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Stay focused on human life, Pope tells pro-life marchers

Act of Consecration to the B1 Immaculate Heart of Mary

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

Vote buying more rampant in 2013 polls PPCRV

THE recent local and national elections hold the distinction with the most rampant incidence of vote buying, a Catholic Churchbacked poll watchdog said. Henrietta de Villa, chairperson of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, said that vote buying this time was bolder and on a bigger scale. Aside from giving money, vote buying was also done in form of rice, food packs, mobile phones and even giving education scholarships. They did everything just to entice people
Vote Buying / A7

More active Catholic laity seen in 2016 polls

By Roy Lagarde

May 13 - 26, 2013

Vol. 17 No. 10

Php 20.00

THE 2013 local and national elections saw some of the most aggressive involvement by lay Catholics in the political process in years.
But did Catholics make any difference in the electoral outcome in choosing candidates who espouse the Churchs teaching, particularly on the primacy of the right to life and on the sanctity of marriage? The CBCP Monitor asked some lay leaders the question and the consensus was yes. The Council of the Laity of the Philippines (CLP) Catholic vote did really count but, at the same time, admitted there are still many things that need to be done. Of course we made an impact but I wish we could have done more, Atty. Aurora Santiago, president of CLP, which is composed of 51 national organizations, said. Santiago was among those who led the White Vote Movement campaign for candidates who opposed the Reproductive Health (RH) Law. According to her, it was the first time that an alliance of Catholic groups banded together to endorse senatorial candidates. We discovered some loopholes but there is always room for improvement,
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Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo casts his vote during midterm elections in Manila despite his doubts on the accuracy of the Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine, May 13, 2013. Pabillo who also chairs the Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, has been advocating for a parallel manual count due to a perceived failure of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to address security and credibility issues surrounding the automated election system.

Abortionist Gosnell convicted of three baby murders

PHILADELPHIA, Pa, May, 13, 2013Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell on Monday was convicted on three of the four first degree murder charges for killing babies who had been born alive. Gosnell, 72, could face the death penalty for the murder charges. The jury will hear arguments for and against a death sentence a week from Tuesday. The unborn babies were known only by letters, and Gosnell was convicted of the murders of Baby Boy A, Baby C and Baby D at his Philadelphia clinic, the Womens Medical Society. Baby Boy A was killed after Gosnell induced delivery on his mother, who was almost 30 weeks pregnant. Gosnell severed the babys spine and put his body in a shoebox for disposal, joking that the baby was so big he could walk me to the bus stop, the grand jury report said. Baby C moved and breathed for 20 minutes after delivery before an assistant cut the babys spinal cord. Baby D was delivered into a toilet. A clinic staffer told the grand jury that the baby moved and looked like it was swimming when another staffer removed the baby from the toilet and cut its neck. The abortionist was found not guilty in the death of Baby E, who a witness said cried before Gosnell killed it and put it in a waste bin. Gosnell initially faced seven counts of first degree murder for the deaths of infants who were allegedly killed after being born alive. Judge Jeffrey Minehart threw out three of the infant murder charges for unstated reasons. Gosnells attorney had argued that there was no proof the babies had been born alive. The abortion doctor was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a patient who died of an overdose in 2009. Prosecutors had sought a third-degree murder charge in her case, saying Gosnell let his untrained and unlicensed staff give the 41-year-old Bhutanese immigrant woman a fatal combination of drugs. The abortionist was also convicted of infanticide in the death of Baby A and conspiracy in the deaths of babies D and C. Gosnell faced over 250 charges, including racketeering, conspiracy and violations of Pennsylvanias late-term abortion ban. He faced more than 200 counts of breaking a state law that requires a 24-hour waiting period on abortion. The gruesome testimony at the trial included reports that Gosnell and his staff snipped the necks of over 100 babies who survived abortions. One doctor at the clinic testified that the procedure was literally a beheading. The grand jury report said that most of the acts could not

Yen Ocampo / CBCP Media

Abortionist / A6

Tagle asks intl groups to help solve PHPs labor problems Malfunctioning PCOS machines
THE countrys top churchman called on the international community to do more to help solve labor issues particularly in the Philippines. In his message to mark this years Labor Day, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle of Manila stressed the need for outside intervention in addressing worker rights and labor reforms. Now, because of globalization, I hope that the worlds labor issues and problems will become a major concern of international agencies and international groups, Tagle said. He cited an example of a foreign company who warned the workers that it would shut down their factory if they will insist to demand for a wage increase. Tagle was holding a dialogue with the company to raise the concerns of the workers only to be threatened by the officials that they will just bring the business to other country. In the end, he said the
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mar excellent voter turnout

VOTER turnout at the 75 polling precincts under the Diocese of Pasig was excellent but several precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines malfunctioned early on Election Day. Fr. Loreto Jun Sanchez, priest-coordinator of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in the Diocese of Pasig, said majority of the voters in Pasig, Pateros and Taguig have showed up to vote early today.

Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Maganda ang voter turn out. Maaga silang dumagsa as presinto para bumoto, he said. But Sanchez noted glitches in the PCOS machines that marred the mood and enthusiasm of the early voters. He said there were at least four PCOS machines that malfunctioned throughout the diocese as of 8:30 am. May mga report na hindi nag-on
Turnout / A6

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

ECY forges on to 2016 with voters formation

EVEN as the hoopla around the midterm elections dies down, the CBCP - Episcopal Commission on Youth (ECY) forges on towards 2016 with its commitment to continue election catechism and voters education through its Kabataang Bayani program. At a press conference last May 12, ECY executive secretary Fr. Conegundo Garganta stressed the importance of continuing formation of young people about electoral duties and how it should not stop with the May 13 polls. The Episcopal Commission on Youth marked a respite in its Kabataang Bayani runs with A Candle for HOPE (Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections), a prayer on the eve of the elections, last May 12 at Our Lady of the Abandoned parish in Marikina City. During his homily at A Candle for HOPE Eucharistic celebration, CBCP Media OfFormation / A6

Catholics, Christians, Muslims unite in poll watching

ENSURING a clean and honest election is an advocacy that transcends boundaries, even that of religion. This as Catholics, Christians and Muslims set aside their differences in volunteering to be part of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in certain poll precincts in this city. Fr. Loreto Sanchez, PPCRV priest-coordinator in the Diocese of Pasig,
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Photo courtesy of ECY

The first run of Kabataang Bayani was for the DSWD-NCR Youth last year.

Brothers Matias

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World News

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Church is growing worldwide, especially in Asia, Africa, Vatican says

VATICAN City, May 13, 2013The number of Catholics in the world and the number of bishops, priests, religious men and seminarians all increased in 2011, while the number of women in religious orders continued to decline, according to Vatican statistics. The number of permanent deacons is showing strong expansion globally, but especially in Europe and the Americas, it said. At the end of 2011, the worldwide Catholic population reached 1.214 billion, an increase of 18 million or 1.5 percent, slightly outpacing the global population growth rate, which was estimated at 1.23 percent, said a statement published May 13 by the Vatican press office. Catholics as a percentage of the global population remained essentially unchanged at around 17.5 percent, it said. The statement reported a handful of the statistics contained in the Statistical Yearbook of the Church, which reported worldwide church figures as of Dec. 31, 2011. Officials of the Vatican Secretariat of State and its Central Office of Church Statistics presented the first copy of the yearbook to Pope Francis during an audience May 13; they also gave him the first copy of the 2013 Annuario Pontificio, a volume containing information about every Vatican office, as well as every diocese and religious order in the world. According to the statistical yearbook, the increase in the number of Catholics in Africa (4.3 percent) and Asia (2 percent) greatly outpaced their regions population growth, which was 2.3 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively. The growth of the Catholic community in Europe and the Americas was even with regional population growth, which was about 0.3 percent for both, the yearbook said. At the end of 2011, most of the worlds Catholics (48.8 percent) were living in the Americas, followed by Europe with 23.5 percent, Africa with 16 percent, 10.9 percent in Asia and 0.8 percent in Oceania. The Vatican said the number of bishops in the world increased from 5,104 to 5,132. The total number of priestsdiocesan and religious orderaround the world grew from 412,236 to 413,418, increasing everywhere except the Americas where numbers stayed mostly the same, and Europe, where the number of priests has gone down more than 9 percent over the past decade. The number of permanent deacons reportedabout 41,000was an increase of more than 1,400 over the previous year and a 40 percent increase over the past decade. The vast majority97.4 percentof the worlds permanent deacons live in the Americas or in Europe. The number of men joining a religious order showed substantial growth over the past decade in both Asia (up 44.9 percent since 2001) and Africa (up 18.5 percent since 2001); in contrast their numbers fell in Oceania by 21.9 percent over the past 10 years, in Europe by 18 percent and in the Americas by 3.6 percent over the past decade. The number of women in religious orders has shown a sharp downward trend with a 10 percent decrease in the numbers of women religious worldwide since 2001, it said. The increases in Africa and Asia werent enough to offset the reductions seen in Europe, the Americas and Oceania, it said. Catholic womens orders went from having a total of more than 792,000 members in 2001 to just over 713,000 women at the end of 2011. The number of candidates for the priesthoodboth diocesan seminarians and members of religious orders showed continued growth worldwide, rising from 118,990 at the end of 2010 to 120,616 at the end of 2011. In the past 10 years, it said, the number of men preparing for the priesthood rose more than 30.9 percent in Africa and 29.4 percent in Asia. Numbers decreased in other regions of the world, particularly Europe, which saw a 21.7 percent drop in priesthood candidates between 2001 and 2011. (CNS)

Board game created by nun Patroness, inspiration, intercessor: Mary is beloved in Latin America becomes a hit in Spain
ROME, Italy, May 13, 2013A new faith-based board game created by a Spanish nun has become one of the most popular First Communion gifts in Spain this year. Sister Maria Granados Molina created the new game, The Joy of the Faith, which tests players knowledge of Catholicism. The games publisher said 2,000 copies have been made since the game went on sale a few months ago, and there are hopes to market it in the United States and Latin America. Thirty-five year-old Sr. Molina was born in Granada and belongs to a Carmelite order in the city of Cuenca. She works as a catechist for the Diocese of Cuenca. In an interview with CNA, Sr. Molina said she never imagined the game would become so popular. She made the first version of the game at home with her own printer and the help of the sisters from my congregation in Cuenca. The Joy of the Faith is intended to help players learn about Jesus and the experience of being a Christian. Players roll dice and answer questions about the Catholic faith to move along the spaces on the board. The game incorporates drawings, gestures and prayers. Sr. Molina debuted the game in Madrid last year during a conference on catechesis. It was picked up by a national distributor and made available later throughout the country. The game is the fruit of a desire, a concern and a prayer and I think it has received a surprising reception. Nobody thought that with the way Spain is right now that a game like this would be a success, she said. The game is based on the childrens catechetical book Jesus is Lord, which was approved by the Bishops Conference of Spain. It is intended for children ages 7 and up, and it can be played by groups of young people, families, schools and catechists. I wanted people to draw closer to the experience of Jesus, Sr. Molina said. (CNA) MEXICO City, May 13, 2013 May is the month of Mary, who is celebrated the length of Latin America as someone more than the mother of Godor even a religious figure. Mary is associated with everything from national identity in Mexico to the mother earth in Chile to the national patroness of many of the countries in between. Mary has inspired independence and social justice movements, endured atheist and anti-clerical regimes and been embraced by the indigenous populations and the elites alike. Theres a sense (in Latin America) that Mary represents the concrete manifestation of Gods presence with us in a very culturally specific and acculturated way, said Richard Coll, Latin America analyst for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Some say Latin Americans devotion to Mary dates back to Catholicisms arrival from Spain, where such customs were common. But it gained acceptanceoften on the terms of the indigenous populations despite being an import brought by conquering Europeans and the missionaries who followed. It comes back to this role of Mary of being the acculturated presence of the religion in the sense that Marys involvement in the culture does not appear as one that originated from the outside, Coll said. Thats where the strength comes from. Rather than feeling that parts of this religion might be external to this society, the role of Mary ... (is) very local, he said. In Mexico City, pilgrims go daily to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the worlds most visited Marian shrine and the place Mary appeared to St. Juan Diego in 1531. Blessed John Paul visited the basilica in 1979, an event symbolically important for ending the estrangement between Mexico and the Vatican. The visit also reinforced the role of Mary in the evangelization and modern life of Mexico and Latin America. Pope Benedict XVI venerated Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre last year in Cuba, while Pope Francis plans a visit the shrine to Our Lady of Aparecida during his July trip to Brazil for World Youth Day. Coll recalled the outpouring of devotion for Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, patroness of Cuba, during Pope Benedicts visit, which marked the 400th anniversary of the images appearance. This devotion came despite decades of state-sponsored secularism in Cuba. Devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe has stayed strong in Mexico, even with the church being persecuted by anti-clerical governments after the Revolution of 1910. Father Miguel Hidalgo, the priest leading the independence movement in 1810, marched with a banner bearing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, who is championed as a symbol of Mexican identity, even by non-Catholic Mexicans. In some Central American countries, Mary has come under attack from evangelical leaders attempting to pry people away from the Catholic Church, said Father German Calix, country director of Caritas in Honduras. But the devotion is hard to break because she is in the consciousness of the people, Father Calix said.

Vatican Briefing
Pope canonizes hundreds of Italian martyrs

The consciousness is expressed often expressed in informal ways, such as the concheros, the Aztec dancers present at various venerations of Mary in Mexico. The thinking of Catholic leaders toward these expressions of popular piety is changing. Pope Francis, as archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina, always supported expressions of popular piety, said Guillermo Galeano, spokesman for the Argentine Diocese of Lomas de Zamora. Many of those expressions centered on Our Lady of Lujan, the national patroness, who draws millions of Argentines to pilgrimages every October. (CNS)

Pope Francis on Sunday canonized hundreds of fifteenth century Italian martyrs who died rather than renounce their Christian faith. The martyrs faithfulness even unto death and the proclamation of the Gospel are rooted in the love of God that has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, said Pope Francis during the May 12 canonization Mass at the Vatican He saw in their lives an inspiration for victims of persecution today. (CNA)
Vatican, US sign anti-money-laundering memo

Italian pro-lifers hope Rome march has global reach

the Pope did not join the ROME, Italy, May 13, 2013The march but made a brief trip main organizer of Italys March for in the popemobile outside Life hopes that its location in Rome of St. Peters Square, as he means it has global influence by has done in recent weeks. sending a message to the whole Participants in the march Christian world. were at the end of his route This event is very important for and had the chance to see us and it gives a worldwide impact Pope Francis. since it is in Rome. And I think in the The event was organized future it could be the most important by several Italian pro-life one, said Virginia Coda Nunziante, groups and featured wellorganizer of Italys March for Life. known speakers, such as the Rome is the seat of Christianity president of the U.S. March and to host this here is important befor Life, Jeanne Monahan, cause it gives a message to the whole pro-life activist Lila Rose, Christian world, she remarked May and the Mayor of Rome, 12 during the annual March for Life. Sundays demonstration was the Participants in the 2013 March for Life Italy prepare to begin their march Giovanni Alemanno. at the Coliseum on May 12, 2013. We would like to spread third time the Italian March for Life the culture of life in Italy so was held and the second time it took place in Rome. advocates before beginning their route to this is an occasion to get all of Italys associations and groups together to say a clear Some news accounts reported around Castel SantAngelo. 40,000 participants for the demonstration, After completing their march, they joined yes to life and no to abortion, said march but CNAs staff on the ground estimated the thousands of pilgrims at Saint Peters Square organizer Coda Nunziante. Italy legalized abortion in 1978, leading crowd at around 20,000 marchers. who were there for a canonization ceremony The annual March for Life in Washington, and Pope Francis weekly Regina Caeli ad- to the deaths of six million babies between then and now, according to Coda Nunziante. D.C. regularly draws crowds in the hun- dress. But Italians were not the only ones present, dreds of thousands that are underreported The pro-life marchers were not disapin the American media. pointed, since the Pope greeted them in since groups from Poland, France, Belgium, Ireland, Spain, Albania and Nigeria also travThe most recent march, which took place particular. on January 25, drew around 400,000 people, I greet the participants of the March for eled to Rome to defend the unborn. This is very important for Italians to with about 80 percent of those demonstrators Life which took place this morning in Rome being young people, according to organizers. and invite everyone to stay focused on the understand that abortion is a worldwide People from the United States, Europe important issue of respect for human life, problem, so we all have to be tied together in order to have a wider impact, she said. and Africa gathered on May 12 outside the from the moment of conception, he said. Coliseum where they heard from pro-life However, contrary to some news reports, (CNA)

The Vatican continued its efforts to update its financial standards by signing an agreement with the United States to allow the two countries to exchange information to prevent money laundering and terrorism funding. The Memorandum of Understanding was agreed upon with the American Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, which came into being after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The agreement allows the two states to exchange information that will help them prevent criminal financial activity from taking place and was signed in Washington, D.C. on May 7. (CNA)
Coptic Pope stresses urgency of Christian unity at Vatican

The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt met with Pope Francis at the Vatican and spoke about the urgent need for unity among Christians in the Middle East. We must prepare our people for this very real and needed unity that we know and live, we must work quickly and seriously, said Pope Tawadros II in May 10 remarks provided to CNA by his office. His visit to the Vatican is significant because he leads Egypts largest Christian Church with ten million members, as well as historic, since the May 9-13 trip is the first to Rome in 40 years. (CNA)
Focusing on self rather than Jesus makes prayer boring, pope says

If a persons prayer life is boring, that generally means that he or she is focused too much on the self and not enough on Jesus and the needs of others, Pope Francis said during a morning Mass homily. True prayer leads us out of ourselves toward the Father in the name of Jesus; its an exodus out of ourselves, the pope said May 11 during Mass in the chapel of his residence, the Domus Sanctae Marthae. During the Mass, attended by members of the Vatican police force and by Argentine journalists working in Rome, Pope Francis said prayer typically involves two forms of exodus: one toward the wounds of Jesus, and the other toward the wounds of our brothers and sisters. This is the path Jesus wants our prayer to take. (CNS)
Pope: Unemployment, slave labor go against Gods plan, human dignity

Thai Catholics celebrate marginalized and disenfranchised ethnic groups

BANGKOK, May 13, 2013For Msgr. Philip Banchong Chaiyara, bishop of Ubon Ratchathani (in the northeast) and president of the Episcopal Commission for Social Development, the Thai Church would like to see "greater space" in today's society for the "members of ethnic minorities" who are victimized, marginalized and ostracised, in many cases even denied citizenship and the rights that come with it. With this in mind, the Catholic Church has set aside tomorrow, 12 May, as a day for ethnic groups to be celebrated in all of the country's parishes. In reminding the faithful about Jesus' teachings, the prelate called on them to love one another and take care of the least among us, namely the poor, the abused, the sick, migrant workers, people without citizenship and members of various ethnic minorities. In sponsoring this event, Msgr. Chaiyara said he was moved by Pope Francis's speech on the first day of his pontificate about 'caring for the needy' and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in Veritate. The latter defines care for the poor as a sign of "love and mercy", which are "the Church's greatest proof of what it can do in social affairs and in caring for others. With some ethnic groups facing a major hurdle, namely the lack of citizenship, the Foundation for the Development of Mountain Communities, led by Toenjai Deethes, kicked off a campaign at the end of April to help them solve their problem, especially in the north. A first survey carried out this year in three northern provinces-Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Mae Hong Son-showed that at least 1,411 people living in 32 villages in six districts have not had their citizenship demand resolved. In turn, this has meant that they do not have health care coverage. Likewise, Srisuwan Chanya, head of the Association of Environmental Management, released information in January relating to Thailand's "rapidly growing" ethnic groups. He found that at present, some 10 tribal groups lived across 20 of the country's provinces, for a total of 923,257 people divided in 186,413 households occupying 164,637 homes. The Karen are the largest ethnic group with 438,131 members. However, as a result of the process of modernization and the rise of modern media, their language and culture are being negatively affected, causing them major difficulties. (AsiaNews)

Pope Francis called for an end to slave labor and human trafficking as well as greater efforts to create dignified work for more people. The problem of unemployment is very often caused by a purely economic view of society, which seeks self-centered profit, outside the bounds of social justice, he said, marking the May 1 feast of St. Joseph the Worker during his weekly general audience. I wish to extend an invitation to everyone to greater solidarity and to encourage those in public office to spare no effort to give new impetus to employment, he said. This means caring for the dignity of the person. (CNS)

Alan Holdren / CNA

www.catholicnews.com

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

News Features

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Stay focused on human life, Pope tells pro-life marchers

VATICAN City, May 12, 2013Pope Francis greeted the thousands of people who had gathered this morning in Rome to protest against abortion, praising efforts to secure legal protection for human beings at their earliest stages of life. I greet the participants of the March for Life which took place this morning in Rome and invite everyone to stay focused on the important issue of respect for human life, from the moment of conception, said the Pope at St. Peters Basilica. He addressed the pro-life advocates at Saint Peters Square in his comments for the May 12 Regina Caeli prayer. They had gathered in St. Peters Square after marching against abortion earlier that day in Rome. The march began at Romes Colosseum and ended at Castel SantAngelo, just a few hundred feet from the Vatican. Pope Francis praised other pro-life efforts in Italy. I am pleased to recall the petition that today takes place in many Italian parishes, in order to support the initiative European One of Us to ensure legal protection to the embryo, protecting every human being from the first moment of its existence, the Pope said. He announced that the Vatican will host events dedicated to Pope John Paul IIs 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae on June 15 and 16. Pope Francis said this occasion would be a special moment for those who have cared about the defense of the sanctity of human life. The Pope made his comments during the Regina Caeli prayer, which followed a Mass he celebrated at Saint Peters Square to canonize many new saints. He canonized Blessed Antonio Primaldo and Companions, hundreds of martyrs who were massacred by Turkish invaders when they refused to give up their faith. Also canonized were the first Colombian-born saint, teacher Bl. Laura di Santa Caterina da Siena Montoya y Upegui, and Bl. Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, a Mexican vowed religious who co-founded the Congregation of the Handmaids of St Margaret Mary Alacoque and the Poor. He offered a special greeting to official delegations of Italy, Colombia and Mexico who had just previously attended the canonization Mass. The martyrs of Otranto help the beloved Italian people to look with hope to the future, trusting in the nearness of God who never abandons, even in difficult times, said the Pope. The pontiff also announced that Father Luigi Novarese had been beatified on May 11 in Rome, saying he was pleased by it. Fr. Novarese was the founder of the lay associations the Apostolate of the Suffering and the Silent Workers of the Cross. I join in the thanksgiving for this exemplary priest, who was able to renew pastoral care of the sick by making them active participants in the Church, said Pope Francis. (CNA/EWTN News)

Pope Francis rides through St. Peters Square at the April 3, 2013 general audience.

Pope says evangelists build bridges, not walls

Bishop to govt: Relocate settlers to areas with job opportunities

MANILA, April 30, 2013A Catholic bishop on Tuesday asked the government to relocate informal settlers in areas with job opportunities. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said during a Church-run forum in Intramuros, the government should put up relocation sites that have job opportunities for 1,083 families living along Metro Manilas rivers and esteros. These informal settlers are in danger and in need of resettlement before the May 15 deadline. But they should receive decent incity or near-city relocation which can give job opportunities to them. The relocation should be prepared before the people are removed from their homes, said Pabillo, who is also the chair of the CBCPs National Secretariat for Social Action. should be no eviction of informal settlers if there is no proper relocation set for them. The right relocation for the 1,083 families is where they can have their jobs and be satisfied. Currently, informal settlers opted to squat in areas where they have jobs or small businesses. The best way is to have in-city or near-city relocation sites, Pabillo added. Some sectors believed if government wont be able provide the right relocation sites with job opportunities, more people would be encouraged to live in squatters areas rather than acquire a housing loan that charges 18% annually. The duty of the government now is to bring the common good to the people. In the case of the urban poor, there should be relocation sites with job opportunities, Pabillo furthered. (Jandel Posion with reports from Czarina Chavez)

Stephen Driscoll / CNA

As of the moment, the government has no in-city, near-city relocation sites that can generate job opportunities for the settlers. Demolition With demolition scheduled on May 15, two days after the election, Pabillo stressed there

Pope Francis

VATICAN City, May 8, 2013 Like Jesus, who dined with Pharisees and sinners, and St. Paul, who preached to idol worshippers, true evangelizers build bridges that lead unbelievers into the church, not walls to protect it, Pope Francis said. The popes words came in a homily May 8 during morning Mass in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guesthouse where he lives. The Vatican employees present included those responsible for furniture and decor in Vatican buildings. Commenting on the days reading from the Acts of the Apostles, in which St. Paul preaches to pagan Athenians at the Areopagus, Pope Francis said that Paul is a pontifex, a builder of bridges. He doesnt want to become a builder of walls. He doesnt say: Idolaters, go to hell! the pope said. This is the attitude of Paul in Athens: Build a bridge to their heart, in order then to take another step and announce Jesus Christ. Pope Francis said that the apostle followed the example of Jesus himself, who dined with Pharisees, with sinners, with publicans, with doctors of the law. Jesus heard everyone, and

when he said a word of condemnation, it was at the end, when there was nothing else to do. Christians who are afraid to build bridges and prefer to build walls are Christians who are not sure of their faith, not sure of Jesus Christ, he said. When the church loses this apostolic courage, he said, it becomes a stalled church, a tidy church, nice, very nice, but without fertility, because it has lost the courage to go to the peripheries, where there are so many victims of idolatry, of worldliness, of weak thinking. In these terms, the pope said, now is a good time in the life of the church, the last 50 or 60 years have been a good time. Because I remember when I was a child one would hear in Catholic families, in my family: No, we cannot go to their house, because they are not married in the church, eh! It was like an exclusion. No, you couldnt go. Or because they are socialists or atheists, we cannot go, Pope Francis said. Now, thank God, that isnt said, right? he said. It was like a defense of the faith, but with walls. The Lord made bridges. (CNS)

Pope: Sad Christian faces are like pickled peppers

VATICAN City, May 10, 2013 Pope Francis underscored the importance of being joyful by contrasting sad Christian faces which are more like pickled pepperswith the testimony of a beautiful life. Sometimes these melancholic Christians faces have more in common with pickled peppers than the joy of having a beautiful life, Pope Francis said May 10. If we keep this joy to ourselves it will make us sick in the end, our hearts will grow old and wrinkled and our faces will no longer transmit that great joy, only nostalgia and melancholy which is not healthy, he added. The Pope delivered his homily on the reading from Acts 18 in the chapel of St. Marthas residence. He concelebrated the Mass with the Archbishop of Mrida, Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, and the abbot primate of the Benedictine monks, Notker Wolf. Vatican Radio staff and their director, Father Federico Lombardi, also attended the Eucharistic celebration. The pontiff told them Christians should not keep joy bottled up for themselves because they risk becoming nostalgic. Christian joy is not like having fun, which is good, he explained, rather it is more, it is something else. If we want to have fun all the time, in the end it becomes shallow, superficial, and also leads us to that state where we lack Christian wisdom, it makes us a little bit stupid, naive, no? Pope Francis said. Joy is something that does not come from short term economic reasons, from momentary reasons, it is something deeper, it is a gift, he preached. The pontiff described joy as a gift from God that fills us from within and cannot be held at heel, it must be let go. It is a virtue of the great, of

Urban Poor Associates

those great ones who rise above the little things in life, above human pettiness, said Pope Francis. He explained that it is a virtue of those who will not allow themselves to be dragged into those little things within the community, within the Church and that they always look to the horizon. He added that todays visit by Coptic Pope of Egypt Tawadros II was a very good reason to be joyful because he is a brother who comes to visit the Church of Rome to speak and to walk part of the path together. (CNA/ EWTN News)

Catholic schools bash CHEd for unfair policy

MANILA, May 8, 2013The Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines (CEAP) has assailed the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) for making a policy decision that runs counter to the academic freedom of higher educational institutions (HEIs). CEAP, an organization of 1,345 Catholic schools, colleges and universities throughout the country, has voiced its opposition to the CHEd Memorandum Order (CMO) No. 46, titled Policy Standard to enhance Quality Assurance (QA) in the Philippine Higher Education through an Outcomes-based and Typology-based QA, issued on December 11, 2012. CEAP said the approval of CMO 46 by the CHEd en banc was rushed, despite our pleas to the contrary. The group claimed that CMO goes against the Constitutional guarantee of Philippine HEIs for academic freedom to determine who teaches, whom to teach, what to teach, and how to teach. CMO 46 abrogates to itself the power to state: Philippine higher education is mandated to contribute to building a quality nation. Where it gets the power to mandate what is properly left to the HEIs, especially the private HEIs, to determine in academic freedom is unknown. This is a violation of the academic freedom to determine what to teach, CEAP said. The organization also described CMO 46 as a contradiction to the international quality assurance being put in place in the membercountries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Where ASEAN insists on quality assurance agencies being independent of government, of the universities being monitored and of the market, CMO offers the government agency CHEd as an external quality assurance agency that would subject higher education to the needs of the market, CEAP added. The organization even claimed that CMO 46 doesnt help Philippine higher education, adding that it messes things up, quite horribly. CEAP also urged CHEd should close substandard HEIs for non-compliance of minimum standards instead of approving a QA mechanism that cannot be equitably implemented through CMO 46. The approval of CMO 46 is issued in a higher educational context where CHEds regulation for private schools cannot apply to state universities and colleges, which are created by law, and local colleges and universities, created by local ordinances. Accordingly under CMO 46, there is no equal protection before the law, the CEAP said in its statement. On the basis of CMO 46, CHEd can close private universities for substandard performance. It cannot close state universities nor local universities and colleges. Thats unfair, CEAP added. The CEAP urged the CHEd to reconsider its policy decision, saying it doesnt help Philippine higher education. The CHEd should abrogate it or at least suspend it until its myriad of infirmities are cured. We call on the President and the legislators to read CMO 46 for themselves, consider the issues we have raised and help return order and rationality to our CHEd in pursuit of quality higher education, the group added. (KB/CBCPNews)

