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Pope sees educating youth as key to ending anti-Christian violence

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He Who Believes Is Never Alone

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The Cross
A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

CBCP official laments violent demolition in San Juan

AN official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has criticized the violent demolition of shanties in San Juan City on January 11, leaving at least 26 people injured. Fr. Edu Gariguez, executive secretary of the CBCPs National Secretariat for Social Action, said it is disappointing that the demolition happened despite a moratorium on relocation in Metro Manila.
Violence / A6

CEAP renews campaign vs mining in Palawan

THE string of environmental disasters happening in the country prompted the Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP) to again urge its member-schools to continue the campaign against mining in Palawan and other key biodiversity areas in the country. In the face of these disasters, the call for the government to take a stand for the people, to end the wanton destruction of
Campaign / A6

Bishops urge vigilance in Corona impeachment trial

By Roy Lagarde

January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Php 20.00

CATHOLIC bishops called on the public to remain vigilant in the historic impeachment trial against Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona.
Paraaque Bishop Jesse Mercado stressed the need for vigilance to ensure that the truth may prevail and the common good be achieved in the impeachment trial. According to chairman of the Commission on the Laity of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, the people, as Christians, are asked to become good citizens. So part of our being good citizens is to participate in matters that will pertain to the development of our society, Mercado said. Now, the impeachment, perhaps political in nature, is some of the issues which have to be faced by us, he said. Bishops Jose Oliveros of Malolos and Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon also echoed Mercados statement, saying that the public should monitor the trial with the Senate sitting as an impeachment court. The public should monitor it for them to see if it is done properly and for us to know the
Impeachment / A6

Defying government warnings of potential terror attack, an estimated 8-million barefoot Catholics attended this years procession of the Black Nazarene from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church, after winding through the busy streets of Quiapo district for 22 hours on January 9, 2012. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle opined that one has to be a devotee to understand why so much number of people could last so long a procession and so much sacrifice.

Bishop favors gunless society Quiapo rector affirms terror threat

AN official of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines has expressed his support for a gunless society amid alarming gunrelated incidents for the past years. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, chairman of the CBCPs Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace, said the world must promote the eradication of deadly weapons in order to attain peace. The prelate made the statement as he endorsed the Mga Tagatulak ng Kapayapaan (MTK) or Peace Movers, a movement committed to promote the acceptance of Christs Peace. MTK is producing and disseminating costfree stickers for public display in order to raise awareness for the need to promote acceptance of Christs peace. The sticker has a logo of handgun with its barrel twisted into a knot. Its message reads: I accept Christs Peace. I pledge to nurture it. Kung walang baril, walang mababaril. T h e or g a n i z a t i on believes that without owning a gun, Filipinos can still live in peacefully in their society. I appeal to every Christian to participate actively in promoting national acceptance of Christs peace, by displaying the stickers in their areas of responsibility, Pabillo said. The bishop stressed that there is no peace in the country and the world today because many people have not accepted Christs Peace. Ironically, he added, the people have chosen the peace that the world gives based on arms and on the discarded saying an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. It is only fitting and proper that as Christians we must accept, individually and as a nation, Christs Peace, live it, and nurture it through love, truth, justice, reconciliation and active nonviolence, he added. Peace without Christ is incomplete and false, said Pabillo. (CBCPNews) QUIAPO Church rector Msgr. Clemente Ignacio said there had been a terrorist threat to the Black Nazarene procession but nothing stopped them to hold the yearly tradition. The church official admitted he himself received the threat even before President Benigno Aquino III announced it to the public. Even before President Aquino arrived here (at Quiapo Church last Sunday),

Relic of the true cross placed in Las Pias church

AN invaluable relic said to be from the cross Jesus Christ died on has been placed inside a new Catholic shrine in Las Pias City. Leading churchmen placed the relic at the newly elevated Diocesan Shrine of the Five Wounds of Our Lord Jesus Christ, a church managed by the Stigmatine Fathers. Paraaque Bishop Jesse Mercado said during Mass on Jan. 14 that the relic recalls the love and sacrifice Christ made for the people when he was crucified. This relic is appropriate in inviting people and encouraging them to develop devotion to the five wounds of our Lord, Mercado said. I think its the devotion to the wounds which expresses really the mystery of Gods love by shedding His blood, by shedding his life for us, he said. The miniature artifact is contained in a giant cross, which was placed beside the tabernacle located at the right side of the altar. Right from the Vatican, the relic arrived in the country last January 2 upon the request of Fr. Dennis Batacandulo, rector of the shrine. According to him, he wrote a letter to a certain Vatican agency in charge of holy treasures and asked for a relic of the
Relic / A6

our security group in contact with the intelligence is already talking about it. There was a text message sent to me with the very concrete names of the bombers, said Ignacio. Over the weekend, Aquino issued a warning on a possible terror attack directed at the annual procession in Manila, which drew millions of devotees from various provinces.
Threat / A6

THE Archdiocese of Manila held a seminar for the clergy on the New English Translation of the Roman Missal last January 12 at the San Carlos Seminary in Makati City. The seminar was the first in a series aimed at catechizing the faithful on the changes made before the full implementation of the Missal on First Sunday of Advent this year. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has set a year-long catechesis for the new

Manila holds seminar for clergy on New Missal translation

translation before it is implemented on the first Sunday of Advent. In a communiqu sent to the Manila clergy, Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle said the period of preparation is a chance to re-catechize our people on the liturgical life of the Church, our culmen et fons, for priests and the lay faithful alike. Seminar speakers include Fr. Genaro Diwa who discussed the Process of Translation and CatecheMissal / A6

Cruz denies reports that the infertile cant marry

ARCHBISHOP Oscar Cruz clarified Friday reports circulating over the Internet quoting him as saying that the infertile cant marry. Cruz was reacting to news articles that he said something to the effect that infertility is an impediment for Church marriage. Impotence is an impediment for valid Church marriage but not infertility. This is elementary knowledge, he said. The former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines also refuted reports that he endorsed gay marriages contrary to the long standing teaching of the Church. According to him, there are gay people who do what they want to do, irrespective of what the Church teaches. In this case, whatever they do, theirs cannot be a marriage as provided by nature and taught by the Church, he said. At most, they can enter into an agreement, a partnership or anything the like but not marriage in reality and truth, added Cruz who is the Judicial Vicar of the National Appellate
Infertile / A6

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Fr. Dennis Batacandulo, rector of the Diocesan Shrine of the Five Wounds of our Lord Jesus Christ, shows the cross with a tiny relic of the true cross.

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

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World News
ROME, Italy, Jan. 13, 2012With some 140 days remaining before the 7th World Meeting of Families, which will include the participation of Benedict XVI in Milan, the preparations are intensifying. A symposium to prepare for the May 30 to June 3 meeting was held this week at the Pontifical Lateran University. The symposium, fruit of synergy between the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Marriage and the Family and the Pontifical Pastoral Institute Redemptor Hominis of the same athenaeum, was titled "Such a Family for Such a Society." Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family and one of the organizers of the World Meeting, was one of the participants. Speaking of the theme, the cardinal told ZENIT that "the cinema, art in general, information media, must be respectful of the profound dimension of the reality of the human person, in families, in work, in celebration." "If they don't trivialize all this, reducing it to an object, they can be very useful to human growth and to a greater awareness of what man and life are," Cardinal Antonelli added. The congress opened with the greeting of Monsignor Dario Vigano, president of the Redemptor Hominis Institute, and the brief but profound intervention of Bishop Enrico Dal Covolo, rector of the university, who reflected on how the media increasingly shapes family relations, reshaping times, spaces and roles, and specifying new challenges, in the light of the present educational emergency of which the Pope has so often spoken. "By way of a concrete example, what is the image of woman that emerges from the media today? The image of an 'aggressive' woman, who desperately pursues her personal fulfillment, at the cost of drastically reducing her presence and irreplaceable role in the family," lamented the rector. "I am convinced that the conversion of our society, must pass through the conversion of women: It is necessary and urgent that women abandon this pernicious image of themselves, furnished and fueled by much of the media." The rector's intervention was followed by that of Monsignor Livio Melina, president of the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family, who stressed again how the subject of the family cannot be bypassed, inasmuch as it is "central and crucial, not only for the ecclesial society but for the whole of society." Moreover, in regard to the collaboration between the family and the cinema, the institute's president reflected how the family is not "immediately evident in its positivity": in fact, the family is "a mystery, not in the sense of something dark, but of a human reality in which the revelation is guarded of the vocation of man to be a gift of himself and the revelation of God that is reflected in it." The cinema, often representing this reality, "seems at times to discredit it, objectivizing it, so much so that John Paul II himself feared the risks of its representation in this sense," he added. Open homes Putting the accent again on the great event of May 30 was Father Davide Milani, the director of communications in the Ambrosian diocese, who explained how the idea of the Meeting was born and how, despite the fact that there are still four months to go, "it can certainly not be said that in Milan this event has not already begun." It began, in fact, specified Father Milani, "in the laborious expectation that, from the Ambrosian Church, is infecting the Lombard city and the civil society," already mobilized to

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Preparations intensify for World Meeting of Families

effect the ideal conditions to receive the close to 100,000 families that will arrive. An exorbitant number, so much so that, "for some weeks there has been under way the search for Milanese and Lombard families prepared to open the doors of their homes," offering "physical and heartfelt" hospitality, the priest explained. After the report of professor Jose Noriega Bastos, titled "The Narrations of the Cinema and the Good of the Family," the series of interventions were beautifully closed by Chiara Palazzini, vice-president of the Redemptor Hominis Institute. The focus of Palazzini's address was the relations or "aspects of bonds and references of meaning, which link members of a family in an inter-generational dimension." Hence, relations between parents and children, grandparents and grandchildren, siblings, and how they are often represented in an unfitting manner by the media, in particular by fiction. "The future and serenity of all citizens, namely of today's children who will be tomorrow's adults, depends on the well-being of the family and of the positive relations established among its members," concluded the professor. (Zenit)

Haitian archbishop urges residents to take charge of recovery

PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, Jan. 12, 2012Port-au-Prince Archbishop Guire Poulard marked the second anniversary of 2010s earthquake with a call for Haitians to build a better future for themselves and their country. The reconstruction will be Haitian or will not be, the archbishop proclaimed in a message carried by the news outlet Haiti Libre. He said Haitians cannot accept to live only from international begging, but must take on the task of reconstruction in the same way that national independence was achieved: by rolling up our sleeves. Put your hope in God and in yourself, the archbishop urged, saying the other promises do not offer any guarantees for the future. Archbishop Poulard was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on Jan. 12, 2011, on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake that killed his predecessor Archbishop Joseph S. Miot along with 250,000 other residents of the island. On the second anniversary of the earthquake, the archbishop described his appointment as a message to Haiti from Pope Benedict XVI. He wanted to say to Haiti, battered, traversed by all kinds of misery: take courage, get up, dry your tears and put yourself to work, Archbishop Poulard recounted. Thus, on this second anniversary of this tragedy, he proclaimed, I turn towards the refugee camps of the earthquake, towards the homeless of before and after the earthquake, to the physically and mentally handicapped, towards the victims, finally towards the people in general, to say to all: courage! The Port-au-Prince archbishop explained that the Haitian Church stood in solidarity with the whole country, especially in light of the slow progress of the reconstruction. Haitian people, people of my country, people of this country that I love with great passion, the Church is with you and will continue to walk with you, he pledged. He noted that the archdiocese has no headquarters, while many priests and religious remain homeless alongside hundreds of thousands of other Haitians. In these conditions, he said, we show really our solidarity with the poor and those who lack the means to lead a decent and dignified life. The Popes representative to Haiti Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza told Fides news agency that 600,000 Haitians still live in tents two years after the earthquake, including students of Port-au-Princes seminary. The Church has dozens and dozens of reconstruction projects, but the technical preparatory stages are long and difficult, he said. Archbishop Auza was among the first residents to convey news of the disaster to international media in 2010. Two years after, he sees the recovery efforts lacking direction and momentum. The reconstruction in Haiti was and is particularly difficult and expensive because everything is imported, even the sand, he noted. In a further complication, an international commission that had been helping with the rebuilding lost its mandate on Oct. 21. Now, Archbishop Auza said, there is no longer a structure or an institution that guides or directs the efforts. Parliament has yet to address the issue, and the question is not in the legislative program. The issues of management on who manages the funds, and especially who gets the contracts, are very hot these days. Under these circumstances, Catholic Relief Services new president says communities must be empowered to deal with their own local needs. Carolyn Woo, who became the organizations president and CEO on Jan. 1, recently visited Haiti together with her predecessor Ken Hackett and Cath- Archbishop Guire Poulard olic Relief fied and sustainable ways. Services board chairman Bishop Some of these ways inGerald F. Kicanas. clude organizing local cleanIn a report on their visit, Woo i n g a n d b u i l d i n g c r e w s , and Hackett said they were making loans and grants to impressed with what has been entrepreneurs, and providaccomplished in Haiti, and ing small-scale technology equally struck by the amount of that can be easily used by work still to do. individuals. They explained that Catholic Woo says Catholic Relief Relief Services strategy of local Services doesnt pretend we self-empowerment was necessary can solve the myriad problems to get this recovery right for Hai- in Haiti but is committed to ti, and have ordinary Haitians working with communities who had lost so muchleading not for them, as they forge their own reconstruction in digni- their own future. (CNA)

www.dioceseofgfb.org

Vatican Briefing
Endangered crocodile meets Benedict XVI

New book points teens to example of Spanish Martyrs

MADRID, Spain, Jan. 13, 2012A new collection of testimonies from the Spanish martyrs is aimed at teaching young people about the strength of faith, love for God and forgiveness of ones enemies, says its author. I realized what a treasure these souls were, Father Santiago Cantera said of his new book Thus They Went to Their Deaths, which features accounts from those who lived and died during the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s. The book focuses primarily on the martyrs of the faith at that time who confronted death in a Christian manner, Fr. Cantera told CNA on Jan. 11. While all of the book's testimonies have been previously published, the priest's work is the first to preserve them all in a single volume. In addition to preventing them from being forgotten, my intention was also to present attractive and generous models to the young people of today, the priest said. He noted that the testimony of the martyrs urges today's society to understand the transcendence of life that death is a passage into eternity and that there is no time to lose in this life. Fr. Cantera also observed that it is not only the often brutal deaths of the Spanish martyrs that need to be emphasized, but the choices they made throughout their lives to follow Christ. Martyrdom is a grace, a gift from God, and He can grant it at the very moment of death, but it is usually not something spur-of-the-moment, he said. Rather, it's the final conclusion of an intense spiritual life. In his remarks to CNA, Fr. Cantera said that the martyrs ultimately teach us the greatness of forgiveness and of love; love for God and for neighbor, including our enemies. And they teach us courage, strength, firmness in our principles and in the faithsomething which is badly needed today, he added. The lives of the Spanish martyrs also show that only in Christ can we understand the mystery of life and mystery of death and truly be happy in life and in facing death. (CNA)

Asian experts and scholars meet, to promote culture and interreligious dialogue
BANGKOK, Thailand, Jan. 12, 2012About 50 scholars of Asian cultural and religious studies on Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Taoism and of Ethnic Minority traditions gathered in Bangkok to address some pressing problems and respond to the needs of society today. Issues of urgency of the contemporary world expressed at the three-day conference included violence, economic crisis, corruptions, cultural conflicts, damage to the environment, erosion of cultures and values as well as good governance in different countries. The meeting was held at the Catholic-run Assumption University, Thailand, on Jan. 11-13, with the theme Asian Cultures in Dialogue. About 20 students of the university also attended. Archbishop Thomas Menamparampil of Guwahati, India, the meeting coordinator, told AsiaNews Jan. 12 that this was the first initiative of its kind to look for insights and inspirations from the culture and tradition that each scholar represents. With the world becoming more and more globalized, there is every possibility for cultures, civilizations, and faiths to dialogue with each other, to listen to each others insights, and learn from each others wisdom, the Salesian prelate noted. Scholars from more than 10 countries and regions in Asia and the western countries, including Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Lebanon, Macau, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United States and Vietnam, participated. Other cultural and religious issues addressed at the colloquium included: dialogues between Confucian thought and Christianity, between Muslims and Christians, Buddhists and Muslims. Some scholars spoke on Asian values, actions of Taoism on ecology, challenge of business ethics in Chinese context and Confucian ethics in modern society. Asked if such cultural exchanges may ease tensions in places where attacks on Christians, religious believers or ethnic minorities in Asia, the archbishop said that it would definitely help a great deal, but the root cause of the tensions and grievances must be studied. The 75-year-old prelate told AsiaNews that his dream of bringing scholars from various traditions and cultures together for years was now realized. I like the theme of the colloquium and hope this effort can continue, he said. In the beginning, it was hard to communicate the concept to people that it was really worthwhile bringing people from different cultures and traditions together for a dialogue. Once clarified, many supported the idea, he recalled. Also heading the Office for Peace and Harmony of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences for 12 years, Archbishop Menamparampil said he would share this experience with other Asian bishops during FABC plenary assembly later this year. The Tenth FABC Plenary Assembly will take place in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on November 19-23, 2012. The theme of the assembly is FABC at Forty: Responding to the Challenges of Asia, marking the 40th anniversary of the approval of the FABC Statutes by Pope Paul VI on November 16, 1972. (AsiaNews)

Among the "guests" on Jan. 11s general audience was an endangered Cuban crocodile, who "met" the Pope as Rome's Bio Park zoo celebrates its centenary. The croc, only about two feet long, will be returned to Cuba about the time that the Pope visits the island nation next spring. The Cuban crocodile population only survives on a small area of the island. Benedict XVI continues to emphasize the need for respect for creation. (Zenit)
New secretary for Congregation for Bishops

Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri has been named the new secretary of the Congregation for Bishops. He had been serving as the apostolic nuncio in Brazil. The new Vatican official hails from Italy, where he was born Sept. 29, 1940. He was ordained a priest on June 29, 1963, for the Diocese of Pisa. After studying at the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy he entered the Holy See's diplomatic service. On Jan. 12, 1992, John Paul II named him nuncio to Haiti and he was ordained a bishop on March 7 and elevated to the rank of archbishop. After being nuncio in Paraguay starting in 1995 he moved to Nepal in 1999 and then in 2002 was named nuncio in Brazil. (Zenit)
179 States have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See

With Malaysia being the latest addition, there are now 179 states that enjoy full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Benedict XVI on Jan. 9 gave his traditional address to the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See, and the Vatican press office offered a summary of the highlights of the Vatican's diplomatic activity in 2011. Added to the 179 states are the European Union, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, and the Office of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). (Zenit)
Vatican Museums break visitor record in 2011

Church campaigns against land grab

LAHORE, Pakistan, Jan. 13, 2012The Church has called on people nationwide to join a protest campaign against the governments seizure and demolition of a chapel and sewing center in Lahore earlier this week, calling the move an act of tyranny. Wear black armbands where ever you are. The government itself has become a land grabber, said Fr. Emmanuel Yousaf Mani, national director of the Catholic Bishops National Commission for Justice and Peace. I believe Muslims will join us against this tyranny, he told Churchrun Catholic TV yesterday. He was among 20 priests who had earlier met Bishop Sebastian Shah of Lahore for an urgent meeting to map out a protest strategy at the Bishops House on January 11. They were responding to the Lahore Development Authoritys seizure of a 19th century chapel and several adjoining buildings. Caritas Pakistan had been managing a sewing center in the chapels compound for 15 years. The property was formerly used as a home for the elderly, a girls school and a convent. All 21 female and nine male congregations in the archdiocese have been directed to hold consecutive protests in front of the Press Club. An ecumenical prayer and protest is also planned for next week [January 16], said Fr. Ashraf Gill, who also attended the meeting with Bishop Shah. The director of the archdioceses Catholic Youth Ministry also said there are plans to launch an SMS protest campaign on mobile phones and that statement urging support has been circulated to human rights organizations worldwide as well as the UN. Bishop Shah also appealed for support from Protestants at a meeting with Church of Pakistan Bishop Alexander John Malik yesterday. (UCAN)

The Vatican Museums broke attendance records in 2011 with just over 5 million people entering its doors. It is, in a particular way, objectively amazing, wrote Antonio Paolucci, Director of the Vatican Museums, in LOsservatore Romano newspaper on Jan. 10. By way of comparison, Paolucci said that Florences Uffizi Gallery is Italys most famous and most popular museum but it is only able to accommodate 1.5 million people in a year. (CNA)
Pope stresses spiritual guidance in discerning religious vocation

Pope Benedict XVI has emphasized need for good spiritual counsel for those who are discerning a vocation to the priesthood or religious life. I would like to emphasize the critical role of spiritual guidance in the journey of faith and, in particular, in response to the vocation of special consecration for the service of God and his people, the Pope said during his Jan. 15 Sunday Angelus address. Gods call to follow Jesus more closely, giving up forming their own family to dedicate themselves to the great family of the Church, is normally done through the testimony and proposal from a big brother, usually a priest. (CNA)

www.cathnewsusa.com

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

News Features

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Pope sees educating youth as key to ending anti-Christian violence

VATICAN City, Jan. 13, 2012In a bid to end violence against Christians and other religions, Pope Benedict XVI used a Jan. 13 speech to Italian police to call for educating young people in the true meaning of justice and peace. Even the past year, unfortunately, was marked by violence and intolerance, he said in the Vaticans Apostolic Palace on Jan. 13. Frequently, in different parts of the world, the object of reprisals and attacks were Christians, who paid with their lives for their adherence to Christ and to the Church. The Pope made his comments to a gathering of those Italian state police who are charged with patrolling and protecting St. Peters Square and the Vatican. The Pope said that while young people often hear the words justice and peace being mentioned, not enough is done to explain what the terms really mean. Justice, he explained, is not a mere human convention. If it is viewed as such, he added, it can end up being dominated and subverted by the criteria of utility, profit and material possession. Pope Benedict said that when justice is corrupted in this way, the value and dignity of their existence and their actions, he said. Similarly, peace is not merely defined as the absence of war, or the result of mans actions to avoid conflict. Instead, it is primarily a gift of God which must be implored with faith, and which has the way to its fulfillment in Jesus. Therefore, true peace must be constructed day after day with compassion, solidarity, fraternity and collaboration on everyones part, the Pope said. The Popes comments reflected his message earlier this month when he dedicated the Churchs 45th World Day of Peace on New Years Day to the education of the young in justice and peace. He concluded his remarks today by holding up the police officers present as true promoters of justice and sincere builders of peace, and commending all present to Mary the Mother of God, Queen of Peace. To her we entrust this year of 2012, that everyone may live in mutual respect and strive after the common good, in the hope that no act of violence will be committed in the name of God, supreme guarantor of justice and peace. (CNA/EWTN News)
Roy Lagarde/CBCPMedia

of people can be trampled underfoot. In reality, justice is a virtue

that guides the human will prompting us to give others what is due to them by reason

Pope says selfishness, individualism fed economic crisis

The pope, as bishop of Rome, traditionally meets at the beginning of the year with the areas political leaders, addressing social issues of particular concern to the church. Pope Benedict told civic leaders, that among the causes of the financial crisis is individualism, which obscures the relational dimension of the person and leads him to close himself off in his own little world, to be attentive mostly to his own needs and desires, worrying little about others. Speculation on property in Rome and surrounding areas, great reluctance to hire young people, the abandonment of the aged and the anonymity of city life are the consequences of this mentality, the pope said. While Catholic parishes and the diocesan Caritas network are committed to community building, welcoming newcomers and helping the poor, he said, the government and individual citizens also have an obligation to promote solidarity and a renewed social life. Pope Benedict also asked the governments to be more attentive to the needs of families, especially those with a large number of children. I encourage you to defend the family founded on marriage as an essential cell of society and to make every effort to guarantee each family has what it needs to live a dignified life, he said. (CNS)

Guidelines for celebrating Year of Faith revealed

VATICAN City, Jan. 5, 2012The Vatican issued guidelines Jan. 5 for how the Church at all levels should celebrate the Year of Faith, which starts in October 2012. A summary of the guideline document, which was produced by the Congregation for the Doctrine, was released on Jan. 5, but the full text will be published Saturday, Jan. 7. The introduction to the guidelines explains that the Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord, capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the door of faith. The Year of Faith was announced by Pope Benedict XVI last year in his apostolic letter Porta Fidei. It will begin on October 11, 2012, the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. It also coincides with the 20th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The year will end on November 24, 2013, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ Universal King. The document from the Vaticans doctrinal congregation offers a sketch of what should take place at every level of the Church during the Year of Faith. At the universal level, the Pope will engage in various events, including the solemn opening of the Year of Faith, the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome, and World Youth Day 2013 in Brazil. There will also be various ecumenical initiatives aimed at the restoration of unity among all Christians, including a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all of the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ. Bishops conferences will focus on increasing the quality of catechesis. Some of the efforts in this area will involve examining local catechisms and various catechetical supplements in use in the particular Churches, in order to ensure their complete conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Vatican body also hopes that the bishops conferences will use the media to evangelize, such as television and radio transmissions, films and publications focusing on the faith, its principles and content. At the level of dioceses, the Year of Faith is expected to provide an occasion for renewed creative dialogue between faith and reason, among both the academic and artistic communities. It should also be a year for penitential celebrations in which Catholics can ask for Gods forgiveness, especially for sins against faith. In local parishes, the Vatican would like to see a focus on the liturgy, especially the Eucharist, since in it the mystery of faith and source of the new evangelization, the faith of the Church is proclaimed, celebrated and strengthened. Religious institutes, new communities and ecclesial movements are also expected to take their lead in celebrating the Year from the pastoral guidelines. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith hopes that the Year of Faith will make the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism more widely and deeply known throughout the Church. From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has worked decisively for a correct understanding of the Council, says the document, rejecting as erroneous the so-called hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture and promoting what he himself has termed the hermeneutic of reform, of renewal in continuity. The Vaticans doctrinal congregation says that their pastoral recommendations are aimed at helping people encounter Christ and grow in their understanding of the Catholic faith. At the same time, it adds, the guidelines are not meant to rule out other initiatives which the Holy Spirit will inspire among Pastors and faithful in various parts of the world. The document concludes by announcing the creation of a secretariat to help coordinate the Year of Faith. It will be established within the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. (CNA/EWTN News)

VATICAN City, Jan. 12, 2012The economic crisis should push people to look at the values reflected in their civic life and prompt an honest evaluation of whether citizens are working together to promote justice and solidarity, Pope Benedict XVI said. Addressing the mayor of Rome and the presidents of the province of Rome and region of Lazio Jan. 12, the pope said citizens need to recover values that are at the basis of a true renewal of society and that not only favor economic recovery, but also aim at promoting the integral good of the human person.

