•A3 Pope’s message for

2010 World Peace Day

•B1 Values Involved
in a Financial
•C1 UGNAYAN
The News Supplement
to focus on environment Crisis of Couples for Christ

Archbishop to warring www.cbcpnews.com cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net Bishop calls aerial

parties: ‘Enough is enough!’ spraying ‘inhuman’
COTABATO Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, AN official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference
OMI strongly condemned the methods being of the Philippines has joined the growing chorus
used by warring parties in his ecclesial province against aerial crop spraying in Davao del Sur.
which covers the troubled Maguindanao and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo
Sultan Kudarat provinces and several towns said aerial spraying is a moral issue because it
of Northern Cotabato. degrades the dignity of the people.
In his statement titled “Open Appeal for Bananas are the second most abundant exported
Peace and For Our Evacuees” and released in crop in the Philippines. The island of Mindanao
time for the SOBA – State of the Bakwits Ad-
dress (State of the Evacuees Address) at the
Protagonist of Truth, Promoter of Peace produces 75 percent of the country’s yield.
Philippine Banana Growers and Exporters
Notre Dame University in Cotabato City, the Association (PGBEA) claimed that the aerial
prelate said he respects the warring parties’ spraying ban will cause substantial economic
Enough / A7
August 3 - 16, 2009 Vol. 13 No. 16 Php 20.00 Spraying / A6

Nation mourns for loss of

moral icon By Kris Bayos
WITH the demise of former
President Corazon Aquino,
the country has lost one of
its moral forces, the Catholic
hierarchy said.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines hailed Mrs. Aquino and
her husband, the late Senator Benigno
“Ninoy” Aquino for their courageous
commitment to the freedom of the Fili-
pino people.
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, CBCP
president, said no couple in Philippine
history has had a great positive impact
than the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy”
Aquino, Jr. and his wife, former Presi-
dent Corazon “Cory” Aquino.
The couple might not be the most
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
couple’s sacrifices like Mrs. Aquino’s
17-month ordeal with colon cancer, be-
fore succumbing to cardio-respiratory
arrest on August 1.
“At the most crucial stage of our
country’s history, President Cory and
Ninoy were there to become the symbol
of reformation and transformation our
country has long for,” Lagdameo said.
“She was there not only to start the
movement of renewal and reform (be-
cause her example remained with) her
successors who tried to continue what
she began.”
“(Just recently) undergoing the pain-
ful ordeal with cancer, President Cory
had found a new meaning to the phrase
‘the Filipino people is worth dying for’
through her sickness that pinned her to
her hospital bed,” he added.

astute political leaders, but Lagdameo
said they are not liars like many of the
traditional politicians.
Their idealism, moral values, strong
faith in God, plus Cory’s unique na-
tional and international stature as a
freedom fighter make them a positive
FAREWELL, PRESIDENT CORY. Catholic nuns gather around the casket of the late former President Corazon Aquino at the Manila Cathedral on moral force, he said.
August 3. Until her last breath, the former president talks about politics in moral and religious terms. Aquino’s death has left a void in the hearts of
many Filipinos in search of a leader steeped in moral values and truly committed in serving others.
The CBCP head lauded the Aquino
A known critic of the incumbent ad-
ministration, Lagdameo recounted the
legacy Mrs. Aquino’s administration
has left the country.
“After six years, President Cory will-
ingly and readily turned over the gov-
ernment to her successor. She rejected
the temptation to extend her stay in
Moral icon / A6

Asian bishops to tackle challenges of evangelization

SCORES of bishops from across Asia are to meet
in Manila to review obstacles and problems they
face in their ministry, and to deliberate how they
could get over it.
About 120 Asian archbishops and bishops, seven
of them cardinals, are expected to address these
concerns during a week-long plenary assembly of
the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences.
Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, FABC
secretary general, said they will put evangeliza-
can see the necessity of collaboration among our
Episcopal conferences,” said the prelate who is
presently Archbishop of Cotabato.
Eucharist
Quevedo also said the expected participants are
currently considering the working document on
“Living the Eucharist in Asia,” which is based in
recent church teachings on the topic.
It also mirrors on Asia’s particular living of
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

tion as their centerpiece during the meeting at
the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center in Paco, Manila
from Aug. 10 to 16.
He said the delegates will certainly be discuss-
ing the challenges facing the evangelization of
their regions and find ways to accomplish their
mission.
In a continent where Christianity is a “very
small” minority religion, Quevedo said working
together among them as church leaders is very
important.
“It is important that we together collaborate in a
context that is very much interreligious, intercul-
tural and, third, because of the massive poverty,”
he said during a press briefing Friday.
“From these three commonalities alone one
the Eucharist, as “a unique experience of God’s
dialogue with us and our response to God as a
dialogue of life and love.”
The document deals with the subtopics of living
in community, in faith, hope and love, and living
in mission.
Other concerns FABC secretary-general and Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo gives a press briefing on the forthcoming Asian bishops’
plenary assembly on Aug. 11-16 at Pope Pius XII Center in Manila.
Aside from the main topic about Eucharist, the
FABC official said the floor is also open for other He said common issues in Asia like migration, The Manila assembly follows the last plenary on
“urgent concerns” which may not necessarily be social justice, and ecology including the religious the role of family in Asia in Daejon, Korea in 2004.
on the program. side could also be discussed. Plenary assemblies, the highest governing body of
“Maybe some bishops would want to talk about “But these are not in the agenda. We just want the Federation, are held once every four years.
the problems of the church in other countries. It’s to contextualize the living of the Eucharist in Asia This year’s assembly was planned originally for
listed in the agenda but we give them freedom not and the living of the Eucharist would address some January 2009 in Bangalore, India but later post-
to say,” Quevedo added. the particular issues,” he said. poned and transferred to Manila. (CBCPNews)

Pope sends condolences to Aquino family Many priests being urged to run in
HIS Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has
extended his heartfelt condolences
and assurances of his prayers to the
family of former President Corazon
C. Aquino and the Philippine gov-
ernment.
In a communiqué sent to Manila
Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal
Rosales by the Vatican Secretary of
State His Eminence Tarcisio Bertone,
the Holy Father recalled President
Aquino’s “courageous commitment
to the freedom of the Filipino people,
her firm rejection of violence and intol-
erance, and her contribution to the re-
building of a just and cohesive political
order in her beloved homeland.”
“His Holiness commends her noble
soul to the eternal mercies of God our
heavenly father,” Cardinal Bertone
said.
The Secretary of State further said
the Holy Father “remembers her as a
woman of deep and unwavering faith
and thus he prays that the same faith
and hope which guided her life will
now come to abundant fulfilment.”
2010—CBCP official
“Invoking upon all the Filipino MANY priests are being pushed to run for public office in the forthcoming national
people an outpouring of divine graces, elections, a Catholic Church official affirmed recently.
the Holy Father cordially imparts his Fr. Francis Lucas said some of them are almost enticed to enter politics because of
apostolic blessing to all taking part intense pressure from the parishioners seeking for reform in governance.
in the Mass of Christian burial, as a Lucas, who is a commission executive secretary in the Catholic Bishops’ Confer-
pledge of consolation, strength and ence of the Philippines, said that for these priests, their decision provides the people
peace in our Lord Jesus Christ,” the a better choice.
Secretary of State concluded. (Melo He said the current situation in the Philippines is the primary reason why people
M. Acuna) resort to church leaders to serve for them.
And the complaint, he said, is valid.
If one will look at the kinds of candidates who ran for public office, he said, many of

Prelate asks Filipino youth to help them belong to political dynasties, scion of rich families and other popular figures.
Another reason why many people want priests in public office is the belief, Lucas
said, that they can provide a better leadership for the upliftment of the country.

promote Asian Youth Day
ALTHOUGH the fifth Asian Youth Day (AYD5) this Novem-
ber will only be open to a small delegation, Masbate Bishop
Joel Baylon said youth groups from the diocesan and paro-
chial levels can still partake in the celebration by helping in
the promotion of the event.
The chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Youth
(ECY), Baylon disclosed that this year’s gathering of Asia’s
Catholic youth is only eyeing at least 2,000 delegates, half of
which will come from 22 countries of the continent and the
remaining half will be filled by local delegates.
“We are hoping to have with us at least 2,000 delegates. This
is quite a small number [because] we have decided that this
Needless to say, according to Lucas, the country is really in a sad state.
Lucas also admitted that he himself is one of those priests who are being urged to
run for a local post in the 2010 elections.
He said a lot of people in Infanta, Quezon have been trying to convince him for
Earlier, the AYD5 Media and Promotions Team has dis- many years to run for mayor there.
tributed an AYD5 Diocesan Promotion and Information “I saw their point. We priests, we keep on looking for alternatives, pushing
Kit, which contains the AYD5’s posters, banners, logo, and for principles that are good for the people.
audio-visual presentation for posting and viewing at the So they said why don’t we just
different parishes. run? But I said, as priests,
“These materials are being sent to the dioceses to help we are not allowed to run for
them set up exhibits that will truly help the youth to be more public office based on Canon
informed about AYD5. It will also make all Filipino youth be Law,” added Lucas.
one in our efforts and prayers as we continue to prepare for To help him decide whether
the gathering,” the prelate added. to leave the priesthood or not,
Sponsored by the Federation of Asian Bishops Confer- Lucas asked for a “sign from
ences, the CBCP-ECY and the Diocese of Imus, the AYD5 God” and this he got last June
Illustration by Bladimer Usi

event should not be a youth day [dominated by] the Filipinos. will be held at the Rogationist College of Silang, Cavite from when he was appointed ex-
This must have an Asian character,” he said. November 20 to 27. The week-long gathering is themed ecutive secretary of the CBCP’s
Given the limited number of participants, Baylon urged “Yasia Fiesta: Come Together, Share the Word, Live the Commission on Social Communi-
the youth interested to attend the AYD to instead bring the Eucharist!” cations and Mass Media.
spirit of AYD in their respective diocese and parishes by The Asian Youth Days began in Thailand in 1999, and the “I told them since you are pushing
putting up exhibits. most recent was held in Hong Kong in 2006. (Kris Bayos) Run / A6
 World News
CBCP Monitor
A2 Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Pope instructs envoy for

FABC meeting VATICAN, August 3, 2009—Pope Benedict
XVI has instructed his envoy to the upcom-
ing Federation of Asian Bishops’ Confer-
ences meeting to ask the prelates to encour-
age Catholics to attend Sunday Mass, go for
Confession and draw spiritual nourishment
from the Scriptures.
He has also asked the envoy, Cardinal
Francis Arinze, a senior African prelate,
to encourage the bishops to support their
priests, especially during this special Year
for Priests.
The Pope officially designated Cardinal
Arinze as his special representative to the
FABC’s 9th plenary assembly on June 13,
the Vatican said, when it released the Pope’s
letter to the cardinal on Aug. 1.
In sending the letter dated June 24, Pope
Benedict followed a long-standing tradition
whereby the pontiff conveys his instructions
in Latin to his personal envoys attending
major events.
In the two-page letter, the pontiff said
he knows that “all the bishops of Asia” are
keen that their faithful “should understand
Cardinal Francis Arinze and love the Eucharist,” and for this reason
they decided to discuss the theme, “Living
the Eucharist in Asia” at their plenary as-
sembly. The event is to be held Aug. 11-16
in Manila.
The Pope noted that for their deliberations,
the bishops are “also drawing inspiration”
from “Sacramentum Caritatis” (“Sacrament
of Charity”), the apostolic exhortation he is-
sued after the October 2005 Synod of Bishops
on the Eucharist.
He revealed that the FABC had asked him
to send “an eminent prelate as his personal
envoy” to the meeting.
The Pope said he concluded that Cardi-
nal Arinze was the most “suitable” person
because of his “great concern” for “the
good of souls” and for “the full celebra-
tion of the divine worship in the rite the
Church.”
Outlining his message to the assembly, the
Pope said he wanted “all the pastors (of Asia)
to teach their Christian lay faithful” that they
should “participate” in the celebration of the
Sunday Eucharist, receive the Sacrament of
Reconciliation, and draw nourishment for
their lives from the Sacred Scriptures and
from the Eucharist.
He said he also wished to exhort the Asian
bishops to support their priests, “who are
chosen by God and constituted as ministers
of the Eucharist.” The bishops are to do
so “through prayer and sacrifices” so that
priests “may remain faithful to the sublime
mystery of their vocation.” The Pope wanted
the bishops to do this particularly at this time
when the whole Church is celebrating the
Year for Priests.
Cardinal Arinze, 76, is the most prominent
African cardinal. When he was appointed
bishop of Onitsha in Nigeria by Pope Paul VI
in August 1965 at the age of 32, he was then
the youngest bishop in the world.
Some years later, he was elected president
of the Nigerian bishops’ conference, and
in that role welcomed Pope John Paul II to
Africa in 1982.
In 2002, the same Pope appointed him as
prefect of the Congregation for Divine Wor-
ship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, a
post he held until last December when Pope
Benedict accepted his resignation, as he had
passed the age for retirement. (UCAN)

Pope to send clergy Congregation Prefect to Ars

ARS, France, July 31, 2009—Cardinal
Claudio Hummes will represent Bene-
dict XVI at celebrations in Ars on the
feast of John Vianney, the saint the Holy
Father has proposed as the model for
this Year for Priests.
The prefect of the Congregation for
Clergy will be the papal legate for the
Aug. 4 Mass in the town where John
Vianney practiced his ministry.
The celebration this year marks the
150th anniversary of John Vianney’s
death; the Year for Priests is marking
that anniversary and a jubilee year in
Ars has also celebrated the event.
The sanctuary will have two days
of celebration. On Aug. 3, Father Jean-
Philippe Nault, rector of the sanctuary,
will give a conference titled: “The Cure
d’Ars: Holy Patron of the World’s
Priests.” Later that day, Bishop Guy
Bagnard of Belley-Ars will give a talk on
the Year for Priests. A Mass will then be
celebrated to pray for priestly vocations,
and a prayer vigil with confessions will
follow.
Cardinal Hummes will celebrate
Mass the next day. At the end of Mass,
there will be adoration of the Blessed
Sacrament, and the closing event will
be the unveiling of a new statue of St.
John Vianney.
In the June 16 letter by which Benedict
XVI proclaimed the Year for Priests, the
Pope reflected on the life of the saint
of Ars.
“Saint John Mary Vianney taught
his parishioners primarily by the wit-
ness of his life,” he wrote. “It was from
his example that they learned to pray,

Catholics to honor St. John Vianney 150 years after his death
ON Tuesday, August 4, the Church will celebrate the feast day of St. John Vian-
ney, patron of priests. This day will mark the 150th anniversary of the saint’s
death and comes during the newly-begun Year for Priests.
John Vianney, also known as the Holy Curé de Ars, was born May 8, 1786 in
Dardilly, near Lyon, France to a family of farmers. He was ordained a priest in
1815 and became curate in Ecully. He was then sent to the remote French com-
ted to the conversion of the people, he would spend up to 16 hours a day in the
confessional.
Plagued by many trials and besieged by the devil, St. John Vianney remained
firm in his faith, and lived a life of devotion to God. Dedicated to the Blessed
Sacrament, he spent much time in prayer and practiced much mortification. He
lived on little food and sleep, while working without rest in unfailing humility,

© www.spiegel.de
munity of Ars in 1818 to be a parish priest. gentleness, patience and cheerfulness, until he was well into his 70s.
Upon his arrival, the priest immediately began praying and working for the John Vianney died on August 4, 1859. Over 1,000 people attended his funeral,
conversion of his parishioners. Although he saw himself as unworthy of his including the bishop and priests of the diocese, who already viewed his life as
mission as pastor, he allowed himself to be consumed by the love of God as he a model of priestly holiness. Cardinal Claudio Hummes
served the people. The Holy Curé of Ars was canonized by Pope Pius XI in 1925. He is the patron
Vianney slowly helped to revive the community’s faith through both his of priests. Over 450,000 pilgrims travel to Ars every year in remembrance of halting frequently before the tabernacle
prayers and the witness of his lifestyle. He gave powerful homilies on the mercy his holy life. for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacra-
and love of God, and it is said that even staunch sinners were converted upon Commemorating the 150th anniversary of St. John Vianney’s death, this year ment.”
hearing him. In addition, he restored his church, formed an orphanage, “La has been declared the Year for Priests by Pope Benedict XVI. The Pope inaugu- And, he added, it was the saint’s
Providence,” and cared for the poor. rated the Year for Priests on June 19, and wrote a Letter to Clergy, encouraging “deep personal identification with the
His reputation as a confessor grew rapidly, and pilgrims traveled from all all priests to look to the Curé of Ars as an example of dedication to one’s priestly sacrifice of the cross [that] led him—by a
over France to come to him in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Firmly commit- calling. (CNA) sole inward movement—from the altar
to the confessional.” (Zenit)

Archbishop Gomez: Caritas In Veritate a ‘valuable Catholic priests receive

contribution’ that requires a thorough read
SAN ANTONIO, Texas, August 1, 2009—In
his newest column, Archbishop of San An-
tonio José H. Gomez has discussed Pope
Benedict XVI’s latest encyclical “Caritas In
Veritate.” Highlighting some of its main
points, he exhorted all Catholics to read this
“valuable contribution” to Catholic social
doctrine, since it cannot be captured by
media sound-bites.
Writing in his column for his archdioc-
esan newspaper Today’s Catholic, Arch-
death threats
center, a progress that “cannot be limited
to material success.”
He linked Caritas In Veritate with Pope
Paul VI’s 1967 encyclical Populorum
Progressio, which said wise reflection
and a “new humanism” are even more
necessary than technical experts to help
people enjoy love, friendship, prayer and
contemplation.
Archbishop Gomez then mentioned his
third point, saying that Catholic social doc-
© www.donboscoindia.com

bishop Gomez said Caritas In Veritate is
“not only a true source of guidance for all
Catholics, but it is also a valuable contri-
bution to the building of the fundamental
structure of society that is the social doctrine
of the Church.”
Neither the secular media nor supporters
of different economic theories have given
a “proper interpretation” of the encyclical,
he wrote.
“Some have tried to find in the Pope’s
third encyclical a reaffirmation of their own
ideological and political tendencies, others,
including some journalists who, in good
faith, have only reported on selected prin-
ciples in the encyclical in a way that makes
it sound more like ‘news’, linking it to some
fleeting events.”
However, the encyclical is best understood
“in the full context of the social doctrine of
the Church,” Archbishop Gomez said.
“I believe that each Catholic should read it,
ponder it, and live it,” he wrote, highlighting
five points.
First, he remarked, it is important to know
that the Church has a “social doctrine,” a set
of proposals for the organization of public
life that emanate from Christian charity
under the governance of truth.
The second point that the archbishop
drew from the Pope’s encyclical was that
Catholic social doctrine places the human
person and his “true development” at its
trine cannot be separated from the defense
of the right to life and the “explicit proclama-
tion” of the Gospel.
The fourth insight the archbishop noted
was that “all the aspects of the contemporary
world, such as globalization or the acceler-
ated development of technology, can and
should be analyzed and judged from the
foundation of Faith and reason, to promote
what is good and to prevent what is harmful
to human beings.”
Finally, the San Antonio archbishop em-
phasized that Christians have the right and
the duty to take the Gospel to the public
sphere because “the building of a world
without God necessarily leads to the build-
ing of systems that go against the human
person.” (CNA)
KATHMANDU, Nepal, August 3, 2009—Many Catholic priests
have received grave threats from unknown callers claiming to
be Hindu fundamentalists, urging them to leave the country “as
soon as possible”.
Fr. Pius Perumana, who runs the Vianney pastoral centre in
Godavari, told AsiaNews that in recent days strangers called
him on the phone and told him that he had “a month to leave
Nepal if I did not want to face grave consequences.”
The priest filed a complaint against person unknown but
the authorities did not provide any protection to the pastoral
centre.
The unknown voice said that he belonged to the Nepal Defence
Army, an extremist Hindu group headed by one R.K. Mainali,

Christian leaders seek peace following deadly rioting
GOJRA, Pakistan, August 3,
2009—Church people have
formed a committee to bring
peace to a troubled district in
Punjab province after seven
Catholics were burnt alive and
19 others injured in anti-Chris-
tian rioting on Aug. 1.
The violence came in the wake
of an attack on the nearby Chris-
tian village of Korian on July 30.
Tension between the Christian
and Muslim communities in the
Korian area arose after pages
containing Islamic inscriptions
were found in front of a Chris-
tian home on July 26 following a
wedding. Muslims then accused
a family there of blasphemy
against Islam. About 60 houses
and two churches belonging to
the Church of Pakistan and the
New Apostolic Church were de-
stroyed and livestock stolen.
In the latest incident, families
of the deceased, who included
two children and three women,
placed the coffins on railway
tracks in protest, disrupting
traffic for four hours on Aug.
2. Hundreds of Christians also
staged protests led by Bishop
Joseph Coutts of Faisalabad. He
and a Protestant bishop later
presided at the funerals.
The Catholic Church has
formed a committee compris-
ing two bishops, three Catholic
priests and several councilors,
who are meeting politicians
and Muslim clerics to stop any
further violence.
“Christians in many surrounding
villages and towns (near Korian)
began receiving threats as mullah
(Muslim clerics) began preaching
hatred and revenge,” wrote Bishop
Coutts in an Aug. 3 email to Church
people across the world.
“There are indications that
the attack on Korian as well as
on Gojra was planned and the
people instigated by a banned
Islamic group which wants to
‘purify’ Pakistan by making it a
strictly Islamic, theocratic state.
Democracy is rejected as some-
thing Western and un-Islamic,”
the bishop said. He also stated that
the group wanted non-Muslims to
“either convert to Islam or leave
the place.” He added, “They want
a sort of religious cleansing.”
Archbishop Lawrence John
Saldanha, head of the Catholic
Church in Pakistan and chairper-
son of the National Commission
for Justice and Peace (NCJP) has
also called upon all Christian insti-
tutions in Punjab to close for three
days to mourn the killings.
A statement by the archbishop
and Peter Jacob, NCJP’s execu-
tive secretary, demanded that
the government address the root
causes of religious intolerance in
Pakistan. “This is not a solitary
incident but a phenomenon that
has been there for quite some
time,” it said. (UCAN)
who is a suspect in the murder of Fr. John Prakash and the
bombing of the Church of the Assumption in Kathmandu on 23
May. A woman member of the group was arrested in connection
with the blast.
Fr. Benjamin Pampackel, superior at the Don Bosco School
in Lubhu, also received a threatening night time phone call on
20 July.
The gatekeeper who was on duty that night picked up the
phone and was told that anyone in the service of Christians
could lose his life.
Fr. Lawrence Manivar, who works at the St. Xavier School,
told AsiaNews that a stranger claiming to be from the Nepal
Defence Army “warned me either to leave Nepal or face death”.
The clergyman added that the caller told him that they wanted
“Nepal to be Hindu and all Christians to be chased away.”
Chirendra Satyal with the Catholic Media Office said that “we
don’t know who the callers are” but added that they should not
be underestimated.
Msgr. Anthony Sharma, vicar apostolic of Nepal and titular
bishop of Gigthi, urges prudence. He said that he had not re-
ceived any threats but that each incident was being reported to
the authorities. (AsiaNews)
 News Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
A3

Pope’s message for 2010 World

Peace Day to focus on environment

© uptownandreabrown.wordpress.com
© www.global-changes.com

VATICAN, July 29, 2009—Pope Benedict XVI will focus on the
connection between protecting the environment and working for
peace in the message he will publish for World Peace Day in 2010,
the Vatican said.
The theme the pope has chosen for the Jan. 1 celebration is "If
You Want to Cultivate Peace, Safeguard Creation," the Vatican an-
nounced July 29.
The Vatican said the pope intends to discuss the fact that in a
globalized world there is a strict connection between protecting the
environment and promoting peace.
"The use of resources, climate change, the application and use of
biotechnologies (and) demographic growth" are all issues that can
have repercussions across national borders for generations to come,
the statement said.
The papal message will underline the fact that protecting the
natural environment is a challenge all people must face together,
recognizing they have an obligation to respect a gift God created
for all, it said.
Pope Benedict also wants to emphasize how the "current eco-
logical crisis" is impacting the entire world and, therefore, requires
international action to resolve, it said.
"If one wants to cultivate the good of peace, in fact, one must
promote a renewed awareness of the interdependence that links the
earth's inhabitants to one another," the Vatican statement said.
Together people must preserve and restore the natural environ-
ment, eliminating at least some of the causes of environmental
disasters, it said.
The Vatican statement said Pope Benedict intends his World Peace
Day message to be a further development of the four paragraphs
on the environment included in his encyclical "Caritas in Veritate"
("Charity in Truth").
In his encyclical, published in early July, Pope Benedict said, "The
environment is God's gift to everyone, and in our use of it we have
a responsibility toward the poor, toward future generations and
toward humanity as a whole."
While the encyclical focused on development, and therefore dis-
cussed the need to share natural resources equitably and not exploit
those found in poor countries, it also insisted there is a connection
between environmental protection and peace.
"The stockpiling of natural resources, which in many cases are
found in the poor countries themselves, gives rise to exploitation
and frequent conflicts between and within nations. These conflicts
are often fought on the soil of those same countries, with a heavy toll
of death, destruction and further decay," the encyclical said.
Pope Benedict's message for the World Day of Peace in 2008, which
focused on the family and on the world's population as forming one
human family, also included a section on the obligation to protect
the environment. (CNS)

RU-486 is abortifacient and the Church Cardinal Bertone

rejects it, Vatican official says
ROME, July 31, 2009—The president of the Pontifi-
cal Academy for Life, Archbishop Rino Fisichella,
on Friday lamented the decision by Italy’s govern-
ment to allow the distribution of RU-486, which is
a drug that aborts a developing child. The Church
will never accept it, he said.
In an article published by L’Osservatore Ro-
mano, the archbishop pointed to the urgency of
defending human life from conception to natural
death, an issue addressed by Pope Benedict XVI
in his new encyclical Caritas in Veritate.
Archbishop Fisichella also warned that “whether
the use of this pill is less traumatic than undergo-
ing an operation [surgical abortion] has yet to be
demonstrated. The initial trauma occurs when the
pregnancy is not accepted and what must be done
is to intervene and help the woman understand the
value of unborn life.”
The embryo, he went on, “is not a mass of cells
or a ‘thing,’ as some have defined it. It is a true
and complete human life. No one can be allowed
to kill it without fully understanding the conse- Archbishop Rino Fisichella
quences.”
After noting that the drug is just another method for obtaining an abor-
tion, the archbishop underscored that this anti-life practice “is an evil in and
offers encyclical
as response
of itself because it takes a human life. This life,
which is only visible through the assistance of
technology, possesses the same dignity inherent
in every person.”
to society’s
For this reason, he added, “the respect due the
embryo cannot be less than that that is given to
every person walking down the street, and it de-
challenges
mands to be accepted for what it is: a person.”
The Church “can never be passive to what is
happening in society,” Fisichella stated. “She is
called to always make present the proclamation
of life that has enabled her to be throughout the
centuries a tangible sign of the respect for the
dignity of the person.”
The task of forming consciences for the defense
of life and human dignity not only entails a com-
mitment from every person but also demands that
one speak out and be convincing, he explained.
“The Church’s opposition to all methods of
abortion is a 'yes' to life and everything that it
entails,” he added.
In concluding his message, the archbishop called
for better formation of young people in the defense of life, and that they be
encouraged to embrace a correct understanding of sexuality, affection, and
love, “rather than succumbing to worry, anxiety and distress.” (CNA)

Filipinos, Australians denounce Oldest workers’ group seeks

‘destructive’ mining in RP party-list accreditation
MANILA, July 30, 2009— The Federation of
Free Workers (FFW), one of the oldest existing
© clericalwhispers.blogspot.com
Contributed photo

labor federations in the country, has decided

MELBOURNE, Australia, July
24, 2009— Filipino and Aus-
tralian environmental activists
jointly condemned the "destruc-
tive" mining practices in the Phil-
ippines advocated by Australian
companies in a protest that was
simultaneously done in other
parts of world.
Activists unfurled banners
of protests on a bridge along
Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway,
July 22, denouncing open-cut
mining in the Philippines with
words, “Open-cut mining scars
the Earth, No to Roxby Expan-
sion” and “Philippines: Yes to
Food, No to Mining.”
The protest was also staged in
Mexico, Philippines and Canada
by members of Friends of the
Earth International.
An anti-mining alliance of
various groups and organizations
called Mining Action Philippines-
Australia (MAP-Oz), joined
Friends of the Earth-Melbourne
(FoE) in a Global Day of Action
against open-pit mining.
MAP-Oz convenor and Aly-
ansa Tigil Mina (ATM) officer
Rodne Galicha denounced the
trampling of human rights and
reckless ecological destruction
caused by mining.
“Despite wanton environmen-
tal degradation, human rights vi-
olations and indigenous peoples’
rights abuses, Philippine and
Australian companies continue
to connive with the government
to exploit our natural resources,”
Galicha, in a media release sent
to CBCPNews, said.
Citing Philippine govern-
ment’s failure to protect the
people’s right to a sustainable
livelihood and safe environment,
Galicha further accused the gov-
ernment of implementing laws
that favor mining companies.
“The Philippine government
still denies these abuses and viola-
tions, and continues to harmonize
environmental policies in favor
of the mining law, thus mining
licenses are being given immedi-
ately without genuine consulta-
tion and consent from communi-
ties,” Galicha said, adding:
“Open-pit mining has been
promoted and causes wide-
spread deforestation and land
use conversion that causes 20 to
25 percent of carbon emissions
that cause climate change. We
never learned our lesson,” he
lamented.
In the same media release
posted on MAP-oz blog, Austra-
lian Mia Pepper, an FoE mem-
ber, said Australians should be
conscious of real issues behind
anti-mining advocacies in the
Philippines.
“Australians should be aware
of mining companies like BHP
Billiton which put a protected
area in danger, Indophil/Xstrata
which is continuously being op-
posed, Central Gold Asia facing
opposition everyday in Masbate,
OceanaGold challenged by the
local government of Nueva Viz-
caya for tax issues and opposed
by the indigenous communi-
ties, Pelican Resources with its
Filipino partner that caused the
murder of a local official, Roy-
alco creating divisions among
indigenous peoples, and the list
still continues,” Pepper said.
The environmentalist criticized
Australian investors for exploit-
ing people and resources in pur-
suit of their own convenience.
“Through AusAID, we help
the Filipinos, but our fellow
Australians with mining invest-
ments take the opportunity of
exploiting their resources and
these poor people in the villages
where some of our aid go are
being displaced, abused and
sometimes their lives at stake.
Australians should avoid expe-
diency,” she stressed.
MAP-Oz is a newly-formed
alliance of various Filipino and
Australian groups and organi-
zations. The group monitors,
assesses, evaluates and exposes
various environmental, human
and indigenous peoples’ rights
issues of Australian mining com-
panies in the Philippines. (Pinky
Barrientos, FSP)
to take part in politics after years of absten-
tion by filing for accreditation in the 2010
party-list polls at the Commission on Elections
yesterday.
“As a primary economic driving force, there is
a real need for lowly workers to be represented
and their voices be heard in Congress,” said Al- Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
lan Montaño, National President of the FFW.
Affiliates and members of the FFW have
VATICAN, July 28, 2009—The Italian Senate took
registered with the COMELEC under the name time on Tuesday to hear about a topic not usually
“Free Workers”, which will be known by the
on their agenda—a papal encyclical. Cardinal
same acronym, FFW. Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s Secretary of State,
FFW, the labor federation, has been in ex-
addressed the senators about “Caritas in Veritate”
istence since 1950. It was officially registered and how it can help them respond to the “ethical,
and issued a certificate of registration by the
cultural and social challenges of today.”
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) The speech by Cardinal Bertone was delivered at
in November 19, 1956.
the invitation of the president of the Italian Senate
FFW has been actively involved in many on Thursday morning.
tripartite bodies in the country, particularly on
Cardinal Bertone highlighted some of the an-
issues involving labor-management relations. thropological and theological aspects of the Pope’s
It has consistently represented workers for 50
latest encyclical, which is devoted to encouraging
years now, as part of the Philippine Tripartite countries to promote the true development of man,
Delegation to the International Labor Confer-
a development that encompasses the material,
ence of the International Labor Organization spiritual and moral arenas.
(ILO) held each year in the month of June in
The Secretary of State also recalled that in 2004
Geneva, Switzerland. the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had given a
One of the main platforms of government by
“lectio magistralis” in the Senate library on the
the FFW is the promotion of Decent Work. theme: “Europe. Its spiritual roots, yesterday,
“While they are most in numbers, the labor
today and tomorrow.” On that occasion, he re-
sector has not been truly represented in Con- minded, the future Pontiff had focused on certain
gress these days”, Montaño stressed.
themes that are now contained in his third En-
“We, therefore, need representatives that cyclical, such as “the affirmation of the profound
have the capacity and would genuinely repre-
reasons behind the dignity of individuals and their
sent the interest of workers in the legislature,” rights,” and marriage and the family as elements
Montaño said.
that have forged European identity.
“This role can best be served by the FFW The cardinal said that he believes the represen-
representatives in Congress once given the
tatives of the Italian people will find the Pope’s
mandate,” he added. words to be “an exalted and profound source
The FFW has historical ties with the Catholic
of inspiration when carrying out their mission.”
Church having been established by a Jesuit Hopefully, the encyclical will enable them to
priest and a group of idealistic youth almost
respond “adequately to the ethical, cultural and
60 years ago. (Julius Cainglet) social challenges of today.” (CNA)
A4 Opinion CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

