Month: December 2019

Mary Aileen D. Bacalso, Philippines
December 23, 2019

Christmas brings us back to baby Jesus in the manger. In the Catholic tradition, the four candles lit on the preceding four Sundays before Christmas, or Advent, signify the hopeful waiting for the birth of the Messiah.

In today’s commercialized world,” Christmas is associated with glittering lights, shopping, and carols. Christmas eve is time for “noche buena”, when families gather to share a meal and exchange gifts.

For the families of the victims of enforced disappearances, however, Christmas can only be the happiest season of the year if, and only if, their loved ones are returned home.

For years, they have been living in anxiety, struggling for the elusive truth and justice, which is seemingly out of reach. Their hope against hope kindles and rekindles the light that illuminates the dark path to truth and justice.

There can be no better Christmas gift for them than the return of their long-lost loved ones.

In predominantly Catholic Timor-Leste, the families and relatives of the children kidnapped during the Indonesian occupation dearly cherish what was to be an early Christmas gift.

In November, 15 stolen children (now adults) who were forcibly taken by soldiers during the Indonesian occupation came back to Timor-Leste to trace their historical identity.

This is the latest group of people who were taken as children by soldiers during the Indonesian occupation and handed over to Indonesian families for adoption. Some 72 people who suffered this fate have been reunified with their families over the past three years.

Among the estimated 8,000 stolen children in Timor-Leste, 15 children — 12 boys and three girls — were forcibly taken from their families between 1977-1998.

The girls were taken when they were 8, 12, and 13 years old. The youngest child among them was taken when he was six.

Baptized with Christian names, they were renamed by their adoptive parents in Indonesia.

Each of these children had to deal with issues of identity and adopt to living in a foreign land. The treatment by their adoptive parents varied from child to child. All the same, for decades, they were denied their real identity.

Having been forced to live a lie, what is important for them is knowing the truth of their family histories and identities. This reconciliation is integral to matters of transitional justice in a country notorious for its history of grave human rights violations.

In another war-torn Catholic country, El Salvador, the Asociacion Pro Busqueda de Ninas y Ninos Desaparecidos gladly announced the reunification of a disappeared child who had been forcibly taken from her family during the Salvadorean war.

Maria, who was brought to the United States as a child, was reunited with her biological family on Dec. 14 after more than 38 years apart.

Just a couple of weeks before Christmas, the hopeful sisters and brothers of the long-lost Maria wore shirts bearing the message: “Never did we lose the hope of finding each other and we succeeded.”

Promoting Love of People and Care for Planet

December 20, 2019
ZENIT Staff

This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis received in audience the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency António Guterres, who subsequently met with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied by His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.

Following the meeting the Holy Father and Secretary-General, the two leaders issued a video message stressing their commitment to world peace. Below is the text of the video, provided by the Vatican.

Pope Francis 
It is good that this meeting of ours takes place in the days leading up to Christmas. These are days when our eyes are turned to heaven to entrust to God the people and situations we hold most dear. In this gaze we recognize ourselves as children of one Father, as brothers.

Let us give thanks for all the good that is in the world, for the many who commit themselves freely, for those who spend their lives in service, for those who do not give up and build a more human and just society. We know: we cannot save ourselves by ourselves.

We cannot, we must not look the other way in the face of injustice, inequality, the scandal of hunger in the world, of poverty, of children who die because they lack water, food, the necessary care.

We cannot look the other way in the face of any kind of abuse of children. We must all fight this scourge together.

We cannot close our eyes to the many brothers and sisters of ours who, due to conflict and violence, misery or climate change, leave their countries and often meet a sad fate.

We must not remain indifferent to the trampled and exploited human dignity, to the attacks against human life, both that which has not yet been born and that of every person in need of care.

We cannot, we must not look the other way when believers of various faiths are persecuted in different parts of the world.

The use of religion to incite hatred, violence, oppression, extremism and blind fanaticism, as well as to force people into exile and marginalization, cries out for revenge before God.

But the arms race and nuclear rearmament also cries out for revenge before God. And it is immoral not only the use but also the possession of nuclear weapons, which are so destructive that even the mere danger of an accident represents a grim threat to humanity.

We must not be indifferent to the many wars that continue to be fought and which claim so many innocent victims.

Trust in dialogue between people and between nations, in multilateralism, in the role of international organizations, in diplomacy as a tool for understanding and understanding, is indispensable for building a peaceful world.

Let us recognize ourselves as members of one humanity, and let us take care of our earth which, generation after generation, has been entrusted to our care by God so that we may cultivate it and bequeath it to our children. The commitment to reduce polluting emissions and to an integral ecology is urgent and necessary: let us do something before it is too late!

