In and Out of Season

It's time to move on with honest leadership

2010-06-28T17:27:00.000+08:00

Homily of Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Jaro Cathedral, June 25, 2010

We appreciate the initiative that brings us today together to offer this Mass in thanksgiving for the recent election and its welcomed result. We congratulate and thank all of you who worked for it, together with the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting.

From where we have been in the last national and local election, with its results, some very much welcomed, prayed for and expected, some very surprising and unexpected results. We have to move on with the grace of God and look forward to the future with trust and confidence.

Our congratulations, best wishes and prayers go to all the incoming national and local leaders of our country, the incoming new administration under the Presidency of Noynoy Aquino.

We call upon the new and incoming government the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: knowledge, understanding, wisdom and insight, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord.

Yes, indeed, these gifts are also available to politicians in that they are concerned with the common good and welfare, order and harmony of the governed, the Filipino people.

To whatever political party politicians and public servants belong, they must remember that the primary and ultimate common goal of politics, of political parties and of elected politicians, is their beneficial contribution to the common good of society. We categorically affirm that our duly elected government officials have people as their priority, not themselves, not their families, not their political parties, but the people who are their mandated beneficiaries. Otherwise, they would become irrelevant and detrimental, and they would be disappointing the people.

When the newly elected President Aquino takes his oath of office on June 30 and all the others after him, they will be pronouncing their oath before the Filipino People and to God. More than the Justice of the Supreme Court, the witnesses of that oath are the Filipino People and God Himself, whom they will invoke with the phrase: “So help me God.”

President Noynoy has made a good start. He had told reporters lately: “You have to be humble to say that you are not Superman and Einstein combined. You don’t have all the solutions at your finger tips.” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, June 17, 2010)

President Noynoy, I think, was spirit-inspired when he stated as follows and I repeat it to all elected officials now: “Once you are aware of your limitations, at the end of the day, there are certain things to be left to God. You ask to be His instrument in making His Kingdom on Earth apparent and, at the same time, you ask for His protection to do what has to be done.” (cf. Inquirer, June 17) Noynoy said that in an interview by media. In saying this, he must have been thinking of his parents, the late Senator Ninoy and President Cory, whom President-elect Noynoy recalled as teaching him “ Do whatever you can and entrust the rest to God.”

Many suggestions and advice have been given to the President-Elect, both from the private and public sectors, and from the Church sectors, which I am tempted to repeat because they are good ones. Let us pray that our new President will be guided and listen to the Holy Spirit.

Now is the time – June 30, 2010 – to put into action what he has eloquently articulated: “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.” People who are corrupt must be converted and renewed. Institutions which are corrupt and are sources of corruption, must be “demolished” and replaced by institutions that work for the common good.

We must continue to pray for the newly elected government officials, that they may be true and faithful, honest and transparent in fulfilling the mandates of their respective offices. Prayer is not enough; each one must be an exemplary citizen himself/herself.

As we expect our government officials to be exemplary so must we be as citizens: for the love of God and country. It was not enough that we have voted, we must likewise actively follow up whether they are honestly serving the common good or not. If we had been vigilant during the election so must we be now for good governance.

Heavenly Father, give our newly elected government officials, President-Elect Noynoy Aquino, and all of them down the line, with the gift of servant-leadership: that the best form of leadership is service of the least, the last and the lost, giving life to the articulated vision: “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap.”

Keeping our hope alive

2010-05-06T17:12:00.001+08:00

FOR the love of our country, the Filipino people will go to the polling places to elect the new leadership of our government in the national and local levels. May we vote for the most worthy candidates who will govern and help heal our land.

Let us join the millions of voters in the PPC-RV advocacy for Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful (CHAMP) Election. Yes, indeed, let us together be vigilant against those who may be working with the intention of “failure of Election”. Let that not happen. Let us all proclaim “BOTO KO, DANGGAL KO, IPAGTATANGGOL KO.”

We appeal to the peace-keeping institutions, like the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), to live out concretely their advocacy for HOPE in our country at the local and national level. HOPE for Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Election.

If the glitches or failures of the PCOS machines are deemed more than accidental or human failure which may be beyond human control, we would be inclined or tempted to think or ask “what could be the master plan in the machine failure?” or “ Who could be the mastermind, if there was indeed an intended failure?” Question.

The thought and the question may diminish the efforts of the “CHAMP” and “HOPE” advocates. But let this not happen! I join my brother Bishops and all God-fearing citizens throughout the country in appealing for vigilance and prayer, most especially by the citizens whose only most important contribution for the Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Election (HOPE) is their Prayer and Penance. Throughout the Archdiocese let all the Adoration Chapels and Parish Churches be opened for Vigils of Prayer for Honest, Orderly, Peaceful Election.

We encourage all the Pious Organizations and Associations to take turn (by the Hour or every 30 minutes) in praying for this Election. We need above all the help of God. We address our prayer to Him with the Help of Our Blessed Mother, Mediatrix of All Grace.

Let us pray (or sing): “Lord, heal our land./ Father heal our land./ Hear our cry and turn our nation back to you./Lord, heal our land./ Hear us, O Lord, and heal our land./ Forgive our sin and heal our broken land.”/ Yes, indeed, broken by insincerity, broken promises, corruption and injustice. Lord, heal our land through a new brand of leaders.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
May 6, 2010

CBCP review of 2006-2009

2009-12-01T09:20:00.000+08:00

AS the outgoing CBCP Permanent Council welcomes the incoming Permanent Council, I wish to express my profound gratitude to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) for entrusting to me the presidency of our conference for two consecutive terms from 2006 to 2009.

The effective management of any institution depends largely on the day to day working of its Secretariat and subordinate personnel. We have such in the CBCP, working along with 26 independent and interdependent Episcopal Commissions concretizing the CBCP Vision and Mission.

The objectives of the CBCP include among others the formulation of general decrees, pastoral policies and doctrinal declarations to enlighten and guide people’s consciences in meeting emerging challenges and new problems arising from changes in society (Cf. Constitituion, Art. 1, Sec. 2).

Let me review what the CBCP had articulated in our effort to shepherd and guide our country in the last four years through our Pastoral Letters, Statements and Exhortations.
2006. The CBCP declared the year 2006 as a “Year of Social Concerns” under the auspices of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. [cf. “Renewing our Public Life Through Moral Values” Pastoral Statement , January 29, 2006].

At that time we observed that economic benefits were not being sufficiently shared with the poor, that apathy and cynicism in politics, and loss of trust in political leaders, have taken hold of the mind and hearts of many Filipinos. The root cause of this crisis, we said, is the erosion of moral values. Among the responses we proposed was the promotion of a spirituality of public service, integrity and stewardship. But we believed that even our best efforts in addressing the problems will come to nothing without the help of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. (2006 was the 150th Anniversary of the Feast of Sacred Heart instituted in 1856.)

Other social concerns we identified were the mining issues, the alleged “Peoples’ Initiatives” to change the Constitution (which did not push through because of the vigilance of the citizens), the controversial “Da Vinci Code,” the notorious Fertilizer Fund Scam and the spread of Small Town Lottery or STL. Two breakfast fellowships with Christian Church Leaders and some government officials were held to share our common concerns.

The commitment of the Church would consist in building in our land “a civilization of love” (Centessimus Annus, 10), by building character through honesty and integrity, by building capacity through empowerment of the poor, and by building community through formation in the spirituality of citizenship. [Pastoral Exhortation “Building a Civilization of Love” May 11, 2006].

The Year of Social Concerns gave emphasis on the importance of the Social Doctrine of the Church as integral part of our evangelizing ministry, as emphasized in Pope Benedict XVI’s first Encyclical “Deus Caritas Est.

The burning issues which were being discussed were: the family under siege by the reproductive health bills, the prospect of charter change, the controversial impeachment process, which did not occur, the clamor for the reform of COMELEC, advocacy contra extra-judicial killings and endemic corruption in public and private life. [Shepherding and Prophesying in Hope, July 9, 2006]
2007. In January 2007 the CBCP recalled the 40th anniversary of the Rural Congress of 1967 which came to the crucial conclusion that “The Church must go to the barrios.” The greater number of the poor are in the rural areas. Therefore, attending to the rural poverty would be to help lessen the urban poverty. The CBCP said that the one big means of alleviating rural poverty is through a determined, vigorous and honest implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). [Pastoral Statement: The Dignity of the Rural Poor, January 28, 2007].

In 2007 the CBCP also commended the group of lay faithful who worked with great enthusiasm and dedication for the May 2007 elections. These lay groups were the PPC-RV, NAMFREL, NASSA-VOTE CARE, Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, the Catholic Media Network, Legal Network for a Truthful Election (Lente). These dedicated groups undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of a new political consciousness among the electorate. Vigilance, volunteerism and coordinated action characterized their work. We advocated for Electoral Reforms through revamp of the COMELEC, the holding of those responsible for anomalies in past elections as accountable to the people, and the modernization of the electoral system in time for 2010 Election, continuing education of voters, the cleaning and publication of voters’ list long before election. [Pastoral Statement, on the 2007 National Elections, July 8.]

The CBCP endorsed a one year journey “Towards the Second National Rural Congress” (July 16, 2007). In this year we commemorated the centenary of the Episcopal Consecration of Bishop Jorge Barlin (1906), expressed concern on the nation’s housing problems and on the Human Security Act vis-à-vis terrorism.
2008. In 2008 the CBCP stated that the “darkness in our situation” which consists in the subordination of the common good to private or personal good is due to the lack of a social conscience. The CBCP said: “To journey to the light, we need first to realize that we have contributed not a little to the common malaise – because of the decisions we have made, decisions that flowed from what we have become because of our unconcern, inaction, apathy, often thinking only of our interest. And so with little sense of the future of our country, we vote for people we should not vote for. . . We have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people.” (Pastoral Letter “Reform Yourselves and believe in the Gospel” (Jan. 27, 2008)

There is need for personal and communal conversion towards a social conscience. “This conversion is for all of us: laity, religious, priests and bishops.” We reiterated the call for “circles of discernment” in all sectors or levels of the community, in order that through communal and prayerful discernment, the roots of corruption may be discovered and destroyed. [Pastoral Statement, Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity, February 26, 2008].

As part of the celebration of the NRC-II, we advocated the extension of CARP with reform. “Abandoning the agricultural sector will not only threaten the farmers but also imperil food security itself. Conversely, distributing land to small farmers will provide equitable economic opportunities on the rural area and eventually reduce poverty and unrests.” (Agrarian Reform, May 18, 2008). Important highlights of 2008 were the launching of the Year of St. Paul and the holding of the Second National Rural Congress on July 7-8, 2008 in San Carlos Seminary, Makati.

A special plenary assembly was held on November 14, 2008 in order to articulate the CBCP opposition to the Reproductive Health Bill 5043. (Pastoral Statement “Standing Up for the Gospel of Life”)

In 2008, there was held a series of Bishops – Legislators’ caucuses on Rural Concerns and on Family and Life Issues. There was also held a seminar on the Theology of Pope Benedict XVI.

2009. At the NRC-II the rural poor were given the opportunity to articulate their concerns. It was an opportunity for the church on various levels to listen and discern her specific role in accompanying the rural folk in their journey; the small farmers, landless workers, fisherfolks, indigenous people, rural women and rural youth. (Pastoral Exhortation: God Hears the Cry of the Poor, January 25, 2009).

At the Rural Congress we declared that in the fight against graft and corruption, we should encourage our lay faithful to accompany and support upright public officials in their efforts to serve the people in transparency and truth. We further declared that “we shall direct church institutions and organizations to be more engaged in works of solidarity, justice and charity for the poor in rural areas.” Scripture warns us: “He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard.” (Prov. 21/13)

In June of this year 2009, we declared the post-Pauline year as the Year of the Two Hearts of Jesus and Mary for Peace-building and Lay Participation in Social Change, inspired by St. Paul’s reflection on “Christ as ambassador of Peace and Reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5/18-20; Eph. 2/12-18). In this year of the Two Hearts “We challenge our Catholic Laity to take the lead in the task of moral renewal towards a deeper and more lasting change in the Philippine society … urging (them) to give a concrete expression to Christian discipleship through responsible citizenship.”

What a providential coincidence, the Year of Two Hearts which the CBCP announced for the Philippines has also been declared by Pope Benedict XVI for the Universal Church as “Year for Priests” with the theme “Faithfulness of Christ, Faithfulness of the Priest,” in commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of St. John Marie Vianney. Pope Benedict XVI has articulated the purpose of this Year for Priests: “The Church needs holy priests,” holy priests who will guide the lay faithful in their participation in the renewal of church and society. In response to the Pope’s call for the Year of Priests there will be held the Second National Congress of Priests in January 2010.

We see how the hand of God is guiding the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines in this last four years: we placed 2006 the Year of Social Concerns under the auspices of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And this year in June we declared the Year of Two Hearts for Peace and Lay participation in Social Change.”

As shepherds and guardians of the flock, our reading of the “Signs of the Times” goes on as we have been doing. Our advocacies for the good of the church and our country continue. In our conference, no one can ever be an isolated performer. The 10 member Permanent Council and the 30 Chairmen of the various Commissions, Committees and Offices together with the Secretariates have all been working together each with no little sacrifice, like a chorus singing the Magnificat or the Gloria in Excelsis.

I had the distinct privilege of presiding at our CBCP General Assembly. I am sorry for whatever mistakes or failures I may have committed during my watch. But I was as confident as the CBCP was that it is the Lord that watches over our Conference.
My gratitude to the CBCP can never be as great and as profound as the trust that it has gifted me with.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro

Press Statement on Maguindanao Massacre

2009-11-24T16:45:00.000+08:00

The CBCP joins the nation in mourning and condemning the massacre of 36 innocent civilians, mostly women, including drivers and journalists. Whether it is politically motivated or not, it is still a crime against respect for life and peace and order in the community.

We join the appeal to rightful authorities to restore justice in the situation. We likewise appeal that the common good as well as respect for human life be uppermost in the campaign for political ends.

May this painful situation be a strong reason for further pursuing the ongoing peace process in Mindanao.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
November 24, 2009

Year 2009, Typhoons: Are they God’s Hints?

2009-10-02T15:10:00.001+08:00

AFTER the destructive typhoon Ondoy that hit Manila and Central Luzon, and with still on-going work of compassion and rehabilitation, we are warned by the news of possibly stronger typhoons in the coming days or weeks. We are still facing a litany of storms, according to Pag-asa.

We are impelled to pray that the Lord save our country from further calamities due to typhoons, floods, drought, volcanic eruption and other calamities occurring in increasing number and intensity.

In this month of October especially, we recommend that the Rosary be prayed by individuals or by families or by communities in parishes for the above intention as well as other intentions. Our countrymen, still reeling in physical anguish and emotional distress, which many of them hide in their smiles and sense of humor, need also to be prayed for.

With the World Apostolate of Fatima and the Apostleship of Prayer and other religious (“praying”) organizations, we appeal not only for material assistance for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy, but also for prayer, repentance and penance. I have just been from an Asian Meeting of the World Apostolate of Fatima in Seoul, Korea. From the messages of Fatima, it seems there is some deep connection between moral evils (the “reign of sin”) and the calamities that descend on a people. Our Lady of Fatima’s exhortation to prayer includes the threefold cry “Penance, Penance, Penance,” which echoes the message of Jesus “Repent and believe the Gospel” (Mk. 1/15).

Then Cardinal Ratzinger, who is now Pope Benedict XVI, had said “The heart open to God, purified by contemplation of God, is stronger than guns and weapons of everykind.” Typhoons also, and floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are an invitation for opening our hearts to God. “In the world you will have tribulation, but take heart: I have overcome the world” (Jo. 16/33). The hope-filled message of Fatima invites us to trust in her Son’s promise.

In the destruction wrought by typhoons, we must see not so much God “lifting His hand to punish” but moral evil having its “trail of harm and ruin” because we have destroyed God’s world.

We are challenged to open our hearts to God’s warning signs. Should we not at least ask ourselves if all the corruption and lies, the loss of integrity and the mounting “destruction of morality and moral values” (cf. Chief Justice Puno and Senator Salonga) in the present government and the present calamities: is there a connection? Is God not giving us “hints” regarding the future and even the coming elections? Nagtatanong lang kami! We do not have the answer! That is why let us also pray!

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP Presidnet

Epic Flood: A Call for Compassion

2009-09-29T18:18:00.002+08:00

THE pictures we see in the newspapers and television screen in these days, after the epic flood brought about by devastating tropical storm “Ondoy” have many stories to tell which are beyond words. Many of the victims of super typhoon Ondoy has a scary experience to narrate.

While we keep in our imagination the pictures that invite our deepest sympathy, and even listen in our hearts to their desperate cries for help, the victims agonizing and angry complaints at the slowness or absence of response from Disaster Preparedness Program, let us see in this situation a call to everyone for compassion. If there were no graft and corruption in our government, our government would be more prepared to respond to such crisis.

Typhoon Ondoy’s destructive path may be the worst flood in more than half a century. Through the ravages of nature in the past, the Filipino sense of compassion, which we also call “bayanihan,” has been called forth. The pictures we have seen in the past few days are pictures of Filipinos responding to the call for compassion, of people willing to “suffer with,” people with the spirit of “bayanihan.”

We pray against typhoons, earthquakes, floods and other natural calamities. But when they do occur, the heroism of the Filipino comes out. We salute, for example, to that 18-year old teen-ager, Muelmar Magallanes, who lost his life after saving more than a dozen neighbors, the last of whom was a six-month old baby.

This one heroic example is an inspiration of our appeal with the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action. The CBCP NASSA has been mobilized to help with its limited resources the victims of the flood. Relief goods have started to be gathered and distributed to the flood-affected provinces around Metro Manila. Caritas Manila has started to respond to the flood victims in Metro Manila. Compassion is drawing many Filipinos to unite with their unfortunate brothers and sisters. Social Action Centers of other Dioceses may join the campaign by sending to CBCP NASSA whatever they may collect. Profound gratitude to the Knights of Columbus Supreme Council and the US Bishops’ Conference – Catholic Relief Services. They were among the first to respond.

Other Institutions like the RED CROSS, have also started to respond to the call for compassion, as we have seen in GMA network and ABS-CBN network in the spirit respectively of “KAPUSO” and “KAPAMILYA.”

We bend our knees in prayer for salvation against natural calamities, but when they do come, we are not so helpless as not to respond with heroism. We have said it before and we say it again “In the Church, no one is so poor as to have nothing to give, and no one is so rich as to have nothing to receive.” We are humbled by the crises that come to us. We pray to God and appeal for our neighbor.

For Good or Evil, For Better or Worse

2009-09-16T18:27:00.001+08:00

THE issue of good and evil in governance starts with responsible and irresponsible citizenship. Leadership in governance starts with leaders as citizens. Responsible citizens produce good leaders, good leaders produce good citizens. Leaders and citizens are linked to each other; they influence each other for good or evil, for better or for worse.

Leaders and citizens must work jointly for the common good. Sadly, however, the common good is very often being subordinated to private good, to the good of one’s own self, party or family.

While it is true that we cannot be blind to the evil or wrong around us, we must have the wisdom and fortitude to correct it.

We need to exercise our social conscience by owning our social evils and wrongs and by owning as well the tasks of fighting these, and of pursuing the common good, individually or collectively. Before condemning others, let us first look at ourselves, because we may be guilty of the same or similar. No person is completely evil that there is nothing we can do to correct him or her.

Corruption, we have said many times before, is the greatest shame and problem of our country. Our government has not eradicated it, because it is involved in corruption itself. Corruption is what keeps our country from the evils of graft and corruption.

To help pursue the good and fight evil, the CBCP has recommended and undertaken “communal actions,” we “pray together, reason together, decide together, act together towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society.” May I repeat here that in view of the national elections next year, “we call upon those who are competent, persons of integrity and committed to change to get involved directly in partisan politics and become candidates for political election, aware that the common good is above the good of vested interests. We remind the laity that it is within their right as their duty to campaign for candidates they believe to be competent, honest and public-service minded in order to reform our country.”

Our question that needs to be posed to all those aspiring for the presidency and other government elective positions is: how are you going to eradicate graft and corruption in your level of governance? We, citizens, are urged to examine their plans, and in conscience choose and support those who will lead us to the good, onward to the better.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
September 16, 2009

Reiterating CBCP Position on Family

2009-09-16T16:24:00.001+08:00

WITH the introduction of the Reproductive Health Bill 5043, a.k.a. Reproductive Health Bill, in Congress, truth and morality, the value and dignity of life, family and marriage are sadly made to depend on human laws. That is what is implied in the Reproductive Health (RH) Bill presently under discussion in Congress.
It appears that Congress even plans to shorten the discussion in order to have the R.H. Bill passed before the end of October. We hope that the normal process of discussion and interpellation be observed, that the Congressmen who have signified to interpellate on the R.H. Bill be honored and given the opportunity to interpellate. To shorten the period of interpellation would give the impression that the passage of RH Bill is “lutong makaw”, not judiciously and sufficiently discussed.

As Catholics and Christians we are against the passage of the RH Bill 5043 of Congress for reasons we have already enunciated and I now summarize:

1. The Bill dilutes and negates Section III (1) Article XV of the Constitution which provides “The State shall defend the right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious conviction and the demands of responsible parenthood.”

2. The Bill seeks to legalize surgical procedures that the Catholic Church has denounced as immoral, except for serious health reasons: tubal ligation, vasectomy and abortion.

3. The Bill requires mandatory reproductive health education from Grade V to Fourth Year High School without consideration of their sensitivity and moral innocence. The moral law and the Constitution recognize the right of parents to be the primary educators of their children.

4. The Bill recommends having two children only per family as the supposedly ideal family size. There is no moral or scientific basis for this recommendation. It puts the State above the family. The natural right of couples to have as many or as few children as possible, pursuant to their understanding of responsible parenthood, is in our view already protected by Section 12, Art. 2 of the Constitution, which recognizes the “sanctity of family life” and protects the life of the mother and of the unborn.

5. The Bill states that those who “maliciously engage in disinformation about the intent of provisions of the bill” shall be punished with imprisonment and/or fine of P10,000 to P50,000. This includes those who will teach contrary to the bill (after it is passed) and speak about its immoral provisions. Such provision is a clear violation of the freedom of speech and of the right to religious conviction. Only totalitarian states have such policies.

We thus reiterate our categorical and unequivocal opposition to any attempt at controlling the exercise of the God-given rights of human persons to enter into married life, procreate and raise families according to the provisions of the Constitution and their religious convictions.

We appreciate and are grateful to the members of the Legislature who seek to understand the will of the Supreme Lawgiver whose laws are beyond our limited human competence to repeal or amend. We recognize and likewise thank the individuals and groups who support our pro-life, pro-women, pro-marriage and pro-family advocacy. We raise in prayer all their efforts for continued guidance and strength from the Lord and Giver of Life.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
September 16, 2009

HONESTY IN SERVICE

2009-09-05T00:55:00.000+08:00

Graft and Corruption is an evil that affects many levels and areas of life. Graft and corruption is a sin that cries to heaven especially if it is committed against the poor people, like poor drivers.

The Gospel (Luke 16/1-13) is about cheating and dishonesty. The Gospel is about a manager of business who was cheating the owner. About to be dismissed from work, this manager cheated by teaching some people to be dishonest, to tell a lie by lowering the amount they owed. Instead of paying the owner the right amount, the manager made the debtors indebted to him instead. He was getting the money which the debtors should be paying to the owner. That is cheating, that is telling a lie, a dishonesty.

In the same way, it is cheating and dishonesty to increase the amount higher than what one should pay according to stipulation. And so, for example, as what we have read in the local newspaper, if it is true, to increase the amount to be paid for transportation franchise from 810 pesos to some 35thousand pesos is an act of cheating and dishonesty, by whomever it is committed and against whomever it is committed. Such act of dishonesty is not only against the government but also against God, because it offends a fellow human being.

We must persuade and pray that those who are committing graft and corruption against the government and the taxpayers are harming the common good and the trust that people should have for them. Therefore, we should pray and call for their conversion and change of attitude.

As the saying goes: Be honest … even if others are not, even if others will not, even if others cannot. He who walks honestly, walks securely (Prov. 10/9). The Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals has this for their vision and motto in the business.

Or as we see in the posters around the town of Pavia: “Help fight graft and corruption. Be honest. Do not lie. Do not steal. Do not make promises you cannot fulfill.”

We therefore support the advocacy of the citizenry, especially the drivers, for honesty in business. Our country remains poor because of projects that are substandard and because of overpricing of collectibles that are due. The country is poor enough, but it becomes poor when projects are either sub-standard or overpriced. The common good is sacrificed.

The gospel that we have proclaimed today from St. Luke 16 has a very practical application in our life and relationship. Only good and honest business can be God’s business.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
September 3, 2009

The age of the laity

2009-08-25T12:54:00.000+08:00

THE present time of the Church has been called “the age of the lay faithful,” and at the same time “The time of the Holy Spirit.” In acknowledging it, the CBCP’s most recent Pastoral Letter has emphasized the importance of lay participation and lay empowerment in the mission of the Church as well as in many areas of lay apostolate and evangelization.

The parable of the Wedding Banquet which we proclaim in the Gospel, presents the on-going invitation of God in the context of a wedding at which the guests are invited to participate. Weddings are events of joy, camaraderie, fellowship and communion. It is this spirit that Jesus wants to be reflected in those which are working for the propagation and promotion of the kingdom of God in this time of the Holy Spirit and age of the lay faithful. The way of spreading the kingdom by way of spreading the Word of God, most especially by “letting the Word of Christ” dwell in the lives of the people (Col. 3/16), in order that they may become “doers of the word” (James 1/22).

In this age of the Holy Spirit, we are witnesses of how lay people are responding to the invitation of God to participate in the wedding feast of the Word of God. On this occasion, I would like to gratefully appreciate the impact of the word of God on the followers of El Shaddai, in particular on El Shaddai’s Founder-Organizer, our friend Mike Velarde, the leader of this charismatic Catholic renewal movement.

Religious movements come and go. A few of them continue to flourish base on the integrity of their leadership and the conviction of their followers. El Shaddai is one of them. El Shaddai is now in its 25th year of its foundation by Brother Mike, who celebrates his 70th birthday, and who 25 years ago was scheduled for the major heart surgery at the Philippine Heart Center. In some mysterious way an “angelic nurse” who read the Word of God for Brother Mike, assured him that his surgery would be cancelled. The miraculous incident led to the purchase of a radio station, DWXI and the program “To God be the glory.” Rallies for the Word of God, with the Word of God, attracted people by the hundreds of thousands. To this date the members of El Shaddai has reached more than seven million with chapters being established in parishes and dioceses here in the Philippines and abroad.

As El Shaddai celebrates the 25th year of its foundation by Brother Mike Velarde, the only words that catch our hearts at the moment are the words “To God be the glory.” The gifts and the charism to spread the Word of God that were given to Brother Mike, are not for him but for the growth of the Kingdom in this age of the laity and time of the Holy Spirit: to God be the glory. The effect of the Word of God on the millions of El Shaddai members are not for the individual recipients but for their families, for the communities, for the church: To God be the glory. Let the wedding even of the Word of God with the people of El Shaddai continue with its work of radical conversion from within, the renewal of Church and society, the good works that produce joy, camaraderie, friendship, fellowship and communion continue in this great and difficult times. To God be the glory, forever and ever. Amen.

(This is the text of the homily of Most Rev. Angel N. Lagdameo, Archbishop of Jaro and CBCP President, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of El Shaddai; August 20, 2009)

An appeal for prayer for peace in Mindanao

2009-08-17T18:15:00.000+08:00

The recent violent encounter in Basilan resulted in 23 deaths from the army and 31 deaths from the Abu Sayyaf. In the context of war, no one wins.

For peace in Basilan and other parts of Mindanao, the CBCP appeals for prayer for all the victims and their bereft families. We ask for prayers and Masses for them.

In a certain sense, the situation of “unpeace” in one part of the country lessens the peace in other parts because we are all “brothers.”

Violence, retaliation and annihilation create more anger in both parties and destroy the seeds of past peace processes. Peace cannot result from violence and retaliation.

The victims of such violence and retaliation are innocent lives of victims.

Archbishop Angel Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
August 17, 2009

Message of the CBCP on the demise of Mrs. Corazon Aquino

2009-08-02T02:08:00.000+08:00

THE CBCP joins the Aquino family and the entire nation in mourning the passing away of a great woman who was for six year the President of our country.

It was a holy death in the midst of physical pain and suffering. Death occurred at three o’clock the Hour of Divine Mercy. It was First Saturday the day of our Blessed Mother. Tita Cory was holding the Fatima Rosary which Sr. Lucia gave her many years ago.

Our country is very much indebted to this humble and sincere woman, who though not a politician herself and unprepared, she accepted the challenge of the Filipino people to lead them as President. It was not she who pushed herself into the position; but it was the people who called upon her. Eternal gratitude is due to Cory and her husband, Ninoy, for living it out that “The Filipino people is worth dying for.”

Many eulogies and speeches will be delivered to extol her goodness; we know she deserves them. But now at the threshold of eternity, the only eulogy she would hear is the invitation of the Lord of Divine Mercy: “Come, blessed of my Father, enter the kingdom which has been prepared for you.”

