its Lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy. At Dunkin Donuts, the flags are flying at half mast. Boston’s
famously snarled traffic has come to a standstill because of “Kennedy events”. The casket of Camelot’s last survivor made a final
tour of its shrines—Hyannis Port, his family’s summer residence,
St. Stephen’s, his mother’s church in Boston’s North End, and
Faneuil Hall, where he had announced his unsuccessful bid for
the presidential 1980 nomination. The Massachusetts royal family waved through tinted car windows at the crowds. Thousands
passed through the Presidential Library at Harvard dedicated to
his brother to view the casket and sign the condolences books.
For Boston, it is a Diana moment.
Edward M. Kennedy died of a brain tumor on Tuesday at the
age of 77. He had been in the Senate since he was 30 and stayed
there for 47 years, the third longest-serving Senator in American
history. Some wits quipped that while most politicians grow
up and then enter politics, Kennedys enter politics and grow
up later.
But Massachusetts voters doted on Ted Kennedy and patiently gave him time to mature. There was his expulsion from
Harvard for cheating; there were rumours about drinking and
womanizing; there was Chappaquiddick; there was his 1982
divorce, his 1992 remarriage (after an annulment from the
Catholic Church). He was a Kennedy – Joe and Rose’s son, Jack
and Bobby’s brother—and nothing stuck. He had a scare in the
1994 election when he faced Mitt Romney—and won with only
58 percent of the vote. Other politicians can only dream of that
kind of support.
But Ted Kennedy was not a seat-warmer. Politicians from both
sides of politics praised him as an accomplished lawmaker. With
the years, the lion-maned Bostonian became a consummate dealbroker who worked both sides of the aisle to get what he believed
in. In 2001 he worked with President George W. Bush to pass
the No Child Left Behind Act. He was a liberal, the very Aslan
of American liberalism, a consistent champion of government
spending to right wrongs and remedy disadvantage. Health care
was the cause of his life, although he died without seeing victory
for the Democrats’ plans to reform it. In the words of President
Obama, “He became not only one of the greatest senators of our
time, but one of the most accomplished Americans ever to serve
our democracy.”
But one of Ted Kennedy’s most important legacies to American
politics has hardly been mentioned in the acres of newsprint—
how he shaped the debate about faith and politics.
For Ted Kennedy was a Catholic. He had the Massachusetts
Catholic vote in his pocket. His mother was a saintly woman.
His brother was the first Catholic president. He was married
in the Catholic Church, received communion in the Catholic
Church, saw a priest before he died, is being buried in the
Catholic Church.
But he was a peculiar kind of Catholic. On the one hand, he
always supported big-spending social policies for the last, least,
lost and most vulnerable. It was his interpretation of Catholic
social teaching. On the other hand, he was a strong supporter of
abortion and human embryonic stem cell research. There was no
ambiguity about this. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, NARAL
Pro-Choice America and Planned Parenthood gave Kennedy ratings of 100 percent as a champion of abortion rights. He ignored
criticism from the bishops of his Church.
Through his role as the spokesman for America’s leading
Catholic family, Teddy helped to entrench the feeling that Catholicism is a tribal loyalty, not a divine light shining on religious
and human truths. The doctrine of separation of Church and State
meant that morality and politics had little to do with each other.
In fact, political expediency should trump moral truths.
For politicians anywhere, this is a disastrous starting point for
debate. It means that it is impossible for them to argue rationally
about moral positions. On the issue of abortion, for instance, the
Catholic bishops’ opposition was based less on the Bible than on
science, which tells us that the foetus is human. On this issue, at
least, Kennedy’s self-serving rationalizations turned his politics
into expediency and his religion into sentimentality.
“I hope for an America where neither ‘fundamentalist’ nor
‘humanist’ will be a dirty word, but a fair description of the
different ways in which people of goodwill look at life and into
their own souls,” he said in an influential 1983 speech at Liberty
University before Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority. Twenty-six
years later, President Obama would make a similar speech at
Notre Dame University, gracefully acknowledging differences
on abortion, and obstinately refusing to change.
Shortly after his death, Mr. Obama declared that Ted Kennedy’s “ideas and ideals are stamped on scores of laws and
reflected in millions of lives.” Including his own. In particular,
when he addresses issues like abortion, stem cell research and
same-sex marriage, perhaps the President will be using the
dark art of charming without changing which he learned from
America’s most famous Catholic.
Quote in the Act
“It is an act of statesmanship which will be appreciated
by history.”
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, President of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines; commending Senator Mar Roxas on
his decision to quit the presidential race in favor of party-mate Sen.
Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.
“I asked him: why are you allowing yourself to be used
as a scapegoat? Stand up for the truth.”
Sr. Mary John Mananzan, chairperson of the Association of
Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP); advising
Social Security System president Romulo Neri to tell all, after being indicted by the Office of the Ombudsman on his role in the
NBN-ZTE mess.
“We want to return to our homes.”
32-year-old Nurhana, who fled her home with thousands of
other evacuees last month during an encounter between government troops and Abu Sayyaf Group that left several soldiers and
Moro fighters dead.
“These are very interesting times because since I was
born, this is the first occasion when no less than three
“religious” men are aspiring for the presidency.”
Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan, on the reported
presidential ambitions of Jesus Is Lord Christian group leader
Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Catholic priest-turned Pampanga Governor
Fr. Eddie “Among Ed” Panlilio, and El Shaddai Catholic Charismatic group leader Bro Mike Velarde.
Local News
A6
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Int’l confab on IP tackles social issues
continued extraction of natural resources in developing countries.
Meanwhile, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues (UNPFII) also reported that there are increasing human rights
violations, displacement and conflicts due to expropriation of ancestral lands and forests for agrofuel expansion.
“If agrofuel expansion goes as planned, an estimated 60 million indigenous peoples are threatened across the globe. In the Philippines
alone, some 2 million hectares are targeted for agrofuel expansion, 1.3
million hectares of which are targeted in Mindanao. Mining projects
on the other hand cover some 600,000 hectares,” it said.
Alano added the conference will also be a venue
for strengthening partnerships between participating organizations, building
networks on common advocacies, and consolidating
campaigns on plantation
expansion, mining, and climate change mitigation.
Some 100 representatives from local, national, and regional-based
peoples' organizations,
non-government organizations, environmental
advocates, policymakers,
local government units and
academe are in attendance.
(Mark S. Ventura)
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
THE Alternate Forum for Research in Mindanao (AFRIM), a local
research and advocacy institution, held on August 19 an international
conference on Indigenous Peoples (IP) and environment.
Dubbed as “Regional Conference on Indigenous Peoples and the
Changing Environment”, the forum held in Davao City, tackled various issues confronting the IPs like land conversions, displacements
from ancestral domains, land tenure, resource management, food
security and other human rights abuses.
AFRIM's Executive Director Maria Lisa Alano said the conference aimed to present analyses on ongoing conflicts on resource
use concerning expansion
of agrofuel plantations,
logging and mining operations in different countries
in Southeast Asia.
“It hopes to devise effective strategies among
participants from local,
national and international
government and non-government organizations to
address climate change
while ensuring food security without sacrificing
ancestral lands,” she said.
Records show that the
indigenous peoples numbering about 370 million in some
70 countries are now facing
the challenges resulting from
Eucharist / A1
‘adequate’ understanding in the Eucharist,
still some said it really doesn’t have much
importance into their daily lives.
“Though young Catholics generally rated
themselves as adequate in terms of their understanding (2.2 mean rating) and average in
their participation (7.06 mean rating ) in the
Eucharist, they also revealed that it has had
a very little influence on their daily activities
(1.97 mean rating),” the survey said.
Only .6 percent of Asian Catholic youth
acknowledged the parish as their source of
information and understanding on the Eucharist and more than 50 percent claimed to
have known through “personal readings”.
When asked about their reasons for attending the Mass, majority expressed their desire
to worship, give thanks and pray.
“This has more weight compared to the community dimension and the formative component that the Mass offers,” the FABC said.
“Sixty-one percent (61%) of the respondents maintain that silence before the Eucharist helps them to prepare for the celebration.
There may be a need however, to support
them in preparing through reflection on
the Sunday readings (33%) going on a Eucharistic fast (37%) and going to confession
(33%),” it added.
Challenge
Tirona said what the Church now wants to
do is for the young faithful to realize that the
Eucharist is a “very powerful force” that can
move them to be “agents of transformation.”
“That is the challenge,” said the chairman
of FABC’s Office of the Laity.
One way of doing this, according to him,
is for the Church to come up with a “creative
liturgy”.
In other words, he added, the celebration of
the Mass should speak to the young people.
AYD: A catalyst
The survey was conducted in January to
June 2008 but was only launched during the
9th FABC plenary assembly last August 2009 at
the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Manila.
It was released to the media on August 29
during a press conference to formally start
the countdown to the upcoming Asian Youth
Day in Imus diocese from Nov. 20-30, 2009.
It is hoped that the study may be considered in evaluating catechesis for the young as
well as pastoral programs that aim to instill a
“Eucharistic spirituality” among them.
The survey will also serve as a major resource
paper to be used in the AYD celebration.
“We hope that this event would serve as
a catalyst,” Tirona said. “We really want
them to help the Church in its mission to
transform.”
San Fernando Auxiliary Bishop Roberto
Mallari said Asian Youth Day is a pilgrimage
of faith, where young people from diverse
backgrounds meet and experience the love
of God.
“We wanted to bring together young
Catholics from Asia to celebrate and learn
about their faith on a more regular basis,”
he said.
He said the Catholic festival is a way to
reach out to the next generation of Catholics
and ensure that the core teachings of Christ
are transmitted and lived.
Mary / A4
the world.
Barely eight days later, Our Lord sends His Mother to three children
bringing with her the Peace Plan from Heaven. Peace that comes
not simply from the cessation of armed conflicts nor from the strong
subduing the weak nor from the defeated submitting to the victor, but
from prayer, from reparation, from the true devotion to Mary.
At Fatima, Our Lady warned that wars are punishment from God
for sin. She said that many souls go to hell because they have no
one to pray for them, and that many souls perish more because of
the sins of the flesh.
For peace to be obtained, she asked for the Consecration to Her
Immaculate Heart, the consecration of Russia and also the consecration of ourselves. In fact, Our Lady told Sor Lucia that she would
stay longer on earth because through her, God wishes to establish
devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
If at Guadalupe, innocent lives were sacrificed to the false gods,
in Europe during the time of the Fatima apparitions, millions of
innocent lives were sacrificed at the altars of the wrong notion of
nationalism and sovereignty. At Fatima itself, Our Lady forewarned
that a greater war would ensue if her requests are left unheeded.
“When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, know
that this is the great sign given you by God that He is about to punish
the world for its crimes, by means of war, famine, and persecution
of the Church and of the Holy Father,” said the message. There was
special mention of Russia, which was about to turn atheistic. The
Virgin asked that Russia be consecrated to her Immaculate Heart
to prevent a dangerous future. “If my requests are heeded, Russia
will be converted, and there will be peace,” the Blessed Mother
prophesied. “If not, she will spread her errors throughout the world,
causing wars and persecutions of the Church. The good will be
martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer, various nations
will be annihilated.”
III. Lipa Carmel 1948: “What I ask here is the same that I request
at Fatima”
World War I in Europe would not end in the 1920’s, it would
continue on. Just as Our Lady told Sor Lucia that once she sees a
strange light illuminating the skies, it will be the sign the greater war
would have begun. And indeed there was the very strange Aurora
Borealis in 1938, and came later the invasion of Hitler of neighboring
Austria and started World War II.
At the Pacific, it was imperial Japan that subdued its neighbors
including the Philippines. Hundreds of thousands died. There were
many killing fields, among these the vacant lot in Lipa City in Batangas. After the war, no one wanted to build anything at that vacant lot.
It became instead the Carmelite Monastery where Our Lady would
transform it from a place of death to a shrine of light and life.
In the 1920’s there lived a Cardinal in Belgium who was devoted to
Our Lady, especially under the title, Mediatrix of All Graces. During
his time, there was a recently beatified Blessed Louis Marie Grignon
di Montfort whose love for Mary was so known. Cardinal Mercier
decided to promote both devotions. In fact, to his thinking, through
the canonization of Blessed Louis, the definition of the dogma of
Mary as Mediatrix of All Graces would be ushered in.
There were a number of theological objections to the possible
dogma of the universal mediation of Mary for the obtaining of all
graces. The Pope then, Benedict XV, in accession to the requests of
Cardinal Mercier decided to institute the Feast of Mary Mediatrix
of Grace, set on the date May 31st.
Cardinal Mercier died in 1926 without seeing neither the definition
of the dogma of Mary Mediatrix of All Graces nor the canonization
of Blessed Louis Marie Grignon di Montfort. He died uttering over
and over again Mary Mediatrix, Mary Mediatrix.
In 1947, Blessed Louis Marie Grignon di Montfort was canonized. And less than a year, in the far away island of the Philippines, Our Lady appears and identifies herself as Mary, Mediatrix
of All-Grace.
IV. The First and the Final Battle: The Woman and the Serpent
(Gen 3:15 and Rev.12)
In Sacred Scripture, in the very first book of Genesis, Our Lord
promised a Woman who would have that enmity, that battle against
the serpent. That Woman who would bear a fruit and that fruit that
would crush the head of the serpent.
In the very last book of the Bible, that same Woman reappears,
again bearing a fruit in her womb. The Woman, in fact, was about
to give birth. The dragon, the serpent of the Genesis, was about to
slay her and her child. Michael the Archangel then appears, defeats
Satan and chains him in hell. That was the Final Battle. Satan is
defeated.
St. Louis, in his book True Devotion to Mary, prophesies: But
what will they be like, these servants, these slaves, these children of
Mary? They will be ministers of the Lord, who, like a flaming fire,
will enkindle everywhere the fires of divine love. They will become,
in Mary’s powerful hands, like sharp arrows, with which she will
transfix her enemies. (TD, 56)
They will be like thunder-clouds flying through the air at the
slightest breath of the Holy Spirit. Attached to nothing, surprised
at nothing, troubled at nothing, they will shower down the rain of
God’s word and of eternal life. They will thunder against sin, they
will storm against the world, they will strike down the devil and
his followers and for life and for death, they will pierce through and
through with the two-edged sword of God’s word all those against
whom they are sent by Almighty God. (TD, 57)
We are part of this Army of Our Lady. We are at war. All those
consecrated to Mary forms part of her army, and through this army,
Our Lady will defeat Satan.
ARCHBISHOP Oscar Cruz said
the party list system is already
losing its relevance with the
entry of “dubious” organizations seeking for congressional
seats.
The prelate said he saddened
by the existence of “questionable” party list groups wherein
some of them have already been
accredited by the poll body.
“The party list system has become rather vague… It is not
helping the government because it does not necessarily mean
that any Tom, Dick and Harry will know much about legislation,” he said.
To name some, he cited the group of cock fighters looking to
have a chance in the 2010 polls as well as the victory of the group
of micro-entrepreneurs back in the 2007 elections.
“Alam mo kasi yung party list e sectoral representation tapos
all of a sudden this was translated into so-called party list na its
interpretation is anybody, everybody is welcome to interpret,”
he said.
Cruz is referring to the application of the Alyansang Sabungero
in the list of organizations looking to be proclaimed as a party
list group by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).
On the other hand, the group of micro-entrepreneurs he was
referring to is the Kasangga party list, represented by presidential
sister-in-law, Rep. Lourdes Arroyo.
Cruz urged the lawmakers to improve the party list system in
order to live up to its purpose of really providing representation
for the marginalized sector.
The law provides that 20 percent of the composition of the
Lower House should be occupied by party list groups.
The church leader’s misgiving towards the party list system
came a day after an admission by Comelec Chairman Jose Melo
himself that the system is already being abused.
On Monday, less than 300 groups, alliance and organizations
applied for party list accreditation in time for the 2010 polls.
(CBCPNews)
RP visit / A1
from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines to visit
Manila, not for the AYD, but for the National Congress of the Clergy
in January next year.
It will be the second invitation extended by the Church to the pope,
who declined an offer last year to make a side trip to the Philippines
from his visit to Australia for the World Youth Day in July 2008.
“But January is too close and we don’t know if the pope will
come,” he said.
Infanta Bishop Rolando Tirona also said that not because they
didn’t invite the pontiff for the AYD doesn’t mean he doesn’t know
anything about it.
“He’s aware of it. In fact they normally send messages to the
congregation of the laity,” he said.
Tirona also chairs the Office of Laity and Family of the Federation
of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC).
UST ‘hopeful’ too
Last year, the University of Sto. Tomas also invited Benedict XVI
to the Dominican-run pontifical university’s 400th anniversary in
2011.
Fr. Rolando dela Rosa, UST rector, earlier said they are “hopeful”
that the pontiff will visit the Philippines and UST to grace their
celebrations.
UST is a pontifical university under the authority of the Vatican.
It is also one of the oldest and largest Catholic universities outside
Europe.
Asian Youth Day
Organizers are in final preparations for the largest Asian youth
gathering at the Rogationist College of Silang in Cavite.
The countdown to the Asian Youth Day started last Saturday
with a prayer service and various other activities held at the Imus
Cathedral.
With the theme “Come Together, Share the Word, Live the Eucharist”, the activities will center on the FABC’s thrust toward Eucharist
in the context of the young.
AYD celebrations, held in years when no international WYD celebration takes place, aim to inspire young faithful to live their faith
“passionately, in a more dedicated way,” said Tirona.
The bishops said this year’s gathering is only eyeing some 2,000
delegates, half of whom will come from 22 Asian countries and the
remaining half will be filled by local delegates.
The Asian Youth Days began in Thailand in 1999, and the most
recent was held in Hong Kong in 2006. (CBCPNews)
Politics / A1
Archbishop Oscar Cruz, for his part, said President Arroyo’s administration must have been so “bad” that three religious leaders
prompted to seek the presidency.
“These are very interesting times because since I was born, this is
the first occasion when no less than three “religious” men are aspiring for the presidency,” the 74-year old prelate said.
He added “to my mind the outbreak of these ‘religious’ wannabepresidents is an argument against the present ruling administration,
meaning to say the present ruling administration must be really so
bad that it made these three ‘religious’ men seek the presidency.”
“No matter who succeeds, definitely it will be much better, we
will have a much better government than now,” said Archbishop
Cruz. (Roy Lagarde and Melo Acuña)
Namfrel / A1
Love life / A4
to pin me down on his bed, accomplishing
what he lusted for all evening. With a smirk
he released me and hissed how grateful I
should be that he had chosen me from among
all the girls in the party.
The following days were filled with
anguish as I waited for my period. Weeks
passed. I learned that the guy returned to his
duty in another province. There was no one
else I could tell my fears, not to my father
who would never understand. And I did not
want to break my mother’s heart. She herself
was battered enough by my father.
I had just finished college and was working in a daycare run by a Baptist couple. In
fact, I had decided to join the Baptists in
revenge against my father who claimed to
be a Catholic. It was the minister’s wife who
first noticed how distraught I was. Gently,
she encouraged me to confide in her and as
gently arranged that I go to Manila where her
mother could place me in a home for unwed
mothers. No one else would know.
In Welcome House, I slept soundly for
Cruz takes issue vs
party list system
the first time in four months. My appetite
returned and I started to eat for two—for
myself and the baby. I had tried to deny
the truth that I was pregnant but seeing the
girls in Welcome House accept their situation made me realize I was not alone. They
too had been violated against—rejected by
their boyfriends, lied to by married men, or
caught in a cycle of poverty and prostitution.
Although I did not stay long in Welcome
House, a sense of hope and trust was restored within me.
In Norfil, I quietly fitted into the routine of
household chores, handicrafts and sessions
on childbirth, child care and personality
development. What I loved most was the
Bible study time. Two months passed faster
than I thought. It was December 24 when I
started to feel the labor pains. Yes, I delivered
my “niño” on December 25. He was underweight and sickly so I offered to breastfeed
him for a few weeks, even if I knew that
separation from him would be harder. One
day he turned blue and I thought he was
going to die. Here was this baby I wanted to
get rid of at first and yet there was I staying
up late at night to make him live.
The time for signing the adoption papers
finally came and the social worker compassionately took my niño from my arms to
bring him to the nursery, there to wait for
his new parents. I was told that his adopting father is a Filipino doctor and that they
reside in the United States. I still cry every
time I remember my baby. My only consolation is that his parents would give him so
much more than I ever could—including the
proper treatment for his congenital illness.
I returned to the Welcome House to recover
both in body and spirit. I received counseling
for raped victims. I learned how to forgive
my abuser — and let God’s own form of justice catch up with him in His time. Sr. Pilar
referred me to work in a school for special
children. I am trying to learn as much as I can.
My dream now is to set up this kind of special
school in my hometown someday. Here I am
now, a wounded but healed Claire.”
braved the barricades to try the impossible ─ free and fair elections
in the age of the dictatorship.”
De Villa expressed regret that a public official, Representative
Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., calls for the “decimation of a civil society
organization synonymous with the 1986 Peaceful Power Revolution”
which she said “came at a time when the legacy of beloved President Corazon Aquino has once again stirred the hearts and minds
of Filipinos to value our freedom and democracy.”
She further said NAMFREL will continue to be pro-active in the
preservation of country’s freedom and democratic institutions.
De Villa said she was reminded of a Biblical passage that applies
in today’s unfortunate situation “He who is without sin let him cast
the first stone.” (Melo M. Acuna)
Journalists / A1
peace, conflict and transformation.
Konsult Mindanao has been conducting nearly 300 FGDs across Mindanao in order to gather and collate people’s perceptions on peace.
Konsult Mindanao is a sincere response to people’s desire for
broader participation in the Mindanao peace process and is designed
primarily as a series of consultation and dialogue within various
sectors and across the regions.