EDITORIAL

The makings of a heroic icon

AGAINST the backdrop of a sullied political dispensation of
the present and an equally murky conjugal regime of a haunting
past, there maybe no mistaking to the observation of CBCP
President and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that no couple
in Philippines history has had a greater positive impact than the
late Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr. and his wife, former President
Corazon Aquino.
Both of them have lived and believed that “the Filipino is worth
dying for”.
And that comes so nostalgic and endearing for both the masses
and the literati especially in the face of an exact antithesis where
thousands of Filipinos are dying of adversity because their leaders
have not valued their worth and where the value of the common
good is totally eclipsed by selfish if greedy pursuits. Indeed, there
is not any dearth of leaders around here today with greater negative
impact on the Filipino than what we all have in mind.
That was the reason why Filipinos spontaneously got to their feet
in hundreds of thousands to accompany Cory’s funeral march in
Manila, in their own provinces at requiem masses in churches and
even in several Filipino communities abroad—comparable only
in dignity and meaning to the one of her husband’s in August of
1983; and that of Mother Theresa in July of 1997 and Mahatma
Gandhi in February of 1948.
That was the reason, too, why the Church of Manila opened the
doors of the Metropolitan Cathedral for Cory’s wake—a fitting

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

privilege reserved only for the Archbishops of the Archdiocese
being shepherds willing to die for their flock.
“More than an icon of democracy Cory was and is to me my
personal symbol of Inang Bayan, our beloved Motherland,” said
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo.
“As a President, she demonstrated to all of us the clear example
of how to live beyond oneself, how to hold sacrifice as the raison
d’être of accepting to assume the presidency of a ruined country,
inspite of her repeated confession that it was an office to which she
was not born for,” according to Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi.
“Selfless giving was her one great promise, and she fulfilled
it not only when she took power at EDSA, not only when she
governed us for six years, but most importantly, at the peaceful
transfer of power from her to the next duly elected president in
1992…Today, selfless giving is a pipe dream. Today, shameless
self-promotion is the order of the day,” so said Ricardo Cardinal
Vidal in his homily.
“Former President Corazon C. Aquino showed everyone that it is
possible to be a Catholic, a Filipino and a politician and remain
incorruptible,” said Bishop Francisco Claver.
For Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Cory Aquino was not just
the president that gave back to the Filipinos their freedom and
democracy, she “was both president and icon of what an authentic,
truthful and honest leader was to a people whose long experience
was to look for a guide who would lead them out of history’s
cruel political disarray.”
Without sounding too simplistic, the roadmap to a respectable and
progressive Philippines is right at the characters of both Cory and
Ninoy. All that a Filipino has to do is hold firm to his ballot in
2010 and in succeeding elections and pick out the candidates that
fit the mold. But if only it could be as easy as saying so.
Francisco F. Claver, SJ
Afterthoughts
HOW should the Church deal with a government that is failing in its
obligations towards its citizens? Or, the contrary, that is doing right
by them? (By “Church”, I don’t mean just the bishops and clergy but
all of us who profess its faith.)
The answer many of us gave during the dictatorial regime of Presi-
dent Marcos was critical collaboration/opposition. It was what carried us
through the darkest moments of those dark times. The term was first
used by the AMRSP (the Association of Major Religious Superiors of
the Philippines) practically from the very beginning of martial law.
(It was later adopted by Cardinal Sin to whom authorship is often
attributed—but wrongly.)
Its burden was the soul of simplicity. Of wisdom too. It meant that,
however we detested the origin and intent of Marcos’ dictatorial rule,
we would cooperate with it in the pursuit of whatever measures it took
that we judged were for the genuine good of our people—develop-
ment projects, for instance, which were truly for their advancement.
But we opposed it when it acted against their good. Thus, to use the
same example of development projects: when these were advertised
for the people’s good but were in reality primarily for the advance-
ment of the businesses of Marcos’ cronies or simply for show to boost
Church, government
and politics
his image, we were unsupportive of them.
The operative word was neither cooperation nor opposition but
critical. The term didn’t mean just carping or complaining, blaming,
fault-finding, but careful and honest evaluation of the good points or
bad points of any act or scheme of governance, our criteria of judgment
the values of Christ’s kingdom. It called for real discernment—the
effort to arrive at a right judgment in one’s thoughts and acts.
In the beginning, we applied the formula mainly to Marcos’ military
government. But as it worsened and the NDF, the NPA and their
supporters (many of them priests and religious) began pushing aggres-
sively their own ideas of what Philippine society should be according
to their Marxist ideology, we had to apply the same formula of judg-
ment to them and their blue-prints for reforming us as a people.
In the end we came to the conclusion that these two contending
political forces, whatever were the differences in their mutually ex-
clusive ideas and programs of social reform, were, strangely enough,
of one mind in the way they would translate their visions into reality:
they were not going to scruple about using force, even violence, in the
pursuit of their program of reform—as they were actually doing even
Afterthoughts / A6

Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS

The pursuit of peace
THE task of waging peace is formidable. We see it as a moral
struggle. We must not delude ourselves into thinking that periodic
bursts of enthusiasm will conquer evil. The task of waging peace
is slow, painful, demanding, and crucifying. It will require a
holy endurance and relentless effort. It is not simply the work
of one leader or of one government but it is the enterprise of a
whole nation.
Peace is the work and fruit of solidarity (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis
, #39). Solidarity as “a firm and persevering determination to
commit oneself to the common good; that is to say, to the good
of all and of each individual because we are all really responsible
for all,” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, #38) is, in essence, rooted in
the Gospel imperative of loving God and neighbor.
Solidarity calls us to be ready “to lose” ourselves for the sake of
others, to share with them out of justice and love, and to see the
face of Christ himself in the needy and the poor. Solidarity calls
us to tear down walls that divide our communities. It calls us to
communion with God and among ourselves.
Together we can promote peace in a hundred and one different
ways, stopping the mad glorification of violence on TV and
cinema, organizing peace-promoting and monitoring councils
all over our country, educating for justice and peace, in schools,
on stage, and on the streets. Active and vigilant People Power
through mobilization and prayer—and through generous sacrifice
for the common good—will be the means to peace.
Our pilgrimage to peace is one of friends and not of hostile
factions. Though we may belong to different classes and tribes, we
must band together for peace, listen to God’s call of peace together,
and dialogue for peace together, resolutely and ceaselessly seeking
peace, pursuing it, beating the swords of war into plowshares of
integral development (cf. Is. 2:4).
“Seek Peace, Pursue It”, A CBCP Pastoral Letter, 1990
www.cbcpmonitor.com
cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net
Children need clear messages:
Do not have sex before marriage
HAVE you ever heard of the “Law of Ex-
pected Behavior”? You know the one: if you
expect Junjun to fail, he will; if you expect
Nini to excel, she will. Psychologists and
guidance counselors explain that to the par-
ent whenever she/he is called to look into the
misbehavior of the student concerned.
But that is what has been happening in
sex education, to use their own words “safe
sex education” which is nothing more than
contraception-promotion activities in the
classroom.
“They” are not only the pro-reproductive
health bill lawmakers who want to oblige all
schools, public and private to teach that kind
of promotion starting Grade 5 and all the
way to Senior High School. Now how much
time does a person need in order to memorize
all the different kinds of contraceptives so
that they have to start learning them at age
10? Of course, they will also be taught their
anatomy and fertility and sexually transmit-
ted diseases and the travails of pregnancy
and the burden of being a father if you are not
ready—not ready meaning you do not have
a house and a car and a steady job.
contraception? Because “they” do not
think that Junjun and Nini will be able to
keep away from sex before marriage. Sure,
abstinence is mentioned in that famous
“ABC” slogan—“for the single, Abstain
from sex; for the married, Be faithful; and
if you are unable to follow the first two, use
Condom”…that is why, be sure to keep a
condom in your pocket or handbag, just in
case…and to be doubly sure, here is how
you put it on, ok?
We expect our children to have self-control
in other areas of temptation. We don’t expect
them to cheat on an exam if they don’t know
the answer. Or steal when they want a cell
phone or a CD, or punch someone because he
is irritating. If we expect them to be in control
of all these, do we also give them the clear
message No to Sex Before marriage?
So is the doubling and tripling of the rates
of premarital sex, early pregnancies, abortion
and sexually transmitted diseases a result of
lack of information on contraception is it the
double talk that our kids have been hearing
from the adults. Parents can keep nagging
their teens—“don’t get pregnant or don’t
get a girl pregnant, mind you…” but if the
kids see condoms and pills lying around the
bedroom of their folks, that is an indication
that sex can’t be controlled and so, they can
go ahead and “express” themselves too in
the most intimate way that they see and hear
in the movies, videos, magazines, tabloids,
internet, and even the cell phones.
Not that the Catholic Church and the pro-
life groups object to teaching sex at all. The
primary teachers, as we always say, are the
parents—who are also the primary teachers
of love, relationships, discipline, virtues,
good manners and right conduct, etc. To
teach sex outside the context of these values
is like handing the children a time bomb.
Love Life
Schools and organizations should there-
fore respect the natural developmental
stages that the children go through, espe-
cially the latency period (pre-teens) wherein
focus is on academic skills, arts, sports and
virtues, rather than tickling them with sexual
matters that leave their imagination stimu-
lated and distracted. Given the fact that we
are surrounded with such sex-stimulating
ads, films and magazines, it is the role of the
adults then to lessen the impact on the kids
by helping them focus and providing them
with other worthwhile activities.
Why is self-control so hard to teach?
Maybe the fault lies in us adults who have
given in to the sexual revolution slogans,
the any-thing goes relativistic morality of
this consumerist society, to the me-first
convenience-instant mentalities and behav-
ior. Will retreats, self-help books, prayer
communities, support groups and advocacy
organizations assist us in getting back on
the right track regarding the plan of God
for human kind?
That is our prayer—our urgent prayer—so
that our children need not suffer unneces-
sarily just because we have not been true
to them.
For materials, speakers and seminars for
parents to help them impart value-oriented
sexuality education, call Pro-life office at
733-7027. Pro-life Phil. has transferred to
San Lorenzo Ruiz Center, 2486 Legarda St.,
Sampaloc, Manila.

Fr. Francis B. Ongkingco

‘Unplugging our kids’

Whatever
Pedro C. Quitorio
Editor-in-Chief I STUMBLED over this wonderful commentary about how we’re rors! We ate cupcakes, bread and butter, and drank soda pop with
raising our tech-savvy children today. Although it was in my e-mail sugar in it, but we were never overweight because we were always
Pinky Barrientos, FSP Kris P. Bayos archive dated 2005, I believe it is still very timely. outside playing. We shared one soft drink with four friends, from
Associate Editor Feature Editor I have yet to discover the author of such an intellectually challenging one bottle, and no one actually died from this.”
work. The commentary is entitled: PEOPLE OVER 35 SHOULD BE “We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
Melo M. Acuña Laarni Bergado DEAD NOW. I think it would be appropriate to change 35 to 40 by now, rode down the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running
Managing Editor Marketing Supervisor but the message will be clearly much the same and here’s why… into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem. We would
leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back
Roy Q. Lagarde Ernani M. Ramos
News Editor Circulation Manager *** when the streetlights came on. No one was able to reach us all day.”
“NO CELL PHONES!!! Unthinkable! We did not have Play sta-
Laurence John R. Morales Marcelita Dominguez “According to today’s regulators and bureaucrats, those of us tions, Nintendo 64, X-Boxes, no video games at all, no 399 channels
Layout Artist and Online Editor Comptroller who were kids in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, or even the early 70’s probably on cable, movies on videotape or DVD, surround sound, personal
shouldn’t have survived. Our baby cribs were covered with bright cell phones, personal computers, or Internet chat rooms. We knew
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Com- colored lead-based paint. We had no childproof lids on medicine how to chat without the Internet. We had friends! We went outside
munications Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and bottles, doors or cabinets, and when we rode our bikes, we had no and found them.”
business offices at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila.
P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO.
helmets. (Not to mention the risks we took hitch-hiking.) As children, “We played dodge ball, and sometimes, the ball would really hurt.
Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612. we would ride in cars with no seatbelts or air bags. Riding in the We fell out of trees, got cut and broke bones and teeth, and there were
ISSN 1908-2940 back of a pickup truck on a warm day was always a special treat. no lawsuits from these accidents. They were accidents. No one was
We drank water from the garden hose and not from a bottle. Hor- Whatever / A7
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
Bp. Leonardo Y. Medroso, JCD, DD
Tidbits
IT is tragic to note that we are no longer
shocked with the fast growing number of
Filipinos exiting our country. It bespeaks of
an attitude that has become accustomed, if not
calloused, to the alarming reality that the phe-
nomenon does not cause us anymore unease.
In the midst of this seeming indifference, we
are presented with some eight to nine million
migrants. The last count up was just seven
million some two or three years ago. Now it
is nine million, Filipinos all. They are not mere
faceless individuals, but warm bodies with hu-
man feelings and Filipino needs that constantly
call our attention. They are living persons who
need food and the basic necessities of life to
keep themselves in one piece; rational beings
who can foresee the need to provide for the
uncertainties of the future, responsible family
men and women who in search for a better fu-
ture for their children, they set out of this coun-
try that they love, and settle in a foreign land
which they surmise could give them a better
tomorrow; human persons who are endowed
with rights and obligations, particularly the
right to a decent environment that guarantees
the protection of their human dignity. In brief,
they have to be cared for bodily, psychologi-
cally, and spiritually.
The Church in the Philippines has not been
remiss in its obligation to extend its Pastoral
Care to Filipino Migrants. It is aware of its
task to look into the temporal and spiritual
needs of its faithful. It is after all wary to the
rights of the migrants as well as to all the
faithful which the Code enunciated, to wit:
“Christ’s faithful have the right to be assisted
by their Pastors from the spiritual riches of
the Church, especially by the word of God
and the Sacraments” (Canon 213). This right
is based on the constitutional right of each
individual faithful by virtue of baptism.
Canon 208 expresses well this basic right in
these words: “Flowing from their rebirth in
Christ, there is a genuine equality of dignity
and action among all of Christ’s faithful.
Because of this equality they all contribute,
each according to his or her own condition
Opinion
Canon Law and the
Filipino migrants
and office, to the building up of the Body of
Christ.” Hence, the obligation hangs on the
Church in the Philippines to look after the
spiritual and moral needs of these Filipino
migrants. They may be far from its reach,
but the obligation remains in its conscience.
Foremost in its mind is what is demanded in
the Salvation History—God provided laws
and guidelines regarding refugees. When
God commanded the Chosen People to be
hospitable to foreigners and strangers, as
stated in Leviticus 19: 34, God reminded
them of the reason for the legal provision,
that is, “because you yourselves were for-
eigners in strange land.” CBCP sees this
text as a framework for its pastoral care for
Filipino migrants, that is, our people are
strangers in foreign lands. It has to look
after their pastoral needs, their well-being,
peace of mind, growth in spiritual life, and
their appreciation of their dignity as human
beings and as children of God. The Church
in the Philippines has the task to constantly
remind them and support them that no
matter how menial their kind of work is,
they remain children of God and bearers of
human dignity. It is for this heavy respon-
sibility that CBCP has to found the Com-
mission for the Pastoral Care for Migrants,
and to demand from it a regular report and
evaluation of its mission. But nine million
Filipino migrants is a number so staggering
that the Commission is in a quandary on
how to effectively and efficiently meet the
demands and expectations of the Bishops
Conference of the Philippines.
One of the greatest pains of our migrant
workers is the loss of the sense of self-pride.
They pine to get it back, but no amount of
money that they receive can buy it back.
The Church understands the depth of man’s
pain when he is deprived of such self-worth.
Hence, in its work for Christian justice and
charity, its priority is to assist the concerned
individual migrants get back their dignity.
Hence, the words of John XXIII echoed:
“Individual human beings are the founda-
Jose B. Lugay
tion, the cause and the end of every social
institution” (Pacem in Terris, 31). Then he
added: “Every man has the right to life, to
bodily integrity, and to the means which are
suitable for the proper development of life;
these are primarily food, clothing, shelter,
rest, medical care, and finally the necessary
social services” (ibid, 32). For, every person
is precious, people are more important than
things, and the value of every institution is
whether or not it threatens or enhances the
life and dignity of the human person. Pope
Benedict XVI in his recent Encyclical “Caritas
in Veritate” reminds everyone of the prece-
dence of dignity of man over other concerns
of development. He said: “I would like to
remind everyone, especially governments
engaged in boosting the world’s economic
and social assets, that the primary capital to
be safeguard and valued is man, the human
person in his or her integrity: ‘Man is the
source, the focus and the aim of all economic
and social life’” (n.25; cf. LG 63).
Our migrant workers, nine million of them,
have dignity to uphold, human pride to pro-
tect, better quality of lives to pine for, mean-
ing of life to keep intact, spirituality to hang
on to, so that they can live as human persons
and as children of God in foreign places.
Who would articulate and protect their
deep human longing? The Canon Lawyers of
the Philippines (CLSP) with courage faced up
to this problem sometime on April 2009, in
Vigan, Ilocos Sur, during their annual meet-
ing in that place. They are aware that they as
canon lawyers are called to give their share
in the pastoral care of Filipino migrants.
Theirs is to look closely into the provisions
of law, the social doctrine of the Church, as
expounded by Vatican II, the living Magiste-
rium of the Church, the provisions of PCP II
and the subsequent acts of the Bishops Con-
ference of the Philippines. These will give
them the necessary framework to provide
our Church leaders with legal guides to bet-
ter meet the needs of our migrant workers.
This is the task that lies ahead of them.
A5
Nicolo F. Bernardo
Lifeguard
Better than Harry
Potter
YOUNGSTERS amazed with the “magic” of the fictional Harry
Potter should know that there once was a real man who worked
miracles and marvels stranger than fiction. Reports of this “man
who performed wonders” were even recorded by the official Ro-
man historian around his time, Josephus Flavius, who was a Jew.
The miracle man was Jesus. But the story does not end in his
lifetime. The gift to perform wonders, it appears, continuously
manifests to his followers, such as the saints and the mystics. As
Jesus himself promised: “Whoever believes in me will do the
works that I do, and will do greater ones than these.” (Jn 14:12)
The saints, before they were canonized, underwent decades-
long skeptical appraisal on testimonies of their reported
miracles, before and after death. Journalists, scientists, medical
researchers, and the Church’s Promotor Fidei or Devil’s Advocate
(tasked to challenge reports) form part of the appraisal team.
Critical data on these can be gleaned in Herbert Thurston’s
revised Butler’s Lives of the Saints and The Physical Phenomena of
Mysticism, the Jesuits’ Acta Sanctorum, Joan Carroll Cruz’ The
Incorruptibles, the Summario of evidence to the Congregation of
Rites for canonization procedures, the New Catholic Encyclopedia,
and the secular The Future of the Body by Michael Murphy.
Interestingly, a run-down of their “gifts” would make a defi-
nite put-down of Harry’s magic. These are:
Apparitions and Visions. In Mark 9:2-7, Jesus was seen by his
disciples transfiguring with the spirits of Elijah and Moses. The
20th century has its share of public apparitions too, especially of
the Virgin Mary. The Lady of Fatima appeared to three children
in 1917, accompanied by unusual solar and healing phenomena
even reported in the anti-clerical newspaper O Seculo.
Then in 1968, in the symborium of the Coptic Church in
Zeitun, Cairo , Egypt , the Virgin reportedly appeared many
times before a million Egyptians, including unbelievers, athe-
ists, Protestants, Jews and Muslims. The apparitions had been
photographed and the Egyptian president Abdul Nasser was
himself a witness. Authorities searched a 15-mile radius for any
electrical devices that could have been used to project the image,
but soon they too were convinced that a strange event—ignored
by the Western media—occurred. The General Information and
Complaints Department reported:
“The official investigations have been carried out with the
result that it has been considered an undeniable fact that the
Blessed Virgin Mary has been appearing on Zeitun church in a
clear and bright luminous body seen by all present in front of
the church, whether Christian or Muslim.”
Bilocation/Teleportation, or a person’s simultaneous presence

PPP Laiko Lampstand

or instantaneous appearance from one place to another. St. Al-
phonsus Liguori, while jailed, reportedly made himself present
at the bedside of the dying Pope Clement XIV. Meanwhile, a
British pilot, whose plane was plummeting, testified that Padre
Pio—who earned the moniker “flying friar”—flew like Super-
IN working with the government, one must immediately be familiar not reported by the President for obvious reasons. man from his nearby monastery to land the plane safely.
with the initials used for different government agencies as well as The political noise is increasing in decibels by the day, and an Could these things be possible? Ask Einstein’s quantum phys-
the abbreviations of the Republic Acts (.R.A.) and Executive Orders increased roster of presidentiables: Governor Ed Panlilio, Jamby ics. Particles revolving in an orbit at one time can disappear and
(E.O.) and Implementing Rules and Regulations (I.R.R.). So, it came Madrigal (no wonder she was after the neck of real estate magnate simultaneously reappear in another!
to pass very recently the most famous initials, SONA, the State of Manny Villar), Loren Legarda, Robert Gordon, Gilbert Teodoro, Elongation. Who says adults cannot grow? A recorded case
the Nation Address, a constitutional mandate for the President of Bayani Fernando and frontrunners in the SWS statistical survey: V.P. for the beatification proceedings of Italian nun Sr. Veronica
the Philippines to report to the people her accomplishments for the Noli de Castro and Past President Joseph Estrada, Manny Villar, Laparelli, tells of witnesses seeing the sister while on trance
year. The SONA took months of preparation and her antagonists Mar Roxas and yet to declare his candidacy, Chiz Escudero, stretching by more than 10 inches “until her throat was out of
likewise planned counter-rallies, and egged all those against GMA, Meantime the Church, through Bishop Broderick Pabillo, head of proportion.” The astonished congregation even took time to
including the presidentiables who carry contrary political agenda the Commission on Social Action Justice and Peace issued a directive measure her body while she was in an ecstatic state.
against the incumbent to be as visible as possible with the help of to the laity to get involved in PPP, Principled Partisan Politics. They Incorruption of human cadavers. Without freezing or mum-
Media. As far as the Opposition is concerned the SONA is the most are not endorsing any of the candidates listed above. The Church mifying, the dead bodies of certain saints remain intact, supple,
publicized event of the Administration. Hence it is logical that all realizes now that politics need evangelization. The root cause of graft and fresh. Among which: St. Francis of Paula, despite his body
should be ready and prepared for the word war, the better for the and corruption and bad governance is the election of people to posi- was burnt by the Protestant Huguenots; St. Cajetan, whose
headlines to capture the electorate’s minds, the voters of the 2010 tions of power who do not possess the basic moral norms of honesty, corpse was thrown into a common pit; St. Lawrence Justinian,
elections. integrity and transparency. There are now very active movements whose body was exposed for 67 days; St. Charles Borromeo,
The President, wily in a diplomatic way, took the opportunity to towards this direction—the process of identifying potential candi- whose remains were placed in a damp and leaky coffin; St.
show her mastery and grasp of the economic situation and her moves dates within each parish. DILAAB Foundation of Cebu has been Josaphat, martyred and thrown into the river, whose body was
during the year to slow down the effects of the recession by her going around Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to train lay leaders the fished up incorrupt; St. Francis Xavier, incorrupt for almost 500
directives on the use of the internally-generated funds (the EVAT), process of selection of the “evangelized laity” through the Circles of years; Sts. Bernadette Soubirous, John Vianney, Catherine of
the OFW remittances and the Central Bank’s monetary policies to Discernment, CiDE. The CiDE exercise is a selection process using Laboure, Vincent de Paul, and recently, Pope John XXIII and
prevent the abuse of banking and lending institutions. These moves the Nominal Group Technique, a management tool, to arrive at a the 24-year-old Blessed George Frassinetti.
prevented the collapse of the Philippine economy better than other consensus of the many suggested characteristics of a candidate that Inedia/Holy Anorexia or absence of nourishment for great
developing nations. the laity should choose to be nominated for the 2010 election. For lengths of time. Moses and Jesus fasted for 40 days and nights.
The subtle digs of the President on her accusers, which many those interested, contact Fr. Carmelo Diola of Dilaab Foundation, Meanwhile, historians Caroline Bynum and Rudolph Bell
columnists accede as justified, colored this specific SONA as a retalia- Archdiocese of Cebu. Let us hope, that together with the evangeliza- documented claims that St. Catherine of Siena survived on com-
tion to those who have abused civility expected from mature leaders tion of politics now being done in the diocese of Malaybalay, this will munion wafers alone at age 23, and abstained from water for
and representatives of the people. Oldtimers like us can only say mark the beginning of involvement of parishioners in the selection a month at age 33. The German mystic Therese Neuman, too,
in dismay, “Is there no more ‘Good Manners and Right Conduct’ process of candidates for the next and future elections. The Laity under the inspection of the bishop of Regensburg and a medical
subject taught in primary grades”? ATTENTION DepED: Restore should start learning Principled Partisan Politics, PPP! team that examined her day and night in 1927, confirmed reports
the GMRC subject in the primary grade curriculum! that she survived only on daily communion for years.
While the President is expected to report only those accomplish- *** Levitation or suspension of the human body into the air
ments that can make her scorecard attractive, listeners should un- without support. The Franciscan monk St. Joseph Cupertino
derstand that each achievement is a product of other departments At this writing, mass is being offered by our ECLA Bishop Gabriel was reported to levitate on more than a hundred occasions,
below her. Standard management procedures require that the V. Reyes at the wake of Past President Corazon Aquino at the La as confirmed by his “Devil’s Advocate,” Prosper Lambertini,
subordinates reporting to her should also report the results of their Salle Greenhills, San Juan. The whole country joins the family and later Pope Benedict XIV. The Carmelite nun St. Teresa of Avila
governance – the heads of the following institutions: DILG, DOTC, the nation in prayer for the repose of her soul. We do hope that her also had such raptures during Masses. St. Teresa describes the
DA, DSWD, DILG, DOE, DPWH, DOH, DOF, DENR, DOST, DBM, death will unite all who are presently divided after the SONA of experience in her Autobiography:
BI, BoC, BIR, BSP, the Government-Owned Controlled Corpora- GMA to reflect on her heroic role in Philippine history—restoring I confess that it threw me into great fear…and that with great
tions, (GOCCs), the Government Financial institutions (GFIs), etc. back our democracy—democracy that is now being threatened by sweetness if unresisted, the senses are not lost; at least I was so
Graft and corruption reported in many of these institutions, were political wranglings. much myself as to be able to see that I was being lifted up…After
the rapture was over, my body seemed frequently buoyant, as
if all weight have departed from it, so much that now and then
Rev. Euly B. Belizar, SThD I scarcely knew that my feet touched the ground.”
Charismatic Healing. Jesus made the blind see, the lame walk,
Cry not for the Icon the deaf hear, the mute speak, and the leper healed. So do annals
By the Roadside of the saints report this gift of healing.
Prophecy/Precognition. Like Jesus, who had foreknowledge of
events including the destruction of Jerusalem , Butler’s records
52 cases of saints’ prophecies coming to fulfillment.
ERIC Hoffer once wrote: “How frighteningly makes appreciators of the dead those they there was one President Corazon Aquino. In Visible Transubstantiation, or transformation of one substance
few are the persons whose death would spoil our leave behind. Not that it is a sign of ingrati- a word, for contemporary believers she could into another. Jesus turned water into wine at the Wedding of
appetite and make the world seem empty.” tude, rather only of the natural oversight we be an embodiment or, at least, a reminder of Cana (Jn 2:1-12). Meanwhile, Eucharistic miracles abound where
I submit that the statement is mostly true. often make of fellow humans who still breathe the Vatican II vision of the Catholic lay faithful, hosts visibly turned into human flesh and the wine into human
On the other hand, President Cory Aquino the same stale air of earthly reality as we do. not one who separates faith and (secular) life, blood as happened in Lanciano , Italy (700), Kerala , India before
was, doubtless, one such person. News of Among the many voices that we now hear but rather brings that faith right into her/his some 500,000 Mass attendants (1999), and Rome (2000).
her parting certainly spoiled many Filipinos’ or read on how we are to see President Cory acts of social engagement. Mystical Aureoles/Illuminations, or halos and radiances appear-
breakfast last August 1, 2009 and has left Aquino’s meaning and significance to us That she was a woman and a wife with ing from the body. Remember Moses going down from Mt. Sinai
such a void not only in her family but also Christian Filipinos who deeply care about an elite family background had been made with his face blindingly radiant? (Ex. 34: 2-35). It’s a phenomenon
in her country, one that even fewer will ever their country, let me add mine. much of by friend and foe alike as among taken by Benedict XIV, in his treatise De Servorum Dei Beatificatione
consider attempting to fill. It could even be I agree that she was an icon of democracy. her minuses. But she transformed them et Beatorum Canonizatione, as a sign of sanctity. He says: “It seems
asked if there would be, among our present But she was also more. To me she was a living into pluses because, precisely as a woman that there are natural flames which at times (are visibly encircling)
crop of leaders, those who would measure sign of the challenge of Christian disciple- president and a former wife of a senator, the head…in the form of sparks which are given off all around,
up to her standards of public service. Now ship in the contemporary effort to positively she courageously stood up to serious coup that some people become resplendent with a blaze of light.”
that she has left this side of life people have, transform society according to gospel values. attempts and the difficulties of rebuilding Thurston, in addition, lists Sts. Philip Neri, Charles Borromeo,
virtually in a wink of an eye, realized what Even when her adherence to Catholic teaching democratic institutions to meet the nation’s Ignatius of Loyola, and Francis of Sales among the saints seen
precious human jewel the country, nay the on certain policies of her government could so many serious problems and needs. Even with an aura glowing. Therese Neuman’s left hand too exhibited
world, has lost. She has been variously called be doubted, one would be hard put to ques- as she was being faulted for her inability to an aura which had been photographed even before the advent
“an icon of democracy”, “the Joan of Arc tion her sincere desire to serve the poor and turn her back on her own elite background of Kirlian photography that can capture subtle-energy radiances
of the Philippines”, “Mother of Philippine make the government institutions strong and as the reason behind the lack of true land or “aura” of the body.
Freedom”, “a leader who combined power independent enough to be truly democratic. reform during her watch and beyond, yet Stigmata or the spontaneous appearance of wounds resem-
and virtue” and many others. Praying presidents we have had many. But she disarmed critics by her simplicity and bling Christ’s. Stigmatists include St. Francis of Assisi, Anna
I know that much has already been said and praying presidents who validated their numerous quiet efforts to help countless Catherine Emmerich (whose visions influenced Mel Gibson’s
written, and will still be said and written, of prayerfulness with morally unquestioned poor people through micro-financing and movie The Passion), Therese Neumann, Padre Pio, Georgio Bon-
her and her significance to the Philippines and acts of governance we are not sure to count other poverty-alleviation efforts through Lifeguard / A6
to democracy the world over. Death somehow with our fingers. Still, how blessed we are that Roadside / A6
 Local News
CBCP Monitor
A6 Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Dominicans of Asia-Pacific urged to be