In her unassuming way she knew when to say “enough is enough” and gently handed over the government to her successor. It remained to succeeding generations of leaders to be worthy of the trust of leadership and to continue what she had begun, to dream again the dream of what is best for the country.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
August 1, 2009

Balancing Two Realities

2009-07-28T12:16:00.002+08:00

THE State of the Nation Address had been prepared understandably with the eyes on the accomplishments of the administration. Image-building was done before the event, and the final touches were given at the SONA. In success and failures, the President does not stand alone: there are hundreds of allies who stand with her either as co-achievers for the successes or co-accused for the failure to dismantle structures of corruption. But we believe in “command responsibility.”

The state of the nation should also be looked at from the experiences and eyes of the remaining millions who are still suffering from hunger, illiteracy, unemployment, homelessness and sickness. This would balance the picture. They were outside the SONA site.

The circumstances surrounding the SONA were not very comfortable and encouraging. There were the threats of boycotting the SONA, which some have done! The caravans of protests against Charter Change! The Red Alert signal! The thousands of PNP and military at the SONA site, covering the security of the President and (daw!) the protesters against infiltrators. These sent the message of fear and insecurity.

Whether as projected the SONA reflected the truth or not, the better thing to do is to compare the SONA with the current situation, perceptions and perspectives of the people from below. From the people also, we can discover the other side of the State of the Nation!

The SONA was about the macro-level of government filled with statistics which most do not understand. But the macro is not always reflective of the micro. Therefore, the State of the Nation must consider also the millions who make up the micro-level and are missed in the statistics.

This hopefully is the last SONA of the present administration. We are looking forward to the 2010 Election of people with new minds, new hearts, new spirit for the Filipino People, for a better Philippines.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
July 27, 2009

Can We Truly Be Independent?

2009-06-11T20:43:00.001+08:00

Independence Day, that is what we celebrate on June 12. On June 12, 1898 General Aguinaldo declared the independence of the Philippines from the Spanish government in his hometown of Kawit, Cavite. Our Independence Day celebration would recall to us the Revolution by the Katipuneros, the Spanish – American War over the Philippines followed by the Philippine – American War.

One of the legacies of Spanish colonization with the sword is the Cross (without the sword) that now hangs in every church all over the country. We may have declared our independence from Spain, but we should be grateful to the Spanish Dominican, Augustinian, Franciscan and Jesuit missionaries who brought the cross and the faith to us. Since then the evangelization that started with them five centuries ago goes on. We are a Christian nation. A Spanish Jesuit missionary had commented: before “mother Spain” evangelized the Filipinos, time has come for the Filipinos to evangelize “mother Spain.”

With the doctrine of the United Nations with us, we can ask; can we be truly independent? We are observing today how nations are co-dependent on one another, in the areas of education, economics, social, religious, and political development, requiring exchange of time, talents and treasures but never of bullets and nuclear bombs.

In our country today we hear new cries for independence: Independence from corruption, from self-serving politicians and leaders, from various kinds of exploitations, harassments, extra-judicial killings, and economic poverty. We may have declared independence from some nations, but the ones that now “enslave and exploit Filipinos” are their “fellow Filipinos.”

The issue now in the life of families, communities, groups and nations is not how to be independent but how to be co-dependent or interdependent on one another. Genuine independence is the fruit of genuine interdependence. We said it in the Plenary Council of the Philippines: “No one is so poor as to have nothing to give, or so rich as to have nothing to receive.”

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
June 12, 2009

“Agrarian Reform is an instrument of social justice and an act of political wisdom”

2009-05-18T16:06:00.000+08:00

(Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, 1997)

A Pastoral Statement on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program

AGRARIAN Reform is the centerpiece program of the 1987 Constitution. It pronounces in definitive terms that the law of the land upholds the protection of the rights of the poor in keeping with the principles of social justice. Despite the trails of failures in its implementation and the rising agrarian-related violations in the countryside, the farmers and the Church acknowledge that for the most part, agrarian reform has had a positive impact on poverty reduction.

Even before the funding for the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) expired last December 2008, several well-meaning legislators passed bills that extend and reform the flawed provisions of the old agrarian law. The Church commends these initiatives and we throw our full support to the consolidated Senate and House Bills, SB 2666 and HB 4077, now up for Senate’s and Congress’ deliberation and approval. Unfortunately, time is running out as there are only nine session days left for Congress to enact this essential law.

Correspondingly, we oppose in the strongest terms, the threat of “killer amendments” being inserted by some senators and congressmen that will effectively emasculate the objectives and gains of the CARP with Extension and Reform (CARPER) Bill for the poor farmers. These amendments are called “perfecting” amendments by their proponents, which in reality would dilute, slow down, and reverse the gains of the program and reduce the resources available for it.

Invoking guidance and inspirations from both the Philippine Constitution and the social doctrines of the Church, we find the proposals below to be unacceptable and antithetical to laws that govern the moral and social structures of our society.

• The phasing of land acquisition and distribution, which targets first those landholding measuring 50 hectares and above without prejudice to the coverage of lands below 50 hectares, after an accomplishment trigger of 90% by the respective provinces. This is unconstitutional in that our Constitution does not distinguish on whatever basis the agricultural lands to be covered under CARP. On the contrary, it mandates the coverage of all lands without qualification on the basis of size or even crop type. Allowing the State to distinguish between lands below 50 hectares and those measuring 50 and above would be discriminatory against, and would disenfranchise a huge percentage of potential farmer-beneficiaries, considering that the bulk of undistributed private agricultural lands is comprised of lands less than 50 hectares. Putting the 90% trigger as condition for resumption for coverage of smaller landholdings may actually result in most of the remaining landholdings being left uncovered or undistributed.

• Reconsolidation of agricultural lands by previous landowners after the 10-year retention period, and/or the reduction of the 10-year prohibition on sale of awarded land to three years. These provisions clearly favor former landowners and could defeat the purpose of the program because it will allow them to reacquire foreclosed lands, thus reconsolidate their landholdings.

• Allowing leaseback arrangements of awarded lands between farmers and landowners/corporations. We find this proposal to be inequitable and contradictory to the ultimate goal of agrarian reform, which is to grant ownership and control over the land and its resources to the tillers. CARP does not intend to protect whoever has the capacity to buy and operate big plantations, at the expense of the small farmers.

• Institutionalization of Commercial Farm Plantations in CARP. This proposal is objectionable as it expressly seeks the transfer of control of lands from farmer-beneficiaries to the landowner or any other agribusiness venture “partner”. It is contrary to studies which show that small-scale rice and corn farms by owner-cultivators are more productive than large scale farms. It is also discriminatory against rice and corn farmers. More importantly, this amendment is a contravention to the basic principle of agrarian reform which seeks to secure access, ownership, and control over land and its resources to the poor farmers.

• Increasing the compensation to landowners and increasing the downpayment from the present 25%-30% to 50%. This proposal, which is based on case-specific decisions of the Supreme Court, would result in a reduction of funds available for land acquisition and distribution and support services and would effectively prevent the program from being completed. Increasing just compensation for landowners is welcome as long as the corresponding increase will be matched by an increase in the allotted P147 Billion budget.

• Transfer of jurisdiction over agrarian cases from the Department of Agrarian Reform Adjudication Board (DARAB) to the regular courts. We believe that the resolution of agrarian cases entails the expertise of DAR on agrarian reform. This is sufficient and more equitable to the farmers because they are allowed to participate and represent themselves in the process, which are not bound by technical rules of procedure and evidence. We fear that the transfer of jurisdiction will only serve to marginalize the farmers, who could be subjected to a more adversarial and costly processes.

• Legislating the disqualification of “habitual squatters” from becoming CARP beneficiaries and making them criminally liable and punishable with specific penalties under the law. The Church, together with the farmers’ groups, registers strong opposition to this provision and we are one in calling for its deletion from the final version of CARP. There is an alarming likelihood that this will be used as an instrument to harass legitimate farmer-beneficiaries, who are typically branded as “squatters” by landowners. Legislating this provision will allow landowners to threaten farmers with criminal cases.

The social teachings of the church equally condemn the concentration and misappropriation of land as intrinsically immoral. Gaudium et Spes states that “God destined the earth and all it contains for all men and all peoples so that all created things would be shared fairly by all mankind under the guidance of justice, tempered by charity” (69). Similarly, Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace’s paper on “Towards a better distribution of land” quotes the prophet Isaiah as saying, “Woe to those who join house to house, who add field to field!” (5:8)

The same document also quotes the late Pope John Paul II’s dramatic address to members of the government and landowners in Mexico: “…leaders of the people, powerful classes which sometimes keep unproductive lands that hide the bread that so many families lack, human conscience, the conscience of the peoples, the cry of the destitute, and above all, the voice of God, the voice of the Church, repeat to you with me: It is not just, it is not human, it is not Christian to continue with certain situations that are clearly unjust. It is necessary to carry out real, effective measures – at the local, national and international levels… it is clear that those who must collaborate most in this are those who can do the most.”

Thus, it is with great sorrow and foreboding that we, the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines, witness some legislators willfully neglecting a vital sector that contributes to the country’s economic growth. Abandoning the agricultural sector will not only threaten farmers but imperil food security itself. Conversely, distributing lands to small farmers will provide equitable economic opportunities in the rural areas and eventually reduce poverty and unrests, which are major deterrents to democratic development.

Acquiescence to the evils of self-interest has serious negative effects in the social and economic well-being of the country and jeopardizes our collective pursuit of the common good. We appeal to our political leaders to make a serious examination of conscience and focus their attention on the swift resolution of the mounting forms of injustice and violation of fundamental human rights of the rural poor.

The small farmers deserve our attention and espousal of their cause. They continue bringing hope to society, and nurture life from season to season. No man of upright conscience much more that of a principled leader, can allow the Filipino farmer to be laid bare and vulnerable to the claws of globalization and continuous hopelessness.

Let us all pray for justice and peace to reign in our country, through an authentic agrarian reform, carried out in the spirit of distributive justice and solidarity with the rural poor. We pray for the Holy Spirit to lead us away from sin, enlighten our minds, and purify our intentions. And may the love of Christ impel us in our quest for a morally reformed society.

For the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines,

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
18 May 2008

“Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do it to me”

2009-05-14T08:57:00.002+08:00

The feast of St. Isidore, the Farmer on May 15 is an occasion for us Filipinos to recall and acknowledge the important roles our own farmers play in nation-building. They are the co-creators of God; the representatives of society entrusted with the noble task of making the earth fruitful. Faithful to this calling, the farmers tirelessly work hard to provide the basic food for our daily needs.

As we celebrate Farmers’ Day, may we go beyond simply acknowledging the farmers’ vital contribution to society. More importantly, the celebration should compel us to focus our attention on the problems they continue to face, such as the absence of a comprehensive and reformed agrarian law that genuinely serves the interest of the poor farmers, and address the lack of basic infrastructure and support services, and agrarian harassments, among others.

In the spirit of the celebration, we call on all Filipinos to stand in solidarity for the respect, defense, and promotion of farmers’ rights. We appeal to the conscience and compassionate hearts of our legislators to finally pass an extended and reformed CARP with: (1) five-year implementation period including Compulsory Acquisition, and without the proposed phasing of distribution; (2) collateral free credit and increased support services to farmers; (3) creation of an oversight committee with the inclusion of private sector representatives to monitor the implementation of agrarian reform; (4) recognition of the farmers’ legal standing and non-cancellation of Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) on lands already distributed to and developed by the farmers; and (5) increased penalty for obstruction of CARP implementation.

Introducing amendments into the proposed bill that cancel out the above proposals inconspicuously weaken the gains of CARP for the poor farmers. Instead of working for their own interests, I pray that the Holy Spirit will move our Senators and Congressmen into heeding the cries of the rural poor, in accordance to the dictates of moral and social justice.

As our legislators go about the very important task of passing an agrarian reform law, I pray that they draw inspiration from St. Isidore, who, despite being very poor himself, gave of what little he had to those who were poorer. May his generosity remind our elected officials that life is not to be a selfish quest for profit, but an opportunity for service. This preferential option for the poor is emphasized in Jesus Christ’s ministry when he told His disciples: “Whatever you do to the least of my brethren you do it to me” (Matthew 25:40). The feast of St. Isidore on May 15 is an auspicious moment for the legislators to live up to our mission of discipleship and to demonstrate selflessness and genuine service to the poor farmers by gifting them with a reformed and authentic agrarian reform law.

Trust in prayer and benevolence to the needy were the most distinguishing traits of St. Isidore. In these times of difficulty, I, together with the farmers, offer and entrust our troubles, heartaches, and triumphs to the Heavenly Father, through the intercession of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

PASTORAL EXHORTATION ON THE “SWINE FLU” PANDEMIC

2009-05-02T19:28:00.000+08:00

The alarming news of the outbreak of “swine flu” or “influenza A” in several countries, after Mexico, behooves us to take some health precautions as may be coming from our Doctors of Medicine or the Department of Health. There is no news yet of the flu having reached our shore. Panic would not be the correct response. Let us rather be guided by the precautionary measures which health practitioners may give.

Alongside with this counsel, we exhort the people to pray for our country as well as for the countries already affected by the “swine flu”: that it may be effectively controlled. Earnest and humble prayer addressed to the Divine Healer, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, is the need of the hour. Prayer may be as powerful as or even may be more powerful than anti-biotic or anti-virus pills which may not be accessible to many very poor people. The combination of prayer and prescribed medical precaution would be a proactive response to the present concern.

Let us pray that the rise of “swine flu” cases in other countries may be put under control. We call upon the Apostleship of Prayer, the Charismatic Movements, all Church organizations to include this intention in their prayer, as individuals, as families and communities.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro &
CBCP President
May 2, 2009

Labor Day Message 2009

2009-04-30T16:54:00.001+08:00

ON the occasion of Labor Day 2009, we gratefully salute the labor force on whom depend the sustenance and development of our country.

The celebration of Labor Day would be all the more meaningful if our labor force will feel more concretely and tangibly the care and concern of the business sector, the government and civil society. The work force which is responsible in producing the food and wealth of the country must themselves be made to share the fruit of their labor through just wages and well-deserved security for themselves and their families. Retirement benefits must likewise be part of the program for workers.

We acknowledge the mutual dependence of capital and labor. It has been well said “neither capital can do without labor, nor labor without capital.” This mutual dependence can exist only in the atmosphere of social and distributive justice. Acts of justice take precedence over acts of charity.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

Year of the Two Hearts for Peace-Building and Lay participation in Social Change

2009-04-19T17:11:00.000+08:00

A Pastoral Exhortation

Beloved people of God,
As we conclude the year of St. Paul which the Holy Father inaugurated on June 29, 2008, we invite the Filipino faithful to start preparing spiritually for another crucial transition in the life of our nation—namely, the elections in May 2010. For this purpose, we are declaring the post-Pauline year (from June 2009 until June 2010) as a year of Prayer and Work for Peace-building and Lay Participation in Social Change. By way of transition, we can draw our inspiration from St. Paul’s timeless reflections on “Christ as Ambassador of Peace and Reconciliation” (2 Cor 5: 18-20 & Eph 2:12-18) in order to dispose ourselves for the next thematic year.

Consecration of the Two Hearts

We will launch this new thematic year by consecrating our country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the Immaculate Heart of Mary when we celebrate their feast days on June 19-20, 2009—a few days before the formal closing of the Pauline Year on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, June 29, 2009. This Year of Prayer and Work for Peace-Building and Lay Participation in Social Change will begin and end with the feasts of the Two Hearts (June 2009- June 2010).

Peace-building

From the wounded Heart of Jesus flowed the grace of healing and reconciliation. Let this grace flow through us, the community of Christ’s disciples, into the bloodstream of our nation. Let it find a concrete expression in serious advocacies for peace and dialogue, healing and reconciliation amidst conflict-situations in all possible circumstances of life. Let us all actively pray and work for peace, following the inspiration of that popular prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me bring love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy,” seeking at each time, not so much “to be consoled as to console, to be understood, as to understand, to be loved as to love…” and believing firmly that “It is in giving, that we receive; …in pardoning, that we are pardoned; …and in dying, that we are born to eternal life.”

While we go on with our pastoral programs in all Church units and organizations, basic ecclesial communities, parishes, dioceses, and regions throughout the country, we also ask that all ecclesial entities all over the country strive to establish and form groups that can effectively focus their ministry or apostolate on peace-building and genuine reconciliation through dialogue, drawing encouragement especially from St. Paul’s profound insights on these topics. Let us consciously lay the moral foundations on which we can build a more stable, more mature Philippine society. Let this foundation be not just a change of leaders or a change of social and political structures, but above all, a radical change of heart, commending ourselves to Jesus and his Blessed Mother as we entreat them to “…make our hearts so like to (theirs) that we may holy be!”

Lay Participation in Social Change

For the past few months now, we have noted a mounting call for “moral regeneration” in our country. Not only do we welcome this; we your pastors are encouraged by the fact that this call has been coming mainly from the laity. You know that we have sounded this call too many times already in the past. Perhaps because this task is expected of us, there has been a tendency to take it for granted that we are also to carry it out by ourselves. One journalist wrote in a commentary recently, “The task of moral regeneration is too big to entrust to religious leaders alone.” We couldn’t agree more.

As your pastors, we exercise spiritual and moral leadership as regards our communal and ecclesial life in our parishes and dioceses throughout the country. But we cannot just extend that leadership into the spheres of politics and governance, in business and economics, in the sciences and the mass media, etc., without running the risk of being misconstrued as engaging in power-play or over-extending our sphere of influence beyond our offices. The participation of the laity in moral leadership pertaining to every specific discipline and institution in the Philippine society is most essential, if we want the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church to have a tangible and positive impact at all on our life as a nation.
We challenge our Catholic laity, in particular, to take the lead in the task of moral renewal towards a deeper and more lasting change in the Philippine society. We challenge all lay people involved in politics to renounce corruption and bond together in the task of evangelizing politics for effective governance and the pursuit of the common good. We challenge the laity involved in legislation to unite themselves and consciously allow their actions to be guided by the truth of the Gospel and the Christian faith. We urge the Catholic lay people involved in legitimate business to organize themselves and consciously practice their trade with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility informed by the social teachings of the Church. We enjoin all Catholic law enforcers to form associations among themselves that consciously renounce violence, respect basic human rights, and truly work for the preservation of peace and social order. We call upon the Catholic laity involved in social communications and the modern mass media to form networks among themselves that can articulate a genuinely Christian ethics in their practice of their profession. We urge every Catholic lay person to give a concrete expression to Christian discipleship through responsible citizenship.

Prayer

In closing, may we ask that we start praying the following prayer at least every Sunday after communion in all Catholic churches and chapels all over the country from June 2009 to June 2010:

O Sacred Heart of Jesus, the reality of our deeply wounded and broken country impels us to respond with new urgency to the most pressing problems of our times.
We are a broken people; our hearts are fragmented and we are discouraged. We need Your Heart, O Lord, as we seek to be made whole.
Rooted in our faith in You and love for our country, we want to participate in Your work of transformation of persons, families, organizations, and society.
Through the transforming power of the love of Your Heart, we draw a new dynamism, a strong inspiration, a fire, which can change and transfigure our lives as individuals and as a nation.

(Please pause for a specific intention)

Love of the Heart of Jesus, give us courage and patience. Wisdom of the Heart of Jesus, teach us to pray and to act with hope and charity at all times. Amen.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us.

May Jesus, the Source of Divine Mercy, and His mother Mary accompany us in our work of peace-building, and social and moral regeneration.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
April 19, 2009
Feast of Divine Mercy

May Hostilities Cease and Peace Prevail

2009-04-01T17:30:00.001+08:00

A Pastoral Exhortation

KIDNAPPINGS have been going on in our country. We join people of good will in condemning these kidnappings, such as those that recently happened in Jolo, Zamboanga and Ipil, even as we sympathize with the victims and their families and beg the Lord to touch the hearts of the kidnappers.

In solidarity in particular with the Archdiocese of Zamboanga and the Apostolic Vicariate of Jolo we are appealing for the safe return of the kidnapped, like the three International Red Cross workers kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf. These Red Cross workers are there for humanitarian purpose and work of compassion. We thank and join Pope Benedict XVI in his concern for the families of the hostages and “appeal that humanitarian feeling and reason might have the upper hand over violence and intimidation.”

We appeal to both the groups of kidnappers and the government officials to use every peaceful means to address through peaceful process whatever is at the root of this on-going problem of kidnapping in order that there may be peace in Jolo, in Mindanao and the whole country.

We appeal to all groups of kidnappers in the name of our common humanity and in the name of the One Merciful and Just God whom we worship to grant freedom to their captives.

Lastly, we exhort our Filipino Brothers and Sisters to reach out to both kidnappers and their hostages with prayers. Let it be a whole nation praying that all may experience true freedom and security. May healing and forgiveness take place, hostilities cease and peace prevail.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro &
CBCP President
April 1, 2009

No to Bataan Nuclear Power Plant

2009-02-26T14:09:00.000+08:00

A Pastoral Statement

We join the Environmentalist Group Greenpeace and the Diocese of Balanga headed by Bishop Socrates Villegas in opposing the revival of the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant.
We earnestly appeal to our Congressmen, with fervent hope and prayer that Congress will completely and irrevocably reject the opening of the nuclear plant as the most dangerous and expensive way to generate electricity. Multiple risks and the possibility of corruption outweigh dreamed benefits.

We recommend with other anti-BNPP Congressmen and the Greenpeace Forum that the mothballed facility in Morong, Bataan, be dismantled as its revival will be most hazardous to health and life of the people. It is for this reason that we also strongly oppose coal-fired power plant as source of energy in Iloilo province and in other parts of the country.

We recommend the implementation of the approved bill on the use of renewable energy, such as solar, wind and water as the safe sources of electricity.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro & CBCP President
February 26, 2009

Lent--A Call to Moral Renewal

2009-02-24T17:42:00.001+08:00

LENT is an opportune occasion for profound re-examination of life, for confronting ourselves with the truth of the Gospel, which demands radical moral renewal. Jesus Christ begins his public ministry with the message: “The time of fulfillment has come … Repent (i.e. change your mind and behavior), and believe in the Gospel” (Mk. 1/15). St. Paul the Apostle gives his rejoinder: “Be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4/23).

Along this line, the scientist, Albert Einstein, offered a formula for solving the problems and crises that churches, institutions and governments are facing when he said: “The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created these problems and crises.” We will not solve our problems – religious, social, economic, political- by insisting on doing the same things that have produced the problems. The call of Lent is for moral renewal. To achieve this we need at least a critical mass of citizens-leaders who are willing to “break out of the box,” to jump on to the beginning of a new wave, to move into a new cycle of development, to operate with a new social consciousness and conscience, not for their individual or group security, but for the good of the greatest number.

We stated, some years ago, at the National Pastoral Consultation on Church Renewal, that “failures in renewal have come from a deeper source: our hardness of heart and resistance to conversion….We, as Church, have to confess responsibility for many of the continuing ills of Philippine society.” In a Pastoral Statement on “Renewing Our Political Life” (January 29, 2006), we said, and we can say it again, that “at the bottom of our political chaos is a crisis of moral values, a crisis of truth and justice, of unity and solidarity for the sake of common good and genuine peace.”

The most seriously affected by the crisis of moral values are the poor, the marginalized, oftentimes treated like commodities. Graft and corruption breeds widespread poverty. Widespread poverty in turn breeds graft and corruption. There is a concatenation of crisis and corruption that goes down to the barangay level, up and down and up, infecting the whole of society, like a contagious cancer.

To cure this social cancer we need a new breed of leaders in our country. The forthcoming national elections must not simply be a changing of hats for the same persons, or change of faces but with unchanged hearts. We must be able to gather a critical mass of citizens-leaders with a genuine passion and obsession for good governance and prophetic leadership. This critical mass will be the training ground of other citizens who will lead our country with the values of honesty and justice, truth and integrity, credibility and accountability, transparency and stewardship. These are the moral values that citizens must use to criticize and measure the present brand of leaders and raise up a new breed of leaders.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

New Year 2009 Message

2008-12-29T21:18:00.000+08:00

Agents of Hope and Poverty Alleviation

With the advent of the New Year 2009, everybody wants to think positively, and hopes that the New Year will be, as everybody greets, “Happy New Year” or “Prosperous New Year.” Prayerfully, 2009 will be as we wish and dream it will be: happy and prosperous. But especially for whom?

The Biblical Greeting is “Rejoice in the Lord Always” (1 Thess. 5/16; Phil 4/4). In our Christian context, the reason for rejoicing at any time is not something we have done or received from our fellow humans. The fundamental reason for our rejoicing always is that in Jesus Christ, God and Man, God has become “God with us – Emmanuel.” So that in the midst of many human negativities, accidents, cruel poverty and broken promises, we still have countless blessings to be merry and happy about. With God hope springs eternal.

Unfortunately, God’s countless blessings have been and are obstructed or hindered from reaching their respective targets. The realities: according to one study, for every 100 pesos of our national budget, 40 pesos go to debt servicing, 15 pesos for education, 1 peso and 40 centavos for health services, and only 18 centavos for housing. For every 100 pesos, sadly 43 pesos and 42 centavos become the object of greed, fraud, plunder and corruption. Recently it was said that the 23 million “poorest of the poor” have increased to 27 million, most of whom are victims of their neighbors’ greed.

There is so much to be hoped for, or there is much to be worried about in the New Year 2009. Where should New Year’s Resolutions go? While poverty alleviation is one of the Church’s social action programs with restricted funds from charity for charity, there is much to be expected from large government appropriations, not as acts of charity only, but as acts of justice and honesty. The extreme poverty of the poorest of the poor is neither natural nor normal: it is man-made and can be overcome or eradicated by acts of justice, honesty, compassion and charity.

God’s blessings are unlimited and countless. What is unfortunate is that they become limited through selfishness, injustice and corruption. Pope Benedict XVI said on Christmas Day that it is GREED that destroys the world and its peace, unbridled and criminal greed of individuals and institutions. The evil effects of greed are worse and more widespread than the evils of war.

Will the New Year 2009 be a better year for the “poorest of the poor” because they are better looked after by Society, the Church and Government? Only the future will tell! “In 2009, will someone be less poor, less hungry, better educated, because of what I shall have done?” A challenging and appropriate question to ask if we want to become agents of hope for 2009.

+Angel N. Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

Human Rights Day: Does It Call for a Celebration?

2008-12-10T17:13:00.001+08:00

Our celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is accompanied by the celebration of Manny Pacquiao’s victory over Oscar “Golden Boy” de la Hoya at Las Vegas boxing ring, which was described as “like David slaying Goliath”.

Both celebrations have something for the Filipinos. The latter makes us proud to be Filipinos, to be identified with the victorious Pacman. The former, however, gives us a feeling of shame and embarrassment because of the enumerable human rights violations that have remained unexamined, unexplained and unsolved or covered up by events.

We are ashamed, and we hope it is not completely true, that our country is said to be the most corrupt in Asia and the second most corrupt in the world. This is because of human rights violations in various degrees. Does this call for a celebration?

The call of the Season of Advent is one of repentance and conversion. We are not losing our hope: that we could still discover in our midst candidates who are above all honest and truthful, men of vision and integrity, inspiring and competent. We should learn from our past history, and face our future with hope.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

Upholding the Sanctity of Life

2008-12-08T12:22:00.001+08:00

(20 years after the CBCP Pastoral Letter What is Happening to our Beautiful Land?)

Beloved People of God,
“Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial” (1Cor. 6:12).
Twenty years after our pastoral letter regarding our environment, we reflect on the gains and failures of the years that have passed. The document began with a somber reflection that, Our country is in peril. All the living systems on land and in the seas are being ruthlessly exploited. The damage to date, is extensive and, sad to say, often irreversible. We encourage the faithful to see their work and to protect creation within the context of their faith. As a people of the covenant, we are called to protect endangered ecosystems like our forests, coral reefs and mangroves, and to establish just and humane communities.

New threats to our environment
Since 1988, a number of new threats to our environment have surfaced. In this reflection, we will confine ourselves to the following: (a) irresponsible mining, (b) illegal logging, and (c) global warming and climate change.

A. Irresponsible Mining
The Philippine Mining Industry has a poor record of community accountability. Over the years, mining companies have systematically engaged in the rape of Mother Earth and left a legacy of impoverished communities and environmental despoliation.
In a Statement of Concern on the Mining Act of 1995, we called attention to the quotation from the Book of Numbers: Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell (Num 35 :34). Today we ask ourselves whether we are going to repeat in the 21st century the mistakes we made in the past.

Thus far, the country has already identified 23 priority mining project, which is estimated to encroach 60% of protected areas and about 1/3 of ancestral lands. With very little regard for long-term development goals, most mining projects issued Environmental Compliance Certificate without securing the Free Prior and Informed Consent of the affected communities. Uncontrolled and poorly regulated extraction and exploitation of mineral resources have threatened other resources. The Mining Act itself encourages the exploitation of our land by granting priority access rights to water and timber. Provisions such as these make it easier for the communities to slowly be eased out of their land. The expansion of sites granted with mining permits and clearances eat considerable portions of land devoted to agriculture.

We should be reminded that the Church’s mission includes offering people an opportunity not to have more but to be more by awakening their conscience through the Gospel. We should learn from our Indigenous Filipinos who managed their forests in a sustainable way for hundreds and thousands of years. Alternatives such as agro-forestry and ecotourism can still provide jobs and food without endangering our lives and environment.

The Church joins in the collective and continuous call against the uncontrollable plunder of our natural resources. Above all, it calls on a moratorium on mining activities until the government and the mining companies learn to uphold the right of the indigenous peoples, compensate the affected communities for past damages, and ensure responsible mining practices.