Luisita farmers hit delays in land distribution

MANILA, May 3, 2013More than 200 farm workers staged a caravan from Hacienda Luisita to Manila on April 24-27 to remind government that the distribution of more than 6,000 hectares of hacienda lots to farmers is long overdue. Dubbed as Lakbayan para sa libreng pamamahagi ng lupa sa Hacienda Luisita, the workers rallied outside the Aquino family residence in Times Street before a formal program was held in Mendiola Bridge on April 27. United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU) chair Lito Bais said the one year due of the land distribution adds up to the CojuangcoAquinos control over the lands and every second delay prolongs the seemingly endless exploitation against the farm workers. Bais also scored the Department of Agrarian Reform for being slow in implementing the Supreme Courts decision to distribute the land to worker beneficiaries and pay them P1.33 billion from the sale of more than 200 hectares of Hacienda lands. Rodel Mesa, chair of Alyansa ng Magbubukid sa sa Asyenda Luisita, lamented that three years of the Aquino presidency and one year since the High Courts order to distribute the
Farm-rights HL campaign Facebook page

Pope to sisters: living with Jesus outside Church is absurd

VATICAN City, May 8, 2013 Pope Francis told leaders of womens religious orders today that their vocations can only be recognized within the fold of the Church. Your vocation is a fundamental charism for the Churchs journey and it isnt possible that a consecrated woman or man might feel themselves not to be with the Church, he told around 800 female superiors general on May 8. The International Union of Superiors General has been meeting for its general assembly in Rome since May 3. Present this year were more than 150 American sisters, some of whom also belong to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which has had a strained relationship with the Vatican since it was required in April 2012 to undergo reform. Bishop Leonard Blaire of Toledo carried out a four-year review and found serious doctrinal problems and the need for the LCWR to undergo renewal. The assessment of the leadership conference expressed concern over certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith that were in some presentations sponsored by the conference. One such address discussed religious sisters moving beyond the Church and beyond Jesus. In addition to highlighting the need for the organization to provide adequate doctrinal formation for its members, the report also voiced concern over letters from LCWR officers suggesting corporate dissent from Church teaching on topics such as the sacramental male priesthood and homosexuality. Pope Francis seemed to address this history during todays meeting. He told the sisters about the feeling of being with the Church, given to them through baptism. It is a feeling, he said, that finds its filial expression in fidelity to the Magisterium, in communion with the pastors and Successor of Peter, Bishop of Rome, visible sign of that unity. To be otherwise, he said, would be against their vocation. It is an absurd dichotomy to think of living with Jesus but without the Church, of following Jesus outside of the Church, of loving Jesus without loving the Church, he stated. Feel the responsibility that you have of caring for the formation of your institutes in sound Church doctrine, in love of the Church, and in an ecclesial spirit, Pope Francis added. The Vaticans doctrine department put Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle in charge of working with the sisters to reform the organization for a period of up to five years. On May 5, Cardinal Joo Braz de Aviz, who heads the Vaticans Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, made waves when he told the sisters gathered in Rome that he was not consulted about the doctrine departments decision on reforming the LCWR. His words drew a rare May 7 statement from the doctrine office, which aimed to dismiss the idea of a divergence between the doctrine and religious congregations. (CNA/EWTN News)

land, still they remain landless. Mesa added that after benefiting from the land for more than 50 years, still the CojuangcoAquinos have the gall to demand compensation. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) requires that landlords shall be paid just compensation and farm worker-beneficiaries have to pay amortization for a period of 30 years. Aside from ULWU, groups like Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Agrikultura (UMA), Alyansa ng mga Manggagawang Bukid sa Asyenda Luisita (Ambala), and the United Luisita Workers Union (ULWU), also joined the caravan and march to Mendiola Bridge. (Jandel Posion)

Stephen Driscoll / CNA

A4
EDITORIAL

Opinion
Emergence of the laity

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

IT may be said that it was only on this 2013 midterm elections that the Laity has been rather aggressive in distinctively participating in the political exercise as Catholics. True, this was triggered proximately with the passage of the Reproductive Health Law; which was why the organized groups that did political educationand even the endorsement of candidatesfor the first time, largely came from pro-life organizations. But there should be more implications that meet the eye. The most prominent among them was the White Vote Movement (WVM) which was initiated by the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (LAIKO) in response to perceived mounting sentiments among different lay groups in the country regarding lay Faithfuls role in preserving core family values. Another is a group called Catholic Vote Philippines (CVP) which was launched few days before the victory of the RH supporters in Congress has December. Unlike the former, this group did not formally endorse any candidate but went around the country conducting political catechesis to target groups. Both groups are aggrupations of different Catholic lay organizations with the common end in view of barring anti-life candidates from getting majority seats in both houses of Congress. And there are more groups of this kind: Lay Solidarity Movement, Catholic Philippines, and Conscience Vote Movement. Come to think of it, this is a realization, albeit perhaps initially, of a vision of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines. PCP-II states: In the Philippines today, given the general perception that politics has become an obstacle to integral development, the urgent necessity is for the lay faithful to participate more actively, with singular competence and integrity, in political affairs. (PCP-II, 348). Moreover, in its Decrees, PCP-II provides, the laity must help form civic conscience of the voting population and work to explicitly promote the election of leaders of true integrity to public office. (PCP-II, Art. 8, #1). Renewing the political order according to Gospel principles and values is a tall mission of the Catholic laity. And this without even dwelling into the purview of Gaudium et Spes of Vatican II that says a lot more. Even without considering the results of the polls, especially for the Senate where a good number of those endorsed by the WVM made it to the magic twelve, the impact of having to band together for a singular purpose is considerable enougheven though this was just an initial salvo. This may percolate more along the way to the next political exercise. Says the head of Laiko, Atty. Aurora Santiago: Weve seen the effect if well stay united. We are expecting more groups to join our crusade Our campaign does not stop until 2013. We have to get ready this early for 2016. Linda Valenzona of CVP joins the chorus: With the commitment and dedication of everyone, CVP will rise up again to the challenge of 2016 (presidential elections). This new initiative may not sit comfortably well with some Catholics or even with some clerics that easily. But a cursory check with the Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics and the Catechism on the Church and Politics of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines will tell us that this was what the Catholic Church has been saying all along.

Social benefits of ethics and morals

THE difference between what is right to be done and what is wrong to be avoided according to the dictate of reasonthis is ethics. The distinction between what is virtuous to be observed and what is vicious to be shunned pursuant to the mandate of faiththis is morals. Ethics remains in the realm of Natural Law. Morals ascend to the sphere of Supernatural Law. And considering that the nature and finality of reason (Natural Law) have to be consonant with the essence and objective of faith (Supernatural Law), what is therefore truly ethical is also moral, in the same way that what is really moral is likewise ethical. In other words, genuine ethics and sound morals form a close and solid partnership in promoting what is right and proper, what is true and just. There is the ordinary consciousness or common knowledge that people must acknowledge the existence and respect the will of God. There is furthermore the widely

Oscar. V. Cruz, DD

Views and Points

life, deference to human dignity, regard for human rightsobservance of justice that is productive of peace which in turn is the basis of developmentthese are but some of the byproducts of following ethical norms and/ or moral mandates. Neither intelligence nor wisdom is needed to know and admit that it is unethical conduct and/or immoral actuation that is/are the malediction of the peoplefamilies and communities, the whole country included. Criminality, murders and summary executions, kidnappings, hold-ups and thefts, drugs, prostitution plus the infamous graft and corrupt practicesit would be the summit of hypocrisy, the incarnation of stupidity, if not the height of insensitivity to even but think that such social liabilities were the products of the observance of ethics and/or the practice of morals. Now, it is rather easy to know the cause of poverty and misery, the origin of discontent and disgust in the country.

Laity, called to social transformation

A FOURTH aspect of Church life that explains the life and role of the laity, especially in todays situation, is the liberational and redemptive thrust. Whether rich or poor, whether employed or unemployed, professional or non-professional, whatever their social rank, all the lay faithful are called to heal and transform society, to prepare the temporal order for the final establishment of the Kingdom of God. They have to depend on one another, they must carry one anothers burden. They have to read the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel and the magisterium of the Church. Especially in todays situation they are called to reconcile and heal, the promote integral liberation both in the temporal and spiritual dimensions. They will achieve this if, impelled by Christian love, they contribute to the task through their experiences as Christians and their expertise in their respective areas of competence. Farmers, fishermen, factory workers and laborers, migrant workers, the rural and urban poor, professionals and politicians must become subjects as well as objects of social transformation in their respective fields of work. The old and the disabled must likewise be motivated to become apostolic in the meaningful and hope-filled acceptance of their condition. When they are accorded their rightful freedom, initiative and responsibility in the Church, the laity will be inspired to become more active in their respective apostolate. If the role of the hierarchy is to teach and to interpret authentically the norms of morality to be followedit belongs to the laymen, without waiting passively for order and directives, to take the initiative freely and infuse a Christian spirit into the mentality, customs, laws and structures of the community in which they live. (Populorum progressio, 81; Gaudium et spes, 43). (PCP-II Acts of the Council Nos. 435-438)

known and the standard awareness that one has to honor, respect, and obey his /her parents. There is also the standing consciousness that one should not kill another, should not steal from another, and should observe conjugal fidelity. The above mentioned injunctions are the world famous Ten Commandments as dictated by reason, mandated by ethics and founded in Natural Law. They are reduced but into two mandates: Love God, and Love your neighbor. These in turn are the Two Commandments that are the synthesis of the aforementioned ten ordinations, that are enjoined by faith, mandated by morals and anchored on Supernatural Law. The immense social benefitthe enormous blessings, the big gains, the profound advantagesof the observance of the rules of ethics and/or the norms of morals are too obvious to discuss. Truth and sincerity, honesty and integrity, respect for human

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

Who wants to be a saint?

(Part II)
A religious habit and life within the high walls do not guarantee sanctity. It should console us ordinary people living in the 21st centurywhen all the comforts of life and unprecedented technological advances conspire to rub God out of our consciousnessthat a future saint nearly 500 years ago was undergoing the same predicament as we are in our interior life today. In St. Teresas Life , the autobiography she wrote under obedience, the contemporary man might find someone to resonate with, as did the German philosopher Edith Stein, who considered herself an atheist but after reading Life overnight declared that the Catholic faith was true. Life paved the way to Steins conversion to Catholicism and her entry into the Order of Discalced Carmelites. As a Carmelite nun she willingly marched to her death in the gas chambers of Auschwitz for the sake of her people, the Jews. Beatified in 1987 and canonized in 1998, Edith Stein is now known as St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Steins atheism must have crumbled under the weight of St. Teresa of Avilas admission of the deterioration of her prayer life: I thus began to go from pastime to pastime, from vanity to vanity . . . . And I was aided in this vanity by the fact that as the sins increased I began to lose joy in virtuous things and my taste for them. . . . This was the most terrible trick the devil could play on me, under the guise of humility: that seeing myself so corrupted I began to fear the practice of prayer It seems I desired to harmonize these two contrariesso inimical to one anothersuch as are the spiritual life and sensory joys,
And Thats The Truth / A7

and thats the truth

IT seems unthinkable that one who would become the first woman Doctor of the Church had so dreaded the religious state, but Teresa herself wrote thus in her autobiography, Life: I had no desire to be a nun, and I asked God not to give me this vocation; although I also feared marriage I looked more to pleasing my sensuality and vanity than to what was good for my soul. These good thoughts about being a nun sometimes came to me, and then would go away; and I could not be persuaded to be one. Her agony was such that Teresa succumbed to a mysterious illness, one of the many that would cling to her throughout her life. Confronting herself, she wrote, I was engaged in this battle within myself for three months, forcing myself with this reasoning: that the trials and hardships of being a nun could not be greater than those of purgatory and that I had really merited hell; that it would not be so great a thing while alive to live as though in purgatory; and that afterward I would go directly to heaven, for that was my desire. And in this business of choosing a state, it seems to me I was moved more by servile fear than by love. Long story short, she decided on her vocation, choosing religious life over marriage, and sought her fathers permission. But Don Alonso, who before had sent her to a convent to tame her wild side, was now strongly opposed to Teresas entering the cloister. As before, Teresa was resoluteshe confided her desire to another brother, Antonio, and one November night secretly left home with him as escort to enter the Carmelite convent of The Incarnation in Avila.

Acts and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, 1991

www.cbcpmonitor.com cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Educating in communion
WE need to prepare the students and the youth in general for the challenges now and the future. We cannot deny that the world is becoming complicated, with more attitudes, mentalities, lifestyles, sub-cultures coming up. What we can see is that there is a clear drift toward individualism, indifferentism and activism, utilitarianism and moral relativism. Utilitarianism is when one just considers the practical aspects of things to the point of using persons merely as tools and instruments or stepping stones to ones ambitions. These isms should not come as a surprise, but rather as an understandable consequence of the confusion that can easily appear when more and more elements appear in society, and we do not know how to exercise our freedom. Thats when we judge things poorly, even erroneously. Concern for personal development can deteriorate into individualism or egoism

Fr. Roy Cimagala

Candidly Speaking
purpose. To be sure, we are not here by chance or by accident. Neither are we meant to make our life whatever we want it to be. There is an eternal law and natural law that governs the whole world in a universal way. We need to adhere to it. In our case as persons with intelligence and freedom, there is a natural moral law that reflects Gods will for us. We need to adhere to it knowingly and lovingly, and never by force or blind obedience. Everyone should be made aware of this core, this indispensable, basic requirement of any effort to achieve union and communion among ourselves. That communion among ourselves in spite of our unavoidable differences can only spring from our communion with God. Of course, given our human condition where we develop ourselves in stages, this fundamental truth about God as the founda-

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

and self-absorption. Concern for ones welfare can lead to indifferentism on the one hand or activism on the other. Tolerance to the many things one has to contend with nowadays can bring him to utilitarianism or moral relativism. Its important that right from the setting of the family and schools, young people are already made aware of the nature and need for communion, and the ways and requirements for it. We cannot anymore take this human need and Christian ideal for granted. We need to work it out. But first things first. We have to understand that unity and communion, in spite of the growing plurality of elements in our society, can only take root on the ground of a living and loving relationship with God. God is our Creator and Father. He is the one who gives us individual existence and holds the whole world and creation in existence, giving it foundation, meaning and

Candidly Speaking / A5

Brothers Matias

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Opinion
Protracted peace talks
the EDSA People Power and the restoration of democracy. There is no other way but to engage in peace negotiation and shift to non-violent and creative means of transforming society. The NDF must look at the peace process as a strategic move rather than a tactical ploy to buy time to rebuild its forces so that it can continue the armed struggle. It must learn to think outside the box rather than continue dogmas, strategies and frameworks that have become obsolete and inappropriate due to changed societal conditions. For the peace process to move forward, a peace constituency is necessary. This is the role of civil society and the Church. The promotion of peace based on justice is part of the social mission of the Church. Since 1986, the Church has taken an active role in promoting and supporting the peace process. From time to time the CBCP has come up with pastoral statements and letters about the need to pursue peace. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) in Cantomanyog, Negros and Tulunan, North Cotabato set up Zones of Peace which stopped armed confrontations in these areas. With the impasse of the peace talks between the Government and the NDF, the Church needs to pursue a vigorous campaign to continue the peace process and come up with a final settlement. It is not enough that the CBCP come up with another statement about the need to come up with a peace agreement. The parishes must be actively involved in this campaign by organizing prayer vigils and rallies for peace. The BECs need to replicate the example of BECs in the past and create more peace zonesespecially in areas where they find themselves in the crossfire. This is part of our mission to defend and promote life. To be pro-life is to be pro-peace, as Blessed John Paul II reminded us in his Evangelium Vitae.

A5
Fr. Carmelo O. Diola

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, SThD

Along The Way

WHILE we rejoice over the progress of the peace negotiation between the Philippine Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, I am deeply saddened by the news that the peace talks between the Philippine Government and the National Democratic Front has once again reached an impasse. The Mass Media described it as having reached a dead end. Meanwhile both sides blame each other for the collapse of the peace process which has been going on intermittently for the last 27 years. This must be one of the longest running peace talks in the world and deserves the labelprotracted peace process. Meanwhile, many lives continue to be wasted by this senseless armed conflict. We cannot wait any longer. I believe it is high time for civil society and the Church to pressure both the government and the NDF to continue the peace process and come up with a negotiated peace settlement. This peace negotiation is not just between the Government and the NDF. All of us Filipinos are affected by the continuing violence. Our future is at stake. Our voices deserve to be heard. For this peace process to move forward, the government must realize that it cannot eliminate the NDF, the Communist Party and the New Peoples Army. It cannot unleash the armed might of the AFP and force the revolutionary Forces to surrender. There is no other way but to go back to the negotiating table. The NDF must also look at the objective condition and realize that there is no possibility for the NPA to achieve military victory or the CPP to seize state power. They do not have the support of the vast majority of the people to pursue a protracted peoples war. Their fighting force is dwindling and so is their mass base. There is no more moral, political, and strategic justification for the armed struggle. They should have realized that after

Spaces of Hope Wais

BY the time this article sees the light of day, the May elections would have been over. So why write something on elections? Well there are the October 2013 barangay elections and the 2016 elections. In between are opportunities to push for good governance. When all is said and done, one realizes that elections are about mindsets, good and bad mindsets. This reminds me of Lumen, the protagonist in the Surf commercials who is pictured as one smart consumer, Wais, a term derived from its creators exposure among consumers of Cebu. Lumen gets her moneys worth and wins her mother-in-laws approval. One who is wais is not wasteful and is practical. He or she is not walking in the clouds but has both feet on the ground. She looks before she leaps. She is realistic and discerning. Maro is a related term although it seems to have a negative connotation. It implies a person who tries to get one over others when given the opportunity. He is street-smart to the detriment of others. Somebody who is maro cannot be trusted. We keep him at arms length. There are both wais and maro mindsets during elections. About three weeks before elections, Jenny, our coordinator for Circles of Discernment for Empowerment (CiDE) and I attended a forum organized by the Cebu Citizens Press Council, a local self-regulating media forum. We were given a chance to explain about our I Vote Good campaign. We talked about our house-to-house campaign that calls for two behavioral changes: first, the rejection of vote buying and its variations and second, discerning whom to vote for using the LASER test. The pairing is essential since it actually corresponds to the journey of conversion and transformation. One begins by turning ones back on a bad behavioral pattern, namely vote buying. But this is not enough. What is rejected must be replaced by something positive. This is to vote with discernment using a tested tool in the context of a circle of discernment. I heard some media men snicker and make snide comments, albeit in low tones. I could not blame them since vote buying has become part of our damaged culture. But at least we had their attention. A day later someone wrote about the event and even admitted to the snickering. A day later another columnist wrote to support the campaign even if it was unrealistic. But what is it to be realistic? What is it to be wais during elections? The prevalent thinking among many voters is that exchanging their votes for money or any material favor is wais. There are several variations to this theme. The most basic is that vote buying and receiving favors are two different things. The former is wrong but the latter is only a friendly gesture which should not be turned down if one is to be pakisama. But both disregard the voters dignity as free and responsible human beings. This is really the same dog with different collars. This is the only chance I have to get something from the candidates for once they get elected they do not give us any attention is another version. But receiving something from candidates binds the voters to the candidate in a relationship of dependency. Not only that, once a favor is received the voter would forfeits his right to make demands on the elected official since he has already received a favor. Thus, usa ka adlaw nga kalipay, tulo ka tuig nga pagmahay (a day of joy, three years of regret) or pahalipay panahon sa piniliay mopadangat og pagmahay (favors during election lead to regret). Another goes: Receive the money but vote according to your conscience. At first glance, this sounds really wais. This should teach candidates a lesson (naisahan or makapatagam)! But wait. Have we not heard this approach for many elections now? But has vote buying abated? On-ground discussions with different groups all over the country convince me that the contrary is true. Vote buying and giving of favors have risen to new heights of insanity. What advocates of this approach forget is the numbing power of utang na loob and hiyaso that for the vast majority of those who sell their votes, conscience is the candidate who is the highest bidder. A third says: The money is here, so what do we do with it? Behind this predicament is hiya and the felt need to save the face of the giver especially if he is a person of authority. One does not wish to be deemed ingrato. We should appeal to the voters religious senseWhom should we please, God or man? and also point out a practical insight: if no one receives, no one gives. But the demand for purchase is only one side of the problem. The supply side thinks it is wais by trying to win at all cost, including buying votes, giving favors, and even intimidating. But where has all these led to? The first, if the candidate has any self-respect, should be a gnawing feeling of a low self worth. Why would anyone worth his salt buy votes? Why should people choose someone who does not even have a sense of self worth? In addition, since buying votes entail debt, who in his right mind would want to go into debt? This is not wais unless one has plans of self aggrandizement once in office. Now who in their right minds would want to vote for such persons? Apart from moral or religious considerations, the commerce of votes does not make sense for both voters and candidates. It is not practical or wais. It is merely maro to everyones detriment. We have tried this path of least resistance for a long time now and it has only led to societal and cultural decline. The aforementioned oversights rationalizing vote buying aggravate the decline. Yet any effort to curb vote buying and selling will fail if various sectors do not come together for this and if no concrete solutions are offered. Merely telling people not to sell their votes does not work. Moralizing and mere sloganeering are shallow. While long-term solutions include inclusive economic growth that broadens the ranks of beneficiaries as well as making arrests on those engage in vote buying and selling, we should do parallel work on conscience formation. But our approach should be beyond the usual. Our focused and measurable work on four sitios in Metro Cebu is slowly yielding valuable insights. A fuller assessment and measurement of impact will follow soon after elections for consolidation and, God-willing, expanded work. Some elements for effective conscience formation include utilizing features of a political campaign while maintaining a non-partisan stance to promote values; grounded and messaging sensitive to the local culture and mindsets; sustained accompaniment of voters even beyond elections; visible use of religious symbols; the presence and coming together of various election stakeholders; tapping into the reservoir of the youth; etc. Raising questions coupled with a few strong judgments on the real score work rather than just telling people what to do. Above all we need unflinching faith in the promised Holy Spirit who leads us to all truth (John 14:26) and who proves the world wrong about sin, about justice, and condemnation (John 16:8). Filled with the Spirit, we can say with the Lord: Take courage! I have overcome the world (John 16:33). Now that is wais.

Mothers during election season

TO my Mother Gloria Angeles Santiago, and to all mothers and grandmothers, I wish you a very Happy Mothers Day! Always praying for your good health. Every second Sunday of May is dedicated to you all the Mothers in the world. In our San Ildefonso de Navotas Parish, special prayers and blessing were offered for them and as gifts, each mother was given either Daily Bread Book or Bible, courtesy of Rev. Monsignor Joselito Asis, CBCP Secretary-General. Thank you very much Msgr. Asis, distribution of the Daily Bread and Bible is one way of propagating the building of the body of Christ and strengthening our faith through New Evangelization, the goal of Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas (Laiko). We notice that mothers are active in the political sphere especially this May 13 election. They are very much involved in meetings of White Vote Movement (WVM), a coalition of lay church organizations initiated by Laiko advocating the preservation and protection of the Filipino families, life and sacredness of marriage. The WVM endorsed senatorial candidates who are for family and for life. Mothers know best. They want to protect their family, hence, their commitment for the preservation of family. Pamilya ko, Mahal ko; Kinabukasan nila, Ipagtatanggol ko. (My family, I love; Their Future, I will defend). *** In its press statement, Laiko welcomes the many valid initiatives of lay men and women in the political sphere. For the lay faithful, political involvement is a worthy and demanding expression of the Christian commitment of service to others (Pope Paul VI, Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 46). Political activity may take various forms.

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Duc in Altum
mony through respectful and frank dialogue. May they always draw inspiration from Jesus love for the poor, the weak and the defenseless, so thatin accord with the Constitution of the Republic they may ensure a humane culture and environment for ourselves and for future generations. *** This election, we reiterate that we should vote and put into office only those who vow to protect life from womb to its natural end. Let us vote only those who preserve and defend the Filipino families. Let the culture of life win in the May 13 election. Let us observe due diligence that our vote is counted by the PCOS machines. Watch out for notorious persons who are out to thwart the will of the people. The voice of the people is the voice of God. *** Let us heed the message of WVM. Calling all families, Vote for Family, Vote for Life. We fully support their endorsed candidates: Mitos Magsaysay, JV EjercitoEstrada, Gregorio Honasan, Koko Pimentel, Sonny Trillanes, Cynthia Villar, Nancy Binay, Dick Gordon, Marwil Llasos and Migs Zubiri. All the 10 endorsees passed the CBCP criteria (during the 2004 election) which the WVM adopted in discerning who among the senatorial candidates will be selected: Competence, Conscience and Commitment. Competence - servant leadership, experience or track record, aptitude. Conscience - personal integrity, transparency and accountability, respect for human rights, especially the fundamental right to life and security, freedom of speech, the press, assembly and religion, etc. as
Duc In Altum / A7

Some are partisan, like running for and holding public office. Others are not, for example: educating voters and promoting the integrity of the political process. What binds them all is the necessity for prayerful discernment as well as the challenge and opportunity to exercise charity: A field in which the light of the Gospel can and must shine in order to illuminate humanitys footsteps in politics. Politics requires a commitment of selfless and sincere care for the common good by fully respecting the dignity of the human person from conception to natural end, honoring the family founded by the marriage of a man and a woman, and protecting academic freedom; by removing the causes of injustice, inequality, discrimination, violence, racism, hunger and war. Christians are asked to give a clear witness to the precept of charity in the exercise of politics (XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Message, 10). Laiko enumerates, as a reminder, some criteria for the laitys political activity: -the pursuit of the common good in a spirit of service; -the development of justice with particular attention to situations of poverty and suffering; -respect for the autonomy of earthly realities; -the principle of subsidiarity; -the promotion of dialogue and peace in the context of solidarity. (Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 565) Laiko, therefore, supports lay initiativeslike the White Vote Movement that seek to infuse Catholic Christian values in politics. May they and their partners promote understanding and har-

Fr. Russell A. Bantiles

Cogito
I COULD not hide my excitement and joy upon viewing this ad on the TV screens of the Davao airports waiting lounge last Sunday afternoon. Not often do I see religious advertisements in public places especially international airports. This one clearly shows how religious still Filipino people are! But my heart almost sank as the last sentences flashed on the screen: It says: Life with God is not about a religion. It is about a relationship. What a clear indication also that, though we remain a religious people, our understanding of religiosity is plunging into the depths with the speed of light! Definitely, whoever contributed such a preposterous idea has never bothered checking the etymology of the term reCandidly Speaking / A4

True religion is life with God

thought that No religion can save us. However, a little analysis of our definition of religion will prove that these mentalities are wrong. Any relationship can be right or wrong. (I have to disagree with the statement that says, Love knows no right or wrong. Love can be right or wrong depending on its object. Love for the wrong object is a wrong love. And we can love wrongly the right object of love). Even how much you love that person, the fact that you are (or that person is) already married to somebody else makes your relationship wrong. Now, since religion is a kind of relationship, it can also be right or wrong, less right or more wrong. Hence, there can be wrong religion too! Which do you think is the right and true religion (or relationship with God): the one which God establishes with man or the one man sets up with his god? It has been said that the beauty of Judeo-Christian religion lies in the fact that it is God who seeks out for man while in other religions, it is man who searches for a god. Man, by nature, is a being created by God and for God. When he tried to escape from this relationship, God searches for man and brought him back to a life with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. But God did this by gathering a peoplethe Church (Greek ekklesia meaning congregation)to be His instrument in bringing human beings to live in an intimate relationship with Him; in other words, to live the right religion.

ligion. Had he or she done so, he/she could have discovered that religion comes from the Latin religio (respect for what is sacred) and religare (to bind fast, hence, a bond between gods and humans). St. Thomas Aquinas employed this original meaning when he affirmed that human beings are religious by nature, that is, man always seeks for the expression of his innate bond or relationship with a divine being. Hence, religion is about relationship with God: life with God is all about religion. But what is behind this erroneous concept on religion that the TV ad reveals is the mentality so widespread among the Filipino society today that says: Every religion is equal (Pare-pareho lang lahat yan). Related to this is the

tion of communion should be presented as early as possible and in ways understandable to us in whatever status we may find ourselves due to our gender, age, and other human and natural conditions like our social and economic standing, etc. With little children, we may just have to tell them what to do first, before explaining the things behind. But obviously, as they grow older, things need to be explained more and more, until these things get clearly related to God. For example, little children have to be taught how to follow a certain schedule, how to behave in different situations of the day

basic norms of courtesy should be imparted as early as possiblehow to pray and be aware of God as our Creator and Father, etc. Later on, they may have to be taught some practical things that help them to relate themselves to others and to God. Teaching them to be thoughtful and helpful to others, to plan and organize their time, etc., should be done in the manner of an inclined plane. The important thing to remember is that there is some kind of plan of how to help children become more aware of the need for communion with God and among ourselves. This is a plan that never ends. We just hope

that the children can reach the point where they themselves make and carry out their own plans. They have to be taught interpersonal skills, teamwork abilities, the concepts of common good, solidarity, subsidiarity, etc. They have to be taught the spiritual means of prayer, sacrifice, sacraments, etc., to bring this communion about. The role of parents and teachers are very crucial in this task. They have to know how to relate whatever technical, practical and mundane things they have do with the children to the sacred and divine, to the spiritual and supernatural. In other words, to God.

