Page Monitor

CBCP 3 Page 5 Page 8 Page 12

Vol. 11 No. 8
Limbo
April Reflects
16-29, 2007 “Restrictive
View of Salvation”
A New Saint
with a Link to
Bible Quiz
Challenge Accepted
“Common Good, an
Inalienable Right”
1
the Philippines in Europe

NASSA, NAMFREL Join www.cbcponline.net/cbcpmonitor cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Hands for Quick Count in
May Polls
THE Catholic Church’s social action arm
and the National Movement for Free Elec-
tions (NAMFREL) have agreed to step up
their cooperation for the conduct of a quick
count for the May 14 elections.
NAMFREL Chairman Edward Go said
an accord has been signed with the Na-
tional Secretariat for Social Action
(NASSA) to work together using each
NASSA / P4
Church Stands Firm
Against Contraceptives
DESPITE social survey results, the Catholic
Church remains undaunted with its firm stand
on family planning.
Pulse Asia survey recently showed that nine
out of ten Filipinos support artificial birth con-
trol programs.
The survey, which was based on 1,800 re-
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace spondents nationwide, also showed 75 percent
of voters will support candidates in the May
14 elections who endorse government fund-
April 16-29, 2007 Vol. 11 No. 8 Php 20.00 ing for family planning.
Church Stands / P4

CBCP Calls
for Prayer
for Clean
RP Signs Accord with
Polls
THE Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philip-
pines (CBCP) has ap-
Catholic Church
By Roy Lagarde
pealed to Filipinos to re-
main steadfast in prayer as FOR the first time, a framework
the country prepares for agreement on cooperation has
the May 14 polls. been signed between the Phil-
According to CBCP ippine government and the
president Archbishop An- Vatican to clinch the protection
gel Lagdameo it is signifi- of the Catholic Church’s cul-
cant to seek God’s inter- tural heritage in the country.
cession to prevent “evil Papal nuncio Archbishop
from getting in control” Fernando Filoni, who repre-
and avoid others from do- sented the Holy See, said the
ing evil things during Vatican “desires that the eccle-
polls. siastical cultural heritage be
Lagdameo, who is also preserved and cared for with
the archbishop of Jaro in every single-minded attention,
Iloilo, said this in his lat- for it’s an expression of faith,
est pastoral statement culture, and art.”
about the next month’s “Similarly, the Republic of
synchronized local and the Philippines takes to heart
national elections. the fact that this same heritage
“We exhort everyone to continues to represent an incal-
be vigilant, to pray and to culable resource for the nation,”
offer penance for this in- Filoni told the audience at the
tention,” the CBCP said. Department of Foreign Affairs
“May the hand of God (DFA) office where the pact was
stop evil from getting in signed.
control. We need the Almost every town in the
Lord’s help, without country has at least one church
which our best efforts will built during the Spanish colonial
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

come to nothing.” period and currently preserved

The bishops urged Basic
Ecclesial Communities
(BEC) and the parishes na-
tionwide to organize
“Holy Hours” of prayer
vigils from May 5 to 14,
election day.
“Humble and trusting
prayers are needed to
safeguard the sanctity of
the ballot and of the entire
by parish communities and used
for liturgical activities.
These properties are under
the legal ownership of local
ecclesiastical instrumentalities
of the Catholic Church and are
“vivified” by the Christian be-
ARCHBISHOP Fernando Filoni, Apostolic Nuncio and Plenipotentiary, signed on behalf of the Holy Father an Agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of the lief of the Filipino faithful.
Philippines on the Cultural Heritage of the Catholic Church. Secretary Alberto Romulo of the Dep artment of Foreign Affairs signed the document on behalf of the Philippine “These works of art are ad-
Government in the presence of Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales of Manila, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of Cebu and CBCP President Archbishop Angel Lagdameo. mired not only for their beauty
and historic values, but also

Boac Diocese Marks 11th year of

electoral processes,” the because they represent a deep
statement read. expression of the faith of the
The prelate likewise en- soul of the Filipino people,”
couraged contemplative said Filoni.

Marinduque Mining Disaster

men and women in more
than 100 monasteries na-
tionwide to pray for the
country—“especially for
all voters, candidates and
election officials and
workers.”
The CBCP also urged
lay faithful in this pre-
dominantly Catholic
country to take seriously
their role as citizens by
taking active participation
and choosing right people
to run the government.
It said people should
not just vote but out to
practice vigilance and
monitor the election pro-
cesses to ensure credible
results.
CBCP Calls / P4
The cooperation includes the
legal protection by the govern-
ment of movable and immov-
able cultural heritage of artistic
and historic significance, most
IN a rare display of unity and volunteerism, thou- bility before God to enrich the beauty and bounty especially those of the colonial
sands of faithful led by the Diocese of Boac gath- of our remaining natural resources.” churches.
ered together on March 24 to clean up both em- “In this sense, our collective dignity as The nuncio expressed hope
bankments of the 26-kilometer Boac River to com- Marinduqueños will wipe out the infamy which that the agreement between the
memorate the 11 th anniversary of the country’s the Boac River disaster of 1996 brought to our government and the Vatican
biggest mining tragedy that killed the said stream island-paradise. However, the local Church and will not fail to work in fruitful
in 1996. the local governments have the common tasks to collaboration so that the objec-
Organized by the diocese’s Marinduque Coun- continuously seek justice for our people and for tives of the treaty will be ful-
cil for Environmental Concerns (MACEC), the our environment,” he stressed. filled.
activity was in response to the Pastoral Letter is- “Consequently, it is our com-
sued by Marinduque’s Bishop Reynaldo Justice Delayed mon wish that the religious-his-
Evangelista and a resolution adopted by the Marinduqueños have been seeking justice from toric-cultural heritage avails it-
Marinduque provincial government. the various Courts in the country and abroad to self of all those public and pri-
Evangelista emphasized in his letter to the determine the liabilities of Marcopper Mining Cor- vate energies that will facilitate
faithful read in all the Sunday masses on March poration and Placer Dome, Incorporated (bought its preservation and also
18 that: “It is high time for the entire Marinduque by Barrick Gold in 2006) over the disasters their growth for the future,” said
community to work together in reclaiming the 30-year mining operations have caused the people Most Rev. Reynaldo Evangelista, DD Filoni.
integrity of our creation as part of our responsi- Boac / P4 Bishop of Boac RP Signs / P4

Cardinal Issues
Criteria for
Choosing Leaders
IN another effort to inform
the electorate on how to
vote worthy candidates, the
Archdiocese of Manila has
issued guidelines for re-
sponsible voting.
In a pastoral statement,
Manila Archbishop
Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales said election is a
process of choosing leaders
who, with the people, will
seek the common good of
Symposium to Shed Light on
Church Law Held
A ONE-DAY symposium on
Canon law was held at the Sa-
cred Heart Center in Cebu
City on April 18, 2007.
Organized by the Canon
Law Society of the Philippines
(CLSP), the activity was open
to all the members of the
clergy, institutes of conse-
crated life and the lay faithful
of the Cebu archdiocese.
3 Old Churches Identified Among the
CBCP Head Seeks Arroyo’s Help for
Justice of Slain Indo Priest
CBCP head Archbishop Angel In a letter sent to President
Three Church law experts
spoke in the symposium, Lagdameo and Indonesian Arroyo, Lagdameo appealed
Catholics in the Philippines for “speedy delivery of jus-
which focused on the process
for the Declaration of Mar- have asked the government to tice” for Fr. Fransiskus
solve the killing of an Indone- Madhu, SVD who was shot
riage Nullity, the legal aspect
for the establishment of New sian priest in Kalinga province dead April 2.
early this month. CBCP Head / P4
Institutes of Consecrated Life
and the Law on Eucharistic
Liturgy.
The CLSP noted that the
Symposium / P4
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media

all.
“Choosing and holding
the leaders accountable to
the governed is a critically
important choice that must
follow moral guidelines,”
he said.
He asked the voters to re-
spect the sacredness of the
election by not selling and
bartering their votes with
Cardinal / P4
Architectural Heritage Sites in Leyte
AT least three old churches
are included in the six Archi-
tectural Heritage sites in Leyte
which will be showcased in
the Architectural Heritage
Tour on May 1, 2007.
The event is in connection
with the commemoration of
the National Heritage Month
in the month of May.
The first heritage destina-
tion identified is Tanauan
where the Our Lady of As-
sumption Parish Church is
one of the oldest churches and
where the Rectory was re- MOST Rev. Honesto Ongtioco of Cubao delivers his talk on the Family and the Sanc-
stored to its natural design. tity of Marriage at the 7th Tri-State Convention of the Knights of Columbus held in
Then there is Dulag, where Cagayan de Oro City on April 20-22, 2007. Other speakers were CBCP President
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, Cagayan de Oro Archbishop Antonio Ledesma,
the ruins of the 1595-built Je- Malaybalay Bishop Honesto Pacana, SK Stephen Feiler of the KC Supreme Office,
Old Churches / P4 and Msgr. Pedro Quitorio of the CBCP Media Office.
 CBCP Monitor
2 World News Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007

Panel Backs Hopes for Unbaptized More UK Doctors

Infants Who Die, OKs Publication
of Report on Limbo
VATICAN CITY, April 20, 2007—
Benedict XVI authorized the
publication of a report that expresses
the hope that babies who die without
baptism are able to get to heaven.
The report by the International
Theological Commission, published
today, concluded that there are
serious theological and liturgical
grounds for the hope that such babies
are saved and enjoy the beatific
vision.
The commission says the
theological hypothesis of “limbo”
appeared to be based on an unduly
restrictive view of salvation.
The 41-page document noted this is
an “urgent pastoral problem,”
especially because of the large
number of unbaptized babies who die
as victims of abortion.
The commission’s documents are
not considered official expressions of
the magisterium. But the commission
does help the Holy See to examine
important doctrinal issues.
The Catechism of the Catholic
Church in No. 1261 explains: “As
regards children who have died
without baptism, the Church can only
entrust them to the mercy of God, as
she does in her funeral rites for them.
“Indeed, the great mercy of God
who desires that all men should be
saved, and Jesus’ tenderness toward
children which caused him to say:
‘Let the children come to me, do not
hinder them,’ allow us to hope that
there is a way of salvation for
children who have died without
baptism.
“All the more urgent is the
Church’s call not to prevent little
children coming to Christ through the
gift of holy baptism.” (Zenit)
Refusing to Do
Abortions
LONDON, England, April 17,
2007—A growing number of
doctors in the United Kingdom
are refusing to perform
abortions for ethical reasons, a
new report shows.
A report by the Royal College
of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists looked
specifically at the number of
abortions that now take place at
private clinics instead of public
ones because of unavailable staff.
The number of abortions in
private clinics 10 years ago was 20%;
now the number is closer to 40%.
Still, the newspaper Independent
reported on Monday that the
number of abortions in England
and Wales is at a record 190,000 a
year. With fewer doctors willing to

State Funeral for Beijing’s Patriotic Bishop, Party “Property”
HONG KONG, April 21,
2007—Michele Fu Tieshan,
Patriotic Archbishop of
Beijing, will receive a funeral
fit for a “head of state”. There
will be no Vatican
representative present, neither
the religious ceremony nor the
state burial.
Church sources in Hong
Kong told AsiaNews t h a t
members of the Beijing
Patriotic Association
expressed their desire that
there should be a Vatican
representative at the burial,
but it is “highly improbable
that someone will attend.
There was no Vatican
representative at last year’s
funeral of Msgr. Li Duan
[archbishop of Xian] who was
in deep communion with the
Pope and Vatican”. Despite
this, the sources add, all of the
faithful in China and abroad
“should pray for his soul,
which is now at the mercy of
God’s justice”.
Michele Fu Tieshan died
yesterday evening at 19.50
(Beijing time), at Beijing
Hospital. In the official
statement however, the
Patriotic Association, decided
to make it appear that he died
at 8.08 in the evening, because
of the “luck” that number “8”
brings in Chinese fortune
telling. “Lets’ just hope that
they don’t put Taoist cards or
Majiang playing cards in his
coffin!” was the comment of
one Beijing Catholic. The
reference is to the superstitious
nature of the deceased bishop
and his passion for Majiang
(Chinese dominos).
The capital’s faithful notice
with some bitterness that the
patriotic bishop’s body was
“sequestered” by the PA—of
which Fu was national
president—in order to
publicize his “contribution to
the nation”, without a single
reference to the Catholic faith.
“He died as he lived—one
woman notices—that is as
Communist Party property”.
The same official Party
statement, exalts him as a
“patriotic religious leader,
social activist and great friend
of the Chinese communist
party”.
The PA has sent out a
communiqué in which they
ask all of the parishes in China
to pray for him. In Beijing’s’
Nantang (Church of the
Immaculate), the capital’s
cathedral, there will be a 7-day
period of mourning with mass
celebrated in his memory each
day for the repose of the soul
of Fu Tieshan.
Among Beijing’s faithful
there are some who doubt the
veracity that the bishop died
yesterday. According to some
his death dates to April 12th.
Since then in fact most of the
people who wished to visit
him, had to content
themselves with prayers for
his recovery instead, outside
his room. From a window
looking into his room all that
was visible was the immobile
bedridden figure of the
Bishop, perhaps in coma, or
already dead. (AsiaNews)
perform the procedure, abortion
supporters say that within five
years, there may be more demand
for abortions than doctors to
provide them.
Furthermore, with fewer doctors
in public clinics willing to perform
abortions, hospitals must refer
those seeking abortion to private
clinics. And the National Health
Service, which funds four out of five
abortions in Britain, is struggling to
cope with the bills.
Saving, not taking life
Julia Millington of the London-
based ProLife Alliance said that the
news of fewer abortions at public
clinics is certainly welcomed.
In a press statement, Millington
added: “We have been hearing for
some time now that young doctors,
in particular, do not want to work
in this field.
“Those choosing to go into
medicine presumably do so
because they want to cure sickness

Chinese Government Forces 9-Month Women to Abort
hospital to carry out the
termination. The following
day the same fate awaited a
further 20 women.
China Aid Association (CAA),
a United States based non
government organization
which fights for religious
freedom and human rights in
China reported the cases.
Eye witnesses reported to
CAA that provincial police
transported the women to
Youjiang District People’s
Hospital; they were injected
forcefully with an abortive
drug. The agents were led by
Family Planning officials. In
less than 24 hours 61 fetuses
were dead.
YOUJIANG, China, April 21, 17, in the southern province of At Bed number 37, He
2007—The Chinese Guangxi, police forced 41 Caigan was 9 months
government’s cruel abortion women to abort their children, pregnant. Officials injected her
campaign continues: on April dragging them into the local baby’s head and after 20
minutes of pain and suffering,
her baby stopped moving and
died.
About 6am on April 18,
Pastor James Liang’s wife Wei
Linrong gave birth to a boy,
but he was dead because of the
injection. She received three
doses of injection-one is to
induce the birth and the other
two to kill the baby in the
womb.
After China Aid reported the
forced abortion, police were
seen surrounding the section
of the hospital where these
abortions took place. In fact for
some time now the Chinese
population has been protesting
against Beijing, which allows
rich and famous couples to ig-
nore the family law on one
child, which is instead applied
with force on the less well off.
The politics of family plan-
ning, the bastion of the com-
munist government, affects 90
million Chinese families. This
provokes social problems such
as the imbalance of sexes and
the aging population.
Since 1978 only one child
has been permitted to urban
residents, two to rural
couples. The average family
has dropped from the 5.83
children per household of the
1970’s to 2.1 in the ‘90’s and
the current 1.8. The
government aims to contain
the population within 1.37
billion by 2010. These policies
have led to a massive
campaign of forced abortions
and infanticide of female
babies, in order to have a male
heir to maintain the family
name. (AsiaNews)
and disease, not end the lives of
innocent human beings.”
In the United Kingdom, abortion
is legal throughout the entire
pregnancy if the doctor believes the
baby suffers a severe disability, or
if the mother’s life is at risk.
Otherwise, depending on the
mental health of the mother, an
abortion can be had up to 24 weeks.
On another front, a London
Catholic hospital will ban abortion-
referral, contraception provision
and in vitro fertilization following
a campaign to restore its Catholic
identity.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-
O’Connor of Westminster asked
that the ethical code of the Hospital
of St. John and St. Elizabeth be
revised after learning that doctors
were providing the morning-after
pill and referring women for
abortions.
The new code is expected to be
agreed upon by the hospital board
next month. (Zenit)

Secretary of State Catholic Leaders Shocked Over

Defends Pius XII
VATICAN CITY, April 19,
2007—The Vatican secretary
of state says that Pope Pius
XII signed a letter asking all
religious institutes to open
their doors to Jews
persecuted by the Nazi
regime.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
said that Wednesday when
commenting on a caption in
the Yad Vashem, a Holocaust
museum in Jerusalem, which
asserted that Pius XII was
silent in the face of the
persecution against the Jews.
Cardinal Bertone explained
that on Oct. 25, 1943, Pius XII
signed “a bulletin from the
Secretary of State which
mandated that religious
institutions and even the
catacombs be opened to
Spanish Cardinal Slams Ideologies
“That Seek to Wrench God from
Heart of Man”
MADRID, Spain, April 17,
2007—The Archbishop of
Toledo and Vice President of
the Spanish Bishops’
Conference, Cardinal Antonio
Cañizares has renewed his
opposition to the course
Education for Citizenship
which Spanish law is
requiring be taught in schools
next fall saying, “We are
risking a lot with these
ideologies that seek to wrench
the vision of the creator God
from the heart of man.”
During a day-long meeting
organized by the Archdiocese
of Toledo to study the
Education for Citizenship
Pope Pius XII
welcome the Jews persecuted
by the Nazis.”
The president of Yad
Vashem, Avner Shalev, has
Secretary / P9
course, the Cardinal said the
issue was of utmost
importance and “affects our
society both today and in the
future.” He warned that the
course would “impose a
moral relativism and ideology
of gender” that demands
“responsible and devoted
consideration.”
The Cardinal said Spaniards
were rightly alarmed about
the course and he called for
clarity in social, moral, and
anthropological concepts.
The problem with
“Education for Citizenship,” he
added, “is not one issue or
Spanish / P9
Murder of Protestant Staff in Turkey
ROME, April 20, 2007—
Catholic leaders in Turkey
were shocked by the murder
of three employees of a
Protestant publishing house,
said an official at the Vatican
nunciature in Ankara,
Turkey.
“We are upset,” said Msgr.
Georges Marovitch. “With
each explosion of violence, it
is like all our work for
dialogue is being
questioned.”
The three employees of the
Zirve publishing house in
Malatya, a city in central
Turkey, were found dead
with their throats slashed
April 18.
Police arrested four men in
the Zirve offices shortly after
the murders and a fifth man,
who was hospitalized with
head injuries after apparently
jumping from a fourth-story
window in the Zirve
building. Five more suspects
were detained April 19.
Turkish press reports
reported that some of the men
arrested told police they
acted to defend Islam.
Msgr. Marovitch told the
Italian newspaper Corriere
della Sera , “We understand
that the victims belonged to
a Protestant group that
distributed Bibles on the
street in a Muslim society,
and this irritated nationalist
Catholic / P9
Pastor Says ‘Words Are Not Enough’
to Comfort Virginia Tech Families
BLACKSBURG, Va., April Then he went to the Inn at
20, 2007—Words are not Virginia Tech, a hotel on
enough to comfort grieving campus where parents
parents, said a priest who seeking information about
spent time with the parents their children were asked to
of several of the slain gather. He said he left the
Virginia Tech students parish at 8:30 that morning
when they first learned and did not get back until
their son or daughter was 1:30 the following morning.
dead. In a brief interview in his
In the early hours after rectory late April 18—after
the murder rampage on three full days of seeing to
campus that left 33 dead, the pastoral care of victims,
Father James Arsenault, families and students—
pastor of St. Mary Parish in Father Arsenault said that
Blacksburg, was at approaching parents who
Montgomery Regional had just heard their child
Hospital with those who was dead, he would simply
were wounded and their say something like, “Words
families. Pastor / P9
Impact Magazine is
now on its 41st year,
ever faithful to its
mission of social
transformation in the
Philippines and in Asia.
Grab a
copy now!
EDITORIAL & Business OFFICES:
3/F CBCP Bldg., 470 Gen. Luna
St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines
Tel (632) 404-2182
Telefax (632) 404-1612
Visit our website at
www.impactmagazine.net
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Vatican Commission: Limbo Reflects
‘Restrictive View of Salvation’
By John Thavis
VATICAN CITY—After several
years of study, the Vatican’s In-
ternational Theological Com-
mission said there are good rea-
sons to hope that babies who
die without being baptized go
to heaven.
In a document published
April 20, the commission said
the traditional concept of
limbo—as a place where un-
baptized infants spend eternity
but without communion with
God—seemed to reflect an “un-
duly restrictive view of salva-
tion.”
The Church continues to
teach that, because of original
sin, baptism is the ordinary way
of salvation for all people and
urges parents to baptize infants,
the document said.
But there is greater theologi-
cal awareness today that God is
merciful and “wants all human
beings to be saved,” it said.
Grace has priority over sin, and
the exclusion of innocent babies
from heaven does not seem to
reflect Christ’s special love for
“the little ones,” it said.
“Our conclusion is that the
many factors that we have con-
sidered ... give serious theologi-
cal and liturgical grounds for
hope that unbaptized infants
who die will be saved and en-
A Priest of the Mangyans
By Madonna T. Virola
CITY OF CALAPAN, Philip-
pines—Thirty-four-year old
Rev. Gabayno “Gabby”
Calinog Oybad, a member of
the indigenous tribe called
“Mangyans” in the province of
Mindoro, was ordained a
priest on April 17 in Roman
Catholic rites blended with in-
digenous tradition at the Sto.
Nino parish church.
The Mangyans of Mindoro
are indigenous people who
have retained their pre-His-
panic writing. Most of them
have been pushed to the moun-
tains by land grabbers and mi-
grants. Because of poverty,
they are often treated as sec-
ond-class citizens.
And so, Oybad’s ordination
was a big reason to celebrate.
“This is an event for the
whole Catholic church,” said
Fr. Ewald Dinter, director of
Mangyan Mission-Oriental
Mindoro.
Almost a hundred priests
concelebrated the mass, all of
them with a red piece of cloth
wrapped around their heads,
as a sign of solidarity with the
Mangyans.
The cathedral was filled with
Mangyans from different sub-
tribes and towns in Oriental
Mindoro, some volunteers
who helped in the celebration,
and some foreign nationals
supportive of the Mangyans.
“It’s the fruit of Mangyan
Mission’s journey with the
Mangyans towards the fullness
of life with God and their ac-
tive response to participate in,
and ultimately lead, the jour-
ney”, said Fr. Rod Salazar,
SVD.
Mangyan gong, flute, and
sticks were played to mark the
highlights of the program,
their sounds penetrating the
heart.
News Feature
joy the beatific vision,” the
document said.
“We emphasize that these are
reasons for prayerful hope,
rather than grounds for sure
knowledge,” it added.
The 41-page document, titled
“The Hope of Salvation for In-
fants Who Die Without Being
Baptized,” was published in
Origins, the documentary ser-
vice of Catholic News Service.
Pope Benedict XVI authorized
its publication earlier this year.
The 30-member International
Theological Commission acts as
an advisory panel to the
Vatican, in particular to the
Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith. Its documents are
not considered expressions of
authoritative Church teaching,
but they sometimes set the stage
for official Vatican pronounce-
ments.
The commission’s document
said salvation for unbaptized
babies who die was becoming
an urgent pastoral question, in
part because their number is
greatly increasing. Many in-
fants today are born to parents
who are not practicing Catho-
lics, and many others are the
unborn victims of abortion, it
said.
Limbo has never been de-
Ordination rites
The ordination itself was a
blending of liturgical rites and
the Mangyan tradition. It
started with the tuob, where
two Mangyan elders paraded
around the venue some incense
(smoke from a burned piece of
tree and coconut husk) as a way
of cleansing the place from bad
spirits, with a prayer to shoo
away all bad spirits and an in-
vitation for all blessings to
come in. In the same way, the
sacristan held an incense used
in Christian rituals.
When Rev. Oybad was to be
ordained, he was called in
through a Hanunuo Mangyan
dance (called taruk), which
means the coming of the spirit
and transfer of power for
Oybad to become a healer of all
illnesses. Here, the candidate
became an elder and a dance is
performed for God whom they
call Mahal na Makakaako.
After the homily, the candi-
fined as Church dogma and is
not mentioned in the current
Catechism of the Catholic
Church, which states simply
that unbaptized infants are en-
trusted to God’s mercy.
But limbo has long been re-
garded as the common teaching
of the Church. In the modern
age, “people find it increasingly
difficult to accept that God is
just and merciful if he excludes
infants, who have no personal
sins, from eternal happiness,”
the new document said.
Parents in particular can ex-
perience grief and feelings of
guilt when they doubt their
unbaptized children are with
God, it said.
The Church’s hope for these
infants’ salvation reflects a
growing awareness of God’s
mercy, the commission said.
But the issue is not simple, be-
cause appreciation for divine
mercy must be reconciled with
fundamental Church teachings
about original sin and about the
necessity of baptism for salva-
tion, it said.
The document traced the de-
velopment of Church thinking
about the fate of unbaptized
children, noting that there is
“no explicit answer” from
Scripture or tradition.
date sat on the floor with two
others, a male and a female el-
der. The elders advised him on
the life that he has chosen so
that he will be able to perform
his functions and responsibili-
ties effectively.
In the ordination proper, all
the priests placed their hands
on the head of the candidate,
followed by a prayer. A daniw
(healer) led a prayer where
blessings were sought.
Bishop Warlito Cajandig,
who led the ordination, was
joined by six elders of the tribe
with their arms near their eyes
closed in prayer.
“This (the ordination) is im-
portant for the inculturation of
the message of Jesus”, said Fr.
Dinter. He quoted John Paul II
who said that a faith that does
not become culture is a faith
which has not been fully re-
ceived, not fully lived.
The parish of the Risen Christ
which looks after the pastoral
concerns of all Mangyan Catho-
Digos Holds Catechists’
Formators Seminar
By Fr. Bong Lunas, DCD
THE Diocesan Catechetical
Center of the Diocese of Digos
held the 1st Catechists’
Formators Institute (CFI) on
April 10-13, 2007 at the Dioc-
esan Seminar House, Home of
the Clergy Compound in
Digos City.
Participants in the seminar,
131 in all, included Catechists
© http://jchensq.multiply.com
who came from all the par-
ishes and mission stations of
the diocese; and, campus min-
isters of the Digos City Na-
tional High School. Lecturers
on various topics were Fr.
Nestino Alerta, Fr. Juan
Macalisang, STL, PhD, Fr.
Ferdinand Lariosa, M.A. and
Fr. Ronald Lunas, STL. Sr.
Mary Claire Romeo, OSB, the
diocesan catechetical program
coordinator, supervised the
entire event. She was assisted
by Mrs. Fely Padillo.
This is the 16th year the Cen-
ter has been holding such kind
of formation for catechists. In
the previous years, however,
In the fifth century, St. Au- the program was called Sum-
gustine concluded that infants mer Catechetical Institute
who die without baptism were (SCI). The name has been
consigned to hell. By the 13th changed to Catechists’
century, theologians referred to Formators Institute since in
the “limbo of infants” as a place the past two years, the
where unbaptized babies were Institute’s objective, has
deprived of the vision of God, shifted into forming catechists
but did not suffer because they to assist their head catechist in
did not know what they were their respective parishes in the
deprived of. formation of volunteer cat-
Through the centuries, popes echists.
and Church councils were care- Since 2005, these formator-
ful not to define limbo as a doc- catechists followed a certain
trine of the faith and to leave the program of formation not
question open. That was impor- only during summer but
tant in allowing an evolution of throughout the year. Aside
the teaching, the theological
commission said.
A key question taken up by
the document was the Church’s
teaching that baptism is neces-
Thousands Celebrate at
sary for salvation. That teach-
ing needs interpretation, in
view of the fact that “infants ...
Divine Mercy Shrine
do not place any personal ob- KRAKOW, Poland, April 16,
stacle in the way of redemptive 2007—On April 15, the feast
grace,” it said. of Divine Mercy, about 50,000
In this and other situations, people attended a Mass cel-
the need for the sacrament of ebrated by Cardinal Adam
baptism is not absolute and is Joseph Cardinal Maida at the
secondary to God’s desire for Divine Mercy shrine in
the salvation of every person, it Krakow, Poland.
said. Groups were present from
“God can therefore give the the US, Canada, Nicaragua,
grace of baptism without the Haiti, Finland, England, Ire-
Limbo / P8 land, Romania, Spain,
France, Italy, Germany, Aus-
tria, Slovakia, and the Czech
Republic.
In other news, an interna-
tional architectural competi-
tion for the Pope John Paul II
A “Priest of Divine Mercy”
Beatified
TURIN, Italy, Arpil 17, 2007—
Father Luigi Boccardo, known
as an apostle of merciful love,
was proclaimed blessed in his
native city of Turin.
Cardinal José Saraiva Mar-
tins, prefect of the Vatican
Congregation for Saints’
Causes, presided over the be-
atification Mass, held Sunday
in the Church of the Holy
Face. Cardinal Severino
Poletto, archbishop of Turin,
concelebrated.
Luigi Boccardo was born
Aug. 9, 1861, the seventh of
nine children.
He was ordained a priest in
1884, and served as assistant
pastor to his brother and god-
father, Father Giovanni Maria
Boccardo, who was beatified
lics in Oriental Mindoro was by Pope John Paul II in 1998.
also jubilant. Father Luigi then served as
vice rector and spiritual direc-
The road to priesthood tor at the Consolata College
for young priests, and as a the-
“I’m proof that a Mangyan, ology professor at the dioc-
when given the opportunity esan seminary.
and support, with perseverance The priest also spent hours
and despite poverty, can suc- hearing confessions at the
ceed in any undertaking. We’re Shrine of the Consolata and
all equal before God anyway”, visiting prisoners.
said Oybad. Father Luigi became the su-
He graduated first honors in perior general of the Poor Sis-
a public elementary school and ters of San Gaetano, founded
proceeded to Catholic schools by his brother, after Father
where he got support from mis- Giovanni Maria died in 1913.
sionaries. In high school, he In 1919, Father Luigi be-
had to balance his studies with came director of an institute
his responsibilities as a convent for the blind. In that time he
boy. built the Shrine to Jesus Christ,
During the vocation cam- King and Priest.
paign of the St. Augustine Mi- In 1932, he founded the Or-
nor Seminary in Calapan, der of Sisters of Christ the
Oybad was attracted by the re- King, a contemplative branch
ligious life. of the order founded by his
So after high school, he took brother.
Philosophy at Christ the King He died June 9, 1936.
seminary in Quezon City. Mother Teresa Ponsi, supe-
He then proceeded to Theol-
3
from their four-day seminar in
summer, they also have
classes in their respective vi-
cariates three times a year. In
2005-2007, they took up
“Christology.” The CFI is only
a part of their year-round for-
mation program.
The CFI keeps the triad of
Doctrine, Liturgy and Moral-
ity, and includes Spirituality
and Methodology as well. Fr.
Lunas, a teacher of Systematic
Theology, concluded his se-
ries of lecture on Christology;
Fr. Macalisang, a professor in
Moral Theology, continued
his last years’s lecture on the
“Ten Commandments” with
an input on the “Beatitudes”
as truly guides to Christian
living; Fr. Lariosa, instructor
in Liturgy, concentrated on Li-
turgical Music.
The three priests belong to
the Diocese of Digos, and
presently teaching at the St.
Francis Xavier Regional Semi-
nary of Mindanao in Davao
City. Fr. Alerta, by way of
“Recollection” introduced the
participants to “Centering
Prayer.” During the seminar,
a new set of lessons for the first
communicants, to be used in
the next school year, ad
experimentum, was also pre-
sented.
Upon return to their par-
ishes, participants to the CFI
would also organize the an-
nual renewal program and
formation of the volunteer cat-
echists both for the public
schools and the Basic Chris-
tian Communities (BECs).
Center in Krakow will soon
be underway. The 13,000-
14,000 square-meter complex
will include a museum, mul-
timedia library, a chapel as
well as a prayer room for
other faiths, and a conference
room. One member of the
jury for the competition is
Spanish architect Rafael
Moneo, who designed the
new cathedral in Los Ange-
les, California.
Cardinal Dziwisz will bless
the site selected for the Cen-
ter on May 18th, the 87th
birthday of John Paul II.
(CWNews)
rior general of the Poor Sisters
of San Gaetano, spoke of the
newly beatified to Vatican Ra-
dio: “His charism as educator
and founder was to reveal the
merciful love of Jesus, priest
and king, to his brothers, es-
pecially in the education of the
clergy ... and in the spiritual
direction of so many that ap-
proached him in the confes-
sional.”
Father Luigi “could be de-
fined as ‘a priest, always a
priest,’” the superior general
added. “For him, to be a priest
was the most marvelous ad-
venture.”
Mother Ponsi added that
the priest and founder was a
“teacher and guide for the
young clergy, confessor and
spiritual guide for all types of
people.”
She added that he was a
“priest of divine mercy,” and
that he “disseminated this in
great abundance.”
Mother Ponsi continued:
“A contemplative and an
apostle, he had a knowledge
of delicate charity in under-
standing that even blind
people can live a religious life,
because before God no im-
pediments exist with respect
to who, by his grace, is called
to consecrate their life to him.”
“Because of all this, Blessed
Luigi Boccardo is an example
and a motivation in the coher-
ent search for holiness,” and
a “witness of charity,” she
added.
Cardinal Poletto wrote in
the diocesan pap”r: “The
event of two brothers, priests
in our diocese, being declared
blessed by the Church, is an
extraordinary grace.” (Zenit)