B. Illegal Logging
Illegal and destructive logging largely contribute to the decimation of our forest resources which causes loss of biodiversity, instability and massive erosions of upland soils, serious damage to our rivers and underground freshwater ecosystems, and coastal areas.

The Philippines has lost at least 82 percent of its original forest cover since the 16th century. It has also earned the notoriety in Southeast Asia as the only country with the thinnest forest cover. Among the 89 tropical countries, the Philippines is one of 11 with the lowest forest per capita (at 0.085 hectare/capita)—and most of its watersheds are considered degraded. Land conversion, together with slash-and-burn farming, forest fires, pest infestations, typhoons and illegal logging are the primary causes of deforestation.

The disastrous effects of destructive logging are further worsened by extreme climate occurrences associated with climate change. Extreme weather conditions such as typhoons cause flooding, massive landslides and terrible loss of life, the worst among them being the tragedies in Ormoc in 1991, Aurora and Quezon Provinces in 2004, Southern Leyte in 2006, and very recently, in Iloilo in June 2008.

The problem of illegal logging is an extremely complicated issue that must be dealt with by all stakeholders. The CBCP calls for an enhanced multisectoral cooperation, and the implementation of effective measures to clampdown the illegal logging trade. In particular, it urges the government to issue a total commercial log ban and intensify efforts to rehabilitate and reforest logged over areas, particularly those places vulnerable to earthquakes, landslides and floods.

C. Global Warming and Climate Change
The sea level rise due to the increase in temperature is projected to adversely affect 16 regions in the Philippines, 20 provinces and more than 700 municipalities. Climate change has increased the number of stronger storms and typhoons that hit the country every year. Each typhoon that hits our land reminds us of our balding forests. With every landslide, we are reminded of the vulnerability of man against the dynamics of nature. The 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reveals that Manila, Cebu and Davao will be of great risk.

Nature constantly reminds us that it is not only the illegal acts committed by some that simultaneously burn and freeze our home; our daily habits and our choices contribute greatly to this tragedy. Our continuing dependence on fossil fuel and the government’s subsidy on diesel, the use of coal as an alternative despite clear evidence of its highly polluting nature are the collective factors that contribute to the changing climate and weather patterns.

We must take advantage of the gifts of nature which offers healthier and less destructive options such as wind and solar energies, water and geothermal resources.
The challenge to preserve our beautiful land may be difficult but not impossible. We recommend that dioceses, parishes and other institutions especially the government would foster education on the protection of nature. We encourage every citizen to eliminate wasteful consumption. We pray that the government, in making economic and political decisions, would always consider that true stewardship does not mean economic gains for the powerful few. True stewardship is the constant and continuing work for the benefit of all.

Conclusion
No material gain can equate the value of life. Every Filipino depends on the environment. Because of the threats against these fragile resources, our lives and livelihood are likewise threatened. Our present and our future must not be made to depend on programs that offer short-term gains for a chosen few. Our responsibility to our mother nature is our responsibility to ourselves. We call on all stakeholders, the government and its implementing arms to contribute in good will, so that in a responsible and humane manner we can reflect that human life does not have a price.

We end this Pastoral Letter with the words we used 20 years ago : “There is an urgency about this issue which calls for widespread education and immediate action. We are convinced that the challenge we have tried to highlight here is similar to the one which Moses put before the people of Israel, before they entered their promised land. ”

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President
November 5, 2008

Advent – Christmas Message 2008

2008-11-30T14:27:00.001+08:00

EVEN in Advent Season, we can already greet one another Merry Christmas, Malipayon nga Paskwa, Maligayang Pasko. Indeed we are not preparing for the arrival of God in our world, we are in fact celebrating the anniversary of his birth into our world more than two thousand years ago. Since then Jesus Christ has been with us, he has never left us. The present Advent and Christmas are indeed a continuation of our celebration.

The arrival of Jesus Christ into our world is called Advent, or coming. And so Advent is Christmas and Christmas is Advent.

Christmas is an invitation for us to experience what is untouchable, whereby you can hear what cannot be heard, see what cannot be seen and know what cannot be known. That is the presence of Jesus Christ in our world today, his presence in each and everyone. The presence of God, of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit, is like salt in the water. If you put salt in the water today, tomorrow morning it’s gone and dissolved. Taste the water at the top, it tastes like salt. Taste the water at the middle, it tastes like salt. Taste the water at the bottom, it also tastes like salt. The salt remains in the water even though you do not see it; and though you do not see the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, they are fully present in you and everyone else, everywhere.

That is the essence of what Jesus Christ has said: Whatever you do, good or bad, to one another, you do unto me. Everyone becomes Christ! Everyone is the face of God!

It took Jesus Christ to be born more than 2000 years ago to make us realize and live that essential truth.

Advent - Christmas comes around to remind us that eternal truth.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
November 27, 2008

Response to the Plan of former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr.

2008-11-24T22:48:00.000+08:00

IT has been said over the media that former Speaker Jose de Venecia is planning to hand over to CBCP the 500,000.00 pesos given to him by the Presidential Liaison officer. Decision on this matter on the part of CBCP would need consultation with the Permanent Council. But considering the source and intent of the money, which smacks of bribery, the CBCP will refuse to handle such amount as it is tainted with corruption.

It is praiseworthy of former Speaker Jose de Venecia to have revealed that he in fact was offered such amount. Since JDV may not be alone in this issue, I hope and pray that others too will have the same courage to expose similar conduct for the love of the country.

+Angel N. Lagdameo
Archdiocese of Jaro &
CBCP President
November 24, 2008

CBCP for Constitutional Convention

2008-11-24T12:01:00.000+08:00

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines has expressed in several pastoral statements that if ever our Constitution will be changed, it should be through a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION, whose members shall be elected for that purpose by the people.

Understanding the gravity of Charter Change and its perceived consequences, the CBCP has expressed its negative judgment on the proposal of the House of Representatives to convert itself into a Constituent Assembly. We agree with members of civil society who oppose any proposal for elected public officials to extend their term and/or perpetuate themselves in power.

If the Constitution needs to be changed it should be by way of a CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION and after the 2010 Election.

To quote the Encyclical “Centessimus Annus”: “The Church values the democratic system in as much as it ensures the participation of the citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the govern the possibility both of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.” The President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Cardinal Martino, further states: “The local churches are heavily involved in the formation of a civil conscience and in the education of citizens to a true democracy. Episcopal Conferences of many countries have made interventions against corruption, and in behalf of a society that is governed by laws.”

The biggest problem that our country is facing is the global economic crisis, resulting in the growing number of poor people in the midst of corruption. The bayanihan spirit of pagtutulungan by both rich and poor will be a great help. But what our country more urgently needs is to look for and elect people who will govern us with honesty above all, with integrity, truthfulness, justice and accountability. More than change the form of our government, they are those who are guilty of graft and corruption who need to change or be changed.

In the spirit of Advent, everyone needs “cardiac conversion” from whatever is evil to everything that is good. This will be the best preparation for a meaningful Christmas season.

The citizens should watch, critique and denounce the manipulations of government; they need above all to pray for enlightenment to seek what is best for the country in order that she may rise up with right vision and hope.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
November 24, 2008

Corruption—A Social and Moral Cancer

2008-10-28T16:45:00.000+08:00

Quotes From Some Prophets of Hope

IN this message, we would like to articulate our group’s reading of our situation not in our own words, but as discerned and articulated no less by citizens of our country, members of civil society as such. Let us hear and follow what they are prophesying and challenging us to do.

Twenty million hungry Filipinos will disagree with the proclaimed “Ramdam ang Kaunlaran” with their own experience: “Ramdam ang Kahirapan. Ramdam ang gutom.” According to an executive director of IBON, nearly 72% of Filipinos surveyed last year consider themselves poor. According to June 2008 Social Weather Survey, 59% of Filipino Families (10.6 million) rate themselves as mahirap or poor, 24% rate themselves on borderline poor and only 17% as hindi mahirap, not poor. By poverty it means basically among other things food-poverty or food-borderline. The benefits of the much proclaimed economic growth are not felt by the masses.

The biggest culprit and major cause of our nation’s poverty and hunger is graft and corruption which has invaded all public and private institutions. Corruption is the abuse and misuse of public or private office to unlawfully enrich oneself and those close to him, or induce others to do the same (ADB). It is not only an economic and social problem but by and large a moral issue and a moral problem.

How do ordinary citizens rate corruption in our country? In a Philippine Star INBOX, the question is asked: “On a scale of 1 to 10, with ten as the highest, how rampant is corruption today?” Of a total of 62 respondents, 20 gave a corruption rate of 10 and 5 gave a corruption rate of 10 plus. Nine respondents rated our country with corruption rate of 9; six rated her with 8; two with 7; two with 6, and 3 with 5. Fifteen respondents gave descriptions of corruption. These are ordinary citizens bothered by our culture of corruption.

In the past few years up to today, we have watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics. The faces and symptoms of corruption are overprized projects, multi-billion scams of various kinds, election manipulations, anomalous transactions, bribery of both high and low, unsolved murders of media practitioners. Corruption is a social and moral cancer!

As to the consequences, corruption foremost in political election damages political legitimacy, integrity and competence. Corruption impedes economic development, worsens income inequity and poverty, endangers public order and safety. Corruption results in bureaucratic inefficiency and demoralization. “Corruption begets bad politics and bad politics begets further corruption” (Michael Johnston, cf. Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Ehem!)

Is it any wonder that our country is tagged as the most corrupt country in Asia, and the 11th most corrupt among 102 countries in the world? (cf. Transparency International). If we are not horrified, disgusted, exasperated and enraged by these realities, can we still say we love our country?

Let us hear and follow what some members of civil society, prophets of hope (we might call them) have fearlessly articulated about out situation. We agree with Conrado de Quiros (cf. PDI 4/23/08) that in this country, we identify ourselves so easily with the victims of pickpockets or snatchers and throw these small-time thieves to (almost) forever languish in prison. But when it comes to big-time crooks and public officials stealing billions upon billions of the people’s money, it takes forever to prove their crime.
There is so much embarrassing hesitation and false respect to start mounting a campaign to show that corruption is the worst form of crime, because it kills the common good, it kills the poor, it kills the country. It violates God’s commandments “Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill.”

Ana Marie Pamintuan (cf. Phil Star, 10/20/08) has yet another prophetic statement to prick our conscience: “When there is corruption at the top, it becomes nearly impossible to eradicate corruption at the lower level of government. There is no moral ascendancy to demand honesty, decency, transparency. And where there is bad governance, it becomes harder to liberate people from the shackles of poverty.”

Listen to another prophet of hope reading the signs of the times. Randy David (cf. PDI 4/26/08) articulated it so well: “So much has been written about the roots of the present political crisis, and some people say it is now time to move past this crisis… Under these circumstances, 2010 elections, if they ever come, will only reproduce the crisis. The appearance of new faces in government may lull us into thinking that we have survived the crisis, and that a new is upon us. But, as the worsening poverty and hunger figures in our country show, unless we institute dramatic changes in the way conduct our politics, government will, sooner than we think, become irrelevant to the lives of Filipinos.” (There are many more like the three we mention here.)

Here, we can recall what the CBCP has said: “Philippine politics—the way it is practiced—has been most hurtful of us as a people. It is possibly the biggest bane in our life as a nation and the most pernicious obstacle to our achieving of full human development.” (Pastoral Exhortation on Philippine Politics 1997 Sept. 16).

”In the strongest term we condemn graft and corruption as an offense against society and sin against God. God will certainly hold the perpetrators accountable. To combat this evil we also proposed the formation of citizens’ councils to promote public awareness, to monitor the use of public funds, and to initiate charges against guilty officials” (CBCP “Let Integrity Flow Like a Stream” July 7, 2003).

The Bishops again said “Moral accountability calls for radical reforms in various agencies of government to make them more responsive to the requirements of integrity as well as to the needs of the poor” (CBCP “restoring Trust.” July 10, 2005, no. 10). “We strongly condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political order” (CBCP “Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity” Feb 26, 2008).

In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now. The time to start radical reforms is now. The time for moral regeneration is now. The time to conquer complacency, cynicism and apathy and to prove that we have matured from our political disappointments is now. The time to prepare a new government is now.

But, who, who will pick up the broken, shattered pieces of our country, hurting from poverty and corruption, to make it whole again? Inspite of the seemingly hopeless and negative prognosis, our liberation may yet serendipitously happen. We are dreaming, praying and hoping that our country may yet have the needed liberators. Yes, liberators who will in a courageous peaceful way effectively and uncompromisingly reform our country. “Upang maitindig natin ang bantayog n gating lipunan, kailangang radikal nating baguhin hindi lamang an gating mga institusyon, kundi maging an gating pag-iisip at pamumuhay.” (Apolinario Mabini)

Celebration Of Family and Life

2008-08-03T18:52:00.001+08:00

Homily of Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, at the Prayer Rally held on July 25, 2008,
at the University of Santo Tomas

WE celebrate today the 40th anniversary of the Encyclical Letter of Pope Paul VI on Human Life. Against the prevailing expectation of liberalization, that the Catholic Church would change her traditional teaching on conjugal and family morality and allow all forms of birth control, Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae (July 25, 1968) instead courageously re-affirmed the church traditional teaching regarding birth control and responsible parenthood.

What the Catholic Church teaches through the Encyclical Letter Humanae Vitae is that human life, from the womb to tomb, is a gift of God. Only God is the author of human life. The child becomes God’s gift to its parents and entire family. The dignity, the value and inviolability of human life must be respected and safeguarded at all cost.

There is pessimism and a certain panic deriving from the studies of ecologists and futurologists on population growth, which sometimes exaggerate the danger of demographic increase to the quality of life. Against such trends not only Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae but also Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae (March 25, 1995) have restated that the Church has the mission to celebrate human life, as the Gospel of Life, by seeing life in its deeper meaning and beauty, by revering and honoring every person, by praising and thanking God for the gift of life, by preserving the gift of life.

At the hearts of the many threats to human life and threats to conjugal and family morality is the wrong concept of freedom which leads to complete relativism. Any refrence to common values and to a truth absolutely binding on every one is lost. With the eclipse of the sense of God and of man, everything is negotiable, everything is open to bargaining, even the first and fundamental right, the right to life (EV 20).

There is a need in our society to restore the sense of God. When the sense of God is lost there is also the tendency to lose the sense of man’s dignity and life. The result is practical materialism, which breeds individualism, utilitarianism… hedonism. (EV 21- 22).

We in the Catholic Church, and I say this with reference to Paul VI’s Letter on Human Life and John Paul II’s Letter on the Gospel of Life, advocate only natural family planning methods as the only morally acceptable way of practicing responsible parenthood. The Church does not forbid the advocacy of the increase or decrease of population provided the freedom of the couple to exercise sexual and family morality, like the decision to have any number of children, according to their religious conviction is respected.

Artificial birth control, which includes the use of contraceptives and abortifacients, are against the institution of marriage. Our Philippine Constitution in Art. II, section 12, specifies the function of the State: “The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of Government.”

The family is the basic unit of society. If the Filipino family is destroyed, the Philippine society will likewise be destroyed. The protection and strengthening of the family is a concern not only of the Church, but of civil society and government as a whole.

The subtle attacks on family and conjugal morality through legislations that promote artificial methods of birth control, are couched in attractive but deceptive terminologies like Reproductive Health Care, population management, anti-discrimination of women and children, reproductive rights, patients’ rights.

Pope Paul VI had predicted, and John Paul II confirmed that artificial methods of birth control open the way to a lowering of moral standards and lead to marital infidelity; they lead to the lowering of respect for women; husbands will regard their wives and other women as mere instruments to serve their bodily desires. And they are happening, increasingly happening today.

It has been said time and again in order to reduce world poverty and the number of the poor, in order to improve the quality of life, the family must act “responsibly” and not have more than two children. Uncontrolled birth! Population Control!
Dr. Joseph Chamie of the UN Population Division had already commented in 1998 that the problem is not about population explosion but population implosion. In 51 countries the birth rates had fallen so low that it is nearly impossible for these countries to replace their deaths with births. Countries which succeeded to impose “two-child” policy are now worried by the continuous drop in population that have reached a point of no return. Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the UN admitted in 2004 that indeed the world is aging inexorably. By 2030 the world population aged 45 and above will be much larger than the population 44 and lower. Few children and workers will be supporting a big number of aging seniors. The result in some countries is Euthanasia.

What of our country? While our government policy makers claim that our growth rate is 2.36%, both USAID and the UN have arrived at a much lower PGR. In fact, as of December 2004, the National Statistics Office had projected a population growth rate of 1.99%. The Philippines is slowly joining the contries with very low growth rate.

We have strong reasons to be alarmed. That instead of becoming “the last hope of a dying world,” we are joining the group of the dying world. This is among the reasons why the Church in the Philippines, (call her conservative, ignorant, too traditional) think differently.

If all the money that go to graft and corruption of government or are used for the wrong reasons, were spent for our increasing poor population, we will have indeed both population and true progress, a population that is the resource and object of development.

Celebration of Human Life

2008-07-25T21:20:00.000+08:00

Homily of Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
July 25, 2008

Nagpapasalamat tayo sa Diyos at ipinagdiriwang natin ngayon ang ika-apatnapung taon ng Sulat Ensiklika ni Papa Paulo VI tungkol sa “Human Life.”
Bakit natin ito ipinagdiriwang? Sapagkat sa kanila ng pag-atake sa buhay ng tao, lalo na sa sinapupunan ng ina (abortion), at laban sa ekspektasyon na luluwagan ng Simbahan ang tradisyonal na mga turo tungkol sa moralidad ng mag-asawa at moralidad ng pamilya, lalo pang pinagtibay ng Simbahan ang traditional na turo tungkol sa birth control at responsableng pagmamagulang.

Pinaaalala sa atin ngayon ang turo sa Sulat “Humanae Vitae” na ang buhay ng tao mula sa sinapupunan hanggang libingan, ay bigay, handog, alay ng Diyos. Walang sinumang may ari sa buhay ng tao, hindi ang tao mismo, hindi ang mga mambabatas, ni ang pamahalaan, kungdi ang Diyos lamang. – Ang bawat sanggol na isinisilang ay handog ng Diyos sa kanyang mga magulang at buong pamilya. – Ang pro-active na saloobin tungkol sa mga isinisilang sa lipunan: sila ay hindi basta pabigat lamang sa bulsa, kundi sila ay magiging puersa ng bayan para sa hinaharap na kaunlaran. – Samakatuwid ang karangalan, at ang kahalagahan ng buhay pantao ay dapat respetuhin at ipagsanggalang sa lahat ng paraan.

May mga kapatid tayo na nag-uumpisang mag-panic dahil sa mga babala ng mga ecologists at futurologists tungkol sa mabilis na pagdami ng tao: ang pagdami daw po ng populasyon ay baka hindi makayanan ng ekonomiya, sa pagdaming ito dadami ang mga pobre at mga squatters, sa pagdaming ito ang kalidad ng buhay ay mababawasan.

Kaya natin malampasan at malutas ang mga babalang ito kaugnay ng pagdami ng tao, kung ang lahat, lalo na ang mga dalubhasa, ay magkakatulungan at magkakaisa. Huwag lang po natin pakikialaman ang buhay na bigay ng Diyos. Tutulungan tayo ng Diyos ng buhay!

Pope Paul VI in Humanae Vitae and Pope John Paul II (March 25, 1995) have re-stated that the mission of the church is to celebrate human life, as the Gospel of life, that human life has a deeper meaning and beauty outside of what we see, that every human being must be respected, honored and loved, that we must praise and thank God for the gift of life.

Kasama sa mga lantaran at tagong pag-atake sa buhay ng tao sa sinapupunan at pag-atake sa moralidad ng mag-asawa at pamilya ang isang maling Konsepto ng Kalayaan (concept of freedom) na humahantong sa relativismo: ibig sabihin walang matibay na kabutihan at katotohanan na pumipigil sa tao. Ang lahat ay relative – puedeng mapag-usapan at matawaran . . . lakip na dito ang karapatan sa buhay . . . depende sa negotiation o bargaining ng mga tao . . . Nasaan ang Diyos sa tawarang ito?

Kailangang ibalik natin at pagtibayin sa lipunan ang sense of God, ang presensya at ang papel ng Diyos. Kung mawala ang sense of God, mawawala na rin ang sense of man’s dignity and life. Ang bunga nito ay materialismo, na nagbubunga ng individualismo, utilitarianismo … at hedonism (EV 21-22).

Hindi ipinagbabawal ng simbahan ang pag-family planning. Pahintulot po yan. Pero sa ngayon sa turo ng mga Ensiklika “Humanae Vitae” at “Evangelium Vitae” pinahinintulutan ng ating moralidad ay ang “natural family planning” bilang paraan sa responsableng pagmamagulang. Sa ganitong layunin ang sinusunod natin sa pagplano ng panganganak ay hindi artipisyal na metodo, gadget or instrumento na ginawa ng tao, kungdi ang batas na inilagay ng Diyos sa mismong naturaleza ng katawan ng ina.

Pinahihintulutan ng Simbahan ang “population management” (ang pagpapadami o pagbabawas ng panganganak), kung ang paraan nito ay hindi lumalabag sa kautusan o kalooban ng Diyos ng buhay at kung ang paraan nito ay may respeto sa consciensya, karapatan at kalayaan ng mag-asawa. [Ang batas ay para sa tao at hindi ang tao para sa batas.] Dapat igalang ang konsiyensiya at desisyon ng mag-asawa sa pagdedesiyon kung ilan ang magiging anak sang-ayon sa kalooban ng Diyos.

Ang “artificial birth control,” na ginagamitan ng mga contraceptives, gadgets at abortifacients, ay labag sa institusyon, at integridad ng pag-aasawa.

Our Philippine Constitution, in Article II, Section 12, specifies the function of the state: “The State recognizes the sanctity of family life and shall protect and strengthen the family as a basic autonomous social institution. It shall equally protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. The natural and primary right and duty of parents in the rearing of the youth for civic efficiency and the development of moral character shall receive the support of Government.”

Ang pamilya ay ang pundasyon ng lipunan. (As the family goes so goes the nation.) Kung ang Pilipinong pamilya ay masira o magiba, gayundin masisira at magigiba ang Pilipinong lipunan. Samakatuwid dapat pagkaabalahan hindi lamang ng Simbahan, kundi ng sangkalipunan at pamahalaan ang pangsasanggalang at pagpapatibay ng Pilipinong pamilya.

[The subtle attacks on family and conjugal morality through legislations that promote artificial methods of birth control, are couched in attractive but deceptive (double meaning) terminologies, like reproductive health care, population management, anti-discrimination of women and children, reproductive rights, patients’ rights.]

Na-predict, nahulaan at na-warningan na tayo ni Papa Paulo VI at ito’y pinatotohanan (confirmed) ni Papa Juan Pablo II na ang artificial methods of birth control ay magbubunga ng pagbaba ng moralidad ng mag-asawa, magbubunga ng pagkawala ng katapatan ng mag-asawa sa isa’t isa, magbubunga ng pagbaba o pagkawala ng respeto sa kababaihan . . . Isama na natin dito ang mga sakit sikological at pisikal na manggagaling dito sang-ayon sa mga dalubahsa.

Sinasabi po ng ilan na lumalawak ang kahirapan sa daigdig, padami ng padami ang mga pobre, na dapat daw pagbutihan pa ang kalidad ng buhay. Upang maganap ito ang mga pamilya ay dapat maging responsible at hindi hihigit sa dalawang anak lamang sa bawat mag-asawa.

Si Dr. Joseph Chamie ng United Nations Population Division ay naglahad noon pang 1998 na ang problema na ating hinaharap ay hindi “population explosion” (pagdami ng tao) kundi ang problema na ating hinaharap ay “population implosion,” (pag-unti ng tao). Sa mahigit na limampu’t isang bansa ang bilang ng mga ipinanganganak ay pababa ng pababa kung kaya’t magiging imposible na maulian ang bilang ng mga namamatay na bilang ng mga isinisilang.
Ang mga bansa na nagtagumpay sa polisiya na “dalawang anak lamang” ay nababahala na ngayon sa patuloy na pagbaba o pag-unti ng kanilang populasyon kung kaya’t napipilitan na sila ngayong tumanggap ng mga taga-ibang bansa (mga Asiatiko) para magtrabaho sa kanilang mga industriya at mag-alaga sa kanilang mga senior citizens.

Si Kofi Annan, ang dating sekretario general ng United Nations ay nagsabi nuong 2004 na ang daigdig natin ay patanda ng patanda (Europa at mga America). Sa darating na 2030 ang world population na nasa edad 45 patanda ay magiging mas madami kaysa mga kabataan na nasa edad 44 pababa. Paunti ng paunti ang mga kabataan at mga manggagawa na susuporta sa malaking populasyon na mga matatandang senior citizens. Ang resulta sa ibang bansa ay euthanasia.

At dito sa ating bansa? Sinasabi po ng ilan (mambabatas) na ang population growth rate natin ay 2.36%. Ang USAID at ang UN ay nagsasabi naman na mas mababa doon ang ratio ng ating pagdami. Noong 2004 Disiembre nag project ang National Statistics Office na ang ating population growth rate at magiging 1.99%,

Hindi natin nahahalata ang pag-unti ng ating population kung tututukan natin ay mga thickly populated na lungsod na maraming mga squatters at patung-patong na bahay, kahit sa ilalim ng mga tulay. Siyamnapung milyon na ang ating populasyon. At 10 milyon o mahigit pa sa bilang na ito ay nasa ibang mga bansa. Dinadala dito sa Pilipinas ang development ng ibang bansa; maganda ang mga bahay, at nakakapag-aral ang mga anak ng mga OFW.

Kung natatakot sa mabilis na pagdami ng tao … 90 milyon o mahigit pa … kontrolin ang pagdami pero sa moral at tamang paraan sang-ayon sa kalikasang inilagay ng Diyos. Iyan ang prinsipyong pinagtibay ng Humanae Vitae at Evangelium Vitae.

Sa pagsunod sa batas ng Diyos, sampu ng pagtitiwala sa tulong at awa ng Diyos, malulutas nating sama-sama ang problema ng populasyon at ekonomiya, ang problema ng karukhaan at kahirapan ng mahigit sa 80% ng mga mamamayan.

Hindi po yan malulutas ng rallying ito. Nandito tayo para ipagdasal ang bansa, liwanagan ng Diyos tayong lahat . . . para makatulong, makatulung-tulungan sa pag-unawa at paglutas sa mga problema natin.

.Kung ang lahat ng salapi na nililikum ng pamahalaan sa mga taong-bayan ay hindi napupunta sa kagarukan o katiwalian – graft and corruption at hindi nagagastos sa maling pagkakagastos – tiyak na malaking mababawas sa bilang ng mga pobre, magkakaroon tayo ng populasyon at ng progreso, magkakaroon tayo ng populasyon na siyang magiging puwersa at alituntunin ng kaunlaran.

Ang isyu po ngayon ay hindi lamang “pro-God” at “pro-life.” Tanungin po ninyo ako: Bakit? Bakit? Sapagkat kalakip ng issue ng “pro-life” ay “pro-poor,” Kung tayong lahat ay “pro-life” . . . dapat maging “pro-poor.” Bakit? Sapagkat dadami daw po ang mga pobre . . . hindi lang dadami . . . madami na! Pero yan ay hindi problema ng Diyos . . . . problema yan natin at ang mga mayayaman at ng pamahalaan!

Hindi ba sinabi natin kanina na tayo ay “pro-God?” Pwes, kung pro-God tayo . . . dapat ay pro-poor din, ibig sabihin lalabanan natin ang kahirapan! Ibig sabihin, susugpuin natin ang mga dahilan ng kahirapan . . . at lalabanan natin ang mga nagpapahirap sa kapwa.

Kung ikaw ay hindi “pro-poor,” hindi ka rin pro-God. Sapagkat ang Diyos ay nabibilang . . . kasama ng mga mahihirap . . . . mas pinili niya na maging mahirap sapagkat mas marami sila. Pro-God dapat pro-poor. 1 Jo. 3/17 “Kung ang isang tao ay maraming ari-arian (salapi) at nakita niya ang kanyang kapatid na nangangailangan, subalit hindi siya naawa, nahabag, tumulong, paano ang pag-ibig ng Diyos ay mapapasa kanya?

Hindi dapat mangyari na controlahin ang pagdami ng dalawang bahagi ng populasyon para lamang makapagpatuloy magpasasa sa kanilang kayamanan ang menos sa isang bahagi ng mga mayayaman. Iyon ay mathematics of selfishness. Kung mangyayari ito, ang lupa at ang pribadong pagmamay-ari ay magiging potential na larangan ng digmaan ng mayayaman at mahihirap.

Kailangan natin ang “change of attitude.” Hindi pwedeng magpatuloy ang attitude na “What is mine is mine absolutely and I can do with it as I wish.,” o ang saloobin na “my money entitles me to consume or control on my own terms as much as my money will buy.”

Pastoral Statement on the Jubilee of St. Paul 2008-2009

2008-07-08T17:48:00.000+08:00

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!”
(1 Cor 1:3)

We, the Bishops of the Philippines, welcome with eagerness the announcement of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, that the universal Church would celebrate a special Jubilee Year of the Apostle Paul. On June 28, 2007, during the celebration of the solemnity of the holy apostles Peter and Paul in the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls, the Pope said: “I am happy to announce officially that we shall dedicate a special Jubilee Year to the apostle Paul, from 28 June 2008 to 29 June 2009, on the occasion of the bi-millennium of his birth, which historians have placed between the years 7 and 10 A.D.”

