A3 toBenedict XVI
beatify John
Paul II
Eco groups laud
governor’s decree on
mining moratorium
ENVIRONMENTALISTS hailed Romblon pro-
vincial government’s executive order banning
metallic mining in the province, saying the
decree will ensure protection and preservation
of the environment.
Romblon Governor Eduardo Firmalo, has
on January 10, issued Executive Order No. 1
declaring an indefinite moratorium from min-
ing after consulting with constituents on the
Bishops: Charter change must be the will of the people
CATHOLIC bishops said that
any proposed changes in the
Charter should be consistent
with the people’s will.
Jaro Archbishop Angel Lag-
dameo told church-run Radio
Veritas that it is important that
the people are properly in-
formed on the issues surround-
ing the proposed amendment to
the 1987 Constitution.
Caloocan Bishop Deogracias
Iñiguez also said information
should reach the grassroots level
Church backs total log ban
NEW CEBU ARCHBISHOP. Over 70 prelates from across the country attended the installation rites of new Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma (front row, 2nd from right) in a ceremony presided
by Archbishop Ricardo J. Cardinal Vidal (3rd from right) who led the archdiocese for 29 years. Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams (extreme right) and Manila
Archbishop Gaudencio B. Cardinal Rosales (4th from right) led the ceremony that lasted for nearly two hours.
Bishop urges Aquino to cancel
deal with Aussie mine firm
A CATHOLIC bishop called
on the government to cancel its
deal with Australian mining firm
OceanaGold after the Commis-
sion on Human Rights (CHR)
affirmed that it violated the rights
of the indigenous peoples (IPs).
Bayombong Bishop Ramon
Villena said it’s about time for the
Aquino Administration to take
the necessary action and make
the mining company liable for
their mistakes committed against
the IPs.
“The Diocese of Bayombong
welcomes with joy and thanks-
giving the bold statement as
Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz
B1 “The Faithful Have Felt,
Have Experienced That
He Is ‘God’s Man’”
Eco / A6 January 17 - 30, 2011 Vol. 15 No. 2
to inform the people and enable said Iñiguez, chairman of the CBCP
them to make informed choices. Committee on Public Affairs.
“It’s high time and good to The prelates underscored the
talk about it… what are its pros importance of public information
and cons,” said Lagdameo, for- to stress the urgency of Charter
mer president of the Catholic reforms and get the participation
Bishops’ Conference of the Phil- of the people.
ippines (CBCP). “There should be a public dis-
The bishops both acknowl- cussion to know the sentiments
edged that there is indeed a need of the people,” said Lagdameo.
to change some provisions of the “The public should also be
Constitution. informed well about this so
“We are not against revising some that they will not be caught by
provisions of the Constitution,” surprise by the planned Charter
indicated in the report of the CHR ownership in mining project.
that the Aussie mine firm should A CHR resolution issued this
be kicked out,” Villena said in a week affirmed several violations
statement. committed by the mining compa-
The prelate said they are also ny including illegal demolition of
one with the CHR, chaired by homes belonging to indigenous
Loretta Ann Rosales, in urging peoples in Didipio town to make
the government to withdraw its way for mining.
existing Financial or Technical The illegal demolition, it said,
Assistance Agreement (FTAA) was accompanied by excessive
with OceanaGold. violence and brutality, curtailing
The FTAA is a contract be- the IP’s rights to exercise their
tween the government and min- economic rights, intimidation of
ing companies on large-scale local residents due to the presence
exploration and development of of armed men fencing off large
minerals Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya areas of the roads thus preventing
that allows up to 100-percent Mine / A6
Bishop scores
‘pro-poor’
annulment
A CATHOLIC Church official is strongly against the
proposal to make annulment more accessible for fear
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
that it could be abused and encourage infidelity.
Retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz, an expert in
Canon Law, said the measure, which was filed in
Congress, could be an easy way out for those who
want to escape their marriage.
“For example, if I don’t like my wife anymore,
Annulment / A6
Listen to the CBCP Online Radio at: www.cbcponlineradio.com
C1 A Supplement Publication of KC Life and
The Cross
the Order of the Knights of Columbus
CBCP orders prayer ‘for
respect of human life’
PRAYER power against attacks to the sanctity
of life is in force as the Catholic hierarchy battles
against the passage of controversial population
control measure.
For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines, there is no doubt that the only way
to thwart any laws that attack human life is to
pray to God for help.
Since last month, churches from across the
country continue to recite an obligatory prayer,
issued by the CBCP, “for the respect of human
Php 20.00 Prayer / A6
change,” Iñiguez also said.
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben
Evardone pushed for the revival
of Cha-cha discussions at the
national level saying President
Aquino’s declaration that he will
not run for public office in 2016
provides the perfect opportunity
to amend the Charter.
Malacañang, though, had
already disclosed that amend-
FILE PHOTOS
ing the Constitution is not a
priority of the administration.
(CBCPNews) Lagdameo Iñiguez
By Roy Lagarde
TOP Catholic Church officials
are supporting President
Benigno Aquino III’s
proposal to stop logging in the
country’s primary forests.
Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Car-
dinal Rosales said that deforestation
has triggered flooding and landslides
brought by heavy rains, which continue
to plague many provinces.
“That’s why we have to take care of
our remaining resources and stop log-
ging because nature can take revenge,”
Rosales said over Radio Veritas.
Aquino said he plans to enforce a
total log ban throughout the country to
prevent floods as he made a quick visit
of flood-stricken areas in Luzon, the
Visayas and Mindanao on Jan. 14.
The President particularly visited
and distributed relief goods to the
affected residents in Southern Leyte,
Albay and Caraga regions.
“There must be a long-term interven-
tion to all these flooding. Actually, I’m
thinking of a total log ban everywhere
in the country,” Aquino said over a
Photo courtesy of Fr. Marvin Mejia
government radio when he was in
Albay.
In Southern Leyte, however, Aquino
told local media that he was only con-
sidering a total log ban in areas where
illegal logging is rampant.
The total logging bar policy, he
Ban / A6
Photo courtesy of Sr. Eden Orlino, SPC
PPCRV / A6
Lay woman commits life for dialogue, peace
A LAY woman has made a vow to
live a life of peace and dialogue in
conflict-ridden Mindanao.
Jackelyn L. Timoteo made her
commitment as she joined the
Emmaus Dialogue community
(EDC), a group of consecrated lay
persons who live the spirituality
of dialogue and vow themselves
to poverty, dialogue, obedience,
zeal, compassion, chastity and
peace.
Timoteo made her commitment
on January 2, in the presence of
family and friends, at the Holy
Family Church in Zamboanga.
Other members of the com-
munity, namely, Aminda E. Saño,
Lay / A6 Illustration by Bladimer Usi
 World News
CBCP Monitor
A2 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

John Paul II named WYD Patron

MADRID, Jan. 17, 2011—A
standing ovation greeted the
news that Pope John Paul II
has been named a patron of the
next World Youth Day, which
will take place Aug. 16-21 in
Madrid.
Cardinal Stanisław Ryłko,
president of the Pontifical Coun-
cil for the Laity, the Vatican di-
castery in charge of World Youth
Days, made this announcement
on Friday to a group of over 230
delegates gathered in Madrid for
the organization of the forthcom-
ing event.
The announcement came
shortly after the Vatican com-
muniqué that John Paul II, who
initiated the first youth days
during his pontificate, will be
beatified on May 1 by Benedict
XVI.
The cardinal recalled how
Karol Wojtyla regarded himself
the meeting along with Arch-
bishop Antonio Maria Rouco
Varela of Madrid.
Auxiliary Bishop César Franco
of Madrid, general coordinator
of the 2011 World Youth Day, ex-
plained that John Paul II is added
to the list of other patrons for the
event: St. Isidore the Worker, St.
Francis Xavier, St. John of the
Cross, St. John of Avila, St. Rose
of Lima and St. Rafael Arnaiz.
Decisive stage
Cardinal Ryłko, in a press con-
ference about last week’s gather-
ing, stated that they are in “a
decisive stage in the itinerary of
spiritual, organizational and lo-
gistical preparation of Madrid’s
2011 World Youth Day.”
Later, to a group of volunteers,
he stated, “It will be very im-
portant for many young people
coming from all corners of the
nature of the meeting, where
delegates were given “firsthand
information on their needs and
expectations.”
The meeting participants were
given information on the various
aspects of the event’s organiza-
tion: housing, maintenance,
transportation, registration,
visas and volunteer work.
They also visited the main
venues for the event ceremonies:
the Cuatro Vientos airfield, and
the surroundings of Cibeles
Square.
Barbara Koorbanally, a South
African representative, men-
tioned several initiatives of the
young people of her country
in preparation for the event.
For example, she noted that a
replica of the World Youth Day
Cross—which has been going
across Spain since September of
2009—is being taken through-

as a “friend of young people”
and said he was very happy
“to be able to communicate the
news during this meeting of
delegates.”
The delegates, representing 84
countries and 57 ecclesial reali-
ties worldwide, held a four-day
organizational meeting that end-
ed Saturday outside Madrid.
Cardinal Ryłko presided over
world to see your capacity for
hospitality, your spirit of sacri-
fice during World Youth Day,
at times in hidden tasks, but not
because of that less important.”
The cardinal added, “Don’t
say to your friends, ‘You must
come to World Youth Day,’ but
‘It is worthwhile!’”
Cardinal Rouco Varela noted
the “lively, agile and dynamic”
www.dioceseofsaginaw.org; www.archindy.org
out South Africa to prepare
young people for the event in
Madrid.
Tiago Oliveira, a delegate
from Brazil, pointed out that
young Brazilians “see in Spain
a sister country, so they are very
excited.” Some 20,000 young
people from this country are
expected to attend the event.
(Zenit)

Vatican Briefing Pope rejects plan to expel

Pope: Attack on Egyptian Copts “despicable”
The Jan. 1 bombing at the Coptic Church of the Saints in
Alexandria that claimed the lives of 21 people leaving Mass
Neocatechumenal Way from
Japan, will appoint delegate
is a “despicable act of death,” says Benedict XVI during his
traditional address at the St. Peter Square Jan 2. “This de-
spicable act of death, like the current trend of setting bombs
close to the homes of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave,
offends God and the whole of humanity which, only yesterday
was praying for peace and began a New Year with hope,” he NIIGATA, Japan, Jan. 14, 2011—A love for the Way, that is, know the I believe, out of our discussion ture of the movement’s activities
said. (Zenit) papal delegate will soon be ap- Way, and also pay attention to the in Rome, I felt that some of the in their dioceses.
pointed to kick-start dialogue problems of the bishops, and start cardinals in the Holy See are feel- This policy “has never actually
Same-sex unions ‘penalize’ traditional marriage—Pope
between the Japanese bishops dialogue,” said Hernandez. ing some kind of a problem with functioned well,” Bishop Kikuchi
Same-sex unions “penalize” traditional couples and distort the and officials of the Neocatechu- Bishop Isao Kikuchi of Niigata, the Neocatechumenal Way, but said. He believes that in the future,
true nature of the family, Pope Benedict XVI said. The many menal Way. A December meeting Japan, one of the five bishops they are not so sure about that,” the bishops conference will leave
crises that families face are “caused by the rapid social and in the Vatican left them at odds who took part in the meeting, the bishop said. it up to individual bishops to de-
cultural changes” in society, the pope said Jan. 14 in a speech about the movement’s future in said the idea for the delegate In his own experience, the “big- cide whether to permit the Way’s
to officials from the city and province of Rome and the Lazio the nation. came from the Pope. gest problem” had to do with the functioning within their diocese.
region of Italy. Pope Benedict also called on the government Although the Way has been This delegate, Bishop Kikuchi seminary. He said the Way had He was unsure of what he
officials to help support married women who wish to pursue present in Japan for almost 40 told CNA on Jan. 14, will come caused “deep divisions” in his would do in that case. He has had
a career and build a family. Too often, he said, women “are years, recently relations between “from Rome or somewhere else” diocese. good experiences with individual
forced to wait” to have children. (CNS) the country’s Catholic bishops to investigate the situation in Way missionary priests and members of the Way. But the
and the movement have been Japan. He said the delegate will families were first called into his movement as a whole has been
shaky. likely be chosen by Secretary diocese to build up the minority damaging, in his opinion.
Benedict XVI forms agency to oversee Vatican funds
In 2009, the bishops closed the of State Cardinal Tarcisio Ber- Christian presence in a tradition- “They are very good Catho-
With a convention between Vatican State and the EU, the Way’s seminary, saying that the tone, who has already asked the ally strong Buddhist area. lics,” he said, “but the modus
Vatican is making efforts to ensure complete financial trans- group had become a divisive force Japanese bishops to propose a The Catholic community is operandi of the entire group is
parency. On Dec.30, Benedict XVI announced four new laws, in many local Catholic communi- candidate. small in the area, numbering only the problem I’m seeing.”
which will enter into force on April 1, on laundering and ties. After an appeal to the Vati- “Then, later on the Holy Father 4,000 out of a total population of His main worry is that if some-
counterfeiting and the establishment of the Financial Informa- can’s Pontifical Council for the La- may decide on something. I don’t about four million. Individual thing does not change, those Cath-
tion Authority. The four laws concern themes ranging from ity by the Neocatechumenal Way, a know what he is going to decide,” churches number between 100- olics who said “no” to joining the
the prevention of terrorism financing, to counterfeiting Euro delegation led by Archbishop Leo the bishop added. 200 parishioners. movement might fall away from
banknotes and coins and their irregular reproduction, and Ikenaga, head of the bishops’ con- Bishop Kikuchi said he thinks “When there are only 100 the Church. He is also concerned
the copyright of designs on Euro coins. (Zenit) ference, was summoned to Rome the Pope “wants to make sure of people in the parish and such a about small communities choos-
in December 2010 to discuss their what is actually going on,” because strong group with a strong cha- ing not obey their bishops.
Vatican envoy takes $1.2M to Haiti decision to suspend the move- many cardinals support the Way. risma comes in, it maybe creates That was the original motiva-
The president of the dicastery that oversees the Vatican’s ment’s activities in their nation for Several years ago, the bishop a division among a small group of tion for the bishops’ proposal to
charitable work was in Haiti on Jan. 10 to 14, and delivered a period of five years. recalled, the Vatican’s Congre- the people,” the bishop said. suspend Way operations. The
to the Haitian people the assurance of Benedict XVI’s close- Alvaro de Juana Hernandez, a gation for the Evangelization of Because of the “strong char- bishops wanted to give movement
ness and concern, as well as $1.2 million to be used for the spokesman for the Way told CNA Peoples sent the late-Cardinal acter” of the movement, he ex- leaders an opportunity to “reflect
reconstruction of schools and churches. Cardinal Robert Sarah Jan. 12 that Pope Benedict XVI Stephen Kim of Seoul, South plained, “they tend to divide the on the past experience and make
was in Haiti as a papal envoy for a four-day trip that will had rejected the bishops’ plan. Korea to carry out a similar in- people and to force the parish- amendments for their modus
include the one-year anniversary of the Jan. 12, 2010, quake During the meeting, he said, “the vestigation into the Way. ioners to decide whether they operandi in Japan,” he said.
that claimed around 250, 000 lives, left 1 million homeless, Holy See communicated that the Bishop Kikuchi expressed belong or not, and that is a big “We want them to start all over
and completely destroyed Port-au-Prince. (Zenit) Neocatechumenal Way cannot be disappointment that they would problem.” again from the beginning.”
suspended, cannot be thrown out have to “go through the same He even said that the “lay faith- These themes and more will
Pope lauds call to defend Mideast Christians or taken out of Japan.” process again.” But he said, it is ful are forced to make the extreme be brought up next between the
Benedict XVI is expressing appreciation to the European The bishops and the Vatican different this time, because the decision of either ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to Japanese bishops during their
countries that have taken up the call to defend Mideast instead agreed to the naming investigation has been requested be a member of the movement.” Feb. 14-18 general assembly. In
Christians under violent attack. The Pope stated on Jan. 10 in of a papal delegate to promote by the Pope himself. Based on the statutes of the the meantime, they are waiting
an annual New Year address to members of the diplomatic dialogue between the two sides. “The Holy Father wants to Neocatechumenal Way, local for the appointment of the papal
corps accredited to the Holy See. He affirmed that the recent “This delegate will have to have know what is going on because, bishops are free to decide the fu- delegate. (CNA)
attacks on Christians in Iraq and Egypt have “troubled us

First priests ordained to new Catholic

deeply.” (Zenit)

Pope names 2 US bishops

Church structure for former Anglicans

On Jan. 14, Pope Benedict XVI appointed two US priests as bish-
ops for the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown in Pennsylvania, and
the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in Indiana. Altoona-Johnstown’s
new bishop will be Msgr. Mark Bartchak, previously a judicial
vicar in the Diocese of Erie, Pennsylvania. He will replace retir-
ing Bishop Joseph Adamec, 75. Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of
Indianapolis will receive its first auxiliary bishop in just over 75
years, with the episcopal consecration of Fr. Christopher Coyne,
currently a pastor in the Archdiocese of Boston. (CNA)
Holy See has diplomatic relations with 178 States
The Holy See is reporting that it presently enjoys full diplo-
matic relations with 178 states worldwide. The Vatican press
office said that in addition to these states are added relations
with “the European Union and the Sovereign Military Order
of Malta and a mission with a special character: the office of
the Organization for the Liberation of Palestine (OLP).” In
regard to international organizations, the Holy See is pres-
ent in the United Nations as an observer state. Moreover, it
is a member of seven organizations and agencies of the UN
system, an observer in eight others and member or observer
in five regional organizations. (Zenit)
Layman acceptable to be beatified
Catholic economist and sociologist Giuseppe Toniolo’s influ-
ence a century ago opened the door for important changes
in Italian society. Because of his dedication to politics, Italian
Catholics were able to fight Freemason efforts to keep them
out of government. Pope Benedict XVI decreed on Jan. 14 that
Toniolo will be beatified for his exemplary life of holiness and
for a recent miracle attributed to his intercession. Toniolo was
born in 1845 in Treviso, Italy. He received a law degree in
Padua in 1867 and remained in the academic sphere, teaching
economics for more than 40 years. (CNA)
LONDON, England, Jan. 15, 2011—An of-
ficial jurisdiction for members of the Church
of England opting for full communion with
the Catholic Church was established just
in time to receive its first three priests on
Saturday.
On Jan. 15, the Vatican’s Congregation for
the Doctrine of the Faith decreed the creation
of “The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of
Walsingham.” der certain conditions,” they can be ordained
The announcement of the establishment
of the ordinariate, a special diocese-like
structure, was announced during the Mass
at London’s Westminster Cathedral to or-
dain three former Anglican bishops to the
Catholic priesthood.
The very name of the personal ordinariate
denotes the Catholic-Anglican connection,
both Churches have Marian Shrines in the
English village of Walsingham. Blessed John
Henry Newman, the most well-known An-
glican to seek communion with the Catholic
Church, was chosen as the jurisdiction’s
patron.
The ordinariate is a new structure in
which “worthy Anglican liturgical, spiritual
and pastoral traditions” will be preserved.
The movement of away from the Anglican
Communion is being spurred by a growing
acceptance of female bishops, practicing
homosexual clergy, and disagreements over
the primacy of Sacred Scripture within the
Church.
The Vatican explained in a Jan. 15 state-
ment, released just after mid-day, that ordi-
nariate members are “fully integrated” into
the Catholic fold.
It also stated clearly that married ex-An-
glican clergy cannot be ordained as Catholic
bishops “for doctrinal reasons” while, “un-
Catholic priests.
The first three were thus made Catholic
priests by Archbishop Vincent Nichols of
Westminster in London’s cathedral. Three
former Anglican bishops, Frs. Andrew Burn-
ham, Keith Newton, and John Broadhurst,
received the sacrament of Holy Orders as
priests in the Catholic Church.
Archbishop Nichols called the day “a
unique occasion marking a new step in the
life and history of the Catholic Church.”
He welcomed the three priests and told
them, “you have distinguished pasts, full
of real achievements. Now, ahead of you,
you have an important and demanding
future!”
Fr. Newton has been chosen by Pope Bene-
dict XVI to oversee the new structure.
The priest said he was “humbled” by the
appointment. “This is not an honor I have
sought or expected but I pray that God will
give me the wisdom and grace to live up to
the trust the Holy Father has placed in me,”
he said in a statement transmitted through
the English and Welsh Catholic bishops’
conference.
He hoped that the ordinariate would be
“a gift to the Catholic Church” and that all
who join it “will be of service to the whole
Church.”
Fr. Newton and the two others ordained
on Saturday will begin their service by
overseeing the formation of the first groups
of lay faithful who aim to enter into full
communion at Easter. They will also assist
other former Anglican clergy as they pre-
pare for their Catholic ordinations around
Pentecost.
In its statement, the Vatican underscored
its ongoing commitment to ecumenical
dialogue.
The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady
of Walsingham was created at the request
of groups of Anglicans who “share the
common Catholic faith as it is expressed in
the Catechism of the Catholic Church and
accept the Petrine ministry as something
Christ willed for the Church,” stated the
Vatican.
“For them,” it explained, “the time has
now come to express this implicit unity in the
visible form of full communion.” (CNA)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
Benedict XVI to beatify John Paul II
VATICAN City, Jan. 14, 2011—Benedict
XVI is planning to preside over the be-
atification rite for John Paul II on May 1,
Divine Mercy Sunday, in the Vatican.
A communiqué from the Congregation
for Saints’ Causes announced that today
the Pope, in an audience with the congre-
gation’s prefect, Cardinal Angelo Amato,
“authorized the dicastery to promulgate
the decree of the miracle attributed to the
intercession of Venerable Servant of God
John Paul II (Karol Wojtyla).”
This was the final step in the process
preceding the beatification rite, which
will be celebrated on Divine Mercy
Sunday, a feast day instituted by John
Paul II.
The communiqué noted: “It is well
known that, by pontifical dispensa-
tion, his cause began before the end of
the five-year period which the current
norms stipulate must pass following the
death of a Servant of God.
“This provision was solicited by the
great fame of sanctity which Pope John
Paul II enjoyed during his life, in his
death and after his death.
“In all other ways, the normal ca-
nonical dispositions concerning causes
of beatification and canonization were
observed in full.”
The diocesan investigation into the
cause for beatification of the Pontiff took
place between June 2005 and April 2007.
On Dec. 19, 2009, Benedict XVI autho-
rized the promulgation of the decree on
his predecessor’s heroic virtue.
Six Pinoys join climate summit in Indonesia
MANILA, Jan. 12, 2011—Six Filipi-
nos are among the batch of around
300 participants in an international
gathering held in Indonesia to dis-
cuss the impacts of climate change.
Called the Climate Project (TCP)
Asia Pacific Summit (A-P Summit),
the conference aimed to train partici-
pants on how to spread information
effectively and offer solutions on the
effects of climate change.
Former US vice-president Al Gore
conducted the series of training dur-
ing the summit.
Filipino delegates include media
practitioner Philline Paye Donggay
from Cagayan de Oro City; vegetar-
ian Sheila Castillo-Tiangco, founding
member of Movement of Imaginals
for Sustainable Societies through Ini-
tiatives, Organization and Network-
ing (MISSION); university religious
educator and administrator Fr. Manny
Bolilia, OAR, of the University of San
Jose–Recoletos in Cebu City; Engineer
Noel N. Verdote of the Ayala Prop-
erty Management Corporation; and
indigenous youth high school teacher
Napoleon Paris of Saint Louis Pacdal
School in Baguio City.
The Filipino participants were
mentored by TCP Philippine District
Manager Rodne R. Galicha who
joined the first batch of presenters
in the first A-P Summit held in Mel-
bourne, Australia in 2009.
The summit has deepened the
group’s commitment to educate the
public on their responsibility towards
protecting the environment.
LGU declares mining moratorium in Sibuyan island
SIBUYAN, Romblon, Jan. 14, 2011—
Sibuyan Island’s provincial government
has issued a moratorium in metallic
mining in an effort to preserve the rich
biodiversity of the area.
Romblon Governor Eduardo C.
Firmalo has signed an executive order
banning any extractive activity in the
province after consulting with local of-
ficials and their constituents, as well as
the academe, experts and NGOs.
Section 1 of the EO states there will
be “a moratorium in the exploration,
excavation, extraction and utilization
of metallic minerals in the province
of Romblon until all issues, fears and
concerns raised by the different sec-
tors, organizations, associations, and
inhabitants in the local communities are
genuinely addressed.”
The EO has been issued as a response
to the people’s demand to stop mining
activities in the island as it poses hazards
to the environment and people’s health.
Firmalo said the freezing of mining
activity is “to the best interest of the
Focus on job creation, gov’t told
MANILA, Jan. 6, 2011—The which is 2.80 million, the number
government should focus of unemployed in the Philip-
on job creation as the num- pines has reached more than
ber of jobless Filipinos has four million despite the 6.5 per
reached a whopping 4.16 cent economic growth registered
million last year, according on the third quarter of the year
to a non-government orga- 2010.
nization. “While the reported creation
Independent think-tank IBON of over a million jobs from last
Foundation said in a statement year is welcome, the quality of
that contrary to the ‘official’ over half these jobs leaves much
government’s joblessness tally, to be desired,” said IBON in a
News Features
Miracle
The congregation then examined the
report of a miraculous healing through
the intercession of John Paul II: the cure
from Parkinson’s disease of Sister Marie
Simon Pierre Normand of the Little
Sisters of Catholic Motherhood.
The reports of medical and legal ex-
perts on the French nun’s healing were
submitted to the dicastery for scientific
examination last Oct. 21.
The congregation noted that its experts,
“having studied the depositions and the
entire documentation with their custom-
ary scrupulousness, expressed their
agreement concerning the scientifically
inexplicable nature of the healing.”
Thus, on Dec. 14, the theological con-
sulters began an evaluation of the case,
and “unanimously recognized the unic-
ity, antecedence and choral nature of the
invocation made to Servant of God John
Paul II, whose intercession was effective
in this prodigious healing.”
On Tuesday, during the ordinary ses-
sion of the congregation, the members
expressed their “unanimous approval.”
The prelates expressed belief in the
miraculous nature of the recovery of
Sister Marie Simon Pierre, “having been
achieved by God in a scientifically inex-
plicable manner following the interces-
sion of the Supreme Pontiff John Paul II,
trustingly invoked both by Sister Simon
herself and by many other faithful.”
The conclusions were then submitted to
Benedict XVI for approval. (Zenit)
“It has been a rare opportunity to
be trained by Al Gore and a panel of
scientist-experts but the challenge is
really huge in which moral responsibil-
ity coupled with genuine commitment
is necessary,” said delegate 25-year old
Donggay.
For her part, Castillo said “there are
so many choices in life, but this climate
crisis issue needs an urgent action
without any skepticism: we may choose
not to act, however, the clock is ticking
and action with clear intention should
begin in us.”
USJ-R administrator Fr. Bolilia said
“climate crisis is a moral obligation”
that everyone has to respond to.
“Creation has been sufficient but
when greed reigns in humanity and
selfishness thrives in every heart, the
soul suffers and the integrity of creation
is being tarnished. Indeed, stewardship
is exercising a duty of care,” he added.
greater number of our people.”
“I strongly believe that the present
and future health and ecological well-
being of our people are more important
to secure rather than the momentary
economic benefits derived from mining
operations,” said the governor in an
emailed statement sent to media.
Republic Act 7160 mandates local gov-
ernment units (LGUs) “to ensure and sup-
port, among other things, the preserva-
tion and enrichment of culture, promote
health and safety and enhance the right of
the people to a balanced ecology.”
Illegal small mining activities were
rampant in the island. Prior to the is-
suance of the EO, Ban Toxics, an NGO
working on toxic chemicals, conducted
field tests and found a high level of
mercury concentration in the air and
water in the island.
The findings prompted members of
the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to pass
a resolution asking law enforcers to find
out and arrest the source of mercury that
is being smuggled into the province.
statement.
IBON said that out of the
1,000,000 new jobs created in
2010, more than half of that were
in among the economy’s earning
sector that is agriculture (201,000
jobs), wholesale and retail trade
(251,000) and private households
(62,000).
The independent think-tank
furthered that the increase in
jobs in agriculture is particularly
Contributed photo
Meanwhile, Verdote, who had been
part of the corporate world for many
years, said it is not enough to merely ob-
serve the 3-Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), but
“refuse” should be on top of the three.
“I have learned so much from this
training and I am ready to share this
hard truth and science to my colleagues
especially the basic values which we
should exercise in the principles of
corporate social and moral responsibil-
ity,” he said.
Paris, who belongs to the Kankana-ey
indigenous community lamented that the
indigenous peoples are the most suscep-
tible to the impacts of climate change.
“Indigenous peoples are the lowest
carbon emitters in the world, living in
harmony with nature with sustainable
livelihoods, but it seems that we are also
the most vulnerable as our lands have
been converted to mining areas, subdi-
visions, mono-culture plantations, malls
A special task force composed of
the governor, the vice-governor, chair-
man of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan
Committee on Environment, concerned
government agencies and other multi-
stakeholders was created “to assess
all mining applications, permits and
operations existing in the aprovince
and to review the existing MPSA permit
granted to Altai Philippines Mining
Corporation (APMC) now represented
by Sibuyan Nickel Properties Develop-
ment Corporation (SNPDC), in light
of pertinent environmental laws and
Strategic Environment Assessment.”
Besides the MPSA permit granted by
DENR to Altai Philippines in December
2009, are six more active MPSA and 15
Exploration Permit (EP) applications.
On August 20, 2010, the Municipal
Councils of Sibuyan’s towns of Magdi-
wang, Cajidiocan and San Fernando,
issued Joint Resolutions No. 1 and 2
strongly prohibiting mining exploration
and other extractive activities in all areas
within their jurisdictions. (CBCPNews)
problematic given its earlier re-
ported 2.5% contraction in the
third quarter, which implies
lower average incomes for work-
ers in the sector.
Moreover, said IBON, the
average basic pay of wage and
salary workers in trade (Php258
daily in 2009) and private house-
holds (Php126) is also well below
the national average of Php291.
This could also explain why
www.cssr.org.au
and industrial farms—and land use,
land use change and forestry has
been one of main issues in climate
change,” he said.
Paris admitted it requires a life-
long commitment to educate people
to become responsible stewards of
the environment, even as he noted
how difficult it is for the indigenous
communities to protect themselves
from development aggressors.
“How can we protect our forests if,
as always, if the rights of more than
15 million indigenous peoples in the
Philippines are either abused or not
protected?” he asked.
Gore discussed as examples during
the summit the Philippine experience
of typhoons, mudslides, floods and
declining biodiversity as outcome of
the global climate crisis.
“To solve the climate crisis, po-
litical will is needed. Political will
is a renewable resource,” Gore
claimed.
He lauded the country’s efforts in
tapping renewable energy resources
such as wind and geothermal, in
which the Philippines ranks second
in the world.
The new presenters will join TCP
Philippine team which include Gil-
bert Sape (TCP 2009) of Pesticide
Action Network, Atty. Persida Rue-
da-Acosta (TCP 2009) of the Public
Attorney’s Office, Miguel Magalang
(TCP 2009) of Mariduque Council for
Environmental Concerns, Bro. Jaazeal
Jakosalem, OAR (TCP 2010) Rodne R.
Galicha (TCP 2009). (CBCPNews)
the number of underemployed
persons increased by 264,000
this year.
“The stubbornness of high
unemployment and rising un-
deremployment in October
despite what government ear-
lier called “scintillating” 6.5%
economic growth in the third
quarter affirms that joblessness
remains a serious cause for con-
cern. According to IBON, there
A3
Mercy links John
Paul II life, death,
beatification
VATICAN City, Jan. 14, 2011—When
Pope John Paul II is beatified on May
1, Divine Mercy Sunday, the faithful
will be celebrating a day on which he
himself wanted the Church to turn
its gaze toward this “consoling and
enthusiastic greatness.”
This reflection was offered by Jesuit
Father Federico Lombardi, director of
the Vatican press office, in reference
to Benedict XVI’s approval today of a
decree recognizing a miracle attributed
to the Polish Pope’s intercession, and
the subsequent announcement of the
date of his beatification.
The Holy Father will be beatified on
Divine Mercy Sunday, which this year
falls on May 1, just six years after his
April 2, 2005, death on the vigil of the
same feast.
“His life and his pontificate were
characterized by the passion to make
known to the world in which he
lived—the world of our tragic history
in the course of two millennia—the
consoling and enthusiastic greatness
of God’s mercy.
This is what the world needs,” Father
Lombardi said. “That is why we will
have the joy of celebrating the solemn
beatification on the day in which he
himself wanted the whole Church to
fix her gaze and prayer on this Divine
Mercy.”
Father Lombardi spoke of John Paul
II on the most recent edition of Vatican
Television’s “Octava Dies.”
“The Church recognizes that Karol
Wojtyla gave eminent and exemplary
witness of Christian life, he is a friend
and an intercessor who helps the
people to direct themselves to God and
to encounter him,” he said.
Still, the Jesuit added, although John
Paul II’s works are extraordinary, “we
are not concentrating our attention
[there], but on his spiritual source: his
faith, his hope, his charity.”
Father Lombardi proposed the Holy
Father’s works should be admired
“precisely because they are an expres-
sion of the depth and authenticity of
his relationship with God, of his love
for Christ and for all human persons,
beginning with the poor and the weak;
of his tender filial love for the Mother
of Jesus.”
The spokesman reflected that the
Polish Pontiff’s legacy is his “profound
and prolonged recollection in prayer;
his desire to celebrate and proclaim Je-
sus the Redeemer and Savior of man, to
make him known and loved by young
people and the whole world.”
He will be remembered, the Jesuit
added, “for his affectionate interest
in the sick and the suffering, for his
visits to peoples most in need of food
and justice; finally, for his patient and
authentic experience of personal suf-
fering, of sickness lived in faith before
God and before all of us.” (Zenit)
www.sgp.undp.org
is a problem if the economy
is consistently able to register
growth and deliver corporate
profits but unable to create
enough jobs and raise wages.
The situation highlights the
need for urgent reforms in
the domestic economy and
address its inability to create
regular and productive jobs,”
IBON explained. (Noel Sales
Barcelona)
 A4 Opinion CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