4 News
Bishop Renews Call for
Environment Protection
THE need for protecting envi-
ronment and saving “our-
selves” was stressed by Manila
Auxiliary Bishop Broderick
Pabillo, who led a Mass in cel-
ebration of Earth Day on April
24.
In his homily, Pabillo said
we should treat our environ-
ment with a lot more respect
Boac / from p1
and environment in
Marinduque island.
These include the criminal
cases filed separately by the De-
partment of Environment and
Natural Resources against John
Eric Loney, an Australian who
was the President and CEO of
Marcopper, Steven Paul Reid,
also an Australian national and
Resident Manager of Marcopper
Tapian Office, and Pedro
Hernandez, a Filipino who
served as Senior Manager for
Maintenance.
The three were the officials of
the mining company during the
collapse of one of the dredge
tunnels of Marcopper’s Tapian
Pit on March 24, 1996 that
caused the biologic death of
Boac River, the biggest and
longest waterway in
Marinduque.
The officials were charged for
violation of the Philippine Wa-
ter Code, the Anti-Pollution
Law, the Philippine Mining Act
of 1995, and the Revised Penal
Code docketed in the Munici-
pal Trial Court in this town as
Criminal Cases Nos. 96-44 to
95-55 (People of the Philippines
v. John Eric Loney, Steven Paul
Reid and Pedro Hernandez).
The criminal cases have been
dragging for eleven years al-
ready.
Cardinal / from p1
favors, and not allowing them-
selves to be coerced to vote for
certain candidates.
The statement, which was
read last Sunday in all
churches within the Manila
archdiocese, called on the
clergy and the faithful to vote
for candidates who:
1. Love and fear God.
2. Guided by a well-formed
conscience, sensitive to the
choice of what is good.
3. Live and serve consis-
tently with moral prin-
ciples.
4. Honest, non-violent and
compassionate.
5. Respect and protect the
limited sources in nature
and requires others to do
the same.
6. Ready to sacrifice per-
sonal, party or group in-
terest for the sake of unity,
Symposium / from p1
world of Canon Law remains
a mystery for most Catholic
faithful. Many times, it said,
this is due to a general lack of
juridic sense not just in eccle-
siastical affairs but also even
in civil life.
Sometimes, the CLSP said,
this may also be due to a false
pastoral approach, which
“tends to undermine Church
Law and discipline in favor of
a misunderstood charity
which is tantamount to rela-
tivism and license.”
“Whatever the reason, the
result is confusion and abuse,
which cannot but lead to a
breakdown of authentic Chris-
tian life,” it said.
The symposium also coin-
Old Churches / from p1
suit Seminary at the Our Lady
of Refuge Parish Church still
remain.
In Carigara could be found
the Old Settlement Ruins at
the Cassidy Elementary
School, the Balay nga Gawas
It Harigi and the Carigara
Community Museum.
Carigara is the place where
Christianity was first intro-
duced in Leyte.
In Baybay Leyte, there is
what is called as the Heritage
Street, the Mabini Street
where people are still occu-
pying heritage houses of dif-
ferent vintages.
The Fian Ancestral House
in Albuera, Leyte is repre-
sentative of the rich architec-
tural heritage in Leyte.
Finally, in Hilongos, Leyte
there remains the Fort and
Old Church Ruins which are
and not just regarded it as a
source of money.
The bishop was saddened to
note that while the country is
indeed rich in natural re-
sources it is not however prop-
erly protected.
He singled out large-scale
mining operations in the coun-
tryside as a big blow towards
MACEC Executive Secretary
Myke Magalang explained “the
delay in the administration of
justice for the victims of envi-
ronmental disaster in
Marinduque and the uncon-
scionable plunder of our envi-
ronment are reflections of inef-
ficiency in the bureaucracy of
the country, including the judi-
cial branch.”
Court records reveal that af-
ter the filing of the cases in
April 11, 1996, the accused
Marcopper officials filed a Mo-
tion to Quash before the Boac
MTC.
After the exchange of various
pleadings, the complaints for
violation of the Philippine Wa-
ter Code and the Anti-Pollution
Law were dismissed by the
lower court but the accused
mining company officials were
arraigned for the remaining
cases on May 28, 1997.
The prosecution appealed the
ruling at the Regional Trial
Court in Marinduque while the
accused sought the intervention
of the same court praying for
the quashing also of the cases
for violation of the Philippine
Mining Act. On March 20, 1998,
the RTC reversed and set aside
the ruling of the lower court
and reinstated all the criminal
cases filed against the accused.
peace and the integral de-
velopment of the country
and the people.
“In the past, enormous suf-
ferings resulted from political
ambitions, maneuvers and
group adventurism resulting
in the country’s poor becoming
even poorer,” Rosales la-
mented.
The Cardinal also called on
the teachers, the armed forces,
the youth and volunteer citi-
zens who help the Commission
on Elections (Comelec) ensure
that votes are accurately
counted and properly turned
over to the provincial and na-
tional canvassers.
He also urged the faithful to
pray for guidance so that God
may “softly suggest in prayer”
that the country needs “moral,
humble and repentant trust-
worthy leaders.” (CBCPNews)
cided with this year’s 15 th Na-
tional CLSP Convention on
April 16 to 18, with the Arch-
diocese of Cebu as the host.
Roman Rota Judge Msgr.
Cormac Burke along with
canon lawyers from across the
country participated in the
gathering.
CLSP is an association of
canon lawyers, established
with the encouragement of the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines (CBCP) in
1993. It has close to 200 mem-
bers, 95 percent of them are
priests engaged in different
Ecclesiastical Tribunals, a
growing number of bishops,
and a handful of laypersons
and nuns. (CBCPNews)
rich in architectural heritage.
The Architectural Heritage
Tour on May 1 will be par-
ticipated in not only by the
architecture students but
also by the media and the
members of the United Ar-
chitects of the Philippines,
Leyte Chapter.
This is a good way of learn-
ing what cannot be learned
in school, the actual experi-
ence of seeing for oneself the
actual rich architectural heri-
tage of the province of Leyte.
Indeed, the choice of Leyte
as the venue of the Grand
Opening of the National
Heritage Month not only
showcases the rich heritage
of the province of Leyte but
also serves as an eye-opener
for the Leyteños who should
be proud of their province.
(PIA-8)
creating “irreparable damage”
to our environment.
“With the rapid economic
development, our environ-
ment is getting worse and
worse,” he said. “They don’t
see the importance of our en-
vironment that when de-
stroyed, we can never restore
it back,” he said.
This ruling was appealed by
the accused in the Court of Ap-
peals and in the Supreme
Court. Eight years after, the
Supreme Court finally upheld
the RTC ruling on February 10,
2006 and ordered the reinstate-
ment of all criminal cases,
which in effect, remanded the
same to the court of origin.
The only progress of the cases
was on November 22, 2006
when the Provincial Prosecutor
filed a manifestation and mo-
tion to set cases for hearing and
only after MACEC presented a
computer downloaded copy of
the Supreme Court decision.
Magalang assailed “the ex-
treme inefficiency of the justice
system because it is unimagin-
able why until now the prosecu-
tion and even the Municipal
Trial Court of Boac were not of-
ficially furnished with copies of
the Supreme Court Decision.”
The Prosecution’s manifesta-
tion informed the Municipal
Trial Court that “it is in posses-
sion of what appears to be a com-
puter generated copy of the de-
cision in G.R. No. 152644” and
opined that it would perhaps
suffice in “paving the way for the
resumption of the hearing.”
Magalang further emphati-
cally said that such “is indeed
a grave insult to the already dis-
CBCP Head / from p1
“I earnestly appeal to Your
Excellency to give this concern
due attention and action,”
wrote Lagdameo.
Madhu was killed while he
was about to celebrate Mass in
the town of Lubuagan, a
fourth-class town with a
population of 9,875 people in
1,764 households.
The terror that we feel,
Lagdameo said, are even
made greater by the fact that
it happened while he was pre-
paring for the Holy Mass.
“As we sympathize with the
family of Fr. Madhu and the
SVD Community, and as we
offer prayers for his eternal
rest, we the Bishops cannot
but express once again our
very deep concern about the
unabated killings and other
acts of violence happening in
our country,” Lagdameo
stated.
Attached with Lagdameo’s
letter to Arroyo was another
statement of concern and a call
for justice by the Community
of Catholics of East Nusa
Tenggara and the Indonesian
Catholics in the Philippines
CBCP Calls / from p1
The CBCP also called on
their flocks to reject violence,
cheating and other forms of
immoral acts that could pos-
sibly happen during the elec-
tion period.
It singled out “dagdag-
bawas” or vote padding and
shaving as the common forms
of poll fraud that should be
“disapproved and con-
demned”.
“Let both candidates and
their supporters face the
judgment of democratic elec-
tion with humility and mag-
nanimity,” the CBCP said.
The pastoral exhortation
was released during the sign-
ing of the “Covenant of
Earth Day, according to
Pabillo, “reminds us to have a
wider perspective” of environ-
ment conservation.
“Problems in the environ-
ment are so serious that all of
us must give attention to it," he
said. “Let’s give respect to this
world where we live in.”
(CBCPNews)
illusioned and disheartened
people of Marinduque who are
continuously suffering and
threatened to die one by one
from heavy metal poisoning.”
“That is why we are calling
the attention of the Department
of Justice to direct the panel of
prosecutors to prioritize this
case of the Filipino people
against the foreign nationals
and officers of the multinational
mining company which plun-
dered our national patrimony,”
he said.
Unpaid local taxes
Another important concern
that MACEC strongly pursues
is to find ways and means to
compel Marcopper Mining
Corporation and Placer Dome,
Inc. to pay their unpaid real
property taxes to the province
of Marinduque and the munici-
palities of Boac, Mogpog, Sta.
Cruz and Torrijos which is over
1 billion as of the second quar-
ter of 2006.
“This is an extreme insensi-
tivity of a company which
amassed billions of dollars in
profit and which claims to be a
good corporate citizen of the
country but neglecting its pri-
mary duty to pay legitimate
taxes to the government,” said
Magalang. (Roy Lagarde)
for Madhu’s death.
“We, the Indonesian priests,
religious brothers and sisters
residing in the Philippines de-
mand justice for our fallen
brother and appeal for the
speedy resolution by law en-
forcement agencies of his mur-
der,” the statement read.
“We pray that the death of
our brother shall not be for
naught,” it added. “His life,
which he lovingly offered for
the people of Lubuagan, and
his blood, that was spilled in
their land, shall hopefully
bear more testaments of cour-
age and faith that will
strengthen the mission work
here and around the world.”
Charges have already been
filed before the Kalinga pro-
vincial prosecutor’s office
against four suspects in the
killings of Madhu.
The Philippine National Po-
lice (PNP) identified the sus-
pects as Nestor Wailan, Joel
Awingan, and Acmor
Bonggawen who are now un-
der manhunt operation. The
fourth suspect remains uni-
dentified. (CBCPNews)
H.O.P.E” at the Pope Pius XII
Center in Manila on April 24.
The Covenant for Honest,
Orderly and Peaceful Elec-
tions was the brainchild of the
Armed Forces of the Philip-
pines’ National Capital Re-
gion Command.
Among the signatories of
the covenant were the CBCP,
Commission on Human
Rights, Department of Educa-
tion, National Capital Region
Police Office, Parish Pastoral
Council for Responsible Vot-
ing, the Filipino Alliance
Movement-Support Group,
Bantay Bayan Inc., and
DeltaCom, a civic group.
(CBCPNews)
RP Signs / from p1
DFA Secretary Alberto
Romulo represented the
government in signing the
historic agreement.
Catholic Bishops’ Confer-
ence of the Philippines
(CBCP) president Arch-
bishop Angel Lagdameo,
Manila Archbishop
Gaudencio Cardinal
Rosales and Cebu Arch-
bishop Ricardon Cardinal
Vidal were present to wit-
ness the ceremony.
Church Stands / from p1
But the influential Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) stand on
contraceptives or birth con-
trol stays stronger than ever.
CBCP president Arch-
bishop Angel Lagdameo said
there is no way the Church
will change its position in op-
posing the use of artificial
birth control methods.
“Surveys favoring contra-
ceptives or birth control will
not alter the Church’s posi-
tion and insistence in teach-
ing the objective moral laws
regarding the dignity of hu-
man life and family,” he said.
Lagdameo said the use of
contraceptives, even with
government support, and the
rising cases of abortions do
not change the objective
moral law on birth control.
The CBCP head reacted to
some perceptions that the
moral stand of the Church is
obstructing the economic
progress of the country and
maintained that there’s no
correlation between popula-
tion and poverty.
He also disputed the claim
that population in the coun-
try has been rising citing sta-
tistics from the United Na-
tions (UN) and the National
NASSA / from p1
other’s manpower and vital
resources.
“There are regions in the
country where (one of either
of our groups) has a better
presence. There are also ar-
eas where we jointly man-
age. We want to use the best
of both organizations,” said
Go.
Under the agreement, the
two groups will do the quick
count using the NAMFREL
accreditation by the Com-
mission on Elections
(COMELEC).
NASSA also sought ac-
creditation from the
COMELEC to conduct a
quick count but approved
NAMFREL’s petition in-
stead.
Go is the newly appointed
NAMFREL chairman after
businessman Jose Concep-
tion tendered his resignation
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
Lagdameo, for his part,
said the agreement means
that both the Catholic
Church and the government
will mutually preserve, pro-
tect, as well as appreciate
the proper use of the Cul-
tural Heritage of the
Church.
“It can be done. It will be
done. Both on the financial
and artistic aspects, this
agreement is a very wel-
come event,” he said.
Statistics Office (NSO).
“According to the UN, the
country’s population growth
rate has declined from 2.36
percent to 1.84 percent. For
NSO, its 2.05 percent,” he
said. “Our country’s total fer-
tility rate is not 3.5 but 3.2
(UN/NSO) and is headed to-
wards further decline.”
But the prelate clarified the
Church is not against family
planning per se if the meth-
ods used are moral and pro-
tect the dignity of human life.
“Let it be done, [but] not ac-
cording to some “cafeteria
methods” with instant re-
sults, such as through contra-
ceptives, abortions, ligations
and vasectomy,” said
Lagdameo.
The formation of core val-
ues, he said, as well as the
education in the natural
methods of family planning is
part of the advocacy of the
Church’s Family Life
Apostolate.
He also called on for more
participation of lay faithful in
the family apostolate in the
parishes and barrios—espe-
cially married couples. “Pa-
tient and continuous educa-
tion is necessary in this
apostolate.” (CBCPNews)
as a precondition made by
the COMELEC for the poll
watchdog’s accreditation for
quick count.
The COMELEC ruled that
Conception cannot head a
citizen’s arm because he is
public official, being village
chairman of classy Barangay
Forbes Park in Makati City.
NAMFREL secretary-gen-
eral Eric Alvia said they
need more volunteers to
cover the country’s 308,000
polling precincts and trans-
mit the election returns to
the main tabulating center.
“The volunteers will also
cover all bases in cases of lo-
cation constraints,” said
Alvia.
Go said NAMFREL is set
to hold a national assembly
to brief members in the con-
duct of a quick count.
(CBCPNews )
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
A New Saint
with a Unique
Link to the
Philippines
By Ming Roxas
MARIE-EUGÉNIE of Jesus,
Foundress of the Religious of
the Assumption, will be canon-
ized in Rome on June 3, 2007,
along with 3 other saints, at a
Mass in St. Peter’s Square pre-
sided by the Holy Father, Pope
Benedict XVI.
Born Anne Eugénie Milleret,
Marie-Eugénie believed in the
transformation of society
through education, to form
men and women of faith, and
men and women of action. Her
vision: a world transformed by
the Incarnation of Jesus Christ
and animated by the Church.
Her objectives: to know and
love Jesus Christ, make Him
and his Church known and
loved, and work for the exten-
sion of His Kingdom in soci-
ety.
Marie-Eugénie believed that
education should form the in-
tellect enlightened by faith. The
intellect allows the person to
understand the world, while
Faith provides Gospel values as
the standard by which to for-
mulate decisions. For Marie-
Eugénie, the goal of education
is the transformation of the
whole person, allowing each
one the freedom to develop ac-
cording to God’s plan. In
Marie-Eugénie’s words: “ To
educate is to transform; to trans-
form is to set a person free.”
Marie-Eugénie’s work con-
tinues through the congrega-
tion she founded. Today, the
Religious of the Assumption is
in 34 countries in Europe, Asia,
the Americas and Africa.
Working with their lay part-
ners, over 1,200 sisters in 170
communities throughout the
world continue Marie
Eugenie’s way of spreading the
Kingdom through love.
The Congregation carries out
its educative mission in diverse
apostolates: through its schools
and formation centers for
women, in health clinics, spiri-
tuality and retreat centers and
welcome houses, in centers of
professional education as well
as technical and commercial
formation and in its ministry to
indigenous peoples and mi-
grants, through its ecumenical
work and inter-faith dialogue.
The rich diversity of the mis-
sion is mirrored in the Philip-
pines-Thailand Province,
where the Assumption sisters
transforms society through its
involvement in education and
Risa Bondoc, the girl whose miraculous
healing was attributed through the inter-
cession of Blessed Marie-Eugénie
MACE offers all new comprehensive
protection pr
protection ogram eexxclusively designed
program
for KKCC members and family
Health and accident insurance
• Insuring yourself and your family from imminent risks
in your lives
Motor Car Insurance
• Got side swiped, accidentally bumped your car or be
bumped by or got stocked in the middle of the road, or
got malicious damage, our coverage will protect you
from these unwanted incidents
Home Protection Insurance
• Protecting your home and its contents from fire and
natural calamities.
MACE INSURANCE AGENCY, INC.
A subsidiary of the Knights of Columbus
Fraternal Association of the Philippines, Inc.
immersion in the communities
in which they are situated: in
Kauswagan, Lanao del Norte,
being Assumption is a peace
center for Christians and
Maranaws; in Kibangay,
Bukidnon, as well as in Makati,
Passi, Antipolo and Iloilo, it is
a consolidation of lay and Sis-
ters working together in basic
education, including tertiary
education in San Lorenzo,
Makati; in Malibay, Pasay City
and in San Simon, Pampanga,
poor communities have been
transformed and empowered
by education and the presence
of the Sisters; in Baguio an
inculturated community has
learned to accept and respect
each other’s ethnicity with the
help of Assumption; in Xavier
University in Cagayan de Oro,
and in Saint John’s University
in Bangkok, the Sisters are in-
volved in campus ministry
while in Thabom, a village in
northeast Thailand, the Sisters
run the parish school.
Who was Marie-Eugénie?
Anne-Eugénie Milleret was
born in Metz, north-east of
France in 1871 shortly after the
defeat of Napoleon. Her father
was a rich banker and politician
but, when Anne-Eugénie was
13, he lost all his money, their
beautiful house was sold and
the family split up. She went to
live with her mother in Paris
while her brother Louis stayed
with their father. Two years
later, when she was just 15, her
mother caught cholera and died
a few hours later. Anne-
Eugénie was left alone in the
world.
After several years, staying
with different families, out-
wardly having a good time, but
inwardly lonely and restless,
Anne-Eugénie found herself in
the Cathedral of Notre Dame in
Paris. There, listening to an elo-
quent preacher, the Abbé
Lacordaire, she was converted
to Christ and the Church. She
decided to give her life to Jesus
Christ.
She was convinced that each
of us has a mission on earth . What
was the mission God had des-
tined for Eugénie? She saw that
in the world she lived in, most
people were growing up with-
out any sense of the true mean-
ing of life and of their respon-
sibilities. There were amazing
Feature
The official photo that will be displayed in St. Peter’s Square at the canonization of
Blessed Marie-Eugénie
new possibilities in science and
technology, lots of people were
newly rich and even more were
in desperate poverty. To many
people, God was irrelevant.
Then she met a priest, Fr.
Combalot, who persuaded her
that the best way for her to col-
laborate with Jesus in making
the world what God wanted it
to be was to start a new reli-
gious family dedicated to edu-
cation: the Religious of the As-
sumption.
Events that led to Marie-
Eugénie’s canonization
Marie-Eugénie was beatified
on February 9, 1975 by Pope
Paul VI. In 1996, the cause for
canonization was formally
started by the Congregation.
The canonization of Marie-
Eugénie was made possible by
a miracle attributed through
her intercession to a Filipino
child, Risa Bondoc, who, at age
one year and 3 months, was di-
agnosed with ‘septo-optic-dys-
plasia with left schizencephaly’.
MRI findings showed the ab-
sence of a septum pellucidum and
the corpus callosum joining the
two hemispheres of her brain
never formed. Risa was also
diagnosed to have hypoplasia of
the optic nerve and both her
pituitary gland and hypotha-
lamic stalk were small. Doctors
in the United States said she
would never see, walk or talk.
Risa had been adopted by
Rosendo and Carmen Bondoc
soon after birth in 1995. When
her condition was first diag-
nosed, the Bondocs started the
novena to Marie-Eugénie and
Risa was made to wear a medal
with a relic of Marie-Eugénie.
Risa was also brought to Paris
and, in the presence of the Su-
perior General and two of her
Council, was laid on the tomb
of Marie-Eugénie and com-
mended for cure through
Marie-Eugénie’s intercession.
Today, Risa is a student at the
Basic Education Division of
Assumption College, a Communication Committee for the
friendly, sociable and articu-
late young lady with all the
interests of girls her age.
Marie-Eugénie’s way of life
Marie Eugenie’s way is to
live our Christian life fully by
knowing and loving Jesus
Christ and His Church and
working for the extension of
God’s Kingdom here on earth,
in ourselves and in others. Her
entire being was fixed firmly on
Jesus Christ and the extension of
His Kingdom. Marie Eugenie
believed in the goodness of the
world God had created and in
the possibility for goodness in
every single person. She un-
derstood that when we love
other people we liberate the
good that is in them so that
they can grow into the persons
God wants them to be.
The conditions of the world
Marie Eugénie grew up in are
very similar to what we face
today. Yet, in that world, she
found the Kingdom of God
here on earth. She believed that
the earth, each of us, is a place
of glory for God. As we look
at the life of Marie Eugénie, we
can see that what makes her a
saint can help us become saints
too. Her philosophy and path
to sainthood will help us in our
personal search for meaning
and make us partners in the
great mission of Jesus for the
salvation of the world.
The Philippines-Thailand
Province will be represented by
a large delegation of pilgrims
composed of Sisters, lay
partners, alumnae, students,
faculty and staff from the
different communities for the
official celebration in Rome
from June 2-4.
The canonization will be
carried live by EWTN in the
Philippines on June 3, 2007
starting at 4:00 PM (Philippine
time). A Philippine celebration
of the canonization is being
planned for August 2007.
(Ming Roxas is a faculty of the
Communication Department of
Assumption College. She heads the
Canonization of Blessed Marie-
Eugénie.)
7 QUESTIONS for
Bishop Socrates B. Villegas, DD
Most Rev. Socrates B. Villegas, DD
was appointed third bishop of
Balanga by Pope John Paul II on
May 3, 2004. A true shepherd
that he is, Bishop Soc (as he is
fondly called), puts first the
fraternal care of his clergy in
his life agenda. In this issue
of CBCP Monitor, Bishop
Soc shares his thoughts
on issues that concern
the diocese such as the
implementation of the
program on social
concerns, the issue of
politics and the
upcoming elections, the
spiritual growth of his
flock, the family and life
apostolate, vocations and the ongoing formation of the
diocesan clergy.
The implementation of
the social concern
agenda of the Church is
an ongoing program of
the dioceses to address
the situation of our poor
people. How is this be-
ing realized in your dio-
cese?
We are in the process of
implementing the decrees
and statutes of the First
Synod of Balanga (2006).
One of our eight pastoral
priorities is the Communion
with the Poor. The social
concern agenda of the dio-
cese rests on the theology of
the Kingdom of God. We
are not doing programs for
the poor because we want
them to become million-
aires. Our service for the
poor must lead to the pro-
motion of the plan of God
for His people which is full-
ness of life. We are essen-
tially different from the
DSWD or other NGO’s
helping the poor. Our real
and only treasure to share
with the poor is Jesus Christ.
Concretely, we have a di-
ocesan home for abandoned
children, a home for aban-
doned elderly, a micro fi-
nancing program for small
investors, a basic education
full scholarship program for
150 children, most of them
from the Aeta families, and
the diocesan program for
helping the poor called
AGAP (Alay Galing sa
Pagpapakasakit).
Would you consider par-
ticipation in politics a
part of the social con-
cern agenda of the
Church?
7
Dirty politics is
one of the great
scourges of our na-
tion. Politics be-
comes dirty and
burdensome for
the people when it
is conducted with-
out Christ. It is the
duty of the QUESTIONS
Church—clerics
and laity—to in-
fuse the spirit of holiness
into politics. There must be
separation of Church and
State but there should be no
separation of man from
God.
What is the diocese do-
ing to minimize, if not al-
together eradicate the
prospect of cheating and
vote-buying in the up-
coming mid-term elec-
tions?
Democracy will only
work if the people in whom
true democratic power ema-
nates are educated and use
their right responsively and
wisely. There is an ongoing
voters’ education in the
whole diocese using the
modules of the PPCRV.
Vigilance is the small price
that we must pay if we wish
to remain free.
As third bishop of
Balanga, how would you
describe the journey of
the diocese in terms of
growth in faith of the
flock, and development
of the diocese in the ar-
eas of structure and or-
ganization?
I am standing on the
shoulders of two great
5
Churchmen—Bishop Celso
Guevarra and Bishop Hon-
esto Ongtioco. They have
sown good seeds in Bataan
when they were bishops
here. It is springtime for
Bataan now because of the
legacy of our first two bish-
ops. Bishop Guevarra laid
the foundations of the new
diocese by promoting voca-
tions to the priesthood.
Bishop Nes laid the ground-
work for the first synod
through the diocesan pasto-
ral consultation that he con-
ducted. These two great
bishops made life for me so
much easier and the work
very much lighter.
How is the family and life
program in your dio-
cese?
The seedbed of all our
pastoral programs is the
family. The end goal of all
our pastoral action is the
family. The agent for the
various pastoral agenda is
the family. You will notice
that family life does not ap-
pear in any of the eight pas-
toral priorities of the dio-
cese. It is because family life
permeates all of them.
The diocese seems to be
getting sufficient num-
ber of vocations for the
priesthood, how would
you appraise the quality
of vocations entering the
seminary today?
By the grace of God, we
are seeing a remarkable in-
crease of seminarians from
the Diocese of Balanga.
How do I explain the in-
crease of priestly vocations?
First is the example of many
good priests in
Bataan. Second is
the encouraging at-
mosphere of
prayer within the
family. Many more
young men could
have been admit-
ted to the seminary
if the standard of
education in public
schools were better
than what it is now. There
is a lamentable deterioration
in English proficiency
which is so vital for semi-
nary studies. There is also
the remarkable decline in
the spirit of self discipline
and sacrifice. The culture of
easy and quick pleasure has
also sadly affected our semi-
nary applicants.
Do you have in your dio-
cese concrete programs
for the ongoing forma-
tion of your clergy?
Cardinal Sin and Cardinal
Vidal both gave me the
same advice when I was ap-
pointed Bishop of Balanga:
“Love your priests!” I have
always set the fraternal care
of priests as first in my life
agenda. We have a regular
monthly recollection and
penitential service together.
I give some points for spiri-
tual growth during these
monthly gatherings. This is
my regular way of minister-
ing to my brothers. In addi-
tion to our annual retreat,
we also have a five-day re-
newal program for some
updating in canon law, lit-
urgy, pastoral administra-
tion and, of course, spiritu-
ality. The minister is more
important than the ministry.