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Local News
THE countrys lone cardinal on active service said the governments economic programs should not end up hurting the poor. Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the government should put supremacy on common good over its supposed economic programs. Real progress is the one that promotes the dignity, integrity of the people and helps the poor, Tagle said. The cardinals message was read during a Mass at the Quiapo Church for 150 farmers, fisherfolk and indigenous people who are calling for the scrapping of an economic hub in Aurora province. He also urged the government to consider the concerns of all the stakeholders of the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority (Apeco) project. In the ongoing review (of the Apeco project), may all the voices be heard and lets work together towards a reasonable development, said Tagle. Like what I said before, we are calling on everyone to calmly search for the common good, he added. Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who led the liturgical celebration, reiterated his call for a moratorium on the ecozones operation. The project, he said, is a waste of public funds and a danger to the livelihoods of Auroras poor. Fr. Joefran Talaban, parish priest of Casiguran town, said that since 2010, the lands and livelihoods of more than 3,000 families there have been threatened by the Apeco project. Apeco is a 12,923-hectare Freeport through the governments passage of R.A. 9490 in 2007, and vastly expanded by R.A. 10083 in 2010.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Govt must protect common good Tagle

The project has since been embroiled in controversy due to the opposition of Casiguran residents who stand to be displaced by the project, as well as the numerous laws that the ecozone has accused to have been transgressing such as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, Fisheries Code and Asset Reform Law. The Casiguran marchers are back again in Manila to demand the accomplishment of President Aquino IIIs promises that he would look into their concerns against the Apeco. (CBCPNews)
Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Casiguran marchers are back in Manila to press government to halt the implementation of the Apeco project that would displace thousands of families from their lands and livelihoods.

Social ills represent spirit opposed to Jesuspriest

TAKE away God from society and the world is left to grapple with a plethora of social ills like contraception, an increasing gap between the rich and the poor and environmental degradation, among others, a priest said. [There is ] a denial or a removal of God from our lives, our families, our nations, Fr. Yulito Ignacio, head spiritual director of the Philosophy Department of San Carlos Seminary said during a talk to some 1,300 pilgrims last May 1. Fr. Ignacio explained how the spirit of the world will always concretely go against the spirit of Christ and this gives rise to socio-economic problems like birth control, environmental pollution, drug abuse and increasing poverty. Pagpigil sa pag-aanak Di ba RH [Law] yan (Preventing child birth Isnt that the RH Law)?, he asked, specifically pointing to R.A. 10354 as a denial of God and His dominion, which is manifested in practice. No sin, no guilt Closely tied to this spirit of the world is a decreased sense of sin and guilt. Ayaw mo aminin na masama (You dont want to admit that something is bad), Ignacio described this modern sentiment that people and institutions use to justify certain practices. To counter this spirit of the world and to live in the spirit of Christ, he suggested examining ones conscience, praying, denying ones will, personal sacrifices and practicing purity of heart. Ignacio gave the second talk of the Total Consecration Conference and Pilgrimage titled Spirit of the World vs. the Spirit of Christ held at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Lipa, Batangas. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz)

Every relationship changes us, says Cardinal

Signs a person believes in the resurrection

THE way a person lives is a tell-tale sign if he or she really believes in the resurrection, a bishop said while celebrating the Mass for the 6th Sunday of Easter. Love, the true sign If we are fulfilling the work of healing, proclaiming the love of God, then we know we believe the resurrection, Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles said during a mass at the San Carlos Seminary. He added that a lively faith that believes in the resurrection is characterized by tireless loving for the sake of Christ. If we give up on others, then we do not really have the resurrected Christ and we do not belong to Him, Arguelles explained. He said belief in the resurrection is a conviction that Jesus remains with His people through the Holy Spirit. No fear Arguelles described the disciples own experience of timidity and fear after the crucifixion and how a complete 180 transformation took place after Pentecost. When they received the Holy Spirit, they proclaimed Christ boldly, he added. Arguelles pointed to the Acts of the Apostles and how this book in the New Testament is a Fifth Gospel of sorts since it continues to focus on the good news that is Christ. Christ is still the focus of the Fifth Gospel, but this time, Christ is in His Church, he added. Arguelles said this movement of Christs Spirit continues until today in his present-day disciples. Whatever we do is not what we plan to do but it is Christ who does everything. We just have to believe, he said, referring to how Christians rely on God as their true strength and guide. The end of the Easter season falls on May 19, Pentecost Sunday. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz) POINTING to the undeniable influence relationships plays in peoples lives, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle talked about how the ultimate relationship the one with Jesus is meant to revolutionize life itself. Every relationship changes us. Ang pananampalataya ay buhay na ugnayan na ang Diyos ang nagsisimula. At itong ugnayan sa Diyos ang magbabago sa atin (Faith is a living relationship that God initiates. And it is this relationship with God that changes us), he said during a holy mass last Friday celebrated in honor of the feast of the Sto. Cristo at the Santuario del Santo Cristo parish in San Juan City. The cardinal went on to compare how ordinary relationships have a profound impact on peoples perspectives, how they behave and think. He cited how a young man, upon finding out that the woman he loves dislikes the smell of cigarettes, will immediately find a way to quit smoking just to please her. Other inclinations for not so noble inclinations like gambling and gossiping exist as well, Tagle said. Kung ang laging mong ka-relate ay sugarol, malamang magiging sugarol ka na rin (If the one you always relate with is a gambler, most likely, you will end up one yourself), he explained, saying the same thing happens if one hangs out often with gossips.
Poll / A1

Cardinal Tagle talks to a seminarian and some parishioners before the Eucharistic celebration at the Sto. Cristo parish in San Juan City.

This leads to the greatest connection, the one with Jesus. And to say yes to such a relationship is not to be taken lightly. Delikado makipag-ugnay kay Hesus, mababago ka (It is dangerous to relate with Jesus because it will change you), he added. The most important decision Tagle explained that fiestas or feast days should not end with processions or masses but should bring people again and again to the turning point of their lives committing to a relationship with Jesus. This is probably the most important decision a person will make in his life time the decision of faith. Will I allow myself to be part of Him? Will I make Him a part of myself? he added. At the beginning of the homily, Tagle mentioned how the celebration of the feast of the Sto. Cristo this year falls within the Year of Faith, making the questions posed about faith even more relevant to believers. Around 1,500 parishioners came to celebrate the feast day through the sacrifice of the holy mass. The Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is celebrated on September 14, but some parishes like the Santuario del Santo Cristo parish continues to observe the original tradition of celebrating it on May 3. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz) they are more adept with technology that their elder counterparts. They assist voters, encode reports, and even act as support staff that need to be mobile most of the time, he said. The priest said initiative of PPRCV lay volunteers is very instrumental in the conduct of any election, urging them to keep it up. The role of the PPCRV is very indispensable as a citizen arm. And the role of the volunteers is very significant (in the success of the elections), Sanchez added. (CBCPNews)

Abortionist / A1

be prosecuted because Gosnell destroyed the files. Gosnells name became a rallying cry for pro-life advocates who lamented a lack of major media coverage of his trial. Their efforts on social media helped draw attention to the case. Lila Rose, president of the pro-life group Live Action, said Gosnells gruesome and inhuman crimes had cried out for justice. Even as we celebrate this verdict, we honor and mourn as well those innocents who did not receive their day in courtand we must remember that Gosnell is not an outlier within the abortion industry, Rose said May 13. Jack McMahon, Gosnells
Turnout / A1

attorney, said his client was disappointed and upset over the verdict. McMahon said the jury obviously took their job seriously. The verdict should be respected based on their effort, he said, Fox News reports. The jury had said it was deadlocked on two charges early on Monday. It was not reported which charges had caused the deadlock. Gosnells clinic had minimal state oversight through 1993 and no oversight since then. The practices at his clinic were not discovered until a Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Agency raid was conducted in February 2010 to seek evidence of illegal

distribution of prescription painkillers. Investigators found bloodstained rooms and filthy equipment. The clinic stored aborted fetuses in a basement freezer in plastic food containers and bags next to staff lunches. Gosnell kept severed feet of unborn babies preserved in specimen jars, allegedly for future identification or DNA samples. Staff allegedly sent women to give birth into toilets, a doctor allegedly spread sexually transmitted infections to women through poor sanitary standards, and a 15-year-old staffer administered anesthesia to patients. The clinic allegedly gave better treatment to white patients.

Several of Gosnells former employees have pleaded guilty to murder and other charges. The exposure of Gosnells clinic resulted in the firing of two high-ranking Pennsylvania health department officials and tougher rules for Philadelphia abortion clinics, none of which had been inspected in 15 years. Gosnell had also operated a clinic in Delaware. He performed thousands of abortions over his 30-year career, making about $1.8 million per year. Authorities found $250,000 hidden in a bedroom when they searched his house. He still faces federal drug charges, (CNA/EWTN News)

yung PCOS machines, mayroon ding hindi tumatanggap ng balota. Pero ipinagpapatuloy ang botohan kahit ganun, he said. Sanchez also reported about power interruption in a barangay Lower Bicutan in Taguig.
Active / A1

The priest however could not confirm reports of vote buying in several areas under the diocese, citing lack of evidence. Hindi ko sinasabing wala pero hindi ko ma-confirm dahil walang testigo, Sanchez added.

There are some 1,800 lay and religious PPCRV volunteers throughout the Diocese of Pasig who are currently monitoring the conduct of elections in some 75 polling precincts in the diocese and assisting voters concerns. (CBCPNews)

Santiago said. Still, she said that they are somehow pleased with the result of the May 13 polls especially since majority of the candidates they endorsed are leading in the senatorial race. To recall, the White Vote endorsed the candidacies of Cynthia Villar, JV Ejercito, Gringo Honasan, Mitos Magsaysay, Antonio Trillanes IV, Koko Pimentel, Marwil Llasos, Richard Gordon, Miguel Zubiri, and Nancy Binay. El Shaddai leader Bro. Mike Velarde, the spokesman of the group, also personally endorsed Bam Aquino and Jun Magsaysay. Except for Lllasos, Magsaysay, Gordon, Honasan all the five candidates of the White Vote made it to the Magic 12. Even the Buhay party-list of Velarde is leading in the party-list frontrunners. Six out of 10 candidates

in the top 12? Not bad! said Santiago. Name recall Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCPs Commission on Family and Life said that if there is one thing that he learned in the recent polls, it is the importance of name recall. He cited the continuous lead of Grace Poe, daughter of movie icons Susan Roces and Fernando Poe, in the senatorial race as example. If you notice Grace Poe, Loren and those in the top 12 these are surnames that people are familiar with, said Castro. So if we want our (prolife and pro-family) candidates to win in 2016, as early as now we should already familiarize the people with them, he added. The encouraging turnout of the elections, the priest

said, only means that they need to be more pro-active in their advocacy on life and the family. I think we should sustain this until 2016. Obviously Filipinos are still personoriented, but I think slowly we are becoming issue-oriented, he said. We only want to protect the sanctity of life and family. We will continue this advocacy in the next three years so that in the next elections the issue on family and life will be more prominent, added Castro. Sights on 2016 polls Another lay group that pushed for a Catholic vote said that they were optimistic for the election but not all of them were met. We had such little time and few resources, said Linda Valenzona of Catholic Vote Philippines (CVP) who led a group in conducting

political catechesis to several areas around the country during the months leading to the May elections. Educating Catholics to apply the teachings of the Church to the political life has been a fulfilling task, Valenzona added. With the commitment and dedication of everyone CVP will rise up again to the challenge of 2016 (presidential elections), she said. As early as this year, Santiago added they will already start the formation of Catholics with the help of almost 3,000 parish pastoral councils nationwide. Weve seen the effect if well stay united. We are expecting more groups to join our crusade, she said. Our campaign does not stop until 2013. We have to get ready this early for 2016. (With reports from Raymond Bandril)

recounted the interfaith unity of volunteers especially in the polling precincts in Barangay Maharlika Village, which is home to a big community of Muslims living and working in Metro Manila. There are several Muslims in Barangay Maharlika Village who didnt mind to be volunteers of the PPCRV because they believe in the groups cause for a clean and honest election, he said. Sanchez said PPCRV volunteers regardless of religion are all after
Formation / A1

the success of the polls. Among the volunteers duties are voters assistance and poll watching on Election Day. In Maharlika Village for instance, they are all Muslims there yet they joined a group that is associated with the Catholic Church because they want to be part of nonpartisan election watchdog, the priest added. Sanchez also noted that the youth comprise majority of the PPCRV volunteers throughout the diocese. There are more young volunteers especially as

fice director Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III lauded Kabataang Bayani as a program that minumulat ang isipan ng mga bata sa isang napakaimportanteng misyon ang pag-Christianize ng politics (opens the eyes of the youth to a most important mission the Christianizing of politics). As Christians, nakikialam [tayo], hindi lamang sa sarili kung hindi sa buong sambayanan, Msgr. Quitorio added, explaining why good Catholics necessarily have to be involved citizens. This is precisely one of the objectives of Kabataang Bayani, which aims to provide a venue for Filipino youth to become more aware of the countrys socio-political scene and make them realize their vital role in transforming the situation.

Designed a few elections before, the program is the Youth Commissions concrete response to the need to form our young people in social awareness and involvement, and as a particular tool to aid the youth ministries in this important component, as described in one of its modules. Kabataang Bayani: Youth for HOPE has had runs for the Department of Social Welfare and Development NCR, the Archdiocese of Jaro in Ilo-ilo, which was attended by 100 youth; another one in the Diocese of Bangued, which had 70 participants. The most recent ones were held for the Diocese of Malolos and the Don Bosco Youth Center in Tondo, Manila. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz)

Nirva Delacruz / CBCP Media

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Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Diocesan News
in 1977 and founded Silsilah in 1984 in an aim to help mend the wounds of the Moro conflict in the 1970s through dialogue and reconciliation. But after spending half of his life in the Philippines and 30 years of advocating dialogue among Christians and Muslims in Mindanao, DAmbra admitted that fear and hatred among the two religious groups are still visible. One of the things that I observed, since the beginning of Silsilah Dialogue was the prejudices and biases as part of the life and culture of many Christians and Muslims. Both groups carry up to now the emotional wounds of experiences of violence and division. Thus, fear and hatred of Muslims against Christians and vice versa, are still visible, he said. But DAmbra expressed optimism in the eventual reconciliation of Filipino Christians and Muslims, especially with the experience of Silsilah as a movement. I am convinced that religions sometimes can be occasions of division and conflict, but our dream has to approach religions as instruments of dialogue and peace. After thirty five years from my arrival in the Philippines and almost thirty years since the beginning of Silsilah as movement for dialogue and peace, I see many signs of hope, he said. While there are signs of improvement in the ChristianMuslim relations, the Italian missionary however warned about a systematic plan of ideological-religious groups that advocate violence and worsen the existing conflict. The relationship among Christians and Muslims is improving, but at the same time today we experience alarming ideological-religious groups that advocate forms of violence often coming from outside of the Philippines. Today there are those who are systematically planning to divide Muslims and Christians, using all the strategies, including religion and geopolitical strategies, DAmbra added. Nevertheless, the priest expressed optimism despite the increasing secularism and globalization, saying global communication is also becoming a powerful means to forge dialogue and reconciliation among Muslims and Christians. DAmbra cited the open letter of at least 138 respected Muslim scholars of the world to Pope

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Christian-Muslim relations in PH improving, but mediator warns of systematic plan to worsen division
ZAMBOANGA CityAfter 35 years of doing mission work in Southern Philippines, the Italian founder of Silsilah Dialogue Movement (Silsilah) claimed that while Christian-Muslim relations have been improving through the years, there are still outside forces that systematically plan on worsening the division. Fr. Sebastiano DAmbra, PIME made the assessment on the status of Christian-Muslim relations in Mindanao in a message he sent to the CBCP Media Office before celebrating his 71st birthday May 9. DAmbra arrived in Mindanao Benedict XVI in the year 2007. This letter ends by saying: So let our differences not cause hatred and strife between us. Let us vie with each other only in righteousness and good works. Let us respect each other, be fair, just and kind to one another and live in sincere peace, harmony and mutual goodwill. And I add: let as continue our revolution of the heart that guides us to rediscover that we are brothers and sisters created and loved by the same God. With this hope it is worthy for me to continue my mission here up to the end of my life, DAmbra added. (KB/CBCPNews)

Social action director observes peaceful polls in diocese

NAVAL, BiliranA diocesan social action director assessed the election in the Province of Biliran as smooth and peaceful. Fr. Edward Veloso, SAC director of Naval diocese said in an interview that instances of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines shutting down on its own and paper jam were the only problems they encountered during the elections. As we were doing the rounds in different polling places in the diocese, particularly in the province of Biliran, we observed that malfunctioning PCOS were being fixed immediately by Commission on Election (Comelec) PCOS technicians. Any problems surrounding the machine were resolved after a couple of hours, Veloso said. But Veloso also pointed that big crowd of voters in some precincts were uncontrollable. Those areas with eager voters are

Briefing
Davao animators gather for workshop
Jandel Posion / CBCP Media

DAVAO CityMore than 200 young people from different parishes in the Archdiocese of Davao gathered for the 2nd Animators Workshop held at the Sto. Rosario Parish last May 4. Themed Animation: United in Faith and Mission, the event was organized by the Animation Ministry of the Davao Archdiocesan Youth Coordinating Apostolate (DAYCA). Aimed to deeply understand the significance of being an animator, to strengthen the animation team in every parish, to enhance and develop their animation skills, and to build up camaraderie within the group, participants attended different sessions and workshops during the whole-day event. (Jandel Posion/Julius Gomez)
Mindanaos Rural Missionaries now member of Ecumenical Alliance

Voters queue as they wait to cast their votes in Caray-Caray Central Elementary School in Naval, Biliran Province.

the only areas of concern but there were no big problems that were experience by our team in the different precincts around the diocese, Veloso added. Veloso, who is also the chair of the local Parish Pastoral Council for Re-

sponsible Voting (PPCRV) and at the same time the chair of the local National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) suggested to the provincial Comelec to find ways in controlling the crowd. (Jandel Posion)

Seminarians gather for yearly assembly to strengthen vocation

DAVAO CitySome 24 seminarians in theological studies gathered for a yearly recollection to help strengthen their vocation and relationship between fellow seminarians. Held at the Sto. Nio Parish in the Garden City of Samal Island on May 4 and 5, the assembly was participated by seminarians from the St. Francis Xavier Regional Major Seminary (REMASE) in Davao and University of Sto. Tomas (UST), Manila. The gathering was initiated by Reverend Ronald Arcillas, who, in 2011 envisioned that theologians preparing to become priests should have a good start by having a presbyterium-like gathering among themselves in the archdiocese. A would-be priest must develop a relationship with God, with his bishop and with his fellow [seminarians preparing for priesthood]. If these three would not be founded, thats the time one would find another relationship, Arcillas said, citing the words of Davao archbishopemeritus Fernando Capalla. Activities in the two-day gathering include praying the rosary in the evening, followed by a sharing activity about their vacation and pastoral exposure experiences and how it nurtures their vocation where joy, gratefulness, fear, pain, sorrow and the like were expressed during the sharing. Fr. Rico Enriquez, the parish priest of the host parish celebrated the dawn mass on the second day. The seminarians asked the lay faithful to continue to support them and pray for more vocation to the priesthood. (Jandel Posion/Sem. Ritzchild John Cariaga)

ANTIPOLO CityThe Rural Missionaries of the Philippines-Northern Mindanao Sub-region (RMP-NMR) recently announced its admission to the highly-esteemed Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (EAA), an international network of churches and church-related organizations, which is committed to the campaign on common concerns such as food and HIV/AIDS. The RMPNMR believes that the admission to the EAA will boost its local campaigns on land and food security by synergizing resources and efforts with other organizations with similar advocacies under the Alliance. RMP-NMR has been known for its advocacy for peace, development and human rights in Mindanao. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Church appeals aid for Leyte jail fire victims

TACLOBAN City The Catholic Churchs prison ministry is appealing for aid to help hundreds of inmates whose dormitory was destroyed by fire at Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog town on May 10. Rodolfo Diamante of the CBCPs Commission on Prison Pastoral Care said the more 600 inmates need help to at least build their temporary shelters. He said the inmates urgently need clothes, cookware, kitchen utensils, sleeping mats and blankets. Damage has been estimated at around P1 million from the Friday morning blaze at the facilitys maximum security area. Local authorities said no one was injured in the fire that also burned the LRP clinic. The cause of the fire remained under investigation. (CBCPNews)
Solo exhibit of Sto. Nino held in Cebu

Lay Vincentians turn over 50 houses to Typhoon Sendong victims

affected areas in Mindanao, particularly in Cagayan de Oro City, the St. Vincent de PaulPhilippines is implementing postdisaster interventions, land accessibility, shelter delivery, community development, capability and of capacity building initiatives for the benefit of the Sendong-affected family-beneficiaries. The SSVP has built an initial 50 housing units for typhoon victims from the funds it received from foreign partners, particularly the International Council General in Paris, France and the National Council of SSVP Australia.
Photo Courtesy of SSVP-Philippines

CAGAYAN DE ORO CityThe Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) in the Philippines has turned over some housing units to survivors of Typhoon Sendong in Cagayan de Oro City on May 4. Recognizing the plight of the survivors of urban poor communities in

SSVP is working hand-in-hand with groups such as the Federation of Peoples Sustainable Development Cooperative (FPSDC), the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (Foundation), Inc. (POGS), the Julio and Florentina Ledesma Foundation, Inc. (JFLFI), Asian Rural-Urban Development and Peace Institute (ARDEP), the National Government Line Agencies such as the National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the City Government of Cagayan de Oro City for this project. Last July 17, 2012, the group signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with partner institutions on the project followed by a groundbreaking ceremony at the 5-hectare property of FPSDC in Brgy. Mambuaya, Cagayan de Oro City for the construction of Co-Op Ville or the Co-Operative Housing & Sustainable Community. (Jandel Posion)

CEBU City An exhibit featuring mixed media paintings of the Santo Nio de Cebu was held at the SM City Cebu from April 29 to May 12. It was a solo exhibit, which is open to the public, featuring 27 art works of Augustinian Fr. Dominador Besares. With the theme, Kaplag: Expressing the Face of Jesus in Art in the Year of Faith 2013, the art exhibit was part of the commemoration of the 448th anniversary of the rediscovery of the image of Sto. Nio. Besares said it took him three years to come up with all the works he displayed in the exhibit. (CBCPNews)

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pleasures, and pastimes I should say that it is one of the most painful lives, I think, that one can imagine; for neither did I enjoy God nor did I find happiness in the world. When I was experiencing the enjoyments of the world, I felt sorrow when I recalled what I owed to God. When I was with God, my attachments to the world
Duc In Altum / A5

disturbed me. This is a war so troublesome that I dont know how I was able to suffer it even a month, much less for so many years . . . For more than eighteen of the twenty-eight years since I began prayer, I suffered this battle and conflict between friendship with God and friendship with the world. (To be continued)

Church lay ministers are public servants too, priest says

LITURGICAL ministers who are called to share in the ministry of Christ are also called to be public servants and stewards of creation, a Catholic priest said. Fr. Rex Andrew Alarcon, church historian of the Archdiocese of Caceres, during the annual gathering of archdiocesan liturgical ministers, told participants the meaning of liturgy is public service as experienced first hand by the disciples when Jesus washed their feet during the institution of the Holy Eucharist. Alarcon capped the series of lectures given to thousands of lay ministers who participated in the annual gathering of liturgical ministers with a lively discussion on reform and voters education. Around 2,346 participants (1,669 Lectors and 677 Eucharistic Ministers) attended the annual Archdiocesan gathering and renewal of Liturgical Ministers last April 20 at the University of Nueva Caceres (UNC) Gymnasium. Alarcon, who also heads the Committee on Lectures on Social Teachings, emphasized the concepts discussed in earlier lectures given by other speakers, in the light of reform, visible and needed by the Church as evidenced throughout history. Centuries of reform are what gave birth to the Thousands participated in the yearly gathering of lay ministers organized by the ma j o r c h a n g e Archdiocese of Caceres last April 20. in the liturgical celebration after Those who have witnessed Ruiz started the series of Vatican II. Reform is what talks with a discussion of Christ have in themselves made the Church a participa- the Sacrosanctum Concili- His love and His capacity tive body of Christ, he said. um, general principles that to care, Tirona said. They Alarcon urged everyone to guide the Sacred Liturgy, become His instruments. take part in nation building, highlighting one of the ma- And this is what makes the to cast the right vote accord- jor changes in the liturgical Liturgy alive. Moreover, he ing to conscience, free, in- celebration after Vatican II, mentioned that a deep prayer formed and evangelized. If and emphasizing what it life makes a minister strong, we will not care, who will? truly means to be a Liturgi- his ministry full and live. he asked. In the afternoon, Fr. Eguia cal Minister. Themed Liturgical MinisArchbishop Tirona compli- taught the Ministers how try: A Witness to the Faith, mented the previous talk by to pray the Liturgy of the the whole-day event had stating that the Year of Faith Hours, a prayer for the sancArchbishop Rolando Tria- calls everyone to be active tification of time. Tirona, Fr. Glenn Ruiz, Arch- witnesses of faith. The gathering ended with diocesan director on Liturgy; Witnesses, in contrast to a a Eucharistic celebration Fr. Benedick John Eguia and reporter, embody what they led by Archbishop Tirona. Fr. Rex Andrew Alarcon as have seen and experienced, (Natalie Hazel Quimlat/ speakers. CBCPNews) he said.

