Vol. 18 No. 16 August 4 - 17, 2014 Php 20.

00
Church group on PNoys
Yolanda claim: Fiction
NOT one to fall for
sweet talk, the Asso-
ciation of Major Reli-
gious Superior of the
Philippines for Men
(AMRSP) slammed
President Benigno S.
Aquino III (PNoy)s
claim on his recent
State of the Nation
Address (SONA)
detailing what his
administration had
supposedly accom-
plished in relief and
rehabilitation efforts
for the communities
affected by super
typhoon Yolanda
in 2013.
AMRSP executive
director Fr. Marlon
Lacal di smi ssed
PNoy s t yphoon
Yolanda achieve-
Fiction / A6
A3 C1 B1
The Cross
A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and
the Order of the Knights of Columbus
Jesus is the great
treasure, Pope teaches
Catholics urged
to recite prayer
for papal visit
Nuncio wishes papal
visit a spiritual typhoon
By Roy Lagarde
THERE is just no stop-
ping Pope Francis from
visiting the Philippines
next year and the papal
nuncio has one wish
that the occasion will
be a spiritual typhoon.
Manila Archbishop Luis An-
tonio Cardinal Tagle announced
that the pope will make a four-
day visit to the country from
January 15 to 19, 2015.
While the schedules of the
papal visit are yet to be released
later this year, Tagle hinted
the popes desire to visit areas
ravaged by typhoon Yolanda
last year.
I was a witness by how Pope
Francis was affected by the ty-
phoon Yolanda, Tagle said in a
press conference held in Manila on
July 29. Let us show Pope Francis
who we really are as Filipinos.
Papal nuncio Archbishop Gi-
useppe Pinto said he wants the
papal visit to be an occasion for
prayer and spiritual renewal.
My wish is that this visit
will be a spiritual typhoon,
Archbishop Pinto said.
Tagle noted that the news of
the papal visit was officially
released by the papal nuncio.
It was formally announced
simultaneously in Rome and
in Manila.
Youth await
papal visit
MONTHS ahead of Pope Francis
scheduled visit next year, young
people who were too young to feel
sentimental about the Pope John
Paul IIs record-breaking visit to
the Philippines in 1995 are look-
ing forward to the Holy Fathers
January visit.
vBaylon shared that the visit
will be both a blessing and an
opportunity for the faithful,
especi al l y the youth, to have
a personal encounter with the
Argentine pope, as they had so
impressively done two decades
back with his equally charismatic
predecessor.
The Legaspi prelate encourages
the faithful to prepare themselves
spi ri t ual l y f or t he upcomi ng
event.
The visit, he stresses, is a rare
chance Catholic Filipinos should
grab to grow richer in their faith.
Baylon believes that the Popes
mere presence in the country
will inspire Filipinos and, espe-
cially, raise the morale of those
affected by typhoons Yolanda
and Glenda.
The bishop expresses optimism
that the pastoral visit will rekindle
and reanimate the faith of many.
For a lot of Filipinos old enough
to feel sentimental about World
Youth Day (WYD) 1995, Pope
Francis coming will bring back a
lot of memories.
I was there! I was there!
prided broadcast journalist Mariz
Umali, who was one of the mil-
lions of WYD delegates from all
over the Catholic world who had
braved the heat and the fatigue
just to be with then Pope John Paul
II, serenading him with Tell The
World of His Love.
Looking back, Umali said WYD
1995 was among her most cher-
Prelate to PNoy, world leaders:
Speak up for persecuted Christians
MANILA Auxiliary Bishop Broder-
ick Pabillo, who chairs the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philip-
pines (CBCP) Episcopal Commis-
sion on Public Affairs, appeals to
President Benigno S. Aquino III
(PNoy) not to remain silent on the
many issues affecting Christians in
the Middle East, many of whom are
being killed for their faith.
In an interview over Radyo
Veritas Friday, July 25, Pabillo said
world leaders including PNoy
must speak up in condemnation
of the atrocities being perpetrated
by Islamic extremists against Iraqs
minority Christian population.
We need these world leaders,
including our own, airing their side
on this very important concern. It
disappoints me how our govern-
ment can still afford to keep mum
when it comes to religion, he said.
According to Pabillo, world
leaders should remind these reli-
gious fanatics to respect the right
of others to worship as they please
without harassment.
The prelate reminded them that
the right to choose ones religion is
one of the basic rights recognized by
the United Nations (UN) Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
Article 18 of this UN document
details, Everyone has the right to
freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom
to change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in com-
munity with others and in public or
private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance.
In spite of this, ChristiansAs-
syrian, Catholics and Orthodoxin
the predominantly Muslim city of
Mosul and other parts of Iraq have
been systematically robbed, evicted,
torturedand in the case of women,
rapedand forced to convert to Islam
by the jihadist group Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant/Al-Sham (ISIS).
Scholar Suha Hasham shared
that Iraqs minority Christian
population is one of the oldest
surviving Christian communities
in the world dating back to the 1st
century with the apostles Thomas
and Jude.
According to a BBC report, ISIS
claims religious authority over all
Muslims and aspires to bring much
of the Muslim-inhabited regions of
the world under its direct political
control.
Pabillo expresses support for
Pope Francis call to end the vio-
lence. (Raymond A. Sebastin)
Spiritual / A7 Youth / A7
Lack of shelter haunts
Yolanda survivors
IT has been eight months
since the devastating ty-
phoon Yolanda struck East-
ern Visayas, but as of today
thousands of survivors are
still living in tents.
Fr. Cesar Aculan, dioc-
esan social action director
of Calbayog in Western
Samar, said many people
displaced by the typhoon
have long been awaiting
permanent relocation.
In Yolanda-hit areas, the
basic problem is still the
shelter program of the gov-
ernment which has not yet
started here, Aculan said
over Manila archdiocese-
run Radio Veritas.
He said that there are
many organizations who
want to help build perma-
nent shelter, but the avail-
ability of land for resettle-
ment remains a major chal-
lenge particularly in the
towns of Basey and Marabut.
Even if theres available
relocation site, the process
takes too long, he lamented.
With the rainy season in
full swing and while other
municipalities are still look-
ing for relocation sites, tran-
sitional shelters have been
made for the survivors for
the meantime.
So its transitional shel-
ter first just to get them
out of the tents instead of
pushing for the permanent
housing, Aculan said.
In Region 8 alone, more
than 14,000 Yolanda survi-
vors or 3, 096 families are
still languishing in tents as
of July. (CBCPNews)
CBCP chief endorses
Year of the Laity
forum
SEEING it as a very im-
portant highlight capping
this Year of the Laity,
the head of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) invites
the faithful to a sympo-
sium organized by the Don
Bosco Center of Studies
called Saints and Heroes
No Less on August 21,
Thursday, at the PhilSports
Arena (formerly ULTRA) in
Pasig City.
In a circular he released
endorsing the theological-
pastoral symposium, CBCP
chief Archbishop Socrates
B. Villegas stressed the
event will [also] be the
Churchs ecclesial par-
ticipation for the fiftieth
anniversary of the Second
Vatican Councils Decree on
the Apostolate of the Laity,
Apostolicam Actuosita-
tem, on November 2015.
As the Philippine Church
looks forward to the five
hundredth anniversary
of the frst mass and frst
baptism in the country, the
Lingayen-Dagupan prel-
ate expresses hope that the
symposium will raise even
more the consciousness and
commitment of the Filipino
laity to participate in the life
and mission of the Church,
especially among diocesan
lay leaders, pastoral work-
ers, youth ministers, and
catechists.
2014 being a year es-
pecially dedicated to the
faithful, Villegas urges all
Catholic Filipinos to refect
on the challenging mes-
sage of Pope Francis in his
Evangelii Gaudium (EG).
In paragraph 102 of the
apostolic exhortation, the
pontiff says: Lay people
are, put simply, the vast
majority of the people of
God. The minorityor-
dained ministersare at
their service. There has
been a growing awareness
of the identity and mission
of the laity in the Church.
We can count on many lay
persons, although still not
nearly enough, who have
a deeply-rooted sense of
community and great fdel-
ity to the tasks of charity,
catechesis and the celebra-
tion of the faith. At the
same time, a clear aware-
ness of this responsibility
of the laity, grounded in
their baptism and confr-
mation, does not appear in
the same way in all places.
In some cases, it is because
lay persons have not been
given the formation need-
ed to take on important
responsibilities.
The Saints and Heroes
No Less symposium, Vil-
legas believes, will take
on the challenge posed by
the Holy Father in giving
extensive formation to the
Filipino Catholic laity.
The event is open to the
public.
For Inquiries contact
Event Secretariat: Tonette
Pangan (02) 718-2213 /
(02)726-7989. (Raymond A.
Sebastin)
Bishop on papal visit: Lets keep it simple
LEGENDARY Filipino hos-
pitality notwithstanding,
a prelate from Palawan
believes that a simple wel-
come for Pope Francis next
year will be the best op-
tion for both Church and
government offcials given
the pontiffs propensity for
austerity.
The activities and pro-
grams to be prepared must
be in keeping with the Popes
personality. Let us avoid
holding costly, wasteful, and
extravagant receptions, said
Bishop Pedro Arigo, apos-
tolic vicar of Puerto Princesa,
over Radyo Veritas.
These, I think, will
greatly displease him be-
cause they will not be con-
sistent with his message of
love and care for the poor,
he added.
Visit / A5
A young girl, made orphan by typhoon Yolanda after her parents and her sister were swept away by a 17-foot typhoon surge that engulfed the village of San Joaquin in
Palo, Leyte, is among those who eagerly await the visit of Pope Francis and anticipate what a once-in-a-lifetime experience of getting close to the Vicar of Christ on earth
in January next year. Roy Lagarde
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A2 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 -17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
World News
Vatican Briefng
Pope Francis issues peace plea to all Holy See embassies
ON behalf of Pope Francis, the Holy See sent a nota verbale
to all embassies urging ambassadors to work for peace. Ac-
cording to Vatican radio, the note, which has not yet been made
public, was signed by Vatican secretary of State Cardinal Pietro
Parolin. It included texts from recent speeches Pope Francis
has given calling for peace, particularly in the Middle East.
In comments made to the Vatican agency, Msgr. Dominique
Mamberti, secretary for relations with states in the Roman
Curia, said the note serves as a gesture inviting the entire in-
ternational community to take the question of peace to heart.
The note comes at a time of particularly strong violations of
human rights in the Middle East, he said. Pope Francis has
made several appeals for peace in recent weeks, including
personal phone calls to the presidents of both Israel and Pal-
estine asking for greater peace efforts. (CNA)
Change of heart toward money called crucial in trafficking fight
AT a Vatican conference held July 29 to mark the World Day
against Traffcking, a U.S. diplomat emphasized that the
scourge will not be ended until the economic attitudes that
lead to human traffcking are changed. One cannot simply
protect the victims, and bring the victims into a place of
safety, if one doesnt do anything to change the underlying
cultural assumptions that help create and foster this slavery,
this exploitation, if one does not change the underlying
economic assumptions that treat people as commodities,
Luis CdeBaca, the U.S. ambassador at large for traffcking in
persons, said July 29 via videolink. CdeBaca lamented that
governments will always try to reclassify things so they
are not defned as human traffcking to protect their fshing
industry, to protect their palm oil industry, to protect their
charcoal industry, to protect their ability to bring in nannies
or people to come and build their stadiums for upcoming
sporting events. (CNA)
Christians a fundamental part of Iraq, ambassador observes
THE Iraqi ambassador to the Holy See has lamented the on-
going persecution of Christians by ISIS forces in Iraq, stating
that they are an important and historic part of the countrys
origins. Right now with the entrance of these jihadists, ISIS,
they have imposed the sword and want to kill the Christians,
Habbib M.H. Al-Sadr told CNA July 24, 2014. This is outside
of our culture, of our history, because the Christians are a
fundamental, historic component of Iraqthey have origins
here, he continued, noting that When the ISIS jihadists
entered Mosul they forced the Christians to convert to Islam,
pay the jizya tax, or to leave or escape, because they told them
that this is not your country. Al-Sadr, a Shiite Muslim, has
been Iraqs ambassador to the Holy See since 2010, and spoke
in wake of the July 17 departure of the last Christian families
in Iraqs second largest city of Mosul. (CNA)
Meriam Ibrahim lands in Rome, meets with Pope Francis
A SUDANESE woman spared of a death sentence for refus-
ing to renounce her Christian faith arrived in Rome with
her family July 24, where they met with Pope Francis a few
hours after landing. Pope Francis was very tender with her,
her husband, who was in prison, and thanked her for her
courageous witness to perseverance in the Faith, Vatican
spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said of the encounter.
Describing the meeting between the young family and the
Roman Pontiff as very serene and affectionate, Fr. Lom-
bardi explained that for him encounter was a gesture of
closeness and solidarity for those who suffer for their faith.
According to Vatican Radio, Ibrahim and her husband Daniel
Wani, a U.S. citizen, as well as their two children, 1-year-old
Martin and 2-month-old Maya, who was born in prison, met
the Roman Pontiff in the Vaticans Saint Martha guesthouse
at 1:00 p.m. local time. (CNA)
Pope lifts suspension of Father DEscoto, former
Sandinista official
POPE Francis has lifted the suspension of Maryknoll Father
Miguel DEscoto Brockmann, who was ordered 29 years ago
to stop exercising his priestly ministry because he refused to
give up his political position in Nicaraguas Sandinista gov-
ernment. The pope made his decision after Father DEscoto,
81, formally requested permission to resume priestly duties,
Passionist Father Ciro Benedettini, assistant director of the
Vatican press offce, said Aug. 4. Vatican Radio reported that
Father DEscoto had written that he wanted to be able to cel-
ebrate Mass again before dying. The letter announcing the
lifting of the suspension was signed by Cardinal Fernando
Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of
Peoples. (CNS)
Desperation of people in Gaza spurs violence, say cardinal
THE president of Caritas Internationalis suggested Is-
raeli and Hamas leaders pick up a pair of binoculars so
they could see that most of your victims are innocent
people. Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga
of Tegucigalpa, president of the Vatican-based umbrella
organization for national Catholic charities, said peace
is impossible without reconciliation, and reconciliation
requires recognizing each other as human beings. Israel
and Hamas, why do you keep pointing out the speck in the
eye of your brother while missing the plank in your own
eye? the cardinal asked in a statement published July 31.
As Caritas, he said, we pray for peace in the Holy Land.
We pray for the Palestinian and Israeli families who have
lost their children, mothers and fathers, and for those who
have been killed. Our prayers are with the children who live
in terror and whose mental scars will run deep long after
this war is over. Despite the violence, the cardinal prayed
that Palestinians and Israelis will remain free to believe
in a future of justice and peace. (CNS)
Changes in synod process designed to increase discussion,
cardinal says
THE extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family will be
shorter than a usual synod and will include new rules aimed
at helping the bishops really grapple with the issues together,
said the general secretary of the synod. We want a frank,
open, civilized discussion, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri
said. The extraordinary synod will meet at the Vatican Oct.
5-19, bringing together the presidents of national bishops
conferences, the heads of Eastern Catholic churches and
Vatican offcials. The world Synod of Bishops, which will
include more bishopsmany elected by their peerswill
meet at the Vatican Oct. 4-25, 2015, to continue the discus-
sion on pastoral approaches to the challenges facing families
today. Although the number of participants in the extraor-
dinary synod is smaller, it will include a dozen or more
voting members named by the pope, three priests chosen
by the Union of Superiors General, a dozen or more expert
advisers, about a dozen representatives of other Christian
churches and up to 30 observers, more than half comprised
of married coupleswho will be encouraged to address the
assembly. (CNS)
Italian bishops: We can no longer remain
silent in front of the persecution of Christians
ROME, Aug 2, 2014 -- Europe has become
distracted and indifferent, blind and dumb
to the persecution that today is creating hun-
dreds of thousands of Christian victims. The
baptized faithful in countries such as Iraq
and Nigeria are living an authentic Calvary,
they are being singled out for their faith and
subjected to continuous attacks by terrorist
groups. Before such an attack on the very
foundations of civilization, human dignity
and human rights, we cannot remain silent.
The West cannot continue to look the other
way, writes the presidency of the Italian
Bishops Conference in a statement announc-
ing a day of prayer for persecuted Christians,
which will take place on August 15.
In the text, the bishops recall the upcoming
visit of Pope Francis to South Korea: For
our community, this is a valuable opportu-
nity to approach the reality of the Church: a
young Church, whose history is marked by
a major persecution, which lasted nearly a
century, in which about 10,000 faithful were
martyred: 103 of them were canonized in
1984, on the occasion of the second centenary
of the origins of the Catholic community in
the country.
In this light, the bishops write, it cap-
tures the strength of the theme that marks
the event: Young Asia! Arise! The glory of
the martyrs shines on you: If we have died
with Christ, we believe that we shall also live
with Him (Rom 6:8). These are words that
we should also shake the conscience of our
Europe, which has become distracted and
indifferent, blind and dumb to
the persecution which today has
claimed hundreds of thousands
of Christian victims.
If the lack of religious free-
domthe cornerstone of all
other human freedomsimpov-
erishes large areas of the world,
the text continues, a veritable
Calvary unites the baptized
in countries such as Iraq and
Nigeria, where they are singled
out for their faith and subjected
to continuous attacks by terror-
ist groups; driven from their
homes and exposed to threats,
harassment and violence, they
know the humiliation of exile and marginal-
ization, they know death. Their churches are
desecrated: ancient relics, as well as statues
of the Virgin and the Saints, are destroyed
by a fundamentalism which, ultimately, has
nothing authentically religious. The Chris-
tian presence in these areasits millennial
history, the variety of its traditions and the
richness of its cultureis in danger: it risks
extinction in the very place where it was
born, in the Holy Land.
Faced with such an attack on the founda-
tions of civilization, human dignity and
human rights, we cannot remain silent.
The West cannot continue to look the other
way, under the illusion of being able to ig-
nore a humanitarian tragedy that destroys
the values that have shaped it and in which
Christians are paying the price for being
indiscriminately confused with a certain
model of development. We ask that concern
for the future of so many of our brothers and
sisters translate into a commitment to inform
us about the drama that they are living and
which has been regularly denounced by the
Pope.
In this spirit, we invite all our ecclesial
communities to unite in prayer on the oc-
casion of the Solemnity of the Assumption
of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) as a
concrete sign of participation with all who
are suffering from harsh repression. Through
the intercession of the Virgin Mother, may
their example also help us to overcome the
spiritual aridity of our time and to rediscover
the joy of the Gospel and the courage of
Christian witness. (AsiaNews)
Bishops urge conscience protection for child welfare agencies
WASHINGTON D.C., Aug
1, 2014Three committee
chairmen of the U.S. Bishops
Conference are strongly sup-
porting a new bill that protects
the conscience rights of child
welfare agencies.
As you know, our frst and
most cherished freedom, reli-
gious liberty, is to be enjoyed
by all Americans, including
child welfare providers who
serve the needs of our most
vulnerable children, stated
the letter from the bishops to
the lawmakers who introduced
the bill, Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.)
and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).
Rightly, the Inclusion Act
protects the religious liberties
and moral convictions of all
child welfare providers.
The letter was authored
by Archbishop Salvatore J.
Cordileone of San Francisco,
chair of the U.S. bishops
Subcommittee for the Promo-
tion and Defense of Marriage;
Archbishop William E. Lori
of Baltimore, who chairs the
Ad Hoc Committee for Reli-
gious Liberty; and Archbishop
Thomas G. Wenski of Miami,
chair of the Committee on
Domestic Justice and Human
Development.
The proposed bill, The Child
Welfare Inclusion Act, would
ensure that adoption and foster
care agencies cannot be denied
contracts or grants from states
and the federal government
simply because of their reli-
gious beliefs.
In Massachusetts, the Dis-
trict of Columbia, Illinois, and
California, faith-based agen-
cies have been denied feder-
ally-funded contracts because
they will only match children
with a mother and a father.
According to the Daily Sig-
nal, some 2,000 children were
displaced from their origi-
nal adoption and foster care
agencies when a combination
of state laws forced Illinois
religious organizations to end
their contracts with the state
rather than place children with
same-sex couples.
The bishops maintained
that parents should be able
to choose from many differ-
ent child welfare agencies,
including those that honor
marriage as the union of man
and woman.
Indeed, women and men
who want to place their chil-
dren for adoption ought to be
able to choose from a diversity
of adoption agencies, including
those that share the parents
religious beliefs and moral
convictions, they said.
Refusing contracts to those
agencies hurts both the chil-
dren and couples, said Sen.
Mike Enzi, who helped spon-
sor the bill in the Senate.
Faith-based charities and
organizations do an amazing
job of administering adoption,
foster care and a host of other
services, he said in a July 30
statement. Limiting their
work because someone might
disagree with what they be-
lieve only ends up hurting the
families they could be bringing
together.
This bill is about fairness
and inclusion, said Rep. Mike
Kelly who introduced it in the
House. It is about ensuring
that everyone who wants to
help provide foster or adoptive
care to children is able to have a
seat at the table. (CNA)
Catholic charity to hold day of prayer for peace in Iraq
BAGHDADB, Iraq, Aug 1, 2014Aid to the
Church in Need has scheduled Aug. 6 as day
of prayer for Iraq, portions of which are now
controlled by Islamist militants, in response
to the violence threatening Christians and
others in the nation.
The prayer initiative is being supported
by the Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon, Louis
Raphael I Sako, who has composed a text for
the day of prayer.
In a message issued for the occasion, Pa-
triarch Sako underscored that Aug. 6 is the
Feast of the Transfguration, a feast of the
transformation of hearts and minds at the
encounter with the light of Gods love for
humanity.
May the light of Tabor, through our con-
cern, fll the hearts of all suffering people
with consolation and hope, Patriarch Sako
concluded.
The day of prayer was inspired by Pope
Francis insistent calls to stop the violence
in Iraq.
Johannes von Heereman, president of
Aid to the Church in Need, stated that the
Popes appeal at the July 27 Angelus address
prompted us to invite not only Christians,
but also the faithful of other religions, and
in particular the various Muslim communi-
ties who are also suffering very much from
the war, to join in a prayer for peace which
encompasses the whole world.
In view of such suffering as we are
forced to watch in Iraq today, it is time to
join together with our suffering brothers
and sisters and to show the world that we
have not abandoned them, von Heereman
declared.
Monsignor George Panamthundil, charg
daffaires at the Holy See nunciature to Iraq,
told CNA July 30, Christian refugees need
urgent humanitarian aid: accommodation,
food and medicine. Protection of the Chris-
tian villages close to territory controlled by
the ISIS is needed.
Some of the Christians displaced from
Mosul have fed to the towns of Bakhdida,
Bartella, and Bashiqa, all of which are within
30 miles of Mosul. They all suffer from a lack
of drinking water, electricity, and medicine,
ISIS having cut off their supplies.
Msgr. Panamthundil said he hopes for a
permanent solution for Christian refugees,
which has yet to be developed, alongside the
political process taking place in Baghdad.
Beyond the global day of prayer, Aid to the
Church in Need donated last month some
$134,000 to the Chaldean Archeparchy of
Mosul for those who have fed the city, and
it continues to collect funds to support the
Church in Iraq.
The Congregation for the Oriental Church-
es sent $50,000 for the same purpose, and the
Pontifcal Council Cor Unum sent $40,000
on July 24.
The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter has also
scheduled a day of prayer for persecuted
Christians in Iraq, as well as Syria and else-
where in the Middle East, being held today,
Aug. 1.
The date was chosen not only as the First
Friday of August, but because the Fraternity
observes the date as the Feast of St. Peter in
Chains.
It is the feast in which we read of the great
power of the persevering prayer of members
of the Church: Peter therefore was kept in
Prison. But prayer was made without ceasing
by the Church unto God for him, the FSSP
said in a July 22 statement announcing the
day of prayer.
This feast of our Patron should be an
invitation to the faithful to join us in Holy
Hours and other ftting prayers to beg the
Most Holy Trinity that these members of the
Mystical Body may persevere in the faith,
and that, like St. Peter, they may be delivered
from this terrible persecution. May such a
day serve as a reminder to us of the stark
contrast that stands between our days of
vacation and ease, and their daily struggle
for survival as they are killed or exiled from
their homes.
The Sunni militant organization ISIS took
control of Mosul, in northern Iraq, in June,
and on July 18 the group issued an ultima-
tum to Christians in the city insisting they
convert to Islam, pay jizya, or be killed.
Thousands of Christians and other re-
ligious minorities fled the city, seeking
refuge in villages in the Nineveh Plains and
Kurdistan.
According to United Nations data, only
about 20 Christian families have remained
in Mosul.
More than 1 million Christians lived in
Iraq before the 2003 U.S. invasion, but their
numbers have now plummeted and observ-
ers fear that they could soon be eliminated
from the country altogether.
According to Patriarch Sako, Mosul itself
had 60,000 Christians prior to the U.S. inva-
sion in 2003, which had fallen to 35,000 by
this year. (CNA)
Archbishop sees Myanmar as one family, appeals for unity
YANGON, July 31, 2014--Arch-
bishop Charles Bo of Yangon, in
a message on the theme of fam-
ily, has likened the nation as a big
family and appealed for unity
and peace among all the ethnic
groups in Myanmar.
I would like to draw attention
to the urgent need for unity in
the family of Myanmar. We are
a diverse nation, a family with
seven children, which are the
seven major ethnic groups. We
are all sons and daughters of a
great nation. God has blessed us
with abundant gifts, with natural
and human resources. But today
the nation is bleeding, stabbed
repeatedly by hatred. Unity
is the strength of a family, not
hate, the Salesian prelate said.
Archbishop Bo reminded
t he Burmese f ai t hf ul t hat
Pope Francis has convened
the Third Extraordinary Gen-
eral Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops in the Vatican from
October 5 to 19 on the theme
The pastoral challenges of
the family in the context of
evangelization.
Many of the ri ch coun-
tries have given up on having
families and the gift of life is
rejected As Christians, we
are called to celebrate life, to
say thank you to our parents
and our families, said the
message.
The Archbishop recalled that
the Buddhist and Christian
culture have in common the
great respect towards their
parents. We call God our fa-
ther Abba and we consider him
a loving and lovable father,
who also makes us children
and brothers and sisters in the
Lord.
The Archbishop noted that
the nation was at a crucial
point and what is done to-
day and in the next fve years
would determine Myanmars
destiny.
He condemned the hatred and
violence that occur in the coun-
try, especially against Burmese
Muslims, and said that those
perpetrating violence are de-
stroying the family spirit of this
country.
Archbishop Bo recalled that
people of all religious commu-
nities had worked and given
their lives for the freedom and
independence of Burma. In
the list of martyrs killed with
General Aung San (national
hero), there were two Muslims,
U Abdul Razak, the minister for
education, and his bodyguard
Maung Htwe.
The Archbishop concluded,
Any nation that refuses to ac-
cept peace that passes through
justice does it at its own risk.
Pope Paul VI urged the world:
real peace is born out of justice.
Our nation is conceived as a
single family, knowing that our
unity is in diversity and not in
uniformity. Our diversity is our
wealth. (Agenzia Fides/UCAN)
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A3 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
News Features
Jesus is the great treasure, Pope teaches
VATICAN City, Jul 27, 2014On
Sunday Pope Francis stressed
the priceless value of encoun-
tering Jesus, noting that Jesus
parables speak of those who are
willing to trade everything for
the Kingdom of God.
He who knows Jesus, who
encounters him personally, re-
mains fascinated and attracted
by so much kindness, so much
truth, so much beauty, and
everything in great humility
and simplicity, the Pope said
July 27.
Look for Jesus, meet Jesus:
this is the great treasure! the
Pope exhorted.
Speaking before the noontime
Angelus prayers, he addressed
thousands gathered in St. Peters
Square from his window in the
Vaticans Apostolic Palace.
The Pope refected on the two
parables in the Sunday Mass
reading from the Gospel of Mat-
thew: the parable of the treasure
discovered buried in a feld and
the parable of the pearl of great
price.
He said these parables show
that the discovery of the King-
dom of God can come sud-
denly, as when the farmer
discovers unexpected treasure
in a feld and sells everything to
buy it. The Kingdom of God can
also come after a long search,
like the case of the merchant who
sought a precious pearl.
Pope Francis stressed the pri-
mary lesson of both parables: the
farmer and the merchant give
up everything else to buy what
they have found.
They do not need to reason,
to think, to refect: they realize
immediately the incomparable
value of what they have found,
and are willing to lose every-
thing to have it.
So it is with the Kingdom of
God, the Pope explained. He
who fnds it has no doubts. He
feels that this is what he was
searching for, what he was look-
ing for, and what responds to his
most authentic aspirations.
The Pope reflected on how
many saints were converted
because they were so affected
by Jesus. He noted that St.