EDITORIAL

PCP-II @ 20

THE Second Plenary Council of the Philippines is twenty years

old. Celebrated on January 20 to February 17 1991 at the Holy
Apostles Seminary in Makati City, it was the first plenary council
ever held in the Catholic world since the promulgation of the
1983 Code of Canon Law.
PCP-II was brave and bold. It challenged the Church in the
Philippines “to be a community of disciples, a church of the poor,
committed to the mission of renewed integral evangelization,
toward the building up of a new civilization of life and love…”
It confronted the shadows of Philippine society just as it valiantly
faced the sins and failures of the Church. It concluded with 132
Decrees that were given “recognitio” by the Holy See and, for
their implementation in all ecclesiastical jurisdictions, laid
out a National Pastoral Plan. It saw the towering of experts
among the Philippine hierarchy led by the Council President
Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, OP of Caceres who was also

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

then the president of the Episcopal Conference; and Archbishop
Oscar Cruz, the Secretary General of the Council. It was a
season of renewal. It was a time of grace. It was a landmark in
the Philippine ecclesiastical history.
In January 2001, the tenth year of PCP-II, the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines which was then under the baton of
Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, OMI, its president, saw the need
for its review. Questions were raised: How far have we journeyed
toward a renewed Church? What have we done to realize the
vision? What efforts have failed, and why? Why do other efforts
succeed? This provoked the convocation of the National Pastoral
Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR) from January 22
to 27, 2001 at the very same venue of PCP-II.
One of the realizations of the NPCCR was that the challenges of
PCP-II (Community of Disciples, Church of the Poor, Renewed
Integral Evangelization) “were not obligations or projects we
imposed on ourselves. Rather, they are a gift of newness and
fullness of life offered to our Church and our people by the
God of love.” But, on the other hand, it also recognized that
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
a serious renewal calls for a courageous response of faith and
conversion—“at the cost of letting go of old ways, of dying Four socio-economic
classes
to old selves, of daring to risk new and unfamiliar paths and
patterns.” With this perspective NPCCR, came up with 9
pastoral priorities which were more focused and demanded a
more radical conversion of mind and heart.
Views and Points
At the end, the NPCCR contemplated on the thoughts of Pope SINCE practically time im- pines. There were wealthy wealthy; some 50% of them the poor and the miserable.
John Paul II in his Novo Millennio Ineunte that captured the memorial, not only academic families—or the “upper” class were counted among the This last and lowest classifica-
sentiments of the closing of the Jubilee Year 2000 in his “Duc circles but also empirical people—in terms of their ac- middle class, and the rest tion of people refers to those
in Altum” or “Put out into the deep” (Lk 5:4); and nurtured ground realities see and say tual assets plus ready pos- 30% were filled up by poor who are usually eating but one
the frustration of Peter in having to catch nothing after fishing people. Wherefore, in their little meal a day. They live un-
that as far as their socio-eco- sibilities such as in terms of
all night—yet, like Peter, fully trusting in the Lord who make
things happen. nomic standing is concerned, luxurious houses, costly cars socio-economic hierarchy der the bridges, if not in push
people can be and are readily plus investments in this and in terms of sheer number, carts or in the streets actually.
placed under one of three fol- that business ventures. There most Filipinos were counted If any, many of their houses
lowing categories or group- were also the “middle” class among the middle class, these are poorly and hurriedly built
ings: the wealthy, the middle people—or the core families were followed in count by the at the sides of in-land canals
class and the poor. This phe- that included most people poor, and the rich numbered as professional squatters wal-
Population and poverty nomenon and pursuant cat- who had enough to meet their the least. Let it be thus noted lowing in garbage and putrid
egorizations are by and large standard and standing tem- that while definitely not black smelly water.
MANY people think that to reduce poverty it is necessary to accepted and recognized in poral needs and material re- perfect, such a percentage of Lately, it was formally es-
control population. We would raise serious questions regarding many parts of the globe. That quirements. And lastly, there socio-economic standings in timated that there are more
this opinion. Does this opinion not have a certain bias against the is to say in general and plain were the poor people—or the general remained somehow poor and miserable people in
poor? In population control are not the real targets the millions language: The wealthy have “lower” class of families—that acceptable as dependent on the Philippines today. But as
of poor families whose numbers must be reduced? much more money that they could barely make “both ends the given competence and/or expected, Malacañang could
need. The middle class have meet”, i.e. with their little re- industry of people—or their not understand and would
Moreover, it is our belief that the causes of poverty are complex. enough to live by in terms of sources vis-à-vis their common inherent incapacity and/ not accept this reality. This is
We believe that poverty is caused by flawed development satisfying their usual present basic needs. or indolence plus these and understandable—considering
philosophies, plans and priorities, by corruption, by inequitable and future needs. The poor Translated into more con- those little vices. that the present administra-
wealth distribution and access to economic resources and however have less than what crete and practical terms, But lo and behold, in this tion only accepts spectacular
benefits, by poor delivery of social services, by unjust economic they in fact needs now and it was commonly held that country these times, there ratings in competence and
policies, and by imbalances in our political structures that favor predictably require in the looking at all the families are now four socio-economic achievements. How convenient
the few and powerful over the many poor. It is social injustice that
days ahead. in the Philippines, some classes or categories of people: for the governor but disastrous
is at the root of poverty. And social injustice is simply another
name for moral and spiritual corruption, the jettisoning of moral So it was too in the Philip- 20% of them belonged to the the wealthy, the middle class, for the governed!
and spiritual values from private and public life.
If this is so, would not the overwhelming attention to control
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
population be a convenient way to ignore the greater causes
that keep our poor people below the poverty line? These are the
causes of poverty, the removal of which would comprehensively
transform our social order and establish social justice.
Pro-life Month 2011! Love Life
To plan our families is, indeed, a Christian value and
responsibility. This is why we support the couple’s desire for the “FILIPINOS, Unite for Life” is the call for by reading the streamer—“The Filipino to Holy Family Parish Church in Baryo
planning and proper spacing of their children through natural Kapitolyo, Pasig. We are looking forward
pro-lifers to celebrate Pro-life Month in Family is Pro-life”.
family planning programs in our dioceses. A contraceptive-
February 2011. President Cory Aquino This year, we have chosen the theme to hundreds of students and parish youth
oriented population control program is not the moral way. Even
if powerful organizations in the world might imperiously and signed Presidential Proclamation 214 de- “Filipinos, Unite for Life” as an urgent to attend this event.
ideologically promote and fund such programs we would still claring February as “Respect and Care for call to get various groups work together The following day, February 27, Sunday,
object. For we believe that such programs contradict our moral Life Month” in 1987, just a few months after in our fight against the RH Bills in Con- Pro-life Philippines will hold a half day
and religious beliefs. she was sworn as President of the Philip- gress as well as such ordinances in local national Convention at Pius X Catholic
pines. Each year, Pro-life Philippines sends governments and programs in the Depart- Center on United Nations Ave, Manila.
Moral truth is not created by the powerful or by popular opinion. out reminders to schools and parishes to ment of Health, Education and other line Pro-life members are invited to attend as
Moral truth is what God wills from the Sacred Scriptures, organize activities such as Prayer Rallies, agencies. the bi-annual election of Board of Trustees
interpreted and taught authentically by the Church’s teaching Conferences, symposia, contests on song- In 2011, Pro-life Sunday falls on February will be held that morning. We have been
authority. writing, poster-making or photography or 6. The opening activity will be the Eucharis- blessed with a very active set of Trustees
The constitutional protection of the unborn child from the first poetry-writing. The youth would usually tic Celebration at St. Andrew’s Cathedral in these past two years and they have indeed
instant of conception is a legacy given to us some twenty years come up with very interesting creations Parañaque. Invited celebrant is none other been vanguards in our fight against the RH
ago during the presidency of President Corazon C. Aquino. In depicting their own ideas on the value than the Chair of LAIKO, Most Rev. Jesus Bills in Senate, Congress and local govern-
spite of all the foreseeable opposition of politicians and powerful and meaning of life, as well as the destruc- Mercado, Bishop of Parañaque Diocese. ments. As of this writing, names of commit-
lobby groups, we pray that President Aquino’s moral legacy tion of life in abortion and environmental Various activities have been planned ted and zealous pro-life volunteers have
could be finally and fully realized during the term of her son, degradation. throughout the month and it will culminate been mentioned as nominees for the next
President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III. The themes of Pro-life Month in the in a Youth Conference at Ynarez Stadium, set of Board members. The convention will
past included: “Stand up for Life”, “De- Pasig with two motivation speakers— end with the Holy Mass presided by the
fend Life”, “Bawat Sanggol Ipagtanggol”, Jason Evert in the morning and Michael Spiritual Director of Pro-life Philippines,
Securing our Moral Heritage: Towards a Moral Society, “Buhay Kalingain!” and many others. In Voris in the afternoon. We hope to stir Most Rev. Archbishop Paciano Aniceto,
2010 1995, Pope John Paul II’s visit coincided up the hearts and minds of our youth to Chairperson of the Episcopal Commission
with Pro-life Month and the theme that stand up for life, especially now that their on Family and Life.
year was “The Filipino Family is Pro-life”. future is threatened with increasing moral You are all invited to join our activities!
Giant streamers were hang all over Ma- decadence. This will be held on February For more information and to get materials
nila, especially in Luneta, by Mayor Lito 26, Saturday, from 8:00 to 5:00 p.m. This that you can use for your own organizing,
www.cbcpmonitor.com Atienza. We perked up with pride when whole day conference will conclude with contact pro-life office at 733-7027, 0919-233-
cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net we heard His Holiness begin his homily a Procession for Life from the stadium 7783 or life@prolife.org.ph

Fr. Eutiquio ‘Euly’ B. Belizar, Jr.

Flooding
By the Roadside
Pedro C. Quitorio Kris P. Bayos
Editor-in-Chief Features Editor MOST of us here in the prov- them), including sunny Janu- write, they have even enlisted water, destroyed our forests and
ince of Eastern Samar will read- ary celebrations of the Feasts of the company of strong winds trapped the sun’s heat through
Pinky Barrientos, FSP Gloria Fernando ily agree, if only it’s possible, the Nazarene and the Sto. Niño that blow hard and howl mock- our greenhouse gas emissions,
Marketing Supervisor ingly over roofs and windows the melting glaciers have now
Associate Editor to share a great bulk of pure (the latter only partly). Our
unadulterated water we keep processions (at least in my par- of nipa, wooden and concrete become hordes and hordes of
Melo M. Acuña Ernani M. Ramos receiving from heaven since ish of the Assumption of Our houses alike, in an almost rare attacking liquid armies that
Managing Editor Circulation Manager
the first rays of 2011 appeared Lady) were a showcase of one display of impartiality. But all have nowhere to go but down
LAYOUT BY KRIS BAYOS

Roy Q. Lagarde Marcelita Dominguez in our skies. Anyone inter- miracle—absolutely dry sunny this talk of the rains being fair on our homes, farms, rivers,
News Editor Comptroller ested? Please call St. Peter’s weather. Which prompted one to everyone is just that—talk. seas and mountains. And, like
office immediately. Or visit the parishioner to say, “Gosh, the Actually fairness is never a uninvited rouge guests, they
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Communica- pertinent website at we.share. Lord doesn’t like being wet in virtue of Mother Nature. She love creating havoc, such as
tions Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and business offices heavenly.water.net. Of course, his parade!” But those respites merely gives back, sometimes mudslides and—from Brazil to
at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO. there had been respites from were extremely short. in a greater measure, what we Australia, from Albay to East-
Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940 the rains (and we are very The rains have come back humans do to her. Because we ern Samar, from St. Bernard to
grateful to the Almighty for with a vengeance and, as I have polluted our land, air and By the Roadside / A7
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Candidly Speaking
IN business and economics, there’s such a
term as “value added” which refers to the
enhancement added to a product or service
by a company before the product is offered
to customers.
Another term could be “innovation,”
a necessary ingredient of anything that
needs to grow and flow with the times. It
involves creativity and inventiveness, and
the knack to anticipate and discern changes
in the environment. It can also involve the
ability to reinvent oneself to adapt to new
situations.
This is what leaders in society, entrepre-
neurs and other movers and shakers always
think about, be they politicians, social
workers, artists and entertainers, etc. It’s
the game to play if one wants to stay long
and continue to serve the people despite
changing circumstances.
I’m impressed, for example, at some
business theories and strategies developed
by some insightful persons to capture op-
portunities that otherwise would just pass
by unnoticed and unexploited.
Some of these are the “Red Ocean Strat-
egy” and the “Blue Ocean Strategy.” In the
Red Ocean market, companies compete
with their rivals to grab a greater share of
product or service demand. In this environ-
ment, the market rules are already set, and
one just has to find a profitable niche for
his product.
In a Blue Ocean market, demand is cre-
ated rather than fought over. The market
rules are still to be defined. A company
using this strategy makes an “innovation
that raises and creates value for the market,
Opinion
Putting value added on
popular piety
while simultaneously reducing or eliminat-
ing features or services less valued by the
current market.”
The faithful of the Church, both the
clergy and the laity, should somehow
be familiar with these terms and the re-
alities to which they correspond, since the
Church needs to be in sync with the vary-
ing aspects, levels and circumstances of
development in the world. While certain
elements are permanent, many others are
always in flux.
The Church is always alive and dy-
namic, since she is animated by the Holy
Spirit. But she needs the full coopera-
tion of her members for her to grow and
nourish her own self. And so, we have
to understand that we have to move on,
and not get stuck at a certain level of
development.
With the recent celebration of the feast of
Sto Niño with its open display of the rich
deposit of faith and piety among the people,
we should see to it that we avoid falling into
complacency, or self-satisfaction. We have
to step up to the next level.
In Church history, we can remember that
centuries ago, most of Europe was suffused
with popular piety and religion. It was the
source of many missionaries that spread
the seeds of the gospel to many parts of
the world.
Now, that continent is all but dried up in
terms of spirituality. In its place is a deep-
seated paganism and secularism where God
has no more place. Religiosity is practically
retreating again to the caves and deserts,
the catacombs and the ghettos. How this
Fr. Russell Bantiles
happened should be a great lesson for us
to learn.
We in our country should try to avoid this
dark possibility. And we can manage to do
just that if we continually rouse ourselves
from spiritual lukewarmness, and keep
ourselves increasingly hot in our spiritual
lives. We need to be more consistent in our
pursuit for personal sanctity.
We have to constantly ask ourselves, what
can we do to go to the next level of our own
personal spiritual life, and to improve the
quality of religion in our society? We should
not be blind to the challenges that are right
before us. We have to remember that in our
spiritual life, there is no limit to growth and
development.
The young need to be truly grounded
on the faith. Progress and development,
now accelerating because of technological
advances and the spreading global net-
working, need to be related and oriented
toward our ultimate supernatural goal.
They just cannot remain in the worldly and
temporal level.
How can we effectively engage our
friends and people in general so that they
learn to turn their minds and hearts, their
work and other earthly affairs to God?
Pope Benedict is nowadays talking a lot
about a new evangelization that should
be carried out by all the members of the
Church. What are we doing to attain this
objective?
Obviously, a lot of things need to be done.
We just have to help one another in discov-
ering the value added, the innovations and
creativity, we need to go on.
A5
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
...and that’s the truth
Abp. Palma rallies
Cebu media to be
Church’s partners in
evangelization
MOST Rev. Jose S. Palma, DD, the newly installed Archbishop
of Cebu, had his virtual baptism of fire with mostly local media
at the press conference held in the Archbishop’s Residence,
just hours after his installation as successor of His Eminence
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral
in this city.
From all angles it appears like it’s going to be smooth sailing
between the 61-year old archbishop from Dingle, Iloilo, and
the local media. Abp. Palma struck the right note from the
start when he said in Cebuano “I am here for you.” He said
he wants to be known as an approachable bishop. “I want
people to know that they can come to me, that they can ap-
proach me anytime, like a loving father to everybody. I like
to be with people, I’m a very social person, and in fact,” he
kidded, “my middle initial ‘S’ means ‘sosyal’.” The reporters
responded laughingly to the joke which set the tone for the
rest of the session.
Questions fired—revolving mostly around his plans for
the biggest diocese in the Philippines—were handled by the
prelate with ease, with a smile almost never leaving his face.
Abp. Palma made it clear from the start that he would not be
making schemes before meeting with his constituents, begin-
ning with the Board of Consultors, the priests, organizations
like the charismatics, and of course, the retired Cardinal for
proper guidance, “After all,” he said smiling, “I have just been
Archbishop of Cebu for only two hours.”
However, when asked if he plans to visit all the parishes in
Cebu, Abp. Palma readily said yes, tagging himself a “baran-
gay bishop” and admitting that walking for kilometers to the
remote barangays is actually one of the things he loved to do in

Pit Senyor and his past posts Cebu (as Auxiliary Bishop), Calbayog and Palo as
he believes it is one of the best ways to find out firsthand what

presence of God
“KANAMO maluoy ka unta nga
kanimo nangilaba,” (May you
have pity on us, as we plead
you). While singing this line of
Gozos, everybody raises their
hands in supplication and praise,
directing them piously to the
Sto. Niño, whose image could
be seen in almost every corner
of the Minor Basilica and its
surroundings in Cebu. Presid-
ing priests or bishops and con-
celebrants in every Eucharistic
celebration do the same.
What can be clearly perceived
in everyone’s face is the aware-
ness of someone’s presence. The
waving of hands indicates such
awareness and is no different
from the casual waving of hands
that we usually do to greet or to
attract the attention of someone
we see from afar. If there’s one
very touching aspect of the
traditional Sinulog—something
that is most praiseworthy—it is
that simple faith which led every
Cebuano to wave his or her hand
in recognition of God’s presence,
as he or she looks at the image of
Sto. Niño.
If Jews wear the kippah to sig-
nify that they are always before
Atty. Aurora A. Santiago
God’s presence, Cebuanos wave
their hands towards the image of
Sto. Niño to acknowledge such
presence!
***
Awareness of God’s presence
is the gauge of truly trying to live
a spiritual life. Every aspect of
our existence is penetrated and
absorbed by God’s presence. In
a sense, God is always present
in us, even nearer to us than we
to ourselves, as St. Augustine
would emphasize. But it is we
who are often absent, that is, we
often neglect such presence. God
is always truly present in us but
we are often “absent”.
We forget God’s presence
whenever we commit sins. In
fact, it is this forgetfulness of
divine presence which leads
us to sin. Would you have the
stomach to commit robbery, to
watch pornographic movies, to
lie, to backbite, etc. if you were
fully aware that your mother
or father is watching you? It is
when we believe we are alone,
that nobody is watching us,
that we get the nerve to commit
iniquities.
We are “absent” in God when-
ever we put some line of demar-
cation between our ordinary
activities and our relationship
with God. If we think that our
waking up early in the morning,
our daily office work, our sports
activities, our relationship with
our family and friends, and our
enjoyments have nothing to do
with our relationship with God,
then we are not really present
in God though He is always
present in us. We neglect His
presence. We are “absent” in
God. Recognizing God’s pres-
ence in our lives means that—in
St. Paul’s words—“in everything
we do, we do it in the name of
the Lord”.
***
Maintaining awareness of
God’s presence is truly an au-
thentic spiritual struggle, espe-
cially when one is immersed in
the humdrums of this “hassle
and hurry world”, as the Air
Supply song goes. To achieve
it, one has to recourse to what
we may call human industry.
For instance, upon looking at an
image of a saint or a crucifix, or
the flock really needs. In response to another question, Abp.
Cogito Palma said he will also count on the cooperation and involve-
ment of the Cebuano youth in addressing their problems.
Abp. Palma was also asked if he was bringing his own people
to work with him in Cebu, to which he replied, “It’s my policy
upon hearing a particular tone
not to bring anyone to a new post. I leave everything behind.
of one’s cellular phone, one may
Even my belongings would fit into a small van. Someone asked
simply recite a short ejaculatory
me if I would not bring even a dog, I said no. I believe that
prayer like “Lord, have mercy
if the Lord puts me someplace He would give me the needed
on me a sinner,” or “Jesus, King
people to work with.” The question of his being “automatic
of Mercy, I trust in you,” etc.
successor” as CBCP vice-president to CBCP president Bishop
The Gospel is full of examples
Nereo Odchimar was answered by Abp. Palma with apparent
of ejaculatory prayers.
resolve, saying he foresees the Archdiocese of Cebu to present
“Pit Senyor!” is the Cebuanos’
him with more than enough concerns to keep him busy. Thus
most popular ejaculatory prayer.
he said he wishes his brother bishops to consider somebody
An Augustinian priest whom I
else as CBCP president, for he believes there are many more
met in the Basilica explained to
cut out for the job.
me that “Pit” is the last syllable
A recurrent question, although rather politely asked, was
of the Visayan word “Sangpit”
regarding his position on the RH Bill. With prudence the arch-
(supplication). “Senyor” is the
bishop said he upholds the position of the Church as articulated
Visayan version of the Spanish
by his predecessor. He offered no elaboration which seemed
“Señor” (Lord). “Pit Senyor!”
to satisfy the media men who asked for no more. The ease
is the expression of one’s sup-
with which he faced the group (which included Cebu-based
plication to our Lord for what-
correspondents of national dailies and radio-TV networks and
ever needs one may have or
a handful from Manila tri-media) must have been borne of
for whomever one may want
the mutually beneficial relations Abp. Palma enjoyed in Palo,
to pray.
where the Diocese made an effort to conduct regular retreats
That is why, we often hear yells
and recollections for media practitioners. Inviting the Cebu
during the Sinulog festivities like
media to the possibility of the same, Abp. Palma rallied those
“Pit Senyor, kang Tatay kini,” “Pit
present to be the Church’s “partners in evangelization”, stat-
Senyor, kang Nanay kini,” or “Sa
ing that as communicators they have a noble calling to serve
atong Santo Papa, Pit Senyor!”,
the truth. He appealed to the media present also to keep
“Sa atong Presidente, Pit Senyor!”.
their communication links with him open, so that Church
“Pit Senyor” is a summarized
and media may collaborate for the welfare of the people and
expression of everything we ask
the transformation of society. After all, Cebu is “where it all
for our family, friends and for
began”, he said, referring to first cross planted by the Spaniards
whatever intention we offer to
on the island.
the Holy Child.
In the fellowship merienda that followed the press confer-
ence, media persons chatting among themselves said they were
satisfied with Abp. Palma’s answers and in fact were impressed
by his simplicity, openness and exceptional willingness to learn
from everybody. They explicitly said Abp. Palma would not

Expectations find it hard to endear himself to the Cebuanos. One reporter

Duc in Altum
LET us welcome 2011 with great hope
and expectations that it will be a peace-
ful, healthy and prosperous year not only
for our country but also for all countries
in the world, irrespective of faith, color
and political belief. Let us bid goodbye to
2010 with thanksgiving for all the bless-
ings that the Almighty God has given all
of us.
With the blessings of our bishop, Most
Rev. Deogracias “Deo” S. Iñiguez, Jr., the
First Bishop of the Diocese of Kalookan,
the title of this column is taken from our
Diocese’s motto “Duc in Altum” or “going
into the deep”.
The year 2010 is very memorable to the
Diocese of Kalookan; it was on Decem-
ber 10, 2010, the 70th birthday of Bishop
Deo, when he promulgated the Diocesan
Pastoral Plan. It is anchored on Jesus’
promise: “I have come in order that you
might have life—life in all its fullness…”
(Jn 10:10).
During the presentation of the Diocesan
Pastoral Plan, Most Rev. Monsignor Alex
V. Amandy H.P., the Vicar General of the
Diocese of Kalookan, stated:
“When the new Diocese of Kalookan
was erected in 2003, a whole new horizon
suddenly appeared. A wide unchartered
expanse lay open to all in the newly born
local church. There was a surge of hope,
of a desire for a fresh beginning. Having
been created from the mega Archdiocese
of Manila, the new Diocese was given an
impetus to trail-blaze and chart a new
course. Guided by the Diocesan motto
“Duc in Altum”, the courage to search
to go into the deep was in the heart and
mind of shepherd and people. The deep
will be found in an authentic Diocesan
Pastoral Plan.”
The Diocesan Pastoral Plan is a product
of three (3) years of work—series of semi-
nars, formation courses, countless meet-
ings, Diocesan Consultation participated
in by the Bishop, the priests, religious and
the laity who shared their experiences, and
a Pastoral Assembly.
The Plan embraces the various aspects
of life in the Diocese, defining its Vision
and Mission. The Plan of Action will be
accomplished within a period of five (5)
years from 2011 to 2015, with the Goal of
“integral renewal toward the attainment
of the fullness of life.” Through the life
in the Diocese, “all its members would
eventually arrive at the fullness of grace
as God desires.”
***
From January 29 to 31, 2011, the arch-
bishops and bishops from the different
archdioceses and dioceses all over the
country will go to Manila to attend the
bi-annual CBCP Plenary Assembly. It is
during this Assembly that the bishops
meet and discuss important matters af-
fecting the Mother Church. We await the
pastoral exhortations of our shepherds
which affect our daily lives, foremost
of which is the most controversial, the
RH Bill. The action of the laity will be
guided by the spiritual advice of the
bishops.
The Board of Trustees of Sangguniang
Laiko ng Pilipinas or Laiko (the Council
of the Laity of the Philippines) will have
the honor of being joined, during its
board meeting on January 28, 2011, by the
even went as far as saying the new Archbishop of Cebu does
not need a spokesperson. As for the invitation for media to
be the Church’s “partner in evangelization”, the media guests
expressed opposing inclinations: half would be enthusiastic
and welcome the idea of religious retreats for reporters; the
bishops-members of the Episcopal Com-
other half shrugged their shoulders.
mission on the Laity (ECLA) chaired by
Ambush-interviewed after the press conference, Abp. Palma,
Most Rev. Jesse Mercado, the Bishop of
however, said he is optimistic that Cebuanos would respond to
Parañaque, who is also the Spiritual Direc-
love, which, he admitted, “is all I could offer, really.” It is an
tor of Laiko.
outlook that echoes the response he delivered at his installation:
that despite his self-doubts and feelings of inadequacy over
***
being chosen as Archbishop of Cebu, he would be awakened
This column would like to extend
on many nights (before he accepted the assignment) and would
the warmest congratulations to Most
always remember the Lord asking Peter, “Do you love me?”
Rev. Monsignor Alex V. Amandy
Thus he finally said Yes—“if the Lord wanted my assurance
H.P., the Vicar General of the Dio-
of love,” if being Archbishop of Cebu at this point demanded
cese of Kalookan. His Holiness, Pope
nothing more and nothing less than love, then, he said, he
Benedict XVI has awarded him the
would accept. “Because I love the Lord, I love my priests, I
designation of “Honorary Prelate”.
truly care for them wherever I am assigned, I love the Church,
His solemn investiture was held last
I love, period.”
January 07, 2011 at the San Roque
Cathedral, Caloocan City with Bishop
Deo as the solemnizing officer.
On the other hand, this column
also extends its sincerest condolences
to Sr. Jean E. Manlangit, SPC, the
ou t s t a n d i n g s e cr e t a r y o f His Gr a c e
Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams,
the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philip-
pines. The brother of Sr. Jean, Rev.
Fr. Nestor E. Manlangit, OFM, passed
away last December 30, 2010 at the
young age of 55.
(Atty. Aurora A. Santiago is the latest
addition to CBCP Monitor’s columnists. A
“Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice” awardee, she is the
President of the Diocese of Kalookan Papal
Family, the Executive Vice President of Sang-
guniang Laiko ng Pilipinas, the First Vice
President of the Council of the Laity of Kaloo-
kan, Lay Vicariate Coordinator of San Jose de
Navotas, the Legal Counsel of the Diocese of
Kalookan and member of the Diocese’s Finance
Council—Eds)
 Local News
CBCP Monitor
A6 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

Political will needed to stop illegal

Bishop favors gambling—prelate
abolition of DILG THE government’s campaign against illegal
gambling will only succeed if government
leaders manifest political will in curbing the
A BISHOP favors the call to abolish the Department of Local numbers’ game, a young prelate said.
and Interior Government (DILG) from the bureaucracy. Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates
Tagbilaran Bishop Leonardo Medroso said the sugges- B. Villegas described an effective way to rid
tion of UP Professor Clarita Carlos, also a political analyst, the country’s towns and cities of illegal gam-
is good since the DILG is only a “duplication” of other bling activities beginning with jueteng.
government agencies. “When there was an investigation, when
“The DILG is no longer needed. It’s bringing confusion the police were warned, it evidently stopped,”
to the mayors… our local chief executives,” Medroso said the country’s youngest archbishop said refer-
over Catholic Church-run Radio Veritas. ring to illegal gambling in Pangasinan.
Because of the agency currently headed by Secretary Jesse He added if local government officials
Robredo, the church official said, the local governments don’t like illegal gambling, no illegal gam-
cannot decide on their own contrary to what is stated in bling would take place but when local offi-
the law. cials relax the rules, then it slowly returns.
Villegas said when they issued a pastoral
statement about illegal gambling last year,
they did not expect any reaction from the Of-
fice of the President in Malacanang because
they initially addressed the statement to
provincial, city and municipal officials.
He said he is satisfied with the accommo-
dation they received from local officials, who
responded by phone, text and representa-
tives saying both the local government and
the Church have the same commitment to
human dignity and human labor.
“The mayors, congressmen and the governor
sent word that they are willing to intensify the
livelihood projects,” he added. He explained
micro-financing is a long-range solution.

