•A3 •A7 •B1 •B7

Pontiff says world Padre Pio’s body to be ‘Let no one Philippine Mining: A civil
stability “Fragile” exhumed, venerated touch the child’ society perspective

Bishops fear enforcers’

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

Activist for truth and

abuse of ID system
IF only for the benefit of the people, at least two
Catholic bishops see no problem with the re-
vival of the national identification (ID) system.
But with the current political situation of the
country, the ranking Church officials sounded
their reservations on the military scheme.
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
said the credibility of the proposed policy would
depend on its merit and the people who would
implement it.
Bishops fear / A6
justice
“I CAN never keep quiet if there are ongoing
anomalies and we should learn to value Truth,”
thus said Episcopal Commission on Social Ac-
tion, Justice and Peace chairman and Manila
Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo over Catho-
lic-run Veritas 846.
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace This was his reaction to a newspaper report,
which described him as “militant bishop” at the
National Secretariat of Social Action, Justice and
January 7 - 20, 2008 • Vol. 12 No. 1 Php 20.00 Activist / A6

© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

FOR THE NTH TIME. Plaza Miranda once again hosted another flood of humanity as an estimated 100,000 devotees flocked the Quiapo Church last Jan. 9 for the annual Feast of the Black Nazarene. Police said at least two persons were killed and 44 others were injured
during the annual procession of the image around Quiapo. The conduct of the procession and the kind of religiosity of devotees tell of Filipino’s brand of Catholicism. Is there a need to look at popular piety vis-à-vis the work of evangelization?

Bishop to priests: Keep

out of politics, please
By Roy Lagarde Their sphere of involvement, he added, is that of
faith and morals, where they are also expected to
THE country is yet two years away from the criti- preach God’s Word and live a good life by example.

Church land already

cally important national elections, but the political
noise is obviously rising.
And perhaps hoping to avoid repeating what
happened last polls, a Catholic bishop made an
early appeal to priests planning to vie for a public
Medroso stressed that it is vivid in Church’s
teachings that priests cannot engage in partisan
political activity.
“Politics is also a vocation from God to those
who are called. We priests are also called with spe-

office to keep out of the political life.
Bishop Leonardo Medroso, chairman of the CBCP
Episcopal Commission on Canon Law, said there’s
more to priesthood than being a politician if only
to serve the people.
ceded to agrarian
cific vocations and that is to take care of spiritual
and moral things in life,” he said.
“And that’s the contribution we can give to the
people who are looking at us for that and not in
politics.”

reform—prelate
He reminded the clergy that apart from politics, He said it would be ideal for priests to just leave
priests are also leaders but in another way and that political responsibilities to those who are charged
is being with Christ as his ministers. with them.
“There’s no more need to enter politics,” said The Code of Canon Law, canon 285, forbids all
Medroso, also the bishop of Tagbilaran diocese in clerics from entering politics.
Bohol province. Bishop to / A6 “WE have ceased control “As ours is a government
and possession over the of laws, we also have a
agricultural land which right to seek redress and

Lower marriage nullity cases in 2007 noted has been subjected to

THE National Appellate Matri-
monial Tribunal (NAMT) re-
versed 15 out of 111 decisions
handed down by various
archdiocesan and diocesan mar-
riage tribunals of first instance
last year.
All the decisions rendered by
the marriage tribunals of first
instance are forwarded to NAMT
chaired by Lingayen-Dagupan
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz for
concurrence and for them to be
executory.
Archbishop Cruz, in an inter-
view with CBCPNews said the
so-called “lower courts” screen
and submit approved marriage
nullity case decisions to the ap-
pellate tribunal for review. He
added annulment cases dis-
missed by the instance remain
with the diocesan or
archdiocesan tribunals.
agrarian
Caceres
reform,”
Arcbishop
The prelate said the number Leonardo Legaspi, OP
of nullity cases decreased over said in an interview over
the past few years. He, however, Catholic-run Veritas 846
explained the decrease “does not Friday morning as he
send any message at all because downplayed media re-
there are many couples who just ports calling on the
separate.” He said some go for Catholic Church to give
divorce or civil annulment and up its lands in favor of
other means distinct from the poor, landless farmers.
nullity granted by the Church. He said they went to
Without going into specifics, the courts for redress be-
Lower / A6 cause the Catholic
Church is registered as a
corporation. “How, then,
can you limit the
that was what we did,”
Archbishop Legaspi ex-
plained. He cited the case of
a 30-hectare rice land in San
Vicente, Limbanan town,
donated to the major semi-
nary which was subjected to
agrarian reform.
“When we were to erect a
parish and provide for a
cemetery, we asked the
farmer beneficiaries to ac-
commodate us with less
than a hectare for the par-
ish church and a hectare of
land for the cemetery, were
we able to acquire it? Yes,
we got the land for the par-

Real healer is holy, doesn’t ask for money archdiocese’s retention

BELIEVE and you will be fine,
just pay your bill on time.
If you get that line from a
“faith healer,” you better be care-
ful, warned a ranking Catholic
the special gift of healing from
the one who has not.
“Meron nagkataon tapos nasabing
meron siyang gift of healing so
nagpupunta ang tao sa kanya. Meron
naman ibang ministrong
there are signs that a healing
ministry is for real or not. “There
are gauge to that.”
Foremost, he said, a healing
minister possesses pious life. Ex-
ample to this, he said, is the late
to seven hectares when
you have 74 parishes and
20 cemeteries?” the prel-
ate asked.
Archbishop Legaspi
said it was good the is-
sue was brought into the
ish but we failed to get the
land for the cemetery,” the
archbishop said. He de-
scribed the situation as
“ironic.”
Asked if the Archdiocese
of Caceres received com-
pensation from the govern-
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media

Church official. media. However, he said ment, he said the Depart-

But how can you really ascer-
tain a genuine faith healer to
avoid falling into the trap of a
fake faith healer instead?
According to Lingayen-
Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz
it is hard to identify a person with
nagpapanggap lang na meron silang
gift to heal ,” he said.
There are some frauds out
there, he said, pretending that
spirits inhabits their body to cure
the incurable.
But Cruz also has this to say:
Father Pio of Italy and Mother it was unfortunate the ment of Agrarian Reform
Theresa. story was associated offered P2.00 per hectare.
Cruz said that it is also sig- with the Sumilao farm- “We have to be clear in
nificant to note that within that ers’ case. He explained implementing our laws,”
holiness, humility always is their case was filed with Archbishop Legaspi con-
present. the courts 20 years ago. cluded. (Melo M. Acuña)
Real / A6

CBCPNews Impact www.veritas846.ph

Impact magazine is 41. It may be

An alternative news organization the oldest runningAsian magazine for
staffed by Catholic journalists dedicated human transformation in the region.
to providing accurate news written from Get updated with the latest trends in social
a distinctively Catholic perspective. development vis-à-vis the social teachings
of the Church.
Read the daily church news at www.cbcpnews.com To subscribe: email to subscription@imp actmagazine.net
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A2
21 died violently for the
gospel in ‘07
ROME, January 7, 2008—Twenty-one people the three deacons
involved in ministry suffered violent deaths killed with him in
in 2007, including a priest and three deacons Iraq in June are four
in Iraq. of the eight pastoral
The Fides news agency, of the Vatican Con- workers who died in
gregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Asia.
released the list of names of the dead today. The woman reli-
The group includes mostly priests and dea- gious, Sister Anne
cons. One seminarian, one brother and one Thole of the
woman religious are also included. Franciscan Sisters of
“In recent years our list has included not the Holy Family,
only the names of missionaries ‘ad gentes ’ in perished when a hos-
the strict sense, but all pastoral workers who pital for AIDS pa-
died a violent death, sacrificing their lives, tients caught fire in
aware of the risk they were taking by prefer- South Africa.
ring to remain at their posts, rather than give The 35-year-old
up their commitment to Christian witness nun had already
and charity,” the news agency clarified. helped bring five pa-
2007’s statistics show three fewer deaths tients to safety. She
than in 2006 and four less than two years ago. returned to the flames for three more, but
Last year’s list of 21 pastoral workers in- the roof collapsed before she and the patients
cludes 15 priests. Father Ragheed Ganni and could escape.
Almost 3 million visited Pope in 2007
VATICAN CITY, January 6, Household, according to whom
2008—In the course of 2007, 2,830,100 persons were present
there have been almost 3 mil- at the Wednesday general audi-
lion faithful and pilgrims that ences, special audiences, liturgi-
have participated at public gath- cal celebrations and at the Sun-
erings with Benedict XVI at the day recitation of the Angelus.
Vatican and at the papal sum- There were 729,000 faithful
mer residence at Castel
Gandolfo.
The figures were released by
who were present in St. Peter’s
Square or in the Paul the VI Hall
at the 44 Wednesday general au-
the prefecture of the Papal diences in the last 12 months.
Olympics: fight against online sex goes
for broader crackdown
mingled with abnormal and
unhealthy thinking on sex”
are targeted by the new anti-
porno regulations adopted
yesterday. Vulgar talk and
suggestive language also
come under the new rules.
Producers of audio-visual
material have three weeks
to check their film banks be-
fore handing over or de-
stroying the banned mate-
BEIJING, China, January 7, rial or they will face penalties.
2008—Mainland censors are go- The same rules apply to web
ing to exercise greater control pages that might contain lan-
over the Internet to bar scenes guage that is not explicitly sexual
depicting obscene and porno- but just suggestive. Websites that
graphic acts in order to protect offer downloadable movies have
minors and young people who a month to register.
are too immature and lacking in According to estimates by the
judgment that they might imitate China Internet Network Infor-
them, according to Huang
Weiqun, an official with the State
Administration of Radio, Film
mation Centre in July last year,
the country’s total online popu-
lation reached 162 million in
and Television.
“Scenes that blatantly depict sex
acts, the process of which are
June. Mr. Huang said 70 per cent
of these were under 30 years
whilst 50 per cent were under 25.
KC Insurance sets 3 new records in 2007
Insurance in force tops $66 billion—monthly, yearly sales best ever
NEW HAVEN, CT, USA, January insurance sales for December
2, 2008—Knights of Columbus 2007 exceeded the amount sold
life insurance in force reached during the entire year in 1978.”
$66.1 billion at the end of 2007, “I am very proud of our 1,300
setting a new all-time record, field agents and 130 general
Supreme Knight and Chief Ex- agents, who worked so hard and
ecutive Officer Carl A. Anderson so effectively to help Knights
announced Jan. 2. It was the sev- protect their families and build
enth consecutive year of insur- financial security,” Anderson
ance sales growth for the Order. continued. “Our founder, Father
“The year 2007 was a very Michael J. McGivney, believed
strong year for us,” Anderson strongly that we should provide
said. “Not only did we set a new every Catholic man with the
record for insurance in force, but means to protect his family from
it was a record year for life in- financial ruin by offering a
surance sales, which totaled
$6.564 billion. And December
2007 was our best month ever,
sound, professionally-run life
insurance program. The size
and strength of our insurance
adding $864.1 million of new life program is a worthy testament
insurance coverage for our to his far-sighted vision.”
members and their families. Our (KCNews)
Practicing Catholics now outnumber Anglicans in the UK
LONDON, England, December 24, estimates for church attendance in
2007—In the United Kingdom, 2006: 861,800 Catholics attended
new research has found that ser- Mass every Sunday compared with
vices offered by the Church of En- 852,500 Anglicans worshipping
gland are no longer the country’s weekly.
most popular form of worship. Peter Brierley, a former execu-
The Press Association reports tive director of charity Christian
that Catholic churchgoers outnum- Research who compiled the study,
ber Anglicans for the first time dismissed the idea that Britain is
since the Reformation. about to become a Catholic coun-
A study conducted by Christian try for the first time since the Ref-
Research bases their findings on ormation in the 16th century.
World News
The complete list and the circumstances of
the ministers’ deaths, as far as they are known,
can be found at www.fides.org. (Zenit)
In 2006, the figure was
1,031,500. There was one less
Wednesday audience in 2007
than in 2006.
The figures for the traditional
Wednesday audiences refer to
the number of tickets distrib-
uted without taking into account
the people who entered with-
out tickets.
For the recitation of the Sun-
Censorship has recently af-
fected important movies. Some
“steamy” sex scenes from Tai-
wanese director Ang Lee’s award-
winning film Lust, Caution (Leone
d’Oro at the last Venice Film Fes-
tival) were cut.
Lost in Beijing, which won Spe-
cial Jury Prize at the 2007
Bangkok International Film Fes-
tival, was also banned after its
theatrical release on 30 Novem-
ber despite the removal of 17
minutes of footage of rape and
class conflict.
The movie tells the story of
two rural migrants who arrive
in Beijing searching a better life.
After finding work the female
character is raped by her boss and
falls into a spiral that leads her
into prostitution.
Producer Fang Li has been ac-
cused of releasing some uncut
copies on the Internet and for this
reason has been banned from
producing for two years.
Brierley insisted that the Catholic
Church will experience a more
rapid rate of decline within two
years.
Dr Brierley’s study, based on fig-
ures obtained from half the 38,000
churches in England and Wales, did
not, however, take into account the
recent wave of Polish immigration
which is likely to widen still fur-
ther the gap between active mem-
bers of the two denominations.
Pope invites responsibility
toward creation
VATICAN CITY, January 6,
2008—Benedict XVI is asking rich
and poor nations take more re-
sponsibility for preserving the
planet, according to a Vatican
spokesman.
Jesuit Father Federico
Lombardi said this on the most
recent episode of the Vatican tele-
vision program “Octava Dies ,” in
which he commented on the
Pope’s message for the World
Day of Peace, celebrated Jan. 1.
The priest said: “Until some
time ago the theme of the envi-
ronment could have seemed a
concern of the rich rather than the
poor, of developed countries
rather than those less so, for
which economic development
was instead an absolute priority.
“Regulating and limiting this
development seemed like a
luxury, a way of keeping the weak
in their condition of subjection.
Now, the frequent disasters caused
by environmental disequilibrium
strike with greater force those
who do not have the means to
defend themselves, and an aware-
ness is growing of an irreparable
impoverishment of the resources
of the weakest countries.”
day Angelus, in the course of
African saint
2007, there were 1,450,000 per-
sons who came to St. Peter’s
Square—155,000 more than last
turns Oregon
year. There were 442,000 faith-
ful who participated in the li-
turgical celebrations.
Last April, a record-breaking
130,000 attended the Wednesday
audiences, and 250,000 attended
death-row
liturgical celebrations. (Zenit)
inmate’s life
upside down
PORTLAND, Oregon, USA, Janu-
ary 7, 2008—From a windowless
cell at the Oregon State Peniten-
tiary, a Catholic death-row in-
mate evangelizes across the
Under the new rules no movie world.
deemed pornographic can par- A former white supremacist,
ticipate in a festival. Jeff Tiner is now inspired by a
The authorities want to do humble Sudanese saint. He resists
some “moral” house-cleaning publicity for himself, saying he
ahead of this year’s Olympics. wants only to spread far and wide
Greater control over online the story of St. Josephine Bakhita.
pornography has however raised He uses most of this time and
concerns that it might simply be resources to support the
a pretext for greater censorship Canossian Sisters, the religious
and a crackdown on freedom of community St. Bakhita joined
expression and dissent. more than a century ago. At one
Press freedom in China is prac- time, Tiner had other priorities.
tically non-existent. Mainland In 1993 in Springfield, Ore.,
media outlets can only get news according to court records, he
items from state-run Xinhua. And shot a man and disposed of his
any news that might affect the body in a remote area of the Cas-
social and economic system and cade Range. He had been in
the country’s stability has been
banned.
Directives have been released in
view of the upcoming Olympics
ordering the media to “minimize”
any negative stories and “consult”
Vatican official proposes plans
with the appropriate authorities
before interviews can be conducted.
(AsiaNews/Agencies)
for reparation for priestly abuse
VATICAN CITY, January 7,
2008—A leading Vatican offi-
cial has proposed a worldwide
program of eucharistic adora-
tion to seek spiritual reparation
for the damage caused by the
sexual abuse of children by
priests.
Cardinal Claudio Hummes,
prefect of the Congregation for
Clergy, said the initiative would
involve dioceses, parishes, mon-
asteries, convents and seminar-
ies in a prayer movement to sup-
port priestly holiness.
In a particular way, the initia-
tive will ask reparation “for the
victims of grave situations of
moral and sexual conduct of a
Beatification of Cardinal Newman
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media
“imminent” Vatican says
VATICAN City, January 8, 2008—
Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins,
Prefect of the Vatican’s Congre-
gation for the Cause of the Saints,
has announced that the beatifica-
tion of the great British convert
and scholar, Cardinal John Henry
Newman, is “imminent.”
In an interview to be published
Some estimates put the number on Wednesday in the daily Ital-
of Poles arriving in Britain at up to ian edition of L’Osservatore
100,000, 85 per cent of whom are Romano, Cardinal Saraiva said
Catholics. But he said the failure of that among the most important
the Government to provide accu- personalities to be beatified
rate data on migration from East- “soon” is “the case of Cardinal
ern Europe since 2005 made it im- Newman, a relevant intellectual,
possible to include them in the and an emblematic figure of con-
study. version from Anglicanism to
Attendance numbers have been Catholicism.”
stable since 2000 for the Church of “Personally, I wish his beatifi-
England. (CNA) cation to happen very soon be-
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
In his message for the World
Day of Peace, Benedict XVI em-
phasized that “today humanity
fears for future ecological equi-
librium.”
According to Father Lombardi,
“the Pope links a powerful moral
appeal to solidarity, on the basis
of the recognition of a universal
destination of the goods of cre-
ation, that also takes the poor and
future generations into account.”
The Vatican spokesman says
that the Pope “invites dialogue,
serious scientific study of the
problems without ‘ideological
escalation,’ wisdom in the re-
search on ‘models of sustainable
development’ and—with signifi-
cant concreteness—he proposes
an intensified dialogue between
nations on the ‘management of
the planets energy resources.’”
“Once again,” he added,
“knowing that we are created by
God makes us responsible before
him and other people, but we
must also find practical ways to-
ward the future of humanity in
this our common home through
the toil of reason and dialogue.
An alliance between faith and
reason is needed.” (Zenit)
St. Josephine Bakhita
trouble with the law before and
bore tattoos of a swastika and the
words “White Pride.”
But, after reading about St.
Bakhita’s life, the condemned
man felt hope. “I came to under-
stand that I, too, could come back
to life, spiritually,” he wrote in a
2006 article for the Canossian Sis-
ters’ magazine. “I could be res-
cued from slavery to sin and find
redemption and joy in the arms
of Jesus and Mary.”
More information is available
on the Web site
www.sainteds.com, by clicking
on “The Bakhita Project” in “fea-
tured pages.” (CNS)
very small percentage of clergy,”
Cardinal Hummes said in an in-
terview Jan. 4 with the Vatican
newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
“We are asking everyone to
participate in eucharistic adora-
tion to repair before God the
damage that was done and to
uphold once again the dignity of
the victims,” the cardinal said.
“Yes, we wanted to think of the
victims so that they feel that we
are close to them. We are con-
cerned above all with them, and
it’s important to say so,” he said.
The cardinal said that only a
small minority of priests has
been involved in sexual abuse
cases. (CNS)
cause it would be very important
at this moment for the path of ecu-
menical dialogue,” Cardinal
Martins said.
Cardinal Saraiva Martins also
revealed the beatification, later
this year, of the parents of St.
Therese of Lisieux, Louis Martin
and Azelia Guérin. The heroic
virtues of the parents of St.
Therese, who is now one of the
most popular saints in the Catho-
lic Church and a Doctor of the
Church, were proclaimed on
March 26, 1944.
Cardinal Saraiva implied that
the miracle needed to proclaim
them Blessed has been approved
by his congregation, and will be
announced at the next
Consistory. (CNA)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008 News Features A3

Pontiff says
world stability
“Fragile”
© Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis

Shares ’08 outlook with Diplomatic Corps

VATICAN CITY, January. 7, 2008—
Benedict XVI says diplomacy needs to
give hope in a world where security and
stability are fragile.
The Pope made this affirmation today
when he gave his traditional New Year’s
address to the members of the diplomatic
corps accredited to the Holy See. The
Holy See maintains diplomatic relations
with 176 nations.
The Holy Father gave an overview of
some of the most notable signs of hope
and concern on the planet at the begin-
ning of 2008.
Latin America
Referring to his May trip to Brazil,
Benedict XVI spoke about Latin
America, giving special mention to
Cuba. That island nation will celebrate
this year the 10th anniversary of Pope
John Paul II’s visit.
“In the economic and social sphere, I
was able to note eloquent signs of hope
for that continent, as well as certain rea-
sons for concern,” Benedict XVI said.
“We all look forward to seeing increas-
ing cooperation among the peoples of
Latin America, and, within each of the
countries that make up that continent,
the resolution of internal conflicts, lead-
ing to a consensus on the great values
inspired by the Gospel.”
Natural disasters
The Holy Father gave special men-
tion to places affected by “appalling
natural disasters.”
“I am thinking of the hurricanes and
floods which have devastated certain
regions of Mexico and Central
America, as well as countries in Africa
and Asia, especially Bangladesh, and
parts of Oceania; mention must also be
made of the great fires,” he said.
The Pope particularly mentioned
Peru, devastated by an earthquake in
August. The Pope said Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone, his secretary of state,
visited the South American nation and
“brought me a firsthand account of the
destruction and havoc caused by the
terrible earthquake, but he spoke also
of the courage and faith of the peoples
affected.”
Middle East
The Pontiff returned again to a theme
he has given much attention: the con-
flict in the Middle East.
“I am glad that the Annapolis Con-
ference pointed toward the abandon-
ment of partisan or unilateral solutions,
in favor of a global approach respectful
of the rights and legitimate interests of
all the peoples of the region,” he said.
“I appeal once more to the Israelis and
the Palestinians to concentrate their en-
ergies on the implementation of com-
mitments made on that occasion, and
to expedite the process that has happily
been restarted.
“Moreover, I invite the international
community to give strong support to
these two peoples and to understand
their respective sufferings and fears.”
Benedict XVI particularly lamented
the plight of Lebanon and the war in
Iraq. He gave special mention to the
persecution of Christians and their
emigration from Iraq.
Asia
With Pakistan the home of renewed
conflict after the Dec. 27 assassination
of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto,
the Holy Father had a message for that
country.
“I hope that all political and social
forces will commit themselves to
building a peaceful society, respect-
ful of the rights of all,” he appealed.
The Pope then turned his attention
to Afghanistan, where “in addition to
violence, there are other serious so-
cial problems, such as the production
of drugs; greater support should be
given to efforts for development, and
even more intensive work is required
in order to build a serene future.”
Finally, he noted continuing situa-
tions of conflict in Sri Lanka and
Myanmar.
Africa
Benedict XVI lamented that hope is
almost vanquished in the conflict in
the Darfur region of Sudan. He also
noted the obstacles to peace in Congo
and Somalia.
Given escalating violence in Kenya
after the Dec. 27 elections, the Pope
joined that nation’s bishops in appeal-
ing for dialogue and justice.
“The Catholic Church is not indif-
ferent to the cries of pain that rise up
from these regions,” he said. “She
makes her own the pleas for help
made by refugees and displaced per-
sons, and she pledges herself to foster
reconciliation, justice and peace.”
Europe
The Holy Father last turned his at-
tention to Europe, saying: “I rejoice at
the progress that has been made in vari-
ous countries of the Balkan region, and
I express once again the hope that the
definitive status of Kosovo will take
account of the legitimate claims of the
parties involved and will guarantee se-
curity and respect for the rights of all
the inhabitants of this land, so that the
specter of violence will be definitively
removed and European stability
strengthened.
“I should like also to mention
Cyprus, recalling with joy the visit of
His Beatitude Archbishop
Chrysostomos II last June. It is my ear-
nest wish that, in the context of the
European Union, no effort will be
spared in the search for a solution to a
crisis that has already lasted too long.”
Noting the work that began with the
Dec. 13 signing of the Treaty of Lisbon,
the Pontiff spoke of the process of
building a “‘European home, which
‘will be a good place to live for ev-
eryone only if it is built on a solid
cultural and moral foundation of com-
mon values drawn from our history
and our traditions’ and if it does not
deny its Christian roots.”
Human freedom
Benedict XVI concluded his ad-
dress with an appeal to a correct use
of human freedom, by founding it
on natural law.
“From this rapid overview it ap-
pears clearly that the security and
stability of the world are still frag-
ile,” he said. The factors of concern
are varied, yet they all bear witness
to the fact that human freedom is not
absolute, but is a good that is
shared, one for which all must as-
sume responsibility. It follows that
law and order are guarantees of free-
dom.
“Yet law can be an effective force
for peace only if its foundations re-
main solidly anchored in natural
law, given by the Creator. This is
another reason why God can never
be excluded from the horizon of man
or of history. God’s name is a name
of justice, it represents an urgent
appeal for peace.” (Zenit)