Francis of Assisi was a luke-
warm Christian but when he
encountered Jesus in a deci-
sive moment, he found the
Kingdom of God and then
all his dreams of earthly glory
vanished.
The Gospel makes you recog-
nize the true Jesus, it makes you
recognize that Jesus is alive. It
speaks to your heart and changes
your life.
When someone i s born
again, he explained, you have
found something that makes
sense, that gives favor, that gives
light to all, even to hardships,
even to suffering, even to death.
The Pope repeated his previ-
ous encouragements to read the
Gospels and asked everyone to
carry a small book of the Gospels
in their pocket or purse.
Everything makes sense
when there, in the Gospel, you
can find this treasure, which
Jesus called the kingdom of
God, that God who reigns in
your life, in our lives, Pope
Francis said.
To read the Gospel is to fnd
Jesus and to have this Christian
joy, which is a gift of the Holy
Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters, the
joy of having found the treasure
of the Kingdom of God shines,
you see, he continued. The
Christian cannot conceal his
faith, because it shines through
in every word, every gesture,
even in the most simple, every-
day: it shines, the love that God
has given us through Jesus.
On Sunday Pope Francis also
renewed his calls for peace in
the world.
After the Angelus, the Pope
noted the July 28 anniversary of
the start of World War I.
This confict, which Benedict
XV called a senseless slaughter,
resulted, after four long years, in
a most fragile peace, he said.
Tomorrow will be a day of
mourning for this tragedy, said
Pope Francis, who lamented the
millions killed and the immense
destruction in the war.
As we remember this tragic
event, I hope that the mistakes
of the past will not be repeated,
he said.
He urged everyone to learn
from a history that is increas-
ingly dominated by the demands
of peace through patient and
courageous dialogue.
Pope Francis particularly
noted ongoing conficts in the
Middle East, Iraq, and Ukraine.
I ask that you continue to join
me in prayer that the Lord may
grant the people and authori-
ties of those areas the wisdom
and strength needed to push
ahead on the path of peace by
addressing each dispute with
the tenacity of dialogue and
negotiation with the power of
reconciliation, he said.
Brothers and sisters: Never
war! Never war! he exclaimed.
The Pope especially lamented
wars effects on children: those
killed, wounded, and maimed;
the orphaned; those who have
lost hope for a decent life; and
children who do not know how
to smile.
Stop, please! he said to those
involved in violent conflict.
I ask you with all my heart.
(CNA/EWTN News)
Pope offers 10 tips for peace and
happiness
CNS Report, Aug 1, 2014Slowing
down, being generous and fghting for
peace are part of Pope Francis secret
recipe for happiness.
In an interview published in part in
the Argentine weekly Viva July 27, the
pope listed his Top 10 tips for bringing
greater joy to ones life:
1. Live and let live. Everyone
should be guided by this principle, he
said, which has a similar expression in
Rome with the saying, Move forward
and let others do the same.
2. Be giving of yourself to others.
People need to be open and generous
toward others, he said, because if you
withdraw into yourself, you run the risk
of becoming egocentric. And stagnant
water becomes putrid.
3. Proceed calmly in life. The pope,
who used to teach high school litera-
ture, used an image from an Argentine
novel by Ricardo Guiraldes, in which
the protagonistgaucho Don Segundo
Sombralooks back on how he lived his
life. He says that in his youth he was a
stream full of rocks that he carried with
him; as an adult, a rushing river; and in
old age, he was still moving, but slowly,
like a pool of water, the pope said. He
said he likes this latter image of a pool of
waterto have the ability to move with
kindness and humility, a calmness in life.
4. A healthy sense of leisure. The
pleasures of art, literature and playing
together with children have been lost,
he said. Consumerism has brought us
anxiety and stress, causing people to
lose a healthy culture of leisure. Their
time is swallowed up so people cant
share it with anyone. Even though many
parents work long hours, they must set
aside time to play with their children;
work schedules make it complicated,
but you must do it, he said. Families
must also turn off the TV when they
sit down to eat because, even though
television is useful for keeping up with
the news, having it on during mealtime
doesnt let you communicate with
each other, the pope said.
5. Sundays should be holidays. Work-
ers should have Sundays off because
Sunday is for family, he said. 6. Find
innovative ways to create dignifed jobs
for young people. We need to be creative
with young people. If they have no oppor-
tunities they will get into drugs and be
more vulnerable to suicide, he said. Its
not enough to give them food, he said.
Dignity is given to you when you can
bring food home from ones own labor.
7. Respect and take care of nature. En-
vironmental degradation is one of the
biggest challenges we have, he said. I
think a question that were not asking
ourselves is: Isnt humanity committing
suicide with this indiscriminate and
tyrannical use of nature?
8. Stop being negative. Needing to
talk badly about others indicates low
self-esteem. That means, I feel so low
that instead of picking myself up I have
to cut others down, the pope said.
Letting go of negative things quickly
is healthy.
9. Dont proselytize; respect others
beliefs. We can inspire others through
witness so that one grows together in
communicating. But the worst thing
of all is religious proselytism, which
paralyzes: I am talking with you in
order to persuade you, No. Each person
dialogues, starting with his and her own
identity. The church grows by attraction,
not proselytizing, the pope said.
10. Work for peace. We are living in
a time of many wars, he said, and the
call for peace must be shouted. Peace
sometimes gives the impression of be-
ing quiet, but it is never quiet, peace is
always proactive and dynamic. (CNS)
Pope Francis greets crowd during his General Audience on May
15, 2013. Stephan Driscoll
Yolanda survivors look
forward to Popes visit
PALO, Leyte, August 3, 2014In spite
of the trauma they had been through,
survivors of super typhoon Yolanda
welcome with much excitement the off-
cial announcement of Pope Francis ap-
proaching visit to the Philippines from
January 15-19, 2015, which includes the
disaster-hit areas in the itinerary.
The people here keep saying theyre
very much inspired and they look for-
ward to the Popes bringing his message
of joy and hope, Archdiocese of Palo
spokesperson Fr. Amadeo Alvero said
over the Church-run Radyo Veritas.
The priest emphasized the rare op-
portunity to have a personal encounter
with the charismatic pontiff means so
much to the survivors as they continue
to rebuild their lives after the devasta-
tion wrought by typhoon Yolanda.
Alvero is confdent that the Popes
mere presence will inspire and raise
the morale of thousands affected by
the calamity.
He shared that the Holy Fathers
willingness to be one with the survivors
will renew their faith in God and their
commitment to rise up from the chal-
lenges of typhoon Yolanda. (Raymond
A. Sebastin)
Pope Francis is expected to visit some areas affected by super typhoon Yolanda. CBCP News
Sisters Act: How nuns are fghting human traffcking
MANILA, August 1, 2014Religious
women can help crack down on human
traffcking crimes. This is the reason
why an international network against
human traffcking is going all out in its
recruitment of nuns to help in the fght
against this cross-country exploitation.
Religious women should take part
in fighting human trafficking in the
Philippines and other countries, Sr.
Mary Adel Abamo, Sisters of the Divine
Savior (SDS), who is main animator of
Talitha Kum for Southeast Asia and the
Philippines, urged fellow nuns to join
the campaign against human traffcking.
In the Philippines, Talitha Kum
comprises the Sisters Association in
Mindanao (SAMIN); Womens Ministry
of the Diocese of Iligan; Carmelite Sis-
ters of Charity of Vedruna in Tagaytay
and the Womens Ecological Center of
the Oblate Sisters of Notre Dame in
Kidapawan, Mindanao, among others.
(Photo: Talitha Kum Network)
Wide network
According to Abamos analysis,
congregations of nuns have a wide
network which is crucial in fghting
human traffcking.
This capacity to interconnect help
from law enforcers and concerned non-
government organizations was dem-
onstrated when fve young women on
board a Jakarta-bound ship were saved
from traffcking.
A Societas Verbi Divini (SVD) priest,
who was also aboard the same vessel,
perceived the women were in distress,
Abamo said.
The priest approached them, who
disclosed they sensed they were about
to be traffcked.
He phoned nuns in Talitha Kum,
who in turn, contacted the police. The
women were fetched by the law enforc-
ers at the seaport upon landing.
Another congregation offered tem-
porary shelter, and kept in touch with
Talitha Kum about their whereabouts,
Abamo said.
The five women were returned to
their parents in two days.
Exploitation
Thats the importance of setting up
a network of religious women against
human traffcking, she said. The nuns
are capable of doing many things, and
also religious men and laypeople.
About 800,000 to two million people are
traffcked worldwide each year, according
to the United Nations Offce on Drugs and
Crime Global TIP Report in 2012.
Sixty percent of victims are women,
13 percent are men and 27 percent are
minors, she said.
The motives of human traffcking
are sexual exploitation, forced labor, do-
mestic servitude, and organ removal,
Abamo said.
The idea for the Talitha Kum network
came about in 2007 when superior-
generals from different congregations of
religious women in different countries
were alarmed by the growing incidence of
traffcking in person worldwide, she said.
The campaign offcially started in 2009.
In the Philippines, Talitha Kum com-
prises different congregations of reli-
gious women, the Philippine Interfaith
Movement Against Human Traffcking
(PIMAHT) and law enforcers. (Oliver
Samson)
Pope: mercy, compassion
at heart of new covenant
VATICAN City, Aug 6, 2014 -- In his
frst general audience since June, Pope
Francis continued his catechesis on the
Church, explaining that Jesus fulflls the
Old Testament by giving a new teaching
on mercy in the beatitudes.
At the heart of the new covenant is
our realization that, in Christ, we are
embraced by Gods mercy and compas-
sion, and that our lives must bear wit-
ness to his love for all our brothers and
sisters, the pontiff stated in his Aug. 6
general audience.
Beginning a catechesis on the Church
shortly before breaking for summer,
Pope Francis continued this line of
refection, telling those gathered in the
Vaticans Paul VI Hall Dear Brothers
and Sisters, in todays audience we
resume our catechesis on the Church,
the People of God.
Prepared for in the Old Testament
and established by Christ in the fullness
of time, the Church is a new people,
founded on a new covenant which is
sealed with the blood of Jesus, he said.
Explaining how this newness brought
by Jesus does not set aside what went
before, but brings it to completion, the
Roman Pontiff noted the importance of
the fgure of John the Baptist in scrip-
ture, stating that it is very signifcant
since it prepares the people to receive
the Lord.
Saint John the Baptist is a bridge
between the prophecies and promises of
the Old Testament and their fulflment
in the New, he said, observing how he
points to Jesus and calls us to follow
him in repentance and conversion.
Going on, the Pope pointed out that
Jesus also, on a small hill, delivered
a new teaching to his disciples, which
begins with the beatitudes.
The new law which Jesus gives in
the Sermon on the Mount perfects the
law given to Moses on Mount Sinai,
he explained, stating that In the Beati-
tudes, Jesus shows us the way in which,
with his grace, we can attain authentic
happiness.
Observing how the beatitudes are
like the portrait of Jesus, his way of life
and path to happiness that the human
heart longs for, Pope Francis drew
attention to how Jesus tells us in the
Gospel of Matthew that our Christian
life will be judged on how we treat
him in the least of our brethren. (Elise
Harris/CNA)
Pope Francis greets the sick and handicapped during his General Audience on May 15, 2013. Stephan Driscoll)
PH netizens go nuun for Iraqi Christians
MANILA, July 29, 2014Ar-
menia. Auschwitz. Nanking.
Cambodia. Bosnia. Rwanda.
Never again, we thought.
Were wrong.
Many Catholic Filipinos
online are posting the Ara-
blic letter Nuun as their
profile pictures to express
indignation over the ongo-
ing genocide of thousands
of their Christian brethren
in Iraq by members of a
jihadist group half an ocean
away.
Taking the digital world
by storm, the symbol i c
move protests against what
is eerily reminiscent of the
Armeni an Hol ocaust of
1915.
These Facebook Crusad-
ers condemn the systematic
forced evacuation, robbery,
torture, rape, and killing of
entire Christian communi-
ties in Mosul by the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (Isis)
extremists.
All these in spite of the
Ramadhan.
Among those who have
joined this global protest are
priests Melvin Castro and
Abe Arganiosa, Knight Rom-
mel Lopez and pro-lifer Lor-
na B. Melegrito, art curator
Joel de Leon, and hundreds
of ordinary faithful.
Lopez laments, If the
only media of mass com-
munication you use is TV,
like what most Filipinos use,
chances are you dont know
that Christians are being
murdered in Iraq right now.
Mind-boggling why news-
casts dont even mention this
systematic mass murder of
Christians.
Ateneo professor Quirino
Sugon referred to this col-
lective indifference as the
silence of the lambs.
Nuun for Nazarene
Catholic apologist Christo-
pher R. Alferi shares on his
Facebook post that Nuun, the
frst letter of the word Nas-
rani, meaning Nazarene, is
what the Muslim extremists
of the ISIS use to indicate
the home of a Christian or
Christians in the Iraqi city
of Mosul.
The goal of the Isis mili-
tants is either to drive the
followers of Christ from that
city, force them to commit
apostasy, or put them to the
sword, Alferi explained.
A Rorate Caeli article
stresses, In their genocid-
al physical elimination of
Christians from the Mesopo-
tamian city of Mosul, Mus-
lim terrorists marked each
Christian-owned institution
and building with this let-
ter, for the extermination of
holdouts and expropriation
of their belongings.
The Telegraph recently
reported, For the frst time
in 1,600 years, Mass is not be-
ing said in Mosul: an ancient
culture has been wiped out in
a matter of weeks. Its a war
crime that, strangely, no one
seems to want to talk about.
It added, The genocide of
local Christians did not begin
with Isis but with the 2003
invasion of Iraq. Prior to the
confict, there were 1.5 mil-
lion Chaldeans, Syro-Cath-
olics, Syro-Orthodox, Assyr-
ians from the East, Catholic
and Orthodox Armenians
in the country living, of
course, under the tyranny
of Saddam Hussein, but liv-
ing nonetheless. Today, their
number has dropped to just
400,000. Religious violence
peaked in the frst four years
of the invasion. (Raymond
A. Sebastin)
A4 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 -17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
EDITORIAL
Opinion
Pedro C. Quitorio
Editor-in-Chief
Nirvaana E. Delacruz
Associate Editor
Roy Q. Lagarde
News Editor
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EVERY pastor will sometimes go before his people, pointing
the way and keeping their hope vibrant; the pastor should go
ahead at times. At other times, he will simply be in their midst
with his unassuming and merciful presence. At yet other times,
he will have to walk after them, helping those who lag behind.
In front or amongst or behind the people, the pastor must be
always humble.
When we lose humility, we lose perspective. When we lose
perspective, we also become too reactive. When we become too
reactive, we become less effective and less credible as pastors.
The loss of humility in Church ministry can be very costly.
If we are ready to walk in cadence with Pope Francis...
Perhaps, we can reconsider our approach in solving the cancer
of Philippine society which is graft and corruption by talking
more about the beauty of integrity and honesty rather constantly
denouncing the evil that we experience.
Perhaps we can widen circles of integrity rather than creating
fercer watchdogs against corruption. Perhaps we need to remind
ourselves that for every prophetic denunciation we utter we
must stretch our hands to offer an opportunity for conversion
and healing.
Perhaps we can reconsider our approach to solving the problems
of family and life by listening more to the wounded and the
grieving broken homes rather than condemning divorce and
abortion and contraception at every opportunity. To keep healthy,
one needs to stretch everyday. The body needs it, so does the
heart and mind. Perhaps we can reach out to more people by
stretching our minds and lowering our fences and listening like
Jesus without being judgmental or punitive.
Perhaps we can be more convincing if we used the power of
goodness and beauty rather than the brilliance of polemics and
debates. The cynics and skeptics will ask for baptism not because
of intelligent proselytism but by the sweetness of Christian
exemplary living. After all, did not our grandmothers tell us that
we can catch more fies with a teaspoon of honey than with a
gallon of vinegar? St Francis said Go and preach the Gospel.
Use words if necessary.
As Vatican II concluded, Venerable Pope Paul VI asserted, This
world in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into
despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart. Beauty
is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which
unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration.
Perhaps instead of denouncing poverty and unjust social
structures, we can talk more about the power of generosity and the
promised abundance that God has promised to those who leave
everything behind to follow Him. Perhaps we can fght poverty
by embracing simplicity of life. If our stomachs know hunger
by experience, the hungry and suffering poor will believe us.
(Lifted from a speech delivered by Archbishop Socrates B Villegas
to the CBCP Plenary Assembly on July 5, 2014)
EXCEPT for those who quite surprisingly preferred to insist
on their own assessment of ground realities, well-meaning
Filipinos who could be bereft of any political agenda saw the
5th State of the Nation Address of President Aquino swerving
further away from objectivity. The hoi polloi rendered it simply
yet more bluntly this way: PNoy, sinungaling ka! (PNoy,
you are a liar!).
This was how InterAksyon, the online news portal of TV5,
quoted verbatim the reaction of typhoon Yolanda victims. They
picked out, for instance this part of the SONA: Your government
wasted no time in responding. We immediately cleared the
airport, which is why, within 24 hours after the storm, three
C130s were able to bring in aid. On that same day, we were
also able to set up a communications hub to hasten the fow of
information. On the second day, the Department of Healths Rapid
Health Assessment teams arrived, as well as additional soldiers,
policemen, and BFP (Bureau of Fire Prevention) personnel from
other provinces. Likewise, workers from DSWD (Department of
Social Welfare and Development) led relief operations--in the
distribution centers in Eastern Visayas or in repacking centers
all around the country.
Everybody knows, of course, that this did not happen. In fact
Anderson Cooper of CNN, not to mention the local networks,
berated the Philippine government for its conspicuous absence
during the first five days or so after super typhoon Yolanda
devastated Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas on November
8 last year. The Secretary of Department of Interior and Local
Government would even justify and unwittingly confirm
governments inaction in a discretely recorded altercation when
he told the Tacloban mayor: You have to understand, youre a
Romualdez and the President is an Aquino. If governments
inefficiency was corrigible, that could have been done in no
time. But nine months after that fateful November, the country
has yet to see the much-hyped rehabilitation plan for Yolanda
victims concretized. Statistics will bear that in Region 8 alone,
which comprises Eastern Visayas, more than 14,000 Yolanda
survivors or 3,096 families are still languishing in tents as of
July 2014.
A lot of issues maybe raised about the SONA or, for that matter,
against this administration. But all those become peripheral
when what is at stake is a question of truth.
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Candidly Speaking
Candidly Speaking / A7
The challenge of Pope Francis
A question of truth
Teary SONA
Managing todays
dizzying transitions
Oscar. V. Cruz, DD
Views and Points
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
and thats the truth
And Thats The Truth / A6
The President cried
ALL the previous SONAs were delivered
with the proper voice moderations and facial
expressions, not to mention the accompa-
nying modest gestures . They were read
with the expected calm and composure. As
usual, names of offcial collaborators were
proudly mentioned and their respective
achievements were accordingly proclaimed.
And as expected, applauses were periodi-
cally and respectfully made especially by
pro-administration allies. So it was for all
the past yearsuntil the last one which was
out of the ordinary for at least three distinct
reasons:
First, there was the all-out intent/effort
on the part of the President to categori-
cally mention and specifcally point out the
quasi-innumerable and extra-marvelous
achievements particularly realized by his
administration in the year past. Noticeably,
however, the SONA speaker obediently re-
mained deadly silent on the well-known and
formally-censured gross mismanagement of
public funds by way of the now infamous
DAPa misdeed that gave him some kind
of a black eye.
Second, there were the usual periodic ap-
plauses made by the audience in the Plenary
Hall of Congress. This time however, they
seemed to be relatively few in number and
even quite moderate in sound, i.e., made
neither out of conviction nor spontaneously
so, but rather according to cuewhenever
the President made noticeably deliberate
pauses. Such a rather sad situation was
expectedconsidering his constitutional
predicament, not to mention the whale of a
difference between his blissful pronounce-
ments and sad and pitiful realities on the
ground.
Third, there was the feeling of some self-
pity on the part of the President whom more
and more number of people from all sectors
of society have come to reject. There was
the downright censure he received from the
Supreme Court. There were thus the differ-
ent impeachment complaints lodged against
him. There were the big noise rallies held
against himwith all kinds of ugly-looking
caricatures made and burned during those
angry occasions.
So did the SONA end with some kind of a
trembling, presidential voice and teary eyes.
While the president felt and was even prob-
ably convinced that he did what he could
for the people in general, a big number of
Filipinos, however, felt victimized by his
administration such that his approval rating
was at its lowest. It was such an unsteady
voice and wateryplus the recall of his fa-
ther in particularthat brought the house
down, so to speak.
But now, there is even a coup rumor here
and there against his incumbency! Who
would not be sad? Who would not be
teary-eyed?
OUR human condition cannot avoid mis-
ery in one form or another. A quick look
around would reveal cases upon cases of
human misery blighting our world today.
Poverty, hunger, ignorance, illness, injus-
tice abound, their stench practically filling
the air.
Beggars proliferate in the streets. Home-
less families, with little children all dirty
and practically naked, stay and sleep on
sidewalks or under bridges and flyovers.
Many moneyless sick and those with dis-
abilities waste away in some public hospi-
tals or in some corners.
There still are other forms of human
misery that may not be immediately
perceptible because they are more subtle
and more complex. They hide behind the
masks of wealth, fame, power, exuding an
air of sophistication and adept in the ways
of pretense and deceit, but they are there
nonetheless, and in fact, are more disturb-
ing, more dangerous, more pitiable.
In the face of all these, we need to learn
what to think and do about them. We
should not be casual and cavalier about
them. We simply cannot depend on our
spontaneous impulses, since these can take
only the external aspects and miss the real
issues, and can lead us to depression, to get
scandalized and fall into self-pity -- frozen
into inaction.
This is where we have to have recourse
to our core beliefs. If we dont have faith,
then we would just be at the mercy of our
instincts and impulses, our estimations
of things, both personal and collective, of
some social trends and political consensus.
These, at best, can give us only a tentative,
partial view and some passing relief, but
they can never totally cope with human
misery.
Our Christian faith offers us a global pic-
ture of this phenomenon, explaining to us
its origin and causes, its forms and ways,
its remedies, both temporal and eternal,
both immediate and ultimate.
We need to enliven this faith in this
regard, so that even as we go through the
unavoidable experience of human mis-
ery, we can still find meaning and hope
in them, we can still afford to find peace
and joy through them. In fact, we can still
derive not only some good, but rather our
true, ultimate goodour salvation
That is why we need to know very
closely the doctrine of our faith regarding
evil and sin, the misuse of our freedom,
and our disloyalty to God to have a good
idea of the causes of human
misery. These indeed are the root causes
of human misery.
Such knowledge would somehow calm
our worries about why human misery
exists. It would lead us to focus our at-
tention more on what to do with it. We
avoid wasting time, simply feeling bad
and lamenting.
Then we have to know how to deal with
human misery. In this regard, we just have
to look more closely at Christ. He showed
us the way. He was full of compassion. If
need be, he performed miracles, healing
the sick, recovering the sight to the blind,
hearing to the deaf, and even bringing the
dead back to life.
These miracles only show that we too
THERES something off-putting
about President Noynoys SONA
last July 28. Its normal for
and indeed expected ofany
president to report on his or her
administrations accomplish-
ments and plans for the future.
But this SONA to me bears the
odor of deceitnot Noynoys
deceit (for we are willing to give
any president the beneft of the
doubt), not the speechwriters
either (for it is their job to choose
and prettify facts to present for
this purpose) but the kind of
deceit that is so veiled in beauty
that it can derail a nations pur-
suit of truth.
Fine, Noynoy presented a
glowing roster of achievements,
backed by fgures and testimo-
nies of contented citizens, but we
should not forget that whatever
is stated in any SONA may not
necessarily be the whole truth. It
is the presidents truth, his cabi-
nets truth, his administrations
truth, his familys truth, the truth
according to his Kaeskwelas,
Kabarilans and Ka-whatever-is-
the-next-Kbut no matter how
many truths a SONA dishes
out, they are still fractions of the
whole truth and as such must be
subjected to scrutiny.
More important than what
Noynoy said in his latest SONA
is what he left unsaidabout
the issues that people deserve
to be elucidated on but which
his achievement report at-
tempted to cover upforemost
of which are the DAP (Disburse-
ment Acceleration Program) and
the FOI (Freedom of Informa-
tion bill). No mean thanks to
Noynoy and his speechwriters
who are masters at evading is-
sues, his 90-minute speech was
punctuated by 85 rounds of ap-
plause. If people watching him
on television applauded with the
audience in the hall instead of
talking back to Noynoys image
(as I did), then woe is me!
Mr. President, the issue is not
just where the funds went or that
a lot of people beneftted from
them, but WHY you spent them
without Congress approval,
WHY the fact of the DAP was
concealed until its disclosure
could no longer be helped, WHY
you insist on your innocence and
righteousness despite a 13-0 vote
declaring it unconstitutional by
the Supreme Court. This is not
just a squabble among siblings,
Noynoy: you are President, you
are supposed to lead, you are
on top of the senators and con-
gressmen accused in the PDAF
messif Tatay defes authority
and steals, cheats and lies, why
shouldnt Kuya and Ate do the
same? Do you realize how your
defance of the Supreme Court
ruling may affect the youth
today, future public servants?
What if the DAP had never
been exposed? Who could say
for certain that those billions
would not be used up to curry
favor with forces inimical to
Filipino interests, or to build up
your friends and annihilate your
enemies? Of course, since the
DAP was uncovered by Senator
Jinggoywho incidentally is
now gagged and de-winged
your party had no choice but
to say the money was spent on
the good, but then again, whose
good? Are the Filipinos given ac-
cess to information to verify your
A5 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Opinion
Exoduses
Pope Francis Visits Korea,
Sri Lanka and Philippines
Passing the Bar
Mary, light of our home,
church (Musings on the
feast of the Assumption)
Fr. Carmelo O. Diola
Spaces of Hope
Rev. Eutiquio Euly B. Belizar, Jr., SThD
By the Roadside
Atty. Aurora A. Santiago
Duc in Altum
Fr. Francis Ongkingco
Whatever
Duc In Altum / A7
IT is not easy to lose a home. I
know the feeling. My team and I
recently lost two of our offces in
rapid succession. Actually, there
was a third one. But Im getting
ahead of my story.
Our Exoduses spiritually be-
gan during the October 2013
Philippine Conference on New
Evangelization in Manila. The
day before the conference began,
a strong earthquake hit Cebu
and Bohol. When it struck, I
was actually lining up at the
San Francisco Airport for a fight
back home. I stood horrifed as
seemingly surrealistic images
of demolished church buildings
came streaming through elec-
tronic devices.
My team in Cebu had second
thoughts about proceeding to
Manila. Only after assessing
minimal damage in our area did
they decide to go. I met up with
them a day later.
God makes all things new!
Cardinal Tagle declared before
the participants. This set the tone
for the joyful gathering. It also
got my team thinking, What
is the Lord preparing us for?
A week after the conference, we
went to Maribojoc and Loon,
Bohol to show solidarity with the
local church. As we shed tears
before the pulverized spiritual
heritages of the Boholanos, we
were also inspired by their fght-
ing spirit.
Meanwhile, my brother Neil,
who happened to be visiting
from Florida, and his friends,
Gau and Kenneth, started Barog
Kapilya to provide counterpart
funding for the rebuilding of
some chapels in Bohol. Was this
a fulfllment of the making-all-
things-new inspiration we got
from the PCNE?
But this was not yet it, as we
found out when on 8 November
2013 super-typhoon Yolanda
hit the Visayas. This literally
changed the face of the earth
in that part of the country. 11
days later some members of my
team were off to Palo to provide
some assistance. It was to be a
two-way street as our teammates
drank deeply of Gods spiritual
comfort. When we give, we re-
ceive even more.
***
We were still in the thick of
our engagement with the Arch-
diocese of Palo when news of
the imminent demolition of our
offce reached us. The building in
which our offce was located was
to give way to the Pavilion of the
2016 International Eucharistic
Congress. The St. Jerome Biblical
Center had been our home for
14 years. A working space was
promised us in the new edifce
two years hence.
Although we had actually
hoped for a general renovation
of the building, this develop-
ment caught us by surprise. We
decided to face our uncertain
future with joyful hope trusting
in Divine Providence.
God is never outdone in good-
ness. The first outreach to be
affected was our work with
street children. As the metal and
concrete skeleton of our building
was slowly exposed, it became
too dangerous for the kids to
continue coming. We needed
another place. Our search, hap-
pily, was short-lived. Our PNP
partners offered us a police sta-
tion for our Saturday street kids
encounter.
This came on the heels of a
weekly ftness activity initiated
by the PNP regional director,
PCSupt. Renato Constantino,
participated in by policemen and
about 20 street children. Packed
supper at the end of each activ-
ity elicited appreciative smiles.
Participating children soon real-
ized that policemen are authority
figures deserving respect not
morbid fear. Policemen realized
that street kids had names.
