Celebrate as One in 2021

June 14, 2021

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The peace and love of the Lord!

In line with the Sangguniang Laiko ng Pilipinas’ theme: “Celebrate as One in 2021…Celebrate the Gift of Christianity, the Gift of Unity and the Gift of Mission!”, may we send to you a monumental declaration of the different Bishops’ conferences and councils in the Philippines. We thank the Holy Spirit for moving our pastors towards this direction.

May we ask you to prayerfully read this and personally forward this statement to our fellow Christian servants and leaders. Our hope is that during this time (of the pandemic, the entry of the typhoon months and the preparation for the 2022 elections), the whole body of Christ in our country can engage in meaningful and cooperative works within our local contexts.

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World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly and Fathers’ Day Invitation

Your Eminences,
Your Excellencies,
Reverend Monsignori and Fathers,
Consecrated Men and Women,
Partners in the Family and Life Apostolate,
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Peace be with you!

First, we commend all who are organizing conferences, seminars, and events on the national, regional, diocesan, parochial etc. levels to mark the Amoris Laetitia Family Year and the Year of Saint Joseph. Such initiatives not only attest to your pastoral zeal but also help incarnate the Holy Father’s vision of the Church as a “family of families” (AL 87).

Second, we are happy to inform you that the Episcopal Commission on Family and Life is offering conferences that can complement the regional and diocesan programs: “Fathers’ Day” in June, “Grandparents and the Elderly” in July, “Migrant Families” in August, etc.

Third, we invite you to join, promote and share the ECFL’s Fathers’ Day offering on 18-20 June 2021. We take our theme from the opening lines of Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Patris Corde: “With a father’s heart: that is how Joseph loved Jesus, whom all four Gospels refer to as ‘the son of Joseph’”. In order to facilitate participation and sharing here and abroad in the context of the pandemic, the event will be streamed live via Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/archdioceseoflipa:

  • Friday, June 18, 09:00-10:30 am
    • Most Rev. Gilbert A. Garcera’s talk on “Forming Fathers in the Image of Saint Joseph” based on Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Patris Corde.
  • Saturday, June 19, 09:00-11:00 am: Personal testimonies on fatherhood in the image of Saint Joseph:
    • Family Integration
      • Climbing out of addiction (Mr. Jose Antonio Mañosa, Addictions Counselor ICAC 1 / Recovery Coach)
      • OFW Fathers overcoming distance (Mr. Wilson Lumbao, Electrical Engineer, Saudi Electric Company)
    • Family Discernment
      • Fathers educating children towards their vocation (Rev. Michael Sandoval, Deacon, Archdiocese of Lipa)
      • Fatherhood in an online environment (Mr. Edwin Lopez, International Marketing Manager, EWTN)
    • Family Accompaniment
      • Fatherhood and an LGBT person’s journey (Mr. Edwin Valles, President, Courage Philippines)
      • Family in the midst of the Covid crisis (Mr. Victor Alvarez, Couples for Christ)
  • Sunday, June 20
    • 11:00 am: Holy Eucharist to be celebrated by Most Rev. Gilbert A. Garcera in the Archdiocesan Shrine and Parish of St. Joseph the Patriarch, San Jose, Batangas.
    • 01:00-03:00 pm: Tribute to Fathers (with games and raffle).

Finally, we invite you to mark the dates of the next ECFL event, the first virtual national conference of grandparents and the elderly on 22-24 July 2021. This is in view of the first World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly as announced by Pope Francis. The program will be sent to you in the first week of July.

Sincerely,

RMP hearing to ‘unfreeze’ bank accounts reset to Sept 20, 2021

RMP National Office

UCCP leaders speak out in solidarity together with peasant and indigenous peoples advocates
#DefendTheDefenders #StandWithRMP

On June 11, 2021, at 10am, Church leaders and other supporters gathered outside the Manila Trial Court for a vigil protest, while legal counsels of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines(RMP) sought for the lifting of the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s freeze on their bank accounts.

The Rural Missionaries of the Philippines, who have been engaging ministry with poor communities for fifty years, are subjects of persecution and “red-tagging.” The United Church of Christ in the Philippines expressed a strong empathy for RMP, since the UCCP Haran Sanctuary is facing similar harassments.  Bishop Emergencio Padillo of the UCCP expressed solidarity and lamented “rather than appreciating their contributions to society, the Duterte administration with their all-out war policies, seeks to attack RMP’s ministries by raising false allegations of ‘terrorism financing.’” Bishop Padillo commended RMP for being instrumental “in bringing health, literacy, and livelihood programs to some of the poorest and most marginalized areas of the country.” 