Konsult Mindanao also promotes among groups a readiness to
acknowledge past and present hurts, as well as a commitment to
explore new ways of building peace. (Mark S. Ventura)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Diocesan News
Briefing
Group hits Biazon’s call for delay of peace talks with MILF
DAVAO—The Bangsamoro Center for Just Peace in the Philippines, Inc. hit the statement of Senator Rodolfo Biazon to suspend
the peace talks between the government and the MILF due to
alleged treachery shown recently by the rebel group. Abdulbasit
Benito of BCJP said the basis of Biazon to suspend the peace talks
is yet to be proven through an investigation. (Mark Ventura)
Canossa College honor priests, religious in Laguna
SAN PABLO—The Canossa College of San Pablo hosted their
own version of “Priests Day” to honor priests, religious, deacon
of the Diocese of San Pablo on Aug. 25. Led by Bishop Leo Drona
the clergy and religious were treated to various activities like
dance cultural performances, games, gift giving and holding the
Holy Eucharist. (Fr. Romulo Ponte)
Youth gathers around AYD cross
DAVAO—Hundreds of Catholics gathered around the Asian
Youth Day cross on its pilgrimage to churches in Mindanao. On
Aug. 26, the cross arrived in Davao City and stayed overnight at
the St. Paul Parish, here. The parish’s youth apostolate director, Fr
Marbendear Morallas said the occasion forms part of the year-long
Jubilee celebration of the Davao archdiocese. (Mark Ventura)
Laguna diocese joins seminar on restorative justice
SAN PABLO—Volunteers in prison service of San Pablo diocese attended the seminar on restorative justice and prison ministry August
22. Organized by the CBCP’s Commission on Prison Pastoral Care,
the seminar was held at the Bishops’ Residence in San Pablo City. The
Church institution said the forum has intended to present the different programs of the church on prison apostolate. (Kate Laceda)
Calls to protect Davao Rivers intensified
DAVAO—Water consumers in Davao City renewed their call to
protect the Tamugan-Panigan Rivers and to reject the plan of Hedcor–Aboitiz to construct a hydropower project. Katilingban Alang
sa Way Puas ug Limpyong Tubig spokesman Dominador Lopez
said the celebration of Kadayawan sa Davao should also remind
the people of the need to protect the city’s only remaining source of
potable water—the Tamugan-Panigan Rivers. (Mark Ventura)
Bro. Mike drops out of presidential race—bishop
MANILA—El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde is abandoning
his long-shot bid for the presidency, a Catholic prelate close to
him said. Retired Bishop Teodoro Bacani cited lack of support
from El Shaddai followers as the main reason why Velarde is no
longer aspiring for the presidency. (Roy Lagarde)
CBCP marks prison chaplain’s group anniversary
MANILA—The CBCP’s Commission on Prison Pastoral Care
celebrated Aug. 25 the 25th founding anniversary of the International Prison Chaplain’s Association (IPCA). The highlight of the
event was the celebration of a Holy Mass at the CBCP Chapel in
Manila led by CBCP Assistant Secretary General Msgr. Joselito
Asis. (Kate Laceda)
Diocese brings back Latin Mass
PARAŇAQUE—The use of Latin Mass is actively being done in
the Diocese of Paranaque with a go signal given by its bishop. The
Traditional Latin Mass celebrations in southern Metro Manila
are currently hosted by the National Shrine of St. Therese of the
Child Jesus in Villamor Air Base. The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass
continues to be a Missa Cantata, celebrated at 9:30 a.m. every
Sunday at the crypt chapel of the Columbarium. (CBCPNews)
CBCP chief backs probe on ‘infomercials’
JARO—The head of the Catholic bishops’ leadership has welcomed
moves to prosecute those who are allegedly using public funds on the
so-called political “infomercials.” CBCP President Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo said the Senate probe could help ferret out the truth who
among those officials is abusing people’s money. (Roy Lagarde)
Albay power coop registers gain, bright prospects seen
LEGAZPI—In a forum hosted by the Diocesan Social Action
Center of the Legazpi, Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO)
acting manager Engr. Gerry Silva said that the cooperative has
registered for the first time in decades a positive gain of P32 million per month and has paid its arrears of P100 million in July,
this year, to the National Power Corporation (NPC). Silva has
attributed the coop’s positive outlook to the reduction of system’s
loss; collection efficiency and the restructuring of payment proposal on compounded interests charged by NPC for ALECO’s
debts now reaching to P1.9 billion. (Elmer James Bandol)
Archbishop calls for
protection of 3Fs
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY— Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, has
called on the people here to rise up to the challenge of protecting the
“3Fs” and not only cherish them when they are already gone.
In a pastoral letter, Ledesma urged everyone to put their acts
together in protecting our “forests, families and freedoms—three
blessings that are now in danger of being lost.”
“Let us ask for the grace and the courage to protect and conserve
three particular blessings that perhaps we only begin to cherish when
they are in danger of being lost – our forests, our families, and our
freedoms,” the 66-year-old prelate said.
On the environment, the prelate every Cagayanon to help address
pending issues that affect the environment such as the rampant
flush mining in the upstream areas of the city and the proposed
construction of a bioethanol processing plant along the Cagayan
de Oro River.
He said the extensive flash floods that almost drowned the
whole city and some parts of the province of Misamis Oriental in January 2009 “were warning signs of further calamities
unless we act together” in protecting the environment.
Aside from mining, Ledesma also urged everyone to be
vigilant in monitoring the resumption of logging operations
under an Industrial Forest Management Agreement (IFMA)
particularly in the forestal areas of Barangay
Anakan in Gingoog City and Barangay Minalwang in the municipality of Claveria
“to prevent further degradation of the
environment.”
On the protection of families, Ledesma praised this city’s local chief
executive and the governors of
Misamis Oriental and Camiguin
for supporting and promoting the
Natural Family Planning (NFP)
program.
On August 17, Mayor ConstantiArchbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ
no Jaraula signed an executive order promoting the City Responsible
Parenting/Natural Family Planning team. The team, which includes
representatives from the archdiocese is tasked to “implement and
sustain RP/NFP” in all the 80 barangays of the city.
Despite these positive initiatives geared toward the protection and
conservation of the human ecology—i.e., the welfare of our families and the younger generation, Ledesma also called for vigilance
against the attendant evil of modern technology, such as cybersex
or cyber prostitution.
Last April, police raided an innocuous-looking apartment
here which served as a den for cybersex. The operators, two
Swede nationals, were arrested. The victims—young women,
some teenagers—have become witnesses and are being
cared by the Archdiocesan Center for Women and
Children, which is being managed by the Good
Shepherd sisters.
“However, the case continues to drag in court
and requires the vigilance of us all,” he said.
Ledesma also reiterated the archdiocese’s
resolute stand 16 years ago “against big-time,
commercialized gambling with all its attendant
ills that would destroy the moral fiber of our communities.”
“We reiterate that same stand today,
and pray that our public officials heed
the sentiments of many peace-loving
families who want to be spared the
presence of gambling lords in their
midst,” he stressed.
He was reacting to reports that the
government is planning to construct
a gambling casino in Camiguin to
lure more tourists to that premier
tourism haven in Northern Mindanao. (Bong D. Fabe)
Group calls for cessation
of all coal contracts
DAVAO CITY— In order to prevent further
the bankruptcy of the government in dealing with climate change, the Legal Rights
and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa
Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth Philippines
(LRC-KsK/FoE Phils) has called on the immediate cancellation of all coal operating
contracts in the country.
In a communiqué sent to CBCPNews,
Erwin B. Quinones, campaigns paralegal of
LRC-KsK/FoE Phils, warned that the aggressive issuance of coal operating contracts
which will open thousands of hectares of
lands to coal extraction that will feed coal fired
power plants exposes will also lead to national
crisis due to sudden climate change.
He said the coal has been the number one
source of carbon dioxide and other green
house gasses emissions that cause global
warming and climate change.
“We commend the people of Catanduanes,
led by the Catholic Church, in vehemently
opposing the plan to extract coal in their
province,” Quinones said, referring to the
moves to oppose 6.2B coal mine project
linked to businessman Enrique Razon Jr.
“We will likewise continue to support the
various grassroots effort all over the country
to stop coal mine companies in extracting
coal, more so that it will primarily be used
to fuel power generation plants that pollute
our atmosphere,” Quinones added.
In Southernmost Mindanao, the Department of Energy (DoE) entered into three
coal operating contracts (COC) covering
17,000 hectares of land in the tri-boundary
of South Cotabato, Sarangani and Sultan
Kudarat provinces.
The coal operating contracts were issued
to the MG Mining and Energy Corporation
(MGMEC) whose rights and privileges under the contract were transferred to Sultan
Energy Philippines Corporation (SEPC),
Daguma Agro-Minerals Incorporated
(DAMI) and Bonanza Energy Resources
Incorporated (BERI).
As of January 31, 2007 alone, the Energy
department issued 39 coal operating contracts including that of Monte Oro Resources
Energy Inc. in Catanduanes and 45 small
scale coal mining permits as of April 17,
2007.
By 2009, under Philippine Energy Contracting Round, DoE is offering 30 areas for
coal mining covering 125 blocks or about
125,000 hectares.
“All Coal Operating Contracts (COSs)
should be cancelled now and no more area
should be offered for coal extraction,” he
ended. (Mark S. Ventura)
14 years of Sibugay couples is a
‘milestone’, says environmentalist
IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay—It
was a “milestone”, said a former beauty queen-turned-environmentalist of the
14th year anniverAsIPA 5TH General Assembly
sary of Couples for
Davao City, Philippines
Christ (CFC) in the
20-28 October, 2009
province.
“It is heartening
Theme: “Do this in memory of me” (Lk 22:19)
to know that CFC
Bread broken and Word shared in SCCs/BECs
has rooted in the
lives of Christian
Objectives:
couples for the
• To review and reflect theologically on the experience of the different methods
last 14 years in the
of Gospel sharing as a way of breaking the Word in SCC/BECs.
province and will
• To reflect theologically on how SCCs/BECs break the bread – living the
do so in the future
Eucharist in daily life.
building stronger
• To facilitate the sharing of experiences and resources among the participants
homes for Christ,”
towards the “new way of being Church”.
Lorraine E. Schuck
said in an August
Organized by the FABC Office of Laity and Family – AsIPA Desk; Co-organized
17 interview.
and hosted by the Archdiocese of Davao
More than 1,000
members joined
Venue: Regional Major Seminary (REMASE) and Presentation of Mary Sisters’
the 14th anniverRetreat House, Catalunan Grande, Davao City, Philippines
Dates: October 20 – 28th, 2009
Schedule:
Oct. 20 (Tues.)
21 (Wed.)
22 (Thurs.)
23 (Fri.)
24 (Sat.) 25 (Sun.)
26 (Mon.)
27 (Tues.)
28 (Wed.)
A7
Arrival, welcome, opening Eucharist at 5:30 pm
Welcome dinner and orientation
Bible enthronement at 8:30 am
National reports
Talk: “SCCs/BECs as Eucharistic Communities”
Talk: “Breaking the Word in SCCs/BECs”
Amos Program
Introduction for exposure and departure after lunch
Bishops’ Meeting
Exposure in different Dioceses/parishes
Reflection on the Exposure; first draft of final statement
Presentation of new modules, planning, Second reading of Final
Statement and evaluation, Closing Eucharist; Cultural evening
Departure and Tour
** Evenings: Sharing of pastoral experiences from different countries
Participants: National/Diocesan Training Teams using the AsIPA/Lumko method from
Asia (FABC member Conferences and Associates), PNG, Germany and Switzerland
Registration fee per participant: Minimum fee US$25; Full fee US$125; Solidarity fee
US$200 + voluntary donation
Exposure: Longer immersion can be planned before or after the General Assembly
dates (by special arrangement, with added fee)
sary celebrations of the Couples
for Christ (CFC) in the province
held at St. Joseph Cathedral here
last August 15-16.
The celebrations opened with
a praise concert dubbed as Sibugay to GIG (God Is Great) on the
evening of August 15 as a way of
thanksgiving.
The culmination day, August
16, was attended by a third of
CFC members in the province.
There are 3,184 CFC members
in Sibugay.
“As expressed in our theme,
the CFC in the province will
continue to serve building the
church of the home,” CFC provincial area director Manuel
Becada said.
The organization, he added,
will continue to be an instrument of “building a church of
the poor”. Schuck said the CFC
“might consider venturing into
environmental advocacy as part
of its ministry.”
“As environmentalist, I am
hopeful that CFC leaders in the
province may consider taking on
the task of leading the campaign
to help save and protect our environment,” the former Mutya
ng Pilipinas titlist said.
“After all, as Christians we
are all stewards of the Earth,”
she said, adding that “CFC
has the necessary resources
to educate the people on the
urgency of caring for our environment.”
Earlier, Schuck called for
stronger actions from the government and private sector of the
province against climate change
“in the light of the recent study
that puts Sibugay as one of the
most vulnerable provinces in the
country” when sea level will rise
by one meter.
According to the Climate
Change Program of the University of the Philippines in the Los
Baños, the province is the fourth
most vulnerable in the country in
the event the sea level will rise
by one meter.
The study predicted that 12 of
the 16 towns of the province will
be submerged or a total of more
than 8,000 hectares when sea
water rises by one meter.
Schuck called on the local
governments to start incorporating into their “respective local
development plans the threats
posed by climate change.”
“In this regard, the CFC
can do so much in drumming
up support for our environment,” Schuck said. (Antonio M.
Manaytay)
Solicitations / A1
communications, to swindle
Church institutions and/or
unsuspecting private citizens
by fraudulently using the name
of high Church Authorities.”
The papal envoy said still
unidentified persons using the
name of Cardinal Grocholewski, “are seeking to collect funds
through illegal means.”
He added even Catholic
universities and education
institutions have been targeted
by the illegal scheme.
The nuncio asked Archbishop Lagdameo to inform
the country’s 85 ecclesiastical
provinces and 366 religious
congregations for men and
women about the unauthorized solicitation activities.
He also called on all concerned “to use maximum prudence in respect to requests for
information or money, through
the internet, particularly
when mention is made of
the name of high Curia officials.”
It was learned this was the
most recent unauthorized
scheme by unknown persons
involved in solicitations
using the names of Vatican
City-based church officials.
Msgr. Joselito C. Asis,
CBCP Assistant Secretary
General immediately issued
a circular to the country’s
cardinals, archbishops and
bishops for their information and appropriate action.
(CBCPNews)
Last August 18, though,
government panel chair
and Department of Foreign
Affairs Undersecretary Rafael Seguis related that third
party facilitator, Malaysia,
has decided to push back
the scheduled informal talks
in a bid to have more time
to study proposals from the
two camps.
The prelate said the
Church is in full support
of the plans to revive the
talks if only to find peace in
Mindanao.
“Anytime, the peace talks
may continue… It is [really] the most appropriate
venue,” Iñiguez said.
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
president Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo earlier called for
prayers for peace in Mindanao.
The CBCP head said the
nation’s prayer for Mindanao is important especially
since the peace and order
situation in the Southern
Philippines is important to
the whole country. (CBCPNews)
Peace talks / A1
[that what was ruled] as
unconstitutional [will not be
repeated],” Iñiguez said.
In October 2008, the High
Court outlawed the MOAAD, aimed at giving full independence to the provinces
that will be covered by the
treaty through the creation
of the Bangsamoro Juridical
Entity.
The government has already said they are already
working for the resumption
of the peace negotiations
with the Moro separatist
group as soon as possible.
People, Facts & Places
A8
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
© www.parravinnies.org
THE Vincentian Family composed of 14 groups spread all over the country will observe a Jubilee
Year from Sept. 27, 2009 to Sept. 27, 2010 in honor of the 350th death anniversary of St. Vincent
de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac.
With the theme “Charity and Mission,” the year-long celebration will be highlighted by a
series of events and activities in order to give homage to St. Vincent and St. Louise as witnesses
to and examples of love and service of the poor.
”Since the Vincentian Family is present in many of the dioceses in the Philippines, the program
of the Jubilee Year will reinforce the thrust of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines to
build the Church of the Poor,” said Sr. Mary Ann Guevara, DC, head of the Vincentian Family
executive committee.
St. Vincent de Paul is the Patron Saint of the Universal Church for all works of charity, while St.
Louise de Marillac is the Patron Saint of all social workers and those involved in social works.
Apart from the liturgical celebrations that would be observed in various parts of the country,
the Vincentian Family has also organized various activities aimed at deepening the Vincentian
charism. Foremost among these are a Vincentian Youth Congress, a Jubilee Formation Series,
mobile photo exhibits, commemorative song album, and the recitation of a special jubilee prayer in
observance of the Jubilee Year.
Sr. Guevara said that all members of the Vincentian Family including those who studied in schools
run by the Vincentian Fathers and Daughters of Charity are encouraged to join various contests planned
for the Jubilee Year celebration. These contests include a national search for best practices of Vincentian
Charity, a jubilee year theme-song writing, video essay and oratorical contests.
A special stage presentation, titled “San Vicente: A Zarzuela,” is being arranged by the Adamson
University and the Vincentian Center for Identity and Mission in coordination with the Vincentian
Family Coordinating Council.
The Vincentian Family is made up of religious congregations and organizations that were either
founded by St. Vincent de Paul and/or that follow the Vincentian spirituality and charism of service
to the poor.
It also has a rich and long tradition of Charity and Mission that dates back to 1617 for the Ladies of
Charity, 1625 for Congregation of the Mission and 1633 for the Daughters of Charity.
© www.flickr.com/photos/johnhanscom
Vincentian Family launches
Jubilee Year
At present there are more than 250 congregations and associations who live out the Vincentian
Charism in more than 90 countries spread in all the continents.
The Vincentian Family is made up of religious congregations and associations, that were either
founded by St. Vincent de Paul and/or that follow the Vincentian Spirituality and Charism of
service to the poor. In the Philippines the following groups make up the Vincentian Family: The
Ladies of Charity – AIC (International Association of Charities) Philippines; The Congregation
of the Mission – C.M. (Vincentian Fathers and Brothers); The Daughters of Charity – D.C.; The
Association of the Children of Mary Immaculate – Vincentian Marian Youth (CoM-VMY); The
Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP); The Young Ladies Association of Charity (YLAC); The Sister
Handmaids of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (SMdC); The Association of St. Louise de Marillac
(LUISAS); Brothers of Charity (FC); The Association of the Miraculous Medal (AMM); Sisters of
Charity of Our Lady Mother of Mercy (SCMM); The Alumni Associations of the schools administered by the Daughters of Charity and the Congregation of the Mission and the Vincentian Family
Multi-purpose Cooperative. (CBCPNews)
Oblates vow greater protection for IPs
© travel.webshots.com
THE Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) have vowed for greater
protection of the country’s indigenous peoples who are considered
the most vulnerable members of human societies.
At least eight Oblates serving in the Oblate ministry for IPs met
recently with Oblate Provincial Fr. Ramon Ma. Bernabe, OMI in
order to review the direction of, and propose new initiatives for
the ministry.
Present at the meeting were Brothers Mauricio Zuyco, Rogelio
Tabuada, Navarro Matas, Elmer Boston, Raphael Tianero, Rizalde
Orola, Jose Aduana, and Renante Aban.
In an article posted at the Oblates of Mary Immaculate website
(www.omiphil.org), it said all of them shared what they have done
and what they currently think of the ministry.
Bro. Mauricio, the article said, had the most extensive experience
among the IPs, spanning almost 40 years.
Aban is the new ministry coordinator, not only for the Oblates,
but also for the Archdiocese of Cotabato.
Oblate ministry among the IPs covers two geographical areas in
Central Mindanao—the Kulaman Valley in Sultan Kudarat, and
Pangipasan in North Cotabato.
In Sulu, there is also ministry among the Badjaos
through the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo and Notre Dame
of Jolo College.
Over the years, programs for the IPs have ranged over
various areas: ancestral domain survey and documentation; formal and non-formal education; health services;
agriculture; basic infrastructure; advocacy for the environment; community organizing; and catechesis.
But the group also acknowledged that the key approach in all of these was cultural solidarity—entering
into the whole life of the IPs, particularly in learning
their language.
The meeting concluded with the identification of some
essential elements of the framework of Oblate ministry
among the IPs: 1) Oblates are engaged in this ministry
because the indigenous peoples are among the voiceless
and excluded in society today;
2) Oblate ministry among the IPs entails living with the
indigenous peoples in their specific locales or communities (inculturation; learning the language; knowing their
socio-cultural-political contexts, etc.); 3) The indigenous
Jesuits to hold series of family seminars
FILIPINOS are globally known to have
strong family ties but keeping the family
together entails more than an overnight of
conscious effort to achieve.
To guide Filipino families in maintaining
its close bond amid the threats of modern
times, the Center for Family Ministries
(CeFaM) of the Philippine Jesuit Foundation
organized a series of workshops where parents and children can be coached to effectively deal with marriage and parenting
Titled “Keep it together,” CeFaM’s series of workshops feature “On Track,” a
marriage adjustment program for couples
who wish to re-direct and strengthen the
foundation of their relationship.
This workshop on August 29 aims to help
participants understand the dynamics of
becoming husbands and wives and equip
them with corrective measures that will help
make their relationship last.
On September 5 and 12, CeFaM’s counselors will coach parents and caregivers of
toddlers up to 12 years of age on “Pep-Kids”
workshop.
Topics of this positive empowered parenting seminar include development stages of
a child, effective communication, building
strong bond of friendship and intimacy, developing self-esteem and positive discipline.
On the other hand, parenting of teenagers
will be the main coverage of “Pep-Teens”
on October 3 and 10 as participants are
expected to learn alternative approach to
effective parenting of teens.
In this workshop parents will learn how
to help their teens build his/her self-worth,
confidence and full potential; create more
satisfying and productive relationships; and
develop responsibility and decision-making
skills through positive discipline.
All workshops will be conducted by
CeFam professional marriage and family
counselors at the CeFaM main office inside
Ateneo de Manila Campus in Diliman
Quezon City. For details and reservations,
please call CeFam at 4264289-92 or visit
www.ateneo.edu/cefam. (Kris Bayos)
RP to host Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy
THE Philippines will host an international gathering of promoters and devotees of the Divine
Mercy from Nov. 20-22, 2009.
Organizers said the gathering
is a follow-through to the World
Apostolic Congress on Mercy
held in Rome last year.
Msgr. Josefino Ramirez, coordinator of the World Apostolic
Congress on Mercy for Asia and
the Oceania said Christoph Cardinal Schonborn presented to
Pope Benedict XVI the delegates
to the international gathering
last year.
The pontiff then, he said,
granted his blessing and encouragement to hold continental
congresses worldwide.
For this year, Cardinal Schonborn through Fr. Patrice Chocholkski, WACOM General Coordinator and General Secretary,
accepted the suggestion that the
Philippines hosts the Asian Apostolic Congress on Mercy this
coming November.
This year’s theme “MERCY:
The Face of the Son of Man in
Manila holds recollection, fasting on Year for Priests
IN celebration of the Year for
Priests, lay people of the Archdiocese of Manila organized a
“Day of Recollection, Prayer
and Fasting” on August 22.
The activity that coincided
with the feast of the Queenship
of the Blessed Virgin Mary was
held at the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (SM Megamall Chapel) in Atrium, SM Megamall.
Organizers said that the event
was prepared and intended for
the sanctification of priests
and for more vocations to the
priesthood.
Manila priests, rectors, chaplains, pastoral council coordinators, religious men and women,
leaders of mandated organization
and transparochial communities
and catechists of the Manila Archdiocese participated in the event.
A procession and enthronement of the image of St. John
Mary Vianney, the Cure of Ars
and patron saint of diocesan
priests, opened the recollection.
Fr. Jaime Marquez, parish
priest of St. John Mary Vianney
in Makati, led the opening prayer
while Leonida Vera, Ambassador
to the Philippines of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,
gave a welcome speech.
Fr. Jason Laguerta, Fr. Genaro
Diwa, and Msgr. Sabino Vengco
shared their reflections on the
priesthood together with some
lay persons who also gave their
thoughts on the topic.
To end the one-day recollection, a mass was presided by
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales and concelebrated by some Manila priests.
Pope Benedict XVI has declared
the “Year for Priest” that started
with the Solemnity of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus last June 19, 2009
and will end on June 19, 2010.
The culminating activity on
the “Year for Priests” will be
an international gathering of
priests from various parts of the
world with the Holy Father in
Rome. (Kate Laceda)
ASIA” was derived from the
papal Exhortation and Post
Synodal Document “Ecclesia
in Asia” integrated with the
most recent Synodal Document
in 2008 on the “Word of God”
coinciding with the Anniversary
of St. Paul and his missionary
endeavor as an Apostle.
Msgr. Ramirez said the theme
also highlights Cardinal Schonborn’s message at last year’s Congress “Be Apostles of Mercy.”
He added that prominence
shall also be given on the scriptural foundation of the Message
of Mercy as well as its sociopastoral dimension in the context of the Church in Asia and
its current issues and challenges
“Mercy as a Way of Life” and
“Mercy as a Devotion” in the
Liturgy and Sacraments centered
on the Eucharist.
“Thus, as an integral whole,
Divine Mercy shall hopefully
find its full expression in the
Asian Churches as a Mystery,
Communion and Mission,” he
added.
Msgr. Ramirez said the Asian
convention was first held in
2005. (Melo M. Acuna)
peoples are not a monolithic group, but are composed of various
sub-groupings with their own distinctiveness;
4) Programs for the IPs should be identity-based, prioritized according to importance, and empowering; 5) Oblates serving in this
ministry need to be secure in their own Catholic Christian and Oblate
identity, and possess an attitude of openness and interest to embrace
such ministry; 6) Oblates in this ministry should be critical in engaging
other partners and stakeholders, so as not to compromise our values
and the best interests of the indigenous peoples we seek to serve.
