Promotion of Social Justice and National Liberation: Integral Dimension of IFI Mission of Evangelisation

7/30/2019 Promotion of Social Justice and National Liberation: Integral Dimension of IFI Mission of Evangelisation

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Lecture on the 103rd

IFI ProclamationPage 1 of 11

Promotion of Social Justice and National Liberation:

Integral Dimension of IFI Mission of Evangelisation

By Noel Dionicio L. Dacuycuy

Delivered at Aglipay Central Theological Seminary, Urdaneta City on 3 August 2005,

in commemoration of the 103rd proclamation of the IFI.

Today is the 103rd commemoration of the proclamation of the

Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI). It is widely and popularly known as the

only living tangible result of the 1896 Philippine Revolution, therefore, it

should be understood that the IFI is:

First of all, a result of the Filipinos cry for freedom and liberty againstforeign and feudal oppressions in order to institute the fundamental

and structural changes in Philippine society; and,

Secondly, as a fruit of peoples relentless drive to free the Christianfaith from abuses and corruptions in order that Gods Reign in which

the kingdom values of love justice, peace and abundant life

permeate in all aspects of human and social relations among the

Filipino people.

Accordingly, the IFI as a congregation of new men and women

imbued with the missionary zeal to preach the totality of the Gospel of

Christ. In this regard, it is appealing to note the solidarity greetings of

Bishop Christopher Epting in the IFIs Centennial Mass, he says,

As we (ECUSA) were blessed to share with you the gift of

apostolic succession in the historic episcopate, so you have

shared with us the inseparable nature of the gospel from the

struggle for justice and peace in this world. And just as you

have been faithful in preserving the apostolic ministryso I

ask you to pray for us that we may always faithfully proclaim

the gospel in such a way that it truly is good news to the

poor.1


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Conclusively, these remarks of Bishop Epting would accentuate the

historic and unique contribution of the IFI to the worldwide Christianity

the proclamation of the Gospel. Thus, the Promotion of Social Justice

and National Liberation as an Integral Dimension of the IFIs Mission ofEvangelisation I have been chosen as the theme of my lecture this

morning to describe the multifaceted involvement of the IFI in the quest

for national liberation and social justice.

The Focus: Integral Dimension of IFI Mission of Evangelisation

This lecture focuses on the essential nature of the indispensable

standpoint and vigorous participation of the IFI in the promotion of social

justice and national liberation in evangelisation. Thus it seeks to integrate

(integral) the various dimensions of church mission as understood from a

Christian perspective; integral implies the direct participation or active

involvement of the IFI in the quest for social justice and liberation. In this

regards, it attempts to clarify the notion that there is no unbridgeable gap

between mission and nationalism as experienced by the IFI in the

proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus. Accordingly, it is an exposition of IFI

mission as a mission to preach the totality of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The

treatment thus serves to present evangelisation as ecclesial mission of

proclamation of the Gospel of total and integral salvation.

Thus, it gives emphasis that the living legacy of the IFI is its incessant

involvement and persistent involvement in the liberating praxis of the

Christian faiththe integral dimension of mission of evangelisation. In

other words, it is a contextualisation of the faith in the history of the Filipino

people. It is not only a superficial process of transformation of some

religious customs in evangelisation, but also a historical process, which

involves a complete viewpoint and socio-political praxis through integral

mission of evangelisation.


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The IFIs Nationalist Heritage: Experience and Perspectives

Visualizing the 3rd day of August 1902 at the Centro de Bellas Artes

when Isabelo Don Belong de los Reyes met the union leaders and

delivered a strong anti-friar speech to proclaim the establishment of a

Filipino Catholic Church independent from Rome. The Filipino people and

the Filipino church, at that moment, were confronted with two

revolutionary possibilities: (1) the creation of a free Filipino community

dedicated to the worship of God in truth; and (2) the participation in, and

perhaps even the leadership of, the Filipino liberation movement against

American imperialism.

Looking at the very centre of Don Belongs proclamation address,

rather than organizing a movement to defend human rights and to work

for social justice towards national liberation, Don Belong and our

forefathers resolutely opted for the establishment of a community of

people who promised to reflect upon their own attitudes and to live

according to their duties as Filipino Christians. As such, the IFI served as the

living spirit of the Filipino people in search for peace in our country

based in justice. It creates the community of Gods people needed for a

new society. It fosters the type of conversion required so that todays

oppressed will not become tomorrows oppressors. Thus, it began its

ministry as a prophet of hope.