Together with the rest of our fellow Asian Catholic Christians, how can we Filipinos not be moved to greet with enthusiasm the commemoration of the man who made it possible for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to go beyond the confines of Israel and reach the rest of us, “Gentiles”?

The Apostle to the Gentiles

Saul, who later became Paul—the man we call “the Apostle to the Gentiles”—was formerly known as a rabid persecutor of Christianity before he became its most avid propagator. He was the arch-enemy of that fledgling sectarian movement of the early first century that claimed that Jesus of Nazareth, the man whom Pilate had executed on the cross, had been raised by God from the dead and was in fact the Messiah the Jews had long awaited. This zealous Pharisee saw the nascent Jesus movement known as “The Way” as a threat to Judaism, and took upon himself the task of destroying it—until that fateful day on the road to Damascus. That experience would effect in him a complete turn-around; he became a whole new person, like one who had been totally possessed by Christ. Dazzled by the blinding light of Christ, he received an entirely “new sight” that would make him see as rubbish what he formerly held to be of utmost importance, “in view of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Phil 3:8)

Many of our present-day nominal Filipino Catholics who experience conversion at some late stage in their life and turn into active participants in the Church’s work of evangelization, cannot but relate with Paul’s moving story of spiritual transformation. Unfailingly, they often also find themselves drawing from Paul’s writings to sustain their process of renewal as disciples of the Risen Lord, as is the case with many members of our Catholic Charismatic communities.

Paul considered the Damascus event as a revelation and a call from God. His description of it echoes the prophetic call of Jeremiah and the Servant of God in Isaiah: “God, who from my mother’s womb called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles…” (Gal 2:15-16; cf. Jer 1:4, Is 49:1). From then on, his life was given fully to Christ and the Gospel. He traveled the Mediterranean world, preached the Gospel especially to the Gentiles, founded churches and wrote letters that would become Sacred Scriptures. His toil and hardship for the Gospel would easily equal, if not surpass, those of any follower of Christ. And so would his success. It would be claimed that the conversion of Paul was second only to the Christ-event in importance to the Christian faith. But Paul would consider himself only as a “servant of Jesus Christ” (Rom 1:1). What he was, all his toils, was due to the grace of God which was at work in him. Paul’s life was then crowned his with martyrdom; like Simon Peter he shed his blood in Rome. The two apostles are considered the two pillars of the Church of Rome which would become the mother of the churches.

Liturgical, Cultural and Ecumenical Initiatives

Pope Benedict XVI has proposed various activities for the Pauline Year, some of which would take place in Rome in the Basilica of St. Paul. Others can easily be carried out in various places in the world, and concerning these we invite the initiative and involvement of the Filipino faithful. The Holy Father notes that initiatives like penitential pilgrimages, study conventions and special publications on the Pauline texts can be implemented in the dioceses, shrines and places of worship, by the Religious and by the educational institutions and social-assistance centers which are named after St. Paul or inspired by him and his teaching.

Let us together mobilize the Filipino faithful so that the Pauline Year may turn into a kairos--a graced occasion--to know and imitate Saint Paul more in his consuming love for Christ and his zeal to spread the Gospel. We call upon all dioceses to come up with their own specific programs for the Pauline Year. The Bishops can designate churches dedicated to St. Paul where the faithful can go on pilgrimage and earn the gift of indulgences after following the requirements of the Church. We call upon Bible scholars to help us appreciate the Pauline Letters, the most precious legacy of the Apostle to the Church, but which many Christians remain unfamiliar to. We especially call upon the “Pauline” religious congregations, institutions and shrines to take special initiatives in leading the people to a greater awareness, love, and imitation of St. Paul whose life was wholly directed to Christ. The apostle would tell his converts: “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Cor 11:1). May these initiatives help us make “St. Paul alive today” and propel us in our common apostolic mission as Filipino Catholics towards the rest of Asia!

In particular, the OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) among our faithful can draw a lot of inspiration from the Apostle Paul, who took every opportunity at each time he came into contact with people of other nations, to witness to the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ, often even at the price of so much suffering, persecution, and imprisonment.

Lastly, the Holy Father points to one aspect that must be paid attention to during the celebration—the ecumenical dimension. “The Apostle to the Gentiles,” the Pope noted, “who was especially committed to taking the Good News to all peoples, left no stones unturned for unity and harmony among all Christians.” While ecumenical initiatives are usually carried on the level of Church authorities, the faithful could always appreciate the universal and encompassing spirit of the apostle Paul which would like all believers to be one mind and one purpose (1 Cor 1:10). He himself became “all things to all… for the sake of the gospel” (1 Cor 10:23). In the words of the Holy Father, may the apostle help us “to progress in the humble and sincere search for the full unity of all members of Christ’s Mystical Body.”

May the universal Church and the Filipino faithful experience God’s abundant blessing during this year of the Apostle’s Jubilee!

For and on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
July 6, 2008

Independence Day

2008-06-12T07:11:00.002+08:00

Ang Independence Day ay araw ng pagdiriwang natin sa ating pambansang kalayaan – ang ika-sandaan at sampo na pagdiriwang (1898) ng kalayaan sa pagiging colony ng Espanya. Kasama na rin ngayong panahong ito ang kalayaan natin sa pagkakasakup ng iba pang mga dayuhang bansa tulad ng mga Hapones at mga Amerikano. Dahil dito nabibilang na ang ating bansa sa Kapunungan ng Malalayang Bansa o (United Nations).

Sa context ng pambansang kalayaan dapat maitanong natin ang tungkol sa pantaong kalayaan – human freedom. – Ang ating bansa ay malaya sa control ng mga dayuhang bansa, pero ang mga mamamayan naman ay alipin ng kahirapan, o crisis, tulad ng food crisis at gasoline crisis dahilan sa pagtaas ng presyo ng pagkain at gasoline. Ano pang uri ng pagka-alipin? Pagka-alipin dahilan sa homelessness, unemployment, lack of education o ignorance, health insecurity. Ang ating mga mamamayan ay alipin ng kapwa mamamayan dahil sa inhustisya at graft and corruption.

Magiging mas makatotohanan ang pagdiriwang ng araw ng kalayaan kung mapapalaya pa ng higit ang ating mga kababayan (kapuso at kapamilya) sa pagka-alipin dahil sa hunger, homelessness, unemployment, ignorance, sa pamamagitan ng mga “proyekto na pro-poor.”

Magandang panukala, halimbawa, ang hindi pagtataas ng mga tuition fee ngayong pasukan. Maganda ring panukala ang pagpapababa ng presyo ng mga gamut at pagsugpo sa mga nag ho-hoard ng bigas at sa mga illegal na pagpapataas ng presyo ng bilihin. Ang mga proyektong “pro-poor” ay mas makahulugang pagdiriwang sa Araw ng Kalayaan – araw ng pagpapalaya sa ating mga mamamayan sa pang aalipin ng kapwa.

Dapat ang maging kasabihan “kapwa ko, mahal ko.”

Ang advocacy namin ay ang extension ng Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program na may kasamang reporma at support-systems para sa mga magsasaka.

Sumasang-ayon din kami sa panukala na suriin kung papaano pinagkagastusan ng CARP sa loob ng dalawampong taon, yung hinihingi na transparency at accountability sa mga disbursements of funds.

Sumasang-ayon kami sa mungkahi na i-extend ang CARP “in principle” pero hanggat hindi handa na isakatuparan ang reporma at suportang pantulong sa mga magsasaka ay hindi muna palabasin ang pondo para sa extended CARP. Baka mangyari ay nagastos na ang pondo ay hindi pa natutupad ang CARP.

Dapat bigyan natin ang mga magsasaka ng tumpak at angkop na kalayaan, upang hindi magpatuloy ang kanilang kahirapan at pagkakatali sa lupang binubungkal.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

COAL POWER OR RENEWABLE ENERGY?

2008-06-05T17:55:00.000+08:00

We are stewards of this earth, God’s earth, we are not the absolute owners of this earth. We are caretakers, custodians and stewards of this earth – whether it is here in Antique or there in Panay.

Whatever is your position in society, an ordinary member of civil society or an official of Government or plain user of the environment, you are challenged to leave behind a legacy for this earth, a legacy that the earth has become better or has lessened the earth’s problem, and not a legacy of destruction.

One of our concerns, we are told, is power shortage. There is discussion going on as to the cause of power shortage: is it real shortage or power crisis? Or is it caused by management crisis? Or even worse, is it caused by leadership crisis? Study shows that we have surplus power in Panay until 2010. But there would be gradual shortage of power in 2011.

You here in Antique with the launching of Villasiga and Guianon – San Ramon Mini Hydro Project are leading the way. Congratulations to your Governor who is also the Chairperson of Regional Development Council, the Honorable Sally Z. Perez. You are one step ahead of a future problem. And you are using renewable energy, hydro or water, which is environment and people friendly. It is conceived that by harnessing hydro-renewable energy in this project you will have enough electric power to light the entire province of Antique. Together with the investors, you are impacting a legacy for the province.

I agree with the sentiments expressed by environmentalist, technical groups, scientists, as well as those in the medical profession. We cannot support those who propose the establishment of coal plants anywhere in Panay as we would be party to the commission of the SOCIAL SIN of polluting our environment and putting at risk the health of our communities. We strongly advocate for sustainable solutions – the harnessing of God–given energy from water, wind and sun. We shall support only those who propose renewable energy projects.

Here in Antique water resources are found in the rivers of Sibalom, Valderrama, Tibiao, Culasi and Patnongon. In Panay, God has gifted us with water to harness for electricity in San Joaquin, Igbaras, Lambunao, Maasin, Barotac Viejo, Lemery, Leon, Janiuay and Miag-ao. The big question and challenge is why waste money on importing expensive coals from other countries? Knowing the Filipino propensity for short-cuts and ningas-cogon, the cleanest coal will come out polluting Panay.

Antique is leading the way. We would like the Secretary of DENR, the Honorable Lito Atienza and the Secretary of DOE, the Honorable Angelo Reyes to please reserve Panay or Western Visayas for renewable energy of water, wind and sun for electric power.

The seven bishops of Western Visayas and Romblon in a Pastoral Letter last January 16, 2005 have already expressed their objection to the entry of coal-fired power plants.

We are challenging the leadership in Panay to leave a clean legacy for the province. Clean Coal is a misnomer, a myth. Coal is a pollutant of the environment, its effects in the air and water have been proven to cause asthma, cardiac problems, upper and lower respiratory tract problems. Pollution from dirty power plants kills more people every year than drunk drivers and murderers. The elderly the children and those with respiratory diseases are more severely impacted by this pollution. Coal plants contribute greatly in global warming. Let us not condemn the future of young Filipinos who will blame us without end for having cared less for their future.

Antique is leading the way. Thank you for showing Panay the way.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
June 5, 2008

Everyday is Earth Day

2008-04-22T15:03:00.000+08:00

EARTH DAY is an opportunity for us to express our appreciation, gratitude and protection for our earth which has been assigned to us by the Creator of the universe. Everyday is Earth Day.

We recall on EARTH DAY what Pope Benedict XVI said at his visit to the United Nations Organization: “International Action to preserve the environment and to protect various forms of life on earth must not only guarantee a rational use of technology and science, but must also rediscover the authentic image of creation.” – Protecting the environment is a common concern that must be done in every locality. Observation and creativity are needed to protect our local environment from misuse and abuse.

Stewardship of earth would mean for us Filipinos accepting our responsibility to encourage, support and develop the “primary sector” who sustain us with our “daily bread,” the farmers who cultivate the fruitfulness of our Earth. For so long a time these farmers have been neglected. And today we are reaping the fruit of that neglect: the present rice crisis.

Earth Day challenges us to preserve this earth for future generation. We are co-partners with one another and partners of God in caring for the Earth. Communal action must be promoted to address the problem of global warming, climate change, wastefulness and destruction of natural resources. We are together in this Earth for better or worse. Let it be for the better.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
April 22, 2008

Population: Consumer and Food Producer

2008-04-21T11:00:00.001+08:00

Do we have rice crisis or price crisis or both? What is the real situation? There seems to be at the same time some problem of accountability, transparency and credibility! NFA rice is at 18 pesos while commercial rice is at almost 40 pesos. A big problem for the poor! And the Philippines, once upon a time a rice granary in Asia, is now the top importer of rice.

Who is to blame for this crisis? What is the solution to this problem? One answer we are hearing these days is: blame the crisis on our growing population; and therefore there is need for a program of population control.

It is both an economic and moral problem. I would like to quote the answer of a young city councilor from Olongapo under the Kapatiran Party, John Carlos de los Reyes. What he courageously and insightfully said can be applied to the problem of rice and food sufficiency. John Carlos de los Reyes in a convention on the Family held in Cebu said: “The root social problem of our nation is not over-population but massive, enslaving poverty. Philippine poverty cannot be the result of a growing population, but rather the outcome of corruption in both government and business sector … We are poor not because we are many, but because a few wittingly or unwittingly deprive our kababayans of opportunities to prosper …”

Graft and corruption, not population growth is the major cause of our crisis. Already as of December 2004, the National Statistics Office had projected a population growth rate of 1.99% and not 2.36% as being insisted upon. In fact, the country is already experiencing a decline in the number of births. Population is expanding, but the expansion is not caused by “uncontrolled births” but rather by the elderly population being more healthy and living longer than before. Improved health situation results also in higher survival rates of new born.

To the question how we can solve the disproportion between increasing population and decreasing food supply, the fallacious answer is cut down the population. However, Pope John XXIII in his Encyclical Letter, Mater et Magistra (no. 189) had proposed the empowerment and education of the same population to solve the problem of decreasing food supply: “The real solution is to be found in a renewed scientific and technical effort on man’s part to deepen and extend his dominion over the earth.” … so as to produce sufficient food. Babies therefore are presently consumers, but they are also future food producers. Babies are not liabilities only but are future assets to replace the present generation and to support our senior citizens.

Is the Catholic Church against population control? No. Rather the Church continues to advocate natural family planning as the morally acceptable way of practicing responsible parenthood. But the Church objects to the use of artificial contraception, such as the use of abortifacients, contraceptive devises, abortion and sterilization. Artificial contraception is wrong not because the Catholic Church forbids them; rather the Church forbids them because they are morally wrong: they violate the creative power of God and destroy the natural fruitfulness of human reproductive capacity.

Pope Benedict XVI, when as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger he was President of the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith had said: “God alone is the Lord of life from its beginning until its end: no one can, in any circumstance, claim for himself the right to destroy directly an innocent human being. Human procreation requires on the part of spouses responsible collaboration with the fruitful love of God” His predecessor, Pope John Paul II in Evangelium Vitae had condemned abortion, euthanasia and genocide as supreme dishonor to the Creator of life.

To conclude: in the present rice crisis or price crisis of food supply, we must look at population not as the root cause of the problem. The social doctrine of the Church challenges society and government to regard population not as mere consumer but also to help and facilitate their becoming producers and formal businessmen. By completely eradicating corruption and restoring justice our government can empower population to keep the continuous flow of production and supply.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
April 21, 2008

Call to Social Transformation

2008-04-12T13:12:00.000+08:00

Social transformation is a component and consequence of the work of evangelization. Without it evangelization is incomplete. The necessity of social transformation is not a new demand. It is a demand of Christian discipleship.

1. Evangelization and social transformation must include among their essential elements a proclamation of the church’s social doctrine (cf. CA 5), which have been called the church’s “best kept secrets.” Because they do not land often enough among the teachings explained, developed, discussed and proclaimed in church gatherings and preachings.

If our struggle to build the Kingdom of God , and our striving is to authentically follow the Jesus of the Gospel, then it must be a journey towards social transformation towards truth and justice, love and peace, a journey towards the fullness of life (cf. PCP-II 263). “It is evident that Christian discipleship or a spirituality of social transformation demands a properly formed social conscience, the lack of which in many Filipinos is a major tragedy” (PCP-II 283).

“In the light of our situation we believe that certain truths in the social doctrine of the Church stand out as urgent and necessary. These truths, needing emphasis today for the development of the just life and of the just society which serves that life are: Integral Development based on Human Dignity and Solidarity; Universal Love; Peace and Active Non-violence; Love of Preference for the Poor; the Value of Human Work; the Integrity of Creation; Empowerment of the People” (PCP-II 291), each of which would demand a separate lecture or even a seminar.

2. The way the Church must go is the way of social transformation. There is only one direction that PCP-II says we must take as a Church, and that is to become a BEC- type of Church. “We have envisioned a renewed Church as a community of disciples missioned by the Lord to labor in our particular Filipino situation” (155). Fifteen years after the PCP-II, plus the experience that has gone before in our Philippine situation, BEC as a model of the Church is no longer an abstract vision. BEC as the PCP-II vision of Church is a growing reality in dioceses or parishes that have had the experience of BECs.

When I say that, I do not disregard the fact that particular parishes could still be dominated by the thinking and culture of the Institution. It may be good to evaluate how the BEC ecclesiology is affecting some of our traditional associations in the church, and how the BEC model already influences their internal and external mechanisms as well as their relationships and spirituality.

We know what is implied by being transformed by the BEC model of Church. “In order to be renewed as a Church, we must leave behind many ways of thinking, speaking and acting which no longer effectively serve and perhaps even obstruct our evangelizing mission. This will mean an unsettling pain, a disengagement from what is cherished but is now obsolete or obstructive, a dying to what is sinful, that we may come to newness of life” (PCP-II 143).

3. The object and subject of social transformation is man, every man, in his unique as well as ordinary circumstance, the “concrete” and “historical” man (CA 53). Man is the way the BEC-type of Church must go. “(The human person) is the primary route that the church must travel in fulfilling her mission…the way traced out by Christ himself, the way that leads invariably through the mystery of the Incarnation and the Redemption” (RH 14; CA 53).

As an instrument of evangelization and social transformation, the social doctrine reveals man to himself and gains credibility from the “witness of actions” in the promotion of justice, most especially when it concerns the powerless, the voiceless, the marginalized and the exploited. Social transformation is person-oriented.

CALL TO INTERPERSONAL LEADERSHIP

If the Philippine Church is to become a community of communities of the disciples of the Lord, an embodiment of solidarity and communities of compassion, it must have interdependence as a moral category, and solidarity as a moral and social virtue (SRS 38-40). Underlying the call to lay evangelization and social transformation is the call to interpersonal leadership.

1. T achieve interpersonal leadership, both individual and group must move out of the paradigm of dependence into the paradigm of independence and into the paradigm of interdependence. The servant of God, John Paul II has made us aware of this in “Solicitudo Rei Socialis” when he pointed out to the global nature of the responsibility for development. “The obligation to commit oneself to the development of peoples is not just an individual duty and still less an individualistic one, as if it were possible to achieve this development through the isolated efforts of each individual…” “Collaboration in the development of the whole person and of every human being is in fact a duty of all towards all and must be shared by all parts of the world, East, West, North and South, or as we say today by different ‘words’. If on the contrary, people try to achieve it in only one world, they do so at the expense of the others, and, precisely because the others are ignored, their own development becomes exaggerated and misdirected” (SRS 32).

Working for social transformation means recognizing the truth that we are created for interdependence, for fellowship, for dialogue, for collaboration, for creative cooperation, for community of families.

2. Interdependence and interpersonal leadership is behind the approach of our Lord in sending the twelve apostles and the seventy-two disciples in teams of two (Mk. 6/7; Lk. 10/1). Marked by a common vision and common mission, they could combine their talents and abilities and create something greater together.

`Interdependence is a methodology: “the team approach to evangelizing.” “Such a team approach demands the emergence of a new type of leadership that will animate, facilitate and coordinate apostolic team efforts, activate charisms and maximize participation” (PCP-II 198). Interpersonal leadership is a partnership which shifts the interaction from vertical to horizontal and being partners in results as well as in operation. Our Lord also made his apostles aware of the shift: “I no longer speak of you as slaves, for a slave does not know what his master is about. Instead, I call you friends, since I have made known to you all that I heard from my Father” (Jo 15/15).

Interpersonal leadership will mean one plus one equals three or even more.

3. The communion as leaders of the different communities must reflect that “communion” with which John Paul II describes the Church as a whole, in two of his Encyclicals, one on the Laity (Christifideless Laici) and the other on the Clergy (Pastores Dabo Vobis). Ours is a Church of communion, a Church of participation, patterned after the communion of love that dwells within the Trinity.

The communion of leaders could well be the starting point or the beginning of the ideal “communion of communities.” “The Church in its entirety should become a family of families” (422). PCP-II’s vision of “community of disciples” is the antidote to our “chronic, almost compulsive, dividedness”, group loyalties, obsessions and jealousies, and destructive fragmentedness (PCP-II 665, 668).

Community of Disciples, Communion of Communities: “It is almost an impossible enterprise.” “But we dare it with the certainty of the Man who said: “What is impossible for human beings is possible for God’ (Lk. 18/27). It is with him in him, then that we attempt the impossible. This is how we propose to begin being a community of authentic solidarity” (PCP-II 666).

Through interdependent and interpersonal leadership we will achieve the social transformation that renewed evangelization envisions to achieve, a leadership that in our present critical situation demands transparency, accountability, commitment to truth and justice, the sum total of which is credibility.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

STILL NO TO GAMBLING

2008-04-05T14:00:00.001+08:00

The publicized project of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) for a $ 15-B “gaming complex” ala Las Vegas style beside SM Mall of Asia understandably will also be a complex of good and not-so-good. The project has undergone some shifts in presentation in order to gain acceptability in a Catholic culture: from gambling city to entertainment city to tourism city. Definitely with so much money at the disposal, it will be all three: gambling, entertainment and tourism. And only the future will tell which will be the dominant one.

The plan is impressive: hotels, malls, museums, cultural centers, sports arenas, parks, residential villages and then of course gaming facilities and casinos Las Vegas – style, and thousand of jobs created by the entire complex.

When Bishops are invited to bless the cornerstone of such a complex, they certainly would be hard-put to make a distinction, between the good, not so good and bad in the entire complex which are only in intentions, but are not yet there. They bless and hope and pray that everything will turn out for the good of the people and for the glory of God. But no blessing for gambling!

The CBCP is for whatever good, moral, economic and social that is in the planned complex. But the CBCP had made it clear through its Past Statements that all forms of gambling, legal or illegal, must be discouraged from spreading as a moral and social cancer (Statement of 2003). We advocate the combating of the expansion of organized and systemic legal gambling into a culture of gambling.

We had said that gambling exploits the poor. With their hard –earned money the poor are attracted and lured by the easy money that gambling vainly promises. Loss of money through gambling inflicts great suffering on families.

We advocate the adoption of more altruistic and socialized alternatives for the great sum of money spent by both rich and poor on gambling. While it is true that games of chance are not in themselves contrary to justice, the passion for gambling risks becoming an enslavement which results in the deprivation of people of what they need. (cf. Catechism of Catholic Church, 2413). We advocate not simply “moderating greed” but completely eradicating greed which is the capital sin causing poverty and corruption in our Christian community.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO,
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

April 5, 2008

"Give Us This Day Our Daily Rice"

2008-04-03T14:20:00.002+08:00

These are times when the prayer “Our Father” becomes most meaningful especially when we pray “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…Give us this day our daily bread.”

In the past, our local rice industry used to be the backbone of our country’s economy. That is how God was helping us with our daily bread. With our rice technology we were helping countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, and Indonesia how to produce more rice for their tables. We had both the advancing technology and more than sufficient domestic production. Farmers’ sons and daughters were fed from and educated through the rice farms.

Today, ironically, even lamentably, because of unsatisfactory production of rice, lack of credit support for our small rice farmers and lack of infrastructure development, our rice farms can not support for the needs of growing population. Add to this the conversion of farms into housing subdivisions, commercial centers and golf courses, which certainly are profitable for the individual owners, but not for the needs of the greater number. Today, in response to a rice crisis, probably foreseen and expected, but government has its eyes on wrong or lesser priorities, we are forced to import close to a million metric tons of rice since 1996, and this year imported rice will be more than two million metric tons. And from where? Ironically but gratefully, from countries who may have learned the skill of rice production from us: Vietnam, Thailand, Pakistan, even United States.

Yes, we will have rice on our tables but only for those who can afford to buy with 18 pesos per kilogram. We not only will have limited rice. Our people will have also limited buying power. And who will be profiting from this arrangement? Unscrupulous traders and government officials? The question keeps coming up – whatever happened to the Php 729 million fertilizer funds?

Rice importation is a response to a rice crisis. But there must be limit to importations. It should not be the permanent arrangement. The lesser the imports the better! We encourage the improvement of local production with genuine government support at all levels of production with the end in view of restoring to agriculture and to our rice producers ad farmers the assistance that they deserve to achieve genuine food security and self-sufficiency. Some policies are needed to reverse the trend from over dependence on importation to making the rice production truly the backbone of our economy, as it is in other countries of Southeast Asia.

We will not expect miracles to solve the rice crisis. The miracle will have to be, God helping us, form our common efforts – government, farmers, rice producers and farm-owners – to produce our “daily rice.” Other countries in Asia are doing it. We can do it.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

Pope John Paul II Lovingly Remembered

2008-04-02T07:33:00.001+08:00

NO leader has moved the whole world as did the late John Paul II, whose 26-year pontificate has shaped global history and inspired hundreds of millions of people everywhere. Millions all over the world watched through the TV the burial rites of the “extraordinary Pope,” in April 8, 2005. On May 18, he would have been 88 years old.

A very strong “sensu fidelium” about the multi-qualified goodness of the Pope has been registered throughout the world from cardinals and bishops, from leaders of states and people everywhere, which is almost like a “beatification” of a “servant of God” by popular acclamation.

Beyond all speculations, Karol Wojtyla, the Christian, “Lolek” for his intimates and family members, was the man chosen by the Holy Spirit through the College of Cardinals in 1978 when he was 58 years old. This man of the Holy Spirit was the first non-Italian Pope after 455 years.

The world will long remember Pope John Paul II as the shepherd who has touched millions upon millions of people through his 104 Papal Visits outside of Italy. To help him guide the course of the Church, he created 231 cardinals and appointed more than 1,500 bishops. The world will remember him as a prolific teacher and catechist who has written a total of 85 Encyclicals, Apostolic Exhortations, Constitutions and Letters which shaped the faith and life of Christians. The world will remember him as the “man for others” who shaped global politics, always championing peace, human rights and the welfare of the poor in his 984 encounters with various Heads of States and Prime Ministers. The Catholic Church will remember him as the pope of dialogue and consultation who presided over 15 Synods and gathered millions more around him for World Meetings of Families and World Youth Days.

We here in the Philippines will remember him as the Pope who gathered more than 4 million at the Luneta intermittently chanting the refrain “John Paul, John Paul II, we love you … John Paul II, we love you.” That was in 1995 World Youth Day his second visit to our country.

I like to imagine that as a candidate for Beatification, John Paul has many patrons: the 1,338 he proclaimed blessed and the 482 he proclaimed saints, like Blessed Mo. Teresa of Calcutta and his fellow Polish, St. Faustina Kowalska of the Divine Mercy, like our own St. Lorenzo Ruiz and Blessed Pedro Calungsod.

Easter Message 2008

2008-03-22T20:38:00.000+08:00

GOOD Friday and Easter Sunday are inseparable!

The Easter Message reveals the truth of the fertility, fecundity, fruitfulness of the Cross. Hope, fertility and suffering go together. If on Good Friday we let God enter into our suffering, on Easter Sunday, we let God “easter in us.” The resurrection of Jesus cannot be separated from his Public Life and Death; otherwise we will fail to understand both.

Today, the living witnesses of the truth of Christ’s resurrection must be ourselves, shown in the qualities of commitment and hope displayed in our Christian lives. Where Christians follow the footsteps of Jesus in alleviating from whatever pain and suffering they have, in loving as Jesus loves, there will be no crisis of resurrection faith. But where involvement in the suffering of people, where love is lacking, it is difficult to think that Jesus resurrected, almost hypocritical to celebrate the truth of Easter.

To celebrate Easter is for us to become carriers of the mystery of Easter, living and present in us, transforming our world with the life of the Resurrected Christ.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

Holy Week Message 2008

2008-03-15T07:50:00.001+08:00

The message of Holy Week for all the world is not only that Christ suffered and died for us, but that he also rose from the dead for us. We remember the past, what the Lord has done for us; we celebrate it in the present; and we believe.

Even on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, the mystery of Christ’s Passion and Death is already enveloped by the glorious mystery of Christ’s Resurrection and Ascension into Heaven. It means that as in Christ’s life, neither suffering of any kind nor death has the last word in our life. The message of Holy Week, therefore, is that Christ will rise again, in your life, in my life, in fact Jesus is risen and we will rise to life with him.

The message too is a battle-cry. And so we say “I believe I shall rise again … from my mistakes, from my sinfulness, from my failures, from my tomb.” I invite you then to enter into the spirit of Holy Week prayerfully, reflectively, remembering that that our life is not all work, and making only a living … but it is made up also of life in the spirit … remembering that whatever we do must be focused on God, the God who reveals himself as suffering and dying in Jesus Christ on the Cross … and also as suffering with the many sufferers of the world. We have a God who suffers for us and with us.

I invite you also to participate in the worship and ceremonies that will be held in our Parish Churches: the Washing of the Feet on Holy Thursday, the Veneration of the Cross on Good Friday, Midnight Mass on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday. This is the most Holy Week of the entire year, because we remember how dearly God has loved us, by dying for us. The way we can show our appreciation for this love is by turning away from our mistakes and sins, by stopping from crucifying other people, and above all by becoming the reason for the resurrection of others to new and better lives.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbisho of Jaro
CBCP President

Seeking the Truth, Restoring Integrity

2008-02-26T22:33:00.000+08:00

(A CBCP Pastoral Statement)

Beloved People of God:

Greetings in the peace of the Lord!

