•A3 Pope supports

Lisieux’s mission
•A7 Australian Cardinal
calls for spiritual
•B1 ‘A culture of peace
and solidarity can
•B8 Cinema Reviews

year preparation for WYD be built’

Abalos urged to shed Bishop appeals for

www.cbcponline.net/cbcpmonitor cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

light on ZTE mess witnesses to priest’s killing

TELL the truth.
Catholic bishops issued this dare to Commis-
sion on Elections (Comelec) chair Benjamin
Abalos a day after he quit from his post amid the
National Broadband Network (NBN) debate.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz
called on Abalos to “come clean” by disclosing
the truth behind the government’s deal with
China’s ZTE Corp. to implement the NBN
Abalos / A6
OVER a month after St. Isidore Parish priest
Florante Rigonan was shot dead, Laoag (Ilocos
Norte) Bishop Sergio D. Utleg said they con-
tinue to appeal to people who may have wit-
nessed the killing to come forward and help in
the early solution of the case.
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace Fr. Rigonan, 47 years old, was shot dead by
still unidentified armed men last August 28 af-
ter celebrating a memorial mass in a village in
October 1 - 14, 2007 Vol. 11 No. 20 Php 20.00
Witness / A6

Bishops urge British officials to end ‘destructive’ mining in RP

TWO senior members of the Catholic The meeting was chaired by former people are being helped by it,” he said. natural resources, posed ill-effects on health
Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines British Minister for International De- “The small islands in the Philippine and led to increased militarization.
(CBCP) urged the London parliament velopment Clare Short, who led a fact- archipelago can easily be destroyed,” “My plea is for Christian globaliza-
to end British investment of ‘de- finding delegation to the country in he said, calling for “genuine develop- tion and you people can help us pro-
structive’ mining in the country. July 2006 to examine the impact of de- ment that upholds human dignity, is tect our country through challenging
Butuan bishop Juan De Dios structive mining on poor communities compatible with the ecological integ- British investment in destructive min-
Pueblos and CBCP Episcopal and the environment. rity and ensures the well-being of fu- ing companies,” said Pueblos.
Commission on Social Action Pueblos lamented in his speech that ture generations.” Gutierrez, meanwhile, explained to
chairman Marbel bishop with the irreversible social and envi- He reported that large-scale mining the British officials how the bishops of
Dinualdo Gutierrez made the ronmental costs, the government still has given the country a “scarring” ex- Mindanao have joined forces to oppose
call at a public meeting in guns for economic salvation in mining. perience with toxic poisoning from the open-pit and gold mining project in
Westminster’s Houses of Parlia- “Please help us to stop destructive min- mine tailings and flooding of villages. Tampakan, South Cotabato managed by
ment on September 17. ing in our country. It’s a lie to say that poor He said mining activities have “depleted” Mining / A6

CBCP asks for prayers to

end violence in Myanmar
CATHOLIC Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) President and Jaro Archbishop Angel
Lagdameo sent a letter to all bishops in the country
requesting them for prayers and Holy Masses to
reach a “peaceful and non-violent solution to the
situation in Myanmar.”
Lagdameo said Filipinos can easily empathize
with the Burmese people because of the Philippines’
own experience of repressive rule during the Mar-
tial Law years.
“Having ourselves experienced what it is to be
under Martial Rule and participated in the peaceful
restoration of our democracy, we can understand
as well as sympathize with the monks, people and
bishops of Myanmar,” said Lagdameo.
Earlier, FABC (Federation of Asian Bishops’ Con-
ferences) Secretary General and Cotabato arch-
bishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI sent a letter of soli-
darity to Most Rev. Paul Zinghtung Grawng, Presi-
dent of Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar
(CBCM) assuring him that member Episcopal Con-
ferences have been urged to offer prayers and holy
masses to avoid further violence to take place.
“We pray that the problems in your beloved coun-
try would be resolved through peaceful dialogue for
the sake of the common good,” Quevedo said.
CBCM issued a statement on September 26 saying
Myanmar / A6

Rosales: Zero Prelate hits AFP, NPA

tolerance to
‘misbehaving
priests’
GAUDENCIO Cardinal
Rosales who heads the Com-
mission on Clergy of the
Catholic Bishops Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP)
said “misbehaving” priests
deserve serious action.
“Parishioners can report
them (misbehaving priests) to
whoever next in line. (He) can
be the bishop or the monsi-
gnor,” said Rosales, who is also
the Archbishop of Manila.
He vowed they would
give due attention to any re-
recruitment of IPs
THE Catholic Bishops’ Confer-
ence of the Philippines (CBCP)
cried foul over the recruitment
of indigenous peoples (IPs) by
both communist rebels and the
military.
Laoag Bishop Sergio Utleg,
chairman of the CBCP’s Episco-
pal Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (ECIP) denounced the
“systematic recruitment”, saying
that it only sowed disunity
among IPs.
Utleg said many tribal people
are being suspected by the mili-
tary as New People’s Army (NPA)
sympathizers and on the other
hand by the insurgents as mili-
ence of these armed groups, IP
communities have thereby be-
come battlegrounds between the
military and the NPA,’ he said.
The prelate’s statement also
echoed the report made by the
ECIP Apostolate Coordinators
nationwide that joined their 25th
National Convention held in
Baguio City on September 18-21. KCFAPI / A6
The ECIP is “alarmed” by the
rising number IPs being recruited
into paramilitary groups espe-
cially in areas being eyed for
large-scale mining, logging, and
energy projects.
It said that recruitment of IPs
in the paramilitary force has led
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

port and would do further
action especially if a case
merit further probe.
In his pastoral jurisdiction,
for instance, Rosales said that
whenever they receive a
complaint about a priest, they
listen to it and then conduct
an investigation.
“We call the person in-
volved.” Rosales said. When
the complaint is grave, they
ask the priest to “reconsider
his vocation,” he said.
But the prelate described as
rare situation when some
priests are reported for scan-
dals and when they do,
“there’s a good chance that the
complaints are true,” he said.
The cardinal is grateful
contentious matter involv-
ing local priests is not very
common unlike in other
countries. (Roy Lagarde)
tary assets. to much division and confusion
“Because they are unable to ex- among IPs, also causing unwar-
press their opposition to the pres- AFP / A6
Bishop hopes new police head will
solve extrajudicial killings Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco led the centennial canonical coronation of Our Lady of La Naval at the Santo Domingo
BISHOP Juan de Dios Pueblos believes the newly-designated chief of the Church in Quezon City, Oct. 4.
Philippine National Police Director General Avelino I. Razon, Jr. being
former head of Task Force Usig, would lead in the prosecution of persons
responsible for extrajudicial killings.
Church denounces P1-B budget for contraceptives
In an interview over Catholic-run Veritas 846, the prelate said there are
enough laws to guarantee human rights. He, however, added the govern- THE country’s Catholic Church rising population problem by al- and/ or added for hunger and
ment should seriously and strictly implement these laws. leaders have denounced a govern- lotting funds for “population poverty alleviation projects, as
Bishop Pueblos was earlier appointed to the Melo Commission tasked ment plan to bankroll the use of management.” well as for free education of ex-
to investigate violations of human rights, enforced disappearances and contraceptives. CBCP President and Jaro Arch- tremely poor children,” he said.
brutal murder of identified political activists and peasant leaders. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman who bishop Angel Lagdameo was
“With the authority he has, I believe he can (deliver),” the Butuan prelate said. heads the appropriation commit- quick to issue a statement de- Culture of death
Referring to an earlier statement by the Archbishop of Manila, tee, said P1 billion will be used to nouncing the plan of the legisla- Lagdameo, in a statement re-
Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales, Bishop Pueblos said the inquiry should purchase “reproductive health tor. leased on October 6, said the use
“go beyond extrajudicial killings and should include all other kill- products” to control population “…We categorically object to it of contraceptives “are wrong in
ings in Davao, Cebu and those perpetrated by so-called vigilantes.” growth. and instead and instead strongly themselves” because they violate
The prelate added it would be best for the authorities to look into the situa- He said it’s high time for the recommend that the one billion “nature and God’s law.”
Killings / A6 government to take seriously the pesos be directly appropriated Church / A7

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 CBCP Monitor
A2 World News Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

Christians appeal to
Myanmar Junta
YANGON, Myanmar, October 1,
2007—The leaders of Catholic and
Protestant communities in
Myanmar appealed to General
Than Shwe, the leader of the ruling
junta, to stop violence.
The message came as pro-de-
mocracy demonstrations led by
Buddhist monks resulted in a vio-
lent government crackdown last
week.
Independent sources are trying
to tally the number of deaths and
determine how many people, in-
cluding possibly thousands of
monks, are still being detained in
unknown locations.
Archbishop Charles Bo of
Yangon, secretary-general of the
Myanmar bishops’ conference, and
Samuel Mahn San Si Htay, presi-
dent of the Myanmar Council of
Churches, sent the appeal Friday.
The Christian leaders said that
their communities are united in a
weeklong prayer service for peace
and reconciliation in the country,
“especially praying for the people
and the leaders of the country.”
“All the Christian churches […]
greatly desire and are contributing
all their best for unity, peace, jus-
tice, and the overall development
of the country,” the message said.
“All the respective leaders of the
Churches are also giving proper
guidance to the faithful.”
It continued: “Based on the teach-
ings of the religions on love, truth,
righteousness, forgiveness and rec-
onciliation, and considering the cur-
rent situation of the country, we
would like to earnestly appeal to you
[… so] that there will be stability,
peace and non-violence, which are
also the desire of the people.” (Zenit)
Repression continues, new forms
of protests appear in Yangon
YANGON, Myanmar, October 3, 2007—Pro-
tests and repression continue in the country
once known as Burma after the UN envoy to
Myanmar ends his visit and prepares to re-
port to the Security Council. Local citizens
are not giving up and are organizing instead
new forms of dissent.
The military junta that has run the country
with an iron fist seems deaf to international
appeals and warnings to end the violence
against peaceful demonstrations.
Pro-government gangs roamed the streets
in Yangon last night in search of monks and
opponents. The old Burmese capital is still
being patrolled by the army under a curfew.
Eyewitnesses reported seeing at least eight
trucks with prisoners leave the city.
The city itself has become the focal point
for protests led by Buddhist monks against a
dictatorship that has had a stranglehold over
the population for more than 40 years.
Detainees are thought to be held in make-
shift tent prison camps outside the city.

Hanoi officially recognizes Recent eyewitness accounts also report

many city residents and monks fleeing into
the jungle to avoid arrest. pm, using the hour-long newscasts to broad- Burma estimates that about 6,000 demonstra-

Baptists and Mennonites Despite roads manned by troops, internet

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Oc-
tober 3, 2007—Baptists and Menno-
nites received yesterday a certificate
authorizing them to practice their
religion in a ceremony in which the
Deputy Chief of the Committee for
Religious Affairs, Nguyen Thanh
Xuan, praised the government’s reli-
gious policy, the unofficial Vietnam
News reported.
According to Xuan, since the gov-
ernment adopted the Ordinance on
Beliefs and Religions two years ago
500 religious establishments have
ing harassment of the members of
the Unified Buddhist Church.
Pastor Gerry Keener from the North
American Eastern Mennonite Mis-
sions, who represented the Menno-
nite World Conference at the cer-
emony, said that in Vietnam religions
have not met any obstacle in their de-
velopment for the past few years.
Pastor Nguyen Quang Trung, pro-
visional president of the Vietnam
Mennonite Church, quoted his
Church’s motto: “Living the Gospel,
worshipping God, and serving the
and phones out of service and fear to leave
home, the population has found new and “si-
lent” ways to protest.
International agencies are reporting that
many Yangonites through word of mouth are
being told to switch off their TV in the evening
when the state broadcaster presents the offi-
cial evening news. Some are also turning off
all the lights in their homes.
“By doing this, I am showing that I am not
listening to what the government is saying,”
said one resident.
Since the troubles began the authorities
have taken to the airwaves each night at 8
cast their “truth.” Protests are described as a
campaign by Western governments and ex-
ternal dissidents to destabilize the country.
Newscasts have repeatedly shown mass, pro-
government rallies to counter the impact of
the monk-led demonstrations.
In the meantime family members of people
who disappeared in the past 45-days, i.e. since
demonstrations started, want to know what
happened to their loved-ones. But there is no
precise estimate as to the number of dead.
Government sources put the number at 10.
Exile groups say the number of dead nation-
wide is probably between 140 and 200.
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of
tors—including at least 1,400 monks from
seven now-empty monasteries—have been
arrested, including supporters of the National
League for Democracy, the country’s main
opposition party.
But the situation might be worse. Hla Win,
chief of military intelligence in Yangon’s north-
ern region, is the first official to defect for op-
posing the repression against the monaster-
ies.
Whilst searching for a country of refuge, he
is in the Daily Mail quoted as saying that “many
more people have been killed in recent days
than you have heard about. The bodies can be
counted in several thousand.” (AsiaNews)

Holy See tells UN to quickly find

opened their doors whilst thousands nation.”
of others have undergone renova- For his part Pastor Nguyen Thong,
tions. More than a thousand clergy- provisional president of the Baptist
men of different faiths have been or- Church in Vietnam, said that since

solution to Myanmar crisis

dained, and more than a thousand
religious books with millions of cop-
ies have been published, including
more than 500,000 copies of the Bible.
During his intervention nothing
was said however about the ongo-
his Church was established in 1989 it
has attracted more than 18,400 fol-
lowers with 500 ministers, practicing
in 135 congregations in 23 cities and
provinces throughout the country.
(AsiaNews) VATICAN, October 2, 2007— veloping countries and fight for in its midst, like a common is not and must not become a pre-
Benedict XVI’s appeal that women’s rights. home open to others. This,” he text for conflict; and they must
“through dialogue, good will “We look forward to the day stressed, “is particularly neces- declare without ambiguity that

New study shows abortion is and a spirit of humanity, [...] a

solution to the crisis [may] be
found quickly for the good of the
that peacekeeping efforts in
Darfur will finally be fully op-
erational,” said the envoy of the
sary in the present crucial period
leading to the election of the new
Head of State.”
to promote violence or to wage
war in the name of religion is a
blatant contradiction.”

‘best predictor of breast cancer’ country and a better future for

WASHINGTON, DC, October 3,
2007—The Journal of American
Physicians and Surgeons published
a study yesterday entitled, “The
Breast Cancer Epidemic.” It showed
that, among seven risk factors, abor-
tion is the “best predictor of breast
cancer,” and fertility is also a useful
predictor.
The study by Patrick Carroll of
PAPRI in London showed that coun-
tries with higher abortion rates, such
as England and Wales, could expect
a substantial increase in breast can-
cer incidence. Where abortion rates
are low (i.e., Northern Ireland and
the Irish Republic) a smaller in-
crease is expected. Where a decline
in abortion has taken place, (i.e.,
Denmark and Finland) a decline in
breast cancer is anticipated.
Carroll used the same mathemati-
cal model for a previous forecast of
numbers of breast cancers in future
years for England and Wales based
on cancer data up to 1997 that has
proved quite accurate for predict-
ing cancers observed in years 1998
to 2004.
In four countries—England and
Wales, Scotland, Finland and Den-
mark—a social gradient has been
discovered (unlike that for other
all its inhabitants” was repeated
yesterday at the 62nd General
Holy See. Similarly, “[t]here is
need for a renewed commitment,
involving all Member Coun-
For Msgr. Mamberti, freedom
of religion “continues to be dis-
regarded and even violated” and
Last but not least the Vatican
representative spoke about two
other important issues.
Assembly of the United Nations tries, in the pacification and re- “has become a pretext for vari- Firstly, the “Holy See is con-
cancers) whereby upper class and
in New York. The crisis in the construction of long-suffering ous other forms of discrimina- cerned regarding the inability of
upwardly mobile women have
Asian country which “concerns Iraq.” Equally, there is an obli- tion.” He insisted that “dialogue rich countries to offer the poor-
more breast cancer than lower class
[...] this Assembly and [...] the gation “for renewed commit- among peoples of different cul- est countries, especially those in
women. This was studied in Fin-
whole international commu- ment in the search for a solution, tures and religions is not an op- Africa, financial and trade con-
land and Denmark and the influ-
nity” was one of the issues through dialogue, [... to] the con- tion; it is something indispens- ditions capable of promoting
ence of known risk factors other
raised by Msgr. Dominique flict between Israelis and Pales- able for peace and for the re- their sustainable development.”
than abortion was examined, but
Mamberti, Secretary for Rela- tinians,” one that recognizes newal of international life.” Secondly, even if the “legiti-
the gradient was not explained.
tions with States in the Secretariat “the legitimate expectations of “If,” he added, “religious lead- mate quest for equality between
Carroll suggests that the known
of State, during his intervention each side.” ers and believers expect States men and women has achieved
preference for abortion in this class
at the UN Headquarters. “Renewed commitment is and societies to respect them and positive results [...] inequalities
might explain the phenomenon.
In his long address, Msgr. needed in assuring that Lebanon acknowledge their religions to be in the exercise of basic human
Women pursuing higher educa-
Mamberti touched upon the Iraq will continue to be a free and in- truly instruments of peace, they rights unfortunately still persist
tions and professional careers of-
tragedy, the difficult Israeli-Pal- dependent country, a demo- themselves must respect reli- in many places. This leads to a
ten delay marriage and childbear-
estinian peace process, the situ- cratic, multicultural and multi- gious freedom; they must show breakdown in the social fabric
ing. Abortions before the birth of a
ation in Lebanon as well as the confessional society, equitable that they are pledged to promote and results in women’s objecti-
first child are highly carcinogenic.
need to respect religious free- and respectful of all people and peace and shun violence; they fication and exploitation.”
Carroll used national data from
dom, work for peace, help de- of the various tendencies present must demonstrate that religion (AsiaNews)
nations believed to have “nearly
complete abortion counts.” There-
fore, his study is not affected by re-
call bias.
Karen Malec, president of the
Coalition on Abortion/Breast Can-
cer commented on the latest find-
Prelate warns Eucharistic Congress
ings stating: “It’s time for scientists
to admit publicly what they already
acknowledge privately among
of a global panel gets new leader
cooling
themselves—that abortion raises
breast cancer risk—and to stop con-
ducting flawed research to protect
the medical establishment from
massive medical practice lawsuits.”
(LifeSiteNews)
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, October 2,
2007—A “cooling off” of love and solidarity
is even more dangerous than global warm-
ing, said the archbishop of Prague.

Human Rights Watch opposes

Protection for Marriage and Family Act
GUATEMALA CITY, October 4,
2007—In a letter sent to the Guate-
malan Congress, the organization,
Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged
legislators to vote against the “Pro-
tection for Marriage and Family Act.”
The law would establish that the
“family essentially originates, ex-
clusively, from the conjugal union
between a man and a woman, … in
harmony with its essence, its pu-
rity, its nature, its reason of being,
its values and original meaning...”
HRW urged the legislators to
oppose the law due to its exclusion
of single-parent families, divorced
parents, and many unmarried het-
erosexual couples, as well as many
indigenous family structures.
Juliana Cano Nieto, researcher in
the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and
transgender rights program at Hu-
man Rights Watch, said, “The aim
of this bill is to strip certain part-
ners, parents, and children of rights
and recognition all families de-
serve.”
The final vote on the law is pre-
dicted to be this week. HRW ac-
knowledged that each time a law is
looking to protect marriage and
family, the international opposition
is greater and greater.
To try and protect the family,
HRW proposes that the Yogyakarta
Principles be adopted. These prin-
ciples are an application of interna-
tional human rights law to sexual
orientation and gender identity,
which were released in 2007.
They hold that “[e]veryone has
the right to found a family, regard-
less of sexual orientation or gender
identity... No family may be sub-
jected to discrimination on the ba-
sis of the sexual orientation or gen-
der identity of any of its members.”
(CNA)
Cardinal Miroslav Vlk made that comment
at an annual ecumenical meeting, which
brought together 43 religious leaders from
18 Churches and ecclesial communities, at
the invitation of the prelate.
The leaders—all friends of the Catholic lay
Focolare movement—focused on a spiritu-
ality of communion, something they said is
necessary if the cause of ecumenism is to ad-
vance in the 21st century.
The bishops listened to testimonies of
priests and laypeople who, nourished by the
Focolare spirituality, supported the perse-
cuted Church in what was then Czechoslo-
vakia. Archbishop Piero Marini
The meeting also served to analyze the 3rd
Ecumenical European Assembly, recently VATICAN CITY, October. 1, 2007—Archbishop succeeds Archbishop Piero Marini, who was ap-
concluded in Sibiu, Romania. Piero Marini, who has served 20 years as mas- pointed president of the Pontifical Committee for
Cardinal Vlk said: “There is a worldwide ter of papal liturgical ceremonies, has been ap- International Eucharistic Congresses. The Vatican
warming of the planet that worries us. But pointed president of the Pontifical Committee press office announced the appointment today.
there is a cooling off of love and solidarity for International Eucharistic Congresses. Father Marini was born in Genoa in 1965
that is even more dangerous.” Benedict XVI’s appointment of the 65-year- and ordained a priest in 1989.
He spoke about the experience lived in the old prelate to the new post was announced to- From 1988 to 2003 he was the secretary of the
meeting: “We are creating a ‘dialogue of life.’ day by the Vatican press office. archbishops of Genoa.
We place an accent on what we have in com- The next International Eucharistic Congress He was the master of liturgical celebrations
mon, beginning with baptism. We do not will be celebrated June 15-22, 2008, in Quebec. for Cardinals Dionigi Tettamanzi and Tarcisio
ignore the problems that exist […] but we Benedict XVI appointed Father Guido Marini, Bertone, as well as for Archbishop Angelo
are convinced that, with evangelical love, of the Archdiocese of Genoa, as master of papal Bagnasco, working especially on the publica-
with love above all for Jesus crucified and liturgical ceremonies. tion of the liturgical books used in various cer-
abandoned, they can be transformed.” (Zenit) Father Marini shares a surname with the man he emonies. (Zenit)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007 News Features A3

