December 8 - 30, 2014

Vol. 18 No. 25 Php 20.00

Tagle backs anti-corruption drive

THE Manila archbishop has appealed to the
faithful to back the Churchs advocacy against
all forms of stealing and thievery inspired
by the Seventh Commandment Huwag kang
magnanakaw (Thou shalt not steal) in a bid to
bring about a moral recovery and reclaim the
stolen dignity of the Filipino people, especially in the light of the upcoming papal visit.
In a Dec. 2 open letter addressed his flock,
Lus Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle encouraged the
faithful to start wearing t-shirts on which Huwag kang magnanakaw is printed, as well as
to hang tarpaulins in front of parishes, shrines,
Drive / A6

Ruby floods blamed on logging

By Roy Lagarde

THERE are concerns that

the severe flash floods
that submerged large
parts of Eastern Samar
could have been caused
by deforestation.
At least nine people died
with agricultural lands and
infrastructure suffering severe
damage, government and local
church officials said.
Of the islands 24 towns, the
worst affected were the capital
city of Borongan, San Julian, Su-

lat, Taft, Can-avid, Dolores, Oras,

San Policarpo, Arteche, Jipapad
and Maslog.
Thousands of people remain
in evacuation centers, while
many upstream villages have
yet to be reached by aid agencies.
Borongan Bishop Crispin Varquez said the flooding caused
the most deadly and damaging
impact of typhoon Ruby which
made its first landfall in Dolores
town, roughly 65 kms north of
Borongan.
Among the nine confirmed casualties as of press time, at least
four were from Borongans San
Mateo village, all of whom were
Logging / A6

Archbishop Socrates Villegas, CBCP President, blesses biking priest Fr. Amado
Picardal, who is known for mounting advocacy cycling. Picardal embarked on
another journey to raise awareness about climate change on behalf of recent
calamity victims. The priest left Manila on Dec. 10, 2014 and is expected to reach
Iligan City where he will end his climate ride in two weeks, passing through
Bicol, Samar, Leyte, Surigao, Agusan, Compostela Valley, Davao, Bukidnon and
Cagayan de Oro.CBCPNews

Palo Archbishop John Du celebrates Mass with the evacuees of typhoon Ruby at the newly-built Pope Francis Center in Palo, Leyte on Sunday, Dec. 7, 2014. More than a hundred
residents of Palo took shelter at the facility on Dec. 6 when the typhoon brought strong winds and heavy rains, destroying houses and displacing thousands of people due to
flooding. Archdiocese of Palo

Stand up for Church of the

Poorreligious sector
STAND up for the Church of the Poor!
This sums up the plea made by the religious sector during the launch of the Years
of Consecrated Life and of the Poor recently
which prepare the Filipino faithful for the
5th centennial anniversary of the coming of
Christianity to the country in 2021.
In his interview over Church-run Radyo
Veritas, Fr. Dexter Toledo, executive secretary
of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSMP), shared
this season invites all Christians to remember
that Jesus was born poor.
Bumangon at Manindigan
In order to realize this, Toledo urged each
one has to do his part through works of charity, particularly to the less fortunate.
If last [liturgical] year we paid tribute to
the laity by inaugurating the Year of the Laity, this time we usher in the Church of the
Poor, the priest said.
This means laity and clergy alike are to
join forces, working hand in hand in bringing
the Church closer to the poor because Our
Lord Jesus Christ was Himself poor like so
many of our people, he added.

Themed Bumangon at Manindigan (Rise

and Stand up), the year-round event is in line
with the Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP)s declaration of 2015 as a
time for the faithful to do their part in helping the poor, especially in pushing for and
acting on the true alleviation, reduction, and
eradication of poverty in the country.
The occasion, which comes third in the
nine-year era of New Evangelization, prepares Filipinos ahead of the 500th anniversary of the coming of the Catholic Faith in
the Philippines in 2021.
Fr. Luke Moortgat, CICM, head of Archdiocese of Manilas YOP Committee, proposes
to make it more concrete, focusing on those
at the bottom of society who make up the
lowest 25 percent of the population.
The priest noted although a family of five
who live on P350 or less per day, or P70 each
person per day, may be considered poor,
in general, most of the poor are those with
disabilities, particularly the mentally challenged, and others.
While food and shelter are important, the
first that the people need is respect. We know
that Jesus has a special love and concern for

Laity, govt authorities urged:

Uphold rights of indigenous groups

Indigenous groups and concerned citizens gather to protest against mining in an event
in 2006 in Baguio City. File photo

A CHURCH office has called

on the lay faithful to uphold the
rights of Indigenous People (IP),
urging them to fight existing

realities of physical, cultural,

structural, and ecological violence that cause the severe marIndigenous / A7

Church body gives 1,813

Yolanda families new
homes for Christmas

the rejected, the ridiculed, the poorest of the

poor. He asks us to do the same, Moortgat
stressed.
Attending to the poor
For the religious sector, the Year of Consecrated Life, with its theme Prophetic Witnesses of the Gospel of Joy among the Poor
reaffirms their duty to proclaim Gods Word.
Toledo said the religious must take on
Pope Francis challenge to be exposed to the
reality of poverty, feeling what it means to
have next to nothing.
In his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel), the
Argentinian pontiff decries an excuse
commonly heard in academic, business or
professional, and even ecclesial circles that
cannot attend to the poor allegedly because
their lifestyle demands more attention to
other areas.
While it is quite true that the essential
vocation and mission of the lay faithful is
to strive that earthly realities and all human
activity may be transformed by the Gospel,
none of us can think we are exempt from
Stand / 7

Yolanda survivors turned

Ruby responders

Caritas Philippines will be building 3,753 shelter units (ten designs, eight resilient features)
in nine dioceses (118 communities) across Visayan Region under the #REACHPhilippines
Project. NASSA/Caritas Philippines

SOME 1,813 families who had

lost their houses to typhoon
Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013 are
happy to tell the world they will
be celebrating their first Christmas in brand-new shelters given
to them by the Churchs social
action arm.

I have devoted my life into

service expecting nothing in return.
This house is the most priceless
gift thats been offered to me. I can
only give thanks, shared Felicidad
Santocidad, one of the beneficiaries
in, Daanbantayan, Cebu.
Homes / A6

Advent about helping, being

for otherssister

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palo Relief and Rehabilitation delivers relief
packs to 1,150 Catbalogan City, Samar residents affected by typhoon Ruby. NASSA

NOTHING crushes the Filipino spirit. This is what the

Archdiocese of Palo Rehabilitation Unit (RRU), which

was among those devastated

by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
last year, showed when it acResponders / A7

WITH Christmas just a few

days away, a religious sister reminded the faithful of the need
to always live out the spirit of
helping and giving, particularly

to those in need.
We really made it to have
the celebration on the first
week of Advent as our way
Advent / A6

World News

A2

A silver lining from World War I?

Restored ties between UK, Holy See
VATICAN CITY, Dec 7, 2014A
Mass was said on Wednesday at
the Basilica of St. Paul Outside
the Walls to mark 100 years of
restored diplomatic relations
between Britain and the Holy
See, a relationship first broken
amid the English Reformation.
The UKs ambassador to the
Holy See, Nigel Baker, was
present at the Dec. 3 Mass and
stressed the significance of the
anniversary coinciding with that
of the beginning of World War I.
The reason relations were
restored between the Holy See
and the UK was because of
World War I, the ambassador
told CNA.
In a sense, it seems strange
to be celebrating something that
came out of WWI, the great human catastrophe, a calamity for
Europe in particular, he said.
But good things can come
out of bad.
From the time of his election
in 1914, Benedict XV worked
incredibly hard to try and bring
the different warring powers to
the peace table, he explained.
Diplomatic relations between
the Holy See and the UK were
maintained during the Middle
Ages until the English Reformation in the 16th century, a period
marked by brutal persecution of
Catholics throughout England.
Relations were officially ruptured in 1536 following Henry
VIIIs establishment of the Anglican Church; they were then

Two soldiers standing beside a World War One tank. Credit: Manchester Archives via
Flickr (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0).

re-established in 1553 by Mary,

a Catholic monarch who reigned
only five years, only to be broken
again under the reign of her halfsister, Elizabeth I.
It was not until December
1914, that the UK re-established
relations, with the assigning of
Henry Howard, a Catholic, to the
Special Mission to the Vatican
with the aim of engaging, Baker
said, with the Holy See on issues of peace, war, and conflict.
Relations between the UK and
the Holy See then received full
recognition in 1982, marked by
the official establishment of the
embassy.
That year also marked the
first ever visit to Britains shores

of a reigning Pope, Baker said.

Saint John Paul IIs pastoral
visit in 1982 was significant, he
continued, for it played a huge
role in allowing Catholics to see
themselves as a normal part of
British society.
Developments in diplomatic
relations between the UK and
the Holy See have continued to
develop over the years, including
Benedict XVIs well-received visit
to the nation in 2010 for the beatification of John Henry Newman.
The beatification, Baker said
brought together Anglicans
and Catholics, in a sense, in his
person because of his Anglican
past, and now as a Blessed member of the Catholic pantheon,

Relations were further

strengthened in April 2014,
when Elizabeth II paid a visit to
Pope Francis in the Vatican.
She doesnt travel much these
days, Baker said. I think it was
a sign of the importance that the
kingdom places on the relationship that this is one meeting that
she was very keen to have.
Aprils visit, he said, helped
to cement the bonds between
the papacy and the crown, and
I think developed a good, personal relationship between her
majesty and Pope Francis.
In his homily at the Mass,
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican
Secretary of State, said, We offer
today thanksgiving for the renewed relationship of trust and
respect between the Holy See
and the British Crown, fostered
across the length of a century.
Over the century the Catholic
Church, the Anglican Communion and other Christian communities have worked together
with the British Authorities in
the areas of justice, peace and
reconciliation, he noted.
The centenary is also a time
to recognize that we have been
sustained by the faith and perseverance of so many before us,
Cardinal Parolin continued. He
recalled, for instance, St. Augustine of Canterburys arrival
to England 1,400 years earlier,
where he discovered that the
Gospel of Christ had already
taken root in Britain. (CNA)

Sacred and human: New Washington art exhibit

shows both sides of Mary
WASHINGTON DC, Dec 4, 2014If the
saints, because of their sheer holiness, can
sometimes seem hard to relate to, the life of
Mary, the mother of Jesus, can seem even
more distant.
But a new exhibition of Western European
artwork portraying Mary during the 14th
through the 17th centuries shows her in
another light and reminds viewers that she
was indeed human. Artists portrayed her
holding a squirming son, resting during a
long journey, visiting her cousin and watching her grown son die.
The exhibition, Picturing Mary: Woman,
Mother, Idea at Washingtons National
Museum of Women in the Arts Dec. 5-April
12, includes more than 60 works of art from
well-known Renaissance and Baroque
artists, including Botticelli, Michelangelo,
Durer, Titian, Rembrandt and Caravaggio.
It also features the work of four women
artists: Sofonisba Anguissola, Artemisia
Gentileschi, Orsola Maddalena Caccia and
Elisabetta Sirani.
The worksprimarily paintings but also
some sculptures, textiles and etchingsare
predominantly from Italian museums,
churches and private collections, and many
have never been on display in the United
States.
Religious visitors will be deeply moved
by the exhibit, but it will also speak to nonbelievers about our universal experience
and the importance of a mothers embrace,
said the exhibits curator, Msgr. Timothy
Verdon, an art historian who was born in
New Jersey but lives in Florence, Italy, where

he directs the archdioceses Office of Sacred

Art and Church Cultural Heritage and the
Cathedral Foundation Museum.
The priest, who led a group of reporters on
a tour of the exhibit Dec. 3, did not hesitate
to point out works of art that particularly
highlighted Marys humanity.
In some of the typical Madonna and Child
poses, Jesus is either playing with Marys
hands or her veil. One marble relief from
1340, originally on the bell tower of a church
in Florence, shows a smiling Mary tickling a
laughing baby Jesus.
Its a miracle in its ordinariness, Msgr.
Verdon told reporters.
Mary is shown barefooted, sleeping and
about to breast-feed. She is often looking
down at Jesus and in some works she is sad
and contemplative. She sits on a throne, is
approached by angels and sits on the ground
in the two renditions of the Holy Familys
flight into Egypt, including one by Caravaggio where Joseph holds the sheet music for
an angel playing the violin for the family.
The works are also full of religious symbols. In a Botticelli painting, Mary is reading
from Scripture or a book of prayers while
holding the infant Jesus, or the word made
flesh as Msgr. Verdon noted. The infant is
holding gold nails in one hand and wearing a
gold crown of thorns on his wrist. The priest
said the symbolic items were likely added
later by another artist.
Another painting, with Mary holding Jesus with one hand and supporting a wooden
cross with the other, also includes an angel
holding a crown of flowers and a crown of

A woman looks at a painting during a preview tour of

the Picturing Mary: Woman, Mother Idea exhibit at the
National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington.
CNS/Bob Roller

thorns, depicting the sweetness of religious life and also the suffering that goes
along with it, the priest noted.
The special exhibit, which will only be
shown at the Washington museum, was
four years in the making and is part of a
partnership with the Italian Embassy and
The Catholic University of America, which is
sponsoring a number of programs throughout the year related to the exhibit.
Nora Heimann, chair of Catholic Universitys art department and associate professor
of art history, said the partnership was a
unique fit.
In a Nov. 18 interview, she told Catholic
News Service that the exhibit brings out all
the showstoppers by great artists. (CNS)

Procession of the relics of St. Francis Xavier in Old Goa outside Se Cathedral on his feast day, Dec. 3, 2014. Credit: Archdiocese of
Goa and Daman.

India, Indonesia, and Japan,

and died in 1552 on his way to
China.
His remains are normally kept
at the Basilica of Bom Jesus in
an elevated silver casket, but
they were transferred to Se
Cathedral on Nov. 22 for public
veneration. Some 95-100,000
pilgrims were coming to Goa
each day, but last weekend the
number surged to over 200,000
daily, in anticipation of his feast.
Some pilgrims have walked
hundreds of miles on foot to
visit the relics.
People have identified St.
Francis as a holy man of God
who can intercede for them; they

Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Vatican Briefing
Amid investigation, accounts of former Vatican Bank
directors frozen

More than $19.6 million in the accounts of two former managers

of the Institute for Religious Works, commonly known as the
Vatican Bank or IOR, have been frozen by a Vatican prosecutor
in the course of an investigation, it was announced Dec. 7. At
a Dec. 6 press conference, Holy See press officer Fr. Federico
Lombardi confirmed that Gian Piero Milano, promoter of justice for Vatican City State, was investigating two former IOR
directors regarding suspected embezzlement between 2001 and
2008. The investigation is based on suspicions aroused during
a 2013 internal review, part of ongoing financial reform at the
Vatican aimed at transparency and tackling money laundering.
Fr. Lombardi added that the accounts of those under investigation were frozen as a precautionary measure. (CNA)

Pope Francis decries persecution of Iraqi Christians in

video message

In a video message delivered to the displaced Iraqi Christians

on Saturday, Pope Francis decried the suffering experienced by
those persecuted for their faith, while expressing his gratitude
for their witness. I thank you for the witness you give, he said
Dec. 6. There is great suffering in your witness. Thank you!
Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon brought the video message
to Erbil, where tens of thousands of Christians displaced from
Mosul and the Nineveh plains have taken refuge after having
been driven from their homes by the Islamic State. Nearly 2
million people have been internally displaced since the militant
Sunni Islamist group began its offensive throughout northern
Iraq this summer. The archbishop, along with 100 faithful from
Lyon, arrived in Erbil Dec. 5 for a two-day visit. I think of the
tears, the sorrows of the mothers with their children, of the
elderly and the displaced, of the wounded, who are victims
of every kind of violence, the Pope said. (CNA)

Coming soon: the Vaticans report on US women religious

The Vatican has confirmed it will release its report on the state
of women religious in the United States later this month, following up on the apostolic visitation that concluded in January 2012. Its true, its trueIts the congregation that asked
us to put this conference in the calendar. Vatican spokesman
Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., told CNA Dec. 4, confirming
reports in the United States. The report, from the Congregation
for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
Life, will concern the survey of womens religious and their
communities in the U.S. known as an apostolic visitation. Fr.
Lombardi said that the congregation had requested a press
conference on its report. The conference will take place Dec.
16. The visitation was launched in 2008 to examine the quality
of religious communities across the U.S. It included meetings,
questionnaires, and visits to about one quarter of the countrys
religious communities. (CNA)

Investigation of former Dominican Republic nuncio

moves forward

Huge crowds flock to see St Francis Xaviers

relics on his feast day
PANJIM, India, Dec 5, 2014On
Wednesday, the 462nd anniversary of his death, an estimated
200,000 people visited Se Cathedral in Old Goa to venerate the
relics of St. Francis Xavier, the
Apostle to the Far East.
The saints relics are in the
midst of an exposition, lasting
from Nov. 22 until Jan. 4, 2015,
which only happens once every
ten years. The last exposition, in
2004, drew more than 2.5 million
to Goa.
There is a great spiritual
awakening through catechesis, which is animating faith
formation in the family and
also fostering the building of
small Christian communities,
explained Fr. Mario Saturnino
Dias, director of the Archdiocese
of Goa and Damans missionary
center.
We are indebted to Goencho
Saib in receiving faith, vocations, and the Catholic Church,
Fr. Dias told CNA Dec. 3.
The residents of Goa, irrespective of religion, hold St. Francis
Xavier in high esteem, calling
him Goencho Saib, Konkani
for Sir or Lord.
St. Francis Xavier was among
the first companions of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and was one of
the first members of the Society
of Jesus. He evangelized in

CBCP Monitor

have witnessed several grace

and miracles, Fr. Dias said.
The faith of the people is also
seen in the popular devotions
that are strengthened in the
Eucharist. Thousands of faithful
also queue for confessions.
Fr. Dias emphasized the role
of catechesis in promoting and
refining popular piety, which
the Goa-Daman archdiocese has
taken up formation modules sent
to the parishes.
During Mass on Dec. 3, Cardinal Oswald Gracias of Bombay
called Francis Xavier a holy
man, a messenger of God.
Cardinal Gracias family has
roots in Goa, and he noted that

it is through St. Francis teaching

of the catechism, administering
the sacraments, and forming
Christian communities that his
forefathers received the faith.
Through him my ancestors
received faith, and so today I
am thanking God for this gift
of faith.
The prelate, explaining the
jewel of faith received from
St. Francis, asked the faithful
Are we keeping it shining?
Is the Gospel the center of our
life?
Cardinal Gracias urged the
families to maintain and continue the Goan traditions of family
prayer and Bible reading. (CNA)

The Vaticans press officer provided an update on the trial of

laicized former nuncio Jozef Wesolowski, saying that the case
is moving forward, and the first stages of investigation and
questioning have begun. Regarding the situation of Mons.
Wesolowski, I can say that the Judiciary of the State of Vatican
City, continuing investigations, made a first interrogation of the
accused, of which others will follow, Fr. Federico Lombardi
S.J. said in a Dec. 2 statement. Wesolowski, 66, was laicized
earlier this year after being accused of having paid for sex with
minors while nuncio to the Dominican Republic. In September,
he was placed under house arrest, rather than being jailed in
Vatican Citys prison, due to poor health. In his statement, Fr.
Lombardi explained that because the deadline for the former
nuncios preventative custody has passed, and due to his poor
health, Wesolowski is authorized to have a certain freedom
of movement, but must remain within the Vatican City State
and with limited external communications. (CNA)

Religious leaders sign joint declaration to eradicate slavery

Leaders of the worlds major religions came together at the

Vatican on Dec. 2 to sign a common declaration condemning
slavery and urging the world to action, and were addressed
by Pope Francis. We, the undersigned, are gathered here
today for a historic initiative to inspire spiritual and practical
action by all global faiths and people of good will everywhere
to eradicate modern slavery across the world by 2020 and for
all time, the Dec. 2 declaration read. Arranged by the Global
Freedom Network, an organization founded by Catholic, Anglican and Muslim leaders to eradicate human trafficking, the
signing of the Declaration Against Slavery was attended by
leaders of seven of the worlds largest religious traditions. The
declaration was signed by Pope Francis and by representatives
of the Orthodox Church, Anglicans, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists,
and Hindus. (CNA)

Muslims must speak out against terrorism, violence,

Pope insists

On his in-flight press conference returning from a three-day trip

to Turkey, Pope Francis said that Muslim leaders around the
world must speak out against violence and terrorism carried
out in the name of Islam. I believe sincerely that it cant be said
that all Muslims are terrorists. You cant say that. Just as you
cant say that all Christians are fundamentalists because we have
them too, eh. In all religions, there are these little groups, he
said Nov. 30. I told the (Turkish) president that it would be nice
if all the Muslim leaders, whether political leaders or religious
leaders or academic leaders, say that clearly and condemn it,
no? he continued, explaining that all of us need a worldwide
condemnation, also from Muslims who have the identity who
say We arent that. The Quran isnt that. The Pope also offered
a firm warning on the situation of Middle East Christians. Truly,
I dont want to use sweetened words. Christians are being chased
out of the Middle East. Sometimes, as we have seen in Iraq, the
area of Mosul, they have to go away and leave everything, or
pay the tax which doesnt do any good. (CNA)

Pope calls for more integration of divorced Catholics, gays

Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church must consider

various ways to integrate the divorced and civilly remarried
in the life of the churchnot merely allowing them to receive
Communion, but letting them serve as eucharistic ministers
and godparentsand to make it easier for Catholic families
to accept their homosexual members. The pope also said he
would travel to three Latin American countries and several
African countries in 2015, and that major reforms of the Vatican
bureaucracy, including the possible appointment of a married
couple to head a new office, will not be ready before 2016. Pope
Francis made his remarks in an interview published Dec. 7 in
the Argentine newspaper La Nacion. The interview, with
journalist Elisabetta Pique, was conducted Dec. 4 in the popes
suite at the Vatican guesthouse, where he lives. Regarding such
Catholics, we posed the question, what do we do with them?
What door can be opened for them? Pope Francis said. Communion alone is no solution. The solution is integration. (CNS)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

News Features

A3

This familys best Cardinal Scola: Pope Francis will stand

kept secret: prayer with tradition on marriage
VATICAN City, Dec 3, 2014In an interview
with an Italian paper published on Tuesday,
Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan stated that
Pope Francis will not push the Church away
from the understanding of marriages indissolubility.
During the synod, I thoroughly discussed
with Cardinals Marx, Daneels, and Schoenborn in my minor circle about the possible
access to communion for the divorced and
remarried, but I cannot see how to combine
on one side the indissolubility of the marriage, and on the other seeming to deny de
facto the same principle, the cardinal told
Corriere della Sera Dec. 2.
This way of thinking would end in a separation between doctrine and pastoral care
and discipline, he said, and indissolubility
would be almost reduced to a Platonic idea
which is not reflected in real life.
Such reasoning also poses a grave educative problem: how can we tell young people
getting married, who have difficulties with
the forever, of the indissolubility of marriage if they know there will always be a
possible exit?
Cardinal Scola said the Pope will not
likely take any stance that he himself would
not sharethat is, one not in accord with the
Churchs tradition.
He emphasized that the majority of
synod fathers supported the indissolubility
of marriage.
Cardinal Scolas own proposal at the
synod, he said, was one of making an anthropological reflection on sexual difference,

Vatican City - September 14, 2014: A couple newly married by Pope Francis receives communion in St. Peters Basilica
on Sept. 14, 2014. CNA Vatican City - September 14, 2014: A couple newly married by Pope Francis receives communion
in St. Peters Basilica on Sept. 14, 2014. CNA

and a theological reflection on the relation

between marriage and the Eucharist, and to
simplify the process of investigating nullity,
involving the local bishop more.
Given that Pope Francis will not likely go
against tradition, Cardinal Scola underscored
on the other hand that we must acknowl-

edge the style of this Pope, provocation to us

Europeans, since it leads us to consider our
commitment as Christians in a different way.
Pope Francis style requires humility of
all of us, that we listen to him and receive his
perspective. (Andrea Gagliarducci/CNA/
EWTN News)

Ignoring God, not glorifying him, leads to

violence, pope says
The Fernando family has experienced it all, keeping prayer at the center of their daily
life. Yen Ocampo

MANILA, Dec. 2, 2014 From

a tricycle driver to CEO/President: We always pray in everything we do, thats our secret.
Many believe poverty is not
a hindrance to success, but it
has certainly shaken many marriages. A young couple from
Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, secretly married at first,
and eventually receiving the
Churchs blessing on their union
on December 14, 1997, dared to
dream despite the odds.
Carlito Fernando and now
his wife, Laarni were classmates
from grade two to grade six.
Despite the odds
Laarni, from a well known
family, entered a Catholic school
for her secondary education,
Carlito, on the other hand, studied in a public school. Despite
what seemed like an abyss between them, he pursued Laarni
by finding her name on the
phone directory; they soon became phone pals.
It was a matter of time before
the two decided to defy their
parents, eloping at the age of 17.
The chance of failure for the
young couple was enormous, yet
their faith became their strength.
Carlito and Laarni started to
serve in different Church activities, becoming members of
Cursillo Movement, Family
Life Apostolate and Knight of
Columbus.
One of the most important
things when you engage in
Church communities [is that]
theres always someone who
will remind you that happiness comes from your family
and it is the most important
thing for me my family, said
Carlito.
Adjustment became part of
their everyday lives; reminders from their Church communities helped a lot. They
were always told: In every
problem, theres always a
solution and they need to be
strong.
The biggest struggle for Carlito and Laarni was poverty.
They experienced living day to
day with just enough to eat. The
couple knew that such a situation could take a toll on their
marriage, especially affecting
their children.
Carlito worked hard every
day to improve their lives. He
was determined to improve their
economic status.
Despite being a family man,
Carlito pursued his studies and
became a bank manager at the
age of 23. He was promoted to
vice president of a major microfinancing and lending company
at the age of 26; then, two years
later, they decided to put up their
own business.
Truly blessed
Carlito and Laarni, both 34
years-old now, are blessed
with five children. The latter
had miscarried their firstborn,

whom they named Angelito, at 8

months. Their second child, who
followed soon after was named
Lawrence Carlo; he is now 13
years-old. He is followed by 11
year-old Lian Cyrel; Lara Christen, 8 years-old; and the youngest, Andre Catalina, 1year-old.
Our faith is our strength,
Carlito furthered.
The couple continues to be
active in different Church activities. Carlito is currently the Rector of the Cursillo Movement,
Head of Family Life Apostolate
and an official of the Knights of
Columbus Council 6000.
They return the blessings
they receive; one of them is
giving vocation school and college scholarships to deserving
students through the Knights of
Columbus.
Carlito and Laarni also received plaques of appreciations
for their untiring support to the
Church and to Knights of Columbus Councils activities.
Their faith strengthens their
family, and because of this all
the more that they hope their
children get closer to God.
We pray the rosary together,
we also pray before and after
meals. My perspective is for my
children to appreciate the blessings of the Lord and share it with
others. Our Church communities
play a vital role for ourfamily,
Carlito added.
Being family-oriented is a very
Filipino characteristic one that
should really be treasured.
More than a company
It is always a matter of
choice on how you can be determined to change your life
and to help your family, your
community, the Church and
the people who need help. We
must focus on what we want,
advised Carlito.
The latter is now the CEO/
President of KASAPI Lending,
focusing on micro entrepreneurs
with 42 branches all over Central
and Northern Luzon, Philippines.
Their company aims to help
small villagers in the provinces
to manage their own businesses
by giving financial assistance.
Their products include trainings,
savings and credit, plus values
formation.
Carlito and Laarni share their
experiences and knowledge to
their clients. They have hundreds of employees, who pray
together before work, recite the 3
oclock prayer together and who
have Bible reading and worship
every Saturday.
We are not just a company
focusing on micro entrepreneurs
or a company who wants to help
others because we experienced
to be deprived; but because
we are family and our core
value is honesty, integrity, team
work and God centeredness,
Carlito shared. (Yen Ocampo/
CBCPNews)

VATICAN City, Dec 3, 2014It is

the complete disregard for God,
not his glorification, that leads
to violence in this world, Pope
Francis said.
That is why people of faith,
particularly Christians and Muslims, must work together for
peace, and governments must
guarantee full religious freedom
for their citizens and religious
communities, he said Dec. 3 at
his weekly general audience.
Just a few thousand peoplehuddled under umbrellas
and plastic ponchosgathered in St. Peter s Square for
a rainy Wednesday audience.
Pope Francis told them they
were courageous to venture
out in such weather, and said
with a smile that ugly days
should be faced with beautiful faces.
The pope dedicated his general audience talk to a few of the
highlights and hopes from his
trip to Turkey Nov. 28-30.
The importance of religious
freedom, he said, was the focus
of the first day of the trip when
he met with government authorities of the Muslim-majority
nation with a constitution affirming the secular nature of
the state.
With government leaders, he
said, we talked about violence
and how it is precisely forgetting
about God, not his glorification,
that generates violence.
That is why I insisted on the
importance of Christians and
Muslims working together for
solidarity, peace and justice, underlining how every nation must

Pope Francis recently talked about how putting God in the sidelines results to violence
and unrest in the world. CNA

guarantee citizens and religious

communities real freedom of
worship, he said.
Before the general audience in
St. Peters Square, Pope Francis
told the crowd, he met with
people taking part in the Third
Christian-Muslim Summit,
hosted this year by the Pontifical Council for Interreligious
Dialogue. Participants, he said,
expressed the same desire that
Catholics, other Christians and
Muslims continue working in
fraternal dialogue.
Dialogue is the path of
peace, he told them, according
to a Vatican statement.
Prayer, on the other hand,
is the foundation and path of
Christian unity, the pope said
in his audience talk, adding that

ecumenism was another major

focus of the trip.
Mass in Istanbuls Cathedral of
the Holy Spirit brought together
Syrian, Armenian and Chaldean
Catholics, as well as members of
the Latin-rite church. A number
of Orthodox dignitaries also
attended the Mass, including
Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch
Bartholomew of Constantinople,
as well as representatives of Istanbuls Protestant communities.
Together we invoked the
Holy Spirit, who is the one who
brings unity to the church
unity in faith, unity in charity
and unity within hearts, he said.
Unity among Christians and
unity within the Catholic Church
both depend on the Holy Spirit
who does everything, he said.