The group also recommended that scholastics with the disposition
and inclination for this ministry should be identified early on and
given the opportunities for specialized studies in the field of ministry
among indigenous peoples. (CBCPNews)
Markings
LAUNCHED. The latest work of
Bontoc-Lagawe Emeritus Francisco F. Claver, SJ, a book titled
“The Making of a Local Church”,
was launched August 26 at the
Cardinal Sin Center, Loyola School
of Theology in Ateneo de Manila
University. The book which deals
about a model of participative leadership that can motivate Christians
all over the world to “make their
own churches more responsive to
local needs”, is jointly published
by Claretian Communications
Foundation, Inc. and Jesuit Communications Foundation, Inc.
Among those who graced the book
launching were the bishops of the
Dioceses of Imus, Parañaque, Kalookan and Cubao and the Archdioceses
of Manila and Pampanga; religious men and women; theologians, BEC
ministers and catechists; as well as the rectors and directors of various
parishes and seminaries. Considered one of the luminaries of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Claver is a prolific writer
and a sought-after lecturer in the country and abroad. After his stint as
bishop of Malaybalay, he became chair of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace where he pursued proactively
the Church’s advocacies on environment, political education and basic
ecclesial communities, among others.
CITED. Two priests of the
Oblates of Mary Immaculate
(OMI), the late Archbishop
Gerard Mongeau and Fr.
Eliseo Mercado, were honored by the city government
of Cotabato for their contribution in uplifting the lives
of the people through their
missionary activities, on the
occasion of Cotabato’s 50th
anniversary celebration as a
chartered city recently. Archbishop Mongeau, an OMI pioneer who became the first Mission Superior
and Bishop of Cotabato was honored for his work in the field of education
through the establishment of Notre Dame School system. He was also cited
for his social action work that gave birth to two housing projects, the Note
Dame Village and the Krislamville. Fr. Mercado who currently sits as Director of the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) was acknowledged
for his contribution to peace, development and clean elections as Namfrel
Chair in Mindanao. The former president of Notre Dame University is an
active participant in the ongoing quest for peace in Mindanao. He plays a
part in the continuing round table discussions, fora and debates that seek
to shape policies affecting genuine autonomy and good governance in
the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. The two OMI priests were
among the 50 outstanding ‘Cotabatenos’ given recognition for their life
achievements and contribution to the people of Cotabato.
CELEBRATED. Sr. Maria Winifreda S. Asok, Sr. Maria Lucia G. Lucine,
Sr. Maria Anita L. Pragados, Sr. Maria Melania V. Valcarcel, and Sr. Maria
Bernardita V. Zatarain, golden jubilee of religious profession of vows; Sr.
Maria Carmela C. Conol, Sr. Maria Alfonsa B. Dahunog, Sr. Maria Fe B.
Lagarto, Sr. Maria Florita B. Lobitaña, and Sr. Maria Marilyn C. Ubaldo,
silver jubilee of religious profession of vows; August 15, 2009 at Our Lady
of the Assumption Chapel, N. Domingo St, Quezon City.
DIED. Manny Arejola, 68; one of
Catholic Church’s active pro-life
apologists, at a Makati Hospital,
August 27, 2009. Arejola, at the
time of his death, was serving as
president of the Kalipunan ng mga
Kapatiran ng Pamilyang Pilipino,
Inc., an affiliate group of Episcopal
Commission on Family and Life
(ECFL). A former regional director
of the Commission on Population,
Arejola debunked reports that
there is overpopulation in the country. He had been at the forefront
in the church’s fight against the
proposed reproductive health bill,
which would promote artificial contraceptives.
DIED. Sr. Ma. Amada E. Retig, RVM, August 12, 2009.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
BENEDICT XVI begins his
Encyclical with a deep,
comprehensive introduction
in which he reflects on
and analyzes the words of
the title which closely link
“caritas” and “veritas”:
love and truth. This is not
only a sort of “explicatio
terminorum”, an initial
explanation which seeks to
point out the fundamental
principles and perspectives
of his entire teaching. Indeed,
like the musical theme of
a symphony, the theme of
truth and charity then recurs
throughout the document
precisely because, as the Pope
writes, in it is “the principal
driving force behind the
authentic development of
every person and of all
humanity”.
Pastoral Concerns
given us a text entitled “The Search
for Universal Ethics: A New Look at
Natural Law”. It addresses topics of
great importance which I wish to point
out and to recommend especially in
this context of the Senate, that is, an
institution whose main function is
legislative. Indeed, as the Holy Father
said to the United Nations Assembly
in New York during his Visit last year
to their headquarters, sometimes called
the “glass palace”, speaking about the
foundation of human rights: These rights
“are based on the natural law inscribed
on human hearts and present in different
cultures and civilizations. Removing
human rights from this context would
mean restricting their range and yielding
to a relativistic conception, according to
which the meaning and interpretation of
rights could vary and their universality
would be denied in the name of different
cultural, political, social and even
religious outlooks”. These reflections
do not apply solely to human rights.
They apply to every intervention
by the legitimate authority called to
regulate the life of the community in
accordance with true justice by means
of legislation that is not the result of a
mere conventional agreement but aims
at the authentic good of the person and
of forming social relationships.... His
integral well-being is thus closely linked
to community life, which is organized in
a political society by virtue of a natural
inclination and not a mere convention.
The person’s relational character is
also expressed in his tendency to
live in communion with God or the
Absolute....
Of course, it may be denied by those
who refuse to admit the existence of a
personal God, but it remains implicitly
present in the search for truth and for
meaning that is present in every human
being”.
Man, therefore, through the “breadth
of reason”, is made to know the truth
in its full depth by “broadening [his]
concept of reason”, in other words, not
limiting himself to acquiring technical
knowledge in order to dominate
material reality but rather opening
himself to the very encounter with the
Transcendent and to living fully the
interpersonal dimension of love, “the
principle not only of micro-relationships
(with friends, with family members
or within small groups) but also of
macro-relationships (social, economic
and political ones)”. “Veritas” and
“caritas” themselves point out to us the
requirements of the natural law which
humane and humanizing value”.
After this indispensable introduction,
of which I have chosen to highlight
some of the anthropological and
theological aspects of the Papal text that
may have attracted fewer comments
from journalists, I would now like
to explain just a few points, without
claiming to cover the vast content of
the Encyclical. Moreover, authoritative
commentators have already published
specific reflections on it in L’Osservatore
Romano and elsewhere.
An important message that comes
to us from Caritas in veritate is the
invitation to supersede the now obsolete
dichotomy between the financial sphere
and the social sphere. Modernity has
bequeathed to us the idea on the basis
of which, if we are to be able to operate
in the field of the economy, it is essential
to achieve a profit and to be motivated
chiefly by self-interest; as if to say that
if we do not seek the highest profit we
are not proper entrepreneurs. Should
this not be the case, we must be content
with belonging to the social sphere.
This conceptualization, that confuses
the market economy that is the genus
with its own particular species which
is the capitalist system, has led to
identifying the economy with the place
B1
this gap which is both cultural and
political.
Contrary to what people think,
efficiency is not the fundamentum
divisionis for distinguishing between
what is business and what is not, for
the simple reason that “efficiency” is
a category that belongs to the order of
means and not of ends. Indeed, efficiency
is indispensable in order to achieve as
well as possible the purpose one has
freely chosen to give one’s action. The
entrepreneur who gives priority to
efficiency that is an end in itself risks
being caught by one of the most frequent
causes of the destruction of wealth today,
as the current economic and financial
crisis sadly confirms.
To expand briefly on this theme, to say
“market” means saying “competition”,
in the sense that the market cannot exist
where there is no competition (even
if the opposite is not true). And there
is no one who can fail to see that the
fruitfulness of competition lies in the fact
that it implies tension, the dialectic that
presupposes the presence of another and
the relationship with another. Without
tension there is no movement, but the
movement this is the point to which
tension gives rise can also be fatal; in
other words it can generate death.
Caritas in Veritate
‘It Is Also Possible to Do
Business by Pursuing
Aims That Serve Society’
Photo Courtesy of www.mercatornet.com
Photo Courtesy of www.clericalwhispers.blogspot.com
(A discourse of Vatican’s Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
on Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical “Caritas in Veritate”
addressed to the Italian Senate on July 28, 2009)
But, we ask ourselves, which truth and
which love are meant? There is no doubt
that today these very concepts give rise
to suspicion especially the term “truth”
or are the object of misunderstanding,
and this is especially the case with the
term “love”. This is why it is important
to make clear which truth and which
love the Pope is addressing in his new
Encyclical. The Holy Father explains
that these two fundamental realities
are neither extrinsic to man nor even
imposed upon him in the name of any
kind of ideological vision; rather, they
are deeply rooted within the person.
Indeed, “love and truth”, the Pope says,
“are the vocation planted by God in the
heart and mind of every human person”,
the person who, according to Sacred
Scripture, has been created precisely
“as an image of the Creator”, in other
words of the “God of the Bible, who is
both “Agápe” and “Lógos”: Charity and
Truth, Love and Word.
This reality is testified to us not only
by biblical Revelation but can be grasped
by every person of good will who uses
right reason in reflecting on himself.
In this regard, several passages of an
important and meaningful Document
that came out just before Caritas in
veritate seem to illustrate this view
clearly. The International Theological
Commission in recent months has
of society and hence refers to this natural
law.
Now, expounding on the reality
of natural law, the International
Theological Commission describes
precisely how truth and love are
essential requirements of every person
and are deeply rooted in his being. “In
his search for moral good, the human
person should recognize what he
is and be aware of the fundamental
inclinations of his nature”, which orient
him toward the goods necessary for his
moral fulfillment. As is well known,
“a distinction has traditionally been
made between three important forms
of natural dynamism.... The first, in
common with every essential being, is
comprised of the fundamental instinct
to preserve and develop one’s own
existence. The second, which is shared by
all living beings, includes the inclination
to reproduce in order to perpetuate
the species. The third, which is proper
to man as a rational being, constitutes
the inclination to know the truth about
God and to live in society”. Examining
in depth this third form of dynamism
which is found in every individual, the
International Theological Commission
declares that it is “specific to the human
being as a spiritual being, endowed with
reason, capable of knowing the truth, of
entering into dialogue with others and
Benedict XVI places as a fundamental
criterion for moral reflection on the
current socio-economic reality: “’Caritas
in veritate’ is the principle around which
the Church’s social doctrine turns, a
principle that takes on practical form in
the criteria that govern moral action”.
Using a cogent expression, the Holy
Father thus affirms that “the Church’s
social teaching... is “caritas in veritate
in re sociali”: the proclamation of the
truth of Christ’s love in society. This
doctrine is a service to charity, but its
locus is truth”.
What the Encyclical suggests is
neither ideological nor exclusively
reserved to those who share belief
in the divine Revelation. Rather, it is
based on fundamental anthropological
realities such as, precisely, truth and
charity properly understood or, as the
Encyclical itself says, given to the human
being and received by him, but neither
planned nor willed by him. Benedict
XVI wants to remind everyone that it is
only by being anchored to this double
criterion of “veritas” and “caritas”,
inseparably bound together, that it is
possible to build the authentic good of
the human being who is made for truth
and love. According to the Holy Father,
“only in charity, illumined by the light of
reason and faith, is it possible to pursue
development goals that possess a more
where wealth or income is generated,
and society with the place of solidarity
for its fair distribution.
Caritas in veritate tells us instead
that it is also possible to do business
by pursuing aims that serve society
and are inspired by pro-social motives.
This is a practical way, if not the only
one, of bridging the gap between the
economic and the social spheres, given
that an economic activity which did not
incorporate the social dimension would
not be ethically acceptable. It is likewise
true that a social policy concerned only
with redistribution, that failed to reckon
with the available resources, would not
be sustainable in the long run: in fact,
production must precede distribution.
We should be particularly grateful to
Benedict XVI for wishing to emphasize
the fact that economic action is not
separate from or alien to the cornerstones
of the Church’s social teaching such
as: the centrality of the human person,
solidarity, subsidiarity, the common
good.
It is necessary to supersede the
current concept which expects the
Church’s social teaching and values to
be confined to social activities, while
experts in efficiency would be charged
with guiding the economy. It is the merit
and certainly not a secondary one of this
Encyclical to contribute to remedying
If the purpose of economic action
is not synonymous with striving for a
common goal as the Latin etymology
“cum-petere” would clearly indicate
but rather with Hobbes’ theory, “mors
tua, vita mea” [your death is my life],
then the social bond is reduced to
commercial relations and economic
activity tends to become inhuman,
hence ultimately inefficient. Therefore,
even in competition, “the Church’s
social doctrine holds that authentically
human social relationships of friendship,
solidarity and reciprocity can also be
conducted within economic activity,
and not only outside it or “after” it. The
economic sphere is neither ethically
neutral, nor inherently inhuman and
opposed to society. It is part and parcel
of human activity and precisely because
it is human, it must be structured and
governed in an ethical manner”.
Well, the advantage by no means
small that Caritas in veritate offers us is to
give special consideration to the concept
of market, typical of the tradition of the
thought of civil economics, according to
which it is possible to live the experience
of human sociality within a normal
economic life and not outside or beside
it. This concept might be defined as an
alternative, both regarding the concept
that sees the market as a place for the
Caritas / B2
Updates
B2
The supreme authority
of the Church
At times, the question has been
asked in what consists the authority
of the Pope, the Bishops and—
for that matter—the Episcopal
Conference. I shall attempt to
clarify this matter in a series of
articles, since the whole matter of
ecclesiastical authority is too broad
a topic to tackle in one article.
BY supreme authority in
the Church we mean that
ecclesiastical power that is not
subordinated to any other,
and on which all other powers
in the Church depend. Thus,
the following discussion
presupposes the previous
consideration of the reality of
the sacra potestas and its relation
with the power of Orders and the
power of jurisdiction (already
tackled in an earlier issue of
CBCP Monitor). Here we shall
deal with the question of who
is/are the subject/subjects of the
supreme power in the Church. It
has been noted that while Lumen
Gentium had made major strides
in placing the role and exercise
of the supreme power in the
Church in a larger perspective,
it has not resolved this critical
issue.
The classical and current
answer can be summarized
in three theses, each one with
different nuances that can even
give rise to further subdivisions
of varying worth.
1st The Roman Pontiff as
the Subject of the Supreme
Authority in the Church
This is a classic position,
defended in the Modern Era by
authors like Cajetan and other
Post-Tridentine theologians and
canonists, and by a minority
during Vatican Council II. It
focuses solely on the Pope.
According to this thesis, all
the power of jurisdiction in
the Church descends vertically
from the Roman Pontiff via a
predominantly juridical path—
the missio canonica—, such that
the sacramental origin of such
power is relegated to a secondary
plane, if at all admitted.
In this conception,theepiscopal
power of jurisdiction—even if its
divine origin is admitted—is
transmitted immediately by
the Roman Pontiff through the
canonical mission, and only
in a mediate way by divine
institution. Thus, the defenders
of this thesis hold that only
resident Bishops enjoy the power
of jurisdiction—since only they
receive a missio canonica from
the Pope—and only they have
the right to participate in an
Ecumenical Council.
After Vatican II and at present,
it has become very difficult to
defend this position. According
to the Council, both the Pope, as
well as the Episcopal College
under him, are subjects of the
supreme and full power over
the Church. But the defenders
of this thesis have tried to keep
its viability by affirming that
the subject of the supreme
power in the Church—at least
in an absolute and proper
sense, or in a principal and
original sense—can only be one
and that is the Roman Pontiff.
According to them, the College
of Bishops only is subject of
such supreme power when the
Pope communicates it to them
and makes them participate
in it—i.e., only in a relative
and participative sense, and
thus secondary, accessory and
contingent.
2nd The College of Bishops as
Subject of the Supreme Power
in the Church
Putting aside the Conciliarist
formulations that this thesis had
concentrated in the Head of the
College. Thus, the Pope acts as
Head of the College and even
as representative of the College,
but not in a delegated sense
(since his power does not come
from the other members of the
College) but rather in a corporate
sense (as really standing for the
whole College). In other words,
the Pope functions authentically
not as an independent agent but
as successor of Peter—i.e., head
of the college.
2) Collegially—by the whole
body of the bishops, together
with and under its Head. It has
also been pointed out that since
the Episcopal College always
exists and is an essential element
of the divine constitution of
Photo Courtesy of www.content.answers.com
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso,
J.C.D.
in the Pre-Tridentine era, this
position had been defended in
morerecenttimesbysomeauthors
trying to make it compatible
with the doctrine of Vatican II.
Presently it is mostly defended
by dogmatic theologians and
by a few canonists. They would
want to take the doctrine of
episcopal collegiality to its
ultimate consequences, while
trying to respect the Primacy of
the Roman Pontiff.
According to this thesis, the
sole subject of the supreme
power in the Church is the
Episcopal College—always with
the Pope and under him. This
power is, however, exercised
in two ways:
1) Personally—by the Pope,
by virtue of his office as Head
of the College. In this case, the
exercise of the power is totally
the Church, different modes
of collegial action—aside from
those commonly known and
mentioned in the CIC, e.g.
Ecumenical Councils and
Synods—can take place, which
the Head of the College should
foster.
Aside from the previously
mentioned reason of defending
episcopal collegiality, the
defenders of this thesis also
adduce reasons of ecumenism,
insofar as this conception—to
their mind—could make the
Petrine ministry more acceptable
to some separated Churches.
3rd Two Inadequately Distinct
Subjects of Supreme Power:
the Roman Pontiff and the
Episcopal College
This thesis had been defended
already during the deliberations
of Vatican Council I, re-proposed
during Vatican II and continues
to be defended at present. In
effect, Vatican II had affirmed
that the Roman Pontiff, by virtue
of his office, had full, supreme
and universal power over the
Church, and later adds that the
College of Bishops, together with
its Head, the Roman Pontiff, and
never without this head, is also
subject—“subiectum quoque”—
of the supreme and full power
over the universal Church (LG,
n.22). Nevertheless, the position
needs to be defended from the
juridic-doctrinal point of view.
For its defenders, two
apparently contradictory factors
needed to be reconciled. On the
one hand, the principle that in
a society there can only be one
supreme power, since were there
to be several, one of them would
limit the others that would then
cease to be supreme. On the
other hand, there are texts of the
Magisterium—among them that
of Lumen Gentium—that affirm
the existence of two subjects of
the supreme power: the Roman
Pontiff and also the College of
Bishops. According to these
authors, in order to harmonize
these two seemingly opposing
factors, we have to affirm the
existence of two subjects of
supreme power in the Church,
but at the same time establish an
inadequate distinction between
them—since the Roman Pontiff
is present in both, either as the
Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the
universal Church or as the Head
of the Episcopal College. As the
Council itself would explain, “it
is not a distinction between the
Roman Pontiff and the bishops
taken together, but between the
Roman Pontiff by himself and
the Roman Pontiff along with
the bishops.” Neither should
we forget that, as the Council
itself clearly affirms, the Roman
Pontiff always enjoys freedom
of action in the exercise of this
supreme power—either alone or
with the College.
Conclusion
Each one of the aforementioned
theses attempts to explain, in
the theoretical and speculative
plane, the question of the subject
of the supreme power in the
Church. Each one attempts to
emphasize particular aspects of
the constitution and government
of the Church. Thus, while the
first thesis maximally defends
and guarantees the institution
and rights of the Primacy,
the second thesis in contrast
attempts to strengthen the
nature and power of episcopal
collegiality with and under the
Pope; while the third thesis tries
to find an equilibrium between
the two positions. In conclusion we can say
that insofar as each one of the
aforementioned theses respects
the data of Revelation and the
Magisterium, it can be accepted
to explain juridic realities that—
being rooted in the mystery
of the Church—are not easily
reducible to facile simplifications
or neat systematizations.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Funeral Masses
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina
Apostolorum university, answers the following queries:)
Q: Who can be buried by the Church, and who can a burial Mass be
said for? If a faithful of the Catholic Church is not baptized before he
dies, but had the desire to be baptized, can a burial Mass be celebrated
for him? If a Catholic was baptized, received first Communion and
was confirmed, but failed to have his marriage blessed before he dies,
can Mass be celebrated for him also? What about a Church member
who contributed financially over the years to the Church and has held
positions in the Church, but after his death there was a doubt of whether
he had been baptized? Can he be given a Church burial, or can Mass
be celebrated for him?—D.A., Accra, Ghana
A: The Church is usually generous toward the deceased, within
limits.
First, we must distinguish between offering a funeral Mass and
celebrating a Mass whose intention is the eternal repose of a particular
soul.
Since the latter is basically the private intention of the priest, albeit
offered at the request of a particular person, and since there are practically
no limitations as to whom we may pray for, almost any intention can be
admitted. In cases that might cause scandal, especially if the person were
denied a funeral Mass, it would not be prudent to make this intention
public.
A funeral Mass on the other hand is basically a public act in which
the Church intercedes for the deceased by name. A funeral Mass is one
which uses the formulas found in the Roman Missal and the ritual for
funerals. Some of these formulas may be used even if the deceased’s
body is not present.
Because of its public nature the Church’s public intercession for a
departed soul is more limited. A funeral Mass can be celebrated for most
Catholics, but there are some specific cases in which canon law requires
the denial of a funeral Mass. Canons 1184-1185 say:
“Canon 1184 §1. Unless they gave some signs of repentance before
death, the following must be deprived of ecclesiastical funerals: 1/
notorious apostates, heretics, and schismatics; 2/ those who chose the
cremation of their bodies for reasons contrary to Christian faith; 3/ other
manifest sinners who cannot be granted ecclesiastical funerals without
public scandal of the faithful.
Ҥ2. If any doubt occurs, the local ordinary is to be consulted, and his
judgment must be followed.
“Canon 1185. Any funeral Mass must also be denied a person who is
excluded from ecclesiastical funerals.”
In fact, these strictures are rarely applied. In part, this is because many
sinners do show signs of repentance before death.
Likewise, the canons are open to some interpretation. In No. 1184
§1 notorious would mean publicly known. Therefore someone who had
abandoned the faith and joined some other group would be denied a funeral;
someone who harbored private doubts or disagreements would not.
Cases of those who choose cremation for reasons contrary to the
faith are extremely rare and are hard to prove (see the follow-up in our
column of Nov. 29, 2005).
The most delicate cases are those in No. 1184 §1.3. Many canonists
say that for denial of a funeral the person must be both widely known to
be living in a state of grave sin and that holding a Church funeral would
cause scandal.
About a year ago in Italy the Church denied an ecclesiastical funeral
for a nationally known campaigner for euthanasia who requested and
obtained the removal of his life-support system. In this case the request
for a funeral for someone who was only nominally Catholic was in itself
a publicity stunt for the organization behind the campaign. Likewise,
someone subject to excommunication or interdict (for example, a Catholic
abortionist) would be denied a funeral.
Given the severity of the requirements for denial of an ecclesiastical
funeral, people in irregular marriages and suicides should not usually be
denied a funeral. In such cases denial of the funeral is more likely than
not to be counterproductive and cause unnecessary misunderstanding
and bitterness. The Church intercedes for the soul and leaves final
judgment to God.
Analogous to the funeral Mass are anniversary Masses which are
somewhat in between an intention and a funeral Mass. Although, strictly
speaking, these would not fall under the prohibitions mentioned in Canon
1184, such Masses should not be given publicity if the person had been
denied a funeral.
With respect to non-Catholic Christians the local bishop may permit
a funeral in some cases as specified in the Ecumenical Directory 120:
“In the prudent judgment of the local Ordinary, the funeral rites of the
Catholic Church may be granted to members of a non-Catholic Church
or ecclesial Community, unless it is evidently contrary to their will and
provided that their own minister is unavailable, and that the general
provisions of Canon Law do not forbid it (see Can. 1183,3).”
Regarding the first and third cases presented by our reader, we can
also refer to Canon 1183:
“Canon 1183 §1. When it concerns funerals, catechumens must be
counted among the Christian faithful.
Ҥ2. The local ordinary can permit children whom the parents intended
to baptize but who died before baptism to be given ecclesiastical
funerals.”
This would apply both to the person who had intended to receive
baptism but was prevented by death as well as to the person whose
baptism was uncertain but was active in the Church.