Be Gods instrument in changing society, bishop tells families

CEBU City, Jan. 14, 2012A Catholic bishop has called on Filipino families to become Gods instrument in changing the face of society through witness of life. Jaro Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza said the nations celebration of the feast of Sto. Nio should lead Christian families to realize and live their liberating and transformative role as the focal point of evangelization and the nucleus of faith-witnessing. He noted that the theme of the celebration dubbed as Sto. Nio, Refuge of the Filipino Christian Family has a powerful message on the situation and role of todays Filipino families in bringing change to society. Alminaza, who is also convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group, reflected how families nowadays are greatly endangered by the hedonistic values spread by the media. Today, families are greatly attacked by worldly values, decadent media, internet, and modern gadgetry, he said. Moreover, a sizable number of marginalized Filipino families are living in utter poverty. We have to ask the following question, he said, "How can the Sto. Nio today become the refuge of families who are landless, jobless, homeless, hungry; and which lack the basic social services such as health, education, housing and others? Our celebrations will be like empty clanging cymbals if the above concrete realities of the least of the Sto. Nio's brothers and sisters are not addressed effectively, Alminaza added. Quoting Pope Benedicts message for the 2012 World Day of Peace, he said the family, as foundation of society, has an essential task in genuine societal transformation and a definite ecclesial task which places itself at the service of the building up of the Kingdom of God in history. (CBCPNews)

Fruits of family prayers seen in children

MANILA, Jan. 6, 2012Though praying as a family normally involves at least one parent and the children, and sometimes with elderly relatives such as grandparents joining in, some little ones can easily carry out the practice even in the absence of the senior family members as long as the habit has been instilled in them. One summer had a brood of three little girls spending a good part of their days away from games, television and the usual fare during vacations. Nicole Bautista and her two sisters were urged by their mom to pray the rosary together every day since they didnt have any scheduled summer activities. We prayed the Joyful mysteries in the morning, the Sorrowful ones at noon, and the Glorious ones in the evening, Bautista recalled with fondness. I dont remember why we did it that way. Perhaps its so each of us could lead a whole rosary I dont really know anymore. Thats how I memorized all the prayers of the rosary. In Pope Benedicts last General Audience of 2011December 28his catechesis contained reminders that families should be schools of prayer, taking their cue from the Holy Family at Nazareth. According to a report on the Vatican news website, the Pope also said it is important that parents provide an example of prayerful meditation to their children just like Mary and Joseph did. Carrying on family traditions While Bautistas parents took no part in the young broods thrice-daily rosary, they apparently carried out what the Holy Father referred to as the parents role. According to the 28-year-old writer, her family carried on the tradition of praying the rosary together on trips back home to Manila from Cavite taken almost weeklyfor many years while growing up. Sunday mass together was also ingrained in the family, and when we were little, my mom and dad used to bring us to weekday masses before bringing us to school and going to work. I dont remember that they explained the mass to us. It was just part of the routine for us kids, Bautista said. These positive memories have helped her look forward to establishing a similar practice someday when it would be her turn to lead her future spouse and children in their life of faith. Someday when I have my own family, I want to set a tradition of praying the rosary together every night. I want to bring them closer to Our Lady. Its a prayer that helps you appreciate important scenes in Christs life, she explained. When I was little I had this childrens booklet on the rosary, and every mystery was illustrated in a cute styleI think thats one way [of] helping a child imagine what happened in the mystery. Family prayers hardly done For other people, helping the kids appreciate the Faith and develop a prayer life came even without the habit of family prayer ingrained in them. Debbie Nakpil Rodrigo pointed out that there were no traditions of praying together as far as her family was concerned except for the rare occasions when the image of the Blessed Mother would be at our house for the block rosary. My mom would then make us pray the rosary at 6 pmat least those she could gather who were at homefor the whole time that it would be there, she recalled. Rodrigo grew up in a rather un-religious household, she said, where grace before meals, bedtime and morning prayers, and taking part in traditional Lenten practices were not done. The Sunday mass was the one thing her parents made sure was not missed. Adapting prayers to the little ones In spite of the absence of established routines during childhood when it came to praying as a family, Rodrigonow a mother of five boyshas set her own faith traditions together with husband Francis and the brood. The principles of Liturgical Bible Study have become invaluable in her family, and she has adapted these to her sons, ages ranging from 5-11 years. We read the coming Sundays gospel, go into details of that reading, before moving onto the First and Second Readings. At the end, we come up with a single thread which ties up the three readings, Rodrigo explained. We were very surprised that even at their varying ages they are able to understand, analyze, and relate to the readings, she added. Living an authentic Christian lifeof which prayer is a partis important to both Debbie and Francis, but the husband mentioned that his growing up years didnt involve family prayer, just occasional rosaries, which he hated because his mother would make them pray it on their knees! Debbie said, now amused by the thought. Bautista herself hardly anticipated the daily prayers of that one summer of thrice-daily rosaries, yet on hindsight sees the lessons such experiences taught her. I remember that we said the rosary at a specific hour every time. When it

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would be almost time to pray, you feel like you dont want to go but you still go anyway because its time. Its like not wanting to do your homework, but you have to go do it anyway, she mused. And after you pray you feel so good that you did it. That was just one summer when we were kids. The fruits of praying as a family Rodrigo is hopeful that the efforts she and her husband are making in integrating common prayer into family life will engrave a genuine faith in her little boys hearts. A relationship with God is the most important thing we can teach our children, and we both hope that boys, being boys, will not rebel against the little lessons we teach them, she enthused. More than that, we hope that our actions in daily life will serve as the good examples that they someday look back on as the inspiration for their own personal spirituality.

I remember once when I called up my friend at night and I was told to call back because their family was praying the rosary. The rosary brings the family togetherits really family time. Its a drop-everything-for-this kind of thing, and if every member of a family had at least one Drop Everything activity that they do together, then that makes them closer; they share a bond, Bautista explained. Of course, praying together also is an opportunity to teach little ones that there is always Someone who is watching over them, and there is always someone who is praying for them. It doesnt have to be the rosary at family prayer time; it can be as simple as talking to God and asking Him to bless the Pope, or to help a sick grandparent, or to guide somebody who will take a test the next day. And whether or not the prayers are answered soon, its one way to help kids understand that things happen because of prayer. (CBCPforLife)

FILE PHOTO

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EDITORIAL

Opinion
Impeachment

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

THE impeachment proceedings may take up most of the countrys attention for the greater part of the first quarter of the year 2012, more so if it drags longer with the usual throng of the legalese and technicalities. Definitely the whole political process will exact some toll on the countrys economy and socio-political concerns. The longer it takes, the more protracted the suffering will be of those who are already deprived of basic assistance, such as the victims of recent calamities. Already some observers have perceived that the government seems to be giving more attention to the move to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona than to addressing the more urgent needs of poor Filipinos. Bishop Guillermo Afable of Digos, for instance, commented: The Aquino government is not giving equal attention (to other problems). The lawmakers are also busy on the impeachment that their constituents dont get the services that they deserve. Which, of course, is true. Iligan Bishop Elenito Galido whose diocese is still seriously reeling from the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong has called on the Aquino administration not to forget the thousands of typhoon victims whose needs to survive may be equally urgent, if not in fact more, than the priority agenda of Malacaang. We are still overwhelmed by the recent calamity here. The impeachment trial is really not an issue for the people of Iligan as of now. Politics being the art of governance and public service that is oriented towards the common good actually approximates the matuwid na daan battle cry of the present dispensation, at least in principle. But when it comes to the wake of day, it remains, to borrow the words of the bishops in their exhortation on politics, the arena where the interests of the powerful and rich few are pitted against those of the weak and poor many. The more allegorical way of putting it is George Orwells Animal Farm, all men are created equal but some are more equal than the others. Which is why, to be poor is to immediately suffer exclusion and neglect. Be that as it may, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile at his opening statement during the impeachment trial tells of how important the political exercise is to the nation: Although the ostensible respondent in the trial before us is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, we cannot escape the reality that, in a larger sense, the conduct of this trial and its outcome will necessarily have a serious impact on the entire nation. Its success or failure to achieve the purpose for which the Constitution has provided this mechanism as part of our system of checks and balances and of public accountability, may spell the success or failure of our democratic institutions, the strengthening or weakening of our sense of justice as a people, our stability or disintegration as a nation, and the triumph or demise of the rule of law in our land. In the meantime, let us heed the call of Bishop Jesse Mercado of Paraaque to be vigilant and concerned. So part of our being good citizens is to participate in matters that will pertain to the development of our societynow, the impeachment, perhaps political in nature, (takes up) some of the issues which have to be faced by us.

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, SThD

Along The Way

A FEW days before Christmas, I went to Cagayan de Oro to preside at the funeral mass and burial of my cousin who perished in the flashflood brought about by Typhoon Sendong. A few days after Christmas I visited Iligan to celebrate the coming of the New Year with my sisters and their families. They were able survive the flood. The water was only knee deep in my sister Nonies house and chest deep in my sister Celys house. But many of those living along the banks of Mandolog river and in Bayug island were killed by the rampaging waters, mud and the logs coming from the bald mountains of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. Thousands of families who survived the flood are now homeless living in the evacuation centers in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Some people would view this calamity as the will of God an Act of God. This is a blasphemy! God is not responsible for Typhoon Sendong and the flashfloods that killed so many people and left many more homeless. This is the result of the greed of

To care for the earth

ordinary people, especially the poor who pay for their greed. The most immediate concern is the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims. The aid coming from within and outside the country has been overwhelming. But we should not stop there. The climate change and the continuing destruction of the environment make it highly probable that this will happen again, not just in Iligan and Cagayan but in other parts of the country. That is why, our long term concern and efforts should be preventive. For the Church and the BECs, this requires taking seriously the mission and responsibility to care for the earth to work for the integrity of creation, to be involved in environmental praxis and advocacy. PCP II asserts that the loving service that the Church and every Christian must express involves caring for needy, caring for the earth and doing deeds of justice and love. What is most significant here is the emphasis on the care for the earth:
Along The Way / A5

Church of the poor

THE Church of the Poor is one whose members and leaders have a special love for the poor. The Second Vatican Council tells bishops of their obligation to form the faithful in a love of the whole Mystical Body of Christ and, in a special way, of the poor, the suffering, and those who are undergoing persecution for the sake of justice. This special love is a love of preference for the poor. It is not the exclusive or excluding love in such a way that there is no room in a Christians heart for those who are not poor. For always, the Christian must love all persons whether just or unjust and must have room in the heart even for an enemy. Christ was able to love well-to-do people like Zaccheus and the family of Martha, May and Lazarus. The Church of the Poor is one where, at the very least the poor are not discriminated against because of their poverty, and they will not deprived of their right to receive in abundance the help of the spiritual goods of the Church, especially that of the word of God and the sacraments from the pastors. In practice this means that whoever cannot pay the usual stipends or stole fees because of poverty, will not be deprived of the sacraments or other necessary spiritual services. It also puts into question the traditional practice of having a hierarchy of class (e.g. first class and ordinary) for celebration of the Sacraments. The Church of the Poor will mean that the pastors and other Church leaders will give preferential attention and time to those who are poor, and will generously share of their own resources in order to alleviate their poverty and make them recognize the love of the Lord for them despite their poverty. Pastors and other Church leaders should, by way for instance of pastoral immersion, be directly knowledgeable of the life situation of the poor among their flock. The Church of the Poor is one that will be in solidarity with the poor. It will collaborate with the poor themselves and with others to lift up the poor from their poverty. The Church of the Poor means, in the words of Pope Paul II, that: Before todays forms of exploitation of the poor, the Church cannot remain silent. She also reminds the rich of their precise duties. Strong with the Word of God, she condemns the many injustices which unfortunately, even today are committed to the detriment of the poor. Pastors and members of the church will courageously defend and vindicate the rights of the poor and the oppressed, even when doing so will mean alienation or persecution from the rich and powerful. The Church of the Poor will also mean that the Church will not only evangelize the poor, but that the poor in the Church will themselves become evangelizers. Pastors and leaders will learn to be with, work with, and learn from the poor. A Church of the Poor will not only render preferential service to the poor but will practice preferential reliance on the poor in the work of evangelization. (Acts of the Council Nos. 126-132) Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, 1991

human beings and corporations who destroy the environment, who are responsible for the ecological imbalance. Almost 25 years ago, when we organized and mobilized the Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) of San Fernando, Bukidnon and the neighboring parishes to stop logging in the whole province we were aware of the extent of the effect of the deforestation not only on their municipality and province. An ecologist from an NGO told us that if the deforestation continues, even the coastal cities in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan will someday be inundated by flashflood coming from the mountain ranges of Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. The Cory Aquino government declared a total log ban in Bukidnon in 1988, but that did not stop the logging especially in the ARMM, in Lanao del Sur. Through the years the whole of Bukidnon have become one large pineapple plantation, grasslands for cattle, and farms. The big capitalists, loggers, mining corporations and agribusiness have earned huge profits from destroying the environment. It is the

Help stop abortion!

INDUCED abortion can easily be obtained through the internet. This is how an unmarried couple searched and were able to buy abortive pills and contact an abortionist. The pills (Cytotec misoprotol, also called Arthrotec) were delivered to the boyfriends house through Air 21 and identified falsely as Gracial Glutathione. The abortionist, whose code name was in the internet, was contacted by cell phone. A bouncer met the couple at a corner in Kalookan, and accompanied them through a slum area to a dingy house where the hilot did the raspa. There were other girls/women waiting for their turn, some accompanied by their boyfriends too. A couple of bouncers were outside keeping guard. Anton, 22 years old, and Nina, 24 years old, (not their real names) claimed they could not tell their parents that Nina had gotten pregnant. She was 3 months pregnant when they obtained the pills at P250 a tablet. There were 14 tablets of Arhrotec and 2 tablets of Methergin in the pack. Nina did not want to take the tablets as she said it might not be successful so they went to the hilot. They waited five hours for her to be seen by the abortionist who inserted something in her vagina to open the cervix. She was told to return the next day. While waiting for her, Anton chatted with the guards who told him that the place had been raided by the police months ago but the abortionist was released easily and has continued to do abortions. They returned the next day and waited three hours for her turn. No anesthesia was used. She was told to rest for three hours before they were told to

Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS

Love Life
go home, first by tricycle, then they took the train all the way from Monumento to Baclaran. She has been bleeding ever since, sometimes very profuse bleeding. Last week, Nina collapsed in the ladies room due to severe bleeding. She called Anton, who rushed her to PGH. Ultrasounds showed that the trauma in her uterus was causing the bleeding and she would need a treatment costing P300,000 or more. Last recourse will be a hysterectomy. The couple finally told their parents who were so devastated at what they had done and kept telling them that they would have helped them through the pregnancy so that all these tragic effects would not have happened. HOW CAN YOU HELP? Search Cytotec and scroll till you see Abortion in Metro Manila There are many messages there Who knows of abortion in MM? And there are many who answer. Example: Macma Ate Pompa 0918-528-7059 Where to find original Cytotec because I do not want fake ones in the Phil. Answer : call 0919-246-0340 I need cytotec and raspa answer: Joane 0908-135-5896 Call up those numbers and pretend you want abortion in order to get more information. Write messages in the internet to tell that abortion is not the answer and that there are other people who can help with compassionate, confidential and effective solutions to their present problem of pregnancy such as Pro-life (02-733-7027, life@ prolife.org.ph) Report to Pro-life your findings Tel 733-7027 or 0919-2337783 or life@prolife.org.ph

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Fr. Roy Cimagala

Candidly Speaking
Pedro C. Quitorio
Editor-in-Chief

Popular piety revisited

the way. Thats the reason why the Vatican issued in 2001 a Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy. One of its sections talks about Evaluation and Renewal (no. 12), precisely because these manifestations of public piety need to be purified and set on the right track for their proper development and path to Christian maturity and perfection. It cannot be denied that there are serious threats that can compromise the authenticity of peoples piety. Accusations of superstition and fanaticism, of commercialization and politicalization of religious events, etc., just would not emerge without some shred of basis. Thats why Church leaders should be actively and closely monitoring the developCandidly Speaking / A6

Ronalyn R. Regino
Layout Artist

Pinky Barrientos, FSP

Associate Editor

Gloria Fernando
Marketing Supervisor

Roy Q. Lagarde
News Editor

Ernani M. Ramos
Circulation Manager

Kris Bayos
Features Editor

Marcelita Dominguez
Comptroller

The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Communications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and business offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940

THANKS to God, we can still count on a rich mine of popular piety in our society. The fiestas in the different cities, towns, barangays and even sitios have their origin and inspiration in religion and peoples faith and devotion to God, Christ, Mary and the saints. These fiestas really transform the atmosphere of the place drastically. It would seem that this tradition is already so embedded in our culture that no matter what happens in the world and in our country, whether in the tumultuous fields of politics or the economy, a good number of the people still take time to celebrate these fiestas. They are quite serious about them. Theres a joke, for example, (obviously with a grain of truth) that for Boholanos, the month of May is sacred. Wherever they may be in the world or in the country, they would

go home in May because that is the fiesta month of the province. Even those already in heaven would ask permission from St. Peter to come home to Bohol in May! Some of these fiestas take on a very special character in terms of peoples participation, peculiar expressions of piety and impact on society. Id like to mention a fewManilas Black Nazarene fiesta, Cebu Citys Sto. Nino feast with the accompanying Sinulog, the feast of Our Lady of Penafrancia in Bicol. All these displays of public piety should be understood as a living thing involving an interplay of divine intervention and human correspondence. They are not purely social phenomena. As such, they have to be properly guided and developed by Church authorities, and not simply left for all sorts of factors and elements to define them along

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

Opinion
Renewing the Church for Mission
ings and 10 plenary ones. During the general meetings 147 introductions or reports were read and 2,212 speeches given; there were also 4,361 written interventions. The average daily attendance of bishops was 2,200; the peak of 2,392 was reached on December 6, 1965. During the four sessions from 1962 to 1965, 242 Council Fathers died, including 12 cardinals. The number of officially designated experts (periti) was 460, of whom 235 were diocesan priests, 45 were Jesuits, 42 Dominicans, and 15 Franciscans. Statistics do not tell the full story of the Council, but they certainly reveal another rich dimension of John XXIIIs ambitious renewal project. The term that Pope John XXIII employed to capture his agenda for Vatican II was aggiornamento, an Italian word which means bringing up to date. This vision is reminiscent of the traditional Latin phrase ecclesia semper reformanda; the Church must always be reforming, she needs renewal, revitalization, transformation, conversion, change and growth. Aggiornamento envisions a profound inner transformation (not only external changes). This endeavor demands a second principle: ressourcement. This French word expresses a return to the sources of faith (e.g. Scripture, Tradition, Church Fathers) and integrating them into contemporary ecclesiology. Aggiornamento and ressourcement are two foundational pillars that guided all four sessions of the Second Vatican Council. They also guide all efforts today to truly become Christs missionary Church, to be renewed and become the holy People of God.

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Rev. Eutiquio Euly B. Belizar, Jr., SThD

Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM

Living Mission
Vatican II Perspectives
THIS year the Church celebrateswith much joythe 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Second Vatican Council; it was the 21st general or ecumenical council of the Church; its four sessions extended from October 11, 1962 until December 8, 1965. Without doubt, the Council is the most significant religious event of the twentieth century; this Spirit-inspired assembly is the most important event in the history of the Roman Catholic Church since the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. It was on January 25, 1959, less than 100 days after his election, that Pope John XXIII summoned the Council. Many people were surprised that this caretaker pope (he was already 77 years old) would undertake such an enormous project. Pope John XXIII set out three general purposes for the Council: (1) spiritual renewal of the Church; (2) an updating (aggiornamento) of its pastoral attitudes and approaches, and (3) the promotion of unity among Christians. Indeed, during this 50th anniversary year (1962-2012), Catholics are called to appreciate and appropriate the marvelous fruits of the Council. Pope Benedict XVI has forcefully noted: Pope John Paul II rightly pointed out the Council as a compass by which to take our bearings in the vast ocean of the third millennium. The fundamental significance of the Second Vatican Council is to be found in its 16 documents as well as in the renewal of the Church wrought by the Holy Spirit; yet, one may enjoy knowing some of the impressive facts of the entire Vatican II project. There were 168 general meet-

By the Roadside Moral over merely legal

(We are the States Good Servants but Gods First)
THESE days most Filipinos are glued to the Corona impeachment trial in the Senate. Already the clearest realization that impacts us all is the priority of morality over civil law. In fact, civil lawyers, judges and people in the media, both those who favor either the Chief Justice or the prosecutors, talk of taking the high moral ground in charting the direction of the trial. Problem is, morality for most of them is whatever serves the law or its enforcement best. I have no quarrel at all with the civil law of the country. Like all Filipinos, I do recognize its necessity as an instrument of justice, peace and order among us. But it doesnt exist in a vacuum nor is it based solely on what most Filipinos agree on through their lawmakers. What most of us take for granted is that our civil law is itself ultimately based on another law, something more fundamental, more prior, more universally binding and more permanentthe moral law. It is this law that not only determines right (which we should pursue always) and wrong (which we should shun all the time) but also leads us in the direction of the real daang matuwid (straight path), a road which is never matuwid or right if it does not lead to God. But the issue of moral law over civil law reminds me of a question we argued about in high school: In any given town who has the higher position, the parish priest or the mayor? I remember a fellow teener saying that its the mayor because he has under him not only Catholics but also non-Catholics. But there was a well-thought out answer from another teenager who said, The parish priest is in a higher position because he represents the Lord and the Church while the mayor only represents the people in the town. That is why a priest can go any place and still be a priest but a mayor cannot go to another place and be a mayor there. We can also, at this point, ask: Which is higher? Civil law or moral law. But we have to define our terms first. Moral law is the law which tells us in our conscience what is right and to follow it as well as tell us what is wrong and to avoid it. Morality is something that comes from God and which we come to know through the Scriptures (the Bible) and Apostolic Tradition as taught by the Church. Thats the Catholic perspective. It may not, and this fact we accept, be positively received all Christians, let alone by all people. But we know we have solid bases for making such claims. On the other hand, civil law refers to a body of laws passed or written and decreed by a body of human lawmakers regulating human behavior or conduct in a certain place (whether town, province, state or country). For us Christians the answer to the question should be obvious and firm: The Moral Law being from God is higher than Civil Law. Civil Law can only be worthy of a believers obedience if it conforms to the Moral Law. When it violates the Moral Law believers have the right and the duty to oppose it and to campaign against it. In the first book of Samuel we are told of how the vocation of Samuel as a prophet all started with a prayer of his own mother for a child (1 Sam 1:10-12). It was a prayer heard by God and of which the priest Eli had knowledge. Consequently, as a sign of gratitude and discernment of Gods higher purposes for her son, Anna the mother offers and consecrates her son back to the God who gave him to her. This action by Anna speaks volumes of her faith. But it also speaks of the reason why human beings must follow God and his ways. The human person comes from him and is bound to return to him. Therefore God and his ways must be the clear and constant source of guidance and direction in human living. The words of Anna are a code of conduct for all believers: As long as he lives, he will follow the Lord (1 Sam 1:28). In her Magnificat (song of praise) in the gospel of Luke Mama Mary, in an eternal paean, teaches us not only the primacy of God and his ways but also how God favors the humble and the lowly instead of the powerful, the mighty and the wealthy (Lk 1:46-55). She reminds us how the things that God holds dear often run counter to ours. For instance, remember the three Gs of GUNS, GOONS, GOLD? Or, shall we say, Violence, power and money? These are the things that most people, not the least Filipinos, consider as means to reach the top as far as our society is concerned. But this is not so with God, not so in heaven, and ergo, not so in that society which is the seed or beginning of the kingdom of heaven on earth, namely, the Church. Mama Mary tells us that she who was lowly, powerless and moneyless was showered by God with great things. Whats more, God does not only favor the humble and the lowly. He also shows his power over the powerful and, in Gods own time, deposes the abusive and arrogant power-wielders. He has shown might with his arm; he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty kings from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly (Lk 1:52). What does this tell us? First, that God and his ways must be prior in our minds and hearts because God is higher than any other authority in heaven and on earth. Pope John XXIIIs encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace in the World) he states that civil authority is a postulate of the moral order and derives from God. Consequently, laws and decrees enacted in contravention of the moral order, and hence of the divine will, can have no binding force in conscience (PT, II). St. Thomas Aquinas reaffirms this by saying that every law made by man can be called a law insofar as it derives from the natural law. But if it is somehow opposed to the natural law, then it is not really a law but rather a corruption of the law (I-II, q. 95, a. 2). Why are these considerations important for you and me? Because in our present realities, the order is often reversed. Sadly, we Christians and people of faith do not even give this pass so much as a murmur. What is legal or secular is held dearer by the elite of Philippine and world society. Which is why it is entirely possible that our civil authorities may pass laws that oppose Gods law or the moral law as we know it, such as the RH Bill, or certain laws may be passed allowing divorce, euthanasia or homosexual unions as well as qualified abortions. In his encyclical Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life), Blessed John Paul II, declares: Christians, like all people of good will, are called upon under grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to Gods law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil (EV 74). It is true, the Holy Father says, that in the NT Christians are reminded of their duty to obey legitimately constituted public authorities (Rom 13:1-7; 1 Pt 2:13-14) but they are also taught that we must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29) (EV 73). When Henry VIII separated from Rome and founded the Church of England he decreed that all his subjects obey him. One of his most trusted aides, his Chancellor, a man named Thomas Moore, opposed the king because in conscience he felt the king was in the wrong. He was put in prison and eventually executed. When he was asked to explain his opposition to the king, he said: We are the kings good servants, but Gods first. That is why, as Catholics, if and when our own civil laws are against the moral law, we can and must also say, We are the states good servants, but Gods first.