more ‘involved’ in spreading the Word
THE Dominicans’ Philippine prior provin- this participation, he explained. lenses of his own culture,” Pedregosa said
cial has urged Dominican religious attend-
ing a month-long retreat/immersion study
to be more “involved” in their communities
But the religious must keep in mind that
they are only “participators” in God’s plan,
the provincial reiterated to participants at
last July 23 in Caleruega.
Earlier, the Dominican priests and broth-
ers stayed at Zamboanga City from July
IPs offhand to PGMA’s SONA
as they share the Word to non-Christians the Caleruega Retreat House in Batangas 5-12, to listen to lectures on interreligious DISCONTENTED, indigenous peoples who participated in the
across Asia. province. dialogue organized by the Silsilah ecu- State of the Indigenous Peoples Address (SIPA) said that after
This exhortation came after the partici- Pedregosa also discussed in a separate menical movement, interacted with Muslim eight years of Ms. Arroyo administration there is still discrimi-
pants stayed in Mindanao for two weeks families for two nights and one day, and nation, land grabbing, human rights violations, environmental
to interact with Muslim families and also to also witnessed the Friday prayers at the Sta. destruction, corruption and lies.
learn more about religious involvement in Catalina Mosque. In a statement sent to CBCPNews, Lumad leaders said that
caring for distressed migrant workers. Then the religious went to Davao city Ms. Arroyo’s legacy to the indigenous communities is death
Reports from the Philippine Dominican from July 13 to 19 to listen in sessions and displacement. “There is an integral link between ancestral
province showed 15 Dominican brothers, on migrant trafficking organized by the domain and our life, culture and livelihoods, but to the govern-
deacons and priests attended the Asia- Visayan Forum migrants’ advocacy group. ment our resource and biodiversity rich lands are only seen as
Pacific Dominican Common Study from Sociology professor Maruja Asis and Fr. sources for profit.”
June 28-July 25 2009 held in the Philippines. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the Katawhanung Lumad sa Mindanao secretary general Dulphing
Four Filipino Dominicans attended the Episcopal Commission of Pastoral Care Ogan said that they will remember the Arroyo administration
Common Study which was themed “Dif- for Migrant Workers and Itinerant Peoples, for rapacious greed that has brought deprivation, dislocation,
ferent Cultures Complement and Enrich spoke about the importance of religious and death to lumad communities.
Each Other.” involvement in helping distressed overseas “Eight years is enough. Eight years of her corrupt, self-serving
Delegates from Vietnam, China, Japan workers. anti-poor administration has brought nothing but suffering to the
and Australia also joined the immersion During the course of the “Common country, especially the indigenous peoples who have borne the
project. Study,” the participants related to each brunt of her misguided development priorities. History’s verdict
In a July 21 lecture recorded by a provin- Father Quirico Pedregosa, O.P. other their experiences with evangelization is loud and clear. It is known to all Filipinos except for her most
cial report, Prior Provincial Father Quirico and opinions on the Faith. rabid sycophants and most zealous apologists,” he said.
Pedregosa, O.P. told the participants that it session that dialogue between religious and The Order of Preachers’ Asia Pacific Quintol Labuayan of La Bugal Tribal Association based in
is important that Dominicans should fully non-Christians in Asia must be rooted in the Common Study is a project aimed at en- Columbio, Sultan Kudarat also said that historical injustices
orient themselves toward being involved Gospel for inculturation to firmly take root couraging lay and ordained Dominicans against the lumad have not been corrected and even worsened
in “history” and be integrated in the com- among the latter. This is because it requires to “live together, strengthen commitment as the government championed corporate interests.
munities that they serve. It would help if changes within the culture of the peoples to the Dominican intellectual and spiritual The indigenous people also criticized Ms. Arroyo against giv-
they have awareness of the purpose of their that the religious are serving. tradition” and “deepen their formation” ing further economic rights to foreign individuals and corpora-
preaching so that in turn they can direct “Though God is above any other culture, in spreading the Word in the Asia-Pacific tions such as 100 percent ownership of lands.
“prayer, study, and community life” toward man can only understand him through the region. (Ruben Jeffrey Asuncion)
Moral icon / A1 Human rights abuses
IP leaders and communities have not been spared from the
power in any other way. Her leadership and everything that are the gentleness and the greatness of our own,” he said.
escalating cases of human rights violations. Military operations
being said about her are the legacy that we will long remember,” Arevalo also explained how the Cory magic worked throughout
continue to displace the B’laan communities in Columbio, Sultan
he said. the years, adding he found three reasons why.
Kudarat and the Manobo communities in Lianga, San Agustin
“One is because of her selflessness and on how she loved the
and Tago in Surigao del Sur.
‘Thank you’ country above all else, even above the family. Number two is in her
The Indigenous Peoples Rights Monitor has documented 137
Thousands of Filipinos from all walks of life joined the Catholic faith and dedication to the Lord. And number three is because of her
cases of killings of IP community members from 2001 to 2009,
Church to bid farewell to a woman described by Pope Benedict XVI courage for her abiding loyalty to the country that never wavered
13 of which are women (4 pregnant) and 19 youth. 16 cases of
as a “woman of deep and unwavering faith.” and never broken,” he said.
extra-judicial killings of IP leaders were also documented.
Mourners lined the streets around the Minor Basilica of the Im- Arevalo, one of the country’s most respected Theologian, added
Another IP women leader, Bae Rose Undag of Kahiusaan sa
maculate Conception as political and business leaders, students that Mrs. Aquino was a person that had no desire for power but only
mga Higanonon Incorporated (HKI) from Claveria, Misamis
and thousands of others heard the funeral rites for former president an unwavering want to help the people.
Oriental said that eight years of GMA presidency has given
Corazon Aquino.
lumad women nothing but utmost neglect.
Funeral rites for the country’s “icon of democracy” started 9 a.m. Jam-packed
In her 2001 SONA, GMA promised to distribute 100 Certificate
on August 5, with Balanga Bishop Socrates Villegas welcoming the The funeral mass was also attended by an array of church, govern-
of Ancestral Domain Titles (CADTs) per year but instead of se-
congregation. ment and showbiz personalities and was jam-packed to the capacity
curing lumads in their ancestral domains, the SIPA participants
Villegas led the nation in expressing thanks to Mrs. Aquino for of the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral.
felt more vulnerable now during her last SONA than they ever
all the sacrifices she made both as a devout Catholic and a public Catholic prelates who concelebrated the Mass were Papal Nuncio
had been. “
servant. Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, Manila Archbishops Gaudencio
“Because of Arroyo’s projects, we lumad mothers are always
“Thank you Tita Cory, thank you very much. Thank you for Cardinal Rosales of Manila, Ramon Arguelles of Lipa and Paciano
full of fear and anxiety for future of the tribe and our territory”,
fighting for us. Thank you for teaching us how to live and die for Aniceto of San Fernando, Bishops Deogracias Iñiguez of Kalookan,
said Patricia Bulay of the Subanon Getaw Tasan from Midsalip,
others,” said Villegas. Antonio Tobias of Novaliches, Reynaldo Evangelista of Boac, Gabriel
Zamboanga del Sur, in the dialect.
“We promise to love this country as you loved us. There is dark- Reyes of Antipolo, John Du of Dumaguete and Honesto Ongtioco
The SIPA is organized by the Legal Rights and Natural Re-
ness in our land because you are gone. But we know, we have of Cubao.
sources Center (LRC-KsK/FoEI). Two conferences are being held
enough light within us because you have shared with us your fire,” Other prelates who attended the Mass include Bishops Pablo
simultaneously in Cagayan de Oro and at the University of the
he said. David of San Fernando, Francisco De Leon of Antipolo, Bernardino
Philippines in Quezon City yesterday. (Mark S. Ventura)
Villegas, a former aide of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin, lauded Mrs. Cortez of Manila, Prudencio Andaya of Tabuk, Leo Drona of San
Aquino for inspiring people being a good example of being a true Pablo, Rolando Tirona of Infanta, Leopoldo Tumulak of the Military
Filipino Christian. Ordinariate and Novaliches Bishop-Emeritus Teodoro Bacani. for the choice of the basilica as a temporary stop for her remains.
“Tita Cory, thank you for being our light during our darkest hours. Cardinal Sin helped Mrs. Aquino catapult to power in 1986 after
Thank you for being our strength when we were afraid,” he said. Singular tribute a church-led and peaceful people power revolution.
“You gallantly showed us that to be a Filipino is great blessing Like the multitudes that have paid tribute to Mrs. Aquino, the
from God. Thank you for showing us your greatness. You were born Catholic Church also gave a singular honor to her by allowing her Lagdameo’s prayer
to wealth and plenty but you lived in simplicity and humbly carried wake in the basilica. After the Mass ended, full police honors greeted the coffin of the
our painful misery,” the bishop added. The remains of Mrs. Aquino was moved to the Manila Cathedral former president before it was loaded into a flat-bed truck fully
on August 3 after two days from La Salle Greenhills in Mandaluyong adorned with white and yellow flowers.
‘Cory magic’ City. And while the coffin was slowly departing Intramuros, a helicop-
In his homily, Jesuit priest Catalino Arevalo trumpeted how the Fr. Genaro Diwa, head of Manila Archdiocese’s Ministry on Li- ter was seen hovering around the area with yellow confetti already
“Cory magic” captured the Filipinos in 1983 when her husband, turgical Affairs, has admitted they broke rules when they let Mrs. raining.
Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. was assassinated, and in 1986 when she Aquino’s wake take place at the Cathedral. Mrs. Aquino was buried at the Manila Memorial Park in Paranaque
ran and won against strongman Ferdinand Marcos and again in “Wakes should really be held in parish churches only. So we broke City, beside her husband, Ninoy, after around a 6-hour funeral
her death last Saturday. all the rules here,” Diwa said. procession.
Arevalo, who was said to be the personal choice of Mrs. Aquino Villegas said that the holding of wakes in the cathedral is reserved Archbishop Lagdameo said he hopes that Filipinos shall see the
to give the homily in her funeral mass, hailed the former president only for the demise of an archbishop of Manila. rise of more courageous, decent and incorruptible citizens of con-
as a ‘true queen’ in the hearts of Filipinos. “(To date), only the archbishops of Manila and Cory were given science who shall defy moral evil and ambivalence in defense of
“Perhaps, she was the only true queen our people have ever had that honor,” he said. truth, social justice, godliness and genuine democracy. (With reports
and she was queen because we knew she truly held our hearts and Mrs. Aquino’s ties with Cardinal Sin is largely seen as the reason from Melo Acuna and Roy Lagarde)
Run / A1 Lifeguard / A5 Afterthoughts / A4
for that, I leave it to God. There must be a sign. giavani of South Dakota (1968), and Syrian then in their struggling against each other for power. tion well brings out, we do not condemn partisan politics
So when I was appointed as CBCP executive Myrna Nazzour (2004). Under those conditions of warring ideologies, we as evil. But it becomes such when, in our practice of it, we
secretary, I had to abide because I love my Telekinesis/Agility, or the instantaneous learned to add to our formula of critical collaboration/ ignore the fundamental demands of justice, truth, charity,
priesthood and serving the church, much movement of a material body from one place opposition something else: ANV—active non-violence, honesty, just so our candidates prevail in the polls. Thus
more than serving a local community which to another. Remember Elisha who made an the peaceful approach to dealing with violence itself. It the usual practice of mudslinging, character assassination,
I could also do even without me running as axe’s iron flat that slipped into the river Jordan worked, as we all know, eventuating in the EDSA Revo- unquestioning loyalty to candidates no matter how corrupt
mayor,” he said. float? (2 Kgs 6:5-7). A communion wafer from lution of 1986. And working, it discredited both rightist or incompetent they may be, etc. – we all know that these
But Lucas said he could very well under- St. John Vianney reportedly moved from his and leftist modes of social change as they were then, are the unyielding flaws of our political culture. Yet, some-
stand why some priests are sometimes forced hands to the mouth of a communicant. A simi- militaristic, intolerant of any opposition whatsoever, red- how, every time elections come around, we go on blithely
to run for public office just like priest-turned- lar incident happened to Therese Neumann handedly violent. ANV as our ordinary mode of working indulging in them, throwing aside whatever good sense we
Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio, who recently and the Dominican general St. Raymund of for justice and social change was later put forward by the otherwise possess and make use of in ordinary times!
declared his intention of joining the presiden- Capua. As Thurston cites St. Capua: PCP II in 1991 as our accepted and proven way of going Critical collaboration, critical opposition: if we could
tial race in 2010. “(Capua) mentally saying ‘Come O Lord, To about translating its twofold message of salvation and only bring this principle to bear strongly and thoroughly
“I could relate with Panlilio. It has become Thy Spouse.’ ‘The thought,’ he goes on, ‘had liberation into reality. on our politics, especially during elections, perhaps, just
a strong desire for him (to run) because he hardly framed itself in my mind when, before In all the agitation today about the failures of govern- perhaps, we will finally be firmly on the road towards the
could help the people. But I’m looking at my I touched it, the Sacred host, as I clearly per- ment, the principle of critical, active but non-violent, col- reform of our unregenerate political culture.
priesthood. For me, that is the highest form of ceived, moved forward of Itself, the distance of laboration/opposition vis-à-vis its failures and successes, I propose we start right now applying the discerning
service. Being a politician is just secondary,” three inches or more, coming close to the paten still makes good sense and should at all times mark our force of the principle to all would-be candidates in the
said Lucas. which I was holding in my hand.’” approach as Church to government and its acts. coming elections – to the wildly burgeoning number of
A priest of the Prelature of Infanta in Que- Telepathic Intuition, or knowledge of an- The CBCP’s recent exhortation for the laity to fully take presidential aspirants especially. Or we will be forever
zon, Lucas devoted most of his 35 years in other’s state of mind and being, without the part in politics – the partisan kind – should be received doomed to getting what we richly deserve: second-rate,
the priesthood evangelizing and advocating use of the physical senses. As Jesus knew and acted on according to that principle. As the exhorta- and much too often corrupt, public servants.
for environmental, economic and agricultural the thoughts of the Pharisees (Lk 11: 17),
development thru media. and the life story of the woman at the well Roadside / A5
He is also one of the pioneers advancing the (Jn 4:16-19, 28-30), Butler’s records 24 cases non-government organizations. She remained true to her a simple wife, she, like Mary, was a visible testimony
community broadcasting approach in Asia. of such intuition among the saints, including declaration that her stepping down from the presidency to the Magnificat truth, to wit: “[The Lord] has shown
(CBCPNews) Sts. John Vianney and John Bosco who could would not mean ceasing to be involved in safeguarding might with his arm, dispersed the arrogant of mind and
know a person’s past and thoughts. the welfare of her country. She left government but she heart. He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
Spraying / A6 Do these phenomena point to a different did not stop being a leader in espousing causes that, in but lifted up the lowly” (Lk 1:51-52).
damage to the region. reality? Of the supernatural or preternatural? her view, uphold that welfare. Above all, her prayerfulness, compassion especially in
But the bishop contends that behind the The extrasensory and paranormal? The ex- In a political culture that feeds on greed and ambition regard to the poor, sincerity of intention to be of service
economic benefits is severe damage to the treme dynamics of quantum phenomena? for power she dared to say “Maraming salamat at paalam to what is best for the country even if it meant stand-
environment and health of the people. As to what causes these, St. Paul says: (Thank you so much and goodbye)” to the highest office ing against former allies and friends to uphold moral
He said that health and welfare of the peo- “To one the Spirit gives wisdom in dis- of the archipelago with no visible hesitation. That she governance evince a noble Christian heart. President
ple around the banana plantation should be course, to another the power to express did so even when her own critics admitted that she could Cory Aquino now completely has what Michelangelo
given supremacy over business interests. knowledge. Through the Spirit one receives argue against being covered by the constitution’s term once called the “two wings that bear the good person to
“We are against it and these companies faith; by the same Spirit another is given the limit of six years for the presidency precisely because heaven”, namely “love and death”. Of her it is worth lis-
because what they are doing is inhuman. gift of healing and still another miraculous her government pre-dated the very constitution it helped tening to St. Cyprian: “Our brethren who have been freed
They are more concerned on their business powers. Prophecy is given to one; to another, establish spoke volumes of her strength of character and from the world by the summons of the Lord should not
than the public welfare,” Pabillo said. power to distinguish one spirit from another. her admirable detachment from the intoxication of power. be mourned, since they are not lost but sent before.”
He called on the authorities to ban the use One receives the gift of tongues, another that In President Cory Aquino we realize that a person does No, don’t cry for the icon. She is not asleep. Rather,
of aerial spraying for the sake of the common of interpreting the tongues. But one and the not have to be materially poor to be considered, to use she has finally awakened to never-ending day. Cry for
good. No doubt, he said that it endangers same Spirit provides all of these, distribut- biblical language, among the “anawim” or the ‘humble her nation instead—to the God in whom she lives, that
the lives of people and destroys the environ- ing them individually to each person as He poor of Yahweh’. Often looked down upon, perhaps even the light she left behind may not cease shining in this
ment. (CBCPNews) wishes.” (1 Cor 12: 8-11) despised, by her harshest critics for being a woman and country’s darkest places.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
News Briefs
Davao launches ‘tie a yellow ribbon campaign’
DAVAO CITY—The sadness of losing an icon of democracy is
also felt by the people here. When Cory Aquino died on Aug.1,
church groups particularly Marian movements initiated the “tie
a yellow ribbon campaign” in the streets as a way of paying
tribute to the former president. (Mark Ventura)
Laguna priests to celebrate Priests Day
SAN PABLO CITY—Over a hundred priests, religious, deacons
led by Bishop Leo Drona marked Priests Day here recently. The
Diocesan Catholic School System hosted the event that took place
at the Liceo de San Pablo gym on Aug. 4, also the 150th Death
Anniversary of St. John Mary Vianney, the Patron Saint of Parish
Priests. (Fr. Romulo Ponte)
Tau Mu marks 42nd anniversary
DAVAO CITY—Ateneo de Davao’s College of Law Fraternal
Order of St. Thomas More or Tau Mu marked its 42nd founding
anniversary on July 29. Tau Mu, a fraternal order for students
taking up law in ADDU is today composed of prominent law
practitioners, political and civic leaders. (Mark Ventura)
IDPs to go on streets to call for peace
COTABATO CITY—Internally displaced persons trooped to
the streets in Maguindanao on July 23 to call for a ceasefire in
Mindanao. Dubbed as “Bakwit Power 2”, the rally dramatized
their experiences in the 2003 Bakwit Power in Pikit which suc-
cessfully convinced the government and the MILF to re-declare
a ceasefire. (Mark Ventura)
Bishop opposes Laiban Dam project
MANILA—The CBCP’s Episcopal Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (CBCP-ECIP) has declared its support to the indigenous
peoples and environmental groups opposing the Laiban Dam
project in Quezon province. Bishop Sergio Utleg, ECIP chairman,
said they support the crusade of the Dumagat tribes to resist the
restoration of the project. (Kate Laceda)
ECMI launches OFW club
KALOOKAN CITY—Hundreds of OFWs’ families attended the
launching of the Pamilyang OFW (Overseas Filipino Workers)
Savers and Wellness Club of the Kalookan Diocesan Desk for
the Pastoral Care of Migrants and their Families. Organized by
the diocesan desk, Pioneer Life and the CBCP’s Commission for
the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, the launching
was held July 18 at the St. Mary’s Academy. (Kate Laceda)
Surigao diocese launches aid to evacuees
SURIGAO DEL SUR—Last July 22, Bishop Nereo Odchimar has
launched relief operations to about 300 families from 15 villages
of Lianga town in Surigao Del Sur that have been displaced due
to military operations. Sr. Lydia Lascano, ICM, Diocesan Social
Action Center director said this was the decision of the bishop
and his clergy after listening to the displaced lumads who sought
their help yesterday. She said food and medicines and clothing
for the children would be distributed at the soonest possible
time. (Melo Acuna)
Claretian foundations launch “Living Your Strengths”
MANILA—The Claretian Communications Foundation, Inc and
the Claretian Hope Center Foundation, Inc has recently launched
a book entitled “Living Your Strengths.” The launching was held
last July 18, 2009 at the Hope Center in Loyola Heights, Quezon
City. (Kate Laceda)
Whatever / A4
to blame but us. Remember accidents? We had fights and punched
each other and got black and blue and learned to get over it.”
“We made up games with sticks and tennis balls, and although we
were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes. We
rode bikes or walked to a friend’s home and knocked on the door,
or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them.”
“Sports teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those
who didn’t had to learn to deal with disappointment. Some students
weren’t as smart as others, so they failed a grade and were held back
to repeat the same grade. Horrors! Tests were not adjusted for any
reason. Our actions were our own. Consequences were expected.
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke a law was unheard
of. They actually sided with the law. Imagine that!”
“This generation has produced some of the best risk-takers and
problem solvers and inventors, ever. The past 50 years have been an
explosion of innovation and new ideas. We had Freedom, Failure,
Success and Responsibility, and we learned how to deal with it all.”
“Now we’re raising kids in a society with more distractions. The word
‘parent’ has become a verb. We’ve been given more tools, more techniques
to mold these children into the best they can possibly be, and to protect
them from a host of new threats. We must shield them from viruses, bul-
lies, junkies and terrorists, while exposing them to Mozart in the womb,
Kumon in kindergarten, trigonometry in the third grade.”
“Renowned educator K.C. Smith recently came up with this list of
‘All a child really needs: Radio. A bicycle. The public library. Swim-
ming lessons. Typing lessons. Tickets to the theater and to baseball
games. A grandparent. A brother or sister.’”
“No mention of a computer.”
***
This interesting reflection comes with a brief introduction from
another anonymous recipient who says: “In case you haven’t seen
a version of this floating around, here’s a contribution to the debate
on kids and high tech. I’ve read it several times and still can’t figure
out if it’s tongue-in-cheek or dead serious.”
Whether or not it’s only an ironic presentation on how different
today’s children are growing up from those of yesterday, it still
holds a lot of ‘ordinary tap’ water. This may be a good wakeup call
for both parents and educators to ask themselves if they’re gingerly
raising children only for a palliative present that actually deprives
them of living on their own in an unknown and future.
Maybe it’s about time to unplug—and hopefully we’ve gotten
around to unplugging ourselves—our children!
Enough / A1
causes but does not agree with their methods.
Sr. Rose-Susan Pacheco Montejo, Superior General of
the Oblates of Notre Dame read Quevedo’s statement.
The 70-year old prelate said “collateral damage simply
means murder and deliberate unjustifiable destruction
of property.”
He explained armed conflict brings “more destruction on
civilians than on combatants” because for every combatant
killed “scores of civilians suffer or die.” He noted for the past
12 months, he has seen thousands of civilians languishing in
evacuation camps “first in Pikit and PALMA areas and now
in Datu Piang and other places in Maguindanao.”
He said “such human tragedy, spawned brutal retal-
iatory terrorism elsewhere in our region” in Southern
Philippines.
“From the depths of my soul I can only cry out to all
warring parties, ‘Enough is enough!’” as he appealed to
the warring factions to end their respective “search and
Diocesan News
A7
Archbishop launches
flood aid appeal
COTABATO CITY— Cotabato Archbishop in South Upi, Maguindanao while crossing
Orlando Quevedo appealed to the govern- the rampaging waters of Rifao River.
ment to help residents in the city and those
in Maguindanao and North Cotabato who Alarming
have been displaced by floods. Archbishop Quevedo expressed deep
This city and more than 100 low-lying vil- concern over the serious destruction of
lages of Maguindanao and North Cotabato farms brought about by unabated floods in
have been underwater for about a week Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat.
now due to moderate to heavy downpour Taking a helicopter for an aerial inspec-
in Central Mindanao region. tion of the affected areas on August 2, the
Five persons have already been killed due archbishop said “it was an awful sight of
to landslides, swelling of rivers and rampag- flooded homes, streets and rice fields the city
ing floodwaters. and nearby towns.”
The National Disaster Coordinating Coun- He added low-lying areas from Simuay
cil reported that more than 200,000 persons to Bulalo and Salimbao in Sultan Kudarat
have been affected by the flooding which hit town have remained under water. He said
the region since July 27. mud and silt are common.
Quevedo said the floods in Central Min- “I saw farms destroyed in the upstream
danao have exceeded the overflow brought areas in Montawal, Pagalungan, Datu Piang
about by Typhoon “Frank” last year. and in Pigcawayan town,” the prelate said.
“Today’s flooding exceeded last year’s di- Pangalungan river has overflowed and
saster and the water is still rising,” he said. has reached the national highway to Kida-
“I am appealing to government disaster pawan.
coordinating councils to move and act fast,” The prelate said small portions of the
he added. Mindanao River basin planted to rice have
At press time, thirty out of Cotabato City’s gone underwater.
37 villages have been underwater which “The river projects in Allah and Simuay
prompted Mayor Muslimin Sema to place rivers have been swept away by rampaging
the city under state of calamity. floodwaters,” he added.
He released P1.5 million as emergency He described the situation as a “terrible
relief funds for the displaced families now tragedy” where people “will continue to
housed in various public schools and baran- suffer for years with the bald mountains
gay centers around the city. in Alamada have manifested signs of
Two persons died in Cotabato City due to man’s sins against God and his creation.”
drowning while another two farmers died in (Edwin Fernandez and Fr. Jonathan Do-
Alamada following a landslides and one died mingo, OMI)
AFP recruitment of
IPs as militiamen hit
DAVAO CITY—An official of Davao’s Roman Catholic Church has ger because of this practice. Our IP communities live peacefully in
criticized the military for allegedly recruiting indigenous peoples the hinterlands. The act of recruiting them to join the paramilitary
as members of a paramilitary unit. group is undermining their order,” he said.
Fr. Florencio Acedo, Jr., Indigenous Peoples Apostolate director, He said that the trouble with this recruitment is the fact that
claimed the military was enticing lumad residents in the region to lumads are usually becoming frontliners during military opera-
arm themselves and become members of the civilian armed forces tions.
geographical unit (Cafgu). “We can say now that the motive is clearly to put the lumad
According to the priest, the situation of the IP communities, at the frontline in its fight against the NPA (New People’s Army
based on reports reaching his office, is already “very alarming.” rebels),” said Acedo.
Acedo said “the military should understand that the indigenous The church official also said that it is clearly unfair to use the
peoples like any other civilians should be spared from being in- lumads as bait just to advance political interests.
volved in military works, field operations and campaigns.” “Safeguards must be set in place in order to protect the human
“We are actually exposing the lives of the IP communities in dan- rights of our lumads,” he added. (Mark S. Ventura)
Torture, violence prevail in evacuation camp sites
PAGALUNGAN, North Cotabato—In a sive devices (IEDs) during explosions is the violence in an attempt to arrest the rogue
desperate move of the government’s armed handiwork of LMG. MILF commanders.
forces to bring into justice the so-called mem- The hot pursuit operations of the govern- Mariam said the civilians are dreaming of
bers of the “lawless Moro Islamic Liberation ment troops against Bravo, Kato and their fol- a peaceful Mindanao and all they wanted
Front (MILF) group” (LMG), they cared less lowers started after a series of bloody attacks now is to go back to their homes and fields
about human rights protection and even in July and August last year that resulted to so they can start their lives anew.
inflict torture and violence. the death of hundreds and thousands of civil- Saying that life now in the evacuation sites
This was the view shared by some of ians and caused others to leave their homes is completely miserable, Mariam asked Mrs.
those internally displaced persons (IDP) and seek shelter in evacuation sites. Arroyo that if she is a true mother, she would
or commonly called “bakwit” mothers in have the heart of a mother who worried so
Pagalungan, North Cotabato, adding that as IDPs appeal for peace much over the suffering of her children.
time passes their road to attaining a secured Kagi Mariam, one of the IDPs also ap- Monitoring groups reported that about
living becomes narrower. pealed to the government particularly to 639,158 civilians have already been displaced
IDP Asnairah Nawal recounted to CBCP- President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to order by the fighting in Central Mindanao since
News how she and her family feared the the military to stop the practice of torture and last year. (Mark Ventura)
darkness of the night especially hearing the
Forum tackles dev’t issues in E. Samar
voices and footsteps of the military roaming
around the camp sites.
For Nawal, every step of a soldier would
also spell another hint of violence to take
place in the area, unmindful that children are
also getting scared of their presence.
She said government troops usually roam
around the evacuation camp sites and it
usually takes place before the sun sets till
evening. Some of the soldiers, she contin-
ued, also visit the abandoned places of the
bakwits.
“If they [army] see anyone around, they
© rfestin.wordpress.com
usually held him for custody. They will
slap him in the face urging him to reveal
the house of Umbra Kato. Though we don’t
know where he is, they still refuse to believe
it, said Nawal.
The military has been branding the group
of Abdulrahman Macapaar alias Com- BORONGAN, Eastern Samar— A recent fo- Other significant issues discussed were
mander Bravo and Ameril Umbra Kato as rum focusing on infrastructure development the practice of child labor in small mining
members of the LMG. Even 6th Infantry and environmental concerns may yet offer a sites and the operation of small and large-
Battalion Lieutenant Col. Jonathan Ponce ray of hope to the people of Eastern Samar to scale mining without proper consultation
said that the presence of improvised explo- see the much-deserved development happen and permit.
in their province. Jeff Rafa of Alyansa Laban sa Mina sa
The Diocese of Borongan hosted on July 24 Mindoro (ALAMIN) presented the National
punish operations, end to terrorist bombings, bombard- the 4th Eastern Samar Peace and Develop- Situationer on Mining while Roslyn Arayata
ments, raids because ‘Enough is enough.’” ment Forum (ESPDF) which discussed the of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) National Sec-
The prelate said due punishment for raids “has long current situation of the province’s infrastruc- retariat discussed the Alternative Mining
been meted out in an attrition of casualties and damaged tures and environmental issues. Bill.
properties.” He added what remains is the “senseless A report presented during the forum by At least more than 100 people attended
logic of war, of action and reaction” and the “suffering the Eastern Samar Development Project the forum, representing parishes, ESDMT,
of thousands of civilian evacuees.” Monitoring Team (ESDMT) highlighted the non-government organizations, academe
“For the sake of our evacuees and in the name of our controversies involving the unfinished con- and media.
one God of Peace, end your war! Go back to the negotiat- struction of road projects by the Department Representatives also came from govern-
ing table,” he added. He appealed to both sides to let the of Public Works and Highways (DWPH). ment agencies, including the local govern-
thousands of evacuees to safely return to their homes as The dreadful condition of roads in Eastern ment, Department of Environment and
he called on to “collaborate with one another and reha- Samar has always been a perennial prob- Natural Resources (DENR), Mining and
bilitate the evacuees’ destroyed properties.” lem in the province which the people have Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Philippine
“Give them another chance for a truly human life,” the learned to live with. Army and Philippine National Police.
prelate added. Environmental issues as regards the im- Resolutions concerning mining and en-
He concluded by saying “there is no human conflict plementation of Ecological Solid Waste Man- vironmental issues have been drafted and
that cannot be solved through a genuine honest dialogue agement Act (RA 9003) and mining concerns agreed on by the participants at the end of
of the heart.” (Melo M. Acuna) were also tackled during the meeting. the meeting. (Pinky Barrientos, FSP)
 A8 People, Facts & Places CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Nuncio leads
jubilee celebration
of San Jose diocese
THE diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija
marked its 25th year of canonical erec-
tion with a solemn mass on July 14, led
by the Apostolic Nuncio in the Phil-
ippines, Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams.
current bishop of Tarlac, Bishop Leo
M. Drona, SDB, the 2nd Bishop of San
Jose and current Bishop of San Pablo,
and Bishop Oscar Solis, a native of San
Jose and currently Auxiliary Bishop of
the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, USA
July 14, 2009 to July 14, 2010.
Three churches were designated as
official pilgrimage churches during the
year-long jubilee celebration. They are
the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker
in San Jose City, St. Nicholas of Tolen-

