•A3 Pope says Lent is

time to renounce •B1Women for Resurrection •C1

‘God Created Men and Ugnayan
The News Supplement of
selfishness and Life’ Couples for Christ

Pro-life advocate lauds IPs call for end of mining

Ayala Alabang ordinance
PRO-LIFE Philippines President Eric Manal-
ang called on barangay councils opposed to
the reproductive health bill to take measures
that respect human life.
Manalang said village officials should
defend their positions against the RH bill by
making ordinances that would protect the
sanctity of life especially of the unborn.
The anti-RH bill advocate cited, for in-
stance, an ordinance in the posh confines of
Alabang / A6
February 28 - March 13, 2011
on ancestral lands
TRIBAL folks in Nueva Vizcaya called for an
end of mining activities on their ancestral lands,
saying large-scale mining will destroy their
forests and leave them with nothing.
“Respect the indigenous people’s rights. And
our call: NO TO LARGE-SCALE MINING.
Mining will not feed us, it will take our land;
ravage our forests and leave us with nothing,”
said Lucas Buay, a representative of Kasibu
Inter-tribal Response for Ecological Develop-
Vol. 15 No. 5 Php 20.00 IPs / A6

Fortify marriage, Pope

tells Filipino bishops
By Roy Lagarde
President Benigno Aquino III, Vice President
Jejomar Binay, Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim, Manila
Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales, Papal
POPE BENEDICT XVI called nuncio Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams and

on the Filipino bishops to

several bishops release doves during the unveiling
ceremony of the late Jaime Cardinal Sin’s statue,
strengthen the sacrament of witnessed by hundreds of people in Manila, February
25, 2011. The monument commemorates Sin’s role
matrimony especially among in the popular 1986 EDSA revolution that ended the
the young couples. Marcos dictatorship.

Amid “secularism,” he said care

must be given to show young people
the importance of the sacraments “as
instrument of God’s grace and as-
sistance.”
“This is particularly true of the sac-
rament of matrimony, which sanctifies
married life from its beginning, so that
God’s presence may sustain young
couples in their struggles,” he said.
The pontiff made the statement dur-
ing the “ad limina” visit of Bicol and
Visayas bishops in Rome on Feb. 7-19,
2011 amid reports of the declining
Catholic marriages in the country.
An official of the Catholic Bishops’
Conference of the Philippines previ-
ously said that the number of church
marriages dropped from 177,940 in
2008-2009 to just 166, 000 in 2010.
Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secre-
tary of the Episcopal Commission on
Family and Life (ECFL), said this was
because Filipinos were marrying at a
later age.
He said couples were also opting for
civil marriages first before going for a
“grand” church wedding.
Another official of the National
Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal also
admitted before that the high cost of
© Noli Yamsuan / RCAM

church weddings is deterring couples

from getting married.
According to retired Archbishop
Oscar Cruz, churches must encour-
age couples to have simple wedding
Marriage / A6

Follow US House, CBCP official tells lawmakers

AN official of the Catholic Bish-
ops’ Conference of the Philip-
pines (CBCP) urged Philippine
lawmakers to look to US Con-
gress’ example by defunding
contraceptive use.
Fr. Melvin Castro of the CB-
CP’s Commission on Family and
Life said the US has realized its
mistake for funding contracep-
tion and the country can avoid
it by rejecting the Reproductive
Health (RH) bill.
“If the US Congress defunded
such entity, we ask our Congress
to reject the RH bill which has
the same effect of allocating
people’s money against what
they believe in,” he said.
On Feb. 19 (Manila time), the
US House voted a measure that
would ensure no federal dollars
to fund abortions.
Voting 240-185, the Congres-
sional body also cut off a federal
family planning program that
Planned Parenthood relies on for
grants and contracts in taxpayer
funding.
The amendment to the 2011
Federal Spending Bill, intro- their tax dollars should not be too late for us to realize that the
duced by Rep. Mike Pence, will used to subsidize the largest RH bill is wrong and spent mil-
now go before the Senate. abortion provider in America,” lions of pesos for its implementa-
In a statement, Pence described Pence said. tion,” Castro added.
the vote as a “victory for taxpay- The CBCP official called on the “We ask our government and
ers and a victory for life.” Filipino lawmakers to take a cue our legislators, let us not follow
“By banning federal funding from the US Congress ‘before it’s their mistakes of the past, and
to Planned Parenthood, Con- too late.’ then only to realize we have to
gress has taken a stand for mil- “Ours is a poor country. We correct it in the future,” he said.
lions of Americans who believe have to do something before it’s (CBCPNews)

Prelate fears railroading of RH bill

AN official of the Catholic Bishops’ Con-
ference of the Philippines feared that
supporters of the reproductive health
bill are trying to railroad the passage
of the legislation.
Despite a Malacañang pronounce-
ment that it is no longer a priority,
CBCP’s Commission on Family and
Life chairman Archbishop Paciano
Aniceto can’t stop but wonder why it
is fast-tracked.
FILE PHOTO
said there is prioritization. But the
House is (working) double time,” he
said.
The CBCP has strongly opposed the
passage of the bill for going against
Church teachings against artificial birth
control and for imposing sex educa-
tion among primary and high school
students.
The House of Representatives can-
celled on March 1 the first plenary de-

“It’s like there’s somebody dictating bates on the RH bill due to problems in
them to railroad it. There is double talk the building’s air conditioning system.
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

Archbishop Paciano Aniceto

here in the government. Malacañang Railroading / A6

Priest starts drive vs gambling in wake
IN a bid to stop the prolif-
eration of gambling in his
parish, a Catholic priest
has vowed to deny giving
burial rights to Catholics
President Benigno Aquino’s spokesman, Edwin Lacierda (left), and CBCP secretary
general Msgr. Juanito Figura face the media after CBCP-Malacañang dialogue on the RH
bill last December 15.
not holding funeral Mass
to persons whose bereaved
families opted to allow gam-
bling during the wake.
“The policy is pastoral
CBCP suspends THE Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Phil-
ippines is suspending
Illustration by Bladimer Usi

if there is gambling during

the wake.
Fr. Valentine Dimoc of the
in nature, in response to a
social and moral issue in a
particular place; the Local
talks with its dialogue with the
government on the is-
sue of the reproductive
St. Mary Magdalene Parish
in Lagawe, Ifugao made
such order in a pastoral
Government Unit’s ordi-
nance against gambling is
what should be implement-
Malacañang on health bill.
On February 19, CBCP

policy he issued recently.
Dimoc said the parish
would uphold the policy of
RH bill
president and Tandag
ed for the common good
but sometimes the power is Suspends / A6
Priest / A6

www.cbcponlineradio.com www.cbcphealthcare.org www.youthpinoy.com

 World News
CBCP Monitor
A2 Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

300,000 youth to visit Spanish dioceses

MADRID, Spain, Feb. 25, 2011—As a
preparation for the upcoming World
Youth Day in August, at least 300,000
youth are planning to visit various
dioceses around Spain in the days pre-
ceding Benedict XVI’s arrival.
The “Days in the Dioceses” event will
take place Aug. 11-15 in 63 Spanish dioceses,
where young people from other countries
will be able to spend time with their peers
in preparation for the youth day.
This preparatory even began in Paris
before the 1997 youth day, as a way of
facilitating youth ministry in French
dioceses, having the whole country wel-
come the pilgrims from other countries,
and encouraging French young people
to attend the activities with the Holy
Father. The experience was so success-
ful that it was repeated in subsequent
World Youth Days in Italy, Canada,
Germany and Australia.
Over 150,000 participants from 137
countries have already registered, and
an estimated 300,000 youth will take
part in the program.
The plan for those days may include:
cultural activities, historical visits, mo-
ments for celebration, time for prayer
and visits to shrines that make up the
local religious identity.
Javier Igea, who is in charge of orga-
nizing this event, pointed out that this
networking of young people is “sowing
bonds of peace in the global village.”
An effort is being made in many
places so that the accommodation of the
participants is free.
program. For example, the Diocese of Ciu-
dad Real will be hosting 260 Haitians free
of charge along with another 1,750 youth
who will take part in the city’s program.
Preparatory mission
Some 250 young Puerto Ricans will
gather in Corozal, in their own coun-
try, this weekend, for another event in
preparation for World Youth Day.
They will walk two-by-two around
the city, visiting children and the sick.
Father Orlando Lugo of San Jose de Ca-
muy explained: “We are going to begin
the mission in Puerto Rico, because we
understand it must begin here. This is the
first meeting of this whole delegation.”
The Puerto Rican delegation will later
travel to a town in the province of To-
ledo, Spain, where from Aug. 14 to Aug.
19 they will visit the elderly and the sick
and will invite other young people from
to take part in the youth day activities.
Roxana Zamot, 22, who belongs to the
youth ministry leadership team in her par-
ish, stated: “It is a unique experience where
we will be missionizing and getting to
know other people, other cultures. To take
part with the Pope in the [World Youth
Day] is the greatest thing that can happen
to us as Christians and as young people.”
In another initiative to prepare youth for
the event in Madrid, a competition has been
convoked for journalistic works centered
on the theme “Watchmen of the Future,”
an expression with which John Paul II
described young people in his last visit to
Spain in 2003. A prize will be awarded for

www.daylife.com
Young people who come from countries journalistic works published before May
with greater economic difficulties are 1 that reflect what Madrid’s World Youth
guaranteed cost-free participation in this Day is and what it means. (Zenit)

Chinese bishop, imprisoned

for decades, dies at 90
VATICAN City, Feb. 27, 2011—
Bishop Augustine Hu Daguo of
the apostolic prefecture of Shiq-
ian, Shihtsien, in the Chinese
province of Guizhou, died on
Feb. 17 at the age of 90.
The bishop, who was ap-
proved by the Pope and part of
the underground Church, spent
decades in prison and forced la-
bor camps because of his fidelity
to the Pontiff.
In China, religious practice is
only permitted by the govern-
ment with the oversight of the
Catholic Patriotic Association,
the body through which the
authorities recognize religious
personnel and register places
of worship. Hence there is a
“national” or “official” church,
directed by the Association and
the Bishops’ Conference of the
Catholic Church in China.
And then there are the laypeo-
ple, priests and bishops who op-
pose such control and who wish
to obey the Pope directly. The
latter constitute the non-official,
or underground, Church.
L’Osservatore Romano re-
ported today on the death of
Bishop Hu, noting that “the civil
authorities, who never recog-
nized him as bishop, impeded
his residing in Shiqian.”
It continued: “Despite the
fact that his residence was in
Duyun, in the Archdiocese of
Guiyang, with discretion and
effectiveness he administered
the clergy and faithful of his
apostolic prefecture with great
zeal and spiritual fervor, giving
life and hope to the various par-
ish communities, scattered in the
mountainous region.
“Bishop Hu led a life teaching
simplicity and poverty, in full
adherence to the principles of
the universal Church and to the
primacy of Peter.
“He was very gifted from the
intellectual point of view and
was always esteemed by all as
an ecclesiastical saint.”
“In the last years,”
L’Osservatore Romano reported,
“he did not hide his difficulties
with language, with understand-
ing and with mobility, though he
continued to spend his energies
in the service of the Lord and to
dedicate himself particularly to
hearing the confessions of the
faithful.”
The prelate’s funeral was held
on Feb. 20. The news article
noted, “In him, as in so many
other Chinese bishops who
have died in the last years, were
fulfilled the words of the Book
of Wisdom (3:1): ‘But the souls
of the righteous are in the hand
of God, and no torment will ever
touch them.’” (Zenit)
Vatican Briefing
Schoenstatt prepares to welcome Benedict XVI home
The Schoenstatt Movement is preparing for Benedict XVI’s
visit to his home country of Germany in September with a
campaign to show support for the Pope. Members are or-
ganizing a crusade of love and support of the Pontiff called
“Postcard Action,” gathering prayers for the upcoming event.
Some 30,000 postcards have already been distributed for the
campaign, which the faithful are encouraged to send to the
Pope with their personal messages. Another 20,000 cards have
been printed for distribution. (Zenit)
Global Catholic population continues to grow
The number of baptized Catholics on the planet continues to
grow and half of their number are in the Americas. This is
some of what can be learned from the data of the 2011 papal
yearbook, the Annuario Pontificio, presented to Benedict XVI
on Feb. 19, by his secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone,
and Archbishop Fernando Filoni, undersecretary for general
affairs. The statistical data from the year 2009 furnish a sum-
mary view of the principal dynamics of the Catholic Church

Christian in prison for apostasy in her 2,956 ecclesiastical entities across the globe: The number
of baptized Catholics has increased from nearly 1.16 billion
in 2008 to 1.18 billion in 2009, with an absolute increase of 15
million faithful. (Zenit)
secretly released in Kabul Pope to visit site where Nazis executed hundreds of
Italians
KABUL, Afghanistan, Feb. 25, 2011—An the prosecutor sent a letter to the prison,
Next month Pope Benedict XVI will mark the anniversary of
Afghan man who converted to Christi- which said there was no evidence against
a brutal massacre that took the lives of 335 Italians during
anity was freed from prison, where he him, and that he was to be released.
World War II. On March 24, 1944, Nazi soldiers slaughtered
had been held for nine months, and may Sayed Mussa was arrested in May 2010
the hundreds of individuals to exact revenge for a surprise
have been secretly smuggled out of the after a local television station showed some
bomb attack in the heart of Rome that killed 33 of their
country this week. Sayed Mussa, 46, ran Westerners baptizing Afghans, and other
colleagues. The Pope will go to the site, called the “Fosse
the risk of a death sentence for apostasy. Afghans who were praying in a secret Chris-
Ardeatine,” on March 27 to observe the 67th anniversary of
His release came after months of discreet tian gathering. Local sources, on condition of
the executions. It is very near the Catacombs of St. Callistus
diplomatic efforts between the Afghan anonymity, say the Afghan government has
on the outskirts of Rome. He follows in the footsteps of Popes
government and western representatives been under massive pressure for his release,
Paul VI and John Paul II, who also paid their respects to the
in Kabul. and was uncertain, because it feared the reac-
dead. (CNA)
Sayed Mussa, married and father of six tion of radical Muslims.
children, worked for the International Com- Some believe Mussa could have reneged
mittee of the Red Cross before his arrest. He on his conversion, before being released. Vatican charity official says new challenges call for
was released on February 21 from Kabul Mussa was one of at least two Afghans in new leadership at Caritas
Detention Centre after the judges had found prison on charges of apostasy. Another, The Vatican believes that its top aid agency, Caritas Interna-
www.asianews.it

that there was insufficient material to pursue
the charges. This, according to Gen. Qayoum
Khan, prison director.
It is unclear whether Sayed Musa is still
in Afghanistan, or whether he has already
left the country. Some relatives, including
his wife, say they have heard nothing from
him. Diplomats, the U.S. embassy in the
first place, refuse to confirm news of his
release, and say they will continue to keep
the case Mussa, and others like it, under
observation.
Gen. Qayoum Khan said that Mussa was
brought to court offices last Monday, after
Shoaib Assadullah Musawi is in prison
since November 2010 in the city of Mazar-
i-Sharif, accused of having given a Gospel
to a friend.
The Afghan constitution guarantees free-
dom to practice religion, but ambiguously
leaves the option to courts of referring to the
Shari’a on many issues, including conver-
sion. (AsiaNews)
tionalis, needs new leadership to build a stronger Catholic
identity within the organization, said Cardinal Robert Sarah,
who oversees the agency’s work as president as president of
the Pontifical Council Cor Unum. The Rome-based Caritas re-
cently announced that the Vatican would not permit its current
secretary general, Lesley-Anne Knight, to run for re-election to
the position this May. Cardinal Sarah explained the Vatican’s
reasons during the course of a Feb. 22 press conference to
release the Pope’s annual Lenten message. (CNA)

Tunisian prelate horrified by priest’s murder

TUNIS, Tunisia, Feb. 24, 2011—
The archbishop of Tunis ex-
pressed horror and sadness over
last week’s murder of Father
Marek Rybinski, a 33-year-old
Polish missionary. On Monday,
police apprehended a suspect in
the killing.
Archbishop Maroun Lahham
expressed “horror, sadness, an-
ger, revolt, concern, fear, doubt”
in response to the Feb. 18 mur-
der of the priest who had been
working in Manouba, Tunisia
since 2007.
The prelate lamented: “Why
was Father Marek killed? For
2,000 dinars ($1,300)!”
He noted that the priest had
written two weeks earlier that
Tunisia “is a nation that is
young, intelligent, incapable of
violence, profoundly good and
not capable of hate.”
The missionary had also writ-
ten: “During my stay in Tunisia,
my attitude toward my fellow
Muslims has changed dramati-
cally. This fear of terrorism
and extremism has completely
disappeared.
“Tunisians are so welcoming,
friendly and warm. They teach
me this attitude.”
The archbishop recalled Fa-
ther Rybinski’s offer to come
to Tunisia shortly after his
2005 ordination. He praised the
missionary’s efforts to collect
donations “from everywhere
to build new premises for the
school he loved and he was
directing.”
Archbishop Lahham stated:
“Where do we go from here?
There is no question that times
of difficulty are not the moments
for running away.”
“This is no time to panic,”
he said. “It is time for faith, pa-
tience, precaution.”
The prelate continued: “I say
in my own name first, and I
think I can say on behalf of
any religious personnel of the
Church in Tunisia, and on behalf
of Christians in the country,
as well as on the behalf of our
brother Muslims and Jews: We
will stay put in this country that
has welcomed us, who loves us
and who we love.”
Referring to the Gospel pas-
sage about the seed that falls
to the earth and dies, the arch-
bishop affirmed that Father
Rybinski “fell, he died, and in
the example of Christ to whom
[he] had consecrated himself to,
it has borne fruit.”
Killer apprehended
On Monday the Tunisian
authorities reported the arrest
of 44-year-old Chokri Ben Mu-
stapha Bel-Sadek El-Mestiri for
the murder of Father Rybinski.
El-Mestiri was a handyman
who handled repairs at the Sale-
sian school where the missionary
was stationed.
Father Rybinski reportedly
gave him some $1,300 to buy
supplies for repairs, but the
handyman spent the money
elsewhere. The Tunisian au-
thorities suspect that El-Mestiri
killed the priest because he was
unable to repay or account for
the money.
Given the recent unrest in
the country, the minister of the
interior denounced the murder
of the priest while expressing
“relief” that it was not politically
motivated.
Archbishop Lahham observed
the numerous messages of soli-
darity and sympathy from the
Tunisian people after this trag-
edy. He noted that many dem-
onstrated outside the cathedral
with signs that said, “Marek,
sorry!”
A group of youth, the prelate
noted, came with flowers and
tears in their eyes, stating: “We
have not killed. It is not Tunisia.
Forgive us!” (Zenit)
Pope to canonize 3 in October
Benedict XVI presided at an ordinary public consistory that
approved the Oct. 23 canonization of three blessed — two
Italians and one Spaniard. Blessed Guido Maria Conforti
(1865-1931) founded the Society of St. Francis Xavier for For-
eign Missions. John Paul II beatified him on March 17, 1995.
Don Luigi Guanella (1842-1915) was a priest who founded
two congregations: the Servants of Charity and the Institute
of the Daughters of St. Mary of Providence. Pope Paul VI
beatified him on Oct. 25, 1964. Blessed Bonifacia Rodríguez
de Castro (1837-1905) is a nun from Salamanca, Spain, who
founded the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph, and cre-
ated the “Nazareth workshop” to help poor or unemployed
women. (Zenit)
Pope tells Vatican academy that abortion ‘resolves
nothing’
Abortion “resolves nothing,” Pope Benedict XVI told the Pon-
tifical Academy for Life Feb. 26. The academy was meeting at
the Vatican to present studies on “post-abortion syndrome”
and the use of umbilical cord stem cell banks for therapeutic
treatments. The Pope told them that the effects on a woman
after an abortion reveal “the irrepressible voice of moral con-
science and the terrible wound it suffers each time a human
action betrays the human being’s innate vocation to good.”
The academy has studied many aspects of the abortion issue
in past meetings. A focus of these most recent talks was to
examine the risk for the woman and the existence of social
pressures, especially in some parts of the world, to turn to
abortion. (CNA/EWTN News)
 News Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
Pope says Lent is time to renounce selfishness VATICAN City, Feb. 22, 2011—
Lent is a time for self-examina-
tion and to let go of all traces
of selfishness, which is the root
of violence, Pope Benedict XVI
said.
“The greed of possession leads
to violence, exploitation and
death,” which is why during
Lent the church encourages
almsgiving, “which is the capac-
ity to share,” the pope said in his
annual message for Lent.
The text of the pope’s mes-
sage for Lent 2011, which begins
March 9 for Latin-rite Catholics,
was released at a Vatican news
conference Feb. 22.
Guinean Cardinal Robert Sar-
ah, president of the Pontifical
Council Cor Unum, which pro-
motes Catholic charitable giving,
told reporters, “Intense misery
leads to economic and political
instability, creating a vacuum for
conflict and unrest that produce
a vicious circle of deepening
hardship, especially for the most
vulnerable.”
The cardinal said the pope’s
message underscores the fact
© Roy Lagarde / CBCPMedia
buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised
with him.”
Pope Benedict said Lent is a
special time for people either
to prepare for baptism or to
strengthen the commitment to
following Christ originally made
at baptism.
“The fact that in most cases
baptism is received in infancy
highlights how it is a gift of
God: No one earns eternal life
through their own efforts,” the
pope said.
In his message, the pope took
the year’s Lenten Sunday Gos-
pels and used them to draw
lessons he said would be helpful
in making the Lenten journey
toward Christian conversion.
The Gospel account of Jesus’
victory over temptation in the
desert “is an invitation to be-
come aware of our own fragility
in order to accept the grace that
frees from sin and infuses new
strength,” he said.
The story of Jesus meeting the
woman at the well is a reminder
that all people, like the woman,
A3
healing the man born blind “is a
sign that Christ wants not only
to give us sight, but also to open
our interior vision so that our
faith may become ever deeper
and we may recognize him as
our only savior,” the pope said.
The story of the raising of La-
zarus, read on the fifth Sunday
of Lent, reminds Christians that
their destiny is eternal life with
God, who “created men and
women for resurrection and
life,” he said.
The Lenten process of conver-
sion, he said, is designed “to free
our hearts every day from the
burden of material things, from
a self-centered relationship with
the ‘world’ that impoverishes
us and prevents us from being
available and open to God and
our neighbor,” Pope Benedict
wrote.
Through fasting, almsgiv-
ing and prayer, he said, “Lent
teaches us how to live the love
of Christ in an ever more radi-
cal way.”
Fasting helps people overcome
selfishness and self-centeredness;

that “the encounter with Christ
in his word and the sacraments
manifests itself in concrete works
of mercy.”
The theme of the pope’s mes-
sage was taken from the Letter
to the Colossians: “You were
desire the “water” of eternal life,
he said. Only the water offered
by Jesus “can irrigate the deserts
of our restless and unsatisfied
soul until it ‘finds rest in God,’”
as St. Augustine said.
The Gospel account of Jesus
almsgiving is a reminder of the
sharing that should mark each
day of a Christian’s life; and time
dedicated to prayer is a reminder
that time belongs to God and
his desire is for people to spend
eternity with him. (CNS)

Vatican official says cheap John Paul II seen as great

access to water a right for all friend of the sick
VATICAN City, Feb. 25, 2011—Rea- VATICAN City, Feb. 20, 2011—Reflect-
sonable access to clean water is a fun- ing on last Friday’s World Day of the
damental human right and its distribu- Sick, the Vatican spokesman says he
tion should not be left solely to private thinks Pope John Paul II’s beatification
companies seeking profit, a top Vatican on May 1 will bring a focus to illness and
official said. revive the Christian spirit with which
Bishop Mario Toso, secretary of the the Polish Pope endured Parkinson’s
Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, disease.
told participants at a meeting regarding Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi,
the future of water supplies around the director of the Vatican press office,
world that water is not a commercial gave this prediction on the most recent
product but rather a common good that edition of Vatican Television’s “Octava
belongs to everyone. Dies.” He recalled how it was John Paul
People have a “universal and inalien- II who wanted the Church to celebrate
able right” to access, a right that is so a World Day of the Sick each Feb. 11,
www.blogspot.com
solidarity and love in every dimension
of the human community,” he added.
A lot of love
Father Lombardi characterized John
Paul II as a “great witness to sickness
lived in faith.”
“Like Jesus who carries the cross,
he too is a great friend and intercessor
for every sick person,” the spokesman
asserted.
Father Lombardi went on to reflect
that “beyond comfort there is commit-
ment.”
He explained: “Benedict XVI says:

fundamental that “governments cannot
leave its management solely in private
hands,” he said.
Bishop Toso made his remarks at an
international meeting near the Vati-
can called “Dammi da bere” (give me
something to drink), promoted by the
Catholic-inspired Italian environmental
association Greenaccord.
Bishop Toso cited Colombia, Phil-
ippines and Ghana as examples of
countries where water management
“inspired exclusively by private and
economic criteria” has failed to produce
adequate distribution for the population
and where water costs three to six times
that of large cities such as New York or
London.
“The great paradox is that poor
people pay more than the rich for
something that should be a universal
right: the access to drinkable water,” the
bishop said. People in poor countries,
he said, often suffer not for the lack of
water but because “access is economi-
cally impossible.”
Conflicts between peoples over their
feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
“Sickness,” the Jesuit said, “is such an
essential part of the human experience
that it is also necessarily at the heart
of every experience of faith. It touches
water supplies, especially in arid areas, every person directly in his flesh or in
are inevitable without fair and demo- his mind, or persons who are close to
cratic policies regarding the sharing of him and dear,” and “it involves man in
water, the bishop said. the depths of his soul, challenging love,
He added that many analysts warn hope and faith itself.”
that “in the future, following the oil “Jesus Christ, with the attention that
wars that have characterized the past he paid to the suffering, with his per-
few decades, we will see new wars sonal passion and death, is the most
over water.” That situation is sure to credible word of comfort for the sick,
be aggravated by climate change, he and the whole Church must try to be
said. (CNS) this way. [She must be] the animator of
‘The true measure of humanity is es-
sentially determined in relationship
to suffering and to the sufferer. This
holds true both for the individual and
for society. A society unable to accept
its suffering members and incapable of
helping to share their suffering and to
bear it inwardly through “com-passion”
is a cruel and inhuman society’ (“Spe
Salvi,” 38).”
“Suffering calls for and awakens
love,” Father Lombardi concluded. “A
lot of love. Without sickness we would
not know the depth of love. We need
to understand it and live it to grow in
humanity.” (Zenit)

CBCP lauds gov’t peace efforts

MANILA, Feb. 21, 2011—The
leader of the Catholic hierarchy
lauded the efforts of the Philip-
pine government to forge peace
with the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front and Communist Party of
the Philippines, even as he called
on people to support the peace
process.
In a statement, CBCP presi-
dent and Tandag Bishop Nereo
Odchimar called on the faithful
to support the peace talks and
pray for its success “so that peace
is finally forged and armed con-
flicts are finally ended.”
He emphasized that peace is
everyone’s responsibility.
“Together, hence, let us show
as one, Filipinos can do what
seemed impossible, for no task is
insurmountable to the commit-
ted hearts and dedicated hands,”
he added.
The prelate called on the Fili-
pino people to mobilize efforts to
make a resounding declaration:
“WE WANT PEACE!”
“Peace has always been the
dream and aspiration of peoples.
And it is not elusive,” Odchimar
said.
The Phl government and the
MILF and the CPP-NPA-NDF,
respectively, have agreed to
resume the peace talks this
month.
Peace talks between the Philip-
declared as unconstitutional the sectoral group has initiated these
controversial Memorandum of days,” he was quoted saying. He
Agreement on Ancestral Domain described the activities as “both
(MOA-AD), while the govern- symbolic and substantive not
ment’s talks with the CPP had only to generate interests but
been stalled in 2005. more importantly, to deepen
“The resumption of the talks, our dedication to true and last-
therefore, is a golden opportunity ing peace.”
to finally put an end to the conflicts Odchimar said a Peace Walk
that have ‘held hostage’ the coun- will be held on Friday, Febru-
try’s development for so long, and ary 25 to commemorate the 1986
have created so many heartaches, EDSA People Power.
division and misery among our “Forums and discussions in
people,” Odchimar said. the national and community
The CBCP president also sup- levels will continue to be held
ported the call of Military Bishop to deepen understanding of
Leopoldo Tumulak for everyone to the issues at hand. Above all,
get involved in the peace efforts. together with my brother Bish-
“I implore everyone to make ops, I exhort you to consistently
FILE PHOTO

our earnest desire to achieve pine government and the MILF their personal commitments to and fervently pray for healing
peace. Time and again we have resulted in an impasse when in peace known, by supporting and peace in our land,” he said. Bishop Nereo Odchimar
shown the world that together August 2008, the Supreme court the peace activities that a multi- (Melo M. Acuna)

Environmental group calls for total mining ban Poverty pushes some OFWs to
MANILA, Feb. 24, 2011—An environ-
mental group has called for a “genuine”
moratorium to all large-scale mining
activities across the archipelago, in a
bid to salvage the remaining forests in
the country.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the
Environment (KPNE) made the appeal
in a forum, attended by environmental-
ists and conservationists at the Univer-
sity of the Philippines (UP) Institute of
Biology in Diliman, Quezon City.
Records show that many of the virgin
forests, especially those who are consid-
ered haven for various flora and fauna,
are being destroyed by mining activities
of different foreign-funded, but Filipino
managed, companies.
KPNE national coordinator Clem-
ente Bautista Jr., in a statement said,
that while cancellation of 600 mining
permit applications, is a welcome ges-
ture, President Benigno C. Aquino III
should also consider implementing a
total ban in mining, just like what he
did in logging.
Bautista also said that the cancelled
mining permit applications seem to be
dubious as it was not made to protect
the environment as some of the can-
celled permits are either cancelled due
to lack of necessary documents or the
mining proposal is deemed specula-
tive.
“After being ‘cleansed’ of old and
incomplete mining applications, areas
once closed will again be opened for
mining projects and operations. A
genuine mining moratorium is needed.
This will greatly help in the rehabilita-
tion and recovery [of] our degraded
environment. It will allow the replen-
ishing of our flora and fauna. Likewise,
the government should also hold ac-
countable mining companies like Mar-
copper in Marinduque, Oceana Gold
in Nueva Vizcaya, TVI in Zamboanga
del Norte, and KORES in Rapu-rapu,
become ‘drug mules’—CBCP official
Albay for the environmental destruc- MANILA, Feb. 21, 2011—An executive He said it is very probable that they
tion caused by their operations,” said of the Catholic Bishops Conference of get lured into becoming drug mules
Bautista. the Philippines said poverty and lack as soon as they are offered huge sums
Loi Manalasan, president of UP Ex- of opportunity to get high-paying jobs for “a small delivery” to places like
plore, meanwhile said that mining issue at home has led some Filipinos to give China.
is not only about saving trees, animals in to tempting offers from international Corros said a number of lessons can
or beautiful places in the Philippines but syndicates. be learned from the case of Filipinos
saving the future of the current and the Fr. Edwin Corros, Executive Secre- convicted of death in China.
next generations. tary of the CBCP’s Episcopal Commis- He thanked the Filipino nation for
“The youth should stand against large sion on Migrant and Itinerant People, the prayers that Chinese authorities
scale foreign mining operations before said poverty is a serious factor that suspend, if not commute the death
the time comes when what is left for us can push people to do even illegal sentence to life imprisonment.
to call our country is a wasteland left by things because they wanted to cash on Corros said countries like China are
the mining companies after taking our overseas employment at the soonest seriously implementing their laws,
mineral resources,” Manalansan said. possible time. which simply means, should the pen-
The group also urged Congress to “Another factor which one should alty calls for death, it will be implement-
repeal Mining Act of 1995 as it legalizes seriously consider is poverty – when ed. But he is thankful to the Chinese
green crimes such as environmental people cannot land decent and well- government for heeding the call of the
degradation and corporate plunder of paying jobs in the Philippines, they Filipino nation to defer the convicts’
the country’s natural resources. (Noel would seek employment elsewhere,” execution earlier scheduled today and
Sales Barcelona) he added. tomorrow. (CBCPNews)
 A4 Opinion CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

EDITORIAL

Springtime in the Arab world?

