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The Cross
Vol. 15 No. 12
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By Roy Lagarde
THE continuing apathy towards the poor has spurred the Catholic Churchs social action arm to hold a nationwide summit on poverty in an attempt to come out with concrete actions to improve the life of the underprivileged.
The National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (Nassa) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said it is another effort to understand poverty from the perspective of the poor themselves. Nassa executive secretary Fr. Edu Gariguez hopes that the summit will bring them to know the real causes of poverty and decide which way to take. Gariguez claimed that the current economic policies are going towards a direction no different from the past administration. If we look at the Philippine Development Plan, for example, its like only a few are going to benefit from it again, Gariguez said. It is also evident, he said, in the allocations of the national budget for 2011 which, according to him, has lopsided priorities. All in all, it seems like theres nothing new really, he said. Lets discontinue the lapses of the past administration, the priest said. Current economic policies which do not really benefit the people should be improved. Multi-sectoral participation Organized by Nassa, the upcoming summit on July 3-5 is convened together with other government agencies on agriculture, agrarian reform, health, labor, education and social welfare, in conjunction with basic sectors and non-government organizations. He said around 300 participants
The Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace chairman and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo (extreme right) joins other environmental advocates as they run over a streamer of Mining Act of 1995 during celebration of World Environment Day, June 6. The advocates bike around the Quezon City Circle as they called for a reform in the governments flawed mining policy.
Senate OK to postpone Prelates ARMM polls upsets bishops oppose moves to introduce divorce in PHL
FILE PHOTO
Summit / A6
ARMM / A6
ALLOCATING millions of pesos for House Bill 4244 means slashing the budget that would have otherwise been spent on education and other basic services, said a member of the House of Representatives in a recent press conference. Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay pointed out that poli-
helped uplift the plight of the impoverished if these were provided with funding, the legislator said. She expressed feeling somewhat ashamed, that government policy sometimes ends up prioritizing the wrong things. Sabi ho ng kabilang partido,
RH Bill / A6
FILE PHOTO
CATHOLIC bishops in Southern Philippines expressed disappointment over a decision to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The bishops described the Senates approval of the bill delaying the ARMM polls set on August 8 as an apparent example of Manila imperialism. The law is not respected and, we, here in Mindanao are not given the opportunity to choose our own leaders, Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said. We want the elections and not the imposition of (national) leaders, he said. Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin
SOME prelates voiced out their strong opposition to yet another controversial measure that touches on the core of Filipino culture which the House Committee on Revision of Laws in Congress has began discussing last June 1. Butuan Bishop Juan De Dios Pueblos said the proposed divorce measure also known as House Bill 1799, is leading towards immorality in a society which begins at home. Pro-divorce advocates is pushing for the measure, saying only the Philippines is left without a divorce law as Malta, also a Catholic country, has recently passed its own divorce law. But Lipa Archbishop Ramon C. Arguelles called on
the Filipino Catholic faithful not to follow the bad examples of de-Christianizing countries. [Instead] they (other countries) should follow our example of Catholic fidelity, the 66-year-old prelate added. For his part, Puerto Princesa Bishop Pedro V. Arigo, looks at the scheduled hearings and deliberations as a waste of time and taxpayers money. There are more important issues to address, he said. The introduction of the divorce bill may be part of the governments psychological strategy against the Catholic Church because of the recent criticisms leveled by various Catholic leaders
Divorce / A6
BEING the only country in the world that has no divorce law is an honor that every Filipino should be proud of, a former president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said.
Distinction / A6
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World News
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
cian-assisted suicide does not promote compassion because its focus is not on eliminating suffering, but on eliminating the patient. True compassion, it states, dedicates itself to meeting patients needs and presupposes a commitment to their equal worth. The statement says that compassion that is not rooted in such respect inevitably finds more and more people whose suffering is considered serious enough for assisted death, such as those with chronic illness and disabilities. Human Dignity Patients with terminal illness deserve life-affirming palliative care that respects their dignity and worth. Assisted suicide is not an addition to palliative care, the release said, but a poor substitute that can ultimately become an excuse for denying better medical care to seriously ill people, including those who never considered suicide an option. Citing the example of the Netherlands, the statement points out that voluntary assisted suicide has led to case of involuntary euthanasia. Also, the statement explains, the practice undermines patients freedom by putting pressure on them, once society has officially declared the suicides of certain people to be good and acceptable while working to prevent the suicides of others. Once the worth of a persons life is diminished, their freedom and autonomy is diminished as well. (Zenit)
of love and true mercy that John Paul II pointed to in Evangelium Vitae is the model for those who offer palliative care. Truly compassionate palliative care means eliminating suffering, not the sufferer, the bishops explained in a statement that summarized the main points of the document.
The issues the bishops will discuss include the hardships and fears of patients with chronic and terminal illnesses, concern for those tempted to commit suicide, the Churchs opposition to physician-assisted suicide, and the consistency of this stance with the principle of equal and inherent human
rights and the ethical principles of the medical profession. The bishops will also address arguments of the assisted suicide movement that claim its agenda affirms patient choice and expresses compassion for suffering. The bishops statement says physi-
Vatican Briefing
Palestinian President visits Benedict XVI
Though mankind feels the weight of the evil that exists in the world, God does not abandon us. He never betrays and never forgets, Benedict XVI says. The Pope made this reflection May 27 after a concert offered in his honor by the president of Hungary, Pl Schmitt. The concert marked the Hungarian presidency of the Council of the European Union and the bicentenary of the birth of the Hungarian musician Ferenc Liszt. The Holy Father offered various reflections on the music, pausing in particular to speak about the setting of Psalm 13. (Zenit)
Croatia seals Churchs right to educate
The Holy See and Croatia sealed a treaty to implement an agreement on Catholic schools in the country. Archbishop Marin Sraki, president of the Croatian Episcopal Conference, and Prime Minister Jadranka Kosor, confirmed the agreement May 23 at the Episcopal conference headquarters, reported the bishops news agency. The agreement was signed 15 years ago and will now be implemented. The document recognizes the Catholic Churchs right to establish schools of all types and grade levels and specifies the respective obligations of the state, including regarding teachers salaries. (Zenit)
Italy releases over $33 million in Vatican bank assets
Gracias! In other World Youth Day news, the Foundation of the Atltico de Madrid soccer team, along with the World Youth Day organizers, revealed that a celebrity soccer match will take place on the final day youth event. The initiative, titled Gracias! (Thank You!), will feature a faceoff between a select group of former soccer players and others
from around the world at the Vicente Caldern Stadium. Enrique Cerezo, president of the Atltico de Madrid team, affirmed that being able to contribute to events of this magnitude is always an extraordinary opportunity. World Youth Day, he continued, has an understanding of solidarity that goes hand-in-hand with the ideals of the Foundation Atltico de Madrid, and it gives young people the chance to have
a fulfilling experience in transmitting the message of solidarity. The sporting event will be open to the public, and not only to the participants of World Youth Day, and the proceeds will go toward funding World Youth Day and to a charity project carried out in collaboration with the Foundation Atltico de Madrid. There are currently about 400,000 young people from 182 countries registered for World Youth Day in Madrid. (Zenit)
Romes attorney general has released 23 million Euro (over $33 million) in assets belonging to the Institute for Religious Works, also known as the Vatican bank. The money was frozen after an anti-money laundering investigation was launched against the president of the bank Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, and the general director of the Institute, Paolo Cipriani. The Institute for Religious Works is under the auspices of the Vatican. (CNA)
Pope urges peaceful resolution to Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Pope Benedict XVI expressed the urgent need to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as he met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in a June 3 audience at the Vatican. A central issue of the cordial conversations was the troubled situation in the Holy Land. Particular stress was laid on the urgent need to find a just and lasting solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, one capable of ensuring respect for the rights of all and, therefore, the attainment of the Palestinian peoples legitimate aspirations for an independent State, reported the Vatican press office. (CNA)
Vatican calls for stronger assistance to victims of piracy
Shipbuilders and owners must adopt stronger security measures to prevent their vessels from falling prey to pirates, and international maritime organizations must be committed to helping the families of sailors held hostage, the Vatican said. The phenomenon is not decreasing, considering that already (in 2011) there have been 214 new episodes with 26 ships and 522 sailors still held hostage by pirates, said a statement May 26 from the Pontifical Council for Migrants and Travelers. (CNS)
Caritas elects French secretary general, re-elects cardinal president
Members of Caritas Internationalis elected an official from the French charity Secours Catholique to be their secretary general and they re-elected Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa as president of the confederation of 165 Catholic charities. Michel Roy, director of international advocacy for the French Catholic charity, was elected by regional representatives making up the Caritas executive committee. His election was confirmed May 26 by delegates to the Caritas Internationalis general assembly. (CNS)
ties with respect to Hizbollahs weapons and the international tribunal investigating the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Apparently, the issues were discussed but nothing is known as to what was said. Still, the first comments following the meeting were positive. Participants also decided to set up a committee to prepare further meetings so that Lebanon can remain an example of democracy and freedom. (AsiaNews)
www.9istcst34pilgrimage.wikispaces.com/
Benedict XVI and the president of the Palestinian Authority on June 3 discussed peace in the Middle East and a state for Palestine with internationally recognized borders. Mahmoud Abbas visited the Pope at the Vatican, going on to meet with the Holy Fathers secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for relations with states. According to a Vatican communiqu, the central issue of the cordial conversations was peace in the Holy Land. (Zenit)
www.2.bp.blogspot.com
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
News Features
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www.media.photobucket.com
sertions of cultural imperialism. Based on the documents, the laws and ordinances for the local government councils are already ready, so the officials wouldnt have to bother drafting these from scratch. They are responsible for the template that was used, Imbong pointed out. International bodies United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and UNFPA are the ones primarily involved in this, the lawyer said. You can see that the definitions and the termsthe language[in international and local documents] are the same. In essence, the substance of the RH bill is not Filipino. (Diana Uichanco)
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EDITORIAL
Opinion
New Evangelization
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
LAST month Pope Benedict XVI formally instituted a new dicastery or a new department at the Roman Curia named the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. Apparently, this has been in his mind for sometime now, perhaps taking cue from the Novo millennio ineunte of his predecessor, now Blessed John Paul II. Expectedly, this dicastery will become very handy during the forthcoming 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2012 that will dwell on the topic New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. Human nature has not escalated a bit. And history has been repeating itself rather consistently. What was, will be again, what has been done, will be done again, and there is nothing new under the sun, or so says Qoheleth in Ecclesiastes. But in the last decade, or even farther down to the Second Vatican Council, the mode of understanding and expression in the context of rapid technological advances had been incomparable in time. Secularism, for instance, would have been understood and expressed differently, and perhaps more sluggishly if loosely during the time of the galleons of the colonials than, say, the Facebook that circulates influence in a viral wayas viral as the contagious Arab spring in the Middle East that is continuing today or the total demolition of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) in 2009. During the first plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization held last month at the Vatican, the Holy Father addressed the participants: The crisis being experienced bears in itself traces of the exclusion of God from peoples lives, of a generalized indifference toward the Christian faith itself, to the point of attempting to marginalize it from public life. In past decades it was still possible to discover a general Christian sense that unified the common feeling of whole generations, growing up in the shadow of the faith that had molded the culture. Today, unfortunately, we are witnessing the drama of a fragmentation that no longer consents to a unified point of reference; moreover, we often see the phenomenon of persons who wish to belong to the Church, but are strongly molded by a vision of life that opposes the faith. The crisis that the Pope mentions is, of course, viral. Which is why, it is kind of alarming. Thus, taking note of this, he stressed that the New Evangelization need to address the need for a renewed method of proclamation, especially for those who live in a context, such as the present one, in which the developments of secularization have left heavy traces even in countries with a Christian tradition New Evangelization will have to be responsible for finding the methods to make the proclamation of salvation more effective, without which personal existence remains in its state of contradiction, deprived of the essential. A legislator who, on National TV, proclaimed at the floor I am congressman who happens to be a catholic but not a Catholic Congressman is not too far from the case in point.
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Emergent values
HUMAN rights is another emergent value. As with democracy, awareness of this value was heightened during the martial law era because of numerous abuses, tortures, summary killings and disappearances which happened then. The idea that power and authority could be abused and human rights totally disregarded by the state and by those who held the reins of power sensitized us to the value of human rights. The political assertion of this value, however, has remained generally weak. Current discussions regarding compensation for the victims of human rights abuses under the military regime has failed to generate massive public support for the victims of human rights abuses. And personalities who were closely connected with that past oppressive regime and profited from it have managed to stage a political comeback, thanks partly to the cohesiveness of our elite class and the still strong influence of regionalistic loyalties, but partly too to what we talked about in our Exhortation on Philippine Politics two years ago regarding the corruptions of the political system. The same weakness and ambivalence in value commitment that have just been referred to above are evident likewise in the way we regard social justice or egalitarianism. While the traditional value system has mostly fostered a paternalistic value orientation, social justice and egalitarianism are beginning to redefine the way we view inter-class relations. Today we hear of certain public officials or policies of governance being described as pro-poor or anti-poor, an indication that there is a growing consciousness of social inequalities and the need to do something about them. Participative processes have become an important venue for articulating these egalitarian values. But these values still have to find expression in social policies. Since culture is in a very real sense a peoples collective psyche, it can bear deeper and deeper scrutiny, and the knowledge that comes from such a scrutiny is thus a form of self-knowledge. What we have attempted to present here is by no means exhaustive and it is our hope that a more thorough analysis of Philippine cultural valuesand a deeper awareness of their implicationswill be spurred on by this brief and selective description of our culture. Why the task of analysis is a necessary and constant one should be clearer after we look at why we have to be more concerned about our culture from the standpoint of our faith. Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Culture, 1999
Justice at last!
