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Pope says immigrants could revitalize US Church

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CBCP head seeks justice for slain Catholic radio man

THE head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines is calling for justice for the killing of a Catholic radio reporter in Mati City, in Davao del Sur. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, CBCP president, condemned the killing of DxHM-AM news reporter Nestor Libaton and prays that the broadcasters death would be given justice. First, we are saddened that this happened, Palma said. Second, we hope and pray that the authorities will act on it that justice may be pursued.

May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

Php 20.00

Justice / A6

Legislators laud Palmas call to shun pro-RH candidates

IT seems a simple statement from a Church official about responsible voting for the faithful is generating more affirmative reactions than skeptics would prefer. Members of the House of Representatives praised Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palmas recent call on the faithful to refrain from voting for politicians who support the reproductive health (RH) bill in the 2013 elections. Im very happy about that. I think [it has an impact], kahit ngayon pa lamang nararamdaman na. Hindi na ganun ka-vocal yung mga dating vocal proponents, tumahimik (even now the effects can be felt already. The bills proponents who used to be vocal have become silent). And Im sure the bishops position is a legitimate one being the guardian of faith and morals of the faithful, said Rep. Dennis Socrates (Palawan, 2nd district). Socrates questioned Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello last year during interpellations on House Bill 4244 on the measures brand of freedom of choice, chiding him that the bill showed just the opposite via certain provisions that indicated coercive means of implementation. Another staunch anti-RH solon, Rep. Roilo Golez (Paraaque, 2nd district) lauded Palmas call, believing that being the leader of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) the faithful will take the archbishops call very seriously. People will consider that, said Golez. Rep. Vincent P. Crisologo (Quezon City, 1st district) asserted that it was time the Church issued such a call on its faithful to ward off any threat to Filipino culture and point out their rights through the ballot. I am against the RH bill and I think its about time [the call was issued]. From the point of view of the Church, the RH bill goes against faith and morals. It is but proper that they do call on their faithful, Crisologo said, adding that if the pronouncement were made much earlier, I believe this bill would not have reached first reading. The Catholic Church since the beginning of Christianity has been consistent in its teaching that [artificial] birth control is wrong and that Catholics must abide by the [Churchs teaching on this] as pointed out in the encyclical Humanae Vitae of Pope Paul VI, the lawmaker added. Crisologo also pointed out that this call will definitely have an impact. For solons that are not wellentrenched in their district, it will have an impact. (CBCP for Life)

Church leaders hit govt over rising unemployment

By Roy Lagarde

CBCP chief urges diplomacy to resolve Shoal feud with China

AS tension between China and Philippines continues over the Scarborough (Panatag) Shoal, the Catholic Church said it is all out behind the Aquino administration in protecting the countrys sovereignty. But the head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines stressed all moves must be done in the spirit of diplomacy. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, CBCP president, said the government must work to diffuse the situation and pursue all diplomatic channels and means to resolve the ongoing dispute with China. We believe that we have to protect our own sovereignty to show that we love our country, Palma said. On the other hand, we have many experts saying that there are ways that can be done through diplomatic means. We know that the complicity of the issue will require experts, diplomats. On our part we say that to the extent we can manifest that we love our country and we love our land and we need to protect our sovereignty, he said. A foreign affairs official on May 10 said the Philippines and China have resumed talks in Manila to ease the maritime tension which started last April 10 when the Philippine Navy accused Chinese boats of fishing illegally off the Scarborough Shoal. The Philippine Navy tried to arrest the crew but was blocked by Chinese surveillance vessels deployed in the area, which China calls Huangyan Island. Both countries claim the shoal which is believed to be rich in mineral resources, natural gas and oil. But Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Philippines will still bring the matter to the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to legally settle the issue, despite Chinas objection. We call on our experts and diplomats to negotiate and try their best to make known our claim, said Palma. (Roy Lagarde/CBCPNews)

OFFICIALS of the Catholic Church chided the Aquino government over its inability to remedy the rising unemployment rate in the country.
They said that in a country that is rich in agricultural potential and natural resources, there should not be problems such as the lack of job opportunities. According to them, many people are suffering from unemployment and high inflation rate, which necessitate a solution by all responsible officials. We really need some kind of effective economic planning, said Ledesma, former vice president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. And the challenge really is to provide more employment opportunities in the country. Unemployment in the Philippines had reached a record-high of 34.4 percent in the first quarter of the year, which means 13.8 million Filipinos have no jobs, pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed on May 21. The SWS said the results were 10 points higher than the December 2011 unemployment rate, which registered at 24 percent, or 10.7 million adult Filipinos. It also surpassed the February 2009 record of 34.2 percent. The latest survey, which was conducted from March 10 to 13, sampled 1,200 respondents using face-to-face interviews. The poll also found that most of the unemployed were either resigned, retrenched, or are first-time job seekers. It noted that the majority of the unemployed belonged to the 18-24 year-old age group.
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Papal nuncio Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto greets the new Palo Archbishop John Du after his formal canonical installation at the Transfiguration of Our Lord Metropolitan Cathedral in Palo, Leyte, May 10, 2012. Prior to his being named as Palo archbishop, whose jurisdiction covers the Archdiocese of Palo with suffragan dioceses of Calbayog, Borongan and Catarman, Du was the bishop of Dumaguete.

Photo courtesy of Sammy Navaja

Mindanao tribal community enjoys own electricity despite power crisis

Samar bishops outraged over killing of anti-mining advocate

THE Catholic bishops of Samar Island have expressed outrage over the murder of an anti-mining advocate in Eastern Samar. The incident happened in Naparaan village in Salcedo town last May 1 where still unidentified individuals ambushed and stabbed to death Francisco Mano Francing Canayong as he drove his tricycle homeward. We are deeply saddened by the murder of Mano Francing. We are outraged by its injustice, said Bishops Crispin Varquez of Borongan, Isabelo Abarquez of Calbayog and Emmanuel Trance of Catarman in a joint pastoral letter. Canayong was a member of the Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development. The bishops said he also held leadership positions in other nongovernment organizations advocating environmental protection, human rights and ordinary citizens

Bishops push smoking ban in church premises

Water from a small stream is channeled to a small mini dam to power the mini-hydro power plant that produces 10 KWs of electricity.

WHILE Manila insists on privatizing two major power source to stem the alleged power shortage in Mindanao, a tribal community in the mountains of Bukidnon is enjoying a crisis-free source of power and potable water for years now. Sourced from a small free-flowing

stream that flows directly from the mighty Pulangi River, the mini-hydro power plant installed by the Environmental Science for Social Change (ESSC) is producing 10 KWs of electricityjust enough for the basic lighting needs of the 50 Pulangiyen households in Sitio
Mindanao / A6

welfare. We pray and call for justice to Mano Francings death, the bishops said. But they also exhorted the faithful who believe in what Canayong stood for to continue his crusade to protect the islands remaining forests. Rather than be discouraged, we should take inspiration from his sacrifice if only because he reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus our Master himself, the church officials said. The victory of Christs resurrection is a sure sign that right is might and that the good that we do will triumph in the end, they added. According to them, Canayongs nobility edifies them citing that he was offered bribes to stop opposing mining operations in Salcedo but refused to accept them. The bishops revealed that Canayong had already received death threats a number of times because
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Photo courtesy of Bong Fabe

THREE Catholic bishops have given their support to the anti-tobacco campaign and considering banning smoking within church premises in their dioceses. Bishops Arturo Bastes of Sorsogon, Jose Oliveros of Malolos, and Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao said they are concerned about the secondhand smoke and its effect on children. I am absolutely in favor to ban smoking even at the church premises, plaza, compound or patio. Smoking inside (the Church) is already banned, said Bastes. I would highly recommend or favor
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Illustration by Bladimer Usi

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World News

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

Pope calls on Chinese Catholics to be faithful to Church and consistent in their faith
VATICAN City, May 20, 2012Pope Benedict's prayer at the Regina Caeli today, was for Chinese Catholics, who on Thursday venerated the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, venerated with great devotion at the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai" (pictured), "so that they may announce with humility and joy the Risen Christ, be faithful to his Church and the Successor of Peter and live their daily life in a manner consistent with the faith we profess." "Mary, Virgin most faithful, support the path of Chinese Catholics, render their prayer ever more intense and precious in the eyes of the Lord, and advance the affection and the participation of the universal Church in the journey of the Church in China." Benedict XVI's thoughts for Chinese Catholics came after the Marian prayer, that in this period replaces the Angelus, when the Pope addressed his greeting to the faithful of different languages. Thus, in Italian recalled both the bombing yesterday in a school in Brindisi, southern Italy, and the earthquake that this morning struck the north east region of Emilia. "Unfortunately, I have to remember the girls and boys of the school in Brindisi, who yesterday were involved in a cowardly attack. Let us pray together for the wounded, some very seriously, especially for young Melissa, an innocent victim of brutal violence and for her family, who are in pain. My affectionate thoughts go also to the dear people of Emilia Romagna affected by an earthquake a few hours ago. I am spiritually close to those who are suffering from this calamity: we implore God's mercy for those who are dead and relief from suffering for the injured," he said. Before reciting the Regina Caeli, to 20 thousand people in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI had spoken of the Ascensionwhich is celebrated in many countries todayand how Jesus " in fact, in his humanity, he took mankind with him in the intimacy of the Father, and so has revealed the final destination of our earthly pilgrimage. Just as he came down from heaven for us, and for us suffered and died on the cross, so for us he rose again and ascended to God, who therefore is no longer distant, but "Our God", "Our Father" (cf. Jn 20:17). The Ascension is the ultimate act of our deliverance from the yoke of sin, as the Apostle Paul writes: "He ascended on high, and took prisoners captive" (Eph. 4.8). St. Leo the Great says that with this mystery not only is the immortality of the soul proclaimed, but also that of the flesh. Today, in fact, not only are we confirmed possessors of paradise, but in Christ we also penetrated the heights of heaven". Benedict XVI then greeted "the thousands of members of the Italian Movement for Life, meeting in Paul VI Hall.

US Catholics preparing Fortnight for Freedom events

Saints John Fisher and Thomas More. The close of the two-week observance will feature a July 4 Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, which will be concelebrated by well-known action is the Health and Human Services mandate that requires employers to cover birth control and other services that Catholics and other believers find morally objectionable. At Baltimores Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Archbishop William E. Lori will offer a special June 21 Mass at 7 p.m. to open the fortnight. June 21 is the vigil Mass for the feast of
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Dear friends, your movement has always been committed to defending human life, according to the teachings of the Church. In this line you have announced a new initiative called "One of

us," to uphold the dignity and rights of every human being from conception. I encourage and urge you to always be witnesses and builders of a culture of life". (AsiaNews)

WASHINGTON D.C., May 20, 2012Various initiatives are planned throughout the country in response to the U.S. bishops call for a Fortnight for Freedom June 21-July 4 to encourage prayer, education and public action about religious freedom. The initiative was created in response to several moves by the Obama administration that are threatening the Churchs religious freedom. The most

Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington and Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia. Archbishop Chaput will serve as the homilist at the 12:10 p.m. liturgy. Bishop Richard Malone of Portland, Maine will celebrate a July 2 Mass at Portlands Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception. Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or to pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can continue to make our contribution to the common good of all Americans without violating our deeply-held moral beliefs, Bishop Malone said. This issue affects all Americansit is not a Catholic issue, a Jewish issue, an Orthodox, Mormon, or Muslim issue. It is an American issue. In Arlington, Va. Bishop Paul S. Loverde will celebrate a Holy Hour for Religious Freedom

at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More on June 21 at 7:30 p.m. In many ways, this struggle is more a marathon than a sprint. I ask you to join me and prayerfully embrace this challenge not only as a vital struggle over Catholics right to full citizenship in this great country but as a teaching moment for us all, Bishop Loverde said in a May 2 letter to his dioceses priests. Bishop Loverde has encouraged Arlington priests to host talks on religious freedom, educate the faithful on the issues at stake, and urge them to pray a Novena for religious freedom. Priests should provide a tangible focal point for the faithful to learn about religious freedom, he said. He advised a place near the sanctuary entrance where parishioners can obtain prayer cards and educational materials. With Gods grace, much good

will come of this, the bishop said. In the Archdiocese of Denver, archdiocesan administrator Bishop James D. Conley will ask Catholics to fast and pray on each of the fortnights two Fridays. Parishes have been invited to hold Holy Hours for religious liberty. The most important thing is the invitation to Catholics to pray and fast for religious liberty, archdiocesan chancellor J.D. Flynn told CNA May 18. The archdiocese has invited political science professor Robert Kraynak of Colgate University to speak about religious liberty on June 21 and 22. An essay contest on religious liberty for high school students, with a scholarship as a prize, is also in the works. Other events in the Denver archdiocese include gatherings for college-age students at St. Thomas

Aquinas University Parish in Boulder and Bl. John XXIII Parish in Fort Collins, and an event for Hispanic Catholics at the archdioceses Centro Juan Diego. The Archdiocese of Louisville has encouraged parishes to incorporate a prayer for religious liberty at liturgically appropriate times on the weekends of the fortnight. The archdiocese is planning a package of electronic resources for parishes to publish on their websites. In an April 12 statement, the U.S. bishops ad hoc committee for religious liberty called for a fortnight of freedom from June 21 to July 4. The period includes a series of feasts of great martyrs who faced political oppression. Their statement was an urgent summons to U.S. Catholics, stressing the need for prayer, fasting, and public action for religious freedom. (CNA)

Vatican Briefing
Vatican aide assures continued help in Orlandi mystery

Paul VI honored as One of the Great Protagonists of the 20th Century

ROME, Italy, May 18, 2012Pope Paul VI's role in history will be highlighted at a Roman university that is instituting a chair in his honor. According the Vatican Information Service, today the Paul VI Chair, which will be instituted at LUMSA (Libera Universit Maria SS. Assunta) University in Rome, was presented at the Vatican press office by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, retired prefect of the Congregation for Bishops; Giuseppe Dalla Torre, Rector of LUMSA, and others. Cardinal Re praised the initiative of including the chair dedicated to Paul VI in the sphere of the coursework on contemporary history at LUMSA because "the footprints of his work in historyas the priest in charge of the Italian Federation of Catholic Universities (FUCI), as well as Secretary of State of his Holiness, and later as Archbishop of Milan and Popehave not been erased or discoloured with the passing of time. On the contrary, they have been made stronger. Pope Montini was one of the great protagonists of the 20th century". Paul VI has a place in history, above all for his guidance of the Second Vatican Council, the cardinal affirmed. Even if the merit of calling for and opening the Council falls to Blessed John XXIII, "Paul VI led it with an expert and sure hand, respectful of the Fathers of the Church but firm". For example, He was the first Pope to ride in an airplane; the first to return to Palestine; the first to renounce the crown, earmarking the proceeds of its sale to the poor; the first to go to the United Nations; and the Pope who abolished the pontifical court, bringing a simpler lifestyle to the Pontifical Household". The historical investigation to be carried out under the chair instituted at LUMSA will be very useful for analyzing two little known chapters of Giovanni Battista Montini's life. The first is the work of formation of the members of the Italian Federation of Catholic Universities because the Pope "had an innate passion for the formation of persons: religious, but also civil, social, and in some way even political formation". The second is the impressive charitable activity of human and social assistance that he organized and directed during World War II ... through the creation of Vatican Relief for contact with prisoners and his personal and untiring dedication to feed Jewish and political refugees hidden in convents and religious institutions. This was in compliance with Pius XII's wishes but the dedication with which he devoted himself to this task, asking assistance from nations not at war that they send ships full of provisions to Civitavecchia, north of Rome, merit appreciation and admiration. The 'Montini Chair'", concluded the cardinal, "will also contribute to our remembrance." (Zenit)

Fashion company makes amends for Pope-imam 'kissing' ad

An Italian fashion company has settled a legal conflict with the Vatican, which arose in 2011 after an ad campaign that featured digitally manipulated images of the Pope kissing a Muslim cleric. In the wake of the legal challenge to its ads, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the Benetton Group now recognizes that the Pope's image must be respected. A recent declaration by the fashion company, acknowledged by the Holy See Press Office on May 15, reaffirmed its regret for having offended His Holiness Benedict XVI and believers with its UNHATE advertisements, which portrayed kisses between religious and political leaders. (CNA/EWTN News)
Prominent Legion priest admits fathering child, issues apology

Father Thomas Williams, one of the most high-profile American members of the Legion of Christ, is leaving public ministry after admitting he fathered a child. A number of years ago I had a relationship with a woman and fathered her child. I am deeply sorry for this grave transgression and have tried to make amends, Fr. Williams said in a May 15 statement. He also apologized to members of the Legion and the Church, since this scandalous news will damage them as well, at the worst possible moment. The identities of the mother and child have not been revealed. (CNA/EWTN News)
Vatican talks to continue with Society of St. Pius X

"his decision to publish the famous 'Nota praevia', on collegiality and Petrine primacy established the authoritative and proper interpretation of the matter". He also "loved and esteemed his day and looked at the modern world with sympathetic eyes, seeking the reconciliation between the modern age and the Christian faith. There are few like him who have known how to read the anxieties, the worries, the desires, and the weariness of the human being in our days. As Pope he made historic gestures and, as these were carried out for the first time by a pontiff, they can be considered 'firsts':

Priests condemn city's move banning bishop from events

MADRID, Spain, May 18, 2012Priests in Spain voiced support for a local bishop after a city council adopted a motion banning him from official city events over his remarks criticizing dangerous behaviors within the gay community. On May 15 the Alaca city council passed the motion, which also called for Bishop Juan Antonio Reig Pla to be moved to another diocese. In response to these very grave acts, we express our adherence to the Catholic doctrine taught by our father and pastor, Bishop Reig, as well as our support for him and his apostolic ministry, and we invite all to pray for religious freedom, for our Bishop and for those who persecute the Catholic Church, the priests said in a statement Tuesday. The motion to transfer the bishop was presented by the group Union, Progress and Democracy and was backed by other left-leaning organizations as well as the Spanish Socialist Party. The ruling Peoples Party, however, has opposed the motion. Bishop Reig Pla has faced intense criticism after remarks given in a Good Friday sermon in which he condemned sexual practices he believes to be harmful. As part of a larger cultural critique of sexual behavior in modern society, he lamented how some with same-sex attraction corrupt and prostitute themselves or go to gay night clubs in order to validate their struggle. I assure you what they encounter is pure hell, he said on April 6. In response to the bishop, Socialist Party spokesman Javier Rodriguez said his comments have put him as well as the diocese on the homophobic map. Bishop Reig Pla, however, has gained the support of the Spanish bishops' conference, whose secretary general, Auxiliary Bishop Juan Antonio Martinez Camino of Madrid, called the controversy caused by his sermon unjust. The International Federation of Associations of Catholic Doctors has also voiced support for Bishop Reig Pla as well as more than 20 locals struggling with same-sex attraction who personally wrote the bishop to thank him for his remarks. (CNA)

Though talk has been circulating for weeks of an imminent reconciliation with Rome for the Society of St. Pius X, a statement May 16 from the Vatican press office indicated that discussions with the group will still be ongoing. The statement reports: "Early this afternoon, the Holy See Press Office issued the following communique regarding the Society of St. Pius X: "'As reported by news agencies, today, 16 May 2012, an Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith met to discuss the question of the Society of St. Pius X. (Zenit)
After escaping war, Chaldeans face moral risks in US, says bishop

Thousands pray for Indonesia, world

JAKARTA, Indonesia, May 18, 2012Thousands of Christians from across the globe were in Jakarta yesterday to pray for peace, Indonesia and a better world free of crises and social ills. The service at the Bung Karno Stadium was one of the highlights of World Prayer Assembly 2012, a five-day gathering of Christian leaders that aims to transform the world through prayer. The event, which also includes a series of workshops on Christian leadership, was organized and co-hosted by leaders of Indonesian and Korean prayer movements with the support of international prayer networks such as the International Prayer Council and the Global Day of Prayer. The last World Prayer Assembly was held in 1984. Reverend Bambang Widjaya, an organizer and secretary of the Communion of Churches in Indonesia Advisory Desk, said one of the goals of the May 14-18 event was to ask for Gods blessings so that Indonesia will experience economic prosperity, spiritual and moral renewal and be rid of natural disasters. The service yesterday sought to bring about welfare, justice, joy and peace in the world, he added. Let us make our world free from crime and other bad things, he said. According to Reverend Yonggi Cho from Korea, Christians are called to be Gods arms. The world needs us to, again, serve as Gods children to return the dignity of all people who continue to suffer, he said. Yohanes Sutanto, a participant, said he hoped the service will help free Indonesia from corruption and poverty. Another serious issue [which should be dealt with] is intolerance among religious communities, he said. However, prayers alone will not work, he warned. Concrete action must not be forgotten. Christians should help deal with problems, he added. (UCAN)

Iraqi Catholics fleeing physical danger in their homeland often find themselves unprepared for the moral threats awaiting their families in the United States, said the head of Chaldean Catholics in the Western U.S. Seeing a lack of respect for the unborn, altered definitions of marriage and a general disregard for Christian values means Chaldean Catholic families settling in the United States often find themselves in a world they are not at all accustomed to, Chaldean Bishop Sarhad Jammo of the Eparchy of St. Peter the Apostle of San Diego told Catholic News Service May 17. The challenge for many parents is not so much the usual difficulties with the language or acclimating to a new culture, but rather being afraid of what their children may be exposed to every day in the media and many schools, he said. (CNS)

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The director of the Vatican press office says the inspection of Enrico de Pedis' tomb by Italian officials is a positive event, in efforts to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Emanuela Orlandi. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi made a statement to the press after the inspection was made May 14. Orlandi, a 15-year-old Vatican citizen, the daughter of a clerk of the Prefecture of the Papal Household, disappeared on June 22, 1983, in circumstances that were never clarified. (Zenit)

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Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

News Features
linguistic diversity, promoting sound traditions, and providing much-needed social programs and services. Instead, there also has to be a commitment to ongoing preaching, catechesis and pastoral activity aimed at inspiring in all the faithful a deeper sense of their communion in the apostolic faith and their responsibility for the Churchs mission in the United States. With many Eastern Catholics hailing from the Middle East and Eastern Europe, the Pope noted how the Church in the United States has historically struggled to recognize and incorporate this diversity, and has succeeded, not without difficulty, in forging a communion in Christ. More recently, the largest waves of immigration into the The Catholic community in the United States continues, with great generosity, to welcome waves of new immigrants, to provide them with pastoral care and charitable assistance, and to support ways of regularizing their situation, especially with regard to the unification of families. Earlier this month, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York publicly criticized the attitude of some Republican politicians towards immigration. He described laws that separate immigrant families and require identification before giving charitable assistance to the needy as not Christian and not American. Instead, he urged lawmakers to come up with a much saner, more civil, more just immigration policy. In his May 18 remarks, Pope

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Benedict expressed his profound concern over United States immigration policy being reformed and called for the just treatment and the defense of the human dignity of immigrants. In our day too, the Church in America is called to embrace, incorporate and cultivate the rich patrimony of faith and culture present in Americas many immigrant groups. The leaders of the Eastern Catholic churches are the last of 15 groups of U.S. bishops to visit Rome on pilgrimage in recent months. Pope Benedict concluded his meeting with them by imparting his apostolic blessing and entrusting them, along with their flocks to the loving intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of the United States. (CNA/ EWTN News)

Pope says immigrants could revitalize US Church

VATICAN City, May 18, 2012Pope Benedict XVI says that Catholic immigrants to the United States could play a crucial role in the renewal of the Church and society. The immense promise and the vibrant energies of a new generation of Catholics are waiting to be tapped for the renewal of the Churchs life and the rebuilding of the fabric of American society, said the Pope at a May 18 audience. Pope Benedict made his remarks to a delegation of U.S. Eastern rite Catholic bishops who are at the Vatican for a May 15-19 ad limina visitthe first one specifically created for nonRoman rite bishops. He told the bishops that the apostolic opportunities provided by immigration require more than simply respecting
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The Eastern Catholic bishops on May 17, during their ad limina visit to Rome.

United States have come from other predominantly Catholic cultures, such as the Dominican Republic and Mexico. A recent study suggested that Latinos now make up 32 percent of the U.S. Catholic population compared with only 10 percent

in 1987. Pope Benedict praised the unremitting efforts of Catholic institutions that are responding to the needs of new immigrants and described their endeavors as in the best traditions of the Church in America.

Messengers of hope, peace still face persecution, pope says

VATICAN City, May 11, 2012People spreading the Gospel are still subject to persecution even though they are bringing a message of peace and hope to a world marked by crises, anxiety and desperation, Pope Benedict XVI said. "However, despite the problems and tragic reality of persecution, the church does not get discouraged, it remains faithful to the Lord's mandate," knowing that witnesses and martyrs always have been numerous and indispensible for evangelization, he said. The pope spoke May 11 to officials of Pontifical Mission Societies meeting in Rome. "Dear friends, you know well that proclaiming the Gospel often brings difficulty and suffering," he told his audience. Currently, much of the world In that context, those who proclaim the Gospel, "even if they are messengers of hope and peace, continue to be persecuted like their master and Lord" Jesus Christ, he said. Despite the challenges and threat of persecution, Christ's message "can never give in to the logic of this world, because it is prophecy and liberation; it is the seed of a new humanity that grows, and only at the end of times will it come to full fruition," the pope said. He said the task of evangelization always has been urgent, however, the current era impels the church to go forth "at an even quicker pace" so that people may know the truth in Christ, find salvation and grow in justice and peace. Christians, too, need to listen to God's word and be invited again to conversion, he added. The pope praised and encouraged a new initiative by the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples meant to support the upcoming Year of Faith: the World Mission Rosary, first created by Archbishop Fulton Sheen in 1951, and re-launched by the mission societies. The rosarymade up of yellow, red, white, blue and green beadshelps people pray for the different mission regions of the world and five areas of evangelization: interreligious dialogue, liturgy, solidarity, witness and proclamation. The pope said he hoped the project would accompany evangelizing efforts around the world and help Christians rediscover and deepen their faith. (CNS)

Head of pontifical academy offers apology, affirms pro-life commitment

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Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula and members of the Pontifical Academy for Life participate in a conference on motherhood in Sept. 2011.

is facing economic, cultural and political change and "often people feel alone, fallen prey to anguish and desperation," he said.