IS the popular uprising that started in Tunisia then Egypt and now
raging in Bahrain, Yemen and Libya a political virus that is infecting
the Arab countries? Or is it just that people are already weary of
overstaying regimes as in the case of Tunisia (21 years), Egypt (30
years), Libya (42 years) and Yemen (21 years), among others.
But by the likelihood of it, this could be a trailblazer of a new paradigm
of change that maybe tilting towards a more democratic way of life.
Judging from video footages seen on international TV, observers see
that most of the protesting crowds are young who seem not to be
manipulated by radical movements or extremists. In Egypt, for instance,
Muslims and Christians were rallying and praying together—defying
the practice of extremists of pitting them against each other.
What seem common in TV interviews, in blogs and social networks
is that young people in these countries have an overarching
motivation which is basically to be able to find job, to create a
family and to live with a minimum of decency. And, seemingly,
there has not been a whimper of extremism or even traces of Islamic
agenda. Seemingly there was no aggressiveness in the sense of
burning effigies of Uncle Sam or the trampling of the Israeli flag.
There has not been any attempt to kill or imprison the deposed
heads of governments who were known for wallowing in luxury
and corruption; they were condemned, yes, but allowed to go.
Of course, there is no denying that the internet is one of the bigger
factors in changing mentalities of the new generation in the Arab

Illustration by Bladimer Usi

world. The young people ofAmerica, for instance, and those of Yemen
compare notes and opinions which may not be necessarily identical
but definitely close to each other. Besides, the Arab world is very close
to Europe where people have relatives that have been assimilated into
France, Germany, Italy, England and others. People discover the chasm
of difference in lifestyle between them that live less than $2 a day, as
in Egypt, and their relatives in European countries.
Call this revolution in the Arab world an awakening, but there are
issues now that are coming out in the open—that is, at uprisings both Fr. James H. Kroeger, MM
Lent: Renewal in
in the streets and in social networks. One is the equality of men and
women. Another is the separation of the state from religion. This is
very crucial and may take a longer generational shift in worldview.
What seem visible now is that young people are fed up with the
conflicts of their parents, of the older generation. They just want to Living Mission Mission
live in peace, build their own families and have a more open and
developed nation, like the other parts of world. If such is the case,
then a springtime in the Arab world may be in the offing. CHRISTIANS know that Lent, of Lent the Gospel is always the material goods, conveniences, public figure?
Kuwaresma, is the forty-day pe- same; it is a Synoptic account of clothes, the latest gadgets (cam- Jesus’ third temptation in-
riod that begins on Ash Wednes- Jesus’ forty-day desert retreat eras, cell-phones, appliances, volves the devil taking him to a
day and ends with Easter. Lent and the temptations by the devil. etc.). Let’s face it: we are all lofty mountain and displaying
A faith reading of the changing context is a special time of renewal, a A close look at the temptations materialistic in both large and all the world before him. This
God-given opportunity of grace, reveals that they reflect life’s small ways. Do our material is a temptation to power. Jesus
FOLLOWING the pattern of PCP-II, we sought to discern God’s a golden moment—not to be basic challenges; they can be desires control us? Lent is an op- is tempted to gain power for
call to renewal within our changing historical and ecclesial context. missed! captured in three words, all be- portunity to examine ourselves selfish purposes. How do we
PCP-II pointed to the strengths and gifts of the Filipino people. It also The Lenten Prefaces of the ginning with the letter “p.” and the depth of our Christian use or abuse our power? Do we
indicated the ills of the nation stemming from tragically unbalanced liturgy note: “This great season First, Jesus, having been “bap- commitment. use our position, authority, and
economic and political structures and ambivalent cultural traits. of grace is your gift to your fam- tized” for his mission, is in the In the second temptation, the influence to be in mission and
Unfortunately much of what was said then is still true today. New ily to renew us in spirit…. You desert, fasting and praying for devil brings Jesus to a parapet truly serve others (e.g. poor, mi-
causes and factors have spawned new forms of the old ills. The ask us to express our thanks by forty days; he is hungry, he of the temple; Satan presents a grants, youth, squatters)? Do we
global economy, in tandem with superb new technologies and self-denial. We are to master wants food. The devil approach- temptation to prestige or pride. sometimes act as if we, not God,
means of social communications, has produced a global culture that our sinfulness and conquer our es with an enticing offer: just Jesus will be well-known and control the world and people?
has been radically changing the culture of Filipinos, especially of pride. We are to show to those make bread from stones. Jesus famous, honored and recognized Note carefully: we all are sub-
the young, even in rural areas. Individualism, materialism, a “feel in need your goodness to our- counters the offer by asserting as someone special, if he jumps ject to these temptations to want
good” morality are eroding civic and religious values. Respect selves.” Yes, Lent offers us an that true life comes from God’s and the angels come to rescue possessions, prestige, and pow-
for tradition, committed relationships and self-sacrificing love urgent opportunity for renewal in word, not from bread alone. him. How many of us are proud er. We all are selfish and proud.
are often sacrificed on the altar of pragmatism. New forms of our mission commitments. This first temptation deals and want to be in first place, have Thus, Lent is a grace-filled time
oppression of the poor are appearing, systematically blinding and Each year on the first Sunday with possessions. We all want worldly honors, be an important Living Mission / A7
enslaving their minds and hearts. Corruption in government has
reached scandalous proportions, as demonstrated by the scandal
of a presidential impeachment trial.
Sr. Mary Pilar Verzosa, RGS
The Church in the Philippines has, to our shame, also remained
unchanged in some respects. Due to weakness in formation and
In solidarity with our
education, the lack of defined diocesan pastoral directions and
programs, and deficiencies in structures, many prescriptions of PCP-II suffering brothers and Love Life
sisters
have not been implemented. But beyond these factors, we see that
failures in renewal have come from a deeper source: our hardness of
heart and resistance to conversion. We confess that among those who
make up the Church, even among some in positions of leadership and SONIA, 34 years old, got infected with HIV different male and female congregations and to reveal to his family his situation. When he
responsibility, the new attitudes, options, and lifestyles demanded by her Singaporean husband whom she Catholic organizations. This was spearhead- finally shared this with them, thinking that
by a Church that is Community of Disciples and Church of the met when she worked in Singapore. He ed by CBCP-NASSA, with Bishop Broderick they would accept him, having been their
Poor have all too often been honored in words but rejected in life. contracted the infection when he was in the Pabillo as the Chairperson, with Josephine breadwinner for so many years, he was met
Moreover, largely due to inaction, uncritical acceptance of values Navy, and died a few months of full blown Ignacio as the Executive Director. with angry words and his father running
and patterns of behavior of the dominant society, lack of consistent AIDS before their one and only son, also died Of great significance was the sharing of the after him with a bolo. Luckily, he claims,
witnessing, we, as Church have to confess some responsibility for
of AIDS at the age of four. It was when their speaker, the DOH representative in charge he was referred to this support group who
many of the continuing ills of Philippine society.
son was newly born and diagnosed of having of HIV-AIDS Prevention Program. She said has assisted him to seek for medication from
We rejoice, however, in the perseverance and increase of many HIV that she was required to have a blood that in 2007, there was only one new case of DOH. As we know the “ARV” medication
movements of renewal in Philippine society that have promoted test, to be told that she was also carrying HIV HIV infection diagnosed each day. This 2011, does not cure AIDS but only strengthens the
the causes of women, the youth, farmers, laborers, fisher folk, the in her body. She was full of bitterness then, there are more than five new cases of HIV per immunity of the patient and delays onset
urban poor, overseas workers, families, tribal communities and the especially when the relatives of her husband day (National Epidemiology Center, DOH). of AIDS. By the way, that Malaysian has
environment. We rejoice, too, that in the Church many committed got all her property and finances from her, Majority of the new cases are men from already passed away of AIDS.
lay people, religious women and men, priests, bishops, Catholic thinking that she would die of AIDS anyway, ages 18 to 25, involving MSM (men having The last storyteller was Jason, 26 years
communities and institutions have sustained efforts to effect then sent her back penniless to the Philip- sex with men) and those injecting drugs by old. He was working very well in a Call
renewal through faith formation, the building of Basic Ecclesial pines. She said that she found hope and sharing infected needles. Center when he was offered a job abroad.
Communities, livelihood and political education programs, and meaning in life only when she joined the This was the situation of Rolly, the other He was diagnosed with HIV when he
election monitoring, to name a few. Furthermore, the just concluded support group organized by PHILCHAN. person who shared his story. He was 27 underwent the medical and laboratory re-
Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 and the three years of intensive These past years, she has been giving talks years old. In order to earn and have more quirements for a working visa. His family
preparation before it filled our local churches with the blessings on HIV-AIDS prevention especially to the to send to his poor family in the province got to know of his situation only when he
of purification of memory, active love of the poor and the earth, youth. since his salary as hospital employee was got confined for side effects of the medica-
renewed awareness of and commitment to mission, and deepened
hope. Still more recently, in the dramatic events of People Power I heard this story from Sonia herself when not enough, he lived-in with a Malaysian tion he was taking. As his physician-sister
II, we witnessed and experienced the gift of national and moral she gave her testimony during the First Na- man who supported him. Out of pity for was watching him, she got to know what he
renewal which God empowered the Filipinos to receive. tional Assembly of PHILCHAN ( Philippine a patient who needed blood, he offered to was really sick of, so a family meeting was
Catholic HIV and AIDS Network) held at San donate. It was when he was being routinely held by his bedside. His parents embraced
“Behold I make all things new” (Rev 21:5) Juan de Dios Educational Center last Feb- checked as blood donor that it was discov- him and showed full support, even invit-
ruary 10. There were 150 participants from ered he had HIV. It took a long time for him Love Life / A7
Message of the National Pastoral Consultation On Church
Renewal, 2001
Fr. Roy Cimagala
Low road to freedom,
Candidly Speaking rights, etc.
www.cbcpmonitor.com
cbcpmonitor@cbcpworld.net

Pedro C. Quitorio
Editor-in-Chief
Pinky Barrientos, FSP
PUBLICATION LAYOUT BY KRIS BAYOS
I’VE said it many times before
that I’m already tired comment-
ing on issues like population
control, birth control and family
planning that are now rehashed
Kris Bayos by the term reproductive health
Features Editor (RH), and even more lately, by
the deodorized term, responsible
Gloria Fernando parenthood.
To me, the right and wrong of
spokesperson a few days ago just
managed to do just that.
As usual, the letter tries hard
to sound nice, reasonable and
fair. But it cannot hide for long
the venom that inspired it. In the
end, it said that with or without
the bishops, the feminists will
win this revolution about their
so-called rights and freedom to
the bishops to silence. They have
branded the bishops as noth-
ing less than ‘moralists,’ a term
they love to hate. Worse, it’s a
given that since bishops are men,
they cannot fully understand
women’s concerns.
That’s because in their world-
view, things should just have to
depend on what is popular, prac-
morals.
The bishops have no other
interest, although what they of-
fer obviously have many human
implications and consequences,
political, economic, social, etc.
Their voice simply tries to con-
vey the voice of God, insofar as
God’s will impacts on our hu-
man affairs.

Associate Editor Marketing Supervisor

these issues, their good and bad
Melo M. Acuña Ernani M. Ramos points insofar as their morality
Managing Editor Circulation Manager is concerned are quite clear. But
since, some people continue in
Roy Q. Lagarde Marcelita Dominguez
News Editor Comptroller
their bullheadedness to blur the
line, I just have to drag myself
to life again to contribute to the
debate with some clarifications.
The CBCP Monitor is published fortnightly by the CBCP Communica- Thus, reactions of feminist
tions Development Foundation, Inc., with editorial and business offices groups on the recent statement
at 470 Gen. Luna St., Intramuros, Manila. P.O. Box 3601, 1076 MCPO.
Editorial: (063) 404-2182. Business: (063)404-1612.; ISSN 1908-2940 of the bishops about the RH Bill
have roused me again to some
action. A letter by a feminist
do whatever they want to do
with their bodies in so far as RH
is concerned.
What pride and arrogance! I
was expecting that, of course,
from the start of their letter. The
wild feminist obstinacy unfortu-
nately continues. And the main
reason is that they see things
differently.
For them, bishops cannot
meddle in issues like the RH Bill.
If they have their way, they gag
tical, convenient, political, social,
economic, cultural, personal, or
simply what they want to prefer,
feminist or macho-leaning, etc.
Out with the faith and morals,
out with Church interventions.
They like to paint themselves
as democratic, and this is how
they show it. They don’t listen to
the bishops, they refuse to tackle
what the bishops have to offer,
and that can only distinctively
be considerations of faith and
If these feminists, who like to
brand themselves also as Chris-
tians, try to study their Christian
faith, they will realize that the
authority of the bishops comes
from Christ through the apostles
and their successors.
I wonder what authority these
feminists have. Obviously, they
will claim theirs comes from the
people. But the power of the people
to hand some authority to certain
Candidly Speaking/ A6
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
Oscar V. Cruz, DD
Views and Points
EDSA I was wonderful for the
country, a pride of the Filipino
people. It was the end-result of
a prolonged rude rule. It was
the ultimate effect of incarnate
self-service in a public office.
It was the blessed birth of the
so called “People Power” that
these days seems to find more
and more expressions in nations
under decades of dictatorial
governments. It was in particu-
lar, the concrete demonstration
that it is in the civil community
that power and influence really
reside—notwithstanding all pre-
tenses of royalties, dictators and
politicos to the contrary.
Except for those who benefited
well and much thereafter with
the onset of a new government,
it was the immediate post-Edsa
regime that undermined the
bright promise of the search for
truth. The promise of justice, the
reign of peace—not to mention
the strong expectation of prog-
ress and development. But then,
for those who still remember,
when people aired their cry for
food, shelter and clothing, the
incumbent leadership retorted
something to this effect: You
already have freedom! You
already have democracy! What
else do you want? What else do
you need?
This in no way is meant to
belittle the few key characters
and millions of ordinary citizens
that made EDSA 1 an unforget-
table reality, a historical land-
mark. This is merely intended
to say the truth that respects no
Opinion
Post EDSA l: one big
lost opportunity
party, excludes no person. This
is simply intended to bring out
the stark difference between the
EDSA 1 phenomenon and the
subsequent executive branch of
government that took over the
governance of the Republic. To
say that it was a big dismay, is
saying it mildly.
The Hacienda Luisita became
a big “legal” deal, although it
was proudly claimed by the
then administration that Agrar-
ian Reform was precisely the
centerpiece of the ruling gov-
ernment as a whole. The Men-
diola Massacre took place as a
consequence thereof such that
some citizens who joined the
EDSA 1, was violently deprived
of their lives. The infamous
“Kamag-anak Inc.”, became a
Fr. Carmelo O. Diola, SSL
by-word when the rah-rah boys
of the Martial Law author and
executor were dethroned and
the go-go kin constituents of
the succeeding national leader-
ship took over. To these days
and time: the hacienda remains
a curse. The massacre rests
unsolved. The Kamag-anak are
somehow still around. This is
not to mention the some six or
more coup ventures that took
place then.
MABUHAY EDSA I—the
individuals who started it, the
characters who promoted it,
the critical mass of Filipino who
completed it! What a demonstra-
tion of a peaceful revolution!
What a display of public unity
and solidarity! What a people—
the Filipinos!
A5
Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS
…and that’s the truth
Looking forward to
Year 2036?
IT’S been 25 years since the “bloodless revolution” that amazed
the whole world and glorified this tiny archipelago “some-
where in Asia.” Each year we’d celebrate the “restoration of de-
mocracy” in the country, and the rest of each year the headlines
in this poverty-stricken third world country would continue
to reek of crime and corruption—and of late, of kidnappings,
terrorism, abuse of power, political patronage, etc.
After a quarter of a century celebrating that supposedly
life-changing event, where are we now? I’m not being cynical,
just reflecting reality. Especially since I’m rereading a 25-year
old article published shortly after “EDSA 1” which, I honestly
believe, is a sobering reminder particularly for our leaders
at this point in history. The following article is titled “What
miracle? What glory?” by Magdalena Torres.
It is interesting to note that in spite of the “miracle at EDSA”
the people of this only Christian nation in Asia have remained
loyal to anyone but Christ. Note the various factions we are
thanking for the so called “bloodless revolution.” Believers in
the US supremacy maintain that it is the American intervention
in Philippine affairs that saved the Filipinos from a bloodbath.
Fans of the Enrile-Ramos block insist that the “bloodless

Yes! We Choose Life

I HAD never heard of Leoniver until a few
days ago when one of his classmates told
me about him.
Leoniver (his real name) is a 21-year old
student, a third year political science major
in one of the universities in Cebu. The young
man is quite up-to-date in current events and
is a history buff. He is an avid reader and
interacts quite actively with his classmates.
His friend describes him as confident and
generous.
He is also physically blind. He lost his
sight at age one and a half years old due to
chicken pox and measles that destroyed the
pupils of his eyes.
Late last year, he asked his classmate
if she was “doing anything about the RH
bill.” He said he had initially favored the
bill because of what he heard from people
who supported it. He was made to believe it
is only trying “to promote medication espe-
cially for women who will be obliged to take
pills, complete with doctor’s prescription,
for their health.” Based on this assumption,
he agreed that the bill “should oblige gov-
ernment agencies to conduct seminars on
women’s health.”
After reading the bill and listening to
another perspective, Leoniver realized that
it would “actually promote abortion since
certain contraceptives prevent the implanta-
tion of a fertilized egg into the uterine wall
thus killing this foundation of life.”
He also realized the bill will “turn people
like dogs since distributing pills or contra-
ceptive is the same as saying you can have
sex anytime with anyone as long as you
don’t get pregnant.” For him this promotes
immorality.
Furthermore, the bill takes away parental
authority over their children. Parents cannot
anymore control their children’s access to
contraceptives. If children want to use it they
don’t need to have their parent’s consent.
The value of the family is lost even as the
same happens to the relationship between
Fr. Russell Bantiles
husband and wife. The bill promotes a
“kanya-kanya attitude.”
Doubtless, some readers would dismiss
Leoniver’s views as simplistic and even out-
of-touch with the times.
But is this really so? Have they really read
and pondered upon the consequences of
House Bill 4244 or any of its precedents?
Doubtless, some readers would also dis-
miss this article as the close-minded, unfeel-
ing views of someone representing a group
of men and women who do not experience
the travails of family life.
But is this really so? After all, we all do
come from families. I am one of eight chil-
dren. Growing up, we did not have many
material comforts but we had faith, each
other, and a society built on good moral val-
ues. We loved each other and shared hope.
I started to read various versions of the RH
bill since 2008 to prepare for an unexpected
assignment in a university forum. I saw
ominous handwritings on the wall as some
key words used in the bill are common fare in
the abortion lobby. Is this, in truth, a Trojan
horse? Don’t you change mindsets before
you change behavior? And is not language
a carrier of mindsets?
Nevertheless, I also felt sad because the
bill also contained needed provisions for the
welfare of women and children. I felt bad
because I saw that underlying the formula-
tion of the proposed law was an either-or
spirit, as if mother and child, husbands and
wives, parents and children, are natural en-
emies. I also felt betrayed because the bill’s
proponents had so packaged the bill that one
is forced, so to speak, to “burn the whole
house in order to roast the pig,” to use the
words of a lawyer.
I refused to demonize those who did not
share my views, even as some proponents
from both sides lost civility. I know a God-
given conscience is embedded in all of us
and conscience formation, fed by right in-
formation and moral teachings, is a journey
King of Abortion; Hero
revolution” would not have happened without their heroes’
crucial change of heart. Marcos sympathizers assert that there
Spaces of Hope surely would have been bloodshed had it not been for Marcos’
love for his people. A foreign correspondent writes that the
television cameras (notably those which recorded for world-
wide viewing the Marcos-Ver “debate”) are to be credited for
towards the truth.
actually having prevented carnage among our people. And
A few days ago, I read HB 4244, the latest
advocates of “people’s power,” led by the involved clergy, of
version of the bill. I agree with the CBCP
course, are just as quick in claiming it is “our rosaries” that
statement on the bill and its panel’s decision
brought about the “miracle.”
not to continue dialogue with RH bill propo-
While each may be valid in its own right, all these claims,
nents. Let me share some reasons why.
however, have one thing in common; they all attribute the al-
Section 28 on “Prohibited Acts” sub-
most bloodless revolution to human cause, thus further divid-
section (e) includes “any person who mali-
ing this Christian nation into segments none of which seems to
ciously engages in misinformation about the
have absorbed the message of Christ from the “miracle.”
intent or provisions of this Act.” Does this
I recently bumped into a priest I had not seen for months.
mean that once the law is implemented, any
To my smiling “How are you?” he exclaimed, “We’ve won!
contrary view is prohibited? Is pro-choice
We’ve won! It’s over! All efforts didn’t go to waste! Marcos
about having it my way and smothering all
is out!”
contrary views? Is this what People Power is
I must admit it struck me dumb, but only because I was ask-
all about? Why should doctors who will not,
ing inside, “Lord, where is this country headed if all the evils
in conscience, provide the services called for
our priests cared to fight are those outside ourselves?” But I
by law, be penalized, cf. sub-section (a)? If
quickly rode along and asked him, “We’ve won? You mean,
the law is really founded on truth, is not the
we’re now all on the side of God?”
splendor of truth its own convincing power?
The priest, unsmiling now, blurted out, “What do you mean
Why penalize (section 29)?
we’re now on the side of God? We won because God has
Furthermore, as Leoniver has noted, why
always been on our side, right from the start!”
indeed is a wedge of division being inserted
I switched to another topic, but the brief encounter was to
among members of the family and why is
flash on and on in my mind, like a yellow traffic light that
parental authority weakened, cf. sub-section
wouldn’t be turned off.
(a.2)? Why introduce a foreign mentality that
I view the “miracle at EDSA” as an act of Divine Mercy, a
highlights conflict? “Kanya-kanya” indeed.
blanket absolution granted to an unrepentant nation of blind
Section 10 defines “family planning sup-
followers and blind leaders.
plies as essential medicines.” Is getting
Imagine what would have happened had events pursued
pregnant then a disease? Can people prog-
the logical conclusion our human actions were leading them
ress when their collective consciousness is
to. We had sown so much hatred around us then that we de-
supposed to tell them they are the fruits of a
served nothing less than a national tragedy to make us learn
disease? This is absurd and looks at life as an
our lesson, yet God chose to send us His love instead, and
enemy to be vanquished rather than a gift.
like the proverbial rain that falls on the both the just and the
I could go on, like asking what is the eco-
unjust, His forgiving hand came to preserve a whole nation
nomic basis of the proposed ideal family size
bent on destroying itself. In that momentous event that nobody
of two (section 20), but let me end by visiting
expected, Jesus Christ—with knuckles swollen from knocking
some salient points of the CBCP 30 January
on the door of our hearts—once more cried, “Let me in!” And
2011 statement. What is striking about it is
He is still weeping, because our hearts have remained shut.
that it focuses on the Philippine Constitution.
We are back in the rat race, and human folly may yet reduce
The bishops are right in insisting that the RH
the “miracle at EDSA” into just another tool for attracting
bill violates the fundamental law of the land.
tourists’ dollars to our shores. In the euphoria following this
The bishops also point out that the moral
Christian nation’s miraculous escape from a bloody confronta-
perspective is a missing link. The bishops
tion, Christ is all but forgotten. Our idolatry goes on. A lady
and Leoniver agree. So is a growing number
president is deified as “a goddess in the Pantheon of democ-
of individuals and groups who see the major
racy,” lionized as a “Joan of Arc in a yellow tunic.” We’re still
Spaces of Hope / A6
groveling before our colonizers as the true guardian of our
welfare. We’re still counting on men with guns to bring us
peace. We continue to take the word of the media—especially
foreign media—as gospel truth. In a mad play for power we
threaten to draw the blood we claim our fallen idol refused

of Life
to shed. And we are in greater danger than ever of clinging

“DE ‘rey del aborto’ a héroe de
la vida’,” (From being a “King
of abortion” to being a “Hero of
life”) is how Monsignor Fran-
cisco Gil Hellín, archbishop of
Burgos (Spain), describes Dr.
Bernard Nathanson, an Ameri-
can medical doctor from New
York, who died of cancer last
February 21, 2011. He was 84.
Perhaps not many in our coun-
try (or in our archdiocese) knew
him a lot. But the story of his
life and his conversion is worth
reflecting today, especially in the
midst of our struggle to defend
life and family. Here are some
interesting facts about him.
Those who know Dr. Na-
thanson don’t ignore the fact
that he was a pro-choice activist
who gained national attention
by becoming one of the found-
ing members of the National
Association for the Repeal of
Abortion Laws (later renamed
the National Abortion Rights
Action League, and now known
as NARAL Pro-Choice America).
But perhaps only a few knew
how it all started.
It all started when his girl-
friend became pregnant and
did not want to go on with her
pregnancy. The plight of preg-
nant women who had to resort to
clandestine abortion frequently
done by less professional gy-
necologists has touched the
doctor’s sensibility and moved
him, Betty Freidan and others
to promote the legalization of
abortion in the US by founding
Cogito
in 1968 what is now known as
NARAL Pro-Choice America.
After five years they got what
they wanted, for in 1973, with
the controversial Roe vs. Wade
decision, the US Supreme Court
legalized the practice of abor-
tion. Dr. Nathanson himself
described in three steps their tac-
tics for achieving efficiently and
rapidly their aim. (I am quoting
here Archbishop Gil who knew
personally Dr. Nathanson).
First, take control of the mass
media of communications. “We
convinced them that the pro-
abortion cause favored a pro-
gressive liberalism and we saw
to it that they get familiar with
the statistics and survey results
which they published”, he said.
The mass media also got familiar
with the number of illegal abor-
tions and they often changed
the digits from a hundred thou-
sand to a million. He stated that
the numbers he once cited for
NARAL concerning the num-
ber of deaths linked to illegal
abortions were “false figures”.
This falsity has been oftentimes
repeated and published in mass
media until it became accepted
as a hard truth.
Second, “revile and humiliate
the Church, calling Her social
doctrines as reactionary; and we
ascribe to the Church hierarchy
the role of being the principal
antagonist among those who op-
pose permissive abortion”. Dr.
Nathanson himself wrote: “The
drums of mass media had con-
vinced the American people that
whatever opposition to abortion
comes from the Catholic hier-
archy and that pro-abortionists
who are Catholics are the ones
really intelligent and progres-
sivists”. The third fundamental
tactic was to ignore or to despise
whatever scientific finding that
somehow supports that life be-
gins at conception.
But in 1970’s, thanks to the
development of ultrasound
technology, Dr. Nathanson had
the chance to observe a real-time
abortion, an experience which
led him to reconsider his views
on abortion. He discovered that
indeed there is life in develop-
ment within the mother’s womb
and that abortion in fact is mur-
der. He said, “As a scientist, it’s
not that I simply believe it, but I
know that human life begins at
conception and requires the pro-
tection that any of us needs.”
Dr. Nathanson is often quot-
ed as saying abortion is “the
most atrocious holocaust in the
history of the United States”.
He authored the book Abort-
ing America in which he first
exposed what he called “the
dishonest beginnings of the
abortion movement”. In 1984,
he directed and narrated a film
which tackles abortion, titled
The Silent Scream, in coopera-
tion with the National Right to
Life Committee. His second
documentary Eclipse of Reason
dealt with late-term abortions.
In his 1996 autobiography,
Hand of God, the “hero of life”
narrates his previous work as an
abortionist and abortion rights
activist, saying, “I am one of
those who helped usher in this
barbaric age”. He developed
what he called the “vector theory
of life”, which states that from
the moment of conception, there
exists “a self-directed force of life
that, if not interrupted, will lead
to the birth of a human baby”.
When asked how is it that
before crystal-clear scientific
findings, not all doctors follow
his example and still practice
abortion, Dr. Nathanson replied:
“It is just a question of arithme-
tic. For 300 dollars a woman may
abort her child. In the US, there
are one and a half million abor-
tions each year. This implies that
it is a lucrative business which
could even produce at least 500
million dollars annually. And
the greater part of this amount
goes to the pocket of the practic-
ing doctors”.
God has rewarded Dr. Na-
thanson’s pro-life efforts. In
1996, he was baptized in the
Catholic Church and since then
lived the life of a fervent Catho-
lic. May his life story give us
something to think about. In the
words of Archbishop Gil, “es un
caso típico de cómo las personas
pueden cambiar si se abren a la
verdad científica y a la gracia”
(His is a typical case of how per-
sons could change only if they
open themselves up to scientific
truth and to God’s grace).
to our pagan ways to bring about Utopia. How thankless can
we be, that even in “gratitude” we must grab the glory for
ourselves?
“But we thanked God for the miracle, didn’t we?” Perhaps
a million of us would cry thus, citing one impassioned cel-
ebration at the park where we flew balloons and shamelessly
hailed Cory with much greater zeal than we’ve ever done for
Mary. And we go on “thanking God,” here and abroad, all
the while betraying our lack of consideration for Christ by
discarding the season’s liturgical purple in favor of a political
color. Feverish with false joys and unexamined victories we
come to our houses of worship burning with politics instead
of prayer. We call this thanksgiving?
How much longer must we remain deaf to Christ? How
can God’s kingdom come when we do not want to dethrone
ourselves in our hearts? The “miracle at EDSA” is not a reward
for our efforts. It is part of a Divine Plan for this only Christian
nation in Asia: God allowed the evil in us to drag us down to
such depths so that we may finally see that only He can lift us
up again. How can it be a reward when all our efforts were
leading us to hatred and divisiveness?
Let us be humble and admit that we did not cause the
miracle—it was God who willed to save us from ourselves in
spite of the self-serving prayers we uttered when we found
our necks stuck on the chopping block. How dare us say our
actions, our prayers, prevented bloodshed? Who moved us to
pray when blood threatened to rain on our picnic?
What a shame that the face of Christ continues to be spat
upon in a Christian nation! We are not thanking God at all—
we are merely using His gift to puff up our egos. Since the
“miracle” we’ve been boasting: I was there. I’m proud to be a
Filipino. Look at these pictures―that’s me in front of the tank.
Galing, ano? Two days ago, at a movie house, I sat next to man
wearing a yellow shirt that says “I WAS A HUMAN BARRI-
CADE” in big bold red letters. I found it ironic that someone
who could stop advancing tanks could not stop himself from
littering his surroundings with butong-pakwan shells.
It is saddening to think that in spite of the miracle we have
remained slaves of sin and habit―looking around, the danger
signs are everywhere. Did this Christian nation merely change
her dress for the benefit of the foreign media? Thanking God
for a miracle means acknowledging God as the only Power in
our lives. This Power deserves more than just token gratitude.
What is a miracle for if it comes into our eyes and our ears and
goes out of our mouths without touching our hearts? Did God
and that’s the truth / A6
 Local News
CBCP Monitor
A6 Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

CBCP pulls out of Senate

RH bill consultation
THE Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Philippines (CBCP) formally “dis-
engaged” itself from a consultation
with a Senate committee crafting the
reproductive health (RH) bill.
A CBCP representative to the Senate
Committee on Health and Demogra-
phy’s technical working group (TWG)
claimed that their presence was already
futile.Atty. Jo Imbong, CBCP Legal
Counsel, said that the decision was made
in consonance with the CBCP’s uncom-
promising stand against the RH bill as
stated in its Jan. 31 pastoral letter.
“The CBCP cannot lend its voice to a
measure that undermines fundamental
rights and the ideals and aspirations of
Filipinos as written in the Constitution,”
Imbong said.
“very cordial” as she informed the body
of the CBCP’s decision to inhibit itself
from the consultation.
“We have to do that because the
CBCP pastoral letter strongly rejects
RH bill so there’s no more point for us
in participating in the Senate committee
process,” she said.
After all, Imbong added, the consulta-
tion simply revealed how far apart their
respective positions are.
This is not the first time that CBCP
called off its participation in the said
dialogue.
In February 2009, Imbong and other
church representatives walked out of a
hearing on the Senate version of the con-
troversial RH bill claiming that there was
“blatant disregard” of their concerns.

