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 APRIL 18 - MAY 1, 2016 VOL. 20 NO. 14

MonitorCBCP

PROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE CBCPMONITOR@AREOPAGUSCOMMUNICATIONS.COM

Church

official

calls for

‘merciful’

leaders

THE Philippines’ next leadersshould take a cue from Pope Francis’leadership by taking a “merciful”approach to good governance, achurch ocial said.

R e d e m p t o r i s t F r . A m a d oPicardal, executive secretary ofthe bishops’ Committee on BasicEcclesial Communities, said whatthe country needs is governanceenriched by mercy.

“Since this year has been declare by Pop e Fra nci s as the Yea r ofMercy, it would be appropriate toemphasize ‘mercy’ as one of thechief qualities that we have to expectfrom the politicians we should votefor,” he said.

Mercy dened What does it mean for leaders to

 be merciful?The missionary, known for his

peace advocacies in Mindanao,s a i d m e r c i f u l l e a d e r s a r econcerned about criminality anddo their best to make sure that

 justice pr evai ls.He asserted, however, due process

of the law and respecting the rightsof individuals is still a must — eventhose accused of crimes.

“They avoid shortcuts and donot promote extra-judicial killings.They believe that even if peoplemake mistakes, commit sin, ordo terrible thing no one is totallyevil and beyond redemption,” said

Picardal.“Tough and ruthless leaders

have emerged at various times inthe past with disastrous results.

 We have to say: Never again! Noto ruthless leaders. Yes to mercifuland compassionate leaders,” hestressed.

The priest warned that whenelected leaders lack mercy, thepeople will end up in a society where“terror reigns” and human rightsare violated, where due process andthe rule of law are ignored.

“It will be a repressive society – without freedom and where peopleare afraid to criticize the powersthat be – otherwise they too could

 be assassinated,” said Picardal.

CBCP president Archbishop Socrates Villegasprays over Fr. Amado Picardal, executive secretaryof the bishops’ Committee on Basic EcclesialCommunities.ROY LAGARDE

Lay group joins fight vs.

money-laundering, casinos IN response to their unique role inthe Church and in society, a groupof lay Filipino Catholics expressedsolidarity with local prelates onthe issue of money laundering and

government-sanctioned casinosin the face of recent controversiesinvolving several high-profileindividuals.

“We resonate with our Bishops when they deplore the continuousexistence of casinos because theyare sanctioned by the government… We feel with our Bishops intheir apprehension that the highstakes and high-risk gambling,receives a tepid treatment andconcern from the government,hence perpetuating its evil eectsin our countrymen, especiallythe young and the poor,” saidSangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinasnational president Zenaida F.

Capistrano in a statement Monday, April 11.

Ruined lives According to her, SLP believes

that the sudden change of fortunefrom gambling, whether from

 winning or from losing, has ruinedlives and resulted in the breakdownof families.

On behalf of the organization,Capistrano pointed out thatSLP members—nationallLayorganizations, the archdiocesan/diocesan Councils of the Laity—BasicEcclesial Communities (BECs), andParish Pastoral Councils (PPCs)

 vow to actively promote advocaciesagainst gambling of all sorts

“We commit ourselves throughour schools and through various

 ways of social outreach to instill in

Pro-life candidates propose

alternatives to divorce bill

PRO-LIFE candidates reiterated thatthe divorce bill is not the solution tothe growing number of marital abusecases and child beating, offeringalternative solutions at the Pro-Lifeand Candidates Forum held at the

 Aristocrat resto in Malate, Manila

on April 13. Atty. Jan Louenn Lumanta of Pro-

life Partylist said he will le a bill toinstitutionalize the “family crisis-nest” in every barangay.

“Like marriage encounters and

Prelate: Zambales nuns ‘flee’ to fightNOVALICHES BishopEmeritus Teodoro C. Bacanihas assured the Iba faithfulthat the decision of theCarmelite nuns of theirdiocese to move from theirold home in Subic to aplace farther up the hills ofCastillejos does not meanan escape from battle buta plunge directly into thethick of it.

“They [Carmelites ofthe Holy Spirit] distancedthemselves not in orderto flee [the fight] but to

get involved [in it] all the

more,” stressed the prelatein his homily on Saturday,

 April 9, in Zambales.B a c a n i w a s i n t h e

province to take part in the blessing and dedication ofthe newly-built Carmel ofthe Holy Spirit Monasteryi n B a r a n g a y L o o c ,Castillejos town presidedover by Cáceres ArchbishopRolando J. Tria Tirona.

Fleeing = ghting“Perhaps some of you

are asking why these

sisters had to leave Subic

or didn’t choose Olongapoinstead given that all thetemptations are there,” hesaid.

 According to Bacani, whoserved in the then Prelatureof Iba from 1966 to 1979 as a

 young parish priest, there isa kind of ghting that needs

 withdrawal.“They went to Looc to ght

in the most effective andimportant way possible,”he added.

Quoting the Letter of St.James, the bishop said the

(R-L) Rep. Roman T. Romulo, Sen. Tito Sotto, Dr. Dante Liban, Rep. Martin Romualdez, Buhay Party-listRep. Lito Atienza and Atty. Jan Louenn Lumanta of Pro-life Partylist attend the Pro-Life and CandidatesForum. YEN OCAMPOV

Merciful / A6

Casinos / A6 Bill / A6

Nuns / A6

B1

A3 Pope Francis saysmedia missed thereal family crisisin coverage ofcommunion anddivorce

SUPPLEMENT ISSUE

 The Cross: THE SUPPLEMENT PUBLICATION

OF KCFAPI AND THE ORDER OF

 THE KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS

Amoris Laetitia in the Jubilee of Mercy

CBCP head calls for nat’lrosary campaign till pollsBy Nirva’ana Ella Delacruz

REMINDING the faith-ful about the power ofprayer, particularly of therosary, Catholic Bishops’Conference of the Philip-

pines (CBCP) presidentcalled on Filipinos to praythe rosary daily until theelections on May 9, say -ing it is the country’s onlyrecourse.

“It is God who can enlighten ourdecisions. It is God who can thwartthe plans of evil men and women todestroy social order. It is God whocan give us the best leaders for thegood of everyone,” said Lingayen– Dagupan Archbishop Socrates B.

 Villegas in a message issued April 15.

Prayer for national changeThe prelate stressed “the unique

importance of prayer for nationalchange”, saying praying that “theLord of history guide every voterand guide every candidate” is the

faithful’s “best contribution.” According to him, it is “by the

power of the rosary, we can stopthe evil of election violence andcheating. By the power of the rosary,

 we can win the battle for peacefuland credible elections.”

 Villegas enjoined Cathol ics “to

ght stubbornness, cynicism andstupidity in making our choices”through daily praying of the rosary.

“Let the rosary melt our hardenedhearts and arrogant lips,” he said.

“Pray all the mysteries of joy,light, sorrow and glory every day

until May 9. Pray as a family. Pray while travelling. Pray in the ocesor factories. Pray everywhere for ournational elections,”

He stressed the potency of prayerin inuencing major events, as seenin history.

The prelate also quoted the

 Venetian senators saying after whatis said to be the most crucial navalclash in history, the Battle of Lepantoof 1571: “It was not courage, notarms, not leaders but Mary of theRosary that made us victorious.”

Polls / A6

 A crowd of mostly Knights of Columbus members, students from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP), residents from Baseco, Manila, and San Sebastian College Graduate School of Law studentspacked the San Sebastian College Recoleto - Manila Little Theater for the #CleanVotePH Voters’ Forum, April 16, 2016. Seizing a rare opportunity, voters representing several sectors were able to air theirsentiments about the most important criteria Filipinos should consider when going to the polls on May 9. RODEL TATON

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A2 CBCP MonitorApril 18 - May 1, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 14NEWS

Nigerian bishops urge governmentto hasten effort to free abducteesLAGOS, Nigeria, April 15, 2016—Two Nigerian bishops called on thegovernment to hasten its eorts to free219 school girls who were abducted byinsurgents two years ago.

Bishops Matthew Audu of Lafia andGeorge Dodo of Zaria urged officialsto boost intelligence gathering effortsand muster the political will to findthe girls, who were taken from theirdormitories by Boko Haram forcesduring a middle-of-the-night raid ata school in Chibok in northeasternNigeria April 14, 2014.

The bishops told Catholic NewsService it is unlikely that all of thegirls will be found because media havereported that some had been killed orsold o to be married by the insurgents.They urged the country to pray for theabductors so that they have a changeof heart and consider releasing thestudents.

New video images recently obtained by CNN and appar ent ly fi lme d onChristmas Day showed some of the girlsdressed in black robes pleading with theNigerian government to cooperate withthe militants on their release. They saidthey were being treated well but wantedto be with their families.

Family members and friends identiedsome of the young people as studentsfrom the school.

The Catholic News Agency for Africareported that relatives of the girlsmarched in the capital, Abuja, on theanniversary, calling for governmentaction.

“Only God knows what their abductorsmight have done to them, where they

 would be by now. It might be true thatsome might have been killed, somemolested and some married out by theirabductors,” Bishop Audu said. “That wecan still recover all those abducted on ...

is not certain,” Bishop Audu said.“That they are still within the custody

of their abductors after two years doesno credibility to the corporate image ofNigeria as a nation,” he added.