Praying for a successful 2012 CBCP Plenary Assembly

THE Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the official organization of the Catholic hierarchy in the Philippines, has its members all diocesan bishops, coadjutor and auxiliary bishops, and all titular bishops who exercise for the entire nation a special office assigned to them by the Apostolic See or by the Episcopal Conference itself. The purposes of the CBCP are to promote solidarity in the Philippine Church; to engage the Philippine Church actively in the thrusts of the universal Church; to assume the responsibilities as evangelizer in relation to all the people, and in particular to civil authority; and to foster relations with other Episcopal Conferences. The members of the CBCP, gathered as a body, constitute the Plenary Assembly, which is the highest decision-making body of the Conference. It is the Plenary Assembly which elects through direct votes the officers of the Conference, composed of the: President, Vice-President, Secretary General and Treasurer. The incumbent President is Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu, also a member of the Episcopal Commission on the Laity (ECLA), while the Vice President is Archbishop Socrates Villegas of Lingayen-Dagupan. It is likewise the Plenary Assembly which elects the members of the Permanent Council, the Chairmen of the Episcopal Commissions and the heads of the agencies attached to the Conference. The Plenary Assembly meets in regular session twice a year: in January and in July. When the Plenary Assembly is not in session, the Permanent Council acts for, and, in behalf of the Conference. The bishops will have its week-long Plenary Assembly starting January 24 this year; it will start with a 3-day seminar. All the Executive Secretaries had been invited to attend. The President of Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Laiko) acts as the Executive Secretary of ECLA and as Laiko Presi-

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Duc in Altum
businesses they tried and engaged in, both Tatay and Inay were able to send us, their seven children, to universities and made all of us successful professionals lawyer, doctor, engineers, CPAs. My siblings and I thanked Tatay and Inay for their sacrifice and determination in bringing us up and making us successful. We pray for the eternal repose of the soul of Tatay, may perpetual light shine upon him and may he rest in peace. *** This years New Year celebration was a very blessed and happy one for our family. Our 94-year old mother Gloria Santiago is here, who together with my sister Vicky, successfully hurdled the long and tiring trip from Los Angeles, California. My brother Bobby, an engineer working in Qatar, is also here; not able to come home are my brothers Benny and Roy, now based in the U.S., due to their job. *** We welcome to the Christian world the new addition in the family, Charleroi Guillaume Castro or C2. He was baptized by Kalookan Bishop, Most Rev. Deogracias S. Iiguez, Jr., DD, at the Our Lady of Annunciation Parish in Mindanao Avenue, Tandang Sora, Quezon City last January 14, 2012. C2 is the son of our niece Gretchen (daughter of our Ate Violy and Kuya Cel Rosales) and her husband Charlie Castro. Birthday greetings and Happy Sacerdotal Anniversary to Rev. Fr. Mike Mata, former co-anchor-host of Radio Veritas Hello Father 911 Saturday Edition. Fr. Mike is now based in Verona, Italy, internationally renowned as the city of Romeo and Juliet. Deepest condolences to Sis. Irene and children for the demise of Bro. Danilo Arroyo, former Trustee-Auditor of Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas and an active officer of the Legion of Mary of the Philippines.

dent, it is indeed an honor and a blessing to join the bishops. *** Today marks the first day of trial of the impeachment case against Chief Justice Renato Corona. Let us pray that the Senators-Judges, the Prosecutors, the Defense Panel and the Filipinos will be enlightened and guided by our Lord Almighty so that truth and justice will prevail. May our Lord be always in control throughout the proceeding so that the Filipinos will remain united. *** In this years Sinulog Festival in Cebu, spouses Reynald Andales, President of World Apostolate of Fatima, and wife Debra acted as Humabon and Juana. The spouses had been active during the Laiko Congress and Convention last October 2011. *** Twenty-seven years ago today, my father Benito Espiritu Santiago, Sr. passed away due to lingering illness which he suffered since World War II. He died at the Veterans Memorial Hospital, now the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (famous for having been the detention place of two past presidents of the country). Tatay was a soldier of the Philippine Commonwealth Army when the Philippines was invaded by the Japanese Imperial Army. When Bataan fell and the Philippine Army surrendered, Tatay did not stop for the countrys independence. Together with friends and townmates in Navotas, Tatay joined the Andersons Guerilla and continued the fight. They experienced and suffered the cruelty of war. After the liberation of the Philippines, Tatay was hospitalized due to the illness he obtained during the war; Inay took care of him day and night. Sickness did not prevent Tatay from raising a family. Through various small

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

and thats the truth

QUITE a number of parents I know who have a good relationship with their children throw their hands up in frustration when it comes to the issue of the RH Bill. A dear friend sounds weary telling me, Hay naku, that subject is taboo in our home! Mia is pro-RH. Shes 22, studies at UP, and tells me, Ma, you can tell me anything you want except go against RH. Case closed! Imagine! It makes me sooo sad! Another mother who is so passionately against RH Bill declined my offer of a pro-life car sticker, saying, We have only one family car; my son will never use that sticker! She says that her 23-year old single, pro-RH son once and for all squelched her pro-life explanations with, Ma, keep out of my bed! Both mothers are devoted and practicing Catholics, faithful to Church teachings, raised their children well, and have the sympathy and support of their
Along The Way / A4

Ma, keep out of my bed!

to their camp well-meaning celebrities like Lea Salonga who herself admitted on TV during a debate that she does not contracept because shed rather leave it to God, nor does she take the pill because its bad for my voice? By the way, she was cut off the air at that point. Young, supposedly smart people who openly and even loudly support the RH bills passage do so because they are misinformedthey are given limited information (usually about the good side of the bill) to tug at their heartstrings and make them believe they are doing the Filipino people some service by fighting antiRH folks. Others who tolerate RH Bills passage merely pick up information from the mediawhere the louder voices, as we know, are more commonly and easily heard and believed. Few are convinced that the issue is important enough for them to read the bill, to follow the interpellation sessions, or to obtain more information from people in the know. Worse, there is a malicious misinformation campaign aimed at establishing in the minds of the young that the RH Bill case is simply a Catholic Church vs. State issue: CBCP vs. Noynoy, Old vs. Modern, natural family planning vs. artificial, etc. As a result many anti-Catholics, Catholics but anti-Church, and those who think themselves cool and avant-garde automatically judge the RH bill as commendable and put down the Church as a bunch of old fogeys and narrow-minded hypocrites who are woefully out of touch with reality. Enemies of the truth scheme to discredit the Church in the eyes of the young because the Church is the only institution potent enough to expose lies, defend the truth, and perpetuate the good. The question is: how well are we arming our young people with the love of truth?

husbandstypical of the happy middle class Filipino family. And now, in their frustration, both are asking themselves, Where did we go wrong? They used to be such nice, obedient kids! When a couple of my own nieces, in their late 20s, openly told me they were for the passage of the RH Bill, all I replied was, Your are intelligent girls. If you knew everything about that bill, you yourselves would fight it. They countered, Whats wrong with giving maternal health services to poor people? Then the husband of one asked, What else is there to know? I said, Just thinkif that bill were so perfect, why is it taking years to be passed? Long story short, he asked that I email him all background information I have about it. So why would otherwise good and intelligent young people support such a damaging and misleading bill? How do proponents of the bill lure

the earths environment has to be nurtured and cared for. How to concretely fulfill this servant mission of the Church which includes preserving the integrity of creation will have to be worked out in each local context. Some dioceses and BECs have been doing the

following: anti-logging campaign and participation in reforestation projects; campaign against mining operations, aerial spraying, coal-fired and nuclear power-plant projects; promoting sustainable agriculture, organic farming, enterprises and livelihood projects using green technology; adopting waste

disposal systems; using alternative energy sources (solar power, bio-energy). We need to replicate these in our respective dioceses, parishes and BECs. The Church observes the beginning of the New Year as the World Day of Peace.

Along The Way / A7

A6
Catholic school reps gather to discuss DepEds K + 12 program
THE Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) National Basic Education Commission gathered representatives of Catholic schools nationwide to discuss the preparation for the implementation this school year of the K+12 program of the Department of Education. More than 1,000 representatives attended the forum last January 12 at the Marian Auditorium of Miriam College. Also in attendance were the Secretary of Education, Br. Armin Luistro, FSC, and other DepEd officials. According to organizers, the summit aimed to update private schools with basic education departments on the K to 12 program and provide a platform for sharing and discussion among schools on the issues of transition, monetary costs, curriculum, among others. There was also a sharing of next steps and strategies towards the transition to K to 12 and identification of issues, concerns, and recommendations that may be addressed by CEAP as a national association and by its regional units, they added. Aside from the sharing of educational leaders from CEAP member schools, resource speakers included Usec. Yolanda Quijano, DepEd Undersecretary for Programs and Projects; Mr. Tonisito Umali, Esq. DepEd Assistant Secretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs; and Usec. Francis Varela, Undersecretary for Finance and other experts in the field of education. Under the K+12 program, the countrys current 10-year basic education, covering six years of elementary and four years of high school, will be extended to 12 year program that include six years of elementary, four years of junior high school (Grade 7-10) and two years of senior high school (Grade 11 to 12). (Jandel Posion)

Local News

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Faith is trusting God, not touching his image bishop

REAL faith is trusting God and not by just wiping a handkerchief to an image of Christ, a Catholic bishop said as hundreds got injured during yesterdays Black Nazarene procession. Retired Novaliches Bishop Teodoro Bacani said it is already awful when devotees are already hurting each other just to touch Christs revered statue. What is important is the faith of one person. Its not touch of the hand that matter but to be touched by God through faith, said Bacani. The bishop stressed the need to educate Catholics about how to practice the real devotion to the Black Nazarene. The Church should focus on catechizing the devotees because its no longer good when people get hurt, he said. Quiapo Church rector Msgr. Clemente Ignacio, for his part, also acknowledged the need to slowly form and educate the faithful the right way of expressing their devotion. And thats in a way that will not be disadvantageous to others, he said. We admit that there are elements of fanaticism or excesses that need to be corrected but we also witnessed the seed to deepen our devotion, Ignacio added.
Jay Anthony Riano / RCAM

Devotees jostle with one another as they inch forward to touch the miraculous image of Quiapo's Black Nazarene.

The Philippine National Red Cross (PRC) said more people were hurt in this years longest ever procession. PRC secretary-general Gwen Pang said more than 1,000 were treated compared to 709 last year.

According to her, 22 suffered serious injuries, while 569 sustained minor wounds. She added that a total of 419 needed a check-up. (CBCPNews)

CEAP urges member schools to support relief efforts for typhoon victims
WEEKS after flashfloods washed away homes and killed many, relief efforts for victims are still pouring. The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) has appealed to all member schools to support mobilization efforts to help typhoon victims in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan and other parts of Southern Philippines. CEAP also calls for continued support in these efforts and asks the schools to take this opportunity to teach our students to care for those who need our help and support the initiative of all the organizations engaged in rehabilitation and relief efforts, especially our CEAP schools involved in providing assistance to those in need, the association said in its website. On January 2, the Xavier Science Foundation, Inc. (XSF) updated CEAP of the donations they have received. We have received a total cash donation of five hundred eighty five thousand three hunThreat / A1

THE Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Diocese of Cubao has declared 2012 as MYA formation year. The launching is slated on January 21 during the diocesan culmination of the CBCP Year of the Youth on the 10th floor of the Obispado de Cubao building, from 6-9 pm. Organizers sent an invitation to parishes and various communities inviting at least two representatives to participate at the closing event of CBCP Year of the Youth and launching of MYA formation year. The culmination program will include a workshop to assess the extent of the youth involvement in the observance of the CBCP-Year of the Youth, based on the tri-sector commitment statement crafted by the youth themselves at the local launching of the CBPCYear of the Youth last year. It will be followed by the launching of the MYA youth formation year programs. In declaring 2012 as youth formation year, MYA-Cubao
Infertile / A1

has identified age-appropriate formation programs for BINHI, BUKAL, and SIKLAB, the various age groups of the diocesan parish youth ministry, organizers said. Alongside with the parish sector, a greater collaboration plan with the youth in the campus and transparochial sectors has been mapped out, they added. Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco will preside a Holy Mass after the launching. The different sectors of MYA will recommit themselves to a life of service to the youth and the Church. A night of fellowship and music of praise will cap the day, organizers said. A registration fee of fifty pesos will be collected from each participant upon registration. For more information please contact Len Martes, tel. no. 723-5113 to 15 local 517 or 724-2303, telefax: 723-7847, mobile number 0949-700-7681 or log in to www.mycubao. org for more details. (Jandel Posion)

Iligan City evacuees spend their Christmas huddled at the Ubaldo Laya Evacuation Center.

dred ninety five pesos (Php585, 395.00) and in-kind donation of two thousand (2,000) water containers and four thousand (4,000) gallons of water from Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. last December 31, 2011, XSF said. The foundation disclosed that cash donations were spent to purchase relief goods such as

water containers, mattresses, blankets and assorted kitchen wares/utensils. It also reported that a committee was formed to work on rehabilitation. XSF together with Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA), Philippine Air Force Command Reservists and
Missal / A1

Matrimonial Tribunal. The Church stance on gay marriage gained media attention again especially among the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. This after Pope Benedict XVI was quoted in a media report saying that he denounced gay marriage as a threat to humanitys future. The pope reportedly made statement in his speech to the diplomatic corps at the Vatican last January 9. Church officials, however, clariViolence / A1

fied that the pontiff did not say any single word about gay marriage and did not mention it at all. A copy of the popes statement can be viewed at the Vaticans official website: http://www. vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2012/january/doc.... But the pope did speak in favor of the family based on the marriage of a man and woman. He said that policies which undermine the family threaten human dignity and the future of humanity itself. (CBCPNews)

This years procession of revered Black Nazarene statue took 22 hours from Quirino Grandstand to Quiapo Church the longest procession ever in the history of the traditional religious event. Ignacio, though, said they still decided to push through with the procession especially with the dedication shown by the government in securing
Impeachment / A1

the people and the occasion. All the stakeholders talked about it and we are confident that the authorities are doing their jobs, said the priest. Aside from that, he disclosed that it would be very hard to back out from a religious event. Even Pope John Paul

II, when he was in Latin America I forgot the country but even with the armed conflict, the Mass continued. You cannot back out from the Holy Mass, he stressed. Police estimates indicated that as much as eight to nine million devotees had joined the religious event throughout the day. (CBCPNews)

sis on the New English Translation; Fr. Carmelo Arada, Jr. on The Art of Presiding and Fr. Godwin Tatlonghari on the Sample Catechetical Modules. Other clergy groups who will be given seminars are the Makati (district) clergy, January 19; Guest priests, January 26; and Religious priests, February 4.

Photo courtesy: Sr. Ma. Anthony Basa, PDDM

Cubao diocese declares 2012 Youth Formation Year

the XU Reserved Officers Training Course in coordination with the local government are the partners for the formed committee, the website reveals. Rehabilitation efforts of the formed committee will be focusing on three major areas: 1) provision of basic necessities, 2) road access, and 3) training and education on disaster risk reduction. Rehabilitation efforts will focus on Sitio Biasong in Lower Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City since it was one of the hardest hit communities by typhoon Sendong. Flash floods inundated the whole sitio, affecting 264 families and resulting to four deaths and 51 totally damaged houses. Relief distribution will be continued in Macasandig and other affected areas in CDO until supply lasts, after which efforts will be solely focused on rehabilitation and resettlement, the foundation said. (Jandel Posion) Seminars are also scheduled for worship coordinators, education ministry coordinators and parish masters of ceremonies on January 21, 2012 (Manila district) at the San Carlos Seminary Auditorium and January 28, 2012 (Makati district) at the Lay Formation Chapel in Guadalupe, Makati City. (CBCPNews)

What is happening to our urban poor is really sad, Gariguez said over Manila archdiocese-run Radyo Veritas. This is an issue on social justice, so the church has to act on this. Last year, President Benigno Aquino III ordered a moratorium on relocation until the government comes up with a master plan to address the problems on informal settlers. The urban poor support President Aquino so it would be a slap on their faces if the president cant do anything about it, he said. Authorities and demolition personnel of San City government and informal settlers residing in Brgy. Corazon de Jesus clashed during a relocation operation by the local government. Reports said a number of resiRelic / A1

dents were scheduled to be relocated to Rodriguez, Rizal that day but they insisted on staying and build a barricade blocking the demolition team. The conflict lasted for about two hours with the displaced residents throwing improvised explosives, stones, empty glass bottles and slingshots at the demolition team. Gariguez also said that the law dictates that there should be no demolition of shanties in squatter areas without proper relocation sites. According to him, the rights of the residents were violated after authorities proceeded to enforce the demolition order. Actually, the demolition team and the city government of San Juan violated the law, Gariguez said. (CBCPNews)

truth, said Oliveros. An impeachment trial is trying to prove the political unacceptability of the accused. So the public should participate in some way whether the official concerned has betrayed the public trust, said Bastes. The trial of Corona before the Senate, which formed itself into an impeachment court, started on January 16. The House of Representatives impeached Corona last December for alleged betrayal of public trust, culpable violation of the Constitution and graft and corruption. Coronas undue closeness with Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo is also being questioned because the Supreme Courts decisions sided with the former president. Fair trial In a statement, the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) has called for a fair trial at the Senate. As this is the first time in the country that an impeachment case is brought against the chief justice, it said the trial must be an opportunity for the country to live up to the ideals enshrined in the Constitution. It cannot be denied that this trial is a process geared towards the realization of the Constitutions Preamble which aims to
Campaign / A1

secure to ourselves and our posterity, the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, it said. CEAP also encouraged those involved to act in the interest of the law, and the spirit of justice and democracy. They must not be bogged down by technicalities but instead strive to get to the truth as regards the eight articles of impeachment, the group added. While impeachment is a political exercise, they must be governed by legal principles and at all times, uphold the rule of law, it further said. Dont ignore typhoon victims While many Filipinos, here and abroad, are keeping an eye on the ongoing trial, this is not the case in recently typhoon-ravaged Iligan City. Migrante Middle East regional director John Leonard Monterona said that their chapters in the entire oil-rich region would be spending long hours watching the trial over the internet and via cable television. Our 3,000 plus members are expected to watch one of the most historic events in the Philippine political history and we are

also expecting that the Impeachment Tribunal, would render an honest and fair trial, Monterona said. But some bishops said the Aquino government is focusing too much on its anticorruption campaign, setting aside other pressing problems. He cited, for instance, the wide attention which the government gives to oust Chief Justice Renato Corona compared to the needs of poor Filipinos especially the victims Typhoon Sendong. The Aquino government is not giving equal attention (to other problems). The lawmakers are also busy on the impeachment that their constituents dont get the services that they deserve, Afable said. Iligan Bishop Elenito Galido called on the Aquino administration not to forget the thousands of typhoon victims in their area who also need the governments help. We are still overwhelmed by the recent calamity here. The impeachment trial is really not an issue for the people of Iligan as of now, he said. On the other hand, Galido said the diocese has donated a two-hectare land where evacuees, whose houses were destroyed in the floods, can build their permanent houses. (With reports from Jandel Posion and Noel Sales Barcelona)

Candidly Speaking / A4

true cross that would complement the peoples devotion to the five wounds of Christ. It took only two weeks when I received the good news that we will have the relic of the cross, he said. Batacundo said the relic was brought to the country by no other than his Italian superior from Rome. Information reaching the priest revealed that the relic was originally owned by a family from Salerno, Italy and donated it to them through the Vatican.

The relic, he added, has a red seal dated 1634 which means that it was authenticated by the Vatican. The relic of the true cross is the most precious relic that you could have, said Batacundo. The shrine, he also said, has visitors every day to pray before the relic. But of course its to our Lord that they want to pray, who died for us on the Cross. The purpose of the relic is to direct us to our Lord, he said. (CBCPNews)

our countrys natural resources, and to end the greediness of some that end to the suffering of many, is now more urgent and critical, CEAP said in its website. If you agree and believe in this advocacy, we need you to sign again the petition against mining, it added. The group urged the public to access the link http:// no2mininginpalawan.com for more information on the issue. Recent environmental disasters include the landslide in Compostela Valley that killed small-scale miners and typhoon Sendong which killed thousands of people in rampaging flash floods and left hundreds missing. (Jandel Posion)

ments in this area. Its not just a matter of vetoing certain practices immediately and automatically applying penalties without considering the real situation on the ground. For example, not celebrating the fiesta Mass in places where some disco parties, Miss Gay and Bikini Open shows are held is, I think, a bit senseless, because that penalty most likely would be punishing the wrong people, since the people who want to have Mass are those who usually do not go to these said events. Such penalty is like a sword of Damocles that is never a good motive for people to behave according to Christian moral standards. Its like blackmailing them without giving due effort to understand or to do apostolate with those who may have ideas

and practices different from those of the Church. There are many cases that need to be re-examined. Thats why its good to take a look at the guidelines given by the Vatican directory on popular piety and apply them persistently even if slowly and, especially at the beginning, awkwardly. Of course, we need the competent Church personnel, properly trained and motivated, to do this. Among the criteria mentioned in the Directory for evaluation and renewal of popular piety is the anthropological spirit which is something to be really mastered by those who have the responsibility in upholding the true essence of popular piety. This has something to do with having a good understanding of what would comprise as essen-

tial in humanity and Christianity as it impacts with the varying and changing factors of time, place, culture, sensibilities, etc. This is a very tricky, dynamic task that certainly needs an interdisciplinary approach and skills in continuing dialogue, consultation and implementation. But its worth all the effort and the sacrifice involved. We need to think of the future, of how the current state of popular piety that we enjoy can cope with the changing times and attitudes of people. For sure, the Holy Spirit will always do his part, but he will always need our cooperation. Remember that everything in our life, including our public piety, is a joint venture between God and us. Lets be forward-looking in our devotions and public piety!

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

Diocesan News

A7

Diocese hits Iligan City govt response to Typhoon Sendong

ILIGAN CityA Roman Catholic diocese has criticized Iligan City governments response in the relief efforts to Typhoon Sendong and its aftermath. Atty. Leo Saragoza, legal counsel of the Diocese of Iligan, said the criticism consisted primarily of condemnations of mismanagement and the lack of preparation in the relief effort. The diocese, he said, questioned the slow spending of the P360 million funding for the rehabilitation efforts for the victims of the typhoons in an area under a state of calamity for a month now. To my shock and surprise, as of January 9, the amount spent by the city was only P4.7 million, Saragoza said over Manila archdiocese-run Radyo Veritas. I was among the victims and thats why I was so furious because it seems that they are not doing anything, he said. To date, according to him, the situation of victims in evacuation centers remains tragic with at least seven people already lost their sanity. Who will not lost sanity in a situation wherein you already lost your house or a family member, and then you will stay in one room with 20 to 15 families for 31 days now to be exact, he said. Last January 9, concerned groups and individuals including Church officials met and discussed the issue with Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz. Saragoza said the mayor cited the standard accounting procedures of the Commission on Audit as the reason for the slow disbursement of funds. One of the conditions once the state of calamity declared, the standard accounting procedures are set aside for a need to answer the immediate need of the people, he said.
Photos courtesy by Sr. Ma. Anthony Basa, PDDM

More than a month since rampaging flashfloods destroyed lives and properties in Iligan City, surviving victims are still waiting for proper relocation by the government.

Its really maddening and disappointing! Theyre so slow, Saragoza exclaimed. The lawyer called on Aquino administration to do something on the issue for the welfare of the typhoon victims.

We need a sort of pressure from Malacaang and find out what have been done to the donations. Right now, I think many donors are hoping that their help already reached the victims, he said.