Natalie Hazel Quimlat

recognized by the 1987 Philippine Constitution. Commitment to act on a Catholic vision on: family and life, environment, justice, peace and order (illegal drugs and gambling), authentic human development (poverty alleviation), education. All of them signed the WVM Covenant, they committed to reject and oppose all D.E.A.T.H. bills (Divorce, Euthanasia or mercy killing, Abortion, Total population control, Homosexual or same sex union), anti-family, anti-life, anti-Church and anti-Religion bills which had
Vote Buying / A1

been filed and may be filed in Congress. *** Happy Wedding Anniversary to my eldest sister Violeta SantiagoRosales and her husband Celestino Rosales. Happy Mothers Day to my sisters Violeta and Flordeliza Santiago-Imperial, my niece Mary Gretchen Rosales-Castro and sisterin-law Ma. Loreto Gorovia-Santiago. Happy Birthday to Laiko staff Kate Buenconsejo; also to Letty Tecson and Auring Sison of San Ildefonso de Navotas Parish.

to vote for them, she said. De Villa made the statement May 14 during a press briefing at the PPCRV command center in Manila where the unofficial count of the recent automated elections is conducted. In all areas, the public knows the candidates who engaged in vote buying but no one gets arrested because
Labor / A1

theres a need for material evidence, she added. The PPCRV chief attributed the worsening culture of money politics to the growing problem of poverty in the country even of the people know that its wrong. Because of poverty, they are forced to buy the bullet, de Villa said. (CBCPNews) tal, urging the business community to give human dignity more importance than profit. The first is still the dignity of man created in the image of God and who was given by God the sacred mission of participating in his work, Tagle said. He also lauded the countrys ordinary workers and called them as heaven sent. Without you our nation would not exist, Tagle said. You are heaven sent. You are the image of God. Thank you very, very much to all workers. (Roy Lagarde)

workers asked him to stop the dialogue for fear that they might lose their jobs. They told me to stop the negotiation even if they are just receiving low salaries rather than having no job at all, Tagle said. It seems that we can do nothing here. It seems that we need to elevate these concerns to the international level, he added. The cardinal celebrated Mass at the Quiapo Church for workers nationwide to commemorate Labor Day. In his homily, he also reiterated the Churchs teachings of labor over capi-

A8

People, Facts & Places

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 17 No. 10

May 13 - 26, 2013

1,300 pilgrims individually consecrate during Lipa pilgrimage

AROUND 1,300 pilgrims coming mostly from Metro Manila, gathered on May 1 at Our Lady of Carmel church in Lipa, Batangas in what could possibly the biggest gathering of Filipinos who have individually consecrated themselves to Jesus through Mary. At the end of the Total Consecration Pilgrimage and Conference, lay groups like Soldiers of Christ, Legion of Mary, Knights of Columbus, the parish youth ministry of St. James the Great, Ayala Alabang did the act of total consecration, pledging to entrust themselves entirely to the Blessed Virgin Mary in a ceremony led by Fr. Melvin Castro, founder of the Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix of all Grace. Truly personal consecration In an interview, Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix of all Grace head Brenda Padilla said, The individual consecration will make the national consecration [on June 8] truly personal, meaningful and more effective if the people will prepare their hearts for this momentous event in our country. Before the imposition of the medals of the Blessed Virgin Mary which symbolizes an in-

Filipino theologian explains consecration

A JESUIT theologian and Mariologist sheds light on why consecration to Jesus through Mary is like opening up to a great, new ocean of grace. During the third talk for Fr. Catalino Arevalo, SJ the First Saturday Marian Con- consecrate themselves to God ferences 2013 last April 4, Fr. through the Immaculate Heart Catalino Arevalo, SJ said the of Mary as the Mother of ununbelievable grace that total con- bounded love and mercy. secration can effect on a person Sharing in Christs mission has yet to be discovered. So what does the consecration mean in concrete? New source of energy Arevalo pointed to two spe[Its as if] grace makes a new source of energy, a new source of cifics defined by consecration: power. God makes a tremendous penance/prayer and reparation lake of water that can now pour for sin. Through penance and prayer, out. It can only pour out if we open up to it. It is like opening consecrated individuals join canals, faucets for this great new themselves to the Paschal mysocean of grace that God wants to tery of Jesus where he offers His give, he told people at the San passion, life, death and resurrection as means of redemption Carlos seminary auditorium. Arevalo could not help but from sin. Simply put, consecrated peowonder aloud about the impact if 5 or 6 million Filipinos get ple share in the very mission of down on their knees and join Jesus of bringing God back to the national consecration to be the worldthrough their profesdone simultaneously on June 8, sions, in their everyday life, in the feast of the Immaculate Heart their speech and actions. of Mary. In a strict theological sense, Knowing what consecration Arevalo pointed out that the means Arevalo, on the other hand, term to consecrate ones self is incorrect since only Jesus can assured lay people not to split truly consecrate anything or hairs about the term consecration, telling the attendees how anyone. We cannot unite ourselves to Blessed John Paul II himself God. God has to unite ourselves tried to introduce a more theologically correct term, yet gave to [Him], he added. What happens in consecration up when Catholics failed to is that Jesus consecrates Himself follow suit. The former Pope attempted and then takes people into His consecration, which is essentially to use affidare (to entrust) or what happens in the total conse- affidamento (entrustment), cration to Jesus through Mary, but people could not stop using the first to consecrate herself consecrate. Lets not be more fervent to Him. When we say we consecrate than John Paul. Let us not be anxourselves to Mary, we join our- ious about the word consecrate, selves to the consecration of you can use it. Just know what it Mary. We insert ourselves [into means, Arevalo added. The next First Saturday conher consecration], we entrust ourselves to Mary, and she puts ference will be on June 1 with a us in the consecration of her talk on Devotion to Mary after Son, Arevalo explained further. the Second Vatican Council to According to the teaching be given by Novaliches Bishop of Blessed John Paul II who Emeritus Teodoro Bacani at identifies his consecration as a 1:00 p.m. in the same venue. personal turning point, Catholics (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz)

Some 1,300 pilgrims raise up their Our Lady of Mediatrix of All Grace medals to be blessed by the priests before the act of consecration last May 1.

dividuals consecration, the pilgrims listened to Fr. Paul Marquez give the first talk on The Meaning of Total Consecration and why it is the surest, fastest way to Jesus. Fr. Yulito Ignacio, head spiritual director of the Philosophy Department of San Carlos Seminary, talked about the Spirit of the World vs. the Spirit of Jesus and why they are at odds with each other. Kabataang Mediatrix Another session that was critical in preparing the pilgrims for

Taiz retreat focuses on how God chooses the little ones

GODS perspective is a lot like Google Earth. He will just zoom in on the unknown places, choosing the little people whom no one recognizes to do unbelievable things, said a Taiz brother who recently gave a retreat to youth leaders. God is choosing not the big things, but the little, people like us. And we imagine we are chosen like Mary, explained Bro. Andreas Krautsieder of the ecumenical Taiz community in Burgundy, France. Bro. Andreas, who is currently visiting the Philippines with Bro. Ghislain, also of Taiz, explained how people normally have a sense of hierarchy about important people and places and how this thinking is nothing like how God thinks. In Jesus time, everyone would get excited if you say you went to Jerusalem, I met King Herod[Now], when people say, I went to Nazareth. I went to the house of Mary. No one would get excited, he explained further.
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the consecration was the talk on Knowledge of Self by Salesian priest and psychologist Fr. Dennis Paez, SDB. Episcopal Commission on Family and life executive secretary Fr. Melvin Castro gave the afternoon session on Knowledge of Mary. Finally, Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani gave the capstone talk on Knowledge of Jesus Christ as the homily of the closing mass. The event also launched the youth arm of the Confraternity, Kabataang Mediatrix (KM),

which will seek to promote the total consecration to the youth, especially through social media. For more information on how to be part of KM, email consecrationpilgrimage@gmail.com The Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix of all Grace intended the event to support the decision of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines to have a simultaneous national consecration on June 8, feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz)

Praying in the way of Taize is often highlighted by the Celebration of Light. Lighted candles used in prayer symbolize Jesus Christ, the light of the world.

THE Pasig Diocesan Youth Ministry has organized a second youth camp to deepen the knowledge of young people and become equipped and effective leaders in the youth ministry. The 2nd BINHI youth camp focused on calling each young people in the diocese to have a deeper relationship with Jesus through the youth ministry and to become missionaries to other young people. With the theme Ka-

PH, a strategic entry Pasig youth hold summer camp for effective ministry for mission in Asia Comboni missionaries
bataan ng Diyosesis ng Pasig: Chosen by Christ, Living in Faith, Fruitful in Mission, the camp was held at the Forest Camp in Tanay, Rizal on May 3-5. According to Peter Capistrano, former diocesan youth coordinator of Pasig, organizers chose the bible verse of Luke 5, 1-11 as their Gospel theme because it pertains to the journey of the apostles who were called to deepen their relationship with Jesus and then sent off into mission. We relate it to the calling of young people to deepen their relationship with Jesus through the youth ministry and then sending them off to become missionaries to their fellow young people, Capistrano said. Topics for the youth camp were taken from the theme Chosen by Christ, Living in Faith, Fruitful in Mission and divided into three parts. Topic for the first part was Chosen by Christ which was discussed by Mark Christian Reyes, an instructor from De La Salle University. The second part was Living in Faith with Peter Capistrano as the resource speaker. Raphael de Honor, a Christian formation teacher of Sto. Tomas de Villanueva Catholic School in Pasig City, discussed the third topic Fruitful in Mission. Before each talk, participants were divided into groups of 12 for an activity. Each group, which has taken the name of the apostles, was composed of young people from different parishes in the diocese. A fellowship night was held on the evening of the first day with participants presenting different situations that young people experienced. A para-liturgy of the blessing of fire and washing of the feet was held on the first and second night of the camp. Around 200 young people from all parishes in the diocese participated. (Jandel Posion) MEMBERS of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) doing missionary work in the Philippines, Macau, Taiwan and Vietnam have gathered here to celebrate their congregations 25 years of presence in Asia, which actually started in Manila. Established in five continents and 42 countries The congregain the world, the Comboni congregation in the tions silver anniPhilippines has now 13 Filipinos as perpetually versary celebration, professed among its members. themed Journeying together on Asian Roads, started with a Eucha- was a better way to start (here). ristic Celebration on May 11 at From Manila, we moved to Mathe St. Daniel Comboni Mission cau, Taipei and most recently to Vietnam, Llamazares added. Center in Paraaque City. But the Comboni priest exAt least 26 members of the Comboni Missionaries Delega- pressed optimism that their tion in Asia are in the Philippines presence will be eventually to also celebrate the forthcoming established in China in the next 25th founding anniversary of 25 years. I see our presence in evangetheir publication World Mission magazine. World Mission lization of China in the next 25 magazine is part of a string of years. Although it is really difsome 20 publications that Com- ficult for missionaries to be perboni communities are producing manent there (in the mainland), we are already doing some work worldwide. The first batch of Comboni in collaboration with the local missionaries went to Manila in church and the work is done January 1988 and the members from Macau, Llamazares said. Llamazares also expect more of the second batch that came later in April were the pillars of Asians to join the Comboni conthe magazines maiden issue, gregation. Eventually, the Comboni according to Delegate Superior presence will be more Asian, Fr. Miguel Llamazarez, MMCJ. Llamazares said starting the he said, adding that at present, Comboni missionaries presence there are 13 Filipinos who are in Asia via Manila has always perpetually professed to the been a strategic decision for the congregation and another three with temporary vows. congregation. The Comboni Missionaries In a way, it was a strategic decision to start in Manila even if of the Heart of Jesus maintain initially our desire was to evan- the Daniel Comboni Seminary in Quezon City as a way of gelize China, he said. The Philippines already has forming new missionaries. (KB/ the tradition of religiosity and it CBCPNews)
Photo courtesy of Kris Bayos

Bro. Andreas explained how Gods invitation to everyone to trust is much like the one given to Maryto allow God to do something in our lives, something which we have never seen before. And just like in Marys case, God sends messengers to prepare peoples hearts for His words.

God will bless your life Bro. Andreas injected a humorous insight into Lukes account of the Annunciation by noting how Mary is surprised and confused because of the angels greeting, but not really by the angels presence. Mary is surprised with what the angel says, his greeting, You are special, God is close to you, you find favor with God, he said. Bro. Andreas said, every believer should know that the angels words, Do not be afraid, is meant for all, not just Mary. When we think that our life may not be important, [believe that] God will bless your life and you can give something important to the world, he added. Around 25 people attended the retreat for Taiz permanents, youth who spent around 2-3 months in the community in France and attended the intercontinental meetings. It was held at the Betania Retreat House last April 2628. (Nirvaana Ella Delacruz)

Nominations open for Martyr of Press Freedom Award

ITS days to go before the closing date for nominees deserving to receive the martyr of press freedom award. Organizers said nominations for the 2013 Titus Brandsma Award Philippines must be submitted on or before May 15. Specifically, the Titus Brandsma Media Center (TBMC) is looking for individuals or groups worthy of the honors in the categories of press freedom, leadership in journalism, leadership in community communication, leadership in communication, culture and arts, and leadership in communication and literature. The awardees may be a journalist, artist, literary writer/ author, song writer, or media group, theater group/institute, musical group, songwriters group, scriptwriters group, visual artists group, community radio station, community newspaper, among others. Carmelite Father Christian Buenafe said the award may also be given posthumously. The awarding ceremony is set on July this year. The Titus Brandsma Award Philippines is a biennial award to recognize journalists who had exemplary lived-out the virtues of Blessed Titus Brandsma, a Dutch journalist, educator and a Carmelite priest who defended press freedom and right to education during the Second World War, even on the face of death. It is also the countrys version of the international Titus Brandsma Award given by the Union Catholique Internationale de la Presse (UCIP), the world forum of professionals in secular and religious media. Brandsma was beatified by Blessed John Paul II in 1985 and was declared martyr of press freedom. The (TBMC) is the Carmelite Media Ministry in the Philippines and committed to the pursuit of truth through spirituality and social communication. For inquiries, the TBMC may be reached at telephone no. (02) 726-6054 or email them attbcmedia@yahoo.com. (CBCPNews)

Blessed Titus Brandsma

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Photo Courtesy of Nirva Dela Cruz

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

B1

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary*

(To be recited jointly on 8 June 2013 in all cathedrals, churches, chapels in the Philippines with as many of the Catholic Faithful present. On the following four FIRST SATURDAYS, in July, August, September and October, to be jointly recited again, to complete the FIVE FIRST SATURDAYS asked for by the Blessed Mother of Fatima.)

We have recourse to your protection, O holy Mother of God. As we recite the words of this antiphon with which the Church of Christ has prayed for centuries, we find ourselves today before you, our Mother, in this Year of Faith. We, who make up the Body of Christ present in our land, recite the words of this present Act of Consecration and Entrustment, in which we gather, first of all, the hopes and anxieties of our Filipino people, at this moment of our history.
Mother of our people, we who rejoice in the name, Pueblo amante de Maria, bayang sumisinta kay Maria you know all our sufferings and our hopes, you who have a mothers awareness of all the struggles between good and evil, between light and darkness, which afflict the world today. Mother of our people, accept

the cry which we, deeply moved by the Holy Spirit, address directly to your heart. Embrace, with the love of the Mother and Handmaid of the Lord, our people and our land, which now we entrust and consecrate to you, for we are truly concerned for the earthly and eternal destiny of every individual among us and for all our people. We have recourse to your protection, o holy Mother of God; despise not our petitions in our necessities. Behold, as we gather before your Immaculate Heart, we desire, the

Church of the Lord in our land, joined in heart and mind with all our people, isang bayang Filipino , to unite ourselves with the consecration which, for love of us, your Son made of himself to the Father: For their sake, he said, I consecrate myself that they also may be consecrated in the truth [John 17: 19]. We wish to unite ourselves with our Redeemer in this consecration for the world and for the entire human race, which, in his divine Heart, has the power to obtain pardon and to secure reparation. The power of this consecration by

your Son, Our Lord, lasts for all time and embraces all individuals, peoples and nations. Thus also it embraces our people and our land. The power of this consecration overcomes every evil that the spirit of darkness is able to awaken, and has in fact awakened in our times, in the hearts of men and women in human history. How deeply we now feel the need for the consecration of our people, in union with Christ Jesus himself. For the redeeming work of our Redeemer must be shared in and by the world,
Continued to B2

B2
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
Time and again, one hears the expression lay empowerment in the lips of priests and parish lay leaders. More often than not, they would be referring to the faculties now granted to some of our parishioners to act as lay ministersto have a more active participation in the liturgical ceremonies and to be extraordinary ministers for Holy Communionor to form part of the Parish Pastoral Council. In contrast, in a convention of the Council of the Laity of the Philippines that I attended in Antipolo some years ago, I heard a very different notion from more than one of the speakers. What does the expression lay empowerment really mean? Before we can understand the notion of lay empowerment , we must first understand very well the concept of lay or layman. This is important so that we understand in what way the laymen are supposed to be empowered. In order to do this, we have to first understand the fundamental equality of all the faithful; then we have to understand their diversity and the specific quality of the laity. The Juridic Equality and diversity of all the Faithful By baptism, all Christians possess a common juridic condition of radical equality within the ecclesial society, and thereby share an identical objective and end, which is that of extending the Kingdom of God until it reaches its fullness in the end of time (Vatican Council II, Lumen Gentium, n.9). By the baptismal character, and not by any posterior mandate of the Hierarchy, all the faithful are called with equal intensity to foster the common good of the Kingdom of God and to extend it. This character constitutes all Christs faithful into a royal priesthood, making them participate in the priesthood of Christ, by which they are called to share in Christs threefold mission of teaching, sanctifying and leading all men, and indeed all creation, towards God. Nevertheless, despite the radical equality of all Christs faithful by virtue of baptism, not all follow the same path (LG, 32). Among them, there exists diverse ways of life, which demonstrates a variety which enriches the Church. All thisunity and diversityis a consequence of the action of the Holy Spirit, guiding the Church in the way of all truth, and unifying her in communion and in the works of ministry, he bestows upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her; and he adorns her with his fruits (LG, 4). Two Factors cause this diversity: 1) The action of grace and the charisms of the Holy Spirit on Christs faithful i.e., personal vocation. 2) The individual response of every faithfuli.e., personal human freedom. Three Principal Situations of Diversity arise: 1) The Cleric (or Sacred Minister). The

Updates

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Empowerment of the laity (1)

of the lay faithful with the ordained ministers in the exercise of the sacra potestas or power of jurisdiction (or power of governance) which is really proper of the ordained ministers. This is the sacred power that Christ gave the Apostles (on Peter and the Apostolic College principally) and their successors, which they exercise with the other ordained ministers in persona Christi capitis (in the person of Christ the Head). An attentive reading of c.129 of the Code throws a lot of light on this matter: Can. 129 1. In accord with the prescriptions of law, those who have received sacred orders are capable of the power of governance, which exists in the Church by divine institution and is also called the power of jurisdiction. 2. Lay members of the Christian faithful can cooperate in the exercise of this power in accord with the norm of law. Note the difference between 1 and 2: Clerics are capable of the power of governance, as something proper to them. In contrast, the lay faithful can only cooperate in the exercise of that power, meaning that the principal subjects who operate that power are the clerics, while the laymen may only co-operate it. There are not a few instances of this cooperation of the lay faithful in the exercise of the power of jurisdiction provided for by the Code of Canon Law. For example, laymen can be appointed judges in ecclesiastical tribunals (c.1421, 2); laymen have a consultative vote in the different councils at the parochial and diocesan levels, and can even be consultors in the Holy See (c.228); laymen can dedicate themselves in an organic way in the apostolic work of a Personal Prelature (c.296). Conclusion Up to this point, we can make the following preliminary conclusions. 1) The ordinary notion of lay empowerment which refers to the greater participation of laymen in the liturgical celebrationsis an unfortunate impoverishment of the concept and may even be qualified as a denaturing (more than empowering) of the laymen to assume roles that are not that secular. 2 ) A n o t h e r n o t i o n o f l a y empowermentwhich refers to the cooperation of laymen in the exercise of the power of governance in the Churchmay be more canonical (in the sense that it is in the Code of Canon Law), but can still be classified as improper, since it still represents a mere cooperation in the exercise of the power of jurisdiction which Canon Law really invests on sacred ministers. We still need to arrive at a deeper meaning of lay empowerment one which would really reflect an intensification of the nature and role of the layman in the Church community.

Q: After the priest has washed his hands at the offertory, he turns to the assembly and says, Pray, brethren (brothers and sisters), that my sacrifice and yours . My question is, at this moment of the liturgy should the assembly be seated or standing? In different communities and countries they do it in different ways. Some stand immediately at the word Pray, some at the moment of the prayer over the gifts, and others at the preface. There is some confusion because incense is not used at daily Mass. G.S., Shkoder, Albania A: The Introduction to the Roman Missal says the following in No. 43: The faithful should stand from the beginning of the

Standing at the Pray, Brethren

Entrance chant, or while the priest approaches the altar, until the end of the Collect; for the Alleluia chant before the Gospel; while the Gospel itself is proclaimed; during the Profession of Faith and the Prayer of the Faithful; from the invitation, Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren), before the Prayer over the Offerings until the end of Mass, except at the places indicated below. They should, however, sit while the readings before the Gospel and the responsorial Psalm are proclaimed and for the Homily and while the Preparation of the Gifts at the Offertory is taking place; and, as circumstances allow, they may sit or kneel while the period of sacred silence after Communion is observed. But they should kneel at the consecration, except when prevented on occasion by reasons of health, lack of space, the large number of people present, or some other good reason. Those who do not kneel ought to make a profound bow when the priest genuflects after the consecration. Nevertheless, it is up to the Conference of Bishops to adapt the gestures and postures described in the Order of Mass to the culture and reasonable traditions of the people. The Conference, however, must make sure that such adaptations correspond to the meaning and character of each part of the celebration. Where it is the practice for the people to remain kneeling after the Sanctus until the end of the Eucharistic Prayer and before Communion when the priest says Ecce Agnus Dei (This is the Lamb of God), this practice is laudably retained. With a view to a uniformity in gestures and postures during one and the same celebration, the faithful should follow the directions which the deacon, lay minister, or priest gives according to whatever is indicated in the Missal. This general norm is further clarified in No. 146: Upon returning to the middle of the altar, the priest, facing the people and extending and then joining his hands, invites the people to pray, saying: Orate, fratres (Pray, brethren). The people rise and make their response: Suscipiat Dominus (May the Lord accept). Then the priest, with hands extended, says the Prayer over the Offerings. At the end the people make the acclamation: Amen. This norm does not leave it perfectly clear if the people are to rise as soon as the priest says Pray or wait until after he has concluded the invitation and then rise and respond. The rubric of the missal, however, in placing the norm that the people rise and respond between the Pray, brethren and the peoples response implies that that the people should wait until the priest has finished before rising, or respond while rising immediately after the conclusion. It must be admitted that this requires a fairly disciplined community to manage to stand

condition of cleric includes all those who, on top of the fundamental character of Baptism, have received the character of Holy Orders (c.207). This character marks an essential differencenot merely of degree between the royal priesthood of all Christs faithful by virtue of Baptism, and the ministerial priesthood of the ordained cleric. This character confers on the cleric a new mission (Vatican Council II, Presbyterorum Ordinis, 2), which consists in striving for the internal vitality of the ecclesial society, preaching the Word of God, administering the means of salvation (fundamentally the sacraments) and directing the course of the Church as a society in persona Christi capitis (c.1008). In short, to serve or minister to all Christs faithful, so that they may exercise with full vitality their royal priesthood. Hence the term: ministerial priesthood. 2) The Religious (or Consecrated Faithful). The religious is another type of faithful, whose status arises from the profession of the evangelical counsels i.e., perfect continence, poverty and obediencethrough a juridical bond of a sacred character. This constitutes a stable way of life (c.573), which even if it does not pertain to the hierarchical structure of the Church, pertains nevertheless to its life and sanctity (LG, 44; c.574, 1). This way of lifethe religious life is characterized fundamentally by an intrinsic non-secularity , which traditionally had even been called a

contemptus mundi or fuga mundi, whose theological root and purpose was to give an eschatological witness to the worldi.e., to give a stark reminder to all men that this world is not our permanent home. 3) The Christian Layman (or Lay Faithful ). The lay faithful, in the strict sense of cc.224-231, refers to a constitutional situation different from the previous ones, which is specifically characterized by baptismal secularity. The layman is not just Christs faithful who has not been ordained, or has not embraced the evangelical counsels in an Institute of Consecrated Life. He is Christs faithful who has embraced the world, but without being worldly. The specific vocation of the lay faithful is to be immersed in the world (to be secular). To the laity corresponds specifically the taskwithin the universal mission of the Churchto develop the baptismal charisms so as to make the Church present in those circumstances wherein it can act as salt of the earth only through them (LG, 33). Understanding Lay Empowerment The problem with words is that many times they are not univocal (having only one sense) but are rather equivocal (having more than one sense). This is what happens with the notion of the oftquoted expression of lay empowerment or empowerment of the laity. a. Loose Sense of Lay Empowerment in Daily Usage

To my mind, this is the most unfortunate sense of the expression lay empowerment, which usually refers to those manifestations of cooperation of lay faithful in the ministry of clerics more often than not in connection with the liturgy. This is the reason for the unreasonable exultation of the phenomenon of lay ministries as an icon or model of commitment of the lay faithful in the Church. If I trained a fish to somehow move on muddy ground, I would not have really empowered it, because it is not proper for a fish to be terrestrial but aquatic. Likewise, if I trained a bird to walk instead of fly, again I wouldnt have empowered it but denatured it somehow, because it could never really walk as well as it could fly, because thats the way it was created. While the so-called lay ministries are licit and laudable, what we cannot forget is that they are many times suppletory in naturei.e., to supply for the lack of ordained ministers, whether temporarily or more stably (cf. c.230). They always constituteto a greater or lesser extenta denaturing of the lay character of being in the world. b. Improper Sense of Lay Empowerment in the Code of Canon Law Improper means not proper or not really pertaining to or not corresponding to. This is the first sense of lay empowerment that we can find in the Code of Canon Law, referring to the manifestations of the cooperation

Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

in perfect unison on concluding the invitation, and that moments of silence or confusion are not unlikely. Therefore, I would not consider it a particular problem if in some places the community arises while the priest is still reciting the Orate, fratres. Since both invitation and response are so brief, it hardly causes any difficulty. It is not foreseen that the people arise after the response, although a bishops conference could legitimately propose to adopt that variation to the missal. It would not correspond to liturgical tradition to remain seated during the prayer over the gifts. The people usually stand, or occasionally kneel, when the priest proclaims any presidential prayer.

Continued from B1

Act of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary*

entire human family, and for us, the Filipino people and for our beloved land. In entrusting to you, O Mother, our people, your Pueblo amante de Maria, we entrust to you this very consecration itself, placing it in your motherly Heart. Immaculate Heart! Help us to conquer the threat of evil, which so easily enters and takes root in the hearts of people today, and whose immeasurable effects already weigh down upon our country, and seem to block the paths toward the future! From hatred, violence, conflicts which divide and destroy our people, deliver us. From sins against human life, from its very beginning, deliver us. From the demeaning of the dignity of the children of God, deliver us. From every kind of injustice in the life of society, deliver us. From readiness to trample on the commandments of God, deliver us. From the loss of awareness of good and evil, deliver us. From sins against the Holy Spirit, deliver us, deliver us. Accept, O Mother of Christ, this cry, laden with, the hopes and burdens, the sufferings of each one of us, and of all our people. Help us, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to overcome and conquer all sin: individual sins, social sins and the sin of the world, sin in all its manifestations. Let there be revealed once more, in our own history as a people, the infinite power of the Redemption, the power of Gods merciful Love! May it destroy the power of sin and evil among us! May it transform consciences! May it change hearts to the likeness of the Heart of Jesus, and your own heart! May your Immaculate Heart reveal for all, in our land and through all the world, the light of hope! O Mary, Mother of Jesus and our Mother, our life, our sweetness and our hope! Amen.
* (Adapted for our 8 June 2013National/ Philippine Act of Consecration/Entrustment to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Shortened and directed to our present context, from the official act of consecration written by Blessed John Paul II himself for 25 March 1985, Feast of the Annunciation. It was meant to be offered by himself and all the bishops of the Catholic Church. Our Philippine hierarchy, led by Cardinals Jaime Sin of Manila and Ricardo Vidal of Cebu, in the name of all of us in the Church in the Philippines, took official part in this solemn act of offering. Fr. C. Arevalo, SJ.).

and by our own people, through the Church. We turn to you, Mother of our Redeemer and our Mother: above all creatures may you be blessed, you, the Handmaid of the Lord, who in the fullest way obeyed the divine call. Hail to you, who are wholly united to the redeeming consecration of your Son. Mother of the Church! Enlighten the People of God along the paths of faith, hope and love! Help us to live in the truth of the consecration offered by Jesus your Son for the

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Features
(This article is contributed by Church People Workers Solidarity (CWS)Eds)

B3

Primer on Labor
Injustice reigns when within the same society some groups hold most of the wealth and power while large strata of the population cannot decently provide for the livelihood of their families even through long hours of backbreaking labor in factories or in the fields. In analyzing the present context, besides identifying the opportunities now opening up in the era of the global economy, one also comes to see the risks connected with the new dimensions of commercial and financial relations. In fact, there are indications that point to a trend of increasing inequalities, both between advanced countries and developing countries, and within industrialized countries. The growing economic wealth made possible by the processes described above is accompanied by an increase in relative poverty. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 362) Churchs social doctrine says that The challenge is to ensure a globalization in solidarity, a globalization without marginalization (CSDC, 363). The social Magisterium points out the importance of ethical criteria that should form the basis of international economic relations (CSDC 364): the pursuit of the common good and the universal destination of goods; equity in trade relationships; and attention to the rights and needs of the poor in policies concerning trade and international cooperation. Otherwise, the poor nations remain ever poor while the rich ones become still richer [PP, 57]