It is up to us to let him work,

embrace him and follow his
inspiration.
Pope Francis said it was particularly significant that after
praying together at a liturgy for
the feast of St. Andrew, he and
Patriarch Bartholomew signed
a joint declaration to continue
working toward full communion between Catholics and
Orthodox.
The feast day was an ideal
occasion to strengthen the fraternal ties between the bishop
of Rome, the successor of Peter
and the patriarch, whose church
was founded upon the tradition
of the apostle Andrew, Peters
brother.
The pope also told people
at the audience that it was
very important for me to meet
refugees from war zones in the
Middle East, adding that the
encounter was beautiful and
also heartbreaking.
He thanked Turkey for welcoming so many victims of war
and conflict into its country
and he thanked those religious
communities working to help
them.
I thank all people who work
on behalf of refugees so much.
Let us pray for all displaced
people and refugees and that the
causes of this painful scourge be
removed.
The pope asked that God help
the people of Turkey continue to
build together a future of peace
so that Turkey can represent
a land of peaceful coexistence
among different religions and
cultures. (Carol Glatz/CNS)

Nun warns against hidden sexual abuse

MANILA, Nov. 29, 2014Many sexual
abuse victims choose to suffer in silence
and keep their experiences secret because
sometimes, it involves an immediate family
member.
According to Sr. Adel Abamo (SDS), Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children (SPCC)
executive director, many abused women and
children are forced to keep silent because
they lack support from family members, in
some cases, mothers of the victims themselves.
The denial on the part of the mother could
be very deep, forcing the daughter to choose
silence and grief, she said. It profoundly
hurts the daughter.
Abamo said some mothers deny the
culpability of their husbands, causing their
daughters to keep the incidents unresolved
and unreported to authorities, sometimes,
for more than a decade.
The victims hide such experiences manifest negative behaviors like irritability, fear,
dejection, hopelessness and even mental
breakdowns, she said.
Church as refuge
Abused women and children also find a
refuge in the Church, Abamo said, noting
a particular pattern based on the 13-year
experience of child welfare advocates.
Young people sexually and physically
abused choose to open up to the church
first than to government authorities, she
said.
According to Abamo, this is the case even
if some parishes were unaware of cases of

Sisters of the Divine Savior (SDS) during the 6th National Congress of the Salvatorian Pastoral Care for Children (SPCC).
Salvatorian Sisters

abused women and children under their

jurisdiction until SPCC started providing
orientations to parishioners, and conducting
social investigations.
The SPCC has been good news to abused
women and children since its the program
began in 2001, she added. In the group,
they have a refuge, she added, where they
can unload their emotional baggage, regain
hope, and rebuild their life.
Women and children programs
The abused are evaluated by SPCCs social
workers to determine their needs, they may
also file criminal charges or seek temporary
shelter, Abamo said.

Abamo, however, pointed out that many

parish priests do not realize the importance
of having a women and children welfare
program in their parishes.
The parish should adopt it since abused
women and children seek the church first to
tap assistance before the government.
We encourage every parish to set up
welfare and protection program for children
and women since abused do not go to the
barangay to complain, she noted.
Began by the Sisters of the Divine Savior
in 2001, SPCC is currently adopted by six
parishes in the Diocese of Novaliches and
three in the Archdiocese of Cebu. (Oliver
Samson/CBCPNews)

Opinion

A4

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

EDITORIAL

Lessons from Yolanda

THE lessons, or better yet, the trauma that super typhoon Yolanda
(internationally code-named Haiyan) etched on the psyche of typhoon
survivors has lessened to a very great extent the damage caused by the
recent typhoon Ruby (Hagupit).
A day before the first landfall in Dolores, Eastern Samar people had
already scampered to evacuation centers that were farther now from
the shorelines. According to the Office for Disaster Risk Reduction
(UNISDR) of the United Nations, the evacuations triggered by this
typhoon were seen as the largest ever in peace-time history of the
Philippines. The governments Civil Defense Office reported 1.6 million
people that trooped voluntarily to evacuation centers, not only in Eastern
Visayas but also in many southern provinces of Luzon.
The graphic images of thousands of dead bodies littered in the streets
of Tacloban City for at least five days during the onslaught of typhoon
Yolanda that barreled through with 17-foot typhoon surges remained vivid
nightmares in peoples minds. It had become psychological baggage
for many who would shiver every time they hear strong winds or rain.
This was deep-seated devastation that needed deeper rehabilitation -more than shelter or livelihood. Be that as it may, but this has, in fact,
tightened the casualties of typhoon Ruby to only about twenty two or so.

There is one thing, though, that still need to be learned: environmental

protection and the denudation of forest cover. This is the case of the
City of Borongan which was the only area among the typhoon-stricken
localities that was heavily flooded not by typhoon surge from the Pacific
Ocean as in the case of Yolanda, but by the flash floods that came raging
down from denuded mountains. The reported 16 fatalities in this locality
were drowned in mud slithering from the flash floods. For over a decade
Borongan hosted a logging company that may be credited for the severe
deforestation of the area.
Some are saying that typhoons the likes of Yolanda and Ruby are the
new normal. But the care for the environment especially in terms of
policy is, to this day, still far from normal.

No to the new idolatry of money

ONE cause of this situation is found in our relationship with money, since
we calmly accept its dominion over ourselves and our societies. The
current financial crisis can make us overlook the fact that it originated in
a profound human crisis: the denial of the primacy of the human person!
We have created new idols. The worship of the ancient golden calf (cf.
Ex 32:1-35) has returned in a new and ruthless guise in the idolatry of
money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly
human purpose. The worldwide crisis affecting finance and the economy
lays bare their imbalances and, above all, their lack of real concern for
human beings; man is reduced to one of his needs alone: consumption.
While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is
the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those
happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend
the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation.
Consequently, they reject the right of states, charged with vigilance for
the common good, to exercise any form of control. A new tyranny is
thus born, invisible and often virtual, which unilaterally and relentlessly
imposes its own laws and rules. Debt and the accumulation of interest
also make it difficult for countries to realize the potential of their
own economies and keep citizens from enjoying their real purchasing
power. To all this we can add widespread corruption and self-serving
tax evasion, which have taken on worldwide dimensions. The thirst for
power and possessions knows no limits. In this system, which tends to
devour everything which stands in the way of increased profits, whatever
is fragile, like the environment, is defenseless before the interests of a
deified market, which become the only rule.
No to a financial system which rules rather than serves
Behind this attitude lurks a rejection of ethics and a rejection of God.
Ethics has come to be viewed with a certain scornful derision. It is seen
as counterproductive, too human, because it makes money and power
relative. It is felt to be a threat, since it condemns the manipulation and
debasement of the person. In effect, ethics leads to a God who calls for a
committed response which is outside the categories of the marketplace.
When these latter are absolutized, God can only be seen as uncontrollable,
unmanageable, even dangerous, since he calls human beings to their full
realization and to freedom from all forms of enslavement. Ethicsa
non-ideological ethicswould make it possible to bring about balance
and a more humane social order. With this in mind, I encourage financial
experts and political leaders to ponder the words of one of the sages
of antiquity: Not to share ones wealth with the poor is to steal from
them and to take away their livelihood. It is not our own goods which
we hold, but theirs.
A financial reform open to such ethical considerations would require
a vigorous change of approach on the part of political leaders. I urge
them to face this challenge with determination and an eye to the future,
while not ignoring, of course, the specifics of each case. Money must
serve, not rule! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he
is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help,
respect and promote the poor. I exhort you to generous solidarity and
to the return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which
favors human beings.
-- Evangelii Gaudium, #55-58, 2013

www.cbcpmonitor.com
cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Pedro C. Quitorio

Ronalyn R. Regino

Nirvaana E. Delacruz

Gloria Fernando

Roy Q. Lagarde

Ernani M. Ramos

Kris Bayos

Marcelita Dominguez

Editor-in-Chief

Associate Editor

News Editor

Features Editor

Layout Artist

Marketing Supervisor

Circulation Manager

Comptroller

The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the Areopagus

Social Media for Asia, Inc. with editorial and business offices
at 3rd Flr. HHC Building, Victoria cor. Basco Sts., Intramuros,
Manila. Editorial: (632) 404-2182. Business: (632) 404-1612.;
ISSN 1908-2940

Illustration by Brothers Matias

The epic fail of both the local and national governments first responders
during typhoon Yolanda has greatly improved this time. It took them
less time to clear the highways of debris and felled trees that otherwise
would delay the delivery of relief commodities. Relief goods from
LGUs, DSWD, Church and non-government organizations started coming
the morning after. The governments power agency and local electric
cooperatives started working on power lines as soon as the roads were
cleared. And so were the telecommunications providers. This was not
so with Yolanda that seemingly started with political maneuverings.

Pope Francis: A special

gift of God to the world
IT all started when practically unknown to
the Church in particular and to the world in
general, there was this simple and humble,
kind and lovable Cardinal from Argentina
who was elected Pope unexpectedly and
decidedly fast. And certain things immediately caught the attention of people. There
was a white albatross that flew to Rome from
the far ocean of Italy that particular evening
and nonchalantly perched itself on top of
the chimney of the Sistine Chapel which
signaled his de facto papal election with white
smoke after the counting and burning of the
ballots in his favoraccording to a centuries
old custom.
In the same way, surprisingly the new
Pope did not want to wear the impressive
dark velvet papal cape and neither felt
comfortable with donning himself with an
elaborate vestment when he blessed the
thousands of people at the Vatican City
Square anxiously waiting for his first papal
appearance. Not long after, there was a pure
white dove that flew and perched on the

and thats the truth

condemning. Do we not pray
every day, Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin
against us? If we can be blind
to our own faults, how can we
claim to see those of others?
How do we know that these
difficult priests we complain
about do not beat their breasts
every night in remorse? Who
are we to weigh their souls and
read their hearts? Who are we
to judge?
We can only beg the Lord to
increase our compassion and
faith in His mercy for us sinners. In Gods goodness He
tenderly receives us penitents
in His Heart, shows us our
wounds, and humbles us in secret. If the Lord can strengthen
us to embrace His cross, how
much more His anointed men
upon whose shoulders He has
placed heavier crosses? We

Marys Fiat and our will

FIAT mihi secundum verbum tuum (Be it
done to me according to your word). These
are the famous words of Our Lady that
radically changed the course of the history
of mankind.
With them, Gods work of human redemption started to take place in its final form.
Our time recovered its fullness when it was
reunited with the divine eternity. Our state
of being a fugitive from God due to our sin
is given a reprieve and a way to reconcile
with God.
And thats because, with these words, the
Son of God became man. Et verbum caro
factum est (And the Word was made flesh).
In the very womb of Mary, the reconnection
between God and man, sundered by sin, was
established.
In a very mysterious way, a woman, a
creature became the mother of her Creator
and Savior, and thus, enjoyed a number of
divine favors and privileges, among them,
those of her Immaculate Conception, perpetual virginity and assumption into heaven,
without compromising her humanity and
her freedom.
Mary becomes the icon of the most ideal

Views and Points

right hand of the man of Godwho simply

had himself called Pope Franciswhen
he was blessing the people outside the St.
Peters Basilica. Nothing miraculous perhaps
but certainly intriguing.
So it is that after his election to the Pontificate, he formally and officially acquired
all the following high and singular Titles
of every Popewhether he liked it or not:
Vicar of Christ, Successor of St. Peter, Prince of
the Apostles, Supreme Pontiff of the Universal
Church, Patriarch of the West, Primate of Italy,
Sovereign of the Vatican City State, Europe.
But not long thereafter, one curious thing
after another came to foreafter he simply
and plainly wanted to be called Pope Francis. Gradually but surely, it became known
to many that while already a Cardinal: He
wore simple clothes. He did his own cooking.
He rode buses, trucks and trains. He paid for
his own bills. He brought food to the poor
and ate with them. He freely approached
people and people freely approached him.
He was a kind man. He was a good priest.

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS

THE wise rector s attitude

towards his videoke-loving
priests for me reflects our
Heavenly Fathers magnanimity of heart, and His Sons
mercy and compassion showered upon shepherds following
His footsteps.
We may adopt Pope Francis most frequently quoted
(and misunderstood) question,
Who am I to judge? in reflecting upon what we perceive as
the erratic ways of our priests.
To begin with, we can ask the
Lord to show us how our own
weaknesses are feeding those
of the priests.
Priests do not live in a vacuumwe are part of their world,
we share in their culpability.
When on account of their soiled
hands we hold priests in contempt we may be committing a
sin just as grave as that we are

Oscar. V. Cruz, DD

He was an admirable Cardinal. He is a great

Pope. He is a special gift of God to the world
divided by ideologies, suffering from discrimination between wealthy and miserable
countries, afflicted by one fatal sickness after
another, torn by very deadly wars. Soon, the
Time Magazine pronounced him Man of the
Year to acclaim his big popularity even
among the secular media.
He seems to be in a hurry to reach out,
to go and meet people from one country to
another. All his formal and informal pronouncements are mostly about the goodness
of God and the poor he earnestly invites the
People of God to help, promote and defend.
So it is that he readily went from country to
countrywithout counting the cost to his
age and strength. And sooner than later, he
is coming to the Philippines! The Filipinos
are eager to see his person, to listen to his
teaching, to go as close to him as possible
just as he wants to go to people as closely
as possible.
Mabuhay, Pope Francis!

The priests, 4
can only marvel at how the
mysterious ways God melts
the hardest of hearts, including
those of priests.
A priest in his late 30s
bright, good-looking, energetic,
esteemed by colleagues and
superiors alikefell from his
proverbial ivory tower when he
underwent a so-called executive check up.
Day one at the hospital he
enjoyed the attention of the
nurses and the doctors who
complimented him on his attractive qualities and sizzling
energy. Day two proved to be
a different story. He was subjected to several tests, samples
of his body liquids were taken,
and his insides were prepared
for more tests. He was to say
on hindsight: That was my
first time to be so physically
exposed. That part of my body

which for years I had reverently

kept for Gods eyes only, became a mere laboratory specimen. While the doctors and
the nurses called me Father,
I felt more like a piece of meat
being scrutinized, evaluated,
and labeled.
The enema was particularly
agonizing, he recalled, Nothing prepared me for that kind
of assault on my dignity. I felt
violated. That was so cruel, far
worse than any penance I had
experienced in my whole life. I
was wilted when it was over.
The procedure wearied him
physically, but the experience
soon enveloped his being in a
newfound self-knowledge: I
realized I had presumptuously
placed myself above others
(less gifted); I was riding high,
on top of the world, with my
And Thats The Truth / A6

Fr. Roy Cimagala

Candidly Speaking

state of man as he is meant to be, in the mind

of God, at the beginning of creation, before
sin came, as well as at the end of time, when
everything would be reconciled with God
our Father through the cross of his Son and
her Son.
She is the most perfect among all the
creatures. Greater than her, no one else was
except God, as one saint would put it. She is
the perfect personification of what is meant
to be the image and likeness of God in
which man was designed and created.
She is also the perfect personification of
man redeemed by Christ after we have all
fallen into sin. Being the perfect co-redeemer
in Christ, she embodies the best results of
the redemptive work of her Son, thus she
deserved the assumption into heaven body
and soul without waiting for the end of time.
All these mainly because of that word,
Fiat (Be it done). Her openness to Gods
will, her obedience to the divine designs for
man somehow started the healing of the disobedience of our first parents that plunged
all of us into a life and a world of sin.
That Fiat is the best example of obedience that man as a creature can have in

relation to the will of God, our Creator and

Father. It perfectly echoes in a mysteriously
anticipative way also Christs obedience to
the will of his FatherIf it is your will, let
this cup pass by me, but not my will but
yours be done.
Marys Fiat is the perfect model of how
our will ought to be conformed to Gods will.
We have to be reminded that by the very nature of our will, the very seat of our freedom,
our will is supposed to be in sync with the
will of its Creator. It just cannot be by itself,
turning and moving purely by its own.
It is meant to be engaged with the will of
God, its creator and lawgiver. It is the very
power we have been given by God that
enables us to unite ourselves with God in
the most intimate way. All the other aspects
of our lifephysical, biological, chemical,
etc.are also governed by God-given laws
but, by themselves, they cannot bring us into
intimate union with God.
We cannot expropriate our will to be
simply our own. We are meant only to be
stewards of it, not its owner nor its designer,
creator and lawgiver. It has to submit itself to
Candidly Speaking / A7

Opinion

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, SThD

Along The Way

FROM December 10 to 23, 2014, I will be
pedaling my bicycle from Manila to Mindanao, passing through Bicol, Samar, Leyte,
Surigao, Agusan, Compostela Valley, Davao,
Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro and ending in
Iligan City. These are the areas devastated
by typhoons for the last four years: Yolanda
(2013), Pablo (2012), Sendong (2011) and now
Ruby. This covers approximately 1,800 km
which I am doing in two weeks. I will be
doing this alone most of the time, but along
the way, there will be some local cyclists in
major cities who will accompany me for a
few hours. I will be staying overnight in
parishes and will concelebrate in the Aguinaldo Masses and preach. I have planned
and trained for this ride since four months
ago, but super typhoon Ruby has increased
its urgency and relevance.
I have done three advocacy rides (for life
and peace) around the country in my younger years and I thought I wouldnt be doing
this anymore once I become a senior citizen. But the super-typhoons that have hit
our country every year and other calamities
such as floods and droughts have spurred
me to ride my bike across the country once
again. I am aware that these are not acts of
God or mere natural occurrences. These are
manifestations of climate change.
This is why I call this a Climate Ride
and I am doing this in honor of the victims
of typhoons Sendong, Pablo, Yolanda and
the most recent - Ruby. I also do this to call
attention to climate change and the disasters

Almighty Father, We Seek

Your Mercy and Compassion!
LOS ANGELES, CaliforniaAs
of press time, another super
typhoon named Ruby, with
international name Hagupit
(Filipino term for lash or
smash) entered the Philippine area of responsibility. Ruby
has the same path as Yolanda/
Haiyan, but the local weather
agency PAGASA said it is not as
super strong as the latter.
As earlier reported by media,
Ruby had sustained winds of
287kph and gusts of 351kph
and was expected to affect an
estimated 5.36 million families
or a total of 50.67 million people
within the wide range of 40-mile
radius from 50 to 80 provinces in
the country covering Eastern and
Central Visayas, portions of Mindanao, Palawan, Southern and
Central Luzon. The U.S. Navys
Joint Typhoon Warning Center
(JTWC) has classified a typhoon
as a super typhoon when it has
a maximum sustained winds of
220kph.
His Eminence Luis Antonio
Cardinal Tagle enjoined everyone to pray the Oratio Imperata
or prayer of deliverance from
calamities. Calls for prayer brigades had been going around
in social media and via text
messages. The prayer includes
protection from super typhoon
Ruby.
PAGASA later reported that
Ruby weakened to 195kph
(121mph) and gusts of 230kph
(143mph). The number of af-

fected provinces was reduced,

as well, to 47, which still includes
Metro Manila. Both JTWC and
Japan Meteorological Agency
(JMA) said Ruby will likely veer
to the northwest toward Southern Luzon and may threaten
Metro Manila areas.
It is known that typhoons
gather strength while in the
waters; Ruby is coming from
the Pacific Ocean and the first
landfall is expected to head towards Eastern Samar, as what
Yolanda did. Since Eastern and
Central Visayas are composed
of several islands, Ruby may
make several landfalls on these
islands, like what happened
during Yolanda. As a typhoon
makes a landfall, and crosses the
waters towards another island, it
gathers strength and becomes a
stronger typhoon.
The residents of Yolanda/
Haiyan-stricken areas have
learned their lessons when the
super typhoon killed almost
6,800 people, with more people
still missing, causing reat damage caused to properties. Days
before the onslaught of Ruby,
local government units and the
residents had been preparing for
contingencies. They had already
evacuated thousands of people
to safer areas. Schools and other
buildings were used as evacuation areas. The newly-repaired
churches in the Yolanda-affected
areas opened their doors to the
evacuees. Foods and emergency

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

Whatever
BY this time in December, and even a month
before that, we, Filipinos, would have
already decked the halls, walls and doors
with golden wreathes, snowmen, Santas,
reindeers and stockings. In other countries,
Christmas decors would only come up a
few days before Christmas. Before that,
they would have what I could call Advent
decorations.
Advent is the time of preparing or waiting for our Lords birth which we callin
case you already forgotChristmas! But Advent cannot be converted into either a cold,
indifferent state of simply putting up with
dusty still-hanging permanent ornaments
or into a shopping blizzard spree striving to
outdo last years Yuletide motif.
Advent begins with each of us: our conversion, our change of heart, and our receiving Jesus. Despite this, we have to admit that
the seasons materialistic momentum is still
unavoidable. We cannot help but prepare for
the parties, gifts, and reunions that this time
of the year naturally brings with it in work
and family. Thus, we might as well positively
and spiritually internalize everything, even
that which may be materially distracting, to
deepen our preparation for Christmas.
The sheer material preparations for
Christmas can often include the following:
taking out, cleaning and re-using the familys
traditional decors, decorating the house,
shopping for Christmas provisions such as
food and additional decors, and buying or
making gifts. Now lets begin interiorizing
each of these elements!

Commentary

Climate Ride

that result from it. Among these are extreme

weather events like super-typhoons, floods,
droughts, rising sea levels, water and food
crisis, etc. The Philippines has become one
of the most vulnerable countries to climate
change.
While we focus our attention on disaster
relief and preparedness, that is not enough.
We have to address the causeclimate
changethat threatens to destroy our
homethis earthand our lives and the
lives of the future generation.
We are being reminded that we, human
beings, are responsible for climate change
due to our materialist and consumerist lifestyle, deforestation, dependence on fossil
burning fuel for our cars, factories, power
plants which emit carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, resulting
in global warming and climate change. As
the oceans get warmer, the super-typhoons
have become the new normal.
The government must come up with measures to address more seriously the problem
of climate change and mitigate its effects.
Since our country and our people are the
one of the most vulnerable and adversely
affected by climate change, the government
must make a more vigorous representation
in the coming UN climate talks in Lima. It
is not enough to ask for aid from foreign
nations for the disasters that devastate us.
The government must demand from these
nations commitment to address the cause
of climate change.

Jennifer Roback Morse

As ordinary citizens, we also have to

do our part to contribute to saving the
planet and saving our lives. We can do this
by adopting a simple and green lifestyle,
lessening our dependence on gasolinepowered vehicles, using alternative
sources of energy and thereby, reducing
our carbon footprints, stop deforestation and plant more trees and resist the
construction of coal-fired power plants.
I would also like to promote bikingnot
only for exercisebut also as a regular
means of transportation and commute
within our cities. This means constructing
more bike-lanes rather than spending more
of the peoples money on building superhighways and expressways that benefit
only a few whose cars contribute to global
warming and climate change. The bike can
save our life and our planet. It may seem
an insignificant activity but this can make
a difference when more and more people
ride bikes, or walk or run.
As I bike across the country, I dont expect
bikers to join me although they are welcome
to join me for a few hours as I pass their cities.
But I only hope that there will be more and
more people who will ride the bike to their
workplace or school, and also for sightseeing and adventure. Riding at 18-20 km per
hour, with the wind caressing your face, is
the best way to see and appreciate the beauty
of our country.
When I see an adult on a bicycle, I have
hope for the human race. H.G. Wells

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago

Duc in Altum
medicines were already available. The residents braced themselves for the expected storm
surges, landslides and heavy
flooding.
***
Wherever Rubys winds blow,
let everyone take the necessary
precaution and be ready with
their go bag, which we discussed many issues ago but is
being reiterated here due to its
urgent importance. A go bag
is an individual emergency
kit for each family member.
These items can be placed in a
backpack or any other easy to
carry bag and may be placed
near your bed, in your car or at
your workplace. Essential items
include but are not limited to:
Water (a couple of 1/2 liter
bottles), non-perishable food,
crackers, medication & First Aid
Supplies (a few days supply), a
family photo for identification
purposes, a pocket-knife (to cut
food, duct tape, first aid), a dust
mask (a contamination protection), a change of clothes (underwear, sturdy shoes, a warm
top for cold weather or a hat for
the sun), toothbrush/toothpaste
(travel size is sufficient), small
amount of cash (small denominations and coins), flashlight
with batteries (to aid in evacuation or searches), whistle (so
other people can find you),
small battery-operated radio
(to keep updated on disaster
information), local map (know

local evacuation routes), pencil,

permanent markers, paper (to
record information), an extra set
of car/home keys, and depending on individuals - feminine
hygiene products, small toys,
playing cards, books.
***
I would like to quote the 7
Typhoon Preparedness Tips, as
published at Inquirer.net (1)
Make a family communications
plan; (2) Stay informed, follow
the news; (3) Follow instructions
from government officials; (4)
Stay in a safe place, be aware; (5)
Have emergency supplies ready
(go bag); (6) Have sturdy shoes
ready to use; (7) Secure properly.
***
Because of super typhoon
Ruby, the national government
moved the venue of the meeting next week of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC)
forum from Albay to Manila
since the former could be lashed
by the super typhoon. APEC
will be attended by hundreds
of diplomats from 21 member
economies.
***
We hope super typhoon Ruby
will not dampen the excitement
and exuberance for the preparation not only of the approaching Christmas, but also for the
January 15-19, 2015 Papal Visit
of Pope Francis. Every diocese
and archdiocese have their own
preparation. A countdown is
Duc In Altum / A7

Advent Decors

The soul is gifted by God with interior

decorations. These come in the form of inner
potencies such as intelligence, will, memory,
imagination, etc. With these gifts also come
the virtues: moral and theological. Advent is
a good time to examine how we have used
these gifts to give glory to God and serve
our neighbor.
As we bring them out to our prayer
and a sincere examination before God, we
could ask ourselves: How have I grown
in this virtue or that one? How can I purify my intelligence, will and imagination
more in order to work better, serenely and
cheerfully? These and many other personal
considers are like taking out old decors,
re-polishing them and preparing to hang
them before God.
Hanging our spiritual interior decorations
is not simply ticking off a list of good deeds
that, once done, are abandoned. We are more
interested in a harmonious unfolding of our
gifts before God. We first focus on the more
important ones like faith, hope and love
and little by little, on others like patience,
meekness, forgiveness, etc. The real trick
here consists in secretly displaying them
before God but orienting them effectively
towards our neighbor (i.e. a prayer, a smile,
a sacrifice or a complement). Thus, Jesus told
His disciples to pray and fast in secret so that
only the Heavenly Father may see these in
secret and reward them.
Buying material provisions for Christmas can be translated spiritually when we
stock and enrich our spiritual reserves. For

A5

example, we could fin different topics to

meditate upon and a variety of sacrifices to
nourish the fire of our love. This is important,
otherwise the activism of the season will
corrode our spiritual spaces and leave us
with short-lived inspirations, that go off as
soon as the last traces of firework disappear
on New Years eve.
This is best approached with a concrete
plan for oneself and family. For example,
praying before the crche, calmly keeping
track of the childrens daily Advent offerings for the Child Jesus, meditating on
the Nativity scenes in the Gospels before
lighting a candle of the Advent Wreath, and
many other traditional family and personal
acts of piety. Lets not allow secondary and
frivolous concerns interfere with these rich
Christian practices that allow us to relive
Christmas in the present.
Finally, the buying and giving of gifts!
Who doesnt want to receive a gift for Christmas? Every year we try to be original with
our gifts to loved ones and friends. Interiorly,
we ought to want to give the new gift of
ourselves to God through a sincere desire
for conversion. Here, nothing beats doing
a good and sincere confession. Conversion
doesnt really entail anything new in what
we do, but in the effort to carry them out
more lovingly. This detail alone can go a
long way in authentically giving ourselves
to Jesus and others in countless hidden but
priceless ways.
So what are we waiting for? Lets begin
decorating ourselves for God and others.