Tandag Clergy Natural law is theme of Pope’s

appeals to GMA to
end militarization
in Surigao del Sur
THROUGH a letter sent last De-
cember 11, 2007, the Tandag
Clergy appealed to President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to
stop the military operation be-
cause “as Pastors of God’s vine-
yard, we are deeply concerned
with the plight of our brother
and sister lumads, who were
once peacefully living in their
communities … now at the dif-
ferent evacuation centers of the
province in fear they might be
caught in the crossfire between
the Armed Forces of the Philip-
pines and the rebels as the mili-
tary presence continues.”
On November 1, 2007, the mili-
tary arrived and encamped in the
settler and lumad communities
of Lianga, San Agustin, Tago and
San Miguel in this province. The
said armed groups questioned
the tribal community school
teachers and children about the
presence of the new People’s
Army in their areas. In subse-
quent days, movements and eco-
nomic activities of residents
were monitored and some were
even restricted to go to their
farms. Military checkpoints
were established in every entry
point of the different tribal com-
munities.
The residents of affected areas,
after their leaders and elders
have conferred, decided to
evacuate after experiencing the
difficulties of inhabiting with
the military. On November 19,
2007, the lumads of
Magkahunao, Buhisan, San
Agustin, evacuated to the
Buhisan Barangay Hall and
Buhisan Elementary School.
Their neighboring communities
of sitio Tela and Yadawan fol-
lowed and sought refuge at the
Hanipaan Barangay Hall,
Buatong Barangay Hall, and oth-
ers at their relatives, at Sto.
Niño, all of San Agustin Surigao
del Sur.
Braving the rains, the commu-
nities of Kabulohan, Mike and
Han-ayan, Diatagon, Lianga,
Surigao del Sur walked 16 kilo-
meters on barefoot, and settled
themselves at Diatagon
Barangay Gym. The Local folks
of Emerald and Simowao, sitios
of Diatagon followed. Almost a
thousand tribal folks crammed
together at the said evacuation
center on November 21, 2007.
Days later, the tribal communi-
ties of Sudon, Panokmoan and
Manluy-a, joined the evacuees.
On November 25, 2007, resi-
dents of forested areas of San
Miguel and Tago started their
exodus. The settler and lumad
communities of more than three
hundred individuals or twenty
nine families of Km. 22, Anahao
Daan, took refuge in an aban-
doned farm huts and makeshift
sheds of Parina, Anahao Daan,
Tago, Surigao del Sur. Around
five hundred residents or sixty
families from Panamin, Madrid
and Lagangan, of Caras-an took
shelter at Caras-an Barangay
Hall, Tago Surigao del Sur. The
number of families who evacu-
ated from the hinterlands of San
Miguel remains uncounted.
As of December 5, 2007, there
are about 431 families or 2,575
individuals in six evacuation
centers in Lianga, San Agustin
and Tago, all of Surigao del Sur.
Despite donations from pa-
rishioners and assistance from
the government, there was scar-
city of food supply.
The Tandag Clergy is also con-
“state of the world” address
VATICAN, January 7, 2008—World peace Pope Benedict renewed his condemnation stan, where “there are other serious social
is possible only if it is “solidly anchored of terrorism and urged the world’s leaders problems, such as the production of drugs.”
in natural law, given by the Creator,” Pope
Benedict XVI told the members of the
Vatican diplomatic corps in a major ad-
that to “prevent terrorists from gaining ac-
cess to weapons of mass destruction would
undoubtedly strengthen the nuclear nonpro-
Regarding Africa, Pope Benedict men-
tioned his “deep anguish” over the “men-
acing sequence of hunger and death that
dress on January 7. liferation regime and make it more effective.” is unfolding in Darfur.” He also took note
Early each year the Roman Pontiff meets The Pontiff began his tour of the world’s of the turmoil in Somalia and the fresh
with all the diplomats accredited to the political crises by mentioning his trip to Bra- dangers of ethnic violence in Kenya.
Holy See. The annual address has become zil in May of last year. He spoke of his hopes Finishing his survey with a look at Eu-
the equivalent of a “state of the world” for broad and equitable development in rope, the Pope saw progress in the Balkans,
speech, with the Pope offering a pan- Latin America. He made a special mention of saying that further progress would come
oramic view of world events as seen from his concern for religious freedom in Cuba, with a resolution of the conflict in Kosovo.
the Vatican’s perspective. where Catholics will be celebrating the 10th He said that the signing of the Treaty of
After giving a rundown of the world’s anniversary of the historic visit by Pope John Lisbon, defining the basis for the Euro-
trouble spots, Pope Benedict concluded Paul II. pean Union, “gives a boost to the process
that “the security and stability of the world Next the Pope looked to the Middle East, of building the European home.”
are still fragile.” To maintain a lasting noting with satisfaction that the Annapolis That European body, he said, can pros-
peace, he said, world leaders must recog- conference “pointed toward the abandonment per “only if it is built on a solid cultural
nize natural law. “This is another reason of partisan or unilateral solutions, in favor and moral foundation of common values
why God can never be excluded from the of a global approach respectful of the rights drawn from our history and our traditions
horizon of man or of history,” he said. and legitimate interests of all the peoples of and if it does not deny its Christian roots.”
The Catholic Church will always defend the region.” As he wrapped up his address, Pope
the human rights based on natural law, The Holy Father expressed his “earnest Benedict commended the efforts of the
the Pope reminded the assembled ambas- wish that the Lebanese people will be able diplomats working in Rome and else-
sadors. For that reason, he said, “I cannot freely to decide on their future,” so that coun- where to preserve peace and security. “Di-
but deplore once again the continual at- try can become “once more an example of plomacy is, in a certain sense, the art of
tacks perpetrated on every continent the peaceful coexistence of different commu- hope,” he said.
against human life.” nities.” Pope Benedict met with the envoys in
The Holy Father welcomed a UN reso- Turning to Iraq, the Pope said with em- the Sala Regia of the apostolic palace.
lution calling for a moratorium on the phasis that “reconciliation is urgently Giovanni Galassi, the ambassador from
death penalty, saying that he hoped “this needed!” He called for an end to continued San Marino and the dean of the Vatican
initiative will lead to public debate on the bloodshed there, and issued a clear reminder diplomatic corps, greeted the Pontiff on
sacred character of human life.” The same that the regime should “safeguard the rights behalf of the group, offering a traditional
reverence of life, he said, should lead to of minorities”—clearly referring to the em- statement of best wishes for the coming
move to protect the unborn. battled Christians of Iraq. On another hotly year.
The Pope added that natural law weighs contested issue involving the Middle East, The Holy See currently has diplomatic
against “disturbing threats to the integ- Pope Benedict implicitly rejected the pros- ties with 176 nations; during his speech
rity of the family, founded on the mar- pect of armed conflict with Iran, calling in- the Pope took note of the fact that the
riage of a man and a woman.” He also stead for “continued and uninterrupted pur- United Arab Emirates had been added to
observed with regret that religious free- suit of the path of diplomacy in order to re- that list in 2007. There are also special en-
dom is not universally accepted and that solve the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.” voys accredited to the Holy See from the
Christians and other religious believers Moving to Asia, the Pope mentioned the European Union, the Russian Federation,
suffer from discrimination and even vio- frightening outbreak of bloodshed in Paki- the PLO, and the Knights of Malta.
lence in many lands. stan and the enduring violence in Afghani- (CWNews)
cerned with the health condition Despite the ceasefire declara- take shelter in the Diocesan Pas- zation in the province of Surigao
of evacuees since they are settled tion, a good number of our toral Center, in Mabua, Tandag, del Sur, be given an appropriate
in congested centers. Upper res- evacuees are still in the evacua- Surigao del Sur, because the con- and immediate response, and
piratory tract infections both tion centers due to the contin- dition has been the same. At “let the suffering evacuees return
caused by virus and bacteria ued presence of military in their present, the evacuees at the Pas- to their homes and live peace-
have been diagnosed by health areas. Evacuees of Panamin, toral Center numbered about fully, especially in this Season
professionals as the leading ill- Madrid and Lagangan, Caras-an 150 individuals or 25 families. of Christmas”, the letter con-
ness affecting 15 years old and already returned to their respec- The clergy of Tandag hopes cluded. (Rev. Fr. Jose Ricky F.
below. tive places but later decided to that the call to end the militari- Cortez)
 CBCP Monitor
A4 Opinion Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008

EDITORIAL

Pastoral Challenge in
Popular Piety
“DYING for folly,” was how one newspaper editorialized the death
of two Black Nazarene devotees during the recent procession in
Quiapo. Referring to the same incident, a broadsheet columnist has
accused the Church of leading “many people astray by making them
believe in idols and sanctioning idolatrous rituals.” More criticisms
were heard over national radio and TV.
The media have just made a loud brouhaha over a traditional religious
event, or so some people of the rectories may say. But why even fault
the reportage or, worse, consign to a mellow whimper the death of two
individuals, and the victims lately of some fluvial processions that
seemingly have become as constant and as accepted as other annual
calamities?
From the sociological perspective, these incidents may actually be
a barometer of the brand of Catholicism the Filipinos have after over
400 years of Christianity. Today, it looks like it is still down to the level
of popular religiosity. Popular piety is, of course, an expression of
faith. But “faith” is stretched too much in superstitiously wiping towels
on the Nazarene statue in supplication for some material blessings
even at the cost of ones life.
It may be very difficult to find the values of the Gospel in today’s
practice of folk religiosity, especially where loving one another is
eclipsed with personal survival—more so when the practice of
popular piety or, better, natural religiosity, does not enter into the
centrality of the Sacred Liturgy or the celebration of the Sacred
Mysteries.
The Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy issued in 2002 by the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
warns: “Form of popular religiosity can sometimes appear to be
corruption by factors that are inconsistent with Catholic Doctrine. In
Bp. Guillermo V. Afable, DD
such cases, they must be patiently and prudently purified through
contacts with those responsible and through careful and respectful May God bless your
DADITAMA
catechesis—unless radical inconsistencies call for immediate and
decisive measures.” New Year
At the backdrop of the Second Plenary Council the Philippines (1991)
and the National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal (2001), the
practice of popular piety in the country tilts more to natural religiosity FROM Daditama—the Bishops, Clergy, Reli- responsibilities, that we will be able to right God.
rather than to authentic Christianity. gious men and women, as well as the Lay faith- the wrongs for a better future, that we will start Ours shall be a civilization of life and love.
ful in southern Mindanao—Greetings of Peace anew to rebuild not so much a “strong repub- (PCP II 253-255)
This indeed is a serious pastoral challenge. and Good Will! lic” but a nation under God. May the Tri-people of the
May God, who makes all things new, bless In 1991, the Church in the Philippines articu- Philippines¯Christians, Muslims and Indig-
your new year! Yes, may God truly reign in lated a vision of a people and nation renewed enous Peoples¯all work together for the wel-
your homes, your communities and work during the Second Plenary Council of the Phil- fare of all for peoples in truth, justice, love and
places. Only then will our new year be truly ippines. We do well to recall this at the begin- freedom. May the dominant Tri-sectoral
Dark Shadows on the Family happy. May we live in the whole truth and noth-
ing but the truth which seem so elusive in our
ning of another year.
A vision of a people and nation renewed. We
institutions¯Government, Business,
Church¯harness their vast human and spiritual
society. May there be more justice, not only for shall have to create a free nation: where human dig- resources for the common cause of nation build-
FOR a great number of families, poverty is a very heavy burden, the rich, famous and powerful but more for the nity and solidarity are respected and promoted; where ing where love and life prevails.
subjecting them to intense pressures, psychological, social, economic vast majority of our often marginalized citi- moral principles prevail in socio-economic life and The unique experience of Daditama for 2008
and spiritual. Seeking better livelihood abroad, millions of husbands, zens. May God’s love, present in everyone’s structures; where justice, love, and solidarity are the (communion of churches in the Ecclesiastical
wives, sons and daughters become separated. Many families are heart, conquer the evil of greed, apathy, and inner driving forces of development. Province of Davao), is now under the leader-
broken. Child labor is a serious social problem. The homelessness of division. May we all struggle and fight to gain We shall have to build a sovereign nation: ship of the Diocese of Tagum, with Bishop
thousands of street children deprives them of parental love and care our freedom from everyone and everything that where every tribe and faith are respected; where Wilfredo Manlapaz, D.D., at the helm. This
at the most impressionable stage of their lives. Their education is threatens life from the time of its inception. diverse tongues and traditions work together method of revolving the pastoral animation of
abandoned and sacrificed. It’s good to be back and to interact again with for the good of all; where membership is a call Daditama among the dioceses that comprise it,
our readers. In the beginning of the year, we to participation and involvement and leader- keep it constantly alert, alive and enthusiastic.
Materialist and consumerist values are also gaining inroads even cannot help but be forward looking with confi- ship a summons to generous service. This has ensured stability and continuity in our
among the poor. Mass Media and entertainment are filled with dence in God and in ourselves that we will be Ours will have to be a people: in harmony common efforts. We wish and pray for Bishop
subliminal secularist, sometimes erotic, images and explicitly able to truthfully recognize the mistakes of the with one another through unity in diversity; in Manlapaz and his pastoral team, all of God’s
materialistic messages that inflict heavy damage on Gospel values. past, that we will be able to humbly admit our harmony with creation and in harmony with graces for another fruitful Daditama year in 2008.
In such an environment the Filipino family is learning a new liberal
culture that dismisses religious teachings about personal, familial and

Real and lasting

social values as outmoded and irrelevant. Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Sadly, too, many people we look up to or idolize because of their
profession, skills, or charisma fail to be living examples of fidelity to
Christian life and commitment. Increasingly the phenomenon of wealth of the Views and Points
Philippines
single parenthood is occurring, even as the querida system seems to
be tolerated rather than condemned.
Moreover, some legislators repeatedly attempt to introduce absolute THE Philippines still has some crystalline pinos held on and the former eventually left. bad government that makes them suffer the
divorce into our country. They do not seem to realize that in countries beaches, certain abundant seacoast and big Governments come and go doing good or most. There is nothing than a vicious govern-
where divorce has been allowed the institution and meaning of lands. They may be still considered as national causing havoc. But the Filipinos have always ment that really haunts and hurts, divides,
marriage as sacred has declined, raising many more social and moral assets. But the truth has to be said: As some managed to hang on. When affirmed, they impoverishes and angers them. It can be said
problems than ever before. Some groups, too, are strongly advocating beaches are becoming dirty and certain sea- flourish. When oppressed, they hold their that there are basically two instances when
legislation to allow abortion in certain situations on the basis of the coast areas suffer pollution, big land fields ground. When challenged, they fight back— their government in effect become their en-
“right to choose” and “reproductive health.” Yet these are no more are either left untilled on account of insur- to win. The same happens in time of natural emy instead of their ally, their curse rather
than “catch-all” terms that, in the clear language of international gency, or taken over by national or multina- calamities. When normalcy of nature is back, than their blessing. One is when there is too
conventions on population and development, really include the use of tional corporations with the farmers having they pick up the pieces and build again, they much government riding on them with un-
contraceptive, including abortifacient, means and even abortion. nowhere to go. improve their lot and look forward with hope. conscionable taxes, offending them with so
Wanting to prevent deaths form illegal abortions, they want to provide The country is in a way still known for its Meantime, during the ups and downs of many scandals, fooling them with one big lie
“safe” abortions. thick forests, rich natural resources and pris- the country, the Filipinos keep their songs after another. Two is when there is too little
tine environment, especially in Mindanao. and dances, have fiestas, tell their jokes and government working for their common
Advocates of this position wrongly assert that “a woman has total right These too can still be looked upon as national enjoy their laughter. And come what may, goods, providing public welfare, promoting
over her body.” They ignore the religious and moral reality that God wealth. But again, immoderate logging, irre- they will have both their joyful Christmas development.
created all of us, men and women, simply as stewards of God, we are sponsible mining and consequent environ- and their tearful Good Friday. It is said that It is not hard to see that the present govern-
to be guided by moral principles. mental degradation have become common Filipinos are like bamboos. They stand ment is precisely the one above in both in-
phenomena. In all these predatory ventures, straight, tall and proud. They stay close to- stances. It demands too much from the people
Indeed, with principles arising from materialism and secularism, a the beneficiaries and the victims are always gether for support and strength. They bend yet delivers less and less. It is very haughty
culture of death is gradually setting in, one that would spell the death the same, i.e., the powerful having influence with the wind to remain whole and intact. and so proud but it is deeply distrusted and
of Gospel values regarding the dignity and worth of every human and the helpless wallowing in poverty. Cut anyone of them and others will gradu- commonly disrespected by a great number of
person, including the unborn, regarding the very nature of life and But all realities considered, the Philippines ally appear and grow—and again stand the people. For the moment, the Filipinos
death, love and marriage, the family and its relationships with others. has still one distinct, real and lasting wealth, straight, tall and proud. pray, unite and act—in anticipation of its even-
-(The Christian Family: Good News for the Third Millennium, A viz, the Filipinos. Invaders came but the Fili- In their history as a people, it is mostly a tual dismissal.
CBCP Pastoral Letter on the World Meeting of Family, 2002)

Melo M. Acuña
ISSN 1908-2940 Shabu now peddled in
Issues and Concerns
CBCP Monitor
P r o ta g o n i s t of Tr u t h , Promoter of Peace
MOST Filipino overseas workers are reeling
Italy
Italian government. Others were subjected to to do so. Suspicious Italian authorities simply
Pedro C. Quitorio with the current peso-dollar exchange rate. Some house arrest. confiscate food commodities in case of doubt.
Editor-in-Chief opt to stay in the country rather than work As in the Philippines, the pushers succeeded How did they get into using shabu? One fac-
abroad due to the weak US dollar. It’s some- in penetrating the Filipino youth who could tor is loneliness or boredom. Loneliness sets in.
Pinky Barrientos, FSP Kris P. Bayos thing we cannot do away with. However, it afford. Should these youngsters fail to buy the This is one reason why some spouses get into
Associate Editor Feature Editor should benefit more Filipinos who depend on merchandise, they’re being utilized as couriers/ serious relationships while abroad. The other
imports. Sadly, this isn’t the case in our prevail- pushers. There’s a strong possibility shabu sold may be a different perception of Filipinos about
Melo M. Acuña Rosalynn Garcia ing petroleum prices. The oil deregulation law in Milan could have come from the Philippines. Italian authorities. They probably look at Ital-
Managing Editor Marketing Supervisor passed years ago failed to bring the expected The syndicates have been “too creative” in ship- ians as very hospitable to Filipinos, unlike
Dennis B. Dayao Ernani M. Ramos benefits making some sectors move for its abo- ping the merchandise mixed with sugar, others Singaporean, Taiwanese and Japanese govern-
On-Line Editor Circulation Manager lition. placed in their shoes and in some instances, in ments which seriously take drug offenders. Fili-
In Milan, Consul General Pedro Chan con- baby strollers. pino chaplains could very well help by way of
Roy Q. Lagarde Marcelita Dominguez firmed earlier hush-hush reports on the fate of Italian employers maintained healthy rela- counseling.
News Editor Comptroller 60 Filipinos arrested by Italian authorities due tions with Filipino overseas workers. Some even Now we can say we even have the guts to
to drug trafficking. In an interview over the leave their villas under the care of Filipino do- export our criminal elements to the detriment
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP
weekend, the former DFA spokesman said sev- mestic managers for months while on vacation. of well-meaning and hardworking Filipinos in
Communications Development Foundation, Inc., with
Layout by Denz Dayao