TWELVE years ago, Kay filed a case of multiple acts of lasciviousness, incest and rape against her father that started when she was nine years old and stopped only when she was placed for safe-keeping in the Good Shepherd Home for girls and women in crisis. That was in 1999. She was 14 years old then. And with the help of the Sisters, she was able to file the case in NBI against her abuser. But after filing the case, she did not receive any word at all from NBI or from any court. It was a big surprise then when one day, her father was arrested from his own home and put in their provincial jail. At first, she and her siblings thought he was being arrested for being an illegal logger, well known in his town, and a financier of many anomalous activities. But later on, she found out it was precisely for the case she had filed. Besides the case of rape on 52 counts, she had also filed a case of frustrated homicide when he came home drunk one day and shot her on the chest. She was rushed to the emergency room, underwent surgery for profuse bleeding of her lungs and was told she had a fiftyfifty chance of surviving. Even during her stay with the Sisters, her constant thought was why her father singled her out to be abused among her three other sisters. And to think that she was the eldest daughter. She said he exhibited such a hatred for her. Like most victims (survivors would be a better term), her anger, depression and confusion brought about negative behavior, driving people away from her. She was irritable, impatient, selfish, jealous and lazy. She did not seem to have any drive in life even if so many opportunities were offered her. She did finish high school in spite of the many blocks along the way, and somehow, she also worked her way through college, finishing BS Education. Her mother had always resented her decision to file a case against her father. She revealed that her mother was a battered woman herself and worked herself to the bone while her father spent most of the ill-gotten cash he got for his drinking sprees with other men. To pay for her college tuition, she would go to the next town to buy bread early in the morning and sell to her classmates and teachers. She was in her senior year when
Love Life
she got pregnant. She lived-in with this farmer for a couple of years and experienced battering herself. When she could not take it anymore, she returned to her family and begged her mother to take care of her son. It is a miracle how she was able to go back to college to graduate. After living-in with the farmer, she had a couple more illicit relationships. Looking back, she says there was always this question in her mindWill I ever be able to love and be loved? Basically, she was looking for love in the wrong places since she never experienced that original love from her parents. What was supposed to be a loving act between married couples was rammed down on her in rape and violence. She would fall into a relationship too quickly in order to answer the nagging question of Will I always feel so alone? And because she realized that she doubted and distrusted all men, she would test it by going into risky behavior. As with most sexually- abused survivors, she was full of fear, hoping that someone would hold her
Love Life / A5
Candidly Speaking
IF the Church really has to tackle the challenges of today more effectively, I think it has to be more active in the world of public opinion. Thats where a lot of action is taking place these days, action that both reflects the flowing signs of the times and helps to shape them. Without leaving behind or neglecting, but rather enhancing and purifying the traditional means, the Church has to go beyond preaching to the choir. She has to step into the more tricky and challenging waters of the secular world. I think this is what Pope Benedict has been saying when talking about communications. True, we should not leave the pulpits, but neither should we get stuck there. We have to go to the modern Areopagi that are now the media, the Internet, the blogosphere, social networks, etc. Its important that as we tighten always to our faith, we also know how to loosen ourselves and flow with the times. We need to proclaim, explain and defend the faith there. My opinion is that we, priests, for example, should try to meet all kinds of people where they arein the immense variety of human conditionsand try to bring them where they should be. But they have to be met first where they are. And that can mean to get dirty with them. Of course, we have to clarify that when we say Church involvement in public opinion, it does not only mean the priests and bishops. In fact, they should play
Pedro C. Quitorio
Editor
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News Editor
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The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Communications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and business offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Opinion
Tidbits Voice of the Laity and the RH Bill
senses feel and the unaided brain perceives, that is, the material surface of things. It penetrates through what is merely visible and appreciates the invisible yet evident workings of God in the daily occurrences of living. It is the very same faith that we have all received during our baptism. But, thanks be to God, our Christian family and our Church have patiently nurtured this faith through the teaching of the word of God and the administration of the sacraments. The word of God serves as the light to whatever happens to the baptized, giving the daily event in life a deeper meaning than what is being sensed and felt; the sacraments allow the baptized to continually commune in a personal way the God who created him and the God who saves him. It is within this environment that the faith of our lay faithful has developed. In time there has developed in them a sensitivity for divine activity, the instinctual appreciation to give to God what belongs to God. Our lay faithful who keep the faith have a world-view in dealing with the affairs of the universe. They uphold that the ultimate reality is God the Creator of the universe and, therefore, utterly distinct from it. He is a personal God, eternal, and self-sufficient (Gn 1:1; Col 1:16). He has no beginning and no end, a God who is a person, not a force. Man is created by this God according to His own image and likeness. As such he possesses a nature that is unique in its value and dignity, possessing within himself the faculties of the intellect to know the truths
Tidbits / A7
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Abp. Antonio Ledesma, SJ
AMIDST the tensions and animosities which RH Bill has roused and whipped up, we are inspired to observe the persistent vigilance of the lay faithful. They have been there ever present in every discussion and debate to defend the sacredness of life and the rights of the family, never giving up the traditional stand of the Catholic Church vis--vis the many and formidable challenges put forward by the proponents of the proposed law. Yes, they have made the bishops proud. They are courageous bunch of individuals who have stood up for the Commandments of God and morality, the value of self-sacrifice and discipline. Many of them are faceless personalities yet brilliant and propound in their expositions of the faith to show to the postmodern citizens the existence of the bigger picture of human life. I see them in Congress explaining to the representatives of the people the value of human life and the importance of the objective standard of actions and nonnegotiable principles of morality in the legislation of a nation; I view them in T.V. parrying the objections brought forth by the RH Bill promoters, casually shrugging off some comments meant to put them on the spot and embarrass them, patiently explaining the stand of the Catholic Church on the beauty of life and the deep respect for the natural laws that govern the human body in the use of sex; I read them in the newspapers and magazines, expounding the need for discipline and morality in the exercise of sexuality, procreation, and love life. For them, the nation will be better off if it
follows the laws laid down by the Constitution, instead of resorting to contraceptives, sterilization and condoms, artificial means that downgrade human sexuality from what should be a loving act of the man and the woman into a mere exchange of bodily fluids for the sake of a fleeting pleasure. As Mr. Francisco Tatad eloquently put it: (RH Bill)... is a naked attempt to impose a hedonistic sex-oriented lifestyle upon individuals and familiesone in which marriage is reduced into a State-mediated partnership between two individuals whose primary purpose is to engage in a mechanical Statesupervised exchange of carnal sensations while doing everything to avoid its most natural consequence, namely, the conception of a child (Cf. The Truth and Half-Truths About Reproductive Health, p. 4). Mr. Leonardo Montemayor, FFF National President, in the name of the Federation of Free Farmers, issued an official Statement against the RH Bills in Congress, upholding the sacredness of human life and integrity of the Filipino family as the bedrock of Philippine society, and, among others, declared: Filipinos in general and farmers in particular consider their children a blessings to their families and as assets to society. In contrast, the RH bills seem to treat pregnancy as a disease and child-rearing as an affliction, both to be prevented or even eliminated. Such a manifestation of courage and heroism bespeaks of an interior life that has grown mature; a Christian soul that is alive and sensitive to the promptings of the Spirit; a faith that sees beyond what the
Duc in Altum
them college education, producing professionals out of them, making them good citizens and God fearing, are not really impossible tasks to do. The will and determination to live an honest and decent life is needed. Similarly, the government should have the political will to provide the basic necessities to the poor while the poor should not depend on dole-outs from politicians. To my Mother Gloria, I wish you all the best, good health and Gods blessings on your 94th birthday on June 13, the Feast of St. Anthony of Padua. *** The pro-RH Bill legislators should monitor this news from the U.S. Just a few days ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or FDA announced that they are conducting a safety review of contraceptives or birth control products containing drospirenone, a synthetic female sex hormone or progestin which may pose a serious risk of clots to women who take them. The German pharmaceutical maker is now facing lawsuits for misrepresenting the dangers associated with using contraceptivesside effects including stroke, cardiac arrest, blood clots and gallbladder problems. They should open their eyes and ears to the dangers pose by contraceptives to the health of women. As Chet Espino, convenor of Families Against the RH Bill, stated it is quite apparent that the advocates of RH Bill are misinformed about the ill effects of contraceptive use and its social costs. Sadly they continue to refuse to accept the arguments, insisting on looking at it as a religious issue and an occasion to go against the Churchin the face of extensive scientific evidence on the negative effects on the users physical, psychological and emotional well-being; its adverse effects on the economy, let alone the moral fiber of society in general. *** Let us ask the Lord for His divine guidance and assistance to enlighten the mind of our lawmakers, for them to find in their heart the rejection of RH Bill. Below is the Oratio Imperata, a mandated
Duc in Altum / A7
Spaces of Hope
I WAS recently in Cagayan de Oro to celebrate mass for a good friends mother who had turned 80. The morning after the celebration, I was at the airport for a 5:30 am flight to Cebuor so I thought. I presented my ticket to the airline personnel. She took a look at it and, with eyes squinting to check her observation, noted that the ticket was indeed for that day and timeonly that it was from Cebu to CDO! The person who had purchased my ticket had overlooked the detail and so did I. It was a senior moment as we would conveniently say. Well, as I would sometimes say to myself, I am only too glad that I still have mostly junior moments rather than the other way around. I was able to purchase another ticket for a noon flight. Meanwhile my friend, his wife, and I had breakfast together. During our meal, the conversation drifted over to the issue of the RH bill and what we were doing about it. Although we had our initiatives, we felt that we needed to do more, particularly in the area of communication. We decided to meet again in Cebu and to invite others in the Churchs network. A few days later we met in Cebu with a group of concerned Catholics. An initial discussion looked at the Churchs communication effort on the RH bill. The group saw the need to complement existing Church efforts on the bill. Several focused group discussions with young people and three other gatherings with the larger group later, a picture had emerged. In the meantime we had touched base with the Catholic Media Network and the CBCP commission on social communications. We decided to focus on the youth even as we would support efforts to lobby our legislators.
We grounded our realities with the following realizations. The bigger picture is that a large proportion of Catholics (about 85%) are not evangelized or catechized. There is a fundamental gap between the teachings of the Church and many Catholics even before we deal with the RH bill. Are we reaching the youth? An informal survey in Metro Manila done by a priest in the last quarter of 2010 among graduating students from non-Catholic universities show that 70 to 80% of them favor the RH Bill. An informal FB survey by a well-known advertising person of students from PUP and other mass-based colleges (Question: Purely from a marketing perspective, what do you think of the Churchs approach against the RH bill? What are they doing right? What can they do better?) concludes: Church responses all over the place; no focus in the overall CBCP communication strategy. In short, according to this survey, there is need for a well-thought out and consolidated communication plan. Are we doing any better among students in Catholic universities? On the other hand, there is the result of online votation on RH debate over ANC last 8 May 2011 with 34% agreeing that the bill be passed and nearly twice at 65% that the bill be trashed. But, I was told, youth bloggers had a different opinion. In my experience, I have met young people who initially favored the RH bill but eventually had a change of heart. All of them began by getting information on a single dimension of the bill and latched on to it. When further questions were raised, they eventually saw that the bill leads to more problems than provide real solutions. A case for a long-term effort at conscience
hand in the dark, tell her that he understands her and that she will be alright someday. The helplessness that the abused experienced during the violence carries on for years, needing people who can offer them alternatives instead of telling them what they should do. They have to be helped to realize that they can regain control of their life, unlike during the time when they felt that all was lost their dignity, their future, their health (some have gotten infected with STD), or their very life (abusers often hold them at gunpoint or threaten them with a knife) . Kay was assisted by the bishop in her own province (she has become an active member of her parish) to pursue the case. The Good Shepherd Sisters helped her get a pro bono lawyer who has generously been attending the court hearing and preparing
all her legal papers. She has not been charged a cent even if the lawyer would travel five hours away from Manila to attend the court case in the province. Last week, Kay sent me a text messageit will take only three more court hearings and her father will be sentenced for life. Her mother and family have accepted the fact of his deserving imprisonment. She is being hired for a permanent job as a grade school teacher this June. And she admitted, for the first time in her 24 years of life, she was able to sleep peacefully, thanks to the persistence and full support of so many people that God has sent into her life. If it seemed that the doors of her family support were closed, all this time, God had some windows wide open for so many other persons to give her strength, wisdom and love.
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Local News
THE Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has tapped Catholic bloggers to strengthen its fight against a measure on contraceptives. The CBCP has been seeking to engage more with the online world particularly in its campaign against the reproductive health (RH) bill. On June 7, officials of the CBCPs media affairs met with several bloggers, increasingly aware of the role that faith-based blogging is playing in spreading Catholicism. Lets make a new media. Lets crusade for a new media founded on solid grounds, Quitorio told the bloggers during the meeting. Media is not only about talking or writing, its more than that. In our context (as Catholics), its about delivering Christs message, he said. The meeting, said CBCP Media Office Director Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, was not designed as a how-to seminar, but rather to acknowledge the role of blogs in modern communications.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
However, many participants offered their own thoughts on the appropriate approach for Catholics engaged in blogging. Carlos Antonio Palad, a young professional and blogger, cited the need to be proactive in campaigning against the RH bill. Do not be afraid. Lets engage our enemies (in the RH bill debate), Palad said. Quitorio said the meeting was also aimed at creating a network of volunteer bloggers who will spread the Gospel of Life in cyberspace. Last month, the CBCP has launched an online portal resources on pertinent issues related to family and life issues. The portal (www.cbcpforlife.com) also contains independent position papers, as well as scientific and medical documents that back its stand against the RH bill. So another reason is that we are trying to create a voluntary support system to that (portal), Quitorio said. What we want is not just media in the Church but media as Christians, he said. (CBCPNews)
Divorce / A1
Distinction / A1
against the Aquino administration, he said. The Committee on Revision of Laws chaired by Pangasinan Congresswoman Marlyn L. Primicias-Agabas 6th District, Pangasinan) summoned stakeholders on June 1 to discuss the issues pertaining to the controversial Divorce Bill Principal authors of House Bill 1799, Gabriela Representatives Luzviminda C. Ilagan and Emerenciana A. De Jesus, said the sheer number of petitions that have been filed since 1988 for the declaration of nullity of marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code (commonly known as annulment) show that there are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages. Ilagan and De Jesus claimed that official figures disclosed 19 women were victims of marital violence daily. They also quoted a PNP report which revealed 72% of the different forms of violence against women in 2009 which reached 6,783, was wife battery. According to the authors, the DSWD has likewise recorded marital violence as the highest among different forms of violence against women at 1,933 cases. (Melo M. Acua)
Love for the family is at the core of the cultural identity of Filipinos and should not be destroyed through divorce, said Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz during a press conference at the CBCP in Intramuros on June 3. Kung sasabihin sa akin kayo na lang ang natitira, Pilipinas, na walang divorce, Salamat sa Diyos! That is a distinction! Im very proud of that! he said. The Philippines holds the distinction of being the only country in the world that has no divorce law after Malta recently legitimized divorce in a referendum. He said the Filipino culture is renowned internationally as family and children oriented. In fact, he said when the Holy Father was once asked what the Filipino culture was noted for, the pontiff said it was love for the family. And this is seen through extended families, where grandchildren, even in laws sometimes live in the same house. Amid the controversy of Reproductive Health Bill or House Bill No. 4244, divorce as a legislative proposal surfaced, making the CBCP question where the legislators are heading to. The archbishop said the introduction of reproductive health
bill and divorce bill are the upshots of globalization. He said these ideas (RH bill and Divorce) are all imported. Hindi ito kulturang Pilipino. While the country is facing many social liabilities and natural calamities, Cruz asked why divorce is being brought about instead of dealing with and resolving the countrys many problems. CBCP Secretary General Monsignor Juanito Figura said the Church is exercising pastoral prudence by teaching, reminding and asking people what their priorities are in the face of many pressing problems in the country today. Will a divorce bill answer the countrys problems such as poverty, graft and corruption and criminalities, he asked. Instead of entertaining on the possibility of divorce, he said the government should focus more on helping to strengthen the family, and the husbandand -wife relationship by finding out the reasons why they break apart. Figura said poverty, unemployment, prostitution, are the social cancers that the government should deal with instead of coming out with temporary remedies to address
the problems. Cruz said both RH and divorce bill seem to be diversionary tactics to divert the interest of the people away from the real issues. In short, and I hope Im wrong ,there is some kind of manipulation going on precisely to take the attention of the people away from the real problem, he said. The consequence of divorce in western countries gives examples on the disastrous effects it has on families, said CBCP Legal counsel Atty. Jo Imbong. Lets look at the western countries, it was a disaster. Destroyed family, destroyed children, destroy stepchild/parents relationship, everything is in havoc. Now do you want that to happen in this country, she asked? Those examples are irrefutable, kitang kita na she added. The Philippine Constitution mandates the protection of the family, Imbong said. It recognizes the sanctity of life, and marriage as a sacred union. You dont destroy or attack something that is sacred. It is not even the Church that said it but the state, she added. (CBCPNews)
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from different marginalized sectors will be attending along with Catholic bishops, priests and religious, but convenors are yet to decide on the summits exact venue in Manila. The Church official is hoping the event would gather the broadest inputs on the governments programs and policy directions and the way by which poverty will be eradicated. He also said that peoples participation may also be harnessed in partnership with the government. The gathering, Gariguez added, will also look into the countrys progress in the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) especially in education and poverty reduction. He said recommendations will be made on how to address such pressing issues to food insecurity, vulnerability to climate change and the impact of the global change. Gariguez said they will present
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an assessment of the countrys real situation to the government before President Benigno Aquino delivers his second State of the Nation Address in Congress on July 25. Regional and sectoral consultations Consultations are set to take place in various dioceses in preparation for the upcoming national summit on poverty. Simultaneous regional consultations are scheduled in the cities of Cotabato and Malaybalay on June 14-17, with Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI and Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos as convenors, respectively. The Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines as civil society organization, is in charge of the two events The Diocese of Borongan is set to hold consultation simultaneously with Bacolod diocese on June 19-21.