The ambiguous
legacy of the pill
I AM in the process of writing a book which argues that the Sexual
Revolution has been a rich persons hobby horse from the beginning. The rich and powerful like the idea of separating sex from
child-bearing. While this idea is sometimes wrapped up in a disguise
of helping woman and the poor, the fact remains that the rich and
powerful pioneered and implemented these ideas, quite often at the
expense of women and the poor.
So I wondered when I picked up a book, The Birth of the Pill:
How Four Crusaders Reinvented Sex and Launched a Revolution,
celebrating four key people behind the development of the Pill,
whether I would have to revise my thesis.
I am sorry to say that not a single line in this book contradicts my
thesis. Oddly enough, however, the author believes he has written an
account that more or less celebrates these four people, Margaret Sanger,
Dr Gregory Pincus, Dr John Rock and Katherine McCormack, as social
heroes. He has not falsified or white-washed the story in any way that
I can see. The evidence is right in front of him. But he does not see it.
The two women, Sanger and McCormack, were both eugenicists.
Without Mrs McCormacks fortune supporting the research: no
Pill. Without Mrs Sangers ideological drive for her own peculiar
combination of free love and eugenics, no Pill. Without Dr Pincus
combination of bravado and brilliance, no Pill. Without Dr Rocks
respectability and frankly, his Catholicism, to allay public fears about
the decline in morality that it might cause: no Pill.
That Mr. Eig does not see the elitism that made The Pill possible,
is a tribute to the power of the regime in which we all now live.
People frequently misunderstand the full impact of the ideological
regime which The Pill made plausible. People will sometimes say,
If you dont approve of contraception, you dont have to use it.
Or, if you dont approve of abortion, dont get one.
The misunderstanding behind these statements is to confuse an
individuals choice of behavior within a regime, with the choice of
regime itself. We are all living in the Sexual Revolutionary Regime,
whether we like it or not, whether we approve of it or not, whether
we decline to participate in its main tenets or not. We all live in a
society that is trying to say that sex is intrinsically a sterile activity,
with all that this implies.
Part of living within a regime, is that one takes it for granted. These
are the background assumptions, the parameters of our lives. Certain
things make sense within the regime that would be unimaginable
under an alternative regime.
The cardinal tenet of the Contraceptive Regime is that The Pill
safely sterilizes the sexual act. As a result of this belief, we accept
the idea that we can have sex with anyone we want, without regard
for potential consequences. We think we can have sex with a person
who would be a disaster to parent with. And when the inevitable
pregnancy actually occurs, we act surprised every time. Women are
then faced with the choice of becoming a single mother, having an
abortion or placing the baby for adoption. None of these choices is
particularly good for the child, nor in the end, for the woman.
We accept as normal, adults leaving one sex partner for another, and
leaving children behind in the process. It is unbelievably painful for the
individuals involved, but as a society, we dont much care. Each individual
family is left to believe that their painful situation is somehow their own
fault. If I had used my contraception correctly, I wouldnt have gotten
pregnant. If you had been more mature and less sexually possessive,
I could have had my affair without all this turmoil and trouble.
Non-marital childbearing, multiple-partner fertility, abortion,
divorce, are all part of the price of The Pill. But a celebration of the
Sexual Revolution and The Pill cannot afford to take too much notice
of these connections.
We can think of our perceptions of The Pill as being like one of
those drawings that is either a goblet or a pair of faces, depending
on your perspective. If you let your gaze shift ever so slightly, you
can see the other image.
Poor Mr Eigs gaze is so fixed upon the goblet that does not see the
human faces. He does not see the significance of much of what he
is saying. He tells us about Hugh Hefners enthusiasm for The Pill,
without quite recognizing that this is the man who mainstreamed
the commercialization of womens sexual availability.
He tells us about the shoddy testing of the Pill which was conducted largely on Puerto Rican women, and on women in a mental
asylum. When Dr Pincus applied for FDA approval, the drug had
been tested on only 130 women. Instead of describing the number of
women tested, he computed the number of menstrual cycles during
which no pregnancy occurred. Eig recognizes that this was a sleight
of hand, but hey, it was all in a good cause. Dr Pincus reported, In
the 1,279 cycles during which the regime of treatment was meticulously followed, there was not a single pregnancy. This procedure
had the virtue of dodging the number of women who dropped out
and why, as well as the number of pregnancies that did occur, due
to the women not taking their pills meticulously.
The reason there were so few subjects is that women kept dropping
out of the trials. They did not like the side effects. All Eig can see
is that women desperately wanted reliable contraception. But he
does not see the significance of the fact that the women themselves
turned their backs on it.
This pattern continues to this day. Women in developing countries
frequently stop using contraception, much to the consternation of the
population controllers from developed countries and international
agencies who keep coming in to help them.
Thinking entirely within the Contraceptive Regime, all he can see
is that the world is overpopulated, and something has to be done
about it. But today, under population is a bigger problem than overpopulation. Japan, which lionized Margaret Sanger for her work on
family planning, was one of the over-crowded countries on the
eve of the Pill. Japan is now one of the most rapidly aging, shrinking
populations in the world, tied with Germany for the second oldest
population in the world, with an average age of 46.1.
Moreover, coercive population control is a reality that hormonal contraceptives have made possible. Chinas infamous One Child Policy is a
crime against humanity, by any reasonable definition of that term. The
United Nations has been aggressively promoting a government contraceptive policy in the Philippines, a Roman Catholic country in which birth
control is legally available. But only about 50 percent of the population
uses contraception. And the birth rate? Is it some unimaginably high,
out of control, breeding-like-bunnies number? The Total Fertility Rate in
the Philippines is 3.06 babies per woman over the course of her whole
lifetime. Yet, to get this population under control the United Nations,
with the complicity of the United States government, has interfered in
the legislative process of a sovereign democratic country.
These results are perhaps not what Margaret Sanger and Dr John
Rock and Dr Gregory Pincus and Katherine McCormack expected.
But as we look back on it, I do believe we have an obligation not to
whitewash these obvious consequences of the Contraceptive Regime.
I appreciate the fact that Jonathan Eig has told the story of The Pill
honestly. Now, I hope he will allow his gaze to shift, ever so slightly,
so that he can see the information he has collected in a new light.
The Pill didnt solve all of womens problems. It created whole new
series of problems. And the problems it was supposed to solve could
have been solved some other way.
This Revolution is nothing to celebrate.
(Jennifer Roback Morse PhD is founder and President of the Ruth Institute.
This piece is sourced from MercatorNet with permission)

Local News

A6

Church launches
solidarity appeal for
typhoon-hit areas
AFTER rolling out an initial of P2 million for the pre-positioning of goods in
affected by typhoon Ruby, the Catholic
Churchs social action arm launched
Saturday, Dec. 6, a Solidarity Appeal to
the countrys 85 dioceses in a bid to raise
funds for its relief efforts.
In the letter sent to all 85 bishops
nationwide, Cceres Archbishop Rolando J. Tria Tirona, who also heads the
National Secretariat for Social Action,
Justice, and Peace (NASSA)/Caritas
Philippines, explains that while the
Church has began financing the prepositioning of goods and emergency relief
operation of the dioceses, the emer-

gency funds from Alay Kapwa are

not enough considering the vast scope
of the typhoon.
To the unaffected dioceses, we call
on you to organize relief operations to
the affected Dioceses nearest you or you
may choose to send your donations to
the Alay Kapwa account for the relief
operations of the Catholic Church network, Tirona pleads.
NASSA/Caritas Philippines has released P2 million from Alay Kapwa, the
Churchs Lenten evangelization and fundraising program, as well as from other
local and non-Caritas Internationalis
funds for the purchase of relief goods,

which have already been pre-positioned

in possible typhoon-hit areas.
The Church body is in close coordination with affected dioceses, concerned
government agencies, and Caritas Internationalis member organizations for preemptive measures and relief operations.
Those who are interested to help
in the relief operations of the Catholic Church may deposit their donations through the following bank
account: Bank: Bank of the Philippine
IslandsAcct. Name: CBCP Caritas Filipinas Foundation, Inc.Acct. Number:
4951-0071-08 (Raymond A. Sebastin/
CBCP News)

Year of the Laity never ends priest

WITH many dioceses in the
Philippines celebrating the
closing of the Year of the
Laity, Archdiocese of Jaro
has purposely decided not
to hold a culminating event
to highlight the continuing,
crucial role of the laity in
every area of mission of the
Church.
According to Fr. Joenick
Territorio, director of the Jaro
Archdiocesan Commission
on the Laity, no formal culminating celebrations were
held to close the Year of the
Laity in Iloilo for two main
reasons, both theological and
practical.
Laity at forefront
The first reason is, Territorio said, when you look
at the CBCPs itinerary for a
nine-year spiritual journey
you will observe that, from
now onwards the great jubilee of 2021, the laity has a

major role to play in each of

those celebratory years.
In this Year of the Poor
those who are called to look
up to Jesus, to follow Jesus
and to renew their commitment to be in solidarity with
all, are mainly the lay people,
whether poor or rich, the
laity director said.
It will be the same with
the rest of the years of the
nine-year spiritual journey,
the laity will be at the forefront in the year of the Eucharist and of the Family in
2016, in the year of the Parish
in 2017, and in the year of
the Youth in 2019, the priest
continued.
And even if it might not
be obvious, the laity will
be an important factor in
the year of the Clergy and
Religious in 2018, considering that the first seedbed of
vocations is the family. The
same is true with the year

of Ecumenism and InterReligious Dialogue in 2020

and the year of Mission ad
Gentes in 2021 because the
major protagonist in these
fields in the era of the New
Evangelization is, again, the
laity, Territorio added.
The second reason why
the Archdiocese of Jaro did
not formally conclude the
Year of the Laity is more
practical.
Fired-up
The Year of the Laity has
been a wonderful opportunity for the lay people in our
Archdiocese to rediscover the
great gift of their dignity as
Christians given directly by
God by virtue of the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation, Territorio said.
Although its sad to admit it, the priest explained,
the fact that the majority of
the laity remained passive

for many centuries may be

attributed to a rank and
file mentality that made
them think that they first
have to be empowered by
the bishops or priests before
they could assume an active
role in the apostolate.
The Year of the Laity
paved the way of the renewal of the laity, making them
aware of the gifts from the
Spirit, so that they take up
their role as co-responsible
agents of evangelization,
Territorio said
Now that the members
of the lay organizations have
become so motivated and
fired-up in their mission
in the Church, we will not
douse the flame of their
enthusiasm through culminating ceremonies that
might make them think that
their job is already over, the
priest added. (Fr. Mickey
Cardenas/CBCPNews)

Church denies being under Malacaang pressure

THE head of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
on Wednesday has denied that Malacaang is compelling the Church to cancel Pope Francis visit to Leyte.
Archbishop Socrates Villegas,
CBCP President, said the Church hierarchy was never under pressure to
change the Popes itinerary.
There was no such pressure, Villegas said in a text message to reporters.
Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin

Romualdez claimed Malacaang

tried to have the pontiffs itinerary
include a visit to Cebu instead of
Leyte. Romualdez is the nephew
of the late strongman Ferdinand
Marcos wife Imelda.
Pope Francis will visit typhoon
Yolanda survivors in Tacloban City
and Palo, Leyte on Jan. 17.
Upon his arrival at the Tacloban
airport, the Pope will lead the Mass
at the new 30,000-square-meter apron.

After the Mass, the pontiff will have

lunch with some victims of calamities
last year at the archbishops residence
in Palo.
In the afternoon, he will bless the
Pope Francis Center for the Poor,
also located inside the archbishops
residence compound.
The Pope will also meet with priests
and the religious of the archdiocese
before flying back to Manila on the
same day. (CBCPNews)

Logging / A1

drowned in floodwaters.
The bishop said nine people are still missing after the
raging flood hit the upstream
village of San Gabriel, also in
Borongan.
There was no storm surge
but the problem is the people
did not foresee the flood,
Varquez said.
According to him, of the
20 parishes affected by the
typhoon, Borongan was the
most devastated.
He said the flooding occurred
when heavy rains caused the
three rivers surrounding the
citySabang, Loom and Suribaoto overflow.
The city had been hit by
flooding before, but Varquez
said the recent one is incomparable.
This is the first time that
it happened in Borongan.
There were also lots of landslides that blocked the roads,

especially those going to the

upstream villages, he said.
Varquez said the flooding
would have not been that
severe if not for the largescale logging in Borongan
that went on for more than
a decade.
First, there was heavy
rainfall and of course, the deforestation is partly related to
the flooding also, Varquez
said. Logging is always
associated [with] flooding.
Logging operations prior
to the logging moratorium
in 1989 was blamed for the
rapid forest destruction and
massive flooding of many
towns in Eastern Samar.
C h u rc h o ff i c i a l s a l s o
blamed logging companies
for the great flood in 1989
in Samar, which claimed 100
lives and damaged P100 million worth of crops.
As of Dec. 10, several low-

lying villages remained submerged in floodwater and

mud.
Severe flooding was also
reported in some towns of
Samar and Northern Samar.
Relief operations
In response to the crisis,
relief operations have been
mobilized by various groups
and organizations.
On the part of the diocese,
Varquez said an initial 1,000
sacks of rice have already
been distributed to different
affected parishes.
He said emphasis is also
on road clearing, especially
those going to the upstream
barangays to pave the way
for relief operations.
Varquez also made an
appeal to aid the typhoon
victims.
He said what most of the
victims need now are food,

water, clothes, medical supplies, and clothing.

Dont take advantage of
calamity
Varquez earlier appealed
to businessmen not to take
advantage of the calamity
situation by hiking prices
of basic and essential commodities.
He urged local traders not
to think only of their monetary gain and to maintain
the price movement at the
normal range.
Do not take advantage of
others at this time of calamity. Youre not the only ones
who have the right to live,
Varquez said.
In fact, it is a great sin
against God and against love
of your suffering brothers
and sisters to use these trying
times for your personal economic advantage! he said.

Homes / A1

Our Christmases will never be the

same again! Even with just plain porridge in the table, we feel we are richer,
Leopoldo Alcazaren of San Dionisio,
Iloilo said.
The houses built by the Churchs
National Secretariat for Social Action,
Justice, and Peace (NASSA)/Caritas
Philippines, fall under three categories: transitional, progressive core, and
permanent.
Each unit has key features and varying life spans depending on the preference and need of the beneficiary.
This years recipients are from the
disaster-hit communities of Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, Palawan, Aklan,
Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, and Cebu.
As of October 31, NASSA/Caritas
Philippines has already constructed
241 permanent shelters, 245 core shelters, 737 transitional shelters, and has
repaired 61 units.

Moreover, construction of 135 permanent shelters, 242 progressive core

shelters, 42 transitional shelters, and
110 repairs, across the dioceses are underway, and are expected to be finished
before the year ends.
We do not just build houses that
could withstand typhoons or disasters.
We also considered the culture and
preference of the recipients, NASSA/
Caritas Philippines National Director
and Cceres Archbishop Rolando Tria
Tirona said.
The prelate explained indigenous
communities in Palawan prefer keeping
the old look of their houses, adding only
features that would make them resilient.
The houses are built based on the
eight resilient messages set by the Shelter Cluster Organization.
These are: build on strong foundations, tied-down from bottom up,
braced against the storm, using strong

joints, good roof, safe location, simple

shape, and prepared by the resident.
Another feature of the housing project
is the incorporation of the sweat equity
system, which revived bayanihan in
the communities.
This is our holistic approach to
disaster risk management. We are
not only giving them fish, we are also
teaching them how to fish. Along with
the values formation, we are building
their capacities by giving them various trainings such as skills on how to
build and repair their own houses,
Tirona added.
Besides building shelters in Yolandahit areas, NASSA/Caritas Philippines
also arranges for the provision of water
and sanitation facilities, food security,
livelihood assistance and trainings,
disaster risk reduction trainings, capacity building, and ecosystem recovery.
(Raymond A. Sebastin/CBCP News)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Pols told: No campaigning

during papal visit

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle. File photo

THE head of the Archdiocese of urged

politicians not to take advantage of Pope
Francis visit to the Philippines next year
to gain political mileage.
With less than two years to go before the presidential elections, Luis
Antonio Cardinal Tagle said the papal
visit is not an occasion for political
campaigning.
This is a pastoral visit. Lets not use it
for other personal interests, Tagle said
during a press briefing on Monday. I
appeal to those planning to welcome the
pontiff not to use the occasion for other
motivations.
The cardinal said the Pope is coming
to the country for a pastoral visit and expressed hope that he will be welcomed
as a pastor of the Church.
This is a spiritual visit of the Pope.
Let us respect the nature of his visit,
he said.
The church official warned against

plastering the route of the papal visit

with tarpaulins and other promotional materials in welcoming the
pontiff.
He also reminded the public that the
Pope wants his visit to be simple.
The reminder, first of all, is not
to make the preparations costly. We
know that its not just that the pope
is calling for simplicity, but also because this is the call of the times,
Tagle said.
It is not bad to make ways to welcome
the Pope, he said, but we can be hospitable in simple ways.
With millions of faithful expected to
see the Pope, Tagle also called on the
public to make the occasion garbagefree.
He lamented how big events are often
marred by reckless littering.
Our Pope also wants us to protect our
environment, Tagle said. (CBCPNews)

Drive / A1

and schools.
Stealing is developing as a culture so
that society would find it normal. But it
is an outright disregard of the Seventh
Commandment. We have the moral obligation to guide the faithful in obeying
the basic laws that God has given us,
he laments.
In line with this, Vincentian priest Fr.
Atilano Nonong G. Fajardo, head of
the Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM)s
Ministry of Public Affairs, calls on all
parishioners to wear the campaign
t-shirt on Dec. 16, the first day of Simbang Gabi.
According to him, this movement can
usher in the eradication of the culture
of stealing in the country, and plant
the seeds of honesty, integrity, and

generosity.
The public may also join the anticorruption drive by tuning in to the
Huwag Kang Magnanakaw program
aired over Radyo Veritas 846 every Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
Our effort in supporting the campaign is one of the best contributions to
the preparation of the coming of Pope
Francis to our country, Tagle notes.
May I call on you to pray for the
forgiveness for all our sins committed
against the Seventh Commandment and
ask God to heal our land, the prelate
adds.
The shirts, sold at Php 150 each, are
available at Adamson University, San
Marcelino St., Ermita, Manila.(Raymond
A. Sebastin/CBCPNews)

And Thats The Truth / A4

future assured, deserving of every

good thing I was receivinguntil
that executive check up pulled me
back down to earth. I had to accept
that like everybody else, I am made
of corruptible stuff.
About two weeks later, still struggling to erase the enema episode from
his memory, this young priest was
to see with fresh eyes something he
had always taken for granted. Jesus
took me by surprise, he said, it was
during Mass, I was seated, waiting for
the singing to end, when I glanced at
the small crucifix on the altar. The
realization struck me like lightning:
the Father attached to my name is a

mockery if I am not willing to be naked

like our Lord on the cross.
Like bolts of lightning, too, the
images flashed back to his memory,
of his nakedness a the hands of the
medical personnel: I was virtually
transported back to my private airconditioned hospital room with cable
television, refrigerator and telephone,
the fresh bed linens, gourmet meals,
flowers from friends and admirers,
my favorite cakes and ice cream filling up the refrigerator, a coterie of
nurses at my commandand I was
not even sick! This man, this man
on the cross had NOTHING! (To be
concluded)

Advent / A1

of [preparing for] the coming of the

Lord, and also for us the religious to
be more vigilant that we are for others, especially for the poorest of them
all, Sr. Michaela V. Gotangco, FDCC
told Church-run Radyo Veritas in an
interview.
Gotangco, who is also the executive
secretary of the Association of Major
Religious Superiors of the Philippines
for Women (AMRSWP), explained the
launch of the Year of Consecrated Life,
along with the Year of the Poor, calls
on everyone to open their hearts and
minds to reaching out to others who
have less in life.
The Canossian sister noted the new
liturgical years are significant in the
light of Advent, a season which readies
Christians for the coming of their Lord
and Savior.
In the opening celebration of the
Year of the Poor held Saturday,
Nov. 9, at the Paco Catholic School
Auditorium, Fr. Enrico Martin Adoviso, head of the Archdiocese of
Manila (RCAM)s Commission on
Social Services and Development
(CSSD), stated that the faithful, as
the Church of the Poor, are called to
renew their commitment to Christs
mission and to always take the side
of the poor and the oppressed, especially when and where there is
injustice and denial of basic human
rights.
The farmers that till the land to
bring us food, the fisher folks who
navigate the seas for us and the work-

ers who run the industries are still

materially poor after decades and
generations of work for living. Their
dignity as co-creator of the Lord should
be reclaimed, he said.
The handicapped, prisoners,
indigenous people and even the
victims of calamities are in dire need
of our compassion to lift up their
hope and spirits. They are all poor,
and they are all sons and daughters
of our Lord, Also, the world need
to re-examine the use of our natural
resources, for more often, the destruction of Gods gift make the poor
poorer, he added.
Themed Bumangon at Manindigan (Rise and Stand up), the yearround event is in line with the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines
(CBCP)s declaration of 2015 as a time
for the faithful to do their part in helping the poor, especially in pushing
for and acting on the true alleviation,
reduction, and eradication of poverty
in the country.
The occasion, which comes third in
the nine-year era of New Evangelization, prepares Filipinos ahead of the
500th anniversary of the coming of
the Catholic Faith in the Philippines
in 2021.
A recent survey shows, however, that
despite the 12.1 million Filipinos who
claim they experience poverty, some
39 percent of the population remains
hopeful that a much better life awaits
them in the coming year.(Raymond A.
Sebastin/CBCP News)

Diocesan News

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

A7

Palo archbishop calls on parishes Inspired by Pope,

to feed poor
BEC evangelizes
TACLOBAN CityAs the
Archdiocese of Palo ushers in
the Year of the Poor, Archbishop
John Forrosuelo Du called on all
parishioners to feed the poor,
especially on Sundays with him
donating Php 1 million to be
shared among the 78 parishes in
the archdiocese to jump start the
undertaking.
We do this act of mercy, in
preparation for the coming of
Pope Francis, said Fr. Amadeo
Alvero, the social communications director of the Archdiocese,
noting that Du emphasized
serving the poor, especially the
survivors of super typhoon
Yolanda (Haiyan).
The project dubbed, La Mesa
ni Martha (Table of Martha), was
thus called after Martha, who in
the Gospel was very busy serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus
the church must also be busy

serving the Lord, he added.

La Mesa ni Martha serves as
the sign of the churchs readiness to take care of the poor,
especially during the Year of the
Poor that was formally opened
in the archdiocese on Nov. 29 at
the Palo Cathedral during a mass
celebrated by the prelate.
Alvero said from the seed
fund donated by Du, each parish
including the mission stations
within the archdiocese gets a
share of more or less Php 12, 800.
According to the priest, the
prelate hopes that the parishes
eventually raise their own funds
to keep the feeding programs
running even after the Year of
the Poor.
Du also wishes that the
amount donated will also grow,
Alvero said, to make this feeding program and our service for
the poor sustainable.

over lugaw

Palo Archbishop John Forrosuelo Du. File photo

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the seven corporal

works of mercy are feeding
the hungry; giving drink to
the thirsty; clothing the naked; sheltering the homeless;
visiting the sick; visiting the
imprisoned; and burying the
dead.

The spiritual works of mercy

are counseling the doubtful;
instructing the ignorant; admonishing sinners; comforting the
afflicted; forgiving offenses; bearing wrongs patiently; and praying for the living and the dead.
(Eileen Nazareno Ballesteros/
CBCPNews)

Davao forum explains Bangsamoro law

DAVAO City, Dec. 9, 2014 To give
the members of the Ecclesiastical subregion of Davao, Digos, Tagum and Mati
(DADITAMA) a concrete idea about the
Bangsamoro Basic Law, the Archdiocese
of Davao hosted a forum at the University
of Immaculate Conception Bajada Auditorium on Nov. 27.
The forum gathered representatives from the
Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process (OPAPP) secretary Teresita Deles; Atty.
Mohammad Al-Amin Julkipli of Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF); Atty. Haron S. Meling
of the Government of the Philippines Peace
Panel; and Congressman Celso Lobregat of
the 1st District in Zamboanga City.
OPAPP Secretary Deles gave a backgrounder on the proposed BBL which is now
pending in Congress.
Deles said the Bangsamoro are still
Filipinos though they will have greater selfgovernance in their territory.
Bangsamoro is an identity, not a political identity, she said, adding that BBL
is about creating a new government in the
Bangsamoro.
Congressman Lobregat also noted his ap-

prehensions about
the proposed BBL,
saying that MILF
should have a definite time to lay down
their firearms.
He also told about
the effects of BBL on
existing laws and on
the Philippine Constitution.
The existing national laws will be affected like the Indigenous Peoples Right
Act (IPRA) law, he
added.
Deles said the
MILF is scheduled to
decommission their OPAPP Sec. Teresita Deles. Brenda P. Milan
firearms in the first
quarter of 2015 or in
dreams for peace for all long and lasting
the second quarter.
peace in Mindanao at that.
Archbishop of Davao Romulo G. Valles
The forum is assisted by the Catholic Relief
also said the forum is the peoples participa- Services and University of the Immaculate
tion in Gods desire for peace.
Conception. (John Frances C. Fuentes/CBCP
He added everyone has sentiments and News)

Responders / A1

tively responded to the call for

assistance of those directly in
the path of typhoon Ruby just a
few days ago.
The spirit of Alay Kapwa is
truly alive not only here but also
in all of the 85 dioceses nationwide who are helping those who
were affected by Typhoon Ruby.
While Leyte has been affected
as well by this recent typhoon,
we make it a point to help also
nearby dioceses that are most in
need of immediate assistance,
said Fr. Alcris Badana, program
director of the Archdiocese of
Palo RRU.
Pay it forward
According to him, the initiative was the Archdiocese of
Palos way of paying forward
the goodness we have received
from everyone who partook in
the Yolanda rehabilitation efforts.
The group headed by the
priest travelled at least four

hours by land on Monday, Dec.