But in order to understand better this hope of the Filipino people, it is

worth quoting the primary object of the IFI, to restore the worship of the

one true God and the purity of the holy teachings of Jesus Christ. 2 With

this, Gods Kingdom made it the very centre of the IFIs mission of

evangelisation. It was not satisfied with a theoretical and utopian

proclamation. It exercises a ministry of denunciation and annunciation. It

took a clear stand on the problems of his time. It stresses that the


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Kingdom of God would come with the triumph of the poor with the

abolition of private property and (the institution of) the common

ownership of goods. It asserts that it is not a mere utopian dream

because the community of the first Christians who practise it (Acts 4:32,3434) and the criterion of the would-be disciples of Jesus (Luke 14:33). In

like manner, the IFIs ecclesiastical wealth and even the private wealth of

those who enter the ministry were pooled together to the treasury of the

church. And this teaching was extended to the laymen by forming secular

societies to observe this discipline.3 Thus, we shall consider two important

ways in which the IFI strove to bring about Gods Kingdom and mans

liberation as the integral dimension of evangelisation.

1. The Promotion of Social Justice. The incessant participation of the

church in the struggle of the Filipino people for liberation was understood

as an act of confessing the faitha significant witness of the incarnation

and the sacrament of salvation amidst of social injustices. In an interview

by the Herald Magazine in 23 September 1933, Aglipay asserts the

participation of the church in politics for it is part of our national life and

any political changes that take place here (in politics) are unlikely to

affect the affairs of the Church. Intertwined with this, the IFI stressed its

concern for liberty and human freedom rooted in Jesus teachings of

social justice. Epistola VI explains that a person with all its rights and

libertya perfect and admirable creation of God (Genesis 1:31). And this

freedom is not only a dimension of mans subjectivity to God. But it is a

liberating praxisa power that transforms the world in accordance to

Gods purposes.

2. The Struggle for National Liberation. In the promotion of social

justice in evangelisation, the IFI did not only talk of revolution but even

participated in the revolution for national liberation. Aglipay explained in


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the Manifesto of 22 October 1898 that the revolution waged by the

Filipino people was to redeem the country from slavery. It was the last

recourse of the Filipino people in order to achieve social justice. Thus,

Aglipay challenged the patriotism of the Filipino people and the clergy fordirect participation in the war of independence.4 The church argues that

revolutions are perfectly providential (Epistola II), but forewarns that

Revolutions are never made by halveshalf measures are counter-

productive and lead us to nothing but ruin (Epistola VI). Thus the

revolutionary struggle waged by the Filipinos is a struggle for social justice

and national liberation.

Irrefutably, the integral promotion of social justice and national

liberation as mission of evangelisation is the commonly known the IFIs

nationalist heritage. From the hindsight of the experience and perspective

of its history, this nationalist heritage of the IFI is intimately connected with

the proclamation of Gods Kingdom in the world. Thus, the IFI showed

that evangelisation is not merely a passive proclamation of salvation, but

also an active promotion of social justice towards national liberation.

Therefore, it gave us the power to dissent and to disobey; the church

invited us to become free and to exercise a prophetic mission in our daily

activities. In this way, the prophetic vision of Gods kingdom will be

incarnated in life and the political standpoint, challenged by meaningful

criticism, will not give birth to new forms of oppression. As such, it is in this

way that we can work fort Gods kingdom and mans liberationthe

integral dimension of the mission of evangelisation.

The Mission of Evangelisation: IFIs Nationalist Heritage

The obedience to the faith implies a proclamation of Gods salvific

activity. This proclamation is called mission. The churchs obedience to

evangelisation imprints the assertion of the Christian faith in the society.


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Thus, it offers an alternative order of society. This also affirms, as it has been

substantiated by the IFIs experience, that the Christian faith and church

mission has political repercussions, whether by action or by omission. The

church always has an influence on society, but this is oriented by faith.