Tourism opens Benedict XVI’s prayer

doors to women
VATICAN CITY, September 27, 2007—Made
public today was a Letter from Cardinal Sec-
retary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. to
Francesco Frangialli, secretary general of the
World Tourism Organization (WTO), for the
occasion of World Tourism Day which is be-
ing celebrated today and has as its theme:
“Tourism opens doors for women.”
In his Letter, the cardinal highlights the
fact that, according to the most recent WTO
statistics, around 46 percent of the people
employed in the international tourist indus-
try are women.
However, he notes, “despite this large and
effective female presence, in many cases
women are prevented from reaching posi-
tions of administrative responsibility and
management in tourism.
The reasons for this negative phenomenon
are to be found in deep-rooted prejudices
which lead to the persistence of stereotyping
Tarsus prepares to welcome
pilgrims for the Pauline year
intention for October
VATICAN CITY, Oc-
tober 1, 2007—Pope
Benedict’s general
prayer intention for
October is: “That the
Christians who are in
and of the traditional attribution of second- tion of the female sex and the shameful com- minority situations
ary roles on the basis of gender.” mercialization of the female body. may have the
This is particularly evident, the cardinal con- It is incumbent upon us to decry the intol- strength and courage
tinues, “in those parts of the world where the erable scandal of a certain kind of sexual tour- to live their faith and
moral, cultural and civil status of women puts ism which humiliates women, reducing persevere in bearing
them in a position of weakness and injustice.” them to a situation of practical slavery.” witness to it.”
Cardinal Bertone then goes on to point out The cardinal quotes the Message for World His mission inten-
that all tourists, whatever their religion, social Peace Day 2007 in which Benedict XVI “de- tion is: “That Mission-
class or nationality, must commit themselves nounced the ‘inadequate consideration’ ary Day may be a pro-
“to the protection and promotion of women.” shown for the condition of women and ‘the pitious occasion for kin-
In this context he underlines the need “to work mindset persisting in some cultures, where dling an ever greater
for an effective equality of rights for women, women are still firmly subordinated to the missionary awareness
guaranteeing them equal treatment in the work- arbitrary decisions of men, with grave con- in every baptized per-
place, religious freedom, respect for the needs sequences for their personal dignity and for son.” (VIS)
associated with motherhood, and the payment the exercise of their fundamental freedoms.’
of a fair and remunerative salary.” Only by overcoming these forms of dis-
The Secretary of State adds: “Concrete sup- crimination,” Cardinal Bertone concludes,
port must be given to the right of girls and
women to study and achieve professional
qualifications, using appropriate positive
“will it be possible for tourism to combine a
concern for the tourists’ experience with a
guarantee for the quality of life of residents.”
Manila prelate
laws to combat all forms of unjust exploita- (VIS)
upholds housing rights
of railway families
MANILA, September 29, 3007—
Manila Auxiliary Bishop
Broderick Pabillo led grassroots
organizations in demanding the
government to find alternatives
grading, the government’s effort
to decongest Metro Manila by
relocating the poor railway resi-
dents to distant places is simply
pathetic.
to its policy of displacing poor In a survey conducted by UPA,
ISTANBUL, Turkey, October 2, that “Our goal is to make tour-
families, particularly those who poor families relocated in distant
2007—Tarsus, St Paul’s birth ists pleased and invest in the fu-
live along railways, to remote re- relocation sites are proven to
place, is preparing itself to wel- ture of the city, you cannot make
location sites. more likely go back to Metro
come all of those who will visit such as an effective promotion
In a press conference at the Manila due to lack of electricity,
the city in 2008, proclaimed by even if you spend 100 million
Arsobispado de Manila last Sept. potable water and livelihood, job
Benedict XVI last January as dollars”.
10, Pabillo said railway families, problems, high cost of commodi-
Pauline Year. Erguvan placed particular at-
who are facing imminent threat ties and transportation, housing
On the two thousandth anni- tention on the fact that “there is
of evictions due to the Northrail- payments, problem on security,
versary of the birth of the apostle no well-arranged hotel in the
Southrail Linkage Project, are and poor facilities.
to the gentiles, the Pope an- city for tourists to accommo-
pressing the government to ar- Lawyer Bienvenido Salinas II,
nounced “a series of ecumenical, date”.
range their relocation to sites coordinator of UPA’s legal unit
cultural and liturgical events, as President of the chamber of
near Metro Manila, which are not of St. Thomas Moore Law Center
well as various pastoral and so- commerce, Mehmet Karagozlu,
far from their jobs. said the law requires that fami-
cial initiatives, all inspired as for his part maintains that the
Rodriquez, Rizal Mayor Pedro lies evicted from government
Pauline spirituality”. lack of basic facilities creates
Cuerpo said the Municipality of land be given decent relocation.
Situated along Turkey’s south- problems in the ancient city. His
Rodriguez in Rizal is willing to “The Constitution clearly
ern coast in front of Cyprus, to- project aims “opening some old
accept relocated families from stated in its Article XIII (Section
day Tarsus is a city of almost 20 Tarsus houses which have been
Sampaloc up to Sta. Cruz, Manila. 10) that no resettlement of urban
thousand inhabitants refers restored, as boutique hotels”.
Meanwhile, the Samahan ng poor dwellers should be under-
Adana (Anatolia News Agency) “The year of Saint Paul, he
Apektadong Pamilya sa Riles taken without adequate consul-
and it is preparing itself to meet maintains, is a very good oppor-
(SAPAR) has likewise taken ini- tation with them and the commu-
the appointment. tunity for us and our main goal
tiatives to find alternative relo- nities where they are to be relo-
The district administrator, is to create a good image”.
cation sites for some 1,500 fami- cated,” Salinas said.
Abdulhamit Erguvan, maintains (AsiaNews)
lies. Despite appeals from SAPAR Through its 1997 Pastoral State-
and individual families, the Na- ment on the Homeless and 2007
tional Housing Authority (NHA) Pastoral Statement on the
has refused to accept the Nation’s Housing Problems, the
CBCP has called the attention of

Myanmar Catholic clergy avoid Montalban relocation site.

According to the Urban Poor
Associates (UPA), a non-govern-
ment organization that concen-
the government to stop uncaring
demolitions as they only move
the poor families from “danger

protests, urge prayer and fasting trates on evictions and slum up- zone to death zone.” (Kris Bayos)

Yangong, October 1, 2007—The

massive protests against
Myanmar’s military rulers have
included thousands of Buddhist
monks facing military troops
and riot police armed with
guns, clubs, and tear gas.
Security forces raided Bud-
dhist monasteries and hundreds
of monks were also arrested.
But the Associated Press reports
that Catholic clergy and reli-
gious have been ordered to
avoid open activism and street
protest.
Archbishop Charles Maung
Bo of the archdiocese of Yangon
explained this policy in a
Wednesday interview with
Vatican Radio. “In accordance
to canon law and the social
teachings of the Catholic
Church, priests and religious
are not to be involved in any
party politics ... and demonstra-
tions.”
Though the actions of clergy
were restricted, the archbishop
insisted that the laity were free
to participate in the protests.
“Catholics as citizens of the
country are free to act as they
deem fit. The clergy and the re-
ligious can give them proper
guidance.”
Bulletins conveying these or-
ders have been posted at
churches in Yangon, the former
Myanmar capital city once
known as Rangoon. The bulle-
tins also urge Catholics to pray,
fast, and offer Mass for their
country.
One Western priest in
Yangon, who wishes to remain
anonymous for fear of retalia-
tion, has disavowed silence.
He used a sermon to call for
more international pressure:
“The situation now in
Myanmar should not be
deemed as ‘business as usual.’
What’s happening can be lik-
ened to a rape.” Some residents
have sought shelter in his
church, fearing security forces’
raids on their homes.
Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday
voiced concerns about
Myanmar’s political convul-
Pope supports Lisieux’s
sions and conveyed hopes for a
peaceful resolution to the tur-
moil, which has sometimes es-
mission year
calated into violence. Address-
ing a gathering of pilgrims in
Italy, he said he was following
“with great trepidation the
very serious events” in
Myanmar.
Though predominantly Bud-
dhist, Myanmar has about
450,000 Catholics at around one
percent of the population.
Christians as a whole make up
approximately four percent.
(CNA)

Climate change severely impacting

whole earth community
MANILA, September 30, 2007—Climate
change is increasingly and severely impact-
ing on the whole earth community. These
impacts have different nuances from rising
sea levels, the melting of glaciers and se-
vere weather patterns, said 25 Columban
delegates from 14 countries after discuss-
ing on climate change, Sept 23-29.
The deliberations were held to begin for-
malizing a Columban’s response to the chal-
lenges of Climate Change/global warm-
ing caused by human induced activities,
recommended by its General Assembly
2006.
Columban Society is comprised of or-
dained and lay missionaries, co-workers,
male and female. The delegates reflected
the emerging diversity of Columban in-
volvement in contemporary mission.
They came to a deeper realization of the
impact of destructive human activity on the
earth. The presentation of papers high-
lighted the fact that as a Missionary group,
they have already a significant engagement
with climate changes issues. They have de-
veloped a competence and professionalism
built on their long standing connection with
the poor among whom they work.
“We are learning to be more humble in
the face of what the Earth is saying to us
now. The endangered Earth demands a new
prophetic way of being missionaries,”
Michael Maguire, facilitator from Philip-
pines, said.
The climate change obliges them to re-
view and change: their corporate and indi-
vidual lifestyles, administration of wealth
and properties, ministries, advocacy for
carbon reduction, spirituality, theological
reflection, formation programs for or-
dained and lay missionaries.
“We hope that this review will include
carbon audits in the regions where we
work, greater efficiency in energy use and
highlighting the positive contributions of
many Columbans,” Maguire said.
Climate change is an unprecedented is-
sue in recent human history, affecting ev-
ery aspect of life on Earth. The magnitude,
severity, and urgency of climate change is
difficult to appropriate. We are called, as
in the words of Pope John Paul II, to an
ecological conversion.
The response to the crisis of Climate
Change must be prophetic, and that is good
news for the poor and the planet, partici-
pants stressed.
Participants were Eamon Adams, Korea;
Pat McMullan, Korea; John Huang, Taiwan;
Rowena Cuanico, Fiji; Gerard Clarke, Fr
Michael O’Sullivan, Ireland; Gloria
Canama, Pakistan; Charles Rue, Australia;
Kath Boyle, Australia; Amy W. Echeverria,
VATICAN CITY, October 1, 2007—Benedict XVI says he hopes the
USA; Theresa Polk, USA; Michael Gormly,
Mission Year in Lisieux, France, will help the baptized become better
New Zealand; Eamon Sheridan, General
missionaries in their daily lives.
Coordinator of Columban, JPIC; Sean
The Pope said this is in a letter published on the feast of St. Thérèse
McDonagh, Columban Central Administra-
of Lisieux, to Cardinal Ivan Diaz, prefect of the Congregation for the
tion; Sean McNulty, China; Paul McCartin,
Evangelization of Peoples.
Japan; Peter Hughes, Britain; Ellen Teague,
The Holy Father expressed his support for the Mission Year, say-
Britain; John Din, Peru; Cesar Correa, Chile;
ing he hopes this initiative strengthens “the baptized in their sense
Brian Gore, Philippines; John Leydon, Phil-
of mission, through prayer, the witness of life and Christian commit-
ippines; Brendan Lovett, Philippines; Lydio
ment in all its forms, so that all the faithful may become missionaries
J. Mangao, Philippines; Conrado Esemple,
in the places where they live and that vocations will come forth to
Philippines; Michael Maguire. (Santosh
proclaim the Gospel to men who do not yet know it.” (Zenit)
Digal)
 CBCP Monitor
A4 Opinion Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

EDITORIAL

One billion peso logic

AT the thick of the National Broadband Network anomaly that kept
the whole nation reeling in disgust, Congressman Edcel Lagman
smugly announced that the House of Representatives will allot P1
billion in next year’s national budget for the purchase of condoms,
birth control pills and other “reproductive health products” to
control the population growth of the country.
As the news reports would have it, Lagman equates the increasing
population with the worsening poverty and underdevelopment. He
asserts that the growing population “impacts adversely on all
indicators of human development such as health education, shelter,
food security, employment and the environment.”
He further blamed the Catholic Church (and some religious beliefs
which after all does not work when it comes to working for a clean
andhonestgovernance)fortheinabilityoftheArroyoadministration,
wrongly or rightly, to confront the burgeoning population problem,
which, according to his seemingly personal statistics, is swelling
at 2.34 percent growth rate.
This, of course, is a wrong equation. While it is true that
demographics impacts on economic fundamentals, the growing
population is not the foremost factor of Filipino penury. It is
corruption and bad governance that is. A well-meaning Filipino will
not dispute the fact that if there is any “population” that is aggravating
“Looks
“Looks like
like its
its going
going toto rain
rain with
with
people’s suffering, it is the “population” of congress and similar condoms…but
condoms…but why why not
not food,
food, work
work and
and
political institutions whose annual budget—anomalous transactions
aside—is bigger than the basic services allocated for the hungry honest
honest governance?”
governance?”
citizenry.
But what escapes normal logic is the gall that gives courage to some
congressmen, whose pork barrel and gigantic fringe benefits
(again, not to mention anomalous transactions) are salivated
without qualms, to accuse the growing populace as the reason for
their very own poverty. Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Seriously, one wonders what would happen to Philippine economy ZTE, JPEPA, RP-CHINA
if the fifteen million or so overseas contract workers were not that
thickly populated. The OFW phenomenon is a good argument— Views and Points Agreement
without even mentioning the economic fundamentals of a
progressive mix of demographics and economy in China and India.
THESE are truly trying times in the Philip- everybody and everything else. through the JPEPA. Again, only a self-pro-
pines. These are really shameful days for the Many municipalities have no electricity claimed visionary with much-inflated self-
Filipinos. The Constitution continues to oc- even. There are police stations with but one image can conceive such a betrayal of the
The curse that’s the Philippine debt cupy a distinct place in the honor roll of cor-
ruption in the world. The national leader-
old typewriter each. Most of the country’s
public schools do not even have a computer
people and violation of their land.
Many farmers have no farms to till. And
ship remains in a dismal level of the nega- for their students. And there are students even those who are entitled to have their
A CURSE is something that brings evil, torment or harm on a place, tive approval and trust rating registered by who do not even have pencils. And out of own farmlands are violently driven away
a person or a people. And the big fast total illegitimate debt of the the citizens. Meantime, millions of people nowhere, there is the grand government from the little place they till—if not meted
Philippines is exactly that: it buries the Filipinos deep in the are denied decent living; the sick die and the project of a National Broadband Network the penalty of summary execution, such as
elderly cry for lack of basic social services, courtesy of ZTE. This can only be the grand the beneficiaries of the Comprehensive
quagmire of dishonor and shame, and keeps the country afloat in children of poor families have no opportu- idea of a visionary with head in the cloud Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). The
the ignominy of corruption and deceit. It is not enough that the nity to go to school. and feet in the air. CARP has become not only hard but also
citizens have long been making the payments. In effect even the Meantime, the people watch the spec- Many places are already loaded with their dangerous to actualize. Certain landlords
unborn is already in great debt. tacle of the present administration at- own garbage. Even Metro Manila is having a have once more become not only powerful
tempting to make one scandalous deals very hard time disposing its tons of waste. but also harbor hardcore greed. And here
It is an elementary postulate of reason and ethics that the long after another, with foreign governments. Many provinces are already suffering from comes this government having the RP-
national standing debt incurred by the Philippine government but With its foreseen dismissal or demise soon, the destruction of their environment. Re- CHINA AGREEMENT at heart. It is foreseen
did not benefit the Filipinos much less developed their country are this administration appears to be in a hurry cently, there were rivers in Central Luzon to cover not only CARP but even the CARP-
evidently illegitimate. As such, the odious and onerous debt often to make money, to satisfy a much bloated that have been found out and thus declared able lands. Again, only a visionary without
ego—at the expense of the country and its among the dirtiest in the world. And there is conscience and genuine vision could betray
dubiously obtained even should not be honored by the country,
people as a matter of course. This is the again this government going for broke in the farmers who have been feeding the
much less paid by the poor and hungry people of the Philippines. classic example of the “I” above and over the matter of accepting foreign toxic waste people for centuries with their sweat and toil.
Morethananypastadministration,theincumbentnationalleadership
proves to be a consummate expert in borrowing money and
thereafter making even the poorest of the poor pay through exorbitant Melo M. Acuña
indirect taxes. This is not only atrocious but also abominable. This First things first
Issues and Concerns
is the kindest way of looking at and qualifying such an extra huge
and illegitimate Philippine debt that is even continuously increasing
on account of practically everlasting interest payments due.
According to a key principle in the sound and solid Social Doctrine NOBEL Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Norte in the Caraga nicipalities of the 1st District of Camarines Sur”—a
of the Church, the inherent right to development of a people should was quoted saying many who have been Chris- region. The National Capital Region has been in- province classified within Priority Two Provinces.
be taken into account when responding to the issue of debt crisis tian activists, including St. Francis of Assisi, “who cluded in the seven priority regions. Another memo dated September 3, 2007 and
in many impoverished countries. On top of the consideration are went on a crusade and was deeply concerned with If one is to consider the list of provinces and signed by PAGCOR Vice President Adolph Ed-
the marked impropriety of the loans made, the index of corruption the poor and downtrodden, and St. Teresa of Avila, their classifications from the League of Provinces ward G. Plaza reached this corner about the change
the Spanish nun who reorganized her Carmelite of the Philippines, one may be in for a surprise as from “Serbisyo Muna” to “People’s Government Mo-
in their government, and the signal impropriety in the use of the
religious community, were people who put first most of them belong to the 1st class provinces if bile Action bearing President Arroyo’s initials,
borrowed money. things first.” their respective incomes be considered. PGMA—to enhance name-recall for the program,
The present government holds a shameful place of distinct dishonor In a country where government leaders find it Isn’t it sheer coincidence that in these areas politi- as well as reinforce social awareness on the com-
hard to make both ends meet, a more aggressive cal dynasties exist along with their share of armed munity development projects that the President
on all counts: so many debts incurred were anything but proper, revenue collection is in order. As in Filipino fami- partisans, either from the outlawed New People’s has initiated.”
much less necessary. Corruption in public office has become a lies facing its most trying times, they say “every Army or the secessionists in southern Philippines? One would ask: name-recall for what?
matter of course. Scams left and right, shady dealings here and single peso counts.” The sad part of it is most of the local govern- Was it sheer coincidence that Congressman
there, appearing and disappearing acts are but regular This corner came across a list of priority prov- ment executives belong to the administration party, Diosdado Ignacio Jose Maria “Dato” Macapagal-Ar-
accompaniments of the day to day Philippine agenda. inces where the national government will make those who have access to the “kitchen.” royo hails from Camarines Sur’s First Congressional
its presence felt in addressing hunger “by enhanc- No less than President Gloria Macapagal-Ar- District? How lucky can the constituents of Budget
While the basic ethical norm stands that debts must be paid back, ing availability and accessibility of food and royo directed the national government to attend and Management Secretary “Nonoy” Andaya get?
it is no less a fundamental tenet that no one should pay loans he or people’s capacity.” The priority provinces include to these areas for they form Priority One prov- Residents from thePriority One Provinces would
she has nothing to do with, much less really benefited therefrom. Camarines Norte and Masbate in Bicol, inces even without local government counterpart. appreciate such attention from PAGCOR. Surely
For all intents and purposes, the present administration in particular Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay What makes it more interesting is the a copy of nobody would question one’s generosity, that is if
in Region IX, Lanao del Norte in Northern a memo dated September 3, 2007 and signed by private funds are utilized and not revenues from
seems to have adopted the stand that what it spends unreasonably, Mindanao, Sarangani ni Region XII, Mountain one Adolph Edward G. Plaza, PAGCOR Vice Presi- the department’s regular appropriations and gov-
the people must pay strictly; what debts it incurs nonchalantly in and Province in the Cordillera Administrative Region, dent about the so-called People’s Government Mobile ernment-owned and controlled corporations.
out of the country, the citizens should pay faithfully. Maguindanao in the ARMM and the provinces of Action’s “full complement caravans in two mu- That’s definitely another story.

Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS

Action Alert to all Family
ISSN 1908-2940

CBCP Monitor
P r o ta g o n i s t of Tr u t h , Promoter of Peace
Love Life and Life Workers!
Pedro C. Quitorio THE fight against the anti-family/anti-life tion members sit in the congress gallery to lows such a program. He instructed his staff
Editor-in-Chief programs is now in the local level. For the encourage our pro-life congressmen to speak to look into the matter. The program might
past fifteen years, the Church and the pro- out for the stand of the Church. actually be coming from the local City Health
Pinky Barrientos, FSP Kris P. Bayos family/pro-life groups have been able to stop But lately, I have been receiving informa- Department of Davao and not from the DOH
Associate Editor Feature Editor the passage of the DEATH bills in Congress. tion that population control funding agen- central office.
Most of us are familiar with the meaning of cies are now approaching the governors and This shows that parishioners and diocesan
Melo M. Acuña Rowena T. Dalanon the DEATH bills by now—legalization of mayors for “reproductive health programs”, workers will have to be alert and vigilant
Managing Editor Marketing Supervisor divorce (D), euthanasia (E), Abortion (A), helping them build centers where contracep- regarding what is being implemented in their
Total fertility control or population control tives will be distributed, implementing the areas.
Dennis B. Dayao Ernani M. Ramos
through contraception, sterilization and sex condom-promoting type of sex education in We would like to congratulate Councilor
On-Line Editor Circulation Manager
education (T), Homosexual unions (H). We public schools, training midwives how to John Carlos G. de los Reyes for standing up
Roy Q. Lagarde Marcelita Dominguez can actually add another letter—S for the Sex insert IUDs or even perform tubal ligations, during one of their sessions in Olongapo City
News Editor Comptroller Education being imposed on children 10 etc. They are also aggressive in influencing to protest the Reproductive Health Code that
years old up. the men in the barangays to accept vasec- was about to be implemented. Councilor JC’s
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Through consistent lobby among our sena- tomy or have their wives accept pills and brave act is an example of what citizens can do
Communications Development Foundation, Inc., with tors and representatives, we have been able Depoprovera injections. in order to protect our people, especially our
Layout by Denz Dayao