© Roy Lagarde / CBCPMedia

The CBCP official said it was sup-
posed to be the TWG’s first meeting
led by the chief of staff of Sen. Pia
Cayetano, chairperson of the said com-
mittee, together with anti and pro-RH
bill advocates.
But Imbong said the meeting was
They said that supporters of the mea-
sure were ramming the draft of the bill
like “traditional politicians.”
In a recent pastoral letter, the bishops
called on the public to oppose the passage
of the bill, which according to them, is a
Caption: Legal Counsel Atty. Jo Imbong represents the CBCP to the Senate Committee on Health and Demography’s technical working group.
form of “moral corruption.(CBCPNews)

20k rally in Bacolod,

IPs / A1
ment (KIRED). the FTAA granted to a foreign Oceana Gold!” he declared.
Buay recalled what mining has company in view of the gross Villena said the diocese will

burn RH bill effigy

THOUSANDS of demonstrators
have marched through major
streets in Bacolod City on Tues-
day to protest against a birth
control measure.
In the rally, families with
young children carried banners,
Vatican flags and placards and
chanted “No to RH bill! Yes to
life!”
The bill, already approved
by the House Committee on
Rules, requires the government
to make a comprehensive range
of contraceptives more widely
available to the public.
At present, lawmakers are
gearing for debates at the House
of Representatives on March 1,
a week after the House com-
mittee on appropriations ap-
proved funding provisions of
the measure.
“We call on the government,
both the legislative and ex-
ecutive branches, to carefully
consider the matter and to stop
pushing this unconstitutional
measure,” the rallyists said in a
manifesto.
Organized by the Citizens’
Alliance for the Protection of
the Human Life (CAPHL), pro-
testers came from various civil
society organizations and faith-
based groups.
The interfaith organization is
headed by Bacolod City Council-
or Lyndon Cana as chairman and
Catholic Bishop Vicente Navarra
as honorary chairman.
Other city officials led by
Mayor Evelio Leonardia and
Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus
Sayson and Bacolod Rep. An-
thony Golez also joined the mass
action.
The presence of representa-
tives from the Iglesia Filipina
Independiente, Born Again
Christians and other Evangelical
and Baptist churches were also
notable during the rally.
The rally was capped with the
burning of a giant octopus effigy
bearing an RH bill sign at the Ba-
colod City Plaza. (CBCPNews)
done on the ancestral lands of IPs
in Benguet and Ifugao, saying he
did not want the same to happen
in their territory.
The Diocese of Bayombong
and anti-mining groups held a
press conference on Feb. 28 in
celebration of the Commission
on Human Rights’ (CHR) Reso-
lution urging the withdrawal
of Oceana Gold mining permit
in Barangay Didipio, in Kasibu
town of Nueva Vizcaya.
Bayombong Bishop Ramon
Villena presided a Holy Mass at
St. Dominic de Guzman Cathe-
dral prior to the conference.
“We are one with the CHR
headed by Chairperson Loretta
Ann Rosales in the commis-
sion’s resolve to recommend
to the government under the
new administration to consider
the probable withdrawal of
violations of human rights it has
committed,” Villena said.
In a resolution released on
January 10, CHR declared that
Oceana Gold Philippines, Inc.
(OGPI) violated the “the right to
adequate housing and property
rights”; “the right to freedom of
movement”; “the right not to be
subjected to arbitrary interfer-
ence”; “the right to security of
persons”; and “the right of the
indigenous community to mani-
fest their culture and identity”.
Tolentino Inlab, who heads
the IP organization Didipio
Earth Savers Multi-purpose As-
sociation (DESAMA) called for
the scrapping of FTAA.
“We call on these corpora-
tions and the government, to
stop all forms of human rights
violations. We say: No to large-
scale mining. Scrap the FTAA of
continue the fight to stop min-
ing in Didipio and other areas
endangered by mining applica-
tion.
“We will not relent nor give
up. Our battle cry lives on: NO
TO MINING, YES TO LIFE!” he
stressed.
About 1,000 people and vari-
ous organizations, including
SALAKNIB—Salakniban ti
Lubong, Aglawlaw ken Kar-
bengan dagiti Umili ti Nueva
Vizcaya, Alyansa Tigil Mina,
Task Force Detainees – Philip-
pines (TFDP), Legal Rights and
Natural Resources Center (LRC),
and Philippine Human Rights
Information Center (PhilRights),
participated in the activities.
Organizers also put up a photo
exhibit at the cathedral high-
lighting the ill-effects of large-
scale mining. (CBCPNews)

Marriage / A1 Alabang / A1

rites instead or offer the sacrament
for free.
Wanted: More priests
The pope also stressed the demand
for more priests in the predominant
Catholic country in Asia.
Despite a worldwide increase of
Catholic priests, Benedict XVI said the
need for “more dedicated servants of
Christ” is still a “pressing” issue in
the Philippines.
He said that in many dioceses the
number of priests and the correspond-
ing number of parishes is not enough
to meet the spiritual needs in the
country.
“With you, I therefore pray that
young Filipinos who feel called to
the priesthood and the religious
life will respond generously to the
promptings of the Spirit,” the pope
said.
But Benedict XVI said he is “pleased”
to note of local initiatives in fostering
numerous vocations to the priesthood
and the religious life.
“May the Church’s mission of evan-
gelization be sustained by the wonder-
ful gifts which the Lord offers to those
whom he calls!” he said.
“In your turn, as Pastors you will
wish to offer these young vocations
a well-developed and carefully ap-
plied plan of integral formation so
that their initial inclination towards a
life of service to Christ and his faithful
may come to full spiritual and human
maturity.”
The Vatican earlier said that the
number of priests in the world has
increased consistently over the past
decade.
There are more than 5,000 more
Catholic priests globally in 2009 than
there were in 1999, according to of-
ficial Church statistics.
Lay organizations
The 83-year old pope also lauded
the bishops and the basic ecclesial
communities in the country for its
“positive impact throughout the
country.”
“When formed and guided by
people whose motivating force is the
love of Christ, these communities
have proven themselves to be worthy
tools of evangelization as they work
in conjunction with local parishes,”
he said.
Similarly, he said, the Church in the
Philippines is fortunate to have a num-
ber of lay organizations “which con-
tinue to draw people to the Lord.”
In order to confront the questions
of our times, the pope said the laity
needs to hear the Gospel message “in
its fullness.”
“I therefore urge you to take special
care in shepherding such groups, so
that the primacy of God may remain in
the forefront,” he told the bishops.
More so, Benedict XVI also re-
minded the Philippine bishops to
strengthen the evangelization of the
youth.
“I am happy to note that, in your
country, the faith plays a very impor-
tant role in the lives of many young
people, a fact that is due in large part
to the patient work of the local Church
to reach out to the youth at all levels,”
said the pope.
“I encourage you to continue to re-
mind young people that the glamour
of this world will not satisfy their nat-
ural desire for happiness,” he said.
Ayala Alabang Village in Muntinlupa
City that regulates the use of contra-
ceptives.
“Let us not standby watching
while our fellow pro-lifers from
Barangay Ayala Alabang are being
bashed and ridiculed for passing a
Barangay law that bans hormonal
contraceptives, regulates the use
of condoms,” Manalang said over
Radyo Veritas.
Barangay Ordinance No. 01, Series
of 2011, seeks, among others, to pe-
nalize the sale and purchase of “anti-
conceptional substance or devices,”
like condoms and pills, without a
prescription.
“For the protection of the unborn
and the institutions of marriage and
family, no abortifacients shall be
prescribed by health care providers
within the territorial jurisdiction of
the barangay,” part of the ordinance
read.
The measure also requires baran-
gay health care providers to only
use “safe, ethical, effective, legal and
non-abortifacient” drugs, devices or
methods of treatment.
Under the ordinance, funds dis-
bursed for programs to support
responsible parenthood will only
be used to promote natural fam-
ily planning services to married
couples.
The ordinance also requires the
establishment of crisis pregnancy cen-
ters that would provide counseling,
medical and material support to those
“experiencing a crisis pregnancy.
The policy also bars teaching com-
pulsory sex education in public and
private schools within the jurisdiction
of the barangay without prior consul-
tation with, and written permission
of, the parents or guardians of minor
students.
Manalang lauded the ordinance
saying it should serve as a model to
other barangay officials who believe
that “life is sacred.”
“Let’s promote exclusively
Natural Family Planning which the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the
Philippines promotes. Show your
support by helping pass similar
ordinances all over the country,” he
said. (CBCPNews)

Railroading / A1 Priest / A1 Suspends / A1

Proponents of the bill are
confident the measure on family
planning will be approved in the
House before the 15th Congress
adjourns in June.
But Aniceto said the bishops
are trying everything they can
to convince their respective con-
gressmen to reject the RH bill.
“We are trying our best in our
dialogues with our respective
congressmen. I believe our
congressmen are intelligent
and educated,” said Aniceto.
(CBCPNews)
not used by political leaders and
law enforcers,” Dimoc said.
The priest underscored that
the new parish policy is sup-
ported by the Pastoral Coun-
cil of Lagawe Mission Station
(PCLMS) and the Ifugao clergy
during their meeting last year.
Prior to its implementation,
he clarified that the pastoral
policy was also discussed and
approved in a district meeting
of Ifugao clergy.
Last December, Dimoc said he
also mentioned the rule many
times in his sermons especially
during the Dawn Masses and
during the New Year’s Mass.
Gambling—such as playing
card games—is one of the typical
activities practiced in the Philip-
pines especially in the provinces
during wakes to pass the time
and keep people awake.
The bereaved families also
opt that it be allowed because
gaming contributions help them
assuage the expenses they in-
curred for burying the dead.
(CBCPNews)
Bishop Nereo Odchimar sent
a letter to President Benigno
Aquino, informing him of the
CBCP’s decision to suspend
the talks.
“In view, however, of the
pastoral letter that the Catholic
Bishops issued on the matter
last January 31, and considering
the speed in the ongoing legisla-
tive processes both in the Lower
House and the Senate, I deem it
prudent to suspend in the mean-
time further talks with the Execu-
tive Department,” he said.
Odchimar, however, thanked
Aquino for his immediate re-
sponse to the bishops’ ear-
lier invitation for dialogue on
the controversial reproductive
health issues.
He said the suspension of
the CBCP’s participation in the
dialogue “is primarily due to
the ongoing visitatio ad limina
apostolorum of the Philippine
bishops with the Holy Father,
according to the schedule set by
the Holy See.”
Odchimar said the next regu-
lar meeting of the CBCP Perma-
nent Council, which will pro-
vide the bishops the opportunity
to address the developments,
will still take place on the last
week of March.
Meantime, he called on the
chief executive to “pray for the
Lord’s guidance as we strive to
promote the temporal and spiri-
tual welfare of our citizens.”
(Melo M. Acuna)

Candidly Speaking / A4 Spaces of Hope / A5 and that’s the truth / A5

leaders, where does it come from?
Alas, this, I think, is the real problem
we have. Many of us have practically
lost our faith. Many of us have ceased
to be believers of God and have turned
to be self-believers.
Instead of the doctrines of our faith,
many of us now rely more on our hu-
man reasons and estimations of what is
good and true. Many of us prefer to be
guided by our personal opinions and
human consensus, rather than what
God and his Church teach us.
Thus, many of us like polls and
surveys. These instruments of human
views and preferences are now made
to replace God’s will, a good part of
which is clearly elucidated, as in the
Ten Commandments, and many others.
One has to be maliciously blind and
deaf not to know clearly at least a part
of God’s will.
Our freedom and rights are gifts from
God. They are not our inventions. They
come from God and are meant for God
and for our true good. God is their law
and substance.
Our freedom and rights are meant to
guide us live in love, truth and real jus-
tice, even if they, given our weakened
human condition, involve suffering.
They can only be lived properly if lived
in God, and not just by our own estima-
tions of what is good and fair.
What is needed, I think, is a real con-
version of heart. And for this, a lot of
prayers and sacrifices are needed. We
can talk a little, try to offer reasons and
arguments, but in the end, we know that
conversion is an effect of grace. This is
what we should ask God. Let’s hope we
can rest from this useless wrangling.
features and underlying assumptions of
the RH bill as basically unreasonable. It
is not just a Catholic issue.
I add a last key point. For nearly a
decade now, I have been involved in
advocacy work against graft and cor-
ruption. Every year P400 billion (not
million) is lost to corruption. Why
blame the gift of life for the conse-
quences of corruption? Why open up
another venue for graft by pouring
funds into the coffers of government
for the distribution of condoms and
contraceptives? Why must a program
be legislated for behavior best left be-
tween wife and husband in the quiet
of the bedroom? As the bishops rightly
point out, moral corruption is “the root
of all corruption.”
Yes, Leoniver sees eye-to-eye with the
bishops. He sees. Do we?
give us this gift only so we could slap
His face with it? Or only so we could
brag to the rest of the world that we are
special children of God?
If we sincerely want to thank God we
will make Him “Number One” in our
hearts. We will make an honest effort
towards change through individual
conversion. The “miracle at EDSA” is
Christ’s invitation for us to expand as
Christians. Let us raise the quality of our
worship, deepen our faith, heighten the
levels of our prayer, and pray for a con-
stant awareness of God’s presence, so
that one day when each of us will have
enthroned the Christ in our hearts, we
may know what we mean when we say
“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven…”
The article ends there.
I can’t claim political savvy, but
I think that as a blatantly Christian
people we ought to examine our use
of the word “revolution.” As it has
come to be popularly linked to “EDSA
1”, writer Ambrose Bierce would be
spot-on correct in saying “Revolution
is an abrupt change in the form of mis-
government.”
Pity that we have to count on politi-
cal icons, slogans and symbols to better
our lives! The teachings of our Lord
Jesus are as revolutionary today as they
were when He walked the earth, but in
overlooking their relevance we have
failed to use them to revolutionize our
hearts. So, dear countrymen, unless
and until we take Jesus seriously, we
can expect more of the same headlines
in year 2036, the 50th anniversary of
the “bloodless revolution.” And that’s
the truth.

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
Running priest leads Bicol students’ run for truth
LEGAZPI City— Running priest
Fr. Robert Reyes led about a
hundred students of Bicol Uni-
versity College of Business &
Entrepreneur Management (BU-
CBEM) in a fun run on Feb.
24 as a prelude activity of the
25th anniversary celebration of
EDSA 1.
“The students of BU must
remember that EDSA’s message
was to topple down dictatorship
created by long stay in power
which some Arab nations are
doing now,” Reyes told students
before the 2-kilometer fun run
started at 9:00 a.m. from the
premier town of Daraga.
Sporting black undershirt
and short, the priest chanted
“Katotohanan”, while partici-
pating BU students replied with
Diocesan News
an educator he must share his
advocacy to the young even little
by little until such time that their
awareness is quickened.
“I don’t run for a fee or with
sponsors,” he added.
The priest who has been run-
ning since 1976 as his crusade
for truth and good governance
said he eventually realized
that he himself was reformed.
“Namalayan ko na ang sarili
ko ang unang nabago,” he
quipped.
Reyes said anyone overstaying
in power has the tendency to
abuse. He mentioned as example
BU President Dr. Faye Lauraya
who is facing a restraining civil
case for seeking reappointment
for another 4-year stay as head
of the state university.
A7
when interviewed by Bobby Ala
over DZRC AM radio.
Reyes was invited to lead
the fun run by CBEM students,
most of whom were not yet
born during EDSA but got
to know it by reading books,
newspapers and from lectures
of professors.
CBEM College Student Coun-
cil Chair, Ma. Judith Claudio
said, “We are aware about the
message of EDSA though we
were not born yet in 1986, [we]
want to relive its spirit so that
our generation can be proud of
[us].”
Asked why the pre-EDSA
celebration activities were not
supported by the bigger stu-
dent organizations of the state
university in Bicol, Claudio just

Elmer James Bandol

resounding “Katoto Run Na!”
The run surprised onlookers and
pedestrians, and created short
traffic jams.
Reyes told newsmen that as
“Selection process should
have been made by the Board
of Regents and not evaluation
of the performance of the in-
cumbent president,” Reyes said
wryly smiled and said: “Kanila
kamalayan ‘yon,” and admitted
that she learned in school all Bicol University students joined running priest Fr. Robert Reyes in a two-kilometer fun run to kick off celebration of
about campus freedom. (Elmer EDSA’s 25th anniversary in Bicol, Feb. 24, 2011.
James Bandol)

Maranao leader urges govt to give Diocesan News Briefs

Mindanao war victims reparation Aboitiz Power mulls use of seawater for power
MARAWI City—A respected Maranao “I urged President Aquino to get these projects can be implemented as concessions plant
leader of a Marawi City-based civil society monies and pay the families of the victims to the Libyan and Malaysian participation DAVAO City—The Aboitiz Power Corporation said it is
organization is challenging the government of the war in Mindanao,” he added. in the GRP-MILF peace talks; (3) To capture considering using seawater for its proposed 300-megawatt
to give justice to all victims of the Mindanao Dalidig also distributed to the media MILF Chair Salamat Hashim dead or alive; fluidized bed coal-fired power plant project in southern
war waged by the Arroyo administration by photo copies of various documents and (4) To file criminal charges against MILF Davao so as not to disturb fresh water sources in the area.
pursuing the AFP Fund Scam to its lawful reports, which he called “evidences against leaders; (5) To bomb Napocor transmission Like pouring cold water over the opposition’s claim that
end. the Arroyo administration.” Among these towers and power sub-stations, and blame APC’s proposed power plant project will compete with
Hadji Abdullah “Lacs” Dalidig, chair- documents was a two-page Memorandum the MILF; (6) to conduct comprehensive residents over the use of fresh water, APC said the pro-
person of the Mus- psywar operations posed plant will be located at the tail end of the area’s
lim Multisectoral and destabilizations fresh water sources and very near the sea so it will not
Movement for Peace in Urban Christian impact on fresh water sources. (Bong D. Fabe)
and Development Areas and blame the
(MMMPD) pointedly MILF; (7) To con- MNLF leadership urged to continue working with
accused former Presi- vince the Asean, the Aquino gov’t
dent Gloria Arroyo, European Union, CAGAYAN DE ORO City— The MNLF-Bangsamoro
several members of and the United Women’s Committee has urged the MNLF leadership
her Cabinet as well States to declare the to continue working with the Aquino administration
as “generals of the MILF as a Foreign for the good of the country. “The government has ac-
Armed Forces of the Terrorist Organiza- commodated most of our demands. As the report of the
Philippines” of using tion (because of the Legal Panel has stated, 33 of the 36 demands of the MNLF
the so-called Mind- terrorist activities has already been met. Let us start on the doable and not
anao conflict to enrich to be blamed on delay ourselves with issues where we cannot agree,”
themselves. them as stated in 5 said Hadja Bainon Karon during the Government of the
“GMA and her co- and 6 above); (8) To Philippines-MNLF-Organization of Islamic Conference
horts used the war in transfer the venue 4th Tripartite Conference in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Feb.
Mindanao to justify for the conduct of 23, 2011. (Bong D. Fabe)
development proj- the Balikatan 03-1 to
ects in Mindanao Central Mindanao; CSOs, land use advocates push for swift passage of
which were funded AND (9) To resume LUPA bill
by international do- formal Peace Talks CAGAYAN DE ORO City— Various civil society orga-
nor organizations once the objectives nizations and land use advocates are pushing for the
and agencies. But the were achieved. passage of proposed Zoning and Land Use Policy Act
real intention is not Dalidig said this
Bong D. Fabe

that seeks to harmonize all existing laws affecting the

the development of Hadji Abdullah “Lacs” Dalidig shows to the media one of the documents he claims will pin document alone will land. Akbayan Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, co-author of the bill,
Mindanao but to fill down the Arroyo administration as the mastermind of the AFP Fund Scam. prove that the Ar- said that it “seeks to harmonize the reasonable claims of
their own pockets and royo administration all those who hold interest on land and safeguards and
bloat their bank accounts,” he said. of Instructions dated February 11, 2003 from was behind all the atrocities that happened in promotes the general welfare of both existing and future
Dalidig urged the Aquino administration Malacanang addressed to the Secretary of Mindanao in order to “justify the hundreds generations through the proper management of land
to pursue the investigation of the scam and the Department of National Defense that of millions of pesos in military funds that resources.” (Bong D. Fabe)
hold the former president and her cohorts detailed the implementation of “Oplan only went to the pockets of her generals.”
accountable. Greenbase.” He said he is “not afraid” to testify in all ADB urges business sector to invest in ‘climate-
“The Arroyo government should be made Oplan Greenbase’s 9-point objectives were lawful investigating bodies now probing the
friendly’ technologies
answerable. Her government orchestrated preceded with “As President of the Republic AFP Fund Scam.
ANTIPOLO City—The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
all these so they could justify more funding of the Philippines and Commander-in-Chief “I am not afraid. I am only afraid of my
is encouraging world governments to invest fully on
for military operations and for so-called de- of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Allah,” he stressed, adding: “Kailangan
‘climate-friendly’ technologies to slow the effect of global
velopment projects all over the island. That (AFP), I do hereby order the following:” (1) papanagutin si GMA at ang mga tauhan
warming. The statement was given during a climate
is the only way the present administration To capture and occupy Buliok Complex and niya. Because of their greed, tayo dito sa
change summit in New Delhi, India, early this month.
will be able to give justice to the victims of environs within one week; (2) To clear the Mindanao ang kanilang ibinuhis.” (Bong
ADB president Haruhiko Kuroda said immediate steps
the war in Mindanao,” he said. Liguasan Marsh Area so that development D. Fabe)
are needed to lower the carbon intensity of development

Thousands expected to join Laguna rally vs RH Bill

SAN PABLO City—Organizers
of the province-wide rally in
protest of the proposed Repro-
ductive Health (RH) bill are
predicting several thousands
of delegates would show up
during the Walk for Life 2011
slated on the 4th week of March
in this city.
Sir Knight Ricardo B. Su-
pena, Knights of Columbus
(KC) District S-59 Deputy and
host-in-charge of the province-
wide activity said, aside from
Lagunenses, some KC chapters
in nearby Batangas and Quezon
provinces have also signified
their intentions to join the col-
lective undertaking which co-
incides with the KC- sponsored
nationwide walk in support of
life also scheduled March 26.
The KC districts in Laguna
Living Mission / A4
to “master our sinfulness and
conquer our pride.” How can we
achieve this?
The three traditional Lenten
practices address each of the
three temptations. When our
desire for possessions is strong,
we are to practice almsgiving,
freely donating our material
goods to the needy. If desire for
prestige rules our lives, we will
engage in fasting to conquer this
form of selfishness. When we
want power and control, we
must spend time in prayer and
surrender our lives to God’s will;
we allow God to rule in our lives.
Indeed, the three temptations are
directly addressed through Lent’s
will spearhead the Walk for Life
2011 in the diocese in coordina-
tion with the Diocesan Family
Life Ministry and the various
ministries of the Diocese.
Supena said Paranaque Con-
gressman Roilo Golez is joining
delegates of the Walk for Life
event by addressing the crowd
during the program and talk on
the controversial issue related to
the pros and cons of the RH Bill.
Multi-awarded movie actor
John Arcilla will also join the
prayer rally by rendering enter-
tainment numbers during the
event dubbed as Walk for Life
2011 that will take place March
26 at the San Pablo Cathedral
grounds and around the major
roads this city.
The program prepared by
the KC says that Registration
traditional observances: prayer,
fasting, and almsgiving.
Lent is this precious opportu-
nity to journey with Jesus in mis-
sion. This will involve struggling
(as Jesus did) with the forces of
evil, the demons of possessions,
prestige/pride, and power. Re-
lying on God’s abundant grace,
our Lenten program (often called
a “discipline”) is to address the
selfishness deep in our hearts
and to turn our thoughts and
deeds to loving and serving both
God and neighbor.
A season of grace now begins.
Don’t lose one day! God is call-
ing us to renewal for mission.
Listen to his voice today!
and Assembly time would take
place at 6:00 a.m. at the Liceo de
San Pablo Gymnasium. A con-
celebrated Holy Mass presided
by His Excellency Most Rev.
Leo M. Drona would follow at
7:00 a.m.
Fr. Jerry R. Oblepias, Director
of the Family and Life Commis-
sion, will deliver his opening
remarks at 8:30 a.m. followed
by entertainment numbers from
multi-awarded movie actor John
Arcilla.
Golez, a staunch pro-lifer, will
expound on the pros and cons of
the RH Bill and related matters.
The closing remarks will be
delivered by the Vicar General
and Rector of the San Pablo Ca-
thedral Msgr. Melchor Barcenas.
Then the Walk for Life march
will start from the Cathedral
Love Life / A4
ing him to return home so he
could be better cared for with
his mom’s healthy cooking. He
finds meaning in sharing his
story in order to prevent others
from experiencing this devastat-
ing disease that almost drove
him to suicide. He admitted to
the assembly that he was into
MSM but has gotten out of that
life style after the diagnosis.
We commended the three for
their honesty and courage in
sharing their stories to us. We
were reminded of the CBCP Pas-
toral Letter signed by Archbishop
Carmelo Morelos in 1993, which
is ever more relevant today stat-
ing – “We invite all persons of
grounds and proceeds to the
main thoroughfares of the city
and back into the Cathedral.
Meanwhile, Oblepias said,
in preparation to the March 26
province-wide event, various
parishes and vicariates of the
diocese led by their respective
parish priests and vicars forane
have planned their mini-Walks
for Life as a prelude to the big-
ger event.
The Vicariate of the Holy Fam-
ily in San Pedro town composed
of seven parishes for instance has
scheduled their mini-Walk for
Life and Holy Mass on March
5. Similarly, the parishes of Del
Remedio and San Gabriel the
Archangel in San Pablo City
would also conduct their mini-
prayer rally event on the same
day. (Fr. Romulo Ponte)
good will to be in solidarity with
HIV-AIDS patients. They are our
brothers and sisters. We see in
their faces the suffering image of
Jesus Himself. As we minister to
the afflicted, we proclaim to all
the infinite compassion of God
and the redeeming passion and
death of Jesus Christ, the Savior
of all.”
The Assembly ended with the
formation of working commit-
tees that will continue to explore,
plan and implement how best
to extend the compassion of
Jesus to these patients, as well
as engage in the education and
prevention campaigns so urgent
in our society today.
and improve the resilience of societies to climate change.
He also stressed the need for the private enterprises or
investors to get involve with the climate change mitiga-
tion project in their respective countries. (Noel Sales
Barcelona)
Senate asked: Investigate the PNP
CALOOCAN City—A CBCP official has asked the Senate
to investigate the alleged questionable activities the Phil-
ippine National Police (PNP). Caloocan Bishop Deogracias
Iñiguez wants the Senate or Congress to look into the al-
leged “send-off money” for outgoing PNP chiefs. Through
an impartial inquiry, the head of the CBCP’s Committee
on Public Affairs said the people would know where their
taxes really go. “I am encouraging our law makers to in-
vestigate the alleged anomaly in the PNP… same thing of
what they did into the Armed Forces of the Philippines,”
Iñiguez said over Radio Veritas. (CBCPNews)
Dutch NGO holds training for teachers of visually-
impaired
QUEZON City—A special training aimed to help teach-
ers develop the conceptualization skills needed to attend
to specific learning difficulties of visually-impaired was
held at Maryhill School of Theology, Quezon City last Jan.
17-21. The workshop was conducted by an international
Dutch organization called Visio in collaboration with the
Episcopal Commission on Health Care of the Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines. According to Fr.
Luke Moortgart, ECHC executive secretary and execu-
tive director of Special Education Assistance, prior to the
training, the Visio team first visited the different schools
and organizations of the country that are involved with
blind people. (CBCPNews)
Prelate calls on authorities to rid Batangas of drugs
LIPA City—Lipa Archbishop Ramon Arguelles called on
government authorities to rid Batangas province of the
drug menace. In a text message sent to CBCP News from
the Vatican where he and other prelates are on their ad
limina visit, Arguelles said he appeals to (government)
authorities to make a thorough clean-up of the whole
province. “It’s been a long time since I fear highly placed
people are behind the drug menace,” he said. He added
government authorities should “look seriously into the
increasing vice dens.” (Melo M. Acuña)
 A8 People, Facts & Places CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