Meanwhile, our office was
moved to Bethlehem Center
where our offce staff and work-
ing students stayed. Cramped
is an understatement. Despite
the discomfort, my team gamely
accepted the condition as part of
Gods plan. The prayer rhythm
continued.
***
Then another exodus hap-
pened. We were informed that
Bethlehem Center was being
sold. We had to look for another
place. This pushed us to search
for alternatives, from the YMCA
to private homes, from a Church-
owned building to a ground-
floor area of a condominium.
We even explored retrofitting
a container van. All were dead
ends.
I texted SOS to our members.
One of them heeded my call and
let his mind wander around
Cebu City looking for a place
for us. He eventually ended up
in the subdivision where he lives
pinpointing the house nearly in
front of his home. At about the
same time my heart also spoke
to me. It was about the same
house.
Being in prime land and hav-
ing a foor space ten times that
of Bethlehem Center, the rental
was also ten time more. When
the owner knew about the pro-
spective lessor, he cut the lease
in half. He deducted a further
amount for the contract.
If the Lord does not build
the house, in vain do its build-
ers labor... Psalm 127:1 puts
it. Our seemingly short-lived
passage through the wilderness
of having no offce space for our
advocacies strongly indicates
the presence of the Builder. In
the process we discovered the
beauty of Divine Mercy empow-
ering us to ignite spaces of hope
by giving us a space to nurture
our own hopes.
We are opening the San Jose
Center for Companions on 15
August 2014 with Archbishop
Jose S. Palma blessing the center.
Meanwhile I am moving out of
the seminary that I have called
home for the last 24 years in
order to assume the role of a
member of a team of pastors.
But this is another story.
HIS Eminence Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle,
Archbishop of Manila, offcially announced
details of the Apostolic Visit to the Philip-
pines of Pope Francis during a press confer-
ence at the Arzobispado de Manila. The Pope
will be in the Philippines from January 15 to
19, after his visit to Sri Lanka from January
12 to 15. The theme of the Visit is Mercy and
Compassion. Details will be announced at
the end of the year, but as Pope Francis an-
nounced months ago, he wants to be with the
victims of super typhoon Yolanda.
Present at the press conference were the
Apostolic Nuncio Most Rev. Archbishop
Giuseppe Pinto; the Chairman of CBCP
Episcopal Commission on Social Communi-
cations and Mass Media and Bishop of the
Diocese of Pasig Most Rev. Mylo Vergara;
and Malacaang Communications Offce
Secretary Herminio Coloma. Since Pope
Francis is a Head of State of Vatican, it is
also a state visit which is why Malacaang
is involved in the preparation. Sec. Coloma
disclosed that President Noynoy Aquino ap-
pointed Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa
as head of the government Committee.
Cardinal Tagle gave a challenge: show
the Pope who the Filipinos are. He said
preparation for the visit can be done through
spiritual renewal, returning to the Word of
God, frequenting the Eucharist and Adora-
tion, returning to God through the Sacrament
of Reconciliation and doing corporal and
spiritual works of mercy.
Pope Francis visit is 20 years after St. John
Paul II came to the Philippines and led the
youth in the 1995 World Youth Day; 5 to 6
million people gathered during the historic
event.
Pope Francis frst Apostolic Visit to Asia
is to Korea, from August 13 to 18 for the 6th
Asian World Youth Day and the Beatifcation
of the Korean martyrs.
***
Eight months had already passed since
Typhoon Yolanda devastated Central Vi-
sayas but reports coming from the region
and the victims themselves shows that the
government assistance is still coming in
trickles. Thousands of survivors are still suf-
fering and continue to live in tents. Fr. Cesar
Aculan, Diocesan Social Action Director
of Calbayog in Western Samar, said many
people displaced by the typhoon have long
been awaiting permanent relocation. The
shelter program of the government has not
yet even started. Many organizations would
like to help build permanent shelter, but the
availability of land for resettlement remains a
major challenge. Even if there were available
relocation sites, the process takes too long.
During this rainy season and while other
municipalities are still looking for relocation
sites, transitional shelters have been set up
for the survivors in the meantime.
What happened to the billions of dollars
and relief goods donated by foreign gov-
ernments, corporations, organizations and
individuals, not to mention those coming
from the Philippines itself? Why not use the
money for the immediate recovery and re-
habilitation process instead of keeping them
in the coffers? Why not distribute the foods,
medicines and other relief items instead of
allowing them to rot and perish? Aanhin
pa ang damo kung patay na ang kabayo?
(What is the grass for if the horse is already
dead?)
As it is, only the Philippine National Red
Cross, Churches and religious organizations,
corporations, private organizations and in-
dividuals never tire of helping the victims
through construction of houses and school
buildings, conducting medical and dental
missions, distributing food and medicines,
debriefng victims suffering from trauma,
providing fshing boats to fshermen whose
boats were inundated by the food. Foreign
EVERYONE who has played
addicting tablet games such as
Bejeweled, Plants vs. Zombies,
Temple Run type games, Candy
Crush and even more sophisti-
cated First Person Shooter (FPS)
games comes across a common
feature in them: most, if not
all, video gamesespecially
the captivating and enjoyable
oneShave a LEVEL BAR.
The level bar is an indispens-
able part of any game. It refects
in real time the progress the play-
er is making. Bars differ from
each other: there are life or health
level bars, power or money bars,
or the simple progress bar that
when filled ushers the player
into another more challenging
level. Its unthinkable and very
diffcult to play any game with-
out these bars.
Bars also refect the environ-
ment or objects that we interact
with. For example, if an enemy
is about to be defeated or an
obstacle hurdled, their respec-
tive bars fash a warning colour.
Sometimes the shape and size
of these bars change indicating
that we have additional power
or strength.
In real life, we also depend on
similar visual indicators. For
example, the battery level of our
smartphones and laptop, the sig-
nal strength indicator, the Wi-Fi
strength of a hotspot and so on.
We just cant do without these
important and helpful signs for
our day-to-day engagements.
But what about our spiritual
life? Surely, in something im-
portant as our eternal destiny,
shouldnt there be indicators to
show us how we are progressing
and how we might be able to
upgrade ourselves and win the
reward of Heaven?
Thus, a common concern for
both teenagers and adults is:
what indicators are there to help
us gauge spiritual progress? How
will I know that Ive already ac-
quired a particular virtue? What
can quantify my efforts in my
spiritual life and formation?
The desire to materially quanti-
fy ones spiritual life is something
normal. But we must remind
ourselves that, like many realities
in life, there are no strict indica-
tors for progress. For example,
there is nothing that can precisely
quantify human love or sacrifce.
To do so would mean providing a
silly monthly remuneration for
say, fatherhood or motherhood.
However, there are still ways
of arriving at certain measures
that will at least give some assur-
ance of progress and fruitfulness.
There are two helpful means: a
norm sheet and a notebook.
The norm sheet is a simple
table which contains in the
leftmost column ones habitual
norms (e.g. prayer, Holy Rosary,
spiritual reading, etc.) and the
topmost row contains each day
of the month. One then goes on
ticking off, in whatever helpful
manner, by grading or rating
how each norm was performed.
This will give one an idea of
his progress in each spiritual
engagement.
The notebook is similar to a
diary, but does not have to rigor-
ously follow a diarys narrative
style. The notebook (classical or
digital) gives one the possibility
of jotting down notes, insights,
and resolutions that stem from
the norms carried out through
the day, signifcant events during
the day, or the punctual advice
given in spiritual guidance.
One must remember that
these only serve as means to
a the specifc end of achieving
constancy and a more profound
grasp of the motivating factors
behind ones thoughts, words
and actions. They, so to speak,
act as spiritual selfes showing
a more objective presentation of
our self before God and neigh-
bour. Converting them into ends
would deform them into a mere
spiritual hit-list and even an av-
enue for self-contentment.
Perhaps, the best spiritual
indicator that will integrate the
previous ones would be spiri-
tual direction. Not only is this a
wonderful venue to enrich ones
spiritual life, but will also reveal
the non-quantifiable variables
indispensable for an enduring
spiritual growth and richness.
For example, even though
we may have been relatively
successful with our morning
prayer, spiritual guidance will
further help one to examine his
intention behind its execution.
One discovers not only how to
recite this prayer with fervour in
order to avoid routine, but also
how to extend ones resolutions
throughout the entire day.
Another would be how we
practice charity with our neigh-
bours, colleagues and relatives.
We learn to go beyond mere
cordiality or thoughtfulness
and are guided to overlook our
feelings, comfort zones or frst
impressions.
Thus, together with the norm
sheet and notebook, spiritual
guidance truly enriches the
persons spiritual journey. Even
though these means may not
clearly usher us into any spiri-
tual level, they constantly raise
us into the one and only playing
level known to God: His infnite
love for every man and woman
who seeks to do only His will. In
the end of lifes game, God will
ask you and me only one thing,
How have you loved me? (St.
John of the Cross)
WE have a saying: Ang ina ay ang ilaw ng tahahan (Mother
is the light of the home). To this I once heard a friend quip:
Kung ang ina ang ilaw ng tahanan, ano naman ang ama? (If
the mother is the light of the home, what is the father?) He
answered his own question: Kung mabuti syang ama, sya
ang kandila; kung hindi sya mabuting ama, sya ang -----co!
(If he was a good father, he would be the candle; if not, he
would be -----co!)
I have a sense that very few among Pinoy Catholics will
contest the proposition regarding Mary being the light of our
home, the Church. If we, on the one hand, believe, as we say
we do, that Mary is our Mother as Jesus told us from the Cross
(Jn 19:27: There is your mother), then Mary in our Filipino
Christian culture, on the other, is the Light of our Home, the
Church. We say so for a big reason. Mama Mary is resplen-
dent with the light of faith. That is the Mama Mary that we see
being presented in her Assumption. Revelations reference to
the woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her
feet, and her head a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1), as Bible
experts tell us, can give us a variety of meanings. She could
refer to the People of God in the Old Testament (OT) founded
on the twelve tribes, a people who gave birth to the Messiah;
second, she could also be the New People of God founded on
the twelve apostles, the Church; third, she could be Mary who
represents the best of OT Israel and New Testament New Israel,
the Church. She herself gave birth to Jesus, the Messiah, whose
Body we are all members of. In a word, by virtue of our being
members of Christ Jesus her Son, Mary is our Mother.
It is in this context that we can say Mary is, by extension,
the Light of our Home, the Church (understood here as the
locus of the Fathers Family) through her faith. The gospel of
Luke especially is our witness to how that faith truly gives
light to us. First, it is her faith that shows us that listening is an
essential component of our life as children of the Father. She
is portrayed unambiguously as refecting on the Word of the
Lord and the events of her and her Sons life through which
God also speaks to her (Lk 2:19, 51). Second, she follows up her
listening with doing, as when she obeys Gods plan for her to
be the Mother of Gods Son. Behold the handmaid of the Lord;
let it be done to me as you say (Lk 1:39). Her obedience casts
an enlightening ray on our struggles to fnd the path to God.
Third, even Elizabeth extols her for trusting that the Lords
words to her will be fulflled (Lk 1:45). It is a faith manifested
in trust. The art of trust, however diffcult at times, is necessary
in our primary relationships, with God foremost. The leap of
Marys trust in God teaches us that faith -- admittedly a risk
-- is one always worth taking. Fourth, her faith is also shown
by her loving service, as when she visits Elizabeth during her
time of need, as she is about to give birth. The light of faith,
Mary shows, may meander but it leads to charity.
On top of all these, faith such as that we glimpse in Mary
provides light to society in various ways. On this Pope Francis
is our foremost authority. One, faith, teaches the pope, gives a
frm grounding to the brotherhood of man by referring it to God
as our one and common Father (Lumen Fidei, no. 54). Two, faith
brings human beings an understanding of the unique dignity
of each person, something which was not clearly seen in antiq-
uity, as the case of the pagan Celsus reproaching Christians
for considering man greater than grass and brute beasts (ibid.).
Three, faith reveals to us the love of God the Creator and
thus enables us to respect nature all the more, and to discern
in it a grammar written by the hand of God and dwelling place
entrusted to our protection and care (LF 55). Four, faith also
helps us to devise models of development which are based not
simply on utility and proft, but consider creation as a gift for
which we are all indebted (ibid.). Five, it teaches us to create
just forms of government, in the realization that authority comes
from God and is meant for the service of the common good
(ibid.). Six, faith likewise offers the possibility of forgiveness
especially once we discover that goodness is always prior to
and more powerful than evil, and that the word with which
God affrms our life is deeper than our every denial (ibid.).
Lets examine Mama Mary in relation to the ways faith can
be light to society. The grounding of the brotherhood of hu-
man beings on God as our Father was made possible because
Mama Mary consented to being the Mother of Gods Son in
whom we are Gods children. Our unique dignity as human
persons precisely comes from sharing in the sonship of Jesus
Christ, something that would not have been possible if he
did not assume our human nature through Mama Mary. The
revelation of God as Creator fnds its unique form when the
uncreated Son of God took on a creatures nature through a hu-
man mother named Mary. Mama Marys making herself avail-
able for service to her cousin Elizabeth and even to a newly
wed couple in Cana certainly speaks for her faiths concrete
manifestation seeking other persons welfare not based on
utility and proft but on love. Mama Marys Magnifcat speaks
of unjust rulers being deposed by the Almighty God through
his own mysterious ways positively speaks of Gods desire for
just forms of government. Finally, does Mama Mary stand
for forgiveness? By implication. She stood by Jesus to the bitter
end, even when he prayed to the Father, Father, forgive them,
for they know not what they do (Lk 23:34). Moreover, she still
remained with Peter and the other apostles even when they
abandoned her Son on the way to his crucifxion.
If Mama Marys faith lives in us and in our society, society
will be transformed from inside out.
Since he assumed the See of
Rome in March 2013, following
the resignation of Benedict XVI,
the first Jesuit Pope from the
ends of the world has become
known for his humility and
simplicity in manner and cloth-
ing, cemented by his use of
the un-papal name Francis,
in honor of the medieval Ital-
ian saint and mystic who was
known for his virtuous poverty.
Arigo pointed out that an ex-
pression of hospitalitya trait
Filipinos are known the world over
formarked by ostentation and
insensitivity will likely be an insult
to people who have less in life.
The prelate advised against
treating the Holy Father just like
any other celebrity, reminding
the Filipino faithful to focus on
the message the Pope will be
bringing, especially to the thou-
sands affected by super typhoon
Yolanda, instead on satisfying
ones personal need to brag
about having met him in person.
Pope Francis, the 265th suc-
cessor to Saint Peter and head
of the worlds largest Christian
religion, with over a billion
adherents in all continents, is
scheduled for a four-day pasto-
ral and state visit to the biggest
Catholic nation in Asia from
January 15-19, 2015.
After Blessed Paul VI and
Saint John Paul II, he will be the
third Vicar of Christ to come to
the Philippines. (Raymond A.
Sebastin)
Visit / A1
A6 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 -17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Local News
Church-run agencies aid
Gumaca Glenda survivors
CHURCH-RUN Caritas Manila and the Par-
ish of Saint John the Baptist (Quiapo Church)
joined forces in giving away 2,500 packs of
relief goods to people affected by typhoon
Glenda in the Diocese of Gumaca, Quezon
Province.
Together with Gumaca Dioceses Social
Action Center (SAC) and Radyo Veritas,
these Catholic agencies distributed on
Saturday, August 2, 800 relief packs inclu-
sive of food and hygiene kits to the five
parishes of the town of Calauag; 300 relief
packs in Macalelon; and 1,200 relief packs
in the Bondoc Peninsula, four parishes.
According to Fr. Tony Aguilar, who heads
Gumaca Dioceses SAC, his offce coordinated
with each parish and local government unit
(LGU) offcials beforehand to identify which
families and communities were most in need
of help, and to avoid giving relief goods to
areas that had already received it. Each relief
pack consisted of food and toiletries good for
a family of six and can last for a week.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Bishops Confer-
ence of the Philippines- National Secretariat
for Social Action(CBCP-NASSA) and the
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) provided
materials for the repair of houses damaged
by the typhoon.
Aguilar shared that CBCP-NASSA has
pledged P500,000, and CRS another P500,000,
for the reconstruction of 333 houses de-
stroyed by Glenda. (Raymond A. Sebastin)
Antipolo youth to host confab on
relationship chastity
FOCUSING on what is a burning issue for
so many young people today, the Diocese of
Antipolo in partnership with the Live Pure
Movement is scheduled to host a Live Pure
Diocesan Conference that will deal with the
relevance of purity today, on August 2.
In line with the Catholic Bishops Con-
ference of the Philippines (CBCP) call
for renewed and integral evangeliza-
tion, and this Year of the Laity challenge
Choose to be Brave, KaDA (Youth of the
Diocese of Antipolo) invites all youths
from ages 15 to 39 everywhere, to join the
discussion on love, relationships, chastity
and purity.
The said event will be held from 8 a.m. to 5
p.m. at Assumption Antipolo School, located
in the city of Antipolo, Rizal.
The Live Pure Diocesan Conference is
free of charge, snacks will be provided
and walk-in participants will be accom-
modated.
Participants are asked to bring water tum-
bler, packed lunch and writing materials.
For queries, concerns and more informa-
tion, contact 0915-826-9040 (Dani Villanueva)
or 0917-893-3256 (Chrixy Paguirigan). De-
tails are also available on the KaDA Face-
book page, https://www.facebook.com/
kadamya?ref=br_tf
Live Pure is a Catholic pro-life youth
movement committed to leading young
people to a life of chastity. The group also
promotes and defends the culture of life. Visit
their website at: http://www.livepuremove-
ment.org (CBCPNews, Chrixy Paguirigan)
The Youth of the Diocese of Antipolo partners with the Live Pure Movement in hosting the Live Pure Diocesan Conference,
which focuses on youth issues like chastity and abstinence. KaDA
Bishop begs
OFWs in Libya:
Come home!
A BISHOP calls on Filipinos
in Libya, where a conflict
between government forces
and rebel groups has broken
out, to return to the safety of
their home country.
I appeal to our country-
men to come home the soon-
est. Lets hope and pray that
they will soon realize that the
life which drives us to make a
living is more important than
act of making a living itself,
Novaliches Bishop Emeritus
Teodoro Bacani said In a
recent interview over Radyo
Veritas.
He called on Overseas Fili-
pino Workers (OFW) in the
predominantly Muslim state
to stopping put their lives on
the line, and to value their
well-being more than the
amount of money they can
hope to earn there.
According to Bacani, life
is worth more than all the
money in the world.
Bacani fears for the safety
of Filipinos as the situation
in Libya worsens.
The bishop laments the
fate of a Filipina nurse, who,
the Foreign Affairs Depart-
ment confirmed, had been
kidnapped and raped by a
group of six Libyan youth in
Tripoli on July 30.
He stressed that similar
incidents might happen again
to Filipinos if they keep re-
jecting the immediate repa-
triation being offered by the
Philippine government.
Of the estimated 13,000
OFWs in Libya, 900 have
already been repatriated.
(Raymond A. Sebastin)
Catholic schools: K to 12 is pro-poor
SEEING in it a way out of
socio-economic hardship, the
Catholic Educational Associa-
tion of the Philippines (CEAP)
backs the governments K to 12
program.
We at CEAP agree that K to
12 not only reforms the coun-
trys educational system, it
revolutionizes it, said CEAP
executive director Rhodora An-
gela Ferrer in a recent interview
over Radyo Veritas.
Ferrer explained that K to
12 favors the underprivileged
because it prepares them better
for future employment.
This [K to 12 program] is a
pro-poor initiative, a gift by the
state to the students. When you
get a senior high school diploma,
it is a very valuable diploma be-
cause it will allow you to work
already or proceed to higher
Schools in the Philippines are gearing up to implement the last of the K to 12 changes
within the year. CBCP News
education. A basic education
diploma has more value now as
compared before under the old
curriculum, she noted.
Cat hol i c school s st art ed
t o i mpl ement t he changes
brought about by K to 12 on
the first and seventh grades
in 2012, on the second and
eighth grades in 2013, and
on the third and ninth grades
in 2014.
Meanwhile, Department of
Education (DepEd) spokes-
man Tonicito Umali blamed
the lack of politica willl
for the delayed acceptance
of K to 12 program which, he
stressed, has long been the
norm in other parts of the
world.
Umali pointed out that as
early as 1925, changing the
basic education curriculum to
meet international standards
was already being considered,
but pressure from the oppo-
sition forced proponents to
junk the idea. (Raymond A.
Sebastin)
ments as fction.
According to the priest,
AMRSP had remained in Ta-
cloban long after the onslaught
and days before PNoys people
thought of going there.
We were there three days
after Yolanda, and I saw no
representative from the national
government. It took four days
before Mar Roxas came out in
the open. For six months, almost
every week, I was there. [so]
I know what was going on,
Lacal said.
He stressed there is no truth in
the Presidents boast that elec-
tricity was restored immediately.
Even now, he explained, plac-
es wrecked by Yolanda still
experience frequent power inter-
ruptions.
[Energy] Secretary Jericho
Petilla vowed to resign from his
post if he failed to resolve the
power crisis on December.
Petilla did resolve it temporar-
ily only this February. Although
now there is electricity, supply
is fuctuating and not all areas
are reached, Lacal added. (Ray-
mond A. Sebastin)
Fiction / A1
facts and validate your claims?
Despite its claims of upright-
ness, honorableness and re-
spectability, this administration
has no intention of showing
its hand to the people. The
fast-tracking of the FOI bill
promised by Noynoy in his
campaignwasnt even touched
by the SONA. The day after the
SONA it was reported that being
Number 18 in the Presidents
priority bills, it would surely be
approved in time for the next
administration to implement
it. Did this convince you of the
Noynoy camps sincerity or did
this make you think they really
want their activities kept secret,
until the 2016 elections are over?
Noynoy has sort of made a
presidential trademark of his
tirades. From the start he has
been known to publicly hu-
miliate his perceived enemies
of the tuwid na daan, and
while in his latest SONA he
still couldnt help blaming the
past administrations and con-
gratulating his own, he didnt
insult anyone this time. That
trait, even though disguised in
righteousness, has cheapened
him in the eyes of those who
know what a statesman is; it
made Noynoy look and sound
like a kanto boy provoking
street fghts. But last July 28,
when we were wearily expect-
ing more of the same punches,
this butangero cried instead.
Gosh, the president cried? Yes!
And the headlines soon af-
ter dripped with presidential
tearsit was an emotional
moment for the leader of the
land. His fans and cheerlead-
ers (paging Kris A. Abigail V.
and Sonny B.) were of course
quick to the draw and painted
a pathetic fgure of a head of
state so human and humble,
buckling down from the weight
of his critics condemnation.
Poor little Noynoy, despite his
good works critics lashed at
him; in pain he digressed from
the prepared speech and spoke
from the heart.
It was sickening to hear some
otherwise hardboiled radio
and TV commentators soon
cooing over the presidents
tears, as though he deserved
to be hugged and comforted
on account of his woes. Thats
whats funny with us Pinoys.
Really vital issues do no get re-
solved in our country because
we are easily distracted by side
issuesthis time costumed in
tears. We have pusong ma-
monour heart readily bleeds
i n sympathy when we see
tearsnakukuha tayo sa luha.
We love melodramadont we
see that in the movies and TV
shows we love to follow? But
melodrama shouldnt suffice
when whats at stake is the
Constitution. I suspect that
Noynoy was sincere, that is,
sincerely misguided and was
carried away by the truths
he was reportingand so in
self-pity he cried.
Humble? He was advised be-
fore his SONA not to gloat. He
was smart enough to heed that
advice. But humility is a virtue
tested by fire, its not mani-
fested once and for all! With the
threat of impeachment gathering
momentum, he had better be
humble! With a popularity rat-
ing plunging on account of his
defiance, he would be foolish
not to retreat. His characteristic
arrogance and self-righteousness
would prove fatal in the face of
a Supreme Court thats intensely
defending the Constitution.
Is this show of Noynoys
transformation for keeps?
I doubt it. How can I trust
a president that defies the
Supreme Court and rallies
the people to wear yellow to
support him? I have never
seen President Noynoy wear
a Philippine flag pin on his
chestonly that silly yellow
ribbon. I put no premium on
sloganeering and flattery as a
substitute for an administra-
tions sincerity. Kayo ang boss
ko. The Filipino is worth
fighting for. That only works
in showbiz, not in running the
state. The more those slogans
are repeated, the more fake
they soundbecause of the
absence of solid evidence to the
contrary. Up to now, Noynoys
minions are still campaigning
to revive the yellow fever
and the presidential sister s
TV show is both the standard
bearer and launching pad for
this divisive endeavor.
It seems that for this presi-
dent, the country ought to be
divided into two camps: those
who are with him are clean,
upright, and care about the
Filipino; those who are not
with him are corrupt and take
advantage of poor. To sort of
prove his sincerity, Noynoy
mentioned religious leaders
towards the end of his SONA,
among them Catholics, whom
he said would continue what he
started (Itutuloy nila ang atin
pong sinimulan.) Huh? Hello?
Come again? Citing names of
a Cardinal, respected Church
people and cloistered nuns as
though he had assigned them
to be his successors? Noynoy,
anak, with or without you,
they have done, are doing, and
will do what is right. Before,
during, and after youthey do
what is right, because that is
what God has ordained them to
do. You are not their God. And
thats the truth.
And Thats The Truth / A4
Church, PH govt team up for OFWs
in war-torn Libya
QUEZON City With the re-
patriation process of OFWs in
Libya already underway, the
Catholic Church in Libya joins
the Philippine government in
its efforts in keeping Filipino
citizens, safe from the raging
confict in that predominantly
Muslim state.
In a Radyo Veritas report
Monday, July 28, Filipino priest
Amado Baranquel, who runs
the Maria Immacollata Parish
in Tripoli, the Libyan capital,
underscored the need to send
these Overseas Filipino Work-
ers (OFWs) back to their home
country to ensure their safety.
Baranquel shared that the
armed clash between Libyan
government forces and the rebel
groups make the area dangerous
for foreign nationals.
The priest explained the repa-
triation team considers evacuat-
ing these Filipino war refugees
by sea as land travel land has
been deemed too unsafe.
He said, Depending on the
number of evacuees, we might
transport them by shipA trip by
land is unthinkable at the moment.
The militias and Al-Qaeda Islamists
are after each others throats bat-
tling for supremacy here.
Baranquel renewed his appeal
to the faithful to continue pray-
ing for the well-being of their fel-
low Filipinos stranded in Libya.
Meanwhile, he confrmed that
two congregations of nuns, see-
ing no end to the confict, have
recently left Libya for the safety
of Italy. (Raymond A. Sebastin)
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines- National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA) also organized relief operations for typhoon Yolanda survivors in the Visayas.
CBCP-NASSA
A7 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Diocesan News
Prelate urges political conversion
PUERTO PRI NCESA Ci t y,
PalawanBishop Pedro Ari-
go, who heads the Apostolic
Vicariate of Puerto Princesa,
calls for political conversion,
stressing it is high time gov-
ernment officials have it.
The prelate shared, The sys-
tem of greed, the selfishness,
and the materialism prevent
us from to standing up as one
political force. What we really
need if we really want to go to
the bottom, to the root of it all,
is political conversion.
The prelate maintains that
while a political system and
the people running it lack
political conversion, Filipinos
will have no hope of seeing
their lives changed for the
better.
Ari go expl ai ned there i s
no way that what President
Benigno Aquino III touted as
trickledown effect in the
growth of the economy can
reach the Filipino grassroots,
if greed for power and exces-
sive love for self are what
drive local politicians into
action.
He noted, What the govern-
ment claims as trickledown
effect hardly trickles down,
thats why those on the grass-
roots level are disappointed
for not feeling the supposed
benefits of the economic prog-
ress. When you look at the
bigger picture, you can see
somethings wrong with the
system, that even PNoy or
any other leader gets elected,
the same things will happen
over and over again, and were
doomed.
As long as corruption and
the pillaging of the national
coffers are the norm, the bish-
op pointed out, the worsening
incidence of poverty will see
no end.
Arigo also faulted the imbal-
anced way in which govern-
ment tries to root out poverty
in the country, focusing only in
developing Metro Manila and
the urban areas to the neglect
of Filipinos living in far-flung
provinces like Palawan.
In Palawan alone poverty
incidence reaches as high as
63.8 percentalmost 64 per-
centof the population. Either
rural development is lacking or
Some 3.6 million people or 16.3% of the total population will experience hunger at one
point, says a June 2014 Social Weather Station (SWS) survey. CBCP News
none at all. And because Metro
Manila gets all the projects, its
little wonder rural folks keep
going their, aggravating urban
congestion, he added.
A Social Weather Station
(SWS) survey conducted in
June 2014 shows that 16.3%
of the current total Philippine
population, equivalent to 3.6
million people, experience
hunger at one point.