AMRSP and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will assist Borongan diocese. Bacolod will also get its help from AMRSP together with Climate Change Congress of the Philippines. On June 22, simultaneous consultations will be held in Tuguegarao and Sorsogon with Archbishop Diosdado Talamayan and Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi, OP. The National Secretariat of Social Action and the Department of Agriculture will provide the back-up services. Meanwhile, Bishop Ramon Villena will host the conference for the Southern Tagalog region on June 25. He will be assisted by the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales will host on June 26 the discussions with the urban poor from the National Capital Region assisted by the Climate Change Con-
gress of the Philippines; while Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez will host the consultation for laborers from the National Capital Region with the DILG and Climate Change Congress of the Philippines. A vicious cycle of dependence Gariguez said the summit is an appropriate follow-up of the Second Rural Congress held in 2008. The Second Rural Congress reported that the rural poor are trapped in a vicious cycle of dependence and hopelessness because they do not have access or control of their assets. Despite bumper harvests, the rural poor have not enjoyed them. Farmers still have to own the land they till while fisherfolks are displaced and deprived of their fishing grounds either through pollution or encroachment of large-scale fishers. Even indigenous peoples culture
and ancestral domains have been threatened by large-scale mining. Climate change has also begun to take its toll on the rural poor. This was revealed in consultations made by government offices like the Department of Agriculture, Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Environment and Natural Resources along with the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines. (with reports from Melo Acuna)
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others core interests was necessary to ensure peace. Specifically, the Philippines is contesting the reported placing of a buoy and posts by the Chinese government near a bank in the part of the South China Sea that Manila claims as its territory. (CBCPNews)
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were spared from the fish kill. Bangus and tilapia are nonnatives species of the lake and are killing the lake, Arguelles said. In fact, I am pleased with the fish kill of bangus and tilapia because they will kill Taal Lake like what they did in Laguna Lake, he said. The prelate called on the government to make the lake 100 percent fish cages free to save it before it is too late. The lake should be returned to Batangueos because most of its investors and operators are Koreans and Taiwanese, he said. Aside from maliputo and tawilis, the worlds only commercial freshwater sardine, the lake is also home to endemic species duhol, one of the only three freshwater sea snakes in the world. Arguelles said the economic benefits the people could get from the fish farms in the lake is only temporary compared to the damage it will create. But he said many people focus on immediate economic gain irrespective of the damage to the same sources they are dependent on. (CBCPNews)
kaya daw po naghihikahos ang gobyerno ay dahil walang budget for stretching. Nanggaling na mismo sa kanila ang stretching... eh di kung linagyan pa po ng pondo na pambili ng condoms at contraceptives, eh di you stretch [the budget] further. So alin po ang willing i-sacrifice ng pro-RH legislators sa budget para lang po namin maisingit ang gusto nilang pondo para sa procurement of condoms and contraceptives? Magsaysay stressed that her co-legislators are aware of the process, as they are involved in working out the budget for
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each year. Bilang mambabatas alam nila yan, na kapag magdagdag ka sa isa ng pondo, may babawasan, may pagkukunan ka. So ano pa yung pagkukunan nila just to accommodate what they want? The Zambales congresswoman became instantly recognizable among both camps of the Reproductive Health (RH) issue after a May 22 television debate about the measure. There she exposed the fact that an already existing law theMagna Carta of Women encompassed a huge portion of the RH Bill; she also stressed education and
livelihood opportunities not population control and contraceptives-dispensation as the key to the improvement of lives and the elimination of poverty, according to research. There are so many laws that we have passed. Kung talagang gusto niyo ng isang batas na dapat pangalagaan ang kalusugan ng kababaihan pregnancy complications at iba pa nandoon ako. Dapat nga iniimplement na ng pamahalaan [ang Magna Carta of Women] ngayon, dahil batas na yan eh. Yun lang po kung nakita nating talagang may namamatay pa,
ang ibig sabihin ay baka nagkulang po ang ating pamahalaan in the implementation of the law, she explained. And as far as Im concerned, yung bawat provision ng RH bill at ng Magna Carta [of] Women, Section 17, 80% po ng RH bill, encompassed na po ng Magna Carta, Magsaysay pointed out, adding that the only significant element in the reproductive health measure that is not included in the existing law is the budget for procurement of condoms, oral contraceptives and injectables. Thats why I dont mind un-
masking this point. Kailangang maintindihan ng mga tao na kapag naglagay ako ng pondo sa pambili ng contraceptives, may mababawasan na basic services na hindi kayang ibigay ng gobyerno. Magsaysay is among those scheduled to interpellate Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the Responsible Parenthood, Reproductive Health and Population and Development Act of 2011, or the RH Bill, before Congress adjourns on June 10 for a six-week recess. (Diana Uichanco)
Bagaforo also echoed the same sentiments, adding that the ARMM elections should push through as scheduled. The principle of autonomy is violated with that (Senate) vote, said Bagaforo. Voting 13-7, the senators voted for the passage of Senate Bill 2756 that would synchronize the ARMM elections with the national mid-term elections in 2013. The move is seen as concurrence to the desire of President Aquino, who had long clamored for the postponement of the elections to pave the way for much-needed reforms. Bagaforo said that the decision may not sit well with the ARMM residents and generate negative reactions from them. I think the protest on that decision will
continue, said Bagaforo. Jumoad, for his part, warned that the postponement of the elections could result to renewed political tensions in ARMM. The possibility of discontentment breeds lawlessness If the heat is too much, the pressure cannot be controlled, he said. Lethal blow to autonomy Fr. Eliseo Mercado, OMI, also the chairperson of the Kusog Mindanaw, said that what the Senate did in voting 13-7 in favor of the postponement of the ARMM elections was a lethal blow to the little autonomy and self-determination of the region. Mercado said that what the Senate did
was already an amendment of the Organic Act of the ARMM. Republic Act 9054 or the Organic Act for the ARMM provides that the President only has supervisory powers and not control over ARMM. Congresss votes in postponing the ARMM elections (the Lower House had earlier approved a bill cancelling the scheduled ARMM elections in August) also gives power to the President to appoint his hand-picked people to govern ARMM, which runs counter to the Organic Act. Mercado said that the postponement of the ARMM elections is also a blow to the peace process as it gives license to the
combatants that it is business as usual in the region. He, however, advised ARMM stakeholders to continue to fight for autonomy and self-determination. And for ARMM politicians, he urged: remove your price tag! Mercado congratulated the seven senators who voted against the cancellation of the elections, calling them the Magnificent Seven. They are Senator Chiz Escudero, Senator Serge Osmena, Senator Joker Arroyo, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senator Edgardo Angara, Senator Bong Revilla Jr. and Senator Bongbong Marcos, Jr. (CBCPNews / Bong D. Fabe)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Diocesan News
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SAN PABLO CityThe Philippines should maintain its uniqueness throughout the world of being the only country against divorce, a priest in Laguna said. Even if we are the only country in the world that has not legalized divorce, it does not mean that we have to join the bandwagon that supports it, said Fr. Jerry Oblepias, Director of the Family Life Ministry of the San Pablo Diocese. He said divorce remains to be part of the death culture that seeks to destroy the family. Once the family is destroyed, degradation of values is surely at the
donors, assisted Alo and Berdon in the laying of the cornerstone. Half of the 20-hectare property was donated to the Augustinian Order by the heirs of the late Mr. Benito Rabat while the other half was acquired by the Augustinian Province of Santo Nio de Cebu through the University of San Agustin- Iloilo City. This property will hopefully be the future site of the Colegio de San Agustin (or the University of San Agustin Mati Campus). During the program that followed the groundbreaking, Mrs. Gayta mentioned that the establishment of an educational institution in Mati was a dream Bishop Alo had shared with her father, then mayor of Mati. She said that her heart was filled with a deep sense of grati-
tude to the Lord for turning this dream into a reality. Berdon for his part also expressed his gratitude to the bishop and the land donors, citing the value of the educational apostolate of the Augustinian Order as the main reason for accepting the invitation of the bishop to establish an educational institution of higher learning in Mati. Present also during the affair were Rev. Fr. Rommel D. Par, OSA Assistant General and around 30 friars representing the different Augustinian Communities in the Philippines. Other guests who graced the momentous occasion were priests and nuns from the different parishes and religious congregations, officials from various Local Government Units, and
friends and benefactors of the Augustinians. About seventy percent of the perimeter fencing project covering the twenty-hectare area was already completed prior to the groundbreaking. The construction of the friars residence will soon start, followed by the school administration building and classrooms. At present, the friars assigned in the newly established community are Fray Efren del Rosario Objaan, OSA (House Prior), Fr. Alfonso Dayon Sedurifa, OSA (Sub-Prior), and Rev. Ronald Peaflorida Siaga, OSA Deacon (Procurator). The members of the community expressed gratitude to all the people who supported and took part in this historic event of San Agustin Mati Community. (Rev. Ronald P. Siaga, OSA)
Briefing
PNoy, JCPC urged to defer sale of Agus, Pulangi plants
CAGAYAN DE ORO CityThe Coalition of Mindanao Power Consumers urged President Aquino and the Joint Congressional Power Commission (JCPC) to defer the sale or privatization of the Agus and Pulangi Hydro Power Plants in Mindanao. In a resolution, the CMPC said that the best evaluated solution to the Mindanao power crisis is not necessarily the immediate sale of the aforementioned plants but the unbundling of the NPC-Mindanao Power Rates in order to attract more investors in the generation sector. (Bong D. Fabe)
Federalism pushed to solve Mindanao conflict
GINGOOG CityMembers of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments have agreed that the federal form of government is ripe for implementation in the country and is the needed vehicle for the long-term solution to the so-called Mindanao conflict. A shift to the federal form of government is the answer to the issue of autonomy raised by our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao. But we can only implement this through Charter Change, Committee chairperson Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos (2nd District, Misamis Occidental) said. (Bong D. Fabe)
Episcopal Church joins Catholics in rejecting RH Bill
people more than enlighten them. The topics and issues discussed there are not anymore merely economic, social or political, but do have eminently spiritual and moral implications. Theres a lot of ignorance, confusion, outright error and, yes, malice, insofar as the spiritual and moral dimensions are concerned. In the current RH debate, for example, I realize how deep and extensive are the anti-Church and anti-religion sentiments of many people, including those who were educated by our socalled Catholic schools. It makes me wonder
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what these schools have been doing for years. And we can expect more biases of this type, since we now hear not only RH, but also divorce being floated as another issue. We have reason to suspect then that more issues of this kind will comesame-sex marriage, abortion, euthanasia, etc. That seems to be trend in the world today. So we have to brace ourselves for them. Of course, we have to reinforce the traditional meansbasic catechism in parishes, schools and families. Catholic schools should see to it that they teach integral Christianity, one that is
whole and organic, alive, and not a dysfunctional Christianity, more dead than alive. At the moment, we see a Christianity that does not know how to connect conscience with Church magisterium, spiritual life with prayer and sacrifice and recourse to sacraments and ongoing formations, etc. We have to see to it that appropriate structures, both hardware and software, are put up. We have to review the programs used in the radio stations, TV channels, newspapers. We have to train the right personnel, and inspire many to enter into the new technologies.
INITAO, Misamis Oriental The primate of the Territory of Southeast Asia and Europe of the International Communion of the Charismatic Episcopal Church (ICCEC) urged the flock in the Diocese of Northern Mindanao to reject the reproductive health bill and protect the unborn. Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines said that the issue of the RH Bill is more than just a moral or as some sectors say, emotional, issue. It is a spiritual issue and thus the fight for the rights and sanctity of life is a spiritual battle, he said. (Bong D. Fabe)
RH bill supporters bankrupt of sensible arguments, priest says
Filipino youth can discern the realities that undergird the issues. But this is not all. Once these realities are identified, these realizations must be communicated effectively. In the case of the RH bill, GKN is of the opinion that the promotion of a contraceptive mentality is a dominant spirit in the RH bill. This mentality deserves to be revealed for the evil that it really is. Cutting the Gordian Knot of
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the RH bill with the youth requires, first of all, creating spaces for young people to be informed of the reasonableness of the Churchs position in order to facilitate their acceptance of such position. This can be through face-to-face meetings and the use of blogs, the YouTube, Facebook, and other forms of social networking. It also maximizes the use of stories. Principles and data are certainly needed but it
is stories that will change minds and hearts. As one branding expert puts it, There is nothing like real-life stories to move people. The arguments must hit the gut to be persuasive. Rational arguments will only add to the debate which cannot be resolved. Stories. Stories. Stories. There is power there. Of course, these efforts must be reinforced by creating media materials for disseminating
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through media, both traditional and new. In short, the Churchs sword would consist of an overall communication plan that brings different groups together for a united front. But the engagement should not rise and fall with the RH bill for promoting life should be proactive and continuing. But this is another story. I thank God for my senior moment in CDO.
SAN PABLO CityThose who say that Church oppose the reproductive health bill because it would lessen their income from the administration of the sacraments are bankrupt of sensible arguments to justify the bill, said Fr. Jerry Oblepias, Director of the Diocesan Family Life Ministry in Laguna. They could be bankrupt of arguments for saying these baseless and shallow speculations, he said. (Fr. Romy Ponte)
Manila will not fund contraceptives Mayor Lim
MANILAThe city government of Manila has never and will not spend even a single centavo on contraceptives, Mayor Alfredo Lim said. Lim said he would instead allot the city governments limited funds to education and basic services. We never bought contraceptives and we will never use the city funds for it, he said. (CBCPNews)
and facts of life, and of the will to love the good and the beautiful. This God communes with man. He is a God of historya God who not only hears the cry of the poor, but had left His throne in heaven and became man in Jesus Christ, taking everything human unto Himself except sin. His purpose is to free man from sin, the curse of suffering and death. To do that He accepted His own death, a death that is ignominious, death on the cross (cf. Ph2: 6-8). In this world-view man is to live here on earth with a purpose. As he
came from God, he too has to return to Him. But as he was endowed with the freedom of choice, he can attain only that purpose of his life by choosing the good and avoiding evil. By that, he is made responsible for all the decisions and actions that he has done to his life, to render account to the Creator, and be judged accordingly. It is this kind of world-view that gives our lay faithful courage and perseverance to stand up in defense of the Catholic faith. The Church is deeply proud of them.
prayer for special intention for the dismissal of RH Bill. Let us lead our family, officemates and neighbors in this prayer. Oratio Imperata for the Respect of all Human Life God, our loving Father, Creator and lover of all life, You fashioned in your own image and likeness every human person. Give us the strength and courage to defend and protect human
life from conception to natural death. We pray for your divine healing, comfort and peace for all affected by past abortions. Help us serve actively in alleviating the sufferings and troubles of all women with pregnancy problems. We pray that all our leaders and legislators may be guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit to act responsibly on this critical present issue. Mary, our loving Mother, to you we entrust
the cause of life. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen! Our Lady of Guadalupe, pray for us! Saint Rosa of Lima, pray for us! Saint Lorenzo Ruiz, pray for us! *** Birthday greetings go to my brother Benito, Bishop Jesse Mercado, Fr. Robert Ramos, Merle Desiderio, Marie Perez, Fe Abina, Boy Marcelo and Man Caballero.
