Press Release
Thank God, the curfew is over. Thank God, our hardworking media men have been released; were it not for them the nation would be in the dark as to what our country is undergoing at this point in time. Yesterday and last night, the people holed-in at Peninsula Manila had a “foretaste” of what Martial Law could be. God save us from the worse!
Bishop Julio Labayen, Bishop-Emeritus of Infanta, experienced in the hands of the military what he did not undergo even in the time of Marcos dictatorship. Bishop Labayen is already 81 years old. I am appealing to the military that he be released on account of his age. The advocacy that Bishop Labayen had been doing is for the country to be restored to genuine democracy and justice which is worth fighting for.
In this moment of national crisis, may there be sobriety, calmness, mutual understanding among the people in opposite camps. Let us pray for our country.
Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
November 30, 2007
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20 comments:
Priest should be the model of peace, not hatred and rebellion.
tsk..tsk..tsk.
We cannot even correct our flock within our parish how much more the entire country.
I agree with zimmer that priests should be the models of peace, not hatred and rebellion.
But look at what Bps. Labayan and Tobias are doing, they're spreading
hatred and discord in our society.
That's why a lot of Catholics are so disappointed with these Bishops.
Dapat kay Bp Tobias ayusin niya muna ang problema ng mga pari niya sa Novaliches. 3/4 (majority) of his priests there are so disappointed with him.
I believe the military's actions are justified and do not, in anyway, forestate a martial law. A crime is a crime no matter who's done it, men and women, young and old, press or priest, nobody should be above the law and should go thru its processes. There may be some exceptions to this especially to the very young and the very old yet this is how "democracy" should work, or in laymans term, "equality". This reminds me of the "creation of mankind" in the Holy Bible.
It is understandable that honest men should be dead or in prison in a Republic where the President is a criminal and a thief.
I know that imprisonment will be harder for me than it has ever been for anyone, filled with cowardly threats and hideous cruelty. But I do not fear prison, as I do not fear the fury of the miserable tyrant who took the lives of 70 of my comrades. Condemn me. It does not matter. History will absolve me.
Just like history absolved the writer of the above, history will absolve Antonio Trillanes.
It's probably true.
In a Republic where criminals and the like are pardonned in the blink of an eye, I can't see why absolvence thru the years is not possible.
As they say it, Filipinos have short memory.
Yes, thank God the standoff at The Pen and the curfew is over. Yet something gives me a feeling that similar events are bound to happen. It's far from over.
Yes, we thank the men and women of media for keeping us informed even at the risk of their lives. However, you seem to imply that there was effort to "keep the rest of the nation in the dark." I find that unfounded. One could readily understand that certain measures had to be taken. One was the temporary confiscation of the media equipment.
With all due respect, Your Excellency, stop fueling the tension. Dj is right. It would be unjustifiable to call yesterday's act of desperation on the part of Trillanes, Lim, Guingona, etc. and the law enforcers' handling of the situation a “foretaste of martial law.”
Truly it shows the disillusionment that many Filipinos experience. However, it was a disillusionment turned to despair as manifested by the desperate attempt of Trillanes and the rest for the country to "move on". But where? How? “For the country to move on”... To whom does “country” refer to?
Yes, God save us from worse! God save us from (in the words of Bl. John XXIII) the prophets of doom. God save us also from apathy. Yet God save us also from desperate activism! God save us from despair. As Christians, we should be messengers of hope, hold on to that hope, work with hope; and never turn to despair.
Bishop Lagdameo:
I featured your ,Thank GOD,its'over" in my thankfulness blog.
I know GOD will not abandon us inspite of the fact we have abandoned HIM.
http://thankfulnesstoall.blogspot.com/
A Cristo hay que liberarlo
El siempre quiso ser pueblo
y hoy lo exploitan los de arriba
Ricos, Iglesia y Gobierno
Iglesia que no denuncia la injusticia
y la oprecion
es una iglesia vendida
queremos resurreccion
queremos renovacion
queremos revolucion
From Cristo Al Servico de Quien by Los Guaraguaos
That means that Christ is our liberatorand shouldn't be used by those who want to exploite us. The exploitation by the rich, the church and the government must stop. Churches that don't denounce injustice and oppression are churches are for sale.