editorial and business of fices at 470 Gen. Luna St., eral pushers arrived in Italy and begun supply-
Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. ing shabu to Filipino workers from fast-food
Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612. chains to high-end villas.
Email: cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net Shabu in Milan costs 300 euros a gram. Those
Website: www.cbcpworld.net/cbcpmonitor with prima facie cases have been detained and
charged. Lawyers have been provided by the
Consul General Chan said Filipinos are the only
ones allowed to stay in their places of work.
The recent arrests made Italian employers doubt
their own Filipino employees. New arrivals are
being subjected to security checks. Filipinos used
to bringing “pasalubong” may no longer be able
Italy and elsewhere.
While government claims to have earned
foreign exchange by leaps and bounds, it should
also take into consideration how overseas em-
ployment has affected Filipino families in and
out of the country.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
Jose B. Lugay
Laiko Lampstand
POPE Benedict’s New Year’s message is a call
for world peace, naming it a divine gift. He
emphasized the link between world peace
and the natural family as the foundation for
it. To the members of the Christian Family
Movement, this message strikes directly into
our mission statement: “We are a community of
families called to witness to Christ. Our mission is
to be evangelized and to evangelize families and
communities through our family life programs.”
Our first meeting this 2008 of the newly
elected Board Members of the Christian Fam-
ily Movement, with the guidance of our Na-
tional Chaplain, Msgr. Manny Gabriel, was a
re-examination of how effective our family
life programs have been through the last 51
years. These programs include the a) mar-
riage encounter, b) family encounter, c)
young adults program, d) sons and daugh-
ters’ encounter, e) self encounter, f) tipanan
ng pamilya, g) discovery weekend and h) gabay
formation, I) services to the parish specifi-
cally involvement in pre-cana sessions for
those getting married and j) family life edu-
To friends of the
Archdiocese
DURING the holiday season in Cagayan de
Oro, I celebrated the Midnight Masses for
Christmas and New Year at the St. August-
ine Cathedral which was filled to standing
room capacity. These have indeed been mo-
ments of thanksgiving, recalling blessings
of the past year and a half. In early Decem-
ber, I officiated at three ordination Masses
for six new priests in their home areas—two
in Mambajao, Camiguin; three at the Cathe-
dral; and the last one in Alubijid. Last year,
we also had five ordinandi—two in Claveria,
and three at the Cathedral Thus the archdio-
cese has been blessed with eleven new priests
since I was installed as archbishop on 30 May
2006.
After a year of monthly meetings and con-
sultations with the clergy, we have now
operationalized a standardization scheme for
the living allowances and social security of
all diocesan priests. This took effect in June
2007 at the same time that we had a general
re-shuffling of pastoral assignments for our
57 parishes and chaplaincies and two semi-
naries. Of our 114 diocesan priests, 9 are in
seminary formation, 4 are in graduate stud-
ies, 14 are in overseas parish assignments,
while another 5 are working in other Philip-
pine dioceses. One of these is “on loan” as-
sisting my previous Prelature of Ipil.
Judging from initial feedbacks from both
young and older clergy, the provision of so-
cial security for everyone has been much
appreciated since this covers their hospital-
ization and retirement benefits. Indeed, over
the past 18 months, two priests are undergo-
ing treatment for cancer symptoms, four have
had fairly serious road accidents, while sev-
eral others have sought treatment for vari-
ous ailments of the heart or the lungs. We
are also taking care of three priests in their
retirement years in our House of Ars.
As part of our health maintenance efforts,
we have set up in the Bishop’s House a physi-
cal fitness gym (near the kitchen) with some
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD
By the Roadside
SOMETIMES I think we human beings are
beyond puzzling. When a new year comes
we make resolutions (many of which) we
rarely fulfill. And, knowing that, we still do
the same thing, year after year. We resolve
to stop smoking, to avoid joining in gossip,
to write that letter to the editor, to live more
simply, to spend more time with our loved
ones, to cultivate a hidden talent, to tithe to
my parish church, to pass from tithing (which
is an Old Testament practice after all) to
Christian giving (the New Testament act,
naturally, measured only by “cheerful giv-
ing” from the heart), to read the Filipino
Catholic (or, at least, to try to be one). Trouble
is we seldom resolve to actualize our resolu-
tions.
So the first order of the year should be: I
resolve to fulfill last year’s New Year’s reso-
lutions. And, please, only those that I remem-
ber (if I might hasten to add).
The second order of the year should be: I
must never make a resolution that I cannot
put into action. I must resolve to un-resolve
any of the kind.
The third order of the year is: I must adopt
Mama Mary’s approach to life. Some people wan-
der (even when they write); Mama Mary pon-
ders. “And Mary kept all these things, pon-
dering on them in her heart” is what we hear
from St. Luke 2:19, 41 and which, I suggest,
should be what people hear about us who call
her “Mama” or “Mother”. Pondering is by no
means brooding, especially as described by
Noah Webster, that is, “to keep thinking about
something in a distressed or troubled way”.
Such is certainly far from what the Scriptures
say of Mary’s pondering. Her kind of ponder-
ing is listening with both the mind and the
heart. It’s what we witness in that extraordi-
nary episode of her in dialogue with the an-
Opinion
Pope Benedict’s New Year’s
message: a call for world peace—
the family as its foundation
cation for school children.
The continuing family evangelization pro-
cess consists of the CFM Unit Meeting Series
that is a group of 8 or more families meet
once every two weeks, held in the member’s
household in a rotating fashion attended by
either the chaplain or the gabay couple. These
meetings are directed by a guidebook spe-
cially written by the CFM’ers themselves
specific for beginners and progressively more
complex topics, e.g. on the family life
encylicals like Familiaris Consortio as well as
current social issues like the families of over-
seas workers.
CFM started with the social apostolate—
that is getting involved in the formation of
NAMFREL and establishing parish coopera-
tives. In fact the livelihood projects run by
the cooperative of the Parish of the Immacu-
late Conception of Cubao which started with
a measly P15,000 is now valued in millions
of pesos, considered the most successfully run
livelihood cooperative in the country. .
With the advent of internet and tri-media
Abp. Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ, DD
Pastoral Companion
instruments for stationary walking or cy-
cling, as well as for weight-lifting. At the
rear of the house, we have also cemented an
area as a badminton court, which is being
patronized too by sisters and lay co-work-
ers.
Along with standardization, we have
started to organize our various ministries
under two general headings. The ad intra
ministries, intended for Catholics, are coor-
dinated by a Commission on Faith and Evan-
gelization. These include the ministries of
BEC Formation, Catechetics, Family and Life,
Youth, Liturgy, Bible, Vocations Promotion,
Mission Awareness, Hospital Care, Inter-
Religious Dialogue, and Bio-Ethics.
The ad extra ministries, directed to any one
in need regardless of religious affiliation, are
coordinated by a Commission on Social Ac-
tion. These include the ministries on Good
Governance, Sustainable Agriculture, Ecol-
ogy, Indigenous People, Enterprise Devel-
opment, Disaster Management, and Social
Communications. Moreover, the commis-
sion includes services for particular sectors,
such as women victims of abuse, neglected
children, the elderly, the mentally sick, pris-
oners, migrants, and the deaf. Two other com-
missions have been set up to attend to Tem-
poralities and Clergy Formation. We have
also started to organize an association of our
parish-based secondary and kindergarten
schools.
With the dissemination of the Compendium
of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the archdio-
cese has set up an ACCESS office (i.e.,
Archdiocesan Center of Concern, Empower-
ment, and Social Services). The office has
started regular “conversations” with NGOs,
academe, and other civil society groups to
work together on common issues such as
poll-watching, good governance, and envi-
ronmental concerns over small-scale mining
activities in the upstream areas of Cagayan
de Oro and Iponan rivers.
Through 2008 and
beyond, pondering
gel Gabriel in Luke 1:26-38. When she is told
that she is to be the mother of God’s only Son,
she doesn’t take it passively. She says what
she feels. “How can this be since I do not know
man?” (Lk 1:34). But as soon as she under-
stands that the nature-defying event is to be
the work of the Holy Spirit doing the will of
God for whom nothing is impossible, Mary’s
pondering ends up in complete obedience.
“Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. Let it
be done to me according to your word” (Lk
1:38). The wisdom of the best Mother in (and
of) the Universe consists in simply acknowl-
edging that the Father knows best. Such a lead
would be wise to follow.
The fourth order of the year is focusing on
the why and wherefore of things, instead of only
on the “what”, “when” or “how”. A number
of years ago I remember finding a song that
I shared with a group of young retreatants:
“Hey you, won’t you stop for a while? Stop to see
and to think: You’ve been running around. You’ve
been chasing a dream. What you want is the sky.
But do you know why?”
One of the greatest tragedies of living is to
make resolutions, fail them and never to know
why, in the first place, we do so. But this isn’t
true only to resolutions. It’s just as true to
our other solitary or collective acts. Do we
ask why we have to keep tolerating destruc-
tive vices and/or practices which include not
only smoking or drinking (or too much
texting) but also being late to Mass, weddings,
birthdays or anniversaries by saying it’s
“‘Filipino time’ and so is part of the culture”?
Do we cease to be Filipinos when we are
prompt or come even ahead of time? Do we
try to search for reasons why we continue to
be plagued by the so-called “culture of cor-
ruption” when we all suffer the shame and
the same the ill-effects of mis-governance?
exposure on the youth, the CFM evangeliza-
tion methodology ceased to be relevant to
the new generation. The OFW phenomenon
has produced one-parent families with
unique problems that the past generation
rarely experienced. There is much to do—
changes in our methodology, as well as a new
approach to evangelizing the modern youth.
This is the time that we need the help of
the parishes—especially those who have
many resident OFW families. We hope that
the parish priests, who are averse to getting
help from lay organizations, should utilize
them instead. As the bible states, “the harvest
is plenty but the workers are few.” If we have to
follow Pope Benedict’s new year’s wish, that
is, attaining world peace by strengthening
the family as its foundation, all of us, the
clergy, the religious and the laity, that is, the
People of God should work as one. May the
year 2008 be bountiful and full of grace to
achieve world peace through the family.
For comments contact
joselugay@yahoo.com
Since August 2006, we have introduced in
nine pilot parishes a Responsible Parenthood
and All-Natural Family Planning program.
We include all scientifically-based NFP meth-
ods today for couples to have added options
for an informed and responsible choice. The
responses from trained providers and couple-
users of NFP have been heartening and the
program has now been opened to all parishes.
Despite skepticism from some quarters, we
have always maintained that the program is
for responsible parenthood (not population
control) and for NFP all the way (without any
mixing of contraceptives). The results can
speak for themselves, and we invite interested
observers to visit our pilot sites.
As a member of the Pontifical Council for
Justice and Peace, I joined the World Con-
gress for Ecclesial Organizations Working for
Justice and Peace, held in Rome in Novem-
ber 2007. The congress commemorated the
40 th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s social en-
cyclical, Populorum Progressio (The Develop-
ment of Peoples). For us in the Philippines,
the year also marked the 40th anniversary of
the National Rural Congress called by the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philip-
pines.
In this light, CBCP has called for a Second
National Rural Congress, starting with dioc-
esan and sub-regional consultations until the
first quarter of this year. NRC II will culmi-
nate with a national assembly by mid-2008. I
have been asked to chair the central commit-
tee in charge of these preparations. On a lo-
calized note, this year 2008 also marks the
75 th anniversary of the creation of Cagayan
de Oro as a diocese.
It is with all these in mind that, on behalf
of the clergy, religious and lay faithful, I ex-
tend to you the greetings and gratitude of
the archdiocese for your prayers and continu-
ing support. May the spirit of Christmas—of
Light, Love, and Life—remain with you
throughout the coming year.
Have we ever tried answering why we still
go through the motions of “democratic” elec-
tions when power can be acquired by money
and fame?
Asking why compels us to listen to what
our unique Pinoy realities tell us about God’s
Word that we need to obey if Jesus is to be
made flesh in our culture and society. It was
only after Mary’s pondering that went from
listening to obedience that John the Evange-
list could say: “And the Word was made flesh
and dwelt among us and we have seen his
glory, the glory the Father’s only Son filled
with grace and truth” (Jn 1:14).
The fifth order of the year is saying what we
mean and meaning what we say. I find it per-
plexing at times to hear some people say,
“Oh, I really want to be honest but, you see,
everybody does the opposite at the office.
What do I do? I don’t want to be accused of
being ‘holier-than-thou’”. Or take a shady
politician’s “I am sorry”. It’s a perfect example
of how destructive of peoples and societies it
is when words do not express what a person
really is saying. When words apologize but
actions plot against perceived enemies, when
husbands and wives say “I do” but act as if
they “do not”, when young students prom-
ise, “I’ll work and study harder” but hardly
work or study, when Christians say, “I do
renounce Satan and all his works and pomp”
but are wont to nurse resentments and ha-
tred against others, truth is trampled under
foot. And God being truth, we turn our back
on God. Small wonder then that his Son says,
“You only have to say, ‘Yes’ when you mean
‘yes’ and “No” when you mean ‘no’. Any-
thing more is from the evil one” (Mt 5:37).
The final order of the year is: Treat the real-
ization of resolutions the way one regards charity.
That is, let it begin at home.
A5
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
Love Life
We need to be Persistent,
Insistent, Consistent
Persons In Christ
PIC—three letters that have been motivating, pressing and up-
holding our commitment to the Pro-life Mission.
Unless we are persistent in reaching out to the girls and
women with positive and effective responses to their situation
of unexpected pregnancy, they will be another number in the
increasing rate of abortions in our country—often suffering
the consequences of their poor choice just because they had no
one to turn to in their time of distress.
Unless we are insistent in stopping the culture of death that
has created so much confusion, devastation and depression,
media will continue to influence our youth to consumerism,
moral relativism, secular humanism and hedonism. Some sec-
tors in congress, government agencies, and well-funded orga-
nizations will further impress on the people that whatever is
legal, even if immoral, is the way of life, claiming that popula-
tion control and aggressive promotion of contraception, steril-
ization and abortifacients are the answer to poverty allevia-
tion and ignorance.
And unless we are consistent in projecting the image that
we, as a Church, must be unambiguously pro-life in our words
and actions, we will be unable to evangelize our culture, bring-
ing the Gospel of Life, Love, Family, Sexuality and Fertility to
bear upon the mores, practices, customs and laws of our soci-
ety.
Here I will quote freely Fr. Daniel Mahan from his book on
stewardship “More than Silver or Gold”: We are called as follow-
ers of Jesus to use our God-given talents and abilities to make
a difference in the world—to build a culture of life. We do not
have to apologize for our public stand on life issues, and no
Catholic should feel intimidated by the rhetoric and tactics of
those in the other side. We must continue to speak out for the
truth and for those who have no voice with which to influence
the political process, at the risk of ridicule and the diminish-
ment of our status in society.
Above all, to be Persons In Christ is our primary calling at
Baptism. And the rest of the Sacraments are available for each
of us to be able to live up to the name of Christian. Jesus
challenges us to keep our priorities always in proper order,
to seek first the Kingdom of God, to keep our eyes fixed al-
ways on the good things of heaven. The two great command-
ments direct us to do just that—loving God above all things,
and respecting the entire created order as good stewards of
the land, water, the air and all living creature—especially
honoring and loving the human person, the apex of God’s
creative powers, made in His Image and Likeness.
To respect human life then is to protect and defend the life of
the unborn child from the moment of conception. It is to ex-
tend pastoral care and God’s mercy and forgiveness to those
who have participated in the sin of abortion, assuring them
that there is no sin so grave that the Lord cannot or will not
forgive. It is to cherish the life of a person with disability,
recognizing that within each person one can discern the genius
and love of the Creator. It is to provide palliative and spiritual
care to the person who is dying, patiently honoring that person’s
dignity through the hour of death, whenever it might come.
And it is also defending not only the innocent human life, but
also that of the guilty who remains to be a child of God and
worthy of His love and forgiveness.
As Catholics, we are called not to keep to ourselves, and not
to be content with our “private morality”. Rather, we are called
to be faithful to the command of Jesus: “Go therefore and make
disciples of all nations… teaching them to observe all that I
have commanded you”. Let us go then in our persistence, in-
sisting and being consistent Persons in Christ!
Benedict’s theme:
build Christ’s
Kingdom of Light
through Mary
By Dr. Jeff Mirus
IT doesn’t take a genius to forecast Pope Benedict’s most im-
portant theme for 2008. In his first address of the New Year,
he emphasized the need for the Church to find a fuller under-
standing of her mystery in the person of the Mother of God so
that Christians can replace the contemporary darkness with
Christ’s kingdom of truth and light.
Benedict struck his theme in the first Vespers service at St.
Peter’s basilica for the Solemnity of the Mother of God (that
is, the eve of the Solemnity, or New Year’s eve). He referred
to “the dark evil of modern Western society” caused by a
“deficit of hope and trust in life,” affirming that this darkness
can be dispelled only by faith that “Christ is our dependable
hope”.
In responding to the darkness, the Pontiff urged Catholics
to remember “the woman by whom the Son of God entered
the world,” the Virgin Mary, who “represents the Church’s
most authentic image: the person in whom the ecclesial com-
munity must continually discover the authentic meaning of
its own vocation and mystery.”
He developed the same theme in his first Wednesday audi-
ence on January 2nd, encouraging the faithful to entrust 2008
to Mary “that she may guide our steps in this new period of
time the Lord has given us to live.” Referring to the previous
day’s Solemnity, Benedict explained that the Council of
Ephesus had confirmed Mary’s title as “Mother of God” in 431
“to safeguard the full humanity of Jesus” while at the same
time affirming that Jesus unites two natures, human and di-
vine, in one Person.
He observed that the Council was followed by a “veritable
explosion of Marian devotion”. Hoping for the same result in
our own day, he urged Christians to engage the New Year by
asking Mary to “help us to be true friends of her Son and
courageous architects of his Kingdom in the world: a King-
dom of light and truth.”
Catholics seeking a New Year’s resolution can stop search-
ing. This one will last not only for a year but for a lifetime:
Extending Christ’s kingdom through Mary until it illumi-
nates the world.
 CBCP Monitor
A6 Local News Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008

Priest warns vs. swindlers PPCRV reveals

on Black Nazarene day
A CATHOLIC priest has warned
the faithful against swindlers that
may attack devotees on the feast
of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo
church.
Msgr. Clemente Ignacio, rector
of the Minor Basilica of the Black
Nazarene, said the thieves oper-
ate during Mass and even in the
procession.
He said a report reached his
office about some people collect-
ing “Mass offering” outside the
nominees for top
Comelec post
said.
The authorities, meanwhile, A CHURCH-BACKED poll watch-
said they would no longer let dog disclosed its two nominees to
anyone deploy donation collec- head the controversial Commis-
tors during the procession so that sion on Elections (Comelec).
those who want to donate could The Parish Pastoral Council for
go straight to the church. Responsible Voting (PPCRV)
The Manila police are also brac- nominated lawyer Carlos Medina
ing up for the thousands of be- and retired Supreme Court Justice
lievers who will flock to the Jose Melo to fill the poll body’s top
Quiapo church, where a throng post.
of devotees are expected to attend PPCRV chair Henrietta De Villa
the yearly procession. said Medina, head of the Legal
They have agreed to submit all
their respective nominees and
then decided who among those
names they will elevate to the poll
body.
De Villa, a former Philippine
ambassador to the Vatican, said
they also have sought for the nomi-
nations of erstwhile Interior and
Local Government secretary Joey
Lina and Public Attorneys Office
head Persida Acosta.

© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

church.
But Ignacio said the Church is
not collecting donations directly
outside the church while the li-
turgical celebration is ongoing.
“Collections are done inside
the Church with collectors in uni-
form and with identifications,” he
Police officials said they would Network for Truthful Elections
deploy all available policemen to (Lente), and Melo were chosen for
maintain peace and order. their “transparency and integrity.”
They are also hoping that this She said they already have sub-
year’s festivity would not be mitted their nominees to the Pal-
marred by casualties as what ace only last month.
happened in the previous years. “We hope that Malacañang will
(CBCPNews) consider them studiously… screen
out also our nominees,” she said.
The PPCRV is part of a search
group composed of the National
Secretariat for Social Action of the
However, she said, Lina was
eventually removed from the list
because of his previous involve-
ment in politics.
In the case of Acosta, De Villa
said she is more needed at the PAO.
“Many suggested not to deplete
institutions with better officials,”
she said.
The PPCRV head also said they
are still searching for nominees to
fill other vacancies due to the res-

People’s hand needed to solve country’s ills Catholic Bishops’ Conference of

CBCP President and Jaro (Iloilo) Archbishop
Angel N. Lagdameo said the solution to the
country’s problems would depend on the
people’s response and resolve to cooperate,
help one another and recognize each other’s
responsibility.
Speaking over Radyo Veritas, Archbishop
Lagdameo said there are no problems too dif-
ficult to solve. He explained the Church
teaches everyone God will help solve prob-
lems provided we help those in need most
specially.
German Bishops Conference Secretary-General visits CBCP
“Feeding the hungry is one way of helping
the country solve its problems,” the prelate said.
He said non-government organizations
such as Gawad Kalinga has provided the home-
less with decent homes. “They need all our
support, especially those in need of formal
and non-formal education, employment and
efforts to reduce the cost of medicines,” he
added.
He stressed being able to address these ba-
sic concerns would bring hope to most Filipi-
nos this year.
the Philippines, the National
Movement for Free Elections and
In a related development, Archbishop other stakeholders tasked to sub-
Lagdameo said Pope Benedict XVI’s New mit recommendations for
Year’s message was quite appropriate as it Comelec chairmanship.
recognized the role of the family in achieving
peace. “Within the family, its members get to
know the meaning of peace,” he explained.
Peace is founded on one’s knowledge of re-
spect, justice and love. “Parents become role
Church stands firm on its
pro-life position
models for their children and as such, the fam-
ily is the first and indispensable teacher of
peace,” Archbishop Lagdameo said.
(CBCPNews)
THE Church will never change its
stand against contraceptives, the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) said.
CBCP president Archbishop An-
gel Lagdameo said any survey show-
ing a public clamor for artificial birth
control support will not affect the
Church’s stand on the issue.
“Surveys favoring contraceptives
will not alter the Church’s position
and insistence in teaching the ob-
jective moral laws regarding the
dignity of human life and family,”
he said.
The widespread use of birth con-
trols, he said, even with govern-
ment support, do not change the ob-
jection of moral law on contracep-
tives.
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
ignation and retirement of several
Comelec commissioners.
She said the list of other nomi-
nees will be submitted to
Malacañang next week.
(CBCPNews)
ning and Development Inc. (The
Forum) said, should serve as indi-
cation for the Church to reconsider
it’s stand on artificial birth controls.
The group also cited a recent sur-
vey by the Catholics for Free Choice
(CFC) showing that 77 percent of
Filipino Catholics that using
condoms is “pro-life” because it
saves lives by preventing the
spread of sexually transmitted ail-
ments like HIV and AIDS.
But CBCP Media Director Msgr.
Pedro Quitorio downplayed the
result of the survey, saying that it’s
a “very remote justification.”
Quitorio also belied reports that
condoms prevent the spread of
STDs. “It’s not true,” he said.
In Thailand for example, he said,

A United States-based organiza- the more they use condoms, the

tion yesterday said majority of
Catholics around the world are
backing the use of contraceptives,
particularly condoms.
This, The Forum for Family Plan-
more the AIDS become widespread.
He said that statistically, there is
no proof that condoms can prevent
the spread of sexually transmitted
diseases. (CBCPNews)