8, to reach the San Bartholomew
Parish in Catbalogan City for
relief good distribution to some
1,150 Ruby-affected families in
the province.
Badana added that aside from
relief operations, the team also
did initial rapid needs assessments considering the damage
and devastation of typhoon
Ruby in the area.
Since April this year, the group
has been implementing various
rehabilitation efforts in Leyte
under the #REACHPhilippines
program of NASSA/Caritas
Philippines, the social action arm
of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
Among their interventions
are the provision of shelter, food
security and livelihood, WASH
(water, sanitation and hygiene),
disaster risk reduction trainings,
community organizing and ecosystem recovery
They are also part of the

group currently preparing for

the much-awaited visit of Pope
Francis to Palo, Leyte this January.
Solidarity Appeal
Meanwhile, the Social Action
Center of the Diocese of Catbalogan headed by Fr. Cezar Aculan
expressed his gratitude to the
Archdiocese of Palo for its relief
assistance.
This only proves that the
Catholic Church is true to our
commitment to help the poor
and the vulnerable. Indeed, together we are more, Fr. Aculan
exclaimed.
So far, the Catholic Church
through its social action arm
NASSA/Caritas Philippines
has already released about P3million from the local churchs
emergency funds Alay Kapwa
and other local and non-Caritas
Internationalis funds for the
purchase of relief goods for
typhoon-hit areas.

Alay Kapwa is the Lenten

evangelization and fund-generating program of the Church to
raise consciousness and funds
for calamities and major social
concerns.
It also recently launched a
Solidarity Appeal to the 85 dioceses nationwide to raise funds
for the families affected by typhoon Ruby.
Donations may be sent
through the following bank accounts:
BDO Salas Roxas Blvd. Branch
Current Acct. # 005128004143
Account Name: Knights of
Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction
OR
Land Bank Aduana Branch
Current Acct. # 0012107188
Account Name: Knights of
Columbus Luzon Jurisdiction.
(NASSA/CBCPNews)

Candidly Speaking / A4

the will of God, otherwise it would be working without proper foundation and purpose.
Marys Fiat should be an all-time motto
for us, a guiding principle in our whole life.
The submission of our will to Gods will
is never a diminution of our freedom. On
the contrary, it is the enhancement of our

freedom. It is where we can have our true

freedom and true joy.
We need to be more aware of this fundamental need of ours to conform our will to the
will of God. Very often, we behave like spoiled
brats who do not yet realize the importance
of this need. We have to correct this tendency.

We have to train ourselves in the art of

deepening our sense of obedience to Gods
will, basing it on our faith, hope and love of
God and others, and making it intelligent,
truly voluntary, prompt and cheerful.
Thats when we can be truly children of
God, his image and likeness.

Indigenous / A1

ginalization of Filipino natives.

With power of our collective
strength and unity, we urgently
call on all our fellow Filipinos,
specially our esteemed government officials, church leaders,
civil society organizations to
respect and protect indigenous
peoples rights and well being,
the group said in a statement
signed by Tabuk Bishop Prudencio Andaya, Jr., Episcopal
Commission on Indigenous
Peoples-Indigenous Peoples
Apostolate (ECIP-IPA-IPs)
Chairperson.

They highlighted the rights

to ancestral domain, self-determination and self-governance,
and cultural integrity as the
primary means to achieve unity
and equality among indigenous
groups.
The ECIP-IPA-IP, composed of
representatives from 37 dioceses
in the country, had their national
convention at the Covadonga
Center for Culture and Spirituality in Cagayan de Oro City on
Nov. 17 to 20 with the theme Indigenous Peoples Lives: Blessed
in the Midst of Challenges.

Constitutional provisions
According to the group, this
can be achieved by fully implementing the constitutional provisions, the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA) other Laws,
Issuances and International
Instruments that recognize and
protect (the indigenous groups)
rights to the letter and spirit of
these issuances.

Specific issues
The group specifically called
for the repeal of all administrative orders inconsistent with the
provisions of the IPRA, which
puts in jeopardy the Indigenous
peoples rights over the ancestral
domains, blatantly and unjustly
deprives indigenous peoples of
their lands without due process,
[and] unduly delays delineation

of and formal recognition of ancestral [domains].

They also urged the fast tracking of the process for the formal
recognition of ancestral territories; rectify the policies on the
issue of Ancestral Domains Delineation and formal recognition;
and put a stop to development
aggression, putting up instead
sustainable & culture sensitive
development programs.
The ECIP-IPA-IP raised the
need to repeal the administrative order on the certification of
Indigenous Political Structures,
noting that this [is] being in
utter contradiction with the
rights of the indigenous people
to Self-Governance and Self Determination.
Among the other issues they
also raised are the need for equal
representation of IPs in legislative bodies of Local Government Units (LGU); observe and
respect genuine, IP-controlled
Free Prior and Informed Con-

sent (FPIC) process; reform of

the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to a
graft-free,
IP-controlled agency mandated to implement IPRA and to
promote and protect IP Rights;
uphold the IPRA as a social legislation and consequently, for all
government agencies; and for
local civil registrars to facilitate
and open access for registration
of birth and marriages of IPs.
They also stressed the importance of the indigenous peoples
right to proper education, urging
the need to support and promote
the Indigenous Peoples Education (IPED) by integrating the IP
educational systems within the
Philippine educational system.
The group called on schools,
universities, and colleges to take
a pro-active role in the promotion of IP education from basic
to tertiary levels in their respective school systems. (Jennifer M.
Orillaza/CBCPNews)

PA S I G C i t y Ta k i n g o n
Pope Francis challenge to
go to the peripheries, a
parish group in the Diocese of Pasig spearheads a
lugaw-for-the-soul (rice
porridge-for-the-soul) program every Saturday in an
effort to bring the Church
of the poor closer to the
poor.
This is our own humble
way of reaching out to those
who rarely, if ever, set foot
inside churches for Mass,
hoping to invite them back,
Albert Gerez, a lay Eucharistic minister who serves
in Pasig Citys Immaculate
Conception Cathedral, told
CBCP News in an interview,
Friday, Nov. 21.
According to him, each
feeding session is given a
theme which aims to remind participants that the
gathering goes beyond ordinary hunger relieving
and meal-sharing.Through
this project, we evangelize
people, making them listen
to the Word of God, he
added.

or bishop, more often, they

cannot give the right answers, he said.

Food for body, soul

In line with this, previous
sessions were named: Salusalo sa Lugaw, Salu-salo sa
Salita ng Diyos and Mabusog sa Lugaw, Mabusog
sa Salita ng Diyos.
Gerez shared they cater
to between 100 and 200 individuals of all genders and
age brackets, who, he said,
thirst for spiritual activities.
Proof of this, he lamented, is that many of those
who take part have little
knowledge of their Church
leaders.
Its sad that whenever
we hold Q & A games, and
participants are asked the
name of their parish priest

Go to the peripheries
In a speech he gave in
March 7, 2013, shortly before
becoming pontiff, then Buenos Aires Archbishop Jorge
Mario Bergoglio pointed out
that evangelizing presupposes a desire in the Church
to come out of herself.
The Church is called to
come out of herself and to go
to the peripheries, not only
geographically, but also to
the existential peripheries:
the mysteries of sin, of pain,
of injustice, of ignorance
and indifference to religion,
of intellectual currents, and
of all forms of misery, the
pontiff declared. (Raymond
A. Sebastin/CBCPNews)

Nothing like serving God

The 52-year old happilymarried man and father
of four is thankful that Fr.
Bernie Carpio is all-out in
his support for the project by
giving talks in basic ecclesial
communities (BECs) all over
the Pasig diocese.
Gerez, whose regular job
involves newspaper distribution, stressed it is vital
that the program has a spiritual direction so that people
will be guided accordingly.
He related the lugawan
started in August, and was
funded initially using proceeds from a garage sale
they held.
I enjoy doing this because I get to be with people
who are most like me, the
poor. Although its already
challenging enough juggling
my time between being a
family man and my day job,
theres nothing like serving
the Lord, he said.

Faithful warned of
fake priest
SAN FERNANDO City Let
the faithful beware.
Just a few weeks into his office, the newly-installed pastor
of the San Fernando archdiocese
issued a message advising his
flock to be on guard against a
man disguised as a priest reportedly seen making the rounds of
his See.
In a circular dated Nov. 29,
Archbishop Florentino G. Lavarias shares that a certain Fr.
Jose Mark Robinson Bunag is
not permitted to celebrate the
Sacraments in the Archdiocese
of San Fernando.
While Bunag claims to be a
priest of the Catholic Church of
the East, Lavarias stresses the
former is not a validly ordained
member of the Roman Catholic
clergy.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Pasig had earlier raised the alarm
on the issue involving Bunag.
In a separate circular, Pasig

Chancellor Fr. Mar Baranda

quotes Fr. Noel Ormenita,
Episcopal Vicar of the Catholic Church of the East (Holy
Family Catholic Church) at
Imus, Cavite that Jose Mark
Robinson Bunag, also known
as Mark Bunag or Fr. Mark
Bunag, residing at Krus na
Ligas, U.P. Diliman, is not a
validly ordained priest and is
not incardinated neither with
us in the Catholic Church of
the East nor is he incardinated
in any Diocese of the Roman
Catholic Church.
Besides Pampanga and Pasig
City, Bunag has also been spotted in Cavite and Paraaque
City allegedly offering to say
Mass in private homes without
a valid celebret, a document
(letter or ID) certifying the bearer is a priest and may be allowed
to practice as such in the particular diocese he is in. (Raymond A.
Sebastin/CBCPNews)

Stand / A1

concern for the poor and for

social justice, he writes.
He expresses trust in the openness and readiness of all Christians, asking them to seek, as
a community, creative ways of
accepting his renewed call.
According to Pope Francis,
the need to resolve the structural
causes of poverty cannot be delayed because society needs to
be cured of a sickness which is
weakening and frustrating it, and

which can only lead to new crises.

As long as the problems of
the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute
autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking
the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for
the worlds problems or, for that
matter, to any problems. Inequality is the root of social ills, he
stresses.(Raymond A. Sebastin/
CBCP News)

Duc In Altum / A5

being aired at Radio Veritas;

Pope Francis trivia are also being mentioned. We continue to
pray for the safe trip of our dear
Pope Francis.
***
Pope Francis has ordered the
end of the term of the commander of his Swiss Guard, Colonel
Daniel Rudolf Anrig, on January
31. No reason was mentioned
but Italian journalists speculates
that the Pope disapproved
of the rigid style of leadership
that Anrig had over the young
men tasked with protecting

the Pope. The Holy Father is

known to like relationships
inside the Vatican to be humane,
brotherly, even paternal. Pope
Francis broke protocol against
physical contact when he shook
hands with the Swiss Guards.
***
Happy Feast of the Immaculate Conception to everyone. I
would like to wish Fr. Jeff Aytona, OP and Fr. Romy Tuazon,
our priests anchors at Radio
Veritas Hello Father 911 Saturday Edition Happy Sacerdotal
Anniversary.

People, Facts & Places

A8

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Intl confab on Augustinian

history in PH set
AS part of the Augustinian Provinces 450th anniversary next
year, the Kaplag International
Conference, is set on Apr. 25
to 28, 2015 at the Radisson Blu
Hotel in Cebu City to discuss
the historical and cultural significance of the rediscovery
(kaplag) of Santo Nios image
in Cebu, among others.
Local and international experts will be giving lectures on
the history of Christianization in
the country; Filipinos devotion
to the Child Jesus; and the legacy
of the Augustinians, particularly
as community builders.
A Spanish armada arrived on
Philippine shores in 1521 under
the command of Ferdinand Magellan. This kicked off a series
of events that would lead to the
introduction of the Christian
faith to the islands.
Historical accounts talk about
some natives in Cebu eventually
getting baptized, and an image

of the Child Jesus was gifted to

Queen Juana of Cebu. However,
the Spaniards had to leave, only
to return 44 years later in 1565
under Miguel Lopez de Legazpi.
This marked the start of Augustinian missions in the Philippines, which would continue up
to the present.
The Augustinian Provinces
Santo Nio de Cebu will be
having a three-fold celebration
next year to mark the 450th
anniversaries of the order s
presence in the country and of
the rediscovery (kaplag) of
Santo Nios image in Cebu,
as well as the 50th year of the
Santo Nio Church as a Minor
Basilica.
Interested parties may call the
Basilica Minore del Santo Nio
in Cebu City at (032) 255-6698
loc. 400 or text 0917-862-2450 /
0939-935-3218.
Visit www.450kaplag.com.
(CBCPNews)

The devotion to the Child Jesus is popular all over the country. A crowd in Bohol shows intense religious fervor for the Sto. Nio. Rodne Galicha

Concert set to fundraise for

Catholic school scholarships
WITH the number of enrollees in its parochial schools
dropping at an alarming
rate, the Archdiocese of Manila (RCAM) has decided to
mount a Christmas benefit
show at the Meralco Theater, Pasig City on Dec. 12
to offer poor, but deserving
students Catholic school
scholarships.
Dubbed Patron of the
Arts, the charity event
organized by the Jesuit
Communications Foundation Inc. (JesCom) on the
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe aims to raise funds
that will enable students of
RCAM schools to continue
enjoying the best Catholic
education.
High cost of education
Although it has been
our joy and privilege to be
serving and forming these
young people, the financial
cost of maintaining our
schools has been a heavy
burden for the Archdiocese, Manila Archbishop
Lus Antonio G. Cardinal
Tagle shares in a circular.
The prelate notes enrolment
in RCAMs parochial schools
has gone down by three percent for the last five years
with poor students opting to
transfer to public schools.
We are afraid that this
trend would continue and
would therefore deprive
many of our young people
good Catholic education
and formation. We can
however stem the tide.
With your help, we can
raise funds to provide students with scholarships or
financial aid, he says.
RCAM runs 27 schools
that offer basic to tertiary
education, with a third of
its roughly 30,000 students
receiving scholarship or
financial assistance.
According to Tagle, Catholic education is one of
the primary works of the
Catholic Church.
Growth in virtue, faith
Through her schools,
he explains young people
learn about the faith and
grow in Christian virtue.
By teaching young men

Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle calls on the public to support
a Christmas benefit show for poor yet deserving Catholic school students,
to be held at the Meralco Theater, Pasig City on Dec. 12. File photo

and women, the future of

the Church and our country, the Catholic Church is
undeniably following the
footsteps of our Lord who
came as our great teacher
and prophet; we are also
merely following His commission to Go into all
the world and preach the
gospel to all creation (Mark
16:15), he adds.
In obedience to Christs
commandment, the Catholic
Church in the Philippines
has for many centuries been
at the forefront, not only of
providing education to the
Filipino, but Christian formation youth as well.
It is no exaggeration to
say that the emergence of a
modern Philippines would
not have been possible
apart from the establishment and growth of our
schools, Tagle stresses.
I am thus appealing
for your help. Please join
us in The Patron of the
Arts, our yearly Christmas
benefit show. Through this
concertwe can jumpstart
a fund campaign for our
schools, he adds.
Sponsorship packages
are as follows:
Packages Sponsorship Benefits in souvenir
program Complimentary
tickets
Royal Platinum:
1,000,000 Full color, 2-page
spread 25
Premium: 800,000 Full
color, inside cover or inside
back cover 20
Gold: 500,000 Full
color, full page ad 15

Silver: 250,000 Black

and white, half page ad 10
Bronze: 100,000 Black
and white, one fourth page
ad 5
Sponsors are entitled to
the following:
Live acknowledgement
during the event
Opportunity to distribute your company flyers
Logos in all poster and
event collaterals
Other amounts will be
accepted and will be duly
acknowledged on a special
recognition page of the
souvenir program.
Sponsorship payments
may be deposited to the
following bank details:
Account Name: JESUIT
COMMUNICATIONS
PATRON OF THE ARTS
Or: JESCOM PATRON OF THE ARTS
Bank Accounts:
BPI Account Number
3081-1145-19
Eastwest Bank Account
Number 27-02-00387-6
Sponsors may fax the deposit slip with their name to
(02)426-5970. Sponsor must
provide their company ad
and logo as desired via
email at esablan@admu.
edu.ph and dit2gsablan@
gmail.com. Deadline for
submission is on November
25, 2014.
For more information,
call Dit Sablan at (02)4265971 local 121 or (+63)908886-8447. (Raymond A.
Sebastin/CBCPNews)

Markings
CELEBRATED. Fr. Leonido Dolor of the Archdiocese of Lipa celebrated his 33rd sacerdotal
anniversary. He entered the diocesan seminary in 1976 and was ordained in 1981. Dolor is a
long-time media practitioner, photographer and broadcaster.
CELEBRATED. Msgr. Salvador Quizon, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Lipa, celebrated his 90th
birthday last Dec. 6. He resides at the St. Joseph Seniorate located in the St. Francis de Sales
Major Seminary Compound, Marauoy, Lipa City.
ORDAINED. Fr. Norman Labutan, SVD; Fr. Hazer Cango, SVD, Fr. George Bilaro De Castro,
SVD, Fr. Narcissus Cataraja Ybaez, SVD, and Fr. Mark Angelo Martinez Ramos, SVD were
ordained on Dec. 7, 2014 by San Fernando Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David, DD at the SVD Holy
Spirit chapel, Tagaytay city. David is also the chairman of the Catholic Bishops Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate. Most of them will be sent
on foreign mission: Ybaez w Portugal; Cango to Brazil; Labutan to Kenya; Ramos to Spain; and
De Castro to the Philippine North. They are all religious priests of the Society of the Divine Word.

Free Marian recollection to

prepare faithful for papal visit
A MARIAN group invites
the public to a free Marian recollection in spiritual
preparation for the apostolic visit of Pope Francis,
entitled To Jesus through
Mary: The Journey from
Misery and Sin to Mercy
and Grace, on Dec. 16,
11:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at the
Manila Cathedral.
Its a Marian recollection because we want to
consecrate this visit of the
Pope to the Immaculate
Heart of Mary. And also,
we want the hearts of the
people prepared for the
graces the apostolic visit
will bring to our country,
Brenda Padilla, president of
the Confraternity of Mary
Mediatrix of All-Grace
(CMMG) said in an interview with CBCP News.
To kick off the recollection, Paraaque Bishop
Jesse Mercado will give an
exhortation on the Year of
the Poor at 1:00 p.m.
The talks are as follows:
o Talk 1 Mary of the
Poor Poor of Mary by
Novaliches Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani
o Talk 2 Pope Francis
and his Devotion to Mary
by Fr. Dennis Paez, SDB
o Talk 3 Spirituality
of Total Consecration by
CMMG Founder and Director General Fr. Melvin
Castro
A Holy Mass will be
presided over by Bishop
Mercado and concelebrated by Fr. Rico Ayo at
12:15 p.m.

At 6:00 p.m., there will

be a rite of individual consecration and consecration

of the apostolic visit of the

Pope Francis to the Philippines. Participants are

encouraged to bring their

own snacks. (Nirvaana
Ella Delacruz/CBCPNews)

35th Intramuros Grand Marian Procession

draws thousands
THOUSANDS of devotees flocked to
the Walled City for the Intramuros
Grand Marian Procession (IGMP) on
Dec. 7, Sunday, starting at 4:00 p.m. at
Plaza Roma, across the Manila Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica.
Now on its 35th year, the event
which is organized by the Cofradia de
la Inmaculada Concepcin, featured
some of the best-loved images of the
Blessed Virgin under various titles,
both local and international.
James Benedict Malabanan, a Marian through-and-through and an
IGMP regular, agreed it is the most
prestigious Marian procession in the
country, stressing it is a good avenue
to spread devotion.
In a CBCP News interview, he said
many formerly obscure Marian images, ones venerated only in specific
regions or provinces, have become
known nationwide because of IGMP.
Thanks to IGMP, people are now
familiar with Turumba de Pakil, Soledad de Porta Vaga, Nuestra Seora de
la Merced de Candaba, Remedios de
Pampanga, etc., Malabanan shared.
According to him, new entries this
year include Obandos Virgen de
Salambao and Cavites Rosario de
Caracol.
While IGMP participants are
mainly replicas, Malabanan said
the featured the original images of

The Annunciation to Mary was just one of the many religious images of the Blessed Virgin featured at
the 35th Intramuros Grand Marian Procession held on Dec. 7, 2014. Edward David Lim Medina

Nuestra Seora del Pilar de Imus,

Aranzazu de San Mateo, Ftima
de Valenzuela, Ina Poon Bato de
Zambales, Consolacin y Correa
de Intramuros, Divina Pastora de
Nueva Ecija, and the Soledad de San
Isidro, also of Nueva Ecija.
Malabanan said that in 2013 almost
the whole population of Pakil, including its local officials, came in droves
to Intramuros to show their support

for their patroness, Nuestra Seora de

los Dolores de Turumba.
Since its launch in in 1980, IGMP
has attracted devotees from within the
Philippines as well as abroad, some of
them tourists and Overseas Filipino
Workers (OFW) who make it a point
to flock to the Walled City every first
Sunday of December in honor of the
Immaculate Conception. (Raymond
A. Sebastin/CBCPNews)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

Pastoral Concerns

B1

FILE PHOTO

December 8 - 30, 2014

(Note: The Year of Consecrated Life opened at the vigil of the First Sunday of Advent, November 29, 2014)

Pope Francis Message for the

Year of Consecrated Life
So I invite every Christian community to experience this Year above all as a moment of thanksgiving to the Lord
and grateful remembrance for all the gifts we continue to receive

DEAR Brothers and Sisters in

Consecrated Life,
I am writing to you as the
Successor of Peter, to whom
the Lord entrusted the task of
confirming his brothers and sisters
in faith (cf. Lk 22:32). But I am also
writing to you as a brother who,
like yourselves, is consecrated
to God.
Together let us thank the Father,
who called us to follow Jesus by
fully embracing the Gospel and
serving the Church, and poured
into our hearts the Holy Spirit, the
source of our joy and our witness
to Gods love and mercy before
the world.
In response to requests from
many of you and from the
Congregation for Institutes of
Consecrated Life and for Societies
of Apostolic Life, I decided to
proclaim a Year of Consecrated
Life on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Church
Lumen Gentium, which speaks of
religious in its sixth chapter, and of
the Decree Perfectae Caritatis on
the renewal of religious life. The
Year will begin on 30 November
2014, the First Sunday of Advent,
and conclude with the Feast of the
Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
on 2 February 2016.
After consultation with the
Congregation for Institutes of
Consecrated Life and for Societies
of Apostolic Life, I have chosen as
the aims of this Year the same ones
which Saint John Paul II proposed
to the whole Church at the
beginning of the third millennium,
reiterating, in a certain sense,
what he had earlier written
in the Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation Vita Consecrata: You
have not only a glorious history
to remember and to recount, but
also a great history still to be
accomplished!Look to the future,
where the Spirit is sending you in
order to do even greater things
(No. 110).
I. Aims of the Year of Consecrated
Life
1.The first of these aims is to
look to the past with gratitude.
All our Institutes are heir to a
history rich in charisms. At their
origins we see the hand of God

who, in his Spirit, calls certain

individuals to follow Christ more
closely, to translate the Gospel into
a particular way of life, to read the
signs of the times with the eyes
of faith and to respond creatively
to the needs of the Church. This
initial experience then matured
and developed, engaging new
members in new geographic
and cultural contexts, and giving
rise to new ways of exercising
the charism, new initiatives and
expressions of apostolic charity.
Like the seed which becomes
a tree, each Institute grew and
stretched out its branches.
During this Year, it would be
appropriate for each charismatic
family to reflect on its origins and
history, in order to thank God who
grants the Church a variety of gifts

and, taken as a whole, acts as a

summons to conversion. To tell
our story is to praise God and to
thank him for all his gifts.
In a particular way we give
thanks to God for these fifty
years which followed the Second
Vatican Council. The Council
represented a breath of the Holy
Spirit upon the whole Church.
In consequence, consecrated life
undertook a fruitful journey of
renewal which, for all its lights
and shadows, has been a time of
grace, marked by the presence of
the Spirit.
May this Year of Consecrated
Life also be an occasion for
confessing humbly, with immense
confidence in the God who is Love
(cf. 1 Jn 4:8), our own weakness
and, in it, to experience the Lords

ideal was Christ; they sought to be

interiorly united to him and thus
to be able to say with Saint Paul:
For to me to live is Christ (Phil
1:21). Their vows were intended
as a concrete expression of this
passionate love.
The question we have to ask
ourselves during this Year is
if and how we too are open to
being challenged by the Gospel;
whether the Gospel is truly the
manual for our daily living
and the decisions we are called to
make. The Gospel is demanding:
it demands to be lived radically
and sincerely. It is not enough to
read it (even though the reading
and study of Scripture is essential),
nor is it enough to meditate on it
(which we do joyfully each day).
Jesus asks us to practice it, to put

their service to the poor and the

infirm The creativity of charity
is boundless; it is able to find
countless new ways of bringing
the newness of the Gospel to every
culture and every corner of society.
The Year of Consecrated Life
challenges us to examine our
fidelity to the mission entrusted
to us. Are our ministries, our
works and our presence consonant
with what the Spirit asked of
our founders and foundresses?
Are they suitable for carrying
out today, in society and the
Church, those same ministries
and works? Do we have the
same passion for our people, are
we close to them to the point of
sharing in their joys and sorrows,
thus truly understanding their
needs and helping to respond

Once again, we have to ask ourselves: Is Jesus really our first and only love, as
we promised he would be when we professed our vows? Only if he is, will we be
empowered to love, in truth and mercy, every person who crosses our path. For we
will have learned from Jesus the meaning and practice of love. We will be able to
love because we have his own heart.
which embellish her and equip her
for every good work (cf. Lumen
Gentium, 12).
Recounting our history is
essential for preserving our
identity, for strengthening our
unity as a family and our common
sense of belonging. More than
an exercise in archaeology or the
cultivation of mere nostalgia, it
calls for following in the footsteps
of past generations in order to
grasp the high ideals, and the
vision and values which inspired
them, beginning with the founders
and foundresses and the first
communities. In this way we
come to see how the charism
has been lived over the years,
the creativity it has sparked, the
difficulties it encountered and the
concrete ways those difficulties
were surmounted. We may also
encounter cases of inconsistency,
the result of human weakness and
even at times a neglect of some
essential aspects of the charism.
Yet everything proves instructive

merciful love. May this Year

likewise be an occasion for bearing
vigorous and joyful witness before
the world to the holiness and
vitality present in so many of
those called to follow Jesus in the
consecrated life.
2. This Year also calls us to live
the present with passion.Grateful
remembrance of the past leads us,
as we listen attentively to what the
Holy Spirit is saying to the Church
today, to implement ever more
fully the essential aspects of our
consecrated life.
From the beginnings
of monasticism to the new
communities of our own time,
every form of consecrated life has
been born of the Spirits call to
follow Jesus as the Gospel teaches
(cf. Perfectae Caritatis, 2). For the
various founders and foundresses,
the Gospel was the absolute rule,
whereas every other rule was
meant merely to be an expression
of the Gospel and a means of living
the Gospel to the full.For them, the

his words into effect in our lives.