Photo courtesy of the Pontificio Collegio Filipino

Pope urges Filipino
POPE Benedict XVI has encouraged the
community of student priests at Col-
legio Filippino to grow in spiritual and
theological maturity as they prepare for
their future ministries.
He told the student priests to strike
a balance between studies and pastoral
charity by attending to fellow Filipinos
in various communities in Rome espe-
cially in their spiritual needs.

student priests to
“Let me encourage you, the present
generation of students at the College, to
grow in faith, to strive for excellence in
your studies, and to grasp every oppor-
tunity afforded you to attain spiritual
and theological maturity, so that you
The pope is very much aware of the
great number of Filipinos working in
Rome and the equally increasing need
for their spiritual growth.
Grateful for the message of the Holy
Father, the student priests resolved to be

grow in faith
will be equipped, trained, and stout-
hearted for whatever awaits you in the
future,” the Holy Father said.
The community had an audience with
the pope on February 19 as one of the
highlights of PCF`s celebration of its
golden jubilee.
diligent in studies, grow in holiness and
become generous in bearing witness to
their priestly calling.
There are currently 27 student-priests
residing in PCF, three administrators,
four nuns and five lay personnel.
(Garret Alfonso Ulanimo)

President Aquino unveils Cardinal Sin monument

ON the 25th anniversary of trusted aide of Cardinal Sin, said

EDSA People Power 1, Presi-
dent Benigno Aquino III and
Vice President Jejomar Binay
unveiled a bronze statue of the
late Jaime Cardinal Sin.
They were joined by Gaud-
encio Cardinal Rosales, Papal
nuncio Archbishop Edward
Joseph Adams, Antipolo Bishop
Gabriel Reyes and Manila Mayor
Alfredo Lim.
The 15-feet statue was designed
by artist Ed Castrillo, who said
that it took him a month to finish
the sculpture which featured the
late Manila archbishop wearing
his everyday plain “sotana”, his
right hand raised in blessing.
The monument was unveiled
at the Aquino Park at the corner
of the P. Burgos Street and Boni-
facio Drive, close to the statues
of former President Corazon
Aquino and her husband, the late
Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr.
The ceremony was witnessed
by priests, nuns, government of-
ficials and students.
Lim said that Sin is in the right
place, since aside from being in
the same park with the Aquino
couple, he is also near the statues
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
Markings
the statue is not just a reminder
but “a challenge to love God the
same way Cardinal Sin did.
“Cardinal Sin served every-
body. He served the poor and
the rich, the old and the children,
Catholics and non-believers,”
Villegas said. “All he wanted to
do was to serve, serve like the REASSIGNED. Archbishop
good Lord.” Edward Joseph Adams, papal
“We need this monument not nuncio in the Philippines, has
for Cardinal Sin but for us. We are been reassigned to Greece as
announced by Vatican on Febru-
a forgetful people and we need ary 22. Adams will be holding
to remember. This monument the same position in Greece with
is built not so much to honor about 50,000 Catholics or about
Cardinal Sin. This monument is a 0.5 percent of the country’s to-
tal population. The 66-year old
challenge for all passersby to love American prelate was the 15th
God and country the way Cardi- in the line of apostolic delegates
nal Sin and Senator Ninoy and and apostolic nuncios to the
President Cory did,” he said. Philippines. Adams was named
papal nuncio to the Philippines in
He added that the monument September 2007. In line with dip-
should also remind the people on lomatic tradition in countries with
how to continue the spirit of the a Catholic majority, Adams also
EDSA revolution 25 years later. became the dean of diplomatic
“We hope this monument will corps. He succeeded Archbishop
Fernando Filoni who has been
continue to teach us that service reassigned to the Vatican as the
is more powerful than ambition, city’s new undersecretary for gen-
that prayer is more powerful than eral affairs. Born in Philadelphia,
guns, that love is the greatest law USA in 1944, Archbishop Adams
was ordained priest in July 1970
of all laws and the only way to for the Archdiocese of Philadel-
peace is peace,” said Villegas. phia. He entered the Vatican’s
During his life, Cardinal Sin diplomatic service in 1976, work-

of Gen. Jose de San Martin who
played a huge role in the libera-
tion of Argentina, Chile and Peru,
as well as Cuba’s national hero
Jose Marti Perez.
Lingayen-Dagupan
Archbishop Socrates Villegas, a
was one of the most prominent
figures during popular revolt,
which led to the toppling of the
dictatorship of former President
Ferdinand Marcos.
Cardinal Sin died on June 21,
2005. (CBCPNews)
ing in Rwanda, Kenya, Kenya,
Honduras, Ireland, Denmark, and
Czech Republic. The late Pope
John Paul II appointed him in 1996 as the Apostolic Nuncio in Bangla-
desh and elevated to the dignity of Archbishop with the titular see of
Scala. He also served as papal nuncio of Zimbabwe in 2002 to 2007. A
papal nuncio serves as Vatican envoy to the prelates of the Episcopal
Conferences and particular churches, and strengthened relationships
between Pope Benedict XVI and heads of states and bishops.

INSTALLED. Fr. Jose Aripio, SSP, as Provincial Superior of the Society

UST eyes world record for

of St. Paul’s Philippines-Macau Province on February 20, 2011. SSP
Superior General Fr. Silvio Sassi presided the Liturgical Celebration
held at the Sanctuary of St. Paul in Makati. Also present during the
occasion was Fr. James Ferry, MM, Vicar for the Religious of the Arch-

largest human cross

FOR the second time, the University of
Santo Tomas (UST) will try to be on the
Guinness World Records by forming the
largest human cross on Ash Wednesday,
March 9.
Giovanna Fontanilla, UST’s Student
and Public Affairs director, said more
than 20,000 Thomasians will come
together to form the cross at the open
space in front of the campus’ grandstand
at 4 p.m.
“The attempt at a world record is
imbued with religious significance since
on the said date, as the foreheads of the
faithful are marked with the sign of Christ’s
saving cross, the entire University commu-
nity will ‘mark’ a portion of the UST campus
with a huge Dominican Cross, symbol of
the Catholic and Dominican identity of the
University,” Fontanilla said.
The event, the UST official said, will also
be in an atmosphere of joyful and prayerful
gathering.
She added that a Mass to be led by UST
Rector Fr. Rolando de la Rosa will follow
after the attempt for the world’s largest hu-
man cross.
“Members of the University community are
invited to participate in this symbolic activ-
ity that can also be their act of penance dur-
ing the Lenten season,” Fontanilla said.
Last December, UST shelved its bid
to set the record for the world’s largest
“living rosary” because of the insufficient
time to have the attempt authenticated.
But without the world record, some
20,000 UST students still gathered to form
the largest human rosary in the country
last December 8.
The human rosary was instead held
as a tribute to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(CBCPNews)
diocese of Manila. Serving with Aripio in the provincial government are
Fr. Dominador Guzman, Jr., Provincial Vicar, Br. Hansel B. Mapayo,
Provincial Secretary, Fr. Teotimo Melliza and Fr. Alan Gamutan. The
Superior General handed over to the new provincial government the
SSP Manual of Authority and Constitutions in the presence of members
of the Pauline Family, friends and the apostolic collaborators of the
Society of Saint Paul.
CELEBRATED. San Pablo Diocese’s St. Peter’s College Seminary
marked its 30 years of foundation with a concelebrated Mass led by
Bishop Leo M. Drona on February 22, Feast of The Chair of St. Peter.
Present during the occasion were several members of the clergy and
seminary fathers, seminarians, nuns, parents, benefactors and friends.
The seminary, according to rector, has survived through thick and thin
and grown up for 30 years under the tutelage of three bishops. The
first prelate to handle and oversee the seminary was the pioneering
founder Bishop Emeritus Most Rev. Pedro N. Bantigue. The second was
newly-retired former Bishop of Pasig Diocese Most Rev. Francisco C.
San Diego; and the third and current one is Most Rev. Leo M. Drona.
Meanwhile, two parishes also celebrated their respective fiestas on the
same day. One is the San Pedro town whose parish priest is Fr. John
Tabot and the other one is the Barangay Parish of Balibago, Sta. Rosa
City under the care of its parish priest Msgr. James Contreras.

Radyo Veritas climbs 4th in Nielsen survey CBCP office holds

CATHOLIC Church-run Radyo Veritas
846 emerged as one of the preferred
of the week—an increase of 0.20 from
Monday to Sunday, and 0.22 points
No.4 among secular radio and No.1 in
faith-based stations,” said Veritas 846
Congress on Blindness
AM radio stations among listeners in from Monday to Friday. manager Fr. Anton Pascual. IN an effort to provide information and not change their blindness, but “they
Mega Manila. The survey in Mega Manila, which “We also express our gratitude to Radio come up with concrete ideas on how to can change their attitude and outlook in
This latest finding was according includes the provinces of Bulacan, Veritas Kapanalig Community which improve the situation of the blind in the life,” the speakers stressed. The speak-
to the data released stands at 15,000 members, country, the Episcopal Commission on ers also underscored the importance of
by the famous indus- anchors, staff, manage- Health Care convened a congress for early testing with early intervention.
try ratings supplier ment, listeners that pushes visually impaired, parents, relatives, They said that it is important to intro-
Nielsen Media Radio Radyo Veritas to the sur- teachers and caregivers on February 5. duce the blind child to the real world
Audience Measure- vey,” he said. Held at the Karel Hall of Paco Catholic so that gradually he will show more
ment (RAM) for the Veritas 846 improved its School, the meeting featured volunteer independence.
last quarter of 2010. several programs last year speakers who lectured on understand- Meanwhile, other speakers stressed
Veritas 846 or DZRV by giving more emphasis ing “blindness” and on how parents, on the primordial development of con-
ranked fourth in the latest on evangelization and on its caregivers and teachers can address the ceptualization skills.
RAM survey, showing a various social advocacies, needs of the visually impaired. Group discussions focused on the re-
significant leap from its which according to Pascual, Saying that being blind is more than flection of participants on the speakers’
number seven ranking contributed to the improv- just not being able to see, speakers un- input, and their own experiences in or-
in the past ratings. ing ratings of the station. derscored that though deprived of sight, der to come up with ideas for action.
ABS-CBN’s radio sta- Veritas Pilipinas, a the blind should not lose their dignity. Fr. Luke Moortgat, CICM, ECHC ex-
tion DZMM emerged prime time talk show They noted that blindness affects the ecutive secretary and executive director
as the favored among the lot followed by Cavite, Laguna, Pampanga, Rizal, also aired Monday through Friday, at 6 a.m. person’s relationship with his other of Special Education Assistance, also em-
the GMA Network’s DZBB and Manila showed that Veritas 846 has topped all to 8 a.m. got the highest listenership senses, sources of information, and the phasized that the visually impaired can
Broadcasting Company’s DZRH. other religious stations. rating among the programs of Radyo way he learns various concepts. participate in the Holy Mass by delivering
Among the Top 5 AM stations, Veri- “We thank the Lord for giving us the Veritas. It is hosted by Ms. Jing Lanzona, The attitude of the visually impaired or reciting the first reading during the
tas 846 is among those that registered grace to be successful in our evangeli- Fr. Nono Alfonso and Msgr. Pepe Qui- is more important than their disability celebration of one Sunday Holy Mass for
high increase in rating points for most zation program that brought us to be torio. (CBCPNews) since there is a possibility that they can- persons with disabilities. (CBCPNews)

CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
‘God Created Men
and Women for
Resurrection and Life’
“You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him.” (cf. Col 2: 12)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lenten period, which leads us to
the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the
Church a most valuable and important
liturgical time, in view of which I am
pleased to offer a specific word in order
that it may be lived with due diligence.
As she awaits the definitive encounter
with her Spouse in the eternal Easter, the
Church community, assiduous in prayer
and charitable works, intensifies her
journey in purifying the spirit, so as to
draw more abundantly from the Mystery
of Redemption the new life in Christ the
Lord (cf. Preface I of Lent).
1. This very life was already bestowed
upon us on the day of our Baptism, when
we “become sharers in Christ’s death
and Resurrection”, and there began for
us “the joyful and exulting adventure of
his disciples” (Homily on the Feast of the
Baptism of the Lord, 10 January, 2010).
In his Letters, St. Paul repeatedly insists
on the singular communion with the Son
of God that this washing brings about.
The fact that, in most cases, Baptism is
received in infancy highlights how it is
a gift of God: no one earns eternal life
through their own efforts. The mercy of
God, which cancels sin and, at the same
time, allows us to experience in our lives
“the mind of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2: 5), is
given to men and women freely. The
Apostle to the Gentiles, in the Letter to
the Philippians, expresses the meaning
of the transformation that takes place
through participation in the death and
resurrection of Christ, pointing to its goal:
that “I may come to know him and the
power of his resurrection, and partake
of his sufferings by being molded to the
pattern of his death, striving towards
the goal of resurrection from the dead”
(Phil 3: 10-11). Hence, Baptism is not
a rite from the past, but the encounter
with Christ, which informs the entire
existence of the baptized, imparting
divine life and calling for sincere
conversion; initiated and supported by
Grace, it permits the baptized to reach
the adult stature of Christ.
A particular connection binds Baptism
to Lent as the favorable time to experience
this saving Grace. The Fathers of the
Second Vatican Council exhorted all of
the Church’s Pastors to make greater
use “of the baptismal features proper to
the Lenten liturgy” (Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy Sacrosanctum concilium,
n. 109). In fact, the Church has always
associated the Easter Vigil with the
celebration of Baptism: this Sacrament
realizes the great mystery in which man
dies to sin, is made a sharer in the new
life of the Risen Christ and receives the
same Spirit of God who raised Jesus
from the dead (cf. Rm 8: 11). This free
Pastoral Concerns
The 2011 Lenten Message of Pope Benedict XVI
gift must always be rekindled in each
one of us, and Lent offers us a path like
that of the catechumenate, which, for the
Christians of the early Church, just as for
catechumens today, is an irreplaceable
school of faith and Christian life. Truly,
they live their Baptism as an act that
shapes their entire existence.
2. In order to undertake more seriously
our journey towards Easter and prepare
ourselves to celebrate the Resurrection of
the Lord—the most joyous and solemn
feast of the entire liturgical year—what
could be more appropriate than allowing
ourselves to be guided by the Word
of God? For this reason, the Church,
in the Gospel texts of the Sundays of
Lent, leads us to a particularly intense
encounter with the Lord, calling us to
retrace the steps of Christian initiation:
for catechumens, in preparation for
receiving the Sacrament of rebirth; for
the baptized, in light of the new and
decisive steps to be taken in the sequela
Christi and a fuller giving of oneself
to him.
The First Sunday of the Lenten journey
reveals our condition as human beings
here on earth. The victorious battle
against temptation, the starting point of
Jesus’ mission, is an invitation to become
aware of our own fragility in order to
accept the Grace that frees from sin and
infuses new strength in Christ – the way,
the truth and the life (cf. Ordo Initiationis
Christianae Adultorum, n. 25). It is a
powerful reminder that Christian faith
implies, following the example of Jesus
and in union with him, a battle “against
the ruling forces who are masters of
the darkness in this world” (Eph 6:
12), in which the devil is at work and
never tires—even today—of tempting
whoever wishes to draw close to the
Lord: Christ emerges victorious to open
also our hearts to hope and guide us in
overcoming the seductions of evil.
The Gospel of the Transfiguration
of the Lord puts before our eyes the
glory of Christ, which anticipates
the resurrection and announces the
divinization of man. The Christian
community becomes aware that Jesus
leads it, like the Apostles Peter, James
and John “up a high mountain by
themselves” (Mt 17: 1), to receive once
again in Christ, as sons and daughters
in the Son, the gift of the Grace of God:
“This is my Son, the Beloved; he enjoys
my favor. Listen to him” (Mt17: 5). It is
the invitation to take a distance from
the noisiness of everyday life in order to
immerse oneself in God’s presence. He
desires to hand down to us, each day, a
Word that penetrates the depths of our
spirit, where we discern good from evil
(cf. Heb 4:12), reinforcing our will to
follow the Lord.
The question that Jesus puts to the
Samaritan woman: “Give me a drink”
(Jn 4: 7), is presented to us in the liturgy
of the third Sunday; it expresses the
passion of God for every man and
woman, and wishes to awaken in our
hearts the desire for the gift of “a spring
of water within, welling up for eternal
life” (Jn 4: 14): this is the gift of the Holy
Spirit, who transforms Christians into
“true worshipers,” capable of praying
to the Father “in spirit and truth” (Jn 4:
23). Only this water can extinguish our
thirst for goodness, truth and beauty!
Only this water, given to us by the Son,
can irrigate the deserts of our restless
and unsatisfied soul, until it “finds rest
in God”, as per the famous words of St.
Augustine.
The Sunday Gospel of the man born
blind presents Christ as the light of the
world. The Gospel confronts each one of
us with the question: “Do you believe in
the Son of man?” “Lord, I believe!” (Jn
9: 35. 38), the man born blind joyfully
exclaims, giving voice to all believers.
The miracle of this healing is a sign that
Christ wants not only to give us sight,
but also open our interior vision, so
that our faith may become ever deeper
and we may recognize him as our only
Savior. He illuminates all that is dark in
life and leads men and women to live
as “children of the light”.
On the fifth Sunday, when the
resurrection of Lazarus is proclaimed,
we are faced with the ultimate mystery
of our existence: “I am the resurrection
and the life… Do you believe this?” (Jn11:
25-26). For the Christian community, it
is the moment to place with sincerity—
together with Martha—all of our hopes
in Jesus of Nazareth: “Yes, Lord, I
believe that you are the Christ, the Son
of God, the one who was to come into
this world” (Jn 11: 27). Communion
with Christ in this life prepares us to
overcome the barrier of death, so that
we may live eternally with him. Faith in
the resurrection of the dead and hope in
eternal life open our eyes to the ultimate
meaning of our existence: God created
men and women for resurrection and
life, and this truth gives an authentic and
definitive meaning to human history,
to the personal and social lives of men
and women, to culture, politics and the
economy. Without the light of faith, the
entire universe finishes shut within a
tomb devoid of any future, any hope.
The Lenten journey finds its fulfillment
in the Paschal Triduum, especially in the
Great Vigil of the Holy Night: renewing
our baptismal promises, we reaffirm
that Christ is the Lord of our life, that
life which God bestowed upon us when
we were reborn of “water and Holy
Spirit”, and we profess again our firm
commitment to respond to the action of
the Grace in order to be his disciples.
3. By immersing ourselves into the
death and resurrection of Christ through
the Sacrament of Baptism, we are moved
to free our hearts every day from the
burden of material things, from a self-
centered relationship with the “world”
that impoverishes us and prevents
us from being available and open to
God and our neighbor. In Christ, God
revealed himself as Love (cf. 1Jn 4: 7-10).
The Cross of Christ, the “word of the
Cross”, manifests God’s saving power
(cf. 1Cor 1: 18), that is given to raise
men and women anew and bring them
salvation: it is love in its most extreme
form (cf. Encyclical Deus caritas est, n.
12). Through the traditional practices of
fasting, almsgiving and prayer, which
are an expression of our commitment to
conversion, Lent teaches us how to live
the love of Christ in an ever more radical
way. Fasting, which can have various
motivations, takes on a profoundly
religious significance for the Christian:
by rendering our table poorer, we learn
to overcome selfishness in order to live
in the logic of gift and love; by bearing
some form of deprivation—and not just
what is in excess—we learn to look away
from our “ego”, to discover Someone
close to us and to recognize God in the
face of so many brothers and sisters.
For Christians, fasting, far from being
depressing, opens us ever more to God
and to the needs of others, thus allowing
love of God to become also love of our
neighbor (cf. Mk 12: 31).
In our journey, we are often faced with
the temptation of accumulating and love
of money that undermine God’s primacy
in our lives. The greed of possession
leads to violence, exploitation and death;
for this, the Church, especially during
the Lenten period, reminds us to practice
almsgiving—which is the capacity to
share. The idolatry of goods, on the other
hand, not only causes us to drift away
from others, but divests man, making
him unhappy, deceiving him, deluding
him without fulfilling its promises, since
it puts materialistic goods in the place of
God, the only source of life. How can we
understand God’s paternal goodness, if
our heart is full of egoism and our own
projects, deceiving us that our future is
guaranteed? The temptation is to think,
just like the rich man in the parable: “My
soul, you have plenty of good things
laid by for many years to come…”. We
are all aware of the Lord’s judgment:
“Fool! This very night the demand
will be made for your soul…” (Lk 12:
19-20). The practice of almsgiving is a
B1
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media
reminder of God’s primacy and turns
our attention towards others, so that we
may rediscover how good our Father is,
and receive his mercy.
During the entire Lenten period,
the Church offers us God’s Word with
particular abundance. By meditating
and internalizing the Word in order to
live it every day, we learn a precious
and irreplaceable form of prayer;
by attentively listening to God, who
continues to speak to our hearts, we
nourish the itinerary of faith initiated
on the day of our Baptism. Prayer also
allows us to gain a new concept of time:
without the perspective of eternity and
transcendence, in fact, time simply
directs our steps towards a horizon
without a future. Instead, when we pray,
we find time for God, to understand
that his “words will not pass away” (cf.
Mk 13: 31), to enter into that intimate
communion with Him “that no one shall
take from you” (Jn 16: 22), opening us
to the hope that does not disappoint,
eternal life.
In synthesis, the Lenten journey, in
which we are invited to contemplate
the Mystery of the Cross, is meant to
reproduce within us “the pattern of his
death” (Ph 3: 10), so as to effect a deep
conversion in our lives; that we may
be transformed by the action of the
Holy Spirit, like St. Paul on the road to
Damascus; that we may firmly orient our
existence according to the will of God;
that we may be freed of our egoism,
overcoming the instinct to dominate
others and opening us to the love of
Christ. The Lenten period is a favorable
time to recognize our weakness and
to accept, through a sincere inventory
of our life, the renewing Grace of
the Sacrament of Penance, and walk
resolutely towards Christ.
Dear Brothers and Sisters, through the
personal encounter with our Redeemer
and through fasting, almsgiving and
prayer, the journey of conversion
towards Easter leads us to rediscover
our Baptism. This Lent, let us renew
our acceptance of the Grace that God
bestowed upon us at that moment, so
that it may illuminate and guide all of
our actions. What the Sacrament signifies
and realizes, we are called to experience
every day by following Christ in an ever
more generous and authentic manner. In
this our itinerary, let us entrust ourselves
to the Virgin Mary, who generated the
Word of God in faith and in the flesh, so
that we may immerse ourselves—just as
she did—in the death and resurrection of
her Son Jesus, and possess eternal life.
From the Vatican, 4 November, 2010
BENEDICTUS PP XVI
B2 Updates CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

The Denial of Holy

Communion to Public
Supporters of the RH Bill
An Application of Canon 915: Obligation to Deny Holy Communion to
Those in Obstinate and Manifest Grave Sin.
By Fr. Jaime B. Achacoso, must be denied: (1) to respect the is, in the practice of the virtues Council for Legislative Texts, “in
J.C.D. holiness of the Sacrament, (2) to of faith, hope and love. Noting agreement with the Congregation

Faulty
Recently, the national broadsheets
carried an emotional story─that
ran for several days─of a tug-
safeguard the salvation of the soul
of the party presenting himself to
receive Holy Communion, and
(3) to avoid scandal.
the teaching in the Catechism of
the Catholic Church (n.1385) and
following the rule of the Council
of Trent, Pope John Paul II
reaffirmed that, in order to receive
for the Doctrine of the Faith and
with the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline
of the Sacraments”, issued a
declaration making it clear that

Trinitarian
of-war regarding the threat of
excommunication to the proponents
of the Reproductive Health Bill. In
the end, the issue died down with the
CBCP clarifying that there was no
THE DOCTRINE OF 1 COR
11, 27-29 AND ECCLESIA DE
EUCHARISTIA
The canonical discipline in
question has its source in Sacred
Holy Communion worthily, one
must have confessed and been
absolved of any mortal sin of
which he is guilty.
(3) The judgment of one’s state
c.915 applies to the faithful who
are divorced and remarried.
Referring to the text of 1Cor 11,27,
29, the Declaration expresses the
theological and canonical reasons

Formula
such threat. I remember that in the Scripture. St. Paul admonished of grace obviously belongs only of c.915:
course of the U.S. electoral campaign the Christians of Corinth to to the person involved, since it “In effect, the reception of
of 2004, a similar crisis arose with examine their consciences before is a question of examining one’s the Body of Christ when one is
the case of Catholic politicians approaching to receive Holy conscience. However, in cases publicly unworthy constitutes
who publicly, after admonition, Communion: Whoever, therefore, of outward conduct which is an objective harm to the ecclesial
continued to support legislation eats the bread or drinks the cup of the seriously, clearly and steadfastly communion: it is a behavior that
(Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina favouring procured abortion Lord in an unworthy manner will contrary to the moral norm, affects the rights of the Church
Apostolorum university, answers the following query :) and other measures contrary to be guilty of profaning the body and the Church, in her pastoral and of all the faithful to live in
natural moral law─e.g., harvesting blood of the Lord. Let a man examine concern for the good order of the accord with the exigencies of
Q: I recently attended a rite of profession of perpetual stem cells by the destruction of himself, and so eat of the bread and community and out of respect that communion. In the concrete
vows. I was disturbed by the actual profession formula that cloned human embryo, redefining drink of the cup. For anyone who for the sacrament, cannot fail case of the admission to Holy
was used. I would appreciate your opinion. The profession marriage to include a relationship eats and drinks without discerning to feel directly involved. With Communion of faithful who
of vows in this case was addressed to “Holy God, creator, between persons of the same the body eats and drinks judgment the words, “cannot fail to feel are divorced and remarried, the
redeemer and sanctifier.” The theological inadequacies of this sex. The application of c.915 upon himself (1Cor 11, 27-29). directly involved”, the Roman scandal, understood as an action
expression as a Trinitarian formula are clear to me. However, of the Code of Canon Law─to “The emphasis is on self- Pontiff clarified the obligation, that prompts others towards
I have two questions: 1) Given that religious profession
is a gift through which a person is deepened in their
baptismal consecration, and given that the Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith has recently ruled that any
baptisms performed using the above erroneous Trinitarian
formula are invalid, what, if any, are the consequences of
this regarding the validity of the profession I witnessed? 2)
Given the gross theological inadequacy of the Trinitarian
formula used, could this situation also raise questions of
invalidity on the basis of insufficient knowledge on the part
of the person making the profession, or on the basis that this
person has a seriously erroneous concept of God?—M.F.,
Suva, Fiji Islands