“RMP is engaged in mission and ministry, which is part of their practice of their religious freedoms. The absurd allegations of ‘terrorism financing’ only unmask how far this government is prepared to go; they want to stifle dissent, and in the process, they are undermining democracy in the Philippines,” said Bishop Padillo.

Another UCCP pastor, Rev. Callum Tabada, also assailed the Duterte administration for impinging on the practice of religion, because they don’t understand ‘peacebuilding.’ He explained that people in the Duterte administration “misconstrue transformative love as rebellion.”

“The law is being ‘weaponized’ against any who do not petty after the National Task Force-End Local Communist Armed Conflict.  Malicious legal maneuvers, like the case lodged against RMP, are intended to weaken the ministries of the church that are trying to help communities to empower themselves and protect their interests and welfare,” said Rev. Tabada.

Noting that the forces of exploitation through logging, mining and extraction of other resources, together with militarists who promote such endeavors, make life difficult in rural areas, the protesters insisted that Church ministries are under attack because rural communities are easier to dominate, when they are less educated and aware of their rights.

“The current predicament of RMP, where their banks accounts are frozen, denies much-needed services to poor communities.  Under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, there will surely be even more harassments and false allegations against church ministries. The poor are the ones who will suffer most,” said Bishop Padillo.

Once again, the hearing was reset.  Now scheduled for September 20, 2021, the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines will be denied access to their mission monies for months more.  “After decades of service to the poor, this case against them is shameful and should be dismissed,” said Bishop Padillo.

11 June 2021

Protecting the Planet

Shay Cullen | 11 June 2021

Have you ever seen the sun set upon the sea,
the migrating birds fly in formation proud?
Have you ever seen the mighty forest and heard the birds sing clear and loud?
Have you seen the flowers in the meadows and the fields that provide the nectar for the bee,
That gives the honey in the hive hanging from the tree?
Have you ever seen the dolphins race across the ocean wave,
The mighty whales that swim the oceans strong and brave?
A breathless sight of beauty you will ever see
If we will just allow them to live and to be.

We inhabit a most amazing planet filled with life forms and hundreds of thousands of amazing creatures, animals, birds, insects, and fish. In the natural world, the living forests and plants and oceans make up a living, evolving integrated planet with us humans. We the creatures that have a developed brain, conscientious, knowing and with awareness of self and all that is around us in the environment. have the responsibility to preserve it.

We are the ones that can admire, appreciate, and wonder at the beauty of the environment and the universe. We are the thinking consciousness of the universe. We can know good and bad and we have unique free will to choose one or the other. That is what makes us human and different from other creatures we share life with on this climate-sensitive planet.

We humans are changing it dramatically by the lifestyles that we have chosen and the industrial machines and methods we have created to maintain that lifestyle. Our way of living together, travelling, warming and cooling ourselves, producing our food and disposing off the material we manufacture is affecting the environment and the planet itself.

We humans are industrious, inventive, creative, intelligent, kindly, loving creatures to each other and the ecology and environment but many of us are also something else. Many of our species have chosen to act on their lower, thoughtless basic instincts to possess, control, dominate and subjugate others to achieve and satisfy desires and appetites. They impact the human environment. They act with violence and other negative impulses born perhaps from childhood neglect, abuse, deprivation or the evil example of other influencers. They act in anger with violence against the human environment, the human community, inflicting hurt and pain on others.

Some become intoxicated with power and destructive tendencies over their communities. They persecute and kill those that refuse to be subjugated, dominated and abused. These are the tyrants and dictators, and not only do they kill and maim and destroy those who do not approve of them, they attack the environment. Their self-serving policies expand industrial exploitation of the environment and exploit the natural resources. Their goal is to increase their personal wealth and political power and so all creatures, the environment and the planet greatly suffer. They are the humans that allow big and small corporations to destroy the forests and the oceans and create a destructive industrial juggernaut that leaves disorganized citizens divided and powerless.

We must not be silenced or intimidated. We must stand for the earth, act to stop the destruction on a political scale, on a community level and in our personal capacity. When people unite and speak with one voice, they have power to change the world and corrupt politicians unless they are shot and massacred. The environmental destruction by industry that is causing climate change by high levels of CO2 emissions has to be challenged .They cause climate fluctuations that damage sustainable food production and the natural world. Politicians in conspiracy with the industrial leaders, driven by greed, these mighty money moguls, are foremost in destroying the planet.