Bishops fear / A1
(From left) Dr. Hans Langendorfer, SJ, Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, Irmgard Icking, Msgr. Juanito Figura and Fr. Franz-Josef Eilers, SVD
Pabillo heads the Catholic Bish- of “upright and honorable men.”
THE Secretary General of the German Bish- cial management in Asian setting. He em- Most Filipino priests in Germany, however, ops Conference of the Philippines “The Commander-in-Chief and
ops’ Conference, Dr. Hans Langendörfer, SJ, phasized that it is quite different from what are there for further studies. But Abp. (CBCP)’s social action arm. her soldiers [should] first learn to
visited the General Secretariat of the Catho- is given annually by the Holy See to new Quevedo noted that there maybe someone “It also depends on how they are respect human lives, human dignity
lic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines bishops. assigned as chaplain for the whole Germany. going to use (the policy). It should and human rights,” Cruz told
(CBCP) last December 15, 2007. With him was But on the level of the dioceses, the impact Saying that the matter can be presented to not be abused so they should use it Church reporters.
Irmgard Icking, a representative of German needs to be felt more, said Abp. Quevedo. the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and for good purpose,” he said in an The government should also “do
Funding agency Missio. He also mentioned seminars organized for Itinerant People, Msgr. Figura also brought interview over the Church-run away with the mind frame that all
Dr. Hans Langendörfer SJ was received at lay leaders, like the ASIPA (Asian Integrated up the idea of the German Conference hav- Radyo Veritas. those who dissent against their
CBCP headquarters by his Filipino counter- Pastoral Approach). ing an office, either in Germany, or in the Pabillo also said that a clear law socio-political posture are necessar-
part, CBCP Secretary General, Msgr. Juanito Abp. Quevedo added that the BEC pro- Philippines, that would help in the prepara- is important in the military plan to ily enemies of the State and should
Figura. Fr. Franz-Josef Eilers, SVD, Executive grams under FABC are coordinated and sus- tions for intermarriages. He cited the lan- implement a national ID scheme. wherefore be eliminated,” he
Secretary of FABC (Federation of Asian Bish- tained by the Bishops and/or priests. This guage barrier as a difficulty in such prepara- “No matter how good a law is if added.
ops’ Conference) Office on Social Communi- has helped in strengthening Asian BEC pro- tions. the law enforcers don’t have the Government security forces sug-
cation accompanied the guests. Archbishop grams as faith-based activities, thus prevent- The discussion also touched on the joint political will, nothing will hap- gested the revival of a proposed
Orlando Quevedo of Cotabato, FABC Secre- ing the same from becoming ideology-re- programs between CBCP and the local gov- pen,” he added. national ID system in a bid to curb
tary General, was also present during the visit. lated. ernment with Abp. Quevedo saying that the Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, national security threats like the
The meeting, a friendly sharing of views He noted though that there is a need at the Conference is open to dialogue with govern- meanwhile, said the ID system communist insurgency and Islamic
and experiences; discussed the impact of grassroots level to be aware of BEC as a tool ment bodies. would be most acceptable and use- militancy.
FABC programs on Asia. of FABC. Msgr. Figura cited that the Bishops have ful if the ruling administration is Philippine National Police chief,
Abp. Quevedo explained that on the level Aside from BEC programs, liturgy and agreed on the principle of critical collabora- “trustworthy and dependable.” Director Gen. Avelino Razon Jr.,
of the Bishops, the Federation is very well migration concerns are other areas of coor- tion with government agencies, mentioning The people would also support said President Arroyo had also
known and its activities are well documented. dination that FABC extends to CBCP. the newly-organized Bishops-Legislators’ such scheme, he said, only if the shown interest in the implementa-
He mentioned existing programs intended Fr. Langerdörfer brought up the need for a Caucus, which is a forum for discussions and military leadership were composed tion of the ID system. (CBCPNews)
specifically for bishops, one of which is on more organized and stable Filipino chaplain possible collaboration in legislative initia-
leadership with focus on pastoral and finan- service for Filipinos in Germany. tives. (CBCP Secretariat) Lower / A1
Archbishop Cruz said there are ‘confusing’, the last thing he
Bishop to / A1 Real / A1
three reasons behind marriage should do is get married because
Another prohibition in the good priests than politicians to do program or family planning. He “…Because he knows that he’s nullity cases and they all refer to marriage requires very lucid rea-
canon law, entails that priests can- her task of evangelization.” said the government will pursue not the one that can really heal,” the “personality constitution” of son and deliberate will,” Arch-
not have an active role in politi- He added politics is the realm the population control in terms of he said. those persons getting married. bishop Cruz said.
cal parties unless the need to pro- of the lay and not of the clergy. “If the economics of less children, less The prelate also stressed that “There are people not qualified Another reason involves
tect the rights of the Church or to you have clergy taking political expenses while the Church be- never will a saintly and modest to get married, not because of people who suffer from down-
promote the common good. position from the lay, it is an in- lieves the primary reason for mar- healer will ask money or any- malice or ill will but because of right mental disorders and there
One of the most talked about is- dictment to the Church that she’s riage is pro-creation because ev- thing in return from the people their psychological, emotional, are many kinds of disorder as
sue last election was the running not doing her task of preparing ery child is a gift of God to the he nursed back to health. mental personality structure,” the listed in the manual of mental
of at least three priests including the lay to take their proper role in Church and to the society. Fr. Dizon Cruz said that if you see those prelate explained. disorders following the Ameri-
the incumbent governor of society,” he further explained. said he wonders what Governoir three guides from a faith healer, He explained important rea- can Psychiatric Association.
Pampanga, Among Ed Panlilio. The progressive priest from the Panlilio’s stand would be. you could be certain somehow. sons they consider in granting pe- “There are also those who suf-
The other priests were Msgr. Diocese of Imus said “it is very dif- Fr. Panlilio remains a priest “But even if just one of those titions for nullity as such as fer from sexual identity disorders
Crisanto de la Cruz who ran for ficult for Fr. Ed, at the end of the though suspended from his min- (guides) is absent, you better be people who lack sufficient use of and they come in two kinds,
mayor of Zamboanga City and day, to be at peace with himself, with istry while Governor of wary,” he said. reason in getting married, those women who behave and think
Fr. Ronilo Maat Omanio who the Church and with the Lord be- Pampanga. But, Fr. Dizon said Faith healing is a highly contro- who got married when they like men and men who think and
competed for governor in Occi- cause the question he will have to “just like any other priest, he made versial subject, and even some priests should not as they were pres- behave like women and mar-
dental Mindoro. ask is whether he is a priest who a vow of obedience, should there and lay pastors have been accused sured, coerced, trapped and riage, needless to say, is a het-
But unlike Panlilio, De La Cruz happens to be a governor or a gov- be conflict between what is being of making unscrupulous claims that threatened into it making their erosexual institution so to make
and Omanio failed to gain victory. ernor who happens to be a priest.” said by the President of the Re- do not stand up to scrutiny. decisions to get married im- them fit is morally impossible
The three were all suspended He said the conflict lies in the fact public and what the Archbishop Many say that where physical paired. because they do not,” the prelate
from their pastoral duties as a re- that as civil servant he is sworn to of San Fernando is saying, where healing does not take place, “When a person is confused and further said. (CBCPNews)
sult of their entry into the politi- defend the Constitution and the would his obedience be?” people have a need to try spiri- Activists / A1
cal arena. laws of the land and since these are “If politics is something he thinks tual approach.
products of men, they cannot al- he can contribute well, he must fol- But Cruz also warned that Peace. He said he has not seen a nothing wrong being alluded to
Priests needed more for evan- ways be moral. “He is a priest who low what Archbishop Cruz has there is nothing predictable broadsheet because he’s still in as “activist” because he seeks jus-
gelization has made a vow of obedience in been saying all along, be a layman about faith healing—except the Palawan. tice.
Meanwhile, Fr. Joe Dizon, head terms of faith and morals and instead of remaining a priest be- assurance of God’s love and care. “Yes, I am an activist for Jus- “In being an activist, there are
of the Council of Leaders of should there be conflict, where cause politics is a very important He added that the healing min- tice,” the prelate explained in Fili- those who get hurt by what we
church-based group Kairos Phil- would he stand?” Fr. Dizon asked. matter as far as the Catholic laity is istry is one of the greatest oppor- pino. He added the Truth should say and they definitely wouldn’t
ippines said “the Church in the He cited as one example the gov- concerned,” Fr. Dizon concluded. tunities the Church has for shar- always prevail regardless of who like any activist,” he concluded.
Philippines today needs more ernment-sponsored population (with reports from Melo M. Acuña) ing the Gospel. (CBCPNews) gets hurt. He further said there’s (Melo M. Acuña)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008 Features A7

Pope, marking new year,

reiterates support for
traditional family
VATICAN CITY, January 7,
2008—Ushering in the new year,
Pope Benedict XVI said attempts
to weaken the traditional family
inevitably undermine social har-
“strict connection” to social
peace. He quoted from his World
Peace Day message on the theme
“The Human Family, a Commu-
nity of Peace.”
board crowns in memory of the
three kings who traveled to
Bethlehem.
Prayers for peace were offered
in five languages; in Arabic, the

mony and world peace.
“The natural family, founded
on marriage between a man and
a woman, is the cradle of life and
love and the first and indispens-
able teacher of peace,” the pope
said at a Mass Jan. 1, which the
church marks as the World Day
of Peace.
The family thus constitutes the
primary agency of peace, and at-
tempts to deny or restrict family
rights “threaten the very founda-
tions of peace,” he said.
Later, at a noon blessing, the
pope returned to the theme of the
family and what he called its
“Whoever, even unknow-
ingly, circumvents the institution
of the family undermines peace
in the entire community, national
and international, since he weak-
ens what is in effect the primary
agency of peace,” he said.
The pope was not specific
about efforts to weaken the fam-
ily, but in the past he has spoken
out against gay marriage and
laws that give full legal recogni-
tion to cohabiting couples.
Thousands of people filled St.
Peter’s Basilica for the New Year’s
liturgy; among the crowd was a
group of children wearing card-
© Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis
prayer asked that the world’s
populations would “overcome
suggestions of violence and war
and commit all their energy and
resources to building a stable
peace.”
In his homily, the pope said
people should recognize that true
peace is not merely the result of
human efforts or political agree- who have trouble believing that should be welcomed in faith guages.
ments. Above all, he said, peace Jesus is both God and man. “even without understanding “May the peace proclaimed by
is a divine gift that people need “At the ‘school’ of Mary we can everything,” he said. the angels at Bethlehem take ever
to continually implore. accept with the heart that which In his talk to pilgrims after the deeper root in men’s hearts and
The pope also noted that Jan. 1 the eyes and the mind cannot Mass, the pope expressed the inspire the whole human family
marked the feast of Mary, Mother perceive by themselves,” he said. hope for a “serene and produc- to live in harmony, justice and
of God. He said Mary can serve The mystery of the Incarnation tive” 2008 and extended New fraternal solidarity,” he said in
as a guide to modern Christians and Mary’s divine maternity Year’s greetings in seven lan- English. (John Thavis / CNS)

Padre Pio’s body to be exhumed, venerated “Allah” is only for

SAN GIOVANNI ROTONDO, Italy, January
7, 2008—The body of Padre Pio will be ex-
humed and exposed for public veneration
during the coming year, the local archbishop
has announced.
The plan to exhume the body of the be-
loved Capuchin saint has already encountered
stiff resistance from some of Padre Pio’s liv-
ing relatives, who denounced the plan as “un-
civilized.”
Archbishop Domenico D’Ambrosio said
that the body of Padre Pio would be avail-
able for public veneration in 2008, for the
40th anniversary of his death. Each year close
to 1 million pilgrims travel to the shrine of
the saint at San Giovanni Rotondo.
The timing of the public veneration has
not yet been established. Church officials are
apparently waiting for expert advice on the
exhumation of the saint’s remains and the
preservation of his body.
But Pia Forgione, a niece of Padre Pio, has
initiated legal action to stop the exhumation.
In an appeal to an Italian court she argued
that the archbishop does not have proper
Pauline Year to put Tarsus in limelight
ROME, January 8, 2008—Coordinators of the
jubilee year of St. Paul say that Turkey will
have a strategic role during the commemo-
ration, since Tarsus was the birth place of the
saint.
Benedict XVI proclaimed a jubilee year of
St. Paul from June 28, 2008, to the same date
in 2009, marking the 2,000th anniversary of
the apostle’s birth.
An information bulletin about the year
said the Church in Turkey is preparing “with
spirit and a special determination they de-
rive from feeling ‘one’ with the apostle born
in Tarsus.”
According to Bishop Luigi Padovese, ap-
authority to put the saint’s remains on public
display.
Archbishop D’Ambrosio said that his plan
has the approval of the Vatican’s Congrega-
tion for the Causes of Saints. He explained
that he saw a “duty to allow future genera-
tions the chance to venerate the mortal re-
mains of St. Pio of Pietrelcina.”
Part of the reason for the exhumation, he
said, is to ensure proper preservation of those
remains. Padre Pio, who lived from 1887 to
1968, gained an international reputation for
holiness during his lifetime.
Thousands of people reported miracles af-
ter meeting with the famous monk, who ap-
parently enjoyed extraordinary spiritual gifts
including the stigmata and discernment of
souls.
The reports of miracles attributed to his
intercession multiplied after his death, and
devotion to Padre Pio continued to spread.
Padre Pio was canonized by Pope John
Paul II in 2002, with an estimated 2 million
people attending the Vatican ceremony.
(CWNews.com)
Armenians, one Syrian Catholic and one
Chaldean, is considering the program for the
celebrations.
The bishops already planned a letter to the
faithful of the various rites as well as a pil-
grimage to Rome.
The conference has established contact with
Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of
Constantinople and with the Syrian Ortho-
dox and Armenian Gregorian metropolitan
archbishops, in order to organize common
ecumenical initiatives dedicated to St. Paul,
as Benedict XVI has suggested.
“The bimillennium will serve also to call
the attention of the Church to the Christian
Today, there is only one church-museum,
and it lacks a cross. To use the building for
liturgy, previous permission must be ob-
tained and payment must be given to the civil
authorities.
“I asked Prime Minister Erdogan that ac-
cess to the building, the only Christian place
in the city which has not been transformed
into a mosque, may be permitted not only to
Catholics, but also to all Christians; or that
the Christians might be able to acquire land
to build a church,” Bishop Padovese said. “In
Tarsus the museum-church is not needed, but
a church where faithful and pilgrims can feel
at home and pray.”
Muslims, Malaysian
official says
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, De-
cember 24, 2007—A senior gov-
ernment official in Malaysia has
ordered a Catholic newspaper to
drop the use of the word “Allah”
in its Malay language section if it
wants its publishing permit re-
newed, the Associated Press re-
ports.
The Herald, published by
Malaysia’s Catholic Church, has
translated the word God as “Al-
lah.” Che Din Yusoff, a senior
official at the Internal Security
Ministry’s publications control
unit, has said this usage is erro-
neous because “Allah” refers to
the Muslim God.
“Christians cannot use the
word Allah. It is only applicable
to Muslims. Allah is only for the
Muslim god. This is a design to
confuse the Muslim people,” Che
Din told the Associated Press.
Che Din said that the newspa-
per should use the general term
for God, the word “Tuhan.”
Father Lawrence Andrew, edi-
tor of the Herald, explained the
newspaper’s usage of the contro-
versial word:
“We follow the Bible. The
Malay-language Bible uses Allah
for God and Tuhan for Lord. In
our prayers and in church during
Malay mass, we use the word
Allah,” Father Andrew said.
“This is not something new. The
word Allah has been used in Ma-
laysia for a long time. There is
no confusion,” he continued.
Che Din said that since Chris-
tians don’t use the word “Allah”
in English-language worship,
they shouldn’t use it in the Malay
language. In addition to “Allah,”
Che Din said three other Malay
words ought not be used by non-
Muslims: “solat” for prayers,
“kaabah” for the place of Mus-
lim worship in Mecca and
“baitula” the house of Allah.
Publishers in Malaysia are re-
quired to obtain annual permits
from the government, a policy
that has been criticized for in-
fringing on the freedom of the
press. Members of minority re-
ligions have also complained that
they do not enjoy full freedom of
religion, despite such guarantees
in the nation’s constitution.
The Herald, a 13-year-old
weekly, is in talks with the gov-
ernment to renew its permit,
which expires December 31. Che
Din said the publication’s permit
would only be renewed if The
Herald stops using the word “Al-
lah” in its pages.
The Herald publishes reports
in four languages: English,
Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. It
has a circulation of 12,000.
There are more than 800,000
Catholics in Malaysia, whose
overall population is 27 million.
(CNA)

Merger of seven Dominican

ostolic vicar of Anatolia, Turkey, “St. Paul minority communities in Turkey, making “The authorities of Tarsus,” he added, “have
can be considered the apostle of Christian them aware of the situation,” added Bishop mixed sentiments: They are aware of the im-
identity, in an era like today when any type Padovese. portance of the city for Christians; they are

of religion can be embraced, in a moment in
which the many paths toward God are ranked
on the same level.”
The Turkish Episcopal conference, formed
by seven bishops, three of the Latin rite, two
225 delegates to elect new Jesuit general superior
Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach,
ROME, January 8, 2008—Today the 35th Gen-
eral Congregation of the Society of Jesus will
begin in Rome. During the meeting, 225 Je-
suit delegates from around the world will
elect a new general superior to replace their
outgoing leader Father Peter Hans
Kolvenbach.
women’s congregations
One of the first goals for Catholics is to proud to be fellow citizens with a first-rate per-
obtain permission from the Turkish authori- son. But at the same time, they show perplexity
ties in Tarsus to make a permanent place for and discomfort when it comes to handling a
Christian worship to accommodate the pil-
grims who will arrive from around the world.
situation implying religious tourism with spe-
cial demands.” (Nieves San Martín / Zenit) approved by Vatican
The delegates will be involved in the discussions. The Congre-
also address a num- gation will be opened on Monday morning at
ber of modern-day the Church of Gesu.
challenges facing the The first part of the General Congregation
order founded by St. will be devoted to the election of a new supe-
Ignatius of Loyola. rior to replace Father Peter Hans Kolvenbach,
Also on the table are who will be stepping down. Sources within
discussions about is- the Society of Jesus said that in the process for
sues related to the electing a new superior, “there are no candi-
society’s internal life, dacies or campaigns. In fact, it is forbidden to
including the dra- carry them out in favor of or against a particu-
matic decline in the lar Jesuit.”
number of vocations In order to prepare for the elections, a re- COLUMBUS, Ohio, USA, January maculate Heart of Mary in Ak-
in the West and the port on the challenges facing the Society of 7, 2008—The merger of seven ron; the Congregation of St. Rose
growth of vocations Jesus is presented at the outset of the general congregations of Dominican of Lima in Oxford, Mich.; the
in the East, especially congregation, allowing the electors to discern women religious has been ap- Dominican Sisters, Congregation
in India. which type of person and which qualities are proved by the Vatican, according of St. Mary, and the Eucharistic
The issues dis- needed in the new superior. to a news release from the Do- Missionaries of St. Dominic, both
cussed are taken from After a few day of discussion among the minican Cluster in Columbus. in New Orleans; the Dominican
petitions that any Je- delegates, the voting will take place by secret The official date for the foun- Sisters of Great Bend, Kan.; and
suit—regardless of ballot. For the first time in history, voting will dation of the new congregation, the Congregation of St.
whether nor not he is be done electronically. 110 votes are needed which has not yet been named, is Catharine of Siena in St.
a delegate to the Con- to be elected. Easter 2009. The location of the Catharine, Ky.
gregation—can send in beforehand. Some of The closing date of the Congregation has new congregation’s headquarters The seven communities cur-
the 225 delegates attend because of their posi- yet to be determined. The meetings will be and other ministerial depart- rently have 730 sisters and about
tion in the Society, but most are commissioned held at the General Curia of the Society of ments also has not been decided. 500 men and women associates
to attend by their local provinces or regions. Jesus, located in Rome near the colonnade that The congregations uniting are: who partner with the sisters in
Of the 225 delegates (not including the Fa- surrounds St. Peter’s Square. the Dominican Sisters, St. Mary mission in 36 states and in Puerto
ther General), 217 will be able to vote for the The official languages of the Congregation will of the Springs in Columbus; the Rico, France, Honduras, Peru and
new superior. The remaining eight will only be Spanish, English, French and German. (CNA) Sisters of St. Dominic of the Im- Nigeria. (CNS)

A8 People, Facts & Places
3 National Catholic
rd
Family Bible Quiz slated
CBCP Legal Counsel receives Papal Award
THE first Filipino ever to receive such a pres-
tigious award, Atty. Sabino R. Padilla, Jr., le-
gal counsel to Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) was invested with
the Papal Award of Knight of the Grand Cross
of the Pontifical Order of St. Gregory in a
ceremony at the Manila Cathedral last De-
cember 26, 2007.
Cardinal Gaudencio B. Rosales presided
the mass for the occasion with Papal Nuncio,
Archbishop Edward J. Adams, archbishops
and bishops, monsignori and priests
concelebrating.
Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, Archbishop
of Caceres placed the insignia of the Papal
Award on Atty. Padilla.
The highest rank, the Knight Grand Cross
is an exceptional award with only few people
have been invested so far.
Atty. Padilla is the first Filipino and sec-
ond Asian to receive the Papal Award. The
Members of Executive Board of National W omen’s League paid His Excellency, Archbishop Joseph Edward Adams, Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, a courtesy call last
December 7, 2007. (Standing from left) Malou Peña, Edita Caro, Zenaida Rotea, Ester Sta. Ana, Cely Malinit, Carol Bautista, Grace Padilla, Nene Malabanan. (Seated from
left) Msgr. Hernando Coronel and Joy Govinta, CWL National President.
Officials and staff of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) led by Msgr. Juanito Figura, CBCP secretary general, pose for a picture after their
advent recollection at the Good Shepherd Spirituality Center in Antipolo City, December 14, 2007.
THE 3r d National Catholic Fam-
ily Bible Quiz (NCFBQ) is slated
on January 21, 2008 with the
theme The Word of God in the life
and mission of the family.
The 2008 Family Bible Quiz
adopted the theme The Word of
God in the life and mission of the
family loosely basing it on the
theme of the Synod of Bishops
on the Word of God. The theme
shall define the parameter of
questioning for the Bible Quiz
which will revolve on life, mis-
sion and family.
The upcoming Bible quiz ex-
pects a high number of partici-
pants. Aside from the increased
number of participants are the
added Episcopal Commissions,
namely: the Episcopal Commis-
sion on Liturgy; the Office on
Bioethics; the Commission on
Migrants and Itinerant People;
and the Commission on Social
Communication and Mass Me-
dia.
The National Family Bible
Quiz is now incorporated in the
Security and Exchange Commis-
sion under the title POWER TO
UNITE CATHOLIC FAMILY
BIBLE GROUP, INC. The mem-
bers of the Board of Trustees
come from the rank of the Phil-
ippine Church hierarchy, priests,
religious and laity.
Initiated by Ms. Elvira Go
with the sole purpose of draw-
other Asian was a bishop who was beheaded cided in
for his role in the Church’s underground favor of
movement in China. the Holy
In the United States, less than eight people See.
have been given the award in the past twenty- T h e
two years. Court
Founded by Pope Gregory XVI on Septem- upheld
ber 1, 1831, membership to the Pontifical the im-
Order of St. Gregory the Great is awarded to munity
persons who have rendered exemplary and of the
meritorious service to the Church. Holy See
Atty. Padilla has been the legal counsel of and the
the Apostolic Nunciature, the Bishops’ Con- A p o s - Atty. Sabino R. Padilla, Jr.
ference and the Catholic Educational Asso- t o l i c
ciation of the Philippines for many years. Nunciature from a lawsuit arising from the
He is also legal counsel to several religious sale of a piece of land donated by the Philip-
orders, societies, and congregations of men pine Bishops to the Holy See. The famous
and women in the country. decision was published in the International
In 1994, Atty. Padilla’s law firm represented Law Reports and cited in the 1999 report of
the Holy See and the Apostolic Nunciature in the United Nations International Law Com-
a famous case which the Supreme Court de- mission. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
ing families closer to God and
the Church through the Bible,
the first Bible quiz that took
place in 2004 has now become a
regular every-other-year event.
The CBCP-Permanent Com-
mittee for International Eucha-
ristic Congresses (headed by
Abp. Carmelo Morelos that
time); the Episcopal Commis-
sion on Family and Life (headed
by Abp. Paciano Aniceto) and the
Episcopal Commission on Bib-
lical Apostolate (headed by Bp.
Arturo Bastes) were the first
Commissions that supported the
project which was carried out
and held successfully.
The overwhelming response
of participating families from
some arch/dioceses was really
inspiring and moving. The first
Bible Quiz clearly manifested a
deep longing and hunger for the
Word of God especially among
the families
The second Family Bible Quiz
held in 2006 involved the youth
who did an interpretative dance
of the song Power to Unite. The
Episcopal Commission on
Youth headed by Bp. Joel Baylon
joined and the number of par-
ticipating arch/dioceses in-
creased.
The Philippine Bible Society
likewise joined and supported
this project. (Fr. Mike M. Garcia,
SSS)
FABC to hold Southeast
Asia meeting on Women
THE Office on the Laity and the plight of domestic workers;
Family of the Federation of situation of women in urban
Asian Bishops’ Conference slums; and the role of women
(FABC) is sponsoring a re- in the family.
gional assembly on Women The upcoming assembly
with participants coming from seeks to discover the various
various countries of South East challenges 21 st century values
Asia. posed to family life; and how
The convention slated from these challenges hinder women
January 27 until February 1, to fulfill her role and responsi-
2008 in Johor, Malaysia has the bility in the family with dig-
theme, “Challenges to Women in nity.
the Family in the 21st Century.” The convention also aims to
Dr. Zenaida Rotea of the help the participants learn how
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of they as members of the Church
the Philippines (CBCP) Office can help uphold the dignity of
on Women is representing the women to confront challenges
Philippines. Other participating of the 21 st century.
countries include Thailand, The Southeast Asian meeting
Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, is a program of FABC Office on
Sri Lanka and Mongolia. the Laity and Family. The meet-
The four-day meeting will ing is held every three years.
tackle various concerns involv- Most Rev. Maria Calist Soosa
ing women. Participants shall Pakiam, archbishop of
discuss and reflect on diverse is- Trivandrum, chairs the Office on
sues, such as experiences of the Laity and Family of the Fed-
women in the workplace; im- eration of Asian Bishops Confer-
pact of materialism on women; ence. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
Markings
ŒŒŒ³
ORDAINED. REV.
HAWTHORNE GA-
LAS, REV. NICOLAS
BASADRE, REV.
JULIAN GUINIT, JR.,
REV. DOMINO
OLANGO, REV.
JOBEL GULISAO,
AND REV. RAMON
FRANCIS BURLAT
of the Archdiocese
of Cagayan de Oro.
After varying peri-
ods of exposure to
the different ministries and parishes throughout the Archdiocese of
Cagayan de Oro, six deacons were finally ordained as priests by the
Most Reverend Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., D.D., in three different sets
of ordination rites held at different areas in the archdiocese. Rever-
ends Hawthorne Galas and Nicolas Basadre were ordained last De-
cember 3, 2007 at 10:00 o’clock AM at the San Nicolas Parish in
Mambajao, Camiguin, while Reverends Julian Guinit Jr, Domino Olango,
and Jobel Gulisao were ordained at the Metropolitan Cathedral last
December 10, 2007 at 9:00 o’clock in the morning. Reverend Ramon
Francis Burlat was ordained in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental last Decem-
ber 13, 2007 also at 9:00 in the morning. These newly ordained priests
will be celebrating their respective Thanksgiving Masses at different
parishes throughout the Archdiocese. The newly ordained priests are
now added to more than a hundred priests actively serving the arch-
diocese and will be assigned in different parishes of the archdiocese:
Rev Fr. Ramon Francis L. Burlat, Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Claveria,
Misamis Oriental; Rev. Fr. Nicolas S. Basadre, Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Parish, Baliwagan, Misamis Oriental; Rev. Fr. Julian S. Guinit, Jr.,
Sacred Heart Parish, Anakan, Gingoog City; Rev. Fr. Jobel R. Gulisao,
Sta. Rita Parish, Balingasag, Misamis Oriental; Rev. Fr. Domino D.
Olango, San Antonio Parish, Manticao, Misamis Oriental; Rev. Fr.
Hawthorne G. Galas, St. Francis Xavier Parish, Initao, Misamis Orien-
tal.
ORDAINED. SEMINARIANS EUGENE LUCERNA II, ROMEO TAYCO,
JOHNIE PERACULLO JR, to the Order of Deacons at St. Francis Xavier
Cathedral, Diocese of Kabankalan, Negros Occidental; December 3,
2007 by Most Rev. Patricio Buzon, SDB, DD. The newly-ordained dea-
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media
cons are seminarians from Saint Joseph Regional Seminary, Jaro,
Iloilo.
CELEBRATING. S. MARIA CARMEN L. CONSTANTINO RVM; S. MARIA
AQUILINA C. COSARE RVM; S. MARIA LYDIA C. DURO, RVM; S. MARIA
NICOLINA P. ESTEVEZ, RVM; S. MARIA ANGELINA M. PRADO, RVM;
golden jubilee of religious profession among the Religious of the Virgin
Mary, February 2, 2008. Most Rev. Honesto Ch. Pacana, SJ, DD, bishop
of the Diocese of Malaybalay will preside the jubilee mass at our Lady
of the Assumption Chapel of the RVM Generalate in Quezon City.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
By Sandro Magister
THE birth of the child Jesus,
the feast of the Holy Inno-
cents, the Sunday of the Holy
Family, the feast of the Mother
of God... In Rome, in Italy,
and in Spain the recent
B1
gland, “the most influential phi-
B2 Updates B4 Commissions B6 Reflections
losopher in the world” according Bible Week highlights witnessing of ‘This is My Beloved Son’
to “The New Yorker.” How many and who can be Gospel values
The chronicle of this morato- godparents in baptism and
rium on abortion throws light on
confirmation?
the manner in which the Church B3 Diocese B5 Statements B7 Social Concerns
of Benedict XVI, of his cardinal Diocese of Novaliches Message for National Philippine Mining: A civil society
vicar Camillo Ruini and the Ital- Bible Week perspective
ian bishops’ conference, is acting