6 Opinion
EDITORIAL
Nothing Really Bad with RP-
China Agri Deals
THERE is really nothing bad with the recent RP-China
Agribusiness deals which were signed during the state visit
of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao last January. There were
immediately 17 agreements placed in the bag amounting to
P197.7 billion that, reportedly, will cover 1.2 million hectares
of farmlands.
The Agriculture Secretary calls the breakthrough “the golden
age of bilateral relations between the Philippines and China,
and heralds the ascendancy of China as a strategic partner
of the Philippines in its drive for agricultural modernization
and global competitiveness.”
There is real gold in this venture which is expected to soar
up to P240 billion worth of Chinese investments once all
agreements are totally concluded.
The only rub is, a cursory check with some of the Filipino
corporations in partnership with the Chinese investors
reveals some anomalous transactions in the offing. For how
would a corporation be in partnership with multi-billion
investors when its incorporation happened only months ago
and its subscribed capital stock totals only a measly million
pesos? And this, not to mention the names of incorporators
that are not known in business circles who may easily be
dummies. This sounds like a repeat of the computer deals
at COMELEC which until now are squirming with worms.
And we are not yet talking about environmental issues
where forest lands may be part of the millions of hectares
that will be converted for agribusiness use of the Chinese
who are not known for environmental safety.
There is really nothing bad with RP-Chinese agribusiness
deals—except that these are deals entered into by dirty
hands in a land that tops the Asian list of the most corrupt.
Population and Corruption
A RECENT survey said that a rather big majority of its
respondents favored the use of contraceptives. Obviously,
the intention is to lessen the population in the country and
consequently, as if by cause and effect, have prosperity in
the land. Immediately, anti-population characters in the
legislature and administration joined the pro-contraceptive
choir.
Truth to say, this is a simplistic stance to population. Lesser
population automatically means prosperity. Bigger
population readily means poverty. This is the so-called
simple and plain “pie approach”. The more persons eat the
pie, the lesser portion they have. The fewer people partake
of the pie, the bigger pieces. This equation is not that hard
to understand.
Even children are much aware of such a simplistic
quantitative truth the more so do anti-population proponents
know such a numerical approach. More people are definitely
bad for the national economy. Less people are infallibly
good for national socio-economic development. The
equation is self-evident. The conclusion is elementary.
But this is wrong.
The people in this country are poor not simply because of
their number but rather on account of the endemic graft and
pervasive corruption in their government.
The government directly and/or indirectly taxes each one of
the millions of Filipinos. Yet it has a dismal performance in
promoting their common good in return.
The truth is, were it not for population of the country, the
government would not be all well in keeping the national
economy still somehow afloat through OFW remittances.
Population is not an impediment to prosperity but rather the
engine of development. The obstacle to national development
is found in corrupt government agencies; in grafters
occupying public offices. Plus a basically incapable
government that is rich in super visions but poor in reality
performance.
As to the emerging popularity of contraception to readily
and effectively lessen population instead of the common
resolve to clean the government of graft and corruption, let
it be said that what is easy is not necessarily right just as
what is difficult is not automatically wrong.
Contraception is but a smoke screen in squarely looking
at and really resolving the poverty in the country.
ISSN 1908-2940
CBCP Monitor
P r o ta g o n i s t of Tr u t h , Promoter of
Pedro C. Quitorio Pinky Barrientos, FSP
Editor-in-Chief Production Manager
Melo M. Acuña Rowena T. Dalanon
Managing Editor Marketing Supervisor
Dennis B. Dayao Ernani M. Ramos
On-Line Editor Circulation Manager
Roy Q. Lagarde Mercelita Dominguez
News Editor Comptroller
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Com-
munications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and
business offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O.
Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business:
(063)404-1612. Email: cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net Website:
www.cbcpworld.net/cbcpmonitor
Abp. Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
In and Out of Season
(This is lif ted from the homily of Archbishop
Angel Lagdameo during the closing Mass of the
National Conference of PPCR V on March 11,
2007 at Pius XII, Manila.)
PPCRV, Parish Pastoral Council for Re-
sponsible Voting. Another meaning is:
Preserving and Promoting the Call for
Responsible Voting. Yet another mean-
ing: Prayer, Penance and Collaboration
for Renewing Our Voters.
PPCRV, born in 1991, is a lay response
to the call of the Second Plenary Coun-
cil of the Philippines for renewing Phil-
ippine politics. Even if it comes with the
collaborative support of the clergy, reli-
gious and bishops, PPCRV must main-
tain its lay character. It is a lay move-
ment within the Church.
In the Catechism for Filipino Catholics
we read: “Since we Filipino Catholics
constitute the great majority of our na-
tion, we hold the primary responsibility
for building a just Philippine Society”
(CFC. No. 1193). The challenge of the Ser-
vant of God, Pope John Paul II for the la-
ity is “Never to relinquish that participa-
tion in public life… In the many differ-
ent economic, social, legislative and ad-
ministrative and cultural areas which in-
tend to promote organically and institu-
tionally the common good” (CFC No. 43).
The first image given by the Gospel is
Poverty, Politics and the
Parish
THERE is too much at stake in the vi-
ability of this nation as a democracy. The
media’s continuous harping of the pos-
sibility of another Hello Garci situation,
the lack of trust in the COMELEC, the
political killings, the new outburst in
Sulu—a shooting war between the
MNLF and the Philippine army—all
these will come to a head during and af-
ter election, come May 14. We pray that
things will turn out better—that the re-
sults of the elections are not tainted with
Peace
cheating. We pray that our democratic
institutions will survive and the Filipino
nation will be on the road to progress.
Politics and its accompanying corrup-
tion, is a two-edged sword that cuts
twice—first, with the money share from
corrupt practices to buy the votes of the
poor, and second, with the pork barrel
funds to keep the family dynasty in
power. And who are the victims? They
are the 20 million families that live be-
low the poverty line. They are the 3.4
million households who experience hun-
ger twice a month. These unfortunates
are not aware that they can wield power
Layout by Blue Flame
during election time. For lack of educa-
tion and lack of time to care to under-
stand political platforms from which to
select the right candidates, they would
rather spend precious moments to eke a
living in tilling the soil or catching fish,
Pre-election Images of
Our Country
that of the parable of unfruitful fig tree
(Lk. 13:6-9). In spite of the work of the
gardener digging around the fig tree and
putting in some fertilizer, it still re-
mained unfruitful. The owner who
wanted it destroyed was prevailed upon
by the gardener—to give the fig tree yet
another chance. If the tree bears fruits,
so much the better; if not it may be de-
stroyed.
In this image, the owner is undoubt-
edly God, the fig tree is our country, the
fertilizer are the efforts to renew our
electoral conduct, in order to make our
elections clean, honest, accurate, mean-
ingful and peaceful election. The gar-
dener is the PPCRV. You can develop the
image and enlarge the picture. The em-
phasis in this image is on the work of
the gardener, the PPCRV which with
“faith and fire” wants to make the fig
tree, our country, fruitful in terms of
choosing the right leaders in a climate
of credible election.
The second image is the healing of a
crippled woman, crippled for eighteen
years, bent over and unable to stand up
straight. Here there is no intermediary
as telling in the first. There is only Jesus
who performs a miracle by telling the
crippled woman “Woman, you are set
free from your ailment!” And presto! She
Jose B. Lugay
or harvesting coconuts or choose to mi-
grate to urban areas to seek a livelihood
but sometimes end up in ghettos im-
mersed in crime-ridden surroundings.
Is there anything that the Philippine
Church, the Church of the Poor can do? We
have in our library two books of the
Church that give a complete analysis of
the Philippine situation, including pov-
erty, politics and parishes, our thesis for
this column. These are the “ACTS AND
DECREES of the SECOND PLENARY
COUNCIL of the PHILIPPINES (20 Janu-
ary – 17 February 1001) and CHURCH RE-
NEWAL, Proceedings and Addresses of
the National Pastoral Consultation,
CBCP, The Challenge to Catholicism in the
New Millennium. 22-27 January 2001. Note
that these 2 masterpieces in defining the
Philippine Church situation are 10 years
apart. In another 4 years CBCP, I am sure
will come out with another assessment.
In jest, one of the bishops predicted, this
will be another NATO—NO ACTION,
TALK ONLY. We can laugh at it if it were
not to end in tragedy.
If ever there is any time that lay em-
powerment is needed it is during elec-
tion time. It is admirable that the PPCRV
is now in the forefront in voters’ educa-
tion. The television debate of the politi-
cal candidates hopefully will educate
most of the Filipinos, at least those who
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
is cured. Is this what we want to happen
to our country? Would that it will be that
way! That after more than half a century
of struggle for good election, some
miracle will happen! To free our coun-
try from the evils of “bad elections!” The
image is like that of EDSA I and II; but
not quite because in these divine inter-
vention, accompanies the human inter-
vention.
The three day convention comple-
ments the “faith and fire” in the hearts
of PPCRV agents. I like to hear what has
been said that “once a PPCRV, always a
PPCRV.” I like to think that a merger of
the two images may well be the fruit of
your prayer and penance: that you, my
dear PPCRV cooperators, are God’s in-
strument of new miracle, waiting to hap-
pen. You can make things happen! As I
listen to your observations and
desiderata, I could not but say within:
“Prepare for worst.” But as I look at your
enthusiasm and determination, I could
not but say within: “Hope for the best.”
Who was it that said: “The Filipino is
worth dying for”?
And who was it that said: “It takes
only one person to do nothing for evil
to triumph.”
And so we go back again to what we
said last December “watch and pray.”
Laiko Lampstand
Laiko
have television sets to see and hear the
candidates speaking. I am sure the A,
B, and C classes of society will be able
to discern who the worthy candidates
are. The families belonging to the D and
E category, 20 million of them, will need
face-to-face intervention. The best fora
will be during meetings of the Basic
Ecclesial Communities of the Parishes.
Consider that each voter will have to re-
call 38 names and a party list to fill the
ballot. Some have not handled pencil and
paper for months. Dedication of the pa-
rishioners to spend a little time for con-
ducting an election exercise with sample
ballots will have tremendous effect. Do
not forget that the political party who es-
pouses the PCP-II social doctrines as
their platform is KAPATIRAN. And the
candidates are PAREDES, SISON and
BAUTISTA.
The best output of lay empowerment
is attaining social transformation. It
starts with choosing the leaders who put
God in politics—the party’s principles
and political platform. Remember the
parishes outnumber the total number of
towns—2,703 versus 1,510 towns. This
appeal is addressed to all lay leaders
especially those who are involved in the
BEC’s. Let us see if we can be the change
agent in the voting practices of our
people.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
Lo
Lovve Lif
Lifee
HAVE you ever met Baby Joshua? This is
the name I gave to the plastic model of a
three month old unborn baby that I use to
demonstrate in my pro-life presentations.
In biology, a three month old human be-
ing in the mother’s womb is called a fetus,
after it has passed its being a zygote and
an embryo. The Latin word fetus actually
means “my little one”. What a cute, endear-
ing name, right? But nowadays, those who
promote abortion belittle the value of the
unborn baby by calling it fetus to remove
any positive feelings for babies. No one
wants to kill a baby. But who cares about a
fetus, they say.
And that is why, when I speak to the
youth about respect and care for life, I first
show them the wonder of creation—the
growth and development of the baby inside
the uterus. Then I show them the ugly pic-
tures of abortion and what it does to the
baby. Then I show them the fetal model to
emphasize how innocent, weak and vulner-
able it is, needing our care and love. Then I
invite the audience to join me in the Spiri-
tual Adoption Prayer for Unborn Babies. I
explain: somewhere, there is a girl or a
woman who is in distress because of a preg-
nancy she is not ready for. The baby in her
womb is target for abortion. But with the
power of prayer, she might meet someone
who could give her the correct advice and
help so she will be able to go on with her
pregnancy. I tell the audience to think of a
name to give to that baby that needs to be
saved. The name I always choose is Baby
Joshua. Joshua is the Jewish version of Jesus,
Some Questions (Part 1)
HAVEN’T you noticed footages, photos
and radio reports about the sad state of jails
under the management (or mismanage-
ment) of the Bureau of Jail Management
and Penology, all reported the inhuman
conditions in local jails? People are locked
in crammed facilities easily considered fire
traps. There have been no marked improve-
ments in physical structures, sanitation and
most probably, meals served the inmates
over the past years. It appears both national
and local government agencies have forgot-
ten people inside the jails.
The Quezon City Jail was originally built
to house a little over 800 inmates but now
has over 3,000 individuals. Chief Public
Attorney Persida V. Rueda-Acosta led law-
yers from her office and doctors from the
Department of Justice to check on the in-
mates who ought to be released after serv-
ing time inside the congested facility. I
found time to see for myself what’s going
on. One would definitely have an idea of
what hell is inside the facility.
Such a facility leaves me more questions
such as how Quezon City Jail escaped
safety inspectors from the Bureau of Fire
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
…and tha
thatt’s the tr uth!
truth!
THIS is an open letter to Manny Pacquiao,
loudly rumored to be intending to run for
Congressman in the coming May elections.
I’m writing it weeks before the March 29
deadline set for filing one’s candidacy, but
whether this unsolicited advice reaches
Manny, or not at all, wouldn’t worry me.
I’m thankful I can tell my truth, even if it
exposes me to (chuckle!) ridicule. So here:
Dear Manny: Since the first time I inter-
viewed you, in 2002, I’ve sort of followed
your career. Not that I’m that keen about
boxing—bloody sport!—it’s only that I hap-
pen to believe you’re a different boxer.
You’re a “ring evangelist”, someone who
witnesses to the power of God from the
boxing ring.
What struck me most when we first met
was your apparent surrender to God, the
ease with which you attributed your victo-
ries to Him, your avowed gratitude to The
Source for all that you have. You guilelessly
recalled your lowly beginnings, and you
dreamed aloud about sharing your bounty
with the needy, especially the young who
you believed could be lured away from vice
by the discipline of sports. Knowing you
could enter the ring as a champion and
leave it as a corpse, you were consistent in
saying that your life is in His hands—this
explained the Sign of the Cross you’d make
before and after each round, and the Ro-
sary worn around your neck before and
after each game. No doubt your virtual
asceticism, denying yourself pleasures
when training for a fight, was your key to
career excellence, but even that you won’t
take credit for—everything for you was
“Salamat sa Diyos.”
A more cynical bystander would prob-
ably think it’s all talk with you, all a show
to win “pogi points” with media, but it’s
also true that “out of the bounty of the
heart, the mouth speaks.” I do believe you
spoke from your heart, and I do know, too,
that one can’t just blabber on about surren-
der to God if one doesn’t have in his heart
Opinion
Meet Baby Joshua
Hesus or Jesu. And Jesus means Savior.
This plastic fetal model has saved so
many babies in danger of abortion. I show
it to the young women who come to our
counseling center insisting that abortion is
the only way out of their predicament. They
ask me, knowing I am a nurse, to give them
the name of any medicine they can take in
order to have their menses again, that is, to
make them unpregnant. I then hold Baby
Joshua in my palm and explain how every
part of his body is now fully formed. The
baby can feel, feed, and sleep or kick
around at the age of three months.
Usually, the pregnant girl looks at the
model in awe, begins to cry, and admits
that she really does not want abortion. She
just does not know what to do—
abandoned by the father of the baby, fear-
ful of the anger of her parents, unsure of
what her future will be.
Step by step, we discuss her situation,
looking for resources that she could tap,
and offering our own resources: confiden-
tiality (they are so afraid that the world will
know), a place to stay while pregnant, go
after the father of the baby to find out what
he himself intends to do since this is his
responsibility, or refer her to an OB for her
prenatal check up and delivery. We also say
we can find families who will foster care of
the baby for a few months if she is unable
to take care of him/her and if she has not
decided to have the baby for legal adop-
tion yet. There are so many childless
couples just wanting to adopt a child.
Finally, we discuss with her what led her
Melo M. Acuña
Issues and Concerns
Protection, known to be meticulous and
strict to the slightest deficiencies and vio-
lations for the Fire Code of the Philippines.
They could have easily recommended
sprinklers and their preferred fire extin-
guishers which come at almost unimagin-
able costs.
The Bureau of Fire Protection is a sister
agency of the Bureau of Jail Management
and Penology, along with the Philippine
National Police, all under the Department
of Interior and Local Government. Has the
Bureau of Fire Protection set their sights too
far they failed to see what’s at the tip of
their noses?
Lives are at risk at the Quezon City Jail.
Our Justice system provides rehabilitation
and reformation. One who undergoes pun-
ishment should not be exposed to dangers
posed by neglectful officials for it does not
necessarily mean we will no longer extend
humane living conditions to detention pris-
oners. Would the concerned government
executives do something before it is too
late?
* * * tions acunamelo@yahoo.com.
Don’t, Pacman, don’t!
at least the desire for it.
So I’m wondering now—why this im-
pending career-switch from God-fearing
athlete to politician? Call this meddling or
maternal instinct, but if you were my son,
this is what I’d say: You are already above
politics, serving your people and your
country in full freedom by being your
simple, sincere, generous self—so why
want to be something else?
I can’t claim to know you inside out, but
I think you’ll just be treated like a glamor-
ized pawn in politics. You’re hot prop-
erty—see how boxing promoters are slug-
ging it out for control over you? It’s the
same divisive game with politicians—only
bloodier, and veiled in so-called noble in-
tentions. They will use your money, capi-
talize on your fame, and take advantage of
your inexperience by saying you can serve
people better by becoming one of them.
Don’t just listen to me, Manny; listen to
your fans who truly care for you, and lis-
ten to history. Since Cicero’s time, politics
has been essentially the same: bread, cir-
cuses, broken promises. Politics thrives on
lies, and as English writer George Orwell
wrote in 1946, “Political language…is de-
signed to make lies sound truthful and
murder respectable, and to give an appear-
ance of solidity to pure wind.”
Your simplicity is your strength, but in
the land of wolves that politics is, it will be
your Waterloo. Being a greenhorn you’ll
be at the mercy of scheming politicians—
and as history proves, politicians are not
exactly the most well-meaning people on
earth.
Those who defend your intention to
serve your people egg you on by saying you
don’t need to be a lawyer to become a con-
gressman; I say you don’t need to become
a congressman to serve your people.
You’ve been doing much more for the
country than any congressman can even
hope to do. The millions you’ve been shar-
ing with the needy come not from a pork
to this pregnancy that she was not ready
for. If she is single, then we discuss about
proper boy-girl relationships. If she is mar-
ried, we explain to her the effectiveness of
the modern, scientific natural family plan-
ning methods. We do not advice artificial
contraceptives because they fail so often
and this makes the woman go for abortion
if a baby is conceived.
It is such a joy to be able to help these
pregnant women decide to give birth to
their babies. They walk out of our counsel-
ing center with a radiant smile and new
hope, so different from the time when they
walked in with long faces and puffy eyes
from crying every night due to desperation.
We, counselors, have many stories to tell
when we gather together (without mention-
ing names, of course). We are proud to be
part of God’s apostles for life. We call our-
selves the Life Savers! If you want to know
more about our mission and maybe, some-
day, you could also be part of our rescue
team, call Pro-life Office at 911-2911. Or just
text me at 0920-945-5494. We care.
Please say this daily with me and help
save many babies from abortion!
Spiritual Adoption Prayer for the unborn.
Jesus, Mary, Joseph,
I love you very much.
I beg you to spare the life
Of the unborn child that
I have spiritually adopted
Who is in danger of abortion.
The name of the baby I have adopted
is:__________
(Composed by Bishop Fulton Sheen)
Will ordinary mortals like us get to peek
at the income tax returns of our favorite
senatorial, congressional and local candi-
dates, now too visible across the media?
The answer is a resounding “No” as every-
one is entitled to some privacy.
BIR Commissioner Jose Bunag said
there’s got to be a law for them to release
vital records to the public. I do not see any
proposed law would ever pass first read-
ing. It all makes us wonder where all these
very visible candidates get their resources
to fund their campaign. Commissioner
Bunag, in an interview over Veritas 846 said
these campaign funds came from their sup-
porters and donors. BIR should take a long
hard look at this practice for they ought to
charge Donor’s tax, right? Are the donors
that endowed they can afford to contrib-
ute hundreds of thousands, if not millions
of pesos. There’s a strong possibility some
of these candidates received some financ-
ing syndicates, say those involved in
jueteng , but nobody’s talking. Who would
anyway?
Please email me comments and sugges-
barrel but from your own sweat and blood,
from risking your life on the ring in order
“make Filipinos happy and to bring honor
to the country.” You are free—you need
no signatures from the higher ups to do
good works.
Stay free, Manny, but also ask yourself
why you are attracted to politics, for it
could also be your yen for gambling that’s
spurring you on to hop into the political
arena. Politics is gambling, and the stakes
there are much higher than those in any
casino or cockpit. Your “supporters” claim
that by entering politics you are making a
“big sacrifice in order to serve the people.”
A big sacrifice? The biggest sacrifice you
can make is to convert your rich man’s vices
into rich man’s virtues. Instead of blow-
ing away your “barya” (loose change) on
expensive pastimes, funnel your money
and time into your dream of developing the
youth. You said it’s your way of thanking
God for all He has given you: leaving a
legacy to your countrymen by putting up
sports complexes all over the country for
the young. You’re a hero, a politician in
your own right; you need no political party
to approve your projects.
You’ve always said you fight to win and
make the Filipinos happy. That patriotic
intention, simply stated, speaks of a free-
dom to love that has set you apart from and
above partisan politics, and it has borne
fruit. Each time you fight they watch and
pray. When your country celebrates your
victory, your kababayans the world over re-
joice—there are no rich, no poor, no Mus-
lims, no Christians, no leftists, no rightists,
no pro-administration, no opposition—just
Filipinos proud that the champ is a Filipino.
You see, you’re a national treasure,
Manny, a heaven-sent “pambansang
kamao” that inspires hope in the Filipino.
Without even trying to, you make of the
Philippines one nation, one people. That,
neither President nor Cardinal has ever
done. And that’s the truth.
7
Bp. Leonardo Y. Medroso, JCD, DD
Tidbits
The Lay Faithful and
the Priests
AS a pastor of a particular Church, I have been wondering
how to effect the harmonious and dynamic relationship be-
tween the lay faithful and the priests that would lead not only
to the appreciation of their dignity but would also maximize
the exercise of their functions as priests, kings and prophets
in the parishes. It is true that Canon 208 provides for close
collaboration among the faithful when it states: “From their
rebirth in Christ, there exists among all the Christian faithful a
true equality regarding dignity and action by which they all
cooperate in the building up of the Body of Christ according
to each one’s own condition and function.” But it does not
spell out in the concrete how it looks like and how this could
be realized.
The early Christian community in Jerusalem as described
in the Acts of the Apostles with the members’ concern for one
another motivated as they were by the celebration of the Eu-
charist is usually conjured as the model of how cooperation
in the Church would appear. But the complexity of the world
of today simply demands for other Church models that would
strike that dynamic relationship among its members.
Meantime, a glimmer of it was recently shown me in the
Chrism Mass in the Diocese of Tagbilaran. As a new pastor of
the place, it was my first time to preside at the liturgy. And
there I saw a model how the clergy and the laity could more
effectively work together in the building up of the Body of
Christ on earth. It was Monday of Holy Week. Priests gath-
ered together in the morning and had a short recollection in
preparation for the Chrism Mass and their renewal of their
commitment as priests in the Church of Tagbilaran. For a wider
perspective of their priesthood they took as their speaker a
lay man in the person of Mr. Frank Padilla, the founder of the
CFC.
In the early afternoon, the lay faithful came in and congre-
gated in the Cathedral, made a recollection with the bishop of
Tagbilaran himself as the speaker. After that they made the
Holy Hour and Stations of the Cross as their prayer for the
priests. It was only after these separate preparations that the
Chrism Mass proper was celebrated. It was a Liturgy to be-
hold: the lay people praying for their priests; the priests re-
newing their commitment to serve the lay faithful with re-
newed vigor and enthusiasm, the bishop absorbing them all
in his own person and office, bringing them all up to God,
pleading for His choice blessings for the particular Church,
the Diocese of Tagbilaran.
In the ministry of governance, the bishop has the pastoral
obligation to assist the lay faithful to understand and to ac-
cept the kingly gift that they received in baptism. According
to Benedict XVI in his address to the bishops of Provinces of
Louisville, Mobile and New Orleans, this kingly office is first
expressed in that “royal freedom which enables the faithful to
overcome the reign of sin in their own lives and, by serving
Christ in others…, to guide them to that King whom to serve
is to reign” (ZEO4120520). And since for the lay faithful the
exercise of this kingly office is directed to the spread of the
Kingdom of Gospel through secular activities, imbuing, that
is, the world with the Spirit of Christ so that justice, love and
peace may reign, the bishop has to encourage them through
catechesis and continuing formation, to recognize their dis-
tinctive dignity and mission. As the Pope continued his ex-
hortation: “This means that the laity must be trained to distin-
guish clearly between their rights and duties as members of
the Church and those which they have as members of human
society, and encouraged to combine the two harmoniously
recognizing that in every temporal affair they are to be guided
by their Christian conscience, since there is no human activ-
ity—even in the temporal order—that can be withdrawn from
God’s dominion” (ibid.; also, Vatican II, LG, no. 36; also, Canon
227)).
The implication of the words of Benedict XVI is that the lay
faithful should not remain as the “long hand of the hierar-
chy”, a group that moves only when mandated by the bishop
and their pastors. They should be empowered. Empowerment
here means due recognition of the legitimate freedom of the
lay faithful to undertake on their own the apostolate due to
the baptism that they received. They are commissioned by
the Lord Himself, expected to undertake the spread of the
Gospel in their own right and to perform their functions as
priests, kings, and prophets by the sheer fact that they are bap-
tized and confirmed. It too means that they have their distinc-
tive role in the mission of the Church. “They live in the
world…They are called there by God that by exercising their
proper function and led by the spirit of the Gospel they may
work for the sanctification of the world from within as a leaven.
In this way they may make Christ known to others” (LG 31).
And more importantly, it demands from the hierarchy the
proper discernment to appreciate the workings of the Holy
Spirit in their lives. They are in the world and they are there
precisely to reinvigorate the Church in places where the clergy
cannot reach. Many of them receive charisms for the building
up of the Church. They are not aliens nor are they enemies of
the Church; neither do they intend to put up a parallel Church,
competitors for the allegiance of the people. They are there
because “their specific vocation and their mission is that of
expressing the Gospel in their lives and, in that way, of insert-
ing the Gospel as leavening into the reality of the world in
which they live and work” (John Paul II, “The Task of the
Laity to Permeate”, L’Osservatore Romano, October 15, 1980).
The lay faithful, that is, the young men and women who
are acting as leaven of the secular world and the hope of the
future of the Church, the married couples who lived the love
of Christ in their homes and families; and, all the men and
women who bring the Gospel to their homes, workplaces,
politics and the to the world as a whole, are invaluable mem-
bers of the local Church. An appreciation of their secularity,
their distinctive gifts and apostolate will lead to a greater com-
mitment and shared responsibility.
The bishop has to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit
who is forever, living, working and speaking in the baptized
individuals and groups of individuals. He should know how
to discern the workings of the Spirit, the rich variety of charisms
and ministries which are poured upon some lay members for
the building up and renewal of the Church. This of course
demands from the pastor the conscious effort to listen, to dis-
cern, to appreciate, and even to put up structures of commun-
ion and participation.
The lay faithful praying for their priests, the priests renew-
ing their commitment to spend their lives to bring to the lay
faithful the Word and the Sacraments, the bishop working for
the fruitful collaboration and harmonious cooperation between
these two members for the building up of the Body of Christ,
was mirrored in the Mass of the Chrism last Holy Monday in
the Cathedral of Tagbilaran. It is our fondest hope that this
picture of communion and participation in the liturgy be soon
transported to the day to day living of the Christian Faithful
in the local Church in Bohol.