Superficial idea of beauty may be seen in natural born men's desire to be beauty titlists
MANILA, May 14, 2012While same-sex marriage supporters in the United States attempt to put homosexual unions and holy matrimony on equal footing, the issue on Philippine shores recently has been the idea of admitting physically altered men into beauty pageants for women in the name of equality. I think the transgender thing happening was really just a matter of time. When beauty is quantified and broken down to things like height or chest or waist measurement, it becomes unsurprising that surgically altered individuals would want in. Im really not a big fan of beauty pageants in general because I think they still tend to objectify women. This for me just makes it even more unpalatable, said Stef Patag, a homeschooling mom in the United States. It just highlights the way beauty has become a commoditysomething that can be purchased, instead of something thats innate, something that comes with being Gods creation or maybe were not even allowed to say that anymore, since thats [supposedly] bigotry? I dont think its a good idea to mix natural born women with naturalized women. This is not like a citizenship issue this involves tampering with nature, magazine editor and newspaper columnist Teresa Reyes Tunay pointed out. Whats insidious here is the long-range effect this move will have on peoples consciousness and values, particularly the young. It will add to the list of things that blur the difference between right and wrong. No real woman in her right mind will join a Miss Universe pageant that insists on entertaining surgically altered men, she added. When discrimination is not necessarily wrong That beauty contests have been tagged as discriminatory is a given, and this kind of discrimination is not necessarily wrong, communications manager Rommel Lopez pointed out, saying that pageants are indeed discriminatory in nature. We separate the beautiful from what, in the judges perception, is not that beautiful. That is how contests are. We differentiate in order to get the best, Lopez explained. That is also the reason why there are female beauty contests and there are male beauty contests. You cannot compare apples to oranges. There are people who dare change their bodies because they based it on their perception of what beauty is. You cannot compare now an organically [grown] apple from an apple that is laden with chemicals. You just cant. Try convincing an organic health buff. Commending the courageous Former Miss Universe runner-up Miriam Quiambao was asked for her opinion on the matter not too long ago, and her simple, honest reply was met with anger and flippancy from some sectors. I believe that the Miss Universe pageant should only be for natural-born women. Yes, I agree that there is a whole lot more to being a woman than just looks and I believe that a Miss Universe representative should not only embody but also have that spirit. By embody, the XX chromosome is a sex-determining factor and the most important, was part of the beauty queens comments published in a broadsheet in April. Miriam sounded sincere; she really spoke from her conscience. Credit her for courage, Tunay said. Her initial statement was good; she should have stopped there and let others ruminate on her words. But maybe due to her zeal she blindly walked into a trap by guesting at a TV show hosted by an overt homosexual. Of course, the gay activists, like roaring lions ready to devour an absent-minded prey, pounced on her. The beauty titlists courage and the reactions her remarks generated reached foreign shores, bringing these to the attention even of Filipinos overseas who keep abreast of events affecting life and family issues. Im not surprised about the flak she got for her comments. But you know, its so cool these days to call Christianity bigotry. I think Ms. Quiambao should be commended for having the courage to stand up for her beliefs. Its funny, though, how those who scream and call for tolerance are the very same people who are the first to call foul when their own beliefs, behaviors and/or lifestyles are challenged, observed Patag. Lets face it, anti-Catholicism/antiChristianity is the last acceptable prejudice. Tolerance is only real when it goes both ways. The LGBT crowd have their own beliefs, let Miriam have hers, Patag said. To be sure, men with same-sex attraction and those who go as far as undergoing surgical alteration are not being prohibited from taking part in beauty pageants. I dont mind if they want to come up with Ms. Gay Universe, etc.at least with all of them transgenders there, the fight will be fair and square. But with real women and virtual women together, the judging criteria, for instance, will necessarily have to be changed, Tunay explained. Lopez, too, leaves it to the person if his desire is to change his anatomical features and to join contests. Its his call. But dont tell us how to define which is a woman and which is not. Go hold your own beauty pageant, he advised. (Diana Uichanco)

Media to blame for teen pregnanciesYouth

QUEZON CITY, May 16, 2012 Some youth leaders pointed at media as the culprit why there has been an increase in teen pregnancies in the Philippines. With the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2011 annual report showing that teen pregnancies in the Philippines increased by 70% from 1999 to 2009, young people reacted and blamed the influence of media. Sex and media Jermer Cruz, 25, a full-time pastoral worker for CFC Kids for Family and Life, explained, We blame it on media where they just say that sex is sex and that there is nothing more meaningful. Cruz whose profession requires him to interact closely with young people from different settings added, Culture from the Western side of the world is being adopted by the young generation right now and they really don't understand... For his part, Nelson Ingking, a 25-year old teacher from Bohol, said that specifically, TV shapes young peoples perception about sexual desirability. Pinapakita sa TV, maganda ka 'pag naka very short shorts ka (It is being shown on TV, you are beautiful if you are wearing very short shorts.) Print media also encourages young people to experiment with sex, according Lanie Santos, 28, Pakalat-kalat nalang ang mga magazines tulad ng FHM. Siyempre magbabasa sila n'yan. Ma-curious sila. (Magazines like FHM are everywhere. Of course, young people will read them. They get curious.) Research says... Unknowingly, these young people are echoing findings from a 2008 Rand Corporation study that showed, Adolescents who have high levels of exposure to television programs that contain sexual content are twice as likely to be involved in a pregnancy over the following three years... The RAND study, headed by Anita Chandra, surveyed 2,000 teens aged 12 to 17. Locally, the sex saturation of media is seen through local teleseryes, magazines, movies and advertisements that have seemingly legitimized pre-marital sex and physical intimacy as romantic. UNFPA 2011 figures show that in the Philippines, 53 out of 1,000 women who give birth are between the ages of 15 and 19. (Nirvaana E. Delacruz)

VATICAN City, May 11, 2012The president of the Pontifical Academy for Life has expressed his full commitment to the Gospel of Life, and apologized for communications that were seen as dismissing members' ethical concerns. On May 8, Bishop Ignacio Carrasco de Paula acknowledged that an April 2012 letter, criticizing some pro-life activists who objected to aspects of a planned Vatican conference on stem cells, contained unfortunate phrasing which, if misunderstood, could have offended the sensibilities of some persons. In Tuesday's letter to academy members, the bishop and academy president assured them that the offending words were not meant to show any disrespect, and certainly not to those with whom we have been collaborating closely and gratefully for years in favor of human life and of its defense. The fulcrum of our academy has always been and is, now more than ever, the Gospel of Life, Bishop Carrasco de Paula told members. His message came four days after a letter addressed to the bishop was made public, in which academy member Professor Josef Seifert sharply criticized the organization's recent decisions about holding conferences. According to Seifert, some members were calling for resignations among the academy's leadership. The controversy began with a February 2012 conference on infertility at the Vatican, in which the pontifical academy played a non-organizing role. The event drew criticism within the academy, for hosting speakers who appeared to endorse techniques and methods condemned by the Church. In April, the academy announced it was canceling a conference on adult stem cells, which would have featured experts who also specialize in embryonic research. In two sets of letters, officials gave different reasons for the cancellation, and disparaged the objections of some pro-life activists. On May 10, two days after Bishop Carrasco de Paula's letter, a senior member of the Pontifical Academy for Life offered CNA his thoughts on recent events at the academy as well as its present needs and future direction. The senior member confirmed that neither the February conference on infertility, nor the canceled gathering on adult stem cells, was organized by the Pontifical Academy for Life. It remains unclear who did organize February's conference, though there are suggestions that it was the work of a Catholic medical school. Dismay over the infertility conference was expressed by all members of the Governing Council of the pontifical academy, the member said. He recalled that after the dreadful infertility conference,

and another unfortunate conference held several months earlier, attention came to be focused on the upcoming stem cell conference with sensitivities and sensibilities heightened. In the view of this senior member, the April 2012 adult stem cell conference might have workedeven with speakers who did not agree with the Churchif the entire program were placed within the anthropological and moral vision of the Church from the beginning, at the end, and with interventions from representatives of the Church's position if a speaker proposed or advocated anything immoral. Nonetheless, other speakers could have been invited with a high level of expertise who were not involved in embryo destruction. The senior member said it was madness to invite speakers who had openly and publicly opposed the Church and her leaders. While in principle, there was absolutely nothing wrong with such a conference, the big issue was the risk of scandal. As I understand it, the conference on morally licit adult stem cell research was also being organized by someone else, and the Pontifical Academy for Life was providing the patronage for it without actually putting it together, he explained. I hope some hard lessons have been learned there! In the future, he said, the academy staff has to be more directly involved in planning conferences. It simply cannot turn the planning of events over to outside groups If an outside group is involved in planning there has to be vigilant oversight. Better management, he said, could do much to prevent incidents like February's infertility conference. The senior member also highlighted the example of past leaders' efforts to safeguard the academy's moral vision. When Cardinal (Elio) Sgreccia was President of the Academy, he would call all the speakers to Rome four months before the conference. Each speaker would have to present his or her complete finished paper, as it was going to be delivered. That way there were no surprises. Cardinal (Fiorenzo) Angelini, who preceded Sgreccia, would actually intervene if a speaker said anything contrary to moral truth and point out forcefully to the speaker and the audience that what was just said was contrary to Catholic teaching or morality. As Catholics we have to be engaged with the broader society, the senior academy member stated. Simultaneously, he said, we must always call those who are involved in scientific research, or manufacturing, or government to do everything in accord with the moral vision of the human person articulated and clearly taught by the Church. (CNA)

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A4
EDITORIAL

Opinion
Panatag Shoal for all

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

IN a recent interview over Radio Veritas, Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes suggested that the best way to resolve the impasse over Scarborough Shoal (Panatag for Filipinos, Huangyan for the Chinese), is to make it and the whole stretch of the Spratly Islands an international marine reserve that will be under the auspices of an international instrumentality such as the United Nations. At first blush, the suggestion seems off tangent. But given a more serious thought, there seems to be a lot of sense in initiating a discussion in favor of a campaign to make the entire West Philippine Seawhich has been traditionally called the South China Seaand the Spratly Islands an International Marine Reserve and a UN World Heritage Site. This would make the Philippines on the forefront of environmental campaign not only in the region but even in the whole world. Quite interestingly, there are a lot of people who share the same wave-length. For instance, Antonio Oposo, Jr, who is a counselor-at-environmental law, thinks that this proposal if heeded would elevate the issue to a very high moral plane. In his open letter to President Benigno Aquino III, he opines very sensibly: By doing that, we will not directly antagonize any of the claimant countries. Instead, the Philippines will be taking a high road, and thereby earn the respect of the world that is increasingly more environmentally aware. Rather than fight with the claiming countries in competition to use resources for the present, we will bring the countries together in cooperation to reserve resources for the future. In the face of this, the military solution such as the one propounded by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who advocated the buying of arms in the inevitability of an armed conflict with China, becomes farfetched. In the first place, equipping the Philippine armory amidst poverty and hunger of a multitude of its citizens is not ethically healthy. In the second place, war is not a good option especially if it is to be waged against a demographic and an economic giant. But of course the diplomatic and legal routes are the best recourse. There is, for instance, the International Court of Justice, the UN Security Council and the General Assembly, and the International Tribunal for Law of the Sea (ITLOS). Issues like territorial integrity, historical sovereignty and relative legal disputes should be addressed more appropriately in these international tribunals. Still the idea of international cooperation is fresh and enticing. Oposo even explores further: As a matter of fact, the Spratly Island can even be an international observation center for the adverse effects of global warming on coral reefs and marine life. Together with the claimant countries and other concerned international agencies and civil society organizations, we can propose the establishment of an international Marine Station, much like the International Space Station. There is no limit to the benefits of cooperation when people understand that no one really owns anything, and that we are just passing through. True, indeed.

Oscar V. Cruz, DD

Views and Points

SO it is that the present government wants the infamous RH Bill passed by the Legislative Department as a priority bill. So it is that the same government is bent in making Population Control as its answer to the national under-development it continuous to aggravate, and to the social-retrogression in the country it successfully maintains. So it is that the incumbent government looks at population as a big enemy, a huge liability although it is people that is its primary export, that wherefore money remittances they send for the total disposition of and the big wastage by the same government. Time and again, it is said that the same now ruling government has in fact three heinous legislative agenda in mind and at heart. They are the following: The anti-nature and anti-reason Population Control, the Divorce Provision and the legalization of Same Sex Marriage. So it is that this present government is not only altogether silent about its

Same Sex Marriage

Two: That it is natural law itself that dictates that marriage is not only a unity but also a union and communion between a man and a woman. This is the simple reason why there can be no such thing as Same Sex Marriage. Three: That instead of marriage as defined by human nature and affirmed by human reason, the so-called Same Sex Marriage can be considered as a partnership, a companionship or anything the likebut not marriage. It takes much more than a mere President a King, a Dictator, a Tyrantto change the law of nature, the provision of natural law. No mere human legislator can contradict the Divine Legislator. No human legislature can abrogate legislation of natural law. This is the truthnotwithstanding any black or brown or white President and for whatever purpose. Not even the One Holy Catholic Apostolic Universal Church can do so.

Ecumenism
DESPITE the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism in 1964, ecumenism has not been one of the top priorities of the Church in the Philippines. Neither the clergy nor the lay people have, in general, laid much stress on ecumenical activities. What Vatican II effected in the Philippines was the lessening of hostilities between Catholic and followers of mainline Protestant Churches, the opening towards mutual understanding and tolerance, and the getting together occasionally for common prayer. More frequent are common efforts for development, for the defense of human rights, and for the promotion of justice and peace. But there have not been many significant endeavors to work together towards Christian unity. With gratitude we are glad to note the services rendered to Ecumenism by the Cardinal Bea Institute, the yearly octave of prayer for Christian unity, the cooperative endeavor of Catholics and Protestants in the Philippine Bible Society and the mutual recognition of baptism between the Catholic Church and some other Christian Churches. In the Philippines, a very important approach to Church unity would be high-level dialogues among theologians of the Churches, and moments of common prayer among Church leaders. Among the general membership of the Churches, authorized common prayers and celebrations can occasionally be done. But the best approach to ecumenism by the Catholic Church is through spiritual ecumenism, i.e., prayer, penance and self-renewal by Catholics with the end in view of drawing nearer to Christ, and, by that very fact, drawing nearer to our separated brethren. Further, Catholics should refrain from using language and doing acts that might unnecessarily alienate our separated brothers and sisters. The annual week of prayer for unity can also be more effectively used to explain the necessity and nature of ecumenism and to urge Catholics to do their share so that all the followers of Christ may indeed, as he prayed, be one. (Acts of the Council, nos. 216-217) --Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, 1991

repugnant threefold intention but neither has it officially denied its said three-tiered program. It is but right and proper to be vigilant about this shady governmentits dubious if not surreptitious plan. But lately, there is this Filipino leader who found an ally in the person of a big and powerful American figure. The latter expressly and publicly announced that he is for Same Sex Marriagehopefully in order to get more votes for the forthcoming elections, considering his more and more falling popularity. Specifically in conjunction with the so-called Same Sex Marriage, it is good to take note of the following more important and relevant on-the-ground realities: One: That according to the law of nature itself, marriage is between a man and woman. It is a farce when done between two individuals of the same sexno matter before whom it is done, no matter how many times it is held.

Seeking the truth

WE have to be clear about how to develop our relationship with the truth. We just cannot sit around and wait for truth to come to us. The ideal relationship is when we seek the truth, love it, follow it. But, of course, we have to be clear first about what truth is, how to recognize it, where it can be found. Nowadays, people are aware that there are many kinds of truth. You have truths that come from the physical sciences, or from the social and political sciences, or from our legal system. There are also truths that just come from our common sense, or from our direct contact with people, things and events. Because of these kinds of truth, we are also quite aware that there are truths that are stable, and others not so, being subject to some changes and are therefore evolving. There are truths that we consider big, others small, some very important, others not so, etc. There are many sources from which the truth can come to us. We just have to realize that truth has a range and scope that spans from the here-and-now to eternity, that covers the material and spiritual, the natural and supernatural, the created and contingent truths on the one hand, and the absolute, necessary, primary and ultimate truth, on the other. We have to be wary when we confine ourselves in our appreciation of truth to what is only here-and-now, material, natural and contingent. That, Im afraid, is the predicament of many of us, a predicament that we need to solve and get rid of. As we can readily realize, we are equipped to know the truth. We have senses that can immediately capture the sensible, material realities. We have

Fr. Roy Cimagala

Candidly Speaking
intelligence that can discern intelligible and spiritual (nonmaterial) realities like essence of things, the causes and effects of things, etc. In pursuit of the truth, we can see, hear, feel, intuit, then think, judge, reason, discuss, argue, conclude, discover, invent, etc. We just have to realize also that we actually are also wired for faith that would enable us to discern not only spiritual realities but also supernatural ones. We can enter into the world of mysteries which are also truths, in fact, a higher kind of truth. Faith enables us to accept truths that are beyond our capacity to see, hear and touch, and even to understand. Faith makes us accept truth through belief. What our Lord told the doubting Thomas is illustrative of faith. Have you believed, Thomas, because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe. (Jn 20,29) Even in our ordinary, daily life, we use some kind of faith, because we simply have to trust people rather than go through the tedious process of investigating and studying as to whether this woman, for example, is really my mother or not, or whether the cook really serves me food and not poison, etc. We are wired for faith. We just have to go all the way to the scope of faith and find that at the beginning and end of it, we will find God himself, the Creator, who made the universe, the author of all reality in all its infinite richness and variety of aspects and levels. In short, we cannot really be in the truth unless we are in God. We cannot seek the truth unless we seek God. The problem we have is that we dare to know,
Candidly Speaking / A7

Brian Caulfield
www.cbcpmonitor.com cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Half a World Away

RECENTLY I spent two weeks in Manila and was happy to see that the faith of the people is still strong in the Philippines. Yet I know from my regular contact with the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines that there are rumblings against the faith on the horizon. In the United States, we have the Health and Human Services mandate threatening religious liberty. In the Philippines, the danger comes from the RH (Reproductive Health) Bill. If I can offer any advice from our experience with the culture of death in the United States, it is this: Dont let this bill gain a foothold in the Philippines. The international forces that support the drive for the RH Bill are well-financed, powerful and patient, pushing year after year and legislative session after legislative session until they get their way. Opponents of the Bill may think these advocates are discouraged and will rest, after suffering one setback after

A Bill to resist Let not the RH Bill pass

progress. The late Cardinal OConnor of New York, the great pro-life leader, used to say that before human life and morals can be attacked there must first be an attack on language. You must get people to think in different terms before leading them to act in different ways. In the United States, the Birth Control League became Planned Parenthood, pro-abortion became prochoice, unborn babies became fetuses or products of conception, and so on. In the Philippines, a bill designed to limit family size, push contraceptives and abortifacients, and expose preteens to sexual education is cast in terms of womens health. Who can be against health for women, especially young mothers? As is true with every assault against decency and morals, the Catholic Church is cast as the main enemy of science and progress. It is amazing how the playbook of pro-abortion progressives

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another, but dont be deceived. The Bill has moved slightly closer to passage over time, and may be gaining greater popular support among the people. The moment it passes God forbid you will see the international groups that support it suddenly jump to life to make sure that this advance will never be overturned. In the United States, we have lived with the Roe v. Wade abortion decision for nearly 40 years, while we thought in 1973 that this one Supreme Court decision would not stand long enough to change a whole culture, as it has. Dont make the same mistake in the Philippines. It is better to challenge the RH Bill while it is still outside the gate than to try to overturn what its proponents will quickly call settled law. The same strategies that have played out over the years in the United States are being implemented in the Philippines, ostensibly to enhance economic growth and social

Half A World Away / A7

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Opinion
May God fearing ka ba?
different political voices, our movement calls on the Filipinos to VOTE GOD by asking questions since doing so is the first step in bringing about personal and social change. Vote God campaign aims to help emerge good and credible candidates as well as discerning voters in a non-partisan manner. We urge those who have decided to run for office and those who are considering the option to answer these initial questions. We also urge the public to raise these questions to them as well as to those whom they feel may have the vocation to self sacrificing love in politics. 7 Questions for Discernment: 1. Am I considering running for an elected position? Why? What event - or chain of events - has inclined me to consider running (or continue to be in public office)? Do I see Gods hand in this? Have I already made up my mind about running for office? If so, am I still open to the leading of the Spirit? 2. Is there anything in my present lifestyle that I need to change to prepare for a dedicated life of an elected official? 3. What accomplishments do I have to show that I could be a good elected official? Will running for office lead to a greater good than what I am already contributing to society? Why? 4. Where will campaign funds come from? Are the funds clean, i.e. does not come from illegal sources? Would using them make me free or would it hinder me from serving the common good? 5. What does my immediate family think about my running? Are there realities in my family that would facilitate or hinder my being a good elected official? 6. Am I ready to campaign on a positive note and not give in to negative campaigning? What is my platform? What do I hope to achieve as an elected official? Am I ready to renounce vote buying? Am I ready for the physical, emotional, and spiritual rigors of campaigning and governing, if elected? 7. What if I win, am I ready to handle access to resource and power so that I remain a person of integrity? How will I support my family?

A5
By Carolyn Moynihan

Fr. Carmelo O. Diola

Commentary

Spaces of Hope
THE above question seems quite ambiguous and even grammatically flawed. But it is actually a statement of HOPE. It is quoted from a participant in one of Dilaabs Circles of Discernment for Empowerment (CiDE) workshops sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2009 in a Cebu parish. At the beginning of the workshop, after it was explained why elections as done in the Philippines apparently is the original sin of graft and corruption, this participant, speaking in a palengkera tone was quite cynical as she said nothing can be done about it as it has been so all her life long. After it was pointed out that while elections may be the original sin of graft and corruption, it can also be the turning point for change if we are only able to improve the process by which credible leaders are emerged and by which we choose our leaders, the cynical middle aged woman saw her hope ignited as she said she can now ask candidates the question: MAY GOD FEARING KA BA?. This was the consensus of 3,000 voting Filipinos from close to 30 church-based groups, dioceses, youth organizations from as far north as Bontoc and to as far south as Mati, including three OFW groups in Hongkong, Thailand, and Indonesia: candidates for public office should be God fearing! This does not only mean conforming to our generallyheld view of what a religious person does, but perhaps, more importantly, it means doing the right thing even if only God knows or approves what one is actually doing! During the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), a brainstorming and consensus-building process, conducted in all the aforementioned groups, God fearing emerged as the top quality that people are looking for in a candidate. Being God-fearing seems to relate to a cluster of traits including proven servant leadership, integrity, competence, and having a consistent life ethics. Although the surveys were made in 2009, we at Dilaab continue to believe that majority of our people still hold the same view. Today, about a year before the May 2013 elections, amidst many

Too much information, too little thought

WORLD Telecommunication and Information Society Day is an anniversary whose purpose is, to quote the United Nations body responsible for it, to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Internet and other information and communication technologies can bring to societies and economies, as well as of ways to bridge the digital divide. That must have sounded like a very ambitious and exciting goal 30 years ago. But if, having seen pictures of African villagers and Indian slum-dwellers wielding cellphones, you have the strong impression that the digital divide was bridged a while back; if the possibilities of the internet seem to you to have gone about as far as sanity will permit; and if your dearest wish is to unplug your laptop and bury your smartphone in a deep drawerthe hedonic centers of your brain may not be lighting up at the idea that there is an unfinished communication agenda. There is unfinished business there, of course, but mere talk has become cheap literally; just think of Skyping people around the world, for nothing. The bottom has dropped out of the information market; there is just too darn much of it. Constant chatter about daily trivia has become exhausting. What people increasingly crave is the luxury of silence: quiet spaces in which to collect their thoughts, get in touch with their own being, figure out what it all means, and come up with something that is really worth sharing. A few months ago US writer Pico Iyer reflected on this theme in an essay in the New York Times. He noted: the rise of black-hole resorts which charge high prices precisely because you cant get online in their rooms; writer friends who pay good money to buy software that disables their internet connections for up to eight hours at a time (I rely on my local telecom for that); and an Intel experiment whereby company workers were guaranteed four uninterrupted hours of quiet time every Tuesday morning. Two of Iyers journalist friends observe an Internet Sabbath every week, turning off their online connections from Friday night to Monday morning, so as to revive those ancient customs known as family meals and conversation. If only In the quest for quiet, other ancient customs are being pressed into service. Although Eastern meditation, or awareness, techniques have been around in the West for a long time, they seem to have a new lease on life. An estimated 16 million Americans sustain a $6 billion yoga industry. And there is rising interest in mindfulnessbasically, focusing on breathing to develop increased awareness of the presentas both a therapeutic and an educational tool. Actress Goldie Hawn, author of 10 Mindful Minutes: Giving Our Childrenand Ourselvesthe Social and Emotional Skills to Reduce Stress and Anxiety for Healthier, Happier Lives, is the poster girl for the movement, which is in part a response to the distractions that constantly divide our attention and make us strangers not only to ourselves but even to those we live and work with. But there is a western tradition that we can draw on too, in order to achieve inner tranquility and richer communication. A few years ago an art film about Carthusian monks living at the Grande Chartreuse monastery in the French Alps, and conversing with one another only once a week, was an unexpected hit in Europe and North America. Into Great Silence, all two-and-a-half hours of it, has no soundtrack other than the natural sounds of the monks at work and prayer, and of their environment. German director Philip Groning has interpreted the appreciative response to his film as a commentary on the unhappiness that results from having to design our own personality, design our own plan for life, achieve that plan for life, and then be happy on top of that. He suggests that being so totally responsible for ourselves is a burden that is more than a human being can bear, but this is what happens when God is not sensed in the world. The monks, by contrast, have faith in God, faith in the sense of trust, of completely trusting that they are like children in their mothers arms. They feel like they are in the hands of God, and this is good. Perhaps it is that sense that subtly draws Pico Iyer periodically to a Benedictine monastery in the hills near Big Sur to live in the hermitage for a few days at a time. He says he doesnt attend services when he is there and has never meditated, there or anywhere. I just take walks and read and lose myself in the stillness He finds other people doing it too. OK, he is not looking for God, but why is the stillness around the monastery better than somewhere elselike in that quiet room with no TV at the expensive hotel up the road? Is it just the money? In any case, silence and stillness are not enough for us. They might be for a little while, as an immediate escape from the din and demands of daily life. But they are means to an end rather than ends in themselves. In his Letter for World Communications Day Pope Benedict XVI shows how silence is meant to serve relationshipswith God and others. In silence, says Benedict, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves as well as express ourselves. But in silence we also allow the other person to speak; space is created for mutual listening and deeper human relationships become possible. We are not just stuck in our own words and ideas but can help build an authentic body of shared knowledge. Much of our communication, the Pope continues, is driven by questions in search of answers. (The search engine has an almost godlike power to deliver the information we want.) But even amid the swirling tides of information on the internet many people find the ultimate questions of life confronting them: Who am I? What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? These point to the desire for truth that God has inscribed in human hearts and can, through a balance of dialogue and silent reflection, lead to him. What happens then, one might add, is like, but even more unlike, what happens in Buddhist-style meditation or mindfulness, as a 1989 letter on the subject from the Vatican makes clear. The likeness would be in whatever serenity and therapeutic benefit is achieved. The difference lies in whom one encounters: for the Buddhist meditator, it is at best the depths of the self, which, he may believe, merges with an impersonal divine; for the one reaching out to the Christian God it is another persondivine and completely other, but the kind of personal being described by the film-maker Groning, into whose arms harried netizens can throw themselves and find not only peace but love. Of course, the search for quiet and recollection does not necessarily take a religious turn. It can happen in a multitude of ways: a walk in the country, losing oneself in a good book or in a hobby such as wood-turning or embroidery, listening to music, or just sitting in a room by oneself. As somebody famous once said, Sometimes I sit and think, and sometimes I just sit. But to have the right effect times of quiet have to be regular, as regular as our exposure to noise and activity. As Goldie Hawn, along with most meditation gurus, says, 10 mindCommentary / A7

Strengthening our faith

STRENGTHENING our faith is living spiritually. This includes regular reading of the Holy Scripture, meditation about God and the purpose of our life, fasting and prayer. When praying, one must make an effort to concentrate on the meaning of the words and feel the presence of God. It is also important to repent sincerely for ones sins, go to Confession and take Communion on a regular basis. Finally, one must try to live not for oneself alone but for the good of ones neighbor and ones church. In trying to lead a Christian life one cannot avoid battles, trials and difficulties. At times it may seem that the whole world is armed against us. These are unwanted but precious periods in which we are given the opportunity to grow spiritually and become better Christians. In striving to strengthen our faith, let us always remember that ultimately faith is a gift of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul testified to this: The fruit of the Spirit is: joy, love, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, faith (Gal. 5:22). Strengthening our faith is expressing our collective concern and vehement objection to the holding of the Lady Gaga concert in the Philippines as we warn everyone against blasphemies and assaults on our faith. Her song Judas approves of Judas betrayal of Jesus Christ as Lady Gaga expresses her desire to have sex with Judas. In the 8-minute music video Alejandro, she wears a latex nuns habit with a cross on her groin, she ingests a string of rosary beads and is stripped naked and ravaged by scantily clad men. Her songs are against the Catholic, Christian and Islamic Faiths. She is known for promoting LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights worldwide via her songs and concerts, in violation of all our religions, the natural moral law (the moral bedrock upon which the United Nations was founded) and in rejection of the best evidence against it from the natural and social sciences. In her Born This Way performances, she has been consistent with her image (scanty wardrobe/costumes, lingerie, see-through garments). She has been consistent with her

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Duc in Altum
Oliveros of Malolos, Bishop Guillermo V. Afable of Digos, Archbishop Fernando R. Capalla of Davao and Bishop Gabriel Reyes of Antipolo. We thank the organizing committee for their warm hospitality; they made the stay of their guests memorable and comfortable. It was really a well-organized affair from pre-installation to installation rite to post installation. The different sectors of society shared in the preparation giving their time, talents and treasure. We thank Fr. Aaron Quilaneta and Fr. Lito Maraya who were in charge of our hotel accommodation; the seminarians from Sacred Heart Seminary who served as guide of the clergy and the guests during their stay in Palo. We specifically thank our guide Seminarian Kent Esperas and Christian Alicanto who had been very helpful and accommodating during our stay. Kent toured us to the famous San Juanico Bridgewe noted that no cracks were ever reported since the year the bridge was constructed, perfect! Leyte Park Hotel, Shrine of Sto. Nio and McArthur Park. I was surprised and very happy to meet Sr. Gemma dela Cruz, FSP during dinner hosted by the Du Family at Chancery Building; she was the former Program Directress of Radio Veritas846 and is now assigned to the Archdiocese of Palo. We thank the parishioners who volunteered their SUVs for use by the clergy and guests for the duration of their stay. The brand new Montero Sports of Ms. Maria Lilian Pabillo was assigned to me and Dr. Wasan; thank you very much Ms. Pabillo; also to your driver Allan. *** Happy 398th Anniversary to San Bartolome de Malabon Parishioners. They are now preparing for their Quadra Centennial Celebration in 2014. Fr. Ricardo Torrefiel, Parish Priest, has lined up several activities for the grand celebration. Belated birthday greetings to Bella Partido of Chancery Office of the Diocese of Kalookan; also to Auring Sison of San Ildefonso de Navotas Parish.

message (dirty finger performance, explicit lyrics which offends religions, glorifies sex, and promotes a free-for-all-do- what-youwant-be-yourself lifestyle). This kind of blasphemies and assaults on our faith and our enthroned Filipino moral values deserved condemnation. It is for this reason, therefore, that we urge everyone to express their objection to this concert, desist from attending this concert, as we appeal to the organizers and its sponsors not to stage this event. *** Congratulations to His Grace, Most Rev. John Du, the newly-installed Archbishop of Palo in Leyte. No other than His Eminence, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales headed the many archbishops, bishops, clergy, nuns, religious and lay people from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao while the provincial and city officials and leaders of church organizations led the parishioners. His Grace Most Rev. Guiseppe Pinto, the Papal Nuncio to the Philippines, was the main celebrant during the Eucharistic Celebration while His Eminence Cardinal Vidal presided the installation and canonical possession ceremony at the Palo Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lords Transfiguration. Cardinal Vidal also presided during Most Rev. Dus sacerdotal ordination on June 01, 1979 and his Episcopal Ordination on January 06, 1998. Blessed John Paul II appointed Archbishop Du as Bishop of Dumaguete on April 21, 2001 while His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Archbishop of Palo on February 25, 2012. Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Laiko) was represented by Most Rev. Jesse E. Mercado of Paraaque (National Spiritual Director), yours truly (National President), Dr. Marita Wasan (Vice President for the Ecclesiastical Province of Manila), Engr. Nida Ruiz (Vice President for Visayas) and Rev. Fr. Rico Ayo. The bishops of Episcopal Commission on the Laity were also present: Archbishop Jose S. Palma of the Archdiocese of Cebu and CBCP President, Bishop Jose F.