Once again, we have to ask
ourselves: Is Jesus really our first
and only love, as we promised
he would be when we professed
our vows? Only if he is, will we
be empowered to love, in truth
and mercy, every person who
crosses our path.For we will have
learned from Jesus the meaning
and practice of love. We will be
able to love because we have his
own heart.
Our founders and foundresses
shared in Jesus own compassion
when he saw the crowds who were
like sheep without a shepherd.
Like Jesus, who compassionately
spoke his gracious word, healed
the sick, gave bread to the hungry
and offered his own life in sacrifice,
so our founders and foundresses
sought in different ways to be
the service of all those to whom
the Spirit sent them. They did so
by their prayers of intercession,
their preaching of the Gospel, their
works of catechesis, education,

to them? The same generosity

and self-sacrifice which guided
your foundersSaint John Paul
II once saidmust now inspire
you, their spiritual children, to
keep alive the charisms which, by
the power of the same Spirit who
awakened them, are constantly
being enriched and adapted,
while losing none of their unique
character. It is up to you to place
those charisms at the service of
the Church and to work for the
coming of Christs Kingdom in
its fullness.[1]
Recalling our origins sheds
light on yet another aspect of
consecrated life. Our founders and
foundresses were attracted by the
unity of the Apostles with Christ
and by the fellowship which
marked the first community in
Jerusalem. In establishing their
own communities, each of them
sought to replicate those models
of evangelical living, to be of one
heart and one soul, and to rejoice in
the Lords presence (cf. Perfectae

Caritatis, 15).
Living the present with passion
means becoming experts in
communion, witnesses and
architects of the plan for unity
which is the crowning point
of human history in Gods
design.[2] In a polarized
society, where different cultures
experience difficulty in living
alongside one another, where the
powerless encounter oppression,
where inequality abounds, we
are called to offer a concrete
model of community which, by
acknowledging the dignity of each
person and sharing our respective
gifts, makes it possible to live as
brothers and sisters.
So, be men and women of
communion!Have the courage to
be present in the midst of conflict
and tension, as a credible sign of
the presence of the Spirit who
inspires in human hearts a passion
for all to be one (cf. Jn 17:21). Live
the mysticism of encounter, which
entails the ability to hear, to listen
to other people; the ability to
seek together ways and means.
[3] Live in the light of the loving
relationship of the three divine
Persons (cf. 1 Jn 4:8), the model
for all interpersonal relationships.
3. To embrace the future with
hope should be the third aim
of this Year. We all know the
difficulties which the various
forms of consecrated life are
currently experiencing: decreasing
vocations and aging members,
particularly in the Western world;
economic problems stemming
from the global financial crisis;
issues of internationalization and
globalization; the threats posed by
relativism and a sense of isolation
and social irrelevance But it is
precisely amid these uncertainties,
which we share with so many of
our contemporaries, that we are
called to practice the virtue of
hope, the fruit of our faith in the
Lord of history, who continues to
tell us: Be not afraid for I am
with you (Jer 1:8).
This hope is not based on
statistics or accomplishments, but
on the One in whom we have put
our trust (cf. 2 Tim 1:2), the One
for whom nothing is impossible
(Lk 1:37). This is the hope which
Consecrated / B4

Updates

B2

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

The Canonical Imperatives of Pastoral Ministry (Part I)

Introduction
The universal theme of the Year for
Priests, launched by Pope Benedict XVI
on 19 June 2009 was: Faithfulness of
Christ, Faithfulness of Priests. That entire
year was a wonderful occasion for the
whole Church to reflect on the identity
and ministry of priests, which is none
other than the identity and ministry of
our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ himself.
Allow me to recall at the outset what
is specific in the sacramental character
received in Holy Orders: not only a
participation in the priesthood of Jesus
Christ (which is proper to the universal or
royal priesthood of all Christs faithful),
but rather a configuration in persona
Christi capitis, which therefore constitutes
the priest in a sacred ministeralter
Christus, ipse Christusin the midst of
the community of believers, at the service
of and in order to nourish the universal
priesthood of all the faithful. As Bl.John
Paul II explained in Pastores dabo vobis,
n.14: For the sake of this universal
priesthood of the new covenant Jesus
gathered disciples during his earthly
mission (cf. Lk. 10:1-12), and with a
specific and authoritative mandate he
called and appointed the Twelve to be
with him, and to be sent out to preach
and have authority to cast out demons
(Mk. 3:14-15).
However, that entire years reflection
might very well be an exercise in
futility, were it to be left precisely at
the level of speculative thought. In
effect, there is abundant literature on
the life and ministry of priestsfrom
charming biographies like those of
the Cur dArs himself to treatises
like those of Alphonsus Ligouri; from
Papal Exhortations like Pastores dabo
vobis1 to veritable Instructions like the
Directory on the Life and Ministry of
Priests.2 Despite all these, however, there
continues to be glaring manifestations of
lack of priestly holiness and consequently
of inadequate pastoral ministry.
Hence, the importance of Canon
Law, which precisely begins where
theology endsi.e., in the level of
enforceable human conduct. Whereas
moral, sacramental and even pastoral
theology can only indicate what is fitting
and proper conduct, leaving it to each
faithful to make responsible use of his
freedom to act accordingly, Canon Law
stipulates what is juridically binding and
hence owed if not outright enforceable.
In short, Canon Law adds the note of
exigency to the desideratum of priestly
holiness and pastoral ministry.
The Code of Canon Law expresses
this in a general way in c.276:
Can.276, 1. In leading their lives
clerics are especially bound to pursue
holiness because they are consecrated
to God by a new title in the reception of
orders as dispensers of Gods mysteries
in the service of His people.
One observes that by itself, c.276, 1
may be doomed to go the way of many
well-meaning but ineffective pastoral
initiatives and guidelines. Staying within
that section, one remains in the level of a
desideratum, or in more juridical terms a
pretension: priests are consecrated to God
as dispensers of Gods mysteries in the
service of His people. Such pretension
needs to be articulated into enforceable
norms.
This is what c.276, 2 sets out to do,
clearly stating: In order for them to
pursue this perfectionfollowed by five
numbers outlining a set of vital duties for
clerics. In other words, what follows is
not just a set of desiderata, but rather a
set of norms which clerics must follow if
they are to fulfill the juridical obligation
to pursue holiness set by c.276, 1. More

specifically, c.276, 2, nos. 2-5 state the

canonical imperatives for the priests
pursuit of a holy life. In this article, I shall
dwell on the first number of c.276, 2,
which refer to the Canonical Imperatives
of Pastoral Ministry.
The Canonical Imperatives of Pastoral
Ministry
Can.276, 2 1 First of all, they are
faithfully and untiringly to fulfill the
duties of pastoral ministry.
Before going any further, I think it
is important to clarify the concept of
pastoral ministry. In effect, under the
guise of pastoral ministry, almost every
conceivable initiative has been taken up
by ordained ministersranging from
works of purely material beneficence
(e.g., relief of calamity victims) to
socio-political and economic initiatives
(e.g., education for the upcoming
elections, parish-based mechanisms for
the protection of the electoral process,
organization of cooperatives, education

A. General Provisions:
1) General availability for pastoral
assignments: Unless they are excused
by a legitimate impediment, clerics are
bound to undertake and faithfully fulfill
a duty which has been entrusted to them
by their Ordinary (c.274, 2). More than
specifying any task, this norm binds
the cleric to undertake and faithfully
fulfilli.e., carry out and faithfully
execute to completionany and all
pastoral assignments entrusted to him
by his bishop.
In effect, one cannot help but wonder
if the aforementioned cases of wayward
initiatives of individual priests could
have prospered had they been totally
consumed by assignments of a genuinely
pastoral nature from their legitimate
hierarchical superiors.
2) Duty of residence: Even if they
do not have a residential office, clerics
nevertheless are not to leave their
diocese for a notable period of time, to
be determined by particular law, without

potencies to God and his Church. Aside

from strictly pastoral duties, the priest
simply has no other time or energy for
much else. With elections not far away,
this issue is bound to crop up again.
4) Prohibition from engaging in
business: Clerics are forbidden personally
or through others to conduct business
or trade either for their own benefit or
that of others, without the permission
of legitimate ecclesiastical authority
(c.286). It is interesting to note that the
prohibition is quite all-encompassing:
neither personally nor through others,
neither for their own benefit nor for other
(i.e., not even for their flock).
The logic again is quite simple: a
priest is ordained for pastoral tasksthe
tria munera Christiand not for other
activities, unless legitimate authority
permits it (obviously for special reasons).
B. Duties towards the Administration
of the Sacraments:
1) General duty to administer the

FILE PHOTO

By Fr. Jaime Blanco Achacoso,

J.C.D.

The sacred ministers cannot refuse the sacraments to those who ask for them
at appropriate times, are properly disposed and are not prohibited by law
from receiving them.
in NFP).
Properly speaking, the pastoral
function consists in exercising the tria
munera Christi, which can be summed
up principally in delivering the salvific
means entrusted by Christ to the
Churchi.e., the Word of God and the
Sacraments. In other words, it would
imply a serious impoverishment of the
person and mission of the priest, not to
say of the Church herself, to reduce their
spiritual mission to merely material tasks.
With this I do not in any way deny
either the timeliness or utility of many
works aimed at alleviating the socioeconomic, political or even medical
conditions of the people, carried out by
ecclesiastical organizations with the help
of the Hierarchy. What I want to do is to
point out the danger of substituting the
genuine pastoral function of the clerics
with other charitable works, thereby
confusing the priestly mission of the
Pastors with that of the faithful in general.
The Code of Canon Law spells out this
particular imperative abundantly, both
in general provisions and as regards the
administration of each of the Sacraments.
Following is just a summary.

at least the presumed permission of

their proper Ordinary (c.283, 1). This
provision specifies further the availability
of clerics for pastoral assignments by
limiting their absence from the diocese.
Indeed, it would be much more
difficult for clerics to fall into unhealthy
activismwith initiatives that are not
strictly pastoralwere their presence in
their own ecclesiastical circumscriptions
more strictly enforced. With the ease of
air travel these days, it is appalling to
find priests in places like the beaches of
Boracay or Palawan, for no other reason
than just a brief vacation.
3) Prohibition from assuming public
office: Clerics are forbidden to assume
public offices which entail a participation
in the exercise of civil power (c.285,
3). The relevance of this norm to the
canonical imperative in question is quite
clear: The cleric cannot give his 100%
dedication to the pastoral ministry, were
he to also participate in the exercise of
civil government.
For the priest, the Lords mandate to
render unto Caesar what is Caesars and
to God what is Gods takes on an absolute
value: The priest simply owes 100% of his

Sacraments abundantly: The sacred

ministers cannot refuse the sacraments
to those who ask for them at appropriate
times, are properly disposed and are not
prohibited by law from receiving them
(c.843, 1).
The ministerfurthermoreshould
ask nothing for the administration of the
sacraments beyond the offerings defined
by the competent authority, always being
careful that the needy are not deprived
of the help of the sacraments because of
their poverty (c.848).
This duty corresponds to the rights
of Christs faithful to the means of
salvationi.e., the Word of God and
the Sacraments. We cannot emphasize
enough that this constitutes a real
duty of justice, which can therefore
be demandedalso in justiceby the
faithful. So true is this that, in juridic
parlance, it is accionablei.e., the
faithful have the right to demand from
the competent Church authority, redress
for their right to the Sacraments should
this be violated.
In my lectures before lay audiences,
I have been encouraging them all
these years to be more demanding of

their rights: they can sue their parish

priests, before the Church tribunals,
for neglecting to make the sacraments
abundantly available to them. I shall
return to this matter later.
2) General duty to prepare the faithful
for the reception of the Sacraments:
Pastors of souls and the rest of the
Christian faithful, according to their
ecclesial function, have the duty to see
that those who seek the sacraments
are prepared to receive them by the
necessary evangelization and catechetical
formation, taking into account the norms
published by the competent authority
(c.843, 2).
Beyond the administration of the
Sacraments, indeed prior to it, is the
duty to prepare the faithful adequately
for such reception. It is admirable that
in the last two decades, parishes have
been institutionalizing the praxis of
requiring seminars to adequately prepare
the parents and godparents for Baptism
and Confirmation and those who are
about to get married, aside from the
ongoing catechetical programs for first
communicants.
Conclusion
These brief considerations were meant
to show that the ideal of pastoral ministry
is a pretension of paramount importance
in the canonical order, such that in fact
concrete norms have been laid down
for its accomplishment. These norms
are laid down in the most concise and
concrete manner in the Directory on the
Ministry and Life of Priests.3 I consider
this to be the best little manual for the
life and ministry of priests, a veritable
vademecum specifically for the secular
clergy.
Indeed, if the faithful and untiring
fulfillment of the duties of their pastoral
ministry constitutes a primordial
obligation of the priest, it also constitutes
for him the principal means for struggling
and expressing his priestly sanctity. Put
another way, the priest who struggles to
fulfill these duties is clearly on his way
to holiness.
I would like to end with a quotation
from Bl. John Paul II, concluding his
landmark Apostolic Exhortation, Pastores
dabo vobis:
I will give you shepherds after my own
heart (Jer. 3:15). Today, this promise of God
is still living and at work in the Church. At
all times, she knows she is the fortunate
receiver of these prophetic words. She
sees them put into practice daily in so
many parts of the world, or rather, in
so many human hearts, young hearts in
particular. On the threshold of the third
millennium, and in the face of the serious
and urgent needs which confront the
Church and the world, she yearns to see
this promise fulfilled in a new and richer
way, more intensely and effectively: She
hopes for an extraordinary outpouring of
the Spirit of Pentecost. (n.82).
Footnotes
1 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Exhortation, Pastores dabo vobis, 25.III.1992.
To my mind, this is one of the best
syntheses of the Conciliar doctrine on
the identity and mission of priests.
2 Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests,
31.I.1994; 2nd Edition published on
14.I.2013. I consider this as the best
little manual for the life and ministry
of priests, a veritable vademecum
specifically for the secular clergy who
many times suffer precisely from a lack
of specifically secular spirituality, as
compared to the members of religious
orders or societies of apostolic life who
enjoy well-defined norms and means
of ongoing formation that safeguard
fidelity to their vocation.
3 Congregation for the Clergy, Directory on the Ministry and Life of Priests,
31.I.1994.

Blessings Over the Phone

A recorded blessing can be a source of
grace, just as a recorded prayer or rosary
can move us to prayer. But it is not a
rite of the Church, and in this case it
does not, strictly speaking, enter into the
category of a sacramental.

A: With respect to prayer,

I see no reason why not. If
we can pray for somebody
with no physical or virtual
connection, such as when we
offer a mystery of the rosary
for a friend or relative in need
of prayer, then accompanying
them in some way by phone
or other technical means
of communication can be
a means of enhancing this
effect from a subjective point
of view.
In the case of priestly
blessings we would probably
need to distinguish some
factors. Insofar as a blessing
is a prayer, then I believe
that a simple blessing can
be directly transmitted by
electronic means if the priests
intention is to implore Gods
blessing on those blessed.

Deben Dave

Q: Is it correct in any way to

pray for someone over the
phone? May one ask a newly
ordained priest to bless him/
her over the phone? -- O.C.,
Avezzano, Italy

There are some who disagree

with this opinion and believe
that a blessing of this type is
reserved to the Holy Father.
The documents are clear on the
Popes power to impart such
blessings but are silent as to
other cases.
When the Holy Father imparts
the blessing urbi et orbi,
anybody who receives this

blessing by direct transmission

is truly blessed by the Pope and
also benefits from the plenary
indulgence attached to the papal
blessings. The papal blessing
is necessarily tied up with the
plenary indulgence, which only
he can grant.
This indulgence, and hence
the blessing, is not received
by deferred transmission. As

the Enchiridion of Indulgences

specifies: The indulgence is
gained by the faithful who, not
present for a reasonable cause
at a Papal Blessing, devotedly
follows the rites through TV
or radio dum peraguntur,
i.e., while they are being
performed.
I believe that this principle of
no recorded blessings would also
apply to other clerics who could
only give a simple evocative
blessing over the phone, radio
or other means. Even though
a priest has the power to bless,
a blessing, even in its simplest

form, is a rite of the Church,

and rites require some form of
immediate participation.
A recorded blessing can be a
source of grace, just as a recorded
prayer or rosary can move us to
prayer. But it is not a rite of the
Church, and in this case it does
not, strictly speaking, enter into
the category of a sacramental.
Likewise, such blessing could
not apply to constitutive blessings
which require the physical
presence of the person or object
being blessed. Such blessings are
those involving persons such as
institution of ministers, religious

professions and the like, or

objects such as chalices or
rosaries.
An exception to this is the
Holy Father who may, on
some occasions, extend his
intention to bless devotional
objects such as medals and
rosaries even over radio,
television and Internet,
to those who follow the
transmission directly. This
cannot be presumed for every
transmission of a papal Mass
(far more common now in
the Internet era), and his
intention would normally
need to be specified.
In the same line of thought
I would also say that the
liturgical blessings contained
in the Book of Blessings
would not necessarily be
efficacious as blessings if
the rite naturally implies
the physical presence of the
person being blessed.
These same formulas,
however, could be used as
prayers for those persons at
a distance.

Features

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

B3

Our family made us as we are

Who are the Poor in the

Year of the Poor?

By Father Shay Cullen

ByFr. Jerome Secillano

TO the organizers of this Year of The Poor, this question is
perhaps a no-brainer. In fact, when I joined the brainstorming
for this event, those who attended easily rattled off the groups
that are deemed to be poor. They are the farmers, fishermen,
drivers, security guards, vendors, the indigenous people, the
unemployed, those in slums, the physically handicapped,
and even those imprisoned. While some may disagree on this
listing, we Filipinos have long had the impression that these
groups are indeed what constitute the poor in our society.
There are other clusters, of course, which are not mentioned,
but they can easily be identified as such like the scavengers,
alms-seekers and the homeless who make the streets their
official abode.
It may, in fact, be quite easy to identify the poor but if you ask
others, some professionals included, they will tell you that they
are also poor. Ask a teacher, who lives on meager income or a
policeman, who subsists on deficient wages, dont be surprised
if they tell you that they, too, are poor. Let us not argue on
whether being poor is either an objective or subjective thing.
Lets rather agree that there are categories or approaches that
may perhaps help us determine who the poor are.
In a working paper authored byCaterina Laderchi,Ruhi
SaithandFrances Stewart, they asked, Does it matter that we
dont agree on the definition of poverty? While the intent of
the paper is to guide policymakers on what to do best against
poverty by first determining the common definitions for it,
methinks that the four approaches espoused by the authors
will help us in our own determination of who are poor. Well,
the paper, in fact, mentioned that these approaches point
to different people as being poor, for targeting. It went on
to identify the approaches as monetary, capability, social
exclusionandparticipatory.
The Monetary approachis the most commonly used
in identifying and measuring poverty. It is a shortfall in
consumption (or income) from some poverty line. The World

Nazareth, it has a real chance of

success. Such a family will have
happy and intelligent children.
Idealistic as this sounds it is
possible and there are millions
who have achieved it.
T h e s e a re c o u p l e s t h a t
married for love and not by an
unintended pregnancy. They
have the best chance of success
and fulfillment. They will have
stayed together faithfully and
honestly and strived from the
beginning to bring their children
to life in a family environment
of positive supportive love. If
so, there will be no competition,
clash of egos, dominanceseeking or selfish sexual
affairs. Family harmony will
predominate, disagreements
will be peacefully resolved.
They will protect their children
from the destructive influence of
evil and negativity in the world.

and community involvement

and mature friendships. They
will be self-reliant and nondependent. They will not be
the rebellious, prodigal children
that see their parents nothing
more than the sources of money
for personal gratification and
selfish ambition.
These are children who have
a growing sense of community
needs and a wider sense for the
world outside of their own, safe
community. When youth see the
world as it is, they can aspire
to ideals of service. Thousands
choose a life helping others
and sacrificing themselves. Aid
workers, refugee helpers, human
rights activists, pastors and
missionaries give themselves
to a life of self-giving, thinking
more of the needs of others than
their own needs and wants.
When they reach this level of

Children from such a family grow up

without the values of caring because they
do not experience and feel cared for and
loved. Their life is exhausted in trying to
survive and to be loved.
Parents teaching these values
but practicing them also are on
the road to building a happy
family day by day with constant
mutual encouragement, support,
affirmation and physical and
emotional affection.
The way to allow the inherent
goodness in an innocent child to
emerge is to be a good, loving
parent and to help others in the
community with the children
participating from an early
age. The good example of
parents forms positive, unselfish
attitudes and builds a caring
and loving character in their
children. A meaningful and
valuable life will be the happy
outcome.
Loved and forgiven
When there is real, mature
family and parental love of
children, there will be loads
of affirmation, understanding,
trust, encouragement and
inspiration created by the
good example of the parents
and older brothers and sisters.
These will result in fulfilled and
satisfied children with a sense
of freedom and they will be
constantly challenged to stand
on their own feet, find their
freedom through education

human development they are

on the road to a meaningful and
fulfilled life and a successful
career, too.
As growing maturing
children in a secure family,
they will not need to be scolded,
l e ct u re d, di sci p l i n e d a n d
reprimanded. When problems
and disagreements arise, frank
sharing and rational, caring
discussion will help solve it.
Children who feel cared for and
supported, unless corrupted by
outside influence, will have open
communication and sharing of
daily experience of feelings,
relationships and events in their
lives with their parents.
Their enlightened parents
realize that punishment is not a
deterrent to negative behavior
but that determined counseling
and support works best. Then
the children see their parents
as their friends, counselors and
advisors with whom they can
share with easy communication
and trust. This is what forges
the bonding of a loving, lasting
relationship in a family. It gives
growing children and youth
security and confidence and a
profound sense of self-value
and worthiness.
Children that are given

trust and freedom of choice

and taught to choose wisely
will resist and overcome the
temptations of the world. They
will continue to be idealistic
and uphold the values they see
in their parents and admire and
love them. They are grateful for
the friendship and what parents
made possible for them to
achieve and experience. Family
love based on these values will
never end.
Admiring, supporting and
affirming children are essential
for healthy mental development.
Doing and teaching by example
are the most important and long
lasting character formation
parenting that you can find. The
children will be partners in a
family team and act together in
play, education and community
action and service. If indeed it
starts early in life the teaching
by example will ignite their
sense of respect for all equally
without prejudice.
They will have a sense of
adventure, volunteerism and a
spirit of community service and
family togetherness with loyalty
and bonding. The inclusion,
affirmation, encouragement
and parental love create the
atmosphere where stress-free
fast learning and intelligence
c a n g ro w. H a p p y s e c u re
families produce loving, honest
intelligent children and wise
servant leaders who care for
others more than themselves.
Then there are the broken
homes with lost sons and
daughters who leave the family
due to sad misunderstandings,
overly strict parents, a Romeo
and Juliet relationship, drug
use or perhaps the excessive
demands of the youth that
parents cant meet. There is no
perfect family and striving for
the ideal is indeed a struggle.
I am surprised how few have
actually read and know the
many important values in the
story of the prodigal son in the
Gospel of Saint Luke. The young
man is clearly at odds with his
father and elder brother. He
demands of his father to give
him part of his inheritance that
he would normally receive after
the retirement or death of the
father. Reluctantly, the father
does so.
Soon the youth goes off
into the world and spends it
all irresponsibly but his pride
could not let him accept that
he had thrown away a great
life of security and success in
Cullen / B7

FILE PHOTO

FILE PHOTO

WHILE the Pope, cardinals

and hundreds of bishops and
theologians meet in Rome to
discuss the Churchs teaching
on family life, all of us ought to
be concerned as most of us were
born into a family, either good,
bad, broken or dysfunctional or
none at all. Single parents are in
the millions around the world.
Our parents relationship
with each other and their
values or lack of them is what
initially shaped our character,
personality, emotions and
life experience. We are what
we are by this life forming
experience. What comes after is
due to the choices we make in
the face of worldly challenges
and opportunities, positive or
negative. They may be blessings
and gifts, or greed or selfish
desires. Free choice is what
marks us as human, makes us
saints or sinners.
We will be better and more
enlightened if we can choose the
positive virtues of faithfulness,
honesty and service to others
and consider the impact they
have on building a family. It
is these choices that determine
the impact we can have on the
children and how a happy family
can be achieved in a fractured
and very secular, materialistic
and sexualized world.
Every community, ethnic
group, culture and nation is
shaped, changed and challenged
by the children growing up to
form the next generation. They
are going to be different in
many ways from their parents
and grandparents or some may
perpetuate the same good or
bad habits, positive attitudes
and relationships that they
experienced with their parents.
The world is changing at a
fantastic pace and while the
social media and the information
available on the Internet is
having a massive impact on
children and youth today, the
greatest influence on the lives of
children is still the relationship
with parents or the lack of it. It
is this that will form and mold
the personality and character
of the child and youth as it has
done to all of us.
Parents today must reflect
on their way of parenting. Our
schools and colleges do not
teach units or courses how to
be a good parent. And being a
parent will be a reality that can
never change even after death.
New parents have to figure
out alone or follow their parents
in building a family whether
it will be a functioning and
viable family at all. With so
m a n y b ro k e n h o m e s a n d
disintegrating families parents
are challenged today to evaluate
and to think and talk about their
family relationships. They need
to examine them for strengths
and weaknesses, mistakes,
failures and set out to learn how
to repair and rebuild a fractured
family.
Some parents and children
are not a family at all but a
group at war within itself with
constant arguments, bickering,
scoldings, resorting to violence,
wife-beating and child abuse.
The children are abused, become
rebellious and run to the streets
where they are further exploited
and abused. Some are thrown
into jails.
Children from such a family
grow up without the values
of caring because they do not
experience and feel cared for and
loved. Their life is exhausted in
trying to survive and to be loved.
They tend to leave home early
and neglect their ageing parents
in old age. If they get none or
little, they have little or none
to give back.
The primary source of love
in a family comes from the
relationship between father and
mother. Parents in such families
need to reflect and examine what
they are saying and doing to
their children and to each other.
If it is predominantly negative,
insulting, verbally stressful,
argumentative and even violent,
it will be a dysfunctional family,
a place of fear, stress and feeling
unwanted and unloved. Then
more often than not the father
or mother abandons them.
Its a deep life-long traumatic
experience.
If a married relationship
is based on mutual respect,
friendship and glued with
strong emotional attraction
and it is based on the strong
positive Christian values of the
gospel and example of Jesus of

Ask a teacher, who lives on

meager income or a policeman, who
subsists on deficient wages, dont be
surprised if they tell you that they,
too, are poor.
Bank has pegged the international poverty line at $1.25/day
in 2005. In the Philippines, based on the National Statistics
Coordination Board report, the poverty line marks a per capita
income of 16,841 pesos a year. Those who fell below these
figures are then considered to be poor.
TheCapability approachis seen as the expansion of human
capabilities and not the maximization of utility or income
(money). Here poverty is defined as deprivation or the
failure to achieve certain minimal or basic capabilities, where
basic capabilities are the ability to satisfy certain crucially
important functioning up to certain minimally adequate
level. Examples are the handicapped or those living in areas
where even the most basic services are not provided. How
can they advance further if they are physically constrained or
deprived of opportunities to even make the first step towards
development?
TheSocial Exclusionapproach is defined by the European
Union as a process through which individuals or groups are
wholly or partially excluded from full participation in the
society in which they live. It occurs when, as a resident of a
society, a person is excluded for reasons beyond his control
to participate in normal activities even if he would like to do
so. Examples are the aged and those belonging to some racial
or ethnic groups. The country, at least, has begun to recognize
these sectors and has given them rights based on some policy
initiatives like the senior citizens law and The Indigenous
PeoplesRights Actof 1997. Much still is desired though.
The Participatory approachis something different from
the conventional means of determining poverty. While others
seem to be external impositions of institutions tasked to assess
poverty situations, this approach takes into account peoples
perception of what it means to be poor and the magnitude of
poverty. This practice of participatory poverty assessments
(PPA) enables people to share, enhance and analyze their
knowledge of life and conditions, to plan and to act.
You will notice that those named as poor by the organizers of
this Year of the Poor can be categorized more or less according
to the approaches explained above. What is more interesting,
however, are the possible implications presented by the fourth
approach. Many are actually crying out to be poor! Were they
heard? Where their voices considered? Also, this Year of the
Poor seems to be about those who are financially, economically
or materially poor, those that are socially excluded or those
that are deprived of basic opportunities for life. Whatever
happens to those who arepoor in spirit? Determining the
poor may prove to be a difficult task after all.