AS our reader mentioned, the Congregation for the

Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) answered the following questions
on Feb. 1, 2008:
“First question: Whether the Baptism conferred with the
formulas «I baptize you in the name of the Creator, and of
the Redeemer, and of the Sanctifier» and «I baptize you in
the name of the Creator, and of the Liberator, and of the
Sustainer» is valid?
“Second question: Whether the persons baptized with
those formulas have to be baptized in forma absoluta?
“RESPONSES
“To the first question: Negative.
“To the second question: Affirmative.
“The Supreme Pontiff Benedict XVI, at the Audience
granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved
these Responses, adopted in the Ordinary Session of the
Congregation, and ordered their publication.”
The technical expression “in forma absoluta” is in contrast
with conditional baptism. In other words, there is no doubt
© Pinky Barrientos / CBCP Media

as to the invalidity of baptism using the above-mentioned

formulas.
The CDF did not offer the theological reasoning behind
its decision. But I think it is safe to say that it has less to do
with the theological deficiencies of the formula than with
the necessity to remain faithful to the essential elements
directly mandated by Our Lord.
St. Thomas Aquinas teaches that any change in the
essential form of a sacrament renders that sacrament
invalid. For example, if the minister were to say, “I baptize deny Holy Communion to those examination, in order to discover on the part of the Church, to wrongdoing, affects at the same
you in the name of the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and persons obstinate in manifest preparedness to receive the take action, when a person who time both the sacrament of the
the Blessed Virgin” this would invalidate the sacrament. grave sin─generated quite a bit of Sacrament or not. If one is remains in grievous and public Eucharist and the indissolubility
If the change did not vary the essential elements, it would discussion. Can that norm be applied not prepared, for example, sin approaches to receive Holy of marriage.
be illicit but not invalid, as would be the case if one were to the case of the proponents of the because of serious sin which Communion. The long-standing discipline
to say, “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the RH Bill?. is unremitted, then he simply of the Church requires that the
Son and of the Holy Spirit, and may the Blessed Virgin is not to approach to receive THE NORM OF C. 915 OF THE minister of Holy Communion
protect you.” CARDINAL Raymond L. Holy Communion. However, 1983 CODE OF CANON LAW exercise discretion regarding the
Because the invalidity of the sacrament is based on Burke, presently the Prefect of if the lack of right disposition The canon reads: Those who distribution of Holy Communion
altering the essential words of the form (and not so much the Supreme Tribunal of the is serious and public, and the are excommunicated or interdicted to those who persist in manifest
on its theological deficiency) I would say that the use of Signatura Apostolica─like the person, nevertheless, approaches after the imposition or declaration and grievous sin. The exercise of
this formula in a rite of religious profession would not in Supreme Court of the Catholic to receive the Sacrament, then of the penalty, and others who such discretion is not a judgment
itself affect its validity. The profession as a juridical act Church─wrote a lengthy article he is to be admonished and obstinately persist in manifest grave on the subjective state of the
takes on many forms in accordance with the spirituality of about this issue, from which we denied Holy Communion. In sin, are not to be admitted to Holy soul of the person approaching
each institute, and a specific mention of the Trinity is not can quote heavily.1 In effect, the other words, the Church cannot Communion. to receive Holy Communion,
required. What is essential is the profession of the evangelical discussion among the Bishops remain silent and indifferent to As Card. Burke points out, but a judgment regarding the
counsels in accordance with the dispositions of a specific uncovered a fair amount of a public offense against the Body “the text makes it clear that the objective condition of serious
religious institute within the Church. serious confusion regarding the and Blood of Christ.” Church has the responsibility to sin in a person who, after due
It is also doubtful that this particular erroneous concept norm of c.915. Specifically─Burke This doctrine is summarized by deny Holy Communion to those admonition from his pastor,
of God would invalidate the profession. The substitution pointed out─the denial of Holy Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical who are known to be under the persists in cooperating formally
of the traditional Trinitarian formula for these versions Communion was repeatedly Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia, “On imposed or declared penalties of with intrinsically evil acts like
is a relic of a once-fashionable ideology masquerading as characterized as the imposition the Eucharist in Its Relationship excommunication and interdict, procured abortion.”
theology. of a canonical penalty, which to the Church,” issued on Holy and to those who are known to
These expressions are not so much erroneous as incomplete. of course shouldn’t be done in Thursday, 17.IV. 2003. In Chapter persist obstinately in manifest CONCLUSIONS
God is certainly creator, redeemer and sanctifier. However, such summary fashion by the Four of the Encyclical Letter, grave sin. Although the text does Card. Raymond Burke draws
substituting the Trinitarian Persons for divine actions sacred minister, without a due “The Eucharist and Ecclesial not state so explicitly, it is clear the following conclusions from
impoverishes the biblical concept of God. process─whether judicial or Communion,” Pope John Paul that the Church’s responsibility the aforementioned review of the
God the Creator is not quite the same as God the Father administrative. declared, among other things: is carried out by the minister of history of the canonical discipline
Creator. In the first case, we could be left with a deist In fact─he continued to pointed (1) The celebration of the Holy Communion.” of denying Holy Communion to
watchmaker or some similar abstract concept, whereas out─c.915 “only articulates the Eucharist cannot be the starting It stands to reason that it those who obstinately persist in
the notion of Father Creator implies self-giving love and responsibility of the minister point for communion; it would be necessary to know that public grave sin?
providence. Likewise, the concept of God the Son is far of Holy Communion─ whether presupposes that communion indeed the persons concerned (1) The consistent canonical
richer than that of redeemer, as it tells us more about ordinary or extraordinary─to already exists, a communion obstinately persist in manifest discipline permits the
the Father’s love in sending the redeemer and the nature deny Holy Communion to those which it seeks to consolidate and grave sin─i.e., that his pastor has administering of the Sacrament
of redemption as not just forgiveness of sins but divine who obstinately persevere in bring to perfection. informed him about the grave of Holy Communion only to those
adoption in the Son. manifest grave sin.” (2) John Paul II reminded us of and public sinfulness of what he who are properly disposed
Much more could be said but it would require a thesis. In effect, the denial of Holy the requirement that we be in the is doing and has cautioned him externally, and forbids it to
Although I do not believe that this formula invalidates the Communion can be the result state of grace in order to receive to refrain from approaching Holy those who are not so disposed,
religious profession, I would recommend to our reader to of the imposition or declaration Holy Communion. Making Communion. prescinding from the
see if is possible to enrich the religious in question with a of the canonical penalties of reference to 1Cor 11,28, he question of their internal
more complete theological formation that would allow them Excommunication and Interdict declared that whoever desires to THE DECLARATION OF THE disposition, which cannot be
to consciously renew their formulas. (cf. cc.1331, §1, 2º; and 1332). participate in Holy Communion PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR known with certainty.
However, there are other cases must be about the daily work of LEGISLATIVE TEXTS (2) The discipline is required
in which Holy Communion growing in holiness of life, that On June 24, 2000, the Pontifical Communion / B7
 Features
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
B3

Campana de Baler and

Other Church Ornaments
Preservation of cultural artifacts is a noble undertaking but if carried out of personal gains it becomes
questionable and divisive. The essence of culture is the fullness of life and a living, authentic faith.

PhilCHA Network
holds its First
General Assembly

wwww.nassa.org.ph
By NASSA Staff

THE Philippine Catholic HIV/AIDS Network, dubbed the

Baler Church
By Fr. Nilvon Villanueva
Where is the campana de Baler? Ironically,
no one seems to have an answer.
Who really has an exact knowledge where
the giant bell of Baler has gone? When was
the last time anyone has seen and heard the
bell ring? People from all walks of life here
in Baler may have varied versions of how
the famous antique bell was lost. But no
one can exactly say how and when the bell
disappeared from Baler.
Many years after the Spaniards left Baler,
Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon in the mid
1930s started to restore the church from the
ruins of many battles between the Spanish and
Filipino soldiers. Doña Aurora voluntarily
gave off her time and money for this noble
task for she loved Baler deeply.
Her thoughts were always centered on how
she could serve the people she held dear in her
Tayabas Province.
In 1948 the Carmelite Fathers formally
started their mission in this part of the diocese
which later became the Prelature of Infanta in
1950. Many Carmelite Fathers gave their lives
to the missionary work in Aurora. Theirs was
a response to the Church’s call to serve the
people and the poor by building communities
of faith and love through catechism, the
celebration of the sacraments, building
convents, churches and schools.
In thirty five years, the Carmelite Fathers
were an essential part of the history, the
cultural heritage and the human journey of
the people of Aurora. They were with us in
the thousands of baptisms, weddings and
funerals of every family in Aurora. They
heard our confessions and were always one
with us in all of life’s challenges. Who can
forget how Fr. Leo McCrudden gave his life
while attempting to rescue some fishermen
of Baler in the midst of a raging storm?
Now, the Filipino clergy spread all over
the Prelature of Infanta have dedicated
themselves to the mission of serving and
journeying with the living Church, a Church
of the Poor:
“…a community of faith that embraces
and practices the evangelical spirit of
poverty, which combines detachment from
possessions with a profound trust in the
Lord as the sole source of salvation” (Acts
and Decrees of the Second Plenary Council
of the Philippines, 125).
Essence of culture
We too, believe in the importance of
preserving material artifacts for our cultural
heritage. We are saddened by the loss
of Campana de Baler, the many church
ornaments, vestments and chandeliers.
The long drawn battles during the Spanish
colonization, the absence of priests for a
long period of time after the Spaniards left
action force of the Philippine Church in responding to the
challenges of HIV/AIDS, held its First General Assembly
on February 10, 2011 at the Fray Clemente Holiness Center-
San Juan de Dios Education Foundation in Pasay. It was
attended by representatives of 37 Catholic organizations and
congregations. The Network started with only 19 members
when it was launched in March 2010.
The event was jointly supported by the MSC Mission Office
and the Catholic Medical Mission Board, and organized by
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-National
Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA), which is also
the Secretariat of the Network.
The Call to be Relevant
Bishop Broderick S. Pabillo, the National Director of
CBCP-NASSA and Bishop-Advisor of the Network, invited
the delegates to look into the 1993 CBCP Pastoral Statement
on HIV/AIDS: In the Compassion of Jesus to see if “it is still
valid” and “to propose to CBCP our points of concern.” He
wwww.nassa.org.ph

heart. She knew the importance of religion,
faith and spirituality in the lives of the people.
Although Baler then did not have a fulltime
priest there was a priest from the Diocese of
Lipa who came only for fiestas. Baler was
then part of the Diocese of Lipa.
After discernment and impelled by her
judgment, Doña Aurora travelled to the
Carmelite Fathers in New Manila where the
Quezons had a house to ask for missionary
priests. She begged the Carmelite Fathers to
come and serve Baler.
The Carmelite Fathers
The brown fathers, with Fr. Patrick Shanley
as head, went to the Bishop of Lipa and asked
the good Bishop if they could be assigned
to the poorest part of his diocese. His wish
granted, Father Shanley was assigned to
the northern part of the diocese which then
comprised the northern part of Quezon,
Polillio Islands and Aurora province. Then,
these places were part of what was called
By the 1960’s the Church entered into
renewal following Vatican II. The Church
opened its doors to the new breath of the
Spirit. There were many liturgical reforms,
including changes in the liturgy, altar, arts,
rites, vestments, language. Many Churches
restructured their altars, some ornaments
and images were changed following the call
of renewal.
We have many reasons to thank God for
Doña Aurora Aragon Quezon a model of a
good and loving steward. In her humility and
sincerity, Dñna Aurora gave her life for us.
We too thank every Carmelite Father who
with their pure hearts, blessed Aurora and
the people with a heritage and legacy of
faith rooted in genuine human concern and
a communitarian spirit.
We thank Carmelite Bishop Julio X.
Labayen, who headed the Prelature of Infanta
for 40 years and the Filipino clergy for their
commitment to justice, and a preferential
option for the poor.
Baler, the liturgical reforms and physical
changes after Vatican II, are realistic events
that may account for the loss of these cultural
artifacts.
There are many lessons to be learned by all
in the equally important duty of preserving
cultural artifacts. For one, dialogue − between
institutions involved in the preservation and
care of cultural artifacts has historically been
a mature and diplomatic option.
Because, while attempts to trace, recover
and preserve the cultural artifacts of Baler
are noble undertakings, these become
questionable and divisive if pursued against
the backdrop of personal gains, malicious
intent to discredit the clergy and as a means
to divert attention from other pressing
issues. For, indeed, there are more important
concerns like the fight against APECO
(Aurora Pacific Economic Zone Freeport),
mining, logging, corruption, and poverty.
The essence of culture is the fullness of life
and a living, authentic faith.
also challenged the assembly to set up “the structures needed
for better coordination and to animate the whole Church.”
Mapping the Strategic Directions
To guide the action plan workshop in the afternoon, Dr.
Susan Gregorio from the Philippine National AIDS Council
was invited to give the country’s current situation on the
fight against the HIV/AIDS and the government’s various
responses to the issue.
Three persons living with HIV & AIDS were invited to share their
life experiences and sat with the working committees to formulate
the Network’s strategic directions for the next 2-3 years.
Ms. Jo Ignacio, the HIV/AIDS Programs Coordinator of
CBCP-NASSA presented the drafted Vision-Mission-Goals
and the organizational structure of the new Network which
is the fruit of a 4-day workshop completed by the Network’s
core group.

May They Be One Family Encounter with the Bible Members of the MTBO Ad-
visory Committee: Bishop

T
he May They Be One (MTBO) Bible continues to make its presence felt Broderick S. Pabillo, DD, Am-
in homes and families. More and more parents and children are now bassador Henrietta T. de Villa,

Bible Campaign
reading and studying the Bible together. A good example is the Pallarca Fr. Oscar A. Alunday, Mr. Rod
family—the winner of the 2011 Northern Region Catholic Family Bible Encoun- Cornejo, Mr. Rene E. Cristobal
ter. Husband and wife Danilo and Marilou with their children David Michael, Sr., Dr. Philip C. Flores, Dante
aged 24, twins David Micho and David Michee aged 16—from the Diocese M. Lanorio, Fr. Antonio B. Na-
Help Put a Bible in Every Filipino Home of Cabanatuan—belong to one of the 16 families who received MTBO Bibles varrete, Fr. Art Orense and Mr.
under a partnership program between May They Be One and the Catholic Albert Tanlimco.
Family Bible Encounter.
The Encounter requires each participating family to read the entire Bible— May They Be One Bible
from Genesis to Revelation. The Pallarcas said that they have previously campaign is a nationwide pro-
never read the Bible together though they were active in church. But when gram which aims to distribute 5
they did start reading and memorizing portions of the Scriptures, the experi- million Bibles in 7 years. Learn
ence turned out to be fun. The practice also strengthened their bond as a more about how you can be
family. The children are thankful that despite their parents’ busy schedule, part of the Campaign. Call us
they made time for studying the Word of God with their kids. The young- at PBS 526-7777, ECBA 527-
sters were greatly inspired by this family activity and said that they want to 9386 or visit www.bible.org.ph
continue the family reading of the Bible even after the Encounter. Young as and www.ecba-cbcp.com. Do-
they are, the Pallarca kids have decided to commit themselves to serving nations can be deposited in the
as volunteers in the Basic Ecclesial Community (BEC) in their area to teach following bank accounts: PBS-
others and help spread the joy of reading the Bible in every home. MTBO Account#393-0649-34
(BPI Sta. Mesa Branch) Fax
Number of Dioceses participating in the Bible Campaign – 80 out of 86 Dioceses deposit slip to 521-5803 or
The Pallarca Family, winner of the 2011 Northern Region Catholic Family Bible Encounter Bibles Distributed (Jan 1, 2011 – Feb 18, 2011): 26,053 cps ECBA-CBCP Account #0251-
Bibles Distributed by Languages - Tagalog (5,907cps.), Cebuano (8,203 cps.) English (3,583 021376 (BPI-Tayuman Branch)
cps.), Ilocano (2,048 cps.), Hiligaynon (3,341cps.), Bicol (773 cps), Pangasinan (8 cps.),
Pampango (677cps.), Samarenyo (1,513 cps.) Fax deposit slip to 527-9386.
Praise God for the growing influence of God’s Word in many Filipino families. May the Lord Parishes/Communities served: 42 For credit card payments – go
cause the seed of the Word planted in the hearts of Filipinos to take root, grow and cause Total Bible Distribution: (Jan 2009- Feb. 7, 2011): 333,841 cps to PBS website (www.bible.
a ripple effect to the rest of the country. Pray that the Lord will continue to use the Catholic Target No. of Bibles for Distribution for 2011: 400,000 cps. org.ph).
Family Bible Encounter to increase awareness and love for God’s Word. Total Funds Needed for Printing and Transport of Bibles in 2011: P60M
 Features
CBCP Monitor
B4 Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

A victory for truth: the life of Bernard Nathanson

An unlikely hero of human dignity died this week, a doctor who once performed thousands of abortions
By Carolyn Moynihan

DURING four decades of the abortion

wars in the United States there has
been much traffic across the battle lines.
Many who should have been on the pro-
life side positioned themselves in the
opposite ranks—the deceptively named
Catholics for a Free Choice is the prime
example. This was the easy path, a case
of going with the cultural flow under
the influence of leading institutions in
the media and political life.
Defections from the pro-abortion
side, however, have been much more
significant, not to mention heroic.
Norma McCorvey, the “Jane Roe”
plaintiff of the 1973 Supreme Court
case which issued in the legalizing of
abortion throughout the US, became a
high profile opponent of abortion and
eventually petitioned the Supreme Court
to overturn its Roe v Wade decision.
Many others have followed her in the
public renunciation of the killing of
unborn children, most recently Abby
Johnson, a young Planned Parenthood
clinic operator from Texas, whose story
was published last month.
But no convert to the pro-life cause
comes near in prominence or influence
to Dr. Bernard Nathanson, one of the
original abortion rights campaigners,
who died on Monday at the age of 84.
Dr. Nathanson did as much as anyone
to launch abortion as a regular means of
birth control, but for that very reason he
also did more to discredit it once he faced
the truth about this “procedure” and
began to write and speak against it.

Culture wars—those that matter—are
always about truth. As an obstetrician
and gynaecologist Dr. Nathanson knew
that there was a living human being in
the womb of a pregnant woman but he
turned his face against this scientific
fact—in the first instance, perhaps,
because abortion assisted his own
lifestyle. At college in the 1940s he got
his girlfriend pregnant and used money
from his father to pay for her (illegal)
abortion. “It served as my introduction
into the satanic world of abortion,” he
later wrote. After settling in New York
he got another girlfriend pregnant
and decided to abort the child—his
child too—himself. How often denial
of the truth is motivated by one’s own
misdeeds!
The fact that many people were doing
botched illegal abortions provided
another excuse for the legalization
campaign that Dr. Nathanson became
caught up in during the late 1960s.
“Illegal abortion was in 1967 the number
one killer of pregnant women,” he wrote.
Justifications paved the way for lies. In
Aborting America (1979) he admitted:
We aroused enough sympathy to sell
our program of permissive abortion
by fabricating the number of illegal
abortions done annually in the U.S. The
actual figure was approaching 100,000
but the figure we gave to the media
repeatedly was 1,000,000. Repeating the
big lie often enough convinces the public.
The number of women dying from illegal
abortions was around 200-250 annually.
The figure we constantly fed to the media
was 10,000. These false figures took
root in the consciousness of Americans
convincing many that we needed to
crack the [anti] abortion law.
Another lie—one that is told wherever
abortion is promoted—was perpetrated
by the name, Centre for Reproductive
and Sexual Health, given to the New
York abortion clinic where, from 1970 to
1972, Dr. Nathanson, as director and by
his own account, “presided over 60,000
deaths”. The “health” claim in the now
numbingly familiar phrase, “sexual
and reproductive health”, presumably
is based on providing abortions which
don’t kill women, but it is entirely
cancelled out by the 100 per cent death
rate for unborn children.
What brought the abortion “rights”
crusader to change his mind—and,
more importantly, his heart? Partly it
was peer pressure: because of his public
profile as an abortionist he began to be
treated as a pariah in legitimate medical
circles and received fewer obstetrical
referrals. Surely, even at that early stage,
it was also the fervor of the right-to-life
movement that sprang up in opposition
to the abortion campaign—although
he deplored the “blind polarity” and
“screaming placards” of both groups in
an article published in the New England
Journal of Medicine in 1974.
In that article, however, Dr. Nathanson
expressed his misgivings about abortion
and the “cry” used to justify it: “that
nothing can be human life that cannot
exist independently”. There was no
longer, he said, “serious doubt in my
mind that human life exists within
the womb from the very onset of
pregnancy…” Why? Because technology
was making liars of everyone who held
otherwise:
Electrocardiographic evidence of
heart function has been established
in embryos as early as six weeks.
Electroencephalographic recordings of
human brain activity have been noted in
embryos at eight weeks. Our capacity to
measure signs of life is daily becoming
more sophisticated, and as time goes
by, we will doubtless be able to isolate
life signs at earlier and earlier stages in
fetal development.
He performed his last abortion in
1979.
If pro-life activists were the first
witnesses to the truth about the unborn
child to Dr. Nathanson, technology was
the other great witness. Ultrasound
imaging was developing rapidly and
it was images of the child in the womb
that eventually convinced him that a true
human being is killed in abortion. Using
real-time ultrasound images in 1985
he made the famous and electrifying
short film, The Silent Scream, showing
12-week child shrinking away from
the abortionist’s instruments. In 1987
he produced another film, Eclipse
of Reason, showing a late term (five
months) abortion in its gruesome and
morally shocking detail. The latter film
includes testimonies from several ex-
abortionists.
Introducing “Eclipse of Reason”,
actor Charlton Heston pointed out that
more than 20 million abortions had
been carried out in the US since 1973.
Yet, despite the importance of the issue
and the huge public debate about it,
a complete abortion had never been
shown on television. The media had
failed to do what they said was their
job: to inform the public—in this case
about the facts of abortion.
Today, anyone can watch Dr.
Nathanson’s and other abortion videos
on YouTube, but has any major television
network yet shown such pictures? Even
displaying graphic posters gets pro-life
demonstrators into trouble, as though
they were committing an obscenity
themselves rather than the people who
did the killing. There is a conspiracy
among institutions to hide the truth, as
Dr. Nathanson himself observed.
His own efforts to correct the lies
were untiring. In addition to his films
there were books—notably, Aborting
America (1979)—and speaking tours
around the world. As he lost friends in
the abortion movement and amongst
former colleagues, he found new ones
in the pro-life movement.
Joan Andrews, an ardent advocate for
the unborn child who served more than
a year in jail for blocking abortion clinic
entrances, was particularly close. She
was over 40 before she married Chris
Bell and when she conceived, a friend
tells me, she “asked Dr. Nathanson to
look after her pre-natal care. It was a big
statement for someone like Joan to have
a former abortionist caring for her own
baby. I think the trust and confidence she
showed in Dr. Nathanson helped him to
forgive himself for all the harm he had
done to mothers and babies.”
Later she served as Dr. Nathanson’s
godmother when he was baptized in
the Catholic Church by Cardinal John
O’Connor of New York in 1996. It was
not inevitable but it was very fitting
that the doctor who used to describe
himself as a “Jewish atheist” should
reach out eventually for The Hand of
God—the title of his book about his
whole pro-life journey. A priest who
instructed him in the Catholic faith, Fr.
C. John McCloskey, called the book “one
of the more important autobiographies
of the twentieth century”, documenting
www.i2.ytimg.com
“man’s inhumanity both to humanity
and to his personal self, and the
possibility of redemption.”
All those murders—the 75,000 he
took responsibility for included 5000
he performed himself and 10,000
performed by interns at St. Luke’s
Hospital in Manhattan—created a debt
of justice that no man could pay by
himself. The burden on his awakened
conscience must have been extreme, and
unbearable without a faith that assured
him of forgiveness. He learned that the
debt was already paid in full and he
only had to make up as best he could
for the wrong. Joan Andrews Bell says
“he underwent huge amounts of fasting
to make up for it”.
He always accused himself before
anybody else: “I am one of those who
helped usher in this barbaric age,” he
wrote in The Hand of God. And, “I know
every facet of abortion. I helped nurture
the creature in its infancy by feeding it
great draughts of blood and money; I
guided it through its adolescence as it
grew recklessly out of control.”
The New York Times quotes the latter
sentence as an example of Dr. Nathanson’s
tendencytopainthimselfin“luridcolours”—
as though it was merely a rhetorical device
to make the audience gasp. Everything
else, however, points to his deep sincerity
and even heroism in completely turning
his ideas and his life around. He has earned
the right to be counted among the heroes of
human dignity.
(Carolyn Moynihan is deputy editor of
MercatorNet. This article is reprinted here
under special publishing arrangements with
MercatorNet)

Historic amendment to defund Planned

Parenthood passes overwhelmingly in House
WASHINGTON, DC, February
18, 2011—In a historic vote Friday
afternoon, the US House voted to
strike all federal funding for the
Planned Parenthood Federation
of America. Every year the
abortion giant receives hundreds
of millions of dollars in taxpayer
funding.
The congressional body
voted 240-185 in favor of the
amendment, introduced by Rep.
Mike Pence (R-IN), to the 2011
Federal Spending Bill.
Immediately after the vote Rep.
Pence released a statement saying:
“This afternoon’s vote is a victory
for taxpayers and a victory for
life. By banning federal funding
to Planned Parenthood, Congress
has taken a stand for millions
of Americans who believe their
tax dollars should not be used
to subsidize the largest abortion
provider in America.
“I commend my colleagues in
both parties for taking a stand for
taxpayers and a stand for life.”
The amendment will now go
before the Senate.
The vote came after a heated
debate in the House. It also comes
in the wake of an explosive
series of videos released over
the last two weeks by the pro-life
organization Live Action, which
showed Planned Parenthood
staff repeatedly willing to aid
and abet the trafficking of
underage “sex workers” by
offering advice to an undercover
investigator posing as a “pimp”
on how to obtain secret abortions,
contraception, and STD tests.
In a web page released
right after the vote, Planned
Parenthood called the legislation
“the most dangerous legislative
assault in our history, and it
cannot go unanswered.” In an
open letter to Congress that the
organization is asking supporters
to sign, the abortion giant says:
“To every member of Congress,
know that we stand together
today against this outrageous
assault, and together we will
not lose.”
Nancy Keenan, president of
NARAL Pro-Choice America,
blasted the vote.
“The new anti-choice House
leadership promised a jobs
agenda and is now waging a
war on contraception,” Keenan
said. “These lawmakers are out
of control, and we will hold them
accountable for their actions.”
In a statement Tony Perkins
of Family Research Council
congratulated the House and Rep.
Pence: “Planned Parenthood,
a scandal-plagued abortion
organization, must be held
accountable for abusing innocent
young victims while receiving
hundreds of millions in federal
dollars each year.”
“The fact that Planned
Parenthood not only left minor
girls trapped in prostitution,
but encouraged it, shows an
incredible lack of humanity
on their part. What goes on
behind the windowless offices
of Planned Parenthood, as Live
Action’s videos show, is both
saddening and shocking, but
the fact that it has often been
done with taxpayer dollars is
indefensible.”
Lila Rose, the President of
Live Action, issued a statement
turning the attention of pro-life
advocates to the coming battle
in the Senate. “The case to
cease funding is crystal clear,”
she said. “But for any Senator
who remains unsure, imagine
explaining to your constituents
that you voted to keep sending
$350 million of their tax dollars
to an ‘non-profit’ that puts young
girls in harm’s way and made $63
million in profits by performing
over 300,000 abortions last year.
It’s time once and for all to stop
financing these activities.”
At some times poignant, at
others openly bitter, House
lawmakers on Thursday night
went head-to-head over the
momentous amendment.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), a
top pro-life leader in the House,
described the conversion of
former Planned Parenthood
director Abby Johnson when she
was confronted with the reality of
how an abortion kills a child.
“Despite the best and slickest
market branding money can
buy, the stubborn fact remains
that Planned Parenthood clinics
are among the most dangerous
places on earth for a child,” said
Smith. “Not only does Planned
Parenthood vigorously lobby
and litigate against parental
notification and consent laws—
thus enabling secret abortions
for very, very young girls—but
now we‘ve learned from recent
undercover taped investigations
at several of its clinics ... that
Planned Parenthood employees
were found to be more than eager
to assist people posing as sex
traffickers to procure abortions
for underage girls.”
In an emotional rebuttal,
Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier of
California said that she “lost a
baby” to “that procedure that
you just talked about,” and that
“to suggest as you have that
somehow this is a procedure
that is either welcomed, or done
cavalierly, or done without any
thought, is preposterous.”
“Planned Parenthood has a
right to offer abortions. Last time
I checked, abortions were legal in
this country,” she said in a speech
that won applause.
A number of other pro-abortion
Democrat House lawmakers
defended the abortion giant,
saying that stopping its taxpayer
funding “will risk the lives and
safety of millions of American
women.” Rep. Louise Slaughter
(D-CA) argued that stripping
familyplanningfundswasactually
detrimental to taxpayers.
“For every dollar invested
in family planning services,
taxpayers save four dollars,”
said Slaughter, presumably
following the same logic as PPFA
president Cecile Richards and
former Democrat House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi, who have argued
that allowing fewer people to
be born means less cost to the
government to support them.
The amendment’s future
remains uncertain: while the
majority of the U.S. Senate
remains in Democrat hands,
some moderate members may
be persuaded to side with the
funding cut. Following the
amendment’s success in the
House, Rep. Pence called on
members of the upper chamber
to finish the job. “I encourage my
colleagues in the Senate to support
this legislation and end federal
funding of Planned Parenthood
once and for all,” he said in a
statement. (LifeSiteNews)
 Statements
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
B5

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to the

Visayan and Bicol Bishops on the occasion
of their visit ‘Ad Limina apostolorum’
My dear Brother Bishops,
I am pleased to receive you today
on the occasion of your ad Limina
visit, and I offer my sincere good
wishes and prayers for yourselves
and for all those entrusted to your
pastoral care. Your presence at the
tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul
strengthens the profound unity that
already exists between the Church in
the Philippines and the Holy See. As
the deep links which Catholics enjoy
with the Successor of Peter have always
been a significant characteristic of
faith in your country, I pray that this
communion will continue to grow and
flourish as you consider the present
challenges of your apostolate.
While the Philippines continues
to face many challenges in the area
of economic development, we must
recognize that these obstacles to a
life of happiness and fulfillment are
not the only stumbling blocks that
must be addressed by the Church.
Filipino culture is also confronted with
the more subtle questions inherent
to the secularism, materialism, and
consumerism of our times. When self-
sufficiency and freedom are severed
from their dependence upon and
completion in God, the human person
creates for himself a false destiny and
loses sight of the eternal joy for which he
has been made. The path to rediscovering
humanity’s true destiny can only be
found in the re-establishment of the
priority of God in the heart and mind
of every person.
Above all, to keep God at the center of
the life of the faithful, the preaching of
you and your clergy must be personal in
its focus so that each Catholic will grasp
in his or her innermost depths the life-
transforming fact that God exists, that he
loves us, and that in Christ he answers
the deepest questions of our lives. Your
beneficial effects, the result being that
many dioceses have formed pastoral
programs focused on conveying the
good news of salvation. At the same
time, it must be recognized that new
initiatives in evangelization will only
be fruitful if, by the grace of God, those
proposing them are people who truly
believe and live the message of the
Gospel themselves.
This is surely one of the reasons why
basic ecclesial communities have had
such a positive impact throughout the
country. When formed and guided
by people whose motivating force is
the love of Christ, these communities
have proven themselves to be worthy
tools of evangelization as they work
in conjunction with local parishes.
Similarly, the Church in the Philippines
is fortunate to have a number of lay
organizations which continue to draw
people to the Lord. In order to confront
the questions of our times, the laity need
to hear the Gospel message in its fullness,
to understand its implications for their
personal lives and for society in general,
and thus be constantly converted to the
Lord. I therefore urge you to take special
care in shepherding such groups, so
that the primacy of God may remain in
the forefront.
Thisprimacyisofparticularimportance
when it comes to the evangelization of
youth. I am happy to note that, in your
country, the faith plays a very important
role in the lives of many young people,
a fact that is due in large part to the
patient work of the local Church to
reach out to the youth at all levels. I
encourage you to continue to remind
young people that the glamour of this
world will not satisfy their natural desire
for happiness. Only true friendship with
God will break the bonds of loneliness
from which our fragile humanity suffers
and will establish a true and lasting
of the sacraments as instruments of
God’s grace and assistance. This is
particularly true of the sacrament of
matrimony, which sanctifies married life
from its very beginning, so that God’s
presence may sustain young couples in
their struggles.
The pastoral care of young people
which aims to establish the primacy of
God in their hearts, tends inherently to
result not only in vocations to Christian
marriage but also in plentiful callings
of all kinds. I am pleased to note the
success of local initiatives in fostering
numerous vocations to the priesthood
and the religious life. However, the
need for ever more dedicated servants
of Christ both at home and abroad is
still pressing. From your quinquennial
reports, it appears that in many
dioceses the number of priests and the
corresponding number of parishes is
not yet sufficient to meet the spiritual
needs of the large and growing Catholic
population. With you, I therefore pray
that young Filipinos who feel called to
the priesthood and the religious life will
respond generously to the promptings
of the Spirit. May the Church’s mission
of evangelization be sustained by the
wonderful gifts which the Lord offers
to those whom he calls! In your turn,
as Pastors you will wish to offer these
young vocations a well-developed
and carefully applied plan of integral
formation so that their initial inclination
towards a life of service to Christ and
his faithful may come to full spiritual
and human maturity.
Dear brothers in the episcopate,
with these thoughts I assure you of
my prayers and commend you to the
intercession of Saint Lorenzo Ruiz. May
his example of steadfast faithfulness
to Christ be an encouragement to
you in your apostolic labors. To you,
to the clergy and religious, and to all

great task in evangelization is therefore
to propose a personal relationship with
Christ as key to complete fulfillment. In
this context, the second Plenary Council
of the Philippines continues to have
communion with others, a spiritual bond
that will readily prompt within us the
wish to serve the needs of those we love
in Christ. Care must also be given to
showing young people the importance
www.ilnostrotempo.it
the faithful entrusted to your care, I
cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing
as a pledge of grace and peace.
February 19, 2011