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

Whatever
RACE you to our house grandma! Freddie challenged his grandmother as he stepped out of her house. Youre on, Freddie! She surprised him with her eager acceptance. Without a word, Freddie dashed out and headed straight for his house. Not fair, kiddo! His grandma screamed. We should run off together. But if was too late, Freddie was too far and deaf to her protest. The boy ran as fast as he could and in no time reached the curve where his house was. He jumped the porch landing and cheered, I win! I win! He opened the door and headed for the kitchen for a rewarding ice-cold juice drink. As he entered the kitchen the backdoor swung open and to his surprise his grandmother appeared. Whuh! He gaped at his grandmother surprised. Ho how did you get here so fast, grandma? he totally forgot about his thirst. Oh, really nothing, kiddo! No sweat at all! She clipped a straying silver hair lock behind her ear. Fix you a drink Mr. Speedy? Oh! But you look so tired and youre sweating all over. Freddie could not believe what he heard. He arrived first, but how did his grandma arrive as fresh as a daisy? He was disappointed. Its not fair! Freddie began crying. How did you get here so fast without even getting tired? Look, Freddie dear, its not about running fast. Its about knowing what route to take. In other words, she winked at him, I took a secret short-cut! A short-cut? You cheated! Freddie cried even more. Hey, cut the crying, his grandma said. Youre the one who took off without even waiting for me to get ready. That wasnt fair but I didnt complain, did I? No, Freddie realized and stopped crying. So you want some juice, dear? Yes, [SNIFFLE] but can you teach me the secret short-cut? Of course! She hands him

Short-cut to heaven
some juice. How did you learn about the short-cut, grandma? When mom and dad got married they build this house. Sometimes there were emergencies she needed me to help in like parties, and even some house-keeping. So? So I had to get here really quick, and I discovered that by cutting through some bushes and passing under some hedges, I could get here faster than running up the road. Teach me, grandma! Teach me! Pleeease! Well have to leave that for tomorrow coz its already late. Oh, okay, but you promise! I dont have to promise, Freddie. I will gladly teach it to you. Thank you, grandma. But why do you want to learn it? So I can beat Stella? He grinned mischievously. You naughty boy, his grandma jokingly scolded him. But you know, Freddie, its more important to know a short-cut to heaven. Short-cut to heaven? Yeah, didnt your mom tell you about it? Nope, what would that shortcut be, granny? Its the Rosary, she pulled out her rosary. No thanks! Thats a very looong prayer, Freddie complained. But dont you want to go to Heaven? his grandma asked. Yes, but isnt the Rosary lohhhng and bohhhring? It may be at first, but its a short-cut because it compresses everything about Jesus and Mary, in one wonderful prayer which is like an easy ladder of beads to climb to Heaven. Compressed? Yes, like put together intensely. You mean like multi-vitamins! Thats a nice way of putting it, but yes also. Okay, but can I start not so
Whatever / A7

A6
THE superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) on May 15, said the premier training institution of the countrys armed forces is now in the process of educating its personnel on peace-building and conflict transformation to better guarantee that its graduates are equipped with the tools to win peace. Major General Nonato Alfredo T. Peralta Jr. also expressed gratefulness to the peace and development of non-government organization Balay Mindanaw Foundation, Inc. (BMFI) for taking head-on the challenge of equipping soldiers, soldier-educators and military officials with the basic tools to help the Aquino administration win that so-called elusive peace especially in Mindanao.

Local News
After training senior and junior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, soldiers, and local government officials, BMFIs peace unitthe International Center for Peace in Mindanaw (IC Peace in Mindanaw) is now conducting a weeklong Operation Peace Course (Op Kors!) training-workshop for the core of professors and tactical officers of the PMA here. We are educating ourselves so that we can guarantee that our new officers coming out of PMA are armed with the tools to achieve peace, not just protect the people, he said in an interview. Peralta once served as the commanding officer of the 403rd Infantry Peacemaker Brigade, based in Camp Osito Bahian in Malaybalay City covering the provinces of Misamis Oriental, Camiguin and two municipalities of Lanao del Sur. It was during his tenure at the 403rd Brigade that Peralta first came to know BMFI and its Op Kors! program, which reinforced his belief that winning the peace is not just the responsibility of the AFP. Malaking-malaki ang role ng all stakeholders in achieving lasting peace. It is really everybody working together, he said. Op Kors! is the brainchild of the former Eastern Mindanao Command (EastMinCom) chief Lt. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer and former BMFI Executive Director Ariel C. Hernandez, who both came up with the program in an effort to reform the security sector while at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) during its Bridging Leadership Program. Peace is not just the job of the military but of everybody, Peralta said, adding that equipping the military with the tools for peacebuilding and conflict transformation is more pronounced now because the Aquino administration has given us a window of opportunity. This (Op Kors!) training is one of the requirements sa lahat ng personnel ng Armed Forces kaakibat ng Bayanihan kung saan yung approach to putting closure to the internal security problem natin ay kailangang mag cooperate lahat ng sectorWe are just putting flesh to it because we believe it is the right thing to do. This is much, much better than what has been done in the

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

PMA equipping personnel to train new officers to win peace

past, he added. But Peralta underscored the importance of the role of the local chief executive in the achievement of peace. Teddy Sabuga-a Jr., executive director of the Provincial Peace and Order Council of Misamis Oriental, said that LCEs should localize the governments peace efforts. Peace is achieved when there is meaningful development, he stressed as he narrated the story of how Governor Oscar Moreno conquered Sitio Lantad in Barangay Kibanban of the Municipality of Balingasag, Misamis Oriental without firing a single gunshot. Lantad was once the stronghold of the New Peoples Army in Northeastern Mindanao. (Bong D. Fabe)

First youth ministry docu in the works Ina visits Manila on Mothers Day
FOR the first time, an official documentary about youth ministry in the Philippines is in the works. A project of the CBCPEpiscopal Commission on Youth (ECY), the documentarys 17-minute long first segment has already been produced and features highlights in the history of both the youth ministry in the Philippines and the ECY. The ECY targets to have the directors cut of the documentary out by October of this year. Lea Dasigan, 31, who was part of the Core Group that oversaw the initial stages of the production of the youth ministry documentary, shared why the project was pursued, To present 'yung history ng ECY for the past 25 years. Historical account nga n'ya. Hindi lang pagsasalarawan kung ano nangyari (Not just an account of what happened), but to be an inspiration for youth ministry. Dondie Bernardino of Salesian Social Communications headed the production of the first segment. TV Maria, another collaborator for the project wrote the script for the first segment, which was a modern take on the Emmaus story of two disciples who unknowingly encounter Jesus while on a journey. During the first viewing of the first segment last month, Fr. Conegundo Garganta, ECY Executive Secretary, admitted that though some revisions still have to be made, the first segment is a good start for the project. Dasigan, who together with Sr. Ravena Dominguez, FMA, guided the production of the first segment, has high hopes for the documentary as a whole, [Sana] magbigay ng bagong sigla sa mga makakapanood na youth ministers and maging guide din nila (I hope it brings new energy to the youth ministers who will watch it and hopefully it will guide them) as they move for the next 25 years. Youth ministers from the Philippines expressed excitement over this new resource. Boning Cana, Diocesan Youth Coordinator of Legazpi, said he hopes to be able to watch it as he has been part of youth ministry in the Philippines. It will inspire more youth to serve the Church, he added. (Nirva'ana Delacruz) from June 13 to 15; and the San Pablo Theological Seminary in Tagaytay City, Batangas from June 17 to 24. Flores said Inas itinerary until August is not yet final but her visit to selected parishes will last for either three days, through a triduum prayer, or nine days, through a novena. After the prayers to Ina, there will be mantling, a healing ministry unique to Our Lady of Peafrancia, that involves laying of her manto (cape) on the faithful, Flores said. Inas visit to Metro Manila is meant to spread the devotion to Ina beyond the borders of Bicol and to invite participation of the laity in the crusade to raise 3 million rosaries for Mama Mary. Under the 3 Million Rosaries for Ina Crusade, sponsored rosaries will be distributed to public elementary and high school students of catechesis nationwide. Inas pilgrim image is supposed to end its pilgrimage and travel back to Naga City via the PNRs Pilgrim Train on September 2, just in time for the upcoming feast of the Our Lady of Peafrancia. The Archdiocese of Nueva Caceres celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Bicolanos devotion to Our Lady of Peafrancia in a historic event in 2010. "Ina" has been visiting Metro Manila parishes by request, most recent of which were during the summer months of 2010 and 2011. (YouthPinoy)

Fr. Juanito Arroco, parish priest of Sta. Monica Parish in Manila, welcomes the pilgrim image of Ina during her arrival at the Tutuban station of the Philippine National Railways.

Novaliches holds youth leadership camp

AN estimated 200 young leaders from different parishes within the diocese of Novaliches are expected to participate in a leadership camp aimed to hone the young peoples management skills. The Commission on Youth of Novaliches diocese will hold its 2nd Diocesan Youth Leadership Camp dubbed CAMPi2012 on May 25 to 27 in Gods Love Family Farm in San Mateo, Rizal. With the theme Mission, Im Possible! the youth participants will be exposed to a recreational and education summer experience, adding to their intra and inter-personal growth and development. The camp is also meant to create a space for sharing profound ideas, updating or training on leadership skills, building network, as well as allowing time for the youth leaders to have fun and fellowship. We also hope that after the event, upon returning to their respective parishes or communities, these young people will be more empowered young leaders of Christ, organizers said. The camp is a part of the commissions drive to further develop and provide youth programs, and to strengthen and animate the youth ministers in their diocese. (Jandel Posion)

THE pilgrim image of Bicolandias famed Ina, the Our Lady of Peafrancia, went to Metro Manila last Mothers Day to embark on a pilgrimage to various parishes in the metropolis and nearby provinces. The pilgrim image of Ina was carried by the Philippine National Railways Pilgrim Train, from Naga City in Camarines Sur to Tutuban in Manila last May 13. An overnight vigil and a morning Mass were held before Ina and her 15-man delegation from the 3 Million Rosaries for Ina Crusade departed their hometown and another Mass was celebrated to honor her arrival in Manila. Marilyn Flores from the 3 Million Rosaries for Ina Crusade said the Pilgrim Train that carried Ina made whistle stops in Ragay, Hondagua, Lucena

and San Pablo stations to give devotees the chance to meet and pray to her pilgrim image. Upon her arrival, Ina was brought to Sta. Monica Parish in Tondo where she stayed until May 18. She was transferred to Santa Maria Goretti Parish Church at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center along United Nations Avenue until May 21 and she visited the Philippine Daily Inquirer Office in Makati City from May 21 to 23. Ina is scheduled to visit the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Cupang, Muntinlupa from May 24 to June 1; the Jesus, Lord of the Divine Mercy Parish in Novaliches, Quezon City from June 2 to 10; the Ina ng Lupang Pangako Parish in Payatas, Quezon City from June 10 to 13; the Divine Mercy Parish in Sikatuna Village, Quezon City
Unemployment / A6

Bishops to lawmakers: Take Coronas dare

SEVERAL Catholic bishops have favored the challenge of Chief Justice Renato Corona for all lawmakers to publicly disclose their statement of assets and liabilities. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said public leaders should take the challenge and sign a waiver to also open their dollar and peso bank accounts if they have nothing hide. Those accusing him should also set the example by disclosing their dollar accounts, Pabillo told church-run Radio Veritas Wednesday. Thats why the challenge of the Chief Justice is good for other lawmakers to show their assets. There is really something
Justice / A6

www.facebook.com

wrong when they want a person to disclose his dollar accounts but his accusers refuse to do the same or dont want to be transparent, he said. Pabillo chairs the National Secretariat for Social Action Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). According to him, if the Aquino government really wants transparency, it should primarily start from its allies in Congress and the Senate. If political leaders really want transparency, they should disclose all their assets. Lets be open, Pabillo added. Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles also believes that taking

Coronas challenge would erase doubt on every politicians credibility. The nation will benefit a lot if they will sign a waiver, Arguelles said. In yesterdays trial, Corona made a surprise move when he signed a waiver that would allow the opening of his and his wifes bank deposits, including dollar accounts, and to reveal to the public his assets, net worth, and business interests. However, he said that he would submit his waiver of the Bank Secretary Deposits Law under RA 1405 and Foreign Currency Deposits Law under RA 6426 to the impeachment court once Sen. Franklin Drilon

and all of the 188 lawmakers who signed the impeachment complaint against him would do the same. Let us face the people together. The nation is at a standstill. Our people are watching all of us. Our people have been drawn into this web of deception and divisiveness, Corona told the lawmakers. Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz said that more than anything else, Coronas dare is but a statement that those accusing him of dishonesty in making his SALN are dishonest themselves. Thats why the basis of this is let us know who have no sin and throw the first stone. Thats the message, Cruz said. (CBCPNews)

No direction For retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen-Dagupan, the current administration has to strive more if only to address unemployment and poverty in the country. He called on the people not to rely so much on the government because this current administration has no direction in terms of addressing various social issues. The truth is that its so hard to rely on this current administration. Their talks about improvement totally contradict to what the people really feel, Cruz said. Agrarian reform For Ledesma, there is one effective way to reduce unemployment particularly in the rural areas and that is through genuine agrarian reform. He said that investments in agriculture and development backed by favorable government policies would help the country tackle unemployment. Such policies, he added, should help farmers gain easy access to markets for their commodities. One way really to address this problem particularly in the rural areas is through agrarian reform, Ledesma said. The archbishop also said that the government must tackle the challenges confronting agriculture and make farming an attractive and lucrative investment alternative. Cooperative The church officials also highBan / A6

At around 2 p.m. on March 8, Libaton was shot and killed by still unidentified gunmen while he was on his way to the city proper on board his motorcycle. Reports revealed that the two suspects riding in a single motorcycle shot Libaton seven times. He died on the spot. Libaton was with a fellow broadcaster Eldon Cruz on board another motorcycle when the incident happened in Sitio BitanMindanao / A1

agan, Barangay Don Enrique Lopez, Mati City. The killing also took place as the Catholic Church was set to observe the World Communications Sunday on May 20. At in this sense we are saddened because we know how important communication is. The celebration of the World Communication Sunday is a way of reminding us that as Christians, it is our duty to proclaim

and to communicate the teaching of Jesus, Palma said. The Philippines has one of the worlds highest rates of unsolved media killings. At least 151 reporters have been killed since 1986. Libaton is the third member of media killed within the last 15 days. It is not clear whether the killings are work related. (CBCPNews)

Bendum in Barangay Busdi here. The ESSC spent about P1.5 million to have the mini-hydro power plant installed two years ago. The same stream also provides ice-cold potable water to the tribe for the last 15 years already. Again thanks to the ESSC, which installed the P100,000-spring box to pump water from the stream to the households. As the Pulangiyens struggle to preserve their own culture, tradition and practices, the onslaught of modern technologies brought by outsiders into their tribal life caused them to reject being connected to the mini-hydro power plant. When we constructed the mini-hydro power plant, we wanted it to energize the whole community of 50 households.

However, the people preferred to be connected to the Bukidnon Second Electric Cooperative (BUSECO) because they already have refrigerators, televisions, and other appliances that rely on electricity, said ESSC Program Director Eric Popoy Bruno. The ESSC is a Jesuit research institute that promotes environmental sustainability and social justice through the integration of scientific methodologies and social processes. Established by Fr. Pedro Walpole, SJ, the ESSC operates the Apu Palamguwan Cultural Education Center (APC) in Sitio Bendum as a response to the desire of the Pulangiyen people to read, write and be educated in the context of their culture and life. The APC adheres to a needs-

and culture-based education, a strong advocacy of Walpole, who believes that if one is to be a productive contributor to society he/she needs to be deeply-rooted in his/her culture. The APC also emphasizes the importance of making education accessible to indigenous cultural communities and in making the education system responsive to the needs of the people. It also recognizes the importance of integrating the communitys knowledge system and way of life in the school curriculum to sustain the culture and tradition of the Pulangiyen and other cultural groups in the area. Bruno said the APC is the only structure in picturesque Bendum that is powered by the minihydro power plant. He, however, sees a very good future for the

hydro plant as it now serves as a model that a small sitio or even barangay can be energized by a small free-flowing stream. We just have to be resourceful in taking advantage of whatever resources we have. But in doing so, we have to keep in mind that these resources are finite and therefore we have to use them sustainably. It is also important that we protect our immediate environment because it is our resource base, he stressed. In the construction of the minihydro plant and spring box, the ESSC made sure that no trees were felled or cut. The ESSC also maintains a reforestation area upstream in order to make the mini-hydro power plant viable for many years in the future. (Bong D. Fabe)

lighted the role that cooperatives can play in socio-economic, especially in tackling youth employment. Cruz, former CBCP president, said that unemployment is a growing problem and this can be remedied through the cooperative movement. Life today is really getting hard and so ordinary people should come together in forming cooperative. The answer is there and so we can remedy the situation, Cruz said. He said the cooperative model enables young people to create and manage sustainable enterprises. The cooperative will start small and then it will grow and could improve the lives of farmers, fishermen and other sectors of the society, he said. This is one way out of poverty. Caritas Manila executive director Fr. Anton Pascual has also called for the proper implementation of the RA 6938 or Cooperative Code of the Philippines. The measure, he said, aims to strengthen the cooperatives in the country to resolve poverty and unemployment and to fortify economic activities. He said that cooperatives have proven many times as resilient and viable business model that can prosper during hard times. Pascual added that cooperatives have also continuously provided reliable access to financial services for small business operators and promoted self-reliance.

the banning of smoking inside and outside church premises for a friendly and healthy atmosphere or surrounding, Ongtioco, for his part, said. Smoking is being linked to illnesses such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, as well as chronic respiratory diseases like emphysema and diabetes. It is good policy to ask people not to smoke within church

premises. Smokers do not only harm their health but others as well. It is also harmful to the ecology with the cigarette butts being thrown anywhere, Oliveros said. Ongtioco and Oliveros earlier also favored the additional taxes on sin products such as cigarettes and alcoholic beverages as a way to discourage consumption. (CBCPNews)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Diocesan News

A7

Bishop alarmed by killing of environmentalist in Bukidnon

MALAYBALAY, BukidnonA Catholic bishop has expressed alarm over the killing of an environmental activist in Bukidnon province as he called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. Malaybalay Bishop Jose Cabantan said the murder recently of Margarita Cabal of Task Force Save Pulangi River was the latest of the spate of killings that have been happening in the province. We condemn the series of killings here in Bukidnon not just the environmentalists because many people here are being killed. Criminalities are going on, Cabantan said. Cabal was shot and killed by still unidentified gunman. The victim was a known leader of a campaign against the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the Pulangi River. According to the environmental group Kalikasan Peoples Network for the Environment (PNE), Cabal is the 13th environmental activist under the Aquino administration. Nine of these cases occurred in Mindanao. Because of this alarming situation, the bishop called on President Benigno Aquino III for greater protection of environmentalists. He also urged the Aquino administration to investigate and resolved the series of killings in Bukidnon province. The church official added that the killing of Cabal might have something to do with her advocacy to protect the Pulangi River and her campaign against mining in the province. Following the incident, he revealed that they are currently organizing a team composed of non-government organizations (NGOs), civil society groups and church organizations to further strengthen the anti-Pulangi dam campaign. The Kalikasan-PNE said that at least

Bishop Jose Cabantan

Bacolods Eco desk holds forum on magnetite mining

BACOLOD CityAs magnetite mining raised fears of soil erosion and vulnerability to floods, the Diocese of Bacolod has organized a forum to create awareness among the faithful and mobilize them in the ongoing black sand mining in the province. Around 100 participants attended the forum organized by the Ecology Desk of the Diocese of Bacolods Social Action Center, May 5. Fr. Ernie Larida, head of the Eco Desk of SAC had received reports of offshore mining and exploration of magnetite sand in the province. He said that magnetite mining in other provinces have raised fears of possible increase in the vulnerability of floods as magnetite crystals hold the sand together and without which the near shore and coastal areas could be depleted and eroded. Bacolod Bishop Vicente M. Navarra, environmentalist groups and provincial officials had opposed magnetite mining that reportedly covers 28,600 hectares of coastal areas from Pontevedra to Manapla. Last year, Governor Alfredo Maraon and mayors of the possibly affected areas had asked President Benigno Aquino to order the Department of Environment and Natural Resources not to approve any application for magnetite mining. The forum, held at the St. Joseph the Worker Parish in E. B. Magalona, was also attended by the Provincial Environment Management Officer Atty. Jesus Agora Villardo who briefed the participants on Magnetite Mining and Laws on Mining

6,000 families will face the horrendous impact of landless, displacement and loss of livelihood if the project will push through. It added that the Manobo tribe, whose ancestral domain and history is rooted in the area will be driven away and depriving them of their security of tenure, ancestral domain and culture. (CBCPNews)

and Sea. Participants were from the coastal barangays of E.B. Magalona where a mining firm was reported to have applied for a magnetite-mining permit but Mayor David Lacson of the town denied this report. The barangays were Tumontong, Tuburan, Natasan and Pasil while the environmentalists were from the Green Alert Movement. Another forum for the town's officials is being planned, Fr. Larida said. (Modesto P. Saonoy)

Briefing
Bacolod diocese youth leaders join Taize retreat

Mining waste poisons Leytes lakewater

MACARTHUR, LeyteLake Bito fisherfolks, in Leytes Brgy Villa Imelda expressed outrage when a mining company opened its settling pond and allowed silt to flow straight into the lake. On May 12, fishermen were shocked to see the lake that provides the community livelihood has turned brown like a 3 in 1 coffee. We saw right in front of us how the mine waste muddles up with our water. We were caught in shock. The water runs fast from the mining site to Pangunawan Creek to Lake Bito. The lake now looks dead, said Jesus Cabias, president of Unahin Lagi ang Diyos-Bito Lake Fisherfolks Association (UNLAD-BLFA). The incident happened after the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resource (BFAR) Region VIII almost cleared NICUA mining company for the fish kill incident last April despite traces of oil and grease in the lake water. Following the fish skill that cause the death of more than 22 tons of tilapia, the community decided to block mining barges last April 30. Now, we no longer need any test. Just the mere sight of the lake is horrifying.
Half A World Away / A4

BACOLOD CityAround 51 youth leaders and ministers participated in a three-day Regional Taize Retreat hosted by the Bacolod Diocesan Commission on Youth at the Bukal ng Tipan Mission Center in Talisay City, May 7 to 9. Br. Andreas of the Taize Community facilitated the recollection, which centered on the theme, Towards a New Solidarity Opening ways of trust among human beings. Youth participants were also able to reflect, share and bring home with them the message on trust, solidarity, simplicity and peace, prompting them to say, it was the best summer they spent and joyfully proclaim that its more fun in Taize. (Analaida Carmona)
Cabanatuan holds summer youth camp

They just have to come here, smell the water and feel it. We are just controlling our emotion at this time; people are crying out of frustration, we are angry. The fish kill and this are very hard for us because this is about our livelihood, our life, Cabias added. For his part, Fr. Edwin Perito, Social Action Center Director of the Archdiocese of Palo, echoed the position of the Church against mining, saying the Catholic Church's position is clearit is to preserve the integrity of creationthus, protecting the environment and the people who depend on its bounties. The basic right of the villagers to survive is being trampled down, what the mining company is doing is very unchristian, their rights to food and to live are not respected. We will continue supporting the struggle of the faithful until they succeed, Perito said. Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of anti-mining network Alyansa Tigil Mina, said the lakes poisoning is a grave offense to people and to the environment. MacArthur magnetite mining is a clear threat to food security wherein fishery in-

dustry in Lake Bito is at stake as well as rice production in the area, he pointed out. He said the Aquino administration must not delay anymore its new mining policy as mine catastrophe like in Lake Bito adds to the growing evidence that there is no life in mining. Aquino must distinguish himself from the previous government, whose mining legacy is still affecting negatively to Filipinos, Garganera added. Garganera claimed that magnetite mining in prime agricultural lands as well as in other areas such as in coastlines and offshore should be stopped considering the present threats of climate change and disasters. The Mining Act of 1995 is not clear on the protection of our agricultural areas mining is being permitted adjacent to productive farms or within rice fields. It gives mining companies full right over our water resources, claimed Garganera. In a phone interview, Provincial Fisheries Officer Jose Siervo said that they will do their best to send an investigation team within the day to look over the matter. (Rodne Galicha) Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. He said that defeat of the RH Bill must be a high priority for Filipino Knights because the Philippines is a great country, with a great people and a great culture of life that is worth preserving. Lets pray that the culture of death embodied in the RH Bill will continue to fail when faced with the faith, hope and charityand valuesof the Filipino people.

CABANATUAN CityMore than two hundred young people from the diocese of Cabanatuan joined the 11th GLEAM (Growing, Learning, Enhancing and managing youth ministry) summer youth camp last May 11 to 13 at Medes Farm in Patalac, Nueva Ecija. This years theme is inspired by the Year of Faith declared by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI which is If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come 2 Cor. 5:17. Youth attendees are from the 27 out of 29 parishes in the diocese. GLEAM is a continuing program of the commission on youth of the said diocese since 2000. (Honey Joy Oyardo/ Jandel Posion)
Hundreds of student leaders join regional conference

TAYTAY, RizalHundreds of high school and college leaders from 15 dioceses participated in the Student Catholic Action (SCA) 4th Luzon Regional Leadership Conference at the Bukal ng Tipan in Taytay, Rizal on May 10 to 15. This years theme is ijuanachange.com.ph, which was brought out from the theme of last years conference, Change: A call to every Juan. The area of concern for this years conference is all about the environment, added the organizers. Participants had study sessions, prayers and silent reflections, theological reflections based on Catholic social teachings and group sharing of faith, to develop and deepen the theme. (Jandel Posion)
Pinay dies inside Phl Embassys transit home

remains the same wherever they go. Attack the Church as backward and oppressive, hold up anti-life technology as the source of Western prosperity, and infiltrate the media and the schools. The strategy which has brought Europe to the brink of demographic disaster, and threatens the future of a somewhat healthier United States, has had some success in the Philippines. It is cool there to be Western and secular, to be
Candidly Speaking / A4

single and childless, and almost every national celebrity is for the RH Bill, even though their public statements indicate that they have not read much of the actual text. The good news is that the RH Bill has been blocked in both the Philippine House and Senate year after year, due to the efforts of some brave legislators who are not afraid to buck the celebrity tide and withstand media ridicule. The Philippine

bishops are also very vocal and clear in their opposition, and a large number of faithful Catholics take heed, including young people who are using modern means of communication and social media to spread the word that the mainstream media will not let get out. I was in the Philippines (where my wife was born and grew up) for the Knights of Columbus National Convention, which was attended by

QUEZON CityA Filipina worker had died in Philippine Embassys Bahay Kalinga while awaiting her repatriation, almost a month ago but the news barely hit the headlines. Migrante Middle East (ME) has identified the expired worker as Alma Anastacio, a native of Nueva Ecija. We were informed by an insider who works in the embassys Bahay Kalinga that she died, due to complications of her breast cancer, Migrante-ME regional director John Monterona said in a statement. Anastacio had run away from her abusive employer in 2009 and had been an undocumented worker in Saudi since then. Earlier, the Filipina had appealed to the Embassy officials to expedite her repatriation since her health is rapidly deteriorating but nothing has been done, said Monterona. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Bishop: Let Arroyo be treated abroad

study and use the truth without God, or ignoring him, at least. As a result, we get some aspects of truth that ultimately depend on us simply. And since we are not stable, not to mention that we are often affected adversely by passions, if not dominated by malice, then the truth we see, study, invent and use, cannot be the truth that is the real truth.
Samar / A1

It would be at best a contingent truth, a relative truth, detached from its stable and ultimate moorings, and therefore can be shifty, unstable and vulnerable to be misused and abused. This is what we see around, and thus we are also quite in a mess. We need to have some kind of revolution in our attitude towards truth. There has

to be a conscious, deliberate effort to seek God who actually revealed himself fully in Christ and continues to reveal himself to us in the Holy Spirit. Unless, we do this, our affirmations of truth will always be suspicious. Why, for example, do we make an oath before God when we say something really important? environment protection and rehabilitation. He also stressed that the issue has created conflict among residents where there are mining operations. (Roy Lagarde/ CBCPNews)

TAGBILARAN CityA Catholic bishop known to be a critic of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo during her presidency believed that the latter should be allowed to get treatment abroad. Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso reiterated that while Arroyo should be prosecuted for acts she allegedly committed before she became a congresswoman, the government should also consider her health condition. According to him, while Arroyo, who is suffering from a bone ailment, has many things to explain to the people, he knows when not to beat on a person who is already down. (CBCPNews)
DepEds K-12 wont solve existing problems in education system Partylist

of his anti-mining stance but it did not stop him from continuing his principled work for the truth and the environment. We are the friends he died for, the bishops said. Mano
Whatever / A5

Francing lived and died a poor man but rich in principle. Mining continues to be a controversial issue in the impoverished island particularly in Eastern Samar where mining operations are ongoing in at

least eight towns. Varquez reiterated his call for the government to impose mining moratorium in the province saying that several large-scale and small-scale mining operations there do not guarantee

QUEZON CityDepEds K-12 program will not solve the existing problems in the basic public education system in the country such as shortages in rooms and educational materials, said Kabataan Party list Rep. Raymond de Vega Palatino as DepEd seems to be pre-occupied by producing quality graduates through the program. The K-12 program envisions producing graduates with 21st century skills but clearly, we are far from having 21st century facilities essential in achieving suitable learning conditions. The Aquino government has yet to present a convincing program to remedy the existing shortages in the education sector, he said. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

compressed? What do you mean? Like if we can say the Rosary short-cut? How would that be? You say half and I say the other, was his practical reply. Youre being a smart-alec, Freddie. Just remember that the more you try to cut corners, the more corners there are, his grandma said. *** There are no shorter-cuts for what are already short-cuts. Besides, when one is in love, that is, when one understands what

he does and the reason behind it, then there is nothing that will be either too long or burdensome because love surpasses all obstacles. If we find the Rosary long or boring, perhaps, our love is short. Blessed John Paul II says that the Rosary is the true doorway to the depths of the Heart of Christ, ocean of joy and of light, of suffering and of glory. (Ap. Let. Rosarium Virginis Mari) But we can imagine that in order to enter such a door we must become small like childrenby being simple and docileso that we can slip easily into Christs heart.