I salute the bishops and priests that have stood up and said, no way, we are against injustice and oppression of this ruthless government.
Yes, Christ is our liberator! Jesus of Nazareth is the Christ! It is indeed very unfortunate that in certain periods in the Church's history she had been unfaithful to Jesus, Her Bridegroom, and the way of life He taught. But like Her Bridegroom, she must not turn her hands to arms, for "those who live by the sword shall die by the sword."
Yes, the Church must denounce injustice and oppression. She even also has to rid herself of her own injustices and forms of oppressions. But she must also not think less of who she really is and the dignity Jesus bestowed on her. And she must not shrink from the values of Jesus - values that tell of her dignity.
Yes, the Church must act, must struggle. But she never turns to desperate acts. She is saved by her hope informed by faith founded on her love encounter with the person of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ!
The Church's commitment is never to an ideology even if many nowadays postulate that all we have of the historical Jesus is the way of life He taught.
A true Christian belief in the Resurrection does not relegate Him to the past reducing Him to some learned man in history. He is truly with His Church in the forms He instituted: in Scripture, in the sacraments and especially in the Eucharist, in the assembly. It is to Him that the Church's commitment belongs.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, is the true liberator! We must be careful of ideologies that use the name of Christ (which could even mean someone else other than Jesus of Nazareth) to further their cause - these give us false hopes of liberation.
Recent history shows us. Our experiences at EDSA tell us how elusive (and illus-ive our notions of) liberation are.
Dear Archbishop Angel Lagdameo,
“Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago Friday filed an urgent resolution asking punitive action against Trillanes for leading the power grab Thursday at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati.”GMA NEWS
For once,I agree with Lady Miriam.Senator Trillanes is not above the law!
BUT,may I ask Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago ,How about GLORIA?
“No man (or woman) is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it. Theodore Roosevelt”
How could so many scandals of an elected(?) president and her cadre remain unexplained, unchallenged, and unpunished? When? Probably never.
We’re not talking mistakes, here. We’re not talking poor judgment or failed policies. We’re not talking politics as usual, with its underhanded array of pork and perks. But we are talking about very serious violations of the public trust, and very possibly the law, perpetrated by the elected(?) leader of this nation and her handlers.
Even more amazingly, we are talking about the shameful reality that not a single one of these offenses has been investigated by a truly independent, non-political, neutral commission, armed with subpoena powers and adequate funding, and answerable ONLY to the people of Philippines. Not a single one.
What ever happened to the investigation of:
* The National Power Corp. (Napocor) -CPK-Kalayaan rehabilitation project.
* The race horse importation fiasco.
* The overpriced Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard exposé.
* Misuse of the fertilizer funds,
* The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. scandals.
* The jueteng scandals.
* the ZTE-NBN scandal(”Buck off!”).
* The Bribery of Governors and Congressmen in Malacanang.
* The MOTHER of ALL SCANDALS :THE HELLO GARCI Mega Scandal that influenced the last Presidential elections.
* The Extra-Judicial Killings of Activists as reported by the United Nations special raporteur on human rights.
* And many more…
What’s left to be said? Not very much. Gloria Pidal has had a free pass to do as she pleased since 2001.She and her political operators have not been held accountable for any crime against the people of this country. Gloria is above the law.Why?
Everyone seems to be talking about freedom to do this and freedom to do that, but no one seems to be talking about responsibility. It is best for the church to clean up its own backyard before they put their hands in the affairs of the state. We belong to a flock that longs for moral guidance, not political leadership. The moral decay of our country is not because of poor goverment but poor leadership in the Catholic hierarchy, that explains why Filipinos seems to have lost love of country and fellowmen. Christ, our Lord, did not only bring the good news of God's love but also preached about carrying our own cross. Though we have a democracy, it is not only about doing what we want but also about being accountable for our actions. It is in this light that I call on the bishops to stop acting like kings and start acting like shepherds of the flock that Christ entrusted unto them. Like St. Francis, the bishops should be instruments of peace, not hatred and division among the Filipino people. The late Cardinal Sin was the church's answer to the Marcos dictatorship. That era is gone and our nation does not need another Cardinal Sin.