Message of Gaudencio Cardinal ‘Complete Priestly

Rosales during the unveiling of Formation Includes Not
Only the Academic’
statue of Cardinal Sin
TWENTY-FIVE years after the people Power
(The address of Pope Benedict XVI to the students and faculty of
the Pontificio Collegio Filippino in an audience, February 19; on the
But we are also reminded that the escape occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Collegio.)
at EDSA, we are here at the corner of Bonifacio from the tyranny of the Egyptian Pharaoh via
and Burgos Avenues, named after two brands the miraculous crossing of the sea was only Your Eminence, Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
of Philippine Heroes—the one in arms and the first step among many steps to freedom. I am pleased to greet you, the students and faculty of the
the other raising the Cross. (Andres Bonifacio Real freedom would wait through the forty Pontifical Filipino College in this year marking the fiftieth
and Padre Burgos). At EDSA the arms were years of wandering in the Sinai desert, the anniversary of its establishment by my predecessor Blessed John
tamed by the Cross. forty years of being purified, being found XXIII. I join you in giving thanks to God for all your College
The nation commemorates that singular unfaithful in order to be cleansed before the has contributed to the life of your fellow Filipinos both at home
God-inspired intervention in the restoration entry to the Promised Liberty (Land). and abroad over the course of the last five decades.
of Democracy in our Country. And today From our experience we see that the As a house of formation located here, by the tombs of the great
we inaugurate the monument to honor the Pilipino hesitates to enter the desert that will Apostles Peter and Paul, the Filipino College has fulfilled the
memory of H.E., the late Jaime Cardinal test his virtue, his integrity and his fidelity mission entrusted to it in a variety of ways. Its first and most
Sin, and to remind the Nation that it is to the love of God, People and Country. Let important task remains to assist students in their formation in
always possible to dismantle dictatorship the common aspiration then be: the courage the sacred sciences. This the College has accomplished well,
and injustice through peaceful and non- to enter the purification of values and the as hundreds of priests have returned home with advanced
violent means. Prayer and sensitivity to assurance of a well formed conscience in degrees obtained from the various Pontifical universities and
conscience, which is the voice of God in order to better become aware of the voice of institutions in the city, and have gone on to serve the Church
every man and woman, guided the nation God when one is at the crossroads of right throughout the world, some of them with great distinction.
in those most perilous times in our history and wrong, good and bad, holy and unholy, Let me encourage you, the present generation of students
as an independent people. power and integrity, God and Mammon at the College, to grow in faith, to strive for excellence in
EDSA became the symbol of the Philippine (Money). Once tried and purified, then your studies, and to grasp every opportunity afforded you
version of Exodus in the Holy Bible. We and from thereon, EDSA will not need to be to attain spiritual and theological maturity, so that you will
believe that the spirit of freedom belongs remembered.
© Roy Lagarde / CBCP Media

be equipped, trained, and stout-hearted for whatever awaits

to everyone of all times, faith and races, as It will forever be the heart of the political you in the future.
we see today happening in the experience value and life of Pilipino. As you know, a complete priestly formation includes not
of people the world over. The longing for only the academic: over and above the intellectual component
freedom repeats the experience of an Exodus +GAUDENCIO CARDINAL B. offered to them here, the students of the Filipino College are
or a political EDSA wherever and whenever ROSALES also formed spiritually through the Church of Rome’s living
there are people, who are oppressed and Archbishop of Manila history and the shining example of her martyrs, whose sacrifice
made victims of injustice. February 25, 2011 configures them perfectly to the person of Jesus Christ himself.
I am confident that each of you will be inspired by their union
with the mystery of Christ and embrace the Lord’s call to
holiness which demands from you as priests nothing less than
Reject the RH-RP Bill! It is Anti-life and Anti- the complete gift of your lives and labors to God. Doing so in
the company of other young priests and seminarians gathered
here from throughout the world, you will return home, like
Filipino! It goes against the Spirit of EDSA! those before you, with a grateful and permanent sense of the
Church of Rome’s history, of her roots in the paschal mystery
WE, members of the Good who use them regularly. Some damning claim of the Bill is The Bill is irresponsible and of Christ, and of her wonderful universality.
Citizenship Movement, are even carcinogenic. that it is against abortion! Yet unconstitutional While you are in Rome, pastoral necessity should not be
representing thousands of Proponents of the Bill also it provides for free services to The right and responsibility overlooked and so it is right, even for priests in studies,
faculty and students, government claim that widespread use women for post-abortion trauma. to educate children belongs to consider the needs of those around them, including the
employees, businessmen, of condoms will reduce the It facilitates and encourages the primarily to the parents. This members of the Filipino community living in Rome and its
parents, women and urban incidence of HIV-AIDS. Nothing use of contraceptives that are applies to sex education. If the environs. In doing so, let the use of your time always strike
poor, reject the proposed House is farther from the truth! Just look abortifacient! It violates the right bill is passed, it would take away a healthy balance between local pastoral concerns and the
Bill on reproductive health and at the experience of Thailand to life of the unborn Filipino! It this right and responsibility and academic requirements of your stay here, to the benefit of
responsible parenthood. It is where AIDS has spread greatly is for abortion! give it to the schools and to mass all.
unhealthy, anti-life, irresponsible since they started flooding their The Bill assumes that a woman’s media! This is not “responsible Finally, do not forget the affection of the Pope for you and
and anti Filipino! people with condoms! right to choose whether to abort parenthood”! It is a clear violation for your homeland. I urge you all to return to the Philippines
Another deceptive claim of is equal to the unborn’s right to of parents’ right to choose the with an unshakeable affection of your own for the Successor
The Bill is unhealthy and anti- the Bill’s proponents is that more life. This is not consistent with the manner and vehicle for giving of Peter and with the desire to strengthen and maintain the
Life contraceptive use will reduce natural moral law which makes sex education to their child! It communion which binds the Church in charity around him. In
If passed, the Bill would make unwanted pregnancies. The truth the right to life superior to any is therefore irresponsible and this way, having completed your studies, you will surely be a
contraceptives more accessible is that contraceptive use gives a other human right, including a unconstitutional! leaven of the Gospel in the life of your beloved nation.
and encourage their use. But sense of “false security”, opening woman’s right to choose to abort. Invoking the intercession of Our Lady of Peace and Good
medical research has shown the way to more sexual activity and In a word, a woman’s freedom to The Bill is anti-Filipino Voyage, and as a pledge of grace and peace in the Lord, I
conclusively that contraceptives more unwanted pregnancies! choose ends where a child’s right Underlying the Bill is the claim willingly impart to all of you my Apostolic Blessing.
have harmful effects for women But the most deceptive and to life begins! RH Bill / B7
 Ref lections
CBCP Monitor
B6 Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

Of Bogus Heroes and Bogus Christians

9th Sunday in Ordinary Time - Year A (Matt 7:21-27) March 6, 2011
By Msgr. Lope C. Robredillo, his followers: “For I tell you, unless your
SThD righteousness exceeds that of the scribes
and Pharisees, you will never enter the
kingdom of heaven” (Matt 5:20). For
NOT so long after Angelo Reyes Matthew, as for Jesus, Christianity is
committed suicide, some quarters not about a more strict observance of the
began trumpeting him as a hero, even law, it is not about being concerned that
comparing him to the Samurais of Japan, none of the commandments of Moses
in the wake of the investigation of his are broken. Such brand of Christianity
involvement in the mind-boggling is bogus, anymore than the Christianity
corruption in the Armed Forces of the propagated by charismatics that do
Philippines (AFP). Of course, if flight not go beyond acclamation of Jesus’
is an indication of guilt, what could be Lordship. Understandably, of course,
more indicative of guilt than a permanent the former could win a good number
one to the cemetery? No wonder, even of adherents because they tended to
if he was buried in Libingan ng mga disregard the commandments. (Who,
Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery), many critics indeed, would reject a religion that is too
were not convinced of the propriety of easy to observe, and yet gives assurance
interring him there; according to them, that one can reap eternal rewards?) On
he was not a hero, and there is nothing the other hand, people flocked to the

heroic in self-slaughtering for one’s self.
One such critic is Ninez Cacho-Olivares:
“Why then are the Filipinos being lulled
into believing that suicide is not only a
heroic act of Reyes, but an honorable
and courageous act of saving the nation?
Have Filipinos become so amoral that
they no longer know what is right from
wrong? “
Continues Cacho-Olivares in his
article, “Spin”: “But all this spin on
the suicide of Reyes that plays on the
Filipino culture calling for respect for the
dead is a big spin to save the corrupt in
government and for the ugly truth never
to surface. They in the military have even
gone to the extent of portraying a suicide
of a former chief of staff as heroic, and he
is now being treated as a hero, with even
the Philippine president, who claims to
campaign against corruption honoring
the suicide. If such is the way things
go today in this country, why former
military comptroller retired Gen. Jacinto
Ligot, who refuses to talk and claims he
remembers nothing, or at times, invokes
his right against self-incrimination,
should not take the “heroic” soldiers’
way out: Suicide. The same should go for
the other chiefs of staff who have been
linked to the corruption in the military.
After all, as the claim goes, suicide makes
one a hero, which translates to the idea
that one who refuses to help in baring
the truth and hides the truth is a hero
and his suicide a heroic act; a courageous
act and he is “saving the country, its
institutions and the Filipino people by
his death.”
If Cacho-Olivares is vigorous in her
assertion about who is a hero and who
is not, so, in today’s Gospel, Matthew
was no less spirited in his expose on
what is bogus Christianity and what is
authentic. He launched his attack on two
fronts. [1] On the one hand, he tried to
show the claims of the charismatics of
his day that their brand of Christianity
was not authentic. In the saying, “Not
everyone who calls me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter into the kingdom of heaven”
(Matt 7:21), he had in mind false prophets
and false charismatics who believed that
their good external actions, seen in their
prophetic utterances, the acclamation
they made in their congregation, singing
the title “Lord” to Jesus, and their
miracles of healing were enough proofs
of the authenticity of their discipleship.
The truth is, they are even described
as “lawless”, which could mean that
they have probably neglected the
commandment to love their neighbor,
which is the fulfillment of the law.
One is reminded of the question that
Jesus posed in Luke, “Why do you call
me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what
I tell you?” (Luke 6:46). In the mind
of Matthew, charismatics, enthusiasts
and prophets might be good preachers
and good lecturers, or good singers
and prayer leaders at the liturgy, but
their brand of discipleship remained
deceptive since they were unmindful
of their obligation to lift the poor from
www.freechristimages.org
misery. They appeared holy, but their
inwardness teemed with selfishness,
if not greed. That is why, they were
“ravenous wolves in sheep’s clothing”
(Matt 7:15).
[2] On the other, he directed his
attacks also against the Pharisees, who
at the time he wrote the Gospel, were
consolidating their theology in the
light of the fall of Jerusalem, and who
advocated strict Jewish orthodoxy. It
is possible that they were Christians
who—in contrast to the charismatics
who thought that, with their claim that
they had the Holy Spirit, there was no
need to follow the law—advocated
strict adherence to the Pharisaical
piety; probably, for them, Christianity
was being a good Jew with one added
element: belief in Jesus as the Messiah.
Which is why, earlier in the Sermon on the
Mount, Matthew portrays Jesus already
speaking of a higher righteousness for
Pharisees because many valued good
behavior. And yet, Matthew (and Jesus,
of course) looked at both brands of
Christianity as bogus. In view of this,
what then is authentic Christianity? If
neither strict adherence to the law nor
being a pseudo-charismatic will bring
one to the kingdom of heaven, what
will? According to Matthew, the sure
foundation lies in hearing the words of
Jesus and doing them:”Everyone who
hears these words of mine and does
them will be like a wise man who built
his house on rock” (Matthew 7:24). There
are two points to be noted here: [1] First
of all, the contrast is not between saying
and doing, not between theory and
practice, not between faith and works
which is adverted to, for instance, in
James: “What good is it, my brothers,
if a man claims to have faith but has
no deeds?... Faith, by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead” (James
2:14.17). Rather, Christianity is, before
anything else, adherence to the person
of Jesus. It begins with the belief that in
the very person of Jesus God has revealed
his redemptive plan, and the fruits of
Bogus / B7

The Temptations of Setting Aside the Bishop Pat Alo

Mission, of Image Building and of Power
1st Sunday of Lent - Year A (Matt 5:1-12) March 13, 2011
By Msgr. Lope C. Robre-
dillo, SThD
IN a recently proposed bill at the
Philippine Congress, Quezon
province Representative Danilo
Suarez wanted to increase the
pork barrel of congressmen by
P30M, and that of the senators
by P50M, to be taken from the
Motor Vehicle User’s Charge
(MVUC). It may be recalled
that under present practice,
congressmen received P70M
pork barrel, otherwise known as
Priority Development Assistance
Fund (PDAF), while Senators
have P200M. Reacting to the
proposal, Butuan Bishop Juan
de Dios Pueblos asserted that
instead of giving an increase, the
pork barrel should be abolished,
and the fund be given directly to
the concerned local and national
agencies “Who will be in favor
if you are in a good mind and in
a good sense? Our country is in
need actually and many of our
poor people are languishing in
poverty,” said the good Bishop.
“It’s sad that only politicians are
getting richer while millions
of people are getting poorer,”
he noted. According to the
Bishop, there is no assurance
that the hefty sum would be
used properly, because it is one
big source of corruptible funds.
Of course, greed is not easy to
moderate. As Oscar Wilde puts
it, “I can resist everything except
temptation.”
In today’s Gospel, Matthew
brings us to the subject of
temptation that is encountered
in the Christian community, and
he provides us with three typical
examples: (1) The Tempter
says: “If you are the Son of
God, command these stones to
turn into bread” (Matt 4:3b).
In the first example in which
Jesus is asked to turn the
stones into bread, the Christian
community seems to be faced
with the temptation of using
the powers given by Jesus to
satisfy human need. Of course,
at first blush, there seems to be
nothing wrong with using power
to satisfy hunger. Jesus himself
multiplied the five loaves and
two fish to feed the hungry
crowd that has been following
him (Matt 14:13-21). This is the
reason why the Church does
something about the problem;
it sets up social action centers
here and there because social
charity or social involvement is
not foreign to its mission. Still,
this can be a temptation in a
Christian community because,
even though it is a good thing, it
is not the proper mission of the
Church. Its proper mission is to
bring the Good News to men, and
social involvement is meaningful
only if it is not divorced from
the proclamation of the Word.
That is why, in response to the
Tempter, Jesus says: “Not on
bread alone is man to live, but on
every utterance that comes from
the mouth of God” (Matt 4:4b).
Social involvement that does not
proceed from the Word of God
is no different from the social
involvement of a communist; it
is pure humanism. If the Church
serves the poor and gives food to
the hungry, it is because service
to them is a Gospel imperative.
But before its serves the hungry,
the Christian community must
first of all be fed with the bread
of life, the Word of God.
(2) “If you are the Son of
God, throw yourself down,”
this is what the Tempter says
to Jesus while they are at the
parapet of the Temple (Matt
4:5-6). This temptation has to
do with the community’s power
and work to attract attention.
Of course, we know that with
the coming of mass media of
social communications, we
now live in a culture in which
image building is of paramount
Temptations / B7
ENCOUNTERS
IN a democracy the government is supposed to represent the
voice of the people, because it must follow its own definition as
a government of the people, for the people and by the people.
Such is therefore the turbulent confrontation in the Philippines
today as regards the Reproductive Health Bill that includes
use of artificial contraceptives and abortifacients contrary
to the Catholic stand. Well, if we are to respect the majority
Catholics of our people or even the Muslim population, the
government ought to respect Catholic thought and Islamic
policies, at least to be true to its name as a true democracy.
After all, the Church is only fostering what is truly the first
right of our people, which is LIFE. You cannot promote the other
subsequent rights of liberty and property, unless we admit the
very first of the rights of man – LIFE. It would be a false and
distorted democracy that says it is for people’s welfare, whereas
they intend population control by terminating or obstructing
life in various ways and methods. In the very first chapter of the
Bible God’s word speaks: “God blessed them, saying to them,
Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and conquer it” (Gen. 1:28).
Are we going to allow our minds to be obscured and deviated
from the right track just because of the money offers or even the
temptations of the world, the devil and the flesh.

Fr. Francis Ongkingco

WHATEVER
TIM woke up to the sun’s gentle
warmth stroking her cheeks. But she
didn’t return the inviting embrace. She
preferred to shun the radiant light and
wished she never woke up at all.
There was a darker and heavier storm
raging within her that seemed to turn her
away from all that enticing brightness.
This brewed a gnawing emptiness that
gave out a hollow sound that deeply
gashed her heart.
A few weeks ago, her emotions were
totally the opposite. A spark had ignited a
flame that blazed inside her even while she
slept. All this made her exude a mysterious,
contagious joy and excitement. Her closer
friends noticed. They understood what this
meant: she was in love. Indeed, she was,
and for the first time.
First experiences are always the best
and the ones we most cherish. A first
time in being in love was not just a
casually new experience. It could only
be described as first love, and simply
that [PERIOD]. Every step was carefully
made, every word to her ears sang a
fresh melody, and every meeting was
anticipated with a virgin desire.
But here she was sulking under a
blanket of gloominess and consoled by
a now damp tear-drenched pillow. This
was not how a fairy tale should end.
Parting’s sweeter sorrow
“Cinderella was luckier,” Tim said
disgustingly. “At least, she had left a
glass slipper for a happier ending.” She
lamented that there weren’t even mice
to console her and a squash to smash
with her frustration.
It was worse than having a nightmare.
She was staring at it wide awake. It was
indescribable to be crushed by one’s
negative passions all at once. There wasn’t
even time to store a bit of warmth from
the fragile flame of love. The flame was
barely lit and suddenly snuffed out.
Blown out by what or by whom? And
the answer was what Tim couldn’t bear
accepting: by herself.
***
“ By you?” Wanda, Tim’s best
friend was surprised. “Wait a minute!
[REWIND] [STOP!] [PLAY!] Okay, how
was this supposed to be your fault?
How could something so romantically
perfect go so wrong and end up really
sour? Weren’t things going smoothly as
fairy tales do, towards the ‘they-lived-
happily-ever-after’ ending?”
“Yes…! Tim replied, “and…NO! It
was truly a fairy tale, but one which was
being fast-forwarded to the point that
what’s supposed to be part of the end,
was played at the start.”
“And what’s wrong with that? Aren’t
present-day love stories like that? Don’t
they always tend to show the romantic
parts immediately?” Tim argued.
“I’m not ruining my relationship by
following some lousy scripted movie. I
will definitely not allow ‘love’s first kiss’
which ought to come at the end, to mess
everything up in the beginning.”
“Hey, girl, it’s only a kiss. It isn’t like
going all the way.”
“That’s what many say until they’ve
gone all the way,” Tim said. “One can’t
fast-forward true love. Doing so only
makes one unable to discern and make
decisions properly.”
“But isn’t love reason enough?”
“Of course, but love must have some
goal, some direction. It should be oriented
towards forging lifetime commitments to
ensure it is kept always true and fruitful.
And making such decisions cannot be
done when one’s mental abilities are
obscured by one’s passions.”
“You’re saying…,”
“I’m saying that you can’t know a
guy through his lips. In order to know
if he will be a faithful husband, a caring
dad, a modest and temperate man, and
a hard-working colleague, etc. To know
all this, I must engage him and challenge
him. And one’s passions aren’t exactly
the right tools to know these crucial
lifetime features about a person.”
“But how did your first and only kiss
make you decide to break up with your
friend?”
“I guess, it’s not only what one knows
about how true love ought to be. But it’s
also about knowing how to pray one’s
love life,” Tim shrugged her shoulders.
“Pray…?”
“After that first kiss I felt wonderful
but somehow guilty because I had given
something so intimate to someone who
wasn’t –as we both were not– ready for
such a deep sign of affection and trust.
I saw the danger of opening ourselves
too much to our passions and becoming
vulnerable to them, and losing the
chance to really know each other.”
“So you felt you weren’t ready? Then why
notjustavoidthekissingstuffandjustcontinue
being friends?” Wanda suggested.
“Well, I also realized something in that
first kiss. He was not yet mature enough
to give us the true love we deserved at
that stage of our relationship.”
“What do you mean deserve?”
“He lacked self-control, and this was
a sign that he needed time. I believe
that true love should and can already be
given, but one which respects the stages
of acquaintance and intimacy the couple
are in. Love should already give itself
entirely but appropriately, according to
the degree and depth of commitment
that the couple has achieved. If one
tries to place an expression of love at
the wrong stage, even though it may at
first be something sweet or passionate, it
becomes artificial and confusing. Thus,
loves first kiss, to be truly of love must be
planted at the right time and place.”
“Wow! I never saw things this way.
Maybe you realize this because you’re
such a prayerful person,” Wanda said
after emptying her can of beer.
“Iguessso.It’strue,prayerhelpedmealotto
decide.IlookedattheCrucifixandcomplained
to the Jesus. I told him, ‘how could you make
me know someone who has touched me so
deeply in life, and then allow something so
sweet to suddenly turn bitter?’”
“What did He say?”
Tim smiled, “I was comforted when He
told me: I allowed you to experience this
bitterness now, because I’m preparing
you for something sweeter later.”
“Later?” Wanda’s eyes lit up. “Are you
saying there’s a new guy in your life?”
“I didn’t say that. All I said was that
there’s something better and sweeter
waiting for me later.” Tim winked at
Wanda and extended her can of beer to
make a toast to their friendship.
 Social Concerns
CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
B7

Bishops Oriented on HIV/AIDS

By NASSA staff
THE Bishops who participated in the
102nd Plenary Assembly discussed
the status of the HIV situation in
the country with Msgr. Bob Vitillo,
Geneva-based Special Advisor on
HIV/AIDS to Caritas Internationalis
and Dr. Steven Kraus, Regional
Director of UNAIDS Support Team
based in Bangkok. It was held last
January 27, 2011 at the Pius XII Catholic
Center in Paco, manila.
Dr. Kraus imparted to the bishops
the great urgency of the HIV/AIDS
issue and noted a 25% increase in the
new HIV/AIDS cases between 2001
and 2009, in contrast to the global
trend of declining or stabilizing
number of new HIV infections. He
lauded Bishop Broderick Pabillo,
National Director of the National
Secretariat for Social Action
(CBCP-NASSA), for his foresight
in organizing the said seminar for
the bishops and for supporting the
advocacy on HIV.
He particularly asked the CBCP to
pressure the government in allotting
appropriate fund for HIV/AIDS
Proposal to the CBCP
Also during the event, the bishops
were asked to review the CBCP
Pastoral Statement on HIV/AIDS “In
the Compassion of Jesus,” written in
1993 in the light of new developments
on the issue. He encouraged the
bishops to make all statements on HIV/
AIDS be known to all faithful, and “not
to let it gather dust in the shelves.”
Such move will enhance awareness and
eliminate stigma and discrimination.
He added that the cause of persons
living with HIV/AIDS should not
only be supported in advocacies, but
they themselves should be invited in
liturgical celebrations in their own
parish, in their own church.
Stigma and Discrimination of an HIV/
AIDS Infected Person
A person living with HIV for thirteen
years, Ms. Elsa Chia, gave a face to
thousands of people infected with the
virus by her moving account on how
she lost her family, both husband and
child, to AIDS in 1997. The stigma and
discrimination, she emphasized, was
due primarily to ignorance and fear
of the virus. According to Ms. Chia,
people like her are living better lives

responses, including the provision of
the anti-retroviral drugs.
Msgr. Vitillo, on the other hand,
explained to the bishops the basic
facts on the disease including its three
major modes of transmission. He said
that the virus can be passed on from
a person to another through blood,
sexual intercourse and mother-to-
child. He also elaborated on HIV and
tuberculosis (TB) as a deadly duo,
each speeding up the progress of the
other. Furthermore, he said that the
Philippines now ranks 9th on the list
of 22 high-burden TB countries in the
world.
because more and more initiatives
from different groups are promoting
acceptance to people like her. She
was thankful to the Church, as well,
because of its leadership and stand
on the issue.
HIV/AIDS Pilot Program by the
Church
NASSA HIV-AIDS Program
Coordinator, Ms. Josephine Ignacio,
thanked Bishop Jose Rojas, Jr. and
Bishop Florentino Lavarias, for
having supported the pilot program,
“Building a Community of HIV/
AIDS Educators within Basic Ecclesial
Communities,” in their respective
dioceses: Libmanan and Iba. NASSA
hopes to replicate such program in
other dioceses in partnership with the
Catholic Medical Mission Board, which
was represented in the seminar by Dr.
Rabai Mathai, Senior Representative
for Asia-Pacific.
Philippine Catholic HIV/AIDS
Network (PhilCHAN)
Ms. Ignacio also introduced the
Philippine Catholic HIV/ AIDS
Network (PhilCHAN), a loose
coalition of Catholic congregations
and institutions involved in ministries
directly or in some ways related to HIV/
AIDS. They are the Church’s action
force in bringing God’s everlasting
love to those infected with and affected
by the virus while working for an HIV-
free society. Its members include the
Episcopal Commission on Health Care
www.nassa.org.ph
(ECHC) and Episcopal Commission
on Migrants and Itinerant Peoples
(ECMI).
The Human Immuno-deficiency
V ir us (H IV ) h as n o cur e un t i l
now. Even persons who have it
are not aware they carry the virus
and can infect others unless they
submit themselves to voluntary and
confidential counseling and testing at
social hygiene clinics.