1. The Call. It is the challenge of the IFI that if the church is truly

interested in human dignity and all the rest that can be summed up under

the word salvation, then it needs to be vigorous in the critique of the

social system of the society. It must search for a way in which it can lead

the quest for social justice and the struggle national liberation in its integral

mission of evangelisation. For the issues of social justice and national

liberation are not merely political but also religious issues. It implies that the

church should supply the ethical values through evangelisation that could

sustain the patriotic sentiments of the struggling people. And these ethical

values should be ingrained in the norms of society in order to constitute a

basic ingredient of human freedom and liberation for the greater glory of

God.

2. The Salvific Mission. The IFIs understanding of mission

encompasses more than the biblical narratives in Matthew and in Luke. It

claims that mission is the divine salvific activity wherein the IFI is a witness

of it. In other words, it is continuing Gods creative and redemptive

activity towards the fullness of the kingdom. In this divine salvific activity is

the proclamation of life in its fullness (John 10:10) and the restoration of

the image of God (Genesis 1: 27) in humanity. As such, salvation should

be viewed in the wider political, cultural and economic perspective. Thus

the ethical outworking of salvation is the creation of a new world by the

emancipation of humanity from social injustices. In other words, it is an

integral and social salvation. This accentuates the IFIs perspective that

salvation has a communal dimension. It demands the de-privatisation of


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salvation. As such, it is no longer being regarded as primarily an individual

interest, but of social importance. It is a collective endeavour. What is also

apparent from this view is that humanity is the subject of mission.

3. The Criteria of Evangelisation. The core significance in the IFI

nationalist heritage is that the dignity of the human being as created in

the image of God is the sole criteria of the churchs integral mission of

evangelisation. In like manner, life in its fullness should become the

criteria of judgement for the churchs involvement and active

participation in the quest for a just society and in the struggle for

liberation. This perspective is also a critique, therefore, of the church that

became a supermarket of sacraments. It is a reminiscent of the Hebrew

prophets that emphasised the encounter with God through neighbourly

relationship guided with justice. They give priority to social justice in

historical action over the ceremonial purity. And for them, devotion to the

Lord is closely linked with social justice (Amos 5:21-24).

4. The Theological Tenets. Foremost, evangelisation is the

proclamation of salvation. Salvation is life in its fullness. With the

experience and perspective of the IFI, three theological tenets are drawn

out for discussion: (a) the quest for social justice, stewardship of creation;

(b) national liberation, the temporal fulfilment of the Kingdom; and (c)

social transformation, a continuing salvation in history.

The Quest for Social Justice, a Stewardship of Creation

Humanity is not simply a being in the world but rather it comes into

being with the world. Thus it has the privilege to direct its history in

accordance to its own understanding and interpretation of its mission

entrusted by God, and responds actively and effectively with its faith. In

like manner, God manifests himself through the salvific activity. It is not a


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forever-static act, but a continuing process wherein the humanity

participates. This participation is called stewardship of creation.

Primarily, man was created in Gods own image (Gen 1:26 -27) to

assume responsibility to the goal of creation, and to transform (recreate)

the world as a reflection of its relationship with God. The Exodus

demonstrates the liberating role of God. However, man is not a mere

spectator but has a role to perform. The liberating experience of Gods

people manifests the link between the salvific activities of God and the

role of humanity in the divine intervention. It is a creation of a new order

of creation. It affirms that the creative work is linked with the redemptive

act of God (Isa. 41:20; 43:1,7). It also leads to a new relation with God.

Thus, the quest for social justice and the struggle for national

liberation are both perceived as a continuing work of creation and a

salvific activity in accordance with Gods purpose. In like manner, the

building of a just society are inherent to human redemption, which is

moving towards its complete fulfilment in the redemptive work of God

that embraces the whole of humanity and all human history.

National Liberation, the Temporal Fulfilment of the Kingdom

At the heart of the biblical faith lays the expectation of the

Kingdom of God, which must not be understood merely as the salvation

of certain individuals but rather the reign of God over the entire creation.

Thus, the presence of the Kingdom of God is perceived as the dynamic

reign of God in history. So, the kingdom in Jesus and the Hebrew prophets

is potentially-actually present in the historical experience of the people. It

refers to the historical redemption of humanity. Jesus did not spiritualise

the eschatological promise. But he gave the meaning and fulfilment

today (cf. Luke 4:21). Thus the struggle for national liberation and


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democracy is in its definitive purpose a temporal fulfilment of the

kingdom. However, this does not mean the fullness of the kingdom but a

foretaste of it, because the Kingdom of God is a divine gift from God to

the world.