We would like to inform them that its not the case here. Some aids reached the victims but its too minimal, said Saragoza. But the lawyer clarified that the issue is not corruption be-

cause the hefty funding is intact at the bank. Weve seen the bank statements, he said. We are angry because the money received for sure was given by the donors for immediate response. (CBCPNews)

Diocese issues fake priest warning

PARAAQUE City Catholic Church officials have warned the public against a certain individual introducing himself as priest particularly in the Diocese of Paraaque. Msgr. Benedicto Aquino, Paraaque dioceses vice-chancellor, said a certain Fr. Noel Ormenita celebrated Mass in a condominium within San Isidro Labrador Parish in the name the church. Noel Ormenita is not a Roman Catholic priest and has no faculties to exercise the priestly ministry in the Diocese of Paraaque and everywhere else for that matter, said Aquino. In his communiqu, the church official also relayed another warning from the Diocese of Cabanatuan about the suspension order it imposed on Fr. Eliezer Navarro. Navarro was previously assigned as priest-on-loan to the Diocese of Cubao and was suspended indefinitely by Cabanatuan Bishop Sofronio Bancud. Navarro, therefore, has no faculties to exercise his priestly ministry in any diocese. Fr. Navarro and Mr. Ormenita are prohibited from celebrating Mass and/or performing priestly functions in any school, chapel, funeral home, or private houses within the Diocese of Paraaque, said Aquino. In case of doubt about the status of priests from other dioceses, please demand a celebret, he added. A celebret is a testimonial given to a priest when traveling that he is in good standing, with the accompanying request that he be permitted to say Mass. (CBCPNews)

Briefing
Kabataan partylist questions P21.7B calamity funds

QUEZON City A calamity fund should come with a concrete disaster plan. This was the critique of Kabataan Partylist and other youth groups as the government announced that it has released some P21.7 billion disaster funds, amidst a new disaster hitting Compostela Valley. No amount can forestall a doomsday scenario for Filipinos if the government does not install a clear and proper disaster plan that should put importance on disaster preparedness and environmental measures, said Kabataan Partylist Rep. Raymond Palatino. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Luisita farmers petition DAR to act on RCBC land issue

Jaro Cathedral to be declared National Marian Shrine

JARO, Iloilo CityThe Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral will be formally declared as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles on February 2, feast day of Our Lady of Candles or Nuestra Seora de la Candelaria. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines declared on July 16, 2011 the elevation of the shrine of Our Lady of Candles into a national shrine. On February 21, 1981, the image of Our Lady of Candles was canonically crowned by the Blessed Pope John Paul II the only Marian image in the Philippines that was canonically crowned by a Pope. The Marian image is venerated not just by the people of Jaro but also by the people of Western Visayas and beyond, On April 21, 1982, Blessed Pope John Paul II named Nuestra Seora de la Candelaria as Patroness of Western Visayas. Both canonical coronation and the naming of the image as Patroness are official recognitions of what has already been a fact in the spiritual life not just of the people of Panay but also of the whole Western Visayas, and those who trace their roots to the locale. The yearly pilgrimage to the shrine in February and the daily devotions of the people coming from afar bringing with them testimonies of divine interventions and spiritual graces, attest to the reality that the Our Lady of the Candles is indeed Mother to the people of Western Visayas. The formal declaration as National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles on February 2 will coincide with the 30th anniversary of her Canonical Coronation and of naming her as Patroness of Western Visayas. Jaro will also celebrate the 425th anniversary of the erection of Parish of Jaro, established under the care of the Augustinians on April 25, 1587 under the protection of Our Lady of the Nativity. Novena Masses Novena Masses will be celebrated daily in the Cathedral from January 24 to February 1 in preparation for the feastday of Our Lady. On February 1 after the 5.30 p.m. Novena Mass, vespers will be celebrated to be followed by the Coronation of the image of Our Lady of Candles located in the balcony of the facade of the Cathedral. On February 2, 11 Masses will be celebrated at the high altar of the Cathedral starting at 4.30 a.m., with two high Masses celebrated at 7 a.m. by Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo and a 5.30 p.m. to be presided by Capiz Archbishop Jose Advincula. The formal declaration of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles will take place during the 7 a.m. Mass. Before the approval of the Jaro Metropolitan Cathedral as the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles there were 18 National Shrines in the Philippines recognized by the CBCP, four of which are Minor Basilicas (a papal privilege granted to certain churches). There are 12 National Shrines in Manila, only one in the Visayas and none in Mindanao. The National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles will be the second national shrine in the Visayas. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)

QUEZON City Farm workers from Hacienda Luisita filed on Jan. 5 a 22-page petition before the Department of Agrarian Reform main office in Quezon City, asking the agency to revoke the land conversion permit issued by DAR to the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation in 1996. The petition asks DAR to decide in favor of the farm workers involving a 500-hectare land in Brgy. Balete, a village that is part of the disputed hacienda owned by the Cojuangcos. (CBCPNews)
Fisherfolk group doubts govt. intention over release of P141.8B infra funds

ANTIPOLO City The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas doubted the real intention of the Aquino administration of releasing P141.8 billion for infrastructure projects that are to be implemented in the first quarter of the year. It said the amount is a de facto pork barrel for the congressmen and senators allied to the President. It seems, the group added, that the Palace had been gearing up for the 2013 national and local elections. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Caos replacement as POEA chief, grave mistake group

Bishop urges Palparan to surrender

SORSOGON CityA Catholic bishop has appealed to retired Major Jovito Palparan to surrender to authorities and defend himself. Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said that Palparan will only aggravate his case if he would continue hiding. He is hiding and thats sign of guilt. He should come out if he is not guilty, Bastes said. On Jan. 5, the government has doubled the reward money from P500, 000 to P1 million for information that would lead to Palparans arrest. Palparan is facing a case for the disappearance of two activists and UP students Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan in 2006. Two of his co-accused have already surrendered and are in custody. Palparan has gone into hiding after a judge issued a warrant for his arrest late last month. The church official also called on the authorities to exert more effort to ensure the arrest of Palparan. Bastes believes that Palparan could face more charges once he is nabbed. In Manila, Fr. Joe Dizon of the Solidarity Philippines also called on President Benigno Aquino III to issue a public statement ordering the arrest of Palparan. According to him, a hefty reward for the arrest of the former military official is not enough if Aquino himself is not interested in the case. President Aquino should have a public statement that Palparan has to be arrested and make him accountable before the law, Dizon said. (CBCPNews)

ANTIPOLO CityPresident Aquino had made a huge mistake replacing Atty. Carlos Cao Jr. as Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief last January 2. Migrante Middle East regional coordinator John Leonard Monterona said that Caos replacement is rude and fast and might hamper the delivery of services by the agency to migrant workers. He also said that the poor lawyer had been a victim of power struggle inside the agency, being a newcomer in POEA. (Noel Barcelona)
Corona impeachment, mere politickingKadamay

MANILAThe Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) said that the impeachment against Chief Justice Renato Corona that began Jan. 16 was just a political gesture and has nothing to do with checks and balance, neither with the strengthening of democracy. Kadamay secretary-general Gloria Arellano said in a statement that the impeachment case versus Corona is bound to fail as it is being exercised only through the whims of the ruling political party. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Along The Way / A5

May They Be One Bible Campaign

Help Put a Bible in Every Filipino Home
BISHOP Romulo dela Cruz of the Diocese of Kidapawan says that in the late 1980s, a major concern of his diocese was the high cost of Bibles. The diocese tried to remedy the problem by subsidizing the cost of the Bibles or by simply giving them as gifts. However, funds were not enough. The situation was resolved when the diocese got involved in the MTBO Bible campaign. With the campaigns thrust of distributing the MTBO Bible at an affordable price, many parishes in Kidapawan were able to acquire their own personal Bibles. MTBO also inspired the spirit of giving resulting in the more affluent brethren donating Bibles for the very poor. All the parishes of the diocese also required engaged couples to include the MTBO Bible in their wedding package to help guide them in their new phase of life together. The demand for Bibles in the diocese is great and the members area would often run out of stocks of Bibles. Among the voracious Bible consumers are the members of the GK or BEC.who have made reading of the Word a regular habit. No. of Dioceses participating in the Bible Campaign: 83 out of 86 Dioceses Bibles Distributed (Jan 1, 2011 - Jan. 6, 2012): 226,070 copies Bibles Distributed by Languages - Bicol (4,550 cps.) Cebuano (58,861cps.), English (36,479 cps.), Hiligaynon (14,242 cps.), Ilocano (9,145 cps.), Pampango (3,463 cps.), Pangasinan ( 1,184 cps.), Samarenyo (2,975 cps.), Tagalog (95,171 cps.) Parishes/Communities served in 2011: 191 Total Bible Distribution: (Jan 2009- Jan 6, 2012): 533,858 cps. Target No. of Bibles for Distribution for 2012: 300,000 cps. Total Funds Needed for Printing and Transport of Bibles in 2012: P60M Members of the MTBO Advisory Committee: Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo DD, Fr. Oscar A. Alunday, Mr. Rod G. Cornejo, Mr. Rene E. Cristobal Sr., Dr. Philip C. Flores, Mr. Dante M. Lanorio, Fr. Antonio B. Navarrete, Fr. Art B. Orense, Dr. Natividad B. Pagadut and Mr. Albert S. Tanlimco. Praise God for the show of unity among churches and organizations that brought Bibles to 226,000 people under the May They Be One Bible campaign in 2011. Pray for the Lords provision so that the May They Be One campaign will reach a large portion of storm-stricken areas of Northern Mindanao and help rebuild victims lives with strength and hope from God's Word. Meanwhile lets pray that in Manila, at least 20,000 students, laity, clergy professionals, public servants and executives will join the MTBO Bible Run on March 3 at the Quirino Grandstand. To learn more about how you can be part of the Campaign and make significant change, call us at PBS 526-7777, ECBA 527-9386 or visit www.bible. org.ph and www.ecba-cbcp. com. Donations can be made by making a deposit to the ollowing bank accounts: PBS-MTBO Account #393-0649-34 (BPI Sta. Mesa Branch) Fax deposit slip to 521-5803 or ECBA-CBCP Account #0251-021376 (BPITayuman Branch) Fax deposit slip to 527-9386. For credit card payments go to PBS website (www.bible.org.ph)

Peacemaking and caring for the earth are integral part of the mission of the Church and BECs as servant community. John Paul II highlighted this in the theme of his 1990 World Day of Peace message: Peace with God the Creator, Peace with all Creation. Benedict XVI echoed this theme twenty years later in his 2010 World Day of Peace message If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation. He considers the destruction of the environment as a major threat to world peace and thus, working for peace requires defending the integrity of creation. He asserts that the protection of the environment and peacemaking are essentially linked. As a Pilgrim Church, our final destiny is beyond this earth. Yet, we have a responsibility, as stewards of creation, to care for the earth. www.cbcpbec. com www.amadopicardal. blogspot.com

A8

Our Lady of Fatima tours Luzon

IN the midst of the Catholic Churchs struggle to defend the dignity of family and life, the international pilgrim virgin statue of Our Lady of Fatima has returned to the Philippines on January 4. The revered statue of the Virgin Mary will make 18 tops in Central and Northern Luzon this whole month of January as part of a worldwide pilgrimage. Organizers are encouraging Catholics to visit and pray the rosary everyday for the protection of the sanctity of family and life, according to Fr. Melvin Castro, founder of the Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace. The purpose of the visit is to bring the message of Fatima, the importance of praying for the protection of the unborn and world peace, to the Filipinos, said Castro. The Church is currently fighting the passage of the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill, which seeks to promote the use of contraceptives. Many testimonies tell us Her visit is an occasion of tremendous outpouring of grace for the faithful, Castro said. Countless miracles do happen during Her visit conversion and renewal, the most important among these, he added. This particular image is also referred to as the Weeping Madonna since it was recorded to have shed tears a number of times in the past. Castro said that at the height of the debates in the US Supreme Court on the Roe vs. Wade case that eventually legalized abortion, the statue was documented to have shed tears in July 1972. Our Ladys requests at Fatima of prayer, penance, reparation, true devotion and consecration to Her Immaculate Heart remain as timely as ever, he said. Castro is also the executive secretary of the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Parishioners in many of the churches to be visited by the pilgrim icon are busily working on plans for the arrival of the statue. On Jan. 4, the statue arrived at the St. Jude National Shrine in Manila for an overnight vigil.

People, Facts & Places

CBCP Monitor

January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

i-Proclaim 3 kicks off national bible week celebration

ECBA executive secretary Dr. Nati Pagadut, PBS trustee Dr. Ruth Billena and PBS General Secretary Nora Lucero present the MTBO Bible to Kawit Mayor Reynaldo Aguinaldo during the launching of i-proclaim activity at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite, January 13.

Following is a schedule of churches in the different archdiocese and dioceses hosting the international pilgrim statue: Jan. 5-6, Christ the King (Greenmeadows); Jan. 6, St. Sebastian Cathedral (Tarlac); Our Lady of Peace College Seminary; Jan. 7-8, Dawn Procession, St. Sebastian Cathedral; Mater Carmeli (Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac); Jan. 8-10, Archdiocese of Lingayen-Dagupan; Jan.10-11, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Urdaneta); Jan. 11-12, Cathedral of St. Joseph (San Jose, Nueva Ecija); Jan. 12-13, Sanctuario de la Inmaculada

Concepcion (Concepcion, Tarlac); Jan. 13-14, Metropolitan Cathedral of San Fernando (Pampanga); Jan. 14-15, Diocese of Antipolo; Jan. 15-17, Diocese of Bacolod; Jan. 17-19, Archdiocese of Cebu; Jan. 19-20, St. James the Great Parish (Ayala Alabang) Jan. 20-21, Don Bosco Makati; Jan. 21, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord (SM Megamall Chapel); Jan. 22-23. Sanctuario de San Antonio (Forbes Park, Makati City); Jan. 23-24, Mary Help of Christians National Shrine (Paraaque); Jan. 24-25, Manila Cathedral (Intramuros, Manila). (CBCPNews)

A PUBLIC oral reading of the Bible dubbed i-proclaim 3 was held at the Aguinaldo Shrine in Cavite to kick off the celebration of the National Bible Week on January 23-29. First launched in 2010 at the historic Bonifacio Shrine in Manila, the i-proclaim activity is a joint effort of the Philippine Bible Society and the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA). i-Proclaim is a campaign to conduct public oral readings of the Bible in the country to bring Gods Word closer to Filipinos and to encourage everyone to explore its riches and relevance. ECBA executive secretary Dr. Natividad Pagadut said the Aguinaldo Shrine was chosen as venue in this years iproclaim 3 event because of the places historical significance. The shrine is the place where our independence was proclaimed and we find it a significant place to proclaim the word of God, she said. The public reading of the Bible was held January 13 from 8 am to 8 pm. Pagadut said that proclaiming the word of God in a significant place is one way of popularizing the bible to all Filipino families.

Vatican confirms dates of WYD 2013 in Brazil

THE Vatican has confirmed the dates for the upcoming World Youth Day on 2013 at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. According to the organizers, the announcement was made in Rome during the meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Laity and members of the local organizing committee from Rio last December. Rio will host the World Youth Day 2013 from July 23rd to 28th. Organizers furthered that besides the dates, the official logo for the World Youth Day Rio 2013 was also selected during the meetings from a group of proposals drawn from an international contest and will be launched soon. Representing the committee were Rio Archbishop Orani Joo Tempesta who is also president of the local organizing committee, Bishops Antonio Augusto Dias Duarte and Paulo Cezar Costa with Monsignor Joel Portella Amado, the general coordinator of WYD 2013, Fr. Marcio Queiroz, communications director, Fr. Renato Marins, director of the main events and Fr. Marcos William Bernardo, director of cultural events. WYD Rio 2013 theme song search Organizers of the 2013 World Youth Day are in the process of choosing the theme song for the Churchs global youth event. The logo and the theme song of WYD have been characterized as the two main items that makes up the identity of the event. With the WYD logo already chosen and soon to be announced, organizers

She said PBS and ECBA are working together towards equipping every family through the bible. We want to encourage our kababayans to set aside differences, come together and be one in reading Gods Word, said Mrs. Nora G. Lucero, PBS General Secretary and Chairperson of the Global Board of the United Bible Societies. This years Bible week celebration is themed Proclaiming Gods Word Towards National Transformation as a response to the current administrations goal of abolishing corruption and promoting the moral development of the people. Celebrated every January, the National Bible Week is empowered by three presidential decreesProclamation No. 2247 by President Ferdinand Marcos, Proclamation No. 44 by President Corazon C. Aquino and Proclamation No. 1067 by President Fidel V. Ramos. The presidential decrees identify the importance of reading and studying the Bible in molding the morality of the community, and encourage every Filipino to do so in daily basis. (Jandel Posion)

www.christian-miracles.com

Bl. Pedro Calungsod shows youth can be saints

THE looming canonization of Bl. Pedro Calungsod is an encouragement to young Filipinos to stand firm in their faith, even in exchange for their lives. According to Fr. Conegundo Garganta, the teenage boy, who was a 17-yearold sacristan and catechist who was killed in Guam while accompanying his Jesuit superior in doing missionary work, gives Filipino youth a model worthy of emulation. Garganta, the executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth, said Calungsods martyrdom inspires young people not to give in to fear and give everything up for God. The life of Blessed Pedro Calungsod gives us the hope that young people are capable of surrendering their life to God and standing firm in their faith, he said. Calungsods sacrifice, which benefitted generations of people in Guam, is a fitting example to the Filipino youth, who comprise a major percentage of the countrys population. His life makes a fitting example for the young to assess how they witness to their faith and respond to the challenges it entails, he added. Late last year, the Pope announced that it is elevating the status of Calungsod and six others from Italy, France, Spain, Germany and America to sainthood this year. There is no date yet set for the canonization but spectators expect it to be done either in spring or autumn in Vatican City. (YouthPinoy)

Caritas Damay Kapanalig raise P8-M for Sendong victims

THE disaster relief and rehabilitation program of Caritas Manilas Damay Kapanalig and Radyo Veritas 846 has raised over eight million pesos in aid, both in cash and in-kind for Typhoon Sendong victims. Caritas Manilas Damay Kapanalig had sent P2 million pesos in cash for relief operations in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan via the Churchs diocesan and parish networks. The rest of the amount as well as additional donations that will be raised will be sent for rehabilitation efforts in the next few weeks and months, according to Caritas Manila Executive Director and Radyo Veritas President Fr. Anton Pascual, Radyo Veritas has earlier launched a telethon asking generous individuals and corporations to help victims of typhoon Sendong by sending aid either cash or in kind. The websites of Radyo Veritas846 and Caritas Manila were redesigned in a bid to strengthen their campaign in calling for national and international assistance on behalf of the typhoon victims. We continue to call for help to all kind-hearted souls especially our Filipino brothers and sisters overseas. Although relief operations may be

said it is time to choose the lyrics of the WYD Rio 2013 anthem. The contest ends on January 31, 2012. This means, there are less than 30 days for young people (age and heart) [to] send their suggestions. One of them will be sung by the Catholic youth from all around the world in the meeting with Pope Benedict XVI during WYD, they said. The WYD theme song will be chosen through a contest so everyone would be given the chance to contribute directly to the World Youth Day celebration. The lyrics of the anthem of World Youth Day Rio 2013 will reflect the face of the youth of Brazil and the world; joyful young people who found the meaning of their existence in Jesus Christ, people who discover in His love what makes them happy and fully satisfied, organizers said. This relation of friendship and intimacy with the Lord invites us to an authentic testimony of faith, with courage and creativity, they said, adding that being in the contest that will pick up the lyrics of the official anthem of World Youth Day is to allow this love to become concrete and to be able to move all who will listen. Those who wish to participate may send the lyrics to: Setor de Preparaco Pastoral da JMJ Rio2013, Rua Benjamin Constant, 23 7andar, Ed. Joo Paulo II Bairro Glria RJ. More details are available in the official paper for the contest at www. rio2013.com or one can e-mail pastoral@ rio2013.com. (Jandel Posion)

Markings
Caritas Manila servant leaders helped load relief and rehab assistance bound for the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Truckloads of relief assistance were loaded from Caritas Manilas headquarters in Pandacan, Manila.
CELEBRATED. The Sisters of the Religious of Good Shepherd Sisters in Davao held a three-day celebration to mark Reach Out Davaos 40 years of existence. Founded in December 7, 1971, Reach Out Davao was the first community established by the RGS in Mindanao, a ministry of residential care for unwed mothers, with counseling services and an outreach ministry for women engaged in prostitution. The three-day celebration included a Vocation Encounter held on December 6 at the San Pablo Parish in Matina. Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla led the Eucharistic celebration on December 7 with Digos Bishop Guillermo Afable and Davao Auxiliary Bishop George Rimando. In its 40 years of existence, the Reach Out Center has responded to the needs of the people in Mindanao through its advocacy work for justice and the defense of human rights, community organizing and helping political detainees. Aside from Davao, the RGS have five other apostolic communities in Cagayan de Oro, Iligan-Bukidnon, Kalilid, Pagadian, and a contemplative community in Butuan City. DIED. Sr. M. Teresita Arceo RGS, 86, December 27, feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, after 60 years of faithful service as a Religious of the Good Shepherd. DIED. Fr. Jorge A. P. Hofilea, SJ, January 2, 2012, in the infirmary at the Ateneo de Manila Jesuit Residence. Born on 22 February 1929, Fr. Hofilea entered the Society of Jesus on 14 August 1949 and was ordained a priest on 11 June 1963. DIED. Sr. Maria Consuelo Calli, RVM, December 25, 2011.

over, more help is needed to start the healing process and rehabilitation, Pascual said. Donations for typhoon victims can be sent through www.caritasmanila.org. ph or www.veritas846.ph.

The Church network of volunteers, meanwhile, through Caritas Manilas social services and development ministry were sent into action to provide the necessary manpower for quick-response relief operations. (CBCP News)

Photo courtesy of Caritas Manila

Photo courtesy of Dr. Nati Pagadut

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

Pastoral Concerns

B1

He Who Believes Is Never Alone

Stand up and go; your faith has saved you (Lk 17:19)
the Lords saving work, will never fail. Physical healing, an outward expression of the deepest salvation, thus reveals the importance that man in his entirety of soul and bodyhas for the Lord. Each sacrament, for that matter, expresses and actuates the closeness of God himself, who, in an absolutely freely-given way, touches us through material things that he takes up into his service, making them instruments of the encounter between us and himself (Homily, Chrism Mass, 1 April 2010). The unity between creation and redemption is made visible. The sacraments are an expression of the physicality of our faith, which embraces the whole person, body and soul (Homily, Chrism Mass, 21 April 2011). The principal task of the Church is certainly proclaiming the Kingdom of God, But this very proclamation must be a process of healing: bind up the broken-hearted (Is 61:1) (ibid.), according to the charge entrusted by Jesus to his disciples (cf. Lk 9:1-2; Mt 10:1,5-14; Mk 6:7-13). The tandem of physical health and renewal after lacerations of the soul thus helps us to understand better the sacraments of healing. 2. The sacrament of Penance has often been at the centre of the reflection of the Churchs Pastors, specifically because of its great importance in the journey of Christian life, given that The whole power of the sacrament of Penance consists in restoring us to Gods grace, and joining with him in an intimate friendship (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1468). The Church, in continuing to proclaim Jesus message of forgiveness and reconciliation, never ceases to invite the whole of humanity to convert and to believe in the Gospel. She makes her own the call of the Apostle Paul: So we are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2 Cor 5:20). Jesus, during his life, proclaimed and made present the mercy of the Father. He came not to condemn but to forgive and to save, to give hope in the deepest darkness of suffering and sin, and to give eternal life; thus in the sacrament of Penance, in the medicine of confession, the experience of sin does not degenerate into despair but encounters the Love that forgives and transforms (cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, 31). God, rich in mercy (Eph 2:4), like the father in the Gospel parable (cf. Lk 15:11-32), does not close his heart to any of his children, but waits for them, looks for them, reaches them where their rejection of communion imprisons them in isolation and division, and calls them to gather around his table, in the joy of the feast of forgiveness and reconciliation. and everywhere watches over our lives and awaits us so as to offer to every child that returns to him the gift of full reconciliation and joy. 3. From a reading of the Gospels it emerges clearly that Jesus always showed special concern for sick people. He not only sent out his disciples to tend their wounds (cf. Mt 10:8; Lk 9:2; 10:9) but also instituted for them a specific

(Message of Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of the Sick, February 11, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.)
DEAR Brothers and Sisters, On the occasion of the World Day of the Sick, which we will celebrate on 11 February 2012, the Memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, I wish to renew my spiritual closeness to all sick people who are in places of care or are looked after in their families, expressing to each one of them the solicitude and the affection of the whole Church. In the generous and loving welcoming of every human life, above all of weak and sick life, a Christian expresses an important aspect of his or her Gospel witness, following the example of Christ, who bent down before the material and spiritual sufferings of man in order to heal them. 1. This year, which involves the immediate preparations for the Solemn World Day of the Sick that will be celebrated in Germany on 11 February 2013 and will focus on the emblematic Gospel figure of the Good Samaritan (cf. Lk 10:29-37), I would like to place emphasis upon the sacraments of healing, that is to say upon the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation and that of the Anointing of the Sick, which have their natural completion in Eucharistic Communion. The encounter of Jesus with the ten lepers, narrated by the Gospel of Saint Luke (cf. Lk 17:11-19), and in particular the words that the Lord addresses to one of them, Stand up and go; your faith has saved you (v. 19), help us to become aware of the importance of faith for those who, burdened by suffering and illness, draw near to the Lord. In their encounter with him they can truly experience that he who believes is never alone! God, indeed, in his Son, does not abandon us to our anguish and sufferings, but is close to us, helps us to bear them, and wishes to heal us in the depths of our hearts (cf. Mk 2:1-12). The faith of the lone leper who, on seeing that he was healed, full of amazement and joy, and unlike the others, immediately went back to Jesus to express his gratitude, enables us to perceive that reacquired health is a sign of something more precious than mere physical healing, it is a sign of the salvation that God gives us through Christ; it finds expression in the words of Jesus: your faith has saved you. He who in suffering and illness prays to the Lord is certain that Gods love will never abandon him, and also that the love of the Church, the extension in time of themselves spiritually to the passion and death of Christ so as to contribute thereby to the good of the People of God. This sacrament leads us to contemplate the double mystery of the Mount of Olives, where Jesus found himself dramatically confronted by the path indicated to him by the Father, that of his Passion, the supreme act of love; and he accepted it. In that hour of tribulation, he is the mediator, bearing in himself, taking upon himself the sufferings and passion of the world, transforming it into a cry to God, bringing it before the eyes and into the hands of God and thus truly bringing it to the moment of redemption (Lectio Divina, Meeting with the Parish Priests of Rome, 18 February 2010). But the Garden of Olives is also the place from which he ascended to the Father, and is therefore the place of redemption This double mystery of the Mount of Olives is also always at work within the Churchs sacramental oil the sign of Gods goodness reaching out to touch us (Homily, Chrism Mass, 1 April 2010). In the Anointing of the Sick, the sacramental matter of the oil is offered to us, so to speak, as Gods medicine which now assures us of his goodness, offering us strength and consolation, yet at the same time points beyond the moment of the illness towards the definitive healing, the resurrection (cf. Jas 5:14) (ibid.). This sacrament deserves greater consideration today both in theological reflection and in pastoral ministry among the sick. Through a proper appreciation of the content of the liturgical prayers that are adapted to the various human situations connected with illness, and not only when a person is at the end of his or her life (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1514), the Anointing of the Sick should not be held to be almost a minor sacrament when compared to the others. Attention to and pastoral care for sick people, while, on the one hand, a sign of Gods tenderness towards those who are suffering, on the other brings spiritual advantage to priests and the whole Christian community as well, in the awareness that what is done to the least, is done to Jesus himself (cf. Mt 25:40). 4. As regards the sacraments of healing, Saint Augustine affirms: God heals all your infirmities. Do not be afraid, therefore, all your infirmities will be healed
Alone / B2

A time of suffering, in which one could be tempted to abandon oneself to discouragement and hopelessness, can thus be transformed into a time of grace so as to return to oneself, and like the prodigal son of the parable, to think anew about ones life, recognizing its errors and failures, longing for the embrace of the Father, and following the pathway to his home. He, in his great love, always

sacrament: the Anointing of the Sick. The Letter of James attests to the presence of this sacramental act already in the first Christian community (cf. 5:14-16): by the Anointing of the Sick, accompanied by the prayer of the elders, the whole of the Church commends the sick to the suffering and glorified Lord so that he may alleviate their sufferings and save them; indeed she exhorts them to unite

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

B2 Use of a hand missal at mass

(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following query:) Q: Should the congregation follow the liturgy, including the readings, by using a missal? Some bishops and priests have said that the Word of the Lord is meant to be listened to, not read. Is the missal just for the other parts of the Mass?M.R., Greenville, Rhode Island A: Although this is a point that is open to debate, it is true that the general preference is to discourage the use of reading as an aid to participation. In 1998 the liturgy committee of the U.S. bishops conference issued an excellent set of Guidelines for the Publication of Participation Aids. With respect to the Liturgy of the Word, it said: By means of the word of God proclaimed at Mass, the Holy Spirit makes what we hear outwardly have its effect inwardly (GILFM [The General Introduction to the Lectionary for Mass] 8). This, however, can only take place when the readings are proclaimed in a speaking style on the part of the readers that is audible, clear, and intelligent (GILFM 14) and when sufficient amplification is provided (GILFM 34). It is clearly preferable that the word of God be clearly heard by all who participate in the liturgy, for In the hearing of Gods word the Church is built up and grows (GILFM 7). For this reason, the printing of readings and presidential prayers in participation aids is discouraged, unless other circumstances make it impossible for the word to be effectively proclaimed. Even in these instances, however, it is preferable that steps be taken to assure the effective proclamation of the Scriptures rather than resorting to providing a read along text to the members of the assembly. Therefore, the ideal is to participate by an attentive external and inner listening to the proclamation of Gods Word and to the presidential prayers at Mass, rather than simply reading along with them. The use of hand missals originally became popular in the early 20th century in order to follow the Mass in what is now called the extraordinary form. In this way their use marked a step forward in the Liturgical Movement as it placed the Latin liturgical texts, along with a vernacular translation, into the hands of the faithful. The fact that the ordinary form is now usually celebrated audibly in the vernacular does not mean that the missal should be simply left aside. It is an excellent instrument for preparing active participation by meditatively going over the readings and prayers before Mass. It might also be used to grasp the inner logic of longer rites and prayers, thus helping to maintain concentration. There is also a subjective element involved. Not a few people find difficulty in achieving the ideal of attentive external and inner listening for many justifiable reasons. I would say that if a Catholic finds spiritual profit in using the hand missal during Mass, then he or she is free to do so. The very fact that the U.S. bishops liturgy committee felt the need for these guidelines is proof that they had no desire to merely abolish the use of missals and other participation aids.