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CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
JESUIT Communications is celebrating its 25th anniversary in the music ministry with a choir recollection at the Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord, SM Megamall on June 11. The event, dubbed as an afternoon of friendship and camaraderie and of rekindling the commitment to the music ministry will actually start at 10:00 am and will go on until 4:00 pm. Bro. Atoy Salazar, SJ, Director of the Jesuit Music Ministry, and Fr. Manoling Francisco, SJ, will guide the recollection while Hangad and Bukas Palad will lead the participants in song and prayer. The recollection will culminate with a Holy Mass in the afternoon. Participants will be issued tickets for P50.00 donation to help defray cost of recollection materials and ensure a comfortable seating arrangement. Tickets will be available at Tanging Yaman outlets at the 5th level of SM Megamall, Loyola House of Studies, and Jesuit Communications. Interested individuals may also log on to www.bukaspalad.com, connect with organizers on social networking sites (www.facebook. com/bukaspalad and www.twitter.com/ bukaspalad), email at info@bukaspalad.com, or text/call +63916-5759798. (CBCPNews)
Vinoya conducted a seminar-workshop on The Reality of the Youth Today aimed to strengthen the Juniors living of the Pauline charism and mutual understanding and friendship that characterize their being Paulines. She also discussed the world and language of the contemporary youth from the viewpoints of a) scientific research, b) the experience of those who
work with the youth, and c) the youth themselves. She also highlighted several coordinates for a critical reading of the youth that are helpful for accompaniment of the youth. The talk served as an eye-opener for the Juniors about the context of the youth they are ministering to through their specific charism in the Pauline Family. For his part, Gamutan gave an input
titled Navigating through Ministerial Boundaries aimed to guide the young Paulines in learning about ministerial boundaries and on what makes for healthy and holy ministerial relationships. Gamutan stressed the importance of maintaining boundaries as a form of accountability to the people we serve. According to him, good boundaries
help a religious live a balanced and integrated life, both among peers and the people they serve. He also said that a climate of safety and freedom is created when one lives within the parameters of his/her commitment as a consecrated person. Pearedonda meanwhile, expounded on Pauline mentality and spirituality through her talk, Soul and Body for Evangelization, guiding the Juniors in affirming their dedication and commitment to the apostolate as an expression of their authentic love for God. She invited the Juniors to constantly cultivate a life of interiority, by allowing the spirit of St. Paul to lead them into being happy Paulines and to possessing the spirit of Christ as he did during his lifetime. The Shepherdess sister also facilitated the Circles of Love activity where the Juniors affirmed each other about his/ her giftedness as a Pauline. The three-day conference was held in the various Institutes of the Pauline Family in Manila area. (Sr. Maria Jose Lorilla, FSP)
Markings
INSTALLED. Fr. Jean Rollin Marie Flores, SSP was installed as parish priest of the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish by Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales on May 29, 2011. Fr. Flores is a member of the Congregation of the Society of St. Paul, whose apostolic ministry is evangelization through the means of social communication. CELEBRATED. Nine members of the Society of the divine Word (Central Province), one of them a former diocesan priest have professed their final vows at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay City last Sunday, May 22, 2011. Bangued Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian, SVD was main celebrant during the Eucharistic celebration while Fr. Jimenez, SVD accepted the vows. Those who professed their perpetual vows were Sherwin Tristan Aromin, Binmaley, Pangasinan; Louie Chris Gregorio, Davao City; John Paul Marquez, Manaoag, Pangasinan; Reniel Nachimma, Mayoyao, Ifugao; Sedfrey Nebres, Legazpi City; Gilbert Razon, Digos Davao del Sur; Peter Tran, Vietnam; John Mark Veloso, Tagbilaran City; and Fr. Peter Li Mei from China.The newly-professed missionaries are awaiting their first-ever mission assignments. CONFERRED. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has conferred the Ecclesiastical award Dame of the Order of St. Sylvester to nine illustrious Cebuanas, distinguished by their works of charity and long service to the Church. Dames Anita Cabinian, Julia Gandionco, Rosa Maria Garcia, Conchita Go, Lourdes Jereza, Lourdes Vilma Lee, Anita Sanchez, Alita Solon and Mariquita Yeung were conferred the papal award for their selfless service to the Church and the underprivileged during ceremonies held at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral on May 25, 2011. DIED. Fr. Ariel Sumpay, 38, of cardiac arrest, May 13, 2011. Fr. Sumpay was the parish priest of Nuestra Seora de Salvacion Parish in Banga Caves, ragay, Camarines Sur in the diocese of Libmanan at the time of his death. His body was found afloat the waters around Daruanak Island in Pasacao. According to Diocese of Libmanan website, Sumpay was with the staff of Caritas diocese of Libmanan (CdL) learning the rudiments of diving in relation with CDLs current ECC-sponsored Coastal Resource Management, when the event happened.
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in their parishes or dioceses. Their documents should really satisfy their objective and intention in joining the actual celebration, Garganta said. But the CBCP official said the WYD celebration in Madrid on
August 15-21 is not just limited to those who are active in the Church. According to him, what is really important is the applicants groundedness in their intention to join the gathering and
not just to become tourists. They can also be screened based on their involvement in their communities, Garganta said. The ECY is assisting Churchbased applicants in their documents and acting as the visa coordinator with an endorsement by its chairman, Bishop Joel Baylon of Legazpi. It is us who will be asked by the (Spanish) consulate [on] the standing of the participants so its really a huge responsibility, Garganta added. So it is very important for us to ensure the sincerity of those who will be going to Madrid, he reiterated. The Church official acknowledged that some Filipino delegates did not return from the 2002 celebration in Canada and Germany in 2005. Garganta added the Spanish consulate has set June 30 as the deadline for all visa applications. (CBCPNews)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
(Address delivered by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy Sees permanent representative to the U.N. offices in Geneva at the Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries [LDC-IV]; held May 9-13 in Istanbul.)
Mr. President, 1. The LDCs development paradigm implemented over the past years has proven ineffective. Since the early 2000s the continued growth (7% per year from 2002 to 2007) in many LDCs has not translated into an improved situation for the people. The number of very poor people has actually increased (more than 3 million per year from 2002 to 2007). In 2007, 59% of the population in African LDCs was living on less than USD 1.25 per day. 2. Currently the growth in many of these countries comes primarily from the exploitation and export of natural resources, especially mineral reserves, while growth across other sectors is not robust or consistent. Unfortunately the growth that is realized in the extractives sector is the subject of many controversies on revenue distribution and local community impact, and only creates a significant number of jobs in the exploratory and build up phase of the project but very few that are long term. This correlates with ILO research that shows the labor force in LDC countries increasing by 2.5% per year but the opportunities for employment are not commensurate with either the robust growth or the demand for employment. The impact of these limited employment opportunities is experienced particularly by the young and those who are entering the work force for the first time. The success stories are found in countries that have created some productive capacities such as horticulture, in the cases of Uganda and Ethiopia. Ghana and Kenya that are not LDCs have also shown good performance in this area. 3. The analysis of this current reality in the LDC group has led UNCTAD, in its Least Developed Countries report 2010, to propose a new international development architecture that calls for a more comprehensive approach to the challenges of development. It should be noted that at the session of the UNCTADs Trade Development Board (TDB) dedicated to LDCs, the majority of the groups were in favor of the proposed new international architecture for development. Several groups also insisted on the need to include specific considerations for post conflict management situations, the reconstruction of infrastructures and agricultural production, while others have insisted that regional approaches to these issues be considered. The Holy See supports this new approach and will focus its intervention on three themes. 4. The first theme looks at the Pillars of integral human development. In the encyclical letter Caritas in Veritate that was released on 7 July 2009, Pope Benedict XVI reviews the foundational teaching on development that was presented in the encyclical letter of Pope Paul VI, On the Progress of Peoples (Populorum Progressio) in 1967: development cannot be limited to mere economic growth. In order to be authentic, it must be complete: integral, that is, it has to promote the good of every man and of the whole man.1 It is important that we recall this foundational teaching on the nature of development and recover its central truth as we reflect on the specific challenges that the LDCs present at this ministerial conference. Since 1967 numerous theories and approaches to development have been proposed and tested and this has resulted in a much deeper understanding of the complex and evolving challenges that any consideration of this topic presents. It remains however true that there are still millions who have little or no access to the goods and benefits that development offers. An honest evaluation of the progress that has been made is reflected in the words of the Holy Father who writes that ...progress, remains an open question, made all the more acute and urgent by the current economic and financial crisis. If some areas of the globe, with a history of poverty, have experienced remarkable changes in terms of their economic growth and their share in world production, other zones are still living in a situation of deprivation comparable to that which existed at the time of Paul VI, and in some cases one can even speak of a deterioration.2 In numerous other evaluations, including the aforementioned UNCTAD report, we have been reminded that a comprehensive and inclusive framework for international development is essential who are entering the employment sector. In LDCs for example, the agricultural value added for workers rose three times more slowly than the GDP per capita over the last 20 years. At the same time, LDCs dependence on imported food commodities has greatly increased (multiplied by 3 between 2000 and 2008). As a result it is among the 2.5 billion people dependent on agriculture for their daily sustenance that one finds most of the people who suffer from malnutrition and hunger. Any growth model that is adopted therefore must recognize and strengthen the central role of agriculture in economic activity; thereby reducing malnutrition in rural areas and increasing production per person in order to enhance local, regional or national food independence. Investments to improve productivity are required in the areas of seeds, training, sharing of tools for cultivation and by the presence of such actors as corporations, private foundations and private investors. There is, we believe, a need and room for all of these actors for they can bring different perspectives, modes of operating and can thereby make unique contributions to the development that is needed in LDCs. In this environment, however, the role of the state and of regional, international and global authorities is critical and must be supported and respected. Combined with the Catholic perspective on the responsibility of the state to guarantee the public order and promote the common good, these bodies must play a pivotal role in orchestrating and directing LDC development. This can be especially challenging in a post-conflict context and especially so in a failed state situation. The teaching of our tradition, when it comes to the responsibility of governments to enact the legal framework and rules so that financial and commercial activities fulfill their social purpose and function smoothly, has consistently asserted a positive role for a limited government, that is neither libertarian or collectivist. It became clear during the 2008 financial crisis that the market does not naturally contain in itself the ingredients for an automatic correction of errors and would have led to a collapse of the financial and economic system if the states had not acted. The rescue of the banks, necessary as it has been, did not prevent the painful impact of the crisis on the population since ultimately the correction of the markets vagaries is carried out to the detriment of populations, states have a duty to intervene pre-emptively to avoid such suffering. The articulation of political authority at the local, national and international levels is one of the best ways of giving direction to the process of economic globalization. It is also the way to ensure that it does not actually undermine the foundations of democracy. While recognizing the benefits of free trade to promote development and therefore the urgency to close the gap at an affordable price in case of shock and they can play a moderating role against the volatility of local prices. The developmental state plays a unique and key role in the development of a country and with other regional and international authorities is expected to coordinate appropriate and constructive plans. In addition to the tasks already mentioned above, the responsibility of mobilizing the domestic resources that are regarded as a critical component of stable financing for government priorities and development needs has been identified as essential. This is a tedious and complicated undertaking, especially where no basic framework or infrastructure exists to advance such an objective. Alongside the other resources like FDI (Foreign Direct Investment), ODA (Official Development Assistance) and remittances from local citizens working abroad, these domestic resources will play an essential role in any development plan. Corporations: The presence of private corporations in communities, societies and countries continues to grow and they have a far reaching impact wherever they are located. Their influence on development, depending on their size and footprint, in local communities and across broad sections of society can be significant and should be monitored and evaluated by the state. They should also be expected to fulfill their obligations as good corporate citizens by keeping in mind according to the Holy Father that, business management cannot concern itself only with the interests of the proprietors, but must also assume responsibility for all the other stakeholders who contribute to the life of the business: the workers, the clients, the suppliers of various elements of production, the community of reference.7 Private Finance and Development; The presence of private finance institutions and actors, such as private equity and hedge funds, in countries and regions across the world continues to increase. Facilitated by the continued expansion and integration of all aspects of the global financial system, their presence presents a unique set of challenges in LDCs. It is important that LDCs be in a position to benefit from their presence and assure that their activities are making a contribution to lasting development. Once again Pope Benedict reminds all actors in this space and this applies especially to those investors in LDCs that, What should be avoided is a speculative use of financial resources that yields to the temptation of seeking only short-term profit, without regard for the long-term sustainability of the enterprise, its benefit to the real economy and attention to the advancement, in suitable and appropriate ways, of further economic initiatives in countries in need of development. It is true that the export of investments and skills can benefit the populations of the receiving country. Labour and technical knowledge are a universal good. Yet it is not right to export these things merely for the sake of obtaining advantageous conditions, or worse, for purposes of exploitation, without making a real contribution to local society by helping to bring about a robust productive and social system, an essential factor for stable development.8 7. Conclusion In conclusion, Mr. President, LDCs conPromote / B7
Pastoral Concerns
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if any enduring results are to be achieved. In the Catholic Social Teaching tradition the pillars for such framework have been identified as follows: respect for human dignity; protection of human rights; care of creation; participation in community, subsidiarity and solidarity. Other pillars that are judged to be constitutive of an integral development plan are education; natural resource exploitation; agriculture; manufacturing; trade; financial services; infrastructure and technology. As we continue to reflect on the specific challenges which development presents in LDCs it remains imperative that these pillars serve as a guide in our efforts to promote and sustain an approach to development that is integral and authentically human.3 5. The second theme deals with the kind of growth necessary for integral human development. Any approach to the challenge of development must recognize that the development of individuals and peoples depends partly on the resolution of problems of a spiritual nature. Development must include not just material growth but also spiritual growth.4 Too often the use of quantifiable metrics and economic criteria to measure such realities as gross domestic product or the narrow horizon of stock market growth fails to capture the full measure of what it means to be human, fails to appreciate the transcendent dimension of the person and therefore what it takes to promote the development of the whole person. Growth therefore that promotes integral human development is one that is inclusive of the pillars already mentioned above and evaluated by how well it promotes sustainable development and communities, creates decent jobs, alleviates peoples poverty and protects the environment. A model of growth that includes these objectives will build a domestic economic and commercial cycle that is sustainable, respects the environment and promotes development. Among the necessary elements in this growth model, especially in LDCs, are a vibrant agriculture sector and job creation across a number of sectors that will engage the large number of people
of the means for marketing. Structural changes are also demanded according to the specificity of individual states. For example, we must ensure security of land tenure for farmers, especially for those with small landholdings. The customary right of land ownership may be reconsidered. A clear property right gives the farmer the opportunity to pledge his land in exchange for seasonal credit to purchase necessary inputs. In addition, the aim of land tenure has now become increasingly important in the face of the expansion of the phenomenon of land grabbing. In Sub-Saharan Africa, 80% of the land is occupied by poor who have no land title. Across all sectors of society from agriculture to manufacturing to delivery of services we must remember that decent work expresses the essential dignity of every man and woman in the context of their particular society: work that is freely chosen, effectively associating workers, both men and women, with the development of their community.5 Work is not a commodity. Decent work gives everyone the opportunity to use his own talents and to be creative; it is a motor of sustainable growth at the service of the common good and so it must be a central objective of the new architecture. The final goal, then, is the creation of a work that makes it possible for families to meet their needs and provide schooling for their children, without the children themselves being forced into labor; work that permits the workers to organize themselves freely, and to make their voices heard; work that leaves enough room for rediscovering ones roots at a personal, familial and spiritual level; work that guarantees those who have retired a decent standard of living.6 6. The third theme to be kept in mind is the role of the State in promoting integral human development. The number of institutions, agents and actors in the development space has increased exponentially over the years. The official development commitments of governments alongside those of voluntary organizations have been substantial during that time. They have now been joined and in some instances are dwarfed
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in the Doha Development round, the implementation of the commitments to introduce duty free, quota free access to the market for the LDCs should be accompanied by adequate measures to protect farmers against price volatility which has a strong impact on food security for several reasons: high prices make food unaffordable for the poor and temporarily low prices give farmers the incorrect information on needed seedlings after harvest for the following year. To prevent price volatility or at least weaken its impact, local food crops need to be protected against sudden disruptions in international prices. For example, the establishment of regional stockpiles of raw food (cereals, oil, sugar) can have a twofold benefit: these stocks can be sold
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Updates
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Introduction The universal theme of the Year for Priests, launched by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 June 2009 was: Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of Priests. That entire year was a wonderful occasion for the whole Church to reflect on the identity and ministry of priests, which is none other than the identity and ministry of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ himself. Allow me to recall at the outset what is specific in the sacramental character received in Holy Orders: not only a participation in the priesthood of Jesus Christ (which is proper to the universal or royal priesthood of all Christs faithful), but rather a configuration in persona Christi capitis, which therefore constitutes the priest in a sacred ministeralter Christus, ipse Christusin the midst of the community of believers, at the service of and in order to nourish the universal priesthood of all the faithful. As Bl. John Paul II explained in , n.14: For the sake of this universal priesthood of the new covenant Jesus gathered disciples during his earthly mission (cf. Lk. 10:1-12), and with a specific and authoritative mandate he called and appointed the Twelve to be with him, and to be sent out to preach and have authority to cast out demons (Mk. 3:14-15). However, that entire years reflection might very well be an exercise in futility, were it to be left precisely at the level of speculative thought. In effect, there is abundant literature on the life and ministry of priests from charming biographies like those of the Cur dArs himself to treatises like those of Alphonsus Ligouri; from Papal Exhortations like Pastores dabo vobis to veritable Instructions like the Directory on the Life and Ministry of Priests. Despite all these, however, there continues to be glaring manifestations of lack of priestly holiness, not just in the past but even in the very year that was supposedly dedicated to foster priestly sanctity and fidelity. Hence, the importance of Canon Law. Because Canon Law begins where theology endsi.e., in the level of due if not enforceable human conduct. Whereas moral, sacramental and even pastoral theology can only indicate what is fitting and
One observes that by itself, c.276, 1 may be doomed to go the way of many well-meaning but ineffective pastoral initiatives and guidelines. Staying within that section, one remains in the level of a desideratum, or in more juridical terms a pretension. Such pretension needs to be articulated into enforceable norms. Put another way, the pretension of priestly holiness needs to be spelled out into a set of normative conduct. This is what c.276, 2 sets out to do, clearly stating: In order for them to pursue this
to fulfill the duties of pastoral ministry. Before going any further, I think it is important to clarify the concept of pastoral ministry. In effect, under the guise of pastoral ministry, almost every conceivable initiative has been taken up by ordained ministersranging from works of purely material beneficence (e.g., relief of calamity victims) to socio-political and economic initiatives (e.g., education for the upcoming elections, parishbased mechanisms for the protection of the electoral process,
alleviating the socio-economic, political or even medical conditions of the people, carried out by ecclesiastical organizations with the help of the Hierarchy. What I want to do is to point out the danger of substituting the genuine pastoral function of the clerics with other charitable works, thereby confusing the priestly mission of the Pastors with that of the faithful in general. The Code of Canon Law spells out this particular imperative abundantly, both in general provisions and as regards the administration of each of the
In effect, one cannot help but wonder if the aforementioned cases of wayward initiatives of individual priests could have prospered had they been totally consumed by assignments of a genuinely pastoral nature from their legitimate hierarchical superiors. 2) Duty of residence: Even if they do not have a residential office, clerics nevertheless are not to leave their diocese for a notable period of time, to be determined by particular law, without at least the presumed permission of their proper Ordinary (c.283, 1). This
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provision specifies further the availability of clerics for pastoral assignments by limiting their absence from the diocese. Indeed, it would be much more difficult for clerics to fall into unhealthy activismwith initiatives that are not strictly pastoralwere their presence in their own ecclesiastical circumscriptions more strictly enforced. 3) Prohibition from assuming public office: Clerics are forbidden to assume public offices which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power (c.285, 3). The relevance of this norm to the canonical imperative in question is quite clear: The cleric cannot give his 100% dedication to the pastoral ministry, were he to also participate in the exercise of civil government. For the priest, the Lords mandate to render unto Caesar what is Caesars and to God what is Gods takes on an absolute value: The priest simply owes 100% of his potencies to God and his Church. Aside from strictly pastoral duties, the priest simply has no other time or energy for much else. 4) Prohibition from engaging in business: Clerics are forbidden personally or through others to conduct business or trade either for their own benefit or that of others, without the permission of legitimate ecclesiastical authority (c.286). It is interesting to note that the prohibition is quite all-encompassing: neither personally nor through others, neither for their own benefit nor for other (i.e., not even for their flock). The logic again is quite simple: a priest is ordained for pastoral tasksthe tria munera Christi and not for other activities, unless legitimate authority permits (obviously for special reasons). (To be continued)
NOTES:
1 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Exhortation, Pastores dabo vobis, 25.III.1992. To my mind, this is one of the best syntheses of the Conciliar doctrine on the identity and mission of priests. 2
Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests, 31.I.1994. I consider this as the best little manual for the life and ministry of priests, a veritable vademecum specifically for the secular clergy who many times suffer precisely from a lack of specifically secular spirituality, as compared to the members of religious orders or societies of apostolic life who enjoy well-defined norms and means of ongoing formation that safeguard fidelity to their vocation.