Themed Ika-25 taong anibersaryo:
hamon sa patuloy na pagpapalaganap ng
Damayang Kristiyano, the opening of the
year-long jubilee festivities was held at
the Cathedral of St. Joseph the Worker,
San Jose City.
Twenty-nine other prelates includ-
ing San Jose, Nueva Ecija Bishop Mylo
Hubert Vergara, Bishop Florentino
Cinense, first bishop of San Jose and
concelebrated the Eucharist.
The clergy from the Dioceses of San
Jose, Cabanatuan, Tarlac and Cubao
also joined the celebration.
A jubilee message from the Pope was
read by Bishop Sofronio Bancud of Ca-
banatuan during the Mass.
Bishop Vergara read the declaration
officially opening the Jubilee Year of the
Diocese of San Jose, Nueva Ecija from
tine Church in Carranglan, St. Jerome
Church in Sto. Domingo, and St. Roch
Church in Cuyapo.
A plenary indulgence is granted to
the faithful who visit any of the jubilee San Jose, Nueva Ecija Bishop Mylo Hubert Vergara with papal nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph
Adams during the processional entrance.
Churches provided they observe the
necessary requirements needed to re- the mass. Among those cited were the
ceive the indulgence. papal nuncio, the former bishops and
The diocese also distributed plaques two lay persons, Mr. Jayson Alejo who
of appreciation towards the end of won the logo making contest and Mr.
Francisco Beni, who topped the song
writing contest.
Among the faithful who graced the
occasion were representatives of differ-
ent sectors and parishes of the diocese.
Government officials headed by the
Governor of Nueva Ecija, Aurelio Um-
ali, Representatives Cherry Umali and
Joseph Gilbert Violago also attended
the celebration.
Jubilee preparations vember, Schools; December, Damayang
Preparations for the jubilee have been
going on since 2007. Vergara formed an
AdHoc committee headed by the Vicar
General Msgr. Rolando Mabutol to
Contributed photo
Contributed photo
tee meets once a month to plan for the
occasion.
Upcoming celebrations
The year-long jubilee festivities also
provided a means for the diocese to
thank the different sectors which jour-
neyed with the bishopric through the
years.
A monthly celebration will highlight
the different sectors and their contribu-
tion to the growth of the diocese: August,
Religious; September, Catechists; Oc-
tober, Indigenous People/Community
Based Health Program Workers; No-
Kristiyano; January 2009, Parish Workers
and Lay leaders; February, Clergy and
Seminarians; March, Mandated Orga-
nizations; April, Youth; May, Farmers;

oversee the groundwork for the jubilee
celebrations.
The committee heads and members
are composed of priests, religious nuns
Twenty-nine Prelates concelebrated the jubilee mass. and lay leaders. The AdHoc Commit-
June, Parish wide celebrations.
A synthesis of the year-long celebra-
tions will be the culminating activity
of the jubilee on July 2010. (Pinky Bar-
rientos, FSP)

7 cardinals to attend Asian Markings

bishops’ confab in Manila APPOINTED. Fr. Francis Gustilo,
SDB, by Pope Benedict XVI, to the 30-
member International Theological Com-
mission under the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith. Gustilo, an expert
HONG KONG’S controversial Joseph Cardi- Discipline of the Sacraments, having served
nal Zen is among the seven cardinals attend- as prefect from 2002 to 2008. in spiritual and dogmatic theology, is a
professor of theology and spirituality
ing the meeting of Asian Catholic bishops in Cardinal Arinze was one of the principal at the Don Bosco Center of Studies in
Manila this August. advisors to Pope John Paul II, and was con- Paranaque City. The Salesian was one
Cardinal Zen, who just retired last April sidered “papabile” before the 2005 papal of the three nominees endorsed by the
as the head of Hong Kong’s Catholic Church conclave, which elected Benedict XVI. CBCP to William Cardinal Levada, Pre-
fect of the Congregation for the Doctrine
after 12 years for reasons of age, is an out- The 120 expected participants are currently of the Faith. Gustilo, a former provincial
spoken advocate of democracy and religious considering the working document on “Liv- superior of the Salesians of Don Bosco,
freedom in China. ing the Eucharist in Asia,” which is based in became the third Filipino to sit in the
During his tenure, the 77-year-old cardinal recent Church teachings on the topic. Commission, after Jesuit theologian Catalino Arevalo and Imus Bishop Luis
Antonio Tagle who served from 1997-2003. The International Theological
criticized both the governments in Hong The plenary assembly is the highest legal Commission was erected in April 11, 1969 and had then Joseph Cardinal
Kong and Beijing. body within the FABC, which conclude Ratzinger as its first President from November 25, 1981 to April 19, 2005
As a result, his concern on social justice usually with final statements reflecting their when he was elected Supreme Pontiff. (Melo M. Acuna)
and human rights has won him both friends main considerations on the selected theme.
© www.catholic.org.hk

and foes, even within the Church.
And despite his retirement, the cardinal
continued his advocacy for the Church in
China and other key issues.
Catholics in China are split between a
state-sanctioned church and an underground
church that opposes government ties and
follows only the Pope.
An estimated 120 prelates will be visiting
the Philippines for the 9th plenary assembly
of the Federation of Asian Catholic Bishops’
Conferences (FABC) on August 10-16.
Archbishops Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales
of Manila and Ricardo Cardinal Vidal of
Cebu are among the Filipino prelates attend-
ing the event at the Pope Pius XII Catholic
Cardinal Joseph Zen
Center in Paco, Manila.
Other cardinals attending the plenary
meeting are Telesphore Toppo and Oswald
Gracias, both from India, and John Baptist
Cardinal Phan Min Manh from Vietnam.
The FABC secretariat said the Vatican will
also be sending Francis Cardinal Arinze to
represent Pope Benedict XVI.
He is currently Prefect Emeritus of the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the
FABC has 15 Episcopal Conferences
coming from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia,
Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Laos-Cambodia,
Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, Myanmar,
Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan,
Thailand and Vietnam.
It also has ten associate members from
Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia, Nepal,
Kyrgyzstan, Siberia (Russia), Tajikistan,
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and East Timor,
which are Church territories with less than
three dioceses or ecclesiastical territories.
This will be the second time that such a ple-
nary takes place in Manila, after the foundation
of the Federation in Manila in1970, and the 6th
Plenary Assembly in 1995. (Roy Lagarde)
ELECTED. Fr. Manny Guazon, a priest from the Archdiocese of Lipa has
been recently elected as Chairman of the Association of Foundations,
Inc. Guazon currently serves as Executive Director of Pondong Batangan
Community Foundation. He is also the chairperson of the Association
of Foundations’ Community Foundations Committee and was former
president of SAIDI. An acknowledged expert in organization develop-
ment, Guazon is a board member of the Lipa Metropolitan Chapter of the
Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development, serving as
its Chairman of the Committee on Programs. With his election, the Board
has regional representation. Guazon joins Ms. Marichu Lopez in repre-
senting Luzon. Mesdames Domi Chua, Edith Villanueva and Gina Martin
along with Sonny Carpio all hail from the Visayas while Dodoy Magdolot
and Bro. Bob McGovern are from Mindanao. (Fr.Noni Dolor)
ELECTED. Fr. Randolf
Flores, SVD as Chair-
man of the Board of
Trustees of the Catholic
Biblical Association of
the Philippines (CBAP)
for 2009-2010. Other
members of the Board

UST Theological Society holds Week of Prayer for Priests
THE University of Sto. Tomas
Theological Society started this
year’s “Week of Prayer and
Gratitude for Priests” with a
Mass led by Batanes Bishop
Camilo Gregorio at the UST
chapel last July 27.
The Week of Prayer and
Gratitude for Priests, in line
with the Church’s celebra-
tion of the sesquicentennial
anniversary of St. John Mary
Vianney and dedication for
the “Year for Priests”, will be
holding a nine-day celebration
that will culminate on the Feast
of St. John Mary Vianney on
Aug. 4.
The prayer for priests of St.
Therese of the Child Jesus will
be recited at the start of the class
in their respective classrooms
during the entire celebration of
the religious event.
The image of St. John Vianney
will be venerated by faculty,
heads, and students of desig-
nated departments or colleges. It
will stay in a particular depart-
ment throughout the day and
through prayer, incensing the
image, and solemn procession,
the image will be transferred to
another department on the suc-
ceeding day.
The procession of the image
accompanied by the students of
the Faculties of Sacred Theology
and Philosophy was initiated
from the Central Seminary to
are: Sr. Bernardita Di-
anzon, FSP, secretary;
Sr. Miriam Alejandrino,
OSB, member; Fr. Gil
the Ecclesiastical Faculties on On Aug. 3, the campus Alinsangan, SSP, mem-
July 27. It was venerated dur- ministry facilitated a Taize ber; Fr. Cielito Almazan,
ing the second day by the High prayer for priests to students OFM, member; Fr. Leander Barrot, OAR, member; Fr. Victor Nicdao,
member; Fr. Felipe Fruto Ramirez, SJ, member; and Fr. Herbert Schneider,
School Department and by the of the university, followed SJ, member. Flores is at the same time President/Executive Director
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery by a solemn vespers held in and Dianzon is Secretary. The vice-president and treasurer have yet to
on July 29. the Central Seminary gym- be elected in the next Board meeting on August 2009. The election took
In the afternoon, the proces- nasium. place July 17-19, 2009 during the 10th annual convention of the organi-
zation held at Phinma, Tagaytay City. CBAP is an association of biblical
sion of the image of St. John A Prayer Vigil was held at scholars and exegetes committed to studying and spreading the Word of
Vianney was led by the deans, the Central Seminary chapel God. The group also promotes partnership on common projects with the
professors, staff and students by the representative stu- other members of the recognized Biblical organizations worldwide. The
of the Faculty of Medicine and dents, deans and professors biblical organization works hand in hand with the Episcopal Commission
Surgery to the administrative from different faculties, col- on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP). (Kate Laceda)
building. The image was brought leges, and institutes of the
back to the Central Seminary, university at the culmination LAUNCHED. Two-year
July 31. of the nine-day liturgical preparation for the gold-
The Triduum Prayer in com- event. en jubilee celebration of
the Diocese of Laoag,
memoration of the Cure of Ars, A concelebrated mass July 26, St. William
the patron of the secular priests, capped the Week of Prayer and Cathedral, Laoag City.
by the Central Seminary com- Gratitude for Priests. (Vanessa Archbishop Edward
munity began August 1. Puno) Joseph Adams, Apos-
tolic Nuncio in the Philip-
pines led the Eucharis-

Teresian Association marks St. Poveda’s 73rd death anniv

THE Teresian Association Luzon
chapter, an international catholic lay
association with pontifical approval
founded by St. Pedro Poveda has
celebrated the commemoration of the
founder’s 73rd anniversary of martyr-
dom with their families and friends
held in Pedro Poveda College in Que-
zon City on July 26.
It also marked the launching of the
preparation of the Teresian Associa-
St. Pedro Poveda tion’s Luzon chapter for the centen-
tic Mass together with
Laoag Bishop Sergio
Utleg and clergy. Pres-
ent during the launching
nial celebration of foundation of the ography of were delegates from the
international Teresian Association St. Poveda different vicariates of the diocese and religious congregation of sisters.
established in Oviedo this coming and history Each parish was represented by members of their pastoral councils (PPC)
2011. of Teresian and finance councils (PFC). The diocese will mark its golden jubilee in
2011. (Mark Vertido)
Last July 27 was also the opening of Associa-
the celebration of the 50th anniversary tion.
of Poveda College in 2010, according to Alumni of UP Madrigal graced the founder, educator and martyr.
Dra. Emma Melgarejo, the president of affair by rendering songs of different A blessing was conferred on a group
Poveda College. genre that aptly relates to a brief de- of young new members of Institucion
Dra. Azucena Camagan, zone direc- scription of chronicle of St. Poveda’s life Teresiana Youth of Poveda before the
tor of Teresian Association of Luzon as their tribute to the commemoration end of the eucharistic celebration. (Van-
started the affair by reading a short bi- of the saint’s vocation as priest of God, essa Puno)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
Values
Involved
in a
Financial
Crisis
(Talk of Manila Archbishop Gaudencio
B. Cardinal Rosales during the First
Saturday MAGPAS on July 4, 2009
at the Cardinal Sin Auditorium, Paco
Catholic School, Paco, Manila delivered
by Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Auxiliary
Bishop of Manila)
WE continue the reflection on the
different verses of our Apostolic
Vision in the Archdiocese of Manila.
This time we attune ourselves with the
current crisis that affects the financial
and economic globe. What happens
to the money in one part of the world
influences money-making and the use
of money in other places of the same
world, including the Philippines. It
is for this reason that we make this
reflection.
It is hard to make money; it is harder
to make proper and responsible use of
hard-earned money. And this brings us
to the question of values. In moments
of crisis the question will ultimately be
asked: what went wrong with values?
What is it that I value most or what
do I really desire most in my work,
among friends and ultimately in my
whole life?
Change in Values means a Change in
one’s Lifestyle
A change in value scale of any
individual will mean a change in
Pastoral Concerns
psychologist, who said that human
desires tend to form a hierarchy of
importance. Hindi lahat ng gusto ay
pare-pareho. Ang gusto ngayon, bukas
ay hindi na. Mas malaki na ang hangad
sa makalawa! In life the changes in
values is evident in what people seek.
In the beginning one thought the tricycle
will answer all the needs to go around
the town; then the craving for a jeep
took over. Now it is SUV.
“As a want of a lower order is being
satisfied, it becomes less and less
important, with a want of the next
highest-order becoming more and
more important… What matters is the
insight that wants are not absolute:
the more a want is being satisfied, the
less its satisfaction matters”. (PETER
DRUCKER, People and Performance,
p. 216). The truth about values and
behavior is evident in the way we have
things; our houses, offices, garages and
bodegas are cluttered with objects we
thought we urgently needed. Value
scaling easily transits to greed. The
worst part is that we may not be aware
of our own hierarchy of avarice.
Avarice and Greed Silently Lurk
behind the Desire for More
It now appears that in making money
(earning) and in the management of
money (banking and saving) the value
system of the person has been badly
devastated. At the root of the present
financial and economic crisis is a moral
or ethical problem. People who handle
huge amount of money or resources have
lost their values; with management they
co-opt both the present and the future.
The idea of honesty and transparency is
lost. Management as the supreme form
of stewardship is only imaginary. What
I have is not completely and ultimately
mine. We will be responsible not only
for what we hold in possession, but even
for what we have desired. “Thou shalt
not covet thy neighbors’ good,” so says
the Tenth Commandment.
Very recently it was revealed through
investigations that at the root of the
world’s financial crisis was the selfish
managerial conduct of many a CEO
(Chief Executive Officer) and GMs
one’s style of life. I vividly remember
(General Managers) who took it to
a dialogue I had once with a group
themselves to cut the pie of investments
of housewives from the farmlands in
in such ways that the larger slice of
Bukidnon. These women complained
compensation is always on their side.
in that open discussion against their
Some are completely without morals
husbands. When life was hard and
that given by their Government some
tough and they had difficulties making
aid in the form of “buy off”, they first
both ends meet, they had only “one
proceeded to their blow out parties and
fighting cock” in the yard. “Isa lamang
self-compensatory acts. It is evident
ang kanilang tinaling sasabungin”.
that in the management of resources
But after a bumper crop harvest the
two important things are required by
previous year, they had eight fighting
an ethical behavior.
cocks to take care of. This only proves
that the moment one’s resources have
What Everyone Needs to be Moral in
improved, the style of life begins to
the Use of Money or its Equivalent
change.
The first requisite for a moral conduct
Values have a great influence in the
is discipline. No person can be moral
life of anyone. Money has a way of
without full control of self. To do what
changing the behavior and the ideals
is good and to avoid what is evil is not
of the person. The more of it (money
left to chance or the whim and fancy of
or things material) you have, the more
the individual. It requires personal and
will man desire it... And the more
consistent effort to be good. Even the
repeatedly you have “the more”; the
management of the home demands an
less will it satisfy.
enormous degree of discipline or “dying
Now that we are talking of values
to self”. For how can anyone explain
allow me to bring in the ideas of
the mutual fidelity of the spouses to
Abraham H. Maslow, a humanist
one another, the unfailing guidance
and accompanying of parents for their
children, without self-sacrifice. Parents
can share with any of us the number of
times they had to forgo the immediate
purchase of a pair of pants or new
shoes to give way to the tuition or
“baon” of the children. Any posturing
of leadership whether parental,
social, economic or national, without
discipline of self cannot ultimately be
moral. It needs personal spiritual effort
to become a moral person. Morality
cannot be proclaimed nor can it be
gained by advertising one’s self.
The second requisite for the person’s
moral conduct is not to cause anyone
harm. (Never to do evil). The Greek
physician Hippocrates prescribed
for all those who would be involved
in the healing profession never to do
anybody any harm. “PRIMUM NON
NOCERE”. Above all, not knowingly
to do harm to anyone. This is positive
manner of saying avoid what is evil.
Avoid hurting anyone. So many times
this advisory is heard in the home, the
school, churches and streets. It is still
stated in the negative. “Don’t” Huwag!
Sinasaway! This is the root of the
Tagalog word “pasaway”. The whole
mentality behind the second requisite
is preventive.
The third requisite for moral conduct
is very positive. It sources from a
mentality that reaches out to another.
It does what is good whenever and
wherever good is perceived. Moral
individuals are proactive persons; they
make initiatives for good, they do not
wait that they may retaliate. Obviously,
high in the value of moral persons is
the practice of sharing. Obviously the
CEO’s and GM’s mentioned earlier in
our reflection would not fit rightly into
the category of moral management and
stewards we are today considering,
just as not all will be worthy of the
Kingdom of Heaven.
Sharing the Littlest Good Unlocks the
Gates to the Kingdom of the Father
The kingdom of the Father is a matter
of sharing, of giving up something for
the sake of another. Those who are
incapable of and are unwilling to share
even the smallest thing with another
will find it impossible (for them) to
dwell in the Father’s Kingdom. The
doors of the Father’s house will be
locked to those incapable of sharing
with the weakest. We remember that
in the Story of Lazarus the Rich Man
was asking for a second chance, but
he was denied by God another try. In
everyone’s life on earth every episode,
every encounter with a man in need is
a prelude to eternity and the unveiling
of Jesus Christ’s identity in the face of
the poor.
The mystery of eternity is that it is
hidden in the disguise of a few seconds
that long for charity and compassion for
the needy. It is so easy to miss eternity
by being too careless with little things,
simple good acts and the unkempt face
of the poor.
We started the reflection by saying
that the root of the present financial
crisis that has enveloped the world
economy and societies is ethical. That
B1
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
is true, but it would be very wrong to
insist that only because we have the
present crisis and financial problems
that today we busy ourselves with
ethical issues. The problem of desire,
and the craving for more is not just
an economic and moral problem. The
insatiable lusting for more—supported
by desire and strengthened by greed—is
both a psychological and a spiritual
problem. If that lust and desire for
resources, money and its equivalent is
so strong that it becomes compulsive,
then a more professional help must be
urged.
Detachment from anything or Person
not Rooted in God
However, most of us mortals are in
the same boat and what we need is
Christ until the storm of our desires
has passed, and we have all reached
the shore. Jesus is whom we need and
we may address him like the apostles
did, “Lord, save us”. Jesus saved the
Apostles in the boat with His Presence
and His power. When a heavily loaded
boat is threatened and about to capsize,
the command of the Captain is to jettison
the load. In the human scale of values
anything can be thrown away in order
to save lives. For heaven and eternal life
everything can be cast away. Money,
power, prestige, wealth, Presidency,
Senatorship, Barangay Captain’s office?
This is the reason why Jesus counseled
the rich young man, “Go, sell your
possessions, give to the poor and come
follow me”.
In all our scales of values God must
outbalance everything and everyone.
He tips the balance always to His side.
No one sits on the opposite side of the
balance to even try to displace God.
From the idea of detachment the value of
the Kingdom enters from the periphery
to take the center, because the idea of
King brings us in human language/
expression the supremacy of a God
who has neither equal or rival. And
because God is the Greatest, then we are
able to let go of everything, we consent
to be detached from everything and
everyone, even from our spirituality,
if only we can be with God.
The moral persons, who truly learn
to love and serve God and accept Him
as the greatest (Kingdom), can be
trusted with resources, honor and the
economy of any institution, Church and
country. What they call stewardship is
nothing but the proper management of
resources, monies and / or its equivalent
done by men who are moral, transparent
and compassionate.
Stewardship does not mean
ownership, for when God said “Let
us make humans to our image and
likeness, and let them be masters of
the sea, the fish” and the rest on earth
He did not mean exclusive ownership
but providential care for the created
resources for everyone to enjoy. To live
on earth as God’s image is to share God’s
gifts with others, while using from it
only what s/he needs and allowing
others to share what is their share from
the bounty that is God’s. To claim from
the earth more than what he needs is
to destroy the balance of God’s wisdom
and mercy.
 B2 Updates CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

The Canonical Process (Part I)

By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, and cross-examination) of
witnesses.
J.C.D. (ii) Presentation of proofs.

AT times, I have been approached b. Principles Relative to the

by Catholic faithful citing some Processal Initiative. We can
grievances against fellow distinguish three levels:
Catholics—fellow laypersons, or 1) Opening of the Process. The
religious, or at times even clerics. instance of the part inchoates the
What brings them to consult a process; the opening of the process
priest is oftentimes their desire to ex officio does not happen in
resolve the matter amicably—intra Canon Law (c.1501).
Ecclesia—rather than suing in a 2) Impulse of the Process.
civil court. What they don’t know The impulse or propelling of
is that even within the Church, the the process through its different
canonical mechanism exists for stages belongs, in principle, to
legitimate redress. the parts, who should be the ones
After exhausting the extra- to propel the process (c.1452, §1).
judicial means to resolve a conflict, However, in cases that affect the
the faithful—or canonical juridic public good, the judge ex officio
person—who esteems that a should propel the process so that
legit¬imate interest has not been it does not lapse.
satisfied, can exercise his right 3) Presentation of Proofs.
to action by presenting his cause In principle, the parts should
before a judicial tribunal. What present the proofs. However, the
follows is a series of acts aimed at judge should make up for any
obtaining a resolutory decision negligence of the parts, both in the
from the tribunal. This is the presentation of proofs and in the
judicial process. interposition of exceptions.

1. The Canonical Judicial Process c. Principles of Preclusion and

(Processus)
In Canon Law—similar to
civil law—a process is a series or
succes¬sion of formal juridic acts,
carried out before a tribunal of
justice, by virtue of a pretension—
understoodasaclaim,formu¬lated
according to form and with
fumus boni iuris—by a subject
confronted by another, aimed at
obtaining in a binding way the
declaration or acknowledgment,
juridical constitution, or the
im¬position of a conduct, in
relation to persons and matters
subject to the jurisdictional power
of the Church. This exhaustive
definition attempts to capture
the following essential elements
of the process.
a) Procedural: The process
entails a established way of
proceeding (modus procedendi),
wherein the series of juridic acts
follow each other in an ordered
way—i.e., some are necessary
antecedents, while others are
obligatory consequences.
b) Processal: These acts are
processal inasmuch as they are
celebrated before a tribunal
of justice and proceed in a
con¬tentious manner.
c) Fumus boni iuris (an apparent
legal sense): This series of acts
starts with one inchoative act of
formal claim—commonly called
the libellus or charge—among the
requisites for which is that it have
founda¬tion in law (cc.1504, 1° and
1505, §2, 4°).
d) Confrontational: The process
is always confrontational—i.e., it is
between parts (also called parties)
who do not have to be actually
against each other, but are formally
positioned confrontationally
with respect to each other. This
contradictorium is at the core of
the process and its presence in
each stage of the process is the
theoretical basis for its claim to the
truth—i.e., such contradictorium
is what enables the court, fallible
as it may be, to arrive at the moral
certainly of having reached the
truth of the matter by the time of
sentencing, since both parts would
have exerted everything possible
to demonstrate the two sides of
the contention.
e) Aimed at getting a judgment:
The series of acts which constitute
a process pretend to obtain from
the judicial tribunal a decision
which binds the opposed parties,
and—in some cases and in an
indirect and conditional manner—
even third parties.
f) The content of the decision can
be of different sorts, con¬gruent
with the content of the original
claim of the actor or plaintiff in
his charge or libellum. Thus the
decision can be:
(i) Declarative—merely
declaring juridic facts or rights
pre-existent to the process (c.1400,
§1, 1°).
(ii) Constitutive—constituting
new rights or juridic situations,
by creating, modifying or
extinguishing pre-existing juridical
phenomena.
(iii) Condemnatory—imposing
certain conducts or duties (c.1400,
§1, 2°), e.g., penalties.
g) Limited Scope: On the one
hand the canonical process is
limited to persons and things
subject to the jurisdictional power
of the Church (cc.1400-1401).
On the other hand, it is also
limited in scope to that aspect of
juridical reality which is defined
in the dubium or litiscontestatio.
In other words, the process
will focus only on what the
Tribunal has established, early
on in the proceedings, to be the
bone of contention, avoiding other
issues—or even the introduction of
certain evidences—as irrelevant to
the particular case.
2. The Basic Elements of the
Process
In a schematic way, we can
consider five basic ele¬ments of
the process, which comprise the
subject matter of Part I of Book VII
(on Procedural Law) of the Code
of Canon Law:
1) Material Object: The matters
that can, in general, be addressed
by a tribunal (c.1400).
2) Active Subject: The judge or
tribunal before whom the case is
presented. Can.1401 states the
general principle that the Catholic
Church does indeed have the right
to hear certain cases; and cc.1404-
1475 (Titles I-III) treat this matter
more in detail.
3) Form: The procedure or
solemnities that are followed in
the adjudication of certain matters.
Can.1402 states the general rule.
4) Passive Subject: The petitioner
or respondent whose case is being
heard. This matter, along with the
procurators and advocates for the
parties, is treated in cc.1476-1490
(Title IV).
5) Formal Object: The precise
claim or counter-claim made by
the parties in a particular process.
This matter is treated in cc.1491-
1500 (Title V).
3. Processal Principles in
General
As a specific instrument for the
establishment of justice in any
juridic order, we can speak of the
process being informed by the
following principles.
a. Oral vs. Written System
1) Written Process. This arose
in Europe from the common law
(ius commune)—based on Roman
Law—moved by the desire to
foster impartiality on the part of the
judge: to minimize direct contact
between the judge and the parts.
2) Oral Process. This was the
opposite tendency, moved by
reasons of expeditiousness, which
became the ordinary way.
3) Conjugation of both principles
in the modern process. The
modern process gives preference
to one and the other princi¬ple
depending on its aptness for the
specific phase of the pro¬cess:
a) There is a preference for
the written mode in the more
complicated phases requiring
accuracy of documentation:
(i) Petition—since it is usually
complicated.
(ii) Testimonies—are taken
down in writing, since the sentence
(and possible appeal) has to be
based on them.
b) On the other hand, there is
a preference for the oral mode
where immediacy between the
judge and the parts or witnesses
is desirable—i.e., for agility and
judicial accuracy:
(i) Interrogation (examination
Concentration
1) Principle of Preclusion.
This refers to the extinction of a
facultative right (faculty) to carry
out a processal act once the time
limit or period for it has lapsed,
and the process has moved on to
the next phase. A part who does
not make use of a faculty within
its time limit looses the right to
exercise it.
2) Principle of Concentration.
This refers to the tendency to
concentrate all the processal acts in
one audience (so as to coun¬teract
the principle of preclusion).
d. Principle of Publicity and
Secrecy
1) Principle of Secrecy. The
subjects and the acts in the trial
are bound by secrecy with respect
to third parties who have no
legitimate interest in the cause
(c.1455).
2) Principle of Publicity. An
ecclesiastical trial is much more
private regarding third parties
than are most civil trials—to which
private citizens and the press,
and sometimes even television
cameras, have access (c.1470). For
the most part, ecclesiastical trials
are held in closed chambers, with
just the judge (or tribunal) and a
notary present, while the parts and
witnesses make their deposition
one by one. (To be concluded.)