Today in the midst of restlessness and confusion, we come to you as pastors, for that is our precise role. We do not come as politicians whose vocation it is to order society towards the common good. Our message contributes to the flourishing of a democracy which must not be built only on political formulae.

We face today a crisis of truth and the pervading cancer of corruption. We must seek the truth and we must restore integrity. These are moral values needing spiritual and moral insights.

Therefore, we address this pastoral statement to everyone particularly you our beloved people and in a special way to our political rulers and officials.

We are convinced that the search for truth in the midst of charges and allegations must be determined and relentless, and that the way to truth and integrity must be untrammeled, especially at the present time when questions about the moral ascendancy of the present government are being raised.

For this reason, we strongly:

1. Condemn the continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political ladder;

2. Urge the President and all the branches of government to take the lead in combating corruption wherever it is found;

3. Recommend the abolition of EO 464 so that those who might have knowledge of any corruption in branches of government may be free to testify before the appropriate investigating bodies;

4. Ask the President to allow her subordinates to reveal any corrupt acts, particularly about the ZTE-NBN deal, without being obstructed in their testimony no matter who is involved;

5. Appeal to our senators and the ombudsman to use their distinct and different powers of inquiry into alleged corruption cases not for their own interests but for the common good;

6. Call on media to be a positive resource of seeking the truth and combating corruption by objective reporting without bias and partiality, selective and tendentious reporting of facts;

For the long term we reiterate our call for “circles of discernment” at the grassroots level, in our parishes, Basic Ecclesial Communities, recognized lay organizations and movements, religious institutions, schools, seminaries and universities. It is through internal conversion into the maturity of Christ through communal and prayerful discernment and action that the roots of corruption are discovered and destroyed. We believe that such communal action will perpetuate at the grassroots level the spirit of People Power so brilliantly demonstrated to the world at EDSA I. It is People Power with a difference. From the grassroots will come out a culture of truth and integrity we so deeply seek and build. We instruct our CBCP Commissions to take active role including networking for this purpose.

May the Lord bless us in this sacred undertaking to build a new kind of Philippines and may our Blessed Mother be our companion and guide in this journey to truth and integrity.

For and on behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+Angel Lagdameo, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
February 26, 2008

Discovering a new brand of people power!

2008-02-18T17:15:00.000+08:00

February 22-24, 1986 were historic and momentous days. They ushered in the end of 14 years of Martial Rule and Dictatorship and the beginning of a new democracy. It was a peaceful and non-violent revolution by People Power, a movement “of the people, by the people and for the people” “who prayed together, reflected together, decided together and acted together”. They knew what they wanted. Cardinal Sin and the CBCP articulated their communal sentiment or collective discernment through Radio Veritas and their Pastoral Letter respectively.

Many of the participants in that decisive People Power have already died. Those who are still around are 22 years or almost a quarter of century older. Age is an important factor that comes with the cynicism, apathy and indifference for “another People Power.” Besides, are there “teach ins” for young people today on current political issues?

Came People Power II in 2001: we thought that history would automatically repeat itself. It did not. With the disappointment and doubts surrounding Election 2004, we now look at People Power II with mixed emotions and interpretations. Sadly, People Power II installed a leader who lately only has been branded as the “most corrupt” and our government is rated “among the most corrupt governments.” Is this the reason why many in civil society regard another People Power with cynicism and indifference? They are afraid another People Power might only bring the country from one frying pan to a worse frying pan.

To the disappointment of some, the CBCP recent statement did not specify what “communal action” to take. The Bishops did suggest: “pray together, reflect together, decide together and act together.” The call to communal action is a challenge to “political conscience” which would admit creative, imaginative and democratic response to political problems. Many good things have started to happen.

The Church is guided by its Social Doctrine which instructs: “The lay people (civil society) are called to identify steps that can be taken in concrete political situations in order to put into practice the principle and values proper to life in society. This calls for a method of discernment at both the personal and community levels” (no. 568).

If, according to collective discernment which can occur in unpredictable ways, the communal action is People Power, it will have to be with a different “brand.” It will not be simply a repeat of the past. What brand will it have? What is God through the signs of the times telling us? The movements of some groups for a National Campaign Against Corruption in the government may be a sign.

Imagine, with just one courageous person willing to witness to the TRUTH, some good things are already starting to happen, like the exposition of other scams, lies, deceits, “moderate and immoderate greed.” We hope and encourage that other courageous and inspired persons will emerge to tell or expose or humbly face the truth, whose concealment had made our country captive to corruption and greed of powerholders? There will be a convergence of bearers of truths saving our country.

Today, what is God telling us about expressing our highest sense of the national common good? This is the question that must be answered in all honesty, no matter how painful, by Church leaders and Church people, by civil society, the military and police, by our congressmen and barangay leaders, by our Senators, above all by the residents of Malacañang.

We must pray. Yes. There is a suggested Prayer of the Faithful for the nation in crisis. But we must also sacrifice for the highest national common good, inspired by “political charity” for the country, honesty and justice, guided by truth, like participating in a National Campaign Against Corruption in Government.

The Truth will set our Country Free

2008-02-09T23:45:00.000+08:00

It was courageous but damaging for two officials of government, former Speaker Jose de Venecia and Mr. Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada, to expose questionable government deals in millions of dollars including scandalous and immoral kickbacks. It was courageous to come out in the open to “publicly confess” the high level of graft and corruption that they knew all along and “somehow” have been involved in. But it was also damaging to their political career as well as to significant others who are in high governance. Damaging also because they opened themselves to further scrutiny and inquiry. Truth hurts. Truth liberates. But the truth must be served. The truth will set our country free (cf. John 8/32)

Their public confession may be considered a providential event that may yet save our country from being hostage to scandalous and shady government deals that offend the common good and serve only personal, family and group interests. In our last CBCP Statement, the Bishops strongly lamented the absence of social conscience today. This is the root cause of our systemic graft and corruption.

We lament in this season of Lent not only that we are sinners but also that our country has too long been captive to the corruption of people in governance. “We have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people.” The call for a moral revolution has deep implication. The CRUSADE FOR TRUTH being initiated by the Religious like the AMRSP, Civil Groups and Clergy is encouraging, and must be supported by all truth-loving and freedom-loving citizens. Only the truth, not lies and deceits, will set our country free. This truth challenges us now to communal action.

We encourage the “Watch and Pray” activity that will be initiated by the Parish Pastoral Councils for Responsible Voting (PPC-RV). We can also call it PPC for Responsible Citizenship. The flame of “social consciousness and common good” must be kept alive. We suggest the prayer used by the Magnificat Movement, the MAGNIFICAT of Our Lady in Luke 1, 46-55 a prayer for social transformation.

As we said in our last CBCP Statement “let us pray together, reason together, decide together, act together” “towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the Social Teachings of the Church.”

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
February 10, 2008

Lenten Message 2008

2008-02-05T15:59:00.000+08:00

WE enter the 2008 Season of Lent again to be reminded that Jesus Christ brought us salvation by accepting our humanity which is capable of suffering with us and for us.

The season of lent is a call to compassion and consolation. We are challenged to share in the suffering of our neighbors through communion of goods. In lent we are reminded that we are not owners but rather stewards and administrators of the goods we possess.

As we said in our CBCP Statement “ Reform yourselves and believe in the Gospel” (Mk.1/15), we must work for personal and communal conversion towards a social conscience, which put the common good above personal, family and group interests. Lent is a call to conversion to the common good.

Social conscience for the common good: As we said in our CBCP Statement: “ we ask this of all citizens who have a concern for the national good, especially those who hold the reins of power, from Malacañang on to Congress, provincial and municipal governments, all the way down to barangay councils. People in government – as well as all other civic and business groupings – can they too reflect together in all manner of associations and look into themselves to see if, in all their actuations, the demand of common good are in fact captive to merely personal and selfish interests?” Lent is the time to do something about it.

Fighting graft and corruption? Responding to the need for moral revolution and renewal? The challenge of Lent is “Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel” (Mk.1/15). Lent is the time to journey together toward social transformation.

“REFORM YOURSELVES AND BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL!” (Mark 1:15)

2008-01-28T12:09:00.000+08:00

A CBCP Statement

Beloved People of God:

Our Holy Father in his most recent letter to us reminds us of the gift of faith and hope: that when we believe, we hope; and that when we hope, we live differently (see Benedict XVI, Spe Salvi, November 30, 2007, no. 2). These convictions on faith and hope set the tone of our own letter to you in the present pastoral situation.

The Darkness of Our Situation—the Common Good Subordinated

For we live today as a people almost without hope, it would seem. We look at our landscape and see darkness everywhere. Many of us are more than aware that many problems are simply rumors, fears, suspicions, imagined wrongs. Because these are reported in the newspapers, we begin to believe that they are true.

In such a pastoral situation we are being asked again for guidance on various specific problems currently bothering us. The following have been brought to our attention:

(a) the perception that corruption in government is at its worst, fraudulent projects going on unchecked despite the bad publicity given them in the media, investigations into the truth of allegations of bribery often stymied or their results unreported;

(b) the suspicion that martial law will be imposed as a response to the likelihood that destabilizing coups against the government are still being planned by disgruntled elements of the military allegedly with some civilian support;

(c) the constant talk about plans and moves for Charter change being made by politicians which to all intents and purposes appear to be nothing but a ploy for the sole purpose of their staying on in power—not the kind and method of making the right kind of change in the nation’s basic law;

(d) the “extra-judicial” killing of suspected leftists and their sympathizers, as well as media men, and the inexplicable lack of action on them despite strong suspicions about their perpetrators in the military establishment;

(e) the imminence of a law establishing a national ID system and the fear of some that this is being pushed simply for easier control of socially active elements of the general population.

The above are more or less the problems of the nation as seen from the center that is Manila. They are by no means universal as far as the entirety of our people is concerned. What emerge from the periphery—the provinces—are concerns quite different from the above. The following were brought to our attention by many of our people:

(a) the appreciation of the peso against the dollar resulting in the depreciation of OFWs’ remittances, contributing not a little to the continuance and exacerbation of the endemic poverty of the countryside;

(b) the lack of support for the improvement of the general welfare of rural folk, the slow progress especially of the land-reform program which is due to end this year unsatisfactorily funded and implemented;

(c) the bad peace and order situation obtaining in areas where the unabated fighting—or the threat of it—between the military and the NPA and the MILF/MNLF continues to cause unrest;

(d) the long-awaited and fought over reform of COMELEC which up to now has not been enacted;
(e) the pushing of mining concerns against the best interests of our people, especially of indigenous groups in disregard of the provisions in their behalf that the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act guarantees;

(f) the continuing abuse of our natural resources, of forest and marine life in particular, and the corruption in agencies that are meant to protect these resources; and

(g) the growth and proliferation of family political dynasties in many provinces and cities which only serve to institutionalize more intensely the concentration of power and unsavory economic opportunity in the hands of the few.

In the two sets of problems that have been listed above, for all their apparent differences, we see nothing new. They are the same old problems, or variations of them, which have been plaguing our nation for years on end, through successive political administrations. Nothing or very little seems to have been done about them.

In them all we see the all too patent subordination of the common good to private good.

This is the basic fault in our country’s political culture that the Church in its preaching of Christ’s Gospel of social justice and charity has been bringing to our attention all these years and asking us and our communities to respond to as effectively as we can. It is the reason we make concern for the common good a crucial criterion for the choice of public officials. The persistence of that deep-seated fault pushes us to conclude in sorrow that we as a people are still devoid of a real social conscience.

Today we often hear that “closure” has to be made to various issues ranging from the elections of 2004 to present charges of corruption in high places. That the political order is accused too often with moral bankruptcy with nary an exception is a sad sign of the general cynicism and frustration of our people. Most unfortunately there does not seem to be any way of achieving closure. For the process and results of standard democratic inquiries, sometimes including those by the Supreme Court, are received with skepticism and cynicism, given political interests, alliances, and allegiances.

And we hear the general cry from the periphery: “Enough of the paralyzing divisions in the body politic. Bring issues to the courts and trust them to do their jobs. And help us get on with our lives, with our concern for livelihood.”

In the Darkness, Light

In such a pastoral situation of frustration, cynicism and apparent hopelessness, we need to be aware of the deep resources of our faith in the Lord for whom all things are possible. We take our faith for granted in daily life. Often we act and behave contrary to faith. We resort to faith as a last resort and not as a daily catalyst.

Yet it is only from the perspective of faith and hope that we are able to see light in the darkness, liberation from darkness.

So if what we have brought to your attention seems to be only the dark side of our national situation, we should be able in the same faith and hope to see glimmers of light shining through—glimmers that must be of our own creation. But not entirely: for despite the prevailing darkness, we see everything is not thoroughly evil. There is good everywhere, even in those we often criticize, and it is our task to critically collaborate with them even as we critically oppose the not too good. This is integral to the challenge being put to us.

Journey to the Light—Start with Ourselves

If you agree with what we said above that the lack of a social conscience is, indeed, our common sin, is there anything we can do about it?

To journey to the light, we need first to realize that we have contributed not a little to the common malaise—because of decisions we have made, decisions that flowed from what we have become and because of our unconcern, inaction, apathy, often thinking only of our interests. And so with little sense of the future of our country, we vote for people we should not vote for.

Therefore, in the much needed regeneration of our politics and social life, this is where we have to start: with ourselves, as individuals, families, communities.

We have always put the blame on people we have chosen to govern us. Today we have become more aware that despite efforts, successful or not, to remove the incompetent or corrupt, our problems have remained. We have looked at the enemy as only outside of us.

But now we ask: In the face of the many persistent and unresolved crises of today can we together make a determined start, by making a conscious effort at changing our mind-sets towards a greater and more efficacious concern for the good of the nation?

Personal and Communal Conversion towards a Social Conscience

We are asking you, our beloved people, to be with us in the moral-spiritual reform of our nation by beginning with ourselves. This is what we need—conversion, real conversion, to put it in terms of our faith, for all of us to deliberately, consciously develop that social conscience that we say we sorely lack and to begin subordinating our private interests to the common good. This conversion is for all of us: laity, religious, priests, bishops.

But we have to go about it not only as individuals but just as importantly as whole communities. We have to face a common problem and map out deliberately and communally how to go about the work of self-reform. It is nothing less than what St. Paul speaks about: “Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind. Then you will be able to know the will of God—what is good and pleasing to him and is perfect” (Rom. 12: 2).

Renewal of Faith-Communities, Civil Society, Political Leaders

We have to come together then as communities of faith, as we your Bishops said back in 1986 after the Snap Elections of that year, to “pray together, reason together, decide together, act together,” form groups of thinking and praying people—in our schools, seminaries, parishes, mandated organizations, lay movements, social action groups, most especially in basic ecclesial communities which the Rural Congress we will be holding this year looks to as a crucial instrument in the forbidding task of rural development.

We zero in on what we say is the basic fault in our communities’ political and social life: the subordinating of the common good to private good. We see how this flaw in our national character evinces itself in our community life. We need to seek ways and mean of correcting it in whatever way we can—but always according to the principles of active-non violence—together, creatively and imaginatively, as we bishops exhorted in 1986. We have to form ourselves into real communities of faith-discernment and -action.

We ask this of explicitly Church groups. But we will ask it too of all citizens who have a concern for the nation’s good, especially those who hold the reins of power, from Malacañang on to Congress, provincial and municipal governments, all the way down to barangay councils. People in government—and as well as all other civic and business groupings—can they too reflect together in all manner of associations and look into themselves to see if, in all their actuations, the demands of the common good are in fact captive to merely personal and selfish interests? And if they are, can they rise up to the challenge and decide themselves to contribute to the general effort?

This must sound like a preposterous request, but we make it anyway for we believe that what it seeks is the critical need of the moment. Already it is being responded to here and there by various concerned groups such as those that have been organized and trained to fight corruption. So we seek a wider response from all our faithful towards a more vigorous work for good governance and a more active promotion of responsible citizenship in our society in the light of the Gospel and the social teachings of the Church.

If in your minds, corruption—the worst offender against our common good—is rampant today, sparing no level of social and political life, and most glaringly and reportedly so in the various corridors of power, we have to confess that corruption is in truth our greatest shame as a people. But if it goes on unhindered, it is because, as we have had occasion to point out in the past, we all too often condone it as part of the perquisites of power and public office.

Lent—the Time to Journey Together toward Transformation

Lent will soon be upon us, a time of penance, of sorrow for sin, of self-reform. Soon we shall hear again the clarion call of the Lord Jesus: “Reform your lives and believe in the Gospel!” (Mk 1: 15). This season is the appropriate beginning for profound reform and conversion. It is the time for a spiritual combat against the enemy within, our pride and greed, our lust for power and wealth, etc.

And so we exhort you, our beloved people: As a special project for this year’s Lenten observance and in the spirit of penance, let us come together in little groups of reflection and discernment. In these groups we look seriously at our part in the many evils of our day—as individuals, as families, as communities—and discern what action we can do together.

Alay Kapwa is our traditional Lenten Program of sharing time, treasure and talent for evangelization. This Lent, without forgetting the treasure part, we zero in, in a very special way, on time and talent, asking what we can offer of these for the common effort towards the correction of our social ills. These would be evangelization of the most authentic kind. For it means a real acceptance of the Lord’s mandate to us as Christians to be concerned about one another, to go beyond ourselves and reach out to others. This attitude in the pattern of Christ himself is at the heart of Christian identity.

Hence other already existing movements and efforts (like the Pondo ng Pinoy) aimed at the transformation of Filipino culture through little acts of kindness for the neighbor and motivated only by the love of God—these too must be intensified as essential to our Lenten program of reform.

In our coming together, in our exchanging of ideas and discerning on them, in our praying and acting together, we bring hope to our despairing land—the hope that our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, says in his most recent encyclical is the great need of our modern world.

With Mary, Mother of Hope, on the Journey of Renewal

We beg Mary to intercede for us with her Son Jesus. In the midst of the disciples who hoped for the renewal of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, she stood as their Mother, our Mother, of hope. Mary, Star of the Sea, guide us on our journey of renewal that we may more faithfully follow your Son Jesus in his loving care of all our brothers and sisters.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines,

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
January 27, 2008

CBCP STATEMENT ON ORGAN DONATION AND ORGAN SALE

2008-01-28T12:01:00.000+08:00

God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him… God looked at everything he had made, and he found it very good. (Gen. 1:27, 31)

Human organ transplantation gives new hope, particularly to patients with end stage diseases, to recover and regain an acceptable and decent lifestyle. It provides a better quality of life compared with alternative expensive and exorbitant medical interventions (e.g., renal dialysis). Human organ transplantation, however, cannot be separated from the human act of donation. John Paul II states that “It is a decision to offer, without reward, a part of one’s own body for the health and well-being of another person. In this sense, the medical action of transplantation makes possible the donor’s act of self-giving, that sincere gift of self which expresses our constitutive calling to love and communion.” (John Paul II, 20 June 1991, no. 3)

The same act, however, can also be abused and exploited usually at the expense of the economically poor. The lack of access to renal care and the non-affordability of a life-long dialysis increase the demand for organ donors. In spite of the prohibition for health care professionals and facilities, there is an increasing organ sale, especially of kidneys, a practice that is perhaps apparently permitted by some physicians, Kidney Transplant Teams, and hospital authorities. There are even some currents in the Philippines who are advocating a change in policies and guidelines to open the door to incentives for organ donors and, even perhaps, to compensation.

We understand the poor and they should not be blamed. There are other ways to help them but not through organ sale. They are human beings and cannot be treated as commodities. We encourage voluntary organ donation from cadavers and also from living donors. We condemn any form of organ sale and organ trade.

Human organ sale or trade, by its very nature is morally unacceptable. It is contrary to the dignity of the human person, his or her authentic autonomy and the essential equality of all persons. The dignity of the human person as the image of God includes not only his or her soul but his or her corporeal being. Hence, our body ought not to be treated as a commodity or object of commerce, which would amount to the dispossession or plundering of the human body.

We, therefore, ask the government to continue its program towards holistic program of gathering and distributing donated organs. We raise our voice against those who are involved in organ trafficking.

We recommend that a stricter law against those involved in the commercialization or selling of organs be enacted and implemented without discrimination.

A just allocation of the scarce organ donor should be safeguarded. Scarce organ donors should be made available first to the local recipients. A strict limit on allocation should be set for foreign recipients.

We call for the education of our people especially with regards to organ donation. The physician or medical professional has the sublime duty to supply the possible candidates for organ donation with all the necessary information to help them make an informed consent.

Though professional competency is necessary in order to care for those who are sick and in need of medical care, it is nevertheless insufficient. Pope Benedict XVI reminds us that: “We are dealing with human beings, and human beings always need something more than technically proper care. They need humanity. They need heartfelt concern… these charity workers need a ‘formation of heart’; they need to be led to that encounter with God in Christ which awakens their love and opens their spirits to others.”(Deus Caritas Est, 31 § 2.)

We, the shepherds of the flock, entrust our people and our country to the protection of our Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of life, so that as we begin a New Year of grace, we may enjoy fullness of life.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
27 January 2008

Be a Reason for Hope

2007-12-31T08:52:00.000+08:00

AS we come to the end of the year 2007 we are challenged to assess ourselves, to evaluate ourselves as individuals and as community. Everyone must examine his conscience. A litany of questions along the line of the corporal works of mercy may be asked: such as what have we done regarding feeding the hungry and malnourished, helping build shelters for the homeless, supporting the education of poor students, creating employment and health security for the sick, releasing those unjustly imprisoned, liberating the oppressed and exploited, and doing away with all abductions and extra judicial killings.

Despite the good-willed efforts of government and church, the sinful root causes of our social problems continue to challenge both individuals and society to conversion and social transformation.

The birth anniversary of the God-Man, Jesus Christ, reminds us not only to celebrate but also to respond to its call for a change of heart and conversion to justice and charity. Among the many corporal works of mercy, “Pondo ng Pinoy” and “Gawad Kalinga” are non-government initiatives that have grown almost nationally. These and other social initiatives including the silent and unseen ones are also transmitters of the “new presence” of God and give our society “reason to hope” in the coming New Year 2008.

By our response we become reflections of God “who is the foundation of hope: not any god, but the God who has a human face and who has loved us to the end” (Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter, “Spe Salvi”, no.31)

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

December 31, 2007

Christmas Reflection

2007-12-21T11:39:00.000+08:00

CHRISTMAS is the celebration of an event of God “going outside of himself,” becoming man in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, God has assumed the everyday in order that through him and with him man may learn to be fully human. Jesus in his human life—as described in the Gospels—is the word, the address, the message of God to humanity.
Jesus must be experienced by Christmas, not simply as a great prophet, a religious founder or genius but as God’s ultimate Word to mankind. In him concrete human life is found in its most basic and radical form. Through his earthly life Jesus showed how the absolutely distant God is likewise absolute near. Through his incarnation, Jesus Christ reveals the deepest meaning of being human… that in every human being there is the ability to be God in the world or to be infinitely open to God’s self-communication.

+Angel Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

International Human Rights Day

2007-12-09T11:50:00.000+08:00

On Human Rights Day our attention, proclamation and prayer reach out naturally to the victims of human rights violation, v.g. the child in the womb, violated children and women, the abandoned, harassed and exploited, the disadvantaged poor, the unjustly evicted from their land, etc… Unfortunately in our country with a democratic form of government, the rights of the people are not always fully respected. And the culprits: among others, public servants and elected officials.

Human rights and the duty to respect, proclaim and obey them are mutually complimentary, indissolubly linked and inextricably connected. On the one hand, the human right of an individual imposes some duty on the part of others. On the other hand, one who claims his own rights, yet altogether neglects to carry out his duties, is a person who builds with one hand and destroys with the other (cf. John XXIII, Pacem In Terris, no. 264).

In our country where millions radically lack the basic necessities of life, such as food, shelter, education, employment and health security, “the more fortunate should renounce some of their rights (even over material possessions they justly possess) so as to place their goods more generously at the service of others” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine No. 158). It means going beyond mere charity, alms giving, and giving only what one no longer needs.

When leaders are hounded by unresolved anomalies and litanies of graft and corruption, it is difficult, almost impossible, to regain trust, credibility and respect which are critical ingredients to effective governance.

If civil society wants to effect moral transformation in governance, they must be reasonably angry, articulate, and persevering in effecting the change they want to see. Most important is the element of spiritual transformation, whose key is conversion to God which starts with ourselves.

Advent Reflection

2007-12-07T05:35:00.000+08:00

Advent reflection

2007-12-02T20:22:00.000+08:00

Beyond the nostalgia of past Christmas, the advent season is a reminder that Jesus who came more than two thousand years ago will come again. In fact, his incarnation, his being the Word of God-made-flesh, his death and resurrection, has made him belong to our history.

In advent, he is said to come, because his incarnation has made him one of us, a member of our humanity. There is an identity between the earthly Jesus and the resurrected exalted Lord. His eternal life is the ultimate form of his earthly life.

To confess his advent or coming among us, is today to welcome him not as a child of baby, but in his resurrected form. The more Jesus Christ is incarnated, enfleshed in our personal lines, the more he truly become the Word of God made flesh, God’s message or God alive, living in us.

+Angel Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

Thank God, It’s over

2007-11-30T09:12:00.000+08:00

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

BISHOPS-LEGISLATORS’ CAUCUS

2007-11-27T20:19:00.000+08:00

Opening Remarks
Pius XII Catholic Center
November 27, 2007

Distinguished and Honorable Senators and Congressmen of the Philippine Legislature, Your Excellencies, the Archbishops and Bishops of the Philippines.

I am privileged to welcome all of you to this second Bishops-Legislators’ Caucus. We had our first caucus last September 4 in the office of and hosted by Brother Mike Velarde. We come in order to share our ideas about a particular national concern: the issue of population and family morality and life.

For your information, Honorable Members of the Legislature, the CBCP has some 33 Commissions, Committees and Offices, probably similar to the way Congress is made up of many committees. Through these Commissions we the bishops are able to relate, have dialogues and conferences with the people on different concerns and issues. Outside of the regular Episcopal commissions, the bishops also relate with businessmen through the BBC (Bishops-Businessmen’s Conferences), with Educators through the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines.

Collaboration between bishops and the PNP has been coordinated on local level by PNP Values and Leadership School of Gen. Samuel Tucay and Fr. Carmelo Diola. Tomorrow, some of the bishops will have a conference with farmers’ groups on the agrarian reform. The farmers’ groups include the Sumilao farmers marching to Manila to appeal for the reclamation of their ancestral land from which they had been evicted.

Thanks to some of our lay cooperators, Mrs. Fenny Tatad, Atty. Jo Imbong and their companions, we were able to bring about this Bishops-Legislators’ Caucus. For this coming together of Bishops and Legislators, we are motivated no less by the Compendium on Social Doctrine of the Church, no. 425 which read in part: “The mutual autonomy of the church and the political community does not entail a separation that excludes cooperation. Both of them, although by different titles, serve the personal and social vocation of the same human beings.

The Church and the political community, in fact, express themselves in organized structures that are note ends in themselves but are intended for the service of man, to help him to exercise his rights fully, those inherent in his reality as a citizen and a Christian, and to fulfill correctly his corresponding duties. The Church and the political community can more effectively render this service for the good of all if each works better for wholesome cooperation in a way suitable to the circumstances of time and place.” (Compendium 425; Gaudium et Spes 76).

Now is the time and this is the place (should I say?) for our “bonding” and exchange of ideas for the service of our people.

ON THE AGRARIAN REFORM

2007-11-27T20:02:00.000+08:00

Opening Remarks at theConsultation on the Preparation for
the National Rural Congress
held at the Pope Pius XII Catholic Center
27 November 2007

This year we celebrate the 40th year of the issuance of “Populorum Progressio— Development of People” by Pope Paul VI. There the Pope states that a redistribution of land as part of sound policies of agrarian reform is indispensable for genuine economic development (PP no.23).

According to the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: “Agrarian reform therefore becomes a moral obligation more than a political necessity, since the failure to enact such reform is a hindrance in developing countries to the benefits arising from the opening of markets and, generally, from the abundant growth opportunities offered by the current process of globalization” (Compendium of the Social Doctrines no. 300).

Premised on the above, we view the continued relevance of agrarian reform in the Philippines. If there has been any deficiency or neglect in the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1998, we recommend that its cure be addressed in successive implementation. Chronic rural poverty is linked to the rural poor’s lack of control over access to basic productive resources, such as land, water and forest resources.

In the light of the social doctrine on agrarian reform, there is moral obligation to grant the rural workers their legitimate desire to participate in the ownership of the land they till and in the profits of their toil. Sharing of land as well as of goods and goodness is a demand of the principles of human dignity, equality and stewardship. According to the most recent poverty report by the Asian Development Bank, three fourths of the Philippines remained poor and rural. This means that they have limited access to food, education, health security, housing and employment.

In the current discussion and debate on the agrarian reform program, I hope and pray that the concerned sectors will be able to come up with needed monitoring schemes, support services, and assistance from related of the rural poor— on whose work on the land depends the life of the nation—a reform, an improvement of and extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program will need the support of the legislative and executive arms of government.

