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 I MPACT January 2007 / Vol 41 • No 1

CONTENTS
SOOTHSAYERS, psychics and fortune-tellers always
conquer the horizons as if by natural flow of things at EDITORIAL
the onset of every year, like political analysts when- Big Fat Lies ....................................................................... 25
ever elections are drawing near. Each to his own
authority, the forebodings would either be this or that COVER STORY
and everybody would take it as a matter of course; but
mostly the superstitious who is almost everybody
despite 400 years or so of Christianity in this country.
The traditional message of the Holy Father,
Pope Benedict the XVI, for the World Day of Peace
2007, which is what the Church yearns every New
Year, strongly asserts that the human person is the
heart of peace. “I am convinced,” says the Pontiff,
“that the respect for the person promotes peace and
that, in building peace, the foundations are laid for an
authentic integral humanism.” True, indeed, for ulti-
mately it is not for the sake of law or ideology per se
that governance should proceed, but for sake of men—
without prejudice, of course, to the philosophical
maxim first posted by Aristotle.
With the local elections just around the corner,
it should not be hard to foretell even without the
crystal ball that the first two quarters of 2007 will be
utterly violent and noisy. Politics being still the dirti- The Future of the Asian Family .................................. 16
est and most destructive endeavor in this country,
one thinks that even the rule law, the conviction of ARTICLES
ideological principles and philosophy—and even re-
ligion—are becoming inutile and toothless in bringing
From Contraception and Abortion to Euthanasia:
this country back on tract. A Global Review ............................................................... 4
Nobody is hopeless. Or desperate, because that Church and Government In All-NFP Promotion ... 8
is not even the issue. But many of the living are likely
to expire without ever seeing the dawn.
The Wielgus Case:
The Reasons for His Resignation .............................. 12
Chairman and President of the International
Right to Life Federation, Dr. John C. Willke, writes Greening the New Year ................................................ 14
“From Contraception and Abortion to Euthanasia: A Global Per- Meeting at Vatican on the Church in China .......... 15
spective.” Citing concrete experiences and incidence of
serious import, he delivered this piece at the recent STATEMENTS
International Conference on Bioethics and Family
held in Manila this January. A Conference Statement of the CBCP 2007
International Conference on Bioethics and the
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ of Cagayan de Family ............................................................................... 26
Oro posts an open letter to the bishops and family life
apostolate coordinators of Mindanao. The Standard Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI for the
Days Method (SDM) has been much disdained by
many pro-family advocates as a lousy option of natu-
Fifteenth World Day of the Sick ................................. 27
ral planning method. A staunch advocate of SDM, DEPARTMENTS
the archbishop defends his post.
Quote in the Act .............................................................. 2
Our cover story is written by no less than Arch-
bishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI. The Secretary General From the Blogs ............................................................... 24
of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences, he From the Inbox .............................................................. 28
has been particularly concerned with the multifaceted
issues on the family in Asia. “The Future of the Asian Book Reviews ................................................................. 29
Family,” reveals chilling realities that the Asian family
is being dragged into. Read on. CINEMA Review ......................................................... 30
News Briefs ...................................................................... 31

Volume 41 • Number 1 3
ARTICLE S

By John C. Willke, M. D.

T
he Catholic Church, but also the
Protestant churches, had always
condemned contraception. A little
known example of this is that laws in the
eastern United States forbidding the sale
or use of contraception were placed there
by a heavily Protestant legislature. I might
look to the Anglican Church internation-
ally, at a Lambeth Conference in 1923. In
that conference, Margaret Sanger, founder
of Planned Parenthood, was denounced
and was called a she-devil.
The first break came in the next
Lambeth conference in 1930, in which, the
world-wide Anglican Episcopal Church,
for the first time, allowed contraception.
By a vote of 193 to 67, those delegates
stated that in extreme cases, within mar-
riage, a contraceptive could be used to
responsibly plan the size of your family.
This move was progressively followed by
Protestant denominations.
It was answered by the Catholic
Church, by the encyclical, “Humanae Vi-
tae.” Pope Paul in this encyclical detailed
several effects that would occur if contra-
ception was legalized. Let me quote these,
he said, “There would be a wide and easy
road opened up toward conjugal infidelity
and the general lowering of morality.”
Okay, that has happened. He said, “It is
also to be feared that the man may lose
respect for the women and may come to the
point of considering her as a mere instru-
ment of selfish enjoyment and no longer
his respected, beloved companion.” Well,
a great deal of this has happened, as di-

From Contraception
vorce rates in many countries are now fifty
per cent. And finally he said, “This would
also be a dangerous weapon placed in the
hands of the government. Who would

and Abortion to
stop it from imposing upon the people the
method it prefers?” We are talking about
population control. We only have to look
across the China Sea to see the brutal

Euthanasia:
imposition of this by the Chinese govern-
ment and in much more subtle ways in
many other countries. For instance,
Singapore and Korea, for many years
would only pay for schooling for the first

A Global Review
two children. If you had more, you were on
your own. Interestingly, in the birth dearth
that we are now finding ourselves in, those
countries have changed these laws and
are paying bonuses for women having a
third or more child.
Thirty years after the Lambeth Con-
ference, all of the barriers had fallen, and at
the annual meeting of the Council of

4 IMPACT • January 2007

 From Contraception and Abortion to Euthanasia: A Global Review
© Jin Renyang/epa/Corbis
Churches, the array of speakers included
pro-contraceptive and pro-abortion radi-
cals, such as Pameroy, Calderone, and
Guttmacher.
Abortion had been rare in earlier times.
One of the major reasons was that there
were no safe methods of abortions. Basi-
cally there were two; a woman could swal-
low various herbs, potions, and poisons,
the idea being to kill the baby before it
killed the mother. Some times it was suc-
cessful, but often you had two deaths. As
a result of this, this really never became
very popular. The only other method of
abortion was external trauma to the lower
abdomen of the pregnant woman, such as
severe massaging or blows, such as stamp-
ing on her. The purpose here was to
dislodge the baby from the inside of the
uterus and cause a miscarriage. Some-
times, however, it ruptured the uterus,
which was fatal. This method never really
caught on either.
It wasn’t until 1800 that a fairly safe
method was devised. At that time, abor-
tionists began to insert instruments
through the vagina, the cervix, (the mouth
of the womb), and into the womb. The
purpose of these was to disrupt and rup-
ture the developing baby and cause the
loss of the pregnancy. Pasteur had not yet
invented germs, and so sterile technique
was unknown. There were a certain num-
ber of infections, some of them fatal, but by
and large, compared to the earlier two
methods, this was a far safer procedure.
As a result of this, there were increasing
numbers of abortions as the century pro-
ceeded.
Then in 1827, for the first time in
history, the accurate process of human
fertilization was postulated. In 1843, this
was proven. As a result of this, earlier
theories of when human life began were
replaced by the scientific knowledge that
human life began at the first cell stage and
was continuous after that. Partly because
of this, but to a large extent also because
of the growth of centers to help pregnant
women, the number of abortions fell sharply
and by the beginning of the 20th century
abortions were uncommon.
Prior to the 1960s, almost all countries
had laws protecting the unborn. The only
exception to that was Bolshevik Russia,
which revoked its permissive laws during
World War II, only to reinstate them after-
wards. England legalized abortion in 1969.
Several of the states in the U.S. did likewise
in the late 60s, but the big one was the
decision by the United States Supreme
Court in 1973, which legalized abortion on
demand across our nation for any reason
for the full nine months. After this, most
of the western world followed. By the
1980s, almost all of the west had legalized
abortion. The Muslim world did not, and
with only a couple of exception, neither did
Latin America or Africa. Japan legalized
right after World War II, while China and
India followed shortly thereafter. The
Philippines were an exception to this move-
ment.
Euthanasia: The first modern nation
to legalize direct euthanasia was the Neth-
erlands. This was basically judge-made
law for the first twenty years during the
1980s and 90s. Their Parliament then for-
malized this in law, a few years ago, to be
followed by Belgium and more recently
Switzerland. A series of restrictions and
qualifications hem in the wording of these
laws. However, in actual practice there are
essentially no restrictions on a licensed
physician’s liberty to kill a patient in those
countries today.
The general acceptance of contracep-
tion in most of the West has created a
specific mind set which had not existed
before. This mind set is that the person is
in charge of their own fertility and that they
have the right and the means to prevent
births or to achieve one. But the bottom
line was that she is in charge. She then
takes precautions, i.e., uses a contracep-
tive. However, these fail and she becomes
pregnant. This mindset then is very clear.
She says, “I was responsible. I took pre-
cautions. But I had an accident and I
became pregnant anyway. I did not intend
to, and therefore, I have the right to get un-
pregnant.” Here we have the curious use
of the words “pregnant by accident.” That
is rather strange, because the action that
this couple involved themselves in, sexual
intercourse, by its very purpose leads to
fertilization. Pregnancy is not an accident:
It is the normal result that God and nature
placed in this embrace. But no, she calls it
an accident, and therefore, she is justified
in “terminating” that pregnancy. She, of
course, would never use the phrase “kill-
ing a baby.”
There basically are two physical re-
sults of having sex. The one of course is
conceiving a baby and we all know of this.
The other is a dynamic that we have learned
about and professionally examined in more
recent years. And that is, a chemical,
hormonal response in those two bodies,
particularly in the woman, that results in
bonding between these two people. Na-
ture has arranged this bonding for the
integrity and maintenance of a marriage,
which, of course provides the shelter, the
education and training for the new child.
But contraception defies nature on both of
these levels, denying a pregnancy, but
also frustrating the bonding between the
two.
Contraception quickly moved beyond
the bounds of regulating birth within a
marriage. For it then allowed adultery, and
it allowed fornication and then it came to
be used for homosexual activity. All of
these were perfectly logical, as contracep-
tion made these sinful activities far more
possible and at least in the minds of many,
far safer.
In the early part of the 20th century,
condoms were improved, and with the
vulcanization of rubber, they became
widely distributed. The contraceptive pill
was researched in the 1950s, and by the
middle of the 1960s, was widely distrib-
uted. In its earliest form, it almost totally
prevented ovulation. But it also caused
Volume 41 • Number 1 5
From Contraception and Abortion to Euthanasia:
many women to die from blood clots and
strokes. To meet these negatives, the drug
companies continued to change the chemi-
cal makeup of the pill, dropping the estro-
gen portion to a lower and lower dose. On
these low dose pills, which are now used,
there are fewer blood clots, although some
still occur. The blockage of ovulation
however has become weaker and weaker,
so that now perhaps 20% or more of the
times these pills are used the women’s
body still ovulates. Some of those eggs
are fertilized, but not many turn into ba-
bies. This is because the other effect of the
pill is to harden the lining of the womb (the
uterus), and prevent the one-week old
human embryo from implanting. Without
implantation, the women’s body does not
get the message that fertilization did oc-
cur, and she will menstruate on schedule,
carrying with it the remains of that now,
dead embryo. This was not spoken of
much in the 1960s, but is very obvious now
and has produced a rather interesting
dynamic in the evangelical world.
I had a five-minute daily radio com-
mentary for over twenty years during the
1980s and 1990s, across the United States
on over three hundred stations. Ninety-
five or more percent of those listening
were Evangelical Christians. When I first
began my programs, I had been very aware
of the fact that almost every one listening
was permissive of contraception. But as
these years went on, I was able to speak
6 IMPACT • January 2007
© Images.com/Corbis
more and more to the abortive action of the
pills. Others did the same. Now even
though I am not on the air anymore, and the
people don’t know that I am Catholic,
good Christian evangelicals will call me.
They have been using the pill, but they
understand that it might cause that early
abortion. Is this true? Yes, it is, and I
explain. Their response then is that, “Well
then we have to quit using them. What
else can we do?” And I would say, “Well,
you can’t use a chemical contraceptive.
I’m sure you know about a barrier method
like a condom, but these often fail. Have
you ever thought of natural family plan-
ning?” And so I introduce them to it.
Most mainline Protestants around the
world still embrace contraception without
too many questions, but the burgeoning
millions of evangelical Christians are com-
ing closer and closer to us. If I were to sit
down and talk to one of the major
televangelists in the U. S. or abroad, they
would agree with me that you should not
use contraceptives for premarital sex, for
adultery, for homosexual activity. Also,
we should not use them if they have an
abortive action. Best we smile and say,
what is left? What is left would be for them
to use some type of a non-abortive contra-
ceptive within a marriage to responsibly
plan a family. That is where it started and
it is going back to that. But in going back,
it has brought those people much closer to
Catholics than was true two decades or
A Global Review
more ago.
I won’t spend too much time on abor-
tion, except to note what seems to be now,
the natural history of this problem. Let’s
sum it up by saying that abortion contains
within itself, the seeds of its own destruc-
tion. Back when it was first introduced,
particularly across the western world, as
one commentator said, it was the greatest
thing invented since sliced bread. No
more.
We now have answered most of the
arguments that were effective in legalizing
it. It was needed for over population. Well
now we know that at least across the west
and certainly including Russia, but also
now increasingly in the Third World, birth-
rates are down so far that the problem isn’t
over but rather looming under population.
You folks here in the Philippines are
blessed. For you are one of the exceptions
to this. And God willing you will stay that
way. They said it would result in fewer
unwanted children and child abuse. But
unwanted children and child abuse have
both sky rocketed. They said there would
be fewer pregnancies, but there are plenty
more, it is just that they aren’t carried to
term. They said this really wasn’t a baby,
but now, you can’t say that without people
looking at you and wondering what stone
you crawled out from under. For it is
almost totally accepted now in any type of
intellectual circle that human life really
does begin at the first cell stage and that
abortion really does kill a living human.
They said we needed it for rape preg-
nancy, but depending upon the nation, we
find at least in the West, that these are tiny
fraction of one percent of the pregnancies.
They said they wanted to have abortion so
they could get rid of babies who were
handicapped. But here a real paradox has
occurred. Grant some exceptions in some
underdeveloped countries. Nevertheless,
the trend worldwide is to provide help for
handicapped people. If possible, we give
them wheelchairs, and do many other things
to help them. And we do this because they
are handicapped. But when you kill an
unborn child in the womb, you kill them
because they are handicapped. I see this
as rather schizophrenic.
They say that if you forbid abortions,
there will be huge numbers of illegal abor-
tions and large numbers of women will die.
But the nation of Poland, some forty mil-
lion people, after having abortion on de-
mand for forty years, passed a law to forbid
it. Instead of over a hundred and fifty
thousand abortions, they now only have
a few hundred each year. And what of