RH Bill / B5 Temptations / B6

that overpopulation causes poverty,
and therefore, Filipino population must
be controlled! Most economists and
political scientists would refute this!
Empirical research shows otherwise.
We assert that the Philippines is not
overpopulated and population is not
correlated to poverty!
We have more than enough land and
food for our people. Our problem is
that our cities and urban centers are too
densely populated, simply because there
are not enough jobs in the countryside.
The solution is for government and
business to decentralize their economic
programs and empower the provinces.
More support to agriculture and
fishery, and more tax revenues to local
governments can achieve this.
Furthermore, let us not make the
same mistake of Singapore and the
industrialized West. Their negative
population growth now drives them to
pay couples and give them incentives
Communion / B2
by the invisible bond of communion
which unites us to God and to one
another. The person who obstinately
remains in public and grievous sin is
appropriately presumed by the Church
to lack the interior bond of communion,
the state of grace, required to approach
worthily the reception of the Holy
Eucharist. fact, is done effectively in a pastoral
(3) The discipline is not penal but
has to do with the safeguarding of the
objective and supreme sanctity of the
Holy Eucharist and with caring for the
faithful who would sin gravely against
the Body and Blood of Christ, and for
the faithful who would be led into
error by such sinful reception of Holy
Communion.
(4) The discipline applies to any public
conduct which is gravely sinful, that
is, which violates the law of God in a
serious matter. Certainly, the public
support of policies and laws which, in
the teaching of the Magisterium, are in
grave violation of the natural moral law
falls under the discipline.
to have children! No, the problem is
not population per se. The problem is to
have better economic policies and better
education programs for our people. That
will put an end to our poverty!
The Bill is anti-EDSA
The Spirit of EDSA was simply this:
a united people won back its freedom
peacefully! Thus, a Spirit of Unity,
Freedom and Peace restored our pride
and dignity!
The proposed RH-RP Bill is
unnecessarily dividing our people.
It is pitting Catholics against non-
Catholics, the Catholic Church against
the government. It does not promote
unity!
The Bill violates the right to life of
the aborted unborn Filipinos, and their
potential to be born and live as free
citizens in a free country. Let us not
deprive them of that right!
Finally, the Filipino wants and
(5) The discipline requires the
minister of Holy Communion to
forbid the Sacrament to those who
are publicly unworthy. Such action
must not be precipitous. The person
who sins gravely and publicly must,
first, be cautioned not to approach to
receive Holy Communion. This, in
conversation with the person, so that
the person knows that he is not to
approach to receive Holy Communion
and, therefore, the distribution of
Holy Communion does not become
an occasion of conflict. It must also be
recalled that “no ecclesiastical authority
may dispense the minister of Holy
Communion from this obligation in any
case, nor may he emanate directives
that contradict it”. moral law.
(6) Finally, the discipline must be
applied in order to avoid serious scandal,
for example, the erroneous acceptance of
procured abortion against the constant
teaching of the moral law. No matter
how often a Bishop or priest repeats
deserves to live peacefully with
everyone. This Bill is causing sincere
and well-intentioned Filipinos to fight
against each other.
It is a needless provocation. Let us
reject it!
An ardent call
We therefore ardently call on our
Congress Representatives to reject this
Bill! We call on our Senators not to let
it prosper! Most of all, we call on our
beloved President Benigno Aquino III
to remain steadfast in his decision not
to support the Bill! The greater common
good of our country demands nothing
less!
Br. Rolando Dizon FSC
Founder and Chairman
Good Citizenship Movement
De La Salle University, Manila
February 26, 2011
EDSA Silver Anniversary
the teaching of the Church regarding
procured abortion, if he stands by and
does nothing to discipline a Catholic
who publicly supports legislation
permitting the gravest of injustices
and, at the same time, presents himself
to receive Holy Communion, then his
teaching rings hollow. To remain silent
is to permit serious confusion regarding
a fundamental truth of the moral law.
Confusion, of course, is one of the
most insidious fruits of scandalous
behavior.
It would be interesting to study the
possibility of applying this norm to the
case of those who persist in publicly
promoting the RH Bill in its present form,
which the Bishops have collectively
classified as contrary to the natural
ENDNOTE
1
Card. Raymond L. Burke, Canon 915: The Disci-
pline Regarding the Denial of Holy Communion to
those obstinately persevering in Manifest Grave
Sin, in Periodica, 96 (2007), pp.3-58.
importance. People often feel the need
to parade their personal achievements,
and prefer to splash on the front page
of the newspapers their works or
contributions to charities. They would
even employ public relations agents and
image-makers to enhance the people’s
perception of their appearance. But from
a Christian point of view, success in
image-building is not an evidence that
the community is faithful to its mission.
The ability to draw huge crowds is not
an evidence of the effectiveness of the
community’s ministry, even if many
people would like to believe it is—that
is why they envy tele-evangelists who
have thousands of viewers. Before God,
achievements count nothing. What
is of importance is the community’s
faithfulness to God in doing its specific
mission, even if it does not win the
admiration of men or attract big numbers
of admirers. It must simply trust in God’s
word, even if doing so is not recognized.
For this reason, it might even go against
the world and its values (cf Rom 12:2);
but certainly it does not need to justify
itself before the judgment seat of men,
for what the world holds is abominable
before God (Luke 16:15).
(3) Pointing to the kingdoms of
the world and their magnificence, the
Tempter says: “All these I will bestow
on you if you prostrate yourself in
homage before me” (Matt 4:9). This third
temptation is about power. Of course,
politicians crave for it—and some even
become addicted to it, because it gives
them the power to control and dominate.
Political power enables the politician to
conquer territories, subjugate peoples,
convert them en masse, establish a
personal kingdom and, because political
power is convertible to economic power,
to get rich. In a secular world where a
secular culture prevails, political power
is a great temptation. No wonder
every President makes his or her own
enemies, because the logic of power
entails it. Still, political power has
no place in the Christian community.
It does not and will never advance
the cause of Jesus Christ; there is no
evidence that the Kingdom of God will
spread throughout the world because of
political power; if it will, Christ should
have said so, but he never did. On the
contrary, there seems to be something
demonic about it. That is why in today’s
Gospel, Jesus rejects it: “You shall do
homage to the Lord your God, and
him alone shall you serve” (Matt 4:10).
Political power cannot be exercised in
the Christian community, and if at all
one should speak of power there, it is
the power to serve: “Anyone among you
who aspires to greatness must serve the
rest, and whoever wants to rank first
among you must serve the needs of all”
(Matt 20:26). Indeed, Jesus does not
mince words in his criticism of political
power, for its exercise results in violence
and oppression (Luke 22:25).
This account of the triple temptations
of Jesus was preserved to teach the
Christian community. As Wilde notes,
temptations are difficult to resist; but
the Christian community has a model
to imitate: like the community, Jesus
was tempted, but he did not succumb,
and therefore in imitation of the Lord,
the community must resist it. The
community must not copy the old Israel
that did not overcome temptation. To
make that point, Matthew so framed
the story of the temptation of Jesus as
God’s Son (Matt 4:1-11) as to make a
comparison between Jesus and Israel.
Both Jesus and Israel are sons of God
(Matt 4:3; Matt 2:15 and Hos 11:1); the
number 40 is significant in the life of
Jesus (40 days of fasting in the desert,
Matt 4:2) and in the life of Israel (40
years of sojourn in the desert, Deut
8:2). But they are different: whereas
the community of Israel failed in the
temptation in the desert (Exod 17:1-7),
Jesus conquered it (Matt 4:1-11). At
the same time, this story of the triple
temptation of Jesus provides us
with a picture of what the Christian
community should be: it is a community
that lives by the word of God, goes
against the values that the world holds
dearly, and serves its members even to
the point of dying.

Bogus / B6

what Jesus did are appropriated commit adultery, one may go

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 B8 Entertainment CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

Moral Assessment Technical Assessment

 Abhorrent  Poor
 Disturbing  Below average

 Acceptable  Average

 Wholesome  Above average

 Exemplary  E
xcellent

TITLE: Unknown
CAST: Liam Neeson (Dr. Martin
Harris), Diane Kruger
(Gina), January Jones
(Elizabeth Harris), Aidan
Quinn (Martin B), Bruno
Ganz (Ernst Jurgen), Frank
Langella (Rodney Cole)
DIRECTOR: Jaume Collet-Serra
SCREENWRITER: Stephen
Cornwell, Oliver Butcher
GENRE: Drama, Horror, Mystery
& Suspense
DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros.
Pictures
LOCATION: Berlin, Germany
RUNNING TIME: 115 minutes
Technical Assessment:  ½
Moral Assessment: ½
CINEMA Rating: Audience Age
18 and above
American botanist Martin
Harris (Liam Neeson) flies to
Berlin with his wife Elizabeth
(January Jones) to speak at
a biotechnology conference.
Checking in at the hotel he misses
his briefcase, rushes back to the
airport in a cab to retrieve it and
gets into an accident that causes
brain trauma resulting in partial
memory loss. After cab driver
Gina (Diane Kruger) bravely
saves him from death, the police
take him to a hospital where he
lies in coma for four days. He
awakens, wonders why no one
has looked for him, and recalls
just enough to escape from the
hospital and return to the hotel
to find his wife he hopes will
establish his identity. He finds
her with a stranger (Aidan
Quinn) who claims to be the real
Martin Harris. Worse she denies
knowing him and confirms that
her husband Martin Harris is the
man with her. It’s a mystery the
bewildered Harris would give
his all to solve, and he is helped
by Gina and her friend Ernst
Jurgen, a private investigator
(Bruno Ganz) who used to
work in the East German secret
police.
Based on French writer
Didier van Cauwelaert’s
novel,Unknown may keep you
at your seat’s edge rooting for
the accident victim—credit that
to Neeson’s looks which seem
to naturally evoke sympathy.
But of course he’s an actor
who feels his role to the bone,
even if his character be in such
an absurd situation as Harris.
Good direction by Jaume Collet-
Serra pulls together the pieces
of this brain-teasing story into
clarity, aided by the lead actors’
self-convinced portrayal of
their roles. Ganz as the ex-spy,
wizened and wise and blessed
with a prickly humor by his
Stasi past, lends depth—even
heroism—to the plot. If it were
up to us, Ganz should get a
nomination for Best
Supporting Actor. Action and
violence abound as the audience
is led further into the dark, until
close to the end of the 115-minute
thriller when the unknown
becomes known.
Unknown seems to have been
made just to puzzle the brain.
Older generations would call
it “mental calisthenics”, the
younger ones would say it’s
“mind f—k”. It may entertain
many who like to solve riddles but
it offers little ethical guidance for
those expecting it. Its redemptive
factor comes late in the movie
when—the mystery having been
demystified—a character tries
to influence another towards a
new life direction. Unknown,
however, may arouse one’s
curiosity regarding the killer-for-
hire industry, to ask questions
like: How deeply is a spy
indoctrinated to prepare for his
or her mission? How does the
training impact his self-image?
How much of his real self is lost
in the process? Does this then still
hold him morally culpable for
the acts he is paid to commit? Is
there another process by which
the killer-for-hire is disengaged
totally from his role upon the
completion of his mission? You
see, even movies that critics
would judge unworthy may lead
to profound thoughts a
world in chaos needs
today.

MAC en COLET Ni Bladimer Usi

Buhay Parokya
Look for the images of Saint Bernadette, the Grotto and a Candle. (Illustration by Bladimer Usi)

TITLE: From Prada to Nada

CAST: Camilla Belle, Alexa Vega, April Bowlby, Kuno
Becker, Wilmer Valderrama, Nicholas D’Agosto, Adri-
ana Barraza, Karla Souza, Alexis Ayala
DIRECTOR: Angel Garcia
DISTRIBUTOR: Lionsgate
GENRE: Comedy, Romance
LOCATION: USA ; RUNNING TIME: 107 minutes
Technical Assessment:  ½
Moral Assessment: 
CINEMA Rating: V14

Nora (Camille Belle) and Mary (Alexa) are beautiful, rich,

spoiled and pampered. Although their last name is Dominguez,
they definitely do not consider themselves Latina and have put
no effort to learning their mother’s native tongue. The sisters
think they have everything until their father dies and they
find themselves penniless and at the mercy of the woman with
whom their father had an affair with. The sisters are kicked
out of the house and are force to live with their auntie in the
poor side of East Los Angeles. At first, they are bemused at
the living conditions of the people and look at themselves as
a class way above the rest. However, the Latino community
is not impressed with the newcomers. Over time, only when
the sisters learn to live beyond their designers’ clothes and
BMWs and value themselves for the real person inside their
hearts and start treating other people as equals do they find
true meaning in life.
The movie is a weak spin off on Jane Austen’s “Sense and
Sensibility”. Although, there are numerous instances where we
find the girls in hilarious situations, the humor fails to deliver
a good punch because the storyline is too predictable and the
plot takes a long time to make the necessary twist for character
redemption. The problem is in the script. The characters are
too shallow and empty-headed that by the time they make the
transformation, it is a bit too late to be genuine and to elicit
sympath. And because the script is flat and the script shallow,
you cannot really expect a stellar performance from the lead
actors. On the positive side, the movie is cute and adorable
production-wise. The movie starts with an interesting and
promising premise but fails to deliver a great movie.
There are several good points that the movie emphasizes:
First, we say that material wealth should not be the basis of
judging a person. FROM PRADA TO NADA shows this clearly
as characters find meaning in life and self-respect not when
they were covered with blings, brands and expensive things
but when they were stripped of all possessions and began to
interact using their hearts.
Second, people are always capable of changing. We can never
say that just because a person was born and raised in a certain
way, he or she will remain like that for the rest of his or her life. We
clearly see how the lead characters made a complete 360 in dealing
and respecting people and in discovering their self-worth.
Lastly, success is sometimes handed down the family line,
but it is sweeter and more meaningful when it comes hand
in hand with perseverance and hard work. People who have
invested sweat, talent and determination in their achievements
value the fruits and rewards even more.
The movie is not one of the must-see films but for those
who would or plan to, there are good lessons to take home
afterwards.
 CBCP Monitor
Vol.
Vol.15
14No.
No. 53
C1
C1
February
February28 March 13,14,
1 - February 2011
2010

The News Supplement of

Couples for Christ

SFC - Challenging The

By Nirva de la Cruz
Status Quo
“WHOEVER goes against our God
will have to face His people…” This
was the battle cry that 6,500 Singles
for Christ members from over 20
countries chanted over and over again
at the end of the 18th SFC International
Conference. It was a public show
of force, but it was also a personal
commitment to stand for Christ, to
do what is right even when no one is
watching.
All out War: Heart, Mind,
Body, Spirit
The annual conference was held at
the CamSur Water Sports Complex
in Pili, Camarines Sur from Febru-
ary 18 – 20 and was focused on the
theme “I Stand,” taken from Couples
for Christ’s theme for 2011: “Put on
the Full Armor of God” (Ephesians
6:10-17).
At the opening mass, Msgr. Jonie
Aguirre talked about the ultimate armor
we should put on. Basically, this armor
is lived out through a renewed faith
that can be seen through our values
and lifestyle.
In talk 1 entitled “Call to Arms,” Mike
Serapio said that the evil one’s main
Shok Ariola leads singles in praise and worship
target is really us, Man, because “the
evil one wants us to be separated from
the Lord.” Thus, he bombards us with
attacks against our entire being – our
mind, our heart, our spirit, our body.
He uses things that are basically good
against us (media, science and technol-
ogy and culture) to spread death, sin
and hopelessness.
The second day of the ICON was also
workshops day, as the thousands of del-
egates attended more than 10 simultane-
ous workshops on different topics that
dealt with how to be fortified against
the enemy. Among the workshops was
“Love Pretend” on Theology of the
Body by Fr. Joel Jason; a workshop on
online evangelization by Fr. Stephen
Cuyos, MSC and a workshop on con-
templative prayer.
“You are not loved.” - Satan
On the evening of the second day,
after the opening worship by Niño
Tuyay, Fr. Joel Jason gave the rousing
second session called “Sleeping with
the Enemy.” He talked about Satan’s
lies, particularly the most powerful lie
that he spreads -- “You are not loved.”
Because of this lie, we seek things, re-
lationships and possessions to comfort
us and make us believe that we need to
be “worthy” of love.
Often we believe that the heart
is the best symbol of love but the
man on the Cross is the most steady
expression of God’s love. Fr. Joel
explained, “The heart stops beating
but the man on the cross never stops
loving.”
God’s love Reaches Everything
For the third session, Christian Ali-
wanag talked about how the full armor
of God is Christ Himself. Christian, a
former missionary to Indonesia now
serving in Mindanao, talked about how
Satan pretends to be big, but he is, in
fact, small. He just brings a magnify-
ing lens and uses our weaknesses and
insecurities against us.
Christian also stressed that there is
nothing so deeply embedded in our
hearts that God’s love cannot reach and
remove; there is no area in our life that
God cannot completely heal; there is
nothing we cannot forgive with God’s SFCs, Jesus should remain our focus. Ahyen Lanot, talked about getting
grace. Before the last session, Rej Agana involved in several immoral rela-
That night, thousands of singles com- from CFC–Australia led the delegates tionships because “I had a distorted
mitted to live for Christ, to choose to do into worship by assuring them, “Never notion of love. It was self-serving,
what is right despite what the world again will we be confused, never again self-seeking.” Acknowledging that “I
upholds. will we back down from battle. We will destroyed friendships, families and
go from victory to victory because that eventually, myself,” Ahyen described
SFC is Ready to Rumble! is what (God) said.” her thoughts of suicide. Eventually,
During the ICON’s Sunday Mass, For the last session entitled “March realizing that God was trying to save
Msgr. Zosimo Ma.Sañado told the to Victory,” missionary Noli Manuel her, she joined Singles for Christ and
singles, “Let Jesus be our satisfaction.” talked about how this year’s ICON is is now an advocate of purity, going on
Whatever state of life we may choose as SFC’s coming out party. At 18, a father mission trips to seek out other singles
usually presents his with similar issues.
daughter to the world. Kikoy Manlunas from North America
He explained, “I guess declared that despite pre-marital sex
that is also what God being the norm in the society where he
is doing to us today. lives, he chooses to live a life of chastity.
He is presenting us to He said, “I choose to save myself till
the world.” With the after marriage.”
live streaming and the Aissa Aureliano is a public prosecu-
coverage of local news tor who commits to work for honest
networks of the ICON, dealings, integrity and true service
the singles’ convictions for the country despite rampant cor-
were heard not only by ruption.
the 6,500 delegates at The conference ended with Michael
the site but around the Ariola challenging everyone to take
world. God’s armor with them, staying true
The conference to Christ as they get deployed to their
highlighted several areas all over the world. The ICON
testimonies from sin- ended but the true battle begins with
g les. One of t hem, Christ at our side.

Celebrate As A People of God

JOE Yamamoto, CFC President
and Executive Director and
Rouquel Ponte, CFC Interna-
tional Mission Director, met
with the Presidents of three
Pontifical Councils: Cardinal
Stanislaw Rylko – Laity; Cardi-
nal Ennio Antonelli – Family;
and Archbishop Antonio Maria
Veglio – Migrants, on February
22 and 23.
The meeting with Cardinal
Antonelli reaffirmed the role of
Couples for Christ in the plan
of God for the family. The car-
dinal stressed the importance
of strengthening marriage, de-
fending the family from various
forces that aim to destroy it and
the need for continuing forma-
tion. This was the first time
Cardinal Antonelli received a
personal briefing from leaders
of Couples for Christ and he was
happy to note the various stages
of CFC in its life and mission. He
invited CFC to the World Meet-
ing of Families to be held in 2012
in Milan, Italy, and broached the
possibility that CFC can be one
of the presentors during this
meeting.
In the meeting with Archbishop
Veglio, Joe Yamamoto and
Rouquel Ponte presented CFC’s
Work for Migrants and gave a
detailed report on the various
initiatives of the community
since the program begun.
Archbishop Veglio explained the
role of the Pontifical Council for
Migrants and Itinerant Peoples
your sense of identity. Seek
your origins and roots that your
charism may be truly revealed
and the fullness of your mission
emerge.”
Cardinal Rylko summed up
the meeting with these words
coming from the late Holy Fa-
ther:
1. Remember your past and
celebrate your history with
gratitude. Man alone does not
write his history based on space
and time; God writes with him
as man allows himself to be led
by God.
2. Live in the present with joy
and patience. Your situation may
not be always favorable but if
Rouquel and Joe with Archbishop Veglio and Linda Stockman, wife of CFC Rome
you carry with you the joy of
area leader Michael Stockman. the Spirit and live with great pa-
tience and endurance, you will
remain faithful and fruitful.
3. Finally, look to the future
with God-given confidence and
hope. You can only do this if
you cultivate a life not of self-
adoration but by giving it all for
the glory to God and for the good
of humankind.
Cardinal Rylko was invited to
come to Manila in June 2011 but
because of the Pontifical Coun-
cil’s role in the preparation for
the World Youth Day in Spain
later this year, he regretfully
declined. However, he accepted
the invitation to come to Manila
in the spring of 2012 to attend
a global rally on Mission and
Evangelization. (By Rouquel
Ponte and Joe Yamamoto.)

and how lay movements such on Evangelization held in Seoul,

as CFC can impact on the life
of migrant families today. He
was happy to note that CFC
does its work not just in the
host country of the migrants but
in the sending country as well.
Joe and Rouquel also reported
that CFC is now beginning to
expand the program to include
non-Filipino migrants coming
from Asia and Africa.
The final meeting was with
Cardinal Rylko of the Pontifical
Council for the Laity. Joe and
Rouquel gave the cardinal
From left, Rouquel, Cardinal Antonelli, Joe and Alex Poyaoan, household head,
positive feedback about the
recently-concluded Congress
CFC Rome
Korea last September 2010
and commended the Pontifical
Council for the Laity in taking
the initiative to Asia. Profes-
sor Guzman Carraquiry, the
Undersecretary of the Pontifi-
cal Council, invited CFC to the
same meeting to be held in
Africa in 2012.
Cardinal Rylko encouraged
CFC to continue its work and
remain faithful to its charism.
He emphasized the need to
celebrate our sense of identity,
echoing the words of the late
Holy Father, Pope John Paul
The two IC brothers with Cardinal Rylko
II, soon to be beatified: “Find
 C2 Ugnayan CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

Joe Tale, CFC Chairman

Spouse and Comrade

BAGUIO, the City of Pines, became once
again the venue of the CFC Metro Manila
Mission Core Weekend Recollection last
January. The recollection was anchored
on the CFC theme for 2011 – “Put on the
Full Armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11).
The ambience of Baguio, particularly
its cool and nippy weather, always lends
itself to both self-reflection and fellow-
ship among brethren in community.
Baguio is a romantic place, a favorite
honeymoon destination. Of course,
many long for the “good old days”
when Baguio was even more beautiful,
when the refreshing scent of pine trees
pervaded over most of the mountain
city, when walking up and down a less
polluted Session Road was a pleasure by
itself and another highlight of the trip.
Baguio is indeed a special city where
love between husband and wife can be
nurtured and strengthened.
During the weekend, we understood
more deeply why and what it means
to put on the full armor of God. One
speaker, in jest, but to emphasize the
point, said that putting on the full armor
does not mean putting it on so husband
and wife can be protected against each
other. The enemy is not our spouse,
even when sometimes there is misun-
derstanding and even quarrels between
us. The enemy is the evil one who
continues to prowl, looking for victims
to devour (1Peter 5:8), looking for mar-
riages to break up, looking for families
to destroy.
Both husband and wife need to put on
the full armor of God to jointly protect
their marriage. Satan can at times be di-
rect and openly tempt either spouse. But
more often, he is more subtle, indirect,
may even ride on the good things each
one does, so that we don’t recognize him
until it is too late.
The weekend emphasized how we
should be truly God’s army, for we con-
tinue to be in the midst of a spiritual bat-
tle. Thus, we should close ranks, move in
unity, be comrades to one another.
Our closest comrade in God’s army is
our spouse, just as our closest neighbor
who we are to love as ourselves, is our
spouse. This is a relationship we are to
protect. This is a relationship we are to
strengthen as we go forth and respond
to the mission.
Weekends such as the one we had of-
ten rekindle our own love story with our
spouse. Baguio is a place where a num-
ber of such love stories begin. Whatever
the situation then, however romantic
or plain
vanilla
it was,
whether
it was
spar-
kling
wine and
violin
strings
wafting
through
the air,
or just
an ordi- Our wives as Valentine serenaders
nary set-
ting, it was the Lord’s way of putting us
together. And as such, each love story is
beautiful, for now we know it was God’s
way of making our paths meet, husband
and wife, to be God’s gift to each other,
and to play a role in His plan.
Recall your story. Go over the pictures.
Feel your heartbeat. Feel God’s love.
Of course, from experience, we know
that the journey is never always smooth,
and the road not always all-weather.
There are humps and bumps, potholes,
downright rough and rocky portions.
There are highs and lows in the journey,
dangerous ravines, and even night and
fog that prevent us from seeing much of
the road ahead. There may be air turbu-
lence or ocean swells from time to time.
But here we are. The Lord has held us in
the palm of His hands.
Do not be afraid to recall the tough mo-
ments, too, for it is through such remem-
bering that we realize even more how
God loves us and allows us to overcome,
by His love and mercy. It is precisely dur-
ing our low moments that we experience
the Lord’s strength the most.
Let us thank and honor each other
as spouses, for holding on through the
storms together, for not giving up on
each other, for not giving up on God. Let
us also thank and honor our children, for
the joy and inspiration they bring us.
With God’s loving presence in our
marriage, we continue to move forward
in our journey together. “Two for the
road, we travel down the years, collect-
ing precious memories,” says the song.
We travel as the closest comrades in this
army of God.
In the course of our journey as a com-
munity of families, we have lost some
brethren along the way. Some have lost
their husbands, some have lost their
wives. In God’s perfect plan, He has
called them to Himself. We thank and
honor them for times spent together in
service and fellowship. But the journey
in the Lord continues for all, for He has
also blessed us with a place for everyone
in our mission.
A few weeks ago, we observed Valen-
tines Day. Our household, just like many
others, I’m sure, celebrated the day of
hearts in fellowship.
Our creative wives met a few days be-
fore, and handcrafted personalized Val-
entine’s cards that they surprised their
husbands with. They also prepared and
practiced a very meaningful song, “How
did You Know” which they sang for their
husbands, and which made our hearts
melt,
w h a t
with a
beauti-
ful mel-
ody and
lyrics
that go:
“How
did you
know, I
needed
someone
like you
in my
life, That
there’s an empty space in my heart, You
came at the right time in my life. I’ll never
forget, how you brought the sun to shine
in my life, and took all the worries and
fears that I had.”
We husbands on the other hand, were
more predictable. We also prepared a
song number, but had to rely on the
standard “Love is a Many Splendored
Thing.” We also prepared our own love
notes that we openly, individually, read
to our respective wives. For a moment,
the almost extinct art of old fashioned
love letter-writing was back, sincerely
made and just as sincerely read, punctu-
ated at the end with a long stemmed rose,
and of course, a loving kiss.
It was truly a celebration of love. In
worship, we thanked the Lord for His
great love for us, we thanked the Lord
for the gift of love between husband and
wife, for the gift of children, fruits of our
love and joy of our hearts. It was a pleas-
ant evening. We even had a heart-shaped
pudding, heart-shaped cookies, and
other Valentine cakes abounding.
Once more, the love between husband
and wife was rekindled and strength-
ened. For husband and wife especially,
love is the additional armor that we put
on as special comrades in arms in this
battle.
We thus take time to pray for all mar-
ried couples especially, that, garbed in
the armor of God, and the special armor
of love, we may take the frontline in
defending God, in defending the gift of
life, in strengthening family, whether
rich or poor, whether young or old. We
stand our ground as comrades, bound by
a special sacrament, and alongside the
entire army of God, pursuing our vision
and mission together, in our neighbor-
hoods, work places, in depressed com-
munities, in our assigned mission areas,
yes, actually, to the ends of the earth if
necessary.
We do so confidently, because Jesus
assures us:
“Again, I say to you, if two of you
agree on earth about anything
for which they are to pray, it shall be
granted to them by my
heavenly Father.” [Matthew 18:19}
As a married couple, we have a spe-
cial empowerment, not only for our life
together, but also for the mission. Let
us recognize such empowerment, pray
for it, receive it, and move forward in
love with it.
It may be a few weeks belated, but this
should still be good – Happy Valentines
Day!