Masters of Ceremonies Laypeople’s Use of Oil

(Father Edward McNamara, professor
of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum
university, answers the following
query:)
Q: At a conference organized by
one of the ecclesial movements and
attended by nine priests and two
bishops, a Christian Brother was
delegated by one of the lay-leaders
to bring the Blessed Sacrament to
the hall for adoration each day. At
both the beginning and end of the
45-minute adoration, the Christian
Brother proceeded to bless the people
with the monstrance—not just a
single blessing, but rather the triple
blessing used by a bishop. I relate the
details of this incident to inform you
of how uninformed the lay-leaders
were. Also, on each occasion at Mass
the bishops were seated together
near the altar with a lay master of
ceremonies, and the priests were
seated on a much lower level, at the
front of the congregation, and at a
distance of about 15 to 20 meters
from the bishops—even though
there was room for all or most of us
to be seated with the bishops. When I
complained before the last Mass about
the unnecessary distance between
priests and bishops, I was just ignored
and left to believe that I should have
more respect for the authority of
the lay-leaders. Are priests obliged
in these circumstances just to fall in
with the wishes of lay-leaders? Have
lay-leaders the authority to direct how
and where priests should sit in matters
like this? Lastly, does a celebrant or
principal celebrant have a right to say
that he has no need, or does not want
a master of ceremonies (particularly a
lay MC) at a Mass? At the conference
mentioned above, a lay MC before
one of the Masses commented to the
principal celebrant that “I am the one
in charge today.”—T.M., Australia
A: There are basically three
questions involved. I will address
the first two briefly and expand a
little on the third.
First, it was an abuse to have an
extraordinary minister (the Christian
Brother) exposing the Blessed Sacrament
when ordained ordinary ministers were
present. Furthermore it was a grave abuse
for the religious brother to attempt to give
a blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.
This rite is strictly reserved to the
ordained ministers, and the brother might
even be subject to canonical penalties for
illegitimately carrying out these rites.
Second, the General Instruction of the
Roman Missal foresees that, insofar as
possible, concelebrating priests should be
seated within the sanctuary. If this is not
possible due to elevated numbers, they
should be as close to the presbytery as
possible,withnootherfaithfulseatedbetween
the ministers and the concelebrants.
Finally, the role of the master of
ceremonies is outlined in the Ceremonial
of Bishops, Nos. 34-36. The norms make it
clear that he is at the service of the liturgy in
order that a solemn celebration be carried
out with grace, simplicity and order.
He is needed to “prepare and direct
the celebration in close cooperation with
the bishop and others responsible for
planning its several parts.” It continues:
“He should seek to ensure an observance
of liturgical laws that is in accord with
the true spirit of such laws and those
legitimate traditions of the particular
Church that have pastoral value.”
Before the celebration he should “arrange
with the cantors, assistants, ministers and
celebrants the actions to be carried out
and the texts to be used, but during the
celebration he should exercise the greatest
discretion: he is not to speak more than
is necessary, nor replace the deacon or
assistants at the side of the celebrant. The
master of ceremonies should carry out his
responsibilities with reverence, patience
and careful attention.”
Regarding the qualities required of him,
the document says: “He should be well-
versed in the history and nature of the liturgy
and its laws and precepts. But equally he
should be well-versed in pastoral science,
so that he knows how to plan liturgical
celebrationsinawaythatencouragesfruitful
participation by the people and enhances
the beauty of the rites.”
The qualities mentioned in these
norms in no way exclude the possibility
of a lay master of ceremonies and,
indeed, there are many excellent lay
masters in churches and cathedrals
around the globe.
In this sense the question of
“obedience” toward a master of
ceremonies or of his being “in
charge” should be largely beside the
point. Preparing a proper liturgical
celebration is a collaborative effort
in which the master of ceremonies
coordinates beforehand with the
various persons involved.
A master of ceremonies who arrives
saying he is “in charge” has probably
failed in his duties to adequately
prepare the ceremonies in advance.
If anybody is properly speaking
“in charge” of the celebration, it is
the principal celebrant. For example,
it is he, not the master of ceremonies,
who determines the texts to be used,
which optional ritual elements are
included or omitted, and what is to
be sung or recited. In preparing the
celebration the master of ceremonies
may make suggestions to the celebrant
as to what is most appropriate. But
the final decision rests with the
celebrant. The celebration can even
make changes during the course
of the celebration if unforeseen
circumstances recommend it.
The master of ceremonies is “in
charge” of coordinating all those who
assist at the Mass and these should
diligently follow his instructions.
Although we have said that, strictly
speaking, concelebrants do not owe
obedience to the master of ceremonies,
this statement must be qualified in
some cases. There are situations in
which a large number of concelebrants
arrive shortly before the beginning of
Mass, and it is materially impossible to
prepare the celebration beforehand.
In such cases the priests should
punctually follow the MC’s
indications, not so much out of
obedience to his person as to
obedience toward the reverent and
dignified celebration of Mass.
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university,
answers the following query:)
Q: There are chaplains who minister at a local Catholic hospital and one of them likes to
use “oil” when she prays with the patients (Catholics and non-Catholics). I feel that this causes
confusion. One of the chaplains attended a recent convention of chaplains and was told by a
presenter that this practice is allowed as long as they tell the patients that they are not receiving
the sacrament of the sick. I seem to recall that years ago the Vatican came out with a document
on the use of oil by laypersons. Could you please comment?—A.S., Bridgeport, New York
A: The document you refer to is probably the 1997 instruction “On Certain Questions Re-
garding the Collaboration of the Non-Ordained Faithful in the Sacred Ministry of Priest.” This
is an unusual document insofar as it was formally issued by the Congregation for Clergy but
was co-signed by no fewer than eight Vatican congregations and councils, including that of the
Doctrine of the Faith. This gives the document a certain weight with respect to its authority.
The document first presents the theological principles behind its decisions before giving a
series of practical considerations on aspects of lay ministry in the Church. Then, having laid
the groundwork, it enunciates in 13 articles practical provisions and norms that outline the pos-
sibilities and limits of the collaboration of the lay faithful in priestly ministry.
The first article, on the “Need for an Appropriate Terminology,” attempts to clarify the multiple
uses of the expression “ministry.” This responds to an intuition of Pope John Paul II who, “In his
address to participants at the Symposium on ‘Collaboration of the Lay Faithful with the Priestly
Ministry’ …, emphasized the need to clarify and distinguish the various meanings which have
accrued to the term ‘ministry’ in theological and canonical language.”
The document accepts that the term “ministry” is applicable to the laity in some cases:
“§3. The non-ordained faithful may be generically designated ‘extraordinary ministers’ when
deputed by competent authority to discharge, solely by way of supply, those offices mentioned
in Canon 230, §3 and in Canons 943 and 1112. Naturally, the concrete term may be applied to
those to whom functions are canonically entrusted e.g. catechists, acolytes, lectors etc.
“Temporary deputation for liturgical purposes—mentioned in Canon 230, §2—does not confer
any special or permanent title on the non-ordained faithful.”
However: “It is unlawful for the non-ordained faithful to assume titles such as ‘pastor,’ ‘chap-
lain,’ ‘coordinator,’ ‘moderator’ or other such similar titles which can confuse their role and that
of the Pastor, who is always a Bishop or Priest.”
Another article, No. 9, is on “The Apostolate to the Sick.” Regarding our reader’s question
on the use of oil in a non-sacramental way, the article is very clear:
“§1. […] The non-ordained faithful particularly assist the sick by being with them in difficult
moments, encouraging them to receive the Sacraments of Penance and the Anointing of the
Sick, by helping them to have the disposition to make a good individual confession as well as
to prepare them to receive the Anointing of the Sick. In using sacramentals, the non-ordained
faithful should ensure that these are in no way regarded as sacraments whose administration is
proper and exclusive to the Bishop and to the priest. Since they are not priests, in no instance
may the non-ordained perform anointings either with the Oil of the Sick or any other oil.
Ҥ2. With regard to the administration of this sacrament, ecclesiastical legislation reiterates
the theologically certain doctrine and the age old usage of the Church which regards the priest
as its only valid minister. This norm is completely coherent with the theological mystery signified
and realized by means of priestly service.
“It must also be affirmed that the reservation of the ministry of Anointing to the priest is related
to the connection of this sacrament to the forgiveness of sin and the worthy reception of the
Holy Eucharist. No other person may act as ordinary or extraordinary minister of the sacrament
since such constitutes simulation of the sacrament.”
To many it might appear that this document is excessively restrictive in its dispositions. Yet by
providing clear guidelines and demarcations of proper competences based on solid theological
reasons, it actually facilitates fruitful collaboration between priests and laity in a true spirit of
charity and service to Christ, the Church and to souls.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
By Fr. Rolando T. Tabosares,
DCK
The Birth of the local Church
The beginnings of the local Church
in Kidapawan can be traced back to
the initial evangelization work of the
Jesuit missionaries in Mindanao and
the succeeding missionary work of
the Oblate Fathers (OMI’s) who came
in the 1930’s. The original inhabitants
then were the Moro and the Indigenous
Peoples. Then came the Christian settlers
from Luzon and the Visayas who
brought along with them the Christian
faith. There was so much goodwill
among the inhabitants. The population
in what came to be known as the Great
Cotabato Basin grew and so was the
need for evangelization. The Christians
organized themselves into communities
centered round rudimentary chapels
and would request the services of a
priest for patronal fiesta celebrations.
The Oblates founded parishes and
later set up Notre Dame Schools. The
Parish of Kidapawan was the first to be
established (1947).
In 1971, the First Mindanao-Sulu
Pastoral Conference was convened.
The delegates led by the bishops and
priests captured the spirit of renewal
called for by Vatican II and decided
to build Basic Christian Communities
(BCC’s) as a new way of being Church.
Spearheading this movement of Church
renewal in the Archdiocese of Cotabato,
particularly in Kidapawan area was Fr.
Beato Tariman and a team of lay persons.
To spur the organization and formation
of BCC’s or “GKK’s” (Gagmayng
Kristohanong Katilingban), the Lay
IMPORTANT FACTS
Bishop ……………………………….. 1
Priests:
Diocesan …………………………… 27
Religious:
Filipino …………………….………… 6
Foreign ……………………………… 4
Brothers ……………………………… 9
Sisters ………………………………... 45
Seminarians:
In Theology ……….………….. 13
In College …………………...…….. 21
In Pre-college ……………..………. 25
On guided regency …………….. 8
Parishes ……………...……………… 16
Quasi-Parish .…………………... 1
Population ……..……………… 783,179
Catholics ……………..………. 418,803
Area …………….…… 24,189.19 sq. km
Diocese of Kidapawan
“History is not only a record of the past. It is the unfolding of possibilities. Embedded
in it are seeds of change and creative acts for a better future.”
Liturgical Leadership (LLL) Program
was launched. The aim was to form
and train lay leaders to lead the Sunday
Celebration of the Word of God in the
absence of the priest.
The growth of the Church in the
Archdiocese of Cotabato came to the
point when it was time for it to give birth
to another local Church. So, in June 12,
1976, the Prelature of Kidapawan was
created and a Jesuit, Bishop Federico O.
Escaler, SJ, D.D. became the first local
Ordinary. At that time, there were only
11 priests, mostly Oblates, one Jesuit,
and three diocesan. The historical event
became an added impetus to build and
strengthen the BCC’s. More and more
parishes went into BCC organizing.
Consequently, a lot of lay leaders
emerged so that the need to form them
in the faith and to equip them with
leadership skills became evident. Thus,
the LLL became LLP (Lay Leadership
Program) to highlight the shift in focus
from forming and training lay leaders for
liturgical functions to enabling them to
lead the BCC’s in all aspects of church
life. of more than two years, two Diocesan
Barely a year after the Prelature was
created, in March 1-3, 1977, Bishop
Escaler convoked the First Prelature
General Assembly (PGA I) in which
the overall thrust – EDUCATION TO
JUSTICE – was formulated. The young
local Church took on the challenge to
educate the people in the faith and in the
demands it entails with regard to living it
out in situations of conflict and injustice.
At that time, the political conflict between
the Muslims and the Christians which
started in late 1960’s was continuing.
There were cases of land grabbing and
land-related conflicts. Abuses by the
military and para-military units were
also rampant. Communist insurgency
was spreading and intensifying. As a
response to these realities, the parishes
conducted consultations and education
sessions in the BCC’s. Prominent among
these was the Farmers’ Consultations
and Couples Formation.
These activities raised the level of
the consciousness of the people with
regard to issues affecting them. The
BCC’s became the venue through
which the people found the strength
and the courage to organize and to
have a collective voice to express their
sentiments and positions. Felt needs
surfaced and later led to the creation
of various pastoral programs such as
PHC (Primary Health Care, later became
CBHP – Community-Based Health
Program), Christian Formation (CF),
Family and Life (FLA), Social Action
(SAC), Justice and Peace and Integrity
of Creation (JPIC), Christian Youth
Formation (CYF), Tribal Filipino (TF),
and Vocations. A big part of the funding
for these programs came from foreign
funding agencies.
The heightened awareness of the
people, the flurry of ministerial activities
in the BCC’s and the parishes caught
the attention and the ire of some local
government officials and the military.
And so persecution started which led
the Church to take action and in turn
provoked more persecution.
Heightened Missionary Zeal Brought
Forth Intensified Persecution (1980-
1986)
The local Church of Kidapawan
turned a new chapter in history when
in 1980 Bishop Escaler was transferred
to the Prelature of Ipil in Zamboanga
del Sur and a new local Ordinary was
appointed to take his place – then Bishop
Orlando B. Quevedo, OMI, D.D. The
orientation to justice remained
as the thrust. The BCC’s
experienced intense
growth but the
opposing
f o r c e s
matched it with intensified persecution
in the name of anti-insurgency campaign.
The BCC’s were tagged as mass bases of
the NPA’s and the lay leaders were often
the targets of harassments and killings.
But the BCC’s would continue to gather
on Sundays in their chapels to celebrate
their faith and derive inspiration from it
and from the solidarity with one another.
Two more Prelature General Assemblies
were convoked to strengthen the resolve
to continue building BCC’s and respond
to the signs of the times based on the
imperative of the Gospel.
The situation became so intolerable
that on Easter Sunday in 1981, Bishop
Quevedo issued a Pastoral Letter bearing
the title and the call: The Lord is Risen:
Be Not Afraid – Ayaw Kahadlok. The
people stood their ground knowing
that the Risen Lord was with them. The
BCC’s continued to grow as the priests
assisted by committed lay leaders went
about nurturing their faith through
various ministries. Such growth led
to the elevation of the Prelature into a
diocese in November 15, 1982. In a period
General Assemblies (1983 and 1985)
were convoked. Diocesan-wide events
like these would always serve to provide
greater solidarity with one another and
to strengthen the commitment to mission
as enshrined in the diocesan thrust.
As the local Church was elevated to the
diocese so did it also rise to international
media prominence but above all to a
higher level of witnessing to the gospel
as a lot of people were killed on suspicion
of supporting the NPA’s or of being one
with them or simply because they were
members of the GKK’s or happened to
respond to those who called for help.
Crowning the long line of these victims
of violence and conflict was Fr. Tullio
Favali, PIME who was murdered in
La Esperanza, Tulunan in April 25,
1985. Despite the persecution, the
local Church moved on with its work
of educating the people to justice. The
situation of persecution and injustice
became a challenge and an impetus for
growth in the faith and in other aspects
Diocese
of church life.
New Shepherd, New Challenges, New
Pastoral Responses (1986-1995)
A new turning point in our journey
happened when the Pope John Paul II
transferred Bishop Orlando B. Quevedo
to the Archdiocese of Vigan, Ilocus Sur.
Fr. Beato Tariman, OMI, took over as
Diocesan Administrator until the new
shepherd, Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos,
D.D. came in April 9, 1987. The euphoria
of the EDSA Revolution was still very
much in the national consciousness
and there was hope that the local
situation would change for the better.
But we were mistaken! Bolo-wielding
fanatical groups sporting headbands of
different colors and commonly labeled
as “TADTADS” surfaced and freely
roamed the barangays to sow fear and
perpetuate terror among the residents.
It was common knowledge that these
fanatics were being used by the military
as part of the so-called “low intensity
conflict” tactics and the primary targets
were those identified as members and
leaders of the BCC’s and those actively
involved in human rights work. Thus,
a new wave of persecution happened.
As a response, Bishop Pueblos issued a
Statement of Concern in June 24, 1987
followed by an appeal to prayer and
fasting in July 29 of the same year.
In September 4, 1987, the Regional
Trial Court in the Province of Cotabato
sentenced to life imprisonment the
killers of Fr. Favali. Then a year later, the
Diocese was again shaken when the LLP
(Lay Leadership Program) Coordinator
of San Isidro Parish, Tulunan – Rading
Fajurano – was murdered. But the
diocese never considered quitting
or even to slow down its praxis and
tone down its voice. The blood that
Fr. Favali and the deeply committed
leaders and members of the BEC’s shed
became added source of strength and
inspiration and the fuel that spurred us
all to continue.
In 1989, there was a respite from
persecution and relative calm pervaded
the entire local Church. But on the
pastoral front, the Diocese moved on and
conducted the Third Diocesan General
Assembly (DGA III). The delegates of
this assembly spelled out the Vision,
Mission, and Goals of the Diocese and
reformulated the Thrust from “Education
to Justice” to “EMPOWERING THE
BEC’S FOR JUSTICE AND INTEGRAL
DEVELOPMENT”. They envisioned
BEC’s as having five components
corresponding to the five rays of a star:
Ray 1 – Sharing based on the Bible;
Ray 2 – Service to the Community; Ray
3 – Educating to Justice and Peace; Ray
5 – Self-reliant communities practicing
solidarity in love. This metaphor of
BEC’s became known as GKK STAR
MODEL that served to guide pastoral
action just like the Star of Bethlehem
that guided the Magi in their search for
the baby Jesus.
The redefinition of the diocesan
thrust signaled a shift towards a more
wholistic pastoral approach to mission
that included care and advocacy for
ecology and the establishment of zones
of peace. In June 12, 1991 the Diocese
issued A Pastoral Letter on Ecology to
coincide with the Diocesan Ecology
Day celebration. The main issue was
the geothermal project of the PNOC
at Mt. Apo National Reservation Park
against which the Diocese held several
moves. There were also efforts to stop
the logging operations done at the
Mt. Sinaka mountain range in Arakan
Valley. The Zones of Peace were
finally set up in Bituan, Tulunan and
later expanded to other neighboring
barangays. The effort towards peace-
building was finally given recognition
when the Diocese received the Aurora
Aragon Peace Award from no less than
the National Government itself. To
mark these fruits of mission and the
action of God in its history, the Diocese
celebrated its 15th Anniversary on
December 8-10, 1991.
When in January–February of 1991
the Second Plenary Council of the
Philippines (PCP II) was conducted
in Manila, the Diocese was ready to
welcome it as a great milestone in the
life of the Church in the Philippines
and as another turning point for its
own growth. We participated in the
necessary preparations for this
Council and sent delegates
to its celebration. When
these delegates came
back, they were
filled with the
inspiration
ON BACKGROUND: Our Lady Mediatrix of All
Grace Cathedral. BELOW: Most Rev. Romulo T. De
La Cruz, D.D.
and the resolve to implement the
Council’s Acts and Decrees. A massive
education campaign was launched
and preparations for another diocesan
assembly were commenced. The
following year, in 1992, the Fourth
Diocesan General Assembly DGA IV)
was held. We were that fast to respond,
for we thrived on challenges.
The Fifth Diocesan General Assembly
affirmed the Vision and Mission
Statement of the previous Assembly but
this time integrated the challenges of PCP
II in the goals and recommendations. The
three-pronged renewal call of PCP II –
Renewed Catechesis, Renewed Social
Apostolate, and Renewed Worship –
became FSW (Formation, Services, and
Worship). This FSW schema became
the umbrella under which the different
pastoral programs were run and
implemented from the diocesan level
down to the smallest units of the BEC’s –
the Family Groupings (FG’s). Ministries
under the Formation category were
Lay Leadership, Christian Formation,
Youth, Family and Life, and the Vocation
Program. Under the Service Ministry
were Justice and Peace and Integrity of
Creation – Women Empowerment (JPIC-
WEP), the Tribal Filipino Program (TFP),
the CBHP, the Social Action (SAC),
and the IRD (Inter-religious Dialogue).
The Worship Ministry included the
formation and training of the different
ministers involved in the celebration
of the liturgy. The unifying principle
of operation among these pastoral
ministries was “INTEGRATION” – the
workers of all ministries to work hand
in hand where and when appropriate in
line with the diocesan Vision, Mission
and Thrust. Steering these changes at
the diocesan level were the Diocesan
Pastoral Coordinator and the Diocesan
Pastoral Team (DPT). At this time, the
need for initiatives towards greater
self-reliance was again emphasized as
funds from abroad for the sustenance of
the pastoral programs dwindled. It was
time to really stand on our own.
Building on the Gains of the Past,
B3
Opening Up to New Possibilities
(1997-2006)
The fourth bishop of the Diocese was
the then Bishop Romulo G. Valles, D.D.,
a diocesan priest of the Diocese of Tagum
and Rector of the Saint Francis Regional
Major Seminary in Davao before he
was appointed and consecrated bishop
for our diocese. He took over the post
vacated by Bishop Pueblos who was
assigned to the Diocese of Butuan in
January, 1996.
Bishop Valles arrived in Kidapawan
at the time when we were beginning
the three-year journey of our JUBILEE
CROSS in preparation for the JUBILEE
YEAR in 2000. The Jubilee Cross we
made for this occasion travelled from
one BEC to another in every parish
throughout the diocese, staying one day
and overnight in each and continued on
to another at dawn the next day. This
was a time of grace and of conversion
for many people including some non-
Catholics.
In January of 2000, the JUBILEE
CROSS completed its pilgrimage. To
punctuate its arrival at the Cathedral and
to launch the JUBILEE YEAR 2000, about
20,000 pilgrims from all over the diocese
gathered at the plaza in Kidapawan City
for an overnight celebration of God’s
outpouring of goodness on His people.
A series of Jubilees, e.g. for families, the
youth, the sick, the tri-peoples (IP’s, Moro
and Christian Settlers) followed. There
was so much jubilation and celebration.
But it was marred by the EL NIÑO
phenomenon that caused starvation
to many of the farmers and the tribal
communities in the mountains. Relief
services were organized spearheaded
by TABANG MINDANAO. Another
event that caused untold suffering to the
people during this time was the ALL-
OUT WAR of the government against
the MILF. TABANG MINDANAO again
was involved but this time not only in the
relief work but in peace-building efforts.
While these calamities caused suffering
to those who were directly affected,
they also brought greater solidarity of
people in communities. One expression
of such solidarity was the formation of
the UPPIF (Ustadzes, Priests, Pastors,
Imams Forum), a brainchild of the
BUF (Bishops-Ulamas Conference). Fr.
Eddie Pedregosa, the IRD Coordinator
of the Diocese, was very instrumental
in organizing this forum the primary
purpose of which was to contribute
to the peace-building process at the
grassroot level.
In January, 2001, the Diocese
culminated the JUBILEE YEAR
with another diocesan-level activity.
Thousands of pilgrims from the
BEC’s came to celebrate for one day
and one night. The Apostolic Nuncio,
Archbishop Antonio Franco graced
the occasion. The following day, the
diocesan Jubilee Cross was enshrined
on the Cathedral grounds where to this
day people would come to pray or just
to see it.
A few months after the close of
the Jubilee Year, in June 12, 2001, the
Diocese turned 25 as a local Church.
The celebration, however, took place
on the morning of August 20, 2001 as
an opening salvo of the Fifth Diocesan
General Assembly (DGA V) which
was held from August 20 to 24, 2001.
The Diocesan Pastoral Team headed
by Fr. Rolando T. Tabosares, DCK, the
Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator, did a
lot of preparations to make the 25th
Anniversary Celebration and the DGA
V a resounding success.
The DGA V formulated a new Vision
and Mission Statement and updated
the Goals and Recommendations of
DGA IV.
In 2003, Fr. Rolando Tabosares, DCK,
the Diocesan Pastoral Coordinator
Kidapawan / B7
 Features
CBCP Monitor
B4 Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Monks celebrate jubilee of monastery

By Dom Martin Gomez, OSB
THE Benedictine monks up on the hills
of Malaybalay count their blessings on
this year of jubilee celebration of their
foundation.
As the celebration of the Jubilee Year
of the Monastery of the Transfiguration
comes to an end (August 6, 2008-August
6, 2009), it was blessed with the election of
its first Conventual Prior after nine years
of being under an appointed superior.
On June 13, 2009, the chapter elected
Fr. Savio Ma. Siccuan, OSB as Prior of
the monastery, signaling the start of a
new phase in the life of this Benedictine
monastery on the hills of Bukidnon.
Founded from the Abbey of Our
Lady of Montserrat in Manila by Abbot
Eduardo P. Africa, OSB, the monastery
was inaugurated on August 6, 1983
in solemn rites presided over by the
Papal Nuncio, Msgr. Bruno Torpigliani,
during the canonical visitation of Rt. Rev.
Dennis Huerre, OSB, Abbot President
of the Subiaco Congregation and Rev.
Mark Butlin, OSB, of Ampleforth
Abbey, England. The monastery became
autonomous in 1986, barely three years
after it inauguration.
As the present Abbot President of
the Subiaco Congregation puts it, “The
foundation of the Transfiguration in fact
represents a certain polarity in relation
to the Mother House. In the latter,
there is a monastic life together with a
pastoral thrust (San Beda College), while
in Malaybalay, the way of life has a
more contemplative style. This polarity
is creating a positive field of spiritual
energy both for the Mother House and
the Daughter House.”
Transfiguration in Malaybalay today
is a small monastic community with
eight solemn-professed monks and five
formands. The monks vowed to follow
the Rule of St. Benedict by living a
contemplative life in their quest for God.
The community observes the traditional
monastic horarium of seven times of
prayer, the Liturgy of the Hours, all of
which are chanted. They start with Matins
at 3:40 a.m. and end the day with Compline
or night prayer at 7 p.m. Lectio Divina or
spiritual reading is an important part of the
day in the life of the monks and much time
is provided for it. True to the Benedictine
motto of ORA ET LABORA, the monks are
also involved in agricultural endeavors,
planting rice and corn in their farm.
In May 1991, the monks started to
produce their high-quality coffee under
the trade-name “MONKS’ BLEND
PREMIUM COFFEE” and thus was born
MONASTERY FARMS, the name of the
company that now also produces piniato
(peanut brittle) and peanut butter.
As a spiritual center, the monastery
providesfacilitiesforretreatsandrecollections
both for the lay and the religious. The place
TOPMOST: The Transfiguration monastery in Malaybalay, Bukidnon. UPPER LEFT: Prior Savio Ma. Siccuan, OSB. UPPER RIGHT: The OSB community.
is a favorite venue for the religious who
are preparing for their profession; and
faculty retreats, some coming from as far
as Surigao and Zamboanga. The monastery
guesthouse is also open to guests who just
want to spend some time away from the
noise of the city and enjoy much time for
silent reflection. Many people come to the
monastery to find comfort and strength in
life, “heavily laden” with all sorts of pain
and suffering. People from all walks of
life come to the monastery and they are all
received. For as St. Benedict says in his Rule
for Monks, “Welcome each one as if he were
Christ Himself.”
“There are perhaps only a handful of
places in this country, and in the world,
that can give rest, relief and serenity to a
person’s soul as does the Monastery of
the Transfiguration,” a former president
once said. The guesthouse has also
opened its doors to non-religious activities
such as training seminars for NGOs and
government organizations, believing that
its very atmosphere of silence and the
beauty of nature, could not but touch the
hearts and souls of those who go there.
Following the centuries-old tradition
of Benedictine monasteries as centers for
learning, culture and the arts, Abbot Africa
in 1997 gathered superiors and formators
of monastic communities in the country to
listen to the renowned Esther De Waal’s
talks on THE RULE OF BENEDICT. This
was the beginning of what later came to be
and still is known today as the Philippine
Monastic Institute (PMI). Columba Stewart,
OSB, Mary Forman, OSB, David Lavich,
OCSO, and Mo. Irene Dabalus, OSB, have
all been special guest lecturers of the PMI.
Through the years, the monastery has
also brought to Malaybalay through the
Transfiguration Lecture Series and Music
Festival such well-respected speakers
as President Corazon Aquino, Haydee
Yorac and American Ambassador William
Hubbard, and artists like Coke Bolipata
(violinist), Antonio Maigue (flutist),
Josephine Roces (mezzo-soprano), Irma
Potenciano (soprano), Rachel Herodias
(soprano) and Della Besa (pianist).The
Monastery Boys Choir also gave a number
of memorable performances during its ten
years of existence.
Over the years, the monastery has
maintained a strong apostolate of
reaching out to the poor. Theirs is the
beautiful story of how monks have made
a difference in the lives of the poor folks of
barangay San Jose where the monastery
is situated. As early as 1990, the “Friends
of the Monastery” was launched, an
organization of friends and benefactors
who promise to support the apostolates
of the monks. All of these outreach
programs like the medical aid program,
the scholarships, feeding program, etc.
are handled by the TRANSFIGURATION
FOUNDATION, INC. (TFI).
Situated within the monastery grounds
is the Paul VI Institutes of Liturgy (PIL),
which continues to hold seminars on
liturgy for both the clergy and the lay. The
Formators’ Institute at Transfiguration
(FIAT) on the other hand, offers special
training seminars for religious formators
every summer. Started in 2005, FIAT
makes it possible for participants of the
one week seminar to joyfully engage in a
varietyofexperiencesinPrayer-Encounter-
Workshop-Study, all facilitated within the
structure of a formative community of
faith. FIAT is actually a double experience,
it is not only a formation seminar, it is also a
monastic experience since participants get
to join the monks in their chanted prayers
and experience the silence and beauty of
the surroundings.
As a monastery of the Third Millennium,
this monastic community has made
“Hospitality” an even more important
and palpable element of their monastic
life. Aside from welcoming retreatants
and guests to the guesthouse, the monks
started “BRUNCH WITH THE MONKS”
three years ago. Held every second Sunday
of the month, the monks serve brunch “al
fresco” in the monastery garden right after
the 8am mass. This has become a very good
way for the monks and the mass-goers to
get to know one another.
Last August 6, 2008, on the occasion of
the Silver Jubilee of the monastery, the
MUSEUM OF TRANSFIGURATION
MONASTERY (MTM) was inaugurated.
MTM is envisioned to be a center of
culture and arts that will help shape the
cultural landscape of Mindanao. Former
President Corazon Aquino gladly donated
one of her precious paintings in time for
the inauguration. This coming August 6,
the FILIPINO VESTMENTS EXHIBIT will
open at the museum, eleven years after its
successful debut at the Ayala Museum in
1998 for the celebration of the Centennial
of Philippine Independence. After a series
of successful exhibits in the United States
and at the Textile Museum of Canada, the
vestment collection finally comes to its
permanent home at MTM.
Looking at the past twenty-five years,
there is indeed much reason for joy and
thanksgiving. The monastery has certainly
contributed immensely to the growth of
the faith. May the good Lord continue to
bless the monks of Transfiguration as they
persevere in their work and in their prayer
that, in all things God may be glorified!