In the first case the funeral liturgy may be celebrated as usual, only
omitting language referring directly to the sacrament. The same would
apply to the second case, but omission of mentioning the sacrament
should be done only if the fact that the person had never been baptized
could be established with some degree of certainty.
The foundation for this is the doctrine of baptism of desire in which
the Church believes that a soul who explicitly desired the sacrament will
receive all the graces of baptism at the moment of death, except for the
sacramental character. This last is not given because it is directly orientated
toward the exercise of worship during the course of life.
Finally, Catholic funerals are not celebrated for non-Christians.
Caritas / B1
exploitation and abuse of the weak by
the strong, and the concept which, in line
with anarchic-liberalistic thought, sees
it as a place that can provide solutions
to all the problems of society.
This way of doing business is
differentiated from that of the traditional
Smithian economy, which sees the
market as the only institution truly
necessary for democracy and freedom.
The Church’s social doctrine, on the
other hand, reminds us that a sound
society is certainly the product of the
market and of freedom, but there are
needs that stem from the principle of
brotherhood that can neither be avoided
nor be referred solely to the private
sphere or to philanthropy. Rather, the
Church’s social doctrine proposes a
humanism with various dimensions,
in which the market is not combated or
“controlled” but is seen as an important
institution in the public sphere a sphere
which far exceeds State control which,
if it is conceived of and lived as a place
that is also open to the principles of
reciprocity and of giving, can construct
a healthy civil coexistence.
I shall now examine one of the
themes in the Encyclical which seems
to me to have attracted some public
interest because of the newness of the
principles of brotherhood and free
giving in economic activity. “Social
and political development, if it is to be
authentically human”, Pope Benedict
XVI says, needs “to make room for the
principle of gratuitousness”. “Internal
forms of solidarity” are essential. The
chapter on the cooperation of the human
family is significant in this regard. In it
the Pope stresses that “the development
of peoples depends, above all, on a
recognition that the human race is a
single family”, which is why “thinking
of this kind requires a deeper critical
evaluation of the category of relation”.
And further: “The theme of development
can be identified with the inclusion-inrelation of all individuals and peoples
within the one community of the human
family, built in solidarity on the basis of
the fundamental values of justice and
peace”.
The key word that today expresses
this need better than any other is
“brotherhood”. It was the Franciscan
school of thought that gave this term
the meaning it has retained over the
course of time and that constitutes
the complement and exaltation of the
principle of solidarity. In fact, whereas
solidarity is the principle of social
organization that permits those who are
unequal to become equal through their
equal dignity and their fundamental
rights, the principle of brotherhood is
that principle of social organization
which permits equals to be different, in
the sense that they are able to express
their plan of life or their charism in
different ways.
Let me explain more clearly. The
periods we have left behind us, the
19th century and especially the 20th
century, were marked by great battles
both cultural and political in the name
of solidarity. This was a good thing; only
think of the history of the trade union
movement and of the fight to obtain
civil rights. The point is that a society
oriented to the common good cannot
stop at solidarity because it needs a
solidarity that reflects brotherhood,
given that while a fraternal society also
shows solidarity, the opposite is not
necessarily true.
If one overlooks the unsustainability
of a human society in which the sense
of brotherhood is lacking and in which
everything revolves around improving
transactions based on the exchange of
equivalents or to increasing transfers
actuated by public structures for social
assistance it then becomes clear why,
in spite of the quality of the intellectual
forces at work, we have not yet found
a credible solution to the great trade-off
between efficiency and equity. Caritas in
veritate helps us to realize that society
can have no future if the principle of
brotherhood is lost. In other words,
society cannot progress if the logic of
“giving in order to have” or of “giving
as a duty” is the only one that exists and
develops. This is why neither the liberalindividualistic vision of the world, in
which (almost) everything is exchange,
nor the State-centered vision of society,
in which (almost) everything is based on
obligation, are reliable guides to lead us
out of the shallows in which our societies
today have run aground.
Then we ask ourselves the question:
why is the perspective of the common
good as it has been formulated by
the Church’s social doctrine, which
was banished from the scene for at
least two centuries, re-emerging like
an underground river? Why is the
transition from national markets to the
global market that has taken place over
the last 25 years rendering the topic of
the common good timely once again? I
note in passing that what is occurring
is part of a broader movement of ideas
in economics, a movement whose goal
is the link between a religious sense
and economic performance. On the
basis of the consideration that religious
beliefs are of crucial importance in
forging people’s cognitive maps and in
shaping the social norms of behavior,
this movement of ideas is seeking to
investigate how far the prevalence in a
specific country (or territory) of a certain
religious matrix influences the formation
of categories of economic thought,
welfare programmes, educational
policies and so forth. After a long period,
during which the celebrated theses of
secularization appeared to have had
the last word on the religious question
at least insofar as the economic field is
concerned what is happening today
appears truly paradoxical.
It is not difficult to explain the return
to the contemporary cultural debate in
the perspective of the common good,
a true and proper symbol of Catholic
ethics in the social and economic field.
As John Paul ii explained on many
occasions, the Church’s social teaching
should not be considered as yet another
ethical theory as regards the numerous
theories already available in literature.
Instead it should be seen as their
“common grammar”, since it is based
on a specific viewpoint, the preservation
of the human good. In truth, while the
various ethical theories are rooted either
in the search for rules (as happens in the
positivist doctrine of natural law), or in
action (as in Rawls’ neo-contractualism
or neo-utilitarianism), the social doctrine
of the Church embraces “being with”
as its Archimedean point. The ethical
sense of the common good explains that
in order to understand human action
we must see it from the perspective
of the acting person and not from the
viewpoint of the third person (as does
natural law) or of the impartial spectator
(as Adam Smith had suggested). In fact
since the moral good is a practical reality,
it is known first and foremost by those
who practice it rather than by those who
theorize about it. They can identify it
and hence choose it unhesitatingly every
time it is questioned.
(This article has been abridged due to
space limitations. Full text of the speech
can be accessed at http://www.zenit.org/
article-26658?l=english)
Diocese
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
B3
Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishop …………...……….........
2
Diocesan Priests:
Active Resident ..………......
57
Abroad/on Leave ....………...
11
Deacon ……………………......
3
Religious Priests:
Filipino ………………………..
7
Foreign …..…………..……..
2
Consecrated Brother: Filipino ………...……………
3
Foreign ……………..………
2
Consecrated Women:
Filipino ……………………....
39
Foreign ……………..………
1
Diocesan Divisions:
Vicariates ……………............
6
Parishes ……………………..
27
Mission Centers …….............
5
Seminarians:
College …………………..….
33
Theology ………….....….......
5
Regents ……………….........
3
Seminaries:
College ……………………...
1
Catholic Schools …………...
4
Population ………….….. 695, 149
Catholics …………….….. 660, 391
Area …………....…
5,591 sq. km
By Rev. Fr. Noel C. Labendia
Introduction
The Diocese of Calbayog is the local
church comprising the civil territorial
jurisdiction of western side of Samar
Island. The island, the third largest in
the Philippines, is composed of three
provinces: the Province of Northern
Samar with Catarman as capital,
the Province of Eastern Samar with
Borongan as capital, and the Province
of Samar (in the West) with Catbalogan
as the capital. The City of Calbayog, the
lone city in the Province of Samar and
of the entire Samar Island, is where the
Cathedral of the diocese is located since
its ecclesiastical foundation on April 10,
1910 by Pope Pius X. The new Diocese
was comprised then of the whole Samar
and Leyte islands separate from the
Archdiocese of Cebu. Subsequently, Palo
was ceded from Calbayog as a separate
diocese in 1948, Borongan in 1960 and
Catarman in 1974.
The historical vicissitudes of the
Diocese of Calbayog cannot be fully
appreciated apart from the history
of the early evangelical labors of the
first missionaries who came to Samar
island.
The Pioneers of Evangelization in
Samar
After having obtained in 1595 the
islands of the Visayas as their new
mission territory, Fr. Antonio Sedeno,
the Head of the Jesuit Philippine Mission,
(which was then a vice-Province under
Mexico) at once made all the necessary
preparations for the establishment of
the new mission. This labor however,
will be carried out and realized only
by Fr. Ramon Prat, the former’s worthy
successor after the latter’s demise in
Cebu. Thus on 3 October 1596, Fr. Prat
the Vice-Provincial, and 15 other Jesuits
left Manila for the Visayas in Samar and
Leyte. For almost 20 days they sailed the
rough seas of Marinduque and Mindoro,
passing by Maripipi islands, and off to
the Samar Sea, until finally landing in
Tinagon, (now presently Brgy Dapdap,
in the town of Tarangnan) on October
22, in the western coast of the island. In
Tinagon Fr. Prat, left Fathers Francisco
de Otazo and Bartolome Martes, and
Brother Domingo Alonso to establish
the first mission in the island. With the
12 others, Fr. Prat proceeded to Leyte,
in Carigara and Dulag, which were
established a year ago as mission stations
under Cebu by Fr. Pedro Chirino.
From the site of the first mission station
in Tinagon in 1596, the missionaries
fanned out to nearby poblaciones
or settlements which were already
claimed as an encomienda by the
Spanish government. That same year the
missionaries immediately established
communities or visitas in neighboring
pueblos in Catbalogan, Paranas, Calbiga,
Umauas (now Villareal) and in as far
as Maripipi and Limbangcauayan. In
1597, the Jesuits opened the visita of
Bangajon (now Gandara)), Capul and
Ibatang, the forerunner of Calbayog.
With the additional assignment to the
Tinagon residence of Fr. Miguel Gomez
and Brother Juan Ontineda, the Catubig
and Palapag missions (in Ibabao side
of Samar) were opened as well. It will
be temporarily closed however after 2
years, and only revisited in 1601 by Fr.
Juan Sanlucar and again in 1603 by Fr.
Juan de Torres and Brother Domingo
Alonso. Few years later, the Ibabao
mission residence in Catubig was
transferred to Palapag. From Palapag
residence, visitas in Tubig (now Taft),
Sulat, Borongan, as well as in Batag
Island, Lao-ang, Catarman and Bobon
were eventually founded.
The work of early evangelization in
Samar was proven not an easy task
Diocesan Synod he convoked in 1600.
Later he charged them of revising the
Visayan Catechism in whose version
was given an official character. After
which, in spite of his more than seventy
years, he traveled by trail and outrigger
canoe to visit Tinagon to administer
Confirmation in which he confirmed in
the faith 2,000 neophytes.
It was the directive of the Jesuit Father
General Claudio Aquaviva in Rome
and in compliance of their 5th General
Congregation—that mission centers
established in smaller settlements be
aggregated into one main residence
in larger pueblos and “that no many
west side of Samar, while Palapag will
become the central Mission Residence
for Ibabao region (the northeast side of
Samar). This arrangement of having two
central Residences in the Samar Island,
with one local superior and a group
of pastors responsible for subordinate
communities will be the normal set-up
for the duration of 150 years of Jesuit
missionary labors. Fr. Dela Costa writes
in his book, a catalogue of the last Jesuits
assigned in these two Central residences
at the time of their expulsion in 1768.
For Catbalogan, seven Jesuits were
constituted as one community with
Fr. Gianbattista Medici as the assigned
residences be established anymore”
for efficiency in the mission and to
“provide safeguards and incentives for
community life”—that occasioned the
shift in their missionary activities in the
island. That directive at reorganization
and consolidation was relayed to the
Jesuits of Samar and Leyte by the Father
Visitator Diego Garcia in a conference
attended by all 26 Jesuits in Palo on
January 6, 1600. It was a directive meant
to be enforced immediately, although
it was not followed in actual practice
until some few years, for it was only in
1610 that Palapag was opened as a new
Mission residence transferring the old
station of Catubig and the old Tinagon
station as well, sometime after 1612, was
transferred to Catbalogan making it as
the Central residence. (cf. Dela Costa,
TJP, p. 262, 316).
At any rate, as a new way of proceeding
in their mission, Catbalogan will become
the central Mission Residence for the
Rector and Parish Priest. The six others
assigned with him were: Fr. Ignatz
Gosner as Parish priest of Paranas,
Fr. Juan Essandi, as parish priest of
Capul and Calbayog, Fr. John Antoine
Tournon, parish priest of Calbiga, Fr.
Jose Gomez, parish priest of Bangahon,
Frs. Jose Valero and Miguel Alustiza for
other special ministries.
For the Palapag Residence: Fr. Roque
Corbinos, the vice-provincial for the
Visayas, was assigned as Rector and
Parish Priest, together with him were:
Fr. Luis Lopez, parish priest for Sulat,
Fr. Charles O’Dwyer, parish priest of
Tubig, (Taft) Fr. Jose Vasquez, parish
priest of Borongan, Fr. Ignatz Frisch,
parish priest of Guiuan, Fr. Jose Anda,
parish priest of Catubig and Laoang, and
Fr. Joseph Bremont, as parish priest for
Catarman and Bobon.
The Jesuits stayed in Samar and
in Ibabao for 173 years or until their
expulsion from their Philippine mission
Diocese of Calbayog
Bishop Isabelo C. Abarquez, DD
considering that the year 1596 to 1597
were years of famine due to the plague
of locust, and thus the harvests were
very poor, and there was sickness
everywhere. The missionaries went from
village to village with rice and medicines,
doing what they could to relieve the
sufferings of the people. There were no
roads yet, travels were most of the time by
water, and in many occasions their labors
were met with insurmountable obstacles
especially during south-west monsoon
or habagat. If they travel by the rivers,
they have to contend with crocodiles.
But of course among the obstacles
to their labors, the most dreaded of
all were always the devastating and
almost irreparable attacks of the Moro
pirates. The Augustinian Bishop Fray
Pedro de Agurto of Cebu, in which
Samar islands were under his charge,
hearing the fine evangelical efforts of
the Jesuits in Tinagon, summoned them
to Cebu to attend as delegates to the
and from all Spanish colonies in July
29, 1768, by virtue of a decree issued
by King Charles III in 1767. The decree
of expulsion paved the way for the
assignment of other Religious orders as
replacement in the abandoned mission
areas.
The Franciscans in Samar
The Franciscan Friars of the Province
of St. Gregory were the ones assigned
for the Samar poblaciones, except for
Guiuan and Basay which were assigned
to the Augustinians. Like the pioneer
missionaries, the Spanish Franciscans too
proved themselves noble in spreading
the faith and in preaching the Gospel.
They did this for a period of 159 years.
Except for the intermittent years 1898
to 1906, because of the war, they stayed
in Samar until 1927. To them goes the
credit of sustaining the seed of faith
that was planted and this they did with
sincere efforts and dedication through
the introduction of catholic devotions
and catechetical education. The Holy
week observances, the confradias
and hermanidad, as well as the many
novenas and church hymns that remains
until now, all came from their efforts.
But it was Fr. Jose Gomez de Huerce that
epitomized the Franciscan missionary
priest that the people of Samar and the
diocese of Calbayog can be said to have
owed much. He was only 26 years old
in 1834 when he arrived as a missionary
from Huerce, Spain. It was during his
stint as pastor of Calbayog “when the
town was still small and development
was stagnant”, that he applied himself
at once to serious work. To control the
tide-flow and ensure proper drainage,
he constructed a river dike in the town.
He put up a furnace to fabricate bricks
and encourage those who could, to use
bricks for their houses. He started to
construct a semi-stone convent as well
as a large and solid stone church which
will eventually become the Cathedral
Church of the Diocese. His greatest
contribution however to the pueblo of
Calbayog according to many, was his
promotion of agriculture especially
the production of abaca. Fr. Huerce
“climbed mountains to search for the
best abaca suckers for cultivation and
went around farms to teach how to
plant and nurture them”. It was said
that his labors proved beneficial to the
town of Calbayog as well as the entire
Samar Island in terms of economic
progress and development. That was
when the demand for abaca in the world
market grew and Calbayog attracted
many entrepreneurs. The upsurge of
economy and rise of population of the
town gave birth to new pueblos like
Oquendo, Sta. Margarita, Tinambacan
(formerly Weyler) and Sto. Nino.
(Limbangcauayan) – Pueblos that will
eventually become towns and parishes
for the soon to be established Diocese of
Calbayog at the turn of the Century.
Towards the Foundation of a new
Diocese
The work was started to prepare
the towns and parishes of Samar and
Calbayog / B4
Features
B4
Archdiocese of Davao
to host the 5th AsIPA
General Assembly
AFTER the 9th Plenary Assembly of FABC held in Manila
on August 11-16, 2009, two more big FABC events will
be held in the Philippines, namely: the 5th AsIPA (Asian
Integral Pastoral Approach) General Assembly (GA) in
October, and the 5th Asian Youth Day in November. Both
the AsIPA Desk and Youth Desk are under the FABC Office
of Laity and Family.
The 5th AsIPA General Assembly is for national and
diocesan training teams for BECs/SCCs that are using the
AsIPA and Lumko method of starting and maintaining
small communities. The basic characteristics of this method
are: Gospel-based and hence Christ-centered, constantly
growing in their sense of Church as a communion and hence
becoming a community and carrying out the Kingdom
mission among themselves, in the neighborhood and in
the society as a whole.
The theme for this 5th General Assembly is: “Do this in
memory of me” (Lk 22:19). Bread broken and Word shared
in SCCs/BECs.
It flows from the Bishops’ Synod on “The Word of God in
the life and Mission of the Church” held in Rome last year
and from the FABC 9th Plenary Assembly’s main theme:
“Living the Eucharist in Asia.”
This 5th General Assembly will gather around 200
participants: bishops, priests, lay leaders and Religious who
are involved in training facilitators that animate and guide
SCCs/BECs. Asian Bishops are all invited to attend. GA 5
participants come from some 13 countries in Asia, three
countries in Europe and Papua New Guinea. This takes
place every 3 years. The first two were held in Thailand
(1996 and 1999), the third one in Korea (2003) and the fourth
in India (2006).
Aside from being an occasion for mutual exchange and
enriching interaction, it is also an updating on pastoral and
theological topics. For GA5, the topics will be on “SCCs/
BECs as Eucharistic Communities” to be presented by Bishop
Chito Tagle (Bishop of Imus, Cavite) and on “Breaking the
Word in SCCs/BECs” by Bishop Oswald Hirmer (Bishop
Emeritus of Umtata, South Africa).
Another special resource person is Bishop Emeritus
Fritz Lobinger of Aliwal, South Africa, who with Bishop
Hirmer, is also one of the founders of Lumko Institute.
Both Bishops Emeritus have been to Asia several times and
have accompanied Asian teams in their process of training
facilitators of small communities that renew parishes to
become “a Participatory Church,” as declared by Asian
Bishops in the 5th FABC Plenary Assembly in 1990.
During the 7-day General Assembly, we hope to achieve
the following objectives: To review and reflect theologically
on the experience of the different methods of Gospel sharing
as a way of breaking the Word in SCC/BECs; to reflect
theologically on how SCCs/BECs break the bread—living
the Eucharist in daily life; to facilitate the sharing of
experiences and resources among the participants towards
the “new way of being Church”.
The reports from the different countries/dioceses will
be a source of inspiration and learning to one another. The
keynote talks will be “digested” in small groups to search
together pastoral approaches that will guide the SCC/BEC
process of renewing the Church and actualizing communion
starting from the most local level of the neighborhood. The
General Assembly will also offer different methods of doing
the Gospel sharing to grow in Christ-centeredness and to
respond to social challenges as a community.
Most Rev. Fernando Capalla, Archbishop of Davao, was
happy to accept hosting this event which forms part of the
Diamond Jubilee celebration of the Archdiocese. The AsIPA
effort has a history very much accompanied by Philippine
Bishops since 1993 when Archbishop Angel Lagdameo (Jaro,
Iloilo) was then Chairman of the FABC Office of Laity and
Family, and Archbishop Orlando Quevedo as Secretary
General of FABC since 2004. The present Chairman is now
Bishop Rolando Tirona (Infanta, Quezon).
Since its inception in 1990 and officially started in 1993, the
AsIPA Desk has been based in Taipei, coordinated by Ms.
Cora Mateo, a lay missionary and member of the Teresian
Association (a Davaoweña). Now its office has moved to
Singapore with Ms. Wendy Louis as Asian Coordinator.
(AsIPa Secretariat)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
A day at Montserrat
By Ma. Luisa M. Lacson
IT was during the Lasallian Pilgrimage
that I first set foot at Montserrat. Seventyeight of us from the La Salle Schools in
the Philippines went on a 21-day spiritual
journey to the Holy Land and Europe.
In 1999, I wrote a simple glimpse of the
places we had been to.
I made mention of all the places where
the Lord Jesus moved around, they were
all memorable because I witnessed,
touched and firsthand experienced what I
have been teaching in my Religion classes
for a number of years.
The splendor of Paris, Rome, France,
Andorra, Spain, Versailles, and prayerful
sites of Lourdes, Assisi, Nevers, Paray Le
Monyal, Rheims, Aurelia in Rome (the
mother house of the Christian Brothers)
and many more made the trip exciting
and also educational.
What made me single out Montserrat
in particular is because of our Lady who
appeared there and the magnificent
place of worship that was built on that
mountain peak.
The Basilica
Building began in the 16th century under
Abbot Bartolomeu Garriga. Pope Leo
XIII raised it to the status of Basilica in
1881. Between 1900 and 1901, the original
plateresque façade was replaced by the
façade we see today, which is the work of
the Francesc de P. Villar. The church interior
was restored following the destruction by
The Old Gothic Cloister
This was built in 1476 by the then
commendatory abbot Giuliano della
Rovere, who later became Pope Julius
11. Only two of the original four wings
still exist. The sculptures on the capitals
include profane themes together with
the coats of arms of Montserrat and of
the abbot who started the construction
work.
The Monastery
The community consists of a good
number of monks who follow the 6thcentury Benedictine Rule. They largely
dedicate their time to deepening their
understanding of the religious experience,
working and receiving pilgrims. As a
consequence, the monastery is a place of
prayer, dialogue, culture, and of meeting
other co-pilgrims. The buildings that make
up the monastery date from the middle
of the last century as Napoleon’s army
destroyed the old monastery in 1811.
The monks living quarters are not open
to visitors.
The Choir
This is the oldest boys’ choir in Europe.
The exceptional quality of the Choir’s
singing is the result of the musical and
cultural training that the choirboys receive
from the monks of Montserrat. Each day
at 1:00 p.m., they sing the Salve Regina
and the Virolai, the hymn to Our Lady of
Montserrat. After Vespers, at 7:10 p.m., the
choir sings the Montserrat Salve Regina,
in which polyphony alternates with the
monks’ Gregorian chant. On Sundays
and public holidays, they take part in the
conventual mass and vespers.
Els Degotalls
A flat and shady walk that skirts around
the mountain. When you come to a clearing,
you can look up and admire the peaks
and eroded rocky crags that rise up over
200 meters above El Canigo to the Cadi
mountain range. There are numerous
monuments along the pathway dedicated
by the people of Catalonia to our Lady.
On Montserrat
This is a special place because it is
a unique natural environment and a
religious centre and because of the art to
be found here.
Montserrat is home to the Sanctuary of
Our Lady and the Benedictine monastery,
which has, for almost 1000 years, served
all the pilgrims and visitors who come to
this unusual mountain.
The Image of Our Lady of Montserrat
The image of Our Lady of Montserrat,
popularly known as La Moreneta (the
gentle dark woman) due to the dark
colour of her face, is a lovely 12th century
Romanesque carving. In 1881, she was
crowned and declared the patron saint of
Catalonia. Legend has it that the image of
Our Lady was found in 880 in the Santa
Cova (holy cave). The route leading up to
the cave follows a rosary-like path with
monuments by Modernista artists such as
Gaudi, Llimona, and Puig I Cadafalch.
The small chapel at the end of the route
dates from the end of the 17th century.
The Santa Cova funicular means that the
hardest part of the path does not have to
be climbed, thus making it easier to get
to this place of pilgrimage.
Napoleon’s troops. Every one may join the
monks in the public prayers said in the
Basilica. The Conventual Mass is said at
11:00 a.m. and vespers at 6:45 p.m.