Bishop Audu, whose diocese is incentral Nigeria, called for a concertedeort from by world leaders, startingfrom Nigeria’s neighbors in West Africa,to ght terrorism by contributing forcesand weapons to a multinational jointtask force assembled to root out theinsurgents.

“World leaders must find ways to block the sources of funding of theinsurgents and those supplying themthose arms and ammunition which theyuse to attack legitimate governmentsand innocent people,” he said.

Bishop Dodo, whose diocese is innorthern Nigeria, said that he was

praying that missing girls would bediscovered. “I am not sure that we will

 be able to rescue all of them after two years of their abduction. ... If it we arefortunate, we may get some of them

 back but not 100 percent,” he said.He also expressed concern for

thousands of other internally displacedpersons living in various refugee camps

 who cannot return to their homes.“The federal government must

also look into the plights of otherNigerian workers being owed severalmonths of unpaid salaries by their stategovernments,” he said.

“Many do not have money to reportfor duties at their oces, the federalgovernment should bail out the stategovernments with nancial assistancefor them to fulll their obligations totheir workers and citizens.’’ (CNS)

Nigerian’s attend a Bring Back Our Girls protest April 14 outside the presidential villa in Abuja. Two Nigerian bishops

are calling on the government to hasten efforts to free more than 200 school girls abducted by insurgents in 2014.(CNS photo/EPA)

Canadians will regret legal assisted suicide,Cardinal Collins predicts TORONTO, Canada, April17 , 2016 - - The cominglegalization of assisted suicidein Canada will threaten the

 vulnerable, hide killing witheuphemisms, and threatenthe consciences of those whooppose it, Cardinal TimothyCollins of Toronto has said.

On Thursday the Canadiangovernment introducedlegislation to legalize assistedsuicide and euthanasia underthe federal criminal code.

“We’re all deeply concernedthat this is a sad day forCanada,” the cardinal toldCNA April 14.

 While people see assistedsuicide as a “simple solution,”he said, once people begin toconsider what the practicesreally means to society, andits threats to the vulnerable,“they begin to realize that thisis not the way to go.”

Catholics, EvangelicalProtestants, Jews, Muslimsand the Salvation Army, allopponents of legalization,

 will hold an April 19 pressconference on ParliamentHill in Ottawa, the Canadiancapital.

“The very people who aremost involved in helpingpeople by the bedside whilethey are dying or while theyare suffering are the onesmost opposed to killing thoseentrusted in their care,”Cardinal Collins said.

The gathering would sayto Parliament: “thus far

and no further. This is justnot right. It’s not right.” Hecharacterized the effort as“the ecumenism of practicallove.”

The new legislation wasrequired by a February2015 Canadian SupremeCourt decision. The rulingsaid that doctors may helppatients who have severeand incurable suffering tokill themselves, and orderedParliament to create alegislative response.

“That is the root of theproblem,” Cardinal Collinssaid. He described thatcourt decision as “sadlyunanimous.”

“The fundamental movetow ards implementingeuthanasia or assisted suicideis itself troubling,” he added.

Previously, under Canadianlaw those who counseled,aided, or abetted a suicidefaced up to 14 years in prison.

The cardinal said thelaw previous ly barredthe provision of “noxioussubstances” to people.

“Now, it’s possible thatgiving a substance like thatis now going to be considereda form of health care. Whathave we come to?”

He criticized using thephrase “medical assistancein dying” to describe “takinga substance and injecting itinto a person, and that makesthem die.”

“That’s not called dying.

The word for that is ‘killing’.To not know the dierence

 between dying and killing isastonishing.”

H e w a r n e d a g a i n s te u p h e m i s m s t h a t a r e“comfortable and pleasantand sweet, but which do notdescribe what is happening.”

“When we are ashamed,troubled, by what we aredoing, I think we always leavethe light of clear language. Wedon’t want the light to shineupon what we are doing.”

The cardinal said Catholicsshould strongly encouragepalliative care for thosein severe pain and for theterminally ill. This, notsuicide, is true medicalassistance, he maintained.

He said the governmentalso has an obligation tosupport palliative care ifit is going to set up a legaleuthanasia regime.

“That’s the positive way todeal with this very real issue,”he said.

He also stressed the needfor conscience safeguards toprotect individuals who are“committed to healing, andnot to killing.”

“They say that there’snothing in the law thatsomebody must do this. Well,there’s nothing in the law.

 Yet. But this has to be takencare of.”

He said individuals andinstitutions will certainlyface pressure to take part

in as s is ted s uic ide oreuthanasia.

“What protections are being oered? There are noprotections oered in this billat all,” he said.

Backers of the bill say thatCanada’s 10 provinces andthree territories will providethese protections.

The cardinal questionedthis.

“For all of Canada, they’remaking it acceptable toprovide a noxious substanceto somebody. But they’renot providing the samenationwide protections forpeople’s consciences and for‘havens of refuge’.”

He said that in this “cold world of euthanasia,” theremust be “places where youknow where you will be safe.”

He worried of the pressureson the elderly to “hurry up”and die.

“At a time when our priorityshould be fostering a cultureof love, and enhancingresources for those sueringand facing death, assistedsuicide leads us down a darkpath,” he said in an April 14statement.

He noted that the HailMary prayer focuses on “now,and at the hour of our death.”

“In these days ahead, maythat reection guide us as ina spirit of love, mercy andcompassion, we journey withall those who are suering.”(CNA)

Weekly TV series to introduce Francis to TaiwanTAIPEI, April 13, 2016—The Jesuit-runKuangchi Program Service (KPS) inTaiwan is launching a new TV program“Oh My God,” which it says will be therst weekly TV series in Asia about thepope.

The KPS held a premiere of theprogram, whose Chinese title is “HelloPapa!” at its Taipei headquarters on

 Apri l 9, a week ahead of its official broadcast on the Dongfeng Satellite TVstation.

In addition to presenting the valuesof Pope Francis to a Chinese audience,“Oh My God” also will introduce varioussocial and pastoral services of thechurch in Taiwan, said KPS director

Chuang Li-hung.

“It is KPS’ desire to provide foreveryone to see warm and good storiesin every corner of Taiwan,” she said.

“The efforts of dedicated priestsand sisters throughout Taiwan echothe appeal and values of the pope. Wehoped to connect the spiritual guidanceof the Vatican to Taiwan to show these

 beauties and show the warmness of faithlife to the public through the program,”she said.

 While introducing the program, KPS vice director U.S. Jesuit Father JerryMartinson said a copy of it was presentedto Pope Francis by another vice directorFather Emillio Zanetti during a recent

 visit to the Vatican.

The response from the pope was “Oh

my God,” which became the name of the30-minute program, Father Martinsonsaid.

Father Martinson will be the host ofthe show along with two young co-hosts.

The weekly series marks the secondprogram produced through thesponsorship by the Vatican and Taiwan’sforeign aairs ministry, the rst beinga documentary on Jesuit missionaryGiuseppe Castiglione.

The Jesuits in Taiwan establishedthe Kuangchi Audio Recording Servicein 1958 to produce radio programs. Itstarted to produce TV programs anddocumentaries in 1961. It is well knownlocally for its educational and children’s

TV programs. (UCAN)

Vatican Briefing

‘We too are living in a time of martyrdom’, Popetells Scottish seminariansThe world continues to be “hostile to the Gospel,” justas it was four centuries ago when St. John Ogilvie wasmartyred for his faith in Scotland, but continuing to

 witness to Christ will change the world, Pope Francissaid. This was the message of the Holy Father toseminarians studying at the Pontical Scots Collegein Rome, which marks its 400th anniversary this year.“We too are living in a time of martyrdom, and in themidst of a culture so often hostile to the Gospel,” theHoly Father said during his April 14 audience withthe seminarians at the Vatican’s Consistory Hall.“I urge you to have that same seless spirit as yourpredecessors did. Love Jesus above all things!” TheScots College in Rome was founded in 1600 by Clement

 VIII in the wake of the Scottish Reformation, whenteaching the Catholic faith at home was illegal, but wasstill practiced in secret. (CNA)

Pope appoints new Vatican ambassador to the USPope Francis has appointed French-born ArchbishopChristophe Pierre as the Vatican ambassador to the U.S.,replacing Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, the Holy See

press oce announced April 12. The appointment of thenew Vatican ambassador – known as an apostolic nuncio –comes after Archbishop Viganò reached the retirement ageof 75 on Jan. 16 of this year. The Italian prelate had servedas apostolic nuncio to the U.S. since 2011. ArchbishopJoseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., who heads the U.S.

 bishops’ conference, welcomed the announcement. TheFrench prelate was ordained a priest of the Archdioceseof Rennes in 1970. In 1995 he was consecrated a bishopand appointed apostolic nuncio to Haiti. He served thereuntil 1999, when he was transferred to Uganda. (CNA)

Pope Francis’ Instagram success: a model forCatholic social media?Social media can be a place for evangelization. Theproof? The giant audience for Pope Francis’ newInstagram prole. More than 1 million people followedhis “Franciscus” account in the rst 12 hours after itsMarch 19 launch. As of April 11, he has over 2.2 million

followers on the photo-centered network. Reecting onthis success, and on what it means for the Church in thesocial media age, Monsignor Dario Edoardo Vigano,prefect of the Secretariat for Communication, oeredhis thoughts. “The astonishing success of Pope Francis’Instagram prole was a real surprise to all of us, andalso to Instagram itself, which made it a case study,”Msgr. Vigano said. (CNA)