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following query:)
Q: In our archdiocese there is no uniformity in the way the altar is prepared or laid out for liturgical celebrations. In some cases, the altar is dressed as a conference table; in others, the stone is never seen the whole year round, with the exception of Holy Thursday when it is stripped. My question is: How should the altar for liturgical celebration be arranged?V.A.F., Bamenda, Cameroon A: Total uniformity is probably not possibleand maybe not even desirable. In the first place, the missal itself offers several legitimate options, and second, the most appropriate layout depends on such factors as the size of the altar and sanctuary area as well as the possibilities of each parish. I will attempt to illustrate the various possibilities so that at least a common denominator can be established. The altar should be covered by at least one white altar cloth (see the General Instruction of the roman Missal, No. 304). It should at the very least cover the entire top of the altar table and preferably hang down on either side. It may also have a hanging fringe on the front and/or back of the altar, but this is not obligatory. It may be plain or adorned, in accordance with local tradition. If other cloths are used, then the white altar cloth is always the uppermost one. This cloth is obligatory for Mass and may be removed after the celebration. However, it is probably best to reserve the symbol of the stripped altar for Holy Thursday and Good Friday, and for this reason it is best to leave the altar cloth habitually upon the altar. Outside of Mass it is good to cover the altar cloth with another simple cloth or cover so as to keep it clean at all times. If desired and useful, another cloth may also be placed underneath the altar cloth. These undercloths may be of a different color and of a heavier textile than the altar cloth. This helps avoid creases and gives greater stability to the altar cloth. It is also a possible to use an antependium, or frontal. This cloth usually comes to the ground in front of the altar. It is usually a goodquality fabric a n d often embroidered with liturgical symbols. It may be white or the color of the liturgical season. Its use would not normally be recommendable if the altar is itself a significant work of art that is best left exposed. The crucifix should be placed upon the altar or near it (see GIrM, No. 308). The cross should be large enough to be visible to the faithful. In general, there should be only one crucifix in the altar area. Benedict XVI has promoted the practice of placing the cross at the center cross is large enough, it may double as an altar cross. Should there be a fixed cross in the sanctuary, the processional cross is placed out of view after the entrance procession. Two, four or six candles may be placed near or upon the altar (GIrM, No. 307). Seven may be used if the diocesan bishop c e l ebrates Mass. The candles may be arranged in several ways, but they should not obscure the view of the ritual action on the altar. In s o m e places the custom has develo p e d of using two candles for weekday Masses, four for feasts, and six for Sundays, solemnities and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. With respect to flowers, GIRM, No. 305, says: Moderation should be obwww.s0.geograph.org.uk
of the altar between the priest and the people, but the present norms do not require this position. It is also possible to suspend the crucifix above the altar or on the wall behind it. If the processional
served in the decoration of the altar. During Advent the floral decoration of the altar should be marked by a moderation suited to the character of this season, without expressing prematurely the full joy of the Nativity of the Lord. During Lent it is forbidden for the altar to be decorated with flowers. Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent), Solemnities, and Feasts are exceptions. Floral decorations should always be done with moderation and placed around the altar rather than on its mensa. regarding other elements necessary for Mass, No. 306 of the GIrM gives the overarching principle: Only what is required for the celebration of the Mass may be placed on the mensa of the altar: namely, from the beginning of the celebration until the proclamation of the Gospel, the Book of the Gospels; then from the Presentation of the Gifts until the purification of the vessels, the chalice with the paten, a ciborium if necessary, and, finally, the corporal, the purificator, the pall, and the Missal. In addition, microphones that may be needed to amplify the priests voice should be arranged discreetly. Therefore, it is not good liturgical practice to leave the corporal, missal, microphone, etc., habitually upon the altar. We have not been able to offer our reader a uniform criterion for the arrangement of the altar, but then this lack of total uniformity is something contemplated by the Church herself. We hope that what we have offered will at least offer some guidance in removing obviously erroneous practices.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Features
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(Starting this issue, this section will serialize the ALFI RH Issue Papers of the ALLiance for the FAMILY Foundation, Inc.Eds)
What is even more surprising is that when we look at NSCB estimates on Contraceptive Prevalence rates (the % of currently married women
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Womens Rights
ALFI RH Issue Papers #2
HB 4244, Section 2. Declaration of Policy, paragraph 2 states: Moreover, the State recognizes and guarantees the promotion of gender equality, equity and womens empowerment as a health and human rights concern. The advancement and protection of womens human rights shall be central to the efforts of the State to address reproductive health care. As a distinct but inseparable measure to the guarantee of womens human rights, the State recognizes and guarantees the promotion of the welfare and rights of children. Section 3. Guiding Principles (d) The provision of medically safe, legal, accessible, affordable and effective reproductive health care services and supplies is essential in the promotion of peoples right to health, especially of the poor and marginalized; (k) Gender equality and women empowerment are central elements of reproductive health and population and development; The proponents of HB 4244 claim that their bill champions the advancement and protection of womens rights. The medical facts regarding the following sideeffects of oral contraceptive pill (OCP in short) belie this claim: * The low-dose pill is a combination of two types of artificial hormones estrogen and progestins taken by women for 21 days out of a 28 day cycle. It works by suppressing but not eliminating ovulation, thickening the cervical mucus, and by changing the lining of the uterus to prevent implantation of the fertilized ovum. * OCPs increases the risk of breast cancer by 40% if taken before a woman delivers her first baby. Secretary Cabral publicly acknowledged that the pill causes breast cancer although she later claimed that the pill reduces ovarian cancer. Does she mean to imply that taking the pill is just a matter of choosing from a menu of cancers. * The risk increases by 70% if taken for four or more years before the first child is born. * Other side effects: high blood pressure, blood clots, stroke, heart attack, depression, weight gain, migraine, dark spots on the skin; difficulty in breast feeding; Increase in sugar level (for diabetics); AIDS virus more easily transmitted to women on the pill. * return of fertility for women who stop taking the pill may often take a year or longer. * Since the pill is an abortifacient it can induce abortion before the womans first full term pregnancy. In this case the womans risk of breast cancer increases by 50%. Depo-provera is long acting protestin hormone that is injected into every three months. Its mode of action is to also decrease ovulation, inhibit sperm transport and change the uterine lining. It has the following side-effects: * Women who take DepoProvera for two years or more before the age of 25 will have at least 190% increased risk in developing breast cancer. * Depo-Provera reduces bone density and worsens the womans cholesterol level. * Women using Depo-Provera for at least five years have 430% increased risk for cervical cancer. * In US 50,000 women have participated in law suits against pharmaceuticals producing injectables citing complaints of irregular bleeding, scarring, painful muscles, and headaches Norplant, the Patch, the Morning After Pill, the monthly injection Lunelle, hormone impregnated IUDs and vaginal inserts. Except for Norplant all these others are new and unsearched. * They all use the same chemicals as the Pill and can be expected to generally have the same effects. * In 2004when 800,000 women were on the patch in the USthe risk of dying or suffering a survivable blood clot while using the device was about three times higher than while using birth control pills. (Associated Press, from Federal Drug Safety reports under the Freedom of Information Act) * In fact all chemical contraceptives have proven to be highly associated with heart and blood abnormalities: blood clots, hypertension and premature
cardiovascular arterial diseases. * All chemical contraceptives are associated with liver tumors which do not manifest harmful even when they become malignant. Given these side-effects how can promoting a reproductive Health program that is anchored on the distribution of oral contraceptive pills promote the advancement and protection of womens rights? respect for the rights of women and the guarantee of freedom of choice should go hand in hand with full information about the health risks and the contra-indications of the various artificial contraceptive methods. This is the real meaning of informed choice in medical ethics. This is not the tenor of the following provisions of HB 4244 which pertain to freedom of choice: Section 3, Guiding Principles a) Freedom of choice, which is central to the exercise of this right, must be fully guaranteed by the State. g) The provision of reproductive health information, care and supplies shall be the joint responsibility of the National Government and Local Government Units; Section 4, Definition of Terms defines Family Planning refers to a program which enables couples, individuals and women to decide freely and responsibly the number and spacing of their children, acquire relevant information on reproductive health care, services and supplies and have access to a full range of safe,
legal, affordable, effective natural and modern methods of limiting and spacing pregnancy; Section 4 also defines Reproductive Health Care refers to the access to a full range of methods, facilities, services and supplies that contribute to reproductive health and well-being by preventing and solving reproductive healthrelated problems. It also includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and personal relations. The elements of reproductive health care include: (1) family planning information and services; (2) maternal, infant and child health and nutrition, including breastfeeding; (3) proscription of abortion and management of abortion complications; (4) adolescent and youth reproductive health; (5) prevention and management of reproductive tract infections (RTIs), HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmittable infections (STIs); (6) elimination of violence against women; (7) education and counseling on sexuality and reproductive health; (8) treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers and other gynecological conditions and disorders; (9) male responsibility and participation in reproductive health; (10) prevention and treatment of infertility and sexual dysfunction; (11) reproductive health education for the adolescents; and (12) Mental health aspects of RH care;
Reproductive Health Rights refer to the rights of couples, individuals and women to decide freely and responsibly whether or not to have children; to determine the number, spacing and timing of their children; to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence; to have relevant information; and to attain the highest condition of sexual and reproductive health; Nowhere in all these definitions does it make any reference to inform women of the harmful effects of contraceptives and the need for a competent medical professional to ensure that women who have manifest contraindications are not given these chemical contraceptives given the heightened harmful risks that these contraceptives would pose to their health. The fact that can be easily verified at the field level is that the working definition of informed choice used in HB 4244 is the narrow definition of simply listing all the available methods. Naturally this definition is not compliant with the standards of medical ethics. Where is the respect for the advancement of women that HB 4344 boasts? There is another corollary ethical issue involved. In other countries particularly the US many pharmaceuticals have had to face legal suits as a consequence of the harmful effects of chemical contraceptives. HB 4244 is a Government funded program. Are we financially prepared to foot the medical bill for all the
women who will suffer from the harmful side effects of these contraceptives? Are we willing to put at stake the financial viability of PhilHealth to cover the medical expenses this will involve. This Government program is specifically targeted to the C, D, E socio-economic classes of our society. Targeting the program to the poor is the mandate found in: SEC. 13. Roles of Local Government in Family Planning Programs. - The LGUs shall ensure that poor families receive preferential access to services, commodities and programs for family planning. The role of Population Officers at municipal, city and barangay levels in the family planning effort shall be strengthened. The Barangay Health Workers and Volunteers shall be capacitated to give priority to family planning work. The poor are the least able to afford extra medical expenses. Are we going to be responsible for adding the medical expenses to the already heavy burden of poverty they face? Might it be said that the serious shortcomings of this bill arises from the fact that this should have been jointly studied by the Committee on Population and Family relations and the Committee on Health. It is therefore respectfully moved that this bill be recommitted to the Committee on Health.
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Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
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Constitutional considerations Would absolute divorce legislation be pursuant to the text, context and spirit of the 1987 Constitution? In light of repeated declarations in the Constitution, how could absolute divorce strengthen the Filipino family? asked Imbong. According to Article XV, Section 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State. Likewise, The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. How would absolute divorce make the family an inviolable social institution? It is untenable to say that by destroying the family, it is strengthened, and by dividing the family, it is made inviolable, the lawyer said, adding that it is precisely the absence of absolute divorce in the Philippines that has kept many couples together through thick and thin till the end. A law on absolute divorce already threatens to violate the matrimonial vows even before they are pronounced, Imbong stressed, making couples open to divorce even before they in fact get married. Stripping marriage of its inviolable nature is to openly tell to every child born of the marital union that he has but temporary parents, and has also a temporary family. This is nothing less than gross parental injustice to the children they brought to this world, she added. Ilocos Norte rep. rodolfo Farias weighed in on the permanence of the institution of marriage. Ang kasal ay for better or for worse. Hindi naman po puwedeng puro happy-happy lang. At sa Amerika alam niyo may divorce. Mahigit kalahati sa kinakasal doon, [end up] divorced...dahil puwede eh. Ngayon kung ayaw mo na sa mister mo, puwede naman maghiwalay. Pero huwag ka nang magpakasal ulit para matuto naman tayo... kung mistake natin eh panagutan naman natin yung mistake natin, the congressman remarked. Imbong ended her statement by alluding to the basics of the States duty to the family. Would it be incongruous to ask why this much is being proposed in Congress on how to remedy difficult marriages while practically nothing is said and proposed to strengthen marriages and prevent marriage failures? No specific date has been set for another committee hearing on the bill, which was filed under the Committee on the revision of Laws.
and filed Kidnapping and Failure to Return a Minor under Article 270 of the revised Penal Code against the Sarmiento couple on September 20, 2010. Later, Olongapo City Prosecutor Melani Fay T. Banarez, ruled in favor of Teresita and the case was filed in court. It went to Court Branch 73 where the same case for Habeas Corpus had been filed and heard and where the accused Lourdes Sarmiento was, and is still is the Court Social Worker. The odds were stacked against Teresita. On April 25, 2011, the judge Norbert Pamintuan did not inhibit himself but dismissed the kidnapping charges. He has dismissed up to seven child rape cases based on affidavits of desistance. Judge Pamintuan ruled in favor of Sarmiento, his own accused social worker saying probable cause to issue a warrant of arrest against the accused-spouses is wanting and because the mother did not get hysterical or emotional in the court and demand back her children and because she signed an affidavit of consent of adoption according to Judge Norbert Pamintuan. Teresita denied she ever gave consent, a mother giving away her new born is highly unlikely. She is illiterate, not have reached grade 5 and cant read English legal documents. She has been fighting for her children for almost four years. Besides, the judge should have inhibited himself and not pass judgment on his own social worker who is the accused. By now in May 2011, the dedicated Prosecutor ria Sususco, a special prosecutor from the Department of Justice, is fighting the case for Teresita. However the judge has ruled against the prosecutor and denied all her motions for reconsideration and the mother was never allowed to testify on her own behalf. Isnt that Justice denied?