1. What is Catholic Social Teaching? Answer: Catholic Social Teaching (CST) is an instrument of integral and total salvation. The STC is a valid instrument for action in behalf of justice and participation to transform the world in all its dimensions according to the vision of Jesus Christ. (Paul VI & John Paul II). CST is a Key to Catholic Identity. Just as the social teaching of the church is integral to Catholic faith, the social justice dimension of teaching are integral to Catholic education and catechesis. They are an essential part of Catholic identity and formation. If Catholic education and formation fail to communicate our social tradition, they are not fully Catholic - U.S. Bishops, 1998 The central message is simple: our faith is profoundly social. We cannot be called truly Catholic unless we hear and heed the Churchs call to serve those in need and work for justice and peace. Communities of Salt and Light, U.S. Bishops, 1993 2. What are the essential elements of Catholic Social Teaching? Answer: The CST is continually developing its set of: PRINCIPLES (SEE) where Catholics analyze/diagnose reality; CRITERIA (JUDGE) where Catholics evaluate/judge reality; NORMS (ACT) where Catholics as social agents make plans of action to promote changes in society. 3. What are the principles or themes of Catholic Social Teachings? The churchs social teachings are born out of the supreme commandment to love God and our neighbor in justice (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 72). These principles point to us the paths possible for building a good, authentic and renewed social life (Congregation for Catholic Education, 47). A. Human Dignity All of us enjoy an equal dignity for we are all created in the image of one God (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1934). Factory workers, farm workers, jeepney drivers, tricycle drivers, vendors, all have equal dignity with business owners, land owners, managers, and government leaders. As human persons, whatever our work, we have rights and duties which are universal and inviolable and must have ready access to all that is necessary for living a genuinely human life: for example, food, clothing, housing, ... the right to education, and work...(Gaudium et Spes, 26) If we fail to realize that people have dignity, Blessed Pope John XXIII said that there can be neither justice nor peace in the world (Mater et Magistra, 21). His Holiness Blessed John Paul II, for his part, speaking to landowners and sugarcane workers in Bacolod in 1981 said, the Church speaks out on behalf of the dignity of the human person, created in the image of God and redeemed by Jesus Christ... The human person must live, in the concrete reality of his/her daily life, according to the dignity that is his/hers. B. Common Good Another key principle of the churchs social teaching is the principle of the Common Good, which, according to Blessed Pope John XXIII, embraces the sum total of all those conditions of social life which enable individuals, families, and organizations to achieve complete and effective fulfillment (MM, 74). Pope Benedict XVI urged Christians to desire the common good and strive towards it since the more we strive to secure a common good corresponding to the real needs of our neighbors, the more effectively we love them (Caritas in Veritate, 7). Blessed John XXIII further said that the realization of the common good in the temporal order is the reason for being of the State or government. It has also the duty to protect the rights of all its people, and particularly of its weaker members, the workers, women and children (MM, 20). Unless these authorities take suitable action with regard to economic, political and cultural matters, inequalities between the citizens tend to become more and more widespread (Pacem in Terris, 63). C. Solidarity Blessed John Paul II said solidarity is not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is, to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. ( Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38) There can be no progress towards the complete development of the human person, without the simultaneous development of all humanity, in the spirit of solidarity. (Populorum Progressio, 43) As sons and daughters of our

Heavenly Father, we are one human family, called to love one another. Pope Benedict XVI in his message for 2011 Mission Sunday thus reminded us that evangelization is a complex process that includes solidarity with those in need. And it is unacceptable to evangelize without addressing the urgent problems of poverty, injustice and oppression. D. Option for the Poor John Paul II said to the people in Bacolod, The Church proclaims her preference for the poor within the totality of her mission of evangelizations that all may come to know Christ and find in the love of God and of neighbor their highest fulfillment. How could one be happy and be fulfilled when one sees the suffering of ones fellow human being, when one sees familieshomeless and hungry? The World Synod of Bishops in 1971 has listened to the cry of those oppressed by unjust systems and structures, have heard the appeal of a world that contradicts the plan of the Creator. The Church then must proclaim the Good News to the poor, freedom to the oppressed, and joy to the afflicted (Justitia in Mundo, 5). The Vatican council, a few years before the World Synod of Bishops already asked individuals and governments: Feed the people dying of hunger, because if you do not feed them you are killing them (Gaudium et Spes, 69). The option for the poor principle states that the deprivation and powerlessness of the poor wounds the whole community. The extent of their suffering is a measure of how far we are from being a true community of persons (Economic Justice for All, 88). We are judged according to how we take care of the most vulnerable members of our community. 4. What are the Churchs Social Teachings on the economic activity of man? There are three fundamental teachings of the Church on the economic life of man: A. The human person is the source and purpose of all economic life; B. All of earths goods are intended by God for everyone; C. Globalization should promote solidarity of all peoples and should not marginalize members of the human family. What is the goal or purpose of economic life? The Church solemnly reaffirmed in the Second Vatican Council, the beginning, the subject and the goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person. (Octogesima Adveniens,14) Pope Paul VI said It is unfortunate that a system has been constructed which considers profit as the key motive for economic progress, competition as the supreme law of economics, and private ownership of the means of production as an absolute right that has no limits... This unchecked liberalism leads to dictatorship rightly denounced by Pius XI as producing the international imperialism of money. One must recall that the economy is at the service of people(PP, 26). In other words, the economy must serve the needs and welfare of all people. Pope Benedict XVI gave a guide that in development programs, the principle of the centrality of the human person must be preserved. The principal concern must be to improve the actual living conditions of the people; and the people who benefit from these programs ought to be directly involved in their planning and implementation. (CV, 47) For whom should the goods of the earth belong? The principle on the universal destination of goods, says that, God intended the earth with everything contained in it for the use of all human beings and peoples. Thus, under the leadership of justice and in the company of charity, created goods should be in abundance for all. (GS, 69) We must reflect on this principle as we witness a lot of conflict on ownership of farm lands, lots occupied by the urban poor and even the Spratlys. Some of these conflicts have become violent, such as in Hacienda Luisita; and here in Cebu, there were 39 people, including women and minors who have been recently jailed, because a wealthy family claimed the land that their ancestors have been tilling the land since 1910. Blessed John Paul II exhorted, The growth of wealth and the moral demands of an equitable distribution of these, must inspire society as a whole to practice the virtue of solidarity, in order to combat, in a spirit of justice and charity, those structures of sin (SRS, 36). How can globalization promote solidarity and equality among all peoples? Thirty years ago, Blessed John Paul II said in Bacolod that, In todays world there are too many situations of injustice. Blessed John Paul II explained that Injustice reigns when some nations accumulate riches and live in abundance while other nations cannot offer the majority of people the basic necessities.

commodity to be freely bought and sold on the market, its price determined by the law of supply and demand (Centesimus Annus, 4). This prompted Blessed John XXIII to stress that Work must be regarded not merely as a commodity, but as a specifically human activity (MM, 18). Blessed JP II for his part, reiterated that that until today, certain objectives stated by Rerum Novarum remain valid, and still constitute a goal yet to be reached, if mans work and his very being are not to be reduced to the level of a mere commodity (CA, 34). The Second Vatican Council thus declared, All violations of the integrity of the human personall offenses against human dignity, such as subhuman living conditionsdegrading working conditions where men/women are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons: all these and the like are criminal: they poison civilization (GS, 27). i. Labor has priority over capital. Churchs doctrines stress that labor has an inherent priority over capital. In the production process, labor is always a primary efficient cause, while capital, the whole collection of means of production, remains a mere instrument or instrumental cause (LE, 12). This means that without labor, production would not be possible. Yet even if labor is the creator of wealth, the worker has been mired in poverty and want, prompting Pope Pius XI

5. What are the Churchs Social Teachings on Labor? Blessed John Paul II, speaking to workers, tricycle and jeepney drivers in Legazpi in 1981 said, Our response to Gods gift of the land is made with human effort and work... Your work is noble because it is a service for your families and for the wider community, which is society. Work is a service in which one grows to the extent to which he/she gives himself/herself for others. Human work is the key to the solution ... of the whole social question (LE, 3).We will now discuss the specific social teachings of the church on labor as highlighted in Blessed John Paul IIs Laborem Exercens (LE), and social encyclicals since Pope Leo XIIIs Rerum Novarum (RN). Human Labor is not a commodity. Work and the workers have dignity. Blessed John Paul IIs LE emphasized that as human persons, we are created in Gods image and are Gods cocreators. We were given the mandate to transform the earth. By our labor we are unfolding the Creators work and contributing to the realization of Gods plan on earth (LE, 25). But the dignity of workers has been taken away from them in some evil situations. In Rerum Novarum, Pope Leo XIII wrote, Working people have been given over, isolated and defenseless, to the callousness of employers and the greed of unrestrained competition (Rerum Novarum, 2). Labor has become a

to say, Capital claimed all the products and profits and left to the laborer the barest minimum necessary to repair his strength and to ensure the continuation of his class. Pope Pius XI deplored an economic law which says all accumulation of riches must fall to the share of the wealthy, while the workingman must remain perpetually in indigence or reduced to the minimum needed for existence (Quadragesimo Anno, 54). ii. Workers have rights. Blessed John Paul II reminded us, Love for others, and especially for the poor, is made concrete by promoting justice (CA, 58). Pope Benedict XVI explained in Caritas in Veritate, that we can only be charitable, after being just to our neighbor. I cannot give what is mine to the other, without first giving him what pertains to him in justice (CV, 6). Thus, loving our brothers and sisters the workers, means being just to them by upholding their rights as workers, as Gods co-creators. The rights of workers, like all other rights, are based on the nature of the human person and on his transcendent dignity (CSDC, 301). The church lists some of workers rights: The right to work; the right to a just wage; [LE, 19] the right to rest; [LE, 19] the right to a working environment and to manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers physical health or to their moral integrity; [LE,

19] the right to appropriate subsidies that are necessary for the subsistence of unemployed workers and their families; [LE, 18] the right to a pension and to insurance for old age, sickness, and in case of work-related accidents; [LE,19] the right to social security connected with maternity; [LE, 19] the right to assemble and form associations.[RN 11, QA 183, PT 262, GS 68, LE 20, CA 7] What are the rights of workers? i. Workers have the right to work and full employment. All people have the right to work, to a chance to develop their qualities and their personalities in the exercise of their professions (OA,14). Employment problems challenge the responsibility of the State, whose duty is to promote active employment policies, that is, policies that will encourage the creation of employment opportunities within the national territory (CSDC, 291). Blessed JP II said in Legazpi, A fundamental concern of one and all rulers, labor leaders and businessmen must be this: to give work to everyone. Providing employment must not be taken lightly, or considered a secondary aspect of the economic order and of development. It should be a central element in the aims of economic theory and practice. Situations of unemployment have material and spiritual repercussions on families (CSDC, 295). The CSDC says that Work is a good belonging to all people and must be made available to all who are capable of engaging in it.Full employment therefore remains a mandatory objective for every economic system oriented towards justice and the common good (CSDC, 288). A society in which the right to work is thwarted or systematically denied, and in which economic policies do not allow workers to reach satisfactory levels of employment, cannot be justified from an ethical point of view, nor can that society attain social peace [CA, 43]. ii. Workers have right to fair remuneration The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church says, Remuneration is the most important means for achieving justice in work relationships. They commit injustice who refuse to pay a just compensation or who do not give it in due time and in proportion to the work done (CSDC,302). When discussing wages, Pope Leo XIII stated that a worker who accepts less than a living wage because an employer or contractor will give him no better, is the victim of force and injustice (RN, 34). Blessed Pope John XXIII thus exhorted, We consider it our duty to reaffirm that the remuneration of work is not something that can be left to the laws of the marketplace; nor should it be a decision left to the will of the more powerful. It must be determined in accordance with justice and equity; which means that workers must be paid a wage which allows them to live a truly human life (MM, 71). Is the minimum wage of P426 in NCR, P305 in Cebu and P286 in Davao enough? Blessed John Paul II asserted, Workers not only want fair pay, they also want to share in the responsibility and creativity of the very work process (LE, 13). The workers could also participate in ownership, management and profits. (CSDC 281) Blessed John XXIII declared, It is especially desirable that workers gradually come to share in the ownership of their company, by ways and in the manner that seem most suitable (MM, 77). The teaching on the universal destination of goods means that The means of production cannot be possessed against labor, they cannot even be possessed for possessions sake, because the only legitimate title to their possession--whether in the form of private ownership or in the form of public or collective ownership--is that they should serve labor... One cannot exclude the (possibility of) socialization, in suitable conditions, of certain means of production (LE, 14). iii. Workers have a right to a safe working environment/ manufacturing processes Aside from the right to just compensation, the worker also has a right to a safe working environment. The right to a working environment and to manufacturing processes which are not harmful to the workers physical health or to their moral integrity (should not be overlooked) Besides wages, various social benefits intended to ensure the life and health of workers and their families are necessary (LE, 19). The expenses involved in health care, especially in the case of accidents at work, demand that medical assistance should be easily available for workers and that as far as possible it should be cheap or even free of charge (LE 19). iv. Workers have right to form unions and associations In order to promote and defend their rights, the workers have a right to form associations or labor unions. The Church recognizes the
Labor / B4

FILE PHOTO

B4
By Sheila Liaugminas
would lead to murder charges was jaw-dropping. Such a charge meant the declaration, much less recognition, that terminating a fetus is murder. Even though it hinged on the will of the mother, or maybe especially so. Because it focused the attention on what it means to end a human life, and it was a watershed moment. As we awaited the jurys verdict in the Gosnell trial, the newly incarcerated Castro faced aggravated murder charges for terminating pregnancies. Based on the facts of the case, authorities said they intend to seek charges not only for the sexual assaults endured by the victims, but also each act of aggravated murder he committed by terminating pregnancies. That alone is a startling statement. Think about what each act of aggravated murder he committed by terminating pregnancies means. We were already thinking about the idea of murdering babies in the Gosnell trial before this news broke. Monday, the Gosnell trial jury returned their verdict. Guilty, of murdering babies. A 72-year-old doctor whose abortion clinic was described by prosecutors as a house of horrors was convicted of firstdegree murder in the deaths of three babies born alive. Dr. Kermit Gosnell was acquitted of killing a fourth baby during a late-term abortion in a dirty clinic that served mostly low-income women and teens, and went years without a state inspection. Theres a saga contained within those two sentences. The horribly filthy clinic required that the grand jury visiting it prior to the trial wear Hazmat suits. How was it not shut down by authorities a long time ago? Because a long time ago state authorities stopped inspecting

Features
it, a nationwide problem with abortion clinics. And note that this house of horrors served mostly low-income women, minorities and minors. It was far worse than despicable. Prosecutors said Gosnell delivered the babies alive and killed them by cutting their spines with scissors. He was also convicted of manslaughter for the death of one of the women who suffered terribly at the hands of this abortionist. The verdict does not satisfy all critics. Some time before the decision was announced, Pastor Luke Robinson, who was keynote speaker at the 2012 March for Life, told The Washington Times, The whole health department of Pennsylvania should be on trial for allowing these atrocities. Law enforcement officials raided Gosnells abortion business in 2010, believing he merely ran a pill mill, dispensing prescriptions for narcotics to make a quick buck. What they found shocked and nauseated them. Inside his house or horrors, they found unsanitized equipment that transmitted STDs between patients, urineand blood-soaked recliners for post-abortion recovery, and dismembered fetal body parts The violations filled a 250-page Grand Jury Report. During his closing argument, Cameron dramatically asked Gosnell, Are you human? The atrocities unfolded with the tacit permission of numerous levels of authority in the government, as well as within the health care and abortion industries. It has caused some prominent or high-profile pro-choice advocates to reconsider their beliefs, starting from their very premise, and the idea of what

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Gosnell convicted, Castro charged

MOTHERS Day just passed with fair weather and loving celebrations in much of the country. But it was surrounded by a perfect storm. I was already saying that about the five week trial of notorious abortionist Kermit Gosnell and the grisly details of his house of horrors revealed in the grand jury report, along with the Live Action undercover videos of other abortion clinics doing late-term abortions, together with the presidents untimely and ill-advised address embracing Planned Parenthood and pledging his fidelity to the abortion giant. But that was before the three young women held captive for a decade were discovered and rescued, and the horrific details of their captivity became known. So while the Gosnell jury was in the second week of deliberation over such inhumane treatment of women and their babies, the facts about Cleveland abductor/ captor Ariel Castro and his own house of horrors started coming out and we learned about his inhumane treatment of young women and the babies they conceived by him, and it was all more than any civilized person could get their mind around. Which pushed the idea of brutality against innocent human life to the front of our minds and the front page of the news. Its about time. And especially timely in the week leading up to the celebration of Motherhood. The CNN report that Ariel Castro repeatedly punched one of his pregnant victims in the stomach to force the miscarriage of an aborted fetus, and that this happened over several different pregnancies, was breathtakingly shocking. That it
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abortion is. And then there are entrenched abortion defenders, as this CNN piece reveals. They admit the Gosnell case is terrible But that doesnt mean it sets a precedent, CNN legal analyst Paul Callan said. The testimony in this case was so graphic and so horrific. It was described literally as a house of horrors taking place in this Philadelphia clinic, Callan said. So I think that most objective observers will say that ultimately this will be an isolated case, hopefully, and that its simply a case where prosecutors had to act. It had nothing to do with being pro- or anti-abortion. Yes, it did. And no, it wasnt an isolated case. The two are related, as the recent Live Action undercover videos from several

abortion clinics reveal. Gosnell was no aberration. We have arrived at a point where were not only reconsidering the reality and terminology of abortion, but the realities of human life itself. And the importance of maternity to a womans identity. Some mothers have become used to apologizing for just being stay-at-home moms. At social gatherings, a woman can be introduced as a mother only to receive the stunningly obtuse follow-up question, Do you work? Women representing different strands of feminist thought, including those who distance themselves from any type of feminism, struggle with this tension. I had a unique experience of this several years ago, attending

a conference on maternal feminism at Barnard College in New York. Participants were challenged to see if they could agree that, for many women, maternity is a defining part of their identity. We are at a defining moment. The civil rights movement has extended into todays pro-life movement and it just gained more ground by fate or providence than it could have by addresses and marches and witnesses, as much as they have continued to advance the cause of human life and dignity. That it happened by horrible high profile crimes against humanity was astonishing and unforeseen. But not unimaginable after forty years of experiencing the logic of abortion carried out, and what it really was all along.

fundamental role played by labor unions, whose existence is connected with the right to form associations or unions to defend the vital interests of workers employed in the various professions. The Church in the Modern World (CMW) clearly states: Among the basic rights of the human person is to be numbered the right of freely founding unions for working people. (CMW, #68) Unions grew up from the struggle of the workersworkers in general, but especially the industrial workersto protect their just rights vis--vis the entrepreneurs and the owners of the means of production [LE 20]. Such organizations, while pursuing their specific purpose with regard to the common good, are a positive influence for social order and solidarity, and are therefore an indispensable element of social life (CSDC, 305). But 120 years since Rerum Novarum which promoted the right of workers to organize associations, we are saddened that in Mactan Export Processing Zone in Cebu and in other Export Processing Zones in the country, there is not even a single viable labor union. Pope Benedict XVI exhorts, repeated calls issued within the Churchs social doctrine, beginning with Rerum Novarum, for the promotion of workers associations must be honored today even more than in the past (CV, 25). v. Workers have right to strike Connected to the right to form unions is the right to strike. The Churchs social doctrine recognizes the legitimacy of striking when it cannot be avoided, or

at least when it is necessary to obtain a proportionate benefit,[CCC 2435] when every other method for the resolution of disputes has been ineffectual.[GS 68, LE 20, CCC 2430] The encyclical On Human Work reminds us that one of the methods used by unions is the strike, or work stoppage a means that is recognized by Catholic social teaching as legitimate under the proper conditions and within proper limits. Workers should be assured of the right to strike without fear of penalty. (OHW, #20) Striking, one of the most difficult victories won by labor union associations, may be defined as the collective and concerted refusal on the part of workers to continue rendering their services, for the purpose of obtaining by means of such pressure exerted on their employers, the State or on public opinion either better working conditions or an improvement in their social status. Striking as a kind of ultimatum [LE 20] must always be a peaceful method for making demands and fighting for ones rights (CSDC, 304) The violation of the right to organize and to strike is frowned upon by Blessed John Paul II who said to the people in Bacolod, It has been the constant teaching of the Church that workers have a right to unite in free associations for the purpose of defending their interest and contributing as responsible partners to the common good. Such associations should be protected by appropriate laws which should guarantee the free pursuit of the social welfare of all their members and of the workers in general.

Based from the testimony of our brothers and sisters, we see a systematic violation of their fundamental rights: Contractualization has violated the workers right to gainful employment/ security of tenure. Unfair compensation and unsafe working conditions have dehumanized our toiling brothers and sisters. Moreover, the workers rights to organize labor unions and to strike are being grossly violated in the Philippine setting. 6. What are the conditions of our workers in the mining industry? What are the Church Social Teachings on mining? While utilizing God-given resources for the people needs, we must always remember that we are stewards of Gods creation. We must defend and protect Mother Nature and the human persons who live and work in this planet. Blessed John Paul II however lamented the tendency towards an ill-considered exploitation of the resources of creation. The conquest and exploitation of resources has become predominant and invasive, and today it has even reached the point of threatening the environments hospitable aspect: the environment as resource risks threatening the environment as home. Because of the powerful means of transformation offered by technological civilization, it sometimes seems that the balance between man and the environment has reached a critical point (JP 2, The Environment and Health, March 1997).

A central point of reference for every scientific and technological application is respect for men and women, which must also be accompanied by a necessary attitude of respect for other living creatures (CSDC, 459). 7. What are the Church Social Teachings on Immigration/Migrants? The CSDC says, In the modern world, where there are still grave inequalities between rich countries and poor countries, and where advances in communications quickly reduce distances, the immigration of people looking for a better life is on the increase. These people come from less privileged areas of the earth and their arrival in developed countries is often perceived as a threat to the high levels ofeconomic growth (CSDC, 297). Blessed John Paul II in Laborem Exercens said, Emigration in search for work must in no way become an opportunity for financial or social exploitation. As regards the work relationship, the same criteria should be applied to immigrant workers as to all other workers in the society concerned (LE, 23). Immigrants are to be received as persons and helped, together with their families, to become a part of societal life [CCC, 2241]. At the same time, conditions that foster increased work opportunities in peoples place of origin are to be promoted as much as possible [GS, 66]. 8. What are the Church Social Teachings on workers participation in social/ economic life?

a. Why is it that workers rights are violated? The teachings of the church point to the structures of sinwhich generate and perpetuate poverty, underdevelopment and degradation. These structures are built and strengthened by numerous concrete acts of human selfishness (CSDC, 332). To combat this social evil, everyone must work to promote the right of workers to participate in governance and decision-making in society. Everyone has the right to participate in economic life and the duty to contribute, each according to his own capacity to the progress of his own country and to that of the entire human family (CSDC, 333) . Blessed John XXIII reminded us of the urgency of giving everyone who works, his proper dignity by making him a true sharer in the work he does with others: every effort should be made that the enterprise become a community of persons in the dealings, activities and standing of all its members(PP, 28). b. How can the State promote common good and the rights of the workers? The State can encourage citizens and businesses to promote the common good by enacting an economic policy that fosters the participation of all citizens in the activities of production (CSDC, 354). It is in keeping with their dignity as persons that human beings should take an active part in government (PT, 73). 9. What is Church of the Poor? How can we become a Church of the Poor? The Second Plenary Council of the

Labor / B7

May They Be One

Help Put a Bible in Every Filipino Home

No. of Dioceses participating in the Bible Campaign 85 out of 86 Dioceses Bibles Distributed (Jan 1, 2013 - May 2, 2013): 83.131 copies Bibles Distributed by Languages - Bicol (2,041 cps.) Cebuano (19,100 cps.) English TEV (9,408 cps.), English NABRE (1,130 Hiligaynon (8,592 cps.), Ilocano (2,374 cps.), Pampango (603 cps.), Parishes/Communities served in 2031: 1,370 Total Bible Distribution: (Jan 2009- May 2, 2013): 891,750 cps. Target No. of Bibles for Distribution for 2013: 600,000 cps.

Bible Campaign

Members of the MTBO Advisory Committee: Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo DD, Fr. Oscar A. Alunday, Mr. Rod G. Cornejo, Mr. Rene E. Cristobal Sr., Dr. Philip C. Flores, Mr. Dante M. Lanorio, Fr. Antonio B. Navarrete, Dr. Natividad B. Pagadut, Mr. Albert S. Tanlimco and Atty. Jose Tale. Praise God for the growing number of people getting involved in the prayer movement for the May They Be One (MTBO) Bible campaign so that 5 million Filipino homes will receive a copy of the Bible. Pray for more parishes, schools and offices to host the Handwritten Unity Bible activity, (an MTBO program,) in a nationwide multisectoral celebration of Gods Word. To learn more about how you can be part of the Campaign and make significant change, call Helen or Edna at PBS 524-5337, ECBA 5279386 or visit www.bible.org.ph and www.ecba-cbcp.com. Donations can be made by making a deposit to the following bank accounts: PBS-MTBO Account #3903-064934 (BPI Sta. Mesa Branch) Fax deposit slip to 521-5803 or ECBACBCP Account #0251-021376 (BPITayuman Branch) Fax deposit slip to 527-9386. For credit card payments go to PBS website (www. bible.org.ph)

When the Bible becomes a family affair

WHEN it comes to relationships, the Garcia family of Caloocan City could be described as a fragmented unit. Forty-nine year old Carolina Garcia had problems with pride and temper and would have frequent arguments with her husband Jose and her children. Jose, for his part, was so engrossed with his job as a factory worker that he hardly spent quality time at home. Even Sundays became work days for Jose. Praying together was out of the familys activity list. But a wake-up call came when Jose suffered a strokean experience that stressed the Garcias both emotionally and financially. In the midst of the turmoil, Carolina became a recipient of a May They Be One (MTBO) Bible during Bible distribution at the Soldiers of Christ ministry. Reading the MTBO Bible convicted Carolina of her short temper and pride, especially in relating with her family. Carolina shared the Bible to her husband, and he also began reading the Word. The messages Jose got from his Bible reading made him realize that his stroke was caused largely by worries and an unforgiving spirit. The Bible reading built up Joses faith to the point that he got completely healed from the stroke. Capping the family experiences, the Garcia daughter, 22-year old Jennifer, said We are happy that God has brought peace, unity and understanding to our family. She said that reading the MTBO Bible has brought hope, healing and restoration to the Garcia family.

The Garcia Family with their May They Be One Bible

Addie Mena/CNA

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Statements

B5
Stop the DMCI Coal Plant in Palawan No to Coal in the Philippines
Joint Statement of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), SANLAKAS and Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu (FDC-Cebu)
WE, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), SANLAKAS and Freedom from Debt Coalition-Cebu (FDC-Cebu), a broad movement of basic sectors, grassroots communities and civil society organizations leading the joint struggles, campaigns and actions for climate justice, are one with Palaweos and the Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE) in its call to resist the establishment of coal-fired power plants in Palawan. We firmly believe that nothing good can come out of the proposed DMCI coal plant project. This project will not only directly put in great danger an endemic and critically-endangered bird speciesthe Palawan Cockatoo or Katalait will expose communities to unnecessary health and environmental hazards. The power plant will be built in Barangay Panacan, Narra, less than a kilometer away from Rassa Island, the birds habitat. Risks and threats from the coal plant Coal is a dirty and harmful source of energy. Once burned it produces chemicals that cause acid rain and emit carbon dioxide (CO2), a known greenhouse gas (GHG) responsible for global warming which fuels climate change. We do not subscribe to DMCIs argument that it will employ clean coal technology by using Circulating Fluidized Bed Technology (CFBT), thus addressing the potential bad effects posed by the coal plant. CFBT is ONLY capable to some degree in eliminating sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, gases that are released during combustion; and which are responsible for acid rains. It does not address other derivatives like carbon monoxide, mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, and other heavy metals which are scientifically proven to be hazardous and lethal to all living organisms, humans included. Naga, Cebus experience with CFBT shows that the socalled clean coal technology produces four times more coal ash compared to conventional coal plants.

(Note: the following two statements were issued specifically for the May 13, 2013 elections. We are reprinting them for the catechetical value they containEds)

Keep the Fire on the Altar Burning

A Pastoral Letter on the National Elections 2013 The fire must always be burning on the altar. (Leviticus 6,6)

Choose God! Vote Good!