FILE PHOTO
“… Where in fact, it is built in our democratic system He further stressed that “what is im- “There is no substitute for political
that our mayors have flow of power according to the Con- portant, as what Archbishop Cruz said, is will,” the archbishop concluded. (Melo M.
stitution,” he said.
Villegas
political will.” Acuña)

Ex-CBCP head bucks plea bargain

The prelate added DILG no business acting like an over-
lord of the local government units (LGUs) and dictating on
them what they should do because they have long become
autonomous entities.

in Garcia’s plunder case

“The DILG is just duplication. Anyway, there other
agencies that can monitor the actions of the mayors,” he
said. (CBCPNews)

A CATHOLIC prelate is oppos-
Prayer / A1 ing the plea bargain agreement
and wants a former military offi-
life” during Sunday Masses. cial accused of plunder punished
Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP Episcopal Com- if proven guilty to serve as a les-
mission on Family and Life said the praying of the Oratio Imperata son to other corrupt officials.
was started last December 16 during the dawn Masses. Jaro Archbishop Angel Lag-
He said there is no specific date until when the prayer would be dameo feels the deal between
recited as the decision to stop it or not depends on the respective state prosecutors and former
dioceses. Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, if pur-
“It depends with the diocese. In Tarlac, Pampanga, Iba and Balanga sued, would “weaken more” the
it is being recited every Sunday,” said Castro. country’s justice system.
Part of the prayer reads: “We pray for all our leaders and legisla- The former president of the
tors who must deliberate assiduously on this critical present issue. Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
May they be guided by the grace of the Holy Spirit to act responsibly the Philippines (CBCP) also ex-
for the good and well-being of all. May their competence be always pressed fear that the agreement
steered by humility and fear of the Lord.” could be abused for the “conve-
Castro said the obligatory prayer, issued by the CBCP to all the nience” of corrupt officials.
dioceses, is not only for controversial measure but for the protection “It will be not be a good ex-
of human life in general. ample… and that way of doing it
“On the contrary… More than anything it’s the prayer that will might be sought and be applied
count a lot. This is just to create awareness among the people,” said for similar and other cases of cor-
won’t help solve the rampant
corruption in the government.
“It might worsen the problem
instead,” he said.
“First of all, we need to de-
termine the truth here. There
should be a call for justice and
for truth seeking,” Lagdameo
said. “That agreement may not
be based on truth and justice.”
Asked for his reaction to al-
legations that former President
Gloria Arroyo may be behind
the deal, he added the more the
people should oppose it.
“If in case the former president
also has a similar case, the same
principle could be invoked. It
does not really eradicate cor-
ruption in government,” said
Lagdameo.
He urged the Aquino admin-
ing P303 million from the state
coffers while serving as armed
forces comptroller.
“The search for truth must
continue so that justice will be
achieved,” the prelate said.
On Wednesday, Aquino gov-
ernment’s chief lawyer filed an
urgent motion with the Sandi-
ganbayan asking it to revoke its
approval of the plea bargain.
Under the deal, Garcia will
return to the government some
P150 million believed to be ill-
gotten for pleading guilty to a
lesser offense instead of plunder
which is punishable by life im-
prisonment.
Garcia had been released by
the court on Dec. 16 after posting
P60,000 bail, or P30,000 for each
of the offense of direct bribery

FILE PHOTO
Castro. ruption,” Lagdameo said. istration to fight the agreement and violation of the Anti-money
“I think the people are more pro-active because they are now aware According to the prelate, grant- that would allow Garcia to es- laundering law, pending sen-
because we are praying for the legislators,” he said. (CBCPNews) ing of a plea bargain agreement cape charges for allegedly steal- tencing. (CBCPNews) Lagdameo

Ban / A1

said, would certainly cover Caraga,
composed of the provinces of Agusan
del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del
Norte and Surigao del Sur.
Aquino made a stop first in Legazpi
City, then proceeded to St. Bernard in
Southern Leyte, and then Agusan del
Norte in Mindanao.
Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos
has also welcomed Aquino’s plan for
a log ban not just to combat climate
change but also to prevent flooding.
“We are very happy that it is (total
log ban proposal) coming from the
President himself and not from any
person,” said Pueblos.
Pueblos also lauded an anti-illegal
logging task force for seizing an esti-
mated P210 million worth of illegal cut
logs along Agusan del Sur River.
Last Jan.11, Task Force Pagbabago,
a body organized by the Department
of Natural Resources, confiscated at
least 11,412 pieces of undocumented
assorted logs found floating in the
riverside towns San Luis, Loreto and
Talocogon.
Death toll reaches 56
Stormy weather since late December
has already claimed 56 lives and left
at least 19 missing, latest report of the
National Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management Council revealed.
The floods and landslides have also
affected at least 1.2 million people or
235, 867 families from 23 provinces.
Of those affected, Caraga has the
highest number with 601,804 people
(112,096 families); followed by Eastern
Visayas with 275,115 people (54,179
families); and Bicol with 196,029 people
(38, 272 families).
In Samar, torrential rains have inun-
dated the poor island forcing residents
to seek refuge in temporary shelters.
Borongan Bishop Crispin Varquez
said three parishes have suffered from
heavy rains since midnight of January
8 and through the whole day send-
ing residents to makeshift evacuation
centers.
“Over 13,000 residents from the par-
ishes in Jipapad, Maslog and Dolores
have been suffering from continuous
rains,” he said.
He said they will source their pre-
liminary assistance locally and call
on institutions which have the facility
to extend assistance, such as the Na-
tional Secretariat of Social Action of
the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP).
Floods affecting hundreds of the
people have also been reported in the
Diocese of Catarman particularly in the
towns of Catubig and Las Navas.
From the Diocese of Calbayog, floods
have been reported in Calbiga and San
Jorge, said Fr. Antonio Mahinay Jr., the
diocese’s Oeconomus.
In the Diocese of Maasin, where St.
Bernard town is located, over 1,000
people have been evacuated to differ-
ent schools due to threats of another
landslide.
Of the 56 deaths, five of them were
from the village of Balod-balod in
St. Bernard who were buried after a
landslide caused by heavy floods on
Jan. 2.
The said town had one of the coun-
try’s worst disasters in 2006 when a
mudslide buried the entire village of
Guinsaogon, killing more than 1,000
people.
Ban mining, too
If only to stop environmental destruc-
tion to prevent flooding and landslides,
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said the
government should also implement a
total mining bar policy.
“I am not only in favor of total log
ban but [also] a total mining ban to pre-
serve the environment,” Bastes said.
The 66-year old prelate pointed out
that even if there is a log ban, it is use-
less if large scale mining operations
would continue because the surface
forest will have to be destroyed.
Bastes expressed worry on the effect
of heavy rains on residences in low-
lying areas especially those near in
mining areas.
The bishop said he may bring the log-
ging and mining issues for discussion
at the upcoming plenary assembly of
the CBCP late this month.
Many bishops said that mining
brings trillions of pesos to the economy
but people from areas where natural
resources are extracted have remained
dirt-poor. (With reports from Melo
Acuna)

Eco / A1 Lay / A1

effects of mining on health and
environment.
Expressing elation on the EO,
Alyansa Tigil Mina National
Coordinator Jaybee Garganera
said the issuance “will definitely
be one of the milestones for its
protection and conservation” of
the province’s many islands.
Romblon province is com-
posed of islands that are rich
in natural resources and bio-
diversity.
“Mining as we know is a dis-
puted economic activity that not
only paves way for the destruc-
tion of the islands, but also puts
the inhabitants of the islands
at risk in the face of disasters
such as floods and landslides,”
he said.
The governor said the min-
ing moratorium puts the best
interest of the people in per-
spective.
“I strongly believe that the
present and future health and
ecological wellbeing of our
people are more important to
secure rather than the momen-
tary economic benefits derived
from mining operations,” said
Firmalo.
Meanwhile, Blas Tabaranza
of Haribon Foundation, said the
mining ban is a welcome devel-
opment as it will preserve the
rich biodiversity of Romblon’s
three islands.
“Biodiversity in the Romblon
province is so rich that all its
three islands host important
biodiversity areas: the entire
Romblon island, Balogo Water-
shed in Tablas island, and Mt.
Guiting-guiting Natural Park
in Sibuyan island. Subspecies
of the colasisi or Philippine
hanging parrot, the Philippine
pygmy-woodpecker, and the
orange-bellied flowerpecker,
plus five mammals and 54
plants, are endemic or can only
be found in Sibuyan, which has
often been called the Galapagos
of Asia,” the Haribon’s chief
operating officer said.
Garganera said their group
is giving its all out support to
Firmalo and other local govern-
ment units who oppose mining
in their respective areas.
“We continue to support Gov.
Firmalo and local executives
and councils who assert their
local autonomy in fighting the
mining industry which this gov-
ernment continues to revitalize
and strengthen,” he said.
Aside from Romblon, other
provinces who have issued
moratorium against large-scale
mining include Oriental and Oc-
cidental Mindoro, Marinduque,
and Samar.
In August last year, the mu-
nicipal councils of Magdiwang,
Cajidiocan and San Fernando
towns in Sibuyan Island signed
joint memorandums 1 and 2,
prohibiting and opposing min-
ing exploration and activities
in the area.
The Barangay Council of Pa-
to-o in Odiongan, Tablas Island
has likewise issued Resolution
No. 11 opposing mining in the
island. (CBCPNews)
Carmen G. Grajo, Hermelina R.
Buscas and Annielor D. Salvador
also made a renewal of Lifetime
Commitment as members of
EDC, during the event.
Fr. Sebastiano D’ Ambra, PIME,
Founder of Emmaus Dialogue
Community and the Silsilah Dia-
logue Movement, presided at the
ceremony and the celebration of
the Eucharist, together with Fr.
Guilio Mariani, PIME, Director
of Euntes Asian Center.
Founded on February 8, 1987,
the EDC embraces the vision of
the Silsilah Dialogue Movement
to promote deeper understand-
ing and better relations among
Muslims, Christians and peoples
of different faiths that they may
live in respect, trust and love for
one another.
The community was later ap-
proved as a “Lay Association” ac-
cording to Canons 321 and 326 of
the Revised Code of Canon Law.
The diocesan recognition was
given by then Archbishop of
Zamboanga, Most Rev. Carmelo
D.F. Morelos, DD.
As consecrated laypersons, the
members of EDC remain single
and witness to a life of chastity,
the call to holiness as affirmed by
Vatican II.
But the EDC also welcomes
married Catholics and single men
and women who wish to live the
spirituality of Life-in-Dialogue
while continuing to live with
their families. They are associated
with the Emmaus Community as
members of the Emmaus Circle.
(CBCPNews)

Annulment / A1 Mine / A1

I could create a situation just
to get an annulment like adul-
tery,” said Cruz, who chairs the
National Appellate on Matri-
monial Tribunal of the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines.
“On intention, I can create
and factualize grounds for
annulment if I am tired of my
wife,” he said.
Militant Party list Bayan Muna
Rep. Neri Colmenares has filed
a bill, in what he called, a mea-
sure aimed to make annulment
“more accessible to the poor” by
simplifying its proceedings.
House Bill seeks to recognize
spousal violence, infidelity and
abandonment as presumptions
of “psychological incapacity”—
one of the grounds for annulling
marriages.
If passed into law, Colme-
nares said the bill will make
annulment proceedings “less
costly” since there is no more
need to hire psychiatrists, psy-
chologists and lawyers to annul
an unfortunate marriage.
But Cruz fear the possibil-
ity of more broken families if
the proposal will be approved
which means more children are
likely to lose parental care.
He also criticized the bill’s
proponent for pushing for an-
nulment in the guise of helping
the poor, where many of them
do not enter into marriage but
have “live-in” relationships, to
secure “annulment decision.”
“Even if they are poor, most
of them just live together, most
of them just separate, and most
of them just unite with other
partners so they are not annul-
ment seekers,” Cruz said.
“I do not see the rhyme or
reason for cheaper [and quicker]
annulment process because of
the poor,” he said. “To me it
does not hold water.”
When asked who would ben-
efit from the bill, he answered:
“Those in middle class, upper
middle class who seek annul-
ment as a matter of principle.”
“There could be some poor
people who seek annulment but
that is a matter of principle,” the
prelate added.
Cruz said another reason why
he is against the bill is that it also
does not say how many times a
person can avail of annulment
or if they would be allowed to
remarry again.
“The biggest problem with
annulments is that it’s never
said how many annulments I
could get,” he said.
Cruz claimed that the bill
would destroy the sacredness
of matrimony. “The sanctity of
marriage would become more
diluted,” he said.
He also expressed optimism
that the bill would not prosper
in Congress.
“Honestly, I think there
would be objections to this. I am
certain some legislators whose
legal mind and value system
remain intact (would oppose)
because the poor are the ones
who do not need this,” he said.
(CBCPNews)
the mobility of the residents.
“Everyone in the diocese is very
much relieved of the unnecessary
tension after hearing the good
news regarding the recognition of
the CHR on the violations of the
OceanaGold,” Villena said.
“We are again inspired and
fired up to continue the uphill
struggle in Didipio and the other
areas in the Diocese of Bayo-
mbong endangered by mining
applications. We will not relent
nor give up,” he added.
In April 2008, OceanaGold
demolished about 200 houses
of IPs in Didipio despite failing
to secure writs or special orders
of demolition from the court,
without payment of just compen-
sation, and without providing
alternative options for relocation
and resettlement.
Ifugao residents who resisted
and tried to save their homes had
reportedly been beaten, including
their neighbors who helped them;
houses had been bulldozed off
cliffs and set on fire.
The CHR said that OceanaGold,
which acquired Didipio copper-
gold mine site in 2006, also fenced
off large sections of the roads and
pathways which community resi-
dents have relied upon for the past
30 years to transport produce from
their farms to the market.
The agency said the mining
firm has set up checkpoints
around the Barangay, causing
them difficulty in moving about,
resulting in the unjust restriction
of their social and economic ac-
tivities. (CBCPNews)
 Diocesan News
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
A7

Church claims victory after

STL shut down in Leyte
TACLOBAN City—The Catholic around P16, 000 a month.

‘Eternal’ Muslim-Christian war feared if peace talks fail

Church has claimed victory in
Eastern Visayas after the Philip-
pine Charity Sweepstakes Office
halted small-town lottery (STL)
operations in the region due to
“poor sales.”
Speaking on behalf of the
Archdiocese of Palo, Father
Amadeo Alvero related the
“welcome development” to
the church’s strong campaign
against all forms of gambling.
“We have been using all the
possible means in telling the
people not to support STL even
in our homilies during Mass-
es” said Alvero, archdiocesan
spokesman.
Zenaida Delantar, chief lottery
officer of PCSO-8, said Ancor
Bay, the sole operator of the STL
in the Leyte province, opted not
to renew its contract on Decem-
ber 31 last year.
According to her, poor rev-
enue was the reason for the de-
mise of the legal numbers game
due which was only earning
“It really can’t survive with
that situation,” Delantar said.
Delantar also revealed that
STL in Maasin City, Southern
Leyte was no longer operating
since September last year for the
same reason. STL operations in
said areas both started in May
2010.
The church official, mean-
while, said he is not at all sur-
prised by the death of the num-
bers game because “people here
are not really into gambling.”
“It’s really not part of our cul-
ture here. The fact that people
did not support it is that they
know that it’s not going to bring
good to them,” Alvero said.
The PCSO official, however,
clarified they are still open to
applications for STL operations
but doubt if there would be more
applicants.
“It’s really not popular in
our area so it might discourage
some operators,” Delantar said.
(CBCPNews)
CAGAYAN DE ORO City—The chair-
person of a Muslim non-government
organization warned of an “eternal”
Muslim-Christian war in Mindanao if
the government fails to achieve a final
peace settlement with the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front.
Islamic Movement for Electoral Reform
and Good Government (IMERGG) found-
ing chairperson Hadji Abdullah Dalidig
also urged the Aquino administration to
show sincerity in negotiating peace with
the MILF to prevent a “third force” from
taking advantage of the lull in the negotia-
tions and sow chaos in Mindanao.
“President Aquino must show sincerity
in achieving lasting peace with the MILF
by fast tracking the peace negotiations.
His government must do something to
convince the people of the government’s
sincerity to prevent a third force from
fueling another all-out war in Mindanao.
I fear that once war erupts, it will be an
unending, eternal war that might degener-
ate into a religious Muslim-Christian war,”
Dalidig said on Jan.5.
He disclosed that there are some “military
hawks and other bad elements” who are just
waiting for the talks to fail so that they can
sow chaos and ignite another all-out war in
Mindanao.
Dalidig said that he has documentary
evidence to prove that not all government
officials are in favor of a political settlement
with the MILF.
“These government officials are the
ones pulling the strings of several military
hawks to create a scenario that will enflame
the Bangsamoro people to rise against the
government for their own ends. There is
something here in Mindanao that they want
so much that they will try to get it no matter
the cost,” he said.
He, however, said he will present these
documentary evidences in his possession in
the proper time.
The MILF has been fighting the govern-
ment for decades to establish a self-rule
Muslim state in Mindanao.
Peace talks between the government
and the MILF remain stalled since August
2008 following the aborted signing of the
Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral
Domain (MOA-AD).
A final peace deal will touch the issues
of autonomy and the civil settlement of the
rebel group’s some 11,800-strong fighters.
New facilitator
Dalidig also said that Malaysia is ap-
pointing a new facilitator that would
replace Datuk Othman bin Abd’Razal in
the peace negotiations between the gov-
ernment and the MILF.
Aquino’s peace adviser Sec. Teresita Deles,
he said, told him that the Malaysian govern-
ment had agreed to replace Othman, whom
the Philippine peace panel accused of being
biased for the MILF. (Bong D. Fabe)

Archbishop urges Misamis Briefing

lawmakers to reject RH Bill
OZAMIZ City— Ozamiz Archbishop
Jesus Dosado, CM has urged the law-
makers of the two districts of Misamis
Occidental not to vote the controver-
sial Reproductive Health (RH) bill in
Congress.
In an open letter, Dosado called on
1st district Rep. Jorge Almonte, Sr. and
2nd district Rep. Loreto Leo Ocampos,
Dosado to support the HB 16, filed
by Parañaque 2nd district Rep. Roilo
Golez, which seeks to protect the life of
the unborn instead.
“I request you, our dear representa-
FILE PHOTO
And if, after having known these
things, the lawmakers still support
the measure, the prelate told them,
“for the good of their soul, to have the
sensitivity to refrain from Communion
until this matter will have a salvific
resolution.”
“On the other hand, if you are really
interested in the health of our mothers-
to-be and their children-to-be when
they cooperate with God s action to
create another person from nothing in
the exercise of their marriage covenant,
I urge you to support a bill which, I be-
GRP-MILF peace talks on track; NGO urges support for
peace panels
CAGAYAN DE ORO City— A group working for peace in
Mindanao hailed as a “breakthrough” the outcome of Jan.
13’s informal talks in Malaysia between the chairpersons
of the peace panels of the government and the MILF. “It’s a
breakthrough in so far as the facilitation issue is concerned,”
said lawyer Mary Ann Arnado, secretary-general of the non-
government organization Mindanao Peoples Caucus. (Bong
D. Fabe)
Black Nazarene procession ‘peaceful’
CAGAYAN DE ORO City— The Feast of Black Nazarene
here on Jan. 9 was celebrated peacefully despite some “un-
ruly” people who joined the procession, Nazareno Church’s
parish priest Msgr. Rey Monsanto said. “In spite of rudeness
displayed by some participants, the procession was generally
peaceful,” he said. About 400 policemen were deployed to

tives, not to vote the consolidated bill lieve, is currently being introduced by
resulting from the different present RH Rep. Golez for that purpose,” he said. secure procession attended by more than 100, 000 devotees.
Archbishop Jesus Dosado Bills,” Dosado said. (Wendell Talibong) (CBCPNews)

Hungry families to rise due to price hikes

Tribal folks denounce mining in ancestral domain
CAGAYAN DE ORO City—The Mamanwa
tribe of Agusan del Norte has denounced
the encroachment of a Canadian mining
company into their ancestral domain.
The tribe’s leader, Bae Genoviva A. Colan-
gan, wrote the compliance officer/ombuds-
man of the International Finance Corporation
(IFC), informing the company of the Mindoro
Resources Limited’s (MRL) use of its invest-
ment for mineral exploration purposes.
In a release posted on its website, MRL
disclosed that it has received Canadian $2
million from the IFC, a member of the World
Bank Group and is the largest development
institution focused on the private sector in
developing countries.
“Through the support of our institutional
shareholder base, which invested more than
50 percent of the total offering, and a new
set of investors, the funds raised will allow
Mindoro to press ahead with the feasibility
study program into an integrated nickel
project at Agata. The funds will also enable
continued drilling of the exploration targets
with the objective of growing the resource
base to support a major new nickel project
development in the Philippines. In addition
the company will review and drill tests its
outstanding portfolio of drill-ready gold and
copper-gold prospects,” said MRL president
and chief executive officer Jon Dugdale in a
release posted on MRL’s website.
Dugdale was referring to the MRL’s Agata
nickel project in Barangay Bunga, Jabonga,
Agusan del Norte, which the Mamanwa tribe
claimed as part of its ancestral domain.
In her letter to the IFC compliance officer/
ombudsman, Colangan said that MRL “en-
tered into our ancestral land without proper
information and consent from us.”
“They don’t even respect indigenous
people’s right,” she said.
Colangan said the tribe is against mining
“because we don’t want our forest to be
destroyed.”
“Destroying our forest will affect our
daily needs” because the tribe traditionally
sources its livelihood from the forest.
Mining and/or mineral exploration on
the tribe’s ancestral land will displace the
tribesfolk, affect the tribesfolk’s relationship
with each other that will eventually cause the
disappearance of their indigenous culture,
she pointed out.
“We, the Mamanwa tribe will be directly
affected as a consequence of the MRL mining
company project,” she added.
Her letter to IFC was also signed by 29
traditional elders and leaders of the Ma-
manwa tribe.
In IFC’s “Summary of Proposed Invest-
ment,” one entry dated June 8, 2010 said that
the Agata nickel project in Agusan del Norte
was originally released by IFC in September
24, 2008.
But “the project was not submitted to the
IFC Board as exploration activities ceased
due to the global financial crisis. In April
2010, the company restarted exploration and
IFC undertook its second review.”
“Mindoro Resources Ltd (“Mindoro”, or
the “Company”) objective is to build a suc-
cessful exploration and mining company in
the Philippines with focus on nickel, copper
and gold,” the IFC SPI continued.
MRL has 75% interest in the Agata nickel
laterite deposit in the Agusan del Norte.
The Agata nickel prospect has the poten-
tial to become a sizeable nickel mine with re-
sources possibly in excess of 100 million tons
at comparatively attractive nickel grades.
Agata has a NI 43-101 compliant measured
and indicated resource of 36.5 million wet
metric tonnes at 1.11% nickel (dry), con-
taining 657 million pounds of nickel and 24
million pounds of cobalt. MRL also owns
interests in gold, copper, and copper-gold
prospects in the Surigao District, Batangas
District on Luzon Island, and on Pan de
Azucar Island.
“IFC equity investment will support
MRL’s resource drilling, feasibility and
other studies, and exploration activities for
its nickel, copper and gold prospects,” IFC
said in its SPI regarding MRL as posted on
its website. (Bong D. Fabe)
ANTIPOLO City— Expect the number of hungry families
in the Philippines to balloon as food prices rise due to the
increase in toll fees, pump prices, and fares. Charisse Bañez
of Anakbayan said in a statement that the 3.4 million families,
or almost 13 million people, who experienced involuntary
hunger on the fourth quarter of 2010, could shoot up as toll
fees, as well as oil prices, went up this month. (Noel Sales
Barcelona)
OFWs to thwart Cha-Cha attempts
ANTIPOLO City— Migrante Middle East forewarns admin-
istration lawmakers that they will be ‘whipped’ by protests
in the Philippines and abroad if they will push the change in
Constitution. John Monterona, the organization’s regional
coordinator, said that they will not allow neither pro-Aquino
legislators, nor the ‘old’ proponents and propagandists of
Charter Change or Cha-Cha to “muddle” the 1987 Constitu-
tion. (Noel Sales Barcelona)
Army to work with Church, NGOs in anti-insurgency
drive
CAGAYAN DE ORO City—The Philippine Army’s 4th Infan-
try “Diamond” Division vowed to pursue its partnership with
local government units, NGOs and the church to sustain the
gains of peace in the region. Major Eugenio Julio Osias IV, 4th
ID’s commander of the Civil-Military Operations (CMO), said
that their partnership with other sectors is already a proven
strategy in “pacifying” a locality strategy against the inroads
of the four-decade old Maoist insurgency. (Bong D. Fabe)
Avoid littering next time, Nazarene devotees told
QUEZON City— Environmentalists urged devotees to avoid
littering the next time the Black Nazarene feast celebration
comes around. The EcoWaste Coalition has lamented the
mountains of trash left around in the aftermath of the Jan.