The same study reveals that
55% of (or 12.1 million) Fili-
pino families consider them-
selves poor.
Integrity should start
in self bishop on
DAP, PDAF
BACOLOD CityIn the midst of
the post-SONA rush of analy-
ses and commentary, a bishop
reminded the faithful that in-
tegrity and transparency begins
with the self, in ones own home.
What change is needed in
me? Bacolod Bishop Vicente
M. Navarra said July 28 in his
message during a prayer vigil at
the San Sebastian Cathedral after
the 6 p.m. Holy Mass.
Navarra said during the vigil,
integrity should start in our-
selves, in our family, and our
offces.
Our fght against injustice is
useless if we too are contributing
to it, he warned.
In line with the challenge of
the Year of the Laity Choose
to be Brave, Navarra said the
faithful should not be lim-
ited to criticizing, but should
put into effect real means for
change.
To bring about personal and
societal transformation, the
Bacolod prelate reminded the
people of the primacy of prayer.
He said this was the reason the
gathering was a prayer vigil and
not a rally.
Lastly, Navarra emphasized
the recourse to peaceful means,
not to violence, especially in
these times of widespread public
outcry for truth, transparency
and change.
If you personally know pub-
lic offcials, reach out to them.
Share with them the Good News.
If they are involved in corrup-
tion, help them be converted,
he encouraged the public.
The prayer vigil aimed to
raise awareness on the need for
authentic public service that is
marked with integrity, account-
ability and transparency, not
with cover-ups, corruption, or a
self-serving agenda.
To explain the rationale of the
event San Sebastian Cathedral
Rector Fr. Felix Pasquin said
the faithful are looking for the
truth, especially in the present
issues on the Priority Develop-
ment Assistance Fund and the
Disbursement Acceleration
Program.
He also explained the pro-
phetic concern of the Church
in working against injustices
and oppression of the poor.
(Fr. Mickey Cardenas)
A protester joining the Abolish the Pork Barrel rally on November 12, 2013 calls for moral
integrity among leaders. FILE PHOTO
Confab to explore contraception-corruption link
ILOILO CityA pro-life conference to be
held at the Iloilo Grand Hotel on July 25 26
is set to explore the link between contracep-
tion and corruption.
A contraceptive mentality is the root to a
self-centered mindset that, in turn, foments
corruption in society. Contraception leads to
greed that leads to corruption, Jaro Arch-
diocesan Commission for Family and Life
(CFL) director Fr. Randy Doromal, who is set
to celebrate holy mass on the second day of
Human Life Internationals (HLI Pilipinas)
Western Visayas-Palawan Regional Family
and Life Conference, said.
DAP, PDAF context
He explained the importance and timeli-
ness of the conference by putting it in con-
text of the current national crisis involving
the Disbursement Acceleration Program
(DAP) and the Priority Assistant Develop-
ment Fund (PDAF) plaguing the Aquino
administration.
According to Doromal, the ongoing DAP
and PDAF scandals are clear manifestations
of corruption in people that champion a
contraceptive mentality and a relativistic
morality.
Where there is respect for life, there is
respect for the whole human person. On
the other hand, when there is contraception,
life is not considered as sacred anymore and
each new child is not seen as a gift from the
Lord but a as threat to society. The human
person [is] thus reduced to a mere statistic,
ends up easily cheated or manipulated, he
added.
Fully-packed conference
The two-day conference is packed with
a talks like Humanae Vitae: 36 Years of
Dissent by Dr. Rene Josef C. Bullecer, MD;
The Clergy and the Laity: Dual force in
promoting faith and defending family Fr.
Erby Davy Lajara; The 16th Congress: The
Pro-life War Zone by Cong. Lito Atienza;
The Amazing Human Body and other
issues by Dr. Rene Josef C. Bullecer, MD;
Vaccines: The Hard Truth by Dr. Dolores
Octaviano, MD; The Laity: Who are we?
Todays Urgent Challenges for the Church
and the Country by Dr. Amelita Dayrit-
Go, National President, Sangguniang Laiko
ng Pilipinas; and The Philippines at the
Crossroads, Time to Act Now! by Johma
Villahermosa.
With the theme We choose to be brave:
called to be fghters for the faith and sent
forth as warriors of life, HLI Pilipinas will
welcome delegates from the Archdioceses
of Jaro and Capiz and the Dioceses of Ba-
colod, Kabankalan, San Carlos, San Jose de
Antique, Puerto Princesa and Taytay.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo will
celebrate the holy mass on the frst day of
the conference.
On a positive note, the Jaro CFL Director
sees hope when the family and life ministry
is strengthened: It is in the family, which is
a school of selfess love, where future leaders
are formed and where they begin to learn
good governance. (Fr. Mickey Cardenas)
corporations, organizations and
celebrities personally extended
help to the victims. Thank you
all for your kindness. May our
Lord continue to bless you.
***
On Disbursement Accelera-
tion Program (DAP), we must
respect the unanimous decision
of the Supreme Court, tasked
by the Constitution to review
whether a law, executive order
or circular is unconstitutional.
Litigants may fle a motion for
reconsideration and it is up for
the Supreme Court whether to
reverse its decision or not. We
should always be vigilant that
both PDAF and DAP should not
be resurrected under the guise of
a new name. Government agen-
cies must use their own savings
and not legislators nor other
agencies.
***
Vatican is concerned about
the worsening peace situation in
Gaza, Syria and Iraq where hu-
man rights violation is common,
thus, it sent Nota Verbale to all
embassies accredited to the Holy
See calling for peace, particularly
in the Middle East.
The Holy Father has dem-
onstrated his concern for the
families in Mosul, inviting the
world to pray for them. He has
also contacted personally the
Chaldean and Syrian Patriarchs,
encouraging their pastors and
focks to be strong in hope. The
Holy Father has sent fnancial
help to families through the
Pontifcal Council Cor Unum.
He also released the universal
prayer intention for the month
of August which says, may
the refugees, forced by violence
to abandon their homes, fnd a
generous welcome and the pro-
tection of their rights.
***
On the occasion of the Diocese
of Kalookans 11th Anniversary
and Feast of its patron saint
San Roque, we congratulate
Most Rev. Francisco de Leon,
Apostolic Administrator of
the Diocese of Kalookan and
Auxiliary Bishop of the Diocese
of Antipolo, clergy, religious,
newly-ordained deacons Rev.
Jonjon Bernardo and Rev. Jay
Arvin de Leon, seminarians,
the officers and members of
Diocesan Organizations and
parish pastoral councils led by
Council of the Laity of Kaloo-
kan and its parishioners. The
Diocese was erected by virtue
of the Papal Bull signed in 2003
by the now St. John Paul II. May
our Lord continue to bless the
Diocese and let peace, unity,
understanding, humility and
cooperation be in the heart of
everyone!
***
I wish to greet Fr. Alberto
Caballero and Fr. Jojo Aguas a
Happy Birthday; also Happy
Sacerdotal Anniversary to Fr.
Romeo Estanislao,OFM and Fr.
Luis Zapata, IVE.
Duc In Altum / A5
should be compassionate with
one another, doing everything
to solve whatever misery we
have. Before having recourse
to Christ for some extraordi-
nary interventions as in some
miraculous cures, we have to
exhaust all human means to
do this.
But he never failed to under-
score the importance of faith in
all this. Thats why he always
told the beneficiaries of his mi-
raculous cures that it was their
faith that made them merit such
miracles. The unbelievers did
not receive any miracles.
He neither failed to preach
about the faith. It was as if he
wanted to disabuse us from
totally relying on our human
and natural means, or on some
stroke of luck and supersti-
tious practices. The human and
natural means, of course, are
always necessary, but always
at the instance of faith, and
never without it. So we have to
be careful because we tend to
be held captive by human and
natural means alone, if not by
some superstition.
When all human and natural
means have been used and
still no relief is attained, Christ
showed us how to go about
the predicament. It is simply
to bear everything, even up to
death, because as long as we
unite our suffering and death
with his, we too can expect to
resurrect with him.
Besides, our human miser-
ies already have some ben-
eficial effects. They tend to
purify and strengthen us, and
to lead our path toward God.
These truths should always be
in our mind as we go through
our miseries.
Candidly Speaking / A4
Filipinos ecstatic
In a separate interview over
Vatican Radio on July 31, Tagle
said that Filipinos are ecstatic on
the upcoming papal visit.
The cardinal hopes Pope Francis
will draw inspiration from resi-
dents of typhoon-hit areas when
he visits them.
The Filipino people are just
ecstatic! Tagle said.
The papal visit will coincide
with the 20th anniversary of the
1995 World Youth Day celebration
in Manila which was attended by
the late Pope John Paul II, who
was declared a saint recently.
And what a coincidence!
Tagle said. Now Pope Francis is
following in his footsteps.
But he is not just encounter-
ing young people. He is com-
ing especially to meet with the
people who suffered on account
of the typhoons and earthquakes
that hit the country last year,
he added.
In Leyte, a church offcial em-
phasized the rare chance to have a
personal encounter with the pope
means so much to the survivors
as they continue to rebuild their
lives.
Fr. Amadeo Alvero, Archdio-
cese of Palo spokesperson, is
confdent that the papal visit will
inspire and raise the morale of
thousands Yolanda victims.
The people here keep saying
theyre very much inspired and
they look forward to the Popes
bringing his message of joy and
hope, Alvero said.
Works of mercy
The Catholic Bishops Confer-
ence of the Philippines (CBCP)
earlier said that the central theme
of the papal visit is mercy and
compassion.
Tagle said that it has been a
recurring theme from the sym-
bolic actions of Pope Francis, as
he urged Catholics to prepare best
for the visit by returning to the
Word of God.
Another way is to do works of
mercythe corporal and spiritual
works of mercy, he said.
On the other hand, President
Benigno Aquino III is calling on all
concerned government agencies
and the citizenry to work closely
with the papal visit committee
in ensuring the success of popes
visit.
Presidential Communications
Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr.,
said the government is prepared
to provide the necessary secu-
rity concerns for the historic
event.
We are working closely with
the papal visit committee, said
Coloma.
Spiritual / A1
Lipa prepares for natl Marian pilgrimage
LIPA City, Batangas With the
Blessed Virgins birthday just a
month away, the Archdiocese
of Lipa is preparing a host of
activities culminating with the
11th National Days of Prayer and
Pilgrimage to Lipa on September
12, 2014, Friday.
May I heartily invite all, es-
pecially promoters and devotees
of Mary, Mediatrix of All Grace,
to this occasion. Please invite
others too, and tell everyone. Let
us heed Marys call to prayer,
shared Lipa Archbishop Ramn
Argelles in his Facebook status
on July 22.
The Mediatrix of All Grace leads
the faithful in defending life,
Gods gift to us, Argelles said.
The prelate also promised that
these years festivities will be
more exhilarating.
According to Argelles, the
third Marian Regatta scheduled
on September 8 will take place at
Lake Taal if the weather permits.
But he explained that despite
the destruction of many boats
by typhoon Glenda, the fuvial
procession of the Blessed Sac-
rament and the two Batangas
Marian images will take place
whatever happensto beg
God and the Blessed Mother to
possess and fructify this beauti-
ful and historic lake.
According to Argelles, the
pilgrimage will start on Septem-
ber 7 at 5 a.m. with a motorcade
which will tour the image of Our
Lady, Mediatrix of All Grace
from the Mary, Mediatrix of All
Grace Parish Church, Antipolo
del Norte, Lipa City through the
towns of Padre Garcia, Rosario,
Taysan, and Batangas City to
join the other pilgrims coming
with the Image of Our Lady of
Caysasay from Labac, Taal, or
from the other parishes of the
Archdiocese of Lipa. Each parish
will take along a parish image of
Our Blessed Mother. Holy mass
will be celebrated at the Monte
Maria Dome, Pagkilatan, Batan-
gas City, at the place of Mary,
Mother of All Asia.
At 11:00 a.m., the motorcade
will head towards the Mountain
of Salvation, Batulao, Calaca,
Batangas. Procession and holy
mass will be offered in honor of
the Mother of Love, Peace and
Joy. After the Eucharist the im-
ages of Mary Mediatrix of All
Grace and Our Lady of Caysasay
will be brought by motorcade to
Talisay via Laurel.
According to Argelles,after
the 11:00 a.m. holy mass at San
Guillermo, Talisay, Batangas,
the two images will be brought
together for the festivities and
veneration until the morning of
September 10 at the San Padre
Pio Shrine, San Pedro, Santo
Toms, Batangas.
On September 10 the two
Batangas Marian images will
be ceremoniously taken to the
Archdiocesan Shrine of Saint Jo-
seph. On September 11 the Mar-
ian Days of Prayer will continue
at the San Sebastian Cathedral.
On September 12, the dawn
procession will take the Blessed
Sacrament and the two Marian
Images from the Cathedral to
the Church of the Mediatrix of
All Grace in Antipolo del Norte.
At 1:00 p.m., the Blessed Sacra-
ment with the two images will be
transferred in procession to the
Carmel of our Lady, Mary Me-
diatrix of All Grace where more
prayers and a celebration of the
Eucharist will crown the festivities.
Fr. Shenan Boquet of Human
Life International (HLI) will
give his reflections on Mary
and Life on the Year of the La-
ity during the conferences in
the morning of September 9, 10,
and 11 to the priests, and again in
the afternoons to the public. On
September 11, Cebus Ricardo
Cardinal Vidal will preside over
the concluding holy mass at 3:30
p.m.
I hope all our Mediatrix
devotees and promoters will be
there to pray together and com-
mit ourselves still to the spread
of the devotion and to plead with
the Lord and the Holy Mother
to shower still on our country
the abundance of their heavenly
blessings, the prelate said.
For inquiries, call 043-7571534,
0906-4058545, 0927-9006468; or
email charina6599@yahoo.com
and sunting.008@gmail.com.
(Raymond A. Sebastin)
Marian devotees ask for the intercession of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace during the 4th
National Pilgrimage to Lipa in 2007. CBCP News
ished moments as a Chris-
tian and as a Filipino.
Pope Fr anci s com-
ing to the Philippines,
which with East Timor is
the only predominantly
Christian Asian nation, in
January 2015, will be the
first papal visit after 20
years for many Catholic
Filipinos, who had their
last bonding moments
with the Bishop of Rome
during the pontificate of
St. John Paul II.
To date, John Pauls phe-
nomenal 1995 visit to the
country saw the largest
number of Christians ever
assembled with between
four million and six mil-
lion people gathered at the
Quirino Grandstand, Rizal
Park, Roxas Boulevard.
(Raymond A. Sebastin)
Youth / A1
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
A8 People, Facts & Places
Lipa Carmel opens St. Teresa song contest
ATTENTION, songwriters and
aspiring musicians! The Order of
Discalced Carmelites (OCD) of
Lipa is organizing a songwriting
contest for Saint Teresa of Jesus
upcoming ffth birth centenary.
Besides coming up with a
new music piece with a mark-
edly Filipino twist honoring St.
Teresa, the competition seeks
to impart the richness of her
teaching through music, arouse
a renewed devotion to her, and
to hone Filipino talents in the
realm of religious songs.
The contest, which is orga-
nized in cooperation with the
Sub-Committee on Sacred Music
of the Archdiocese of Lipa, is
open to all amateur and profes-
sional songwriters who are Fili-
pino or of Filipino descent. The
composition must be an original
work and may be a collaboration
of up to three songwriters collec-
tively treated as one contestant.
According to the mechan-
ics released by the organizing
committee, each participant
may submit a maximum two
entries (entry shall mean one
musical work). Music may not
exceed four minutes in length
including intro and extro; must
not contain melodies similar
to that of a published, released
or recorded song in the Philip-
pines or abroad; and must be
New mag to teach
Gospel values
TO mark its tenth year of reach-
ing out to the less fortunate,
the Pondo ng Pinoy Commu-
nity Foundation, Incorporated
(PnP) recently launched Pon-
dekada: Sa 10 Taon, Malayo na
ang Narating ng Pondo ng Pi-
noy, a comic book/magazine
that seeks to promote Christian
values.
Manila Archbishop Lus An-
tonio G. Cardinal Tagle, in his
endorsement of the project, that
seeks to promote a culture
deeply rooted in love for God
and neighbor, said, They
[magazines] portray stories of
everyday heroes, people who
do good in small ways but
constantly.
PnP campaigns for integral
evangelization through small
but habitual acts of compas-
sion, and kindness in keeping
with the foundations motto:
Anumang magaling, kahit
maliit, bastat malimit ay pa-
tungong langit.
They are stories of gener-
osity, compassion, solidarity,
and hope, not in grandiose,
spectacular events, but in the
steady rhythm in life, the prel-
ate added.
The publ i cati on features
works of PnP throughout its
decade-long history with its
national advocacy and cat-
echesis that revolved around
the collection of 25 centavos
from churchgoers as an ex-
pression of ones love for the
poor.
PonDekada i s being dis-
tributed in parishes, Catholic
schools, and Archdiocesan of-
fices as directed by Manila Aux-
iliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo,
who is in charge of PnP in the
Archdiocese of Manila for pub-
lic promotions and catechesis.
(Raymond A. Sebastin)
Pondo ng Pinoy has been building the Church of the poor 25 centavos at a time.
Raymond A. Sebastin
Redemptorists renew vows, called to
imitate St. Alphonsus
PRIESTS and brothers of the
Congregation of the Most
Holy Redeemer (C.Ss.R.),
together with affliated com-
munities sharing their spiri-
tuality, renewed their vows
Friday, August 1, at Baclar-
ans National Shrine of Our
Mother of Perpetual Help
with hundreds of devotees as
witnesses.
The event coincided with
the feast day of their founding
father, St. Alphonsus Maria
de Liguori, in whose memory
a special mass was concel-
ebrated.
Humbly kneeling before
the miraculous icon of Our
Mother of Perpetual Help, the
Marian picture entrusted to
their care and whose propa-
gation made them famous
worldwide, Ba c l a r a n
Shrine rector Rev. Fr. Victo-
rino Cueto, C.Ss.R. led his
fellow Redemptorists in the
solemn recitation of the for-
mula for the renewal of vows.
Serving the poor
In his homily, Rev. Fr. Dave
Clancy invited his confreres
and the faithful to draw in-
spiration from St. Alphonsus,
his life and virtues, particu-
larly his love for the under-
privileged, and to follow his
example of poverty, chastity,
and obedience.
Reiterating the Redemptor-
ist motto, he exclaimed, With
Him is Plentiful Redemp-
tion.
Founded in 1732 by St.
Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
(1696-1787), a star lawyer
from Naples, Italy, who
had given up his lucrative
practice to dedicate him-
self wholly to ChristThe
Most Holy Redeemerthe
Redemptorists, then as now,
have been known for their
ministry to the poor, espe-
cially in the rural areas.
Irish missionaries
In his letter asking Pope
Benedict IVs permission to
form what became C.Ss.R,
St. Alphonsus expressed his
desire to serve, the most
in need of spiritual help,
as frequently they have no
one to administer to them
the Holy Sacrament or the
Word of God; their plight is
such that many, for lack of
(apostolic) laborers, reach
deaths door without know-
ing anything at all of the
necessary truths of the faith.
This is because the number
of priestsis few.
The first of their Con-
gregation to come to the
Philippines were from Ire-
land, setting up missions in
Compostela, San Francisco
and on the Camotes Islands
in Cebu in 1906.
Their shrine in Baclaran,
Paraaque City, dedicated to
their patroness, Our Mother
of Perpetual Help, has be-
come a center of pilgrimage
since it opened in December
5, 1958, attracting hundreds
of thousands of devotees
during her Wednesday nove-
na. (Raymond A. Sebastin)
Devotees ock to an image of St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori on August 1, 2014, his feast day.
Raymond A. Sebastin
The Great Walled City Run to beneft calamity areas
SOME 3,000 people are ex-
pected to flock to the historic
district of Intramuros on
September 7 for the The
Great Walled City Run that
is being organized to benefit
survivors in areas devastated
by natural calamities like
typhoon Yolanda.
I n l i ne wi t h t he 56t h
founding anniversary of the
Knights of Columbus Frater-
nal Association in the Phil-
ippines, Inc. (KCFAPI), the
insurance arm of the Knights
of Columbus in the country,
the run will have have the 5K
race category for a Php550.00
registration fee and 10K for
Php700.00.
Students will have special
discount.
The registration fee in-
cludes a singlet, race bib and
medal for the 5K category;
the 10k category runners will
get an additional finisher
shirt.
Organizers are seeking col-
laborators who can partner
with them.
Inspi red by KC Phi l i p-
pines founder Fr. George J.
Willmann, SJs charity and
care for t he most needy,
the proceeds of this event
will support the charitable
ac t i vi t i es of t wo f oun-
dat i ons KC Phi l i ppi nes
Foundati on, Inc. and KC
Fr. George J . Wi l l mann
Charities, Inc.
The f oundat i ons have
been providing assistance
to super typhoon Yolanda
survivors; providing schol-
arships to the deserving stu-
dents and religious scholar-
ships for those with priestly
vocations.
I nt erest ed part i es may
contact Ms. Eva Dawal or Ms.
Jonnalyn Yanos at telephone
numbers (02) 527-2223 or +63
999-4288008 or +63 999-8582-
585. (Yen Ocampo)
Free concert
to commemorate
Jesuit comeback
THE Jesuit Communications
Foundation (JesCom) invites
the public to a free concert on
Saturday, August 9, 2014, 6:30
pm at the Church of the Ges,
Ateneo de Manila University,
Loyola Heights, Quezon City in
commemoration of 200 years of
the Jesuit Orders Restoration.
Dubbed Grateful Hearts,
Greater Love! the concert re-
visits the three major periods in
Jesuit history: pre-suppression
(St. Ignatius of Loyola and the
Society of Jesus missionary
expansion); suppression (trials
and survival); and restoration
(lessons learned).
Incorporated in the concert are
themes which celebrate Gods
enduring love and presence.
Grateful Hearts, Greater
Love! features Jesuit Music
Ministry artists and performers
from the Ateneo community
namely Himig Heswita, Bukas
Palad, Hangad, Musica Chiesa,
Ateneo Glee Club, and Tangha-
lang Ateneo.
For more information, con-
tact Rhia Ramirez at (+63920)
952-0326 or Bernadette Filart at
(+63917) 836-7588. (Raymond A.
Sebastin)
Turumba gets Santa
Maria Maggiore grant
ITS offcial! Pakils own Diocesan Shrine of
Nuestra Seora de los Dolores de Turumba
became the newest sister of the famous
Papal Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint
Mary Major) in Rome, through a Special
Spiritual Bond of Affinity given by the
Papal Basilicas Archpriest.
Saint Peter of Alcantara Parish rector
Rev. Fr. Mario P. Rivera revealed Saturday,
August 2, in a Facebook post that the Arch-
priest of the the frst church dedicated to
Mary, Santos Cardinal Abril, had given a
grant to the shrine that will make it similar
to Santa Maria Maggiore in terms of certain
privileges.
Catholic faithful who go on pilgrimage
to the Turumba shrine, especially on so-
lemnities of the Blessed Virgin, will obtain
indulgences and privileges similar to those
of papal basilica.
A thanksgiving celebration is being
planned for this blessing, Rivera shared.
Besides the shrine in Pakil, there are only
three other Marian shrines in the Philippines
that have this Special Spiritual Bond of Af-
fnity to Santa Maria Maggiore.
They are Our Lady of Manaoag in Panga-
sinan, Our Lady of Caysasay in Batangas,
and Our Lady of Orani in Bataan.
The Catholic world commemorates
the Dedication of the Basilica of Santa
Maria Maggiore on August 5.(Raymond
A. Sebastin)
unpublished (not signed to a
publishing company) at the
time of entry.
The competition sets the
words of this Doctor of the
Church as the main inspiration
for entrants. It comprises two
selected lyrics (Let Nothing
Disturb You or Sapat Na Ang
Diyos). They are as follows:
Let nothing disturb you
Nothing affright you
All things are passing
God never changes.
Patient endurance
Attains to all things
Who God possesses
In nothing is wanting
God alone suffces.

Saint Teresa of Jjesus
Huwag kang mabalisa
Huwag kang mangamba
Lahat ay lumilipas
Diyos lang ang walang kupas.
Sa tiyaga matatamo ang lahat
Kapag nasa iyo ang maykapal
Walang kulang sayong buhay
Sapat na ang Diyos.
~ Santa Teresa de Jess

For more information on the
mechanics, interested parties
may email stj500musikawit@
gmail.com. All entries must be
submitted on or before October
1, 2014. (Raymond A. Sebastin)
B1
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Pastoral Concerns
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The Cat hol i c Bi s hops
Conference of the Philippines
(CBPC) came up with the
national prayer for the papal
visit starting on Friday, August
1 until January 14 of next year.
Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop
Socrates Villegas, CBCP president,
said the prayer is to be recited
before the post communion
prayer of every Mass.
Manila Archbishop Luis
Antonio Cardinal Tagle on
Tuesday announced that Pope
Francis will be in the country for
at least four days from January
15 to 19.
The CBCP earlier called on the
faithful to prepare spiritually
for the papal visit and make one
act of mercy each day.
The bishops also encouraged
priests to make themselves more
available for the Sacrament of
Reconciliation or Confession.
Let us make mercy our
national identity. Trust in Gods
mercy is part and parcel of our
traditional Filipino Christian
culture, the bishops said in a
pastoral letter.
The prelates said acts of mercy
may include giving food to a
hungry beggar, visiting those in
prison or helping the recovery
efforts for the typhoon victims.
Let us make the practice of
mercy our gift to the pope when
he comes to visit us, they said.
(CBCPNews)
Catholics urged to recite
prayer for Papal visit
A SPECIAL prayer will be said during Masses
nationwide for the upcoming visit of Pope Francis
to the Philippines.
B2 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Updates
First Communion, Without Pomp
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy and dean of theology at the Regina Apostolorum university,
answers the following queries: )
Q: My great-niece was to receive her
frst Holy Communion and has been
told she need not wear the traditional
white dress, nor receive Communion
with the other children who are also
to receive their frst Communion. She
can attend any Mass and just go up and
receive Communion. I have protested
to the parish priest about this and
have received a short reply stating that
white dresses are too expensive for
some mothers. No mention of the other
questions I put to him. Has the parish
priest the right to do this? -- D.S., Woy
Woy, Australia
A: There are several levels to be dealt
with in this question. From a canonical
standpoint we could say that, strictly
speaking, the parish priest is within
his rights in not organizing a special
first Communion service. If he has
ascertained that the child is suffciently
well prepared, and has made first
confession, then he can authorize the
child to receive Communion at any
Mass with no special vesture or any
special service.
This is in part because, unlike baptism
or confirmation, first reception of
Communion is not a distinct sacrament
but rather participation in the holy
Sacrifce as the culmination of the process
of initiation. In most Eastern Churches
all three sacraments are given together
to infants.
Nor does the missal have a special rite
or Mass for frst Communion, distinct
from other Masses. Indeed since it is
customary in many places to celebrate
frst Communion on Sundays of late
April and May that often coincide with
major solemnities.
At the same time, from a pastoral
point of view, the practice of a special
celebration for children receiving
Communion for the frst time is well
established in the Latin Church and
has proved its worth in many ways.
Above all, when well prepared, it
can be a very special experience in
a childs life and can emphasize the
importance of full participation in the
Churchs sacramental life. It can also
be a good opportunity for the spiritual
regeneration of a whole family.
Mass rather than in a special
celebration constitutes the same material
act. Subjectively, however, it is likely
that without some external means of
underlining its importance, its deeper
meaning will be lost on most young
children.
Admittedly, the external elements
are not the heart of preparation for frst
Communion, which should be primarily
doctrinal and spiritual, albeit adapted to
7-year-olds. Yet, we should neglect no
means to help bring this deeper meaning
home.
Because of this, while showing
respect for the priest, in this case it
would be good to inform the bishop of
this particular pastoral practice, since he
might have a different criterion as to its
wisdom for the good of souls.
The priest, however, has brought to
light a real pastoral diffculty. In certain
societies, ostensibly spiritual moments
such as baptisms and frst Communions
have sometimes degenerated into social
events and given rise to unhealthy
and un-Christian competition among
families vying for prestige and show.
Indeed, sometimes families have felt
pressured into engaging in needless and
ill-affordable expense on such occasions.
One solution to this problem is
very common in Italy and some other
countries. The parish either rents or sells
to parents a standardized alb-like habit
that is set aside for children receiving
frst Communion. It is usually the same
for boys and girls, although in some
cases girls wear a white headband.
This solution eliminates any social
distinctions and puts all the emphasis
on the reception of Communion and
not on superfcial elements.
In the long term, when such a
solution is practiced, parents end up
preferring it as it frees them, not only
from excessive expense, but also allows
them to concentrate on the essential
elements.
This is just one possible solution to
a diffculty that is real in some places.