B4

Pastoral Concerns

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Consecrated / B1

Communion is lived first and foremost

within the respective communities of each
Institute. To this end, I would ask you
to think about my frequent comments
about criticism, gossip, envy, jealousy,
hostility as ways of acting which have
no place in our houses. This being the
case, the path of charity open before us
is almost infinite, since it entails mutual
acceptance and concern, practicing a
communion of goods both material
and spiritual, fraternal correction and
respect for those who are weak it is
the mystique of living together which
makes our life a sacred pilgrimage.
[6] We need to ask ourselves about the
way we relate to persons from different
cultures, as our communities become
increasingly international. How can we
enable each member to say freely what he
or she thinks, to be accepted with his or
her particular gifts, and to become fully
co-responsible?
I also hope for a growth in communion
between the members of different
Institutes. Might this Year be an occasion

communities, centres of spirituality,

schools, hospitals, family shelters all
these are places which the charity and
creativity born of your charisms have
brought into being, and with constant
creativity must continue to bring into
being. They should increasingly be the
leaven for a society inspired by the Gospel,
a city on a hill, which testifies to the truth
and the power of Jesus words.
At times, like Elijah and Jonah, you may
feel the temptation to flee, to abandon the
task of being a prophet because it is too
demanding, wearisome or apparently
fruitless.But prophets know that they are
never alone. As he did with Jeremiah, so
God encourages us: Be not afraid of them,
for I am with you to deliver you (Jer 1:8).
3. Men and women religious, like
all other consecrated persons, have
been called, as I mentioned, experts
in communion. So I am hoping that
the spirituality of communion, so
emphasized by Saint John Paul II, will
become a reality and that you will be
in the forefront of responding to the
great challenge facing us in this new
millennium: to make the Church the
home and the school of communion.[5]
I am sure that in this Year you will
make every effort to make the ideal of
fraternity pursued by your founders and
foundresses expand everywhere, like
concentric circles.

for us to step out more courageously from

the confines of our respective Institutes
and to work together, at the local and
global levels, on projects involving
formation, evangelization, and social
action? This would make for a more
effective prophetic witness.Communion
and the encounter between different
charisms and vocations can open up a
path of hope. No one contributes to the
future in isolation, by his or her efforts
alone, but by seeing himself or herself
as part of a true communion which is
constantly open to encounter, dialogue,
attentive listening and mutual assistance.
Such a communion inoculates us from the
disease of self-absorption.
Consecrated men and women are
also called to true synergy with all other
vocations in the Church, beginning with
priests and the lay faithful, in order to
spread the spirituality of communion,
first of all in their internal life and then in
the ecclesial community, and even beyond
its boundaries.[7]
4. I also expect from you what I have
asked all the members of the Church: to
come out of yourselves and go forth to the
existential peripheries. Go into all the
world; these were the last words which
Jesus spoke to his followers and which
he continues to address to us (cf. Mk
16:15).A whole world awaits us: men and
women who have lost all hope, families

in difficulty, abandoned children, young

people without a future, the elderly, sick
and abandoned, those who are rich in the
worlds goods but impoverished within,
men and women looking for a purpose
in life, thirsting for the divine
Dont be closed in on yourselves, dont
be stifled by petty squabbles, dont remain
a hostage to your own problems. These
will be resolved if you go forth and help
others to resolve their own problems, and
proclaim the Good News. You will find
life by giving life, hope by giving hope,
love by giving love.
Iaskyoutoworkconcretelyinwelcoming
refugees, drawing near to the poor, and
finding creative ways to catechize, to
proclaim the Gospel and to teach others
how to pray.Consequently, I would hope
that structures can be streamlined, large
religious houses repurposed for works
which better respond to the present
demands of evangelization and charity,
and apostolates adjusted to new needs.
5. I expect that each form of consecrated
life will question what it is that God and

III. THE HORIZONS OF THE YEAR

OF CONSECRATED LIFE
1. In this letter, I wish to speak not
only to consecrated persons, but also to
the laity, who share with them the same
ideals, spirit and mission.Some Religious
Institutes have a long tradition in this
regard, while the experience of others
is more recent. Indeed, around each
religious family, every Society of Apostolic
Life and every Secular Institute, there is
a larger family, a charismatic family,
which includes a number of Institutes
which identify with the same charism,
and especially lay faithful who feel called,
precisely as lay persons, to share in the
same charismatic reality.
I urge you, as laity, to live this Year for
Consecrated Life as a grace which can
make you more aware of the gift you
yourselves have received. Celebrate it
with your entire family, so that you
can grow and respond together to the
promptings of the Spirit in society today.
On some occasions when consecrated
men and women from different Institutes
come together, arrange to be
present yourselves so as to
give expression to the one gift
of God. In this way you will
come to know the experiences
of other charismatic families
and other lay groups, and thus
have an opportunity for mutual
enrichment and support.
2. The Year for Consecrated
Life c onc er ns not only
consecrated persons, but the
entire Church. Consequently, I
ask the whole Christian people
to be increasingly aware of
the gift which is the presence
of our many consecrated men
and women, heirs of the great
saints who have written the
history of Christianity. What
would the Church be without
Saint Benedict and Saint Basil,
without Saint Augustine and
Saint Bernard, without Saint
Francis and Saint Dominic, Saint
Ignatius of Loyola and Saint
Teresa of Avila, Saint Angelica
Merici and Saint Vincent de
Paul. The list could go on and
on, up to Saint John Bosco and
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta. As
Blessed Paul VI pointed out:
Without this concrete sign
there would be a danger that
the charity which animates the
entire Church would grow cold,
that the salvific paradox of the
Gospel would be blunted, and
that the salt of faith would lose
its savour in a world undergoing
secularization (Evangelica
Testificatio, 3).
So I invite every Christian
community to experience this
Year above all as a moment
of thanksgiving to the Lord
and grateful remembrance
for all the gifts we continue to
receive, thanks to the sanctity of
founders and foundresses, and
from the fidelity to their charism
shown by so many consecrated
men and women. I ask all of you
to draw close to these men and
women, to rejoice with them,
to share their difficulties and to
assist them, to whatever degree
possible, in their ministries and
works, for the latter are, in the
end, those of the entire Church.
Let them know the affection and
the warmth which the entire
Christian people feels for them.
3. In this letter I do not
hesitate to address a word
to the consecrated men and
women and to the members of
fraternities and communities
who belong to Churches of
traditions other than the Catholic
tradition.Monasticism is part of
the heritage of the undivided
Church, and is still very much
alive in both the Orthodox
Churches and the Catholic
Church. The monastic tradition,
and other later experiences from
people today are asking of them.
the time when the Church in the West
Monasteries and groups which are was still united, have inspired analogous
primarily contemplative could meet initiatives in the Ecclesial Communities
or otherwise engage in an exchange of the reformed tradition. These have
of experiences on the life of prayer, on continued to give birth to further
ways of deepening communion with the expressions of fraternal community and
entire Church, on supporting persecuted service.
Christians, and welcoming and assisting
The Congregation for Institutes of
those seeking a deeper spiritual life or Consecrated Life and for Societies of
requiring moral or material support.
Apostolic Life has planned a number
The same can be done by Institutes of initiatives to facilitate encounters
dedicated to works of charity, teaching between members of different expressions
and cultural advancement, to preaching of consecrated and fraternal life in the
the Gospel or to carrying out specific various Churches. I warmly encourage
pastoral ministries. It could also be done such meetings as a means of increasing
by Secular Institutes, whose members are mutual understanding, respect and
found at almost every level of society. reciprocal cooperation, so that the
The creativity of the Spirit has generated ecumenism of the consecrated life can
ways of life and activities so diverse that prove helpful for the greater journey
they cannot be easily categorized or fit towards the unity of all the Churches.
into ready-made templates. So I cannot
4.Norcanweforgetthatthephenomenon
address each and every charismatic of monasticism and of other expressions
configuration.Yet during this Year no one of religious fraternity is present in all the
can feel excused from seriously examining great religions. There are instances, some
his or her presence in the Churchs life long-standing, of inter-monastic dialogue
and from responding to the new demands involving the Catholic Church and certain
constantly being made on us, to the cry of the great religious traditions. I trust that
of the poor.
the Year of Consecrated Life will be an
Only by such concern for the needs opportunity to review the progress made,
of the world, and by docility to the to make consecrated persons aware of this
promptings of the Spirit, will this Year dialogue, and to consider what further
of Consecrated Life become an authentic steps can be taken towards greater mutual
kairos, a time rich in Gods grace, a time understanding and greater cooperation in
of transformation.
Consecrated / B7
FILE PHOTO

II. EXPECTATIONS FOR THE

YEAR OF CONSECRATED
LIFE
What in particular do I expect
from this Year of grace for
consecrated life?
1. That the old saying will
always be true: Where there
are religious, there is joy. We
are called to know and show
that God is able to fill our hearts
to the brim with happiness;
that we need not seek our
happiness elsewhere; that the
authentic fraternity found in our
communities increases our joy;
and that our total self-giving in
service to the Church, to families
and young people, to the elderly
and the poor, brings us life-long
personal fulfillment.
None of us should be dour,
discontented and dissatisfied, for
a gloomy disciple is a disciple of
gloom. Like everyone else, we
have our troubles, our dark nights
of the soul, our disappointments
and infirmities, our experience of
slowing down as we grow older.
But in all these things we should
be able to discover perfect joy.
For it is here that we learn to
recognize the face of Christ, who
became like us in all things, and
to rejoice in the knowledge that
we are being conformed to him
who, out of love of us, did not
refuse the sufferings of the cross.
In a society which exalts the
cult of efficiency, fitness and
success, one which ignores the
poor and dismisses losers, we
can witness by our lives to the
truth of the words of Scripture:
When I am weak, then I am
strong (2 Cor 12:10).
We can apply to the consecrated
life the words of Benedict XVI
which I cited in the Apostolic Exhortation
Evangelii Gaudium: It is not by
proselytizing that the Church grows, but
by attraction (No. 14). The consecrated
life will not flourish as a result of brilliant
vocation programs, but because the
young people we meet find us attractive,
because they see us as men and women
who are happy! Similarly, the apostolic
effectiveness of consecrated life does not
depend on the efficiency of its methods.
It depends on the eloquence of your lives,
lives which radiate the joy and beauty of
living the Gospel and following Christ
to the full.
As I said to the members of ecclesial
movements on the Vigil of Pentecost last
year: Fundamentally, the strength of
the Church is living by the Gospel and
bearing witness to our faith. The Church
is the salt of the earth; she is the light of
the world. She is called to make present
in society the leaven of the Kingdom of
God and she does this primarily by her
witness, her witness of brotherly love,
of solidarity and of sharing with others
(18 May 2013).
2. I am counting on you to wake up
the world, since the distinctive sign of
consecrated life is prophecy. As I told the
Superiors General: Radical evangelical
living is not only for religious: it is
demanded of everyone. But religious
follow the Lord in a special way, in a

prophetic way. This is the priority that

is needed right now: to be prophets
who witness to how Jesus lived on this
earth a religious must never abandon
prophecy (29 November 2013).
Prophets receive from God the ability to
scrutinize the times in which they live and
to interpret events: they are like sentinels
who keep watch in the night and sense
the coming of the dawn (cf. Is 21:11-12).
Prophets know God and they know the
men and women who are their brothers
and sisters. They are able to discern and
denounce the evil of sin and injustice.
Because they are free, they are beholden to
no one but God, and they have no interest
other than God. Prophets tend to be on
the side of the poor and the powerless,
for they know that God himself is on
their side.
So I trust that, rather than living in
some utopia, you will find ways to
create alternate spaces, where the
Gospel approach of self-giving, fraternity,
embracing differences, and love of
one another can thrive. Monasteries,

FILE PHOTO

does not disappoint; it is the hope which

enables consecrated life to keep writing
its great history well into the future. It is
to that future that we must always look,
conscious that the Holy Spirit spurs us on
so that he can still do great things with us.
So do not yield to the temptation to see
things in terms of numbers and efficiency,
and even less to trust in your own strength.
In scanning the horizons of your lives
and the present moment, be watchful
and alert. Together with Benedict XVI,
I urge you not to join the ranks of the
prophets of doom who proclaim the end
or meaninglessness of the consecrated life
in the Church in our day; rather, clothe
yourselves in Jesus Christ and put on
the armour of light as Saint Paul urged
(cf. Rom 13:11-14) keeping awake and
watchful.[4] Let us constantly set out
anew, with trust in the Lord.
I would especially like to say a word
to those of you who are young. You
are the present, since you are already
taking active part in the lives of your
Institutes, offering all the freshness and
generosity of your yes. At the
same time you are the future,
for soon you will be called to
take on roles of leadership in
the life, formation, service and
mission of your communities.
This Year should see you actively
engaged in dialogue with the
previous generation.In fraternal
communion you will be enriched
by their experiences and wisdom,
while at the same time inspiring
them, by your own energy and
enthusiasm, to recapture their
original idealism. In this way
the entire community can join
in finding new ways of living
the Gospel and responding more
effectively to the need for witness
and proclamation.
I am also happy to know that
you will have the opportunity
during this Year to meet with
other young religious from
different Institutes. May such
encounters become a regular
means of fostering communion,
mutual support, and unity.

Statements

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

B5

CBCP Pastoral Letter on Human Trafficking

For through faith, you are children of God in Christ Jesus There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is not male nor female for you are all one in Christ. (Gal. 3:26, 28)
GOD created man in His own image
and redeemed him from sin through the
death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Sacred and inviolate, therefore,
is his human dignity. Yet, time and
again, this dignity has been violated in
unspeakable ways. Human trafficking is
one such violation that directly assaults
such dignity.
What is human trafficking?
It is a form of modern-day slavery,
not less dehumanizing and cruel than
any old form of slavery. It is the illegal
trade in persons, inhuman organs, in
human values, as though these were
commercial commodities. Through the
use of force, deception, violence, and
taking advantage of the vulnerability of
victims, men and women are exploited
physically, sexually, psychologically,
morally, spiritually for the material gain
of the traffickers. The victims are our
brothers and sisters whom we know
and do not know.
In todays globalized and
consumeristic world, the most
vulnerable among us are sold as slaves,
prostitutes, organ-donors, and pawns
in criminal enterprise, armed activities
and conflicts. The Holy Father describes
human trafficking as an open wound
on the body of contemporary society,
a scourge upon the body of Christ,
a crime against humanity, and
a grave violation of fundamental
human rights.
It is a disgrace, says Pope Francis
that people are treated as objects,
deceived, raped, often sold many times
for different purposes and, in the end,
killed or, in any case, physically and
mentally damaged, ending up thrown
away and abandoned. But it would be
a more terrible disgrace if we who hear

or read about the fate of victims could

only think of ourselves lucky that we
have been spared from such fate, but
feel no compulsion to share or mitigate
the suffering of the victims or wish to
curb it. A Christian should be willing
to sleep on the floor if his brother has
no roof over his head, and forego his
meal if his brother has nothing to eat.
Every year about 800,000 children,
women and men are trafficked across
international borders around the
world. Some 30 million people are
presently enslaved. About 150,000 of
these are said to be Filipinos, most
of them children who are physically
exploited and sexually abused. Every
year, many Filipino men and women
who migrate abroad for work end up
in conditions of involuntary servitude.
Happily, this does not characterize
the general condition of the Filipino
diaspora, which now counts some ten
million Filipinos in various parts of the
world. But one Filipino victim of human
trafficking alone is one victim too many
for us as a Christian nation. We should
have zero tolerance for this evil.
In the middle of their sufferings,
the victims often find themselves
alone and lost, with no one to turn to
but their God, our Lord. There is no
greater comfort than to seek solace
from our Lord. Especially so when
no human relief appears to be on
sight. But sometimes their sufferings
are compounded by the negligence,
indifference and downright abuse of
those who are otherwise tasked to
provide solace and help. The problem
has reached such proportions that in
his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii
Gaudium, Pope Francis could not help
but lament:

Seeing how this evil has spread and threatens to

scatter the flock, we can only cry with the Good
Shepherd, This cannot go on! It must stop!

The future of humanity passes through the family

of valid and willing forces.

I think of the elaboration of family policies,
of all that concerns the juridical and social
statute of families in general and the help
that must be offered to those who are
disadvantaged on the material and moral
plane. In particular, attention must be paid
to feminine occupation. Many women see
the need to be recognized better in their
rights, in the value of the tasks they carry out
habitually in the different sectors of social
and professional life, in their aspirations
within the family and in society. Some of
them are exhausted and almost crushed
by the amount of commitments and tasks,
without finding sufficient understanding

CNA

The family has a mission that is proper

to it, at the service of its members, of their
development, of life: it has rights and,
therefore, it is in need of supports and
guarantees to be able to exercise them.
On the other hand, the family also has
duties towards society, that is, it must
offer its collaboration at the service of
the community. This is a privileged
environment in which to practice solidarity
and subsidiarity harmoniously, that is
to say, a synergy between public and
private, between businesses and families.
Precisely because of the commitment
and responsibility required by bringing
children into the world and their education,

Pope Francis meets a Sri Lankan couple at the Vatican on Feb. 8, 2014.

you already began on other aspects in past

editions, is very important. You propose to
offer ideas for reflection and operative paths
so that the family will be increasingly a
protagonist in the social, cultural and political
context of the country. In fact, you are well
aware of the irreplaceable and fundamental
position that the family occupies, be it
in civil society, be
it in the ecclesial
community. The
future of humanity
passes through the
family; therefore, it
is necessary to allow
it to play the role
that corresponds to
it. However, it is not
enough to confirm
the importance of the family and to affirm its
rights: there must be concrete consideration
on how the tasks of the family and those of
society can be articulated, in particular, in
regard to relations between professional
and family life.

families need appropriate help on the part

of public agencies and businesses, from
a point of view of mutual collaboration.
The worrying demographic trend requires,
on the part of all interested subjects, an
extraordinary and courageous strategy in
favor of families. From here, an economic
re-launching can also begin for the country.

and help. It is necessary to find a way so

that women, due to economic needs, are not
constrained to have a job that is too harsh
and a schedule that is too heavy, which are
added to all their responsibilities in managing
the home and educating the children. But
above all it is necessary to consider that the
commitments of women, at all levels of family
life, also constitute
an unsurpassed
contribution to life and
to the future of the
society.
Dear friends, I hope
that the Festival of the
Family will bring the
hoped for fruits and,
while I assure you of my
remembrance in prayer, I
gladly send my Apostolic Blessing, to support
every intention and project of goodness in favor
of the family institution, which has always been
and remains the vital cell of society.
From the Vatican, December 2, 2014
FRANCISCUS

Many women see the need to be recognized better in their

rights, in the value of the tasks they carry out habitually
in the different sectors of social and professional life, in
their aspirations within the family and in society.
And reconsidered and resolved also in this
perspective is the drama of unemployment,
especially youth unemployment. Lack
of work disheartens a person, who sees
himself useless in his own eyes, and it
impoverishes society, which is deprived

Trafficking / B7

Popes Address to
International Theological
Commission

Popes Message to Participants at the Festival of the Family held at Riva

del Garda on December 1-6, 2014, on the theme: The Life and Work
Ecosystem: Feminine Occupation and Birth, Well-being and Economic Growth.
ON the occasion of the Festival of the
Family, underway at Riva del Garda, on
the theme The Life and Work Ecosystem.
Feminine Occupation and Birth, Well-being
and Economic Growth, I wish to greet and
express my appreciation to the organizers,
the reporters and all the participants for
their commitment in favor of the family.
As citizens, as Christians, as families and
family associations, coming from different
professions and environments, during
these days you put in common experiences,
concerns and plans. I wish you a profitable
meeting!
The subject addressed, which takes up
and completes a series of reflections that

How I wish that all of us would hear

Gods cry: Where is your brother?
(Gen. 4:9). Where is your brother or
sister who is enslaved? Where is the
brother and sister whom you are killing
each day in clandestine warehouses, in
rings of prostitution, in children used for
begging, in exploiting undocumented
labor? Let us not look the other way.
There is greater complicity than we
think. The issue involves everyone!
This infamous network of crime is now
well established in our cities, and many
people have blood on their hands as a
result of their comfortable and silent
complicity. (EG, 211).
Seeing how this evil has spread and
threatens to scatter the flock, we can
only cry with the Good Shepherd, This
cannot go on! It must stop!
As in the times of old, God wishes
us all to be free. Even now, God speaks
to us as He did to those who suffered
under the lash in Egypt: I saw the
affliction of my people and have heard
their cries; set my people free! (Ex
3:7-8).
My dear brothers and sisters in
Christ, Our Lord came down to die
on the Cross in order to set His people
free. Free from the bondage of sin, but
free also from the evil one that preys
upon every human weakness, every
vulnerability of the individual and
society. We have been bought at a great
price (cf. 1 Cor 6:20), Scripture reminds
us, and we cannot allow anyone to
enslave another whom our Lord, by
his death and resurrection, has set free.
It is, therefore, our Christian duty
to do everything we can to prevent
anyone in our midst from being
trafficked, and to make sure that

The theologian is, first of all, a

believer who hears to the Word of
the living God and receives it in
his heartand mind
DEAR Brothers and Sisters,
I am pleased to meet with you at the beginning of a new
quinquenniumthe ninthof the International Theological
Commission. I thank the President, Cardinal Muller, for the
words he addressed to me on behalf of you all.
Your Commission was born, shortly after Vatican Council
II, following a proposal of the Synod of Bishops, so that the
Holy See could make use more directly of the reflections of
theologians from various parts of the world. Therefore, the
Commissions mission is to study doctrinal problems of
great importance, especially those that present new aspects,
and in this way offer its help to the Magisterium of the
Church (Statutes, article 1). The 27 documents published
up to now are a testimony of this commitment and a point
of reference for the theological debate.
Your mission is to serve the Church, which presupposes
not only intellectual competence, but also spiritual
dispositions. Among the latter, I would like to attract your
attention on the importance of hearing. Son of man -- the
Lord said to the prophet Ezekielall my words that I shall
speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your
ears (Ezekiel3:10).
The theologian is, first of all, a believer who hears to the
Word of the living God and receives it in his heart and mind.
However, the theologian must also place himself humbly to
hear what the Spirit says to the Churches (Revelation2:7),
through the different manifestations of the faith lived by
the People of God. We were reminded of this in the recent
document of the Commission on TheSensus Fideiin the
Life of the Church. It is beautiful. I so liked that document,
congratulations! In fact, together with all the Christian
people, the theologian opens the eyes and the ears to the
signs of the times. He is called to hear attentively, to
discern and interpret the various languages of our time,
and be able to judge them in the light of the word of God
-- it is the word of God that judges so that revealed truth
is grasped ever more profoundly, is better understood
and is able to be presented in the most appropriate way
(Second Vatican Ecumenical Council , ConstitutionGaudium
et Spes,44).
In this light, I would like to see, within the ever more
diversified composition of the Commission, a greater
presence of womenstill not so many, they are the
strawberries of the cake, but there must be more!a
presence that becomes an invitation to reflect on the role
that women can and must have in the field of theology. In
fact, the Church recognizes the indispensable contribution
of woman in society, with a sensibility, an intuition and
certain peculiar capacities that are generally more proper
of women than of men I am pleased to see how many
women offer new contributions to theological reflection
Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium,103). Thus, in
virtue of their feminine genius, women theologians can
highlight for the benefit of all, certain unexplored aspects
of the unfathomable mystery of Christ in whom are hid
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians2:3).
Therefore, I invite you to draw the best profit from this
specific contribution of women to the intelligence of the faith.
Another characteristic of your Commission is its
international character, which reflects the catholicity of the
Church. The diversity of points of view must enrich the
catholicity without harming the unity. The unity of Catholic
theologians is born from their common reference to one
Theology / B7

Ref lections

B6

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Jesus, source of light, joy and peace

The best way to prepare for

the Lords coming

Solemnity of Christmas, John 1:1-18 (B) December 25, 2014

Third Sunday of Advent, John 1:68, 19-28 (B) December 14, 2014
By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

Gerard van Honthorst

SOME people get easily puffed up at the thought of the

task entrusted them. They enjoy every bit of the honor
given them on account of the institution or person
they represent. Some even forget that they are just
representatives and gradually steal the show, keeping
for themselves the honor meant for the one who sent
them
John, the most privileged of all the prophets, never
fell into that trap. His preaching had been making quite
an impact. When delegations from the authorities in
Jerusalem came to interview him (see Jn 1:19ff), he proved

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

ALREADY the prophet Isaiah
had announced that the child
to be born of the Virgin would
be Immanuela name that
means God-with-us. (See Is
7:14). Such a name could be both
a wish (May God be with us) and
a statement of a fact: God is
with us. In both cases, however,
the name Immanuel implied
only that God would show a
special love and concern for His
people in terms of protection
against overpowering enemies,
or abundance of favors in
life.

But when the Messiah was

born, God went far beyond
what any Jew would have dared
to imagine or hope for: God
Himself, really and personally
became one of them. This
was, indeed, the highest degree
not only of solidarity but also
of identification.
But the birth of Gods
Son as a human being has a
meaning and a message that far
transcends the limited horizon
of the Chosen People. The
Incarnation concerns the whole
of humankind. It concerns
every human being. All of
us can say that in Jesus God
became one of us. This is a

tremendous sign of honor. It is

a fact that spells salvation, for
if God is with us, who can be
against us? (Rom 8:31)
But what can this
extraordinary event mean,
aside from honor and salvation
for all of us? The Incarnation
of Gods Son has also other
meanings or messages both
about God Himself and about
us. Today, we can focus on
just a few of these additional
messages.
The birth of Gods Son
in the grotto of Bethlehem
contains, first of all, a message
of HUMILITY on the part
of God, a humility that we

will never comprehend fully.

But even in our very limited
understanding of this mystery,
there should be enough reason
to curb our craving for honor
and signs of distinction. In front
of this God, who took the form
of a slave (Phil 2:7) of his own
initiative, every manifestation
of human pride on our part is
not only out of place, but utterly
ridiculous.
But this is not all. When he
became man, the Son of God
was not born as a member of a
rich or powerful family. Christ
chose to be born to a family of
poor people, in a grotto used
Jesus / B7

Matching Gods generosity

Fourth Sunday of Advent, Luke
1:26-38 (B) December 21, 2014

Feast of the Holy Family, Luke 2:22-40 (B) December 28, 2014
MANY families in our society are a wreck.
They exist only in the records of the parish
or of the municipal hall and in the memories
of years long gone by. Where there used to be
kindness and trust, there now reign bitterness
and betrayal. Where sharing and love
flourished, there is now selfishness or even
hatred . . . Most situations of these broken
homes have reached a point of no return,
with children born of illegal partners, and
unfaithfulness having become a way of life.
How will these parents raise their children
as Christians? What families will these
children be able to form? . . .

All this is the result of a crisis of values,

a crisis of faith. And a world full of malice
and selfishness has easily shattered what
was already so feeble inside. Our families
need to rediscover the necessity and power
of Christian values like love, dedication,
respect, faithfulness, forgiveness, purity,
faith, prayer . . . Only if these and similar
values are treasured will a family be able to
weather the inevitable storms of life.
The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
is for all our Filipino families the wonderful
model they should try to imitate. Only then
will the whole Christian community in
the Philippines experience that wonderful
revival that we all need so badly, and which
can only be rooted in the Gospel values

exemplified in the family of Nazareth.

That family was not just exceptional
because of the unique way in which Jesus
was conceived, and because he was the Son
of God, that family was also an ordinary
family. Its members knew what it means
to live by the sweat of ones brow. They
knew the bitter taste of poverty, rejection,
persecution, anxiety, exile . . . They endured
it all, trusting only in the Lord and always
doing their best. This makes them the object
not only of our admiration, but also of our
imitation.
There are also other aspects which make
the Holy Family of Nazareth a model
family. It was a GOD-CENTERED FAMILY.