The canonical interview for marriage

The Juridic Nature of the Pre-Marriage Examination (Part II)

Updates

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

By Fr. Jaime Blanco Achacoso, J.C.D.

It has been said of late that there seems to be a rise in the number of so-called declarations of marriage nullity in the Church. While I would appreciate the verification of this claim by those in the competent Matrimonial Tribunal, I nevertheless would venture to agreeat least for the momentwith such a claim, based on my own observation. What I find worrisome is the implication of such an observation, since a declaration of nullity is tantamount to an acceptance by Church authority that an invalid marriage was celebrated, or put another way, that it was a witness to the invalid celebration of marriage. Does Canon Law not provide for an adequate preparation and scrutiny of prospective spouses, to guarantee their aptness for the marriage covenant and the validity of the covenant that they are about to make? As we saw in the previous issue, this matter was the subject of the annual Allocution to the Roman Rota, given by Benedict XVI last 22.I.2011. In that address, the Holy Father delved deeply into the pastoral importance of what are popularly known as the Pre-Cana Seminar and the canonical interview prior to a Church wedding. The Pre-Marriage Examination or canonical interview In canons 1066-1072, the Code of Canon Law provides appropriate norms on several issues related to the pre-marriage examination. Thus, c.1066 stipulates: Before a marriage is celebrated, it must be evident that nothing stands in the way of its valid and licit celebration. The Code further tasks the Episcopal Conference with the establishment of particular norms for such an examination: The conference of bishops is to establish norms about the examination of spouses and about the marriage banns or other opportune means to accomplish the investigation necessary before marriage. After these norms have been diligently observed, the pastor can proceed to assist at the marriage (c.1067). The other canons on marriage preparation provide for specific situations. Going back to the Rotal Allocution we are considering, the Holy Father highlights the pre-marital examination as one of the principal means for ascertaining the preparedness and suitability of the couple who intend to marry: This examination has mainly a juridical purpose: to ascertain that nothing impedes the valid and licit celebration of the wedding. However juridical does not mean formal, as though it were a bureaucratic step, like filling up a form based on the set of questions. Instead it is a unique pastoral opportunityone to be made the most of with the full seriousness and attention that it requiresin which, through a dialogue full of respect and cordiality, the pastor seeks to help the person to face seriously the truth about himself or herself and about his or her own human and Christian vocation for marriage. In this sense the dialogue, always conducted separately with each of the engaged pair without lessening the possibility of further conversations with the couple, requires an atmosphere of full sincerity in which stress should be put on the fact that the contracting parties themselves are those first concerned and first obliged in conscience to celebrate a valid

Alone / B1

You must only allow him to cure you and you must not reject his hands (Exposition on Psalm 102, 5; PL 36, 1319-1320). These are precious instruments of Gods grace which help a sick person to conform himself or herself ever more fully to the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ. Together with these two sacraments, I would also like to emphasize the importance of the Eucharist. Received at a time of illness, it contributes in a singular way to working this transformation, associating the person who partakes of the Body and Blood of Christ to the offering that he made of himself to the Father for the salvation of all. The whole ecclesial community, and parish communities in particular, should pay attention to guaranteeing the possibility of frequently receiving Holy Communion, to those people who, for reasons of health or age, cannot go to a place of worship. In this way, these brothers and sisters are offered the possibility of strengthening their relationship with Christ, crucified and risen, participating, through their lives offered up for love of Christ, in the very mission of the Church. From this point of view, it is important that priests who offer their discreet work in hospitals, in nursing homes and in the homes of sick people, feel they are truly ministers of the sick, signs and instruments of Christs compassion who must reach out to every person marked by suffering (Message for the XVIII World Day of the Sick, 22 November 2009). Becoming conformed to the Paschal Mystery of Christ, which can also be achieved through the practice of spiritual Communion, takes on a very particular meaning when the Eucharist is administered and received as Viaticum. At that stage in life, these words of the Lord are even more telling: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day (Jn 6:54). The Eucharist, especially as Viaticum, is according to the definition of Saint Ignatius of Antioch medicine of immortality, the antidote for death (Letter to the Ephesians, 20: PG 5, 661); the

sacrament of the passage from death to life, from this world to the Father, who awaits everyone in the celestial Jerusalem. 5. The theme of this Message for the Twentieth World Day of the Sick, Stand up and go; your faith has saved you, also looks forward to the forthcoming Year of Faith which will begin on 11 October 2012, a propitious and valuable occasion to rediscover the strength and beauty of faith, to examine its contents, and to bear witness to it in daily life (cf. Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, 11 October 2011). I wish to encourage sick people and the suffering always to find a safe anchor in faith, nourished by listening to the Word of God, by personal prayer and by the sacraments, while I invite pastors to be increasingly ready to celebrate them for the sick. Following the example of the Good Shepherd and as guides of the flocks entrusted to them, priests should be full of joy, attentive to the weakest, the simple and sinners, expressing the infinite mercy of God with reassuring words of hope (cf. Saint Augustine, Letter 95, 1: PL 33, 351-352). To all those who work in the field of health, and to the families who see in their relatives the suffering face of the Lord Jesus, I renew my thanks and that of the Church, because, in their professional expertise and in silence, often without even mentioning the name of Christ, they manifest him in a concrete way (cf. Homily, Chrism Mass, 21 April 2011). To Mary, Mother of Mercy and Health of the Sick, we raise our trusting gaze and our prayer; may her maternal compassion, manifested as she stood beside her dying Son on the Cross, accompany and sustain the faith and the hope of every sick and suffering person on the journey of healing for the wounds of body and spirit! Iassureyouallofaremembrance in my prayers, and I bestow upon each one of you a special Apostolic Blessing. From the Vatican, 20 November 2011, Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King. BENEDICTUS PP XVI

marriage.1 ThisteachingofthePopeunderscoresseveral aspects of the pre-marriage examination, rebutting in the process the arguments one frequently encounters on the irrelevance of the pre-marriage examination. The purpose of the pre-marriage examination is certainly not to carry out a mere formality or a purely legal requirement. It is intrinsically linked to the valid and fruitful celebration of the marriage. According to the aforementioned statement, the pre-marital examination would have a twofold purpose. In the first place, it is meant to detect any invalidating or disqualifying obstacle to the licit and valid celebration of marriage. While the integrity of the consent admittedly might be difficult to ascertain at the moment of the pre-marriage interview, the existence of diriment impediments should be relatively easy to determine with a conscientious examination. In the second place, this interview also provides an opportunity for the couple to reflect upon their responsibility to see to it that they contract such a marriage. While the Pope affirms that this is first and foremost the responsibility of the couples themselves, on their part, those who prepare couples for marriage must also be aware of their responsibility to ascertain the aptitude of the couple to give the required consent. Effective Marriage Preparation Programs: Pre-Cana Seminars The Pope also speaks of the need to have effective marriage preparation programs, which necessarily presuppose properly trained persons to offer them. It is his hope that such programs might reduce the number of failed marriages and declarations of nullity. Therefore, the Pope says that those involved in preparing couples for marriage must be knowledgeable in the practical aspects of canon law on marriage: In this way, with the various means available for a careful preparation and verification, an effective pastoral action can be developed which seeks to prevent the nullity of marriage. It is necessary to make every effort to interrupt, as far as possible, the vicious cycle that often exists between a predictable admission to marriage, without adequate preparation and a serious examination of the prerequisites for its celebration, and a legal declaration sometimes equally facile but of a contrary nature, in which the marriage itself is considered null solely on the basis of the observation of its failure.2 The Pope speaks here of a vicious link between inadequate preparation of couples for marriage on the one hand, and subsequent failure of marriage (followed by a declaration of its nullity) on the other. This link can be severed through a careful preparation of couples for marriage, which would enable the couples themselves and those who prepare them for marriage to detect impediments to the celebration of marriage or a proper evaluation of their intentions and maturity for marriage. In this way the link between inadequate preparation for and nullity of marriage can be severed in many cases. The Pope rightly points out that failure of a marriage in itself is not a ground for its nullity. Nevertheless, the fact of such a failure could exert pressure on pastors to tend toward the facile recourse to a declaration of

nullity. What the Pope is proposing is that an adequate preparation for marriage and a serious examination of the pre-requisites for its celebration could, in many cases, lower the probability of failure of a marriage. As previously explained, to marry is a natural right that cannot be denied to those wanting to marry, unless there is a legitimate reason for doing so. The Pope underscores two important things in this regard: (1) while the marriage preparation course may not enable one to detect all the causes of nullity of marriage, (2) those who have the pastoral responsibility for marriage and families must have some basic and practical knowledge of canon law on marriage: It is true that not all the causes of an eventual declaration of nullity can be identified or expressed in the preparation for marriage; yet likewise it would not be right to hinder admission to marriage on the basis of unfounded presumptions, such as that of considering that, in this day and age, people would generally be incapable of marriage or would only appear to have a desire for it. In this perspective it seems important that there should be an even more incisive awareness concerning the responsibility in this matter of those entrusted with the care of souls. Canon Law in general, and especially matrimonial and procedural law, certainly require a special preparation but a knowledge of the basic aspects and of the immediately practical aspects of Canon Law, relative to its functions, constitute a formative requirement of primary importance for all pastoral workers, particularly those who are active in the pastoral care of families.3 Besides pointing out the limitations of marriage preparation programs vis--vis the detection of causes of the nullity of marriage, Benedict XVI seems to be alluding here to reported tendencies in some environments for those involved in preparing couples for marriage to think that people have become so influenced by self-centered value systems so as to be generally incapable of marriage or consent to it only with an apparent and not real intention to marry, which would amount to exclusion or simulation. Thus, the Pope insists on the serious consequences of a haphazard approach to the preparation of couples on married and family life and on the great need for those involved in such a vital pastoral ministry to receive suitable formation in canon law. Conclusion In the light of the foregoing discussion, we can only hope that adequate measures be taken to improve the formation in the canonical structure of marriage of not only the pastor of souls charged with conducting the pre-marriage examination of prospective spouses, but also of those charged with conducting the so-called PreCana Seminars. With a more adequate preparation of the future spouses, it can be hoped that the cases of marriage nullities might be drastically reduced.

NOTES
1

BENEDICT XVI, Allocution to the Roman Rota, 22.I.2011, in Philippine Canonical Forum, XIII (2011), p.11. Ibid., p.12. Ibid.

2 3

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CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

Year of Mission

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Evangelization sans helping the needy is failure Archbishop Soc

IT is unacceptable to evangelize without helping those who are suffering and in need, a ranking official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said. To not be concerned with lifes temporal problems is going against the Gospel teaching of helping the needy, Archbishop Socrates Villegas said in his homily during the launching of the Year of Mission on January 14. Every missionary must reach out, proclaim, teach, baptize, pray and love. But a missionary must be helpful all the time regardless of convictions, regardless of faith, regardless of culture, Villegas said. Helping hands, meaning to say we embrace all the tears, thejoys, thesuccesses, the defeats, the discouragements, the frustrations of humanity. Nothing that is human can be alien to the church. Because the Lord came from heaven in order to embrace fully our humanity, he said. Hundreds of faithful, mostly young people, graced the launching of the Year of Pontifical Mission Society held at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Pasay City. It was declared by the CBCP this year to help Catholics deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others. In his sermon, the Lingayen-Dagupan archbishop stressed the need for church leaders to always be engaged in total development, saying that the new name of evangelization is human development. We are not only proclaiming salvation for the soul but it is the salvation of body and soul, of total human development, of total human liberation, said Villegas. The prelate also reminded people that praying is not enough, adding that the original vocation of every baptized person is holiness. First and foremost in our accepting of the mission of the church we must make sure that we carry holiness of life, said Villegas. Holiness of life does not mean praying all the time. Holiness of light does not mean staying in the church all the time. Holiness of life means loving Lord Jesus and living like Jesus. Because at the sunset of our lives, if the only thing we can say is that I prayed a lot we might have difficulty entering heaven because whats important in praying is that we love very much, he added. He also recalled that even the late Pope Paul VI, in addressing the young people, encouraged them to be saints. Do not be afraid to be holyDo not be afraid to be unique among others. Be holy even if you see sin around you. Be holy even if you see compromise with evil around you, he said. Villegas also chairs the CBCPs Episcopal Commission on Catechesis and Catholic Education (ECCCE). According to him, the Church is a missionary and everyone is called do the same. When we speak of the Church, that includes you. The missionaries are all of us because we are the Church that is why even if you are children, even if you are young, you are already missionaries in your own way because you are Church, he said. We pray not only for more missionaries but holy, dedicated missionaries. But my dear young people, the missionaries are not outside, the missionaries are you, Villegas said. (Roy Lagarde/ CBCPNews)

Diocese of San Jose celebrates Holy Childhood Sunday

ABOVE: Archbishop Socrates Villegas and Bishop Edwin Dela Pea, together with diocesan mission directors, launched the Year of the Pontifical Mission Societies at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Child Jesus last January 14. BELOW: Students from various Catholic schools in Metro Manila and nearby provinces listen to Archbishop Villegas homily during the Mass.

THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines declaration of 2012 as Year of the Mission highlights the need for renewal of faith and missionary spirit among faithful as more and more people veer away from the Catholic Church and its teachings. This reality was pointed out by Marawi Bishop Edwin Angot de la Pea, MSP after the launching ceremonies of the Year of the Mission at the Shrine of St. Therese of the Infant Jesus in Pasay City, when he said that the Catholic Church needs to do everything it could to keep its flock and win back those who have left. The Year of the Mission simply wants to keep the peoples faith alive because people are moving away from Jesus Christ and it seems we

Year of Mission highlights need for renewal of faith among faithful

are a very distracted people with so many things that pull us out of our faith, he said. The 57-year old prelate said it appears the Filipinos expression of their faith is cultural and sometimes to the point of fanaticism. He added the faithful should experience Jesus in their lives and such a situation should challenge Church people, priests, religious and lay. Spirituality is what is needed by the people, he emphasized. Asked as to what causes all the distraction, De la Pea said advances in technology pull people away from faith along with advances in Science which continue to separate people from the faith of their forebears. Somehow, we have lost the sense of the divine, he said. Meanwhile, CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Mission executive secretary Fr. Socrates C. Mesiona, said there is a need to fan the flame of missionary commitment. He noted the two big Church events that happened in the country, both of which emphasized the role of missionaries, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines in 1991 and the National Mission Congress held in Cebu in 2000. The time has come to [re]kindle the missionary enthusiasm specifically among the young, he said. He said that after eight decades of its establishment in the Philippines, still very few people know of the Pontifical Mission Societies existence. Mesiona said they are trying to introduce lay vocation in the mission.

AROUND 200 children gathered last January 15 at the Mary, Help of Christian Parish Hall in Barangay Malasin, San Jose City, Nueva Ecija to celebrate Holy Childhood Sunday. The celebration also coincided with the feast of the Sto. Nio. Organized by Sr. Fely Tolentino, FdCC, the half-day gathering was an opportunity for the children to reflect, pray and have fun together. The highlight of the gathering was the talk given by Bro. Anthony Dameg and Ms. Jette Antolin of the PMS national office in which they stressed the significance of the CBCPs declaration for 2012 as Year of the Mission. The children were also reminded that Jesus has a soft heart for them and that they can also be missionaries in their own way by living out the motto of the Holy Childhood Association which is children helping children. It can be recalled that the Canossian Sisters (FdCC) working in the diocese extend their work also among the indigenous people in the area. Their work include, among others, health care and educational programs that benefit especially the children in various indigenous communities of the diocese. The Holy Childhood is an association under the direct supervision of the Pontifical Mission Societies. Founded in 1842 in France by Bishop Charles Forbin-Janson, the association has the objective of awakening in the children the awareness of the mission work of the Church. There is special collection every Holy Childhood Sunday and the money gathered will be remitted to the Solidarity Fund of the association to help support projects that would benefit children. (Jette Antolin)

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

The priest also expressed alarm at the de-Christianization of Europe and the Americas which only underscores the connection between the declaration of Year of the Mission in the Philippines and the Year of Faith which Pope Benedict XVI will launch in October 2012. He said Filipino missionaries, including religious women from Asia, are sent to Europe, the Americas and practically, all over the world. The Pontifical Mission Society is directly under the Pontifical Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. There are seven mission territories in the Philippines, including the Apostolic Vicariates of Calapan, San Jose de Mindoro, Tabuk, Puerto Princesa, Taytay (Palawan), Jolo (Sulu), and Bontoc-Lagawe. (Melo Acuna)

Four Societies: Membership and Mission

Propagation of the Faith Holy Childhood

VENERABLE PAULINE JARICOT In 1818 a young French lay woman Pauline Marie Jaricot begins the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, officially recognized on 3 May 1822. Pauline is (the foundress of the largest aid agency for the missions in the entire history of the Catholic Church: the Association for the Propagation of the Faith), which later became the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and was conferred the title (Pontifical) by Pius XI in 1922. BISHOP CHARLES DE FORBINJANSON To give a missionary approach to devotion to the Child Jesus theBishop of Nancy, Mgr. Charles Auguste Marie de Forbin-Janson, develops a movement of Christian children to help pagan children and bring them salvation. Thus on 19 May 1843 is born the Society of the Holy Childhood, which Pius XI will declare a (Pontifical work) in 1922.

St. Peter the Apostle

MISS JEANNE BIGARD Mrs Jeanne Bigard, with the encouragement and under the guidance of her mother Stephanie, makes preparation for the priestly ministry of young men in mission lands the purpose of her life. In 1894 she launches the first manifesto of the Society of St Peter Apostle, which begins its activity in 1886, is officially established in Caen in 1889 and recognized as (Pontifical) by Pius X

Missionary Union
BLESSED PAOLO MANNA Fr. Paolo Manna, a missionary in Burma, observing the vast extent of missionary work, is saddened by the Clergys indifference and is worried about the small number of missionaries. He therefore founds the Missionary Union of the Clergy to animate priests for the Opera Maxima - the evangelization of the world - and to promote knowledge of the Missions and encourage prayer for them. On 23 October 1916 Benedict XV approves the Union, which after a rapid and fruitful spread in the world, in 1956 is declared (Pontifical) by Pius XII.

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Features

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

The Foundation of Christian Faith is the Encounter with an Event, a Person

(Pastoral recommendations of the Congregations for the Doctrine of the Faith for the Year of Faith that will be celebrated on October 11, 2012 through November 24, 2013.)
Introduction With the Apostolic Letter of 11 October 2011, Porta fidei, Pope Benedict XVI declared a Year of Faith. This year will begin on 11 October 2012, on the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Ecumenical Vatican Council, and will conclude on 24 November 2013, the Solemnity of our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King. This year will be a propitious occasion for the faithful to understand more profoundly that the foundation of Christian faith is the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.1 Founded on the encounter with the Risen Christ, faith can be rediscovered in its wholeness and all its splendor. In our days too faith is a gift to rediscover, to cultivate and to bear witness to because the Lord grants each one of us to live the beauty and joy of being Christians.2 The beginning of the Year of Faith coincides with the anniversaries of two great events which have marked the life of the Church in our days: the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, called by Blessed Pope John XXIII (11 October 1962), and the twentieth of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, given to the Church by Blessed Pope John Paul II (11 October 1992). The Council, according to Pope John XXIII, wanted to transmit doctrine, pure and whole, without attenuations or misrepresentations, in such a way that this sure and immutable teaching, which must be respected faithfully, is elaborated and presented in a way which corresponds to the needs of our time.3 In this regard, the opening words of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium remain of primary importance: Christ is the Light of nations. Because this is so, this Sacred Synod gathered together in the Holy Spirit eagerly desires, by proclaiming the Gospel to every creature, (cfr. Mk 16:15) to bring the light of Christ to all men, a light brightly visible on the countenance of the Church.4 Beginning with the light of Christ, which purifies, illuminates and sanctifies in the celebration of the sacred liturgy (cfr. Constitution, Sacrosanctum Concilium) and with His divine word (cfr. Dogmatic Constitution, Dei Verbum), the Council wanted to elaborate on the intimate nature of the Church (cfr. Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen gentium) and its relationship with the contemporary world (cfr. Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et spes). Around these four Constitutions, the true pillars of the Council, are arranged the Declarations and Decrees which address some of the major challenges of the day. After the Council the Churchunder the sure guidance of the Magisterium and in continuity with the whole Tradition set about ensuring the reception and application of the teaching of the Council in all its richness. To assist in the correct reception of the Council, the Popes have frequently convoked the Synod of Bishops,5 first instituted by the Servant of God, Paul VI, in 1965, providing the Church with clear guidance through the various post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortations. The next General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2012, will have as its theme: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. From the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has worked decisively for a correct understanding of the Council, rejecting as erroneous the socalled hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture and promoting what he himself has termed the hermeneutic of reform, of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us. She is a subject which increases in time and develops, yet always remaining the same, the one subject of the journeying People of God.6 The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in this same vein, is both an authentic fruit of Vatican Council II7 and a tool for aiding in its reception. The Extraordinary Synod of Bishops of 1985, convoked on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Council and to measure its reception, suggested the preparation of a Catechism in order to offer the People of God a compendium of all Catholic doctrine and a sure point of reference for local catechisms. Pope John Paul II accepted this proposal as a desire which fully responds to a real need of the universal Church and of the particular Churches.8 Compiled in collaboration with the entire Episcopate of the Catholic Church, this Catechism truly expresses what could be called the symphony of the faith.9 The Catechism includes the new and the old (cfr. Mt 13:52), because the faith is always the same yet the source of ever new light. To respond to this twofold demand, the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the one hand repeats the old, traditional order already followed by the Catechism of St Pius V, arranging the material in four parts: the Creed, the Sacred Liturgy, with pride of place given to the sacraments, the Christian way of life, explained beginning with the Ten Commandments, and finally, Christian prayer. At the same time, however, the contents are often expressed in a new way in order to respond to the questions of our age.10 This Catechism is a valid and legitimate instrument for ecclesial communion and a sure norm for teaching the faith.11 The content of faith finds its systematic and organic synthesis in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Here, in fact, we see the wealth of teaching that the Church has received, safeguarded and proposed in her two thousand years of history. From Sacred Scripture to the Fathers of the Church, from theological masters to the saints across the centuries, the Catechism provides a permanent record of the many ways in which the Church has meditated on the faith and made progress in doctrine so as to offer certitude to believers in their lives of faith.12 The Year of Faith is intended to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today - capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the door of faith. This door opens wide mans gaze to this Year as a special time of grace.18 The joyous rediscovery of faith can also contribute to consolidate the unity and communion among the different bodies that make up the wider family of the Church. I. On the level of the Universal Church 1. The main ecclesial event at the beginning of the Year of Faith will be the XIII General Assembly of the Ordinary Synod of Bishops, convoked by Pope Benedict XVI in October 2012, dedicated to The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. During this Synod, on 11 October 2012, there will be a solemn celebration of the beginning of the Year of Faith, in remembrance of the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council. 2. In the Year of Faith pilgrimages of the faithful to the See of Peter are to be encouraged, to profess faith in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in unity with him who today is called to confirm his brothers and sisters in the faith (cfr. Lk 22:32). It is also important to promote pilgrimages to the Holy Land, the place which first saw the presence of Jesus, the Savior, and Mary, his Mother. 3. During this Year, it will be helpful to invite the faithful to turn with particular devotion to Mary, model of the Church, who shines forth to the whole community of the elect as the model of virtues.19 Therefore, every initiative that helps the faithful to recognize the special role of Mary to renew their efforts in effective and heart-felt adherence to the teaching of the Successor of Peter. 8. During the Year of Faith, in cooperation with the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, various ecumenical initiatives are to be planned, aimed at the restoration of unity among all Christians which is one of the principal concerns of the Second Vatican Council.22 In particular, there will be a solemn ecumenical celebration in which all of the baptized will reaffirm their faith in Christ. 9. A Secretariat to coordinate all of the different initiatives promoted by various Dicasteries of the Holy See, or other events relevant to the Universal Church, will be established within the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. This Secretariat should be informed timely of the main events and can also suggest appropriate initiatives. The Secretariat will open a dedicated website with the goal of making available useful information regarding living out the Year of Faith more effectively. 10. At the conclusion of this Year, on the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, there will be a Eucharist celebrated by the Holy Father, in which a solemn renewal of the profession of faith will take place. II. On the level of Episcopal Conferences23 1. Episcopal Conferences, in light of the specific mission of the Bishops as teachers and heralds of the faith,24 can dedicate relevance within their various disciplines of the contents of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and of the implications derived from them. 8. It would be useful to arrange for the preparation of pamphlets and leaflets of an apologetic nature (cfr. 1 Pt 3:15), which should be done with the help of theologians and authors. Every member of the faithful would then be enabled to respond better to the questions which arise in difficult contexts whether to do with sects, or the problems related to secularism and relativism, or to questions arising from a changed mentality which, especially today, limits the field of rational certainties to that of scientific and technological discoveries,26 or to other specific issues. 9. It is hoped that local catechisms and various catechetical supplements in use in the particular Churches would be examined to ensure their complete conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.27 Should a catechism or supplement be found to be not totally in accord with the Catechism, or should some lacunae be discovered, new ones should be developed, following the example of those Conferences which have already done so. 10. The Year of Faith will also be an appropriate time to examine, in collaboration with the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Ratio of formation for future priests, ensuring that the contents of the Catechism for the Catholic Church are present in their theological studies. III. At the Diocesan level 1. It is hoped that each particular Church would have a celebration of the opening of the Year of Faith and a solemn conclusion to it, in which to profess our faith in the Risen Lord in our cathedrals and in the churches of the whole world.28 2. It would be desirable that each Diocese in the world organize a study day on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, particularly for its priests, consecrated persons and catechists. On this occasion, for example, the Eastern Catholic Eparchies could hold a meeting with their priests to give witness to their specific experience and liturgical tradition in the one faith in Christ. Also, in this way, young particular Churches in mission territories would be able to give renewed witness to that joy of faith which is so often particular to them. 3. Each Bishop could devote a pastoral letter of his own to the topic of faith, keeping in mind the specific pastoral circumstances of the portion of the faithful entrusted to him, reminding them of the importance of the Second Vatican Council and of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 4. It is hoped that in each Diocese, under the leadership of the Bishop, catechetical events will be organized, especially for the youth and those searching for a sense of life, helping them to discover the beauty of ecclesial faith, promoting encounters with meaningful witnesses to the faith. 5. It would be appropriate for each particular Church to review the reception of Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church in its own life and mission, particularly in the realm of catechesis. This would provide the opportunity for a renewal of commitment on the part of the catechetical offices of the Dioceses whichsupported by the Commissions for Catechesis of the Episcopal Conferenceshave the duty to care for the theological formation of catechists. 6. The continuing education of the clergy can be focused during this Year of Faith on the documents of Vatican Council II and on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, treating such themes as the proclamation of the Risen Christ, the Church - sacrament of salvation, the mission of evangelization in the world today, faith and disbelief, faith, ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue, faith and eternal life, the hermeneutic of reform in continuity and the Catechism in ordinary pastoral care. 7. Bishops are invited to organize penitential celebrations, particularly during Lent, in which all can ask for Gods forgiveness, especially for sins against faith. This Year also provides an appropriate occasion in which all can approach the Sacrament of Penance with greater faith and more frequently. 8. It is hoped that there will be a renewed creative dialogue between faith and reason in the academic and artistic communities, through symposia, meetings and days of study, especially at Catholic universities, in order to demonstrate that there cannot be any conflict between faith and genuine science, because both, albeit via different routes, tend towards the truth.29