Pope sends condolences after deadly re in IndiaPope Francis has sent his condolences to the victimsand relatives of a reworks accident on Sunday thatkilled at least 100 people and injured hundreds ofothers in India’s Kerala state during celebrations ofthe local Hindu new year. The Pope was “saddened tolearn of the tragic re at the Puttingal temple complexin Paravur,” said the telegram which was addressedto the victims of the blaze, and was signed by VaticanSecretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin. Francis also

sent his “condolences to the relatives of the deceasedand injured.” 100 people were killed and over 380 were wounded at the Puttingal Devi temple during Hindunew year celebrations when a recracker landed on ashed storing the rest of the reworks, resulting in aseries of explosions, Reuters reports. The explosionscaused a temple building to collapse, causing many ofthe deaths, the BBC reports. (CNA)

Pope Francis calls for release of kidnapped priestPope Francis on April 10 issued an appeal forthe release of kidnapped Salesian priest, Fr. TomUzhunnalil, and all persons being held captive inconict regions. “Dear brothers and sisters, in thehope given to us by the Risen Christ, I renew myappeal for the freeing of all kidnapped persons inarmed conict zones,” the Pope told the crowds inSt. Peter’s Square after the recitation of Regina Caeliprayer. “In particular, I wish to remember Salesian

priest Tom Uzhunnalil, who was abducted in Aden, Yeme n last March 4.” Fr. Uzhunnal il, an Indi annational, was abducted last month when four gunmenattacked a Missionaries of Charity-run retirementhome in Aden, Yemen, killing 16 people, includingfour Missionary of Charity sisters. (CNA)

Pope reminds world of suering in war-torn UkrainePope Francis’ pleas for humanitarian aid for Ukraineis bringing needed attention to a forgotten war, saidUkrainian Catholic leaders. The 2-year-old war hascaused thousands of deaths and forced more than 1million people to seek refuge abroad, the pope said.

 After Mass April 3, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francisasked that Catholic parishes throughout Europe takeup a special collection April 24 as a sign of closenessand solidarity with people suering because of the warin Eastern Ukraine. He prayed that the collection also

“could help, without further delay, promote peace andrespect for the law in that harshly tried land.” (CNS)

Refugees are not a problem, they are a gift,pope saysRefugees, often perceived by society as an addedcost or a problem, are a gift and a reection of theface of God, Pope Francis said. People who escapeoppression, war, pollution or “the unjust distributionof the planet’s resources are a brother and sister

 with whom to share bread, home and l ife,” he saidin a video message to the Centro Astalli, the JesuitRefugee Service center in Rome. “You are witnessesof how our clement and merciful God can transformthe evil and injustice you have suered into a goodfor all,” he said. The pope’s message to refugees and

 volunteers April 19 marked the 35th anniversary of thecenter’s founding by Father Pedro Arrupe, superiorof the Jesuits from 1965 to 1983. (CNS)

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A4 CBCP MonitorApril 18 - May 1, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 14

 YESTERDAY, I got a call froman important, nationwidegovernment agency invitingme to be part of an all-womanteam to draft a statementcondemning Mayor Duterte’snow infamous “rape joke”about the Australian womanJacqueline Hammil who

 was rape d and slain whiledoing her missionary workin a Davao prison in 1989.The caller said the statementshould emphasize the dignityof women to which Duterte’s

 words were an affront. Forthe record I will repeat the

quote that has gone viral andfor which Duterte adamantlyrefuses to apologize:

“Nirape nila lahat ng mga babae so ‘yung unang asolte,kasi nagretreat sila, naiwan

 yung ginawa nilang cover, angisa doon yung layminister na

 Australyana. Tsk, problema

na ito. Pag labas, edi binalot.Tiningnan ko yung mukha,‘tangina parang artista sa

 Am e r i ca n a ma g a n da .Putangina, sayang ito. Angnagpasok sa isip ko, nirapenila, pinagpilahan nila doon.Nagalit ako kasi nirape, oo isarin ‘yun . Pero napakaganda,dapat ang mayor muna angmauna. Sayang.” (All the

 women were raped so duringthe rst assault, because theyretreated, the bodies they usedas a cover, one of them wasthe corpse of the Australian

 woman lay minister. Tsk, this

is a problem. When the bodies were brought out, they were wrapped. I looked at her face,son of a bitch, she looks like a

 beautiful American actress.Son of a bitch, what a waste.

 What came to mind was, theyraped her, they lined up. I wasangry because she was raped,

that’s one thing. But she wasso beautiful, the mayor shouldhave been rst. What a waste.)

I told the caller the issue isnot just about the dignity of

 women, but more seriouslyabout disrespect for the dead.It was bad enough that amissionary was raped and gother throat slashed; the mayorhad to trivialize the matter byan insensitive comment. Herubbed salt on the wound. Andcontinues to do so not only byrefusing to apologize but also

 by slamming or making funof his critics (including the

 bishops), and standing hisground, saying “This is whoI am; no one can tell me toapologize if I don’t feel like it.”

Duterte is the perfectexample of an old saying:“Siya na ang kumuha ng batopara ipukpok sa ulo niya.”This saying echoes an idiom

that goes: Give him enoughrope and he’ll hang himself—

 which means if you give an ill- behaved person the freedomto behave badly, eventually he

 will destroy himself.Duterte has been extremely

outspoken about himself fromeven before he announcedhis presidential candidacy.He is a womanizer and killer,and proud of it. He claims hekills bad people in order toprotect innocent people, andhe wants this for the wholecountry. (If you missed theearlier clips of his interviews

and campaign speeches, justGoogle “Duterte quotes” and

 you’ll get 523,000 entries in0.50 seconds).

So Duterte is just being trueto form by this latest “slipof the tongue”. He’s getting

 worse by the day, but why is

THE cases of victims of injustice in this country are growingin gravity and in number year after year. So it is too that theoenders are increasing in kind and count as time goes by. Totop it all, the justice system in the country has become more andmore dysfunctional--not to mention the likewise more and more

political interventions therein. So it is that social injustice reignsin the Philippines--with the government being its prime agentsuch as in the infamous DAP and PDAP scams, the historicalMamasapano Massacre, the more recent Kidapawan debacle,to mention but a few. So it is that to better know the nature andimplications of social injustice, it is good to be well aware of itscontradiction which is precisely social justice.

In simple language and plain reality, social justice is substantiveequality of people, one to another individually and in groups inthe exercise of their rights and the fulllment of their obligationsas well. One giving to another what is his/her due is commutative

 justice. People giving to the government what is due thereto islegal justice. The government giving to the people what is theirdue is distributive justice. Bundle all three expressions of whatis right or what is wrong, this is the essence of social justice.So it is that there is social injustice when neighbors steal fromone another, when citizens do not pay the right taxes to thegovernment, when government ocials keep for themselvespublic funds and thus deny what is due to the people. To say thatall these unjust and wherefore unfair realities are well-existent inthe Philippines is superuity--more concretely so in the sphere

of distributive justice.It is bad enough when individuals are unjust to one another. It

is unfair when the government is good in imposing all conceivablekinds of taxes upon the people. It is worst when people do not getfrom the government what is their due. This betrayal of publictrust is usually on account of the customary dishonesty, seriousincompetence, and/or marked indolence on the part of the publicocials concerned. And sad to say, this social injustice is theexpertise of the still incumbent government that is unforgivingin its rigorous demand for legal justice but nonchalant about theobservance of distributive justice.

The poor have become not simply poorer but also bigger innumber. Education is expensive if available. Local employmentis always wanting. Power is anything but cheap. Farmers cannotfarm for lack of water. Food is less in quantity yet higher in price.There are now public utilities that are semi-private in ownershipthrough the infamous PPP. Public funds are “saved” while foreign

 borrowing and consequent foreign debts--with their strict lyrequired payments--are incurred as a matter of course. It hasnally become an open secret that the country is a great placefor money laundering--with the help of casinos here and there

operating 24/7 plus the nonchalance of the AMLAC.There are legislators who are the rst violators of the laws of

the Land. There is the Executive Branch of government that isgoverned by and dependent on personal friends and allies. Andthere is the judicial arm of the same government under constantthreat of impeachment if it goes against the big interests of theChief Executive. If all these plus the above negatives are notsignals and facts of social injustice, then what are they?

Fr. Roy Cimagala 

Candidly Speaking

MonitorPROTAGONIST OF TRUTH, PROMOTER OF PEACE 

CBCP

Pedro QuitorioEditor-in-Chief 

Nirva’ana E. DelacruzAssociate Editor

Roy LagardeNews Editor

Kris BayosFeatures Editor

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 Views and Points

OPINION

Teresa R. Tunay, OCDS 

 And That’s The TruthDuterte

Candidly Speaking / A7

Amoris laetitia

Social injustice

THAT’S “The joy of love” in English, the title of the latest papaldocument. It summarizes and integrates all the observations,ndings and conclusions of the two Synods of Bishops on thefamily that took place in 2014 and 2015.

More than that, it outlines the papal thrust, and therefore thatof the whole Church, on how the pastoral care of the family should

 be done today. It strikes me as a bold step forward in keeping pace with the current state of family issues, complex and complicatedas they are now. In a nutshell, what it teaches and proposes is to

uphold traditional Catholic teaching on marriage and family andalso to encourage a new sensitivity, a new dynamism in dealing with the dierent pertinent issues.