8 CBCP Commission
The winner, other family participants, organizers from Italy and the NCFBQ Secretariat in Manila pose after the Florence Bible
quiz competition at the San Barnaba Church.
Bible Quiz Challenge
Accepted in Europe
“And the Word was made flesh; He had made His tent pitched among us, and we
have seen His Glor y, the Glory of His only Son, coming from the Father: fullness of
truth and loving kindness (Jn 1:14)”
By. Fr. Oscar Alunday, SVD
THE National Secretariat for
the National Catholic Filipino
Bible Quiz witnessed God’s
glory manifested in the
changed lives of the Family par-
ticipants both in the 1st and 2nd
National Catholic Family Bible
Quiz in the Philippines. The
Word of God continues to be
flesh and blood in the children
and among the youth together
with their parents.
“I never thought we could come
together to read and pray, reflect,
and study the Bible together as a
Family.” “Our parents are very
busy and we are also busy with our
books. But we don’t have time to
open the Bible as a family.” These
are the laments of parents and
children on the difficult reality
of family life. But during the
preparations and Bible Quiz
proper, the family was brought
together in prayer and reflec-
tion. One father of a family con-
testant said, “I could see God
embracing each of us in our fam-
ily as we gathered around the Word
of God and answered the questions
during the Bible Quiz.” The
Father’s embrace has brought
together 483 Filipino Families
from 458 parishes and 413 lay
Bible animators during the 2nd
National Catholic Filipino Bible
Quiz. (2006).
After viewing the MTV of the
song “Power to Unite,” the com-
munity of Chaplains for the Fili-
pino Migrant Workers in Italy,
who were gathered for a two-
day workshop from Feb.12-13,
2007 at the Mater Amabilis Li-
turgical-Pastoral Center in
Vicenza, Italy, expressed their
admiration and wonder for the
commitment of Filipino fami-
lies who zealously studied
God’s Word as a Family.
“Nakaka-inspire at nakaka-
touch!” (It was so inspiring!).
These 16 Chaplains are min-
istering in different major cities
of Italy where thousands of Fili-
pino migrants are working:
seven are from Rome; two from
Milan; two from Vicenza; one
from Padova; one from Brescia;
one from Verona; one from
Ancona–Osimo, and one from
Treviso . Some are officially as-
signed as Chaplains for the Fili-
pino Migrants and others work
as volunteers in the ministry
because some are full time stu-
dents or assigned with special
missions by their Congrega-
Airport Chaplaincies, A Response to Terrorism
VATICAN CITY, April 18,
2007—”Dialogue in airport
chaplaincies as a response to
terrorism” is the theme of
the 13th world seminar of
Catholic chaplains and
members of civil aviation
chaplaincies, due to be held
in Rome from April 23 to 26.
According to a communi-
que made public today “the
seminar, organized by the
Pontifical Council for the
Pastoral Care of Migrants
and Itinerant Peoples, aims
to support and encourage
the pastoral efforts of those
who concern themselves
with this sector of human
mobility.”
As an introduction to the
work of the seminar, Arch-
bishop Angelo Amato
S.D.B., secretary of the Con-
gregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, will present
tions. They work closely with
the Episcopal Commission for
the Pastoral Care for Migrants
and Itinerant People (ECMI-
CBCP, Manila) and with the
Episcopal Commission on
Pontificio Collegio Filippino
(ECPCF-CBCP, Rome).
Their ministry consists of
many pastoral activities such as
giving health care to the sick
workers who need first aid or
referrals to hospitals. They also
provide Family and Youth Min-
istry in coordination with the
Radio Pinoy sa Roma (Filipino in
Rome). They work actively in
emergency communications
like “Hopeline,” where anyone
can call at anytime to talk to
someone in times of distress or
pressure. They have also
opened a Website (http://
www.centrofilipino.com)
where anyone can access the
Centro Filipino. Some Chap-
lains are also involved in the
Sea Ministry, working with Fili-
pino seafarers who come and
go.
These priests and religious
people who devote themselves
to serving our kababayans (fel-
low citizens) give only their
best: their physical presence in
listening and attending to the
emotional, psychological, and
spiritual needs of the overseas
workers; their active liturgical
celebrations combined with the
sacramental and catechetical
formations; and many others.
They also assist Filipino work-
ers struggling with legal prob-
lems concerning their employ-
ment and work permits. They
do much in the advocacy pro-
grams for the rights and protec-
tion of our migrant Filipino sis-
ters and brothers. “Eto na yong
sagot sa maraming hindi
pagkakaunawaan ng mga
kababayang manggagawa at pati
na rin sa amin sa Chaplaincy.
Kailangan talaga ang Salita ng
Panginoon bilang susi ng
pagkakaunawaan at pagkakaisa
upang matatag sa
paghahanapbuhay. Rendiamo
grazie a Dio.” (This is the re-
sponse to the trivial misunder-
standings of the migrant work-
ers and even in the Chaplaincy.
God’s Word is indeed neces-
sary as the key to understand-
ing and unity to achieve a bet-
ter life. Let us give thanks to
God.)
some “philosophical and theo-
logical” reflections on the sub-
ject of evil.
Experts from the United Na-
tions and from the International
Air Transport Association
(IATA) will explain strategies
“to protect airport structures
and workers, as well as passen-
gers and the general public.”
“The seminar,” the commu-
nique goes on, “aims to con-
tribute towards countering ter-
rorism through ecumenical
and inter-religious dialogue in
the world’s airports” where
people from various Churches
and ecclesial communities and
other great religions work, and
where people from different
cultures and nationalities come
together.
In this context, “in order to
help participants to discover
the paths of dialogue,” Cardi-
nal Paul Poupard, president of
This was the “chorus” of the
Chaplains in their firm convic-
tion on the importance of the
Word of God in the Chaplaincy.
The Chaplains enthusiastically
engaged in asking questions
and clarifications about the
mechanics of the Bible Quiz. A
good number of suggestions
regarding the venue, the num-
ber of family participants, the
preparations, and review were
clarified to everyone. After a
good understanding of the
project as a ministry to the Fili-
pino Catholic Families, they all
declared: “We will accept the
challenge of celebrating the First
International Catholic Family
Bible Quiz in Europe.”
The group cheered loudly in
their optimism for the success
of the endeavor. After a solemn
prayer of thanksgiving, the
Chaplains sang a beautiful Fili-
pino Marian song invoking the
aid of the Mother of the Incar-
nate Word. It was almost mid-
night when the Pinoy Chap-
lains rested in the cold winter
night.
And so God’s Word will
continue to be made flesh and
blood in more Filipino Catho-
lic families so that with their
faith strengthened, “the Filipino
migrants and people on the move
may give witness to Christ wher-
ever they go.” (ECMI goal) As
Pope Paul VI said, “The family,
like the Church, ought to be a
place where the Gospel is trans-
mitted and from which the Gos-
pel radiates. In a family which is
conscious of this mission, all the
members evangelize and are evan-
gelized. The family not only com-
municates the Gospel to their chil-
dren; but from their children, they
can themselves receive the same
Gospel as deeply lived by them.
And such a family becomes the
evangelizer of many other fami-
lies, and of the neighborhood of
which it forms a part.”(PCPII Art
23,1) The 1st International
Catholic Family Bible Quiz in
Italy is a response to this call
of Mother Church.
May the Holy Spirit, who is
our “advance partner,” ever in-
spire and move many of the
more than 10 million Filipino
Families affected by migration,
to spread God’s Word as the
Source of Hope and better liv-
ing. (World Impact Communi-
cations, Inc.)
the Pontifical Council for
Inter-religious Dialogue,
will speak on the subject of
“inter-religious dialogue to
counter terrorism,” and
Bishop Brian Farrell L.C.,
secretary of the Pontifical
Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, on “ecu-
menical collaboration in re-
lation to the threats of ter-
rorism.”
The program of the semi-
nar also includes the testi-
mony of two chaplains: Fr.
David Baratelli of the air-
port of Newark who will
recount his experiences
during and immediately
after the attack on the
World Trade Center in
New York, and Fr. Paschal
Ryan of Heathrow, who
will talk about the discov-
ery of plans for an attack
against that airport. (VIS)
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
ECBA Trains Families for Family Bible
Apostolate
Bibliodrama – depicting the present ation in the temple
By Pinky Barrientos, FSP gram of the Filipinos in Europe. Alunday said
Italy was the first European country that wel-
comed the idea. But he is optimistic the effort
THE Episcopal Commission on Biblical
can be replicated in other countries also, cit-
Apostolate (ECBA) facilitated a four-day re-
ing Germany as another possibility because
treat with the families of National Catholic
of the active participation of OFW’s in the
Family Bible Quiz (NCFBQ) champions on
bible apostolate there.
April 12-15, 2007, at the SVD Retreat House
First held in 2004 in Guadalajara, Mexico
in Tagaytay City.
on the occasion of the International Congress,
ECBA executive secretary Fr. Oscar
the Family Bible Quiz has brought ECBA in
Alunday, SVD conducted the spiritual activ-
close collaboration with various national and
ity with Joy Candelario, secretary general of
diocesan commissions, such as the National
the Youth Secretariat of Federation of Asian
Secretariat of Bible Quiz, Eucharistic Con-
Bishops’ Conference (FABC). The retreat was
gress Committee, ECMI, Liturgy, Commis-
biblical following the “bibliodrama” element.
sion on Youth and Family and Life.
“We were reflecting on the experience of
the Holy Family as a family; like [life in]
Nazareth, presentation of Jesus, when he got “Power to Unite”
lost in the temple, [and Mary and Joseph}
Since the NCFBQ is intended to involve the
looking for him,” explained Alunday.
whole family, organizers thought of a way to
The first retreat for family of champions
make the youth participate in the celebration.
was held in 2004 after the first National Fam-
The recently concluded 2nd NCFBQ in Janu-
ily Bible Quiz. The recently held retreat in
ary 2007 included a song contest which was
Taytay had the families of those who won in
participated in by the youth.
2004 and in February 2006-January 2007 quiz.
The song “Power to Unite,” which ex-
ECBA hopes to organize twenty Catholic
presses the joy of understanding and living
families rooted in the word of God who will,
the word of God, won the contest.
in turn, continue in their respective regions
Alunday happily noted that Archbishop
to bring awareness to families on the impor-
Romulo Valles, current chairman of the Epis-
tance of being entrenched in the Bible.
copal Commission on Liturgy has allowed the
“Our vision is to come up with twenty
song “Power to Unite” to be sung in churches
Catholic Filipino families who will become
during liturgical celebrations.
the core group of the family [bible] apostolate
in the Philippines,” said Alunday. “We are
training the pioneers. So, we already have
eight families.”
By 2010, the NCFBQ would have produced
20 champions from different regions of the
country. The families of these twenty cham-
pions will constitute the pioneering group of
the family bible apostolate in the Philippines.
NCFBQ in Italy
On April 22 this year, the first Family Bible
Quiz for OFW’s will be held in Florence, Italy.
After Florence, the Bible Quiz is scheduled
to be held in Milan, after which it will go to
Venice and then Rome, where the final quiz
will be held in October.
According to Alunday, they hope to repli-
cate in Italy their idea of forming twenty
Catholic families who are rooted in the word
of God, to evangelize the Filipino migrant
workers and their families.
ECBA is currently coordinating with the
Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itin- Bibliodrama – depicting the Annunciation episode in the
erant People (ECMI) and the chaplaincy pro- Bible
Limbo / from p3
sacrament being conferred, and one who has not received the The commission said the new
this fact should particularly be sacrament of baptism cannot be theological approach to the
recalled when the conferring of saved, it said. question of unbaptized babies
baptism would be impossible,” Rather, it means that “there is should not be used to “negate
it said. no salvation which is not from the necessity of baptism, nor to
This does not deny that all Christ and ecclesial by its very delay the conferral of the sacra-
salvation comes through Christ nature,” it said. ment.”
and in some way through the The document quoted St. “Rather, there are reasons to
Church, it said, but it requires a Paul’s teaching that spouses of hope that God will save these in-
more careful understanding of Christians may be “conse- fants precisely because it was
how this may work. crated” through their wives or not possible to do for them that
The document outlined sev-
eral ways by which unbaptized
husbands. This indicates that the
holiness of the Church reaches
what would have been most de-
sirable—to baptize them in the
babies might be united to Christ people “outside the visible faith of the Church and incorpo-
— A “saving conformity to bounds of the Church” through rate them visibly into the body
Christ in his own death” by in- the bonds of human commun- of Christ,” it said.
fants who themselves suffer and ion, it said. The commission said hopeful-
die. The document said the ness was not the same as cer-
— A solidarity with Christ Church clearly teaches that tainty about the destiny of such
among infant victims of vio- people are born into a state of infants.
lence, born and unborn, who sinfulness—original sin—which “It must be clearly acknowl-
like the holy innocents killed by requires an act of redemptive edged that the Church does not
King Herod are endangered by grace to be washed away. have sure knowledge about the
the “fear or selfishness of oth- But Scripture also proclaims salvation of unbaptized infants
ers.” the “superabundance” of grace who die,” it said.
— God may simply give the over sin, it said. That seems to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger,
gift of salvation to unbaptized be missing in the idea of limbo, now Pope Benedict, was presi-
infants, corresponding to his which identifies more with dent of the commission and head
sacramental gift of salvation to Adam’s sinfulness than with of the doctrinal congregation
the baptized. Christ’s redemption, it said. when the commission began
The document said the stan- “Christ’s solidarity with all of studying the question of limbo in
dard teaching that there is “no humanity must have priority a systematic way in 2004.
salvation outside the Church” over the solidarity of human U.S. Cardinal William J.
calls for similar interpretation. beings with Adam,” it said. Levada now heads the commis-
The Church’s Magisterium Liturgically, the motive for sion and the doctrinal congrega-
has moved toward a more “nu- hope was confirmed by the in- tion. Cardinal Levada met with
anced understanding” of how a troduction in 1970 of a funeral the pope to discuss the docu-
saving relationship with the rite for unbaptized infants ment Jan. 19 and, with the
Church can be realized, it said. whose parents intended to pope’s approval, authorized its
This does not mean that some- present them for baptism, it said. publication. (CNS)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Brief History
THE Diocese of San Jose de
Nueva Ecija lies in the northern
part of the province of Nueva
Ecija. The Augustinians were
the first missionaries who evan-
gelized the place. The
Franciscans followed soon af-
ter, and then the Missionaries
of the Sacred Heart, who later
helped the diocesan clergy.
Nueva Ecija is located 160
kms. north of Manila. The main
source of livelihood is agricul-
ture—rice, corn, sugar cane,
coconut, onions and others.
The diocese was created on
February 16, 1984 by Pope John
Paul II and canonically erected
on July 14, 1984. Its territory,
mostly from the northern part
of Nueva Ecija, was taken from
the Diocese of Cabanatuan.
In July 14, 1984, the Holy See
appointed Most Rev. Florentino
Cinense, as the diocese’s first
residential bishop. In the fol-
lowing year, Bishop Cinense
was appointed coadjutor
bishop of Tarlac, and Apostolic
Administrator of San Jose. The
first Filipino Salesian bishop,
Most Rev. Leo M. Drona, SDB,
DD, succeeded Bishop Cinense
as prelate of San Jose in July 25,
1987. In May 14, 2005, Most
Rev. Mylo Hubert C. Vergara,
succeeded Bishop Drona as
third bishop of the diocese of
San Jose de Nueva Ecija.
Pastoral Thrusts
The diocese is divided into
three vicariates—Sts. John,
Dominic and Joseph, compris-
ing 20 parishes and one quasi-
parish. At present, there are 23
diocesan priests and 12 reli-
gious priests from three congre-
gations who serve the needs of
the flock.
The diocese continues to re-
invent itself in order to respond
to its pastoral thrusts which
were started by Bishop Leo M.
Drona, and expressed in the
four Diocesan Pastoral Assem-
blies (DPA); the organization of
the Damayang Kristiyano, Lay
Empowerment, Stewardship,
Formation of Lay Leaders and
Social Concerns.
Damayang Kristiyano
Under the Commission on
Integral Formation (CIF), the
diocese, after much prayer and
continued discernment as the
People of God, expressed
Damayang Kristiyano (DK) as the
priority program. Currently,
the CIF has gone through a pro-
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishop …………………. 1 Parishes
Priests
Diocesan ……………. 20
Religious ……………. 32
Sisters …………………. 75
Seminarians
Theology …………....…….. 3
Philosophy ……....………… 3
Pre-College ………............ 16
Diocesan Divisions
Vicariates …....……………. 3
Secretary / from p2
promised to reconsider the
way that Pius XII is portrayed
in the museum.
While participating in the
presentation of a book by
Maria Franca Mellano, which
documents the rescue of
hundreds of Jews who took
refuge in the Pius XI Institute
of Rome, Cardinal Bertone
called such cases “a luminous
history of generosity.”
“But this was possible, not
only in this situation but in
any of them, due to the
bulletin from the secretary of
state signed by Pius XII,” the
cardinal added. “It is
impossible that Pius XII, who
signed that bulletin, would
not have approved that
decision.” (Zenit)
Spanish / from p2
another within the course, it’s
the underlying vision of man,”
and that from the beginning the
bishops have expressed their
concern with the material.
After the Cardinal finished
his remarks, Jaime Urcelay,
President of Professionals for
Ethics, called the matter one of
“utmost gravity” that has been
the subject of “polemics,
controversy and social alarm”
since 2004.
In his judgment, Education
for Citizenship will disrupt
Spanish society during a
“delicate moment” in which the
issue of freedom of education
has yet to be resolved and
schools are facing a profound
crisis of authority. (CNA)
Cathedral of Saint Joseph, San Jose City
Diocese of San Jose de
Nueva Ecija
By Fr. Jun Flores
cess of evaluation with the DK
of different parishes. The vi-
sion/mission of the parishes
and even of the different
apostolates are already being
With resident pastor ……. 21
Entrusted to the diocese … 17
Under the Religious …….. 4
Educational Centers
High Schools …………..… 10
Elementary ………………… 5
Kinder ……………………... 8
Population …………….. 706,661
Catholics ……………... 565,291
Area ...……….. 2,540.8 sq.kms.
Catholic / from p2
and fundamentalist Turks.”
Msgr. Marovitch said that
Zirve and other Protestant
groups “carry out biblical
propaganda in
environment where there are
an
no Christians, giving the
Gospel to Muslims and
provoking their reaction.
Then fanatical groups react,
saying: ‘Why are you looking
for converts among us? We
believe in Allah, go preach to
the pagans.’”
Msgr. Marovitch said
Catholic groups working in
the area do not attempt direct
outreach to Muslims but focus
on serving the small Christian
community in the country.
A source in the office of
Bishop Luigi Padovese, the
apostolic administrator of
Anatolia, told Catholic News
Service April 19 the attack was
seen by the local Christian
community as the latest in a
series of assaults against
Christians.
The first attack was the 2006
assassination of Father
Andrea Santoro, an Italian
priest working in Turkey.
Father Santoro’s murder,
along with other attacks on
priests, prompted Turkish
officials to put Bishop
Padovese under constant
police protection, said the
source, who asked not to be
named.
“This is not by chance; there
are people out there who are
not just anti-Christian, but
also anti-priest,” the source
said. (Alicia Ambrosio / CNS)
Diocese
written down, expressed in
clear terms that are achievable
and “owned” by the faithful.
There is at least one DK worker
for every parish. They are now
undergoing formation so that
their vision/mission can be
crystallized. Under the DK pro-
gram is the mobilization of
communities so that they will
be able to form small caring
groups through the Triple
Communication of the DK (a
sharing on one’s relationship
with God, the self and the com-
munity). The Social Action Cen-
ter-Gratia Plena (SACGP) has
been at the forefront in helping
these DK address their eco-
nomic life by organizing them
in groups called cooperatives.
Pastor / from p2
are not enough to express
how sad we are. I’m so
sorry! I’m so sorry!” and
then try to wrap them in a
big hug.
When he hugged them,
they would break down and
cry, he told Catholic News
Service.
After staying with them a
while, he would pray the
Our Father and Hail Mary
with them and lead them in
prayers for the dead, he
said.
Mia Ortega, a 26-year-old
graduate student who also
works for the university in
student affairs, said in a
phone interview April 19
with CNS that she was
receiving “a lot of support
from my family and my
f r i e n d s ” t o h e l p h e r cop e
with the tragedy. She said
she has had messages of
prayers and support from
all over, including from
friends she worked with
last summer as a Jesuit
volunteer in Dublin,
Ireland.
In an e-mail to friends
early April 18, Ortega
wrote, “It is hard to believe
that it has only been two
days. The days are long here
in Blacksburg.
“I am doing my best to get
by. I slip from being numb
to uncontrollable crying.
Sometimes I forget about
the whole thing, and
sometimes reality slaps me
hard in the face. ... In some
ways, I am expecting to
At present, these coops produce
organic rice, meat and veg-
etables which are being sold in
famous supermarkets such as
Landmark in Makati and
Rustan’s Supermarket. People
who are interested in organi-
cally grown produce are the
primary customers of these
coops through the marketing
efforts of SACGP.
Processes and Programs
under the DK
First, there are 10 Catholic
Schools in the diocese that are
grouped together under an
umbrella organization called
Association of Catholic Schools
(ACS). Of the 10 schools, only
wake up. It is like walking
through a lucid nightmare.”
To help people cope with
the fear that the Virginia
Tech tragedy may provoke,
the U.S. branch of the
Christian Family
Movement, a network of
parish- or neighborhood-
based groups of families
that meet to support one
another in Christian living,
has posted a “Living
Without Fear” program on
its Web site, http://
cfm.org. (The “Living
Without Fear” link takes
visitors to a section called
“Special Meetings”; the
program is No. 8.)
The nine-page program,
which can be downloaded,
provides a structured guide
for a group meeting to reflect
on fear, how it arises and
how it affects people, and to
discuss ways to face it from
a Christian perspective. It
begins
readings
with
and
Scripture
several
statements by individuals or
organizations, including the
U.S. bishops and the
Department of Homeland
Security, about living with
fear and overcoming it.
The guide for group
discussion follows the
“observe, judge, act” pattern
that the Christian Family
Movement uses as a way of
moving from reflection and
understanding to concrete
actions dealing with an issue
constructively in one’s own
life. (CNS)
one, San Sebastian School in
Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, is being
managed by the Missionaries of
the Sacred Heart (MSC) fathers
for a 50-year term. There are
two priests in charge of the
schools, the superintendent/di-
rector and the assistant super-
intendent/assistant director.
The school director’s salaries
are being remitted to the dio-
cese and form part of the pool
of resources being used to fund
the allowances of the clergy, the
various apostolates of the dio-
cese and other needs.
Second, another source of the
funds for pooling, is the 10% of
the gross income as well as the
60% of the net income of the
parishes.
Third, the Pondo ng Pinoy has
been launched initially to the
schools and as of this date, the
sum remitted already
amounted to more that
P60,000.00. The vicariates will
be launching this fund drive to
the parishes progressively
within this year.
Fourth, the clergy health and
retirement fund has been pro-
gressively increased and the
primary sources are the contri-
butions coming from the clergy
themselves.
Fifth, the diocese has initiated
the budget hearings for each of
the 21 commissions represent-
ing their apostolates.
Sixth, the priests now regu-
larly donate a certain portion of
their stipends to the diocese
through tithing.
Seventh, the members of the
clergy now receive a standard
living allowance (SLA).
Through these programs,
processes and movements, the
diocese of San Jose de Nueva
Ecija is trying to put flesh in its
core program, the Damayang
Kristiyano.
Key: The Clergy
Crucial to the implementa-
tion of the diocesan thrusts are
the priests in the diocese. The
clergy has, for its mission vi-
sion, KASAMA ni KRISTO
His Excellency
MOST REV. MYLO HUBERT C.
VERGARA, D.D.
Bishop of San Jose de Nueva Ecija
German Churches Win
Tax Windfall Despite
Declining Attendance
MUNICH, Germany, April 17,
2007—Revenues for German
Catholic dioceses rose in 2006,
despite declining church
attendance, thanks to the
country’s tax system, Deutsche
Welle reports.
German churches receive
between 8 and 9% of the taxes
paid by their registered
members. In 2006, thanks
primarily to a growing
economy, the total tax
revenues to Catholic churches
were about €4.5 billion (over $6
billion), the newspaper
reports. That figure represents
Papal prayers for
Virginia Tech Victims
VATICAN, April 17, 2007—
Pope Benedict XVI has sent a
message promising his
“heartfelt prayers” for the
victims of the April 16 shooting
spree at Virginia Tech.
The Pope’s message—
conveyed in a telegram that
was sent by the Vatican
Secretary of State, Cardinal
Tarcisio Bertone to Bishop
Francis DiLorenzo of
9
(KApatiran ng Kaparian ng
SAn Jose, MAtatag at tapat na
naglilingkod ayon sa misyon ni
Kristo). This succinctly ex-
presses their identity, their
God-given abilities and their
mission. Faithfulness to this vi-
sion/mission unlocks the po-
tentials of the DK as well as of
other thrusts and programs.
The concrete manifestations
and expressions are the SLA
(Standard Living Allowance),
tithing, pooling of resources,
and their full cooperation, par-
ticipation in the implementa-
tion of the diocesan pastoral
programs with the bishop as
their father.
Looking Forward into the
Future
It seems that the movement
of the Spirit is towards the re-
covery of ancient apostolic way
of life—a small, caring and
sharing community. As ex-
pressed in the DK programs of
the diocese, and is manifested
in the bits and pieces of its very
own life, it is still an
eschatological reality. The “al-
ready” programs, formations,
processes are in place and has
started to move; and the com-
munities are already feeling
their belongingness and unity
as one Body of Christ. The “not
yet” are the journeying towards
the fullness of life, towards the
fulfillment and perfection of the
DK. As a diocese nearing its sil-
ver jubilee on 14 July 2009, it is
with gratitude, much anticipa-
tion and joy that we look for-
ward to celebrating that gra-
cious day which is a testimony
of God’s unconditional love
and faithfulness. In the end
what matters is not how much
work the diocese had done,
how many DK groups were or-
ganized, and how orderly the
processes are; but as one holy
person would say, it is in how
much love we put in the things
we do, how much heart we
have invested without counting
the cost, even to the point of our
very own death.
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media
an increase of more than 8%
over the previous year’s
revenues.
The tax system has enabled
German dioceses to escape the
full effects of declining church
membership. Between 2000
and 2005, Deutsche Welle notes,
more than 680,000 Germans
dropped their church
registration, and thus escaped
the tax payment. The declining
number of registered Catholics
threatens to undercut church
revenues in the long term,
regardless of economic
conditions. (CWNews)
Richmond— referred to the
massacre as a “senseless
tragedy.”
The Pope offered his prayer
to “the entire school
community,” as well as the
victims of the shooting, and
expressed the hope that those
affected would find “the
spiritual strength which
triumphs over violence.”
(CWNews)