FAQ on Asian Integral Pastoral Taize to launch final stage of preparation

Approach (AsIPA)
1. What does AsIPA stand for?
Asian, Integral, Pastoral,
Approach.
Asian because we would like to
be very much a part of the local
culture and the gospel should
take on the expression of the local
people and be a part of their own
way of living. Sometimes we are
thought of as a foreign church.
This will be proved untrue if we
are rooted in the daily lives of
very ordinary people.
Integral because it is about
bringing together all the various
aspects of our parish life into
community and mission in and
with Christ. It is about weaving
together our faith with our daily
choices and actions. It is about
trying to bring together the
different generations and various
families into our small Christian
communities.
Pastoral because it is about
caring for all who live with and
around us, regardless of their race
or religion. The approach is about
making it possible for everyone to
participate according to their gifts
in the work of bringing about the
reign of God. Pastoral because the
work of all God’s people is the
same as that of their shepherd.
Approach. The tools used
to build up the community
must be such that they
enable participation, build
up confidence, skills in the
various ministries as well as
always addressing the question:
“Why are we doing this?” The
theological background to all
we do is made available through
simple texts and scripture.
* Scripture is the presence of the
Risen Christ in our midst and that
is the main way scripture is used
in the programmes of AsIPA.
* There are no ‘experts’ and
receivers in this approach. All have
something to offer and all have
(First of a series)
access to the same information
and search together.
* Discovering our common
mission that arises out of our
common vision is the work
of the people in our small
communities. Just telling and
expecting results is the opposite
of this approach.
2. What are some of the
programmes offered by the
AsIPA desk?
The AsIPA programmes are
supplemented by the Pastoral
training programmes coming
from South Africa and the
Philippines. There are many
types of programmes for
different contexts and needs.
Some examples are:
General awareness programmes
which wake up the Sunday
congregation to the demands
of the Church after Vatican
II. About leadership; sharing
responsibility for mission; our
social responsibilities for the poor,
creation etc.; about what SCCs are
and why we need them; about the
rites of Christian initiation and
why the church asks us to change
our way of catechizing adults,
youth and children.
* Programmes for small
communities to: learn how to
do Gospel sharing using different
methods for different occasions.
Learn how to start and maintain
small Christian communities;
learn how to choose the right
leaders for the various ministries
and services.
* Programmes for parish teams
to learn how to develop a mission
statement and make their own
awareness programmes.
* Programmes for parish
pastoral councils to learn what
it means to be a councilor and
how to work with parishioners
and the parish priest.
* Programmes for SCC members
to train for ministry to the sick,
for home visiting; for infant
baptism preparation; for liturgical
ministries like lectors, etc.
* Programmes for social
awareness and analysis
of problems in society and
church.
* Leadership training
programmes
* Programmes for the spiritual
growth of leaders and to assist in
the resolution of difficulties.
* Adult catechetical sessions
for use in the journey of Faith of
catechumens.
3. Who is behind the AsIPA
programme? Who is promoting
it?
* Basically it is the Office of
Laity and Family (OLF) of the
Federation of Asian Bishops’
Conferences (FABC). There is
an ‘AsIPA desk’ that is part of
the OLF which is now based in
Singapore.
* This was set up in 1993
to coordinate the needs of
many dioceses for training.
The executive secretary of the
AsIPA desk receives requests for
training in different dioceses and
asks members of the Asian team
to oblige if they are available.
* The AsIPA Resource Team
(ART) is made up of various
individuals who have been or are
workingontheAsIPAprogramme
at national or diocesan level
in their own countries. At the
request of dioceses or bishops’
conferences the team is formed
for a training programme or
consultation. Different dioceses
give the programme very
different receptions. It is only
possible to implement the
programme where the invitation
is forthcoming.(To be continued/
Compiled by Wendy Louis)
for int’l meeting in Manila
THE final stage of preparation
for the upcoming international
youth meeting “Pilgrimage
of Trust on Earth” slated in
Manila early next year will soon
be launched in an atmosphere
of prayer and songs on August
29 at the San Carlos Seminary,
Makati City.
Spearheaded by the Taize
brothers in coordination with
the Episcopal Commission
on Youth (ECY), the event
which will open at 2 p.m. and
ends at 6 p.m. will be marked
with common prayers,
familiarizing participants to
the typical Taize chants, the
meditative way of prayer, and
the value of silence.
Young adults from 16 to
35 years old who can be
facilitators and ready to commit
themselves in the preparation
and organization of the meeting
on a parish and vicarial level are
encouraged to attend.
The Taize brothers have
invited parishes to send five
young adults who are active
in the parish and have good
contacts with other parish
groups. These young people
will report about the different
concerns tackled during the
meeting to the parish and the
parish council.
Participating in the
preparation of such a meeting
means taking a step forward
in our lives, by deepening
our faith together and living
out this faith through simple
commitments.
A reflection and sharing on
how trust (in God, in others, in
oneself, in the future) helps us go
forward and not be discouraged
will also be taken up.
The Brothers will explain
the different practical aspects
and ways of participation
in the meeting. Materials
for the practical and spiritual
preparation in the parishes will
be given.
There are two different kinds
of involvement the parishes can
take part of.
Parishes in several dioceses with
easy public transport to Makati
City will be asked to host guests
for the duration of the meeting and
to organize a morning program
(during the three mornings of
the meeting, 4, 5 and 6 February)
in order to share the life of the
parish, with all its joys and hopes,
with the international guests. In
these parishes, the brothers will
encourage young people to form
a preparation group, meeting
regularly during the coming
months in order to reflect about
the spiritual and logistical aspects
of the welcome. This preparation
groups will be in close contact
with the brothers and volunteers
present in Manila.
Forparishesoutsidethewelcome
area in places farther from Makati
City the youth could however also
participate in the meeting. There is
the possibility to find foster places
closer to Makati City for those who
wish and/or are not able to travel
to Makati City everyday and to join
the morning activities in a parish
inside the welcome area.
All participants will be
asked to share in the costs of
the five-day meeting (printed
papers, meals, etc.): P950.00
(Participants from Luzon) and
P750.00 (Participants from the
Visayas and Mindanao).
There is no limit to participants
aged 16 to 35 years (no slot
allotments or limitation).
However, there is a mode of
registration, details of which will
be given later.
Laying the groundwork
During the last months, Brothers
of Taizé have been visiting the
dioceses of the National Capital
Region (NCR) and other parts
of the country.
After an initial contact with
the bishops of the NCR, they
have been able to establish
relationships with priests,
religious congregations,
youth ministers and many
young adults who look
forward to take part in the
preparation and meeting of
the “pilgrimage of trust” in
February 2010.
The brothers will have a
group of volunteers who
will accompany the on-going
preparation in the parishes and
dioceses. A coordination center
will be set up at the St. John
Bosco Parish, Makati City.
It is also there in the
compound of the Don Bosco
Technical Institute, Makati
City where the central venue
of the several thousand
participants coming from all
over the Philippines, other
Asian countries, and different
continents will be located.
The Brothers of the Taizé
Community will animate
the worldwide meeting in
collaboration with ECY and
the NCR Regional Youth
Coordinating Council.
In a letter sent to Brother Alois,
prior of the Taize community,
ECY Chairman Bishop Joel Z.
Baylon, said “that young people
are called to bring the Good
News of God’s love by living
simple yet upright lives, by
reaching out to be of service to
others, by communal action on
behalf of justice and truth…”
Young adults who would
like to participate on August
29 launching should contact
their diocesan or parish youth
director for more details and
registration. (Bro. Andreas/
CBCPNews)
 Statements
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
B5

Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI

on President Cory C. Aquino’s Passing Away
HIS EMINENCE CARDINAL GAUDENCIO ROSALES
Archbishop of Manila

The Holy Father was deeply saddened to learn of the

death of Mrs. Corazon Aquino and he asks you to convey
to her family and the government authorities his heartfelt
condolences and the assurance of his prayers for her eternal
rest. Recalling President Aquino’s courageous commitment
to the freedom of the Filipino people, her firm rejection
of violence and intolerance, and her contribution to the
rebuilding of a just and cohesive political order in her
beloved homeland, His Holiness commends her noble soul to
the eternal mercies of God our Heavenly Father . He likewise
remembers her as a woman of deep and unwavering faith
and thus he prays that the same faith and hope which guided
her life will now come to abundant fulfillment. Invoking
upon all the Filipino people an outpouring of divine graces,
the Holy Father cordially imparts his apostolic blessing to
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

all taking part in the Mass of Christian burial, as a pledge of

consolation, strength and peace in our Lord Jesus Christ.

CARDINAL TARCISIO BERTONE

Vatican Secretary of State

Message of the CBCP on the demise of Pastoral Statement on the

Mrs. Corazon Aquino passing over to new life of former
THE CBCP joins the Aquino family and the entire
nation in mourning the passing away of a great
President Maria Corazon C. Aquino
woman who was for six years the President of
our country. IT is with deep sadness accompanied with Christian hope that we,
It was a holy death in the midst of physical pain Catholics of the Local Church of Davao City, mourn the passing over
and suffering. Death occurred at three o’clock, the to new life of our former president, Maria Corazon C. Aquino.
Hour of Divine Mercy. It was First Saturday, the It was President Cory’s belief and hope, as it is ours, that our traditional de-
day of our Blessed Mother. Tita Cory was holding votion to the Sagrado Corazon de Jesus and Immaculada Corazon de Maria,
the Fatima Rosary which Sr. Lucia gave her many after whom she was named, will merit us the special grace of entering into
years ago. grace. She passed away and returned to her Creator on 01 August 2009, first
Saturday of the month.
Our country is very much indebted to this humble
and sincere woman, who though not a politician In gratitude to her and to Almighty God for restoring democratic institu-
herself and unprepared, she accepted the challenge tions after the 1986 People Power Revolution, we have decided through
of the Filipino people to lead them as President. It a Circular Letter of August 01 to observe the traditional nine-day period
was not she who pushed herself into the position; of mourning with a daily Mass and a special intention in the Prayers of
the Faithful. While extending our condolences to the children and family
but it was the people who called upon her. Eternal of the late president, we include them in our prayers.
gratitude is due to Cory and her husband, Ninoy,
for living it out that “The Filipino people is worth On the 9th day, Monday, August 10, we will celebrate the Holy
dying for.” Sacrifice of the Mass for President Cory at 12 noon at the San Pedro
Cathedral. All Catholics—priests, religious, and laity—and other people
Many eulogies and speeches will be delivered to of good will are invited to join us in praying for the eternal repose of
extol her goodness; we know she deserves them. her soul.
But now at the threshold of eternity, the only eulogy
she would hear is the invitation of the Lord of As a fitting reminder of her presidential regal figure, the color blue may
be used or displayed in the liturgical rites and by the worshippers.
Divine Mercy: “Come, blessed of my Father, enter
the kingdom which has been prepared for you.”
In her unassuming way she knew when to say
“enough is enough” and gently handed over +FERNANDO R. CAPALLA, DD
Archbishop of Davao
the government to her successor. It remained to August 3, 2009
succeeding generations of leaders to be worthy of Davao City
the trust of leadership and to continue what she
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

had begun, to dream again the dream of what is

Thank you, Mrs. Cory C. Aquino

best for the country.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro LET the entire nation pause in prayer to thank God for President
CBCP President Corazon C. Aquino. She was not just the President who gave back to
August 1, 2009 the Filipinos the freedom and democracy they had lost. She was both
President and Icon of what an authentic, truthful and honest leader was
to a people whose long experience was to look for a guide who would

Cory – My Personal Symbol of Inang Bayan

lead them out of history’s cruel political disarray. Above all she was a
simple and humble person and leader.

MILLIONS of Filipinos shouted
the battle cry, “Cory! Cory!
Cory!,” throughout the campaign
period for the Snap Elections
of 1986. Finally Filipinos had
real hope in ousting President
Ferdinand Marcos from an office
he had held since 1964.
More than an icon of democracy
Cory was and is to me my
personal symbol of Inang Bayan,
our beloved Motherland.
I first met President Cory
Aquino during her campaign
sortie to Kidapawan. While
many of her fellow campaigners
delighted the huge crowd in the
town plaza, she came for a quiet
visit to the Bishop’s Residence.
She wore her signature yellow
dress. Obviously she was the
darling of our lay staff and she
had picture taking with them.
After exchanging pleasantries
I asked her to go with me and
visit the grave of Fr. Tullio Favali,
P.I.M.E., The brutal murder of this
gentle Italian missionary priest in
1985 by paramilitary forces had
demonstrated for me the darkest
side of the Marcos regime. We
walked the few meters from the
Bishop’s residence to the grave
and we prayed for Fr. Tullio.
Her brief visit and presence
was a lifting of the spirit for a
Church that had known so much
suffering from human rights
abuses from 1980 to 1985.
From that time on Cory was
for me the woman who best
symbolized motherland, Inang
Bayan. And her gracious, gentle,
laid back and kind manner just
reinforced that first intuition.
Cory Aquino was said to have wrestled with herself and conscience
From afar I followed her progress before deciding to offer herself as an alternative to a harsh dictator-
during the campaign and prayed ship. And when finally, crowned with the people’s trust, she even
suffered more when in the process of guiding the country, countless
for her to win. attempts were put to destabilize the people’s fledgling newly regained
We organized NAMFREL in democracy.
Kidapawan. Thank God, most
of our Clergy, Religious, and Lay Let the country thank Cory Aquino for she indeed completed Ninoy
Aquino’s dream of saving, serving and sacrificing his life for the Filipino
Leaders were willing. A handful People.
did not think that the elections
would help and opted with the I cannot think of Cory, in her genuine simplicity and honesty, without
Left for boycott. remembering Ninoy Aquino and his passion to serve, to give and to
love.
Cory campaigned with a
simple down to earth, womanly Ninoy’s sacrifice for a dream for the Filipino made Corazon C. Aquino.
and motherly style of talking, Cory Aquino’s simplicity and fidelity to a dream to guide the people com-
like telling a story, devoid pletes the story of the Filipino People. But the story needs subsequent
volumes that now the Filipino People will to fill up, live and write.
Cory / B7
THANK YOU, MRS. CORY C. AQUINO!

Requiem Mass for Former President Corazon Aquino May the ever Merciful God keep you Cory, closest to Him. And May
you now enjoy the Rest you deserve! May she rest in Peace!

Homily of Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral; August 4, 2009
My dear Sisters and Brothers
in Christ:
This is often the lot of leaders
not to enter the land they have
promised to their followers.
Corazon Aquino did not
promise a land for us to enter
and own, but in each of our
minds, we imagined utopias
that suited our tastes, and so
began the unraveling of the
promise of EDSA.
+GAUDENCIO B. CARDINAL ROSALES, DD
and insensitivity. Archbishop of Manila
It was not our struggle from August 1, 2009
the beginning. At least not to
the majority of us. We were
complacent at the loss of our
freedoms, too afraid to raise
She lived with a clear conscience
a voice or too contented to AS the nation grieves over the darkening of humanity with the going
complain. And yet, her pain home of President Cory, we may speak of her as a person and as a presi-
awakened our indignation. In dent. As a person, she was one of deep and authentic Christian faith.
one woman’s pain, we felt the This faith was in her like the light which gave her life the consistent bond
of integrity; she lived, as the Apostle writes, “with a clear conscience.” In
loss of our dignity at last. She did one moment of levity, I told my brother bishops that Cory was far more
not paint for us a promised land, Christian than all of us...and no one contradicted me.
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Corazon Aquino did not but we promised her justice for

paint for us a promised land.
She fell into the role of leader in
an accidental way; she did not
aspire to become the first female
president of our country, but
the circumstances conspired to
put her at the forefront of our
struggles. Cory was drawn to
our struggles in a most personal
way through the pain of the
loss of a beloved. But what
pain and anger she felt, she
transformed into courage and
grace in the face of arrogance
the wrong done to her, and in
the process, we also promised
justice to ourselves, for the
indignities we have allowed to
be done to ourselves.
And yet, when justice was
accomplished in the most poetic
way at EDSA, we forgot that
justice can only be sustained by
subsequent acts of justice, not by
commencing to do injustice to
each other. We asked her for the
promises she did not make, but
we forgot about the promises
we did make. Politicians
began to apportion power
for themselves, businessmen
cornered contracts, militant
groups commenced their
divisive propaganda, military
adventurists resumed their
As a President, she demonstrated to all of us the clear example of
how to live beyond oneself, how to hold sacrifice as the raison d’etre of
accepting to assume the presidency of a ruined country, in spite of her
repeated confession that it was an office to which she was not born for.
Her presidency, particularly the last two years, was difficult for all. It was
not her fault; it was largely ours – we demanded this from her.
Both in her person and in her presidency, I like to remember her for
the sterling quality of her Christian faith, the like of which we shall not
adventure. Even the press, freed easily find again in our time.
from the shackles of tyranny,
became quite irresponsible
in sowing intrigues and +LEONARDO Z. LEGASPI, OP, DD
innuendos. Archbishop of Caceres
We were given back the August 1, 2009
Requiem / B7
 Ref lections
CBCP Monitor
B6 Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

The Dynamic Presence

By Fr. Joseph Pellegrino with Christ in passion, death and
resurrection. Sometimes we are full of
the joy of the Resurrection, sometimes
THIS week we come to the climax of John the sorrow of the Passion, but always we
6. It is not the last Sunday that we have are strengthened by the one who gives us
readings from this chapter. Next week
we’ll consider the disciples’ suggestion
26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Jn 6:51-58); August 16, 2009 his body and blood. The Lord is always
in action. His Presence is dynamic.
that Jesus “tone down” His teaching. The first reading speaks about the
That’s the conclusion. Today, though, Wisdom of God. God has built a house
we have the climax. and invited us to a dinner. “Come and
John 6 is about sustenance. It is about eat and drink and live forever,” He says.
eating. It is about nourishment. It is He gives us the dream of living in peace
about the Eucharist. and happiness totally united to Him for
It is not about eating like we normally all eternity.
eat. Normally, when we eat, we assimilate In the beginning of the second reading
the food. Forgive my simplification, we heard about our human failures.
but basically, our body breaks down And all of us can be overwhelmed by
the food, takes the nutrients it needs, our humanity. We desire union with
and feeds our cell system. In a sense, God. This union is given by Jesus in his
the food becomes part of us, although Paschal triumph, His passion, death and
not as much of us as the guy in the resurrection. We give thanks to God for
commercial who eats so much chicken all that He has done for us.
that he starts growing feathers. I guess I And it is God who has done great
should qualify that, because I have met things for us, not us for God. Sometimes
a large number of people who share my we treat Union with God as just another
Italian heritage who look like they have item on our “to do” list. It is as though
been turned into meatballs. Still, eating we come to Church to keep God happy.
is about what we do with the food. We He does not need us. We need Him. We
assimilate the food. may come to Church with the attitude
But that is not what happens when we that we are winning our salvation, as

receive the Eucharist. When we receive
the Eucharist, we don’t assimilate the
food, the Food assimilates us. When we
receive the Eucharist, Jesus transforms
us. Instead of the food taking on our life,
we take on the life of the Lord. We just
heard: “Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father, so
also the one who feeds on me will have
life because of me.”
During the last three or four years,
more and more people in our parish have
recognized the importance of adoring
the Presence of the Lord in the Blessed
Sacrament. A few years ago we added
four hours to the time set aside for First
Friday adoration. A little while after
that we began the custom of initiating
Lent with Forty Hours. One of the joys
of the Life Teen program is that it leads
our young people to have a real hunger
to receive communion and to adore the
Lord in the Eucharist.
The attraction of the Eucharist is
dynamic. Jesus is dynamic. When we
receive communion or when we come
to pray before the Blessed Sacrament, we
don’t just kneel before a static object. It
is not a crucifix or a statue that reminds
us of something. This is Jesus. The One
Who Is. When we receive communion or
come to adoration, we come before the
dynamic, powerful Presence who speaks
to us through the life He has given us.
How great is our God. He has found
a way for each of us to have continual,
intimate encounters with Him. Pope
Benedict XVI writes that the Eucharist
is the Dynamic Presence that grasps us
and makes us His Own.
The fundamental action of Jesus’s life,
the reason why He became one of us, was
the gift of Himself in His passion, death
and resurrection: the Paschal Event. The
gift of His sacrificial love re-established
our union with God and our capacity
to share in his immortality. Or to put it
simply: because He died for us we can
live forever with him.
When Jesus gave us his Body and
Blood the night before He died and when
He gives us his Body and Blood every
time we receive communion, the Lord
gives us the total sacrifice of Himself to
his Father. “This is my Body which shall
be given up for you. This is the cup of my
Blood, the new and everlasting covenant
www.pontesisto.wordpress.com
that shall be shed for you and for all until
the end of time.” When we receive the
Eucharist, Jesus is present as the Servant
of God who in his sacrificial death is
saving us all. Right here, right now.
Today’s Gospel states: ‘The one who
feds on my flesh and drinks my blood
has life eternal.” In the real presence of
Jesus in the Eucharist we receive Jesus
saving his people.
When we receive communion,
we receive Jesus saving us now. We
receive Christ strengthening us and
transforming our joys and sorrows
into prayers to his Father. Our union
with Christ in the Eucharist is union
though we were capable of usurping the
power of God. We decide what God can
and cannot do to effect our salvation.
That’s the beginning of today’s gospel. It
is a Pelagian attitude. That was a heresy
we all share a bit in that says “I can
cause my own salvation.” No, it is not
about me. It is about Jesus. Everything
that matters is about Jesus. He saves
me, and He does it for only one reason:
He loves me.
The marvelous paradox of our
Eucharistic relationship with Jesus is that
the more we have Him, the hungrier we
are for Him. Only, God in His Infinite
Wisdom could find a way to satisfy our
hungry hearts while leaving us hungry
for Him. We can’t get enough of Him.
We never will until we are fully united
to Him in heaven.
Today we pray for the Gift of the Holy
Spirit called Reverence. May we revere
the Dynamic Presence that assimilates
us into Himself every time we receive
His Body and Blood.

Bo Sanchez

For Cory Aquino:

Live your life with presentation Christmas
Reflection, 1989
HAVE you recently dined in a five-star the royal fowls served to King Phillip XII of with” person. Don’t be so goal-oriented and
restaurant? Nicose in the 18th century. From birth, the job-obsessed, you no longer open yourself to Peace is wisp of wind in the noonday heat
Let me refresh your memory. duckling is inebriated with the best French the rich blessings that God pours onto you Stirring the regal pines on distant hills
First, the waiters wear tuxedoes and wines and German beers. But one month at every moment of life!
toupees. The tablecloth is immaculate and before roasting, the bird drinks nothing else Value yourself! Put a little garnish. Have some Sweeping down the fields of golden rice
the orchids in front of you are fresh. The but prime Russian Vodka. It is incurably style. Create ambiance in your life. Be five-star! Cooling feverish cheeks.
ambiance is gorgeous.
Second, the dishes aren’t called on a first
alcoholic, the chef strikes a match two feet No, I’m not talking about luxury. (These Momentarily.
away and the duck explodes into flames. things simply burden life.)
name basis. Served crisp in a pool of Saki. I’m talking about enjoying life. About Peace can fade away, quickly, evanescent.
You have to use their complete names, My French Frogs’ Legs with Manicured breathing with passion.
such as Aroz a la Cobanna, and Paella de Sing. Dance. Dream. Stop to smell the
Barcelona. Or Drunkard Ducks Who Failed
Toenails will be described as Hand-picked
female freckled frogs from the mountains flowers. Listen to the birds and watch sunsets.
Peace is a young chirping bird
the Twelve Steps Program and French Frogs’ of Avion. In special breeding farms, toads Play like a child. Pray like a child. Eat more Sallying forth from its mother’s nest
Legs with Manicured Toenails. (Okay, okay, are born in pure Evian water and fed only ice cream. Embrace the people that you love. Flapping its wings testing the breeze
so I made those two up.) with vegetarian insects. Daily, their legs are Take vacations often. Give more. Smile more.
And the menu describes each dish so massaged—Shiatsu style—with extra-virgin Worry less. Say “thank you” with all your Exploring the sky and the earth.
verbosely; you’d think poets wrote them. olive oil mixed with Arabian spices, their heart. Have more fun! Blithely. Briefly.
The lowly “burger” becomes Salisbury steak
swathed in thick gravy sauce, sprinkled with
toenails cleaned by diamond-edged cuticle- Don’t be ordinary. Because you’re not.
You’re like my duck: You’ve got Royalty
Peace can be shot down, cruelly, fragile.
removers. Served raw and juicy.
roasted garlic, mixed with delectable button Why are they called five-star flowing through your veins.
mushrooms on a hot plate. Served with crisp, restaurants? So be like my duck: Be drunk with the Peace is a throbbing healing “yes”
buttered vegetables, hi-land rice, and sweet Because of presentation. Ambiance. Style. Holy Spirit everyday! You’re His child. Live
Japanese corn. Design. Atmosphere. with gusto!
To the wailing of children for food
Wow. Makes you want to eat the menu. I have a suggestion for you. The outstretched hands of the poor for justice
I imagine my Drunkard Ducks Who Failed Live your life with presentation. PS. About the frog? Sorry, no analogies The hunger of a nation for integrity
the Twelve Steps Program to be described as Don’t be cut and dried. Don’t just be with deep theological insight. Just wanted
Pedigreed ducks whose ancestry is traced to functional. Don’t be a “get-this-day-over- to have fun. I practice what I preach. The blessed outrage over blood-spewing
guns.
Fr. Roy Cimagala A drive. Spirit-force.
Peace is a flame in the heart searing,
perduring.
Priorities Peace is frail infant on a manger
Who shall announce: To you
On whom my Father’s favour rests
THE gospel story of the sisters anything. We ought to be ready to others. It has nothing to do with or when we become vulnerable I give my peace
Martha and Mary (cfr Lk 10-38- to minister as requested and to creativity and originality. to envy and resentments—these A peace the world cannot give.
42) is classic for its great lesson go anywhere. Cases like this are getting can be symptoms we are losing
in priorities. Both did good And so, with this very active rampant, sad to say. They all the proper priorities.
Follow me.
things, but one got her priorities lifestyle, the possibility is quite point to a lack of priority in our For sure, we have to make use of
wrong.
“Martha, Martha, you are
high for us to fall into activism.
That’s when we can start
attitudes and actuations. We need time, since there simply are just too How, Lord, shall we follow?
to see to it that we don’t get lost many things to be done. In the life
anxious and upset about many neglecting the most basic things in the flow of events during the of Christ with his disciples, there To drink of your peace?
things,” Christ said. “Only one like prayer, care and nourishment day, and to avoid getting tied are many references of how busy To end our wars and divisions?
thing is necessary. Mary has of our spiritual life. Even our down by the subtle threads of
chosen the better portion and she physical health can suffer. self-affirmation.
they were in their preaching such
that they hardly had time to eat.
Our mad scrambling for power?
shall not be deprived of it.” What’s worse is when we Thus, a certain detachment in This will always be the situation How, Lord, shall we become
It’s a lesson that, despite its unconsciously get into the fix of our activities is advisable. It’s of those who wish to follow Christ Sisters and brothers once more?
age, continues to be new to many some obsessions. That’s when we the detachment that’s meant to closely. Heroism up to being
people even up to now. Even get into a loop, doing our own prevent us from being swallowed squeezed like a lemon or even up
many priests can fall victim to this thing and not God’s, generating up by earthly things, thereby to death is to be expected. Pease is a passion to share, to serve
predicament. And I can readily energy from our own self and
understand why. Given their— not from God. This can only end
losing our contact with God. It’s
good that from time to time during
Yet, priorities should be A compassion for the world’s crippled and
observed, and there will be times
our—peculiar situation, we are in disaster. the day, we check ourselves if this when we have to say “no” to maimed
quite prone to this problem. Because of these obsessions, detachment is still working or we certain things even though they An embrace, a crucifixion, yet freedom to be,
We do lots of things from way many priests can get into are now sinking slowly into our too are good. And we just have
early in the morning to way late unrestrained social action, or get own world. to say “no.”
A love without retention limits.
at night. Twenty-four hours don’t immersed into partisan politics, or When the interest for prayer Again, these are easier said than Measureless breadth and depth.
seem to be enough for the day. to be involved in other temporal and other spiritual activities done. To be prudent in making Follow me, come!
Aside from the daily assignments affairs not meant for us as in like making sacrifices, going to the right judgments, when to
and routine, we are at the beck and making business, etc. the sacraments, developing and say “yes” and when to say “no”,
call of everyone—just about for Another sign of this grip of exercising the virtues wanes, it’s is most tricky. It would be good
any request like confessions, visits obsession on us is when we start proof that something is wrong that everyone avails himself of a +Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I.
and anointing of the sick, Masses losing the sense of team work, when and some rectification is needed. spiritual director or confidante Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, December 8, 1989
at wakes, blessings, etc. we prefer to do things alone, and Most likely, there is lack of priority who can help him.
That’s part of the reason why not to be told anything by anyone, involved. In the end, this confidante can (This was written after one of the several failed coups that tried
priests are asked to lead celibate nor to report and account things When we experience the surge only be Christ. We need to be President Aquino. I gave it to Cory Aquino to share with her my own
lives. It is to make us most to someone. We seem to confine of irritability, when being nice and friends of Christ, just as Martha concern for peace after three years of fledgling fragile democracy).
available for anyone and for ourselves to a certain area restricted patient becomes very hard to do and Mary were of him.
 Social Concerns
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
B7

Visit the poor and

By Fr. Shay Cullen, SSC
I JUST came for a visit from rural communities
where we help support 90 impoverished students
flat. Mosquito infested tires held down the rusting
tin roofs. Semi-naked mud daubed snotty nosed
kids ran through the maze of narrow board walk
raised on bricks. The women washed clothes in
plastic basins, the only work available. Food and

see the truth

go to school. As I hiked the muddy mountain road
in the pouring rain, a group of men passed by
carrying the dead body of a young woman who
died of malnutrition and disease. Another died that
same day with several others struggling for life in
the nearest hospital. Contaminated ground water
perhaps. Typhoid the chief suspect.
In the village, the evidence of crushing poverty
is plain for all to see. A typical one room grass
roofed bamboo hut is home for a family of six.
Arriving foot sore in another village, I saw the
people planting cassava on land not their own in
the pouring rain. They will have to give a share to
the land owner. “We have to plant now or we will
be hungry”, a mother of five told me later as we
shared a plate of their survival food, the Cassava
root crop, mainstay of the poor.
The steep rise in the prices of food commodities
a year ago made eating rice an occasional luxury.
Chicken and pork are rare too; most eat vegetables
and little fish. In another village, the mother of a 5
year-old boy showed me a chest X-ray of her harelip
child with primary infection. It is tuberculosis,
a killer disease rampaging around the villages.
Skinny malnourished children looked on with
imploring eyes. I wish I could have fed them
all. The only thing missing from the scene was a
waiting vulture. There are those who say poverty
is a thing of the past.
I visited a city slum to accompany a teenager
on a home visit after we had him released from
police cells where he was held without charge for
4 months for allegedly stealing a cell phone worth
$20. The teeming slums were flooded; excrement
was floating like the harbinger of plague. Shacks of
medicines were in their thoughts and on their lips.
Did we bring any, they asked.
Those who think that poverty in the Philippines
has receded and claim it is a middle-income nation
are living far removed from reality. The recession
has made it worse with millions more out of
work. All orders for handicraft products from our
livelihood projects have dried up and hundreds
are jobless. That’s the result of the endless greed
of the money moguls that control and manipulate
the Philippine and world economy as we well
know.
Those not familiar with the reality on the ground
believe the government figures. They are looking
at the bloated figures of GNP that are buoyed-up
by the estimated $14 billion that is remitted by
the millions of overseas workers. An artificial
economy and production of durable goods or
commodities are at an all time low. The Filipinos
over seas are working themselves to exhaustion
for low wages in the developed nations of Asia
and the West desperately trying to feed and house
their families left behind in the empty country side
where millions of landless peasants still eke out a
subsistence living.
Three years ago, almost 33 percent of Filipinos
were living below the poverty line. Now it is even
worse because of the recession. As of 2005, 10.8
percent of the country’s population survive on just
$1 a day, and another 41.2 percent make do with
less than $2 daily. 7 out of 10 peasants still do not
own land while less than 1/3 of landowners own
more than 80% of agricultural land. In 2006, the
Philippines oil companies extracting and retailing
fuel earned PhP 110 million a day, today it’s even

www.flickr.com
flattened cartons covered in plastic sheets leaned more. The poverty situation in the Philippines,
against shanties made of plywood scraps that according to the World Bank, is worse than that
joined upscale hovels made of tins cans beaten of its counterparts in the region.

Cory / B5 Requiem / B5

of the oratorical and sometimes
pompous style of many campaigners.
Her enthusiastic reception by millions
of people made it increasingly clear
that change was imminent, in the air.
The agents of change would be the
enthusiastic millions, young and old,
who listened to her and shouted “Cory!
Cory! Cory!”
The Snap Elections were held on
February 7, 1986. On February 13-14,
1986, the Bishops gathered in plenary
assembly as they had previously agreed,
should any emergency take place. This
was emergency. The government press
was saying that Marcos had already won
the elections.
Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, the President
of the Bishops’ Conference, called for
each Bishop to share the experience of
NAMFREL in his diocese regarding the
honesty and integrity of the elections.
He asked me to moderate the session,
summarize and synthesize the results.
Each of the Bishops spoke. There was
no doubt – the elections were filled
with fraud, fraud that literally changed
the results.
We then went to reflect on this situation
and pray before the Blessed Sacrament.
The Bishops came together again and
worked on a statement which they
approved by consensus. This was the
dramatic post-election statement. The
Bishops declared: “According to moral
principles, a government that assumes
or retains power through fraudulent
means has no moral basis.”
Until today I deeply regret that I
had no direct hand in drafting the final
statement. Cardinal Vidal had asked me
to help write the draft. But I had to go
to the hospital. I gave Cardinal Vidal
my three essential points for a draft:
(a) that the elections were substantially
fraudulent; (b) that President Marcos
had no moral basis to retain power; (c)
that this immoral situation had somehow
to be corrected. I gave all my notes to
Cardinal Vidal.
Cory called for strikes and boycotts.
Then Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and
General Fidel Ramos broke away from
the Marcos government. With that came
the call of Cardinal Jaime Sin for people
to go to EDSA and protect the small
breakaway band of soldiers.
For me the call to EDSA was genuinely
a call to protect Cory, my personal
symbol of Inang Bayan.
+ORLANDO B. QUEVEDO, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
power to choose our leaders, but
we did not always choose wisely.
We were granted back our power to
protest, but we protested at every turn.
At every level of society, there was
only one desire to fulfill—to protect
one’s interest, to further one’s lot, to
extend one’s territory. We forgot that
the promise of Cory was simply this,
that she would give us back what has
been taken away from us, for she will
not take it for herself, she will even
give up her own life if only she can
give us back our life, our dignity, our
freedom.
Selfless giving was her one great
promise, and she fulfilled it not only
when she took power at EDSA, not only
when she governed us for six years,
but most importantly, at the peaceful
transfer of power from her to the next
duly elected president in 1992.
Today, selfless giving is a pipe dream.
Today, shameless self-promotion is the
order of the day. But we cannot even
blame those who promote themselves
long before the election season has
started. After all, we only vote for those
faces we see on our television screens.
We have wandered far from the land
we have promised ourselves.
Leaders oftentimes do not enter the
land they promised to their followers.
Cory did not paint a promised land
for us. She only showed us the way.
The way is open for us, if we only
learn how to sacrifice self-interest for
the sake of the common good. In the
end, it is our decision to commence
entering the land we have promised
ourselves, or continue to wander in
the wilderness.