Thus, St. Josemara recommends in his little book on the Rosary, My friend, if you want to be great, become little. To be little it is necessary to believe as children believe, to love as children love, to give yourself up as children give themselves up... to pray as children pray. And all of this is necessary to accomplish what I am going to reveal to you in these lines: The beginning of the way, at the end of which you will find yourself completely carried away with love for Jesus, is a confident love for Mary. (Holy Rosary)

Commentary / A5

ful minutes a day. Where do the other contemplative activities fit in, though? Pico Iyers friends who observe the Internet Sabbath give us a clue. Remember Sunday? The way it was before shopping and sport and catching up with household chores and blobbing out in front of TV took over? Now thats a tradition worth reclaiming. If

we could spend one day a week on the old mix of community (church), family (dinner), and individual pursuits we might begin to bridge those communication gaps that are far more threatening to our wellbeing than the digital divide. (Carolyn Moynihan is deputy editor of MercatorNet.)

A8

People, Facts & Places

CBCP Monitor

May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

Asian Catholic Charismatic leaders to gather in Manila

www.6nationalcharismaticcongress.com

KEY leaders of different Catholic Charismatic groups across the Philippines and other countries will gather in Manila this month to discuss their various pastoral priorities. Organizers said the 6th National Catholic Charismatic Congress will be held May 31 to June 2 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex in Pasay City. Held every two years, the gathering also assembles active members of parish-based Prayer Groups and Transparochial Covenant Communities, Fellowships and Ministries in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR). This year, the event will discuss the principal contributions of the CCR to the Church in the light of pastoral pri-

orities of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP-II). We believe this congress is a Spiritinspired event, for significantly it falls on the 20th year after the PCP-II and on the 45th year after the initial impulse of the Holy Spirit giving birth to the Charismatic Renewal in the Catholic Church as we know it today, said Fr. Bart A. Pastor, CCR-Philippines national coordinator. Pastor said all the activities of the three-day gathering will be spiritfilledfrom Eucharist and prayer service, plenary and workshops, talks, joyful music and dances. Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines

(CBCP), for his part, said the occasion will serve as a venue to further strengthen the CCRs contributions to the Church. This congress will broadly review and closely examine the various contributions of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal toward moving our Church to its avowed vision of renewal through Integral Evangelization, said Palma who is presiding a Mass on the first day of the NCC Congress. Palma also serves as the Episcopal Adviser of the National Service Committee of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, Philippines. Also participating in the event are Catholic charismatics from Malaysia,

Indonesia, Thailand and other Asian countries. Other speakers on the first day include Retired Bishop Teodoro Bacani and El Shaddai servant leader Bro. Mike Velarde. On June 1, resource speakers are Bro. Bo Sanchez of the Light of Jesus Community and Archbishop Ramon Arguelles of the Archdiocese of Lipa. On the last day, among the speakers include Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo and Msgr. Sabino Vengco, a known theology professor. The gathering will conclude with a Mass to be presided by Retired Bishop Jesus Cabrera of the Diocese of Alaminos. (CBCPNews)

Movement to promote Calungsod's example launched

MOVED by Blessed Pedro Calungsod's upcoming canonization, a trio of young Catholics launched a new movement called +Big, aiming to inspire Filipinos to live their lives like Calungsod did. +Big, which had its soft launch at the Grand Mission Festival in Marikina last April 19, aims to promote Calungsod's example of small acts of service and faith to Filipinos. Sky Ortigas, one of the prime movers of +Big said, Pedro Calungsod...didn't do anything big, he just did small acts of kindness. Hindi siya 'yung tipong, gumawa ng malaking order (He wasn't the type who created a big order) but he just remained as himself, as a catechist, as a faithful friend to his companions. Ortigas, James Arela and Clarke Nebrao, former lay missionaries to Africa, conceived +Big during informal conversations while in Bohol last February. According to its Facebook page, +BIG is inspired and moved by Blessed Pedro Calungsod to launch a vibrant reply to raise and revitalize new Catholic individuals with a deep sense of dedication and involvement. To concretely do this, Ortigas cited how the movement will renew a sense of calling to ordinary professions, We are here to encourage [people] to just live the life that God calls them to... Be excellent in their own field, as a doctor, as a teacher, as an engineer...With these small things, they can make a big impact on society. Ortigas added that +Big will be a Catholic resource for speakers and training. For the Year of the Missions, +Big is organizing Missions Balls in both Cebu and Manila, fund-raising events for Catholic missionaries. The movement is also partnering with YouthPinoy! for the 1st Catholic Social Media Summit on July 14 - 15. Why +Big? Arela, originally from Cebu, explained why they chose

Markings
INSTALLED. Archbishop John Du was installed as the new archbishop of Palo on May 10, 2012, by Papal nuncio in the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto. Among the many archbishops and bishops who attended the installation were Manila Archbishop-emeritus Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Cebu Archbishop-emeritus Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop Pedro Dean, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Tagle and Lingayen Archbishop Socrates Villegas. Du is the incumbent treasurer of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. He was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to head the archdiocese of Palo on February 25. As the new archbishop of Palo, Du will shepherd 63 parishes, a chaplaincy and 13 mission stations divided into two districts, the eastern district composed of the vicariates of Tacloban City, Palo, Carigara, Burauen, Abuyog, Sacred Heart Seminary, St. John the Evangelist School of Theology and the western district composed of the vicariates of Ormoc and Palompon. The diocese of Palo was created on November 28, 1937 and was elevated to an archdiocese in November 15, 1982 with apostolic jurisdiction over the dioceses of Borongan, Calbayog, Catarman and Naval. APPOINTED. Pope Benedict XVI has appointed San Fernando (Pampanga) Auxiliary Bishop Roberto Mallari as the new bishop of San Jose in Nueva Ecija. Mallari, 54, will take over the post left vacant by Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara, who was transferred to the Diocese of Pasig last April 2011. As bishop of San Jose, Mallari will lead a territory of 2,540 sq km and a Catholic population of around 665, 715. Mallari was born on March 27, 1958 in Masantol, Pampanga. He was ordained a priest on Nov. 27, 1982. He is currently the vice chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines - Episcopal Commission on Family and Life which is leading the Churchs campaign against the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill. On January 14, 2006, Pope Benedict XVI named Mallari as Auxiliary Bishop of San Fernando currently headed by Archbishop Paciano Aniceto. His Episcopal ordination was on March 27, 2006. Mallari has also served as spiritual director of the Mother of Good Counsel Seminary and parish priest of the Lords Ascension Parish, both in Pampanga. No date has been set yet for the installation of the new bishop of San Jose. ORDAINED. Rev. Alfone Marie D. Berbegal and Rev. Dominic P. Taedo to the Sacred Order of Priesthood on May 14, 2012; in the National Shrine of Our Lady of Candles, Jaro, Iloilo City. The Most Rev. Angel N. Lagdameo, D.D., Archbishop of Jaro, officiated the Ordination Rites. ORDAINED. Rev. Atom Evardone Amigo of San Francisco Javier Parish, Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental; Rev. Philip Chavez Dimalanta of Immaculate Conception Parish, Baganga, Davao Oriental and Rev. Elezer Dadong Pagkilatan of San Francisco Javier Parish, Manay, Davao Oriental; to the Sacred Order of Deacons, May 18, 2012. Mati Bishop Patricio Alo officiated the ordination rites at the Divine Mercy Shrine & Parish, Madang, Mati City. The three newly-ordained deacons graduated last March from the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary (Remase) in Catalunan Grande, Davao City. ADMITTED. Two Bacolod seminarians, fresh Ecclesiastical Graduates of Theology were admitted to the Sacred Orders in the Rites of Admission at the Sacred Heart Shrine, May 2, 2012. The Rites, held simultaneously with the graduation ceremonies of the Catechetical Institute, were presided over by Bacolod Bishop Vicente M. Navarra. Admitted were Sem. Jose Paulo Lanuza and Sem. Michael Andres Pajares, both graduates of St. Joseph Regional Seminary in Iloilo. The CI graduates and their parishes were Mary Chris Agustin of St. Joseph the Worker (Victorias), Jermelyn Distrito of the Sacred Heart Shrine, Prim Rose Casiple of San Antonio Abad, Lavenia Espallardo of Our Lady of Victory (Victorias) and Helbert Evasco of St. Jude Thaddeus. LAUNCHED. The book titled My Life with the Mangyans, an Autobiographical Journey, written by Sister Lilia J. Frondoza, MIC, a coordinator and a religion teacher from the West Mindoro Academy in Mamburao, Mindoro was launched May 15, 2012, at the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) main building in Intramuros, Manila. The event was attended by several Mangyans with their leader called kuyay and some of Frondozas families and fans. In 1992, Frondoza was assigned for exposure in Sipuyo with the Alangan Mangyans. Despite her formal training as a school teacher she felt helpless in her new job so she decided to join UNICEF-funded office of southern cultural communities which sponsored a non-formal training for Mangyan para-teachers. Frondoza accepted to work with the Mangyans in 1993. She had worked with two tribes, the Iraya and the Alangans. The book was written with the aim of helping the Mangyans maintain and protect their culture so that the next generation will be able to appreciate their tribes. The nun also added that the book could make others realized that Mangyans are Filipinos that should be respected and their culture as well.
Photo courtesy of Nirvaana Delacruz

A young musician performs at the +Big Concert on the second day of the Grand Mission Festival.

+Big. Pedro Calungsod, he was no one, he was nothing, (but) if you have Christ in you, you can do great things. Talking more about their inspiration for starting the movement, Arela shared, We realized, Pedro Calungsod is telling us something...we need to respond. Even though you are young, powerless, you

can do something like Pedro Calungsod. To join the movement, simply like its Facebook fan page, facebook.com/plusbigmovement. Blessed Pedro Calungsod, a young catechist who was martyred in 1672 during a missionary trip to Guam, is set to be the country's second saint. (Nirva'ana Delacruz)

Youth need more quiet timeTaiz brother

YOUNG people would benefit a lot if they logged off Facebook and tried being quiet for a few minutes a day, Bro. Andreas Krautsieder of the ecumenical Taiz community in France suggested to young Filipinos on his most recent visit to the Philippines. Bro. Andreas, who had been meeting prayer groups and giving recollections in Metro Manila, Davao, Bacolod, Baguio and Legazpi since April, explained that we can have so much noise around us, physical noises, but we can also have this inner voice in us... We can rediscover in moments of silence who we are and our deepest desires, what is deep in our self. Israel Tan, a parish volunteer from the Parish of San Sebastian, Lipa, explained more concretely that a person who is used to being quiet regularly is more discerning, As a person, 'pag How to get started As a religious whose ministry involves being around young people every day, Bro. Andreas shared that all young people have a desire [for silence], but [it] becomes more and more complicated to find it. The Taiz brother, who has been visiting the country for more than a decade, said that someone can start by keeping 10 minutes a day, for example, for silence. We have to recognize that silence is not just to close our mouth. It is an inner attitude to let go of this noise...We can be silent in a very noisy place..., Bro. Andreas further said. The Taiz community has been regularly inviting young Filipinos to personally experience and immerse in Taiz spirituality in Sane-et-Loire, Burgundy, France since the early 1980s. (Nirvaana E. Delacruz)

Young people of various nationalities pray in silence during a Pilgrimage of Trust held in Manila in 2010.

may silence, hindi ka basta-basta makakasakit ng kapwa mo (if there is silence, its not easy to hurt others). Tan, who has also adopted the Taiz spirituality that emphasizes simplicity, trust and

prayer, said further, Natututo kang i-compose ang sarili mo. Nagiging maliwanag ang internal compass mo. (You learn to compose yourself. Your internal compass becomes bright.)

Youth ministries adopt online evangelization

\WITH surveys marking the youth as the fastest growing segment of social media users, youth ministries are doubling their efforts to do online evangelization. Young and online A full-time staff for the Student Catholic Action of the Philippines (SCAP) Frence Boiser, 27, talked about the potential of the internet for reaching young people, It's very timely. Malaki ang advantage ng technology ngayon. (Technology gives a big advantage now.)... This is also a medium for the new evangelization. SCAP, which is one of the largest campus youth ministries in the country, launched its own social network, Tambayan (Hang-out Place), mostly targeting students. Boiser, who also manages the official SCAP website, said young people who join Tambayan mostly talk about youth issues like leadership, governance and how young people can initiate change. At present, Tambayan has over 500 members. According to an inforgraphic by Yehey!, the 18-35 age bracket of social media users is the biggest and fastest growing segment. This segment has increased by 184% in just 3 months. In sync with the young Youth organizations that have been using traditional forms of evangelization like giving talks and recollections are also embracing the new media wave. One of them is the Salesian Youth Movement, which launched an online radio show called Youth Gig last February. Describing this relatively new way of reaching young people, Richard Taada, 31, one of the hosts of Youth Gig shared, Its part of evangelization through media. Siyempre yung mga kabataan sinasabayan sa

pagbabago nila (Of course, we need to be in sync with the changes of young people). The weekly radio show, which can be heard over www.radyomaria.ph, has segments on vocations, youth activities and a portion on Good News and Bad News, which features underreported good news that would interest young people. Taada, a full-time staff of the Salesian Commission on Youth Ministry, described this form of evangelization through media as a means to evangelize young people na hindi masyadong nakikilala na evangelization siya (in a way that doesnt seem like evangelization). Youth Gig is also on radio band and reaches Central and Northern Luzon. It airs every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 12 noon. The Salesian Youth Movement has an estimated 10,000 members in the Philippines. (Nirvaana E. Delacruz)

Paraaque youth run for environment

THE Paraaque diocesan youth commission held another fun run this year with focus on environmental advocacy. Dubbed as Takbo Para Kay Kristo: A Sunset Run for the Environment, the activity aimed to raise awareness for the environment, particularly on waste management and judicious use of resources. Organized by the Diocesan Commission on Youth under the program BIDA or Being Gods Instruments for Discipleship and Social Action, the fun run gathered around 3,000 runners from the cities of Muntinlupa, Paraaque and Las Pias. Various sectors and organizations in parishes, Ecclesial Renewal Movements, Campuses, NGOs, individual and corporate sponsors, neighboring dioceses, clergy, running aficionados, and diocesan youth joined the event. This is the beginning of a series of environmental initiatives they plan to introduce in their diocese through institutionalized activities such as Diocesan Commission on Youth Leaders Conference, Diocesan Youth Assembly (Mission Possible), and Transparochial Youth Assembly (Uno per Cristo), the DYC said. The commission looks forward to the opportunity to work together with you in bringing environmental concerns at the forefront of every youth in the Diocese of Paraaque, organizers added. The Takbo Para Kay Kristo run which started last 2010 has espoused different advocacies each year. The 2010 fun run highlighted the advocacy on Good Governance while 2011 focused on Pro-Life. Over 2,200 runners participated in both advocacy runs. (Jeda Alison Mendezabal/ Jandel Posion)

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Pastoral Concerns

B1

Your work of missionary animation and formation is part of the soul of pastoral care
(Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the directors of the Pontifical Missionary Works; at the Vatican on May 11, 2012)
conversion, spurs them on to bold new undertakings and calls forth their commitment to the great task of the new evangelization. (John Paul II, PostSynodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Europa,23). Jesus, the incarnate Word, is always the center of the proclamation, the point of reference for the following and for the methodology itself of the evangelizing m i s s i o n , because He is the human face of God who wishes to encounter for the herald to have a personal and daily relationship with Christ, that he know Him and love Him profoundly. The mission today needs renewal of trust in Gods action; it needs more intense prayer so that his Kingdom will come, two millennia, a major part of the human family still does not acknowledge Christ, but also because the situation in which the Church and the world find themselves [...] is particularly challenging for religious belief (John Paul II, Post-Synodal LORD Cardinal, Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate and the Priesthood, Dear Brothers and Sisters! I address to you all my cordial greeting, beginning with the Lord Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, whom I thank for his kind expressions and for the information about the activity of the Pontifical Missionary Works. I extend my grateful thought to the Secretary, Monsignor Savio Hon Tai-Fai, to the Assistant Secretary, Monsignor Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, President of the Pontifical Missionary Works, to the National Directors and to all the collaborators, as well as to those who give their generous service in the Dicastery. My thoughts and those of all of you go at this time to Father Massimo Cenci, Under-Secretary, who died suddenly. May the Lord reward him for all the work he carried out on mission and at the service of the Holy See. Todays meeting takes place in the context of the annual Assembly of the Higher Council of the Pontifical Missionary Works, to which is entrusted the missionary cooperation of all the Churches worldwide. The evangelization, which always has a character of urgency, in these times drives the Church to step with an even faster pace on the roads of the world, to bring every man to knowledge of Christ. In fact only in the Truth, which is Christ himself, can humanity discover the meaning of its existence, find salvation, and grow in justice and peace. Every man and every people has a right to receive the Gospel of truth. In this perspective, your commitment to celebrate the Year of Faith, now imminent, takes on a particular meaning: to reinforce the commitment to spread the Kingdom of God and knowledge of the Christian faith. On the part of those who have already encountered Jesus Christ, this calls for an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Savior of the world. (Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei,6). The Christian communities need to hear anew the voice of the Bridegroom, who invites them to are heralds of hope and peace, continue to be persecuted like their Teacher and Lord. However, despite the problems and the tragic reality of persecution, the Church is not discouraged, she remains faithful to her Lords mandate, in the awareness that throughout Christian history, martyrs, that is, witnesses, have always been numerous and indispensable to the spread of the Gospel (John Paul II, Redemptoris missio, 45). Christs message, today as yesterday, cannot adapt itself to the logic of this world, because it is prophecy and liberation, it is seed of a new humanity that grows, and only at the end of time will have its full realization. Entrusted to you, in a particular way, is the task of supporting the ministers of the Gospel, helping them to preserve the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow. (Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi, 80). Your particular commitment is also that of keeping alive the missionary vocation of all the disciples of Christ, so that each one, according to the charism received from the Holy Spirit, is able to take part in the universal mission consigned by the Risen One to his Church. Your work of missionary animation and formation is part of the soul of pastoral care, because the missio ad gentes constitutes the paradigm of the whole apostolic action of the Church. Be increasingly the visible and concrete expression of the communion of persons and of the means between the Churches that, as communicating vessels, live the same missionary vocation and tension, and in every corner of the earth work to sow the Word of Truth in all peoples and cultures. I am certain that you will continue to be committed, so that the local Churches assume, ever more generously, their part of responsibility in the universal mission of the Church. May the Virgin Most Holy, Queen of the Missions accompany you and sustain your every effort in promoting missionary awareness and collaboration. With this hope, which I always have present in my prayer, I thank you and all those who cooperate in the cause of evangelization, and I impart to each from my heart the Apostolic Blessing.

every man and every woman to make them enter into communion with Him, in his love. To go through the roads of the world to proclaim the Gospel to all peoples of the earth and to guide them to the encounter with the Lord (cf. Apostolic Letter Porta Fidei, 7), calls then

so that his will is done on earth as it is in Heaven. It is necessary to invoke the light and strength of the Holy Spirit, and to commit oneself with determination and generosity to inaugurate, in a certain sense, a new era of proclamation of the Gospel is essential not only because, after

Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Asia, 29). Hence, I am very happy to encourage the project of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and of the Pontifical Missionary Works, in support of the Year of Faith. This project foresees a worldwide campaign that, through the prayer of the Holy Rosary, will accompany the work of evangelization in the world and for many of the baptized the rediscovery and deepening of the faith. Dear friends, you know well that the proclamation of the Gospel not infrequently entails difficulties and sufferings; in fact, the growth of the Kingdom of God in the world not rarely comes at the price of the blood of its servants. In this phase of economic, cultural and political changes, where often the human being feels alone, a prey to anguish and despair, the messengers of the Gospel, also if they
Jandel Posion / CBCPMedia

Jandel Posion / CBCPMedia

Photo courtesy of Fr. Socrates Mesiona, MSP

B2 Purifying vessels away from the altar

(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University, answers the following queries:) Q: Is it proper for the priest to clean the Communion vessels outside the altar of celebration during Mass? Our parish priest, to save time, would move all the vessels/patens, etc., used for Communion to a table at the back of the sanctuary (away from the table of celebration), while the prayer after Communion is said and announcements take place. The cleaning is usually done by a concelebrating priest or deacon as the case may be. I feel this practice is disrespectful to the entire Eucharistic celebration; makes one feel like the vessels are just dirty dishes.J.N.M., Port Harcourt, Nigeria A: The priests mode of action is fundamentally correct and, except for one detail, in conformity with liturgical norms. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal, in No. 163, states the following about the purification of the sacred vessels: When the distribution of Communion is finished, the priest himself immediately and completely consumes at the altar any consecrated wine that happens to remain; as for any consecrated hosts that are left, he either consumes them at the altar or carries them to the place designated for the reservation of the Eucharist. Upon returning to the altar, the priest collects any fragments that may remain. Then, standing at the altar or at the credence table, he purifies the paten or ciborium over the chalice then purifies the chalice, saying quietly, Quod ore sumpsimus (Lord, may I receive), and dries the chalice with a purificator. If the vessels are purified at the altar, they are carried to the credence table by a minister. Nevertheless, it is also permitted, especially if there are several vessels to be purified, to leave them suitably covered on a corporal, either at the altar or at the credence table, and to purify them immediately after Mass following the dismissal of the people. When a deacon is present, he normally does the purification, not on the altar however but at the credence table, as specified in No. 183: When the distribution of Communion is completed, the deacon returns to the altar with the priest and collects the fragments, if any remain, and then carries the chalice and other sacred vessels to the credence table, where he purifies them and arranges them in the usual way while the priest returns to the chair. It is also permissible to leave the vessels that need to be purified, suitably covered, at the credence table on a corporal and to purify them immediately after Mass following the dismissal of the people. If no deacon is present, he may be substituted by an instituted acolyte or by a concelebrating priest. The basic reason for this norm is to reserve, as far as reasonably possible, the use of the altar for the realization of the Holy Sacrifice. This is why the altar should preferably not be used until the offertory and the priest should preferably say the closing prayer from the chair although it is permissible to pray it at the altar. The purification of the sacred vessels, while in no way reduced to being a merely practical exercise, could in some cases distract the faithful in making their thanksgiving during the sacred silence after Communion, especially if the number of vessels requiring purification is quite large. The detail in which I believe that your priest is incorrect is that the purification appears to continue during the closing prayer. All of the ministers should be at their proper places before the closing prayer and so the purification should be completed during the period of sacred silence following Communion. If this is not possible, it is preferable to take the option offered by the missal to purify the sacred vessels immediately after Mass.

On General Absolution without Individual Confession (Part III)

(The Wrong Application of c.961 of the Code of Canon Law)
or geographical or climatological reasons; b) On Christmas, Paschal Triduum, local religious fiestas, popular missions and school graduation; whenever the conditions set above exist. 2. On these occasions the priests may be granted to give the General Absolution, only after having undertaken all means to give opportunity to the penitents to make their individual confessions. For example, making a schedule for individual confessions during some fixed hours during the Mass, in such a way that the priests who are available can help one another in hearing individual confession and when the time for Mass comes, still many penitents have not made yet their individual confession, and so, are being deprived of the sacramental grace of Holy Communion. The priests, before giving General Absolution, shall help the penitents to be properly disposed to receive it, by making a sincere act of contrition, and to remind the penitents of their option to confess each of the grave sins which cannot for the moment be thus confessed, as soon as possible, when the positiveGeneral Absolution can be given outside the danger of death the CBCP legislation, in effect, is granting a faculty to all priests to give general absolution without individual confession whenever the situations that are enumerated are verified, and is even open to the interpretation latu sensu (wide sense) extending such a faculty to similar situations. Importance of the Negative Formulation of the Universal Norm on General Absolution It was precisely to obviate the possible abuse of such a faculty to impart general absolutions that the original canon of the CIC was redacted in the negative. This can be gleaned from a study of the actae published in the journal Communicationes chronicling the process of redaction of the new Code of Canon Law. Emblematic in this respect is the transition from an initial formula that positively provided for the possibility of general absolution to a formula that, on the contrary, directly prohibits general absolution, foreseeing it

Updates

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

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

I HAVE dealt with this matter on more than two occasions in the past (ref. CBCP Monitor, April 2005), but the problem seems to persist. Of late, a priest friend of mine brought to my attention what could be the source of the confusion and I would like to tackle this very serious error once more. Before going to this, allow me to remind the reader to what was tackled in Part II of this article, which extensively quoted a Response (Prot.No. 5309/96) of the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts, dated 8.XI.1996 (cf. Communicationes, 28 [1996] 177-181), which fully answered this question. The Source of the Confusion In 1995, the Faculty of Canon Law of the University of Santo Tomas (Manila) published a book by Fr. Florencio Testera, O.P. titled Canon Law Digest of the Philippine Catholic Church (3rd

Resolution: Let the text of 1 be: The simultaneous absolutioncannot be imparted: l) unless the danger of death is imminent 2) when there is grave necessity (Relatio complectens Synthesim Animadversionum, in Communicationes, 15, 1983, p.205). In the Schema novissimum of 1982, c.961 was redacted in the negative form, and this is the form that eventually found its way in the CIC of 1983. Laxity of the Published CBCP Norm for General Absolution As I pointed out earlier, the first situation envisioned in c.961,1,1 (imminent danger of death) presents no problem in interpretation. It is the second situation, c.961, 1, 1 (grave necessity) that the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts authoritatively interpreted in the above-mentioned Response in the following terms: In order for such serious necessity to exist, two elements must concur: first, a scarcity of

Homilies while walking?

Q: During the homily after the Gospel, is the priest allowed to walk down the aisle while preaching?R.F., Bombay, India. A: The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) is rather sparse regarding this point. No. 136 says: The priest, standing at the chair or at the ambo itself or, when appropriate, in another suitable place, gives the homily. When the homily is completed, a period of silence may be observed. It would probably be an excess of legalism to interpret standing as meaning necessarily immobile or fixed in one place. The reason for mentioning standing is far more likely to distinguish the priests posture from that of a bishop, who may preach while seated in his cathedra, or throne. Preaching while seated symbolizes the bishops role as teacher and guide of his people. This was the customary posture of teachers since ancient times. While perhaps the GIRM does not strictly forbid moving around while preaching the homily, it certainly indicates a preference on the part of the Church that the homily be preached from a stable position. I personally do not favor the practice of wandering around while preaching the homily, as it can give rise to theatrics that distract from the message. Such theatrics are often inappropriate in the context of the entire celebration as there is a danger of converting the Mass into a kind of show. Thus once the homily is over it may be difficult for the people to recover their recollection and prepare themselves to participate in the sacrifice. However, I dont want to make categorical statements on this point. Some priests have particular talents in this regard and use such methods to great spiritual effect, especially in Masses for young people. This method may also be used while preaching outside Mass, such as during retreats. When preparing a homily, a priest must also consider the most effective mode of delivery. And he should remember that his first and foremost duty is to present Christs message. Getting the message across to the best of his ability has to be his priority. If his oratorical resources tend to draw attention away from the message and toward his personality, then in some way he is not completely fulfilling his mission.