Jesus Christ, present among us always, until the end of the age (Mt 28:20). He shows us how the art of living is learned in an intense relationship with him.13 Through his love, Jesus Christ attracts to himself the people of every generation: in every age he convokes the Church, entrusting her with the proclamation of the Gospel by a mandate that is ever new. Today too, there is a need for stronger ecclesial commitment to new evangelization in order to rediscover the joy of believing and the enthusiasm for communicating the faith.14 At the invitation of Pope Benedict XVI,15 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in consultation with the competent Dicasteries of the Holy See and with the contribution of the Committee for the Preparation of the Year of Faith,16 has drawn up this Note, with some recommendations for living this time of grace, without precluding other initiatives which the Holy Spirit will inspire among Pastors and faithful in various parts of the world. Recommendations I know him in whom I have believed (2 Tm 1:12). These words of St Paul help us to understand that faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed.17 Faith which is a personal trust in the Lord and the faith which we profess in the Creed are inseparable; they focus on each other and they require each other. There exists a profound bond between the lived faith and its contents. The faith of the Witnesses and Confessors is also the faith of the Apostles and Doctors of the Church. Thus, the following recommendations for the Year of Faith desire to aid both the encounter with Christ through authentic witnesses to faith, and the ever-greater understanding of its contents. These proposals are intended as examples to encourage a ready response to the invitation of the Holy Father to live fully

in the mystery of salvation, love her and follow her as a model of faith and virtue is to be encouraged. To this end it would be proper to organize pilgrimages, celebrations and gatherings at the major Marian shrines. 4. The next World Youth Day, in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013, will offer a special occasion for the young to experience the joy which comes from faith in the Lord Jesus and communion with the Holy Father, in the greater family of the Church. 5. It is hoped that many symposia, conferences and large gatherings will be held, even at the international level, to encourage encounters with authentic witness to the faith and to promote understanding of the contents of Catholic doctrine. Noting how, still today, the Word of God continues to grow and spread, it will be important to give witness that all the anguish and all the longing of the human heart finds fulfilment20 in Christ Jesus and that faith becomes a new criterion of understanding and action that changes the whole of mans life.21 Some conferences should be particularly dedicated to the rediscovery of the teachings of Vatican Council II. 6. The Year of Faith will offer a special opportunity for all believers to deepen their knowledge of the primary documents of the Second Vatican Council and their study of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is especially true for candidates for priesthood, particularly during the propedeutic year or in their first years of theological studies, for novices in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as for those in a period of discernment for joining an Ecclesial Association or Movement. 7. This Year will provide an auspicious time for a more attentive reception of the homilies, catechesis, addresses and other speeches and documents of the Holy Father. Pastors, consecrated persons and the lay faithful are invited

a day of study to the topic of faith, its personal witness and its transmission to new generations. 2. The republication in paperback and economical editions of the Documents of Vatican Council II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and its Compendium is to be promoted, as is the wider distribution of these texts through electronic means and modern technologies. 3. A renewed effort to translate the documents of Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church into languages which lack a translation is desirable. Initiatives of charitable support to enable translations into the local languages of mission countries, where the local Churches cannot afford the expense, are to be encouraged. This should be done under the guidance of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. 4. Pastors should work to promote television and radio transmissions, films and publications focusing on the faith, its principles and content, as well as on the ecclesial significance of the Second Vatican Council. This should be done using the new styles of communication, especially on the popular level, making these things available to a wider public. 5. The Saints and the Blessed are the authentic witnesses of the faith.25 It is, therefore, opportune that Episcopal Conferences work toward the dissemination of a knowledge of the local Saints of their territory, also by modern means of social communication. 6. The contemporary world is sensitive to the relationship between faith and art. It is, therefore, recommended that Episcopal Conferences maximize the catechetical potentialpossibly with ecumenical cooperationof the artistic patrimony of the region entrusted to their pastoral care. 7. Educators in centers of theological studies, seminaries and Catholic universities should be encouraged in their teaching to demonstrate the

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Faith / B7

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

Features

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A Reflection on the Feast of the Sto. Nio of Cebu

By Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, D.D.
STO. Nio, Refuge of the Filipino Christian Family is a theme that strikes deep into our hearts in our present age. Today, families are greatly attacked by worldly values, decadent media, internet, and modern gadgetry. Moreover, a sizable number of marginalized Filipino families are living in utter poverty. We have to ask the following question, How can the Sto. Nio today become the refuge of families who are landless, jobless, homeless, hungry; and which lack the basic social services such as health, education, housing and others? Our celebrations will be like empty clanging cymbals (Amos 5:21-24) if the above concrete realities of the least of the Sto. Nios brothers and sisters are not addressed effectively. Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his Christmas 2011 homily, said that God has appeared - as a poor child. In our world today, we must cry out to God, We love your childish estate, your powerlessness, but we suffer from the continuing presence of violence in the world, and so we also ask you: manifest your power, O God. In this time of ours, in this world of ours, cause the oppressors rods, the cloaks rolled in blood and the footgear of battle to be burned, so that your peace may triumph in this world of ours. As Christians, we are Gods instrument in social change. Thus, the theme of the Sto. Nio of Cebu fiesta celebration will re-focus us to the liberating and transformative role of the family as the focal point of evangelization and the nucleus of faith-witnessing. This brings us back to the core of our being created in Gods image and likeness (Gen. 1:26-27) where the foundation of the family is to manifest that essence and to radiate Gods love to all. God, who is love (I Jn 4:8), wants to share and carry on this love when He inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion (Familiaris Consortio [FC], 11). The family is the community of persons where parents and children, husband and wife are helping each other to realize the love they have received from God and to live with fidelity the reality of communion in a constant effort to develop an authentic community of persons (FC, 18). Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2012 message for the World Day of Prayer for Peace, explained that the family is the first school in which we are trained in justice and peace... May the parents encourage children by the example of their lives to put their hope before all else in God, the one source of authentic justice and peace. Concretely, the family is the first school of values and deeper humanity (FC, 66) and a center to discern ones own vocation and to accept responsibility in search for greater justice (FC, 2). Parents should realize that they are thereby cooperators with the love of God
Sto. Nio / B7

Bacolod diocesan newspaper defines The pastoral aspect of 2011 a year of Struggle for Life Chinese Lunar New
Year celebration
By Fr. Mickey Cardenas
THE Philippines, together with other countries all over the world that have been influenced by the rich Chinese culture, will celebrate the Lunar New Year on January 23, 2012. The Chinese calendar is based on a combination of lunar and solar movements. Each year, the Lunar New Year falls on a different date. The coming New Year will usher in the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is the 5th animal in the 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac. Dragon is the creature of legend and myth. In ancient China, power was represented by the Celestial Dragon. At present times the Dragon represents happiness and success. Filipinos are known for their passion when it comes to the celebration of the Catholic faith, as manifested in the procession of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo and the fiestas of the Sto. Nio in Cebu, Kalibo, Iloilo and Kabankalan. Chinese celebrations, such as the Lunar New Year, are a common practice as well. Such celebrations reflect how Chinese culture plays an important role in Filipinos way of life. Chinese New Year is an occasion to unite and celebrate the New Year with joy and peace, stated Rev. Fr. Emilio Ascao, LRMS, Rector of St. Johns Institute, one of the three Chinese-Filipino schools in Bacolod City. The three Chinese-Filipino schools in Bacolod City, St. Johns Institute, Trinity High School and Taytung High School gather together during the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Bacolod called Bacolaudiat. Bacolaudiat is composed of two wordsBacolod and Lau-diata Chinese word which means fun-filled, full of joyful celebration, a happy occasion. During the Chinese New Year, the Chinese-Filipino schools support meaningful activities prepared by their Buddhist friends, thus paving the way for the students to enhance their talents through these activities. With these activities, they celebrate together regardless of who they are and what faith they profess. As the newsletter of Sacred Heart Parish, founded in 1952 to minister to the needs of the Chinese Catholics in Cebu, states Many elements of the New Year celebration can be enriched by our Christian values, not only for the Chinese Catholics, but also for Filipinos and all Catholics around the world. This time of family, reunion and thanksgiving may be integrated with our Christian values of reconciliation, love and family harmony. This is a time to thank our God of Heaven and Earth for the blessings of the year that has passed. Attending the Holy Eucharist together with family is a great way to celebrate the New Year. The tradition of honoring our ancestors can be equated with our Catholic beliefs in the communion of saints and on the Fourth Commandment to Honor your father and mother. The Ancestors Honoring Rite places our Christian beliefs into action. The Lantern Festival is the most appropriate way to celebrate Christ, the Light of the World, ushering the New Year for us, guiding us in his way. Mr. Alfredo Barcelona, a respected Chinese-Filipino in Bacolod hopes that one day, the leaders of each faithgroup will gather to pray together during the celebration of Bacolaudiat. In Saint Johns Institute, the Chinese New Year is a time to show gratitude to all the ancestors of their Chinese-Filipino brothers and sisters who have generously contributed their time, talent and treasure for the development of their families, the community and the society at large. They show their gratitude by praying for them in the Holy Mass celebrated in Chinese.

By Rev. Dominic M. Derramas

ADSUM, Bacolods diocesan newsletter, tells the story of the Diocese, and the Philippine Church as a whole and as 2011 came into a close, defined the year that was as a struggle to protect and defend life against the machinations of the enemy. The diocese continues to grow as she celebrated CBCPs Year of the Youth, rejoiced in the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, formed a Diocesan Finance Committee, convened the Diocesan Pastoral Assembly and inaugurated the Domus Dei complex. Yet the most significant landmark in the life of the diocese this past year has been her struggle against the passage of the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill into law. In January, representatives from various sectors formally launched the Citizens Alliance for the Protection of Human Life (CAPHL) as a result of the Bishops initiative to present a unified voice of opposition against the RH Bill. The month of February saw 400 multisectoral groups, headed by the Diocese of Bacolod, signed a manifesto to be sent to Congress as a signature campaign was started to promote opposition to the RH Bill. Also on the same month, an inter-faith Prayer Rally for the protection of human life gathered 20,000 at the Bacolod Public Plaza. Conferences, education and awareness seminars were held in the parishes and schools in the weeks preceding the mass action. These conferences and massive education campaigns were continued throughout the year. In March, four congressmen of Negros Occidental, doctors and lawyers pledged their support for the fight against the RH Bill.

Last April, an island-wide caravan was held to raise awareness on the evils of the RH Bill and the sanctity of human life as well as to manifest the Churchs prophetic role to protect life. A March of Cars was held in Bacolod last May to coincide with the Jericho March held by pro-life groups in Manila on the day Congress began plenary debates on the RH Bill. The following month, Dr. Telly Somera, an expert on reproductive health gave a series of talks on the ideology, economics, politics and anti-life agenda of the RH Bill. Last July, an issue was made regarding seven bishops who reportedly received luxury vehicles from PCSO. The senate cleared the name of the bishops and the issue was interpreted by many as a move to destroy the reputation of the Church and weaken her resolve to oppose the RH Bill. Bishop Vicente Navarra expressed his opposition to the Standard Days Method as a Natural Family Planning Method and stated that he will not allow it to be introduced and practiced in the Diocese. Last August, Bishop Navarra released a Pastoral Statement condemning the works of Mideo Cruz, exhibited at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, as offensive and grossly insensitive to the cultural sensibilities of the Filipinos. The prayer rally to protest the exhibit of Mideo Cruz was also an avenue to strengthen the faithfuls resolve to stand against Satans effort to destroy the Church and promote the culture of death in our society. Natural Family Planning seminars and training were started by the Commission on Family and Life in the different vicariates and parishes to promote the Churchs alternative to the measures proposed in the RH Bill.

Last September, Dr. Ligaya Acosta, Pro-Life international representative for Asia, delivered talks to various groups on the Filipino Families under Siege: Reproductive Health or Reproductive Death. The following month, the Diocesan Pastoral Assembly was held with focus on the BEC as a new way of being Church. This event served as an evaluation of the progress of the diocese in implementing the Second Diocesan Synod while at the same time sets forth the pastoral direction of the diocese for the years to come. It may seem that the dioceses pro-life campaign took a back seat but this was not the case. The RH Bill is just one among the many issues facing our Church that more than reacting and responding to the moves of the secular world, the Church takes initiative in building up the kingdom of God by strengthening her internal structures. November and December saw various other events such as the vocation and catechetical months and the clergy concert for our sick and retired priests. Typhoons Pedring and Sendong became an opportunity for us to unite as a nation to help our unfortunate countrymen. These events grabbed the headlines, yet the AntiRH education campaigns and the Natural Family Planning Trainings and seminars continued, even as the diocese expanded the scope of the battle to rally against secularism, relativism and the culture of death in general. As we thank the Lord for the graces and blessings we have received in the year that was, we gird our loins for this year 2012. We are locked in a struggle against evil and we are called to be faithful to Christs teachings so that we can continue to fight the good fight and win the race.

Contributed Photo

www.skyscrapercity.com

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Ref lections

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

The new social order that Jesus began to establish for his people
An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of the Third Sunday of Year B (Mark 1:14-20) January 22, 2012
By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD
IF Chief Justice Corona is on trial at the Impeachment Court, this is due to the vision of President Aquino to help create a Filipino society that is free of a culture of corruption especially at the top and of a culture of impunity. Leaders and prophets usually envision for their people a form of society that addresses the pains and sufferings of the past. To be sure, at all levels of lifeinternational, national, local and even personalwe all experience the negative: oppression, deceit, fear, destruction, war, suffering and death. Because of these negative experiences, we all wish to construct a better world. After the war of the allied forces against Iraq, George Bush spoke of establishing a new order. After the exile of the Jews, Isaiah had a vision of a new earth. During the industrial revolution, Karl Marx posited a classless society where the poor will come into their own. At the personal level, most of us try to achieve our vision of our own future: secure, full of milk and honey. Knowing that, in a sense, this is not the best of all possible worlds, and that a better world is possible, we try to envision it and put that vision into some concrete programs. Todays Gospel is about Jesus proclamation of a new social order: the Kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, this order is captured, among others, by the symbol of a new Jerusalem where God tenders a banquet: On this mountain the Lord of hosts will provide for all peoples a feast of rich food and choice wines, juicy, rich food and pure, choice the nature of sin (Joel 2:12-13). It is a 180 degrees turn-around: Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil, learn to do good. Make justice your aim; redress the wronged, hear the orphans plea, defend the widow (Isa 1:16-17). Repentance, therefore, means the setting aside of the past and the embracing of a new life. To embrace a new life means to embrace a community life in discipleship. That is how we express our faith in Jesus. Discipleship of the community is the translation of our faith into deeds. The Kingdom of God will come if we respond to his invitation (Mark 1:17), and follow the requirements of discipleship: Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me (Mark 8:34). In communal discipleship, our concern is the Kingdom of God and its values: Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you besides: (Matt 6:33). This demands reordering of our heart and affection, our purposes and goals, our priorities and loyalties in the community. Only if we are willing to pay the price can we participate in this new social order, in which people experience the positive in community lifelove, brotherhood, forgiveness, justice and peace, as Jesus so promised: Amen I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come (Mark 10:28-30).

wines (Isa 25:5). And Jesus sometimes used the same picture for the Kingdom: And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out. And people will come from the east and the west and from the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God (Luke 13:28-29). This image embodies what all of us hope forlove, brotherhood, forgiveness, peace and happiness among men in the community. This was the center of Jesus preaching, his life and even his

death. But this new social order was not just a dream; it was a reality that began to be realized in Jesus, in his life and ministry. Moreover, it was not simply an otherworldly reality. On the contrary, Jesus made it clear that the Kingdom was to be experienced in this world, in the here and now. And he invited us to be part of this social order. But what are we to do in response to the invitation? To be part of it, we have to pay the price. Though it has broken through in Jesus, it will not spill over to us unless we take two steps: first, we need to repent, and second, we have

to believe in Jesus and his Kingdom. Like Jonah whoaccording to the 1st Readingpreached repentance to the inhabitants of Nineveh (Jonah 3:4-5), Jesus required us to repent: This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). Repentance is more than just being sorry for our sins. The Greek word,metanoein, literally means to change ones mind, but as in the New Testament, it is close to the Hebrew shubh, which means to turn about, to return to Yahweh, and this presupposes a deep understanding of

An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday of Year B (Mark 1:21-28) January 29, 2012
By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD
WHEN some politicians expound their platform and make promises during election campaigns, many people do not care to listen, even though they hear them speak. For them, the talks of some politicians are merely part of the political rigmarole and circuses. Their speeches are grand, but their words are empty. In fact, they have become cynical to these politicians because they know that for the most part the latters words and promises are never fulfilled. To put it differently, what they utter are devoid of authority. Hence, people hardly believe their words, which are scarcely any guide for them to listen and follow. Of course, some of those with empty words do win in elections, but that is because of things that do not come from the upper orifice, which are translated into votes. Even so, their words remain empty, and so they do not deliver
Word / B7

The Word of Jesusladen with power and authority

FILE PHOTO

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

WHATEVER

L.I.K.E
WATER droplets suddenly spattered on the surface of my suitcase and dappled darkbrown stains on the paper bag of goodies I bought as presents for the house. The unexpected downpour would have made me scurry to any nearby shed or restaurant. But isnt this strange to do inside an airports waiting lounge? I wondered what type of indoor tropical depression had drenched my belongings. The enormous unshapely dark suffocating mass of a cyclone suddenly came into view. Suddenly, the hovering threat of water, wind, lightning and thunder spoke to me in a high-pitched voice like Daffy Ducks, Father! It was Ed, my accidental traveling companion. His shadow seemed to dim all the lights in the area where I sat. There was no way the weatherman could have predicted this meteorological omen. Ed, what in heavens name blows you here? I tried not to show that I was avoiding the droplets of sweat sprinkled by his over-drenched hanky that uselessly absorbed his perspiration. I imagined that he could probably power up a house with all that sweat by turning micro-turbines attached to his body to generate electricity. Whatta ye lookin at Fathu? he seemed to observe I was amused with his unpredicted arrival. Oh, not hing ! Y ou ju st look like a hovering tropical raincloud. After some time getting acquainted, Ed was quite used to my jokes. Verrry fuhnnnny, Fahthu, he dropped his bags and he came crashing in a seat beside me like a World War I blimp rapidly losing altitude. Hey, I didnt say anything about youre gaining. Before ye even talk about my weight, ye gotta se this, Fathu! Despite his banana-sized fingers, Ed was amazingly skillful as a magician when whisking out his beloved gadgets. What do you have this time, Ed? Fathu? Do ye have Facebook? Well, yeah. But I now seldom get to check out my wall. Really? Can I invite ye? Sure, but why do you ask, Ed? Ed began tapping his fingers on what looked like a tablet. Yell see, Fathu, he concentrated on his typing. THUD, THUD, TAP, TIP, his fingers went as they left huge fingerprint smudges mixed with some lubricating droplets of sweat. There ye go, Fathu! he showed the tablet to me. What do you want me to see? I could hardly read anything from the now opaque fingerprint covered screen. With one quick swipe of his tablet-sized palm, he evened out the smudges. There! Thats my wall. Notice how many people read my daily status and how many LIKEs I get? Now listen up, Fathu. Ed scrolled down to his previous posts and read: Love is like a key. If it is true, it can open everything. If it is false, it closes ones heart. Wow! Thats really nice, Ed. Quite different from the sophisticated journalist I knew you to be. I guess Im just getting wiser, Fathu, he gave me a grateful smile. Now listen to this other one. He clicked and read: Every person is a blessing. I thank God for the blessing that you are. Hmmm, okay, but I like the previous one better, I commented. I knew yed say that, Fathu, he clicked and read more quotes. Im happy youre excited about something less digital this time. Congratulations, Ed! I said. Then Ed looked at me and asked, Can I invite you to be my friend in Facebook, Fathu? Is that really necessary? Arent we friends already? But, ahuhm, ye know, Fahthu, coz, ye see, he scratched his balding head. Coz you want me to also LIKE your daily status? I winked at him. Well, yeye can say that, but ye know, it also helps to keep in touch, he stammered. But Ed, Im not really a LIKEable person, I explained. Why not? Because I believe that I could do something better than LIKE something thats read, appreciated and then lost in cyberspace in one digital
Like / B7

Reflections on the 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) January 22, 2012
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
TRY to imagine a mechanic without tools, or a farmer without land, or a doctor without medicines, or a businessman without money. Try to imagine then fishermen without nets. Simon and Andrew, as well as James and John, had been fishermen all their life. Fishing was their tiresome profession, but it also made them feel contented and fulfilled in life. They knew the shores and moods of the Lake of Gennesareth like the palm of their hands. They could row their boat even in the roughest waters. And they could handle their nets very skillfully. In fact, those nets were their most precious possession. But when Jesus appeared and invited them to follow him, they gave up not only their nets, but even their families! They remained with Jesus for three long years, learning a lot about the Kingdom of God, witnessing wonderful miracles, sharing their Teachers dreams and disappointments. They felt that the world of their dreams had crumbled with the tragic end of their Master. But they also regained hope as they saw him again alive and vibrant with life even more than before he died. They received from him, risen from death, the mission to preach the Gospel to all nations of the world! . . . That was quite a change from the simple, almost monotonous life, which they had been accustomed to live by the Lake of Gennesareth before their eventful encounter with Jesus. They were still fishermen but of a most unusual type. Jesus had made them fishers of men, exactly as he had promised themhis associates in the great enterprise of fishing people to safety out of the deadly sea of human perversions and eternal damnation. Jesus also invites us to follow him. He also asks us to give up a lot of thingseven our most precious possessionsin order to walk the way of those apostles of old. Some of us may want to always feel comfortable. Jesus asks us to give that up and be ready to endure the noonday sun, or brave
Fisher / B7

Jesus: the fisher of men

Jesus, the conqueror of all evil

Reflections on the 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B) January 29, 2012
be a Master, actually The Master. Authority and majesty radiated from all over Jesus person. In him was the moral power of the Holy One, Gods Anointed. He commanded respect even of the devil. And with good reason. For the first time in human history Satan was afraid of manof that Man. Things had been different up to that moment. Men had been living in continuous dread of evil spirits. Not a few had become their victims, possessed and tortured by them in frightful ways. Out of fear, entire nations had tried to keep demons quiet through sacrificial offerings . . . the tragedy of idolatry that had sadly marked the history of mankind. With Jesus, fear of Satan and compromise with him are over. He comes to proclaim that the Reign of God is at hand and that the reign of Satan is done. Jesus has come to wage a war of liberation against the devil and his allies. Todays account of the liberation of the possessed man spells out who is going to be the winner in this most unconventional war. Satan

www.logos.net.nz

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

JESUS had scarcely started his apostolic ministry and was already making quite an impact with what he said and the way he said it. He had real good news for the people, especially the poor, the sick, and the outcasts. He spoke with all the authority that divine wisdom and truth possess. He was not one of the many interpreters of the law, nor a commentator like so many teachers of the law who could be found throughout Palestine. He was showing himself to

knows this very well. Powerful in his words, Jesus is also powerful in his deeds, unlike the people of his time; indeed, unlike the people of all time, unlike all of us. He is braver and more powerful than any simple man can be, for the saving power of God is at work in his words and in his actions. As followers of his, we share in his prophetic and liberating mission. We also share in his strength if we cling to him in our struggle against Satan. Knowing who will be the winner, shall we still wonder on whose side to stand and fight?

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

The challenges for Philippine Tourism in 2012

By Fr. Shay Cullen
FOR the beautiful Philippines to have an attractive, clean and healthy tourism industry, much effort has to be done in eradicating the tarnished image made by the influx of thousands of single men seeking sex. We all need to face this harsh truth that thousands of young women and minors are being exploited in the so-called sex tourism business. This is driving away family tourism as millions of prospective decent respectful tourists do not want to be associated with that image. It brings to mind the story of 15 yearold Jenny who was brought to the beach apartment of an Australian tourist in Olongapo city and sold by her parents to him as a live-in sex partner. Jenny hated it but could not run away but when her younger 13 year-old sister, Ruth, was introduced to the Australians new friend from Sydney to be his room cleaner and then his sex partner, Jenny sought help from the Preda child protection center in Olongapo City. Ruth was rescued and the two Australians charged with trafficking and sexual exploitation of a minor. But this case and many others like it highlight the complicity of the justice system in giving foreign child sex offenders and traffickers leniency and every chance to bribe their way out of trouble. The two Australians were able to have the charges against them dropped despite available testimony of the minors. The judge ordered Ruth, the strongest witness, to be taken out of the protection of the Preda Shelter and given back to the parents who sold her to the tourist. This was the end of the legal action. Ruth, the prime witness was threatened with punishment and silenced. No police action was taken against the parents either. The unwritten government policy appears to be that trials of foreign sex-tourists is bad for business. There have been few convictions of sex tourists or traffickers in recent years. Although this will hopefully change as President Aquino and Justice Secretary Leila De Lima crack down on corruption. The Philippine government for the past ten years allowed the spread of the sex tourist industry instead of curbing it and protecting the vulnerable impoverished women and children that were recruited and forced or lured into prostitution. The promotion of the gambling business with the spread of gambling casinos where drugs and prostitution are part of the attraction is equally damaging to the youth. The holding of so-called beauty contests where bikini-clad young girls are displayed as models and contestants is to entice sex tourists, both local Filipinos and foreigners, to flock to the Philippines. These contests are not much more than a sanitized slave market. Local governments are accountable too. They issue operating permits and licenses to the sex clubs. The governments support and leniency attracts the international sex Mafia, drug traffickers and people traffickers. Human rights activists are challenging

Social Concerns

B7

government to drastically change this policy of allowing the industry to continue unchecked and unregulated. The busy social hygiene clinics, where sex bars and clubs are mandated to have their employees medically examined monthly or so, are evidence of the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV-AIDS which is reportedly on the increase. The most important aims and goals of the Preda foundations program is to educate and alert local government officials and the parents of the dangers and evils of sex tourism and the vice industry. It has to be the aim of all womens and children rights advocates to oppose the existing approved practice and persuade government to ban sex tourism and close the establishments that are fronts for prostitution. We have to inform public opinion through the media as to the damage it is causing and work for its elimination and encourage the positive kind of tourism for which the Philippines is also well known and famous for. The Philippines is famous for its tropical island beaches, natural scenic and adventure tourism, scuba diving, golf, heritage and historic tourism. Environmental tourism and whale watching are popular and many new opportunities await development. The good tourism is there, it needs investment and development and the commitment of the government to close down the worst kind and promote the good. All of us have the duty to work for these goals.