Gods greatest blessing

Family / B7

Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, Luke 2:16-21 (B)

World Day of Peace, January 1, 2015
THE world is torn by wars
and conflicts of every kind
wars among nations, factions,
families The destruction of
properties, infrastructures, and
industries is a terrible feature
of every war. Even worse than
these are the emotional and moral
consequences of war: people learn
to reject, despise, and hate others;
they learn to become insensitive to,
and even rejoice in, the sufferings
and losses of the enemyAfraid
of the tragedies of war, simple
people yearn for peace. Some
governments and peace-oriented
organizations try to achieve
peace through negotiations and
compromise. Fortunately, many
times they succeed at least in
establishing a ceasefire.
But we all know that peace
is not simply the absence of
fighting. Peace it has been said
and written in so many waysis
the fruit of justice among nations,
groups, individuals. More than
this, peace is the fruit of being in a
harmonious relationship not only
with others, but also with oneself,
and especially with God. There can
be no peace where there is rejection

of God.
Peace is just another word for
grace. It prospers only with the
defeat of sin. And just as all the
sufferings and destructions of war
are both a sin and a consequence
of sin, so the defeat of sin in
ourselves and around us produces
that inexpressible feeling of
satisfaction and harmony that
no material riches can buy, and
no balance of power can create
peace.
Peace is a joint enterprise
among human beings. If it takes
two to tango, it also takes two to
make peace it takes the goodwill
and cooperation of both sides to
make peace between warring
groups and nations.
Peace is also a joint enterprise
between God and us. When all is
said and done at the level of human
efforts, we must be convinced that
real lasting peace is also a gift from
God, the source of all goodness.
Therefore, we have to not only
work for it, but also pray for it.
We have to accept it with humble
gratitude as the Lord offers it to us,
not as an abstract concept, but as a
personHis very own Son, Jesus
Christ. He is our peace because he
is the one who reconciles all men
Mary / B7

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

ADAM and Eve could have created the premises for a
magnificent future, both for themselves and their descendants.
Unfortunately, they failed miserably simply because rather
than trusting God, they trusted the serpent. With their sin,
they refused to cooperate with the divine plan, and thus, the
seemingly endless night of human perversion began.
Over the centuries, the descendants of Adam and Eve did
not behave better than their forebears. Men preferred to follow
the allurements of their ambition, pride, and selfishnessrather
than heed Gods invitation to trust Him and cooperate with
Him in bringing about the perfect happiness He had in store
for all men. King Ahaz, though a bearer of the divine promise
to David (see 2 Sam 7:16), trusted his earthly allies rather than
the word of God.
There were exceptions, as we know. Abraham and Moses
were outstanding figures among the few people who trusted
God and responded Yes to His invitations. But even in their
lives, there were some cloudsmoments of doubts and
uncertainties, when their faith seemed to waver (See, for
example Gn 15:2-3 and Nm 20:12 and 27:14.)

After so many waverings, denials,

rejectionsa simple human heart
matched, in her creaturely way,
Gods generosity. She gave all she
could give, without reservation,
conditions, or regrets: May it be
done to me as you said!

Lloyd Baltazar

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

to be an honest man who knew his place and never lost

sight of his mission. John knew he was not the light, but
only the one sent to announce its dawning. He knew
he was not the Messiah, but only his heralda voice,
sent to proclaim in the desert: Make straight the way
of the Lord! He knew that his mission was to prepare
the hearts of the people to welcome the Christ, and to
point him out to them. And all these he fulfilled with
transparent sincerity and unique straightforwardness,
ready to quit the stage without regrets as soon as the
great Protagonist would appear.
In his humility, John thought of himself as less than
a slave, a servant unworthy even to render the most
humble service to the One he had been sent to introduce.
(See Jn 1:27.) John was humble and honest. Because of
this, he was able to recognize Christ and rejoice in him.
What about us? We, too, are preparing for the Lords
comingboth his final coming and his spiritual coming
at Christmas. What is our attitude to him? Curiosity?
Prepare / B7

Our family, Gods family

By Fr. Sal Putzu, SDB

We, too, are preparing for the Lords

comingboth his final coming and
his spiritual coming at Christmas.
What is our attitude to him?
Curiosity? Indifference? Eagerness? It
should be obvious that the effectiveness
and fruitfulness of our preparation
depend on us.

It was only in Mary, the girl from Nazareth, that God found
the perfect faithunconditional surrender to His will and total
availability to cooperate with the divine plan of salvation.
(See Lk 1:38.) With her, the attitude of mankind toward God
was totally reversed: from mistrust to trust, from rejection to
whole-hearted acceptance.
For the first time in mans history, God has found a human
heart totally open to Him. In Mary, He had a free hand. In
her, God was able to work wonders. He was able finally to
effect the beginning of the most important part of His plan
of salvation: the INCARNATION of His eternal Son. After so
many waverings, denials, rejectionsa simple human heart
matched, in her creaturely way, Gods generosity. She gave
all she could give, without reservation, conditions, or regrets:
May it be done to me as you said!
There is a message for us all in this attitude/behavior of
Mary. We, too, have a role in Gods plan of salvation. Though
Generosity / B7

Social Concerns

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

B7

Forty for the Poor (40 4-d-4) Project

By the CBCP National Secretariat
for Social Action, Justice and
Peace (CBCP-NASSA)

The CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (CBCP-NASSA) holds a National Anti-Poverty Summit from July 3 5, 2011.

down-trodden, the widows and the

orphans, they are the people who are
marginalized due to unjust structures
and situations in the society. Jesus takes
pleasure in serving the poor and often
identifies Himself with them.
For 40 years, part of the Alay Kapwa
Lenten collection from all Dioceses are
remitted to NASSA as a solidarity fund
to help the poor, through supporting and
sustaining social action initiatives on
peace and advocacy, good governance,
sustainable agriculture, promotion of

women and childrens rights, disaster

response and other developmental
concerns. Most of the collection,
however, remain in the Diocese for their
direct social service, disaster response
and various social action work. In
response to the signs of the time, the
solidarity fund from Dioceses have
been mainly used for the relief and
rehabilitation response to the recent
disasters such as Typhoons Sendong,
Pablo, Yolanda, Glenda and 2013
earthquake in Bohol.

Consecrated / B4

the many common areas of service

to human life.
Journeying together always
brings enrichment, and can open
new paths to relationships between
peoples and cultures, which
nowadays appear so difficult.
5. Finally, in a special way, I
address my brother bishops.May
this Year be an opportunity to
accept institutes of consecrated
life, readily and joyfully, as a
spiritual capital which contributes
to the good of the whole body
of Christ (cf. Lumen Gentium,
43), and not simply that of the
individual religious families.
Consecrated life is a gift to the
Church, it is born of the Church,
it grows in the Church, and it is
entirely directed to the Church.[8]
For this reason, precisely as a gift
to the Church, it is not an isolated
or marginal reality, but deeply a
part of her. It is at the heart of the
Church, a decisive element of her
mission, inasmuch as it expresses
the deepest nature of the Christian
vocation and the yearning of the
Church as the Bride for union
with her sole Spouse. Thus, it
belongs absolutely to the life and

FILE PHOTO

NEXT year, 2015, marks the 40th year

of the Alay Kapwa Program of the
Philippine Catholic Church. Created
in 1975 by the Catholic Bishops, Alay
Kapwa is the Lenten EvangelizationAction Program implemented by the
CBCP National Secretariat for Social
Action, Justice and Peace (CBCPNASSA) as part of its commitment to
transform a society enlivened by the
Gospel values of justice and peace, and
love for our brothers and sisters in Christ
with preferential option for the poor and
marginalized.
The number 40 is a symbol of Gods
faithfulness to His promise of liberation
from slavery and oppression. It is also the
beginning (Moses started his ministry
at 40 years old) and signifies time of
preparation (Jesus was fasting in the
desert for 40 days before His ministry).
For Alay Kapwa, which the 40th year
coincides with the Year of the Poor,
40 signifies new life, and a symbol of
renewal. The Year of the Poor theme of
Do Justice and Love Kindness (Micah)
is a timely reminder of our solidarity
with God in His continuing concern for
the Anawim.
In many accounts in the Bible,
God has always given preference
to the ANAWIM, or the oppressed
and outcast who depend on God for
deliverance. Also known as the poor
ones, the lost and the forgotten,
the lowly, the poor, the sick, the

3) mobilize 4 million pesos to

empower poor communities in
development program through the
SHeG (in celebration of the 40 years of
AK for the Poor).
For 40 weeks (until October 7, 2015) a
target of 4 million pesos will be raised
for the empowerment and development
of 40 poorest communities through
the Self-Help Group (SHeG) microentrepreneurship, that they may have
life and life to the full. (John 10:10)
All are invited to join in the
empowering of the Poor in the Year of
the Poor. We are looking for:

In honor of our Mother Mary at the

Feast of the Immaculate Conception
on December 8, 2014, Alay Kapwa will
launch its 40 for the Poor (40 4-d-4)
Projectin 40 weeks, we will express
our gratefulness to the Lord by renewing
our commitment as stewards of His gift
of time, talent and treasure. The project
aims to:
1) heighten awareness on the impact
of AK programs among the faithful;
2) strengthen solidarity among sectors
in capacitating the poor; and

40 donors of 40,000
40 donors of 20,000
40 donors of 15,000
40 donors of 10,000
40 donors of 5,000
40 donors of 4,000
40 donors of 3,000
40 donors of 2,000
40 donors of 1,000

You may invite your families,

organizations, officemates and create
ways to complete your pledge within
the chosen time frame (one time, fourmonth, or six-month payment).
More information can be found in
posters and brochures to be distributed
to DSACs and selected Catholic
institutions, as well as the NASSA web
site or the Facebook Page: Cbcp-nassa
Alay Kapwa.
Further inquiries may be directed to
Ms. Sweet Cruz or Ms Analyn Julian of
the Alay Kapwa Program of NASSA at
alaykapwa@yahoo.com.

Trafficking / B5

holiness of the Church (ibid., 44).

In the light of this, I ask you,
the Pastors of the particular
Churches, to show special
concern for promoting within
your communities the different
charisms, whether long-standing
or recent. I ask you to do this by
your support and encouragement,
your assistance in discernment,
and your tender and loving
closeness to those situations of
suffering and weakness in which
some consecrated men or women
may find themselves. Above all,
do this by instructing the People
of God in the value of consecrated
life, so that its beauty and holiness
may shine forth in the Church.
I entrust thisYear of Consecrated
Life to Mary, the Virgin of listening
and contemplation, the first
disciple of her beloved Son. Let
us look to her, the highly beloved
daughter of the Father, endowed
with every gift of grace, as the
unsurpassed model for all those
who follow Christ in love of God
and service to their neighbour.
Lastly, I join all of you in gratitude
for the gifts of grace and light with
which the Lord graciously wills

to enrich us, and I accompany you

with my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, 21 November
2014, Feast of the Presentation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
[1] Apostolic Letter to the Religious
of Latin America on the occasion of
the Fifth Centenary of the Evangelization of the New World Los caminos
del Evangelio (29 June 1990), 26.
[2] SACRED CONGREGATION FOR
RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR INSTITUTES, Religious and Human
Promotion (12 August 1980), 24:
LOsservatore Romano, Suppl., 12
November 1980, pp. i-viii.
[3] Address to Rectors and Students
of the Pontifical Colleges and Residences of Rome (2 May 2014).
[4] POPE BENEDICT XVI, Homily for
the Feast of the Presentation of the
Lord (2 February 2013).
[5] Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio
Ineunte (6 January 2001), 43.
[6] Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii
Gaudium (24 November 2013), 87
[7] JOHN PAUL II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata
(25 March 1996), 51.
[8] BISHOP J.M. BERGOGLIO, Intervention at the Synod on the Consecrated Life and its Mission in the
Church and in the World, XVI General
Congregation, 13 October 1994.

those who have fallen into the

traffickers trap are set free
and are able to come home
and resume their normal lives
with their families, friends
and community. As serious
a duty this is of individual
Christians, even more serious
is it the duty of the State and
society. Beyond that, charity
and compassion demand that
Christians exert every effort to
free human traffickers from the
motives and attractions of their
illicit trade and to draw them
back to genuinely good and
beneficial pursuits. To drown
evil in an abundance of good,
and convert the wrongdoer into
a source of good is the ultimate
triumph we should aim for in
this fight.
The worship of creatures
and the idolatry of money are
the first obstacles the society
and the individual must deal
with. So long as there are huge
profits to be made from human
trafficking, this transnational
crime will continue to defy
national and international
laws, and religious and moral

strictures and norms. The

evil is so pervasive and the
perpetrators are so determined
that utmost cooperation is
needed between Church and
State, between the citizens
and the instrumentalities of
government, to make sure that
the will and the forces needed
to combat it should never be less
strong than those committed to
promoting it.
There is no substitute for
turning to the Gospel as we
respond to this scourge. So
let us do it. In this Year of
the Laity when we commit
ourselves anew to the spirit of
evangelization of every heart
and home, we must never for
a moment forget that we are
each our brother s keepers,
and that a part of ourselves is
trafficked every time a brother
or sister of ours is. But not only
should we see ourselves in the
face of every victim, we must
above all see our Lord in every
victims face. And because we
cannot allow to see our Lord
trafficked, neither can we allow
the least of our brethren to be

so exploited. For our Lord has

said, whatever you did to the
least of my brethren, you did
unto me (cf Mt 25:40).
Reposing our hopes and our
trust anew in our Blessed Mother,
Comforter of the Afflicted and
Help of Christians, and invoking
the intercession of St. Josephine
Bakhita, the patron saint of the
victims of human trafficking, we
pray that our nation, by which
we mean everyone of its citizens,
find the grace and the courage to
lead in this fight against human
trafficking until it is extinguished
from our daily lives. We call
upon all the faithful to join hands
in every possible endeavor at
every level of society, from local
to national to international, in the
pursuit of this objective.
For the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines,
December 14, 2014
+SOCRATES B. VILLEGAS,
D.D.
Archbishop of LingayenDagupan
CBCP President

Prepare / B6

Jesus / B6

Family / B6

Mary / B6

Cullen / B3

Indifference? Eagerness? It should

be obvious that the effectiveness
and fruitfulness of our preparation
depend on us.
Todays first and second readings
contain valuable insights on how
we should prepare for the Lords
coming in all the richness of its
meaning. Applying to ourselves the
message of the prophet Isaiah, we
should conclude that we, too, like
the prophet and the Messiah, are
sent to bring glad tidings to the
poor, to heal the brokenhearted
(See first reading, v. 1f.) St. Paul
makes his contribution to how we
should prepare for the coming of the
Lord by rejoicing in Him, praying
without ceasing -- retaining what
is good and refraining from every
kind of evil. (See second reading,
vv. 16-22.)
There is more than enough in the
texts of Isaiah and Paul to make our
Advent challenging and fruitful.

to shelter animals, lacking even the

most simple comforts and facilities.
There is a message of special LOVE,
IDENTIFICATION and SOLIDARITY
WITH THE POOR in all these, a
message of DETACHMENT from
material things to which men are so
attached, and for which they often
fight and even kill. Christ chose to be
poor in order to teach us the value of
the neglected virtue of detachment.
Loving concern, perfect humility,
total detachment from material things,
solidarity with the least and the
last: four virtues, one messagethe
Christmas Message. This is the
message addressed by Jesus every
year to each of us, to the Church,
and to all mankind. After almost two
thousand years that humankind has
been commemorating the birth of
Christ with ever greater solemnity,
one can ask: Have we learned the
lesson that this celebration is meant
to teach us?

God was their absolute priority, their

number one. They lived in His presence,
in total trust and availability.
That family was also inimitable in the
loving attitude of its members toward
one another. Clothed with heartfelt
mercy, kindness, humility, meekness
and patience (Col 3:12) in their daily
lives, they practiced all the virtues which
St. Paul urges all Christian families to
treasure and live. Jesus family was
characterized by sincere, selfless LOVE.
This is what makes the Holy Family of
Nazareth the model and inspiration of
all times and nations.
Every family should have a proper
priority of values, respect for the aged,
tenderness for the children. It should be
one in plan and action, all under God,
the Father of all.
This is the family we all should
dream of and endeavor to make a
reality with the help of Gods grace.
Then will our families also become
holy families.

with the Father and among them. In him,

we are able to recognize all human beings
as our brothers and sisters, all members
of the one big family that has God as our
common Father.
Jesus, the king of peace, comes to us
not in a vision, or like rain from the cloud.
He comes from a human mother, Mary
most holy, the woman of peace. She has
fashioned him in that human form in
which all men can recognize and love as
their elder brother.

his family. When he was near starving

he woke up to reality and decided to
go home, admit his mistakes and ask
forgiveness. His father s servants,
he realized, had a better life than he
had. When he was still far from the
house his father, waiting daily by the
roadside, ran to welcome and embrace
him. No reprimand, no scolding, no
punishment. He asked just to be treated
as a servant. In fact his father restored
him to his status as a son.
The point of the story is that God
our Father has such immense love of
his children that when they stray and
leave him, he still waits for them to
realize their mistakes and loves and
forgives them. It is a great happiness
to live with the blessing of forgiveness
than struggle with the burden of guilt.
Humans may not have this divine
virtue of forgiveness and reconciliation
but its a gift worth striving for. Family
peacemaking needs both sides to accept
faults and forgive each other.

Generosity / B6

not unique nor as vital as Marys, our

role also is important, for ourselves first,
then for the like of those who live close to
us or depend on us. Our enjoying Gods
blessings this Advent and Christmas
depend on our response to Gods
invitation. If we follow the example of
Mary, so much will be accomplished, in
ourselves and in those whom the Lord
has placed on our path.

Theology / B5

faith in Christ and is nourished

by the diversity of gifts of the
Holy Spirit. Beginning from
this foundation and in a healthy
pluralism, various theological
approaches, developed in
different cultural contexts and
with diverse methods used,
cannot be ignored at will, but,
in the theological dialogue,
they should be enriched and
corrected mutually. The work
of your Commission can be a
testimony of such growth, and
also a testimony of the Holy
Spirit, because it is He who
sows this variety of charisms
in the Church, different points
of view, and it will be He who
effects unity. He is always the
protagonist.
The Immaculate Virgin,
as privileged witness of the
great events of the history of
salvation, kept all these things,
pondering them in her heart
(Luke2:19): Woman of hearing,

woman of contemplation,
woman of closeness to the
problems of the Church and
of people. Under the guidance
of the Holy Spirit and with all
the resources of her feminine
genius, She did not cease to
enter ever more into all the
truth (John16:13). Thus Mary
is the icon of the Church that,
in the impatient awaiting of her
Lord, progresses, day after day,
in the intelligence of the faith,
thanks also to the patient work
of men and women theologians.
May Our Lady, authentic
teacher of theology, obtain for
us with her maternal prayer that
our charity abound more and
more, with knowledge and all
discernment (Philippians 1:910). I accompany you on this
path with my Blessing and I
ask you, please, to pray for me.
Pray theologically, thank you.
December 5, 2014

CBCPMonitor
SUBSCRIPTION RATES

The CBCP Monitor is published

fortnightly by the CBCP Media
Office, with editorial and business offices at 470 Gen. Luna
St., Intramuros, Manila. PO Box
3601, 1076 MCPO
Domestic

1 Year Php 500.00

2 Years Php 900.00
Foreign: Asia

1 Year US$ 55.00
All Other
US$ 80.00

Name _________________________________________________
(Family Name)

(Given Name)

(Middle Name)

Mailing Address _______________________________________________

_________________________________________________
Phone No.: ________ Fax No.: ________ E-mail: ___________
Mode of Payment
Check/PMO enclosed
Cash Payment
(Payable to: CBCP Communications Development Foundation Inc.)

_____________________________

Signature
PLEASE SEND TO:
CBCP Monitor, P.O. Box 3601, Manila, Philippines
470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila, Philippines | Tel (632) 404-2182 Telefax (632) 404-1612
Or e-mail this at cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.com

B8

Entertainment

CBCP Monitor

Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Moral Assessment

Abhorrent

Disturbing
Acceptable
Wholesome

Exemplary

Keanu Reeves plays the title

character John Wick, a mob
assassin who would quit upon
falling in love and settling down
in marriage. Five years later,
his wife dies, but not before
she arranges for a dog to be
brought to Wick to keep him
company after her death. One
day some punks fancy Wicks
car, and failing to grab it from
him break into his home that
night, searching for the car keys to
drive away in the coveted vehicle.
They kill the dog to silence it, and
then beat up Wick. The incident
brings Wick out of retirement,
and soon learns the leader is
Josef Tarasov (Alfie Allen), the
son of his former employer,
Viggo Tarasov (Michael Nyqvist).
Viggo dispatches a number of
his black-suited thugs to get rid
of Wick, while Wick sets out to
hunt down Viggos son with
an ad hoc team composed of
former associates, old friends and
even enemies (John Lequizamo,
Willem Dafoe, Ian MacShane,
Adrienne Palicki).
John Wick is an unabashed
kick-butt movie whose main
protagonist is a seething volcano
beneath a placid lake. Reeves
screen persona is the strong, silent
type; he has never been known to

Technical Assessment

Poor
Below average

Average

Above average
E
xcellent

John Wick

DIRECTOR: Chad Stahelski

LEAD CAST: Keanu Reeves,
Michael Nyqvist, Alfie
Allen
SCREENWRITER: Derek
Kolstad
PRODUCERS: Basil Iwanyk,
David Leitch, Eva Longoria
FILM EDITOR: Elizabet Ronaldsdotir
MUSIC: Tyler Bates, Joel
Richard
GENRE: Action, thriller
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jonathan Sefa
DISTRIBUTORS: Warner Bros
Pictures
LOCATION: New York, USA.
RUNNING TIME: 101 mins.
Technical Assessment:

Moral Assessment:
CINEMA rating: V18

portray roles that require hyperarticulation (think Robert Downey

Jr.) or a touch of flamboyance
(think Johnny Depp).
His most potent asset is his
screen presence, a mixture of
vulnerable looks and dynamic
choreography that usually wins
audience sympathy.

Buhay San Miguel

This very combination,

however, tends to make the
theme of John Wickrevenge
more palatable than it should be.
Wicks love-driven retirement as
a hit man is a positive value but
when his brooding pushes him
back to being a killer, something
needs to be deeply examined
here. Wicks lethal prowess
overshadows the erstwhile
promise of his transformation,
leaving behind a trail of dead
human beings thats hardly
worth a pet dog and a car, no
matter that the dog is from a
beloved wife and the car a 1969
Ford Mustang. The picture of
the Wick character that emerges
from all the blood drained and
the necks snapped is that of an
emotionally inert killer who can
not extricate himself anymore
from the underworld. John
Wick is showing what a career
in killing does to a mandespite
the power of love Wick loses
the moral strength to overcome
himself. He ceases to be a human
beinginstead he is reduced to
being a force of nature, a volcano,
a hurricane or a tsunami that has
the power to destroy but has no
strength to control itself. He
could very well have been named
not John Wick, but John Weak.

Brothers Matias

Being in the convent helped the restless teenager turn her thoughts back to God.

Knowing St. Teresa of Avila

A new environment
Many books on the lives of saints call St. Teresa of Avila as Patron Saint of
Headache Sufferers. No explanation comes with this moniker but it seems
ironic that the Patron Saint of Headache Sufferers herself was once quite a big
headache for her father. She herself would say that instead of thanking God
for her natural attractive qualities, Teresa made use of them all to offend Him
(The Book of Her Life, 1.8). But just like any other teenager, Teresa was then
merely exhibiting the common traits of adolescentsrestlessness, assertiveness,
self-centeredness.
After about eight days of discomfort in her new environment, Teresa began
to like being in the Our Lady of Grace convent, saying she was much more
content there than she had been in her fathers house. I was much loved It
made me happy to see such good nuns, for there were many good ones in that
house, very modest, religious, and circumspect, she wrote. Of all the nuns
there, Teresa admired most Sr. Maria de Briceo y Contreras who was in charge
of the dormitory of lay persons like her. I was glad to hear how well she spoke
about God, for she was very discreet and saintly. There was no time it seems
to me when I was not happy to hear about God. She began to tell me how she
arrived at the decision to become a nun This company began to help me get
rid of the bad habits that the bad company had caused (The Book of Her Life,
3.1). Gradually she found her mind turning to the desire for eternal things.
But, although prayer had then become a part of her daily life, she wrote, But
still, I had no desire to be a nun, and I asked God not to give me this vocation;
although I also feared marriage

CBCP Monitor

C1

Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

The News Supplement of

Couples for Christ

Hail Mary, Queen of Families!

By The CFC Global Comm
Sunday, December 7, 2014, was a very
exciting day for the worldwide family
of Couples for Christ, for it marked the
end of the 33-day self-retreat using the
33 Days to Morning Glory of Fr. Michael
Gaitley, MIC. The do-it-yourself retreat
was in preparation for the community
consecration of CFC to Jesus through
Mary.
For Metro Manila, the members of the
Mission Core gathered at the Phil-Sports
Arena (ULTRA) in Pasig City for that
special assembly.
The event opened with the lively
dance of Karakol, led by the CFC Handmaids of the Lord followed by a floral
offering. Afterwards, IC Member Jun
Uriarte began his exhortation with these
two questions:
1. Why is it important to have a
devotion to Mary?
2. Why is it important to consecrate
ourselves to Jesus through Mary?
He then proceeded to enumerate the
various events in the life of the Blessed
Mother, as mentioned by the four great
Marian saints featured in the book, the
answers to the two questions above.
What happened in the Annunciation
marked the beginning of the process of
salvation, Uriarte began. He added, In
the wedding at Cana, Mary is shown
as someone who anticipates our needs,
and commands us to follow Jesus at all
times.
According to Fr. Gaitley, St. Maximillian Kolbe called the Virgin Mary the
spouse of the Holy Spirit, and as such,
is perfectly united to the thrid person
of the Trinity. In the Visitation, Mother
Mary perfectly glorified the Lord.
For Bl. Mother Teresa, her Marian
doctrine encourages all to put oneself
inside the most immaculate heart of
Mary, while St. John Paul the Great
states that Mary, the Mother of God,
is also the Mother of all. All four saints
together have pointed that a devotion
to Mary increases one's love for Jesus.
Marian devotees from CFC, namely

Live Christ this Christmas

Jess Ferrer, Aileen Ocampo, Lex Santiago and Ruth Catabas shared their personal testimonies on how the Blessed
Mother, through her intercession and
guidance, has given them the hope and
courage to face the various difficulties
in their lives.
Nina Ponte, on the other hand,
walked the CFC MC through the stages
in the life of CFC, starting with 1994,
when she was entrusted this message:
CFC will win the world for Christ.
She then proceeded to add the following significant periods:
2005 - CFC belongs to Me.
2006 - CFC as a community
where signs and wonders will
take place.
2008 - Take My Mother along
with you in your journey; consecrate CFC to Mary using the
prayer Pope Pius XII used in
consecratiing Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
2012 - beginning of the trilogy of
Marian themes for CFC.
2014 - the second generation
of CFC will heal the world for
Christ.
Through these messages, Ponte
added, God's plan and design for the
first generation of CFC is fullfilled,
and the next generation of CFC will
continue to take Mother Mary along in
their journey.
Afterwards, the entire Metro Manila
Mission Core was led to pray the CFC
Community consecration prayer, led by
Jun and Jean Uriarte.
The gathering was capped by the
celebration of the Eucharist, presided by
His Excellency the Most Rev. Broderick
Pabillo, Auxilliary Bishop of Manila,
concelebrated by Msgr. Allen Aganon,
the Spiritual Director of the CFC International Council.
The members of the entire CFC
worldwide community were then encouraged to make their individual personal consecration the following day,
December 8, on the Solemnity of the
Immaculate Conception of the Blessed
Virgin Mary.