Fake priest nabbed in entrapment operation

9 celebration. The group bemoaned that the devotees’ spiri-
tual fervor failed to show in their care for the environment.
(CBCPNews)

ILOILO City— Authorities have
arrested a man who claimed to
be some kind of priest in an en-
trapment operation on Jan. 11.
Operatives of the National
Bureau of Investigation - West-
ern Visayas arrested Charlie
Fontanilla while holding a fake
Mass at a victim’s house along
Ledesma Street, Iloilo City.
Fontanilla, who introduced
himself as a Franciscan priest,
has long been preying on local
Catholics and seafarers.
NBI Special investigator John
Katipunan said the fake priest
targeted well off individuals
who have strong Catholic back-
ground.
Fontanilla also has been so-
liciting funds, authorities said,
from what he claims are his
charitable causes and celebrate
Mass in homes and offices.
The Archdiocese of Iloilo af-
firmed that Fontanilla is not a
priest and has no authorization to
solicit funds from the faithful.
NBI agents have recovered
from the suspect holy water
and solicitation letters for his
so-called charities.
According to them, they are
also looking into the possibility
that Fontanilla may be connected
to illegal recruitment activities as
he promised working opportuni-
ties abroad to people.
Fontanilla has been temporar-
ily placed under the custody of
NBI Region 6 as authorities pre-
pare the necessary documents
for the filing of criminal charges
against him. (CBCPNews)
Include environmental issues in peace talks—KPNE
ANTIPOLO City—The Kalikasan People’s Network for the
Environment (KPNE) urges the Philippine government and
the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) to
include in the peace talks the protection and conservation
of the country’s natural resources. “For the peace talks to be
considered comprehensive and sincere, issues related to the
environment must be discussed,” said KPNE national coor-
dinator Clemente Bautista Jr. (Noel Sales Barcelona)

By the Roadside / A4

Agusan—good old-fashioned
flooding. Like mini replicas
of Noah’s scourge, flooding
in our era distinguish neither
rich nor poor, developed nor
developing (a euphemism for
undeveloped really) countries
or communities. Who would
have thought that Queensland,
Australia would have worse
flooding that, say, Can-avid in
Eastern Samar? But then again
people of Can-avid could say,
“They are only worse off be-
cause people are not used to
seeing richer communities suf-
fering the fate commonly tied
to poorer communities such as
ours—flooding.”
Still it is not uncommon for
people to adopt explanations
for their fate other than from
science. For instance, some
people in my province say, “We
have been flooded because we
have a government that cares
little about our welfare. Floods
have made it clear how bad our
roads and services have be-
come, including how bad some
of our choices for leadership
positions are….” Flooding from
bad governance? Undoubtedly
there’s a point in that. One only
has to bear in mind how bad
governance in Eastern Samar
or in the whole country for
that matter has allowed illegal
logging, mining (which has
been anything but responsible
in our islands), unmitigated
quarrying, improper disposal
of solid waste and many other
offenses against the environ-
ment and Mother Nature. If
love is paid by love, what do
we expect Mother Nature to
reward us for our irresponsibil-
ity and greed?
But all is not lost. This is what
sets us apart from the cynics.
It has become clearer too that
people working together can
make a difference. The media
must be thanked for showing
realities that rarely get the at-
tention of the nation, let alone
of the authorities that make
far-reaching decisions and
actions. Some government
officials ought to be cited for
seeing beyond the ravages of
nature into their man-made
causes and even now for trying
to find long-lasting solutions,
not merely temporary relief
operations done ostensibly
to score media mileage (or,
as they say, ‘pa pogi points’).
Most of all, we need to also
cite the affected communities
themselves that did not wait
for outside help because they
have decided to extend it to
one another, who until now are
picking up the pieces of what’s
left of their homes, properties,
families and lives, minding
that others could be worse off
than they are. I know even of
some parish communities, even
when they themselves suffered
the ravages of flooding, that
have nonetheless contributed
money, clothing and food to
other communities hit just as
hard. In many cases it hasn’t
been a matter of the comfort-
able aiding the afflicted but of
the afflicted taking care of their
fellow afflicted.
By instinct a number of peo-
ple see the wisdom of Pope
Boniface VIII who once said,
“Anything done for another
is done for oneself.” Which, I
suppose is the reason why St.
Vincent de Paul could exclaim:
“Love is infinitely inventive.”
Let’s pray and work hard that
love such as this thrive in our
long-suffering archipelago.
 A8 People, Facts & Places CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

7M devotees join Black Nazarene procession

AROUND seven million
Filipinos joined the procession
of the life-size wooden statue
of Black Nazarene on January
9.
The turnout of devotees
was higher this year,
which according to Manila
Archbishop Gaudencio
Cardinal Rosales, mostly came
from people who identify their
daily struggles to the wounds
and tribulations experienced
by Jesus of Nazareth.
“The image of the Black
Nazarene is the image of
suffering, struggling that is
why people like Him… they
see in the cross a picture
of them,” Rosales told
reporters.
The Manila archbishop,
however, lamented how
the well off and influential
people have failed to help the
poor, and instead fueled their
sufferings.
“The rich, unjust people
increase their suffering,” he
said after the 6 a.m. Mass
for the 404th Feast of the
change in the country as long
as people are only looking out
for themselves and their own
concerns.
Genuine change, he said,
would only come if people will
show utmost concern to their
countrymen.
“The key to change is showing
concern to your neighbors. If
people will not show concern for
others, change will not happen,”
said Rosales.
“Let us ask for God’s blessings,
let us help one another, let us
help every family, let us help
every parish, and let us help the
country.”
“If you want to show concern
to others you have to deny
yourself, sacrifice yourself,
discipline yourself. Without
these, I doubt if there’s going to
be any development,” he said.
The Metro Manila police
anticipated the huge throngs
of devotees who occupied the
entire procession route.
The 8 a.m. Sunday procession
from Quirino Grandstand to its
home in Quiapo Church lasted
Nicanor Bartolome said the
festivities were “generally
peaceful” even though some
708 people were injured, a figure
three times higher than last
year’s 246.
The Philippine National Red
Cross (PNRC) reported that
common injures include blisters,
lacerations and punctures as
barefoot devotees struggle to get
close to the cross-bearing Black
Nazarene statue.
Some people also suffered
from asthma and high blood
pressure due to hunger and
dehydration.
The statue has been housed at
the Quiapo Church since 1787.
The image of the Black Nazarene
is brought out in procession on
its feast day in January and on
Good Friday.
The statue was brought to
Manila by a Spanish priest in
1607 aboard a ship. The ship
caught fire, burning the image
and thus came to be known as
the Black Nazarene.
Though the image was burnt,
the people decided to preserve

© Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

Black Nazarene at the Quirino about 16 hours when it finally and honor it. Since then,
Grandstand. reached its destination past 12 miraculous things have been
In his homily, the Cardinal a.m. Monday. reported by those who touch the
said there cannot be any real Manila police Chief Director image. (CBCPNews)

CBCP to hold prison chaplains, volunteers meet

A CONFERENCE is to be held to give
prison chaplains and volunteers an up-
date on the criminal justice system.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) aims to create a
pastoral program for a more effective
ministering to the inmates.
It includes the coming up of a prison
ministry agenda for the next three
years and to solidify and strengthen
partnership among the country’s prison
volunteers and chaplains.
The meeting, where participants can
question experts in prison ministry, will
be held at the Carmelite Missionaries
Center for Spirituality in Tagaytay City
from February 3 to 6.
Organized by the CBCP Episcopal
Commission on Prison Pastoral Care
(ECPPC), this year’s 8th General As-
sembly of Chaplains and Volunteers in
Prison Service will reflect on the theme
“Toward Justice that Moves Beyond
Punishment.”
Held every three years, the assembly
will be attended by 210 delegates from
49 Catholic dioceses and representa-
tives from 9 non-government organi-
zations.
Speakers include Coalition Against
Death Penalty (CADP) President Fr.
Silvino Borres, SJ, Atty. Theodore Te
Filipino artist’s exhibit opens in Rome
of the Legal Affairs of the University of
the Philippines, Fr. Willy Samson, SJ,
assistant to the President for Formation
of the Ateneo de Zamboanga.
Focus Group Discussion will be
conducted on topics like alternatives
to imprisonment; victims, offenders
and their families’ experiences of
the current criminal justice system;
servant leadership and discipleship;
lobbying and networking and col-
laborative partnership to reform jails
and prisons; reform agenda of the
criminal justice system and caring of
the caregivers.
Puerto Princesa Bishop Pedro Arigo,
ECPPC chairman will open the assembly
with a Mass on Feb. 3. Imus Bishop Luis
Antonio Tagle, meanwhile, will lead a
Mass on Feb. 4 and 5. (CBCPNews)
AN exhibition of painting
reproductions by Kublai Ponce-
Millan titled “Probinsaya” opened
to the public at the offices of the
Philippine Embassy to the Holy See
in Rome on January 13, 2010.
Josephine Bantug, Executive
Assistant to Ambassador Mercedes
Tuason, organized the opening of the
exhibit as part of the commemorative
activities of the 60th anniversary of
diplomatic relations between the
Holy See and the Philippines.
Father Romeo Velos, CS, led
around 50 Filipino leaders of various
communities belonging to the Sentro
Pilipino Chaplaincy in Rome who
attended the event.
Ryan Asinas and Crispy Zapanta,
respective leaders of the Filipino Youth
and Family Ministries read excerpts
describing the 12 paintings which depict
the nature-based lifestyle of Filipinos in
the provinces.
Ambassador Tuason underlined
the relevance of the art exhibit in the
life of the Church as she quoted the
following words of Pope John Paul II to
artists: “Beauty is a key to the mystery
and a call to transcendence. It is an
invitation to savor life and to dream of
the future.”
Filipino leaders spent some time
admiring the artworks which brought
back consoling memories of simple
family life in the Philippines.
“Probinsaya (probinsya=province +
saya=happiness) manifests on canvas
the delight of Kublai’s rediscovery of
happy, simple, rustic living when he
does sculptural work in Mindanao
provinces,” writer Philip Somozo
said.
The Probinsaya art exhibit also
complements Kublai’s Filipino figures
included in the 29th presentation of
the Vatican Nativity scene in St.
Peter’s Square which were unveiled
last December 24, and visited by
Pope Benedict XVI on December
31, 2010.
Hundreds of pilgrims and visitors
continue to visit the Vatican nativity
scene which will be dismantled
on February 2, Feast of the
Presentation of the Lord. (Fr. Jose
V.C. Quilongquilong, S.J.)

Priest awarded for service to

Markings
INSTALLED. Archbishop Jose Palma
OFWs in Barcelona
A FILIPINO Catholic priest has
recently earned Barcelona’s
was installed as the 4th archbishop of
Cebu on January 13 in solemn ceremo- Premi Consell d’Immigració
nies at the Cebu’s Metropolitan Cathe- award for his invaluable service
dral. Manila Archbishop Gaudencio B. to migrants.
Cardinal Rosales and Papal Nuncio to According to Ang Bagong
the Philippines Edward Joseph Adams
and some 70 other archbishops and Filipino website (www.ang-
bishops concelebrated at the Mass. The bagongfilipno.wordpress.
Apostolic Letter was read in Latin by the com), Fr. Avelino Del Rosario
Nunciature’s First Secretary Rev. Msgr. Sapida bested more than 43
Giorgio Chezza and later translated into
Cebuano. The event was considered as other nominees of different
a homecoming for Archbishop Palma nationalities from different
who was appointed Auxiliary Bishop organizations.
of Cebu on November 28, 1997. Arch- Sapida was chosen and hon-
bishop Palma, now 60 years old, was
born on March 19, 1950 in Dingle, Iloilo
ored for being a “constant com-
and was ordained priest on August 21, 1976. His Episcopal ordina- panion and defender of Filipi-
tion took place on January 13, 1998. On January 13, 1999, he was nos, especially the poor” and for
appointed Bishop of Calbayog and was installed on March 9, 1999. his efforts to unite migrants and
As bishop of Calbayog, Palma denounced human rights violations uphold their rights.
www.centrofilipinobarcelona.org

committed against local residents by military troopers under then 8th

Infantry Division’s Maj. General Jovito Palparan. He was appointed
Archbishop of Palo on March 19, 2006 and was installed on May 2,
2006. On July 11, 2009, he was elected Vice President of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Archbishop Palma becomes the
24th prelate to administer the ecclesial province of Cebu since August
30, 1595 when Augustinian Friar Pedro de Agurto was appointed first
bishop of the newly-created diocese.
CONFERRED. Former Chief Justice Hilario
G. Davide, Jr., was conferred on January 9
the Papal Award of the Knight of the Grand
Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester in a
solemn Eucharistic celebration presided by
Cebu Archbishop, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
The conferment ceremony was held within
the mass at the Blessed Pedro Calungsod
Shrine at the Archbishop’s Palace in Cebu
City in the presence of the honoree’s fam-
ily and friends. The Pontifical Order of St.
Sylvester (Pope and Martyr) is one of the
The Premi Consell
d’Immigració, presented to Sapi-
da last Dec. 18, is an award given
by the city council of Barcelona
to people who have greatly
contributed to the integration of
migrants.
According to the recognition,
the priest is a constant and de- His parishioners include migrant Benito with programs and ser- tion for Filipinos who have
fender of Filipinos, especially Filipinos and seafarers. vices like classes on Philippine just arrived, networking and a
the poor. As a personal parish of the culture for Filipinos born in cooperative.
Sapida is from the Diocese Filipino community there, the Spain, and classes on how to He is also responsible for the
of Imus in Cavite and has been church is considered the spiri- speak Catalan and Castellano. creation of the Consell Municipal
serving as parish priest of Bar- tual refuge for Filipinos. It also has a list of job offers, d’Immigració (municipal coun-
celona’s San Agustin Church Sapida is the founder of the mediation services, seaman’s cil for migration) in Barcelona.
along Calle Hospital since 1986. Centro Filipino-Tuluyan San desk, women’s desk, orienta- (CBCPNews)

Lay group holds assembly to mark

five orders of knighthood awarded directly
by the Pope. It is intended to award Roman
Catholic laymen who are actively involved
in the life of the Church as exemplified in

PCPII 20th anniversary

the exercise of their professional duties. The award was already is-
sued to Davide in 2007 but conferment was done only on January 9
due to Davide’s busy schedule who, after serving the government as
chief justice (1998-2005) was immediately appointed ambassador and
permanent representative of the permanent mission of the Republic
of the Philippine to the United Nations in New York City. Present as
concelebrants during the Eucharistic Celebration were Archbishop
Oswaldo Padilla, Apostolic Nuncio to South Korea, and Bishop Antonio
Rañola together with some priests of Cebu.
ORDAINED. Rev. Marc Louie Calo of Butuan City, Rev, Richard Cortes
of Bislig City, Rev. Fredy Permentilla of Lipa City, and Rev Roldan Zerna
of Sta. Maria, Bulacan to the Sacred Order of Deacons among the Mis-
sion Society of the Philippines on December 4, 2010. Most Rev. Edwin
dela Pena, MSP, DD, prelate of Marawi; officiated the ordination rites
at the MSP Seminary Chapel in Tagaytay City. The event was attended
by the deacons’ respective families and the MSP family.
A GROUP of lay faithful is holding an
assembly aimed to further deepen their
prophetic role as the Church marks the 20th
anniversary of the Second Plenary Council
of the Philippines.
The meeting called “Convocation of the
Lay Faithful on PCPII” and slated on January
28, is being organized by the Lay Discern-
ment Group.
The convenors hope that the lay gathering
will bring participants to deepen their under-
standing of their calling as lay members of
the Church and “find ways and means for
social involvement that will translate our
resolve into action.”
Resource speaker will be Ms. Asuncion
David Maramba, a retired professor and
book editor, who will speak on “Lay em-
powerment according to PCPII.”
In their two gatherings held last year, the
group focused on their prophetic calling as
lay faithful and committed themselves to go
above personal interests and “help alleviate
the suffering of the needy; protect the rights
and freedoms of the powerless and seek
justice for the oppressed.”
Convenors of the lay discernment group
are Ms. Fe C. Arriola, Ms. Ma. Ceres P. Doyo,
Atty. Oscar Orbos, Ms.Lorna B. Ballesteros,
Marietta P. Goco, Mr. Lysander Rivera,
Ret.Col.Gerry Cunanan, Ms. Asuncion D.
Maramba and Judge Candido P. Villanueva.
(CBCPNews)
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
“The Faithful Have Felt,
Have Experienced That
He Is ‘God’s Man’”
(Excerpts of the Decree by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on the
Beatification of Servant of God John Paul II, issued January 14, 2011.)
THE proclamation of a Saint or of
a Blessed by the Church is the fruit
of putting together various aspects
regarding a specific Person. First, it is
an act which says something important
in the life of the Church herself. It is
linked to a “cult,” i.e. to the memory of
the person, to his full acknowledgment
of him in the awareness of the ecclesial
community, of the country, of the
Universal Church in various countries,
continents and cultures. Another aspect
is the awareness that the “presentation
on the altars” will be an important
sign of the depth of the faith, of the
diffusion of faith in the path of life
of that person, and that this sign will
become an invitation, a stimulus for us
all towards a Christian life ever more
profound and full. Finally, the sine qua
non condition is the holiness of the
person’s life, verified during the precise
and formal canonical proceedings.
All this provides the material for the
decision of the Successor of Peter, of
the Pope in view of the proclamation
of a Blessed or of a Saint, of the cult in
the context of the ecclesial community
and of its liturgy.
John Paul II’s pontificate was an
eloquent and clear sign, not only for
Catholics, but also for world public
opinion, for people of all color and creed.
The world’s reaction to his lifestyle, to
the development of his apostolic mission,
to the way he bore his suffering, to the
decision to continue his Petrine mission
to the end as willed by divine Providence,
and finally, the reaction to his death, the
popularity of the acclamation “Saint
right now!” which someone made on
the day of his funerals, all this has its
solid foundation in the experience of
having met with the person who was
the Pope. The faithful have felt, have
experienced that he is “God’s man,”
who really sees the concrete steps and
the mechanisms of contemporary world
“in God,” in God’s perspective, with the
eyes of a mystic who looks up to God
only. He was clearly a man of prayer: so
Pastoral Concerns
much so that it is from the dynamism of
his personal union with God, from the
permanent listening to what God wants
to say in a concrete situation, that the
whole of “Pope John Paul II’s activity”
flowed. Those who were closest to him
have been able to see that, prior to his
meetings with his guests, with Heads
of State, with Church high officials or
ordinary citizens, John Paul II would
recollect himself in prayer according to
the intentions of the guests and of the
meeting that was to come.
1. Karol Wojtyla’s contribution to
Vatican II Council
After Vatican II, during the pontificates
of Paul VI and of John Paul II, the
manner of presentation, and thus of self-
presentation of the papacy, has become
quite expressive. On the occasion of
the 25th anniversary of the pontificate
of John Paul II, the Italian Minister for
Foreign Affairs published in 2004 a
book entitled “Go Forth in the Whole
World.” Giancarlo Zizola, a “vaticanist,”
remarked on the fact that “the papacy
has conquered its citizenship in the realm
of public visibility, breaking away from
the siege of worship marginalization
where it had been kept by decree
of secular society, in the name of a
militant vision of the liberal tenet of
Separation of Church and State” (p. 17).
A German historian, Jesuit Klaus Schatz,
speaking of Paul VI and of John Paul II,
underlined the meaning of the “papacy
on the way”—thus in conformity with
Vatican II—more in the manner of a
missionary movement than as a static
pole of unity. Schatz refers to the manner
of interpreting the papal mission as a
challenge to “confirm the brothers in
the faith” (Luke 22:32), in a way tied to
structural authority, but with a strong
spiritual and charismatic hint, in link
with the personal credibility and rooted
in God himself.
2. “Totus Tuus”: Trust in Mary Mother
of God
The life of John Paul II was totally
devoted to the service of the Lord, by
the intercession of the Mother. His
motto was “Totus Tuus,” whether for
the good of the Church or for that of
man who is the way for the Church
(“Redemptor Hominis,” No. 14). This is
the “raison d’être” of the international
Apostolic Voyages, the daily meetings
with people, with those in charge of
ecclesial communities, with cardinals
and bishops, with the Heads of other
Churches and Christian communities,
the Heads of other religions, and with the
laity. This is equally true of the written
documents of the Pope, the diplomatic
relations of the Holy See with the States
and International Organisations. The
deep conviction of the value of Vatican
II—not only on the necessity but also
about the possibility, by the Church,
to bring the Gospel of Christ and build
on it the experience of the Church as a
vibrant and energising inspiration of the
vision and mechanisms of the modern
world—this has always been the Pope’s
conviction.
3. The Iraq war and the “peace
offensive”
Sometimes, as in the case of the efforts
to avoid war between the United States
and Iraq, there is a real “peace offensive”
not only in order to save people’s lives,
but also to bring to a halt the growth
of hatred and of the insane ideas about
civilization clashes, or about the new
phenomenon of world scale terrorism.
Thus, the New Year address to the
diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy
See, and the unforgettable February 2002
with the series of meetings of the Pope
with diplomats of “first category”: J.
Fischer (Feb. 7); Tarek Aziz (Feb. 14);
Kofi Annan (Feb. 18); Tony Blair (Feb.
22); José Maria Aznar and the envoy of
Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, Head of
the Islamic Republic of Iran (Feb. 27);
and finally, because of the humanly
unbearable situation, the decision to
send Cardinal Etchegaray on a special
mission to Baghdad (Feb. 15) and
Cardinal Pio Laghi to Washington
(March 3-9). The “February of the Pope”
came to a conclusion with the meeting
of Cardinal J.L. Tauran with the 74
ambassadors and diplomats from the
entire world; as the Secretary for the
Relations with the States, the “Minister
for Foreign Affairs” of the Pope, Cardinal
Tauran made an appeal in order to avoid
war, and called to mind all that the Pope
had said in his “peace offensive.”
4. Year 2000 Jubilee: a historical reality
to remember the coming of Jesus of
Nazareth
The current task of John Paul II was
centred on the pastoral and life of the
Church: the Bishops’ “ad limina” visits
from the entire world, the Wednesday
audiences and the Sunday meetings with
the faithful for the Angelus, the pastoral
visits of Roman parishes. All was done
to promote the proclamation of Christ,
to bring closer to our knowledge His
Person and the fact that “the words
that Christ has said when he was about
to leave the Apostles tell us about the
mystery of man’s history, of one and
all, the mystery of humankind’s history.
Baptism in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is an
immersion in the living God, “in the
One who is, who was and who will be.”
Baptism is the start of the encounter,
of unity, of communion, and of this
earthly life is but a prologue and an
introduction; fulfilment and fullness
belong to eternity. “This world’s figure
is fading away.” We must therefore find
ourselves “in the world of God”, in order
to reach the goal, to come to the fullness
of life and of man’s vocation” (Cracow,
June 10, 1979).
5. Attention to the youth and the
meaning of WYD
John Paul II used to evaluate the
results of the international Apostolic
Voyages with his collaborators, to
identify what was well done, and to see
B1
to the changes for the coming voyages.
After the voyage in Poland in 1991, the
Pope noticed that, during the Mass in
Warsaw, in the farthest parts, the young
people came and went away, drank beer
or coca-cola, and came back. “It was not
like this during the previous voyages,”
he noted, “there has been a change in
the society’s mentality. It is not worth
looking at the ‘first places.’ The VIP are
always seated in the same manner, but
the ‘margins’ are important and worth
our attention.” It is worth noting that the
Pope did not use the word “crowd”: he
has always seen and paid attention to
“people.” He was very attentive to the
role of the laity in the life and mission of
the Church. It is quite meaningful that,
when he was still University chaplain
in Cracow, he exploited a brief period
of “political thaw” in 1957 to organise
− in collaboration with the archbishop
of Wroclaw, Boleslaw Kominek − a
symposium in the city for more than
100 university students from all Poland
(for the first time since decades!)
precisely on the theme “The role of lay
people in the Church” (and that was
years before Vatican II!). Later, during
the summer vacations, he organized
spiritual exercises at the place of the
Ursuline Sisters of the Roman Union in
Bado Ślaskie for a slightly smaller group
of the participants of the symposium
of Wroclaw, precisely to promote the
“formation of the laity.”
6. The simplicity of John Paul II’s
prayer
When we recall what John Paul II
has accomplished, the “big events” are
mixed with the remembrance of simple
moments of prayer, which have been a
source of surprise even to his collaborators.
I’ll mention only two, coming from
two different periods of his life. In the
seventies, I was students’ chaplain at
the Catholic University in Lublin. At the
beginning of the academic year, the then
Cardinal of Cracow came to take part
JP II / B4
 B2 Updates CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

The Juridic Protection of the Church

Teaching against Contraception (Part III)
By Fr. Jaime Blanco Acha-
coso, J.C.D.
A recent column of Atty. Jose Sison
(A Law Each Day, The Philippine
Star 8.XI.2010, p.15) caught my
attention. Quoting an e-mail he
received from a Jose Teodoro Sagalo,
he focused on what the latter qualified
as “grave error that the Loyola
School of Theology has posted in
the Ateneo website endorsed earlier
by Fr. Nebres, Ateneo President,
for reflection, and now endorsed by
Roberto Rivera of the John Carroll
Institute.” A quick check of the
primary source verified the presence
of the offensive proposals, in a paper
issued jointly by the Loyola School
of Theology and the John J. Carroll
Institute of Church and Social Issues
and authored by Fr. Eric O. Genilo,
S.J., Fr, John J. Carroll, S.J., and Fr.
Joaquin Bernas, S.J.
The questions posed by our
concerned reader were: Can
these theologians, teaching in
a Catholic university, where
Profession of Faith and the
Oath of Fidelity required of
said professors, (3) the prior
approval of (or nihil obstat) and
the permission to publish (or
imprimatur) writings dealing
with faith and morals; and (4)
the doctrinal examination by the
Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith (CDF).
1. The Mandate to Teach
Theological Disciplines
Church Law provides
a guarantee of orthodoxy in
Catholic teaching by requiring a
mandate for all those who teach
theological disciplines in Catholic
Universities and other institutes
of higher studies (c.812), and in
the Ecclesiastical Universities
and Faculties (c.818). It is given
by the competent ecclesiastical
authority (cc.812, 818)—(1) the
Holy See by virtue of the Primacy
of the Catholic community).
It is important to emphasize
that the mandate is neither
an authorization to teach nor
a canonical mission, but is
only a certification that the
professor is not teaching
anything objectionable in matters
concerning faith or morals and
is doing so in communion with
the Church. Thus, the mandate
cannot be used to teach apart
from the Church and much
less against the Church; there
is no room for active dissent in
Catholic theology. In fact, it can
be withdrawn—and I daresay
I should be withdrawn—when
there is an absence of communion
between the theologian and the
Church (c.253 §3).
At this point, one wonders
how avowed atheists were
teaching theology in a well-
known Catholic university in
the order of the truths and the
proper response of the believer
to it as follows:
1st Category: “[E]verything
contained in the Word of God,
whether written or handed
down in Tradition, which the
Church either by a solemn
judgment or by the ordinary
and universal Magisterium sets
forth to be believed as divinely
revealed.” These are truths
found immediately in Revelation,
which the Church vouches for as
contained in Revelation. This are
supposed to be held “with firm
faith”, because their certainty has
a twofold basis: the authority of
God Revealing (fides divina) and
the infallible teaching authority of
the Church (fides catholica).
These are commonly referred
to in Dogmatic Theology as De
fide Divina et Catholica or simply
dogmas.
persons in whose presence it is
to be pronounced. They include
(in what is relevant to the
present discussion): (1) rectors
and professors of theology and
philosophy in seminaries; (2)
the Rector of the Ecclesiastical
or Catholic universities, in the
presence of the Chancellor or the
local Ordinary (or the delegates
of either), and (3) those who in
any university teach subjects
which deal with faith or morals,
in the presence of the rector (if he
is a priest) or the Local Ordinary
or the delegates of either (italics
added).
The Oath of Fidelity, on the
other hand, can be considered
as a public pledge to fulfill the
duties incumbent on a subject
in exercising an office or in
undertaking a specific task (e.g.,
to teach theology) in a spirit of
loyalty to the whole ecclesiastical
1st The prior examination of
the book by the censors and the
granting of the nihil obstat (c.830).
The examination, preceding the
granting of permission, is done
by a censor or censors, chosen
by the Local Ordinary with the
following traits: scientia, recta
doctrina et prudentia (c.380
§1). The censor/s should give
his judgment based only on the
doctrine of the Church on faith
and morals, as proposed by
the ecclesiastical magisterium,
without any personal preference
or partialities. This judgment—
whether positive or negative—
should contain the reasons on
which it is based and should
be given in writing, dated and
signed. It is usually called the
nihil obstat, since its positive
judgment should guarantee that
the writing has nothing contrary
to the doctrine of the Church.
2nd The permission to publish,
called the imprimatur, granted
by the Local Ordinary. If the
judgment of the aforementioned

wwww.i.telegraph.co.uk
young minds are supposedly censor/s is favorable, the
being formed in the Catholic Ordinary can give the permission
faith, maintain such doctrinally to publish in his own name,
questionable positions with detailing the date and place it was
impunity? Can’t the Law of granted. However, the Ordinary’s
the Church even protect the decision pro suo prudenti iudicio
youngest of its own faithful (c.830 §3) is an independent one,
against doctrinal error? Or put which takes wider issues in
another way, if the bishops consideration as regards giving
are so concerned about the or withholding the permission
environmental degradation to publish. Nevertheless, in
brought about by irresponsible case the permission is denied
mining, shouldn’t they be more by a Local Ordinary, it can
concerned about the doctrinal either be requested from any
confusion brought about by other competent Ordinary or an
irresponsible theologizing in administrative recourse sought
Catholic universities? After all, from the CDF.
environmental degradation is The range of writings
not as serious as the erosion of the requiring the nihil obstat and/or
Catholic faith, which is at bottom imprimatur has been narrowed
the reason for the increasing to a few categories of writings
acceptance of the RH Bill among in the present Code (cc.825-829),
the Catholic faithful—including which we can narrow further to
government policy-makers. what is relevant to the present
These questions are discussion as follows:
(1) Books on Sacred Scripture,
www.i.telegraph.co.uk

masterfully answered in a book

by Jesu Pudumai Doss, SDB,
titled Freedom of Enquiry and
Expression in the Catholic
Church: A Canonico-Theological
Study, published by Kristu Jyoti
Publications, Bangalore (India)
in 2007. Based on the author’s
doctoral dissertation in Canon
Law at the Salesian Pontifical
University (Rome), the book
bears a foreword by Angelo
Amato, then Secretary of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith. The pertinent sections
are contained in Chapter III of
the book, entitled Magisterium
and Theologians: A Multifaceted
Rapport (pp.157-240).
Doss summarized the juridic
regulation of the relationship
between Magisterium and
theologian—which can be
applied to the case of the Church
authorities in the Philippines (the
individual bishops or the CBCP)
vis-à-vis the theology professors
in Catholic universities (not only
the Loyola School of Theology,
but also other faculties of
theology in the country, e.g.,
Maryhill School of Theology)—in
a series of canonically regulated
institutions: (1) the mandate
to teach for professors, (2) the
of the Roman Pontiff (cc. 331,
333§1, 361), (2) the Episcopal
Conferences (cc.809, 821) and the
diocesan Bishops (c.386 §2) and
those equivalent to them—who
have the right of vigilance (c.810
§2), although such authority can
also be delegated.
The appointment of professors
for theological disciplines is
a complex process that can
be summarized in 5 steps: (1)
the designation of a particular
individual as a candidate
professor, (2) the verification
of his/her scientific and
pedagogical competence, (3) the
conferment of the teaching post,
(4) the stipulation of a contract of
employment, (5) the beginning of
the didactic work. The mandate is
situated in the second step of this
process and involves a judgment
of orthodoxy on the one hand (i.e.,
the compatibility of the doctrine
taught by the candidate professor
with Catholic doctrine), and of
moral uprightness on the other
(i.e., his personal status with that
Manila, and how a group of
professors could sign a position
in open defiance of the CBCP
stand on the RH Bill in another
Catholic university in Quezon
City.
2. The Profession of Faith and
the Oath of Fidelity
The Profession of Faith is
a public declaration of one’s
sharing in the faith of a believing
community in Christ and his
Church. Thus, it is both an act
of cult to God himself and an
important manifestation of the
need to live in an authentic
spirit of communion towards the
competent Church authority and
with the entire People of God.
The new formula of the
Professio fidei begins with an
introductory affirmation of faith.
This is followed by the Nicene-
Constantinopolitan Creed, but
formulated in the first person
singular: “I believe”. It concludes
with the three propositions or
paragraphs, which distinguishes
2nd Category: “[E]verything
definitively proposed by the
Church regarding teaching on
faith and morals.” These constitute
what Dogmatic Theology has
always referred to as Catholic
truths or Church doctrines, which
are to be accepted with a faith
based on the sole authority of
the Church (fides ecclesiastica).
Even if the Profession fidei did
not expressly state it, these are
as infallibly certain as dogmas
proper.
3rd Category: “[T]he teachings
which either the Roman Pontiff or
the College of Bishops enunciate
when they exercise their authentic
Magisterium, even if they do not
intend to proclaim these teachings
by a definitive act.” These are the
teachings for which the CIC
stipulates “A religious respect of
intellect and will, even if not the
assent of faith” (c.752).
Can.833 provides an exhaustive
list of persons who are legally
obliged to pronounce personally
the Professio fidei and those
Theology, Canon Law, Church
History or other religious or
moral disciplines to be used as
textbooks in schools at various
levels need prior or successive
community. approval of the competent
Both the Profession of Faith ecclesiastical authority (c.827
and the Oath of Fidelity involve §2).
three parties then: the community (2) The permission of the
to which a specific service Local Ordinary is needed for
is rendered, the ecclesiastical clerics and members of religious
authority who entrusts the task, institutes to write in newspapers,
and the person concerned who magazines or periodicals, which
accepts to fulfill the office in a usually attack openly the Catholic
spirit of loyalty. religion or good morals (c.831 §1).
Again, at this point I wonder Likewise, the permission of their
how I keep on getting reports major superior is required to
of heterodox teachings being publish writings on religion or
foisted on the young and innocent morals by the members of the
by professors teaching either religious institutes (c.832).
theology or matters related to (3) No writings, especially
faith and morals in Catholic books that deal with religion
institutions. Could it be that or morals, can be displayed,
such professors are not making sold or distributed in Churches
either the professio fidei or the or oratories without the prior
iusiurandum fidelitatis? p er mission or su c c essive
approval of the competent
3. Ecclesiastical Permission authority (c.827 §4).
for Publications on Faith and (4) Books which deal with
Morals matters of Sacred Scripture,
The procedure for obtaining Theology, Canon Law, Church
permission or approval to publish History, or religious or moral
books can be broadly divided into disciplines—but not used as
two parts: Pill / B7