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Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
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essential. Even in one who remains linked to his Christian roots, but lives the difficult relationship with modernity, it is important to make it understood that being Christian is not a sort of uniform to wear in private or on particular occasions, but is something alive and all-encompassing, able to take up all that is good in modernity. I hope that in the work of these days you will be able to delineate a plan able to help the whole Church and the various particular Churches, in a commitment to the New Evangelization; a plan where the urgency for a renewed proclamation will take care of formation, in particular for the new generations, and be combined with a proposal of concrete signs able to make evident the answer that the Church intends
manifests itself when it flows, not when it ceases to be poured out. And it was in this way that, through the Apostles, grace also reached others, who were sent to proclaim the Gospel ... what is more, it has continued to call, up to these last days, the whole body of his only-begotten Son, namely, his Church spread throughout the earth (Sermon 239, 1). The grace of the mission is always in need of new evangelizers capable of receiving it, so that the salvific proclamation of the Word of God will never diminish in the changing conditions of history. A dynamic continuity exists between the proclamation of the first disciples and our own. In the course of the centuries the Church has never ceased to proclaim the salvific mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, but that same proclamation today needs a renewed vigor to convince contemporary man, often distracted and insensitive. Because of this, the New Evangelization will have to be responsible for finding the methods to make the proclamation of salvation more effective, without which personal existence remains in its state of contradiction, deprived of the
to offer in this peculiar moment. If, on one hand, the whole community is called to reinvigorate the missionary spirit to give the new proclamation that the men of our time await, it must not be forgotten that believers style of life needs to be genuinely credible, convincing all the more when the life situations of those who see it is all the more dramatic. It is because of this that we wish to make our own the words of the Servant of God Pope Paul VI when, in regard to evangelization, he said: It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesusthe witness of poverty and detachment, of freedom in the face of the powers of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41). Dear friends, invoking the intercession of Mary, Star of evangelization, so that she will accompany the bearers of the Gospel and open the hearts of those who listen, I assure you of my prayer for your ecclesial service and impart to all of you the apostolic blessing.
using contraceptive methods) it would appear that the level of contraceptive prevalence in the Philippines is low compared to other countries. If women are not inclined to use contraception what then explains the fall in fertility? This data would indicate that clearly contraception cannot explain the decline in fertility in the Philippines. It is hence clear from the data that a reproductive Health Program anchored on the promotion of modern contraceptives is not needed in the Philippines. Why are the proponents of the bill, against
all common sense insisting on the passage of this bill? In the words of the Honorable Cong. raul Del Mar, this bill pushes open an already open door. What is the sense in spending so much money to force fertility down when it has been going down since fifty years ago? It is important to discover the true reason behind pushing this bill. There is every reason to believe that in fact the engine promoting the legislation of these bills come from multinational pharmaceutical companies who would like to cash in on the potential market that would be
created by this legislation. Based on National Census Statistics Board data 2000, about 24 percent of the Philippine population is above 20 years old. Based on the same statistics, about 50 percent of that are females. This would translate into 11 million women as a target market. At a P1,000 a month budget for contraceptives the annual take of the pharmaceutical companies will be a cool P132 Billion per year. Of course since a huge part of this market belong to class C, D and E an enabling legislation is needed to make sure that the government can foot the bill. If
sexuality education becomes a success the 10-15 year old population will become another market. This could mean another 4 Million potential users that will translate to another P48 billion. This means a total market of P180 billion! This is a great travesty if this bill were to pass rich multinational pharmaceuticals will be enriching themselves out of the hard-earned tax money of the republic of the Philippines. So many other worthwhile priorities in education and health will have to be foregone! It is therefore fitting to move for the rejection of House Bill 4244!
www.farm4.static.flickr.com
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Ref lections
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
www.kofc11483.net
that come to her from her human component. The Holy Spirit, present in her as her soul, is the divine Power that keeps the Church alive, constantly renews her, guides her into an ever greater appreciation of the truths of revelation, sanctifies her, and strengthens her against all dangers and oppositions. And so the mystery of the Incarnation continuesGod saving men through men, not just through the all-holy Jesus, but also through the ministry of frail and defective people, sanctified and strengthened by the Spirit of love, unity, and holiness. We will never be able to fully appreciate the importance of the role of the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit / B7
WHATEVER
The smile
WE can wait here for a while. It wont be long before he arrives, the man said. The two men sat down. What do you call this place? the other man asked. It doesnt really have a name. I mean..., he scratched his head. Here...it really doesnt make any sense to give it a particular name. Why is that? Simply that this place is what you call heaven when you were still alive, the other explained. So this is heaven, the other man repeated. So why cant we simply call it by that name? Because youre about to enter it and the One you find here is what naturally defines the place, the angel explained. To be here is to be with God, and once youre inside, theres no way to describe what it is to be with God. But in your case Dimas, we have to wait a little till he comes. Till he comes, Dimas simply repeatedly whispered the angels words. Of course, you must be experiencing an indescribably happiness now that youve made it! his angel mused. I dont know, he said. But what about you? If for a moment we can call it happiness, then you can say Im beyond happiness. You dont realize the joy angels experience when the one they were entrusted to finally reach this place. Arent you supposed to know how we feel? Dimas asked. Well, yes. But we cant read minds. Only God can do that. We can only discern or perceive things in a more precise manner what men intend to do. Wow! But I dont even recall what happiness means. I just remembered the word when you asked me how I felt. I dont even know what to feel is right now! What and where I am now, however, doesnt have a word. Its like having something at the tip of his tongue, knowing fully what it is but one is incapable of expressing it. Well, when He comes you might even forget yourself, the angel teased him. Was that supposed to be a joke? Dimas asked and laughed. By the way, the angel said. I hope you dont mind me asking you something. I dont mind. Besides, even though
Whatever / B7
www.4.bp.blogspot.com
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Social Concerns
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local government and the church in the implementation of the provincial livelihood program. Poverty was seen as one of the root causes of the unrest especially among the grassroots thus the need for an immediate action in order to attain peace and order.
During the forum, Indigenous Peoples Apostolate (IPA) director Fr. Pablo Salingua said that it needs more than providing the constituents fund for their livelihood. What is lacking is the proper formation to make the recipients ready to handle whatever livelihood projects are entrusted to them, he added. Failed to reach target Proper formation, to mold the During the livelihood partnership peoples character to be more forum held Monday, appreciative to what June 1, Calingasan is given to them and admitted that the learning to value it provincial government should be the first steps is not satisfied with the in the implementation outcome of its livelihood of this program, projects saying that the Salingua explained. program did not really The priest, being the improve the economic head of the dioceses status of the constituents apostolate for the as what was projected. indigenous peoples of Calingasan said the Bukidnon has worked provincial government with the Lumads or has poured around natives of the province. P47 million in various He said it is important livelihood projects and for the government indigency support to the to acknowledge the people but still, poverty culture and traits of lurks especially in the its own people to fully remote hinterlands. understand why the This is the reason why livelihood projects in many people, especially Archbishop Antonio Ledesma the past failed to uplift Bishop Jose Cabantan those who have lesser the economic condition education, succumbed of the grassroots. to the enticement of the NPAs to join squandered the money given to them Its important that with formation, them because they have nowhere else and remained poor, Calingasan, a we also have to educate the people, to go and these rebel groups promise devout Baptist said. especially the natives, Fr. Abling as them reforms so naturally they he is fondly called, said. would be converted to join them, Need for formation Salingua presented at the forum Calingasan said during the forum. The clergy however said there is a IPAs BB 4IPs 2Dev project which Calingasan saw that the church has need for formation before the people is Bridging Bridges for Indigenous direct connection with the people, could appreciate the governments peoples Towards Development. even in remote barangays through efforts to alleviate the peoples In it, he presented the project goal its various apostolates. which is to connect with the IPs and discontent. People tend to trust the clergys sincerity in the implementation of the program rather than us politicians whom they think they could pay back during elections, the governor laughingly added. Tapping the churchs help may give this initiative more meaning to the people and they might value it to sustain their livelihood, unlike in the past where most recipients just
FIlE PhoTo FIlE PhoTo
to help them attain improved food sufficiency and cash income. Eye opener Fr. Virgilio Delfin, president of the church-run San Isidro College, lauded the governors effort in countering the worsening peace and order situation with the livelihood implementation partnership with the church. Fr. Delfin said the initiative is an eye opener that the government could work with the church in its programs for the people. He asked though that a comprehensive research study on the indigenous peoples should be done. The Lumads constitute the majority of recipients of livelihood program considering they are located in the hinterland areas where there is an influx of rebel groups. The livelihood partnership forum was also attended by some IP leaders, the academe, the Bukidnon environment office represented by Cecille Egnar, representatives from the Philippine Army and of some agri-based multi-national companies operating in the province like A Brown Company, Del Monte Philippines, SUMIFrU and Bukidnon Sugar Milling Corporation (BUSCO). Calingasan is also keen on tapping the support of the business sector to assist the livelihood program as part of each companys corporate social responsibility. ruffy Magbanua of A Brown Company acknowledged the governors effort saying that the company has already funded several IP scholars and also planned on setting up a school of living tradition for the Lumads.
Whatever / B6
of your faith in Christ Jesus. 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 3:28). The early Christians saw the implication of this teaching. Luke tells us, for example, that in the early Church, the Christians were one in heart and in mind. No one claimed anything as his own; rather, everything was held in common (Acts 4:32). In other words, the Christian community is a place where people are accepted and welcomed. The basis for accepting and welcoming every Christian to the community is simply the fact that he is a Christianhe partakes of Gods divine life.
Babel / B6
Consequently, in a Christian community, there cannot be any discrimination on any basisbe it sex, power, merits, wealth, culture or race. Earlier, we noted that discrimination of colored people is wrong on the ground of its superficiality and its effect on others. But a meditation on the Gospel provides us with a deeper basis: we have become one with Christ. All of us share in the status of being Gods children. Therefore, no one can claim superiority over others. In the words of the Latin American bishops, we are all fundamentally equal, and members of the same race, though we live our lives amid the diversity of sexes, languages, cultures, and forms of religiosity. By virtue of our
Holy Spirit / B6
common vocation, we have one single destiny (Puebla 334). No doubt this statement is based on the Constitution of the Church: Although by Christs will some are established as teachers, dispensers of the mysteries and pastors for others, there remains, nevertheless, a true equality with regard to the dignity and the activity which is common to all the faithful in the building up of the Church (Lumen gentium, 32). This why is our racist streakpoking fun, for example, at colored entertainers and at our colored neighborsis wrong, and nothing could make it right. If we stressed this implication of the Gospel today, it is with the purpose of showing that the doctrine of the Trinity need not be taken as an esoteric teaching
that has no connection with the everyday life of the Christian. In the past, we looked at God in himself, and we tried to explain the Trinity in terms of Greek categories that are difficult to comprehend unless one has a background of Greek philosophy and culture. Here, however, we simply tried to present how the Trinity is experienced in our lives, and we found that, among others, our faith in God as Father and in his Son makes us realize that it is wrong to discriminate people on any basis, precisely because of their fundamental equality that is guaranteed by Gods sending his Son to the world so that it may be saved. In this sense, Nestor Torre hits the nail on the head: Lets all agree to stop being racist and sadisticright now.
Trinity / B6
implies the ability to see what is positive in others; it means knowing how to make room for others, bearing their burdens, and resisting temptations that constantly beset us and provoke competition, careerism, distrust and jealousy; and above all, it means our contemplation of the Trinity dwelling in us. If people can see this spirituality shining on our faces, they will certainly recognize the miracle of Pentecost working in the Church and, who knows, our political structure and system could be affected in the long run. And the Babel among our political parties will be transformed into reconciliation and communion.
in the Church and in each of us. Without him the Church would be just a human institution, destined to perish like all other institutions, empires and civilizations. But the Church will last until the end of time only because the Lord of Life animates her. Thanks to the presence of the Spirit, the gift of salvation and all other gifts of the risen Christ are channeled to people, especially through those sacred acts that we call sacraments. In particular, the forgiving love of God becomes a reality for us, today, through the sacrament of reconciliation, which enables us to rise after every fall, purified and strengthened by Gods forgiving love.
Divine Pattern since we are made adopted children of the Father, brothers/sisters of the Son, and temples of the Holy Spirit. We will find our fulfillment and complete happiness in Him alone. Our lifetime on earth is not enough to fathom all the preciousness of the personal relationship that binds us to each Divine Person. It is only in the life to come that we shall see this wonderful God face-to-face, i.e., we shall come to know Him as He really is in Himself and for us. And this knowing and loving Him will be the essence of the eternal blessedness which will make us perfectly happy for ever.
weve only just met, I feel like you have known me ever since, Dimas replied. If you recall, you just shared with Him the singular honor of accompanying Him crucified to a cross, the angel said. I guess I didnt have any choice, Dimas replied. Maybe that of being crucified, yes. But of turning to Him and asking Him to remember you, when He enters His Kingdom, that I believe was a free choice you made. Well, I guess I came to my sense about my entire life. I realized what I had done, and how all that was not going to outweigh all the injustices I have committed, Dimas said. And yet, mysteriously you uttered a prayer to Him, and to which He replied with granting you entrance into paradise with Him. If you can call it a prayer, well, I guess so, Dimas sighed. I never learned to pray even as a child. But what exactly was it that made you ask Him for that request? When we got to Calvary, I was struck about how serene and peaceful He was. And yet, I could see how much He suffered more than my companion and me. Did any of these impressions change as they were crucifying you? I dont recall now, since I
Promote / B1
cant even recall what pain is now that Im here. But there must have been something that He did that caught your souls attention. Dimas paused for a while, and thought deeply. Then he said, Yes! I do recall what it was that finally moved me pray to Him. What was it? After He spoke with that woman, You mean His mother? That was His mother? Dimas asked. She was so calm and shes so beautiful! Well, lets not get distracted, the angel said. Oh, yes. I dont know exactly how to describe it, Dimas continued. So what was it? After He spoke to His mother and said some other things I didnt quite understand, He turned to me, What did He say? He didnt say anything, Dimas clarified. But you both spoke, right? Yes, but only after He looked at me with those eyes as though He knew me all His life, And? And He smiled at me! *** There are some exchanges of love which can be made only on the Cross. (St. Elizabeth of the Trinity)
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tinue to face enormous challenges as they search for the resources and the path to development for their citizens. There remains no easy formula for success but the promise of solidarity can be a foundation for the renewal of commitment by those who have wrestled with this challenge for decades and a guidepost for the new actors in this space. There are numerous different and essential roles and responsibilities for the successful implementation of the development process in the LDCs. Thus, the Holy See anticipates a new Programme of Action for the LDCs for the coming decade. Now is the time to translate into concrete action the commitments that have been made in these days. The future well being of the LDCs depends to a great extent upon the spirit of gratuitousness that motivates our common efforts. Working together in a coordinated and cooperative fashion
the institutions and actors from all sectors can and must support the efforts of all LDCs to achieve their goals as members of the one human family.