Kidapawan / B4

and a student in the OD
Doctoral Program of SAIDI
(Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary
Development Institute)
introduced Appreciative Inquiry
(AI) as an alternative approach to
pastoral action. AI sees and acts
on problems from the perspective
of positive possibilities, the
perspective of the half-filled
glass. And the desired effect
is positive transformation, a
revolution in positive change on
the personal and collective level.
Experiencing the process itself is
already transformative.
The shift from problem-solving
mode of conversations, dialogues,
and praxis to ever-expanding
positive possibilities of individual
and communal actions, though at
times painful and taxing, led to
some realizations and insights,
and to more actions. Following
the introduction of AI, the
Diocesan Clergy underwent an
annual retreat in November of
2003 using AI as the framework.
Fr. Gregorio Bañaga of Adamson
University in Manila facilitated
the Retreat for us assisted by Sr.
Bles Fabricante, PhD. Two more
AI-based Seminar-Workshops
followed in 2004: Team Building
and AI Trainers’ Training.
On the second half of 2005,
after a series of meetings, five
principles of pastoral action
emerged: 1) The parish is the
locus of pastoral action; 2)
FSW (Formation, Service and
Worship) is the content of
formation work and the basis of
organizing activities and people;
3) AI as an alternative approach
to pastoral action; 4) The Clergy
and the lay people are partners
in the ministry; 5) Increase and
intensification of self-reliance
initiatives. Giving rootedness
and meaning to these are Jesus
and the Church and the expected
fruits are transformed individual
Christians and empowered
BEC’s. These guide posts for
pastoral ministry were endorsed
by the then Bishop Romulo G.
Valles, D. D. during the Macro-
Synchronized Assembly (an
annual gathering of the Clergy
and the lay pastoral animators)
in December, 2005.
The implementation of these
principles for pastoral action
necessitated changes in the
pastoral programs from the
diocesan level down to the parish
level. The ever reliable Diocesan
Pastoral Team (DPT), whose
primary role was to manage
the Pastoral Programs, was
reconstituted into DBPS (Diocesan
BEC Pastoral Secretariate). The
responsibility for the pastoral
programs was assumed by the
parish priests at the parish level.
The new role given the new team
was to respond to the needs of
the parishes when requested and
when necessary - with the explicit
approval of the parish priest. hey
would also act as conduit of ideas
and accomplishments among the
diocesan districts and the parishes,
and would prepare and facilitate
diocesan-level activities agreed
on in the Clergy Meeting. The
DBPS, however, was transitional,
for it was envisioned that the
diocesan pastoral programs
would eventually be taken care of
the district level. Some diocesan-
level pastoral workers had to
discontinue working with the
Diocese.
During the annual Diocesan
Macro-Synchronized Assembly
in December of 2006, the
bishop officially declared the
composition of the DBPS and the
adoption of the five principles
for pastoral action. The Diocesan
Pastoral Coordinator articulated
several shifts that were taking
place: 1) pastoral approach:
from problem-based to strength-
based; 2) pastoral work: from
pastoral programs to pastoral
ministries; 3) playing field: from
diocese level to parish level,
with the diocesan districts as
fora; 4) description of workers:
from pastoral workers (or
contacts) to pastoral animators;
5) sustainability: from too much
dependence on outside sources
to intensifying initiatives for
self-reliance, both human
and material; 6) relationship
with the BEC’s: from BEC’s as
beneficiaries of to BEC’s as active
participants in pastoral action.
Like in all change initiatives, the
momentum for change picked
up slowly. Some said they were
groping for a sure footing and a
clearer horizon to focus on and
walk towards. No matter how
positive an approach is, the pull of
traditional ways and the security
of old comfort zones are stronger
than any desired state of things.
Moving on…Getting Better:
“Duc in Altum” (2007-Present)
The unfolding of our envisioned
desired situation seemed to
stand still when in November
of 2006 Rome announced the
appointment of our Shepherd,
Bishop Romulo G. Valles,
D.D. as the new Archbishop
of Zamboanga. For the fourth
time in 31 years our diocese
was again without a bishop. In
January of 2007 he was installed
in Zamboanga and in January 15
of the same year we elected Fr.
Armando C. Angeles, DCK as the
Diocesan Administrator.
When our new bishop, Most
Rev. Romulo T. De La Cruz,
D.D. arrived in June 19, 2008, we
rejoiced. We were very much
grateful to the Holy Father, Pope
Benedict VI for gifting us with
a shepherd who is not only at
home but home with us as he is
one of our own, a Kidapaweño.
Many of us priests have known
him closely because he was once
our college seminary rector and
later spiritual director. After the
euphoria of his installation as
Bishop of Kidapawan subsided,
we lost no time to get down to
business. In a meeting with
the Diocesan Clergy (DCK) in
August of 2008, the new bishop
listened to the call for a TOTAL
REVAMP of assignment of
priests in the parishes. After a
series of consultations with the
priests themselves and some
parishioners in several parishes,
new appointments were made
and then announced during the
Chrism Mass at the Cathedral –
Our Lady Mediatrix of All Grace
Parish – on April 8, 2009. The
new assignments took effect on
June 1, 2009. The assignments
of priests involved in non-parish
work were renewed for a period
of three years only.
Another very historical and
important decision made in
that August 2008 meeting was
to open a diocesan seminary.
After careful preparations and
series of meetings, the seminary
was eventually opened last June
3, 2009 with 25 young men as the
first batch of seminarians. They
are enrolled as First Year college
of the Vicariates are now called
Vicars Forane. For each Vicariate,
a religious sister has been assigned
whose role is Vicariate Pastoral
Animator and who functions
as resource person, capability
builder and co-journeyer. She
works with the parish priests
within the Vicariate in equipping
parish lay animators to work in
the different ministries with a
focus on Christian Formation
(Catechesis). What remains
at the diocesan level in this new
set up? The Diocesan Pastoral
Coordinator remains the priest
tasked to oversee and push
for the implementation of the
five principles throughout the
entire diocese. To do this, he
coordinates with the priests at
the different levels and with the
priests assigned as directors for
the different ministries. He can
also be a resource person for the
parishes and other organizations
and groups in such areas as
planning and assessment,
education-formation work such
as giving lectures, seminars,
trainings, recollections and
retreats, even personal coaching
and organizational consultancy
services. He is accountable
directly to the bishop whom
he keeps updated on pastoral
matters.
In cases where diocesan level
pastoral activities and projects
are called for and agreed upon in
the Clergy Meeting, the Diocesan
Pastoral Coordinator assumes
the lead role of facilitating

CBCPMonitor
SUBSCRIPTION RATES
The CBCP Monitor is published fort-
nightly by the CBCP Media Office, with
editorial and business offices at 470
Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. PO
Box 3601, 1076 MCPO
• Domestic
1 Year Php 500.00
2 Years Php 900.00
• Foreign: Asia
1 Year US$ 55.00
• All Other US$ 80.00
students at the Notre Dame of
Name _________________________________________________ Kidapawan College. The bishop
(Family Name) (Given Name) (Middle Name) appointed Frs. Allan Sasi, DCK,
Rey Salvador, DCK and Charles
Allan Nemenzo, DCK, as Rector,
Mailing Address _______________________________________________ Dean of Seminarians and Spiritual
_________________________________________________ Director respectively. To prepare
professors to teach Philosophy,
Phone No.: ________ Fax No.: ________ E-mail: ___________ two diocesan priests – Frs. Gerry
Mode of Payment Tacdoro, DCK and Rey Salvador,
DCK. - have enrolled in the
 Check/PMO enclosed  Cash Payment masteral program for Philosophy
at Ateneo de Davao University in
(Payable to: CBCP Communications Development Foundation Inc.)
Davao City. More priests will be
sent for further studies to teach
_____________________________ the seminarians.
Signature On the pastoral front, a stronger
push for the implementation
of expected major changes at
the diocesan level was made.
The transitional DBPS was
PLEASE SEND TO: dissolved and the members were
CBCP Monitor, P.O. Box 3601, Manila, Philippines compensated. The four diocesan
470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines | Tel (632) 404-2182 • Telefax (632) 404-1612 districts were reconstituted and
Or e-mail this at cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.com renamed as Vicariates. The heads
and coordinating. The Clergy
Meeting is the venue to consult
and make decisions with the
Presbyterium, when appropriate.
However, the bishop always has
the prerogative, being the head
of the Diocese.
At any rate, we are still in the
midst of a transition period.
There is so much room to grow
and develop, many possibilities
to discover and even create. We
are all into this and together we
sail, together we reach for the
destination we have been rearing
to go. We may not arrive at this
situation in our lifetime. But the
joy and fulfillment might be in the
journey itself, for we know that
God is always with us and Mary
is journeying with us. That means
we sharpen our focus but savor
and enjoy the pilgrimage. And
so we say with the late Pope John
Paul II, “Duc in altum!”
B8 Entertainment CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Title: The Proposal
Cast: Sandra Bullock, Ryan
Moral Assessment Technical Assessment
Reynolds, Mary Steen-
burgen, Craig T. Nelson,
 Abhorrent  Poor Mary White, Ramon Oscar
 Disturbing  Below average
Nuñez, Dennis O’Hore
Director: Anne Fletcher
 Acceptable  Average
Producers: David Hoberman,
 Wholesome  Above average
Todd Lieberman
 Exemplary  E
xcellent Screenwriter: Pete Chiarelli
Music: Aaron Zigman
Editor: Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cinematography: Oliver Staple-
ton
Distributor: Touchtone Pictures
Location: USA
Running Time: 107 min.
Technical Assessment: 
Moral Assessment: 
CINEMA Rating: For viewers
age 13 and below with
parental guidance
Young and attractive, Margaret
Tate (Sandra Bullock), an executive
and book editor of a New York
publishing empire, comes across
also as tyrannical. Demanding, she
so intimidated her staff that they
panic once she enters her office.
Though seeming invulnerable,
one day she gets a notice from the
U.S. Immigration office informing
her of her imminent deportation
to Canada due to an expired visa
(She’s Canadian). She devises a plan
to get the coveted visa, that is, by
marrying her surprised assistant
Andrew Paxton (Ryan Reynolds).
She proposes a sham marriage
followed by a quickie divorce once
she gets her visa. Often brow beaten
and usually compliant, this time
he refuses. But she blackmails him
and bribes him by offering him an
editorship in the office. Ambitious,
he consents. Suspecting something
fishy, the immigration officer
warns them of the punishments
for fraud and informs them they
will be questioned on intimate
matter including each other’s
family. Though together in the
office for 3 years, they virtually
know nothing of each other. For
familiarization, on the part of
Margaret, they visit Andrew’s
parents in Sitka, Alaska. Thinking
Sitka is some God forsaken Alaska
outpost, she gets the shock of
her life when she instead sees a
charming, urbanized town with
warm welcoming people. Loving
and very closely knit, Andrew’s
wacky family is thrilled to know
Andrew and Margaret are getting
married. With no affection for each
other, they have to pretend before
family and friends that they are in
love. This situation is the well spring
of many embarrassment and funny
moments.
The Proposal has a plot that
is as old as the hills; two people
who almost hate each other at the
beginning end up getting to like
each other, in spite of the madcap
obstacles that come their way.
Very predictable and formulaic
but it does not bore. Cheerfully
done, this romantic comedy with
all its conventions entertains with
its hilarious moments. The humor
is devoid of vulgarity, though one
embarrassing funny scene involves
the two lead actors in the nude.
The cinematography enhances the
viewers’ pleasure. Though said to
have been filmed in Massachusetts
and Rhode Island, it replicates
the pristine beauty of Alaska.
The story is set in a picturesque
town with chic, quaint shops (no
fast foods or franchise chains)
and a waterfront that looks like a
tourist haven. This setting exudes
a charm befitting this fantasy.
Sandra Bullock is versatile as seen
in various roles she has played in
other movies, but her talent in this
romantic comedy is remarkable
in her convincing and likeable
portrayal of the high-powered
uptight New York woman (with
the formidable look in pencil skirts
and stiletto heels) who is touched
and transformed by the loving
embrace of Andrew’s family. Ryan
Reynolds’ performance is just
as commendable as he matches
Sandra’s snappy banter and comic
skills. Very good support is given
by Mary Steenburgen and Nelson
Craig as Andrew’s parents, Mary
White as the 90 year old grandma
and the preacher-exotic dancer
Ramon.
The Proposal is entertaining
and enjoyable. Scenes of family
closeness, togetherness, affection,
generosity and understanding
will not fail to touch a chord in the
hearts of those who value family
relationships. It is heartwarming
to see here depicted these “old
fashioned” values still existing in
some towns though practically lost
in the fast rat race in the cities. The
old grandma especially may be a bit
bizarre in her antics but she delights
us in her simplicity, wit, and respect
for family traditions. On the other
hand, there are some negative
elements here that should not be
glossed over. Like, for instance,
the way marriage is viewed by
Margaret and Andrew as a vehicle
to attain ambition, power, or
other mundane practical results
like getting a visa. But this sadly
happens in real life today. Young
people getting married should
always start life right and that is
by getting the right perspective
regarding marriage. Infused with
love, marriage should primarily
help fulfill each person’s quest for
happiness and perfection as well
as realize God’s plan. It should
never be considered a mere tool
for material advancements.

MAC en COLET Ni Bladimer Usi

Buhay Parokya
Look for the three items:
Dalawang kuwentong Title: Manila Images of Saint Jude Thaddeus,
hango mula sa mga obra Cast: Piolo Pascual, Rosanna Cardinal Sin and Church Altar.
nina Ishmael Bernal at Roces, Jay Manalo, Alesandra (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)
Lino Brocka, ang unang de Rossi, Angelica Panganiban,
kuwento ay tungkol sa Jiro Manio, Anita Linda
isang drug addict na si Director: Adolfo Alix, Jr., Raya
William (Piolo Pascual) Martin
na gagala-gala sa kalye Screenwriters: Adolfo Alix, Jr., Raya
ng Maynila, tila may Martin
kung anong hinahanap Genre: Drama
sa kawalan. Ito’y sa Distributor: Star Cinema
kabila ng pag-aalala ng Location: Manila
ina niyang si Charito Running Time: 90 mins
(Rosanna Roces) kung Technical Assessment: 
nasaan na siya. Sa
Moral Assessment:  ½
kalye rin ng Maynila
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14
magsasanga-sanga ang
and above
ilan pang mga taong may
kinalaman sa buhay ni William at sa pagkakalulong niya sa droga.
Ang ikalawang kuwento naman ay tungkol sa isang bodyguard na
si Philip (Piolo Pascual) na naninilbihan kay Barry (Jay Manalo)
anak ng isang Congressman ng Maynila. Tapat ang paglilingkod
ni Philip kay Barry sa pag-aakalang parang kapatid ang turing
nito sa kanya. Ang katapatang ito ay masusubukan nang maka-
enkuwentro ni Barry ang isang dating karibal. Makakapatay si
Philip sa pagtatanggol kay Barry at dito niya mapatutunayan
ang kawalang-saysay ng kanyang katapatan sa isang among
tau-tauhan lamang ang turing sa kanya.
Masarap balikan ang ilang obra ng mga batikang Pilipinong
direktor na naglagay sa Pilipinas sa mapa ng pandaigdigang
sining. Ang mga pelikulang pinaghanguan ng Manila ay talaga
namang maituturing na klasiko at nararapat lamang bigyan ng
kaukulang paggalang. Maganda ang intensiyon ng Manila ngunit
nagkulang ito sa akmang sinseridad na hinihinling ng kuwento.
Sa halip na mapalutang pang lalo sa kasalukuyang panahon ang
dalawang piling obra, ay lalo pang napalabo ang mensahe nito.
Sayang at pawang magagaling pa naman ang mga nagsiganap.
Maganda rin at mahusay ang kuha ng kamera pati na ang pag-
iilaw. Hindi rin masyadong problema ang editing. Marahil ang
tunay na problema ay ang kaiksian ng oras na inilaan nila para
sa kabuuan ng pelikula. Pilit ipinagsiksikan sa iisang pelikula ang
dalawang dapat sana’y malawak na istorya. Mahirap masundan
ang emosyon sapagkat hindi malinaw ang pinanggagalingan ng
bawat karakter. Sayang at malaki sana ang potensiyal ng pelikula
na maihanay sa mga obrang pinaparangalan nito.
Isang masukal at malupit na gubat ang lungsod ng Maynila.
Ito ang sinasabi ng pelikula. Ipinakita nito ang pinakamadidilim
na kasuluksulukan ng Maynila. Ang dalawang magkaibang
pangunahing tauhan ay sumisimbolo sa dalawang uri ng tao
Maynila. Isang nagpakalunod sa masamang bisyo upang maka-
limutan ang mga realidad ng siyudad at isang humaharap dito
nang buong katapatan sa pag-aakalang ito’y masusuklian ng
kaginhawahan. Anu’t-anupaman, sina William at Philip ay larawan
ng kadiliman at kawalang-pag-asa sa isang siyudad na siya
sanang kakalinga sa mga tulad nila. Kung tutuusin ang kuwento
ay nagpakita lamang ng isang parte ng mukha ng Maynila: ang
kasamaan at kadiliman nito. Malinaw naman ang itensiyong ito
ng pelikula. Hindi nga naman interesado ang mga manonood
sa maganda, mapayapa at maaliwalas na buhay. Maaring tunay
ang mga ipinakitang larawan ng Manila ngunit pawang hindi
malinaw ang nais nitong iparating at kung anong klaseng imahe
ng Maynila ang nais nilang ipakita sa ating mga kababayan at
maging sa mga dayuhang manonood. Kung puros kawalan
ng pag-asa at kabukutan ang ating makikita, ano nga ba ang
nararapat na gawin? Marahil sinasabi rin ng pelikula na bawat
isa sa atin ay may pananagutansa mga katulad nina William at
Philip. Hindi lamang sila ang may kagagawan ng kung anong
kapalaran nagkaroon sila. Malinaw na ang mismong lipunang
kanilang ginagalawan ang nagtulak sa kanila sa maling landas.
Dapat gabayan ang mga batang manonood upang maipaliwa-
nag ito ng husto, kung hindi’y maitatanim sa kanilang isipan na
ang Maynila ay isang malupit na siyudad sa mga mahihirap at
walang lakas. Maaring ito nga ay totoong nangyayari ngunit
dapat sana’y magpakita man lang ng kahit na isang kislap na
pag-asa ang pelikula upang makapaghimok ng mga natutulog
na damdaming makabayan.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
C1

The News Supplement of

Couples for Christ

In Pursuit of Christ
By Dominic Apuan
THE Lion’s Head, Camp John Hay
airbase, Philippine Military Academy,
Mansion House, Baguio Cathedral,
Mines View Park, Burnham Park,
Wright Park, Botanical Garden…from
its outskirts to its very core, there are
lots of places to go to, and lots of rea-
sons to visit Baguio City; but last July
24 to 26, 2009, Singles for Christ Metro
Manila had but one reason: The Christ
Pursuit.
What better place to pursue God than
on the mountaintops of Baguio? The
SFC Metro Manila Leaders Conference
’09 was held at the CAP – John Hay
Trade and Cultural Center. For three
It all began with a celebration of
all the gifts and blessings that God
bestowed upon us through worship.
Here the SFCs dressed up as treasure
hunters, voyagers and explorers to
signify the start of their pursuit; the
draping and wooden conviction boxes
added pizzazz to the main aesthetic of
the venue. Some SFCs showcased their
talents in singing and dancing through
a friendly competition called “SFC’s Got
Talent.” Among the contestants was
Rhea Bernandez from Central C, who
serenaded the judges with her guitar as
she sang her own beautiful composition.
The night ended with a praisefest where
the SFCs sang, danced, shouted, and
partied their hearts out
story to tell. After celebrating the Holy
Eucharist, joyful voices echoed in the
auditorium. However, one voice stood
out – that of JM Sangco who, in the first
talk, spoke of “The Journey” that we, as
SFCs, were about to take. The journey
of pursuing Christ is a journey towards
being Christ-like. JM affirmed this
journey’s beauty because the goal, our
journey’s end, is achievable if we pursue
Christ. And the wonder of it all is that
Christ pursued us first and will pursue
us, whenever, wherever, however and
whoever we are.
Talk 2 was delivered by Fr. Xavier
Olin, SJ, who asked us to take a deeper
look at ourselves in relation to our
journey “In Pursuit of Christ.” He spoke
about the power of prayer and how it
can change our lives. He spoke about
being able to see Christ in everyone
and everything by turning our lives
into a lifetime of prayer and how, in the
life we are given, God grants us grace
every step we take through the Holy
Sacraments. It is through having that
close relationship with God that we will
be able to see His grace move through
our lives and clearly appreciate His
plans for us.
Later that day, the participants were
dispersed into various workshops on
the sacraments, inner healing, spiritual
direction, Christian virtues, praying
with Scriptures, and many others.
These enriching workshops, tools to
accompany us in our journey towards
Christ, were given by members of
the clergy and some CFC
elders.
The evening began with
worship and segued into
a talk given by Penny de
Leon on our “Empty Pur-
suits.” She spoke about
the end of our pursuit
and how it is more than
magnificent; but some-
where along the way,
we lose our focus and
turn to pursuing success,
satisfaction, security and
service. These things of-
ten blind us and detract
us from our pursuit of
Christ. However, Penny
stressed that God calls us to succeed in
one thing—our faithfulness to Him, to preview of “The Prize of the Pursuit.”
satisfy our longings only with His love, The Lord wants to bring us to heaven,
to secure our personal relationship with and will not stop pursuing us until we
Him, and to serve only because of love are His. Heaven is the prize of our
and nothing else. pursuit of Christ…and in heaven God
The evening ended with a praise fest grants us eternal fulfillment where
that was characterized not by the noise we will no longer be broken no lon-
of singing and dancing but by the initial ger impure, no longer empty! As we
few minutes that the SFCs spent in the pursue Christ, every step of the way,
solitude of prayer, undistracted by the we become Christ-like and gain the 12
environment. fruits of the Holy Spirit: Charity, Joy,
The SFCs welcomed the 3rd day Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness,
by once again celebrating the Holy Generosity, Gentleness, Faithfulness,
Eucharist presided by His Excellency Modesty, Self-control and Chastity.
Bishop Carlito Cenzon of the diocese At the end of the conference, God’s
of Baguio. Marc Sebastian was tasked message for all of us SFCs was clear:
to deliver the last talk of the confer- God is in pursuit of us and we, the SFCs,
ence. According to Marc, the final are in pursuit of a life in union with
piece of the puzzle provides us with a Christ. What a wonderful thought!

CFC Issues Ancop Guidelines

days SFC gathered there, and came for the Lord. “The Christ
away feeling that their lives were for- Pursuit” had begun.
ever changed. Day two had a different

SFCs in Europe honor THE CFC International Council, in a statement issued July 23, 2009,
issued guidelines governing the community’s work with the poor,
ful movements for the poor are subject to the discernment and
approval of the CFC International Council, particularly in the

their icon - Jesus

By Chastine Rodriguez
EXCITEMENT was high as the 11th SFC European Conference went
underway on July 10, 2009. Having received confirmation of the
venue (the Ramada Hotel in Geneva) only the day before, everyone
was indeed excited, in awe at how the Lord arranged everything and
confident that the three days to come would simply prove that He
was in control, as always.
Hundreds of delegates from countries all over Europe gathered
to have fellowship, to learn from the sessions and most especially to
honor and praise the icon of the conference and of the community
– Jesus Christ.
The usual features of any international conference were present
– great food, especially the cheese and wine that were presented
at the “Cheese Fest” competition by each country represented; the
celebration of the Holy Eucharist; the dancing; the colorful costumes;
the vibrant songs and the loud cheering; the prayers; the inspiring
and inspired testimonies of transformed lives; the Praise Parade,
and of course, the praise fests.
The conference sessions spoke of a single theme -- Freedom is a gift
and to be free is to liberate oneself from what hinders young Chris-
tians like the Singles for Christ from becoming better Christians and
striving for holiness. We have to strive for holiness because the God
we serve is perfect. But even though we keep falling back into sin,
He is a forgiving God and He loves us beyond our comprehension.
This theme was further reinforced in the afternoon workshops of the
second day, especially the session on forgetting what lies behind us.
For the first time in an SFC event, a benediction and a Eucharistic
celebration was held as the climax to the sessions on the second day.
It was an awesome and inspiring experience.
SFC Europe Coordinator Lawrence Quintero came all the way
from the Philippines to talk about the mission and vision of SFC,
and to lead the pray-over of members who felt the calling for the
mission.
The conference was officially closed by SFC Europe Mission Co-
ordinator Don Sarmiento.
The conference was over in three days but the love and fellow-
ship fostered in those days will remain for years to come. Clearly,
God’s love has been multiplied a million times for each and every
SFC who attended the Eurocon to bring home to their respective
corners of Europe.
or ANCOP. These guidelines clarify the relationship between
CFC and Gawad Kalinga and the channels of authority that will
be followed in the GK villages that are existing. It also outlines
the other work with the poor that ANCOP will be embarking on,
work that goes beyond community building.
The statement is reprinted in full below.
CFC guidelines on Ancop (Our Work With The Poor)
Couples for Christ is an evangelistic community called to pro-
claim Christ in word and action. Our CFC mission is focused on
Building the Church of the Home and the Church of the Poor. At
its simplest, CFC is focused on Christ, the Family and the Poor.
On April 30, 2009, the International Council issued a statement
that CFC was “letting go” of Gawad Kalinga. We also issued sev-
eral circulars designed to define the new relationship and to guide
CFC members working in GK sites during the transition process.
The CFC leadership is issuing these guidelines regarding ANCOP,
our work with the poor, to describe with clarity the scope, direction
and priorities of our work with the poor. CFC ANCOP must be
defined and accomplished in a manner that supports our primary
calling and charism as a Catholic community.
The following statements, which were covered in the IC circular
dated May 7, 2009, provide the foundation of our ANCOP work:
1. CFC, through the International Council, has let go of the
governance and corporate structure of Gawad Kalinga. In effect,
this means that CFC has let go of:
- the foundation (Gawad Kalinga Community Development
Foundation Inc.),
- the governance of the IC over GK (as represented by the major-
ity membership of the IC in the GK Board),
- GK as the movement and more particularly,
- GK as a CFC ministry.
2. Thus, as a result of No. 1 above, CFC and GK are now two
different, distinct movements with separate visions, missions,
leadership and structures. But, however different in calling and
charism, the two movements share a common goal – the upliftment
of the poor. How the two movements work together to achieve
this common goal can be discussed in a spirit of brotherhood and
solidarity. Consequently the framework of such partnership will
be mutually agreed upon.
3. Although CFC and GK are now independent of each other,
with distinct leadership and corporate structure, CFC and GK are
committed to pursue a collaborative and cooperative relation-
ship. Thus CFC members serving in GK will continue to serve
as volunteers. However, precisely because of this distinction in
leadership, CFC members serving in GK will get their direction
and guidance from the established pastoral and organized lines
of authority existing in CFC.
4. CFC ANCOP is the totality of our Work with the Poor. In the
IC Memo dated May 22, 2009, we announced that we “envision
ANCOP to include the following areas”:
- The Social Ministries (Migrant Workers, Isaiah Prison Min-
istry)
- Livelihood (Tekton Microfinance and Social Entrepreneur-
ship)
- Food for the Hungry (Partnership with Bayan-Anihan)
- Health (CFC GKare)
- Education
- Communities for Christ (affordable housing for Church mis-
sionaries, FTWs and needy CFC members) and
- Other social ministries that have been previously in place. Most
of these programs are ongoing while some are relatively new, hav-
ing been recently organized.
5. CFC’s institutional partnerships with GK and other meaning-
following areas:
A. Determination of future partners
B. Definition of scope of work, to include the proper accounting
of funds and periodic submission of accomplishment reports
C. Mobilization of CFC members’ attendance in major external
non–CFC events and conferences, (e.g. GK Expo, national Pro-life
rallies...etc.)
Consistent with the above guidelines, CFC supports and en-
courages the following expressions of Building the Church of the
Poor:
1. ANCOP mission components (stated above in no. 4) are the
top priorities for our CFC work with the poor.
2. Implementation of applicable ANCOP programs in GK sites
will be done within the parameters of the institutional partner-
ship.
3. Evangelization and pastoral formation will be pursued in
open and ready GK sites.
4. Volunteer work by CFC members in GK “sustainability”
programs is encouraged provided it does not conflict with one’s
fundamental CFC priorities (household, formation, conferences)
through which we source our life and strength in Christ.
5. CFC will help generate and contribute funds and resources
to support our ANCOP missions as a priority, and GK as one of
the options.
CFC does not support or encourage:
1. Volunteer work that brings one outside the boundaries of our
Couples for Christ core values (Pro-God, Pro-Family, Pro-Life,
Pro-Poor) and our oneness with the Catholic Church. Christ is
always the Center and Mover of our mission.
2. Volunteer work that conflicts with or disrupts one’s fundamen-
tal commitment to CFC life and directions (household, teachings,
conferences). This includes any specific ANCOP Work with the
Poor or GK, which becomes one’s overriding or exclusive prior-
ity to the detriment of the fullness of the life and mission of CFC
(Christ, Family and Poor).
There are GK sites that are fully-funded and fully-managed by
CFC. Together with the top GK leadership, we will discuss and
finalize guidelines for the continuing management of these sites.
In terms of organization, the IC memo dated June 2, 2009 has
clarified that:
1. “CFC leaders who are presently serving in the Metro Manila/
Provincial GK management Board and GK EXCOM are to be
integrated into a core group for CFC ANCOP which shall report
and likewise be accountable to the MM SGT/Provincial Area
Council;
2. The MM Sector/Provincial GK Head, who is a member of the
MMSGT/Provincial Area Council, is to be designated as Head of
CFC ANCOP in the area. He shall assign CFC Coordinators in
GK villages under CFC caretaker teams.”
Our mission is clear – Building the Church of the Home and
Building the Church of the Poor. Both (the family and the poor)
are equally important and deserve our full commitment. The work
may be vast and the challenges daunting, but as our theme for this
year goes, we simply surge ahead, forgetting what lies behind and
focusing only on Jesus, our guide and our goal.
Moving forward in Christ is not an option. It is our commitment.
May God bless us all.
JOE YAMAMOTO
Executive Director
For the CFC International Council
 C2 Ugnayan CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

By Joe Tale, CFC Chairman I do not dream for my country to have the tallest skyscrapers nor
the biggest this or that, nor for Filipinos to be topping this or that
list of the wealthiest in the world. Those might be the benchmarks
of some, but they have nothing to do with what I truly care for – to

My Dream
AS I write this, my thoughts race back, not only to the beginnings of
the work with the poor of Couples for Christ (CFC), which eventu-
ally evolved into Gawad Kalinga (GK), but even before that, to the
early years of CFC. We were even then a community of families who
were dreamers. We took to heart the vision of being Families in the
Holy Spirit, Renewing the Face of the Earth.
The renewal of the face of the earth started with the renewal of the
heart. The dream was pursued solidly anchored on faith.
Inevitably, the dream found its expression in the most challenging
work with the poor. This was a new frontier and
uncharted waters for CFC. But the challenge
found anchor in a passage in Acts 4:32-35, which
provided a pastoral framework and spiritual
refuge that overcame the fears and doubts: “The
community of believers was of one heart and
mind, and no one claimed that any of his pos-
sessions was his own, but they had everything
in common. With great power, the apostles gave
witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and
great favor was accorded them all. There was
no needy person among them…”
The dream had been reality before. It can
be done. The pioneering work thus attracted
brethren with hearts overflowing with love for
God and neighbor. We continue to honor them
all for what they started and for igniting this
same spirit that has flowed into the now tens
or hundreds of thousands of caretaker teams,
who are showing the world that we can be our
brothers’ keepers, and that doing so is not a
burden, but a source of great joy.
As it was then, so I believe it should continue
to be. And my own dreams are anchored on the
same firm foundation. I dream of a transformed
country and people, with renewed hearts filled
with compassion, and lives lived in deep abid-
ing faith in God.
The self-sacrificing CFC caretaker teams and the overwhelming
generous response of GK partners from all over the world, form the
grounding for my dream.
My dream is of a world, starting with the Philippines, where the
pervading culture and way of life is caring and sharing.
I dream of a Philippines where all Filipinos, coming from this
way of life, are able to hold their heads high because they live a
dignified existence, worthy of having been created in the image
and likeness of God.
see my country develop a heart.
I would like to see all Filipinos helping every other Filipino de-
velop their full potential. I dream of seeing men and women moving
into the future with lives full of meaning because they have used
their God-given gifts to the fullest. I therefore dream of a society
where the opportunities abound for this to happen.
I dream of a people whose culture of caring and sharing flows
into their stewardship of the environment, God’s wonderful gift of
creation. I dream of a country where the beaches and the moun-
tains, and the flora and the fauna, and the treasures of the land, air
and the seas are truly appreciated as gifts to be treasured and to be
cared for, to be shared and enjoyed by all, and to be nurtured for
the generations that are to come.
I dream of a country of responsible citizens, who with wisdom
and sincere love for God and country, will bring into office lead-
ers who are God-fearing and who, by their actions, demonstrate
their pursuit for the common good, and not for their own selfish
interests. I dream of governance untainted by greed and evil use of
power. I dream of good men and women coming into their own as
just, competent, and courageous public servants. I dream of simple
honesty, transparency, integrity and expertise
as hallmarks of service.
I say, that when these elements are in place,
then economic prosperity for all will follow,
and progress and development will happen,
economic well-being that emanate from and
stand firmly on solid rock.
And then, our beloved Philippines will rise
up from the mud and ashes of poverty, cor-
ruption, and war, and gain respect, and take
her rightful place of honor in the community
of nations.
Just one more thing. We should not tire of
dreaming, and we should help create in all the
capacity to dream. We should hold on strong
to our ideals, strive to do our best in the pres-
ent but also look beyond the problems and
difficulties, and see the future of a country of
our dreams.
Samuel Ullman writes: “Nobody grows old
by merely living a number of years; people
grow old by deserting their ideals.”
I honor all who have remained young in
their dreams and ideals, manifested in their
continuing quest to “set the world on fire with
the fullness of God’s transforming love” (from
CFC’s vision statement). May we all be blessed
to see our dreams bear fruit that will last.