Moral Revolution? Do It

2007-11-24T07:54:00.000+08:00

GOD help us! God have mercy on the Filipino people. The list of unresolved cases of social, economic and political concerns keeps piling up. Suicides and homicides have been committed because of extreme unresolved poverty—and these at a time when the peso is claimed to be gaining ground. How long have the poor to wait? And then the murder of a COMELEC official—at a time when COMELEC is facing renewal of its institution.

The alleged bribery of government officials, the deaths resulting from the explosion at the Glorietta and more rece3sntly the bomb explosion at the Batasan Pambansa: these are the social concerns and nagging issues that are crying our for solution and closure.

Add to this list the multi-million peso projects sprawling like white elephants because of substandard qualities and questionable arrangements.

These are not purely socio-economic issues. The Church’s social doctrine (Compendium 330-331) insists on their moral connotations. The relationship between morality and economics and poverty is necessary, intrinsic and reciprocal. On the one hand, it will be unfair to the victims if the real and ultimate culprits are not investigated and made to answer for their actions. On the other hand, each case carries a strong statement about the different levels of leadership as well as about the national state of affairs.

As a response to the state of moral bankruptcy in public life, of probably irremediable loss of credibility and trust, a call has been made for “moral revolution”. If only to stop our country from continuing to become a “social volcano” (Heaven help us!), we support the ideal of a “moral revolution”—moral transformation, moral renewal, moral reform. The CBCP has proposed it before in many ways through the years. And we would like to say it again. Nothing new, but the resolve may be.

We are consoled by the fact that some of our public officials and different sectors of civil society are seeing such a need for “moral revolution”. Sana magpatuloy ito…sana dumami pa ang bilang nila. May this attitude prevail…may the number of good-willed people increase. Not only investigations one after another. In our country where 57% are not affected by the gained power of the peso, where graft and corruption by the mighty in power and influence still hold sway, we are in search for people who would be humble, courageous and decided enough to do a Zacchaeus “Here and now I give half of my possession to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.” (Lk 19:8). This is the only violent revolution worthy of the name—it “kills” selfishness.

Let us do it. “To start this moral revolution, I must cease to be dishonest, unjust and unfair to my fellow Filipinos. I will tell and act on the truth that I confess or affirm. I will return what I have unjustly and deceitfully acquired. Only then can I ask pardon from God and the people I have wronged.” Speaking of reconciliation? This is!

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
November 24, 2007

The Bigger Picture In the Presidential Pardon

2007-10-26T15:59:00.001+08:00

A president granting absolute pardon to a convicted and impeached president-predecessor is historic indeed. It will give people today and future generations opportunity to debate and evaluate. The pardon covers a multitude of sins which are now left to Divine Justice – cum – Mercy to resolve. In a death-bed scene, a dying person might hear God saying: “I will forgive you, I know you have already suffered, but you should be purified some more in purgatory.”

On this occasion we are thinking of the many prisoners whose crimes of lesser gravity have not been proven and yet continue to suffer from the fact of “justice delayed justice denied.” Will they be given the same privilege or consideration? The pardoned president could not be more privileged, considering the many prisoners with lesser crimes of plunder and injustice who are rotting in jail only because they have no influence with the government and justice system. No wonder the statue of justice has covered eyes, ‘para walang favoritism.’

The pardoning president has spoken; the case ends there. But where is “restorative justice?”

We appeal for the many prisoners who may also deserve the same clemency for the sake of their poor families. A president pardoning a convicted president may have bigger implications than meet our eyes now. And so reflection must continue, but this time with civil society. May it bear the desired fruit of unity and reconciliation.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
October 26, 2007

ALL ARE MEMBERS OF BARANGAYS

2007-10-25T20:25:00.000+08:00

The forthcoming Barangay Election on October 29 will show-case how genuinely alive is our democracy. On that day the country, composed of 41,800 barangays, will be choosing their barangay officials. All Filipino citizens are members of a barangay. We encourage those of voting age to come to the polling places to vote for their barangay officials.

It is good to be reminded that according to the Omnibus Election Code (Art. VI, Sec. 38) barangay elections shall be non-partisan, i.e. no political party, organization or group shall intervene in the nomination and election of any candidate. Unfortunately, there are many barangays which have fallen under the control of political parties or politicians. As a result they are more in the service of some politicians or political party than the common good of the barangay.

There is a great need for education and social awareness of how the barangay, this smallest political unit of government, functions. We hope that what the Local Government Code of 1991 describes as the “Role of the Barangay” will be explained to the barangay members in order that they may genuinely and consciously participate in the functions of their barangay. The law states: “Role of the Barangay as the basic political unit: the barangay serves as the primary unit of government policies, plans, programs, projects and activities in the community and as a forum wherein the collective views of the people may be expressed, crystallized and considered, and where disputes may be amicably settled.” (Sec. 384)

All members of the churches, parishes, municipalities, Basic Ecclesial Communities are also members of the barangay. If they are taking interest in how their churches or parishes operate, similarly they should be interested in what is going on in their barangay with respect to the common good. As parishioners, they need to be aware of the laws of the church. As barangay members they are legally empowered to get involved in the common affairs of their barangay.

There are some 2000 Parishes all over the country. These Parishes also include most of the 41,800 barangays. In fact in many parishes, barangay officials are also officials or members of Barangay Parish Pastoral Councils. In some cases, the barangays are further divided into smaller units called Basic Ecclesial Communities.

The barangay activities offer great and many opportunities not only for social, political and economic interaction; they are also practical venues for faith interaction and sharing and inter-religious dialogue. In these non-partisan smallest political units of government, as happens in many Parishes and Municipalities, the church and the state can wonderfully interact and cooperate for the common good in the spirit of social co-responsibility.

Come October 29 may our Barangay Election be freed from the violence and corrupt practices that happen during local and national elections. May our Barangay Election produce the leaders that our civil society need for the common good. With the correct social conscience and sensitivity, the barangay members can make this happen.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
October 25, 2007

CASH GIFTS OR BRIBES?

2007-10-16T17:13:00.000+08:00

“The more people and social groups strive to resolve social problems according to the truth, the more they distance themselves from abuses and act in accordance with the objective demands of truth…The unscrupulous use of money raises ever more pressing questions, which necessarily call for greater transparency and honesty in personal and social activity” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 198).

In the News too many question marks surround the recent distribution of 500,000 pesos each to governors among whom, appearing like a hero, is Pampanga Governor Ed Panlilio. What was the purpose of the cash gifts? Where did they come from? Who was the personal source of the cash? Were they for local government projects? Were they for the forthcoming Barangay Elections? Why were they distributed only to pro-administration local officials? Why not also to the opposition? Who ultimately will profit from these cash gifts? Are they really gifts or bribes?

“The unscrupulous use of money raises ever more pressing questions, which necessarily call for greater transparency and honesty in personal and social activity” (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 198).

Bribery is not an acceptable word even to culprits: so, it is better called “gifts.” And so, in order to feel good and escape the blame of conscience, …bribe is also called a “gift.”

With this sort of thing happening, our country is not only suffering from economic bankruptcy but also moral bankruptcy, disappointingly being shown by our leaders. We are very much concerned with our youth who are looking at our leaders for models in honesty, integrity, and transparency.

From the moral standpoint, one should not accept money about which questions can be asked because it renders responsibility, accountability, and transparency a dubious subject matter.

I encourage and support the plan of our respectable senators to make the appropriate inquiry on the matter of distributing said cash gifts.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
October 16, 2007

----------------------------

REGALO O SUHOL?

Sa patuloy ng pagdami ng mga mamamayan at mga samahang naglalayong malutas ang mga suliranin ng lipunan ayon sa katotohanan, higit silang lumalayo sa mga pag-abuso at kumikilos ng naaayon sa pangangailangan ng katotohanan. Ang walang pakundangang paggamit ng salapi ang siyang nagiging dahilan ng mas maraming mga katanungan, na mangangailangang magkaroon ng katapatan sa larangang pangsarili’t panglipunan. (COMPENDIUM OF THE SOCIAL DOCTRINE OF THE CHURCH, No. 198.)

Mas maraming mga katanungang nagmula sa naganap na pamamahagi ng tig-kakalahating milyong piso sa mga gobernador, na kinabibilangan ng lumalabas na bayaning si Gobernador Ed Panlilio ng Pampanga. Ano ang layunin ng ipinamahaging salapi? Saan ito nanggaling? Sino ang pinagmulan ng salapi? Ang salapi bang ito’y para sa mga proyekto ng mga pamahalaang lokal? Ito ba’y para sa nalalapit na halalang pambarangay? Bakit mga kapanalig lamang ng administrasyon ang nabiyayaan? Bakit hindi naabutan ang mga mula sa oposisyon? Sino nga ba ang makikinabang sa salaping ipinamahagi? Ito ba’y mga regalo o suhol?

“Ang walang pakundangang paggamit ng salapi ang nagiging dahilan ng mas maraming mga katanungan, na higit na mangangailangang magkaroon ng katapatan sa larangang pangsarili’t panglipunan. (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, No. 198).

Ang panunuhol ay katangang ‘di katanggap-tanggap kahit na sa mga salarin kaya’t mas makabubuting tawaging “ala-ala o regalo.” Kaya upang makahinga ng maluwag at mawala ang bagabag sa konsiyensya, ang suhol ay tinatagurian ding “ala-ala o regalo.”

Sa ganitong mga nagaganap, patuloy na naghihirap ang bansa sa kakulangan ng magandang kabuhayan at kawalan ng paggalang at pagkilala sa kung ano ang tama’t kung ano ang mali, na nakalulungkot na nakikitang kagagawan ng ating mga pinuno. Nababahala kami sa mga kabataang tumitingala sa mga pinuno ng bansa bilang mga huwaran sa katapatan, integridad at kalinisan.

Mula sa usaping moral, hindi marapat at lalo’ng hindi matuwid na tumanggap ng salapi nang hindi nasasagot ang mga katanungan hinggil sa responsibilidad, pananagutan at katapatang kaakibat ng kasalukuyang usapin.

Kailangang ituloy ang balak ng mga kagalang-galang na Senador na magsagawa ng pagsisiyasat sa pamamahagi ng salapi sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan kamakailan.

ARSOBISPO ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Arsobispo ng Jaro
Ika-16 ng Oktubre, 2007

OUR FIRM STAND AGAINST CONTRACEPTIVE MENTALITY

2007-10-06T17:00:00.000+08:00

We hope it is not true that congress plans to appropriate one billion pesos for the purchase of condoms, birth control pills and other “reproductive health” products to control population growth. It if is true, we categorically object to it and instead strongly recommend that the one billion pesos be directly appropriated and/or added for hunger and poverty alleviation projects, as well as for free education of extremely poor children.

The use of abortifacients, contraceptive pills and devises, sterilization, directly willed abortion are wrong in themselves. They are against nature and God’s law. They are wrong not because the Catholic Church forbids them; rather the Church forbids them because they destroy the fruitfulness of human reproductive capacities given by the Creator and hence are morally wrong. (CBCP said this already in 1990 and at other times!). It is not just a matter of being conservative, but also of being morally upright.

The church advocates Natural Family Planning as the only morally acceptable way of practicing responsible parenthood. The Church does not forbid the advocacy of the increase or decrease of population provided the freedom of the couple to exercise sexual and family morality according to their religious conviction are respected. Since the Church objects to the use of artificial contraception, the church likewise objects to their dissemination, creating thereby a contraceptive mentality towards a culture of death.

It is not true that the Philippines growth rate is 2.36%. The Unite Nations using the same census data has arrived at a very much lower rate. The National Statistics Office has already projected a Philippine population growth rate of 1.99%. These notwithstanding, we do not subscribe to the allegations that population must be controlled because it is the main cause of poverty; there are other grave factors. We will not join countries with collapsing population growth rate.

We exhort our clergy to proactively preach the doctrine of the Church on principled population control. We strongly encourage and support our legislators in Congress and the Senate who promote the moral teachings on life, family and population.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
October 6, 2007

PRESS STATEMENT

2007-09-12T12:02:00.000+08:00

From Lipa City , 4th National Pilgrimage to Lipa

WE have received the decision of the Sandiganbayan declaring the former President guilty of the crime of plunder.

We respect it as a human judgment by a human court tasked precisely to examine the case.

We regard it also as a call to repentance and a call for change or conversion affecting not only the person of President Estrada but also many others in our government. The one who will profit from the good fruit of such a decision or judgment is no less than the country itself which is known to have been suffering from all kinds of graft and corruption and plunder. It is a warning sign.

We pray for President Estrada that he may have the spiritual strength to face the new situation which is not beyond the reach of “divine mercy.”

Thousands of people have gathered here in Lipa City for their Fourth National Pilgrimage to pray to God for our country.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
September 12, 2007

Press Statement on the Release of Fr. Bossi

2007-07-20T14:56:00.000+08:00

We welcome with joy and gratitude the release of the missionary, Fr. Giancarlo Bossi, by his abductors. For many weeks, in behalf of his relatives and community, many people prayed and appealed for mercy and compassion for Fr. Bossi.

Foreign missionaries are giving a great service to the people in far-flung corners of the country especially in Mindanao, at great sacrifice and even dangers. We hope that what happened to Fr. Bossi will not happen again.

Prior to the release of Fr. Bossi, there was the barbaric and bloody ambush of Philippine Marines at which 14 (?) lost their lives. We condemn such heinous act, and join the appeal for justice in the restoration of peace. Let the same not happen again in our society of already precarious peace.

We express appreciation to all who facilitated his release.

We recognize in the incidence, the elements of peace-making and peace-giving, from which we can try to move on.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
July 20, 2007

Towards a Second National Rural Congress

2007-07-16T13:07:00.000+08:00

FORTY years ago, the Church in the Philippines convened a National Rural Congress highlighting the call that “the Church must go to the barrios.” The involvement of the Church in rural issues was concretized in the formation of diocesan social action centers, rural cooperatives, advocacy groups for agrarian reform, and others.

To commemorate that event held in 1967, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued early this year the pastoral statement, “The Dignity of the Rural Poor – A Gospel Concern”. We made a call for a Second National Rural Congress (NRC II) to review the continuing issues confronting the majority of our people living in rural areas. “But this time,” we said, “our farmers must do the speaking by themselves, the discerning, the proposing of their own ideas, the planning of how we must as a people come together to work for the common good of the country…”

In this light, we are adopting a SEE-JUDGE-ACT methodology in convening this Second National Rural Congress. There are five objectives:

1. To describe the current situation of various sectors of the rural poor—e.g., small farmers, landless workers, indigenous people, small fishermen, rural women and youth, etc.;
2. To describe the role of Basic Ecclesial Communities (BECs) and church-based programs in rural development;
3. To review the impact of key social legislation and to engage government agencies in the implementation of ongoing social reform programs under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL), the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA), etc.;
4. To apply the Social Teachings of the Church to the concrete problems of Philippine rural society and to arrive at recommendations and action plans; and
5. To collate and disseminate research findings through media channels, and to promote continuing dialogue among local churches, NGOs and academe in the social transformation of rural—as well as urban poor—communities.

The timetable comprises two phases

Phase I: (July-November 2007) in two parallel tracks:
A. Diocesan consultations on BECs in rural development (to be conducted by the National Secretarial for Social Action (NASSA), and the Offices for BECs and Indigenous People);
B. Sub-regional consultations on rural poor sectors and rural issues (to be conducted by the Philippine-Misereor Partnership (PMP), the Association of Major Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP), and the Rural Poor Solidarity (RPS) coalition of non-government and people’s organizations.

Phase II: (First Quarter of 2008) – convening of NRC II to discuss the collated inputs from the diocesan and sub-regional consultations. The Congress itself may take two-to-three days.

Overseeing the entire process under the CBCP Plenary Assembly is the NRC Central Committee with Archbishop Antonio Ledesma (Executive Chairman), Bishop Broderick Pabillo (Vice Chairman), Bishop Socrates Villegas, Bishop Sergio Utleg and Sr. Rosanne Mallillin, SPC (members).

The Central Committee is to be assisted by the Episcopal Advisory Council, which is composed of Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales (Luzon), Ricardo Cardinal Vidal (Visayas), Archbishop Orlando Quevedo (Mindanao), and Archbishop Angel Lagdameo (CBCP).

The ad intra secretariat for the diocesan consultations on BECs includes: Sr. Rosanne Mallilin of CBCP-NASSA (Coordinator), Msgr. Elmer Abacahin of the CBCP-BEC Office, and a representative of the Episcoal Commission on Indigenous Peoples. The ad extra secretariat for Sub-regional consultations on rural issues includes: Ms. Lourdes Cipriano of PMP (Coordinator), Bro. Hansel Mapayo of AMRSP, and Ms. Belinda Formanes of RPS.

An auxiliary arm of the NRC Central Committee will be composed of the CBCP Offices of Research (under Abp. Antonio Ledesma), Media (under Msgr. Pedro Quitorio), and Secretariat (under Msgr. Juanito Figura).

Moreover, from time to time, there will be periodic consultations of notable lay advisers, research centers, and other Episcopal commissions. (cf. the organizational flow of NRC II in the Appendix.)

It is in this light that we make an appeal to all our diocesan social action centers, schools, and research centers as well as farmers’ organizations, NGOs, and government agencies to participate actively in a spirit of solidarity in the various activities outlined for the NRC II process.

The expected outcome of this NRC process, including Phases I and II, are:
1. SEE: a fuller description, both quantitative and qualitative, of the rural poverty situation;
2. JUDGE: a deeper analysis of the situation in the light of the Social Teachings of the Church; and
3. ACT: concrete proposals for action addressed to the rural sectors, local churches, government agencies, NGOs, and others.

Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit—the Spirit of Truth, Justice, and Love—and through the intercession of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, may we carry out these proposed activities in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in the countryside.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines;

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
16 July 2007

CBCP Pastoral Statement on 2007 National Elections (Part I)

2007-07-13T08:22:00.000+08:00

CBCP Pastoral Statement on 2007 National Elections (Part 2)

2007-07-13T08:21:00.000+08:00

Press Statement on the “Tridentine” Mass

2007-07-10T11:04:00.000+08:00

WE fully welcome with respect and appreciation the recent Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI on the “Tridentine” Mass. It clarifies for us the status of the Tridentine Mass in the Latin Language.

In accordance with the Apostolic Letter (“Motu proprio”) entitled “Summorum Pontificum” of Pope Benedict XVI, the celebration of the so-called Tridentine Mass, which is in the Latin language, as approved by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962 continues to be fully permissible as an extraordinary form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass was never forbidden or abrogated.

The so-called “New Mass” which was introduced after the Second Vatican Council and approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970 has become more popular among the people because it allowed the use of some approved adaptations, including the use of the popular languages and dialects. It became the ordinary form of the Mass, widely celebrated in the parish churches.

When may the Tridentine (Latin) Mass be celebrated? According to the letter of Pope Benedict XVI, it may be celebrated by catholic priests of the Latin Rite: a) in private masses, b) in conventual or community mass in accordance with the specific statutes of the Congregation, c) in parishes upon request of the faithful and under the guidance of the bishop (in accordance with Canon 392). In such Masses, however, the readings may be given in the vernacular.

This permission given by Pope Benedict XVI means that the Mass in Latin and in accordance with the formula of the Council of Trent, hence Tridentine, with the celebrant’s back to the faithful may be celebrated, as it was never forbidden or abrogated. For new priests, this will require formation in the Latin Mass.

Now, we are instructed that in the liturgy of the Mass, there is the ordinary form which is that approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970 after the Vatican II; and there is the extraordinary form—the Tridentine (Latin) Mass which is that approved by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962. The two forms will have their way of leading the faithful to the true worship of God in prayer and liturgy; and may even be a factor for unity in the Church.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
July 9, 2007

CBCP Pastoral Statement on the 2007 National Elections

2007-07-09T15:47:00.000+08:00

We are grateful to the many people who worked hard for honest and clean elections last May 2007. In a special way we commend the lay groups under the leadership of the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), the National Movement for Free Election (NAMFREL), the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), the Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan, the Catholic Media Network, and the newly organized Legal Network for a Truthful Elections (LENTE). Their efforts undoubtedly contributed to the emergence of a new political consciousness among the electorate. In many cases, the voters were not naively allured by popular personalities or by those who gave away much money. We thank the thousands who, in various capacities, devoted themselves to achieving Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful Elections (CHAMP).

Nevertheless, we are mindful of the many evils that continue to plague our electoral exercise. As we have done in the past, we condemn the dirty conduct of elections in some provinces. The buying, padding and selling of votes have embarrassingly become systemic and threaten to become a cultural element of our elections. It has been reported that some voters went to the precincts only when first paid by some candidates. We also express our disapproval of candidates coming from the same family or clan, thus keeping power and influence within the family. We hope and pray that implementing norms be approved to arrest the spread of this malaise.

Likewise we protest against the injustice done to people as their right to choose their leaders was desecrated. We are horrified by the violence inflicted on innocent people during the campaign and election periods. But we are equally edified by the heroism of those who defended the sanctity of the ballot, even to the point of death.

It was an achievement in itself that elections were held on May 14, 2007. But given a climate of social distress and hopelessness, the challenge was how to restore credibility to the electoral process as a core democratic institution for resolving political conflict, and how to get the citizenry, especially the youth, to become politically engaged. On the whole, despite the deep flaws in the process and its administration, the last election maybe said to have been a qualified success with the results generally reflecting the popular will (e.g. only 5 percent of the contested positions are being questioned).

Vigilance, Volunteerism and Coordinated Action.

For the first time since 1992, the Church-based groups, PPCRV, NAMFREL, NASSA worked closely together and were better prepared and organized to make a qualitative impact on the elections, even in Muslim Mindanao. A new group called LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Elections) was organized on the initiative of One Voice with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) as co-convenor— the first time that lawyers, paralegal volunteers were mobilized for electoral work. LENTE focused on the weakest link in the electoral process—the canvassing of votes at the municipal and provincial levels. These groups agreed to coordinate their work through a grouping called VforCE (One Million Volunteers for Clean Elections). The doggedness of these groups, despite the limited time to organize and coordinate, contributed to the deterring large-scale fraud. VforCE offered a framework for coordinated election. The May 2007 elections indeed led to a manifestation of volunteerism and vigilance, underscoring the critical importance of collaboration and partnerships, and providing concrete opportunities for citizen engagement in various aspects of electoral process.

There also were signs of increased maturity among the electorate as the election results demonstrated that sheer popularity/celebrity status and huge media expenditures do not necessarily translate to election victory. These results may also be an indicator of some success in the voters’ education efforts. The citizen groups, including Church-based organizations, have worked on this for years.
But the last elections also showed the continuing dominance in the Philippines of a few political families, and revealed the persistence of vote-buying as a serious problem (including pay-offs not to vote) in a social context of widespread poverty and gross inequality, even if there were a few positive stories of reversals of these old trends. Much remains to be done in the area of political recruitment and financing of alternative candidates, and thus in the development of genuine political party system in the Philippines. That is why the flawed party list law and its problematic implementation is real cause for concern. There were also signs of alienation from the electoral process among the citizenry: a lower-than-usual voter turnout (60-65 percent of registered voters), including a very low level of participation from overseas absentee voters (14 percent).

Agenda for Electoral Reforms and Continuing Political Involvement

Both the positive and negative experiences of the last elections point to a number of important electoral reforms that needed to be pursued:

1. A full revamp of the Comelec, beginning with the appointment of a new chair and commissioners with unquestioned integrity and competence, especially in systems and management. These appointments are going to be in the hands of the President and the Commission on Appointments of the Philippine Congress, and it is our collective responsibility to monitor closely the process of selection, appointment and confirmation. There should also be serious efforts to de-politicize and professionalize the bureaucracy.

2. Holding those responsible for anomalies in past elections and the recently concluded ones accountable to the people. Good career people in the Comelec can be the catalyst for the renewal of the institution.

3. Modernization of the electoral system in time for the 2010 presidential election. There should be broad-based and transparent discussions on what type of poll automation is appropriate and how it is to be piloted and implemented.

4. Particular attention should be given to ARMM and the problem of warlordism, because it is of the scale that can affect the national elections. We also owe it to the voters in those areas who are effectively disenfranchised when elections are not meaningful, truthful and free. Historically, those in power have found it useful to rely on the brazen exercise of power through intimidation, violence and fraud.

5. A review of laws affecting the electoral system. Among the most urgent are the reform of the party system, party-list law, overseas absentee voting, political dynasties, the “legal” entry of nuisance candidates, and the formulation of an agenda for institutional reform.

6. The development of mechanisms for deepening the political education of voters (e.g. Pinoy Voter’s Academy and Gabay Halalan), fostering public accountability of politicians to the electorate (e.g. Bantay Pangako) and sustaining coordinated political engagement especially among the youth, the citizens’ groups, and Church-based organizations (e.g. VforCE).

7. Cleansing and publication of the voters’ list long before the day of election.
As we appreciate and thank the men and women of good will and courage who influenced our last election, so do we thank the Lord for continuing to guide the journey of the Filipino people.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
July 8, 2007

On The Human Security Act

2007-07-09T15:08:00.000+08:00

We are all for the pursuit of peace and we condemn terrorism as a glaring obstacle to peace.

Republic Act No. 9372, dubbed as Human Security Act of 2007, signed into a law by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 6, 2007, is to take effect two months after the elections of May 14.

Many voices are apprehensive about this law on the basis of constitutionality and provisions that may legalize objectionable methods of fighting and quelling opposition to the obtaining government. Hence there are calls for bringing the Human Security Act to the Supreme Court for review and for studying and discussing further this law in its contents and repercussions. Some sections have caused lawyers and others to question the effectiveness of this law such as:

· The definition of terrorism in Section 3 is broad and dangerous. It may serve and create a condition of widespread panic.

· Section 26 allows house arrest despite the posting of bail, prohibits the right to travel and to communicate with others.

· Provision for seizure of assets in Section 39 and surveillance or wiretapping of suspects in Section 7, investigation of bank deposits and other assets in Section 28 – raise up many eyebrows of lawyers and others.

Since we as pastors have to look more into the morality of this law and make a pronouncement in that level, we feel that the atmosphere created by this law and its impending implementations calls on us to appeal to those concerned to review this law so that in consultation and dialogue we may have a law that is truly relevant in promoting the security of the nation and in the pursuit of authentic peace.

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, D.D.
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
July 8, 2007

Statement on the "Tridentiane"

2007-07-09T15:00:00.001+08:00

We fully welcome with respect and appreciation the recent Apostolic Letter of Pope Benedict XVI on the “Tridentine” Mass. It clarifies for us the status of the Tridentine Mass in the Latin Language.

In accordance with the Apostolic Letter (“Motu proprio”) entitled “Summorum Pontificum” of Pope Benedict XVI, the celebration of the so-called Tridentine Mass, which is in the Latin language, as approved by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962 continues to be fully permissible as an extraordinary form of the Mass. The Tridentine Mass was never forbidden or abrogated.

The so-called “New Mass” which was introduced after the Second Vatican Council and approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970 has become more popular among the people because it allowed the use of some approved adaptations, including the use of the popular languages and dialects. It became the ordinary form of the Mass, widely celebrated in the parish churches.

When may the Tridentine (Latin) Mass be celebrated? According to the letter of Pope Benedict XVI, it may be celebrated by catholic priests of the Latin Rite: a) in private masses, b) in conventual or community mass in accordance with the specific statutes of the Congregation, c) in parishes upon request of the faithful and under the guidance of the bishop (in accordance with Canon 392). In such Masses, however, the readings may be given in the vernacular.

This permission given by Pope Benedict XVI means that the Mass in Latin and in accordance with the formula of the Council of Trent, hence Tridentine, with the celebrant’s back to the faithful may be celebrated, as it was never forbidden or abrogated. For new priests, this will require formation in the Latin Mass.

Now, we are instructed that in the liturgy of the Mass, there is the ordinary form which is that approved by Pope Paul VI in 1970 after the Vatican II; and there is the extraordinary form—the Tridentine (Latin) Mass which is that approved by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962. The two forms will have their way of leading the faithful to the true worship of God in prayer and liturgy; and may even be a factor for unity in the Church.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

The Role of the Church in Political Governance

2007-06-21T23:33:00.000+08:00

I WOULD like to start with two simple definitions. First, by “Church” I mean here both the individual catholic believer and the institutional entity, which includes the Pope, the cardinals and bishops, the clergy, religious and the big group of lay faithful. Oftentimes, Church means the teaching authority or the magisterium, represented by the bishops, in our country, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). By politics or political governance I mean all activities relating to governing, guiding or building civil society.

I am using for my reference The Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, which has spoken about our subject under the title “The Church and the Political Community” (nos. 330-359). What did it say? “In the Philippines today, given the general perception that politics has become an obstacle to integral development, the urgent necessity is for the lay faithful to participate more actively, with singular competence and integrity, in political affairs. It is through the laity that the Church is directly involved” (PCP-II 348).

This is what the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, says in his first Encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est”: The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the state, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity. So they cannot relinquish their participation ‘in the many different economic, social, legislative, administrative and cultural areas, which are intended to promote organically and institutionally the common good’” (Deus Caritas Est, 29; John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 42). Such involvement is not optional; it flows from the very core of Christian faith.

Does that mean that bishops and priests have no role in political activity? “The Church’s competence in passing moral judgment even in matters political has been traditionally interpreted as pertaining to the clergy. Negatively put, the clergy can teach moral doctrines covering politics but cannot actively involve themselves in partisan politics” (PCP-II 340). The principle is simply that politics, like all human activities, must be exercised always in the light of faith in the Gospel. The Council states that “the common good cannot be sacrificed on the flimsy pretext that ‘the Church does not engage in politics’. Concretely this means both clergy and laity must be involved in the area of politics when moral and Gospel values are at stake” (344). Because, today we understand salvation in a comprehensive way, the Church’s mission includes also the temporal order.