Christianity did not bring a message of social revolution like that of the ill-fated Spartacus, whose struggle led to so much bloodshed. Jesus was not Spartacus, he was not engaged in a fight for political liberation like Barabbas or Bar- Kochba. Jesus, who himself died on the Cross, brought something totally different: an encounter with the Lord of all lords, an encounter with the living God and thus an encounter with a hope stronger than the sufferings of slavery, a hope which therefore transformed life and the world from within.
- from Pope Benedict XVI's new encyclical letter on Christian Hope, Spe Salvi.
Dear Archbishop Angel Lagdameo,
A question that seems to be on everybody's mind these days turns out to be: Is Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the worst President in recent history?
(A recent informal, unscientific poll of my blog’s viewers found that 80% of votes cast for “Worst President” rate the current presidency as a very serious contender for the dubious title.)
But how do you judge? Is she really the most morally disgusting? Have we as a people forgotten and/or forgiven the terrible transgressions of some of her recent predecessors in the Presidential seat in Malacanang?
Objectively, isn’t Ferdinand Marcos the most worthy candidate for worst President? Maybe the young have no memory of the brutal years of martial law regime, his silencing the free press, his dictatorial control, the imprisonment, torture, murder and disappearance of thousands and his shameless plunder of the nation's treasury.
Don’t we at least remember Marcos’ partner in the “Conjugal Dictatorship”? Maybe her pathetic look these days is deemed by our people good enough punishment for a woman whose beauty was legendary decades ago.
How about Gloria’s most recent presidential predecessor? Isn’t Erap, our unlucky 13th president, another more worthy candidate for the worst President? Just three months ago, the Sandiganbayan finally gave its decision, finding Joseph guilty of plunder "beyond reasonable doubt" and sentenced to “Reclusión perpetua.”
Maybe our people think that he has already been punished enough. After all, he served more than six years in detention — six years and six months to be exact. First in an air-conditioned suite at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City, and then at his own well-appointed rest house in Tanay town, outside Manila. (Of course, Erap was quickly pardoned by Gloria.)
This brings us to Gloria. It's still too early to tell, but if the current signs mean anything, she has got a lot to answer for.
How could so many scandals of an elected (?) president and her cadre remain unexplained, unchallenged, and unpunished? When? Probably never.
We’re not talking mistakes, here. We’re not talking poor judgment or failed policies. We’re not talking politics as usual, with its underhanded array of pork and perks. But we are talking about very serious violations of the public trust, and very possibly the law, perpetrated by the elected (?) leader of this nation and her handlers.
Even more amazingly, we are talking about the shameful reality that not a single one of these offenses has been investigated by a truly independent, non-political, neutral commission, armed with subpoena powers and adequate funding, and answerable ONLY to the people of Philippines. Not a single one.
One of the criteria for being worst is how much lasting damage the President did. The dictator Ferdinand Marcos for instance, did more than words can convey. With Gloria, the historical reckoning is yet to be made.
Let history judge her.
The Church itself is in need of reform. The bishops must have some feeling of guilt with the "moral bankruptcy" of the land. It challenges them to pause and reflect on their Christian witnessing.
Being critical to the excesses of the administration can be a prophetic call, but unless the bishops resolved to bring good education to the poor Filipinos, distribute their vast lands to the landless, abandoned their palaces in favor of the homeless... their prophetic tongue, no matter how theologically sound, has no power to destroy the injustices of the land.
Actually, I was appreciative of the vocal voices of the bishops, particularly the persistent voice of the good Archbishop Lagdameo, but I'm growing tried of hearing their words... justice is praxis. God bless us all.
All persons have their right to express what they feel. No one would criticise an ordinary person if he will be joining a march or a protest.
That is the down-side of being in a position of trust, people tend to limit one's personality around the title one possesses.
I do not wish to side with any one but i just want to make it clear to everyone that a person does not loose his civil rights when he is ordained as a priest, he is still a citizen with all the rights guaranteed by the constitution.
It is also very difficult to separate the person from the authority that one possesses. Let us be guided, however, that they are only authorities on faith and that they can only speak with authority when it is a matter of faith. This, however, does not prevent them from expressing their own opinions.
Let us, therefore, not judge other people for what they have done. We have been condemning the said personalities because of their position. Would we do the same if the the said persons were not occupying the said positions. Let us try be objective and let us not judge with prejudice in mind.
God save us from the worse. Amen
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