10
Q: Would you please clarify
what is “special” about Di-
vine Mercy Sunday, and what
the faithful and priests have
to do in order to obtain the
special grace associated with
this day? According to the
priests that I have spoken to,
the same graces can be ob-
tained at reception of holy
Communion on Divine
Mercy Sunday as on any
other day when Communion
is received by a communicant
in a state of grace, i.e., a ple-
nary indulgence. So what is
different about Divine Mercy
Sunday and how should the
liturgy be properly celebrated
so that the faithful may re-
ceive the special graces asso-
ciated with it? — J.C.,
Ballina, Ireland
A: The devotion to the Divine
Mercy stems from the revela-
tions made to the Polish nun St.
Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938)
over a number of years and at
several convents, including the
one in Krakow where she is
buried.
There are several elements
involved in this devotion. One
is the image of the merciful
Jesus based on a vision of Feb-
ruary 1931. In it Our Lord is
pictured in the act of blessing,
with two rays, one red and the
other pallid (representing blood
and water), shining from his
heart. The words “Jesus, I trust
in thee” are placed at his feet.
Copies of this image are today
found in many churches all over
the world—a sign of the rapid
expansion of this devotion.
Other elements are the hour
of mercy, at 3 in the afternoon,
in which the Passion is medi-
tated upon and certain prayers
recommended by the revela-
tions are recited. As well as this,
there is the chaplet of Divine
Mercy with its attendant litany.
It is recited using rosary beads
but substituting other prayers
such as “Through your sorrow-
ful Passion, have mercy on us
and on the entire world” on the
beads of the Hail Mary.
A special request of these vi-
sions was that the first Sunday
after Easter should be the feast
of Divine Mercy and that on this
day the Divine Mercy should be
proclaimed in a special way.
The spirituality of Pope John
Paul II was deeply influenced
by the devotion to the Divine
Mercy, and he dedicated his
second encyclical, “ Dives in
Misericordia,” to this theme. As
archbishop of Krakow he pro-
moted the beatification of Sis-
ter Faustina and on the occasion
of her canonization in April
2000 announced that henceforth
the second Sunday of Easter
would be the feast of Divine
Mercy.
TWO recent incidents in my
family have provoked this
letter. The first had to do
with our handyman, who
has been living-in with his
girlfriend for more than a
year. When I finally con-
vinced him to get married in
Church, he came back to me
with a problem: His parish
has a fee of P4,000 for the
cheapest wedding! He
couldn’t afford it yet and
will have to save till next
year. The second incident
had to do with my cousin,
who wanted to get married,
but couldn’t attend the pre-
Cana seminars since they
were spread out to two Sat-
urday mornings, and both
he and his fiancée had work
on Saturdays. Despite their
pleadings, they were not
given any considerations, so
in a huff they got “married”
in an Aglipayan church. In
contrast, I also know that in
my parish, even if there is a
requirement for parents
from other parishes to at-
tend a seminar for the bap-
tism of their baby, the par-
ish waives the requirement
when the parents can pro-
duce proof of an equivalent
catechetical instruction or
formation received else-
where.
What does Canon Law
really establish for these
cases?
THERE are several issues
at stake in these incidents,
and we have to tackle them
separately. From the most
general (and fundamental)
to the most specific (and ac-
cidental), we can enumerate
them as follows: 1) The fun-
damental right of the Catho-
lic faithful to the sacra-
This announcement was fol-
lowed by two juridical acts by
Vatican offices.
With the decree “Misericors et
Miserator ” (May 5, 2000) the
Congregation for Divine Wor-
ship and the Sacraments stated:
“And so with provident pasto-
ral sensitivity and in order to
impress deeply on the souls of
the faithful these precepts and
teachings of the Christian faith,
the Supreme Pontiff, John Paul
II, moved by the consideration
of the Father of Mercy, has
willed that the Second Sunday
of Easter be dedicated to recall-
ing with special devotion these
gifts of grace and gave this Sun-
day the name, ‘Divine Mercy
Sunday.’”
The congregation explained
that the change consisted in the
additional name for this day.
The liturgy would suffer no
change whatsoever. All the
texts and readings would re-
main those of the Second Sun-
day of Easter.
The second decree was pub-
lished two years later by the
Apostolic Penitentiary. This
Vatican tribunal, among other
tasks, oversees the granting of
indulgences. This decree
granted new perpetual indul-
gences attached to devotions in
honor of Divine Mercy.
Among other considerations,
this text states:
“The faithful with deep spiri-
tual affection are drawn to com-
memorate the mysteries of di-
vine pardon and to celebrate
them devoutly. They clearly
understand the supreme ben-
efit, indeed the duty that the
People of God have to praise
Divine Mercy with special
prayers and, at the same time,
they realize that by gratefully
performing the works required
and satisfying the necessary
conditions, they can obtain
spiritual benefits that derive
from the Treasury of the
Church. ‘The paschal mystery
is the culmination of this reveal-
ing and effecting of mercy,
which is able to justify man, to
restore justice in the sense of
that salvific order which God
willed from the beginning in
man, and through man, in the
world’ (Encyclical Letter ‘Dives
in Misericordia ,’ n. 7).…
“Indeed, Divine Mercy knows
how to pardon even the most
serious sins, and in doing so it
moves the faithful to perceive a
supernatural, not merely psy-
chological, sorrow for their sins
so that, ever with the help of di-
vine grace, they may make a
firm resolution not to sin any
more. Such spiritual disposi-
tions undeniably follow upon
the forgiveness of mortal sin
when the faithful fruitfully re-
ceive the sacrament of Penance
or repent of their sin with an act
of perfect charity and perfect
contrition, with the resolution to
receive the Sacrament of Pen-
The Right to the Sacraments
by Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, J.C.D.
ments; 2) the consequent non-
indispensable nature of pasto-
ral programs for their recep-
tion—e.g., the Pre-Cana semi-
nar and the pre-baptismal semi-
nar; 3) the absolute injustice of
charging a fee for the adminis-
tration of any sacrament.
The Fundamental Right of
the Faithful to the Sacra-
ments
At first glance, no man
should have a right to the chan-
nels of grace—which are what
the sacraments really are—
since nobody has a right to
grace itself, which is freely
given by God. Nevertheless,
God has wanted to redeem
Updates
Divine Mercy Sunday
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers a
question sent from Ireland on Divine Mercy Sunday)
ance as soon as they can. Indeed,
Our Lord Jesus Christ teaches us
in the parable of the Prodigal
Son that the sinner must confess
his misery to God saying: ‘Fa-
ther, I have sinned against
heaven and against you; I am no
longer worthy to be called your
son’ (Lk. 15,18-19), realizing that
this is a work of God, “for [he]
was dead, and is alive; he was
lost, and is found” (Lk. 15,32).…
“The Gospel of the Second
Sunday of Easter narrates the
wonderful things Christ the
Lord accomplished on the day
of the Resurrection during his
first public appearance: ‘On the
evening of that day, the first day
of the week, the doors being shut
where the disciples were, for
fear of the Jews, Jesus came and
stood among them and said to
them, “Peace be with you.”
mankind by the Passion, Death
and Resurrection of Jesus
Christ, who instituted the
Catholic Church as his continu-
ing presence— Sacramentum
magnum —in human history,
giving her the mandate to
preach the Good News of sal-
vation to all men, to baptize
them and to lead them towards
the fullness of Christian life.
Concretely, Christ instituted
the sacraments of the New Law
as means of salvation for men
(sacramenta propter homines), in
order to enable each of them to
participate in the fruits of the
Redemption. Thus, through
baptism, the faithful acquire the
right—indeed not towards God
When he said this, he showed love for God and for their neigh-
them his hands and his side. bor, and after they have ob-
Then the disciples were glad to tained God’s pardon, they in
see the Lord. Jesus said to them turn might be persuaded to
again, “Peace be with you. As show a prompt pardon to their
the Father has sent me, even so I brothers and sisters…
send you.” And then he “Thus the faithful will more
breathed on them, and said to closely conform to the spirit of
them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. the Gospel, receiving in their
If you forgive the sins of any, hearts the renewal that the Sec-
they are forgiven; if you retain ond Vatican Council explained
the sins of any, they are re- and introduced: ‘Mindful of the
tained”’ (Jn 20,19-23)…. words of the Lord: “By this all
“To ensure that the faithful men will know that you are my
would observe this day with in- disciples, if you have love for
tense devotion, the Supreme one another” (Jn. 13,35), Chris-
Pontiff himself established that tians can yearn for nothing more
this Sunday be enriched by a ardently than to serve the men
plenary indulgence, as will be of this age with an ever grow-
explained below, so that the ing generosity and success. ... It
faithful might receive in great is the Father’s will that we
abundance the gift of the conso- should recognize Christ our
lation of the Holy Spirit. In this brother in the persons of all men
way, they can foster a growing and love them with an effective
whole Church. This is enun-
ciated by the Code in the fol-
lowing terms:
Can. 843 — §1. The sacred
ministers cannot refuse the
sacraments to those who ask
for them at appropriate
times, are properly dis-
posed and are not prohib-
ited by law from receiving
them.
§2. Pastors of souls and
the rest of the Christian
faithful, according to their
ecclesial function, have the
duty to see that those who
seek the sacraments are pre-
pared to receive them by the
necessary evangelization
and catechetical formation,
taking into account the
norms published by the
competent authority.
An attentive reading of
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media
c.843, §1 makes it clear that
the right of the faithful to the
sacraments—which are the
means of salvation and
sanctification—is limited
only by three factors: 1) ap-
propriateness of time, 2)
proper disposition of the
passive subject, and 3) ab-
but towards the Hierarchical sence of a prohibition by
Church—to have access to all law.
the means of salvation. This Furthermore, the second
fundamental right is enunci- paragraph, far from adding
ated by the Code of Canon Law another factor that may bar
in the following terms: the faithful from receiving
Can. 213 — The Christian the sacraments—i.e., their
faithful have the right to receive possible lack of prepara-
assistance from the sacred pas- tion—in fact only strength-
tors out of the spiritual goods ens their right to them by
of the Church, especially the precisely declaring the duty
word of God and the sacra- of the pastors of souls and
ments. the rest of the Christian faith-
This juridic principle is ful to make sure that those
complemented by another one, who seek the sacraments are
which stems from the need to adequately prepared to re-
safeguard the sanctity of the ceive them—i.e., through the
sacraments and the fact that necessary evangelization and
their celebration always consti- catechetical formation.
tutes an act of public cult of the Sacraments / P11
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
love, in word and in deed’ (Pas-
toral Constitution, Gaudium et
spes, n. 93)….
“Three conditions for the ple-
nary indulgence:
“And so the Supreme Pontiff,
motivated by an ardent desire to
foster in Christians this devotion
to Divine Mercy as much as pos-
sible in the hope of offering great
spiritual fruit to the faithful, in
the Audience granted on 13 June
2002, to those Responsible for
the Apostolic Penitentiary,
granted the following Indul-
gences:
“a plenary indulgence,
granted under the usual condi-
tions (sacramental confession,
Eucharistic communion and
prayer for the intentions of Su-
preme Pontiff) to the faithful
who, on the Second Sunday of
Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday,
in any church or chapel, in a
spirit that is completely de-
tached from the affection for a
sin, even a venial sin, take part
in the prayers and devotions
held in honor of Divine Mercy,
or who, in the presence of the
Blessed Sacrament exposed or
reserved in the tabernacle, recite
the Our Father and the Creed,
adding a devout prayer to the
merciful Lord Jesus (e.g. Merci-
ful Jesus, I trust in you!”);
“A partial indulgence,
granted to the faithful who, at
least with a contrite heart, pray
to the merciful Lord Jesus a le-
gitimately approved invocation.
“For those who cannot go to
church or the seriously ill:
“In addition, sailors working
on the vast expanse of the sea;
the countless brothers and sis-
ters, whom the disasters of war,
political events, local violence
and other such causes have been
driven out of their homeland;
the sick and those who nurse
them, and all who for a just
cause cannot leave their homes
or who carry out an activity for
the community which cannot be
postponed, may obtain a ple-
nary indulgence on Divine
Mercy Sunday, if totally detest-
ing any sin, as has been said be-
fore, and with the intention of
fulfilling as soon as possible the
three usual conditions, will re-
cite the Our Father and the
Creed before a devout image of
Our Merciful Lord Jesus and, in
addition, pray a devout invoca-
tion to the Merciful Lord Jesus
(e.g. Merciful Jesus, I trust in
you).
“If it is impossible that people
do even this, on the same day
they may obtain the Plenary In-
dulgence if with a spiritual in-
tention they are united with
those carrying out the pre-
scribed practice for obtaining
the Indulgence in the usual way
and offer to the Merciful Lord a
prayer and the sufferings of their
illness and the difficulties of
their lives, with the resolution to
accomplish as soon as possible
the three conditions prescribed
to obtain the plenary indul-
gence.
“Duty of priests: inform pa-
rishioners, hear confessions,
lead prayers:
“Priests who exercise pastoral
ministry, especially parish
priests, should inform the faith-
ful in the most suitable way of
the Church’s salutary provision.
They should promptly and gen-
erously be willing to hear their
confessions. On Divine Mercy
Sunday, after celebrating Mass
or Vespers, or during devotions
in honor of Divine Mercy, with
the dignity that is in accord with
the rite, they should lead the
recitation of the prayers that
have been given above. Finally,
since ‘Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy’ (Mt
5,7), when they instruct their
people, priests should gently
encourage the faithful to prac-
tice works of charity or mercy
as often as they can, following
the example of, and in obeying
the commandment of Jesus
Christ, as is listed for the second
general concession of indul-
gence in the ‘Enchiridion
Indulgentiarum.’
“This Decree has perpetual
force, any provision to the con-
trary notwithstanding.”
In conclusion, it must be men-
tioned that our correspondent
was misinformed when she was
told that Communion on this or
any other Sunday granted a ple-
nary indulgence. This is not the
case. For more on indulgences
in general, see our columns of
Feb. 15 and March 1, 2005.
Finally, because of the special
liturgical nature of this Sunday,
all devotions must be made out-
side of Mass and no change may
be made in the liturgical texts or
readings. Mention of the theme
of Divine Mercy may be made,
however, during the homily,
commentaries and during the
general intercessions.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007 Social Concern 11
Challenge to May 14, 2007 Voters
Vote Only
Candidates who
Truly Care for the
Environment!
By Lou Valencia Arsenio

PLANET Earth is God’s gift to all. It is the only planet in

the galaxy that God has endowed with fullness of life,
balanced ecosystem and complete biodiversity where all
living beings share interdependence and interrelatedness.
Human beings as stewards of God’s creation get their

RP-China Agri Deals: food, medicine, all basic needs and livelihood from the
ecosystem. The current ecological crisis such as global
warming, contamination of our bodies of water, soil, air
and food; the rapid destruction of our forest, mountains
A Deathblow to Suffering and the over extraction of our mineral deposits, man-

© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media

groves, animal and marine resources are very alarming
that indeed need our serious attention during the com-

Farmers and Peasantry ing election.