A Pastoral Statement of the Diocese of Pasig
lipunan, lalo na ang pag-aangat ng kalagayan ng mga mahihirap. Duty-bound to protect the integrity of creation and be their guardians: laban sa illegal logging, irresponsible mining at anumang immoral na gawain na pang-aabuso at pangwawasak ng ating mga likas-yaman. Isang paalala mula sa yaman ng aral ng pananampalataya: It must be noted also that a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law which contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, no. 4). Itoy nangangahulugan na anumang adhikain ng isang Katolikong kandidato ay hindi maaaring sumalungat sa kabuuan ng katuruan ng ating Simbahan. 2. Vote G.O.O.D. Vote candidates who: Govern with transparency and accountability: lalo na sa paggamit ng pondo ng bayan. Oppose any opportunity of graft and corruption: tulad ng suhol, lagay at komisyon na nakasisira ng kanilang reputasyon. Organize their campaigns with integrity and fairness: hindi sa tulong ng pambibili ng boto at paninira ng kalaban, kundi may malinaw at maaasahang plataporma tungo sa kabutihan ng mga tao. Desire only what is best for our nation: hindi ang para sa sarili o sa kanyang pamilya lamang, at handang magpakumbabang isuko ang posisyon at kapangyarihan kapag lumitaw na ang tunay na pinili ng bayan at binigyan ng tiwalang maglingkod ng nakararami. Para sa inyong pagninilay mula sa mga aral ng pananampalataya: Todays democratic societies... call for new and fuller forms of participation in public life by Christian and non-Christian citizens alike. Indeed, all can contribute, by voting in elections for lawmakers and government officials, and in other ways as well, to the development of political solutions and legislative choices which, in their opinion, will benefit the common good. (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Doctrinal Note on IT is election time once again. In the past and even now, there have been pastoral letters and statements written by your Catholic Bishops either as a conference or as a shepherd of his diocese to guide the catholic populace on how to responsibly choose and vote those who will serve us in public office. Our sacred right to vote demands that we elect for public service, both in the national or local levels, persons who choose God as their core principle in whatever they do and who vote for the common Good instead of their self-interest, all for the benefit of the Filipino people. As your bishop, allow me to offer some simple guidelines in discerning your choice of public servants. 1. Choose G.O.D. Choose candidates who are: God fearing: nangangahulugan sila ay Pro-life, Pro-Family at ProMarriage. Offering their time, talent and treasure for the needy: hindi sa makasariling interes, lalo na ang pagpapayaman sa puwesto, kundi para sa tunay na paglilingkod sa tinaguriang the least, the last and the lost sa ating Some Questions Regarding the Participation of Catholics in Political Life, no. 1) Samakatuwid, ang pakikilahok at pagboto sa darating na eleksyon ay isang magandang pagkakataon upang makatulong tayo sa pambansang pagbabago at sa pagsulong ng kapakanan ng lahat ng mamamayang Pilipino. Choose GOD and Vote GOOD. Nawa ang liwanag ng ating konsiyensya, na walang iba kundi ang Panginoong Hesukristo ang gumabay upang pumili at bumoto tayo ng mga kandidatong may karapatang maglingkod para lalong umangat ang bayang Pilipinas, at harinawa ay maging ilaw at pag-asa para sa ibang bansa sa buong daigdig. NawasiMaria,angImmaculada Concepcion nananalangin: Ako ang lingkod ng Panginoon. Maganap nawa sa akin ayon sa iyong Salita (Lk 1:38) ang maging inspirasyon ng ating magiging mga lingkod bayan at ng bawat isa sa atin. +MYLOHUBERTC.VERGARA, DD Bishop of Pasig Memorial of St. Joseph the Worker 1 May 2013 Truth of the matter At present there is no real and immediate power shortage foreseen in Palawan. According to Palawan Alliance for Clean Energy (PACE), the forecast demand growth is grossly overestimated and ambiguous. PACE adds that the perceived increase in demand by Palawan Electric Cooperative (PALECO), which was 12% is almost double of what they initially forecasted which is only 7.09%. In fact National Electrification Administration (NEA) gave a much lower figure of 4.55%. But still with that overestimated figure the current capacity of all power plants in Palawan is enough to meet the provinces power demand. The DMCI project will only lock up the people of Palawan to a more expensive source of power in the long run. PACE reveals that the cost per kilowatt hour generated by DMCIs coal plant was pegged at P 12.80/kWh for the first year dipping to P 9.38/kWH for the succeeding year. In contrast, tapping renewable source of energy would prove to be a more economical and environmentally acceptable option. A potential source is hydropower in Langogan in Puerto Princesa and Narra, both capable of generating power at a lower cost of P 6.56/kWh. Call off the coal mining and coal plant projects. We view these developments in Palawan as part of a grand design unfolding all across the country today. The Governments Philippine Energy Plan (PEP) for 2008-2030 is providing the impetus to the coal industry as a major source of energy. All in all, from 9 operational coal plants to an additional 16 already in the pipeline, together with 60 areas approved for coal mining, plus 80 small-scale coal mines, and 30 coal areas offered by the government to
Coal / B7

Photo courtesy of PMCJ

Dear People of God, On May 13, 2013, we shall be casting our votes. We will do it because it is our patriotic duty as Filipino citizens. We will do it because it is our sacred duty as Christians. Let us then do it out of love for our country and in the spirit of obedience to God. Yet, this vital duty seems to be lost on our part. We really no longer do it because we love our country and our God. Election becomes an occasion of sin. For instance, vote-buying and vote-selling are rampant. Election has become a lucrative business both for the politicians and the citizens. Resorting to violence has become a logical option for those whose power lies in guns, goons and gold. These and many more are indicators of an alarming reality crying out for change. The words of the Philippine bishops continue to echo today. Philippine politics, the way it has been and is still being practiced, is possibly the biggest bane in our life as a nation, and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving full human development (Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics, CBCP 1997) What shall we do then? We continue what we have begun and what have been doing always as a Church. We engage in the educational task inherent in our mission of integral evangelization. Priests will continue to preach the Gospel as it is lived in the context of our life as Filipino citizens. Parents will fulfill their roles as teachers to their children by demonstrating, especially through their deeds, the sacredness of voting. Young people will be mobilized to vote and to be involved in the work of voters-education and poll watching. Voters Assistance Desks shall be organized in all parishes and be deployed in polling precinct. Our media arms, especially Radyo Veritas and Veritas TV, shall be utilized to ensure that accurate reports of election incidents be given and be acted upon with dispatch. The Commission on Social Concerns will steer our efforts and coordinate with the different commissions and parishes in our duty to help ensure honest and peaceful elections. But we must do something more! We

must ensure that the fire on the altar is kept burning. In the Old Testament, one of the duties of the temple priest is to keep the fire in the altar burning (cf. Lev. 6:6). That fire is sign of Gods presence in the midst of His people. The fire is also an assurance of Gods promises and His faithfulness to it. The fire displays Gods power. The fire proclaims that. He is a living God who hears the prayer of those who call upon His name (cf. Gen. 15:17-21; Ex 14:24; 1 Kg 18:23-29). To keep the fire burning is our duty as a priestly people. We must keep God alive in our life as a nation. We have to put God back in our manner of exercising our political rights. God must be at the center of our choices and must pervade our consciousness. In this way, we keep the fire at the altar burning and we keep it through our life of prayer. Thus, I make this invitation to every parish, family, group and individual. Let us before, during and after the election move from the altar to the polling places and back to the altar. Starting on May 10, Triduum Masses will be held in all parishes for this intention. On May 12, Sunday, we shall ask the children, who normally ask for blessing at the end of the mass, to give their blessing instead to voters so that the latter may choose rightly and vote for the sake of their future. On this eve of the elections, I ask that in every home, a candle be lit at the family altar where every member will gather to pray the Holy Rosary for the same intention. In all parishes, vigils with a Holy Hour will be conducted. A formation module for young voters and volunteers, Kabataang Bayani, may be utilized for this occasion. I ask the Commissions on Worship, Family and Life and the Youth, both in the parochial and diocesan levels to coordinate these activities. On May 13, the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, I ask you to attend Mass in your parishes before you go to the polling places. I ask every parish priest to open his parish church so that people can visit the Blessed Sacrament and ask for inspiration, guidance and grace before they cast their votes. Through prayer, we keep the fire at the altar burning. Let our votes as Catholics be

defined by this fire that comes from above. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit dwelling in the hearts of the disciples of Jesus. Borrowing the words used by His Grace, Rolando J. Tria Tirona, O.C.D., DD, Archbishop of Caceres (Pastoral Letter on Caceres Voters Education Program, 24 March 2013), and adding some words of my ownthis is what should define the vote of the Catholic faithful FIRE! A Catholic Vote is FREE. It is not duly influenced by money nor coerced by fear. It respects the free will of a man and a woman. A Catholic Vote is INFORMED. It knows how to discern good from evil, the just from the unjust, the truth from lies. It flows from an understanding of our Christian faith and its implication to our moral life. A Catholic Vote is RENEWED. It is exercised by a person whose heart finds its center in the heart of Christ, the source of every renewal. Thus, each ballot cast by a Catholic is a potent force for the renewal of society. Lastly, a Catholic Vote is EVANGELIZED. When a Catholic goes to the precincts, he proclaims the Gospel by standing for the crucial issues of life and justice in behalf of the unborn and the importance of the family, the dignity of the poor and the future of our young people. A Catholic Vote is inflamed by the FIRE on the altar of Goda FREE, INFORMED, RENEWED and EVANGELIZED conscience vote. In this Year of Faith, let us confess our Christian Faith in the polling precincts. Let our faith as Catholics make its mark in our ballot. Together with our Ina, Our Lady of Salvation, let us pray for the outpouring of the fire of the Holy Spirit upon us. We say with Her, Come, Holy Spirit, enkindle in us the fire of your divine love and renew the face of the earth! Given this 7th of May 2013 at the Diocesan Chancery in Legazpi City. +JOEL Z. BAYLON Bishop of Legazpi Rev. Fr. Joseph A. Salando Chancellor-Secretary

Natalie Hazel Quimlat

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Ref lections

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

The Church accomplishes its mission through the Holy Spirit

An Exegetical Reflection on the Gospel of the Solemnity of Pentecost; John 20:19-23, May 18, 2013
Gospel (John 20:9-23), the giving of the Holy Spirit in John signifies the commissioning of the Church.Jesus sent the disciples on a mission: I send you (20:21b). Although the commissioning is placed in a post-resurrection setting, it really picks up a theme in the Last Supper Discourse in which Jesus prayed for the consecration of the disciples, whom he would send into the world (17:17-19). In the understanding of the Johannine community, the sending of the disciples is patterned and grounded on the sending of the Son by the Father: As the Father has sent me, so I send you (20:21).As Jesus was accomplishing his mission in the world, the Father was present in him, in his words and deeds: Whoever looks on me is seeing him who sent me (12:45).In the same way, those who see the disciples, the Lords representatives, will also see the Son:He who accepts anyone I send accepts me (13:20).Thus, Jesus is also present in the words and deeds of the Church, which the disciples represent.The three (Father, Son, and Church) are stitched together.In much the same way that Jesus came to do the will of the Father, so the Church cannot detach itself from Jesus in fulfilling its mission.It must remain faithful to him. The Church will accomplish its mission through the reception of the Holy Spirit:He breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit (20:22b). The disciples are endowed with the Holy Spirit who consecrates them for the mission:As you have sent me into the

By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, SThD

PENTECOST is not a distinctively Christian celebration.Originally, it was an agricultural feast that celebrated the end of the grain harvest, much like the fiesta celebration in many villages in the Philippines in honor of St. Isidore the Farmer. Later, however, it came to be associated in the Old Testament tradition with the Exodus and the giving of the Covenant.In Christianity, it acquired a new significance as it became the day in which the Spirit of Jesus was given to the Church.But even in the New Testament, the giving of the Holy Spirit admits of various views and meanings. Of course, these differences reflect the diversity of the theological interests of the authors.And most of us are familiar with the Lukan account in the 1stReading (Acts 2:1-11) whose words and images hark back to the giving of the Law at Sinai.For Luke, Pentecost is the day when Gods people, represented by the disciples, were reconstituted, and empowered to mediate salvation to all peoples. John, however, has a different theological concern. He already exhibits a different view of the happening by collapsing the division of the mystery into Death, Resurrection, Ascension and Pentecost to a single Easter event.For him, the Death, Resurrection and Ascension of Jesus are bound up with the outpouring of the Spirit, for these redemptive deeds are essentially one.And as can be gleaned from todays

www.catholictradition.org/

world, so I have sent them into the world; I consecrate myself for their sakes now that they may be consecrated in the truth (17:18-19).Because of the Spirit, they will even do greater things (14:12), have a more penetrating understanding of Jesus teaching (14:26), and they will be able to carry out the task even in a hostile world (15:25-26). It is interesting to note that standing in awe at current development, many think that the success of the Churchs mission depends on the use of technology, money, alliance with governments, and wisdom of missionaries.Of course, these may be important.But what is decisive is the Holy Spirit. Without his power, all efforts will not succeed.John Paul II made a similar observation in hisNovo millennio ineunte: There is the temptation which perennially besets every spiritual journey and pastoral work: that of thinking that the results depend on our ability to act and to plan.God of course asks us to really cooperate with his grace, and therefore invites us to invest all our resources of intelligence and energy in serving the cause of the Kingdom.But it is fatal to forget that without Christ we can do nothing (Cf John 15:5).The Holy Spirits power alone is life-giving.When God breathed into the nostril of the man he formed out of the clay, Adam became a living being (Gen 2:7). What is the mission?Simply to celebrate liturgy or confine itself to the sacristy, as some critics often argue about the Churchs mission? According to
Holy Spirit / B7

An Exegetical Reflection on the Gospel of the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity John 16:12-15, May 26, 2013
By Msgr. Lope Robredillo, SThD C.
THAT people in ancient times easily believed in the existence of an intelligent being who is different from earthly beings is reasonable enough.Because they were confronted with a universe that was beyond their grasp, they naturally posited the existence of someone from whom come what they see and what they hear.But his existence was not a problem.The problem was how to discover the secrets of this intelligent being.Because it was important to get in touch with him in order to have good health, life, solution to many questions and other things which they were not capable of making or acquiring, ancient people had recourse to dreams, omens, divination, casting lots, and astrology, among others.It was thought that by these techniques, they could discover the mind of this intelligent being. But the Christian God, our God, is not a God who hides his face from men.On the contrary, he is a God of revelation. He discloses himself and his plan of salvation to man. In communicating to man his plan to save him, God likewise reveals who he himself is to mana Trinity. The belief that there are three persons in one God is distinctive of Christianity; other revealed religions, like Judaism and Islam, do not have this belief.In Christianity, however, it is one of the fundamental beliefs of religion; it belongs to the heart of what Christianity means. But belief is one thing; explaining the belief is another.And efforts to explain it have been less successful.Of course, traditional theology, framed in Greek categories of thinking, uses such concepts as substance, persons, hypostasis and relations to unravel the mystery.But while these make sense to one who has studied in the university, the attempt is hardly intelligible to the average modern reader who has not been schooled in scholastic theology. In todays Gospel (John 16:1215), however, which forms part of Jesus farewell discourse at the last supper, John provides us with a dynamic approach to the Trinity, which focuses on the roles of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in the work of revelation and redemption. In John, God does not communicate himself except through the Son.The revelation

The Trinity in revelation and redemption

that comes from God is the Sons sharing in the possession of the Father: Everything that the Father has is mine (16:15).At his disposal the Father places everything for his revelation: The Father loves the Son and has given everything over to him (3:35; 13:3).In John 5:1947, the relationship between the Father and the Son is even more fully explained, and the divine power of the Son is shown in dynamic terms. The Father so commits to him life-giving power that every act of the Son is an act of the Father: For the Father loves the Son and everything the Father does he shows him Just as the Father raises the dead and grants life, so the Son grants life to those to whom he wishes Just as the Father possesses life in himself, so has he granted it to

Bishop Pat Alo

ENCOUNTERS

RH Law controversies

Trinity / B7

Empowering to make the impossible a reality

Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2013
partial symptom of a much deeper and more serious malaise: the pride and selfishness which sets man against man, group against group, nation against nation. Those who reject the authority of God soon become the oppressors of their kind. It is personal and social sin in its endless ramification of tentacles that continually threaten to choke individuals and societies. A shattered and scattered mankind endlessly renews the causes of its own undoing. Nor is sin a cause only of division among individuals and nations. It is also a cause of struggle and division, even within each individual sinner as it unleashes in him/ her the quest for physical pleasure against spiritual values, and sows discord in the basic orientation of every person, as St. Paul pointed out (see Rom 7:15-24), and as each of us knows very well. Only God can rid mankind of the plague of sin in all its forms and effects. His rescue

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

AFTER the sin of Adam and Eve, and the universal perversion that enveloped mankind and which led God to purify it through the Flood, the episode of the Tower of Babel was the third major disaster in human history. The construction of that tower intended to reach the sky and to make a name for its builders was no innocent architectural blunder. Rather, it was a proud revolt against Gods sovereignty and an attempt to supplant Him by organizing a godless society in which earthly values were supposed to be everything, to the exclusion of transcendent ones. The catastrophic result of that plan was of such a magnitude that the whole of mankind has ever since staggered under its crushing weight. The proliferation of languages mentioned in the Book of Genesis is just a

plan includes two interrelated stages: redemption through Jesus Christ; healing process and sanctification through the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ reconciled mankind with God and broke down the barriers separating Jews from Gentiles, man from man, and soul from body. (See Rom 5:10 and Eph 2:13-18.) The Spirit makes the power of Christs Redemption present and operative in all corners of the world and for all generations, and thereby undo all forms of devastation produced by sin. The Spirit is the one who heals the wounds caused by conflicting interests and binds into a harmonious whole the variety of human resources and efforts. It is for such a purpose that the Risen Christ breathed his Spirit on his Apostles and sent it as a mighty wind to the whole community of believers on Pentecost Day. (See Jn 20:2223 and Acts 2:1-4.) Thus he gave the whole
Empowering / B7

THE Catholic Church in the Philippines through the Bishops Conference has expressed its clear opposition to the RH Bill/ Law. Speaking in behalf of the Conference, Archbishop Socrates Villegas wrote in the 2012 Pastoral Letter of the CBCP, dated December 15, 2012: On behalf of the President of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), currently out of the country, I reiterate the collective discernment of the Philippine Bishops that the RH Bill if passed into law can harm our nation. The RH Bill is being gift-wrapped to look like a gift for maternal health care. It is not so. It will lead to greater crimes against women. We congratulate the one hundred four (104) congressmen and women who voted NO to the RH Bill. You have voted courageously, despite all pressures, to stand up for what is right and true The truth is that to be pro-child, pro-mother and pro-poor, we must resist all threats against them. This is justice. Stand up for it; defend it; do not be swayed by worldly pleasures, and be the champion of the people who voted for you. God knows and sees what you are doing. Basically the main reason for the Churchs stand is that she stands in defense of the basic rights of man, which are the rights to life, liberty and property. And therefore those measures that go in contradiction to that basic respect for life or cause harm to the life of the human being will certainly fall under that basic 5th of Gods ten commandments: You shall not kill (cf. Deut. 5:17). We must be honest with ourselves and not deceive ourselves with other worldly interests or attractions and excuses that may cost us the eternal damnation of our souls. As Archbishop Villegas mentions in his statement above God knows and sees what you are doing.

Bo Sanchez

SOULFOOD

Your weakness is a gift

IN the Bible, St. Paul boasted of his Thorn in the Flesh. It was his weakness. But whatever it was, about this weakness, he said these immortal, mind-boggling words. At first I didnt think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; its all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) How can your weakness be gift? Your weakness blesses you in 3 great ways First, my weaknesses humble me. It makes me depend in God even more. And I see how He uses me mightily despite all my weaknesses! That is why the Bible says, God chooses what the world considers weak in order to shame the powerful. (1 Corinthians 1:27) Second, my weaknesses make me more merciful towards others. I believe that someone who easily judges others hasnt yet accepted his own weaknesses. If he had, he wouldnt be judgmental. But because he hasnt, he projects his self-anger towards other people. Third, my weaknesses bond me with others in a way that nothing else can. When I share the story of my past and my addiction to someone else, I disrobe my defenses and become vulnerable to him. In this way, I also give permission to that person to disrobe his defenses as well. Friend, thank God for your weaknesses, your struggles, and your problems. They are great gifts that will bless you and others.

Holy Trinity
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
OUR belief in the TrinityOne God in three Personsis no vain fantasizing about a remote mathematical riddle. Rather, it is the humble and grateful acceptance in faith of the great mystery of Divine Love which concerns and encompasses us all. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, bound together into one Godhead by their eternal, mutual love, are also related to each one of us and all mankind. The Blessed Trinity is the source of all that we are and the fulfillment of all that we aspire to be. The fundamental relationship between the three divine Persons and us can be expressed through one common denominator: loving concern and care. But such a shared concern and care, filled with love for us, takes on a different and complementary role in the divine Persons, according to the characteristics of Each of them. Thus, the Fathers concern and care for us started with creationespecially our own and reached its peak in the gift of His Son and the Holy Spirit. The love of the Father accompanies us each moment, till we reach

May 26, 2013

the end for which He created us: eternal life in Him. The loving concern and care of the divine Word is particularly evident in the work of our Redemption, which started with the Incarnation, reached its peak in his death and resurrection, and is continually made available to all men through the ministry of the Church. We experience the loving concern and care of the Holy Spirit when He makes us members of the Body of Christ and adopted sons and daughters of the Father. He is the one who consoles and protects us; who

leads us to the knowledge of all truth. He is the one who fills our hearts with faith, hope, and love. He fills our lives with meaning and holiness and empowers us to live according to the Gospel. All this the three divine Persons do for us not in isolation or competition among themselves, but in beautiful cooperation and harmony, for they are but one God, who has only one aim: our eternal happiness. The mystery of the Blessed Trinity, then, concerns us all, very personally and very deeply.
Holy Trinity / B7

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Social Concerns
values and the good people who make it happen. We recently celebrated Fair Trade Week and now in May, the World Fair Trade Day. What we are celebrating is the fact that millions of people around the world are involved one way or the other in producing, trading and consuming foods and products that are produced under strict rules and criteria so that only good comes from it. I can tell you a lot about the benefits of Fair Trade in the lives of the poor because I have made Preda Fair Trade an important part of my missionary work in the Philippines for the past forty years. Juanito was a trained bag maker in a local commercial factory but was fired out after he asked for higher pay for his high skills. He then had to live with his poor family scavenging on a smokey mountain of garbage, eating throwaway food until the social workers of Preda Fair Trade found him and offered to set him up in a small bag sewing enterprise. He got a Preda sewing machine and orders for school back packs. He got a good pay and benefits, medical insurance and help to build a house from the Preda development assistance fund. At Preda Fair Trade for example, fair and just payments are made on time to the producers, and social benefits such as educational assistance, medical insurance and profit sharing bonus payments are made. Then customers and World Shops get high quality Preda products like healthy chemical free dried mangos and drinks and other fairly traded products. The customers and World Shop managers and volunteers selling fairly traded products are happy to be getting great quality food. Preda dried mangos are produced in a way that gives the customers the satisfaction of a right conscience. They are happy in the knowledge that they are doing the right thing and glad to pay a few more pence or cents knowing that the exploitation of women and children is totally banned and eliminated in the production of the goods that they purchase. They are part of the Preda social action that saves women and children from the evil forms of trade like sex slavery and human trafficking. When they ask for and buy the Preda products, they help to free children from subhuman prisons.

B7

By Fr. Shay Cullen

Celebrating the positive power of fair trade

THERE are hundreds of thousands of good people around the world trying to make a difference in the lives of the poor and exploited people of this planet. They are working to see that the poor rise above subsistence living and have a dignified human and prosperous life. These good people are deeply concerned about the lives of the poor, the exploited and trafficked children, and they want to save the environment from poisonous chemicals and destruction and reverse the damaging effects of climate change. These are the enlightened customers of Fair Trade who use their shopping money to make a positive and meaningful difference in the lives of thousands of poor villagers in Africa and Asia. These are the customers of Fair Trade products and by using their consumer power and choose to buy a Fair Trade product they can bring about justice, respect and happiness in the lives of those who have less in life. This time of the year, we celebrate these life-enhancing
Labor / B4

In the Philippines, I set out to implement, through Fair Trade, the spiritual and social teaching of Jesus of Nazareth to help bring about a more just society. In the past years, a strong nationwide band of dedicated Filipinos have worked ceaselessly, many risking and losing their lives, to change it. Positive economic change and social improvement has come slowly. Too slowly and

much more has yet to come. Fair Trade has been one of the ways that has greatly lessened the dire hunger and want in many homes and villages. But poverty and injustice is not over. The rich are getting richer. Yet for all those hundreds of small mango farmers and producers in Preda Fair Trade, I have seen the joy and happiness of the small mango farmers when they get paid a

higher price for the mango fruits from Preda Fair Trade and get a bonus after harvest. You can see it in their smiles and shining eyes. Then some pay debts, others use the higher earnings and bonuses to start a small piggery, a village store or a chicken raising project. Fair Trade is a realistic way to help people to help themselves grow out of poverty. There is much to celebrate and much more to do.

Holy Spirit / B6

Philippines (PCP II) asserts that the local church should be a church of the poor. The encyclical Economic Justice for All (EJA) guides us how to concretize this challenge: As followers of Christ, we are challenged to make a fundamental option for the poorto speak for the voiceless, to defend the defenseless, to assess life styles, policies, and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor. As Christians, we are called to respond to the needs of all our brothers and sisters, but those with the greatest needs require the greatest response. (EJA , #16) Furthermore, Pope John Paul II reminds us that love for others, and especially for the poor, is made concrete by promoting justice. (The Hundredth Year, #5) Blessed John Paul II told the poor people in Tondo, 30 years ago, The Church herself, the Church in Asia, in the Philippines, will heed the call of the Beatitudes and be the Church of the poor because she must do what Jesus did and proclaim the Gospel to the por. Defending the human dignity of the poor and their hope for a human future is not a luxury for the Church, nor is it a strategy of opportunism, nor a means for currying favor with the masses. It is her
Trinity / B6

duty because it is God who wishes all human beings to live in accordance with the dignity that he bestowed on them. There is a need for solidarity movements among and with the workers. The church is firmly committed to this cause, in fidelity to Christ, and to be truly the church of the poor (LE, 8). Failing to fulfill the great commandment to love our neighbor is a sin of omission. One may sin by greed and the desire for power, but one may also sin in these matters through fear, indecision, and cowardice! (SRS, 47) 10. What is the role of the bishops, priests, religious and laity in addressing social problems/issues? a. Our church doctrines say In the particular Church, the primary responsibility for the pastoral commitment to evangelize the social realities falls to the Bishop, assisted by his priests, religious men and women, and the laity. With special reference to local realities, the Bishop is responsible for promoting the teaching and diffusion of the Churchs social doctrine, which he should do through appropriate institutions (CSDC, 539). b. Through the servant-leadership of the priest, the people of God are inspired

and formed to become an evangelizing and prophetic community. He makes real to the Christian community Christs love of preference for the poor (PCP 2, 527 & 525). c. An urgent dimension is for the religious to have a passion for justice. Injustice must be attacked at its roots which are in the human heart by transforming these attitudes and habits which beget injustice and foster the structures of oppression (PCP 2, 481). d. The lay faithful are called through their words and works, their engagement in each and every work and business of the earth, in each and every circumstance of their existenceto permeate the world with the teachings of Christ and to animate the temporal order with His Spirit (PCP 2, 427). The lay faithful are called to heal and transform society, to prepare the temporal order for the final establishment of the Kingdom of God (PCP2, 435).
References: Bishop Gerardo A. Alminaza, DD. Churchs Social Teachings on Human Work, talk given on the 30th Anniversary of Laborem Exercens, National Conference of Church People and Workers, September 13, 2011. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1994.

Documents of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines (PCP II), 1973. Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 2004 Pope Benedict XIV. Caritas in Veritate, 2006 Pope John XXIII. Mater et Magistra (Christianity and Social Prorgess), 1961 ________. Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth), 1963 Pope John Paul II, Centesimus Annus, 1991 ________. Laborem Exercens (On Human Work), 1981 ________. Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (On Social Concern), 1988 ________. The Environment and Health, 1997 Pope Leo XIII. Rerum Novarum, 1891 Pope Paul VI. Evangelii Nuntiandi (Evangelization in the Modern World), 1975 ________. Octogesima Adveniens (A Call to Action), 1971 ________. Populorum Progressio (The Development of Peoples), 1967 Pope Pius XI. Quadragesimo Anno (Reconstruction of the Social Order), 1931 Synod of Bishops. Justitia in Mundo (Justice in the World), 1971 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Economic Justice for All, 1986. ________. Communities of Salt and Light, 1993. Vatican II Document. Gaudium et Spes (The Church in the Modern World)

John, the Churchs mission is to continue the mission of the Son (John 20:21).The Church does not engage in a new work. The mission of Jesus is simply carried out and interpreted in various times, places and situations. As Jesus did, so the Church must bring life: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die but may haveeternal life (3:16); I came that they may havelifeand have it to the full (10:10).The Church must bring this message of life to individuals, communities, and the world. By life, John of course means neither natural life nor everlasting life but eternal lifethe vital and intimate relationship with the Father and the Son, which comes from faith in Jesus and being obedient to his word.As such, it is eschatological, and one who receives thislifedwells in the sphere where God dwells.This is life in its highest degree. What destroys that life is not death, because it survives bodily death but sin. (This is the Johannine equivalent to the Synoptic focus on the Kingdom of God which appears only thrice in John.)And the Church will be able to give that life because the Spirit himself, who gives power to the Church and its mission, gives life, and is the source of eternal life.