women dying? There are fewer women of
child bearing age dying today in Poland,
than there were when abortion was legal
and common. So most of the arguments for
abortion have been answered, and they
are back to the only one left. The woman
has the right to choose to kill her own
baby. As I have said, “Abortion contains
within itself, the seeds of its own destruc-
tion.”
And so people use contraception and
when it fails, they resort to abortion. But
how does abortion relate to euthanasia,
for it most certainly does. Well, let us look
at a few reasons why people have abor-
tions. They abort because the baby is
going to be a burden. But my, your grand-
mother in a wheelchair is a burden. They
abort because the baby is unwanted. Do
you know of any handicapped or older
people who are unwanted? They abort
because of the degree of perfection. They
are told that the baby in the womb will be
handicapped. Do you know of any handi-
capped people? Age, the developing baby
was only three months, was too young.
But if we use age as criteria, then how
about your uncle, Joseph, who is really
much too old. We abort on the basis of
intelligence. Oh, the baby in the womb is
not yet conscious, not intelligent yet.
What of a patient after a stroke who is not
really conscious any more? We abort
because of place of residence. The baby
still lives in the womb, but if we use place
of residence, we can kill those in a hospital,
nursing home, or home for the aged. The
Supreme Court of the United States justi-
fied abortion because the fetus “does not
yet have meaningful life”. That was one of
their reasons. Do you know of anybody
with Alzheimer’s disease? They no longer
have meaningful life. We abort because of
the cost. She is too poor to have another
child. But if we use that, then we are too
poor to keep Uncle Joseph. We just can’t
afford to take care of him anymore. We use
numbers. They have too many children
already. They should abort this one. Hey,
we have too many old people. Best, we get
some of them out of the way. And finally,
we use marital status. She is not married.
Therefore she should have the abortion.
But that old lady is a widow. She is no
longer married. Would that make euthana-
sia more justified?
You see, the common denominator is
that human life is no longer an absolute
value. It is no longer sacred. And so it no
longer has to be protected in law. When
we devalue human life at it’s beginning,
then we find it easy to justify eliminating
“human life” nearer its end. For after all,
those at the beginning have an unlimited
horizon ahead of them. Who knows, they
may be the next Beethoven, but those at
the end of life, have made most of their
journey. By that evaluation, we might say
there is no future ahead for them. If we can
kill the little ones, certainly we can also kill
the old ones.
And so finally, where does euthana-
sia lead? We had a test market in the
Netherlands. I have an office there, and I
have written a book which discusses in
detail the Dutch situation. Let me finish by
telling you a few true stories from there.
A professional colleague of mine, a
physician, had been taking care of an
elderly couple. They were both limited in
their activities, but lived together quite
adequately in their own home. My friend
went away for a weekend holiday and
another doctor took his calls. The old man
became ill and the new doctor went to visit
him. He said that he had pneumonia, gave
him an injection, and he was dead in two
hours. On Monday morning, the very
distraught widow called my friend, beg-
ging him to come over. He did. She met him
at the door, weeping. “Why did that
doctor kill John? John didn’t want to die.”
That was perfectly legal in Holland.
Here is another one. A patient with a
cancer was in a great deal of pain, and they
had not been able to control the pain. And
so, the doctor decided his time was up. He
filled his syringe with a dose of morphine
many times the lethal dose, many times
what they were using as a painkiller and
injected it. The doctor went off to see
several other patients, and came back to
pronounce this one dead, to find him sit-
ting up in bed, dangling his legs, smiling.
“Doc,” he said, “you finally got the right
dose. Thank you so much. I am pain free.”
Here’s another case told to me by my
friends: There was of a rather wealthy and
apparently a rather stingy landowner. The
sequence of events was that his wife called
the priest who visited at 8:00 in the morn-
ing. At 9:00, the doctor visited, gave him
a shot and killed him. At 10:00 the coroner
came to pronounce him dead, and that was
that. He had not been ill. He had rheumat-
ics and walked with a cane, but other than
that, no problems. The wife said he asked
to be killed. The only other witness was
the doctor who obliged and was paid for
the job. The people’s suspicions were
confirmed, when the estate was quickly
settled, all of the land sold, and the new
widow went to the Riviera to live in style.
Friends, these things happen in Hol-
ARTICLES
land every day. It is estimated by those
there that at least fifty percent of the pa-
tients who are killed by doctors did not ask
to be killed. This has dropped down to
teenagers now who, if they are depressed
enough, may ask for termination, and some
doctors oblige. And so the floodgates
there have opened. Most recently, Bel-
gium has also passed a similar law and we
are seeing the same slow erosion of pro-
tection of human life there that we saw in
its northern neighbor.
And so, where are we? The beginning
of this mischief was contraception. It
allowed unlimited sex activity under the
assumption that people had total control
of their own fertility and that they were free
to have sex with anybody, anyway. Any-
time. The result has been a drastic drop in
birthrates throughout much of the world
as well as a flood of new sexual transmitted
diseases. And now as a result, human life
has been cheapened and this has logically
led to abortion, which is leading to eutha-
nasia.
You folks here live in a privileged na-
tion. Your Catholic faith has so far pro-
tected you. By all means, treasure it. For
you, I do believe are the hope of the Pacific
Rim area. The nations around you are
increasingly mimicking the degenerate
West, as those around you are slowly com-
mitting demographic suicide. God bless
you good folks, and keep the faith. I
(This piece was delivered at the CBCP 2007
International Conference on Bioethics and the Family,
held at EDSA Shangri-Las Hotel, Ortigas Center,
Manila on January 9-10, 2007. John C. Willke, M. D.,
is Chairman and President of International Right to
Life Federation.)
© Dennis Dayao / IMPACT
Volume 41 • Number 1 7
Church and Government In All-NFP Promotion
I
n mid-December, I received a copy of a
letter addressed to His Eminence
Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo as
Chairman of the Pontifical Commission on
Family. The letter has four signatures and
purportedly represents the Family and Life
Apostolate diocesan representatives in
Mindanao. It questions my advocacy for:
(1) the Standard Days Method (SDM), and
(2) collaboration of the Church with the
Commission on Population (POPCOM) and
the Department of Health (DOH).
We have indeed discussed a number
of these points during our bishops’ recol-
lection meeting in Davao on November 7.
Despite the various questions raised,
mostly on the scientific reliability of SDM,
I was glad to see the openness of most of
the bishops with regard to the All-Natural
Family Planning program
that we had started in Ipil
Prelature over the past four "Whether or not we wish to work
years. Let me then make
these clarifications as a re- with government on NFP promotion,
it is imperative that the local church
sponse to the letter and a
continuation of our dia-
logue for promoting re-
sponsible parenthood and activate its own NFP program to
natural family planning in
Mindanao. address the felt needs of many
I. On the Standard
Days Method
1) In July 2003, at the plenary assem-
bly of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines, all the bishops present,
with Archbishop O. Quevedo presiding,
had a lengthy discussion on SDM. We
passed an affirmative consensus vote, with
no objection, recognizing SDM as a method
that “could be used by a diocese in its
program of Natural Family Planning,”
provided it was not combined with contra-
ceptives and it was not seen as part of the
government’s “cafeteria” approach of pro-
moting contraceptives. This guideline
takes into consideration the words of cau-
tion expressed in Cardinal Trujillo’s com-
munication of May 2003. This then is the
standing guideline adopted by CBCP,
which should be respected by our FLA
workers in Mindanao.
2) It was with this guideline in mind
that the Prelature of Ipil continued and
expanded its program for natural family
planning which included not only SDM
but all modern, scientific NFP methods.
We have one comprehensive All-NFP
program to promote Responsible Parent-
hood through Natural Family Planning.
This includes all recognized scientifically-
8 IMPACT • January 2007
based NFP methods today, and not only
SDM. Indeed not all women are qualified
to adopt SDM. In this sense, SDM is
offered only as an added option. There are
two general approaches of family planning
that we differentiate—the natural vis-à-
vis the artificial. We also point out that it
is not a question between “modern contra-
ceptives” and “traditional NFP methods,”
but rather that there are modern, scientifi-
cally-based NFP methods as well which
are equally if not even more effective than
contraceptives.
We address the three felt needs of
many young couples today—namely, (1)
they want to plan their families; (2) they
prefer natural family planning; and (3) they
want to choose among available NFP meth-
ods. In the process we have articulated
couples today."
four pastoral guidelines—namely, (1) we
are pro-life as our first principle; (2) we are
for responsible parenthood as our goal;
(3) we are for natural family planning as our
means; and (4) we are for enabling couples
to make an informed and responsible
choice, based on the formation of a right
conscience.
We are following a five-step approach
in order to systematize and decentralize
the program to reach every kapilya com-
munity or barangay. The first step is a
parish-level orientation for all leaders. This
is followed in step two by a providers’
training. Step three is a kapilya-level ori-
entation followed by individual counsel-
ing at the household level (step four). The
fifth step is quarterly monitoring at the
parish and prelature levels. Finally, we
provide information on six modern NFP
methods, which include SDM and the Two-
Day Method (TDM), another simplified
method based on cervical mucus observa-
tion.
In general, we are heartened by the
positive response of almost 1,500 couple-
users of NFP in the prelature so far. Two-
thirds of these are SDM-users while a
fourth are practitioners of the Billings Ovu-
lation Method (BOM). We find that mak-
ing available information on all NFP meth-
ods is a win-win solution: we have gotten
more BOM users today than in the past
when BOM was presented alone. Indeed,
couples learn to combine NFP methods or
shift from one method to another depend-
ing on their preference.
Our FLA workers also report that
three-fourths of NFP users in our tally
have actually shifted from contraceptive
use. Among the reasons often cited are:
avoidance of side-effects to health; cost-
free considerations; adherence to the
Church’s moral guideline; and their prefer-
ence for what to them is indeed natural.
3) Is SDM then reliable as an NFP
method? When this was discussed at the
CBCP assembly three years
ago, SDM was still being
piloted by some NGOs in
limited settings. At this
point, however, after extend-
ing our All-NFP program as
a church ministry to the en-
tire prelature and meeting
couple-users of more than
one to three years, I can at-
test that NFP, particularly
SDM, is indeed a valid, vi-
able, and vital option for a
growing number of couples.
Along with almost 1,000
SDM users, our 250 NFP volunteer provid-
ers in Ipil Prelature would agree with this
conclusion. They have made the follow-
ing general observations: Despite initial
difficulties, couples learn to handle the 12-
day period of abstinence in SDM. They do
not combine SDM with any contraceptive
method (and our church workers have
never counseled them to do so). Many
prefer SDM because it is much simpler and
easy to follow. Many say that the beads
have helped them to communicate better
with their spouses. Not a few couples
have also remarked that for them the choice
was not between SDM and BOM, but
rather between SDM and contraceptives,
or between SDM and no method at all.
In Cagayan de Oro Archdiocese, where
I am now based, we have started the All-
NFP program in five pilot parishes, after a
series of orientation talks to our clergy,
religious sisters, and family life workers.
Another seven parishes have scheduled
the step one orientation talk before they
begin their providers’ training. I am par-
ticularly glad to see the active involve-
ment of the Catholic Women’s League in
the All-NFP program, in coordination with
 ARTICLES

our Christian Family and Life Apostolate

An Open Letter to Bishops of Mindanao and
Family Life Apostolate Coordinators
(CFLA).
4) The scientific bases for SDM are
summarized in the briefing paper furnished
by the Institute for Reproductive Health-
Philippines (IRHP). Biological factors rela-
tive to a woman’s fertile period, variations
within the average woman’s cycle defined

Church and
as 26 days varying up to 32 days, and
computer simulations of over 7,600 actual
cycles provided the theoretical bases for
standardizing the length of the fertile win-

Government In All-
dow. This was followed by pilot studies
and clinical trials in three countries, in-
cluding the Philippines. In short, the sci-

NFP Promotion
ence of statistical probability was used to
determine a standardized fertile period that
could be applicable to a large segment of
the target population—in this case, women
whose menstrual cycles range from 26 to
32 days. It is estimated that three-fourths
of all women are within this cycle range.
By Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma, S.J., D.D. From the clinical trials, SDM has scored a
high effectiveness rate of 95.25%.
In this sense, the standardized days
of SDM are quite different from the cus-
tomized days of the calendar rhythm
method which requires the individual
woman to make repeated calculations
based on her six previous cycle lengths.
Even the allegation that SDM users may
use condoms during the fertile period is an
oblique admission that the calculation it-
self is accurate. The scientific study of
SDM has been accepted by the World
Health Organization; it is now recognized
as a modern fertility awareness based (FAB)
method of family planning.
In Ipil Prelature we have only 3-5 veri-
fied cases of method failure. Other cases
of failure or drop-outs were attributable to
the users not following strictly the rules
for SDM adoption.

II. On Collaboration with

Government
Last December 6 at the National Popu-
lation Congress in Manila, the Commis-
sion on Population launched its Respon-
sible Parenting Movement and new policy
directions to promote only natural family
planning. This was in response to a direc-
tive of President Gloria M. Arroyo who
had made known her preference for NFP
since the start of her administration.
Prior to this launching on October 24,
upon invitation of CBCP President Arch-
© Images.com/Corbis

bishop Angel Lagdameo, DOH Secretary

Francisco Duque III and POPCOM Execu-
tive Director Tomas Osias came over to the
CBCP office. They explained this new