editorial and business of fices at 470 Gen. Luna St.,

to explain the hidden agenda behind the nice-
Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO.
Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612. sounding titles of the bills and mustered
Email: cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net enough opposition whenever these were
Website: www.cbcpworld.net/cbcpmonitor presented on the floor. It was also hearten-
ing to see the response of parish organiza-
When I got a text message from a pro-lifer
in Davao City complaining about the con-
dom promotion of DOH in their public
schools, I immediately called Sec. Francisco
Duque. He vehemently denied that he al-
children, from counterproductive activities
using our taxpayers’ funds, government em-
ployees and facilities. By the way, Councilor
JC is the son of the late Mr. Sonny de los Reyes,
Love Life / A7
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand
HIS name is Joaquin, a twin brother of Sophia.
He calls her Ate since she is older by a few
minutes during birth. At one year old, Joaquin
was much bigger than his sister. Now at 7 he
has grown much taller and bigger while Sophia
remained slim and petite, hence, always mis-
taken as the younger sibling.
At the age of 4, Joaquin showed precocious
interest in the images of saints when for the
first time his father brought home a large-size
Christmas belen complete with Baby Jesus,
Mama Mary and Papa Joseph and the three
kings adoring Baby Jesus in a crib. His world
started to revolve along this new interest—
religious images among his motor toys. Go-
ing to the supermarket with the rest of the fam-
ily, he goes straight to St. Paul’s Religious store
instead of the Toys store situated across. Both
father and mother fueled his interest by buy-
ing children’s religious story books for him.
They were proud to tell the grandparents about
Joaquin’s “priestly” orientation. We advised
them to let time pass by and he will become
interested in other things like his brother Mico’s
showing the same interest at his age which
waned afterwards.
At age 5, Joaquin, showed an extraordinary
interest in pictures of the Holy Bible and the
saints and could memorize each of their names.
Ate Sophia was more interested in drawing
caricatures and making postcards and love
notes for her parents. Every time Joaquin
comes to Lolo Pepe’s home, he immediately
goes to the library beside the altar and gets
hold of the books with illustrations of saints.
He not only memorized the names made a
collection of their pictures in an album. Luck-
ily, her deceased Lola Lina had many of these
(Fire)wall of separation
RENDER unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and
unto God what is God’s.
Render unto Caesar and God what is
Caesar’s and God’s.
You will find it ironic that while our poli-
ticians solicit support from religious fig-
ures and gain much from Church apostolate
(i.e. Pondo ng Pinoy, Gawad Kalinga, welcome
houses), politicians at their wit’s end often
invoke the “principle of separation of
Church and State” whenever their interests
clash with their constituents’ Catholic
moral sentiments.
So while our Constitution encourages
civic participation to advance moral con-
sciousness, it becomes an issue when the
participant happens to “sound Catholic.”
(Hear the news, you can’t publicly bash any
religion here except Catholics.’) Corruption
continues, I think, because many of our
problems are moral in nature, and politi-
cians have itchy ears to this or that group,
but not this or that group, unless there are
“graces” to loot. They say religion is the
reason why we are poor. Maybe we are
poor because we never really practiced the
ethics of our faith.
Legal luminaries like Fr. Joaquin Bernas,
SJ, a member of the 1986 Constitutional
Commission, would time and again point
out that the law’s separation clause only
means two things: first, that the govern-
ment will not establish any religion; and
second, that every citizen shall enjoy free-
dom of conscience. This is clear in the Bill
of Rights stating that “no law shall be made
respecting an establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” (Art
III, Sec. 5). This shows that the limitation is
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
DADITAMA
THE Catholic Church in the Philippines
will be celebrating Indigenous Peoples
Sunday on October 14, 2007 with the
theme: “The Word of God in the Indigenous
Communities .” This will be another op-
portune time to foster greater awareness
and commitment among the Christian
majority about the Indigenous Peoples
in our country and the Church’s mission
with them.
The IP Apostolate in Daditama was one
of the first ones to pioneer the
apostolate in Mindanao. Way back to
1974, the PME Fathers in Davao del Sur
and the Maryknoll Fathers in Davao del
Norte and Oriental had initiated the lo-
cal Church’s journey with the Lumads
of Mindanao. Davao City started their
engagement with the Lumads sometime
in 1989 initiated by the Missionaries of
the Assumption and the parish of San
Roque in Malabog, Davao City.
Thus, Ms. Cynthia Masinaring, one of
the pioneering lay IPA workers in the
Diocese of Tagum, was one of those duly
recognized and given tribute during the
25 th ECIP-IPA National Convention for
her untiring dedication to the Indig-
enous Peoples Apostolate for more than
25 years. Congratulations Cynthia! We
are proud of you and thankful for your
exemplary witness to missionary com-
mitment. May we have many more IPA
workers like you.
Opinion
A 7 –year old’s ambition
to become a priest
“estampitas” which I gave him to fill his album.
At age 6, Joaquin memorized all the myster-
ies of the Rosary even the new mysteries of
light and could lead the prayer himself after
being taught by his grandmother, Lola Tess.
At 6 ½, the parish priest encouraged him to be
trained as an altar boy—the youngest of the
group but taller than most of them. His par-
ents did not discourage him at all and Joaquin
noticed their approbation on what he was do-
ing. I cautioned the parents to leave the boy
alone without prodding him to continue his
religious interest. I warned them that they may
be disappointed if some time in the future he
will change his mind.
Nevertheless, as a grandfather, I want him to
be a priest. It would be fruitful to expose him to
religious events in the same way my grandfa-
ther exposed me earlier in life. The occasion
came—I received an invitation for the ordina-
tion to priesthood of a previous staff member
of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines
during the Jubilee Year—Andy de Guzman. I
saw to it that Joaquin would see how priests are
ordained—this time 5 priests for the Archdio-
cese of Manila during the Eucharistic Celebra-
tion to be held at the Manila Cathedral with
Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales officiating.
Early Saturday morning Joaquin and his Dad
accompanied me to the Manila Cathedral to at-
tend the ordination. I was full of anticipation on
what Joaquin would express when he sees the
ceremonies. I was curious to know whether he
would still have a dislike for the priest’s robe
which he said could be uncomfortably warm. I
wanted to introduce him to the newly ordained
priest Fr. Andy de Guzman who regarded me
as a mentor during his stay in the LAIKO office.
Nicolo F. Bernardo
on government power from imposing a reli-
gion or imposing on religion. The popular
opinion that the clause is a ground for
Church and State “indifference” is not re-
flected in the Constitution (especially when
it was from a revolutionary government
endorsed by the Church). Following a
Church admonition, they say, in effect es-
tablishes a religion. On one hand, shunning
Church admonition in effect bans religion.
The United States, where the separation
clause has been adopted since our 1935 Con-
stitution, has the same nuances on this “wall
of separation.” University of Chicago law
professor Philip Hamburger, a long-time
columnist of the New Yorker, contends that
the separation of Church and State was
drafted in the 18th century First Amend-
ment to limit the government from follow-
ing European countries that established
official religions.
The US Supreme Court’s first use of the
words “separation of church and state” was
in a free exercise case in 1879. Separation
calls for “neutrality,” in Chief Justice War-
ren Burger’s words, “ benevolent neutral-
ity”—not hostility. The Amendment, says
Hamburger, was only later misinterpreted
to limit religion. Secularists go as far as to
use the clause to censor the language of
“morality” in the US government (as we
now do in Philippine politics) and to sug-
gest the abolishment of religious holidays
like Christmas and Easter (that’s the logi-
cal end of absolutizing the separation
clause). Hamburger argues that the myriad
of connections between the interests of
Church and State do not amount to an es-
tablishment, let alone a full union of church
Indigenous Peoples
Sunday
***
What do we do with the Barangay, SK
Elections?
Earlier I wrote that Daditama will be
involved again in the upcoming Octo-
ber 29 Barangay, SK elections by way of
non-partisan involvement through po-
litical education and poll watching. Af-
ter having said that, the House of Rep-
resentatives passed a bill for the post-
ponement of the said elections to which
the Senate does not seem to agree with.
The Department of Interior and Local
Government as well as the COMELEC
say they are ready to conduct the elec-
tions. So, the elections will most likely
push through barring any emergency
that might occur in the coming weeks.
The Barangay, SK elections was meant
to be an experience of grassroots democ-
racy. But it has become too politicized
under the direction and influence of lo-
cal politicians turning it to grassroots
corruption. Many who run and get
elected as Barangay Officials and SK
leaders are not the most worthy and re-
liable citizens in the Barangay. Re-
sources entrusted to the Barangay are
most often not put to good use. This is
why, even the principal sponsor of the
Local Government Code, Senator
Pimentel publicly acknowledges that
there is much to be improved in the law.
Unless the way we conduct Barangay,
When we reached the Manila Cathedral,
there was no crowd. I expected many people,
relatives and friends of the 5 candidates for
ordination. May be, I thought we were too
early. We went up the LAIKO Building to wait
there. It was there when I was told that the
ordination was scheduled for September 29,
not September 22. Joaquin was not disturbed
since I gave him while he waited for me, a
book to read—full of pictures of shrines of the
Philippines. However, in my desire not to dis-
please Joaquin, I brought him to the San
Agustin Museum. He was excited to see all the
pictures of churches in the Philippines and told
me to accompany him when he visits these
churches. In fact his big ambition is to tour the
Vatican with Lolo Pepe.
The following Saturday, I had to go alone
for the ordination of the 5 new priests. It lasted
from 9 am to 11:40 AM—a very solemn cer-
emony with the words of Cardinal Rosales
ringing in my ears as I went out: “Remember,
Jesus said, ‘ you did not choose me, I chose
you!’” Inside me I heard a voice saying, “Is the
Lord choosing Joaquin for the priesthood?”
The day was a day of inspiration – I heartily
congratulate the new priests:
Rev. Jeremiah Aquino Adviento
Rev. Richard James Manion Babao
Rev. John Patrick Dayap Calimlim
Rev. Antonio Alano de Guzman, Jr.
Rev. Arnold Rex Ladrido Kintanar
To Reverend Andy—Special Congratula-
tions! I pray that the Holy Spirit always sup-
port you in your ministry especially in times
of crisis. Please pray for my grandson, little
big Joaquin, that he may follow your footsteps
and be a priest one day.
Lifeguard
and state. Union and separation are
overgeneralizations between which lies
much middle ground.
In fact, during the supposed anti-clerical,
Oust-Spain Philippine Revolution, many of
the revolutionaries did not contemplate
separating Church and State; they even in-
tended to have a unifying official, although
not exclusive, religion for the islands. The
separation clause was the most controver-
sial issue for the framers of the Malolos
Constitution. After a long debate, the pro-
posal of separation won by a margin of
only one vote (many of the framers were
Freemasons, itself a fraternal, quasi-reli-
gious group.)
Yet today, whenever the nation is in deep
crisis, Filipinos immediately invoke reli-
gious intervention. It’s a one way street
though. The politicians can always make
sabit and gamit. But when it comes to moral-
ity, Church people can only be saling kit.
Maybe because in a State run like hell,
you can’t and must not make a bridge into
any Kingdom of Heaven. Our Asian neigh-
bors do not have this anxiety of compart-
mentalizing Church and State though. They
don’t think in dichotomies and binaries.
Their laws respect their religion and cul-
ture, unlike much of Western-breed societ-
ies that are always in denial of their roots,
their history, their archetypal values. They
may be rich, yes, but look at their suicide
rates. It’s just unfortunate that atheism and
agnosticism happened not to be called “re-
ligions,” but much the same, they are forms
of belief. And it is this atheistic and agnos-
tic spirit which is the only warranted spirit
in any religion-hostile State.
SK elections is changed, I cannot but
agree more with PDI columnist, Neal H.
Cruz, that we might as well abolish this
altogether.
***
“Building bridges of peace with our
peace Officers”
The Mindanao Week of Peace celebration
On November 29 - December 5 with its
theme: Building bridges of Peace with our
Peace Officers” , is getting much interest
and commitment from many sectors in
Davao del Sur. Governor Douglas
Cagas and myself are spearheading the
organization and mobilization of dif-
ferent sectors of the province to initiate
and participate in activities for promot-
ing the culture of peace and non-vio-
lence among our different constituents.
It is heartening to note that at this
stage many sectors are already showing
interest—the LGUs, the academe, the
PNP, the IPs, the Muslims, Christian
churches, youth groups, women, civic
clubs and so on. We hope this initial
interest will result in concrete activities
for a meaningful and fruitful celebra-
tion of the Mindanao Week of Peace.
We enjoin other provinces of
Mindanao and the whole country to join
this peace building activity, for indeed,
peace is a universal quest. (For comments:
daditama_now@yahoo.com.ph)
A5
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD
By the Roadside
Forgiving Erap
FIRSTLY, I am no fan of former President Joseph ‘Erap’ Ejercito
Estrada. But neither am I a detractor. I admit, though, that, like
many other Filipinos, I followed with deep interest his im-
peachment last 2000-2001 at the Philippine Senate and, again
like many other Filipinos, formed a strong opinion on his
case, an opinion that I think was massively and powerfully
expressed in what became known as Edsa 2. To my mind, Edsa
2 was a very powerful opinion shared and expressed so strongly
by many Filipinos that, when Erap’s own generals and former
allies joined in, it ultimately drove him out of power.
Last September 12, 2007 that opinion became a court ver-
dict, at least partly, on the crime of plunder vis-à-vis Erap:
GUILTY. I remember receiving a text message from a fellow
priest two days before that, asking my opinion on the out-
come of the case and whether or not we Filipinos should in
any way be concerned. I predicted, correctly, that Erap would
be found guilty but I expressed doubts, incorrectly (as it turned
out), on whether our justice system could summon the cour-
age to so declare. I also told my friend that there is no way
Filipinos could stay impassive because, if anything, the case
involves a former holder of the highest office of the land. We
know too well how we Filipinos often complain that only
the small fry get caught by the so-called ‘long arms’ of the
law. Now the court seems to say, “Look what we’ve got—
your big fish!”
Then, no sooner had the verdict been read than politicians
started to urge the incumbent president to extend pardon or
amnesty to the former president. And no sooner had Erap
insisted he would not seek pardon because that would be an
admission of guilt than his lawyers and allies floated to the
media his openness to amnesty and even absolute pardon. A
senator of the land even refreshed our collective (amnesiac)
memory, stating recently ours is a Christian country and
that, ergo, forgiving Erap (and even the senator’s own nem-
eses, I might add) is, at the end of the day, the way to go.
Let’s put aside the legal and the political aspects of the sub-
ject. Not only do I feel less than competent there; it is also
fraught with doubletalk and dissembling. Let’s focus on how
we, “a Christian country”, must inevitably come to grips with
forgiving Erap as a consequence of our faith.
1. I agree that, notwithstanding Erap’s conviction which must
be respected, our Christian faith urges us to be forgiving of
others who offend us in any way. In this instance, I agree that
as Christians we ought to forgive Erap. Our forgiveness does
not mean disrespecting the legal consequences of his convic-
tion. The model I have in mind is the late Pope John Paul II
who unhesitatingly extended forgiveness to Mehmet Agca—
the man who nearly succeeded in assassinating him—but who
also respected the sentence imposed by the Italian govern-
ment on Agca. Forgiving Erap not only liberates him but also
Filipinos who are wronged by the crime for which he was
convicted. We become liberated by who we are, namely, as
Christians, our reason for forgiving is as clear as it is compel-
ling: Our God is a God of mercy and we call ourselves his sons
and daughters. “Be merciful,” Jesus tells us, “just as your Fa-
ther is merciful” (Lk 6:36).
2. Because our Father is merciful, we put on his way of look-
ing at us in the way we look at others, especially the so-called
‘offenders’, ‘criminals’ and even our so-called ‘enemies’, po-
litical or otherwise. In the words of Cardinal Jean-Marie
Lustiger: “Nobody is ever lost in God’s eyes, even when soci-
ety has condemned him.” The perfect picture of God’s way of
looking at us, to my mind, is provided in the fifteenth chapter
of the gospel of Luke, read last Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordi-
nary Time, Year C. The shepherd who left the ninety-nine to
look for one lost sheep, the woman who swept the entire house
to look for one lost coin, the father who scanned the horizon
day and night waiting for a lost son, did so because what they
looked for was very precious in their eyes. And all three ‘look-
ers’ represent God for whom each of us, lost though we may be
in sin or wrongdoing, is a precious treasure and so looks for us
till we are found.
3. It’s remarkable in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Lk.
15:11-32), more properly called ‘Parable of the Prodigal Fa-
ther’ (as he is the one really prodigal with mercy and kind-
ness), the Father extends forgiveness to the lost son even be-
fore the son actually is able to ask for it. “While he was still a
long way off, his father caught sight of him, and was filled
with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him and kissed
him” (Lk. 15:20). It is only then that son is able to say: “Father,
I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer
deserve to be called your son” (Lk. 15:21). It is the Father’s
mercy that frees the son from the fear of being condemned and
enables him to admit to his wrongdoing and to the process of
healing and rehabilitation at home. I find it worth noting that
Erap and many other perceived offenders do not and probably
will not admit to guilt. One big reason is our judgmental atti-
tude as a society. If as a society we could enshrine in our laws
and ways of doing things the Father’s attitude of mercy,
wouldn’t so-called ‘offenders’ be able to cast aside fear of con-
demnation in order to admit to wrongdoing and agree to
proper rehabilitation? What good is it to us and to our society
if we further kick someone who is already fallen on the ground?
4. We need to forgive Erap because we too need to be for-
given. A close friend of mine asked me, “Who put up the sys-
tem that has allowed the crime of plunder and many other
atrocities to be committed, and has previously allowed those
who commit them to gain power? We the people… We are the
ultimate offenders. We need to admit to our guilt and submit
to rehabilitation!” “When you stand to pray,” Jesus says, “for-
give anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your
heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions”
(Mk 11:26).
5. We forgive Erap and others who offend us because God, in
fact, forgives us in Christ. Mercy is like knowledge and light;
it has no meaning unless it is shared. Our public fora need to
hear St. Paul’s exhortation: “All bitterness, fury, anger, shout-
ing, and reviling must be removed from you, along with all
malice. In place of these be kind to one another, forgiving one
another as God has forgiven you in Christ” (Eph 4:35).
Finally, forgiving Erap means not giving up on ourselves’
and our country’s ability to pick ourselves up and change. Our
Asian neighbors, we often decry, are better than we are in
fighting corruption and public wrongdoing because their dis-
cipline and cult for honor compel them to either resign from
office or from this life through suicide. I agree that the disci-
pline and love for honor among many of our Asian neighbors
are admirable. But I do not agree that, as a nation, we should
be measured, in the last analysis, by those things rather than
by what makes us more appreciative of human life and dig-
nity in ourselves and in others, by what truly sets us free for
God and for other human beings, rather than by what makes
us merely look good in human eyes. After all, “To err is hu-
man; to forgive is divine,” is not only a maxim. It defines you
and me.
 CBCP Monitor
A6 Local News Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

CBCP urges prayer, help for homeless

THE Catholic Bishops’ Con-
ference of the Philippines
(CBCP) asked believers to
pray for the poor and the
homeless as the world marks
Habitat Day on October 1.
CBCP President Archbishop
Angel Lagdameo said the
event invites us to reflect on
our basic right to shelter and
our collective responsibility
for the future of human habi-
tat.
“As we speak in behalf of
our homeless brethren and
those living in very difficult
conditions, let us continue
praying for the speedy action
of the government in response
to their needs. Let us help
them in whatever way we
can,” he said.
Lagdameo has also called on
his fellow prelates to enjoin
their priests to read in all
Masses on October 7 the
CBCP’s “A Statement on the
Nation’s Housing Problems”
which was issued last January
by the 94th Bishops’ Plenary
Assembly.
The bishops have been call-
ing on the government to help
people who are in depressed
areas so that they may live in
more humane conditions.
Task Force Anti-Illegal
Demolition (TF-AID), mean-
while, has lauded Church’s ef-
forts in calling on the govern-
ment to stop “uncaring” evic-
tions and demolitions.
Novaliches Bishop Antonio
Tobias recently has con-
demned as “inhuman” the on-
going demolition of houses
along Commonwealth in
Quezon City.
Tobias personally asked
Quezon City Mayor Feliciano
Belmonte to stop the wreck-
ing crew of Metro Manila De-
velopment Authority so that
affected families can find tem-
porary staging area.
Urban Poor Associates
(UPA) also called for a halt to
demolitions, saying “driving
away people from their homes
is the most inhuman way to
celebrate the World Habitat
Day.”
UPA notes that almost all
cases of demolitions being
conducted by the government
throughout Metro Manila
have violated in one way or
another the international laws
and the Urban Development
and Housing Act (UDHA),
which prohibits use of force
during demolitions and re-
quires provision of suitable
relocation areas. (CBCP News)

Manila holds CBCP’s Diamante reelected ICCPPC official

global warming CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Prison Pastoral Care (ECPPC) executive
secretary Rodolfo Diamante was reelected official of the International Com-
mission of Catholic Prison Pastoral Care (ICCPPC)

conference
IN cooperation with the Columban
Fathers, Lingkod Tao Kalikasan Foun-
dation, Inc. and other partner institu-
tions, the Archdiocese of Manila Ecol-
ogy Desk conducted a conference on glo-
bal warming and climate change last
Sept. 22 to 23 at the College of the Holy
Spirit in Manila.
Themed “Global Warming, Hamon sa
Sambayanang Kristiyano,” the conference
primarily aimed at raising the conscious-
ness of the faithful on the serious condi-
tion of God’s creation by understanding
the issues of global warming and climate
change in the light of the Social Teach-
ings of the Church.
“The conference is set to help the faith-
ful recognize their personal relationship
with God’s creation and attain the full-
ness of life by resolving to actively work
for the care of the earth in parish, vicari-
ate, and archdiocesan levels,” said Fr.
Benito Tuazon, the director of the Ecol-
ogy Desk.
The 2-day conference gathered re-
source person expert in both issues. Two
of the speakers include Columban mis-
sionary Fr. Sean McDonagh, a writer and
international speaker on varied environ-
mental issues, and Dr. Rogelio
Concepcion, a former director of the
Bureau of Soils and Water Resources of
the Department of Agriculture.
Apart from seminar-workshops, the
conference likewise staged a photo ex-
hibit on Philippine biodiversity and a
forum on the best practices to address
global warming and climate change.
The conference gathered around 400
participants coming from parishes,
catholic schools, religious congregations
and other church organizations of the
Archdiocese of Manila and other dio-
ceses nationwide. (Kris Bayos)
Diamante’s reelection as ICCPPC Asia-Oceania’s representative took place
during the organization’s International Congress in Rome last September 5-12.
Diamante is a familiar figure in the prison apostolate. He has been serving
the Catholic Church from his elementary days.
He is considered an “institution” in the formation of youth leaders and
church workers especially volunteers involved in prison pastoral care.
His long-standing advocacy for prisoner’s welfare for 30 years was appro-
priately recognized through the “Magnificat Award” from the Archdiocese
of Manila in 1997.
The CBCP lay official is also at the forefront in the campaign for the
passage of the comprehensive juvenile justice system and the promotion of
restorative intervention in the country’s correctional system.
Diamante, 58, also serves as the Asia and Oceania envoy to the Interna-
tional Prison Chaplains Association (IPCA).
He is also executive director of the late Pope John Paul I Foundation on
Prisoners’ Welfare, vice president of both the Integrated Correctional Asso-
ciation of the Philippines (ICAP) and the Coalition Against Death Penalty
(CADP) and President of the Philippine Action for Youth Offenders (PAYO).
Founded in 1950, the ICCPPC based in the Netherlands maintains official ties
with the Vatican, particularly with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
One of the primary functions of the organization is to awaken, encourage
and generate within the Church and society awareness and sensitivity to the
challenges of prison pastoral care.
Fifty years later with 105 member countries, it is respected as a worldwide
Public Association of the Faithful in the Catholic Church, with new statutes
and the same interest in pastoral care for those in prison. (CBCP News)

Myanmar / A1 Abalos / A1 Mining / A1 AFP / A1

the Church has been praying for
peace and development, and urg-
ing people to also offer prayers and
sacrifices. The statement further
stated that “priests and religious are
not involved in any party-politics,
and in the current protests,” but
Catholics “are free to act as they
deem fit.”
Demonstrations led by Bud-
dhists’ monks have been escalating
in downtown Yangon and other
places since last month against ris-
ing inflation, corruption and con-
tinued suppression of democracy.
Myanmar has been under mili-
tary rule for more than 45 years.
International condemnation
poured forth as military govern-
ment violently clamped down on
protests that led to arrests and deaths
of thousand of demonstrators.
Latest reports said hundred of
monks have been executed and bod-
ies dumped in the jungle. (Pinky
Barrientos, FSP)
Killings / A1
tion in the villages and towns before
shifting its attention to highly-urban-
ized areas such as Davao and Cebu.
“All these incidents should be given
importance,” Bishop Pueblos added.
He said he believes the government
is serious in putting a stop to extraju-
dicial killings. “The Melo Commis-
sion has always emphasized the im-
portance of command responsibility,”
the prelate added.
He said military and police com-
manders in the country should feel
alarmed of extrajudicial killing inci-
dents in their respective areas of re-
sponsibility for “they ought to be re-
sponsible of their areas.”
Asked of his reaction to President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s speech be-
fore the United Nations general as-
sembly late last month on the
government’s resolve to adhere to
human rights, Bishop Pueblos said
“we have enough laws that guaran-
tee these rights but what we lack is its
serious implementation.” (Melo
Acuña)
project.
Thebishopalsourgedtheembattled
poll official to shed light on the alleged
massive fraud that took place during
the 2004 presidential elections.
“Tell all. Come clean. Help people
in their avid search and strong long-
ing for just and honest government,”
Cruz asked Abalos.
For his part, Kalookan bishop
Deogracias Iñiguez said investigation
on the questionable project must be
pursued and held those who will be
found responsible.
HesaidAbalos’resignationmustnot
spare his alleged involvement in the
controversial $329.4-million contract.
“Of course (it’s not enough). His
implication must be determined, and
if true, sanctioned duly,” said Iñiguez.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) welcomed
theresignationofAbalos,sayingitwas
the “best decision” he has made so far.
“ThankGodMr.Abalosresponded
to our prayer… The best decision that
Mr. Abalos has done is to resign amid
threats of impeachment. It was a short
cut. Thank you, Mr Abalos for your
decision,” said CBCP President Arch-
bishop Angel Lagdameo. (Roy
Lagarde)
Witness / A1
Pinili town.
In an interview with
CBCPNews, Bishop Utleg said
police authorities have already
filed criminal complaints against
some suspects with the
Prosecutor’s Office. However,
Bishop Utleg said the case would
be bolstered if eyewitnesses
would surface and give more de-
tails of the incident.
“We hope persons who saw the
incident would come out and help
solve the case,” Bishop Utleg said.
In an interview with
CBCPNews, Ilocos Norte Provin-
cial Police Director Roman Felix
said while they have already re-
ferred the case to the prosecutor’s
office, they are still gathering ad-
ditional evidence to support the
criminal charges. (CBCP News)
Xstrata, an Anglo-Swiss mining
company.
The prelates recently led some
8,000 demonstrators who staged
a rally in front of the mining
firms’ office to reiterate the
CBCP’s call for the repeal of the
Mining Act of 1995, which
opened the country up to foreign
mining companies.
The town of Tampakan is lo-
cated approximately 50km north
of General Santos, a major center
for regional agriculture and aquac-
ulture. It boasts one of the largest
tuna fishing ports in the world.
The government has dynami-
cally encouraged foreign mining
companies to invest in the coun-
try to create more jobs and aug-
ment the debilitating economy.
The bishops, however, said
that the mining law will cer-
tainly destroy both environ-
ment and people and will lead
to national unrest.
Gutierrez also showed during
the meeting images of people
covered in sores and fish stocks
poisoned to show the links be-
tween leaks of toxic mine
wastes, such as cyanide, and the
loss of health and livelihoods of
local communities.
Both bishops were wearing Epis-
copal crosses made of bamboo in-
stead of metal mined underground.
Short, on her part, urged par-
ticipants “to work together for
sustainable development, that
takes human rights and the wel-
fare of the natural world into
consideration.”
This will mean, she said, put-
ting pressure on politicians and
business leaders to respond to
“unsustainable development.”
She also lauded the bishops for
their leadership in offering a
Catholic response to the country’s
environmental challenges.
Over 50 representatives of
Christian organizations and the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the England and Wales were
also present during the meeting.
(Roy Lagarde)
ranted intrusion into their social
and cultural fabric.
Utleg said the recruitment
were being done nationwide es-
pecially in the areas of Bulacan,
Quezon, Aurora, Nueva Ecija,
Zambales, Agusan, Bukidnon,
Zamboanga peninsula, North
Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and
Davao City.
In Mindanao, recruitment of
paramilitary forces was higher in
Cotabato and Davao provinces
with one group called “Bagani”
which was reportedly created by
the Armed Forces of the Philip-
pines (AFP) to defend their ances-
tral domain.
The ECIP reported that indig-
enous peoples are given sacks of
rice and mobile phones to act as
informers of the military.
Many ethnic groups however
continue to refuse joining the mili-
tary believing that they are just
being used as a cannon fodder or
shields for their counter-insur-
gency operations.
Equally alarming, the ECIP also
said, is the recruitment of IPs by
the NPA into their ranks.
“To involve them in military
or NPA activities is to make their
communities potential perma-
nent battlegrounds,” Utleg said.
Utleg then called on the gov-
ernment and the NPA to respect
the dignity of the IPs and stop the
widespread recruitment.
He noted that the Comprehen-
sive Agreement on Human Rights
and International Humanitarian
Law (CAHRILH) prohibits the
participation of civilians in mili-
tary operations and mandates the
government to continue its re-
view of the policy on maintain-
ing CAFGU or CVO.
“They have been so
marginalized by the loss of their
ancestral domain, the depletion
of the forest due to logging and
the intrusion of mining. Let us not
add more to their suffering by
making their communities per-
manent battlegrounds,” he added.
(Roy Lagarde)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007 Features A7

Church not looking

Pope Benedict
Pope Benedict XVI
XVI received
received in in
Castelgandolfo the
Castelgandolfo the participants
participants
of the
of the traditional
traditional meeting
meeting of of
bishops appointed
bishops appointed over
over the
the last
last

for power, says Pope

twelve months;
twelve months; there
there were
were aa
total of
total of 103
103 prelates
prelates from
from dio-
dio-
ceses worldwide,
ceses worldwide, six
six of
of them
them
are from
are from the
the Philippines.
Philippines.