A service as a substitute for mass

(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university, answers the following query:)
Q: Earlier this year, our pastor was
away for a while. Before leaving,
he looked for priests to cover the
Sunday Masses. He was unable, he
said, to find one for the vigil Mass.
So, instead of informing us of this,
he had the deacon celebrate a Word
service, with homily, music, etc.,
and distribute Communion. The
deacon said that this was valid.
We normally attend a Sunday
morning Mass, but because of a
family commitment, we attended
the vigil Mass. We live in a large
archdiocese without a shortage
of priests, and there are many
Catholic churches in the area where
we could easily get to Mass. I would
have liked to have been informed
about this prior to attending this
service, since it was known by our
pastor. Instead, when the pastor
returned, he said this happens in
other parts of the country and is
valid. I believe that since we have
ample opportunity to attend a
Mass, not a service, that it is not
valid in this case. Is this correct?
-- J.P., Newark, New Jersey
A: The principles involved in this
matter are articulated in the Directory
of Sunday Celebrations in the Absence
of a Priest, issued by the Holy See in
1988. These principles are usually
taken up by the bishops’ conference
which may also issue more-specific
guidelines. In the case of the United
States the latest version of the directory
was issued in 2007.
Each bishop can then decide on the
applicability or not of these guidelines
in his diocese and may issue norms
determining if and when such a Sunday
celebration is allowed.
Regarding the general conditions
permitting this form of celebration, the
1988 directory is clear:
“18. Whenever and wherever Mass
cannot be celebrated on Sunday, the
first thing to be ascertained is whether
the faithful can go to a church in a
place nearby to participate there in the
eucharistic mystery. At the present time
this solution is to be recommended and
to be retained where it is in effect; but
it demands that the faithful, rightly
imbued with a fuller understanding
of the Sunday assembly, respond with
good will to a new situation.
“21. It is imperative that the faithful
be taught to see the substitutional
character of these celebrations, which
should not be regarded as the optimal
solution to new difficulties nor as
a surrender to mere convenience.
Therefore a gathering or assembly of
this kind can never be held on a Sunday
in places where Mass has already been
celebrated or is to be celebrated or was
celebrated on the preceding Saturday
evening, even if the Mass is celebrated
in a different language. Nor is it right
to have more than one assembly of this
kind on any given Sunday.
“24. It belongs to the diocesan
bishop, after hearing the council of
presbyters, to decide whether Sunday
assemblies without the celebration
of the eucharist should be held on a
regular basis in his diocese. It belongs
also to the bishop, after considering the
place and persons involved, to set out
both general and particular norms for
such celebrations. These assemblies are
therefore to be conducted only in virtue
of their convocation by the bishop and
only under the pastoral ministry of
the pastor.
“25. ‘No Christian community is ever
built up unless it has its roots and center
in the eucharistic liturgy.’ Therefore
before the bishop decides on having
Sunday assemblies without celebration
of the eucharist, the following in
addition to the status of parishes (see no.
5) should be considered: the possibility
of recourse to priests, even religious
priests, who are not directly assigned
to the care of souls and the frequency
of Masses in the various parishes and
churches. The preeminence of the
celebration of the eucharist, particularly
on Sunday, over other pastoral activities
is to be respected.”
No. 21 above is quite clear that the
use of a celebration without a priest
is viewed as an exception when
Mass cannot be celebrated on a given
weekend. It is not designed to substitute
particular Masses and in normal
circumstances would not be a valid
substitution for attending Mass.
However, since circumstances
can vary widely, No. 24 grants
wide leeway to the bishop to make
concrete options in line with the
general principles. One diocese,
for example, while respecting the
norms that there should be no more
than one assembly of this kind on
any given Sunday, recognizes that
there might be exceptions in very
large parishes.
Another diocese specifies the
difference between an emergency
and convenience. An emergency
would be an unforeseen absence
of the priest due to illness or other
circumstances, along with the
impossibility of finding a substitute
and of advising the faithful in time
to arrange alternative plans. In
such circumstances recourse to
using the Sunday service could
be justified.
Convenience, such as the priest
being unavailable at a specific time
but able to celebrate at another
moment, does not justify holding
this service.
For these reasons, and given the
circumstances of the case, I would say
that the choice of substituting Mass
with the Sunday Celebration in the
Absence of a Priest was incorrect.
 Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
B3

Modern Herod’s lust for political

and economic power
By Bishop Jose C. Sorra * Now, in light of this alarming
demographic data, let’s listen to what
the socialist-Muslim leader, Muammar
OUR first reading from the Old al-Gaddafi in a recent video produced
Testament’s Book of Exodus (1:15-22) by a group that calls itself Friends
tells us that the king of Egypt, called of Muslims has been reported to say
Pharaoh, had given the order that all that: “There are signs,” he says, “that
male children of the Jews be thrown Allah will grant victory in Europe
into the river. without swords, without guns, without
Reason: King Pharaoh feared conquest. We don’t need terrorists, we
the population explosion of the don’t need homicide bombers. The 50-
Jews—geometrically outgrowing and plus-million Muslim in Europe will turn
outnumbering the Egyptians; should Europe into a Muslim continent within
there be war, the Egyptians would be a few decades.”
the sure losers. The Pharaoh’s ultimate * The German government reported,
goal was: self-preservation in his that the 52 million Muslims in Europe
political power. will be doubled within the next 20 years
About 1,200 years thereafter, Matthew to 104 million Muslims.
writes in his Gospel narrative that * Similarly, the Islamic-Strategy
King Herod of Jerusalem also ordered Conference in Chicago, USA, said: “We
the killing of all Jewish children in must prepare ourselves for the reality
Bethlehem. that in 30 years there will be 50 million
Reason: King Herod feared a newly Muslims living in America.”
born child, allegedly destined to be the * We are told and are being scared to
king of the Jews. His hidden agenda death that our Philippine population is
was: his self-preservation in his political allegedly exploding. “Some ‘enveloped

and economic power.
Moses (whose name means drawn-
out of the water) was the only one
who survived the massacre (Ex 2:1-10),
because he was saved and adopted
by the Pharaoh’s daughter; similarly,
only Jesus escaped the bloody mass
slaughter of children by Herod.
Later Moses had to run away
from Egypt to Midian to avoid being
murdered by Pharaoh’s men (Ex 2:15);
and Jesus, too, was spirited away from
Herod by Joseph from Bethlehem to
Egypt at the advice of an angel.
Finally, when those wanting to kill
him had died, God told Moses: Go,
return to Egypt, for all those who
wanted to kill you are already dead.
Moses then took his wife and his son,
and started back for the land of Egypt”
(Ex 4:19-20). Now, aren’t these the same
words we find in today’s gospel (Mt
2:19-23)?
The Lord appeared in a dream to
Joseph in Egypt, “Rise, he said, “and
take the little child and his mother, and
go into the land of Israel. For those who
seek the little child’s life are dead.”
Reflection
* Quite obvious in these two historic
tragic events—separated far and wide
by a span of over 1,200 years—was
the mighty saving Hand of Divine
Providence, which finally broke the
power of the tyrants of Egypt and of
Jerusalem, respectively.
* Moses, God’s chosen one, was
to liberate God’s people away from
Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel;
and Jesus, the Father’s anointed Son,
was to save the very same people from
Egypt and to form them into God’s New
People—called to live a New Way of
life. Providentially and by the Grace of
God, yes, WE, too—the baptized and
the faithful followers of Christ—are the
New People of God also called to live
and witness to this New Way of life—in
Christ and for Christ.
* Suppose, just suppose, King Pharaoh
had succeeded in drowning Moses, and
Herod too murdering the Messiah, Son
of God, what do you think would have
happened to the promised liberation or
salvation—not only of the Jews, but also
of the whole humankind? Remember
that God the Father has but one and
only one begotten Son—Jesus, whom
He promised Save the whole world.
* What would have been the kind
and quality of human life that we
would be living today? Before and
during the earthly sojourn of Christ,
the law of the pagan world was: “An
for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth…
(No wonder, there had been too many
blind and toothless people then in the
Middle East); and, “Any woman caught
committing adultery was to be stoned
to death”; and no one had the freedom
and courage to shout: Foul! Human
rights violation! Where’s due process?
Can you imagine now what the pagan
world was like, a world without a true
God but its tyrants—all lusting for
power, money, and the self-satisfaction
of the flesh?
* In the Jewish law, a woman was
not a person, but a thing; she had no
legal rights, and she was absolutely
her husband’s possession to do with
as he willed. A man can easily divorce
his wife, if he finds some kind of
indecency in her; all he has to do is:
“Write her a bill of divorce, put it in her
hand, and drive her out of his house”
(Deuteronomy 24:1).
* In short, the Jews of old had a very
low regard for women. In fact, in his
daily “morning prayer,” he prays to
God: “Thank you, God, for not making
me a Gentile, a slave or a woman.”
* Similarly, the cultural situation in
the Greek world then was far worse.
Prostitution was an essential part of
Greek life. In Rome, the matter was
still even worse. Seneca, the Roman
philosopher and playwright, writes that
women were married to be divorced and
divorced to be married. St. Jerome, the
biblical scholar (4th century), observes
that there was a woman married to her
23rd husband and she herself was his
21st wife. It is not, therefore, too much
to say that the world of Rome then was,
indeed, decadent.
* And yet today, Rome is the
acknowledged paramount seat of
Christendom, and from the Vatican
State in Rome, the Universal Church is
ruled by the 265th successor of Peter,
the Rock—to whom is entrusted to teach
and shepherd the whole humankind of
good will. And as promised by Christ
himself, the gate of hell shall never
prevail against it (Mt 16:18).
Indeed, we, the New People of God,
FILE PHOTO
must indeed be grateful to our Mother
Church, for saving us from imbibing
Herod’s “Culture of Death” and
bringing us up in Christ—to live out
His “New Culture of Life.”
* But, then, what do we read, hear
and see around us today? Are there not
enough obvious signs or indicators, that
even we, the Catholic faithful, especially
our youth, seem not to realize that we are
being brainwashed by foreign funded
media and the self-serving RH-surveys
to just accept the reality that the culture
of death is now with us, and here to
stay and prevail?
* Are we now surrendering to the
folly of the first world countries—in the
Americas, in Europe and some around
here in Asia? Read in the book and
scrutinize the demographic empirical
data of the fertility rates in these
countries which are now hopelessly
irreversible.
* A report on the world’s changing
demographics shows that for a culture
to maintain itself for more than 25 years,
the required fertility rate must be at
least—2.11 children per family—1.9
is already irreversible, and 1.3 is
impossible to reverse.
* Rustan J. Williamson in his article,
titled—“Global Jihad: Lifting the Veil
on Islam”—reports: that the European
Union of 312 countries has an average
fertility rate of only 1.38 per family.
And Italy (where the Catholic Church’s
Vatican State is) has but 1.2 fertility rate,
while Spain has only 1.1 per family.
politicians’ have got to be kidding,”
remarks a demographic statistical expert.
Rather, Philippine demographics show
that our population is imploding. The
Population Division /of the Department
of Economic and Social Affairs/ of the
United Nations Secretariat reports in
2008, that:
* In 1960 to 2010 (a period of 50
years)—the Philippine population
growth rate was: from 3.09 in 1960—
down now to 1.82 in 2010.
* The projection, in fact, is: from
2010 to 2045 (35 years from now)—the
Philippine growth rate will be from:
1.82—down to only 0.60 percent.
Objectively and honestly conducted,
empirical statistical data do not lie.
Thus, these must serve as a wakeup call
to us Pinoys, despite the ambivalence of
the other P’NOY – before we slide down
to where the aforementioned European
and American countries, and some
Asian countries are now threatened
by the irreversibility of their respective
fertility rates.
For the past 2,000 years of our Mother
Church’s existence and confrontation
with the values of the world, she has
been adjudged always as the underdog.
But she never worries, neither does she
panic—for truth can always wait—just
as the buried Seed on that Good Friday
could wait and did wait patiently until
the break of the dawn of Resurrection
Sunday.
Let’s not be so alarmed nor be so
dejected if ever our pro-life advocacy may
possibly lose out to the pro-choice’s in
the Congressional partisan head-count—
Herod / B7

Mining threatens 4th largest freshwater lake in RP

By Bong D. Fabe
MINERAL explorations and
mining activities are threatening
the biodiversity of the Philippines’
fourth largest and Mindanao’s
second largest freshwater lake,
Lake Mainit, which is being
shared by the provinces of
Agusan del Norte and Surigao
del Norte.
The pear-shaped Lake Mainit,
located in the northeastern part
of the southern Philippines, also
carries the distinction of being the
deepest lake in the country with
maximum depth of 223 meters.
It has a total area of about 17,060
hectares and its lakeshore has total
length of 62.10 kilometers, which
is being shared by 31 barangays
of the Surigao del Norte towns of
Mainit and Alegria and Agusan
del Norte towns of Kitcharao and
Jabonga.
Lake Mainit is the habitat of
rare fish species like the puyo
or perch and gabot, which are
being endangered due to the
introduction of new fish species.
But more than fish, the whole
biodiversity of Lake Mainit is
being threatened by human
activities such as mining, making
the lake and its surrounding area
of very high ecological value.
Of the 15 exploration permits
(EP) that the Regional Office 13
of the Mines and Geosciences
Bureau (MGB) of the Environment
department approved as of June
30, 2010, seven are in the town of
Mainit, Surigao del Norte; one in
Kitcharao, Agusan del Norte.
The rest are in the Agusan del Sur
towns of Bunawan, Prosperidad
and Bayugan; Agusan del Norte
towns of Tubay, Cabadbaran
and Santiago; Surigao del Norte
towns of Malimono, Tubod,
Bacuag, Placer, Sison and Claver;
and Surigao del Sur town of
Marihatag. One is in Libjo in the
Province of Dinagat Islands.
The tenement holders of these
approved EPs are Minimax
Mineral Exploration Corp.;
Silangan Mindanao Mining
Co., Inc.; Manila Mining Corp.;
Coolabah Mining Corp.;
Occidental Mining Corp.; MRL
Gold Phils., Inc.; and Kalayaan
Copper-Gold Resources, Inc.
All these companies are
prospecting gold and other
mineral resources in a total land
area covering 19,773.29 hectares
of land around Lake Mainit.
Seen from the mountains, the
lake looks like a small saucepan,
according to the Mamanwas.
The lake’s traditional keeper—
the Mamanwa tribe, who claims
the lake’s surrounding areas as
part of their ancestral land—are
howling to high heavens to help
protect the pristine beauty of the
lake and their territories.
Fortunately, the Mamanwas
are not alone in this fight.
Residents of the municipality
of Mainit, Surigao del Norte
(including those working and
based in Manila and abroad) are
using modern technology like
the internet to protest against
large-scale mining in the lake’s
environs.
Using a blogsite called
Pidjanga, the residents of Mainit
denounced mining companies,
most especially the Mindoro
Resources Limited (MRL) causing
environmental degradation to
the already endangered Lake
Mainit.
Pidjanga blogsite’s host,
Zimmbodilion Yap Mosende,
monitoring and evaluation
adviser to UNAIDS Philippines,
said MRL entered Mainit without
informing the residents of its
activities.
Mosende also said that MRL has
formed small-scale miners into a
cooperative without consulting
the residents and informing them
of the environmental impact of
such move, which he said will
only exacerbate the denudation of
Mt. Diwata ranges surrounding
Lake Mainit.
MRL was granted its
Environmental Compliance
Certificate (ECC) for its Agata
nickel laterite project in Surigao
del Norte in 2008.
Nokie Calunsag, campaign
officer of the environmental
non-government organization
Green Mindanao Association,
Inc. said the entry of mining
companies into the surrounding
municipalities of the lake is a
“very big challenge.”
“This is really a very big challenge,
especially in how to prevent
them from further destroying our
environment,” he told this reporter
by mobile phone.
Calunsag said that
Green Mindanao and other
environmentalists should work
together to help preserve and
rehabilitate Lake Mainit by using
modern technology such as the
internet and the media.
“If we continue shouting
through the media, I think they
will be moved to listen to us,”
he added.
Green Mindanao founder,
president and executive director
Gliceto Dagondon said that the
lake’s surrounding communities
should also take action to chart
a better future for them and for
the lake, which is the source of
livelihood for many of them.
“Communities should be
empowered to control invasive
development,” he said through
mobile phone.
The Lake Mainit Development
Alliance (LMDA), now headed
by Surigao del Norte Gov.
Sol Matugas, which serves as
the coordinating body in the
Lake Mainit area, is not doing
anything to prevent mining from
destroying the diverse ecosystem
of the lake and its environs, said
Calunsad.
The LMDA, organized in
1999, is an association of the
local government units in the
Lake Mainit area, concerned
government line agencies and
civil society organizations. Its
main mission is to protect the
ecology of the lake system and
the environment that sustains the
lake. One of its responsibilities is
to assist LGUs in the conservation
and protection and pursuing
sustainable development and the
managementofthelake,including
people empowerment.
But Calunsad said: “Wala.
Deadma lang sila (Nothing. They
just ignore us),” when asked what
the LMDA is doing regarding the
entry of mining companies in the
lake’s surrounding areas.
According to Calunsad, it
will not be Lake Mainit that will
only suffer the consequences
of peoples’ and LGUs’ inaction
about mining but also the diverse
ecosystem of the municipalities
surrounding the lake — Alegria,
Mainit, Kitcharao and Jabonga,
with the two upstream and
headwater municipalities of
Sison and Tubod, and with the
downstream municipalities of
Santiago and Tubay.
Growing population,
wasteful practices and invasive
development like mining in the
lake areas is also beginning to
negatively impact the Lake Mainit
watershed, which is composed
of five ecosystems —upland,
lowland, rivers, lake and coastal
areas — thus, its sustainability is
now in question.
With mining or mineral
exploration going on in the
municipalities within the Lake
Mainit Watershed—Alegria,
Sison, Tubod, and Mainit, all in
Surigao del Norte; and Kitcharao,
Jabonga, Santiago, and Tubay,
all in Agusan del Norte—the
Mamanwas and the Pidjangas
(a term Mainitons refer to
themselves) are howling in protest
as these “invasive development
efforts” will negatively impact
their ancestral lands, environment
and livelihood.
One report posted on the
Pidjanga blogsite said that Jerry
Acero, a forester working at
Surigao del Norte School of
Arts and Trades who also sits
as member of LMDA, said
exploration and full mining
operations especially at the top
ridge downhill to the lake will
have adverse impact on the lake
and its watersheds which will
be felt both on short and long
term effects.
Acero cited the effects such as
loss of vegetation, which is vital
to climate change, change in bio-
diversity and change in water
quality, among other things.
Lake Mainit is situated slightly
below the small peninsula
running north from the eastern
side of Mindanao. It is located
42 kms north of Surigao City
and approximately 82 kms south
of Butuan City. Lying on its
eastern coastline are the Diwata
mountain ranges including Mt.
Kabatuan and Mt. Mabaho. On
the western border is the southern
ridge of Mt. Tendito that extends
up to the town of Tubay and walls
the lake in the east but drops
steeply to the coast.
Lake Mainit is fed by twenty
small rivers and creeks but has
only one outlet, the Calinawan
River, which flows southward to
join Aciga River and forms the
Tubay River which eventually
flows out into Butuan Bay. It
is eutrophic with high primary
production despite a low
standing crop, indicating high
turnover.
The lake is clear with
1% of the indirect sunlight
penetrating to a depth of 13
meters indicating that primary
production is distributed
throughout a substantial depth
of the water column. The lake
water is greenish and odorless
with an average transparency
of 3.0 meters. The coastal
substrate is sandy mud. The
maximum depth is 223 m and
the mean depth is 128 m. It is,
thus, the deepest lake in the
Philippines.
The mouth of the lake outlet is
increasingly becoming shallow
as a result of silt deposition
in the area due to a denuded
mountainside where timber
and mining companies operate,
which threatens the watershed
area as well as the lake.
Mining waste, domestic
sewage, fertilizers and
pesticides are serious
pollutants of the lakewater
that also threatens the
resident, non-migratory fish
in the lake such as white
goby, mud gudgeon, mudfish,
goby, catfish, climbing perch,
among others.
Migratory fish species that call
Lake Mainit home are milkfish,
mullet, golden snapper, red
snapper, eel, spadefish, jack,
silverside and rabbitfish.
Lake Mainit is also home to
endemic bird species such as
Dendrocygna arcuata, Bubulcus,
Aythya fuligula, Ixobrychus
cinnamomeus, Megalurus
alustris, Geopelia striata and
Lanius schach.
 Features
CBCP Monitor
B4 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

Becoming witnesses of hope, reconciliation, and

peace through the devotion to Señor Santo Niño By Bishop Nereo P. Odchi-
mar
A BOY in his curiosity upon
seeing the image of Sto. Niño
displayed in a shopping mall
once asked his mother, “Did
Jesus really wear those garb,
pair of boots, golden scepter and
crown when he was also a boy
like me?” “Of course, He didn’t,
son. Joseph and Mary could
only afford to buy a pair of turtle
doves, but certainly not those
magnificent dress and footwear,”
came the mother’s reply. “Then,
why is he wearing those now?”
the boy wondered.
Nowhere in the gospels can we
find an account describing the
boy Jesus robed in such splendor
and magnificence. In fact, only
a meager account is written
concerning his childhood. Here,
we can understand readily that
the present image is actually
born of a long tradition. If I may
briefly recall, this image began
during the Spanish Period. The
original image was actually
that of an infant Jesus laid in a
manger, but they dressed the
Sto. Niño with a liberator’s robe,
since they wanted to attribute
their victories to the little child.
What the child wears as we can
see now is actually a robe of a
king, head of the army.
This same image of Sto.
Niño continues to be of great
significance not only to the
Spaniards but also to all of us
here and the rest of Filipinos in
the country. The Sto. Niño is
widely welcome. In fact, more
www.farm4.static.flickr.com
of our faith. This shows further
that we are able to recognize and
affirm through the eyes of faith
the very person and the true
identity of the Child King—we
see in that helpless child a strong
liberator, a dignitary, a wise
ambassador of peace.
We notice the continuity of
Jesus’ identity since childhood
to His kindly entrance at the
gate of Jerusalem until He is
seated at the throne of His
father. He possessed this same
dignity from the very moment
of His conception. In fact, even
before birth (during the time of
the prophecies)—“For unto us
a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall
be upon his shoulder; and his
name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, The
everlasting Father, the Prince of
Peace.” (Is 9:6).
Pondering the image of Sto.
Niño, we are invited to see
the same truth about our own
humanity, that is, man from
the very moment of conception,
deserves the most of our respect
just the same as he is a grown
up. The dignity we attribute
to each other as robust and
active citizens must be the
same dignity we must attribute
during our helpless years at
childhood and even during our
fragile days inside the mother’s
womb.
In a larger scale, just recently RH
Bill is gaining some momentum.
Some government officials of the
Republic of the Philippines who
happen to be Catholics are on
Apparently progress is impossible
without depopulation, without
contraceptives to control human
birth. I would like to believe that
the birth of human life is in no
way contributory to economic
crisis. Unemployment and
corruption are the main factors
of this country’s mess. Although
difficult, economic progress can
still be achieved even without the
RH Bill (or population control).
Perhaps, we Filipinos just lack
or, worse, already lost our faith.
Maybe most of us can no longer
believe that we still can do it!
This year’s celebration of the
feast of Sto. Niño is centered on
this beautiful theme: “Becoming
witnesses of hope, reconciliation,
and peace through the devotion
to Señor Santo Niño.” What better
way there is to concretize this
hope, reconciliation, and peace
than by learning to recognize and
respect man and its dignity even
at its minutest form.
The theme also invites us to a
closer and intimate relationship
with the Holy Child. The closer
we are to Him, the deeper our
knowledge of His becomes,
and the easier we see His great
works. Our faith, trust, and hope
therefore is built on this intimacy.
It is inspiring to see every year a
big crowd of devotees gathered
to worship the Child Jesus, but it
is equally disheartening to realize
also that many of our brethrens
are becoming indifferent and not
going to our churches anymore.
It is not that the Lord is far from
them, but it is because they refuse
the changes to cultivate their
relationship with the Lord.
Him shall form our hearts
into likeness—hearts who can
forgive unconditionally and give
unselfishly.
The Prince of Peace also calls
us to reflect upon our current
realities: The threat of war,
political unrest, and armed
conflicts put nations in constant
fear. In our country, acquiring
peace in Muslim Mindanao
seems almost hopeless while
insurgency, coup attempts, and
crimes such as extrajudicial
killing, terrorism and the like
continue to interrupt the smooth
progress of national affairs.
However, we are not alone in
this terrible condition of unpeace.
The Prince of Peace Himself is
here with us and leads the way
to reconciliation. In turn, we
follow him.
It’s not too long since we
welcome another new year. The
jubilations and renewing of hope
brought by the celebration still
linger fresh in our memories.
Let me bring you particularly to
the words of the Prophet Isaiah,
“See, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not
perceive it? … (Is. 43:19).” The
word of the Lord spoken by the
prophet opens us to the reality
of a God who initiates the work
of renewal and transformation.
God is doing something new—
perhaps something better than
we see around. This boldly
expresses God’s loving concern
with the plight of His people. He
cares for peace—peace between
men, peace for our groaning
Mother nature, peace in the

to it. It could be that sooner or mother’s womb, peace on earth!

and more people are inspired
to adore and worship the child
Jesus, through dances, singing,
and deep prayer. Our zeal to
celebrate the feast of Sto. Niño
already demonstrates the depth
later, we shall become a country
that detests conception of life,
a country abhorrent to human
birth. For them, their contention
is that population growth is
hindrance to economic progress.
Contemplating upon the Holy
Child’s innocent and gentle
countenance, we shall be drawn
to His Heart that welcomes
both saints and sinners. Here,
our day-to-day encounter with
God assures us that all these can
happen. And the certainty of its
realization lies in the fact that we
are not alone in this task. The Sto.
Niño is with us as he was with
our forefathers! Pit Señor!