Christmas festivities have
found an unexpected, spec-
tacular echo not only in the
Church but also in society as
a whole, even its most secu-
larized sectors.
Family and birth. These are
the two words that have re-
sounded the loudest, among
both Christians and secularists.
Benedict XVI made the fam-
ily the focus of his message
to the world for the Day of
Peace celebrated on January
1, on the family as the “pri-
mary agency of peace.”
The Catholics of Spain also
dedicated a day to the support
of the family, with a grandi-
ose Sunday gathering in
Madrid on December 30. A
similar mass Family Day was
held in Italy, in Rome, last
May 12. The next appoint-
ment will perhaps be in Ber-
lin, in the heart of de-Chris-
tianized Europe.
The Madrid gathering was
strongly marked by the
Church. It unfolded as an im-
mense outdoor liturgy, pre-
sided over by bishops and
cardinals, and offered for the
observation and reflection of
all. The central moment was
a television linkup with the
pope, who at the Angelus,
from Rome, spoke directly to
the crowd in Spanish.
On May 12, 2007, in Rome,
the square outside of Saint
John Lateran was also filled
mainly with Catholics. But it
was not the hierarchy of the
Church that called and pre-
sided over that Family Day.
It was, instead, a citizens’
committee headed by Savino
Pezzotta, a Catholic, and
Eugenia Roccella, a feminist
of radical secularist forma-
tion. Also speaking from the
stage were Giorgio Israel, a
Jew, and Souad Sbai, a Mus-
lim. The form of family pre-
Pastoral Concerns
on the political terrain.
This Church does not demand
that only what can be accepted
and understood by faith be made
law. But it is fighting resolutely
in defense of those norms that it
knows are written in the hearts
of all men.
Respect for the life of every
human being, from the very first
instant of its conception, is one
of these universal norms that the
Church views as non-negotiable.
The fact that there are non-Catho-
lics standing up in defense of all
unborn life is for the Church a
happy confirmation of the uni-
versality of this commandment.
The Church of Benedict XVI,
Ruini, and cardinal Angelo
Bagnasco, the current president
of the Italian bishops’ conference,
has thus looked very favorably
on the fact that a non-Catholic
like Ferrara has taken the initia-
tive of launching the moratorium
on abortion.
Because in effect, this is what has
happened. Ferrara launched his
first appeal in favor of the mora-
torium on abortion on the televi-
sion program “Otto e mezzo,” the
same evening as the UN’s ap-
proval of the moratorium on the
death penalty, December 18.
The following day, December
19, this appeal appeared in print
in “il Foglio.” The afternoon of
that same day, “L’Osservatore
Romano” published on the front
page an interview with cardinal
Renato Martino, president of the
pontifical council for justice and
peace:
“Catholics do not consider the
right to life as something that can
be negotiated on a case-by-case
basis, or partitioned. [...] The
clearest example is that of the
millions and millions of killings
of certainly innocent human be-
ings, unborn babies.”
On December 20, “Avvenire,”
the newspaper of the Italian bish-
ops’ conference, gave its full sup-

‘LetThe Church
no blesses
onethe worldwide
touch
moratorium on abortion
sented for the attention and
care of all was not primarily
the one celebrated by the
Christian sacrament, but the
“natural union between man
and woman” inscribed in the
civil constitution.
An initiative that goes
against the grain even more
emerged in Italy, during the
recent Christmas festivities:
the promotion of a world-
wide moratorium on abor-
tion, after the moratorium on
the death penalty approved
by the United Nations on De-
cember 18.
It goes against the grain be-
cause it was conceived and
launched by a non-Christian
intellectual, Giuliano Ferrara,
founder and director of the
opinion newspaper “il
Foglio.” And because it was
immediately supported by
the newspaper of the Italian
bishops’ conference,
“Avvenire,” but also by per-
sonalities of other beliefs, in-
cluding Roger Scruton of En-
the child’
port to the moratorium on abor-
tion, with a front-page editorial
by Marina Corradi and an inter-
view with Ferrara.
On December 21, Ferrara an-
nounced that he would be fast-
ing from Christmas Eve to the
first day of the new year, in sup-
port of public financing for the
Life Assistance Centers (CAV’s)
that help mothers who are
tempted to have abortions.
In effect, during the following
days the Lombardy Region and
the municipal government of
Milan supplied 700,000 euro to
the CAV at Mangiagalli, the
Milanese clinic that performs the
greatest number of abortions.
Last year at this clinic, the CAV
was responsible for 833 births, by
helping mothers in difficulty. In
total, it is calculated that all of
the CAV’s operating in Italy have
saved about 85,000 babies from
abortion from 1975 until today.
But what does the moratorium
on abortion propose in practical
terms? Ferrara dreams of “five
million pilgrims of life and love,
all in Rome next summer.” To ask
for two things from governments
all over the world: first, to “sus-
pend every policy that provides
an incentive for the practice of
eugenics”; second, to “write into
the universal declaration of hu-
man rights the right to be born.”
With a manifesto prepared by
personalities of various perspec-
tives, like Didier Sicard of France,
Italy’s Carlo Casini, Roger
Scruton, from England, the Ameri-
can bioethicist Leon Kass, and the
new U.S. ambassador to the Holy
See, Mary Ann Glendon, “natu-
rally excluding any form of blame,
and far more any legal persecu-
tion of women who may decide
to have an abortion” as permitted
by the laws in effect in the vari-
ous countries.
On the evening of December
31, interviewed on a widely
popular television news pro-
gram, Cardinal Ruini summa-
rized the Church’s position as
follows:
“I believe that after the good
result obtained in regard to the
death penalty, it is very logical
to recall the topic of abortion and
ask for a moratorium, at least to
stimulate and awaken the con-
sciences of all, to help people to
realize that the baby in the
mother’s womb is truly a human
being, and that its suppression is
inevitably the suppression of a
human being.
“In the second place, it may be
hoped that this moratorium will
also provide a stimulus for Italy,
at least for the complete applica-
tion of the law on abortion, which
claims to be a law intended for
the defense of life, and then to
apply this law in those areas that
can truly be in defense of life, and
perhaps, thirty years after the
passage of this law, to update it
in keeping with the scientific
progress that, for example, has
made great steps forward in re-
gard to the survival of premature
babies. It becomes truly inadmis-
sible to proceed with abortion at
a point where the fetus could sur-
vive outside of the womb.”
“L’Osservatore Romano” gave
emphasis to these words from
Ruini, and Cardinal Bagnasco re-
stated the same concepts in the
most widely circulated secular
Italian newspaper, “Corriere
della Sera,” on January 4.
And these words were fol-
lowed with actions. During the
same days, five hospitals in Milan
were given new “guidelines” for
the application of the national
law on abortion, prohibiting
abortion after the twenty-first
week following conception (the
previous limit was at the twenty-
fourth week) and prohibiting se-
lective abortion in a twin preg-
nancy in absence of real physical
or psychological difficulties on
the part of the pregnant woman.
These “guidelines” will soon be
adopted by the entire Lombardy
region.
This last is another sign that the
appeal for a moratorium on abor-
tion falls on more fertile soil to-
day than in the past. Secular
thought is no longer so unified
in denying human dignity to the
fetus and giving significance
only to the woman’s self-de-
termination. And the Church
is no longer so timid and
directionless as it was in Italy
after the catastrophic defeat of
1981, when a Catholic-spon-
sored referendum for the re-
peal of the law on abortion ob-
tained just 18 percent of the
vote.
The Italian Church is today,
instead, fresh from a victory in
another referendum in defense
of the life of the embryo, held
on June 12, 2005. It is a referen-
dum whose success—accord-
ing to a very recent study—was
noticeably influenced by the
Catholic self-identification of
the Italian people.
Reviewing this study is of
great interest for understand-
ing better the Church’s cur-
rent modes of operating in
Italian society: a society that—
unique in the world, in these
terms—keeps alive the char-
acteristics of a mass Catholi-
cism in a context of advanced
modernization.

7
Appointed bishop on February 12, 2005, Most Rev. Mylo Vergara was ordained on April 30, 2005, and
subsequently installed as bishop of San Jose de Nueva Ecija on May 14 of the same year. In this issue of
CBCP Monitor, Bishop Vergara talks about major concerns affecting his diocese: the ongoing implemen-
tation of social concern programs; the active participation of the laity in the various diocesan apostolates;
the commitment of family and life apostolate in addressing the issues that threaten family nowadays; the
ongoing formation of the clergy and his relationship with them; and the need to become credible witnesses
in a highly consumeristic environment.
QUESTIONS

Most Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara, DD, MA, STD

How does the diocese implement its
social concerns programs?
In August 5, 2006, our diocese, to-
gether with the Diocese of
Cabanatuan, launched the YEAR OF
SOCIAL CONCERNS at Freedom
Park, Cabanatuan City focusing on
the issues of military abuses and the
problem of communist insurgency
in our province. His Eminence
Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales was our
guest speaker. He expounded on the
Pondo ng Pinoy. It was attended by active
parishioners of all our parishes as well
as the representative students and teach-
ers of our Catholic Schools. During our
clergy ongoing formation seminar from
September 11-15, 2006 at Bahay-Pari, San
Carlos Formation Complex, Makati
City, we invited Fr. Joel Jason of San
Carlos Seminary to give a talk to our
priests on the Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church . On December 9,
2006, we invited some lawyers from the
Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) to
give some pointers on human rights to
representatives of our rural communi-
ties during our annual celebration of
Farmers’ Day. We had the closing cer-
emonies of the YEAR OF SOCIAL CON-
CERNS last August 18, 2007 at the Cen-
tral Luzon State University (CLSU) Gym
with a resource person from the Philip-
pine Atmospheric, Geophysical and As-
tronomical Services Administration
(PAG-ASA) who tackled the issue on
Global Warming.
Corollary to this opening and closing
ceremonies of the YEAR OF SOCIAL
CONCERNS is the implementation of
Pondo ng Pinoy awareness and fund
drive program in all parishes and
parochial schools in the Diocese of
San Jose. So far, the awareness has
been encouragingly improving as
many students and parishioners have
been saving 25 centavo coins for the
Pondo ng Pinoy National Fund. As to
the Global Warming issue, some par-
7 Questions / B7
7 Questions / B4
 CBCP Monitor
B2 Updates Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008

How many and who can be godparents in

baptism and in confirmation?
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.

I have always wondered at the number of
godparents at baptisms. On the other hand,
there seems to be a shortage of them during
confirmations. I have also wondered just how
seriously people take the condition of being
godparent, such that people of quite ques-
tionable lives stand as godparents in Catho-
lic baptisms. What does Church Law really
provide for this?
HERE we have a question that may be
unique to the Philippine setting, owing
to our extended family system and deep-
seated padrino or patronage system—i.e.,
a system where “know who” oftentimes
prevails over “know how” in the pro-
fessional or career ladder.
Sponsors (or Godparents) for Baptism
It is probable that the institution of
godparents at baptism arose for practi-
cal reasons, since in the early Church,
when a non-Christian wanted to convert,
he had to be presented to the Church
elders by a known Christian who could
be the guarantor of his good disposi-
tions. Without going into the details,
suffice it to say that the concept of spiri-
tual paternity was developed by St. Au-
gustine, such that the role of the god-
parent was identified with some sort of
a new spiritual generation. The canoni-
cal regulation of this traditional prac-
tice can be summarized as follows.
A. General Norms
1) Godparents are desirable but not
required. The Code of Canon Law states:
Insofar as possible one to be baptized is to be
given a godparent… (c.872). Thus, it is not
a requirement, even just for licitude.
Nevertheless, while a well-prepared
adult may not need a godparent, it al-
ways sounds wise that, aside from the
parents, there be someone who receives
the duty to raise the child as a good Chris-
tian, in case the parents are unable to do
this for some reason. The presence of
the godparents is extra assurance that
the granting of the grace of Baptism or
Confirmation to a child be not in vain.
But once the option is taken to have
godparents, the following canonical dis-
positions relative to them apply.
2) Choice. The choice of godparents
corresponds to the adult to be baptized,
to the parents of the child to be baptized
or to whoever takes their place, and—
in as a last resort—to the parish
priest or minister.
3) Number of Godparents.
Only one male or one female god-
parent or one of each sex is to be
employed (c.873). Thus,
other persons actively in-
volved in the Baptismal
rite (other than the par-
ents) can only be wit-
nesses and will not be en-
tered in the Parish Regis-
try of Baptisms as spon-
sors/godparents.
B. Canonical Requirements
for Baptismal Godparents
Although more often than
not other reasons—e.g.,
friendship, kinship or even
socio-economic advan-
tages—prevail in the choice
of baptismal sponsors, the Code
of Canon Law actually stipulates ca-
nonical requirements.
1) General requirements. These are
laid down in c.874, §1 as follows: To be
admitted to the role of godparent, a person
must:
a. be designated by the one to be bap-
tized, by the parents or the one who
takes their place or, in their absence, by
the parish priest or minister and is to person who belongs to a non-Catholic ecclesial order of initiation adapted by the conference A. Duties of Godparents
have the qualifications and intentions of community may not be admitted except as a of bishops and the special norms published The function of the godparent in con-
performing this role; witness to Baptism and together with a Catho- by it (c.851, firmation can be considered in two lev-
b. have completed the sixteenth year, lic godparent (c.874, §2). 1) What is prescribed in the canons on the els:
unless a different age has been estab- baptism of an adult is applicable to all who are 1) Purely liturgical plane: This refers
lished by the diocesan bishop or it seems C. Canonical Commitments of Godpar- no longer infants but have attained the use of to his desired presence in the liturgical
to the parish priest or minister that an ents reason (c.852, §1). celebration of Confirmation mentioned
exception is to be made for a just cause; Aside from the general function to help 2) In the case of an infant, the godpar- in c.892.
c. be a Catholic who has been con- the baptized to lead a Christian life in har- ents—together with the parents— 2) Properly canonical plane: It is for
firmed and has already received the sac- mony with Baptism and to fulfill the obliga- present an infant at Baptism. the godparent to see that the confirmed
rament of the Most Holy Eucharist, and tions connected with it (c.872), the Code person acts as a true witness to Christ
leads a life in harmony with the faith stipulates additional functions of the Sponsors (or Godparents) for Confirma- and faithfully fulfills the obligations
and the role to be undertaken; godparents, distinguishing between the tion connected with this sacrament (c.892).
d. not be bound by any canonical pen- cases of Baptism of infants and that of The presence of godparents in Con-
alty legitimately imposed or declared; adults as follows: firmation is an ancient custom, as the B. Requirements for Godparents
e. not be the father or the mother of 1) In the case of an adult, godparents old c.793 of the Code of Canon Law of The Code’s treatment of the require-
the one to be baptized. should assist him in Christian initia- 1917 explicitly acknowledged. The actual ments for godparents in confirmation is
We can add here that the Code also tion—i.e. the process of preparation of c.892 gives juridic relevance to this cus- another manifestation of the canonical
requires that godparents (together with an adult for the reception of Baptism and tom: As far as possible a godparent for parallelism of this sacrament with bap-
the parents) should receive instruction incorporation to the Church: An adult the one to be confirmed should be tism. In effect, the Code regulates the
regarding the meaning of the sacrament who intends to receive baptism is to be ad- present. Just like in baptism, the pres- matter in a summary way as follows:
and the obligations which are attached mitted to the catechumenate and, to the ex- ence of the godparent in confirmation is 1) Same requirements as for baptis-
to it (c.851, 2°). tent possible, be led through the several stages only highly advisable, but not absolutely mal godparent. To perform the role of
2) Exclusion of Non-Catholics: A baptized to sacramental initiation, in accord with the necessary. Godparents / B7

Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany

Participation in
Protestant events
Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university,
answers the following:

Q: Is it correct for a priest to take Communities concerned, as well any appropriate blessings
part in a Protestant funeral by as for local customs which may from the Catholic Book of
doing a reading and being up vary according to time, place, Blessings (Directory, No. 121).
with the minister? Further, is it persons and circumstances…
correct for a lay Catholic to do Catholic clergy invited to be Can a priest participate in a
readings at a Protestant marriage present at a celebration of another Protestant funeral?
or baptism? — K.C., Melbourne, Church or ecclesial Community What I know is that Masses
Australia may wear the appropriate dress can only be offered for Catho-
or insignia of their ecclesiastical lics; and that rosaries (and
A: The essential line of re- office, if it is agreeable to their other prayers), mortifications,
sponse to this question, are hosts.” good works, etc., can be of-
outlined in the Ecumenical While there is no specific men- fered for these non-baptized.”
Directory published by the tion of a priest or other Catholic I believe that a distinction
Holy See. Referring to non- assisting at Protestant baptisms must be made. It is not pos-
sacramental Protestant wor- and weddings, the document sible to offer a public funeral
ship, such as funerals, it says: gives the following general Mass, or even a funeral ser-
“117. In some situations, norm for Catholic participation vice, for a person who was
the official prayer of a Church in Protestant sacramental wor- never a Christian, as most of
may be preferred to ecu- ship: the prayers and rites suppose
menical services specially “135. For the reading of Scrip- that the person had received
MANY traditions and genuine manifestations of and missionary purposes; initiatives in solidarity prepared for the occasion. ture and preaching during other baptism or at least had been a
popular piety have been developed in relation to with those who come from afar; whether Christian Participation in such celebra- than Eucharistic celebrations, the catechumen.
the Solemnity of the Lord’s Epiphany, which is of or not, popular piety has encouraged a sense of tions as Morning or Evening norms given above (n. 118) are At the same time, the pub-
ancient origin and rich in spiritual content. solidarity and openness; assistance to the work of Prayer, special vigils, etc., to be applied.” Catholics may lic rites are one thing and the
Among such forms of popular piety, mention evangelization; the strong missionary character of will enable people of differ- also serve as witnesses at other priest’s personal intentions in
may be made of the solemn proclamation of Easter the Epiphany has been well understood by popu- ent liturgical traditions Christian weddings as may Prot- offering the Mass is another.
and the principal dominical feasts; its revival in lar piety and many initiatives in support of the Catholic, Eastern, Anglican estants at Catholic ones (Direc- Most days the priest’s inten-
many places would be opportune since it served to missions flourish on 6 January, especially the “Mis- and Protestant¯to understand tory, No. 136). tion has no effect on the exter-
make the connection between the Epiphany and sionary work of the Holy Child”, promoted by the each other’s community The case of a priest assisting at nal rites except, perhaps, for a
Easter, and orientate all feasts towards the greatest Apostolic See; the assignation of Patrons; in many prayer better and to share a mixed marriage in an official brief mention at the begin-
Christian solemnity; the exchange of “Epiphany religious communities and confraternities, patron more deeply in traditions capacity is more complex and is ning of Mass that it is being
gifts”, which derives from the gifts offered to Jesus saints are assigned to the members for the coming which often have developed often subject to special laws ema- offered for a specific intention.
by the three kings (cf. Mt 2,11) and more radically year. from common roots. nated by each bishops’ confer- In this latter sense of the
from the gift made to mankind by God in the birth “118. In liturgical celebra- ence. These laws adapt the gen- personal intention there
of Emmanuel amongst us (cf. Is 7, 14; 9, 16; Mt 1, 23). The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord tions taking place in other eral indications given in canon would be no essential differ-
It is important, however, to ensure that the ex- Closely connected with the salvific events of the Churches and ecclesial Com- law and the Ecumenical Direc- ence in offering a Mass or
change of gifts on the solemnity of the Epiphany Epiphany are the mysteries of the Baptism of the munities, Catholics are en- tory to a particular country. praying a rosary except that
retain a Christian character, indicating that its Lord and the manifestation of his glory at the mar- couraged to take part in the Therefore we may conclude the objective effectiveness of
meaning is evangelical: hence the gifts offered riage feast of Cana. psalms, responses, hymns that a Catholic priest or layper- the Mass is infinitely greater
should be a genuine expression of popular piety Christmastide closes with the Baptism of the Lord. and common actions of the son may participate as a guest at than any other form of prayer.
and free from extravagance, luxury, and waste, all Only in recent times has the feast been rehabili- Church in which they are a Protestant funeral, wedding or Thus a priest may accept a
of which are extraneous to the Christian origins of tated, and hence has not given rise to any particu- guests. If invited by their baptism for any justified reason. request to offer his personal
this practice; the blessing of homes, on whose len- lar displays of popular piety. hosts, they may read a lesson This is especially likely to hap- intention at Mass for people
tils are inscribed the Cross of salvation, together However, the feast presents an excellent oppor- or preach. pen in countries where many who are not Christians, just as
with the indication of the year and the initials of tunity for the faithful to be reminded of their re- “119. Regarding assistance churches and ecclesial communi- he may pray for his own non-
the three wise men (C M B), which can also be in- birth as children of God in Baptism. at liturgical worship of this ties are present beside the Catho- baptized friends and relatives.
terpreted to mean Christus mansionem benedicat , The rite of asperges could be opportunely used type, there should be a me- lic Church. Likewise, any Catholic can
written in blessed chalk; this custom, often accom- at all Masses on this day, and homilies could well ticulous regard for the sensi- If invited, a Catholic priest offer his or her participation
panied by processions of children accompanied by concentrate on the symbols associated with Bap- bilities of the clergy and may read a lesson, preach and at Mass for a non-Christian.
their parents, expresses the blessing of Christ tism. people of all the Christian may also impart to Protestants (Zenit)
through the intercession of the three wise men and (Lifted from the Directory on Popular Piety and the
is an occasion for gathering offerings for charitable Liturgy. Principles and Guidelines)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008 Diocese
Facade of the Good Shepherd Cathe-
dral in Novaliches. BELOW: Bishop
Antonio R. Tobias, DD
The Diocese of Novaliches
By Rev. Fr. Gerardo R. Tapiador
History of Settlement
On February 2, 1854, Feast of
the Presentation, General Manuel
Pavia y Lacy arrived in Manila
to serve as the 62n d Governor-
General of the Philippine Islands.
Having defended the child queen
Isabela II from the claims of her
uncle Prince Carlos, he was
awarded earlier with the title of
Marquez of Novaliches, a small vil-
lage 60 kms away from the city
of Valencia in Spain.
One of his first projects in the
Philippines was to establish a
penal colony where prisoners
would be given lands and their
freedom as long as they devel-
oped the area of settlement.
When they cleared the area, they
called it Hacienda Tala because it
was like a star that had fallen in
the heavily forested area.
It then attracted people from
Meycauayan, Polo, San Mateo,
and Montalban to form a
larger community.
When Gen. Manuel Pavia left
on October 28, 1854, the settle-
ment grew to comprise the nine
barrios at present: Bagbag, San
Bartolome, Bagbaguin, Kaybiga,
Llano, Bagombong, De Paro,
Camarin, Tala, and 5 sitios:
Kapre, Damong Maliit, Pasong
Putik, Maligaya and San Agustin.
The inhabitants therefore de-
cided to form a municipio with a
Gobernadorcillo: Presidente
Munisipal, Teniente Mayor, Cabeza
de Barangay and proposed to name
it in honor of Gen. Manuel Pavia,
Marquez de Novaliches.
In January 26, 1856, the 64th
Governor-General Manuel Crespo y
Cebrian officially established the
town of Novaliches. In the same
year, Archbishop Jose
Aranguren, OAR, sent the
Augustinians under Padre Andres
Martin to establish the first
Church in the newly established
municipio dedicated to Nuestra
Señora de la Merced.
It was in Novaliches that
Andres Bonifacio organized the
Katipunan. The first shot of the
revolution was fired on August
24, 1886, in Pugad Lawin, and the
second shot at Binuksok,
Novaliches.
The Church was left aban-
doned by the Augustinians for
almost 35 years when the
Katipuneros massacred Gen. Luis
and his soldiers and burned the
convent.
Only in 1931 did the clergy re-
turn with the diocesan priests:
Father Paterno Bernabe, Father
Nicolas San Juan, Msgr.
Hernando Antiporda, Father
Francisco Santiago and Father
Segundo Alto.
The Diocese of Novaliches
In 1990, the present area of
Novaliches came under the eccle-
siastical districts of Kalmana and
Quezon City. In 1994, the new
district of Quezon City North
was established by Jaime Cardi-
nal Sin, DD. It was headed by
Most Rev. Francisco Claver, SJ,
with Msgr. Felipe Ocol as his Epis-
copal vicar.
In 1996, Most Rev. Teodoro
Bacani, took over the two districts
of Kalmana and Quezon City
North where Msgr. Alfonso
Bugaoan, Jr., served as Episcopal
vicar. In March 2002, the new
B3
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishops ………………………………….................. 2
Priests with Diocesan Assignment:
Diocesan ………………………………............. 40
Religious:
Filipino ……………………………….............. 22
Foreigner …………………………….............. 12
Seminarians:
Theology ……………………………….............. 2
Philosophy ……………………………............... 6
Minor …………………………………................ 5
Diocesan Division:
Vicariates ……………………………….............. 9
Parishes:
Entrusted to Religious Clergy …………........ 15
Entrusted to Diocesan Clergy …………........ 40
Population …………………………................ 1.7M
Catholics ……………………………............. 1.5M
Area (sq. kms.) ………………………........... 137.74
ecclesiastical district of what Fr. Horacio de la Costa, SJ,
Novaliches comprising 51 par- noted with their establishment of
ishes was established with the Sacred Heart Novitiate that
Bishop Bacani as District Bishop Novaliches was pagus novae lucis
and Fr. Gerardo Tapiador as Epis- or place of the new light.
copal vicar. In 1856, when the first Church
On December 7, 2002, the Dio- was founded by the
cese of Novaliches was formally Augustinians, the parish was
established and promulgated originally dedicated to the
with the appointment of Bishop Blessed Sacrament and later to
Teodoro Bacani, Jr., as her first Our Lady of Mercy. The symbols
Bishop. He was formally in- of the Blessed Sacrament, namely
stalled on January 16, 2003 at the the Chalice and the Host, were
Good Shepherd Cathedral in also the symbols used in the
Fairview, Quezon City, where he original logo of the Quezon City
also appointed the first Vicar Gen- North Ecclesiastical District.
eral, Fr. Gerardo Tapiador; first The original village of
Chancellor, Fr. Jaime Lara; and Novaliches in Spain was found
first Economus, Fr. James Gaa. to be situated near Valencia
When Bishop Bacani took a whose cathedral now holds the
leave on June 10, 2003, Most Rev. original chalice used by Jesus at
Antonio R. Tobias, the Bishop of the Last Supper. The most impor-
San Fernando, La Union, was ap- tant treasure also found in the
pointed concurrently as the Ap- original village of Novaliches
ostolic Administrator of was the chalice encrusted with
Novaliches. He was formally ap- amethysts donated by Gen.
pointed Bishop of Novaliches on Manuel Pavia to their Chapel of
November 2003 and was installed San Miguel as a token of grati-
at the Good Shepherd Cathedral tude for their support of Isabela
on January 26, 2004. II, who awarded him the title,
Marquez de Novaliches.
The Diocesan Coat of Arms The light blue color back-
When the area of the new dio- ground is symbolic of the La
cese was first settled as a penal Mesa Dam reservoir, main source
colony, it was first called Haci- of water for the whole Metro
enda Tala because the clearing of Manila and also represents the
the wasteland came like a star Marian character surrounding
from heaven. The star thereby de- the presence of the Lord in the
picts this original settlement of Blessed Sacrament.
the new Diocese. The Christmas The seven crosses on the miter
star was specifically chosen by the represent the original seven vi-
clergy to signify that the diocese cariates when the Diocese was es-
was born in the season when tablished. The two crosses at the
Jesus was also born. The light two tails of the miter represent
shining from the star represents the two new vicariates formed.
 CBCP Monitor
B4 Commissions Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008

Fr. Luis Supan Bible Week celebration

The question box highlights witnessing of
Questions on the Holy Gospel values
By Pinky Barrientos, FSP

Bible (Part 3) THE National Bible Week cel-

ebration which kicks off January
thronement and distribution of
bibles to military and police.
ebration. Likewise, short pas-
sages from the bible are also
joint activities for the Bible week:
press conference with partner
21 and culminates on January 27, In an interview, ECBA Execu- broadcast by the station. organizations on January 11;
National Bible Sunday; has the tive Secretary Fr. Oscar Alunday, In Calapan diocese, biblical Bible Reading and broadcast of
theme, “God’s Word: Source of Jus- SVD said various regional and coordinators gather this month bible verses on Radio and TV;
tice, Reconciliation and Peace.” diocesan Biblical directors are for updating of biblical activities. Bible Sale in PBS Bible Houses
1. What do we mean when we say that the Holy Spirit inspired The Episcopal Commission on organizing several activities in A Diocesan bible quiz will be and Major Bookstores; joint
the hagiographers (writers of the sacred books)? Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) their respective localities to cel- held on January 23 participated breakfast-fellowship at the Ma-
Biblical inspiration involves the following: (a) it is a posi- stressed in a statement the im- ebrate National Bible Week. by schools from the diocese. nila Hotel on January 24; Fund-
tive and supernatural influence of God on the hagiographers portance of discovering together “The dioceses of Malolos and Some dioceses (Calapan, and raising concert for Bibles for the
as they were writing, and ceased upon the completion of the “ways of personal and commu- Antipolo are holding family all dioceses in Northern Luzon Military and Police in the
sacred book; it is on this account that we say that God is the nity involvement of witnessing bible quiz in the diocesan level,” under John Paul I Biblical Cen- evening of January 24; Bible
principal author of the Bible; (b) the hagiographers were also the gospel value of Justice in our he said. “There will be a parade ter) who have active biblical pro- translation seminars; and Bible
authors in the true sense of the word, but secondary ones, and lives and bearing fruits in the during the bible week, on Janu- grams celebrate the whole month Caravan in Metro Manila.
God did not consider superfluous their personal intellectual mission of Reconciliation and ary 26,” he added. of January as Bible Month. First declared by former Presi-
capacities to express what He wanted to reveal—no more, no Peace.” Both dioceses will also organize In the Visayas, the Dei Verbum dent Ferdinand Marcos in 1979
less—through their writings. Thus, “all that the inspired au- Some activities lined up for the Bible enthronements in the mu- Biblical Center in Jaro kicks off as a way of encouraging people
thors affirm should be regarded as affirmed by the Holy Spirit” Bible week emphasize the theme nicipalities, barangays and other their Regional Bible Quiz this to read the word of God, the proc-
(Dei Verbum, 11). of the event. establishments on the same day. month in celebration of Bible lamation of National Bible Week
The Holy Spirit’s influence cannot be limited to preserving Pastoral letters from the dio- The diocese of San Pablo will Week. Participants are from also aimed “to develop moral
the sacred writer from error; nor is biblical inspiration equiva- ceses highlight the significance conduct diocesan biblical work- Catholic Schools of the dioceses character, personal discipline,
lent to the Church’s stamp of approval once the book is writ- of National Bible Week in rela- shop during the National Bible of Capiz, Bacolod, Antique and understanding and unity among
ten. “And the Church holds (the books of both Testaments) as tion to the 2008 Synod on the Week. Jaro. The Regional Bible Quiz our people.”
sacred and canonical not because, having been composed by Word of God focusing on the life Fr. Alunday said information will have its finals on February The annual celebration was
human industry, they were afterwards approved by her au- and mission of the Church. regarding the national celebra- 9. later moved to last week of Janu-
thority; not only because they contain revelation without er- The observance of Bible Week tion had been disseminated as The annual celebration of Na- ary when former President
rors; but because, having been written under the inspiration of in the diocesan and parish level early as July of last year. Bible tional Bible Week is being spear- Corazon Aquino took office. Her
the Holy Spirit, they have God for their author and as such focuses on concerns of justice, rec- Week posters have been distrib- headed by the Philippine Bible proclamation was further en-
were given to the Church” (Vatican I, Dei Filius, chap. 2). Fur- onciliation and peace in coordi- uted to the different dioceses. Society with the Episcopal Com- forced by succeeding proclama-
thermore, divine inspiration extends to all the parts (every nation with the Social Action Bible reflections inserted on bible mission on Biblical Apostolate tions of former President Fidel
word) of the sacred books, not only to those parts which di- Ministry, Youth and BEC com- reading guides have been circu- (ECBA) and other major Church Ramos and President Gloria
rectly deal with matters of faith and morals (Cf. Leo XIII, En- missions. lated as well. organizations actively collabo- Macapagal Arroyo highlighting
cyclical Providentissimus Deus). A Gospel Festival on National In Bangued, diocesan radio sta- rating with the activities. the importance of the Bible in
Bible Sunday will feature Fam- tion DZPA airs interviews in con- A primer released by the Phil- “molding the moral fiber of the
2. What principles did the Fathers of the Church follow as ily Bible Quiz, Family Bible En- nection with the upcoming cel- ippine Bible Society highlight citizenry.”
regards apparent inconsistencies found in the Bible?
On account of divine inspiration, Sacred Scripture has these
two characteristics—truthfulness and inerrancy. Truthfulness
refers to the agreement between what one says and what he
has in his mind; inerrancy refers to freedom from error. St.
John Chrysostom spoke of God’s condescension towards man-
kind—first, in the Incarnation of God the Son: God took on
human nature with all its limitations, except sin; then, in Holy
Scriptures: God seeking the free collaboration of the sacred
writers, counting on their culture, ways of thinking, and even
their limitations in expressing themselves, but inspired them
such that everything they wrote is true and free from error.
St. Jerome, who gave the Church the Latin translation of the
Bible, said: “If in these writings I find something which seems
to be contrary to the truth, it does not disconcert me, for I
conclude that the particular codex I am reading may be faulty,
or the translator may not have been able to render the text
correctly, or I myself may not be understanding it perfectly”
Question box / B7

7 Questions / B1

ishes and schools have started to plant
trees as a way of addressing this phe-
nomenon.
How does the laity’s greater participa-
tion in the life of the Church as envi-
sioned by PCP II being realized in your
diocese?
In our diocesan structure, we have or-
ganized a Diocesan Pastoral Council with
lay representatives from our 21 parishes
and three vicariates. They have key po-
sitions in the council as they actively par-
ticipate with the priests in the decision
making process with regards to the pas-
toral programs of the diocese. They are
very much involved in the crafting,
implementation, monitoring and evalu-
ation of key diocesan pastoral programs
and activities. Their contribution ensures
the trickling down in the parishes and in
our varying apostolates of the significant
pastoral programs for Worship, Educa-
tion, Social Services, Temporalities, Fam-
ily Life and the Youth. Though the chief
decision-maker and implementor is still
the diocesan bishop, our laity’s serious
and dedicated participation is highly re-
spected and regarded.
Up to what degree do you think the laity’s
participation should be especially in
terms of decision making in the local
Church?
As co-discerner in the decision mak-
ing process of the diocese, the laity’s
pastoral experience and expertise help
shed light on certain issues affecting the
whole diocesan structure. For example,
in the planning of our main diocesan
thrust DAMAYANG KRISTIYANO (DK),
the laity is consulted in a greater degree
when it comes to what activities are
needed and what are not. They provide
inputs for our priests on how to best
implement our DK Program and which
also help the diocesan bishop decide on
what course to take.
A very important concept in any dioc-
esan program is the “owning” process.
It would be very difficult to implement
any activity if it is just imposed from
above. In our diocese, it is indispensable
to really make the laity together with
the clergy and religious accept and own
the program ¯ they being part of the very
meticulous process of having to formu-
late and fine tune these programs be-
fore being brought down to the grass
roots level. This process will ensure that
we really have a participative church:
that everyone has a voice in any pasto-
ral program and activity, and that no
suggestion is so trivial so as not to be
considered in the discernment process.
Our diocesan vision is “Isang
sambayanang nagsasabuhay ng isang
maunlad na Damayang Kristiyano,
pinabubuklod at pinababanal ng Espiritu
Santo sa patnubay ni Apo San Jose. Our
mission is “Pagpapalaganap Ng
Damayang Kristiyano.”
In our local Church, we call the Basic
Ecclesial Community, DAMAYANG
KRISTIYANO. Members of our DK’s un-
dergo three stages of awareness and par-
ticipation: liturgical, developmental and
liberational. Almost all the parishes of
our diocese have their own small DKs
even in the smallest sitio. Compared to
the past years, more and more parishio-
ners see and appreciate the value of the
DK being set up in their respective par-
ishes. As the DK groups are steadily
growing in membership and number,
this means that our people are seriously
beginning to accept and own the DK as a
way of life.
How does the diocesan family and life
apostolate respond to the threats against
family and life?
One of the ways by which our Family
and Life Apostolate respond to these
threats is through an information and
formation campaign. In the parochial
and school level, significant catechesis
is given with regards to Church teach-
ing against abortion, same sex mar-
riages, and artificial birth control.
In order to strengthen family life, we
tie up with church movements and or-
ganizations such Couples for Christ, Fa-
milia, Cursillo and the like to help us ad-
dress these issues. So far, we have been
fairly successful on this.
Do you have an ongoing formation pro-
gram for your clergy in the diocese?
Our diocese holds an annual 5-day
clergy retreat in the first quarter of the
year and a week-long ongoing forma-
tion seminar in the third quarter of the
year. Aside from this, I send two priests
annually to the Assisted Intensive Re-
newal for Priests (AIR) program con-
ducted by the Commission on Clergy,
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Phil-
ippines (CBCP). This will go on until the
time when all members of the clergy
have undergone this program. There are
also a number of priests on graduate
studies in Canon Law, Liturgy, Educa-
tion and Business Management. Of
course, we also have a half-day recollec-
tion with a holy hour during our
monthly clergy gathering.
How is your relationship with your
clergy in general?
How will I describe my relationship
with my priests? After barely three years
of being with my priests, I feel “at
home” with them. I am a very young
diocesan bishop but I try my best to
adapt to the different age groups of the
diocesan and religious priests who work
with me. I try my best to visit them
during their birthdays and sacerdotal an-
niversaries. Sometimes, I play badmin-
ton with a number of them who enjoy
the sport. I am very grateful for the fact
that my priests respect and love me as
their father and shepherd. I also feel that
my openness, truthfulness and sincerity
to them have persuaded them to sup-
port our desire to centralize the funds of
our diocese and have a standard living
allowance scheme for all diocesan
priests.
What is your take on the threat of mate-
rialism creeping in our lifestyle brought
about by such phenomenon as global-
ization?
It is very important especially nowa-
days to be living witnesses of Christ’s
simplicity given this threat of material-
ism brought about by globalization. No
one is exempt from materialism and
avarice. We are all very vulnerable.
However, if the values of the Gospel are
being taught and lived, there is hope
amidst these threats and deficiencies that
negatively creep into our lifestyle.
There is an intensifying and disturb-
ing obscuration of values prevalent to-
day experienced by the young that is
being exploited by media done in the
name of profit. The Church and the fam-
ily must work together in order to con-
tinually and patiently form the young
to discover their Christian identity and
mission on earth. Each of us has a role to
play in the formation of the youth. But I
believe that the most potent and power-
ful means of inculcating Christian val-
ues to strengthen their moral fiber is to
manifest ourselves to them as credible
examples of Christ in word and deed.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
A Message for the National Bible Week - January 21-27, 2008
‘God’s Word: Source of justice,
reconciliation and peace’
Dear brothers and sisters,
The verse of Micah 6:8 is one of
the loftiest passages in the bible:
“You have been told, O man,
what is good, and what the Lord
requires of you: to do what is just,
to show constant love, and to
walk humbly with your God.”
The people asked the prophet
Micah how they can atone for
their sins. Do they come before
Yahweh with “burnt offerings”
and “calves”, “thousands of
rams”, “ten thousand rivers of
oil”, and the “sacri-
fice of their first-born”? The
prophet’s answer is that God’s
demand is not for more and more
offerings but for the doing of jus-
tice, the pursuit of kindness or
steadfast love for our brothers
and sisters and the exercise of
humble piety before the Lord.
Hence, God demands first of all
MORALITY from human persons
in the practice of religion. In his
reply Micah provides a perfect
summary of the teaching of the
great 8th-century prophets: Amos,
on justice and righteousness,
Hosea, on steadfast love, and
Isaiah, on faith and obedience.
Moreover this verse gives classic
statement also to the priestly
teaching in the Old Testament re-
garding the “whole duty of man”
as found in the Psalms (e.g. Ps
24:3-6; 40: 6-8 50, 7-15).
This passage is not a rejection
of liturgical rites and ceremonies
in favor of the intangible virtue
of character. What it teaches
clearly is that God has a total
claim over the whole of man’s
life, touching on his moral rela-
tionship with Him and his fellow
human beings. Hence, no amount
of external offerings or elaborate
rites, however great and
splendid, can replace
man’s essential duty and
obligation to do what is
right and just for his fel-
low human beings, to
love them with great ten-
derness and to live in
union with God in true
humility and the
spirit of obedience
to all His com-
mands.
Should one
ask what is the
criterion or
norm for such
a life of jus-
tice, love, hu-
mility and
obedience,
the prophet
Micah has al-
r e a d y
pointed to it
with the re-
minder: “You
have been told,
Micah 6:8; 2 Cor 5:17-20
O man, what is good”, that is,
God’s saving acts, recited previ-
ously, are precisely the standard
for the human being, who has
faith in Him, the true God. What
God himself has done provides
the inspiration for human justice,
fidelity and man’s whole walk in
life. In the bible the “indicative
mood” gives rise to the “impera-
tive mood”, meaning, what God
has done suggests what men and
women ought to do.
This classic verse of the Prophet
Micah is a fine example of how
God’s Word is really a source of
“justice”, whose moral notion is
very broad in the bible, extend-
ing to the total obser-
vance of all God’s
command-
ments, whose
essence is love
for Him and
for our neigh-
bor. Our
Christian
c o u n t r y
should be a
model of jus-
tice as taught
to us by the prophets.
The fundamental element of jus-
tice is that it gives every person
his/her due and what belongs to
him/her by right. Sad to say there
is a glaring state of injustice in
our nation where so many Fili-
pinos remain oppressed,
marginalized, destitute and de-
prived of their rights as human
beings who are equal in dignity
as children of God.
Perhaps it can be said that the
cause of injustice in our land
could be the way we practice re-
ligion, which is not profound
enough, not touching our hearts,
consisting only in the observance
of external rites. This is what the
prophets and our Lord Jesus pre-
cisely condemn. We do well to
remind ourselves what God,
through the verse quoted above,
wants us to do if we have true
faith in Him manifested by a
genuine practice of religion.
Only if we fulfill what God re-
quires of us, marvelously sum-
marized by Micah, can we elimi-
nate injustice in our midst. Injus-
tice, a situation where human
persons are not given what
Illustrations by Bladimer Usi
Statements
is due to them, causes
division, conflicts and
even fratricide. The
insurgency that has
been going in our
country for 38 years,
the deep political
rupture and the per-
vading economic in-
equality are among
the signs that our
country is in a situa-
tion of injustice.
We have been long-
counting their trespasses against
ing for peace, the biblical “sha-
them and entrusting to us the
lom”, which does not mean only
message of reconciliation.” (2
the absence of war or trouble but
Cor. 5: 17-20).
the enjoyment of all what is
On God’s part the entire work
good, a foreshadowing of the
of salvation and reconciliation is
dawning of God’s kingdom. But
already accomplished. However,
peace cannot take place unless we
reconciliation among human be-
are fully reconciled to God and
ings is far from being accom-
to all our brothers and sisters.
plished. Thus St. Paul defines ap-
Already within the Old Testa-
ostolic activity as “the ministry
ment, God has prefigured the rec-
of reconciliation”, which may
onciliation of human beings with
last till the final coming of God’s
Himself in not ceasing to offer
kingdom. Following the ex-
them His pardon. He is “the God
ample of St. Paul, Christians must
of tenderness and of pity” (Ex
ever be mindful of the “ministry
34:6). But the perfect and defini-
of reconciliation”, making great
tive reconciliation has been ac-
efforts to be the architects of peace
complished by Jesus Christ, for
among all brothers and sisters,
it is an important aspect of
bringing them into full harmony
Christ’s work of redemption. By
with God
Christ’s redemption we have be-
through the redeeming act of
come a new creation, fully rec-
Christ. The profound demand of
onciled to God as St. Paul says:
this reconciliation is this: the sin-
“So whoever is in Christ is a new
ner reconciled by God cannot
creation: the old things have
render to Him a pleasing wor-
passed away; behold, new things
ship or sacrifice if he does not first
have come. And all this is from
of all reconcile himself with his
God, who has reconciled us to
fellow human beings (Mt 5, 23 f).
himself through Christ and given
For our country to achieve
us the ministry of reconciliation,
peace or “shalom”, the elusive
namely, God was reconciling the
dream of our land, all Filipinos
world to himself in Christ, not
must learn how to reconcile with
each other, forgiving one another
from their hearts just as “God
no longer takes account of the
trespasses of men” (cf. 2 Cor.
5:20). But full reconciliation
will take place only when we
do what God requires us: to
do what is right, to show con-
stant love and to walk hum-
bly with Him. May Mary,
“the mirror of jus-
tice”, intercede for
us so that our
country will
finally enjoy
the peace
of all
G o d ’ s
children.
MOST
REV.
ARTURO
M.
BASTES,
SVD, DD
Bishop of
Sorsogon
Chairman
of ECBA-
CBCP
B5
7th General Assembly of
Chaplains and Volunteers
in Prison Service
November 27-30, 2007
Bukal ng Tipan, Maryhill, Taytay, Rizal
DECLARATION
WE, the 202 participants—23 priests, 16 religious sisters, and
163 lay workers in prison service—from 55 arch/dioceses,
prelature, apostolic vicariate and 5 religious groups and orga-
nizations, came together to the 7th General Assembly of Chap-
lains and Volunteers in Prison Service from November 27-30,
2007 in Bukal ng Tipan, Maryhill, Taytay, Rizal, to share our
experiences and deepen our understanding of “Discovering
the Face of Christ Among the Prisoners”.
In this assembly we were given the opportunity to under-
stand the meaning of the following:
- God has preferential option for the poor. This option is
grounded not on who the person is but on who God is;
- God is a benevolent God who desires fullness of life for all;
- God is against poverty and oppression, injustice and dehu-
manized conditions;
- God’s love for humanity, the poor especially, goes beyond
the moral disposition of the poor, whether they take advan-
tage of those poorer than they are, whether prisoners are
repentant or not. Nothing in them (and for that matter, in
us), can diminish this love;
- That prisoners, with few exceptions, are poor both materially
because of their dismal, subhuman conditions in prison and
sociologically because of their marginalization from the rest
of society;
- That to minister to the prisoners is to channel God’s benevo-
lence, compassion and mercy; to enter the despair and hope-
lessness of another and to allow ourselves to be affected, to
be distraught, to be confused and even to be desperate. But
we believe that our solidarity does not end in pain but that
this empathy will drive us to alleviate the suffering and
bring about healing;
- That we are called to be “heralds of God’s infinite compas-
sion and forgiveness”
The assembly provided us with information and insights
from practitioners on the many aspects of correctional sys-
tems, basic human needs, community engagement, human
rights, and pastoral care to prisoners, and ministry to the re-
leased prisoners and restorative justice.
The assembly addressed the issues and concerns affecting
the prison ministry and the challenges and the struggles that
many of us experience as we minister to our brothers and sis-
ters in prison.
In the light of the aforementioned, we declare:
1. That many jails and prisons are not able to answer the basic
services that prisoners are entitled to. Most jails and prisons
are overcrowded and the prisoners are abused. These inhu-
man situations must be rectified. We will advocate and lobby
for penal reforms and will continue formulating programs
that will address this deplorable conditions in accordance
with the Gospel values and the local laws and the many UN
Standards and Norms in the field of crime prevention and
criminal justice;
2. That our present justice system fails to address the needs of
prisoners, victims and the community. We advocate that
programs, laws and systems be put in place to implement a
shift of paradigm from punitive, retributive system to re-
storative justice - a justice that restores, heals and protects; a
justice that makes the offenders accountable for what they
have done; a justice that provides restitution to the victims
who are most of the time ignored and forgotten by the cur-
rent justice system; a justice that engages the community in
facilitating the healing process, thus leading to the re-inte-
gration of the victim and the offender to the community;
3. That we who, despite our limitations and countless prob-
lems, are able to work to make God’s love visible. We offer
various services through our Integrated Prison Pastoral Care
Program that support and nurture the prisoners’ faith, re-
spond to their material needs and provide assistance to safe-
guard their fundamental rights and dignity;
4. That we can be of better service to the members of the prison
community if we are united, equipped and encouraged. We
can do this by having better coordination, undergoing ca-
pacity and development programs and coming together in
fellowship, undergoing theological and pastoral updating
and caring for each other;
5. That we are aware that much is still to be done to seek alter-
natives and better approaches in addressing the problems in
the criminal justice system.
We ask for the grace that our involvement in prison minis-
try that is rooted in God’s benevolence, be guided by a stead-
fast hope in a transformed situation, a stubborn hope in a fu-
ture and a radiant hope in promised healing and wholeness.
With the help of God, through the intercession of our Mother,
Mary, we consecrate all our efforts to this end.