VATICAN CITY, October 4, 2007—The Church and state are independent of

each other but collaborate to serve the person and society, Benedict XVI told
the new Italian ambassador to the Holy See.
The Pope took advantage of today’s meeting, coinciding with the feast of St.
Francis of Assisi, patron of Italy, to send a greeting to the country’s president
and to elaborate on the magisterium’s vision of Church-state relations.
“The Church is not and does not intend to be a political agent,” the Holy
Father said in his discourse to Antonio Zanardi Landi. “At the same time, it
has a deep interest for the good of the political community.”
He recalled the teaching found in the Second Vatican Council document
“Gaudium et Spes”: “The Church and the political community in their own
fields are autonomous and independent from each other. Yet both, under
different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same
men” (No. 76).
The Pontiff continued: “The Church is not searching for power, nor does it
expect privileges or aspire to positions of economic and social advantage.
“Its only scope is to serve man, aspiring to, as the supreme norm of conduct,
Jesus Christ’s words and example, he ‘who went about doing good, and heal-
ing all.’”
Benedict XVI asked that the Church be “considered for its specific nature
and to be able to freely carry out its special mission, not only for the good of

Bishops must be, above Dominicans rally

its faithful, but for all Italians.” (Zenit)

all, men of prayer

against abortion
VATICAN CITY, September 22, 2007
(VIS) - This morning in Castelgandolfo,
the Holy Father received participants
in the traditional meeting of bishops
who have been appointed over the
course of the last twelve months. With
them, he reflected on the apostolic and
pastoral nature of a bishop’s life of
prayer.
After highlighting how “the chief
place in the life of a successor to the
Apostles must be reserved for God,” the
Pope told the bishops to reserve a spe-
cial mention for priests in their prayers,
“that they may persevere in their voca-
tion, faithful to the priestly mission with
which they have been entrusted.
“How edifying it is,” he added, “for
each priest to know that his bishop -
from whom he received the gift of
priesthood or who is in any case his fa-
ther and friend - remains close to him
in prayer and affection, and is always
ready to welcome him, listen to him,
support and encourage him. Nor,” he
continued,” in a bishop’s prayers,
should there ever be lacking a suppli-
cation for new vocations. They must be
asked insistently of God, that He may
call ‘whom He will’ to the sacred min-
istry.”
“Where men and women are con-
stantly rushing and lose themselves,
where people live as if God does not
exist,” the Pope told the newly-conse-
crated bishops, “create places and mo-
ments for prayer where, in silence, in
listening to God through ‘lectio divina,’
in individual and community prayer,
mankind can meet God and enjoy a liv-
ing experience of Jesus Christ Who re-
veals the true face of the Father.”
The Holy Father exhorted the bish-
ops “to make the cathedral an exem-
plary house of prayer, especially litur-
gical prayer, where the diocesan com-
munity united with their bishop can
praise and thank God for His work of
salvation, and intercede for all human-
kind.”
“Be men of prayer,” Benedict XVI con-
cluded. “In appealing to God for your-
selves and for your faithful, have the
trust of children, the boldness of a
friend, and the perseverance of
Abraham, who was tireless in his inter-
cession.”
SANTO DOMINGO, October 3, 2007—Church leaders, politicians and civil
groups have announced they will take measures to express opposition to
a bill that would legalize abortion in the Dominican Republic.
Speaking to reports, Bishop Jesús María de Jesús Moya of San Francisco
de Macoris and Bishop Julio César Corniel Amaro of Puerto Plata ex-
pressed their rejection of abortion as the killing of an innocent human
being.
“The Church will oppose anything that attacks human life and in order
to achieve this, she is willing to take any action necessary so that this
inalienable right to life of men and women is respected,” Bishop Corniel
Amaro told reporters, saying the bishops plan to organize a diocesan
meeting in order to plan pro-life activities.
They also announced a special Mass would be celebrated on October 25
outside the country’s parliament by Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez
Rodriguez of Santo Domingo, and a march for life would be held on Octo-
ber 28.
The Social Christian Reformist Party and its presidential candidate,
Amable Aristy, began a national campaign this week called “A Green

Australian Cardinal
Light to Life.” Speaking to reporters, Aristy said President Leonel Fernandez
is responsible for promoting the issue of abortion in the country. He
noted that the new Penal Code makes abortion a crime.

calls for more Aristy said his position on abortion was not partisan but rather an ex-
pression of his belief that the “right to life is a fundamental and absolute
human right that cannot be restricted.”

spiritual preparation “Nobody has the right to determine or decide who should be born and
who should die. That’s the reason for our Green Light to Life campaign,”
he said.

Church / A1
“It is not just a matter of being conser-
vative, but also of being morally right,”
he said.
The Church’s alternative to contracep-
tion, natural family planning (NFP), was
also given emphasis again by the CBCP
head as the only right way of practicing
responsible parenthood.
Lagdameo clarified the Church is not
against population control provided the
sanctity of human life is valued.
He called on the government to re-
spect the freewill of the couple to exer-
cise sexual and family morality accord-
ing to their religious conviction.
“Since the Church objects to the use of
artificial contraception, the church like-
wise objects to their dissemination, cre-
ating thereby a contraceptive mentality
towards a culture of death,” the prelate
said.
Nothing but money
Another Church leader has gone far
as to saying that it’s all about the money
why some lawmakers have been push-
ing for “anti-life” programs.
“There is money behind this but I don’t
know where it is coming from,” said San
Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto.
Aniceto, who chairs the CBCP Episco-
pal Commission on Family and Life, said
contraceptive mentality is not the way
to promote authentic development for
the people.
“It should come out from a real seri-
ous economic management and proper
for World Youth Day
SYDNEY, Australia, October 4, 2007—Cardinal George Pell,
Archbishop of Sydney, called spiritual and religious prepara-
tion “the most important challenge” for the upcoming World
Youth Day 2008. The cardinal noted an “erosion of faith and
practice,” citing census figures showing a two percent increase
in Australians who do not claim a religion.
Archbishop Pell said he had personally witnessed “deep
conversions” in youths at World Youth Day in Rome in the
year 2000. He expressed great hopes for the Australian-hosted
World Youth Day:
“One of the great blessings that the World Youth Day will
give us is that it will present the one true God to us, remind us
of the teaching and the role of Christ, the only Son of God, and
generally place spiritual values in the public domain.”
The cardinal is confident the event will be well-organized.
Up to half a million people are expected to attend the July 15-
20 celebration.
The Australian government announced yesterday that it is
simplifying visa procedures for World Youth Day pilgrims.
Visas for registered pilgrims are free of government charges,
are available for a three-month duration, and allow multiple
entries into the country.
Limited visa quotas have also been removed both in gen-
eral and for particular countries. (CNA)
Love Life / A4
economic planning of our country,” he former President of LAIKO, founder of
said. Serviam and Bukas Loob sa Diyos. And I
Lagman said he will appropriate the am proud to claim that he was also a
P1-billion budget for population control Board member of Pro-life Philippines.
at the start of the plenary discussions on There is a directive that citizens are to
the proposed P1.227-trillion 2008 national be consulted for any programs that are
budget. to be implemented in their locality. Who
else but the residents of the town, city or
Blame not the population
The bishops also maintained the
province will know what is going on?
We, here in Manila, depend on your re-
Church’s argument there is no direct cor- ports if you want us to help you stop the
relation between population and poverty. evils going on there. It is also you who
Aniceto said we are poor not because would know the government personnel
we are many, but because of and politicians in your area. Aren’t they
misgovernance and corruption in our your relatives, neighbors and friends?
country. As Councilor JC mentioned in his
“It is an old exploded myth that the speech to stop the Reproductive Health
population is the culprit of our poverty,” Code from being implemented,
he said. shouldn’t the policy-makers focus their
Lagdameo also contested the claim that time and resources on serious family and
population in the country has steadily social policies, programs on cultural de-
been rising, citing studies conducted by velopment and the fair production and
the United Nations (UN) and the National distribution of resources instead of anti-
Statistics Office (NSO). birth policies that will only perpetuate
“It is not true that the Philippines the culture of death, promiscuity and
growth rate is 2.36 percent. The UN using decadent morality in our society?
the same census date has arrived at a very And, as Ma. Esquivel of Parañaque
much lower rate. The NSO has already aptly said in her Letter to the Editor (PDI
projected a Philippine population growth 9/20/07), in support for the action of
rate of 1.99 percent,” he said. Councilor JC, “the battle lines have
“These notwithstanding, we do not moved from the Batasan to the provin-
subscribe to the allegations that popula- cial boards and city councils. We all need
tion must be controlled because it is the to be vigilant”.
main cause of poverty; there are other For more information on how to
graver factors. We will not join countries lobby for pro-life/pro-family policies
with collapsing population growth rate,” and programs, contact Pro-life office at
Lagdameo added. (Roy Lagarde) 911-2911 or email at life@prolife.org.ph.
Senator Cristina Lizardo of Santo Domingo called on the country’s in-
stitutions to respect life. “I wish to say that the right to life is not a
religious question, but rather a moral and juridical one, and that is a
commandment from God,” she said. (CNA)
Illinois school board debates
in-school Halloween,
Christmas celebrations
CHICAGO, USA, October 4, 2007—A school district in Oak Lawn, Illi-
nois, citing concerns for sensitivity to Muslim students, is debating the
place of Halloween and Christmas celebrations in public schools.
Rumors of a total holiday ban angered many parents, who protested
the rumored changes. “They’re trying to take away holidays and stuff for
the kids,” said resident Gene Boerema, dressed in a Santa Claus costume.
The controversy comes after one parent wanted Ramadan decorations
put up, decorations which were later taken down. Elizabeth Zahdan, a
Muslim mother of three, also requested that her children be separated
from other students during the Ramadan fast. Zahdan insists she did not
want traditional holidays canceled. “We should educate our children
about all the holidays, equally,” she said. “And not favor one holiday
over another.”
Superintendent Tom Smyth said the school never intended to do away
with Christmas and Halloween celebrations. But constitutional ques-
tions remain. “I go back to our policy which says that public schools are
to remain neutral in this respect, he said.” (CNA)
Prayer Campaign Targets Violence
WASHINGTON, D.C., October. 7, 2007—The 15th Annual International
Week of Prayer to fight terrorism, war and violence started Friday.
The International Week of Prayer and Fasting was organized for the
conversion of nations, to bring an end to abortion, and to build a culture
of life.
Maureen Flynn, chairwoman for the event, said the organizers are “a
coalition, a grass-roots effort of groups from all over the world that we
have been working with for over 15 years.”
“As we have approached more problems in the world, especially with
terrorism and the decline of the culture of life, this grass-roots move-
ment has grown,” she added.
In addition to an open invitation for individuals, families and parishes
to pray and fast, the campaign includes three pro-life events in Washing-
ton, D.C.
The Youth and Young Adult Festival in preparation for World Youth
Day was held Saturday at Catholic University of America.
Today, Georgetown University will host the Culture of Life Awards
Banquet Sunday, featuring former presidential candidate Alan Keyes,
television host and author Raymond Arroyo, Congressman Chris Smith,
and actor Eduardo Verastegui.
Eucharistic Prayer Day at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception will be held Monday with Father Frank Pavone,
Father Clement Machado, and Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri
Schiavo.
The week of prayer and fasting will conclude next Saturday. (Zenit)
 CBCP Monitor
A8 People, Facts & Places Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

NY honors Lorenzo Ruiz

Markings Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes, DD. was
chosen as the main celebrant of the solemn
high Mass. Father Erno Diaz, coordinator of
the archdiocese’s Filipino Apostolate, chose
Bishop Reyes as main celebrant for this double
anniversary Mass because the bishop was in-
CELEBRATED. DIOCESE OF strumental in the establishment of the Fili-
MASBATE, 39th year of foundation; pino Apostolate in the Archdiocese of New
September 25, 2007. Organizers of York, thereby giving the Filipinos an official
this year’s anniversary celebration voice and identity.
started what will soon perhaps be- To celebrate further the double anniversary,
come a tradition peculiar to the prov- the board of directors of the Philippine Pasto-
ince alone. Initially called, “the Gal- ral Center hosted last Sept. 21 a gala dinner at
leon Festival”, the concept was the popular Jing Fong Restaurant on Eliza-
spawned largely from the significant beth Street in historic Chinatown.
role Masbate played in the journey of Around50dedicatedsupportersandfriendsof
faith, it being the center of the Manila theFilipinoApostolate,theChapelofSanLorenzo
Galleons during the Spanish times. RuizandthePhilippinePastoralCenterservedas
Historical accounts on the province co-chairs of the gala anniversary dinner.
tell of Masbate as having “ports and IN celebration of this year’s 20th canoniza- high Mass for the Saint’s solemn feast day Meanwhile, Diaz will celebrate another
shipyards, not to mention a great deal of wealth because of its goldmine.” tion anniversary of San Lorenzo Ruiz de last Sept. 23. Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 18 on the
The festival featured the parade of the Galleons’ replicas, the street dances Manila, the Filipino Apostolate of the Arch- Also in commemoration of the 25th an- occasion of the 20th canonization anniversary
dubbed “pasa-kalye” and the barter system. diocese of New York sponsored a solemn niversary of the Filipino Apostolate, of San Lorenzo Ruiz de Manila. (Kris Bayos)

Bayombong opens Inter-Agency

LAUNCHED. ADAMSON VINCENTIAN
CENTER FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
(VCSR), September 27, 2007; at the

Council for Migrants’ Concern

Adamson University Theatre with the theme
“Government, Academe and People’s Or-
ganization: Responding to the Develop-
ment Goals through Housing and Urban De-
velopment.” VCSR is a poverty reduction
project started by the University’s Integrated
THE Bayombong Diocesan Migrants’ Com-
Community Extension Services Office
mission (BDMC) and ECMI Luzon Desk
(ICES). In a bid to increase the spirit of
launched on September 6 the Nueva
volunteerism in the University, VCSR in-
Vizcaya-Quirino Inter-Agency Council for
volves the community in the implementa-
Migrants’ Concern (NUVQUIAMCO).
tion of all its programs, specifically Poverty
NUVQUIAMCO was the third local coun-
Alleviation through Post-relocation development. VCSR has the government
cil created in Luzon to look after the con-
relocation site for squatters in Cabuyao, Laguna as its initial target to imple-
cerns of migrants. The first was in Batangas
ment the Community-Based Monitoring System (CBMS), a tool used in U.N.
where it created BIAMCO and second is
Millennium Development Goals that furnishes information as basis for moni-
PIAMCO in Pampanga.
toring and measuring impacts of projects. VCSR also works in partnership
Two major resolutions were proposed
with the Local Government Units, NGOs, People’s Organizations, as well as
and agreed in the NUVQUIAMCO.
St. V incent de Paul Parish, Gawad Kalinga and organizations working in
The first motion was the strengthening
Payatas and Sucat areas.
of information campaign on programs and
services particularly from the government.
CELEBRATED. FR. MANUEL MARTIN
The second decision was the creation of
MANICAD, 25th anniversary of sacerdotal or-
POEA (Philippine Overseas Employment
dination, October 2, 2007; at the chapel of
Administration) branch in Region 2.
the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary,
The Cagayan Valley Region is recorded as
Tabe, Guiguinto, Bulacan with Most Rev.
having the most cases of illegal recruitment.
Jose F. Oliveros, D.D. as the main celebrant.
The setting-up of POEA branch is a pro-
Fr. Manny was ordained to the priesthood on
posal to the national government that has Bishop Ramon Villena (standing at the rostrum) speaks to participants of Nueva Viscaya-Quirino
October 2, 1982 by Most Rev. Cirilo R.
been long over due, according to ECMI. Inter-Agency Council for Migrants' Concerns
Almario, Jr. D.D. (Bishop Emeritus of
Bayombong bishop and current Board
Malolos). He finished his high school at the In a related event, BDMC and Philippine Although Bayombong ranked only 29th
Member of Episcopal Commission for the
Immaculate Minor Seminary (ICS), philoso- Migrants Rights Watch (PMRW) jointly nationwide with the most number of OFWs,
Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant
phy at San Antonio de Manila and theology at sponsored on September 28 a public forum the BDMC and Bishop Villena continuously
People (ECMI), Most Reverend Ramon
San Carlos Seminary in Guadalupe, Makati. on the present plight of OFWs in Region 2. show their grave concern on the plight of
Villena, showed strong support on migrants’
He was assigned at St. John the Baptist Parish in Calumpit, Bulacan, right A book on migrants concerns titled “Mi- OFWs.
issues by backing the implementation of the
after his ordination. His subsequent assignments were in Sta. Monica Par- grants’ Stories, Migrants’ Voices”, already The BDMC is headed by Rev. Fr.
migrants’ apostolate program in his diocese.
ish, Angat, Bulacan in 1984; Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in 1986; on its 3rd leg of provincial launching was Florentino Daynos II and supported by its
Bishop Villena, who is also chairman of Re-
and as a parish priest of St. Peter Apostle Parish, Tungkong Manga, City of also launched during the forum. diocesan core team namely, Jannette Calata,
gion 2 Development Council (RDC), promised
San Jose del Monte from 1989 until 2005. He is currently the parish priest of The PMRW is an alliance of migrants’ Julie Palina, Precy Amansec, Joy Albero, Fe
to lobby the national government to act on the
the Risen Lord Parish, Veinte Reales, Valenzuela City. advocates which includes ECMI. Tupil and Edna Garcia. (Edmund H. Ruga)
setting up of POEA branch in his diocese.
CELEBRATED. OUR LADY OF THE
ROSARY, LA NAVAL DE MANILA,
100 th anniversary of Papal Corona-
Overseas employment cracks Former CBCP secretary dies
tion; October 4, 2007. The image of
Our Lady of the Rosary was the first
Marian icon in the Philippines to have
family life, Bishop says FORMER CBCP Assistant Secretary General Monsignor Dexter H.
Irisari, H.P. died of Cardio-Respiratory Arrest Secondary to Mas-
been canonically crowned. The ac- ALONG with financial gains of parents working abroad comes sive Pneumonia on September 21, 2007. He was 56.
claimed Marian image that serves as sad-ending stories, a Catholic bishop said. Msgr. Dax, as he was fondly called by everybody, was born in
a beacon of faith among the people “Very few families benefit from overseas employment,” said Fabrica, Negros Occidental and completed his elementary educa-
was canonically crowned as Queen Archbishop Paciano Aniceto of San Fernando, Pampanga in an tion in the same place. He went to St. Pius X Seminary, Roxas City
and Patroness of the Philippines on interview over Catholic-run Veritas 846. for his secondary course. He finished Bachelor of Sacred Theology,
October 5, 1907 by the order of Pope He said that in the life of a typical Filipino family, the situa- summa cum laude, at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.
Pius X through his Apostolic delegate, tion of parents working abroad is very common in a desire to He was literary editor, editor-in-chief and executive editor of the
Archbishop Ambrosio Agius, OSB. give better future to their loved ones especially for their chil- Varsitarian, a publication of University of Santo Tomas from 1972-
The miraculous victory of the battles dren. 1974. He was a media researcher in Malacañang in 1976-77 and
of La Naval in 1646 was attributed through the intercession of the Blessed But the prelate said working abroad does not always give full MOD columnist from 1976-1977.
Mother whose help was constantly invoked under the title of Our Lady of the beneficial returns to each of the OFWs especially when their Msgr. Dax was appointed and served as Dean of Studies at St.
Rosary. The image is now enshrined at Sto. Domingo Church, Quezon City. family life is concerned. Joseph Regional Seminary and Director of Pius XII catechetical In-
The shrine was declared by the Philippine bishops as the National Shrine of “Yes, foreign remittances boost the country’s economy but in stitute both in Jaro, Iloilo from 1978-1981. He was Assistant Secre-
the Queen of the Holy Rosary of the Philippines. the long run, very few benefit from overseas employment as tary General of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
family members should remain intact,” said Archbishop Aniceto (CBCP) from 1981-1984.
DIED. FR. ALFONSO EBITA CARIÑO, who chairs the CBCP- Episcopal Commission on Family and He occupied various positions in several educational institutions
OMI, September 9, 2007; at Cotabato Life (ECFL). and parishes in Iloilo and Capiz from 1978-2005 and was editor-in-
Regional Medical Center, Cotabato City. He stressed that a family’s foundation becomes weak because chief of different publications. His last assignment as parish priest
Born on March 29, 1940, Fr. Cariño en- of the physical distance that is built when one leaves home for was at St. Lawrence the Deacon Parish in Panitan, Capiz.
tered St. Peter’s Novitiate of the Oblates another country. Interment was held on September 28, 2007 at Our Lady of Mt.
of Mary Immaculate on May 1959 in Texas, Archbishop Aniceto said he “wishes Filipinos would find de- Carmel Parish, Roxas City.
USA. He was ordained to the priesthood cent jobs in the country so nobody will leave one’s wife or hus- Msgr. Dax is survived by his mother, Rosario Hachuela. (Rev. Fr.
on April 1, 1967 in Cotabato City. He com- band and children.” (Melo Acuña) Clemente Fungot)
pleted his MA in Philosophy at San Jose
Seminary in Quezon City in 1964, and
Doctor of Education at Notre Dame Uni-
versity in 1991. Among his previous as-
signments were: Director of radio station
DXMS (1975-1981); Vice-President of Ra-
dio Veritas (1981-82); Vice-President for Academic Affairs at Notre Dame Uni-
versity (1982-92); President of Midsayap Notre Dame University (1992-96);
Chief Executive Officer of Mindanao Cross (1996-2003); and Director of Ob-
late Communications Philippine Province (since 2006). He was buried Sep-
tember 14 in the Oblates Cemetery in Tamantaka, Dos Sharriff, Kabunsuan.