Ed.), with the lengthy subtitle: A Systematic Compilation of the Norms and Decisions Approved and Promulgated by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for Implementation in the Local Church with Supplementary Readings and Documentation. In effect, to date it is the single most authoritative source of Local Legislation for the Catholic Church in the Philippines, making such legislation readily available not only to canonists but to all interested parties. Well then, in the matter of Absolutions (p.10), the book printed in full the CBCP Legislationwhich allegedly received the recognitio by the then Sacred Congregation for Bishops through a Decree of 27.IX.1985, Prot.No.35/84. Following is the CBCP Legislation (as quoted by Testera and which I quote in italics in full, adding underscoring to highlight the source of confusion): CBCP Norms for General Absolution 1. General Absolution can be given outside the danger of death, whenever there exists great necessity, that is given the number of penitents, there are not enough confessors available to properly hear the individual confessions at a given time, so that, without fault of their own, the penitents are deprived of the sacramental grace of Holy Communion for a lengthy period of time. These conditions may be verified in the cases that follow, according to the judgment of the diocesan bishop: a) When priests go once a year or very seldom during the year, to remote barrios or islets, or to other places where there is a serious difficulty in the access of the sacrament of confession on the part of the faithful on account of distance

opportunity occurs, before receiving another General Absolution, unless a just reason intervenes, as prescribed in cc.962 and 963. What is wrong with the above text? From an Exception to a Faculty We need to emphasize that the universal norm is carefully phrased to make general absolution without individual confession an exceptionas is obvious from the tenor of c.961 of the CIC which starts: 1 Absolution cannot be imparted in a general manner to a number of penitents at once without previous individual confession unless. [uncerscoring mine]. This point is of paramount importance because of the general principle, stated by c.18 of the CIC, that laws thatcontain an exception to a law, should be interpreted strictly. As previously stated, John Paul II had expressly underscored this exceptional character: The reconciliation of several penitents through general confession and absolution, hold an exceptional nature and hence cannot be left to free choice, but should be regulated by norms instituted for this purpose (Apost. Exhort. Reconciliatio et Paenitentia, AAS, LXXVII, 1985, p.267). The CBCP norm, on the other hand, is redacted in a way that instead of making general absolution an exception, gives the faculty to impart general absolution, to wit: General Absolution can be given outside the danger of death, whenever there exists great necessity Thisconstitutes a Copernican revolution to the general norm, because of yet another general principle in canonistic doctrine that laws granting faculties should be interpreted amply. In other words, by redacting the norm in the

solely as an exception. In the schema De Sacramentis of 1975, the present c.961which then figured as c.132, 1was formulated in a positive form: Observing what is prescribed in c.133, the simultaneous absolution of several penitents, without previous individual confession, can beor even should be imparted in a general way Such possibility of collective absolution, formulated in such positive form remained unchanged even after the examination of the observations made in the first consultation (cf. Communicationes 9, 1978, pp.52-54), and appeared in the same form in the Schema CIC of 1980, as c.915, 1. The change was introduced following the observations made to the Schema of 1980 by the Fathers of the Commission, as a result of the published account of this work, which I quote in full below: 1. Regarding 1:1. It is preferred that 1 be redacted thus: The simultaneous absolution of several penitents, without previous individual confession, should not be imparted in a general way, unless (One Father) 2. Let it say: The simultaneous absolutioncannot be imparted: 1) unless the danger of death is imminent 2) unless there is the gravest necessity The negative formulation, the suppression of the words or should and the substitution of grave with gravest are altogether necessary to avoid abuses, which in fact are occurring. (Another Father) 3. The formula proposed in the text causes great harm to the spiritual life of the faithful and to vocations, since the faithful would never confess their sins. (Third Father)

priests and a great number of penitents; secondly, that the faithful do not have or have not had the possibility of confessing beforehand or immediately afterwards. In practice, they should not be responsible, through negligence, of their actual loss of the state of grace or of the impossibility of receiving Holy Communion (sine propria culpa) and that such situation is expected to be prolonged. Careful reading of the authentic interpretation shows that there are actually three conditions that must concur for such serious necessity to exist: (1) a scarcity of priests, (2) a great number of penitents, and (3) the faithful have not had nor have the possibility of confessing individually beforehand or immediately afterwards. Furthermore, the same canonical norm (c.961, 1, 2) is quick to clarify that it is not considered a sufficient necessity if confessors cannot be readily available only because of the great number of penitents as can occur on the occasion of some great feast or pilgrimage. In contrast, the published CBCP norm gives the impression that grave necessity exists in all of a series of cases, by stating that These conditions may be verified in the cases that follow, according to the judgment of the diocesan bishop: a) When priests go once a year or very seldom during the year, to remote barrios or islets, or to other places where there is a serious difficulty in the access of the sacrament of confession on the part of the faithful on account of distance or geographical or climatological reasons; b) On Christmas, Paschal Triduum, local religious fiestas, popular missions and school graduation; whenever the conditions
Absolution / B7

www.romancatholiccop.com

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Year of Missions

B3

Pedro Calungsod: a boy from the Visayas

(Lifted from the book of Fr. Ildebrando Jesus Alio Leyson titled Pedro Calonsor Bissaya: Prospects of a Teenage Filipino) IT was early Saturday morning, 2 April 1672. A Jesuit missionary, named Padre Diego Luis Vitores, was killed in Guam by two of his friends. A lot has been written about the man of God. Today, there is a growing interest to know about another person who was killed by the same duo a few moments ahead of Padre Diegoa boy from the Visayas region of the Philippines. Our only sources of information about that boy are the documents of the martyrdom of Padre Diego. In fact, we have come to know today of the existence of the boy through these documents wherein he is mentioned because, merecio la dicha de acompaar al Venerable Padre en su muerte, he merited the happiness of accompanying the Venerable Padre in his death. The boy was Padre Diegos faithful assistant in the Mission. A rather common name The boy is referred to as Pedro in the Spanish documents, Petrus in a Latin document, Pierre in a French document and Pietro in an Italian document. Since the Philippines was under Spanish Rule in the 1600s, the boy undoubtedly bore the Spanish version of the namePedro. His family name is variously spelled in the different documents as Calonsor (used by documents in 1672, 1673, 1676, and 1749), Calongsor (used by documents in 1672, 1676 and 1677), Calangsor (used by documents in 1683 and 1700) and Calansor (used by a document in 1732. His real family name must have been Calungsod (with the accent falling on the u, that is, Calungsod) which unfortunately does not appear in any of the documents. It comes from the Visayan word lungsod which means town or citizenry. The affix Ca- forms a noun which means ones co-(noun). Therefore, Calungsod means ones townmate or ones fellow citizen. While today the Visayans normally use the word katagilungsod to refer to ones townmate or ones fellow citizen, the Visayan family name still remains as Calungsod. The variations of the spelling of Pedros family name in the documents may have been due to the Spanish authors certain difficulty with the Visayan phonetics like pronouncing the nasal ng and the hard terminal d. Thus, the Spaniards ended up writing the family name according to their own convenient way of pronouncing it, substituting the ng with a simple n, and the d with an r. It could also have been the way of the Visayans of the 1600s pronounced the family name that made it hard for the Spaniards to decipher. Ignacio Francisco Alcina, S.J., a Spanish missionary who lived and wrote in the Visayas during the time of Pedro Calungsod, spelled the word lungsod as longsor to refer to a populated place or poblacion. Alcina was very familiar with the Visayan language because he lived in the Visayas for thirty-six years and he did learn and speak Visayan language, the words of which, he said, were easy to pronounce. He was well aware of the common occurrence of the union of the consonants n and g in many Visayan words. However, he complained that the Visayan natives somehow confused in their writing and pronunciation the letters o and u as well as the letters l, r and d. Hence, Calungsod became Calongsor. And as it was further heard and pronounced by different persons of difference tongues, ears and years, it became Calonsor and even Calangsor or Calansor. The confusion between the o and u in the Visayan pronunciation is true even today. One can hear the family name Calungsod pronounced also as Calungsud or Calongsod or something halfway between these two ways of pronouncing it. The confusion between the l. r and d does not seem to exist anymore. In fact, it is a surprise for the Visayans today to know that lungsod and Calungsod were somehow pronounced by their ancestors as longsor and Calongsor as the Spaniards claimed. We have not found the baptismal record of Pedro Calungsod. Most, if not all the baptismal records of the 17th century in the Visayas have been destroyed in fires, typhoons or by termites over the centuries. However, it may be beyond doubt that the boy from the Visayas was a Christian by the mere fact that he bore a Christian namePedro (after Saint Peter the Apostle)which he must have received at his baptism. Pedro is a rather common Christian name. It is no wonder then that there had been, and still there are, other Visayan named Pedro Calungsod. There was a Pedro Calungsod who was baptized in the town of Ginatilan on the island of Cebu on 23 May 1909. Much earlier, there was a Pedro Calungsod who was baptized in the town of Hinunangan on the island of Leyte in 1854. There was also a Pedro Calungsod, Sr., who was born in the same town of Hinunangan in 1909. His son, Pedro Calungsod, Jr., is now in his 50s. In Molo district of Iloilo City on the island of Panay, there was only a Petrona Calonsod (sic) who was baptized on 30 June 1894, but one of her nephews was named Pedro Calunsod (sic) Canuday. Everyones townmate The documents say that Pedro Calungsod was an indio bisaya, that is to say, a pure native of the Visayas region of the Philippine archipelago. The Visayas (or Bisayas) region during the time of Pedro Calungod included all those islands whose nativers had the general physical characteristics of the Visayans or who spoke the Visayan language. Alcina indentified the major Visayan island as: Ibabao (or Samar), Leyte, Cebu, Bohol, Negros and Panay. With these larger islands Alcina indicated several smaller ones like Poro, Posong, Danao, Panglao, Capul, Biri, San Bernardino (or Tagbaloran), Ticao, Burias, Masbate, Tagapolan, Camandang, Limbancawayan, Talaheb, Libucan, Maripipi, Camiguin, etc. The other places of which Alcina said were inhabited by Visayans or by Visayan-speaking natives were Butuan, Iligan, Dapitan, Zamboanga and the Caraga region in Mindanao, Camarines, Bondoc and Catanduanes in southern Luzon (Bicol). In sum, Alcina indentified the Visayas region as that portion of the Philippine archipelago that lie(s) between fourteen and nine degrees, more or less, from north to south; for this is the distance from the mountains of Bulusan (in the southeastern tip of the Island of Luzon) to Calagan, and even still further to the Cape of San Agustin (the most easterly part of the Island of Mindanao and the one which juts out farthest into the sea). [] it is almost the same distance, or a bit more, from the eastern part of the Island of Ibabao to the western part of Panay which is the last island to be considered in this group. Herein ends the territory which we call the Bisayas or up to the point where there are Christians of this regional group. Pedro Calungsod is described simply as a Visayan. The
Pedro / B7

AROUND 120 national directors of Pontifical Mission Societies all over the world gathered for an international meeting in Rome to discuss present and future missionary works around the globe. Several high ranking PMS officials in the Vatican discussed about new evangelization and presented reports from the four pontifical societies, according to Fr. Soc Mesiona, MSP, national director of PMS-Philippines. Msgr. Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, President of PMS and Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of people welcomed the guest directors while a talk on Mission Ad Gentes: Paradigm of the New Evangelization was given by Msgr. Aldo Giordano, Vatican Permanent Observer to the European Union, Mesiona said. Fr. Vito Del Prete, Secretary General of

PMS Directors gather in Rome for international meeting

the Pontifical Missionary Union gave the same topic the next day, while the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Fernando Cardinal Filoni celebrated the Mass on the 2nd day. There were also reports given by Fr. Timothy Lehane, SVD, Secretary General of the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith; Msgr. Jan Dumon, SecretaryGeneral of the Pontifical Society of St. Peter the Apostle; Msgr. Silvano Rossi, General Administrator; Dr. J. Baptisitine, Secretary General of the Pontifical Society of the Holy Childhood; and, Fr. Vito Del Prete, Secretary General of the Pontifical Missionary Union from the four pontifical mission societies on the succeeding days, Mesiona added. A continental meeting was held after discussion of reports. Mesiona said the next Asian Continental meeting will be held in

the Philippines in 2013. The PMS national directors had an audience with Pope Benedict XVI the day before the meeting ended, followed by a Mass at the St. Peters Basilica. Likewise, before the end of the international meeting, accounts and projects were approved by the supreme council. Meanwhile, another Filipino missionary from the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) congregation was appointed as the new PMS National Director of New Zealand. This is good news for all of us. Father Bernard Espiritu, SVD, was appointed as the new PMS National Director of New Zealand, Mesiona said. The General Assembly of the Supreme Council of the Pontifical Mission Societies was held at the Salesianum, Via della Pisana in Rome from May 7-12. (Jandel Posion)

THE Holy Father conveyed his appreciation to the participants of the recently concluded general assembly of the Pontifical Mission Societies as he met and greeted the 120 PMS national directors in an audience, May 11. Pope Benedict XVI thanked the group for its missionary work and said that introducing people to God is critical these days, especially as the world goes through economic, cultural and

Pope thanks PMS Directors for Mission work

political changes that can lead to a sense of helplessness and isolation. The Holy Father also stressed that evangelization is always a pressing task which requires the Church to work even more continuously throughout the world in order to ensure that all mankind may come to know Christ. The pope said that Jesus is the Word incarnate, and is always the point of reference for evangelizing mission and its methodology. It is because He is the human face of God who wishes to meet all men and women so as to bring them into communion with Him, in His love, the Holy Father added. The group said it will launch a global campaign that will encourage Christians to pray the rosary as a way to prepare for the coming of the Year of Faith on

October this year. PMS is the institution that supports missionary activity not only in Christian countries but in non-Christian nations as well. Fr. Soc Mesiona, MSP, Philippines PMS National Director attended the said international meeting together with another Filipino missionary, Fr. Bernard Espiritu, SVD, PMS National Director of New Zealand. (Jandel Posion)

Thousands of youth join 1st mission congress

THOUSANDS of young people and missionaries from different parishes in the Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay, Palawan joined the 1st Mission Congress held from April 26 to May 1 in celebration of the upcoming 400 years of Christianity in the island. Themed Sambayanang naglalakbay at nagpapalalim ng pananampalataya sa patnubay ni San Jose Manggagawa sa ika400 taong Kristiyanismo sa Palawan, the congress activities were divided into three main events: the 4th Vicarial Youth Camp, the 60th birthday anniversary of Taytay Bishop Edgardo Juanich and the congress itself. Speakers during the Congress include Anthony Dameg, a staff of Pontifical Mission Society, who spoke about the role and mission of the laity, and Mr. Clarke Nebrao from the Couples for Christ (CFC), who shared about his life as a missionary. The life of Blessed Pedro Calungsod, set to be canonized on October this yearand known to be a model of the young and the missionaries was presented to the delegates. Part of the activities were workshops were delegates reported action plans per pastoral thrusts or commissions, followed by the election of the council of the laity. The celebration became an inspiration for the launching of the 10-year preparation for the 400 years of Christianity in Palawan. The congress was initiated and organized by the apostolic vicariate mission director, Fr. Neil Bacones with the help of the Pontifical Mission Society (PMS) headed by Fr. Socrates Mesiona, MSP, and his staff, Mr. Anthony Dameg and Ms. Ma. Jette Antolin. Priest-organizers for the three-day congress were Fr. Rolando Salvana for catechesis, Fr. Jose Divino Sedigo for family and life apostolate, Fr. Vicente Badajos for the bible apostolate, and Fr. Eduardo Parino for the MISA-JPD (social concerns). Representatives from 19 parishes of the apostolic vicariate attended the event: San Lorenzo Ruiz in Caramay, San Isidro Labrador in Roxas and in Casilan, The Resurrection parish in Tumarbong, San Miguel Archangel in Liminangcong, Sto. Nio in Abongan, Sta. Potenciana in Sibaltan, St. Francis of Assisi in El Nido, Sta. Monica in Poblacion, Taytay, St. Joseph the Worker Cathedral, St. Therese of the Child Jesus in Legit Dumaran, St. John the Baptist in Dumaran and Agutaya, Nuestra

Seora de Araceli in Araceli, St. Augustine in Cuyo and in Coron, St. Joseph Freinademetz in Turda, St. Michael the Archangel in Linapacan, and Nuestra Seora de Salvacion in Poblacion, Busuanga. 4th Vicarial camp Meanwhile, an estimated 600 young people attended the 4th vicarial youth camp from April 26-30 at the St. Joseph the Worker village with the theme Ako, Ikaw, Kabataan-Tayong Lahat Mga Misyonero. The camp, one of the activities during the congress, served as a venue for young people to create friendship and bonding with their fellow youth in the vicariate. The gathering included formation sessions, catechesis, fellowship, cultural presentation and inspiring workshops for the young delegates to understand missionary works for the Church. A mass was also offered on the 29th of April to mark the 60th birthday anniversary of Taytays Apostolic Vicar. Bishop Edgardo Juanich together with the clergy celebrated the culmination mass of the congress. (Ma. Jette Antolin/Jandel Posion)

Filipino missionary appointed New Zealand PMS national director

A FILIPINO missionary from the Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) congregation was appointed as the National Director for the Pontifical Mission Societies in New Zealand first week of May. SVD Father Bernardo Bernard Espiritu, a missionary in the Societys Australian province was appointed to the position after being recommended by the province through the invitation of the Archbishop of Wellington, New Zealand. The archbishop of Wellington last March 2012 asked our Australian province to appoint an SVD priest to take care of the PMS in the country. At first, I just went to New Zealand to meet the archbishop as a formal gettogether. But to my surprise, on the first week of May, I received an appointment letter from Rome stating that I am the new national director for PMS in the said in adjusting to the place and in getting to know more about the people. Mission is all about adjusting to the place, you must get to know the people, etc. As of now, Im still studying the country, its history, geography, the people and other stuff, he added. Espiritu was also present during the general assembly in Rome last May 7 to 12 to meet fellow directors and have a glimpse of the mission work of PMS. He will be back in New Zealand on the last week of May and will formally start his work as the PMS Director in June. Espiritu was ordained in 1981 and first served as a missionary in Brazil from1983 to 1990. His second mission was in Melbourne, Australia from 1991 to 2006. He also served in the United Nations as a member of Vivat International, an organized network of all members of SSpS and SVD, ASC, CMS, CSSP, MCCJ, MSHR, OMI, whose work, expertise and experience have direct bearing on issues related to social justice, development, peace and ecology. The priest worked as a missionary in New Jersey, USA for five years before being assigned to mission work in Australia where he got his recent appointment. Espiritu was the first Filipino to be appointed as national director of PMS in New Zealand. At the moment, there are 6 priests-directors from the said congregation who are serving as PMS Directors in Congo, Paraguay, Portugal, Papua New Guinea, Hungary and in Rome. The Australian province of the SVD consists of Australia, New Zealand and Thailand with 60 priests-members. (Jandel Posion)

Fr. Bernardo Bernard Espiritu, SVD

country. So, the job was offered to me and I accepted it without hesitation, Espiritu said in an interview. Espiritu said he is aware of the problem he will be encountering

Photo courtesy of Fr. Socrates Mesiona, MSP

Photo courtesy of Fr. Socrates Mesiona, MSP

B4

Features
Fifth Batch of AIR for Seminary Formators Graduates

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

AIR 5 for 21

By Rev. Fr. Benildo M. Pilande, Jr.

EASTER Monday April 9, 2012 saw the commencement of the fifth batch of the Assisted Intensive Renewal (AIR) For Seminary Formators. The program which was created by the CBCPs Episcopal Commission on Seminaries headed by Most Rev. Mylo Hubert Vergara, D.D. of the Diocese of Pasig aims to equip seminary formators with the necessary skills in their important ministry of forming future priests in the image and likeness of the one and true High Priest, Jesus Christ. There were 21 priests who came from 15 different archdioceses/dioceses around the Philippines representing 14 seminaries. These men left their respective archdioceses/dioceses to gather and stay for five weeks at the CBCPs John Mary Vianney - Galilee Development and Retreat Center for Priests in Tagaytay City with one goal, to be helped in becoming well-integrated formators through the assistance of the staff of the Commission and the Galilee Center as well as through the indispensable work of the Holy Spirit, the prime mover in formation and transformation. The first week of the program was devoted in spiritually disposing the priests through a three-day retreat given by Rev. Msgr. Chito Bernardo. The remaining days of that same week was used to deepen the camaraderie and community spirit of the participants through the LUBID activities. The second week was used to assist the participants in going deeper into their person through lecture on journaling given by Msgr. Prescilo Iral and later that week there were inputs by Fr. Jaime Noel Deslate on spiritual direction and individual counseling in the seminary. The third week was the continuation and deepening on the topic of spiritual direction in the seminary given by Rev. Fr. Jesus Augusto Angeles.

Furthermore on the same week Fr. Deslate discussed the principles and practice of counseling and later in the afternoons each participant also began to meet with their respective spiritual director and counselor which they did on a regular basis until the end of the program. The fourth week saw the presentation and discussion by Rev. Fr. Renato Naca, Fr. Noel Deslate and Fr. Philip Lazatin on other important topics like understanding sexuality, addiction and celibacy. The weekend of the fourth

week was set for the participants outing. During the Saturday, the participants took the time off by trekking to the summit and crater of Taal Volcano. The rest of the day was devoted to a visit of different churches: Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Grace in Lipa, the Shrine of Our Lady of Caysasay and the Basilica of Martin of Tours in Taal. The whole day was capped by a mass in the Chapel of the Missionary Catechists of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Lipa. The following day, Sunday, the group continued with their pilgrimage by visiting a number

of churches in the provinces of Laguna and Quezon. Rev. Fr. Peter Lechner during the last week shared his expertise on healing victims and victimizers of sexual abuse and at the same time instructed the group on how to spot serious psychological and spiritual problems in the seminary. To culminate the whole AIR program, all the participants discussed how to plan and implement in their respective seminary the whole learning of the five weeks. As the program commenced with the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, the life

of the priesthood and the Church, it also concluded on May 11, 2012 with the same primordial sacrament presided by Most. Rev. Mylo Hubert Vergara, D.D. At the end of the sojourn in the Galilee Center it is everyones hope that the participating seminary formators have transformed themselves to be more integrated not only in their personal lives but more so in their ministry in the seminary, to form future priests to be alter Christus, to be integrated persons so that they may truly serve and love God as well as His Church.

A victory just and right

By Fr. Shay Cullen
IT was a blistering hot day in November 2009 when I went to the protest picket line outside the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).There were about forty people on hunger strike in tents led by Fr. Edwin Gariguez. He is a servant-leader dedicated to empowering the Mangyan indigenous people of Mindoro, to organize and protect their rights and lands from the onslaught of the massive openpit mining project of the Intex Resources. Intex is a Norwegian based mining corporation that had somehow got a permit from the DENR officials to gouge open a huge open pit nickel mine on the ancestral lands of the Mangyan. Powerful local business men and military officials supported the project giving Intex assurances that they would take care of getting rid of the indigenous people, their leaders and supporters. The Mangyan are the original inhabitants of the Island. They survived in harmony with nature for thousands of years. Such a mining project would have ripped out their mango trees, polluted their streams and rivers and driven them away from their ancestral lands forever. The only beneficiaries of this destructive mining operation would be the international share holders and investment banks in nations thousands of miles away. The protest leaders I talked to on that hunger strike were determined that this would never happen. They were called agitators, communists. When they held protests in the capitol of Mindoro Island they were set upon by gun toting goons who did not shrink from beating them up and even shooting dead, one campaigner. Father Edu, as he is popularly called, received death threats. The eleven day hunger strike, and the previous international campaigning and lobbying by Fr. Gariguez around Europe developed strong support and finally the Government officials caved in and cancelled the mining permit of Intex, which they should never have approved. Why government officials are serving the interests of foreign corporations and not their own people is a mystery that might only be solved by looking into their bank accounts and life styles. G o l d ma n S a c s , t he b i g investment bank withdrew its support and money from the US$2.4 billion Intex project. Members of the Intex board resigned and the project closed to the delight of the people and their supporters. Father Edwin Gariguez was honored for his solidarity and courage and awarded the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize in San Francisco last 16 April 2012. He risked his life for the sake of the people, the environment and the nation. It is great people like him and his team that should be the role models and heroes of the Filipinos but sadly instead the media promotes semi-illiterate emotionally dysfunctional celebrity actors and actresses instead. And even help to have them elected to high office to run the nation and lead it into corrupt chaos. The example of Fr. Edu and the victory won is giving hope and encouragement to all in the Anti-destructive mining movement. If you could see the beautiful and life giving environment of Mindoro Islands and other places in Mindanao and Palawan that are under threat by mining corporations you would want it be saved forever. Then look at a photo of such an excavation as an open pit mine it will truly

Fr. Edwin Gariguez (third from left) with the people of Mindoro island whom he has ministered for decades.

boggle your mind. We are called to challenge and question the policies of government that allow the destructive mining. In Palawan and Mindanao in the southern Philippines similar projects are underway amid protests and campaigns to stop them. Open pit mining is perhaps the most destructive of all. All of us must take a stand and say no to such projects and write to government officials to protest

or send them this article. We can ask them if it is necessary to destroy the beauty and life sustaining environment of this planet and centuries old communities just to get nickel. Imagine these gigantic holes in the earth. Some can be excavated so deep that two Eiffel Towers, one on top of the other would fit into it. The utter destruction of the environment by such projects

is enormous; mountain-sides, rivers, streams, forests, rice lands are destroyed or damaged and made unusable. But with the servant-leaders like Fr. Edwin Gariguez and thousands of dedicated human rights and environmentalists active today there is great hope that we can hold back this destructive force and win out with the people through non-violent peaceful protest.

May They Be One

Help Put a Bible in Every Filipino Home

Bible Campaign

The Bibles role in building bridges

ister Bacilides ramas of Mindanao State university (MSu) Marawi Pastoral Community first learned about the May They Be One Bible campaign during a Catechetical Convention held dipolog in 2009. Shortly after the convention, she ordered 100 copies of the MTBO Bible from Fr. Lumen Rojo, the Biblical Apostolate Coordinator for Mindanao. The Bibles were then distributed at affordable prices to 100 MSU students, 30 of whom were members of Sis. Bacilides weekly Bible study group. The brand new copies were a much welcome respite from the students old Bibles worn out and damaged from frequent use. Armed with the new Bibles, the students continued their weekly Bible Study led with Sis. Bacilides using the MTBO Bible formation model of Bible sharing. Despite their hectic schedule, the students took time to

Mindanao State University students gather for their Bible study

attend the weekly 4-hour sessions which lasted until half past midnight. Established in the Word, the students spread out their wings and shared their learning through various Christian service involvements such as the Catechetical, the Bible Apostolate and a non-government organization seeking to bring understanding among different religious and cultural groups. these serious students of the Scriptures, instead of being arrogant of their knowledge, exuded the Biblical spirit of humility and respect for peoples of other faiths and culture. through their attitudes and way of relating, they started building bridges of friendship and peace at a time when the region is rife with internecine and religious conflicts. In a similar thrust for oneness, the apostle Paul thousands of years earlier wrote, While working with the Jews, I live like a Jew in order to win them In the same way, when working with Gentiles, I live like a Gentile in order to win Gentiles So I become all things to all people, that I may save some of them by whatever means are possible. I Cor 9:20a, 21a, 22b No. of Dioceses participating in the Bible Campaign84 out of 86 dioceses Bibles Distributed (Jan 1, 2012 - May 3, 2012): 73,387 copies Bibles Distributed by LanguagesBicol (1,676 cps.) Cebuano (14,347 cps.) English (5,805 cps.), hiligaynon (3,961cps.), ilocano (2,276 cps.), Pampango (305cps.), Pangasinan (1,086 cps.), Samarenyo (1,524 cps.), tagalog (42,407 cps.) Parishes/Communities served in 2011: 32

Total Bible Distribution: (Jan 2009 - May 3, 2012): 607,245 cps Target No. of Bibles for Distribution for 2012: 600,000 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 that through His Word, there is hope and power to unite the people of Mindanao, torn by generations of bitter religious and cultural conflicts. Pray for the provision of thousands of Bibles to meet the great hunger and clamor for Bibles in Mindanao. 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 at any BPI branch to the following bank accounts: PBS-MTBO Account #393-0649-34 (BPI Sta. Mesa Branch). Fax deposit slip to 521-5803 or ECBA-CBCP Account #0251-021376 (BPI-Tayuman Branch) Fax deposit slip to 527-9386. For credit card paymentsgo to PBS website (www. bible.org.ph)

www.goldmanprize.org

ContriButed Photo

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Statements

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Joint Pastoral Letter of Samar Island Catholic Bishops on the Brutal Murder of Francisco Mano Francing Canayong
LAST May 1, 2012 a group of still unidentified individuals ambushed and stabbed Francisco Mano Francing to death in Brgy. Naparaan, Salcedo, Eastern Samar as he drove his tricycle homeward. He was a member of the Samar Island Partnership for Peace and Development. He also held leadership positions in other non-government organizations advocating environmental protection, human rights and ordinary citizens welfare. We are deeply saddened by the murder of Mano Francing Canayong. We are outraged by its injustice. But we are also edified by his nobility. In his supreme sacrifice we see a homily in action of the words of Jesus: There is no greater love than this, that a man should lay down his life for his friends (Jn 15:13). We are the friends he died for. Mano Francing lived and died a poor man but rich in principle. To those who doubt our words we invite them to bear in mind the following facts. One, he was offered bribes to stop opposing mining operations. Two, he refused to accept such offers. Three, he had already received death threats a number of times before he was murdered specifically for his opposition to mining operations in Salcedo and elsewhere. Four, though he took those threats seriously, these did not stop him from continuing his principled work for the truth and the environment. In Mano Francings fate we see the cost of doing Gods will, especially if it calls us to cultivate and care for the integrity of Gods creation (Gen 2:15) and to seek greatness by serving (Mk 10:44), things that Mano Francing practiced through his work in non-government organizations. In a word, doing Gods will does not come cheap. It could cost us not only money but our very lives. We pray and call for justice to Mano Francings death. But we also exhort all men and women of good will who believe in what he stood for. Rather than be discouraged, we should take inspiration from his sacrifice if only because He reminds us of the sacrifice of Jesus our Master himself. The victory of Christs resurrection is a sure sign that right is might and that the good that we do will triumph in the end. To Mano Francing: May you be received, we pray, into the Kingdom that God has prepared for you. May you rest in his peace. Sincerely in the Risen Lord, MOST REV. CRISPIN B. VARQUEZ, DD Bishop of Borongan MOST REV. ISABELO C. ABARQUEZ, DD Bishop of Calbayog MOST REV. EMMANUEL C. TRANCE, DD Bishop of Catarman