The Sant Miguel Cross
Follow the path alongside the Sant Joan
Funicular station, and climb the gentle
slopes that take you to the Sant Miguel
plain. After 20 minutes you come to the
fork that leads to the Cross, which is an
excellent vantage-point over the eastern
part of Montserrat, the Pyrennees and the
coastal districts. You can continue along the
path to Sant Miguel, a Romanesque-style
shrine rebuilt in 1870.
Legend has it that
the image of Our Lady
was found in 880 in
the Santa Cova (holy
cave). The route
leading up to the cave
follows a rosary-like
path with monuments
by Modernista artists
such as Gaudi, Llimona,
and Puig I Cadafalch.
The small chapel at the
end of the route dates
from the end of the 17th
century. The Santa Cova
funicular means that
the hardest part of the
path does not have to
be climbed, thus making
it easier to get to this
place of pilgrimage.
Santa Cecilia
This site is documented in 945, and it
would seem to be the first place where a
Christian monastic community was set up.
The Romanesque church is located in a
majestic spot on the north face of the range
and can be reached by following the Cami
dels Degotalls (way of the streams). A fork
off to the right leads to the Can Macana
road which you should take to get to Santa
Cecilia. To round off the trip you can visit
the adjoining Arboretum (tree garden)
which has a beautiful panoramic view of
the northern parts of Catalonia.
The Museum
A valuable collection of varied works of
art and other objects, many of which were
donated to the Monastery: liturgical objects
from the 15th to 20th centuries; masterpieces
painted in the 13th to 18th centuries, with
works by Berruguete, El Greco, Caravaggio
and others; a splendid collection of modern
paintings and sculpture by artists such
as Rusinol, Casas, Nonell, Picasso, and
Dali. There are also important French
Impressionist works, by painters, such as
Monet, Sisley and Degas.
The Museum collections consist of
objects from ancient civilizations, such
as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Cyprus and the
Holy Land.
Reflections
How I wish I could recapture the other
details of our magnificent trip to Montserrat,
Spain. What will remain forever in my
memories are the Holy Mass concelebrated
by the two priests who joined the Pilgrimage
with us and the solemnity of the place
where many marriages are scheduled to
be solemnized and the ONENESS of the
entire members of the Lasallian Pilgrimage
though it happened ten years ago.
Calbayog / B3
Leyte to be constituted as a new
Diocese. Cebu bishop Martin
Garcia y Alcocer assigned his
Vicar General, a native of the
town of Calbiga, Msgr. Pablo
Singzon to prepare the founding
of a new diocese. In 1903, Bishop
Alcocer in response to the appeal
of the principales of Calbayog
permitted the opening of a
catholic school. Thus in 1905, the
Colegio de San Vicente de Paul
was opened. It was a school
exclusive only for boys. It was
administered by the Vincentian
Fathers. Soon after, another
school exclusively for girls was
established. This is the Colegio
de La Milagrosa, which was
administered by the Daughters
of Charity, a congregation also
of the Vincentian family. Both
schools are still in existence until
today. The Colegio de San Vicente
de Paul eventually became the
Christ the King College in 1952
and is now administered by
the Franciscan Friars, while the
Colegio de La Milagrosa, now the
La Milagrosa Academy which
started co-education in 1942, is
now currently administered by
the Franciscan Apostolic Sisters.
Almost bent on establishing a
new diocese, a seminary for the
training of native clergy was
proposed. Thus, interested boys
from the secular Colegio de san
Vicente de Paul would be invited
to be seminarians. They were to
stay in a residence, located next
to the Bishop’s House.
Convinced of the deepening
faith-life of the Samarenos,
Bishop Alcocer recommended
to the Holy See the creation
of Calbayog into a Diocese
independent of the Diocese
of Cebu. Finding merit on the
recommendation, Pope Pius X
by virtue of the decree, “Novas
erigere dioecesis” erected on April
10, 1910 the Diocese of Calbayog
comprising the parishes of Samar
and Leyte islands and appointed
Msgr. Pablo Singzon as the first
Residential Bishop.
Among the first acts of the new
bishop was the formalization of
the establishment of the Diocesan
seminary, which was then being
handled by the Vincentian Priests
attached to the Colegio. As an
institution separate to the Colegio
de San Vicente de Paul, it was
named Colegio-Seminario de San
Vicente de Paul and Fr. Teodoro
Robredo, C.M. was the first
assigned Rector of the seminary
together with Fr. Santos Saldana,
C.M. and Fr. Pedro Pampliega,
C.M. as Prefect of discipline
and Procurator respectively.
Next to the seminary, the second
important act of Bishop Singzon
was the convoking of the first
Diocesan Synod. It was held in
Palo Leyte on May 2-4, 1911.
In that synod was laid out the
groundwork for carrying out the
task of the mission as well as the
initial structure for the newlyestablished Diocese.
Bishop Hacbang succeeded
Bishop Singzon in 1922 until
1937. At 31 years old, he was
probably then the youngest
in the world to be appointed
bishop. His economic prowess
and entrepreneurial skills
helped a lot in the temporal
and financial management of
the diocese. His engagement in
business however, notably in
land transportation, was for and
in the name of the diocese, for the
needs of his diocesan pastoral
projects. His conviction about the
importance of catholic education
like his predecessor, led him to
establish the Bishop Singzon
Institute in Catbalogan and the St.
Paul’s College in Tacloban. The
former was the precursor of the
Sacred Heart College and now
St. Mary’s College administered
by the RVM Sisters, while the
latter became the Divine Word
University or DWU of the SVD
Congregation. After 15 years of
stint as pastor, Bishop Hacbang
was succeeded by Bishop Alberto
Almarines in 1937. He was
however to stay merely as an
Apostolic Administrator and
only for a period of one year.
Bishop Miguel Acebedo
succeeded Bishop Almarines in
1938. He was bishop of Calbayog
until 1958. It was during his stint
that the Bishop’s residence was
built. His sense of prudence
during the war, kept the diocese
undisturbed by the occupying
Japanese forces, specifically, the
seminary which was among the
few, if not the only seminary in the
country that remained operational
during the Japanese occupation.
After serving the diocese, he
retired in Palo Leyte where he died
by accident, in a conflagration that
reduced his retirement house into
dust and ashes.
Bishop Manuel Del Rosario
succeeded Bishop Acebedo in
1958 until 1961. He started the
construction of a new seminary
building in Dagum Hills. His
stay in Calbayog was short-lived
however, because of his transfer
to Bulacan to become the first
Bishop of the newly-founded
Diocese of Malolos. Bishop Lino
Gonzaga succeeded Bishop Del
Rosario in 1961, but also as an
Apostolic Administrator and
for only a period of one year.
In his short stay in the diocese,
he was remembered as an
eloquent writer, a witty orator,
and more so, as the defender of
orthodoxy.
Bishop Cipriano Urgel
succeededBishopGonzagain1962
until 1974. He was authoritative
but was compassionate and
was always eager to listen to his
priests and the faithful. He was
the bishop of “two worlds.” He
provided the good climate of
transition from the “old ways of
being Church” to being Church
of ‘aggiornamento’ propounded
by Vatican II. He was the pastor
who invited lay people to get
involve in the diocesan and
parish activities foremost in
organizing the pioneer lay
movement in the church, the
Cursillo de Christianidad. In
his attempt to own the task of
formation of priests by diocesan
formators, he prepared local
priests to be formators-staff of the
seminary and guided the smooth
transition of management in 1964
from the religious Congregation
of the Mission to the diocesan
personnel.
The Diocese during the Martial
Law Years
Bishop Ricardo Tancinco a
native of Calbayog succeeded
Bishop Urgel in 1974 upon
the latter’s assignment to the
Archdiocese of Palo. Bishop
Tancinco proved himself a good
pastor, by guiding the diocese
during the most trying times of
the Church in the Philippines—
the Martial Law years. His
prudent ways of administering
the diocese on the concept of
“co-responsibility” (which was
his ecclesiastical motto) helped
a lot in fostering unity among
Laity and Clergy as well as in
the functioning of its proper
mission as a local church. It was
during his stint as bishop that the
pastoral program of the diocese as
envisioned by Vatican II Council
started to take off. However, no
matter how pure the motives
were, the Clergy’s fidelity to the
mission was, as expected, held
suspect. The diocese got caught up
in the ferment that was brewing
in the country.
Bishop Sincero Lucero was
assigned to replace Bishop
Tancinco in 1979. But he was
to stay only in the diocese for
more than 2 years. And he
was a sickly bishop, and most
of the time he was away from
the Diocese. Bishop Filomeno
Bactol was assigned as Apostolic
Administrator to replace Bishop
Lucero, but he too soon resigned
only three months after his
installation. After which, another
pastor was assigned in the name
of Bishop Godofredo Pedernal.
But he too was bishop of the
diocese only until 1984 when
Msgr. Pastor Paloma, OAR
was assigned to replace him.
But like his predecessors, he
too stayed in the diocese only
for a short while. He was soon
replaced in 1985 in the person
of Msgr. Pedro Dean, then the
Archbishop of Palo, and a native
of Calbayog. He was Apostolic
Administrator of Calbayog until
1990 upon the appointment
of Msgr. Maximiano Cruz as
Apostolic Administrator. Bishop
Cruz served in that capacity for
five years, until he was appointed
by the Holy See to be Residential
Bishop in 1995.
Towards Renewal and
Revitalization
Perhaps, it was to Archbishop
PedroDeanthatcreditmaybemade
to have started the revitalization
of the diocese. Although his
disposition was always held with
some reservation by many priests
and lay people, he succeeded
nevertheless in his good motives.
True to his blood as a native of the
Calbayog / B7
Statements
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
B5
Pastoral Letter
To the People of God in Cagayan de
Oro,
As we celebrate the feastday of St.
Augustine, patron of our archdiocese
and our city, we can keep in mind three
ongoing challenges.
First is the challenge of protecting
and conserving our environment. The
extensive flash floods that affected our
city and other areas of Misamis Oriental
early this year were warning signals of
further calamities unless we act together
to address pending issues such as the
continued flush mining of our upstream
areas and the proposed construction of
a bioethanol processing plant along the
river. The resolution by our congressmen
to have Cagayan de Oro’s watershed
area declared a protected area would be
a welcome proactive measure.
Meanwhile, in the Gingoog and Anakan
areas, the imminent resumption of logging
operations under an Industrial Forest
Management Agreement must be carefully
monitored by resident communities and
other stakeholders to prevent further
degradation of the environment.
A second challenge that we face is
the protection and conservation of our
human ecology—i.e., the welfare of our
families and the younger generation.
Last April, the issue of cybersex – or
what has come to be called “cyber
prostitution”—exploded in our midst
with the raid of an innocuous-looking
apartment unit here in our city. Two
foreign nationals have been detained
while several young women victims have
been asked to testify. Our archdiocesan
Center for Women and Children under
the Good Shepherd sisters, as well
as other women’s groups, have been
supporting the witnesses. However,
the case continues to drag in court and
requires the vigilance of us all.
Hopefully, the recent passage of
the Magna Carta of Women can
strengthen our society’s resolve to
eliminate all forms of discrimination
and intimidation against women. In this
case, young women are forced to look for
Photo Courtesy of www.farm3.static.flickr.com
Safeguarding Our Forests, Families,
and Freedom
employment even in circumstances that
imperil their own future as wives and
mothers of wholesome families.
The future of wholesome families
is also threatened by plans for the
construction of a gambling casino—
purportedly on a satellite island off
Camiguin. Sixteen years ago, the
archdiocese had made a resolute stand
against big-time, commercialized
gambling with all its attendant ills that
would destroy the moral fiber of our
communities. We reiterate that same
stand today, and pray that our public
officials heed the sentiments of many
peace-loving families who want to be
spared the presence of gambling lords
in their midst.
One bright spot in our concern
for family life is the recent signing
on August 17th by Cagayan de Oro
Mayor Constantino Jaraula of an
executive order promoting the City
Responsible Parenting/Natural Family
Planning team. The team which includes
representatives from the archdiocese is
tasked to “implement and sustain RP/
NFP” in all the 80 barangays of the city.
This E.O. actually follows the earlier
example of the provincial governors
of Misamis Oriental and Camiguin in
initiating the RP/NFP program in all
their municipalities.
A third challenge for all of us is
to protect and maintain our basic
freedoms in a genuine democracy—
symbolized by the inauguration on
August 21 of the monument to Press
Freedom on our provincial capitol
grounds. The monument reminds us
of the sacrifices and martyrdom of
many journalists advocating for truth,
justice, and freedom in our country. In
particular, one of our own media men,
Nilo Bagares, was gunned down and
almost killed several months ago due
to his advocacy against the video karera
establishments.
The death of Cory Aquino on August
1 reminds us also of the legacy of EDSA
I that restored our democratic freedoms
of speech, assembly, and choice of
leaders. EDSA I was the first People
Power Revolution in modern times
that touched off other people power
movements in other parts of the world.
Let us not forget too the self-sacrifice of
Evelio Javier, a classmate of mine, who
became the proto-martyr of our people
power revolution.
As we prepare for the coming elections
in May 2010, we can heed the call of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines to form “circles of
discernment” so that we may see, judge,
and act together on matters affecting the
common good. Last month, the bishops
also encouraged the laity to be involved
in “principled partisan politics.” It is
the laity’s “right as well as their duty,”
the bishops stress, “to campaign for
candidates they believe to be competent,
honest, and public service-minded to
reform our country.” Reforming our
country indeed starts with ourselves
and the exercise of our political freedoms
to choose the right public officials. The
early registration of young voters can be
the first step in this direction.
As we celebrate our fiesta then, let us
first offer thanks to the Lord for the many
blessings we have received. But let us
also ask for the grace and the courage
to protect and conserve three particular
blessings that perhaps we only begin to
cherish when they are in danger of being
lost—our forests, our families, and our
freedoms. Through the intercession of
St. Augustine, may we heed the moral
guidelines of the City of God in our
building of the City of Man.
+ ANTONIO J. LEDESMA, S.J.
Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro
Feast of St. Augustine
August 28, 2009
Urgent Appeal to the MWSS
(An Open Letter by the Catholic Ecology Network sent to Manila Waters Sewerage Services Administrator
Atty. Diosdado Jose M. Allado, on August 28, 2009)
THIRTY ONE years ago today,
the U. S. Supreme Court struck
down the operations of the
newly-built Tellico Dam because
of the presence of a virtually
unknown snail whose only
claim to fame was that it was
endangered. The Court shut
down the dam, built at a cost
of more than a hundred million
dollars, because its operation
would violate the Endangered
Species Act of the US.
We ask the same of our
government and the MWSS today!
Respect the rule of law and scrap
Laiban Dam immediately!
We appeal to the Office of the
Government Corporate Counsel,
the DENR-Environmental
Management Bureau, and
ultimately, the Office of the
President, to see to it that our laws
are not violated, that the rights
of the people are respected, and
that the environment is properly
protected.
We are a government of laws
and not of men. A joint venture
with a private entity would
violate the Environmental Impact
Statement (“EIS”) System, the
National Integrated Protected
Areas System Act (“NIPAS”), the
Wildlife Resources Conservation
and Protection Act (“Wildlife
Protection Act”), and the
Indigenous People’s Rights Act
(“IPRA”).
EIS System: Laiban Dam has
no ECC
MWSS has not shown that it
has obtained the requisite ECC
from the EMB for the Laiban
Dam Project. Upon inquiry with
the EMB, we were informed that
MWSS’ previous application
was denied and that no new
application or re-application
has been filed with them as of
the moment.
It is a violation of PD 1151
and PD 1586 for a government
corporation to initiate a project
without an ECC. It is highly
premature for the MWSS to
call for bids, let alone issue a
“Swiss Challenge,” without
the project being granted an
ECC. Unless, of course, MWSS
is already assuming that they
could maneuver their way with
the EMB in getting an ECC.
Have we gotten so brazen with
the corruption in our midst
that government agencies have
lost all modicum of respect for
permitting agencies?
Section 4 of PD 1151 requires “all
agencies and instrumentalities
of the national government,
including government-owned
or controlled corporations, as
well as private corporations,
firms and entities x x x [to]
prepare, file and include in every
action, project or undertaking
which significantly affects the
quality of the environment a
detailed [environmental impact]
statement .” Section 4 is not a
mere suggestion that the MWSS
can skirt or disregard. As Section
2 of the same decree states, the
government must USE ALL
PRACTICABLE MEANS to factor
environmental considerations
in all projects impacting the
environment.
The time to prepare the EIS
is at the project planning or
feasibility study phase. The
purpose of which is to prevent the
irreversible and irretrievable use
and commitment of resources. If
the EIS is done at a later stage,
the chance is great that legal
and financial commitments
would have been made, making
the EIS requirement a wasteful
exercise.
MWSS cannot call for bids
or issue a “Swiss Challenge”
without the requisite ECC. There
is no point in trying to award a
project which lacks an essential
legal requirement. The MWSS
cannot jump the gun on the
Environmental Management
Bureau (“EMB”) and other
permitting agencies which are
empowered under the law to
approve or deny the project.
Worse, by calling for joint venture
partners, MWSS could expose
the government to a suit if the
project is later disapproved.
MWSS would do well to avoid
the irretrievable and irreversible
commitment of resources by
obtaining an ECC early in the
EIS process.
We have seen and studied
an EIS prepared by Daruma
and Norconsult for the Laiban
Dam project. This EIS is full of
deficiencies that it cannot be the
basis for the grant of an ECC.
These deficiencies consist, among
others, of a scoping report (public
hearings and consultations with
the stakeholders) and the social
acceptability as provided for in
the EIA system.
NIPAS Act: Laiban Dam
Encroaches on a Protected
Area
The Laiban Dam project would
adversely and negatively impact
the Kaliwa Watershed which has
been classified as a forest reserve.
A portion of this area has been
declared a national park under
Proclamation No. 1636.
Section 4 of NIPAS mandates
that national parks shall be
withdrawn from exploitation
and set aside “exclusively to
conserve the area or preserve
the scenery, the natural and
historic objects, wild animals
and plants therein and to provide
enjoyment of these features in
such areas.”(Italics ours) Even
buffer zones, or those areas
adjacent to the national park, are
restricted to protect the national
park.
There is nothing under the
NIPAS Act that would even
remotely allow the construction
of a dam in a protected area. No
exceptions exist under the law
that would allow development in
a protected area. Even projects of
national significance or extreme
economic urgency are not enough
to disregard the protected status
of a national park.
The only exception we see
is Section 14 which allows a
very limited survey of energy
resources. Constructing
structures, fences, and enclosures
are also prohibited under
NIPAS.
Wildlife Protection Act:
Protection of Endangered
Species
The Globally Endangered
species, notably the Luzon
Bearded Wild Pigs (Sus
Philippensis) and the Philippine
Brown Deer (Cervus Marianus),
the Tarictic Hornbill, are found
in the Laiban Dam project area.
With the construction of the dam,
their existence will be further
endangered as their habitats
will have to give way in favor
of the dam.
We reiterate that we are
stewards of God’s creation on
earth. We must care for these
beings whose importance we
may never learn until they are
permanently extinct. Under
Section 25 of the Wildlife
Protection Act, critical habitats
shall be protected “from any form
of exploitation or destruction
which may be detrimental to
the survival of the threatened
species dependent therein.”
Said section is absolute in its
terms and provides no exception
whatsoever. There is nothing in
other provisions of the law that
would also allow exploitation.
We challenge the MWSS to point
to us any provision of this law
that would allow their putting up
of a dam in the affected areas.
Indigenous
Peoples:
the Dumagats and the
Remontados
Among the peoples that will
be displaced by the Laiban
Dam are the Dumagats and the
Remontados who are indigenous
to the area. The Kaliwa Watershed
has been their home since time
immemorial, even before the
existence of the Philippine
Government. Indigenous people
have a conjugal bond with their
land. Uprooting them will render
them orphaned from the land
that gave birth to their culture,
heritage, and the oneness they
share with other beings in the
area causing further alienation.
We remind MWSS that the
Dumagats and the Remontados
cannot be displaced from their
homes without their free and
prior informed consent. In
addition, the IPRA law also
provides that displacement
may only be done in exceptional
circumstances. We do not think
that the construction of a dam
is an exceptional circumstance,
considering that there are
other alternative projects that
the MWSS may undertake to
alleviate the water needs of Metro
Manila.
Other Issues
In addition to the legal issues,
there are also other issues that
need to be addressed for the
Laiban Dam project. One is the
seismicity of the area and its
proximity to major faults. Are
we willing to sacrifice human
lives in favor of a project whose
main purpose is to alleviate the
condition of human lives in the
metropolis? The Holy Father,
Pope John Paul II, reiterates
that the RIGHT TO SAFE
ENVIRONMENT is one of the
basic human rights that the State
must protect.
Second, there are studies that
indicate that this project would
produce water that would be very
costly for Metro Manila residents.
The take-or-pay provision also
needs to be further studied as
it appears that the same will
be highly prejudicial to the
government.
Third, alternatives to the
project must be considered,
including the alternative of no
action. We call on the EMB to
carefully consider alternatives to
the project before it even grants
an ECC.
We call on the MWSS to study
and consider rehabilitating
Wawa Dam and its watershed as
one of the less expensive option.
The EIS System provides for a
cost-benefits analysis that must
consider all alternatives so that
the least destructive alternative
may be given importance or even
chosen in the end.
Beyond the Supremacy of the
Law
We further reiterate that
we are not in favor of making
this water coming crisis an
excuse to build a dangerous and
questionable project like Laiban
Dam because Wawa is available
as an alternative.
Laiban dam is the most
expensive project to be
undertaken by MWSS, in terms of
economic cost, size and expanse
of the infrastructure, numbers
of stakeholders to be affected,
environmental effects, human
rights , and
the challenges
to the existing environmental
and indigenous laws, such as
Protected Area, PRESIDENTIAL
DECREE NO.1151 [PHILIPPINE
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY],
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
SATEMENT
SYSTEM,
Presidential Decree no. 1586;
Wildlife Protection Act, IPRA,
and NIPAs.
Stewardship is founded on
the fundamental relationship
of human beings and the earth
that our Creator commanded
us to till and protect (Genesis
2:15). We establish government
institutions in order to pass
laws that will safeguard this
divine mission and protect what
remains of this bounty for us and
future generations. In the end,
more than the law, our conduct
should be guided by a spirituality
that promote and protect the
integrity of creation, respect for
life and the dignity of the human
person. “[John Paul II, God made
man the steward of creation” 24
January 2001]
Signed:
REV. FR. BENITO B. TUAZON
Minister, Ministry on Ecology
Archdiocese of Manila REV. FR. BIENVENIDO
MIGUEL
Director, Social Action
Diocese of Antipolo
REV. FR. JOVEN ANTIQUE
Minister, Ecology Ministry
Diocese of Pasig
REV.
FR.
OCTAVIO
BARTIANA
Minister, Ecology Ministry
Diocese of Kalookan
REV. FR. ANTONIO LABIAO
Director, Social Action
Diocese of Novaliches
REV. FR.ARNEL RECINTO
Director, Social Action
Diocese of Cubao
ENGR. JOYCE PALACOL
Coordinator, Ecology Desk
CBCP-NASSA JP
ATTY.GALAHAD PE BENITO
Environment Lawyer
Legal Consultant
ALFREDO U. ALBOR
Executive Director
CARE Foundation
SR.
MARIA
AIDA
VELASQUEZ,OSB
Coordinator
Lingkod Tao Kalikasan
Foundation,Inc
Ref lections
B6
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
What informs Christian life?
24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B(Mark 8:27-35); September 13, 2009
© www.loveyourneighbour.co.nz
By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo
ONE of the glaring contrasts between
the Philippines’ and the U.S. elections
relates to how presidential campaigns
are waged. In the latter, presidential
debates matter, whereas in the former,
even a candidate who refuses to debate
could be catapulted to the presidential
chair. In the recent presidential race
between Barack Obama and John
McCain, debates mattered. The subjects
ranged from international concerns like
the ongoing war in Afghanistan and
Iraq, the nuclear saber-rattling of Iran
against Israel to the controversial local
issues such as social security, insurance
and tax. How a presidential candidate
treat these issues was important to the
individual American because his stand
on these questions would really inform
his governance. In other words, the dayto-day running of the government by the
elected president would be informed by
his stance toward these issues.