This document has to be read and studied slowly, becausethe new things and approaches presented in this document canalways create some stir in the minds and hearts of some people

 who are understandably attached to the traditional ways of doingthings. It’s just unfortunate that some groups have immediatelytaken the occasion to nd fault in the document. They have evengone to the extent of saying that Catholics cannot follow somepoints articulated in the document.

This development seems disrespectful of the papal oce at theleast. Any question or complaint they want to raise should be lodgedrst with the proper oce in the Church rather than immediatelygoing public and sowing confusion and distress on the people. Butthen again, such development is not surprising at all, because evenin the time of Christ, many self-righteous people were always ndingfault in his ways of dealing with people who were considered assinners. Just the same, Christ nally submitted to their schemes,oering his life on the cross, and asked for forgiveness for them.Many people fail to see an organic shift from divine love to divine

mercy. They fail to see that the love that is at the core of the very being of God is translated into mercy when extended to his creatures,especially to us who, of all the creatures, are his masterpiece since

 we have been created in his image and likeness.It cannot be any other way. Creatures as we are, we cannot

replicate to the full the very love God has within himself, nomatter how best we try. We can only approximate it. And it isGod’s mercy that can ll up what will always be lacking andmissing in our love. This is not to say that we can out any of themoral teachings that the Church has so far developed throughthe ages, based on the teachings and example of Christ himself.It is rather to make some progress in our moral sense by givingmore attention to divine mercy as taught and shown by Christthat appears to be ignored up to now.

EDITORIAL

And That’s the Truth / A5

Political realism andpriests’ prophetic role

BACK in 2009, the African bishopsheld a synod that had as its theme,

“The Church of Africa at the service ofreconciliation, justice, and peace.” Atits conclusion, the then reigning PopeBenedict XVI told the bishops to berealistic but not to be too political indoing their prophetic role in that aspectof African life.

It’s obvious that the assembly wasmeant to tackle a tricky and delicatesituation where the Church, especiallythe bishops and priests, have to knowhow to strike the balance between thespiritual and political dimensions ofChristian life. I can just imagine howthings were and continue to be in the

 volatile continent of Africa.It’s a situation similar to ours, and I

suppose to many other places. That’s whythat piece of news immediately grabbed

my attention then and continues to do so,

since I would like to know exactly how the balance is made, what requirements and

considerations are kept.Especially now when we are celebrating

the Jubilee Year of Mercy, and the clergyis agitated to sharpen the exerciseof their prophetic role in social andpolitical matters, clear guidelines fromthe Vatican would be most welcome andhelpful.

 We cannot deny the blatant fact thatcontroversial interventions, confusing atthe very least, by some of our ecclesiastical

 big shots in social and political issueshave left many of us bewildered and evenscandalized.

Many of the faithful have complainedthat some Church leaders are toocondemnatory in their statements, with

 words and tone that are laced with acondescending know-it-all attitude and

sarcasm.

They also observe that the leaders seemto speak more vociferously in areas where

they do not have or have less competence, while almost being silent or weak to themedia on questions they should be clearand loud about.

For example, a bishop told somepriests in their retreat that contraceptiveslike condoms are ok as long as it is notabortifacient. Many were wondering

 wh at ha pp en ed to Po pe Pau l’ s“Humanae Vitae” after listening to that“enlightenment.”

 Also , the irregul ari ties with in theChurch structure give the impressionChurch ocials are remiss in their dutiesas they stray into matters they shouldnot be.

In short, people think these leadersonly manage to embarrass the Churchand religion in general in the eyes of

Credible, acceptable,reliable election

IT has to be admitted with honesty andcandor that Smartmatic is not really theproblem, viz., not the cause of incredible,unacceptable, and unreliable elections inthe Philippines. It is not really the causeand eect of a awed and discreditedelections since the machines have beenacquired and used more specically as

 vote counting instrumental ities. Themachines are made by foreigners but

 basically run by Filipinos for the People

of the Philippines. So it is that the saidmachines are used under the control ofFilipinos--particularly those associated

 with Comelec.Big or small cheating during

elections in the Country, speciallyin vote counting, is some kind of aconstant in the Philippine electoralscene. Conclusion: It is the humanagents in the elections who makeCredible, Acceptable, and ReliableElection. In other words, as a matter

of principle, the machines do as theymade to do so by those handling andrunning them.

 And so it is that C.A.R.E. becomes agreat reality or a big farce, a blessingor a curse of the Filipino electorate--with the presence or absence of thefollowing signal tenfold Integrityfactor mentioned below in someorder of relevance, significance orimportance:

1. Integrity of the IntramurosComelec2. Integ ri ty of the pol i t ical

candidates3. Integrity of the Voters’ List made4. Integrity of the printed ballots

used and receipts given5. Integrity of local Comelec

Inspectors6. Integrity of election machines

made and adjusted by technicians7. Integrity of election machine

transportation done by humans8. Integrity of precinct Comelec

Officials9. Integrit y of transmissi on of

 votes as determine d by the Offic ialsconcerned

10. Integrity of the national total vote numbe r as decided by elec tionOfficials

Considering the above no less thantenfold Integrity requirement, is it still

realistically possible to have truly cleanand honest elections in the Philippines?Do we have to settle or be content

 with but a more or less tenable andacceptable Philippine election everytime such is held as provided by law?Do we accept the fact that cheating ofone kind or another is some kind of aninfallible constant in all elections in thecountry?

Is C.A.R.E. wherefore but a dream inPhilippine elections?

“Let’s pray for peaceful, credible elections” 

8/18/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 14

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A5CBCP Monitor April 18 - May 1, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 14

IN the story of Abraham, in the dialogue between God and Abraham narrated inGenesis 18, we are told that an entirecity will be shown mercy if it has just tenrighteous men. We are not told that theten will convert the rest of the city, andmake it righteous, and therefore make

it meritorious of mercy. No, we are toldthat for the sake of the ten righteous,the many unrighteous will be spared.

 What kind of judgment is this, that seesthe righteousness of ten outweighingthe unrighteousness of an uncountablemultitude?

 We cannot pretend to know the mindof God, unless he tells it to us himself.But we can help our own understandingof the story by asking of it two things:

 What kind of righteousness do the tenpractice, and why does that righteousnessmatter? The story, and indeed theentire Bible that contains it, yields theseanswers: The righteousness of the ten isaccomplished face-to-face, and that kindof righteousness matters because it haseternal value.

 As for the rst answer, we do well to

consider that the injustice of the manyis not one of statistics, nor of flawedsystems. The evil of the many is not

 because they are many. In the story,God tells us that he is of the mind tosee for himself what their evil is, face-to-face. Conversely then, one righteous

man would have been known by hisactions face-to-face. Indeed, in the NewTestament, Our Lord commands us todo works of mercy but rst of all towardsthose whom we see and towards those

 whom we meet on the way. There cannever be a Lazarus at our gate.

 As for the second answer, it is preciselyfor that kind of righteousness that wereceive from Our Lord the promise ofentry into His Father’s eternal kingdom.That kind of righteousness then, is not thekind of self-imagined righteousness oftenencountered in elite cliques enacting pre-programmed agendas. Rather, it is moreakin to what we simply know as kindness.So the query can now be rephrased:

 Wha t is kin dne ss, and why doe s itmatter? Kindness, or the Hebrew hesed,

matters for sure in the heart and mind

of God; the Bible lets us know. Upon thisBiblical base we may then add our ownreections; here is mine and my wife’s.

 As creatures of this world, limited as we are, we sense that kindness, whethershown to us or whether we show it,remains true to what it really is when

it keeps no boundaries. What claims to be kindness no longer appears to be so, when it turns back and turns away. I will be kind to you, but not you, is no longerkind! Oddly enough, however, violence,

 which stands in opposition to kindness,also observes no boundaries. Violenceafter all crosses lines; it violates. Whatthen, is the dierence between the two,kindness and violence, when it comes tocrossing boundaries?

 When kindness crosses boundaries,the boundaries it crosses are its own. Itremoves veils from its eyes. It removes

 walls that surround its heart. It submitsitself, unprotected, to the Other to whomit oers itself. And it does this because of

 what it sees with its eyes and understands with its heart: That the Other is truly

Atty. Aurora A. Santiago 

Duc In Altum

OPINION

Fr. Eutiquio ‘Euly’ Belizar, Jr. SThD 

By the Roadside

Let Us Value Our Vote

Simple Gifts / A7

Merciful Leaders:

Criteria for Elections inthe ‘Year of Mercy’

Fr. Amado L. Picardal, CSsR, STD 

 Along the Way

 AS the national and local elections draw near the question thateveryone is asking: “who should I vote for?” It is not for theclergy to dictate to the faithful who to vote for but we can onlyprovide some guidelines that can help them make up theirmind. The CBCP in previous elections came out with suchguidelines which remain valid at this time. All that one needsto do is to review and follow what has already been laid down.

Since this year has been declared by Pope Francis as the Year of Mercy, it would be appropriate to emphasize “mercy”as one of the chief qualities that we have to expect from thepoliticians we should vote for.

 What does it mean for leaders to be merciful?It means being aware and concerned about the situation of

the people – their suering and pain. Since majority of thepeople are poor, their main concern is how to alleviate their

poverty. They take the side of the poor. They are concernedabout their hunger, their hopes and their dreams. Theymake sure that the economy excludes no one and benetsthe majority instead of just enriching the big capitalists andforeign corporations.