A prayer and cry for justice

Words more effective when they reach the silence of God

WE are anticipating the celebration of the World Day of Social Communications as mandated by the calendar of the Church. The celebration will really be on the 20th of May but we are equipping ourselves, especially those engaged in the ministry of social communications in the Archdiocese of Manila, to help our respective parishes, movements, organizations and communities to properly celebrate this important day, especially knowing that one important area of evangelization, not only as a means but a recipient of evangelization, is the world of media, social communications and the many forms it has taken. Una sa lahat, pinasasalamatan po namin kayo sa inyong pagdalo at kayo po ay pinasasalamatan din namin sa napakahalagang misyon na inyong ginagampanan para sa simbahan, ang paglalaganap ng Mabuting Balita sa pamamagitan ng mga bagong pamamaraan ng komunikasyon. Gayundin kami po ay naghihimok pa sa inyo, nananawagan na magtulongtulong pa tayo. Marami ang nagtatanong, sa dami ng katoliko sa Pilipinas bakit hindi raw tayo makapagpatayo ng mas marami pang tv channels, o kaya mas marami pang radio stations, katulad daw ng iba. Well, baka lalabas iyan sa inyong usapan. Pero kahit hindi naman tayo maraming tv stations at radio stations, tuwing araw ng linggo, sa dami ng misa at sa dami ng nagsisimba, iyan ang pinakamahalaga, at pinakaordinaryo at payak na pamamaraaan ng komunikasyon. Kahit walang kuryente, lakasan lang ng pari ang kanyang boses may komunikasyon. Kahit walang virus or o kahit may virus, na vi-virus ang kanyang isip, ang kanyang lalamunan, kaya pa rin ang pagpapahayag ng Mabuting Balita. Ibig ko lamang pong magbigay ng kaunting pagninilay sa tema na iminungkahi ng ating Santo Papa para sa World Communications Day sa taong ito: Silence and the Word. Napakahalaga daw po sa pamamahagi ng Mabuting Balita ang katahimikan at ang Salita. This might come as a surprise to many people for when we say communication at once we think of words, whether spoken words or written words, and now texted words, emailed words; that communication is often associated with words. But the Holy Father is teaching us that effective communication happens also in silence. In fact, words make sense in silence. I know you will have an opportunity this day to explore this beautiful message of the Holy Father. Let me just indicate a few things. First, remember John the Baptist. He was called the Voice shouting in the wilderness. Ang tinig na sumisigaw sa ilang. Nakaranas na ba kayo na pumunta sa wilderness? Naranasan niyo na ba na magsalita sa ilang? Kapag Words often become more effective when they reach the silence of God. The world may not listen as Jesus claims in the Gospel. The world will even silence the bringer of the word of God. But dont worry, there is someone who hearsGOD. But God can be silent, and speaks in silence, that the human Jesus even said, My God, my God why have you abandoned me? God was silent and the only word that God utters in His silence was the vulnerability of love found in Jesus on the cross and found in martyrs like John the Baptist. This is a deep mystery that we all need to contemplate. How human words have a destination in God, but in God human words become silent. And the response of God is also silence as far as human beings are concerned because the expression of Gods word is quite different from the way humans express words. sa community, kapag hindi nagsasabay sa almusal, naku yung silence na iyon ang daming sinasabi. So even for us silence speaks and very often the most effective word is in and through silence. Bago ko po iwanan itong bahaging ito naalaala ko po yung walang ganyang salita, kayat pagkapahalagahanmoangbawat salita. At mahalaga po iyon, hindi lamang para sa spelling upang ang nagpapahalaga sa salita, hari nawa, maging tapat sa mga salita. Kapag nawala na ang pagpapahalaga sa mga salita, nakakatakot baka wala nang nagsasabi sa akin, Puede ba kayo ma-interview? Kailan? Ngayon na po. Sorry. Ipadala ninyo ang inyong mga tanong at pagninilayan ko, pag-aaralan ko in silence. And then I can be a responsible utterer of the word. Takot na takot po tayo sa silence, eh. Kapag may katahimikan kailangan punuan. Ayaw natin yung may lapse, kailangan may music, kailangan may ingay, kailangan may gimmick. And no wonder words are losing their value. Sorry ha but I have to say that. And finally, in the world there are many silent people, the voiceless, not because they cannot speak but because they have been rendered voiceless and speechless. They are the ones who are deprived of their voice, their rightful voice, to be able to communicate their dreams, their tears, their suffering. And as we contemplate the connection between silence and word let us listen to the voiceless. Let us be sensitive to their quiet, silent cries and hopefully, through us, they will have a voice, a voice to God in prayer, a voice to society, a voice to government, a voice to those men and women of good will who in solidarity and communion would want to utter a saving word, good news to the poor, the neglected, the abandoned. Our silence could lead to a world of the many silenced and voiceless people. Hopefully our word will be saving word for them. But Jesus warns us that if you become the voice of God and the voice of the voiceless, the world will hate you for it. The world will silence you, too. Oh no, dont worry. Kapag ang ating salita ay pinatahimik sa ilang, huwag matakot. Aalingawngaw pa rin iyan, kahit na iyan ay parang mahina. Ang mahina na alingawngaw ay naririnig ng Diyos. And hearing that God will utter His Word. Let us pause and in silence listen to God speaking to us.

Photo courtesy of Borongan-DSAC

nasa ilang ka, nasa wilderness, magsalita ka. Malamang ito ang mangyayari. Halimbawa isipin mo na ikaw ay isang balut vendor sa ilang. Sabihin mo BALUT, (and fading) balut...balut. balut..Ang salita mo uuwi sa katahimikan. Ang salita mo lalamunin ng kalawakan upang maging katahimikan. In the eyes of a pragmatic world, that word has become useless because it disappeared. It is tantamount to saying that John the Baptist was useless. But was he useless?

Pero sa pang-araw araw na karanasan mayroon din tayong ganyan, eh. Hindi lamang ang Diyos ang nangungusap sa pamamagitan ng katahimikan. Palagay may mga asawa dito. Kapag ang mag-asawa hindi nag-uusap, maraming kuwento iyan. In the absence of words Oh, my, you know ang dami niyang kuwento. That silence, that lack of communications tells us a lot. May mga madre, may mga seminarista, may mga pari pag hindi nag-uusap-usap

aking lolo at lola na umabot yata ng 56 years ang pagasasama. Pero nung matatanda na sila gumigising daw sila ng alas tres ng umaga. Tapos yung lolo ko kukuha ng dalawang basong tubig, dadalhin sa kuwarto nila, unti-unti nilang iinumin iyon hanggang magising na yung iba. Nung minsan tinanong namin, Ano ho ang pinaguusapan ninyo sa kulang kulang dalawang oras at sa haba na ng pagsasama, ano pa ba ang inyong pinagkukuwentuhan. Sabi ng lolo namin, Wala. Magkatabi lang. That silence of being together, that silence is really the word of God, the word of love that could be communicated more effectively in the quiet but reassuring presence even without words because the silent reassuring presence is the word. Ang ikalawa po. Ang atin pong mundo ngayon, minsan, wala na yatang masyadong pahalaga sa salita. Nalulungkot nga po ako, eh, kasi nung bata ako, wrong spelling wrong. Kasi kapag ang spelling mo ng before ay B-E-FO-R, sabihin nila ibang salita iyan,

tutupad sa kanilang mga salita, mga pangako na hindi tutuparin, mga magagandang pangungusap na hungkag naman sa buhay. But I think part of the lack of respect for words springs from the lack of silence. For it is in silence that we purify our thoughts, our interior movements, our desires, our dreams, our plans. It is in silence that we are able to silence to others and to God. And in that silence listening to myself, listening to others, listening to God, then we hear words and we prepare for responsible utterances of words. Kapag walang katahimikan kung anu-ano na lang salita ang lumalabas na hindi nasuri, hindi napag-isipan. At dahil nabigla lamang mamayamaya, babawiin na. Hindi naman iyan ang ibig kong sabihin, eh. I was misquoted, out of context. Eh kasi walang oras para magmuni. Kaya tatapatin ko kayo, ako hindi ako fan ng ambush interview, kasi walang silence being given to the one being interviewed. The silence that makes you ponder and makes you responsible in your utterance. Kaya kapag may

Jesus Holy Sepulchre Shrine Brgy. Landayan, San Pedro Laguna May 29, 2012
SChedULe OF MASSeS 6:00 AM 7:30 AM 9:30 AM Concelebrated Mass with Most. Rev. Bishop Leo M. Drona, DD, SDB, STL 4:00 PM 5:00 PM 6:00 PM Procession Msgr Jose d. Barrion Shrine Rector
Diocesan Shrine of Jesus in the Holy Sepulchre (Sto. Sepulcro Parish) Landayan, San Pedro, Laguna, Philippines 4023 Tel. No.: (632) 868-0303 Email: holysepulchreshrine@yahoo.com Follow us at Facebook: Lolo Uweng Ng Landayan Website: http://holysepulchreshrine.com

Fiesta ni Lolo Uweng

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

B6

Ref lections

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

Pentecost: the giving of new life to the Church

An exegetical reflection on the Gospel of Pentecost - Year B (John 20:19-23) May 27, 2012
clay of the ground and blowing into his nostrils the breath of life, on account of which man became a living being (Gen 2:7). Under the influence of Greek philosophy, this has been taken in the past to mean the creation of the soul. But to the Hebrew mind, this simply means that it is Yahweh who gives life, and on whom human life directly depends. In Ezekiels vision of the dry bones, God instructed the prophet to prophesy to the dead bones so that a new spirit would revive the bones (Ezek 37:1-10). The vision is not really about the individual resurrection of the dead, but a visionary description of the new life that was to begin for the people of Israel. But what is important for us is the point that both stories emphasizeGod gives a new life to his people. And Pentecost precisely has that significance: the giving of a lifethe life of the Spiritto the renewed Israel, which is the Church. It may be recalled that because of sin, of turning away from God, misfortune fell on Israel: Lo, the hand of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. Rather, it is your crimes that separate you from your God. It is your sins that make him hide his face so that he will not hear you (Isa 59:1-2).

By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD

ORIGINALLY, Pentecost was an agricultural feast, during which the first fruits the land produced were offered (Exod 34:22), and was later associated with the giving of the Covenant, fifty days after the celebration of the Passover at the departure of Israel from Egypt (Exod 19:1-16). In the Christian dispensation, however, it is not, strictly speaking, a commemoration of the birthday of the Church, but rather celebrates the giving of the gift of the Spirit to the renewed Israel, which is the Church, fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus. It marks the giving of a new lifethe life of the Spiritto the community which Jesus began to establish through his life, ministry, but especially his passion, death and resurrection. That is why, in the Gospel reading for this feast, we are given a Johannine account of the giving of the Spirit: Then he breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20:22). The giving of a new life has for its background the Genesis account and Ezekiels vision of the dry bones. The action of Jesus first of all recalls the story of God forming man out of the

Because of sin, Israel became a divided nation, was scattered all over the world, and it became a land of violence, evil judgment, lies, adulteries, usury, disregards for rights and other sins which created a social disorder. Such social disorder is aptly prefigured in the story of the tower of Babel. Because of mans proud idolatry, of his arrogance in trying to

build a tower, God chastised him; among others, he confused mankind. For the biblical writer, the diversity of languages was a consequence of sin, and it conveys the message that our economic, political, religious and cultural divisions and quarrels, our scrambling for power, intrigues, competition and envy result from our arrogance and

proud idolatry. In depicting the Spirit as being poured out at Pentecost, Luke wishes to affirm that the event overcame the division among men. The Holy Spirit inaugurated the reconstitution of Israel, fulfilling Ezekiels prophecy that God would gather again his people into one (Ezek 37:23). Pentecost signifies that Israel is

now renewed. The people of the renewed Israel gather around the Lord who makes his dwelling among them (Ezek 37:28). The confusion at Babel (Gen 11:1-9) is replaced with unity at Pentecost (Acts 2:6). The nature of that renewed community is echoed by Paul: All of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with him. There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus (Gal 3:26-28). Luke pictures the unity in this fashion: The community of believers were of one heart and one mind. None of them ever claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common(Acts 4:32). There may be diversity in the community, but it remains as one body (cf 1 Cor 12:12-13). However, the effect of Pentecost is not limited to the renewed Israel. Indeed, tomorrow, all the nations of the earth will experience this unity. This is why the Holy Spirit appears on the apostles in tongues of fire so that the gospel will be understood in the language of all the nations (Acts 2:6-12). The messianic community extends to all peoples. This is concretely manifested in the so-called Pentecost of the pagans (Acts 10:44-48).

Pentecost: the divine presence that makes all the difference

Solemnity of Pentecost (B) May 27, 2012
fashioned into a well-knit community, characterized by brotherly love, with an inspiring leadership and a deep sense of mission. This new creation, like the first, was to go on till the end of time. And we are part of it. All through the centuries, the Spirit has continued to enliven the Church with His presence. It is from Him that the sacraments derive their sanctifying efficacy; the leaders are enlightened in the fulfillment of their pastoral duties; the martyrs are strengthened in the confession of their faith; and all the

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

AN extraordinary outpouring of the divine Spirit on all mankind had been foretold by the prophet Joel (see Jl 3:1-5), but the effect of the fulfillment of such a prophecy went beyond every expectation. Pentecost was not just a matter of people speaking previously unknown foreign languages or having visions. It was a new creation. It brought into existence a new mankind, a new People of Godthe Church.

The new creation started with the handful of some 120 disciples of Jesus. (See Acts 1:15.) It effected in them a radical change, both as individuals and as a group. The bystanders were struck by the fact that those unschooled Galileans could express themselves in foreign languages. (See: Acts 2:7-12.) But what mattered most was the inner transformation that had taken place in those simple folks: from fearful, they had turned daring; from ignorant, they had become learned; from being a confused and scattered crowd, they had been

faithful experience His indispensable assistance in the fulfillment of their duties in their daily life. It is from the Spirit that the Church continually draws the inspiration and courage to undergo conversion. The Spirit is the origin of all the great movements in the Church which, in every generation, enrich it with initiatives and institutions that are like fresh shoots bursting forth from the ancient trunk of the Church that no passing of centuries fossilizes or destroys. It is the gifts of the Holy Spirit that

empower each individual believer to walk the road of holiness and bring about in oneself that wonderful transformation that configures a person to Jesusthe divine model. Finally, it is the Holy Spirit who brings about in us that abundance of virtuous dispositions that we call his fruits. Pentecost, then, is not the nostalgic commemoration of an extraordinary event buried in the sands of the past. Rather, it is the yearly culminating celebration of a perennial eventthe lifegiving presence of the Spirit in the Church today.

enCOUnterS

Bishop Pat Alo

Rev. Fr. Deogracias Aurelio V. Camon, MA

Bravado vs. humility

JUST for pretense of bravery or bravado people show off signs of strength to create an impression of power and superiority. How many wars, acts of violence, victims of bloody skirmishes have resulted from such a disposition of human pride! But thats not the one thats really great in the sight of God. Referring to the virtue of humility, Jesus spoke thus to His disciples: I tell you solemnly, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven (Mt. 18:3-4). Isnt that wonderful? Why? Just observe the happiness of the little children. Thats what you want too, in addition to your maturity, if youre already grown up. The only thing that could spoil our happiness is what we may have acquired through the years, a sense of sensitive pride, some ambition and greed. This is what may be behind the gnawing unhappiness that might creep inside you. But maintaining that supreme trust in God amid the trials in life can help reacquire that psyche of a little child who is ever happy in the little things or happenings of life. Jesus wants you to be happy when he asks you to be humble. I tell you solemnly, anyone who does not welcome the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it (Mk. 10:15). You better decide. If you want to be happy, leave those thoughts of greed and pride and become as that happy child whose destiny is Gods eternal kingdom. The Son of God, Jesus, humbled Himself till death on the cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth, and in the underworld, shall bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Ph.2:9-11).

COMMentAry

The Pentecost: a typological reflection

THE Church utilized the elements as symbols in her liturgical celebrations. The Season of Lent started with the imposition of ashes, by-products of fire, on our foreheads. The Season of Easter also employs the symbolism of the elements in a more obvious manner like the lighting of the Easter fire, the procession of the Paschal Candle, the lighted candles of the faithful and the blessing of the baptismal font by immersing the lighted Paschal candle in water. It is symbolically beautiful that during Lent we started with ashes, a lifeless substance, then we begin the Easter Season with blazing fire, symbol of new life. In the Book of Exodus, we read that when the people of Israel fled Egypt going to the Promised Land, a pillar of fire by night (and a pillar of cloud by day) guided them (cf. Exodus 40, 34 38; Numbers 9, 15 -23). The pillar served as their guide, the Israelites move their camp whenever the pillar lifts and they stop wherever the pillar stops. This pillar whenever it is not moving rests above the Tabernacle that houses the Ark of the Covenant, the container of the stone tablets of the Law. For the Israelites, the pillar of fire/cloud is the visible sign of Gods Will and Presence. Thus, to follow the movement of the pillar is synonymous to following the will of the Lord. Later on, when Israel entered the Promised Land, this pillar is no longer mentioned in the Pentateuch. A probable reason for this might be that since the Israelites will no longer wander but will become settled in the land there is no more need of the pillar. However, I would like to propose here that the pillar of fire/ cloud serve more than just as a guide for the wandering people of Israel in the desert but that it points to something more important. And its disappearance from the narratives is part of pedagogy for the Israelites, and also for us Christians. As observed in the books of Exodus and Numbers, the pillar served as an external manifestation of Gods Presence and will. The Israelites by observing the movement of the pillar discerns Gods will for them. Will they continue their journey or will they make camp? This is particularly significant since the movement of the fire is towards the Promised Land, away from Egypt that symbolizes the Land of Slavery. On closer observation, it can be noted that the hagiographer would like to point our attention to the Torah as the guiding principle for the Israelites journey. How? I believe it is significant that the pillar of fire/cloud rest above

Bo Sanchez

SOULFOOd

The greatest weapon of the devil

ONE day in Hell, there was an Annual Infernal Conference attended by all the devils in the world. The Theme of the Conference was, Our Greatest Weapon Against Gods People. The first Speakera high-ranking devilstood on stage and announced, There is no debate about this. Our greatest weapon against Gods people is lust! All his listeners applauded. He explained, Even Presidents, Priests, and Preachers are totally defenseless against lust! And the entire crowd roared in agreement. The second Speaker came up. Wearing a black tuxedo with a thick gold ring on every finger, he declared, The first speaker is stupid. Dont listen to him. Because our greatest weapon is greed! The audience drank his every word. He said, Imagine the billions of people who are suffering today because of our assistants on planet earthgreedy politicians! And the whole assembly screamed, Yeheey! The third Speaker climbed up on the platform amidst the sound of blasting trumpets. He wore a royal red robe and a golden crown. With extreme arrogance, he shouted, The first two speakers told you a bunch of crap. Dont listen to those ignoramuses. Because our greatest weapon is and he clenched his fist in the air, Pride! The entire hall thundered with applause. He screamed, Every war in the history of mankind was caused by pride! Finally, the last Speaker of the Conference stood up. And when they saw him, the room became deathly quiet. Because everyone knew who he was. He was the devil that brought the most number of souls away from God. He wore a simple black robe. He spoke quietly. He said, There is something more powerful than lust and greed and pride. In fact, I compare lust, greed, and pride to wooden toy slingshots. And I compare our greatest weapon to a nuclear bomb. Because with our greatest weapon, you can multiply the power of lust, greed, and pride by a million times By this time, all the devils in the hall were shouting to the top of their lungs, What is it? What is our greatest weapon? He waved his hand to quiet the crowd. And he whispered, Our greatest weapon is self-rejection.

www.caritatis.com.br

Pentecost / B7

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Social Concerns
A case study

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BeC of Miatub, tulunan, Cotabato

By Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR
THE BEC of Miatub is a rural community. There are 56 families that make up the community and all of these are considered members of the BEC. Each family normally has four to five members. The community is further divided into five family groupings with 10 to 11 families per grouping. However, the number of those who are actively involved in the various activities of the community varies. Thus, we can look at the whole community as composing three concentric circles. There is an inner circle of 15 persons who make up the leadership and the core group. These are the people who are very active and who are always present in all the activities. There are around five men and ten women in this group. Then, there is the middle circle consisting of 35 persons. These are the people whose attendance and involvement in the community activities are not regular or consistent. The rest is found in the peripheral circle. While they are aware of themselves as members of the community, they are not actively involved in the activities. They turn out on very special occasions, like the Eucharist, the fiesta, Christmas and Holy Week. Socio-Economic Background of the Members Most of the members are farmers. They belong to the lower class in society. While their standard of living has improved, they remain below the poverty line. They depend on the soil for their living. They grow rice and corn. Each family has a carabao, pigs and chickens. Some have cattle. Not all own the land they till. Some are tenants. While there is a communal farm, it is only 5 hectares. The people are at the mercy of the unpredictable weather. They were affected by the drought caused by the El Nino in 1996. They were not able to
Absolution / B2

headed by the Peace Zone chairman. Thus, the emphasis is on the council as a body rather than individual leaders. Decisions are made with the active participation of the members of the council. It seems that the Peace Zone chairman, Nonoy Jacin, is exercising a more influential role than the Pangulo sa Kapilya. Relationship with the Parish and Diocese The community of Miatub is part of a network of BECs within the parish. There are 47 communities in the parish and these are clustered into 4 districts. The Miatub community is part of the first district that encompasses 10 BECs. The leaders and core-groups of the various communities in the district hold regular meeting once every two months. The parish priest normally attends these meetings. There is a member of the parish staff that oversees and monitors the communities in the first district. Since the late 1970s, the Diocese of Kidapawan has adopted as its pastoral thrust the formation of Basic Ecclesial Communities. These communities now exist in all the 15 parishes of the diocese numbering over 700. The structure and activities of these communities are similar to the one in Miatub. Thus, the BECs are considered as the most basic ecclesial unit in the parish and the local Church. The diocesan commissions (Formation, Worship, Social Action/Justice & Peace, Youth, etc) are all geared towards the promotion and support of the small Christian communities. The Diocesan General Assembly (DGA) is usually held every three years. The preparation for the DGA usually begins at the level of the BEC up to the district level, the parish level, the vicariate level. The BECs are represented in the DGA. The decisions, goals and thrust of the DGA are also implemented down to the parish level and the BECs.

plant. Many had to subsist on root crops and wild plants in order to survive. Many were forced to sell the cows that were given to them by the government in order to buy rice. Thus, the cattle dispersal program failed. The Multi-Purpose Cooperative has not beendoingwell.Theconsumercooperative went down due to mismanagement, corruption and the failure. Due to the lack of trust in the manager, the people stopped paying their debts. The people accused the manager of anomalous transaction. They filed a complaint to the government and he was jailed for several weeks. The community forgave the manager but they sacked him. With the construction of a new warehouse and a store, there is a renewed effort to revive the coop. Since there is still P2 million left from the government grant,

they have applied for funding for a new transportation and capital for a marketing and credit cooperative. Frequency of Gatherings The community gathers weekly for the Bible-service. Attendance varies. The average is 40 persons. Sometimes it goes down to 20 and at other times it goes up to 50. Filipinos are family oriented and this can affect the attendance in the community activities. When one member of the family is present, he or she represents the whole family. That is why, when the wife is present, the husband and the children would just stay at home. When both parents cannot come, they send one of the children. The family groupings are supposed to meet once a month but not all are able

to do this. There are only two family groupings who meet regularly. The Eucharist is celebrated once every two months. When the priest comes to celebrate mass with them, the entire community turns up. There are also annual/seasonal activities when majority of the members of the community are present: the fiesta and the nine-nights novena leading to the fiesta, Christmas and the nine days of bible-service as preparation for the Holy Week. Pattern of Leadership The leadership structures appear democratic and participative. There is a Kapilya Pastoral Council which is the leadership council headed by the Pangulo sa Kapilya (leader of the community). There is also the Peace Zone council

set above exist. In the case of b), the ambiguity of the conditions set above (Where? Which?) has lead to a certain laxity of interpretation. It is to the credit of Fr. Testera, as a good canonist, that despite quoting the CBCP Norm in full, in his commentary (op.cit., p.11) to the same text, he would statecompletely negating the
Pentecost / B6

CBCP Normthat: It is not considered a case of necessity if confessors cannot be readily available only because of the great number of penitents as can occur on the occasion of some great feast or pilgrimage. Neither is the religious felt need of the penitents to receive Holy Communion during the important festivities like Christmas, Aguinaldo

Masses, the Paschal Triduum, local religious fiestas, academic g raduat ions and popular missions a sufficient reason to impart general absolution if there are confessors available or if the faithful can avail themselves of the Sacrament of Holy Communion in another place and occasion within a reasonable period of time.

Photo courtesy of Fr. Amado Picardal, CSsR

Unfortunately, while the quoted CBCP Norm is in bold print in Testeras book, his commentary to it is in regular print on the following page. Conclusion From the aforementioned discussion, it seems that here indeed might be the source of the confusion that has resulted in

the repeated reports of general absolution being imparted in situations that are obviously outside the exception envisioned by Canon Law. This is neither the time nor the place to look into the iter of the CBCP legislation of 1985. The fact is it received the necessary recognitio from the Holy See at that time.
Pedro / B3

Nevertheless, as we have seen, Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legislative Texts has subsequently clarified in 1996 the real mind of the Supreme Legislator as regards general absolution. Perhaps it is time for the CBCP as well to re-align the aforementioned local legislation, for the good of souls, whichin the endis the supreme law.

the Tabernacle where the Ark of the Covenant containing the tablets of the Decalogue is kept. The pillar is like a finger or a marker that points towards the Tabernacle, which contains the Ark of the Covenant where the Tablets of the Law are kept. It reminds Israel that the Torah is their real guide in the journey from slavery to freedom. In the New Testament, the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2, 1 - 12) narrated a story about the tongues of fire descending upon the community of disciples composed of the Apostles, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the other followers of Jesus. The Acts tells how they experienced a strong wind that shook the place where they were gathered (cf. Acts 2:2). This strong wind reminds us of the mighty wind that swept over the waters of creation (Genesis 1:2). This symbolic correspondence between the strong wind in Genesis and Acts, it can be interpreted that the strong wind signals the start of Gods creative work. In the Genesis it is the creation of the world and all the beings contained therein while in the Acts the creation or the birth of the Church on Pentecost. This was followed by their vision of tongues of fire descending upon their heads. As a result of this event, the disciples who cowered in fear and doubts because of the persecutions became courageous and zealous preachers of the Resurrection and the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ. Once more there is a symbolic correspondence between the pillar of fire and the tongues of fire.

The earthly Tabernacle where God meets his people through Moses no longer exists. The same is true with the Ark of the Covenant that contained the Commandments. Yet, in place of these we have something far better than the earthly Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. We have Jesus. The real Tabernacle is not on earth but in the heavens. The Letter to the Hebrews expounded on Jesus being the High Priest of the New Covenant who entered into the Tabernacle to meet God in a way far more significant than that of the Old Testament high priests because Jesus as a priest has entered (ascended) into the Holy of Holies of the Heavenly Tabernacle (cf. Hebrews 9, 12) to offer himself as the sacrifice (victim) for all the peoples for all times. Consequently, the same is true with the pillar of fire/cloud as a symbol of Gods Presence and Will. Since its function is to point towards the Law as the guide of the people. Then it followed that the pillar of fire/cloud is also on the same place with the heavenly Tabernacle in order to rest atop the heavenly Ark of the Covenant that contains the Law. In the olden times, the pillar always rest atop the Tabernacle. Now it is always with Jesus, since Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law, the New Torah. This leads us to see how the story of the Pentecost points to the new locus upon which the Lords presence resides and His will is discerned. The Church as the Mystical Body of Christ

cannot be separated from him. Jesus is the Head and the baptized are members of his body. Since Jesus is already in that Heavenly Tabernacle. It is not surprising then that the tongues of fire rested on the head of the community gathered since it is the visible part of the Mystical Body. What is happening in the Heavenly Tabernacle is reflected in the visible world! It is reasonable to conclude that the Church as the Mystical Body of Christ is the new visible locus upon which the pillar of fire/cloud rests because it rest wherever the Law is. The Pentecost story reminds us that the Church, under the guidance of the successors of the Apostles, is the New Chosen People of God. The Church is a prophetic community that continually read the signs of the time, discerning the will of God and proclaiming the Good News in their lives and in the society as they moved towards freedom and redemption. The community of disciples, from the least to the greatest, united with its head Jesus, discerns and experiences the will of God (Hebrews 8, 11). Just like what happened during the Pentecost, the Church gathered in communion and in prayer is a privileged locus of discernment and action. It fulfills the utterance made by the Lord that He will make a New Covenant with which the Law is no longer written on tablets of stones but in the heart of the disciples (Hebrews 8, 10). (The author is a priest of the Diocese of Bacolod.)