Now, just as President Obama’s
decisions on how to govern the United
States depend on how he viewed the
international and domestic issues
during the presidential campaign, so
our Christian attitude, values and life
depend on how we understand Jesus. For
Jesus informs our attitude and behavior
in much the same way that natural
law informs judicial interpretation
and decision. In a way, it is then easy
to understand the random poll in
the Gospel reading: how do people
recognize the identity of Jesus (Mark
8:27). People’s perception of who Jesus
is ultimately determines their attitude
toward him. According to Mark, the
people—that is to say, those who were
outside the circle of disciples—had
various images of him: he was Elijah,
who returned (Mal 3:1; 4:5); for others,
he was John the Baptist, in whom Elijah
reappeared. For still others, he was
Enslaved
By Bishop Pat Alo
IN John 8:34, Jesus talks about
some form of slavery that
eventually would affect man’s
eternal fate. And this, after all,
is what matters. As they say, in
Philosophy, finis est super omnia
(the attainment of the goal is above
all most important). So Jesus
states “everyone who commits
sin is a slave.” Since that is what
conditions our eternal destiny, it
must then be most important.
Study past and present history,
look at our world today or in
past ages, see how the havoc
of sin has cost us so much
misery and tragedy. How?
There is pride, disobedience
and insubordination; beginning
with the rebel angels who were
plunged into hell of everlasting
fire and unhappiness (cf. Rev.
12:7-12). Jesus is the Way, the
Truth and the Life (Jn. 14:6);
hence the way to freedom from
to listen to God’s inspirations and
the legitimate authorities placed
above you. “Pride goes before
destruction, a haughty spirit before
a fall (Prov. 16:18). Even St. John
of the Cross, the Carmelite mystic
said: “God desires the least degree
You can be enslaved to power and
material things. Sexual excesses and
sins of the flesh, as seen through
media in our day, can also make
people enslaved or addicted.
slavery is listening to His words
and living according to His ways
of truth and love.
In the Bible you can see how
this slavery works. You can be a
slave to your own pride, refusing
of obedience and submissiveness
more than all those services you
think of rendering him.”
You can be enslaved to power
and material things. Jesus had
said: “It is easier for a camel to
“one of the prophets,” “the prophet like
Moses” who was expected to appear in
the final days. But if Jesus asked about
people’s perception, it was to prepare
the disciples for the more intimately
and vital question, because this involved
them who are following him on the way
to the cross. One may follow him without
really knowing him, and that is why we
have the Jesus of Che Guevarra, the Jesus
of the Hippies, the Jesus of the mystics
and the Jesus of the Revolutionaries.
How did the disciples perceive him
to be? Apparently, Peter’s answer was
given on behalf of all the disciples: “You
are the Messiah!” (Mark 8:29). Since
People’s perception
of who Jesus is
ultimately determines
their attitude toward
him. According to
Mark, the people
outside the circle of
disciples had various
images of him.
Jesus never rejected Peter’s answer,
it would seem that Peter got the right
perception. It is obvious, though, that he
had the wrong significance. As can be
noted for the way Jesus corrected them
for their wrong behavior, the meaning
they attached to the title Messiah was
rather far removed from what Jesus
wanted them to perceive. The disciples
thought they would accumulate wealth
in the kingdom (cf Mark 8:36), realize
their ambition and achieve glory (Mark
9:33-37), and gloriously sit at the right
and the left of the Messiah’s throne (Mark
10:36). In other words, the disciples
thought of him as a political Messiah.
And Jesus corrected them by foretelling
his passion: “The Son of Man had to
suffer much, be rejected by the elders,
the chief priests, and the scribes, be
Bo Sanchez
pass through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to enter
the kingdom of heaven” (see
Mt. 19:23). How many acts of
violence have been perpetrated
for power and greed. Of course,
when the apostles were disturbed
by such statements of Jesus, they
reacted saying “Who then can be
saved?” Jesus must have looked
at them with pity, saying: “For
man this is impossible, but for
God all things are possible” (see
same paragraph above). Sexual
excesses and sins of the flesh, as
seen through media in our day,
can also make people enslaved
or addicted. The Church presents
to us prayer and the sacraments
as means of conversion through
God’s grace and mercy.
Fr. Roy Cimagala
The cut-and-paste generation
OR how Beethoven and Mozart
got mixed with Yoyoy Villame
and Max Surban.
The other day, a freshman
student leader asked me to
give the invocation at the
opening of our technical school’s
Olympiad.
I was, of course, happy and
eager to do it. I consider it a
great fringe benefit to get a
chance to see some games with
young people. That would be
a welcome change from my
routine, I thought, as long as it
is only from time to time.
My age and temperament seem
to prevent me from getting into
this kind of events. Some people
have wondered how I could stay
aloof to a Manny Pacquiao fight,
for example. I just tell them, it
must be the grace of God. Then
we switch topics.
When I saw the program, I was
amused to note that I was given
15 minutes to do the invocation.
What did they expect me to do,
I asked myself, as I immediately
realized these were young
people organizing this event
and they must not know what
an invocation is or how long it
usually lasts.
Anyway, I did not complain.
What came to my mind was to
say some prayers and then give
them a 10-minute reflection on
the proper spirit of sports. I knew
I had material for that.
So as the students entered
the gym amid the hoopla and
fanfare and fell into formation, I
did my part and was pleasantly
surprised to see they were
listening. The place became quiet.
I felt my words sank in and I
thanked God.
Then came the national anthem,
and the games started with a
contest in cheer dancing. I was
not prepared for this. My jaws
just dropped as I saw a dizzying
variety of creative dance steps
performed by 16 to 17-year-old
into different formations—
circles, triangles, pyramids, etc.
Some were thrown into the air.
I felt I was seeing the opening of
the China Olympics.
They executed difficult
movements like break dancing
steps or even what they call as
extreme dancing arm flares and
hands wildly gesticulating to the
beat of the music. And the music!
For a 5-minute number, they
managed to mix about 20 songs.
Kids are bursting with energy and
creativity, now revved up to the max
because of our new technologies.
But they are in great need of guidance
and direction. For all the good elements
brought about by one’s youthfulness
and the current level of development,
there are dangers that need to be
identified, exposed and neutralized or
even taken advantage of.
boys, mostly coming from the
province, whose background I
thought was not that rich.
I knew most of them. They come
to me for chats and I am familiar
with their situations, mostly hard
and difficult. But there they were,
completely transformed into
focused artistic performers. I was
very happy for them.
They were jumping and
tumbling and spinning around.
They made mock macho and
effeminate poses. They flowed
That’s where I noticed that
the classical music of Beethoven
and Mozart interspersed with
the comic foolishness of Yoyoy
Villame and Max Surban. All these
left me wondering how they ever
got to know all these things. My
generation was never like this.
Then at the back of my mind, I
retrieved some lines from a song
of my time, What a Wonderful
World!, now revived by Michael
Buble. “I hear babies cry / I watch
them grow / They’ll learn much
put to death, and rise three days later”
(Mark 8:31). The Messiah of suffering is
described in the 1st Reading: “I gave my
back to those who beat me, my cheeks
to those who plucked my beard; my
face I did not shield from buffets and
spitting” (Isa 50:6).
What does this mean for us? Because at
the heart of Christian faith is Jesus Christ
and our following of him in discipleship,
this means that the Messiah of suffering
should inform our attitude and action as
Christians. Our whole life—our words
and deeds—must be informed by our
belief in the Messiah who suffers for
others. We often hear it said: “I have
accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and
Savior.” One could hardly quarrel with
that affirmation; but we should not stop
at that faith. We still have to task: what
kind of Lord and Savior? Shall we reduce
Christ to a consoling Lord, or at worst a
domestic help at our beck and call? Shall
we call him the Savior of our emotional
and interpersonal problems? Shall we
make him a personal Savior who has
nothing to do with the structures of
power and domination?
In the light of today’s Gospel, we must
insist that our Lord is not a triumphant
Messiah, but a suffering one who saved
us and the world by humiliation, defeat
and surrender. As one whose life informs
our thoughts and actions, and our way
of life, Jesus challenges us to give up
ourselves, to renounce the constant
human desire to preserve and enrich
our own person at the cost of others. We
struggle against the forces of darkness
and evil by constantly dying to our “I”
and by dying for others. All this we do
not only do twice or a hundred times,
but as part of our daily activities. Once
we accept this and once this becomes our
second nature as it were, then we will
learn the paradox that in humiliation, we
are exalted, in giving up life, we save it,
in allowing ourselves to be defeated, we
become victorious.
more / Than I’ll ever know…”
That’s it! This is the dynamics
of life, I concluded. I have to
learn how to adapt myself to this
fact of life and to do whatever
I could to help. Truth is these
kids are bursting with energy
and creativity, now revved up
to the max because of our new
technologies.
But they are in great need of
guidance and direction, and
that’s what the elders, like
me, are for. For all the good
elements brought about by one’s
youthfulness and the current
level of development, there are
dangers that need to be identified,
exposed and neutralized or even
taken advantage of.
Our young today are prone to
acquire a cut-and-paste mentality
and lifestyle. They can easily
fall to improvisations that can
become a habit.
For sure, there are many
advantages in that, but it’s
not supposed to replace our
youth’s need for a deep and
solid grounding that would
give them a coherent and correct
understanding of life and its
many elements.
This is the challenge I realized
as I excused myself after their
third number. I noticed I got
tired for them, after seeing those
vigorous and strenuous moves
they were performing.
They need to know the skills for
study, prayer and the continuing
pursuit of virtues.
Enjoy who you are
LET me tell you one of the greatest mysteries of the world.
When a woman puts on blush on, mascara, eyebrow pencil,
eyeliner, eye-shadow, eyelashes, lipstick, lipgloss, toner,
powder—and then turns to her husband and asks, “Honey,
do I look natural?”
Now tell me, how does a husband answer that without being
hit on the head by inanimate flying objects?
Hey, I’m not against make-up.
I think it boils down to inner attitude: By putting make-up, are
you covering stuff that you’re ashamed of? Or by putting makeup, you’re expressing the beauty that you believe is you?
Now before I give you advice on eyeliner techniques, how
to highlight your cheekbones, and what various hues of blushon you can use for your skin color, let me tell you about my
sister’s wedding.
I remember standing in front of the altar, beside the groom,
eagerly waiting for his bride. When she finally appeared and
started walking down the aisle, I noticed that my would-be
brother-in-law suddenly entered into a catatonic state. His
eyes had this blank stare, his mouth ajar, his body motionless,
until I snapped my finger in front of his face.
Shaking off the shock, he swallowed hard and asked me
a question I wished I recorded for his future children and
grandchildren to hear.
When my wife was a child, she
was teased as “headlights” by
her classmates because of her
humongous eyes. Twenty years
later, I noticed her lovely round
eyes. I was smitten. Thank God for
the headlights.
He mumbled, “Is she… uh… your sister?”
I bit my lip. “I don’t know. She has so much paint, er, I mean,
make-up on...” I finally shrugged and told him, “When she
comes closer, just ask her name.”
You may be wondering who among my sisters I’m referring
to since I have five of them. For the sake of my safety, that
information shall be kept in a secret vault that can only be
opened after my death.
I remember my own wedding.
When I saw Marowe on the aisle, I fell in love with her even
more. Because her beauty wasn’t distorted by the make-up.
Rather, it simply emphasized the beauty that was already
there, like an exquisite picture frame that didn’t distract from
its gorgeous painting.
Can I now shift gears?
Sorry, this article isn’t about make-up. (I’ll reserve my eyeliner
and blush-on techniques for another issue.)
This article is about enjoying who you are.
About being you and celebrating God’s beautiful creation.
So what if you’re too thin, too stout, too tall, too short, too
round, too rectangular, too hexagonical?
When my wife was a child, she was teased as “headlights” by
her classmates because of her humongous eyes. And she would
cry buckets of tears, wondering why God made her that way.
Twenty years later, in my office, a young woman came in.
Immediately, I noticed her lovely round eyes. I was smitten.
Thank God for headlights.
Don’t hide. Don’t pretend. Don’t be someone else.
Be you. Be happy. Live!
Social Concerns
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
B7
Basilan bakwits have yet to
return home
By Antonio Manaytay
ended.
More than 400 Marines, Army and police
commandos stormed on August 12 the hilltop
camps of the Abu Sayyaf Group in Unkaya Pukan
town targeting about 150 Abu Sayyaf militants.
The daylong clashes last August 12 described as
a “slugfest” led to the biggest single-day military
losses in recent years. Navy chief Vice Admiral
Ferdinand Golez said 23 Marines killed and 18
others were wounded while 31 militants were
killed and an undetermined number wounded.
Some of the dead militants were identified as
MILF rebels who “happened to be in the area
during the attack”.
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu admitted that 12
of the dead rebels were the group's members and
accused the military of attacking them.
He said they were not with the Abu Sayyaf
and only happened to be in the area when the
fighting erupted. Barangay Bagindan is a known
“MILF-controlled area”.
In August 2007, fighting on Basilan killed 25
soldiers and 27 militants, a month after 10 Marines
were beheaded in an ambush.
© www.timonera.com
A DOZEN of houses near the encounter site in
Barangay Bagindan, this town, where at least 23
Marine personnel and 12 Moro fighters died last
August 12 remain empty. The farms untilled.
At least 1,282 families or 6,601 persons fled their
homes in Barangays Silangkum in Ungkaya Pukan
and Bagindan when government troops clashed
with Abu Sayyaf Group led by Furuji Indama in
Mt. Kurellem of this town, Lilia Bucoy, provincial
social welfare officer, said in a phone interview.
The bakwits, she added, are seeking shelter
with their families in the town proper and secured
area in nearby Ungkaya Pukan town.
With the assistance from the Department of
Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field
Office 9, the provincial social welfare office had
already dispatched 1,000 family food packs last
August 16.
A team of social workers from the DSWD, Bucoy
revealed, made an assessment visit last August 19
in this town. The team also gave additional 500
family packs and conducted feeding program to
445 pre-school children.
The provincial social welfare office distributed
dry goods for those observing Ramadan for their
sahul (breakfast dawn) and hotmeals for the iftar
(breaking of fast) at sundown. While the children,
who are exempted from fasting, were nourished
through a once-a-day feeding program.
Bucoy said the DSWD had already coordinated
with the town mayor, Ingatun Istarul, for sustained
relief operations.
Other services like cash-for-work, provision of
used clothings, and psychotherapy and debriefing
sessions were also extended to the bakwits.
As of August 28, the cost of assistance extended
to the displaced families totaled to P1,152,500.
But the bakwits are restless to return to their
homes.
“Gusto na naming umuwi sa amin (we want
to return to our homes),” 32-year-old Nurhana
said.
“Pero sabi nila di pa ligtas bumalik dun
(But they said it is still not safe to return),” she
added.
Major Ramon Hontiveros, spokesman of the
Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City,
in an interview said “we wanted to make sure
that the area is safe before the displaced families
return.”
“It is our responsibility that the area is clean
of unexploded ordinance and landmines,”
Hontiveros explained.
The bakwits will be allowed to return to their
homes “once we are sure of their safety”, he
Calbayog / B4
place, he pleaded the Holy See
through the Apostolic Nuncio to
withhold the plan of ‘dissolving’
Calbayog as a diocese. He revived
and re-opened the seminary
building in Dagum Hills in 1987
which was standing idly for over
15 years already. It was renamed
St. Vincent de Paul College
Seminary, which started to cater
to the needs for philosophical
studies of the three dioceses
of Samar island—Borongan,
Catarman, and Calbayog. For
the needs of Theological studies,
the establishment of St. John
Evangelist School of Theology in
1988 was also proven beneficial to
the revitalization of the life of the
Diocese of Calbayog [and of sister
Dioceses in Samar and Leyte].
This too was made possible
through the sincere efforts of
the Apostolic Administrator of
Calbayog, the Archbishop of
Palo. More importantly, Msgr.
Dean initiated the first ever,
Diocesan Pastoral Assembly in
1989. He invited the Jesuit Bishop
Francisco Claver and Sr. Julma
Neo of the Daughters of Charity
as facilitators. The important
outcome of that assembly was the
formulation of the Vision-Mission
of the Diocese which remains a
Norm until now, as well as the
ratification and owning of the
BEC as a Diocesan Thrust.
Bishop Maximiano T. Cruz, a
native of Catbalogan, and who
has been Auxillary Bishop of
Calbayog since 1990, continued
the labors of revitalizing the
Diocesestartedbyhispredecessor,
Msgr. Dean. He was Apostolic
Administrator for 5 years, until
his assignment as the Residential
Bishop in 1995 until 1997. During
his stint, he laid the foundation
of restoring discipline and order
among the priests and lay faithful
in the diocese. He is credited
for the revitalization of arts
and culture in sacred worship.
He raised funds for the repair
of the Cathedral and the facelifting of its wooden gold-leaf
retablo. He composed songs
and hymns for devotion. He
revised many novena prayers.
More importantly, with the fresh
call and mandate of PCP II in
1991, he guided the diocese in
implementing the program of
renewed Integral Evangelization
alongside the BEC set-up as a
new way of being church that
was ratified during the diocesan
Pastoral Assembly in 1989.
Bishop Jose Palma, a native of
Iloilo who was then an Auxiliary
Bishop of Cebu Archdiocese,
succeeded Bishop Cruz in 1999
upon the latter’s retirement.
Bishop Palma was the pastor who
restored the bonding and unity
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of the whole Presbyterium and
the lay faithful. To some that was
the return to the glorious days of
Calbayog, in which priests and
lay faithful felt proud to belong to
a diocese. Others said that was the
return of a type of leader “in the
mold of Bishop Urgel and much
more.” Bishop Palma typified
the bishop as servant-leader—
compassionate, humble, simple,
easy to mingle with, and not the
usual type of bishop in which
one will feel uneasy, left-out, or
rejected. He was approachable,
and more than that, he listened
to observations and suggestions
of his priests and his faithful. He
was a pastor imbued with love
for Samar and the Samareños.
He lobbied at the Sanggunian
Panlalawigan, at Congress and
even in Malacañang for certain
issues that directly affect the
lives of the Samareños, such
as the moratorium on illegal
logging and the total ban for
unsustainable mining in Samar
Island. Also, through his lead
support and initiative, the Samar
Island Partnership for Peace
and Development (SIPPAD)
was founded in 2005. This is the
partnership of NGO’s, GO’s,
Local Government Executives, as
well as the three Bishops of the
Island on issues concerning Peace
and Development in Samar.
His deep spirituality and
prayerfulness was legendary.
He was a man of discernment.
He knew the history of his own
flock. He was the pastor who
had compassion to hundreds of
people – poor people, unjustly
treated people, rejected people.
He inspired mediocre priests
and brought down those who
were forgetful of humility.
In many instances he defied
authoritative styles of leadership,
even ignoring some customs
and protocols if it was for the
good of his people and his
priests. He was a man of great
prudence and extreme patience
which sometimes lead others to
have some questions as to his
capacity to lead and to decide. He
harnessed energies in his flock,
leading them, not by words but
by witness, to love one’s own selfworth and to joyfully accept one’s
own purpose and mission.
It was during his time in April 9,
2001, that the former old seminary
building, called Patria, was
burned and reduced into ashes.
That was a paralyzing event for
the Diocese because that building
has been the center for the pastoral
programs of the diocese. But the
loss and disaster brought by the
fire did not hamper in any way the
good dreams of the Bishop for the
diocese. Rather it brought out the
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deep sense of hope in him. He said
the day after the fire, “something
good must come out from the
ashes.” The re-building of the
gutted Patria was the last project
of Bishop Palma for Calbayog. He
raised funds in ways unexpected
even to the Clergy– a Clergy in
Concert. To most of us it was a
miracle, to have a concert of the
entire Presbyterium – both young
and old clergy—at performance
level in nine venues within the
Diocese and two in Metro Manila.
Indeed, it was a miracle sought
and prayed for, to rebuild the
gutted Patria building, but in
the process, without us knowing
it, another miracle was then
happening for us—it was the
joy of deeper unity and bonding
on the part of the Clergy. In
2005, the rebuilding of the new
Centennial Pastoral Center was
started. After which, efforts were
at once planned and discussed
for the holding of an important
event in the Diocese—a Second
Diocesan Synod. However,
that planned undertaking lost
momentum when in 2006 it was
announced that Bishop Palma
was appointed by the Holy
See as Archbishop of Palo. The
discussion and preparations for
the Second Diocesan Synod then
was withheld, and was decided to
be recommended to the incoming
bishop.
Bishop Isabelo Abarquez of
Cebu succeeded Bishop Palma
in 2006 upon his appointment
to the Metropolitan Archdiocese
of Palo. Consultations were then
immediately held by the new
Pastor to consult the priests what
to do and what programs will be
undertaken under him. Upon
the strong recommendation of
the priests for efforts towards
holding of a Diocesan Synod,
the new Bishop then ratified it as
the primary undertaking for all
in the Diocese. Thus, he directed
and guided all concerned to
work for the preparation for
that great and solemn event.
Meanwhile, other initiatives and
plans were carried out by the
new pastor, which highlighted
his great love and concern
for his diocese. He worked
to finish up the newly-built
Diocesan Centennial Building
and made it fully operational.
He worked feverishly for a
more functional diocesan curia
specifically the office of the
Diocesan Catechetical ministry.
He solicited funds for the repair
and renovation of the diocesan
seminary. However, it was the
planned Diocesan Synod that
will remain the most important,
if not the centerpiece undertaking
in the episcopacy of Bishop
Abarquez. It was in April 15, 2009
at St. Vincent de Paul College
Seminary, that the historic 2nd
Diocesan Synod was held as
planned. It was participated
by over 150 Delegates from the
Clergy, Religious and Laity.
It tackled seven core Synodal
concerns and became an occasion
for the Priests and Lay people to
contribute their best insights for
the governance of the diocese, as
well as it became an avenue for
common understanding of what
it means to truly belong to the
Diocese for 2010 and beyond.
A Greater Power at work
Calbayog as a Local Church
has gone through various ups
and downs, painful struggles
and difficult circumstances. It
is a fact of life that in order for a
living organism to grow and to
continue, it must undergo a series
of difficulties and shocks. Yet,
its continued life and existence
despite all odds cannot just be
simply due to its own pursuits
or that of its stakeholders’ intent,
no matter how pure and noble.
There is consolation in telling
that a greater power has been at
work, and continues to work with
us, – a Power always greater than
our most noble motives! And this
is how it is to be Church, all too
human, yet, all too Divine.
With the Diocesan Synod
successfully held, and with all the
priests and lay people renewed
by the Spirit and revitalized
in faith and life, the Diocesan
Centennial Anniversary next
year will only be truly meaningful
if it will become an event in our
life as a Diocese, to manifest
renewed fidelity to Jesus and
His Church, and fidelity as
well to His Mission, the call for
Evangelization for the renewal
of society and people.
Indeed, as we thank God for his
graciousness, may the Centenary
become another moment to recommit ourselves to the Gospel
values of humble service, of
unity, of peace and justice.