Empowering / B6

Holy Trinity / B6

Coal / B5

the Son to have life in himself (5:21-26). The Father bears witness to the Son especially through the works which he does through him: These very works which I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the Father who sent me has himself given testimony on my behalf (5:36b-37a).(It is for this reason that later theological dispute would assert that the Father and the Son are one in nature and in operation.) Because the Son is the fullness of the Fathers revelation, what then is the role of the Holy Spirit in Gods communication?In saying that I have much more to tell you (16:12), Jesus does not mean that there will be further revelation after his resurrection. Rather, what he means is that it will be only after his rising from the dead that there will befull understandingof his revelation. And it is the role of the Holy Spirit to guide the Church to the depths and heights and the fullness of Gods revelation in Jesus: When he comes, however, being the Spirit of Truth, he will guide you to all truth (16:13a). The account of the early Church provides an example.An Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace of the Ethiopians, had come on pilgrimage to Jerusalem.While returning home, sitting on the carriage, he read a passage of Isaiah, but could not grasp it.It was not until Philip, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, guided the eunuch that he was able to understand that the Suffering Servant in Isa 53:7-8 referred to Jesus (Acts 8:26-35). The Holy Spirit does not mediate any new revelation, therefore. Instead, he merely draws on the fullness of that revelation in Jesus; what he conveys to the Church he receives from the Son: he will take what is mine and declare it to you (John 16:14). (In

later theological reflection, this gave rise to the dispute on whether the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.) He interprets and applies what he receives from Jesus to each coming generation in terms of its significance for the contemporary situation in the Church:he will speak only what he hears, and he will declare the things to come (16:13). That is why when the Magisterium, the Church as Teacher, proposes to the faithful something on doctrine or morals, it does not enunciate a new doctrine, but only interprets for the present generation what has already been said in the Sacred Scriptures. To conclude: when speaking of the roles of the Trinity, it has been customary to say that the Father creates, the Son redeems, and the Holy Spirit sanctifies.This probably explains why images of the Trinity portrays the Father with extended hands, with the sun, the moon and the stars behind him, as if he were in the act of creating, the Son crucified on the cross, which is the wood of redemption, and the Holy Spirit as bright dove with extended rays. Strictly speaking, however, this cannot be accepted without many nuances.Creation, for example, may be attributed to the Father, but it is clear that all things came through [the Son] (1:3) in the power of Gods Spirit (Gen 1:2; 2:7). The same may be said of redemption and holiness.Thus the Eucharistic Prayer III:All life, all holiness, comes from you [Father], through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, by the working of the Holy Spirit.But todays Gospel provides us with an easier way of understanding the Trinity in terms of the role of each person in Gods communication: the Father communicates to men through the Son in the Holy Spirit.

Church, represented by its initial members, the unifying bond that alone can reconcile people with God, among themselves and within themselves. From that moment on, Pentecost was revealed to the world as the anti-Babel event. And since the root of all mankinds disasters is sin, the Spirit is given to the Church as the anti-sin power. The Spirit of love and unity counteracts the negative effects of hatred, division, rejection, exploitation, and disorderly passions . . . through the balm of forgiveness, trust, and harmony. He builds up the new man by instilling in every human being a new faith, a new hope, a new love . . . Thus is the history of humankind transformed into a constant effort to undo the disaster of Babel, and to build up the Kingdom of harmony and love which Christ came to establish and which will find its completion in the New Jerusalem of the world to come.

We are fortunate to have come to know it already in this life. Its very revelation through Jesus is a further sign of the Trinitys loving care for mankind. Such a wonderful tripersonal love of God demands an adequate response on our part. The first form of response is acceptance of this mystery with humble faith and gratitude, even when it hurts our intellectual pride. The second is the desire to honor each of the three divine Persons in our thoughts, attitudes, words, and deeds. The third form of response is our commitment to love the Blessed Trinity with all our heart, and above all, as God alone deserves to be loved. Such a free, faith-driven response will be rewarded a thousandfold not only in the life to come, but also during our days on earth. Nothing can fill more our hearts with peace and contentment, than the certitude that the Blessed Trinity loves us and lives in us.

future investors, we can now clearly see the direction being pursued by the Government continued reliance on coal to fuel the countrys energy requirements. Undermining adaptive capacity Relying on dirty and harmful energy sources like coal will in the long run destroy the adaptive capacity of communities to confront the negative impacts of climate change. This is very true in the Philippines as shown in the experiences in the aftermath of Sendong and Pablo. We call on the people of Palawan to resist this project and any similar attempts to invest in carbon-intensive technologies. We call upon the Aquino Government to immediately implement a moratorium on all coal mining operations nationwide, to shift investment to coal plants in favor of clean, accessible renewable energy for

the people. The national governments energy plans must ensure that power generated respond to the domestic requirements that would power development for the people and not for a handful of profit-seeking corporations. The welfare of the people and the protection and preservation of the environment should first and foremost be considered before profits. We believe that, Ang tunay na tuwid na daan, ay ang malinis at ligtas na daan. It is only through this that we can save Palawan and the whole nation from the path of certain destruction. No to New Coal Plants! No to Coal Mining! Shift to Clean, Safe, Accessible Renewable Energy Now! RE-Energize All Now! May 8, 2013

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www.preda.org

B8
By Fr. Euly Belizar

Features

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 17 No. 10

May 13 - 26, 2013

Post-election detox
same-sex marriage, euthanasia, abortion etc.? Fr. Jay-ar: Because politicians, by passing the RH Law without listening to the Church and by trying to pass the bills you mentioned, interfere in the responsibility of the bishops and priests as moral and spiritual guides. Cynthia: I dont understand your point, Father. Why do you say that? Fr. Jay-ar: You see, in seeing nothing wrong with the RH Law etc., politicians in effect style themselves as guides in morality as well. Now, isnt that a blatant violation of the separation of Church and state?

Its more F.U.N: I believe

By Fr. Francis Ongkiko
HOW often have we said or heard others saying to children who are beginning to get restless or bored, Would you like to play a game of make-believe? Their eyes light up as they become the center of attention, but also because they are so simple and easy to please. A game of make-believe doesnt really have any fixed rules. All it takes is ones imagination and creativity to bring to life a story, a character or a simple setting to draw the childs attention away from boredom and restlessness. Sometimes, this is something better than simply distracting them with video games in a Tablet or cell phone. *** However, when it concerns believing what our Faith teaches God isnt suggesting that we play a game of make-believe. He is in fact, really inviting us to enter into a life that one day we will fully possess in union with Him. Thus, He gives us the gift of Faith as the key that opens not a fictional life but a supernatural one which one can now start enjoying here on earth. Even before the gift of faith, God already created man with a natural desire for Him. St. Augustines says thus, You have made us for yourself and our heart is restless until it rests in you. Moreover, even if this desire is often ignored, God never ceases to draw man to himself because only in God will he find and live the fullness of truth and happiness for which he never stops searching. By nature and by vocation, therefore, man is a religious being, capable of entering into communion with God. (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 2) This creational link between God and man is so intimate that it can never be totally forgotten. Starting from creation, that is, from the world and from the human person, through reason alone one can know God with certainty as the origin and end of the universe, as the highest good and as infinite truth and beauty. (Ibid., no. 3) This is why an atheistic or free-thinking stance towards this invitation of God is more unreasonable than entering into both a human and supernaturally fruitful relationship with God Himself. God, however, wasnt satisfied with His divine selfintroduction or revelation to man. He took a further initiative of love by Incarnating His redeeming message in the Person of Jesus Christ. The full and definitive stage of Gods revelation is accomplished in his Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the mediator and fullness of Revelation. He, being the only-begotten Son of God made man, is the perfect and definitive Word of the Father. (Ibid., no. 9) In Christ, our faith is no longer based on simple words or ideas, but in Someone like us, Jesus who is perfect God and perfect man. St. John of the Cross says, In giving us his Son, his only and definitive Word, God spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word, and he has no more to say. In His One Word, God became silent because it was now time for man to speak to God. Now it is our turn to respond with our act of faith in Christ. *** Before this wonderful reality, how can believing be F.U.N.? There are many ways which each one can personally go about discovering, but here are a few ideas: a) Start with Scripture. Begin growing in your faith by reading daily the Gospels. Use your imagination to enter into the scenes and parables narrated by our Lord. Be one with the Apostles, and allow the Holy Spirit to ignite the fire of your faith through this simple but vital encounter with Christ. b) Playing in Prayer. The lights gained from Scripture can fuel our daily dialogues with Jesus. He loves being reminded and talked about the Life He had lovingly spent with us and continues to spend with us. Strive to keep concrete appointments with Him, tackle specific topics and enjoy the lights of resolutions He and the Holy Spirit will suggest to you. c) Synch with the Sacraments. Faith grows with Scripture and prayer further empowered when synched with the sacraments. This is because they are the principal channels of grace, especially when in the Holy Mass one receives Jesus who is the author of Grace. Moreover, there is confession that doesnt only forgive us our sins, but revitalizes us by purifying our faith and effectively orients us in the spiritual combat. d) Memorize your Catechism. Scripture and prayer are wonderful sources to grow in faith. But they are enriched with the salt and light offered by the rich doctrinal points of the Catechism and its Compendium. Set a goal of points to memorize every day. Dont worry, theres no exam at the end of your life, except one will have to make an account of how he has lived these points to love God and neighbor. e) Spread the Blaze. The fun about our faith is sharing it with others, both those who may still be weak in their faith and others who may not yet know Christs love and mercy. This reinforces our convictions and allows us to be enlightening witnesses of the presence of God through the light of faith in the midst of the world.

Jimmy : Whats in common between a politician who buys his way to office and a voter who sells his vote to the highest bidder? Fr. Jay-ar: Money politics. Jimmy: Whats the difference? Fr. Jay-ar: The difference is the same. Jimmy: Why the same? Fr. Jay-ar: Both are the scourge of Philippine democracy. *** Cris: Father, is there a Catholic vote in the Philippines? Fr. Jay-ar: It depends. If you mean Catholics who vote, yes. But if you mean Catholics who vote as Catholics, no. Cris: How do you explain that? A sense of the separation of Church and state? Fr. Jay-ar: No. Separation of faith and life. *** Cynthia: How do you explain separation of Church and state, Father? Fr. Jay-ar: When your bishop or parish priest refuses to interfere with how your Mayor, Governor, Congressman, Senator or President does his/her political responsibilities, thats separation of Church and state in action. Cynthia: But how come bishops and priests tried to interfere in the passage of the RH Law and now try to block the passage of other pending bills on divorce,

of the young. Do you agree? Fr. Jay-ar: Not really. I think that there are also an increasing number of older voters who refuse to believe they are no longer young.

*** Criselda: Father, whats your advice to politicians who constantly change their party affiliations and kowtow to people in power, in other words, to the balimbings? Fr. Jay-ar: You can run but you cant always hideyour true colors. *** Tirso: What do you say to politicians who won in the elections, Father? Fr. Jay-ar: Work hard and prove the voters right. Tirso: And your word to the politicians who lost? Fr. Jay-ar: Work even harder and prove the voters wrong. *** Minnie: Whats your take on the way politicians conducted their campaigns, Benjie? Benjie the Sacristan: They reminded me of a Shakespeares sonnet. Minnie: Which one? Benjie: All sound and fury signifying nothing. *** Cristine: Father, how come the better candidates often lose in elections? Fr. Jay-ar: Because voters dont always follow our standards (wink and smile).

*** Perry: Could you explain separation of faith and life, Father? Fr. Jay-ar: When you believe you follow Christ and live as if your fellow human beings words are more important than his, thats separation of faith and life. Perry: But can you blame me, Father? My fellow human beings words are what I deal with every day. Fr. Jay-ar: Im not blaming anybody. But every day we must also deal with Gods Word first and make our human words conform to his. *** Cesar: Father, do you believe the analysts who say that there are changing voters demographics in this country? I mean that there are more younger voters who vote for younger candidates or for candidates who sympathize with the issues and concerns

Buhay San Miguel

Brothers Matias

Moral Assessment

Technical Assessment

Abhorrent Disturbing Acceptable Wholesome Exemplary

Poor Below average Average Above average E xcellent

TITLE: The bride and the lover CAST: Lovi Poe, Jennilyn Mercado, Paulo Avelino Director: Joel Lamangan Genre: Sex, Drama-Comedy Location: Philippines Technical Assessment: Moral Assessment: CINEMA Rating: V18 MTRCB Rating: R-13

Umatras sa bonggang kasalan ang bride na si Vivian (Lovi Poe) kasabay ng pagbubunyag niya ng iskandalo na kinasangkutan ng groom na si Philip (Paulo Avelino) at matalik na kaibigan na si Sheila (Jennilyn). Sa gitna ng sakit at kahihiyan ay hiwahiwalay na magbabyahe ang tatlo upang pansamantalang takasan ang sitwasyon at iiwanan sa kanilang pamilya at mga kaibigan ang pagharap sa publiko. Sa kanilang pagbabalik ay sisikapin nila na magpatuloy sa kani-kaniyang buhay ang tatlo. Maantala naman ng konti ang pagpapatuloy ni Philip dahil kinailangan niyang magpagaling ng kanyang napilay na paa. Magpiprisinta si Sheila na alagaan si Philip at upang mabigyan na rin ng pagkakataon ang sarili na maipadama ng lubusan ang damdamin niya rito. Sa panahon ng pagpapagaling ni Philip sa piling ni Sheila ay tuluyan silang magsasama. Samantala nagulat ang lahat sa pagbabalik ni Vivian. Lubusang magbabago ang pagkatao nito sa pananaw at pisikal na anyo. Mula sa simple ay magiging moderno at liberal sa pananalita at kilos na malayung-malayo sa dating Vivian na tumalikod sa kasal. Buong tapang niyang pananagutan ang mataas na posisyon sa kumpanya na pagaari ng pamilya kasunod ng pagreretiro ng kanyang ama. Kasabay ng mga pangyayaring ito sa buhay ni Vivian ay kusa siyang makikipagbati kay Sheila sa pamamagitan ng pagtataguyod bilang sponsor sa magazine kung saan editor-inchief ang matalik na kaibigan. Labis itong ikakatuwa ni Sheila sa kabila ng kundisyon ni Vivian na panatilihing lihim kay Philip ang pagbabati nila. Sa parehong kundisyon na maglihim naman kay Sheila ay nakipagkasundo din si Vivian kay Philip. Sa kanilang pagbabati ay magpapahayag ng mga totoong damdamin at panghihinayang sa naputol na relasyon. Kasabay nito ay ang pagbibigay laya sa nararamdaman na pananabik sa isat isa. Hanggang saan naman kaya hahantong ang

mga plano ni Vivian at ang pakikipagsabwatan nina Sheila at Philip na maglihiman tungkol sa nagbalik na ugnayan nila kay Vivian. Gasgas na kwento ng pagaagawan sa lalaki ang pelikulang The Bride and the Lover na nilagyan ng magkahalong drama at pagpapatawa. Mahusay ang pag-arte ng mga nagsiganap lalo na si Poe at mga suportang artista. Komportable sa mga eksena ng pagtatalik sina Poe, Mercado at Avelino. Gayundin ang nakakalibang na palitan ng mga linya lalo na ang voice over nina Poe at Mercado habang nagpapambuno bago matapos ang pelikula. Mainam ang ginawang motibasyon ng director sa pagpapalabas ng emosyon na hinihingi ng eksena. Naging maingat ang kuha ng camera sa madalas na mga maseselang eksena ng pagtatalik. Subalit kapunapuna na may kahabaan ang mga eksenang sex na di naman kailangan. Maganda ang disenyo ng produksyon. Nakalilibang ang pagpapakita ng detalye ng mga okasyon tulad ng kasalan, mga tampok na parte at pagaayos ng marangyang bahay, at mga tagpo sa mundo ng korporasyon. Tama lamang ang ginamit na ilaw at paglalapat ng tunog at musika. Nakatulong ito sa mga transisyon ng seryosong drama at patawa. Sa kabuuan ay kinakitaan ng pagsisikap ang produksyon na ayusin ang ibang teknikal na aspeto ng pelikula. Nakababahala ang mga isyung moral na tinalakay sa pelikula. Ang seremonya ng kasal na sagrado at seryosong yugto sa buhay ng isang tao ay hindi iginalang. Kaydali itong talikuran, hilingin, iskandaluhin, muling talikuran na parang walang leksyon na natutunan. Pinakita sa pelikula na kung paano paglaruan ang mga damdamin. Parang mga walang isip na nakikipag-sex dahil gustong bigyang laya ang nararamdaman may pag-ibig man o wala. Kaswal lang ang paggamit ng droga o ecstasy kahit alam nila ang dulot nito sa kanila na pwede silang mawala

sa sarili. Sa kabila ng iskandalo ay parang balewala lang na magsama nang walang kasal ang mga kasangkot at di man lang kinumusta ang taong nasaktan nila. Pawang mga propesyonal ang mga tauhan sa kuwento pero di ginamit ang mga isip para maging responsable sa mga kilos nila at itaas ang dignidad. Kung yayakapin ng isang tao ang pagbabago, mainam na tungo ito sa pagtutuwid at lalong pagbibigay dignidad sa sarili, pero sa kaso ng tauhan ni Vivian sa pelikula ay naging matatag nga siya sa pagharap sa buhay pero naging mapaghiganti, mapaglaro at higit sa lahat naging parang bayarang babae na nakikipagsex sa sinumang matipuhan

niya. Naging napakahirap ang magpatawad sa mga nagkamali at halos mabalewala na ang paghingi ng tawad. Sa bandang huli ay mananaig ng tatag ng pagkakaibigan subalit saglit lamang ito at tila kailangan lang tapusin ang istorya sa ganitong tagpo. Ang mas mahabang bahagi ng pelikula ay nagpapakita ng kaswal na pakikipagtalik, droga, paglalaro ng damdamin, paglilihim, paghihiganti gamit ang negosyo, at may agaweksena pang pagnanasa ng bakla sa kapwa lalaki. May maliit na eksena ng pagbibigay payo ng magulang pero di naman sinusunod ng mga anak. Kung may aral man na inihahain ang pelikula ito ay hinog na isipan lamang ang makakakita.

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CBCP Monitor

Vol. 17 No. 10

May 13 - 26, 2013

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

Fr. Jerome Cruz, giving his homily during the concelebrated mass with Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, III at the National Officers' Meeting of Daughters of Mary Immaculate International (DMII) held at the KC Fr. George J. Willmann Center Bldg. last May 11, 2013. (see full story on C3).

The Cross

Fraternal Benefits Day

KCFAPI Urges Members to Get Membership Cards

The B.C. Holders Relations Office of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines Inc., is encouraging insured members to avail of their membership cards. BC Holders Relations Office Manager Edwin B. Dawal said membership cards are free, they [members] just only have to fill out a form here in the main office. Among the benefits of having a membership card is that members can avail discounted promotional items found at the KCFAPI main office in Intramuros, Manila. It would be easier for all of us. The mode of payment for our members would be monitored through the membership cards, so please avail. This will likewise promote an increased awareness on the life and works of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ

KCFAPI Chairman, Hon. Hilario G. Davide, Jr. (seated, center) flanked by Executive Vice President, Ma. Theresa G. Curia and President, Guillermo N. Hernandez during the conduct of the Fraternal Benefits Day in Cebu. Also in photo are other KCFAPI Officers and participants.

THE Fraternal Benefits Group of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) held a Fraternal Benefits Day in Visayas last April 20 at the Baseline Restaurant, Juana, Osmea St., Cebu City. KCFAPI Chairman Hilario G. Davide, Jr. gave an inspirational message. Also in at-

tendance were other KCFAPI Officials Guillermo N. Hernandez, President; Ma. Theresa G. Curia, Executive Vice President; Gari M. San Sebastian, Vice President - FBG; Ronulfo Antero G. Infante, Vice President for Information and BC Holders Services; and Michael P. Cabra, FBS Manager. Meanwhile,

part of the two-day visit of the KCFAPI officials in Cebu was the Visayas Managers 2013 First Quarter Meeting, which was held last April 19 at the KC Visayas Foundation Bldg., Cebu City. The activities were coordinated with the Visayas Fraternal Benefits Manager Rudolph Gerard M. Elizaga.

KC Manila Council 1000 STRONGER @ 108 with Cardinal Tagle as Guest of Honor
cils Guest of Honor - His Eminence Luis Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle, DD, Archbishop of Manila by Supreme Director SK Alonso L. Tan, Past State Deputy Arsenio Lopez, District Deputy M-47 SK Noel S. Lacanilao and Grand Knight Antonio T. Hernandez. Your anniversary theme Be a Light to Others is especially relevant to this years theme the Year of Faith declared by the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. In search of the light, we go through constant renewal. While the world changes, our faith remains the same, solid and unwavering. It is with the light of Christ, the light of our faith, that we find our way, that we light each others ways. said H.E. Cardinal Tagle. Part of the program was the pre sentation of the two distinguished awards for the Columbian Year 2012 to 2013 namely (1) Family of the Year and (2) Knight of the Year which was awarded to Bro. Manuel A. Delfin and Bro. Jun S. Florendo, respectively. Padre Burgos Assembly Honor Guards rendered their voluntary service during the said event. (Jun Florendo)

2013 KCFAPIs Bowling Tournament

the Founder of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines, Dawal added. The membership card is a unique insignia that instantly identifies the insured members of the Order and their family members. This was launched last September 2011 with four different types such as classic, gold, bronze, and titanium. For inquiries, please call the KCFAPI Main Office at telephone number (02) 527-2223.

Arrival of H.E. Cardinal Tagle

A total of 150 Knights, Colum bian Squires, relatives and friends witnessed the 108th grand celebration of the Knights of Columbus Manila Council 1000 held last April 19, 2013 at KCMC 1000 Gymnasium, Beaterio Street, Intramuros, Manila. The festivity started with a morning parade around the vicinity of Intramuros, Manila headed by Co -

lumbian Squires from Circle 1000 and 4488, followed by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, celebrated by Council Chaplain Rev. Fr. Peter A. Casio, OSA and the opening of the mini-exhibit showcasing the accomplishments of the Service Directors Program and Activities. Highlighting the event was the arrival and warm welcome to the Coun-

The opening of the 2013 bowling tournament of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) was held last May 7 at the Paengs Midtown Bowl Robinsons Place in Ermita, Manila. The next schedule will be on May 15, 23, 28, June 4 and 11.

Local Incentive

There is life in their womb: Knights of Columbus Initiative for Poor Mothers Launched
TO serve the needs of poor mothers and to create greater awareness of the humanity of the unborn, the Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus launched an Ultrasound Initiative that will bring the unit to different parishes in Luzon. The project first took place last May 5, 2013 (Sunday), at the San Lorenzo Ruiz Academy in Binondo with the support of the Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary Chinese Personal Parish. Ten pregnant women from depressed areas near Binondo were given basic catechesis on the value and holiness of human life before being given ultrasound tests to generate images of their unborn babies. According to Arsenio Yap, Luzon Deputy of the Knights of Columbus Luzon, the initiative aims to help more pregnant women, especially those who are less fortunate, the chance to experience ultrasound test so that they will know that there is life in their womb, saving them from the temptation of aborting their babies. The initiative took place alongside the parishs regular First Sunday medicaldental mission in the same academy. According to Bro. Boni Martinez of the Knights of Columbus, this medicaldental mission regularly serves 150 to 200 indigent patients, who also get to receive warm food. According to Yap, the ultrasound initiative of the Luzon Knights of Columbus is part of the worldwide Ultrasound Program of the K of C worldwide. Citing examples of mothers from the United States who were determined to undergo abortion but changed their minds after seeing ultrasound images of their babies, Yap expressed the hope that this initiative will help more pregnant women in the Philippines to love their unborn babies. Ac cording to him, the Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus even bought their own ultrasound machine for this initiative. Through the ultrasound tests, Yap said, one can see that the unborn truly has life. They have their own heart beat they have iden-

Three lucky winners from the Central Luzon Believers headed by their Area Manager, Efren Casupanan received their tablets as a local incentive for the month of April. Photo includes the KCFAPI Vice President for Fraternal Benefits Group, Gari San Sebastian (in striped shirt) handing the gadget to one of the winners, Lauro Evangelista. Other tablet winners were Ronando Rodriguez and Ariston Francisco.

Top Area Managers for the First Quarter of 2013

Luzon Deputy, Arsenio Isidro Yap (2nd from right) and K of C Spiritual Director Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III (center) together with some state officials during the ultrasound initiative project held at the Binondo Chinese Parish in Manila last May 5.

tifiable sexual organs they have movements that are not synchronized with those of the mother, so you cannot say that they are just part of the mother. They are unique beings, distinct from their mothers. Yap noted that they intend to bring the ongoing initiative to different parishes and hope to eventually bring it to the diocesan level. He also expressed willingness to

work with church-based organizations that want to have joint ultrasound projects with the Luzon K of C. Eventually, he said, maybe in the future the next project we would like to undertake would be a home for unwed mothers, or a home for mothers with unwanted pregnancies to help them get foster parents for their babies so they will not consider abortion. (CBCP for Life)

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Chairmans Message
PRESUMABLY the teachings of the Second Vatican Council that marked its 50th anniversary last year have not trickled yet to a majority of Catholics in this country. The same maybe said of the Decrees of the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines or PCP-II that was issued in 1991. Until today, there are not a few people, even among those close to the Church, who do not believe that to renew politics is part of the mission of the Church. Many will cite, for instance, the following biblical quotations: Render to Caesar the things that are Caesars and to God the things that are Gods (Matthew 22:21) or My kingdom is not of this earth! (John 18:36). Exegetes will tell us that such application of these quotations comes from a wrong interpretation of the Scriptures. The Catholic Church teaches that politics has a religious and moral dimension since it is a human activity that flows from the normal processes of intellect and will and, therefore, it may either lead to grace or to sin, it may hurt or benefit, may build or destroy people. Besides, the Church has the duty to proclaim the Gospel to all creation (Mark 16:15) and to restore all things under Christ (Ephesians 1:10)which means that the Gospel must influence every phase of life, every stratum of society, including the political sphere. Hence, the mandate to evangelize or Christianize the political order. It is in this sense that our bishops in their Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics, enjoins us to be actively involved in politics since Philippine politics, the way it is practiced, has been most hurtful of us as a people. It is possibly the biggest bane in our life as a nation and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving full development. Moreover, the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines states: In the Philippines today, given the general perception that politics has become an obstacle to integral development, the urgent necessity is for the lay faithful to participate more actively, with singular competence and integrity, in political affairs.help for the civic conscience of the voting population and work to explicitly promote the election of leaders of true integrity to public office. (PCP-II, 348; Art 8, #1) This is not too foreign to the Knights of Columbus because even Fr. Michael McGivney exhorted the incipient members of the Order to get involved in the electoral exercise during his timesnot to mention the fact that one of the cardinal principles of the Order is patriotism. What maybe wanting is a more conscientious work to help transform the political order in this country according to the values of the Gospel. Vivat Iesus!

The Cross
Michael Cabra

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

Hilario G. Davide, Jr.

My Brother's Keeper
May 2013 is the Philippine National Election month. For us brother knights, this is one opportunity where we can practice the fourth pillar of our brotherhood, Patriotism or love for our motherland. We elect politicians with integrity and put them in power because we believe they can help the government build a better future for us and our children. Similarly, as parents, we also find solutions on how to nurture our offspring and map ways that will guarantee their college education. Like a tried and tested public servant, KCFAPI offers a definite way to a college diploma. KC Enhanced College Savings Plan is the surest answer to a Brother Knights need for his childrens college education. It is the best candidate to elect because we believe it will ensure our kids college education. KC Enhanced College Savings Plan is a 6 years to pay college savings plan. It is guaranteed to give semestral benefit to the insured scholar for five years starting at age 16. It offers a yearly increment on benefit which covers more than the effects of inflation. Once the insured scholar finishes his/her studies, a graduation gift will be given as a bonus to serve as allowance for the scholar while he/she is looking for a job or as a starting capital for a small enterprise.

Election for a better future

For example, a Brother Knight at age 40 chooses the KC Enhanced College Savings Plan as a solution for his childs future college education. He will then have to save only P20,914.00 for the next six years equivalent to a total of P125,484.00 educational investment. During this contribution period, the payor will have a free Accidental Death Benefit of P200,000.00 while the scholar will earn a free life insurance protection of P200,000.00 until age 21. College benefit amounting to P16,000.00 plus an increment of P2,000.00 every year starts when the scholar reaches the age of 16 until the 5th year for a total of P200,000.00. At age 21, after graduation a gift bonus of P24,000.00 will be given to the graduate scholar. The plan has other great benefits like the Family Protection and Con tingent Elementary and High School Education Assistance which other competing insurance companies cannot match. May 2013 is not only about the month of election. It is also the month when the 1st Semester Benefit is given to Brother Knights who have chosen KC Enhanced College Savings Plan years ago as a solution for their kids college education. For a comprehensive presentation of KC Enhanced College Savings plan, please feel free to contact a fraternal counselor in your area

Mindanao Holds 15th State Confab

Knights of Columbus Mindanao Deputy, Balbino Fauni (center) together with the Brother Knights during their 15th State Convention.