There might be others also. It is important
to seek solutions which overcome
the diffculties while conserving and
enhancing those elements which have
proved their pastoral effectiveness.
We must recognize, however, that
the older traditions of the special white
dress for girls also had its advantages,
especially when such clothing was
carefully kept and used within families
or was especially made by family
members.
I know of at least one family in which
the fabric of the mothers wedding dress
was later transformed into the baptismal
gowns and frst Communion dresses of
the children. This is a beautiful way of
symbolizing the spiritual fruitfulness
that also comes with marriage.
The difficulties arise when such
traditions are lost, and there is more
emphasis on outward appearances.
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Blessings over
the Phone
Q: Is it correct in any way to pray for someone over
the phone? May one ask a newly ordained priest to
bless him/her over the phone? -- O.C., Avezzano, Italy
A: With respect to prayer, I see no reason why not. If
we can pray for somebody with no physical or virtual
connection, such as when we offer a mystery of the
rosary for a friend or relative in need of prayer, then
accompanying them in some way by phone or other
technical means of communication can be a means of
enhancing this effect from a subjective point of view.
In the case of priestly blessings we would probably
need to distinguish some factors. Insofar as a blessing
is a prayer, then I believe that a simple blessing can be
directly transmitted by electronic means if the priests
intention is to implore Gods blessing on those blessed.
There are some who disagree with this opinion and
believe that a blessing of this type is reserved to the Holy
Father. The documents are clear on the Popes power to
impart such blessings but are silent as to other cases.
When the Holy Father imparts the blessing urbi
et orbi, anybody who receives this blessing by direct
transmission is truly blessed by the Pope and also
benefits from the plenary indulgence attached to the
papal blessings. The papal blessing is necessarily tied up
with the plenary indulgence, which only he can grant.
This indulgence, and hence the blessing, is not
received by deferred transmission. As the Enchiridion
of Indulgences specifies: The indulgence is gained by
the faithful who, not present for a reasonable cause at a
Papal Blessing, devotedly follows the rites through TV
or radio dum peraguntur, i.e., while they are being
performed.
I believe that this principle of no recorded blessings
would also apply to other clerics who could only give
a simple evocative blessing over the phone, radio or
other means. Even though a priest has the power to
bless, a blessing, even in its simplest form, is a rite of
the Church, and rites require some form of immediate
participation.
A recorded blessing can be a source of grace, just as a
recorded prayer or rosary can move us to prayer. But it
is not a rite of the Church, and in this case it does not,
strictly speaking, enter into the category of a sacramental.
Likewise, such blessing could not apply to constitutive
blessings which require the physical presence of the
person or object being blessed. Such blessings are those
involving persons such as institution of ministers,
religious professions and the like, or objects such as
chalices or rosaries.
An excepti on to thi s i s the Hol y Father who
In the case of priestly blessings we
would probably need to distinguish
some factors. Insofar as a blessing is
a prayer, then I believe that a simple
blessing can be directly transmitted
by electronic means if the priests
intention is to implore Gods blessing
on those blessed.
While the distinction
between blesseds and
saints might not have
been uppermost in the
minds of the translators,
one imagines that a
concern with making
the common Masses
suitable for celebrating
both saints and blesseds
played some role in this
choice of terms.
Blessed instead of Saint
Q: I have noticed that for virtually all
the prayers for the common of the saints,
the word blessed is used instead of
the word saint. This strikes me as a bit
confusing. Is it proper to substitute the
word saint for blessed when celebrating
the memorial of saint that does not have
any (or all of the) propers? -- L.P., Tampa,
Florida
A: I believe that the translators opted
here for a literal translation of the Latin
text which also distinguishes blessed
and saint.
The distinction between a blessed and
a saint is very important in the process of
canonization, and each state has precise
liturgical consequences insofar as the
liturgical veneration of a blessed is highly
limited. However, in the context of the
missal the terms are often used as synonyms
for those who have reached the glory of the
heavenly state.
While the distinction between blesseds
and saints might not have been uppermost
in the minds of the translators, one imagines
that a concern with making the common
Masses suitable for celebrating both saints
and blesseds played some role in this choice
of terms.
That the translators made an objective
choice can be seen, for example, in the
common of Doctors of the Church.
Since canonization is essential for the
qualification of Church Doctor, then there is
no doubt that no blesseds are contemplated.
The collect of this Mass says:
Almighty and Eternal God, who gave
your holy Church blessed (Beatum) N as
Doctor, grant that .
Sometimes both terms are used within
the same prayer. For example, in the
common of one saint we have the following
collect:
O God, who in your Saints (Sanctis
tuis) have given an example and brought
us protection in our weakness to help us
tread the path of salvation, mercifully grant
that we who honor the heavenly birthday
of blessed (beati) N, may, through his (her)
example, make our way to you .
Considering these and many other
possible examples, we must conclude
that the use of the term blessed is
quite deliberate. It is possible that the
translators are deliberately making use
of synonyms so as to cover all situations.
This might occasion a slight confusion
every now and then, but it could also
represent an opportunity for offering an
explanation of the terms. It must also be
remembered that it is the approved text,
and therefore it would not be correct to
substitute saint for blessed while praying
it.
It is noteworthy, however, that in the
proper or calendar of saints the missal itself
consistently takes the other option. For
example, on April 21 we would celebrate
St. Anselm if it were not the Easter octave.
The opening prayer of this Mass begins:
O God, who led the Bishop Saint Anselm
to seek out and teach the depths of your
wisdom. The Latin text says, however,
Deus, qui beato Anselmo episcopo.
This is substantially true of all the
saints in the universal calendar. Blessed is
practically always translated as saint.
Certainly all those included in the universal
calendar are saints, and the term blessed is
uncommon when referring to them in
English. For this reason the choice obeys a
certain logic.
Another recent use of the term blessed is
the introduction of the expression with
Blessed (beato) Joseph, her spouse,
within Eucharistic Prayers II-IV. In this
case the translation was provided by the
Holy See itself. The choice of Blessed
Joseph rather than Sai nt Joseph i n
English is certainly in conformity with
the earlier choice to refer to the apostles
as blessed in the Eucharistic Prayers.
The same expression was translated as
Saint Joseph in the official translations
in Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese
and Polish. German, like English, uses
the same expression (seligen) for Mary
and St. Joseph.
It is also perfectly possible that in spite
of all my speculations, the difference boils
down to no more than that the two sections
were done by different translators, and our
reader is the first one to notice the difference
in word choice.
B3 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Features
SONA 2014 a missiological refection
By Sr. Maureen Catabian, RGS
SONA (State of the Nation Address)
2014 in the eyes of a missiologist... or
why after listening to the SONA in
Congress which lasted 91 minutes with
85 claps, I had a crisis in faith. Deep in
my heart there was pain and sadness. An
accomplishment report was delivered,
how the administration achieved its
goals while interspersed with applauses
from the joint Congress. It is not a real
or genuine State of the Nation Address,
in my opinion. Knowing the context of
where my sadness was springing from,
I asked myself : Do we really believe in
the same God? Are we worshipping the
same God? A God who came so that we
may have lifelife in its fullness? If we
have faith in the same God, why do we
have a different perspective? A different
way of looking at what is happening in
Philippine society?
We were asked in Missiology
class to watch the SONA of PNOY
with missiological eyes, to listen
with a missiological heart. Maybe
this was the reason why I felt that
deep pain and suffering within me.
As accomplishments were being
enumerated while faces of Cabinet
members were fashed onscreen- with
hesitant grins and smiles, as if gestures
affirming what they have done, I
was actually resisting and struggling
inside. Of course, I would not deny
those concrete statistics as evidences of
accomplishments with corresponding
budgets which came from the DAP
used for the sake of the welfare of the
Filipinos? Or maybe I could not deny
the seemingly sincere efforts and good
done by our public servants delivering
the much needed basic services to our
people for their mere survival. I cannot
dispute that. But governance is not only
about personal sincerity. It is about
governing social systems and structures
and policies and programs which are
supposed to work and serve the people
and not work against them. It should
work for all, for every Juan and Juana
and not just for a select few statistics.
Last Sunday, the Philippines reached
its 100M mark of offcial state population
with baby Chonalyn from Metro Manila
born in the Fabella hospital. A gasping
child, fragile offspring of a household
helperis there assurance for a full of
life for her for this kind of government?
I am just curious, how much percentage
of this 100 million Filipinos actually
beneft from the accomplishments of
this government? 2%? 5%? 7%? I just
wonder, why a majority of Filipinos
say that the growth in GDP (Gross
Domestic Product) of our economy
does not trickle down to those who are
in the margins? Or is it really meant
only for those in the centers? What
is wrong with the existing economic
systems and structures in place? Not
even the sincerity and genuine goodness
of politicians and government offcials
could muster enough impact for those
reforms supposedly.
These questions about my faith in a
God of Fullness of Life and how it
translates to actions to become systems
and structures working for the peoples
welfare has summoned me to expand
my vistas and critically understand
the present Philippine socio-economic
context. Such context from all indications
is never separate or isolated form the
bigger and wider global economic
context and geopolitics. I saw in the
report card of the government, the
acronym of APEC and the year 2015 and
the Philippines hosting this economic
summit. I suspect and this brings the
enlightened answer to my questions
could be the root of all evilthe rule of
Mammon. It could be the evil depriving
each Filipino of truly experiencing the
fullness of life promised by God of our
Christian faith. And zeroing in on this
APEC 2015, I was enlightened about the
current situation of why this country
has been chronically mired in grinding
dehumanizing poverty.
Asia Pacifc Economic Conference
(APEC) Summit in 2015 hosted by the
Philippinesthe only Catholic majority
nation in Asia and one of the poorest in
the region with a population hitting the
100 million mark. How does APEC 2015
implicate for the future and development
of this Third World country? Is the Pnoy
administration a hero or a villain? Our
missiological mind asks. One cannot
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Bagong Barrio Today: Public-Private Partnership
with and for the Poor
By Fr. Pete Montallana
IN 1976 Bagong Barrio had
the honor or dishonor of being
the biggest slum area of Metro
Manilait depends on where
your sympathies lie. For the
poor who had difficulty stretch-
ing their low wages to keep
body and soul together, it was
a paradise: cheap food and ac-
commodations notwithstand-
ing that they had to tiptoe
on muddy pathway and sewage
canal combined into one and
some had to bathe and wash
their clothes outside their small
room without any privacy.
President Ferdinand Mar-
cos, ruling with martial law
powers, tried to impose his New
Society dream by developing
Bagong Barrio into a busi-
ness district for his cronies.
The squatters were demonized
as illegal landgrabers because
the said land was legally titled
by the Spaniards who ille-
gally squat on Filipinas in the
name of the King of Spain.
People were petrified but the
Parokya ng Birhen ng Lourdes
under the leadership of Fr.
Romy Villanueva, OMI, took
up the challenge. The Church
in the 70s was motivated by
Pope Paul VIs famous words:
For too long, too many had
too little. The 1971 Synod of
Bishops responded to his call
by clarifying the confusion of
many who locked the Church
inside the sanctuary: Action
on behalf of justice and partici-
pation in the transformation of
the world fully appear to us as
a constitutive dimension of the
preaching of the Gospel. In
1975 the CBCP launched the
Alay Kapwa program urging
everyone to go into deep self-
exami nati on: Who i s my
neighbour?
Fr. Romy organized the Basic
Christian Communities. The
poor began to realize that they
were children of God endowed
with human dignity, called to be
responsible to the kapwa and
together they could change their
situation. Paolo Freire from Lat-
in America called such a process
as conscientization. Outsiders
who facilitated the conscien-
tization of the parish were UP
students, sisters and us, semi-
narians then. (Most of us are still
active in the ministry today ex-
cept for Fr. Rey Roda, OMI, who
was martyred in Mindanao in
2008). Motivated from within
the Church and by the political
movements in the 70s, the con-
scienticized people stirred like
an awakened giant to protect
itself from more suffering.
Bulldozers were sent to de-
molish the houses from the
EDSA side but people massed
together and stood their ground
despite the water canons. An-
other attempt was made to enter
Bagong Barrio from the Araneta
University side but that too
was blocked. Confronted with
the strength of that emerging
people power and afraid that
he would lose 100,000 votes in
Bagong Barrio, the President
was forced to recognize the
human dignity of the poor.
He ordered NHA to do a re-
blocking of Bagong Barrio and
the lots were awarded to the
people who paid by install-
ment at an affordable rate. (10
years later Marcos would be de-
throned by the massive people
power that would be replicated
in many other countries in the
world).
Last July 17, 2014 I visited
Bagong Barrio and anyone can
hardly say that this was the
biggest slum area in Metro
Manila before. The streets are
now wide; the houses are con-
crete 2-3 storey building on
the average. It is now like a
small city where almost every-
thing that you need is available.
You can take a jeepney ride
anytime and this shows how
many people benefitted from
that kind of PPP (Public-Pri-
vate Partnership) between the
government and the numerous
poor people and their resources.
Paradigm shifts have to hap-
pen if real transformation has to
happen among the poor. Pope
Francis insisted on the pri-
macy of the human person
(#55 Evangelii Gaudium). He
begs God to grant us more
politicians who are genuinely
disturbed by the lives of the
poor! It is vital that government
leaders and financial leaders
take heed and broaden their ho-
rizons, working to ensure that
all citizens have dignified work,
education and healthcare. Why
not turn to God and ask him to
inspire their plans? I am firmly
convinced that openness to the
transcendent can bring about
a new political and economic
mindset which would help to
break down the wall of separa-
tion between the economy and
the common good of society.
(#205 EG)
At the end of the term of the
Aquino administration the ef-
fect of its PPPs will be judged
not in terms of Flitches or
economic ratings; the privatized
hospitals in particular will be
judged not in terms of its bed
capacity but on the number of
rejected patients who died for
lack of money.
Busi ness est abl i shment s
will be judged not in terms of
expansion and net profits but
on how much they contributed
to the well-being of their em-
ployees and the people they
cater to.
And similarly the parishes
and ecclesiastical jurisdictions
of religious institutions will
be judged not in terms of the
beauty of its church buildings
and liturgical celebrations but
on how they embraced the
excluded and vulnerable in their
territories. Jesus puts it very
simply at the Last Judgment
parable: Whatsoever you did
to the least of my brethren, you
give a categorical answer. Maybe, here
are better (bitter) questions to ask: for
whom really is the PNOY government
working? Who are its real bosses? What
sort of Philippine brand of democracy
is this? Working for just an elite few?
One can just glean answers from his
KEY programs, from some key thoughts
likeFOREIGN INVESTMENTS,
Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT),
Public-Private Partnerships (PPP),
Business Process Outsourcing (BPO),
Philippine Development Plan (2011-
2016), Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
Exclusive Growth, DAP, Higher Credit
ratings for what? Toyota Motor, Phils.,
No Strike policy, Infrastructure for
Tourism, longer roads? More Flights to
Europe and the Westwho are coming
in and going there often anyway?
Foreign investors confdence, World
Economic Forum, APEC Summit in 2015,
P2.606 Trillion BudgetSino ba talaga
ang BOSS in Pnoy? Saan ba nakapuwesto
ang gobyernong ito? Reforms for whom?
Whose trust is being lost? Who needs it
for what?
Who is really dying for the Filipino
people? Is it only the Aquino family
and their yellow supporters? Who are
genuinely loving this country worth
dying, living and struggling for?
What about those ordinary masses
of Filipinos who toil daily? OFWs?
Farmers and Fisherfolks who give us
food on the table? Employees who
work and overwork themselves?
Unsung heroes who sacrifice their
lives to gain freedom and liberation for
this country? Is this elite democracy
working for all? Are these Foreign
Investments dying for the Filipino
nation? Or it is enslaving us? Is it
mammon they serve and not God? In
the midst of all these contradictions
in society, where does the fullness
of God reign? As I ponder on all
these happenings, I realize the stark
contrast. Inside and outside the halls of
Congress with well-dressed leaders
and their spouses as I imagine the
indecent and dilapidated homes or
even homeless millions of ordinary
surviving and struggling Filipinos and
our families. Urban poor who decided
to do business as usual than risk their
stomachs for the SONA. To this kind
of government working to preserve
itself, I ask do we really believe in and
worship the same God? I know there is
only ONE God who came that we may
have LIFE, and have it to the FULL and
to this God I have committed myself to
serve and to serve a struggling people.
As I ponder on all these happenings, I realize the stark contrast. Inside and
outside the halls of Congress with well-dressed leaders and their spouses as
I imagine the indecent and dilapidated homes or even homeless millions
of ordinary surviving and struggling Filipinos and our families.
How the two of them could sacrifce for their child and tighten
their belts daily for only P100 worth of food shocked me as the
widows mite did in the Gospel.
Barrio / B7
B4 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
taxes collected in the Bangsamoro territory
while the national government gets only 25%.
For taxes transferred to the Bangsamoro, it will
get 100%. And also 100% of all taxes already
devolved to the present ARMM.
On revenues from the exploitation, devel-
opment and utilization of natural resources,
the Bangsamoro Government will get 100%
of revenues from non-metallic resources,
75% from metallic resources, and 50% from
fossil fuels.
The Bangsamoros other sources of funds
will be revenues from and participation in
GOCCs; grants from economic agreements
entered into by the Bangsamoro Government
and from conventions to which the Central/
National Government is a party; loans and
ODA; and sharing in the revenues from the
exploitation, development and utilization of
natural resources.

On Labor and Women
Labor is one of which the proposed
Bangsamoro Government has the exclusive
power, aside from the Women sector.
The Bangsamoro guarantees that all fun-
damentals rights of workers to self-organi-
zation, collective bargaining and negotia-
tions, and peaceful concerted activities, includ-
ing the right to strike; right to participate in
all decision-making processes that would
affect their welfare; right to security of ten-
ure, humane conditions of work, and a liv-
ing wage.
It also prohibits involuntary servitude, traf-
fcking in persons and engagement of minors
in any hazardous or deleterious forms of em-
ployment.
Women in the Bangsamoro territory
regardless of religious affliation will have
the basic rights of meaning political par-
ticipation and protection from all forms of
violence; right to equal opportunity and non-
discrimination in social and economic activ-
ity and the public service, regardless of class,
Features
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Unique features of the draft BBL
By Bong D. Fabe

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITYFor the frst time
in recent political history, the principles of
subsidiarity and asymmetric relationship will
fnally be tested as these are just among the
principles on which the proposed Bangsam-
oro Government will be built.
The proposed Bangsamoro Government
is unique in that it will enjoy inter-govern-
mental relations with the national govern-
ment, which is based on the principles of
asymmetric relationship, parity of esteem,
principle of devolution and subsidiarity,
good governance.
During the Learning Session for the Balay
Mindanaw Group (BMG) of NGOs at the
Balay Mindanaw Peace Center, lawyer Maria
Julia Aying T. Asis discussed the unique
features of the proposed BBL, which is com-
posed of 97 pages comprising 244 sections
and 19 articles.
As proposed, the Bangsamoro Government
will be ministerial in form which will have a
parliament composed of 80 members (made
of 50% party representatives; 40% district
representatives; and 10% reserve seats and
sectoral representatives) who will each serve
a 5-year term for a maximum of 2 terms. It
will be headed by a chief minister called a
wali, Arabic term for guardian.
The chief minister, a member of the
Bangsamoro Cabinet, will exercise executive
power and authority. The other members of
the Cabinet are the deputy chief minister,
and other ministers appointed by the chief
minister from among the members of the
Parliament.
Aside from the Cabinet, there will also
be established a Council of Leaders who
shall advice the chief minister on matters
of governance in the Bangsamoro. It will
be composed of the chief minister as chair-
person, provincial governors, mayors of
chartered cities and a representative each
of the non-Moro indigenous communities,
women, settler communities, and other
marginalized sectors.
The Bangsamoro Government will also
exercise exclusive powers on matters over
which authority and jurisdiction pertain to
the Bangsamoro Government. At the same
time, it will also exercise concurrent pow-
ers with the national government, based on
the Annex on Power Sharing and as further
provided for in the BBL.
The President, however, will still exercise
general supervision over the Bangsamoro
to ensure that laws are faithfully executed,
based on Article X, Section 16 of the Con-
stitution.
Article X, Section 4 of the Constitution also
states that the President of the Philippines
shall exercise general supervision over lo-
cal governments. Provinces with re-
spect to component cities and
municipalities, and cities and municipali-
ties with respect to component barangays
shall ensure that the acts of their compo-
nent units are within the scope of their pre-
scribed powers and functions.

Fiscal Autonomy
The Bangsamoro Government will also
enjoy a sort of fscal autonomy. It will receive
a Block Grant, which is based on national
taxes revenue, every year. It will also get
Special Development Fund, based on the
annual national budget for 10 years for
the rehabilitation and development of the
Bangsamoro territory.
It will also enjoy a share of the national taxes
and other taxes. It will get 75% of all national
(A continuation from previous issue)
My cry for
the victims
of Gaza and
the victims
of the
Abu Sayyaf
By Fr. Sebastiano DAmbra,PIME
WHAT is happening in Gaza is touching the heart of
the world. How we can afford to see so many people,
especially children, killed in a war that is unjustified
on both sides.
A few days ago, a good friend of mine, a Muslim
lady that I respect, told me: We have to do something
to raise our voice. I have been reflecting what to do.
A rally? A demonstration? A statement? Yes, all these
things can be done in solidarity. But after this what
more can we do?
Many times I have thought that we have another
Gaza in our midst. I refer, among the many, to the Abu
Sayyaf presence in our midst. My friend, Fr. Salvatore
Carzedda, PIME, was one among the many victims in
1992 and from that time on we cannot count the many
other victims in various forms of violence.
On many occasions I have approached Muslim and
Christian friends, most of them influential in society,
some also Muslim religious leaders of Zamboanga,
Basilan, Jolo and Tawi Tawi, where Silsilah started the
Inter Faith Council of Leaders (IFCL), asking them what
we can do to solve the cancer of Abu Sayyaf in our
society. The answers are many, but in the variety of
answers I get the feeling that there are different actors
who benefit from this situation and, very dangerously,
they are supported and protected by those in different
levels of society who gain advantages from this
situation.
Some people tell me that among the Abu Sayyaf there
are also people that I know. Well, how I wish I can find
a way to approach one who can tell me: Father we can
move together to face this problem. Yes, many share
their concern and promise to do something, but at the
end what emerges is FEAR and other interests to protect.
The situation in Gaza and our situation is very
different, but what is disturbing is that on both sides
religion is used to justify and motivate some form of
violence. I am Christian and I strongly believe in my
faith, but I also have many sincere friends among the
Muslims and I respect and appreciate many things
In Islam that can make our society better, if we work
together for the common good.
What is also disturbing is that most of the Abu Sayyaf
are young people who are convinced to join the group
with promises and money. Information say that today
we have also in our midst people who accept offerings
and promises to divide Muslim believers and some
have a specific mission to go against Christians like in
Syria, Iraq and other places. Some of this groups have
also their international connections.
So, what will happen to our beautiful land of
Mindanao? I also consider this my land after thirty
eight years of living here with the people, exploring
all the ways to promote dialogue and peace, including
my experience as negotiator in the forest of Zamboanga
del Norte to help MNLF groups in the 70s to find
peaceful solutions. Silsilah is also part of this dream
to help and to experience how Muslims and Christians
can rediscover our common origin as brothers and
sisters, created by the same God. For this reason the
Movement proposes a spirituality of life-in-dialogue
and the Culture of Dialogue.
Some friends ask me if we will reach the point of
violence like Gaza in Mindanao. I dont think so. But
some of the same roots of violence are here and there.
There are news that some groups in Mindanao, and
others with international links which claim an Islamic
identity, are moving to divide people. Why?
During the Ramadhan, and even now, I tried all
the available occasions to meet Muslim leaders who
are friends and all of them, in one way or the other,
share the same opinion. I remember that there was a
time in history that Christians also fought one against
the other. Catholics against Protestants, etc. Now we
see something similar happening also among Muslim
groups.
Every day I pray the Harmony Prayer that starts
with the words O Lord, I cry for peace my mind
and heart go to Gaza, and the many Gazas of the
world, including our own Gaza, especially in some
areas of Mindanao, where people suffer and where the
conflict between religions and groups is more visible
and painful. What is important is not to surrender to
fear, to move in the spirit of love and forgiveness. God
knows how to answer to our Cry for Peace.
Father we can move together to
face this problem. Yes, many share
their concern and promise to do
something, but at the end
what emerges is fear and other
interests to protect.
Archie Buaya, a Teduray, expresses his appreciation for the inclusion of IP rights in the working draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Residents in Isabela City read handouts that explain details of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro during a public forum on the Bangsamoro May 21, 2014).
Isabela City is one of the areas in Mindanao that will undergo a plebiscite following the
creation of the Bangsamoro region next year.
Renewing unity, Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) member Melanio Ulama
(right) and Nuroddin Abdulrahman (left) represent descendants of Radjah Tabunaway
and his brother Radjah Mamalu in a symbolic ritual on May 23, 2014 that strengthens
the historical kinship of the peoples of the Bangsamoro. According to historical ac-
countss, Radjah Tabunaway converted to Islam while his bother Radjah Mamalu chose
to practice indigenous beliefs, yet both decided to live in harmony.
B5 Vol. 18 No. 16
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Impact investing for the poor
DEAR Brothers and Sisters,
I offer you a warm welcome
and I express my gratitude
and appreciation for your
Conference, which offers an
i mportant contri buti on to
the search for timely and
realistic strategies to ensure
greater social equality. I thank
Cardinal Turkson for his kind
introduction.
A sense of solidarity with the
poor and with the marginalized
has led you to reflect on impact
investing as one emerging form
of responsible investment.
Representatives of the Roman
Curia have j oined you in
these days of study aimed at
assessing innovative forms
of i nvest ment whi ch can
benefit local communities and
the environment, as well as
providing a reasonable return.
Impact investors are those
who are consci ous of the
existence of serious unjust
s i t uat i ons , i ns t anc es of
profound social inequality
and unacceptable conditions
o f p o v e r t y a f f e c t i n g
c ommuni t i es and ent i re
peoples. These investors turn
to financial institutes which
will use their resources to
promote the economic and
social development of these
groups through investment
funds aimed at satisfying
basic needs associated with
agriculture, access to water,
a de qua t e ho us i ng a nd
reasonable prices, as well as
with primary health care and
educational services.
Investments of this sort
are meant to have positive
social repercussions on local
communi ti es, such as the
creation of j obs, access to
energy, training and increased
agricultural productivity. The
financial return for investors
tends to be more moderate than
in other types of investment.
The l ogi c unde r l yi ng
these innovative forms of
intervention is one which
acknowledges the ultimate
connection between profit and
solidarity, the virtuous circle
existing between profit and
gift Christians are called
to rediscover, experience and
proclaim to all this precious
and primordial unity between
profit and solidarity. How
much t he cont empor ar y
world needs to rediscover
this beautiful truth! (Preface
to the book of Cardinal Gerhard
Mller, Povera per i poveri. La
missione della Chiesa [Poor
for the Poor. The Mission of
the Church]). We are truly in
need of this!
It is important that ethics
once again play its due part in
the world of finance and that
markets serve the interests of
peoples and the common good
of humanity. It is increasingly
i nt ol erabl e t hat f i nanci al
markets are shaping the destiny
of peoples rather than serving
their needs, or that the few
derive immense wealth from
financial speculation while the
many are deeply burdened by
the consequences.
Advances in technology have
increased the speed of financial
transactions, but in the long run
this is significant only to the
extent that it better serves the
common good. In this regard,
speculation on food prices
is a scandal which seriously
compromises access to food
on the part of the poorest
members of our human family.
It is urgent that governments
throughout the world commit
themsel ves to devel opi ng
an international framework
capable of promoting a market
of high impact investments,
and thus to combating an
economy which excludes and
discards.
On this day when the Church
celebrates the memorial of
Saints Quiricus and Giulitta,
a son and mother who, in the
persecution under Diocletian,
left all their possessions behind
into order to accept martyrdom
for the name of Christ, I join
you in asking the Lord to
help us never to forget the
transience of earthly goods and
to renew our commitment to
serve the common good with
love and with preference for the
most poor and vulnerable of
our brothers and sisters. With
great affection I bless you and
your work. Thank you.
An archbishops cross
By Fr. Ranhilio Callangan
Aquino
ARCHBISHOP Soc Villegas,
currently CBCP president, has
recently come under fire for
what some take to be his limp-
wristed position towards the
Presidents combative attitude
towards the Supreme Court and
related issues.
I beg for fairness. As a priest,
familiar with the workings of
the Catholic Church and the
demands of collegiality, I can
sympathize with Archbishop
Soc as he treads a fine line
between taking a position he
was not authorized by his
colleagues to takecall for
the ouster of the President, or
support impeachment bids
and appearing to be throwing
in his support of a beleaguered
President. It is his misfortune
to be unable to separate his
persona from the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the
Philippines.