B8
Entertainment
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
Moral Assessment
Title: Tarot
Cast: Marian Rivera, Roxanne
Guinoo, Ana Capri, Dennis
Trillo, Gloria Romero
Director: Jun Lana
Producers: Jun Lana, Rosselle
Monteverde-Teo
Screenwriters: Jun Luna, Elmer
L. Gatchalian
Editor: Tara Illenberger
Genre: Horror
Cinematography: Mo Zee
Distributor: Regal Films
Location: Philippines
Running Time: 102
Technical Assessment: 
Moral Assessment:
CINEMA Rating: For viewers
age 13 and below with
parental guidance
Nakalakihan ni Cara
(Marian Rivera) ang panonood
sa kanyang Lola Auring
(Gloria Romero) na mabisang
nanghuhula sa pamamagitan
tarot cards kaya di nakapagtataka
na matutunan din niya ito. Subalit
ng mamatay si Lola Auring
ay wala siyang pinamanahan
ng baraha sa halip ay hiniling
niya na isama ito sa kanyang
puntod. Makalipas ang panahon
ay naging kasintahan ni Cara si
MAC en COLET
Buhay Parokya
Title: Bandslam
Cast: Gaelan Connell, Vanessa Hudgens, Alyson
Michalka, Lisa Kudrow
Director: Todd Graff
Producer: Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas
Screenwriters: Josh A. Cagan, Todd Graff
Editor: John Gilbert
Genre: “Dramedy” Comedy, Drama, Music
Cinematography: Eric Steelberg
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Location: USA
Running Time: 111 min.
Technical Assessment: ½
Moral Assessment: ½
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
BRIEF FILM SYNOPSIS: When gifted singersongwriter Charlotte Banks (Michalka) ask new kid in
town Will Burton (Connell) to manage her fledgling
rock band, she appears to have just one goad in mind:
go-head-to-head against her egotistical musician exboyfriend, BEN (Porter), at the biggest event of the
year, a battle of the bands. Against all odds, their
band develops a sound all its own with a real shot
at success in the contest. Meanwhile, romance brews
between Will and SA5M (Hudgens), who plays a
mean guitar a has a voice to die for. When disaster
strikes, it’s time for the band to make a choice: Do
they admit defeat, or face the music and stand up
for what they believe in?
OUTSTANDING FEATURES OF THE FILM:
Peer influence on the character development of a
teenager, as presented in the movie, is commendable
for discussion.
Technical Assessment
 Abhorrent
 Disturbing
 Acceptable
 Wholesome
Exemplary
 Poor
 Below average
 Average
 Above average
 E
xcellent
Miguel (Dennis Trillo). Naisipan
nila na mamasyal sa gubat kung
saan misteryosong maglalaho
si Miguel. Hindi matanggap ni
Cara na mawala ng tuluyan ang
nobyo kaya naisipan niyang
gamitin ang bisa ng tarot cards
ng kanyang lola upang matunton
ang nobyo. Di naman siya
binigo ng tarot na hinukay pa
niya sa puntod ng kanyang lola
dahil nagkita at nagkasama uli
sila ni Miguel. Subalit kasabay
ng kanilang pagtatagpo at
paghawak ni Cara ng tarot cards
ay ang pagkakaroon ng mga
nakakatakot na kaganapan at
pagbabanta sa kanilang buhay.
Masalimuot ang kuwento ng
Tarot at parang pinilit lang na
ipasok ang tema ng pagbabasa
ng tarot cards sapagkat tipikal na
katatakutan lang na dulot ng mga
ligalig na kaluluwa ang istorya
nito. Tila kulang sa pagpiga ng
emosyon katulad ng tila lumipas
lang na pagbubuwis ng buhay ng
isang ina at walang hatid na kilig
ng tambalang Marian at Dennis
dito. Gayunpaman ay tagumpay
sa layunin na makapanakot
ang pelikula dahil sa mahusay
na paglalapat ng tunog at
special effects. Mahusay ang
transition ng mga eksena mula
sa panaginip at imahinasyon
pabalik sa katotohanan. Halata
na naging maingat ang aspetong
ito ng editing. Sa kabuuan ay
naisalba ng mga nabanggit na
aspetong teknikal ang mahinang
kuwento.
Ipinakita sa pelikula na
ang panghuhula katulad ng
pagbabasa ng tarot cards
ay maaaring masapian ng
masamang elemento o pwersa at
makapaghatid ng kapahamakan
o kamatayan sa mga nilalang.
Samakatwid ay di dapat
panaligan sa halip ay dapat
mag-ingat dahil wala namang
tahasang makapagsasabi ng
mangyayari sa hinaharap.
Marami din namang positibong
mensahe ang pelikula katulad
ng tapat na pagmamahal ni Cara
kay Miguel, pagmamalasakit sa
kaibigan, at katatagan ng loob
sa kabila ng mga pagsubok.
Kapansin-pansin lamang na sa
kabuuang daloy ng pelikula
ay tila walang pag-uukol sa
paghingi ng kalakasan sa Diyos
na siyang pangunahin sa kultura
ng mga Pilipino. Nagwakas ang
pelikula sa nakababahalang
patuloy na paghahasik ng takot at
pinsala ng masamang elemento
sa buhay ng tao.
Ni Bladimer Usi
Look for the three items: Images of the Guardian Angels, Bells, and
Moises. (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)
CBCP Monitor
C1
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
The News Supplement of
Couples for Christ
YFC Europe Conference
By Nadia Leonor
GREETINGS from Europe! Or as they say in Malta: “Tislijiet minn
Ewropa!” for it was in this beautiful island country that the annual Youth for Christ European
Conference was held. The whole conference
took its theme from Philippians 3:13-14, particularly on the verse: “forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead.”
The conference started on Friday, the 31st of
July, with the sports competitions. The delegates
competed under a cloudless sky in sweltering
heat but the camaraderie, the music and the fun
experience were enough to make the players
forget the not-so-ideal conditions. The sports
competitions were followed by the Praise Parade, Banner, Band and T-shirt competitions.
The second day of the conference was spiritfilled, beginning with the first session called
“The Race” given by Rommel Ancheta, YFC
International Coordinator, reminding each and
every one that our life is a race but it is only
meaningful if we’re running towards God. The
second session was entitled “Geared Up,” and
was given by Ralph Bendo, YFC Geneva, who
exhorted the YFCs to prepare for this important
race. The second session compelled the participants to think about their past hurts and to seek
healing from all hindrances and burdens that
prevent them from serving God freely.
Four workshops were held in the afternoon of
the second day on the following topics: Prayer,
the Eucharist, the Sacrament of Reconciliation
and Our Lady, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Usually
the workshops given in YFC conferences talk
about issues that concern the youth of today,
such as abortion, pre-marital sex, drugs, money, etc. This year it was
more of a “back to basics” teaching for the youth, a reminder of the
foundations of our Faith. This year’s conference was thus focused
on what matters the most: our Christian life. As if to emphasize
this aspect of our life, Holy Mass was celebrated daily during the
conference. Malta’s Archbishop, Msgr. Paul Cremona, celebrated
the final Mass. There were also several other
members of the clergy who gave workshops or
heard confession.
Ana Xuereb, SFC Malta, delivered the talk
during the third session on Saturday evening.
Entitled “One Passion,” the talk centered on
the struggles of other followers of Jesus, such
as Saint Paul or Mother Mary. In spite of their
trials they had a burning passion to give up
everything they had to reach their one goal,
God. The session was capped by a rare event
- Benediction. This became the conference’s
highlight and most unforgettable moment, according to the testimonies of the youth. Close to
two hundred young Christians knelt as Father
Hayden exposed the Blessed Sacrament. For
about fifteen minutes the hall was filled with
silence while everybody prayed, listened and
contemplated Jesus’ beauty.
The dance competitions followed, showcasing the creativity and the inexhaustible energy
of the youth.
The fourth and last session was called “One
Goal,” immediately followed by a powerful
worship and exhortation given by the worship leader, Jean Paul Debono, YFC Malta who
urged the youth to move forward towards the
heavenly prize of the race, which is Jesus Christ
Himself. The YFCs were urged to make a stand
in their service for the Lord as they were being
sent off to their respective countries, in the hope
of applying and taking home with them everything they learned during the conference.
KFC Dreams Big for the Lord
By Kirby Llaban
MORE than 120 kids from all over Europe trooped
to the 8th European Kids Village (EKV) held on
August 21-23 at the Van Der Valk Hotel Haarlem
Zuid in Haarlem, the Netherlands. The theme of
the event was “Dream Big” inspired by Phil 3:14
“I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize
of God’s upward calling in Christ Jesus.”
The participating countries were Belgium,
Germany, Austria, Monaco, Switzerland, Greece,
France, United Kingdom, and the host country, the
By Elmer Pagdilao
ALL roads led to the majestic city of
Haarlem, The Netherlands on 21-23
August 2009 as hundreds of members
of Couples for Christ Europe drove to
Hotel Haarlem Zuid to celebrate the
community’s first-ever back-to-back
conference – the 12th CFC/SOLD
Conference and the 8th European
Kids Village. International Council
members Joe Yamamoto and wife
Mila, Melo Villaroman with wife Nini
and Joey Arguelles with wife Tess
came all the way from Manila for this
celebration. They were accompanied
by the members of the band 29 AD
who provided the music throughout
the CFC/SOLD conference, from the
worship songs to the dance music
during the fellowship events.
Aside from being the first simultaneous CFC/SOLD and KFC
conferences since the birth of CFC
in Europe, it was also the first time
that the European conference was
held in Netherlands. The Haarlem
conference was also the first in CFC
Europe history to be blessed with
the presence of its Spiritual Adviser
Netherlands. The kids’ event started off with the
Parade of Dreams where kids carried their country
banners and sported costumes of the persons they
want to be when they grow up. They appeared as
pilots, doctors, firemen, and teachers, to mention
a few. A little girl from France shared that she
wants to be a professional singer when she grows
up because she believes that through singing she
can evangelize other people. Another kid from
Greece wants to be a pilot because he wishes to
always fly up in the sky and marvel at God’s creation. Another kid desires to be a chef because he
wants to cook food for those
who are hungry. These are
the big dreams that these
Kids for Christ members are
offering to our Lord. These
are seeds of hope that will
someday grow into a reality
in the future, a future that will
change our world.
The kids also went through
various activities like sports,
fun games, talent presentations and workshops. They
learned new songs like,
“Dream Big” and “Forever.”
The worship song “Forever”
led the kids to express their
love for God in a more deep
and intimate way. A line of
the song goes, “I worship You
my God, I love You. Forever
I will sing, Forever I will be
with you.” Prompted by
these wonderful lyrics and
their love for God, the kids
raised their hands to Jesus
and felt His awesome presence. It was a heart-tugging
moment.
One of the highlights of
the EKV was the “Dream Big
Stage Play.” In the play, the
kids were taught that in order
for their big dreams to come
true, they should do these
three action words: Learn,
Love, and Lead. The kids
were encouraged to “learn”
much in school and be good students. They were
also taught to “love” their family by helping at
home and always respecting and obeying their
parents. The kids were also challenged to “lead”
by being good examples to other kids. They were
encouraged to lead in being prayerful and to have
the initiative to help those in need.
The EKV ended with the awarding of winners
in the different presentations and sports activities. The kids received “Dream Big medals” and
“Dream Big Certificates” for their enthusiastic
participation. Every kid went home with a big
smile on his/her face, knowing that Jesus is happy
about the love that they have shown Him through
their prayers. The “ates and kuyas” of Youth for
Christ and the Couples for Christ Kids Coordinators rejoiced in their hearts, having witnessed the
kids coming to love Jesus more because of their
EKV experience. The prayers of the adults, parents
and coordinators alike were one in wishing that
these wonderful dreams of their little ones may
become true one day. We look forward to a new
generation that will renew the face of the earth
starting by dreaming big with God.
CFC Europe Moves Forward
in the person of His Excellency Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Batangas. The amiable
Archbishop led the celebration of the
Holy Mass at the start of the conference. This also marked the first time
that a conference began with the Holy
Eucharist- a Spirit-inspired decision
that illustrated the community’s great
appreciation for and emphasis on the
value of the sacrament in the worship
life of the faithful.
“But one thing I do: Forgetting what
is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win
the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus.”- Philippians 3:12-14
The 2009 theme “Forward in Christ”
inspired by the above passage from
Philippians 3 resonated loudly from the
five powerful and moving talks of the
conference. Joey Arguelles gave Talk
1 entitled “Just One Thing” and spoke
about that one obsession we should
have -- to gain Christ. Tess related in her
sharing their own race towards knowing and gaining Christ. Joey Mempin,
Country Coordinator of CFC Austria,
followed with Talk 2 which exhorted
brethren to “Forget What Lies Behind”:
the distant past, the not-so-distant past
and the immediate past so that we could
look forward with hope. The talk was
further reinforced by sharings by a
brother from 29 A.D. who recounted his
dark past as a drug pusher, by another
brother who related his brokenness
during the crisis experienced by the
CFC community in 2007 and a sister
who lost material possessions upon her
retirement.
Talk 3 entitled “Strain Forward in
Hope” was given by Rene Santayana,
Senior Regional Coordinator for CFC
Northwest Europe who encouraged
the participants to strain in our faith
journey to what lies ahead, stretching to
maximum, sometimes even to the threat
of breaking. Two brothers from CFC Europe gave their experiences in handling
diverse and sometimes simultaneous
services in the comm-unity and feeling
victorious doing them all for the glory
of God. In Talk 4, Joe Yamamoto, CFC
Executive Director and CFC Europe
Coordinator, enjoined the community to
strain and “Press on With the Mission”
of building the “Church of the Home”
and Church of the Poor.” His wife
Mila spoke of the couple’s experiences,
challenges and deep conviction in their
own effort to press on since the day
they started with the CFC community.
Finally, Melo summed up the lessons of
the four talks as he discussed “Our Prize
in Jesus” which is a life of higher calling
in Jesus. Melo led the people to ponder
on such questions as: Are we running
the right race?; Are we running on the
right gasoline? And; are we aiming for
the right prize? Nini described the prize
they have received from the Lord- her
healing from the deadly cancer of the
lymph nodes and her search for her
long-lost father.
The conference featured other events
such as the All-About-Cheese festival
wherein CFC areas brought in their local cheese and other delicacies to share
with everyone. The food festival,
actually a competition, was won by
CFC France who adorned their booth
with the two-legged Mission arch and
footsteps depicting the moving forward in Christ. Another activity was
the Saul Train –CFC shindig, that saw
CFC members dancing to the excellent
music provided by 29 A.D.
The Saturday evening R&B /hiphop
was also a revelation as the 70s and 80s
generations of CFC/SOLD proved
that one is never too old to dance for
the Lord and no dancing style can hinder the willing and the fun-loving.
The hardest part in every Spiritfilled conference is the temporary
parting of ways among brethren. It
was. however, made easy with the last
announcement from Bro. JoeYam that
the CFC Euroconference next year is
going to be a mega-conference where
all ministries would gather together
in Vienna to celebrate CFC Europe’s
15th year anniversary. The last mega
conference happened in 2005 in Rome
on the occasion of CFC Europe’s 10th
anniversary.
Ugnayan
C2
By Joe Tale, CFC Chairman
On PCCA
MUCH has been written and read about our beloved former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino, or PCCA, as we fondly referred
to her in the Office of the Cabinet Secretariat (CabSec) and the
Presidential Management Staff (PMS), where I had the privilege to
serve during her term. “PCCA” was a more formal yet still endearing name we preferred using than the informal Tita Cory that was
then commonly used.
I was in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada for the CFC Canada
National Conference when PCCA passed away. Ricky Cuenca, our
CFC and ANCOP leader in the US and Canada he called my attention to the late-breaking news of the death of PCCA. Even it we all
knew it was coming, it was still sad news, especially for those who
were following the day-to-day bulletins regarding her deteriorating
health condition. We prayed for the eternal repose of her soul during the production team meeting before the start of the conference.
Before we left for this mission trip, we had offered prayers for her
healing and recovery during the noontime masses we had in the
CFC Home Office as well as in some household meetings. But the
healing was not to be. It is clear God had other plans. Perhaps the
Lord looked lovingly on this brave and faithful woman, widow,
mother and beloved leader of the nation and, as in Scripture, said
to her, “Well done, you good and faithful servant, … Come on in
and share my happiness” (Matthew 25:23). (This gospel verse was
what CFC quoted in the streamer we hung outside the Home Office
as our humble way of saying thanks and goodbye to her.)
Since I was away, I missed paying my personal respects when
she lay in state, and likewise missed joining the outpouring of love
for her during the funeral procession. However, I got text messages from friends who were themselves moved to tears, reliving
a similar deja vu experience of a funeral 26 years ago to the month
and its event-filled aftermath leading to the historic EDSA 1 revolution, and the subsequent return of freedom and democracy to the
motherland. Where I was, I offered her the best I could do, that is
to pray for her and her husband and co-hero Ninoy, for the family
they left behind, and for our nation. And as soon as we were back
in the country, among the first things I did, together with my wife
Babylou and our daughter Vida, was to visit her grave and again
say a prayer.
With these events, one cannot help but reminisce. I thank the Lord
once more, and PCCA of course, for the opportunity to have served
the country under her administration. Actually, she did not even
know me prior to my joining her government.
It was March 1990, and Babylou and I were attending an assembly
of Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon (LNP), the charismatic renewal community that established Couples for Christ, and which we had been
invited to be part of. After the morning session, an LNP brother,
Chito Sobrepena, asked if we could talk over lunch. I hardly knew
Chito then, but what he told me over lunch became a turning point
in my life. He asked me if I would be interested to join government,
specifically the Office of the President. He was the Secretary of the
Cabinet then, and he needed a deputy. He went on to describe the
responsibilities – manage the whole process of Cabinet meetings,
from agenda preparation to providing policy guides on the issues
relevant to such agenda items, to preparation and safeguarding of
the minutes, and finally, to monitoring and following through on
the decisions reached during said Cabinet meetings. Admittedly, the
job description made me very excited, although it meant taking a cut
from what I was earning as Legal Manager and Corporate Secretary
in a multinational company. However, the experience being offered
could not be measured in terms of money. Thus, after going through
Chito’s search committee consisting of then DAP President Carn
Abella, Undersecretary Pat Sto. Tomas of DOLE, and Undersecretary
Mario Taguiwalo of DOH, and, of course, PCCA’s approval, I joined
government as Undersecretary of the Cabinet.
That I was serving a very prayerful President became evident
from my first assignment. I was made to organize the Holy Week
recollection for PCCA and her Cabinet. I saw how she and the
Cabinet members were taking the recollection to heart, listening
with rapt attention to the reflection-provoking words of Fr. Catalino
Arevalo, S.J. I thought, what a meaningful way to start a career in
government.
PCCA was also a most trusting President. As I mentioned, PCCA
really didn’t know me and had not even met me until I took my oath
of office before her. And yet, in her actions and the way she treated
me, I was assured of her trust. Part of my responsibility (I consider
it the highlight of my job), was that, in the absence of the Secretary
of the Cabinet, I had to do the briefing of the President before Cabinet meetings. She made this stranger feel right at ease when she
welcomed me to her office for these briefing sessions. Ballsy, her
daughter and personal secretary and Margie Juico, her appointments secretary, helped a lot as they also exuded this welcoming
atmosphere in her office. She was all attention and respect as I went
through with her the agenda items of the Cabinet meetings, and the
recommended actions that she might wish to consider. There were
not too many of these moments, but I recall them with great fond-
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
ness, humbled even by the mere thought of them.
PCCA was kind but also very firm. She meant business. The
Office of the President underwent some reorganization and I was
assigned to another office. One of her guidelines was that in all
offices, a senior official must always be around in case something
important came up and she needed to get something done urgently.
We failed her one time, and of all times, it was when she needed
really important staff work quickly. When Mt. Pinatubo erupted,
there was no senior official in our office. We were out in the Visayas
inspecting and evaluating a successful livelihood project supported
by the President’s Social Fund. And because the NAIA and domestic
airport were closed due to the heavy ash fall, we could not return to
the office until a few days had passed, and only via a Bicol airport
and a long drive to Manila. We immediately went to work to set
up a rescue and rehab plan and support structure. We knew PCCA
was displeased when, on the next day, an executive order came
out establishing another rehabilitation plan for the Mt. Pinatubo
eruption-affected areas, not the one we organized and were working on. Mea culpa.
PCCA was forward looking and took the extra special step to
help her successor benefit from an organized Presidential transition
process, something she obviously did not have from the Marcos
regime, and as such, she knew first hand the adverse effects thereof.
An orderly transition to the next President was going to be one of
her legacies. When a US grant was made available for a short study
of the US Presidential transition process, she directed Executive
Secretary Franklin Drilon and PMS Head Chito Sobrepena to recommend who should be sent. I was privileged to be selected to be
it. Thus, I went to the US for one month in February 1992, meeting
with both current and past officials of the White House, think tank
institutions, and professors and authors on the US Presidency. The
program also included visits to Presidential Centers and Libraries of
past US Presidents. Upon return to the Philippines, I worked with the
Presidential Transition Task Force under the direction of Secretary
Drilon. This task force went about its task guided by Secretary Chito
Sobrepena, with excellent staff work support from PMS led by Assistant Secretary May Fernandez, now Civil Service Commissioner.
Our culminating responsibility was to assist Secretary Drilon brief
then incoming President Fidel V. Ramos as he prepared to formally
assume the Presidency.
My fond memories of PCCA did not end with the end of her
Presidency. When she was already Private Citizen Cory Aquino
(still “PCCA”), and I was back in the private sector myself, I visited
her in her Cojuangco Building office to request her autograph on
some pictures. Even at that time, she honored me with her trust.
She suggested that I make myself available for a position in an
important government office. I probably disappointed her when I
said I preferred to be in the private sector for the sake of my family,
although I hope she understood.
And so, beloved of Presidents, I join the throng, albeit a bit belatedly, in bidding you goodbye. Thank you for the privilege of serving,
in my small way, in your one-of-a-kind Presidency. You serve as the
exemplary model of a humble, God-anchored public servant, and
your acts of kindness and trust for a stranger like me, will forever
be etched in my mind and heart.
By Joe Yamamoto, CFC Director
Setting Our Goals for
the Future
comprehend what it is to be “Families in the Holy
Spirit, renewing the face of the earth.”
The CFC Pastoral Congress done two years ago
enabled us to craft with greater clarity our work of
Building the Church of the Home and Building the
Church of the Poor. Of course, CFC members must
be clear that we are building only one church that
stands on the two-legged mission. It goes without
saying that it is as much about building up our
community through the work of intensive evangelization as about looking at the church from the
prism of our mission. The two-fold mission helps
define the strategies and steps we have to take.
Because CFC is a global family made up of brethren of various races and culture, it is extremely
necessary to have a deep appreciation of the nuances of the work of evangelization. It must make
strides to adopt to certain cultural nuances that do
not sacrifice the core values and core principles of
community and yet are applicable and relevant to
the countries where CFC has come to exist.
To achieve that goal, the CFC leadership must
take into account the necessity of casting a wider
and deeper net. The typical entry point will continue to be our Christian Life program that incorporates the learnings of nearly three decades and
consciously allows us to consider the nuances of
the place, time and culture of the peoples we seek
to evangelize.
Geographically, strategic mission hubs will be
developed as centers of the global evangelization
with the epicenter remaining in the Philippines or
Manila specifically. It will also be used to train and
field missionaries and mission volunteers. They
ership. They will be complementary and yet have
some variances in focus and perhaps approaches.
The Pastoral Center will be the main hub for forming our courses for formation, teaching and training.
Fulltime and ‘alltime’ missionaries and mission volunteers will end up drawing their formation from
this Center. In a nutshell, the Leadership Center
will be the hub for forming and training the next
generation of CFC leaders, who will be steeped with
CFC values and culture, as well as developing and
forming leadership skills that they will use in their
workplace, practice of their profession, and just being better ‘influencers’ to the outside world.
What should be the mindset of the next CFC
evangelizers? Equipping our people with the appropriate qualities is a good start. To see the future,
one has to form a good IMAGERY. Each must do
the work with:
1. INTENSITY – To be effective in any kind of
work, there is need for passion and dedication,
there must be intensity as we focus on the work
and as we prepare to take the accelerated tempo
of evangelization.
2. MAGNITUDE – Since we have an awesome
God, it is incumbent on each and every CFC
member to be more excited about evangelization,
be it in the work of family renewal or for the work
with poor. Therefore, we need to go for size and
scope.