May They Be One Bible Campaign

2010 Highlights and 2011 at a Glance

MAY They Be One (MTBO) Bible
Campaign is our response to the call
of Christ to be ‘one,’ (John 17.21) since
unity is vital for making the Word
of God accessible, understandable,
respected and lived. The Campaign aims
to distribute Bibles at subsidized cost
of P50/copy to 5 million poor Filipino
families in 5 years (2009-2013) to facilitate
moral and spiritual transformation
throughout the country. We celebrated
the Campaign’s second anniversary
with an ecumenical prayer program
and concelebrated mass officiated by
His Eminence Gaudencio Cardinal B.
Rosales at the Manila Cathedral last Sept.
30, 2010. May They Be One has become
a symbol of unity and cooperation
(Bayanihan) among the Episcopal
Commission for Biblical Apostolate of
the Catholic Bishops Conference in the
Philippines (ECBA-CBCP), Philippine
Bible Society (PBS), and various parish
and lay organizations involved in Bible
ministry/apostolate and of Christian
churches.
Thanks to prayers and generous
support of our friends, donors and
partners, the MTBO journey has been
very encouraging. Following are some
Campaign results: organizations for the subsidized price
* Total coverage of Bible distribution— * Growing number of partners of P50. The rest wanted to
307,788 poor families in 1,054 parishes/ here and abroad, including United shell out a little more, to
communities. Bible Societies and six National Bible make it possible for more
** 2009—104,260 Bibles in seven Societies people to receive the Bible
languages to poor families in 417 at the subsidized price of
parishes/communities A Glance at 2011 Plans: 50 pesos. I felt happy that
** 2010 (as of Dec. 31)—203,528 Bibles * Target Coverage: 400,000 families they got the point. I have
in English and seven Phil. languages in * Handwritten Unity Bible Project— made my orders already,
637 parishes/communities beginning 2011 (Natl. Bible Month) till and they are eagerly
* 77 out of 86 dioceses undertook Sept 2012—to raise at least P30M awaiting their copies. At
MTBO distribution and Bible formation * “Friends of the Bible” Dinner- the moment, they still rely
in their parishes/communities. Fellowship (in coordination w/ on loose photocopied texts
* The five dioceses with the highest BRIMS—Bible Relevance in Modern of the Sunday readings for
number of MTBO Bibles distributed Times Seminars)—Manila, Dagupan/ their BEC sessions. I can
in 2009-10 were as follows: Manila; Urdaneta, Cebu, Davao and other key imagine their joy when
Malaybalay, Bukidnon; Maasin, cities they finally receive their those who announce peace. (Most Rev.
Southern Leyte; Jaro, Iloilo City; and * Twining Program (CEAP affiliated personal Bibles which they will use Pablo Virgilio S. David, Auxiliary Bishop
Dumaguete, Negros Oriental schools, Corporations, Foundations) for study, for sharing, for prayer and of San Fernando, Pampanga)
* There are over 150 Bible * Partnership with Protestants meditation, and above all for guidance
Listening Groups (BLGs) in Catholic * Church/Parish-Based Fundraising in their day to day lives. May we be one in proclaiming the
communities/parishes participating in * Special Events—Unity Golf These leaders are now my new Word that shall not pass away!
MTBO Campaign—where participants Invitational (May); Unity Fun Run coworkers and foot soldiers in the parish,
listen to Proclaimer (dramatized New (June/July) for the Biblical apostolate. They are like M − ake us love Your Word, O Lord
Testament) and read MTBO Bibles the seventy-two we hear about in today’s T − each us to listen and live by Your
* Prayer Mobilization—May They MTBO Story Gospel—who, after being nourished Word
Be One Prayer now available in eight At the conclusion of the last BEC series with the Word can now be heralds of the B − less those who promote Your
languages of sessions for new leaders in our parish, Word, and representatives of the Word Word
* T o t a l n u m b e r of d on or s — hardly a single one signed up for a free made flesh. How beautiful indeed are the O − pen our hearts that we may be
1,703 individuals, churches and Bible. Around ten percent signed up feet of those who preach good news, of generous,

JP II / B1

in the Eucharist at the university
church, in the official inauguration
of the big Hall, and for lunch.
After that, the Cardinal was ready
to return to Cracow. The Rector
of the University, Fr. Krapiec,
accompanied him to the car, but
stopped to chat with another
guest, so much so that they were
late to arrive at the car. But lo! The
Cardinal had “disappeared”! The
ten seconds they waited seemed
like ten centuries. The Rector,
accustomed to having everything
under control, did not know where
the Cardinal could have gone to.
He asked me: “Where is Wojtyla?
The Cardinal has disappeared!
Where is he?” With a slight
mocking smile, I took some time
before answering him, just to tease
him a bit. Then I told him: “He
has probably gone to the church.”
There we went, and sure enough,
we found the Cardinal, kneeling
in prayer in front of the Way of
the Cross.
7. The will of John Paul II
John Paul II was conscious of
the fact that we are experiencing
a very trying moment in history,
that the Successor of Peter has
the duty to confirm in the faith, degree of cruelty and hatred. Kowalska, and the canonisation evil which it contains and hides. the death of innocents, one needs
but he was equally conscious of Sanguis martyrum − semen (2000). The whole ecclesial On the other hand, the Holy Spirit the grace of mercy to pacify the
the fact that the most important christianorum. Furthermore, community was brought to feel enables us, again through the minds and the hearts and make
aspect was to depend on God. so many innocent people have the closeness of the person so Cross of Christ, to see sin in the peace spring forth. In those places
The will he wrote in 1979, and disappeared, even in this country intimately linked to the message light of the mysterium pietatis, where there is less respect for life
which he modified every year, where we are living […] of Mercy; this facilitated the i.e. of the forgiving and merciful and human dignity, one needs the
during the spiritual exercises, development of the topic for John love of God (cf. “Dominum et merciful love of God, in whose
gives us a powerful testimony 8. An essential aspect of the new Paul II, showing the reality of Vivificantem,” No. 32). Thus, the light we see the ineffable value of
of this. From Feb. 24 to March blessed: “God is the foundation Divine Mercy in the many contexts “convicting concerning sin” also every single human being. Mercy
1, he wrote: of all our efforts” around the world, in various becomes a conviction that sin can is needed to ensure that every
“24.II – 1.III.1980. During these This is again an essential aspect, continents, of humanity today. be forgiven, and that man can injustice may find its solution in
spiritual exercises, I reflected on if one wishes to understand more Finally, in August 2002, in recover the dignity of a beloved the splendour of truth. So today,
the truth of Christ’s Priesthood in deeply the personality of the Lagiewniki, where Sr. Faustina son of God. The Cross is in fact in this Sanctuary, I solemnly wish
view of the Passage which is, for Church’s new Blessed, Karol lived and died, John Paul II the most profound humbling of to entrust the world to Divine
each of us, the hour of our own Wojtyla—John Paul II. The entrusted the world to Divine God before man. The Cross is Mercy. I do so with the burning
death. For us, parting from this foundation of all the efforts of Mercy, to the unlimited trust in like a touch of eternal love on the desire that the message of God’s
world—to be reborn in the next, our life is in God. We are covered God the Merciful, to the One who most painful wounds of man’s merciful love, proclaimed here
the world to come, eloquent sign by divine love, by the results of has been a source of inspiration, earthly existence” (“Dives in through Saint Faustina, may reach
(he adds the word decisive above Redemption and Salvation. But but also of strength for his service Misericordia,” No. 8). all the inhabitants of the earth and
it), is the Resurrection of Christ. we must help people to become as Successor of Peter. “It is the Holy Thistruthwillalwaysbebrought fill their hearts with hope. May
[…] The times we live in have deeply rooted in God himself; Spirit, the Comforter and Spirit of to mind by the cornerstone of this this message spread from this
become unspeakably difficult we must do everything possible Truth, who leads us on the ways Sanctuary, extracted from Mount place to our beloved homeland
and worrying. The life of the to create personal and social of Divine Mercy. By convicting Calvary, in a certain way under and throughout the world. May
Church has also become difficult attitudes rooted in the reality of the world “concerning sin, the Cross on which Jesus Christ the binding promise of the Lord
and tense, a characteristic trial God. This requires patience, time righteousness and condemnation” conquered sin and death. (…) Jesus be fulfilled: from here has
of these times -- for the faithful and the ability to see everything (John 16:8), he reveals at the same How much the world is in need to come out “the spark that will
and for the pastors. In some through the eyes of God. time the fullness of salvation in of the mercy of God today! In prepare the world for his final
countries (like the one which I Christ. This convicting concerning every continent, from the depths coming” (Homily in Lagiewniki,
read about during the spiritual 9. Entrusting the world to sin is doubly related to the Cross of human suffering, a cry for 17thAugust 2002).
exercises), the Church finds Divine Mercy of Christ. On the one hand, the mercy seems to rise. In those Thus did the last months in the
herself in a time of persecution Later on, the Pope took some Holy Spirit enables us, through places where hatred and the thirst life of Pope John Paul II, marked
equal to that of the first centuries, steps to finalise the process the Cross of Christ, to recognize for revenge are overwhelming, by suffering, bring his Pontificate
maybe more, according to the of Beatification of Sr. Faustina sin, any sin, in the dimension of where war brings suffering and to its fulfillment.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
‘One human family’
Message of His Holiness
Benedict XVI for the
97th World Day of Migrants
(Observed on January 16, 2011)
DEAR Brothers and Sisters,
The World Day of Migrants and Refugees
offers the whole Church an opportunity to
reflect on a theme linked to the growing
phenomenon of migration, to pray that hearts
may open to Christian welcome and to the
effort to increase in the world justice and
charity, pillars on which to build an authentic
and lasting peace. “As I have loved you, so
you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34),
is the invitation that the Lord forcefully
addresses to us and renews us constantly:
if the Father calls us to be beloved children
in his dearly beloved Son, he also calls us to
recognize each other as brothers and sisters
in Christ.
This profound link between all human
beings is the origin of the theme that I have
chosen for our reflection this year: “One
human family”, one family of brothers and
sisters in societies that are becoming ever
more multiethnic and intercultural, where
also people of various religions are urged
to take part in dialogue, so that a serene
and fruitful coexistence with respect for
legitimate differences may be found. The
Second Vatican Council affirms that “All
peoples are one community and have one
origin, because God caused the whole human
race to dwell on the face of the earth (cf. Acts
17:26); they also have one final end, God”
(Message for the World Day of Peace, 2008,
1). “His providence, His manifestations of
goodness, His saving design extend to all
men” (Declaration Nostra aetate, 1). Thus,
“We do not live alongside one another purely
by chance; all of us are progressing along a
common path as men and women, and thus
as brothers and sisters” (Message for the
World Day of Peace, 2008, 6).
The road is the same, that of life, but the
situations that we pass through on this
route are different: many people have to
face the difficult experience of migration in
its various forms: internal or international,
permanent or seasonal, economic or political,
voluntary or forced. In various cases the
departure from their Country is motivated
by different forms of persecution, so that
escape becomes necessary. Moreover,
the phenomenon of globalization itself,
characteristic of our epoch, is not only
a social and economic process, but also
entails “humanity itself [that] is becoming
increasingly interconnected”, crossing
geographical and cultural boundaries. In
this regard, the Church does not cease to
recall that the deep sense of this epochal
process and its fundamental ethical criterion
are given by the unity of the human family
and its development towards what is good
(cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Caritas in
veritate, 42). All, therefore, belong to one
family, migrants and the local populations
that welcome them, and all have the same
right to enjoy the goods of the earth whose
destination is universal, as the social doctrine
of the Church teaches. It is here that solidarity
and sharing are founded.
“In an increasingly globalized society, the
common good and the effort to obtain it cannot
fail to assume the dimensions of the whole
human family, that is to say, the community
of peoples and nations, in such a way as to
shape the earthly city in unity and peace,
rendering it to some degree an anticipation
and a prefiguration of the undivided city of
God” (Benedict XVI, Encyclical Caritas in
veritate, 7). This is also the perspective with
which to look at the reality of migration. In
fact, as the Servant of God Paul VI formerly
noted, “the weakening of brotherly ties
between individuals and nations” (Encyclical
Populorum progressio, 66), is a profound
cause of underdevelopment and—we may
add—has a major impact on the migration
phenomenon. Human brotherhood is the, at
times surprising, experience of a relationship
that unites, of a profound bond with the other,
different from me, based on the simple fact
of being human beings. Assumed and lived
responsibly, it fosters a life of communion
and sharing with all and in particular with
migrants; it supports the gift of self to others,
for their good, for the good of all, in the local,
national and world political communities.
Venerable John Paul II, on the occasion of
this same Day celebrated in 2001, emphasized
that “[the universal common good] includes
the whole family of peoples, beyond every
nationalistic egoism. The right to emigrate
must be considered in this context. The
Church recognizes this right in every human
person, in its dual aspect of the possibility
to leave one’s country and the possibility
to enter another country to look for better
conditions of life” (Message for World Day
of Migration 2001, 3; cf. John XXIII, Encyclical
Mater et Magistra, 30; Paul VI, Encyclical
Octogesima adveniens, 17). At the same time,
States have the right to regulate migration
flows and to defend their own frontiers,
always guaranteeing the respect due to the
dignity of each and every human person.
Immigrants, moreover, have the duty to
integrate into the host Country, respecting its
laws and its national identity. “The challenge
Statements
is to combine the welcome due to every
human being, especially when in need, with
a reckoning of what is necessary for both the
local inhabitants and the new arrivals to live
a dignified and peaceful life” (World Day of
Peace 2001, 13).
In this context, the presence of the Church,
as the People of God journeying through
history among all the other peoples, is a
source of trust and hope. Indeed the Church
is “in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and
instrument both of a very closely knit union
with God and of the unity of the whole human
race” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council,
Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, 1);
and through the action within her of the Holy
Spirit, “the effort to establish a universal
brotherhood is not a hopeless one” (Idem,
Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes,
38). It is the Holy Eucharist in particular
that constitutes, in the heart of the Church,
an inexhaustible source of communion for
the whole of humanity. It is thanks to this
that the People of God includes “every
nation, race, people, and tongue” (Rev 7:9),
not with a sort of sacred power but with
the superior service of charity. In fact the
exercise of charity, especially for the poorest
and weakest, is the criterion that proves the
authenticity of the Eucharistic celebration (cf.
John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mane nobiscum
Domine, 28).
The situation of refugees and of the other
forced migrants, who are an important part
of the migration phenomenon, should be
specifically considered in the light of the
theme “One human family”. For these people
who flee from violence and persecution
the International Community has taken
on precise commitments. Respect of their
rights, as well as the legitimate concern for
security and social coherence, foster a stable
and harmonious coexistence.
Also in the case of those who are forced
to migrate, solidarity is nourished by
the “reserve” of love that is born from
considering ourselves a single human family
and, for the Catholic faithful, members
of the Mystical Body of Christ: in fact we
find ourselves depending on each other, all
responsible for our brothers and sisters in
humanity and, for those who believe, in the
faith. As I have already had the opportunity
to say, “Welcoming refugees and giving them
hospitality is for everyone an imperative
gesture of human solidarity, so that they
may not feel isolated because of intolerance
and disinterest” (General Audience, 20 June
2007: Insegnamenti II, 1 [2007], 1158). This
means that those who are forced to leave
their homes or their country will be helped
to find a place where they may live in peace
and safety, where they may work and take
www.farm4.static.flickr.com
on the rights and duties that exist in the
Country that welcomes them, contributing
to the common good and without forgetting
the religious dimension of life.
Lastly, I would like to address a special
thought, again accompanied by prayer,
to the foreign and international students
who are also a growing reality within the
great migration phenomenon. This, as
well, is a socially important category with
a view to their return, as future leaders, to
their Countries of origin. They constitute
cultural and economic “bridges” between
these Countries and the host Countries,
and all this goes precisely in the direction
of forming “one human family”. This is the
conviction that must support the commitment
to foreign students and must accompany
attention to their practical problems, such as
financial difficulties or the hardship of feeling
alone in facing a very different social and
university context, as well as the difficulties
of integration. In this regard, I would like
to recall that “to belong to a university
community… is to stand at the crossroads
of the cultures that have formed the modern
world” (John Paul II, To the Bishops of the
United States of America of the Ecclesiastical
Provinces of Chicago, Indianapolis and
Milwaukee on their ad limina visit, 30 May
1998, 6: Insegnamenti XXI, 1 [1998] 1116). At
school and at university the culture of the
new generations is formed: their capacity
to see humanity as a family called to be
united in diversity largely depends on these
institutions.
Dear brothers and sisters, the world of
migrants is vast and diversified. It knows
wonderful and promising experiences, as
well as, unfortunately, so many others that
are tragic and unworthy of the human being
and of societies that claim to be civil. For the
Church this reality constitutes an eloquent
sign of our times which further highlights
humanity’s vocation to form one family,
and, at the same time, the difficulties which,
instead of uniting it, divide it and tear it apart.
Let us not lose hope and let us together pray
God, the Father of all, to help us—each in the
first person—to be men and women capable
of brotherly relationships and, at the social,
political and institutional levels, so that
understanding and reciprocal esteem among
peoples and cultures may increase. With these
hopes, as I invoke the intercession of Mary
Most Holy, Stella Maris, I cordially impart
the Apostolic Blessing to all and, especially,
to migrants and refugees and to everyone
who works in this important field.
From Castel Gandolfo, 27 September 2010
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
B5
Official Statement
of the Seminarians’
Network of the
Philippines, Inc.
On the Pending Bill on
“Reproductive Health and
Population and Development”
(RH Bill)
Context
1. More than a decade has passed since the very first
“Reproductive Health Bill” was filed in Congress, a long period
which is a testimony of how divided we have become as a nation
on this issue. This issue has ripped us apart, set each of us up
as either pro-RH or anti-RH, each against the other.
2. At present, no less than six such bills are pending in the
two houses of Congress. And most widely known of them is
HB 96 which is currently being studied by the appropriate
legislative committees. Once more, we have become divided
among ourselves. We hear and read various data and opinions
said and written on television, radio, newspaper, and now,
the internet.
3. Having read the bill and carefully listened to all sides
of the issue especially that of the poor, having rigorously
studied the insights of ethics and theology and the data from
scientific research, and having discerned in our individual
seminary communities and as one network, we, The Diocesan
Seminarians’ Network of the Philippines, Inc. (SemNet),
comprising Catholic theology seminarians who are preparing
to take up leadership roles in our local Churches, wish to offer
the following thoughts and sentiments.
Protecting Life
1. We call on everyone to pay attention to the fact that the
principle that life is of fundamental value is not only upheld
by Judaeo-Christian tradition (Evangelium Vitae, 1, 47) but
also protected by the Constitution of our land, which defends
it from the time of conception up to its natural end (Art. II Sec.
12). This provision set in our fundamental law stands as the
testament to the commitment of the Filipino to care for life. As
a nation, we believe that we will never attain true development
if the right to life is violated in our society.
2. We therefore call the attention of our lawmakers to the
knowledge about the micro-abortifacient nature and effects of
some contraceptive medicines and devices like the IUD and
some pills. We condemn the proposal in HB 96 (Sec. 4, 15 and
Sec. 7) to use public funds for the procurement and free-access
distribution of such abortifacients. Such a move is not only
un-Christian, but also beyond doubt un-Filipino.
Preserving the Family
1. We seek to defend the integrity of the family. We must not
forget that we Filipinos are family-oriented. And we recall that
good family life is the foundation of a stable and progressive
society, for it is primarily in the family that mind, morals, and
faith are formed (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 2) so that citizens
may productively serve the society at large. Therefore, the
integrity of the family must be one of the aims of any program
for public health and responsible parenthood.
2. We believe that the couples must remain open to the gift of
procreation, i.e. use natural means. Responsible parenthood—
which includes family planning—is integral to ensuring family
health (Humanae Vitae, 10). But the Church has always stressed
the use of natural means in planning the number and spacing of
children (Humanae Vitae, 14). Scientific research has developed
many such natural means which when properly used prove to
be highly effective. We fault the Department of Health for the
disregard of and mere “lip service” to Natural Family Planning
(NFP). Greater promotion of this morally superior option for
the NFP must be done.
3. We are also against the proposal of HB 96 (sec. 9) to
consider as “essential medicines” the devices and medicines
for artificial methods of contraception. Such move promotes
the mentality that pregnancy is a disease. We believe that such
a mentality is largely based on the view about the sexual act
that robs it of its loving and life-giving ends but instead reduces
it to mere recreation.
4. We also believe that the most effective means to educate
children and youth towards sexual integrity is through the
family, especially the proper care and guidance of the parents
(Gaudium et Spes, 49). This is also the best way to ensure
that the youth grow in sexual awareness and maturity. To
just disseminate to the youth “value-free” information about
sex and contraceptives simply increases the risk of unwanted
pregnancy and venereal diseases because they experiment with
their sexual faculties.
5. We thus hold fast to the fact that education in sexuality is
primarily the right and duty of the parents, not of the school
or the State. The parents’ exercise of their educative role must
not be bypassed by any institution but rather be supported and
enriched in implementing a program for sex education.
Defending the Conscience
1. We staunchly oppose the provisions in HB 96 that violate
the basic right of every person to live and proclaim one’s faith,
i.e. according to his conscience (Dignitatis Humanae, 1) such
as the following:
a. Obliging healthcare institutions and professionals to
prescribe or provide to their patients artificial contraception
or direct micro-abortion even if they consider it as immoral by
reasons of faith (cf. HB 96 sec. 22).
b. Demanding employers to include provisions for artificial
contraception or direct micro-abortion among the benefits of
their employees (cf. HB 96, sec. 18).
c. Requiring schools, parents, and students to participate in
sex education programs which partly or entirely violate the
teachings of their religious affiliation (cf. HB 96, sec. 13).
d. Penalizing believers who speak out their conscience against
a wide-scale program that includes micro-abortion and has
insufficient regard for family integrity (cf. HB 96, sec. 22, e).
2. We also call on all Catholics to boldly defend their
conscience, to heed faithfully the truths taught by the Church,
and to eagerly proclaim these teachings to everyone. Let us
not allow ourselves to be carried away by the culture that
views sex as mere recreation and children as mere burdens.
We urge spouses not to be afraid to witness to others about
the benefits of responsible parenthood through the natural
family planning. We also encourage our fellow youth not be
ashamed of attesting to your fellow young ones the beauty of
self-discipline and marital commitment.
Seminarians / B7
 Ref lections
CBCP Monitor
B6 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

Dissention and division in the Church

By Msgr. Lope C. Robre-
dillo, SThD
IT is not easy to unite a fractious
nation such as Afghanistan that
experienced more than two
decades of bloodletting, where
various ethnic groups vie for
power, and the military has a
well-entrenched control over the
people, surrounded by foreign
powers that seek to influence its
internal affairs. But what the UN
special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi
did almost decade ago, after the
American and British forces
virtually flushed out the Taliban
government from the rugged
country, was probably the best
one can expect in an emergency
situation. Picked up to head the
interim government was Hamid
Karzai, a respected tribal leader
from the Pashtuns, an ethnic
group that regarded itself the
traditional leaders of the country.
Former King Mohammed Zahir
Shah was given a role, if
symbolic, in presiding over
the grand assembly of elders.
Representatives from the ethnic
Tajiks are members of the
cabinet, to which a Shiite Muslim
was also appointed. Other
groups were also represented:
the Northern Alliance, the
loyalists from the ex-king, the
Pakistan-backed Peshawar
group, the ethnic Hazaras and
the ethnic Uzbeks. Afghanistan
became whole again.
If a nation cannot survive
if it remains fractious and
divided, neither can a Christian
community be faithful to its
3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A (Matt 4:12-23) January 23, 2011
call if fracas and division are
characteristic of its life. No
wonder, when Paul received
in Ephesus messengers from
Chloe that some groups were
creating factions in the Church
at Corinth, each claiming that
its own leader was superior to
the rest, he was quick to act (1
Cor 1:10-13.17, First Reading).
Although there is no indication
that the factions that torn
the community originated in
doctrinal differences, Paul
considered the problem so
serious to warrant a letter.
Indeed, that a community is
divided into several cliques,
each claiming the patronage
of a great leader in the Church
(“I belong to Paul”; “I belong
to Apollos”; “Cephas has
my allegiance”; “I belong to
Christ” [1 Cor 1:12]), this is a
great scandal. A situation of
division is also envisaged in the
Gospel according to Matthew.
Many scholars think that the
Matthean community in the city
of Antioch was a mixed group,
though most of the members
were Jewish Christians; and in
a mixed community, tensions
cannot be avoided. It seems
that some were of the belief
that membership in the Church
was not open to all; the Gentiles
were to be excluded from the
community. That a mission
to the Gentiles was rejected
is reflected in some texts.
One recalls, for instance, the
prohibition to engage in mission
to a pagan territory: “Do not
visit a pagan territory and do
not enter a Samaritan town.
God instead after the lost sheep
of the house of Israel” (Matt
10:5b-6).
It is relevant to be reminded
of what happened in the early
Church because today the
Church is seeing the rise of
various communities and groups
within itself. In the Philippines,
for example, quite apart from
what were traditionally called
“mandated” organizations, one
can point to the phenomenal
growth of the El Shaddai, the
Couples for Christ and other
Charismatic communities, the
Neo-Catechumenate and the
Basic Ecclesial Communities.
Given this phenomenon
of the existence of various
communities and movements,
there is a danger that one, for
example, might think that to be
really a Christian, one has to be a
member of a certain charismatic
group; otherwise, he does not
belong to the true Church.
Such thinking will result in
the formation of independent
groupings in the Church, each
claiming to represent the true
expression of being Church, the
others being mere phonies. Or
worse, it could degenerate into
a Church merely of a dominant
group, barring others from its
membership. Does not one in
the parish hear of complaints,
accusing one community of
being worse than the other?
Given the existence of various
communities in the Church,
what does Scripture say? In
directly confronting each of the
factional groups in Corinth, Paul
reminded the Christians of their
basic unity in Christ: “I beg you,
brothers, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ, to agree in what
you say. Let there be no factions
among you; rather, be united
in mind and judgment.” (1Cor
1:10). The theological basis of
this unity is well explained by
Paul or probably his disciple:
“Make every effort to preserve
the unity which has the Spirit
as its origin and peace as its
binding force. There is but one
body and one Spirit, just as there
is but one hope given all of you
by your call. There is one Lord,
one faith, one baptism; one God
and Father of us all, who is over
all and works through all and is
in all” (Eph 4:3-4). In the Gospel,
Matthew says that the Church
cannot be an exclusive group
merely of Jewish Christians; the
Gentiles cannot be barred from
the ecclesial community. He
demonstrates that the inclusion
of the Gentiles is a thrust in
the ministry of Jesus. For
one, our Lord preached in
Capernaum, in Galilee, which
was predominantly populated
by Gentiles (Matt 4:13).
That these people cannot be
Dissention / B7

Bishop Pat Alo

ENCOUNTERS
WE look back to the times of
Jesus, Mary and Joseph… yes,
Christmas time when they cared
lovingly for the baby Jesus. So
Christmas is a celebration of life,
as Mary and Joseph endeavored
to save the Christ child from
the clutches of King Herod who
wanted to end the life of the child.
What for? For political reasons,
power, greed, and dominance.
Let us reminisce how history
can repeat itself, those days of
genocide since the very days
of Moses, when the Egyptian
king wanted to eliminate all
male children (see Ex. 1:22),
then the murder of the Holy
Innocents by King Herod, then
the Holocaust of millions of
Jews by Hitler’s Nazi regime,
the 40 million communistic
purges by Stalin in Russia and
Fr. Francis Ongkingco
Culture of life
neighboring countries, and in
our very day the continuing
holocaust and murders by the
millions of abortions throughout
the world. Let’s not forget that
murder (including abortion)
is part of the 4 sins crying to
heaven for vengeance. They
are, namely: willful murder
(including abortion), the sin of
Sodom, oppression of the poor,
defrauding laborers of their
wages.
Probably the sin of Sodom
could be at the background and
bottom line for many delusory
efforts of today to make use of
abortion and contraceptives
to conceal and hide immoral
practices including sodomist
practices. The Webster dictionary
describes Sodomy as follows: a)
copulation with a member of the
same sex or with an animal b)
noncoital and esp. anal or oral
copulation with a member of the
opposite sex.
The Catholic Church issues
guidelines on sexual practices,
because such faculty has been
instituted by God for the
perpetuation of the human race,
not specifically for pleasure. So the
Church considers masturbation
as a practice that is grievously
and intrinsically disordered
(see document – Declaration of
the Sacred Congregation for the
Doctrine of Faith concerning
certain questions of sexual ethics,
December 29, 1975, no. 9). Several
texts from St. Paul show us
how sexual immoralities may
impede us from entrance to
heaven. “When self-indulgence
is at work the results are obvious:
fornication, gross indecency and
sexual irresponsibility; idolatry
and sorcery; feuds and wrangling,
jealousy, bad temper and quarrels;
disagreements, factions, envy;
drunkenness, orgies and similar
things. I warn you now, as I
warned you before: those who
behave like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:19-22;
see also 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Eph. 5:1-
20). Remember that when God
punished Sodom and Gomorrah
the two towns disappeared from
the map (see Gen. 19). As St. Paul
says in Heb. 10:31, “It is a dreadful
thing to fall into the hands of the
living God.” If we look for victory
in our world, it is because we
endeavor to be on the side of truth,
while the “devil is a murderer and
the father of lies and deception”
(see Jn. 8:44).
Does God care
for the poor, the
voiceless and
the powerless
4th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A
(Matt 5:1-12) January 30, 2011
By Msgr. Lope C. Robre-
dillo, SThD
REACTING to an article “The Free
Market for Hope” in Newsweek,
Indranil Chaudhuri of Culcutta,
India concurred with George
Soros that it is poverty and a
sense of desperation that lie at
the root of terrorist carnage. “The
problem is that this simple truth
has been overlooked for decades
by affluent nations. Though
there has been much oohing
and aahing regarding the profit-
maximization achievements
of financial markets the world
over, there has never been an
adequate trickle-down effect
from the miraculous growth of
for themselves the essentials of
life. Behind such poverty lies
economic conflict (Eccles 4:1), the
intensity of which is reflected in
the prevalence of slavery (Neh
7:66-67), since this is the lot of
those who lose in the economic
struggle (Amos 2:6-7) (C. Mott,
“Poor” Harper-Collins Bible
Dictionary). But the meaning of
the word, as used in Matthew,
is not solely related to the
economically disadvantaged;
by adding the word “in spirit,”
the evangelist emphasizes the
moral dimension: economically
poor, but humble. This is what
the Hebrew word anawim or
amhaarets means. The poor
understood sociologically
is not synonymous with the

WHATEVER
the free-market economies of the
‘core’ nations to the ‘periphery’
nations. Instead, the gap between
the haves and the have-nots has
widened more than ever. Unless
poor understood theologically.
However, the former would
seem to be the precondition
of the latter. The poor people
mentioned in the introduction