Volume 41 • Number 1 9
ARTICLES
program and solicited the support of CBCP
from the three bishops present, namely
Archbishop Lagdameo, Archbishop
Paciano Aniceto, Chairman of the Episco-
pal Commission on Family and Life, and
myself as CBCP Vice-President. At a fol-
low-up meeting on November 10, members
of the Permanent Council were also
present. All the bishops expressed their
appreciation for this new policy direction.
However they deferred any decision and
suggested that the proposal for church-
government collaboration on NFP be dis-
cussed first at the next CBCP plenary as-
sembly in January 2007.
It was at this point that I suggested
that we already try out in pilot dioceses the
joint promotion of NFP by government
agencies and the local church. This would
give us a more realistic frame of reference
for the discussions in the coming CBCP
plenary assembly. In addition to Cagayan
de Oro, it was suggested that Jaro and San
Fernando, Pampanga, could also be suit-
able sites for piloting.
Back in Cagayan de Oro, we then
prepared a draft memorandum of agree-
ment with the Region X DOH and POPCOM
offices. This draft memo was discussed
extensively with the clergy and family-
oriented organizations. However, in def-
erence to the precautions expressed from
various quarters, I encouraged the Catho-
lic Women’s League as a religious lay
organization to be a signatory to the MOA
10 IMPACT • January 2007
instead of the archdiocese itself. (Three
years ago, the Couples for Christ had
entered into a similar agreement with
the national DOH office to promote
NFP.) This memo was signed by the
CWL archdiocesan president and the
regional heads of DOH and POPCOM
on December 19, with myself as witness
and consultant.
In our collective discernment
among NFP promoters in CWL and in
pilot parishes, there were four major
reasons for entering into this agree-
ment with regional government agen-
cies.
(1) This is a new national policy
that dovetails with the concerns of the
Church with regard to responsible
parenthood and natural family plan-
ning. It is articulated by the Chief
Executive herself and translated into
operational guidelines by the national
and regional DOH and POPCOM of-
fices. It also reflects a new sensitivity
towards cultural and religious values
among government offices—i.e., that
population management can be attained
through responsible parenthood, and that
responsible parenthood in turn is prac-
ticed through natural family planning.
(Among the present Commissioners of
POPCOM are Mrs. Geraldine Padilla, Chair,
Committee on Women, Couples for Christ,
and wife of the CFC founder; and Dr. Jose
Sandejas, Presidential Adviser on Family
Matters and a close adviser too of Arch-
bishop Aniceto.) Despite strong objec-
tions from pro-contraceptive legislators,
the executive branch of the national gov-
ernment is pursuing this NFP-only ap-
proach—probably the only one of its kind
among developing countries today.
Perhaps at no other time has the church
and government agreed more fully on the
goal of responsible parenthood and the
means of natural family planning. The
availability of modern simplified methods
can also accelerate the promotion of NFP.
If the church is serious in mainstreaming
NFP as a pastoral program to reach many
more couples beyond the less than one
percent indicated in national surveys, the
offer of working with the support of gov-
ernment resources should not be
downplayed. This is similar to the situa-
tion of our Catholic schools availing them-
selves of public funds to carry on the
mission of Christian education.
(2) The MOA includes adequate safe-
guards for the Church’s concerns. It has
explicit provisions that “Natural Family
Planning methods will not be combined in
any way with artificial means of birth regu-
lation”; that the NFP program will be deliv-
ered as a distinct and separate program;
and that there will be “joint supervision
and monitoring of the program.” More-
over, as consultant, the bishop or his rep-
resentative is given a significant role in the
design of the Regional NFP Program Plan.
The MOA may also be modified by the
parties and is effective for one year, sub-
ject to review.
(3) DOH and POPCOM have asked to
use our training manuals and the services
of some of our trainors. This is in line with
the spirit of the MOA that provides for
“the sharing of resources—financial, ma-
terial, human and technical.” In this sense,
the government would like to replicate our
ongoing All-NFP program. In the joint
trainings that have already been con-
ducted, we are glad to see that a more
holistic view of NFP is being presented
that is in consonance with Gospel values.
The limited funding for this program
does not come from foreign governments,
but from the national budget. In this part-
nership, CWL and the church side are
taking the lead role and are actually con-
tributing more to the common effort of NFP
promotion rather than becoming depen-
dent on government funding.
(4) A final consideration for us is the
challenge of evangelization in the mar-
ket place—i.e., engaging government
agencies in the common objective of pro-
moting responsible parenthood and NFP
to address the felt needs of couples. With-
out an MOA, government agencies will
continue to pursue NFP as its declared
program at any rate—but without the guid-
ance and value formation that only church-
based groups could provide. Indeed in
initial discussions and joint trainings with
government members, we find much good
will and openness for the involvement of
church groups in NFP promotion. Many
government workers are Catholics and
mothers who prefer NFP to other methods.
In the spirit of Vatican II, this would be a
concrete way for the church to dialogue
with the world. For religious lay organiza-
tions like CWL, signing the MOA would
be seen as a form of principled collabora-
tion—where moral principles are high-
lighted as a frame of reference.
Vis-à-vis the offer of collaboration
with government in NFP promotion, the
local church can focus on any of these
three directions: (1) to continue to criticize
and remain suspicious of government be-
cause of its earlier pro-contraceptive
stance; (2) to work separately from gov-
Church and Government In All-NFP Promotion
ernment on NFP promotion; or (3) to criti-
cally collaborate with government in pro-
moting NFP. We have actually tried the
first two approaches—with minimal re-
sults as far as figures of actual NFP users
are concerned. Trying out the third ap-
proach may incur some risk of failure and
misuse; but perhaps the greater risk is not
to try at all. In addressing the felt needs of
couples today, are we driven more by the
“fear of government” or by the “love of
NFP”?
Natural family planning, I would sub-
mit, is the positive alternative and the most
effective answer the Church can give to
the stark realities of unwanted pregnan-
cies, abortions, and use of contraceptives
in Philippine society today. A more inclu-
sive approach—that includes simplified
NFP methods and critical collaboration
with government—can spell the differ-
ence between focusing on only one
“saved” sheep or reaching out to the other
99% that are still “lost.”
III. An Invitation
Even as we enter into dialogue with
government regarding NFP promotion, it
would also be good to continue the dia-
logue among ourselves within church
circles. Before making sweeping state-
ments about the efficacy or mis-use of
simplified NFP methods without much
evidence on the ground, may I extend an
invitation to other dioceses to send ob-
servers to Ipil Prelature to examine its
ongoing All-NFP program. Interviewing
actual NFP users and providers can give
us a more realistic picture of the situation.
When I mentioned the Ipil experience
in NFP promotion during my talk to the
DOPIM bishops and clergy last Novem-
ber, there were inquiries and general inter-
ease!
Rel
est about the program. Last May, a group
of FLA workers from Digos did visit Ipil New
Prelature; now they have started a similar
All-NFP program in five pilot parishes.
Earlier this year, the archdioceses of Capiz
and Jaro have had trainings on All-NFP
and are starting their own programs. Like-
wise, the local churches in Basilan and
Jolo have had their own trainings as well
as some parishes in Malaybalay. Several
other bishops in the Visayas and Luzon
have also signified to me their intention to
ovc.blogspot.com
review their FLA-NFP programs and in-
clude modern simplified NFP methods.
Whether or not we wish to work with
government on NFP promotion, it is im-
perative that the local church activate its
own NFP program to address the felt needs
of many couples today. Otherwise, we
may reach the awkward situation where it
is the government alone that strives to For Orders Contact:
promote NFP while the church stays on
the sidelines. There is no need for acrimo-
nious debate or ascribing arcane designs
National Matrimonial Tribunal
on the efforts of other dioceses to promote Office
All-NFP. Tel. No. (632) 5274160
As a local ordinary, I am mindful of my CBCPWorld Office
responsibilities towards the Christian com-
munity, particularly with regard to family Telefax (632) 4041612
life issues. There is indeed need for pas- Other books by
toral prudence, but also some pastoral Abp. Oscar V. Cruz, JCD, DD
innovation (Duc in altum!) if we wish to be
1. Marriage Tribunal Ministry
relevant and responsive to the needs of 2. Guide Documents on Parish, Vicariate and
many couples today. Some may look at the Diocesan Administrative/Pastoral
risks involved; but I would rather look at Concerns
the hope—of personalizing responsible 3. Canon 290 CIC in the Service of Truth,
parenthood by means of promoting a cul- Justice and Charity
4. Annotations on Rotal Jurisprudence on
ture of natural family planning throughout Canon 1097, 1098, 1102
the country. 5. Annotations on Rotal Jurisprudence on
For your ministry in the new year, may Canon 1103
I invoke the threefold Christmas blessings 6. Annotations on Rotal Jurisprudence on
of Light, Love, and Life—which also en- Canon 1095
capsulate the spirit of All-NFP promotion 7. Annotations on Rotal Jurisprudence on
Canon 1101
in Filipino homes today. I 8. Evidence in Marriage Nullity Cases
9. Impediments to Canonical Marriage
10. Markers
11. Penal Process for Dismissal from the
Clerical State
12. Provincial Council, Diocesan Synod,
Pastoral Assembly
13. CBCP Guidelines on Sexual Abuse and
Misconduct: A Critique
14. Board of Conciliation and Arbitration
15. Viewpoints at the Onset of the New
Millennium
16. Media in our Midst
17. Administration of the Temporal Goods of
the Church
18. Curia Management
19. Clergy Compensation
20. Gambling in the Republic
21. Call of the Laity
22. Primer on Gambling
23. The Bihop's Staff
Volume 41 • Number 1 11
ARTICLES
The Wielgus Case:
The Reasons for
His Resignation
He was the new archbishop of Warsaw, and Benedict
XVI had supported him almost until the last moment.
But then he ordered him to resign. There are many
who have disappointed the pope— and some even
in the Vatican
by Sandro Magister
T
he “rezygnacja,” the tearful resigna-
tion that Stanislaw Wielgus an-
nounced on Sunday, January 7, in
the cathedral of Warsaw where he was
supposed to be installed as the new arch-
bishop, did not put an end to the storm that
is shaking the Catholic Church in Poland
and Rome, all the way to its supreme pas-
tor.
Last May 25, on the first day of his trip
to Poland, Benedict XVI entered that very
same cathedral.
He knelt before the tomb of the heroic
cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, pointing him
out as a model for all.
And among the things he asked of the
bishops, priests, and faithful of Poland
were:
• “humble sincerity” in admitting the
errors of the past;
• magnanimity in judging the faults com-
mitted “in other times and other cir-
cumstances”;
• pride for all the many good achieve-
ments of those years, in resisting a
form of totalitarianism that “generated
hypocrisy.”
But none of these requests was re-
spected during the tumultuous weeks be-
tween the appointment of Wielgus and his
12 IMPACT • January 2007
resignation.
***
The external enemy is playing a role in
the current “wave of attacks against the
Catholic Church in Poland,” as Vatican
spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi la-
mented on January 7: that enemy that
works as a “a strange alliance between
those who once persecuted the Church
there and its other adversaries.”
But there are also enmities within the
Church that are contributing to the car-
nage.
There are the fiery campaigns of
Poland’s Radio Maryja (unconnected to
the broadcaster of the same name in Italy),
which has engaged in mudslinging to the
point of accusing Lech Walesa, the icon of
the peaceful overthrow of the communist
regime, of collaborating with that regime,
but then defended to the end archbishop
Wielgus, a great protector of the radio
network, against the same accusations.
There are the wars among Catholic
factions, intransigents and liberals, using
the documents of the “Sluba
Bezpieczenstwa,” the secret police of the
defunct regime: there are kilometers of
© TOMASZ GZELL/epa/Corbis
these documents in the no-longer-secret
archives of the Institute of National
Memory, some of them perhaps “copies of
copies of copies” that are easily turned
against innocent persons as well, as the
outgoing archbishop of Warsaw, Józef
Glemp, thundered in the farewell homily on
January 7 for himself and for Wielgus, his
would-be successor.
There are expert accusers like Fr.
Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski, himself under
suspicion of collaboration several months
ago, who has become the tireless hunter of
the guilty, with the approval—according
to him—of the archbishop of Krakow and
former secretary of John Paul II, Cardinal
Stanislaw Dziwisz.
Paradoxically, it is Dziwisz himself and
his entourage who are now at the center of
the latest wave of accusations. One of
these is already gone: Janusz Bielanski,
pastor of the cathedral of Krakow, who
resigned on the evening of January 8.
There are other clouds of suspicion
surrounding the intellectuals of “Tygodnik
Powszechny,” the historical Krakow
weekly paper for which Karol Wojtyla
wrote. Last spring one of its most illustri-
ous authors, Fr. Michal Czajkowski, who
heads the commission for Christian-Jew-
 The Wielgus Case: The Reasons for His Resignation

ish dialogue, was accused of having spied
on none other than the martyred priest
Jerzy Popieluszko, before the secret police
abducted and killed Popieluszko in 1984.
***
But there’s more. The current director
of “Tygodnik,” Fr. Adam Boniecki, once a
personal friend of Wojtyla’s and head of
the Polish edition of “L’Osservatore
Romano,” has said:
“I don’t know who, but someone has
misled pope Joseph Ratzinger. This is a
serious matter, and someone must pay for
it, in Poland or in the Vatican.”
These words, given in an interview
with the Italian newspaper “la Repubblica”
on the day of Wielgus’ resignation, were
reprinted with great emphasis in
“Avvenire,” the newspaper of the Italian
bishops’ conference, which has a direct
link to the Vatican secretary of state, car-
dinal Tarcisio Bertone: this is a sign of
strong displeasure and irritation on the
part of Church leadership over how that
matter came to a conclusion.
In effect, the final curtain of this
drama—the resignation of Wielgus just 40
hours after he had formally taken his post
as archbishop of Warsaw—can be ex-
plained only by an authoritative decision
by Benedict XVI himself.
If by ordering his resignation the pope
finally decided to reverse his position of
constant support for Wielgus as head of
the most important diocese in Poland, it
must be because he was convinced by
very serious facts.
***
Wielgus wasn’t always on the short list of
the candidates to succeed Glemp.
The three candidates whom the
Vatican congregation for bishops, headed
by cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, exam-
ined before the summer were the arch-
bishop of Lublin, Józef Miroslaw Zycinski,
Rome.
Too many contenders, none a winner.
The stalemate favored the emergence of a
compromise candidate after the summer—
this was Wielgus, who until 1999 was
professor and rector at the Catholic Uni-
versity of Lublin, then bishop of the little
diocese of Plock. He is a learned specialist
in medieval philosophy, but is equally at
home at the populist Radio Maryja.
***
In 1978, Wielgus spent several months
at the University of Munich, the German
city where Ratzinger was archbishop at
the time. The two met there.
If he had obeyed the secret police,
who had given him his passport for Ger-
many, on returning to Poland the young
professor would have had to have given
the police a report on the future pope.
But in the profile the nuncio sent to
Rome there was nothing about Wielgus’
past as a collaborator with the “Sluba
Bezpieczenstwa.” Yet in Poland, news was
already circulating of documents that could
have nailed him to the wall.
The Vatican took a few weeks for
consideration. But it neither requested nor
received any further information.
On December 6 came the official an-
nouncement of the appointment. A month
later, the prefect of the congregation for
bishops, Cardinal Re, would confess:
“When archbishop Wielgus was ap-
pointed, we knew nothing about his col-
laboration with the secret services.”
He might have said: “We didn’t want
to know anything.”
Because it was only
on January 2 that the
Vatican nunciature
asked the Institute
of National Memory
for the documents
on Wielgus.
But meanwhile,
on December 21, the
In public, Wielgus continued to deny
the charges. But on January 3 and 4, the
Polish newspapers printed the copies of
the documents he had signed for the se-
cret police.
On January 5, Wielgus nevertheless
took up his post as archbishop of Warsaw,
and said he had informed the pope about
his past before his appointment.
On the 6th, the feast of the Epiphany,
he had read in all the churches in Poland a
message in which he finally admitted that
he had “harmed the Church” both by col-
laborating with the police and by publicly
denying his collaboration. But he repeated
that he had confessed all of this to the
pope beforehand.
The message on Epiphany was in no
way a prelude to his resignation. Wielgus
asked the faithful of Warsaw to “welcome
him” as their new archbishop: “I will be
among you as a brother who wants to
unite, not to divide.” He added only that he
would “submit [himself] to whatever deci-
sion the pope makes.”
The order arrived that same day, be-
fore the evening: he was to resign.
There had finally arrived at the Vatican,
translated into German, the documents of
the secret police. The majority of the Pol-
ish bishops, each of whom was asked
individually, were against Wielgus.
But the greatest disappointment for
the pope was the message Wielgus had
had read in the churches that morning.
Benedict XVI had never heard these
things before from the man in whom he had
placed such trust for the Catholic Poland
of the great Wyszynski and Wojtyla. I
© ANDRZEJ RYBCZYNSKI/epa/Corbis

a leading “liberal” exponent; the arch- pope again person-

bishop of Przemysl and president of the
bishops‘ conference, Józef Michalik; and
the bishop of Tarnów, Wiktor Skworc.
There were other contenders with their
respective parties, including the bishop of
Gdansk, Tadeusz Goclowski, another “lib-
eral”; Stanislaw Rylko, president of the
pontifical council for the laity; and the
Vatican nuncio to Warsaw, Józef
Kowalczyc, whose responsibilities include
that of preparing the dossiers on candi-
dates for bishop and sending these to
ally defended the
designated new
archbishop of War-
saw, reconfirming
his “complete trust”
in him after having
examined “all the cir- Polish police stand guard in front of the Warsaw Primate's residence. Hundreds
cumstances of his of supporters marched to the Warsaw Primate's residence in Warsaw Sunday,
life,” and also, as be- following a mass at the Warsaw cathedral. In a last-minute move shocking Polish
church-goers, Warsaw archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus stepped down on Sunday
came known later, amid the ongoing controversy over his alleged communist-era collaboration. His
after having spoken resignation came just one-half hour before he was to be installed as the new
archbishop in a pontifical mass at the Warsaw cathedral, with his remarks
with him again. triggering an uproar by church-goers both inside and outside the building. (Corbis)