Merciful leaders are concerned about the destruction of theenvironment and its eect on the people. They are concernedabout the eects of mining on the farmers, shermen and theindigenous peoples. They know that coal-red power plantscontribute to global warming and the coal mining is the mostdestructive form of mining. They know that logging anddeforestation causes oods, droughts, and global warming.They avoid getting involved in these activities and will doall in their power to put a stop to these activities and comeup with policies that will save the environment and mitigateclimate change as well as promote disaster risk reductionand management.

Merciful leaders are concerned about the eects of the never-ending war on the nation. They know the eect of the spiral

of violence on a traumatized people. They know how armedconict prevents economic development. Thus, they go out oftheir way to build peace – a peace that addresses the roots ofconict and that leads to healing and reconciliation. They are

 willing to pursue the peace process with both the MILF and theNDF that will ensure a genuine and lasting peace.

Merciful leaders do not tolerate corruption. They knowthat corruption perpetuates poverty, war, and the destructionof the environment. They will do everything to stamp outcorruption at all levels in government and hold accountablethose guilty of corruption.

Merciful leaders are concerned about criminality and dotheir best to make sure that justice prevails. They make surethat those who have committed crimes are prosecuted andmeted appropriate punishment. They respect the rights ofpeople – even those accused of crimes – and follow the dueprocess of the law. They avoid shortcuts and do not promoteextra-judicial killings. They believe that even if people makemistakes, commit sin, or do terrible things no one is totallyevil and beyond redemption. They deserve to be given anotherchance. Thus, they reject capital punishment and promoterestorative justice.

Merciful leaders respect the basic human rights--especiallythe right to life - of everyone from the moment of conception toits natural end. They are merciful, especially to the weakest--theunborn--and will make sure that their rights are respected. They

 will never allow abortion. They are merciful to the elderly andmake sure that their rights and privileges are respected. They willmake sure that the family will always be protected. Mercy shouldnot be selective nor should it discriminate. It should be inclusive.

There are many people who clamor for strong leaders whothey think can stop criminality, corruption, and all forms ofevil in society. They want leaders who can instill disciplineamong the citizens with an iron hand. They want ruthlessleaders. For them being merciful is a sign of weakness. But

 what happens when leaders lack mercy? We can end up witha society where terror reigns, where dead bodies pile up andhuman rights are violated, where due process and the ruleof law are ignored. It will be a repressive society - withoutfreedom and where people are afraid to criticize the powersthat be -- otherwise they too could be assassinated. Instead ofpeace and order, we will have the peace of the cemetery and asemblance of order maintained by ruthless bigger criminals.Meanwhile, the vast majority remains poor and their children

 who have gone astray are mostly the victims of death squads.The big criminals – big time thieves and murderers -- are atlarge and hold oce: the politicians who steal millions of thepeople’s money and responsible for the death of thousands.

Tough and ruthless leaders have emerged at varioustimes in the past with disastrous results. We have to say:NEVER AGAIN! No to ruthless leaders. Yes to merciful andcompassionate leaders.

POLITICS, especially in the Filipinoculture, is basically a game of numbers.Filipino politicians constantly aim foradditions or multiplications, neversubtractions. They know all too well thatthis last is a kiss of death. There is nomore obvious place to see this at play thanduring the campaign season. Even theChurch—meaning the institutional one,as is often understood by politicians—

 becomes the object of their “pursue-and- win-over” (or “research-and-destroy”)operations. Undeniably a few members ofthe hierarchy, both bishops and priests,have very partisan views and dealings,short of using the pulpit to promotetheir favored candidates. The majority,though, remains a bit wary toward, and/or detached (or try to be) from, anythingthat has to do with politicians or politics.

Having been taught time and again bythe late St. John Paul II and by tracks of

seminary formation sessions, includingthe local bishops’ stern reminders, thatthe institutional Church—which oftenmeans in practice, the clergy, even inthe clergy’s own eyes—should be non-partisan, some consequences, positiveand negative, have inevitably developed.

 Alas, the Church’s basica lly soundstance of non-partisan political

involvement in the country also hasundesirable consequences. A glaring oneis the sense—a wrong understanding,naturally—among politicians and votersthat religion or faith has nothing to doat all with the realm of partisan politicsand, even more sadly, in the widerrealm of general politics understood asthe promotion of the common good.Now, more than ever, many Filipinopoliticians, once in oce, take pains toshow their “independence” from theChurch (mostly the Catholic Church) byespousing advocacies, bills or measuresthat directly go against ocial Churchteachings. The current president of therepublic and many of his party-mates(and many outsiders too) are a case inpoint. The successful passage of theRH Bill into law is undoubtedly partlyinuenced by a sense of “the-Church-or-any-religion-for-that-matter-has-no-

 business-in-legislation”.The present crop of candidates for thePhilippine House of Representatives andSenate features familiar names, many ofthem leading in pre-election surveys, whohave habitually advanced causes directlycontradicting ocial Church’s positions.

 As far as they are concerned, the onlything keeping them from successfully

passing laws on divorce, euthanasia,same-sex marriage, abortion etc. is thePhilippine constitution (thank God).If surveys and polls are to be believed,there may be more of them in bothhouses of Congress in the coming years.The Church can only ignore them to ourown peril.

It may not be useful, and rather lateinto the night, to play the blame gameon our common failure to instill in ourCatholic lay faithful their basic mission,as taught by the reforms of Vatican II,to bring the values of the Gospel andthe Catholic faith into the wide elds ofpolitics, culture, science, education, andthe running of government. But we mustat least admit it. Secularization, ratherthan the Gospel or magisterial teaching,now seems to have a rmer grip on ourpoliticians and voters alike.

Meanwhile, the Church, like the father

of the prodigal “sons”, waits and praysfor them to return to the house andrediscover their faith in ever newer waysof understanding and applying it. In thepast we decry the words: “Now we canonly pray.”

Today, it is the rst and best thing wecan and must do. As a rst step, that is,among many others.

The Church andFilipino politicians

PRAYER is really powerful.

The Supreme Court finallyruled that the Commissionon Elections (Comelec)must implement what thelaw requires, the issuance of

 vote receipts by the votingmachines. The Comelecclaims that issuance of VoteReceipt or Voter VerifiedPaper Audit Trail by the votingmachine would delay the

 voting process. It also claimsthat vote receipt might lead to

 vote-buying. The Comelec didnot realize that it is better tohave longer time to completethe voting process than tohave a rigged election result.

 Vote receipts cannot be used

for vote buying since the voter will not be allowed to bringit out of the polling place;he must drop it in the boxreserved for that purpose.

Early on, we advocatedthe re-installation in the

 voting machines of the other3 security features: Ultra

 Viol et De te ct or s, So ur ceCode Review, and DigitalSignatures--in order to havea clean and honest election,upholding the true will ofthe people by protecting thesanctity of the ballot. All ofthese three, including the votereceipt, are very importantsecurity features which were

deleted during the 2010 and2013 elections. Let us praythat those features be re-

installed so that the voice of

the people will really be theresult of the election. With the near ing May 9

elections, the candidatesf o r P r e s i d e n t , o r t h epresidentiables, have beenresorting to “word war”. TheFilipinos deserve an intelligentcampaign and not sufferthe spectacle of candidateslambasting each other. It isabout time presidentiableslevel up their campaignstrategy. They should statetheir respective platforms ofgovernment. Let the next andlast presidential debate be anintelligent one. Who knows,it might change the mind of

some voters who decided to write NOTA or “none of theabove” on their ballot. Filipino

 voters are intelligent votersand as of this date, they justthought they do not havegood presidential candidatesto choose from

The El Niño phenomenonseverely aected the Visayasand Mindanao areas. Farmersin the region sought thehelp of the government.Calamity funds had beenreleased by the Departmentof Budget to either the localgovernment units or theDepartment of Agricultureto give assistance to the

farmers. What happened tothe drought-stricken farmersin Kidapawan City, North

Cotabato is unforgivable.

The poor farmers wereasking for rice but they wereinstead given bullets. They

 were asking for subsidy andassistance during their groupaction, instead they weredispersed, a bloody dispersalresulting to the killing of 3farmers and wounding ofhundreds. In the rst place,the farmers would not havestaged the protest and the

 violent dispersal could have be en av oi ded if only thegovernment had sincerelytaken action and did not ignorethe demands of the farmers.Likewise, some of the farmers

 were arrested and are still in

detention. The Commissionon Human Rights andother government agencieshave been investigating theincident. We just hope there

 will be no white wash in theprocess. Meanwhile, thePublic Attorney’s Oce hasalready petitioned the releaseof the poor farmers.

His Holiness, Pope Francis,issued his exhortation“Amoris Laetitia” or “The Joyof Love” on March 19, 2016,the Solemnity of St. Joseph,during the ExtraordinaryJubilee of Mercy. It relates “onlove in the family.”