To change Philippine society, we have to change Philippine politics; in one sense, it may mean politicians must change; in another sense, we must change the politicians. It does not mean change in the form of government, but change in the ones running the government. To do this we need the concerted participation and struggle of all Filipinos of goodwill in political activity. In the language of faith and morality, it is a participation in the battle against human sinfulness, lodged deeply in Philippine politics. It is a struggle to make God’s grace and ethical principle victorious in the Philippines. As one theologian has said: the politics of guns, goons and gold must be converted into the politics of gospel, grace and God.

What about “the separation of Church and State” enshrined in our Constitution and commonly invoked. How can we understand this? The basic purpose of this provision is that Church and State should enjoy and respect each other’s mutual autonomy. By this we understand that they should not interfere in each other’s affairs, should not seek to control each other, or allow themselves to be simply the instrument of each other. However, considering what we said earlier, this separation of Church and State cannot be used as an argument against the participation and involvement of the Church in shaping the politics of our country.

Pope Benedict XVI in “Deus Caritas Est” states: “The Church wishes to help form consciences in political life and to stimulate greater insight into the authentic requirements of justice as well as greater readiness to act accordingly, even when this might involve conflict with situations of personal interest. Building a just social and civil order, wherein each person receives what is his or her due, is an essential task which every generation must take up anew. As a political task, this cannot be the Church’s immediate responsibility. Yet, since it is a most important human responsibility, the Church is duty-bound to offer, through the purification of reason and through ethical formation, her own specific contribution towards understanding the requirements of justice and achieving them politically” (no. 28).

The Social Significance of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart

2007-06-14T19:59:00.000+08:00

The Social Significance of the Devotion to the Sacred Heart

2007-06-14T15:05:00.000+08:00

In the distress and crises which our people are experiencing at this time, more than and in addition to turning to government and to one another, let us turn to the great icon of social charity, which is the Sacred Heart of Jesus that we are celebrating today. For compassion and acts of mercy we need not a political or social symbol that is imperfect or even corrupted, but a spiritual symbol like Jesus Christ who allowed his Sacred Heart to be pierced out of love for mankind, and who gave Himself as Eucharist to be the symbol of the love of the Trinity for us.

On this occasion, we invite the Parish Priests leading the people’s devotion to the Sacred Heart in this month of June to consecrate his people and the leaders of the people to the Sacred Heart towards an “inventive charity,” a charity that distributes the bread which God is causing even now to be multiplied. If we are ready to distribute the bread, God is more than willing to multiply them. Our selfishness, our desire to simply hoard the treasures of this earth, is one cause why the bread is not multiplied and why it does not reach the table of the poor. When the Sacred Heart said to the twelve “Give them food yourselves,” he is telling them when you are ready to distribute even the little resources that you have—five loaves and two fish—then I will multiply them for the thousands to eat.

Pope Benedict XVI writing in 1981 as Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, challenges us to nothing less: “In the Heart of Jesus, the center of Christianity is set before us. It expresses everything, all that is genuinely new and revolutionary in the new covenant. This Heart calls to our heart. It invites us to step forth out of this futile attempt of self-preservation and, by joining in the task of love, by handing ourselves to him and with him, to discover the fullness of love which alone is eternity and which alone sustains the world.

When will the bread of economic development so popularly professed reach the table of the millions of poor in the Philippines?

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

June 15, 2007

Prayer on Behalf of Jonas Burgos

2007-06-01T06:28:00.000+08:00

Heroism in Small Doses?

2007-06-01T06:23:00.000+08:00

The celebration of the 109th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence comes with the theme “Kalayaan 2007: Bayan, Bayani, Bayanihan.” Thanks to the Department of Tourism.

In the attempt to showcase some great mighty and popular personalities as icons of the bayani, let us not lose sight of the innumerable and unnamed bayani of our country’s history, in particular the many volunteers of the PPCRV and NAMFREL and the Teachers who despite odds, difficulties, obstacles, frustrations, and threats defended the sacredness of the ballots against those desecrating groups. In the midst of rampant and wholesale “buy and sale” of votes, there were still those who refused to be controlled by the dictatorship of money. Their small stories are worth noting down on “Kalayaan Day.”

We are shamed and saddened by comments that our country ranks among those with most records of graft and corruption, unresolved cases of heinous crimes and mysterious disappearances and unabated extra-judicial killings. There is so much demand for restitution to helpless and voiceless victims. May we not consider the uncompensated victims also “bayani ng bayan”? Specially that their appeals are apparently falling on deaf ears!

On “Kalayaan Day” we join the clamor for the restoration or return of the victims of disappearances. Our prayer is that they will be allowed to return safe and sound to their grieving and anxious families, to enjoy basic freedom.

Both agents and victims, especially the victims of graft and corruption, are negative notes to the celebration of Kalayaan Day: that while we have been liberated from the control of foreign invaders, we are victims of the abuses and exploitation of fellow Filipinos.

In a few days, on June 10, two days before Independence Day, will be the 19th anniversary of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP). It was a program to reduce rural poverty by giving freedom to rural folks through access to land. According to statistics, three-fourth of the poor in the country belongs to the rural poor. Numbers alone make the program of agrarian reform still necessary and urgent. The land reform has both its encouraging and discouraging aspects, naturally its pros and cons. This is where discussion is needed. The campaign for agrarian reform is still relevant and must be made to succeed.

Because of the extent of rural poverty and the necessity of “freedom from bondage to land” through genuine legal agrarian reform and war against rural landlessness, the Church likewise joins the aspirations, hopes and dreams of the rural farmers. According to the Social Teachings of the Church: “An equitable distribution of land remains ever critical, especially in developing countries… In rural areas, the possibility of acquiring land through opportunities opened by labor and credit market is a necessary condition for access to other goods and services” (Compendium No. 180). It means that the distribution of land, supported by law, must also be accompanied by other supports and services to make the reform truly meaningful and beneficial.

Again, the Social Teachings of the Church has it: “Agrarian reform (is) a moral obligation more than a political necessity, since the failure to enact such reform is hindrance in these countries to the benefits arising from the opening of markets and, generally, from the abundant growth opportunities offered by the current process of globalization” (Compendium, No. 300).

We need more than prayers and preaching. But these two, prayer and preaching, will help support the efforts of people working for agrarian reform. We encourage that on June 10, a Sunday, the Prayer of the Faithful shall include this aspiration for genuine agrarian reform and that the homilies will make mention of the same: that our rural people, the farmers who are bound to the land they till for life and support, may receive the true freedom envisioned by the principle of agrarian reform.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
June 1, 2007

People Power in the Ballot

2007-05-14T00:02:00.000+08:00

THE old saying has it that “all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” Today, as the nation goes to the polls, we are stating a message: no matter how imperfect or violated it may be, democracy is not dead in this country. We have proven it time and again, from one election to another that the “ballot” is the ultimate expression of “people power.”

We can all agree and participate to make this 2007 election clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful or as they call it—a CHAMP. Yes, we can make it happen, together with the thousands of volunteers working with NAMFREL and NASSA, PPCRV and LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Election) and the thousands of Teachers spread throughout the country. The process is part of nation-building. Together we can make democracy and the electoral process work better for the country, better than in the past.

We need the Lord’s help in this important event. May the hand of God stop the evil of electoral violence, cheating and corruption from getting in control of our electoral process. Let us accompany our election and counting of votes with prayer and watchfulness.

Do not allow anyone to violate the sanctity of your ballot. Vote according to your conscience. Vote freely whom you believe can advance the common good of this country. Protect your vote from being tampered with. Remember: the candidate who wins by cheating will also govern by cheating. The citizens who sell their votes for any price deserve the government they install with their votes.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
May 14, 2007

Reflection for Labor Day

2007-05-01T08:11:00.000+08:00

Today the nation honors, appreciates and salutes the millions in the labor force all over the country. We might even consider these workers as also genuine servants of the state. They are the hands and feet, even to some extent the mind and the soul, of production. On them too rest the rise and fall of economy. The condition of labor is probably a key to the question of social progress.

We can gauge the country’s poverty level by looking at the condition of the majority of our labor force. In some real sense, the primary basis for the value of work is the worker himself. As the classic saying goes: “Work is for man, not man for work.” Every human being achieves fulfillment by working for himself and his family and then for the great society whose life he participates in.

This means everyone must be able to derive from his work the means of supporting himself and his family, and of serving the human community. It is necessary that solidarity among workers themselves and with workers on the part of business establishments be promoted for the protection of mutual rights.

While approaching and advocating the ideal situation of solidarity and communion between labor and businessmen, still the “priority of labor over capital” should be accepted as a fundamental and classic principle. This is based on the principle of the “primacy of man over things”—such as, science and technology, the instruments of work, money, profit, which are thought of as capital.

Numbers or statistics might help our reflection on Labor Day. While government claims that 5 million jobs have been generated from 2001 to the present (Philippine Star, April 30, 2007), one study has it that in January 2006 the unemployed individuals have reached 3.9 million and still increasing, while the underemployed were 5.4 million of 31.7 million employed. Overseas work has helped to a great extent the Philippine economy by mitigating the employment problem in the country. As of 2004 the overseas Filipino workers totaled 8 million. It is an accepted fact, their remittances have provided an important source of income for a great number of Filipino families.

During the present campaign period for the May election, the condition of labor must be one of the concerns addressed to our future leaders of government in all levels. We may have many good laws that are “pro workers”, but how many of them are still waiting for implementation? The poverty level of labor could be a sign (one anyway) indicating the genuine level of economy.

We hope that the future leaders of our country—from the bottom up—in solidarity with the business sector, will ensure through implementation of just legislation the workers’ rights as well as the just development of the world of work.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
May 1, 2007

Working and Praying for Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Elections

2007-04-24T17:21:00.000+08:00

A Pastoral Exhortation

"The Church values the democratic system inasmuch as it ensures the participation of the citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the governed the possibility of both electing and holding accountable those who govern them..." (John Paul II, Centessimus Annus, #46).

AS we approach once again the critical moment of our national election on May 14, let us meet the new crossroads in our history with our best efforts to make it an Honest, Orderly and Peaceful Election. Being in a democracy, this is the Covenant of Hope that we are all enjoined to give for our country’s future.

To ensure credible results from the coming election, we call on everyone in the Church and in civil society, and on all participating groups and parties, to CHAMPION the cause of democratic election, by ensuring it to be Clean, Honest, Accurate, Meaningful and Peaceful.
We must disapprove, reject and condemn as immoral all acts of violence and cheating, including the evil of “vote padding and shaving” (dagdag-bawas) in favor of or against any candidate. Let both candidates and their supporters face the judgment of democratic election with humility and magnanimity.

We exhort everyone to be vigilant, to pray and to offer penance for this intention. Let us accompany with extreme vigilance and prayer the crucial period of campaigning, voters’ education, transporting of election paraphernalia, poll watching, and very especially, the canvassing and reporting of the votes. May the hand of God stop evil from getting in control. We need the Lord’s help, without which our best efforts will come to nothing. Thus, we urge everyone to invoke the grace if the Holy Spirit to guide our people in this electoral exercise, for the renewal of our country towards genuine common good.

We want this exhortation to reach every Filipino. Let us be one in prayer, penance and vigilance. In a particular way, we request for the prayers of our contemplative men and women in the monasteries; there are more than a hundred of such monasteries all over the country. As they kneel before the Most Blessed Sacrament, we request them to pray for our country—especially for all voters, candidates, and election officials/workers.

Let our prayer also accompany the work of the PPCRV and NAMFREL, the COMELEC and the thousands of teachers in the field, the social action ministries of CBCP-NASSA, LENTE (Legal Network for Truthful Election), as well as the assistance of the AFP and PNP, and of the hundreds of religious organizations and civil society groups—all hoping and championing the cause of credible election.

We strongly recommend that the parishes organize Holy Hours or prayer vigils in their churches or chapels for these intentions, between May 5 and May 14, with the help of the Apostleship of Prayer and other religious organizations. We likewise encourage the Basic Ecclesial Communities to do the same in their centers. Humble and trusting prayers are needed to safeguard the sanctity of the ballot and of the entire electoral processes.

May our Blessed Mother Mary, the Mediatrix of all grace, and our Guardian St. Joseph the Model of honest and prayerful work, intercede for our beloved country as we face a new transition in our history.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
24 April 2007

Easter Greeting

2007-04-11T11:03:00.000+08:00

Re-living the Story: the Gift of Easter

2007-04-08T04:48:00.000+08:00

“The Lord is risen as he has foretold. Alleluia.”

It is with that message that we climax the celebration of Holy Week which started with Palm Sunday, leading to the Last Supper in Holy Thursday, with the night vigil, and Visita Iglesia, then the Stations of the Cross and its Veneration on Good Friday. A lot of people listened and reflected on the Seven Last Words of Jesus from the Cross. The real message of Holy Week is not only that Jesus Christ died for us, but that Jesus Christ also gave us hope for new life by rising to life from the dead. And so: “The Lord is risen as he has foretold. Alleluia.”

All four Gospels narrate the event of the Resurrection with their respective nuances, indicating the individual author’s reflection with insight on the historic event. All four evangelists—Mark, Matthew, Luke and John—narrate that it was the women-disciples of Jesus, led by Mary Magdalene, a former sinner, who bravely came to the tomb and found Jesus was no longer there.

This Gospel detail shows that sinners are also objects of the Resurrection news and can be channels through whom the Good News will spread. It was through the witness of women that the male-disciples of Jesus came to know about the Resurrection. Mary Magdalene and the other women were the ones instructed: “Go tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee, there you will see him” Mk. 16/17). St. Mark includes the initial and logical reaction of the women. Faced with an extraordinary and unexpected event, it was natural for them to doubt and not to immediately act. In St. Luke’s and St. John’s accounts that was also the initial reaction of the apostles: one of disbelief and wonderment (Lk. 24/41, Jo. 20/9).

The Resurrection account in the Gospel of St. Matthew emphasizes one detail to solve doubt and unbelief. The appearance of an angel at the tomb, while frightening to the soldiers, was intended to dispel the fear of the women: “Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus who was crucified. He is not here. He has been raised, as he said. Come and see the place where he lay” (Mt. 28/5-6). Matthew emphasizes the role of seeing in believing and in dispelling doubt. That is what happened to the women. That is what happened also to the other disciples. They were told “not to be afraid” (Mt. 28/10). They were told to see, to look at the empty tomb. For somehow, to see is to believe. This is told in particular about the “beloved disciple” who reached the tomb ahead of St. Peter: “He saw and believed” (Jo. 20/8). But here, seeing can also mean seeing not only with the eyes, but also with the open mind. And for us in our time to see the resurrection is to believe in the witness of credible lives down through the centuries.

The Resurrected Jesus himself removed the disciples’ doubt and disbelief, “by opening their minds to understand the scriptures” (Lk. 24/45). He told them to remember: “Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified and on the third day rise again” (Lk. 24/6). And they remembered. Seeing the empty tomb, they remembered. The Easter Celebration followed by six weeks called “post Easter” is one long season of remembering of the Church. The season includes the many apparitions of the Risen Lord to strengthen the Christian community with the significance of Easter for life.

The gift of Easter is what Christ gives to whomever he appears “Peace be with you” (Jo. 20/21), the peace which enables even a doubting Thomas to believe and say “My Lord and my God” (Jo. 20/28). The gift of Easter is what the disciples then received, and the whole Church now receives: “Receive the Holy Spirit,” (Jo. 20/22). The gift of Easter is in being able to say once more to God “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you” (Jo. 21/15) and to say also to one another “Yes, and I love you too.”

The gift of Easter is to see Jesus again, to remember what He taught and did, to live and celebrate our resurrection in Jesus.

Yes, indeed, the Lord is risen as he has foretold. Alleluia.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President

April 8, 2007

Holy Week Reflection 2007

2007-03-28T15:33:00.000+08:00

The Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, has offered us the biblical theme that guides our Holy Week Reflection. Together with our Blessed Mother Mary and the Apostle John on Calvary, close to Jesus forsaken and crucified, the Holy Father offers the biblical theme from John 19/37: “They shall look on him whom they have crucified.”

In this week of prayer and penance, let us direct our gaze on Jesus Christ, Crucified, whom the sins of mankind, from Adam to our time, have crucified, but whose passion and death have restored to us new life and the forgiveness of our sins.

There on the cross, Jesus revealed fully for us the love of God. Pope Benedict XVI in his Encyclical Deus Caritas Est dwells on the two fundamental manifestations of God’s love: love as Agape and love as Eros.

Agape is self-giving love, self-sacrificing love, looking exclusively for the good of the person loved. The love which we experience from God is undoubtedly agape. He has given us everything that we are and everything that we have. We cannot give to God anything that he does not possess or that did not come from him. Everything is a divine gift to us.

But God’s love is also eros. Love-eros is possessive-love, needing-love; it is the love of someone who wants to possess what he/she needs; it is the love of someone who wants to be united with the person loved. Pope Benedict XVI said “God’s love is also eros.” And he recalls the image used by the prophet Hosea: God’s divine passion for man, God’s love for us is like the love of a dutiful husband for his wife who has become unfaithful; or the love of a dutiful wife towards her adulterous husband. How timely and appropriate is the image used by the prophet Hosea even for our time.

Even in the midst of our infidelity and sinfulness, God never wavered in his love for us. The mystery of the cross, the image of Christ crucified reveals to us God’s powerful and merciful love in all its fullness. In order to win back our love, in order to redeem us from the effects and punishments of our sins, God sent his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to be the immortal image of God’s Agape and Eros, God’s desire to give and God’s desire to possess. The Holy Father asks, “Is there more ‘mad eros’ than that which led the Son of God to make himself one with us even to the point of suffering as His own the consequences of our offenses?”

“They shall look on Him whom they have pierced.” Let us look at Christ whom we have pierced in the cross! The unsurpassed expression of God’ love. The sacrifice of our heroes for the fatherland, the martyrdom of the saints, the pain and the hurts that we suffer for one another or for our beloved country, are but a pale glimmer of that love shown in the Cross. Agape and Eros: self-giving love, and love that seeks to possess, far from being opposed, enlighten and compliment each other.

In this Holy Week, we are challenged to become a force, to become ourselves manifestations of God’s agape and eros, as Jesus Christ is and the saints were. Pope Benedict XVI says: “The response the Lord ardently desires of us is above all that we welcome His love and allow ourselves to be drawn to him. Accepting his love, however, is not enough. We need to respond to such love and devote ourselves to communicating it to others. Christ ‘draws me to himself’ in order to unite himself to me, so that I learn to love the brothers with his own love.”

Let us stand up to the challenge of God’s agape and God’s eros. The image is no less than that of Jesus Crucified, “Him whom they have pierced.” Agape—love of giving to the beloved. Eros—love of being united with the beloved, through mutual understanding, mutual forgiveness, mutual self-giving.

Let us stand up to the challenge of agape and eros, and make it a motivation to develop the “civilization of love” into a culture of collaboration, solidarity and communion. Show this in your respective families, making them schools of love. Show this in your respective classrooms, making your classrooms homes of collaboration, and communion.

Show this in your work. Make your profession channels of God’s love through you.

Let us stand up to the challenge of rebuilding our democratic institutions by discovering and actually doing our positive share in renewing our society.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

March 28, 2007

FREEDOM TO CHOOSE THE CANDIDATES

2007-03-13T11:35:00.000+08:00

The Bishops in the CBCP, while respecting what the leaders of El Shaddai and other groups have been doing for years, still maintain the freedom of Catholic members to choose their candidates. We expect them to discern, discuss and personally decide whom to vote. To dictate on them whom to vote is as bad as buying their votes.

In the end, we cannot be genuinely sure whether the candidates who have been dictated on the voters will really serve them. All the more if the voters are taken with a “buy and sell attitude.” Proof of this is the past experience of elections.

The CBCP does not want the candidates to be indebted to the bishops; instead we want the candidates to make a genuine covenant with the electorate: that if elected they will serve the people and not themselves. This is what the PPCRV is trying to do.

We can trust “the wisdom of the people,” if only their judgment will not be violated or adulterated by “guns, goons and gold,” if only the process of election according to the rule will be respected and not manipulated by self-interest. If the wisdom of the people were allowed freely to function, they will get the leaders they want or they get the leaders they deserve.

As we said in our pastoral letter, we exhort our people not only to pray but also to be vigilant. Let the different associations and groups come together to study and examine the candidates and their platform of government. They may even come to an agreement among themselves whom to vote; but each one must personally come to his/her decision. They will not vote according to personality or winnability but in view of the candidates’ agenda of government

On the one hand, there is no Catholic vote in the Philippines, because all Catholics are free to vote any candidate of any political party. On the other hand, because catholics are almost everywhere, many of the candidates who win, win by catholic votes; but this is no reason to brag about, because the candidates win or lose by his own virtue or lack of it, and the electors vote according to their respective persuasion and conviction.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
CBCP President

March 13, 2007

A Month of Prayer and Peace for the Filipino Family

2007-03-11T07:48:00.000+08:00

In Celebration of National Women’s Month

AS the country celebrates National Women’s Month this March 2007, we are reminded to pray for all women who have been, and are, victims of all kinds of abuse and violence within the family and outside their homes.

The world had just celebrated the International Day for Women last March 8, calling our attention to the plight of women all over the world. Here in our own country, we celebrate National Women’s Day on March 16; it is a day to remember our Filipino women, especially those who nurtured us since we were born—our very own mothers.

We are aware that many of our women have become victims of violence, especially in their own homes. It is a sad reality that is happening in our country. The home is supposed to be a sanctuary where peace and love reign, but many of our homes now are becoming a venue where women are battered and abused.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines exhorts the various sectors of our society to link hands to protect our women from exploitation of all kinds, from violence that reduce them to silence, and from abuse that deprive them of their dignity as persons. Many of those who have fallen victims remained silent and unable to move ahead because of fear and hurts, while just as many are slowly finding the courage to go on living their lives. We call o our brothers and sisters both in government and the private sector to lend help and services to our women in crises.

May we indeed make this month dedicated to women a month of prayer. As we pray for our Filipino women, we also pray that peace may reign in the Filipino family. Let us pray that our women get the respect and love they deserve. Let us pray that exploitation and violence against women stop. Let us pray that those victimized by violence may find the courage to forgive and get on with their lives. Let us also pray for the enlightenment and conversion of those who inflict violence on women.

Let us also recommend our Filipino women to the protection and intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, the model and icon of womanhood.

ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
March 11, 2007

On Ash Wednesday: Alay Kapwa, Age 32

2007-02-20T23:28:00.000+08:00

THIRTY-TWO years ago, in 1975, on Ash Wednesday, the Lenten project ALAY KAPWA was born. This project of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippine through its Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace has for its objective the evangelization of the Catholic communities towards Christian awareness of their social responsibility with preferential option for the poor.

Alay Kapwa is people responding to the Gospel demand to love as Jesus loves, to care and share as Jesus wants us to care and share (cf. Jo. 15/12). Alay Kapwa is people living and experiencing the solicitude of God for the poor, the abandoned, the victims of natural calamities, the victims of injustice and violence. Alay Kapwa is people united by the spirit of Jesus and of the Father in solidarity with the sorrowing, with those who hunger and thirst, with the pure of heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted (cf. Mr. 5/1-10).

To have the spirit of Alay Kapwa you do not have to be wealthy or powerful or influential, you need only to be good and committed to your neighbor. In order to give to Alay Kapwa Lenten Fund Campaign you do not have to be rich or to have plenty, you need only to be generous, desirous like Jesus to serve (cf. Mk. 10/45) and to give life more abundantly (cf. 10/10).

After 32 years of Alay Kapwa, the task of social transformation goes on. There are still poverty, hunger, thirst, suffering, brokenness, violence. The work of Alay Kapwa must continue. Our vision of social transformation, of an end to underserved poverty, of an end of man’s inhumanity to fellowmen, the birth of hope for those who suffer from calamities, necessarily demands radical personal conversion. No reform is possible unless the reformers are themselves reformed. No renewed society unless the agents are themselves renewed.

The evangelical call is still there: to build a society where truth, freedom, justice and love reign. With or without miracle, we must build it on the foundation of personal conversion to charity. We must build it on the foundation of people willing to forego their personal interests, to overcome their selfishness, to limit their enjoyment and satisfaction for the sake of their needy brothers and sisters. That is being patriotic.

Social transformation is possible. With the help of God we can change the corrupted image of our country. But remember: the work of God does not happen in a vacuum. The material of the work of the Spirit of Jesus in the transformation of human society according to the Father’s dream is in the heart of men and women willing to transform their selfishness into patriotic acts of justice and love.

The inspiration of our Alay Kapwa Lenten Campaign is Jesus himself, Jesus giving, sharing, caring, curing, healing. We are praying for the miracle to start in the heart of every Filipino. We are praying for personal and communal conversion towards total social transformation. This appeal for Alay Kapwa will be preached in all Catholic Churches throughout all dioceses of the country. Let us give generously to this worthy cause of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace. Alay Kapwa is one way in which our “little” will become “much” when joined with the little which others give. The measure is not “how much you give,” but “how generous you are”.

We are in the beginning of the Lenten Season. Lent is sacrifice. Lent is loving… Jesus has said that whatever is given to the least, the lost and the last of our neighbors is given to him. And whoever so gives repeats the experience of Jesus. He becomes a living reminder of Jesus. He becomes a living witness of the love of God.

What we give may not be much, but Jesus needs it. It may well be that society does not experience the transformation it needs, that the world is denied miracle after miracle and triumph after triumph, that people remain deprived of home, job, opportunity and land, because we will not bring to Jesus what we have and are. Social transformation starts from the heart.

The Alay Kapwa Lenten Program goes on. For many reasons the poor are still with us. The approach to the solution must be double-pronged: addressing both the reasons for poverty and poverty itself. That is why Alay Kapwa is both an evangelization program and a fund campaign. It must hit the mind, the heart and the pocket. It opens the mind, the heart and the pocket. It is for everybody who wishes to be a Christian neighbor.

Christian Unity: Where We Stand Today

2007-02-09T10:38:00.000+08:00

In behalf of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, I gladly welcome Your Eminences and Your Excellencies to this Seminar of Asian Bishops’ Conferences on Christian Unity.

This gathering of Asian Bishops on Philippine soil is the first of its kind because it is convened no less by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity whose President is His Eminence Cardinal Walter Kasper, who will help us address a pastoral concern, an emerging challenge which is presented in Asia today by the growth of Pentecostal and Evangelical communities. This particular concern and challenge gains more prominence because in Asia Christians are in a minority – majority of whom are in the Philippines.

Our theme “Search for Christian Unity: Where we stand today?” is an occasion for lively spiritual communion of brothers in the faith. We can help one another understand the internal and external causes of the growth of Pentecostals and Evangelical communities and what they teach us about Catholicism and Christianity, and how their presence can be a positive opportunity for renewing our Catholicism.

During the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” last January 21, 2007 the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI reminded us “that ecumenism is a profound dialogical experience, a listening and speaking to one another, knowing one another better; it is a task within everyone’s reach, especially when it concerns spiritual ecumenism, based on prayer and sharing which is now possible among Christians” (L’Osservatore Romano, January 24, 2007).

The spirituality of communion which we shall live in the coming two and a half days will be as described in the theme of the 2007 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: “He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.” (MK 7/37).

Needless to say, Christ can do all things: he can open the eyes, the ears, the mouth, the heart, the mind to achieve the great fruits of Christian Unity. Better still, he is with us and we with Him!

Welcome Remarks
of Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Seminar for Asian Bishops’ Conferences
February 8-10, 20076
Pius XII Catholic Center

On the Four Party Summit

2007-01-31T16:33:00.000+08:00

I am also wary and skeptical about the “Four Party Summit” called by the National Leadership. The COMELEC, the Poll Watchdogs, the PNP as well as all political parties, pro-administration and opposition are already governed by the same law on “clean, honest and orderly elections.” That has been the law and the desideratum ever since. Let each do that and just that ensuring and working for “clean, honest and orderly election,” which means avoiding, deceit and cheating of every kind. If all are committed to that, it is not necessary to have a summit to just say that. Let each make the promise to God and with an honest conscience.

From the part of the Church, the CBCP has called upon the social action centers, the parish organizations, institutions and the Basic Ecclesial Communities to come together and organize themselves for clean, honest and orderly elections. Among themselves they must form linkages to clean the dirt from our easily corrupted electoral process. They will show this in deeds more than simply in words. They will also do this before God and with honest conscience.

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
January 31, 2007

NEW YEAR MESSAGE

2006-12-29T10:16:00.000+08:00

A Better Year? We can make it happen!

The greeting of everyone on the First Day of 2007 is “Happy New Year.” May 2007 continue to be under the shadow of Christmas. According to one popular song: “The real meaning of Christmas is the giving of love everyday.” According to the Servant of God, Pope John Paul II “It is always Christmas in the hearts of Christians.” We can do it! We can make it happen!

The first day of every new year since 38 years ago is a World Day of Peace. Peace does not mean only the absence of hostility, hatred and war, in the climate of violence and counter-violence. Peace, as a moral imperative, “is brought about by justice, requiring respect for human dignity and human rights, the promotion of the common good by one and all, and the constant practice in solidarity.” (PCP-II 307). “Peace is the fruit of love which goes beyond what justice can provide” (Gaudium et Spes 78). Unless there is work of justice and love in our situation, our peace will be in a precarious state. It is difficult. But together we can do it!