Pag-aralan ninyong gumawa ng makatuwiran at pairalin ang katarungan

A Joint Pastoral Statement of the Dioceses of Cabanatuan and San Jose on Gambling (No. 1, Series of 2007)
Minamahal na Bayan ng Diyos:
Kapayapaan at Pagpapala sa
inyong lahat!
Sa pagsapit na muli ng Adbiyento at
kaugnay ng ating ginagawang
paghahanda sa pagdating ng Manunubos,
taimtim nating balikan ang paanyaya ng
Panginoon sa pamamagitan ni Propeta
Isaias: “Linisin ninyo ang inyong sarili at
magbalik-loob sa akin; sa aking harapan,
kasamaan ninyo’y inyong tigilan. Pag-aralan
ninyong gumawa ng makatuwiran; pairalin
ang katarungan…” (1:16-17) Sa liwanag ng
mga katagang ito at bunsod na rin ng
aming pananagutan bilang inyong
Punong Pastol, minarapat naming
maglabas muli ng isang pahayag tungkol
sa isyung panlipunan na patuloy na
humahadlang sa hinahangad nating mga
pagbabago sa ating sambayanan.
Kaya’t kaugnay ng aming inilabas na
Pinag-isang Liham Pastoral noong ika-
25 ng Hulyo 2006 hinggil sa Jueteng at
STL, at bunga na rin ng hayagan o
patagong pagsusulong at pagsuporta sa
legalisasyon ng jueteng, STL at sa balak
na pagtatayo ng casino sa ating
probinsiya, malinaw at mariin naming
ipinapahayag ang aming mga paalala at
paninindigan para sa ating diyosesis:
1. Kalakip ng kalayaan at karapatan ng
tao na gamitin ang kanyang ari-arian
sa paraang nais niya ay ang tungkulin
at pananagutan na gamitin ang mga
ito para sa kanyang personal at
pangkalahatang kapakanan.
2.Ang sugal ay mapanira at
mapanlinlang, na kadalasang
humahantong sa walang
pakundangan at walang malasakit na
paggamit sa mga biyayang kaloob ng
Diyos, katulad ng kayamanan,
panahon at kalayaan.
3. Ang pagsusugal ay pagsalangsang sa
mga pagpapahalagang moral ng
sambayanan. Ito ay may masamang
kapangyarihang baguhin o wasakin
ang mga pagpapahalaga at paraan ng
pamumuhay ng isang tao, at wala
itong mabuting naidudulot maging sa
manunugal o sa kanyang pamilya.
4. Tungkulin at pananagutan ng mga
namumuno sa pamahalaan ang
pagsasaayos ng lipunan at ang
paghubog sa mga mamamayan. Hindi
dapat manguna ang mga namumuno
sa pagsusulong ng mga bisyo, katulad
ng pagsusugal, bagkus dapat nilang
himukin ang kanilang mga
nasasakupan na gumawa ng marangal
at huwag umasa sa swerte at kapalaran.
Sang-ayon sa ating mga Obispo sa
Pilipinas: “Ang isang bansa o
administrasyon o pamahalaan na kumakatig
sa legalisasyon ng sugal ay sumusuko sa
kalooban ng ilang indibidwal o grupo – isang
pagpapakita ng kahinaan ng pamahalaang
iyon.” (CBCP Pastoral Letter, 1972)
Naniniwala kami na hangad nating
lahat ang pagbabago at kaayusan sa
ating lipunan, ang kaginhawaan at
kaligayahan ng sambayanan. Subalit
ang lahat ng ito ay masusumpungan
lamang natin sa matapat at sama-
samang pagtugon sa Panginoong
Jesukristo at sa mapanagutang
paglilingkod sa ating kapwa. Kaya’t
matapat nating suriin ang ating mga
kalooban, ang ating mga pagpapahalaga
at prinsipyo upang higit nating maiayos
ang daraanan ng Panginoon. Ngayong
Adbiyento pinaaalalahanan tayo ni
Apostol San Pablo : “Ang pagliligtas sa atin
ay higit nang malapit ngayon kaysa noong
tayo’y unang sumampalataya sa Panginoon.
Namamaalam na ang gabi at malapit nang
lumiwanag. Layuan na natin ang lahat ng
masasamang gawain at italaga natin ang ating
sarili sa paggawa ng mabuti. Mamuhay tayo
sa liwanag… Ang Panginoong Jesucristo ang
papaghariin ninyo sa inyong buhay…”
(Roma 13:11b-14a)
Para sa diyosesis ng Cabanatuan at San
Jose, 14 Disyembre 2007.
+SOFRONIO A. BANCUD, SSS, DD
Obispo ng Cabanatuan
+MYLO HUBERT C. VERGARA, DD
Obispo ng San Jose
 CBCP Monitor
B6 Reflections Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008

By Fr. Roy Cimagala

Church review
and outlook
IT’S expected that every New Year, people in different fields make year-end
reviews and projections of how the new year would likely be as far as their
interest is concerned.
The media is fond of this. But so far, this exercise seems to be confined only
to the political and business sections. At the moment, we are fed heavily
with all sorts of reports and forecasts in this regard. They serve a purpose.
Of course, the lifestyle and entertainment section cannot be outdone. In
this area, gossips are made to spill like rampaging lava from an exploding
volcano.
The big difference is that instead of running away from it, many people
like to be buried by this molten flow of red-hot rumors and juicy blind
items. As of now, I’m afraid there is no cure yet for this lunacy.
I believe that this annual practice should also be done—and even with
more reason—in the area of faith and religion as far as these would be
assessable in their human and temporal expressions.

‘This is My Beloved Son’

(Mt. 3: 13 - 17) Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, January 13, 2008
By Bishop Camilo D. “about His Father’s business”. He has to
Gregorio, DD move on and complete the divine plan
of salvation according to the Father’s
design. He now takes responsibility of
IN the Liturgical Calendar, the feast the “salvation project”. He must now be
should come after the Feast of the Sto. ready for anything including Calvary!
Niño but it precedes it. Perhaps it is He must face His role as “suffering Ser-
providential—if at all to place in the vant of Yahweh”.
right focus and perspective that Jesus is Third, with His mission is His iden-
the Son of God who grows up to face tity made clear. He is the Son of God
courageously the Mission of the Cross. and is aware of it! Everything in His life
Like a multifaceted diamond, the Feast is ordered towards it. He is ready to live
of the Baptism of the Lord draws us to and prove that “The Father and I are
many serious thoughts about disciple- one” (John 10:30) and “I cannot do any-
ship and commitment to the Lord. thing on my own…I do not seek my own
The Baptism of Jesus in the Eastern Lit- will but the will of the one who sent
urgy is the last of the three “epiphanies” me.” (John 5:30).
related to the divinity of Christ. Won- Fourth, Jesus’ Baptism reveals His
der of wonders—the baptism of the Lord salvific mission. He is to be the “bread
opens up to more “epiphanies” or mani- of life come down from heaven” (John
festations of Christ’s salvific mission. 6:51); He is to be the “light to overcome
First, at the Jordan we clearly see the the darkness” (cf. John 12:34-36); He will
concurrence of the Holy Trinity in the be “lifted up from the earth” to draw
mission of Christ. Jesus receives the everyone to Himself (John 12:32). He will
“Trinitarian affirmation”. The Father be the Good Shepherd who “will lay
unequivocally expresses His love for down His life to the sheep” and to bring
Jesus: “This is my Beloved Son in whom the “other sheep who do not belong to
I am well pleased”. It was like saying: the fold” (John 10:15-16).
“Son, I am proud of you!” And the Holy Now, what are all these to us?
Spirit in the form of a dove confers the The Lord’s Baptism reveals to us also
assurance that the “work” of Jesus will everything that discipleship implies!
come to its glorious completion! 1. Our own baptism reminds us how
Second, the Baptism of Jesus marks the we, too, are “graced”, how we, too, are
beginning of His Public Ministry. The God’s beloved, how each one of us is
thirty years of His “hidden life” in “called by name”. The Trinitarian affir-
Nazareth are over. He can’t be forever mation is also ours. We are brought to
the “cute Sto. Niño”. Now, He must be awareness that we were “lifted up” to
I know that life is largely a mystery. Even if we are talking of ordinary,
well-known daily events, that mystery is hardly diminished. Well, our faith
and Church life are even more of a mystery!
But this does not excuse us from doing what is humanly possible to gain
some kind of control and sense of direction in our spiritual and Church life.
Yes, everything depends on God, but things also depend on us. Let’s do our
part.
If everyone is prodded to do an examination of conscience not only at the
end of the year, but in fact, at every day’s end, then some kind of review and
new life in God and ushered to a new
forecast should also be done in the bigger and higher levels of Church life.
way of living. We were made adopted
Like, how did a particular parish perform last year? And what are its
children “in the name of the Father, and
prospects for this year? Any religious organization, diocese, and even the
of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”. St.
bishops’ conference can ask similar questions if only to infuse a sense of
Leo in his Christmas homily tells us:
professionalism to their pastoral work.
“Christians, remember your dignity!”
From there, more people could be better aware of what happened in the
2. Jesus’ baptism makes us realize our
past and of what are planned for the future. There’d be more sense of solidar-
own share in His salvific mission. We,
ity in our collective effort to be more consistent to our faith.
too, as members of His Body are to con-
We have to overcome whatever awkwardness and amateurism we may
tribute to the “building up” of that same
still have with respect to our Church life. With the pace of development we
Body. We are to share in the “common
now have, this attitude is really and laughably out of place.
priesthood” which is to be prophet,
It’s true that the Church is hierarchical and its main thrust is on the spiri-
priest and king (servant-leader) for the
tual and the supernatural life nourished by God’s word, dogmas and doc-
salvation of others.
trine, the sacraments, etc.
3. Our identity as children of God
But it also has temporal and human concerns that require active participa-
demands that we, too, become “perfect
tion as much as possible by everyone. It’s more in this area that some public
as our heavenly Father” is. This call to
assessment of things can be made to generate wider participation.
holiness is a responsibility before any
And the media can be a big help. As long as it realizes its need for continu-
call to service. Baptism tells us to be more
ing formation, it can carry out this delicate function properly. This is a chal-
“righteous” than the “Pharisees” and the
lenge for media to assume greater responsibility in Church life.
“scribes” of our own times.
Obviously there are differences of opinions, and even mistakes can be
4. Jesus calls us to an intimate sharing
committed. But it would be wrong if the media just focuses on stoking con-
of His Paschal Mystery “for the glory of
troversies and denouncing mistakes and scandals.
God and of the Church”. Baptism re-
It has to do a more constructive and cooperative effort by making a kind of
minds us that the Cross is every disciple’s
running account of developments in the Church and going deep into the task
lot but it is through Jesus’ Cross that we
of making Church life more appreciated by everyone.
share in His Resurrection. We, too, must
It can do better than just announcing town fiestas or reporting the external
be ready for “redemptive suffering”.
aspects of whatever events, good or bad, may take place in the parish or the
“This is my beloved son/daughter in
diocese.
whom I am well pleased”. The first part
It can, for example, make suggestions based on studies or wide consulta-
of that affirming statement will always
tions on how the continuing task of evangelization can be made or im-
be there. God’s love will always be there.
proved.
But the last part: “In whom I am well
It can make their views known on how a certain aspect of the faith has
pleased” will depend on how faithfully
affected or will likely affect a particular group of people. Is there growth in
we “put on” and “live” Christ to the very
the people’s spiritual life? Is there a greater sense of Church among them?
end.
The media can do many things to deepen and strengthen our spiritual and
Only you can determine that!
Church life. If need be, they can hire experts or consultants in Church affairs.
An awful lot can be done!

The decisiveness of the Magi

A Gospel Commentary for the Epiphany Bo Sanchez

By Father Raniero
Cantalamessa, OFM
Cap
WE will closely follow the
Gospel’s account of the com-
ing of the three magi to
Bethlehem to find in it some
practical instruction for our
life. In this account the histori-
cal element mixes with the
theological and symbolic el-
ement. In other words, the
Evangelist did not intend only
to report the facts, but to in-
culcate the things to be done,
indicate models for the read-
ers to follow, or avoid. As the
rest of the Bible, this page too
was written “for our instruc-
tion.”
There are three different
reactions to announcement of
Jesus’ birth that clearly
emerge in this account: that
of the magi, that of Herod and
that of the priests. Let us start
with the negative models, the
ones to avoid.
First of all, Herod. He, just
having heard the news, “was
greatly troubled.” He con-
vokes a meeting of the chief
priests and scribes, not to
know the truth but to plot de-
ception. Herod represents the
person who has already made
his choice. Between God’s
will and his will, he has
clearly chosen his own will.
He sees nothing but his
own interests and he is deter-
mined to cut down any threat
to the current state of things.
He probably even thinks that
he is doing his duty, defend-
ing his royalty, his caste, the
good of the nation. Even or-
dering the killing of the in-
nocents must have seemed to
him, as with many dictators
in history, a measure de-
manded by the public good,
morally justified. From this
point of view the world is full
of many “Herods” even to-
day.
Let us turn now to the atti-
tude of the priests and scribes.
Asked by Herod and the Magi
where the Messiah is to be
born, they do not hesitate to
give the right answer. They
know where the Messiah is
born; they are even able to
tell others; but they are not
moved. They do not run to
Bethlehem, as would be ex-
pected of people who await
the coming of the Messiah, but
remain comfortably in
Jerusalem. They act like road
signs: They indicate the way
to follow but they remain im-
mobile on the side of the
road.
We see an attitude symbol-
ized in them that is also found
among us. We know well
what is necessary to follow
Jesus and, if the need arises,
we know how to explain it to
others, but we lack the cour-
age and radicality to seri-
ously put it into practice. If
every baptized person is for
this reason “a witness to
Christ,” then the attitude of
the chief priests and the
scribes must bring us all to
reflect. They knew that Jesus
was in Bethlehem, “the least”
of the cities of Judea; we know
that Jesus is found today
among the poor, the humble,
the suffering.
We finally come to the pro-
tagonists of this feast, the
Magi. They teach not with
words but with deeds, not by
what they say but by what
they do. They have not tar-
ried, they have set on the way;
they have left the security of
the environment familiar to
them, where they are known
and revered. They have acted
decisively, they have not hesi-
tated. If they had begun cal-
culating, one by one, the dan-
gers, the unknowns of the
journey, they would have lost
the original determination
and would have been lost in
vain and sterile consider-
ations.
One last precious indication
comes to us from the magi.
“Having been warned in a
dream not to return to Herod,
they departed for their coun-
try by another way.” Chang-
ing one’s life changes the way
one takes. The encounter with
Christ must bring about a
turn, a change of habits.
(Zenit)
Love isn’t a
business
opportunity
IN an old brown envelope tucked in one of my desk drawers, I hide my great
wealth. I’m sure you have one of these, too.
This has become a special ceremony for me: Once in a while, whenever I
feel nostalgic or sad or happy, I open the old brown envelop and forage its
contents. I feel the material in my hands, read it, touch it, even smell it. I
sigh a hundred times, get a few tears in my eyes, and close it up again for
another time down memory lane.
I’m talking about letters and cards sent to me by my children (These are
children adapted by ANAWIM, our special ministry to the poor and aban-
doned elderly). Yes, when they were much younger and uncomplicated. It
is filled with beautiful unreadable lines like, “I lob yu, koya Bu.” Plus their
sketches of rainbows, flowers, houses, and stick men. The lines are crooked.
The English is bad. The paper and cardboard are soiled. But I’d rather keep
the contents of this old brown envelope than if I were given the paintings of
Michaelangelo or Da Vinci.
Because Michaelangelo or Da Vinci didn’t love me.
These kids did—and do.
To me, this old brown envelope contains the most valuable artwork in the
world.
Well today, I perform this ritual because I feel sad.
Yesterday, I invited my kids for a day out in a city. “Let’s watch a movie
tomorrow!” I announced over the phone. But instead of hearing the usual
shout of glee from them, I received their sad retort, “We can’t. We’ve got
exams on Monday…”
Ouch. Are my kids really growing up?
But was it only yesterday when I picked up these orphans from their
dilapidated bamboo hut in a mountain and transported them to Anawim?
Without a mother or father to care for them, they were starving and could no
longer go to school.
But this June, some will be college students already.
Gosh. Did I say college?
How can time fly so fast?
I guess all parents experience this sad separation when they see their kids
get older, have friends, get married, and leave home.
But love is like that.
It is giving oneself without expecting anything in return.
If I want to get paid, then it isn’t love. It’s a business opportunity.
But I love my kids. And wherever life takes them, these precious children
can never be taken away from my heart. They live there, together with the
brown envelope I hold in my hand.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
Philippine Mining: A civil society perspective
By Kawagi Fernan
(First of a series)
THE current state of mining in
the Philippines can be said to
hinge on two things: the Philip-
pine Mining Act or Republic Act
7942 and the Marcopper Mining
disaster in Marinduque.
Each signifies the opposite ends
of the mining spectrum, the
former represents the best at-
tempt of the government to revi-
talize the mining industry, the
latter, mining’s ultimate pitfalls.
The two are even closely linked
by date; the Mining Act was
passed into law in 1995, a year
later, the Marcopper disaster oc-
curred.
The fallout from Marcopper’s
destruction of the rivers of Boac
and Mogpog, as well as the ensu-
ing discovery of the company’s
repeated violations of the
country’s environmental code
and the magnitude of human suf-
fering captured by the media
served to truncate the
government’s revitalization at-
tempts.
As mines grew less profitable
with the drop in global prices and
the backlash from Marinduque
swept through the nation, scar-
ing away potential investors and
mines shut down, firms packed
up and left. Mining had become
untenable in the Philippines,
something that flew in the face
of the RA 7942 and its author and
primary proponent, President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
The mining act received some
attention prior to GMA’s ascen-
sion to the presidency but it was
in her second term—that atten-
tion to the revitalization of the
Philippine mining industry came
to fruition.
The fast tracking of the Na-
tional Minerals Policy Frame-
work was the most visible mani-
festation of the government’s
commitment to mining.
RA 7942 and the National Min-
erals Policy
The current state of local min-
ing lies in an economic down-
turn. Starting in late 70’s and con-
tinuing up into the 90’s, the en-
tire global mining industry be-
gan to suffer from plunging min-
eral prices. The local mines were
beset with closures and
downsizing.
The economic effects were evi-
dent as well, from 1981-1990 14%
Social Concerns
Mining: Solution or illusion? www.impactmagazine.net
of the country’s total exports
came from mining. In 1991, this
number dropped to 8.87%, in 1992
it fell further to 7.37%.
The year 1993 saw 220 aban-
doned mines in the Philippines.
The local industry was stated to
be on the verge of death; how-
ever the role of the small scale
mining industry was growing.
Gold production was their spe-
cialty, and the small scale miners
were responsible for nearly a
third of all the country’s gold
production at the time.
Mining’s contribution to the
GDP from 1981 to 1992 averaged
around 1.77%, and along with its
export figures, proves that while
mining’s contributions to the
country were not substantial,
they were notable.
The industry needed rescue;
the solution was through a piece
of legislation, now known as Re-
public Act 7942, or the Mining Act
of 1995. Signed into law by Presi-
dent Ramos in 1995, the act’s prin-
cipal author was then Senator
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who
had helped to create a bill that
was looked favorably upon by
the mining industry, and would
hopefully revitalize a stagnant
industry.
As is the case with many pieces
of business-related legislation,
the mining industry had input
into the crafting of a bill, creat-
ing what was in their minds a law
that would help to remove the
toughest barriers to mining, par-
ticularly those which prevented
the large, transnational mining
corporations (TNCs) from bring-
ing their business to the country.
However, in the minds of oth-
ers, the act was seen as a clear
and present danger to the na-
tional patrimony, and the envi-
ronment as well as in violation
of the 1987 Constitution.
The root of this problem comes
from the creation of an environ-
ment appealing enough for for-
eign mining investors to pour
their money into the country.
The vast scale of mining op-
erations requires enormous in-
vestments. Investors, by and
large, are wary of the Philippines
given its history of social and
political upheaval. The Mining
Act did not seek only to assuage
those fears, but also to remove
the very barrier that TNCs find
most daunting, the nationalist
protections present in the 1987
Constitution. The law that stated
that certain industry companies
(mining among them) could only
be 40% foreign (with the other
60% Filipino) was seen as the
single greatest impediment to
foreign investment in the coun-
try.
It should be noted though, that
by definition as a “protectionist”
policy, it was written not as an
impediment to foreigners but as
a way to ensure that Filipinos had
priority in their own country.
To get around this ownership
issue, the Act introduced the con-
cept of the Financial or Technical
Assistance Agreement (FTAA),
under which a completely (100%)
foreign owned company could
explore, develop and mine in the
country.
Similarly the Act is laden with
benefits for companies. The
FTAA offers a 10 year tax holi-
day for companies. It also ex-
empts them from paying capital
taxes, and allows them to repa-
triate, that is, to remove from
the country and use it in their
own lands, 100% of all the profit
and capital they make from min-
ing.
Auxiliary mining rights are
also granted by the Act to for-
eign investors. These include the
rights to water and forest re-
sources in the area of their appli-
cation, as well as what are known
as “easement” rights. This is a
purely pro-business consider-
ation which gives a corporation
the right to “ease out” any im-
pediment to mining operations.
In almost all cases, these im-
pediments are people. Locally,
they could be anything from
farmers to fishermen to “unco-
operative” indigenous groups.
Though not directly stated, it is
assumed that force of arms—via
military cooperation or “private
security contractors” aka merce-
naries—is allowed for easement.
The Act is particularly favor-
able—or biased—towards Trans
National Corporations (TNCs),
or large mining basically. While
small scale mining has its own
applicable laws, the Mining Act
sees large scale mining as the pri-
mary focus of mining develop-
ment.
In order to attract TNCs to the
country, the state must cede con-
trol over mineral lands. TNCs
and their investors operate on the
idea that, in today’s market, only
through easy access and complete
control over the mineral lands
can they ensure continuing prof-
itability. One reason given for
this is the boom-bust cycle of
mineral prices, which can lead to
stretches of time where the com-
pany can show no profitable gain.
B7
It can be said that the state
gladly relinquishes control over
its mineral resources in order to
boost investor confidence in the
country, thereby attracting more
TNCs, thereby boosting confi-
dence even further and so on,
until the mining industry is op-
erating at a strong level.
The Act was challenged in the
Supreme Court, tying it up for
years. Finally, in a famous non-
decision, the high court ruled it
unconstitutional, only to reverse
its position a few months later.
With the Act cleared by all three
branches of government
With the Mining Act of 1995 in
place, the government saw that
it would need a way to push the
drive of mining revitalization
countrywide. This resulted in the
National Minerals Policy (NMP)
Framework.
Considered as the counterpart
to Philippine Agenda 21, the blue-
print for local sustainable devel-
opment initiatives, the NMP
Framework pushes Four Policy
Thrusts regarding mining.
Broadly, they are: Protection and
Rehabilitation of the Environ-
ment, Promotion of Social and
Community Stability, Preserva-
tion of Options for Future Gen-
erations, and the Establishment
of a Competitive and Stable Min-
ing Industry.
The National Minerals Policy
Framework can be considered as
the basis for all future mining
actions, or an example of the ten-
dency of the government to pass
extra legislation that will be given
lip service and poorly enforced
due to lack of both manpower
and funds.
Yet both the NMP and the Act
are seen to work hand in hand in
an attempt to transform/ revital-
ize the minerals industry of the
Philippines.
Through their encouragement
of the mining industry by way of
capitulation to their most outra-
geous demands, and the passing
into law of regulations that solely
benefit the TNCs, the govern-
ment hopes to draw enough of
them into the country that it can
pull itself from its perennial state
of near bankruptcy.
Relinquishing control of natu-
ral resources to outside powers
does not sound like a good plan.
However, the money involved
all but makes it an excellent plan.
But does this stratagem ignore
Philippine realities? Does it only
look good on paper?
(to be continued next issue)