Volume 41 • Number 1 13
ARTICLES

I
f we were to give a colour to 2006, what cleansing, cooling and life sustaining wa- stricken areas. Life seems to go on as usual.
will it be? With the deaths from the ters end. Let animals be more and more Human ways of living and doing have re-
natural disasters and calamities, the allowed to freely roam and graze the moun- turned to their robotic routine.
political killings and the unabated harass- tains, forests, plains, oceans, seas, rivers At the same time two years later, an
ment, murder and disappearance of jour- and skies. earthquake hits Taiwan, destroying prop-
nalists and activists, I am tempted to colour Let women and men cease to be mere erties and taking several lives. This time
it black, as black as the sleet that spilled out consumers and become more and more however, a natural disaster produces a more
of a tanker off the coast of Guimaras Island. preservers and revellers in a primordial globally felt impact by breaking submarine
Add the quality and nature of Philippine friendship and communion among all be- fibre optic cables which carried the weight
politics, it even gets blacker. Beyond our ings created by a deeply compassionate of electronic communication worldwide. On
shores it is not less ominous with the and caring God. Let all bow down and touch December 27, 2006, millions by force of
recent siege of Southern Lebanon and the the earth once more and behold the life that habit woke up, turn on their computers,
profound and extensive deterioration of comes forth and grows from this earth on access the internet and are exasperated by
Iraq brought on by a war fomented by the which we daily trod and shamefully ignore. a curious message on their computer screen:
delusions of empire. Let us all learn once more to be humble, to “this page cannot be displayed…”
With Christmas just a few weeks be- kiss humus, to kiss earth as farmers for eons With the recent Taiwan earthquake-
hind us, it can’t be triggered interrup-
that black. There tion of internet ser-
must be some light vices anger, furor,
and life-giving even rage descend
colour left from a on the internet-de-
feast so stubbornly pendent millions,
sanguine and infec- myself included.
tiously loving. Imag- Many must have
ine the art of it. Imag- seen black that day.
ine the kaleido- People were angry
scope of colour from at a technological
the brown and white inconvenience
of cows’ and which really had a

Greening the New Year

sheep’s’ fur, rain- natural cause. Here
bow coloured tat- we can clearly see
tered shepherds’ the connection be-
cloaks, and the tween black and
humble but digni- green. The black
fied colours of a plagues of disease,
young couple’s By Fr. Robert Reyes poverty, death,
cloaks shielding wars, etc. all ooze
their newborn infant wrapped in cheap have done with glee and sacred delight. out of the Pandora’s box of environmental
swaddling clothes. Together, the colours A fatal forgetfulness and arrogance neglect, outright abuse and destruction
vibrate and shimmer with life. And so do has befallen most of us. We have entered combined with nature’s unexpected and
mangers in churches continue to invite the cave of our own recklessness and chose unpredictable outbursts. There was noth-
contemplation on the colour of life and to walk further into the darkness of our ing people can do but wait for the repair
hope notwithstanding the nagging threat greed only to wallow deeper in black denial. work to finish. Newspapers initially an-
of deathly black. The ozone layer is badly depleted and nounced three weeks of repairs. It went
If we were then to give a colour to the damaged, world temperatures are growing down to ten. In any case, there was nothing
New Year, let it then be green, the colour of warmer, the ice caps are rapidly melting, more that can be done but wait. And what
life…of hope. If we were to choose how best water levels are rising, global climate is do we do while waiting?
to show our gratitude to this life-sustaining changing…global warming is reaching criti- I suggest we start seeing green instead
world and its creator, let it then be a life cal levels, approaching the point of irre- of black. I suggest we start talking green
greener and less black. Let wars whether versible cataclysm. These are the broad more and more and discover how and why
fought with guns and bombs, economic outlines of a bleak future that faces the earth greening the New Year is sensible and most
sanctions or propaganda end. Let the burn- and its inhabitants which will be the content of all, vital for the happiness and survival of
ing stop and let the air be what it is meant to of a telephone book size report of the UN all.
be…life-giving spirit. Let the wastage and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Although we just concluded Advent
the dumping stop and allow the few remain- or IPCC to be released sometime early 2007. and celebrated Christmas, it is clear how the
ing unclogged pores of the earth breathe. On December 26, 2004, just a day after world is going through a longer advent
Let the cutting of trees, the quarrying of Christmas, giant waves called tsunamis hit which more than anything requires a more
mountains, the moving of land, the reclaim- parts of Asia taking lives, destroying crops, pro-active waiting. Unless we take real con-
ing of seas be replaced by planting, renew- livestock and property. Hardest hit was crete steps to green this New Year, we can
ing and protecting the earth instead. Let Thailand’s tourist beach resort. Today, do no more than dread a blacker, bleaker
obscene industrial and domestic vomit’s while survivors get together and remember, New Year.
slow but sure desecration and murder of business has returned to the tragedy Why not a green New Year? I

14 IMPACT • January 2007

 ARTICLES

A
“private” and “sub secreto” meeting
has been called by the Vatican and
will commence on January 19, 2007.
On the eve of this date, participants will
gather for a dinner at the Santa Marta College
inside the Vatican City. The meeting’s topic
will be the situation of the Church in China
and relations between the Holy See and the
Chinese government. Taking part in the
meeting are top figures from the Secretariat
of State and the Congregation for the Evan-
gelization of Peoples, as well as various
figures involved in mission towards China:
Cardinal Joseph Zen, Bishop of Hong Kong;
Cardinal Paul Shan, Bishop emeritus of
Kaohsiung (Taiwan); Monsignor José Lai
Hung-seng, Bishop of Macao. Also taking
part from the Hong Kong diocese are Auxil-

© Liu Liqun/CORBIS
iary Bishop John Tong and Dr Anthony
Lam, an expert of the Holy Spirit Study
Centre, the diocese’s institute of theology
and for documentation on China.

The ambiguity of the Chinese

government
AsiaNews sources say that the prob-
lem is not so much the long-time impasse on
diplomatic relations, but the situation cre-
ated with the 3 illicit episcopal ordinations
which took place during 2006.
These took place in a moment of détente,
which had been preceded by a series of
positive signals from a Chinese government
willing to rebuild diplomatic relations. Not to
be forgotten is also the fact that, until then,
episcopal ordinations were being carried out
on the basis of an unwritten agreement be-
tween the government and the Holy See, as
had been the case of ordinations in Suzhou,
Shanghai, Xian, Wanxian and Shenyang.
The illicit ordinations in Kunming
(April 30), Anhui (May 3) and Xuzhou
(November 30) instead took place with the
heavy-handed involvement of the Patriotic
Association (PA) and the Ministry of Reli-
gious Affairs. At the latest ordination—
attended by, according to some sources,
Liu Bainian, Vice President of the Patriotic
Association, and Ye Xiaowen, Director of
the Religious Affairs Bureau, who traveled
there from Beijing—the Patriotic Associa-
tion abducted two bishops to have them
preside over the rite, threatened to reduce
the candidate and concelebrating bishops
to poverty and to take measures against
their families if they did not submit to the
ceremony; it ensured the participation of
the faithful by promising money.
Pressure, threats, blackmail and lies—
in some cases, the PA publicly proclaimed
to be in agreement with the Holy See—were
Meeting at Vatican on
the Church in China
by Bernardo Cervellera
involved also in the other ordinations, to
the point that the Holy See spoke out
against these operations as a “serious vio-
lation of religious freedom.”
After all these ordinations, the Chi-
nese Ambassador in Rome went as far as to
“apologize” with the Vatican, but the Holy
See’s problem now is to figure out whether
it can trust a government that, on one hand,
promises détente, and on the other allows—
if not approves—serious violations against
human and religious rights.
The burden of excommunication
Within the Church, the problem is how
to treat the bishops ordained illicitly and
those who took part in the ceremony. The
Vatican’s declarations against the ordina-
tions (May 4, 2006, and December 2, 2006)
cite latae sententiae excommunication, but
leave open the possibility that they took
place under duress and against the inter-
ested parties’ full free will, thus sparing to
some extent the (good) faith of the new
pastors.
The Vatican’s statements also say that
these ordinations create “division in the
diocesan community” and cause distress to
“the conscience of many ecclesiastics and
members of the faithful.” So far, the Holy See
has excused everyone, but among the mem-
bers of the faithful, priests, and bishops in
China, there are many who are wondering
whether the time has not come to respond to
the PA’s pressure with greater resolve. And,
without abandoning the implicated bishops,
to suggest and demand that they refrain from
exercising their ministry for several years.
The problem is even more acute in the
underground Church: its bishops, in order
to remain faithful to the Holy See, have
suffered imprisonment, torture, abduction,
minute controls and isolation for decades.
Various members of the underground
Church, writing to AsiaNews, said “Is it not
time that the priests of the official Church
too call up the courage to suffer for faithful-
ness to the Holy See, as is the tradition of
many martyrs of the Church in China?”
Meeting / p. 19

Volume 41 • Number 1 15
The Future of the Asian Family
By Archbishop Orlando B.
Quevedo, O.M.I.
F
or the past 50 years the situation of
the family in the world has preoccu
pied the thinking of social scientists,
philosophers, theologians, moralists and
ethicists. The question regarding the fu-
ture of the Asian Family is likewise a burn-
ing issue.
But a word of caution about the fu-
ture—one wit has famously remarked, “It
is always difficult to make any prediction,
especially when it is about the future.”
The best that could be done about
“predicting” the future of the family in
Asia is to discern what are presently
impacting the Family in Asia for good or
for ill. In this way one could hazard an
educated guess about what future awaits
the family.
The Asian Family in a Period of
Transition
The family in Asia is undoubtedly in
a period of transition. This assertion might
seem startling when one travels through
some picturesque and
idyllic rural villages in
any of the countries
of Asia. The slow,
simple and serene pace
of ordinary life among "The future of the family in Asia
farming families is in
stark contrast to the lies in the hands of the family itself,
fluid and frenetic pace
of urban life. But cooperating with the Lord’s grace to
whether it is in a re-
mote village in respond effectively to the forces of a
culture of death that are besieging
Bangladesh or Nepal
or in the sprawling
megalopolis of Manila
or Jakarta, or in the it. These forces are formidable. "
high tech societies of
Hong Kong, Taiwan,
or Tokyo, the Asian
family is without
doubt in a state of ferment.
Despite social ferment, there is good
news for the Asian family. Asians con-
tinue to value marriage as a sacred cov-
enant between man and woman. Children
are lovingly treasured as gifts of God. The
nuclear family is still very close knit. Such
closeness extends to the extended family.
There is great respect for the elderly who
are deeply cared for and honored within
the family setting. Indeed, in this context
the term that some observers have used
is happily apt; in the Asian family a “cul-
ture of belonging” and not a “culture of
16 IMPACT • January 2007
rejection” is very much alive.
Moreover, the hospitality of the
Asian family is proverbial, no matter how
poor the family may be. A story is told of
a priest and the altar boy who were po-
litely invited after a Mass in the village.
The poor farmer did not think that the
priest would accept. But to his surprise—
and dismay—the priest accepted. Hastily
the poor family prepared the only meal
available, a lunch of rice and fish. Peeking
through the spaces of the bamboo wall,
the children saw the priest and altar boy
relishing the food. Then, alas, they saw
the priest turn the fish over to begin the
other side. One of the children began to
exclaim in the local Cebuano dialect, “Oh,
he turned over the fish. We will have no
more food!” Well that’s the Asian family
trait—hospitality despite great poverty.
Finally, wE can readily observe that sta-
bility, resilience in the midst of difficul-
ties, and deep yet simple religiosity char-
acterize the Asian family.
The question is: how long would this
“ideal” form of family last in the face of
secularizing and modernizing forces?
What is its future?
The answer is bad news for the Asian
family! For even now new forms of family
are becoming more frequent: families of
single parents, families of separated or
divorced parents, step families, families
of parents at least one of whom is absent
for a prolonged period of time, families of
unwed parents, husbands and wives with
no children by deliberate planning and
unions of persons of the same sex, even
though these unions are still morally,
legally and socially condemned. Finally,
in Asia because of the multi-religious and
multi-cultural context where Christians
are a very small minority, there is a very
great number of inter-religious families
and inter-cultural families. Very interest-
ing for the Philippine setting would be to
know what percentage fathers of “mul-
tiple families” there is to the number of
families in the country. Multiple families
for one father seem to be a widespread
practice.
There is no doubt that the Asian
family is in a period of transition. A very
difficult period, indeed, filled with anxiety
and insecurity for the future. I am told that
among the Chinese people, to wish a
person to live in a period of transition is
to wish a terrible curse on that person.
At least three major factors are im-
pacting the Asian family to a significant
degree.
The Impact of Economic
Globalization
It is well known that one of the tragic
realities in Asia is the massive poverty of
Asian families. The process of economic
globalization has aggravated the poverty
situation.
Admittedly, a great
number of Asian families
has reaped great benefits
from the process of eco-
nomic globalization. Lib-
eralization and deregula-
tion—the twin economic
tools of economic glo-
balization—have freed
world markets from many
checks and balances.
Access to economic
goods has been greatly
liberalized in many parts
of the world. What used
to be rare luxury goods
imported from other
countries have become
common place in small
town markets.
But the late Pope John Paul II has
perceptively observed that the process
of globalization has so far been detrimen-
tal to poor countries and especially to the
poor in poor countries. This is so simply
because the poor cannot compete with
the rich and powerful in the neo-liberal
free market. The economic playing field is
far from being even for all participants.
The increasing number of migrating
families from rural to urban areas is a sign
of a worsening poverty situation. Poor
families are continually in search of jobs.
Their children are unable to have access
 C O V E R
S T O R Y