The empty text this anomaly is given utmost

“HOW old was she, you said?” Jun asked
while he contemplated the picture of Andy’s
mother propped on top of the coffin.
“She would have been 80 this December,”
Andy replied without taking his eyes off his
mom’s photograph.
Jun slowly observed the living room of
Andy’s home. “Hey, Andy,” he pointed to
the paintings on the wall, “she painted those
too, right?”
“She was one talented mother,” Andy
smiled.
“Wow, I can almost taste the cinnamon rolls
she used to bake for us after school,” Jun said
with a dreamlike expression on his face.
“Everything that her fingers touched
was naturally transformed into something
beautiful…,”
“And harmonious,” Jun added.
“Remember how she tried to patiently
teach us to play the piano, and how we
often managed to sneak away to our games
at school?”
Andy couldn’t help chuckle at their
childhood mischiefs. “She was one gift from
Heaven, Jun.”
“Almost every kid in the block passed
through her gifted hands: piano, art and even
learning their basic catechism.”
“But when she got older, she started doing
less and less of these things.”
“That’s life! I guess you and I will also end
up in the same way.” Jun said.
“How I wish that I could be as active and
engaging with life as she was at 79,” Andy
chuckled.
“What do you mean by engaging?”
Andy took out his cell phone. Then clicked
on something and showed it to Jun. “You
know it really moved me that she even
forced herself to use a cell phone at such a
late age.”
“Hey, dude. You’re mom may have been
a jack-of-all-trades, but she wasn’t a techie.
That’s why I’m surprised that she got a
hang of it.”
“Well, not exactly. Her texts were often
incomplete and choppy. Sometimes they
were meant for someone else.”
“Ha! Ha! Ha!” Jun couldn’t help being
amused.
“Would you believe I saved most of
them?”
“You’re not joking,” Jun exclaimed.
“Nope, I have saved most of them in my
computer. In fact, it helps me once in a while
when I’m a bit tired to read off the more
amusing ones.”
“Well, in that case, what was the best text
she sent you?”
Andy clicked his cell phone again and
showed the message to Jun. “This was
one of her last texts, and probably my
favorite.”
Jun said, “But this one’s empty!”
“Precisely,” Andy corrected him. “As she
grew older, her fingers were shakier, and
she would often hit the wrong buttons. At
first I felt irritated by the empty texts since I
would ask her what she wanted to say, and
she would just apologize saying that she
didn’t actually send any, etc.”
“I understand you perfectly, something
similar is happening to dad,” Jun said. “But
why keep an empty message?”
“When she sent her last empty text, I was
a bit curious and called her to ask if she
wanted to say something or if it was another
mistake. She replied, that she meant to really
send it empty. First, she complained that
she couldn’t get her fingers to text properly;
second, that she was tired; and third, sending
it empty was meant to say that there aren’t
enough words in the world to express her
love for us all, her children.”
“Hey, that’s really nice…,” Jun reflected.
“Yup, that’s why this empty text is so
memorable for me,” Andy looked at the
blank message again.
“But knowing your mom, I suppose you
could easily fill in the blanks of the empty
text, right?”
Andy nodded. “Yes, she would have
probably said: ‘Don’t worry, I’m fine, I hope
you’re happy and alright, and that I’m always
praying for you.”
***
A Prayer Text
When you send God your prayer of a
text,
With His empty message do not be
perplexed,
For He answers are often mysterious on
His part,
Even before texting, He loaded grace
into your Heart.
consideration, the menace of
terrorism can never be wiped
out.” It seems, of course, that the
rich nations do not care for the
poor ones. As Maharaj Muthoo
of Rome, Italy, complains in his
letter to the editor of Newsweek,
“who,” for instance, “talks about
the millions of people living on
less than a dollar a day in forest-
dependent communities? They
are voiceless and powerless.” In
a dog-eat-doing society like ours,
it may be difficult to find a rich
country truly altruistic, generous
enough to care for the needs of the
poor ones. But for a Christian,
there is a more fundamental
question to ask: does God care
for the poor?
One of the points that the
readings—all the readings—
make is that God cares for the
poor. But which poor, to begin
with? Are they the descamisados
(shirtless ones)? Does the word
refer to the hungry who are
mesmerized by the beauty of an
Evita? Can they be identified
with the mobs who marched in
the Edsa III, now known as the
rebellion of the dispossessed,
and who remain the constituents
of populist politicians? In the
Bible, the poor are the needy,
without power, and abused
by those with power; they are
lowly because they’re “power
wavers” (Lev 25:35); they do
not have the capacity to provide
are therefore the most fitting
candidates for becoming the
anawim—all they need is their
humility and their dependence
on God; they must become a
humble and lowly people (Zeph
3:12, First Reading).
To these people who are
poor—no matter if society looks
at them as wretched, starving,
lost, useless, defenseless,
worthless—yet humble, God
has a good news for them. They
are blessed or fortunate, because
God is establishing a kingdom for
them: “How blest are the poor in
spirit; the reign of God is theirs”
(Matt 5:3). What is this reign of
God? If we take the meaning
from the Old Testament images,
God’s kingdom is one where the
sound of weeping shall no longer
be heard, where people shall not
build houses for others to live in
or plant for others to it; it is where
the wolf and the lamb shall graze
alike (Isa 65:17-25). According to
the New Testament, it is where
God dwells with men, where
he wipes away the people’s
tears, and removed death and
mourning (Rev 21:1.3-4). In
other words, the Kingdom of
God answers the longings of the
poor; it is where they will find
integrity and meaning of their
lives, which the present society
denies them. With the promise
of the Kingdom, God in effect
is liberating them from their
Care / B7
 Social Concerns
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
B7

Diocese of Bayombong lauds CHR

report on Aussie mine firm
THE Diocese of Bayombong welcomes
with joy and thanksgiving the bold
statement as indicated in the report of the
Commission on Human Rights (CHR)
that the ‘Aussie mine firm should be
kicked out’ (Philippine Daily Inquirer,
January 18, 2011 by Kristine Alave).
Everyone in the Diocese is very
much relieved of the unnecessary
tension after hearing the good news
regarding the recognition of the CHR
on the violations of the Oceana Gold
Philippines, Inc. which include illegal
demolition accompanied by excessive
violence and brutality, curtailing of
the IP rights to exercise their economic
rights, intimidation of local residents
due to the presence of security guards
armed with long fire arms, fencing off
large areas of the roads thus preventing
the mobility of the residents, to name
a few.
the foreign company in view of the
gross violations of human rights it has
committed.”
The mining issue in Didipio has
been a long drawn concern of the local
indigenous peoples in the town of
Kasibu since early 1990s. The Diocese
of Bayombong through its social action
commission has continued its support to
the people of Didipio and the whole town
of Kasibu. The presence of the Catholic
Church during the critical moments as
indicated in the CHR report has given the
local community great relief, assurance
and security.
We are again inspired and fired up to
continue the uphill struggle in Didipio
and the other areas in the Diocese of
Bayombong endangered by mining
operations. We will not relent nor give
up.
Out battle cry lives on: NO TO

www.pmpipartnership.com
We are one with the CHR headed by MINING, YES TO LIFE.
Chair Loretta Ann “Etta” Rosales in the
Commissions resolve “to recommend MOST REV. RAMON B. VILLENA,
to the government under the new DD
administration to consider the probable Bishop, Diocese of Bayombong
withdrawal of the FTAA granted to January 18, 2011

Seminarians / B5

Realizing Democracy
1. We acknowledge that a
responsible parenthood program
is essential to achieving national
progress as long as it does not
depart from the long-standing
values of our nation. But we
must also realize that we can
only arrive at this goal through
reasonable dialogue and
responsible democracy.
2. We urge those engaged in
academic work, especially priests
and our fellow seminarians to be
more rigorous in studying and
teaching ethics according to
reason and faith. And as we do
our learned ministry, let us not
fail to attend to all angles of the
discussion. Let us make it a point
to listen especially to those most
affected by this issue: the poor
and the women.
3. We also call on media
companies to be responsible
heralds of the facts. Do not
editorialize the news. Do not
misquote individuals or take
the statements they make out of
context. Do not sensationalize
the news for the sake of ratings
or profit. Inform the public of
the whole truth. Deception of
the public is grave treason to
the nation!
4. We urge every Filipino
to learn the art of engaging in
reasonable dialogue. The recent
manner of discussion has been
marked by exchanges of foul
language and offensive words.
Acts like these done by both
“pro” and “anti” parties only
bring about further unnecessary
division among us. Let us not be
narrow-minded. Let us read and
listen so that we all may learn
more about the issue and make
well-grounded opinions. Only
then can we exercise bayanihan.
Only then can we be agents of
significant development for
holistic healthcare in our beloved
country.
Achieving Integral
Development
1. We firmly believe that
overpopulation is not the
root cause of poverty in the
Philippines. It may be an actual
concern, but it should not cover
up the real deeper problems of
inequitable distribution of the
resources of our nation and
the rampant corruption in our
government.
2. We likewise believe that
instead of allocating large
portions of our budget to the
proliferation of contraceptives
and abortifacients, it is much
wiser to use our funds for more
indispensable priorities like basic
health services, free education
for all, livelihood for the poor,
better job opportunities, and
infrastructure development.
3. We acknowledge the
nobleness of the principles
enshrined in the first parts of
HB 96: alleviation of poverty,
education of the young,
happy and healthy family life,
safety of women, informed
conscience, and development
of the nation.
4. However, reading the
bill makes us conclude that
its authors are careless with
nomenclature when it comes
to formulating methods to
apply these principles. “Poverty
alleviation” seems to mean
looking at persons as mere
burdens. “Education” ends up
introducing young minds to
corrupt sexuality. “Family health”
accommodates materialistic
comfort and contraceptive
mentality. “Women’s safety”
could open the doors to libertine
sexuality. “Informed conscience”
effectively allows violation of
the conscience. And “national
development” could mask
justifying the inability of the
government to efficiently provide
jobs and social services.
5. The righteous path (daang
matuwid) is necessarily
constituted by respect for life,
integrity of the family, reverence
to the conscience, and responsible
democracy. The Church has
always offered both her criticism
and her collaboration to the State
to achieve these ends. We who
will share leadership in the same
Church in the future commit
ourselves to the same.
Calling for Self-Examination
1. We also humbly admit that
very few dioceses or parishes
have effectively implemented
programs for promoting the
natural methods. It is a sad
fact indeed that much of our
advocacy for this cause are
merely preaching and not
positive concrete actions.
2. We understand that
promoting family integrity and
family health are constitutive
parts of the mission of the
Church. (Familiaris Consortio,
3) While healthcare is first and
foremost a task of the State, the
Church must also contribute her
part. Throughout the world, our
Church has championed holistic
healthcare. Our healthcare
institutions render not only
physical care but also psycho-
social and spiritual. Let us not
fail here in the Philippines when
it comes to the health of our
people.
3. We therefore urge our
bishops and priests, religious
and laity to make real concrete
measures for the promotion of
natural family planning in all
ecclesial communities in our
nation. We cannot just keep
on speaking against the evil
that is happening. We have to
make a more effective proactive
response to make real our aims.
Conclusion
1. In the end, we call on
everyone not to drown in the
details and debate. Let us not to
lose sight of our ultimate aim:
the realization of the kingdom
of God, the kingdom of justice,
peace, truth, and love.
Thus, we offer a prayer:
Loving Father,
you have called every person to life
through the love of a family.
Grant us steadfastness in
protecting these lofty gifts you
have given us.
Give us courage to champion the
good you have instilled in us.
And make us one nation in
working for genuine progress.
Mary, Mother of Life, Protectress
of the Family, and loving Advocate
of every Filipino, lead us to the path
that is your Son. Amen.
T he S eminarians ’
N etwork of the
Philippines, Inc.
(SemNet)
January 9, 2011 Sunday
Solemnity, Baptism of our Lord
Feast Day, Black Nazarene

Care / B6 Herod / B3

misery, and is giving them a new life; he will priestly or Sadducean lineage—there is no blessings of God’s creation. As poor among for the legalization of a heavily- dies, it remains just a grain of
bring about a new era of salvation. This is theological difficulty in that—but he did not. the poor, with the poor, we shall understand, funded controversial Bill which wheat, but if it dies it produces
what the beatitudes mean. If the poor only To the contrary, he even took on the life of a live, celebrate, and share our common faith is blatantly unconstitutional and much fruit.”
humble themselves, God will bring about a slave, being born in the likeness of men (Phil in Jesus Christ crucified and risen.” immoral. Every Christian must, indeed,
new order, for he will bring an end to their 2:6-7). He did not merely preach to them; he It is not difficult to see how relevant it is Indeed, we should never be the seed—ever ready to be
suffering. feed them, healed them, and took on their to our society for the Church to become a lose hope. For, as one essay on buried and die that the unborn
In pronouncing these blessings, Jesus condition. He opted for them in terms of Church of the Poor. Ours is a world divided Man by the poet, Pope, says, might live—from the womb to the
makes it known that God is a “God of the orientation, life, word and deed. into the majority who are poor and the “Hope springs eternal in the tomb. For, self-giving love do always
lowly, the helper of the oppressed, the If the Church is the sacrament of Christ, minority who are rich, and by becoming a human heart.” And Christian give life—Brothers and Sisters, if
supporter of the weak, the protector of the the Church must be a Church of the Poor. Church of the Poor, we will show that such hope urges us always to go on, you are a Catholic worth your
forsaken, the savior of those without hope” The Church in the Philippines realizes division is utterly wrong. Of course, this and on, and on/ that will lead us Christian faith—stand on the
(Judith 9:11; see also Deut 26:5-9; Ps 68:5-6). this. At the Second Plenary Council of the is not to make judgment on the rich, but thus to the grave. For, indeed, moral high ground! Fight always
He loves the poor, not because they are Philippines (1991), it declared that “in order simply a recognition that as Christians we the Lord assures us, “Unless a for life!—And be pro-actively
morally better than the rich, but because credibly to witness to the love of God in Christ are striving toward a community where seed is buried in the ground and Pro-life!
God himself is good: “God chose the world’s Jesus, we need to become the Church of the the poor are not exploited, abused, taken
lowborn and despised, those who count for Poor.” And last year, at the National Pastoral advantage of, or oppressed. We are trying Dissention / B6
nothing, to reduce to nothing those who were Consultation on Church Renewal (NPCCR), to establishing the beginning of the kingdom
something” (1 Cor 1:28). It is for this reason among the pastoral priorities identified is the where the rich do not dictate the life of the excluded from the Church is, excluded from it, or that an
that to mock the poor is to insult God, their “Active Presence and Participation of the poor (Jas 2:1.5-7). We are looking forward Matthew means to tell us, is individual is a true Christian
maker (Prov 17:5). As their defender, God Poor in the Church.” Says the CBCP President to a society in which there is a sharing of not simply the evangelist’s own to the extent that he does not
will punish those who oppress them (Amos Orlando Quevedo in his final message: “In resources (Acts 4:32-54), since a community idea; rather, it is a fulfillment of join some other movement or
4:1-3). Hence, their situation of poverty order to make authentic our commitment to without it is a scandalous community (1 Cor the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 9:1, body. We ought to work for the
calls for justice. Indeed, their poverty is not becoming a Church of the Poor, we must be 11:22). Perhaps, if the Church becomes First Reading), and therefore unity of all, as Paul reminds
God’s will, but an evil (Deut 1:11) that needs evangelically poor. Therefore, we shall seek truly a Church of the Poor, it will become a a divine decree. In quoting us in the first reading. For
correction. Which is why God opts to take up to liberate ourselves from mentalities, values, credible witness not only to the presence of the Isaian text on Zebulun one thing, there is no single
their cause. It is only from the vantage point behavior and lifestyles that discriminate God in his love for the poor, but also to the and Nephtali, the Galilee of body in the Church that fully
that we can understand why God, in taking against the materially poor. We shall listen whole world that the form of this world is the Gentiles, and in placing expresses the reality of being
the human flesh, lived in poverty. Jesus could to them and with them create conditions passing away and that, ultimately, material the beginning of Jesus’ public Church. The Basic Ecclesial
have been born to the aristocratic families of in which they are heard and can enjoy the riches do not count. ministry in that place, Matthew Communities (BECs), for
underscores the universal instance, do not exhaust the
Pill / B2 mission of the Church; it cannot Church and its possibilities.
just be a Church of the Jews. To That is why their proponents
textbooks for teaching—are entirety is that of the Supreme of Urgency, and (5) Disciplinary very heart of some of the best- stress this point, he reworked are humble enough to claim
recommended to be submitted Pontiff and the College of Bishops Measures. known Catholic colleges and the quotation from Isaiah for that it is only “a way of being
for prior judgment of the pastors as regards the Universal Church, universities. this theological purpose. For Church.” The Charismatic
(c.827 §3). and the individual Bishops for Conclusion The Bishops are totally example, in the Isaiah oracle, the communities, however much
In this regard, I cannot help the particular Churches (c.756). The CBCP has been engaged in a empowered to make these persons sea refers to the Mediterranean; they approximate the life of
but think of the repeated attacks Thus, after everything else heroic battle to resist the attempts and institutions toe the line: in Matthew, to the sea of the early Church, cannot be
on official Catholic teaching may have failed, the doctrinal in no less than three Congresses 1st by enforcing the canonical Galilee. In that oracle, “Galilee identified with the real Church.
regarding contraception, examination by the Congregation to pass the Reproductive Health requirement of the mandate for of the Gentiles” designates We are still moving toward
theology of liberation and even for the Doctrine of the Faith Bill. Each time, despite the teaching on matters regarding the foreigners who conquered the goal of its perfection. For
the distinction of Church and State constitutes a final instrument for perseverance of the pro-Life faith and morals; the area and deported the another, every movement
(hence, the non-involvement of the vicarious exercise of the Papal and pro-Family advocates, the 2nd by enforcing the canonical population; in Matthew, the or body in the Church has
clerics on partisan politics) that responsibility to safeguard the resistance against the forces of requirement of the professio fidei same phrase has become an something good to offer and
appear on Philippine dailies doctrine on faith and morals in the RH Bill proponents has been and the iusiurandum fidelitatis official name for the district. each of them has a value to
in the columns of clerics and the whole Catholic world. slowly going down: from a high for those who teach matters And to fit the Isaian quotation, the Church. In face of these
religious; or of the occasional The procedures for such a during Estrada’s time, a lower regarding faith and morals; Matthew added “Zebulun” in realities, the best thing is to
book in theology (especially doctrinal examination were but still strong anti-contraceptive 3rd by enforcing the v 13, even though Capernaum accept the value of diversity in
moral theology) that finds its way formulated in 1971, on indication stand during GMA’s presidency, requirements set down by Canon was in the territory of Nephtali. the Christian community. Says
in bookstands in Catholic venues, of Paul VI, at the height of the to an all-time low in the present Law regarding the publication Thus, Matthew shows that the the Second Vatican Council in
without a nihil obstat and much postconciliar crisis in Catholic regime. I am convinced there of writings regarding faith and Gentiles are related to the public its Constitution on the Church:
less an imprimatur. Again, one doctrine. It was renewed in 1997 is a strong inverse correlation morals—i.e., the nihil obstat ministry of Jesus, and at the end “If everyone in the Church does
wonders if the aforementioned in view of the new Code of Canon between the acceptance of and the imprimatur for books of the Gospel, he presents Jesus not proceed by the same path…
norms regarding publications by Law of 1983. Without going into the Church teaching against and the required permission for as commanding that the Gospel if by the will of Christ some are
clerics and members of religious the details now, a cursory reading contraception—which has been cleric and religious columnists be preached to all the Gentiles made teachers, dispensers of
institutes are being enforced. of the renewed Agendi ratio of 1997 going down in the Philippines in in newspapers. (Matt 28:19). mysteries, and shepherds on
gives us an idea of the process. The recent years—and the acceptance Faith is the beginning of This has a great lesson for behalf of others, yet all share in
4. The Doctrinal Examination 29 articles are divided into five of a RH Bill. Furthermore, I am salvation. Logically, the erosion us. Given the diversity in the a true equality with regard to
by the CDF parts: (1) Preliminary Examination, convinced that such rejection of of the faith—by the uncorrected Church, no one really has the the dignity and to the activity
The responsibility of (2) Office Study, (3) Ordinary the Church teaching regarding teaching of erroneous doctrine right to say that his community common to all the faithful for
proclaiming the Gospel and the Procedure of Examination, (4) the intrinsic evil of contraception in Catholic institutions—is the represents the true Church, the building up of the Body of
truths of the faith in its purity and Procedure of Examination in case is primarily fomented in the beginning of perdition. and that others have to be Christ” (Lumen gentium, 22).
B8 Entertainment CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

A true-to-life story of boxer
Micky Ward (played by Mark
Moral Assessment Technical Assessment
Wahlberg), The Fighter opens
with Micky’s younger half-
 Abhorrent  Poor
brother, ex-boxer Dicky Eklund
 Disturbing  Below average
(Christian Bale) being filmed by
 Acceptable  Average
an HBO crew for a story which he
 Wholesome  Above average boasts to everybody is about his
 Exemplary  E
xcellent comeback, but which is actually
a documentary about drug abuse
in America.
Dicky’s claim to fame is his
having knocked down Sugar
Ray Leonard in a fight ten
years ago, but since then he has
been addicted to cocaine and
to training Micky who has in
turn their fork-tongued mother
Alice (Melissa Leo) as manager.
Micky’s eye is caught by a
smart barmaid, college dropout
Charlene (Amy Adams); they set
a dinner date, and disappear for
three weeks. Micky returns home
with Charlene in tow. Meanwhile
Charlene has convinced Micky
he’d be better off with a trainer
and manager who will really look
after him, unlike his predatory
blood relatives Dicky and Alice
who make him fight for the
money. Defying his opportunistic
family’s wishes Micky goes
into intensive training and
metamorphoses into a true
fighter, starts winning and
gaining self-confidence.
The realities of family life are
vividly portrayed in The Fighter,
thanks to solid performances from
the lead actors. It is reported that
Wahlberg and Bale, in particular,
took the trouble to observe and
“internalize” Micky Ward and
Dicky Eklund for a more sterling
portrayal of their characters. Bale
went so far as losing weight to
the point of looking emaciated,
shaving some hair to make for a
receding hairline, and perfecting
his imitation of Eklund’s gait—all
that so that none of Christian Bale
is left on the screen.
On the other hand, Wahlberg—
who admits he is a great fan
of the Filipino boxing champ
Manny Pacquiao—wanted his
performance “to have the caliber
of Manny Pacquiao”, and so,
following his idol during the
latter’s training sessions at the Wild
Card Gym, underwent training
himself with the champion’s
trainer Freddie Roach.
Fans will most likely compare
the two lead actors’ performances
and root for their respective idols,
but it must be pointed out that
they are portraying extremely
contrasting personalities: Dicky
is the swaggering junkie high
on dope and his delusions of
grandeur; Micky Ward is the
upright but timorous guy who
prefers to stay in the background.
Micky is a man of few words;
Dicky is vociferous. Micky lacks
self-confidence; Dicky has an
excess of it.
Melissa Leo paints Alice,
the hateful mother whose
domineering stance can castrate
a husband, terrify her sons,
and mute seven squabbling
daughters. Not to be outshone
in this den of cuss word spewing
brood is Adams who departs
from her sweet lighthearted
roles (Enchanted, Night at the
Museum) to play a relatively
well-mannered girl until
provoked—then she out-swears
everybody else.
The Fighter presents a finely
chiseled story that need not
depend on surprises or clever
dialogue to make its point.
That it is a true story makes the
viewer’s interest in it more than
just passing. The daily situations
TITLE: The Fighter
CAST: Christian Bale, Mark
Wahlberg, Amy Adams,
Melissa Leo,Robert
Wahlberg, Dendrie Taylor,
Jack McGee, Jenna
Lamia,Salvatore Santone,
Chanty Sok
DIRECTOR: David O. Russell
WRITER: Scott Silver, Paul
Tamasy, Eric Johnson
GENRE: Drama
RUNNING TIME: 114 min.
Technical Assessment: 
½
Moral Assessment: 
Rating: For viewers 18 years
and above
that spin about the world of one
big family in one small town
may mirror the dramas going
on in families anywhere in the
world. The hub of the mayhem
is Micky, and everyone wants
a piece of him. In this boxer’s
story, the fiercer fights take place
outside of the ring. Look at the
family dynamics and see your
own in them: at times while
we profess love for our family
members, we do not always act
in their best interest. We use them
for our selfish ends, compete
against them, knock them down
when they don’t do our bidding;
parents play favorites, children
take advantage of parents’
weaknesses, etc.
While the transformation of
the characters—notably of Micky
who is now empowered to stand
on his own and gain liberation
from his delusional family—
offers a justifiable denouement,
CINEMA recommends The
Fighter only to older teens and up
due to strong language, imitative
behavior and premarital sex
scenes. (Teresa R. Tunay,
OCDS)

MAC en COLET Ni Bladimer Usi

Buhay Parokya
Look for the images
TITLE: Little Fockers of Sto. Nino, Black
CAST: Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro; Jessica Alba Nazarene and Altar
DIRECTOR: Paul Weitz Table. (Illustration by
SCREENPLAY: John Hamburg, Larry Stuckey Bladimer Usi)
PRODUCER: Jane Rosenthal, Robert de Niro, Jay Roach,
John Hamburg
EDITING: Greg Hayden, Leslie Jones
MUSIC: Stephen Trask
GENRE: Comedy
DISTRIBUTOR: Universal Pictures
LOCATION: Chicago
RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes
Technical Assessment: 3
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: V14 (For viewers 14 and above)

LittleFockersis
the 3rd franchise
of the Meet the
Parents series.
This time Greg
Focker (Ben
Stiller) and wife
Pam (Teri Polo)
areproudparents
of5-year-oldtwins
Sam and Henry.
Apparently,
patriarch father-
in-lawJackBrynes
(Robert De Niro)
is having some
health issues and
must pass on
the headship of
the family to a
successor.Andhe
chooses Greg to
be the “Godfocker”. The rest of the movie is a series of skits wherein
Greg tries to authenticate his upcoming role and Jack tries to prove
his theory that Greg is having an affair with a sexy pharmaceutical
representative Andi Garcia (Jessica Alba).
Little Fockers is a pathetic and lame attempt to cash in on a film
that made some money when it first came out. The movie is clean
and acceptable technically but fails miserably on the creative side.
The story is boring, corny and flat. The characters are caricatures
matching the over the top performances. And because of a full pack
cast, the attempt to provide a storyline for everyone further confused
the story. The script and plot are almost nonsense and characters are
placed in the scene merely to create a joke that unfortunately is not
even funny. Apparently, the writers loved the “Godfocker” joke so
much that they made sure it was repeated constantly throughout
the movie. This 3rd installment of the movie franchise repeats the
message in the very first movie: in-law problems are caused by
prejudice, self-centeredness and the refusal to open up and reach
out. In-laws are important in the family as they provide support
and assistance as proven by Greg saving Jack’s life at the end of the
movie. The imperative joke about father and son-in-law (or daughter
and mother-in-law) clashing with each other to provide the comical
situation is actually a dangerous stereotyping of the relationship
because people may begin to be wary even before getting to know
their would be in-laws. This movie once again reiterates how much
happier a home can be when in-laws get along and actually love
and trust each other.
The pro-family message is passable, but the sex jokes, toilet
humor, the nonsensical turkey carving mishap and other failed
attempt to create comedy makes the film inappropriate for young
audiences. Perhaps it would make for adult entertainment, as
demonstrated during a full-house Sunday night showing at a
Makati theater where the audience lapped up the jokes. And
you’ve got to give it to De Niro and Hoffman—it takes some guts
for respectable actors to appear for the third time in a comedy
series that’s wearing thin. (Pie Mabanta)
 The Cross
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
C1

A Supplement Publication of KCFAPI

and the Order of the Knights of Columbus

Davide conferred Papal award

New council in Luzon holds
Former Chief Justice Hi-
lario G. Davide, Jr., was con-
ferred last January 8 with the
Papal Award of the Knight of
the Grand Cross of the Order
of St. Sylvester in a solemn
Eucharistic celebration pre-
sided by Cebu Archbishop,
charter presentation
Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
The conferment ceremony was held
within the mass at the Blessed Pedro
Calungsod Shrine at the Archbishop’s
Palace in Cebu City in the presence of
the honoree’s family and friends.
The Pontifical Order of St. Sylvester
(Pope and Martyr) is one of the five
orders of knighthood awarded directly
by the Pope. It is intended to award Ro-
man Catholic laymen who are actively
involved in the life of the Church as
exemplified in the exercise of their
professional duties.
In his homily Cardinal Vidal pointed
out that the award was already issued
to Davide in 2007 but it was only today
that the conferment was found oppor-
tune given the busy schedules of the
awardee who after serving the govern-
ment as chief justice (1998-2005) he was
immediately appointed ambassador
and representative of the permanent
Papal / C2
The new Divine Mercy
Council, No. 15139 of Mary,
Mother of Good Counsel
Parish in Parañaque City
held its charter presentation,
installation of officers, and
induction of directors and
committee chairmen at Divine
Grace Chapel, last Dec. 18,
2010.
Fr. Ian Gabinete, Council
chaplain presided over the
Eucharistic celebration. The
highlight of the ceremony was
Taken during charter presentation of the new Divine Mercy Council, No. 15139 of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Parañaque City.
the presentation of the charter
certificate by Luzon Deputy
and Supreme Director Alonso
L. Tan to the Grand Knight
and its members.
The officers of the council
were installed by District
Deputy Jose I. Autencio,
Jr., District Warden Vicente
C. Duroy and Fr. Gabinete.
Picture taken during charter presentation of the new Divine Mercy Council, No. 15139 of Mary, Mother of Good Counsel Parish in Parañaque City. Grand Knight Oscar Delez
was present to induct the

KCFAPI officers visit Manila Cardinal

The officers of the Knights of
Columbus Fraternal Association
of the Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI)
paid a courtesy call to the Arch-
bishop of Manila, His Eminence
Gaudencio Cadinal Rosales, at
his residence in Intramuros on
January 3, 2011.
KCFAPI President Alonso Tan
was accompanied by Guillermo
N. Hernandez, Treasurer of
KCFAPI and Ma. Theresia G.
Picture taken during the courtesy call to Archbishop Gaudencio Rosales. Standing from left, is Mr. Gari San Sebastian, Curia, KCFAPI Executive Vice
Atty. Rizal Katalbas,Jr., Annie Nicolas, Joseph P. Teodoro, Angelito Bala, Magdalene Flores, Edwin Dawal seated from President along with the other
left, EVP-Ma. Theresa Curia, Pres. Alonso Tan. His Eminence Gaudencio Rosales and Mr. Guillermo Hernandez.
KCFAPI officers.
Traditionally done to the
Archbishop of Manila who “ex
officio” chairs the Founder Mem-
bers Committee of KCFAPI, the
officers presented a Christmas
gift for the favorite charities of
the Cardinal.
The Knights of Columbus
Fraternal Association of the Phil-
ippines, Inc. is a mutual benefit
association for the members of
the Knights of Columbus and
their families in three KC juris-
dictions of Luzon, Visayas and
Mindanao. (KCFAPI News)
service program directors and
committee chairmen.
The significant part of
the post-ceremony was the
keynote address of Tan.
Bishop Jesse E. Mercado of the
Diocese of Parañaque graced
the affair with his presence
and spiritual message.Deputy
grand knight Walter G. Barrios
and Delez gave the welcome
remarks and inaugural
address, respectively.
Greg S. Gonzales, Jr.,
Council adviser delivered his
fraternal message while Jose
Autencio, Jr., District Deputy
gave his inspirational message
to the members of the newly
installed council. (KC News)

Poor children of Payatas get help Davide awards TOKCA jurors

from Luzon Squires
One hundred twenty-five chil-
dren of Payatas, Quezon City
are beneficiaries of the Colum-
bian Squires Luzon State Circle
Outreach Program which is held
every Saturday.
In solidarity with the less
fortunate children, the Squires
attend to their spiritual, intel-
lectual, social and physical needs
since the outreach program
immerse them in bible sharing,
tutorial, animation, games, and
nutritional feeding.
Mothers also learn how to
prepare and cook nutritious
food from the members of the
Knight’s youth organization.
These children of Payatas ages
five to ten years old live with
their families within the Payatas
garbage dump site at the out-
skirts of Manila as squatters.
The Squires Luzon State Circle
are composed of Columbian
Squires from diocesan Circles.
Most of them are recipients of
the Squires of the Body of Christ
award that recognizes skills in
leadership and public speaking
in preparation for their eventual Honorable Hilario G. Davide, Jr., former Chief Justice of
membership to the Knights of the Supreme Court of the Philippines and presently the Chair-
Columbus when they reach the TOKCA / C3
age of eighteen. (KC News)
 The Cross
CBCP Monitor
C2 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

VisMin FBAs hold yearend meeting

Atty. Rizal V. Katalbas, Jr.