Let us listen to the voice of many young people who help us to become aware of what is happening in the world today and ask us to be peacemakers and builders, together and not alone, of a more human and just civilization.

May Christmas, in its genuine simplicity, remind us that what really counts in life is love.

Secretary-General António Guterres 
Muchísimas gracias, Santo Padre, por esta tan calida bienvenida. [Thank you very much, Holy Father, for your very warm welcome.]

You are a messenger for hope and humanity – for reducing human suffering and promoting human dignity.

Your clear moral voice shines through – whether you are speaking out on the plight of the most vulnerable, including refugees and migrants … confronting poverty and inequalities… appealing for disarmament… building bridges between communities … and, of course, highlighting the climate emergency through your historic encyclical, ‘Laudato Si’, and so many other vital efforts.

These messages coincide with the core values of the United Nations Charter – namely to reaffirm the dignity and worth of the human person.

To promote love of people and care for our planet.

Pope Francis marks the fourth and last Sunday of Advent inviting the faithful to look to Joseph as a model of unshakable faith and trust in the Lord.

By Linda Bordoni
22 December 2019

Reflecting on the reading of the day from the Gospel of Matthew, Pope Francis highlighted the role of the meek and humble Joseph, whose capacity to listen to and trust in God provides us with a model to be upheld and imitated.

Addressing the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, the Pope reflected on Joseph, “a person apparently in second place, but whose attitude contains the entirety of Christian wisdom.”

Joseph, the Pope recalled, together with John the Baptist and Mary, is one of the characters the liturgy proposes during the season of Advent.

The style of the beatitudes

Of the three, he noted, he is the most modest: “He does not preach, he does not speak, but he tries to do God’s will; and he accomplishes that will in an evangelical style, and in the meek and humble style of the beatitudes.

Joseph’s poverty, the Pope explained, is typical of those who are aware of their dependence for everything on God in whom they put all of their trust.

Today’s evangelical narrative, he continued, presents a situation that is humanly embarrassing and conflictual. Joseph and Mary are engaged; they do not yet live together, but she is expecting a baby through God’s working.

Faced with this surprising news, the Pope said that Joseph is naturally disturbed but, “instead of reacting impulsively or punitively, he seeks a solution that respects the dignity and the integrity of his beloved Mary.”

The Gospel says: “Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man, yet unwilling to expose her to shame, decided to divorce her quietly”. In fact, the Pope added, Joseph is well aware that had he repudiated his promised bride, she would have been exposed to grave consequences, even death.

Trust in Mary

“He has complete trust in Mary whom he had chosen as his wife,” he said. “He doesn’t understand, but he seeks a solution.”

Pope Francis went on to explain that this unexplainable circumstance however leads Joseph to question their relationship, and so, “with great suffering, he decides to separate himself from Mary without causing scandal.”

But the Angel of the Lord appears to him to tell him that this resolution is not that willed by God. Rather, he tells him the Lord is opening before him a new path of union, love and happiness: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her.”

Trust in God

At this point, the Pope continued, Joseph shows complete trust in God; he obeys the Angel and takes Mary into his home.

“It is precisely this unshakable trust in God that allowed him to accept a humanly difficult, and in a certain sense, incomprehensible situation,” he said.

Through faith, Pope Francis explained, Joseph understands that the baby conceived in Mary’s womb is not his son, but is the Son of God, and he, Joseph, will be His guardian by exercising his earthly paternity.

“The example of this good, meek and wise man teaches us to lift up our gaze and look beyond, to trust in God’s surprising logic” which consists in openness towards new horizons, towards Christ and His Word.

“May the Virgin Mary, and her chaste spouse, Joseph,” Pope Francis concluded, “help us to listen to the coming Jesus,  who asks that we  include Him in our plans and in our choices.”

Post Angelus

After praying the Angelus, Pope Francis had words of greeting for some of the groups of pilgrims present in the Square.

In particular, he acknowledged the presence of some delegations of Italian citizens who live in gravely polluted areas, and expressed his hope that their political and civil administrators take action to improve the quality of the air that they breath and attend to their health care needs.

Finally, noting that in three days’ time it will be Christmas, Pope Francis said his thoughts go to families who gather together during these days of festivities: those who live far away from their parents and return home, those brothers and sisters who make the effort to be together.

“May Christmas be a fraternal time for everyone, one of growth in the faith and of actions of solidarity toward those who are in need,” he said.

Philippine prelate’s appointment makes him one of only nine members of the Roman CuriaCardinal Tagle named head of Propaganda Fide

Joe Torres, Manila, Philippines
December 9, 2019

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manila has been appointed the new prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Vatican announced on Dec. 8.