Faith / B4

9. It is also important to promote encounters with those persons who, while not claiming to have the gift of faith, are nevertheless sincerely searching for the ultimate meaning and definitive truth of their lives and of the world,30 taking as an example the dialogues of the Courtyard of the Gentiles, sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture. 10. The Year of Faith can be an opportunity to pay greater attention to Catholic schools, which are a perfect place to offer to students a living witness to the Lord and to nurture their faith. This can be done by making use of good catechetical tools, like the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Youcat. IV. At the level of the parish/ community/association/ movement 1. In preparation for the Year of Faith, all of the faithful are invited to read closely and meditate upon Pope Benedict XVIs Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei. 2. The Year of Faith will also be a good opportunity to intensify the celebration of the faith in the liturgy, especially in the Eucharist.31 In the Eucharist, mystery of faith and source of the new evangelization, the faith of the Church is proclaimed, celebrated and strengthened. All of the faithful are invited to participate in the Eucharist actively, fruitfully and with awareness, in order to be authentic witnesses of the Lord. 3. Priests should devote greater attention to the study of the documents of Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic
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Church, drawing from them resources for the pastoral care of their parishescatechesis, preaching, Sacramental preparation. They should also offer cycles of homilies on the faith or on certain specific aspects such as, for example, the encounter with Christ, the fundamental contents of the Creed, and faith and the Church.32 4. Catechists should hold more firmly to the doctrinal richness of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and, under the direction of their pastors, offer guidance in reading this precious document to groups of faithful, working toward a deeper common understanding thereof, with the goal of creating small communities of faith, and of giving witness to the Lord Jesus. 5. It is hoped that there will be a renewed commitment in parishes to the distribution of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and of other resources appropriate for families, which are true domestic churches and the primary setting for the transmission of the faith. This might be done, for example, during the blessing of homes, the Baptism of adults, Confirmations and Marriages. This can contribute to the deepening of Catholic teaching in our homes and among our families, so that everyone may feel a strong need to know better and to transmit to future generations the faith of all times.33 6. The promotion of missions and other popular programs in parishes and in the workplace can help the faithful to rediscover the gift of Baptismal faith and the task of giving witness, knowing

FILE PHOTO

that the Christian vocation by its very nature is also a vocation to the apostolate.34 7. During this time, members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and of Societies of Apostolic Life are asked to work towards the new evangelization with a renewed union to the Lord Jesus, each according to their proper charism, in fidelity to the Holy Father and to sound doctrine. 8. Contemplative communities, during the Year of Faith, should pray specifically for the renewal of the faith among the People of God and for a new impulse for its transmission to the young. 9. Associations and Ecclesial Movements are invited to promote specific initiatives which, through the contribution of their proper charism and in collaboration with their local Pastors, will contribute to the wider experience of the Year of Faith. The new Communities and Ecclesial Movements, in a creative and generous way, will be able to find the most appropriate ways in which to offer their witness to the faith in service to the Church. 10. All of the faithful, called to renew the gift of faith, should try to communicate their own experience of faith and charity35 to their brothers and sisters of other religions, with those who do not believe, and with those who are just indifferent. In this way, it is hoped that the entire Christian people will begin a kind of mission toward those with whom they live and work, knowing that they have welcomed the news of salvation which is meant for every man.36

Conclusion Faith is the lifelong companion that makes it possible to perceive, ever anew, the marvels that God works for us. Intent on gathering the signs of the times in the present of history, faith commits every one of us to become a living sign of the presence of the Risen Lord in the world.37 Faith is both a personal and a communal act: it is a gift from God that is lived in the communion of the Church and must be communicated to the world. Every initiative for the Year of Faith should be designed to aid in the joyous rediscovery of the faith and its renewed transmission. The recommendations provided here have the goal of inviting all of the members of the Church to work so that this Year may be a special time in which we, as Christians, may share that which is most dear to us: Christ Jesus, the Redeemer of mankind, Universal King, leader and perfecter of faith (Hb 12: 2). Given in Rome, at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, on 6 January 2012, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. WILLIAM LEVADA Prefect CARDINAL

3 JOHN XXIII, Address of the solemn opening of the Ecumenical Vatican Council II, 11 October 1962. 4 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen gentium, n. 1. 5 The Ordinary Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops have treated the following topics: The preservation and strengthening of the Catholic Faith, its integrity, vigor, development, historical and doctrinal coherence (1967), The ministerial priesthood and justice in the world (1971), Evangelization in the modern world (1974), Catechesis in our time (1977), The Christian Family (1980), Penance and reconciliation in the mission of the Church (1983), The vocation and mission of the laity in the Church and in the world (1987), The formation of priests in actual circumstances (1991), Consecrated life and its mission in the Church and in the world (1994), The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the hope of the world (2001), The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of the Church (2005), The Word of God in the life and mission of the Church (2008=. 6 BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Roman Curia, 22 December 2005. 7 ID., Porta fidei, n. 4. 8 JOHN PAUL II, Address on the closing of the Second Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 7 December 1985, n. 6. The same Pope, in the initial phase of this Synod, during the Angelus of 24 November 1985, said: Fatih is the principal foundation, it is the cornerstone, the essential criterion of the renewal willed by the Council. From faith come custom, the stile of life and practical direction in every circumstance. 9 ID., Apostolic Constitution, Fidei depositum, 11 October 1992, n. 2. 10 Ibid., n. 3. 11 Ibid., n. 4. 12 BENEDICT XVI, Porta fidei, n. 11. 13 ID., Address to the participants in the meeting organized by the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, 15 October 2011. 14 ID., Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 7. 15 Cfr. ibid., n. 12. 17 Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 150. 18 BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 15. 19 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Dogmatic Con-

stitution, Lumen gentium, n. 65. 20 BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 13. 21 Ibid., n. 6. 22 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Decree, Unitatis redintigratio, n. 1. 23 The following recommendations made for Episcopal Conferences are also offered, in an analogous way, to the Synods of Bishops of Patriarchal and Major Archepiscopal Churches, as well as to the Assemblies of Hierarchs of the other Eastern Catholic Churches sui iuris. 24 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Dogmatic Constitution, Lumen gentium, n. 25. 25 BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 13. 26 Ibid., n. 12. 27 JOHN PAUL II, Apostolic Constitution, Fidei depositum, n. 4. 28 BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 8. 29 Ibid., n. 12. 30 Ibid., n. 10. 31 Ibid., n. 9. 32 Cfr., BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, 30 September 2010, nn. 59-60, and 74. 33 ID., Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 8. 34 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Decree, Apstolicam actuositatem, n. 2. 35 Cfr. BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 14. 36 CONC. ECUM. VAT. II, Pastoral Constitution, Gaudium et spes, n. 1. 37 BENEDICT XVI, Apostolic Letter, Porta fidei, n. 15. [Original text: English] 16 This Committee, formed by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, according to the mandate of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, includes among its members: Cardinals William Levada, Francis Arinze, Angelo Bagnasco, Ivan Dias, Francis E. George, Zenon Grocholewski, Marc Ouellet, Mauro Piacenza, Jean-Pierre Ricard, Stanisaw Ryko and Christoph Schnborn; Archbishops Luis F. Ladaria, and Salvatore Fisichella; Bishops Mario Del Valle Moronta Rodrguez, Gerhard Ludwig Mller and Raffaello Martinelli.

LUIS F. LADARIA, S.I. Titular Archbishop of Thibica Secretary

NOTES 1 BENEDICT XVI, Enc. Letter, Deus caritas est, 25 December 2005, n. 1. 2 ID., Homily on the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord, 10 January 2010.

Fisher / B6

Sto. Nio / B5

the goods. Meanwhile, the people remain in the morass of evil. But it is Gods will that all be saved from evil and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). For this reason, he raised prophets to speak his word. Because they speak for God, their words have authority. These are powerful. The Bible characterizes these words as having exousia, which means authority and power. The prophet Isaiah compares the word of God with the rain and its effects: For just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down, and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to him who sows and bread to him who eats, so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it (Isa 55:10-11). Thus, the word of the prophet Ahijah about Jeroboam (1 Kgs 14:10) was fulfilled: the entire house of Jeroboam was utterly killed off, according to the warning which the Lord had pronounced through his servant, Ahijah, the Shilonite (1 Kgs 15:29). Because the word of God has authority and power, it can destroy, as Jeremiah says (Jer 1:10), but it can also save: the word that has been planted in you is able to save your souls (Jas 1:21). In the century before the time of Jesus, it

seemed to the Jews that God has stopped communicating his powerful word: There had not been such great distress in Israel since the time prophets ceased to appear among the people (1 Macc 9:27). The Jews were dependent on scribes who were experts of the Law of Moses and were called rabbis. They extracted rules and principles from the Torah for daily living, taught and transmitted the Law and its development, and gave judgment. Nevertheless, the Jews kept hoping that God would send his prophet again: The Jewish people and their priest have made the following decisions: Simon shall be their permanent leader and high priest until a true prophet arises (1 Macc 14:41). After all they were assuredthe 1st Reading tells usof Gods promise to send a prophet: I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen, and will put words into his mouth; he shall tell them all I have commanded him (Deut 18:18). In todays Gospel, Mark would have us understand that by his coming, Jesus fulfilled this prophecy in Deuteronomy and the Jewish expectation. And elsewhere in the New Testament, we are told that God has finally spoken to us through his Son (Heb 1:1). In Jesus the Word, therefore, we have an infallible guide for human thinking and living, and a power to salvation. The Gospel

tells us how Jesus spoke: The people were astonished at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes All were amazed and asked one another, What is this? A new teaching with authority. He commands even the unclean spirits and they obey him (Mark 1:27). This poses the question: now that Jesus is taken up to the heavens, through whom does God speak with authority to us? God speaks his authoritative word through the Scriptures: All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16). The Gospel remains powerful, as is shown in Thessalonica, where it came to the people in power and in the Holy Spirit, and they became imitators of Paul and Jesus himself (1 Thess 1:5-9). That is why the Bible is important to us. Also, God speaks through the ministers of the Church, who have been charged to preach the Gospel (2 Tim 4:2-5) to move us. And, according to the 2nd Reading, he likewise speaks to us through those persons, married or unmarried, who by their lives prophesy here and now the possibilities of the life to come (1 Cor 7:35).

dreadful storms, or to experience the disappointment of a fruitless nighttime fishing . . . Some of us may always prefer to remain with our favorite friends. Jesus asks us to give that up, too, and reach out to others, even to those who may not be so attractive or pleasant. Some of us may always want to have our way. Jesus asks us to give that up and learn to go out of our way to help people in need. That is the Jesus way. He did that throughout his life; he taught that to Simon, Andrew, James, John, and the innumerable others he has been calling along the centuries as he chances on people while they cast or mend their nets by the seashores of their lives . . .
Like / B6

second, I replied. But, Sides, I think LIKE simply stands for: Loose Insights Kindling Emotions! Whoa! Hold it right there, Fahthu! Ed starts to rabidly type on his tablet. [THUD! THUD! TAP! TICK!] What are you doing, inviting me already? Oh, updating my daily status: L.I.K.E. - Loose Insights Kindling Emotions! [SIGH!]

the Creator, and are, so to speak, the interpreters of that love (Gaudium et Spes, 50). The family is the first community called to announce the Gospel to the human person during growth and to bring him through a progressive education and catechesis to full human and Christian maturity(FC, 2). The parents not only communicate the Gospel to the children, but from their children they can themselves receive the same Gospel as lived by them (Evangelii Nuntiandi [EN], 71). The family, as foundation of society, has an essential task in genuine societal transformation and a definite ecclesial task which places itself at the service of the building up of the Kingdom of God in history. Just as the Lord Jesus grew both in body and wisdom (Lk 2:52) in the family, every family should provide the solid basis for Christian formation. Here, the young people can be strengthened and be trained for family, social and apostolic life, to build a new world where true democracy, equality, love, justice and peace reign. (Auxiliary Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, DD is the head convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group.)

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Moral Assessment

Entertainment
Technical Assessment

CBCP Monitor

January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome Exemplary

Poor Below average Average Above average Excellent

AFTER a series of successful albums and concert tours, Dave Seville (Jason Lee), the chipmunks and chipettes father-figure cum manager decides to give his 6 wards a break and embark on a special cruise. He forewarns his children, especially Alvin to behave and stay away from trouble but the exact opposite happens as the entire ship is transformed into a huge playground for the chipmunk sextet. Alvin decides to be more daring and go para-kiting, however, the chipmunks collect ive weig hts are no match for the winds. They get carried off the ship and land in a deserted island in the middle of the ocean. Dave and Ian (David Cross) are reunited as they try to rescue the chipmunks and end up marooned in the other end of the island. The 3rd sequel to the Chipmunks franchise has started to become redundantly and predictable. Although the song and dance sequences are still entertaining, storywise, it falls a little short for a full length film. Even the comedy is a little rundown by now.

The attempt to add some dramatic moments worked for a while but was not enough to give the film a fresh twist. Overall, audiences would have had their dose of entertainment but will surely forget about it after a few hours. Fortunately, Alvin and the Chipmunks 3: Chipwrecked offers a few good lessons for the family. For one, there is the strong family theme that resounds from beginning to end. For parent viewers, the film can be a reminder of their unconditional love for their children during good and well-behaved times as well as the nerve-wrecking naughty and bratty times. (I for one have constantly sympathized with Dave and saw my young son in Alvin.) A parent needs to be firm and consistent but understanding and accepting at the same time. For the children viewers, they will realize that at one point, they would need t o gr o w u p a n d b e m or e responsible in life. There is also the element of transformation. Ian, who has been the franchises nemesis, has shown remorse over his past mistakes.

TITLE: Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked CAST: Justin Long, Matthew Gray Gubler, Jesse McCartney, Jason Lee, David Cross, Jenny Slate, Amy Poehler, Cristina Applegate, Anna Faris, Alan Tudyk DIRECTOR: Mike Mitchell GENRE: Animation, Adaptation, Kids/Family, Comedy and Sequel LOCATION: USA & Canada RUNNING TIME: 87 minutes Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: Cinema Rating: For viewers of all ages

Despite admitting that he has exerted effort in getting revenge, he realized that this obsession has negatively consumed his life and even encouraged Zoe to make the right decision. At the end, it is implied that he chose to save Dave and completely reform his ways. Although the theme and language of the movie is suitable for the family, the chipmunks recklessness might be misunderstood by the very young audience. Parents are advised to explain consequences of certain actions to their children.

MAC en COLET

Ni Bladimer Usi

Buhay Parokya

Find the images of Sto. Nio de Cebu, Mother Teresa of Calcutta and St. Lorenzo Ruiz

TITLE: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows CAST: Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Jude Law (Dr. Watson), Noomi Rapace (Madam Simza Heron), Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler), Jared Harris (Professor James Moriarty), Stephen Fry (Mycrof Holmes) DIRECTOR: Guy Ritchie GENRE: Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure CINEMATOGRAPHER: Warner Bros. LOCATION: England RUNNING TIME:128 minutes Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: Cinema Rating: For viewers 18 years old and above

SYNOPSIS: Sherlock Holmes is the smartest man. There is a new criminal mastermind at large-Professor Moriarty-and not only is he Holmes intellectual equal, but his capacity for evil, coupled with a complete lack of conscience, may actually give him an advantage over the renowned detective. When the Crown Prince of Austria is found dead, the evidence, as construed by Inspector Lestrade (Eddie Marsan), points to suicide. But Sherlock Holmes deduces that the prince has been the victim of murder-a murder that is only one piece of a larger and much more portentous puzzle, designed by Professor Moriarty. The cunning Moriarty is always one step ahead of Holmes as he spins a web of death and destruction-all part of a greater plan that, if he succeeds, will change the course of history.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 18 - 29, 2012

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A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Chito Tagle (center) flanked by KCFAPI Officers led by President Guillermo N. Hernandez (seated 2nd from left) and Executive Vice President, Ma. Theresa G. Curia (seated, extreme left) together with Supreme Director, Alonso L. Tan (seated, extreme right), Luzon Deputy, Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (seated, 2nd from right) and members of KCFAPI Board of Trustees and Officers of KCFAPI majority owned companies during the courtesy call on the Archbishop at the Arzobispado Intramuros, Manila.

The Cross

Newly-installed Manila Archbishop inspires youth

THE installation of Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle, a former Chief Squire and K of C Supreme Council Scholar, as the 32nd Manila Archbishop serves as an inspiration to the young ones, most especially to the Columbian Squires, the official youth organization of the Knights of Columbus (K of C) in the country to produce more youth leaders who will serve fellow Filipinos and the nation. we are very proud of him (Archbishop Tagle). His installation last December 12, 2011 at the Manila Cathedral, Intramuros, Manila brought

KC takes part on Tagles installation

KCFAPI sends aid to Sendong victims

THE Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) gave a total amount of P300,000 financial assistance to the victims of Typhoon Sendong in response to the devastating flash floods that swept across Northern Mindanao shortly before Christmas. KCFAPI President Guillermo Hernandez and Executive Vice President Ma. Theresa G. Curia together with some officials from the Association and the Order went to Cagayan De Oro City on December 23, 2011 to personally hand

a big challenge for us to develop more young Catholic men who will [follow after his steps], Luzon State Columbian Squires Chairman Jose Cuaresma said. Cuaresma added there will be a Search for an Outstanding Columbian Squire in the Luzon State Jurisdiction in honor of the newly-installed Manila Archbishop. Archbishop Tagle, a known theologian, was awarded a scholarship grant by the Supreme Council Headquarters in 1973. The latter gave him an amount of P2,000-a-year award

for four years in recognition of his outstanding performance as a Columbian Squire. The young Tagle was the first K of C Supreme Council Scholar at San Jose Seminary in Quezon City and became a youth model as the Chief Squire of the Rajah Soliman Circle No. 2180 in Imus, Cavite. On 13 October 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the successor of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales who retired after eight years of service in the countrys primal see. (KC News)

Arrival honors. Fourth degree honor guards and escort company led by District Deputy Amado Sanglay prepare for arrival honor to Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle on December 12, 2011 at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila.

Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Javellana Ledesma, S.J. (seated center) together with (standing L-R) Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni; staff; KCFAPI Executive Vice President, Ma. Theresa G. Curia, Fraternal Benefits National Manager, Gari San Sebastian.

over the cash donations to Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Javellana Ledesma, S.J., and Iligan Bishop Elenito R. Galido, DD. Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni assisted the KCFAPI officials during their visit in Cagayan de Oro. Typhoon Sendong inundated Northern Mindanao and more than a thousand residents, including two Brother Knights. Among the hundreds missing were two brother knights, according to the reports by K of C Regional Secretrary Zosimo J. Arandil. (KC News)

THE Order in the Philippines gave an arrival honor to the former Imus Bishop Luis Antonio Tagle, when the latter assumed the post as the new head of Manilas Roman Catholic Church on December 12, 2011 at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Intramuros, Manila. The arrival honor was rendered by the 4th degree honor guards and escort company led by District Deputy Amado Sanglay. Sanglay said there were 70 honor guards and more than 80 Brother Knights who worked as security personnel during the installation. Most of them were from the five districts of Imus, Cavite, where Tagle was Bishop for ten years. Sanglay, who became the overall

commander of the K of C members secured the safety of the participants on the recently held 2011 National Youth Day, added that the said arrival honor ceremony was the first ever done in the country by the 4th degree in support of a principal leader of the Church like Archbishop Tagles installation. Earlier, the Order nationwide lauded the appointment of the K of C Supreme Council Scholar and former Chief Squire Archbishop Tagle as the 32nd ordinary of the Archdiocese of Manila. Archbishop Tagle, also known as Fr. Chito of Tagaytays Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol succeeded Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales after serving the countrys primal see for eight years. (KC News)

2012 offers new hope for Mindanao Jurisdiction

THE Mindanao State Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines sees hope in 2012 despite the tragedies brought by Typhoon Sendong in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni said their strength comes from their continuous dialogue and communication with the Bishop and Council Chaplains. Closer ties with them are of utmost importance. To thresh out issues or problems that sometimes may occur between the Council officers, the Parish priest and ChaplainsGrand Knights should align their activities with the church, Fauni said. He added that the recent calamities and their faith in God led them to see and identify their strength and weaknesses as a jurisdiction and guided them to come out with corresponding recommendations and suggestions. The Pope said, to strengthen our faith in Christ and joyfully to announce Him to the men and women of our time. This Year of the Faith will be a great challenge for us. We will exert more efforts and focus on our membership growth and One Member, Per Council, per Month is just so timely, Fauni added. Despite the catastrophe, the Mindanao Deputy proudly announced that his jurisdiction was on track in their Membership Growth and New Council Development for the past five months of 2011. He pointed out that the Joint Council First Degree Exemplification and the Creation of New Councils greatly helped and improved their growth. The Food for Families project, for example, could help us reach more families and be able to evangelize through recruitment of new members, Fauni concluded. (KC News)

KC 9th Natl Confab promo kicks off

THE Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines held its first Preliminary Draw for the 2012 K of C 9th National Convention Raffle Promo led by Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap on January 6, 2012 at the KCFAPI main office in Intramuros, Manila. Winners of the first preliminary draw were Conceso Ravelo, Co. 12645M14 of Bukidnon (P2,000.00); Roderick Gimeno, Co. 6502-S41 of Occidental Mindoro (P4,000.00); Guillermo Alday, Jr, Co. 15169-L45 of Batangas (P6,000.00); Jumar Hernandez, Co. 15079-S57 of Laguna (P8,000.00); and Amor Nio, Co. 6183-C51 of Cubao, Quezon City (P10,000.00). The raffle promo aims to raise funds for the 9th National Convention of the Knights of Columbus in the country to be held on April 27-29, 2012 with Luzon as the host Jurisdiction. We are confident that this fundraising activity will be accorded with enthusiastic support by every Knight for its success will surely redound to the successful implementation of the various projects of your council and the state, Yap said. The second preliminary draw will be on February 18, 2012; and the grand draw will be held during the 9th K of C National Convention with P500,000.00 for first Prize; P250,000.00 for second prize; P100,000.00 for third prize; and P10,000.00 each for the fourth up to tenth prize winners plus ten consolation prizes of P2,000.00 each. Each ticket costs P100.00 and it is open to non K of C members. (KC News)

State Deputies brace for more challenges in 2012

STATE Deputies from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao are ready to face the challenges to be encountered by the Order in the coming year even as they request their fellow Knights to support their programs and activities aligned with their objectives. May I take this opportunity to appeal to our brother knights not only in Luzon but also in the Visayas and Mindanao Jurisdictions to fully support two big events in the next few months. The first is the Walk for Life and the other is the 9th National Convention, said Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap. Yap added that they are expecting 2,000 brother knights, 100 clergies/chaplains and 12 Bishops to attend the 9th K of C National Convention. Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson will also be attending the said event together with Supreme Council officers and Father John Grace, to discuss some programs to help enrich their spirituality. Likewise, Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni also encourages his fellow Knights in Mindanao to back their programs as stated in the recent midyear meeting. We have achieved great things these first five months (July-November) of our Columbian year, but the challenges continue, and we need your support on our One Member, per Council, per Month now more than ever, said Fauni. Visayas Deputy Rodrigo Sorongon, on the other hand, acknowledged the efforts of his fellow Knights for a job well done. Brother knights allow me to thank you for all the hard work you have contributed during the past six months in getting us to where we are now today regarding the goals set to us by the Supreme Council. I know its short of my expectations but nevertheless I really appreciate your dedication and participation, said Sorongon. For those who have not performed well you still have up to the end of February to meet your membership drive, NCD, round table and Reactivation of your suspended councils and I believe that you can do it, he added. The K of C State Deputies greet the whole country a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. (Yen Ocampo / KC News)

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Hilario G. Davide, Jr.

The Cross

CBCP Monitor
January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Chairmans Message
WELCOME 2012! There is every reason to welcome it, not only because it is a new year, but more specially so since we have just experienced a year of contrasts and witnessed events that brought pains, sufferings, desolation and despair. Yet, it ended with hope and joy as we celebrated Christmas and welcomed into our hearts and homes Mother Mary, the Child Jesus, whose message of Love and Peace guarantees us the eternal Truth of salvation. Christmas always precedes the New Year to teach us that unless the Spirit of God and the Heart of Jesus shall rule our lives in the new year, all will be sound and fury, and every one would be but a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1). Let not the year 2012 be merely a year of the dragon. I cannot imagine why a dragon should be made to guide our life. Instead, let 2012 be the year of Blessed Pedro Calungsod whose canonization this year as the second Filipino Saint, will be the biggest spiritual event in the Philippines. Let 2012 be, likewise, the year for the celebration of the sanctity of Life. It is for this reason that our KCFAPIs theme for the Columbian Year 2012-2013 is BLESS LIFE. With all vim, vigor and vitality, and Gods guidance and grace, let us remain united in opposing the RH Bill and in faithfully complying with Gods plans. Let us GO in the Spirit of Jesus Way, GROW in the Spirit of Jesus Truth, and GLOW in the Spirit of Jesus Life. HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012!