From the Legal Standpoint

Fraternal Counselors (FCs)

The relationship between a Fraternal Counselor and the
Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Phils., Inc.
(KCFAPI), is that of a principal and agent. It is governed,
as a rule, in the Law on Agency. The New Civil Code of the
Philippines defines “agency” as an act wherein one person
binds himself to render some service in representation or in
behalf of another, with the consent or authority of the latter
(Article 1868).
From its definition, two important principles on agency may
be inferred, namely:
* The agent must act within the scope of his authority,
and;
* The agent must act in behalf of the principal.
The duly accepted principle that the “act of the agent is
the act of the principal” give certain exception. As above-
mentioned, the agent must act within the scope of his author-
ity. In fact, a collusion between the agent and the insured in
misrepresenting the facts will vitiate the policy even though
Standing from left is FBG Manager Mr. Gari M. San Sebastian, FBA’s : Mr Rudolph Gerard Elizaga, Mr. Renante Rio Bragat, Mr. Adrian Boston, Mr Jeffrey Vincent
Galea, seated from the left Ms. Floralin Bohol, Pres. Alonso L. Tan, EVP-Ma. Theresa Curia, VP-FBG Joseph P. Teodoro.
Fraternal Benefits Associates and is concurrently the Luzon Deputy and Su- ers of the said meeting. The attendees hailed
Service Office Assistants of the Knights preme Director, delivered his inspirational from Cebu, Ilo-Ilo, Cagayan de Oro, Davao,
of Columbus Fraternal Association of the message. Ma. Theresa G. Curia, Executive Zamboanga, and Cabanatuan .
Philippines, Inc. (KCFAPI) held its year- Vice President of KCFAPI, Joseph P. Te- The first day concluded with a basketball
end meeting at Fr. George J. Willmann, S.J. odoro-Vice President of Fraternal Benefits game of the fraternal benefits group and
Center in Intramuros, Manila last Dec. 15 Group, Magdalene G. Flores-Vice President fraternal benefits associates blue team com-
to 18, 2010. of Finance, Angelito A. Bala- Vice President peting with the home office red team at the
The objectives of the meeting were to re- for Business Development and Actuarial Manila Council 1000 gym.
view the performance for 2010 and to give Services, Ronulfo Antero Infante- Vice Presi- Moreover, the second day culminated with
direction to the sales performance next year, dent for Information and BC Holder’s Ser- the attendees joining the other employees of
as well as present the plans and programs of vices. And Department Managers: Gari M. KCFAPI in their United Nations’ costume
different departments. San Sebastian, Carmelita S. Ruiz, Edwin B. Christmas party at Bayview Park Hotel in
KCFAPI President, Alonso L. Tan, who Dawal, Rowena M. Diapolit were the speak- U.N. Ave., Manila. (Vanessa Puno)

LD Tan leads charter presentation of

the agent is acting within the apparent scope of his authority.
Thus when there is a collusion the agent ceases to represent
the principal and the insurer is not estopped from avoiding the
policy. (Sison vs Sun Life Assurance Co. [47 O.G. 1954]).

Moreover, one of the duties of the agent is to render an

account of his transactions and to deliver to the principal
whatever he may have received by virtue of agency (Article
1891of the New Civil Code of the Philippines). Thus an agent
St. Martin de Porres Council 15079
who refuses to turn-over and account the amount collected
from clients which came to him in the course of the agency
may be prosecuted for the crime of estafa (United States vs
Igpuara, 27 Phil 619).

KCFAPI engaged the services of Fraternal Counselors pri-

marily to promote the various insurance products (i.e. benefit
certificates) to members of the Knights of Columbus and their
immediate families. Once a brother knight is fully accredited
by KCFAPI as a Fraternal Counselor after he underwent
rigid trainings and seminars, he is duty bound to faithfully
observe the rules and regulations established in the Fraternal
Counselor’s Manual (Chapter 7.-Policies Governing Fraternal
Counselors). In the discharge of their duties and responsibili-
ties, a fraternal counselor is expected to follow certain code
of conduct in the performance of his mission. As such, he is
strictly prohibited from committing illegal/unethical practices
which is prejudicial to the interest of KCFAPI and the Order
of the Knights of Columbus.

Microinsurance: A
LD Alonso L. Tan, center during the charter presentation of St. Martin de Porres Council 15079.

Luzon Deputy and Supreme tion as well as the installation were also the highlights of the augural address. Calugtong

sustainable approach
Director Alonso L. Tan pre- of officers were opened with charter presentation. and Fr. Cabuhat delivered
sided the charter presenta- a Eucharistic celebration pre- Roberto Calugtong, District the inspirational and spiri-
tion of the newly-instituted sided by Fr. Elden B. Cabuhat, Deputy, S57 and Deomedes tual message, respectively.

to risk management for

parish-based St. Martin de the Council chaplain. German, District Warden, S57 Luzon Deputy and Su-
Porres Council 15079 in San The welcome remarks was led the conferment of jewels preme Director Tan who was
Pedro, Laguna on December delivered by Deputy Grand which symbolize the member’s the guest of honor delivered

the informal sector

JANUARY is Microinsurance
Month as officially declared un-
rich, recent field research shows
that once it is explained to them,
18, 2010.
Tan presented the charter
certificate to the newly ap-
proved charter by the Supreme
Council. The charter presenta-
Knight Bernie G. Rodrigo.
The unfolding of the ban-
ner, awarding of membership
certificates and emblem of
the order to charter members
rank. Part of the installation
of officers was the oath taking
of appointed officers led by
Grand Knight Mario U. Are-
valo who also delivered his in-
his message for the said af-
fair. Roberto Zamora gave
the closing remarks to the
pioneer members of the said
council. (KC News)

Supreme Knight confers highest

der Presidential Proclamation low income people say they
1212. Microinsurance, usually want insurance and are willing
integrated with microfinance, to set a portion of their income

award to local Squires

has been recognized as a tool
in helping the poor against
vulnerabilities especially in
developing countries like the
Philippines.
Microinsurance is referred to
as insurance, insurance-like and
other similar business activity of
providing products and services
that meet the needs of the low
income sector against distress or
misfortune. Since its products
and services are intended for
the low income sector, afford-
ability of premium payments is
a major consideration.
Microinsurance has been
gaining increasing attention in
the country over the years. Last
year, the Department of Finance
(DOF) and Insurance Commis-
sion (IC) formally launched
the National Strategy and the
Regulatory Framework for
Microinsurance with the theme
“Magpaseguro Para Protek-
tado”. This outlines the govern-
ment’s thrusts and directions
in providing the poor access
to insurance products and ser-
vices. Its aim is to create public
awareness on the importance of
providing appropriate risk pro-
tection for the poor and enjoin
private sector’s participation
in the delivery of simple and
affordable insurance products
to the low income and informal
sector of the society. It also aims
to establish appropriate policy
and regulation environment
both for providers and clients
of microinsurance.
Despite the misconception
that insurance is only for the
to pay for it. Microinsurance
provides the opportunity for
this sector to avail of the appro-
priate protection from risk fit to
their standard of living.
The Supreme Knight Carl Anderson has City last Dec. 5, 2010. seven to sixteen every Saturday.
Recently, standards for the
bestowed upon Gerald Paul Pascual and Gerald Paul Pascual is from the Diocese He makes use of role playing, audio-
microinsurance industry as well
Jonathan S. Acsaba the Squires of the Body of Imus, Cavite and a member of the Co- visual materials, and playing of games to
as the prototype of a non-life
of Christ award, the highest award in the lumbian Squires Circle 3776. He initiated a arouse the interest and to stimulate the
product was submitted to IC
Squire Advancement Program given by project for the Sto. Niño de Molina Parish, mind of these young parishioners.
and is expected to be released at
Supreme Knight Carl Anderson. the provision of trash bins for the church. Now that Jonathan has achieved the high-
the end of this month after it has
Pascual and Acsaba were the 11th and 12th He organized three groups of Squires for est award for a Squire, he is encouraging
been approved by an interagen-
awardees of the said award from the Philip- the solicitation, purchasing of materials and other Squires to give their best to attain
cy committee. Microinsurance
pines, respectively. The Squires of the Body of the making of the trash bins. this award for the parish, diocese and the
products usually offered by
Christ is the award given to a Squire who has According to the awardee, the Parish Pas- whole Philippines.
microfinance institutions will
exhibited exemplary leadership in the parish toral Council headed by Vicente Marasigan Before he became a member of the
no longer be limited to credit
or another Catholic institution in the diocese and Fr. George Morales, the Parish Priest Columbian Squires in April 2006, he was
life insurance. A wide range of
or parish by organizing a service project. have expressed appreciation for leading the an altar server and an active parish choir
affordable insurance products
To date, only 25 Squires of the whole Squire Circle members in accomplishing the member. He was drawn to join the youth
will soon be available to the
Knights of Columbus Order have received project, and for living up to the Squires motto organization because of the fun-filled
informal sector including whole
the said prestigious award. The Squire “Be Worthy” even in their simple ways. sportsfest of the said organization.
life; accident; burial and medical
Advancement Program is intended to en- The parishioners also consider the project His first activity as a member of the
benefits plans; asset protection
courage Squires to learn and master certain as useful to the Church, he said. Gerald is organization was to raise funds together
for micro-entrepreneurs hit by
activities with the goal to develop them as a Knights of Columbus Philippines Foun- with other Squires to be able to join the
fire, lightning, flood, typhoon or
leaders. dation Inc. scholar, taking up Computer Jamboree.
earthquakes; and weather index
A Squire tries to achieve five levels of Engineering at University of the Philippines Recently, he has received a certificate of
crop insurance.
advancement of the program with increas- Diliman. proficiency in Massage Therapy Course
While microfinance paved
ing difficulty namely Page, Shield Bearer, Jonathan S. Acsaba is a seventeen year old given by the Department of Social Wel-
way for the poor to become
Swordsman, Lancer and the highest level, parishioner of Christ the King in Novaliches. fare, City of Manila and sponsored by the
credit worthy, microinsurance
the Squire of the Body of Christ. It was June 2010 that he began to teach Knights of Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction
should make them equally de-
The awarding ceremony was held dur- catechism. With his creativity, he teaches and Knights of Columbus Fraternal Asso-
serving to insurance coverage
ing the Luzon District Deputies’ Mid-Year catechism to the young Legion of Mary mem- ciation of the Philippines Inc., last Decem-
in the process of poverty reduc-
Meeting at Makati Palace Hotel in Makati bers and altar servers with ages ranging from ber 9, 2010. (KCNews)
tion. Microinsurance industry
promises to provide sustainable
risk management for the infor- Papal / C1
mal sector. As some microin-
surance enthusiasts comment, mission of the Republic of the Present as concelebrants dur- Fraternal Association of the Corporate Secretary, Theresa
“It is immaterial which institu- Philippines to the United Na- ing the Eucharistic Celebration Philippines Inc., (KCFAPI) and Curia, Executive Vice President,
tion deliver these (microinsur- tions in New York City. were Archbishop Osbaldo Pa- the KC members of the Visayas Carmen Flores, former EVP of
ance) integrated services, what Cardinal Vidal further cited dilla, Apostolic Nuncio to South Jurisdiction. Keys Realty, and Msgr. Pedro
is important ultimately is that in his homily the exemplary Korea, and Bishop Antonio Ra- The officers of KCFAPI who Quitorio, Chaplain.
the deserving poor should get life of Davide as a Catholic lay nola together with some priests attended this signal event were: After the conferment a re-
all microfinance services for person witnessed as a family of Cebu. Among the special SK Alonso Tan, President; SK ception followed at the Water-
their sustainable upliftment.” man, a government servant and guests of the awardee were of- Dionisio Esteban, Board of front Cebu City Hotel. (KCFAPI
(Ira J. Tee) a church advocate. ficers of Knights of Columbus Trustee, SK Ramon Rodrigo, News)
 The Cross
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011
C3

‘We Dare Not Forget’

Kennedy’s historic speech urged us to remember the divine source of
our rights and civic responsibilities
By Supeme Knight Carl A. An-
derson
FIFTY years ago this month, John F.
Kennedy was sworn in as president of
the United States. His inaugural address
inspired a generation of Americans, and
his words “Ask not what your country
can do for you; ask what you can do
for your country” became the byword
of a generation. Those words, coming
toward the end of the address, were its
rhetorical highpoint. But the speech’s
intellectual foundation came at the
beginning, when Kennedy asserted
that “the same revolutionary beliefs
for which our forebears fought are still
at issue around the globe — the belief
that the rights of man come not from
the generosity of the state, but from the
hand of God.”
He concluded his speech this way:
“[L]et us go forth to lead the land we
love, asking his blessing and his help,
but knowing that here on earth, God’s
work must truly be our own.”
Kennedy had just won one of the clos-
est and most controversial elections in
American history. Much of the opposi-
tion centered upon the prejudice that a
Catholic could not serve as president. In
this regard, some might have expected
Kennedy to downplay the theme of reli-
gion in his speech. But he did not.
If it were to have taken place amid the
political landscape of today, Kennedy’s
election would have been less contro-
versial than his words. Given the ongo-
ing debate over religion in American
life, his inaugural address would have
generated enormous disagreement.
Though some today might be shocked
by the presence of religious ideals in a
speech of this importance, such senti-
ments have been prominent throughout
American history. Kennedy’s predeces-
sor, President Dwight D. Eisenhower,
began his first inaugural address with
a prayer he had composed. Eisenhower
said, “At such a time in history, we who
are free must proclaim anew our faith.
This faith is the abiding creed of our
fathers. It is our faith in the deathless
dignity of man, governed by eternal
moral and natural laws.”
Both Kennedy and Eisenhower
understood that the “abiding creed of
our fathers,” and those “revolutionary
beliefs” for which they fought, had been
summarized by Thomas Jefferson in the
Declaration of Independence when he
wrote that each of us has been endowed
by our Creator with certain unalienable
rights.
We might well say that the 20th
century was defined by the struggle
between those committed to the propo-
sition that our rights “come not from
the generosity of the state, but from the
hand of God” and those who seek to
replace those “eternal moral and natural
laws” with the unlimited power of the
state. Both Kennedy and Eisenhower
understood this, and it was one of the
reasons they supported the initiative
in the 1950s to add the words “under
God” to the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance—
a cause that was championed by the
Knights of Columbus.
In my recent book Beyond a House
Divided: The Moral Consensus Ignored
by Washington, Wall Street and the
Media, I have put forward statistical
evidence showing that the American
people by a large majority remain com-
mitted to the moral foundations of our
country. These findings should give us
confidence as we continue to promote
the traditional moral values that offer
the best hope for the future of our nation
and the world.
Some may say that these “revolution-
ary beliefs” should be a thing of the past.
But in his inaugural address, Kennedy
himself made the best response to this
contention: “We dare not forget today
that we are the heirs of that first revo-
lution” and that we are “unwilling to
witness or permit the slow undoing of
those human rights to which this nation
has always been committed.”
May the Knights of Columbus re-
main steadfast in the defense of those
“revolutionary beliefs” about which
our brother Knight and first Catholic
president spoke so eloquently.
Vivat Jesus!

Joseph P. Teodoro

For Brother Knights by Brother Knights

Angelito Bala

Frequently Asked Question

Annual review of benefit certificates
It has been said that the advent
of every New Year ushers a new
beginning for every facet of our
lives from our relationship with
the Lord to the way we handle
our financial matters.
The start of the new year my
also be the best time to review the
KCFAPI benefit certificates that
we own. It is advisable that the
review be done together with the
fraternal counselor who is trained
to do current and immediate ac-
tion to put the benefit certificate
in order. Here are some review
points we must pay attention to:
1. Name. Is your name spelled
correctly?
2. Date of Birth. Note well
the month, day and the year of
birth.
3. Beneficiary (ies) Are
all your intended beneficiaries in
the benefit certificate and are their
names spelled correctly? If you
have indicated “all children” as
your beneficiaries it is now advis-
able to specifically name them.
a. There is all the possibility
that the primary beneficiary has
died. It is necessary that a new
beneficiary be named as soon as
possible.
b. It is also possible that the
benefit certificate holder has
changed his status from single
to married.
c. There may be additional
beneficiary who was not in the
benefit certificate and whom you
want to be included.
4. The amount of insurance
may no longer be adequate due to
increased family protection needs
and the benefit certificate holder
can now ably afford higher face
value for coverage.
5. The benefit certificate holder
may have improved his status in
life either due to promotion in
the office or increased resources
from practice of professions or
business profits.
6. There may also be family
members who are now working
and have their own families. They
are also eligible to own KCFAPI
insurance coverage.
KCFAPI has the insurance
plan for every insurance need
that cover a K of C member and
his family members would want
to satisfy.
Ordinary Life Plan for those
who want to have the highest
amount of insurance protection
for every peso that they have for
insurance coverage. The ordinary
life has other variants such as the
10, 15 and 20 pay life plans.
Special Plan for Elderly
Knights (SPEK) provides oppor-
tunity for members up to age 85
to participate in the fraternal ben-
efits program of the Order. There
is no proof of medical insurability
required upon application under
the SPEK plan.
Savings Plans. There are vari-
ous savings oriented plans that
suit everyone’s desire. The tra-
ditional 20-year endowment is
the most popular among KC
members while the innovative
KC Capital Accumulator has
been gaining patronage since it
was launched in 2008 during KC-
FAPI’s 50th Year Anniversary.
Retirement Program. This
is the widely accepted plan for
young professionals who want to
augment their retirement income
program.
College Savings Plan. KC par-
ents have seriously considered
the KCFAPI College Savings plan
as their future source of fund
when the time comes that their
children will go to college. It has
other features which other plans
do not have.
Special Plans for those with excess
fund.
a. Dollar Heritage Plan. A
single pay plan in dollar denomi-
nation which matures after 10
years from date of issue. One may
use Philippine peso in getting the
dollar Heritage Plan.
b. Super Saver Plan. A peso
denominated single pay plan
which matures 10 years from date
of issue. It has a special feature of
increasing insurance coverage up
to the 10th year and before the
maturity of the plan.
c. Short/Medium/Long Term
Pay Plans. The plan is payable in
5 years with maturities either on
the 10th or 15th or 20th year after
the issue date. This program has
continuously gained patronage
during the last 3 years.
Let your fraternal counselor
do the pencil pushing and show
what insurance plan is most ap-
propriate for you.
For quick response, we are at
your nearest telephone unit. Dial
for FBG at (02) 527-2223, 527-5515
and 527-2243.
Q. What are the requirements
in filing a death claim?
A. In order to establish the
veracity, identity and cause
of death of the deceased
member and the persons
who will be receiving the
insurance proceeds (also
known as beneficiaries), the
BC holder Relations Office
requires the production and
submission of the following
documents:
a) original copy of the
death certificate authenticat-
ed by the National Statistics
Office (NSO).
Other than the official date
of death, this document or
its equivalent, is necessary
to prove that the deceased
is indeed the same per-
son insured with KCFAPI.
Moreover, from the docu-
ment, the claims processor
can trace the primary and
secondary cause of death of
the insured member.
b) surrender of benefit
certificate
The production of the
benefit certificate is a tan-
gible proof that the de-
ceased procured an insur-
ance plan from KCFAPI.
The certificate details the
birth date and issue date
(insurance age upon appli-
that they are still alive and
are the rightful insurance
beneficiaries. The Fraternal
Counselor or the Grand
Knight must bear witness to
the affixing of signatures on
the claimant statement of all
declared beneficiaries.
d) other documents
In case the member-de-
ceased is married, a proof
that actual marriage was
performed is also request-
ed, the union usually sol-
emnized in holy matrimony
and documented via mar-
riage certificate. In the case
of death due to accident, a
police report is attached.
The neutral or impartial
analysis of the cause of the
accidental death is narrated
in the report. On some
cases, the birth certificate is
also demanded to verify if
the member’s issue age ex-
tended beyond the eligibil-
ity age. Depending on the
circumstances surround-
ing the cause of death and
based on the peculiarities
of the plan chosen, addi-
tional documents may be
requested.
Again, it has to be empha-
sized that claim documents
are not meant to delay the
release of claim proceeds

MACE Insurance joins “Anything Goes” garage sale

cation), amount of benefit
based on insurance plan
chosen, period of coverage
including termination date,
MACE Insurance Agency, Inc., a subsidiary the inclusion of supplemen-
of KCFAPI was one of the booth sponsors in tary benefits like accidental
the 5th “Anything Goes” community garage death benefit, if any, and
sale organized by Barangay San Lorenzo Per- the declared beneficiaries
sons with Disabilities & Co. (BSL PerDisCo) among others.
held last November 20, 2010 in San Lorenzo c) claimant’s statement
Village Park, Makati City. Shown in photo The beneficiaries named
are Mr. Basil B. Occeno, Manager and Mr. and identified in the benefit
Claudio G. Walker, office staff. certificate must file their
Mace Insurance used the occasion to intention to claim the insur-
promote its various product lines such as ance proceeds. The submis-
commercial and residential fire insurance, sion of the claimant’s form
comprehensive motor car insurance, medical together with valid IDs bear-
and personal accident plans. ing their signatures signifies
Mace Insurance not only offers its prod-
ucts and services to the KC members and
their families but also to the general public.
TOKCA / C1
but are meant to ascertain
the correct amount of ben-
efit and release the same to
the rightful and deserving
beneficiaries.
At KCFAPI, since the As-
sociation is member-based,
insurance benefits are re-
leased and dispatched at the
earliest possible time (since
members know one an-
other), most especially if the
BC is no longer contestable,
compared to commercial
companies who take time to
establish the real identity of
the deceased and their des-
ignated beneficiaries.

2010 gift giving activities

The Employees Gift Giving Com-
mittee conducted various activities man of Knights of Columbus Fraternal Association of the Philippines,
to raise fund to help our less fortu- Inc. (KCFAPI) honored the Jurors of The Outstanding Knights of
nate brothers and sisters during the Columbus Awards (TOKCA) after he delivered his Christmas mes-
Holiday Season. The following re- sage during the KCFAPI Christmas party held at Bayview Hotel,
cipients benefitted from the project: United Nations Ave. in Manila last Dec. 16, 2010.
1. San Agustin Church, In- Davide commended the efforts of the TOKCA Jurors by awarding
tramuros - used clothes for the the plaques of appreciation to Chairman Msgr. Pedro Quitorio, and
Baseco residents; members: Alonso Tan, Luzon Deputy; Dionisio Esteban, Visayas
2. San Ildefonso Parish, Navotas Deputy; Sofronio Cruz, Mindanao Deputy; Patrocinio Bacay, then
City - cash donation of P10,000.00 Chairman of KCFAPI; and Antonio B. Borromeo, then President of
for the Parish fire victims; KCFAPI.
3. Intramuros Pedicab Driv- The jurors have judiciously chosen the recipients of the esteemed
ers – distributed bags of Noche TOKCA, who are Brother Knights who have excelled in their respec-
Buena items to 40 drivers; tive professions.
4. Area Manager Expedito Del Ro- Two of the TOKCA recipients have witnessed the awarding,
sario–financialassistanceofP20,000.00 namely, Dr. Zacarias Candelaria for Medical and Health Care Ser-
to be used for his medical treatment vices and Atty. Purisimo Buyco for Law and Judiciary.
(diagnosed to have throat cancer) KCFAPI members of the Board of Trustees who witnessed the
The gift giving activity is an occasion were Guillermo N. Hernandez, Treasurer, Atty. Ramon
annual commitment of KCFAPI E. Rodrigo, Corporate Secretary, Atty. Emiliano R. Deleverio, In-
to extend its fraternal arm to dependent Trustee, Hospicio T. Suralta, Jr., Independent Trustee
those in need during the yuletide and Compliance Officer, and Pedro Rodriguez, Advisor. (Vanessa
season. (Annie M. Nicolas) Puno)
 The Cross
CBCP Monitor
C4 Vol. 15 No. 2
January 17 - 30, 2011

FBG directs Metro Manila

AMs and FCs Meeting
The Fraternal Benefits Group
(FBG) put on the right direction
at the joint Area Meeting of
Area Managers and Fraternal
Counselors of Metro Manila
held last Dec. 30, 2010 at the
Social Hall of Knights of Co-
lumbus Fraternal Association
of the Philippines, Inc. (KC-
FAPI) building in Intramuros,
Manila.
VP- Fraternal Benefits Group
Joseph P. Teodoro, Fraternal
Benefits delivered his welcome
message and facilitated the re-
view of 2010 sales performance.
On the other hand, Gari M. San
Sebastian, Fraternal Benefits
Services Manager presented the
2011 Fraternal Benefits Group
plans and programs, incentive
programs as well as Metro
Manila area managers and fra-
ternal counselors’ targets for
this year.
Alonso L. Tan, KCFAPI Pres-
ident enthused the attendees
with his words of inspiration.
In view of the yuletide season,
KCFAPI Chairman Hilario Da-
vide graced the affair with his
Christmas message. Likewise,
Ma. Theresa G. Curia, Execu-
tive Vice President of KCFAPI
articulated her message for the
season.
After the meeting, Honorable
Davide led the KCFAPI staff
and Metro Manila area man-
agers and fraternal counselors
to a year end toast. (Vanessa Picture taken during the joint area meeting.
Puno)

Christmas celebration, Sta. Teresita Council 12308 sponsors

the KCFAPI way
KCFAPI had its Christmas Party last December 16, 2010 at the
Bayview Hotel, Manila with the theme “Christmas Around
the World”
Christmas party started off with a mass held at the KCFAPI
chapel which was concelebrated by Msgr. Pedro C. Quitorio
III, Msgr. Joselito Asis and Fr. Steve Villanueva after that,
guests immediately proceed to the venue.
The program was hosted by Mr. Gari San Sebastian, Ms.
Ma. Kristianne Pascual, Ms. Juno Amaris Mancenido, Ms.Joan
Apad and Ms. Loriz Sangalang. First part of the party was the
acknowledgement of guests. Followed by the opening prayer
led by Msgr.Quitorio and the singing of the National Anthem
led by Ms. Rachelle Valdez. After that, Mr. Alon Tan, President
of KCFAPI, delivered his opening remarks. following him was
Christmas party for senior citizens
Dubbed as “A Knight to Remember,”
Council 12308 of Sta. Teresita, Quezon
City in collaboration with the Parish Pas-
toral Council, Senior Citizens Association
and Sangguniang Barangay Officials of
Brgy. Sta. Teresita in Sta. Mesa Heights,
Quezon City hosted a Christmas dinner
party for Senior citizens of Sta. Teresita
Parish held at their parish gym on Dec.
9, 2010.
Alonso L. Tan, Luzon Deputy and State
Secretary Arsenio Isidro G. Yap graced
the jovial gathering of three hundred
senior citizens. Grand Knight Danilo
del Rosario, Vice President for Planning
of the Parish Pastoral Council gave the
opening remarks.
Fr. Rally S. Gonzaga OFMCap, the par-
ish priest of Sta. Teresita Parish delivered
his spiritual message. Different groups
of children delighted the audience with
their presentations. Fifty members of St.
Theresa’s College Grade School “Sinag
Primary Choral” amused the audience
with the rendition of Christmas songs.
“Mga Batang Mag-aaral sa Tahanan ni
Barbara Micarelli,” who are under the
guardianship of the Franciscan Mission-
aries of the Infant Jesus (FMIJ) Sisters
performed a dance number.
A Rondalla and dance number were
performed by the Children’s Joy Foun-
dation. The international champion, Sta.
Teresita Parish Choral also serenaded the
audience. OSCA Chairman and Col. Efren
Santos (Ret), together with his brothers
rendered some songs.
Barangay Officials and Council mem-
bers facilitated the gift sharing and dis-
tribution of gift packs and raffle.Lorenzo
Reyes, Barangay Chairman gave the clos-
ing remarks. (KC News)

KC Foundation holds yuletide gathering at GK Village

a Christmas message from KCFAPI’s Chairman of the Board,
Hon. Hilario G. Davide Jr.
It was a wonderful celebration where all the employees and
the Board of Trustees grabbed the chance to celebrate and feel
the Christmas spirit altogether as one family and at the same
time showcase the talents of the employees. After the speech
of Hon. Davide, everybody was given the chance to display
their creativity in the parade of UN costumes. There were
also group presentations where employees wholeheartedly
devoted time and effort for the said event.
Before the closing was the announcement of winners for the
Best in UN Costume. Ms. Javie Tatad bagged the best dressed
female award and Mr. Gari San Sebastian as best dressed male
awardee. Also, the best group presentation for that night was
the shadow show presenter (Group 1). EVP-Ma. Theresa Curia
gave her closing remarks and Ms. Mary Magdalene Flores
thanked everyone for the success of the event. (Joan Apad)
The Knights of Columbus Philippines
Foundation Inc. organized the first
Christmas party of the residents of
Bagong Pangarap Gawad Kalinga Vil-
lage held in Tungkong Mangga, San
Jose Del Monte in Bulacan last Dec. 12,
2010.
Dubbed as “Yuletide Gathering at
KC GK Village,” the occasion was a
get-together of the residents to share
the spirit of the season and to boost
Christian fellowship.
Msgr. Pedro Quitorio III, Chaplain
of the Knights of Columbus Fraternal
Association of the Phils., Inc. (KCFAPI)
presided over the Eucharistic Celebra-
tion. Alonso L. Tan, KC Philippines
Foundation Inc. President and Supreme
Director delivered a short inspirational
message.
The KC Foundation gave gifts to
the twenty-two beneficiaries and
five neighboring families by holding
a raffle sponsored by the KC Phils.
Foundation Inc.
Dr. Jaime Talag, medical consultant
of Knights of Columbus Fraternal As-
sociation of the Philippines, Inc. (KC-
FAPI) conducted a free consultation
and dispensed needed medicines.
Roberto Cruz, Executive Director of
the two Knights of Columbus Founda-
tions, Carmelita Ruiz, Manager of Un-
derwriting Department, Annie Nicolas,
Executive Secretary of KCFAPI and ten
staff attended the gathering.
There are a total of 22 houses and
one chapel, the Fr. Willmann Chapel,
built in the village by KC Philippines
Foundation Inc. in partnership with GK
Community Development Foundation,
Inc. (Vanessa Puno)