The exhortation is the

result of two synods on familyorganized by Pope Francisin 2014 and 2015. It has 9

chapters and is composed of

264 pages. The Pope discussedthe Holy Scripture on thecharacteristics of Jewish

 wedding liturgy as Christian.The Pope then considers thecurrent situation of familieshaving down to earth andfacing many challenges, frommigration to the ideologicaldenial of difference sex.He also mentioned to thee s s e n t i a l e l e m e n t s o fthe Church’s teaching onmarriage and the family andthe love in marriage. Thefamily “is a large networkof relationships”. The samemystique of the sacrament ofmarriage has profound social

character. And within thissocial dimension, the Popepoints out in particular thespecic role of the relationship

 be tw ee n yo un g an d ol d,“the relationship between

 brothers and sisters as growthinternship in relation toothers.” The Pope addressessome pastoral ways thatorient to build strong families,fruitful in God’s plan andstrengthening the educationof children. He also invites thefamilies to mercy and pastoraldiscernment in situations thatdo not fully respond to whatthe Lord suggests. He alsorefers to marital and family

spirituality.He says: “No family is

Simple GiftsRafael and Veronica Dy-Liacco 

The ten righteous men:what kindness is and

why it matters

Duc In Altum / A7

he rating high in the surveys? What we ought to nd more

disturbing in the viral videois the way the people aroundhim then cheered and hootedover his tasteless joke. Andthe erce defense of Dutertefollowers in social media. Itought to show us how sick oursociety has become.

I won’t condemn Duterte, but I won’ t vote fo r hi meither. More than eithercondemnation or vote, whatDuterte needs is maximumtolerance and Christianunderstanding of the manhe has become. I will not sayhe is sick, but I am certainhe is wounded. (Let that

 be Wounded with a capital

 W). Despite his braggadocio

he is craving approval andattention—a continuation of

the admiration and adulationhe has received from hisconstituents. Being hailed asthe Alpha Male of Davao for22 years was his opium, andhis is not quite prepared todetach from this addiction—now he wants to be AlphaMale of the whole country.If he can kill a rape victimtwice with his irresponsibleand insensitive words, what

 will he say next? But as Isaid, Duterte is wounded,and the wounded need ourprayers to be healed. It isnot a coincidence that this isall happening in the Jubilee

 Year of Merc y. And that’s

the truth.

And That’s the Truth / A4

8/18/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 14

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A6 CBCP MonitorApril 18 - May 1, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 14FEATURES

MANILA ArchbishopLuís Antonio G. CardinalTagle has recently set upa new ministry under thearchdiocese that will tackleenvironmental issues anddisaster preparedness andresponse

“Considering the need tocreate a more responsiveministry that deals withdisaster preparednessand response as well as

the care and protection ofGod’s creation, we herebycreate the new Ministryon Environment andDisaster Response,” saidthe prelate in his “Decreeof Creation” signed March28, 2016.

 Ac co rd in g to Ta gl e,t h i s e n t i t y b r i n g stogether the DamayanD i s a s t e r R e s p o n s ea n d R e h a b i l i t a t i o n

Management Programof Caritas Manila, Radio

 Veritas, and the Ministryon Ecology into one singleMinistry on Ecology ofthe Archdiocese of Manila(RCAM).

The cardinal addedthat the ministry will bea special branch underCaritas Manila, whichis in i ts turn underRCAM’s Commission

of Social Services andDevelopment.

In a related circularletter, RCAM ChancellorFr. Reginald R. Malicdemsaid the Ministry onE n v i r o n m e n t a n dDisaster Response will

 be headed by Fr. RicardoF. Valencia, Jr. as its rstminister. (Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

 Tagle creates Manila’s new ministryon environment, disaster response

Luís Antonio G. Cardinal Tagle. RUEL TENERIFE

Cardinal Tagle sets new rules forchurch construction, renovationCARDINAL Luis Antonio Tagleannounced new procedures forany major building or renovationprograms with a cost estimatein excess of Php200,000 in the

 Archdiocese of Manila.In a letter to pastors, school

directors, and institutional heads,he revealed the establishment ofan engineering department that

 will assist the archdiocese in theconstruction or renovation ofchurch facilities.

He said the archdiocese felt the want of professional guidance anddirection in this area “since aspriests and religious, constructionis not our main competence.”

“ T h u s , o u r E n g i n e e r i n gDepartment will help ease ourconcerns,” said Tagle, addingthat the new pol icy covers

construction projects in parishes,schools, chapels, retreat centers,cemeteries, dormitories, etc.

In the circular, among theguidelines spelled out stated

that all construction projects willhave to be reviewed and approved

 by th e ca rd in al wi th th e he lpof the archdiocese’s propertiesadminis trat ion department(PAD).

If the construction or renovationinvolves churches, especially altar,or chapels or oratories, Tagle saidthe archdiocese’s Commission onLiturgy shall rst review the plansand endorse them to PAD.

“The nal plan will serve as amaster plan to be followed even ifthere will be a new parish priest ordirecto.” he said. (R. Lagarde /CBCPNews)

How Christine Jacob left the Church and came back LIKE many in the showbiz world,Christine Jacob experimented withreligion.

“It was a very, very tough time inmy life,” she noted, describing thedays she was on noontime TV almostdaily.

Though a cradle Catholic herself,the Olympian swimmer andshow host would join Born-Againfellowships with her celebrity friendsin her desire to have what she calleda “personal relationship with Jesus.”

She thought this could also helpher become immune from the badinuences the entertainment industryis notorious for.

“For a while, I didn’t know where,how I was going. And that was

 when I got into Born Again. That, atleast, at that point, helped keep megrounded,” she explained.

Ironically, after years of “soulsearching,” she would nd what she

 was looking for in the faith of her youth.“And from there I was just praying for

somebody to just come into my life, youknow? … And then I met my husband

 who’s Opus Dei,” she continued.

Back to RomeIt was thanks to Mr. Francisco

Sandejas that Christine was able tomake the “return trip” to Rome.

But her “reversion” was not withoutinitial reservation on her part.

“We would always debate, trying tosee who’s the best, trying to converteach other or something like that,”she explained, smiling.

“He taught me how to relearn theCatholic faith over again,” she added.

 Als o tha nks to her husba nd,Christine got exposed to the pro-lifecause, becoming one of the country’s

 better-known defenders of familyand life.

 According to her, since becoming

Christine Jacob - Sandejas with her kids. RUEL TENERIFE

pointed out that the job of any parent,and of mothers in particular, is easierif they know their children have faith.

Faith at home“I think that’s already half the battle

for any parent if they know that theirchild is close to God,” she said.

Christine shared she and herhusband go out of their way to instillin their children the fundamentalsof the faith like teachings on theMass, Confession, and the otherSacraments.

They also read them storiesfrom the Bible to complement andreinforce what they learn at school.

“How I rear them, how I lecture hasalways been on the faith. I say, ‘Whatever

 you do make sure you can always of itfront of lolo and lola (grandfather andgrandmother),’” she added.

They make sure the l itt leSandejases—all five of them—willgrow up respectful, honest, anddisciplined.

“Values are very important for me,”exclaimed Christine.

Hands-on momLike other hands-on parents, she

is “very particular” and refuses to bedependent on other people in termsof caring for her kids.

“If they’re feeling sick, I wanted toknow why they’re feeling sick. It’s not

 because somebody would tell me,”she said.

She shared that an ordinaryd a y a t t h e S a n d e j a s h o m erevolves around her scheduling,organizing, running variouserrands, working out, bringingkids to school, waiting for themto come home, and helping withtheir homework.

On top of it all, Christine believesthat a mother should lead by example,putting the welfare of her kids beforeher own.

“Not so much about going toMass everyday. It’s not that. It’s justunderstanding the kids, empathizing

 with them, being there for them. Ithink for me that would be a mom,”she said.(Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Ending corruptionThe priest also said compassionate

leaders are aware of and concernedabout the situation of the people,especially the poor and themarginalized.

“They make sure that economyexcludes no one and benets the

majority instead of just enriching

the big capitalists and foreigncorporations,” he added.

He also said merciful leaders willfight environmental destructionand are committed to end ongoingcivil conicts by pursuing the peaceprocess with communist insurgentsand the Moro rebels.

In a government plagued by

irregularities, he said mercifulleaders are not corrupt and will nottolerate corruption.

“They will do everything tostamp out corruption at all levels ingovernment and hold accountablethose guilty of corruption,”Picardal said. (R. Lagarde /

CBCPNews)

Merciful / A1

Filipinos the value of the joy of earninga living through dedicated work. Wecommit ourselves to organize prayer

 brigades in the different realities we find ourselves, for the specificintention of eradicating gambling andlessening its evil eects in our familiesand in our citizenry,” she added.

Ending gamblingIn spite of everything, Capistrano

assured the public that SLP believesthe Philippine government willeffectively put an end to theproliferation of casinos in thecountry and work for the enactmentof a more thorough and binding“Anti-Money Laundering Law”.

“The Bishops have spoken.Organizations have spoken. Recenthappenings have shocked us andcaused shame to our country. Let us

 be united in putting an end to thismalaise,” she said.

In a recent statement, theCatholic Bishops’ Conference ofthe Philippines (CBCP) reiteratesthe moral teaching that gambling’smalice consists in the “desire of the

gambler to prot” at the expenseof others.

Immoral“Gambling also runs counter

to the providence by which everyperson ought to provide diligentlyand prudently for himself andfor his family, for it leaves to theflipping of dice, the spinning of

 wheels or the fortuity of cards whatcan and must be earned throughdiligence, creativity, application,and toil,” explains CBCP presidentand Lingayen-Dagupan ArchbishopSocrates B. Villegas.

He noted that criminals oftenuse casinos to make the moneyacquired through foul means appearlegitimate.

 Accor ding to Villegas, money-laundering al low s criminalsyndicates to thrive and toperpetrate their criminality.