CELEBRATING. ST. RITA

COLLEGE, Manila, Centennial
celebration, October 11-14,
2007. St. Rita College started
as Escuela de Sta. Rita in
1907, offering free education
to all girls kindergarten pupils.
In this place, the Augustinian
foundresses, Mo. Dionisia
Mitas and Mo. Cecilia Rosa
Talangpaz, began their voca-
tion of serving the Lord. The
formal education apostolate of
the Augustinian Recollect Sis-
ters began in 1908 with the
construction of a school build-
ing upon the approval of the Bureau of Private Schools. In 1911, the school
changed its name to Colegio de Sta Rita and was registered in the Bureau of
Education. College courses were offered in 1932. The school’s name was
changed to St. Rita College in 1945. At present, the institution of learning is a
source of wisdom, knowledge, values, virtues and inspiration to its alumni
and students, parents and friends. The four-day centennial celebration will
have Students’ Day on October 11; AR Religious Day on October 12; PTA and
Community Day on October 13; and Alumni Day on October 14. The centen- The Filipino bishops who attended the traditional meeting of new bishops held in Rome, September 17 to 25: Bishops Leopoldo Jaucian, Diocese
nial event will also feature cultural events, various contests and games. of Bangued; Julius Tonel, Prelature of Ipil; Gilbert Garcera, Diocese of Daet; Francisco de Leon, Auxiliary bishop of Antipolo; Ricardo Baccay,
auxiliary bishop of Tuguegarao; and Crispin Varquez, bishop-elect of Borongan.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007
B1
B2 Updates B5 Statements
On the true meaning
Priestly poverty of Responsible
Parenthood
B3 Diocese

Pastoral Concerns
Archdiocese of Capiz B6 Reflections
The attitude of
B4 Commissions gratitude
Pact to save old churches
to be ratified soon
B7 Social
Concerns
Bishops support
peasants’ struggle,
reiterate crucial need
to make agri reform
succeed

Chastity
education
challenged
By Ivanna Marie M. Aguiling
ANYONE who has tried to get a teen-
ager to tidy his room, get up on time or
complete his homework knows how
difficult instilling good habits in young
people can be. Teens are great fun, but
they are also typically disorganised,
their minds a mile away from the issue
at hand. Their emerging sexuality and
strong desire to bond with their peer
group means their emotions are unstable
and their behaviour often unpredict-
able. In other words, they are not com-
pletely reliable. Why? Because they are
still growing up and their character is
still developing.
Why, then, when it comes to some-
thing as important as sex—which has the
power to create life and, since the ar-
rival of AIDS, to power to take life—
would we treat an adolescent as a fully
responsible adult? Why would we give
them contraceptive pills and condoms
and expect them to use these things per-
fectly when they decide to experiment
‘A culture of peace and
solidarity can be built’
A Message of the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue to Muslims
on the occasion of the closing of Ramadan
DEAR Muslim Friends,
1. It gives me special pleasure to send you
for the first time friendly and warmest greet-
ings from the Pontifical Council for Interreli-
gious Dialogue on the occasion of your joy-
ful feast of ‘Id al-Fitr, with which the month-
long fasting and prayer of Ramadan ends.
This month is always an important time for
the Muslim community and gives to each
individual member a new strength for their
personal, family and social existence. It mat-
ters that all of us witness to our religious be-
liefs with a life increasingly integrated and in
conformity with the Creator’s plan, a life con-
cerned with serving our brothers and sisters
in ever increasing solidarity and fraternity
with members of other religions and all men
of good will, in the desire to work together
for the common good.
2. In the troubled times we are passing
through, religious believers have, as servants
of the Almighty, a duty above all to work in
favor of peace, by showing respect for the
convictions of individuals and communities
everywhere through freedom of religious
practice. Religious freedom, which must not
be reduced to mere freedom of worship, is
one of the essential aspects of freedom of con-
science, which is the right of every individual
and a cornerstone of human rights. It takes
into account the requirement that a culture of
peace and solidarity between men can be
built in which everybody can be firmly en-
gaged in the construction of an increasingly
fraternal society, doing everything one can
to reject, denounce and refuse every recourse
to violence which can never be motivated by
religion, since it wounds the very image of
God in man. We know that violence, espe-
cially terrorism which strikes blindly and
claims countless innocent victims, is incapable
of resolving conflicts and leads only to a
deadly chain of destructive hatred, to the det-
riment of mankind and of societies.
3. As religious believers, it’s up to us all to
be educators of peace, of human rights, of a
freedom which respects each person, but also
to ensure increasingly strong social bonds,
because man must take care of his human
brothers and sisters without discrimination.
No individual in the national community
should be excluded on the grounds of his or
her race, religion, or any other personal char-
acteristic. Together, as members of different
religious traditions, we are called to spread a
teaching which honors all human creatures,
a message of love between individuals and
peoples. We are particularly responsible for
ensuring that our young people, who will be
in charge of tomorrow’s world, are formed
in this spirit. It is above all the responsibility
of families and then of those involved in the
educational world, and of civic and religious
Corbis
authorities, all of whom have a duty to pay
attention to the spread of a just teaching. They
must provide everyone an education appro-
priate to his or her particular circumstances,
especially a civic education which invites each
young person to respect those around him or
her, and to consider them as brothers and
sisters with whom he or she is daily called to
live, not in indifference, but in fraternal care.
It is thus more urgent than ever to teach to the
younger generations, those fundamental hu-
man, moral and civic values which are neces-
sary to both personal and community life.
All instances of incivility must be made use
of to remind the young of what is waiting for
them in social life. It is the common good of
every society and of the entire world which
is at stake.
4. In this spirit, the pursuit and intensifica-
tion of dialogue between Christians and
RAMADAN / B5

SILSILAH opens help desk for migrants

with sex? The truth is that many adults
fail to use contraception and “protec-
tion” consistently. What can we expect
of a 16-year-old who cannot even learn
to make his bed?
And yet, this is how some experts
want us to treat our young people. They
promote sex education programmes
based on the idea that if teens are taught
about contraception and condoms, and
are drilled a bit on using them “every
time”, they will be a lot safer than if we
had put all our effort into getting them
to “save sex” for marriage; to stay chaste.
The advocates of “comprehensive” or
“abstinence plus” sex education (which
typically says very little about absti-
nence) say that “abstinence only”
CHASTITY / B3
THE Silsilah Peace and Development Services
(SPDS) held a meeting at the Silsilah Center,
Zamboanga City on September 4 to present its new
initiative aimed at helping overseas Filipinos
(OFWs) and their families.
Started in 2005, SPDS incorporates a number of
initiatives into a single program of solidarity that
envisions linking groups to move people towards
peace and development.
SPDS opened a desk called Filipinos Overseas
for Dialogue and Peace (FODP) to focus on the
welfare and well-being of Filipino migrants within
the country and abroad.
The main objective is to assist OFWs and their
families through information dissemination and
value based education-formation program. Like-
wise, it aims to help them accept the challenge of
becoming “messengers of dialogue and peace in
the world.” FODP upholds the motto: “Yes to dia-
logue and peace… together for a better world”.
The meeting was facilitated by Fr. Sebastiano
D’Ambra, PIME, President of Silsilah Dialogue
Movement. Participants to the meeting include Mr.
Renegold M. Macarulay (OIC – POEA Reg. IX); Re-
gional Director Labbat Liddy Rasul-Tañedo
(OWWA–IX); Hja. Nadzma Hussein, SWO II
(DSWD-PCPD); Mrs. Madelyn Malli Bahjin
(DSWD - ARMM); Mrs. Josephine B. Sanchez
(DOLE–Reg. IX), Miss Mylene S. Pilo (MUJERES
Inc.); Bro. Remond V. Flores (KAKAMMPI–
Mindanao); Mr. Saad K. Tlaa (AZCRA); Prof.
McCormick A. Dinggi (Silsilah) and the SPDS staff:
Mr. Lenbard Retada, Miss Nurhatra Saddarani, Miss
Elsie P. Go, Sr. Ruth B. Comahig, MMB and Miss
Madzna B. Dinggi.
The focus of the discussion were: the causes /
reasons of the on-going deportation of Filipinos
from Sabah, Malaysia; the interventions of the gov-
ernment; and the need for sustaining values edu-
cation activities not only for those leaving to work
abroad but also to families left behind, as well as
the returning Filipino migrant workers.
The participants committed to collaborate with
the efforts of the FODP Desk. Silsilah hopes that
SILSILAH / B4

Manila holds global

7
Appointed Bishop-Prelate of Infanta on June 28, 2003, Bishop Tirona was
installed on August 27 of the same year. In this issue of CBCP Monitor,

How is the Social Concern
agenda of the Church being
concretized in your
prelature?
The Prelature of Infanta
which covers the two prov-
inces of Quezon and Aurora,
has a significant number of
economically disadvantaged
families. With this stark real-
ity, the Prelature has been
very intent for many years in
its pastoral mission of imple-
menting the Social Concern
agenda of the Church. The
Prelature has assumed and
seriously carries out the
Church’s “option for the
QUESTIONS
Most Rev. Rolando J. Tria Tirona, OCD, DD
poor.” The Social concern agenda
is integrated in our pastoral for-
mation program called “Yapak ng
Panginoon.” Concretely, there are
three levels of engaging the So-
cial Concern agenda of the
Church to our communities: 1)
Awareness level, 2) Capability
building level and 3) Implemen-
tation and evaluation level.
Through the various programs/
activities of the Social Action Cen-
ter and the “Munting
Sambayanang Kristiyano (MSKs)”,
these three levels concretize the
Social Concern agenda of the
Church towards our communi-
ties. Formation and Poverty alle-
warming conference
Bishop Tirona speaks about the prelature’s implementation of social con-
cern agenda through its pastoral formation program which also involves
the active participation of basic ecclesial communities. He highlights the
role of the laity, believing they should be given the highest degree of
IN cooperation with the Columban Fathers, Lingkod Tao Kalikasan
participation in the life of the Church. Likewise, he stresses the impor- Foundation, Inc. and other partner institutions, the Archdiocese of
tance of the diocesan program for family and life. He also talks about the
Manila Ecology Desk conducted a conference on global warming
scarcity of vocations in the prelature, and how materialism has crept into
our lifestyle.
and climate change last Sept. 22 to 23 at the College of the Holy Spirit
in Manila.
Themed “Global Warming, Hamon sa Sambayanang Kristiyano,”
the conference primarily aimed at raising the consciousness of the
faithful on the serious condition of God’s creation by understanding
the issues of global warming and climate change in the light of the
viation/eradication are given els of MSKs in the 18 parishes Social Teachings of the Church.
due emphasis as we implement scattered all over the “The conference is set to help the faithful recognize their personal
the Social Concern agenda of the Prelature. The MSKs are very relationship with God’s creation and attain the fullness of life by
Church. active in the implementation resolving to actively work for the care of the earth in parish, vicari-
of the various programs/ ate, and archdiocesan levels,” said Fr. Benito Tuazon, the director of
How active are the BEC’s in your projects of the parishes. They the Ecology Desk.
area? are involved in the spiritual The 2-day conference gathered resource person expert in both is-
The formation and and liturgical activities, in sues. Two of the speakers include Columban missionary Fr. Sean
sustainability of MSKs or BECs livelihood projects, in peace McDonagh, a writer and international speaker on varied environ-
is a flagship program of the advocacies and environmen- mental issues, and Dr. Rogelio Concepcion, a former director of the
Prelature of Infanta. It is the cen- tal issues, in disaster pre- Bureau of Soils and Water Resources of the Department of Agricul-
ter stage of our pastoral pro- paredness and assistance. ture.
grams. Our priests are seriously There are various levels of Apart from seminar-workshops, the conference likewise staged a
engaged in the formation of MSK experiences in the dif- photo exhibit on Philippine biodiversity and a forum on the best
MSKs. MSK leaders go through ferent parish communities. practices to address global warming and climate change.
our unified pastoral formation The conference gathered around 400 participants coming from par-
program, Yapak ng Panginoon. How does the role of laity in ishes, catholic schools, religious congregations and other church or-
Presently, we have different lev- 7 Questions / B7
ganizations of the Archdiocese of Manila and other dioceses nation-
wide. (Kris Bayos)
 CBCP Monitor
B2 Updates Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

Priestly poverty
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.

Our parish priest is all right except that he seems not to be a good example of the virtue of
poverty. Our parish church is in Metropolitan Manila, in a middle- to upper-middle-class sub-
division but also covers a depressed area. What tends to disturb us in the Parish Pastoral
Council is our parish priest’s apparent fondness for new cars. He changes cars every two years,
saying it is more economical than maintaining an aging car. He also has dogs which get better
food than the poorest in our parish. While we have nothing against owning pets, or having nice
cars, it seems insensitive for a priest to have those, when a number of his parishioners are forced
to live simpler lives. Please tell us what Canon Law says about the vow of poverty.

What the Code Prescribes
The pertinent norms regarding this mat-
ter are laid down in the following canons of
the Code of Canon Law:
Can. 282 — §1. Clerics are to cultivate a
simple style of life and are to avoid what-
ever has a semblance of vanity.
§2. After they have provided for their own decent
support and for the fulfillment of all the duties of
© Corbis
their state of life from the goods which they receive on
occasion of exercising an ecclesiastical office, clerics
should want to use any superfluous goods for the
in such a way that it never appears unap-
proachable to anyone and that nobody, even
the humblest, is ever afraid to visit it.”
Recent Dispositions on Priestly Poverty
More recent dispositions regarding this
matter are contained in n.67 of the Directory
on the Ministry and Life of Priests, issued
by the Congregation for the Clergy on
31.1.1994, which we can summarize in the
following quotations:
1) Detachment for effective ministry. “A

Seven questions on the distribution of

good of the Church and for works of charity. priest could hardly be a true servant and min-
Can. 285 — §1. In accord with the prescrip- ister of his brothers if he were excessively
tions of particular law, clerics are to refrain worried with his comfort and well-being.

Holy Communion under both kinds
1. Why did the Fathers of the Sec-
ond Vatican Council recommend
the distribution of Holy Com-
munion under Both Kinds?
“The Council’s decision [in 1963]
to restore Holy Communion un-
der both kinds at the bishop’s dis-
cretion took expression in the first
edition of the Missale Romanum and
enjoys an even more generous ap-
plication in the third typical edi-
tion of the Missale Romanum: ‘Holy
Communion has a more complete
form as a sign when it is received
under both kinds. For in this man-
ner of reception a fuller sign of the
Eucharistic banquet shines forth.
Moreover there is a clearer expres-
sion of that will by which the new
and everlasting covenant is rati-
fied in the blood of the Lord and
of the relationship of the Eucha-
ristic banquet to the eschatological
banquet in the Father’s kingdom.’”
“From the first days of the
Church’s celebration of the Eucha-
rist, Holy Communion consisted
of the reception of both species in
fulfillment of the Lord’s command
to ‘take and eat . . . take and drink.’
The distribution of Holy Com-
munion to the faithful under both
kinds was thus the norm for more
than a millennium of Catholic li-
turgical practice.” “The practice of
Holy Communion under both
kinds at Mass continued until the
late eleventh century, when the
custom of distributing the Eucha-
rist to the faithful under the form
of bread alone began to grow. By
the twelfth century theologians
such as Peter Cantor speak of
Communion under one kind as a
“custom” of the Church. This prac-
tice spread until the Council of
Constance in 1415 decreed that
Holy Communion under the form
of bread alone would be distrib-
uted to the faithful.”
2. What preparation of the faith-
ful is required before the distri-
bution of Holy Communion un-
der both kinds?
“For the faithful who take part
in the rite or are present at it, pas-
tors should take care to call to mind
as appropriately as possible
Catholic teaching according to the
Council of Trent on the manner of
Communion. Above all they
should instruct the Christian faith-
ful that, according to Catholic faith,
Christ, whole and entire, as well
as the true Sacrament are received
under one kind only; that, there-
fore, as far as the effects are con-
cerned, those who receive in this
manner are not deprived of any
grace necessary for salvation.”
3. What resources can assist in this
preparation?
Norms for the Distribution of Holy
Communion under Both Kinds in the
Dioceses of the United States of
America6 were approved by the
Bishops of the United States Con-
ference of Catholic Bishops and
confirmed by the Holy See in 2002.
Part I of these Norms (Holy Com-
munion: The Body and Blood of the Lord
Jesus) provides a summary of the
Church’s teaching on Holy Com-
munion which can aid in the
preparation of ministers and faith-
ful in preparing to receive Holy
Communion under Both Kinds.
Likewise, the USCCB pamphlet
“Real Presence of Jesus Christ in
the Sacrament of the Eucharist”
may be helpful in such formation.
Both texts are available online in
English and Spanish or from
USCCB Publications.
4. When Holy Communion is dis-
tributed under both kinds, what
happens to what remains of the
Precious Blood?
“When more of the Precious
Blood remains than was necessary
for Communion, and if not con-
sumed by the bishop or priest cel-
ebrant, the deacon immediately
and reverently consumes at the al-
tar all of the Blood of Christ which
remains; he may be assisted, if
needs dictate, by other deacons and
priests. When there are extraordi-
nary ministers of Holy Commun-
ion, they may consume what re-
mains of the Precious Blood from
their chalice of distribution with
permission of the diocesan
bishop.”
5. Who then purifies the sacred ves-
sels?
As ordinary ministers of Holy
Communion, the Priest and the
Deacon purify the sacred vessels.
The instituted acolyte, by reason
of his office, “helps the priest or
deacon to purify and arrange the
sacred vessels.”10 In the Dioceses
of the United States of America,
the ministry of instituted acolyte,
which is open only to men, is pri-
marily made up of those prepar-
ing to receive Holy Orders.
6. May an Extraordinary Minister
of Holy Communion assist in the
purification of sacred vessels?
In accord with the Holy Father’s
recent decision, as reported in Car-
dinal Arinze’s letter of October 12,
2006 (Prot. no. 468/05/L), an Ex-
traordinary Minister of Holy
Communion may not assist in the
purification of sacred vessels. This
extraordinary ministry was cre-
ated exclusively for those instances
where there are not enough ordi-
nary ministers to distribute Holy
Communion, due to the consum-
mate importance of assuring that
the faithful have the opportunity
to receive Holy Communion at
Mass, even when it is distributed
under both species. (cf. RS, no. 102)
7. What about those instances
where there are many chalices and
only one Priest to purify them?
When there are insufficient
Priests, Deacons, or instituted aco-
lytes to purify the additional chal-
ices during Mass, the purification
may take place immediately after
the Mass has concluded. If such pu-
rification by ordinary ministers
proves pastorally problematic, con-
sideration should be given to dis-
tribution of Holy Communion by
intinction or to the distribution of
Holy Communion under the form
of consecrated bread alone.12
Priests should also keep in mind
potential health risks associated
with intinction, especially in flu sea-
son. Committee on Liturgy, USCCB
completely from all those things which are
unbecoming to their state.
§2. Clerics are to avoid those things which, al-
though not unbecoming, are nevertheless alien
to the clerical state.
What Vatican II Taught
To understand fully the canonical norms
stated above, it is good to go back to the
teachings of Vatican Council II that inspired
them. Specifically, we can summarize these
in four quotations from the Decree
Presbyterorum Ordinis on the Ministry and
Life of Priests (7.XII.1965), n.17:
1) Detachment from temporal goods to ac-
quire freedom of spirit and availability for
the ministry. “While living in the world
[priests] should still realize that according
to the Word of our Lord and Master they are
not of the world. By using the world, then,
as those who do not use it they will come to
that liberty by which they will be freed from
all inordinate anxiety and will become doc-
ile to the divine voice in their daily life.
From this liberty and docility grows that
spiritual insight through which is found a
right attitude to the world and to earthly
goods.”
2) Proper administration of Church prop-
erty . “Priests are to manage ecclesiastical
property, properly so called, according to
the nature of the case and the norm of eccle-
siastical laws and with the help, as far as
possible, of skilled laymen. They are to ap-
ply this property always to those purposes
for the achievement of which the Church is
allowed to own temporal goods. These are:
the organization of divine worship, the pro-
vision of decent support for the clergy, and
the exercise of works of the apostolate and
of charity, especially for the benefit of those
in need.”
3) Avoid the slightest semblance of si-
mony. “So they are not to regard an ecclesi-
astical office as a source of profit, and are
not to spend the income accruing from it for
increasing their own private fortunes. Hence
priests, far from setting their hearts on
riches, must always avoid all avarice and
carefully refrain from all appearance of traf-
ficking.”
4) Voluntary poverty. “In fact priests are
invited to embrace voluntary poverty. By it
they become more clearly conformed to
Christ and more ready to devote themselves
to their sacred ministry. (…) priests and bish-
ops alike are to avoid everything that might
in any way antagonize the poor. More than
the rest of Christ’s disciples they are to put
aside all appearances of vanity in their sur-
roundings. They are to arrange their house
2) Responsible use of temporal goods. “The
priest, whose inheritance is the Lord (Num.
18:20), knows that his mission, like that of
the Church, is carried out in the middle of
the world and that created goods are neces-
sary for the personal development of man.
However, he will use these goods with a
sense of responsibility, moderation, upright
intention and detachment, precisely because
he has his treasure in heaven and knows that
all should be used for building the Kingdom
of God. Therefore, the priest will deny him-
self those worldly activities which are not in
keeping with his ministry.”
3) Voluntary poverty. “The priest, al-
though not having assumed poverty as a
public promise, must lead a simple life and
avoid anything which could have an air of
vanity, voluntarily embracing poverty to
follow Christ more closely. In all aspects (liv-
ing quarters, means of transportation, vaca-
tions, etc.), the priest must eliminate any
kind of affectation and luxury.”
Conclusion
We have to clarify in the first place that the
secular priest does not have a vow of poverty
(unlike those priests who belong to Institutes
of Consecrated Life—e.g., Franciscans, Do-
minicans, Jesuits). However, just like all other
priests, he is called to voluntarily embrace
poverty in order to follow Christ more closely
and in order to be a more effective sacred min-
ister.
As to the specific case of the parish priest
mentioned in the present query, perhaps we
shouldn’t be too hasty in judging his actions.
On the one hand, we might ask if his so-called
“new cars” are really brand new or are rather
newly acquired second-hand cars (which last
him only a few years). On the other hand, we
don’t really know if his pets are really cost-
ing him that much to maintain and are eating
“better food than the poorest” in his parish.
In any case, since appearances and perceptions
cannot be disregarded, perhaps it is incum-
bent upon those near to him—in a spirit of
Christian charity—to gently point such mis-
givings to him clearly.
In the end, perhaps the lesson that can be
learned from this query—and the possible
scandal that occasioned it—is the importance
of developing a true spirit of poverty. More
than being limited to a list of proscribed ac-
tions (which on the other hand the aforemen-
tioned norms explicitly contain as a minimum
requirement), true poverty—in the words of
the Directory—”should lead the priest to con-
form himself to [Christ], with an interior de-
tachment as to the goods and riches of the
world.”