© Roy Lagarde / IMPACT

The Future of
the Asian Family
Volume 41 • Number 1 17
C O V E R
S T O R Y

to good education.
On the positive side economic glo-
balization has made it possible for in-
creasing numbers of Asian family mem-
bers to go abroad as overseas workers.
Yet this is both good and bad. Poor fami-
lies have a better economic future be-
cause of better paying jobs abroad. But
the downside is that the phenomenon of
thousands of migrant workers in Asia
and in Europe carries the clear danger of
families breaking up because of prolonged
separation of parents or of children grow-
ing up without the guidance of both par-
ents.
Moreover, poor families that cannot
afford to send family members abroad for
work are threatened by the specter of
greater poverty. But this brings up an-
other downside of the poverty situation
of families. To improve both the quality of
human life and ensure sufficient food
production for the population, the con-
ventional solution all over Asia has been
an aggressive population control pro-
gram that not only plays havoc on cher-
ished family moral values but also victim-
izes the poor families themselves who are are some of the still largely submerged child as a gift of God, of the seamlessness
the main targets of population control. parts of an iceberg threatening the Asian of life, of the God-given value of mother-
family. What is more overt is the terrible hood, and of human stewardship over all
The Impact of Cultural negative impact of social communica- these. Indeed, the Asian sense of the
Globalization tions, cyberspace and the ongoing digi- sacred is weakening in the face of this
tal revolution on Asian family values. new morality, disseminated almost inexo-
Accompanying economic globaliza- That many positive human values rably by the process of cultural globaliza-
tion are the revolutionary advances of are disseminated by mass media cannot tion originating from the dominant cul-
science and technology. The great leap be dismissed. Great advances in scien- ture of the West.
of scientific and technological knowledge tific and technological knowledge are In addition to the emergence of a new
in the twentieth century has created a easily available in cyberspace. Sympathy family morality, we see the transforma-
relatively new field of bio-ethics dealing and kindness, love and compassion are tion of once treasured cultural traditions
with moral questions arising from scien- shared within a very short time with vic- and values. Admittedly some of these
tific explorations regarding the biological tims of human and natural disasters in far changes are commendable, as in the
origins and processes of life. distant parts of the globe. The informa- gradual weakening of patriarchy in many
It would seem that these bioethical tion highway has made the world truly a Asian societies. Women’s liberation in
issues are not yet the concern of most “global village.” the West has rightly questioned cultur-
families in developing Asian countries. But with this process also comes ally based customs that involve discrimi-
Nonetheless what is now happening in cultural globalization—the entry of val- nation against women, their oppression,
laboratories in the West or in Korea and ues into the Asian subconscious, values and subordination by reason of gender.
Japan will in the future surely make Asian that are secular, materialist, and without We see negative cultural traditions in the
families willing or unwilling recipients of religious underpinnings. Subtly and in- oppressive dowry system and the de-
scientific advances, such as pre-natal gen- sidiously disseminated through mass struction of thousands of female fetuses
der selection, cloning, “designer-babies,” media, secular values are undermining in some Asian societies.
and many morally reprehensible concepts the sacred values related to birth and life, But many Asian cultural values are
and practices in so-called “reproductive marriage and family, children and women, authentic values of the Kingdom of God
health.” the young and the old, even death itself. such as motherhood, the sacredness of
This is not to mention the vexing A new morality based on majority every human life, the limitations of human
problem of Genetically Modified Organ- opinion has emerged in the West and is freedom, or the irreplaceable centrality of
ism (GMO) technology now spreading so slowly but definitely creeping into the the sacred in Asian life. These could
quickly among Asian farmers. The farm- Asian psyche. We see this in the chang- gradually disappear in the face of the
ers are often unaware of the health and ing opinions regarding the sacred nature constant barrage of secular cultural forces
environmental risks of GMO plants. of marriage as an enduring bond between in mass media.
Despite these developments in the man and woman, of the sacredness of Reflecting on abundant and undis-
field, biotechnological and ethical issues every human life, born or unborn, of the puted research data regarding the posi-

18 IMPACT • January 2007

 The Future of the Asian Family
tive correlation between religion and fam-
ily, one could very well exclaim: “How
tragic it would be were Asians to lose
their deep religious sense, their sense of
the sacred and of the Transcendent!”
The Impact of Social Conflict on
the Asian Family
A third major force that impacts the
family in Asia to a significant degree is
social conflict. All over Asia are various
forms of conflict. Many are ethnic in na-
ture, involving language and cultural dif-
ferences, majority versus minority cul-
tures or social groups. Some conflicts are
ideological in nature. Tragically, many
social conflicts in Asia are often colored
by religious differences. And every large-
scale social conflict seems to have politi-
cal and economic dimensions.
Whatever be the case, the main vic-
tims of conflict are not governments but
people and their families. Destruction may
not always be in terms of human lives lost.
Children growing up and the quality of
life they grow up in are the victims.
Especially is this observable in the
spreading phenomenon of terrorism in
many parts of Asia. Killings beget kill-
ings. Revenge and reprisal are easily jus-
tified. Hence, children, young men and
women in families in the midst of ethnic
and religious conflict grow up with fear
and violence in their psychological make-
up. The face of the “enemy” takes on a
concrete form. It is the face of the “other”
belonging to a different culture, or pro-
fessing a different religious tradition. This
is the process by which a culture of vio-
lence and death is woven into the Asian
social fabric.
How ironic this is, given the widely
idealized belief in Asian harmony and
peace!
The Future of the Asian Family—
a Culture of Death?
Serious reflection on three major re-
alities impacting the Asian family: eco-
nomic globalization, cultural globaliza-
tion, and social conflict show how these
are contributing to the erosion of family
values and the breaking up of families as
we traditionally know them.
The question before Asians is: will
these and other forces result in the total
breakdown of the Asian family with its
God-given values? Will the Asian family
be dominated by a culture of death?
The response to the questions does
not lie in a defensive stance for the Church.
The Church cannot just defend its family
values and create around itself a fortress
within which its traditions are unassail-
able from without.
The answer lies in a credible, active,
intensive, creative, and effective evan-
gelization of the Asian family. The an-
swer is a transformative insertion of the
Gospel into every strata of society, an
objective long ago presented by Pope
Paul VI (see his Evangelii Nuntiandi)
and more recently by Pope John Paul II
(see his Evangelium Vitae). The Federa-
tion of Asian Bishops’ Conferences di-
rectly dealt with the subject of the Asian
family in its most recent Plenary Assem-
bly on the topic, “The Asian Family to-
wards a Culture of Integral Life” (9th FABC
Plenary Assembly, Korea, 2004).
The vision of the FABC regarding
the family and family ministry includes
three general orientations: the family is
the focal point of evangelization, to which
all pastoral programs would be directed;
family ministry in Asia has to empower
families to participate actively in the
struggle towards a culture of integral life,
i.e., life in all its dimensions, including
political, social, cultural, and religious—
hence to form families that participate
fully toward the values of the Reign of
God such as peace, justice, integral de-
velopment, as well as truth and love; for
this task to be accomplished, family min-
istry has to enable Asian families to actu-
alize what all the Popes in the past thirty
years have consistently said: “Families,
become what you are!”
Conclusion
The future of the family in Asia lies in
the hands of the family itself, cooperating
with the Lord’s grace to respond effec-
tively to the forces of a culture of death
that are besieging it. These forces are
formidable.
In dialogue with cultures and other
religious traditions, the Church in Asia
has to assist the Asian family to give the
necessary effective response. In the final
analysis, it is by empowering the family
through integral evangelization that the
Church fulfills its ministry to the Asian
family. It enables the Asian family to
become what it should be, an initiator of
a culture of integral life rather than a
victim of a culture of death.
Thus empowered the Asian family,
by the grace of God, fashions its own
future. I
Meeting / from p. 15
Eliminating the Patriotic
Association
In any case, the Chinese govern-
ment and the Holy See find themselves at
a crossroads in terms of evaluating the
Patriotic Association’s function. Born as
an organism to monitor religious activity,
it has by now become the “owner” of the
Church’s life, managing the ordination of
bishops and priests, seminary teaching,
the transfer of personnel, Church finances
and property, with the result of distorting
the spiritual experience itself of communi-
ties. Not to be forgotten is also the fact the
Patriotic Associations statute foresees
the creation of a national and indepen-
dent Church, separate from Rome.
The Vatican’s declaration of Decem-
ber 2, 2006, states that the ordination (of
Xuzhou) is “the fruit and consequence of
a vision of the Church that does not
correspond with Catholic doctrine and
subverts the fundamental principles of
its hierarchical structure.” But this can be
applied to all the activities of the Patriotic
Association. According to some Chi-
nese Catholics, the time has come to
reject entirely, on the part of everyone—
official and underground Catholics—
adherence to the Patriotic Association,
notwithstanding the willingness to regis-
ter communities with the government.
On the part of the government—and
especially the Foreign Ministry—it is
understandable how the Patriotic Asso-
ciation has by now become obsolete and
a burden. Not a day goes by that one
foreign government or another accuses
China of violating the religious rights of
communities, and this is becoming bad
publicity for a country that wants to show
itself to be modern and open, and wants
the 2008 Olympic Games to be a success.
The Patriotic Association is becoming a
source of tension in many regions of
China, so much so as to betray the idea of
a “harmonious society” so dear to Presi-
dent Hu Jintao. It is also true that the
Patriotic Association is one of the most
traditional structures of Maoism, the birth
of which is part and parcel of the history
of the Communist Party. For many mem-
bers of the Party, attacking and sidelining
the Patriotic Association equates to self-
criticism.
It is likely that the meetings at the
Vatican over the next few days will only
give an initial handling to the problems
listed here. What is certain—as was con-
firmed by figures close to the meeting—is
the creation of a permanent Commission to
deal with the China dossier. I
Volume 41 • Number 1 19
ARTICLES
Church-Islam
Dialogue:
by Samir Khalil Samir, SJ
B
enedict’s masterly lecture at
Regensburg was seen by many
Christians and Muslims as a false
step by the Pope, a simple mistake, some-
thing to get over and forget, if we don’t
want to set off a war of religions. Instead,
at Regensburg, this Pope traced, with his
balanced, courageous and by no means
trivial thinking, the basis for true dialogue
between Christians and Muslims, giving
voice to many reformist Muslims and sug-
gesting to Islam and Christians the steps
to be taken.
Still today in the West and in the
Islamic world, reactions to that speech are
strong. But many Muslim scholars are
beginning to ask themselves: “After the
20 IMPACT • January 2007
tumult of initial misunderstandings, what
did Benedict XVI say to us after all? He told
us that we Muslims run the great risk of
eliminating reason from our faith. In this
case, the Islamic faith becomes simply an
act of submission to God, which can con-
ceivably degenerate into violence, per-
haps even ‘in the name of God’, or ‘to
defend God.’”
Violence, reason and crisis in
Islam
The much-exploited and detested
quotation of Manuel II Paleologus itself
was important because it underlined that
“God does not love blood and violence,”
© Alessandra Benedetti/Corbis
Benedict XVI’s speech at
Regensburg received a lot of
criticism but it in fact launched
an effective model for Islamo-
Christian dialogue: refusal of
violence, love of truth, interpre-
tation, mission. The only way to
go beyond the trivially tolerant
appearance of dialogue promoted
by many Muslims and by a good
part of the Catholic Church.
The Path
Starts From
Regensburg’s
Pope
and that violence is against the nature of
God and of man. Unfortunately, being that
this phrase was pronounced on Septem-
ber 12th, a day after the anniversary of the
attack against the Twin Towers, people
read it in a political key (helped by the
manipulations of Al Jazeera and Western
liberals).
Now Muslims themselves are wonder-
ing: “All in all, the Pope said that there is the
risk of violence in Islam. And this is not
true? It is not our history and our daily
problem? Are we not running the risk of
emptying faith by separating it from reason
and from critical thought?” Even if not in
public, various Islamic scholars are saying:
“This separation between faith and reason
 Church-Islam Dialogue