3. AUDACITY – CFC evangelization work is not
for the timid or weak of heart and resolve. Courage,
and therefore audacity, is needed. To be audacious
is to take daily leaps of faith; not just occasionally
or once in a lifetime but at all times. There is also
an expectation to be adaptable in our mission,
whether it refers to time or opportunities.
4. GO FOR IT - The Chinese have a good word
for it – gung ho. Soldiers are fond of invoking it
when going on mission or when engaging enemies
or even overcoming obstacles and addressing challenges. CFC evangelizers must do nothing less.
5. ENERGY and ENTHUSIASM – The best evangelizers are full of energy and must reflect the joy
of being servants in God’s earthly vineyard.
6. RESPONSIVENESS – There will be many hurdles to meet and overcome. Because life is full of
surprises, many of them unpleasant, CFC leaders
must be responsive. There are many reasons that
happen in life and in CFC; some of them we can
change and many others we cannot. Where each
one has some degree of control is our response,
individual and collective.
7. YES WE CAN – With the Lord, nothing is
impossible. We will carry our daily crosses, but we
know the Lord will always be there. There will be
yokes of challenges and responsibilities that will
be placed on our shoulders. It is good to keep in
mind that our God will be always there to help
carry our burden.
In ending, the words of Jeremiah ring true – the
Lord has promised a future full of hope. Moses,
the great prophet, told the Lord in his face to face
encounter- “I will not go, Lord, if you are not
with me.’
LAYOUT BY LAURENCE JOHN R. MORALES
may also end up being our main regional logistical
hubs. In military parlance, the CFC mission areas
will function as training centers with ‘prepositioned’
human resources and materiel. Moves such as those
mentioned will enable CFC to be more responsive
and agile in proclaiming the gospel of our Lord.
More and more, young members will be allowed to take on evangelization work for a set
period of time, say two or three years, and then
be encouraged and supported to go back into their
mainstream work or profession. In this manner,
they will contribute to animate the workplace and
the bigger ‘home’ environment where the ‘catch’
is plentiful and the opportunities boundless. CFC
will need to see more couple volunteers who spend
time, and personal resources for brief mission work
in the country or even abroad. As more and more
CFC leaders and members imbibe the ‘evangelize
as you go’ mindset, they will use their free time or
even family vacation periods for casting the wider
nets of evangelization.
Given a better and more proactive view of CFC
evangelization and mission, the need for finances
must be taken seriously. One simply cannot expect
a global army that is CFC to run on human spirit
alone without the necessary empowerment and
equipping that Scriptures allude to. Even as the
global marketplace reels from a serious and prolonged financial crunch, we all know that it cannot
be used as a justification to slow down or even
contract the scope of our work. On the contrary, we
intuitively know that when people are in serious
trouble, financial and otherwise, they become more
open to the invitation for spiritual renewal.
One of the favorite pronouncements
of organizational people is that the
quality and quantity of leadership
determine the growth and therefore
longevity of organizations and movements. The same applies to the needs
of a community such as CFC with
its main emphasis and directions
determined by its spiritual character.
Organizations rise and fall on the basis
of good leadership or its utter absence.
The Lord has modeled leadership
and the works of the apostles and
the disciples have shown us the way.
Their lives and actions have served as
models and paradigms for the work
of proclaiming Christ in word and in
action over two millennia.
For us in the modern day world, we
continue to serve and struggle but we
must also be prudent and wise in preparing to bring the community into its
future. The magisterium of the Church
and the doctrines that we have come
to embrace will feature prominently,
particularly in our declared oneness
with the Church. That is our protection as much as our assurance.
To make us all the more prepared
and therefore responsive, CFC will
Archbishop Ramon Arguelles cuts the ribbon to formally open the CFC/SOLD conference in the Netherlands, assisted by Joe and Mila have to form and establish a dedicated
Pastoral Center and a Center for LeadYamamoto.
JULY 20, 2009 was a day no different from any other day. While waiting at the Chicago International
Airport on the way home from a CFC Conference
in Illinois, I noticed that TV, as well as newspaper
reports were commemorating an epochal event
-- when man first set foot on the moon 40 years
ago. In the heat of the intense space race between
the United States and the Soviet Union in the early
1960s, a young president, John Kennedy, committed the resources and the best of his country to the
vision of landing a man on the moon before the
end of the decade.
As I reflected on that human feat of a bygone era,
I found it meaningful not so much because of the
nostalgia of remembering a historical event that
happened more than a generation ago, as about
finding a connection, no matter how seemingly
improbable, to the present day reality of the life
and mission of Couples for Christ. It is important
in that it demonstrates the power and impact of a
compelling vision. Psalm 29 emphasized: ”without
vision, a nation shall perish.” As God’s people, the
Israelites of the Old Testament hitched their future
not only on their faith in God but on the attainment
of the Promised Land as foretold and as promised.
Today vision is just as important. Visionary and
Godly leadership is critical.
The last two years were what we may call “defining moments” for CFC; not so much because
of the skill and competence of the leaders but as
much, or even more because of God’s presence
and intervention manifest in the twists and turns
of events. Throughout the length and breadth of
the community, our people came to fully and truly
Ugnayan
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
C3
Our Mission to the World
“Family, Other Families Are There for You,” emphasizing the context of the family within the bigger
parish family. This year, during the 9th Plenary Assembly of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Confer“BELOVED Couples for Christ, I thank God because you have tried to live Christ and the Holy Spirit. ence, he noted the presentation of Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, D.D., on “how the whole teachings of
I praise the Lord because you are trying to renew the face of the earth. I bless the Lord because you the Church are summed up in the Eucharistic Celebration.”
Bishop D’ Rozario then posed the challenge that, “We need to be eucharistic families” and CFC must
are trying to build the Church of the Home. And I praise the Lord because you are also building the
be “eucharistic couples.” By these, he meant, “families that live Christ… Christ in us.” He emphasized
Church of the Poor. I thank and praise the Lord for your mission.”
This was the exhortation by the Most Rev. Patrick D’ Rozario, C.S.C., Bishop of the Diocese of Chit- that these “eucharistic families have to always go (on mission)” and couples should be making other
tagong, Bangladesh, while addressing the members of CFC Mission Core Group, on August 18, 2009, couples “eucharistic couples.”
He ended his talk saying, “I am blessed with your commitment, faithfulness and mission. I have been
at Xavier Gymnasium, San Juan, Metro Manila.
instructed more than I have (taught).”
In what he said was a rare experience to speak
In response, Couples for Christ International
to a large congregation outside of his Diocese,
Council member Rouquel Ponte exhorted the
Bishop D’ Rozario commended CFC for its
MCG to do “our mission within the framework
mission in Bangladesh which he described as
of the Church where we belong.”
“amazing, a big wonder,” and in the mind of the
CFC being one with the Catholic Church, its
many, was “so much imbued with the power of
work for “mission and evangelization, family life
the Holy Spirit.”
renewal, and total Christian liberation,” must be
In coming to the Philippines, he immediately
guided by the teachings of the Church, especially
noted a “totally different picture of Catholicism
the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Rouquel
in Asia.” In Bangladesh, the population is 160
underlined that new strategies and methods must
million people, 85% to 87% of them Moslems. In
be undertaken in expressing the CFC mission, “to
his diocese of 30 million people, there are only
address the signs of the times.” He also stressed
30,000 Catholics.
that “there must first be witnessing for above all,
In serving his Diocese, Bishop D’ Rozario had
God must be proclaimed by witnessing, and its
always pondered in his heart the question of Pope
hallmark is how we love one another.”
John Paul II during a personal encounter with
There must always be “proclaiming the lordhim: “How are the families in your diocese?”
ship of Jesus Christ” as “there is no true evangeHence in 2006, he bannered in his diocese the
lization if the name, teachings, life, kingdom and
theme: “Family – How are you?” This question
mystery of Christ, the Son of God, are not proresounded throughout Bangladesh. This made
claimed.” In addition, Rouquel noted that there
the people realize that “the family is a gift of
must be genuine “adherence to the Church and
God” and “families are well because God is
sacramental life.” This happens, he said, when
working there.”
the proclamation of the lordship of Jesus Christ
Next, he posed to his diocese the question:
is listened to, accepted and assimilated.
“Family – Who are you?” This made the people
And finally, there must be “sending”, as when
go back to the Scriptures and the catecheses, to
the evangelized becomes the evangelizer. “We
see who the family really is. Then he posed the
are sent by Christ through His Church,” Rouquel
challenge” “Family – Become what you are!” This
concluded. To this our proper answer must be,
exhorted the families to be a place where “God
“I will not go Lord, unless you are with me.”
works, dwells, and lives.”
(Exodus 33:12)
Last year, he bannered the realization that IC Members Lito Tayag, Joey Arguelles, Joe Yamamoto, Joe Tale and Rouquel Ponte with Bishop D’Rozario.
By Arnel Santos
1st Clergy-Lay Congress held in Vancouver
By Nick Borja
ples for Christ Canada. I was moved and inspired by the Christian
and Catholic commitment of the members of Couples for Christ.
The day spent with them was refreshing and uplifting.
One of the speakers at the congress was Archbishop Michael
Miller. I realized how blessed Vancouver is to have such a fine man
as its primary ‘preacher of the gospel’ and ‘teacher of the faith.’ His
Grace spoke on the mission of all the baptized to evangelize. I really
like his definition of Evangelization: “teaching the art of living,
in light of the truth that ‘God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son so that the world might be saved through him’.”
Archbishop Miller emphasized that it is Jesus whom we proclaim;
evangelization starts with the evangelizer’s personal encounter
with Jesus. To evangelize is to share with others our friendship with
Jesus. Quoting Pope Benedict’s first homily as Bishop of Rome,
Archbishop Michael said: “There is nothing more beautiful than
to know Christ and to speak of our friendship with him.”
Rouquel Ponte (CFC International Missions Director) reminded us
during the congress that evangelization is a four-stage process:
Arch. Miller with CFC leaders, from left: Nick Borja, Canada National Director, Joe Tale, CFC Chaiman, Fr. Patrick Furtado from Calgary and Ramir Locsin, CFC
Vancouver Area Director
MOST Rev. Michael Miller, CSB, Archbishop of Vancouver, was
keynote speaker during the 1st Canadian Congress on Clergy-Lay
Relations sponsored by Couples for Christ (CFC) held at the Trinity
Western University on August 3 and 4. The theme of the congress
was “Forward in Christ”, similar to CFC’s theme for 2009. Sixteen
clergy from the Archdiocese of Vancouver and 14 from all over
Canada, together with 150 leaders of Couples for Christ, participated in the congress with the goal of working together as Church
in proclaiming Christ’s presence in Canada and the world. Very
Rev. Glenn Dion, Rector of the Holy Rosary Cathedral and Spiritual Director of Couples for Christ in Vancouver, also delivered a
talk. The Congress was preceded by a Lay-Clergy Friendship Golf
Tournament at the Redwoods Golf Course in Langley.
Also present were elders from Manila: Joe Tale, Chairman,
Rouquel Ponte, International Missions Director and Ernie Maipid,
a member of the Pastoral Formation Group.
Quoted below is a letter from Fr. David Louch, Pastor of Our Lady
of Perpetual Help Parish in Vancouver, an attendee of the Congress,
which summarizes the overall message from the Congress:
“This past week, at the invitation of some OLPH parishioners, I
participated in the first ever lay-clergy congress sponsored by Cou-
1. WITNESS - The example of our holiness of life is what initially
draws others to Christ and the gospel.
2. PROCLAMATION - Then we speak of what we believe and
the One whom we know.
3. ADHERENCE - Living the gospel is not temporary or sporadic. Effective evangelization calls for faithfulness. (This was a
key word throughout the day.)
4. SENDING - Eventually the evangelized will themselves
become evangelizers.
There are many in the world around us – even in our own families and social circles – who need to hear of our friendship with
Christ. So let us deepen our communion with Jesus and let us be
bold in speaking to others of that friendship.”
First CFC SEA
Conference
Moving Forward
In Christ
By Ricky Coronel
ALMOST 1800 brothers and sisters in
Christ gathered at the University of
Illinois, Champaign-Urbana campus
to celebrate a milestone in Couples
for Christ’s North American history.
For the very first time, CFC and its two
family ministries: Kids for Christ and
CFC-Youth, united to commemorate
its 15th anniversary through the holding of the 15th CFC North American
Conference (Eastern) Family Conference.
Inspite of earlier misgivings about
attendance, God blessed this conference
abundantly with 836 CFC members, 651
youths, and 201 kids – along with a few
HOLD members as participants. SFC
members were the service team for the
conference.
As the first-ever Family Conference,
CFC, CFC-Youth and KFC delegates
had the chance to experience a special
treat. The Awake Fair offered games
and fun, shopping and a feast from the
various CFC regions of US and Canada.
Saturday night’s function themed “Back
to the Future” had CFC members reviving the past with music, creative
presentations and costumes from The
Fonz to Grease.
CFC Chairman Joe Tale gave the
opening session simply titled “Forward – The Starting Line.” In his talk,
Joe encouraged everyone to get rid of
any excess baggage that will slow or
obstruct their stride so that they may all
stay focused on the finish line.
“I thank God for all the parents
who dragged their children to a youth
camp,” proclaimed Rommel Ancheta,
YFC International Youth Coordinator. Rommel, who started off as a
YFC member, then moved on to SFC
and now CFC, gave a powerful talk
on “The Race: Pressing On.” His talk
was further enhanced by testimonies
from an SFC fulltime worker from the
Southwest region who shared about
his recent roadblocks, and a CFC
family whose faith was also recently
tested. To culminate the session, an
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
and a healing and pray-over session
followed.
The talk on “The Prize: God’s Upward Calling” was delivered by Dr. Joe
Yamomoto who shared about his faith
journey. As a busy heart surgeon, he
had every excuse not to attend the CLP
but he pressed on. Joe stressed how we
must have a “renewed zeal for the mission that has been entrusted to us”.
Joe’s talk was supported by testimonies from the Rivera/Kagahastian
family to show CFC’s thrust as a ProFamily community. We also heard the
testimony of the Barlaan family from
Florida who by their example shows
what it means to be Pro-God. Noriel
and Michelle Reyes showed an example
of a young family already steeped in
CFC’s core value of ProLife.
The event concluded with the celebration of Holy Mass presided by Msgr.
Gregory Ketcham and with the invitation to everyone to attend the 16th CFC
Leaders Conference to be held in Texas
next year.
Most Reverend Robert Hermann of Missouri met with CFC USA leaders last July 21 to discuss
CFC’s role in the parish. Seated: Joe Tale, Bishop Hermann and Jake Macalalad, Standing:
Buttons and Adjie Sison, Babylou Tale, Nelia Macalalad and Tonie and Rose Santos.
IC member Lito Tayag (second from left) paid a courtesy call on Bishop Julian Porteus of
Sydney, accompanied by Nick Albano (left), Australia Council member and sector head and
Dom Pangilinan (right), Australia Council member and cluster head.
CFC Indonesia will host the first CFC
Southeast Asia Regional Conference on
the Role of the Blessed Virgin in Evangelization and Family Renewal on 12-13
December 2009 at Millennium Hotel, Jl.
Fachrudin 3, Sirih, Jakarta, Indonesia.
This event coincides with the feast day
of our Lady of Guadalupe.
According to Regional Coordinator
for Southeast Asia, Jun and Jean Uriarte,
there will be three talks, and each talk
will have three sharers or reactors from
various CFC communities in the region.
Among the highlights of the conference
will be (a) the imposition of the Brown
Scapular on delegates wishing to wear
the scapular as a sign of their devotion
to the Blessed Virgin Mary; and (b)
audio-visual presentations by the CFC
communities in the Southeast Asian
region on various Marian devotions
existing in their respective countries.
The conference fee for delegates
coming from outside Indonesia is only
US$90 per person, which covers the following: (a) one night accommodation at
Millennium Hotel (4-star category) on
twin sharing basis; (b) airport transfers
on arrival and departure; (c) one breakfast, one lunch, one dinner and two
coffee/tea breaks during the duration
of the conference; and (d) conference
kits and handouts.
Post-conference tours to the Marian
site in Sendang Sono in Yogyakarta
may be arranged as well as visits to
Sea World, Dunia Fantasy, Taman Safari, Taman Mini and other sites in and
around Jakarta. The conference organizers will try their best to get discounted
rates for those interested.
Interested parties may get in touch
with Jun Uriarte at junuriarte@yahoo.
com.
Ugnayan
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CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 18
August 31 - September 13, 2009
HOLD for the Gold Goes to Japan
THE Handmaids of the Lord held their Hold for the Gold Conference last August 2 in Japan. CFC brothers and family ministries
members based in Japan worked together to make the conference a
very successful one, expressive of the work of love of the CFC Japan
community. More than 150 women from from all over japan - Tokyo,
Yokohama, Goi, Gunma, Saitama, Nagoya, Osaka, attended the conference. Joe Yamamoto, CFC Executive Director and his wife Mila,
Didi Galsim, HOLD International Coordinator and Bernie Cuevas,
HOLD Council member and head of the Tekton Foundation, graced
the gathering. They were joined by CFC Japan leaders; Dennis and
Elma Diaz, CFC Country Coordinator and Consul General Solfy
Confiado and wife Precy, coordinators for Yokohama.
As is usual in HOLD conferences, there were Spirit-filled talks,
plenty of colorful costumes, heartwarming and heart-wrenching
sharings that ran the gamut of faithfulness to service and the Lord,
victory over challenges and temptations, commitment to the call of
community to serve, sacrifice for loved ones and love for the Lord.
There were lively and colorful presentations as well.
The Japan conference brought out many opportunities for evangelization. The Japan-based brethren spoke of the desire of many
to know God more through CFC and HOLD, which has inspired
them to truly live out their lives as witness, especially reaching out
to women, especially Filipino women married to Japanese men.
CFC in Apayao
By Arnel Santos
A CHAPEL of St. James the Apostle Parish in
Nueva, Sta. Marcela, Apayao, overflowed with
parishioners as the new graduates of the Christian
Life Program (CLP) for Handmaids of the Lord
(HOLD) and Couples for Christ (CFC), brought
their respective families and heard mass together,
in the morning of August 23, 2009.
Rev. Fr. Philip O. Uba, parish priest, commended
Couples for Christ for conducting a CLP in his parish. He said that he himself was touched by the
talks and the sharing. He also heard the confession
of the CLP participants.
Twenty three (23) HOLD and three (3) CFC
finished the CLP.
Fr. Uba gave his full support to the CLP. He
sent meals for the lunch of the participants and
welcomed the CLP Team from Manila composed
of Nides Respicio, former CFC Provincial Head of
Ilocos Norte, now a member of the Board of Elders;
Myra Respicio, HOLD Coordinator for Northwestern Luzon; Rico Alconcel, former Cluster Head in
West B sector; and Jenny Aquino, a HOLD leader
in Laguna. Fr. Uba even toured the CLP Team to
the various tourist spots in Apayao.
Team leader was Ben and Donna Abrera supported by Bonnie and Talin Gaouiran of Flora,
Apayao; Emiliano and Cathy Galleon, of Luna,
Apayao; and Johnny Ilayat, of Pudtol, Apayao.
The Church at St. James the Apostle Parish
is now under construction to accommodate the
increasing number of churchgoers.
Fr. Uba, with the endorsement and support
of the Most Rev. Prudencio P. Andaya, Apostolic
Vicar, Vicariate of Tabuk, is appealing for donations for the construction of this place of worship
in Sta. Marcela, Apayao.
The challenge is to bring not just the women but the men and their
children to Christ.
The conference also brought out the desire of the brethren in Japan
to grow more rapidly through a strong pastoral formation program.
The conference was so lively, so Spirit-filled and so successful that
everybody expressed the desire to be together as one family again
next year.
CFC Maryland goes on a picnic!
By Canyl Bustos
CLOSE to 500 members
of Couples for Christ of
Maryland gathered in a
park in Columbia, Maryland for their annual picnic. Despite earlier forecast of rain, the weather
was cool, with crisp air
in the morning, getting a
little warmer as the day
went on.
The members enjoyed
fun and friendship as they
went from one activity to
the other, beginning with
the celebration of the Holy
Mass in the morning to
the worship, the agape
lunch, the games (which
included dodgeball, kickball, basketball, volleyball, tug of war, tennis, bingo and even karaoke.
The day ended with the awarding of winners in the various games. The participants went home
tired and sated with all the food that was shared but also energized and happy at the bonds of friendship that were renewed.
CFC Italy concludes first-ever CLP in Udine, Italy
Parishioners of St. James the Apostle Parish in Apayao, participants at the Christian Life Program, mill around the small
chapel for a short period of fellowship.
THE CFC march to 10 new areas of Italy began
triumphantly with the conclusion of the firstever Christian Life Program (CLP) on 26 July
2009 in the province of Udine near the ItalianAustrian border. The CLP harvest consisted of
4 CFCs, 6 Handmaids of the Lord and 1 Servant
of the Lord.
This CLP is the first of the ten stages of evangelization work jointly committed by the CFC
leaders from Como, Milan, Parma, Rome, Turin
and from the Venettto region which consists of
those coming from the Italian cities of Venice,
Verona, Vicenza and Treviso. This commitment
was made on the occasion of the 2009 CF C
Italy National Conference held on 30-31 May
2009 in Como.
The newly-formed Mission Team led by
Fortune Kalalo, CFC Italy Mission Coordinator, conducted the CLP with invaluable support from CFC Vienna and neighboring areas
in Italy.
The most inspiring support was provided by
Father Paulino Bumanglag, the Filipino Chaplain of Vicenza, who accompanied the Mission
Team throughout the three weekends of the
CLP. Fr. Paulino, the tireless spiritual adviser
of CFC Vicenza, has in fact been motivating
brethren since the start of the year to evangelize
the adjacent provinces.
Fortune aptly expressed the grateful sentiment of the whole community when he said,
“Truly, the hard work and sacrifices of the
Mission Group and several brethren from Milan
instantly vanished when we heard the personal
sharing and testimonies of our new brethren.”
The recently-completed CLP in Udine will
be immediately followed by a YFC Camp on 2
August. Another CLP in Venice was completed
in mid-August.
CFC Italy’s forward march in Christ will continue with the holding of the CLP in Mantova
this coming September.
God’s Word as Weapons in Mission
By Dana Flores
TO take up the call of God is a great
challenge of the heart. The task given
to missionaries is vast, grand, and varied that it is important to learn to stop
for a while, be still, and listen to His
message. This is what happened last
July 18, 2009, at the Couples for Christ
Mission Center, as the young family
ministry missionaries of Couples for
Christ gathered for a recollection
given by Bishop Joel Baylon, from the
Diocese of Masbate.
Bishop Baylon highlighted the
value of God’s word as part and parcel
of a missionary’s life. He stressed the
importance of knowing how to listen
carefully to God’s Word which is the
anchor of our faith and our lives. He
described how God’s Word originates
from His voice, to how it was made
flesh through Christ Jesus, the House
of the Word, and how it journeys
through us as the roads of the Word.
One of the most important things that
Bishop Baylon imparted was that “WE
are the word! We carry the word, We
are the embodied Word of God that
comes out from the Church to proclaim this same Word to the world.”
Bishop Baylon reminded the missionaries of the importance of total
commitment and deep communion
with God in order to not only spread
the Word but live the Word as well. The
call to deliver God’s word to the people
requires our entire self in order to be able
to glorify Him. We meet many people in
our lives, and we can never tell which
ones will stay which ones will leave. It
is important that at all times, we are to
be able to share how Christ is present in
our lives to everyone we meet.
The mission of those called to go on
mission is crucial. Bishop Baylon exhorted the missionaries to always be in
prayer, to hang on totheir commitments,
and to be constantly involved in community life. He urged CFC to continue
being witnesses to our faith, to share our
testimonies, celebrate and defend life,
and be part of transformation.
The young family ministry missionaries of Couples for Christ, having
been refreshed and revived by the
recollection, are now more anchored
and ready to finish and complete the
mission given by God.