“Money-laundering keeps the life- blood of terrorist groups, domesticand international, owing, and it

 bears the detestable fruit of murder, brigandage.

Casinos / A1

“prayer of a just man is ofmuch avail.”

“Our sisters here aretrying to make themselves

 just befo re God for thesake of us all, especially

us priests,” he explained.

Prayer of the justBacani went on to point

out that the faith of thenuns gives strength notonly to members of theclergy but to ordinary

Catholics as well.The Carmelites of the

Holy Spirit moved to theirpresent location fromtheir original monasteryin Barangay Mangan-

 Vaca, Subi c which theyoccupied since the 1970s.

But due to constantflooding in the area

 which has grown worseover the years, the nunshave decided to find amore conducive place

 where they can live their vocation without trouble.

Expression of gratitude“On behal f of my

community, the Carmel

of the Holy Spirit of Looc,Castillejos, Zambales,and the whole Carmeliteorder, we thank God forHis mercy and love,”noted Prioress MotherMarianne Binarao, OCD.

For her and her fellow

contemplatives, the newmonastery is a “concreteexpression of thanksgiving tothe greatest gift of all,” JesusChrist risen, the Eucharist.

“We will continue to

speak about Jesus Christ,to praise Him, thank Him,and worship Him. It wasHe whom we have heard,seen, and touched,” theBicolana Carmelite added.(Raymond A. Sebastián / CBCP News)

Nuns / A1

This call by the head of the bishops’ confer ence seems to be

a mere echo of already existingsentiments among the faithful asseen through a 3rd year Ateneo deManila law student ‘s own rosarycampaign for the May 2016 polls,organized two days earlier than

 Villegas’ message.Leia Go admitted it was the

possibility of a Duterte – Marcosadministration that pushed her toorganize the Rosary Crusade for2016 Elections over the popularsocial networking site Facebook.

“... I am concerned about thepossible return to the brutality ofMartial law. We have had talks inschool about the tortures suffered

 by act ivists and many inno centpeople. We cannot let that happen

again. Campaigning isn’t enough. With out God, we are powe rlessto do anything good,” said the27-year old, who is studying to bea lawyer, specializing in a humanrights.

‘Singular grace’She also drew the connection

 bet wee n the rol e of the rosar yin saving the country from theMarcos dictatorship.

Go explained: “People have been dismissing the human rightabuses of Martial Law. MamaMary even intervened 30 yearsago. The EDSA revolution inspiredsomewhat peaceful revolutionsaround the world. Aren’t these

enough proof that the suffering of

the country under Martial Law wasreal? That a return to democracy

 was God’s will?”“Mama Mary saved us before

she can do it again ... I hope thatpraying the Rosary and relying onGod and Mama Mary, our country

 will spared from further humanrights abuses,” she said.

For John Bernard Caasi, astudent leader at University of

 Asia and the Pacific , the prelate ’scall to prayer is very much needed,considering current affairs.

“I pray the rosary but onlythe mystery of today. Howevergiven the current situation of thecountry, we could try following theexhortation of the [archbishop].

 Af te r al l, it wa s ou r Mo th erMary who always gave historial

 breakthroughs for us like in EDSAI,” he said.

 Att est ing to the eff ect ive nes sof the rosary, youth leader Edwin

 Val les consid ers it a “si ngu largrace and privilege” to pray therosary daily for the intention ofthe May elections.

He said: “By God’s grace, I amable to be faithful to this requestpraying all four mysteries dailyfor some time now … I’d behonored to do this for our country,consecrated to the ImmaculateConception, so that we may electleaders after the Good Shepherd’sheart, her Son’s heart.”

The Philippines will be havingnational and local elections as

scheduled on May 9.

Polls / A1

Vote for bets with strong moral values,bishop tells OFWsMORALITY is still an importantattribute to consider in choosingthe country ’ s next leaders ,said an official of the CatholicBis hops ’ C onference of thePhilippines.

 Aside from the aca demi c andprofessional qualications, BishopRuperto Santos of Balanga said

 voters shoul d also look into themoral excellence of the candidatesto be considered worthy of their

 votes.In a pastoral statement addressed

to overseas Filipino workers

(OFWs), he said only those who goto the polls can help determine the

character of candidates who are alsoexpected to live out moral laws indaily life.

“Let us now use our hands inchoosing and voting for true anda moral person,” said Santos, whochairs the bishops’ Commission forthe Pastoral Care of Migrants andItinerant People.

The prelate urg ed OFWs , who will cast their vote s duringthe abs entee vot ing periodstarting this month, to supportcandidates based on the four Ps:program, protection, promotion,

and prosecution. (R. Lagarde /CBCPNews)a “Catholic Again,”and a wife andmother to boot,she sees to it thateverything they

 believe, say, anddo is in keeping

 with the Catholicfaith.

“So with mykids I always makesure it’s really animportant part oftheir life. Morethan anything,it ’s more of arelationship theyneed to have,” shestressed.

C h r i s t i n e

8/18/2019 CBCP Monitor Vol. 20 No. 14

7/20

A7CBCP Monitor April 18 - May 1, 2016 Vol. 20 No. 14 FEATURES

Manila archdiocese urged to use lead-free paintsMANILA--A waste andtoxic watchdog group askedCardinal Luis Antonio Tagleto require the use of lead-freepaints for church-relatedconstruction and renovation

projects in the Archdioceseof Manila.Through a letter sent

this week, the EcoWasteCoalition requested thearchdiocese to adopt a “lead-safe paint procurementpolicy” to protect children,as well as women of child-

 bea rin g age and wor ker s,against the harmful eectsof being exposed to lead –one of the “ten chemicals ofmajor public health concern”identified by the WorldHealth Organization (WHO).

The said group cited theclosure of two diocesan

schools in the Archdiocese ofChicago, USA due to high leadlevels in the school premises to

 justify its push for a lead-freeenvironment in the country’seducational system.

 Acc ord ing to the WHO,“lead is a cumulative toxicantthat affects multiple bodysystems and is particularlyharmful to young children…estimated to contribute toabout 600,000 new casesof children developingintellectual disabilities every

 year worldwide.”“There is no known level

of lead exposure that isconsidered safe,” the WHOreminded.

“ R e c o g n i z i n g y o u rauthentic concern for thehealth and well-being of yourflock, we highly encourage

 you to set a clear guidance tothe church engineering andpurchasing departments thatonly certied lead safe paints

 will be purchased or used forall approved construction and

renovation projects,” wrote Aileen Lucero, Coordinator,EcoWaste Coalition.

“Adopting such a policy will send a concrete messagethat the church leadershipis taking concrete actionto proact ively preventlead exposure among itsemployees, contractors andthe general public,” she said.

The g roup made therecommendation followingTagle’s issuance of CircularNo. 2016 - 05 out l in ingnew procedures for theconstruction and renovationof structures and institutions

owned or aliated with the Archdiocese of Manila.

The said directive isapplicable to constructionand renovation projects inparishes, chapels, diocesan

s c h o o l s , d o r m i t o r i e s ,formation and retreatcenters, cemeteries, andother properties of thearchdiocese.

“Our drive to encouragemajor paint consumers suchas churches and schoolscomplements our effort tosecure industrial complianceto the government regulationp h a s i n g o u t l e a d e darchitectural, decorative,and household paints byJanuary 1, 2017 and leadedindustrial paints by January1, 2020,” Lucero said.

The phase-out deadlines

f o r l e a d e d p a i n t s a r eprovided for under theDepartment of Environmentand Natural Resources(DENR) AdministrativeOrder 2013-24, also known

as the Chemical ControlOrder for Lead and LeadCompounds.

C i t i n g r e p o r t s f r o mChicago Tribune, the grouprecalled the closure of St.Elizabeth School in 2015and the Holy Angels CatholicSchool in 2016 due to leadin paint and dust, which aremajor sources of childhoodlead poisoning.

Using only lead safe paintsin church projects will alsomake the maintenance,repair and redecoration ofpainted surfaces simpler andless hazardous, minimize

t h e d i s p e r s a l o f l e a d -contaminated dust, andavoid the costs associated

 with lead paint abatement,the group stated.

The group insisted that

implementing a lead-safepaint procurement policyis “totally doable” becauseof the market availability ofpaints with no lead added.

The group noted thatmajor paint manufacturershave already stopped usinglead as raw material for theirproducts, while other paintcompanies are transitioningto non-lead substitutes fortheir oil-based products.

 W a t e r - b a s e d p a i n t sgenerally do not contain leadand are widely obtainable inthe market, the group said.(CBCPNews)

Choose Christian names for your children,

parents told 

ILOILO City--A Catholic priestadvised parents to chooseChristian names for theirchildren at baptism.

On the patronal feast of the Ar ch di oc es an Sh ri ne of St . Vincent Ferrer in Leganes, Iloilo,on April 5, Parish Priest Msgr.Jesus Enojo reminded the faithfulof the signicance of the baptismalname as taught by the Catechismof the Catholic Church.

To underline the importanceof the baptismal rite, Enojo

explained, “The sacrament of baptis m is confer red “in thename of the Father and of theSon and of the Holy Spirit.”

It is in baptism that theChristian receives his name inthe Church, he said.

 A baptismal ceremony beginssignificantly with the ministerasking the parents, “What name do

 you give your child?” This name, hesaid, “is given before God.”