The 62-year-old Philippine prelate is only the second Asian to lead the congregation, popularly known by its old name of Propaganda Fide, which is responsible for evangelization and the nomination of Catholic bishops in Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Cardinal Tagle’s appointment makes him one of only nine members of the powerful Roman Curia, or the Cabinet of the Holy Father, in the Vatican.

For the past four years, Cardinal Tagle has been chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Pontificio Collegio Filippino of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

The Collegio Filippino — a college for diocesan priests from the Philippines studying at pontifical universities in Rome — and the Friends of the Collegio worldwide thanked Pope Francis for the appointment.

“In this Advent Season, as we await the coming of Baby Jesus, we pray through the intercession of Mama Mary and St. Joseph that God continues to shower our dear Pope Francis and Cardinal Tagle with his heavenly blessings in this appointment and transfer to the Vatican,” the groups said in a statement.

The cardinal, who was born on June 21, 1957, was ordained a priest in 1982 after studying philosophy and theology at Ateneo De Manila University’s San Jose Major Seminary.

He later studied in the United States, where he obtained his doctorate in theology with a thesis on the evolution of the notion of episcopal collegiality since the Second Vatican Council.

In 1997, he joined the International Theological Commission in Rome.

He was named bishop of the Diocese of Imus in the Philippines by St. John Paul II in October 2001. In 2011, he was appointed metropolitan archbishop of Manila.

In November 2012, during the last consistory of the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, he received a cardinal’s red hat.

Cardinal Tagle is president of Caritas Internationalis and the Catholic Biblical Federation.

He participated in the 1998, 2005, 2008 and 2012 synods at the Vatican. In 2014, he was one of the three presidents of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family.

He is the second Filipino to become prefect of a dicastery following the late Cardinal Jose Tomas Sanchez, who served as prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy from 1991 until 1996.

Cardinal Tagle succeeds Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who has been appointed grand master of the Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem.

Cardinal Tagle’s appointment reflects the pope’s deep desire for a missionary church.

He is only the second Asian to head Propaganda Fide, with the other being Indian cardinal and Holy See diplomat Ivan Dias, who served from 2006 to 2011.

President tells communists to take efforts to restart negotiations seriously or face consequencesPhilippine church leaders welcome Duterte’s call for peace

Joe Torres, Manila, Philippines
December 9, 2019

An ecumenical church group in the Philippines has welcomed last week’s call by President Rodrigo Duterte to try and revive peace talks with rebels to finally end half a century of communist insurgency.

In a joint statement, Catholic and Protestant leaders said they “welcomed and celebrated” the president’s decision to start “back-channel negotiations” for the possible resumption of formal talks.

“The [Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform] summit hopes that these developments will pave the way for the immediate resumption of formal peace talks,” read the church leaders’ statement.

The ecumenical group was holding its annual “summit on peace,” which brought together 110 church leaders from all over the country, when it was informed about Duterte’s move last week.

They urged the government and the rebels “to work toward the resumption of formal peace talks to address the roots of the armed conflict.” They called for the immediate signing of a comprehensive agreement on social and economic reforms and a bilateral ceasefire. A call for the immediate release of political prisoners was also made.

Faith communities, meanwhile, were called on to expand efforts to conduct “creative activities and dialogue … to further broaden support for the resumption of formal peace talks.”

 “We vow to continue to use our faith resources and moral leadership to further expand the work of [the peace platform] throughout the Philippines,” said the group. “We will not stop and we will break the walls between religions and build bridges instead.”

Duterte, who terminated peace negotiations with the communists in 2017, warned rebels to take the talks seriously or the government would continue its current campaign to stamp out the insurgency.

He said he wants formal peace negotiations to be held in the Philippines, a demand that was immediately dismissed by exiled Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison.

“I think there needs to be several steps before we could reach a point of having peace negotiations in the Philippines,” Sison said in a television interview from the Netherlands.

He said Duterte could start the process by adopting goodwill measures to create a climate for peace negotiations, such as by releasing political prisoners on humanitarian grounds in the spirit of Christmas.

“I think the president is intelligent enough to see there is also benefit for him and his administration that peace negotiations be renewed,” said Sison.

The Philippine government held talks with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines from 2016 to 2017 in Oslo, Norway. They broke down when Duterte accused the communists of violating a ceasefire.

In December 2018, he ordered the creation of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict to hold “localized peace talks.” However, police and military operations against communist rebels continued.

Church leaders, meanwhile, said there was a “shared recognition” that dialogue and peace talks are urgently needed but “effectively unworkable” when the government “demonized” the rebels.

“Reconstituting the peace panels [of both sides] and the resumption of the peace talks is the only way forward,” said the church leaders, mostly bishops. The Philippine Ecumenical Peace Platform comprises the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches,’ and the Ecumenical Bishops’ Forum in an effort to work “for a just and enduring peace by supporting the peace process.”