To be fair to Archbishop
Soc, he has to be credited with
having issued a statement
immediately after the Supreme
Court decision on the DAP.
He asked for a full accounting
by COA and the Office of the
Ombudsman so that all might
know to what purposes the DAP
funds were applied.
He reiterated a call for which
he was earlier widely praised:
Investigation must not be
selective and must include
all, regardless of political
affiliation.
Shortly after the President
del i vered hi s provocati ve
speech, he could have kept his
peace, but Archbishop Soc did
not. He immediately issued
a statement that called on all
to uphold the Rule of Law. It
asked the President to respect
the powers the Constitution
bestowed on the judiciary as the
final arbiter on the application
of the lawwhile recognizing
the Presidents right to express
his views. Surely, there was
nothing wrong, morally or
legally, with this position.
If, as uncharitably suggested,
he were in fact on Napoles
payroll, he would have at
least secretly entertained her
bid for CBCP to accept her
in its custody. Instead, he
openly declared that while the
Conference would be vigilant of
her rightsa vigilance it owes
allit could not take her on its
recognizance.
(Address of Pope Francis to the participants in the conference promoted by the Pontifcal Council for Justice and Peace on
Impact investing for the poor held on 16 June 2014 at Clementine Hall, Vatican)
Creation and
Respect for the
Environment:
Pope Francis New
Encyclical in 2015
By Fr. Benny Tuazon
WHEN Germany overwhelmed host Brazil (7-1) during the
semi-fnals of the recently concluded 2014 World Cup, some
rooted for Argentina to win over the Netherlands in the
other semi-fnals match to forge a Germany versus Argentina
World Cup fnals. When Argentina won (4-2) on penalties,
the dream match was set. The reason? The previous pope,
Benedict the XVI, is German and the present pope, Francis, is
Argentinian. It added another favor to the already exciting
and historic rivalry. What country will be blessed more?
Whose prayer will God grant? Whose popes team will win?
But the rivalry already began earlier during their
pontifcate. In almost all his speeches and encyclicals, Pope
Benedict XVI had dealt with the care for the environment.
Thus he was dubbed as the green pope. His reference to
the care of creation was so pronounced that he saw Creation
as connected to peace and conversion.
Here comes Pope Francis. His recent comments on the
environment at the University of Molise, This is our sin,
exploiting the Earth. Then, This is one of the greatest
challenges of our time: to convert ourselves to a type of
development that knows how to respect creation. It drew
a lot of attention and became the topic of some articles. Not
to be outdone, come 2015, Pope Francis is set to release his
new encyclical on Creation and Respect for the Environment.
He consulted no less than the superior of the Franciscan
Order, a congregation with the necessary charisma, and
spent months drafting his work.
In an interview, Minister General, Order of Friars
Minor said: The Pope himself brought up the issue of the
environment. And he talked about his deep concern that we
need, the Church needs, to fnd the way to respond, using
the best of science. But also using the best of goodwill of
all of humanity, to bring together a consensus on trying to
respond to the crisis, the ecological crisis. In his effort to
make the encyclical truly relevant, he also consulted Erwin
Krutler, bishop of Xingu, a diocese in the Amazon greatly
affected by deforestation.
In her article Pope Francis Radical Environmentalism
for The Atlantic, Tara Isabella Burton concluded: What is
radical is Franciss willingness to present environmentalism
not merely as a challenge, but as one of the greatest
challenges of our time. By underlining the importance of
environmentalism to his overall theology, Francis is doing
more than simply espousing a set of principles. He is also
publiclywith the dizzying reach granted to a man in his
positionemphasizing an understanding of nature that,
in contrast to the combative dichotomy so prevalent in
mainstream politico-religious discourse, is intrinsically
positive in its treatment of the physical world. Its a vision
that is, radically and profoundly, pro-life.
Indeed, Pope Francis known sincerity, simplicity,
leadership, commitment to service, and fdelity to the Church
and immense popularity, among others, should stir the
cause of the care for the environment a notch higher. It is
hoped that his credence and attraction to so many people,
both believers and non-believers, would be translated into
action. The world had come to a point when the earth can
hardly sustain mans needs anymore. Not because there is
too much population and lack of resources, but because of
mans rapacious attitude. To make it worse, the blame is
always pointed to the other. Unless we come to recognize
and accept our own contribution to the earths present
malady, the earth will continue to debauch. And maybe that
is the reason why, as will be expected, Pope Francis spoke
of environmental disrespect as a sin.
Here are some of his words that we may see in his coming
encyclical:
Creation is not a property, which we can rule over at will;
or, even less, is the property of only a few: Creation is a gift, it
is a wonderful gift that God has given us, so that we care for it
and we use it for the beneft of all, always with great respect and
gratitude. Popes Audience, May 21, 2014
I wish to mention another threat to peace, which arises from
the greedy exploitation of environmental resources. Even if nature
is at our disposition, all too often we do not respect it or consider
it a gracious gift which we must care for and set at the service of
our brothers and sisters, including future generations. Here too
what is crucial is responsibility on the part of all in pursuing, in
a spirit of fraternity, policies respectful of this earth, which is our
common home. I recall a popular saying: God always forgives, we
sometimes forgive, but when naturecreationis mistreated, she
never forgives!. We have also witnessed the devastating effects of
several recent natural disasters. In particular, I would mention
once more the numerous victims and the great devastation caused
in the Philippines and other countries of South-East Asia as a
result of typhoon Haiyan. Statement to the Diplomatic Corps,
January 14, 2014
Let us look around: how many wounds are inficted upon
humanity by evil! Wars, violence, economic conficts that hit the
weakest, greed for money that you cant take with you and have to
leave. When we were small, our grandmother used to say: a shroud
has no pocket. Love of power, corruption, divisions, crimes against
human life and against creation! Andas each one of us knows
and is awareour personal sins: our failures in love and respect
towards God, towards our neighbour and towards the whole of
creation. Homily during the celebration of Palm Sunday of
the Passion of Our Lord, March 24, 2013.
Before intrigue comes in, I would like to stress that Pope
Francis does not intend to replace Pope benedict XVI as
Green Pope. Pope Francis supports Pope Benedict XVIs
ministry and advocacy for the love of Creation and care for
the environment. Both are aware that this path is the best
at present given how responsible countries are treating
the world. If in the 2014 World Cup Finals, Germany beat
Argentina in the football feld, in the feld of Creation, all
countries are winners. All countries, not only Germany, will
hold and raise the Earth, as their World Cup!
Archbishop Soc is frequently
contrasteddisparagingly
with the late Cardinal Sin. I
am sure that nothing pains
Archbishop Soc more than
this, since he holds sacred the
memory of the late Cardinal to
whom he was ardently devoted.
But Cardinal Sin too received his
fair share of stinging criticism
and rebuke. I think the least
that Archbishop Soc is entitled
to is to be his own man, with
a pastoral and leadership style
all his own.
The cross a priest must bear
includes being privy to so much
information that one can neither
make use of, much less divulge.
While some priests, regrettably,
have transgressed against their
promise of celibacy, rare indeed
is the case of the priest who has
betrayed the seal of the internal
forum, the forum of conscience
and of its confidences!
On e o f t h e r e a s o n s
Archbishop Soc is so cautious
is precisely the fact that he
i s Presi dent of the CBCP,
and he does not want the
Conf erence i mpl i cat ed i n
any of hi s st at ement s or
acts. Unless he receives clear
authority from his brothers,
he acts presumptuously and
in violation of the collegiality
that is at the heart of church
governance today. Abp Soc will
not deny that because he was
Cardinal Sins secretary and
later auxiliary bishop, he has
been acquainted with members
of the Aquino family, but I am
sure that he will neither betray
the sacred trust he assumed
as president of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the
Philippinesand that includes
acting with due circumspection
and prudence, with due regard
for the opinions of his brothers
in the episcopate.
B6 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Ref lections
Bishop Pat Alo
Bo Sanchez
ENCOUNTERS
SOULFOOD
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EVERYONE who seeks always fnds (Mt. &:7). Its a principle
of proven worth enunciated by our Lord Jesus Christ. Of course,
whats important is to seek the things of real and lasting value,
not the foolish things of the world. You can check the complete
verse in the Bible. Just as that common proverb that says, To
thine own self be true and it shall follow as day follows night
you will be true to everyone.
Most of the time people make the mistake of seeking the
wrong aims or goals. So they get what they want, the false
values here on earth, or false motives and mistaken realities.
Its important then to be after the true and lasting realities. It
might be well to cite the complete biblical text here: Ask, and
it shall be given to you; search, and you will fnd; knock, and
the door will be opened to you. For the one who asks always
receives; the one who searches always fnds; the one who
knocks will always have the door opened to him (Mt. 7:7).
Of course its important that in our quest we have that
full trust in God and be sincere in our words. God Almighty
knows and can read whats there deep in our hearts, whether
real faith and trust and sincere motivations. We have to be
clear and sincere in our relations with God. Dont forget the
principle applicable also here: Thou shalt not tempt the Lord
your God or in other similar words: You shall not put the
Lord your God to the test (Deut. 6:16; Mt. 4:7).
WHEN I preach to an audience
of thousands, I always find two
or three people in the audience
who sleep through my talks.
It doesnt matter what I do,
whether I crack a joke, scream
till my larynx dies, or I murder
someone in the front rowit will
have the same effect on them:
Zzzzzzzzz Thats right, one
of them snores. In four voices,
no less.
Because theyre the same
people who always nap, I know
them quite well.
Like I know their permanent
seating arrangement.
And I know exactly when
each one will fall asleep. With
clockwork precision, one guy
sleeps at my third sentence,
while the woman with the
flowery blouse signs off on my
fifth. The third one dozes off
the moment I enter the stage. (I
get paranoid sometimes. Do I
Feeling secure under Gods care
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mt 14:22-33 (A) August 10, 2014
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mt 15:21-28 (A) August 17, 2014
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Mt 15:21-28 (A) August 17, 2014
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
THE unexpected violent storm
was frightening enough as it
tossed the fragile boat with
the twelve gasping disciples.
Then the apparition of a man
walking on the water as on solid
ground just made things worse.
It could only be a spiritdeath
itself, perhaps, coming to grab
them! . . .
The reassuring words of Jesus,
It is I. Do not be afraid needed
to be verifed. Peter thought he
could put the Lord to the test. He
did not realize that now he was
the one being tested. His faith was
tested. And it was soon obvious
that Peter was failing the test.
His daring request Tell me to
come to you across the water!
was about to cost him his very
life. Good for him that Jesus was
at hand. So Peter was saveda
seasoned, strong fisherman
rescued by a carpenter/preacher
not fshermen and few may have
been at sea in a fragile boat during
a hellish night storm, many of us
are over-confdent, impetuous,
lacking constancy . . . like Peter!
And our life, from time to time,
does resemble the stormy sea of
Galilee, too!
Sometimes, after daring too
much and having used up the last
ounce of our energies, gripped
by the terror of the impending
disaster, we too have found
ourselves crying out: Lord, save
me! These are the moments
when our pride vanishes and the
Gods universal love
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB
GOD is FatherFather to all human
beings. And He wants all of them to
attain the aim for which they were
created: eternal life with Him. (See 1
Tim 2:4.) Unfortunately, however, sin
has been a disruptive factor in human
history. Gods plan to bring all men to
eternal happiness has become a rescue
plan, and the execution of His plan of
salvation has to be actualized by stages.
In the divine plan there exists a core
group, the people of Israel, for whom
God cared in a special manner, because
it was from them that the Savior of
mankind would come. But the formal
offer of salvation to all other peoples
was to take place only through the
Church, founded by Christ and guided
and enlivened by the Holy Spirit.
This same Holy Spirit, however,
has always been at work even among
the pagans, gradually directing
them to yearn for the salvation that
comes from Christ. In ways known
to Him alone, the Spirit has led every
individual and every nation, through
the meanders of history, toward the
fulfllment of the Divine Plan. In the
mysterious interplay of human freedom
and divine grace, of mans errors and
Gods saving interventions, we witness
the unfolding of the design of an all-
encompassing love conceived by divine
Wisdom and actualized at the proper
time.
Todays Gospel passage verifes this
truth as it conveys in a dramatic way the
wonderful message that God loves all.
His salvation does not exclude anyone,
though its concrete actualization may
have stages that do not always
coincide with our expectations. But, in
the end, the great truth shines forth: for
those who love God and trust in Him,
everything works out for their greater
good(see Rom 8:28.)everything,
including illness and suffering!
The immediate need that brings
them to Him may be their need to
be healed from a grave illness, or
a demonic possession, as we hear
in todays Gospel. But what brings
these people to Jesus is something
deeper than the immediate need: it
The Humility to Experience His Love in Others
By Fr. Joseph Pellegrino
THE initial reaction I had to this
Sundays readings was: Huh? Here
we have Paul speaking in circles to the
Romans, you have now received mercy
because of their disobedience, so they
have now disobeyed in order that, by
virtue of the mercy shown to you, they
too may now receive mercy. Huh?
Then we have the incident of Jesus and
the Canaanite women. She has a real
need, and she cries out to him. But He
refers to her people as dogs and says
that he came only for the lost sheep of
the House of Israel. Huh?
The best way to understand all this is
to realize that the readings are speaking
about the spread of faith. The reading
from Romans refers to the many times
Proven worth
Always give your best struggle
really look that boring?)
I also know their favorite
sleeping postures.
There are only two major
ones really. The most popular
is what I call the Wet Look: After
the head bobs up and down, it
finally tilts forward. Count ten
seconds and drool flows from
chin to lap.
The second most popular
sl eepi ng posi t i on, I cal l
Hallelujah Forever. This time,
the head is tilted way back,
andgloriouslythe mouth
is wide open. The same way
a mouth opens when a world-
class tenor is singing the final
jah of Handels Hallelujah.
Except this one wont stop.
And I can tell you his entire
dental history from twenty
feet away. Three molars filled
and one root-canalled. If I get
any nearer, I can give you an
endoscopy report.
But lest you think Im angry
at them, I want to say that I
really admire their struggle
to come despite their obvious
exhaustion. First of all, theyre
a loyal bunch. Theyre present
every gathering! (Physically, at
least.) God knows theyre tired,
and He honors the struggle
theyre going through to be
there.
Because when Im tired, I too
sometimes fall asleep in my
daily prayers. When my wife
catches me, I just tell her that
I practice a very deep kind
of meditation where I rest in
the Gods Presence. She doesnt
buy it.
But curiously, I think my
God does. Because He hasnt
thrown a lightning rod towards
my direction yet. I bet He
even laughs at my wet look
or hallelujah forever posture.
I guess He also honors my
struggle to pray despite my
Soulfood / B7
Humility / B7
Love / B7
who had seldom seen the sea in
his life!
The moment Jesus climbed
the boat, the wind died down!
(Mt 14:32) Thus, that night Peter
and his partners added yet
another memorable, incredible
event to the already long list of
unforgettable experiences they
had gone through since the day
they had met the young rabbi
from Nazareth . . . .
There is so much of Peter in
each one of us. He is the head
of a huge crowd to which we all
belong. Though most of us are
child that is in us, the believer
that is in us, surface from the
killer waves and bring us to clasp
desperately the friendly, steady
hand of Jesus, the only one who
can lead us to safety.
So we have been saved time
and time again not by our might,
but by Gods merciful love. And
thus, thanks to Him, we have
continued our journey through
the sea of life ever-confdent of
the nearness of the God Who
always protects and saves those
who trust in Him.
And having experienced
the grips of fear and the sense
of being drowning in the
tempests of life, we should
feel the impulse to extend a
friendly hand to those who
find themselves in similar
situations. Despite our frailty,
the Lord may choose us to be
the providential instruments of
His saving love for some of our
brothers and sisters battered by
violent storms of various kinds.
His salvation does
not exclude anyone,
though its concrete
actualization may have
stages that do not
always coincide with our
expectations. But, in
the end, the great truth
shines forth: for those
who love God and trust
in Him, everything
works out for their
greater good...
Peter thought he could put the Lord to
the test. He did not realize that now he
was the one being tested. His faith
was tested. And it was soon obvious that
Peter was failing the test.
that Paul visited various cities. When
he visited a city, he preached to the
Jews frst. If they rejected the Gospel
of Christ, Paul then preached to the
gentiles. Many times the Jewish people
were so inspired by the faith of the
Gentiles that they took another look and
opened themselves up to faith. Thats
why Paul says that their being closed
to faith, disobedience, resulted in the
gentiles receiving faith, and ultimately
led to the Jews embracing the faith.
In the Gospel Jesus plays the role of
the fervent Jew at odds with the rest of
the world. The Canaanite Woman has
no claim on the gift of the Jews, but she
still receives healing for her daughter.
Why? Because her faith is more powerful
than her ancestry.
Faith is a raging fre. It spreads from
person to person. When we are exposed
to a person of faith, our faith grows. As
our faith grows, we ignite others with
the fre of Gods love. As others grow
in faith, our faith increases. The Fire
is the Fire of the Holy Spirit. Nothing
can stop the fame. Nothing can stop
the Spirit.
When it comes to the Fire of Faith, the
Love of God, the Holy Spirit, we have
got to allow God to be God and stop
putting Him in some sort of box that we
have created. We cant be telling God
how He should act. We cant be telling
others that we have the inner knowledge
of whether God is in their lives or not.
I am tired of so-called Christians
claiming that Catholics are not real
Christians. I am tired of Catholics
claiming that other Christians really
dont know Christ. I am tired of anyone
who claims that Gods grace and love
cannot be poured forth on someone who
does not claim Jesus Christ as personal
Lord and Savior. Let God be God! Jesus
Christ ascended into heaven and sent
the Holy Spirit upon the world. Not
just upon those people we say should
receive the Holy Spirit, but upon the
world. The world, includes the Hindu
Mahatma Gandhi and all good and
spiritual Hindus, Buddhists, Jews,
Moslems and even Christians.
Everything that we do, everything
that has value is about the Love of
God whom we have been graced to
know as Jesus the Christ. The Mercy of
God is infnitely greater than peoples
conception of His Mercy.
This all reminds me of one of the
stories in the Bible about King David.
David had sinned, again. This time it
wasnt with a woman, like the frst time
with Bathsheba, the beauty he saw and
stole from her husband. That was the
frst time David sinned. The second time
was when he told his general, Joab, to
count his troops. Now, you might ask,
What was wrong with that? Well, the
people of Israel were told to have faith
that God would fght their battles for
them. And He did. It was God who
brought them out of Egypt when they
had no power. It was God who defeated
the nations before them when they
fnally arrived at the Promised Land.
It was God who defeated the Davids
enemies and united the people under
him. When David decided to number
the troops he was placing his trust in his
own power instead of in God. So David
sinned. He had the troops counted. Then
he realized he had sinned. The prophet
We have a God who demands that we
give the best to Him. But if the best
we can give is faulty and weak, He
accepts what we give to Him anyway and
transforms it to become the best.
B7 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
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Gad came to David and offered him one of
three punishment: Should the people suffer a
horrible famine and have to depend on others
for food, should they have to fee from their
enemies, or should they suffer a pestilence?
David thought it out and said to himself,
the frst two, the famine and running from
an enemy, would only be survived if other
people were merciful upon him, but the third,
the pestilence, would only be survived if God
were merciful. David chose the pestilence,
saying, I would rather fall into the hands
of the Lord for his mercy is great, than fall
into the hands of men.
The point is that the Mercy of God is
infinitely greater, and God is infinitely
greater than human beings. Human beings
put others in hell if they dont ft into their
nifty box that they label Christianity. Human
beings decided that since the Jews were
the chosen people, that Jesus shouldnt
bother with that Canaanite woman. Send
her away, the disciples said. Goof-balls!
Human beings decided that the gentiles
By Fr. Shay Cullen
IN the middle of the rubble and dirt of
the aftermath of the most devastating
typhoon to hit the Philippines last
November 8, 2013, we found children
still able to smile, standing as they did
with ragged torn T-shirts and dirty faces
and legs in the mud. They were covered
in the flth and dirt of the typhoon debris
where they were poking about looking
for something to salvage and sell. Thats
the resilience and courage of the Filipino
child when all has been taken away.
Everywhere I went assessing the
terrible damage, I saw hundreds of
families lifting themselves up and
overcoming the shock and trauma with
almost nothing besides relief food and
tents.
I saw the fattened homes and broken
coconut trees as far as the eye could see
and I wondered how long it would take
for these smashed communities to bury
their thousands of dead and start life
over again. Six regions in the central
Philippines were declared disaster zones
after the super-typhoon lashed the land
with winds up to 230 kilometers an hour.
Today, not much progress has been
made by government agencies in
helping the poor get a low cost home,
jobs or a new start. There are millions
of dollars and pounds in foreign aid
in the bank accounts, at lease I hope
it is still there. With top Senators and
lawmakers in jail for massive graft and
corruption, I wonder if the aid money
has been stolen too.
If it is still intact, it has yet to be poured
into meaningful recovery projects. They
have sustaining food programmes and
temporary shelters but eight months
later, not much rebuilding or decent
low cost housing has been provided.
The relief and humanitarian aid phase
is now over, says the social welfare
Secretary Corazon Dinky Soliman and
the recovery and development stage is
starting.
It has taken eight months for this
phase to begin. There are more than
3000 people still in tents and thousands
more in small, one-roomed plywood
bunk houses. The overcrowding there
is a humanitarian crisis in itself as child
abuse is rampant in such conditions with
adults of all ages sleeping on the foors
with children.
When I went there on several occasions,
I met many survivors struggling in the
harsh, deprived living conditions of
Eight months after typhoon Yolanda
a squatter community crowded into
hovels, shacks and shanties made with
the debris of wrecked houses. They are
getting a good supply of relief food,
thanks to the DSWD regional offce under
social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman.
But what the people need most after
food was relief from their trauma and to
be listened to and their tragic stories be
heard. They felt alone and abandoned.
Besides, there were numerous reports
of children being snatched, lured away
by people offering food, clothes for
the small, abandoned children and
promises of a job for teenagers, mostly
targeting the girls. Such disaster zones
are the hunting grounds for the sex bar
recruiters and youngsters disappear in
the chaos. The traffcking of the children
happens all too frequently in areas of
such devastation.
Thats when I decided to send the the
Preda psycho-social and anti-traffcking
education and rescue team to Tacloban
and Palo. The team set up base in the
SOS childrens center, and launched
workshops and seminars among the
people in the evacuation centers. Later,
they moved from school to school
and district barangay centers making
presentation with the children and
parents joining in and telling their stories
It is a great, effective service that
is still on-going. As many as twelve
thousand people, parents, teachers and
children have been reached, inspired and
uplifted. They are helped to be aware of
their dignity, rights and self-worth and
that of their children. The message and
experience gives encouragement to them
to overcome and not give in to despair
but to struggle on in the hope that more
help is coming.
The dramatic action songs, group
dynamics and puppet shows delight
the children and parents alike and give
a strong message of how to prevent
child abuse and traffcking and how to
report any incident. A yellow card with a
hotline number is distributed where they
can contact the team for help anytime.
Then we recruited local, unemployed
female teachers. All of them had suffered
loss of house and relatives in the great
ocean wave that rose twenty feet high
and engulfed the entire foreshore
sweeping away homes, houses and
entire families. They survived and are
helping other survivors.
Since the schools had been leveled,
there were no new jobs for teacher
graduates, so we employed and
trained them to make the psycho-social
presentations. Soon they were skilled in
presenting the dynamic workshops with
great fare and skill and do so until this
day. Six of them have taken over the work
and carried it on with the supervision
of a senior Preda staff.
It is estimated that hundreds of children
were saved from the traffckers. Dozens
of children were intercepted by ordinary
civilians who were now child protectors.
They reportedly intervened when they
saw children being led away by suspicious
adults. Six children already loaded on to a
mini-bus were saved in this way.
The orphans were also very vulnerable,
other charities were active in saving
them and giving them a good home
but many more half-orphans who
had lost one parent were in dire need.
Thats where the Preda team was able
to intervene and today, 88 of these half-
orphaned children have been located,
visited and given aid and continuous
educational assistance. They previously
had nothing to wear or bring to school.
So with new uniforms, shoes, school
bags, notebooks, pens and pencils and
daily pocket money, they happily attend
school proudly and courageously.
This is just a small contribution but
made possible by the generosity of the
supporters of the Preda relief projects.
The work still goes on. We have now
planned and begun the construction of
a new four-roomed school building in
San Joaquin High School, Palo, Leyte.
The place was hit hard and the school
roof was snatched away and the walls
crumbled. Now this new school house
will give hundreds of children a real
chance of an education, the great tool to
overcome dire poverty and enable them
to make a better life for themselves. [For
comments, email to: shaycullen@preda.org,
www.preda.org]
A Catholic priest walks towards a chapel destroyed by last years typhoon Yolanda at the archbishops residence in
Palo, Leyte, 17 July 2014.
It has taken eight
months for this phase to
begin. There are
more than 3000
people still in tents and
thousands
more in small,
one-roomed plywood
bunk houses.
exhaustionand that struggle
of mine really pleases Him.
We have a funny God.
We have a God who demands
that we give the best to Him.
But if the best we can give is
faulty and weak, He accepts
what we give to Him anyway
and transforms it to become the
best. Even when we flounder
and fall and fail, Hell know if
we gave Him our best struggle.
Hell know.
And Hell laugh with you and
tell you to struggle again.
couldnt become better Christians than those
Christians who had been Jewish. Wrong!
Human beings decided that since many Jews
remain Jewish and since a vocal minority of
their ancestors in Palestine had Jesus put to
death, that all Jews should die, as they did
throughout the centuries, particularly in the
holocaust. Murderers!
That is so sad. When we shut others
out of our lives due to our own inflated
self worth, our own pride, we deprive
ourselves of being inflamed by the fire of
God they have been given by the Holy and
Merciful One. Why was Billy Grahams
daughter sitting in the third row from the
front at Pope John Paul IIs funeral? She
was there because the Vatican recognized
and respected the Power of God present in
the Billy Graham ministries.
Jesus sees all that is good within the human
heart. He saw the faith of the Canaanite
woman. He sees your faith and my faith. He
knows how we are trying our best to serve
Him. How wonderful is that?! He knows us
better than we know ourselves. He Loves
us more than we love ourselves.
And so, we come to worship as a
community. When we worship, we are
exposed to each others faith. We are infamed
by each others faith. When we bring up
the gifts of bread and wine in the offertory
procession, we use these symbols to represent
all that we have and all that we are. We offer
these gifts to God, and He transforms them
into the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Eternal
Sacrifce of Love. At the Offertory, we unite
all our faith into one big ball of Holy Flame
and give it to God, who infames us with
an even greater, an infnitely greater Love.
Throw fre! That is what we have been
called to do. We are called to throw the fre
of Gods love upon the world. We have also
been called to allow ourselves to be exposed
to the fre of Gods love in others.
We trust in God whose mercy and
compassion is greater than we can even
imagine. May we have the humility to
experience His Love in others.
is FAITHthe frm conviction
that God is at work in Jesus of
Nazareth, and that he can grant
the salvation they need.
Indeed, Gods redeeming love
knows no frontiers and faith is
the bridge that enables us to
reach out to Him and be saved
by His love.
did it to me.(Mt.25, 40)
For us who c an en-
joy eating three times a day, it
is not easy to be converted to see
reality from the perspective of
the poor. However, the lives of
the poor themselves can set us
free. I met Marylin recently at
the garbage dump scavenging
for anything that she could
sell: hard plastic, tin cans,
cardboard, etc. According to
her she and her husband, who was
in another garbage dump with
their cariton, earned P200 daily on
the average. The 100 pesos they
would spend for their food and
the other P100 they would save
for their two-year old baby whom
their mother took care of in Sa-
pang Palay. How the two of them
could sacrifce for their child and
tighten their belts daily for only
P100 worth of food shocked me
as the widows mite did in the
Gospel. We need to let ourselves
be evangelized by them (the poor)
(198.EG), Francis says.
The award winning short
film: Chicken a la Carte by
Ferdinand Dimadura which
shows the true face of poverty
in the Philippines can shake us
to action. His final message
is: In the world 25,000 people die
of hunger everyday. That was
still in 2008.
Yes, together we can repli-
cate Bagong Barrio. The poor
can contribute their initia-
tives and savings; the Basic
Ecclesial Communities and
other Religious institutions, the
motivation and organization;
the government, the resources
and legal structures; civil society
and other private sectors,
technology, etc.
creed, disability, gender and ethnicity.
On social justice, women will enjoy the
protection against exploitation, abuse
and discrimination; and can engage in
lawful employment.
The Parliament is also mandated to
enact laws for the protection and promo-
tion of the rights of women.
The Bangsamoro Government also
upholds gender and development and
will see to it that it will have a GAD
Plan whose budget will be at least
5% of the total budget appropriation of
each ministry, offce, and constituent
LGU. The GAD Plan will also get at
least 5% up to 30% of the ODA. And
before these GAD funds will be used,
there will be established a mechanism
for the consultation of women and lo-
cal communities for the allocation and
proper utilization of the funds.