Using multiple Ciboria and Chalices

Father Edward McNamara, profes-
sor of liturgy at the Regina
Apostolorum university, answers
the following question:
Q: Can you advise as to the cor-
rect procedure when arranging
ciboria and chalices on the altar
following the receiving of the
gifts? Given that during a large
celebration there will be a num-
ber of chalices and ciboria, is it
appropriate to arrange them
symmetrically giving pride of
place to the celebrant’s chalice
and ciborium? There are those
self-proclaimed liturgists who
would insist that as there “is
only ONE bread and ONE
body,” only the celebrant’s chal-
ice and paten/ciborium should
be placed centrally on the cor-
poral and the additional vessels
should be placed “to one side.”
This seems to me to fly in the
face of consecration of the ele-
ments.—I.M., Island of Jersey,
United Kingdom
© Corbis
the norms published by the U.S.
bishops’ conference on Com-
munion under both kinds. Al-
though these norms have no le-
gal force outside of the States,
they are indicative and have been
approved by the Holy See.
Among other practical sugges-
tions they say:
“32. Before Mass begins, wine
and hosts should be provided in
vessels of appropriate size and
number. The presence on the al-
tar of a single chalice and one
large paten can signify the one
bread and one chalice by which
we are gathered ‘into the one
Body of Christ, a living sacrifice
of praise.’ When this is not pos-
sible, care should be taken that
the number of vessels should not
exceed the need.
“At the Preparation of the Gifts
“36. The altar is prepared with
corporal, purificator, Missal, and
chalice (unless the chalice is pre-
pared at a side table) by the dea-
con and the servers. The gifts of
bread and wine are brought for-
convenient place. (Cf. GIRM, no.
333). If one chalice is not suffi-
cient for Holy Communion to be
distributed under both kinds to
the Priest concelebrants or
Christ’s faithful, several chalices
are placed on a corporal on the
altar in an appropriate place,
filled with wine. It is praisewor-
thy that the main chalice be larger
than the other chalices prepared
for distribution.”
On the one hand, these norms
present the preferred situation of
a single chalice and one large
paten. On the other, they bow to
the reality of many different situ-
ations and wisely abstain from
offering rigid proposals for all
circumstances.’
This same flexibility may be
used in responding to the ques-
tion at hand.
While certainly pride of place
must always be given to the
celebrant’s chalice and paten,
placing them directly in front of
him, other chalices and ciboria
may be arranged either beside
rals placed upon the altar.
In some very large
concelebrations with many ves-
sels, a special corporal covering
almost the entire altar table and
placed before Mass is sometimes
used, as the vessels take up most
of the available space.
Among the factors to be taken
into account is the number of ves-
sels. If we are speaking of but one
or two extra vessels, then having
everything on a single corporal
is probably preferable. If there
are many vessels, then extra cor-
porals would be preferred, lo-
cated in such a way so as not to
block the view of the main ves-
sels and also respecting common-
sense symmetry and aesthetics.
Other elements to be consid-
ered include the size of the altar,
the logistics of the various move-
ments, the number of
concelebrants and faithful, and
the method chosen for distribut-
ing Holy Communion. Since all
of these might vary from one cel-
ebration to the next, there is no

A: Among the most explicit ward by the faithful and received the principal vessels on a single universal rule that can be applied
norms touching on this theme are by the priest or deacon or at a large corporal or on other corpo- to all cases. (Zenit)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
Diocese B3

The
October 1 - 14, 2007

Archdiocese
of Capiz
By Msgr. Bonifacio D. Baldonado, P.C.

CAPIZ is located in the northeastern ens”, elevated the Diocese of Capiz to an

part of Panay Island in Western Visayas
comprising a total land area of 2,633
square kilometers. It is bounded on the
south by the province of Iloilo, on the
west by the province of Antique, on the
northwest by the province of Aklan and
on the north by the Sibuyan Sea. Its capi-
tal is Roxas City.
The Catholic Faith was brought to
Capiz when the second Spanish settle-
ment in the Philippines was founded by
the Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez
de Legaspi in Panay, in 1580 together with
a group of the Augustinian Friars, the first
missionaries to set foot in Panay Island.
(The first Spanish settlement was founded
by Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu.)
The Diocese of Capiz
The Diocese of Capiz was canonically
erected on July 11, 1951 through the Ap-
ostolic Letter “Ex Supremi Apostolatus”,
of Pope Pius XII issued on January 27,
1951. The Most Rev. Manuel Yap, D.D,
was appointed first Bishop of the Dio-
cese of Capiz. In 1952, barely two years
after he took possession of the new dio-
cese, Bishop Yap was transferred to the
Diocese of Bacolod. Most Reverend An-
tonio F. Frondosa, D.D., who was from
Dumalag, Capiz, and then Vicar General
of the Archdiocese of Jaro was appointed
as the second Bishop of Capiz.
Archdiocese, with the Diocese of Kalibo
and Romblon as its suffragans. It was
canonically erected on March 15, 1976.
Bishop Antonio F. Frondosa was sol-
emnly installed as the Metropolitan
Archbishop on the same date.
When Archbishop Frondosa retired in
1986, the Most Reverend Onesimo C.
Gordoncillo, D.D., then Bishop of the
Diocese of Tagbilaran in Bohol, was ap-
pointed as the second Archbishop of
Capiz on June 18, 1986.
After few years of exposure to the par-
ishes of the Archdiocese of Capiz, Arch-
bishop Gordoncillo was able to acquire
a clearer vision for the Archdiocese. He
drew the mission to be accomplished and
the goals to be achieved. The archbishop
left the need of organizing Basic Ecclesial
Communities in the parishes, the main
and initial thrust of his pastoral admin-
istration.
In the Manual “Towards the Formation
of Christian Communities” which Arch-
bishop Gordoncillo authored, he laid
down the following Vision, Mission, and
Goals of the Archdiocese of Capiz.
Vision
The Archdiocese of Capiz as: A Genu-
ine Christian Community composed of the
small Ecclesial Basic Communities in all the
Parishes.

The Archdiocese of Capiz Mission

On January 17, 1976, Pope Paul VI
through his Pontifical Bull “Nimium Pat-
We, the Clergy, Religious and com-
mitted Lay Leaders of the Archdiocese,
through the help of the Holy Spirit, will
do our best to implement the follow-
ing: 1) To enhance our spiritual life
through our constant filial, sincere dia-
logue with the Father (Priestly People);
2) To help our people to become aware
of their call to “proclaim what they be-
lieve and to live what they proclaim”
(Evangelizing People); 3) To help them
realize in their lives Christ’s new com-
mandment of Love and Service: “As of-
ten as you did it for one of my least broth-
ers, you did it for me” (Mt. 25:40) (Serv-
ing People), and; 4) To instill in our
people the gratitude they owe to God
through the generous support for the
Church from the gifts they receive con-
tinuously from the Lord (Thanking
Community).
Goals
In order to realize the aforementioned
mission, we shall: 1) be ready to help in
the spiritual and pastoral formation of
our leaders/lay people; 2) help in the
implementation of the plans of the local
parish/school communities; 3) acknowl-
edge sincerely and tap with humility and
trust the God-given charisms of our lead-
ers/lay people in the community; 4) pro-
claim the Christian message of love and ABOVE: The Immaculate Concepcion Cathedral in Roxas City. LEFT:
Most Rev. Onesimo C. Gordoncillo, D.D
service in our actual exemplary lives, and;
5) continuously encourage one another
to listen to the Word of God in order that
we will be drawn in communion to the IMPORTANT FACTS:
table of the Lord.
Archbishop …………………………….................... 1
Priests:
Pastoral Leadership Training
Diocesan ……………………………….................. 95
To implement the mission and achieve
Sisters:
the goals envisioned by Archbishop
Filipino …………………………………................... 85
Gordoncillo for the Archdiocese, he
Foreign ………………………………...................… 1
spearheaded the giving of Pastoral Lead-
Seminarians:
ership Training (PLT) seminar in the
Theology ……………………..................…………. 25
parishes and schools. After the PLT Semi-
Philosophy ……………………………................... 58
nar, Basic Ecclesial Communities were
Pre-College …………………………….................. 10
organized in the parishes.
High School ………….………………................... 188
The PLT Seminar is supplemented by
Studying outside the Archdiocese:
other seminars, symposia, retreats/rec-
Major …………………………………..................... 10
ollections, pastoral assembly, etc. To
Diocesan Divisions:
monitor the on going activities of the
Vicariates ……………………………….................. 4
different BEC’s in the parishes, the
Parishes with resident Pastor ............................ 26
Archdiocesan PLT Monitoring Teams
Chaplaincies with Resident Chaplain ....……….. 4
which are composed of priests, religious
Parishes entrusted to Diocesan Clergy ..……... 26
sisters, members of the religious orga-
Educational Centers:
nizations, and lay leaders, visit regularly
Colleges ………………………………................... 2
the parishes and schools.
Population …………………………............ 648,372
After the BEC’s were organized in the
Catholics ……………………………................. 96%
parishes, the Archdiocese is currently
moving towards the implementation of
the Tithing Program.

CHASTITY / B1

programmes leave young people
who do have sex more exposed
to the risk of pregnancy and dis-
ease—at worst, HIV/AIDS.
But recent research published
in the United States and Britain
reported that the results of absti-
nence only programmes and
other forms of sex education were
exactly the same: adolescents be-
gan to be sexually active about
the same time and they used
condoms at the same rate no mat-
ter what type of programme they
had been through.
Of course, this was not good
news for abstinence educators,
who hoped they would have bet-
ter results. But neither is it good
news for the condom-pushing
crowd. In any case, these studies
are not the last word on the sub-
ject. There are several other stud-
ies that show abstinence only
programmes in the United States
do have a positive impact on
youth.
And we shouldn’t forget that
in Uganda, an African country
that has been devastated by AIDS;
a national campaign focused on
abstinence before marriage and
fidelity within marriage reduced
the spread of this terrible disease
dramatically. The proportion of
the population infected with HIV
fell from around 20 per cent in
1990 to around 7 per cent in 2004.
Over 90 per cent of Ugandans
changed their sexual behaviour
to avoid AIDS.
What is the lesson to take from
this? That people—including
young people—do respond to the
sexual abstinence, or chastity,
message, but that we have a long
way to go in finding ways to
make it really sink in and become
part of their lives. Let’s face it,
the counter-pressures are very
strong from a popular media cul-
ture that is aggressively sexual
and cares nothing for the
wellbeing of our kids.
It is no accident, then, that a
very promising programme in
the Philippines is called I Am
S.T.R.O.N.G. This is about far
more than sexuality and absti-
nence. It aims to influence a
young person’s character through
a leadership and values forma-
tion programme which involves
both teachers and teachers and
parents. Developed by the Uni-
versity of Asia and the Pacific
with support from Philip Morris,
Inc., this pioneering effort has
spread from one province to an-
other in the archipelagic Philip-
pines, reaching already 15 out of
17 regions. From its decade-long
service, many moving stories can
be shared.
Clarissa, for instance, a junior
high school girl, once saw sex as
a kind of thrill, an exciting ex-
pression of love, a blissful con-
nection between her and her boy-
friend, with the possible conse-
quence of pregnancy easily pre-
vented through condoms. A two-
day encounter with university
students and young profession-
als of the programme changed
her outlook completely. She be-
came convinced that real love is
a bond not driven by lustful plea-
sures, but one that motivates re-
spect. Since then, she embraced
chastity as a value worth striv-
ing for until her wedding day.
Clarissa was married in May
2007, still guided by norms of
chastity and grateful for the
strong awakening.
Robert and his girlfriend in-
dulged in sexual pleasure as an
expression of love and commit-
ment. Little did Robert (whose
personality was rather mischie-
vous) imagine that a seminar that
appeared to be a typical leader-
ship forum would radically
change his perspective and
lifestyle. Inspired by youth facili-
tators who divulged their own
personal struggles, he is now
happily married and expresses
his and his wife’s desire to like-
wise educate their children at the
right time, in the right place, in
character and in chastity.
So many other stories illustrate
the pivotal role the program has
on the lives of its participants. For
some, like Clarissa, it strength-
ened the value system already
inculcated in them; for others,
like Robert, it has turned their
lives around.
The UNESCO-recognized
method of I Am S.T.R.O.N.G. at-
tributes its impact to three core
characteristics: a) a character-based
curriculum, b) parent-teacher-stu-
dent spanning, and c) youth-to-
youth conversations.
“Chastity education does not
happen in a vacuum,” said Dr. An-
tonio Torralba, the programme di-
rector. “A possible reason why ab-
stinence education fails, if it does,
is that it is focused on the individual
adolescent and on sex,” he added.
Chastity education, conversely,
is character-based and therefore
necessarily tackles other aspects
equally important for one’s
growth—family, friends, academic
progress and social awareness. By
directing its efforts not only to stu-
dents but to parents and teachers, I
Am S.T.R.O.N.G. tries to ensure
that one resounding voice is heard,
one clear message delivered.
Youth-to-youth conversations
also contribute to effectiveness. A
friendly chat with a young ate (el-
der sister or girl friend) and kuya
(elder brother or boy friend) en-
courages high school students to
open their hearts, see things in a
new light and come to decisions
that they can act on. It allows a genu-
ine exchange of ideas and feelings
that makes the younger person
more receptive to good values. This
is much more effective than hav-
ing an older adult preaching to the
youth.
This year, together with
Intermedia Consulting, Educhild
Foundation, and Developmental
Advocacy for Women
Volunteerism, I Am S.T.R.O.N.G.
is flexing its muscles to create a big-
ger impact.
Its five-year campaign, I Keep
Love Real, advocates chastity as an
essential element of character
education. The campaign is in the
gathering stage of quantitative
research on love, relationships,
and sexuality—supported by the
University of Navarre, Spain. It
has launched a nationwide song-
writing and documentary film-
making competition to trigger
youthful creativity in conveying
the message of keeping love real.
It peaks in November 2007 with
the Second International Con-
gress on Education in Love, Sex,
and Life to be held in Manila,
Philippines.
Even the process of organizing
the Congress is bearing fruit.
Only weeks ago a technical sup-
plier in his 20’s, not directly in-
volved in the event, confessed
that the months of mere exposure
to the campaign’s message and
materials had made him realize
the value of chastity. Even with-
out participating in a
programme, he and his girlfriend
had vowed to live chaste lives and
aspire toward a life time of fidel-
ity in marriage. Now, that’s one
clear indication that character
and chastity education works.
(The Congress is being put to-
gether by InterMedia Consulting,
EDUCHILD Foundation, Inc., and
the Developmental Advocacy for
Women Volunteerism, in collabora-
tion with I Am S.T.R.O.N.G, a lead-
ership and values formation program
on responsible decision-making for
Filipino adolescents, and with the full
support of the Department of Educa-
tion. For inquiries, please visit
www.edicongress.com or call +632
6356114.)
 CBCP Monitor
B4 Commissions Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

Pact to save old churches Canossa Schools collaborate

to be ratified soon
A LANDMARK treaty between the Vatican
and the Philippine government for the pro-
tection of heritage churches maybe ratified
and come into force soon, a church official
said.
Cultural Heritage of the Church (PCCHH)
of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) executive secretary Fr.
Milan Ted Torralba said the Church and its
government counterpart are working to-
gether to formulate its implementing rules
and regulations.
He said the arrival of the country’s new
Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams would further the chance of the land-
mark agreement’s ratification at the soonest
time.
The agreement signed last April 17 will
implement measures on the regulation of
Church properties through property inven-
tory, restoration, anti-trafficking, custody and
security, archiving and promotion of tour-
ism in the heritage sites.
The CBCP and the National Commission
on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) will imple-
ment the bilateral agreement.
The initiative was also a directive from
the Holy See to the Filipino bishops to in-
clude the preservation of the churches in
their priorities.
The treaty does not involve financial sup-
port from the Vatican but the Philippine gov-
ernment will help with the research and fund-
ing.
Torralba said the change of the papal nun-
cio and the recently held national elections
were factors that delayed the agreement’s
implementation.
“We are waiting for the nuncio and we
are planning final stages of the agreement
for it to come into full force,” he said.
To date, there are 29 churches considered
as “national treasures” and almost 200 “na-
tional historical landmarks” throughout the
country.
Meanwhile, a first gathering of bishops
that focuses on the pastoral care of the cul-
tural heritage of the church was held at the
Pope Pius XII Center in Manila last Septem-
ber 26 and 27.
PCCHH chairman Bishop Julito Cortes
said it was a “big first step” to promote the
importance of protecting our heritage
churches.
“We came up with this seminar because
we are in the process of thinking and listen-
ing to the bishops instead of having experts
deliver lectures,” he said.
“Looking forward towards the future, we
may not be able to come up with a small
group like this but our dream is to be able to
come up with a gathering attended by all the
bishops,” said Cortes. (Roy Lagarde)
with ECMI on Migration
Curriculum Development
THE Canossa Schools System jointly collaborated with
the Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Mi-
grants and Itinerant People (ECMI) on the Integration of
Migration in the School Curriculum.
The endeavor was held last September 21 at Canossa
Academy, Calamba City through a seminar-workshop
participated by Religion and Social Studies teachers from
four Canossa Schools located in Lipa City, Batangas and
in Laguna Province located in the cities of Calamba, Sta.
Rosa, and San Pablo. There were about 30 participants
who took part in the activity.
The seminar was organized by the Canossa Schools’
Committee on Student Services headed by Sr. Noemi
Mendoza, FDCC.
Edmund Ruga, coordinator of ECMI-Luzon Desk, fa-
cilitated the seminar-workshop.
The ECMI’s endeavor on the Integration of Migration in
School Curriculum may be traced back in 1998 when it
signed an agreement with the Commission on Filipinos
Overseas (CFO).
ECMI was then commissioned by the CFO to undertake
this project with the diocesan schools. DepEd together
with the Catholic Educational Association of the Philip-

Local DepEd supports ECMI’s

pines (CEAP) issued their respective circular order and
endorsement in support of the legal implementation of
the project.
The integration of migration in the curriculum aimed to

SDO Formation Program

THE Department of Education (DepEd) through its local units are
now embracing and supporting the Sons and Daughters of OFWs
(SDO) Formation Program of the Episcopal Commission for the Pas-
toral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI).
The SDO Formation Program (SDOFP), officially started in 2003, is
presently one of the well-appreciated and responded programs of
ECMI among its partner dioceses. The program is being coursed
through the diocesan migrant’s desk in partnership with the dioc-
esan schools association.
However, the SDOFP is not limited only in the diocesan schools
but extends through the public schools. The Division of La Union
was the latest local DepEd unit that institutionally agreed to adopt
the SDOFP. Other local DepEd units that already adopted the SDOFP
are the Division of Lipa in Batangas and Divisions of Nueva Vizcaya
and Quirino.
On August 22, the La Union Diocesan Desk for the Pastoral Care of
Migrants and Itinerant People (DDMI) and the Division of La Union
jointly conducted a Seminar on the Social Costs of Overseas Migra-
tion where SDOFP was the highlight of the discussion.
Held at the Division of La Union Conference Hall in San Fernando
City, the seminar was organized by the La Union Guidance Counse-
lors Association (LUGCA), participated in by guidance counselors.
There were about 21 participants from the elementary department
and 43 from the high school department.
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent Proserfina Fravo, ex-
pressed her strong support for SDOFP since migration problems are
keenly felt among families of overseas workers. Issues involving
SDO are now surfacing and happening in schools.
The LUGCA Presidents represented by Ms. Clara Garcia from the
elementary department and Mr. Reynaldo Ugay from the high school
department also supported the SDOFP and made their respective
commitments in the implementation of programs. One of the resolu-
tions was the SDO data gathering and continuing formation which
will be in close coordination with the DDMI.
DDMI is headed by Rev. Fr. Eras Soriano, with Sr. Adoracion
Manuel, SJBP and Rev. Fr. Perpetuo Concepcion, as co-partners in
directing the implementation of migrant’s apostolate in the Diocese.
DDMI is one of ECMI’s strong links in the diocesan migrant apostolate.
Most Rev. Artemio Rillera, SVD, strongly supports the programs
of the migrant apostolate in the diocese. (Edmund H. Ruga)
help students in understanding related issues on migra-
tion at the earliest stage of their education. The purpose is
to help reinforce positive values such as love of country,
dignity of labor and hard work, and pride in the cultural
heritage.
It would be applied as enrichment in the subject areas
such as geography, culture and history, lessons on good
manners and right conduct, social studies and values
education starting at grade 4 up to 4th year high school
level.
The Canossa Schools teachers validated the suggested
modules for integration and agreed on the guidelines and
instructions to its implementation. The participants made
a resolution that they are going to enrich and develop the
modules based on Canossa curriculum.
Also, it was agreed that an Inter-Canossa Schools Core
Team will be formed that will prepare the module in prepa-
ration for the teachers’ curriculum development for the
next school year.
The Canossa Schools accepted in principle their will-
ingness to revive the plan and become the pilot test area of
ECMI. The venture is expected to generate interest from
other diocesan schools to participate in this endeavor.
(Edmund H. Ruga)

Liturgists to discuss
sacred images,
Christian worship
THE Ministry for Liturgical Affairs of the
Archdiocese of Manila will sponsor a 3-day
seminar on Sacred Images and Christian Wor-
ship from Nov. 13 to 15 at the Paul VI Insti-
tute of Liturgy, Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
In line with article 125 of the Constitution
of Sacred Liturgy, the seminar will discuss
the History and Theology of the veneration
of the sacred images, the images of the Holy
Trinity and Our Lord Jesus Christ, and the
images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the An-
gels and the Saints.
Special attention will be given to Filipino
religious and current practices.
Speakers of the said seminar include CBCP
Commission on Liturgy executive secretary
Fr. Anscar Chupungco, OSB, Manila Archdio-
cese Liturgical Affairs minister Fr. Genaro
Diwa, and Fr. Virgilio Hernandez.
The seminar is open to all priests, religious,
seminarians, liturgy workers, and theology
and religion teachers. For interested partici-
pants, call Ms. Mina Babad at (02) 842-3511.
(Kris Bayos)