Guillermo N. Hernandez

Presidents Message
2013 Election along with the intense and frenzied campaign activities have just ended. Nothing much has changed from what has transpired in the past to the point that Comelec regulations were largely disregarded, there were oversized posters indiscriminately placed, repetitive ads and jingles in tri-media, surveys to support winnability, the use of celebrities as endorsers, among others. Clearly, all of these were intended to condition the minds of the electorate to vote for those who are more visible as winnable, given the funds and political machinery at their disposal. This lends basis to the fact that political patronage is still very much around in our electoral system where unfortunately vital considerations like character and qualification, political platform as well as stand on major issues confronting our country and our Faith, are to a great extent obviated. Candidates who ran as independents in spite of being just as qualified if not better than those from major parties, are largely marginalized. In this material world of ours where secularism and utilitarianism have adversely affected the Catholic Faith, we Brother Knights and our respective families should have more than ever remained steadfast in the exercise of our rights in the recently concluded 2013 Election not only as Filipino citizens but more so as CATHOLIC CITIZENS to ensure that the 'CATHOLIC CONSCIENCE VOTE' was counted. As circularized by the CBCP, Catholics do not vote blindly based on a list provided by the Church like other religious sects but based on our conscience, as guided by the Holy Spirit. Realistically, a very objective reflection on each and every candidate vis-a-vis our parameters in the choice of the right person for the office, as guided by issues that are very critical to our Church and to us as Catholic Citizens and as widely discussed by the Church hierarchy down to the parish levels, is a 'must'. This should be done by all of us Brother Knights at the family level, the council level, the district level up to the highest echelon of our Order. The whole process of course must at all times be accompanied by our most solemn prayer to the Lord Almighty for His Grace and that the Holy Spirit be always with us and guide us. I trust that as a KC, as a Filipino Citizen and most importantly as a Catholic Citizen, we will be able to bring with us the learning we gained from the recently concluded elections and with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, may we grow to become more responsible citizens of our nation. Vivat Jesus!

MORE than 650 Brother Knights together with their ladies at tended the 15th Mindanao State Convention held from April 2628 in Dipolog City, known as the "Bottled Sardines" Capital of the Philippines. Mindanao Deputy, Balbino Fauni presented his 2011-2012 Mindanao performance such as membership growth, new councils development, reactivation of suspended councils, and program activities of the differ-

ent councils in Mindanao during the convention. Mindanao Jurisdiction bested all State Deputies throughout the world with a 160% performance greater than the expected target. The performance by region was shown and KIDMACO tops the list followed by CAMAL region. We are optimistic that the six regions will finally contribute their fair share before the Columbian year ends on June 30 Fauni said. The video clips message of Su-

preme Knight Carl A. Anderson was played during the gathering, appealing to all Knights to support Pope Francis, the first Pope from South America. On the other hand, KCFAPI Vice President for Fraternal Benefits Group Gari San Sebastian was very impressive and knowledgeable on his piece. A State Dinner was held on the first day at Barrio Fiesta. All sessions were preceded by a mass and presided by Bishops and Priests, Fauni

stated. A raffle was drawn with a major prize of P100,000.00 for the lucky winner. It was also announced that the 16th Mindanao State Convention will be held in Tandag City. The event themed "Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land, was held in coordination with Regional Deputy Mans Onga, Convention Chairperson and his Vice Chairperson Brother Cesar Bala. (MindaNews)

Visayas Deputy urges DDs to Reactivate Suspended Councils

Visayas Deputy, Rodrigo Rudy N. Sorongon made an appeal to all District Deputies to double their efforts on membership drive, submission of all reports and attendance. Bro. Sorongon together with State Membership Director Vincent A. Flores, State Program Director Noeni Nepomuceno and State Officer Gerardo Gerada visited Negros Occidental for the Provincial and District Deputies meeting last April 20-21. The Visayas Jurisdiction is again campaigning to gain new members for their recruitment program. The State Deputy urged the District Deputies to reactivate all their suspended councils in their respective areas. State Membership Director Vincent A. Flores explained the latest incentive program of the Supreme Office in recruitment that will give all Grand Knights and Membership Directors the opportunity to win an all Meanwhile, the State Officers and the third degree team conducted an exemplification activity in Negros. More than 100 second degree members who wanted to move up to the third degree attended. Likewise, State Secretary Anthony P. Nazario and State Treasurer Jun Jo, Jr. went to Cebu on the same weekend to attend the meeting of KCFAPI on Fraternal Benefits. The Fraternal Benefits Group invited the District Deputies and Grand Knights from Central Visayas, which the Visayas Jurisdiction took as an opportunity to campaign for the recruitment of new members and good attendance on their State Convention. Last April 21, they had another meeting with all the Provincial and District Deputies of Bohol. And a meeting with the District Deputies of Visayas was held where they discussed some concerns in the Central area of Visayas. (VizNews)

expense paid trip to Italy with their spouses. On the other hand, State Program Director Noeni Nepomuceno discussed the incentive program for the councils activities that will directly benefit the needy.

KC Scholar Deacon and His Brother, Ordained as Priests in Cataingan, Masbate

Last April 29, 2013, Deacon Rev. Cristino (Junjun) Y. Lo bitaa III, a former scholarseminarian of the Knights of Columbus Fr. George J. Willmann Charities, Inc. was ordained to the Priesthood at the St. Vincent Ferrer Parish in the municipality of Cataingan, Masbate. The Ordination ceremonies and the solemn Eucharistic Celebration were presided by His Excel lency, Most Rev. Jose S. Bantolo, D.D., Bishop of Masbate. The Ordination became unique and more memorable as two brothers were ordained to the Priesthood at the same time. Rev. Michael Y. Lobitaa, elder brother of KC Scholar Cris tino III, was likewise ordained. About thirty-two priests concelebrated the Ordination Mass with the parish priests from all nearby dioceses in Masbate as well as guest priests from the brothers respective seminar ies in Tagaytay and Cebu were in attendance. A busload of seminarians from the Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol served as the choir with their rector, Rev. Fr. Mike Kron, being one of the Mass concelebrants. Witnessed by KC Fr. George J. Willmann Charities, Inc. Executive Director, Bro. Ro berto T. Cruz, the ordination of the brothers was well at tended by Cataingan residents and friends. Also in attendance were officers and members of KC Cataingan Council 12595 led by Deputy Grand Knight Virgilio Yanson. As a full scholar of the KCFGJWCI, Rev. Fr. Junjun Lobitaa, the youngest of three sons of Cristino, Jr. and Lydia Lobitaa, completed his Theology studies in 2011 at the Divine Word Seminary in Tagaytay while the Tahanang ng Mabuting Pastol served as his Formation House. On the other hand, his elder brother, Fr. Michael finished his Theology studies at the Seminario Mayor de San Carlos in Cebu after which he took a one-year regency leave last year. Christopher, the eldest brother of Fr. Junjun, was also a KC scholar who com pleted his Theology studies at UST much earlier but decided to discontinue his vocation to marry and have a family. For his first assignment as a

Squires SOAR Camp 2013 Kicks Off

The Columbian Squires of the Luzon Jurisdiction will be holding a Summer Youth Camp from May 16-19, to be hosted by the Diocese of Cabanatuan. Dubbed as Squires SOAR Camp 2013, the summer youth camp has the theme Deepening Our Faith: The Squires Way, a Fertile Ground for New Evangelization. The activity aims to provide worthwhile activities for Squires Members; promote camaraderie among the Squires and counselors; offer a time for reflection and share Gods love; and give opportunity for Squires Ad vancement. We highly encourage our fellow Brother Knights to organize their Columbian Squires circles to join in this much awaited activity. Your unwavering support will really make a difference in the boys total well-being, said Jose Cuaresma, Luzon Columbian Squires Chairman. Besides, the interactive programs and fun activities that our youth will experience and will enjoy will definitely allow them to learn and practice their leadership skills, he added. The summer youth camp is held every three years. For this year, the summer activity is set at the Camp Atate, Palayan City, Nueva Ecija. (LuzonNews)

Priest, Rev. Fr. Cristino Junjun Lobitaa III has been appointed as the Parochial Vicar at the St. Nicholas de Tolentino Parish in Mobo, Masbate, while Rev. Fr. Michael Lobitaa was assigned as Parochial Vicar at the Holy Cross Parish in San Jacinto, Masbate. Among the various family members, benefactors, friends, fellow religious and priests he acknowledged during his appreciation speech, Fr. Junjun expressly thanked the Knights of Columbus Fr. George J.

Willmann Charities, Inc. for enabling him to complete his Theology studies and realizing his religious vocation. Shown in the picture are Rev. Fr. Junjun Lobitaa (2nd from left) and KCFGJWCI Executive Director Roberto T. Cruz (2nd from right) together with Fr. Junjuns colleague priests and seminarians from the Tahanan ng Mabuting Pastol. At extreme right is Sem. Richard F. Bis nar, also a former KCFGJWCI scholar. (Roberto T. Cruz)

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Vol. 17 No. 10
May 13 - 26, 2013

The Cross

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In solidarity with Pope Francis and those in need, Knights are called to practice faith-inspired charity
By Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson
THREE days after the election of Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis, my wife, Dorian, and I made a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Francis of Assisi to pray for our new Holy Father. In the Basilica of St. Francis, surrounded by the beautiful 700-year-old frescoes of Giotto depicting the life of the great saint, we meditated on St. Francis commitment to a life of poverty and solidarity with the poor. Those of us who live in the United States sometimes fail to realize that most Catholics throughout the world are actually very poor. We need to be ever mindful of the words of Pope Benedict XVI in his great encyclical on charity, Deus Caritas Est: The Church is Gods family in the world. In this family no one ought to go without the necessities of life (25). As Dorian and I walked in Assisi, it occurred to me that the cardinals of the conclave must have been reading this encyclical when they elected Pope Francis. As archbishop of Buenos Aires, then-Cardinal Bergoglio pro vided an extraordinary witness of solidarity with the poor. And soon after his election, Pope Francis told media representatives, I would like a Church that is poor and for the poor! But building a Church for the poor can only happen if we strive for a deeper communion and solidarity among all Catholicsespecially those on the American continent. For the first time in history, we have a pope from the Western Hemisphere. Nearly 500 million Catholics live in Latin America and approximately 50 million Hispanicsmost of whom are Catholiclive in the United States. Pope Francis can open up the possibility of a great renewal among Catholics in our hemisphere in a way similar to the experience of Catholics living behind the Iron Curtain when Pope John Paul II was elected in 1978. Last December, the Knights of Columbus joined with the Pontifical Commission for Latin America in sponsoring a historic meeting at the Vatican to observe the 25th anniversary of Ecclesia in America, John Paul IIs watershed document following the Synod for America. That document, like the synod itself, called Catholics in our hemisphere to a greater encounter with the living Jesus Christ as the way to conversion, communion and solidarity in America. While much has been accomplished in this regard, much more still needs to be done. The Knights of Columbus has been promoting greater solidarity throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines for more than a century, and we can be authentically proud of the tremendous charitable work that is accomplished every day by our Order. Last year alone, we provided 70 million hours of personal service and $168 million to charity. But there is much more to be done and all of us can do more. As I stated during last years Supreme Convention in Anaheim, Calif., if 30 million Catholics in the United States and Canada would join us in providing one hour of charitable service each monthjust two minutes every daythe value of that commitment would be worth nearly $8 billion. As Catholics, though, we are called not just to volunteer service. In the words of Pope John Paul II, we are also called to practice a charity that evangelizes by revealing to others in our concern for them the love of Christ. This, too, is the deeper meaning of our Orders founding principles of charity, unity and fraternity.

Protectors of Gods Gifts

During his inaugural Mass homily, Pope Francis spoke of the example of St. Joseph and challenged all of us to be protectors of Gods gifts! How are we to do this as Catholics and as Knights of Columbus? The popes answer was clear: Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others. From the balcony of St. Pe-

ters Basilica the night he was elected, Pope Francis told us that as Catholics we are all on a journey together. As Knights of Columbus, the signposts for our journey have always been clear: charity, unity and fraternity. Let us continue on our path now under the inspiration of our new guide and pope. Vivat Jesus!

Atty. Neil Jerome A. Rapatan

Law in Laymans Term

The Effect of Concealment in an Insurance Contract
IN an insurance contract, the insured is required to disclose facts or circumstances affecting the risk insured or covered by the insurer. These circumstances affecting the subject matter of insurance is generally known by the insured only, and the insurer primarily relies on the information provided by the insured. The correctness of information provided by the proposed insured in his insurance application will then determine whether the insurer will assume the specified risk, and if so, on what consideration or rate of contribution. In a life insurance for example, when the insured failed to inform the insurer of the fact that he has already been hospitalized and treated for a certain illness, there is concealment on the part of the insured. The law defines concealment as a neglect to communicate that which a party knows and ought to communicate. (Sec. 26, Insurance Code of the Philippines) The effect of concealment is also clearly outlined in the same law: A concealment whether intentional or unintentional entitles the injured party to rescind a contract of insurance. (Sec. 27, Insurance Code of the Philippines). In laymans terms, concealment will void the insurance contract and to be of no force and effect. In such a case, concealment prevented the meeting of the minds of the parties, which is a requisite in a valid contract. In one case, an insured indicated in his application for insurance that he has not been confined or treated for any illness or disease in any hospital or clinic. Based on the said declarations in his application, the insurance company approved the same and issued the insurance contract. During the contestability period of the insurance (within two years from the date of its issue), the insured died due to a vehicular accident. Investigations disclosed that prior to his insurance application, the insured had previous confinement and was diagnosed with lung cancer. Rightfully, the insurance company denied the insurance claim and altogether rescinded the insurance contract due to the concealment made by the insured. Will it matter that the cause of death (vehicular accident) is entirely unrelated to the fact concealed by the insured (lung cancer)? When an applicant concealed the fact that he had been diagnosed, treated or confined for any illness or disease, the policy is voided although the death is totally unconnected with the material fact concealed or misrepresented. It is sufficient that his non-disclosure misled the insurer in forming his estimates of the risks of the proposed insurance policy or in making inquiries. (Sunlife Assurance Co. of Canada vs. Court of Appeals, 245 SCRA 268) As practical advice, be honest in your insurance application to enjoy genuine protection and the value for your money.

12th Luzon State Convention Held

THE Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines held its 12th State Convention last April 27 at the Manila Grand Opera Hotel, highlighted with a wheelchair-giving project. Five wheelchairs were distributed during the event by the American Wheelchair Mission headed by Brother Chris Lewis. Lewis, President of the Ameri can Wheelchair Mission, put up the organization to deliver wheel chairs and mobility aids to the less fortunate people together with the Knights of Columbus. More than 100 wheelchairs are set to be distributed soon. The event was attended also by the California State Deputy Dr. Rey Warner and California State Chaplain John Neneman. The Executive Committee of the State Convention 2013 were Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap, State Secretary Joven Joaquin, State Program Director Bonifacio Martinez, and State Membership Director Ramoncito Ocampo.

Luzon State Chaplain Bishop Honesto F. Ongtioco blesses one of the beneficiaries of American Wheelchair Mission.

DMII National Officers Meeting held at KCFAPI

Also present during the convention were KCFAPI President Guillermo N. Hernandez, Supreme Director Alonso L. Tan, Luzon State Chaplain Bishop

Honesto F. Ongtioco, DD, Assistant State Chaplain Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III, and State Officers, among others. (LuzonNews)

KC News Briefs
The artificial fish sanctuary or Payaw initiated by the K of C Council 14302 of the Saint Francis of Assisi Davila, Pasuquin, Ilocos Norte was already deployed last April as a livelihood project of the local community. The said council has sent a letter to the Luzon Jurisdiction requesting for an installation of payaw in order for them to meet its financial needs since most of the members are fishermen. *** K of C St. Joseph the Worker Council 14379 in Bangad, Cabanatuan City established their council hall within the vicinity of St. Joseph the husband of Mary Parish. The said council is headed by Grand Knight Dong Javier Sarmiento and Chaplain Fr. Jose Salvador Mallari. It is one of the councils of District C01 led by District Deputy and Chairman of RTDD of Nueva Ecija and Aurora, Gil Dindo Berino. *** The Mary Mother of Good Counsel Parish in cooperation with the K of C Council 11847 District P-24 held a Renewal of Marriage Vows, presided by Bishop Jesse E. Mercado, DD. on the feast of Mary Mother of Good Counsel last April 28. A marriage enrichment seminar was held prior to the Renewal of Marriage Vows last April 21, which was presided by Msgr. Chito Bernardo. *** The Knights of Columbus Diocesan Council of District Deputies held their Annual Inter District Sports Fest last April 20 at the DJ Paradise and Resort, Malolos, Bulacan. The inter-district competition featured a free throw competition and bowling tournament participated in by the Squires and KC members of the Diocese of Malolos *** Recipients of wheelchairs in Mindanao donated by the American Wheelchair Mission headed by their President Christopher J. Lewis and California State Deputy Brother Raymond Warner (together with his wife Purita) were very thankful for the generosity of the said foundation. Veronica Ana Pili, mother of one of the beneficiaries, Jay Nicus Pili of Matina, Davao City said they were very blessed to be part of the distribution in Mindanao initiated by Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni. *** The Luzon Jurisdiction, on behalf of the Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap would like to thank Rev. Fr. Orlando Jimenez for allowing them to organize a K of C Council in his parish San Isidro Labrador-Naic Council # 15670. The establishment of the new council is in coordination with District Deputy Milor Bernal and Worthy Charter Grand Knight Francisco Panganiban. *** The Luzon Deputy congratulates the San Lorenzo Ruiz Council 15508 as they celebrate their first anniversary.

MAY 11, 2013 marked the reunion of the Knights of Columbus ( K of C), the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI), and the Daughters of Mary Immaculate International (DMII) when the National Officers Meeting of the latter took place at the KC F R . G E O R G E J . W I LL MANN CENTER BLDG., also known as the KCFAPI BLDG. Two hundred ten (210) delegates from the different Regions of the Country attended the meeting. Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III gave a talk on Responsible Vot ing and Fr. Jerome Cruz talked about Fr. George J. Willmann. Both priests are very much associated with Fr. Willmann: Msgr. Quitorio being the first scholar of Fr. Willmann and Fr. Jerome Cruz whose childhood life has much spent with Fr. Willmann himself, akin to familial ties. Delegates were led to recite the Prayer for Beatification

of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ. They were also invited to testify to any miracle resulting from prayers made thru the intercession of Fr. Willmann. The K of C is very much associated with the DMII. A council would normally have programs and proj ects with the circle around.

While the DMII is an independent entity, members are normally wives of the K of C. The KNIGHTS OF CO LUMBUS FRATERNAL ASSOCIATION OF THE PHILS., INC. (KCFAPI), through its Executive Vice President, Sis. Ma. Theresa G. Curia would like to thank

Sis. Mila Villanueva, the International Regent and Sis. Cora Afuang, the International Secretary for holding the National Officers meeting in the ancestral home of the DAUGHTERS OF MARY IMMACULATE INTERNATIONAL - the KCFAPI Building, in Intramuros, Manila.

FBG Holds Service Training Program

THE Fraternal Benefits Group (FBG) of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) held a two-day fraternal service training program last April 25-26 at the newly established Fr. George J. Willmann, S.J. Memorial Building inside the KCFAPI compound in Intramuros, Manila. There were fourteen participants from different areas of Luzon who learned KCFAPIs featured plans like KC CARES. This monthly training is being held in view of strategizing the presentation of products and services of KCFAPI and to motivate the fraternal counselors to achieve and to improve their sales performance. The FBG also helped the participants become aware of the objectives of KCFAPI which is to provide optimum mutual benefits to all its members and their immediate families. Speakers were FBG Vice President Gari M. San Sebastian, FBS Manager Michael P. Cabra, Benefit Certificate Holders Relations Office Manager Edwin B. Dawal, and Underwriting Department Manager Carmelita S. Ruiz. The next FST program will be on May 21 to 22. For more information, please contact the KCFAPI-FBS department at telephone number (02) 527-2243. (FBS News)

Marbel KCs Run for a Cause

THE Association of the Knights of Columbus in the Diocese of Marbel (AKCDM) will hold a Run for a Cause on May 25 as a Fund Raising Activity for the construction of Christ the King Cathedral. In this event, brother knights from the various councils, religious organizations, schools, and other participants from the Diocese of Marbel comprising the provinces of South Cotabato and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos and Koronadal will come and join, said Mindanao Deputy, Balbino Fauni. He added that the theme for the Fun Run activity is "Fit for Faith" in accordance to the Year of Faith Celebration. Race categories are 3km Kiddie Run (12yrs old under), 5km (13-18 years old boys and girls), 5km (19 above men and women), 10km (open to age cat egory men and women), and 21km half marathon (open category men and women) Target number of participants is more than 10,000 runners and the registration fee is from P150.00 to P350.00. All 21k runners will receive a finishers medal at the finish line, Fauni cited. (MindaNews)

Alan Holdren / CNA

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Priest becomes K of C First Degree member

Council 3362 Celebrates 62nd Anniversary

The Cross

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 17 No. 10

May 13 - 26, 2013

Last May 4, the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines welcomed their new member, Rev. Fr. Major Leo Balanlay (center), Council Chaplain of KC Ft. Magsaysay Co. 10638 and Chaplain of the 7th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army. Photo shows the Chairman of the Round Table of District Deputies in Nueva Ecija and Aurora, Bro. Gil Dindo Berino (right) and the Central Luzon Conquerors Area Manager, Bro. Manuel Naldoza (left).

THE Knights of Columbus Fr. Alfredo Paguia SJ Council 3362 of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Immaculate Conception (MCIC), celebrated its 62nd Anniversary last April 6 at the Grand Astoria Hotel in Zamboanga City. The said council is said to be the Mother Council in Zambonga City.

One of the highlights during the event was honoring Past Grand Knights who are still active members of the council. Invited as Guest of Honor was Congressman, Erico B. Fabian, a Third Degree Member of the Order. Venerable Fr. Michael J. McGivney souvenirs were distributed to

no less than 150 Knights and Ladies who graced the affair. Fr. Alfredo Paguia Council 3362 is under District Z-01 of Mindanao State with Brother Victor A. Liozo Jr. as District Deputy and Brother Alvin Tan Tahir as Grand Knight. (MindaNews)

Luzon Jurisdiction Holds 9th Annual Family Day and Mini Olympics

Family of Late Brother Knight Receives SPEK from KCFAPI

THE beneficiaries of the late Brother Knight Antonio Belamide of San Antonio De Padua Council 13537 Pook Silang, Cavite received the latters special insurance benefitthe Special Plan for Elderly Knights (SPEK) last April 16. In behalf of the Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro Yap, Southwestern Luzon (SWL) Stars Area Manager Nonilon D. Ayon and Grand Knight Francisco Humarang together with District Deputy Gilberto Amadure of DI-39 visited the family of Brother Antonio, who was also a former Council officer. The check was received by his bereaved wife, Sister Dolores Belamide. He [Antonio] died last April 9 at the age of 54 due to heart attack, he has four children. Ayon said. Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) as it takes pride in being the only life insurance organization with unprecedented record in fast claim settlement service. Maraming gustong kumuha ng insurance sa Pook, Silang Cavite at habang bata pa kayo at may kakayahang magbayad ay kumuha na kayo huwag iyong kung kailan lang may mamamatay. Ito ay investment rin. Kapag insured ka naka-invest ka na rin, Ayon added. The benefit certificate holder is covered until the age of 100 for the Special Plan for Elderly Knights, and the plan is payable up to age 90. For inquiries, please call the Fraternal Benefits Group Department of KCFAPI at telephone number (02) 527-2243. (Yen Ocampo)

Mrs. Dolores Belamide receives fraternal benefits check from Southwestern Luzon Stars Area Manager, Nonilon D. Ayon and Grand Knight Francisco Humarang.

Folks win over the youngsters in this photo taken during the 9th Annual Family Day and Mini Olympics of the Luzon Jurisdiction.

THE Luzon Jurisdiction of the Knights of Columbus in the Philippines held their 9th Annual Family Day and Mini Olympics in honor of the K of C local founder, Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ last May 4 at the Amoranto Sports Complex, Roces Avenue, Quezon City. More than 800 Brother Knights and Squires from different councils participated together with their families.

The insurance arm of the Order, Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) also took part in the said event. Some of the sports prepared by the Jurisdiction were 100400 Meter Dash/Relay, Egg Throwing-Catching, Obstacle Course, Patintero, Volleyball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Tugof-War, Free Throw, among others. (LuzonNews)

To be offered a guaranteed plan under the Special Plan for Elderly Knights, an ap plicant must be aged 50-85 yrs old.

SWL Area Manager, No nilon Ayon urges other Brother Knights to take advantage of the various insurance products being offered by the Knights of

Winners of 1st Luzon State Circle Art Contest Announced

WINNERS of the first ever Luzon State Circle On-the-Spot Art Contest were announced last April 21 at the KCFAPI Bldg. Intramuros, Manila. They were John Nikko S. Pelaez of Circle 4206 (First Prize Php5,000.00), Mark Jerome Agnas of Circle 4436 (Second Prize Php3,000.00), and Jao Eugene S. Pelaez of Circle 4206 (Third Prize Php2,000.00). The contest was held in celebration of the Year of Faith and the Squires Month, said Luzon Columbian Squires Chairman Jose F. Cuaresma. The activity encouraged our youth to express, enhance and nurture their talents and artistic skills and most importantly deepen their faith and relationship with God, Cuaresma said.

Marian consecration

The Cross

The activity also aims to build a camaraderie towards active youth participation and uniting one another that will lead them in one path, that is serving one God, Cuaresma furthered. The event was themed Deepening our Faith, the Squires Way, a Fertile Ground for New Evangelization. (SquiresNews)

The Spiritual Journey continues: KCFAPIs catechism for the month of May
The Fr. Valerio Malabanan Assembly ACN 2924 headed by Faithful Navigator Manuelito Magsino was invited by the Confraternity of Mary Mediatrix of All Graces to be part of the Total Consecration Pilgrimage and Conference held at the Mt. Carmel in Lipa, Batangas last May 1. The Assembly assisted the relic (veil) of Mama Mary in line with the collegial decision of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines for the simultaneous Marian Consecration. KCFAPIs previous spiritual director Fr. Jeronimo Ma. J. Cruz. Fr. Jerome was a former KC Priest-Scholar and is currently the Parish Priest of San Ildefonso Parish in Navotas. He is likewise the Superintendent of the Kalookan Diocese Schools Association and the Minister of the Ministry on Youth Affairs of the Diocese. He is also the National Chaplain of the Catholic Youth Organization. Fr. Jerome began with the Porta Fidei (door of faith) to overcome the crisis of faith. He immediately followed this up with reflections on the characteristics of faith. He mentioned the three dimensions of faith: doctrine, worship and action. Many consider themselves faithful though they forget the last dimension of faith which is translating faith into action. Consistent with the catechism teachings last month, faith without action is useless. Charity, one of the four cardinal principles of the Knights of Columbus, is a classic example of converting faith into action. He then discussed some ways on how Catholics can grow their faith in the Lord - make frequent acts of faith, pray for an increase in faith, study the truths of faith, live according to Gods will, choose friends and associates wisely, read and view

Typhoon Pablo
Fr. Jerome Cruz

Participants of the 2nd monthly Catechesis held last April 30, 2013 with main speaker, Fr. Jerome Cruz and KCFAPI Spiritual Director, Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, III

Mindanao Deputy Balbino Fauni (4th from left) hands a bag of grocery items to DD Francisco Fernandez during the ceremonial turn-over of goods last April 14, 2013 for the benefit of brother knights who were affected by typhoon Pablo in Surigao del Sur. In photo are (L R) Surigao del Sur Provincial Deputy - SK Eleunisto Dumagan, SK Alexander Cordova - Grand Knight of Council 7391, Mindanao State Membership Director and Southern Mindanao Unit Manager - SK Volmar Clavano, SK Adrian Boston - Fraternal Benefits Manager for Mindanao, SK Damaso Handugan - Unit Manager of East Central Mindanao 1 together with the Fraternal Counselors, District Deputies and Grand Knights of Surigao del Sur.

Am I an instrument of faith? Life is a journey but why are we so focused on the now and not into our destiny? In times of differences, problems in relationships, why is God so far away, sino ba ang lumalayo? We all know the many requirements to get a US citizenship, but do we all know the requirements for heaven citizenship? These and more philosophical questions were the nagging issues discussed during the second session of a series of catechism teachings conducted at the third floor of the Fr. George J. Willmann SJ Memorial Building last April 30, 2013. Invited to provoke a deeper understanding of our faith was

only good things, and avoid anything against the teachings of the Church. He proposed to practice these acts of faith and go beyond respective comfort zones even when the road seems uncertain. But then again, one cannot be successful if one is not wearing the best weapon of all, prayers. Fr. Jerome said that most people tend to forget to pray for an increase in faith. He also spread awareness on the real meaning of freedom which is not just being able to choose what you want but rather, being able to choose and do what is good. In conclusion, he reiterated the steps to gain eternal blessedness, the importance of the beatitudes and invited

everyone to incorporate them in their daily lives. Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio III, current KCFAPI Spiritual Director, discussed that life is a pilgrimage, there will be sufferings along the way but the final destination is Easter. If there is suffering or passion of Christ, there is Easter Sunday. Christian life is based on Easter, the triumph of life over sins and death, from the cross to resurrection. He encouraged everyone not to be scared of all the pains and hopelessness everyone is experiencing but to overlook these temporary struggles in life and look forward to Easter, where God will turn all sufferings into rejoicing. (Lei Ann B. Palacay)