Joe Yamamoto, CFC Director

ON the weekend of February 18,
all roads (at least for CFC Europe)
led to Brussels for the third CFC
European Leaders’ Conference.
Aside from the usual conference
sessions, there was an added
bonus as on Sunday, Feb. 20, the
participating leaders proceeded
to Banneux, Belgium for the
concluding talks as well as for
the ANCOP launch for CFC
Europe. Banneux is a very
meaningful site because it was
there that Mary, the STAR OF
EVANGELIZATION, appeared
in 1933 in a series of apparitions.
It was there where she would
eventually reveal herself as the
“Virgin of the Poor.”
For the ANCOP leaders and
supporters, this was significant
in the light of the declaration
by CFC, on Dec. 8, 2009, that
Our Lady of Banneux is the
Patroness of our Work with the
Poor. During the conference,
the leaders learned about the
directions and plans of CFC for
the upcoming years but there
was a bigger reason for the
meeting. The conference aimed
to instill in the leaders present the
great need for the community to
strengthen the leadership corps
and to make the leaders better
equipped for the challenges and
opportunities ahead. Our sense
of belonging to a lay community
underscores the importance of
being leaders in an essentially
spiritual sense.
Rouquel Ponte and I took the
opportunity after the Brussels
conference to proceed to Rome
for scheduled meetings with the
Pontifical councils. In Rome,
during a casual visit to the House
of Jesus, we saw, right after the
entrance, a statue of St. Ignatius.
Written on the pedestal are the
Latin words “Ite Inflammate Om-
nia” – (Go , inflame all! or Go,
set all on fire!). Just a few words
and yet sufficient to underscore
the work of CFC members as
evangelizers.
Leadership experts have em-
phasized that organizations,
movements and communities
rise or fall on the merit of its
leadership. Even religious or-
ganizations are subject to this
reality. Over time, it has become
common understanding and
wisdom that an effective leader
in the professional world or
corporate milieu can serve as an
A Leader’s Walk
equally effective leader in the
twin environments of secular and
spiritual. In short, anyone can be
a good spiritual leader.
Why is leadership critically
important especially for the 21st
century?
Aside from moving their or-
ganizations forward and expand-
ing, guided as it were by vision
and mission statements, leaders
are tasked to provide the anchor
as well as the sense of strength
and stability for the members.
The current century is marked
by unprecedented opportuni-
ties for leadership to positively
impact their organizations. The
reality of marvels in technology
and communication heightened
the expectations of members and
undoubtedly made the leaders
keenly aware that such develop-
ments can be a blessing and a
curse. Emails and cell phones
connect members to their leaders
instantly, 24/7.
While it seems advantageous,
the same technological marvel
creates tremendous pressure on
leaders to respond quickly, with
the inability to do so interpreted
by members as lack of commit-
ment or even lack of concern for
the members’ welfare.
The paradigms of leadership
have changed and despite the
countless books written on lead-
ers and leadership, there is still
a paucity of good leaders. That
need is felt in all domains- re-
ligious or otherwise. Because
man is a spiritual being created
unto the image and likeness of
God, everyone, be they bosses
or simple employees, has spir-
itual needs that God wants to
meet through His servants in the
workplace.
The sooner that basic premise
is accepted, the easier the appre-
ciation that spiritual leadership
based on spiritual principles can
apply very well in the secular
world. The problem is that the
materialistic world rejects it as
unreal and anachronistic.
Society’s greatest need is not
just for good and capable leaders
but for leaders who understand
and practice leadership that are
best modeled and exemplified
by the life and work of Christ.
As applied to CFC, what would
be the best way to communicate
this need and how can it best
help to fill that gap? Of course,
there are trainings and forma-
tion programs for leaders but in
a bigger sense, can something
more be done?
Fortunately, the community of
CFC recognizes that the best way
every member can do the work of
evangelization is to demonstrate
Christian transformation far be-
yond their household meetings
or the community’s activities
and events. In a more meaning-
ful sense, a CFC leader needs to
witness to this transformed life as
one called to be ‘salt of the earth
and light to the world.’ The work
of witnessing is to be carried cou-
rageously and persistently in the
marketplace- our place of work or
society at large, starting of course,
with our families.
J. Oswald Sanders, author
of Spiritual Leadership, wrote
that “leadership is influence, the
ability of one person to influence
others.” Robert Clinton, another
Christian author, added: “the
central task of leadership is in-
fluencing God’s people toward
God’s purposes.”
To that end, George Barna em-
phasized that “a Christian leader
is someone who is called by God
to lead; lead with and through
Christlike character; and demon-
strate the functional competences
that permit effective leadership to
take place.”
With the kind of inputs and in-
sights shared by a good number
of Christian leaders and book
authors, it is appropriate to em-
phasize that good leaders are
needed to influence people to
achieve greater good and that
greater good does not ignore the
would-be impact of principled
Christian leadership.
Henry Blackaby says it all by
defining that “spiritual leader-
ship is moving people on to
God’s agenda.” To move people
on to God’s agenda necessitates
the leader’s dependence on God
and the recognition that he is
accountable to Him. People who
desire good leadership must
learn to quietly reconcile within
him the application of Godly
principles that are equally effec-
tive in the spiritual and temporal
realms.. The life and journey of
God’s people in the Scriptures
are replete with instances of
blessings and victories that come
from fidelity and obedience to
the Lord as well as examples of
troubles and disappointments
that come in the heels of insolence
and disobedience. The Scripture
further indicates the folly of try-
ing to separate the realities of the
spiritual world from that of the
secular. Even spiritual leaders
need to embody the 4Cs outlined
by Barna in his book, Leaders
on Leadership. These are Call,
Character, Competence and Con-
sequences (results).
The journey on spiritual lead-
ership starts with a call, with
God progressively working on
the person He molds and shapes
according to His plans and time-
table. Frequently, God uses un-
likely people to do His purpose.
Many of the Biblical heroes were
flawed and would not fit the
common concept for leaders and
yet they performed exactly as He
ordained to the extent of shaping
the destiny of mankind. He chose
leaders that brought His people
to their ordained destiny and
followed His purposes in accord-
ance with His prescribed timeta-
ble. One can look at the example
of the lives of Abraham, Moses,
David and other Old Testament
prophets and see the hand of God
every step of the way.
The world admires successful
leaders to the extent that they
are lionized as born leaders or
even self-made leaders who rose
above adversities. On the con-
trary, spiritual leaders respond
to the call as a result of the active
work of the Holy Spirit in their
lives. Oswald Sanders noted
that” there is no such thing as a
self-made spiritual leader.” The
prerequisite to spiritual ends are
spiritual means that come only
from the Holy Spirit.
A little known character in the
Old Testament was Zerubbabel,
the governor who oversaw the
rebuilding of the Temple of Jeru-
salem after the return of the Jew-
ish exiles from their Babylonian
captivity. The task that lay upon
the shoulders of Zerubbabel was
daunting because the temple was
in ruins and the whole region was
chaotic after being decimated by
war. At that critical point in his
life, he received a life changing
message from the Lord: “Not by
might nor by power, but by my
Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.” (
Zech. 4:16).
The work of Zerubbabel went
far beyond the tools and materi-
als of construction or its logistics.
It needed to be accomplished
while they were fending off at-
tacks by Israel’s enemies. The
lesson for the builder was that
spiritual leaders must receive
the authority and power from
the Holy Spirit even when the
task appears to be non-spiritual.
Building edifices, handling peo-
ple and generating funds become
spiritual works when the Spirit is
involved. Without that presence
and empowerment, people may
be leaders but definitely not spir-
itual leaders.
The bottom line to all this is
that God sets the leader’s agenda
but that does not happen unless
there is a willingness on the
part of the leader to submit to
God’s will. Henry and Richard
Blackaby had this to say for
leaders: “No experience, good or
bad is ever wasted. God does not
squander people’s time. He does
not ignore their pain. He brings
not only healing but growth
even in the worst experiences.
Every relationship can be God’s
instrument to mature a person’s
character. The world can offer
its best theories on leadership
and provide the most extensive
training possible, but unless God
sets the agenda for a leader’s life,
that person, though thoroughly
educated, will not be an effective
spiritual leader.”
Robert Clinton, another Chris-
tian author, wrote in The Making
of a Leader, that the six stages
of leadership development are:
Sovereign Foundations, Inner
Life Growth, Ministry Maturing,
Life Maturing, Convergence and
Afterglow or Celebration.
SOVEREIGN FOUNDATIONS
refer to the formative years of
a leader during which God’s
activity starts to be manifest. Es-
sentially these are factors beyond
the control of the person- parental
love, birth order, illness, finan-
cial status, etc. It is during this
period that the emerging leader
responds to his life’s circum-
stances which determine much
of his potential to lead.
INNER LIFE GROWTH marks
the period when a person de-
velops his character, and the
beginnings of his spiritual life.
When the Holy Spirit makes His
presence felt, the person becomes
less subject to the whims of fate
but progressively learns to think
and act in a Christlike manner.
MINISTRY MATURING- this
is the phase when a person makes
his early attempts at spiritual
leadership. In the CFC com-
munity, this is when the person
begins to develop his leadership
potential and even learns to rec-
ognize his strengths and weak-
nesses. At this stage, the focus is
on WHO a leader is rather than
WHAT he does.
LIFE MATURING character-
izes the period when the strug-
gling leader is able to focus on his
strengths and find the opportuni-
ties where he learns to be most
effective. Prior to this phase, God
is working primarily in the lead-
ers but at this point it becomes
increasingly clear that God is
working through the person.
CONVERGENCE is the phase
where a person’s experiences
in life and in service begin to
come together into a specific
responsibility or task wherein
his effectiveness is maximized.
This is the time where the leader
is best known for his role and his
greatest success.
AFTERGLOW OR CELEBRA-
TION- is the phase that few spir-
itual leaders will ever achieve. It
comes after a period of substan-
tive leadership service. This is the
time when the leader has faith-
fully allowed God to accomplish
His will for that person and their
organization. This is the period
of building and teaching the next
generation. This is likewise the
time when the leader has nothing
else to prove and yet continues to
“lead by influence” because of
who he is and what he has come
to represent.
The journey of any budding or
striving leader in the CFC com-
munity will start the moment
he recognizes that he has the
responsibility to be open and is
willing to be used by the Lord.
That becomes the gateway to his
spiritual leadership. No matter
how one cuts it, the rite of passage
to spiritual leadership is marked
by accepting the advice – ‘ Ite
Inflammate Omnia.’ Go inflame
all! Go and set everything on fire
with the Holy Spirit!
 CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011
Ugnayan C3

Putting on the Armor of God

through the Social Media
By Layle Ancheta
AS we enter our 30th Anniversary and
take on our marching orders to put on
the full armor of God, CFC continues
to focus on bringing Christ to all areas
through a strong, solid, and intensi-
fied evangelization.
This year, CFC is led to venture into
another battle field in fulfilling this
mission - the fields of social media
and social networking.
In His papal message for the 45th
World Day of Social Communica-
tions, Pope Benedict XVI encourages
everyone to focus specifically on the
internet as a network for communi-
cation. Though he warned against
getting sucked into a purely digital
existence and stressed the importance
of real-world human relationships,
Pope Benedict encouraged the use of
online social networking as a tool for
evangelization:
The Pope says: “As with every
other fruit of human ingenuity, the
new communications technologies
must be placed at the service of the
integral good of the individual and of
the whole of humanity. If used wisely,
they can contribute to the satisfaction
of the desire for meaning, truth and
unity which remain the most profound
aspirations of each human being.
In the digital world, transmitting
information increasingly means mak-
ing it known within a social network
where knowledge is shared in the
context of personal exchanges.
I would like then to invite Chris-
tians, confidently and with an in-
formed and responsible creativity,
to join the network of relationships
which the digital era has made pos-
sible. This is not simply to satisfy the
desire to be present, but because this
network is an integral part of human
life. The web is contributing to the de-
velopment of new and more complex
intellectual and spiritual horizons,
new forms of shared awareness. In
this field too we are called to proclaim
our faith that Christ is God, the Savior
of humanity and of history, the one in
whom all things find their fulfillment
(cf. Eph 1:10). The proclamation of
the Gospel requires a communica-
tion which is at once respectful and
sensitive, which stimulates the heart
and moves the conscience; one which
reflects the example of the risen Jesus
when he joined the disciples on the
way to Emmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35). By
his approach to them, his dialogue
with them, his way of gently drawing
forth what was in their heart, they
were led gradually to an understand-
ing of the mystery.”
In response to this call, CFC has
begun exploring these social networks
in an effort to strengthen our evangeli-
zation as a global community. CFC is
now in social networking through our
CFC Website (www.cfcglobalmission.
org). Our website aims to serve as the
window of CFC to all CFC members,
anywhere in the world. It aims to
function as an informational and in-
spirational tool in sharing the life and
culture of the CFC community to our
members and non-CFC members.
Another social media that CFC is
strengthening is the CFC Facebook
Account (Page Name: Couples for
Christ). This account now has 11,000
members globally. This has become
a very power tool in sharing God’s
message through inspirational stories,
events and experiences shared to and
by all the members who are online.
All CFC global and national events,
specifically the leaders’ conference
and the Family Ministries interna-
tional conferences, have gone on lives-
treaming via Youtube. Livestreaming
enables our members anywhere in the
world to be part of all our conferences
and events. The inspiring potential of
live streaming is an opportunity for
many of our members to experience
Christ and His words powerfully and
strongly even though they are miles
away.
Livestreaming data of CFC in the
recent events show the powerful po-
tential of this social network in bring-
ing Christ and spreading His word
massively and rapidly:
1. CFC Leaders Conference in
Araneta
a. Actual Attendees: 18,000 del-
egates in Araneta
b. Attendees via Live Streaming:
3,800 views, 36 countries and 25
provinces
2. CFC SFC International Leaders
Conference
a. Actual Attendees: 6,500 delegates
in Camarines Sur
b. Attendees via Live Streaming:
7,696 views 29 Countries and 49 prov-
inces and MM areas
As we continue to use the social me-
dia for the evangelization of people,
we are reminded that these tools are
given for us to maximize its full po-
tential to our advantage: 1.) For these
social networks to help in building
meaningful relationships and 2.) For
this to be a tool to enable inspiration-
sharing amongs people, thus, for us,
being able to share an experience of
Christ to one another.
The undeniable call now is to take
our faith online through the social me-
dia. As CFC ventures into social media
as a new platform of evangelization,
we aim to continue to be dynamic, yet
personal and pastoral, as we respond
to the needs of the time, that is, to be
where most of the people are and pro-
claim God to the ends of the earth.
 The battle against the evil one is
also real and rapid in the social me-
dia and so all of us are called to also
“put on the armor of God” by being
committed to use these online com-
munications in truly bringing Christ
to the rest of the world.

The Family Ministries –

New Leaders, New Hope, New Zeal
By Tina Santiago
CFC is blessed to be “30 years
old” this year, and is bent on
allowing the “new springtime”
of evangelization and service to
sweep through the community.
Aside from a fresh look at
evangelization strategies, CFC
is also looking at new faces who
will commit to greater service
for God. The appointment
of new Family Ministries
International Coordinators is
evidence of this.
Nic Escalona Jr: KFC
International Coordinator
Nicanor “Nic” G. Escalona Jr.
is no stranger to the Kids minis-
try, himself being a former KFC
member. Now 28 years old, Nic
is a loving husband to Fatima
Chelo, and doting dad to three-
year-old Kazuri.
Nic recalls how his parents
joined CFC in 1993 in Manda-
luyong, and how they encour-
aged him to attend the Kids’ As-
sembly at the Miraculous Medal
Parish when he was 13.
From KFC Nic transitioned to
YFC. At the yearly YFC Metro
Manila Summer House Training
or SHOUT, Nic heard the Lord
calling him to fulltime work.
But it would not be until March
2003, when by then he had
moved from YFC to SFC, that
Nic became a fulltime worker,
as a values formation coordina-
tor/facilitator in Bagong Silang
High School.
In March 2004, Nic was as-
signed to serve YFC in Metro
Manila West A, which covered
the areas of Caloocan, Malabon,
Navotas and Valenzuela. In
March 2005, he was appointed
member of the YFC International
Council and served as the YFC
Metro Manila Head at the same
time. He was also assigned to
lead the Work with the Poor
program for YFC.
But he remained active in his
SFC chapter. It was in SFC that
he met Chelo. A short time after
getting married, they answered
the Lord’s call to serve as a mis-
Nic and Chelo with Kazuri
sionary couple to Kenya, Africa,
despite the fact that Chelo was 4
months pregnant at that time.
After arriving in Kenya, they
faced even more challenges.
But, as what happens when we
surrender to God’s call, the Lord
proved that He is truly faithful.
Through the African mission, Nic
came to rely more on the Lord,
and was reminded of the gift
of being part of a global family.
Their daughter, Kazuri Bernice,
was born in Africa. Nic and his
young family stayed in Africa
for 3 years. Upon returning to
Manila, they were integrated
into Couples for Christ and are
now serving, in addition to their
Family Ministries assignment, as
CFC Unit Head.
Nic says that his reaction to be-
ing appointed KFC International
Coordinator can be summed up
in two words: “Praise God!”
He is humbled and amazed at
how the Lord has brought him
to serve from one ministry to
another, and one country to an-
other. Claiming God’s unending
greatness, Nic is excited about
the service ahead.
Edfer Lawrence Quin-
tero: YFC International
Coordinator
Edfer Lawrence Quintero, or
simply “Lawrence,” has been
serving the Lord since he was
a young teenager in Malabon.
He joined YFC at his Catholic
high school in 1994, and credits
his parents who, despite not
being community members,
introduced him to God through
their weekly Sunday masses as
a family.
When his parents separated,
Lawrence was already a YFC
leader in his area. It was his
YFC Couple Coordinators who
helped see him through those
difficult times, and it was in the
CFC community that he found
his “second family.”
In 2001, after graduating from
college, Lawrence transitioned to
SFC, and also became a fulltime
mission worker, serving in YFC.
Lawrence’s first assignment in
Anna and Lawrence with Zam and Xandra
YFC was in the Campus-Based
program. In 2003 he was sent
on mission to South Africa for
one year during which time,
he served in all the ministries
of CFC.
It was on mission in Africa that
Lawrence learned how to focus
more on the Lord. Lawrence
and the rest of the missionaries
to Africa realized the need to
pray more, and listen more to
the Lord every day. After coming
back, Lawrence was assigned to
Palawan for a year, bringing the
same spirit and CFC culture to
the community there.
In 2005 he was transferred to
SFC where he served in Metro
Manila and became the Area
Head of Northern Luzon. In the
same year, he got married to his
first and only girlfriend, Anna,
“a true gift from the Lord.” As
a couple, they entered CFC in
Malabon, and were eventually
blessed with their two children,
Zamuel, 4 years old, and Xandra,
3 years old.
In SFC, Lawrence had various
assignments, ultimately becom-
ing part of the SFC International
Council.
Lawrence admits to being
“shocked” at the news that he
had been appointed YFC In-
ternational Coordinator. Right
now, Lawrence is enjoying go-
ing back to his fulltime roots,
and is re-learning YFC while
being inspired by his present
team. He believes that his main
role is to become a brother to his
teammates, and to remind them
to continue to be inspired by the
love of God and by the power of
the Holy Spirit as they continue
to serve with commitment, pas-
sion, and excellence.
As the YFC IC, Lawrence
believes that God is the author
of the mission and that more
than his work as a fulltime
missionary, his most important
contribution to the community
would be his own family, and
their commitment to grow more
in their life and mission in the
community
Michael “Shok” Ariola:
SFC International Coor-
dinator
Michael Ariola, or “Shok,”
claims he joined the community
“accidentally” in 1997 through
CFC Youth for Christ when he
was a student at the San Beda
College.   He had no plans of
joining but because the friend he
was with was going to the Youth
Camp, he ended up joining.
Michael considers that incident
as the turning point in his life,
because the Camp opened his
eyes to God’s love. The hurts
and anxieties he endured from
his family life were washed away
by God’s cleansing grace, and it
was as if he could see things from
a different perspective.  
It was God’s great love that
helped heal not only Michael,
but his family too. Coming from
a broken family, being active in
YFC became a source of heal-
ing and inspiration for Michael.
Through his persistence and
prayer, his mother eventually
joined the community through
Handmaids of the Lord and his
brother joined Youth for Christ.   
As a YFC member, Michael
went on many mission trips
with his fellow YFC members.
These opened his eyes to the joy
and humility of doing mission-
ary work. That is why when
God called him to be a fulltime
worker, he readily said “yes.”     portance of strengthening CFC’s
Michael became a Mission
Volunteer for CFC Youth for
Christ back in 1999, establishing
YFC in the different campuses in
Metro Manila. When he gradu-
ated from college, he became a
YFC Fulltime Pastoral Worker,
as a “natural response, a way of
honoring God’s love” for him.
In 2001, he was called to be
among the first batch of mis-
sionaries sent to Africa. Ac-
cording to Shok, this was a very
challenging and totally different
experience since it involved a lot
of unlearning and relearning as
the culture and the norms were
different. Michael spent one year
as a single missionary to Africa,
handling YFC, and establishing
it in different provinces, parishes
and schools.
After returning to Manila,
Michael was assigned to serve in
Singles for Christ. But he would
not remain single for long. He
married Ma. Carmela “Carel”
Flores, a fellow fulltime pastoral
worker in 2003, and soon after,
they flew to South Africa, bring-
ing along their 6-month old baby
girl Nina Andrea “Andie.”
In their four and a half years
as a couple missionary in Africa,
they presented CFC to parishes,
running the pastoral formation
programs, and even printing
CFC shirts for conferences.
When they arrived in South
Africa, there were only about
eight couples who were very
new to the ministry. By God’s
grace, and through their dedi-
cation and commitment, CFC
South Africa grew to a 1,500
Michael and Carel with Andie and Caleb Luke
strong community with mem-
bers coming from CFC and all
the Family Ministries.
God also used the African
mission to show Michael the im-
relationship with the clergy. Car-
dinal Napier became a very close
confidante and guide not only
for CFC South Africa, but for
Michael and Carel as a couple.
The cardinal helped them grow
CFC in South Africa and his en-
dorsement opened a lot of parish
doors to Michael and Carel.
Michael and his family moved
back to the Philippines in 2008.
He and Carel were asked to co-
ordinate the Migrants Program
of CFC, in addition to serving in
Singles for Christ. In 2010, after
years of praying, he and Carel
welcomed their son, Caleb Luke,
into the family. Carel was also
asked to serve as head of the HR
Dept of the CFC Home Office
When asked how he felt about
being appointed IC, Michael
sums up his reaction in one word
- “Thanksgiving.” As the SFC
IC, Shok feels that it is his role to
facilitate the flow of God’s grace
from the community to the single
man/woman and from person to
person. By empowering the SFC
team and the leaders of SFC, he
hopes to be able to reach every
single man and woman, and let
them continue to have an experi-
ence of Christ in whatever state
they are in.
Nic, Lawrence and Michael
bring to the Family Ministries
the passion and zeal to spread
God’s love to the ends of the
earth through their specific roles
as ICs. Let us pray for them, their
families and their co-missionar-
ies, that they may continue to
serve the Lord with their all, all
the days of their lives.
 C4 Ugnayan CBCP Monitor
Vol. 15 No. 5
February 28 - March 13, 2011

A Nationwide Call To
By Tina Rodriguez
Defend Life and LoveVeritas, Youth Pinoy, Human Life In-
ternational, Alliance for Family, Ang
Ligaya ng Panginoon, Foundation for
ON Sunday, January 13, 2011, Couples Family and Life, Medical Practitioners
for Christ were among the thousands for Life, Muslims for Life, Pro-Life
of Filipinos gathered to say “YES TO Phils Foundation, Pro-Life Coalition for
LIFE, NO TO THE RH BILL” at the In- Family and life, Ang Kapatiran party,
terfaith Pro-Life Rally held at the PICC Buhay Party List,
Grounds. People from all walks of life Philippine Solidar-
and of different faiths came together ity Foundation, El
for one clear and pressing purpose: to Shaddai, Christian
show the world, especially the local Family Movement,
legislators and government leaders, Edsa Shrine Com-
that we Filipinos are for the culture munity, Serve Life
of life, and not the culture of death, as Phils, Mother Butler
proposed by the RH Bill. Guild, PPCRV, and
It was very encouraging and inspir- many religious con-
ing to see so many groups and indi- gregations.
viduals come together to declare their Rene Bullecer
love for life and love. Parents came and Ligaya Acosta
with their children, young people with of Human Life In-
their barkadas, and even our elderly ternational were
countrymen came in full force to show there to greet the
their stand for life. Couples for Christ participants to the
joined more than 50 groups, represent- rally, and Mayor
ing all walks of life, at the rally. Some Lito Atienza, a vo-
of the other groups were: Knights of cal pro-lifer, was the
the Altar, diocesan groups from vari- emcee. Fr. Anton
ous dioceses all over Luzon, Cenacle, Pascual of Caritas
Order of Malta, Caritas Manila, Radio gave a passionate
speech about how our poor country-
men need job opportunities more than
population control, which is NOT the
solution to poverty in the Philippines.
Instead of spending millions of tax-
payers’ money on contraception, we
should focus on improving the qual-
ity of life of Filipinos by giving them
access to good education and employ-
An inspiring sharing by a Muslim
mother of 10 children also stood out in
ment opportunities. the afternoon’s program of activities.
What was also encouraging about She proudly proclaimed that Muslims
the Rally was the stance of the pro-life are pro-life, and what is needed by peo-
congressmen. Representatives Bagasi- ple are opportunities to enhance their
na, Tieng, Velarde, Dimaporo, Golez, lives, NOT the RH bill! Even celebrity
Bagatsing, and Del mom Christine Jacob-Sandejas shared
Mar, and former about her pro-life stance as a mother
Senator Pimentel all to five children, which in this day and
spoke out against age, is considered a large brood, or
the RH Bill and even “too many” to some.
committed to fight Creative dance presentations helped
it. They are true in entertaining the crowd, and prayers
examples of politi- led by men of different faiths i.e. a
cal leaders who not Baptist bishop, a Muslim Imam, and
only practice good a Catholic priest showed the true
governance, but unity of those gathered. Bro. Mike
are aligned to the Velarde gave an inspiring closing
greater Good. There exhortation.
were also medical All in all, it was a powerful testimony
professionals who to the uniting spirit of the Filipino peo-
proclaimed their ple. After coming home from the rally,
pro-life stance, and Couples for Christ members, along
briefly explained with our other countrymen, were more
how life begins at empowered, convicted and inspired to
conception/fertil- continue to defend the cause of life and
ization, and NOT love, no matter what it takes. What a
during implanta- meaningful way to spend the eve of
tion. Valentine’s Day!

Bishop Headlines CFC We Are More than Conquerors

ON the weekend of February 18-20, 201, 108 YFC the participants in workshop mode, planning the

Canada Rally
By Rico Tingin
MORE than 600 red-shirted
CFC members, including from
the Family Ministries, con-
verged at Canada Christian
College last Saturday, Feb 12,
for this year’s GTA (Greater
Toronto Area) Evangelization
Rally. The 2011 theme “Put
on the Full Armor of God”
(Eph 6:11) was the center
theme of the whole rally.
Most Reverend William
McGrattan, Auxiliary Bishop
for the Archdiocese of Toron-
to, was the headline speaker
at the rally. To the delight of
the crowd, Bishop McGrattan
changed from his usual black
blazer into a flaming red t-shirt,
signifying his solidarity with the
CFC family. In his talk, Bishop
McGrattan acknowledged CFC
as a gift of God from the Philip-
pines to the world. He cited CFC
as “one of those very important
lay movements born out of the
2nd Vatican that truly manifest-
ed the grace and gift of God.”
In reference to our theme,
“Put on the Full Armor of God”
for this year, Bishop McGrat-
tan, highlighted the following
points:
* The armor of God is an armor
of love.
* Each component of the armor
mentioned in Eph 6:11-18 repre-
sents the various gifts that God
has given us.
* God has given us the armor
not so much to protect us but to
strengthen us by equipping us
leaders and couple coordinators, gathered for the responses of each area per direction. The three
YFC National Leaders’ Summit held in Winnipeg, directions of YFC Canada are: Full-scale Advoca-
Manitoba. Erin Kinsella, the Director of the Youth cies; Full-blast in Evangelization, and Full-fledge
Office of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, attended Missionaries.
the weekend activity. The evening session started with the anticipated
The summit was entitled “More than Conquer- mass celebrated by Fr. Martin Bradbury, Holy Cross
ors” from Joshua 1:9 “Have I not commanded Parish Priest. This was followed by the third session
you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; “Into your Hands” given by Vince Gomba.
do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God On the last day, the fourth session, “More than
will be with you wherever you go.” The goal of Conquerors” was given by Gelo Saludo. The clos-
the summit is to gather all the YFC leaders across ing activity was a moving Adoration of the Holy
Canada, to share the direction of YFC Canada in Eucharist followed by a powerful praisefest led by
the next three (3) years, and for YFC Canada to Jason Diala, YFC Area Head of Calgary.
move in one direction. It has been three years since the last NLS and
with certain gifts. The event started with the first session “The Leg- this one was really what YFC Canada needed.
* We are to use these gifts acy” delivered in talk show format by John Acosta, This sets the direction where each area will be
solely for two purposes; to and spoke of God’s victories in YFC Canada. The going and hope to achieve after three years. As
love God and to love our next day, the second session on “Anointed Leader- Canada’s National Anthem states that it is the
neighbor ship” was given by Candy Subang followed by the “True North,” YFC Canada also believes that God
* CFC has been given the pre-workshop orientation given by YFC National is the True North and is bent of reclaiming the
vocation of being witnesses Chairman, George Fournier. The afternoon saw nation for God.
to the immense love of God
in the mystery of man and
woman.
* CFC with its gift that fo-
cuses on marriage and family
is truly, in our present culture,
a sign of evangelization.
He ended by encouraging
CFC to be strong, to stay
united in the sacrament of
marriage and to express that
mutual love and sacrifice as a
witness to people around us.
The evangelization rally
was highlighted by a mass
concelebrated by Bishop
McGrattan and Fr Luigi Ac-
cossato, Superior of the Con-
solata Missionary Centre.

Called!
By AJ Cabacang
IN January 28-30, 2010, at Hilton Hotel, Surrey
City, Metro Vancouver, 123 leaders of the
CFC -Youth for Christ Ministry, together with
more than 20 couple coordinators in British
Columbia, Canada gathered as one for the 2011
CFC-YFC Pacific Regional Leaders Conference.
The conference’s central theme, “Called,”
revolved around the verse, Ephesians 4:1, “Be
worthy of the calling that you have received.”
The weekend retreat started off on Friday with
Holy Mass, followed by Eucharistic Adoration
and topped off by a charismatic praise and
worship session inside the beautiful Our Lady
of Good Counsel church in Surrey. Though this
was only the beginning of the conference, many
affirmed that this was the highlight of their
weekend.
Like any YFC event, the event was filled with
Fun, Fellowship, Freedom and Faith. The young
leaders attended sessions and workshops on:
Answering the Cry of the Poor (ANCOP), Time
and Money Management,
Public Speaking and Creative
Evangelization.
The ANCOP workshop
was led by the youth pro-
gram heads, Chris Velasco
and Charlene Algabre. They
emphasized that like Jesus,
we are called to serve every-
one especially the poor. The
Time and Money Manage-
ment workshop was given by
Rene Garrucho, the Country
Coordinator for Kenya and a
member of the ANCOP and
the Pastoral Formation Com-
mittees in British Columbia,
who gave practical tips on
how to be models of excellence in financial
CFC Home Office Recollection: Love
stewardship, and balancing time so that rela-
tionships, school grades and stress levels are
maintained, while prioritizing a close relation-
In the Ordinary Times of Our Lives
ship with God. The Public Speaking workshop By Tina Rodriguez
was given by Father Rodney Nootebos who
told the YFC participants that they were being
called by God to be prophets of the Good News. AROUND 50 fulltime staff
He emphasized that with practice, preparation and pastoral workers of the
and prayer; we don’t have to worry about loss Couples for Christ Home
of words, sweaty palms and cracked voices to
Office in Manila took some
be confident protagonists of the truth. The time from their busy work
Creative Evangelization Workshop was given schedules to “stop, look and
by Lorna Richardson, a Simon Fraser University
listen” and be refreshed by
undergraduate in Psychology, Gender Studies
God’s love. Through the
and Counselling. She discussed the importance
opening worship, led by SFC
of using our unique God-given talents to spread
the Gospel to the high schools, post-secondary International Coordinator
institutions, and new mission areas through Michael “Shok” Ariola, and
creative evangelization. the recollection itself, given
YFC full time workers, Angelo Saludo and by Rev. Fr. Xavier Olin, SJ,
Candy Subang, also delivered talks about serv- many were able to realize
ice and the relationships that we have with the once again that God is present
brothers, sisters, titos and titas that we serve in the ordinary things and
with. in the ordinary times of our
lives.
Fr. Xavier started off by
exhorting all those present
to think back to the previous
weeks and months and to be-
come aware of what moments
in the past had been glimpses
of God’s love. He enjoined
everyone to reflect on the
song “You Are Mine,” which
has these beautiful lines from
Isaiah 43:
Do not be afraid, I am with you.
I have called you each by
name.
Come and follow Me,
I will bring you home;
I love you and you are Mine.
Fr. Xavier also reminded every-
one that “in the end, it all begins
in God and with God – who goes
out of His way to love us. He
loves us, longs for us, desires us
first.” He asked everyone to try to
recall when they first experienced
God’s love, emphasizing that
God does not ask us to convince
Him to love us, but to allow Him
to love us.
Fr. Xave also spoke about how
the Church is still in the season of
Ordinary Time, which actually
makes up most of the Church
calendar. There are a few feasts
here and there, but that is all. This
can be likened to our experiences
as Catholics – our lives are not full
of big celebrations every day, but
are mostly made up of ordinary
time and everyday moments.
Like Blessed Mother Teresa of
Calcutta, who in the last months
of her life had great difficulty feel-
ing God’s love, we too sometimes
cannot or do not acknowledge
God’s loving presence. Like Job,
we are sometimes exhausted,
and we ask “Where is God? I
can’t see Him, I can’t feel Him
anymore.” The answer is simple
though, and many times forgot-
ten because of our suffering, pain
and complacency: “God is with
us.. always.”
To emphasize these points,
Fr. Xave talked about former
businessman turned Jesuit St.
Alfonso Rodriguez, who for
the most part of his religious
life, served as a doorman or
porter. St. Alfonso found his
sanctity and calling in the or-
dinariness of his life, and was
always excited to answer the
door because He always saw
God in His work. He drew His
love from the well-spring of
prayer, even in the most bor-
ing, mundane tasks.
Two video clips shown by
Fr. Xave further emphasized
the beauty of God’s love
made manifest through hu-
man relationships and the
common, everyday things --
about a woman named Sally
from Smokey Mountain, who
was a volunteer Natural Fam-
ily Planning teacher in her
neighborhood and about one
husband, Warren, who is tak-
ing care of his wife Mila, now
comatose after giving birth
to their first child. Through
the video clips, the truth that
God wants to show us shines
through– that in the real-
ity of ordinary time, in the
crushing times of suffering,
Jesus, Emmanuel, is with us.
His love is unchanging and
unconditional.