SILSILAH / B1

migrants will eventually decide to come

back and help not only their own fami-
lies but their respective communities, by
promoting important values and attitudes
they were able to cultivate in themselves
while abroad and become instruments of
peace together with their families.
The specific mission of FODP is to as-
sist and give formation to Muslims, Chris-
tians and people of other cultures and re-
ligious traditions who leave the country
as migrant workers and are willing to
become heralds of dialogue and peace in
the world.
Thus, OFWs become “heroes” not only
because they help uplift the country’s
economy but also because they share the
best of their Filipino identity and culture.
Other forms of assistance are also of-
fered in collaboration with other agen-
cies and with the families left behind.
The FODP Desk continues to give ser-
vice to the Processing Center of DSWD,
Region IX, Zamboanga City and assists
in the values formation of would-be
OFWs at the POEA during Pre-Employ-
ment Orientation Seminar (PEOS).
The following program and services are
also offered: Promotion and Dissemina-
tion, Education and Formation, Direct Ser-
vice, Networking and Linkages. Trauma
Healing and Counseling sessions for
OFWs and members of their families are
given at Silsilah Center, Joval Building,
137 Gov. Alvarez Avenue, Zamboanga
City on week days in the morning at 9:00
A.M. to 12:00 noon. (Gaia Ramos / Silsilah
Dialogue Movement)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007
On the True Meaning of Responsible Parenthood
Pastoral Letter for Family Week 2007
AS we celebrate Family Week from Sep-
tember 23 to 30, we are reminded once
again of the Holy Family of Nazareth that
showed all families the ways by which
we must live our family life in consonance
to God’s purpose. Jesus, Mary and Joseph,
mirrored a perfect likeness to the intimate
love and unity that the Holy Triune God
holds together as Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
Human fatherhood and motherhood,
while remaining biologically similar to
that of living beings in nature, contain in
an essential way, a “likeness to God” which
is the foundation of the family and the
basis of family prayer life.
The family has been ordained to be the
basic unit of society. The creation of man
and woman and their union blessed by
God in the Garden of Eden points to this
fact. And God commanded them to multi-
ply. Thus, the family became the main
spring of the fulfillment of God’s Plan to
create human community on earth that
He would prepare to become His own
family in heaven.
Right from the moment God created
Adam and Eve, He also gave them duties
and responsibilities to fulfill. The first of
these duties is to build a loving relation-
ship as husband and wife. Hence, mar-
riage is the fundamental basis of the fam-
ily. Begotten of this relationship of man
and woman are the children springing
Statements
The responsible exercise of parenthood
goes beyond biological satisfaction be-
tween husband and wife. It demands that
husband and wife recognize fully their
own duties toward God, toward them-
selves, toward the family and society in a
correct hierarchy of values.
Responsible fatherhood and respon-
sible motherhood include not only the
couples’ choices and decisions on how they
will keep their marriage and raise their
family but also the avoidance and refusal
to deny or violate the will of God in the
sacredness of their relationship as husband
and wife that is often de-sacralized by ar-
tificial methods of birth control in the
name of a false sense of freedom and lib-
erty of choice that often lead to the cruel
death of children by abortifacients or di-
rect abortion, and the tortures of deadly
diseases that the pills, IUD’s, injectables
and condoms bring.
Chemical agents and mechanical gad-
gets that make up the cluttered display of
contraceptive methods of birth control
have caused serious damage in family re-
lationships, disrupting the unity and open-
ness that build family life by the effects
that accompany the contraceptive culture
which include extramarital relationships,
adolescent pregnancies, and even the hid-
eous murderous act of abortion. This is
compounded by an approved public edu-
cational curriculum that now teaches birth
B5
the lives of the younger generations.
Science and technology have produced
electronic entertainment in the home spe-
cially television and computers that keep
feeding the children images from nursery
years to young adulthood the wrong im-
ages of life and styles of living that drown
them with sex and violence.
Legislation in public office has caused a
tremendous danger to family life in the
contentious congressional Bills that pro-
pose to legalize abortion, prostitution and
divorce.
Family and the Challenge of Modern Life
The living presence of the members of
the family of parents to their children, and
children to their parents is fundamental
and irreplaceable to the continuing
strength and unity of the family.
However, the world today in all its mis-
guided norms and conduct has produced
formidable challenges that the family has
never met before. The role of women in
the home has considerably changed from
a focused homeliness and motherliness to
career seeking outside the home. The con-
tentious issue about gender and feminism
has gone all the way to encouraging
woman to challenge the masculinity of
men and his role as provider and head of
the family. The care and nurture of the
children in their growing years has now
been delegated to surrogate parents who

forth from their love for each other, the
bearing of children and their nurturance
demand responsibility from parents that
we call “responsible parenthood”. It im-
plies above all a more profound relation-
ship to the objective moral order estab-
lished by God, of which a right conscience
is its faithful interpreter.
control in a contraceptive culture to the
youth right inside the classrooms without
parental consent. The modern pop culture
has brought into the family a wider gen-
eration gap between the young and the
old starting with the norm of respect and
obedience of children to parents and the
diminishing role of parental guidance in
have taken over most of the role of the
parents in the formation of the children.
The Church’s Mission with the Family
The Church, a prophetic, priestly and
kingly people, is endowed with the mis-
sion of bringing all human beings to ac-
cept the word of God in faith and love, to
celebrate and profess it in the sacraments
and in prayer, and in the concrete realities
of life.
The fruitfulness of the Christian family
RAMADAN / B1
Muslims must be considered important, in
both educational and cultural dimensions.
Thus all forces can be mobilized in the service
of mankind and humanity so that the younger
generations do not become cultural or reli-
gious blocs opposed to one another, but genu-
ine brothers and sisters in humanity. Dialogue
is the tool which can help us to escape from
© Corbis
society and will see the advantage in belong-
ing and taking part in its transformation. Edu-
cation and example will also be a source of
hope in the future for them.
5. This is the ardent hope I share with you:
that Christians and Muslims continue to de-
velop increasingly friendly and constructive
relationships in order to share their specific

On the Verdict of former

in its specific service to human advance- the endless spiral of conflict and multiple ten- riches, and that they will pay particular atten-
ment, which of itself cannot but lead to sions which mark our societies, so that all tion to the quality of the witness of their be-

President Joseph
the transformation of the world, derives peoples can live in serenity and peace and lievers.
from its living union with Christ, nour- with mutual respect and harmony among Dear Muslim Friends, once again I give
ished by the celebration of the Eucharist their component groups. you my warmest greetings on the occasion

Ejercito Estrada at the Temple of the Lord in the Church

and in the Home.
MOST REV. PACIANO B. ANICETO,
THE verdict on the former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada elicits three D.D.
impressions from us. Archbishop of San Fernando
The law is to be respected. And part of the law is the provision to appeal Chairman, CBCP – ECFL
to the higher court, for reconsideration, for a lesser verdict or pardon, etc. September 21, 2007
This should be the proper succeeding recourse instead of settling the score
To achieve this, I appeal to you with all my
heart to heed my words, so that, by means of
encounters and exchanges, Christians and
Muslims will work together in mutual re-
spect for peace and for a better future for all
people; it will provide an example for the
young people of today to follow and imitate.
They will then have a renewed confidence in
of your festival and I ask the God of Peace and
Mercy to give you all, good health, serenity
and prosperity.
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President
Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Secretary

Statement of Concern
in the streets or elsewhere.
Secondly, the verdict, even if still appealable, should remind all that the
privileged authority to lead and serve is always, and without exception, for
the welfare of the people served. Let this be a constant reminder to the
people elected or appointed to serve. The moral in this is “Be Moral.”
As we sympathize with the former president in the continuing learning Of the Clergy and Religious of the Apostolic
story of his life, we also include him in prayer for the virtues of humility
and patience. Vicariate of Puerto Princesa on the Issue of
We continue to pray for our country and its people, and we ask the Blessed
Virgin Mary, our mother, whose feast of Holy Name we celebrate today, for Mining in the Province of Palawan
her special intercession for God to protect and give peace to our land. WE, Priests and Religious Sisters of the Thirdly, the mining of stones produce Barangays, Municipalities, Provincial
Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa rock tailings, and lots of it. The ore be- Board, Palawan Council for Sustainable
+GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES (Mensa Domini, Dominicans Sienna, Au- ing mined in Southern Palawan is later- Development (PCSD), DENR, and Presi-
Archbishop of Manila gustinian Recollects, RVM [Religious of ite, which is soil. The mining of soil pro- dent Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to:
12 September 2007 the Virgin Mary]; Pastorelle, Augustin- duces silt tailings, and lots of it too. 1. Immediately cancel/disapprove all
ian Missionary of the Philippines, Rocks can be dumped in piles away from current/pending mining applications
Compassionists Sisters Servants of the rivers, where they can stay for mil- which will inevitably cause major envi-
Mary, Salesian Sisters) come in unity to lions of years. Silt dumped in piles away ronmental damage to critical water-

Ramadan Message from the speak our mind and heart in support of
our flock in light of the issue of Mining
from rivers will be washed away and
dispersed all over the land and water-
sheds, ecosystems, agriculture or fisher-
ies and result in social disruption.

Silsilah Dialogue Movement Industry in the Province of Palawan. We

reiterate the message of Bishop Pedro
D. Arigo in the series of Pastoral Letters
issued in 2005 and 2006 respectively.
THE Silsilah Dialogue Movement - whose members are Muslims, Christians Firstly, the development direction of
and people of other faiths - sends a message to the Muslim Umma in the Philip- the province is guided by Republic Act
pines and other parts of the world on the occasion of the month of Ramadhan 7611 otherwise known as the “Strategic
for 2007 which starts on September 12. (Ramadhan 1, 1428 in the Hijrah Calen- Environmental Plan (SEP) for Palawan
dar.) This is in keeping with a Silsilah practice of many years to show solidarity Act”. The SEP seeks to ensure that the
with the Muslim Ummah in this special time of fasting and prayer. unique environment and natural re-
We express our deep gratitude to the Muslim Umma who continuously sources of Palawan are protected, pre-
reminds the world of the importance of prayer and fasting. The Ramadhan served and developed sustainably. We
spirit is a message of peace and a sign of hope in the midst of much violence and are disturbed in the present policy di-
materialism in the world today. rections of PCSD in the mining applica-
The Harmony Prayer is the prayer traditionally recited in Silsilah and in all tions lodged in the Council for approval.
Silsilah organized activities. The second part of the Harmony Prayer goes Examples of these are the questionable
revisions or amendments of ECAN
O Lord sustain my vision of peace Zones of some Municipalities, like
Following your inspiration, Narra, Brooke’s Point, and Bataraza, to
You have many ways of revealing your accommodate proposed mining opera-
Presence and love for humanity, tions and the endorsements of projects
But your style is constant: despite failure to pass the technical
You are in dialogue with all, evaluation and inspections made.
You care for all. Secondly, reports documented by our
Social Action Center and some other
To follow “God’s inspiration” is to rediscover the centrality of God in society concerned groups showed that there are
and the importance of mutual respect and collaboration among people of dif- strong evidences of serious inadequa-
ferent cultures and religions to build together a civilization of dialogue and cies in the consultation, endorsement and
peace. Materialism and violence in this time of history are bringing society to consent processes to desperately acquire
a form of “relativism” that threatens and destroys the basic principles of ethics the social acceptability requirements.
and morality in society. The explosion of violence in our time, expressed in The case of Macro Asia Corporation
many ways, is bringing humanity to a dramatic experience of death. MPSA Application approval in Brooke’s
We hope and pray that people will not get discouraged in this time of history Point, Palawan without due consultation
and will understand the many “ways” of God’s presence and God’s “constant and prior endorsement of the
style” of love and compassion. This style is always creative and offers always Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Palawan
new opportunities of dialogue and peace in the world. God can make possible will support this claim. This is a clear
impossible things, including a new era of peace in the world. In fact the Holy disregard to the existing policies and
Bible says: “Nothing is impossible to God” (Lk. 3, 38) and the Holy Qur’an says: regulations set by law purposely to pro-
“God createth what He willeth” (Qur’an Surah 3, 47). tect the rights of the affected communi-
May the Muslim Umma, the Christians and people of other faiths take this ties in particular. In the case of indig-
occasion of Ramadhan as a new “inspiration” to follow “God’s style” who is in enous people communities where Free
dialogue with all, and cares for all. Let us build together a Culture of Dialogue, and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) is a
path to peace, respecting the dignity of each person and their cultures and pre-condition to implementing the min-
religions as new challenges to work together for the common good and the ing activities, the same process is em-
future peace. ployed with deceit, bribery and even
harassment in order to obtain the ap-
For the Silsilah Dialogue Movement, proval of IPs, in addition to deliberately
FR. SEBASTIANO D’AMBRA, PIME disregarding this specific process clearly
President stipulated in IPRA Law by concerned
government agencies.
ways. The widespread damage, severe
as it will be, that uncontrolled siltation
upon the land and waters of Narra will
not only be permanent but will worsen
and will continue to worsen long after
the mining companies have abandoned
the mined out areas to the eternal forces
of weathering and erosion. The losses
of tomorrow will far outweigh the gains
of today. The problem of siltation in
laterite mining must be addressed with
adequate measures to stop its ill effects
in the land and the sea. This has been
overlooked in Southern Palawan. In
Narra, even the Rasa Island wildlife sanc-
tuary is in danger of being rapidly over-
whelmed, and its ecosystem destroyed
forever, by siltation from the mining
activities upstream. The fishermen of
Panacan Bay will suffer severely.
Fourthly, the Philippine Catholic
Church has been at the forefront of ef-
forts to monitor the progress of the Min-
ing Revitalization Program of the present
administration which opens 24 Priority
Mining Projects in the country which in-
cludes Palawan province as one of the
priority areas. In January 29, 2006 State-
ment of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP), the bishops
highlight that mining threatens people’s
health and environmental safety through
the wanton dumping of waste and tail-
ings in rivers and seas. The promised eco-
nomic benefits of mining by these
transnational corporations are out-
weighed by the dislocation of communi-
ties, especially among indigenous broth-
ers and sisters, the risk to health and live-
lihood and massive environmental dam-
age. Environment and people’s health
should not be sacrificed in exchange for
short term economic gains. Furthermore,
the bishops believed that environmental
tragedies and incidents triggered by
mining belie all assurances of “sustain-
able and responsible mining” that the
government claims.
We, therefore, urge with grave con-
cern all government leaders of the
2. Stop all current mining activities
until, and only until adequate anti-silt-
ation systems have been installed, and
the installations duly certified on a case
to case basis, for each and everyone of
them. It might, however be better if all
the mining companies are to join hands
and install a holistic system that will
cover the entire area of localities that
will be mined.
3. Protect the ancestral domain claim
(CADC) of indigenous peoples and
biodiversity of Palawan and apply the
Precautionary Principle to any mining or
other environmentally critical projects to
ensure that they only proceed where there
will not be significant negative impact on
the lives of the pre-existing population,
the environment or the ability of future
generations to meet their needs.
4. Seriously consider and plan for al-
ternatives to mining, which are more
lasting and sustainable.
Lastly, we re-echo the message of the
late Pope John Paul II which states “Re-
spect for life, and above all for the dig-
nity of human person, is the ultimate
guiding norm for any sound economic,
industrial or scientific progress”.
In manifestation of our great concern
as Clergy and Religious leaders of the
Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa
and in recognition of our mission to up-
hold the integrity of creation, we join
our voices in echoing this statement of
concern to you our Honorable Officials
of the Government of the Province of
Palawan.
We affix our signature on the space
provided on this Statement of Concern
as our proof of solidarity and support.
May our Loving God continue to bless
and guide us in our genuine and deep
respect to the integrity of God’s creation.
Respectfully yours,
Bishop, Clergy, and the Association of
Religious Women of the Apostolic Vi-
cariate of Puerto Princesa, Palawan
September 4, 2007
 CBCP Monitor
B6 Reflections Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

The attitude of gratitude 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Year C

By Bishop Marlo M. Peralta, DD
“TEN were cleansed, were they not?
Where are the other nine?” This pointed
question of Jesus somehow brings us to
confront that aspect in our life that re-
flects our attitude when it comes to say-
ing ‘thank you’ or showing our gratitude.
Jesus clearly showed how he appreciated
the Samaritan who came back to give
thanks by telling him, “Stand up and go,
your faith has saved you.” It would seem
that the fact that only one came back to
thank the Lord, a Samaritan at that, while
the rest did not, would indicate that on
average, many of us still have to learn
the value of gratitude.
As some would describe gratitude as
the memory of the heart, oftentimes how-
ever, we only associate gratitude with
favors received. We don’t feel we have
something to be thankful for or owe any-
one any gratitude if we feel we have not
received any favor, mostly material, for
our own self. Also, we feel grateful only
when we compare: for example, when
our standard of living is better than that
of others, knowing that there are others
who could hardly make both ends meet;
or when we compare that we are in a rela-
tively good health than those who are
seriously ill, like a person who has ter-
minal cancer; or when we compare our
own personal problems with the more
severe ones that others face in their lives.
© Corbis
Lk. 17, 11-19
October 14, 2007
someone worse-off than you are.”
And this is quite sad because we have
reduced saying ‘thank you’ only to spe-
cific or special favors or when we com-
pare. It is a limited thing that does not
really affect our way of looking at the
world around us, or as a way of life. Learn-
ing to be grateful as a way of life means
seeing the positive in everything, even
in those circumstances where we find
ourselves in tragic situations and yet find
something to be grateful for. We learn to
be simply grateful whatever comes our
way. We are inspired by people who de-
spite the difficulties they go through in
life, like a serious illness, still have some-
thing or reason to be grateful for. And
mostly because of one’s faith in God that
one can remain always grateful despite
all the odds. “For, we know that all things
work for the good of those who love God,
who are called according to his purpose.”
(Rom. 8, 28).
Gratitude is also linked with our soli-
darity with our fellow human beings.
Being in solidarity with our brothers and
sisters, whoever they are and whatever
their conditions in life be, would require
us to be one with them not only when
they enjoy the blessings of life, but also
as they carry their burdens, no matter
how light or how heavy. We need to
overcome this tendency to think in isola-
tion and think the world is centered on
ourselves. We strive to see beyond our
regardless of color, beliefs, and positions
in life.
As a final note, we need not limit our
understanding of gratitude in terms of
what we have done for ourselves or for
others for which we are grateful. While
we do not neglect these accomplishments
for which we are indeed grateful, we
could also learn to be grateful even on
those we have not earned or deserved.
Here we can think of the many gifts God
has given out of his love for creation and
us. Have we ever thought to thank God
for the gift of life, that complicated as it is
with all its difficulties and sufferings we
have to deal with, it’s still a gift worth
treasuring because of the blessings that
also go with it? Think of the many people,
like the financially well-off people, who
would pay any amount to extend their
life. Do we thank God for our Christian
faith that gives meaning and direction to
our existence? And most taken for
granted of all, do we thank God for the
air we breath, the blue skies, the rain that
nourishes us, the flowers that give beauty
to our surroundings, the mountains and
thousands of other things? Are we grate-
ful for our parents, friends and other
people who make our life what it is be-
cause of their kindness and encourage-
ment? These come into our lives as gifts,
living gifts. Remaining open to receive
the gifts of life, that’s living with the atti-
tude of gratitude. We do not simply take

We are grateful because we realize that, self-interests in order to realize that we life’s gifts for granted. They enhance our
as the old saying goes, “There’s always are one with our fellow human beings life and strengthen our faith.

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Bo Sanchez

Dark night of the soul Discover

THAT’S the title of a lyrical
poem by the old Spanish
mystic, St. John of the
Cross. There he describes a
soul’s progress toward
union with God through
Christ’s cross.
The expression now
largely means any spiritual
dryness and ascetical diffi-
culty, to the point that one
may feel abandoned by
God. It has resurrected
lately because of some writ-
ings of Mother Teresa, who
confessed she did not feel
God’s presence for a long
time in spite of her efforts.
People are asking how
someone close to God can
fail to feel God’s presence?
Some others have used this
development to discredit
Mother Teresa, the
Church, if not the whole
Christian faith.
This phenomenon is actu-
ally quite common among
saints and holy men and
women. It can happen to
anyone of us. The quintes-
sence of this experience is
Christ himself on the cross.
In spite of his permanent
union with his Father—
there is no greater union
than that between the Father
and the Son and the Holy
yourself
Spirit—he said: “ Eloi, Eloi,
lamma sabacthani ? Which is,
being interpreted, My God,
my God, why hast thou for-
saken me.” (Mk 15, 34)
Christ is both God and
man, one divine person with
two natures, human and di-
vine. It is the inadequacy of
the human nature to fully
correspond to the divine that
this tension and conflict can
be felt. And man, called to a
supernatural end, is not ex-
empt from this.
But God actually never
abandons anyone. In spite of
our wretchedness, we cannot
be totally separated from
Him. Only in hell can we
have that “definitive self-
exclusion from communion
with God and the blessed,”
as the Catechism teaches us.
(1 033)
That is the objective real-
ity about the matter. The
problem arises when we
consider its subjective as-
pect, or how one person
feels in his spiritual life.
In essence God is present
in everything, and espe-
cially in every person who
is created in his image and
likeness. He is actually ev-
erywhere. Of course, his
presence in us takes place in
different ways.
On our part, we have
something that enables us
to have God in us in a way
most proper to us as his crea-
tures, as persons and as his
children. It is our heart in
grace. The Catechism
teaches:
“The heart is the place of
encounter, because as image
of God we live in relation:
it is the place of covenant.”
(2563)
In the “dark night of the
soul,” in spite of the objec-
tive presence of God in us
as well as our objective ca-
pacity to have him in our
heart, we get the sensation,
even the conviction, that we
don’t have him.
This is due to many rea-
sons. First, there are the
limitations and the weak-
nesses of our human nature
to cope with the “require-
ments,” so to speak, of the
supernatural life to which
we are called.
If we do not know how to
handle these natural limita-
tions because of pride or
vanity, we will get the sen-
sation that we are without
God.
This is made worse by our
sins, defects and mistakes,
which can become stable
vices, blinding us further to
God’s presence in us. When
we do not seek divine
mercy, not only do we feel
lost and separated. We can
even hate God.
Besides, God allows this
experience to happen for
many reasons—to test if we
really believe and love him,
to purify and strengthen us,
to conform us increasingly
to him by way of spiritual-
izing and supernaturalizing
our faculties.
Our tendency is to tie our
faith with material and sen-
sible factors, with the initial
thrill of novelty. One way of
maturing our faith and of
detaching it from mainly hu-
man and natural consider-
ations is to experience the
“dark night of the soul.”
Many saints who experi-
enced this had to do things
with greater faith and love
for God, often going against
the grain of their personal
preferences, immersed in all
sorts of suffering, that be-
come the touchstones of
faith and love.
The “dark night of the
soul?” We should not be
afraid of it. We should wel-
come it.
IN the parties that I attend, I’ve noticed a common ritual that
happens around the Karaoke or Videoke machine. I’ve dis-
covered three stages in this ritual.
First, someone is cajoled to sing for the group. He first
declines adamantly like it was as preposterous as running for
President of the Philippines. He in fact points to others who
may sing better—but if for some bizarre reason, people don’t
point back to him to sing, you will notice that he will go
home utterly depressed and may hang himself.
But let’s say the ritual is followed and people keep urging
him to sing. The would-be singer declines now with shy hu-
mor—inviting them to pressure him more. He says inane
stuff like, “Ayoko, baka ma-discover ako.”
The second stage of this ritual is when the singer takes the
microphone, pulls from his left pocket an audio cassette and
says, “Minus One ko, Side A. Nakasalang na yan.”
The third stage happens after the song. Everyone asks for
an encore—no matter if his voice gives everyone a brief in-
troductory experience of the pains of hell. The Filipino audi-
ence is supposed to praise him with words like, “Naku,
kailangang may makadiscover sa ‘yo! Kalinya mo si Martin Nievera!”
Let me focus on one point about this ritual: This whole
thing about getting “discovered”.
I believe that in real life, getting discovered by someone
else is not as important as discovering yourself.
You discover the beauty, the glory, the wonder that is you!
Listen to a quote I got from Mike Murdock: “Popularity is
when others like you. Happiness is when you like yourself.”
Do you LIKE yourself?
Do you enjoy being you?
Do you celebrate and throw a party because of the good-
ness that God has bestowed on you from the very beginning?
Let me say this again: Don’t wait to be discovered.
Pray. Be quiet. Look within yourself through His eyes.
Discover!
And be completely awed at how beautiful, how special,
how wonderful you really are.

Atty. Jo Imbong

Where is the woman?