NOTES [1] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter, Populorum Progressio; On the Development of Peoples, no. 14 [2] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, Caritas in Veritate: Charity in Truth, no. 33. [3] Ibid., no. 23 Pope Benedict reiterates this approach when he writes; Many areas of the globe today have evolved considerably, albeit in problematical and disparate ways, thereby taking their place among the great powers destined to play important roles in the future. Yet it should be stressed that progress of a merely economic and technological kind is insufficient. Development needs above all to be true and integral. [4] Ibid., n. 7 [5] Ibid., no. 63 [6] Ibid., [7] Ibid., no. 34 [8] Ibid., no 40
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Entertainment
Moral Assessment
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
Technical Assessment
The paranormal investigation job of Dylan Dog (Brandon routh) takes a back seat after the death of his girlfriend at the hands of a vampire clan. He does not accept related cases like the mysterious death of a rich importer which appears to be murdered by a warewolf. However, when his friend Marcus Adams (Sam Huntington) becomes the next victim, Dylan does not have second thought of going back to the business of penetrating the world of vampires, warewolf, and zombies. The mysterious people behind these creatures turn out to be Dylans friends with whom he maintains relationships for old time sake. In the course of his investigation for the case of the rich importer whose daughter becomes his close allies together with his dead friend Marcus who is now a zombie, he discovers that the key to stopping the deadly creatures is an artifact burried with one of the vampire in the crypt. Dylan got this artifact sooner, but of course, his friends would not like it and they want to make sure they have the artifact in their possesions. The film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night is a combined comedy and suspense thriller. Whilst there is a central character, it does not help to put subplots together
to establish a strongly-focused story. The role of Elizabeth which is like a wall flower has no impact at all despite the surprising revelation of her connection to the villains at the end of the film. The antagonists are not as remarkable so viewers could hardly hate them. Nevertheless, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night as an italian comic adaption is entertaining, primarily as an effect of the tandem of Dylan and Marcus. The humor brought by the character of Marcus is effectively carried by Huntington. routh, on the other hand, hardly acts on this film like an eternal good looking zombie. He survived all the fights and hard beats of the beasts yet preserves the good looks as if nothing touches his face. The gory scenes of dead corpses and worms are not necessarily in bad taste but the director has the tendency to prolong and overdo. The makeup and overall production design are fine but there are more to desire with regards to lighting and compositions. The special effects are a bit of a hard sell too. Overall, the film falls average in the technical aspect. The film shows how friendship is valued and that a friend is willing to sacrifice in order to seek justice for a lost friend and be motivated
TITLE: Dylan Dog CAST: Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, Taye Diggs, Brian Steele, Kurt Angle, Marco St. John,Courtney Shay Young, Gabrielle Chapin DIRECTOR: Kevin Munroe WRITERS: Thomas Dean Donnelly, Joshua Oppenheimer GENRE: Horror, Suspense/ Thriller RUNNING TIME: 107 min. Technical Assessment: 2.5 Moral Assessment: 1.5 CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 18 and above.
to take on bigger responsibility of ensuring victory of good over evil. However, if Filipino myths has manananggals, kapre, tyanaks, the European culture has vampires, zombies and human warewolves. This European supernatural forms is the context of the film Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and it shows that they do exist and live among the living like normal people. The film naturalizes zombies culture. It shows dead corpses and body parts as commodities which is contrary to the respect that Filipinos give to bodies of departed love ones.
MAC en COLET
Ni Bladimer Usi
TITLE: Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides CAST: Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Ian McShane, Kevin R. McNally, Astrid Berges-Frisbey, Sam Claflin, Geoffrey Rush DIRECTOR: Rob Marshall WRITERS: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio GENRE: Action/Adventure, Comedy RUNNING TIME: 137 min. Technical Assessment: 3.5 Moral Assessment: 2.5 CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 14 and above.
Buhay Parokya
Look for the images of the Holy Trinity, Crucifix and Chalice with Host (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)
SYNOPSIS: Crossing paths with the enigmatic Angelica, Captain Jack Sparrow is not sure if its love -- or if shes a ruthless con artist whos using him to find the fabled Fountain of Youth. When she forces him aboard the Queen Annes revenge, the ship of the legendary pirate Blackbeard, Jack finds himself on an unexpected adventure in which he doesnt know whom to fear more: Blackbeard or Angelica, with whom he shares a mysterious past.
TITLE: Kung Fu Panda 2 CAST: Angelina Jolie, Seth Rogen, Gary Oldman, David Cross, Jackie Chan, Jack Black, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh DIRECTOR: Jennifer Yuh WRITERS: Jonathan Aibel, Glenn Berger GENRE: Animation, Action/Adventure RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes. Technical Assessment: 4 Moral Assessment: 4 CINEMA Rating: For viewers of all ages.
SYNOPSIS: In Kung Fu Panda 2, Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. But Pos new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. He must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will Po be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
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The Cross
A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus
The top sales force pose with the Petronas Twin Towers as background during their visit in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
NEWLY appointed Fraternal Counselors (FCs) from Central Luzon, Bicol and Cordillera attended the 5th Batch of fraternal service training (FST) at the Fr. George J. Willmann SJ Center in Intramuros, Manila last May 17 to 18, 2011. The FST was conducted by the Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG) of Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI), a mutual benefit association. Speakers of the training were Joseph P. Teodoro, Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG) Vice President and Gari San Sebastian, Fraternal Benefits Services Manager. Teodoro discussed on the ways participants can improve their skills in sales performance such as techniques and approaches and on directing themselves to work their best in every sales opportunity. Meanwhile, San Sebastian zeroed in on the Knights of Columbus insurance arms plans, products and its background. He also oriented the 11 participants with the Orders significant role in society and its contribution towards the realization of the vision and mission of KCFAPI. (KCFAPI News)
The Newly Oriented Fraternal Counselors with FBG Manager Gari M. San Sebastian
INCOMING Luzon State Deputy Sir Knight Arsenio Isidro G. Yap, at 56, is the youngest among the incumbent and past State Deputies of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines. Yap, fondly called Boy by his peers will be taking over the post of Luzon State Deputy now Supreme Director, Alonso L. Tan on July 1. He attributed his appointment by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson to hard work and his credibility in holding positions in the said organization. Being the only former Columbian Squire as Luzon Deputy among the aspirants, it was evident that he was honed at a tender age to become the future leader of the Knights having exhibited the abilities and skills. He joined the youth arm of the KC Order at 13 and became the Chief Squire of Gomburza
Circle No. 1320 at age 17. At 22 years old, he was elevated as a 4th degree Knight, the youngest in his batch. In a short period of time, he gained the respect and trust of his brother Knights. He was entrusted the responsibility as a Grand Knight of Gomburza Council No. 5310 at 26 and was re-elected for a second term in 1982. In 1988, at age 33, he was elected as Faithful Navigator of the Padre Gomez Assembly sans having served any position in the assembly, since it was apparent that his talent and dedication to the Order had earned him the status. His natural ability for holding the said position was highly commended by the members of the assembly that he served his duty for three consecutive terms, the only one so honored to this day since the establishment of the assembly in 1955. His loyalty and ardor secured him various positions in the Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction; as District Deputy of District M-44 for two terms from 1995-97, State Auditor from 2000-01 and State Secretary from 2007 to 2011. His ability to lead is also shown to be his dominant trait by the positions he held and maintained outside the KC Order. At 18 years old, he began holding several positions in a familyowned corporation, the Alysons Chemical Enterprises, Inc., where he is currently the Chief Operating
Luzon / C2
BROTHER Rodrigo is a native of Sta. Barbara Ilo-ilo. He was born on September 4, 1947. He was a graduate of Human Resources Management at Naval Training Center Memphis Tennessee. Afterwards, he became the US Naval Instructor/facilitator on Leadership and Management. It was on April 9, 1996 when he first joined the Knights of Columbus as a 1st Degree Knight at Nevada USA he then ascended to becoming a 2nd and then 3rd degree Knight on September 4, 1996 and on July 25,1998, He became a 4th Degree Knight at Bacolod City, Negros Occidental. His active participation in his council branched out to holding of various positions such as Past Grand Knight, Former District Deputy, Past Regional Secretary, Past Visayas State Secretary and Past State New Council Development and State Council Reactivation Director. He was also a recipient of the Knights of Columbus Circle of Honor Award as State
Council Membership Director where he was one of those who were awarded with a Caribbean cruise. Mr. Sorongon is married and blessed with two children who are both settled now abroad. He is a retired US Navy where after returning to his homeland, he presently holds the position of Visayas Jurisdiction Executive Secretary and as a Municipal Councilor (Sanguniang Bayan Member) of the Sta Barbara Ilo-ilo. (Juno Amaris Mancenido)
(From left) VP-FBG Joseph P. Teodoro, Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III, State Secretary Arsenio Isidro G. Yap, Pres. Alonso L. Tan, Brgy 658 Kagawad Ricky Martinez and Secretary Ms. Joan Dayao, MACE President Antonio T. Yulo, EVP-Ma. Theresa G. Curia, Arsenio Lopez and Gift Giving Committee Chairman VP-Information and BC Holders Services Mr. Ronulfo Antero G. Infante.
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Hilario G. Davide, Jr.
The Cross
DYNAMIC Fraternal Counselors, Team Leaders and Area Managers from Visayas and Mindanao who qualified in the yearly Presidential Visitation challenge, have gathered at Sarrosa International Hotel located at Ayala Access Road, Mabolo, Cebu City on May 14, 2011 for the KCFAPI Executive Sales Visitation. A day before the event, Vice President for Fraternal Benefits Group, Mr. Joseph P. Teodoro called a meeting of VISMIN Area Managers and Team Leaders administered by FBSD Manager, Mr. Gari M. San Sebastian at the Cebu Service Office conference room. The qualifiers were described as the cream of the crop Fraternal Counselors for their laudable production in the first quarter for the year 2011. VP-FBG, Joseph P. Teodoro welcomed the attendees and gave a lecture on a range of selling techniques and schemes heading to the 2011 Annual Awards. The three state deputies namely: Bro. Alonso L. Tan, Bro. Dionisio R. Esteban Jr. and Bro. Sofronio R. Cruz for Luzon, Visayas and Mindnao, respectively, delivered their inspirational mes-
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
Chairmans Message
THE month of June 2011 has a very special significance for the Philippines and imparts a special message to the Filipino people. We will celebrate on 12 June the 113th anniversary of the Declaration of our Independence, and on 19 June the 150th anniversary of the birth of our national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal. The declaration of independence put an end to the nearly 350 years of foreign rule characterized by oppression and injustice, and gave birth to a nation of freedom and democracy. More than breaking the colonial yoke, the Declaration was a sacred charge to build up the institutions of our country, to shape the frontiers of destiny and to mark out the great epochs that have yet to come. The birth of Jose P. Rizal was Gods gift to the Filipino people; he nurtured the spirit of ones love of country. With his bloodshed in martyrdom on 30 December 1896, he sparked the revolution that hastened the Declaration of Independence. Without Rizal and the 12 June 1898 Declaration of Independence the Philippines would not have been what it is today whose standing in the community of democratic nations is a model for new and restored democracies. Without Rizal and the Declaration of Independence the Filipino people would have remained in slavery. Let us then rejoice as we celebrate the 113th anniversary of our independence and the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal. Above all, let us on bended knees thank God for his continuing love and blessings for the Philippines and the Filipino people.
sages. The Executive Vice President, Ms. Ma. Theresa G. Curia provided KCFAPI Updates and the Associations financial highlights followed by the Presidents Report of Bro. Alonso L. Tan. KCFAPI Chairman, former Chief Justice Hilario G. Davide, Jr. focused his stimulating message on the theme of the
recent State Convention: I Am My Brothers Keeper. Fellowship Dinner culminated the VISMIN Executive Sales Visitation, a vehicle promoting virtuous camaraderie among Fraternal Counselors from Visayas and Mindanao as well as KCFAPI officers. (Allen C. Bohol)
Alonso L. Tan
Presidents Message
THE Columbian Year 2010-2011 is about to end several days from now and a new one to begin on July 1st 2011. While we still have about one month left, it is wise to zero in on what we can do in order for our councils to attain its goals for the Columbian Year. Foremost is on the submission of the reportorial requirements such as audit report, fraternal survey, lists of chosen officers, application for star council and service program recognition and Form 100. Second is the required new members recruitment target. Third is service program undertakings left unaccomplished. Fourth is the promotion of the fraternal benefits program of the Order handled by KCFAPI. At this time allow me to take the opportunity to welcome three (3) distinguished Knights who will assume mantle of leadership in the three (3) Philippine Jurisdictions. They are: Arsenio Isidro G. Yap for Luzon Rodrigo N. Sorongon for Visayas Balbino C. Fauni for Mindanao Let us all extend our helping hands and prayers that they will succeed and surpass the achievements of their predecessors. To my fellow State Deputies Bro. Jun Esteban and Ponying Cruz and all other State Officers and District Deputies I offer my thanks for their generous assistance and congratulations for a job well done. Vivat Jesus.
MS. Sonia Richelle B. Magdaraog, a scholar of KC Philippines Foundation Inc. (KCPFI), recently graduated Cum Laude with the Degree of Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Catanduanes State Colleges, Virac, Catanduanes. She is one of the sixteen KCPFI scholars who graduated last March and April 2011 from various colleges and universities around the country. Ms. Magdaraog is the daughter of Bro. Rey and Sis. Evelyn Magdaraog of the Knights of Columbus Council No. 4266 located in Virac, Catanduanes. She has been a consistent honor student since high school and was active in various school activities and organizations. Ms. Magdaraog received a five-year scholarship grant from the Foundation starting with schoolyear 2006-07. Currently, she is enrolled in a six-month review course in preparation for the Civil Engineering Licensure Examination in November. As of to date, the KC Philippines Foundation, Inc. has successfully provided assistance to 263 collegiate, 114 vocational and 1 high school students from all over the country. Congratulations to Ms. Magdaraog and to our newest batch of KCPFI scholar-graduates.
Intramuros / C1
Messages of KC Scholars
AT last, my four years of studies in St. John the Evangelist School of Theology in Palo, Leyte has ended successfully. I owe these for a great part on your philanthropic foundation which fully provided for my financial obligation in the seminary. I thank the Almighty Lord for your existence which is ever benevolent to extend the needed support to indigent seminarians like me. May He bless your foundation forever. All I can do and say is to express my humble, wholehearted and sincere acknowledgment, and appreciation of Gods gift given to me through your ever magnificent foundation truly a source of strength and inspiration and a wellspring of life for seminarians. I infinitely owe my life in the seminary through your renowned foundation for without it, I would not have been where I am at present. Now, as I am getting nearer to the altar of God, I vow to dedicate my whole being in the service of God through our Holy Catholic Church. Together with my family, I pray and wish for your eternal existence always ready to extend assistance to seminarians in need. Deep in my heart and soul, I express my thanks and solemn gratitude to your foundation. Long live and God bless us all. Sincerely yours in Jesus Christ, SEM. Anthony G. Salazar
Mindanao/ C1
a DD, he organized two councils namely: Lanton Council No. 13769 and FVR Council No. 14065, all in General Santos City. In 2004, Bal Fauni was appointed as Secretary of the Association of the Knights of Columbus in the Diocese of Marbel (AKCDM) which lasted to 2007. In 2005, Kuya Bal, [as he is fondly called], was elected Faithful Navigator of Sarangani Bay Assembly, ACN1770. A year after that, he was appointed as the Provincial Secretary for General Santos City and Sarangani Province, CY 2006-2007, and later became the Regional Secretary for Region XI-B, Diocese of Marbel in CY 2007-2008. At the same time he was elected as the President of the AKCDM from 2007-2009 and prior to the end of his term, he was appointed as the Regional Secretary for Region XII composed of the Dioceses of Kidapawan, Marbel, and Cotabato (KIDMACO), up to the present. Sir Knight Bal Fauni worked with the Metro Drug Corporation and was awarded as Top Salesman of the Region (Mindanao) in 19791980. In 1990, he was able to achieve the Best Area Manager citations by
the First Pacific Metro Marketing Incorporated. Two years ago, he received the Top Agency Manager Award given by the Caritas Health Shield, Inc., General Santos Branch, where he works up to the present as the Agency Manager. Brother Bal received a District Star Award for M-85 during his leadership in CY 2004-2005, and a recipient of Perfect Attendance Award from year 2000 to 2006 in his council. From 2002 to 2009, Kuya Bal was a consistent awardee of Giver of Life Award for his council 12608. Outside of the Knights of Columbus, Bro. Bal also had been an active Purok (village) Chairman at Doa Soledad Subdivision in 2002-2004, and was reelected in 2008-present. As a Member of the Board of Trustee, he is also an active affiliate of South Mindanao Habitat for Humanity in General Santos City. Married to Ruby Adrinela, a government High School teacher, Bro. Bal was blessed with four children; three of whom were successfully employed, while the youngest still in sophomore high school.