By Bel Formanes
DOING business “under-the-table” is al-
ways done hastily, away from the prying
eyes of the public. Shady deals are of the
same league. Such type of agreements is
literally hatched under the cover of dark-
ness, like what one sees at the movies.
That is what the 19 RP-China
Agribusiness deals were made of. Cer-
emonially signed on January 15, 2007 by
President Gloria Arroyo and Wen Jiabao,
the agreement in its entirety is foul and
bereft of any development or financial re-
turns to the supposed beneficiaries. It
would never alleviate the country’s
marginalized sector at all. If ever, only the
scheming and sinister officials involved
will ultimately gain a cash windfall, add-
ing to their already bloated pockets.
Some major appalling facts about the
agreement, supposedly aimed at develop-
ing joint RP-China marine/aquaculture
projects would reveal:
• Contracts were signed devoid of any
public consultation with people that
would be directly affected, the stakehold-
ers—farmers and fisherfolk organizations;
there was not even public disclosure con-
cerning details of the agreement;
• There was no indication that Congress
was informed about the agreement. The
Philippine Charter, however, clearly pro-
vides that “ the President shall notify the Con-
gress of every contract entered into in accor-
dance with this provision, within thirty days
from its execution,” (Art 12, Sec 2, par 5);
• The projects would secure between 1.2
million hectares of Philippine lands where
to grow food, fruit, flower, vegetable and
bio-fuel crops for China and would ulti-
mately include: lands already covered un-
der the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program (CARP); CARPable lands, and ar-
eas under the Community-based Forest
Management (CBFM);
•Filipino firms who are party to the
agreement are either bogus or overnight
companies with dubious track record;
• Some of the agreements are silent and
do not have provisions regarding leasehold
duration. Article 12, Section 3 of the Con-
stitution states: “…Private corporations or
associations may not hold such alienable lands
of the public domain except by lease, for a pe-
riod not exceeding twenty-five years, renewable
for not more than twenty-five years, and not to
exceed one thousand hectares in area…” But
under the agreement not only a thousand
but millions of hectares of land would be
covered.
• Seven out of nineteen projects would
cover vast marine areas for aquaculture
through raising certain fish species that
would be exported to China as food com-
modity while endangering the Philippine’s
own food security and sovereignty. Such act
contradicts basic Philippine Constitutional
guarantees: “The State shall protect the
nation’s marine wealth in its archipelagic wa-
ters, territorial sea, and exclusive economic
zone, and reserve its use and enjoyment ex-
clusively to Filipino citizens.” (Art. 12, Sec
2, par 2).
In Totality, the 19 RP-China
Agribusiness deals were coated with lay-
ers of deception and vested interests of
corrupt officials involved, undermining
the collective interest of the under-privi-
leged. It reeks with greed and Constitu-
tional inconsistencies slurring the Nation’s
sovereignty and human rights guarantees.
Being so, it deserves to be quashed.
The broad network of agrarian reform
and peasant advocates is aghast that the
Filipino people’s rights to determine its
path towards economic, social and cul-
tural development are being abjectly de-
prived by this deceptive and onerous deal.
An agreement cloaked in the so-called
“non-confrontational-land-reform-para-
digm” that, on the contrary, would only
further sow discontent and unrest at the
countryside—in communities that would
be affected by the projects.
For the sake of truth and the common
good, these 19 RP-China Agribusiness
deals should be made known to the Fili-
pino people. And so are the deceptions
surrounding these deals entered into by
publicly-acknowledged corrupt govern-
ment officials—which voters should bear
in mind on their way to the polls this forth-
coming May elections.
The May 14 election is a critical opportunity to judge
those offering to serve us as councilors, mayors, board
members, congressman, governors and senators by the
degree of importance they give to the environment
through their lifestyle, personal/family practices, busi-
ness relations, policies and support on the following:
• mining or logging of our mountains especially by
foreign companies or allowing foreigners to own part
of our natural resources;
• dumping of foreign toxic wastes in the country;
• use of coal plant or nuclear power plants;
• the importation and propagation of genetically modi-
fied organisms especially Bt Corn, hybrid rice, and
the like, as well as the use of chemical pesticides and
fertilizers in agriculture
• establishment or maintenance of dumpsites, landfill
or incinerators;
• poor implementation of Ecological Solid Waste Man-
agement Act, Clean Air Act and other environment
laws;
• own or supports big fishing companies that throw
their wastes in the sea, use dynamite and neglect or
denied the concerns of the small fisher folk;
• favors given to the concerns of the big companies
and neglect those of the small and ordinary citizens;
• push for the use of LPG powered vehicles without
thorough study/ research on its impact to environ-
ment and health.
If we truly love our children and the next generations,
we should take this challenge seriously. Let us prevent
the worsening of global warming and leave behind a bet-
ter clean and healthy environment to our children. There-
fore, let this coming election be an opportunity for all of
us to choose wisely, scrutinize prudently the candidates
and fearlessly follow the dictates of our God-given con-
science to vote only for the God fearing and truly envi-
ronment loving candidates. (Ms. Lou Valencia Arsenio is
the Coordinator of the Ecology Desk of the Archdiocese of Ma-
nila)

Sacraments / from p10

The Non-indispensable Na-
ture of Pastoral Programs
for the Proper Reception of
the Sacraments
Because of the above, what-
ever pastoral programs or requi-
sites may be formulated by the
pastors of souls to assure the
proper disposition of the faithful
cannot be converted into sine qua
non conditions for their access to
the sacraments. The only excep-
tion would be if such indispens-
able condition is expressly stated
by the Local Ordinary, subject to
the approval of the Supreme Au-
thority in the Church who is the
only one competent to regulate
the sacraments. This is stipulated
by the Code:
Can. 841 — Since the sacra-
ments are the same for the uni-
versal Church and pertain to the
divine deposit, it is for the su-
preme authority of the Church
alone to approve or define those
things which are required for
their validity; it is for the same
supreme authority of the
Church or other competent au-
thority in accord with the norm
of c.838, §§3 and 4 to determine
what pertains to their lawful cel-
ebration, administration and re-
ception and also the order to be
observed in their celebration.
This acquires special impor-
tance for some sacraments, to wit:
1) The so-called Pre-Cana
Seminar. The ius connubi—the
right to marry, which is a con-
sequence of marriage being a
natural institution—is limited
only by the so-called impedi-
ments. As we had previously
seen, only the supreme author-
ity of the Church can fix such
impediments. Making atten-
dance in the so-called Pre-Cana
Seminar an indispensable re-
quirement for marriage would
be tantamount to adding a new
impediment to marriage—that
of non-attendance to the semi-
nar—something which nobody
save the supreme authority in
the Church is competent to do.
2) The seminars for parents
and godparents (or sponsors).
Can. 851, 2º provides that the par-
ents of an infant and likewise those
who are to undertake the office of
sponsor are to be properly in-
structed in the meaning of this sac-
rament and the obligations which
are attached to it; personally or
through others the pastor is to see
to it that the parents are properly
formed by pastoral directions and
by common prayer, gathering sev-
eral families together and where
possible visiting them.
While such seminars are in-
deed desirable, it is clear from
the tenor of the canon that the
obligation is laid on the pastor
to facilitate such instruction; but
in no way does it say that he is
to deny administering the sac-
rament if such previous instruc-
tion somehow were not feasible.
The Sacraments cannot be
conditioned by a Fee
An interesting consequence of
the fundamental right of the
faithful to the sacraments is the
absolute prohibition of condi-
tioning their administration to
the payment of some fee or some
other temporal good—which is
tantamount to simony: the buy-
ing and selling of spiritual goods
or realities attached to such
goods.
The Code is quite explicit on
this point, typifying simony
even as a crime in c.1380: A per-
son, who through simony celebrates
or receives a sacrament, is to be pun-
ished with an interdict or suspen-
sion. So strong is this prohibition
against simony, that even the
semblance of it is proscribed—
e.g., c.947: Even the semblance of
trafficking or trading is to be en-
tirely excluded from Mass offerings.
A different matter are the
alms (stipends) which the faith-
ful voluntarily give—even based
on a fixed suggested rate—on
the occasion of the celebration of
some sacraments and
sacramentals (e.g., Mass sti-
pends, baptisms, weddings, fu-
nerals). This is what happens in
the Philippines, where the bish-
ops have adopted the so-called
Arancel System, which lists
fixed amounts for stipends to be
offered to the Pastor on the oc-
casion of every celebration of the
sacraments, with an additional
clause that free administration
should be extended to the poor.
Such stipends are not pay-
ments or fees for the administra-
tion of the sacraments, but rather
a practical way of quantifying
another right-duty of the faith-
ful—stipulated by c.222,§1 of the
Code of Canon Law—namely
that of supporting the ministers
in particular and the whole
evangelizing work of the
Church in general.
Conclusion
It is licit for a parish to have a
fixed amount for the celebration
of marriage—as decided by the
Archdiocese and approved by
the Holy See. It is even under-
standable for the parish to stipu-
late an additional amount to de-
fray the cost of utilities and décor
that may go into more elaborate
weddings. A tiered system of
contributions can also be estab-
lished, whereby those who can
afford subsidize those who can’t.
However, nothing stands in
the way of celebrating it (and any
sacrament for that matter) with-
out such costs, and thus without
any stipend, for indigent parties.
In the extreme case, marriage can
be celebrated in its bare essen-
tials—i.e., in the parish office, in
the presence of the required two
witnesses other than the sacred
minister, with hardly any costs
to the parish to speak of.
The Pre-Cana Seminar should
never be made an indispensable
requirement for marriage. The
same can be said of what some-
body has called Pre-Jordan Semi-
nar—i.e., the seminar for parents
(desiring to have their infant
child baptized). They should be
waived, when there is proof of
a similar preparation acquired
another way, thereby reason-
ably combining the pastoral aim
of assuring proper reception of
the sacrament with the right of
the faithful to receive the means
of salvation.
 CBCP Monitor
12 Vatican Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007

“A Common
Good …an
Inalienable
Right”
Message for World Water Day
“The Attention of the Church Has
Been on the Social Question”
(The message sent by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican sec-
retary of state, on behalf of Benedict XVI, on the occasion of
the celebration for the World Water Day on March 22, 2007.
This was sent to Jacques Diouf, director general of the U.N.
Food and Agriculture Organization, headquartered in Rome.)

Papal Address to the 9th International Youth Forum Mr Jacques Diouf,

On the occasion of today’s celebration of World Water

IT gives me great pleasure to
send my cordial greeting to
you, Venerable Brother, to the
Secretary, to those working
with the Pontifical Council for
the Laity, and to all those who
are taking part in the 9th Inter-
national Youth Forum on the
theme “Witnessing to Christ in
the world of work” that is tak-
ing place this week in Rocca di
Papa. It is with particular af-
fection that I direct my
thoughts to the young del-
egates from the bishops’ con-
ferences and the international
movements, associations, and
communities that have come
from the five continents and
who work in very different
fields. I extend my respectful
greetings to the distinguished
speakers who have agreed to
contribute to the meeting with
their expertise and experience.
The theme is very much a
topical issue and takes into ac-
count the transformations that
have taken place in recent
years in the fields of econom-
ics, technology and communi-
cations, changes that have
radically changed the appear-
ance and conditions of the la-
bor market. The progress
achieved has, on the one hand,
given new hope to young
people, but on the other it has
created disturbing forms of
marginalization and exploita-
tion with more and more situ-
ations of personal hardship.
Because of the noticeable dif-
ference between the education
and training received and the
world of work, it is now more
difficult for them to find em-
ployment that meets with their
personal skills and studies,
and there is no certainty that
they will be able to maintain
even unstable employment for
any length of time. The process
of globalization taking place in
the world entails a need for
mobility that obliges numer-
ous young people to emigrate
and live far from their home
countries and their families.
This brings about an unsettling
feeling of insecurity that un-
doubtedly has repercussions
on their ability to not only
dream and build up a project
for the future, but even to com-
mit themselves to matrimony
and start a family. These are
complex and delicate ques-
tions that must be faced in due
course, keeping in mind the
reality of our times while refer-
ring to the social doctrine of
the Church. This is duly pre-
sented in the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and especially
in the Compendium of the So-
cial Doctrine of the Church.
The attention of the Church
in recent years has been con-
stantly directed on the social
question, and in particular on
that of work. We remember the
encyclical Laborem exercens
published a little over twenty-
five years ago, on 14 Septem-
ber 1981, by my well loved pre-
decessor John Paul II. This re-
affirmed and updated the great
intuitions developed by Pope
Leo XIII and Pius XI in the en-
cyclicals Rerum novarum (1891)
and Quadragesimo anno (1931),
both written during the period
of the industrialization of Eu-
rope. In a context of economic
liberalism conditioned by mar-
ket forces, of competition and
competitiveness, these pontifi-
cal documents forcefully call
on the need to evaluate the hu-
man dimension of work and to
protect the dignity of the per-
son. In fact, the ultimate refer-
ence of every human activity
can only be the human person,
created in the image and like-
ness of God. A close analysis
of the situation, in fact, shows
that work is part of God’s plan
for humankind and that it is
participation in his work of
creation and redemption. Ev-
ery human activity should be
an occasion and place for the
growth of individuals and so-
ciety, the development of per-
sonal “talents” that should be
appreciated and placed at the
ordered service of the common
good, in a spirit of justice and
solidarity. For believers, more-
over, the ultimate aim of work
is the building up of the King-
dom of God.
While I invite you to treasure
the conversations and reflec-
tions that take place over the
next few days, I hope that this
important assembly of young
people may be a profitable oc-
casion of spiritual and ecclesial
growth for the participants,
through the sharing of experi-
ences and personal accounts,
and common prayer and litur-
gies celebrated together. To-
day, more than ever, it is nec-
essary and urgent to proclaim
“the Gospel of Work”, to live
as Christians in the world of
work and become apostles
among workers. In order to
fulfill this mission it is neces-
sary to remain united to Christ
through prayer and a deep sac-
ramental life, and for this pur-
pose, to hold Sunday in special
high regard, for it is the day
dedicated to the Lord. While I
encourage young people not to
lose heart when faced with
Day, His Holiness Benedict XVI charges me to convey to
these difficulties, I invite them
you, Mr. Director General, and to all the participants at
to participate next Sunday in
this meeting respectful and cordial greetings and encour-
Saint Peter’s Square in the sol-
agement for your action in favour of those in the world
emn celebration of Palm Sun-
who are suffering from a shortage of water.
day and the 22nd World Youth
In the context of the Decade 2005/ 2015, which the Gen-
Day, the final stage of prepa-
eral Assembly of the United Nations has declared “The
ration for the World Youth Day
International Decade of Action: Water for life”, this year’s
that will take place in Sydney,
theme: Coping with water scarcity, gives us an opportu-
Australia next year.
nity to think about the importance of water as a source
The theme for reflection this
of life whose availability is essential for the vital cycles
year is: “Just as I have loved
of the earth and fundamental for a fully human exist-
you, you also should love one
ence.
another” (Jn. 13:34). Here I re-
We are all aware of the difficulty of achieving at a world
peat what I wrote to young
level the goal fixed by the international community to
Christians all over the world,
halve the number of people who are without access to
that there may be awakened in
healthy water and basic hygiene services by 2015, through
young Christians, “trust in a
the development, among other things, of integrated man-
love that is true, faithful and
agement plans and an efficient use of water resources.
strong; a love that generates
However, we are likewise all convinced of the impor-
peace and joy; a love that binds
tance of not falling short of these goals, given the cen-
people together and allows
trality of water in any process destined to foster the pro-
them to feel free in respect for
motion of an integral human development.
one another”, and allows them
Furthermore, appropriate investments in the sector of
to develop their abilities to the
water and hygiene services represent a significant mecha-
full. It is not simply a question
nism for accelerating economic growth and sustainable
of becoming more “competi-
development, for improving human health and hygiene,
tive” and “productive”, but it
for uprooting poverty and for combating the degrada-
is necessary to be “witnesses of
tion of the environment.
charity”. It is only in this way
Water, a common good of the human family, consti-
that young people — with the
tutes an essential element for life; the management of this
support of their respective par-
precious resource must enable all to have access to it,
ishes, movements and commu-
especially those who live in conditions of poverty, and
nities, in which it is possible to
must guarantee the liveability of the planet for both the
experience the greatness and
present and future generations.
vitality of the Church — will
Access to water is in fact one of the inalienable rights
be able to experience work as
of every human being, because it is a prerequisite for the
a vocation and true mission. To
realization of the majority of the other human rights, such
this end, Venerable Brother, I
as the rights to life, to food and to health.
assure you of my prayers, with
For this reason, water “cannot be treated as just an-
the heavenly protection of
other commodity among many, and it must be used ra-
Mary and Saint Joseph, patron
tionally and in solidarity with others. ...The right to wa-
of workers, I send you and all
ter ... finds its basis in human dignity and not in any kind
those participating in the Inter-
of merely quantitative assessment that considers water
national Forum and all young
as a merely economic good. Without water, life is threat-
Christian workers, a special
ened. Therefore, the right to safe drinking water is a uni-
Apostolic Blessing.
versal and inalienable right” ( Compendium of the Social
Doctrine of the Church , n. 485).
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
World Water Day is a precious opportunity to encour-
28 March 2007
age the international community to identify effective
ways to permit this basic human right to be promoted,
protected and enjoyed.

“Promote a Culture Respectful of the

In this regard, the sustainable management of water
becomes a social, economic, environmental and ethical
challenge that involves not only institutions but the whole
of society.

Rights of the Least-protected” It should be faced in accordance with the principle of

subsidiarity, that is, through the adoption of a participa-
tory approach that involves both the private sector and
above all the local communities; the principle of solidar-