“The new name for peace is development” (Populorum Progressio). The promotion of development demands collective intervention and responsibility of government, churches, peace keepers and the entire society. This is best proven not only in time of calamities brought about by typhoons, fires and tsunamis but also in the normal times. Development must be seen in terms of food on the table of the poor, secure employment for the millions here in the country, low cost medicine for the families of workers, scholarships for the poorest, decent homes for squatters and slum-dwellers. Each one must ask what he/she can do to promote peace and development. We can do it!

Will 2007 be a better year—seven being “biblically” a perfect number? Hopefully and prayerfully it will be if we do not insist on doing the things that have produced our problems. Jesus of Christmas will be telling us “The time of fulfillment/perfection has come … Repent (that is, change your mind and behavior), and believe in the Gospel” (Mark 1/15). “Clothe yourself with new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness” (Eph 4/23).

High hopes! Great hopes! It will be a better year when more and more of the marginalized and exploited are offered opportunities to work for and acquire their permanent shelter, genuine health benefits, liberating education, dignified employment and above all sufficient food. It will be for them a New Year.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro &
CBCP President
December 29, 2006

Christmas Message

2006-12-21T06:16:00.000+08:00

With this season’s celebrations we are more than recalling the Birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ, but we are looking forward to his glorious return as King of the Universe and Judge of the living and the dead. More than anything else Advent-Christmas is a call to repentance from sin, reform of conduct, and renewal of life.

May God bless all our leaders in government and military, in the Churches and many other groups and all the people they serve and are entrusted with. Under the guidance of Jesus the Savior, may leaders and followers pursue the way of moral integrity, political sincerity, honesty and transparency in relationship. May friendship and unity be restored where hostility and division reigned. May everyone correct his/her mistakes or sins with sincere humility and sense of humor. May everyone outdo each other in generosity and understanding.

“No one is so poor as to have nothing to give or so rich as to have nothing to receive” (PCP II 98).

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro &
CBCP President
December 21, 2006

A NATION AT PRAYER

2006-12-18T06:17:00.000+08:00

For the past few days and for the rest of the coming Novena of Masses before Christmas such as what we will do this afternoon it will be a Nation at Prayer with hundreds of thousands of people flocking to our Churches and barangay chapels praying for themselves and for the country.

Some people were trying to persuade the CBCP to call off this afternoon’s Prayer Rally, because, as they said, the plan for Con-Ass has been withdrawn. What more do we want? But because of what is happening around us and the crises we are in, we have all the more reasons to WATCH AND PRAY. How good God is to our country, even before we could utter a word, God has already answered our prayer. And so we THANK GOD for the signs of positive developments.

Did I hear it from an official of Catholic Education Association of the Philippines (CEAP) that more than a political CHA-CHA, we need first and foremost an educative, a moral CHA-CHA. That means, if our Charter Change is not preceded, accompanied and productive of Character Change, then it would be useless exercise.

In this thanksgiving Prayer Rally, we must avoid any feeling of triumphalism, even of anger, hatred, bitterness, because we know we cannot achieve anything in this world of religion, politics, business and social life, without the blessing of God. We therefore pray with humility and magnanimity of heart.

Because of so many prayers received by our country, in her history crises become Kairos, moments of grace and liberation, this prayer rally is needed. We do not want to be like the nine lepers in the Gospel who after they received what they were praying for forgot to return to thank Jesus, unlike the Samaritan.

We need more importantly and more urgently this educative and moral CHAracter CHAnge. Call it repentance from sin, call it reform of morals, call it renewal of values. All of it… and our nation will rise up with hope, right vision, and confidence

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo
Welcome Talk
Rally at the Luneta
December 17, 2006

RESPONSE TO “WATCH AND PRAY” CALL

2006-12-15T10:08:00.000+08:00

We enter the immediate preparation for the joyful celebration of Christmas. The atmosphere is one of joy coupled even with a sense of humor.

How God answered our prayers even before we directly addressed it to him. And so the Prayer Rallies of Petition is now converted into Prayer Rallies of Thanksgiving. God has heard our un-articulated prayer. He loves the Philippines. He has converted our crisis-laden situation into Kairos, a moment of grace. Let us give thanks to God and exalt him above the heavens.

According to the report of our Social Action Center: Novaliches and Infanta have finished their prayer rally. The following have signified to “watch and pray”: Northern Luzon; in the Visayas all four dioceses of Negros; in Panay – Capiz and Iloilo; in Central Visayas, Cebu (a forum); in Mindanao: Kidapawan, Marbel, Cotabato, Ozamis and Digos. In Central Luzon: Malolos, Balanga, Cavite and the Dioceses of National Capital Region (NCR).

Only Manila will hold the Prayer Rally on December 17, Sunday.

Everything is in the hands of God. We express our discernment, sentiments and plans: God will touch peoples’ hearts. He perfects the work we begin. According to our liturgical ordo: the Aguinaldo Masses are offered “for the perseverance of our country in the faith” (Ordo page 10).

More than hastily changing our Constitution and shifting the system of our government, we have a number of crises (problems) to solve, together with the need for genuine electoral reform. The CON-CON can therefore be placed in the list of priorities, arranged according to importance and urgency. Haste must be avoided; because haste makes waste.

We thank God because our leaders heard the voice of the people. We hope and pray both leaders and people will persevere in their common concern for the country.

The convergence of so many institutions and groups – with the good of the country in their hearts – is a miracle of grace. It is a religious response to a political situation. Our government needs to be prayed for.

People do not – should not – pray against each other. They must pray for each other. God does not have enemies, only children. Whatever may be people’s place in the political and social spectrum, they are above all citizens of the same country and children of God.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
December 15, 2006

WATCH AND PRAY

2006-12-11T21:28:00.000+08:00

– a sequel –

From Pope Benedict XVI’s Deus Caritas Est, we read: “The formation of just structures is not directly the duty of the church, but belongs to the world of politics, the sphere of the autonomous use of reason. The Church has an indirect duty here, so that she is called to contribute to the purification of reason and to the reawakening of those moral forces without which just structures are neither established nor proved effective in the long run.”

“The direct duty to work for a just ordering of society, on the other hand, is proper to the lay faithful. As citizens of the State, they are called to take part in public life in a personal capacity” (DCE, no. 29).

The call for a WATCH AND PRAY GATHERING in the Dioceses stays because it is a call for the purification of reason, for the reawakening of the moral forces, for the just ordering of society: PAGMAMALASAKIT PARA SA BAYAN.

In response to the call of WATCH AND PRAY many Dioceses are preparing for the scheduled December 15 prayer gathering. In the Archdiocese of Manila, we are told, it will be on December 17. These gatherings will be one great occasion for the lay faithful in the Dioceses to express their love and concern for the good of our country. Our answer to the crisis of leadership in our land is prayer: that our leaders may be enlightened and may have moral force also to lead the country toward truth, justice, peace and love.

We join the sentiments of many people to put CHARTER CHANGE in the wider perspective of many concerns (social, economic, politics) that qualify our situation. As we have said before, if Charter change is really needed, or when such shall be decided to be held, the best option is to do it through a Constitutional Convention. Please, hold the CON-CON, purified from “negative impact” that accompanied People’s Initiative and CON-ASS. The Filipino people deserve the best of the best.

May the work of the CON-CON, if and when it shall be opportunely convoked, be the work of statesmen, whose concern will not be to fit it to a pre-determined framework, but who will discern, discuss, debate on what will be the best for our country.

Our lay faithful must take the greatest interest in praying and working for the greatest good of the Filipino People. As we have stated in the Second Plenary Council of the Philippines, “we as citizens of the this ‘earthly city’ need to be maka-tao, maka-bayan, and maka-Diyos. We need to exercise a healthy nationalism which would require the living of such values as: pagsasarili, pagkakaisa, pakikipagkapwa-tao and pagkabayani. (PCP-II 251)

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
CBCP President
December 11, 2006

FORGING SOCIAL SOLIDARITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

2006-12-09T09:26:00.000+08:00

As we celebrate the 1948 Universal Declaration of HUMAN RIGHTS, we recall what our country has been through and on account of which the Church in the Philippines has issued its statements and exhortations, such as against arbitrary arrests and detentions, liquidations and salvaging, secret marshals and para-military forces, persecution and killings of church personnel, ministers and journalists, extra-judicial killings of protesters and defenders of their rights, all committed and perpetrated in the name, in those days, of national security and development.

Today, with all advocates and victims of Human Rights, in this Year of Social Concerns, we are raising again our concern regarding practically the same issues: various killings without benefit of court-trials. Has the situation in fact improved or become worse? And why are advocates, defenders and beneficiaries of agrarian reform being harassed and killed? And how many prisoners are languishing in jail without the benefit of defense or beyond the length of time that will be imposed if their cases were heard on time.

The advocates of Human Rights and Peace have to forge a strong network of “social solidarity” as the moral bastion of the “power of the powerless,” who are “the least of our brethren.”

On this occasion of Human Rights Day, we are invited to look at the big picture. In the Encyclical “Centissimus Annus” Servant of God, Pope John Paul II has drawn up a list of them for our individual and collective examination of conscience: “the right to life, an integral part of which is the right of the child to develop in the mother’s womb from the moment of conception; the right to live in a united family and in a moral environment conducive to the growth of the child’s personality; the right to develop one’s intelligence and freedom in seeking and knowing the truth; the right to share in the work which makes wise use of the earth’s material resources, and to derive from that work the means to support oneself and one’s dependents; and the right freely to establish a family, to have and to rear children through the responsible exercise of one’s sexuality. In a certain sense, the source and synthesis of these rights is religious freedom, understood as the right to live in the truth of one’s faith and in conformity with one’s transcendent dignity as a person.” (Centessimus Annus, 47: AAS 83 (1991)

Recalling the statement of Pope John Paul II before UNESCO in 1980, Pope Benedict XVI called for “a mobilization in defense of Human Rights” (June 2, 2005 (WNews.com).

Peace can only be attained in the atmosphere of a local and global advocacy of Human Rights, where the promotion and defense of which have become more complex and difficult. That is why there is need for an ever stronger solidarity among human rights advocates, peace advocates and all people of good will. It is in this atmosphere which includes the dismantling of self-interest, we can have genuine economic development, we have been longing for so long a time. It is in the atmosphere of political stability that economy and business prosper and develop.

May God who shows us the vision of a social order founded on truth, justice and love (Gaudium et Spes, no. 26), guide our steps in the way of peace.

+ ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO, DD
Archbishop of Jaro &
President, CBCP
December 9, 2006

WATCH AND PRAY

2006-12-08T14:59:00.000+08:00

Magmalasakit Para sa Bayan

“As Church, we need to respond not only individually but more collectively to our country’s social problems since they are deeply rooted in the social system.” (PCP-II, #240)

“But beyond its being a social and political resource, the Church is first and foremost a light that illumines a spiritual force that needs to critique the social, political and cultural fields in order to affirm, denounce, purify or reinforce in the light of the World of God.” (PCP-II, #248)

Premised on the above PCP-II Statements, in celebration of the Year of Social Concern within the Advent Season, we issue this Pastoral Exhortation: “Watch and Pray: Magmalasakit Para sa Bayan.” Asked and challenged by concerned people on how to respond to a perceived development of a “constitutional crisis, there is need to respond more collectively to the present crisis produced by the prospect of Charter Change by Administration Congressmen desperately bent on creating themselves into a Constituent Assembly.

We need to be vigilant. The temptation to manipulate and to hold on to power endangers the common good and the safety of the greatest number. We need to watch and pray, to offer sacrifice for the country.

In this spirit, we are proposing a NATIONAL WATCH AND PRAY GATHERING, in all major cities or dioceses in order to express our opposition to the hasty and manipulative way CON-ASS is being pursued or undertaken for Charter Change. Not only do we need to WATCH (critique, denounce, purify) but above all we need to PRAY for the enlightenment of our leaders in government.

It would be good if we can do this simultaneously in the AFTERNOON OF DECEMBER 15, 2006, FRIDAY, close to sunset, the EVE of the SIMBANG GABI. It will be about the same time the activity will be held in the Archdiocese of Manila in Luneta. As suggested, there should be no streamers or flags of any group allowed except streamers with the following message:

NO TO CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY
YES TO CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
NO POSTPONMENT OF MAY 2007 ELECTIONS

The message shall be communicated in prayer and songs. No rowdy speeches. As PCP-II #240 has it, we are doing this as Church responding collectively to our country’s social problems, in particular the crisis-laden prospect of a hasty Charter Change.

The gravity of Charter Change and its perceived consequences for our country, the shift in the form of government demand rational discernment, discussion and debate, not in turbulence but in serenity, peace and unity.

In this Advent Season, may we the Filipino people be ready—at any time—to welcome into our hearts, our homes, our government institutions as well as Christian communities, JESUS CHRIST, THE RETURNING KING.

+ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

December 8, 2006

Watch and Pray for Self-serving Representatives

2006-12-06T08:51:00.000+08:00

Despite the result of twelve hours of turbulent discussion leading to shouting at one another in the House of Representatives, we continue to hold that the way to change the Charter is not by way of a Constituent Assembly by way of a Constitutional Convention. We believe that the changing of House Rules for Congressmen of the Administration to convert themselves into a CON-ASS is fraudulently illegitimate and scandalously immoral. It is perceivably self-serving on their part. Why can’t they entrust the CHA-CHA to others? Why are our Administration Congressmen desperately in a hurry? The haste is questionable and suspicious.

We encourage our people in the parishes to be vigilant, to express their opposition to CON-ASS and to offer prayers for our government. Graft and corruption cannot be committed by the Constitution, but by the improper application of it. It is the people who are guilty of graft and corruption who need to change. God help us! God help our country!

+Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

Please. No to Con-Ass, yes to Con-Con

2006-12-04T10:48:00.000+08:00

“THE church values the democratic system in as much as it ensures the participation of the citizens in making political choices, guarantees to the govern the possibility both of electing and holding accountable those who govern them, and of replacing them through peaceful means when appropriate.” (Pope John Paul II, Centessimus Annus, Encyclical # 46).

“The local churches are heavily involved in the formation of a civil conscience and in the education of citizens to a true democracy. Episcopal conferences of many countries have made interventions against corruption and on behalf of a society that is governed by law” (Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, # 11).

The Social Doctrine of the Church, as stated above, behooves the Church to intervene in behalf of true democracy. The subject matter of Charter Change (CHA-CHA), is far more serious a matter than changing the names of streets and the creation of provinces which require both the House of Representatives and the Senate to separately vote for approval. Far more serious, because it will determine the future of our government and of the Filipino people. Hence, we disapprove a Constitution fabricated by only the House of Congress.

Understanding the gravity of CHA-CHA and its perceived consequences, the CBCP, in several Pastoral Statements this Year of Social Concerns, has expressed its negative judgment on the proposal of the House of Representatives converting itself into a Constituent Assembly (CON-ASS).

We sense through the media that the highest leadership of the land and of Congress in particular seem to be so “desperate” that they would even change the Constitutional Rules of Congress in order to speedily pursue and accommodate the Constituent Assembly (CON-ASS). If the term of our elected officials could be extended by six months to one year to institute the CHA-CHA by CON-ASS, such could further encourage a longer and longer term. The saying goes “when power corrupts, it corrupts absolutely.” NO TO CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY.

If the election would be postponed to accommodate the CHA-CHA by CON-ASS, what will stop congress to postpone it for another time and again for another time? We sense here a serious temptation to our elected officials to perpetuate themselves in power. NO TO POSTPONENENT OF MAY ELECTION.

O God, please deliver our elected officials from such temptation; give them the humility and courage to accept the demands of genuine democracy. And God, please deliver our country from the evil of Martial Law, never again Martial Law. We pray: NO TO MARTIAL LAW.

As CBCP earlier has said: while we agree that certain aspects of our Constitution may need amendments and/or revision, we do not support hasty effort to change this fundamental law without widespread discussion and participation of people who are not in congress but knowledgeable in law. We continue to believe that major shifts in the form of government require widespread participation of civilian society, and relative serenity allowing national discussion and debate. This is best done through a Constitutional Convention (CON-CON) where the members are elected by the people precisely for the purpose of framing a new Constitution. We have many illustrious and credible non-politicians who can help frame a new Constitution. A CON-CON might be very expensive, but it is worth spending much for something that is good for the greatest number. And so we say: YES, TO CHA-CHA through CON-CON.

+Angel N. Lagdameo, DD
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

PLEA AND APEAL: STOP STL, PLEASE

2006-11-30T09:45:00.000+08:00

Just as not to defend truth is to suppress it, so also not to oppose what is immoral or illegal is to approve it. To neglect to fight evil when one can do it is no less a sin than to encourage it. (Pope Felix III)

This is an urgent and ardent plea addressed to our government officials from the local to the national level. It is also a straight and strong appeal to private individuals and corporate entities involved in the same serious moral issue with socio-political undertones.

Stop the Small Town Lottery or STL, please!

For those who do not know and those who refuse to admit it: STL is the legal cover-up for the illegal numbers game of jueteng. The endorsement of STL simply means the promotion of jueteng. We were well appraised that all intelligent computations mathematically show STL will not survive financially without jueteng behind it.

If fact, we are told both STL and jueteng have the same operators and collectors, the same poor victims and the same influential wealthy beneficiaries. With STL and jueteng, our poor people become poorer while the gambling payola recipients become twice enriched. STL and jueteng together is legal and illegal gambling combined. They are a dangerous and insidious pairing.

We ask: Is it not enough that there are already millions of poor people in the country? Is it not enough that there are men, women and children in the country who no longer eat what they need, when they have to? Is there not enough poverty in the country that the poor should have even less because of STL and jueteng?

It would be hard to find elected officials in the country who did not promise during elections that they would serve the poor, work for human development and attend to the common welfare. This is why it would be unconscionable for them to adopt STL and automatically allow jueteng that exploit their already poor constituencies. We pray: Would that our elected officers do not allow themselves to be instruments of poverty aggravation instead of poverty alleviation.

Even if STL is legal, does this make it necessarily moral? And when something legal as STL is paired with something illegal as jueteng, is this not in fact something illegal? And would our local and national officials dare promote any illegal operation in the country? With the adoption of STL, it would be next to impossible to stop jueteng.

And so we make this appeal: Stop STL please! It is another cause of corruption, another means of exploitation of the poor. The country has enough of these anti-social factors. Whatever economic development our government shall have proudly achieved will be diminished or negated by the corruption and exploitation that accompany STL and jueteng.

"If corruption causes serious harm from a material point of view and places a costly burden on economic growth, still more harmful are its effects on immaterial goods, closely connected to the qualitative and human dimension of life in society. Political corruption, as the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church teaches, 'compromises the correct functioning of the State, having a negative influence on the relationship between those who govern and the governed. It causes a growing distrust with respect to public institutions, bringing about a progressive disaffection in the citizens with regard to politics and its representatives with a resulting weakening of institutions.' (No. 411)." (The Fight Against Corruption, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Vatican City, No. 4)

Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines,

Sgd) + ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
CBCP President
November 30, 2006

CBCP Welcomes SUPREME COURT Decision

2006-10-26T08:18:00.000+08:00

THE CBCP welcomes with joy and appreciation the decision of the Supreme Court. With a very interesting vote of 8-7, the Supreme Court has spoken: No to People’s Initiative as has been conducted by Sigaw ng Bayan and ULAP. As declared earlier by Malacañang and the leadership of Congress, that decision eagerly awaited must be respected. Let it be so. Congratulations to the Supreme Court for standing free and independent despite external and expensive pressures.

From the beginning, since January this year, the CBCP in several Pastoral Statements had expressed doubts on the People’s Initiative on account of the haste in the process and alleged deception or manipulation in securing 6.3 million signatures. From the moral standpoint, we should not on that account put the fate of more than 80 million people on such signatures. And so we prayed.

We have reasons likewise to doubt the process whereby some from the House of Representatives plan to convert itself into a Constituent Assembly. Please pardon the term, but Charter Change by Congress converted into a Constituent Assembly will have all the appearance of “self-service” and “lutong makao.” We will pray against that.

If Charter Change is really necessary, if a shift from the presidential to parliamentary form of government is really necessary, the CBCP had been recommending Constitutional Convention whose membership shall be elected democratically. We hope to get in it the respectable and acknowledged legal luminaries of the country together with people of integrity in civilian society. If we cannot stop the train of Charter Change, we suggest that we change the tract of this train to Constitutional Convention. We will pray for it.

What are the reasons given why we need to change the presidential system of government? Inefficiency of the system to bring progress and modernity, graft and corruption, economic poverty, social injustices, hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, unemployment of millions of our people. We must remember that the above reasons cannot be committed by the system of government nor by the present Constitution as such. It is people who cause them. If they will stop committing them, these problems will be solved, even before we change the constitution and shift to parliamentary system.

Neither the Constitution of the Land nor any form of government will work miracle for the good of the people, but the people who run all the institutions of government through honest work. Any system of government, Presidential or Parliamentary or Monarchy, will be good if the leaders in it are servant-leaders, men of credible integrity and transparent accountability.

(SGD) +Angel N. Lagdameo
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP
October 26, 2006

In Solidarity For the Good of the Poor

2006-10-23T09:07:00.000+08:00

THE Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) wishes to greet our brother Muslims as they end their month-long Ramadan which has been a season of prayer and fasting in support of their great tradition of peaceful coexistence, compassion and solidarity.

Muslims and Christians are one in the belief that the problems of our times, such as injustice, poverty, tensions and conflicts, can be resolved, if all men of goodwill will come together to work for the solution of hunger, homelessness, illiteracy, unemployment and sickness which continue to scourge millions of our brothers and sisters in the Philippines.

The regular dialogue between our bishops and the Ulama, between Christians and Muslims, is in furtherance of the vision of inter-cultural and inter-religious understanding. We are encouraged by the knowledge that these dialogues have also gone to support the promotion of social justice, moral welfare and mutual benefit.

On the occasion of the end of Ramadan and the celebration of the holiday of Id al-Fitr, we pray that the Almighty will bless our common efforts for the good especially of the poor in our country.

(SGD) +ANGEL N. LAGDAMEO
Archbishop of Jaro
President, CBCP

October 23, 2006

Sympathy and Alarm

2006-10-04T10:14:00.000+08:00

In the spirit of Ecumenism, we express our sympathy to the Supreme Council of Bishops of the Philippine Independent Church over the death of Bishop Alberto Ramento. What is saddening and shocking are the circumstances surrounding his killing.

Our Conference of Bishops in several pastoral statements has already denounced the increasing number of extra-judicial killings of journalists, activists and militants over the years. What is alarming is that so far the actions that have been taken do not yet satisfy the demands of justice especially for the victims and their relatives. As is usually said: "Justice delayed is justice denied."

Will the case of Bishop Ramento be another reason for us to say that this country is no longer safe for those who announce the truth and denounce immorality? The command of God in the Bible is simple and straightforward "Thou shall not kill!"

Strengthening and Innovating Philippine Institutions

2006-09-28T07:17:00.000+08:00

STRENGTHENING and innovating our Philippine institutions is a matter of renewing and transforming our Filipino communities and society. All institutions, governments as well as churches suffer from problems, crises and decline of some sorts. The scientist, Albert Einstein said: “The significant problems we face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” We will not solve our problems by insisting on doing the things we have been doing before, just because “that is the way we have been doing the things here.” We cannot change systems of government without first undergoing change in ourselves. As it has been well said: “If you are part of the problem, you are part of the solution.”
We do not wait for the future to come upon us. Rather we create the future and bring it to our present. We should not be satisfied with “cosmetic changes” or superficial changes, even if they appear good and make us popular. They are temporary. We need to do some “paradigm shift” or “value shift.” If we want dramatic or revolutionary transformation in the institution or organization, we need to start with our persons, we need to change our perspective, our mindset, our frame of reference, and operate with a new set of values.
In the CBCP’s January 29 Pastoral Statement, the Bishops said: the root of our debilitating situation (in the political, economic, social order) is the erosion of moral values. Its external manifestations are deceit and dishonesty, corruption, manipulation and a deadening preoccupation with narrow interests.” But the Bishops “also recognize that our situation is not one of utter darkness. We are encouraged and inspired to see so many good and decent Filipinos, of different faith traditions, working selflessly and sincerely to build up our nation. We see public servants struggling for integrity and the authentic reform of the corruption institutions they are part of…These people united by a vision of heroic citizenship, are reasons for hope, even in the midst of the political crisis we find ourselves in” (CBCP Renewing our Public Life through Moral Values, n. 7,8)
The Church in the Philippine has declared 2006 as a Year of Social Concern as our response to Pope Benedict XVI’s first Encyclical “Deus Caritas Est.” We pay special attention this year to the teaching, appropriation, and implementation of the social doctrine of the Church as contained in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church.
In our CBCP Pastoral Exhortation on Building a Civilization of Love, we invite ourselves and the Filipino people to a threefold program of action. First, we must commit ourselves in continuing to build character. “To build the future,” we said, “we need to deepen our sense of honesty and integrity, service and responsibility, stewardship and solidarity…Transforming persons from self-centeredness to the life of virtue and social responsibility remains our primary task and contribution to nation building.” Second, we must build capacity. Poverty is all over the land. Poverty is right our very noses. “Poverty is not only about not having but also of not being able. Poverty is also a question of capability. We have to empower those who are needy to construct a better future…We therefore commend our institutions that are at the service of the most vulnerable of our society. We commend programs such as Pondo Ng Pinoy, Gawad Kalinga, and Tabang Mindanaw for empowering people to participate in their own development and in continuing work of creation. Third, we must build community. We must not simply focus our interest on the good of the small groups, such as, my family, my town-mates, my province-mates, my party-mates, etc. Let us widen the horizon of our interest. “The spirituality of citizenship fosters a sense of patriotism and of being responsible for our country.” We must be active and constructive participants in social and political life. To build community in a country battered by various kinds of conflict is to promote solidarity, dialogue among different and even opposing sectors, towards peace.
To strengthen and renew our Philippine institutions, we must lead an advocacy for principle-centered social relationship. Let me just enumerate some ten principles through which we can bring about personal, social and political transformation in our country.

1. The Principal of Human Dignity. Whatever is the status of a person, rich or poor, educated or ignorant, saint or sinner, he must be respected as a human being and subject of human rights,
2. The Pro-Life Principle. While we promote the culture of life, we condemn the culture of death that encourages homicide, abortion and euthanasia, and presently the unresolved extra-judicial killings of journalists, militants and activists.
3. The Principle of Association. Through meaningful and value-based association, we foster social institutions as well as family stability. We need to be vigilant against the attacks on family morality and stability.
4. The Principle of Participation. Everyone has a right and duty to participate in the life of society. Through work we participate in God’s continuing creation. Let us be honest and just in whatever work we engage in.
5. The Principle for the Preferential Protection for the Poor. “The common good dictates that more attention must be given to the less fortunate members of society. Preferentially, we opt for the poor and marginalized of society” (PCP-II 312).
6. The Principle of Solidarity. We belong to one human family. Solidarity means reaching out beyond one’s family and social group to caring for those “outside,” because we belong to each other as the “Body of Christ.”
7. The Principle of Stewardship. We are caretakers not creators, managers not owners. The earth’s resources are leased or loaned to us. We have a moral responsibility to care for this earth in the name of the Owner-Creator.
8. The Principle of Subsidiarity. The people must be allowed to do what they can legitimately do at their level, especially so, if they are closest to the reality of the situation or the problem.
9. The Principle of Human Equality. We must treat out neighbor according to his or her rightful due in accordance with his or her innate and essential dignity, avoiding social and cultural discrimination in fundamental rights.
10. The Principle of the Common Good. We must support or create structures that can promote the just development of the human community through the cultivation of awareness, concern and sensitivity to the needs of others.

Only a principle-centered life, inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, can bring about societal transformation, strengthen and renew our Philippine institutions. Essentially, according to Benedict XVI in “Deus Caritas Est,” it is conversion to God and our fellowmen in the “Community of Love.” Living according to these ten principles will characterize our relationships with one another. What will change the course of our country, worsened by massive poverty, political turmoil, moral corruption, scandalous inequality, is not wealth, power, prestige, politics, but conversion therefrom and a renewal of our public life through moral values.
In conclusion, let us take some guidance from prophetic theologians. Karla Rahner, one of the prophetic theologians in his time, more than 40 years ago, envisioning the Church of the future, facing the crisis of the Church in Europe, insisted that the members of the Church would have to be “mystics.” What did he mean? In a world of widespread secularism, consumer materialism, globalization and religious indifferentism, only those could survive in their faith who had a deep personal experience of God and who in their lives could make this experience accessible to a totally secularized world.
Another prophetic theologian, Segundo Galilea, 20 years ago, made a similar observation regarding the future of the Church in Latin America. “The ‘contemplative’ women or man today is the one who has an experience of God, who is capable of meeting God in history, in politics, in his brothers and sisters, and most fully in prayer. In the future you will no longer be a Christian without being a contemplative and you cannot be a contemplative without having an experience of Christ and his kingdom in history. In this sense, Christian contemplation will guarantee the survival of faith in a secularized or politicized world of the future” (Galilea, Following Jesus, 1981).
What do they want to say? In the task of strengthening and innovating Philippine institutions, we must open ourselves to God who lives in our passion. Opening ourselves to God, we do not turn our back on the suffering Filipinos. The closer we are to God, the closer we are to the voiceless multitude of wounded in our country. If we are not their voice, who are?