The Cause for the Beatification of Father George J. Willmann, SJ

EMULATING the virtues that bespeak of sanctity of a person, like Father George J. Willmann, is what we need today to draw us into a deeper living out of the fullest meaning of our Catholic Faith in the context of increasing secularism. Thus, we believe, is one of the most important objectives in initiating the Cause of the good Father George. As prescribed by the Congregation for Causes of Saints in Rome, a person may be elevated to the honors of the altar if he has lived up to a heroic degree of the supernatural virtues of faith, hope and charity, as well as the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. We believe that Father Willmann practiced them all to an exceptional degree. In order to establish and widen the fame of Sanctity of Father Willmann, may we call on all Brother Knights, their families and friends to respond to the following appeal: Submission of testimonies on Fr. Willmanns heroic virtues; Recitation of Prayer for his Beatification in private and during K of C meetings and affairs; Invocation of his intercession in our prayers; Submission of Reports on answered prayers through the intercession of Father Willmann; Visitation of his tomb in the Sacred Heart Novitiate Cemetery, Novaliches, Quezon City. Membership to Fr. George J. Willmann Fellows. This is a challenge for all of us Knights of Columbus members, who dearly love Father George J. Willmann, SJ.

FBG reveals KCFAPIs top 10 sales agents

THE Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG) of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines , Inc. (KCFAPI) has named the top 10 Fraternal Counselor of the Year Contenders. This recognition is in line with the Fr. George J. Willmann Annual Family Service Awards, which is especially designed for the top sales agents of KCFAPI. As of 29 November 2011, Emma Nena Gumapac of Metro Manila Achievers led the ranking followed by Teofilo Samson of Southern Luzon Lakers, while Reynaldo Segismundo of Northwestern Luzon Thunders got the third spot; top four is from Northeastern Luzon Cavaliers Danilo Tullao. Jeffrey Rey Guillermo of Central Luzon Conquerors is the biggest gainer snatching fifth place. Also included on the top 10 are Maria Teresa De La Mota of Western Visayas Bull; Bonifacio Morales of Central Luzon Believers; Teodulo Sandoval of Metro Manila Excellence; Melissa Lourdes Reyes of Central Luzon Diamonds; and Eduardo Cruz, also a product of Central Luzon Believers. The Family Service Awards are given in recognition of the Fraternal Counselors and their family members who achieved the highest sales production. (KC News)

Guillermo N. Hernandez

Supreme Council sends aid for flood victims in the Philippines

IN response to the devastating flash floods that swept across the southern portion of the Philippines shortly before Christmas, the Supreme Council has sent $30,000 in emergency relief funds to assist with the humanitarian efforts in the Mindanao jurisdiction. The money was sent to Caritas Philippines, the charitable and humanitarian organization of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Our hearts and our prayers go out to the people of the Philippines who have been struck by this disaster, and we especially remember all our brother Knights and their families who have been directly affected, and also those others who are working hard to bring relief, said Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson. We know the great suffering, hardship, homelessness and loss of life that this storm has brought to the Philippines, and we will continue to work with our Knights and the local Church leaders as they provide help where it is most needed. One of the worst natural disasters to hit the southern Pacific nation in decades, Tropical Storm Washi (known locally as Typhoon Sendong) brought more than a months worth of rain in the span space of 12 hours on December 16, causing more than 1,000 reported deaths and leaving some 500,000 people displaced in and around the areas population centers of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City.

Presidents Message
BEFORE anything else, let me greet all of you a Happy, Prosperous and grace-filled New Year this 2012. Once again, we start another year and we brace ourselves to face all the challenges that 2012 will throw at us. KCFAPI, for 2012, has adopted the corporate theme of BLESS LIFE. Life is Gods ultimate gift to man and it is our duty to make the most, not only of our lives, but of the lives of our fellowmen as well. This is what KCFAPI aims to do as we BLESS LIFE. Through the protection and coverage that we are able to offer through our benefit certificates, our brother knights and their families attain peace of mind that they will be able to successfully address whatever challenges they are bound to face in the future. There is a saying that states that as long as we are breathing, there is still hope for life. On the other hand, given all the uncertainties of our future life, we also experience apprehension and fear of the unknown. As KCFAPI provides timely and adequate insurance protection and coverage to our brothers and their families, we effectively allow them to enjoy life to the fullest without the lingering fear of any sudden loss of income and sustenance. With our support, we provide them a better kind of life which they can securely share with their loved ones. We continue, not only to innovate and improve on our strategies and operations, but likewise to use leverage to maximize the capabilities and benefits of our resources. These enable us to fulfill our goal of helping our brother knights even as we strive to excel in our defined area of expertise. For all of us at KCFAPI, it is already a form of reward and fulfillment to realize that we are helping our brother knights become more effective providers for their families. As we afford them a higher awareness of their potential and actual capabilities as reliable providers, we can proudly say that indirectly, we are being our brothers keeper. This does not only jibe with the ideals of the order of the Knights of Columbus, but also strongly supports the values and teachings of the Catholic Church as well. Let me end by once again greeting you all a Happy New Year. Vivat Jesus!

Rescue efforts continued as the New Year dawned, with crews searching for survivors under thousands of collapsed homes and removing tons of downed trees and debris. In addition to releasing the emergency $30,000 donation, the Supreme Council also has asked councils and individuals to donate to the Orders Philippine Disaster

Relief fund, which can be accessed through the Knights of Columbus website. Ongoing relief efforts will seek to restore electricity, purify water sources and replenish the food supply. There are more than 260,000 Knights of Columbus members throughout the three jurisdictions in the Philippines. (KC News)

Luzon Jurisdiction to push 1-1-1 program to increase membership

THE Luzon jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines is seeking to achieve the 1-1-1 program, otherwise known as recruit one member per council per month. The program urges State Deputies and all Brother Knights to grow the Orders membership through consistent and organized effort. We conducted a survey during the mid-year meeting of DDs (District Deputies) to find out how many new members their district could produce. The total was very discouraging as it will be about 1,000 short out of the 9,000 required by June 30, 2012. Although the projected deficit is about 11%, the councils which will be able to meet or surpass their targets are less than 400 councils and yet would be able to reach about 89% of the target, said Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap. Yap convinced the more than 700 councils that were not able to recruit a single member up to the last minute of 2011, to address their shortcomings. We need only 200 of them to gain at least 5 new members each and the shortfall would be met, Yap explained. The Luzon deputy added he will give incentives to the District Deputies to work harder on these councils. He will also provide the membership materials needed to meet their quota. The whole Jurisdiction, meanwhile, is asking the help of the Parish Priests/ Chaplains in this recruitment program. (KC News)

Christmas gift-giving at KC village

Save the Unborn Statue. After he reiterated the unequivocal stand of the Knights of Columbus on the issue of Reproductive Health Bill, Luzon Deputy, Arsenio Isidro Yap led the blessing of the Save the Unborn Statue on December 17, 2011 at the National Shrine of St. Anne in Hagonoy, Bulacan. This was a project of the Knights of Columbus Hagonoy Council 4110. In photo are the other officials of Luzon Jurisdiction and K of C Co. 4110 led by District Deputy Enrico Capule; Grand Knight Armando Aguinaldo; Deputy Grand Knight Fortunate Dela Cruz, Jr; and Council Chaplain, Msgr. Luciano Balagtas. (KC News)

Gift-giving project. The K of C Luzon Jurisdiction Malolos Council 3710 conducted a gift giving project in their local community last month with over 200 residences as beneficiaries of grocery items. Part of the project were Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap; District Deputy Enrico Capule; Grand Knight Mario Mangulabnan; Deputy Grand Knight Senen Mangalile; and other Brother Knights who gave their full support for this gift giving project. (KC News)

IN joyful celebration of the Christmas season, the KC Philippines Foundation, Inc. (KCPFI) organized a second annual Yuletide Gathering at the KC Village, GK Site, Tungkong Mangga, San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. The celebration started with the Holy Mass officiated by Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III with a group from the Couples for Christ serving as Choir. The Mass was then followed by a short program wherein the KC Officers delivered their Christmas messages. Officers in attendance were KCPFI President and Supreme Director Alonso Tan, Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap, Visayas Deputy Rodrigo Sorongon, Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni,

KCFAPI Independent Trustees Emiliano Deleverio and Hospicio Suralta, Jr. and KCPFI Executive Director Bobby Cruz. The activity was highlighted with the distribution of bags of groceries to K of C beneficiaries. To the delight of the crowd, even non-K of C beneficiaries received token gifts such as clothing items and second-hand footwear donated by KCPFI and KCFAPI employees. Children also lined up to get their loot bags. A simple but delicious merienda provided by the Foundation and supplemented with native delicacies prepared by the KC beneficiaries, followed the program. (Denise Solina)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 2
January 16 - 29, 2012

The Cross

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Because it conflicts with the natural moral law, Roe v. Wade can never be regarded as settled
By Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
THIS month we observe nearly four decades of pro-life activity in response to the infamous decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe vs. Wade. I am proud that the commitment of the Knights of Columbus in building a culture of life has grown stronger each year. Some say that Roe v. Wade should be accepted as settled law and that attempts to restrict or overturn it should end. This argument has appeal because there should be clarity and certainty in our laws. But it falls short because there is a principle more important than certainty in our legal system justice. Although there are many problems with the legal reasoning in the Supreme Courts opinion in Roe v. Wade, the most fundamental is that the courts decision rests upon a falsehood, which is expressed in Justice Blackmuns statement, We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. Whatever Blackmun may have believed in 1973, it is simply untrue in 2012 to say that abortion does not take the life of an unborn human being. Because of this reality, abortion will never be settled law in the United States and must someday be overturned. As I wrote in my first book, A Civilization of Love, our situation is similar to that faced by the civil rights movement after the Supreme Court ruled in the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson that separate but equal laws were constitutional. That decision enshrined the hateful system of de jure segregation throughout much of the United States and took 58 years to overturn. The Supreme Courts decision in Plessy v. Ferguson was based upon an untruth the court rejected the obvious fact that the legally enforced separation of the two races stamped African-Americans with a badge of inferiority. The court went on to say that if African-Americans thought separate but equal laws were demeaning and unfair, it was only because they chose to put that construction on such laws. In his dissent, Justice John Marshall Harlan contended that the courts view was pure fiction and that people knew it to be so. The same must be said of Roe v. Wade. If we remain determined and committed, it too will one day be brushed into the dustbin of history. Roe v. Wade will also one day be swept away for another reason: As I showed in my latest book, Beyond a House Divided, the decision has failed to gain the support of the American people after nearly four decades. Most Americans want legal restrictions on abortion that go far beyond what is permitted by the courts ruling. This presents another lesson that can be learned from the civil rights movement. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. never hesitated to remind the people of the United States of their JudeoChristian values. In his famous 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail, he even relied upon the Catholic natural law tradition. King wrote: One may well ask, How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others? The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: there are just and there are unjust laws. I would agree with Saint Augustine that An unjust law is no law at all. He continued, Now what is the difference between the two? How does one determine when a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of Saint Thomas Aquinas, an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law. A law that is out of harmony with the moral law can never be regarded as settled as long as there are men of conscience, men of determination and men who understand that our nation

Standing for justice

will be judged by the respect we give to every personeven to

the least among us. Vivat Jesus!

Joseph P. Teodoro

For Brother Knights by Brother Knights

Angelito A. Bala

Bless Life
The Bless Life logo illustrates 4 main figures that contribute to the whole meaning and relevance of the corporate theme. The most prominent focal point of the logo is the symbol of life which is in green colour. Ankh, the symbol of life was believed to have originated in Egypt which means several things: Gods and Pharaohs were often shown with it held on their hands to show how they preside over life as if implying that they are immortal; it was also originally used as a hieroglyph symbol representing fertility and reproduction, gates to death and immortality (afterlife). These meanings directly supports the values that the Church, the Order and KCFAPI Upholds. The bottom portion of the logo shows two hands holding up the symbol of life with such care and importance. The hands depict our strong stand and support in valuing life and protecting it. The colour yellow means hope. The blue light shining from above symbolizes the blessing of life and everything that it has to offer. It was shown in what seem to be a loop of light coming from above and going up and down. This is to show that we value the blessings and restore all of it back to our Creator. It can also be compared to a road or ladder which meets at the top portraying success or continued improvement. The Logo of KCFAPI can be seen on the middle of the symbol of life. This is to show that KCFAPI is committed and is in full support towards the culture of life. As a whole, the logo can also be seen as a Chalice and Host, symbolizing the Body and Blood of Christ- the center of the Catholic faith. A man is shown under the light cascading from above and rising again is the manifestation of Gods eternal love for man, for which man must eternally reciprocate. For 2012, KCFAPIs selected theme nourishes Gods ultimate gift to mankind LIFE in all its stages: from its beginning with the unborn up to the sunset stage. In its unique way, KCFAPI now aims to BLESS and exalt this important gift of LIFE. Bring life KCFAPI, with its timely, reliable and dependable insurance benefits, protects members and families against financial woes from loss of income and loss of life. Live life KCFAPI allows insured members and families and their beneficiaries to live a normal, worry-free life. Enjoy life With KCFAPIs second-tonone coverage, the insured and his family is free to make plans for a bright future to enjoy and cherish lifes opportunities with their loved ones. Share life KCFAPI is proud of its capability to extend and generate opportunities for members to give back to society, through a unique fraternal concern for our brothers. Support life KCFAPIs assurance of providing reliable and continued normalcy to family life alleviates if not eradicates irresponsibility towards life. The year 2012 will strike a great devotion in promoting the cause of our Founder, Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ. In offering everything for the Cause of Fr. Willmann, KCFAPI with all its might, will strive to BLESS LIFE in the following manner: Leverage Take all positive steps to get the most from our own unique and distinct advantage. KCFAPIs financial strength will continue to persist as we always aspire to get value from every resource that we expend. Innovate Create, invent and differentiate. Capitalize on human, information and communication technologies and be always ahead in addressing the ever-evolving needs of our members and their families and beneficiaries.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What is microinsurance? A. The Insurance Commission through Insurance Memorandum Circular IMC No. 1-2010 (dated 29 January 2010) defines microinsurance as follows: Microinsurance is an activity providing specific insurance, insurance-like and other similar products and services that meet the needs of the low-income sector for risk protection and relief against distress, misfortune and other contingent events. A microinsurance product is a financial product or service that meets the risk protection needs of the poor where: a) The amount of premiums, contributions, fees or charges, computed on a daily basis does not exceed five (5) percent of the current daily minimum wage rate for non-agricultural workers in Metro Manila; and b) The maximum sum of guaranteed benefits is not more than 500 times the daily wage rate for non agricultural workers in Metro Manila. According to this memorandum circular, if the minimum daily wage rate for non-agricultural workers in the National Capital Region is 426.00 pesos, the amount of daily contribution for a microinsurance product is 21.30 pesos (a little over 149 pesos per week) and that the largest amount of death benefit for a life microinsurance product is 213,000 pesos. (Wage Order No. NCR-16) The regulator further requires the following: the contract of insurance must bear the microinsurance logo, the provisions of the contract are simple and easy to understand, documentation requirements are simple, the manner and frequency of payment of the contributions must follow the cash flow patterns of the insured. It is worth repeating that the target market of microinsurance is the poor. But who are the poor in the first place? A PIDS study showed that it is the informal sector that belongs to the informal economy that has a huge demand for risk protection - risk protection against death, illness or disability and damage against property. Their research showed that informal workers can be any of the following: urban micro-entrepreneurs, urban workers (wage earners), small farmers, fishers or rural entrepreneurs, and the last group landless rural workers and fishers. Broadly, one can classify them as the self-employed and the minimum wage earners. (PIDS Discussion Paper No. 2006-25 revised) The government had long realized the need to provide protection to poor households as they are the most vulnerable to various risks, having no access to social protection, credit or finance. By offering risk protection and various coping mechanisms, the government through propagation of microinsurance can help promote poverty alleviation. Thus, to recognize its importance, instill greater awareness and understanding, starting in 2007, via Presidential Proclamation No. 1212, January of each year and every year thereafter is declared as National Microinsurance Month.

Luzon Deputy tackles anti-RH Bill guidelines at District Deputies Meeting

LUZON Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap has reiterated the unequivocal stand of the Knights of Columbus on the issue of Reproductive Health Bill during the District Deputies Mid-Year Meeting at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel on December 3-4, 2011. Yap stressed that the K of C orderwide is behind the Catholic Church in its stance against the RH Bill specifying the guidelines stated in a circular issued by the organization dated 2011 December 30. The memorandum states that new members, especially those who have ambivalent stand on the RH Bill, should be made certain that they would not eventually favor the bill. It also instructs to survey the positions of the current members on the bill, talk to those members who are publicly known as ProRH Bill and explain to them the consequences of the bill. The circular also mandates Brother Knights to pass some council resolutions supporting the stand of the Church and the Order against the passage of the RH Bill into law and submit said resolutions to their respective Congressmen with copy furnished to the Luzon Jurisdiction. It likewise directs KC mem-

Fulfill Act and achieve goals. Agility in delivering an intelligent and deliberate outcome. Excel Increase growth and performance - socially, financially and spiritually. BLESS LIFE is our corporate theme for 2012. KCFAPI will not just be a highlyproductive Mutual Benefit Association for our Brother Knights and their families; but will likewise be an active mover and partner of the Order of the Knights of Columbus and of the Catholic Church. KCFAPI is a Life Insurance Privilege, the First Choice and Only Preference of a Knight of Columbus. Let us therefore pray that through the intercession by KCFAPI Founder, Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ, all of us the board of trustees, the field representatives, management and staff, all together may be blessed. Experience KC Life . . . Bless Life!!!

State Chaplain and Cubao Bishop, Honesto F. Ongtioco, (3rd from right) together with Luzon Assistant Chaplain and CBCP Media Director, Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III (4th from left), with Luzon State Officers led by Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (3rd from left) and Supreme Director Alonso L. Tan (2nd from right) during the Luzon District Deputies Mid-Year meeting held at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel.

bers to survey the positions of politicians in their respective localities with regard to the RH Bill and refrain from giving their political support to such politicians, who are known to be Pro-RH Bill. Another guideline directs the knights to organize some activities in coordination with the local parishes, activities that will make

known the strong opposition of the K of C to the RH Bill. A directive from the Supreme Knight Carl Anderson also states that Brother Knights are not allowed to invite speakers in council activities, persons who are publicly known as Pro-RH Bill. The guidelines were lauded by the Luzon District Deputies,

State Officers, and guests. Also present at the Luzon District Deputies Mid-Year Meeting were Supreme Director Alonso Tan, KCFAPI President Guillermo Hernandez, State Chaplain and Cubao Bishop Honesto Ongtioco, and Assistant State Chaplain and CBCP Media Director Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III. (KC News)

Photo shows Bro. Braullo Briones Rojonan, Jr. Grand Knight of the Our Lady of Fatima Suterville Council Nr: 15409, together with a member of the Police Community Relations of the Regional Public Safety Battalion 9 (RPSB9) of the Police Regional Office 9, Camp Abendan Mercedes, Zamboanga City, handing over donations to Fr. Romy Tokop, Asst. Chaplain of Our Lady of Peafrancia Parish. A total of thirty seven (37) sacks/packs of used clothing donations were generated for the victims of Typhoon Sendong. The event was also witnessed by District Deputy SK Victor Montero, Grand Knight Bobby Maramba of the Our Lady of Peafrancia and Sir Knight Manuel Buen.

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FBG holds service training program

The Cross

CBCP Monitor

January 16 - 29, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 2

Give love on Christmas Day

A gift-giving activity led by the Gift-giving committee of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) was conducted at the main office in Intramuros with over 120 Day Care students from Barangay 655 and Barangay 658 in Manila as beneficiaries of grocery items and toys.

Fraternal Benefits National Manager, Gari San Sebastian (extreme right) and Fraternal Benefits Staff, Jemwel Santillan (extreme left) with the participants of the FBGs two-day fraternal service training program held at the KCFAPI Social Hall in Intramuros, Manila.

THE Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG) of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) held a twoday fraternal service training program on November 22-23, 2011 at the KCFAPI Social hall in Intramuros, Manila. Training participants were Onofre Visitacion of Bicol Express; Fochlee Mansibug and Diosdado Lacanlale of Northeastern Luzon Cavaliers; Delfin Perona of Northwestern Luzon Thunders; Edgar Antonio of Central

Luzon Diamonds; Lauro Palma, Jr., Virgilio Igloria, and Nelson Sangueza of Southern Luzon Lakers; Christopher Soliven of Metro Manila Chancellors; Apolinar Gonzales, Jr. and Raymond Sy of Metro Manila Achievers. Benefit Certificate Holders Relations Manager Edwin B. Dawal and Underwriting Department Manager Carmelita Ruiz discussed the various functions of their departments, while KCFAPI Medical Director Dr. Jaime Talag discussed about medical

underwriting. Fraternal Benefits National Manager Gari San Sebastian and Fraternal Benefits Staff Jemwel Santillan tackled about the fraternal service program, sales technique, and sales compensation. The FBG familiarized the participants with the primary objective of KCFAPI, which is to provide optimum mutual benefits to all its members and their immediate families. (KCFAPI News)

Luzon State Chaplain celebrates 39th sacerdotal anniversary Visayas Deputy dares
THE State Chaplain of the Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction celebrated his 39th Sacerdotal anniversary with a Eucharistic celebration at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in the Diocese of Cubao last December 8, 2011. KC Luzon State Chaplain and Cubao Bishop Honesto F. Ongtiocos anniversary celebration was attended by the K of C Luzon State officers: Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G. Yap, Supreme Director Alonso L. Tan, State Secretary Joven B. Joaquin, State Auditor Raoul A. Villanueva, Church Director Vic Ortega, Columbian Squires Chairman Jose F. Cuaresma, RTDD Chairman Nestor Correa - Diocese of Cubao and Secretary to the Executive Board Ramon C. Sanchez. It is such a great honor to have him as our state chaplain, said Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G. Yap. (KC News)

fellow knights to achieve 100% quota

THE Visayas Deputy of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines has a new challenge to his fellow Knights and this is to strengthen their recruitment tactics to achieve a 100 percent quota by the end of January 2012. In a 5-month time frame since the start of the Columbian year (2011), the Visayas Jurisdiction is number 4 throughout the Order and now number 3 in membership drive, according to Visayas State Deputy Rodrigo Sorongon. Visayas has reached 50 percent of New Council Development quota and I challenged the District, Provincial and Regional Deputies to intensify recruitment activities so that 100 percent of the quota will be achieved by the end of January 2012, Sorongon said. He also stressed that the council reactivation is of the utmost concern and that it is equally as important as new council development (NCD) and membership drive. He also cited some activities for the Year of Faith, an event Pope Benedict XVI recently announced which will begin on October 11, 2012. The Visayas Jurisdiction will be conducting symposia and forum for the educa-

39th Sacerdotal Anniversary - Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (standing, extreme left) followed by Supreme Director, Alonso L. Tan and Cubao Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco, DD together with the other State Officers.

Visayas Jurisdiction holds Marian Prayer program District Deputies Midlaunched in the Philippines Year Evaluation

BROTHER Knights from all over the Visayas Region gathered for the District Deputies (DDs) Mid-Year evaluation on November 26-27 at the ECOTECH, Cebu City. The gathering was held on the feast of St. John Berchmans, Patron of Altar Boys, which fell on the First Sunday of Advent. The event also served as the DDs fellowship and Christmas Party. The mid-year evaluation, which included seminar and conferences for the DDs started and ended with a Eucharistic celebration led by Rev. Fr. Soc Saldua and Rev. Fr. Monico Catubig. State Administrative Assistant Allan Nicolas Ouano gave the welcome remarks, while Anthony P. Nazario acknowledged the other provincial and regional Deputies who attended the event. State Executive Secretary Bro. Eugenio Hautea delivered the

speech of Bro. Eduardo Laczi, Director for Philippine Affairs. Several speakers rendered reports in their respective areas. State Secretary Anthony P. Nazario gave some updates on their Jurisdiction; Wenceslao A. Canete, Jr. for the Columbian Squires updates; Vice Supreme Master Pedro Rodriguez on the Fourth Degree; State Program Director Noeni S. Napomuceno on the programs to be implemented next semester; and State Treasurer Vidal Ambrosio B. Jo, Jr. for the New Council Development and Council Reactivation program. The regional reports were also done by Noeni S. Nepomuceno for Region 6; Wenceslao A. Canete, Jr., Region 7; and Dalmacio C. Grafil for Region 8. The 2011 Mid-Year Evaluation culminated with a consultation session with State Deputy Rodrigo N. Sorongon. (KC News)

THE Order in the country has embarked on a Pilgrimage with Our Lady of Guadalupe, bearing her image from council to council, from parish to parish, to spread her message and her love. A new Knights of Columbus Marian Prayer Program, which features an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe was launched in the country by the Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines during their District Deputies Mid-Year Meeting last December 2011 at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel. We have these icons of the Our Lady of Guadalupe to visit for a week each and every

council in Luzon. We had planned this to last for about three years and at which time; were expecting a new set of icons to augment the current that we have. Eventually, wed like that the devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe be on a permanent basis by providing one icon to every diocese in Luzon, said Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap. Yap added that they made guidelines on the Icon Pilgrimage of Our Lady of Guadalupe and Marian Prayer Program. The icons were blessed by the State Chaplain, Bishop Honesto Ongtioco. The Supreme Council, meanwhile, provided the Icons of the Our Lady of Guadalupe to visit every council in the Luzon Jurisdiction as well as the prayer booklets to be used during the vigils. The Marian Prayer program which features an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe also known as the Protector of the Unborn, along with prayer books and prayer cards available in English, French, Spanish and Polish began last August 3, 2011 at the 129th Supreme Convention in Denver. The Order is encouraging every K of C member to attend the hour of prayer program along with their families. (KC News)

tion of its members. We will closely monitor the activities of the respective parishes so we can actively participate with the Church in the grassroots level, Sorongon added. As the State Deputy and as a simple Brother Knight, Sorongon said he is always ready to face the challenges, issues and initiatives in the Church that affects the work he does by properly coordinating with the Church hierarchy particularly in the locality where the Visayas Jurisdiction has direct involvement; meeting regularly with the Bishops; and encouraging other Brother Knights to actively take part in the activities of the Archdiocese. He also mentioned the importance of the Membership Growth Plan. This one member, per council, per month might work but this will bring you all the way to the end of the Columbian year and it will not give you a leeway in case some councils will not be able to perform as expected thus not meeting the membership goals set by the Supreme Council. One member per council, per month pretty much explains what needs to be done, he ended. (KC News)

Photo shows Papal nuncio Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto receiving a book from the KCFAPI board about the life and works of Fr. George J. Willmann, founder of the KC in the Philippines, during a courtesy at the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila last December 16, 2011.