Vatican’s Address to U.N. on Population

(Transcript of the statement delivered April 10 by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, at the 40th
session of the Commission on Population and Development of the U.N. Economic and Social Council.)
Mr. Chairman,
Indicators continue to suggest that by
2050 the world’s population should stabi-
lize at about 9 billion. Although this im-
plies that national populations will not
need to be regulated as proposed by radi-
cal opinion in the past, this commission
should continue to serve a useful purpose
in monitoring the demographic trends in
all parts of the world. In this regard, policy
goals and the means to achieve them must
remain sound and focused on the dignity
of the human person.
This 40th session of the commission co-
incides with the 40th anniversary of a
document on population and develop-
ment written by the late Pope Paul VI,
known as “ Populorum Progressio,” that is,
“The Progress of Peoples.”
At a time when the world was com-
monly divided into two blocs, East and
West, the document focused instead on
peoples and societies, whose conditions
were marked not by being Eastern or
Western, but by the levels of development
and well-being in some parts of the world,
in contrast to the degree of poverty and
underdevelopment in others.
The emphasis placed by the document
on the individual and on societies, both
as the primary focus of development poli-
cies and as protagonists of their own de-
velopment, even today provides a sure
guide for demographic policies to pro-
mote a culture respectful of the rights of
the least-protected members of our human
family, especially before birth and in ex-
treme old age.
The reports made to the commission this
year suggest that dependency ratios are set
to soar in some places, where an increas-
ing number of elderly people will lay a
heavier burden on the active population.
It is to be hoped that states will work to
foster respect for human life in all its stages
and to find solutions that are right and
just, not merely pragmatic. Here in par-
ticular, promoting solidarity between gen-
erations will be very valuable.
While by 2050 Europe is set to have an
elderly dependency ratio similar to that of
Africa’s in the 1960s, Africa is set to have
the lowest dependency ratio in the world.
This projection should hand that continent
an unprecedented advantage in economic
terms, as a young and numerous work
force should be available to it until at least
2050, while the demographic dividend in
most other regions will have run out.
To assure that Africa will not miss this
window of opportunity for economic de-
velopment, it must be helped, inter alia, to
invest in its human capital and infrastruc-
ture to underpin economic growth. Be-
cause many of this future work force are
already born and are already of school age,
my delegation believes that the most de-
cisive investment to be made here is in
education.
The U.N. Secretariat estimates that to
achieve primary education for all by 2015
would cost $9 billion estimated in 1998
dollar value. By any estimate, this can
hardly be considered a high price to pay
for such a prize.
ity, a fundamental pillar of international cooperation,
which requires a preferential attention to the poor; the
principle of responsibility to the present generation and
those to come, from which derives the consequent need
to re-examine the models of consumption and produc-
tion, often unsustainable with regard to the use of water
resources.
Moreover, education, especially for girls
It is in addition a responsibility that must be shared
and young women, can have a notable im-
and that becomes a moral and political imperative in a
pact on population growth. As women be-
world that has levels of know-how and technologies that
come better educated, they gain greater re-
are capable of putting an end to situations of water scar-
spect; they become breadwinners; they ac-
city and to their dramatic consequences that affect in
quire maturity in parental responsibility
particular the regions with a lower income, in which ac-
and a greater say in family affairs. Invest-
cess to water can often spark real conflicts, whereas it
ing in people in this way, especially in
can become a motive for interregional cooperation wher-
education, is surely to be preferred to le-
ever people appreciate a farsighted approach founded
gal imposition of limits, to artificial cor-
on hydrological interdependence that binds those who
rective measures and drastic policies, and
use the water resource in neighboring countries in a joint
to the unacceptable practice of eliminat-
agreement.
ing fetuses, especially females, in order to
These are aspects, Mr. Director General, that not only
limit population growth.
demand the responsibility of government leaders and
Finally, since this commission’s 39th ses-
politicians, but that challenge every individual. We are
sion last year, important initiatives have
all called to renew our life-styles with an educational
been both completed and launched, in par-
effort that can reassign to this common good of human-
ticular concerning migrants, a topic of no
ity the value and respect that it ought to have in our so-
small importance in relation to the chang-
ciety.
ing age structures of populations. My del-
Moreover, an educational effort of this kind could draw
egation regards last year’s High-Level Dia-
from many sacred texts of the traditional religions, such
logue on International Migration and De-
as the Bible, where water is symbolically a source and a
velopment as having been useful and wel-
sign of life and its presence is often associated with joy
comes the offer of Belgium and other
and fertility, assuming in addition a role of purification,
countries to maintain its momentum in the
renewal and rebirth.
form of the forthcoming Global Forum on
On this World Water Day, the Holy Father invokes the
Migration and Development.
Lord’s Blessings on all those who are committed to reach-
It is to be hoped that the Forum will
ing the goals concerning water that have been set by the
build upon what was achieved during the
international community. Mr. Director General, I am hon-
high-level dialogue. There is almost no
ored to convey to you this Message from His Holiness
country in the world untouched by migra-
and ask you to accept the expression of my highest es-
tion and it has become an extremely im-
teem.
portant source both of labor and of remit-
tances depending on each country’s cir-
CARDINAL TARCISIO BERTONE
cumstances. Therefore, it is in the inter-
Secretary of State of His Holiness
ests of all states—not to mention the mi-
22 March 2007
grants themselves—that the forum be al-
lowed room to succeed.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Take an Active Part
A Pastoral Statement on the 2007 Elections
“Citizens should take an active part in public life as far as possible.” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church #410)
MY dear Reverend Fathers, Re-
ligious Sisters and Brothers,
Lay Women and Men:
May the Peace of the Risen
Lord be with you all!
The resurrection of Jesus
Christ, is not only a historical
event, a thing of the past. It is
a reality that continues to have
relevance in the present, in
your life and mine—a life that
serves the truth and brings
light and hope to a darkened
and despairing world.
The Letter of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) to Dioceses
and Parishes dated 28 January
2007 expresses this relevance
thus: “In these two years past,
we are only too aware, it has
become easier to succumb to
apathy and hopelessness about
What Does the Resurrection
Mean for Us Today?
“The Son of man was destined to be handed over into the power of sinful men and be crucified, and rise again on the third day… Peter went back home
amazed at what had happened.” (Lk. 24, 7.12)
MY dear brothers and sisters in
Pagadian Diocese:
Greetings for Easter! Let me
invite you to reflect on what the
Resurrection event means in
our situation today and to pray
for more hope and courage to
face its challenges.
The Easter mystery began in
darkness and in death. In the
midst of darkness at the begin-
ning of creation God pro-
nounced his creative Word: Let
there be light! And light was
created. In the face of death at
the beginning of our salvation
story the Father pronounced his
saving Word: Let there be life!
And life was created: Jesus
Christ rose from the dead. The
Easter story begins very early
at dawn in the first day of the
week when there is still dark-
ness. Its most beautiful expres-
sion is no other than the new
life in Christ when darkness
gives way to the New Light al-
ready shining. This is what we
now celebrate: the resurrection
of Christ whose life enlightens
all men and women. This cel-
ebration is an invitation for
each of us to come out of dark-
ness into the light of the Risen
Christ.
Peter went back home
amazed at what had happened!
The light came into the world
but people preferred darkness
to the light because their deeds
were evil. The life of the only
Son of the Father was the Light
shining on all. But the Jewish
leaders refused to accept the
light and were only too pleased
to offer Judas a bribe, in pay-
ment for betraying Jesus with a
kiss. Only God could see their
evil thoughts and fathom the
depths of their being! Saddled
with a troubled conscience and
hopeless spirit due to his hei-
nous crime Judas threw back
Diocese of San Jose de Antique
our country and its political
life. But as followers of the cru-
cified and risen Lord, we are
called never to lose hope that
creates energy and the love
that creates responsibility.”
Therefore, let us be the fol-
lowers of the crucified and risen
Lord we are called to be. Let us
be bringers of hope in the com-
ing 14 May elections. May the
following be of help:
1. We exhort the qualified
and registered voters: GO
OUT AND VOTE. It is your
right and responsibility.
2. We plead with passion:
Voters, DO NOT SELL
YOUR VOTE; Candidates,
DO NOT BUY VOTES!
3. We encourage the parish-
ioners, the LOMAS (lay or-
ganizations, movements,
associations and societies)
the adulterated money at the
unscrupulous leaders and
hanged himself. Are we not
also amazed, just like Peter was,
at our situation today? How
could the demonic leaders af-
ford to fool the people, espe-
cially the poor, through their
dirty, immoral, despicable tac-
tics of bribery and buying off
people’s votes? How could
people choose darkness instead
of the light by accepting stained
money and betraying their own
conscience? Is it due to fear of
threats or to an empty caprice
and love of money and passing
pleasure? How fervently do we
kiss the Crucifix on Good Fri-
day and then readily go into the
dark by desecrating the sacred-
ness of the ballot on Election
Day? Woe to those who have
become modern Judases, who
neither refuse dirty money nor
return this to the wicked men
who violate their dignity and
despise their being the images
of God. Woe to the rich and
powerful politicians who have
become scandalous tempters
and partners of Satan! How
could they escape from the un-
ceasing remorse and distur-
bance of their own conscience?
How could they escape from
the last judgment when the
goats will be isolated for reject-
ing the light in favor of dark-
ness through their evil deeds?
Peter went back home
amazed at what had happened!
The light came into the world
but people preferred darkness
to the light because their deeds
were evil. Didn’t the Jewish
leaders manipulate the situa-
tion and contrived that the
crowd be left without choice
but to shout out for the cruci-
fixion of Jesus and the release
of Barrabas, the criminal that
had caused trouble among the
people? Are we not also
Statements
in the parishes, and BECs:
HELP MAKE THE 2007
ELECTIONS A CHAMP
(clean, honest, authentic,
meaningful, peaceful).
Volunteer and get in-
volved in our PPCRV (Par-
ish Pastoral Council for
Responsible Voting) –
DSAC (Diocesan Social
Action Center) activities
such as voters’ education,
pollwatch and vote count.
4. We ask our lay leaders
who are candidates: RE-
SIGN OR TAKE A LEAVE
OF ABSENCE FROM
YOUR PARISH/DIOC-
ESAN RESPONSIBILI-
TIES. The lay leaders who
will win shall continue to
be considered resigned or
on leave. Those who will
lose may re-apply and be
amazed in our times just like
Peter was? For, have the rich
and powerful not long entered
into deals and machinations
that leave people without genu-
ine choices in the May elec-
tions? Is it not true that for
money considerations and to
ensure power, they manipulate
people and force on them the
names to shout out and vote in
during the elections? Isn’t it a
mockery of the democratic sys-
tem to pre-empt and deprive
the people of their sacred right
to choose leaders of integrity
and competence? Can one call
it true democracy when people
have no other choice but
Barrabas? Faced with that evil
and immoral process is it the
Christian way not to protest
and to just remain silent?
What significance and conse-
quence then would our celebra-
tion of Christ’s resurrection
have? Doesn’t his resurrection
mean the conquest of the pow-
ers of evil and the darkness of
sin? Doesn’t our Easter celebra-
tion mean our rejection of the
vestiges of sin and of the mani-
festations of eternal death? Bap-
tized with water and the Holy
Spirit did we not promise to
reject Satan and all his evil
deeds?
My brothers and sisters in
Christ, have we forgotten that
through baptism we are incor-
porated into Christ’s resurrec-
tion and share in his life? Isn’t
it our call to come to the light
and to let it shine in our com-
munities? Let us stand by the
Light. Let us be wise lest we be
fooled by wolves masquerad-
ing like sheep!
In discerning what candidate
we should vote for, the follow-
ing questions may be of help:
does he have unexplained
wealth? How does he intend to
fight corruption in government
Election 2007
A Pastoral Letter to Priests and Faithful of
the Archdiocese of Manila
ELECTION is a process of
choosing leaders who, with
the people, will seek the
common good of all. Thus
the Church encourages and
supports “the citizens in
making political choices
that guarantees to the gov-
erned the possibility of both
electing and holding ac-
countable those who govern
them and of replacing them
through peaceful means
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
when appropriate”
(Centesimus Annus, 46).
Choosing and holding the
leaders accountable to the
governed is a critically im-
portant choice that must fol-
low moral guidance.
The sacredness of an elec-
tion recalls to us that votes
are not for sale or to be bar-
tered with favors. Neither
can a vote be cast under any
form of coercion. The search
is for the best possible
leader.
1. The best possible leader
is a person who loves
and fears God.
2. One who is guided by
a well-formed con-
science, always sensi-
tive to the choice of
what is good.
re-admitted to their previ- 3. One who lives and
ous parish/diocesan re- serves consistently with
sponsibilities if approved moral principles.
by the proper decision- 4. One who is honest,
making body or authority. non-violent, and com-
This statement is valid for the passionate.
14 May elections and succeed- 5. A person who respects
ing ones unless revised by the and protects the limited
proper authority. resources in nature and
I end with the final exhorta- requires others to do
tion of the CBCP letter: “The the same.
Lord of truth and justice be with
us all in this crucial undertak-
ing to his greater praise and
glory. And may Mary, Our
Working and Praying for
Lady of Peace, intercede for
us.” I also bless you and your
endeavors.
Sincerely yours in Christ, Honest, Orderly and
† Romulo T. De La Cruz, D.D.
Bishop of San Jose de Antique
10 April 2007
Peaceful Elections
A Pastoral Exhortation
“The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it
ensures the participation of the citizens in making political
choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of both
electing and holding accountable those who govern them...”
(John Paul II, Centessimus Annus, #46).
AS we approach once again
the critical moment of our
national election on May 14,
let us meet the new cross-
roads in our history with our
and among the people? How best efforts to make it an Hon-
does he avoid using money est, Orderly and Peaceful
stained by drugs if he were to Election. Being in a democ-
remain a person of integrity? Is racy, this is the Covenant of
he an ally of drug lords and of Hope that we are all enjoined
corrupt people? Does he buy to give for our country’s fu-
votes? Where does his cam- ture.
paign money come from? Is it To ensure credible results
from questionable sources or from the coming election, we
through evil dealings? Is he in- call on everyone in the
volved in drug issues, Church and in civil society,
carnapping, or violation of hu- and on all participating
man rights? Does he support groups and parties, to
business or activities that de- CHAMPION the cause of
stroy the environment like min- democratic election, by en-
ing, which is destructive of life suring it to be Clean, Honest,
and of the livelihood of people, Accurate, Meaningful and
especially our indigenous Peaceful.
brothers and sisters? If no can- We must disapprove, reject
didate passes these sample tests and condemn as immoral all
or criteria would it not be wise acts of violence and cheating,
to leave the ballot blank as a including the evil of “vote
sign of protest that a worthy padding and shaving”
candidate has not yet surfaced? (dagdag-bawas) in favor of or
Wouldn’t that give a clear mes- against any candidate. Let
sage that whoever would get both candidates and their
through with only a few votes supporters face the judgment
does not really have a clear of democratic election with
mandate from the people? humility and magnanimity.
Wouldn’t that kind of protest We exhort everyone to be
be a clear indication that you do vigilant, to pray and to offer
not subscribe to the distorted penance for this intention. Let
culture that only the wealthy us accompany with extreme
and powerful could be elected vigilance and prayer the cru-
a leader? cial period of campaigning,
Dear brothers and sisters let voters’ education, transport-
us listen to and follow the dic- ing of election paraphernalia,
tates of our conscience as we poll watching, and very espe-
pray that the Spirit of Peace and cially, the canvassing and re-
Righteousness would reign in porting of the votes. May the
our communities especially hand of God stop evil from
during the elections! May the getting in control. We need
Spirit of the Resurrection touch the Lord’s help, without
our hearts and those of the can- which our best efforts will
didates so that enlightened by come to nothing. Thus, we
the Light of Christ we may not urge everyone to invoke the
succumb to evil schemes! May grace if the Holy Spirit to
the Lord of the Resurrection guide our people in this elec-
and our Mother of Perpetual toral exercise, for the renewal
Help be with us always! of our country towards genu-
ine common good.
+Emmanuel T. Cabajar, C.Ss.R. We want this exhortation
Bishop of Pagadian to reach every Filipino. Let us
April 8, 2007
13
6. One who is ready to
sacrifice personal, party
or group interest for the
sake of unity, peace and
the integral develop-
ment of the country and
the people.
In the past, enormous suf-
ferings resulted from politi-
cal ambitions, maneuvers
and group adventurism re-
sulting in the country’s poor
becoming even poorer.
Pray for guidance because
God may softly suggest in
prayer that this time what
the country needs are moral,
humble and repentant trust-
worthy leaders who can
lead and move the country
closer to its vision.
We are grateful to and we
encourage the teachers, the
men and women of the
armed forces, the youth and
volunteer citizens who help
the task of COMELEC in
ensuring that votes are
properly cast, accurately
counted at the precincts, are
authentically reported to the
municipalities and cities,
and forwarded safely and
un-tampered to the
COMELEC Provincial and
National offices.
May Mary, our mother,
guide us in our choice of
trustworthy leaders and
bring us to her Son, Jesus,
the only Way, Truth and
Life.
God bless!
+Gaudencio B. Cardinal
Rosales, DD
Archbishop of Manila
be one in prayer, penance and
vigilance. In a particular way,
we request for the prayers of
our contemplative men and
women in the monasteries;
there are more than a hun-
dred of such monasteries all
over the country. As they
kneel before the Most Blessed
Sacrament, we request them
to pray for our country—es-
pecially for all voters, candi-
dates, and election officials/
workers.
Let our prayer also accom-
pany the work of the PPCRV
and NAMFREL, the
COMELEC and the thou-
sands of teachers in the field,
the social action ministries of
CBCP-NASSA, LENTE (Le-
gal Network for Truthful
Election), as well as the assis-
tance of the AFP and PNP,
and of the hundreds of reli-
gious organizations and civil
society groups—all hoping
and championing the cause
of credible election.
We strongly recommend
that the parishes organize
Holy Hours or prayer vigils
in their churches or chapels
for these intentions, between
May 5 and May 14, with the
help of the Apostleship of
Prayer and other religious or-
ganizations. We likewise en-
courage the Basic Ecclesial
Communities to do the same
in their centers. Humble and
trusting prayers are needed
to safeguard the sanctity of
the ballot and of the entire
electoral processes.
May our Blessed Mother
Mary, the Mediatrix of all
grace, and our Guardian St.
Joseph the Model of honest
and prayerful work, inter-
cede for our beloved country
as we face a new transition in
our history.
+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
24 April 2007