Social Transformation, a Continuing Salvation in History

The continuous intervention of God in human history that warrants

temporal progress is a continuation of the work of redemption. Any

activity contrary to the purpose of God is SIN. In like manner, a sinful social

situation is a rejection of Gods sovereignty. Thus sin may not only be

considered simply as an individual or interior reality of a person, but ratherit is social. It is a breach of relationship between God and his people, and

among the people themselves. As such the fundamental obstacle of

relationship is sin, which is also the root of all misery and injustices. The

gospel message of Jesus on human liberation from social injustices typifies

this concept of sin. Thus, liberation from poverty and oppression is to be

free from sin.

A sinful situation needs change. Theologically, it is called

conversion. Politically, it is radical reform. Sin demands salvation or

liberation. But if sin is a lack or absence of an affirmative relationship in a

society, there is no means of removing something non-existent. So,

liberation from sin in unjust social relations can be nothing other than the

creation of new ties among the people. This is possible only by means of

shaping a new order of society. Thus, liberation from sin means a radical

change of an unjust social system of society. In other words, it simply

means social transformation. Although social transformation is not the

coming of the Kingdom of God, it is a salvific activity wherein the grace of

God is at work. It is an essential segment of salvation history.


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The Challenge: The IFI to drink from its own well

The world today is marked by the emergence of liberation

movements persistently challenging imperialist globalisation for it craftily

ploys a plutocratic social system. Imperialist globalisation also creates a

global community after the image of capital and the ethics of the market

dictates the meaning of human life. As such, it is totally opposed to Gods

kingdom. This sacrilegious social system challenges the very core of the

Christian faith that the entire humanity is created equal in the image of

God, and that the Creator God is the centre of human life. Hence, the IFI

is challenged to become relevant in the society as to proclaim the

sovereignty of God over the entire creation.

Explicitly, the IFI made Gods kingdom the very centre of its

mission of evangelisation. From its integral ministry, it is very clear that the

IFI gave emphasis in mans responsibility and participation in building up

the kingdom. It is also constitutes an urgent call to bridge the gap

between the ideal and reality, and to transform todays society into a

world of justice, peace and brotherhood. Thus, the proclamation of the IFI

was a vision of total and everlasting salvation of the Filipino people.

Likewise, it constrained inbuilt tension between Gods gift and mans

action, between the present and the future, the material and spiritual.

Accordingly, the challenge for the IFI to drink from its own well is

very significant today. Ambrosio Manaligod persuades the church by

these challenging words,

St. Bernard of Clairvaux said; A people must know how to

drink from their own well. That well is the peoples past and

present historical experience for it is there where they

encounter God. As Jews, the disciples drank from their

experience as Gods chosen people in the Old Testament; as

followers of Christ, they drank from the preaching of Jesus, his

passion and death, his resurrection and ascension to heaven.


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Should I not dare say you also must know how to drink from

your own well; the past and present historical experience of

the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, as People of God in the

Philippines?5

As such, I am calling as to persuade each and one of us to drink

from our own wellthe historical experience of our church. We should

continue to promote social justice and national liberation as an integral

dimension of mission of evangelisation while awaiting the fulfilment of

Gods kingdom.

Together, let us continue build the living church for God and

country.

Mabuhay ang Iglesia Filipina Independiente.

Endnotes:

1 , Bishop Christopher Epting was the Presiding Bishop's Deputy for Ecumenical and

Interfaith Relations of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA), Philippine

Independent Church celebrates its centennial, in News Briefs, Episcopal News Service; available

fromhttp://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/2002-188.html;accessed, 14 august 2002.

2 DRC, First Part, Chapter I, Section 1.; Epistola VI.

3 DRC, Second Part, Chapter I, Section 1.

4 Manifesto:Al Pueblo y Clero Filipinos, August 19, 1899).

5 Message delivered by Fr. Ambrosio Manaligod, S.T.D, of the Roman Catholic Church on

the occasion of the 49th Msgr. Gregorio Aglipay Death Anniversary Commemoration at the

Cathedral of the Holy Child, Taft Avenue, Manila on 01 September 1984.
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/2002-188.html;http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/2002-188.html;http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/2002-188.html;http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens/2002-188.html;

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Promotion of Social Justice and National Liberation: Integral Dimension of IFI Mission of Evangelisation