Holders Services; Alonso Tan, KCFAPI President and Ma. Theresa Curia, KCFAPI Executive Vice President, at the KCFAPI head office last May 23. The large amount raised from the recent employees fund raising activity was mainly achieved through the sustained effort and support of the KCFAPI employees, fraternal counselors, benefit certificate holders and friends. Joseph P. Teodoro, Fraternal Benefits Group Vice President likewise donated t-shirts to the Intramuros day care students. The considerable amount generated from fund raising activity held from March to April also enabled the committee to extend its gift-giving activities to beneficiaries selected from each of the KCFAPI service offices in Visayas and Mindanao. Ten selected students from each service office will be provided with school supplies. The gift-giving committee is very thankful for the all-out support given by the employees. All these were made possible because of them, said Infante. (KCFAPI News)
Kuala Lumpur / C1
Members of the KCFAPI board and some KCFAPI officers during the signing of the National Convention Manual of the Knights of Columbus of the Philippines on the occasion of the May 19, 2011 board meeting.
a ch i e v e d t h e t i t l e s of F r a t e r n a l Counselor (FC) of the year, FC Runners up, Area Manager (AM) of the Year, AM Runners up, and members of the Fr. Willmann Knights of the Round Table (WKRT). Among the tourist attractions visited by the group include the Kings Palace, National Museum, Monument and Mosque, Independence Square, Chocolate Gallery, KLCC (Twin Tower), and the Putrajaya. Prior to their departure for Malaysia, the Fraternal Counselors and Area Managers were given a tour briefing at the KCFAPI headquarters on May 23. Ma. Theresa Curia, KCFAPI Executive Vice President pepped them with her welcome remarks while San Sebastian presented a video that gave an overview of Malaysias culture, population, weather, food and what the participants had to expect and bring to the trip. S h a r on S a n t os An g of S a m s Travel gave the itinerary, travel reminders, tips and provided the awardees with tour kits. The awardees were later treated to a dinner at the Zamboanga restaurant in Malate Manila, together with Alonso Tan, KCFAPI President, Joseph Teodoro, Fraternal Benefits Group Vice President, Ms. Curia and Mr. San Sebastian. The sales force enjoyed their stay at Hotel Sentral Pudu where they were billeted for two nights which is located at the center of commercial, business and shopping
districts of Kuala Lumpur. San Sebastian challenged the sales force to perform better for a higher reward. He said they can aim to participate in the FOCUS Challenge 2011 incentive program which runs from January to December 2011, wherein an FC must attain a target of 5 million first year contribution income and to get a free ticket to an Asian tour and as a bonus, the privilege to attend the supreme convention. Lorenzo Dufale, Sr., the Fraternal Counselor (FC) of the Year achieved the highest first year contribution income and insured fifty creditable new paid lives. Conrado Dator, Jr. of Southern Luzon Lakers, the Area Manager of the Year attained the highest number of new paid lives. Second in rank is Efren Casupanan of Central Luzon Believers who attained his total first year contribution income target and at least 80% of his total number of lives target and Josefino Valencia. The three runners-up FCs of the Year, Teofilo Samson, Reynaldo Segismundo and Danilo Tullao, also took the opportunity to relax in Kuala Lumpur. These runners-up have attained at least two million first year contribution income and have insured a minimum of fortyeight creditable new paid lives. Others who also joined the elite group were members of the Fr. Willmann Knights of the Round Table (WKRT); Jose Larry Mendoza, Maria Teresa De La Mota, Jeffrey Rey Guillermo, Diego Marquez, Angel Rivada, Angelito Lat, Veronica Casupanan and Lauro Evangelista.
I AM writing to express my sincere gratitude to the KCPFI for making me one of your scholars for five years. The financial assistance you provided have been of great help to me in paying my educational expenses, and allowed me to concentrate more of my time in studying. I am deeply appreciative of your support. I recently earned my degree in Civil Engineering at Catanduanes State Colleges. After a month of vacation, I am planning to take a 6-month review before taking the Civil Engineering Licensure Examination in November. Thanks to the Knights of Columbus, I am onestep closer to becoming an engineer. Thank you again for your generosity and support. The Knights of Columbus had not only helped me financially but also became one of my inspirations to study well. I promise you I will work very hard and do my very best to reach my goal and eventually give something back to others. I hope one day, I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as the Knights of Columbus helped me. Sincerely, Sonia Richelle B. Magdaraog
Luzon / C1
Officer. He became the president of the Philippine Association of Chemical Suppliers, Inc. from 1997-98. Even in his formative years, he was devoted to serving the Church, showing his love for God by becoming a member of the Knights of the Altar of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart School Chapel at 12 years old until he was 16, from 1967-1973. Since December 2000 up to present, he is the overall lay coordinator of the Most Holy Redeemer Parish Pastoral Council. Born on May 15, 1955 in Manila, Yap obtained his bachelors degree in Fine Arts major in painting at the University of Santo Tomas in 1977. He married Ana Maria V. Rubio on July 8, 1979 with whom he is blessed with five children. In an interview with CBCPNews, Yap disclosed his vision of improving the operation, policies and programs of the Luzon Jurisdiction during his term beginning July 1, 2011. I want change or reform. I dont want stagnation. I see the need to upgrade the system; not to circumvent but to enhance it so that it becomes even stronger and efficient, he said. Recalling his years as a fine arts student with his classmates, he said they were formed to experiment, We explore, we look outside the box, we experiment, and that particularly in devising procedures, that he has contributed uniquely to the Luzon Jurisdiction. (CBCPNews)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
June 6 - 19, 2011
The Cross
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many projects essential to their ministry. But our greatest privilege has been to experience their witness of faith, love and apostolic courage and in our own way to be their co-workers in this sense. May the prayers of Blessed John Paul II sustain us in this work. Vivat Jesus!
Joseph P. Teodoro
Angelito A. Bala
A Case of Reinstatement
KEEPING your insurance coverage in force is crucial as it spells the future of your loved ones, paying your contributions/premiums on time is equally crucial since it is the lifeline of your insurance coverage. One should therefore keep abreast with his or her premium/contribution payments, for failure to pay your contributions on time may cost a lifetimes investment. A case in point. The husband of the petitioner applied for a life insurance policy with the insurer. The insurer, then issued Policy No. 9011992 in favor of the husband wherein insureds wife and the petitioner in this case was named as the primary beneficiary. The terms of payment of premiums are on a quarterly basis. The Policy also contained a provision giving a grace period of 31 days for the payment of each premium subsequent to the first. If the premium remained unpaid until the end of the grace period, the policy would automatically lapse and become void. From issue date up to October 1997 the insured paid the premiums due. However, he failed to pay the premium due on 24 January 1998. As the 31 day grace period passed-by without making any payment his policy lapsed and became void. The insured submitted an Application for Reinstatement, through his agent, together with the premium due. However, the insurer notified the insured that his Application for Reinstatement could not be processed because the overdue interest amounting to P322.48 remained unpaid. The insurer then instructed the insured to pay the amount of interest and to file another application for reinstatement. The insurers agent also advised the insured to pay the premiums which became due on 24 April 1998 and 24 July 1998, plus interest. On 17 September 1998, the insured submitted a second Application for Reinstatement, including the amount of P17,500.00 inclusive of overdue interest on the premium. The Application for Reinstatement was received by the insurance agents husband who then issued a receipt for the amount the insured deposited. On that same day, 17 September 1998, the insured died of cardio-respiratory arrest secondary to electrocution. Not knowing of the insureds death, the agent, forwarded the second Application for Reinstatement and P17,500.00 deposit to the Insular Life. However, upon learning of the insureds demise Insular Life deferred action on the second Application for Reinstatement. The insureds wife filed a claim with Insular Life but was denied by the latter on the ground that his Policy had already lapsed, and failed to reinstate the same. Furthermore the Application for Reinstatement, stated that it would only be considered reinstated upon approval of the application during the applicants lifetime and good health. Likewise Insular issued a check, representing the full refund of the payments made by the insured on Policy No. 9011992. The petitioner requested for reconsideration but was denied by the insurer. The petitioner then filed a Complaint for Death Claim with the Regional Trial Court alleging that the insurer engaged in unfair claim settlement practice and deliberately failed to act with reasonable promptness on her insurance claim. The insurer in its answer maintained that Policy No. 9011992 was rendered void by the non-payment of the premium and non-compliance with the requirements for the reinstatement of the same. After trial the RTC rendered a decision in favor of the insurer. Based on the evidences presented it was shown that the insured failed to pay his premiums after the 31 day grace period and as a result, his insurance policy lapsed, in accordance with the provisions of the insurance policy. Also, a perusal of the provision on the 31 grace period in the insurance policy and the conditions for reinstatement in the application was not ambiguous. The case was brought to the Supreme Court. Among the issues raised by the petitioner was whether or not the insured was able to reinstate the lapsed insurance policy on his life before he died. The Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the trial court. When Policy No. 9011992 lapsed this was not disputed by the insured. All the more when he filed an application for reinstatement through the agent this constituted an admission that his policy had lapsed. Then when the insured submitted his application form along with the unpaid premiums, the amount paid was sufficient to cover only the overdue premiums and did not include interests, hence Insular did not act on the application and his payment was treated as a deposit. By the time the insured submitted a second application for reinstatement the subsequent premiums were also due. That same day the second application was submitted through the insurers agent the insured died. Looking over the provisions in the Insurance Policy and the Application for Reinstatement the court opined that said provisions in the insurance policy and reinstatement were clear and did not need further interpretation. Thus the reinstatement of Policy No. 9011992 depended on the insureds compliance to the conditions under the application for reinstatement. Unfortunately, at the time the second application was submitted, the insured died. For this reason, Policy No. 9011992 could not be considered as reinstated since one of the conditions in the Application for Reinstatement is that it must be approved by the insurer during the lifetime of the insured and in good health. (Lalican vs Insular Life Asurance Co. Ltd. G.R. No. 183526, August 25, 2009)
EMULATING the virtues that bespeak of sanctity of a person, like Father George J. Willmann, is what we need today to draw us into a deeper living out of the fullest meaning of our Catholic Faith in the context of increasing secularism. Thus, we believe, is one of the most important objectives in initiating the Cause of the good Father George J. Willmann. As prescribed by the Congregation for Causes of Saints in Rome a person may be elevated to the honors of the altar if he has lived up to a heroic degree of the supernatural virtues of faith, hope and charity, as well as the cardinal virtues of prudence, justice and fortitude and temperance. We believe that Father Willmann practiced them all to an exceptional degree. In order to establish and widen the fame of Sanctity of
Father Willmann, may we call on all Brother Knights, their families and friends to respond to the following appeal: Submission of testimonies on Fr. Willmanns heroic virtues; Recitation of Prayer for his Beatification in private and during K of C meetings and affairs; Invocation of his intercession in our prayers; Submission of Reports on answered prayers through the intercession of Father Willmann; Visitation of his tomb in the Sacred Heart Novitiate Cemetery, Novaliches, Quezon City. Membership to Fr. George J. Willmann Fellows. This is a challenge for all of us Knights of Columbus who dearly love Father George J. Willmann, SJ.
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The Cross
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 12
AT least one thouWinners were sand members of proclaimed immethe Knights of Codiately after the lumbus and their games and were immediate famiawarded with trolies participated in phies and medals the KC Family Day by Luzon Deputy and mini Olympics Tan, assisted by held at the AmoYap, Martinez and ranto Sports ComEroles. plex in Quezon The Over-all City last May 7. Champion for this Dubbed as 7th years Mini-OlymFr. George J. Willpics was Manila mann, S.J. FamCouncil 1000 of ily Day and MiniIntramuros MaOlympics 2011, nila followed by the recent sports Council 12125 of event had the bigPuntorin, Valengest turn out of atzuela City as first tendance since the runner-up. CounKC began the accil 5124 of Balut tivity seven years Tondo, Manila ago. and Council 14359 The family event of San Sebastian aims to encourage Recoletos, Cavite strong comradeCity were proship among the claimed 2nd and Knights with their KC Family in action, during one of the sports events held on the occasion of the 7th KC Luzon Family day and Mini-olympics. 3rd runners-up, immediate famirespectively. The The highlight of the event was lies. said councils received trophies the KC family paid tribute to Fr. According to Supreme Director George J. Willmann, S.J., Father the lighting of olympic flame by and cash award. and Luzon Deputy Alonso Tan of Knights of Columbus in the State Advocate Justice Jose Reyes, Other councils who bagged special the objective of holding such Philippines. Jr., assisted by State Warden Pasawards and given trophies and cash an event is to enhance physicual Carbero and State Council award were Council 1000 for the BigThe activity started with a cal fitness, health consciousness celebration of the Holy EuchaDirector Eroles. gest delegation with 141 members; and above all to promote closer rist presided over by Fr. Rudy The games started at 9 a.m. and Council 12308 of Sta. Teresita, Quezon relationship, friendship and ca- Magbata, Assistant Parish Priest lasted until four in the afternoon. City for the Best in Uniform; Council maraderie. Forty-nine councils with their 10582 of Calumpit, Bulacan as the Farof St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Tan in his message also stressed Quezon City. family came from different parts thest delegation; and 20 year old Ms. that the Knights of Columbus as a of Metro Manila and nearby provRuby Christine Domingo of Council The event was organized by family organization advocates the Luzon Deputy Tan, Ex-Officio inces of Cavite and Bulacan. 12125 as the Best Muse. involvement of family members in Chairman, State Secretary ArKCFAPI employees with their The organizers awarded 69 KC activities. immediate families, and Columgold medals, silver medals and senio Isidro Yap, Ex-Officio CoWe are a family organization, Chairman, State Program Director bian Squires competed for the place bronze medals each to the dewhile members of the Knights of Bonifacio Martinez, Chairman, in the 15 events. serving winners for individual Columbus are Catholic gentlemen, State Council Director Elmer The basketball game has more and group events. service activities and social events Eroles, Vice Chairman, and State participants this year compared to Everyone enjoyed the funusually include the entire family. I Athletic Events Chairman Noel the usual number of delegates who filled activity which was concongratulate our brother Knights Lacanilao. participated in the past years. cluded with closing remarks who are here today with their famMeanwhile, the Columbian from State Secretary Yap. KCFAPI Executive Vice Presiily members, as players or even as dent, Ma. Theresa Curia was also Squires held its investiture in the KCFAPI, and Nestle Philippines cheerers only, Tan said. afternoon, adding 11 new members sponsored the sports event. (KC present to witness the event toThis is also an event at which gether with KCFAPI employees. to the KC youth organization. News)
THE Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) will confer the Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ Award for Academic Excellence to members of the Knights of Columbus and children who have shown an exemplary academic performance this Columbian Year from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. The awarding ceremonies will be held in their respective KC councils or districts to be facilitated by the KCFAPI area managers. The program is aimed to
A parent of the applicant or the applicant himself or herself must also be a benefit certificate holder of the insurance arm of the KC Order with a face value of P100,000.00 or higher to receive the award. Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ medallions and certificates will be awarded to all the qualified applicants, and awardees will have the prestige of having their names and pictures posted at the KCFAPI website and published in the Cross supplement of CBCP Monitor. (Vanessa Puno)
EMPLOYEES of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) and its subsidiaries: MACE Insurance Agency, Inc., and Keys Realty and Development Corporation with their families enjoyed the first ever outdoor experience of the Family Day held at Manila Ocean Park on May 28, 2011. The Manila Ocean Park, located behind the Quirino Grandstand in Luneta is said to be the first marine-themed park in the Philippines that gives shelter to diverse marine life. One hundred thirty-six employees and their immediate families had glimpses of wild water creatures and incredible vistas most of which are found in the belly of the deepest seas. The group met and greeted Icis and Ira, the South American Sea Lions, and watched them display their intelligence and charm in an entertaining live show. They were captivated by jellyfishes that danced elegantly in the water. They also learned about the different jellyfish species from the smallest, largest and the most dangerous. After lunch, children were treated with fun games, trivia games and bring-me contest. In the afternoon, the participants were enthralled by the wonders of the sea in the Oceanarium, a breath-taking marine life exhibit of over 5,000 varieties of marine creatures from around 300 species, all indigenous to the Philippines and the Southeast Asia. They walked through the underwater viewing tunnel, stretching 25 meters and witnessed how different reef fishes interact with each other. The Committee on Family Day led by BRO Manager Edwin B. Dawal expresses its gratitude to the KCFAPI Management headed by Executive VicePresident, Ma. Theresa G. Curia for the unique and memorable Family Day spent at the famous ocean park. (KCFAPI News)