“The Catechism says the child’sname and God’s name are therebylinked as God calls each one byname. Everyone’s name is sacred.The name is the icon of theperson. It demands respect as asign of the dignity of the one who

 bears it,” the priest elaborated.The season Easter is the season

of “estas” in many towns in thePhilippines. It is especially inthese occasions, the time of the

 year when family members andtown mates get together, thatparents take advantage of to havetheir newborn children baptized.

Enojo lamented that the

tradition of giving Christiannames to children at baptismhas been getting gradually lost inpractice among Catholic familiesand it is in this connection whyhe brought this to the attentionof the faithful.

Pray, think deeply The pastor cautioned parents

and godparents that they mustpray and think deeply beforegiving a name to the child on theday of his baptism.

“The choice of name, headvised, should not be done

 by chance or whim but shouldcommunicate to the child andothers one of the essentialrealities of the sacrament of

 baptism and the Christian life.”“The Christian name signies

that in baptism every baptizedperson acquires the character ofa child of God,” he stressed.

Choice of Christian namesOne of the most lasting gifts that

parents can give to a child is a name,for this Enojo specied some criteriafrom the Catechism in choosing aChristian name for a child.

“The baptismal name can bethe name of a saint, that is, ofa disciple who has lived a life ofexemplary delity to the Lord.The patron saint provides amodel of charity; we are assuredof his intercession.”

“A name can also express aChristian virtue or a Christianmystery, he added. (Fr. MickeyCardenas/CBCPNews)

Malolos faithful organize candidates’ forumM A L O L O S C i t y - -The Malolos DiocesanCommission on Social

 A c t i o n ( C S A ) w i t hi t s P a r i s h P a s t o r a lCouncil for Responsible

 V o t i n g ( P P C R V ) o n Apri l 9 spea rh ea de d acandidates’ forum forlocal candidates runningat the provincial level.

H e l d a t t h eImmaculate ConceptionP a r i s h – C a t h e d r a la n d M i n o r B a s i l i c af r o m 7 : 3 0 t o 1 0 : 0 0

p . m . , K A d a l i s a y a n gP A g l i l i n g k o d s a

 YA pa k ng PA ng ino onat Ating mga Ninuno”( KAPAYAPAAN) is ac a n d i d a t e s ’ f o r u minspired by the CatholicBishops’ Conference inthe Philippines (CBCP)’scall for “One Good Vote”

(OGV), which involves knowingcandidates’platforms to facilitateproper discernment.

 Ac co rd in g to Fr . Efr en G.Basco, Chairman of the DiocesanCommission on Social Action, forafor political candidates are a meansin order for the Church to help

 voters, regardle ss of thei r fait h,make informed choices duringelections.

The priest said the CSA the saidevent is a venue for candidates toexpress their thoughts in importantissues as well as an opportunityfor them to pledge cooperation forpeaceful elections in the province.

He also said such endeavors are

in response to the social teachingsof the Church.

Co-presented by the ProvincialOffice of the Commission onElections (COMELEC) as well asthe Philippine National Police –Bulacan, the forum tackled threemajor concerns in the province:Poverty; Environment, climatechange, and global warming;Political reform; Peace covenantsigning

Seven gubernatorial candidates,two vice gubernatorial candidates,three congressional candidates,and four provincial board membercandidates, who attended theevent, outlined their platforms and

discussed how governance in theprovince can be improved.

Before ending the forum, thecandidates were invited to signa peace covenant in which theypromised to uphold the lawthroughout the electoral processin pursuit of peaceful elections.

The Diocese of Malolos iscomposed of the province ofBulacan and the city of Valenzuelain Metro Manila.

Earlier, the CSA also conducteda candidates’ forum for ValenzuelaCity on April 1 at San Diego de

 Alcala Parish, Polo, Valenzuela City.(Kendrick Ivan B. Panganiban / CBCP News)

The Malolos Diocesan Commission on Social Action (CSA) with its Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting(PPCRV) spearheaded a candidates’ forum for local candidates running at the provincial level at the ImmaculateConception Parish - Cathedral and Minor Basilica, April 9, 2016. KENDRICK IVAN B. PANGANIBAN

Sorsogon diocese launches anti-poverty

fund campaign

QUEZON City—Sorsogon Bishop Art uro M. Bas tes , SVD lea d on

 April 9 the covena nt-signing forthe Serendipity Fund, a radicalanti-poverty measure proposed bythe diocese.

 Atte nded by rel igious lead ers,local government officials, youthleaders, and members of civilsociety, the covenant-signing, heldat the Annunciation Parish in Bacon,Sorsogon, is the campaign’s kicko togather petitioners for the necessary

amendments to the Constitution forthe creation of the Serendipity Fund.

The Philippine Sovereign Fund forBetter Social Security and WelfareCover for All or simply, SerendipityFund proposes to allocate 20 percentof government resources into a singlefund that will be used for healthservices, housing, education, livelihoodprograms, emergency recovery duringcalamities, and even retirementpension for the poor. (Noel Sales Barcelona / CBCP News)

perfect reality and packaged onceand for all, but requires a gradualdevelopment of their capacity tolove. We are all called to keep alivethe tension towards something

 beyond ourselves and our limits,and every family has to live inthis constant stimulus. We walk,families, keep walking! We do

not lose hope because of our

limitations, but even give uplooking for the fullness of loveand communion that we have beenpromised”.

Happy Birthday to Fr. Mariano“Jun” Bartolome, Jr. and HappySacerdotal Anniversary to Fr. LauroToledo, Fr. Ruben Maybuena, Fr.

 Alf red o Fer nan dez ,OP , and Fr.

 Alberto Cahilig,OMI.

fragile, and in need of mercy, andcompassion, and sustainment. It seesthat the integrity of the Other can bethreatened, and wishes to protect thatintegrity, even if that means lettingits own come under threat. But when

 violence crosses boundaries, it is to violate those very lines that denethe Other. In violating those lines, itdestroys the Other.

Kindness, then, stands in theprimordial wind that blew at thestart of Creation, when all things

 we re ma de in th ei r in te gr it y,and called good. But violencestands at the end of time, whenthe stars begin to fall from theheavens, and the world begins tosink into darkness. And that is

 why kindness matt ers. Smal l asit is, fragile as it is, taking place

 betw een two sma ll and fr agi lecreatures about whom the rest ofthe world may care nothing, it isthe counterweight to violence andthe end of all things.

Duc In Altum / A5

Simple Gifts / A5

the world. That’s why there is also agrowing fallout of the faithful.

In that address to the African bishops,the Pope Emeritus only hinted that thesynod was successful in identifying the

 way to reach that balance, but no details were mentioned. I suppose we have to wait a little for the relevant document tocome out. That should be very exciting!

 Also the Pope pointed out thesignicance of a synod, saying thatit is “a common journey,” referringto the truth that in serving God andmen, the Church has to go together,talk and discuss things together,especially to determine solutionsand remedies to problems along the

 way. Beautiful idea!Let’s quote some lines of that

address:“The theme “Reconciliation,

Justice and Peace” certainly implies

a strong political dimension, even if itis obvious that reconciliation, justice,

and peace are not possible without aprofound purication of the heart,

 without a rene wal of thought, a“metanoia” (“conversion”), withouta newness that must come preciselyfrom the encounter with God.”

“But even if this spiritualdimension is profound andf u n d a m e n t a l , t h e p o l i t i c a ldimension is also very real, because

 without political realizations, thesenew things of the Spirit are notcommonly realized.”

“Thus, the temptation could have been to poli tici ze the theme, tospeak less of pastoral work and moreabout politics, with a competencethat is not ours. The other danger

 was--precisely to ee from the rst

temptation--that of retreating into

a purely spiritual world, into anabstract and beautiful but unrealistic

 world. But the discourse of a pastormust be realistic; it must deal withreality, but from the perspective ofGod and his Word.”

How I wish the spirit and avorof these words become palpableevery time we read and hear Churchleaders’ interventions in social andpolitical issues!

Obviously, we cannot discount thelikely possibility of how media playup these interventions that distortand even annul their original intent.This has been happening almostalways. It is also an area clamoring to

 be studied well and remedied.In the end, I think it is a matter of

continuing formation for all partiesinvolved—clergy, the lay faithful,

media, etc.

Candidly Speaking / A4

counseling groups inevery parish, we mustoer those services in thegovernment,” he said.

Department of FamiliesLumanta questioned

several lawmakers’ beliefin the legalization ofdivorce and believes thatparting ways is not theimmediate solution to amarital problem.

F i r s t D i s t r i c tCongressman MartinRomualdez of Leyte statedthat pro-divorce advocates

 want a speedier solution,saying he will review theprovisions on annulmentonce he becomes senator.

“We will review againthe Family Code in line

 wi th th e annul mentproceedings because pro-divorce advocates thinkthat we need the divorcelaw, but the fact is, theannulment proceedingis very diff icult andnot appropriate in oursociety. We shall be guidedaccordingly,” explainedRomualdez who is runningfor the Senate.

Senatorial candidateDr. Dante Liban, on theother hand, will prioritizethe “establishment of theDepartment of Familiesand all its components,including senior citizens,

 wom en, sin gle par ent , youth, and children.

Legal separation“We should promote

the family unity, familydevelopment, and familyempowerment. We mustfollow the Constitutionand the will of God tostrengthen the Filipinofamily,” he added.

Senator Vicente “Tito”Sotto III, however, believesthere is an