Catchfire 2014: Set the World Ablaze!

By Aiza Garnica

Last year, the CFC Global

Communications came up with
the Live Christ this Christmas
campaign. The campaign aims
to highlight the practical ways
on how everybody can live
out the Christian values inherent to all. The campaign,
however, does not limit that
living Christ is only during
the Christmas season. It is a
good reminder, though, for all
to go back to the basic values
that Christians are expected
to exhibit.
For 2014, the Live Christ this
Christmas campaign zeroes
in on two significant events
for 2015: the Papal visit to the
Philippines in 2015 and the 2015
theme of Couples for Christ.
Pope Francis' pastoral visit
to the Philippines carries the

theme Mercy and Compassion.

It is not a coincidence that the
2015 theme of CFC is Love More.
With these themes parallel with
one another, Live Christ this
Christmas then aims to prepare
everyone this season of Advent
to practice both the corporal
works of mercy and the spiritual
acts of mercy. Watch out for the
campain in the various social
media networks of Couples
for ChristFacebook (faceboo.com/CFC.Global.Mission),
Twitter (@CFChrist), instagram
(@CFChrist) and youtube (https://www.youtube.com/user/
CFCMultimedia).
May the Live Christ this
Christmas campaign open each
person's hearts to mercy and
compassion and become a way
for all to love more.

On November 23, 2014,

the Feast of Christ the King,
more than 10,000 faithful
gathered at the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the 4th Catchfire Rally.
The event began with
simultaneous healing and
pray-over sessions followed
by the celebration of the
Holy Eucharist presided by
His Excellency Bishop Jesse
Mercado of the Diocese of
Paraaque. In his homily,
Bishop Mercado exhorted
that Christ, the King of the
Universe, is the Good Shepherd who knows us so well
yet claims us as His own,
loves us, and takes good care
of us. He also reminded the
audience that by virtue of
their baptism, they share in
the mission of Jesus, that is,
to set the world ablaze with
the fire of the Gospel.
The rally proper proceeded
after a fifteen-minute break
following the Mass. It commenced with the lighting
of the unity candle by the
four leaders of the major organizations that spearheaded
Catchfire: Ang Ligaya ng
Panginoon (LNP), Couples
for Christ (CFC), Familia, and
the Brotherhood of Christian
Businessmen and Professionals (BCBP). To set the festive
mood, Jun Cruz, an elder of
LNP, animated the crowd
via a welcome chant for Pope
Francis who is scheduled to
arrive in the country on January 2015. A breathtaking aero

dance performance followed and

left the audience in awe. Then
Shok Ariola from Couples for
Christ led the opening worship,
proclaiming the the Son of Man
came down from heaven and not
just painted the town red, but set
the world ablaze.
After the powerful worship,
the audience was moved by the
inspiring testimonies shared by
the members of the different

communities. Andoy Castro of

Familia imparted the beauty of
forgiveness and how it truly is
the most difficult yet the most
effective expression of love.
Vannie Ocampo of BCBP spoke
about obedience and total surrender to the Lord. She was
diagnosed with endometriosis,
a condition which makes it
difficult for a woman to bear
a child. Yet, she and her hus-

band became parents to six

spiritual children. She was
a product of a broken home
but because she obeyed and
surrendered everything to
the Lord, God blessed their
home to give hope and future
to the abandoned little ones.
Jabby Teotico of LNP can be
considered a miracle baby.
He and his family lived in the
CATCHFIRE/ C4

Ugnayan

C2

Abba Father goes to Africa

By Bads Ellica
CFC-South Africa conducted
its first Mens Conference in
Kokstad last October 2014 that
echoed the Servants of the Lords
much admired theme conference, anchored on its scriptural
passage: And I will be a father
to you, And you shall be sons
and daughters to Me, says the
Lord Almighty (2 Cor 6:18). The
attendees came from various
cities in South Africa where
participants travelled by land
for 3 to 11 hours. The invitations
were sent one month earlier but
the confirmation of participants
were staggeringly slow. During the last seven days before
the conference, there were only
about 50 confirmed attendees.
We were already happy with
that considering the multiple
church and corporate yearend evaluation and planning
sessions to dealt with by our
members. But, lo and behold, the
conference finally registered 122
participants.
The conference started and
ended with the celebration of the
Holy Mass.
The participants were composed of husbands among CFC
couples along with some invited
parishioners, in line with the min-

istrys gateway evangelization

scheme. It is also worth mentioning that among the members of
CFC, about five belong to other
churches: Calvinism, Lutheran
and Methodist among which one
of them was a pastor.
The conference aimed to exhort the participants on the
Christian principles and teaching about the essential responsibility and accountability of
the husband as both the spouse
to his wife and father to his children. It further aimed to support
and empower them as father and
husband. The first two sessions
were essentially talks, while the
remaining three sessions were
mostly activities, giving the participants the chance to share in a
dialogue, small group sharing,
and testimonies about the whole
conference, where they affirmed
and supported one another.
On the first day, the participants demonstrated a high level
of openness and trust as they
exhibited profound personal
sharings on subjects that were
extremely private in nature. The
sharings tend to exceed beyond
the given time. Some even volunteered to freely share with no
holds barred in expressing tearful feelings and emotions.
In the culminating day of the

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

CFC continues to grow in Kenya

conference, the transformation of the participants was

tangibly noticeable. It was
charaterized by the warmth
of brotherhood, jubilant mood
and infectious smiles. The last
session was a free-for-all
sharing on the personal impact of the conference to each
participant. Numerous boldly
stood up to express gratitude
for the great opportunity that
God provided for them. Others, were teary- eyed yet joyful in the realization of the
many years they have taken
their spouses and children
for granted and how love was
focused on self rather than on
the family members. Most significant sharings were declaration to amend the wrongdoing
and most of all the determination to love more their family
members concretely.
The closing praisefest was unable to contain the delirious joy of
the participants, where bidding
parting words seemed endless.
A good number of them stayed
and continued sharing. For both
the participants and the service
team; such conference was a
manifestation of how God blesses
those who open their hearts. The
Lord filled them with His peace
and with His Living Word.

Two significantly compelling sharings of participants

which captured the hearts of the listeners at the Abba
Father Conference were the following:

By Malou Clarito

Pastor Desmond Kok:

I have been most critical to Catholicism considering myself as a better Catholic than many
of my Catholic friends; I am most surprised that
this type of conference, the Abba Father is
happening within the Catholic Church! I have
taken higher theology courses and have been
attending international religious conferences
with world-renowned speakers but I have never
been so powerfully touched and converted as
this conference. Now I am considering changing
my religion.

The Lord has been blessing CFC Kenya with

an increasing number of new members as it
opened Christian Life Programs in different new
parishes in the Dioceses of Nairobi, Eldoret and
Homa Bay.
For the month of September 2014, new members were welcomed to the CFC community in
South B (Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish) with
two Couples, and 5 Handmaids of the Lord.
The HOLD also conducted their own CLP in St.
Joachim and St. Anne Parish harvesting 24 new
members while South C (St. Catherine Alexandria Parish) welcomed four Couples. Last
November 21, 2014, CFC members in Parklands
harvested four couples and 1 HOLD at St. Francis Xavier Parish. These areas are located in the
heart of Nairobi.
At St. Teresas Parish in Mois Bridge in the
Diocese of Eldoret, an 8-hour drive from Nairobi,
the CLP was conducted early this year with 67
new members. With the passion blazing in the
hearts of the new graduates, they invited more
participants and conducted a CLP in Kilima, an
outstation of St. Teresas Parish with four couples
and two new HOLD members. Also in Eldoret,
ANCOP Child Sponsorship Program is also expanding with 18 sponsored children at St. Teresas

Walter Blore, British Farm Manager

When I arrived and looked around the conference venue and met the organizers and participants; I never expected anything from this conference. But I am so touched beyond my imagination
by what I have heard and experienced. I wept like
a child when I received wonderful words from
my wife that I have never heard in the last 32
years of our marriage. Similarly, I have said endearing words to her that I have never expressed
ever since we got married. I believe and I thank
the Lord that I am in the process of physical healing from my prostate ailment through the prayers
of Sis Marivic, but above all I praise God for the
spiritual healing and conversion He graced me
with in this conference.
I am prepared to undergo whatever training
is required, for me to become a member of CFC
and most willing to work in spreading its mission throughout the country, for I believe CFC
can heal Africa.

Primary School, 22 children in St. Annes Home

and 7 seminarians from three different seminaries
of the Diocese of Eldoret.
With the grace of the Lord, last November 16,
2014, another parish in the Diocese of Homa Bay
conducted the CLP with 109 new members dedicated during the mass at the Mary Star of the Sea
Parish in Mbita celebrated by its parish Priest, Fr.
Philip Otieno, who himself, graduated from the
program. The new members include 27 couples,
42 handmaids, 9 Singles for Christ, 2 SOLD, one
priest and a nun.
The Bishop of ELDORET, Most Rev. Cornelius
Korir praised what CFC is doing and the dedication of the missionaries in bringing Christ nearer
to the heart of the people of the different dioceses
in Kenya.
The year 2014 proved to be a very productive
and inspiring year for CFC Kenya. With hearts
burning with passion, we look at 2015 with faith
and hope in the Lord that more areas in Kenya
will open their parishes to CFC to be able to reach
out to those who thirst of Gods words. May God
grant us an even more passionate heart for the
mission, always saying Yes and following where
the Lord leads us.
Team Kenya is composed of fulltime pastoral
workers Jun and Malou Clarito, Goi and Charm
Villegas, Ghamay Pepito and Tinah Muia.

CFC Handmaids of the Lord

Celebrates 20 Years in Canada
By Rose Javier
It was a milestone celebration twenty
years in the making, a return to the
Canadian roots of the ministry of the
Handmaids of the Lord that was born
in Richmond, Vancouver in September
1994. It was only right that the 2014
HOLD National Conference was brought
back to the familiar haunts of beautiful
British Columbia where it all began. The
invitation and the conference website
was released in early January and the
conference of September 12-14, 2014 was
officially open for registration. Sheraton
Wall Centre became the venue for this
historic weekend conference of Gods
Beloved the Handmaids of the Lord.
Gods Beloved was this years conference

theme (taking off from CFCs Behold

and Ponder) marking the 3rd year of
the Magnificat Journey with our Mother
Mary, the original handmaid.
A Prelude The Leaders Summit
As a spiritual preparation for all those
who came a day ahead of the conference, Rev. John Horgan led the Leaders
Summit. One of Vancouvers prominent
speakers and homilist with MIT and
Harvard appearing in his biography,
Fr.Horgan regaled the audience with his
stories on 2 topics that kept the audience
glued to their seats intimacy with Jesus
and Mary, and a devotion to the celestial
Guardian Angels. Everyone was all-ears
as Fr. Horgan brought us back to the special roles that God gave His messengers

in the Gospel even before Jesus walked

amongst men.
Like their providential interventions
in the Old and New Testaments, Guardian Angels continue to instruct, protect
and guard us. Fr. Horgan then proceeded
to name the 9 Choirs of Angels the First,
Second and Third Choirs, specifically
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominations, Virtues, Power, Principalities,
Archangels and the Angels. Impressive,
eh?
The intimacy we all seek with Jesus
and Mary requires the practice of the
virtues of Fidelity, Humility, Charity,
Obedience, Temperance and Silence. It
was, for everyone, a road less travelled
but remains a journey attainable by
HOLD/ C3

Ugnayan

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Papal Nuncio to the Phils. gives talk at MCT

C3

CFC ANCOP Disaster Team firms up plans

The CFC ANCOP Disaster team came together to firm up plans for relief and rehabilitation activities during and after the occurence of calamitites. Manny Garcia, Ramuel Garcia of the UAE, Roger
Santos of ANCOP USA, and IC members Jimmy Ilagan, George Campos and Joe Yamamoto were
present during the planning.

CFC Seniors Program holds early Christmas party

His Excellency Archbishop Guiseppe Pinto, the Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines, graced last
month's Mission Core Teaching Night. The MCT was held at the Christ the King Parish, Greenmeadows, Quezon City.
The Papal Nuncio spoke about the salient points of the Holy Father Pope Francis' first Apostolic
Letter, Evangelii Gaudium. The video of the entire MCT last November 18, 2014 may be seen at the
official CFC youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/CFCMultimedia).

The CFC Seniors Program planned ahead of everyone else and had their Christmas party last
December 2, 2014 at the Rockwell. The Seniors Program Core put together a great party where
senior members from CFC, HOLD and SOLD gamely participated. Expect more activities from this
group in 2015.

HOLD C2

The HOLD Conference sessions were truly inspiring, with powerful

speakers delivering the strong message of HOLD being Gods beloved.
Session 1: QUIET MY SOUL, O LORD
Ludy Buencamino, Cluster Head of Toronto, delivered the first talk bringing up the word BEHOLD
that cited the need to purposely walk away from the
noise of the secular world to be alone and to spend
time with our God. Relax, be stlll, tune in and in the
silence, listen with your heart.. meditate.. and wait
to hear the voice of God. Gods voice speaks in the
stillness of the moment. We should journal Gods
messages to keep a record of our precious conversations with God.
And then Ponder.. consider carefully and reflect
on what Scripture reveals to us and see how it ties up
with the circumstances in our lives. While we wait
in silence when beholding, pondering takes an active
role as we look around and relate the messages with
everything in our lives.
Behold...walks away from the world and walks
toward God who speaks in the silence. Ponder
listens, meditates and internalizes Gods word and
messages. Then intimacy with the Lord happens.
Quiet my soul, O Lord. we want to see you.
Gods grace. A few questions
were raised from the audience,
clearly an affirmation of the excited interest piqued from among
the handmaids. The afternoon
ended with the handmaids feeling very encouraged and a little
lighter and wingedon their
feet, perhaps?
The Conference
682 women including 10
HOLD Core members and 38
CFC wives came, representing
the various regions of Alberta,
British Columbia/Yukon, Quebec, Ontario, Ottawa, Manitoba/
Saskatchewan and Yellowknife,
plus a couple and one from Oregon and the lone speaker from
the Philippines. The Registration on Friday September 12th
was a scene of teamwork at its
best rising above the challenges
of the expected and unexpected
variables and a printer that was
slow to deliver on a crucial day.
Between Lorna Sandiko at Registration and Liza Arzadon,
Conference Chair, the communication lines stayed open effectively untying the knots in room
assignments and the last-minute
glitches from the traditional late
registrants. The general mood
was excitement and disposition
was sunny like the Vancouver
weather that cooperated the entire weekend proving once more

that even the weather trends can

be kept at bay when faced with
2,000 Hail Marys.
With the participants donning
their pink Conference Kit bags
across their shoulders, September
12th activities started with a celebration of the Mass of the Holy
Eucharist by Archbishop John
Michael Miller of the Archdiocese
of Vancouver. Welcoming the
handmaids from all over Canada,
Archbishop Miller lauded the
community in their work of
evangelization adding that Behold and Ponder was a personal
call to each one with Mary our
Mother as our friend and model
in our lives. Once again, as in
all the past conferences, the delegates found themselves in the
right footing with a Holy Mass
and words of wisdom from a beloved Archbishop of Vancouver.
Throwback was the Friday
night Fun theme where the delegates left most of their trepidations at the door and joined in
the fun. It was a night of music,
dancing and singing that featured the unforgettable creative
presentations of conferences in
the past years.
Saturday the 13th hunkered
down to the 0800 Mass celebrated
by Fr. James Hughes, St. Patricks
pastor, who upon seeing the
packed balloom venue remarked
that he now knows how it feels

to be blessed among women.

After bringing the message of the
Gospel, Fr. James shared the joys
of priesthood including his IrishFilipino heritage that brings him
an exposure (and loving it) to the
pansit and the chicharon cuisine.
Fr. Mark Schwab, the Presider
of Sundays Mass, touched a lot
of hearts in reminding us (and
even making everyone promise)
to be constant in 3 things pray
for the Church, sacrifice for the
Church and suffer for the Church.
Then he went on to say that we
were born to be Alter Christus
(image of Christ) which means
we need to embrace our cross
(it is not easy, it is not neat) but
women carry their crosses not in
solitude but sharing it with Jesus
laying it down on His feet. Jesus
Himself will transform man, setting him free from sin and lead
men to JOY the presence of God.
It was indeed a weekend set
aside specially for the handmaids
who added golden memories of
faith love and friendship amongst
new and familiar sisters. A spirited
praisefest led by Joy Marababol
ended the day with high notes of
praise and worship. Acknowledgments were madeawards
given.silence ..And then the
drumbeat roll was heardannouncing the venue of the next
years 2015 International HOLD
Conference Anaheim, California!

The News Supplement

of Couples for Christ

George B. Campos
IC Oversight

Bernadette Cuevas
Editor-in-Chief

Deomar P. Oliveria
Layout Artist

Alma M. Alvarez
Associate Editor

Evangeline C. Mecedilla
Circulation Staff

The Ugnayan News Supplement is published by the Couples for Christ Global Mission Foundation, Inc., with editorial
offices at 156 20th Avenue, 1109 Cubao, Quezon City.
Editorial trunk line: (+63 2) 709-4868 local 23
Direct line : (+63 2) 709-4856
www.couplesforchristglobal.org
cfcglobalcommunications@gmail.com

facebook.com/CFC.Global.Mission

@CFChrist

Session 2: LORD THAT I MAY SEE

Discouraged and frightened, the Apostles ran
away the night Jesus was arrested: the years of
journeying with their Master, hearing Gods word
and witnessing many miracles were not enough to
make them men of conviction and courage. They
only saw the human form and they only saw Jesus as
their savior from the Roman oppressors. It was only
after the Holy Spirit empowered them at Pentecost
that the scales in their eyes fell away and their hearts
were beating in unison with the mission and vision
of their Divine Master.
Then and now, two thousand years later. We
recall Marys fiat: I am the handmaid of the Lord,
may it be done to me according to your word. These
immortal words of obedience ring true today as our
inspiration to live out our covenant in our call for
personal transformation, evangelization to bring the
good news and a renewed life to our loved ones and
todays handmaids.
Speaker Angging Sescon led the audience into
introspecting with this poser: How faithful are we to
the Mission and Vision of our community? Do we
know of it or do we live it?
Session 3: IN YOUR PRESENCE, LORD
How does a young handmaid unravel the mystery
of her Son? By pondering things in her heart, Mary
slowly came to know and understand the will of God
and her role in our salvation and it was all revealed
to her in Gods time. Present to Him, God became
present to Mary. Marys humility and obedience
helped her to walk to Calvary where she witnessed
the love and obedience of the Son to the Father no
greater love than this.
Speaker Ting Baleta enjoined the sisters to be more
committed in their prayer time, do away with their
distractions and grow in Gods presence.
Session 4: AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS
Speaker Norma Borja brought to us the story of
the Seven (7) Sorrows of Mary culminating at the foot
of the Crucifixion in Calvary, beautifully re-enacted
in a stirring tableau that stirred the hearts of many.

The Prophecy of Simeon foretold the sword that will

pierce Marys heart in Calvary, the Flight into Egypt
describes a mothers anxieties and fears fleeing from
a tyrant and the uncertainties of life in a foreign land,
the Three-day Separation from Jesus in Jerusalem
when she pondered in her heart her Sons words that
she couldnt understand, Meeting Jesus on the road
to Calvary where Mary was filled with sadness at
the sight of Jesus humiliated, bloody and scourged,
Crucifixion and Death of Jesus Christ where Mary
felt the prophetic sword piercing her heart in deep
pain as she watched her Son die, Jesus taken down
from the Cross and laid in her arms where Mary was
a picture of gentle love as she lovingly held Jesus in
her arms, and lastly, Mary Follows Jesus sacred body
borne by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus to the
Sepulchre to be buried and hidden from her sight for
three days. In grief, Mary finally understood His life
and mission. Our salvation was paid for dearly by
the death of her Son, Jesus on the Cross.
Marys role in the story of our salvation did not
end in Calvary. She became the mother of all His
followers and the mother of the Church at the foot
of the Cross when Jesus said to the beloved Apostle:
Woman, behold thy son. She, who stood by Jesus
at the foot of the Cross, has been given a hundred or so
titles by the church but first and foremost, she remains
a mother who brings us to her Son.
(Saturday evening saw a ballroom spilling with
the handmaids radiant in RED, the colour of life, the
colour of passion yes, that sounds very handmaids
enjoying the music and really looking so ready to
break into some serious dancing. And they did
enjoy their special night of socials. They do know
fun, right?)
Session 5: GODS BELOVED
Sundays last talk opened with a video introduction and a live re-enactment of the Resurrection of
Christ with Mary Magdalene as the first witness of
the risen Christ and the first one to proclaim that Jesus
is risen. Which begs the question :Who is Mary
Magdalene why her? Mary Magdalene, whose
famous utterance at the Resurrection scene was Rabbouni, was the town sinner that Jesus delivered from
seven demons. Deeply moved by His love, she gave
her new life completely to Him. Here is a story of a
sinner who was delivered, healed and transformed
to become Gods Beloved!
With these opening lines, Speaker Didi Galsim
spoke of Mary Magdalene as an example of our first
and foremost identity- that we are indeed Gods
Beloved vs. our occupation, our vocation, our talents
or maybe our failures. We are uniquely Gods own
creation and in our hearts is Gods DNA, His image
and likeness with a capacity for love, forgiveness,
kindness, humility and forebearance. We are Alter
Christus, another Christ. Everyday, we are invited to
allow God to transform us with our daily prayer and
meditation, the sacraments of Reconciliation and the
Holy Eucharist, visits to the Adoration Chapel, and
the Daily Examen.
When we allow God to mold and transform us,
we become what we were meant to be in the loving
hands of our Creator. Like Mary Magdalene, we are
children of second chances. We are the chosen ones
with an identity like no other we are Gods Beloved.

CBCP Monitor

Ugnayan

C4

Vol. 18 No. 25

December 8 - 30, 2014

Turning Point: The CFC Mens

Conference goes to Canada

Catchfire Golf raises funds the fun way

The first-ever Catchfire Unity Golf Cup
was held at the Villamor Air Base Golf
Club last November 13, 2015.
131brothers and guests coming
fromLigaya ng Panginoon Community,
Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen
and Professionals (BCBP), Couples for
Christ and Familia competed for the firstever Catchfire Unity Golf Cup Tournament held at Villamor Air Base Golf Club
last November 13.
The shotgun tee-off started at 7am and
the tournament ended at 1pm and a short
program with lunch started right after the
tournament.
Carlo Canicota, Jun Caramat, Paul
Price and Benedict Tugonon bagged the
Catchfire Unity Golf Cup Team Championship Unity Team category and they
brought home the Catchfire Unity Golf
Perpetual Cup.

Winning the First Place were Roy

Lanuza, Tony Panajon, Randy Ang and
Ricky Dagelet and the Second Place went
to Abe Avena, Greg Montecarlo, Harry
Paltongan and Justin Salimbot.
The champions for the Guest Team
category were Anthony Suntay, Eduardo
Eseque, Ian Laurel and Albert Bercasio.
Abe Avena pocketed the Individual Lowest Gross while Ray Valencia
grabbed the Lowest Net award.
For the Individual category, Jun Caramat emerged as the Class A champion.
Paolo Santos and Tony Panajon won the
First and Second Place, respectively.
Leo Vico nabbed the Class B Championship, defeating Jo Bantiling and Albert
Bercasio who landed in First and Second
Place respectively.
Bombie Cipriano was named Class
C Champion. Benedick Tugonon won

the Second Place and Serge Dela Fuente

landed on the Third Place.
For the Ladies Individual category,
Leny Bantiling reigned supreme and was
crowned as the Champion.
For the Fun Hole category, the Nearest
the Pin award (two feet from the hole) was
pocketed by Col. Marvin Bolabola. Abe
Avena bagged the Longest Drive award
(285 yards) while Dennis Marcelo won the
Most Accurate Drive award (on the line).
A raflle was also held during the
awarding ceremony. An LED television
set and a refrigerator were among the
many prizes that were given away.
The said golf tournament was a fundraising event for the Catchfire Prayer
Rally to be held in the Smart Araneta
Coliseum on November 23. (Lifted from
the Catchfire website www.catchfirerally.com)

CATCHFIRE C1

hospital for almost two years because of

his biliary atresia. In the letter that his
mother wrote when he was still a child,
she said they dont know why hes sick
but they know that his real Father in
heaven loves him more than life itself.
He is now 16 years old and actively
serves in the youth ministry, boldly
proclaiming to the world that there is a
God who loves and cares for us unconditionally. Artist A.G. Sao showcased
his talent in painting to glorify the one
true King.

Bobby Quitain wrapped up the content of the whole event by saying that
in order to set the world ablaze, one
must first of all set their world ablaze.
He suggested three Bs to make it happen: believe in Jesus and surrender full
control of ones life to Him, belong to a
community who will journey with one
another and help each other become
a better Christian, and become Christ
to others.
Finally, Fr. Dave Concepcion reminded all who were present that its

not enough to be on fire but to keep

burning with the zeal and passion for
the Lords mission.
Held every Feast of Christ the King,
Catchfire is an annual assembly of members and leaders of various lay religious
organizations, which aims to ignite the
fire of faith in each believers heart. This
years theme is Set the World Ablaze. The
previous years themes were as follows:
One King. One People. One Mission.
(2011), All for the King (2012), With His
Might, We Fight! (2013).

By Evony Evangelista
On September 27th and 28th, more
than 200 men attended the Servants
of the Lord (SOLD) Mens Conference titled Turning Point in Calgary,
Alberta. The men were grouped
up into car groups, such as Toyota,
Honda, etc, and participated in different activities like a tower build,
a friendly game of bond paper stick
up and even managed to successfully complete an activity called A
Monks Meal.
The conference was emceed by
SOLD International Coordinator,
Joemar Salumbides, who was kind
enough to come all over from the
Philippines. An exciting performance from the CFC-Youth started
off the day with a bang and then
proceeded straight into the sessions. The sessions were creatively
named in relation to the theme of
the conference and offered powerful sharers that truly exemplified
turning points in a mans life. Instead of dwelling on experiences
of separation, infidelity, health
concerns, and loss, these experiences were used to point back to
Christ. The men were also given
a workshop entitled Emotional
First-Aid which taught them
how to address emotional distress
in those around them and also in
themselves.
Saturday nights program consisted of a group competition called
Pit-STOMP, wherein the care

groups were asked to prepare a

stomp performance that would
demonstrate a specific turning
point in a mans life. The performances were not only creative but
they helped build the collective
spirit of the men. After the competition, the men were then given
a special Igorot dance performance
from one of their very own. To cap
off the night, they then participated
in what we called Pit-STOPS,
which were friendly Minute to
Win It games.
There is something to be said
about attending a conference led by
men for men. It not only uplifted
their spirits to take on their roles as
pastors, providers and protectors
but also empowered them to be
men of God wherever they are. The
weekend went by much faster than
expected. With full hearts (and full
stomachs) the brothers said thank
you to Calgary and look forward
to next years National Mens
Conference to be held in Canmore,
Alberta.
Speakers for the weekend were
George Fournier, National Family
Ministry Head (Session 1: Life is
a Highway); Boie Sescon, Former
Country Coordinator of Netherlands
(Session 2: Traffic Jam); Joemar
Salumbides, SOLD International
Coordinator (Session 3: Turning
Point); and Rosco Doromal, Canada
National SOLD Coordinator (Session 4: Full Speed Ahead).

CONSECRATION C1

Hey, kids! Now that we are in the season of Advent, which a season "to eagerly await, to
prepare, for the coming of something or someone", how are you preparing for the coming of
Jesus? Cut out this Road to Christmas calendar and post on your refrigerator door or bulletin
board so you can do your countdown for Christmas!

As we close 2014, the year when the Lord directed us to Behold and
ponder, let us joyfully welcome the new year through these various
activities where we as a global CFC could fully appreciate the theme for
2015Love more!