Australia is an example of government policy supporting the coal extraction industry. It is the biggest exporter of coal in the world. The emissions of the coal they export is equal to 3.3 percent of global emissions. Added to domestically-produced emissions of CO2, then Australia contributes 4.8 percent of world emissions and is a major contributor to dangerous climate change. If we add the emissions for natural gas exports, it is even a bigger footprint and a bigger responsibility. The super cold snap in Australia of late is a direct result of climate change, it seems.

The Australian political industrial complex has to be held accountable and drastically change direction to protect the environment. That is a decision that only the Australian people can make by voting into power a green, environmental-friendly government. Australia is now the sixth biggest polluter of the environment after China, the United States, Russia, India and Indonesia. Australia and all the high CO2 emissions producing countries should choose to obey the principle, “Do no Harm.” However, since basic instincts of greed, money and power are dominating the ruling elites and political establishments of these countries, there is no place for principles of caring and compassion for the people and the planet.

There is good news however. The global awareness of the damage and negative effects of climate change has business and industry concerned and committed to change. A survey by Deloitte in recent months shows that 80 percent of business and corporate executives have expressed serious concern about the impact of climate change and are planning to take mitigating action to address it. But will they?

The Climate Check Report surveyed 750 executives last January and February 2021 and found that 30 percent of them said that climate change is affecting their businesses causing a scarcity of resources and supply chain problems. Self-interest may bring concern for the environment. Political awareness building and peaceful social activism is having a positive effect. School children in Australia have taken to the streets to protest against coal production. Greta Thunberg is leading a global movement to stop industry burning fossil fuels and to build renewable energy sources. Now 18 years old, she blasts the empty promises of world leaders who promise much but do nothing positive but allow the destruction of the Amazon rain forests.

If we want to continue to admire the forests, the dolphins, the birds and creatures of the planet, we have to preserve and protect it with all our strength.

www.preda.org

A statement on the tragedy in Masbate

We will Serve the Lord and We Choose Peace!

The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform (PEPP) expresses its deep sorrow over the deaths of Nolven Absalon, the 40-year-old Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Masbate Electric Cooperative Employees Union and his 21-year-old cousin, Keith, a football player of the Far Eastern University. We offer our prayers and heartfelt sympathies to their families, friends and colleagues. May God be with them and provide them with comfort in their time of grief.

Various leaders, personalities and groups have condemned the actions of the New People’s Army (NPA) which led to this tragedy. While the tragic incident is truly condemnable, it is also a timely reminder for us to pause and reflect. The deaths of Nolven and Keith fully underscores the cost of the armed conflict in the country between the government and the NPA along with Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)/National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). This armed conflict, which has deep social, economic and political roots, has spanned more than five decades and led to the loss of thousands of lives, destruction of property and misery and hardship.

As such, what happened in Masbate puts into fore the complexity of the armed conflict in our country and the many nuances to the different aspects of the issue. There are calls for justice from the family and the public. There are mechanisms in place that can hopefully provide justice like the Comprehensive Agreement for Respect for Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law (CARHRIHL) and related agreements and we hope that it is not disregarded by both parties even though the peace negotiations are suspended. What is clear though is that the armed conflict will continue to generate violence on the ground and will definitely result

in more loss of lives from both sides and among civilians. What is very fearsome is the call of some sectors to relentlessly pursue the NPA militarily in Masbate and throughout the country. There are already reports that the military allegedly killed three Masbate farmers accused as NPA. Such an all-out military offensive can turn that island into a howling wilderness and create more pain and suffering throughout the country. The drive to annihilate the CPP/NPA/NDF to resolve the armed conflict without addressing the roots – poverty, landlessness, inequitable access to resources – can just result in more violations to human rights and international and humanitarian law.

As church leaders, we will serve the Lord (cf. Joshua 24:15) and we choose peace and we choose life! We call on all Filipinos to not let the deaths of Nolven and Keith fan the flames of war but rather let their deaths implore us to further sow the seeds of peace that we badly need in our country. Thus, we call on the government and CPP/NPA/NDF to return to the negotiating table to address the roots of the armed conflict and respect all previous agreements.

The PEPP wholeheartedly believes that the most viable option to stop the violence on the ground and to resolve the conflict is through a negotiated peace settlement between the warring parties.  We call on all peace advocates to work hand-in-hand in encouraging and accompanying both parties to once more engage in principled negotiations for a just and lasting peace.