14
By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Contemplatives or
Peeping Toms?
“ S A C R A M E N T U M
caritatis,” Latin for the sac-
rament of charity, referring
to the sacrament of the Holy
Eucharist, is the title of the
latest document issued by
Pope Benedict, released last
February 22.
It’s a beautiful summary
and in-depth comment of the
Pope on the observations,
suggestions and resolutions
made by the bishops and car-
dinals in their synod on the
sacrament in October 2005 in
Rome.
Reading it, I was immedi-
ately impressed by the
amount of wisdom contained
in that document that skill-
fully described the sacrament
as a mystery to be believed,
to be celebrated and to be
lived.
I consider that plan of de-
veloping the topic very
timely and clever, since it
gives a comprehensive cov-
erage, unified and organic, of
how the sacrament, and the
mystery it involves, should
be treated.
The sacrament should not
only be believed, it has to be
celebrated, and properly.
And it should not just be cel-
ebrated, it has to be lived to
its last consequences.
The Holy Mass, after all,
has been described as the
source and summit of Church
life and mission, the vital link
between heaven and earth
now. It has to infuse its sub-
stance in our entire being—
from our minutest pore to our
grandest dimension.
Often, we get stuck in one
stage or another. We need to
go all the way. This is a re-
Ongoing Formation for
Diocesan Clergy
Fr. Jose Rembert G. Rivera
I’M privilege to join a
twelve-week sabbatical pro-
gram for Roman Catholic
priests held at St. Patrick’s
Seminary in Menlo Park,
California.
The program was con-
ducted on September 13 to
December 10, 2006 under the
able leadership of Fr. Jim
Myers, SS, our Director. The
program started last 1972 and
has already served over 35
countries around the world.
Being a priest from the
Third World, I realized three
things in my life and minis-
try as a priest:
a) Personal growth and
Development. After spend-
ing 25 years in my active
ministry, I felt the need to
undergo the ongoing forma-
tion for my personal growth
as a minister and as a person.
I consider myself perfection-
ist, avant-garde in my work
and mission in life but to my
surprise that seem not essen-
tial in my life. I realized that
quirement of our human con-
dition, to be consciously pur-
sued and fulfilled since our
tendency is to reduce what is
proper for us.
There is a beautiful and in-
cisive description, for ex-
ample, of what active partici-
pation in the Mass ought to
be. It’s not just muttering
prayers and joining in the
singing. One has to go
through a continuing conver-
sion as he immerses himself
in the mystery celebrated.
Also there is a wonderful
discussion about the social
and other practical implica-
tions of the sacrament. This
should greatly help in cor-
recting the tendency to con-
sider the Mass as purely
Church or spiritual affair
with hardly any effect on the
other aspects of our lives.
With all these, I was just a
little dismayed when it came
out. The media only gave
scant consideration to it, giv-
ing a line or two to highlight
a minor but, to them, curious
detail, like the Mass can be
celebrated in Latin in inter-
national gatherings.
In the meantime, the press
was busy following every lu-
rid detail about the latest
perversion of Paris Hilton,
the latest aberration of
Britney Spears, and the latest
love life hitch of our Kris
Aquino.
For these items, a river of
ink was spent, rolls and rolls
of footages were used. It
seems there’s a big industry
out there involved in spread-
ing every twist and turn in
the lives of these unfortu-
nately irresistible celebrities.
to be a good priest means sin-
cere prayers, total sacrifice,
and attuned to the guidance
of the Holy Spirit. I know I’m
not alone in my struggle to
be a faithful, honest, and celi-
bate priest in the Church.
b) Theological and pasto-
ral updating. After 9 years of
formation in the diocesan
seminary, I realized that all
my formation activities were
all gone and depleted. I con-
tinue to pray, study and up-
date myself—but they are not
sufficient to my personal and
social growth. My experience
at Vatican II Institute has
given me new impetus for
sound theological updating
and pastoral renewal.
c) Social involvement. I
considered myself a loner
and ego-centered. So, I got
few leaders or friends with
whom I communicate openly
and shared my life. The sab-
batical program finds me in-
teracting with my fellow
clergy from 7 nations, com-
CBCP Monitor
Reflections Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Bo Sanchez
Nurture Your Secret Life
“Your assignment is to clean the toilet everyday.”
Many years ago, I was part of a celibate broth- sponge. And it put me in my place, keeping
erhood. And on my first day there, an older pride away from my heart.
brother gave me my assigned chore: Toilet I love Bill Hybell’s definition of “Charac-
cleaning. ter”: Character is who you are when no one’s
“I don’t know how to clean toilets,” I mut- looking. It’s easy to be a disciple in front of
tered meekly, “can you teach me?” an applauding crowd. But when no one’s
“Let’s start with the toilet bowl,” he smiled, looking, was I still a disciple?
It’s not for me to say what as he grabbed a sponge, sank his hand into Thanks to my sponge, I had an answer: Yes!
should appear in the papers. the toilet water, and started scrubbing the in- I remember one Saturday night. We had a
But I just find it funny that sides of the bowl. Believe me, every hair on big feast—and all the brothers washed the
an important event in reli- my body stood on end and my innards shook dishes together. We even sang happy songs
gion and Church life does violently. while soaping, rinsing, and drying.
not stand a chance, not a rat’s “Gee… uh, I recall Mom using a stick…” I That night, I was soaping. When it was al-
chance, to compete with ce- mumbled, but he interrupted, “But this cleans most over, I was removing a stubborn food
lebrity gossips in terms of it so much better,” his forearm almost disap- particle stuck in a fork—when I noticed some-
media space. pearing inside the Throne. thing about the sponge in my hand. It looked
I get the impression the With his hand still dripping, he handed me oddly familiar.
media wants us only to be the sponge and said, “You want to try?” I al- I gasped. Because I knew my sponge! What
peeping toms and backbiters, most choked and wondered if God could take was it doing here in the kitchen? Just to be
rather than contemplatives my life that second. sure, I rushed to the toilet and opened the
and thinking and sensible “Okay…” I held the foam as manly as I cabinet under the sink—the usual place where
people. It simply wants to tit- could. Being at a loss for words, I started pray- I stored my sponge. It wasn’t there.
illate our curiosity, imagina- ing in tongues. I plunged my hand into the I entered the kitchen hesitantly, wondering
tion and adrenalin. water, and realized that my state-of-life dis- whether to tell the brothers. But I saw them
It’s contented with playing cernment was over. That very night, I was singing and happy. How could I break their
to the gallery. Hardly lead- going to escape the brotherhood, and get cheery mood? So I decided to join the sing-
ing the crowd, it rather fol- married. ing, get my sponge, and soap the few remain-
lows the mob. I wonder what But the days became weeks, and the weeks, ing plates. (To this day, I have never told them
its understanding of its na- months. what happened that night. When they read
ture and role in society is. I cleaned that toilet for a whole year. And I this, they will kill me.)
Does religion have a promi- began to love it. It became “ my toilet” and I have a question for you: How’s your se-
nent place in it? “my sponge”. I’d have withdrawal pangs if I cret life?
It starves our finer senses didn’t clean the toilet in a day. Who are you when no one’s looking?
and higher faculties. The ra- Indeed, the celibate brotherhood taught me In the unspectacular, mundane, routine of
tionalization is that to be fair the meaning of “The Secret Life”. your day?
and objective, it has to be You see, I was already preaching in big I tell you. Nurture your Secret Life.
morally undefined and prayer rallies at that time. After such events, I BELIEVE that on Judgment Day, God will
genderless. The law of the people took my pictures, got my autograph, give me a 365-room mansion in heaven. And
market is its main guide. and—hear this—tried very hard to shake my when I ask Him why the lavish reward, I’d
Often quick to question ev- hand. Oh, if they only knew what I held just expect Him to say, “Because of your preach-
erybody, it is slow to evalu- a few hours before. ing to thousands,” or “Because you founded
ate itself and its perfor- My “public life” was symbolized by the mi- a Home for the Elderly,” etc. But instead,
mance. Its judgments and crophone. He’d say, “For each day you cleaned that toi-
opinions are often given a But my “secret life” was symbolized by the let with love in your heart…”
tinge of infallibility.
Well, no one is perfect in
this life. That’s why we
should just help one another, Atty. Jo Imbong
by making timely reminders,
constructive suggestions and
corrections. Who Knows Your Secrets?
I wish the media invest
more seriously in the area of
faith and religion, develop- I MEAN, your deepest are doing it already with your wisdom will guide us and his
ing talents through time. I thoughts and noble dreams, personal confidante, if not love will energize us.”
believe the future we all the secrets of your heart, those with Christ altogether. Gerald Once you have found your
want is there. questions and cares which you Vann, O.P. spoke of this divine true Friend, you can only
dare not open up even to your friendship quite so simply: maintain the relationship by
spouse, your special friend, or “First, the need of words, means of two things: your sin-
your mother? the need of telling him—as cerity and your truth. We do
Can there be someone who simply and directly as we treasure these qualities in our
will ungrudgingly listen to would tell a human friend; friends, don’t we? Thus, to put
your frustrations without a there is no need of formal lan- on a mask or pretend to say
snicker? Can he believe you to guage—of all the things that one thing and mean another—
be 100% sincere deep in your make up our lives, the big you kill the relationship.
heart about your real inten- things but the small things But can we really pretend
tions? Can there be someone too, the crosses and trials and before Christ? How silly of us!
in your phonebook who will problems but the joys and gai- He knows everything about us
understand why you choose eties too. And if we are faith- even before we were even
to be what you are and then ful to this daily attempt to talk dreamed of by our parents.
tell you to continue pursuing to him as a friend, and if How comforting then for us
your dream with more pas- through that sharing of our to know that we can approach
sion? Will he bless your zeal? life with him in those quiet him with no guard, no affec-
If you can answer ‘yes ’ to all moments of prayer every day tation. And if we are also
that, then you have under- we really come to be aware of humble, he will lift us up from
stood what it takes to live a re- him and to make that aware- the dregs where we have
ligion. And you have learned ness a deep and essential ele- sunk, even before we have
that living a religion consists ment in our life; then it may reached the final verse of one
in the sharing of one’s life well follow in time that the of your favorite Psalms... “ I
© Denz Dayao / CBCP Media
with another. But it is not just need of words will grow less know my transgressions, and my
a sharing of superficialities— and less, the friendship will sin is always before me. Against
such as where to get the best become established, secure; you, you only, have I sinned...
latte , or where to find the most and as in the times set apart wash me, and I will be whiter
authentic Italian risotto . for prayer we may be able than snow...” And as we unfold
Rather, it is a sharing of the simply to rest silently or al- that bent knee to receive his
deeper things of one’s life, most silently in his presence, proffered hand, we catch our
where the One at the other end so the sense of that presence breath, our eyes are dazzled.
also makes known to you the will not wholly leave us at The Spirit drowns us and
secrets of his heart. “ I no other times, it will be a back- words are put into our hearts,
longer call you servants; I call ground to all the other activi- “What is man that you are mind-
you my friends.” Christ, on
whose breast you find rest,
shows you the plot of his own
ties that make up the life of
every day; and so in those ac-
tivities we shall be wiser and
ful of him, the son of man that
you care for him? You made him
a little lower than the heavenly
love story. It only remains for
you to do the same.
The way to do this is quite
gentler and stronger and of
more service to the human
family, because we shall be
beings and crowned him with
glory and honor.”
The true Friend has found
simple, in fact you probably acting in his presence, and his you.
www.cbcpworld.com | training@cbcpworld.net | +632 4041612, 4042182
ing from 3 continents of
The CBCPWorld Network
America, Asia and Africa—a
real socially mixed group of
persons with various theo-
logical formations.
The lectures, socials, and
interaction with seminarians A network of Dioceses, Parishes, Catholic Schools and religious
and theologians are really a groups. Today, over a hundred of them nationwide. Pursuing one
great experience for me. Our mission, linked under one nationwide satellite system. Connected
lecturers are all experts in
their own field of work. together with the same passion for the Gospel.
I wish to call the diocesan
clergy in the Philippines to Our Broadband Connectivity is delivered to our network members
avail of this program. The fi-
nancial requirement is very through a VSAT system on a C-band or through a wireless IP system
high but some scholarship on a microwave platform, originating from our network operations cen-
grants can be availed of. ter in Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles City.
My director encouraged
me to organize a First Gen-
eral Assembly of Vatican II Our Content Department aims at saturating the cyberspace with whole-
Institute graduates from the some contents that are faith-related, educational and social-advocacy
Philippines. I was given 12
names of graduate priests oriented. Its services are: web designing, web maintenance, web host-
but without addresses or ing, content sourcing and editing, and video production.
contact numbers. For those
interested with the program
and the assembly, I maybe Our Traning Department conducts the following trainings: EdTech, IT
contacted at: St. Paul’s Par- Awareness, WebArt, SysAd Training.
ish, Cauayan, Negros Occi-
dental, 09176409882.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Title: ANG CUTE
NG INA MO
Running Time: 100
mins
Lead Cast: AiAi de
las Alas, Anne
Curtis, Luis
Manzano, Eugene
Domingo, John
Lapus, DJ Durano,
Nikki Bacolod,
Vince Saldana
Director: Wenn
Deramas
Producers: Vincent
del Rosario,
Veronique del
Rosario Corpus
Screenwriter: Mel
Mendoza-Del
Rosario, Arlene
Tamayo, Wenn
Deramas
Music: Vince de Jesus
Editor: Marya E. Ignacio
Genre: Comedy
Cinematography: Sherman So
Distributor:Viva Production Inc.
Location: Malabon
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment: ½ eroplano, nang ginawa siyang hostage at dinala
CINEMA Rating: For viewers13 and below with
parental guidance
Si Christine (Anne Curtis) ay ipinanganak sa
Melbourne, Australia ng magkasamang
Australyano at ang kanyang Pinay na ina na si
Georgia (Ai-Ai delas Alas). Pagkalipas ng
dalawampung taon ay binalak ng
Australyanong ama ni Christine na pakasalan
si Georgia ngunit tumutol siya. Masama ang
loob niya dahil akala niya ay natiis ng kanyang
ina na hindi sila balikan sa Melbourne, Austra-
lia pagkatapos ng mahabang panahon. Bumalik
siya sa Pilipinas kasama ng kanyang yaya,
Nanny Ninonu (Eugene Domingo) upang
patunayan na hindi karapat-dapat si Georgia sa
kanyang ama. Mistula namang piyesta ng bayan
ang inihanda ni Georgia sa pagdating ni Chris-
tine. Habang pinagsisikapan niyang mapamahal
sa anak ay patuloy naman si Christine sa pakana
nitong siraan ang kanyang ina. Nang lumaon
ay nawili na rin siya sa Malabon at napalapit sa
ampon ng kanyang ina na si Val (Luis Manzano)
samantalang nakursunadahan naman ni Nanny
Title: SUNSHINE
Running Time: 105 mins
Lead Cast: Rose Byrne, Cliff Curtis, Chirs Evans,
Troy Garity, Gillian Murphy, Hiroyuli Sanada,
Mark Strong, Benedict Wong, Michelle Yeoh
Director: Danny Boyle
Producer: Andrew McDonald
Screenwriter: Alex Garlnad
Music: Karl Hyde
Editor: Chris Gill
Genre: Sci-fi /Suspense
Cinematography: Alwin H. Kachley
Distributor: Fox Searchlight
Location: The Universe
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment:
CINEMA Rating: For viewers14 and above
In the not-so-distant future, the sun fails
which causes the Earth to freeze. As a last hope,
a spacecraft, Icarus II with a crew of eight men
and women is launched. The Icarus II carries a
stellar bomb that aims to re-ignite the sun. The
first Icarus left seven years ago with the same
mission but contact was lost. As Icarus II heads
towards the sun, the crew of eight see the dis-
tressed Icarus ship that had been missing for
seven years. Capa (Cillian Murphy), the physi-
cist who controls the bomb, persuades the group
into a decision to rendezvous with Icarus for
possible repair of the ship, so as to give them-
selves another bomb to increase the chances of
the success of their mission, should their bomb
fail to deliver the desired effect. What happens
next is a series of challenges for the entire crew
as they decide to change direction, risking Icarus
II’s mission and the entire humanity’s hope for
sunshine.
This science fiction flick begins with a strong
premise of the Earth’s future although it fails to
visually describe what the Earth really looks like
without the sun’s rays. Most of what it tells the
audience is left to the imagination. But then
again, the movie’s focus is on the spacecraft, the
crew and the mission, so audiences are taken
directly to outer space where the film is true to
its sci-fi look and form. In a usual “ship of fools”
plot, the director succeeds in fleshing out the
humanness of the characters, each endowed
with exceptional intelligence, and shows how
individual differences determine either failure
or success of a mission such as Icarus II. But then
the film fails to explore further characters’ rela-
tionships and backgrounds, leaving the audi-
ence with narrow understanding of their inner
motivations. Although the plot is interesting
with the not-so-predictable twists, it drags to-
wards the end with the introduction of a char-
acter that is both alien and alienated and which
CBCPMonitor Name _________________________________________________
(Family Name)
SUBSCRIPTION RATES Mailing Address ________________________________________
________________________________________________________
The CBCP Monitor is published Phone No.: _________ Fax No.: ________ E-mail: ___________
fortnightly by the CBCP Media
Mode of Payment
Office, with editorial and business
offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Check/PMO enclosed
Intramuros, Manila. PO Box 3601, (Payable to: CBCP Communications Development Foundation Inc.)
1076 MCPO
• Domestic
1 Year Php 500.00
2 Years Php 900.00
• Foreign: Asia PLEASE SEND TO:
1 Year US$ 55.00 CBCP Monitor, P.O. Box 3601, Manila, Philippines
• All Other US$ 80.00 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines | Tel (632) 404-2182 • Telefax (632) 404-1612
Or e-mail this at cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.com
Entertainment
Ninonu ang baklang katulong na si Junjun (John
Lapus). Natuklasan ni Val ang video camera
kung saan isinusumbong ni Christine sa ama
ang mga kapintasan ni Georgia. Galit na
bumalik sa Pilipinas ang Australyano upang
harapin si Georgia. Huli na nang mabatid ni
Christine ang kanyang mga pagkakamali. Paano
kaya malulutas ang mga napakagusot na
pangyayari?
Mababaw at slapstik na komedya ang
pelikulang ito. Sapagkat patok sa takilya ang
Tanging Ina ni AiAi de las Alas ay sinundan ito
ng Ang Cute ng Ina Ko. Itinaon ang
pagpapalabas sa Pasko ng Pagkabuhay nang
umano’y maka-aliw sa mga tao ngunit mas
malakas ang dating na pang-komersyal ang
pelikula. Nababagay at natural ang
pagkakaganap ni Anne Curtis sa kanyang papel
sapagkat talaga namang laking Australya ito.
May kapilyuhan ang isiningit na eksena na
paghuhubad ni Luis Manzano nang maligo sa
labas dahil as nalublob ito sa patisan. Inuulit
ang mga popular na linya sa ibang pelikula,
telenovela, at mga pulitiko at hinahalo sa
diyalogo. Kahit hindi kapani-paniwala ay pilit
kinukuha ang kiliti ng mga tao sa mga eksena
kagaya halimbawa nang maiwanan si AiAi sa
pa sa tuktok ng mataas na billboard, at nang
nahulog siya sa isang talon (waterfall).
Ang magandang aral na mapupulot ay ang
pagmamahal ng isang ina sa kanyang anak. Sa
katunaya’y ipinangalan pa nga ni Georgia kay
Christine ang produkto nitong patis. Humingi
ng kapatawaran si Christine at ang kanyang ama
kay Georgia sa kanilang pagkakamali. Ngunit
sa kabuuan ay pangit ang paglalarawan ng
kababaihan sa pelikula: nagka-anak sa isang
dayuhan si Georgia na hindi pa nakakasal,
nagpakasal si Georgia sa negosyante ng patis
makaahon lang sa kahirapan, may kabit ang
Australyanong ama ni Christine, walang respeto
si Christine sa kanyang ina na pilit niyang
sinisiraan, marahas ang pagaaway nina Geor-
gia at Nanny Ninonu, sinuntok ng baklang si
Junjun ang yaya na nahuhumaling sa kanya. Sa
mga magdadala ng bata sa pelikulang ito,
makabubuting ipaliwanag sa kanila na may mga
bagay na hindi dapat pagtawanan at tularan
sapagkat makasasama ang mga ito hindi lamang
sa kanilang kapwa kundi na rin sa kanilang
sariling pagkatao.
makes the film look more of a horror flick than
science fiction.
Sunshine poses many moral arguments about
human life. To begin with, is the life of one per-
son less important as compared to many? In the
future described in the film, the gauge of hero-
ism is either dying or killing to save mankind.
It is disturbing to see in the film that a crew
member would need to commit suicide as the
rest of the group decide to kill him so as to be
able to complete the mission of saving mankind.
Killing is always morally wrong even if the mo-
tivation for doing it is good. Then towards the
end, the movie throws a deeper argument: If in
the future, the sun fails to shine as part of God’s
plan for the human race to die out, should hu-
mans interfere and prevent it from happening?
Do humans have God’s permission to alter the
course of the universe? Sunshine reminds view-
ers of the limitations of the human person no
matter how brilliant the mind is. The film makes
the audience ponder on the significance of God’s
gift, the “sunshine” which human beings expe-
rience every morning but most of the time take
for granted. Because of the strong language and
violence in the film, CINEMA recommends that
the movie may be viewed only by audiences 14-
years-old and above.
(Given Name)
Cash Payment
________________________
Signature
Moral Assessment
Abhorrent
Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome
Exemplary
Title: MISS POTTER
Running Time: 92 mins
Lead Cast: Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor,
Emily Watson
Director: Cris Noonan
Producers: M. Medavoy, D. Thwaites, A. Messer,
C. Sienega
Screenwriter: Richard Maltby Jr.
Music: Nigel Westlake
Editor: Robin Sales
Genre: Drama/Biography/Romance
Cinematography: Andrew Dunn
Distributor: MGM, Weinstein Co.
Location: England
Technical Assessment:
Moral Assessment: ½ touch of Director Chris Noonan is his occasional
CINEMA Rating: For viewers age 13 and below
with parental guidance
The film is the engaging life story of Beatrix
Potter, the world famous creator of Peter Rabbit
(one of the best loved characters in children’s lit-
erature) and one of the best selling authors of
children’s books of all time. Like most ladies born
to gentility in the Victorian Era, Beatrix (Renee
Zellweger) lived a sheltered and restricted life
with her parents in London. But gifted with a
lively imagination and a talent for drawing and
inventing tales, she created her own world popu-
lated by her furry “friends”. Unlike most girls of
her time she was not interested in proposals for
marriage of convenience. Instead, she was deter-
mined to have her book of stories and illustra-
tions published. But even her own mother did
not believe in her art or her capabilities. No pub-
lisher would publish what they called her bunny
book, until the publishing company of Frederick
Warne and Sons decided to give it as a project to
the youngest son Norman (Ewan McGregor) who
was raring to join the company. Though callow
and inexperienced, Norman took the work seri-
ously as he collaborated closely with Beatrix. It
was 1902 and Beatrix’s first book The Tale of Pe-
ter Rabbit instantly became a best seller. Work-
ing together, Norman and Beatrix fell in love.
Thirty-two-year-old, resolved spinster Beatrix
wanted to marry Norman to the vehement ob-
jection of her snobbish parents who thought
someone in “trade” was not good enough for
their daughter. Beatrix would realize that life has
strange twists and turns.
Much of the charm and appeal of this well
crafted bio-pic lies in its simplicity. The pleasant
ANSWER TO THE
LAST ISSUE:
(1) VIOLENCE AND
ARMS CAN NEVER
RESOLVE THE
PROBLEMS OF MEN.
- POPE JOHN PAUL
II
(2) SOCIAL JUSTICE
CANNOT BE
ATTAINED BY
VIOLENCE.
VIOLENCE KILLS
WHAT IT INTENDS
TO CREATE. - POPE
JOHN PAUL II
QUOTES IN QUIZ
Booklets available at
BOOKSALE stores in
SM, Robinsons and
selected malls in
Manila. For mail order
text 0919 2803036.
(Middle Name)
15
Technical Assessment
Poor
Below average
Average
Above average
Excellent
story is well told with general ease and smooth-
ness. There are no hidden messages or disguised
sub-texts. The beautiful love story has a touch of
sentimentality that helps endear the lead charac-
ters to the viewers. There is very good casting.
The performances are excellent. Zellweger un-
deracts but comes across as an independent
minded Beatrix. McGregor’s character Norman
may be clumsy at times but retains his innocent
charm. The two leads have great screen chemis-
try. Other stand-outs are Emily Watson as
Norman’s liberated sister Millie, Barbara Flynn
as Beatrix’s insensitive mother and Matyelok
Gibbs’s comic doddering chaperone. A nice
animation of Beatrix’s creations as she sees them.
The cinematography is breathtaking, and has
captured the indescribable beauty and serenity
of the Lake Country District of England.
Beatrix Potter lived about a hundred years ago
but some of the values of her time as shown in
the movie are still relevant to us today. Here was
a woman who was talented and wanted to rise
above the conventions of her time to make some-
thing of herself but was unappreciated, met with
indifference, perhaps considered odd, even
laughed at behind her back. Today there are
women in the same predicament though perhaps
in a different situation. To them, Beatrix is an
inspiration. Strong willed, she never gave up her
dreams, continued to persevere until she suc-
ceeded. Aside from being lauded for her literary
achievements, she should also be appreciated for
nurturing the seed of women empowerment.
Another negative value shown in the film is the
attitude of some as being superior to others be-
cause of social standing and wealth, like Beatrix’s
parents. And Beatrix condemns this as pure pre-
tense. When Beatrix settled in the Lake District,
she decided to buy out farm lands near her prop-
erty so she would prevent these from being ur-
banized by developers. She wanted to preserve
the beauty of her surroundings so as to enable
others after her to savor it, too. Eventually she
bequeathed to the British people her estates and
farms through a Land Conservation Trust so
these places will be forever preserved in its natu-
ral, untarnished beauty. Besides appreciating
Beatrix Potter as someone who used her talent in
service of others by writing and publishing books
for children, we also commend her as a “femi-
nist” and environmentalist.

16
Divine Mercy Asian
Congress Held
THE Association of Divine
Mercy Asia held an Asian Con-
gress on Divine Mercy last
April 21 and 22 at the Clamshell
in Intramuros, Manila, in
preparation for the 1 st Apostolic
Congress on Mercy to be held
in Rome on April 2-6, 2008.
The event which was a legacy
of the late Paul John Paul II,
dubbed as the Pope of the Di-
vine Mercy had the theme: “The
Empowerment of the Poor with
First Mangyan Priest Ordained
IN a beautiful and solemn litur-
gical celebration, Fr. Gabayno
Oybad made his sacerdotal com-
mitment before Most Rev.
Warlito Cajandig, DD on April
17, 2007 at the Sto. Niño Cathe-
dral in Calapan, Oriental
Mindoro.
The 35-year old Oybad, who
belonged to the Hanunuo tribe,
was the first Mangyan to be or-
dained to the priesthood.
Replete with symbolisms, the
ordination of Oybad was high-
lighted by a meaningful gesture
of his parents handing him over
to the bishop. The gesture im-
plied that Oybad was being
given way to the service of the
Church. The bishop as Shepherd
accepted the gesture in the name
of the Church. The act of offer-
ing was sealed with the sound-
ing of gongs and thunderous
applause from the congregation.
Episcopal Commission on Bib-
lical Apostolate (ECBA) execu-
tive secretary Oscar Alunday,
SVD, who was present in the cel-
ebration, expressed elation in the
ordination of Oybad.
1st Columbian Squires Luzon Jamboree Set April 26-29
THE First Columbian Squires Luzon Jam-
boree will be held on April 26-29, 2007 in
Barangay Nangapungan, along the
Dipalo River in San Quintin,
Pangasinan.
This was formally announced by
Jamboree Director Dionisio
Magpantay, of the San Roque Council
13535 of Mandaluyong City and Virgilio
Mañalac, Jr., chairman, Columbian Squires,
Luzon Jurisdiction and State Chief, Squire
Carlo Emmanuel Fabros.
The event is hosted by the Roundtable District
of the Diocese of Urdaneta headed by Sir Knight
Ramon Castronuevo, District UO3 Deputy Sir
Knight Fernando Estrada, Jr., San Quintin Council
No. 12507 led by Grand Knight SK Amor Capillan
and San Roque Council 13535 of Mandaluyong City
led by Grand Knight/SK Gilber Yupangco.
THE newly elected officers of the KC Priest-Scholars Association: Fr. Rene Sapungan (Boac), President; Msgr. Yulito Asis
(Daet), Vice-President for Luzon ; Fr. Potenciano Dulay (Catarman), Vice-President for Visayas; Fr. Rodolfo Iran (Cotabato), Vice-
President for Mindanao; Fr. Benjo Fajota (Manila), Secretary; Fr. Joel Cariaso (Cabanatuan), Treasurer; Fr. Emmanuel Hipolito
(Pasig), Auditor; Fr. Rex Palaya (Caceres), Publications Committee Head; Fr. Rene Retardo (Tagum), Formation Committee
Head; and Fr. Salvador Banga (Pagadian), Scholarship Committee Chair.
CBCP Monitor
People, Facts & Places Vol. 11 No. 8
April 16-29, 2007
Mission through the Divine
Mercy Apostolate.”
The prelate said “if Jesus is to
be revealed as the merciful sav-
ior” to the majority of the poor
in Asia, then the Church must
strive to make the poor feel the
compassion of Christ not only
through preaching of the gos-
pel but also through concrete
works of mercy.
Meanwhile, Caritas Manila
Executive Director Fr. Anton T.
Pascual talked on the empow-
erment of the poor with the Di-
vine Mercy, stressing that hun-
ger and poverty in the country
can only be effectively ad-
dressed through economic em-
powerment by means of micro
finance cooperative.
The second day of the Con-
ference had MAPSA Superin-
tendent Msgr. Gerry Santos, Ed.
D. delivered a talk entitled “A
Mission of Love and Service in
http://reliquiarum.multiply.com
Asia,” while Bro. Victor
Pestaño spoke on the topic “Di-
vine Mercy, Not Only a Devo-
tion but A Way of Life.”
Divine Mercy Apostolate of
the Philippines (DMAP) Presi-
dent, Sr. Monina Tayamen,
OCDS, reported to the assem-
bly the different programs of
the Divine Mercy in Asia.” DMAP which are aimed at
A representative from Rome, helping the poor meet their ba-
Secretary General of the World sic needs such as food, liveli-
Apostolic Congress on Mercy, hood programs and healthcare.
Rev. Fr. Patrice Chocholski About 500 delegates coming
came to grace the two-day from all over the country came
event and spoke about the Ap- and participated in the two-day
ostolic Congress on Mercy to be congress. Other participants in-
held in 2008. cluded priests and nuns from
Other panel of speakers in- China, Indonesia, Thailand,
cluded Most Rev. Teodoro C. Taiwan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Bacani, Jr, DD who expounded Vietnam and Japan. (Pinky
on the topic “Ecclesia in Asia— Barrientos, FSP)
“It was a happy occasion and his seminary training at Saint Au-
a very memorable one. [Through gustine Seminary in Calapan and
this ordination], we have added Christ the King Mission Semi-
more colors and more music to nary in Quezon City where he
the liturgy of the Church,” says finished AB Philosophy. He en-
Alunday. tered Divine Word School of
Alunday, a Tingguian from Theology in Tagaytay for his
Abra, said the Church even up theological studies. Twice, he
to now considers the indigenous went out of seminary formation.
people (IP) as objects of evange- He became a teacher in Mangyan
lization. He believed that both Education Center. In 1997, he
IP’s and non-IP’s should be co- enrolled in Asian Social Institute
agents in evangelization stress- for a masteral degree in Pastoral
Markings
ing that it is a “challenge also for Sociology after which he became
the Filipino to know and dis- a volunteer of Samahan ng Pitong
cover our roots together.” Tribu (Kapulungan para sa Lupaing
“Because we were all indig- Ninuno). Briefly, he taught at Mt.
enous at one time but somehow Tabor Mangyan Education Cen-
you have forgotten much of your ter before going back definitively
own roots. So we try to discover to the seminary to finish his the-
together to enrich the Philippines ology. AWARDED. MOST degree from St. Paul Seminary and obtained
and the Church in a new way,” Although the first to become REV. FRANCISCO F. a degree in Theology from San Carlos Semi-
said Alunday. priest, Oybad was not the first CLAVER, SJ, DD, ap- nary in Makati City. He was ordained to the
The momentous event gath- Mangyan to commit a life of ostolic-vicar emeritus priesthood on March 21, 1982. Fr.Yntig is cur-
ered together various represen- service to God. About two of Bontoc Lagawe; rently the Director/General Manager of ST
tatives from the different years ago, a young woman with Fr. Neri Satur PAULS Diffusion.
Mangyan tribes as well as Clergy from the same tribe professed Award on Environ-
and Religious working in both her religious vows and became mental Heroism, April CELEBRATED.
parts of Mindoro. a member of the Sisters of the 18, 2007; at a workshop MSGR. TIRSO N.
Oybad, a product of an indig- Holy Spirit. (Pinky Barrientos, held at the Department ALCALA, DCS, 25th
enous system of education, took FSP) of Foreign Affairs for anniversary of sacer-
the worldwide observance of Earth Day. Bp. dotal ordination;
Claver was cited for his outstanding service April 20, 2007. Msgr.
in championing the cause of indigenous
peoples, their rights, and the survival of their
Alcala finished his
theology studies
The gathering has for its theme: “Squires, habitat, history and heritage. from the Regional
Young Christian Gentlemen—Commit- Major Seminary
ted in Faith and in Service”. CELEBRATED. (REMASE) in Davao and was ordained to the
The Columbian Squires is an inter- MOST REV. priesthood on April 20, 1982 at Siargao Island
national youth organization of the DINUALDO D. by Most Rev. Miguel C. Cinches, SVD. He at-
Knights of Columbus with 12,000 GUTIERREZ, DD, 68, tended renewal courses at SVD Nemi Re-
members all over Luzon. Invited also bishop of Marbel; 45th newal in Rome from April-August 1994, and
are representatives from the Visayas anniversary of sacer- CSsR Renewal Program in England from
and Mindanao jurisdictions including dotal ordination; April April-July 2001. Msgr. Alcala’s current assign-
the World Columbian Squires representa- 7, 2007. Born on Febru- ments are: Vicar General of the Diocese of
tives. ary 20, 1939 in Surigao, Oeconomus and Parish priest of Sta.
Expected to participate in this unprecedented Romblon, Bp. Cruz Parish, Placer, Surigao del Norte.
event are some 5,000 squires. The Council’s Grand Gutierrez finished his
Knight shall endorse participating Squires of the Philosophy and Theology studies at St. CELEBRATED.
registered circles, whose age ranges from 10 to 18 Vincent Ferrer Seminary in Jaro, Iloilo City. MSGR. PRESCILO
years, physically and mentally fit to undergo camp- He was ordained to the priesthood on April P. IRAL, DCS, 25th
ing activities. 7, 1962 at the Immaculate Conception Cathe- anniversary of sacer-
“Brother Knights are encouraged to register and dral in Roxas City. Bp. Gutierrez obtained his dotal ordination;
join the campaign”, said Magpantay. (CBCPNews) Bachelor’s degree in Sacred Theology (S.T.B.) April 23, 2007. Msgr.
and Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) at Iral graduated from
the Angelicum University in Rome in 1969, college at St. Peter
and Doctoral degree in Sacred Theology Seminary in
(S.T.D.), also at Angelicum in 1971. He was Ampayon, Butuan
ordained to the episcopacy on January 28, City. He finished his theology studies from
1981 at our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in the Regional Major Seminary (REMASE) in
Roxas City. Davao City. He was ordained to the priest-
hood on April 23, 1982 at St. Peter Claver Par-
CELEBRATED. REV. ish, Surigao del Norte by Most Rev. Miguel
FR. PABLO A. YNTIG, Cinches, SVD. Msgr. Iral taught at REMASE
SSP, 25th anniversary of for ten years. Currently, he is assigned as Pa-
ordination to the priest- rochial vicar of Cathedral Parish in Surigao
hood, March 25, 2007. City; at the same time the Episcopal Vicar for
Born on February 1, 1952 the Youth.
in Balamban, Cebu, Fr.
Yntig entered the congre- PASSED TO ETERNAL
gation of the Pious Soci- REWARD. Rev. Fr. Levi
ety of St. Paul, an Insti- Garcia, Diocese of
tute of religious men founded by Blessed Dipolog, April 15, 2007; S.
James Alberione; on June 22, 1972. He finished Ma. Domingo S. Palanca,
his Philosophy and Mass Communications RVM, April 17, 2007.