is more than ever today’s danger in Islam!” Secondly, he said reasonable and un- in Islam.” For Meddeb “the seed of violence
From the 9th to the 11th century Islam pleasant things, but he is convinced that in Islam is found in the Koran,” as he
had integrated in its vision the Hellenistic such things must be said as this constitutes entitled one of his articles.
dimension of Greek philosophy and, true dialogue. The aim of the Regensburg Such a statement—on the part of a
through this, the critical, logical and rea- speech—this is said in the conclusion—is Muslim—shines a light on the real, great
sonable dimension. This happened thanks precisely humanistic dialogue, which re- problem of dialogue today: the lack of truth,
to the Christians that lived in the Muslim jects nothing positive in Islam or in the the reluctance to accept discussion on criti-
world. But, for almost a thousand years, Enlightenment, but criticizes what is ex- cal points.
Islam abandoned reason to continuously tremist or anti-spiritual in one and the other. On the question of violence, all Mus-
repropose a literal application of what was In such a way, Benedict XVI has set the lims know that its seeds are in the holy
said in the past. The current crisis in the basis for a universal dialogue, in making a Book, but everyone also tries to hide this by
Muslim world is based on this very gap proposal to the two opposite tendencies saying that “No, it is not true, Islam means
between faith and reason and, many Mus- today: on one hand, Islam with it fideism peace, salâm, respect, non-violence,” thus
lims, in various ways, are saying so. that excludes reason (and it is worth speci- denying the facts.
Speaking in parliament about a month fying that this does not mean that all of Benedict XVI’s speech did not deny
ago, the Egyptian Minister of Culture, Farouk Islam has always rejected reason, as some the facts, but proposed that they be under-
Hosni, criticized the spread of the Islamic would have us believe he said); on the other stood within a human context. That is, he
veil in Egypt saying that “such a thing had hand, he has made a proposal to laicist, suggested that Islam begin to undertake an
never before been seen in our country. This rationalist, Enlightenment thinking that rel- interpretation of texts.
path has taken us backwards by at least 30 egates religion to the insignificant. When the Pope quoted verse 2,256 of
years.” Another member of parliament took Since Regensburg, he has also “dis- the Koran, “there is no violence in matters
up his argument: “Not only have we gone played” this dialogue, by making concrete of faith”, he added a phrase that scandal-
back 30 years, but to the times of ized many: “this is probably one
Mehmet Ali [i.e. to the early 19th
century].” "If a Church or a bishop is not interested of the suras of the early period,
when Mohammad was still pow-
Unfortunately, the minis-
ter was accused of having gone
in mission, it means that they are asleep erless and under threat.”
These comments seem to me
against the Egyptian Constitu- or closed in upon themselves. So far, I fundamental: he is stressing the
tion, which foresees the Koran need for exegetic work to be done
and Sharia as sources of law. have seen churches which are very well on sacred texts. In this specific
Thus, Farouk Hosni, who has case, he gave an example of herme-
been minister for 20 years and is organized vis-à-vis Muslims from the neutic of the Koran, proposing
a noted artist, risked being re-
moved by fundamentalists. Plus, point of view of charity: help to that that verse be read within the
human experience of Mohammad.
being 62 years old and unmar-
ried, he was also attacked with
immigrant, hospitality, schools, etc." He was criticized by many, both
Muslims and Catholic scholars:
accusations of being a homo- “He is ignorant,” they said, “that
sexual. gestures. It is worth recalling the Pope’s verse is not from the initial period (Mecca),
The crisis of Islam is there for everyone prayer in Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, during but from the Medina period.”
to see and is being pointed out by all the his visit to Turkey. The Pope concretely In effect, according to the official edi-
intellectuals. It is an attempt to take refuge underlined that we Christians recognize tion of the Koran, it was the Medina period.
in the past for fear of self-criticism, reason and respect the spiritual dimension present But reading the comments in the bilingual
and modernity. in Islam: he removed his shoes upon enter- Arabic-English and Arabic-French editions
When the Pope stresses to Muslims ing the sacred place (a tradition that is of the Koran, edited by Saudi Arabia, we
the importance of integrating reason and biblical and that we find among the Copts can read “This is the first surah revealed in
faith, he is actually suggesting the way for and the Ethiopians); invited to pray, he Medina.” In sociological terms, this means
making great strides forward, as he also turned toward the mihrab, the niche which that is was revealed immediately after the
does with the secular world when he indicates Mecca. He prayed because he Hijra—the flight from Mecca—when
stresses the importance of integrating the does not reduce Islam to politics; he prayed Mohammad left his tribe to unite with the
spiritual dimension into the concept of rea- without creating ambiguity or confusion. opposing tribes of Aws and Khazraj. In that
son. These gestures gave the true meaning of moment and for the next two years (until
the Regensburg speech for Muslims. 624), he had no real power and was con-
The courage to speak stantly under threat. He sought support in
The Pope, a master interpreter of fact from the Jews, the richest and most
Another important element that powerful in Medina. When this failed, he
the Koran
emerged at Regensburg is the courage to began making raids, as was usual on the
speak: the time has come to be frank about Still today, there are Muslims who part of those who could not get by. If this
Islam. Even a pope has the full right to say write to me thanking the Pope for what he surah—as Muslim commentators say—is
things simply and directly to our Muslim said in Germany. Right after the speech, the first of Medina, that means that it is
brothers, as also to the Jews, to non-believ- Abdelwahhab Meddeb of Tunisia thanked before the raiding period. It is true therefore
ers and to his own Catholics. This Pope has Benedict XVI because “finally someone that it was “from the second period”, but it
claimed freedom of speech. dared to speak and point a finger at violence is also true, as the Pope says, that it comes

Volume 41 • Number 1 21
Church-Islam Dialogue
at a moment in which Mohammad himself
was “powerless and under threat.”
With his small comment, Benedict XVI
seems to suggest to Muslims: we must read
the text in its context; and this is fundamen-
tal for beginning an Islamo-Christian dia-
logue. We must reread the sacred texts to
see “the circumstances of revelation”
(asbâb al-tanzîl, as is said in the Muslim
tradition). In this, the Pope is resuming the
healthy tradition of interpretation
which was alive in the 9th century.
Unfortunately, this no longer oc-
curs in contemporary Islam.
Instead, if we come across vio-
lent verses—and they do exist—in
the Koran, we must seek to under-
stand them in the context in which
they appeared. It is clear that
Mohammad waged wars; it is also
clear that he did not fight for the love
of violence: in line with Old Testa-
ment tradition, he fought wars “for
God”, “in the zeal of God.” All this,
put in the perspective of the cultural
and religious tradition of the Middle
East, is natural and not surprising.
But it should also be said that, today,
the mentality has changed: does God truly
need to be defended by man? It thus follows
that the Koran needs to be reread and
interpreted for today. For a century, all
Muslim reformists have been saying that
the solution for modernizing Islam lies in the
interpretation of the Koran. For at least 30
or 40 years, we have been in a phase in
which there is no longer any innovation in
interpretation, but repetition ad nauseam of
the same things and clichés. The same
memorized things are repeated.
A young Iranian Muslim, with a degree
in Islamic studies, told me the other day:
“We can no longer think of the Koran as
directly dictated by God to Mohammad
through the angel Gabriel. It must be inter-
preted. Unfortunately, in today’s Islam there
is not much freedom: a few decades ago,
one of our intellectuals, Abdolkarim
Soroush was removed from university
teaching for having taught such things. In
the end, to be able to live and express
himself, he had to emigrate to Europe.” In
today’s Islam, ideas are available, espe-
cially among reformists and young intellec-
tuals, but they are keeping quiet because
freedom in the Islamic world is highly lim-
ited.
The Pope had the courage to identify
the key points: reason, violence, hermeneu-
tics... And he touched on a sore point with
the question of the interpretation of the
Koran, without which there can be no dia-
22 IMPACT • January 2007
logue.
This urging of Islam toward interpreta-
tion is done out of love for Islam. Certain
Christian and Muslim theologians criticized
the Pope for having been too hard at
Regensburg and they instead applauded
him in Turkey. Actually, though, it is the
same Pope who, out of love for Islam, did
not fail to criticize it at Regensberg, and did
not lack spiritual brotherhood in Istanbul.
Christian mission tempted by
relativism
At Regensburg, Benedict XVI dared to
speak of violence, the lack of reason, the
necessity of interpretation in Islam, and
thus many Muslim intellectuals praised him
and hoped that “the Pope does not apolo-
gize.” In the West, the calls for an apology
were numerous, even among Christians. In
effect, what had happened, however, was
that the Pope’s behavior at Regensburg
upset the overly irenic conception of the
Church’s mission and the tolerant do-
goodism of lay environs. Benedict XVI
made it understood that speaking the truth,
saying things that hurt, is not an insult, but
a path for healing. Occasionally, a bitter pill
must be given.
Often among Christians who are en-
gaged in dialogue with Islam, there is a
tendency to “hide” and not speak about
differences. This is acceptable at the begin-
ning: if I begin a relationship with you, I
certainly don’t begin by defining how much
there is that separates me from you. But the
relationship must deepen.
An outcrop of the “clarity” suggested
by the Pope is the behavior of the Bishop of
Cordoba. This prelate received the ump-
teenth request from a group of Muslims
(converted Spaniards) who wanted to use
the cathedral to pray together and give an
image of “true ecumenism.” The bishop
replied that he saw this possibility as am-
biguous and did not allow it. Various Euro-
pean lay newspapers criticized the bishop
because “he rejected an open and brotherly
proposal,” etc...
Without any violence, a sense of cul-
ture and identity and of real religious free-
dom is growing among Christians. Thus,
that irenic and falsely multi-ethnic attitude
of a mishmash of religions is beginning to
fall by the wayside.
This is especially urgent in France,
where fear of offending Islam does
not even allow for the annual drafting
of statistics on conversions from Is-
lam: bishops and those responsible
for dialogue with Muslims refuse to
give news on the number of Muslims
who are asking for baptism.
I personally am not against the
fact that there are Christians who
© Pascal Deloche/Godong/Corbis
become Muslims, as long as they
convert for reasons of faith and not
for political or economic reasons. But
I also want news on how many Mus-
lims are becoming Christians and that
such information can be freely given.
It is in such frank openness that true
spiritual emulation is created.
For Muslims and Christians alike, mis-
sion is an obligation. Muslims call it “da’wa”
and it is an obligation; Christians call it
evangelization, and it too is an obligation.
Unfortunately, there are among Christians
more and more people who refuse to an-
nounce and to speak of their faith, out of
“respect” or as not to fall into proselytism.
Muslims have da’wa offices all over
the world. They are tied to each Islamic state
and build mosques, spread the Koran, send
out preachers and other resources: a sort of
Propaganda Fide for each Islamic state. The
difference is that, among Muslims, it is the
state that supports Islamic mission. In the
case of Christians, it is the communities, the
Church which supports mission.
If a Church or a bishop is not interested
in mission, it means that they are asleep or
closed in upon themselves. So far, I have
seen churches which are very well orga-
nized vis-à-vis Muslims from the point of
view of charity: help to immigrant, hospital-
ity, schools, etc. It is, however, a generosity
without proclamation. It is said that this
happens to save dialogue. But proclama-
tion is necessary so that dialogue is a
dialogue in truth.
It is necessary that the Church realize
that its existence—not only numerical—de-
pends on the proclamation of the Gospel to
Muslims also. If this drive is lacking, then it
means that she has lost that sense of the
beauty of faith encountered in Christ. It means
slipping into the void of relativism. I
 ARTICLES

© Philippe Lissac/Godong/Corbis
evotion to the Santo Nino is hap-
pily widespread in our country.
Wherever we go, we always see
forms of this devotion acted out usually
by our simple folks. I must say that this is
a tremendous asset we have.
Aside from this, we also give popular
cult to Our Lady, St. Joseph, the saints,
and even our dead. I believe that it is in
these spontaneous pious exercises that
our soul as a people can truly be seen. We
are fortunately a deeply believing people.
We don’t merely stop at the level of
the sensible, the earthly and temporal. We
don’t simply rely on the practical, the intel-
ligible and reasonable. We go beyond
these dimensions, and enter into the world
of faith, developing a piety to go with it.
Thus, thanks to God, we Filipinos
possess a deep treasury of piety which we
live not only in a personal capacity, but
also in a social and popular way. I believe
this is a great blessing that helps to keep
us one and united as a people in spite of
our divisive shortcomings.
It is also for this reason that I would
dare to say that if we really want to resolve
our unavoidable differences and conflicts

Popular Piety as
as we look, as a nation, for our progress
and development, we should purify and
strengthen our faith and piety.
I believe this is where we can find

those ultimate unifying elements we need
as a country, even as we consider different
options, conflicting views and positions
in our inescapable temporal affairs like our
business and politics.
I don’t believe this claim is baseless.
I’ve seen it heavily validated by experi-
ence. I’ve witnessed many instances when
clashes are softened and even agreements
and reconciliations reached as long as
parties and people pray.
I’ve met people who, even if their
defects seem be more than their virtues,
manage to make progress simply because
they pray a lot. I’ve also met people who,
because they don’t pray, cannot help but
create problems even when there should
be none.
I believe that the many forms of popu-
lar piety we have are a manifestation of the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit. They amply
capture our people’s deepest yearnings,
anxieties and concerns. They become a
powerful prayer linking us with God.
But, yet, it cannot be denied that they
need to be purified, regulated and strength-
ened. We need to find out if they properly
inculturate the faith. That’s a very delicate
task, needing profound and comprehen-
sive study and keen discernment.
Unifying Tool
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
They have to be purified from super-
stitious elements and the illicit sense of
magic that somehow manages to seep in
and distort them. These things are like
parasites that spoil otherwise good devel-
opments in our collective spiritual life.
Popular piety should also be properly
focused and made to grow to maturity,
freeing them from the tendency to shallow
sentimentalism and self-seeking aims and
self-serving maneuvers.
They have to be soundly grounded
on doctrine and adequately regulated by
competent Church authorities. These
days, they should help us in tackling our
social concerns properly.
Thus, there is a great need for some
systematic plan of catechesis. Forms of
popular piety should improve not only our
relation with God, but also our relation
among ourselves, which can be seen and
measured in concrete terms.
Also, that delicate task of harmoniz-
ing popular piety with the Church’s entire
liturgical life should be undertaken. This
should pose as a real challenge to the
competence of our Church’s authorities.
Someone has told me, rather light-
heartedly, that we Pinoys don’t really have
serious doctrinal problems. Our problems
are more of the disciplinary kind. We tend
to get wild and unruly as well as too sen-
timental and passionate for law and order
to take full effect.
Just the same I believe there has to be
a more systematic plan to deepen the doc-
trinal formation of the faithful, whether of
the simple or the sophisticated type, espe-
cially these days when good and bad ele-
ments come together in society.
This should be done in the field of
popular piety. I

Volume 41 • Number 1 23
FROM THE
B L O G S
Perception
T
he public perception of people is
reality for them as far as those in
tenure of public office are con-
cerned. This is the way strong impres-
sions become strong convictions. This
reality is premised on the saying that where
there is smoke, there must be fire. And
when there is much smoke, the conclusion
is one and the same: there must be a big fire.
While only the smoke is seen, the conclu-
sive existence of fire comes as a matter of
course.
This is precisely the case of the Smith
issue. His transfer from local confinement
to foreign custody maybe according to the
provisions of VFA—or otherwise. The
strong handed and surreptitious method
used to bring him out of an ordinary jail to
a place covered by immunity, could be
consonant with the particulars of the judg-
ment of conviction against the soldier and
in favor of the people of the Philippines—
or otherwise.
But the public impression, conse-
quent perception and pursuant conclu-
sion on the part of many nationalists are
but one and the same: Juan de la Cruz is
merely a vassal of Uncle Sam. The Filipi-
nos in reality constitute but inferior allies
of the Americans. In short, the Philippines
is not a sovereign but a country subservi-
ent to the U.S.A.
Worst of all, there was already the
24 IMPACT • January 2007
perception that the legislative department
has been long since under the rule of the
present administration. Its allies have con-
sistently followed the bidding of the na-
tional leadership, repeatedly protected
this from the impeachment process, loudly
echoed its desire and design to change
the fundamental law of the land—through
all possible means and alternatives.
Now, there is even the public percep-
tion that the executive department feels
and acts as a section of government that
is in effect superior to the judicial branch.
This is a very dangerous popular impres-
sion even if only for its negation of de-
mocracy in the country. It actually pro-
motes the conclusion that the govern-
ment is veering towards authoritarianism.
This perception and conclusion are
not based only on the isolated Smith case.
The present administration has more than
once tried to be over and above the con-
stitution of the land—such as with its
vain declaration of “National Emergency”
in its paranoid insecurity to lose power
and influence. The records show that it
was the judicial branch of government
that cut it to its right shape and size.
The handling of the Smith case is
thus disturbing to the Common Tao—be
it rightly or wrongly done—under the
command of the executive department.
www.ovc.blogspot.com
First World Gambling
F
irst world gambling in a third world
country—this is the loud claim of
PAGCOR. This is the big pride of the
present government owning and operat-
ing the gambling institution.
A recent self-praise release had
even the gall to say that the government
gambling corporation has earned respect-
ability, demonstrated transparency and
posted a record P25 billion take for the
year. This is supposedly the banner rake-
in of the government corporation.
This is the height of social insensibil-
ity.
More people are poor, hungry and
sick. More men and women leave the
country to make a living. More children are
made to work. More families live in shacks
if not in the streets or under certain
bridges. Yet, they have a government
that takes shameless pride in having a
world class gambling corporation.
The government continues to lose
credibility. It has long since earned the
distrust and scorn of many. That is why
there are more and more protest rallies,
expressions of anger and resentment in
the streets. Add to this, its less and less
approval by the citizens. But lo and be-
hold, the government has the guts to say
that its gambling arm is adorned with
respectability.
The same government has recently
earned the shameful distinction of being
second to none in corruption. It continues
to gather record high corrupt practices in
the present as well as in the recent past.
Still, this government dares to claim trans-
parency in its gambling industry.
Something must be fundamentally
wrong somewhere in all this contradic-
tory self-serving praise of government
gambling and the pitiful sad national real-
ity. And whereas decent and honest
popular perception cannot but be right, it
can only be the government and gambling
that are wrong realities.
Time and again ad nauseam, the
national leadership champions corporate
gambling as its development arm, as its
sourcing for charitable projects. But it
infallibly refuses to acknowledge its big
bad social costs. It deliberately plays
deaf, dumb and blind to the truth that
syndicated gambling is accompanied by
guns and goons—not to mention its invi-
tation to corruption, the creation of ad-
dicts and the destruction of families.
If PAGCOR provides such a re-
spectable government corporation, why
is it that public officials are barred from
frequenting it?
www.ovc.blogspot.com