Godparents / B2

godparent [in confirmation], it is neces-
sary that a person fulfill the conditions
mentioned in c.874 [i.e., the require-
ments to be a godparent in baptism].
is a need for greater instruction on the
part of the pastors regarding sponsors
in the sacraments of Christian initiation.
Since most parishes now have short
Farming in dialogue
sity for validity or even licitude) of hav-
ing godparents for baptism and (later
on) confirmation; the maximum num-
ber of godparents—i.e., two (of differ-

2) Desirability of the same godparent
as in baptism. It is desirable that the one
who undertook the role of godparent at
baptism be sponsor for confirmation
(c.893, §2).
Conclusion
We can conclude by saying that there
Question box / B4
(Epistle 82).
In his letter to Trypho, the Jew, St Jus-
tin wrote: “I would never dare think or
say there are contradictions to be found
in Scripture; if some text of Scripture
seems to contradict (another), I prefer to
admit that its meaning escapes me; and I
shall do what I can to convince those who
suspect that Scripture is self-contradic-
tory to adopt my approach”.
3. Can it be said that Genesis’ account of
the creation of the material world is er-
roneous vis-à-vis the data of the empiri-
cal sciences?
St. Augustine, a great saint and
seminars organized for parents who
want their children to be baptized, that
seems to be the best venue for this in-
struction. We might add that the real
godparents should be included in these
seminars. Specifically, the following can
be emphasized:
the great desirability (but not neces-
thinker, gave us this guideline: God
gave us Holy Scriptures “to make Chris-
tians, not scholars”, that “the Spirit of
God who has spoken to us through the
sacred writers had no intention of teach-
ing men anything other than what is
useful for their salvation” (Cf. Commen-
tary on Genesis). Pope Leo XIII wrote
(on the occasion of the birth of the evo-
lutionary theories): “(the sacred writers)
did not seek to penetrate the secrets of
nature, but rather described and dealt
with things in more or less figurative
language, or in terms which were com-
monly used at the time, and which in
many instances are commonly used at
with creation
ent sexes) for baptism and one for con-
firmation (preferably one of the godpar-
ents for baptism); and the propriety of
making the real godparents (among the
many ninongs and ninangs) know their
canonical status as godparents; the re-
quirements for godparents; the duties of
godparents. ONE of the many programs of Silsilah for small marginal farmers. Like-
Dialogue Movement (SDM) is Dia- wise, a harmony farm center was also
logue with Creation for Harmony set up as a training ground for spiri-
and Peace. It is an evolutionary need tual formation for farmers.
this day, even by the most eminent men to address existing problems on cli- Through the years, the movement
of science” (Cf. Providentissimus Deus). matic change re-
Galileo was right when, in the defense sulting to deple-
of his theory, he quoted a cardinal who tion of life on
had said: “(in Holy Scripture) the Holy earth.
Spirit is trying to show us how to get to Dialogue with
heaven, not how the heavens operate”. Creation is an ex-
If one day Galileo told his servant “Be periential ecologi-
home before sunset”, he wasn’t contra- cal active harmony
dicting his heliocentric theory (whereby, approach of a spiri-
strictly speaking the sun does not “set” tual encounter of
at the earth’s horizon): he was merely Life-in-Dialogue
describing what appears to everyone’s with the Creator of
eyes every late afternoon. So it was with life that builds a
some biblical descriptions of natural process of creating
phenomena. a healthy environ-
ment for harmony Escuela del Simbradores farm school in Baluno
and peace on the
earth and humanity. initiated a farm school called Silsilah
Farming in Dialogue with Creation Escuela del Siembadores in the moun-

CBCPMonitor Name _________________________________________________ for harmony and peace is an inspira- tain of barangay Baluno in the west
tion from deep contemplation of Fr. coast of this city. It has an Escuela
(Family Name) (Given Name) (Middle Name) Sebastiano D’Ambra, founder of Management Team which is com-
Silsilah Dialogue Movement. He in- posed of four farmer leaders, exten-
SUBSCRIPTION RATES Mailing Address ________________________________________ tuitively recognized the need for sively selected with moral upright-
small farmers to be trained so they ness.
________________________________________________________ may become conscious tillers of the The practice of Biodynamic Agri-
earth with dignity and compassion culture is focused among the farmers
The CBCP Monitor is published fort- Phone No.: _________ Fax No.: ________ E-mail: ___________ in caring for all God’s creation. as they also assist other farmers.
nightly by the CBCP Media Office, Mode of Payment Silsilah is progressively initiating Proper guidance is constantly given
with editorial and business offices at this program by providing farmers according to the stages of develop-
470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Ma- Check/PMO enclosed Cash Payment with a holistic ecological active har- ment of their crops and socio-com-
nila. PO Box 3601, 1076 MCPO (Payable to: CBCP Communications Development Foundation Inc.) mony approach in tilling the soil. It munity intervention.
• Domestic makes available a humanitarian ex- An environmental plant scientist
tension work with appropriate tech- from Australia, Mr. Douglas Patience;
1 Year Php 500.00 ________________________ nical assistance, training and support provides technical assistance to the
2 Years Php 900.00 services to the farmers. program. He comes twice a year for
Signature
• Foreign: Asia With this program, a Harmony consultation and follow-up on the
1 Year US$ 55.00 PLEASE SEND TO: Farm Center was established in 14 development of its application as well
• All Other US$ 80.00 hectares of farmland located at Har- as conducting seminars and lectures
CBCP Monitor, P.O. Box 3601, Manila, Philippines mony Village of Silsilah Dialogue on this field. (Silsilah Dialogue
470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines | Tel (632) 404-2182 • Telefax (632) 404-1612 Movement to become a learning farm Movement)
Or e-mail this at cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.com

B8
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Title: Desperadas
Running Time: 112 min.
Cast: Ruffa Gutierrez, Rufa Mae
Quinto, Iza Calzado, Marian
Rivera, Jay-R, Wendell Ramos, TJ
Trinidad, Will Devaughn
Director: Joel Lamangan
Producer: Lily Monteverde
Screenwriters: Roy C. Iglesias,
Charlie Peralta
Music: Carmina Cuya
Editor: Marya Ignacio
Genre: Sex Comedy
Distributor: Regal Entertainment
Location: Philippines
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and
above
Desperadas projects the lives of four half
sisters (they have four different fathers)
of different temperaments, personalities
and circumstances. Lawyer Stephanie
(Iza Calzado) is sort of conservative and
considered inhibited by her sisters.
Though married to Richard (TJ Trinidad),
a doctor of several years, she is still child-
less. Fashionable Isabella (Ruffa
Gutierrez), a single mother to small
daughter Alexis, has a penchant for ex-
pensive things and lives beyond her
means so she resorts to issuing checks
that bounce. Sexy Patricia (Rufa Mae
Quinto), married to Dave (Wendell
Ramos) is a self proclaimed “sexologist”
who gives questionable advice on sex.
The youngest Courtney (Marian Rivera),
an underwear designer, lives a liberated
lifestyle. She is to marry the popular bas-
Title: Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo
Running Time:
Cast: Judy Ann Santos, Ryan Agoncillo,
Gloria Diaz, Gina Pareño,
Director: Jose Javier Reyes
Producer: Charo Santos Concio
Genre: Comedy/ Romance
Distributor: Star Cinema
Location: Philippines/ Barcelona, Spain
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment: ½
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 13 and
below with parental guidance
Sinusundan ng pelikulang Sakal, Sakali,
Saklolo ang buhay nila Angie (Judy Ann
Santos) at Jed (Ryan Agoncillo) na sinimulan
noong Disyembre 2006 sa Kasal, Kasali,
Kasalo. May anak na ang mag-asawang Jed
at Angie, at ang tatlong yugto ng Sakal…,
tulad ng Kasal…, ay naglalahad ng iba’t
ibang mukha ng buhay mag-asawa.
Mararamdaman na ni Angie at Jed ang mga
paghihirap na dinaranas kung mayroon
nang ikatlong miyembro sa pamilya:
nariyang maantala ang kanilang
CBCP Monitor
Entertainment Vol. 12 No. 1
January 7 - 20, 2008
Technical Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
ketball star Patrick (Will Devaughn).
Since all live within the plush family
compound, the sisters know what each
is up to. Stephanie tries to arouse her
busy husband’s interest but to no avail.
With no success as a lawyer and unful-
filled in her marriage, frustrated
Stephanie falls for the charms of James
(Ryan Eigenmann), a lawyer who takes
an interest in her. Where will this rela-
tionship lead to? On the other hand,
Isabella gets a marriage proposal from
her longtime lover, Vito (Jay-R) but she
refuses in spite of Vito’s gestures of pay-
ing her financial obligations. She gets
arrested for her bouncing checks. Can
she win the court case and stay out of
jail? Domineering, insensitive Patricia
flaunts her supposed “knowledge” of
sex. This leads her gay husband to seek a
male mate and come out of the closet.
Can Patricia save her marriage?
Courtney’s boy friend Patrick becomes
a born- again Christian and refuses to the story of each sister lacks develop- daughters have screwed ideas about sex will she change her immoral ways.
sleep with her before their wedding. ment. There are lots of materials here and marriage. Like mother, like daugh- Isabella also raises her daughter to be
Wild and sexual, Courtney is angry and that can possibly be explored but the four ter. This sex comedy oozes sex from the materialistic as she lets her wear and use
has second thoughts of marrying him. stories are all too crammed in just one very skimpy attires of the characters to expensive things though she is but a
Desperadas is reported to be doing un- film. The movie entertains as it spawns the dialogue loaded with sexual innu- child. Patricia’s small son Peter is ex-
usually well in its ticket sales and this is chuckles and occasional laughter but of- endos. Some people think that humor posed early to much talk about sex so
to be expected since it has the drawing ten the humor is gross and the language can be projected only with crude or dirty that it colors his speech and his lessons
power of very popular lead stars Iza vulgar. The female leads plug for cancer language which they consider amusing in school. Pre- marital/ extra marital sex
Calzado, Ruffa Gutierrez, Rufa Mae awareness at the end but this is remotely but this is not true. Some positive val- is presented as the predominant lifestyle
Quinto and Marian Rivera. Not only do connected to the plot. ues, though, are shown like the bonding in the movie, contrary to our Christian
they have pretty faces, they can also act The narration of the four sisters’ between sisters and the moral support and Filipino values. The sisters’ mother
adequately and more. At times, the act- mother at the beginning of the film sets given when one is in trouble. There are ends her narration by announcing she
ing is exaggerated and probably inten- its moral tone. She glibly reminisces her however, more negative ones: Isabella has a fifth man, half her age. What val-
tionally so, for humor. However, there four romances with four different men is not punished for her wrong doing ues would a 13 year old child absorb
is hardly any character development. who fathered her four daughters. And because she gets exonerated on a techni- from this movie? A screwed way of look-
Though the film is about two hours long, the viewer is not surprised that her cality. She has not learned her lesson nor ing at sex and marriage, perhaps?
Title: Katas ng Saudi at gusto na rin niyang
Cast: Jinggoy Estrada, Lorna magpahinga at manatili sa
Tolentino, Bayani Agbayani, Pilipinas ngunit maraming
Eugene Domingo, Vangie umaasa at nakikinabang sa katas
Labalan, Aaron Villaflor, ng Saudi. Ano kaya ang
Shaina Magdayao, Rayver
mananaig sa desisyon ni Oca?
Cruz, Julian Estrada
Director: Jose Javier Reyes Isang makatotohanang
Producers: Jinggoy Estrada, komentaryong sosyal ang
Charyl Chan De Guzman pelikulang ito. Naipadama sa
Screenwriter: Jose Javier mga nanonood ang kahirapang
Reyes dinaranas ng marami nating
Music: Jesse Lucas kababayan na parang ipinapako
Editor: Renewin Alano sa krus sa pagpapakasakit para sa
Genre: Drama/ Comedy ikagiginhawa at ikauunlad ng
Cinematography: Lito “Itok” kanilang mga pamilya.
Mempin
Distributor: Maverick Films Nakalulungkot na maraming
Location: Quezon City, Metro oportunista at parasito sa lipunan
Manila na nagpapabigat sa dalahin nila
Technical Assessment: sa buhay kaya nga ba’t
Moral Assessment: tinatagurian silang “pag-asa ng
paglalambingan gawa ng pag-iyak ng Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo: nais lamang marahil CINEMA Rating: For viewers bayan.” Ang kanilang mga
sanggol; nariyang makialam at mag-agawan maging “totoo” ang pelikula, kung kaya’t age 13 and below with pinapadalang pera ay
ang magbalae sa pag-aalaga sa bagong apo; sinasalamin nito ang talaga namang ugali parental guidance nakatutulong hindi lamang sa
nariyang maimpluwensiya ng mga yaya ang ng ibang Pilipino na pagtawanan ang kanilang pamilya kundi pati na
pananalita ng bata; nariyang magselosan puntong pananalita ng mga Bisaya, at Makalipas ang sampung taon na rin sa paglutang ng ekonomiya
ang magbalae tungkol sa madalang na libakin ang tinuturingan nating “pangit”. pagkayod sa Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ng Pilipinas. Seryoso ang tema at
pagdalaw ng kanilang mga anak; nariyang Paki-alalayan lamang natin ang mga ay umuwi na si Oca Dimaano mensahe bagama’t hinaluan ng
mayamot si lalake sa pagiging masigasig sa batang manonood ng pelikula at ipaunawa (Jinggoy Estrada) na sabik katatawanan. Pinoy pa rin ang
trabaho ni babae, at manibugho naman si sa kanila na bagama’t ito’y mukhang makapiling ang kaniyang asawa dating sapagkat nakukuha pa ring
babae sa inaakalang pagtataksil ni lalaki. nakatatawa sa biglang tingin, ang ganitong na si Mercy (Lorna Tolentino) at magsaya kahit mahirap ang
Mahusay ang pagkakahabi ng mga ugali ay sadyang nakasasakit din sa mga anak. Unti-unting buhay. Kung walang masasabing
kuwento-buhay ng Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo, damdamin ng ilan. Bilang mga Kristiyano, nabawasan ang kaniyang katangi-tanging eksena, ito
angkop ang script at dialogue sa sanaysay. pinaaalalahanan tayo na ituon ang ating kaligayahan sa sunod-sunod na marahil ay pagpapahiwatig na
Pinatitingkad ng magaling na paningin kay Kristo na napapaloob sa bawat problemang naranasan niya. pangkaraniwan lang naman ang
sinematograpiya, editing at pagganap ng tao, at hindi sa kanyang panglabas na anyo Naroon ang mga kamag-anak na buhay ng isang balik-bayang
mga aktor ang makatotohanang paglalahad o “katawa-tawang” pananalita. Sumunod, naghahangad ng pasalubong at trabahador.
ng pelikula tungkol sa buhay mag-asawa sa ang “good news”: Nagbibigay-pag-asa ang mga taong dumaraing at May mapapansing hindi
makabagong lipunang panglungsod ng Sakal, Sakali, Saklolo sa industriya ng nanghihingi ng tulong. magandang halimbawa:
Pilipinas. pelikulang Pilipino. Nagmukha siyang estranghero sa nagkakagalit ang mag-asawa sa
Bagama’t pawang mahusay ang pagganap Napatutunayan nito na hindi kailangang kaniyang mga anak at kapwa sila hapag-kainan, sa harap pa naman
ng mga tauhan, nagniningning ang kay Gina maging malaswa o estupido ang isang nahirapang makibagay sa isa’t isa. ng kanilang mga anak at maging
Pareno bilang si Belita, ina ni Angie. Kung pelikula upang mabili ito sa takilya—puno Malamig sa kanya ang panganay ang kanilang ibang pagtatalo ay
sabagay, sadyang makulay at nakakagising pa ang mga sinehan sa ikatlong araw ng na si Ryan (Aaron Villaflor), naririnig rin ng kanilang mga
ang kanyang mga linya, at “mabait” sa paglalabas nito sa Greenbelt sa Makati, mga naiinis naman sa kahigpitan niya anak, magaspang ang ugali ng
kanya ang kamera—mga bagay na sinehang hindi karaniwang nagtatampok ng ang dalagita na si Cathy (Shaina balikbayang si Oca, minsa’y
nakadaragdag ng lalim sa pagganap ni mga pelikulang Pilipino. Magdayao), at nangingimi sa nagmura si Mercy sa galit, may
Pareno. Ngunit isipin lamang ninyo siya sa Hitik sa kabuluhan ang pelikula; kaniya ang bunso na si Biboy pagka-rebelde ang anak na babae
papel niya sa binibigyang diin nito ang ating mga (Julian Estrada). Hindi pa rin niya sa magulang at mahilig makipag-
Kubrador at magagandang kaugalian bilang Pilipino: makasundo sa kaniyang inuman ang mga kalalakihan
ihambing ito sa ang pagpupunyagi ng mga magulang tungo pagbabalik ang kaniyang kapag nagkikita ang barkada.
papel niya sa Sakal sa kapakanan ng mga anak; ang tunay na matapobreng manugang (Liza Nagiging materyalista at maluho
bilang isang pagmamahalan ng mag-asawa sa kabila ng Lorena). ang mga nakikinabang sa katas
maglolongganisa at mga pagbabagong nagaganap sa kanilang Inakala niyang nakapundar na ng Saudi. Meron din namang
kagawad ng pinagsasaluhang buhay; ang paglutang ng naman sila at maginhawa na ang magagandang aral na mapupulot
barangay, at kabutihan ng isang tao bagamat ang kanilang buhay kaya gusto na dito: ang pagpapakasakit ng isang
makikita na ninyo kanyang panglabas na asal ay magaspang; sana niyang mamalagi sa Pilipinas ama para sa mga mahal sa buhay,
ang likas na galing ang pagpapatawaran ng mga magka- at mag-negosyo na lang sapagkat pagkakasundo at pagpapatawad,
ni Pareno bilang kapitbahay; ang pagpapakasakit ng mga nabatid niya na iba ang at pagtulong sa mga
isang artista. magulang sa kanilang mga anak; ang pang- pagpapalaki ng bata pag nangangailangan. May iba’t
Una, ang “bad unawa sa tumatandang mga magulang, at nababantayan ng tatay. Ang hirap ibang kuwento pa tayong
news”: May iba pa. ay naging palabigasan siya ng maririnig sa mga walong
bahagya kaming Gawa ng dalang kabutihan ng Sakal… na sariling ina (Vangie Labalan), at milyong Pilipino sa kasalukuyan
puna sa higit na naging matimbang kaysa tangay maging ang kaniyang kapatid na tulad ni Oca ay naninilbihan
katatawanang nitong kapintasan, minabuti ng CINEMA na (Eugene Domingo) at batugang sa ibang bansa at naghahangad ng
isinusulong ng bigyan ito ng markang PG 13. bayaw (Dick Israel). Pagod na siya magandang kinabukasan.
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