AT 4:45 to the dot, a familiar slamming
door punctuates the afternoon. It is my
daughter arriving from school. Without
fail, her school bus disgorges not one,
but three more giggling junior misses,
uniforms all messed up from what was
an obviously bouncy and rambunctious
trip home.
Home for my daughter is where I now
am. And for her three kindred sisters,
home will also be where I am, at least
for the next four hours until they hear a
familiar peet-peet-peet-honk of an SUV–
when their drivers will have come to
pick them up.
As I lay a simple buffet of pica-pica and
carbonara for their hungry souls, I learn
that Kathy’s mom has just left for her
foreign assignment. Cielo lives with her
grandma, while Mem is an only child, a
roomful of gadgets left for her sole min-
istration. And yet, she loves to stay
where I am, or where we five females
are in this lusty humid afternoon.
For a while, I defer to their girl-talk,
of this and that Prioress visiting their
Religion class, of what’s the best place
to find the most kikay hairpins, of the
new body-step in the Dance Club... very
serious girl-talk, much the way we
mothers whisper to each other about the
secret ingredient to the best home-
cooked Fried Rice, or where to find a
Furla tote bag at a third of the real cost.
These are fine afternoons, and today,
the fact that it’s a Friday afternoon makes
it all the more delicious. Unlike a par-
ticular day way back when I noticed my
daughter overshooting the not-more-
than-five-minutes-on-the-telephone House
Rule. Not meaning to be disrespectful
of her apparently very serious conver-
sation—as absent were those trademark
“Wow”s and “Yuck”s—I let her be for
the space of the next sixty minutes. “Just
what could keep you and your best
friend on the line for sixty-two min-
utes?” I ask after sixty-two minutes, for
they have breached the hour. “Mama,”
she meekly answered, “Cielo was cry-
ing because she missed her mama”. And
no cornucopia of Grandma’s indulgence
could ever still her, as I found out.
Just at that very moment in history,
the ‘feminine soul’ was urgently in de-
mand to right the balance of nature. The
primitive difference between the
woman and the man of the house was
intended to be just so, him as the adven-
turer, bread-winner, defender, and she
as the mother and conserver of the home
and the family. And this continues psy-
chologically into civilized society. Him
who ventures into high dealings, into
scientific discovery and invention, hence,
the builder, the law-giver, concerned
with the rational ordering of life, with
the building up of what is new, while
she was made to ‘keep and ponder in her
heart’ the cutting words and lively expe-
riences that life brings to her doorstep,
endowed with the gift of seeing beyond
the immediate to the ultimate, and the
skill of translating the language of the
souls and the hearts of her children.
There lies her intuitive wisdom. This is
sorely missed by her daughters. This is
the yin and yang of man and woman, the
eros and logos of our existence.
For the role of woman is to suggest
and inspire. According to Gerald Vann,
O.P., who exemplifies the original “school
of womanhood,” she inspires man to act;
not to command and take the initiative,
but to empower him to command and
take the initiative; not to save him but to
give him the courage and strength and
wisdom to save himself.” In mythology
and literature, there is always a femi-
nine soul who points the hero to the path
to immortality, and emerge victorious
against the fire-breath of the dragons.
It was meant to be: the woman lives a
more spontaneous, fertile, confident life
from which she emerges as more mature
and more attuned to the human condi-
tion than man, who is called by some as
“the pretentious and impatient male,
blind to the worth of that which he thinks
he loves, because he does not plumb the
depths as woman does by reason of the
burdensome fruit of life’. No offense
meant. That was written by a man.
And so, if woman must be true to her-
self today, it must be not by abdicating
her hard-won freedom, still less through
rejecting her essential femininity, but by
putting the two together—beautifully. As
only she can do it by herself—beautifully.
For she has this intuitive wisdom, a
sense of the true and the good, a fruit of
the faculty of intuitive judgment poured
into her soul on the day of her Creation.
And this grace of discernment of what is
truly good comes not from any experi-
ence of evil, but precisely from her inex-
perience of it. Her innocence will sense
the approach of evil not because she has
known it before, but because it is unfa-
miliar and alien to her. Thus she will shun
it, and shield her spouse and their chil-
dren from it, just as she will intuitively
recognize goodness because of her inher-
ence to Goodness itself.
If she must be faithful to herself, it
must be by welcoming consciously and
deliberately her redemptive assignment
and preparing consciously for it by imi-
tating the Mother of men. For as always,
the ideal Woman is the Mother of God.
This means, for the woman, to ‘behold
this Woman’ and learn from her still-
ness and silence and deep wisdom.
And of her own motherhood? The
mystery of the Incarnation is somehow
linked to the feminine mystery of child-
birth and maternity. And by this, she
cannot but be associated with the rebirth
of humanity. For, she is herself the sym-
bol of rebirth and renewal And through
her body, the Word is analogously made
flesh in her own children who—it will
be her business to make sure—are to be
called the children of God.
In the Litany of Loreto we cleave to
Mary as Seat of Wisdom, as Tower of
Ivory, as Consoler of the Afflicted and
Refuge of Sinners—as someone wise and
strong, but tender and compassionate. The
harassed, restless, neurotic mass of hearts
today needs her divine motherhood as
ever. This “savvy” world needs the mys-
terious wisdom of the woman and her
natural motherhood. And it needs the
second to lead it back to the first.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007
Bishops support peasants’ struggle, reiterate
crucial need to make agri reform succeed
By Belinda Formanes
IN line with the avowed objectives of the
Second National Rural Congress of lis-
tening to major woes of the rural poor,
the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) in cooperation with
the PARRDS/Rural Poor Solidarity and
NRC-II Lay Consultant Christian Monsod
sponsored a Bishops-Peasants Forum
held at the CBCP compound in
Intramuros, Manila last September 13,
2007.
Leaders of the CBCP came to listen and
voiced their support: Archbishop Angel
N. Lagdameo, D.D., (President); Arch-
bishop Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, D.D. (Ex-
ecutive chair of the National Rural Con-
gress II); Bishop Broderick Pabillo (Aux-
iliary Bishop of Manila and Executive
Vice-Chair of NRC-II); Bishop Antonio
P. Palang, SVD, D.D. of Mindoro; Bishop
Vicente M. Navarra, D.D. of Bacolod and
Bishop Paciano B. Aniceto, D.D. of
Pampanga. Bishop Antonio R. Tobias of
Novaliches was represented by Fr. Tony
Labiao, Jr.
The religious community was also rep-
resented and joined in the discussion.
Two sisters from the Augustinian Mis-
sionaries of the Philippines (AMP) led by
Sr. Tess Agualada and Fr. Archie Casey
of the Xaverian Missionaries and JPICC-
AMRSP were present. Both congregations
have been witness to the sufferings of the
deprived farmers and have extended their
religious ministry as support groups.
Agrarian reform advocates like Chris-
tian Monsod of PARFUND/TFM, Ricardo
Reyes of PARRDS and Steve Quiambao
of Peace Foundation were also there to
lend their support. Ms. Belinda Formanes
of PARRDS/Rural Poor Solidarity co-fa-
cilitated the forum with Archbishop
Ledesma.
Representing the government side
were Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo
and Director Ester Ceguena of the Office
of Religious Affairs-Presidential Manage-
ment Staff.
Peasants asserting for agrarian reform
were present to air out their miseries.
Representatives of TFM led by Gerry
Cahilig and UNORKA-Pilipinas led by
Evangeline Mendoza and Maning
Rosario of the Pambansang Katipunan ng
mga Samahan sa Kanayunan (PKSK) pre-
sented the major agrarian related policy
and implementation issues/problems
from their respective organizations that
were previously presented in national
dialogues with the Department of Agrar-
ian Reform (DAR) Secretary Nasser
Pangandaman.
The UNORKA-Pilipinas and TFM are
two of the biggest national farmers’ fed-
eration with continuing land tenure im-
provement and past distribution engage-
ments with the DAR. UNORKA-Pilipinas
is a national federation founded in 2000.
It has 651 active local organizations in 40
provinces and has 90,000 members. It has
already facilitated transfer of at least
200,000 hectares of land, with 100,000
farming household–beneficiaries. It cur-
Tulay Linggap at St. Francis Parish
Ana Kristine B. Valenzuela
EACH of us experience discomfort, an
illness, a disease even once in our lives.
Sometimes this condition can be cured,
sometimes it cannot. It cannot because
it was too late for the inflicted who
found out his/her ill health, and some-
times because of bad finances.
This is where the Church, specifi-
cally the St. Francis church at Shaw
Boulevard comes in. They give free
medical and dental consultations in
their parish. It has even converted a
part of the church to serve as its of-
fice-clinic for the program they call
‘Tulay Linggap’.
Complete with dental chairs and
medical equipments, “Tulay Linggap”
does health check to those who walk
in and cannot afford a visit to the hos-
CBCPMonitor
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Social Concern
Representatives of farmers' groups sought CBCP's help in solving their agrarian problems in a meeting with some bishops led by CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo last September 13.
rently has 773 pending cases with the DAR
covering 191,647 hectares and 50,237 af-
fected farming households. TFM is a na-
tional federation of farmers, farm work-
ers and individuals working for agrarian
reform and rural development. To date,
3,896 farmer beneficiaries are installed
and occupied 5,014 hectares of land cov-
ering 88 haciendas in Negros Occidental
alone. It has claims over 469 landhold-
ings nationwide covering 116,722 hect-
ares and affecting 27,528 farmer-benefi-
ciaries.
The major issues presented during the
Bishops–Peasants Forum were: (a) irregu-
lar and highly questionable decisions of
the Office of the Secretary on applications
for exemptions, exclusions and conver-
sions filed by powerful landowners; (b)
the utter lack of government protection
to legitimate agrarian reform beneficia-
ries who are being killed, threatened, in-
timidated and harassed by big landown-
ers as exemplified by the yet partially
installed Hacienda Velez Malaga case of
Negros farmers of the TFM; (c) failure to
install farmer beneficiaries that has no
legal impediments; (d) committing an
estimated 500,000 hectares of CARP lands
for the RP-China agri-business deals
which is inherently anti-agrarian reform
and unconstitutional; and, (e) violent dis-
persal by the police and security guards
upon orders of the DAR last September
3-7, 2007 which resulted to various inju-
ries among the peasants.
TFM and UNORKA-Pilipinas demands
pital. Father Paulino Mercado, the par-
ish priest, said they offer regular medi-
cal consultations. Checkups happen
mostly everyday. Daily consultation
ranging from pedia, cardio, diabetes
and even derma cater to those in need.
Fr. Mercado shares that “Tulay
Linggap” has even reached out to de-
pressed areas like Laguna and Cavite.
It had medical-dental missions to St.
Francis Parish at Pulo, Cabuyao, La-
guna, San Jose Manggagawa at Gen-
eral Mariano Alvarez, Cavite and in
Barangay Buayang Bato, Mandaluyong
City. The program assisted those who
were sick and financially incapable. It
plans to build botika ng bayan in its
adopted communities.
The Parish’s medical-dental mission
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were the following: (a) hasten agrarian
reform implementation; (b) review ques-
tionable decisions by the DAR; (c) policy
review on livestock exemption and con-
version issues; (d) reform and revamp of
the DAR; and, (e) ample protection of
farmer petitioners and claimants.
The peasant groups appealed that the
Office of the President and the CBCP in-
tervene by immediately organizing a
dialogue where DAR officials, peasant or-
ganizations and NGOs will present their
issues as well as seek ways and options
to break the impasse.
Hearing the farmers’ laments, the Bish-
ops gave inspiring and supportive state-
ments during the open discussion. Arch-
bishop Ledesma, the Executive Chair of
the National Rural Congress (NRC) II,
suggested that the agrarian issues pre-
sented be tackled during the NRC-II
scheduled in May 2008.
Archbishop Ledesma also proposed
that “success stories” on agrarian reform
implementation be documented to in-
spire peasant communities and the pub-
lic about the positive impacts of agrarian
reform.
Bishop Palang of Mindoro lauded the
peasants for their work on improving the
lives of the people through agrarian re-
form and expressed his strong support
for them. He thanked the peasants for en-
lightening the members of the CBCP on
the current agrarian situation.
Bishop Navarra suggested that peas-
ants, their supporters and the government
has been ongoing for almost two years
now. It is all because of, as Fr. Mercado
mentioned, the doctors who give their
services, some even not accepting pay
and the Rotary Club who donates spe-
cially in times of disaster relief.
St. Francis of Assisi Parish has no defi-
nite territory and habitué of parishio-
ners. It is near offices, malls and a few
condos. Though typically large for an
urban church, it can still be filled on a
Sunday due to the crowd coming from
Antipolo and different divisions. Still
wonder is it that or maybe because of
the amount of help that the parish has
given to many people, it has been able
to extend a helping hand to those who
are in need. After all, people’s health is
what keeps everyone moving.
(Middle Name)
________________________
Signature
should work to achieve a “win-win”
agreement that would provide immedi-
ate and lasting solutions. He further
stressed that the four bishops of the Negros
Island are very concerned about the vio-
lence confronting the peasants, attributed
to landowners’ stiff resistance.
Archbishop Lagdameo reminded the
forum that the CBCP had already issued
last January 2007 a pastoral statement,
“The Dignity of the Rural Poor—A Pasto-
ral Concern” where they called for the
extension of CARP. But the law, he said,
should be improved to genuinely respond
to the needs of the peasants.
Fr. Labiao acknowledged the necessity
of dialogue, saying it would pinpoint the
lapses and loose points of the CARP
implementation. The dialogue, he under-
scored, should be deepened so that both
parties can find better solutions.
The peasants said they have exhausted
all efforts to get the government to act on
their complaints during Sec.
Pangandaman’s two years administration,
but to no avail.
Remarking there might be something
really wrong at the Department of Agrar-
7 QUESTIONS / B1
the life of the Church as defined by PCP
II being realized in your prelature?
The Prelature of Infanta believes in the
pastoral capabilities and giftedness of
our laity. This belief is translated in en-
couraging the laity to highlight their pas-
toral gifts and to express these pastoral
gifts through collaborative ministry.
Maximum and active participation of the
laity in all facets of pastoral life of the
Prelature is supported. The laity is en-
couraged to engage in the spirit of com-
munion and humble service. This is a
helpful deterrent to the misuse of
“power” and position. The MSKs become
the venue where the laity manifests their
pastoral collaboration in the work of
evangelization and social concerns.
Up to what degree should be the partici-
pation of the laity especially in terms of
decision making in the local Church?
The highest degree possible is within
the role and functions proper to the la-
ity in the Church. Allowing them to par-
ticipate actively and in a maximum man-
ner is a telling vote of confidence and
recognition of the important role of the
laity in the life and mission of our local
Church, and the Church at large. It is a
recognition of the various gifts bestowed
by the Holy Spirit on the laity. Funda-
mental lay formation on the sense of the
Church and on the sense of singular ser-
vice is crucial in the participation of the
laity in decision making in the Church.
How is the family and life program in
your prelature?
Following the strong emphasis on
formation of our communities through
MSKs, the Family and Life program is
given high priority. Parishes strongly
collaborate with the CBCP Commission
on Family and Life. The Prelature also
connects with other Catholic groups
whose concern is family life and values
like World wide Marriage Encounter,
Couples for Christ, Marriage Encounter.
By and large, parishes are very active
with regards to Family and Life pro-
grams. Families are encouraged to be
MSKs with other families.
What other pastoral thrusts is the
prelature pursuing at present?
Vocation Promotion is one of main
pastoral thrusts of the Prelature together
with the Formation of volunteer cat-
echists, and poverty alleviation/eradi-
B7
ian Reform, the CBCP President firmly
reiterated that the “campaign for agrar-
ian reform is still relevant and must be
made to succeed”.
Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo ex-
pressed President Arroyo’s desire for the
agrarian reform law and CARP to con-
tinue, especially the Hacienda Velez
Malaga agrarian reform case to succeed.
He promised to immediately report to
the President the major issues discussed
during the forum and the peasants’ pro-
posal for the CBCP and Malacañang to
intervene through a dialogue between
DAR officials and the peasant organiza-
tions.
At the moment, NRC-II Executive
Chairperson Archbishop Ledesma is
closely working with the peasant groups
to follow through on the UNORKA-
Pilipinas and TFM cases.
Archbishop Ledesma also takes the
helm in paving the way towards the Sec-
ond Rural Congress and in actualizing
the commitment to support the struggle
of our poor but struggling peasant and
rural communities. (with TFM, UNORKA
and PARDDS)
cation through socio-economic pro-
grams. We have two priests in charge of
vocation work in Aurora and in Quezon
Provinces. There are only 30 priests in
the Prelature. The youngest priest is 36
years old. There had been a wide gap of
six years from the last priestly ordina-
tion to the time I ordained the first priest
from the town of Casiguran last Novem-
ber 2006. This happened to be my first
priestly ordination in the Prelature of
Infanta. And the new priest is already 46
years old! The work for priestly voca-
tion then is extremely urgent. The chal-
lenge for priests in the Prelature is awe-
some. We do get around 10 to 15 young
applicants or high school graduates.
However, after all the necessary “filter-
ing,” only very few enter the Pre-col-
lege program. At times, no candidate can
make it to college at all. There is an im-
mense time spent to introduce the ap-
plicants to a new way of looking at stud-
ies and to develop their study habits.
What is your take on the perceived threat
of materialism creeping into our
lifestyle brought about by such phenom-
enon as globalization?
Long before globalization became a
reality in the Philippines, there was al-
ready the phenomenon of ‘imported
goods invasion’ of our country. People
then already speak of “colonial mental-
ity.” Anything foreign is much better
than Philippine made. This is the core of
a Filipino colonial mind. It has become
a status symbol to possess, wear and dis-
play foreign brands. Now we talk of “sig-
nature” clothes, bags, or other items.
Materialism has invaded the Filipino
style of life, from the rural to the urban,
in many and various ways. Just see how
cell phone stores are always filled with
customers, especially young ones.
“Malling” is now part of our vocabu-
lary. Thus, we should not just “perceive
the threat of materialism creeping into
our lifestyle,” the fact is, materialism is
already part and parcel of our lifestyle!
The more important question is, do we
allow materialism to be the core of our
life and the impelling drive of our activi-
ties? I recall a verse in Psalm 62 which
says: “Though riches abound, keep your
heart detached!” The tested virtue of de-
tachment is imperative to survive the
onslaught of materialism in our lifestyle
and culture, globalization or no global-
ization!
 CBCP Monitor
B8 Entertainment Vol. 11 No. 20
October 1 - 14, 2007

Moral Assessment Technical Assessment

Abhorrent Poor
Disturbing Below average
Acceptable Average
Wholesome Above average
Exemplary Excellent

Title: Wedding Daze

Running Time: 95 min
Cast: Jason Biggs, Isla Fisher, Joe Pantolino, Joanne Gleason, Edward
Herrman, Michael Weston
Director: Michael Ian Black
Producers: John Penotti, Jamie Gordon, Sam Hoffman, Courtney Potts
Screenwriter: Michael Ian Black
Music: Peter Nashel
Editors: Greg Hayden, Alan Oxman
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cinematography: Daniel J. Stoloff
Distributor: Greenstreet Films
Location: USA
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment: ½
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above

A YEAR later Anderson (Jason Biggs)
is still devastated and mourning the
sudden death of his girlfriend
Vanessa (Audra Blaser). Just when he
was on his knees asking her to marry
him, the unexpected proposal gave
her a heart attack and she was gone.
His best buddy, taking breakfast
with him at a dinner, urges him to
move on with his life, to find some-
one new. He suddenly notices Katie
(Isla Fisher), the waitress serving
them and impulsively asks her to
marry him. Stunned, she looks at
him. In seconds she answered “yes!”.
It looks like an instant mutual attrac-
tion. They have never met, nor know
each other’s name. Katie even an-
nounces the “good news” to every-
one in the dinner. The two begin to
see the realities they have to deal
with as these come to them. On their
first stroll they get to know each
other, starting with their names.
Katie moving in with Anderson,
their interrelation; meeting and get-
ting along with each other’s parents;
orthodontist William and ex-boy-
friend still pursuing Katie are,
among other matters that call for
their attention. Will they finally end
up married?
There could have been a better and
more interesting story plotted
around Anderson and Katie which
this particular movie missed. The
reason is the taking on of too many
characters that do not sufficiently
add to the central character’s
progress. Since it is a comedy, it fo-
cused on funny moments and hap-
pening to generate viewers’ laugh-
ter. However, a good number of such
scenes fall flat. The number of sub-
plots disturbs, and confuses the main
story’s flow.
A marriage proposal made and ac-
cepted on impulse by a young man
and a young woman who just met…
the audience is shown that they
marry… and the impression is pro-
jected that they will live happily
ever after. Anderson marries to stop
his mourning of the death of his first
girlfriend. Katie marries to get rid
of her persistent suitor once and for
all. Anderson also finds out that his
dead girlfriend while being with
him, had a fiancé. Katie learns from
her persistent suitor that he is a ho-
mosexual, who finally decides to
pair up with a policeman. Because
of the inadequate presentation of
love marriage and the proper prepa-
ration for that, and the unclear mes-
sages and ideas projected viewers
should be at least 14 years old to
have the ability to understand such
matters. This movie could be taken
up in a class discussion.

Title: December Boys

Running Time: 105 min
Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Lee Cormie, Christian Byers, James
Fraser, Jack Thompson
Director: Rod Hardy
Producer: Richard Becker
Screenwriters: Marc Rosenberg, Michael Noonan
Music: Carlo Giacco
Editor: Dany Cooper
Genre: Drama
Cinematography: David Connell
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Location: South Australia
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment: ½
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above

THE film is an adaptation thing, it is in the cinematog-

of Michael Noonan’s novel
set in circa 1960 on an Aus-
tralian beach where a few
quaint houses sit, just a few
meters from the water. The
story is all about four or-
phan boys, the best of
friends, whose birthdays
fall in December - Sparks
(Christian Byers), Spit
(James Fraser), Misty (Lee
Cormie), and Maps (Daniel
Radcliffe). Misty, who
wears glasses, is the film’s
narrator, recalling the
story in his old age. Maps
notices a girl near his age
at an adjacent house, a
blond vixen named Lucy
(Teresa Palmer) who
smokes cigarettes and has
a record player hidden in a
cave up the shore. The two
have an immature teenage
love affair. Meanwhile, the
boys learn that a childless
couple who lives down the
beach is thinking of adopt-
ing one of them. And Misty
puts his best foot forward
to try to impress the
couple. The close bond of
friendship between the four
boys is tested as they begin
competing for the attention
and affection of Fearless
and his wife. Before the
summer is over, the boys
have had close encounters
with death, a strange wild
horse, and a legendary
large fish. Their experi-
ences leave an indelible
mark which the four of
them and carry all the way
into their adulthood.
December Boys is a typical
coming of age movie where
boundaries and friendships
are put to the test. There is
nothing exceptional with the
premise and the director
simply guides the
storytelling without fanfare
or embellishment. If the film
can be said to excel at any-
raphy, which makes the
shooting locations look like
paradise on earth. But what
let the movie down is that
there are too many subplots
which are not fully devel-
oped to be appreciated by the QUOTES IN QUIZBooklets
ANSWER TO THE LAST ISSUE: available at BOOKSALE
audience and to move the stores in SM, Robinsons
story forward. December OUR SOULS MAY LOSE THEIR PEACE AND EVEN DISTURB OTHER PEOPLES’, IF WE ARE ALL CRITICIZING TRIVIAL and selected malls in
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Boys is a likable and well in- IGNORANCE OF THEIR MOTIVES. SAINT TERESA OF AVILA 09192803036.
tentioned movie but is noth-
ing extraordinary to make
one go out of the way just to
see it.
The test of friendship
does not come in times
when everything is dandy
and sweet, or when every-
one is supportive and em-
phatic because they are
merely watchers of how
you struggle to get your
goal. It is tested and
proven when friends are
aiming at the same thing.
Can they be honorable vic-
tors or gracious losers?
Will they compete decently
and conscientiously or be
imprudent cheats? Some-
times, we are put in posi-
tions wherein we fight for
our lives, struggle to sur-
vive and try to win. The
outcome of our lives’ com-
petitions is equally impor-
tant as the manner we
choose to participate in the
daily struggle because
these are the times when
we define the kind of per-
son we are. December Boys
shows a sense of pride in
choosing to be loyal to
friends or assertive in
reaching one’s goals. It
stretches our understand-
ing of the ways in which
friendship can sometimes
be deepened even when it
is most in jeopardy. How-
ever, audience discretion is
advised because of themes
and content about sex, nu-
dity, underage drinking
and smoking.