For women who were once combat-
ants, there will be established a Decom-
missioned Women Auxiliary Forces
which will be a special community-
based socio-economic program for them.
There will also be a Normalization Trust
Fund, a fnancing scheme for economic
facilitation for return to normal life af-
fecting combatant and non-combatant
elements of the MILF, indigenous peo-
ples, women, children, and internally
displaced persons.
Representatives of the women sec-
tor will also get a seat in each of the
Bangsamoro Transition Authority
(BTA), Council of Leaders, Bangsam-
oro Cabinet and in the Bangsamoro
Parliament.

Non-Bangsamoro / Non-IP
For the non-Bangsamoro and/or
non-indigenous peoples living in the
Bangsamoro territory, they will enjoy the
basic rights (in addition to rights already
enjoyed) to freedom and expression of
religion and beliefs; to establish cultural
and religious associations; freedom from
religious, ethnic and sectarian harassment.
In the Bangsamoro Transition Author-
ity (BTA) and in the Council of Leaders,
the non-Bangsamoro / non-IP will
also have a representation. And in the
Bangsamoro Parliament, they will get
two reserved seats.
may, on some occasi ons,
extend his intention to bless
devotional obj ects such as
medal s and rosari es even
over radio, television and
Internet, to those who follow
the transmission directly. This
cannot be presumed for every
transmission of a papal Mass
(far more common now in the
Internet era), and his intention
would normally need to be
specified.
I n t h e s a me l i n e o f
thought I woul d al so say
that the l i turgi cal bl essi ngs
c o nt a i ne d i n t he Bo o k
of Bl e s s i ngs woul d not
necessari l y be effi caci ous
a s bl e s s i ngs i f t he r i t e
n a t u r a l l y i mp l i e s t h e
physi cal presence of t he
person bei ng bl essed.
Thes e s ame f or mul as ,
however, could be used as
prayers for those persons at
a distance.
B8
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
B8
CBCP Monitor
Entertainment
A squabble over financial issues leads to a split up between
Sean (Ryan Guzman) and the dancing group Mob. The
group returns to Florida while Sean is left alone to slug
it out in Los Angeles, applying for a job in a dance hall
owned by the immigrant parents of his friend Moose
(Adam Sevani). Humiliated that the job he gets is not
as a dancer but as a janitor, he has no choice but to take
it, burdened with a long overdue rent. Soon he learns
about The Vortex, a dance contest in Las Vegas hosted
by Alexxa Brava (Isabella Miko), and wastes no time
putting together a dance group, determined to compete,
especially as the
wi nni ng gr oup
will get a three-
year contract i n
Las Vegas as prize.
I n t he cont es t ,
Sean finds his new
group competing
not only with the
formidable Grim
Knights but also
with his ex-crew,
the Mob.
Mo v i e g o e r s
who come to see
Step Up All In for
the dance move
a nd not f or a
p s y c h o l o g i c a l
insight into young
dancers aspiring
t o l e a ve t he i r
mark in a ruthless
industrywill not
be di sappoi nted
because the plot, trite and even more predictable than
the series four predecessors, is all but overshadowed
by the spectacular dance numbers. Director Siemusic
video director and former competitive ballroom dancer
made sure her team of three choreographers delivers
the clever and eye-popping fresh moves to inspire the
young moviegoers with a yen for dance contests. If
the thin plot and the matching acting seem like a cure
for insomnia, the 3D dances are like caffeine consumed
intravenously.
This is not to
s ay t hat St ep
Up Al l I n i s
t ot a l l y be r e f t
of a redeeming
m e s s a g e .
Det er mi nat i on
is one value that
i s emphasi zed,
particularly for
talented young
peopl e f ac i ng
a l l s o r t s o f
difficulties. The
movie is strong
o n p u r s u i n g
ones dream at all
cost, i ncl udi ng
humbling oneself
and t aki ng on
menial jobs in the
hope of being in
the right place
at the right time
in order to turn
d r e a ms i n t o
reality. Admirable, too, is the new realization among
the dancers that winning the competition is not the end
all and be all of dancing, and that developing the art is
a most worthy motive.
GALIT si Kenneth (Daniel Padilla) sa ama niyang si Kenji (Richard
Gomez) dahil akala niya hindi siya minahal nito, at naging malungkot
ang buhay ng kanyang yumaong ina. Pero nagkukumahog siya
ngayong papunta sa Legaspi at umaasang nakaligtas ito sa isang
airplane crash. Kasama niya si Kelay (Kathryn Bernardo) na gusto
ring dalhin si Kenji sa kanyang tiyahing si Athena (Dawn Zulueta)
na malapit nang mamamatay. Habang nagbibiyahe ay ikinuwento ni
Kelay kay Kenneth ang dakilang pag-ibig ni Kenji at Athena. Noong
high school pa sila, pinilit ni Kenji (Daniel Padilla) si Athena (Kathryn
Bernardo) na magkunwaring kasintahan nito upang pagselosin ang
ex-girlfriend niyang si Athena Abigail (Sofa Andres). Hindi nila
inakalang sa pagkukunwaring ito magsisimula ang isang tunay na
pag-ibig. Subalit ano nga ba ang tunay na pag-ibig?
Ang Shes Dating the Gangster ay halaw sa isang online nobelang
isinulat ni Bianca B. Bernardino na inilathala sa Wattpad. Mahirap
isapelikula ang isang nobela dahil madalas ay hindi maisalarawan ito
nang sapat. Sa Shes Dating the Gangster, napakaraming pagbabago
ang ginawa ng screenwriter na si Carmi Raymundo: mga katangian ng
mga tauhan, balangkas ng kuwento, pati ang panahon, ang katapusan,
atbp. Para itong pinaghalong Romeo and Juliet at The Fault in Our
Stars pero hindi isang karaniwang romantic comedy ang Shes Dating
the Gangster. Karaniwang sinasabi, kapag naisapelikula ang isang
nobela, na mas mainam ang libro kaysa sa pelikula. Taliwas ang
nangyari sa pelikulang ito. Naging makulay at katuwa-tuwa ang
paglipat sa dekada 90 ng kwento, pati na rin ang pagsasalarawan
nito at mga kasuotan. Kahit na halatang naka-wig si Bernardo ay
magaling niyang naisakatuparan ang kanyang papel bilang Athena.
Akma din at bagay kay Padilla ang pagiging gangsterna sa pelikula,
Entertainment
DIRECTOR: Cathy Garcia-Molina
LEAD CAST: Kathryn Bernardo, Daniel Padilla, Sofa Andres,
Khalil Ramos, Pamu Pamorada, Richard Gomez, Dawn
Zulueta
SCREENWRITER: Bianca B. Bernardino (based on a novel)
Carmi Raymundo PRODUCER: Malou Santos, Charo
Santos-Concio
MUSIC: Jonathan Manalo
GENRE: Romantic Comedy-Drama
DISTRIBUTOR: Star Cinema
LOCATION: Philippines
RUNNING TIME: 105 minutes
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:
MORAL ASSESSMENT:
MTRCB rating: PG
CINEMA rating: V14
DIRECTOR: Trish Sie
LEAD CAST: Ryan Guzman, Briana
Evigan, Alyson Stoner, Adam
Sevani, Isabella Miko, Mari
Koda, Christopher Scott, Luis
Rosado
SCREENWRITER: John Swetnam
PRODUCER: Jennifer Gibgot, Adam
Shankman
EDITOR: Niven Howie
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Devorah
Herbert
COSTUME DESIGNER: Soyon An
MUSICAL DIRECTOR: Jeff Cardoni
GENRE: Drama, Romance, Musical
& Performing Arts
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brian Person
DISTRIBUTOR: Summit Entertain-
ment, Lionsgate
LOCATION: United States
RUNNING TIME: 122 minutes
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:
MORAL ASSESSMENT:
CINEMA rating: V14
MTRCB rating: PG
Technical Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
IN 2016, the ALZ-113 virus
the genetic drug developed in
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
to cure Alzheimers disease
but enhanced the intelligence
of Apes and became deadly to
humanshas spread causing
humanity to totally collapse. Ten
years, later, some of remaining
survivors immune to the virus
establishe a colony in the ruins
of San Francisco but are badly
in need of replacement for
their dwindling power supply.
A group led by Malcolm (Jason
Clarke) travel to the Mur Woods
and get confronted by two
apes. In a moment of panic, the
humans shoot one of the apes
and the next minute stand face
to face with thousands of highly
intelligent apes led by Caesar
(Andy Serkis). Malcolm and
the group return to their home
but Caesar decides to remind
the humans that the apes will
protect their home as well. In
a show of force, Caesar and the
rest of his ape leaders enter the
human refuge and tell them
to keep off their territory. But
Malcolm convinces his fellow
leader, Dreyfuss (Gary Oldman)
to give his team three days to
try to talk to the apes to allow
them to repair an old dam
which could provide electricity
to their community. Malcolm
and Caesar reach a truce and
eventually earn each others
trust. However, Koba (Toby
Kebbell), Caesars second-in-
command who still holds a
grudge against humans for
being maltreated as a laboratory
experiment, betrays Caesar,
incites the apes to revolt against
Caesars teachings and starts a
war against the humans.
The greatest strength of Dawn
of the Planet of the Apes is
the level of emotions both the
narrative and the expression of
the apes give us. It is amazing
how the faces of the apes deliver
the range of feelings while
suspending our belief that
DIRECTION: Matt Reeves
CAST: Andy Serkis, Jason
Clarke, Gary Oldman,
Toby Kebbel, Ken Russel
SCREENPLAY: Mark Bom-
back, Rick Jaffa, Amanda
Silver based on the Pierre
Boulles Planet of the
Apes
PRODUCER: Peter Chemin,
Dylan Clark
EDITING: William Hoy, Stan
Salfas
MUSIC: Michael Giacchino
GENRE: Sci-Fi Action
DISTRIBUTOR: 20th Century
Fox
LOCATION: San Francisco
RUNNING TIME: 131 minutes
TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT:

MORAL ASSESSMENT:

MTRCB RATING: G
CINEMA RATING: V14
Buhay San Miguel Brothers Marias
they are still non-human. The
motion actors (those performing
as apes) make up for the very
little requirement from human
actors. The scoring is brilliant,
punctuating excitement and
drama in a specifc way. This
being said, the latter action
sequences of apes fighting
humans and Caesar fighting
Koba are indulgenta little
tightening could have served the
flm better. While the storyline
is heart-tugging it not entirely
new, and while the computer-
images are impressive, they are
not distinctive. Nonetheless,
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
is a passionately insightful flm
whose sequel is worth waiting
for.
Society is a matter of trust. It
would be hard to perform ones
responsibility if you do not have
faith in one another. Trust relies
on love and selfessness as its
foundation. Trust, in turn, is the
precursor of respect and peace.
Leadership necessitates trust
because it is not about power or
who dominates whom but about
who helps, who espouses peace
and who desires to sacrifice
for the greater good. Dawn
of the Planet of the Apes also
emphasizes familyboth the
immediate and societal. At the
end of the day, a good leader
serves his people for the sake
of his family and theirs as well.
Although the flm delivers a
strong positive message, some
themes and violent action
sequences are not appropriate
for younger audiences.
DAWN OF
THE PLANET
OF THE APES
SHES DATING
THE GANGSTER
STEP UP, ALL IN
maging sa nobela, ay nangangahulugang: irritating, loud, and
hes not sweet! Hes weird, he smokes, he drinks, he goes clubbing
on a weekday, and he fghts and bullies a lot He is very moody
and a bit blunt. Makatotohanan nilang naipamalas ang mundo
ng mga kabataan sa panahong iyon, pati na ang mga problemang
kinaharap nila. Dahil sa mahusay na pamamatnubay ng direktor na
si Cathy Garcia-Molina, nabalanse ang mga eksenang nakakatawa at
nakakakilig at mga eksenang ma-drama. May mga eksenang medyo
pilit at masasabing imposibleng mangyari, pero dahil mahusay
gumanap ang mga aktor ay pwede na itong palampasin. Ipinakita
din sa pelikula ang marilag na bulkang Mayon, isa sa tinaguriang
Seven Wonders of Nature sa buong mundo, at ang kagandahan ng
karatig-pook. Nakatulong din ang angkop na musika ng dekada 90.
Natural ang pagrerebelde ng kabataan, pero sa kaso ni Kenji,
tumindi ito dahil sa kawalan ng pagmamahal ng mga magulang.
Uhaw sa pagmamahal, handa siyang gawin ang lahat magkabalikan
lang sila ni Abigail, kahit na pilitin si Athena na magkunwaring
kasintahan niya. Naipakita ng direktor ang adolescent angst at
ang paglalim ng pagiging magkaibigan at pagmamahalan ni Kenji
at Athena na hindi kinasangkapan ang sex. Sa pelikula, pinatunayan
din ni Athena ang katapangan hindi lang sa kanyang pamumuhay ng
normal sa kabila ng malalang karamdaman, kundi sa pagpaparaya
alang-alang sa iba. Isang anggulo ng pagmamahal ang malakas na
isinisigaw ng pelikulawalang pag-ibig na walang sakripisyo. At
ang pinaka-malaking sakripisyo ay ang kalimutan ang sarili para sa
minamahal. Pero hindi kailangang mabuhay sa takot. Sapagkat sabi
nga ni Athena: Pagmamahal at hindi takot ang nagbibigay-buhay.
Naalala ko tuloy ang isang awitin ni Barry Manilow na nagsasabing:
Letting go is just another way to say Ill always love you so. Kay
gandang makita sa pinilakang tabing na magagawa ng kabataan
ang magmahal nang dakila at tapat, magparaya at magmalasakit,
magpatawad at magpakatatag.
Sabi ng isang kabataang nakausap ko, Parang hindi naman
makatotohanan yung magpaparaya sila. Wala nang gumagawa
ng ganun ngayon eh. Kapag in-love ka, siyempre gusto mo ikaw
ang masaya, hindi ba? Siguro, dahil bihirang makita ang pag-ibig
na walang pag-iimbot sa telebisyon at pelikula, akala ng marami
ay imposible at hindi totoo ito. Umabot na sa PhP130M ang kita
sa box offce ng pelikula sa unang linggo pa lamang. Hindi kaya
pagpapatunay ito na maliban sa katanyagan ng mga nagsiganap,
pinahahalagahan ng manonood ang panunumbalik ng genuine
values sa pelikulang Pilipino?
The Cross
A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI and the Order of the Knights of Columbus
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
C1
Community Outreach for the Cause
of Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ
A COMMUNITY outreach was
held in order to generate in-
creased and fery awareness on
the heroic virtues of Fr. Will-
mann last July 23 to 25, 2014.
The community outreach
was initially held within In-
tramuros, Manila, where Fr.
Willmann devoted his time
and effort to organize com-
munities within the walled city
during his time.
As part of the awareness cam-
paign, different sizes of tarpau-
lins were given away to the
pedicab drivers, sari-sari store
owners and to the Samahan
ng mga Kalesa sa Intramuros
(SAKSI). (Yen Ocampo) Photos show pedicab drivers and store owners setting up their newly received tarpaulins.
Week-long celebration for KCFAPIs
56th anniversary underway
Cause for Naturalized
Filipino priest ongoing
FORMER President Ferdinand E. Marcos
granted Philippine citizenship to Rev. Fr.
George J. Willmann, SJ on July 1, 1975. The
naturalized priest has manifested his desire
to make the Philippines his permanent
home and become a Philippine citizen.
Do you know what Knights of Columbus,
Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association
of the Philippines, Inc (KCFAPI), KC Foun-
dations, Columbian Squires, Daughters of
Mary Immaculate (DMI) and Catholic Youth
Organization (CYO) have in common?
These very active lay organizations in the
country were established by Father George
J. Willmann, SJ -a naturalized Filipino citi-
zen granted by then President Ferdinand
E. Marcos through Presidential Decree No.
740 on July 1, 1975 for his virtuous acts,
compassionate leadership and for his kind
and loving service to the Filipino people.
Members of these organizations together
with their families and friends come to-
gether with a common goal, to raise Fr.
Willmann to the honors of the altar.
According to Justice Jose C. Reyes, Jr.,
Chairman of the Knights of Columbus Fr.
George J. Willmann Charities, Inc and a
member of the National Executive Com-
mittee for the Cause of Fr. Willmann, the
pursuit of the cause for beatifcation is a
long and tedious process that requires a
concerted and consistent effort from people
who are aware of Fr. Willmann and who are
committed to bear witness to his saintly life.
Fr. Willmann has continuously resided
in the Philippines since 1936 and during
such period, he has shared with Filipinos
his heroic virtues, ideals and aspirations.
He dedicated his life in social work and
humanitarian services to this country, to
the Filipino people, Justice Reyes said.
The promotions for the Cause of Fr. Will-
mann has been revitalized and strength-
ened with the creation of the National
Executive Committee, headed by Former
Chief Justice Hilario Davide, Jr. and Catho-
Date Time Venue Activity In-Charge
Sept ember 7
(Sunday)
5:00 am Bal uar t e St a.
Isabel along Sta.
Lucia St.
The Great
Walled City Run
Intramuros, Manila
Gift-Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan
Sept ember 8
(Monday)
1:00 PM
Whole day
KCFAPI Center
KCFAPI Center
Front parking
Marian Activity in relation
to Mama Marys birthday
KCFAPI Fair
Spiritual Committee c/o Mr. Edwin
Dawal
Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan
Sept ember 9
(Tuesday)
9:00 am
3:00 pm
Whole day
Sa n Ag u s t i n
Church
3rd Flr. Social
Hall
KCFAPI Center
Front parking
TV Mass offering for the
37th Death Anniversary of
Fr. George J. Willmann SJ
KCFAPI 56th Anniversary
program
KCFAPI Fair
Mr. Bobby Cruz / Ms. Denise Ortiguerra
Ms. Tin Pascual / Ms. Annie Nicolas
Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Jerome Rapatan
September 10
(Wednesday)
9:00 am
Whole day
3rd Floor Social
Hall
KCFAPI Center
Front parking
FBG Day
(to include auction-for-a-
cause)
KCFAPI Fair
Mr. Gari San Sebastian / Mr. Michael
Cabra (Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms.
Eva Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan)
Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan
September 11
(Thursday)
Morning
Whole day
Fr. Wi l l mann
Memorial Bldg
KCFAPI Center
Front parking
Free Ultrasound (Prostate)
KCFAPI Fair
Ms. Rowena Diapolit
Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan
September 12
(Friday)
Whole day KCFAPI Center
KCFAPI Center
Front parking
Blood letting
KCFAPI Fair
Ms. Carmelita Ruiz
Gift Giving Committee c/o Ms. Eva
Dawal / Atty. Neil Rapatan
September 13
(Saturday)
2:00 pm 3rd Floor, KCFAPI
Social Hall
Fi r st KCPFI Al umni -
Scholars Homecoming
Mr. Bobby Cruz / Denise Ortiguerra
September 14
(Sunday)
9:00 am Fr. Wi l l mann
Building
Fr. Wi l l mann
statue
Family Mass
Wreath Laying
KCFAPI Ofcers
S e p t e m b e r
8-13, 2014
Afternoon Fr. Willmann SJ
Museum
Tour of the Fr. George J.
Wi l l mann, SJ Museum
(Open to the Public)
Magie Flores / Bobby Cruz / Denise
Ortiguerra
THE Knights of Columbus
Fraternal Association of the
Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI)
will hold a week-long cel-
ebration to mark its 56th
founding anniversary from
September 7 to 14, 2014.
The celebration will kick-
off with a fun run for a
cause, tagged as The Great
Walled City Run which
will be held within Intra-
muros, Manila on Septem-
ber 7 (Sunday). This event is
intended to beneft the sur-
vivors of the recent calami-
ties in our country through
the charitable activities of
KCFAPIs two foundations.
This will be followed by
a Marian Activity on Sep-
tember 8 (Monday) in view
of Mama Marys birthday.
September 9, 2014 on the
other hand, marks the very
date of KCFAPIs 56 years
of existence. On this
day, a TV Mass offering will
be held for the 37th Death
Anniversary of Fr. George
J. Willmann, SJ. at the San
Agustin Church in Intramu-
ros, Manila at 9:00 am. plus a
simple anniversary program
to be held at the 3rd Floor
Social Hall in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, a special day
for the Fraternal Benefits
Group (FBG) will be held
on September 10, which will
include an Auction for a
Cause to be facilitated by the
2014 Gift-giving Committee.
There will also be a free
prostate ultrasound for
males on September 11,
which will be held at the
3rd Floor of the Fr. George J.
Willmann, SJ building.
Subsequently, a bloodlet-
ting activity will be held
on September 12 at the
KCFAPI main offce in col-
laboration with the Philip-
pine National Red Cross.
Then, for the first time
in KCFAPI history, the As-
sociation will be holding a
homecoming for the Alum-
ni-Scholars of the Knights
of Columbus Philippines
Foundation, Inc. (KCPFI)
on September 13.
The week-long celebra-
tion will conclude with
a Family Mass at the Fr.
George J. Willmann Cha-
pel to be followed by a
wreath-l ayi ng i n front
of Fr. Willmanns statue
at the KCFAPI center in
Intramuros, Manila. All
of these will happen on
September 14, 2014 which
marks the 37th Death An-
niversary of Fr.
George J. Willmann, SJ.
Completing the line-up
of activities for the week-
long 56th anniversary cel-
ebration of KCFAPI is the
KCFAPI Fair to be held at
the front of KCFAPI Center
and a tour to the Fr. George
J. Willmann, SJ Museum
which will run throughout
the anniversary week. Both
fair and tour to the Muse-
um are open to the public.
(KCFAPI News)
Naturalized, C3
Chairperson of the KCFAPI Working Committee on the Cause of Fr. WiIlmann and KCFAPI Vice President for Information and BC Holders Services Ronulfo Antero G. Infante (right) endorses the promotional campaign materials for the Cause of Fr. Willmann to
Artemio Marquez (left), President of the Samahan ng mga Kalesa sa Intramuros (SAKSI).
The Cross
C2 Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Fr. Michael J. McGivney
This month of August, we commemo-
rate both the Birth month and the Death
Anniversary of the Founder of the Order
of the Knights of Columbus, Fr. Michael
J. McGivney who was born on August 12,
1852, the eldest of thirteen children, to an
Irish immigrant molder in a brass mill
in Waterbury, Connecticut. By August
14, 1890, at the age of 38 years, he died
of pneumonia.
Fr. McGivneys early environment
was a diffcult one where there was strong discrimination against
American Catholics amidst economic hardships. Half of his 12 sib-
lings died either in infancy or childhood, while he himself had to
stop schooling just to earn money by working in the spoon-making
department of a brass mill. Though he entered the seminary at age
16, he had to leave the seminary to help fnish raising his remaining
siblings after his father died in June 1873. He returned to his vocation
and was ordained a priest by December 1877.
Having directly experienced the devastation caused on family life
by the death of the father and wage earner, he founded the Knights
of Columbus on March 29, 1882 while he was an assistant pastor at
the St. Marys Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Not only did the
K of C reinforce the faith of the men in St. Marys parish despite all
the discrimination that befell them, but the Order also continued to
provide fnancial assistance to the widows and orphans left behind
by deceased brother-Knights.
Fr. McGivney was a known Idealist who was gifted with youthful
vision and creativity. From the handful of parishioners who helped
him establish the K of C in 1882, he nourished and led the Orders
growth such that the Knights of Columbus now boasts of more than
1.8 million members and ffteen thousand councils in 14 countries
worldwide. Every year, the Knights contribute $160 million and
provide 70 million hours of service to charitable causes around the
world.
In 1996, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hartford opened an
investigation into Fr. McGivneys life and by year 2000, the investi-
gation was closed and endorsed to the Congregation for the Causes
of Saints for evaluation. Last March 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI
approved a decree recognizing the heroic virtue of Fr. McGivney
and declared him Venerable.
This August 14, 2014, it will already be 124 years since the death
of Fr. Michael McGivney. Though by this time, the Supreme Offce
has substantially put in place various programs, directives, activi-
ties and entities that ensure the Knights worldwide support for Fr.
McGivney, the Cause for the Canonization of Fr. McGivney still
needs our personal support.
Here in the Philippines, the activities of the National Executive
Committee (NEC) focus on Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ who, we
recognize as the father of the K of C locally. But isnt Fr. Willmann
also called the Fr. McGivney of the Philippines. There are very many
similarities between Fr. McGivney and Fr. Willmann. Both were
dynamic yet humble priests who chose to unselfshly devote their
time, talent and effort in service not only to the Knights of Colum-
bus, but to the youth, the poor and underprivileged as well. Both
worked hard to preserve the sanctity of family life by ensuring that
the fathers as the heads of their respective families were properly
guided and formed as a practicing Catholic, while also providing
extended guidance and care to the other members of the families.
As Fr. McGivney was already declared Venerable by Pope
Benedict XVI in 2008, his Cause for Canonization can defnitely blaze
the trail for Fr. Willmanns own Cause for Beatifcation. Given the
strong similarities between their vocations and advocacies, should
the Cause for the Canonization of Fr. McGivney be successfully
realized, it will serve as a possible reference and guide for Fr. Will-
manns own Cause.
Let all of us brother-Knights therefore support his Cause and pray
for the Founder of our Order, Fr. Michael J. McGivney so that thru
our devotion, more people will pray for his intercession and pos-
sibly experience the needed miracle/s that will fnally allow him to
be elevated to Sainthood. The success of Fr. McGivneys Cause will
most likely also help serve to further the Cause for Beatifcation of
Fr. George J. Willmann.
VIVAT JESUS!
Alonso Tan
Chairmans Message
Presidents Message
Roberto T. Cruz
Ma. Theresa G. Curia
Arsenio Isidro G. Yap
EVP's Corner
Fr. Michael J. McGivney, Hero And Saint
Touching Base with the Foundations
If Fr. Michael J. McGivney Were With Us Today
ITS now offcial; Luzon, Visayas and Mind-
anao will be among the 25 recipients of the
Circle of Honor Award during the 132nd
Supreme Convention to be held in Orlando,
Florida. In three years as state deputies, Min-
danao Deputy Balbino C. Fauni will receive
his second Circle of Honor Award; Visayas
Deputy Rodrigo N. Sorongon will also re-
ceive his second but this time a higher form
of recognition, the Pinnacle Award. On the
other hand Luzon Deputy Arsenio Isidro G.
Yap will receive his third consecutive Circle of Honor Award and like
the Visayas Deputy will also receive the Pinnacle Award. The Pin-
nacle Award that Luzon and Visayas will receive is very signifcant
as this will be the very frst time any jurisdiction in the Philippines
has ever qualifed for it.
All three jurisdictions are very cooperative with one another, shar-
ing information and techniques on how they could possibly meet the
different quotas assigned to them. They are also among the largest
jurisdictions in terms of membership. Visayas is ranked 8th with
68,232 members, Mindanao 3rd with 93,048 members and Luzon at
the top with 159,859 members, 58,300 more than 2nd ranked Texas
with 101,559 members.
All three also surpassed their quotas in New Council Develop-
ment, Membership Growth, Star Council Awards and Round Table
quotas. Luzon again has the most number of recipients of Star Coun-
cils, Double Star Councils and Star Districts with a total of 137. It is
likewise expected to receive two awards for the Columbian Squires.
It was already announced by our Supreme Knight Carl A.
Anderson that Luzon topped in terms of volunteer service with
5.8 million man hours. We were also informed that Luzon will
also receive one International Service Program Award for Co.
12405 from Ampid, San Mateo, Rizal, entitled Free Ultrasound
for Teenage Moms.
The Philippines contribution to membership growth is phenom-
enal. Of the total net growth of the Order of 18,947, Luzon got 6,717
or 35.45%, Mindanao got 4,524 or 23.88% and Visayas got 3,796 or
20.03%. The combined net production of the three jurisdictions of
15,037 is a whopping 79.36% out of the total growth of the Order
of 18,947.
The Philippines three jurisdictions of Luzon, Visayas and Min-
danao is defnitely a major factor in the growth of the Order and
fully deserve all the awards that they will receive during the 132nd
Supreme Convention. We should be proud of their achievements.
We should be proud of the leadership of the three state deputies and
their respective teams. We should be proud that we are part of an
organization that has relevance and could proudly boast that it is a
strong pillar of the Church and State.
As we usher in the new Columbian Year, and as we again face
many challenges that could possibly alter our plans and programs,
may we ever be one with our leaders in making 2014-2015 the best
year ever for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Vivat Jesus!
IN this issue we shall pay tribute
to our founder, Fr. Michael J. Mc-
Givney on his different roles: as
founder of Knights of Columbus,
as an outstanding Catholic priest
who was ahead of his times, and
as our international hero.