By Joe Yamamoto, CFC Director

The Everyday Disciple

ONE of the most basic and yet enduring lessons up at one of the weekend CLPs. At the close of the familiar with the very dramatic conversion of
that I have learned in CFC over the years is the program, he stood up to share. He narrated that he Paul on the road to Damascus. His courage, and
focus on everyday evangelization that stays at the attended because he saw in us, my wife and me, persistent attitude of evangelization, plus the
heart of our mission. Early on I learned a memo- the happiness that comes from the joy of service, dramatic and inspiring recounting of his experi- world” and pointed to Jesus. From that day on,
rable dictum that best describes what every CFC a fulfilled family life and contentment despite the ence of overcoming overwhelming obstacles are things were never the same anymore for ordinary
member must put to heart- the commitment to hectic demands of our professional life and our exemplary. He also taught countless generations Andrew- from being a follower of John, he became
GO AND EVANGELIZE and EVANGELIZE AS service to the community. In short, if we were of Christians through his Spirit-filled books and a faithful disciple of Jesus.
YOU GO. happy and joyful to be in CFC, then the CLP must epistles. His writings impacted magnificently in Andrew, in his selfless and unassuming way,
The last two years of our community work en- be something worth attending. terms of shaping the Catholic religion and other brought the people he knew to Christ. To his more
abled us to provide the anchor that resulted from Or consider our friends, Elmer and Marivic, Christian churches. famous brother, Simon, he declared “ I have found
revisiting our vision- Families in the Holy Spirit re- who are both doctors, who joined CFC because of Paul was unique because he was called during the Messiah “ and asked his older sibling to join
newing the face of the earth; and of course, fleshing our work in the medical missions, which puts us the fragile infancy of the Church and was used him in a life- and history-changing followership.
out our two-fold mission of Building the Church of in close contact with the sick and the poor. They mightily by God despite his past hostility to the Andrew delighted in using the day-to-day cir-
the Home and Building the Church of the Poor. In have become infected with the passion to serve. early Christian converts. No one has equaled, cumstances of his life to demonstrate his simple
the day to day context of a member’s life, each one Similar is my experience with a lawyer friend, much less surpassed, Paul in his missionary zeal ways of bringing people to the Lord and at the
is expected to “proclaim Christ in words and in ac- Raoul and his doctor wife, Thelma, who belonged and fervor. The width and depth of his writings same time show his utmost confidence that the
tion” (ipahayag si Kristo sa Gawa Lord makes things happen.
at Kalinga). The words “gawa” He figured prominently in
and “kalinga” are Pilipino words the feeding of the five thousand
that mean “work” and “care”. when Jesus, taking pity on the
How best do we translate people who had listened to him
evangelization? When one is set preach for hours, asked that his
to Go and Evangelize, it is in the disciples see to feeding the mul-
context of a leader and his team titude. He told his disciples that
making deliberate and careful the huge crowd of people were
plans. For instance, holding a “like sheep without a shepherd”
Christian Life Program involves (Mk.6:34). Per gospel record,
carefully working out all the the five thousand were men,
necessary details of preparation not counting the women and
- dates, venue, speakers, invita- their accompanying children.
tions for participants, assigning Altogether, the number would
the music ministry, appointing likely have been closer to fifteen
the service team including the thousand, perhaps more.
facilitators, organizing the prayer The other disciples were hor-
warriors, embarking on the the rified, with Philip pointing out
most important spiritual prepa- that not even 200 days worth of
ration, and last but not the least, wages would suffice to provide
making sure of the finances. food for everyone. It was humble
In a bigger sense, I have also and ordinary Andrew who took
come to deeply appreciate the charge. He went among the
flip side of evangelization and crowd and brought back a young
that is to Evangelize as you Go. boy with five barley loaves and a
Meaning, beyond planning and couple of fish. He said: ‘This is all
holding of CLPs and the other I could find, Master.” Jesus was
forms or tools of evangelization, able to perform one of the memo-
there is the mere simplicity of rable miracles in the Scriptures
using the daily and average cir- because Andrew had the faith
cumstances of life and work to to draw from that well spring of
bring people to Christ and pres- confidence that the Lord will do
ent Christ to the people. How do Members of the International Council paid a courtesy call on Bishop Jesse Mercado of the diocese of Paranaque last July 28. The bishop was recently elected Chairman something.
of the Episcopal Commission on the Laity. Pictured are (from left): Melo and Nini Villaroman, Rouquel Ponte, Jojo and Bambi Buncayo (South B sector head), Executive
we do that? Simply by witnessing Director Joe Yamamoto, the Bishop, Joey and Tess Arguelles, Manny and Ditas Garcia and Lito and Linda Tayag. What do we learn about An-
to a life in Christ and sharing the drew? He had such deep trust in
Christ that should be in you. You can’t honestly to the same parish church in our subdivision. They were truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. the Lord and an awareness that Jesus was Master,
share the Lord to others if you have not built an responded to the invitation to attend the CLP as an The everyday disciple need not be like Paul in even over the laws of nature. Andrew realized that
intimate and personal relationship with Him; if answer to their search for a community that will his speech and writing but must emulate him in his as long as the Lord was near, there was a solution.
you have not chosen to walk in and with the Lord. allow them to develop deeper spirituality while quest to imitate Christ. Paul is a good example of He knew that if he had to serve well, he had to do
Such a simple dictum and yet far reaching in its serving in their chosen professions. And their dying to oneself and loving the Lord selflessly. his best and let the gap in human capabilities be
implication because it defines our job and respon- search began because they came to immerse in the For us Christians, there are other saints and filled by God’s providence and attention.
sibility as CFC members. It is a great challenge that work with the poor. apostles worthy to be followed as appropriate Andrew epitomizes the everyday disciple- kind,
we are all expected to fulfill in faith. It has become almost second nature for me to examples of the everyday disciple. The one apostle mild, unassuming, friendly, approachable and
As I recall the people who responded to my pray over my patients before they undergo major that I admire for his unique and unassuming char- very trusting. He was not apparently aggressive or
LAYOUT BY LAURENCE JOHN R. MORALES

invitation of attending the CLPs and who subse- surgeries, especially heart and lung surgeries. I acter is Andrew, the so-called Protokletus (‘the ambitious and the few instances he was mentioned
quently became members of the community, I see make it a point to invite our medical trainees, first called’). His name, taken from the Greek word in the scriptures, we see him unaffected by playing
that they were actually people I encounter daily surgical residents and nurses to join me during the “andros’ (man) indicated his future role as one ‘second fiddle’ to his more prominent brother Peter
in my work in the hospital and the university. praying over session. It is amazing how showing facilitating the meeting of Jesus and the would-be or to the beloved disciple, John. He delighted in
My mentor in surgery of many years, Dr. Ency, people a simple and yet meaningful act of sharing disciples. telling others about Jesus.
was always solicitous of my welfare and that of Christ to them during periods of illness and treat- Andrew must have been earnestly in search of Truly Andrew is a worthy model for the CFC ev-
my family. So one day, I mustered the confidence ment made them receptive to the promptings for things spiritual which he and his fisherman col- eryday disciple. Like Andrew, we are called not just
to offer him a weekend CLP (as opposed to the a life-changing experience. league John found from listening to and following to “go and evangelize” but to be witness to God’s
regular 13-week course). Considering that he was Learning from the examples modeled by the John the Baptist. He was in this stage of his journey presence in our lives day after day. We are tasked to
always busy, I would not have faulted him if he apostle Paul is one good way of proclaiming when one day John the Baptist called out “Behold “evangelize as we go” and to indeed be instruments
had said no. Instead, he surprised me by showing Christ in words and action. Nearly everyone is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the by which others may come to know Christ.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009
Ugnayan C3

Year of the Priesthood,

Year of the Hearts
By Arnel Santos
ARCHBISHOP Ramon C. Arguelles of the archdiocese of Lipa ad-
ney is now the patron saint of parish priests and the model for all
priests.
The archbishop emphasized that, “the priests must be the first
dressed the Mission Core Group (MCG) of Couples for Christ at ones to have the heart of Jesus and Mary.”
Xavier Gymnasium on July 21, 2009, on the significance of Pope But the archbishop explained that there must be stress on the
Benedict XVI’s proclamation of June 2009 through June 2010, as “heart,” which means the “kaibuturan ng pagkatao,” the essence of
the “Year of the Priesthood,” and the Catholic Bishops Conference existence. This “heart” must be “consecrated with the Sacred Heart”
of the Philippines’ (CBCP) dedication of the year 2009-2010 in our of Jesus – “the Priest who offers and is offered,” “the Perfect Priest.”
country as the “Year of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Our model is the “Immaculate Heart of Mary,” who shows how to
Heart of Mary.” be totally possessed by God, and “our way to the heart of God.”
The archbishop underlined that with the Pope’s proclamation last
March, 2009 of the “Year of the Priesthood,” “lalong gumanda ang
Philippine bishops’ deci-
The archbishop enjoined all to pray for priests. In praying, “all
of us must approach God with all our heart.” In the words of St.
Theresa of Avila, we all
CFC Zanorte Celebrates
sion to dedicate 2009-2010
as the “Year of the Sacred
Heart of Jesus and the Im-
must have a “heart to heart
talk with God.”
“Bring Christ to all people
17th Anniversary
maculate Heart of Mary.” and transform all in Christ” “RUNNING the Race to Win.” This was the theme during the
He noted that priests was the archbishop’s final 17th anniversary celebration of Couples for Christ Zamboanga
make available the Eu- message. In this year of del Norte, held at Mt. Sinai Convention Hall, Dipolog City on
charist to God’s people, the priesthood, the year July 11, 2009. CFC members from all over the province attended
and in the process, make of the hearts, Archbishop the said celebration with Ricky Cuenca, country head of CFC
a community which is Arguelles asked everyone Canada, as the guest speaker.
“what God has in mind.” to consecrate themselves The celebration started with a powerful praise and worship
In every Mass, because of to the Sacred Heart of Jesus led by CFC Zanorte’s Music Ministry and followed by a welcome
the Eucharist, we enter into and the Immaculate Heart message from Tata Guirgio, the Provincial Area Director. Ricky
the heart of God. of Mary. Cuenca’s anniversary address focused on our mission and vi-
He related the life of St. The archbishop likewise sion as Couples for Christ,
John Vianney, the parish commended CFC, stating punctuated by his account
priest for 40 years of Ars in at the beginning of his talk, of his missionary work in
France, who transformed that “Couples for Christ is other countries.
the community into a God- a grace for the Church…” The afternoon festivities
centered community. “He especially “now with the featured the different talents
was not a great theologian, realization that CFC is of the community, with
but he was a good preacher a movement within the CFC members and the fam-
because what he preached, Church and in the heart of ily ministries presenting
he lived.” St. John Vian- the Church.” dances and songs.

Know your Board of Elders

THE hierarchy of leadership of Couples
for Christ includes the Board of Elders, 15
men and women elected at the same time
as the International Council, and who
serve as an advisory body to the IC. Their
term of office coincides with the IC.
At the last elections on June 25, the
following were elected to the BOE.
DING AGUINALDO
A CPA, married for 32 years to Tess.
Joined CFC in 1990. Present service is
Regional Head (RH) of Northeastern
Luzon. Owns a catering business and
was formerly connected with a big ac-
counting firm. With 3 children: 2 in SFC
and 1 in KFC.
ROBERT ARDIENTE
Joined CFC in 1987; married for 26
years to Mayin with 3 children. Was a
seminarian, graduating with a degree
in Philosophy. Was Liaison Officer
and Assistant to the President of an
engineering corporation prior to work-
ing fulltime for CFC in 1992. Present
service is as Country Coordinator of
Israel; member of the SOLD Council
and assists the Metro Manila Mission
Director.
RAFFY BLASCO
Joined CFC in 1988; married to Cely
for 29 years. A known advocate of
health and wellness, left a lucrative job
with a multinational company to have
more time to serve in the community.
Holds a marketing degree and an MBA
from the Ateneo. With 2 children, both
in SFC. Now Provincial Area Head
(PAH) of Capiz.
RICKY CUENCA
Based in Canada as a fulltime CFC
worker; joined CFC in 1986 and married
to Irma for 30 years, with 2 daughters,
both in SFC. Graduated with a com-
merce degree from La Salle. Presently
holds the following positions: President
& Chairman, ANCOP Canada; Chair-
man, ANCOP USA; Regional coordi-
nator for Western Africa and Country
Coordinator of the United States.
BERNIE CUEVAS
Attended two Christian Life Programs
– the first one in 1985 in Manila and the
second in 1990 in Labo, Camarines Sur.
Married for 13 years to Pinggoy Cuevas;
now widowed for 17 years. With 3 chil-
dren, two of whom are married. A nurs-
ing graduate from St. Paul’s College of
Manila, with postgraduate courses in
cooperatives and management. Now a
fulltime pastoral worker serving in the
Tekton Guild Ministry as President of
Tekton Foundation and Managing Di-
rector of the CFC Cooperatives Federa-
tion. Active in Handmaids of the Lord
as Bicol Regional Coordinator and Japan
Country Coordinator.
MON DE LEON
An industrial engineer, has a long
career in the human resource field, as
well as in training and development
and strategic management. Married
for 35 years to Penny; with 4 children
and 1 grandchild; 3 unmarried children
in SFC, YFC and KFC. Joined CFC in
1990; is now PAH of Laguna and RH of
Central Visayas.
DIDI GALSIM
The International Coordinator for
HOLD; married to Dwight (an interna-
tional pilot) for 37 years, with 3 children,
2 of whom are in CFC and one in SFC.
Joined CFC in 1988. Holds a BS Science
and a Master of Science degree in Math
from UP. Was a Math professor.
CHARLY LAIZ
Joined CFC in 1990. Married to Mel
for 22 years with 3 children, one SFC and
2 YFC. A practicing architect working in
tandem with wife Mel who is an interior
designer, prior to becoming a fulltime
pastoral worker in 1999. Present service
is as RH for the Bicol region, CFC Prolife
Program Director and member of the Ser-
vants of the Lord international council.
ERNIE MAIPID
Holds an AB in Broadcast Commu-
nications, Masters in Communications
Research from UP, formerly with the
United Nations Development Pro-
gramme prior to becoming a fulltime
worker at CFC in 1996. Joined CFC in
1987. Married for 26 years, to Gigi with
3 children. Formerly an IC member.
MANNIX OCAMPO
A graduate of Chemistry and En-
trepreneurial Marketing, now VP for
Sales and Marketing of a major tire
company. Joined CFC in 1998. Married
to Aileen for 14 years with 5 children, 3
in KFC and 1 in YFC. Now holds the
following service: Sector Head, of South
A, Metro Manila and PAH of Negros
Occidental.
RENE PUNSALAN
A CPA-lawyer with his own consul-
tancy firm, now CFC Legal Counsel.
Married to Prosy for 40 years, with 4
children, all of them active in commu-
nity. Joined CFC in 1989 and presently
is the RH for Western Visayas, PAH for
Pampanga and Country Coordinator
for Bahrain.
REGGIE RAGOJOS
Joined CFC in 1992; married to Janet,
a registered nurse, for 29 years, with 4
children and 1 grandchild; all of the chil-
dren are in community, one in CFC and
the rest in YFC. An architect, now owns
and manages, with his wife, a success-
ful design and construction copmpany.
Present service: RH of the Calabarzon
are (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Quezon);
Country Coordinator for Morocco.
NIDES RESPICIO
A lawyer (LLB from UP in 1978), with
private practice. Joined CFC in 1986;
married to Myra for 29 years; with 3
children. Now the STMA Coordinator
and the Country Head of Guam.
OCA TAGULINAO
A plastic surgeon, also an associate
professor at UST and private practitio-
ner at the UST Hospital and Cardinal
Santos Medical Center. Joined CFC in
1984. Married for 37 years to Tess, with
1 daughter.
JUN URIARTE
Holds a BS Chemical Engineering
and Masters in Engineering degrees
from UP and a PhD Chem Engg degree
from Carnegie-Mellon University.
Has held top leadership positions in
the United Nations (ESCAP), ASEAN
and the Philippine government (Sec-
retary of the Department of Science
and Technology). Joined CFC in 1992.
Married for 40 years to Jean with 5
children and 7 grandchildren. Pres-
ently serves as Regional Coordinator
for Southeast Asia.

Great Things at the 28th CFC Anniversary

By James & Monica Ssemwangu,
Fr.Mathias Ssenyange (Uganda) &
Fr.Siegfried Mwatighina (Kenya)
Great things happen when God meets with
Man
We were greeted by heat and humidity at the
Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila,
after an 18-hour flight from our respective places
of Kenya and Uganda on the 18th of June.
We had been in Manila for just a few days
when we started attending the anniversary
week events. We participated in the empower-
ing International Leaders’ Forum, which sent
out the message from the prophet Joshua to the
CFC leaders present -- a call to determination,
courage and strong will to push on with the
global missions.
The following day, we had the Bishop, Clergy
and Lay Congress which focused on the youth
and their importance in building the Church and
society. The Congress’ collective conclusion is
that the clergy and laity need to work together
to give special attention to the youth. Finally,
we had the Migrants’ Congress, which brought
to light the painful experience of exploitation
and abuse that many migrant workers face. CFC
responds to the call to be by the migrant workers’
and their families’ side to give them spiritual and
material support.
D-day was the 27th of June 2009. And it was a
truly jovial mood of marching and band-playing
in Luneta. All the provinces from the Philippines
were present together with the foreign delegates
from Kenya, China, Kuwait, Ghana, South Africa,
Uganda, USA, Canada, Bangladesh and Malaysia.
A mammoth crowd of about fifty thousand people
gathered for a mass celebrated by Cardinal Gau-
dencio Rosales which was concelebrated by the
foreign delegate priests from China, Bangladesh,
Uganda, Ghana and Kenya.
No sooner had the mass ended when the praise
fest started. And yes, it started in style. It kicked
off with clapping, dancing, singing, jumping,
swinging. Name it, we did it. Different groups
and CFC ministries took turns presenting on
stage. Did you know that we even had not only
singing but also dancing priests? The performing
priests of Malaybalay, Bukidnon really proved
their talent that night. The celebration went on
till late in the night. And since we were pagod
(tired) after the singing and dancing, we were
treated to a very masarap (delicious) dinner by
our host.
Our hosts were indeed wonderful brothers and
sisters, who brought us to every imaginable place
and activity from GK sites to hot spring swim-
ming, to having pedicures to sunset-watching,
CFC assemblies and block rosary meetings. We
hopped all over Metro Manila and beyond – we got
to stay in Quezon
City, Parañaque,
San Juan, Laguna
and Rizal.
Great Lessons
The number one
lesson we learned
was teamwork.
Indeed, it is deep-
ly rooted in CFC
as a community.
I easily noticed
brothers and sisters joyfully serving. We truly CFC members. It turns out that they were actually
experienced a real community of brothers and sis- members of Opus Dei and the Legion of Mary.
ters. When things were not going as planned, other They simply said, “We are happy to see you so we
brethren would reach out to give a hand or sort out request to have breakfast with you…” We never
matters without second thoughts. You could not imagined such an encounter but it was possible
single out one person as being in charge. because of Christ who brings us together whatever
Lesson number two was hospitality. It is true the differences.
that brothers and sisters in CFC may be ranked It is undoubtedly true therefore to say, “Great
among the most hospitable of people. One needs things happen when God meets with Man.” God’s
to experience this hospitality and go away with message to us throughout our month-long stay is
lessons on how to treat others. clear: God is always with us and He reveals Him-
self through the virtues of love and unity, joyful
God’s Message service to our brothers and sisters and above all,
One memorable experience happened right after unconditional hospitality. It is by so doing that
Holy mass which was celebrated by Bishop Jesse many other gifts of the Holy Spirit bless our com-
Mercado of Parañaque. Two ladies invited us for munity and God becomes truly present in our
breakfast. We were wrong to think that they were midst.
 C4 Ugnayan CBCP Monitor
Vol. 13 No. 16
August 3 - 16, 2009

Paint By Faith
By Kolai Alegado
THE Metro Manila North A1-C Singles for Christ (composed of three units and four ministries -PFO,
creative heads, social ministry, music ministry), or a total of 16 individuals, launched last July 5, 2009 a
fund raising activity to help improve the GK site assigned to their chapter. The activity was held during
the Mission Core Gathering
of the CFC North Sector at
the Department of Agrarian
Reform covered gym.
The young people wanted
the activity to be something
extraordinary, something
totally new. In the end,
the chapter decided to do
something artistic. For four
months, the sixteen members
of the core group took up a
crash course on painting pro-
vided by a new Christian Life
Program graduate, a fine arts
student of the University of
Sto. Tomas. During that time,
the group learned all there is
to know about oil painting.
Oil??? Yes, you guessed it,
this is not just your regular
water based painting thing.
The group aimed to ac-
complish seven themes
(commercial, worship songs,
Bible verse, gatherings, faith,
Gawad Kalinga and portrai-
ture).
In the beginning, while
tackling the first theme, ev-
erybody got cold feet since
no one could finish a paint-
ing within a day, the allotted
time. On the last day of the
painting production, July 4,
the group managed to come
up with 80 paintings, two themes and 25 paintings short.
At the MCG, the group set up their gallery a few yards away from the MCG session area. Mila Ya-
mamoto, wife of CFC Executive Director Joe Yamamoto, made the first purchase, followed by sector
head Ben Babilonia. Maan Dolino, SFC chapter head, shared about the group’s struggles and dreams,
pushing sales further. At the end of the gathering, the group had sold 38 pieces!
The group is not resting on its laurels. They are gearing up to finally finish their project, to complete
the 115 pieces originally aimed for and to achieve 100% sales.
In the end, ‘Paint By Faith’ showed the 16 that it doesn’t really matter if you are a fine arts gradu-
ate, an artist at heart or a complete novice. What matters most is that talent was put to good use, for
a noble purpose.
The group is now going online to further promote their paintings. Pls visit: paintbyfaith.multiply.
com. For inquiries please contact Leah Afos (Sun#0922 5267 352) (Globe#0906 4122 795)/ Kolai Alegado
(Smart#0928 281 1820).

Intensely Inspiring: The 16th CFC – Youth

for Christ Oceania Leaders’ Conference
By Lianne Bernardo
FROM July 3-5, 450 young people all over Oceania came together
for the 16th CFC-Youth for Christ Oceania Leaders’ Conference.
The much-awaited event was held at the Exhibition Park at the Can-
berra Conference Centre to celebrate, praise and worship Christ.
There were four sessions during the weekend: “Journey to Christ,”
“Breaking Barriers,” “The Great Prize” and finally, “Stepping Up”
– all of the talks revolving around the overall theme of Couples for
Christ for the year 2009 – “Forward in Christ” taken from Philip-
pians 3:13-14. The sessions were inspired by St. Paul’s journey to
Damascus, and each of the sharers and speakers helped relay God’s
message to the youth in a personal and touching way.
On the second day of the OLC, several workshops were given.
The different workshops dealt with a variety of topics that the
youth aren’t necessarily familiar with; from how to use the inter-
net as a tool for reaching out to others (Virtual Evangelization);
to dealing with the different distractions during the celebration of
the Holy Eucharist (Weapons of Mass Distraction) and learning
Making a Loving Difference
to appreciate the Holy Mass; and even to getting to know Mother By Beng Prado
Mary more (Something about Mary). There was a little bit of
STEEL bars separated the volunteers of CFC Isaiah 61:1 Prison
Ministry from the inmates of Rodriguez (formerly Montalban)
Municipal Jail. But given the sincerity and candor that appar-
ently marked the discussions, it could well have been done in
an open field.
For almost three hours last July 11, over 200 prisoners took
turns clarifying legal issues and asking questions on their re-
spective cases, ranging from robbery to drugs to homicide and
murder. It did not matter that it was hot and humid, with all 200
cramped in only four cells. Or that they had to crowd behind bars
to get a better view of the speaker, or seat themselves on the cold
floor waiting out their turn to get enlightened on legal technicali-
ties they’ve struggled long to understand. All that mattered for
something for everyone. the moment was that there were people who were there to listen,
In true Youth for Christ tradition, the praise and worship sessions to try and help them, to give a flicker of hope.
were intensely inspiring. There’s always something amazing about The session was part of CFC Isaiah’s mission of providing de-
worshipping with a great number of brothers and sisters in Christ. tainees and prisoners with a range of services aimed at bringing
God’s presence was truly felt in every single worship and in every them to experience “total liberation in Christ.” The Rodriguez
prayer that was uttered during that weekend. City jail has been “adopted” by CFC volunteers from the East
The OLC was definitely one weekend that the young people of Sector, who visit regularly to provide assistance and spiritual
Oceania will never forget. nourishment. During their recent visit, they conducted a legal
clinic, with paralegal volunteers doing case profiles and lawyers

CFC International Leaders’ Forum

rendering consultations. Medical service was also provided for
the prisoners, most of whom were suffering from various skin
and respiratory ailments. Apart from sharing their time, the

Revisiting the Call after 28 years

group also turned over four electric fans – one for each cell.
“There is still so much more we can do,” said Tom Prado,
executive director of CFC Isaiah 61:1, “but this is only possible
if more volunteers heed the call to serve.” Prado explained that
doctors and dentists were especially needed by the prisoners
who are subject to extreme living conditions and are vulnerable
By Nirva Dela Cruz to all forms of illnesses.
“The services we provide our brothers in prison are such little
WHAT would it be like to gath- acts of kindness,” concluded Prado, “but seen from behind cold
er the whole world under one steel bars, these make a world of a difference.”
roof?
Last June 23, 2009, 150 people
from all across the five continents
gathered to find out. The 1st CFC
International Leaders’ Forum
brought together representa-
tives from the different countries
-- country directors, country
heads and other stakeholders of
the CFC international missions.
It was a conflagration of convic-
tions and commitment, both
rousing and moving.
The forum, held at the Acropo-
lis Clubhouse in Libis, Quezon
City, Philippines, revolved around Acts 1:8, “…you will receive power tion and response.
when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses “CFC…to the Ends of the Earth (Facing the Challenges of our
in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the Life and Mission)” was given by Rouquel Ponte, the CFC Interna-
earth.” These were the last words Jesus told His disciples moments tional Missions Director, and was all about what the past 28 years
before ascending to heaven after the Resurrection. What once inflamed had brought and what the next 28 years could bring to the global
the hearts of the first missionaries millennia ago continues to be the missions.
raison d’etre for the CFC global missions today. After the brief session, each of the continental representatives
For the first time also, CFC took a seriously objective look at the shared how their respective countries have been responding to
global status of CFC, in terms of membership and growth. While a challenges culturally unique to their area through the pro-God,
lot of areas were obviously growing in strength and number, other pro-family, pro-poor and pro-life core values of CFC. Among them leaders represented by James Ssemwangu for Africa, Rene Santayana
countries, particularly in Europe, seem to call for some urgent ac- were Nick and Norma Borja of CFC – Canada, representing the for Europe and Marcy Mission for Oceania gave us a glimpse of our
CFC Americas, who shared about CFC missions in the various continents localizing the CFC experi-
the increasing teenage pregnan- ences into the life and culture of the areas..
cies in Canada with adolescents To wrap up the half-day forum, a mass was celebrated by Arch-
as young as 15 years old get- bishop Ramon Arguelles of the Archdiocese of Lipa, Batangas,
ting pregnant. The Borja couple together with Bishop Matthew Gyamfi of Ghana and other guest
talked about how CFC – Canada priests from China, Kenya, Vanuatu and Uganda.
is stepping up to somehow re- True to a long-time anniversary tradition, the foreign delegates had
spond to this disturbing reality. a fellowship with provincial delegates to the 28th CFC anniversary
Israel Silud, the country head after the Forum. It was truly a sight to behold with couples – the
of China and representing CFC young, the middle-aged and the not-so-young filling the dance floor
Asia, talked about what has kept that night. They grooved to some baby boomer classics by the 29
China going, and shared about A.D. band. The night just sizzled with some spontaneous dancing
simply loving China and loving and fun games.
the people he served, despite dif- Going back to the question ‘what happens when we bring the
ficulties. Other CFC International whole world together?’ The answer? Pure passion.