Even as we wish that peace could be achieved with just a snap of a finger, we know that such a process is long and arduous but it can be accomplished in our lifetime, if it is approached deliberately. Therefore, let us not lose hope “…because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.” (Luke 1: 78-79, NIV)

Issued and signed on this 12th day of June 2021.

Sgd. Archbishop Emeritus Antonio J. Ledesma, SJ
Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro
Co-chairperson, PEPP

Sgd.  Bishop Rex B. Reyes, Jr.
Episcopal Diocese of Central Philippines 
Co-chairperson, PEPP

Sgd. Rev. Dr. Aldrin M. Penamora
Executive Director
Commission on Justice Peace & Reconciliation
Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches

Sgd.  Bishop Reuel Norman O. Marigza
General Secretary
National Council of Churches in the Philippines

Sgd.  Sr. Mary John D. Mananzan, OSB
Office of Women & Gender Commission
AMRSP-Women

Sgd.  Bishop Emeritus Deogracias S. Iniguez, Jr.
PEPP Head of the Secretariat
Co-chairperson, EBF

*The PEPP is a platform for 5 church institutions/groups, namely, the Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP), Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) with organizations of Religious, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum (EBF), in working for a just and enduring peace by supporting the peace process between the GRP-NDFP.

Pastoral Statement on the Launching of the World Day f or Grandparents and the Elderly

My dear People of God in the Philippines and Filipinos in other countries,

Peace be with you!

As the first-fruits of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, the Holy Father established the “World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly, which will be held throughout the Church every year on the fourth Sunday of July, close to the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, Jesus’ ‘grandparents’”.

Pope Francis reminds us that “The Holy Spirit still stirs up thoughts and words of wisdom in the elderly today: their voice is precious because it sings the praises of God and safeguards the roots of peoples. They remind us that old age is a gift and that grandparents are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young”.

This continues to be our experience, especially in households and communities where the young and the parents live with or in close proximity with their grandparents and elders.  This is also felt in countries where Filipinos migrate or work. Generations care for one another, not only in seasons of abundance but especially in moments of trial. They share resources, skills, ideas, wisdom and faith with no thought for recompense except seeing their loved ones flourish in joy and hope.(cf. Christus vivit # 16)

Pope Francis warns us, however, that “Grandparents are often forgotten and we forget this wealth of preserving roots and passing on”. As a country blessed by 500 years of Christianity, let us make sure that grandparents remain – and feel – that elders are cherished members of our families, communities and nation.

The Church in the Philippines, called to be a community of missionary disciples of the Lord, knows that the Church of the poor and the Church of young cannot be part of a throw-away culture that disposes of the very generation that teaches us: “ang hindi lumingon sa pinanggalingan hindi makakarating sa paroroonan”.

As part of the Amoris Laetitia Family Year, let us – especially Bishops, Parish Priests and Lay Leaders – “promote initiatives that build bridges across the different stages of life, while also making the elderly into active agents within the pastoral care of the community”.(cf. Amoris Laetitia # 191-193)

As we celebrate the World Day for Grandparents and Elderly this July 25, 2021, let us all join Pope Francis in reflecting on the theme: “ I am with you always” (Mt 28:20)

For the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines:

4 June 2021

Latest pastoral resources within the Amoris Laetitia Family Year

Your Excellencies:

The Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life through the ECFL has just sent the following links to the latest pastoral resources within the Amoris Laetitia Family Year which could be very useful for the family ministries in the dioceses and parishes.

Secretary General

Video and guide Amoris Laetitia No. 2, “The Family in the light of the Word of God”: http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/news/amorislaetitia/la-famiglia-alla-luce-della-parola-di-dio–il-secondo-video.html

Video and guide Amoris Laetitia No. 3:, “The vocation of the family” http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/news/amorislaetitia/la-vocazione-della-famiglia.html

Rosary for engaged couples: http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/news/amorislaetitia/pregare-insieme-il-rosario–una-proposta-audace-.html

Guidelines World Youth Days: http://www.laityfamilylife.va/content/laityfamilylife/en/news/2021/le-gmg-nelle-chiese-particolari–pubblicati-gli-orientamenti-pas.html

Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network: https://www.popesprayer.va/evangelization-prayer-intention-the-beauty-of-marriage/

The Pope Video- Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network: https://youtu.be/7GUs0ZHmlvc