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documents do not specify which island of the Visayas he came from. Calungsod is a very native and descriptive Visayan family nametownmate. Perhaps the Calungsod clan may have originated from or lived in a town in the Visayas. Moreover, there have always been three Visayas languages: Cebuano, Hiligaynon and Waray. The term lungsod for town is Cebuano. In Hiligaynon, town is rendered banwa, whereas in Waray, it is bongto. Thus, the Calungsod may have originated from a town in the Cebuano-speaking region in the Visayas that mainly includes Cebu, eastern Negros, Bohol, southern and western Leyte and a good part of Mindanao. It is not known exactly when the Calungsod family name started to be used. Neither can it be ascertained whether the town referred to by the family name was one that the natives had organized, that is, a pre-Spanish town, or one that the Spaniards had built. There were several pre-Spanish towns in the ancient Cebuano region of the Visayas of which Alcina could only mention Sugbu (in Cebu itself), Panglao (in a satellite island of Bohol), Quiuot (Ormoc in Leyte) and Dapitan (in Mindanao). Today, it is not easy to trace the place of origin of the Calungsod families in the 1600s because, as we have said earlier, most, if not all the baptismal records of that period in the Visayas no longer exist. Besides, the Calungsods seem to be peculiarly ubiquitous. Today, they can be found in different parts of the Visayas, in Midanao, in Luzon and even abroadjust as Pedro Calungsod himself was already in Guam as early as the 17th century. However, the Calungsod families are densely found in the Visayan towns of Ginatilan in Cebu, Hinundayan and Hinunangan in southern Leyte, and in Molo district of Iloilo City in Panay. Again, the absence of 17thcentury baptismal records in

the Visayas makes it difficult for us to determine where among these places the Calungsods were living during the time of Pedro Calungsod. Ginatilan was a remote place in south-western Cebu during the time of Pedro Calungsod. If Pedro Calungsod came from there, it is not surprising that his exact provenance in the Visayas was somehow unknown. But did a boy from such a remote place come in contact with the Jesuit missionaries? There were no Jesuit mission stations in that part of Cebu. The nearest Jesuit mission station was in Tanay in eastern Negros, though just across the channel from Ginatilan. At that time, Ginatilan was part of the remote parish of Boljoon at the other side of southern Cebu which was under the care of the Augustinians. Ginatilan became a parish only in 1847. The oldest existing baptismal record of a Calungsod in Ginatilan is that of Mariano Calungsod, who was born there on 22 January 1852 and was baptized on the following 7 February. Luciano Calungsod, also of Ginatilan, died on 25 August 1852 at the age of 67, which means that the Calungsods may have already been in Ginatilan at least since 1785. Over the years, many inhabitants of Ginatilan have migrated due perhaps to their less-than-fertile soil. Many of the Calungsods in Ginatilan went to Mindanao. One cannot be sure, however, if the ancestors of the Calungsods of Leyte and Panay originally migrated from Ginatilan centuries back. It is known though that in the 16th century some Cebuanos went to Baybay in southern Leyte and to Panay. Panay was already well known then for its very fertile land, and so it could have been among the choice places to move to for the inhabitants of Ginatilan. But this is only a mere inference. Unless it can be verified that the Calungsod settled in Leyte and Panay only in the 1700s, Ginatilan cannot claim to be the sole probable hometown of Pedro Calungsod. (To be continued)

B8

Entertainment
Moral Assessment Technical Assessment

CBCP Monitor

May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome exemplary

Poor Below average Average Above average excellent

BARNABAS Collins (Johnny Depp) has the world at his feet or at least the town of Collinsport, Maine. The master of Collinwood Manor, Barnabas is rich, powerful and an inveterate playboy...until he makes the grave mistake of breaking the heart of Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green). A witch, in every sense of the word, Angelique dooms him to a fate worse than death: turning him into a vampire, and then burying him alive. Two centuries later, Barnabas is inadvertently freed from his tomb and emerges into the very changed world of 1972. He returns to Collinwood Manor to find that his once-grand estate has fallen into ruin. The dysfunctional remnants of the Collins family have fared little better, each harboring their own dark secrets. Warner Bros. Tim Burton revives the classic cult series through Dark Shadows, tagged as a murderously funny fantasy starring Depp as Gothic vampire Barnabbas Collins. The movie may be escapist, all right, and with production designer Rick Heinrichs providing the atmospheric interiors, exploited to the max by cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel, and topped off with the tingling score by Danny Elfmann, it does provide an elegant and glamorous escape, whether or not you go for vampires or Goths.

For a bit of history: the original Dark Shadows, Dan Curtiss vividly melodramatic ABC-TV series, pioneered the use of supernatural elements in soap opera. It ran weekdays from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971, amassing 1,225 episodes, which is more than most other sci-fi series, including Doctor Who and Star Trek. Nowboth director Burton and star Depp have professed to being obsessed with Dark Shadows in their youth, and especially with debonair vampire Barnabas Collins, the series most memorable character. Those who have seen the original (even internet-smart kids nowadays can download the complete original series) would naturally compare this Dark Shadows to the original concept; they might notice that Burtons adaptation relies for impact on jokes and special effects instead of the foreboding atmosphere of the original. The dashing vampire playboy is sometimes overpowered by Depp, the go-to for such bizarre character roles, who as the vampire resurrected after 200 years is a stranger to the modern world circa 1971, when they had only television. Imagine how that vampire would react had he lain underground for another 40 years, when we have internet and all that! Anyway, its

TITLE: Dark Shadows CAST: Johnny Depp, Eva Green, Bella Heathcote, Jackie Earle Haley, Helena Bonham Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jonny Lee Miller, Chlo Moretz DIRECTOR: Tim Burton GENRE: Comedy, Fantasy RUNNING TIME: 113 minutes DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: MORAL ASSESSMENT: CINEMA rating: V14 (for ages 14 and above)

an old team, as Burton and Depp also collaborated on Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland. Would you want children to see Dark Shadows (2012)? Why not, as long as you warn them its fiction. Theres a lesson somewhat to be learned here about fooling around with love. Jilted women (like the witch who falls madly in love with Collins) could give you hell even if they cant turn you into a vampire or curse your whole family; they could be witchy enough to make your life really miserable, even if only through Facebook. Depps role here exhibits a mellowed character towards the end, whoalthough as a vampire he also inflicts harm on othersmay not be totally unredeemable.

MAC en COLET

Ni Bladimer Usi

Buhay Parokya

Look for the images of the Virgin Mary, Archangel Gabriel and Saint Peters Basilica. (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)

S Y N O P S I S : P e t e r TITLE: Battleship Berg produces and CAST: Taylor Kitcsh (Lt Alex Hopper), Alexander Skarsdirects Battleship, an gard (Stone Hopper), Broklyn epic-scaled actionDecker (Samantha Shane), adventure that unfolds Rihanna (Petty Officer), Liam across the seas, in the Neeson (Vice Admiral Shane) skies and over land DIRECTOR: Peter Berg as our planet fights SCREENWRITER: Jon Hoeber, for survival against Erich Hoeber a s u p e r i o r f o r c e . GENRE: Science fiction& fantasy, Inspired by Hasbros action & adventure classic naval combat DISTRIBUTOR Universal Pictures game, Battleship stars LOCATION: United States Taylor Kitsch as Lt. RUNNING TIME: 131 minutes Alex Hopper, a Naval TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: officer assigned to the MORAL ASSESSMENT: USS John Paul Jones; Brooklyn Decker as Cinema rating: For viewers 14 years old and above Sam Shane, a physical therapist and Hoppers fiance; Alexander Skarsgrd as Hoppers older brother, Stone, Commanding Officer of the USS Sampson; Rihanna as Petty Officer Raikes, Hoppers crewmate and a weapons specialist on the USS John Paul Jones; and international superstar Liam Neeson as Hopper and Stones superior (and Sams father), Admiral Shane.

SYNOPSIS: Two technicians in a sophisticated industrial facility are getting ready for an unknown operation, one of several taking place around the world. Meanwhile, five college students drive out for a vacation to a remote cabin in the woods, while the technicians keep an eye on the students with hidden cameras. Through the use of sophisticated environmental controls and the release of mood-altering drugs into the air, each student is manipulated into a fairly common horror archetype by the organization.
TITLE: The Cabin In the Woods CAST: Kristen Connolly (Dana), Chris Hemsworth (Curt), Fran Kranz (Marty), Anna Hutchison (Jules), Jesse Williams (Holden), Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins, Amy Acker, Brian White DIRECTOR: Drew Goddard GENRE: Mystery & Suspense, Horror DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate RUNNING TIME: 95 minutes TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT: MORAL ASSESSMENT: Cinema rating: For viewers 18 years old and above

Vol. 16 No. 11

CBCP Monitor

May 21 - June 3, 2012

C1

The News Supplement of Couples for Christ

How Great is our God!

By Marite Tanjangco
THiS year's international Conference of the CFCHandmaids of the Lord at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu surpassed everyone's expectations. Held last April 27-29, almost 6,000 members and leaders of the ministry from all over the world gathered for the annual conference that had as central theme: "Great is our God!" On the opening night of the conference, the delegates were treated to a Broadway-like production with perfomances by HOLD members from different regions and countries. The presentors performed energetic dances and were a sight to behold in their colorful costumes. Saturday and Sunday saw the venue reverberating with powerful worship and songs. The very inspiring talks by Deanna Grio (The Journey of Gods People), Thelma Hizon (Are We There Yet?), Tootsie Lopez (Destined for Gods Purpose), Bernie Cuevas (Mary Leads the Way), and Didi Galsim (Handmaids Ablaze!) touched the hearts of those in attendance. Meanwhile, the sharers for each talk overwhelmed the audience with their stories of God's greatness in their lives. As an evident indication of His might, fair weather prevailed during the entire conference. The whole event wouldn't have been possible without the efforts of CFC Cebu leaders and members. indeed, the perseverance and hard work of the icon Committee headed by Myra Respicio for the past five months truly paid off. Of course, the Lord was the main producer and director of this Spirit-filled event. Certainly, all of the HOLD members who left the Hoops Dome after the conference were brimming with renewed fervor and zeal which will be their driving force in proclaiming Gods greatness and spreading the good news to more parts of the world.

CFC Kids For Christ: Moving for God!

By KFC IKV Docu Team

APPROxiMATeLY 4,000 Kids for Christ members, parents, coordinators, and CFC leaders converged at the Ateneo de Davao Grade School Sports Complex in Matina, Davao City for the 15th international Kids Village last May 4-6, 2012. The conference had the theme, MOVe, by God, for God, with God! The conference started with a Kids Praise and a short presentation to welcome the participants of the three-day event. The morning sessions featured sports clinics that were facilitated by the varsity teams of Ateneo de Davao and an acting workshop entitled Kids on Stage. The various sports workshops included a basketball clinic wherein the kids were taught basic basketball skills by coaches Miggy Solitaria and Butch Ramirez of the Ateneo de Davao University Blue Knights Juniors team. Another clinic on volleyball was also conducted while the third sports clinic was on soccer. The Kids on Stage acting workshop was facilitated by Rose Bataller. This two-session workshop was conducted to improve the acting skills of the kids while building up their confidence to be on stage. in the afternoon, the Mass was celebrated by Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla and Auxiliary Bishop George Rimando. After the Mass, the evening festivities were kicked off with a rousing welcome number by the Madayaw Dance Troupe. Davao City Councilor Marissa Salvador-Abella read the welcome address in behalf of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte. Afterwards, KFC international Director Nic escalona declared the 15th IKV officially open. Later that evening, thirteen groups from all over the Philippines joined the Praise Parade. The participants showcased their stunning props and dance routines. in the end, the Southern Mindanao, Davao City Team won the tightly contested competition by garnering an average score of 96.4 percent. The first session, entitled We Have a Great God was delivered by Marlo Morales to let the kids know how they can share Gods greatness through words and action. The day ended with another rousing Kids Praise led by JM Zamoras.

CFC/SOLD Eurocon in Bratislava a Success!

By Oscar Cepeda
"iT is always a joy to join a celebration such as this with Couples for Christ," Fr. ely Dalanon, chaplain of the Filipino Catholic Community of Vienna, Austria, said of the CFC/SOLD eurocon held last May 11-13, 2013 in Bratislava, Slovakia. He continued, "This kind of celebration helps keep the faith alive in europe, providing proof of its rapid growth [among the members of the CFC community]." in his remarks, Fr. ely highlighted the increasing secularization of life in europe and the need for action from the Christian community to counter the trend. "This gives us hope and courage to be missionaries, sharing and proclaiming our faith to everyone regardless of cultural upbringing or nationality," he said. Further expressions of joy came from Bobbee Mella who travelled all the way from California, USA:"i am very happy to have attended the eurocon. This is my first time to come here, and i can see that our brothers and One of the highlights of the eurocon is the praying of the Holy Rosary which was followed by the celebration of the Holy eucharist in the mornings of Saturday and Sunday. These two activities were welcomed by the participants since they felt that they were able to start their days in proper, reflective mood as they proceeded to listen to the talks given by the elders from Canada and the Philippines, that included CFC Chairman Ricky Cuenca and iC member Joe Yamamoto. The CFC/SOLD eurocon 2012 comes as CFC celebrates 17 years of missionary presence in europe. The first CLP was held in Paris, France in 1995 and rapidly spread to other countries. As of 2010, members of CFC europe's adult ministries numbered about 4,000 spread in about 20 european countries. it was great! exclaimed efren Bagares, national head of CFC ireland, as he prepared to leave after a fulfilling, Spiritfilled weekend. He has plenty of reasons to be happy for CFC ireland will be hosting eurocon 2013 in August next year.

sisters are very vibrant." He congratulated CFC europe for being "bold" in electing to hold the eurocon in Slovakia, a former communist country. For him, this truly showed the community members' faith and trust in the Lord, that with Him, nothing is impossible. Bobbee is the newly appointed Country Coordinator of CFC Germany, an area that used to be serviced by another brother, Nolet Ladrido from Manila who

is now the regional coordinator for Central europe. The CFC/SOLD eurocon 2012, as it is officially known among CFC brethren in europe, started with the traditional food festival on Friday evening where delegates coming from different countries of europe had a chance to showcase their respective countries' cuisine. This was followed by the praise parade and the singing of the official chant.

CFC Agrees to Partnership with Philippine Star

By Joe Tale
We have formally started what we envision to be an enduring partnership between The Philippine STAR and Couples for Christ Global. The CFC story began as a program for married couples in hopes to strengthen their married life. However, it was only a matter of time in Gods plan that programs for all the members of the family were also established through the CFC Family Ministries: Servants of the Lord (SOLD), Handmaids of the Lord (HOLD), Singles for Christ (SFC), Youth for Christ (YFC) and Kids for Christ (KFC). CFC is thankful to the Lord for its holistic programs that cover all members of the family. Likewise, the community is inspired that their children and other young people have embraced the Christian way of life despite the challenges and contrasting beliefs around them. We praise God for the blessings that He has poured out in this womb-to-tomb ministry. Over the years, CFC has further metamorphosed from simply a family renewal movement into a force for societal renewal. Once couples and their respective families become grounded in faith and in the Word of God, there is a commitment not just to love the Lord but to love their neighbor as well. Putting faith into action is addressed in ANCOP (Answering the Cry of the Poor) that caters to the needs of the less-fortunate. CFC's work with the poor program aims to build the

CFC Chairman Ricky Cuenca shakes hands with Phil Star CEO Miguel Belmonte while IC members Joe Tale and Mannix Ocampo look on. Also shown at right is Phil Star VP for Circulation Deng Lopez.

Kingdom of God through the depressed areas by way of shelter and community development, health programs, livelihood initiatives, and child scholarships. More so, CFC is also piloting the Cornerstone project with the Ateneo Center for educational Development, which is geared towards the improvement of students in the public schools. This project is being pursued in coordination with the Department of education, specifically its division superintendents and school principals in the area concerned. Aside from these, CFC is thus currently involved in proclaiming the good news of

Gods love in word and in action to various institutions such as the government, businesses, schools, health care, and armed services. Likewise, this mission spreads to those in prisons, to migrant workers and their families, to the abandoned or destitute, the lost and the hungry. And as CFC builds the Church of the home and the Church of the poor, it also is doing its share in nurturing and protecting the environment. Though CFCs reach is wide and its work varied and comprehensive, the emphasis is still in the transformation of the individual and
Partnership / C4

The second day of the iKV started with workshops that focus on the development of a childs media and leadership skills. One of the workshops, entitled Captured Jesus, was delivered by YFC member and filmmaker Lance Katigbak. Meanwhile, the Reel Me video production workshop was conducted by Nica Katigbak. Aside from creating video presentations, the kids were also mentored on video editing through the Cyberlink Power Director. The kids were also given a chance to conceptualize a video shoot in relation to the iKV theme. Likewise, the Kids Lead workshop was given to the kids who aspire to be future leaders of the nation. in this workshop, the characteristics and values of an effective leader and the teachings of God pertaining to proper leadership were discussed. The parents and coordinators of the KFC delegates also had their Parents Forum at Matina Town Square, discussing the topics Theology of the Body for Parents and Bringing Families to the Mission. As part of the IKV tradition, the Davao Central 911 provided a fire truck for the fire hose bath of the delegates, with the kids screaming in glee at the very welcome respite from the intense afternoon heat. The string of events for the second night of the iKV started with a Holy Mass by Fr. Leif Simbajon and an opening worship. Then, the delegates were treated to a play that encourages and empowers the kids and their families to move for the mission. The plays theme centered on the truth that despite the victories that every CFC Kids for Christ community has gained, much work still needs to be done because evil forces always launch counter-attacks, manifested through disobedience, envy, greed, negativism and selfishness. After the play, the delegates were challenged to proclaim the greatness of God to the world by moving by God, for God and with God with the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the inspiration of Gods transforming love. The second day of the iKV was capped by a Champions Night wherein several KFC members showcased their talents. Among the presenters on Champions Night was a dance group from Southern Mindanao, a group of kid rappers from Lanao del Norte. a kids duet from Agusan del Norte, a show choir from Cebu, the mother-daughter tandem of Marites and Marthea Vergara, a family of singers from Misamis Oriental and a group
KFC /C4

C2
Melo Villaroman, Jr., Executive Director

Ugnayan
Joe Yamamoto

CBCP Monitor
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

CFCs Role in Developing Leaders

A STRONG and fresh wind of change is sweeping the community as a result of a truly dedicated strategy to develop more leaders. This comes as an offshoot of the realization that the community should not be content with simply producing leaders but more in training and then deploying them at a much accelerated rate. With our communitys vision and mission as guide, the plan is to grow the community qualitatively (through spiritual strengthening and formation) and quantitatively (by raising more members and leaders) across broad territories and in all levels of society, and then to form and train them. in the coming decades, the life and mission of CFC, with its global character and wide scope of work, will be challenged in terms of its continuity and stability, at the same time that it strives for freshness and innovation in meeting its ever growing commitments. CFC needs to be more responsive to changing times and challenges in order to sustain the mission. ADOPT A MODEL of LEADERSHIP As gleaned from several CFC leaders' fora, the model of leadership that needs to be developed, refined and implemented is the Biblical model of leadership, one that is clearly Christ-centered and Christ-inspired. The Scriptures provide powerful insights, particularly those based on the lives of Old and New Testament leaders who demonstrated exceptional leadership qualities and who can be our modern-day models. even today, those lessons are applicable and worthy to be emulated. The preservation and protection of the charism of CFC is guaranteed if its leadership development and succession planning are anchored on Christcentered, Biblical principles. DECIDE WHO WILL RECEIVE LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT in corporations and organizations, the process of leadership development comes down to a choice between a selective formation vis-a-vis an egalitarian approach. The usual strategy used in training leaders is to focus on those who already occupy management or leadership positions and simply enhance their existing competencies or capabilities. This is a safe approach because it simply maintains the status quo by banking on present strengths. Out-of-the-box activities and efforts are seen as unsettling, causing discomfort or even creating uncertainty. On the other hand, strong and surviving institutions, such as military organizations (in particular the US Marines), adopt an egalitarian approach where everyone, even down to the rank and file, is considered for potential leadership. This approach provides the workforce with plentiful opportunities for advancement. The track record of these institutions shows the effectiveness and soundness of their strategy. Clearly, CFC is not a military organization given that its work is evangelization and therefore spiritual. However, the way its structure and hierarchy function provides very strong similarities with the military. While that perception can be dismissed as merely coincidental, the fact that CFC is referred to as God's Global army is not. CFCs mission of evangelization is in keeping with its commitment of helping "win the world for Christ." CFC strongly adheres to the principle that the task of evangelization is the task of every member. The usual approach has been to raise and train one couple leader for every 5 to 7 member couples evangeiized. expressed another way, 20 percent of the entire CFC community is composed of household leaders. However, with the challenges of the New evangelization that is the direction of our Catholic Church, CFC must expand and grow in order to meet the need for rapid growth. CFC must provide equal and sufficient opportunities so that new leaders may be raised and trained beyond the existing 20 percent level. it is highly possible that because of our existing policy of limiting leaders to the 1:5 ratio, we may have missed the opportunity to recruit more leaders. Many leadership experts consider the best definition of leadership to be 'influence.' every CFC member is an evangelizer, and every evangelizer must be an influencer. A leader 'influences' others so that together, they can effectively achieve a defined mission. The first step in developing leadership skills is the selection of both the course content and the entry level for the particular program. The training track of CFC leaders reveals a notable gap beyond the chapter leaders' training. There is no dedicated leadership training program after the chapter leaders' module. Therefore, training and empowering additional leaders above the level of the chapter assume critical importance. Because every leader must become better at what they are doing before moving up to the next rung, every perceived gap must be addressed and filled.. LEADING the LEADERS - The Need for Buy in As children, we used to play the 'follow the leader' game where every one is required to follow the actions and instructions of the leader. A variant of the game is to rotate the leader role so that every kid gets to become a leader. While this may be a childhood game, it can be translated into the CFC context following the leader is as true today as it was yesterday. Subordinates learn from modeled and witnessed leadership. it must be 'caught' rather than merely 'taught.' Leaders lead by the lives they live; leaders lead by walking their talk. For followers to 'catch' the leadership challenge, exact and correct modeling is indispensable. People have to buy in to the leaders first before they consent to being led. Leaders cannot lead effectively on the basis of titles or appointments alone. The higher the level of leadership, the larger the impact of a leader's character, the larger his sphere of influence becomes. The leader's personality or modeling of his life, more than any other attribute, begin to transcend his position or title; it is the goal that each aspiring leader must strive for. The leaders' iNFLUeNCe should cast the shadow that enriches and enlivens the organization or community. The leader who emerges as an Influencer must strive to achieve five essential skills that are matched by five corresponding tasks (in parenthesis)- Model (by embodiment) , Mentor (by education), Motivator (by empowerment), Manager (by equipping) and Minister (by evaluation). MODEL the BEHAVIOR REQUIREDRaising the Bar Luke said it clearly when he opened Acts 1:1- 2 with: "...i dealt with all that Jesus did and taught until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen." Luke dutifully recorded in his book what Jesus ' began to do and teach.' in other words, in order for his disciples to achieve his mission more effectively, Jesus became both model and mentor. in our modern days, as CFC members and leaders, we profess to following in His footsteps. Thus, the path is clear for us we need to follow his method of disciple-making in general and leadership development in particular. Unless the leader learns to walk in step with Jesus and the apostles, it will be easy to be sidetracked and go the way of the secular world. To walk in step, the leader must learn to love the Word of God by studying the scriptures. St. Jerome clearly stated that 'ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ.' "Doing," in the life of a leader, is the gateway to "teaching" others to be future leaders. Desirable leadership qualities, such as integrity and courage, must be seen and observed up close in the trainor by those being trained. Unless defined by examples in life, such qualities remain abstract, unclear and as fleeting as clouds. ideals must be accompanied by appropriately modeled behavior. An indispensable ingredient to modeling is not the external manifestation but rather the inner embodiment of the core values and beliefs that are reflected outwardly. To be a good model, a leader needs to demonstrate congruence inside and out. MENTORING the FOLLOWERS- Make Yourself Available Good leaders begin by being good followers first. CFC leaders grow and mature in the community by going through membership, and later accepting progressive levels of leadership- in the household, unit, chapter, cluster, sector and so on. every budding leader who aspires to become better must agree to come under the tutelage of a mentor. in Greek mythology, Odysseus had a loyal and trusted friend, Mentor, to whom he entrusted his son, Telemachus. Odysseus was away from home for a great length of time, as he led his people in the Trojan War. Mentor, with the help of the goddess Athena, became the protector, counselor, trainor and teacher to the young Telemachus. in time, the word mentor came to be adopted into the modern vocabulary, and referred to one who is: 'a trusted friend, counselor, or teacher, usually a more experienced person.' The mentor voluntarily helps in the formation of a 'mentee' or student-follower. in the CFC context, mentors are proven and experienced leaders who are there to help others grow in maturity and competence in service. On his second missionary journey, St. Paul took the young man Timothy under his wing (Acts 16), and from that time on Timothy went everywhere with him, being taught the doctrines of the Faith, being trained in the work of the ministry, being shaped by the daily disciplines of the Christian life. St. Paul poured his life into Timothy, reproducing himself spiritually into the young man of God. By doing so, St. Paul raised up another co-laborer in the Gospel; Timothy will ultimately serve as bishop of the Church in ephesus. The same process held true for Silas, Titus and Barnabas. The apostle Paul shows us that oneto-one mentoring is how disciples are formed. Mentors must be teachers and as such must remain as lifelong learners so they can faithfully and effectively teach. Similarly, followers and disciples must be imbued with the same fervor for study and maintain the humility to remain teachable. MOTIVATOR- Be there with your Ground Troops The motivator inspires new leaders by empowerment. This preoccupation with fresh or new leaders comes from an attitude of selfless dedication to the welfare and progress of the people being led. Servant leaders encourage and motivate others by the sheer effect and force of their presence on the ground with the ' troops.' The US Army has a simple, yet straightforward and very inspiring, slogan - "Be all you can be." it would be nice if we can borrow the spirit of that slogan by applying it to all aspiring Christian leaders - "Be all you can be by following in the footsteps of Jesus." MANAGER- Be Prepared The scouts motto of ' Be Prepared' underscores the importance of the role of a leader who forms other leaders into becoming equipped to do the assigned jobs. No amount of sloganeering or pep rallies can substitute for preparing, training, equipping, empowering and providing people the needed resources to get things done. it would be frustrating and demoralizing to call people to mission and yet repeatedly fail to give them the tools to succeed. it is the role of an effective leader to ensure that all the provisions and resources are in place for mission success. Like any global organization or community, CFC must learn mastery of the logistical side of the mission and apply itself assiduously to the task. A good model for study and emulation is the logistical system and strategy of sustaining military operations distant from the main headquarters. Multinational corporations are also good study models for sustaining and expanding the work of global evangelization. The virtue that should be highlighted is that of good stewardship whereby taking on the mission includes the responsibility of growing the mission. The expectation is not only to invest in the material logistics but more importantly on people/ leader development. MINISTER- Be Generous in Your Affirmation Leadership must be strongly founded on building and cultivating relationships. Jesus was strong on this. The Twelve Apostles benefited from it. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, gave ministering a new meaning and brought it to great heights. Those who aspire for leadership must be consciously aware that giving tasks or providing jobs is not enough. The noble responsibility of leaders does not stop at assigning people even if he had matched the right people to the right task. He must make doubly sure that the followers know they remain on the right track, achieving the objectives at the right pacing. The mechanism to achieve this is to provide important and timely feedback, if CFC were engaged in a running race, then it is wise to consider that the work of CFC is less about preparing for sprints as much as gearing up for the long haul, i.e. the marathon of our lives. Marathon runners might not always be aware of their progress; given salty sweat can sting their eyes, and continuous running does sap their energy. They might become discouraged and stop. Therefore in every lap, the runners must be affirmed of their progress, given water or energy drinks to replenish what they lose. They must be cheered on and encouraged with kind and upbuilding words. Top leaders provide the roadmap and give the followers the compass. Leaders must love the people they lead, taking time to celebrate with them their achievements. every step of the way, leaders must journey with the people they pastor and minister to their hopes and needs. Leaders must be sensitive to the dreams and aspirations of their people. St. Paul said it all, when he wrote - "Do you not know that the runners in the stadium all run in the race, but only one wins the prize? Run so as to win. every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one." (1 Cor9: 24-25). The responsibility of training and forming leaders is very much like preparing for that great race. The challenge is best summed by: "i have competed well.
Role / C3