In August, we, Filipinos,
celebrate our national heroes
month. We talk about them and
remember what they did for the
country. However, there are no
groups who seriously focus on
continuing the promotion of
their historical legacy . Similarly,
it is not easy to make sure that
the younger generations can
continue the work and the deeds
that our national heroes did for
our country.
At Knights of Columbus, we
also have an international hero:
Fr Michael J. McGivney. But
unlike our national heroes, the
impact of his life in the Church
is assured by the members of
the organization he founded.
He received the vision and the
charism as founder from the
Holy Spirit and laid out the
blueprint on how to make it real
and alive in 1882. And behold,
that same vision continues to
beneft the Church until today.
Knights all over the world are
committed to make his vision
and charism live on through
the various activities and the
local councils, give color, shape
and fesh to his call to charity,
unity, fraternity and patriotism.
All over the world, the knights
respond to this vision and fnd
creative ways to meet the needs
of the people.
Father McGivney can there-
fore be counted among the
heroes and the saints in the
Church. In fact, the cause of his
beatifcation is in progress. Hav-
ing been declared Venerable by
Pope Benedict XVI in 2008, we
are now waiting for approval of
a miracle attributed to him so
that he can be beatifed ( and we
shall call him Blessed) and later
canonized (then we will call him
a Saint).
He is a model and inspiration
to the whole Church. As a priest,
he is an inspiration to parish
priests and chaplains of K of C,
as well as an encouragement
for vocations to the priesthood.
And for the laity, he offered a
taste of salvation through the
ideals of the fraternal mutual
beneft society which he estab-
lished. He worked tirelessly so
that the families of his followers
will be taken cared of spiritually,
grow in the faith, and remain
loyal to the Church. At the
same time, he made sure that
heads of families had decent
jobs to provide for the families.
In case of the death of the head
of the family, the Knights of
Columbus, from its inception,
has been providing pecuniary
aid to widows and the orphaned
children.
Fr. McGivney engaged the
members of KC and their benef-
ciaries in holistic evangelization.
At that time, the word evangeli-
zation was not used yet. Spiritual
and ecclesial benefts as well as
the material well-being of his
followers were integral to his
ministry. Today, these are also
what the members of KC do to
each other and to those who are
in need.
Part of honouring Venerable
Fr. McGivney is supporting the
cause for his beatifcation. Let
us spread devotion to him by
making his life and deeds known
and by encouraging prayers for
his intercessions.
Please make a novena of
prayers of intention or for heal-
ing through the intercession of
Venerable Michael J. McGivney.
Should you receive any favor,
please testify. Below is the prayer
which I translated in Tagalog.
[The English Version, which is
the offcial one is available in all
forms: kofc.org.ph]
PANALANGIN SA
PAMAMAGITAN NI FR.
MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY
Amang Diyos, tagapagtang-
kilik ng mga mahihirap at tag-
apagtanggol ng mga naulila,
tinawag mo po ang iyong pari,
na si Fr. Michael J. McGivney
upang maging apostol ng Kristi-
yanong buhay-pamilya at upang
maging gabay ng mga kabataan
upang maglingkod sa kapwa.
Sa pamamagitan ng halimbawa
ng kanyang buhay at kabanalan,
mataimtim sana kaming maka-
sunod sa iyong anak na si Hesus,
sa Kanyang utos na magmahal
at magtatag ng Kanyang Sim-
bahan. Sana po, ang halimbawa
at inspirasyon ng iyong lingkod
na pari ay magtulak sa amin
na magtiwalang lubos sa Iyong
pag-ibig upang maipagpatuloy
namin ang kanyang pagkalinga
sa mga nangangailangan at mga
napabayaan.
Buong kababaang loob po
kaming sumasamo na bigyang
dangal Mo ang Iyong lingkod
na si Fr. Michael J. McGivney,
dito sa lupa, ayon sa Iyong
kalooban. Sa tulong ng kanyang
panalangin, ipagkaloob Mo po
sa amin ang aming kahilingan
(sabihin ang inyong kahilingan) sa
pamamagitan ni Kristong aming
Panginoon. Amen.
Michael P. Cabra
My Brothers Keeper
August : Venerable Month of a Revered Man
FOR the month of August, we look at the
founder of our Order of the Knights of
Columbus, Fr. Michael J. McGivney as it is
his birth month and death anniversary. But
allow me to use a different approach for this
article. We will now talk about Fr. McGivney
under the basic premise of If Fr. McGivney
was alive today and is with us at the pres-
ent! Let us try to imagine how he would be
amidst our existing environment.
We will limit our focus on the following
details about Fr. Michael. First, he came
from very humble beginnings so that he
was well acquainted with the burdens and
frustrations of poverty as he himself had
to stop his schooling and his vocation just
to prioritize helping his siblings survive.
Secondly, he was adopted by the Diocese
of Hartford which paid for his tuition that
enabled him to fnish seminary paving the
way for his ordination in 1877 as a diocesan
priest. Thirdly, their environment then was
hounded by the rise of secret societies and
a social issue of alcoholism so that when Fr.
Michael started the Knights of Columbus, he
dedicated this to abstinence of alcohol and an
available insurance plan for members. Lastly,
by 1884, Fr. Michael retired from administra-
tive duties with the Knights, but continued
to serve as chaplain.
If he were with us here in the Philippines,
Fr. Michael would probably be very happy
to know about KCFAPIs tremendous growth
and stability since 1958; and that, as Presi-
dent Yap reported in the 2013 Annual Report,
KCFAPI has already covered 64,195 Brother
Knights and family members with regular
insurance and the CMBP in 2013. For this, Fr.
McGivney would be thanking Fr. George J.
Willmann who, thru his own persistence and
sacrifce, made this a reality for us Filipino
brother knights, especially during those
years when the Supreme Council did not
fnd the Philippines viable for inclusion to
the US K of C insurance system.
Then, Fr. Michael would likewise be
pleased when he learns about our two Foun-
dations: the KC Philippines Foundation, Inc.
(KCPFI) which has continued to grant schol-
arships to a grand total (as of June 15, 2014) of
426 underprivileged children of poor brother
knights. Fr. McGivney would definitely
appreciate this as he himself, stopped his
schooling to prioritize earning money for his
siblings survival and own education. The
Knights of Columbus Fr. George J. Willmann
Charities, Inc. (KCFGJWCI) would further
heighten Fr. McGivneys happiness when he
discovers that the Foundation (also as of June
15, 2014) has helped a grand total of 182 dioc-
esan priests and seminarians complete their
vocations thus strengthening the foundation
of the Catholic Church. Let us also not forget
that Fr. Michael similarly became a scholar of
the Diocese of Hartford when it shouldered
his tuition in the seminary and that he was
ordained a diocesan priest himself.
We mentioned earlier that Fr. McGivney
witnessed the rise of secret societies and the
problem of alcoholism. Our society today
faces a lot more challenges from a much
wider range of varying groups that question
ones faith in the Catholic Church. Aside
from these, we all face so many other evils in
society including: corruption, pornography,
drugs, child abuse, poverty, unemployment
and ignorance. All these put a lot more pres-
sure on groups like the Knights of Columbus
that only want to put everything in its correct
and proper state. Worldwide, it is said that
1.8 million Knights of Columbus contribute
about US$155 million and 70 million hours
of volunteer service to charitable causes each
year. Back here, Fr. Michael would be pleased
to know that the KCFAPI group of compa-
nies, aside from the projects undertaken
by the two Foundations, has actively been
donating fnancial assistance to the victims
of the different calamities such as typhoons
and earthquakes.
Of course, Fr. McGivney would defnitely
appreciate the importance of the Filipino
knights, especially the KC Luzon Jurisdiction
which now comprises the single largest KC
jurisdiction (in terms of actual membership).
It is written that Fr. Michael envisioned the K
of C as an important instrument for spiritual
growth in Christian faith and charity.
Lastly, in 1884, at the prime age of 32
years old, Fr. McGivney retired from all his
administrative duties with the knights and
humbly continued serving as a Chaplain.
Despite being the founder of the Order, he
relinquished his authority and power to
simply focus on his religious responsibilities.
Fr. Michael would appreciate the present
scenario which could be labeled as being
somewhat similar to his example, where
the Directors and Trustees of KCFAPI and
its Foundations provide purely voluntary
service without receiving any remuneration
as required under the respective Articles of
Incorporation and By-Laws.
From our simple discourse above where
we brought Fr. Michael McGivney to join
us today, we can say with confdence that
the KC Luzon, KCFAPI and the two founda-
tions (KCPFI and KCFGWCI) have faithfully
continued the mission and thrusts of Fr.
McGivney as adapted to the present settings.
I would dare say that these entities would
have made Fr. Michael very proud.
As we end, let us not forget Fr. George
J. Willmann, SJ, the father of the K of C in
the Philippines and the Fr. McGivney here
in our country. Fr. George, for his part, was
the most important person who made sure
that we, Filipinos, preserved the ideals and
principles of the Knights of Columbus as
founded by Fr. McGivney.
Defnitely, the Knights of Columbus in
the Philippines would not be what it is now
without both of these pillars: Fr. Michael
J. McGivney and Fr. George J. Willmann.
Thank you, Fathers.
THIS month of August we cel-
ebrate the Birth and Death of
a venerable man, Fr. Michael
J. McGivney, SJ. He was born
August 12, 1852 and died Au-
gust 14, 1890 at an early age of
38. Fr. McGivney founded the
Order of the Knights of Colum-
bus, with only a small group of
his church people. His primary
objective is to help strengthen
the faith of the men of his com-
munity while helping them
prepare for the future needs of
the family members that they
may leave behind. He was
born to live the faith among his
congregation and help sustain
the life of the remaining family
members that one day they may
leave behind.
As a Brother Knight, how close
is your personal purpose with
that of Fr. McGivneys principle?
Strengthening the faith of our
fellow Catholics by living the
Word of God and following His
commandments may already be
challenging, helping sustain the
life of the bereaved family of a
departed Brother Knight on the
other hand is another challenge.
It may be the main responsibil-
ity of the Fraternal Counselor
of your area or the Insurance
Promotion Chairman of your
Council but do you even know
their names? For once, let us not
assume that they may not be do-
ing their work. Rather, they are
just busy attending to Brother
Knights who give priority to the
future fnancial needs of their
family.
Providing for the future of the
widowed and the orphaned is
not a sole obligation of a Brother
Knight. It is an ensemble effort
of all members of the Order. It is
the task not only of the Council
Officers and of the Fraternal
Counselors alone. Each of us has
a major role to play in inform-
ing and reminding all Brother
Knights the great importance of
Fraternal Benefts from KCFAPI.
CMBP will not suffce. It is just
a memorial expense assistance.
No more no less. The amount
of personal insurance coverage
should be at least tantamount to
a Brother Knights present hu-
man economic value. To know
the average economic value,
j ust multiply monthly net
income to twelve months then
multiply it further to fve or ten
years. It depends on how much
comfort or fnancial assistance
one wants to leave behind for
his loved ones. The higher the
insurance protection one has,
the higher the level of his peace
of mind and the lesser the stress
he will experience during his
living years.
To be recognized as Venerable
like Fr. McGivney is extremely
diffcult. Strengthening the faith
of our fellow Brother Knight
may require great effort for
some but providing financial
assistance to the widows and
orphans the same way Fr. Mc-
Givney did is not that complex
at all. Simply contact your
Council Fraternal Counselor
for an appointment and remind
your other Council Members
to do the same. Who knows,
becoming venerable is not that
diffcult at all.
The Cross
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
C3
TAKING on a serious biog-
raphy of a parish priest was
fraught with obstacles. Few
of Father McGivneys letters
have survived and he didnt
keep a diary. He died when he
was only thirty-eight years old.
The paper trail was thin. But
there was some encouraging
news. The Knights of Colum-
bus headquartered in New
Haven, just blocks from Yale
Universitykept detailed re-
cords on the early years of their
organization. For years, the or-
der has sought material related
to Father McGivney, a process
that has, if anything, gained
momentum in recent years.
Because Father McGivney is
being considered for sainthood,
Father Gabriel ODonnell, pos-
tulator of his cause, has trav-
eled widely in search of source
material on the life of Michael
McGivney. While all of this
primary and secondary source
material was useful, we found
McGivneys church records, in
particular, extremely important
in recounting the life and times
of the hardworking priest. The
bulk of the research, however,
came with our perusal of every
available local periodical for
the span 1878 to 1890, Mc-
Givneys working years. The
final list included fourteen
papers, most notably the New
Haven Union and the Con-
necticut Catholic. We found
these many periodicals at Yale.
Universitys Sterling Memo-
rial Library and at the Con-
necticut Historical Society in
Hartford. Court records and
other contemporary material
flled in other gaps. (To be con-
tinued on the next issue.)
FOR 19th-century Catholic
immigrant families, it was
difficult to survive let alone
thrive in American society.
It was a time of anti-Catholic
bigotry, when Irish Need
Not Apply was written in
many hearts and job notices.
Catholics settled together in
neighborhoods for protection
and support, and to preserve
their religion.
If some were inclined to
complain and engage in un-
ruly behavior, Father Mc-
Givney knew a better way
in faith and virtue. He set
out to improve the plight of
his people, instructing them
from the pulpit; administer-
ing the sacraments; gather-
ing them for lively parish
activities; teaching catechism
to the children; overseeing
the morals of the young;
and forming a temperance
society against alcohol, the
source of many wrecked mar-
riages and broken families.
He re-created the parish as
a family of families where
his people found strength for
their burdens, refreshment
amid hardships, and hope for
eternal life.
His concern for family
life was summed up in one
particular incident. After
the father of a parish family
died, a teenage child was to
be placed in foster care un-
less his mother could show
financial support for the
boy. Breaking protocol of the
day, when a Catholic priest
was rarely involved beyond
parish precincts, Father Mc-
Givney appeared in New
Haven court to declare his
guardianship based on the
financial pledge of a local
Catholic businessman. This
was just one of the many
ways that Father McGivney
fought to keep families to-
gether.(To be continued on the
next issue.)
A Place of Encounter
The vocation of the Christian family, founded on the sacrament of marriage,
is to manifest Christs love in the world
By Supreme Knight Carl
A. Anderson
The Gentle Warrior
By James B. Reuter, SJ
Part X of Chapter One of The Gentle Warrior series
CHAPTER ONE
--------------------
Training
Parish Priest
(Tis is the third part of excerpts that will appear in
Te Cross Supplement from the book Parish Priest
by Douglas Brinkley and Julie M. Fenster)
Preface: The Same Manner to All Human Souls
A Model for Our Times
(Tis is the third of occasional excerpts that will appear in Te Cross Supplement from the new
booklet A Model for Our Times: Te Heroic Virtue of Father Michael J. McGivney.)
HE learned accounting in a strange way.
It was an older man, who befriended
him, and discovered that the boy had a
genius for mathematics. He instructed
George at odd hours, in the office, in his
own home, in Georges home. George
loved this, and learned fast. It was an
amazing accomplishment. In later years,
George became the Treasurer of the At-
eneo de Manila, and then the auditor of
all the Jesuit houses in the Philippines
though he never took a formal class in
accounting, or business, or economics, or
finance. He was working, for two years,
in the financial center of the world. The
atmosphere was right. The teacher was
right he liked George. And the boy was
the ideal student, with a love for math-
ematics, and a hunger to learn.
When Jim Willmann, his nephew, found
a good job much later which involved
insurance, George expressed real interest in
that job. The work of an actuary is dizzy
mathematics. George wrote in his letter to
Jim: I probably know less than one percent
of what the experts know in this, but I have
a little experience with it, and I like it!
In the years to come, in the Philippines,
George Willmann introduced a system of
insurance for the Knights of Columbus. It
was incredibly successful. It grew from a
very small local organization to a national
enterprise worth, literally, millions of pesos.
His preparation for this was: Worked on
Wall Street for two years.
But, most of all, he was working with
men, at close range. Later, George wrote
of Father McGivney, the founder of the
Knights of Columbus: He was a hard
working priest, even though not of robust
health, and by his kindliness he was enabled
to get along well with men and to persuade
as well as inspire them to carry out plans
he conceived. George could have written
those lines precisely about himself. When
he was ordained he was exactly that kind
of priest: hard working, though not robust,
kind, persuasive, inspiring. He was pre-
pared for this by his contact with men in
Wall Street.
Father Mc Givney died five years be-
fore George Willmann was born. But he
was filled with dauntless spirit of his age
he had courage! George wrote of him:
He was the courageous counsellor of a
Catholic Fraternal Group when all fra-
ternals were under fire. He was the pru-
dent planner of national Catholic society
when diocesan wide organizations
were only in their infancy. He was the
far sighted exponent of an inherently
American organization when conscious-
ness of racial background was divorcing
too many from full participation in the
American social fabric. The daring of
the Orders inception, its adaptability
to the different localities and needs,
the pioneering spirit that prompted this
leadership in the solution of so many
problemsthese are the translation into
the Knights of Columbus of Father Mc
Givneys priestly ideals.
The men of Wall Street, in their own way,
were filled with that same spirit. They
were aggressive. They were looking for
new ways to do things. They had cour-
age. George could sense this. The men
had tremendous potentials for good, but
their power was not channelled through
the Catholic Church. It was not channelled
through religion.
Catholic organizations for men were few
in number, and weak in infuence. The
men were good in their private lives, and
prayerful, but they did not appreciate the
vital part of the Catholic layman in the life
of the Church. They had the impression
that the Catholic church is an organization
of Bishops, priests and Sisters, and that the
function of the laymen was merely nominal,
extremely unimportant.
The most terrible misconception that
George saw, among the men on Wall Street,
was this: the belief that religion was a la-
dies game, that praying in church was for
women only, that it was proper for a man to
go outside of the church, and smoke, during
the sermon.
George saw power in the Wall Street,
tremendous power among men, waiting
to be harnessed. He wrote, later: We
must make our Catholic men realize that
they are a vital part of the church, that the
Catholic Church is their heritage, just as
really as it is of the Bishops and priests,
and that they do have important works to
perform, important duties to fulfill. We
must make our men realize that they are
the Church!
(To be continued on the next issue.)
Protector of Catholic Family Life
ON New Years Eve 1978, 77
days after he was elected pope,
St. John Paul II celebrated a Te
Deum Mass of Thanksgiving.
In his homily, he could have
spoken about many things. He
chose to speak about the Holy
Family and the importance of the
Christian family for the Church
and society.
He observed that the family
constitutes the primary, funda-
mental and irreplaceable com-
munity for man. And he said
that the family has as its vocation
the task of protecting the dignity
of the person. According to St.
John Paul II, the Christian family
fulflls this vocation frst through
the absolute mutual faithfulness
of husband and wife until death
and then in the way that they
respect the lives of their children
from the moment of conception.
The Church, John Paul II
explained, can never dispense
herself from the obligation of
guarding these two fundamen-
tal values, connected with the
vocation of the family. Custody
of them was entrusted to the
Church by Christ.
Therefore, he added, it is
necessary to defend these fun-
damental values tenaciously and
frmly. And for the next 26 years
he did just that.
Almost one year to the day
after St. John Paul II was elect-
ed pope, he celebrated Mass
on the National Mall in Wash-
ington, D.C. On that occasion,
he again chose to speak about
the family. He noted that the
first World Synod of Bishops
that he had called would soon
meet on the theme of the fam-
ily, and he proceeded to offer a
reflection to assist the worlds
bishops in their preparation
for the synod.
He said, In the sacrament of
marriage, a man and a woman
who at baptism became mem-
bers of Christ and hence have
the duty of manifesting Christs
attitudes in their lives are as-
sured of the help they need to
develop their love in a faithful
and indissoluble union, and to
respond with generosity to the
gift of parenthood. As the Sec-
ond Vatican Council declared:
Through this sacrament, Christ
himself becomes present in the
life of the married couple and
accompanies them, so that they
may love each other and their
children, just as Christ loved his
Church by giving himself up
for her.
St. John Paul II understood
clearly that in contemporary
society the Christian family is
the principal point of encounter
between secular culture and the
Gospel. He also understood
that if the Christian family is
to be faithful to its vocation, it
must allow the sacraments to
strengthen its life and mission.
In this way, the Christian family
can truly become the domestic
church.
Recently, Pope Francis reiter-
ated this idea of the domestic
church as a place of encounter. In
an address June 1, he said, Fam-
ilies are the domestic church,
where Jesus grows; he grows in
the love of spouses, he grows in
the lives of children. That is why
the enemy so often attacks the
family. The devil does not want
the family; he tries to destroy
it, to make sure that there is no
love there.
Thus, as Pope Francis so stark-
ly reminded us, the family is a
place of encounter not only on
a temporal level, but also on a
spiritual one.
This is why the Knights of
Columbus has worked so dili-
gently to defend and strength-
en Christian family life, and
it is why the Order will soon
i ni ti ate a new program ti -
tled, Building the Domestic
Church: The Fami l y Ful l y
Alive. This new program will
help our families and councils
prepare for t he upcomi ng
synod of bishops on the family
as well as the 2015 World Meet-
ing of Families, which will take
place in Philadelphia.
But most importantly, it will
encourage every Knight of Co-
lumbus family to be, in the
words of Pope Francis, a place
where Jesus grows in the love
of spouses and in the lives of
children.
Vivat Jesus!
lic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) Media Di-
rector, Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio
III as Vice-Chairman.
This national executive com-
mittee is focused exclusively on
promoting the Cause together
with the KC foundations and
the insurance arm of the Knights
of Columbus the Knights of
Columbus Fraternal Association
of the Philippines, Inc (KCFAPI).
We hope all these will finally
lead to the fulfillment of the
Cause and that Fr. Willmann will
eventually be declared a Saint.
Highlights in the Life and
Ministry of Fr. George J. Will-
mann, SJ
Fr. Willmann was born on June
29, 1897 to very devout Catholic
parents in Brooklyn, New York.
He had one brother and four
sisters, one of them became a nun
of the Franciscan Missionaries of
Mary assigned in Mindanao.
Belonging to the Society of
Jesus (Jesuits), Fr. Willmann
came to the Philippines in 1922
as seminarian to teach at the
Ateneo; returned to USA in
1925 to fnish his theological
studies. After his ordination to
the priesthood in 1928, he came
back to Manila fred up with a
strong sense of mission.
Imbued with the Ignatian
spirituality, Fr. Willmann had
a burning zeal to work for
the poor in fact, it was his
concern for the poor, for the
underprivileged, for the men
of Manila who were like sheep
without a shepherd that led
him to the Knights.
Fr. Willmann died on Sep-
tember 14, 1977 at the age of 80
at Murray Weigel Hall, Ford-
ham University, after a hipbone
surgery and brief illness. His
body was returned to the Phil-
ippines and was buried at the
Jesuit cemetery in Novaliches,
Quezon City.
He spent his 44 fruitful and
productive years in the Philip-
pines, serving young people,
the poor, the sick, the orphans,
the oppressed, the lonely and
the desolate.
Among the organizations he
established were:
Catholic Youth Organization
in the Philippines (1938)
Catholic Press The Filipinas
and Cross Magazine (1946)
Columbian Squires in the
Philippines (1950)
Daughters of Isabella in the
Philippines (1951); later reor-
ganized under the name of the
Daughters of Mary Immaculate
(1977)
Columbian Farmers Aid
Association (1951); later re-
organized under the name of
Knights of Columbus Com-
munity Service, Inc (1962) as
the social action arm of the
Knights of Columbus in the
Philippines
Knights of Columbus Frater-
nal Association of the Philip-
pines, Inc (KCFAPI), as a mu-
tual beneft association for the
Knights of Columbus members
in the Philippines (1958)
Knights of Columbus Philip-
pines Foundation, Inc. which
provides educational benefts
to poor but deserving students
and fund drives in times of
calamities (1971)
Fund of the Poor Seminar-
ians (1977); this was merged
with Christopher Foundation
and later, in 2000, became
the Knights of Columbus Fr.
George J. Willmann Charities,
Inc. (Yen Ocampo)
Naturalized, C1
The Cross
C4
Vol. 18 No. 16
August 4 - 17, 2014
CBCP Monitor
Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos (center) visited the KCFAPI home ofce to pay his
insurance contribution along with a Butuan Priest (extreme right). Photo also includes
KCFAPI President Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (2nd from right), KCFAPI Chairman Alonso L. Tan
(2nd from left) and KCFAPI VP-Fraternal Benets Group, Gari San Sebastian (leftmost).
The Great Walled
City Run to benet
calamity-stricken areas
THE much awaited run for a
cause dubbed as The Great
Walled City Run will be held
on September 7, 2014 in line
with the 56th founding anniver-
sary of the Knights of Columbus
Fraternal Association of the
Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) the
insurance arm of the Knights of
Columbus in the country.
Inspired by the virtues of char-
ity and care for the most needy
by its founder, Fr. George J. Will-
mann, SJ, the proceeds of this
event will support the charitable
activities of the two foundations
the KC Philippines Foundation,
Inc and KC Fr. George J. Will-
mann Charities, Inc.
Among the activities of the
foundati ons are provi di ng
assi stance to the cal ami ty
stricken areas like the victims
of super typhoon Yolanda,
providing scholarships to the
deserving students and reli-
gious scholarships for priestly
vocations.
The run will be held at the
oldest district of Manila In-
tramuros, which is also known
as the Walled City. Race cat-
egories are 5K (Php500.00) and
10K (Php700.00). Registration
fee includes a singlet, race bib
and medal for the 5K category
and with fnisher shirt for the
10K category. Students will have
special discount.
Organizers are now seeking
collaborators who can partner
with them. About 1,000 par-
ticipants are expected to join
the event.
Interested parties may con-
tact Ms. Eva Dawal or Ms.
Jonnalyn Yanos at telephone
numbers (02) 527-2223 or +63
999-4288008 or +63 999-8582-
585. (Yen Ocampo)
Fr. George J. Willmann, SJ
website launched
THE new Fr. George J. Willmann,
SJ website was launched last
July 22, 2014 at the Fr. George J.
Willmann, SJ Memorial Building
in Intramuros, Manila.
The website is a project of the
National Executive Committee
for the Cause of Fr. George J.
Willmann, SJ headed by Former
Chief Justice and KCFAPI Vice
Chairman Hilario Davide, Jr.
together with CBCP Media and
KCFAPI Spiritual Director Msgr.
Pedro C. Quitorio III as Vice-
Chairman.
The ceremonial click to
formally launch the new web-
site was led by Msgr. Quitorio
and key officials of the Knights
of Columbus Fraternal Asso-
ciation of the Philippines, Inc
(KCFAPI) - Chairman Alon-
so L. Tan, President Arsenio
Isidro G. Yap and Executive
Vice President Ma. Theresa
G. Curia.
The event was attended by
Knights of Columbus Visayas
Deputy Rodrigo Sorongon, Min-
danao Deputy Balbino Fauni,
KCFAPI employees and some
staff from the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP) Media Offce.
The website www.frgeorgewil-
lmann.org is part of the aware-
ness campaign on the cause of
Fr. Willmann. This highlights
resource materials on Fr. George
J. Willmann, news and events,
Willmann fellows, testimonials,
and a radio drama on the life and
works of Fr. Willmann, among
others. (KCFAPI News)
A ceremonial click to ofcially launch the website was led by the key ofcials of
KCFAPI. Roy Lagarde
Takbo Para Kay Sta. Clara 2014
THE awareness campaign for the
cause of Fr. George J. Willmann,
SJ joined the Santa Clara De
Montefalco Parish of Pasay City
in their frst ever run for a cause
dubbed as Takbo Para Kay Sta.
Clara 2014.
The fun run was held last July
12, 2014 at the CCP Complex,
Pasay City in celebration of the
parishs 150th Foundation Day.
The said activity is a fund
raising project for the construc-
tion of the parish sanctuary, the
improvement of the audio-visual
facilities of the church, and the
implementation of the various
programs for its Jubilee celebra-
tion, which includes a dental-
medical mission. (KC News)
Luzon Area Managers Mid-
Year Strategic Conference
THE Fraternal Benefts Group
of the Knights of Columbus Fra-
ternal Association of the Philip-
pines, Inc. (KCFAPI) conducted
a Mid-Year Strategic Conference
for its Luzon Area Managers last
July 15 to 16 at the Manila Grand
Opera Hotel in Manila.
The two-day event was at-
tended by fifteen (15) Area
Managers from Luzon who
reported on their performances
and sales evaluation for the
first semester of the year, Janu-
ary to June 2014.
The presentation included
a comparative report of their
sales target against actual; also
included were individual mea-
surement, analysis and improve-
ment based on their plans and
programs. (FBG News)
Luzon Area Managers with KCFAPI President, Arsenio Isidro G. Yap (center, front row),
VP for Fraternal Benets Group, Gari San Sebastian (2nd from left, front row) and
Fraternal Benets Services Manager, Michael Cabra (center, top row) during the Mid-
Year Strategic Conference held last July 15 to 16, 2014 at the Manila Grand Opera
Hotel in Manila.