Big Fat Lies
I
t has become so common and customary that
big fat lies are so often said and widely pub-
licized by some politicians that ordinary citi-
zens have become numb to them. Worst still, the
devious and gross misrepresentations of certain
politicians have become standard practice that
not few people are led to take them as unadulter-
ated truth.
The unhealthy effect of such fallacious and
odious gimmicks on the part of such politicians is
basically one and the same: people in general, their
constituents in particular practically worship them
as their petty gods and saviors. For lying and
deceiving the public, these politicians get not sim-
ply the gratitude but also the adulation for their vile
lies and deceptions.
This has reference to the public works here
and there done in certain parts of the country, in
this province and that city. They come in form of
bridges and streets, road repairs and waiting sheds,
cheap foods and medicines. And such agenda
have special relevance to relief and rehabilitation
projects.
The big fat lies come in form of the ridiculous
and preposterous claims of politicians that such
public welfare undertakings are at their generosity
EDITORIAL
and liberality. This grossly deceitful attribution is
made through shameless advertising billboards,
signs and even tri-media publications.
And the biggest culprit in this dubious practice
is none other than the national leadership. From
housing projects to water pumps, from livelihood
projects to relief goods—it claims liberality and
merit for them. Their attributions are all self-
serving as if the money spent thereon came from
its own pocket.
The truth is exactly the opposite. There is
nothing it does and will do if the general public is
not giving it the funds to do so. Anything and
everything the national leadership does, is financed
by public funds. And the sad truth is that much of
these public funds that come from the direct and
indirect taxes of every individual in the country,
goes to nobody knows where—as of now at least.
This brings one to wonder if the national lead-
ership spends even but one centavo from its own
pocket for the common good. The exact opposite
would be correct: it must be very grateful to the
citizens for paying taxes from their birth to their
death—for money to get its salary, benefits and
perks among other things.
This is the fact. This is the truth.
Volume 41 • Number 1 25
STATEMENTS
A Conference Statement of the
CBCP 2007 International
Conference on Bioethics and
the Family
January 9-10, 2007
EDSA Shangri-La Hote
Ortigas Center, Metro Manila
R
ecent developments in modern bio-
medical science are proceeding at a
dizzying pace, presenting untold
opportunities and problems for the indi-
vidual, the family, and society. Authentic
progress, which promotes the dignity of
the human person from conception until
one’s natural death, is a fundamental con-
cern which the Catholic Church shares
with all of humanity. It requires that every
human activity, including and most spe-
cially those related to science, conform to
the universal and timeless principles and
norms of ethics, and that every human
achievement confirm these principles and
standards.
Determined to make sure that all
progress in genetic engineering and bio-
technology adhere strictly to this prin-
ciple, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines felt it has the duty and the
26 IMPACT • January 2007
© Roy Lagarde / IMPACT
opportunity to contribute to the proper
dissemination, processing and utilization
of information and data that could help
promote the correct public policies and
private response of individuals and fami-
lies to the wide range of issues in biomedi-
cine and biotechnology.
For this reason, the CBCP decided to
organize the 2007 International Confer-
ence on Bioethics and the Family, drawing
on the knowledge of experts from the Holy
See, the United States, Europe and the
Philippines, from whose presentation we
have drawn the following conclusions:
1. The human embryo is a human person,
composed of body and soul, from the
moment of his/her conception, en-
dowed with all the potentialities, proper
identity, individuality, and unique-
ness, and hence has an inherent dig-
nity that must be respected and pro-
tected throughout his/her entire life.
2. Created in the image of God, the hu-
man embryo has God-given inviolable
rights and is destined to eternal life.
3. The human family founded on the
institution of marriage (which includes
fatherhood, motherhood and child-
hood) is the natural and fundamental
group unit of society. Its rights as a
social unit, and not merely of its mem-
bers as individuals, have to be re-
spected and promoted.
4. We acknowledge the contributions of
science to provide cure and alleviate
human suffering. However, ethics and
social morality set limits for what is
permissible in scientific discovery and
the application of scientific knowl-
edge.
5. The claim by some scientists that
human embryonic stem cells can be
used for treating adult tissue is false,
and hence must be debunked. Only
adult stem cells have this ability.
6. There is a need to be genuinely dis-
cerning and critical of organizations
and systems—national and interna-
tional—that seek to abrogate the
country’s sovereign constitutional
protection of the family, parents’ rights,
and the right to life.
7. Contraception which gave rise to what
Pope John Paul II referred to as the
“culture of death”” has stimulated
sharp increases in adultery, pre-mari-
tal sex and homosexual activity. With
it, the abominable crime of abortion
has been condoned and even consid-
ered a right. This loss of respect and
care for human life at its beginning has
led to the loss of respect and care at its
natural end, as in the evils of euthana-
sia and abandonment of the elderly
and the handicapped.
8. Various faiths and cultures, at the
national and international levels, must
mutually cooperate to promote,
strengthen and protect human life and
the family.
9. The government, particularly the leg-
islators, has also the moral obligation
to promote and protect human life from
its beginning, as well as the dignity of
marriage and the family.
10. Invoking the God of Life, may our
families be inspired, strengthened and
challenged by the example of the Holy
Family, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, in
responding to our vocation to serve
the Church and society by caring for
human life and serving the family, the
basic unit of society.
 STATEMENTS

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

O
n 11 February 2007, when the Church
keeps the liturgical memorial of Our Message of His Holiness
Benedict XVI for the Fifteenth
Lady of Lourdes, the Fifteenth
World Day of the Sick will be celebrated in
Seoul, Korea. A number of meetings, con-
ferences, pastoral gatherings and liturgi-

World Day of the Sick

cal celebrations will take place with repre-
sentatives of the Church in Korea, health
care personnel, the sick and their families.
Once again the Church turns her eyes to
those who suffer and calls attention to the
incurably ill, many of whom are dying from
terminal diseases. They are found on ev-
ery continent, particularly in places where
poverty and hardship cause immense mis-
ery and grief. Conscious of these suffer-
ings, I will be spiritually present at the
World Day of the Sick, united with those
meeting to discuss the plight of the incur-
ably ill in our world and encouraging the
efforts of Christian communities in their

witness to the Lord’s tenderness and
mercy.
Sickness inevitably brings with it a
moment of crisis and sober confrontation
with one’s own personal situation. Ad-
vances in the health sciences often pro-
vide the means necessary to meet this
challenge, at least with regard to its physi-
cal aspects. Human life, however, has in-
trinsic limitations, and sooner or later it
ends in death. This is an experience to
which each human being is called, and one
for which he or she must be prepared.
Despite the advances of science, a cure
cannot be found for every illness, and
thus, in hospitals, hospices and homes
throughout the world we encounter the
sufferings of our many brothers and sis-
ters who are incurably and often terminally
ill. In addition, many millions of people in
our world still experience unsanitary living
conditions and lack access to much-needed
medical resources, often of the most basic
kind, with the result that the number of
human beings considered “incurable” is
greatly increased.
The Church wishes to support the
incurably and terminally ill by calling for
just social policies which can help to elimi-
nate the causes of many diseases and by
urging improved care for the dying and
those for whom no medical remedy is avail-
able. There is a need to promote policies
which create conditions where human
beings can bear even incurable illnesses
and death in a dignified manner. Here it is
necessary to stress once again the need
for more palliative care centres which pro-
vide integral care, offering the sick the
human assistance and spiritual accompa-
niment they need. This is a right belonging
to every human being, one which we must
all be committed to defend.
Here I would like to encourage the
efforts of those who work daily to ensure
that the incurably and terminally ill, to-
gether with their families, receive adequate
and loving care. The Church, following the
example of the Good Samaritan, has al-
ways shown particular concern for the
infirm. Through her individual members
and institutions, she continues to stand
alongside the suffering and to attend the
dying, striving to preserve their dignity at
these significant moments of human exist-
ence. Many such individuals—health care
professionals, pastoral agents and volun-
teers—and institutions throughout the
world are tirelessly serving the sick, in
hospitals and in palliative care units, on
city streets, in housing projects and par-
ishes.
I now turn to you, my dear brothers
and sisters suffering from incurable and
terminal diseases. I encourage you to con-
template the sufferings of Christ crucified,
and, in union with him, to turn to the Father
with complete trust that all life, and your
lives in particular, are in his hands. Trust
that your sufferings, united to those of
Christ, will prove fruitful for the needs of
© Maurizio Gambarini/dpa/Corbis
the Church and the world. I ask the Lord to
strengthen your faith in his love, espe-
cially during these trials that you are expe-
riencing. It is my hope that, wherever you
are, you will always find the spiritual en-
couragement and strength needed to nour-
ish your faith and bring you closer to the
Father of Life. Through her priests and
pastoral workers, the Church wishes to
assist you and stand at your side, helping
you in your hour of need, and thus making
present Christ’s own loving mercy towards
those who suffer.
In conclusion, I ask ecclesial commu-
nities throughout the world, and particu-
larly those dedicated to the service of the
infirm, to continue, with the help of Mary,
Salus Infirmorum, to bear effective wit-
ness to the loving concern of God our
Father. May the Blessed Virgin, our
Mother, comfort those who are ill and
sustain all who have devoted their lives, as
Good Samaritans, to healing the physical
and spiritual wounds of those who suffer.
United to each of you in thought and
prayer, I cordially impart my Apostolic
Blessing as a pledge of strength and peace
in the Lord.
From the Vatican, 8 December 2006
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Volume 41 • Number 1 27
 FROM THE
I N B O X
© Grace/zefa/Corbis
Lessons on Life
T T
here was a man who
had four sons. He
wanted his sons to
learn not to judge things
too quickly. So he sent
them each on a quest, in
turn, to go and look at a
pear tree that was a great
distance away.
The first son went in
the winter, the second in
the spring, the third in sum-
mer, and the youngest son
in the fall.
When they had all
gone and come back, he
called them together to de-
scribe what they had seen.
The first son said that
the tree was ugly, bent, and
twisted.
The second son said
no it was covered with green
buds and full of promise.
The third son dis-
agreed; he said it was laden
with blossoms that smelled
so sweet and looked so
beautiful, it was the most
graceful thing he had ever
seen.
The last son disagreed
28
28 IMPACT • January 2007
Cheer Up
with all of them; he said it
was ripe and drooping with
fruit, full of life and fulfill-
ment.
The man then ex-
plained to his sons that they
were all right, because they
had each seen but only one
season in the tree’s life.
He told them that you
cannot judge a tree, or a
person, by only one sea-
son, and that the essence of
who they are and the plea-
sure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be
measured at the end, when
all the seasons are up.
If you give up when
it’s winter, you will miss
the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer,
fulfillment of your fall.
Don’t let the pain of
one season destroy the joy
of all the rest.
Don’t judge life by one
difficult season. Persevere
through the difficult
patches and better times are
sure to come some time later.
rowena.dalanon@cbcpworld.net
T
he next time you feel
like GOD can’t use you,
just remember...
Noah was a drunk.
Abraham was too old. Isaac
was a daydreamer. Jacob was
a liar. Leah was ugly. Joseph
was abused. Moses had a
stuttering problem. Gideon
was afraid. Samson had long
hair and was a womanizer.
Rahab was a prostitute.
Jeremiah and Timothy
were too young. David had
an affair and was a murderer.
Elijah was suicidal. Isaiah
preached naked. Jonah ran
from God. Naomi was a widow.
Job went bankrupt. John the
The Woman and the Frog
he woman freed the
frog, and the frog
said, “Thank you, but
I failed to mention that there
was a condition to your
wishes. Whatever you wish
for, your husband will get
ten times!” The woman said,
“That’s okay.” For her first
wish, she wanted to be the
most beautiful woman in the
world. The frog warned her,
“You do realize that this wish
will also make your husband
the most handsome man in
the world, an Adonis whom
women will flock to.” The
woman replied, “That’s
okay, because I will be the
most beautiful woman and
he will have eyes only for
me.” So, KAZAM…she’s
the most beautiful woman
in the world!
For her second wish,
she wanted to be the richest
woman in the world. The
frog said, “That will make
your husband the richest
man in the world. And he
will be ten times richer than
you.” The woman said,
Baptist ate bugs.
Peter denied Christ.
The Disciples fell asleep
while praying. Martha wor-
ried about everything.
Mary Magdalene was, well
you know. The Samaritan
woman was divorced, more
than once. Zaccheus was
too small. Paul was too
religious. Timothy had an
ulcer...AND Lazarus was
dead!
No more excuses now.
God can use you to your
full potential. Besides you
aren’t the message, you are
just the messenger.
rowena.dalanon@cbcpworld.net
“That’s okay, because
what’s mine is his and
what’s his is mine.” So,
KAZAM…she’s the rich-
est woman in the world! The
frog then inquired about her
third wish, and she an-
swered, “I’d like a mild heart
attack.”
Moral of the story:
Women are clever. Don’t
mess with them.
Attention female read-
ers: This is the end of the
joke for you. Stop here and
continue feeling good.
Male readers: Please
scroll down.
The man had a heart
attack ten times milder than
his wife!!!
Moral of the story:
Women are really dumb but
think they’re really smart.
Let them continue to think
that way and just enjoy the
show.
PS: If you are a woman
and are still reading this, it
only goes to show that
women never listen!!!
rowena.dalanon@cbcpworld.net