Evangelization in Todays World

eVANGeLiZATiON is a big word. i asked random people in the street what evangelization means, and the responses i got ranged from a blank stare to i dont know to is that the same as preaching? to the sole work of priests to missionaries on TV. Ask different church or mission groups what it is, and you will most likely get a variety of definitions as widely diverse as their distinct calling and charisms. The original Greek text of the word evangelization, or the Latin usage of the verb evangelizare, is a compound of good and announce, roughly translating to announcing the good news. To Christians, evangelization is the announcement of the Good News of Jesus Christ to those who do not know Him. Our Holy Fathers in the Catholic Church declare evangelization as the mission of every believer. Servant of God Pope Paul Vi, in his 1975 Apostolic exhortation, declared that the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14), meaning, it is your and my mission, as part of the Church of believers. This 1975 Apostolic exhortation also used the term evangelization to refer to every aspect of the Churchs activity, which includes preaching, catechesis, liturgy, the sacramental life, popular piety and the witness of a Christian life (Evangelii Nuntiandi 17, 21, 48). Pope Benedict XVI affirms the importance of evangelization, or the mission of proclaiming Christ, in the life of every Christian. He has declared new or renewed evangelization of an increasingly secular world a theme of his Pontificate, with emphasis on reaching out to those who do not know their faith well, or who no longer practice the Christian faith. i have some close friends who have been called to evangelize in foreign lands. Just recently, i was awestruck listening to my friend Kirby Llabans stories about his recent mission to Sierra Leone and Liberia. i have only seen these West Africa republics in movies, often infamously portrayed by Hollywood for their blood diamonds and past civil wars. Kirby told me about the beauty of their people, the openness of their hearts to the love and hope of Christ, their faith flowing richly like the gush of life-giving water from cracked jars of hardened clay. i have another friend who works for a global manufacturing firm based in China. An excellent corporate leader by day, and a committed CFC missionary volunteer in the evenings and weekends, he traverses Chinas cosmopolitan cities and remote provinces with his wife, bringing Christ to a people hungry for fullness that lasts. i join him in his personal conviction that God has plans for China to be a cradle of new evangelization. While there are those called to courageously go to the ends of the earth as witnesses spreading Gods word, like Kirby and my friend in China, most of us are called to evangelize within the daily settings of our home, our communities, and our workplaces. To evangelize is to proclaim in our daily lives the love, hope and life of Christ that our Father in heaven intends as lasting victory for us and for all. We are to seek out especially those, who, like us, have been bruised and beaten by sin, secularism, material want, poverty, hopelessness, loneliness, lack of purpose, and fear of death. To evangelize is to do our best to transmit to others around us the Gospel and the faith that we ourselves live. For we know, by the experience of the Holy Spirit in our lives, that this Gospel and faith rooted in Christ -- joyful, transformative, full and lasting --- comes with boundless grace and power to bless all. To evangelize is to strive to do our best to make a difference for the Lord in the ordinariness of our daily living. By this, we participate in the Spirits plan for the present and the future Church a new evangelization, namely, a fresh proclamation of Jesus message which brings joy and sets people free. if in our self-absorbed busyness, we fail to pause and look, and amidst the blare of discordant noise, we fail to hear -- we could, along our common day, miss what could be life-changing opportunities to proclaim Gods hope to His searching people. I still remember rushing to our office cafeteria that unremarkable afternoon, sometime in 2000 in Singapore (where my family lived for a decade when i was still engaged in the corporate world). My mind was set for a 7-minute solitary lunch, my head bowed to avoid lunchmates, so that i can catch my next meeting. Here comes Oh Yu Hwang, my Singaporean officemate, setting his tray on my table, while blurting, No worries, Melo, i also need to leave for a meeting in 5 minutes. Then he mumbles, with mouth half-full, My friend, i notice you are seldom perturbed by the toxic stress of our daily quotas and deadlines. May i know the secret that keeps you calm and productive in the midst of the turmoil in our workplace? He knew i was involved in Couples for Christ, and preempted me with a warning, You must know, Melo, that i am an atheist, or at best, a free thinker, but I have five minutes to listen to what you believe in. i do not have the time, but i am sincerely interested. There I was, late for my meeting, challenged by my Lord to influence the life of a non-believer within 5 minutes flat! I decided to set aside my meal, and instead, do my best to impart the Bread of Life that has been nourishing me and my family all those years. With a silent prayer, and in 3 minutes flat, I told Yu Hwang, My calmness at work, believe it or not, is not from me. it comes from my God who strengthens me. i believe He is the God of all of us, including you, my friend. He loves you and me so much even though we are sinners, that He gave up Heaven and chose to become man among us 2000 years ago (His name is Jesus), so that He can live, and die for us, and rise on easter, to show us today that you and i can be victorious over any turmoil, over sin, even over death. His Spirit lives with us today, He holds my hand in the office, and He desires to be your God, and your strength, and your joy, in our workplace. And by the way, He desires to share with you His eternal life in heaven. Food almost spilling out of his mouth, Yuh Hwang exclaimed, Woh, woh, this is too much for me to digest. i have to understand more to be able to believe. i looked at my watch. i had exactly 1 minute remaining. i remember telling him, My friend, i have realized this -- the most important, life-changing mysteries in my life i have come to understand deeply, only after I first chose to believe. If you talk to God and choose to believe that He exists, then He will help your heart to understand. That noon, after a 5-minute lunch, Yu Hwang walked away, bemused and befuddled. i did not see him again, for he was reassigned by our company to east Malaysia. Fast-forward 7 years after to 2007. My family and i are back in Manila, my wife and i serving as full-time volunteers for Couples for Christ. My phone rings, a distant but familiar voice on the other end. Melo, remember me? This is Yu Hwang from Singapore. i just graduated from the RCiA in our Catholic Parish and about to be baptized as a new Christian. i just wanted to thank you for our whirlwind lunch 7 years ago. You are right. The moment i chose to believe, then my heart began to understand. Thank you for introducing me to the faith. i responded, Yu Hwang, what a wonderful day this is. it is only the Lord that both of us have to thank. i have to confess to you, that when i spoke those words to you 7 years ago, i was fearful, and my heart doubted if you would even listen. Today, the Lord reminds me those were not my words, but the words from His Spirit. His words always come with the mighty power of His love, and His love never fails. The Holy Father reminds us in Evangelii Nuntiandi that evangelization is the carrying forth of the good news to every sector of the human race so that by its own strength it may enter into the hearts of men and renew the human race. Today, my dear friend, is your day to evangelize. Proclaim the Lord in word and in deed. Do not be afraid the Lord is with you and great is His power! Drifting among the vast sea of people, drowned out by waves of mindless clatter, souls are crying out, searching for the embrace of Fullness. Who will you reach out to? Whose life will you change, by the power of the Lord, today?

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 16 No. 11
May 21 - June 3, 2012

Ugnayan
here. My apprehension grew into fear and i thought to myself, How did she know my name? Why does she refuse to change my money? When i told her that i was Dr. Uriarte, she repeated, No hotel. No change money. You wait here. With no local currency, i had no option but to wait as directed by her. i was becoming even more worried and fearful. The footsteps of the fully armed soldiers became more audible. But after another half an hour, the professor arrived. He was very apologetic. He said that he could not come earlier and so he called the number of the money exchange counter, certain that i would go to the counter to change some money. He told the lady that if a certain Dr. Uriarte would come to change some money, to tell him to just wait because he would certainly come. To ensure that i would wait and not leave the airport, he told the lady to wait until he arrived before giving me any local currency. This incident reminds me of this New Testament verse which is all about working, waiting and watching: Gird your loins and light your lamps and be like servants who await their masters return from a wedding, ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival. Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself, have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them. And should he come in the second or third watch and find them prepared in this way, blessed are those servants. Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour when the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come (Lk 12:35-40). Servants are expected to work even while their master is away, to wait for his return, and to watch lest they miss him. in Palestine, during the time of Jesus (in fact even now), servants were expected to continue to work even when the master of the house was away. The servants were expected to patiently wait for their masters return and attentively watch the door. Since it was not yet customary to prepare a detailed work schedule or travel itinerary, the servants were always kept guessing regarding the exact time of the masters return. When the master of the house was delayed for dinner, the women and children could proceed to eat followed by the servants. However, a portion of the food should be set aside for the master of the house to eat upon coming home. if he was further delayed, the women and children could go to sleep but the servants were expected to stay awake, to wait and watch and be ready to serve their master. it would be a great mistake if the master were made to wait outside the house before the door was opened. Therefore, the truly devoted servants would never sleep. No matter how late in the night the master would return, they would be waiting and watching for the signs of his arrival. in fact, they would occasionally check the door and look outside to see if there were signs of his coming. At the very moment of his arrival, the servants should be ready to open the door for him. These were all part of their work if they were to be good and faithful servants. The following verses were written by a poet whose name i cannot now recollect. He poses some questions that somehow feel as if they are directed personally to us. What would He find, should he come just now? A faded leaf or a fruitless bough? A servant sleeping, an idle plow? What would He find should He come just now? What would He find should He come tonight? Your garment soiled or a spotless white? Your lamps all burning or with no light? What would He find should He come tonight? We are the servants in the parable of the Gospel of Luke. We do not know the day or the hour of the coming of the Lord. indeed, we do not also know the day or the hour when our Lord will call us to account for the work we do on earth, to account for the talents he has given us. We do not know the hour of reckoning. Thus, like the psalmist we cry: Lord, let me know my end, the number of my days, that I may learn how frail I am. You have given my days a very short span; my life is as nothing before you. All mortals are but a breath. (Ps 38:5-6). A story is often told that when John F. Kennedy was campaigning for President in 1960, he would end many of his speeches by relating the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives. The story goes that there was one day in 1789 when the sky in Hartford became portentously dark and eerie. When some members of the House saw this,

C3

Jun Uriarte

Be like Servants Who Await their Masters Return

iN 1984 while working for the Philippine government as Director of the National institute of Science and Technology, i went on official mission to Yugoslavia, which was then a communist country, to discuss with university and science officials research cooperation between the two countries. My destination was the city of Novi Sad and a professor from the University of Novi Sad was supposed to meet me at the international airport in Belgrade, about an hours drive from Novi Sad. Upon arrival, i waited for someone to approach me but there was none. After about half an hour of watching for someone to arrive looking for me, i was becoming increasingly worried. it was a small airport and most of the people had left. And there were two uniformed and fully armed airport security officers who kept marching back and forth around an area close to where i was seated and i knew that they were keeping an eye on me. i then decided that it would be best to just go to a hotel in Belgrade and call the professor from there (there were no mobile phones yet at that time and few people speak english at the airport). i did not have a reservation in any hotel in Belgrade but i thought that i would just tell the taxi to bring me to the Belgrade Hilton (i assumed that there must be a Hilton Hotel in Belgrade). But i needed local currency for taxi fare so i went to the only money exchange counter at the airport. i gave the lady a hundred dollar note and told her that i needed local currency for the taxi fare. i also asked if there was a Hilton Hotel in Belgrade. Much to my surprise, the lady responded in broken english, You Dr. Uriarte? No hotel. No change money. You wait

they asked for the immediate adjournment of the session, fearing that the end of the world was near. As Speaker of the House, Davenport banged the gavel and declared, The Day of Judgment is either here or it is not. if it is not, then there is no reason to adjourn. if it is here, i choose to face Judgment Day doing my sworn duty and responsibility. i therefore ask that candles be brought in so the session could continue. There is a similar story about St. Francis of Assisi. it was said that one day one of his companions came to him while he was working in his garden. He asked St. Francis what he would do if he knew that Jesus was coming that very day. St. Francis replied that he would go on working in his garden. The point of these stories is that we should be ready for the Lord. This means that whatever we do, we should do it for the Lord. Any task at hand should be a means to holiness. Our work should be our path to heaven. Our every decision should be in accord with Gods will. every accomplishment and disappointment, every achievement and letdown, every success and failure should give glory to God. When this becomes the attitude of our heart, when this becomes the focus of our mind, when this becomes the purpose of our life, then we will become like the good servants of the parable, working, waiting, and watching for the masters return.

Transmitting Words Into Faith and Action

By Lance Fernandez
WHAT are you doing with your life? This is one of the questions that Fr. Dave Concepcion posed to his audience during the Mission Core Teaching Night at the Christ the King Parish, Greenmeadows last May 15. Fr. Concepcion also stated that those who believe in God are busy doing the right thing but not living the life that God has planned for them. Fr. Concepcion's teaching focused on the application of Catholic beliefs through tangible actions and activities. Thus, he stressed that every human activity must be put into question by the Word of God. if this is not done, he maintained that one will be tempted to build his reputation rather than his character. However, it should be character that must be honed because it's who a person really is whereas reputation is who a person is in the eyes of others. He also mentioned that it is easy to be religious but not spiritual nowadays. As an example, he pointed out that priests may be conducting Masses either out of love for their vocation or because of the stipend that they will receive. Fr. Concepcion stressed that life is not about what an individual can do but what God wants to do with him. Once that person is ready to proclaim the Word of God through faith and action, Fr. Concepcion emphasized that there are four Non-Negotiable Pillars of Spiritual Life that he must not forget. These pillars were taken from the book "The Holy Longing: the Search for a Christian Spirituality" by Roman Catholic priest Ron Rolheiser. These four pillars are private prayer and private morality, mellowness of heart and spirit, social justice, and community as a constitutive element of true worship. in private prayer and private morality, Fr. Concepcion stated that private prayer is synonymous to personal prayer time. it is the time that a person devotes to converse with God daily and he defends this time no matter what. He also mentioned that public worship must not be equated to private prayer and that a person's prayer time must be reflected in his morality. He suggested the keeping and maintaining of a private journal so that prayer time may become more meaningful and more effective. God must remain in this demeanor even if circumstances are not going their way. Fr. Dave opined that when new assignments or duties are given to an individual, it is this mellowness that must prevail in him so that he can accept these new duties with all humility. The mellowness of heart and spirit lies in the calmness of one's heart in doing the right things for the right reasons, Fr. Dave explained. in terms of social justice, God will judge his followers according to the way they treat the poor. Likewise, the way they treat the poor is the way they treat God. it's not enough to help the poor. Rather, it's more appropriate to give them the dignity they deserve. if not, a train of unjust acts might make the poor more hopeless and desolate. Fr. Dave explained that social injustice does not only refer to unfavorable treatment of the poor. Rather, it is also acquired when people do not perform the little things the right way. Fr. Concepcion said that not parking a vehicle within the prescribed boundaries is social injustice. Also, not arriving on an agreed meeting time is unjust to those who are on time. Finally, the community as a constitutive element of true worship means that the maturity of a Catholic is manifested in the health of his relationships. in addition, the level of faith of an individual is revealed in his attitude when being corrected. in this aspect, Fr. Concepcion reiterated that there are no perfect communities because each member has his imperfections. As a community, the members must walk closer to God together regardless of the circumstances. Through these pillars, God seeks the conversion of those who believe in Him. Fr. Dave expressed his belief that crisis is inevitable for it gives birth to a conviction that is not convenient to defend. On a final note, Fr. Concepcion stated that transmitting the Word in faith and action is to think and live in the presence of God. Thus, seeking God's will is a priority. if it's something contradictory to convenience a person is enjoying, we need to remember that if God was able to give His Son for human salvation, how can He not grant the requests that His followers foster in their hearts and minds? Fr. Dave Concepcion is also the Spiritual Director of the Rivers of Living Water Community.

Fr. Concepcion quoted St. Augustine who said that every time a person is tempted to shorten his prayer time, he must add five minutes to it. He also suggested the use of the St. ignatius of Loyola's formula for deepening prayer. In this formula, the first step is to pray for understanding while the second is to always give thanks to the Lord. Step number three pertains to paying attention to positive or negative feelings. The fourth step in building private prayer is to

examine one of these feelings in order to make sound decisions. The fifth step is to look ahead for greater things while the last step involves concluding the conversation with a standard prayer. Fr. Dave warned the audience about using the word "humility." He pointed out that asking the question "Have i been more humble than before?" is wrong because the moment a person claims that he is more humble, he has actually lost it. Furthermore, he also shared that followers of

A Commitment to Educate
By Christian Caampued
LAST May 12, the Cornerstone program of Couples for Christ and the Ateneo Center for educational Development (ACeD) successfully conducted the T.e.A.C.H expo for volunteer tutors at the Ateneo de Manila Grade School. The event was attended by volunteer Cornerstone tutors and couple coordinators assigned to oversee the program in their respective sectors. The proceedings were emceed by Jueren Nabua of Cornerstone and Aissa Aurellano of the CFC-Singles for Christ with the opening worship led by Jeremy Quimpang. Cornerstone project head Bernie Cuevas welcomed the participants and expounded on the T.e.A.C.H expo's rationale. ACeD executive Director Mel Oracion warmly welcomed and thanked those in attendance for their devotion to the Cornerstone program. The welcome remarks were immediately followed by the session entitled "Building Awareness of Learning Disabilities" conducted by Jenny Tapales who has an extensive background in early childhood education and curriculum building. She spoke about the nature and characteristics of children with learning disabilities as well as the factors basic skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. On the other hand, Aileen Garcia and Sheri Anne Zerna rendered a practical discussion on Child Psychology based on three theories of development: Piaget's Cognitive Theory, erickson's Psychosocial Theory and Bronfenbrenner's Systems Perspective. Finally, the Preparation of instructional Materials was done by Bernadette Tan and Julie Javier of CFC West B3D. This workshop is about the importance of, and the guidelines in making, instructional materials from what is readily available. After the afternoon sessions, the attendees went back to the Singson Hall for the concluding ceremonies of the T.e.A.C.H expo. Some of the attendees were asked to share their lessons and realizations from the expo. CFCKids for Christ international Coordinator Nic escalona, Jr. then took the stage to encourage the participants to make their commitment to the Cornerstone program. They all did, and all were given the Cornerstone Commitment Card to symbolize their pledge to make alive in their respective sectors the principles and objectives of the Cornerstone program. The program ended with a powerful praisefest led by escalona.

ANCOP USA ENTERS INTO AGREEMENT WITH MIRACLE COMMUNICATIONS

ANCOP USA President & CeO Tony Ventura recently announced a partnership with Miracle Communications in a new program called CFC-ANCOP Phone Service Partnership Program." Ventura said that the new project is a trail-blazing initiative to help the poor that will be overseen by the program's Chairman, ed Bilbao. in reaching out to CFC-ANCOP leaders and members around the United States, Bilbao certified that the new program has the endorsement of both the CFC National Council and the ANCOP-USA Board. The program will invite CFC USA members, as well as their friends, co-workers or relatives to avail of telephone services from Miracle Communications on a voluntary basis. Monthly fees are waived but overseas calls will be charged for as low as $.049 per minute. The expenses will be solely based on usage and a significant part of the proceeds will go to CFC ANCOP.
Role / C2

that trigger these disabilities. The session was followed by five workshops that went on into the afternoon session, namely: Creative Teaching, Classroom Management and Discipline, Learning Fundamentals, Child Psychology and Preparation of instructional Materials. Simultaneous separate sessions were held by Lina David and Thelma Hizon for Cornerstone coordinators in order to equip them to become better stewards of the program. The Creative Teaching workshop was discussed by Pamela Jorolan of the Great Minds Singapore School Manila early Learning Center, focusing on methods on how to make learn-

ing more enjoyable through arts, music, storytelling, technology. The Classroom Management and Discipline workshop was about managing and improving the behavior of students so that they can have better learning experiences. This workshop was handled by Charmaine Bernadette Villegas, a special education teacher and educational therapist. Learning Fundamentals was given by Kristine Pagala of Bridges Foundation, inc. and Pudgie Camilo of the Lord of Jesus Learning institute. Those who signed up for this workshop learned about the measures needed to effectively teach the

i have run the race. i have kept the faith. From now on the crown of righteousness awaits me, which the Lord, the just judge will award to me on that day, and not only to me, but to all who longed for his appearance." (2 Timothy 4:7-8) Reflection Questions: 1. Do i aspire to be a leader because i have a calling for it? if yes, when did i experience that call? if not, should i desire to become a leader? 2. What leader task do i see myself doing well? What areas of leadership do i want to grow in or need improvement on?

3. Who are the Biblical characters who inspired you to aspire to become a leader? Why did you choose him/them? 4. Have you had the benefit of good mentors in CFC? What are the areas of mentoring that were most helpful for you? How have you given appreciation for what they have done for you? References : 1. The extraordinary Leader, Zenger and Folkman 2. The Leadership Dynamic, H. Reeder iii 3. Bible Quotations, the Holy Bible, NAB

C4
CFC Aurora Celebrates its 16th Anniversary

Ugnayan

CBCP Monitor

May 21 - June 3, 2012

Vol. 16 No. 11

IC Nonoy Dalman Visits Mass Wedding at the Basilica CFC Southern California

By Ramon Baas
COUPLeS for Christ Aurora celebrated its 16th Anniversary last May 12, 2012 with the theme Proclaiming the Greatness of the Lord (On Fire Pa Rin Kami!). The celebration started with a parade from the Museo de Baler to the Baler Sports Complex and was participated in by members of CFC, its Family Ministries and ANCOP. After the parade, Holy Mass was cel-

ebrated by Baler parish priest Fr. Nilvon C. Villanueva. Anniversary messages were delivered by CFC Central Luzon Regional Head Romy Alfaro, CFC Aurora Provincial Area Head Mon Baas and Provincial Area Directors Jerry and Mary Torres. The afternoon was filled with entertaining numbers from the family ministries and ANCOP. To culminate the celebration, YFC Aurora Provincial Head Neil Dehoras led the crowd in a powerful praisefest.

By Vic Alvarez By Rheza Noriega-Sevilla

GodS desire is to form and build up His people so as to be able to use them for His purpose. The CFC Southern California West Chapter was recently visited by international Council member emmanuel Nonoy Dalman and his wife, Marivie. The Church of incarnation school auditorium in Glendale, California was packed on the night of the teaching by 160 members and leaders from different family ministries. each attendee was eager to listen to and learn from this months General Membership Teaching entitled Leading from the Middle of the Pack. Nonoy shared some leadership quotes from notable personalities such as Jack Welch and John Maxwell and related these quotes to our service in CFC by emphasizing that all of us are leaders but we each have different roles that will ensure the fulfillment of CFCs mission and vision. The testimony and personal sharing of Marivie dwelt on the challenges of being a leader. After the general membership teaching, the attendees were divided into groups to share their insights on the following reflection questions: 1. How can i be a true and effective leader at home, at work, in the parish and in CFC even if i am leading from the middle of the pack? 2. What factors are preventing me from becoming such a leader? 3. What concrete steps must i take to overcome such obstacles? iNSTeAD of celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in grand fashion, Gerry and Carol Fetalvero of the CFC Batangas Governance Team sponsored a mass wedding for 28 couples on May 14 at the immaculate Concepcion Basilica in Batangas City, Batangas at 9:30 in the morning. The main presider of the mass wedding was Most Reverend Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, supported by some of the parish priests under the Archdiocese of Lipa.

CFC Zamboanga City Celebrates 18 Years of Gods Goodness!!!

in his homily, Archbishop Arguelles pointed out the importance of the sacrament of Matrimony in the formation of couples and their families. in return, the newlyweds thanked their children and family for making their dream of having a church wedding come true. After the matrimonial rite, a simple fellowship over lunch was held at the Parish Pastoral Center. This event was graced by National Council of the Laity Vice President and CFC international Council member Joe Tale together with his wife Babylou.

Small Things, Big Dreams

ANCOP Global Walk Soft Launch at the May 2012 MC Assembly

By Bing Calzada
LAST May 11 to 13, CFC- Zamboanga City marked a milestone in its life of zealous commitment and dedication to the work of evangelization and family renewal. CFC-Zamboanga City celebrated its 18th anniversary with so much gladness and thanksgiving and just like any debutante budding into the society, it made sure that the event would be memorable. The celebration kicked off with a Leaders Conference on May 11 where Shok Ariola, SFC international Coordinator, gave a very inspiring message about love, faith and hope and the joy of servant leadership. May 12 was a day of fellowship and fun with the activity dubbed as Bayle sa Tibuok Kalibutan (Dance of the World). it was a time of reminiscing as members of the different CFC chapters performed popular dances from 1950 to the present. it was indeed a night that showcased the dancing prowess of CFC members. May 13 was the anniversary day and it started with a colorful motorcade around the major thoroughfares of the city to the anniversary venue. it was followed immediately by the Celebration of the eucharist with Msgr. Sulpicio Soliva as the main celebrant. Msgr. Soliva is CFC-Zamboanga Citys Spiritual Adviser. Anniversary messages were given by Shok Ariola, Provincial Area Head Gerry Flordelis, and Provincial Area Director Nanding Gonzales. Members of the CFC international Council also sent their heartwarming messages. Some members of the Area Governance Team of Zamboanga Sibugay also came to celebrate the joyous occasion with CFCZamboanga City.

By Jun Rances
MOTHeR Teresa of Calcutta often said that little things done with great love often leave a lasting impact on a person. Thus, one need not perform grandiose things to make a mark. This is exactly the concept behind Ancop's Global Walk (AGW). By setting aside a measly P10 a day for a month, one can participate in the walkathon that would help send a poor child to school. To jumpstart the preparations for this year's Global Walk, the West C sector under Steve Maningat launched the 2012 Global Walk last April 25 at the Santuario de San Vicente de Paul. The main speaker for the night was eric de los Reyes, ANCOP President. He rallied the members of the sector to support this cause which aims to raise funds in order to send less-fortunate children to school, hopefully

By CFC ANCOP Communications Team

COUPLeS for Christ, through CFC ANCOP Tekton Foundation, inc. launched the ANCOP Global Walk 2012 (AGW12) during the Mission Core Gathering on April 1, 2012 at the Ateneo Grade School Covered Courts. ANCOP President eric de los Reyes said that this years walk takes inspiration from 2 Chronicles 2:1-2 which refers to the commissioning by Solomon of 150,000 men to build the Temple of the Lord. eric likened the initiative of Solomon to the building of the Church of the Poor by CFC through answering the cry of poor children to gain education. Hence, the 2012 ANCOP Global Walk aims to draw 150,000 registrants in Metro Manila with
Partnership / C1

Groundbreaking at CFC ANCOP Bani

the proceeds from the walk to be used to fund the scholarship of 2000 students. eric recalled that 50,000 individuals joined the 2011 ANCOP Global Walk. For 2012, he encouraged all Mission Core members to rally their members to walk for a good cause and to give ideas on how to attain the target number of participants this year. After this launch, the sectors of CFC Metro Manila will conduct their respective ANCOP Global Walk launches in preparation for the walk itself on August 12, 2012 at the Quirino Grandstand. Metro Manila sector West C already launched their preparations (see related story on page C4).
KFC / C1

twice as many as those who were given scholarships as a result of last years walk activity. Adding pizazz to the occasion was the attendance of the reigning Miss Philippines-earth, ANCOP Global Walk advocate and SFC member Athena imperial. ANCOP Global Walk overall head Paolo Maningat talked about the importance of getting more walkers and donations to meet the overall target. The sector activity was a prelude to the second ANCOP Global Walk that will be held on August 12 at 5 AM at the Quirino Grandstand. The Walk will be done near simultaneously with other ANCOP Walks all over the world. Walkers are encouraged to be a disciple of change, a harbinger of hope for children, whose continuing education provides that spark of light for a future that will be bright for them and their families.

By Mito Tayag
ON May 10, 2012, the Kanlungan ng Pag-asa ANCOP Bani Community held the foundation laying for the homes to be built and supported by ANCOP Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (ANCOP KSA). Located in the city of Balanga in Bataan, the ANCOP Bani Community also has the financial backing from CFC ANCOP San Antonio, Texas and CFC ANCOP United Arab emirates. Festivities started with the celebration of the Holy Mass by Rev. Fr. Norman enriquez de Leon. Then, CFC ANCOP Bani Project implementing Team Head Angel Pizarro welcomed the arrival of the CFC ANCOP KSA donors together with some members of the CFC ANCOP National from Manila. Bal-

anga City Mayor Joet Garcia, Brgy. Cataning Chairman Benjie Merio and other members of the Balanga LGU and CFC Bataan were present as well. During the groundbreaking, Manny Lector and edwin Lavin announced that CFC ANCOP KSA will extend financial support for the construction of 30 more homes in Bani. After this very welcome announcement, Lector, Lavin, Merio, Garcia and CFC ANCOP President eric de los Reyes laid the foundation for the first duplex unit that will be built. Mayor Joet Garcia pledged his support for the continuing development of the ANCOP Bani Community. He also mentioned that there is an on-going negotiation for an additional five hectares to the site.

the renewal and strengthening of families through Christ. CFC is geared towards Christ and all the glory goes to Him. CFCs work for others is always anchored on values formation, so that the needy and those who may not know Christ may be fed not just in body but more importantly in spirit. As CFC starts its journey from Pearl to Gold in the year 2031, it is honored and privileged to have The Philippine STAR under the leadership of Miguel Belmonte to be its print media partner. The timing of this covenant couldn't have been better since the community's theme in 2012 is Proclaiming the Greatness of the Lord. Through this partnership, we look forward to sharing many insights and stories on Gods love, on wholesome family life, and on loving the poor to the wide readership base of The Philippine STAR here and abroad. May God be praised!

from Cebu that performed pop and rap songs. The last day of the iKV started with the third and final session wherein the kids were reminded by Chino Santos about the Lords messages for the past years and that they should now be ready to move for God. The delegates must be ready to dream big for the Lord by journeying with Him and to change the world by moving for God. The kids were taught that they can proclaim Gods greatness by being generous, obedient and diligent. The kids showed that they appreciated Gods countless blessings by moving as one for the last time with a Kids Praise that officially closed the 15th KFC iKV. And as a powerful and blessed experience in Davao ends, the graces of the Lord will continually keep the KFC community ablaze as they gear up for the next international Kids Village in Australia in 2013.

Dennis Diaz of CFC Japan hands over the communitys First Fruits Offering to Executive Director Melo Villaroman Jr and IC member Joe Tale while BOE members Zeny Gimenez and Bernie Cuevas look on.

CFC Chairman Ricky Cuenca (center), together with from left Bernie Cuevas, Melo Villaroman Jr., Jose Tale, and Bob Uyquiengco, sign the Deed of Sale of a 285 sq m lot sold to Jhona Yongco Asistin of Daet, Camarines Norte. The property, which was donated by the family of Cuevas to CFC Camarines Norte, was sold for Php 1 million. The said amount was in turn given by CFC Cam Norte to the CFC Home Office for the Build My House drive.