COMPENDIUM OF THE CATECHISM
OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
Vatican’s Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith, Libreria
Editrice Vaticana
Freshly reeling off the press,
this superbly abridged formulation
of the contents of the Catholic faith
is but a timely sequel to the Cat-
echism of the Catholic Church
presented to the universal Church
by the late Pope John Paul II is
October 1992. Borne out from the
International Catechetical Con-
gress of October 2002, Pope John
Paul II, in 2003, then established a
Special Commission under the
presidency of Cardinal Joseph
Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict
XVI), then Prefect of the Congre-
gation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
to draft this concise formulation
of the Catholic doctrine. Like its
predecessor, Catechism of the
Catholic Church, this Compen-
dium readily “enables everyone to
know what the Church professes,
celebrates, lives and prays in her
daily life”. There are three princi-
pal characteristics of the Com-
pendium: the close reliance on the
Catechism of the Catholic
Church; the dialogical format; and
the use of artistic images in the
Catechesis. “Through the interces-
sion of Mary Most Holy, Mother of
Christ and Mother of the Church,
COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL
DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH
Pontifical Council for Justice
and Peace, Vatican
The recent declara-
tion by the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines of
2006 as Year of So-
cial Concerns ever
more highlighted the
Church’s incessant
call for a deeper un-
derstanding of the
Catholic Church’s so-
cial doctrine. Unmis-
takably for sure,
throughout the course of her his-
tory—and particularly in the last
hundred years—the Church has
never failed to “speak the words
that are hers” (Pope Leo XIII) with
regard to questions concerning life
in society. The Compendium of the
Social Doctrine of the Church
unassumingly poses indeed to be
an excellent synthesis, a kind of
vademecum, of the Church’s so-
cial teaching. “The reading of these
may everyone who reads this au-
thoritative text recognize and em-
brace ever more fully the inex-
haustible beauty, uniqueness and
significance of the incomparable
gift which God has made to the
human race in His only Son, Jesus
Christ, the ‘Way, the Truth, and the
Life’,” beautifully prefaces Pope
Benedict XVI in his Motu Propio
for the approval and publication
of the Compenium of the Cat-
echism of the Catholic Church.
pages is suggested above all in
order to sustain and foster the ac-
tivity of Christians in the social sec-
tor, especially the activ-
ity of the lay faithful to
whom this area belongs
in a particular way; the
whole of their lives must
be seen as a work of
evangelization that pro-
duces fruit…Every
reader of ‘good will’ will
be able to understand
the motives that prompt
the Church to intervene
with her doctrine in the
social sector, an area which, at first
glance, does not belong to the
Church’s competence, and these
same readers will see the reasons
for an encounter, for dialogue, for
cooperation in serving the common
good,” pre-notes Cardinal Renato
Raffaele Martino, president of
Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Jus-
tice and Peace, for the Compen-
dium of the Social Doctrine of the
Church.
THE BISHOP’S
STAFF
Abp. Oscar V. Cruz, JCD
The Church as a whole is much
blessed in the matter of symbols—
like, among others, the Cross, Catho-
lic liturgy, sacramental life of the
Church—which are meant to con-
vey the many realities of the Catho-
lic Faith. A Bishop himself has,
wears and carries certain symbols,
all of which are meant to convey
his threefold teaching, sanctifying
and serving Office—also known as
his Prophetic, Priestly and Kingly
Ministry. Some of the more distinc-
tive symbolic items used by a Bishop
on liturgical occasions are: the Mi-
tre, which symbolizes his hierarchi-
cal consecrated status in the
Church; the Pectoral Cross that em-
phasizes his life of sacrifice in the
faithful exercise of his threefold epis-
copal ministry; and the Episcopal
Ring that conveys his union with
Christ through his close commun-
ion with the Church, serving well to
symbolize his office as Bishop. But
what about the Bishop’s Staff? In
his latest book, Bishop’s Staff—re-
markably his 24th, to date—Arch-
bishop Cruz, the Philippine
hierarchy’s foremost canon lawyer
‘par excellence’, scholarly unravels
the theological, and canonical too,
significance of the Bishop’s Staff,
also known as the Shepherd’s Staff.
“In Holy Scriptures, the figure of
shepherds holding walking poles
while tending their sheep was very
HENRI J.M.
NOUWEN
In My Own Words
Robert Durback, ed.
“Thus, for many of
us, silence has be-
come a threat. There
was a time when si-
lence was normal,
and a lot of noise dis-
turbed us. But today,
noise is the normal
fare, and silence—
strange as it may
seem—has become
the disturbance. It is
not hard to under-
stand that people who
experience silence in this way
have difficulty with prayer.” This
is just one treasure trove of an
exceptionally exhilarating thought
cadged from the spiritual memoirs
of Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Roman
Volume 41 • Number 1
B O O K
REVIEWS
common. Even in these times, in
countries where flocks of sheep
are raised, the phenomenon of
shepherds with their staffs re-
mains. One thing is certain: the staff
held by a shepherd has practical
reason in relation to the common
good of his flock. And this can be
summarized into three basic pur-
poses: One, to lead the flock to
places where they can find food
and drink. Two, to secure the flock
from venturing into unsafe or dan-
gerous areas. Three, to defend the
flock when attacked by ferocious
wolves and other predatory ani-
mals. The Bishop’s Staff carries and
conveys substantially the same
threefold commitment in favor of the
portion of God’s People entrusted
to his pastoral care as his own cher-
ished flock,” Abp. Cruz anticipatingly
explains about the Bishop’s Staff.
Catholic priest who died in 1996
and was one of the most popular
spiritual writers of our time. In
Henri J.M. Nouwen: In My Own
Words, Robert Durback, a former
monk of Mepkin Abbey in Moncks
Corner (South
Carolina, USA),
magnificently
dishes out a gor-
geous collection
of Henri
Nouwen’s spiri-
tual reflections.
For Durback,
Henri Nouwen—
though many
looked to him as
a guide on the
spiritual jour-
ney—consid-
ered himself just
a fellow trav-
eler. His hope
was to encour-
age others along the way to rec-
ognize the beauty of their own
unique spiritual experiences.
This collection of his thoughts
fulfills that hope.
29
ENTERTAINMENT

A
native African father searching for
his family, a white African search
ing for a way out and an Ameri- CATHOLIC INITIATIVE
can journalist searching to expose the FOR E NLIGHTENED
truth… three characters brought together
by an invaluable pink diamond amidst the
MOVIE APPRECIATION
Civil War in Sierra Leone in 1999. Danny
Archer (Leonardo DiCarpio) is a merce-
Title: BLOOD DIAMOND
nary who convinces Solomon Vandy
Running Time: 135 min.
(Djimon Hounsou) to team up with him to
Cast: Leonardo di Carpio, Djimon
sell the blood diamond the latter found
Hounsou, Jennifer Connelly,
when he was enslaved by the rebel forces.
Kagiso Kuypers, Arnold Vosloo,
In return, Danny promises to find
Anthony Coleman
Solomon’s captive family through his
Director: Edward Zwick
connections. They recruit Maddy’s (Jen-
Producer: Gillian Gorfil
nifer Connely) help in exchange for names
Screenwriter: Charles Leavitt
and information on the diamond trade for
Music: James Newton Howard
the expose she is hoping to feature. Un-
Editor: Steven Rosenblum
fortunately, to Solomon’s heartbreak, his
Genre: Action/Drama
son, Dia (Kagiso Kuypers) has been in-
Cinematography: Eduardo Serra
doctrinated by rebel soldiers and is trans-
Distributor: Warner Bros.
formed into as cold-blooded child soldier.
the risks he put has been through, he Location: Sierra Leone, Africa
Edward Zwick transforms a socio-
makes a most noble sacrifice for Technical Assessment: 
political issue into a highly riveting and
powerful film. He maximizes the poten- Solomon’s family. Recommended for Moral Assessment: zzz
tials of the intelligent scripting of Leavitt older audience because of the violence CINEMA Rating: For viewers 18 and
with a perfect balance of pushing the and gore. above
horror of a situation before going to the
next sequence. The plot moves flawlessly
with unforgettable lines and impression-
able characters. DiCarpio and Hounsou
give brilliant performances and so does
the young Kuypers. The cinematogra-
The CINEMA Logo
phy reveals the stunning beauty of Af-
rica and the appalling violence of war with The CINEMA logo incorporates
excellent editing piercing it tightly. The crisscrossed film strips, an open
scoring is chillingly romantic. The film is eye, and the CBCP-Office on Women
perhaps one of the best of its genre. logo.
This is the type of movie that makes
one thankful he is merely an onlooker of The film strip represents the
actual events and situations through the specific medium on which CINEMA
celluloid’s drama. Blood Diamond is an centeres its apostolate -- thus, its
insightful movie exposing atrocities of central location in the logo. Film
consumerism, exploitation and corruption strips are crisscrossed to symbolize
and gives a well backhand wakeup for The Office on Women logo -- the first letter "X" (chi) of the Greek
the indifference and hypocrisy not only word for "Christ", reminiscent also of
located in the corner beneath the film
of world leaders and those in power but
strips and the open eye -- signifies the cross. The film strips indicate
also of the common people living thou-
sand of miles away from the conflict and the visual function of the Episcopal that film must be appreciated in the
violence. The horrors of war is excruciat- element in CINEMA's existence. It is light of the Cross, the instrument of
ing affecting families and children and its the foundation upon which CINEMA enlightenment.
scars are irreversible. But what is worse is built under the auspices of its
is how societies take advantage of pov- Office on Women. The open eye underscores the
erty and conflict to further their personal link between the eye of the camera
interests. A haunting question is not what Altogether, the elements in the and the human eye, emphasizing a
one is willing to risk to get what he wants CINEMA logo are a visual embodi- soulful appreciation of FILM as an
but to know in the depths of his person ment of the organization's name -- art. Its prominent position in the logo
what really will make him happy. As a Catholic INitiative for Enlightened indicates the importance of vigilance
native poetically says every person at the Movie Appreviation -- an eloquent in our choice and patronage of cin-
core is good. So does Danny Archer re- statement of the purpose of this ema for it to uplift and enrich its
alize this that despite his fiery desire to Church-inspired body. viewers.
get out of war torn continent and after all

30 IMPACT • January 2007


LAOS
Apostolic vicariate cel- C h r i s t i a n c o l l e g e , China looking to Israel Over 300 injured in po-
ebrates 1 st priestly or- seminary reopen in for water tech
dination in 50 years Iraq
The Catholic community
of the Apostolic Vicariate
of Paksé, in Laos, had cel-
ebrated the first local
priestly ordination in 50
years. Fr Andrew
Souksavath Nouane Asa
was ordained a priest last
Dec.30, 2006 by the Vicar
Apostolic Bishop Louis
Marie Ling
Mangkhanekhoun. With
Andrew, Paksé now has
four priests. Present in the
occasion were the four
Bishops of Laos, two bish-
ops from Thailand, about
25 priests from Laos, Cam-
bodia and Thailand. The
small community of 42,000
Laotian Catholics lives
among a mainly Buddhist
population of 5.4 million.
INDIA Israel’s chief rabbi
ready to welcome
Bishop calls for lay Pope
faithful involvement in
politics Chief Rabbi Jonah
Bishop Oswald Gracias
of Mumbai calls for “more
participation of lay Chris-
tians in politics and soci-
ety. He stressed it’s impor-
tant to help lay faithful real-
ize that they have great rel-
evance in the pastoral ac-
tivity of the Church and its
mission to carry Christian
values to the fields of poli-
tics, media, social action
and education in India. The
prelate also called for more
collaboration between
clergy and lay people in the
different church realities,
noting that lay Catholics are
present in many areas
where clergy and religious
are denied access.
IRAQ
China will work with
Classes have finally
resumed at Iraq’s only
school of Christian the-
ology and a seminary
that moved out of
Baghdad for security
reasons. Asianews re-
ported that the doors of
Babel College and St.
Peter’s Major Seminary
reopened Jan.16, after
being closed for
months. Abductions, as-
saults and threats to the
Christian community in
the capital convinced lo-
cal Church leaders first
to shut down both the
college and seminary,
and then to move them
out.
ISRAEL
BURMA
Landmines kill, maim nabbed
and starve civilians
Metzger said he would
warmly welcome Pope
Benedict XVI in Israel,
according to Zenit News.
Cardinal Walter Kasper,
head of the Pontifical
Commission for Reli-
gious Relations with the
Jews, said that the Pope
has accepted the invita-
tion, but that he will visit
Israel when the condi-
tions are appropriate.
The source said the gov-
ernment has already in-
vited the Holy Father to
visit the country. “The
moment the Pope is
pleased to come to
Jerusalem, we will wel-
come him warmly,”
Rabbi said.
CHINA
litical protests
Clashes across Dhaka
companies in Israel to
jumpstart a number of
water purification and re-
cycling projects. Accord-
ing to a report, China wants
to kick off 11 major water
purification projects in the
next five years. Water con-
sumption rose seven times
higher in the last century.
Experts said water supplies
are rapidly consumed in
China and elsewhere turn-
ing many governments to
invest in plants to desali-
nate seawater or clean
wastewater for re-use. Is-
rael is one of the countries
that could cash in on the
trend because water puri-
fication has a long history
there. About 75 percent of
the water used in the coun-
try is recycled.
INDONESIA
Greenpeace protesters
The widespread use of
landmines by the Burmese
army against civilians to ter-
rorize them and hamper the
annual harvest season
should cease, Human Rights
Watch said. The Burmese
government is the only gov-
ernment in the world that
has used antipersonnel
mines on a regular basis
throughout 2006. Reports
said that since the start of
the harvest season last No-
vember, soldiers have been
laying increasing numbers
of antipersonnel landmines
in front of houses, around
rice fields, and along trails
leading to fields in order to
deter civilians from har-
vesting their crops.
Volume 41 • Number 1
N E W S
BRIEFS
BANGLADESH
left at least 300 people in-
jured, including several
policemen, news reports
said. Riot police used tear
gas, rubber bullets and
batons Jan. 8 to disperse
thousands of stone-throw-
ing protesters in the
Bangladeshi capital who
are demanding postpone-
ment of this month’s elec-
tions.
About 5,000 protesters
tried to overrun barbed-
wire barricades manned by
police in central Dhaka.
The violence broke out on
the second day of a crip-
pling three-day transpor-
tation blockade imposed by
a 19-party alliance that
opposes the Jan. 22 elec-
tion.
T w e n t y - t h r e e
Greenpeace activists were
arrested and detained by
Indonesian police for a
non-violent protest held
at the Ministry of For-
estry recently. They are
being charged with “un-
pleasant action” which
carries fines and a 1-year
jail term. “We call on the
Indonesian government to
stop persecuting those
who are fighting to pro-
tect our remaining forests
by revoking all existing
commercial logging per-
mits and stopping the is-
suance of new permits,”
said Hapsoro, Forest cam-
paigner of Greenpeace
Southeast Asia and among
those arrested.
31